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DENVER -- Paul Pierce scored 18 points and the Brooklyn Nets rebounded from their worst loss more than 10 years by routing the slumping Denver Nuggets 112-89 on Thursday night. Dwight Gooden Jersey . Joe Johnson, Marcus Thornton, and Mason Plumlee each added 10 points for the Nets, who snapped a six-game losing streak in Denver. The Nets hadnt won in the Mile High City since a 112-102 victory on Jan. 27, 2007. Randy Foye had 15 points to lead Denver, which has lost four in a row and nine of 10. Brooklyns 7-foot centre Jason Collins, the NBAs first openly gay player appearing in his third game since being signed to a 10-day contract, was given a round of applause from the crowd when he entered the game for the first time with 8:02 left. Collins finished with three points. Before the game, Collins said he planned to meet afterward with the family of Wyoming college student Matthew Shephard, who was tortured and murdered in 1998 because he was gay. Collins wears his No. 98 jersey in Shepards honour, and he said during a pregame news conference that the chance to meet Dennis and Judy Shepard was "one of those cool treats in life." The Nets were coming off a 104-80 loss at Portland the night before, their biggest loss since a 47-point defeat to Memphis on Dec. 13, 2003. But they quickly put that behind them with a runaway win of their own in a game in which they never trailed. Pierce scored 11 points in the third quarter, helping the Nets extend their lead to 38 points. Brooklyn took an 89-56 advantage into the fourth quarter and played reserves for most of the rest of the game. The offensive struggles by Denver, which was without leading scorer Ty Lawson (left rib fracture) for an eighth consecutive game, were epitomized in the first quarter. The Nuggets were held to a season-low eight points on 3-for-18 shooting from the floor (16.7 per cent) and trailed by as many 31 points in the second quarter before managing to get within 23 at the half. It got bad enough for the Nuggets that the crowd, after seeing Timofey Mozgov and Kenneth Faried both miss dunks in the first quarter, cheered derisively when Mozgov hit a layup early in the second. The Nets took advantage of the Nuggets horrible start to pull out to 59-36 halftime lead. Each of 10 Nets players seeing action to that point scored at least once. Denver ended up with as many turnovers in the first quarter as points. NOTES: The Nuggets were also without F Wilson Chandler, who was held out of the game because of sore right knee. ... The previous low for points in a quarter by the Nuggets was 12, against Oklahoma City on Jan. 9. ... The Nets Shaun Livingston made his 33rd start of the year, the most in a season in his career. ... Brooklyn improved to 4-10 in the second of back to back games. ... Since the beginning of January, the Nets have gone 17-8, fourth-best among Eastern Conference teams in that stretch. ... Denver, historically one of the teams with the strongest home-court advantage, fell to 14-15 at the Pepsi Center this season. ... All 13 Nets playing in the game scored. Tom Seaver Jersey . The St. Louis Cardinals were scheduled to arrive in Boston in time for a workout on Tuesday afternoon. Much of Mondays discussion focused on Bostons lineup considerations as the series progresses, specifically when the venue shifts to St. Curtis Granderson Mets Jersey . -- Kyle Blanks homered in his home debut at the Coliseum and Derek Norris capped Oaklands five-homer day with a grand slam and the Athletics snapped a season-long four-game losing streak with a 10-0 win over the Detroit Tigers on Monday. NEW YORK -- Mike Matheny tried all sorts of things to snap the Cardinals out of their hitting funk. The St. Louis manager let his players show up late to the ballpark. He gave Yadier Molina a rare chance to bat cleanup. He encouraged star Carlos Beltran to swing away at a 3-0 pitch. Not a whole lot worked, though. Not until Allen Craig provided what any struggling team will always take -- a big home run. Craig hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the eighth inning and the Cardinals found a bit of absent pop, beating the New York Mets 5-4 Monday and stopping their season-worst losing streak at five. The Cardinals have never been swept in a four-game series in New York. The World Series champions had been outscored 19-1 by the Mets and no-hit by Johan Santana before salvaging the finale at Citi Field. "Doesnt take much. Just a win," Matheny said. "That was much needed, and nobody needed it more than we did. It will change the atmosphere around here. You never know which win will be the one that helps you take off." St. Louis seemed headed for another rough day at the plate when five of its first seven batters struck out. All told, the Cardinals fanned 41 times in the series. "Even early on, we started out with a few strikeouts. Its just one of those periods you go through," Matheny said. "You just got to keep working, keep fighting. Youve got to trust yourself and, fortunately, we got a couple of big hits when we needed them and thats the thing we were missing." Pinch hitter Scott Hairston and Lucas Duda homered for the Mets, who missed a chance to move all alone into the NL East lead. After playing the Mets on Sunday night, Matheny permitted his players to report late on a rainy morning, with most of them getting to the ballpark about two hours before game time. Craig connected one out after Matt Holliday hit a leadoff single against Jon Rauch (3-5) for a 5-3 lead. "I knew it was a big hit," Craig said. "Were too talented to stay in a slump too long." "I dont know if I would say we were antsy," he said. "We have a really good offensive team, but were not going to go out there and hit every game." The Mets cut the deficit in the bottom half when Andres Torres hit a long sacrifice fly, but closer Jason Motte retired David Wright on an inning-ending liner to right fieeld with a runner at third base. Jon Niese Mets Jersey. Motte finished for his ninth save in 12 chances. Marc Rzepczynski (1-3) wound up with the win despite allowing Hairstons eighth career pinch-hit homer in the seventh, a two-run shot with two outs that made it 3-all. Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse pitched six sharp innings and allowed only two hits, including Dudas solo homer halfway up the second deck in the fourth. Dillon Gee limited the Cardinals to Craigs RBI single before his throwing error in the seventh broke a tie game. "Obviously, it wasnt a no-hitter or another shutout," Gee said. "But I pitched well." With runners at the corners, no outs and the score 1-all, Gee gloved Daniel Descalsos comebacker and looked Craig back to third. Gee then tried to start a double play, but bounced his throw into centre field and twisted his head in disgust. The go-ahead run scored on the error, and Rafael Furcals RBI grounder made it 3-1. The Cardinals took their first lead of the series in the fourth. Holliday led off with a double, moved up on a groundout and scored when Craig bounced a single through the partly pulled-in infield. NOTES: Rauch has tenderness in his right elbow and will be checked by a doctor. He has lost five straight decisions... Wright scored his 735th run, tying the Mets record set by Jose Reyes. ... Mets LHP Johan Santana will make his next start Friday night at Yankee Stadium. The Mets wanted to give him extra rest after threw a career-high 134 pitches Friday night in the teams first no-hitter. The NL Player of the Week was scheduled to present the Top Ten list on David Lettermans "Late Show" on Monday night but did not make the appearance because of the teams travel schedule. ... Mets RHP Chris Young, who missed most of last season because of shoulder surgery and has been in the minors this year, is ready to start Tuesday night at Washington. ... OF Jason Bay (broken rib) felt ill and wont rejoin the Mets on Tuesday, manager Terry Collins said. ... Cardinals CF Shane Robinson again was out of the starting lineup. He was scratched Sunday night with a migraine. ... Matheny was eager to see Monday nights MLB draft. His son, Tate, is a CF who led his high school to the state title and is widely regarded as the best prep player in the St. Louis area. ... The Mets swept a four-game series at St. Louis in 1986. wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
