SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Fed up and frustrated at the lack of effort and energy, Sacramento Kings coach Michael Malone shook up his lineup hoping to find some kind of spark. The move turned out to be exactly what his team needed. Marcus Thornton scored a season-high 24 points after losing his starting spot to rookie Ben McLemore, and the Kings snapped a five-game losing streak by beating the Brooklyn Nets 107-86 on Wednesday night. "Marcus, I said to him after the game, Maybe I shouldve put you on the bench sooner," Malone said. Greivis Vasquez had 17 points and 12 assists, and Isaiah Thomas added 19 points, six assists and six rebounds to help the Kings rout Brooklyn. Sacramento led by 18 points in the second quarter and 23 late in the third before holding off a brief rally in the fourth. The Kings shot 43.6 per cent and committed only seven turnovers. They also held the Nets to 37.8 per cent shooting and forced 15 turnovers. "If I couldve written a script for tonight," Malone said, "it wouldve played out just like it played out." Nothing has gone according to plan for the Nets this season. After acquiring Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce from Boston, the pairs championship pedigree has yet to blend in Brooklyn so far. The Nets have lost three straight to drop to 2-5 this season, including 0-4 on the road, with the latest performance perhaps the most perplexing. "Its unacceptable," first-year Nets coach Jason Kidd said. "We dont score, we hang our heads and then they score on the other end." The Nets never sustained any kind of rhythm, even after DeMarcus Cousins picked up his fourth foul and was taken out early in the third quarter. They played slow and looked like aging veterans -- especially against Sacramentos young and athletic rotation -- and were often embarrassed on both ends. Brook Lopez had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Deron Williams finished with 13 points and seven assists as the Nets lost their third straight game. Brooklyn plays at Phoenix on Friday night before wrapping up the three-game road trip at the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night. "I hope this was a wakeup call to start the trip," said Pierce, who had 12 points and nine rebounds. Sacramento, a place where most NBA fans are still just happy to have a team after the Kings nearly moved to Seattle in May, finally showed some promise on the court for the first time since winning its season opener against Denver. McLemore, the seventh overall pick out of Kansas, made his first start along with Jason Thompson. Thornton and Patrick Patterson, who had eight points and a season-high 10 rebounds, moved to the bench as part of a revamped rotation Malone said he will use again Friday against Detroit. The announced crowd of 15,122 roared when McLemore finished an alley-oop from Vasquez on a fast break in the first quarter, though the rookie struggled for most of the game. McLemore finished with two points on 1-of-8 shooting. Thornton scored 13 points in the second quarter, including three 3-pointers, and tossed a lob that Cousins dunked with one hand to give the Kings a 43-25 lead. "I kept pounding in my head, Just go out there and play and relax," said Thornton, who finished 10 of 19 from the floor, adding four rebounds and two assists. "Shots started falling, and things happened." The Nets answered with 11 straight points, with Williams keying the spurt despite favouring his left ankle for a minute after slipping on teammate Andray Blatche. Cousins also was called for a technical foul -- his second this season -- to help Brooklyns run after the Sacramento centre shouted at official Joey Crawford. Sacramento closed the half leading 52-40 before blowing away Brooklyn after the break. Vasquez fed Patterson for a layup that put the Kings up 80-57 with 42 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Williams floater sliced Sacramentos lead to 84-72 early in the fourth. Then Jason Terry was called for a foul and a technical foul after elbowing Vasquez, part of a 16-8 run that gave the Kings a 100-80 lead. "Were not in a comfort zone or anything like that," Vasquez said. "We have to come back and be professional about this and build from this win." NOTES: The Kings had lost the last three games against the Nets. ... Nets F Andrei Kirilenko (back spasms) is not travelling with the team during its three-game road trip. ... Garnett played his 1,330th career game, passing Moses Malone for 10th place in NBA history. . Patrick Sharp scored twice and Patrick Kane, Bryan Bickell and Nick Leddy also connected to lead Chicago to a 5-2 win over the Devils on Monday night. . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91.
http://www.cheapcollegejerseyswholesale.com/. Louis Blues and Buffalo Sabres came to an agreement on a big trade that may only offer incremental improvement to the Blues in their quest for a Stanley Cup. . Orlando is to begin play in the MLS for the 2015 season. Kaka, who currently plays with AC Milan, is expected to be loaned out to his home club Sao Paulo for the upcoming season before joining Orlando for next season. .com) - The surging Montreal Canadiens will try to match their longest winning streak of the season when they visit the Florida Panthers for Saturdays clash at BB&T Center.DENVER -- Andrew Luck nearly spoiled the party at Peytons place. However, fourth-quarter comeback No. 12 in the career of No. 12 fell just short. Luck rallied the Indianapolis Colts back into the game -- even made the Denver Broncos rely on their revamped defence to make one last stop -- in a 31-24 loss in the season opener on Sunday night. His predecessor in Indy, Peyton Manning, simply built too big of a lead for the Broncos, throwing three touchdown passes to tight end Julius Thomas. Luck gave it quite a run, though. Trailing by seven points with the ball at the Denver 39, his fourth-down pass was swatted away from Reggie Wayne. A valiant comeback in Mannings backyard. "A loss is a loss," said Luck, who finished 35 of 53 for 370 yards, two TDs and two interceptions. "A lot of mistakes were made." Still, he earned high praise from Rahim Moore, the safety who picked off two of Lucks passes. "Hes at the top of his game," Moore said. "When Manning retires, Andrew Luck, I believe, is going to take over the game. Theres nothing he cant do. Theres no throw he cant make. "He has no weaknesses to me." Entering this game, Luck had 11 winning drives in fourth quarters and overtime, the most through a quarterbacks first two seasons since 1970. He looked poised to possibly make something magical happen again. Down 31-10 with 9:54 remaining, Luck went to work -- with the raucous crowd beginning to file out, thinking a win was in the bag. What transpired left those that stayed in their seats bewildered. Luck hit Dwayne Allen for a 41-yard TD pass. Moments later, he connected with Hakeem Nicks for a 9-yard score. Just like that, a rout turned into a nail-biter that went down to the wire. The crowd exhaled only after Manning took a final knee. The Broncos insisted they didnt let their guard down, especially not after watching video of Luck leading the Colts back from a big deficit in a playoff win last season against the Kansas City Chiefs. "Playing against a great guy like Andrew Luck, and just the way he plays, you cant give up on him," said DeMarcus Ware, who finished with 1 1/2 sacks. "Hess going to score points like he did.dddddddddddd Got to put the clasp back on, be able to stop him. "Youre going to see that team probably later on in the season. Theyre good. Theyre a really good team." Manning couldnt be stopped early, hooking up with Thomas for scoring strikes of 3, 35 and 5 yards -- all in the second quarter. The Broncos led 24-0 with 1:57 left before halftime. In the end, it was up to the Denver defence, which the team committed more than $100 million to bring in thumpers such as Ware, cornerback Aqib Talib and strong safety T.J. Ward. "Thank goodness our defence came up with some big stops," Manning said. By beating his former team, Manning joined Brett Favre as the only QBs to earn a win over each of the current 32 NFL franchises. "It means you have to be old," Manning said. "I dont think Ill have that one up on my mantle or anything like that." This game featured so many missed opportunities for the Colts: -- Griff Whalen took a 90-yard punt return for a score early in the fourth quarter. The call was challenged and overturned when officials ruled his knee had touched down. Instead of six points, the Colts had the ball back at their 10 yard line. -- Luck was kept out of the end zone on a fourth-and-goal call in the third quarter. -- Indianapolis settled for a field goal after having a first down inside the 5-yard line. "We had a ton (of missed opportunities)," Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. "You cant let those opportunities slip away." NOTES: Colts LBs Cam Johnson (triceps) and Jerrell Freeman (hamstring) left the game. They will undergo MRI exams, Pagano said. ... WR Reggie Wayne had a 22-yard catch on the first play of the game. He has a reception in 191 regular-season games, moving him past Marvin Harrison for most in Colts history. ... The Colts were without starting centre Khaled Holmes and backup tackle Joe Reitz, both because of ankle injuries. Luck was under constant pressure and was sacked three times. ... The Colts had won six straight over Denver, including Mannings homecoming game last October at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. ' ' '
