MIAMI - Good luck, Philadelphia.The 76ers will need it to avoid NBA ignominy.To avoid getting off to the first 0-19 start in NBA history, Philadelphia must beat San Antonio, Minnesota or Oklahoma City before Friday. As if things werent bad enough, theyre mired in a seven-game skid against the Spurs, a five-game slide against the Timberwolves and have lost 10 straight against the Thunder.No, the odds are not with Philadelphia right now, and the sheer magnitude of the losing is staggering.The 76ers have lost 22 straight games against Western Conference teams, doing so by a daunting average of 21 points per game — which isnt a good sign for a team that will play its next three against teams from the stronger side of the league.The 76ers have seven wins in their last 65 games. The Philadelphia Eagles have seven wins in their last 10.At 0-16, the 76ers already have the fourth-worst start in NBA history. Lose to the NBA champion Spurs on Monday, and the 76ers will tie the 1999 Clippers and 1988 expansion Heat for the second-worst, 0-17.The New Jersey Nets are the not-so-proud owners of this particular record, going 0-18 to start the 2009-10 season.Finally, while all this is bad, things could actually get worse for the 76ers.If they lose all 14 of their games in December, theyll finish 2014 with a 10-72 mark. That would surpass the Dallas Mavericks, whose 11-73 mark in 1993 represents the worst full-calendar-year record in NBA history.Winning once would save Philly from that dubious distinction.___Besides Philadelphias quest to avoid making history, heres some of what to watch in the NBA this week:PIERCES WEEK: Washingtons Paul Pierce gets to renew acquaintances with Kobe Bryant on Wednesday when the Lakers visit the Wizards, and Pierces third trip to Boston as an opponent is on Sunday. Pierce enters this week 52 points behind Reggie Miller for 16th on the NBAs career scoring list.SPURS-GRIZZLIES: The defending champions go to Memphis on Friday night, a matchup of two of the Wests current frontrunners. Memphis comes into the week an NBA-best 15-2, and the two losses — both on the road — were by a total of five points. The Grizzlies led both of those games in the final moments.SKIDDING EAST: Its not only Philadelphia thats in a freefall in the East right now. Charlotte enters the week on a nine-game slide (including four losses by 20 points or more), and Detroit has dropped its last eight games. Its possible that when the 76ers and Pistons play Friday night, Philly could have lost 18 straight, and Detroit could be on a 10-game slide.CAVS IN CANADA: Preseason Eastern Conference favourite Cleveland heads north on Friday to take on East-leading Toronto, which will be without All-Star and leading scorer DeMar DeRozan because of a torn left groin tendon.GETTING HEALTHIER: Even with DeRozan out for presumably a few weeks, some star power is back. Derrick Rose has appeared in four straight Chicago games (he did leave one early) for the first time in just over a year, and Dwyane Wade returned to the Miami lineup at New York on Sunday night after missing seven games with a strained left hamstring.___STAT LINE OF THE WEEKStephen Curry, Golden State: He had 40 points against Miami on Nov. 25, finishing with at least five assists and five 3-pointers made for the 51st time in his career — one more than the previous NBA record, held by Ray Allen. For good measure, Curry eclipsed five assists and five 3s the next night at Orlando, as well. Superstar Shoes Australia . The Brazil defender was substituted 13 minutes into Wednesdays 2-1 Copa del Rey win at Athletic Bilbao because of a right hamstring problem. Scans revealed a second grade tear which could keep him out for a reported four to six weeks. Cheap NMD Australia .C., has been named Canadas top female official, winning the 2014 SOC Award of Excellence. Cranes career as a figure skating judge has spanned over 40 years. http://www.nmdaustraliasale.com/ultra-bo...alia/clima.html. Not that he was complaining. Davis had 13 points, nine rebounds and a career-high eight blocks, and the New Orleans Pelicans emphatically snapped a three-game skid with a 135-98 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night. NMD Racer Australia . "That was a great lift for the staff," Padres manager Bud Black said. Yonder Alonso and Yasmani Grandal homered, and Chase Headley drove in three runs, as the Padres beat the Chicago Cubs 11-1 on Friday night. NMD CS2 Australia . -- Colin Kaepernick insists he just happened to pull on a pair of socks with dollar bill prints all over them Wednesday morning -- before he learned he had struck a new fortune with the San Francisco 49ers.LONDON -- Arsenal remains on course for another season in the Champions League after beating Newcastle 3-0 at home on Monday. The win puts Arsenal four points clear of Everton in fourth place with two games to play in the Premier League, a position which would qualify the club for Europes top competition for the 17th straight year. Having been contained for the first quarter of the match, the hosts found their rhythm after defender Laurent Koscielny gave the Gunners the lead in the 26th minute when he poked in from close range a well-placed free kick from Santi Cazorla. Arsenal forward Lukas Podolski went close to doubling the lead, notably when his powerful header from six-yards out was parried away by Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul. Arsenal went two up in the 42nd minute when midfielder Mesut Ozil tapped in from close range after Krul saved two efforts from Olivier Giroud, the second of which fell comfortably into the path of the Germany international. Ozil then became the provider in the 66th minute when his whipped cross was powerfully headed into the net by Giroud. The win means that one more victory in the final two games will be enough to confirm a Champions League spot for Arsenal next season. Everton takes on Manchester City at home on Saturday in a game that also has huge implications for the title race between City, Liverpool and Chelsea. Arsenal then plays West Bromwich Albion at home on Sunday. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is taking nothing for granted, though. "To get over the line is always difficult," he said.dddddddddddd As well as qualifying for the lucrative Champions League, Arsenal is hoping to lift its first trophy in nine years when it takes on Hull in the FA Cup Final on May 17 at Wembley Stadium. Newcastle chances were few and far though winger Yoan Gouffran had a good chance to halve the deficit early on in the second half but he shot straight at Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny when through on goal. The defeat was Newcastles sixth straight loss and ratcheted up the pressure on manager Alan Pardew. Despite that ignominious run, the club remains in ninth place following a strong first half to the season. The match was also Pardews first on the touchline since a seven-game suspension for head-butting Hulls David Meyler -- the longest suspension ever handed down to a Premier League manager. A section of the 2,000 or so Newcastle fans who made the trip down from the northeast of England turned against Pardew in the second half. "We want Pardew out" and "Six in a row" boomed down from the away section as they grew increasingly restless. Pardew conceded the second half of the season has not been good enough and said the fans had the right to vent their frustrations. "Theyve seen us lose again and theyre not happy and I have to respect that," he said. "Weve been top 10 all year, this recent run is not something Im hiding from, we should have performed better in this run and weve got to finish in the top 10." ' ' '