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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- After a listless first half, the Washington Wizards used a big third quarter run to beat the Charlotte Bobcats Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Wizards used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take control of what had been a close game and beat the Bobcats 97-83 on Tuesday night. John Wall helped ignite the decisive run. First he dunked off an alley-oop dunk pass from Booker and then when he grabbed a loose ball as the 24-second shot clock wound down and hit a 3-point shot from 35 feet at the shot-clock buzzer. Of the dunk off the high pass from Booker, Wall said: "We try them in practice sometimes. Hell be thinking hes a point guard sometimes, so I just told him to throw it up and he put it on the money." Marcin Gortat added 18 points for the Wizards, who improved to 15-17, while Wall contributed 17 points, Trevor Booker 12 and Martell Webster 10. Gortat added 12 rebounds and also stopped Al Jefferson, holding Charlottes centre to just six points. "I always feel good playing against Al and its a huge challenge for me also," Gortat said. "Hes a very difficult player to guard and very smart. I remember all the battles back in the West where he played for Utah and I played for Phoenix and we always battled every year for at least four times. I kind of learned to play against him. I know how to play against him and I was really focused." Gerald Henderson scored a season-high 27 points to lead the Bobcats, but questioned his own defensive intensity -- and that of his teammates on both ends of the court -- in the lacklustre defeat for Charlotte, which fell to 15-21 overall and 8-11 at home. Kemba Walker added 19 points and Ramon Sessions was the only other Bobcat to score in double figures with 10. "Coming into the game, it was a game where we really thought we could get back on track," Henderson said. "We beat Sacramento (on the road) in our previous game, but we just didnt come up with the plays. We got down in the third quarter and couldnt come back. "We didnt play with a lot of intensity on either end tonight. We lost track of them in that third quarter, and we didnt really play with a lot of force offensively, either. ... I feel like I could have played a lot better defence on Beal and some of their other perimeter players." The same couldnt be said for the Bobcats, who were coming off a 1-4 road trip. "The toughest game is the first game after a long road trip," Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said. "It comes down to will, mental toughness and how bad you want to win." The Wizards led 43-39 after a listless first half, during which both teams shot just under 43 per cent from the field. Henderson scored 11 of Charlottes first 13 points in the first six minutes of the game, but then proceeded to miss six of his last seven shots in the first half. He was the only player from either team to reach double figures in scoring in the opening half with 15. The Bobcats were particularly inept on offence in the opening half, missing half of their 12 free-throw attempts while failing to register any fast-break or second-chance points. Yet the game remained close, with the Bobcats pulling to within 47-45 on a 3-pointer by Chris Douglas-Roberts with 9:32 left in the third quarter, before the Wizards conjured up their 17-0 run. The Bobcats were down 19, 64-45, before they scored again on a pair of free throws by Anthony Tolliver. From there, the Bobcats furiously attempted to rally. But the closest they could come was to within 88-81 on a 3-point play by Tolliver with 2:14 remaining. Beal immediately answered with a jumper for the Wizards, who then went on to close the game with a 9-2 run. The Wizards held a 46-38 rebounding advantage and a 28-18 edge on points in the paint, led by Gortat. "He took the challenge and came out and played," Wall said of Gortat. "For some reason when we hit the road we find the way to play the best way we need to play and find a way to win these games." Notes: The Wizards have won five in a row against East teams on the road. ... Gortat had his 11th double-double of the season. ... Jefferson had his streak of double-figure games snapped at 22. He had scored a season-high 27 points on Saturday against Sacramento. Wholesale Hurricanes Jerseys . -- Josh Smith made a 3-pointer as time expired and finished with 20 points to lift the Detroit Pistons to a 99-98 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night in both teams exhibition finale. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . TSN 1290s Jordan Cieciwa, Big Marv and Toby are here to give their predictions on who will leave with the belt and who will take some of the other key bouts on the card. 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DETROIT LIONS AT CHICAGO BEARS, 1:00 PM (ET) Detroit - G Rodney Austin, WR Ryan Broyles, DT Nick Fairley, QB Kellen Moore, DT Caraun Reid, CB Mohammed Seisay, DE Larry Webster Chicago - S Chris Conte, DT Brandon Dunn, QB David Fales, K Robbie Gould, CB Terrance Mitchell, OT Michael Ola, DE Trevor Scott GREEN BAY PACKERS AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS, 1:00 PM (ET) Green Bay - LB Carl Bradford, DT Bruce Gaston, C Garth Gerhart, CB Davon House, WR Jeff Janis, TE Justin Perillo, QB Scott Tolzien Tampa Bay - OT Anthony Collins, CB Isaiah Frey, WR Robert Herron, RB Mike James, WR Solomon Patton, FB/TE Evan Rodriguez, LB Lawrence Sidbury KANSAS CITY CHIEFS AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS, 1:00 PM (ET) Kansas City - WR Donnie Avery, CB Marcus Cooper, OT Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, OL Eric Kush, QB Aaron Murray, RB Charcandrick West, DT Nick Williams Pittsburgh - WR Justin Brown, DE Clifton Geathers, G Chris Hubbard, QB Landry Jones, S Troy Polamalu, TE Matt Spaeth, CB Ike Taylor MINNESOTA VIKINGS AT MIAMI DOLPHINS, 1:00 PM (ET) Minnesota - LB Anthony Barr, OT Carter Bykowski, DB Ahmad Dixon, OT Charlie Johnson, FB Zach Line, CB Shaun Prater, TE Kyle Rudolph Miami - G Nate Garner, WR Matt Hazel, S Don Jones, WR Rishard Matthews, LB Chris McCain, G Dallas Thomas, RB Daniel Thomas NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS AT NEW YORK JETS, 1:00 PM (ET) New England - CB Kyle Arrington, RB LeGarrette Blount, OL Dan Connolly, CB Alfonzo Dennard, OT Jordan Devey, WR Julian Edelman, RB James White NY Jets - DT T.TAMPA, Fla. - Standing in a winning locker room for the first time in nearly two months, Matt Ryan stopped short of saying the Atlanta Falcons are back on track after ending a five-game losing streak.Theres still a lot of winning to do to get back into the NFC South race, but beating the struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the second time was a start Sunday.The 27-17 victory was the first for the Falcons (3-6) since they embarrassed their NFC South rivals 56-14 on Sept. 18, a game in which the Bucs (1-8) lost quarterback Josh McCown to a thumb injury.And as strange as it might sound, it kept the teams hopes of creeping back into the division race alive.Its been too long since we won a game. Its always better when you come out on the right end, so well enjoy it, Ryan said after throwing for 219 yards and one touchdown without an interception. But we also know with the way the division is shaking out, were right in the mix.New Orleans (4-5) leads the NFC South with a losing record. Second-place Carolina (3-5-1) plays Philadelphia on Monday night.We feel good. Weve just got to keep winning, receiver Julio Jones said. Everything else will take care of itself.Thats the same thing the Bucs (1-8) have been saying during a five-game skid of their own. Sundays loss dropped them to 0-5 at home, and coach Lovie Smith conceded hes running out of explanations for the teams lack of success.We realize what our record is, Smith said. Its a broken record, really, with me talking to you and telling you how much better were getting and were making progress to find a way to get a win.McCown returned to Tampa Bays lineup for first time since the earlier meeting at Georgia Dome, throwing for 301 yards and two TDs. His 1-yard scoring pass to Austin Seferian-Jenkins put the Bucs ahead 17-16 early in the fourth quarter. But Ryan drove the Falcons right down the field, throwing a 5-yard touchdown pass to Roddy White and a two-point conversion to Harry Douglas.Steven Jackson scored on a 1-yard run and Matt Bryant kicked four field goals for the Falcons, one of them after a wide-open Devin Hester dropped what would have been a touchdown in the second quarter.Ryan finished 20 of 31 with no interceptions. Jackson rushed for 81 yards on 16 carries, Julio Jones had eight receptions for 119 yards and White had six catches for 72 yards.We know, obviously, where we stand and whats in front of us. We still have three division games and four other games, and a lot of things can happen duringg that time frame, Ryan said.dddddddddddd We cant worry about all the other stuff thats going on. Weve got to focus on ourselves and try to be 1-0 next week.McCown completed 27 of 43 passes, threw a pair of interceptions in the final two minutes and was sacked four times. Rookie Mike Evans had a big game for the second straight week with seven receptions for 125 yards, including a 22-yard TD catch that gives him five in his past five games.Dwight Lowerys end-zone interception stopped a Tampa Bay drive that reached the Atlanta 4 with 1:49 remaining. Josh Wilson picked McCowns final pass of the day.You stand in moments like this in your life where things dont go the way you said that you wanted them to go, and thats the reality of where we are, McCown said.You have two choices. You can curl up in a ball and hide and hope that it goes away and its over or you can do something about it, the 35-year-old quarterback added. I believe that the men in our locker room, and the leadership that we have, and it starts with Lovie, will do that. Its a hard thing to do. But with our actions, not our words, with the way that we work, that will be the measure of us.The Bucs went 1-4 with Mike Glennon at quarterback in McCowns absence, but an anemic offence hasnt been the only reason theyve struggled.A leaky defence, which was expected to be the teams strength in their first season under Lovie Smith, has had problems getting off the field on third down and also has a knack for allowing opponents to put together long scoring drives at critical points of games.It happened again Sunday in both halves.McCowns TD pass to Evans made it 10-10 with 46 seconds remaining in the second quarter. But Ryan encountered little resistance in moving the Falcons downfield to kick a 43-yard field goal for a three-point lead at the half. The Atlanta quarterback led a 10-play, 65-yard drive after McCowns TD pass to Seferian-Jenkins put Tampa Bay ahead less than a minute into the fourth quarter.Evans was the seventh pick in the draft after being Johnny Manziels favourite target at Texas A&M. Hes caught at least four passes in each of the eight games hes played. Vincent Jackson had eight receptions for 75 yards for Tampa Bay.NOTES: McCown was Tampa Bays leading rusher with 39 yards on five carries. ... Ryan improved to 10-4 against Tampa Bay. ... The Bucs were a season-best 12 for 17 on third-down conversions.___Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '