ot yet said whether he will be available Saturday.Seven players cracked double figures, five of them reserves, as the Suns (4-9) snapped a three-game losing streak by winning 116-96 at Indiana on Frida

This is the time of year when players who need a boost have ample opportunity to do just that.Heres a look at some of the hot hands on the respective tours as the season winds down:?@ptbodo:? Petra Kvitova may be the most infuriating tennis player out there, at least when it comes to players with a capacity to disappoint. A two-time Wimbledon champion, she routinely takes puzzling losses. This year, shes been beaten by, among others, Madison Brengle, Shelby Rogers and Jelena Ostapenko (the latter took her down twice).Kvitovas ranking rose to a career-high of No. 2 in October of 2011, after she won her first Wimbledon. She was within a few swings of the No. 1 ranking and could have locked up the prestigious year-end No. 1 ranking as well. Sure, she was just an exceedingly shy 21-year-old at the time. It helps explain how badly she faded. But shes 26 now and has never been up near that summit again.Kvitova did become a regular in the top 10, and she won another Wimbledon (2014). But she has never really mastered the art of consistency.This year, Kvitova slumped significantly. This summer, her ranking dropped as low as No. 16. The 6-foot tall left-hander, who hits some of the most stupefying winners as well as some of the most wince-inducing errors, seemed to be done for the year when Angelique Kerber rolled through her with ease in the fourth round of the US Open on her way to the No. 1 ranking.Kvitovas response, once again, appears to be a plea for everyone not to write her off just yet.At Wuhan last week, still ranked a lowly No. 16, Kvitova beat Kerber in the third round in one of the best matches of the WTA year. Kvitova went on to take the title with wins against women ranked above her. In succession, they were: Johanna Konta, Simona Halep and Dominika Cibulkova.Kvitova remains one of the most erratic but electric talents in the game. As Kerber herself told the press after her loss in Wuhan: I think we both played on a really high level over three hours. At the end I think theres no loser. I did everything today. I was fighting until the end.For her part, Kvitova admitted: I need this kind of consistency all year, which to be honest, I dont think I can really do that. Im probably the player who has up and downs. Of course, Im going to try to be better in the downs. But I dont really think that I can be consistent all season. Im just how I am probably, and I cant really change.Give Kvitova point for honesty -- and one oversized game that may still yield more Grand Slam titles.@CarlBialik: Ryan Harrison is getting into tournaments the hard way -- and benefiting from the hard work. The 24-year-old American broke into the top 50 four years ago, but has struggled to get back into the upper ranks of mens tennis since. In his breakout year of 2012, Harrison feasted on wild cards, getting five and each time winning his first match in the main draw.But since then, he has won matches in just six tournaments that he entered via wild card. And with younger Americans emerging as contenders, Harrisons wild-card well has run dry. He hasnt received one directly into a tour-level event since last years US Open. So now when Harrisons ranking isnt good enough for direct entry into a tournament, he usually tries to get in via qualifying. And its paying off. Six times this year, Harrison has qualified for a tournament.Five times, he has gone on to win his first match, including three instances since Wimbledon. The sixth time is this week in Tokyo, where hed have to upset Nick Kyrgios to keep his streak alive. Even if Harrison doesnt pull off the upset, all that work of qualifying is making him match-tough.Its taken top players to knock out of the past four tournaments hes qualified for -- Marin Cilic, Steve Johnson, Tomas Berdych and Bernard Tomic. In the Tomic loss, last week in Shenzhen, Harrison won a higher percentage of return points than his much higher-ranked opponent, but couldnt convert enough big ones to win.Turn around some matches like that one, and Harrison could soon re-enter the top 100 for a sustained period for the first time since early 2014.@mattwilansky: The race for the year-end championships is in full swing. On the ATP Tour, Rafael Nadal holds a slim lead on?Tomas Berdych?for the eighth and final spot to make the prestigious London finale.Nadal takes the court in the China Open this week and is steadfast on having a successful fall, historically the weakest part of his season.In his pretourney presser in Beijing, Nadal told the press how important it would be for him to win the ATP World Tour Finals, an event, which surprisingly, hes never captured.On the womens side, Madison Keys?holds a paltry 85-point lead on Carla Suarez Navarro. This time of season seems well-suited for Keys, given many are played on fast, indoor conditions.Svetlana Kuznetsova and?Johanna Konta?are also in the mix for the championships, which start in three weeks in Singapore. Konta is hoping to become the first British player in 32 years to reach the year-end finale. Tns Black Cheap .Y. -- Marcell Dareus and the Buffalo Bills defence made life miserable for Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco. Air Max Plus 3 For Sale ., for the next three years with the signings on Monday of Daryl Townsend and Michael Carter. http://www.airmaxplusstoresale.com/air-max-plus-tn-cheap/tns-ultra-discount.html . And when it opened, every player was at his stall. Thats a sure sign that a team is in a slump and is searching for answers. "Its embarrassing to be at home and play the way we did," said defenceman Josh Gorges. Vapormax Plus Black Sale . The 18th player to shoot 60 on the tour, Jamieson settled for par on the final hole when his 15-foot birdie chip grazed the edge of the hole and stayed out. After opening with rounds of 66 and 73 to make the cut by a stroke, he had 11 birdies in the bogey-free round. Vapormax Plus Womens Sale . Malkin got tangled up with Detroits Luke Glendening early in the third period and his left skate took the brunt of collision with the boards behind Pittsburghs net. The Philadelphia 76ers, who in recent years have redefined futility, will be looking to extend a rare (if modest) winning streak when they host the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night.The Sixers equaled the NBA record for consecutive losses in a single season by dropping 26 games in a row in 2013-14, and set a league mark by dropping 28 straight spanning the 14-15 and 15-16 seasons.They finished 10-72 last year, falling one loss shy of equaling the worst full-season record in NBA history, established by Philadelphias 1972-73 team.Their 109-102 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday was, however, their second straight at home. They followed that up with a 110-86 defeat Thursday night at Minnesota, extending their road losing streak to 21 games, dating back to last season. The franchise record is 23, from March 29 to Dec. 23, 2015.Wednesdays game was billed as a matchup of two of the games best young centers, the Timberwolves Karl-Anthony Towns and the Sixers Joel Embiid. Towns, however, finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds, while Embiid collected 10 points and 10 boards.Minnesotas Anthony Wiggins led his team with 35 points and 10 rebounds, while Dario Saric topped the Sixers with 16 points.This (Timberwolves) group that you are looking at played with each other all last year -- many, many, many games together, Philadelphia coach Brett Brown told the Philadelphia Inquirer after the game.Minnesota shot 50.6 percent, limited the Sixers to 37.3-percent accuracy and owned a 49-40 reboundding advantage.ddddddddddddIts just part of the evolution, where we are at, Brown told the Inquirer. They are two years ahead of us. Its on me and my staff to keep our guys up and help them.Embiid, who sat out his first two seasons as a result of a pair of foot surgeries, is being limited to 24 minutes a night as a precaution. The teams leading scorer (17.0) and rebounder (7.6), he has also been held out of four games to date. The Sixers have not yet said whether he will be available Saturday.Seven players cracked double figures, five of them reserves, as the Suns (4-9) snapped a three-game losing streak by winning 116-96 at Indiana on Friday night, Phoenixs third game in a six-game road trip. One of those subs, Brandon Knight, led the way with 17 points, while Jared Dudley and Alan Williams provided 16 and 15 off the bench, respectively.The Suns enjoyed a 78-35 advantage in bench scoring.The Sixers will be without forward Ben Simmons, the No. 1 pick in the most recent draft, until at least January. He is recovering from foot surgery. Guard Jerry Bayless (wrist) has also yet to play, but he has ramped up his workouts and has said he hopes to return by the end of the month.Center/forward Nerlens Noel, who had been rehabbing from surgery on his left knee in Alabama, returned to Philadelphia on Friday, according to the Inquirer. He has also yet to play this season. ' ' '