talent and complimented his improved fitness, but he

Two teams still hoping to jumpstart their seasons hook up Wednesday night when the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings face off at American Airlines Center.Though the season is only about a quarter old, the Mavericks (4-16) and Kings (7-13) appear headed to the lottery. Missing the playoffs is nothing new for Sacramento, which is working on a decade-long postseason drought.The Kings had high expectations. Instead, this DeMarcus Cousins-led squad has dropped three games in row and eight of the last 11. Sacramento, 11th in the Western Conference, ends a five-game road trip in Dallas.The Kings lost 106-98 at New York on Sunday. Sacramento battled back from a 21-point deficit to make it a game in the fourth quarter before running out of gas.I think well be fine, Darren Collison told the Sacramento Bee. Weve just got to figure out how to compete at a higher level. Not from a physical side, but a mental side, and try to limit our mistakes mentally.Cousins is off to a great start, averaging a career-high 29.1 points and 10.5 rebounds. The seven-year pro is third in the NBA in scoring and 11th in rebounding.Closing out games is point of contention for the All-NBA center.Most guys, adrenaline gets going in those last couple of minutes, Cousins told the Bee. Youre going to find out who has the most heart in those last situations, and (Sunday) it was them. I dont think theres any one thing you can do or talk it over. Its who wants it the most in those last couple minutes.Dallas has failed to qualify for the playoffs only once since 2001. Unless something dramatic happens with this injury-ravaged club, this season will be about ping-pong ball positioning.The Mavericks are without Dirk Nowitzki, Andrew Bogut and J.J. Barea. Bogut injured his right knee in Mondays 109-101 loss to Charlotte. Seth Curry (knee) is making progress, but is officially listed as questionable against the Kings.Dallas led for much of the second half before faltering down the stretch. The Hornets outscored the Mavs 34-23 in the fourth quarter to pull away.Two days after their best performance of the season in a 107-82 rout of Chicago, the Mavs fell flat with the game on the line. Dallas coach Rick Carlisle pinned the collapse on a lack of effort late.Why we fell into that, Im not sure, he said. Maybe we were resting on the laurels of our one-game winning streak.Charlotte outrebounded the Mavericks 55-35. Losing Bogut in the first quarter didnt help, but Carlisle didnt use losing his starting center as an excuse.The thing thats most disappointing is the rebounding numbers, he said. After really going toe-to-toe with Chicago and playing even on the boards, we got wiped out (Monday) by 20, which shouldnt happen. That points to effort.Dallas won two of its previous four games before Monday, and was competitive in the other two. That qualified as progress in a campaign thats off to the worst start since Mark Cuban bought the team in 2000.Losing their edge in the fourth quarter against Charlotte -- the Mavs were up 11 in the third -- didnt sit well in the locker room.We just went cold for whatever reason and we just cant do that, Wesley Matthews sad. We have to be crazed dogs from the tip to the final buzzer and that is how we have to play. That is how we have been playing. We have been that way for the last, however many games, we showed that identity.The Mavericks won 22 of the last 27 regular-season meetings against Sacramento, but the Kings claimed three of the four games last season. Air Force Ones Nz . "We have always prided ourselves on the way we play defence. Having two big pieces back is going to be a key for us moving forward for years to come," said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. Air Force 1 Low Nz .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. http://www.airforce1salenz.com/ . -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama. Air Force 1 Nz . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. Air Force 1 Utility NZ . Patrice Bergeron and Daniel Paille scored 20 seconds apart a few minutes after Stamkos was taken off the ice on a stretcher with a broken right leg, and the Bruins beat the Lightning 3-0 on Monday afternoon. WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. -- When Saints offensive lineman Andrus Peat talks about his NFL ambitions, hes humbled by how his first season went after New Orleans made him the 13th overall draft pick in 2015.Peat started four games at guard, three at tackle and one as an extra blocking tight end last season.It was definitely tough at first and just a lot of learning, being a rookie. But I felt like I improved throughout the season and Ive tried to carry that on through (offseason training), minicamp and this training camp, just continually getting better, Peat said after a recent practice at Saints training camp at the Greenbrier Resort. I feel more comfortable having a whole year of experience and kind of knowing what to expect.For now, signs point toward considerable improvement for Peat in Year 2. But the good reviews hes getting from coaches and teammates still have to translate during games that count. And Peats got more on his plate than the typical lineman because hes preparing to be a starter at either offensive tackle -- which is his natural position -- or offensive guard.Hes going to be fine, Saints coach Sean Payton said, noting that the 6-foot-7, 320-pound Peat is in better physical shape than he was a year ago. I like where hes at. Hes extremely talented.His versatility, athleticism, and size is really something that is a gift for him athletically, Payton added. It gives him some ability to move.When the Saints first drafted Peat, Payton said the club viewed him as a tackle, a position at which he thrived at Stanford, where he played until his junior season before turning pro. Peat also had the benefit of learning how to block from his father, Todd, who was an NFL offensive lineman for six seasons, playing mostly at guard.Payton said the Saints knew they were drafting Peat, if he was available.You rarely see that (combination of) size and athleticism. He was a junior coming out; we knew he was young. He was big, smart, played in a pro offense. His father played (in the NFL), said Payton, noting that he and Todd Peat both played high school football in Illinois and took recruiting visits at the same time to NNorthern Illinois, where the elder Peat wound up playing.dddddddddddd. (Payton wound up at Eastern Illinois)This vision for him when we selected him certainly was that of a tackle, yet to his credit, with his athleticism, he can play guard, Payton said. He may very well start for us at guard.Since training camp opened last week, Peat has been working in practice as a first-team left tackle because incumbent starter Terron Armstead is listed as physically-unable-to-perform with an undisclosed ailment that Payton has said is not expected to sideline Armstead more than a month. But Peat is also getting snaps at guard, often with reserve units.I dont think its difficult, Peat said. I like getting as many reps as I can and just being versatile and being able to help any way I can.Peat is aware that coaches and teammates have raved about his talent and complimented his improved fitness, but he said, I really dont think about that.His experience on the field, both in his eight starts last season and in practice now, is what he said gives any player confidence, just knowing you can go out and compete.Right tackle Zach Strief, entering his 11th NFL season, said Peats progress is evident.Its obviously a big jump for him from last year. Hes in good shape, Strief said. Theyre moving him around, but fortunately when you have a guy thats that talented, hes making those transitions pretty easily and thats a good sign.Itll certainly be fun to see how he develops as camp goes on. I think Andrus is going to be a really good player.Game notes WR Brandin Cooks missed practiced on Thursday, as did CB Damian Swann, who watched from the sideline. Meanwhile, FB Austin Johnson left practice early. Payton declined to discuss injuries. Also among those absent was CB Keenan Lewis, who practiced for the first time this training camp a day earlier. Payton said Lewis was just resting and there was no setback -- just the schedule, the way were operating right now.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '