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NEW YORK -- Kristaps Porzingis came to the NBA from Europe as a 7-footer with 3-point range, so the comparisons to Dirk Nowitzki were inevitable.Jeff Hornacek figured the best way for Porzingis to play like Nowitzki was to play with Nowitzki.So the New York Knicks coach called Dallas coach Rick Carlisle in the offseason and asked if his veteran star would be open to working out with the second-year forward.Turns out, fraternizing with the enemy isnt only allowed, but some coaches even broker it.Most coaches, they want all the players in the league to do well, Hornacek said, and so when you have a young player like that, if you have a veteran on your team and somebody calls you up and says, `Hey, will this guy have him in his workouts, a lot of these guys get together anyway so its not that big a deal.Hornacek arranged similar tutoring when he was in Phoenix, getting big man Alex Len to work with the Spurs Tim Duncan. Carlisle wouldnt say if he ever made a request, but didnt think it was uncommon.Hey, things like this, theyre great stories in our game and its one of the reasons we have such a great game and the NBA is a family, Carlisle said.Nowitzki and Porzingis couldnt find time in their schedules, but may in the future. Perhaps Hornacek will even call again.Guys, especially the veteran guys, they like taking young guys kind of under their wing, showing them some tricks and hopefully maybe someday we can get Dirk to work with KP, Hornacek said.---HOWARD AND THE HAWKSAtlanta brought Dwight Howard in and let Al Horford leave, and traded Jeff Teague so Dennis Schroder could start.Most of the offseason focus was on how the Hawks changed, but for coach Mike Budenholzer, its more about how they stayed the same.The remainder of the roster is largely unchanged from the one that won a franchise-record 60 games two years ago and produced 108 victories over the last two seasons. So even after changing the point guard and center, perhaps the two most important positions on the floor, the Hawks are off to a 9-4 start that includes the only victory by a road team over NBA champion Cleveland.I think the thing weve been talking about since the first day of camp is we brought back 10 or 11 guys, too, so I think its been a great balance of continuity with some significant change, Budenholzer said.And when you have 10 or 11 guys that have played together for a couple of years and had some success, and understand what we want to do and whats important to us, I think you can integrate some changes, including a point guard and Dwight. Maybe it just made it a little more possible for us to hopefully do it, I guess, with the results were having so far.---The NBA season reaches the one-month mark this week. A look at some things to watch:ROLLING INTO THE WEEK: Golden State (seven straight wins) and San Antonio (five in a row) ride long winning streaks into the week but are still looking up in the West at the Los Angeles Clippers, who have the NBAs best record at 12-2.HIGH SCORERS IN HOUSTON: DeMar DeRozan and James Harden, two of the NBAs top scorers and the reigning Eastern and Western Conference players of the week, go head-to-head Wednesday in Houston.LUKES LAKERS: The Warriors will try to avenge a loss to their former assistant coach when they visit Los Angeles on Friday. Luke Waltons Lakers beat the Warriors 117-97 on Nov. 4, ending Stephen Currys NBA-record streak of 157 games with a 3-pointer.BATTLE ON THE BACKBOARDS: The NBAs top rebounders meet for the first time this season Wednesday when Miamis Hassan Whiteside, averaging 16.2 rebounds, tangles with Detroits Andre Drummond (13.8).---HAPPY THANKSGIVING: There are no games on Thursday, making Thanksgiving one of only three nights off during the NBA season. But Black Friday is stacked, with all 30 teams in action. The NBA also doesnt play on Christmas Eve or the night of the NCAA championship game, scheduled this season for Monday, April 3. . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. . It was the kind of score that might make everyone else wonder which course he was playing. Except that Graeme McDowell saw the whole thing. Crouched behind the 10th green at Sheshan International, McDowell looked over at the powerful American and said, "Ive probably seen 18 of the best drives Ive seen all year in the last two days. . The lawyers filed a 33-page amended complaint Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan, expanding on the suit originally filed Oct. 3 in New York Supreme Court. Arbitrator Fredric Horowitz last week refused to compel Selig to testify in the grievance, and Rodriguez then walked out of the hearing without testifying. . The team said Saturday that Lopez was hurt during its 121-120 overtime loss at Philadelphia on Friday. The Nets said they would issue another update next week after consultation with their doctors. . What general manager Dave Nonis called "short and productive" negotiations ended with Kessel signing a US$64-million, eight-year contract on Tuesday.Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino says Leicester fully deserve to be in pole position in the title race - but urged his players to fight all of the way for the Premier League title. Spurs take on Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, live on Sky Sports 1 HD, knowing they can cut the gap to Leicester to two points before the Foxes play Southampton on Super Sunday.Leicester have won four of their last five matches 1-0, but the Tottenham head coach insists his players cannot get frustrated. We need to give the credit to Leicester, the Argentinian said. Today they are top because they deserve to be. From the beginning of the season they were fantastic. We cannot take the credit from them.We are in a very good position but we cannot compare with another team. We need to fight. We have seven games and its important to fight until the end of the season, with the possibility to achieve good things.One is the possibility to win the title and the other is to finish in the top four, which is important for us.Spurs are gunning for their first league triumph since 1961 but even qualifying for the Champions League would represent an excellent season, as they sit 11 points clear of fifth. Pochettinos men face a crunch clash with Liverpool on Sunday Their progress has been all the more impressive given they boast the youngest squad in the Premier League, but Pochettino believes Spurs also have the maturity to hold their nerve during the run-in.We are young but we are mature enough to realise the situation to compete with different teams, he said.Today its an advantage as we are second in the table. MMaybe if we are at the bottom people would say we are too young as a squad.dddddddddddd Tottenhams manager, Mauricio Pochettino, explains why England are on the verge of something special The balance is good as we are young but mature. Theres a lot of examples of different teams and clubs that have won titles or trophies with a good balance.We have that between the young and experienced players. We have experience, energy and its not only young players as we have excellent senior players. We have the youngest squad in the Premier League. That is the reality. Also See: Poch: Alli can handle the hype Is this how title race plays out? Mersons predictions Spurs fixtures ' ' '
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