PHOENIX -- If Phoenix is the NBAs surprise team, Miles Plumlee is the most surprising Sun of all. Brett Martin Jersey . The 6-foot-11 centre played a grand total of 55 minutes in 14 games as a rookie for Indiana last season, then came to Phoenix almost as a throw-in in the trade that sent Luis Scola to the Pacers. Athletic and energetic, Plumlee has given the Suns an inside presence, and Phoenix -- supposed to be among the NBAs worst teams in preseason forecasts -- is 18-11 after beating the Philadelphia 76ers 115-101 Saturday night. Plumlee scored a career-high 22 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked three shots. "Im happy with my progress," he said. "I feel better every game. I feel like I have more energy because Im not as anxious on the court, Im not wasting my energy. I just feel like I can play harder." Plumlee hit the court hard trying to block a shot in the third quarter and required seven stitches to close a cut on his bearded chin before returning to the game. "He is playing hard, making quick moves," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. "When we get the ball inside to him, he is very confident with his moves. I think in the beginning he kind of predetermined his moves and what he wanted to do, but I think these last 10 games when he gets it in there he is seeing where the defence is and thats the shot he ends up taking." Goran Dragic added 21 points and Eric Bledsoe 20 for the Suns, who have won nine of 11 but were coming off their worst loss of the season. Marcus Morris made three fourth-quarter 3-pointers and scored 18. Thaddeus Young scored 30 points, Michael Carter-Williams 27 and Tony Wroten 22 for the 76ers, who lost their 13th road game in a row and have dropped nine of 10 overall. Evan Turner, Philadelphias leading scorer at 19.3 points per game, sat out to rest his sore right knee. "We missed Evan, but 101 points is still a nice effort from some of our young kids tonight and from some veteran players," 76ers coach Brett Brown said. "But defensively we just have a long way to go." Phoenix lost 115-86 at Golden State on Friday night. The 76ers hadnt played in a week and had been in Arizona since Thursday. Dragic said the Suns didnt play well Saturday, just good enough to win. "We should have been up by at least 15 points at the half," he said. "They had too many easy baskets, especially their guards. In the end, it was a tough game, but I am happy with that win." Phoenix had 31 fast-break points to Philadelphias 14. "Were not going to win games giving up 30 fast-break points," Carter-Williams said, "so weve got to get back on mistakes, and that starts with me getting back and when I get back, that leads everyone else getting back." Philadelphia stayed in it for a while with 3-point shooting, going 9 for 16 in the first half to trail just 60-59, but the Sixers were 2 of 13 on 3s in the second half. Carter-Williams and Young opened the third quarter with 3-pointers to put the 76ers up 65-59, then Plumlee scored inside and converted a three-point play to tie it at 65. Bledsoes 3-pointer from the corner put Phoenix up 70-67 with 8:32 left, igniting a 15-4 run that put the Suns ahead 82-71 after Dragic stole the ball from Wroten and made the breakaway layup with 4:49 to play in the quarter. Phoenix led the rest of the way. The Suns were up 88-81 entering the fourth. A pair of free throws by Young cut it to 96-90 with 6:43 to play, but Morris sank consecutive 3s from the top of the key, then Dragic banked in a 3-pointer and Phoenix was in control 105-90 with 4:22 left. "I dont think we played a great game tonight," Hornacek said. "We were OK. That was about it. Weve got to play better." NOTES: Youngs string of 10 consecutive 3-pointers ended when he misfired with 6 minutes to go in the second quarter. ... Philadelphia won its first road game of the season and none since. ... The Suns improved to 11-4 at home. ... Phoenix was the second stop on a six-game road trip for Philadelphia. ... Phoenix is 10-0 at home when leading after three quarters. Jose Trevino Jersey . Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Raptors have traded forward Steve Novak along with a second-round pick to the Utah Jazz in exchange for guard Diante Garrett - who will then be waived. Michael Young Jersey . - Aroldis Chapman, with two black eyes, has returned to the Cincinnati Reds clubhouse four days after being hit in the face by a line drive.NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees are no longer expecting CC Sabathia to return to their rotation this year, given the persistence of inflammation in his injured right knee. Asked Friday whether he believed Sabathias season was over, manager Joe Girardi said: "I think thats about fair to say." The six-time All-Star left-hander has been out with a degenerative cartilage problem in his right knee since mid-May, when his ERA reached a career-high 5.28. The Yankees were targeting a post-All-Star-break return for Sabathia, who had begun a rehabilitation assignment. In his second start, Wednesday for Double-A Trenton, Sabathia was hit hard: five hits, five runs and one walk while striking out two in 3 2-3 innings. The next morning, the 33-year-old woke up with swelling in the joint. An MRI test on Thursday didnt reveal any new damage. Sabathia will be examined on July 14 by Dr. James Andrews before the next step is determined, Girardi said, but microfracture surgery is possible. Previously, Sabathia had an operation on the knee in October 2010 to repair a small meniscus cartilage tear. The microfracture procedure requires far more recovery time, though. "Thats a surgery a lot of players dont want to hear when they need to have it," Girardi said. The manager even acknowledged the possibility that Sabathia might have thrown his last pitch for the Yankeees, as dire of a scenario that sounds like. Johnny Oates Jersey. . "I think its too early to predict that, but whenever you have degenerative issues that cause surgery or things like that, theres always a little question there," Girardi said. Despite his 6-foot-7, 285-pound frame, Sabathia has been remarkably durable, logging at least 28 starts and 180 innings every season of his career. He reached 230 innings or more in five different years, including in 2007 when he won the American League Cy Young Award for Cleveland. Sabathia is in his sixth season with the Yankees. He gave up 10 home runs in 46 innings over his eight starts before landing on the disabled list on May 11. After signing a seven-year, $161 million deal as a free agent prior to the 2009 season, Sabathia had his contract extended in 2011 by one year and $30 million. Making $23 million this season, Sabathia is scheduled to earn $23 million in 2015 and $25 million in 2016. The Yankees have a $25 million option on his deal for 2017 with a $5 million buyout. The Yankees have also been missing injured starters Ivan Nova and Michael Pineda, forcing them to go with a makeshift rotation including Vidal Nuno, David Phelps and rookie Chase Whitley. Nova had season-ending elbow surgery in April. Pineda has been out with a shoulder muscle problem and is not expected back until August. ' ' 'umbles Blog Live cricket on Sky ' ' 'elow double digits for the final time at 54-45, as an 11-2 Wisconsin run ensued. Kaminsky converted a pair of free throws for a 65-47 margin, then his layup with 8:06 on the clock pushed the Badgers lead to 20 for the first time. Wisconsins largest lead of the game was 22, on a Dekker bucket with 7:35 left which provided a 73-51 advantage. The Badgers scored the games first six points before a brief burst from the Nittany Lions, ending on a Donovon Jack slam, made it 15-14 in Penn States favor. A Travis basket with 8:59 left in the first half put PSU up 21-18. Game Notes Wisconsin shot a scorching 70 percent from the floor (14-of-20) in the second half and finished the game at 63.8 percent efficiency (30-of-47) ... Penn State shot 64 percent (16-of-25) in the first half to stay in the contest, but converted just 13-of-29 field goals in the final 20 minutes ... The Badgers head to Northwestern on Sunday and the Nittany Lions play at Rutgers on Saturday. Joe Smith Jersey . Matt Carkner got back into the Ottawa lineup, and made his presence felt right away by settling his clubs score in a one-sided fight with Rangers forward Brian Boyle. Jose Cruz Astros Jersey . According to USA Today the Finns have tapped forwards Jarkko Immonen and Sakari Salminen to replace injured forwards Mikko Koivu and Valtteri Filppula at the Sochi Games.TORONTO - Kevin Pillar doesnt know how long his second shot with the Blue Jays will last but hes here, excited to play and eager to use the opportunity to showcase the strides hes made toward becoming a consistent major league player. Amongst Torontos starting outfielders, only Jose Bautista is signed for next season. Colby Rasmus and Melky Cabrera are in the final year of their deals. "I think guys like myself, guys like Anthony (Gose), know that theres potential for some openings in the outfield coming up," said Pillar. "Were really here to just take care of our business. Any time you get to go out on a big league field its an audition, not only for your team but all the other 29 teams out there. As guys who play the game we want to play in the major leagues. Ideally we want to play for the Blue Jays, theyre the team that drafted me and theyre dear to my heart but anytime you step onto the field you know its an audition for a major league job somewhere." Pillar joins the club red-hot at the plate. After stumbling out of the gate to a .114 batting average (5-for-44), Pillar has gone 38-for-97 (.392) since, which included an 18-game hitting streak. At the time of his recall, hed reached base safely in each of Triple-A Buffalos last 26 games. His nine walks represent an upward trend over his time with the Bisons last year. Pillar has struck out 16 times which, prorated, is a positive trend downward. "Just getting back, using the whole field and being aggressive in counts, hunting the heater and getting better pitches to hit," said Pillar of his early-season adjustments. "Kev, in the minor leagues last year, had a tremendous year," said manager John Gibbons. "He came up here, got his feet wet and it was a little bit of a struggle for him last year. Went back down there to Triple-A this year and really got it going again. Hes a good baseball player. A real good defender, good baserunner and the guy can hit." Like Chad ;Jenkins and Jonathan Diaz (the man whose roster spot he took – Diaz was optioned to Buffalo on Tuesday) the day before, Pillars travel day began in Charlotte and involved a complicated path to Toronto. Bob Watson Astros Jersey. He flew from Charlotte to Baltimore, changed planes and flew into Buffalo. After quick stops at his apartment to gather clothes and toiletries and at the Bisons home, Coca Cola Field, where he transferred his equipment to a bag with a Blue Jays logo, he picked up the waiting car service for the drive to Toronto. This time when Pillar arrived in the clubhouse, he knew what to expect. He knew where to go to find what he needed. Its nice to feel comfortable. "That was a huge difference compared to last time," said Pillar. "Coming in, I walked in on egg shells. I didnt really know anyone here. I was greeted with open arms. At least I knew where my locker was, I knew where things were at this time. Its definitely a different feeling this time." "Hes coming back the second time, you know the shock, now he knows what to expect, said Gibbons. "The awe of the big leagues is kind of out the way now. The first time you show up you dont know what to expect and youre kind of overwhelmed or you can be sometimes." Pillar started in centerfield in place of Colby Rasmus on Tuesday night. Rasmus is nursing a tight right hamstring, the condition of which Rasmus said was improving. After Monday nights game, in which Rasmus was removed to start the seventh, Gibbons offered that maybe Rasmus was in need of a stint on the disabled list. Rasmus is hoping to avoid the DL and by Tuesday afternoon Gibbons had changed his tone, sounding hopeful Rasmus would need only a day or two on the bench. Meanwhile, while hes here, Pillar just wants to relax. "I dont have those same butterflies that I did six months ago when I came here the first time," said Pillar. "I kind of feel like Im here on a business trip and Im prepared." ' ' '