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SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Even with a new coach, the Denver Nuggets still love to push the basketball. Thats exactly what they did best Sunday night against short-handed Sacramento. Ty Lawson scored 27 points and Wilson Chandler had 20 for the Nuggets, who used their fast-paced philosophy to beat the struggling Kings 125-117. Following an emotional home win over Indiana on Saturday and a late-night flight to Sacramento, the Nuggets played the up-tempo game that was encouraged for years by George Karl and has continued under rookie coach Brian Shaw. Denver shot nearly 52 per cent, made 10 3-pointers and bothered the Kings enough at the defensive end to force 16 turnovers — many of them contributing to Denvers 33 fast-break points. It was a season high allowed by the Kings, who have had trouble all season slowing down opponents. The Nuggets are 12-2 this season when scoring at least 110 points. "We come out and run and play with energy, thats our game," Lawson said. "If we dont do that, were not going to win many games." It was the second consecutive victory for the Nuggets, who went ahead late in the third quarter and never trailed again. Denver was coming off a 109-96 victory over the Pacers, who have the best record in the NBA. The Nuggets (22-21) now return home for games against Charlotte, Toronto, the Los Angeles Clippers and Milwaukee. "Its the first time this year we have followed up a good win with another one," Shaw said. "If we take care of business at home we can really build some momentum." The Kings, who have dropped three straight and five of six, played their second consecutive game without leading scorers DeMarcus Cousins (ankle sprain) and Rudy Gay (Achilles strain). The two combine for nearly 43 points per game and are day to day. Chandler scored seven points in the fourth quarter and Kenneth Faried finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets. Timofey Mozgov added 14 points, while Nate Robinson and Randy Foye had 12 apiece. "Were starting to come around as a team," said Chandler, who made three 3-pointers and added five of Denvers 28 assists. "Were getting used to each other. We have 10 or 11 guys who can play and we dont lose a thing, no matter who is on the court." Isaiah Thomas had 22 points and eight assists for Sacramento, and Marcus Thornton scored 19. Ben McLemore added 18 points, Jason Thompson had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Derrick Williams scored 12. "We never got defensive in the game tonight," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "Both teams shot the ball the exact same field goal percentage (51.9 per cent). We were not going to outscore that team. We put up 117 points and yet everyone is worried about Rudy Gay and DeMarcus being out. I havent been worried about our offence once this year." Denver didnt have a field goal in the final 3:30 of the game, but stayed on top thanks to its foul shooting. The Nuggets made 14 of 19 free throws down the stretch, most of them in the final 3 minutes. A pair of free throws by J.J. Hickson gave Denver a seven-point lead. Robinson made one of two attempts at the line with 1:02 left, putting the Nuggets up 119-113. Lawson hit two free throws and Chandler made four straight, increasing the lead to 10. "We just couldnt get any consecutive stops in the fourth quarter," McLemore said. "We would get a stop here, but not consecutively. What happened was that we turned the ball over too much tonight. Thats what allowed them to score 125 points and 58 points in the paint. It was us not defending and turnovers." Leading by two points, the Nuggets opened the fourth quarter with a surge, taking a 111-102 lead on a 3-pointer by Robinson. But Denver went scoreless for more than 3 minutes before Lawson scored for a 113-107 advantage. Lawson gave the Kings all sorts of trouble in the third quarter, scoring 12 points to help Denver take a 95-94 lead into the fourth. Thornton scored 10 for the Kings. The Nuggets ran off eight unanswered points to open an eight-point lead in the third. But the Kings countered with a 15-2 run, including seven points from Thomas and six from Thornton, to pull ahead 80-75 at the 4:36 mark. Foye had 12 first-half points and Lawson 11 for Denver, which led 65-59 at halftime. McLemore scored 10 off the bench for the Kings, who had 12 turnovers that led to 20 points. NOTES: Thomas made a 3-pointer midway through the third quarter to extend his streak to 37 games, the second-most in franchise history. Mitch Richmond holds the team record with 39 consecutive games with a 3 during the 1996-97 season. ... In a fast-paced opening half, the Kings shot 59.5 per cent and Denver was at 54.5 per cent. ... Denver made 31 of 40 free throws. Cheap Vans Shoes Wholesale . Altidore strained his left hamstring in the Americans opener against Ghana on June 16 and didnt play in their next two games. "We dont know how much because we need to see how hes going, but hes available," U. Vans Shoes Clearance . JOHNS, N. http://www.cheapvanssale.com/. The Grizzlies erased most of a 25-point deficit before Durant, the leagues scoring champion, got hot. Wholesale Vans Shoes From China .I dont think it comes to mind in this business, in this game, the Philadelphia Flyers forward said. You dont try to lose games. Discount Vans Shoes Online .com) - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quickly found themselves a new offensive coordinator, and one thats quite familiar with the NFC South.TORONTO - The most expensive team in Toronto FC history is finishing the MLS season like all the other ones before it. Out of the playoffs.A Toronto FC team assembled with a thick chequebook was officially eliminated from post-season contention for the eighth year in a row via a 1-1 tie Saturday with the Montreal Impact, the worst road team in the league, in a game that saw three players sent off.The coup de grace was administered with Torontos two biggest stars looking on from the stands. English striker Jermain Defoe was nursing the groin injury that has disrupted the second half of his season while American midfielder Michael Bradley, who along with captain Steven Caldwell is the conscience of the team, was suspended.To make the playoffs, Toronto (11-14-8) had needed to win its remaining games against Montreal and New England and hope that fifth-place Columbus lost both its matches against New York and Philadelphia.Instead Eastern Conference cellar-dweller Montreal (6-18-9) played spoiler, denying TFC the points it needed and booking Columbus a berth in the playoffs. The Crew play the Red Bulls on Sunday.Montreal has now lost just once in its last six outings in all competitions (2-1-3). But it finishes the campaign winless on the road (0-12-5).Its disappointing. You look where we are in the standings, and there are a lot of things that we have to address, and areas where we have to adjust, but you have to have the ability to win on the road, said Montreal coach Frank Klopas.Toronto cant have any complaints, picking up one point from 12 available in the last four matches. Despite setting several single-season records in 2014, its history of failure continues.You have to execute, you have to take points ... you must win the home ones, especially down the stretch said Toronto coach Greg Vanney, citing a costly loss to Houston earlier this month.The draw today is not good enough in terms of results. Effort is one thing but execution and finishing games and taking points is what professional sports is about, he added. We put in the effort but we didnt execute well enough.Toronto, which entered the league in 2007, has never made the playoffs.The locker-room was gutted after today, because they know the season is done for them, said Vanney.We can be better for sure, he added, including himself in the equation. This premature exit is all the more painful because of the raised expectations due to the signings of designated players Defoe, Bradley and Brazilian striker Gilberto, as well as a supporting cast featuring defender Justin Morrow, midfielders Jackson, Collen Warner, Dominic Oduro and Warren Creavalle and striker Luke Moore.A bloody big deal was the TFC slogan that has come back to haunt the team. The salaries of the DPs alone totalled almost US$14 million this season.Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, promised a year ago that the club would make the post-season this time.Mark it down, write it down, film it ... were going to turn TFC around and were going to make the playoffs next year, he told an Empire Club luncheon in October 2013 after Toronto finished 17th in the 19-team league with a 6-17-11 record.Vanney had to offer a different message to his players after the game.I said take this feeling in. Because for me we should never ever have this feeling again, he said. This should be the last time. This will be the last time that we dont make the playoffs.The post-season has eluded the previous eight Toronto head coaches, including Ryan Nelsen who was axed along with five assistant coaches in August.On the positive side, Toronto has set single-season franchise highs for wins (11) and points (41) this year. The previous marks were set in 2009 (10-11-9, 39 points). But it slid down the standings in the second half of the season.It was a roller-coaster ride the whole way, said goalie Joe Bendik.But contrast Torontos season with D.C. United, which went from 19thh in the league last season with a 3-24-7 record to leading the Eastern Conference with a 16-9-7 record this season.ddddddddddddToronto has a good core to build around with the likes of Bradley, Bendik, Caldwell, Gilberto, Morrow, Nick Hagglund and Jonathan Osorio. Defoes status is up in the air, given the speculation surrounding the future at the closing of the last transfer window.It also has three first-round picks in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft.Montreal had the benefit of the wind at its back in the first half Saturday but Toronto struck first in the 20th minute, with Warren Creavalles stylish volley finding the corner of Evan Bushs goal. The chance came after Luke Moores shot squibbed off defender Matteo Ferrari high into the air before dropping nicely onto Creavalles foot.It was his first goal for Toronto FC — and the fourth of his four-year MLS career — and he may not score a nicer one.Montreal tied it up in the 39th minute — against the run of play — on Brazilian attacking midfielder Felipes powerful shot from the edge of the penalty box. Andres Romero knocked the ball over to him after taking a magnificent pass from captain Patrice Bernier just inside the Montreal side of midfield.Impact striker Jack McInerney did his part, drawing both centre backs as he ran towards goal as Romero got the ball. That left Felipe wide open.The Brazilian, a thorn in Torontos side all afternoon, celebrated his third of the season by dancing in front of the Toronto fans in the southeast corner of the stadium.Vanney called it classless, suggesting he would not take kindly to one of his own players taunting opposition supporters.Celebrate with yourselves and celebrate with your fans, he said. Just dont worry about the opposing fans. But some people see it differently.It was the 53rd goal conceded by Toronto this season.Montreal defender Heath Pearce was sent off in the 82nd minute for a scissors tackle on substitute Dominic Oduro. Osorio was ejected in stoppage time, for a tackle on Felipe. Impact defender Hassoun Camara soon followed, for a second yellow.Camara dug himself an ugly hole with a fifth-minute yellow card. In his bid to get at referee Baldomero Toledo, Camara had to be pulled away by another teammate.In helping end the season for Montreals Canadian rival, Bush saw the draw as being like a win.You always want the three points but this definitely feels like three points today, Bush said. The way the game ended was a bit unfortunate but we got the result that we needed to knock them out of the playoffs and thats what we are happy about.There were plenty of empty seats for the home finale on a breezy 11-degree day at BMO Field. But it was no fault of Montreal, which had a healthy travelling contingent in the west stand. The announced crowd was 18,329, the second straight non-sellout.It was an exciting game and more important than anything, it was great to see the amount of fans, our fans, that came from Montreal, the atmosphere was great, said Klopas. It was good to put on a display like that. Its easy to say, I think we deserved to win the game but it was a very good performance in front of what felt like a home crowd with all our fans coming down here.Argentine midfielder Ignacio Piatti, who joined the Impact as a designated player in July, sat out the game with a knee injury. Montreal star striker Marco Di Vaio started on the bench after travelling to Italy for the midweek announcement that his old club Bologna is being bought by a consortium that includes Impact owner Joey Saputo. Di Vaio, who is retiring at the end of the season, came on in the 79th minute. The Italian nearly recorded the winner in stoppage time but his shot deflected wide.The Impact visit the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday in the final match of the CONCACAF Champions League group stage before returning home for its season finale Saturday against D.C. United in Di Vaios swansong.———Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter. ' ' '