SACRAMENTO, Calif. Carlos Dunlap Jersey . -- For nearly two months, the Philadelphia 76ers couldnt win a road game. Lately, they cant lose. Thaddeus Young scored 28 points, Evan Turner had 24 and the 76ers defeated the Sacramento Kings 113-104 on Thursday night for their third straight victory. The suddenly surging 76ers took the lead early in the second quarter and never trailed again in winning their third consecutive road game after losing the previous 13. Prior to the winning streak, Philadelphias last road win was Nov. 1 against Washington. "We were talking and we dont know when was the last time weve done that," Spencer Hawes said. "Coming out west, its something thats very hard to do." With the 76ers coming off an impressive victory Wednesday night in Denver, it might have seemed more likely the rested Kings would have more energy. Yet it was the young 76ers displaying more effort, forcing the sloppy Kings into 23 turnovers that led to 27 Philadelphia points. The 76ers had seven players in double figures against Denver and five one night later. In a foul-plagued game, the bench contributed 41 points. "We are really making an effort on the defensive end," Young said. "And on offence were sharing the ball better than we have at any stretch all season." Young had a big game at both ends of the court. He made a career-high six steals, including five in the first half, to tie the arena record. He shot 9 of 16 and had seven rebounds, four assists and zero turnovers. "Thaddeus is playing with a high level of confidence, supported by his skill set," 76ers coach Brett Brown said. "Hes playing with both energy and explosiveness." Turner also enjoyed a strong overall game. He hit 11 of 22 shots and added 10 rebounds and six assists. Reserve guard Tony Wroten scored 21 points for Philadelphia, which ends its six-game road trip Saturday in Portland. Lavoy Allen and Hawes added 10 points apiece. DeMarcus Cousins scored 22 of his 33 points in the opening half for the Kings, who lost their sixth home game in a row to the 76ers. "I thought we had no energy tonight. I dont know if it had anything to do with we were playing a team with a losing record," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "They knew that the 76ers had just beaten Denver and L.A. on the road. And shoot, weve got a losing record. So I dont think that was the case. It was the matter of us not being able to find a rhythm or consistent energy tonight." Isaiah Thomas had 23 points and seven assists, and Rudy Gay scored 18 for the Kings. Jimmer Fredette had 12 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, and Derrick Williams scored 11. Cousins, who had 14 rebounds, picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter and sat out the remainder of the period. He was called for his fifth foul less than 3 minutes into the fourth. Fredette started the fourth quarter and scored 10 points in just under 4 minutes, rallying the Kings to 98-93. But the 76ers countered with nine straight points to increase their lead to 14 at the 3:56 mark, and Sacramento never threatened again. "Its a setback, but weve just got to keep moving forward," Fredette said. "We still have four home games on this homestand. We just need to come out to play and try to get the next one. Its disappointing. We have to play better, and we need more energy." Young had 11 points in the third quarter when Philadelphia added to its lead, taking a 92-77 advantage into the fourth. Thomas made a pair of 3-pointers and scored 14 for the Kings, who committed six turnovers in the third. After the Kings cut the lead to nine in the third period, the 76ers ran off nine straight points -- six by Young -- to build an 83-65 cushion. Wroten and Turner both had 13 points in the first half as the 76ers shot 50 per cent to open a 61-51 lead. Playing a physical game inside, Cousins shot 8 of 11 on free throws and scored 22 points in the opening half. NOTES: Thomas connected on a 3 early in the first quarter and has made one in 25 straight games. ... Hawes, who played his first three seasons with the Kings, was booed all game. Last season when the city was trying to keep the team in Sacramento, Hawes publicly stated he wanted the Seattle group to buy the Kings and move them. Hawes, who fouled out, grew up a Seattle SuperSonics fan. ... Kings reserve guard Marcus Thornton drew a delay of game in the first quarter. He apparently was tucking in his shirt a little too slowly for referee Danny Crawford. ... Cousins drew his NBA-leading 10th technical foul in the second quarter. Vincent Rey Jersey . "Our level of work has to go up," said Carlyle on Thursday. "Weve stated that and weve (told) our players that the message is going to start to be delivered in a different manner if were not going to get the results that were looking for. Dre Kirkpatrick . The league announced the decision on its website Saturday, shortly before AC Milan was due to kick off against Genoa at 6 p.m. local time. The 25-year-old Morosini died about an hour earlier after suffering cardiac arrest during his teams Serie B match at Pescara.BOSTON – The scab of their Game 7 defeat here was nearly six months old. And though the sting may have wavered some since mid-May, the Leafs exited TD Garden in Boston on Saturday evening just a little bit short once more. "Youre never going to get an easy game, especially coming in here," said Joffrey Lupul, the lone Leafs goal-scorer in a physically testing 3-1 defeat. "We knew what to expect." Chunks of good, clusters of bad and bits of ugly defined a long-awaited return to Boston, the first since a historic collapse in the first round of the postseason last May. The disjointed but generally inspired effort featured yet another off-kilter, one-sided start; a middle frame that featured arguably the clubs best hockey of the season; and a rare complete defeat in the special teams department. "I think that the game was played in a couple parts for us," said Randy Carlyle afterward, encouraged by some aspects of the performance, unhappy with others. Like a slew of other opening periods this season, the start didnt inspire much confidence for the visitors. Treading water in their own zone for most of the first 20 minutes, the Leafs were caught in retreat by the muscle of the home side attack. Mustering just seven shots – out-attempted 30-14 – they trailed 1-0 on a power-play goal from Zdeno Chara, the first of two opposite a penalty kill that had yet to yield more than one in a game all season. "I didnt think we had a very good start to the game," Carlyle said. "They were all over us." The structure of the evening reversed course considerably in the second. With their line combinations jumbled (more on that below), the Leafs established improbable shift after shift of relentless pressure in the Bruins end. They were fast, physical and completely in line with the template Carlyle has been harping on all year; more slug-it-out hockey and less of the show-time inspired brand thats dominated early season play. "Thats more the type of hockey that were going to ask this hockey club to play," he said of the effort. The Leafs outshot the Bruins 18-10 in the period, mustering a goal when Lupul slung a puck above and beyond the glove of Tuukka Rask, who was otherwise brilliant with 33 saves. "I thought we elevated our game quite a bit, especially in the second period," said Lupul, who fired a season-high eight shots opposite Rask. "We really took control of the game for a while, but unfortunately Rask was pretty solid and we couldnt get that second one by him." It took only 66 seconds for whatever momentum theyd gained in the second to burst in the third, done in by a familiar foe. Patrice Bergeron, left open just outside the blue paint on a power-play, scored what proved to be the game-winner. He would add an empty-netter to stem any late comeback. A rare instance in which their special teams was beaten entirely, the Leaf power-play – which entered the evening as the leagues 5th best – failed in all three opportunities, including a glorious chance with less than five minutes to go. The penalty kill, as mentioned, yielded more than one goal against for the first time all year. "We battled hard and it looked like we ran out of gas in the third period," Carlyle said. Just as they proved in improbable fashion late last spring, the Leafs showed themselves a worthy rival of the revamped Bruins once more on this night. But as has been the case throughout the course of an uneven start (now 11-6-0), they were unable to string together a well-rounded effort in line with the identity they aspire to establish; their woeful start, empty special teams, and late fizzle all to blame. There was certainly good in the loss, as there was in the playoff run, but not enough to overcome a team of Bostons caliber. "Were here to get two points and we didnt," Lupul concluded. "Thats disappointing, but certainly some positives we can take out of it." Five Points 1. Kadri scare Coming through the neutral zone midway through the third frame Nazem Kadri was crunched by Johnny Boychuk, his jaw squarely in the firing line of the 6-foot-2, 225 pound Bruins defender. After skating gingerly to the bench, the 23-year-old had a brief conversation with head athletic therapist Paul Ayotte before departing to the dressing room for concussion tests. “They pretty much forced me to [go],” said Kadri. “As I was going through the test I was getting pretty agitated and just wanted to get back out there.” The test, as Kadri explained it, was of the generic sort. “Month, date, who we played last, months of the year,” he said. “They make you say it backwards and then youve got to remember four or five words and say it backwards. I guess its something thats mandatory now and I had to do it.” As for the hit itself, Kadri wouldnt say if he believed it to be dirty. “Its tough for the referee to call; everythings happening pretty fast,” said Kadri, who did receive an explanation from the official as to why no penalty was called. “But my helmet was almost sideways when I looked up. Thats for the league to decide and Im sure they can see it a lot better when its slowed down.” Already down Tyler Bozak and Dave Bolland down the middle, the Leafs could ill afforrd an injury to their sparkplug centre. Brandon Tate Bengals Jersey. But aside from being a little sore, Kadri claimed to be fine. 2. Lines redrawn After yet another lacklustre start, Carlyle redrew his line combinations to much success in the second frame. Though Phil Kessel would bounce from line to line in attempts to shake free of the Chara shadow, the combinations would appear as follows: Mason Raymond James van Riemsdyk Phil Kessel Joffrey Lupul Nazem Kadri Nikolai Kulemin Carter Ashton Jay McClement David Clarkson Frazer McLaren Jerred Smithson Troy Bodie Carlyle trimmed his bench in the final period, employing 10 forwards; Bodie and McLaren did not see the ice in the third. 3. Ranger Progression Paul Ranger is now 17 games into his NHL comeback. He believes hes better adjusted to the speed of the game with each day gone by. "Just playing the game faster," he told the Leaf Report earlier this week. "When youre young you have to almost build up to it. Ive been there [before] so I know what it is; its just a matter of getting my mind and my body trained to be able to do it again." Ranger had 270 games of NHL experience before he joined the Leafs this past summer, all in Tampa. One facet of the game the 29-year-old has now, but didnt then, is a physical dimension. Ranger claims to have added 10-15 pounds since he last played with the Lightning in 2009 and feels able to impact the game physically because of it. "I just became a man I guess," he said with a laugh. "I can go and put guys up in the boards, eliminate them from plays and get the puck and go." Predictably inconsistent throughout the year and again on Saturday, Ranger helped the Leafs to their first goal when he broke up Loui Eriksson rush defensively before stumbling on Reimer as the netminder attempted to block Bergerons attempted game-winner. 4. Cap crunch victim When the cap dropped to $64 million this year more than a few players were bound to be squeezed out. Mason Raymond was among them initially; the 27-year-old inked to a professional tryout in training camp before agreeing to a one-year deal with the Leafs on the eve of the season. A veteran of 588 games following the lockout-shortened 2013 campaign, Jerred Smithson felt the sting too. "I knew it was a possibility," he told the Leaf Report, "but I also thought something would work out – whether it was here or there or whatever." Smithson was without a contract when NHL training camps kicked off in September, a point of much frustration. He finally agreed to join the Marlies on a professional tryout in mid-October. "I had to keep reminding myself ‘Its out of your control," he said. "Give the fiancé a lot of credit there. She kept things in line and in order. It was probably driving her insane a little bit." Lacking the security of a contract, patience was difficult to find. "I [tried] not to lose too much sleep over it even though it was a tough few months there Im not going to lie," he said. "I couldnt control it so I just had to continue working hard and hopefully get a phone call, whether it was in the NHL, Europe or something like that. But I knew I wanted to continue to play in the NHL. Thats been my goal and dream since I was a little guy; very fortunate to have this opportunity." As it often does, opportunity presented itself with injury. Burned by injuries to Bozak and Bolland, the Leafs looked to the 34-year-old for help. Smithson was signed for one year at the veteran minimum of $550,000. 5. McClement PK Time No player assumed more time on the penalty kill last season than Jay McClement. But early this season the 30-year-old is actually garnering even more opportunity killing penalties than he did a year ago – nearly a minute more per game in fact. McClement is averaging 4:26 nightly for the Leafs shorthanded, significantly more than the 3:35 he assumed in 2013. The last time a forward garnered that much shorthanded ice-time (minimum 48 games) was in the 2006-2007 season. Coached by then-Ducks coach Randy Carlyle, Sammy Pahlsson averaged 4:28 per game for Anaheim – a number inflated by a boom in power-plays post-lockout. Stat-Pack 21:24 – Minutes for Joffrey Lupul against the Bruins, a season-high. 8 – Shots for Lupul, also a season-high. 18-10 – Shot advantage for Leafs in the second period. 2 – Power-play goals against; the first time all season the Leafs penalty kill has yielded more than one. 43 – Hits for the Leafs. 2 – Number of times this season the Leafs have not been outshot; both teams were equal with 34 shots on Saturday. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-3Season: 21.7 per cent PK: 1-3Season: 83.8 per cent Quote of the Night “Its tough for the referee to call; everythings happening pretty fast. But my helmet was almost sideways when I looked up.” -Nazem Kadri on the hit from Johhny Boychuk. Up Next The Leafs visit the Wild in Minnesota on Wednesday evening. ' ' '
