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CLEVELAND -- The Washington Wizards lost Nene to a knee injury, and then won the game with a strong effort on defence. Saints Archie Manning White Jersey . John Wall scored 21 points, Bradley Beal had 17 and the Wizards beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 96-83 on Sunday night. Washington had a 66-63 lead midway through the third quarter when Nene departed with a sprained left knee. The Wizards then held the Cavaliers to 11 fourth-quarter points to return to .500 at 28-28 on the season. They also strengthened their hold on the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference standings. "Were a team right now thats just trying to play the right way and get on a roll," Wall said. Nene had eight points, four rebounds and four assists in 21 minutes. He was coming off one of his best games with the Wizards, when he had a career-high 30 points in Saturdays win over New Orleans, including the game-winning dunk with less than a second left. Coach Randy Wittman said Nene banged knees with Spencer Hawes and will get an MRI on Monday. Luol Deng led Cleveland with 17 points and the injury-riddled Cavaliers lost for the second straight time after winning six in a row. The Cavaliers played without centre Anderson Varejao (sore back) and guards Dion Waiters (hyperextended left knee) and C.J. Miles (sprained left ankle). While the Wizards are in good shape to snag a playoff spot in the weak Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers are five games out of the final post-season slot. Kyrie Irving, who scored 15 points, admitted that hes looking at the standings. "You have no choice but to pay attention to it," he said. "We want to accomplish something, but it starts with every single game. Time is of the essence right now." Washington led 78-72 after three quarters, and then grabbed control in the fourth. Two baskets by Kevin Seraphin, who replaced Nene, and five points by Beal helped the Wizards build a double-digit lead before Trevor Arizas 3-pointer with a little over a minute left made it 96-81. "We felt bad when he got hurt, but during the game, you have to keep focused the whole way, which we did," Seraphin said. The Cavaliers shot 49 per cent in the first half, but were 4 of 19 from the field in the fourth quarter. "The ball just seemed to stick in one area," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "It was almost like we played in an elevator at times. It wasnt crisp like it was in the first half." Ariza scored 15 points and Marcin Gortat had 13 points and 13 rebounds. Hawes, playing his second game since being acquired from Philadelphia on Thursday, had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Cleveland. The Wizards used a 12-0 run midway through the first quarter to go ahead for good. Cleveland got within one point several times in the third quarter but never pulled even. The game featured two of the top young point guards in the league in Irving and Wall. Irving was the MVP of the All-Star game and Wall won the dunk contest. Wall ended the first half with a dunk and two 3-pointers in the final 1:21. He banked in a 30-footer to beat the halftime buzzer, giving Washington a 58-52 lead. Washington scored the first two baskets on a tip-in and a fast break after a bad pass by Irving, leading to a timeout by Brown just 31 seconds into the game. Browns message obviously worked as the Cavaliers took a 13-8 lead, but the Wizards scored the next 12 points to go ahead 20-13. The teams split the season series, with the road team winning all four games. "The last time we played Cleveland, we gave the game away," Ariza said. "They played harder than us the last time. We did our best to prevent that from happening again." Hawes made his home debut late in the first quarter. He had 13 points and seven rebounds in 14 first-half minutes. NOTES: While theres no timetable for the return of Clevelands injured players, Varejao, who has missed the last six games, was on the court at Saturdays practice. Waiters hasnt been able to run since being injured Tuesday while Miles is still using crutches after hurting his ankle Wednesday. ... The Wizards are 11-6 in their last 17 road games. Washington is 14-14 on the road and at home. ... Cavaliers F Tristan Thompson, a native of Canada, celebrated his countrys win over Sweden in the gold-medal hockey game at the Olympics. "Were supposed to win," he said with a smile ... Wizards F Otto Porter, the third pick in the draft, didnt play for the fourth time in six games. http://www.saintsstore.us.com/10-nike-limited-brandin-cooks-womens-jersey-nfl-new-orleans-saints-drift-fashion-gold.html . - Mike Munchak is going back to his roots, and heading closer to home in the process. Saints Kenny Vaccaro Elite Jersey . Ashley Wagner will skate in the womens short program for a U.S. team thats in seventh place. Davis and White won the silver medal at the Vancouver Games and are two-time world champions.FRISCO, Texas -- Listening to the coaches after the game, one might think the result was reversed. Jackson scored the only goal in the 11th minute off a fortunate bounce and FC Dallas held on to beat the Colorado Rapids 1-0 in the teams season-opener Saturday night. Colorado, which went 3-13-1 on the road last season en route to missing the playoffs, just two years after defeating Dallas in the 2010 MLS Cup Final, started five newcomers -- including four who were making their MLS debuts. "I thought it was good," Rapids coach Oscar Pareja said of his squads performance. "I saw a team that was dictating the pace and it was good." Dallas, also looking to return to the post-season after finishing sixth in the Western Conference last year, improved its all-time home record against the Rapids to 20-6-4. "As I said to the guys, we didnt have a real good performance," Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman said. "Weve had better training sessions than what we showed. At the same time, they showed a lot of character, a lot of discipline and commitment to come away with the three points. We wish we could have played better." Jackson, who had four goals last season, struck after David Ferreira launched a lead ball from beyond midfield. Jackson tried to chase it down and as goalkeeper Steward Ceus charged out of the penalty area, it bounced over him, allowing Jackson an easy shot into an open net. "Me and David, we work a lot on him giving me the pass, and I saw the defender and just took off," said Jackson of the play. "And then when I saw that the ball was bouncing, I didnt expect the mistake by the goalkeeper, but I was ready for it." Ceus, starting in place of veteran Matt Pickens, who sat out due to a leg injury,, settled down after that and made five saves. Saints Archie Manning Lights Out Jersey. "Just the skip on the ball, I didnt expect it, I came out to play the ball too early," said Ceus, who surrendered just his second MLS goal in his four appearances. "It was a bad skip for me. It happens and what you have to do is bounce back and play the 80 other minutes." Colorado nearly tied it just three minutes later, but Dallas goalkeeper Raul Fernandez, in his first MLS contest, made a nice save on rookie Deshorn Browns point-blank shot. Jackson almost got his second goal in the 18th minute, but his 30-yard blast curled just wide of the right post. Dallas had another prime opportunity to build on its lead in the 64th minute but Ceus made a diving save on Ferreiras low shot from the edge of the penalty box. As time wound down, the Rapids applied considerable pressure, buzzing around the Dallas goal for much of the final 10 minutes, but were unable to get the tying goal. "Great way to start the season. For the defence, getting a shutout was a positive," Dallas defender Matt Hedges said. "I thought we handled the pressure well and taking advantage of the opportunity they gave us for the goal. A good result for us." With the season just starting, Colorado has already been hobbled by injuries. In addition to Pickens, second-year midfielder Martin Rivero (broken foot, expected to be out 2-3 months), last years leading scorer, forward Jaime Castrillon (knee, out until June), and former Los Angeles forward Edson Buddle, who was acquired in an off-season trade but injured his knee training with the U.S. national team. Dallas was also without forward Blas Perez, who was serving the first of a two-game suspension assessed in the 2012 season finale. ' ' ' |
