NEW ORLEANS -- By necessity, the Pelicans keep heaping more responsibility in Tyreke Evans lap -- and he keeps coming through. Evans had 22 points and a career-high 15 assists, and the short-handed Pelicans overcame the loss of Anthony Davis to extend their winning streak to a season-high five games, 102-95 victory over Utah on Friday night. The performance came with Evans starting at point guard, a role Evans occupied in stints with Sacramento earlier in his career, but not with New Orleans until this week, beginning with an upset victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday. "I always seem to make it work. Im a basketball player," Evans said. "So, just trying to make the best of it, you know, for me and my teammates and the coaching staff and the organization. Just trying to finish the season out strong and win as many games as possible." Davis left with a left ankle injury less than four minutes in, further depleting New Orleans already injury-riddled roster. But the 6-foot-6 Evans simply looked for other teammates when the Jazzs defence collapsed on him, and the offence flowed. "Hes so big, he can see over the other guards and that gives him the ability to find guys," Pelicans coach Monty Williams said. "Hes always a threat to score at the basket, so that helps." Anthony Morrow scored 20 points, Al-Farouq Aminu added 13, and Austin Rivers and Darius Miller each had 12. Alexis Ajinca, playing 28 minutes in Davis absence, had 10 rebounds, nine points and three blocks. Derrick Favours had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Jazz, who lost their third straight. Gordon Hayward added 21 points. "We just have to continue to fight and close those games out," said Trey Burke, who had 12 points. "We definitely had a chance to win this game tonight. "We arent going to get discouraged," Burke continued. "Were all good players and we know we are capable. No matter what, were sticking together." Before the game, the Jazz ruled out reserve guard Alec Burks with a left ankle sprain. The Pelicans, meanwhile, scratched guards Eric Gordon (left knee tendinitis) and Brian Roberts (left knee bone bruise). Davis started grimacing during the opening minutes. With 8:17 left in the first quarter, Ajinca was subbed into the game and Davis headed for the locker room. Williams did not update Davis condition after the game. Still, the Pelicans managed to maintain the lead for most of the way. Evans pushed the ball in transition and routinely slashed to the hoop to convert short floaters or layups in traffic. Otherwise, he found players such as Morrow and Miller on the perimeter. "Hes been doing a great job in that role change, but thats what great players do," Morrow said of Evans. "Im proud of him, glad hes stepped it up. Obviously he does a lot of things for us on both ends of the floor, and obviously hes adjusted his game and hes been great for us." Evans layup put the Pelicans up 72-66 heading into the fourth quarter, and his weaving dribble drive for a reverse scoop made it 87-81 with 1:52 left. Morrow hit three of his four 3-point attempts, the last giving the Pelicans an 85-79 lead with 3:05 left. Ajincas three-point play on an 8-foot jumper as he was fouled by Favours made it 90-83 with less than a minute left, but the teams traded a slew of free throws before it was over. Marvin Williams finished with 12 points for Utah, but the Jazz committed 19 turnovers, leading to 33 Pelicans points. Evans normally plays shooting guard or small forward, but once again looked comfortable at the point while scoring 13 first-half points. The Pelicans 39-31 when Morrows consecutive jumpers capped an 8-0 run, and New Orleans lead was 43-38 at halftime. NOTES: The Pelicans and Jazz split their previous two meetings. They meet once more on April 4 in Utah. ... The Jazz are 8-29 on the road. ... Utah next plays on Sunday in Oklahoma City. ... Evans has hit 20 points 15 times this season and has nine double-doubles. ... The Pelicans shot 50.7 per cent (36 of 71), marking the third time during their current winning streak they eclipsed the 50 per cent mark. Basketball Shoes 2020 . Venus Williams advanced to the ASB Classic final in Auckland on a walkover when fellow American Jamie Hampton withdrew from their semifinal Friday with a right hip injury. Discount Basketball Shoes . Didnt need any help this time. Wood beat Cincinnati for the first time in his career, repeatedly pitching out of threats for seven innings, and Chicago stalled the Reds week-long surge with a 2-0 victory Monday night. https://www.cheapbasketballshoesstore.com/. Despite Barcelona showing the same vulnerability in defence, Messis best performance since returning from a lengthy injury layoff ensured that his side bounced back from a defeat by Valencia in the previous round. Cheap Basketball Shoes Free Shipping . The Detroit Tigers slugger fell short in his bid to become the first player to win the Triple Crown in successive seasons. Cheap Basketball Shoes China .500 were once common achievements for the Dallas Mavericks. Now, both are season highs as Dallas slowly works its way back into playoff contention in the Western Conference.AUSTIN, Texas -- Charlie Strong left a Louisville program that needed to punch its way into the national spotlight for the Texas Longhorns, who live smack in the middle with their enormous wealth, swagger, political intrigue and championship expectations. And thats just the off-the-field stuff. On the field, he inherits a team mired in mediocrity with a 30-21 record over the last four years, but still talented enough to come within 30 minutes of winning a share of the 2013 Big 12 title. Strong will be introduced as the Texas football coach Monday. In a statement released by the school Sunday, Strong said he was excited to be taking over one of the "premier programs" in the country. "Texas is one of those places that is always on your radar and a program anyone would dream of being a part of because you have a chance to compete on a national level every year," Strong said. "Its special because it has such great history, pride, tradition and passion for football." In the 53-year-old Strong -- the first black head coach of a mens program at Texas -- new athletic director Steve Patterson landed a coach whose teams went 23-3 the last two years, including a BCS bowl win over Florida and a blowout of Miami to end the 2013 season in the Russell Athletic Bowl. Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher, who has the No. 1 Seminoles in Monday nights national title game, praised the hire. Fisher was previously considered a possible target for Texas and would have faced Strong in the ACC when Louisville moves to that league next season. "I think hes done a tremendous job at Louisville, turning those guys around," Fisher said Sunday. "I think Charlies an excellent coach." Strong succeeded at a school that had to fight its way onto the national radar even in the good years. At Texas, the bad years draw just as much attention as the good ones, and college football will be watching to see how well he can unite a powerhouse program with a discontented fan base aching to return to the national elite. And how quickly he can win a lot of games. Strongs predecessor did that. Over 16 years, Mack Brown had 158 victories, and in 2005 he won Texas first undisputed national title in 36 years. From 2000-09, Texas averaged more than 10 wins a season and played in four BCS bowls, winning three. That success helped spur unprecedented financial growth. Texas ranks as the wealthiest athletic program in the country. A partnership with ESPN created the Longhorn Network, a 20-year deal worth att least $300 million to the university.dddddddddddd But for all its wealth, Texas has struggled to deliver a championship legacy that lives up its sense of grandeur. Brown won just two Big 12 titles, while his archrival across his northern border, Bob Stoops at Oklahoma, won eight. Texas lone national championship in 44 years pales in comparison to Alabamas three from 2009-12. And the recent drop-off that started with a 5-7 record in 2010 got ugly by the end. When Texas started last season 1-2, some Texas fans even booed a public service announcement from Brown encouraging donations to charities. The turmoil also exposed on a national level the political fighting that embroiled the university and attempts by some school officials and prominent supporters to push Brown out a year ago. For more than two years, university regents have been fighting over whether to fire school President Bill Powers, who had been a key ally of Brown. Some of the same regents also were involved in talks with Alabama coach Nick Sabans agent in January 2013 in efforts to coax Saban into coming to Austin. That Strong will be the first African-American head coach of a mens program at Texas is significant at a school that resisted integration in the 1950s and 60s and had college footballs last all-white national champion in 1969. "This is a historic day for The University of Texas and a historic hire for our football team," Powers said. Until 2010, Texas had a residence hall named after former law school professor William Stewart Simkins, a Confederate colonel who also was an early organizer of the Ku Klux Klan in Florida after the Civil War. Texas is still fighting legal battles over race. Only now the school wants to keep an affirmative action admissions policy that allows the school to consider race for some applicants. But former Texas womens track coach Bev Kearney, who was pressured to resign in 2013 after revelations of a relationship with one of her athletes, has filed a discrimination lawsuit against Texas, arguing race was a factor in her case. Kearney is black. In 2009, just before he was hired at Louisville, Strong complained that hed been passed over for another job in part because his wife is white. Strong said it was difficult to leave Louisville, the school that was willing to give him his first head coaching job. "They have been great to me and my family, and it was very hard to say goodbye," Strong said. "But they know this was an opportunity I couldnt pass up." ' ' '