Subject :CHARLOTTE, N. Randall Cunningham Jersey .C. -- Al Jefferson knows few people will be giving the Char
CHARLOTTE, N. Randall Cunningham Jersey .C. -- Al Jefferson knows few people will be giving the Charlotte Bobcats a chance to upset the Miami Heat in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. That doesnt matter to the veteran centre. "They didnt give us a chance in October, if you remember," Jefferson said. "We were going to be last in the league, right? So we dont worry about what is said outside of these walls right here." The Bobcats defeated the Chicago Bulls 91-86 in overtime on Wednesday night to finish the season 43-39 and as the seventh seed in the East. Not bad for a team that was a combined 28-120 over the previous two seasons. But now there is the monumental task of beating the two-time defending NBA champions, something the Bobcats havent done in the LeBron James era. The Heat are 15-0 against the Bobcats since James signed. "Its going to be a challenge, but its the playoffs and anything can happen," Bobcats guard Kemba Walker said. "Its not going to be easy. Were going to go out there and give it all we got just like we have been doing all year." The series starts on Sunday. "Its going to be a dogfight," Jefferson said. The Bulls finished as the No. 4 seed in the East and will face the Washington in the first round after the Wizards leap-frogged the Brooklyn Nets on the final night of the season to grab the fifth spot. "They are a great transition team with a lot of shooters and size," Bulls forward Carlos Boozer said. "To make the playoffs you have to be a good team, and theyre a good team." After missing a jumper that would have won the game in regulation, Walker scored eight of his 22 points in overtime to help the Bobcats beat the Bulls for the first time this season and finish the regular season with eight wins in their final nine games. Jefferson added 10 points and 18 rebounds for Charlotte, and Chris Douglas-Roberts finished with 13 points after being held scoreless for the first three quarters. Josh McRoberts made a key play in overtime, his block of D.J. Augustins 3-point attempt leading to a fast-break layup by Walker that gave the Bobcats an 88-81 lead with 1 minute left. "This was the type of game we needed going into the playoffs," Jefferson said. "Thats a playoff team and thats a playoff game that we played tonight." Joakim Noah finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds for Chicago, Boozer added 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Augustin scored 17 points. The Bulls came in having won 10 of their last 11 against the Bobcats, including five straight in Charlotte by an average of 22 points per game. And it looked early on like this would be another road blowout for Michael Jordans former team. The Bobcats started the game cold, missing 21 of their first 29 shots from the field to fall behind 33-23. But Jefferson hit a short jumper and the Bobcats made 11 straight shots to take 43-37 lead at halftime. After a back-and-forth third quarter, the Bulls entered the final period leading 60-59. Every time Chicago attempted to pull away, Douglas-Roberts seemed to have an answer. Two nights after a buzzer-beater to sink the Atlanta Hawks, Douglas-Roberts had 12 points in the fourth period, including a left-handed layup off an offensive rebound with 3:42 left to tie the game at 75. After Taj Gibson missed a jumper with 25 seconds left, Walker had a chance to win the game but missed an open step-back jumper from 18 feet at the buzzer. "I had a great look at it," Walker said. "Just missed it." Walkers big overtime helped the Bobcats improve to 20-9 since the All-Star break. "The guys have done a great job," Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said. "We wont think about it right now, but when we reflect back on the year we will. We didnt have a definitive number because I didnt know how good we could be. Its a good group and hopefully we have a lot more in us. It was good to see the locker room tonight. Theyve worked hard. Theyve been grinding from the jump." NOTES: Jefferson was taken to the locker room for observations with a left knee contusion midway through the third quarter. He did return to the game and played the entire fourth quarter. ... With the win, the Bobcats avoided a season series sweep by the Bulls. Chris Long Jersey . New Zealand brushed aside England 26-7 to win the event and reclaim top spot in the overall standings. The All Blacks, the defending World Series champions, won their third tournament this season in style, running four tries past England to claim their 11th Cup championship in Hong Kong and first since 2011. Wendell Smallwood Jersey . Henry, who missed three games with a knee injury, was charged with a handball in the penalty area in the 82nd minute as he went to block a strike from Patrick Mullins. On the ensuing penalty kick, Lee Nguyen picked up his fourth goal of the season, giving the Revolution a 2-1 win Saturday afternoon.With the NHL Draft coming up on June 27 and free agency opening on July 1, discussions between NHL general managers are already heating up towards a busy off-season. Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Kane A Fit For Oilers? TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie tweeted on Monday that the Winnipeg Jets WPG could be much more open to considering a trade for any player, including forward Evander Kane. That said, David Staples of The Edmonton Journal suggests that the Oilers could look into acquiring Kane for another winger who may benefit from a change in scenery. "Would a Nail Yakupov for Kane deal make sense?," he wrote. "A risk for a risk? Of course, having just lost Alexander Burmistrov to the KHL, the Jets might not be so keen on picking up another young Russian attacker. Of course, most Oilers fans would much rather see Sam Gagner and spare parts moved for Kane, but Winnipeg is OK at centre with Bryan Little and Mark Scheifele. A Winnipeg/Edmonton deal certainly doesnt seem out of the question here. A bit of logic to it." Alfies Answer? Helene St. James of The Detroit Free Press writes that the Red Wings are waiting to hear whether Daniel Alfredsson wants to play another season and want him back if he does. St. James also writes that the team are trying to trade forward Jordin Tootoo, who has one year left on a three-year, $5.7-million contract. Tootooo spent most of this season with Grand Rapids of the AHL. Nick Foles Jersey. Washingtons Playbook As Chuck Gormley of csnwashington.com writes, new Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan would like to go with Braden Holtby as his No. 1 goalie next season and add a veteran backup either through trade or free agency so that Philipp Grubauer can develop further in the AHL. MacLellan adds that the Capitals are still in talks with pending UFA Mikhail Grabovski and would also like to explore Evgeny Kuznetsov as the the teams No. 2 center. "Were going to have to develop one of our young guys to play second-line centre," he said. "I think its hard to add in free agency." Also of note, MacLellan says its a priority to get defenceman Mike Green "on track" and that there were circumstances that hindered his performance last season. "I guess Im open to trading anybody," he told Gormley, "but as of right now I think wed like to bring Mike Green back." MacLellan also said he would try to land a top defenceman through a trade or free agency. Centre Of Attention Adrian Dater of The Denver Post tweeted that the Colorado Avalanche say they will continue to try and re-sign pending restricted free agent Ryan OReilly. OReillys agent added there is "nothing to report." Dater also wrote that the Avs may be thinking that OReilly is a $5 million player. He made $6.5 million this past season. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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