SAN ANTONIO -- Even though it was an ugly victory, the banged-up San Antonio Spurs were just happy to end a three-game losing streak given their troubling rash of recent injuries. Tim Duncan had 23 points and 17 rebounds, Tony Parker added 18 points and 10 assists, and San Antonio rallied past the skidding Sacramento Kings 95-93 on Saturday night. The win came in San Antonios final home game before departing for its annual "Rodeo Road Trip" that lasts nearly a month. "Its huge to start the road trip like that," Parker said. "We needed a win. Obviously we were in a little slump with those three losses. We wanted to get back on the right track." Patty Mills scored 15 points and Boris Diaw added 14 for San Antonio, which wont play at home again until Feb. 26 against Detroit. Despite playing Friday night against the Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento almost spoiled the going-away party for the Spurs. Isaiah Thomas had 26 points, Rudy Gay scored 23 and Derrick Williams added 14 for the Kings, who have lost seven straight. "Were playing the San Antonio Spurs; theyre going to make their runs," Gay said. "Theyre going to make tough plays. They do that time and time again. Its not were surprised that they did that. But we still had a chance to win and I still wish I had the shot back." After scoring 22 points primarily against Marco Belinelli, Gay was limited to one in the fourth with the 6-foot-8 Diaw guarding him. Gay missed a potential game-winning, 15-foot jumper over Diaw with 0.5 seconds remaining. "The rim. The rim," Gay said when asked what he saw on the final shot. "I mean, honestly, I wish I had that one back; I dont think I miss that too many other times." After being outplayed by Gay and Thomas for much of the game, the veteran Spurs took over down the stretch to end their longest losing streak of the season. Parker and Duncan scored San Antonios final eight points, but they also gave Sacramento hope by going 1 for 3 on free throws in the final 12 seconds. Duncan missed both his attempts with the Spurs clinging to a 94-93 lead. "Very, very, very (frustrating)," Duncan said. "Not many times I get that situation. Just disappointed I couldnt step up and knock them out." The Spurs were sluggish on offence with newly signed Shannon Brown starting and Tiago Splitter returning from injury, giving them their third different starting lineup in three games. Brown, signed to a 10-day contract, had two points and two rebounds in 14 minutes. "We need minutes," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We have to use those minutes so that guys that know the system can be out there at the end of the game. Otherwise, theyre going to be too tired at the end. He gave us good minutes so that we could get everybody else in." San Antonio shot 6 for 20 in the third quarter while falling behind by as many as 10 points. Gay and Thomas matched that production themselves, going a combined 6 for 13 in the third. Williams first 3-pointer gave Sacramento a 76-66 lead with 2 minutes left in the third. Matt Bonner hit a 3 for the Spurs and a jumper that tied the game at 85 with 6 minutes remaining. Then he drove the lane for a runner off the glass after Thomas went flying past him at the 3-point line. That gave San Antonio an 87-85 lead, its first since early in the third quarter. "(Bonner) was great," Duncan said. "He stepped up and scored a bunch of points in a row for us. Made some plays for us. Its going to be big for guys to step up as we have people out." The Spurs are still without Manu Ginobili, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, but Splitters return lifted their spirits. Splitter scored only two points but grabbed four rebounds and helped solidify the teams interior defence. "It was great to be back on the court with the guys," Splitter said. "I wasnt that aggressive on offence, but I just tried to help the guys on defence with the coverage and helps. Most importantly, we won, so Im happy." The Kings were missing leading scorer DeMarcus Cousins, who sat out his sixth straight game due to a sprained left ankle. Gay and Thomas made up for his loss offensively, accounting for half of the teams 53 first-half points. NOTES: Splitter got his loudest ovation of the season when he was announced in the starting lineup after missing 12 games with a sprained right shoulder. He came off the bench in the second half. ... Cousins suited up but did not play. He is day to day. ... Ginobili (strained left hamstring), Leonard (broken hand) and Green (broken left index finger) all sat behind the Spurs bench. Ultra Boost Norge . The 23-year-old restricted free agent appeared in all 48 games last season, finishing second among all Sabres skaters with 15 goals and 34 points. Adidas Neo Lite Racer Norge . -- Felix Girard scored on the power play in the third period to lift the Baie-Comeau Drakkar past the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada 4-3 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action Friday. http://www.nmdnorgesalg.com/ . As deep as their roster is, they need their superstar. Rose scored 23 points in his return from a five-game absence due to back pain, and Chicago hung on to beat the struggling Atlanta Hawks 90-79 on Monday. Tubular Shadow Sko . Thats the feeling that eight Canadian Football League teams are experiencing right now in advance of the expansion draft to stock the Ottawa Redblacks. Nmd_r2 Sko Norge . - Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emery was so busy in free agency he didnt mind having a few extra weeks to prepare for the draft.Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - With the majority of NHL teams already past their midway points of the 2014-15 season, its time to take a closer look at the players who have stood out among their peers. Although the league wont hand out its individual awards until the summer, debates about who deserves the trophies begin shortly after the season begins. Sometimes guys run away with an award and distance themselves from the rest of the field, but the 2014-15 races appear to be extremely competitive at the moment. So, without further ado, lets take a look at whos on their way to winning some of the most coveted hardware this spring. HART TROPHY (MOST VALUABLE PLAYER) Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins The problem with the Hart Trophy race is some of the best individual efforts this season have come from players on teams that may not even make the playoffs. Philadelphias Jakub Voracek leads the league in scoring and his teammate Claude Giroux isnt far behind, but the Flyers are struggling as a whole and the clubs poor season will hinder both star players MVP quests. Tyler Seguin of the Dallas Stars finds himself in a similar situation. Malkin, meanwhile, is second only to Voracek in points and is leading a Pittsburgh team in the race for the Metropolitan Division title. The Russian star has 19 goals and 49 points in 42 games and could wind up winning his third Art Ross Trophy as the leagues leading scorer. Malkin also has a Hart Trophy to his credit, winning the MVP for the 2011-12 season. We also cant count out Malkins teammate Sidney Crosby, a two-time Hart Trophy recipient who has 47 points on 12 goals and 35 assists. Anaheim centerman Ryan Getzlaf and Chicago winger Patrik Kane also are in the Hart race, as is goaltender Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators. Of course, its extremely rare for a netminder to win the MVP. Jose Theodore was the last goalie to do it when he won the Hart with the Montreal Canadiens in 2001-02. Other finalists: Getzlaf (Anaheim), Rinne (Nashville) NORRIS TROPHY (BEST DEFENSEMAN) Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames The advanced statistics community has been talking up Giordanos Norris credentials for a few years now, but 2014-15 could be the season he actually wins the award for top defenseman. Giordano received one first-place vote for the Norris in 2013-14, but wound up finishing 10th in the overall voting as Chicagos Duncan Keith won it for the second time in his career. The difference in 2014-15 is Giordano has the offensive numbers to bolster his case. Last season he finished 12th in scoring among blueliners with 47 points. He is currently second with 10 goals and 26 assists in 43 games, and his 36 points are only one behind Kevin Shattenkirk of the St. Louis Blues. While this season has served as a coming-out party for Giordano, he hardly has the Norris race wrapped up. Keith is likely to be in the mix again, and Shattenkirk, Nashvilles Shea Weber, Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings are a few other names worthy of mention at the midway point. Other finalists: Weber (Nashville), Keith (Chicago) VEZINA TROPHY (BEST GOALTENDER) Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators Like Giordano for Norris, Rinne is leading the way in a stacked field for the Vezina. A trendy pick to win the Hart, the Finnish star has been hailed as one of the biggest reasons for Nashvilles resurgence this season. The club finished out of the playoffs in 2013-14 and the Predators struggles were due in large part to Rinne missing over four months due to a infection in his surgically repaired hip. A healthy Rinne has helped alter Nashvilles fortunes in 2014-15, with the team currently tied with Anaheim for the most points in the NHL. Rinne, a two- time Vezina finalist, has posted a 29-6-2 record in 37 games this season while sporting a 1.96 goals against average and .931 save percentage. However, an injury suffered on Tuesday night against Vancouver could wind up derailing Rinnes award-worthy season. The 32-year-old suffered a sprained knee in a collision with Canucks forward Chris Higgins and it will cause Rinne to be sidelined until after the All-Star break. Nashville fans are hoping the club is simply being careful with its franchise goaltender, but the injury does seem to open the door for another Vezina candidate to swipe the award. The rest of the field is packed with worthy goaltenders like Tampa Bays Ben Bishop, Montreals Carey Price, Pittsburghs Marc-Andre Fleury and Jaroslav Halak of the New York Islanders. Other finalists: Halak (NY Islanders), Price (Montreal) CCALDER MEMORIAL TROPHY (ROOKIE OF THE YEAR) Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers Its not rare to see one standout rookie run away with the Calder Memorial Trophy, but 2014-15 gives us no shortage of worthy first-year candidates.dddddddddddd Earlier this season, it did seem like Nashvilles Filip Forsberg would skate away with the Calder, but the gap has been closed considerably thanks to the emergence of guys like Aaron Ekblad, Johnny Gaudreau and Michael Hutchinson. Ekblad gets the nod for me because it is so rare to see an NHL defenseman thrive as a rookie, let alone an 18-year-old. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, has made a seamless transition from Canadian junior hockey to the NHL and given Florida a cornerstone defenseman to build around. The blueliner has helped Florida, a young team which was expected to be near the bottom of the NHL standings, stay in the race for a playoff spot this season. Ekblad is leading all rookie defensemen with 24 points on five goals and 19 assists and also is logging over 22 minutes of ice time per night. His point total trails only Forsberg and Gaudreau among all rookie skaters. But, if this is purely a scoring race, Forsberg is still the leading candidate for the Calder. The 20-year-old Swede leads all rookies with 39 points over 42 games for Nashville, but Calgarys Gaudreau, the former Boston College standout better known by his nickname Johnny Hockey, has been gaining ground on Forsberg. Gaudreau only managed a goal and two assists through his first nine games this season, but he currently has 32 points (13 goals, 19 assists) over 42 contests. Hutchinson, meanwhile, is making a Calder case from the Winnipeg crease. The Jets goaltender has formed an effective tandem with veteran Ondrej Pavelec and the 24-year-old is 12-4-2 with a 2.00 GAA and .931 save percentage in 19 games. There is plenty of time for any of these candidates to distinguish themselves from the pack, but Ekblad is my front-runner. Other finalists: Forsberg (Nashville), Gaudreau (Calgary) ADAMS TROPHY (COACH OF THE YEAR) Peter Laviolette, Nashville Predators Last season, Colorados Patrick Roy earned the coaching award in his first season behind an NHL bench. In 2014-15, a mainstay of the coaching scene is leading the Adams field. Peter Laviolette reached the top of the NHL mountain by leading Carolina to a Stanley Cup title in 2006, but the American has never won the Adams. However, Laviolette may get his hand on the trophy this season for his stellar work in his debut season with the Predators. Laviolette was fired by Philadelphia after just three games in 2013-14 and was out of coaching until Nashville came calling last spring. He had big shoes to fill, taking over for Barry Trotz, the only head coach the franchise knew until he was fired for missing the playoffs in two consecutive seasons. As mentioned above, a healthy Rinne has helped Nashville rebound in 2014-15, but Laviolettes impact cannot be forgotten, either. After all, we are in the middle of January and the Predators still have yet to lose consecutive games. That level of consistency is rare and has everything to do with a veteran coach like Laviolette knowing which buttons to push and when to push them. Laviolette was tasked with transitioning the Preds from Trotzs defense-first style to a more up-tempo strategy and to say it has been a success would be an enormous understatement. Nashville has gone from an average of 2.61 goals per game in 2013-14 to 3.00 goals per game this season, and it has done so while somehow improving on defense. The Preds were 23rd in the league in team defense (2.84 GPG) in Trotzs last season in Music City and are currently first with only 2.17 goals surrendered per contest. The drastic improvement in overall play has Nashville at the top of the league standings and well on its way to the best regular season in franchise history. Its worth mentioning that Trotz also could get Adams consideration for getting Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals to buy into his defensive system. Unlike Laviolettes Predators, who have been great from Day 1 of 2014-15, Trotzs changes needed time to take root, but the Caps are playing with great confidence at this point of the season. Laviolette is a clear front-runner for the Adams with his stiffest competition coming from New York Islanders bench boss Jack Capuano, who has the Isles neck-and-neck with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Metropolitan Division crown. Other finalists: Capuano (NY Islanders), Trotz (Washington) ' ' '