as he nearly caught goalkeeper Adrian Neuer out after a poor

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Rudy Gay knew he could play better and turned the trick Friday night, treating his teammates and the fans to a superb all-around performance.Gay scored 40 points — one off his career high —including a pair of key 3-pointers, and the Sacramento Kings surprised the Portland Trail Blazers 103-94 on Friday night.I havent had a good game this preseason and season and I just wanted to be aggressive, Gay said. I calmed down and tried to make plays better.DeMarcus Cousins added 17 points and nine rebounds for the Kings, who rebounded from a sloppy season-opening loss to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.Darren Collison added 17 points, eight assists and eight rebounds. Omri Casspi had 10 points.I was waiting for a game like that from Rudy, Kings coach Michael Malone said. To step up the way he did, getting to the foul line, was great.LaMarcus Aldridge scored 22 points to lead the Trail Blazers, who were coming off a season-opening victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Damian Lillard added 20 points, while Wesley Matthews had 16 and Chris Kaman 12.An intentional foul call went against Nicolas Batum, putting Gay on the line. He converted both free throws and then added a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to spark a Kings 13-0 run midway through the final period.That was a big call, Gay said. The biggest part of that play was that I could jump out for the 3 because I had help.Steve Blake and Matthews hit consecutive 3-pointers to start the fourth quarter and give the Trail Blazers a 77-73 lead.The Kings opened an 11-point lead midway through the third quarter, riding Gays torrid shooting. He sank his first five shots of the period, including the 3-pointer that gave the Kings their double-digit lead.Sacramento did a great job of doing a lot of the dirty work, Portland coach Terry Stotts said. They got the loose balls and the rebounds.The Kings also committed 10 turnovers, 17 fewer than they gave up against the Warriors.Its amazing what happens when you dont beat yourself, Malone said. Our ball movement and execution was much better.Portland eventually played its way back and tied the game at 71 entering the final quarter.Gay, 5 for 15 against the Warriors on Wednesday, also made his first five shots to help the Kings open an early lead.The game was tied at 48 at halftime.PIVOTAL MOMENTThe Trail Blazers were making a run in the final five minutes of the contest. With 3:18 remaining to play, Gay came up with a steal that led to an alley opp pass for Ben McLemore to slam home, putting the exclamation point on the win.STATS OF THE NIGHTDuring the Kings 13-0 run in the fourth quarter, the Trail Blazers went nearly seven minutes without scoring. . The Kings turned 11 Portland turnovers into 21 points while the Trail Blazers managed 12 points on 10 Sacramento turnovers.TIP INSTrail Blazers: All five Portland starters averaged double figures against the Warriors last year. . Portland had won the first meeting in each of the previous seven seasons against the Kings. . Matthews missed his first five 3-point attempts after hitting 5 of 9 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.Kings: Have lost seven straight against the Clippers in Los Angeles. . Cousins had 53 double-doubles last year and opened the season with another one. He got into foul trouble early in the third quarter and did not get a rebound in about five minutes. He grabbed five in the final period, leaving him one rebound short of another double-double.WHATS NEXTTrail Blazers: Host the Golden State Warriors on Sunday.Kings: Travel to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. China Shoes Nike . The closer wasnt available. The road trip, a disaster to that point. Fake China Shoes . Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane wanted to stay in Chicago and the Blackhawks wanted to keep the high-scoring forwards in the only NHL uniform they have ever known. https://www.chinashoesshop.com/ . Ronaldo failed to connect on an ample number of opportunities at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. But Karim Benzema and Jese Rodriguez scored in each half for Madrid to come out of the first leg with the firm advantage. Cheap Shoes From China . Down 2-1 after Rick Nash scored on a penalty shot, the Oilers ran off four unanswered goals in the remainder of the second period on the way to a 6-3 victory on Sunday. China Shoes Wholesale . -- Kyle Busch edged teammate Joey Logano at the Bristol Motor Speedway finish line Friday night to become the all-time winningest driver in Nationwide Series.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hi Kerry, Love reading your column and loved watching your analysis on the TSN broadcasts!And were now in Round 2! Bruins! Canadiens! We know all about the great games of the past from the players, the broadcasters and the writers. How many games have you officiated between these two teams and what memories do you have from them?Kenneth Wilder,Montreal Kenneth: I worked far too many games between these two great Original Six Adams Division rivals during my 30 year NHL career to even count. What I will never forget is the intense energy that was created both on the ice and in the stands whenever these two teams met. The Bruin teams that general manager Harry Sinden assembled always had some scary dudes in the lineup to deal with over the years. The Big Bad Bruins were best known for playing a tough, intimidating, yet hard-working style that often made it a challenge for any referee to keep things under control. Players such as Wayne Cashman, Terry OReilly, Stan Jonathan or Jay Miller, just to mention a few, could usually be counted upon to make my life interesting. Star players like Raymond Bourque, Rick Nifty Middleton, and power forwards Al Secord and Cam Neely balanced the Bruins attack. I saw Jean Ratelle at the end of his career as a Boston Bruin and recall that Mr. Ratelle was one of the finest gentlemen I ever dealt with on the ice. Montreal tended to prefer a speed and finesse game led by the grace and skill of Guy Lafleur but they had their share of top notch muckers, grinders and checkers as well. Bob Gainey, Guy Carbonneau, Brian Skrudland, Mike Keane, Ryan Walter, Kirk Muller were all examples of Hab players that played a 200 foot game that was instilled by a long list of Hab coaches. Some of the best fights I witnessed involved John Kordic of the Habs. Mario Tremblay was a guy that played the game the right way and could really fight as well. I would be remiss if I didnt mention my new bestie Chris Nilan who I always had to keep a sharp eye on when he played for both the Canadiens and the Bruins! One of the most bizarre lines of defense I ever heard from a player in a league hearing came from Nuckles after I assessed the Canadiens tough guy a match penalty for knocking Nifty Middletons teeth out with a butt-end (Nucks still insists it was his glove). The incident took place in a game in the Bruins end zone, well away from the play and as the puck was moving up ice. Fortunately I snapped my head back toward Nilan in the perfect moment to catch the strike on Middleton. At the subsequent hearing held in the NHL boardroom in Montreal I got the cold icy stare from Nuckles when he arrived with team general manager Serge Savard. League disciplinarian, V.P. Brian ONeill, read my game report and the asked Chris if he had anything to say on his behalf.dddddddddddd In a thick Boston accent Nucks said, "Yah, I got something to say for myself; Kerry Fraser picks on me and gives me more penalties than any other referee in the league. Whenever Im on the ice hes always watching me. Just to prove my point, if he had of been watching what he should have been (the puck and play going up ice) he wouldnt have seen me butt-end Middleton in the mouth!" Serge Savard practically spit his coffee all over the board room table following Nilans unusual line of defense. Brian ONeill suspended Chris for eight games, which at the time was substantial (Catch Nuckles on his terrific show on TSN Radio Montreal. Chris picks on me now as a frequent guest on his radio show). As we approach Game 1 tonight of the 34th such playoff series between the Bruins and the Canadiens, I will share two personal experiences. The first involves the classy superstar and HHOF member Raymond Bourque. After the national anthem and prior to the opening puck drop, Bourque approached me quietly and advised me to be sure to move away from the dot at center ice quickly if his center ice man won the faceoff cleanly back to him. If that were to happen, Bourque said he was going to pound the puck at the Montreal net to try and catch Patrick Roy off guard. Sure enough, the puck was drawn back cleanly to Raymond. The Bruin wound up for a slapper with his head up but noticed that I got caught up in the wingers behind me and was unable to clear the spot. Instead of blasting the puck, Bourque froze his pose in the back swing. My life practically passed before my eyes but the deliberate pregnant pause allowed me to back away before Raymond pounded the puck through the very spot that I had been standing a moment earlier. Game on as Roy made the save. The other involves a fan that was either drunk, out of control, or most likely both. In a very tough game I had just assessed a penalty and was standing in the referee crease during a commercial timeout and as the players stood at their respective bench. An empty 26 ounce Seagrams whiskey bottle flew out of the upper level of the Forum and landed at center ice. The bottle hit the ice flat, didnt break and began to spin as it moved in my direction. The bottle then struck the dasher kick plate beside my skate and amazingly still did not break. I picked the empty bottle of 5 Star off the ice and handed it to the penalty timekeeper. Even though these incidents occurred in different games from different playoff seasons, I had two narrow misses; one from a Raymond Bourque slap shot while the other was a flying whiskey bottle. Ray demonstrated the class I always experienced from the Bs superstar. The only positive thing I can say about the classless fan is that at least he drained the contents of the bottle prior to throwing it! I expect an emotional, tough series between these two old Adams Division rivals. ' ' '