Die Macht » own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednes

WASHINGTON -- Neither the Denver Nuggets nor Washington Wizards will enter Thursdays first head-to-head matchup feeling upbeat.The Nuggets (8-14) lost 116-111 Wednesday night on the road to a five-win Brooklyn Nets. At least Denver can take pride in rallying from a 29-point deficit as they outscored Brooklyn 48-24 over the final 17:56. Despite that late effort and closing within 111-109 with 16.9 seconds, the Nuggets lost for the fourth time in five games.I told our team at halftime that Brooklyn was on pace for 84 points in the paint, which just shows signs of no resistance, no fight, Denver coach Mike Malone said. But I tell you, I am proud of our guys, getting down by 29 points and cutting it to three or four, whatever it was late. We got a couple of good shots that just didnt go down for us but we didnt roll over. Twenty-nine points didnt become 50 and Im happy about that.There was anything but happiness for the Wizards (7-13) following Tuesdays 124-116 loss to the Orlando Magic. John Wall scored a career-high 52 points, but had little help most of the game. The real issues for Washington, which has lost three of four, came defensively. The Magic set a season high for points in the win.Not even just defensive effort, just playing hard, Wall said. Our job is to wake up and just play hard. Before you made it to the NBA or got a college scholarship, you played hard to get where you wanted to get to. To still be talking about playing hard. ... Thats the easiest thing. Shouldnt have to do with any contracts or any money. Just come in and play basketball.Asked why that isnt happening, Wall said, I dont know. If I had the answers we wouldnt be in this situation right now.Orlando shot 51.8 percent overall from the field, 12 of 26 from beyond the arc and led by as many as 20 points.We have to be able to sustain a sense of urgency possession by possession, Brooks continued. It was spotty at best. Until we do that, were going to put ourselves in a bad position.Wilson Chandler led the Nuggets with 27 points against the Nets. He also led the comeback, which began soon after Malone was ejected for arguing a foul with an official as Denver trailed by 21 points midway through the third quarter.When he got ejected, that was the plan, to try to get something going, Chandler said. We were down. There was nothing happening and I think that kind of lit a fire under us.Led by Chandler, the Nuggets bench scored 70 points against the Nets, which is three less than the 73 the Magics second unit scored against Wizards.Denver averaged 116.5 points during a two-game sweep over Washington last season. St. Louis Cardinals Jerseys . Speaking Thursday on TSN 1050 Thursday, the Leafs GM also touched on the questions surrounding the teams leadership and the struggles of his big-name free-agent signing. “Its not from lack of effort from the coaching staff. Stan Musial Jersey . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. http://www.authenticcardinalspro.com/cardinals-lou-brock-jersey/ .Y. -- Jayna Hefford scored the winning goal Friday as Canada survived a scare with a 4-3 win over Sweden at the Four Nations womens hockey tournament. Red Schoendienst Cardinals Jersey . That left plenty of energy for pitching books and swatting away free agency questions. Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks avenged an embarrassing home loss with a rout of their own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory. Paul Goldschmidt Cardinals Jersey . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Pacers have signed 6-foot-9 rookie forward Ben Bentil.Bentil was one of Bostons second-round draft picks in June but was cut before the start of the season. The former Providence star is not expected to get much playing time and could be assigned to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Indianas NBA D-League team.The move ccomes one day after the Pacers waived forward Jeremy Evans and guard Julyan Stone.ddddddddddddTerms of Mondays deal were not announced. Indiana opens its season Wednesday at home against the Dallas Mavericks. ' ' '