CrossFire » had some relative success in a defensive

PHOENIX - Playing through flu-like symptoms, Rudy Gay made a big shot at a key moment for the streaking Sacramento Kings.Gay hit a go-ahead turnaround jumper with 1:07 left in the second overtime, and Sacramento beat the Phoenix Suns 114-112 on Friday night for its fifth consecutive victory.It was tough. Super tough, said Gay, who scored 11 points on 5-of-22 shooting from the floor. You have to keep fighting. The coach kept calling my number and no matter what he had faith in me and I kept fighting.Kings centre DeMarcus Cousins had 25 points and a season-high 18 rebounds before fouling out on an illegal screen with 34.7 seconds left in regulation. Darren Collison scored 16 and Ben McLemore added 15 points.It was two crazy overtimes but we got the win, McLemore said.Eric Bledsoe had 23 points and eight assists for the Suns, who were outscored 22-11 in the fourth quarter.I dont know if we were tired and out of shape or what, Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. These guys in the fourth quarter were walking it up and we were getting caught with the shot clock. We would run a normal play and by the time we got to the second option there was five seconds on the shot clock.Bledsoe gave the Suns a 112-108 lead when he was fouled on a driving layup with 2:08 left. But he was unable to complete the three-point play.McLemore then made a 3-pointer for Sacramento with 1:49 to go, making it 112-111 and setting the stage for Gays clutch jumper. Collison then went 1 for 2 at the line with 15.1 seconds left.It shows you how our team is coming together, Cousins said. Even through the tough times and adversity, even when things arent going our way, we found a way.The Kings, led by Cousins and Collison, rallied from a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter.Cousins had five points, including a pair of free throws that tied it at 94 with 4:57 left. Collison had four points in the key stretch.Cousins converted a three-point play with 1:37 to go, lifting Sacramento its first lead since early in the game. Bledsoe had a tying layup with 38.9 seconds remaining, and Phoenix guard Isaiah Thomas missed a potential winning 3-pointer at the buzzer against his former team.P.J. Tucker scored five points in a 7-0 Suns run to begin the first overtime, but the Kings, led by Collison, fought back to a 106-106 tie with 42.3 seconds left.It was like a roller-coaster ride the whole game all the way through the two overtimes, Tucker said. At some point we had to get a couple of stops and we didnt.TIP-INSKings: At 5-1, Sacramento is off to its best six-game start since the 1999-2000 season. That club opened the season 9-1. ... The Kings have won five straight for the first time since 2006-07 and three straight road games for the time since 1995-96. . Gay entered the game averaging 24.4 points.Suns: Goran Dragic scored 10 of his 22 points in the first quarter on 4-of-5 shooting, including his first 3-pointer of the year after an 0-for-11 start. ... Thomas made his first appearance against the franchise that drafted him, but scored only three points in 17-plus minutes. ... The Suns lost for only the second time in 10 games under Hornacek following a double-digit defeat. . Phoenix had won 25 of its last 26 when scoring at least 110 points.UP NEXTKings: Visit Oklahoma City on Sunday.Suns: Host Golden State on Sunday.NO PANICPhoenix ran out to a 36-25 lead after the first quarter, shooting 68.2 per cent from the floor along the way, but the Kings didnt panic. There was no What are we going to now, Kings coach Michael Malone said. In the first quarter we werent ready to play. But the amazing stat was by the end of the game we get it down to 42 per cent and in the fourth quarter and both overtimes, we held that team to 26 per cent.ON THE MENDSuns rookie forward T.J. Warren, who has yet to play this season because a small crack in a bone in his left thumb, participated in the team shootaround on Friday. Warren, the 14th overall pick out of North Carolina State, will practice on Saturday and is expected to be active Sunday against Golden State. Randy Moss Jersey . Louis, MO (SportsNetwork. Chuck Foreman Jersey . Listen to the Rangers vs. Kings live on TSN Radio starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. You can also stream the post-game press conferences live on TSN. http://www.officialminnesotavikingsfootb...n-jersey-womens. -- Once again, Carlos Santana was a huge hit in Kansas City. Dan Bailey Jersey .com) - Nathan MacKinnon scored the winning goal in the shootout as the Colorado Avalanche rallied for a 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins on Wednesday. Mike Hughes Jersey . Diego Costa headed in Gabis corner seven minutes from time to secure victory ahead of the return match in Madrid on March 11. "We know that at Madrid it will be another game, which will also be important and very difficult," Milan coach Clarence Seedorf said.The Cleveland Cavaliers altered the NBA landscape when they re-acquired LeBron James earlier this summer and there were rumours that James would be getting help. Numbers Game breaks down the big trade to bring LeBron a running mate, as the Cavs acquired Kevin Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves, along with a follow-up deal that included the Philadelphia 76ers. The Cavaliers Will Get: PF Kevin Love. Love, 25, is one of the games premier frontcourt players, coming off a season during which he scored a career-high 26.1 points per game, grabbed 12.5 rebounds per game and had a career-best 4.4 assists per game. The 6-foot-10 power forward has averaged double figure rebounds for five straight seasons, joining Dwight Howard as the only players to reach that threshold in each of the past five seasons. Already a dangerous offensive threat because of his ability to pass and score, Love has raised the bar as he increases his shooting range. He attempted a career-high 6.6 three-pointers per game last season (making 2.5) and his 37.6% from beyond the arc was the second-best of his career, leading to the highest effective field-goal percentage (.524) of his career. He has played in three NBA All-Star games and ranked third in the NBA in Player Efficiency Rating (26.9), behind Kevin Durant and LeBron James, last season. Joining forces with LeBron in Cleveland does seem to set Love up for continued success, though there is going to have to be some accomodation made to get players enough touches. For example, Love has had more than 17 field-goal attempts per game for the past three seasons, topping out at a career-high 18.3 per game last season. LeBron has actually seen his shot attempts go down -- last seasons 17.6 per game in Miami was a career-low -- but thats 36 shots per game coming into the Cleveland rotation. How will those shots be allocated while still placating PG Kyrie Irving (17.4 attempts per game last season) and SG Dion Waiters (14.2 attempts per game last season)? Take out Luol Deng (12.7 attempts per game in Cleveland) and Spencer Hawes (11.0 attempts per game) and it becomes a matter of balancing an extra dozen or so attempts per game among the primary shooters. Expect LeBron and Love to be the leaders, so that likely means Irving and especially Waiters, will have to get used to a lesser role offensively. The price to pay if youre going to be a championship contender instead of a 33-win lottery team, but thats going to be a challenge for first-year coach David Blatt to navigate. While hes a tremendous offensive player who should complement the rest of the Cavaliers talent well because hes a real upgrade as a scoring big man, Love hasnt been much of a defender. He doesnt have the hops to block shots (0.5 per game for his career) and while he holds his own against power forwards, Love isnt as effective defensively when hes forced to play in the middle. (There is some trade-off, however, as Love scored an outrageous 41.7 points per 48 minutes while playing centre last season). Love makes more than $15.7-million this season and has a player option worth in excess of $16.7-million for 2015-2016, which he has reportedly agreed not to exercise in order to sign a five-year, $120-million deal with Cleveland. Thats a long-term commitment to play for the Cavaliers, and presumably that means playing with LeBron for those years, but its at least worth noting that James is under contract for 2014-2015 with a player option for 2015-2016. Having accumulated a supporting cast that makes the Cavaliers the front-runner in the Eastern Conference, presumably LeBron will be inclined to stick around (he has said hes not going anywhere), but there are some contract details to get worked out. In any case, Love is the big piece that the Cavaliers need in order to rise up and contend immediately, making the most of their championship window with LeBron. The Timberwolves Will Get: F Thaddeus Young, SG/SF Andrew Wiggins, F Anthony Bennett and a protected 2015 first-round pick. Young, 26, was one of the few legitimate NBA players remaining on the Sixers roster, coming off a season in which he scored a career-high 17.9 points, with career-bests in assists (2.3) and steals (2.1) per game. His 6.0 rebounds per game counted as the second-best mark of his career. While Young was getting plenty of opportunities on a terrible team in Philadelphia, he was largely inefficient, posting career-low field-goal percentage (45.4%) and True Shooting Percentage (51.2%). Furthermore, Young isnt much of a defender either, so its not like hes going to help the Timberwolves in that respect. What Young will do for the Timberwolves is allow them to take time developing Bennett. Young is signed through next season, making a little more than $9.4-million, with an early-termination option before the 2015-2016 season. With a season to put up decent numbers as a starter for Minnesota next year, Young is likely to opt-out and cash in on a longer term deal. 19-year-old Andrew Wiggins was the first overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft following a freshman season at Kansas when he showed flashes of brilliance, but was also criticized for not producing on a more consistent basis. Consider the end of the season, for example. Wiggins dropped a season-high 41 points on West Virginia in his final reggular-season game before scoring 52 points in two games in the Big 12 tournament and 19 in his first NCAA Tournament game before falling flat, scoring four points (on 1-of-6 shooting from the field).ddddddddddddIts not the end of the world, by any means, but the contrast over merely a few weeks shows the ups and downs that are part of Wiggins game at this point. Nevertheless, there is still ample reason that he was the number one overall pick in the draft this year. Wiggins has rare athleticism, with tremendous speed when he breaks out in the open floor and spectacular leaping ability when he attacks the rim. Wiggins athleticism should allow him to become a quality defender and, while ball-handling and shooting are areas for improvement, Wiggins has a chance to be great. It should take some time (considering he averaged 15.5 points on 40.5% shooting in NBA Summer League play), but Wiggins has the physical gifts to become a star player in the league and thats an exciting prospect for the Timberwolves, who sacrificed an already-established star in Love. With Wiggins signed for two years, plus two more team option years, on his rookie deal, the Timberwolves have time to watch Wiggins grow. There arent a lot of options in the T-Wolves rotation right now, so Wiggins should start on the wing, alongside veteran shooting guard Kevin Martin. With Love leaving, there will be lots of touches available offensively, and Martin, C Nikola Pekovic and Wiggins figure to be the players getting the most looks. Anthony Bennett, 21, was also the first overall pick, in 2013, but went through a miserable rookie season, finishing with 4.2 points and 3.0 rebounds per game, shooting 35.6% from the field. Those numbers were undeniably terrible, but he doesnt have to be a lost cause altogether. He was out of shape at the start of last season, as he recoverd from shoulder surgery and, following the season, had surgery to help with his sleep apnea. A healthier, leaner Bennett put up 13.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, shooting 42.6% from the field in NBA Summer League play. Thats a far cry from being ready to start, or fill a rotation spot in the NBA, but Bennett should have a chance to compete for rotation minutes in Minnesota, where there isnt a whole lot, aside from Young, in terms of competition for minutes. It should also be noted that Bennett did start to come around a little bit, late in his rookie season, averaging 6.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game from February through the end of the season. With the T-Wolves a long way from contending, they can afford to give Bennett the reps he needs to improve and its kind of important that he does because, after the 2014-2015 season, Minnesota will have to decide what they are going to do about the team options on Bennetts contract. The first-round pick, reportedly Miamis, is protected. If its a pick that ends up in the bottom 10 of the first round, it provides a little value, but is no difference-maker. From the 2003-2012 Drafts, picks 21-30 yielded, give or take a bit in each category, maybe two stars (Rajon Rondo, Kyle Lowry, David Lee?), 18 starters and 31 rotation players. That results in at least a rotation player slightly better than half (51) the time. Young offers some value, though he may be little more than a stopgap measure in the wake of Loves departure. If Bennett turns out to be a solid NBA player and Wiggins is an above-average starter (with star potential), then the Timberwolves get an adequate return for a player that they were potentially going to lose for nothing following next season. Its never ideal giving up the marquee player in an NBA trade, but rolling the dice on the potential of Wiggins and, to a lesser degree, Bennett, is a fair approach for Minnesota under the circumstances. The hard truth, though, is that its nearly impossible to win an NBA trade that sends a star player away, so doing their best under the circumstances still leaves the T-Wolves in a worse spot. The 76ers Get: F Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, SG Alexey Shved and a first-round pick. Mbah a Moute is a 27-year-old journeyman who had some relative success in a defensive role earlier in his career, but he struggled to handle power forwards last season. In a reserve role, defending on the wing, he could be useful, but hes mostly a warm body who can fill minutes in Philadelphia. Shved, 25, is a shooting guard who has trouble with the shooting portion. Hes one of two NBA players to log more than 2000 minutes over the past two seasons, shooting under 40% from the field (35.8%) and under 30% on three-pointers (29.5%). But, like Mbah a Moute, Shved really just fills a spot on the Philadelphia roster. Hell make a little less than $3.3-million next season, which is the final year of his current contract. Winning seems like an afterthought for the 76ers at this point. Adding the first-round pick will help them stock talent, but Philadelphia keeps taking steps away from being competitive. While giving up Young isnt disastrous to the long-term fate of the franchise, theyre worse without him and that, unfortunately, is probably part of the plan. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. 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