NEW YORK -- Kemba Walker lost his backup and a few other key players from the best team hes played on in the NBA.Instead of taking a step back, his Hornets are off to their best start in 16 years.Walker scored a season-high 30 points and Charlotte improved to 4-1 for the first time since 2000 by beating the Brooklyn Nets 99-95 on Friday night.Its pretty early but I like the team that we can become, coach Steve Clifford said.Nicolas Batum added 18 points and nine rebounds, while Marvin Williams, who missed his first 10 shots, made a 3-pointer with 1:05 left after the Nets had cut the lead to one point.Reserve Sean Kilpatrick scored 19 points for the Nets, who didnt have starting point guard Jeremy Lin available to face his former team because of a strained left hamstring that will keep him sidelined for at least two weeks.Lin played behind and alongside Walker last season on a team that went 48-34, but then also lost Al Jefferson and Courtney Lee in free agency. But Walker said he isnt surprised by their fast start.We have players who put in the time and effort and the work, so Im not surprised at all, he said. This is what were supposed to do. I feel like were a really good team, so we want to continue to get better each and every day.Brook Lopez added 18 points and Trevor Booker had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Nets, who because of injuries had to turn to rookie Isaiah Whitehead, a second-round pick out of Seton Hall, to make his first career start.The Brooklyn native finished with eight points but the best point guard in the game, and from New York, was Walker, who shot 11 for 22 and also grabbed six rebounds.It was a good experience but at the end of the day we lost, Whitehead said. Thats never good.The Nets had a 13-point lead in the first half and were still ahead 55-43 early in the third before Walker and Cody Zeller, who played just five minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, turned it around. Walkers basket capped an 18-3 run that gave Charlotte a 61-58 lead and it remained a three-point game going to the fourth quarter.I thought that third quarter really hurt us, Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said. I thought we got stagnant. I thought the ball stopped moving. They got into us.The lead was down to 92-91 when Williams nailed a 3 from the corner. Walker followed with a free throw to make it 96-91 and the Nets never got closer than three points again.TIP-INSHornets: Walker and Batum each scored 11 points in the first quarter. Charlottes only other point was a free throw by Ramon Sessions. ... The Hornets followed their 4-1 start in 2000-01 by losing their next five games. They finished 46-36.Nets: Brooklyn was also without guards Greivis Vasquez (sore right ankle) and Randy Foye (strained right hamstring). ... Kilpatrick entered as the NBAs top-scoring reserve with 16.6 points per game.HORNETS NESTCharlotte has won the last five meetings overall and three in a row in Brooklyn.OFF NIGHTSWilliams finished 2 for 13 for six points. On the other side, Nets guard Bojan Bogdanovic shot 4 for 17. He had 14 points.LIN UPDATELin, who averaged 11.7 points last season in Charlotte, was at the game with his left leg wrapped. He said hes never had a hamstring injury before and doesnt know yet how long he could be out. I think were just saying like the first three days, its really important to do a whole lot of nothing, and after that time you can get a much better gauge of where Im at, Lin said.UP NEXTHornets: Begin a three-game homestand Monday against Indiana.Nets: Host Minnesota on Tuesday to end a four-game homestand. They begin a five-game trip the next night. Cheap Curry Shoes Clearance . 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"The Sabres called for permission and I appreciate that, Im flattered, Dudley told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes put Vikings starter Christian Ponder on his back on the very first play from scrimmage. Rookie quarterback EJ Manuel then provided the knockout punch to start the second half in leading Buffalo to a 20-16 preseason victory over Minnesota on Friday night. And just like that, the new-look Bills -- coming off a near top-to-bottom off-season transformation -- continue to show signs of shedding their long-losing past by improving to 2-0. "Were breeding an attitude around here," centre Eric Wood said. "And were trying to be the toughest team out there each week. And you dont do that by going out and laying an egg in the preseason." So far so good for a team that has gone 13 seasons without making the playoffs and not enjoyed a winning finish since 2004, when Buffalo went 9-7. Hughes keyed a sturdy defensive effort with two sacks and a forced fumble, and backup linebacker Jamie Blatnick recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown. Hughes was starting in place of defensive end Mario Williams, who was held out after complaining of soreness following practice Wednesday. "Thats what weve been practicing for the first few months, since minicamp, weve been practicing being stingy," said Hughes, who was acquired in a trade with Indianapolis in May. "Everybodys flying around to the ball, just creating havoc. So us practicing like that, its great to see it put on game film." And Buffalo finally found its groove on offence when Manuel took over in the second half. Greeted by cheers as he took the field, Manuel hit all six attempts, including a 4-yard touchdown pass to Brad Smith, to cap a 14-play, 80-yard second-half opening drive in putting Buffalo ahead 20-3. Manuel, a first-round draft pick out of Florida State, finished 10 of 12 for 92 yards passing in continuing to inch his way toward securing the starting job after veteran Kevin Kolb struggled in the first half. The Vikings (0-2) again sputtered on offence without their top threat, running back Adrian Peterson, who continues to be rested through the preseason. Starter Christian Ponder went 5 of 12 for 53 yards passing through five series. Backup Matt Cassel wasnt much better in a first half in which the Vikings combined for 74 yards of offence and four first downs. "The only thing I could say to myself while that was happening was, Im glad its the preseason," Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said.dddddddddddd "Lets get this out of the way now. We definitely dont want to be doing this in September." And yet Frazier had to acknowledge having some concerns, even though he wasnt anticipating the Bills to come at them with an exotic blitzing attack. "We couldve done some things better, no matter what they did," he said. "We didnt execute as well as we could have." Ponder certainly didnt see Hughes coming, when he was sacked for a 7-yard loss on the first play. "If this was a game that counted, itd be tough," Ponder said. "But its more practice for us." The Vikings could start by practicing snapping the ball. Backup centre Joe Berger snap the ball over Cassels head and into the end zone, which led to Blatnicks go-ahead touchdown with 8:45 left in the second quarter. The Vikings made the score respectable with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter behind third-string quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson. Running back Joe Banyard scored on a 1-yard plunge, and Bethel-Thompson hit Rodney Smith with a 35-yard touchdown pass with 4:36 left. The Bills have won two preseason games for the first time since finishing 2-2 in 2010. And coming off a 44-20 win at Indianapolis on Sunday, theyve now combined to score 64 points under new coach Doug Marrone. Thats five more than they managed in four preseason games last year under Chan Gailey. Not all they news was positive after Kolb struggled in making his preseason debut. The seventh-year player returned to practice this week after missing eight days because of a death in his family and after twisting his left knee while slipping on a wet rubber mat in practice Aug. 3. Though Kolbs knee looked fine, his accuracy was off. He went 10 of 17 for 66 yards and an interception on his first six possessions. He then hit three of four passes for 45 yards in the final 38 seconds of the first half on a drive that ended with Dustin Hopkins 35-yard field goal that put Buffalo ahead 13-3. NOTES: Bills backup receiver Kevin Elliott was carted off the field during the first half after it appeared he hurt his left leg. ... 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