RIO DE JANEIRO -- Penny Taylor and her Australian teammates knew what was at stake. Nike Roshe Run Bleu Pas Cher .A win over France would put them in the drivers seat in Group A, meaning theyd potentially avoid playing the U.S. until the womens basketball gold medal game.Taylor helped them also get a measure of revenge in the process, scoring an Olympic career-high 31 points to help Australia beat France 89-71 on Tuesday.Its huge, Taylor said. We dont want to face the U.S. until we have to, so I think thats huge for us.This will be Taylors last shot at beating the U.S., and she would like that opportunity in meeting between the top teams in the gold medal game. The 35-year-old guard told The Associated Press before the Olympics started that she planned to retire at the end of the current WNBA season. Shes already has two silver medals at the Olympics and wants to go out with a gold.On Tuesday, she made her first seven shots and had scored 23 points before missing her first field goal attempt. She finished 10 of 13 from the field with nine assists and five rebounds.That was vintage Penny, Australian coach Brendan Joyce said. She was great and really lifted us.All that stands between Australia (3-0) and winning the group is Japan. Those teams play Thursday and a win by the Australians would clinch the No. 1 seed in its pool and avoid a matchup with the U.S. until the finals. The Australians respect the Americans but arent intimidated by the U.S., which has won the last five Olympic gold medals and a roster of WNBA All-Stars and MVPs.The heavily favored Americans have captured the headlines, but the venerable Opals continue to win .They have their own 6-foot-8 center in Liz Cambage, who has been dominant so far in the Olympics when she can stay out of foul trouble. They also have a few WNBA stars of their own in Taylor and Erin Phillips.We know what we will face if we play them eventually, Joyce said. We have a long tough road still before that happens and well worry about them when we face them.The road did get a little easier with the win over France. The Opals lost to the French in overtime in the London Games in 2012, costing them the top spot in the group. It was Australias only loss to a team other than the U.S. in the Olympics since 1996. Australia ended up with a bronze medal in London.We dont want to drop any pool round games, said Phillips, who scored nine points in Tuesdays win. Good thing about this team is we never get too high on a win or low on a loss. This win against France by 18 was huge. If you had told me this morning when I woke up and said we would beat France by 18, Id be really, really happy.Both Taylor and Phillips missed the 2012 Olympics. Taylor was out with a torn ACL and Phillips didnt make the team. They are both cherishing their Olympic experience.Its been amazing, gone really fast. I try to soak it up as much as I can when Im not playing, the 31-year-old Phillips said. In the dining hall you see Usain Bolt and some gymnasts who are the best in the world, its inspiring.You never really know what an Olympics mean until you miss one. Penny and I missed one for different reasons. To be back here makes it so much more memorable.---Follow Doug on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dougfeinberg Nike Air Jordan Pas Cher . Batiste, who briefly signed with the Eskimos in 2006, has spent time with several NFL teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. Air Jordan 11 Xi Bred . He just needed to be his best twisting, turning acrobatic self. "I didnt need to be anybody else, I just needed to be myself and be aggressive," said Burks, who scored a career-high 34 points to spark the Utah Jazz to a 118-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night.http:///...jordan-retro-11.html . The Montreal Canadiens announced on Friday that the veteran forward will return to the teams line-up on Saturday night when the Habs visit the Nashville Predators. NEW ORLEANS -- Anthony Davis wore a supportive strap on his aching back and still managed to carry the New Orleans Pelicans on his shoulders until scrappy guard Tim Frazier could finish it off with clutch plays on both ends of the court.Davis had 25 points, 16 rebounds, four steals and two blocks, and the Pelicans won for only the second time in their first 11 games, 106-105 over the Boston Celtics on Monday night.Frazier made a crucial steal of Marcus Smarts inbound pass near New Orleans basket with 14 seconds left. He also drew a shooting foul from Kelly Olynyk with 2.5 seconds left, setting up his go-ahead free throw for the final margin.He plays big, Davis said of Frazier, who finished with 10 points. He went in there with all them trees down there and got that steal. ... And then, that was a great job, a high basketball IQ, to draw that foul.Langston Galloway scored a season-high 21 points for New Orleans, which began the season with eight straight losses. Fellow reserve Terrence Jones added 15 points and a season-high 10 rebounds.Celtics coach Brad Stevens said his concern coming into the game wasnt so much what Davis would do, but whether hed get more of the help hes been lacking.Anthony is going to be Anthony, said Stevens, whose team limited Davis to 7-of-22 shooting. You cant let Langston Galloway go off. Jones has had great games against us for as long as I can remember. ... They really hurt us tonight.Isaiah Thomas scored 37 for Boston, including a driving scoop that tied the game with 7 seconds left.Frazier then pushed the ball up the floor and the 7-foot Olynyk picked Frazier up defensively near the perimeter.I knew I had a big on me, so I tried to see if I could get him to go, and he went, Frazier said.Olynyk said he tried to challenge what initially looked like a shot attempt, and then Frazier jumped into me and I picked up the foul.In part because the Celtics were out of timeouts and unable to advance the ball, they failed to get a decent shot off in the final 2 seconds. Bostons first inbound attempt from its own baseline deflected off New Orleans along the sideline with a tenth of a second left. Air Jordan 3 Retro Blanc/Ciment Gris-Rose. The Celtics then attempted a long pass in hopes of a tip-in, but the inbound hit the rim and Smarts attempted put-back in a crowd of players was off the mark.Bostons Avery Bradley had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Smart scored 15 points, but Bradley said the Celtics didnt play well and failed to give Thomas help.It cant just be Isaiah, Bradley said. Its got to be other players out there making shots. ... Everybodys upset about it.TIP-INCeltics: Al Horford missed his seventh straight game because of concussion symptoms and it remains unclear when hell return. I dont want to put a timetable on it because I think its about how he feels day to day, Stevens said. Stevens added that once the Celtics decided not to play Horford, they got him an early flight back to Boston so he could get more rest.Pelicans: Rookie shooting guard Buddy Hield made his first start in place of ETwaun Moore. After tip-off, the Pelicans announced coach Alvin Gentry had decided to give Moore the night off to rest a right big toe injury. ... The Pelicans win was their first at home, where they improved to 1-5.BACK PAINDavis could be seen lying on the court near the bench when he wasnt playing and said it was to ease stress on his back.Every time I sit down it just tightens up, so that was the best way for me to try to keep it loose, Davis said. Youve got to play through it, fight through and try to do whatever you can do to help your team win.SQUANDERED LEADNew Orleans led by as many as 14 points when Dante Cunninghams 3 made it 65-51 in the third quarter, but the Pelicans briefly lost the lead in the final minutes.Weve got to continue to eliminate some of the mental mistakes and putting ourselves in harms way, Gentry said. But Gentry also added that he was pleased his team hung in and found a way to win.UP NEXTCeltics: Hosts Dallas on Wednesday night.Pelicans: Visit Orlando on Wednesday night. 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