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DENVER - Once Nate Robinson stopped worrying about missing shots, he started making them, and the timing couldnt have been better. Kerry Wood Jersey . Robinson and Jordan Hamilton each hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start the fourth quarter, helping the Denver Nuggets pull away for a 97-87 victory against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night. "Ive been battling little injuries, and been in a little slump, not wanting to take the shots I usually take just because I didnt want to miss them and hurt my team," said Robinson, who scored 10 of his 11 points in the fourth quarter. "But I got to the stage where Im like, Forget it. Just play and be you," he said. "Im no longer going to worry about missing shots. Im just going to shoot when Im open and play aggressive, get my teammates involved and play as hard as I can for as long as I can and enjoy the minutes that I get." Hamilton finished with 17 points to lead the Nuggets, who won their seventh straight against the Bulls at the Pepsi Center. J.J. Hickson had 14 points, Kenneth Faried had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Randy Foye also scored 12 points. Derrick Rose had 19 points for the Bulls, who snapped a five-game winning streak. Robinson, who spent last season with the Bulls, started a 12-0 burst when he hit successive 3s opening the final period. Hamilton matched him by making 3s on consecutive possessions, and the Nuggets lead ballooned to 82-62 with 9:40 left. "Hes a sparkplug, man," teammate Ty Lawson said. "Nate is never down and out, so if he misses through three quarters, hes going to come through in the fourth quarter. Thats what he did for us." Chicago managed to pull to 94-83, but Robinson responded by hitting a 12-foot bank shot to help quash the Bulls late momentum. "You cant let your guard down against them," Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau said. "I thought their bench hurt us. Hamilton had a big game for them, Nate had the two big shots to start the fourth, (Timofey) Mozgov hurt us in the paint. Lawson puts a lot of pressure on you, and (Wilson) Chandler puts a lot of pressure on you. Youve got to use your team to slow them down. "Our turnovers hurt us," Thibodeau added, "but the big thing is we gave them easy scoring opportunities. We should have been able to count on our defence. Ninety-seven points, 46 per cent (shooting), its too much." Darrell Arthur hit a baseline jumper to give the Nuggets a 69-60 lead with 1:09 left in the third, matching their biggest lead of the night. Denver was in front 70-62 going into the final period. The Bulls outscored the Nuggets 8-2 in the last two minutes of the second quarter, pulling to 50-48 at halftime. Chicago hit the offensive boards in the surge, getting tip-ins from Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah during the sequence. NOTES: Chicagos Mike Dunleavy started at shooting guard in place of Jimmy Butler, who is week to week because of a toe injury. ... Chicagos Taj Gibson was ejected with 1:15 left after drawing his second technical foul. ... Chicago hasnt won in Denver since a 110-107 victory on Feb. 8, 2006. ... Faried has 10 or more rebounds in five of his last six games. Carlos Zambrano Authentic Jersey . Jones had to work hard against Korean skip Kim Jisun and didnt hold a lead until the seventh end. Jones, lead Dawn McEwen, second Jill Officer and third Kaitlyn Lawes were 8-0 going into the game and had already clinched a berth in the semifinals. Ryne Sandberg Authentic Jersey . Blown save in the ninth inning? No problem.ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Wes Welker says he has no apprehensions about concussions or rust as he returns to the Denver Broncos lineup Sunday for the first time in more than a month. Its the longest the 10-year pro has ever been sidelined. Welker missed the Broncos last 3 1/2 games after sustaining his second concussion in a four-week span just before halftime in a game against Tennessee on Dec. 8. The Broncos sorely missed him four days later in a 27-20 loss to San Diego, when they were just 2 for 9 on third down and suffered their only home loss of the season. Denver (13-3) hosts the Chargers (10-7) Sunday in the AFC Divisional round. "One of the first times Ive been out of the game on the sidelines, so Im very anxious to get back," said Welker, who was cleared last week during the bye and quickly regained his rhythm with Peyton Manning. "Yeah, when youve played as long as I have it comes back pretty quick. I really wasnt too worried about that," Welker said. He also said hes not going to fret about the possibility of another head injury when he lines up in the slot Sunday. "I dont worry about the concussions or anything like that. I just focus on my assignment, my technique aand go out there and play the best I can," he said. Travis Wood Jersey. Welker caught a career-high 10 TD passes in his first season with Manning after spending his last six seasons catching passes from Tom Brady in New England. He was on pace for his sixth career 100-catch season before being sidelined and finished with 73 catches for 778 yards. Welker was one of the several free agents the Broncos signed last winter in the wake of their devastating 38-35 double-overtime loss to Baltimore in the playoffs last year. "I suffered disappointment, too, last year," said Welker, whose Patriots were beaten by the Ravens 28-13 in the AFC championship a week later. "Im just as hungry as everybody else and want to get out there and play my best." With 15-25 mph winds expected, Denvers downfield passing attack to Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker might be curtailed against the Chargers, which could put an even bigger emphasis on Welkers routes. "I dont know if its going to be windy enough to affect the passing game or not but you just have to focus in and be ready," Welker said. "I think it will affect the kicking game more than anything if it is windy."cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
