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HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- Sam Querrey gave the U.S. a commanding 2-0 lead Friday night in its Davis Cup World Group playoff against Slovakia with a 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-3 win over Martin Klizan. In the opening match of the night, American John Isner hit 29 aces in a 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-2 win over Norbert Gombos. The U.S. can ensure a trip to the 2015 World Group on Saturday by winning the doubles when it sends out U.S. Open champs Mike and Bob Bryan. "Its the kind of day you want to have, be comfortable 2-0 with the Bryan brothers coming up," U.S. captain Jim Courier said. "Both Sam and Jim started off slow but finished strong. Played their best tennis at the end of the match." Querrey, ranked 51st, faced a set point in the first-set tiebreaker, but responded with two straight aces. He captured the opening set when the 57th-ranked Klizan netted a backhand. Querrey finished with 20 aces on the hard court at the Sears Centre, none bigger than the two he unleashed in the tiebreaker. "It was tough. But my serve is my biggest weapon," Querrey said. "Just puts the pressure right back on him." Gombos, ranked 126th, was a surprise choice as Slovakias No. 2, but he showed his skills during a group quarterfinal in April when he made his Davis Cup debut and beat Austrias Dominic Thiem. But this time he had to fight off the powerful serves of Isner and managed only two breakpoint opportunities. "Going into a match like this, three-out-of-five match, its not surprising I didnt lose my serve," Isner said. "Ive done that before, for sure. Always going to be the biggest part of my game and its going to be the part of my game that I lean on the most." Isner trailed in the first-set tiebreaker 4-2 before pulling it out 7-5 when Gombos netted a volley and hit long after a strong serve. Isner then broke Gombos in the opening game of the second set and his game improved steadily thereafter. "I was a bit nervous in the beginning. I had to really dig deep to win that first set. But once I got that under my belt, I exhaled and then I started to play better," Isner said. "Its never easy. But that first set was very important." Serving for the second set at 5-4, Isner double-faulted twice but then won the next four points with an ace, a volley, an overhead and a service winner. "I know that hes serving perfect, like from the Eiffel Tower, you know," Gombos said. "I never returned a serve like his because its quite different from the other players because he is really tall. The ball is bouncing so high." Isner said he was aware of how well Gombos, who has flat groundstrokes and good speed around the court, can play. "Its a tough match for someone like me," Isner said. "Were at home. Im ranked higher than him. I guess on paper Im expected to win that match. Theres a lot of pressure on me. Its not an easy situation." The U.S., which lost to Britain earlier this year, hasnt missed competing in the World Group, the upper tier, since 1988. Slovakia is trying to pull the upset and make it back to the World Group for the first time since 2006. "Well, its really tough. I was hoping at least to get one point today. With the better luck we could maybe hope for more," Slovakia captain Miloslav Mecir said. "But this is the reality." Superstar Shoes Sale Australia . He learned about pressure and expectations at the 2010 Games in his hometown of Vancouver. His next mission is to build on that experience at his next Olympic appearance in Sochi, where he plans to ride the momentum from the teams strong start to the season. Adidas Superstar Australia Cheap . In the Brewers six games this season, no starter has allowed more than three runs. "We see the guy in front of us do a great job and we want to do even better," Gallardo said after the Brewers beat the Red Sox 4-0 on Sunday, his second straight scoreless start. http://www.superstaraustraliacheap.com/. Hazard lasted just 18 minutes in Tuesdays contest before being substituted with the calf problem, and Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes he will be without his star winger for at least the next two weeks. Adidas Superstar Clearance Sale . -- What Anthony Jennings lacked in experience, LSU more than compensated for with a talented supporting cast in the Outback Bowl. Adidas Superstar Online Australia . -- Theres nothing like winning to bring hope for a struggling team.Charlotte, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Kemba Walker 15 points, Al Jefferson and Bismack Biyombo both had 12 and the Charlotte Hornets held off the Miami Heat, 78-76, for their eighth win in nine games. Walker returned from a two-game absence and overcame a 4-for-17 shooting night, hitting 5-of-6 free throws in the final 1:14 of the game to help Charlotte hold its lead, which it owned most of the game. Wade and Bosh both scored 17 points for the Heat, losers in three of four. Final Score: Cleveland 106, Utah 92 Cleveland, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - LeBron James scored 26 points one day after missing practice with flu-like symptoms and the Cleveland Cavaliers easily picked up their fourth consecutive win, rolling past the Utah Jazz 106-92 on Wednesday night. All five Cleveland starters scored in double digits in a game that was a rout from the second quarter on. Kevin Love had 19 points and 13 rebounds and Kyrie Irving scored 18 after missing the teams shootaround because he felt sick. Timofey Mozgov added 16 points and 11 rebounds and fellow new addition J.R. Smith scored 15 in the win. The Cavaliers have scored at least 106 points in all four of their recent wins, which came on the heels of six consecutive losses, the first five without James while he missed two weeks because of back and knee injuries. James said he started feeling sick Monday and sat out Tuesdays practice with flu-like symptoms. He participated in the teams shootaround Wednesday and was 8-of-16 from the field against Utah, also contributing nine assists and seven rebounds. Enes Kanter had 24 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Jazz, who have dropped five of their last six. Final Score: New York 98, Philadelphia 91 Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Carmelo Anthonys 27 points and 11 rebounds propelled the New York Knicks to their first winning streak in over two months by virtue of Wednesdays 98-91 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Jose Calderon contributed 15 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. finished with 13 in New Yorks second consecutive triumph. The Knicks ended a franchise-record 16- game skid with Mondays 99-92 decision over New Orleans. Its only the second time this season the Knicks, who entered this matchup between the Eastern Conferences bottom two teams with a league-worst 6-36 record, have won back-to-back games. The other time came from Oct. 30-Nov. 2 in the clubs second and third outings of the season. The Sixers received 27 points, seven assists and five steals from Michael Carter-Williams, but shot just 36.7 percent from the field in their third consecutive loss. Robert Covington added 17 points for Philadelphia and Henry Sims posted 11 points and 12 rebounds in defeat. Final Score: Atlanta 110, Indiana 91 Atlanta, GA (SportsNetwork.com) - Jeff Teague and DeMarre Carroll led a third- quarter onslaught on Wednesday night to help the Atlanta Hawks match their longest winning streak in franchise history. Teague finished with 17 points and 11 assists, while Carroll added 17 points and four steals as the Hawks routed the struggling Indiana Pacers 110-91 for their 14th consecutive win. The Hawks outscored Indiana 36-23 in the third to create an insurmountable advantage heading into the fourth. They shot 66.7 percent (14-of-21) from the floor in the period and knocked down 6-of-9 attempts from beyond the arc. Teague and Carroll netted 10 points apiece during the frame. Atlantas current 14-game run tied the 1993-94 Hawks for the longest winning streak in franchise history. Al Horford posted 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Paul Millsap supplied 12 points and nine boards for the Hawks, who had six players reach double figures in scoring. C.J. Miles poured in 18 points off the bench to lead Indiana, which has dropped six consecutive contests.dddddddddddd Final Score: Detroit 128, Orlando 118 Auburn Hills, MI (SportsNetwork.com) - Brandon Jennings scored 24 points and handed out a career-high 21 assists in the Detroit Pistons 128-118 win over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. Detroits frontcourt benefited from Jennings effective passing as it won for the third time in four games. Andre Drummond led the Pistons with 26 points, and Greg Monroe was not far behind with 24 of his own. Drummond and Monroe had 17 and 10 rebounds, respectively. The Magic saw their losing streak reach three games despite shooting 49.5 percent. Nikola Vucevic paced Orlando with 26 points and 13 rebounds, and Victor Oladipo added 23. Tobias Harris returned from a five- game absence due to an ankle injury with 19 points. Final Score: Memphis 92, Toronto 86 Memphis, TN (SportsNetwork.com) - Zach Randolph finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds and Marc Gasol scored a game-high 26 points as the Memphis Grizzlies downed the Toronto Raptors 92-86 in a battle of division leaders. Gasol added seven boards and five assists, while Mike Conley netted 12 points, including Memphis only 3-pointer during a late run that put the game away. The Southwest Division leaders rebounded from Mondays home loss to the Mavericks and have won five of six overall. Lou Williams and Kyle Lowry scored 21 and 20 points, respectively, while Jonas Valanciunas chipped in with 12 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto, which still holds a healthy lead atop the Atlantic Division but has gone just 3-8 over the last 11 games. Final Score: Dallas 98, Minnesota 75 Minneapolis, MN (SportsNetwork.com) - Chandler Parsons poured in 22 points in only 26 minutes and the Dallas Mavericks had little trouble with the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves, rolling to a 98-75 win at Target Center. Parsons finished 9-of-13 from the floor and 4-of-6 from 3-point range, while the Mavericks hit on 11-of-27 shots from beyond the arc in handing the Timberwolves a ninth straight loss on their home court. Minnesota, in contrast, went a poor 2-of-15 on 3-point tries and shot just 34.8 percent overall. Dirk Nowitzki added 16 points and nine rebounds in Dallas third consecutive victory. Andrew Wiggins paced the Timberwolves with 18 points, with Thaddeus Young tallying 14 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in defeat. Nikola Pekovic, playing his first game since Minnesotas loss in Dallas on Nov. 15, had 14 points in 23 minutes in his return. Final Score: New Orleans 96, LA Lakers 80 New Orleans, LA (SportsNetwork.com) - Anthony Davis had 29 points and eight rebounds as the New Orleans Pelicans pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 96-80 on Wednesday night. Eric Gordon posted 17 points, 10 assists and five rebounds, while Tyreke Evans added 19 points for the Pelicans, who outscored the Lakers 27-12 in the fourth to turn the game into a rout. Jordan Hill tallied 15 points and 13 boards and Kobe Bryant netted 14 points for Los Angeles, which has dropped six straight games. Final Score: Oklahoma City 105, Washington 103 (OT) Washington, DC (SportsNetwork.com) - Russell Westbrook finished with 32 points and his layup in the final seconds of overtime lifted the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 105-103 win over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night. Westbrook also tallied eight assists and eight rebounds, while Kevin Durant paced the Thunder with 34 points. Oklahoma City, which has won four straight, improved to 21-10 when both Durant and Westbrook go for 30-plus points in a game. Nene had a season-high 24 points in the loss and John Wall deposited 18 points with 13 assists. Paul Pierce and Bradley Beal each scored 14 points. ' ' '