couple of huge dunks by Green to answer some by Shaun Livingston, P

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Sacramento Kings coach Michael Malone didnt hold his tongue about his teams shortcomings on the defensive end following its lopsided loss to Miami. They responded a night later by supplying him with plenty of offence. Rudy Gay and Isaiah Thomas each scored 23 points, and the Kings held off the Orlando Magic 105-100 Saturday night. The Kings connected on a season-high 12 3-pointers in the victory, helping to end a three-game losing streak. It was their lone victory of a four-game road trip. Marcus Thornton added 15 and DeMarcus Cousins chipped in 14 points and 11 rebounds. "It was a disappointing road trip, but instead of hanging our heads and feeling sorry for ourselves we battled back," Malone said. The Kings have yet to find a rhythm since acquiring Gay, Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray in a trade with Toronto two weeks ago. But Gay said hell take progress any way it comes. "You want to win every one, but we got this one, and this will make our road trip a little easier on the road back," he said. "But weve still got a long way to go." Arron Afflalo led Orlando with 26 points in his return to the lineup after sitting out for the first time this season with an illness Wednesday. Tobias Harris finished with 21 points. The Magic fell to 0-13 when opponents have scored 100 or more points. They have lost four of their last five, and four straight at home. The Magic clung to a two-point lead entering the final quarter, but were outscored 18-4 in the first five minutes as the Kings took a 93-81 lead. Sacramento maintained its cushion until a 3-pointer and layup by Harris got the Magic within 98-93 with 3:25 to play. After getting a stop on the other end, Afflalo got free on a fast break but his layup attempt rolled off the rim. Cousins then got a layup, and was fouled. He missed his free throw, but was fouled again. He then made 1 of 2 free throws to make it 101-93. The Magic kept scrapping, and got down to 101-97 with under a minute to play. They had the ball with 55.4 seconds, but turned it over on the inbounds play when Afflalo slipped near the sideline and Victor Oladipos pass sailed over his head and out of bounds. "The margin of error is pretty small," Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. "Those plays throughout the course of a game, they add up. And I think thats the lesson for us. As you continue to grow, those possessions matter." Malone went as far as questioning his teams commitment after giving up 70 points in the paint to the Heat. But he also acknowledged before Saturdays game that it would take more practice time before their recent trade acquisitions to get comfortable. The trio have been active for six games since the trade, but gotten in only one full practice with their new teammates in that span. Gay, who has started all six of his games with Sacramento, was sluggish early against the Magic and missed his first five shots before finally getting on the board late in the second quarter. His teammates backed him up, though, shooting 49 per cent for the game. "We had a lousy first quarter. They shot 61 per cent, then after that we defended at a much higher level, and this time we were able to close out and get the win," Malone said. With Afflalo back in the lineup, the Magic had a much better flow from the outset offensively. They shot a season-low 32 per cent in their loss to Utah, but recovered to shoot 47 per cent against the Kings. It wasnt enough, thanks to errors down the stretch. Despite being mired in a stretch that has seen the Magic drop 10 of their last 12, Afflalo said hes not concerned about their recent woes consuming them. "We wont have it where its like out of hand and were not competitive anymore," he said. "So I dont really care too much about, you know, the East being weak or whatever. ... The reality is were four or five games from being in a comfortable spot in the playoffs. Thats what this season calls for. Thats how Im going to approach it." NOTES: The Kings won their first road game since Dec. 7. ... Oladipo had a streak of 16 consecutive starts end Saturday night. ... Cousins received a technical foul with 5:08 left in the fourth quarter for arguing with referee Ken Mauer. Brandon Morrow Jersey . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell while figuring out which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Jon Lester Cubs Jersey . -- Omar Infante walked past the visiting clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium, where he dressed so many times as a member of the Detroit Tigers, and slipped on a crisp, new Kansas City Royals jersey. http://www.cubsauthentic.com/cubs-ian-happ-jersey/ . So he and his Toronto FC teammates say they will have no problem getting up for their Amway Canadian Championship final against rival Montreal Impact, even if the result doesnt count toward Major League Soccer standings. David Ross Cubs Jersey .com) - Pittsburgh Steelers running back LeVeon Bell, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Elvis Dumervil and New England Patriots punter Ryan Allen were selected as the AFCs top players for Week 14 of the NFL season. Mike Montgomery Cubs Jersey . The Australian is competing in his final season in Formula One and still looking for his first win this year. He will look to end Vettels run of six straight race wins on Sunday. Webber, who is fifth in the championship, earned his second pole from the past three races and 13th of his career. NEW YORK -- Deron Williams felt so good, he even dunked for the first time this season. Or, maybe he didnt. "Were trying to debate if that was a dunk," Brooklyn coach Jason Kidd said. It wasnt pretty, but it went in, just like nearly every other shot Williams took in one of his best games of the season. Williams scored 28 points, leading the Nets to a 108-95 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night that extended their home winning streak to nine. Williams shot 11 of 13 from the field and looks all the way back after ankle problems wrecked his first half of the season. He was two points off his season high and rose above the rim to throw down a dunk that finished off a fourth-quarter fast break started by Andrei Kirilenkos steal. The dunk wasnt exactly a no-doubter, but far better than what Williams was capable of a couple of months ago. "Im going to give it to him," rookie Mason Plumlee said. "Hes gone up about three times now with great courage. If at first you dont succeed, keep trying. This one, I mean it rattled in, so he didnt get the flush, but he got a dunk. Theres a difference." Williams joked that his coach was supposed to have his back, adding that Kidd "was never a dunker in his day, either." But theres no debating that the two-time Olympian looks better, and so do the Nets when he plays like this. "Im definitely feeling better," Williams said after shooting 80 per cent in a game for the first time in his career. "Still not jumping that high, as you can tell, but definitely feeling better and more confident every day." Joe Johnson added 19 points for the Nets, on their longest home winning streak since winning nine straight from March 15-April 6, 2006. Playing without Kevin Garnett because of back spasms for the ninth straight game, the Nets continued to thrive playing small ball, making 67.5 per cent of their shots in the first half and leading by as much as 23 in the game. Garnett hasnt played this month and will miss at least two more games before he is re-evaluated Saturday before the Nets leave for a three-game trip. But Mason Plumlee had another strong game in his absence, ffinishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds in outplaying his brother, Miles.dddddddddddd Markieff Morris scored 18 points and Gerald Green 17 for the Suns, who were seeking a perfect three-game trip against Atlantic Division teams after winning at Boston and Toronto. But they never led and fell 1 1/2 games behind Memphis for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. "We cant have these semi-efforts on nights. We had terrible effort tonight," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. "This team has a bunch of All-Stars on it. This should have been a big game to get hyped up. Maybe we were worn out with four games in five nights. I dont know." Kidd talked before the game about how potent the Suns, who scored 121 points at Toronto, could be. But it was the Nets who were quicker up and down the floor in their 16th victory in their last 18 home games. The Nets made eight of their first 11 shots, hit 70 per cent in the first quarter, and led by as much as 14 in the period before taking a 30-20 lead to the second. With a couple of huge dunks by Green to answer some by Shaun Livingston, Phoenix was able to match Brooklyn in first-half highlights but not in baskets. Williams made all three of his shots in the second quarter, including a layup that gave the Nets a 62-49 lead at the break. "They were better than us today," Suns guard Goran Dragic said. "We tried to battle but we didnt find energy, and when you play hard you get all the calls. They were just better in all aspects of the game." Phoenix cut it to 76-67 on Morris three-point play, but Johnson and Paul Pierce hit consecutive 3-pointers to start a 14-0 burst and gave the Nets a 90-67 lead with 1:20 remaining in the third quarter. NOTES: Livingston, who suffered a devastating knee injury early in his career, surpassed his previous bests for minutes played and points scored in a season Monday. ... Brooklyns Jorge Gutierrez played 7 scoreless minutes on the day he signed a second 10-day contract. He played in only one game during the first deal. ... The game featured two sets of brothers, with the Suns Morris twins, Markieff and Marcus, and the Plumlees. ' ' '