as Toronto dressed seven defencemen

INDIANAPOLIS - The Sacramento Kings used free throws to survive a cold start until their shooting heated up and they put an end to their eight-game losing skid.Rudy Gay led the way with 31 points, his second 30-plus total of the season, and a trio of 20-plus-point scorers helped the Kings hold off the late-charging Indiana Pacers 99-94 on Saturday night.We needed to get a win, a tough road win, Sacramento coach Tryrone Corbin said. We were able to stick it out at the end and get it.Darren Collison, who scored 12 points in the first quarter, finished with 23, and Cousins earned his 28th double-double of the season with 20 points and 19 rebounds despite fouling out late in the fourth quarter.The struggling Kings (17-29) needed their early dominance to fend off the Pacers.The Kings overcame a poor 1 of 7 shooting to open the game by driving the lane and drawing fouls. They were 6 of 6 from the line in the opening 12 minutes.Then they caught fire, finishing the quarter shooting 9-15 to build a 30-12 lead on a jumper from Gay with 1:53 to play.Sacramento outscored the Pacers 34-21 in the first and continued building the lead into the second. Midway through the period, DeMarcus Cousins made a pair of free throws to give the visitors a 55-32 lead, the largest of the game.Indiana eventually came charging back with some late free throws to cut the lead to 93-89. With less than 10 seconds to play, George Hill, who had 14 points, made a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 97-94. But Gay sealed the win from the line.Pacers coach Frank Vogel has said Indiana would struggle against talented wing players without its top defender on the floor.(Gay) is just a great scorer, he said. This is one of those nights where we miss Paul George.George was lost in August when he broke his right leg during a pre-FIBA World Cup intrasquad exhibition game.What really helped set the tone was the three primary guys getting off to a good start, Cousins said. Then the guys took the lead behind that. Once we got going, everybody got into the flow.But, as the scoring margin began to narrow, the momentum seemed to be shifting to the Pacers.Hill came off the bench and scored seven points during a 12-2 run in the second quarter to help the Pacers cut into the 23-point deficit. From the start of the run to the games conclusion, the Pacers outscored the Kings 59-42.David West and Roy Hibbert were the lone starters to have much of a scoring impact. West finished with 17, and Hibbert, 11.Indiana held a 56-11 bench scoring advantage.But down the stretch, Sacramentos big three led the way, scoring 19 of the Kings 20 final points.I think we did a good job executing down the stretch and staying poised, Cousins said. We had a little adversity and we didnt get rattled and finished the game out strong.TIP-INSKings: The starting five from Saturdays game (Gay, Thompson, Cousins, McLemore, Collison) are now 13-14 overall and were 0-5 during the now shelved eight-game losing streak. Since Tyrone Corbin took over the head coaching duties on Dec. 15, the Kings are 6-16, using seven different lineups.Pacers: The injury bug strikes again as Vogel said during his pregame interview that Lavoy Allen would miss time due to a right knee strain. ... Vogel indicated that Saturdays game would likely be the last minute-restricted game for Hill, who is recovering from a sore left groin.THE REPLACEMENTThe NBA announced on Friday that Cousins will replace the injured Kobe Bryant on the Western Conference All-Star team. The four-year veteran will make his first All-Star Game appearance and it is the first time a Sacramento player will participate in one since 2004.UP NEXT:Kings: Host Warriors on TuesdayPacers: Host Pistons on Wednesday. Cheap Predators Jerseys Authentic . -- Canada played to expectation up until halftime. Adidas Mattias Ekholm Jersey . -- Challenged for the first time under Major League Baseballs expanded replay system, umpires got it right. http://www.adidaspredatorsjerseys.com/?tag=adidas-dan-hamhuis-jersey .Impact president Joey Saputo confirmed Thursday that he is part of a group of investors whose offer to buy the 105-year-old Italian club was accepted by the teams board of directors. Adidas Miikka Salomaki Jersey .ca contributor Grant McCagg provides a look at some risers and fallers on the prospect watch. Cheap Adidas Predators Jerseys . -- Justin Verlander took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning and won his fourth straight decision, leading Detroit over the Kansas City Royals 9-4 Sunday and extending the Tigers winning streak to a season-high five games.A big night for a Predators defenceman, Leafs sniper, Sharks rising star and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking. HEROES Predators D Ryan Ellis scored a goal and two assists, then added the shootout winner, in Nashville’s 4-3 win at Arizona. Maple Leafs RW Phil Kessel scored a pair of goals and added an assist as the Maple Leafs won 5-2 at the Islanders. Kessel also had eight shot attempts (5 SOG). Sharks C Logan Couture scored a pair of goals and generated 10 shot attempts (8 SOG) in a 5-3 loss at Boston. Coyotes D Keith Yandle had a goal and an assist, generating 13 shot attempts (9 SOG) in Arizona’s 4-3 loss to Nashville. Vancouver’s top line – LW Daniel Sedin (17 shot attempts for, 0 against, 100.0%), RW Radim Vrbata (14 for, 0 against, 100.0%) and C Henrik Sedin (16 for, 1 against, 94.1%) – dominated play when they were on at even strength in the Canucks’ 6-3 loss in Dallas. The Panthers defence pairing of Dmitri Kulikov (26 shot attempts for, 6 against, 81.3%) and Willie Mitchell (26 for, 9 against, 74.3%) had a strong game for Florida in a 4-3 shootout win at Colorado. ZEROES Flames C Joe Colborne (3 shot attempts for, 16 against, 15.8%) and LW Curtis Glencross (4 for, 15 against, 21.1%) were buried in possession terms during Calgary’s 2-1 overtime loss to Tampa Bay. Canucks G Ryan Miller was pulled after allowing five goals on 13 shots in Vancouver’s 6-3 loss at Dallas. Islanders G Jaroslav Halak was pulled after allowing five goals on 23 shots in a 5-2 loss to Toronto. Avalanche D Brad Stuart (8 for, 21 against, 27.6%), primarily matched against the line of Aleksander Barkov, Sean Bergenheim and Brad Boyes, was on the wrong side of the shot attempt battle versus Florida. NOTABLEE LINEUP CHANGES Pavel Datsyuk played his first game of the season for Detroit, and assisted on Henrik Zetterberg’s goal.dddddddddddd Hurricanes D Andrej Sekera returned to the lineup, after missing a week, and played a team-high 22:28. Antti Raanta, making his first start of the season in net for the Blackhawks, stopped all 32 shots he faced for the shutout. Devils D Adam Larsson made his season debut, playing 12:50, in place of Eric Gelinas. Maple Leafs D Stuart Percy returned to the lineup, playing 13:29 against the Islanders, as Toronto dressed seven defencemen. Sharks C James Sheppard made his season debut, playing 13:29 in Boston. FIRSTS Jets rookie C Adam Lowry scored his first career goal and led the team with five hits in Winnipeg’s 3-1 win over Carolina. Bruins rookie RW Seth Griffith, skating on the wing with David Krejci and Milan Lucic, scored his first NHL goal in a 5-3 win over San Jose. MORE: Predators D Shea Weber played 33:18. Since the start of last season, there have been 20 times in which a player had more ice time in a regular season game…Maple Leafs D Roman Polak played a team-high 22:46, scored a goal and had five hits. He’s tied with Islanders LW Matt Martin for the league lead with 34 hits…In addition to Ellis, Rangers D Kevin Klein, Lightning LW Ondrej Palat and Panthers RW Brad Boyes scored overtime winners Tuesday...Bruins C David Krejci had a goal and an assist, and had the best possession stats (23 shot attempts for, 10 against, 69.7%) in the game against San Jose. Much of the data included comes from www.war-on-ice.com, www.puckalytics.com, www.hockeystats.ca and www.naturalstattrick.com Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca ' ' '