(SportsNetwork.com) - The Sacramento Kings will try to get over the .500 mark on Monday night when the struggling Utah Jazz pay a visit to Sleep Train Arena. The Kings have been reeling since DeMarcus Cousins left the lineup with a viral infection which caused him to be hospitalized. He wont be back for Mondays matchup with the Jazz. Sacramento has lost five of its last six, including a 105-96 home setback to the Orlando Magic on Saturday. The Kings are just 1-3 on this current homestand, which ends Monday. Orlando polished off a 3-3 road trip thanks to its win in Californias capital city. Give them credit, thats a hell of a road trip for them, said Kings head coach Mike Malone. This is their fourth game in five nights, and youd never be able to know it by the energy they played with tonight. Darren Collison had 22 for the Kings to lead the way. Jason Thompson scored 18, followed by 16 from Rudy Gay, who also handed out six assists and grabbed five rebounds. Derrick Williams chipped in 14 off the bench and Ramon Sessions added 10. The Kings allowed the Magic to shoot 50.6 percent from the field. The Jazz have dropped eight in a row. They havent won since a home victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Nov. 18 and only two of the losses during this skid came on the road. On Friday, the Jazz fell to the same Orlando team, 98-93. Derrick Favors provided 21 points and 13 boards with Magic center Nikola Vucevic sidelined with a back injury, while Trey Burke added 13 points and 11 helpers for Utah. Enes Kanter chipped in 16 points, while Rodney Hood, starting for the injured Alec Burks, had 15 points on 4-for-6 shooting, including a perfect 3-for-3 from long range. Despite shooting 45.6 percent from the floor and 50 percent from the 3-point line, the Jazz let the Magic shoot 50 percent from the field. And no matter how decently Utah shot the ball, it was still an eighth consecutive loss. Regardless of our long-term beliefs and commitment, theres an immediacy with losing thats difficult, explained head coach Quin Snyder. We live here in the moment, and in the moment losing is no fun. At the same time, we cant hang our heads or feel sorry for ourselves because were going to be in these situations and weve got to make them work to the best of our ability. The Jazz took two of three from Sacramento last season, but the Kings have won four of six as the host in this series. Stitched 76ers Jerseys . -- Nelson Cruz has only two hits in 15 at-bats against the Kansas City Royals this season. Custom Philadelphia 76ers Jerseys .Y. - Joe Johnson hit six 3-pointers in his 27 points, Mason Plumlee added 18 points, and the Brooklyn Nets won their 11th straight at home, beating the Boston Celtics 114-98 Friday night. https://www.cheap76ers.com/ . -- Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday for the first time in his seven-year career because of a swollen muscle in his left upper back. Fake 76ers Jerseys . Although the deal cannot be made official until the free agent moratorium period is lifted on July 10, Patterson has agreed to a three-year, $18 million extension to remain in Toronto, sources confirm to TSN. Cheap 76ers Jerseys . NORRIS COLE (Heat): Its funny, you watch a guy play and now really produce and it just jumps off the page at you - why? You put a young player with potential in a winning environment where there is veteran leadership, outstanding coaching and management and a way that things are done and its a wonderful environment for growth, improvement in a climate of constant accountability and expectation of achievement/production.NEW YORK -- Jason Collins dealt with the ticket requests, handled the media responsibilities, then moved on to what he most wants to do in the NBA. "Win basketball games," Collins said. He will get at least a few more chances. Collins played the final minutes of a winning home debut with the Brooklyn Nets, who cooled off the Chicago Bulls with a 96-80 victory Monday night. Finally playing at Barclays Center more than a week after returning to the NBA as the leagues first openly gay player, Collins checked in to a standing ovation from a sellout crowd of 17,732 that included former commissioner David Stern with 2:41 remaining. He committed a foul five seconds later, missed his only shot, grabbed a rebound and had one of the Nets NBA season high-tying 19 steals in their third straight victory. "It was cool. It was a lot of fun to go into the game," Collins said. "The most important thing was that we got the win. Chicagos been playing really well as of late and for us to come out and really be -- I think we played more physical than they did tonight." His first home game wont be his last, because the Nets plan to sign Collins to a second 10-day contract, a person with knowledge of the situation said. Collins signed his original deal on Feb. 23 and it expires Tuesday. The Nets then will re-sign him for another 10 days on Wednesday, the person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the plans havent been made public. After that expires, the Nets would have to sign him for the rest of the season if they wanted to keep him. Collins sat at the end of the bench for most of the game while the Nets built a series of comfortable leads, making the only intrigue down the stretch whether the 12-year veteran would get in during his first home appearance for the Nets since Jan. 29, 2008, against Milwaukee in East Rutherford, N.J. A chant of "Jason Collins! Jason Collins!" broke out while Deron Williams was shooting a free throw with the Nets leading 90-73 with 3:27 remaining. Fans finally got their wish less than a minute later -- though not because coach Jason Kidd was listening to them. "No, the game was outt of hand, so I wanted to get those guys some rest," Kidd said.dddddddddddd "D-Will was shooting free throws. Couldnt put Twin in at that time, so I told him after the free throws that he would come in." Collins said before the game that he wasnt aware of any second contract, leaving those details up to his agent. Kidd said those discussions were between management and Collins agent, but said his former teammate has been "great, on and off the court." "Twin is a good friend of mine and hes a basketball player, but hes a great person and so thats why we wanted him on this team and we felt he could help us win," Kidd said, referring to Collins by the nickname he had during his original stint with the Nets from 2001-08. The Nets still practice in New Jersey even after moving to Brooklyn before last season, so thats where Collins was Sunday after the Nets got back from their road trip that ended Saturday night in Milwaukee. He spent part of the day shopping at Costco, wisely stocking up since hell be sticking around. "Its kind of funny. Yesterday on my day off Im driving around Jersey on Route 17 and bringing back a lot of memories from when I was here before," Collins said. Hes much more famous now after revealing he was gay in a Sports Illustrated article last April. He had been out of the NBA from then until signing with the Nets. Collins said he had plenty of ticket requests from family and friends for Mondays game, and also saw a number of familiar faces from the old days. The pregame news conference and the overall media attention are new, and Collins believes it wont last, but understands that for now his sexuality makes him a big story. "Over time it will go down, but as far as doing interviews and talking about it, Im getting comfortable with the microphone or the camera on me," he said. Hes more comfortable on the court, even in the limited minutes he gets. Finally finished with his lengthy list of pregame obligations, he was looking forward to helping the Nets in whatever way he could. "Now that thats all settled, Ill go out there and just try to focus as much as I can on the game," Collins said. ' ' 'ta. ' ' '