fans proved their resilience by showing up to watch

NEW ORLEANS -- Well, things could be worse.The New Orleans Pelicans enter Monday nights game at the Smoothie King Center against the Boston Celtics with a 1-9 record. Since they crawled out of the starting gate 1-11 last season, they are closing in on a repeat of that perverse history.The 5-4 Celtics certainly seem to have an excellent chance to hand the Pelicans their 10th loss of the season, especially since it is unknown if forward Anthony Davis will be at full strength after taking an awkward fall in a 126-99 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.Davis fell to the floor in pain after making a floater in the lane in the third quarter to draw New Orleans within a point of the Lakers. He got up a minute later, holding his lower right back, and went to the locker room for six minutes.When Davis returned, the Lakers led by 13 points and stretched their advantage to as many as 29 in coasting to the win despite Davis game-high 34 points. No other Pelicans starter scored more than seven points.For an All-Star who is single-handedly carrying the Pelicans -- Davis is averaging 31.3 points, 10.7 rebounds and 3.0 blocks a game -- his back is too valuable for New Orleans to jeopardize his long-term health, even if his absence for even one game would make coach Alvin Gentrys job more difficult.The Pelicans have not won in five home games this season.Were in a position where we have not done very good at home at all, and in this league, you have to take care of business at home because its so difficult to win on the road, Gentry said. And we have not done that.The Celtics defeated the Indiana Pacers 105-99 on the road Friday night with an excellent closing spurt from guards Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley, who combined to score Bostons final 16 points.Thomas, who scored 23 against Indiana, is playing despite a sprained left middle index finger. X-rays after the game were negative, but Thomas said it has affected his shooting.I tried but I couldnt feel the ball, Thomas said. I didnt shoot it as good and as much as I usually do. Ill try to figure out what I can do to adjust my shot and get comfortable.I feel like (closing) is our role, thats what we are supposed to do, Bradley said.The Celtics have won four consecutive games against the Pelicans. Thomas averaged 27.0 points in Bostons two-game sweep of the Pelicans last season. Davis scored just 16 points in a 111-93 home loss to the Celtics last December and missed the series finale, a 104-97 road loss, because of a knee injury.The one positive note for the Pelicans has been Davis attitude. Despite his teammates shortcomings, Davis has continued to hustle and say all the right things. He is averaging nearly 38 minutes a game, the third-highest average in the NBA. No big man is logging more minutes.My instinct is to go back in and try to help the team in whatever way I could, Davis said. I love the game. I want to play the game. ... Thats what a leader does. Dallas Cowboys Gear . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. In this case, it was soccer weather. The sport moved a step closer to returning to South Florida on Wednesday, when Beckham confirmed he has exercised his option to purchase a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Miami. Cowboys Jerseys 2021 . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances. https://www.cowboysjerseysale.com/ . Thats about all he can do right now, so hes trying not to think about when he might be able to play again for the Los Angeles Lakers. Wholesale Cowboys Jerseys . -- Jimmie Johnson held off a teammate, passed a pair of Hall of Famers, and dominated once more at Dover. Custom Dallas Cowboys Jerseys . Tuesdays surgery at Atlantas Piedmont Hospital was performed by Dr. Xavier Duralde and Hawks team physician Dr. Michael Bernot. ISTANBUL -- Turkey declared a national day of mourning and paid tribute to the dead Sunday after two bombings in Istanbul killed 38 people and wounded 155 others near a soccer stadium. The carnage was claimed by a Turkey-based Kurdish militant group.The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, or TAK, said two of its members had sacrificed their lives in the Saturday night attack that targeted security forces outside the Besiktas stadium shortly after the conclusion of a match.Two of our comrades were heroically martyred in the attack, according to a statement posted on TAKs website.It described the blasts as reprisal for state violence in the southeast and the ongoing imprisonment of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK. TAK is considered by authorities as a PKK offshoot.The twin car-and-suicide bombings near the stadium enraged top officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who vowed to hunt down the perpetrators. The attack was the latest large-scale assault to traumatize a nation confronting an array of security threats.Turkey is a NATO member and a partner in the U.S.-led war against the Islamic State group.The attack targeted police officers, killing 30 of them along with seven civilians and an unidentified person, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told reporters. He said 13 people had been arrested in connection with the terrorist act.In an address at a funeral for the slain police officers before TAKs statement was released, a furious Soylu condemned Kurdish rebels and their allies in the West, referring to the PKK as animals.Have you accomplished anything beyond being the servants, pawns and hit men of certain dark forces, of your dark Western partners? he asked.Turkish officials didnt make any further comments after the TAK claim of responsibility was posted.The battle between the PKK and the Turkish state has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of citizens. Turkish officials frequently accuse the West of supporting the Kurdish insurgency and of interfering in Ankaras fight against the militants.Erdogan vowed his country would fight the curse of terrorism till the end after paying a visit to some of the wounded at Haseki Hospital in Istanbul.Hundreds of flag-carrying demonstrators marched along Istanbuls coastline toward the stadium at the heart of the blast area. Flags flew at half-staff across the country and at Turkeys foreign missions. Passers-by placed flowers on barriers surrounding the soccer stadium.The first and larger explosion took place about 10:30 p.m. Saturday after Besiktas beat Bursaspor 2-1 in the Turkish Super League. Erdogan said the attacks timing aimed to maximize the loss of life, but most fans had left before the detonation.Soylu said the first blast was caused by a passing vehicle thaat detonated in an area where police special forces were located at the stadium exit.dddddddddddd A riot police bus appears to have been the target. Moments later, a person who had been stopped in nearby Macka Park committed suicide by triggering explosives, according to the minister.He said 136 people remained hospitalized Sunday after the attack, including 14 in intensive care.TAK claimed the Turkish people werent their target but warned no one should expect a comfortable life as long as the ruling party continues to torture the mothers of Kurdistan every day.Armed conflict between the Turkish state and Kurdish militants resumed in July 2015 after peace talks unraveled. While much of the violence has concentrated in the impoverished and pre-dominantly Kurdish southeast, it has also spread to other cities, including the capital, Ankara, where TAK has claimed February and March suicide bombings.Experts have determined that up to 400 kilograms (880 pounds) of explosives were used in the car bomb, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told CNN Turk.To the mournful sound of trumpets, funeral services were held at Istanbuls police headquarters for some of the slain officers. Their comrades solemnly carried the coffins, which were draped in the Turkish flag, as a sea of mourners wept around them.Erdogan presided over a security meeting after the funeral ceremony and hospital visit.Soccer fans proved their resilience by showing up to watch a game pitting Istanbuls Galatasaray and Gaziantepspor at a different stadium.What happened last night was extremely saddening but they need to know that Turkish people will not yield to such things, Galatasaray supporter Erkan Duman told The Associated Press. Its not like we will give up things, especially things we love, just because they want us to.Turkey has witnessed a spate of IS and Kurdish-linked attacks this year. Saturdays bombings were one of the bloodiest to hit Istanbul, a city at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, until recently a popular tourist destination.That changed after a series of IS-linked suicide bombings targeting tourists, including a sophisticated attack on the citys Ataturk Airport in June that killed 44 people and wounded scores of others. PKK-linked militants have claimed other deadly attacks in Ankara, Istanbul and areas in southeast Turkey.A state of emergency is in force following a failed July 15 coup attempt and the resulting government crackdown on alleged coup sympathizers has landed thousands in jail and forced tens of thousands of people from their jobs. Critics call the move a witch hunt.---Cinar Kiper, Ayse Wieting and Bulut Emiroglu contributed to this report. ' ' '