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| CHICAGO -- The Washington Wizards are winning more on the road than they are at home. Calvin Pryor Jersey . They cant quite pinpoint why. John Wall and Nene had 19 points apiece, Trevor Ariza scored 16 and the Wizards beat the Chicago Bulls 102-88 on Monday night. "We just play more freely," Marcin Gortat said. "We can focus in the hotel. In the locker room, were just sitting in one little room and trying to get ready for the game. I dont know, at home theres just too many rooms, too many places where you can go. Too many places where you can dance and sing." The Wizards led by 13 early in the fourth and hung on down the stretch after a 12-point lead was cut to five, snapping the Bulls five-game win streak. Nene scored eight points in the final period after getting the start, and Bradley Beal came on strong down the stretch to finish with 13. He hit a jumper and 3-pointer during a nine-point run that bumped Washingtons lead to 96-82 with about 3 minutes left. Wall hit two jumpers during that spurt and had seven assists in the game. Ariza hit a trio of 3-pointers and the Wizards shot 52 per cent to come away with the win after dropping five of seven. Theyre 10-10 on the road and 7-9 at home, where theyll play Miami on Wednesday. "Its kind of hurting us that we dont play as a team at home," Wall said. "We dont come out with a sense of urgency and we get down early." But in this game it was exactly the opposite. The Wizards never trailed. They led by as many as 15 in the second quarter and withstood several pushes by the Bulls in the second half. "Everybody probably thought they were tanking and they were going to try to redo their team," Wall said. "Theyre still one of the best defensive teams in the league." Carlos Boozer scored 19 for Chicago and Joakim Noah grabbed 16 rebounds. But with a chance to reach .500 for the first time since November, the Bulls committed 18 turnovers. They also lost for the first time since trading Luol Deng to Cleveland last week, after winning three without him. "Games like this humble you," Taj Gibson said. "Right when youre feeling too good about yourself, youre feeling invincible, a team comes in there and smacks you, wakes you up to reality." Washington had no trouble getting inside in the early going and shot 59 per cent while building a 56-43 halftime lead. The Bulls jumped right back into it to start the third quarter, tightening their defence while scoring the first eight points. Boozer capped it with a finger roll after Beal missed an easy layup, making it a five-point game. The Bulls were within four when Trevor Booker scored and Ariza and Martell Webster hit consecutive 3-pointers to push Washingtons lead back to double digits at 73-61 with 2:49 left in the third. For Chicago, it was a letdown after a promising stretch. Coach Tom Thibodeau didnt "think we had an edge tonight." That was clear right from the start, with the Wizards opening the game on an 8-0 run that Gortat punctuated with a hard, running dunk on Boozer. They were up 36-21 early in the second after back-to-back jumpers by Beal, and they answered every time the Bulls threatened in the second half. "We kept saying well work our way out of it," Thibodeau said. "Well, you cant keep saying, youve got to do it. Ive got to make sure that were ready." NOTES: Chicago star Derrick Rose is off crutches and could start travelling with the team in the coming weeks. The 2011 NBA MVP tore the meniscus in his right knee at Portland in November and was ruled out for the remainder of the season by the Bulls. He sat out last season while recovering from surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. ... Chicagos Nazr Mohammed sprained his left middle finger in the first half, but Thibodeau didnt think it was broken. ... The Bulls have won nine of their past 11 home games against Washington. Custom Cleveland Browns Jerseys .ca has you covered for whos in, whos out and what to expect from all 30 teams. Joel Bitonio Jersey . Pospisil, the seventh seed, saved match points in each of the last two sets before falling to the unseeded Dutchman. "I wasnt very happy with the way I was playing,"said Pospisil. http://www.footballbrownsnflprostore.com/Youth-Kevin-Zeitler-Elite-Jersey/ .com) - The fading Ottawa Senators have a chance to make up some ground in the playoff race on Tuesday night as they play host to the New York Rangers.GREEN BAY, Wis. - The Detroit Lions are so close to ending a two-decade stretch without a division title.The Green Bay Packers have been so good that its a surprise when they dont win the NFC North.Upstarts vs. standard-bearers. Tackle Ndamukong Suh and one of the leagues top defences against quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the potent Packers offence. The winner of Sundays showdown between Detroit and Green Bay at Lambeau Field takes the NFC North championship and a first-round bye in the playoffs.Both teams (11-4) are already guaranteed post-season berths. But the loser gets relegated to a road game next week as a wild card.The winner gets some needed rest and a guaranteed home game in two weeks. Thats considered a huge advantage in the post-season.Yeah, theres a lot on the line. Its an opportunity to win our fourth straight division title, which would be pretty sweet. We get a chance for a bye, which would be great to get some rest for all of us, Rodgers said. A home playoff game is the most important thing; thats what we play for every year.According to the Packers, this will be the first time that teams each with 11 wins will play in a regular-season finale to determine a division champion since Dallas and the New York Giants met in 1993. The Cowboys won that game — and went on to win the Super Bowl.That year is also the last time Detroit won a division title. This often-forlorn franchise has been to the post-season just once since 2000, a 45-28 loss to New Orleans in the wild-card round in the 2011 campaign.One of the things that we talk to them about is the fact that this doesnt happen very often, Lions coach Jim Caldwell said when asked Sundays game will mean to his players.And hes just talking about the playoffs.If Detroit wins the North, it would have earned the title by snapping a 23-game losing streak against Green Bay in Wisconsin. The last time the Lions left the state happy was a 21-17 victory at Lambeau on Dec. 15, 1991.Thats so long ago that Hall of Famer Barry Sanders was still Detroits running back, gaining 85 yards. So forgive the Lions if theyre more pumped up than usual this weekend.The guys have fought some real battles and have done a tremendous job and weve got a great opportunity ahead of us, Caldwell said. And do you expect them to be a little off the ground here in the next couple of days in intensity and focus? Absolutely, because obviously were playing a great team in a historic place.Some key areas to wwatch on Sunday:AARONS HEALTH: The Packers practiced Tuesday, a typical day off, to get Christmas off on Thursday. Briean Boddy-Calhoun Jersey. Rodgers was hoping the late-week rest would help him get over a sore left calf that he strained last week against Tampa, not to mention a lingering head cold.Rodgers is one of the best quarterbacks in the league in extending plays, and his mobility could come in handy, especially against Detroits smothering defence. Both Rodgers and coach Mike McCarthy were confident the Pro Bowl quarterback would be able to run the full game plan against Detroit.PICKY LIONS: Rodgers has been especially successful at Lambeau, where he has thrown 396 times and 34 straight touchdown passes without an interception — both NFL records. Rodgers last interception at Lambeau came Dec. 2, 2012.An improved Detroit secondary features safety Glover Quin, who leads the league with seven picks. Fellow safety James Ihedigbo has four interceptions, and the Lions have had 12 straight games with a pick.One impressive streak is going to end.SITTING OUT: Lions centre Dominic Raiola lost his appeal of a one-game suspension for stepping on Chicago Bears defensive tackle Ego Ferguson last week, meaning hell have to sit out Sundays game.Rookie Travis Swanson is next on the depth chart at centre. He might be matched up against defensive lineman Mike Daniels, one of the keys to the Packers improved play of late against the rush.RUNNING MEN: Welcome back, Reggie Bush. The veteran, who has been slowed by injuries this season, had seven carries for 54 yards and a touchdown last week against the Bears, while also catching six passes for 44 yards.The Packers running game has improved in the second half of the season following a sluggish start, which included a 76-yard outing in the Week 3 loss at Detroit. Eddie Lacy, who is over the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season, and James Starks will have to earn yards against the Lions stout run defence.CLAY-MAKER: Packers linebacker Clay Matthews is on a pass-rushing roll with 5 1/2 sacks in his last three games to get to 10 on the season.The one thing you look for more important than the sacks is the pressure thats being generated, and I felt myself around the quarterback a lot these last several games, Matthews said.Green Bay has 10 sacks overall in its last two games.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL___Follow Genaro Armas at http://twitter.com/GArmasAP Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' ' |
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