v. 22, 2013.Now the two Eastern Conference foes meet for the second time on Saturday at Philips Arena. Atlanta crushed Philadelphia 105-72 on

ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Hawks no longer have to worry about being the first team to lose to the Philadelphia 76ers.The Sixers got that monkey off their back on Friday, when they beat the Indiana Pacers 109-105 in overtime. Philadelphia had started the season with seven consecutive losses. The win broke a 44-game losing streak in October and November that began on Nov. 22, 2013.Now the two Eastern Conference foes meet for the second time on Saturday at Philips Arena. Atlanta crushed Philadelphia 105-72 on Oct. 29, despite trailing 8-0. It was the worst loss of the season for the Sixers.But the Sixers (1-7) have played better lately, losing to the Pacers 122-115 in overtime on Wednesday and dropping a one-point decision to Cleveland on Nov. 5.Joel Embiid led the Philadelphia win with 25 points -- 18 in the fourth quarter and overtime -- and seven rebounds and Ersan Ilyasova and Nik Stauskas each added 14 points off the bench.It feels great to finally close a game out, Embiid said. We should be like 5-3. I want to be the best player every time I step on the court.Coach Brett Brown said, We saw the best of Joel Embiid when it mattered the most.The Hawks (6-2) havent played since their 115-107 win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday. Atlanta had eight players score in double figures that game, led by reserve Thabo Sefolosha with a season-high 20 points.Were still building and learning to play with one another, Sefolosha said.Dwight Howard has fit into his role with the club. No longer expected to carry a large percent of the offensive load, Howard has been able to concentrate on his defense and rim protection duties. Howard is averaging 15.9 points, 12.6 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots. Howard has six double-doubles in eight games.Howard has helped elevate the Hawks to No. 7in the league in rebounding. Last year they were 24th.The effort by everybody to rebound has been good, but particularly in their effort on the offensive boards there is a real noticeable different, Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer said.Atlanta has won the last four meetings between the two teams and has won five straight at home. Philadelphia hasnt won in Atlanta since April 5, 2013.Atlanta forward Tiago Splitter has taken a step toward rejoining the team from the right hamstring injury that has kept him sidelined since training camp. Splitter has started to participate in the non-contact portion of practice.Philadelphia forward Jahlil Okafor was supposed to be inactive on Friday, part of the scheduled rest hes receiving while recovering from knee surgery. But he was pressed into action and played two minutes. Okafor is expected to start against Atlanta. Hes played seven games and is averaging 10.3 points and 3.4 rebounds.The Sixers are expected to rest Embiid on Saturday while Okafor plays. The center, who averages 17.6 points and 6.8 rebounds, is recovering from a second foot surgery.Philadelphia has struggled with injuries all season. Top draft pick Ben Simmons had foot surgery and may miss the entire season. Jerryd Bayless (sore left wrist ligament) and Nerlens Noel (left knee) are also out. Kings Jerseys China . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. Cheap Kings Jerseys . Defenceman Yannick Weber scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Canucks breathed a sigh of relief with a 2-1 win on Saturday night. http://www.customnbakingsjersey.com/custom-mitch-richmond-jersey-large-73w.html . But when it comes to determining if Raymond will find a place on the Leafs roster when training camp concludes in a week, well, that decision will ultimately fall to the head coach. Cheap Custom Kings Jersey . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. Wholesale Custom Kings Shirts . The formidable trio of Canadian receivers -- individually known as Chris Getzlaf, Rob Bagg and Andy Fantuz -- will share the field at Mosaic Stadium one more time on Sunday. CANTON, N.Y. -- Surveillance videos show that a former college soccer coach stalked his ex-girlfriends 12-year-old son just before the boy was killed in 2011, a prosecutor told a judge Monday.Oral Nick Hillary hunted Garrett Phillips in the half hour before the boy was strangled in the apartment Phillips shared with his mother, Tandy Cyrus, according to Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick.Though Hillarys supporters have accused authorities in this largely white community of unjustly prosecuting a black man, Fitzpatrick said during his opening statement in Hillarys second-degree murder trial that the evidence against the Jamaica-born ex-coach is conclusive.I want you to label him for exactly what he is: the murderer of a helpless 12-year-old boy, because he couldnt stand that fact that he caused the breakup with Tandy, said Fitzpatrick, who is helping his counterpart in St. Lawrence County with the prosecution.Defense attorney Norman Siegel argued that the prosecution lacks physical evidence. Siegel, the former director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said Hillary was home with his daughter when the boy was killed.You cant be in two places at thhe same time, Siegel said.ddddddddddddHillary was the head soccer coach at Clarkson University at the time of the killing. He and his teenage daughter had lived with Cyrus and her two sons until the relationship ended in summer 2011. When the boy was killed, Hillary was living elsewhere in Potsdam, a college town near the Canadian border.Police quickly focused on Hillary after the boy was strangled on Oct. 24, 2011. But it took nearly five years for the case to come to trial.The district attorney at the time of the killing never bought charges. Her successor as St. Lawrence County district attorney, Mary Rain, campaigned on the case. The first murder indictment Rain secured was dismissed by a judge. She was able to get the current indictment last year.As recently as this month, prosecutors were still trying to introduce high-tech DNA evidence. The trial judge rejected that motion.Hillary, who has consistently said he is innocent, last week opted to have his case heard by a judge instead of a jury. The trial is expected to last several weeks. ' ' '