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CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Cavaliers are headed toward the All-Star break on a high note. So is Anthony Bennett, the much-maligned No. 1 pick in the NBA draft. As the Cavaliers avenged a 44-point loss to Sacramento with a 109-99 win over the Kings on Tuesday night, Bennett had 19 points and 10 rebounds -- both career highs -- in Clevelands third straight win. "Youre starting to see a little bit of what we see in practice and the reason why we drafted him," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. "Hes a talented young man and hes starting to come to life a little bit. Hes even better than what you saw tonight." Former general manager Chris Grant, who was fired last week, was roundly criticized for taking Bennett with the first pick in June, but the rookie from UNLV has made major strides after being a non-factor until mid-January. "Anthony Bennett kicked our butt," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "Im sure Chris Grant is smiling at home -- and deservedly so -- because that was his No. 1 pick." Bennett was smiling, too. Asked when the last time he had fun playing basketball he said, "I dont remember, but today was one of those days." Bennett hit two 3-pointers in a little over a minute in the second quarter and scored 11 points in the first half. His 3-pointer with 4:40 left in the game gave Cleveland a 100-85 advantage. Bennett was aggressive going to the basket -- going to the line nine times. Bennett had shoulder surgery before the draft and didnt play in the summer league. He adjusted slowly once the season began, and his minutes were limited when he played. That has changed. "It feels great," Bennett said. "All the hard work Ive put in with the players and coaching staff is paying off." Brown began giving him playing time last month after he showed progress in practice. "Its not anything that all of a sudden happened overnight," Brown said. "Hes a good basketball player. He can pass it. He can shoot it. He can run the floor. He can finish in traffic. He can rebound." Luol Deng led the Cavaliers with 22 points, and Dion Waiters added 20. The Cavaliers, beaten 124-80 in Sacramento on Jan. 12, took a double-figure lead early in the second quarter and were in control the remainder of the game. Cleveland has won three in a row for the second time this season. Cleveland also won three straight from Dec. 7-13. The Cavaliers will go for a season-high, four-game winning streak in their final game before the All-Star break on Wednesday at Detroit. Cleveland has won all three games since Grant was fired. DeMarcus Cousins scored 21 points to lead the Kings, who have lost 10 of 12 and seven straight on the road. The Cavaliers built a 67-49 lead in the third quarter. The Kings cut their deficit to seven points early in the fourth, but Cleveland went on a 7-0 run, sparked by Kyrie Irvings 3-pointer, to go ahead 91-77. Irving, who was 3 of 14 with seven points in the first meeting, had 13 points and six assists. The Cavaliers broke a three-game losing streak against the Kings. Cousins, taking advantage of a matchup with Cleveland centre Tyler Zeller, had 11 points and six rebounds in the first quarter. The Cavaliers played without starting centre Anderson Varejao, who missed the game with a sore back. Cousins didnt score again in the half. The Cavaliers used a combination of Zeller, Tristan Thompson and Henry Sims in an attempt to neutralize Cousins, who was averaging 22.7 points going into the game. The 6-foot-11 centre attempted only two more shots the rest of the game and was 11 of 16 from the foul line. "The effort wasnt there," Cousins said. "It was just bad overall. I dont really have an answer, but whatever it is, it needs to be fixed. After the All-Star break, well start fresh, which is what we need right now." Tristan Thompson had 16 points and 13 points for the Cavaliers. Isaiah Thomas scored 16 points, and Rudy Gay added 14 for the Kings. Sacramento has dropped the first three games of a four-game trip that ends Wednesday against New York. The Kings are 6-19 on the road. C.J. Miles (sore right foot) also missed the game for Cleveland. NOTES: Asked to describe Varejaos injury, Brown said, "With Andy, its his back and really his whole body that is sore, so it will be good to get him some rest, but obviously, you hope that its not a long-term thing." ... Varejao wont travel to Detroit ... Malone spent five seasons as an assistant under Brown with the Cavaliers from 2005-10. ... Thomas and Kings F Jason Thompson each picked up two fouls in the first quarter. Thompson committed his third foul 34 seconds into the third quarter and was scoreless for the game. Josh McRoberts Jersey . - A week after a late-game debacle on defence, the Pittsburgh Steelers showed they can finish. Dirk Nowitzki Jersey .com) - The Winnipeg Jets got over one hurdle by snapping their longest losing streak of the season. http://www.officialmavericksfanstore.com...ricks-jersey/.J. Fair didnt have many chances to be the main option for Syracuse last season. Jalen Brunson Jersey .com) - A chant of Zeke reverberated around AT&T Stadium before Ezekiel Elliott powered into the end zone for his fourth and final touchdown. Wesley Matthews Jersey . - Mike Magee converted two penalty kicks in a 10-minute span of the first half and the Chicago Fire beat Sporting Kansas City 2-1 on Sunday.VITTORIO VENETO, Italy -- Stefano Pirazzi won the 17th stage of the Giro dItalia on Wednesday, the first professional victory of his career while Nairo Quintana retained the overall leaders pink jersey. Pirazzi made an obscene arm gesture as he crossed the finish line and was reduced to tears following his win. "It wasnt a nice gesture, Im sorry, forgive me," Pirazzi said. "But its been five years of anger, five years of criticism. As the days went by, my moral was going down. I was here to get this victory finally, that was the target. "I was unleashing all that. Five years of criticism is a lot for a young guy. I really had to deal with a lot. Today I reached a goal that I wanted since I was a young boy watching the Giro. Im very happy. Ill enjoy it and never forget this moment." Pirazzi, who had led from the breakaway, made his move with little more than a kilometre remaining and edged out Tim Wellens and Jay McCarthy in a sprint at the end of the 204-kilometre (127-mile) stage from Sarnonico to Vittorio Veneto. The peloton crossed the line 15:36 behind Pirazzi as the top overall standings were unchanged. Quintana remained 1:41 ahead of fellow Colombian Rigoberto Uran and 3:21 ahead of Cadel Evans, with Pierre Rolland only five seconds further back. Victorias Ryder Hesjedal, the 2012 Giro champion, finished 33rd in Wednesdays stage and was in ninth overall, 4:16 back of Quintana. Svein Tuft of Langley, B.C., was in 158th after finishing 144th in stage 17. Quintana had moved into pink after Tuesdays tough leg, which was marrred by confusion after some teams believed part of the route had been neutralized -- meaning the times for that section wouldnt count.dddddddddddd "In reality there is no controversy," Quintana said. "I know what happened. Theyre creating a story which isnt there. "It would be unjust (if they took time away from me). The organization said the race wasnt neutralized so why remove an advantage that I won?" The peloton remained together for almost half the route before a group of 26 riders managed to get away. After the previous tough stage -- where the cyclists had to deal not only with both the legendary Gavia and Stelvio climbs, but with snow and rain as well -- the peloton was happy to keep a steady pace and let the escape go. The best-placed rider in the break was Damiano Cunego, who was more than 48 minutes behind Quintana, and so the pink jersey group allowed the gap to go out to more than 12 minutes. Thomas De Gendt attacked from the breakaway on the approach to the last of three classified climbs, the ascent up the Muro di Ca del Poggio. Pirazzi followed and caught the Belgian cyclist near the summit, and they were soon joined by Wellens, McCarthy and Matteo Montaguti. There were attacks off the chasing group but the quintets advantage continued to grow and it swiftly became apparent they would not be caught before the finish. The Giro returns to the mountains in Thursdays 18th stage, a 171km (106-mile) leg from Belluno, with a summit finish up to Rifugio Panarotta. The race ends on Sunday in Trieste. ' ' '