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PHILADELPHIA - Dominique Wilkins slapped Al Horford on his back during a brief locker room chat and dished out a few kind words.Horford at last had a triple-double to add to his own highlight reel.Congratulations on your first one, brother, Wilkins said.With Wilkins calling the action from the broadcast booth, Horford had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Atlanta Hawks to their ninth straight win, 105-87 over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night.The Hawks easily thumped the Sixers even while resting leading scorer Jeff Teague, Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll in a stretch of four games in five nights.Its always hard when youre missing some guys, coach Mike Budenholzer said. You worry maybe about each guy not doing his job and continuing to play within the framework of the team. I thought our guys did, for the most part, a good job of sticking to what they do.Horford did his even better, making 8 of 10 shots in just 29 minutes. He was pulled once he grabbed his 10th rebound.All the guys on the bench started telling me, Get two more rebounds! Get two more rebounds! he said. The guys were great about it.The Hawks have won 23 of 25 and won their ninth straight road game. They are in first place this late in the season for the first time since they won the East in 1993-94.Kent Bazemore scored 17 points and Kyle Korver had 15. The Hawks made 12 of 23 3-pointers.Korver showed his former team why hes the best 3-point shooter in the league. He made one 3 late in the first half for a 43-35 lead, followed with another on the next possession, then watched as Mike Scott buried his own 3 to send the Hawks into halftime up 49-37.The Hawks used those three 3s in the final 1:13 of the half to help turn a five-point lead into a rout. They are on their second nine-game winning streak of the season.It kind of feels like a college team in a lot of ways, Korver said. In the NBA, the business side exists. Its on peoples minds. But I feel like everyone here has really bought in.Shelvin Macks 3 late in the third helped stretch the lead to 21 points and the Hawks rested about the entire starting lineup for most of the fourth quarter. Mack had 12 points and 10 rebounds.Michael Carter-Williams scored 20 points for the Sixers and K.J. McDaniels had 14. Guard Tony Wroten did not return after he sprained his right knee. The lowly Sixers had won three of four and zipped past New York in the Eastern Conference standings.They make everything so simple that youve really got to stay disciplined on defence, Carter-Williams said. We didnt tonight and thats why we lost.TIP-INSHawks: At 35, Hawks forward Elton Brand knows his career is winding down. Im enjoying riding the bus, he said. When I go to Utah, I take a walk and try and get a lunch in the mountains or something because I dont know if Ill be back here. Brand played four seasons with the Sixers and helped lead them to Game 7 of the 2012 Eastern Conference semifinals. Brand said its been hard watching the Sixers struggle and wondered how much better off the franchise would be today had it stuck with a promising group of young players. I see the pieces around the league, Brand said. Lou Williams getting 30. Andre Iguodala having a great glue-guy personality. Even (Mo) Speights is getting 20 off the bench. (Nik) Vucevic (in Orlando) is 30 and 15 some nights.76ers: What tank? The Hawks are proof that teams dont necessarily have to take Philadelphias lengthy rebuilding plan to rise to the top of the conference. Sixers coach Brett Brown said the Hawks have built a team with a bunch of really good guys that are a bunch of really good players. ... The 76ers have kept an eye on second-round pick Jordan McRaes progress in Australia. There are no immediate plans for McRae to play in the NBA this season.BOARD GAMELed by Horford and Mack, the Hawks outrebounded the Sixers 47-35. The Sixers have been outrebounded by double-digits in each of the past two games and 13 times overall this season (1-12 record).UP NEXTHawks: Visit Boston on Wednesday.76ers: Visit Toronto on Wednesday. Greg Maddux Jersey . The win puts Arsenal four points clear of Everton in fourth place with two games to play in the Premier League, a position which would qualify the club for Europes top competition for the 17th straight year. Rod Beck Cubs Jersey . She was 30. The former British No. 1 died peacefully surrounded by family and friends, the Womens Tennis Association said on its website. The Kyiv-born Baltacha, who represented Britain at the 2012 London Olympics, was diagnosed with the illness in January, two months after retiring from tennis and only weeks after she married her long-time coach Nino Severino. https://www.cheapcubs.com/.Stanton suffered fractures in his face and other injuries when he was hit by a pitch Sept. 11. The Marlins are confident hell fully recover and be ready for spring training, and they hope to reach a long-term agreement with him. Kyle Schwarber Jersey . For Sweed, a second round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2008, this will be his second go around in the CFL after previously having spent time with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Billy Williams Cubs Jersey . And I wanted to take this opportunity to share some of my experiences gained through International competition and the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Seven NHL referees and six linesmen will be assigned upcoming games in Sochi by the IIHF as part of their 28-man officiating roster comprised of 14 refs and 14 linesmen.LOS ANGELES -- Blake Griffin entered the back half of his 20s with a birthday serenade from the crowd and another dynamic demonstration of why hes only getting better with age. The Los Angeles Clippers winning streak also gets a whole lot more impressive with every passing week. Griffin had 21 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists on his 25th birthday, and the Clippers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 102-80 Sunday night for their 11th consecutive victory. The Clippers high-flying forward threw himself a nice little party: Griffin has scored at least 20 points in 26 consecutive games, a mark exceeded only by Kevin Durant this season. "This stretch of games that weve played and weve been successful has been a huge team effort," Griffin said. "Guys have stepped up and really done their part. With our team, I dont think its one guy thats making us go. I genuinely believe its been a total team effort." Yet Griffin is a clear driving force with his rapidly evolving all-around game. So is Chris Paul: The point guard had 15 assists and scored 11 of his 16 points in the final 6:04 for the Clippers, who havent lost since Feb. 21. The fans sang "Happy Birthday" to Griffin during a dead ball in the second quarter, and he gave a sheepish grin and a wave while waiting to inbound the ball. He had already received a pregame song from rookie Reggie Bullock, who scored a career-high 14 points on his own 23rd birthday. "Its probably like the 10th time hes had to do it this year, and he seems like hes getting worse," Griffin said dryly. "No enthusiasm. Its really bad. ... Hes got a great personality. He just cant sing at all." Luol Deng scored 23 points and Dion Waiters had 15 for the Cavaliers, who lost Kyrie Irving in the first quarter to a left biceps injury. Cleveland had won on its first two stops of a three-game West Coast road trip, but never led while Los Angeles matched the longest streak in the NBA this season, equaling 11-game runs in November by Portland and San Antonio. "Theyre a great team," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "Theyve got a chance to win it all. I mean, you look how deep their roster is. They have playoff experience, theyve got NBA All-Stars coming off the bench, and Doc is a great coach." Irving, Clevelands leader in scoring and assists, went to the Cavs locker room late in thee first quarter and didnt return.ddddddddddddThe All-Star Game MVP missed all five of his shots against the Clippers and was injured shortly before he left the game. Jarrett Jack scored seven straight points during a 12-0 Cleveland run early in the fourth quarter, trimming the Clippers former 21-point lead to seven. But Paul shook off a rough shooting night with three jumpers in quick succession, and the Clippers closed out their sixth straight home victory. "We just cant start games like that," Jack said. "We had a lull period for almost a quarter and a half, and we just didnt go out and compete. Then the game kind of started to turn in our favour, but fighting an uphill battle against a team like that is a very tough task." DeAndre Jordan added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers, who matched the 1974-75 Buffalo Braves for the second-longest winning streak in franchise history. Los Angeles won 17 straight games during its unbeaten run through December 2012. Jamal Crawford missed his fourth straight game with a strained left calf, and fill-in starter Darren Collison was ruled out 15 minutes before tipoff with a stomach virus. Los Angeles already is without J.J. Redick, who hasnt played since early February. "They dont use an excuse," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "We have three of our top four guards out today, and no one talked about it (in the locker room). They still feel like every night, we have a chance to win the game." Los Angeles scored the games first 11 points and jumped out to a 17-3 lead just 6 minutes in when Cleveland missed nine of its first 10 shots. Griffin somehow scored while Spencer Hawes flagrantly fouled him in the final minute of the first half, muscling the ball home in a remarkable display of strength. His three-point play put the Clippers up 52-38 at halftime. NOTES: Hawes got his second technical foul and an ejection with 1:19 to play while standing by Clevelands bench. Hawes, who scored 14 points, sarcastically waved goodbye to referee Scott Wall as he left. "Im given up enough money tonight, so I wont say anything more beyond that," Hawes said afterward. ... Metta World Peace watched the game from a baseline seat next to the Cavaliers bench. The erstwhile Ron Artest won a ring in this building in 2010 with the Lakers, who let him go last summer. ' ' '