UPI NewsTrack Sports

Nets season-starting losing streak reaches nine

ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Dwight Howard keyed a second-half surge Friday that lifted Orlando to an 88-72 victory over the winless New Jersey Nets.

The season-opening streak of futility for the Nets has reached nine games, the worst start to a campaign in franchise history. Orlando has won seven of its first 10 contests.

Howard made 10-of-14 shots from the field, scored 26 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. He helped break open a game that had been tied at halftime.

Mickael Pietrus contributed 16 points and Matt Barnes had 13 rebounds to go with his 13 points.

New Jersey was led by Rafer Alston with 17.

The teams were deadlocked 4:30 into the third period before Orlando ran off nine points in a row to take control. New Jersey made only 33 percent of its shots from the field and got to the free throw line just 13 times for the entire game.

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Leonard takes lead at Disney World

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Justin Leonard overcame windy conditions Friday to fire an 8-under-par 64 and seize a two-shot lead after two rounds of the Children's Miracle Network Classic.

Leonard, whose 12 PGA Tour victories include the 1997 British Open and 1998 Players Championship, birdied nine of the first 11 holes at the Palm Course on the property of Walt Disney World.

He had a 36-hole total of 12-under 132. First-round leader Justin Rose and George McNeill shared second place at 134.

"I did make three bogeys today," Leonard said. "But each time I came back and birdied the next hole to kind of get some momentum going back in my direction. It was a fun round of golf."

Rose shot a 69 and McNeill a 66. They both played the Magnolia Course, one of two layouts used during the first two rounds of the event.

This is the final tournament on the PGA circuit this year and those who are among the leading 125 money winners at the end of the week will keep their playing privileges for 2010.

David Duval, who once held down the No. 1 spot in the world rankings, entered the week in 125th position and missed the cut Friday.

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Truex wins pole at Phoenix Speedway

AVONDALE, Ariz., Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Martin Truex Jr. turned in the fastest qualifying lap in Phoenix Friday and will start on the pole for the next-to-last Sprint Cup race of the season.

The Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 will be run Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway, where Jimmie Johnson will try to protect his points lead in an attempt to win the series championship for the fourth straight year.

Truex bounced back from a penalty assessed by NASCAR to his team this week to turn a lap at 135.120 miles per hour. It was his third pole of the season and the fourth of his Sprint Cup career.

"This is one of those places where there is a real fine line," Truex said. "If you don't drive in hard enough, you can't get off the corner. If you drive it in too hard, you can't get off the corner. So I hit it just right."

Truex had 50 points removed from his season total Tuesday and crew chief Kevin Manion received a $50,000 fine after their car failed post-race inspection last Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway.

Truex is 26th in points and will be leaving the Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing Team after this season. He will drive for Michael Waltrip Racing in 2010.

Texas winner Kurt Busch qualified second, followed by Johnson, Kasey Kahne and Denny Hamlin.

Johnson was involved in a wreck last week and finished 38th, which caused his points lead to shrink to 73 over Mark Martin.

Martin qualified 10th for Sunday's race.

"The car was just all over the place," Martin said. "I needed a breathtakingly spectacular lap, but I got a below average lap."

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Kentucky wins in Calipari's debut as coach

LEXINGTON, Ky., Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Eric Bledsoe scored 24 points Friday, helping No. 5 Kentucky and Coach John Calipari pick up a 75-59 victory over Morehead State.

Calipari made his debut as coach of the Wildcats, having left Memphis to take over a team that missed the NCAA Tournament last season for the first time in 18 years.

Kentucky fired Billy Gillispie after the disappointing campaign and hired Calipari away from Memphis, where his teams had won 30 games for four straight years.

The Wildcats led by only eight points at halftime. Bledsoe, however, produced 22 of his points in the second period and Kentucky steadily pulled away.

Patrick Patterson added 20 points and 12 rebounds for Kentucky and Darnell Dodson had 15. Freshman John Wall, one of Kentucky's highly regarded recruits, sat out the contest under a two-game suspension. The school determined Wall had accepted improper benefits from his former AAU coach.

Morehead State, the defending Ohio Valley Conference Tournament champion, was led by Kenneth Faried with 17 points. The Eagles shot just 38.5 percent.