WASHINGTON -- Al Jefferson had 26 points and 10 rebounds, and Gerald Henderson went 6 for 9 in his return from a calf injury Wednesday night to lead the Charlotte Bobcats to a 98-85 win over the Washington Wizards. Detroit Lions Jerseys . Henderson finished with 13 points, and Kemba Walkers 16 points included four consecutive free throws during a late fourth-quarter run for the Bobcats, who have won four of five and sit in seventh place in the Eastern Conference. John Wall scored 23 points to lead the Wizards, but he went scoreless in the fourth and received little help from his teammates. Washington had won eight of its previous 10 and began the day in fifth, one-half game ahead of the Brooklyn Nets. Bobcats-Wizards late in the season is usually more about pingpong balls than playoffs, but Washington is closing in on its first post-season berth since 2008 and Charlotte is nearly there for the first time since 2010. Fittingly, they were evenly matched, a good sign for their two meetings yet to come on March 31 and April 9. Neither team led by more than six until Wall fouled Walker while Walker was attempting a 3-pointer with 4:34 to play. Walker was awarded three free throws, and Washington coach Randy Wittman was called for a technical foul after the second attempt. Walker made the technical, then made the last of his quartet of free throws to put the Bobcats ahead 87-80. Wall compounded matters for the Wizards by missing two free throws a half-minute later. Walker then hit a hang-in-the-air 3-pointer with the shot clock running down to make it a 10-point lead. The Bobcats closed the game with a 15-5 run. Henderson missed the previous five games with a strained right calf, and his return -- while welcome -- had potential chemistry issues to the point where coach Steve Clifford called a pregame team meeting to address players roles going forward. Henderson would start against the Wizards, Clifford told the team, but Chris Douglas-Roberts would continue to get substantial playing time based on matchups against certain opponents. Douglas-Roberts had played well in Hendersons absence, scoring in double figures in four of five games. Douglas-Roberts played 21 minutes off the bench Wednesday night and scored 10 points. Henderson, meanwhile, looked plenty healthy when he exploded for a one-handed jam in the first quarter. Wall had the only sure hand for the Wizards. He went 10 for 19 from the field, while everyone else was 25 for 63. Perhaps a sign of Wall trying too hard: He got reckless trying for one-handed driving dunk late in the third quarter and was called for a charge as he crashed onto the floor. Notes: Bobcats G Gary Neal, acquired last month in a trade, did not play due to "an internal team matter," according to an announcement by the team. ... Charlotte committed only two fouls in the first half. ... Both teams shot 20 for 43 (46.5 per cent) in the first half. ... The Bobcats improved to 2-8 against Southeast Division opponents. Custom Detroit Lions Jerseys .com) - The Utah Jazz look to put an end to their five-game losing streak when the Denver Nuggets visit Salt Lake City Monday night. Tracy Walker Lions Jersey . It took five games, but the Celtics finally helped Stevens earn his first NBA victory. "Im going to celebrate for a whole 12 minutes, and then Im going to start watching Orlando and trying to figure them out," the first-year Celtics coach said after Boston beat the Utah Jazz, one of the leagues other winless teams, 97-87 on Wednesday night.TORONTO - On Saturday afternoon, less than three years after winning an unlikely championship together in Dallas, Dwane Casey and Jason Kidd will sit on opposite ends of the Air Canada Centre sideline, getting set to make their postseason debut as head coaches. Just ahead of tip-off, as their teams stretch, shoot around and a sellout crowd - draped in white - files into the building, the two coaches will meet at centre court. Theyll shake hands, exchange a few words then return to their respective benches in the hopes of sending the other home for an early summer vacation. They havent spoken since finding out that the Raptors and Nets would face off in round one of the Eastern Conference playoffs, which isnt to say theres a lack of mutual respect between the two. On the contrary, theres actually a whole lot of it. Friendship is for the offseason, Casey always boasts. Until then, these former colleagues have a job to do, and theyre in each others way. Theyve traveled down dissimilar paths to get to this point. Casey, who celebrated his 57th birthday on Thursday, has been coaching in the NBA for over two decades. After serving as a long-time assistant under George Karl in Seattle, he spent a couple seasons as the head man with the Timberwolves, where he coached Nets veteran and future hall of famer Kevin Garnett. In 2011, his third season as Rick Carlisles lead assistant in Dallas, Casey helped guide the experienced Mavericks to an unexpected championship, with Kidd starting at point guard. Kidd, now 41, was in season 17 of his illustrious 19-year career. He was a retired NBA player for 10 days before becoming a head coach this past summer. "First of all, I texted him and [asked] him if hes lost his mind," Casey joked, asked about Kidds move to the bench earlier this season. The Nets controversial decision to hand the reins over to Kidd, fresh off his final campaign in New York, was met with more criticism than any coaching hire in recent memory. When his first season as a bench boss got off to a rocky start many called for his head, but he had a steadfast supporter in Casey, who knew it was only a matter of time before Kidd and his veteran Nets team rocketed back to top of the East. "Hes going to be a good coach because he was a computer on the floor and he just has to transfer that to his players," Casey said ahead of a late November meeting between the two teams. The Nets were 3-10 going into that game. "It takes time." "Hes one of the toughest minded guys Ive been around and Ive coached, and Ive been around some strong minded guys, but he was definitely one of them," Casey added prior to their next meeting, two months later. The Nets, 10-21 on Jan. 1, had won five in a row before losing in Toronto that night. "I knew mentally he was going to stay strong and stay into it and it would be a matter of time." Brooklyn would go on to finish the campaign with the second best record among Eastern Conference teams in 2014 and Kidd became a two-time Coach of the Month winner. As Casey met with the media Friday afternoon, less than 24 hours before Game 1, the Raptors coach was caught off guard when one reporter pointed out that he and Kidd would be sharing their playoff head coaching debuts. "I never thought about that," he said in earnest, but hes not the least bit surprised to see his counterpart in the position that hhes in. Kerryon Johnson Lions Jersey. "Jason was always a step ahead of the curve," said Casey, the Easts Coach of the Month for December. "I think point guards are coaches on the floor, they should be. Theyve gone through their whole career figuring out things on the fly, on the court. So I think thats the difference in Jason. Jason has been a thinker his whole career and hes doing a good job with Brooklyn." For these old friends, this series should turn into something of a chess match. The Nets rookie coach has a veteran-laden roster at his disposal. A big factor in his teams 2014 reversal of fortunes has been Kidds commitment to a small lineup, starting a couple of point guards in the backcourt and using Paul Pierce as their mobile, perimeter-oriented power forward. "I think they established an identity, much like we did," Casey told TSN.ca in an exclusive conversation Friday. "I think putting Pierce at the four position was a huge turnaround for them. Solidifying the smaller lineup really helped them." Casey has the benefit of a versatile roster. With Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas, the Raptors can go against the grain and put pressure on the visiting Nets with a size and strength advantage or they can match-up using their own version of the small lineup. "Philosophy is personnel driven," Casey wisely pointed out. With Johnson and Patrick Patterson - two versatile forwards who can rebound and also step out and defend on the perimeter - Torontos coach is confident his team can utilize both their small and big units with success in this series. "Its going to be huge," he said of that versatility. "If we stay big weve got to really pound the boards and take advantage of it if they stay small but at the same time theyre such a lethal three-point shooting team. Its hard for our bigs, with our mentality to get out and guard the three-point line in those situations so were going to have to figure that out as far as when we do go small, who has the advantage. If we have an advantage on the boards or inside well try to do that but if were getting killed with three-point shooting then well have to make some adjustments." Caseys quiet confidence and poise has rubbed off on his team all season but those characteristics have never been more important than they are now. By now youve heard of their inexperience, Caseys embraced it because, what choice does he have? They cant pretend like theyve been somewhere they havent, they wont pretend to be something theyre not. If you want to count them out because of it, Casey understands, but he doesnt advise it. "I dont want to diminish [experience], its very important," he said. "In any walk of life its important if youre going to do a job at a high level to have as much experience as you can possibly have. We are who we are, we cant change it. The way our guys get experience is to go through this. But at the end of the day you still have to go out and play the game. Theres been a lot of young teams that beat older teams in the history of the game and were ready for that challenge. I think were better with a chip on our shoulder, being the desperate team. I think we struggle when were the favourite so I like that part about it. I dont even talk about it to our players, about experience. Hey, they dont know any better, so lets go play the game." Stitched NFL Jerseys Stitched Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys 2018Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Jerseys From China White NFL Jerseys Cheap ' ' '
