NEW YORK -- Once Anthony Davis went down, Ryan Anderson stepped up to keep the New York Knicks on their losing ways. Anderson made seven 3-pointers and scored 31 points, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame Davis loss to a broken left hand to hand the Knicks their ninth straight loss, 103-99 on Sunday night. "When Ryan comes into the game, he doesnt think like a bench guy," Pelicans coach Monty Williams said. "He thinks like Im playing 35 minutes and Ive got to do my job. Obviously we dont expect him to score 31 points, but I will take it." Tyreke Evans added 24 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, as the Pelicans sent the Knicks to their seventh straight home loss. "Obviously we played against a desperate team tonight," Williams said. "But, were desperate, too. Any time you can win on the road, winning eight games period, is special in the NBA." The Pelicans, now 8-8, are last in the NBAs Southwest Division but would be in first place in the Atlantic. Toronto currently is atop the standings at 6-10 -- and the last-place Knicks (3-13) are only three games back. Davis had seven points and four rebounds in the first quarter before leaving with what the Pelicans said was a non-displaced fracture in his left hand. The team said a timetable for his return has not been determined. "I was going up for a lob, got fouled and then hit my hand on the rim," Davis said. "I havent found anything out yet. Most definitely I hope its a short-term thing. I didnt think it would keep me out, but it did." Carmelo Anthony finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while rookie Tim Hardaway Jr. had a career-high 21 points for the Knicks, who havent won at home since beating Milwaukee on Oct. 30 in their season opener. "Nine straight, eight straight, whatever we lost, we just cant seem to get it together," Anthony said. "Cant seem to figure it out, but we have to. We dont have no choice but to figure this out." In a game that featured 12 ties and 17 lead changes, the Pelicans trailed 93-88 after Hardaways 3-pointer with 6:42 remaining. However, New Orleans then scored the next 10 points, as Evans started the streak with a three-point play and ended it with two free throws with 2:46 left. The Knicks pulled within three on Anthonys 3-pointer with 54 seconds left. But, after a Pelicans turnover, Hardaway and Anthony missed potential game-tying 3s and Evans hit a free throw with 15 seconds remaining to secure the win. "I thought down the stretch we played on our heels," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "We had so many breakdowns again on the ball defence. We are not taking pride in guarding. Ive got to find some identity with this team. Somehow we have to get this monkey off our back." Neither team led by more than seven points in the game. A 19-8 run by the Knicks gave them their biggest lead of the game, 49-42, on Hardaways 3-pointer with 19 seconds left in the second quarter. Anderson scored inside with a second left before halftime to make it a five-point game. "We knew we had to step up defensively and eliminate easy shots and we did that in the second half," said Anderson, who also made seven 3-pointers in a game at Madison Square Garden while playing for Orlando during the 2011-12 season. "We outplayed them and imposed our will." New Orleans had an 8-0 run in the third to open its biggest lead at 76-69 on Evans layup with 52 seconds left. Jrue Holiday finished with 11 points and nine rebounds for the Pelicans. Andrea Bargnani had 17 points for the Knicks. J.R. Smith and Raymond Felton each had 12. "We lost and its killing me right now," Felton said. "We need to find a way to end this losing streak. I dont care how ugly it is." The win for the Pelicans was just their second in the last 10 meetings between the teams. NOTES: The last time the Knicks lost nine in a row was March 19-April 4, 2006, under Larry Brown. The Knicks also lost 10 in a row that season from Jan. 28-Feb. 13. The Knicks havent won since a 95-91 victory at Atlanta on Nov. 13. Sammy Watkins Jersey . Fans holding laudatory signs started showing up at Yankee Stadium when the gates opened at 4 p.m. Monday, an hour early in order to give them a chance to watch the New York captain take batting practice. E. J. Holub Jersey . TSNs Farhan Lalji reports the Edmonton Eskimos non-import DT has a workout scheduled with an NFL team next week and isnt expected to sign a deal with any team until then. http://www.customchiefsjersey.com/custom...large-326n.html. David Perron had a career high four-point night with two goals and two assists as the Oilers experienced an offensive explosion, blasting the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-0 to record a rare home win for their second victory in a row. Dorian ODaniel Jersey . The R&A announced Monday that golfs oldest championship will return to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland for the first time since Max Faulkner won in 1951. Curtis McClinton Jersey . After a 99-97 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night, his Celtics coaches and teammates have only positive things to say about the Toronto-born rookie.The Vancouver Whitecaps lost at home for just the second time this season in MLS league play on Saturday, falling victim to a third minute strike by Landon Donovan to lose 1-0 to the Los Angeles Galaxy. Results elsewhere over the weekend saw the Whitecaps drop from the fifth and final playoff spot to seventh place in the Western Conference. The opening 45 minutes saw the Whitecaps struggle to find their rhythm in midfield. Head coach Martin Rennie prefers to play a 4-3-3 formation, with Gershon Koffie his preferred option as a number six (holding midfielder) and Nigel Reo-Coker as a number eight (box-to-box midfielder). Unfortunately for the Whitecaps, their options for the number ten role (attacking, creative midfielder) are very limited. Daigo Kobayashi has been given plenty of opportunity to earn his place in that role, yet every time he takes the field, he is found wanting. He just doesnt have a enough of an influence on the game, despite having the technical ability to do so. He hides from his teammates at times; he makes an angle to receive the ball, but not enough of an angle to make passing him the ball a legitimate option. That his instructions from the coaching staff upon being put into the game as a second half substitute on Saturday were, "Get involved!" speaks volumes about his lack of influence. Against the Galaxy on Saturday, Matt Watson was given an opportunity to stake his claim for the third midfield spot alongside Koffie and Reo-Coker. Unfortunately for Watson, he simply isnt the option that the Whitecaps require. Watson is a hard-working, diligent, versatile player. He covers a lot of ground, and his work rate is excellent. However, a number ten needs to have exceptional technical ability, vision and creativity - characteristics not generally viewed as Watsons strengths. The Galaxy goal was an excellent example of this. As the ball was played in to Watson from left fullback Jordan Harvey, Watsons best option was to play the ball around the corner with the outside of his right foot, into the feet of striker Darren Mattocks. Watsons technique let him down, as his wayward pass was intercepted by Galaxy fullback A.J. DeLaGarza, whose ball up to Robbie Keane was deflected into Donovans path.dddddddddddd Donovan took a touch before smashing a left-foot strike into the top corner. (There is plenty of blame for the goal to be laid at the feet of Mattocks, whose lack of awareness was painfully obvious - but that is for another blog!) Given the players at Rennies disposal, if his preference is to stick with a 4-3-3 formation, he might consider dropping Kenny Miller into the number ten role - something that worked well in pre-season for the Caps. The reason to choose Miller over players like Russell Teibert or Kekuta Manneh is very simple: those players are still very young, and the burden of such an important role should be borne by an experienced player. Miller has shown that he is capable of causing problems when dropping into the gap between the opponents back four and midfield, which is the area traditionally occupied by a number ten. Shifting him into this role is something that he would take in his stride, allowing the Whitecaps to use an array of speedy options up front. The likes of Manneh, Mattocks, and Erik Hurtado are exceptionally quick. With leading scorer Camilo always likely to be the first option through the middle up front and Teibert occupying the right side, Rennie could start with Manneh on the left, leaving the speed of Mattocks and Hurtado as options off the bench. Another solution for Rennie, of course, is to bring in a new player to occupy the number ten role. With the transfer window now being closed in MLS, that will have to wait until the end of the season. Ironically, former Whitecap Davide Chiumiento would thrive in Rennies current squad, given the additions of experienced players like Miller and Reo-Coker. A player of Chiumientos ilk is certain to be top of Rennies shopping list in the offseason. Before we get there, though, the Whitecaps have a tough run of games to finish the season, with eight of their nine remaining league games being against Western Conference opponents. If they are to make a second consecutive playoff appearance, the Whitecaps will have to first address their lack of balance in midfield. ' ' '