NEW YORK -- Jason Kidd has a winning record for the first time in his coaching career. "Doesnt matter," he said. "It doesnt. Were playing better, thats all that matters." Better than anybody in the Eastern Conference since the new year, in fact. Joe Johnson scored 21 points, Marcus Thornton came off the bench for 20, and the Nets powered their way above .500 for the first time this season by beating the Memphis Grizzlies 103-94 on Wednesday night. Deron Williams added 16 points and Paul Pierce 14 for the Nets (30-29), who have won four in a row overall and six straight at home in turning around a turbulent start. They are still only sixth in the Eastern Conference, but look capable of climbing more after following a rout of Chicago on Monday by clobbering the Grizzlies for most of this one. The matchup between two of the NBAs best teams in 2014 was a mismatch until the fourth quarter, when the Nets had already led by 30. Memphis fell to 21-9 since Jan. 1, while the Nets 20-8 record is tops among East teams. "Its not always how you start, its going to be how you finish. And I think with the way weve been playing as of late, since the All-Star break, since the turn of the new year, this is the Nets team that I envisioned from the beginning of the season," Pierce said. Jon Leuer scored 19 and Marc Gasol 18 for the Grizzlies, who were without Zach Randolph because of the flu and then turned in a sickly performance. Memphis never led and missed a chance to tie Phoenix for the Wests eighth and final playoff spot. "We look at the standings every day. I hear guys talking about who lost, who won. Just to come out with a performance like this is devastating," guard Tony Allen said. "But we cant hold our heads down. Weve got to keep pushing." Leading scorer Mike Conley missed all eight shots and had two points and six turnovers. "It was a tough night," Memphis coach Dave Joerger said. "We had some guys really, really struggle tonight. Give them credit. They came out and played with a much more forceful nature, attacking us, both being physical defensively and just the mentality that, you know Were going to bring it to you." Jason Collins played 17 scoreless minutes on the day he signed his second 10-day contract. The NBAs first openly gay player got a visit in the locker room before the game from Commissioner Adam Silver, but received just polite applause when he checked in during the second quarter after getting a standing ovation Monday during his home debut. Randolph sat in front of his locker before the game with his sweatshirts hood pulled over his head, ultimately deciding he lacked the energy to play. Pierce went right at his replacement, Ed Davis, and already had eight points by the time Davis was yanked with the Grizzlies trailing 13-2. James Johnson replaced him and quickly botched a fast-break layup as Memphis missed 10 of its first 11 shots. Andray Blatches three-point play made it 26-5 with 3:30 left in the first, and Brooklyn led 54-44 at halftime. Brooklyn scored the first nine of the second half to open a 19-point lead and kept pouring it on by making six 3-pointers in the third quarter. The lead hit 87-57 on Johnsons short jumper, but the Nets had to bring starters back when the Grizzlies sliced that in half by midway in the fourth. The Nets were 10-21 after getting blown out at San Antonio on New Years Eve, threatening to become the NBAs biggest flop after building a team that would cost more than $180 million in salary and taxes. But theyve kept rolling after losing leading scorer Brook Lopez for the season, and most recently playing without Kevin Garnett for the past three because of back spasms. They picked up Thornton in a trade with Sacramento just before the trade deadline, a move that was all but ignored after they signed Collins a few days later. But hes scored 20 or more in two of his first five games with the Nets, and had 15 in the second quarter alone Wednesday. Notes: The Nets are 9-3 against West teams since Jan. 1. ... The Grizzlies Nick Calathes was chosen Wednesday as the Western Conference rookie of the month for February, when he averaged 10.7 points and 4.6 assists. ... Memphis had scored 110 in each of two previous games and was averaging 103.4 since the All-Star break. Wholesale Air Max Plus China .com) - The Ottawa Senators will try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive when they face the Chicago Blackhawks who are trying to secure their place in the post-season. Air Max Plus Free Shipping . Strasburg (1-1) got 14 consecutive outs in one stretch and allowed only three hits, including Marcell Ozunas homer in the seventh. The right-handers lone walk was to the last batter he faced. Washingtons starter Wednesday, Jordan Zimmermann, left after a career-low 1 2-3 innings, leaving the bullpen "taxed," as manager Matt Williams put it. http://www.clearanceairmaxplus.com/. Sopoaga hit the upright with his first shot at goal from 15 metres. He then kicked nine goals in succession -- two conversions and seven penalties -- before being replaced in the 62nd minute, three points short of the Highlanders record for most points in a match. Cheap Air Max Plus China .C. -- Al Jefferson knows few people will be giving the Charlotte Bobcats a chance to upset the Miami Heat in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Discount Air Max Plus .com) - The Eastern Conferences best team takes on one of its worst Tuesday night when the Atlanta Hawks pay a visit to the Wells Fargo Center to take on the Philadelphia 76ers.ARCADIA, Calif. -- Gary Stevens had never won the $5 million Breeders Cup Classic in his long career. Kathy Ritvo came close a year ago with Mucho Macho Man only to settle for second. The veteran jockey and the trainer who got another chance at life after a heart transplant in 2008 teamed up with the hard-knocking horse to win by a whisker Saturday. Mucho Macho Man edged Will Take Charge in a photo finish decided by a nose, making Ritvo the first female trainer to win North Americas richest race at a Breeders Cup that began tragically with the death of a horse in the first race. "I didnt know the photo was as close as it was," said Stevens, who was 0-for-14 in the Classic. Stevens capped his comeback at 50 in stellar fashion, surviving a photo finish in the Classic after winning the $2 million Distaff with Beholder on Friday for a sweep of the biggest races at the two-day world championships at Santa Anita. Ritvo became the fifth female trainer to win a Breeders Cup race and got to celebrate a year after seeing Mucho Macho Man finish second by a half-length to winner Fort Larned. "Thrilling," she said. First, though, Ritvo had to sweat out the results. Mucho Macho Man stretched his neck to hold off Will Take Charge, trained by 78-year-old Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas. "I was just hoping he got it," Ritvo said. "When I saw Gary shake his stick, I was confident. He ran a fantastic race." Game On Dude, the 8-5 favourite who was 5-0 this year, finished ninth on his home track for trainer Bob Baffert and co-owner Joe Torre, the retired Dodgers and Yankees manager. Baffert had an up-and-down day. His filly, Secret Compass, broke her leg in the opening Juvenile Fillies race and had to be euthanized. Then he won two races before Game On Dude lost as the favourite for the second straight year. "When I saw him going real fast on the backstretch, I knew I was in trouble," he said. "Then when Mike (Smith) asked him, there was nothing there. You always feel bad when you get beat, but I feel worse for the horse." Fort Larned wound up fourth. Mucho Macho Man ran 1 1/4 miles in 2:00.72 and paid $10, $4.60 and $3.60 as the 4-1 second choice. The victory likely earned him champion older male honours and may get him consideration for Horse of the Year honours, which Game On Dude could have wrapped up with a win. Current Horse of the Year Wise Dan repeated in the $2 million Mile, winning by three-quarters of a length under Jose Lezcano, a late replacement for Velazquez. He paid $3.60 to win as the 4-5 favourite. Will Take Charge returned $7.20 and $4.80. "Its just a heartbreak that he lost," said Lukas, who won his only Classic in 1999 with Cat Thief. "He did everything right. The jump after the wire we got him." Declaration of War was another head back in third and paid $4.80 to show. Stevens and Mucho Macho Man started moving on the outside around the stretch turn and went after the leaders. They got in front coming out of the turn for home, with Stevens urging the 5-year-old Mucho Macho Man on with a right-handed whip. "They give me a free roll around the far turn," he said. "I think that might have been the winning move." Ritvo, a 44-year-old mother of two, waited six months for a new heart in 2008. Mucho Macho Man first put her in the national spotlight two years ago when he ran in all three Triple Crown races, including third in the Kentucky Derby. "Kathy Ritvo is one of the most underrated trainers in the thoroughbred industry,&qquot; said Finn Green, racing manager for Mucho Macho Mans owners Dean and Patti Reeves.dddddddddddd Lukas put Stevens on Oxbow in the Preakness in May, and they won. "Gary is riding in a zone," the trainer said. "I think we jump-started him in the Preakness pretty good." Last Gunfighter was fifth, followed by Palace Malice, Paynter (trained by Baffert), Flat Out, Game On Dude, Moreno and Planteur. The 30th Breeders Cup got off to a troubling start, with a rare disqualification in the opening race and Secret Compass euthanized because of a broken leg. The $2 million Juvenile Fillies went from strange to tragic over several minutes. The DQ was announced after a green screen went up in a spot approaching the final turn to shield injured Secret Compass from the crowd. "When you lose a horse like that, it just took all the wind out of our sails," Baffert said. "Ive never had something like that happen on a big day. Were all still in shock." John Velazquez, who rode Secret Compass, had emergency surgery to remove his spleen after internal bleeding was discovered shortly before he was to be released from a Pasadena hospital. Ria Antonia finished second but was declared the winner of the 1 1/16-mile race after Shes a Tiger was disqualified by the stewards. They ruled that Shes a Tiger and Stevens drifted out late, bumped Ria Antonia and Javier Castellano, slowing her momentum. It was the first DQ of a winner since the inaugural 1984 Juvenile Fillies race in which Frans Valentine won and later was placed 10th. "This is heartbreaking," said Jeff Bonde, who trains Shes a Tiger. Sent off at 32-1 odds, Ria Antonia paid $66.60, $29.80 and $17.40. The winning time was 1:43.02 and the margin was a nose. Shes a Tiger returned $6.40 and $4.80. Rosalind paid $6.80 to show. Running third at the time, Secret Compass front legs collapsed, slamming Velazquez hard into the dirt. Bafferts 2-year-old filly was euthanized after sustaining a lateral condylar fracture, according to on-call veterinarian Dr. Wayne McIlwraith. "It is the worst type of injury we get, unfortunately," he said. Velazquez was to ride in all nine Breeders Cup races, but he was replaced by other jockeys. Baffert was smiling later when 10-1 shot New Years Day rallied on the rail to win the $2 million Juvenile by 1 1/4 lengths. The colt paid $23 to win, with jockey Martin Garcia earning his first Cup victory. But the trainers emotions were raw. "Just the win is exciting, but in the back of my mind, Im thinking about that filly," he said. Baffert and Garcia also teamed to win the $1.5 million Sprint by a neck with Secret Circle. Baffert earned his third win in the Juvenile, whose winner is typically tagged as the early Kentucky Derby favourite. His other entry, Tap It Rich, finished fifth. Havana, the 5-2 favourite trained by Todd Pletcher, was second. Strong Mandate, trained by Lukas, was third. After the early drama, 3-2 favourite Dank restored order by winning the $2 million Filly & Mare Turf by a half-length over Romantica. Ridden by Ryan Moore, Dank ran 1 1/4 miles in 1:58.73 and paid $5, $3.40 and $2.80. Another favourite, 3-1 Groupie Doll, won the $1 million Filly & Mare Sprint for the second straight year by a half-length. Mizdirection defended her title in the $1 million Turf Sprint for co-owner Jim Rome, the sports talk host. She ran 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:12.25 under Smith, who extended his record for most Cup wins by a jockey to 20. He won two races on opening day Friday. 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