Fragen und Antworten » season so important.

NEW YORK -- Jason Collins started walking from the bench to the scorers table, fans rising out of their seats all around Barclays Center. He committed a foul five seconds after entering. His only shot barely hit the rim. Collins performance may not have been pretty, but everything else was great. Collins played the final minutes of a winning home debut with the Brooklyn Nets, who cooled off the Chicago Bulls with a 96-80 victory Monday night. "It was cool. It was a lot of fun to go into the game," Collins said. "The most important thing was that we got the win. Chicagos been playing really well as of late and for us to come out and really be -- I think we played more physical than they did tonight." Finally playing at home more than a week after returning to the NBA as the leagues first openly gay player, Collins checked in to a standing ovation from a sellout crowd of 17,732 that included former NBA Commissioner David Stern with 2:41 remaining. He grabbed a rebound and had one of the Nets NBA season high-tying 19 steals in their third straight victory. Deron Williams scored 20 points and Joe Johnson had 19 for the Nets (29-29), who got back to .500 for the first time since they were 2-2 after beating Utah on Nov. 5. D.J. Augustin scored 16 points off the bench for the sloppy Bulls, who turned it over 28 times, leading to 30 Nets points, and had their four-game winning streak snapped. The Bulls had a franchise-low three turnovers in their 109-90 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday and had won nine of 10. But the Nets were too good in this one, building a series of comfortable leads and making the only intrigue down the stretch whether Collins would get in during his first home appearance for the Nets since Jan. 29, 2008, against Milwaukee in East Rutherford, N.J. A chant of "Jason Collins! Jason Collins!" broke out while Williams was shooting a free throw with the Nets leading 90-73 with 3:27 remaining. Fans finally got their wish less than a minute later -- though not because coach Jason Kidd was listening to them. "No, the game was out of hand, so I wanted to get those guys some rest," he said. "D-Will was shooting free throws. Couldnt put Twin in at that time, so I told him after the free throws that he would come in." Collins original 10-day contract will expire Tuesday and the Nets plan to sign him to a second deal on Wednesday. A Nets player from 2001-08, he has appeared in all five games since he signed on Feb. 23. Paul Pierce and Shaun Livingston each scored 14 points for the Nets, who were without starting centre Kevin Garnett for a second straight game because of back spasms. "Mentally, the Bulls have really had our numbers," Pierce said. "To be honest, if I was them Id feel like when they come play the Nets, they feel like they could beat us every time. I think the guys really had pride tonight to say, You know were tired of getting pushed around by the Bulls." Joakim Noah managed just 10 points, six rebounds and one assist for the Bulls, a day after finishing with 13 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds in his fifth career triple-double. The All-Star centre rolled his right ankle early in the second half of that game and said it hurt after the game, but he was determined to play Monday in his hometown. The Bulls had dominated the first two meetings and beaten the Nets four straight times, but Brooklyn controlled this one most of the way in improving to 12-2 at home since Chicagos rout here on Christmas Day. "We smashed them in the mouth twice, its never going to be easy to come in to tough-minded team and do it again," Bulls forward Taj Gibson said. The Nets scored the first eight points, the last one on Williams free throw after Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau screamed his way to a technical foul after calling time. Their lead grew to 15, but the Bulls trimmed it to 27-18 by the end of the first quarter. Brooklyn led 50-42 at halftime, and Chicago started the second half just as bad as the first. The Nets scored the first seven to take a 57-42 lead when Williams set up Mason Plumlee for a dunk. "I think we had all intentions to play hard, but like I say, it didnt show," Augustin said. "Being down early, you cant come start the game down, you cant start the second half down, so that was our big mistakes, and then the turnovers killed us." NOTES: The Nets 19 steals were their most since finishing with 20 against Indiana on March 21, 1989. ... Brooklyn hadnt scored more than 23 points in a period against Chicago this season and surpassed that in both the first (27) and third (26). Cheap Authentic Nike Shoes Wholesale .Y. -- The Buffalo Bills will head into the regular season short on experience at quarterback after trimming the roster on Friday. Nike Shoes Clearance Sale . Torres tells Spanish daily AS "in football you never know where you will be inside one month. Im going to work hard, thats all you can do with this last part of the season so important. http://www.cheapshoesnike.com/ . First, the Red Wings scored the tying goal after officials missed the puck hitting the protective netting, then the Kings wound up losing in a shootout. That could affect playoff positioning in the Eastern and Western Conferences, and thats a concern for everyone. Nike Shoes Wholesale China . As their best player continued to orchestrate his dramatic exit from the club, the Whitecaps added size and creativity at Thursdays Major League Soccer SuperDraft. Wholesale Air Max For Sale . TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie tweeted Monday morning that Callahan - who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, is now open to a six-year contract at less than $7 million per season.TSNs Jack Armstrong offers his thoughts on Andrew Bynum, Al Horford, the Toronto Raptors, the atmosphere for the Portland vs Miami game, and the long list of injured players. 1. ANDREW BYNUM (Cavs): Grow Up! Youre a professional athlete. These are your prime earning years. Dont mess it up. For the life of me I cant comprehend how guys dont realize that there is no other walk of life that theyre going to make the kind of money they make and have the fun they do being a pro athlete. Once its gone, its very difficult to recapture what you blew. Sure, maybe he has other off-court interests; youve got a long life to enjoy those. Capitalize on what youre doing now and dont be silly. Its a shame: talented guy who needs to get with the program. 2. AL HORFORD (Hawks): Significant blow to Atlantas season losing one of my favorites in the league. He was having another steady season at 18+ ppg and 8+ rpg. Thats hard to replace. Thank goodness they signed Paul Milsap (17 and 8 per game) as a free agent this past summer. Theyre going to have to ride him a bunch in the post area; hes more than capable. The nightly loss of Horford will be a big hole to fill though considering the lost Josh Smiths athleticism and scoring ability this past off-season. The Hawks are still a capable team that will be in the playoff hunt. It will just get harder to maintain that third spot in the East Standings. 3. TORONTO RAPTORS: Im afraid to snap my fingers right now for fear theyll come out of the zone theyre in at this stage. Theyve been really fun to watch and the energy, effort, and commitment to team has been top-notch. Ive got my fingers crossed it continues; its been an enjoyable stretch of hoops to say the least. The Raptors have a really difficult stretch of games coming up however, take a good look at the schedule. The travel will be frequent and the rest/prep time will be minimal. The true test for this group will be whether they can handle some of the adversity thats ahead. If they play the way theyre playing right now, they can hang with anyone. Theres still plenty of time for GM Masai Ujiri to evaluate his team and make decisions in a calculated, big-picture way to determine whether he wants to buy, hold or sell.ddddddddddddYou need to see guys get put through the ringer a good bit to see what youve got and just as important you need to evaluate what each team in your conference has and doesnt have to determine how you want to build your eventual contending team. 4. PORTLAND/MIAMI: Not sure if you caught the Heat/Blazers game on Saturday night or even caught the highlights but wow! The energy in the arena in Portland, one of the three best playing atmospheres in the NBA (OKC and Golden State are the other two), was off the charts. The action on the court was equally good. Sometimes when youre around pro sports you can get a bit cynical once in a while. When you see the level of passion and love for the sport and competition that both teams had it gives you goose bumps. The great teams and great players have incredible pride and a wonderful makeup. Thanks to the players on both teams for giving folks their moneys worth. 5. INJURIES: Last week we had Russell Westbrook and Al Horford added to the long list of elite players with significant injuries this year. There are a lot of theories as to why its happening. Ill just say this: Im firmly convinced that players are overtraining and not allowing their bodies enough rest/recovery time. In addition, many players hire their own workout guys in the off-season with their own theories/approaches that tend to differ from what they hear from their teams. I dont like that pattern. Im a huge believer in perfect practice makes perfect. When you train improperly or utilize varying training methods at different times youre exposing yourself to greater harm. In season, teams need to be more conscious of reducing the amount of time players spend on their feet. Its all about quality vs. quantity. Am I a bit concerned? Yes. Balance and moderation have got to be looked at more rather than obsessive overkill. Dont mistake activity for achievement! 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