They should hurt

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ATLANTA - One team was motivated by the goal of dodging the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs. The other teams goal was resting its starters. The result was predictable. Chris Douglas-Roberts dribbled into the lane and sank a short jumper as time expired, and the Charlotte Bobcats overcame a 15-point deficit in the final period to beat the Atlanta Hawks 95-93 on Monday night. Al Jefferson had 27 points and 15 rebounds for Charlotte, which remained one game behind Washington in the race for the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Gary Neal had 17. "Great shot," said Jefferson of Douglas-Roberts game-winner. "Great play. Great finish. Great win." Added Jefferson, referring to his role in the play: "Great pick!" Jeffersons turnaround jumper gave the Bobcats a 93-91 lead before Lou Williams answered with a tying jumper for Atlanta with 2.6 seconds remaining. Following a timeout, Douglas-Roberts penetrated and lobbed the soft jumper as the buzzer sounded. Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said Douglas-Roberts "made a great shot." Even so, the coach wasnt satisfied, especially with his teams defence. Charlotte has won seven of eight, but Clifford isnt satisfied his team is playing at the level he wants for the playoffs. "We didnt get the defence we needed out of the starters," Clifford said. "The big thing is to be playing well, which were not." The Hawks rested starters Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll the full game, and also held out starters Jeff Teague and Pero Antic the final quarter when the Bobcats made their charge. "Some of our young guys got great opportunities," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "I think theres a lot to take from tonight." Mike Scott led Atlanta with 20 points. Shelvin Mack and Williams each had 13, and Teague 11. The Hawks spot as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference already was set, so Budenholzer was playing to protect his top players. "I think when youre in our situation, health and all of those things are a priority," Budenholzer said. Added veteran Elton Brand: "We felt like we let it slip away, but guys got a lot of experience and that is important for us, too." By contrast, Charlotte still had much to play for. The reward for sixth is avoiding Miami in the first round. Washington beat Miami 114-93 on Monday night to protect its lead over Charlotte in the race for sixth and secure first in the conference for Indiana. The Hawks will face the Pacers in the first round. Douglas-Roberts had five points as part of the Bobcats productive bench. "We have a job to do," Douglas-Roberts said. "We did a great job of getting back into this game. Gary Neal and Luke Ridnour basically carried us up until that point. ... I feel like thats the least I can do to help these guys, the way they carried us the whole quarter." Atlanta led 50-44 at halftime and 80-65 entering the final period. The Bobcats opened the fourth period with a 19-4 run, capped by 14 consecutive points, to pull even at 84. Ridnour had all of his 10 points in the run, including the tying jumper with 6:07 remaining. Three free throws by Neal gave Charlotte its first lead of the half at 87-86. The Bobcats led 91-86 before Macks back-to-back baskets — a 3-pointer and short jumper — tied the game at 91. Kemba Walker had five points and seven assists in his returned for the Bobcats after missing two games with a sore right groin. NOTES: The Bobcats salvaged one win in the four-game season series. ... Former Turner Entertainment Networks president Steve Koonin was introduced in the day as the Hawks CEO and co-owner. Koonin will direct business operations and represent the owners in league meetings. ... Jefferson posted his eighth straight double-double. ... A young fan sitting on the front row and wearing a Hawks jersey was bowled over by Charlottes Anthony Tolliver. The boy appeared to be shaken up but quickly regrouped as he received high-fives and fist-bumps from Hawks players. During a timeout minutes later, he was presented player-sized athletic shoes which were too big to remain in his lap. [url=https://www.clevelandfootballshop.com/34-Jersey]https://www.clevelandfootballshop.com/34-Jersey[/url] . The biggest collapse in franchise history was a long time ago, and he was too busy trying to make sure it didnt happen again. [url=https://www.clevelandfootballshop.com/76-Jersey]https://www.clevelandfootballshop.com/76-Jersey[/url] . -- The Tampa Bay Lightning are disappointed, though not discouraged. https://www.clevelandfootballshop.com/24-Jersey. - Andre Drummond had his best night on the boards. [url=https://www.clevelandfootballshop.com/59-Jersey]https://www.clevelandfootballshop.com/59-Jersey[/url] . Coach Randy Carlyle didnt know the severity of Bozaks injury. Bozak left the bench and went down the tunnel early in the second period, returned to play a handful of shifts and then did play in the third. [url=https://www.clevelandfootballshop.com/41-Jersey]https://www.clevelandfootballshop.com/41-Jersey[/url] . Speaking with TSN 1050 following Brendan Shanahans introductory press conference, the Leafs GM also addressed the clubs perceived leadership issues and the type of working relationship that can be expected within Torontos front office.KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- In many ways, it was a dream, going from 2-14 and the first overall pick in the NFL draft to 11-5 and a spot in the playoffs. Yet it ended in just about the most nightmarish way possible, a second-half collapse and another round of post-season heartache. No wonder the Kansas City Chiefs had such a hard time summarizing their season in the minutes and hours after a gut-wrenching 45-44 loss at Indianapolis on Saturday. "You know, I certainly think you use this as drive," Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith said Sunday between wrap-up meetings. "I think its good to be playing in these types of games. I think these types of games are contagious. You go back to playing in just regular-season games, you want that itch. You have that urge to try to get to these types of games. "I certainly think that foundation has been laid for next year." The Chiefs have lost a record eight straight post-season games, their last victory coming after the 1993 season. Most of the current members of the team were in grade school, some of them still in diapers, the last time Kansas City tasted any success in games that truly matter. It appeared for most of three quarters Saturday that things would be different. Kansas City had raced to a 31-10 halftime lead, and then took advantage of an interception early in the third quarter to tack on a touchdown that several Chiefs would say later should have sealed the game. The problem was that they started playing as if the game was in hand, while Andrew Luck and the playoff-tested Colts started to play as though they had nothing to lose. The result was a furious second-half rally, one made possible by unconscionable breakdowns by a defence that was spectacular during a 9-0 start. Luck torched a secondary that wilted when it faced premier quarterbacks such as Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers, and his 64-yard touchdown pass to T.Y. Hilton with 4:21 left finished off the second-biggest comeback in NFL playoff history. "I sat there and talked to them this morning and there were a lot of long faces," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Sunday. "Theyy had their hearts ripped out.dddddddddddd I can work with that. "They should hurt," Reid said. "Thatll make us better." The last time the Chiefs won a playoff game, Joe Montana was the quarterback and the Titans were still the Oilers. Since then, there have been all manner of playoff heartbreaks: -- The Chiefs missed three field goals against Indianapolis after the 1995 season, when they had gone 13-3 during the regular season and harboured championship aspirations. -- Two years later, the Chiefs lost a 14-10 heartbreaker to the Denver Broncos, who would go on to beat the Green Bay Packers and win the Super Bowl. -- After the 2003 season, the Chiefs lost again to the Colts in a game featuring two of the leagues premier offences -- and in which nobody punted. But the way that Kansas City melted down Saturday may trump all of those disappointments. "Its hard to put in words, to lose a game that we clearly had control over," said linebacker Derrick Johnson, who is now 0-3 in playoff games in his nine-year career. "Coming from having the first pick last year to making the playoff this year, we did accomplish some things," Johnson said. "At the same time, our standard is very high and this one hurts." While players were going through final meetings Sunday, Reid met briefly with reporters at the teams practice facility. He said that no changes are planned for his coaching staff, though he did acknowledge that some of his assistants would be pursued by other teams. Reid also said it was too early to discuss personnel issues. The Chiefs have most of their key players already under contract for next season. Their biggest loss figures to be left tackle Branden Albert, whom they gave the franchise tag to this season. But even he may be allowed to leave in free agency with viable replacements already in house. Theyll be seeking help at wide receiver and in the defensive backfield in free agency and the draft, but for the most part, the Chiefs should return intact next season. When they make another run at ending two decades of playoff futility. ' ' '