CLEVELAND -- Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and the Charlotte Bobcats kept playing, even when they trailed by double digits in the third quarter. They eventually found a way to get past the Cleveland Cavaliers. Kidd-Gilchrist scored 16 points and the Bobcats used a strong fourth quarter to defeat the Cavaliers 86-80 on Friday night. "Its a new season, new guys, a new staff, new everything," Kidd-Gilchrist said. "Ill take this win. Ill take any win we can get this season. One step at a time." While its only November, the Bobcats are feeling good about themselves. Charlotte is 5-4 after finishing 21-61 last season. "A lot of it just comes down to how badly the guys in the locker room want to win," first-year coach Steve Clifford said. "Its a great win, a win on the road against a physical team that plays good defence." Kyrie Irving, wearing a mask to protect a nasal fracture, had 18 points and 10 assists for Cleveland, which lost for the first time in four games at home. The Cavaliers (3-7) have lost three straight and five of six. Clevelands wins have come by four, one and two points. "We just didnt play with any sense of urgency at all defensively," coach Mike Brown said. "We didnt do anything we were supposed to do." The Cavaliers are 0-6 on the road and play in Washington on Saturday. The Bobcats outscored the Cavaliers 29-22 in the final period to win for only the second time in 16 games at Quicken Loans Arena. The Bobcats trailed 53-41 midway through the third quarter, but cut the lead to 58-57 going into the fourth quarter. Anthony Tollivers 3-pointer put Charlotte ahead 60-58 for its first lead of the game and the Bobcats never trailed again. Kidd-Gilchrist had eight points in the fourth, including a three-point play that gave Charlotte an 81-70 lead with 6:08 remaining. Ramon Sessions and Kemba Walker hit 3-pointers and Cody Zeller added a three-point play to spark the Bobcats run. Cleveland trailed 82-76 before Josh McRoberts 3-pointer from the corner with 1:02 remaining sealed the win. McRoberts scored 13 points while Sessions and Walker added 12 apiece. Jeff Taylor scored 11 points for Charlotte, which won 89-83 in Boston on Wednesday. Charlotte cut a 10-point deficit to four at halftime, but the Cavaliers began the third quarter on a 16-8 spurt. Irving was hit in the face by an elbow from Minnesotas Corey Brewer on Wednesday. The All-Star point guard has a bruise under his right eye and will wear the mask for an undetermined period of time. "The mask was awful, but Ive got to play through it," said Irving, who was 5 of 16 from the field. "Hopefully, it will help me shoot better." Tristan Thompson and Earl Clark each scored 15 points for the Cavaliers. Bobcats centre Al Jefferson missed the game because of the sore right ankle thats bothered him since training camp. He played in Charlottes last two games after missing its previous five. Hes averaging team highs of 15 points and 8.7 rebounds. Jefferson also missed the Bobcats 90-84 win over the Cavaliers in Charlotte on Nov. 1. Cleveland played its second straight game without centre Andrew Bynum, who was excused by the team to address a family medical matter. Bynum is expected to return for Saturdays game. Cavaliers forward Anthony Bennett, the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, scored two points and is 4 for 35 from the field this season. NOTES: Cavaliers G Dion Waiters didnt play because of the flu and wont travel to Washington. C.J. Miles started at shooting guard. Clark started at small forward in place of Alonzo Gee. ... McRoberts started after missing Wednesdays game in Boston because of a personal matter. ... Charlotte, which has lost 12 straight to Miami, hosts the Heat on Saturday. ... Bismack Biyombo replaced Jefferson in the starting lineup. He was scoreless but had 12 rebounds. ... A youngster participating in a YMCA game at halftime hit a half-court shot at the buzzer, which drew one of the biggest cheers of the night. . PETERSBURG, Fla. . But sometimes the way you lose takes precedence over the final score. And how the Jets lost the 5-4 game to the New York Islanders on Thursday is what had Coach Claude Noel hot after the game.
http://www.cheapflyersjerseysauthentic. ... rke-jersey. Lineup news, Fantasy and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking. HEROES St. Louis Blues – After rolling the San Jose Sharks for seven goals, for the second time in a week, the Blues have a bunch of players on hot streaks. . General Manager Sam Presti said the three-time All-Star had knee swelling that would not subside, and the procedure was intended to solve the problem. He said doctors determined that a loose stitch was to blame for the swelling, that Westbrooks lateral meniscus has healed properly and the procedure was successful. .Y. -- That hangover from the Big East tournament is gone for Villanova.AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Al Jefferson found a groove just in time for the Charlotte Bobcats. Jefferson scored 15 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, and the Bobcats overtook the Detroit Pistons for a 116-106 victory Friday night. Charlotte trailed by 20 in the second quarter and by 14 heading into the fourth. "I dont know what was going on in the first half," Jefferson said. "It just got to a point where Id had enough. I just had to go out there and do what I can do." Kemba Walker scored 34 points for Charlotte and Gerald Henderson added 22, but the fourth quarter belonged to Jefferson. With Detroit up 99-94, the 6-foot-10 centre scored six straight points for the games first and only lead change. Then Walker added a 3-pointer from in front of the Detroit bench to make it 103-99. Jefferson scored Charlottes next seven points on a jumper, a three-point play and a 20-footer that made it 110-102. Brandon Jennings had 26 points for Detroit, which rallied from a 21-point deficit to beat Boston on Wednesday but blew a big lead two nights later. "When Al gets into that kind of rhythm, with his offensive game, Im not sure anyone is going to stop him," Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks said. "We really struggled with their dribble penetration. That had been getting better, but they were able to get their guards to the basket too easily. After that, they just started going to Jefferson in the post and steamrolled us." Down 89-75, the Bobcats scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter to get back in the game. Charlotte ended up with 72 points in the second half and outscored the Pistons 41-17 in the final quarter. The Pistons lost despite shooting 12 of 23 from 3-point range. Charlotte won even though forward Jeff Taylor played less than a minute before going down with a right Achilles injury. Taylor left the game after only 37 seconds. He stayed down for a while after the injury to his right leg and could bee heard groaning in pain before he was eventually helped off the court.dddddddddddd Taylor is expected to undergo further testing Saturday. The Bobcats have won three straight. Jefferson equaled a season high in scoring that hed set in an overtime win over Toronto on Wednesday. "He played great tonight," Charlottes Cody Zeller said. "He made some tough shots and carried us in the fourth quarter. He was able to play his game tonight and got good looks down in the post." Josh Smith scored 18 points for Detroit, and Josh Harrellson scored all 12 of his in the second quarter. The 6-foot-10 Harrellson looked like he was auditioning for a blooper video when he missed three straight layups during one sequence in the final minute of the first quarter. Those ended up being his only misses of the first half. Kyle Singler and Chauncey Billups made 3-pointers to start the second quarter, giving the Pistons a 37-22 lead. Harrellson added a 16-footer moments later, the first of five consecutive shots he would make in the quarter, including two 3-pointers. Detroit led 52-32 after an alley-oop from Will Bynum to Andre Drummond, but there was enough time for the Bobcats not only to win -- but in convincing fashion. "Its real big, especially for a team like us, trying to prove ourselves," Jefferson said. "We came back from 20 points down and we just kept fighting, and stayed together." NOTES: Detroit G Rodney Stuckey (sore right shoulder) did not play. ... The Bobcats are still without F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (broken left hand). ... Charlotte went 25 of 28 on free throws. ... The last team to rally from at least 20 points behind for a victory -- then blow a lead of at least 20 for a loss in the next game was Orlando in 2001, according to STATS. The Magic came back from a 20-point deficit to beat Chicago on Jan. 15, 2001, then blew a 22-point lead in a loss to Dallas three days later. ' ' '
