He had been outstanding in place of Beltre

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Rudy Gay walked off the court to a standing ovation in the final minutes, receiving high-fives from coaches and teammates on the bench -- and a hug from DeMarcus Cousins. Nobody might be more thankful than Sacramentos centre for the added help. Gay scored 26 points in his first home game since coming over in a trade from Toronto, leading the Kings past the Houston Rockets 106-91 on Sunday night. "It makes the game so much easier," Cousins said. "Its not such a heavy load on me and Isaiah (Thomas) every night, just having another go-to guy." With Gay leading the way, Sacramento outshot Houston 48.1 to 41.3 per cent and finally showed some signs of defence. Cousins collected 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Thomas had 19 points and eight assists to help Sacramento hold on to the lead for most of the final 35 minutes. Gay added five rebounds and four assists. He finished 10 for 20 from the field in a dazzling home debut for the Kings, who had lost eight of their past 10 games. "The basketball is going to be in my hands a lot," Gay said, "so Im just trying to keep everybody comfortable and keep everybody happy." James Harden sprained his left ankle early in the third quarter and finished with 25 points, and Dwight Howard had 13 points and 10 rebounds while battling foul trouble in a disappointing end to Houstons quick three-game road trip. The Rockets lost at Portland on Thursday and won at Golden State on Friday. Rockets assistant Kelvin Sampson filled in for Kevin McHale all three games following the death of McHales mother. Guard Jeremy Lin sat out with back spasms and forward Terrence Jones had two points and five assists while playing just 15 minutes because of flu-like symptoms. Its unclear whether Harden or Lin will be able to play Wednesday against Chicago in Houston. "Its very, very painful," Harden said of his ankle. "I am trying to get through this, stay positive and focus on getting back." Sacramentos newest attraction seized the opportunity. Gay, who came over in a seven-player trade from Toronto last week, had 24 points in the loss at Phoenix on Friday. He started quickly in his first game at home for Sacramento, scoring 14 points in the first quarter, including a series of scintillating drives and dunks that brought most of the announced crowd of 15,606 roaring to their feet. "It makes my job easier on offence. Thats for sure," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "Hes so skilled. Hes so talented. He makes it look so easy out there. He can score in so many ways." As Houstons mistakes piled up, Sacramento surged ahead. The Kings took advantage of 11 turnovers by the Rockets in the first half to go ahead 48-38 late in the second quarter. Houston had six turnovers in the second half. Sacramento didnt exactly play a clean game, either. The Kings finished with 16 turnovers. "We still had opportunities to win," Howard said. "But we didnt capitalize on them." Harden gave the Rockets a bigger scare when he twisted his ankle stepping on Ben McLemores foot while driving through traffic early in the third quarter. Harden lay on the hardwood for a couple minutes, but stayed in the game to make both free throws -- lifting his left foot in the air while shooting -- before limping to the locker room. Harden returned later in the quarter, and appeared slightly hampered. The Rockets also struggled to regroup, especially with Howard on the bench in foul trouble. Sampson admitted he "probably should not have put" Harden back in the game. But he was more frustrated with Houstons effort from the start. "I didnt think we were ready to play," Sampson said. "I didnt think it was a good effort. We are letting too many of these type of games slip away." NOTES: Kings G Marcus Thornton did not play in the first half. He had two points in nearly 7 minutes in the second half. ... Houston had won five of its previous six games at Sacramento. ... Rockets big man Omer Asik, who has been the subject of trade rumours, missed his sixth straight game with what the team has called a bruised right thigh. Air Max 720 Italia . Murakami gracefully executed a double triple toe jump and a triple flip jump that put her at the top of a tightly contested race with 64.73 points, just ahead of Li Zijun of China on 62. Air Max Plus Ingrosso . Both of Padakins goals came in the second period while Zane Jones added a single in the first period for Calgary (13-6-4). Hitmen goaltender Chris Driedger finished with 30 saves for the shutout. http://www.airmaxshoponlineitalia.it/ . -- The Oakland Athletics and free agent right-hander Bartolo Colon have agreed to terms on a US$2 million, one-year contract, bolstering their depleted starting rotation. Scarpe Paul George Scontate . This week, topics cover the Blue Jays rotation, the futures John Gibbons and Alex Anthopoulos, protecting pitchers and a bonus question on his predictions for the MLB playoffs. Nike Air Max Plus Scontate . Rodgers was ruled out on Friday by Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. Matt Flynn will make his second consecutive start for the Packers.SEATTLE -- Texas manager Ron Washington is tired of talking about all of the Rangers injuries. The latest is to third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list Friday with a herniated disk in his lower back. Fortunately for the Rangers, Adrian Beltre was ready to return from his quadriceps injury and was activated from the DL before Texas played the Seattle Mariners. And the lingering question remains outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, who tested out his sore heel for the first time since getting injured earlier in the week. "Its a situation you just cant do anything about. Everyone around here knows that theyre trusted and you just keep going," Washington said. "Thats all you can do. Theyre not going to stop our schedule. Youve just got to keep going. At some point this testing that is happening to us will stop and well get healthy and we can go. But until then weve got to keep going with what weve got." Kouzmanoff left Tuesdays game in Oakland with back tightness. He had been outstanding in place of Beltre, hitting .362 with two homers, six doubles and 10 RBIs in 13 games since his contract was purchased from Triple-A Round Rock. Kouzmanoff was the American League player of the week April 14-20. NNow theres uncertainty about when he might be able to return after he was examined by a back specialist in Texas earlier Friday.dddddddddddd Beltre was placed on the disabled list April 13, retroactive to April 9, with a strained left quad. He was hitting .286 with four RBIs in eight games before getting injured. He was looking forward to getting back in time to face buddy Felix Hernandez on Saturday night. Beltre has learned how to manage issues with his hamstrings in the past and said he likely wouldnt push himself the first week back from the quad injury. Choo and the Rangers believe hell be able to avoid the disabled list. Choo got hurt Monday night in Oakland when he landed awkwardly while extending his leg to beat out an infield single. He hit in the indoor cage and did some running on the field Friday. Choo said there were no problems when he hit, but said he continued to feel pain in the heel when he ran. Still, Choo believes the progress hes made from when the injury first happened should keep him from needing to be out for 15 days. Washington said if Choo felt OK on Saturday he would go through batting practice on the field. "I dont want to go on the DL and Im positive before 15 days Ill feel better," Choo said. ' ' '