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2B – Daily News – Thursday, December 16, 2010 Woeful Wests collide at Qualcomm in prime time San Francisco 49ers SAN DIEGO (AP) — This game could only be courtesy of the NFL’s woeful Wests. Alex Smith’s San Francisco 49ers, only a game out of the NFC West lead despite being 5-8, and Philip Rivers’ San Diego Chargers, a game off the pace in the AFC West at 7-6, meet Thursday night at Qualcomm Stadi- um. Each team needs to win out to keep its playoff hopes alive. Then again, in San Francisco’s case, the NFC West is the NFL’s worst division with a com- bined record of 21-31, so perhaps a 7- 9 record would be good enough to win it. The Niners are right behind Seattle and St. Louis, both 6-7. Four-time defending division champion San Diego saved its season with a 31-0 rout of AFC West leader Kansas City, which was playing with- out quarterback Matt Cassel, who had an emergency appendectomy four days earlier. A week before that, the Chargers were outmuscled by the Oak- land Raiders, 28-13. Rivers tries to look past the medioc- rity. ‘‘I don’t know how some people view it. The way I look at it, obviously, because I’m on one of those teams, I think it just shows a little bit about this league and how competitive it is, week in and week out,’’ Rivers said. ‘‘You have three or four teams that have way better records than the rest, then you have a bunch of guys jumbled up with- in three or four games of one another. ‘‘You look at our games, they could have gone either way,’’ said Rivers, whose brilliant play this year hasn’t been matched by the Chargers’ special teams, whose many blunders con- tributed to a 2-5 start. ‘‘You look at theirs and they defi- nitely could have gone either way,’’ Rivers said, mentioning the 49ers’ close losses at home against defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans, at NFC South leader Atlanta and at home to Philadelphia, which shares the NFC East lead with the New York Giants. Those three losses came during an 0-5 start. ‘‘I think the way I look at it is two teams that have hung in there even though they haven’t been able to win some close games,’’ Rivers said. ‘‘For- tunately, we both find ourselves in the hunt. National TV, Thursday night, both of us a game out of our division, not only is it a playoff game for us, it’s definitely a playoff game for them. So it’ll be a playoff game.’’ The only difference is, January is still a few weeks away. The Chargers, who’ve already caught breaks when Cassel had surgery and the Raiders lost at Jack- sonville, will finish with games at Cincinnati (2-11) and Denver (3-10). The 49ers play at St. Louis before fin- ishing at home with Arizona (4-9). The Chargers have been madden- ingly inconsistent. They were held to 21 yards rushing in the loss to the Raiders, who piled up 251 yards against the NFL’s top-ranked defense. Against Kansas City, the Bolts rebounded by rushing for a season- high 207 yards and holding the Chiefs to just 67 yards total offense. The 49ers are coming off a 40-21 win against Seattle in which Smith, who attended Helix High in the San Diego suburb of La Mesa, returned from a five-game layoff to produce one of the finest performances of his career. Smith completed 17 of 27 passes for 255 yards and compiled a 130.9 passer rating, the best for a game in his career. He also matched his career high with three touchdown passes. Now he’ll try to keep it going Kings 91 New Oreleans 94 NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Marcus Thornton surged up through a crowd under- neath, tipped home a missed shot and then stood under the basket, letting out a tri- umphant roar with his arms clenched at his side. The crowd went wild with him as the Hornets closed in on the greatest comeback in franchise his- tory. For the popular former LSU star who’d been rele- gated to the bench more often than not lately, it was a moment to savor. ‘‘Just happy, man. Just happy to be out there on the court with those guys again, playing as a team and con- tributing,’’ Thornton said. ‘‘I credit my teammates for that. They never let me put my head down when I was NFL AFC West WL T Pct PF PA Kansas City 8 5 0 .615 295 268 Chargers 7 6 0 .538 354 253 RAIDERS 67 0 .462 314 307 Denver East 3 10 0 .231 269 376 WL T Pct PF PA x-N.England 11 2 0 .846 415 276 N.Y.Jets 9 4 0 .692 273 242 Miami Buffalo South 7 6 0 .538 225 244 3 10 0 .231 256 339 WL T Pct PF PA Jacksonville 8 5 0 .615 295 331 Indianapolis 7 6 0 .538 347 318 Houston 5 8 0 .385 316 355 Tennessee 5 8 0 .385 291 265 North WL T Pct PF PA Pittsburgh 10 3 0 .769 290 198 Baltimore 9 4 0 .692 294 229 Cleveland 5 8 0 .385 235 252 Cincinnati 2 11 0 .154 262 345 NFC West Seattle WL T Pct PF PA 6 7 0 .462 261 329 St. Louis 6 7 0 .462 245 268 49ERS 58 0 .385 243 280 Arizona 4 9 0 .308 243 351 East WL T Pct PF PA N.Y. Giants 9 4 0 .692 329 250 Philadelphia 9 4 0 .692 374 308 Washington 5 8 0 .385 238 310 Dallas South 4 9 0 .308 321 366 WL T Pct PF PA Atlanta 11 2 0 .846 335 243 New Orleans10 3 0 .769 330 240 Tampa Bay 8 5 0 .615 260 267 Carolina 1 12 0 .077 164 338 North WL T Pct PF PA Chicago 9 4 0 .692 253 228 Green Bay 8 5 0 .615 306 189 Minnesota 5 8 0 .385 230 274 Detroit 3 10 0 .231 285 309 x-clinched playoff spot ————————————————— Today’s game San Fran.at San Diego,5:20 p.m.,NFLN Sunday’s games Denver at Oakland, 1:15 p.m. Arizona at Carolina, 10 a.m. Buffalo at Miami, 10 a.m. Cleveland at Cincinnati, 10 a.m. Detroit at Tampa Bay, 10 a.m. Houston at Tennessee, 10 a.m. Jacksonville at Indianapolis, 10 a.m. Kansas City at St. Louis, 10 a.m. New Orleans at Baltimore, 10 a.m. Philadelphia at N.Y. Giants, 10 a.m. Washington at Dallas, 10 a.m. Atlanta at Seattle, 1:05 p.m. N.Y. Jets at Pittsburgh, 1:15 p.m. Green Bay at New England, 5:20 p.m. Monday’s game Chicago at Minnesota, 5:30 p.m. Dallas Ducks Kings going through stuff or what- ever. Coaches never let me put my head down, told me to keep it up and be ready when your name’s called.’’ Thornton scored 17 of his season-high 19 points in the second half, including 13 during a crucial 6-minute span in the third quarter, and the Hornets overcame a 23- point second-half deficit for a 94-91 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night. Chris Paul led the Hor- nets with 22 points and 11 assists, and afterward praised Thornton for staying focused and prepared even though he hadn’t played in three of the past five games. ‘‘That happens in this league. He knows that. But I think that showed a lot about him and his resolve,’’ Paul said. ‘‘He didn’t give up. He knows we’re going to need him and the next NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division WL OT Pts GF GA 18 10 2 38 86 82 17 13 4 38 89 99 17 10 1 35 78 65 SHARKS 15 11 5 35 92 90 Phoenix 14 9 6 34 81 80 Central Division Detroit WL OT Pts GF GA 20 7 3 43 101 80 Nashville 16 8 6 38 79 72 Chicago 16 14 3 35 104 100 Columbus 16 11 2 34 76 79 St. Louis 14 10 5 33 74 80 Northwest Division WL OT Pts GF GA Colorado 17 10 4 38 112 98 Vancouver 16 8 4 36 91 74 Minnesota 13 12 4 30 71 86 Calgary 13 15 3 29 84 91 Edmonton 11 14 5 27 78 105 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL OT Pts GF GA Philadelphia 21 7 5 47 113 81 Pittsburgh 21 10 2 44 104 78 N.Y. Rangers19 13 1 39 100 84 New Jersey 9 19 2 20 56 88 N.Y. Islanders5 18 5 15 59 98 Northeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Montreal 18 11 2 38 81 66 Boston 16 9 4 36 83 59 Buffalo 13 14 4 30 81 86 Ottawa 13 16 3 29 71 96 Toronto 12 14 4 28 69 87 Southeast Division WL OT Pts GF GA Washington 18 11 4 40 99 94 Tampa Bay 17 10 4 38 96 107 Atlanta 17 11 4 38 100 93 Carolina 13 12 4 30 82 90 Florida 13 16 0 26 74 76 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. ————————————————— Tuesday’s results Nashville 3, San Jose 2 Anaheim 2, Washington 1, OT Buffalo 3, Boston 2 Carolina 4, Florida 3 Colorado 4, Chicago 3 Detroit 5, St. Louis 2 New Jersey 3, Phoenix 0 N.Y. Rangers 4, Pittsburgh 1 Philadelphia 5, Montreal 3 Tampa Bay 2, Atlanta 1, SO Columbus at Vancouver, late Today’s games San Jose at Dallas, 5:30 p.m.,CSNC Anaheim at N.Y. Islanders, 4 p.m. Boston at Montreal, 4 p.m., NHLN Carolina at Atlanta, 4 p.m. Phoenix at N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m. Los Angeles at St. Louis, 5 p.m. Ottawa at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Columbus at Edmonton, 6:30 p.m. Toronto at Calgary, 6:30 p.m. against the team he grew up watching and one of his many former offensive coordinators, Norv Turner, the Charg- ers’ head coach. ‘‘That was great,’’ Smith said about coming back strong last week. ‘‘We expect to play the way we did and obviously I had some success myself. It was a good feeling.’’ Smith grew up a fan of the Chargers and San Diego State Aztecs. ‘‘I remember going to, it was Jack Murphy back then, and watching a lot of games,’’ he said. ‘‘Watching Mar- shall Faulk play. Watching Stan Humphries and the Chargers play. I don’t know if I dared to dream that big. Always the odds are against you. But a dream come true nonetheless.’’ Although this is Smith’s first regu- lar-season game against his hometown Chargers, he’s had success at Qual- comm Stadium before. He led Helix to two San Diego Section championships and as Utah’s quarterback threw five touchdown passes in a game against San Diego State. ‘‘I can definitely, vividly, remember playing there in high school,’’ he said. ‘‘Taking the bus there the day of the game and what it was like in the lock- er room. Being in those locker rooms as a high school player and going out on the field and playing at Qualcomm. And then obviously in college I went there my freshman year and got to come back my junior year and play there and same thing. I’m thinking, ’Wow, I got to come back and play in college.’ It’s surreal and no different now.’’ Chargers star tight end Antonio Gates could sit out for the fourth time in six games due to a painful tear in the plantar fascia in his right foot. He’s list- ed as doubtful on the injury report and will likely be a game-time decision. Kings blow 23-point lead, fall to Hornets game might not call for 25 minutes from him, but we need that same energy and that was great for him. When you’re called on, you’ve got to be ready to play and he was.’’ David West added 11 points and Emeka Okafor and Willie Green each scored 10 for New Orleans, which won for only the fourth time in 13 games. Tyreke Evans scored 22 points and Beno Udrih 20 for the Kings, who led 66- 43 on Donte Greene’s 3- pointer with 8:48 to go in the third quarter. DeMarcus Cousins and Carl Landry each scored 13 for Sacra- mento, which has lost 11 of 12. Thornton checked in and almost single-handedly turned things around right after Greene’s third 3 had the game looking like a blowout in Sacramento’s favor. Thornton hit a pair of 3s and two driving layups during a 20-4 run that got the Hornets and the crowd NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division Lakers WL Pct GB 19 7 .731 — Phoenix 12 12 .500 6 WARRIORS 916 .360 9.5 KINGS 518 .217 12.5 Clippers 5 21 .192 14 Southwest Division WL Pct GB San Antonio 21 3 .875 — Dallas 20 5 .800 1.5 New Orleans15 10 .600 6.5 Memphis 12 14 .462 10 Houston 10 15 .400 11.5 Northwest Division WL Pct GB Okla. City 18 8 .692 — Utah 18 8 .692 — Denver 15 9 .625 2 Portland 12 14 .462 6 Minnesota 6 20 .231 12 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division WL Pct GB Boston 20 4 .833 — New York 16 10 .615 5 Philadelphia 10 15 .400 10.5 Toronto 9 17 .346 12 New Jersey 6 19 .240 14.5 Southeast Division WL Pct GB 19 8 .704 — Miami Orlando 16 9 .640 2 Atlanta 16 10 .615 2.5 Charlotte 9 16 .360 9 Washington 6 17 .261 11 Central Division WL Pct GB Chicago 16 8 .667 — Indiana 11 13 .458 5 Milwaukee 10 14 .417 6 Detroit 8 18 .308 9 Cleveland 7 18 .280 9.5 ————————————————— Tuesday’s games New Orleans 94, Sacramento 91 Boston 118, New York 116 Chicago 110, Toronto 93 Dallas 103, Portland 98 L.A. Lakers 109, Indiana 94 Memphis 113, Charlotte 80 Miami 101, Cleveland 95 Oklahoma City 117, Houston 105 Philadelphia 105, L.A. Clippers 91 Phoenix 128, Minnesota 122 San Antonio 92, Milwaukee 90 Today’s games Washington at New Jersey, 4 p.m. Atlanta at Boston, 5 p.m., TNT San Antonio at Denver, 7:30 p.m., TNT Monday’s late result Golden State 108,Minnesota 99 back into the game at 72-65. Right about then, Kings coach Paul Westphal could sense the game slipping away. ‘‘You could feel it hap- pening. We just couldn’t reverse it,’’ Westphal said. ‘‘The defensive intensity we had earlier wasn’t there. Excessive fouling put us in the penalty early. We didn’t move the ball effectively. When we did get stops, we didn’t do a good job of keeping them off the boards. They got second shots. We didn’t have anybody make a big play for us. ‘‘Maybe it’s fatigue, maybe it’s inexperience, maybe it’s breaks in the game,’’ the coach added. ‘‘I tend to think it’s a little bit of all of them.’’ Paul’s pull-up jumper in the lane as he was fouled and Green’s jumper helped New Orleans pull to 77-74 early in the fourth quarter, and the Hornets finally tied it with a 6-0 spurt capped by Marco Belinelli’s free throws with 5:01 to go. Omri Casspi’s 3 and Cousins’ tip-in helped Sacramento pull back in front 88-85 with 3:36 to go, then New Orleans respond- ed with the next six points, highlighted by Thronton’s off-balance, fast-break layin and Paul’s driving layup to make it 91-88. The Kings failed to score on two straight possessions — Cousins’ miss and travel- ing violation — and then Thornton punctuated his memorable night with a tip- in to make it 93-88. ‘‘He gave us a spark. The opportunity was there and he showed up,’’ Hornets coach Monty Williams said. ‘‘He’s still a work in progress on defense, but his offense can cover up a lot of mistakes.’’ Sacramento dominated early, led by Evans’ strong return from a one-game absence because of plantar fasciitis in his left foot. The Kings outshot the Hornets 58 percent (26 of 45) to 31.7 percent (13 of 41) in the first half, closing the second quarter with a 57-41 lead at halftime. NCAABASKETBALL Wednesday’s Top 25 results No.2 Ohio State 83, Florida Gulf Coast 55 No.9 Baylor 83, Bethune-Cookman 39 No.21 Minnesota 66, Akron 58 Santa Barbara 68, No.22 UNLV62 Today’s top 25 games No. 13 Missouri vs. Oral Roberts, 5 p.m. No.18 Memphis vs.Austin Peay, 5 p.m. SAN FRANCISCO (5-8) at SAN DIEGO (7-6) Thursday, 5:20 p.m., NFL Network OPENING LINE — Chargers by 9 RECORD VS. SPREAD — San Francisco 6-7; San Diego 7-6 SERIES RECORD — 49ers lead 7-5 LAST MEETING — Chargers beat 49ers 48-19, Oct. 15, 2006 LAST WEEK — 49ers beat Seahawks 40-21; Charg- ers beat Chiefs 31-0 PASS (19) PASS (20) (13), PASS (2) (4), PASS (1) 49ERS OFFENSE — OVERALL (23), RUSH (18), 49ERS DEFENSE — OVERALL (11), RUSH (9), CHARGERS OFFENSE — OVERALL (2), RUSH CHARGERS DEFENSE — OVERALL (1), RUSH STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — San Francisco 5- 0 all-time playing on Thursday night, including 3-0 on road. ... 49ers QB Alex Smith — who will be facing his hometown Chargers — returned to starting lineup in Sun- day’s 40-21 victory over Seattle, finishing with career-high 130.9 quarterback rating. His previous best was 120.5 against Raiders in October 2006. The No. 1 overall pick in 2005 out of Utah, he’s trying to make an impression these final few games before becoming a free agent. ... Smith went to Helix High in San Diego suburb of La Mesa, the alma mater of Reggie Bush and basketball great Bill Wal- ton. ... One of Smith’s top targets vs. Seahawks was Brian Westbrook, who hauled in 62-yard touchdown pass for his longest career TD catch and longest play from scrimmage since 2006. Westbrook wound up with six catches for 87 yards. ... San Francisco’s defense hasn’t allowed a 100- yard rusher in 19 straight games, second longest active streak behind Jets’ 20. ... 49ers coming off their largest margin of victory of season and season high in points — 30 of which came in first half. ... San Francisco’s defense forced five turnovers, all by Seahawks QB Matt Hassel- beck — four interceptions and a fumble. ... Chargers TE Antonio Gates has missed three of last five games with tear in plantar fascia in right foot. He’ll likely be a game-time decision. ... Rock band Foreigner scheduled to play pre- game concert on stage set up in the Qualcomm Stadium parking lot, then sing national anthem. ... Chargers need to win their final three games to remain in contention for fifth straight AFC West title. A’s, Harden agree to terms on 1-year deal Oakland Athletics OAKLAND (AP) — It appears right-hander Rich Hard- en is returning to his Oakland roots. Harden has agreed to terms on a one-year contract to rejoin the Athletics. A person with knowledge of the deal confirmed Wednesday to The Associated Press that Harden was coming back to the A’s. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Harden must take a physical — and he has had his share of injury problems — before a formal announcement is made. The A’s may announce the deal by the end of the week. Harden went 5-5 with a 5.58 ERA in 20 appearances and 18 starts last season for the AL champion Texas Rangers. But he was designated for assignment after the regular sea- son to give him his unconditional release after he struggled with injuries and control. Harden, who began the season as the Rangers’ No. 2 starter, walked 62 batters in 92 innings. He is expected to be used out of the bullpen by A’s manager Bob Geren, who has a formidable starting rotation heading into 2011: Brett Anderson, Dallas Braden, Trevor Cahill and Gio Gonzalez. Oakland had penciled in Hisashi Iwakuma as a possible fifth starter but last week failed to reach agreement with the Japanese right-hander during the allotted 30-day negotiating period, sending him back to his Japanese club. The No. 5 spot could go to several candidates, including Bobby Cramer, Tyson Ross or left-hander Josh Outman, who missed last year recovering from Tommy John surgery but made a strong impression in the instructional league this fall. The A’s must hope Harden stays healthy by assuming a relief role. Harden spent two stints on the disabled list in 2010, first from June 12-July 30 with a left gluteal muscle strain and later with right shoulder tendinitis. Oakland saw him miss his share of time, too. Harden went 1-2 with a 2.45 ERA in only 25 2-3 innings in 2007 because of an inflamed right shoulder, and didn’t pitch after July 7 that year. He threw two simulated games late in the season with the hopes of making two final starts, but ultimately decided it wasn’t worth risking further injury. He was 4-0 in nine games in 2006, spending time on the disabled list with a strained back and then a strained elbow ligament. Sharks fall in Nashville NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Sergei Kostitsyn and Colin Sharks 2 Nashville 3 Wilson scored goals 44 seconds apart in the third period and the Nashville Predators earned their fourth straight victory by beating the San Jose Sharks 3-2 on Wednesday night. Jordin Tootoo also scored for the Predators, who have at least one point in nine consecutive games. Kostitsyn tied it 2- 2 with 3:16 left when he put a shot between Antti Niemi’s pads. Wilson scored the game winner with 2:32 remaining. Niclas Wallin and Dany Heatley scored for the Sharks, who led 1-0 and 2-1. The Sharks went ahead the first time when Wallin scored with a slap shot from above the left cir- cle at 7:25 of the first period. That quickly ended Nashville goalie Anders Lindback’s bid for a third straight shutout.