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. Fake NBA Jerseys China . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. Fake NBA Jerseys Online . "Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview. http://www.fakenbajerseys.com/ . President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest was fired Friday after 12 years with the Marlins. The move came as the team neared the end of its third consecutive last-place season in the NL East. Fake NBA Jerseys 2019 . Newcastle dominated in the early stages but City weathered the storm and then raised its game in extra time. Negredo broke the deadlock from close range after a simple move in the 99th minute before Dzeko took the ball round goalkeeper Tim Krul to seal the victory in the 105th. Discount Fake NBA Jerseys . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers.EDMONTON -- An inability to put chances away has once again come back to haunt Canadas mens soccer team. Jairo Arrieta scored on a first-half penalty shot as Costa Rica beat Canada 1-0 in an exhibition match Tuesday. The penalty was Costa Ricas only quality opportunity of the half. Canada had the bulk of possession in the game in front of 8,110 fans at Commonwealth Stadium, but couldnt finish its chances. "If we had hit the target on the occasions that we had free headers it could have been 4-1 tonight," said interim head coach Colin Miller. "I dont think theres anything to be negative about at all other than result, which is not what we wanted." Costa Rica was awarded the penalty after midfielder Samuel Piette swiped for a ball in the Canadian 18-yard box but took out Arrieta instead. Arrieta then converted the kick by putting it just past the outstretched hands of Canadian goalkeeper Milan Borjan, who dived to his right to try to stop the penalty. Canada now heads into Julys Gold Cup tournament without a win in five games in 2013. Admittedly, all of the games have come against higher ranked opponents and mostly with players that seldom feature for their club teams, let alone the national team. The best result Canada has been able to muster this year was a scoreless draw against the United States back in January. "Its something to consider," said midfielder Julian de Guzman, who served as captain. "Going into a tournament thats our biggest moment this year and we havent gotten a win for the year yet. So Im sure theres a little big of concern there but at the same time were in the middle of rebuilding and there are a lot of new faces and a lot of inexperienced players." The initial roster of 35 players for the Gold Cup is due on Friday before it will be trimmed down to 23 inn time for July.dddddddddddd That squad is likely be feature more veteran players than were on had Tuesday. Canada nearly responded two minutes after conceding the penalty. Defender Nik Ledgerwood started a scoring chance as he swung in a low cross from the right side. Midfielder Issey Nakajima-Farran was first to the ball but his shot from just inside the 18-yard box was too high. Randy Edwini-Bonsu made a few eye-catching runs in the first half, showing off his blazing speed. In the 26th minute he blazed around the Costa Rican back line and was alone on goal but had a bad-angle shot saved by Costa Rica goalkeeper Patrick Pemberton who had raced off his line. Edwini-Bonsu, an Edmonton native, was relishing the rare opportunity to play at home as Canada was playing their first game in Albertas capital since 2008--well before Edwini-Bonsu was on the national team radar. "Last time we played here was so long ago," said Edwini-Bonsu, who played for German second division side Eintracht Braunschweig this past season. "I thought Edmonton deserved it and thankfully Im from here so it worked out perfect." Canada had a few more opportunities just before halftime, but both a Doneil Henry header on a corner kick and an Andre Hainault header on a Kyle Bekker free kick both missed wide. Canada nearly went down another goal in the second half. Osvaldo Rodriguezs header in the 54th minute looped into the net, but the goal was called back for a foul as Rodriguez shoved Ledgerwood to win the ball. Both sides were reduced to 10 men in the 75th minute when Christopher Meneses and Ledgerwood scuffled near the corner in the Canadian end. Meneses clearly shoved Ledgerwood in the face, which is an automatic red card, but it was not immediately clear what Ledgerwood did to merit the second sending off. ' ' '