Woodys just pitched another great game and ha

METAIRIE, La. -- Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday will play for the first time this season on Friday night against the Portland Trail Blazers, general manager Dell Demps said Tuesday.Meanwhile, guard Tyreke Evans returned to practice on a non-contact basis Tuesday. Demps said it is unclear when Evans will play, but that he appears to be in great shape.Holiday has been on indefinite leave since summer to care for his wife, retired international soccer star Lauren Holiday, who had brain surgery last month, just weeks after giving birth to the couples daughter.The Pelicans play in Orlando on Wednesday night, and Demps said Holiday is slated to practice with the team on Thursday before making his debut the following night in what will be New Orleans 13th game of the season.Demps said he expects Holidays return to be gratifying for Pelicans players and staff on both personal and professional levels.Hes just a great person -- just bringing him back and getting him back with the group, from a social standpoint, is most important, Demps said. From a basketball standpoint, we dont want to put pressure on him and make him feel like hes the savior.Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said he wasnt certain whether Holiday, who has been working out on his own in North Carolina the past couple months, would start or how much hed play.I just know we wont play him 35 minutes the first game back, Gentry said. Were not going to do anything like that. I think weve got to be smart about it. Hes been working out twice a day. Hes in great shape. Theres a big difference in being in great shape and being in basketball shape.New Orleans has won just two of its first 11 games, but also two of its last three after and 0-8 start.Its good for us -- a big, key component to our team that were able to get back, said forward Anthony Davis, who has been averaging 30.5 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.9 blocks, but has lacked the help he need to produce more victories. Its good for everybody and well try to get this thing going.Holiday is expected to return as healthy as he has been in several seasons.He began last season on minute restrictions following his rehabilitation from a nagging lower leg injury that had sidelined him for much of the 2013-14 and 2014-15 campaigns.A former Eastern Conference All-Star with Philadelphia before his trade to New Orleans in 2013, Holiday wound up playing in 65 games with 23 starts during the 2015-16 season, averaging 16.8 points, 6.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 28.2 minutes per game. He scored 20 or more points 25 times and recorded six double-doubles.Jrues very good offensively and very good defensively, Davis added. Hes going to bring that passion, that energy, that fight. So its going to be good to have him back on the floor for us and have Jrue being Jrue.Tim Frazier has been starting in Holidays place this season, averaging 11.4 points and 7.9 assists. He said hes been in constant contact with Holiday, particularly after games to ask for his evaluation.Coming from the point guard spot, I know what you see outside is different from what I see on the court, Frazier said. He just told me what hes seeing and hes been positive, telling me to keep my head up and continue to fight and that he was on his way back soon.As for Evans, the Pelicans will gradually ramp him up to contact practices within the next couple weeks, Demps said, raising the prospects that the versatile 6-foot-6 guard and wing player could be playing in early December.Itll all be based on how his rehab goes in the next days, weeks, Demps said, peering through a conference room window with a view of Evans running through basketball drills on the practice court. If you just look at him right now, its pretty close.Demps said the Pelicans also hope by the end of next week to receive a medical update on small forward Quincy Pondexters recovery from multiple knee surgeries, which might provide a clearer timetable on his return. Emerson Chelsea Jersey . Houston won 3-0 to advance to face New York in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Last in the game, Di Vaio and Romero got into a shoving match with several Houston players. Romero appeared to elbow and kick Houston defender Kofi Sarkodie. Eden Hazard Chelsea Jersey . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. http://www.chelseafcproshop.com/Kids-Gary-Cahill-Jersey/ . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. Jorginho Chelsea Jersey . LOUIS -- St. Davide Zappacosta Jersey . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91.CHICAGO -- Mike Leake pitched just a little better than former teammate Travis Wood, and helped the Cincinnati Reds extend their dominance of the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Leake combined with Aroldis Chapman on a three-hitter and Todd Frazier hit a tiebreaking home run against Wood in the seventh inning, leading the Reds past the Cubs 2-1 Wednesday for their record 12th straight win at Wrigley Field. Leake (6-3) won for the fourth time in five decisions, allowing only Nate Schierholtzs second-inning home run into the right-field bleachers, his eighth of the season. The Cincinnati starter gave up one run and three hits while striking out six over eight innings. Facing Wood, Leake said, is "fun, definitely, and frustrating at the same time." "You want him to do well and you want yourself to do well," Leake said. "Today we both did really well, so you cant complain." Wood (5-5) gave up two runs and four hits in seven innings, his third loss in four decisions. He fell to 0-3 with a 4.65 ERA in five starts against the Reds, who traded him to the Cubs on Dec. 23, 2011, for reliever Sean Marshall. "Felt good out there today, was locating pretty well and keeping them off balance," Wood said. "Leake was doing the same, he had an outstanding game today." The Reds usually do quite well against the Cubs, especially at Wrigley Field. Cincinnati is 10-2 overall against the Cubs this season and 25-6 dating to Sept. 13, 2011. Leake improved to 6-2 with a 3.24 ERA in 13 career starts against Chicago. The previous record for consecutive wins by a visitor at Wrigley was 10, by the St. Louis Cardinals (1943-44) and matched by the New York Giants (1950-51) and Montreal Expos (1982-83), according to STATS. Cincinnatis Dusty Baker, who managed the Cubs from 2003-06, didnt have an explanation for the streak at Wrigley. "I dont know, man," Baker said. "Just feel fortunate that it happens when it happens." Cesar Izturis got the Reds first hit off Wood with an infield single in the fifth, and Cincinnati tied the score in the sixth when Shin-Soo Choo doubled and scored on Brandon Phillips two-out single. Leake retired 12 consecutive batters before Darwin Barney singled with one out in the eighth. By then, Frazier had hit his eighth homer, sending a 1-0 pitch through a wind and into the left-field bleachers, giving thhe Reds a 2-1 lead.dddddddddddd Frazier has homered in consecutive games since Baker gave him the day off Monday to "study and watch" what was happening. "Just trying to find different release points, trying to pick up pitches," Frazier said he did on his day off. "Its really hard to do, but at the same time it keeps you concentrating on the game the whole time." Chapman struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 17th save in 19 chances to give Cincinnati its third straight win since losing two of three last weekend to first-place St. Louis. "St. Louis is a good team. Theyre a battle every time, so I dont think we really got down because we know theyre a good team, we know theyre going to be tough," Leake said. "We just have to take advantage of games that we need to really work hard. Its definitely good weve gotten three in a row from them." Not much has been going that way for the Cubs. Theyve lost eight of 10 since a five-game winning streak, and fell to a season-worst 13 games below .500. In their last five losses theyve scored a combined seven runs. "Its a broken record," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. "Woodys just pitched another great game and has nothing to show for it." Unfortunately for the Cubs, thats usually how it goes for them against the Reds at Wrigley. "Were just having fun. Thats the only thing I can say," Frazier said. "Were relaxed when we play here. We like playing here. Who doesnt like playing here?" NOTES: Chicagos Starlin Castro went 0 for 3 and is in a 4-for-48 slide (.083). He hit in the No. 6 slot for only the second time in his career. ... Choo, normally the Reds leadoff hitter, was second in the batting order while Derrick Robinson was first. Choo entered 0 for 6 with four strikeouts against Wood. ... The Cubs placed RHP Zach Putnam on the 15-day DL and recalled LHP Brooks Raley from Triple-A Iowa. ... When asked if LHP Tony Cingrani would stay in the Cincinnati rotation, Baker said "Whos spot is he going to take?" Cingrani gave up two earned runs in seven innings Tuesday, but the Reds hope Johnny Cueto will be able to return Sunday against Milwaukee. ... Alfonso Soriano pinch hit and had a game-ending groundout. ... Thursdays pitching matchup is Cincinnatis Mat Latos (6-0, 2.87) against the Cubs Jeff Samardzija (3-7, 3.18). ' ' '