Alles was gibt :) » Pouliot to play in a top-six role once he’s a

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - After two disappointing losses, the Charlotte Bobcats bounced back in a big way. Al Jefferson scored 28 points and two others finished with more than 20 as the Bobcats routed the Portland Trail Blazers 124-94 on Saturday night. Kemba Walker added 26 and Gerald Henderson 23 for Charlotte, which posted season bests in points and margin of victory to snap a two-game losing streak. "Its a good win for us, and a good bounce back," Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said. "Theyre an exceptional offensive team, but you could tell our guys were ready to play from the start of the game. When guys came in off the bench, they were ready as well." The Bobcats shot 52 per cent from the field (49 of 94), outscored the Trail Blazers in the paint 54-32 and held a 50-36 rebounding advantage over Portland, which had won its last four games against Charlotte. But the Trail Blazers, playing without leading scorer LaMarcus Aldridge, could never get on track against the Bobcats, trailing by as many as 34 points late in the second half in losing for the first time in their last three games. "Thats when were at our best," Jefferson said. "If you look at all the big wins weve had, especially at home, we had a great start. You could tell in shootaround today that we were focused, we were locked in and we knew that we needed this win tonight." Damian Lillard scored 20 points, Dorell Wright added 17 and Wesley Matthews 15 for Portland, which shot 40.5 per cent (34 of 84) and made just 9 of 27 3-pointers. That allowed the Bobcats to bolt to an early double-digit lead, extend it to as many as 26 points late in the first half, then weather a half-hearted Trail Blazers comeback attempt early in the third quarter. "They shot the ball well, passed the ball well, rebounded the ball well, defended well and basically outplayed us," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "We certainly could have played better, but they were clicking on all cylinders. "You dont want to just dismiss it as one of those games. You want to learn from it. But losing by 30 points, we dont have the luxury not to play better." Down 69-46 at the half, the Trail Blazers cut Charlottes lead to 17 points three times in the third quarter, the last at 77-60 on Matthews layup with 6:22 left. But Jefferson hit a jumper, followed by a 3-pointer by Walker to push the Bobcats lead back past the 20-point mark, and Portland never challenged again. Charlotte took its biggest lead of the game in the final two minutes behind its reserves, with Jannero Pargos 3-pointer with 1:22 remaining putting the Bobcats ahead 122-88. Behind Jefferson, Walker and Henderson, who combined for 48 points, Charlotte put together two of its best quarters this season in taking command of Saturdays game. After missing its first two shots of the game, the Bobcats hit 11 straight — four by Jefferson, three by Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and two each from Henderson and Walker — to pull ahead 23-9 with 5:03 remaining in the first quarter. "We wanted to double Big Al and take away his post-ups," Lillard said. "Sometimes we didnt even get a chance to double him, and hes already scoring or making good passes out of the post. We were just scrambling the whole time." The Trail Blazers cut the Bobcats lead to 10 points four times late in the quarter, the last at 31-21 on Mo Williams jumper with 54 seconds remaining, and were down 11 points at the end of the quarter. But Charlotte opened the second quarter with 11 unanswered points, with Josh McRoberts two free throws with 10:03 left putting the Bobcats up 42-22, their first 20-point lead of the half. Charlotte took its biggest lead of the half at 26 points late in the second quarter, with Jeffersons layup with 1:43 left capping a 10-3 run for a 67-41 bulge. "Were going to have a good chance to win if all three of us are playing well offensively," Henderson said, referring to Jefferson and Walker. "Were not always going to score that every night, but if we can play the kind of defence that we did tonight, we should have a good chance to win." Notes: Stotts had no update on the return of Aldridge, who leads the team in scoring (23.4 points) and rebounding (11.1 per game). He has missed Portlands last five games with a low back contusion. ... The Bobcats (34-36) are in seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings, 1 1/2 games ahead of Atlanta (31-36) and 1 1/2 games behind sixth-place Washington (36-33) with 12 games remaining. Nike Sb Shoes Clearance .Y. - The Buffalo Sabres reassigned forward Sam Reinhart to the WHLs Kootenay Ice on Friday. Cheap Wholesale Nike Sb Shoes .com) - Theres nothing better for a team than to send out the staff ace in the most important game of the season. http://www.cheapnikesb.net/. On Tuesday, the star questioned whether that was still the case. Speaking to reporters at a charity event, Johnson said: "I just kind of wonder sometimes: Is this still the place for me?" Johnsons comments came after he was asked why he recently skipped a voluntary minicamp. Nike Sb Shoes Sale Online . -- Colin Kaepernick insists he just happened to pull on a pair of socks with dollar bill prints all over them Wednesday morning -- before he learned he had struck a new fortune with the San Francisco 49ers. Nike Sb Cheap Wholesale . -- Aaron Rodgers isnt out for revenge in Green Bays season opener.The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired a skilled winger from the Edmonton Oilers, making the Penguins a stronger threat heading into the second half of the season, while the Oilers appear to be setting their familiar path for the draft lottery. Numbers Game breaks down the David Perron deal. The Penguins Get: LW David Perron. Perron, 26, is a skilled winger who has been enduring a tough season in Edmonton, with reduced ice time and point production. After playing a career-high 19:08 per game last season, scoring a career-high 28 goals and 57 points, Perrons ice time has dropped this year, to 16:00 per game, and he has just five goals and 19 points in 38 games this season. That drop, however, appears more drastic than Perrons underlying numbers suggest. PERRON PRODUCTION YEAR G/60 PTS/60 SHOTS/60 EV SH% ON-ICE SH% CORSI% RELATIVE CORSI% 2013-14 0.88 1.91 8.52 10.3% 9.7% 45.9% +2.5% 2014-15 0.57 1.72 6.30 9.1% 7.2% 51.2% +2.3% While he isn’t generating as many shots as he did last season, Perron has spent most of the season with Mark Arcobello and Leon Draisaitl – neither of whom has played a full season in the NHL – as his centres. While his shooting percentage has dropped, there hasnt been an appreciable difference in shot locations, so his career-low 6.8% shooting percentage ought to be primed to improve. Going to Pittsburgh, Perron will see a monumental improvement in the calibre of centre that he plays with, as Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are two of the world’s best and their talent ought to be complemented by Perron’s high-end puck skills. The Penguins need help on the wing. They’ve had a need for a scoring winger ever since Pascal Dupuis was lost for the season due to blood clots. Currently missing Patric Hornqvist, Blake Comeau and Steve Downie to various ailments, Pittsburgh could really use a proven top-six winger and Perron not only qualifies to help now, but he could be a long-term option too. At the very least, Perron offers more than a one-year solution for the Penguiins; he’s under contract through next season, at a cap hit of a little more than $3.dddddddddddd8-million, which is very reasonable for a player in his prime who already has three 20-goal seasons to his credit. The Oilers Get: LW Rob Klinkhammer and a first-round pick. 28-year-old Klinkhammer was something of a late bloomer; undrafted out of the Western Hockey League, he didn’t play a full NHL season until last season, when he scored 11 goals and 20 points in 72 games for the Coyotes. The Penguins, with a lineup decimated by injuries, grabbed Klinkhammer via trade in early December. While he’s not an offensive force, by any means, Klinkhammer is a legitimate NHL winger, who has positive possession stats (53.8% Corsi, +3.8% Relative) in 168 career games. The 6-foot-3 winger also plays a physical game, accruing 248 hits in 101 games since the start of last season. Klinkhammer can handle a third or fourth-line role for the Oilers, with Perron’s departure creating room for Benoit Pouliot to play in a top-six role once he’s activated from the injured list, where he’s been for the past five weeks with a broken foot. Coming at an inexpensive $650,000 price tag, Klinkhammer will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, so it’s possible that Edmonton isn’t his final destination this season, but the Oilers have been looking for more size in their bottom six and maybe Klinkhammer could fit that need. The first-round pick is the bigger asset for the Oilers. Even if, as expected, the Penguins finish near the top of the standings, a pick in the 25-30 range offers a little less than 15% chance of turning into a top-six forward or top-four defenceman, but a 55% chance of landing an NHL player. Verdict: It’s easy to like what the Penguins are getting, because Perron isn’t an expiring deal and he’s a productive player who could be a strong complementary piece on a very good team. The risk the Oilers take in making this deal is that they could end up with nothing. Late first-round picks are only a little better than coin flips and there’s no guarantee Klinkhammer plays for them beyond this season. Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca ' ' '