Post by jenny123 on Jan 19, 2014 22:53:13 GMT -5
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The fifth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs is still within the Chicago Bulls sights. Carlos Boozer scored 22 points, Luol Deng added 18 and the Chicago Bulls snapped a two-game losing streak with a 102-84 victory over the Orlando Magic on Monday night. Now with just one game left on their regular-season slate, the Bulls still can catch Atlanta for the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. They need the Hawks to either split or lose their final two games to move from sixth up to fifth. It would be a small victory at the end of a tough year, but is an opportunity they dont want to take for granted, either. "Weve got one more, and then it really starts," centre Joakim Noah said. "Im just happy that my foot held up. ... I think were a pretty deep team. We just need to play together and get our chemistry right. The last game is important. "Its that time of year, so its exciting." Tobias Harris led Orlando with 20 points, followed by Nik Vucevic with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Maurice Harkless also chipped in 16 points. The Magic finish just 12-29 at home, their fewest victories in Orlando since they were 11-30 during the 2003-04 season. Orlando wraps up its schedule Wednesday in Miami. Charlotte beat New York on Monday night, leaving the Bobcats tied with the Magic for the leagues worst record. "It shows us how much better we have to get, how much harder we have to play," Harkless said. "You know were a young team. Weve got to learn how tough it is playing against these playoff teams. Hopefully in the future well be a playoff team." Though hes shrugged off questions lately about his teams playoff preparations, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau did manage to get both Noah and Taj Gibson some work Monday after each had played sparingly down the stretch. Neither started the game, but Noah (right foot) was back on the court for just the second time in 14 games and Taj Gibson (left knee) played for the first time in eight games. Richard Hamilton also returned to action after serving a one-game suspension for hitting Torontos DeMar DeRozan with an elbow last week. "You have to make the best of whatever your circumstances are," Thibodeau said. "Having so many guys out, and then some guys resting down the stretch, gave our guys an opportunity to grow." The Bulls started slow, but outscored the Magic 28-14 in the second quarter to take a 12-point edge into the break. Deng and Boozer did most of the early offensive lifting, combining for 26 points in the half. "Were a team that has people on this team for certain reasons and thats why our team works," Boozer said. "Its like having a car thats missing a couple of pieces. It aint going to run as smooth. But once weve got everybody back out there, once youve got the parts on the car, it runs pretty good." The Magic had just three turnovers in the first quarter. They gave it away six times in the second quarter, leading to 10 Chicago points. Chicago maintained its momentum as the lead quickly ballooned above 20 in the opening minutes of the third quarter. Orlando tried to make a few pushes, but never really threatened in the final 12 minutes. For the night, the Magic tallied just 16 assists on their 31 field goals. Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said down year or not, he doesnt expect his team to be down entering Wednesdays finale. "Just the same approach that weve had the entire year really, of going into the game and doing the best we can," he said. "Were going to Miami and were going to try to get a win." Whether Derrick Rose makes a surprise return for the post-season is still to be determined. For now, though, all the focus is on improving the pieces the Bulls know they will have available. "Weve got a ways to go, but were fighters and were excited for the challenge," Noah said. Notes: Vucevics double-double was his 45th of the season. ... Having spent time in Boston during his stint as a Celtics assistant, Thibodeau said it made Mondays events tough to watch from afar now. "Theres so much going on and the entire meaning of that day -- its so festive. Its unfathomable just to think about something like that happening there," he said. "Its just a terrible day. Terrible."... Thibodeau said a lack of recent practice time for his team hasnt slowed down Roses rehab schedule. "Thats the important thing and hes going to continue to do so," he said. "So if were not practicing, hes still doing all his rehab stuff and hes working each and every day." Womens Chris Harris Super Bowl Jersey .C. -- C.J. Youth Steve Atwater Super Bowl Jersey . Sure looked like it. The Russian star scored twice and added an assist, helping the Penguins rally past Winnipeg 6-5 to extend their home winning streak to 12 straight. James Neal added two goals and Jussi Jokinen scored for the third time in the last two games as Pittsburghs second line kept the Penguins in it until Matt Niskanens slap shot with 7:22 remaining won it. www.authenticbroncosjerseysnfl.com/Denver-broncos_Super-bowl-48-louis-vasquez-jersey/ . In a letter to council, a spokesman for Oilers owner Daryl Katz says it makes more sense to hash out those issues in private with city bureaucrats before meeting publicly with Mayor Stephen Mandel and council. "While we appreciate the mayors invitation, we do not think such a meeting can be productive until we have reduced the outstanding issues," John Karvellas, a vice-president for the Katz Group, said in the three-sentence press release posted on the Oilers website. Quinton Carter Super Bowl Jersey . Dustin Pedroia hit a grounder that Royals third baseman Tony Abreu bobbled before throwing to first. Replays showed that Pedroia beat the throw, but first base umpire Dan Bellino called him out. Youth Quentin Jammer Super Bowl Jersey .500 so far for the Chicago Cubs, who will attempt to move above the even mark for the fourth time this season as they open a three-game series this afternoon with the Los Angeles Dodgers at Wrigley Field.The Quebec Remparts maintained top position in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with their fifth win in a row. Owen Werthner led the way with a goal and two assists as the Remparts defeated the P.E.I. Rocket 8-3 on Friday. Frederick Roy, Mikhail Grigorenko and Ryan Cullen each had a goal and an assist for Quebec (27-6-3), while Patrick Walsh, Alexandre Comtois, Mikael Tam and Adam Erne added single goals. Ben Duffy led the Rocket (8-23-4) with two goals and Louick Marcotte had the other. Both teams were forced to use their back up goalies. Louis Domingue made 11 saves for the win after replacing Francois Brassard, who allowed three goals on nine shots. Maxime Lagace took the loss and was pulled after allowing six goals against on 31 shots. Antoine Bibeau came on in relief and gave up two goals while making just four saves. Quebec went 1-for-4 on the power play as P.E.I. failed to score on their only opportunity with the man advantage. The victory keeps the Remparts two points ahead of the Saint John Sea Dogs for first in the league with three games in hand. Quebec took over top spot this week after the Sea Dogs led the league for most of the early season. Elsewhere in the QMJHL, it was: Saint John 4, Cape Breton 3; Halifax 2, Moncton 0; Drummondville 5, Gatineau 2; Baie-Comeau 4, Victoriaville 1; Rimouski 6, Chicoutimi 1; Blainville-Boisbriand 4, Rouyn-Noranda 3 and Shawinigan 3, Val-dOr 1. At Quebec City, Duffy opened the scoring 1:09 into the game to give P.E.I. the lead. Grigorenko tied it at one a little over two minutes later but Marcotte put the Rocket back on top at 5:03. Werthner and Comtois scored a minute apart to give the Remparts their first lead of the game however Duffy added his second to make it 3-3 after 20 minutes of play.dddddddddddd The second period was all Quebec as Roy, Walsh and Erne scored within four minutes of each other for a 6-3 lead. Tam made it 7-3 with a goal at 14:25 and Culkin added one more late on the power play for a 8-3 Quebec final. --- Sea Dogs 4 Screaming Eagles 3 At Sydney, N.S., Scott Oke scored two goals and Danick Gauthier had two assists as Saint John (27-10-1) defeated Cape Breton (14-21-1). --- Mooseheads 2 Wildcats 0 At Moncton, N.B., Brad Cuzners goal stood as the game winner and Zachary Fucale stopped 29 shots as Halifax (22-10-3) shutout the Wildcats (17-17-2). --- Voltiguers 5 Olympiques 2 At Drummondville, Que., Olivier Archambault scored once and set up two others to lead the Voltiguers (14-17-5) over Gatineau (16-15-5). --- Drakkar 4 Tigres 1 At Victoriaville, Que., Raphael Bussieres scored two goals and Samuel Carrier had one goal and two assists as Baie-Comeau (18-15-2) beat the Tigres (21-12-2). --- Oceanic 6 Sagueneens 1 At Rimouski, Que., Alexandre Mallet scored a hat trick and added two assists while Alex Belzile chipped in four assists to lead the Oceanic (21-17-0) past Chicoutimi (16-11-8). --- Armada 4 Huskies 3 At Rouyn-Noranda, Que., Raphael Pouliot had a goal and an assist and Etienne Marcoux made 27 saves as Blainville-Boisbriand (19-14-2) edged the Huskies (12-24-2). --- Cataractes 3 Foreurs 1 At Val-dOr, Que., Justin Hache opened the scoring and then setup the winner as Shawinigan (24-9-4) defeated the Foreurs (15-18-4). 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