LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The Washington Wizards are in a great position to make the playoffs for the first time in six years, and John Wall has a lot to do with it. Wall had 28 points and 14 assists, leading the Wizards to a heated 117-107 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night. "Hes a competitor that comes every night," coach Randy Wittman said. "Hes obviously a big part that gets our engine running. So I want him to understand how important he is in continuing that." The Wizards are having their best season since 2007-08, when they ended a string of four consecutive playoff berths. Theyve already surpassed last seasons win total by seven with 13 games remaining, and are sixth in the Eastern Conference, with a seven-game lead over the New York Knicks for the final playoff seed. "The difference this year is just trusting each other," Wall said. "This is a group that enjoys playing with each other, and we know the one thing we can do is play hard for 48 minutes and trust any guy down the stretch. I give a lot of credit to our organization and our coaches for helping our second unit improve." Washington (36-33) is one of only six teams in their conference with a winning record. But if they were in the West, they would be in 10th place — 4 1/2 games out of contention. "Im glad Im in the East," Wall said with a grin. "But we still havent solidified a playoff spot, so we knew we had to get back on the right track — pushing the ball and playing team defence. When we get stagnant, we dont play great and lose a lot of games like that. So it was great to get to come back tonight and get back on the winning track." Bradley Beal added 18 points for the Wizards, who began this four-game western trip with back-to-back losses to Sacramento and Portland. Nene sat out his 13th in a row with a sprained left knee, but Marcin Gortat returned to the lineup with 13 points and 13 rebounds in 34 minutes after missing his first game of the season because of pain in his lower back. "Kudos to our guys and their connections out here on the coast to get him some treatment," Wittman said. "Last night we thought he was day-to-day, but he got here and he said: You know what? I feel pretty good. I wasnt anticipating that, but it was a pleasant surprise." Tempers flared with 2:14 remaining and the Wizards ahead 108-98, as Jordan Hill and Nick Young got into a scuffle with Gooden after a battle for a loose ball. Referees Scott Foster, Mark Ayotte and Nick Buchert went to the video monitor at the scorers table review, and Gooden was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul and was ejected. So was Hill, who received a technical foul. Young also got a technical, but stayed in the game. Young and Jodie Meeks each scored 21 points for the injury-jinxed Lakers, who welcomed Young, Hill and Steve Nash back into the mix and had 12 players in uniform for the first time since March 4. Coach Mike DAntoni, unable to play Wesley Johnson because of an upper-respiratory infection, used his 30th different starting lineup with Robert Sacre at centre and Pau Gasol shifting to power forward alongside newcomer Kent Bazemore. Gasol had 14 points and 14 rebounds. Nash, who sat out the previous 15 games because of chronic nerve damage in his back that has limited him to 11 appearances all season, had 11 assists and five points in 19 minutes off the bench. On March 13, following an individual workout by Nash at Oklahoma City, DAntoni told the media that the two-time MVP was done for the season. But when Jordan Farmar was sidelined by a groin strain, all bets were off. "Steve always kept in shape," DAntoni said. "He wanted to play and he was getting there, so it made sense to go ahead and get him in there." Young sat out the previous 11 games and 17 of 18 with a sore left knee, and Hill was sidelined for eight games due to a sore right knee. All three of the returning Lakers ended up on the court at the same time when Nash and Hill reported in with 3:26 left in the first quarter and Los Angeles trailing 24-12. Trevor Bookers short running jumper gave the Wizards their biggest lead, 72-51, with 7:22 left in the third quarter. Nash reported back in with 3:44 left in the period and orchestrated an 18-7 Lakers run that included seven points by Sacre, whose dunk with 3.3 seconds on the clock narrowed the gap to 88-81. "It didnt look like he missed a beat to me. Thats how talented he is," Wall said. "No matter how old Steve Nash is, man, whenever he runs that pick-and-roll, hes efficient and one of the best at passing and getting his shot. A lot of people are writing him off, but when hes healthy, hes still one of the greatest all-time. So youve got to respect a two-time MVP in this league." NOTES: The Lakers failed to sell out for the fifth time, drawing 18,112 — 885 short of capacity. ... Nash has played in just three games since his 40th birthday on Feb. 7, when he scored 19 points at Philadelphia. ... C Chris Kaman and G MarShon Brooks suited up for the Lakers, but didnt play. ... Wall is the only player to start each of the Wizards first 69 games. No one has started all 82 for them since swingman DeShawn Stevenson in 2007-08. ... The Lakers have held opponents under 100 just 18 times. The only team that has done it fewer times is Philadelphia (nine). ... The Lakers only lead came after Meeks made a layup for the first basket of the game.
Clearance Asics Shoes .J. Ellis hit an RBI single in the ninth inning, Hanley Ramirez hit a tape-measure, three-run homer in the first against Cliff Lee and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 on Saturday night.
Cheap Wholesale Asics . The 36-year-old Colts receiver is going back to the playoffs as a division champion.
http://www.wholesaleasics.com/ . Hawkins severely sprained his left ankle while making a diving catch during training camp and went on injured reserve with a designation he could return midway through the season. He was back at practice Wednesday.
Discount Asics Shoes . Catch the game on TSN starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. Tampa Bay currently holds the last of the Atlantics three automatic bids to the playoffs, but the Maple Leafs are just one point behind.
Cheap Asics Running Shoes China Wholesale .C. -- Carter Ashton had a pair of goals and added an assist as the Toronto Marlies downed the Charlotte Checkers 5-2 on Saturday in the American Hockey League.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Memphis Grizzlies return home to the FedExForum with a three-game winning streak, but will face a tough test Saturday night in the form of the Portland Trail Blazers. The Grizzlies have won three in a row and three straight at home. They swept a two-game road trip against the Brooklyn Nets and Orlando Magic, including a 106-96 victory Friday night in Orlando. Jeff Green made his presence known in his second game with the Grizzlies, scoring 12 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter to lead Memphis. Green, acquired in three-team deal on Monday, threw down a thunderous dunk over Victor Oladipo in the third quarter and added two more slams after the Magic cut their deficit to four down the stretch. Hes learning how to play off other guys, said Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger. Hes a really good cutter ... thats kind of where he made his money tonight. All five Memphis starters finished in double figures. Marc Gasol filled the stat sheet with 12 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists, while Zach Randolph chipped in with 18 points and 12 boards. Tony Allen had 17 and Beno Udrih, starting in place of Mike Conley, finished with 15. Orlando cut the deficit to four with under two minutes to play, but Green answered with a slam off a nice pass from Gasol, and after Orlandos Elfrid Payton missed from long range, Green went baseline on Oladipo for a second time and finished it with anotther dunk to all but seal the win.dddddddddddd Conley has two sprained ankles and theres no timetable for his return. Fridays game was his first missed contest of the season. Memphis begins a five-game homestand Saturday and will welcome the Dallas Mavericks, Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers and the Magic on this residency. The Blazers have dropped two straight and the slide started Wednesday at home against the Los Angeles Clippers. They opened a brutal weekend road trip with a 110-96 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Friday. Portland couldnt handle the returning Kawhi Leonard, who scored 20 points in his first action since a 15-game absence with a hand injury. LaMarcus Aldridge tallied 24 points with eight rebounds and Damian Lillard, who scored 43 points in the 129-119 triple overtime win on Dec. 19, went for 23 points and five assists in this one. We didnt do a good job keeping them off the boards, said Aldridge. We didnt do a good job of finding bodies. Well learn from it. San Antonio held a 49-32 edge on the glass and the Blazers only compiled 20 assists. Portland did shoot 50 percent from the field. C.J. McCollum chipped in 17 off the bench and Meyers Leonard added 12 for the second unit. The Grizzlies defeated the Blazers by 13 in Portland on Nov. 28 and have taken six of the last seven in this series. The Grizzlies are 4-1 in their last versus the Blazers in Memphis.
Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '
