nders, on the other hand, are nowhere near their reserve list lim

LOS ANGELES -- Gregg Popovich emerged from his first look at the revamped Los Angeles Lakers with enormous respect for the work of fellow coach Luke Walton.Popovichs veteran San Antonio Spurs also showed Waltons Lakers just how far theyve still got to go.LaMarcus Aldridge scored 23 points and Kawhi Leonard added 23 points and 12 rebounds in the Spurs fifth straight victory Friday night, 116-107 over the Lakers.Tony Parker had 16 points and seven assists for the Spurs, who improved to 7-0 on the road this season. Theyve won six straight over the Lakers, but this back-and-forth victory bore little resemblance to San Antonios regular demolitions of the Lakers over the previous few seasons.Luke has done a great job of making them believe and playing aggressively, and you can really see it, said Popovich, who earned his 1,099th win to pass Larry Brown for seventh place on the NBAs career list. They came back and stuck it to us. ... We got after it and executed better, but I am just so impressed with what (Walton) has done with this group.Pau Gasol scored 16 points in his first trip to Staples Center with the Spurs, who went 18 for 19 at the free throw line to hang on after the Lakers rallied late. Parker hit a clinching 17-foot jumper with 33.6 seconds left.Theyre talented, Parker said of the Lakers. They play hard for Luke. They play with great energy, and they have a lot of pieces. Now its all about chemistry and how theyre going to gel.Lou Williams scored 24 points and Nick Young added 20 for the Lakers, who played without injured leading scorer DAngelo Russell for the first time this season. Los Angeles still kept it close until the final minutes, when Aldridge and Leonard took turns hitting big shots before Parkers big bucket.We cooled off a little bit (in the third quarter), and they just continued to go, which is what they do, Walton said. The important thing to take away is how we come back from this, how we respond.BENCH CHARGEJordan Clarkson scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half while the Lakers rallied. Williams also came off the bench in another enormous game by the teams reserves, who lead the league in bench points per game. Theyll need all that depth: The Lakers began a stretch of 18 games in 30 days with only their third loss in nine games.BIG RALLYThe Spurs blew an early 13-point lead, but took control in the third quarter while making 11 consecutive shots. San Antonio stretched its lead to 91-76 while scoring 39 points in the third quarter on 14-for-19 shooting, but the Lakers chipped it down to four points before succumbing.Last year, we would have been out of this game if we were down by that much, Clarkson said. Were out here to compete every night now. Were not OK with any loss.D-LO OUTRussell has a sore left knee, and the Lakers elected to rest their point guard out of caution. He wont practice Saturday, either. Walton doesnt expect the injury to be a long-term problem, although the Lakers brutal schedule over the next month wont help. The second-year pro leads the Lakers balanced lineup with 16.8 points and 4.7 assists per game.Jose Calderon started in Russells place, scoring five points while playing only 14 minutes.TIP-INSSpurs: Gasol got another warm ovation in Los Angeles, where he won two NBA championships as Kobe Bryants right-hand man in 2009 and 2010. The 7-foot Spaniard was booed late in his Lakers career, but has been welcomed back enthusiastically since his departure as a free agent to Chicago. ... Former USC big man Dewayne Dedmon has a sprained left knee and didnt make the trip with San Antonio.Lakers: Los Angeles recalled center Ivica Zubac from its D-League affiliate, but the rookie didnt dress for this game. ... Lakers rookie Brandon Ingram had a rough night. The No. 2 pick missed his first seven shots before finishing with four points on 1-of-9 shooting.UP NEXTSpurs: A weekend off and a visit from rival Dallas on Monday.Lakers: The homestand continues with a visit from Dwyane Wade and the Chicago Bulls on Sunday night. Star Lotulelei Jersey . There was no hesitation from the 40th-ranked Pospisil, from Vernon, B.C., who admitted that he cut back on his training sessions over the last few days to conserve energy as the long ATP season finishes next week at the Paris Masters. Wyatt Teller Jersey . -- There were so many positives from the Orlando Magics first victory of the season that it was hard for coach Jacque Vaughn to stop praising his players. http://www.wholesalebillsjerseys.com/?tag=youth-chase-mclaughlin-jersey . Radwanska, making her debut in the Seoul tournament, hit eight aces in a match that lasted 1 hour, 4 minutes at Olympic Park tennis stadium. "It was definitely a very good match -- I was playing really good tennis," Radwanska said. Christian Wade Jersey . -- Arizona raced out to a big lead and did not back off, hitting the accelerator instead. Dion Dawkins Jersey .ca! Hi Kerry, Heres an interesting one. I know its common knowledge that all players are responsible for their sticks. We witnessed that when Zack Kassian hit Edmontons Sam Gagner in the face after a missed check. No strangers to making bold moves in free agency, the Philadelphia Flyers made a trade for a veteran defenceman before agreeing to terms on a four-year contract. Numbers Game breaks down the Flyers addition of Mark Streit. The Flyers Get: D Mark Streit. Streit, 35, has been among the highest-scoring defencemen in the league. Since 2007-2008, he has 241 points in 367 games (0.66 points per game), which ranks seventh among defencemen with at least 200 games played over that span. Of course, over the last two seasons, since he returned from missing the entire 2010-2011 season with a torn labrum in his shoulder, Streit is minus-41, which is tied for worst among defencemen in that time. That doesnt all fall on Streit, however, as the Islanders have had their share of questionable goaltending and Streits puck possession numbers were strong prior to 2013 season. In Philadelphia, Streit can continue to play 22-23 minutes per game and anchor the power play. Again, going back to 2007-2008, Streit has 120 power play points in just over four-and-a-half seasons, so hes a decided asset with the man advantage. There is risk involved in Streits contract. Since he is over 35-years-of-age, it will count against the Flyers cap even if he retires before it is complete. While its reasonable to expect Streit to play the next couple years at a relatively high level, maybe by the time hes 38, its possible that hes not going to be handle playing the top-four minutes that contract necessitates in order to provide value. In addition to the Flyers most likely needing write big compliance buyout cheques to both Daniel Briere and Ilya Bryzgalov, just to squeeze Streits deal under the salary cap, the Flyers are going to be in a position to move a defenceman because (not including Chris Prongers contract, which surely will be allocated to long-term injured reserve) they will have more than $26-million allocated to six defencemen. Andrej Meszaros, with one year and $4-million left on his current contract, could be the easiest to move, even afteer he missed 37 games due to shoulder injuries last season.dddddddddddd. Admittedly, acquiring top-four defencemen isnt easy and adding Streit probably makes the Flyers better next year, which is one thing. What it does for them in years three and four of the deal could be another entirely. It wouldnt be the first time that the Flyers have overspent on a free agent, and being the highest bidder leads to a likelihood of overpaying, but there is some irony involved in using two compliance buyouts on players overpaid as unrestricted free agents, in order to gain the financial flexibility to venture down the same path at a different position. The Islanders Get: RW Shane Harper and a fourth-round pick in 2014. Getting a fourth-round pick for Streit is pretty nice value for the Islanders, considering he was set to leave as an unrestricted free agent, which would yield nothing in return. A fourth-round pick brings slightly better than a one-in-five chance of landing an NHL player. Harper, 24, ripped up the ECHL last season, scoring 27 points in 15 games for Trenton, but has 41 points in 143 career AHL games, making it unlikely that hes going to make the jump to the NHL at any point. His inclusion in the deal is likely more related to giving the Flyers room for new contracts. Teams are allowed to have 50 players under contract and, according to www.capgeek.com, the Flyers now have 44 signed, with six restricted free agents still waiting for deals. The Islanders, on the other hand, are nowhere near their reserve list limit. The Islanders will have to make up for Streits absence, particularly on the power play. Veteran Lubomir Visnovsky is already a regular on the Isles power play, so the next best in-house option may be Matt Donovan, a 23-year-old who has 93 points in 147 AHL games over the past two seasons and is due for his chance in the NHL. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook.