were doing in the first quarter. What you saw then was a re

NEW ORLEANS -- Alvin Gentry was defiant when asked if hes concerned about his job status after his New Orleans Pelicans lost their fourth straight game Thursday night. The Pelicans fell 99-88 to the last-place Philadelphia 76ers, who stopped a franchise record-tying 23 road games entering the night.I really dont give a s--- about my job status, Gentry said. Im gonna work hard, and Im gonna coach until the day they tell me Im not the coach here anymore. It doesnt matter. I dont ever worry about that. That isnt anything that I spend five seconds worrying about.My worry is how do I get the guys in the locker room to play at the level that I want them to. Thats where all my effort goes. It doesnt go anywhere else.The Pelicans have now lost six of their past seven games following a four-game winning streak sparked by the return of guard Jrue Holiday. New Orleans is now 7-16 overall and in fourth-to-last place in the Western Conference.Asked if this feels like a low point for the team, Pelicans star Anthony Davis replied, Yup.Asked if this is the most frustrated he has been after a loss in his five seasons in New Orleans, Davis replied, Yup.Davis currently leads the league in points (31.6), blocks (2.8), minutes played (38) and player efficiency rating (31.2) and is averaging career highs in rebounds (11.5) and steals (1.8).However, the Pelicans entered the night ranked 25th in offensive efficiency and second to last in 3-point shooting percentage (31.6).Weve got to be able to make shots, Gentry said. Weve got to be able to take pressure off Anthony some kind of way, and the only way we can do that [is] we have to have guys make shots.Davis finished Thursdays loss with 26 points on 8-for-21 shooting and 11 rebounds. As a team, the Pelicans shot 39 percent from the floor and 28 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.Even when we won, I thought it was fools gold, Pelicans forward Solomon Hill said. We won games, but our ball movement is nonexistent. We come down, pick-and-roll and throw it to AD, and you just have AD scoring over three people. We want to get him in position where its two at [most], or one.We have to come down [and] move the ball, move the ball and then get it to AD. I think we just come down and throw it right to him and we just wait and watch. We can say we want ball movement, but when hes going, everybodys out there watching.The Pelicans were without Holiday (left turf toe) and ETwaun Moore (right toe contusion) for the second straight game, and Dante Cunningham (broken right fibula) for a seventh game. Tyreke Evans (right knee/left calf) and Quincy Pondexter (left knee) have missed the entire season.I think its hard to measure because weve got so many people in and out, on this and on that, restricted this, that I dont think we have a fair handle on what kind of team we even have, Gentry said. Thats the frustrating thing, I think. I think we got confident guys. Obviously your confidence is going to be a little bit rocked when you lose five, six straight games. Thats just the way this league is. But youve got to find a way to regroup, and you keep moving forward.New Orleans players cumulatively lost 351 games to injury and illness last season, the second most by a team in the past decade, and the team used an NBA-high 42 different starting lineups last season.Asked if he ever envisioned the Pelicans situation getting this bad when he took the job during the 2015 playoffs, Gentry said, No, I didnt expect this, no. But we have who we have. And the bottom line is, I dont care who we have in the locker room. All I expect is them to do is compete and play hard, which theyve done most of the night, and then weve got to try to find a way to execute. And then weve got to make some shots. Weve got to knock down some shots. Thats the bottom line.Gentry is 37-68 (35.2 percent winning percentage) since he took over from Monty Williams before the 2015-16 season. Gentry has compiled a 372-438 record (45.9 percent) in 13-plus seasons as an NBA head coach.Hes doing fine, Davis said of Gentry.The Pelicans next face a road back-to-back this weekend against the Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix Suns.We need to figure out something, Davis said. [Were] on the road against two tough teams. Whatever it is we need to do, we need to figure it out. Adidas NMD R2 Ale . The Clippers were angry about blowing a big lead; the Kings didnt like being in that kind of hole and nearly digging themselves out only to lose. Adidas NMD Naiset . The defending champion beat Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (6), 6-3, while second-seeded Andy Murray of Britain dispatched Edouard Roger-Vasselin, also of France, 6-3, 6-3. Making his first appearance since injuring his wrist a month ago, Del Potro had difficulty with his service games in the first set. http://www.nmdhalvalla.com/adidas-nmd-r1-halvalla.html . P.A. Parenteau scored early in the third period to help the Avs edge Toronto 2-1 on Tuesday night. Cory Sarich also scored for Colorado (3-0-0), which is off to its best ever start. Adidas NMD R1 Tarjous .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner. Adidas NMD Human Race Suomi . After taking two big hits this week -- losing at home and dropping back-to-back games for the first time all season -- Indiana struck back by playing its most complete game of the year. LOS ANGELES -- Nneka Ogwumike remembers a feeling of uncertainty and even butterflies when she was playing in the Womens Final Four and championship games with Stanford. Those games seemed like a whirlwind, where random chance might come into play in the one-and-done nature of the NCAA tournament.These WNBA Finals arent like that for her. Part of it is being older, sure. But its also that as her Sparks try to win the WNBA championship Sunday in Game 4 against Minnesota (ESPN, 8:30 p.m. ET), there is so much familiarity.The Sparks and Lynx have met six times between the regular season and this series. They both know what they need to do Sunday. Now, its about who does it best.The beauty of professional sports is the best team usually does win, because they can sustain it over a series, Ogwumike said. Now, Im not thinking so much about whats at stake. Im staying level.We have a lot of information to work with, and they do, too. Ill probably feel a little anxiety beforehand, but the good kind of anxiety. Not really nerves.The Sparks all reflected that attitude Saturday as they talked about what it would take to knock off the defending champion Lynx. The three games so far have all been different.The opener came down to Alana Beards last-second shot for a 78-76 Sparks victory. The Lynx defense set the tone in the second game, a 79-60 Minnesota win. Then Friday, the Sparks were like a runner who takes off to set a blistering pace in a race and then never falters to let anyone catch up.So many things went right for the Sparks in their 92-75 victory at USCs Galen Center. As was the case in the first game, they made the Lynx pay dearly for turnovers. They won the rebounding battle 29-24. They shot 54.9 percent from the field (39-of-71) and had an offensive rating of 131.4.The Sparks got big offensive games from not just post players Ogwumike (21 points) and Candace Parker (24), but also guards Essence Carson (16) and Beard (15).We just have such a narrow focus right now, Carson said. I cant stress how important it is to continue that. When the picture gets too broad, thats when people get lost. You have to accept the moment for what it is. Were here for a reason. You have to be pretty damn good to be here.At the same time, you have to understand that there are all the little things that youve done all season, that you worked on day in and day out in practice, and they still need to be implemented.The Sparks did all those things Friday, right from tipoff.Im very proud of my teamm and proud of myself, too.dddddddddddd We needed to persevere, Ogwumike said of coming back from the difficult Game 2 loss. It was pivotal, not just getting off to that start but maintaining it. Even through our troubled times during the game, we wanted to stay aggressive, stay on each other, stay positive.Considering the Lynx will have their backs against the wall, it likely will be difficult for the Sparks to dominate Sundays game from an energy standpoint the same way that they did Friday. They expect Game 4 to be very tight throughout.Well get Minnesotas best, Sparks coach Brian Agler said. And even though our players really havent been in this environment before in the WNBA, theyve been in it overseas, in college. So theyve experienced the tension, the edginess you go through.The Sparks also can look to how they came back from the last four minutes of the second quarter Friday, when they didnt score and had such a strong third quarter in response. They drifted briefly into that impatient offense that can hurt them, but then got back on course.We were settling for shots. And thats something we seem to revert to at times when we feel pressure or pushback, Ogwumike said. But at halftime, we said, We have to go back to what we were doing in the first quarter. What you saw then was a relentless drive to the hole.Agler has talked to his team a lot about staying committed to what they do best offensively and not getting rattled.Teams try to force us there, and sometimes we give into that, Agler said. This is a game of will, and its what your expectations are and what you want to get accomplished.For Parker, who won two NCAA titles and also has championships overseas and in the Olympics, this is about being as even-keeled as possible while still playing at peak level.I feel like Ive grown as a person the last two years, just understanding how mental the game of basketball is, Parker said. The skills arent going to change from game to game. But its the mentality. We know were playing a mentally tough team; theyve come back from down to win games before.Beard said one thing she told her teammates is to stay in the moment, because the Sparks ability to do that this season is as big a key as anything to getting them to this point.Thats why these Finals have been something Ive enjoyed, Beard said. Because Ive been able to do that: Be in the moment. ' ' '