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BARCELONA, Spain -- Alexis Sanchez netted his first hat trick for Barcelona to spark its 4-0 win over Elche at Camp Nou on Sunday, setting up a highly anticipated showdown with Atletico Madrid next week between the top two teams in the Spanish league. Discount NHL Jerseys . With Lionel Messi watching from the stands and Neymar waiting in the dugout, Barcelona turned to Alexis and its core of Spain internationals for a second straight victory without its star forwards on either side of the two-week winter break. Alexis opened the scoring in the seventh minute and struck twice more in the 63rd and 69th after Pedro Rodriguez had doubled the advantage and Xavi Hernandez had missed a penalty kick. "The holidays were good for me," said Alexis, who also credited first-year coach Gerardo Martino for improving his scoring rate. "I think Martino gave me the confidence I needed as a player," Alexis told GOL TV. Barcelonas victory was its ninth in as many league games at home this season, and it remained tied on points with Atletico atop the standings. The pressure is now on Real Madrid come Monday when it hosts Celta Vigo trailing the pacesetting pair by eight points. Alexis and Pedro lead the team with 11 goals each in league play, tying them as the leagues fourth-highest scorers this campaign. Both players were given ovations when substituted late, with Neymar coming on for the final minutes. Martino said he was as impressed by Alexis treble as anyone else, especially with his last goal from a free kick. "Alexis takes free kicks well in practice," Martino said. "When Leo, Xavi, Cesc or Neymar are playing, they almost never let him take one. One time he sent a free kick into the wall and we all thought it was his last. I told the bench that as a joke before he took todays kick and he ended up scoring it." Elsewhere, Real Sociedad downed Athletic Bilbao 2-0 in an entertaining Basque Country derby to close to just one point of its rivals in fourth place and Spains last Champions League spot. Carlos Bacca scored one goal and set up two more to help Sevilla beat Getafe 3-0 at home, provisionally lifting the club into sixth place behind Sociedad with its fifth victory in a six-game unbeaten streak in the league. Osasuna edged Espanyol 1-0 in Pamplona thanks to Alvaro Cejudos 33rd-minute goal to escape the relegation zone. Espanyol coach Javier Aguirre was expelled from the dugout in the second half, apparently for arguing with the referee. Messi tore his left hamstring on Nov. 11 and only returned to training with Barcelona this week, having spent time in Argentina doing rehab. He was left off the squad for Sundays game and Martino will have to decide if he brings him back against Getafe on Wednesday in the Copa del Rey to get him up to speed before the big trip to Atletico next Sunday. "Messi is fine physically and in good spirits," Martino said. "Whether he plays or not depends on his mentality, on whether he has gotten over the fear of the injury. Maybe we should have a little more patience (with him)." Alexis charged behind his marker to meet Jordi Albas cross from the left and volley it into the corner of the net to get Barcelona rolling. Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes looked a tad rusty in his first action in six weeks returning from injury in the 14th when Yiadom Boakye blasted the ball off the post, but he wasnt tested again after Pedro made it 2-0 two minutes later. Pedro followed up his hat trick at Getafe in the last round by meeting Cesc Fabregas weighted pass behind the defence, then used one touch to round goalkeeper Antonio "Tono" Rodriguez before sliding the ball inside the near post. Xavi, also back from injury, wasted penalty three minutes after halftime when he sent his spot kick wide after Fabregas had been fouled in the area by Elches Ionut Sapunaru. But Pedro took Andres Iniestas through ball and squared for Alexis to fire into the open net in the 63rd. Moments later Alexis earned his free kick from a foul outside the box that the Chile forward promptly curved over the defensive wall with a right-footed strike. The games only negative for Barcelona was defender Marc Bartra apparently hurting his leg late on. Sociedad took control of the back-and-forth match at Anoeta Stadium when Antoine Griezmann followed up his own rebound from long range for this 12th league goal of the season two minutes before halftime. Bilbao sought the equalizer but it was Sociedads Ruben Pardo who capped the victory in added time. Wholesale NHL Jerseys .Former NBA forward Morris Peterson has been added to TSNs Toronto Raptors broadcast team. NHL Jerseys China . -- Novak Djokovic benefited from an erroneous call and claimed he didnt realize he had broken the rules. https://www.chinanhljerseys.us/ . -- Rookie Victor Oladipo came off the bench to score 20 points and Glen Davis had 18, leading the Orlando Magic to a 112-98 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night. PHOENIX -- It took contributions from everyone, including a banged-up DeMarcus Cousins, to get the Sacramento Kings their first road win of the season. Cousins overcame a sore shoulder to score 19 points and grab 12 rebounds, leading the Kings past the Phoenix Suns 113-106 on Wednesday night. "To be honest, I didnt ask him once (about the shoulder) during the game," Sacramento coach Michael Malone said. "The way I am, if you ask someone about it, theyre going to start thinking about it. I wanted to play him as much as I could and if he got hurt, fell on it, obviously big picture, wed get him out, protect him and put someone else in." The Kings took control in the third quarter, turning a five-point halftime lead into a 14-point advantage. They finished off a back-to-back sweep after beating Phoenix at home on Tuesday night. The Suns lost their fourth straight game. Defence, especially in the third quarter when Sacramento held Phoenix to 12 points, was what stood out to Malone. "Which was great, because we gave up 44 in that fourth quarter so we bought ourselves a little bit of time," Malone said. Cousins dislocated his left shoulder in Tuesday nights game, though he said afterward it wasnt separated. Malone said the big centre got injured when he was fouled, but he continued to play that night and started Wednesday, playing 27 minutes. Cousins absorbed some contact at the 9-minute mark of the first quarter and grabbed his left shoulder, grimacing in pain. He shot only 4 of 14 but was a force on the glass at both ends of the court. "Its pretty sore," Cousins said. "It usually is the day after (the injury). Found a way to play through it and we came out with a big win." Isaiah Thomas came off the bench to score 23 points and hand out four assists. He was also pesky on defence as the Kings scored 20 points off Phoenix turnovers. The Kings (4-7) held the Suns to 44.7 per cent shooting, outrebounded them 42-37 and forced 17 turnovers to Sacramentos 10. "Its going to take a group effort every night on both ends," Malone said. "Guys are playing for each other on both ends of the floor, which I think is the beginning of us truly changing the culture here in Sacramento."; Point guard Goran Dragic got off to a strong start, scoring the first 11 points of the game for the Suns. Wholesale NHL Jerseys China. . The first eight all came on drives to the basket; the last three on a 3-pointer with 7:40 left in the first quarter. Dragic made 10 of 20 shots for the game and ended up with 31 points. "They outmuscled us. All the guys were pretty strong and we couldnt find a solution for their toughness," Dragic said. Gerald Green went 6 for 8 on 3-pointers and tied a season high with 23 points for the Suns. He also matched a career high for 3s, but scored 20 of his points in the first half. Green started in place of injured guard Eric Bledsoe, who was a game-time decision and did not play. Bledsoe is dealing with a bruised shin and has missed the past two games. "Its still early. Its not like its March or February," Green said. "We are still trying to figure things out. We can easily lose four games in a row and we can easily win four games in a row." Phoenix (5-6) trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half. The Suns fell behind 81-64 after Kings reserve Travis Outlaw sank a 3-pointer and a long jumper on successive possessions early in the fourth quarter. The Suns cut it to 95-88 with 3:10 to play on a 3-pointer from Marcus Morris, who finished with 13 points off the bench. The Kings took a 62-53 lead with 6:41 left in the third quarter on consecutive baskets by forward Jason Thompson. "We just were talkative," Thomas said of the teams third-quarter defence. "We wanted to protect the paint and I think we did a good job. Im the smallest player on the court, so I have to do something on the defensive end." Cousins scored 10 in the first and the score was tied at 27 going into the second quarter. Sacramento took a 53-43 lead with 2:01 to play in the first half on a basket and free throw from Luc Mbah a Moute. But the Suns closed the half on a 7-2 run, with Green hitting a 3 with 1.7 seconds left. NOTES: The Kings improved to 25-79 in Phoenix. ... Sacramento has won four straight meetings. ... It was the first time this season the Suns didnt hold a lead in the fourth quarter. ... Phoenix made a season-high 15 3-pointers. ' ' '