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Ben Barba has apologised to his former Cronulla teammates over his cocaine use that led to him leaving the NRL premiers to undertake rehabilitation overseas.Sharks winger Valentine Holmes, whos in England preparing for Australias Four Nations final this weekend, said Cronulla players recently received a WhatsApp message from Barba.He said he is sorry. Its unfortunate whats happened, Holmes told News Corp Australia.Barba was released by the Sharks this month to seek treatment for a range of issues in Thailand following his second positive test to cocaine in less than two years.He failed the drug test four days after Cronullas grand final victory over Melbourne last month.The fallen Cronulla star hopes to tackle a range of personal issues as he battles to get his life and career back on track.Should he return to the NRL, Barba will serve a mandatory 12-match suspension, but Holmes backed him to return to rugby league bigger, stronger and better.Weve all been supporting him. He is doing pretty well, Holmes said.All the boys in Sydney have gone to see him before he left.He is someone I looked up to and would like to inspire to play like. It was good having him at the club and to learn from him.Kangaroos winger Holmes is set to benefit from Barbas absence with first crack at the vacant Sharks fullback spot next season.But he has mixed feelings about taking up the role.Its unfortunate whats happened with Ben but Im happy to step up and take that role if I get the opportunity, Holmes said. Adidas Nmd R1 Primeknit . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses. Adidas Nmd r1 Australia . Malkin got tangled up with Detroits Luke Glendening early in the third period and his left skate took the brunt of collision with the boards behind Pittsburghs net. http://www.nmdadidasshoesaustralia.com/ . Uniteds eighth defeat of a wretched campaign means Liverpool, which currently occupies the fourth and final Champions League place, could go nine points clear of its fierce rival by beating West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. Charlie Adam scored both of Stokes goals at Britannia Stadium either side of Robin van Persies equalizer, with a miserable day for seventh-place United capped by first-half injuries to centre halves Jonny Evans and Phil Jones that forced them off. Buy Adidas Nmd r1 Online . The Cincinnati Reds remain perfect with their speedy rookie outfielder in the starting lineup. Adidas Nmd r1 Primeknit Australia . 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. MINNEAPOLIS -- Kawhi Leonard is getting used to his role as the San Antonio Spurs go-to guy.The Minnesota Timberwolves found out on Tuesday night just how unstoppable Leonard can be when he puts his foot on the gas.Leonard scored 31 points and the Spurs improved to 13-0 on the road this season with a 105-91 victory.Leonard hit 11 of 15 shots after not scoring at all in the first quarter and Patty Mills scored 15 points off the bench for the Spurs (18-4), who played without Tony Parker after he bruised his left knee against Milwaukee on Wednesday night. San Antonio overcame a slow start to shoot 52.7 percent.Now I have game experience under my belt, Leonard said. Thats what you need to get better, get comfortable -- see the ball go through the net in the game.The Spurs moved past the 1969-70 New York Knicks to take sole possession of the second-best road start to begin a season in NBA history. The Golden State Warriors started 14-0 last year.Maybe theres just a little extra focus when we go into someone elses arena, Mills said. Its hard to put your finger on it.Zach LaVine scored 25 points for the Timberwolves. Karl-Anthony Towns had 11 points and 14 rebounds, but shot just 3 of 16.You have to eliminate all the ways in which you beat yourself first, Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau said. So we have to understand that, we have to improve in that area.With seven new faces on the roster and Tim Duncan no longer there, its been an adjustment for the Spurs this season. They havent been their usual precise selves, but here they are with the second-best record in the league, tied in the win column with the Warriors (18-3).The Timberwolves erased a seven-point deficit with less than a minute to play to beat Charlotte on Saturday night, but Leonard buried a pair of 3-pointers to end the threat Tuesday.TIP-INSSpurs: Manu Ginobili got the night off. ... LaMarcus Aldridge had just six points on 3-for-8 shooting and did not scoree until early in the third quarter.dddddddddddd... San Antonio shot just 29 percent and scored a season-low 19 points in the first quarter.Timberwolves: Andrew Wiggins was quiet for the Wolves as well. He scored 11 points on 5-for-12 shooting. ... Thibodeau received a technical foul for arguing with officials in the second quarter. ... PG Kris Dunn played well with 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting.LINE CHANGEThe Spurs starters got off to a terrible start after a narrow victory over the Bucks the previous night, so coach Gregg Popovich pulled all five starters with 7:30 to play in the first quarter and a 12-3 deficit. The bench unit of Mills, Kyle Anderson, Dewayne Dedmon, David Lee and Jonathon Simmons energized the team with a 14-3 run to get them back in the game.Theyre all together, Wiggins said. If one person moves, the other person moves with them. Its like theyre all tied together.PARKERS ABSENCEParker was injured when he knocked knees with a Bucks defender in the third quarter. The Spurs said he was listed as day to day, but Popovich said after the game he was probably 50-50 to play Thursday against Chicago. Rather than the elevate veteran Mills to the starting lineup, Popovich wanted to keep the second unit intact and so he gave Nico Laprovittola, a rookie from Argentina, his third career start. Laprovittola scored 10 points in 22 minutes.We knew Tony was going to miss some games, Popovich said of the teams mindset going into the season. To have another person that has the courage and the experience to play that position is important.UP NEXTSpurs: San Antonio heads to Chicago for a game against the Bulls on Thursday in Gasols first game there since he left for the Spurs in free agency.Timberwolves: Minnesota faces former coach Dwane Casey and the Raptors in Toronto on Thursday. ' ' '