Carlos Boozer scored 20 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, and the Bulls won for the 12th time in 14 games, pulling away late to beat the New Jersey Nets 90-81 on Friday afternoon.Luol Deng and Derrick Rose scored 19 apiece, and the Bulls made enough shots down the stretch after struggling from the field for much of the game.Brook Lopez led New Jersey with 19 points. Travis Outlaw and Stephen Graham each scored 16, but the Nets dropped their fourth straight.At least they didn’t get blown out this time.Outscored by a combined 51 points over the previous three games, the Nets hung in against the Central division leaders.New Jersey was within 75-73 after a tip-in by Derrick Favors midway through the fourth quarter but simply couldn’t pull this one out.Boozer converted a three-point play, Rose hit two free throws and just like that, the Bulls were up 80-73 with 5:24 left.After Graham nailed the jumper, the Bulls got a layup by Kurt Thomas and a dunk from Boozer that made it 86-77 with just under three minutes left.The Bulls prevailed despite shooting 39.5 percent and getting outrebounded 46-33.Rose struggled with his shot, going 5 of 16, but finished with nine assists. Boozer, who missed practice on Thursday for personal reasons, had his way after some early foul trouble, going 8 of 14 from the field while turning in his fifth double-double in six games.Even so, it was a difficult game for the Bulls.There were few highlights in the early going, other than a neat sideline save by C.J. Watson midway through the second quarter.He flipped the ball behind his back to Kyle Korver on the other side, near the Bulls’ bench. That led to two free throws by Ronnie Brewer, making it 39-28 and capping a seven-point spurt.The Nets responded with a 14-2 run, scoring 10 straight and then taking a short-lived 42-41 lead on two free throws by Stephen Graham and a 20-footer by Travis Outlaw. It was 44-43 when Ronnie Brewer nailed a 3 from the left with 23 seconds remaining to give the Bulls a two-point halftime lead. 

NOTES—Nets backup PG Jordan Farmar sat out with a bruised right knee. The team was awaiting the MRI results. New Jersey also was without F Troy Murphy, who stayed at the hotel with a viral infection and flu. Coach Avery Johnson said Murphy will fly home and miss the game at Minnesota on Saturday. … The Bulls’ four-game homestand continues with Cleveland on Saturday before wrapping up against Toronto on Tuesday. They then visit the Nets the next day. 

WEST LAFAYETTE—It took E’Twaun Moore a little over 6 minutes to tie his career high for 3-pointers.The Purdue senior dropped his fifth 3 with 13:51 left in the first half against Northwestern on Friday, and he was just getting warmed up. He finished with seven 3s and tied a career high with 31 points to help No. 12 Purdue beat Northwestern 82-69.Northwestern coach Bill Carmody and his team had no answers. When Moore’s initial 3-point barrage ended, he began scoring inside, grabbing rebounds and dropping off assists.JaJuan Johnson had 19 points and nine rebounds and Ryne Smith scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half to help the Boilermakers (13-1, 2-0 Big Ten) win their eighth straight game.Juice Thompson scored 18 points and Luka Mirkovic tied his career high with 16 for Northwestern (9-2, 0-1).John Shurna, who ranked ninth nationally in scoring with 23.3 points per game, was held to a season-low 11 as Purdue’s Kelsey Barlow and D.J. Byrd held him to eight shots from the field.Shurna sprained his left ankle in his previous game, and Purdue coach Matt Painter said he didn’t look fully healed.Drew Crawford, Northwestern’s No. 2 scorer at 15.5 per game, was held to three points on 1-for-6 shooting while being matched up primarily with Moore.The Boilermakers outrebounded the Wildcats 41-27 and outscored Northwestern 23-9 from the free throw line.Moore scored nine points in the first 4 minutes to give Purdue a 13-10 lead, and the Boilermakers extended it to 26-18 before the Wildcats rallied. Northwestern cut the lead to 33-30 on a basket by JerShon Cobb. But the Boilermakers closed the half on an 9-0 run, powered by six points by point guard Lewis Jackson, to push the lead to 42-30.Northwestern started the second half by making 5 of 6 shots to cut Purdue’s lead to 48-41.Mirkovic, who hadn’t made a 3-pointer all season, drained two of them, then scored to trim Purdue’s lead to 55-51. Mirkovic pounded his chest after he ran back downcourt.Moore then took control again. He made his seventh 3-pointer, then another basket, and found Barlow for an alley-oop dunk on a fast break that gave the Boilermakers a 62-51 lead and caused NU to call a timeout.Northwestern rallied, and a 3-pointer by Thompson trimmed Purdue’s lead to 66-61 with 6:30 to play.Smith hit two free throws after a skirmish for a rebound, which had the normally mild-mannered guard talking to Cobb and needing to be restrained. Smith added a 3-pointer, his first field goal of the game after five misses, to push Purdue’s lead to 71-62 with 3:56 to go.Smith drained another 3 to make it 75-64.Northwestern had won two of the previous three meetings with Purdue. Both victories came while the Wildcats were unranked and the Boilermakers were in the Top 25.This time, Northwestern couldn’t fully seize the momentum.

Atlanta over Carolina

Baltimore over Cincinnati

Cleveland over Pittsburgh

Kansas City over Oakland

New England over Miami

New Orleans over Tampa Bay

NY Jets over Buffalo

Jacksonville over Houston

Indianapolis over Tennessee

Dallas over Philadelphia

Washington over NY Giants

Denver over San Diego

Arizona over San Francisco

Seattle over St.Louis

Detroit over Minnesota

Green Bay over BEARS

LES

Joe Thornton broke a tie on a deflection at 7:13 of the third period and the San Jose Sharks beat the Blackhawks 5-3 on Thursday night to snap a two-game losing streak.Thornton, parked in front of the crease, redirected Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s shot from the left point past Marty Turco seven seconds after a San Jose power-play ended.Scott Nichol, Benn Ferriero, Dany Heatley and Ryane Clowe also scored for the Sharks, who bounced back after blowing a 3-1 lead. Clowe connected into an empty net with 48 seconds left.Patrick Sharp, Troy Brouwer and Brian Campbell scored for the Blackhawks. Brouwer and Campbell scored 22 seconds apart in the final minute of the second period to tie it at 3.San Jose goalie Antti Niemi made 26 saves in his first appearance at the United Center since backstopping the Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup last spring. He improved to 3-0 against his former club.Turco made his third straight start, stopping 20 shots.Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews sat out his first game because of a right shoulder injury, sustained in a 3-1 loss at St. Louis on Tuesday night. He’s expected to miss at least two weeks.Sharp opened the scoring with a power-play goal with 4:16 left in the first. He connected from the left edge of the crease after taking a feed from Tomas Kopecky behind the net to cap nearly a minute of crisp passing and puck possession. Nichol tied it with 1:06 left in the period when his drive from right wing trickled past Turco after hitting his blocker. Ferriero’s 5-on-3 power-play goal at 1:46 of the second put the Sharks ahead. He scored into an empty net from the left edge of the crease after Logan Couture faked Turco to the ice.Heatley extended San Jose’s lead to 3-1 with another power-play goal with 6:14 left in the second. Turco made a pad save on Jason Demers’ drive from the left circle, but Heatley got behind Niklas Hjalmarsson and fired in the rebound.Brouwer cut it to 3-2 with 23 seconds left in the period with a fluke power-play goal when his shot from the right corner deflected in off the heel of Niemi’s stick. Campbell pinched in from the point and tied it with a second remaining after taking Dave Bolland’s feed from behind the net.

NOTES—San Jose was coming off a 5-3 loss in Minnesota on Wednesday night. …Ryan Johnson, a healthy scratch the last two games, dressed on Thursday to fill Toews’ roster spot … San Jose C Joe Pavelski missed his second game because of an upper-body injury and C Torrey Mitchell his third with a lower-body injury. Both are day-to-day. … Niemi signed with the Sharks last summer after going through arbitration as a restricted free agent. He played all but one period for the Hawks in the playoffs.

HOUSTON—-Mikel Leshoure ran for 184 yards and three touchdowns as Illinois earned its first bowl victory since 1999, beating Baylor 38-14 Wednesday night in the Texas Bowl.The Illini spoiled the Bears’ first bowl appearance in 16 seasons. Both teams finished at 7-6.Leshoure had a 5-yard TD run in the second quarter, a 13-yard score in the third quarter and another 5-yard touchdown run in the fourth period. The performance gave him the school single-season rushing record with 1,697 yards.The Illini built a 24-0 lead and Leshoure’s last touchdown put the game out of reach. Baylor’s Robert Griffin III threw for 306 yards and a touchdown, but his two fumbles in the first half put the Bears behind.Leshoure was chosen the most valuable player and wore a cowboy hat as he hoisted the trophy above his head after the game while the small but vocal group of Illinois fans cheered.The Bears cut the lead to 24-14 when Griffin found a diving Kendall Wright on a 39-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-14 early in the fourth quarter. But Illinois continued its dominance in the rushing game after that and extended its lead to 31-14 on Leshoure’s last touchdown. Illinois finished with 291 yards rushing and 533 yards of total offense to give coach Ron Zook his first bowl win as a head coach in his fourth try.Freshman quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase got off to a sensational start, completing all of his 13 passes in the first half, and finished 18 of 23 for 242 yards. He scored on a 55-yard touchdown run with 41 seconds to play to make it 38-14.Illinois opened the second half with an 87-yard drive capped by a 13-yard touchdown run by Leshoure. Leshoure also scored the 2-point conversion to extend the lead to 24-0 and set the Illinois single-season scoring record.Baylor finally found its offensive touch on its first possession of the second half. Griffin completed five of seven passes on that drive, which ended with a 4-yard touchdown run by Jay Finley to get the Bears within 24-7 with about eight minutes remaining in the third quarter.The Illini held Finley in check for most of the night and Baylor’s 1,000-yard rusher finished with 12 carries for 63 yards.Illinois led 9-0 before a 5-yard touchdown run by Leshoure about 10 minutes before halftime stretched the lead to 16-0. That score was set up by a 52-yard reception by Ryan Lankford a play earlier.Baylor was driving with about 3½ minutes left in the first half when a pass by Griffin was intercepted by Terry Hawthorne. But the Bears got a second chance when Corey Liuget was penalized for roughing the passer, giving Baylor the ball back.The Bears still came away empty though when Griffin fumbled a few plays later to give Illinois the ball back on its own 32.Baylor’s problems started early with Griffin fumbling on the first possession. Travon Bellamy recovered that fumble and returned it 46 yards. The Illini couldn’t get anything going on that drive and settled for a 38-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead.Illinois added a second field goal on their next drive to push the lead to 6-0 and a third field goal early in the second quarter made it 9-0.

PHILADELPHIA—The Bears now know they will have a bye in the opening round of the NFL Playoffs and have clinched at least the #2 seed,and remain alive for the #1 seed after getting some help from a Division rival Tuesday night.Considering everything else the Minnesota Vikings have endured this season, it was silly to think two extra days sitting around a hotel room would bring ’em down. No way a determined rookie quarterback named Joe Webb was going to let that happen. Webb threw for 195 yards and ran for a touchdown in his first career start filling in for an injured Brett Favre, and the lowly Vikings stunned Michael Vick and the NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles 24-14 in the NFL’s first Tuesday game since 1946.Adrian Peterson ran for 118 yards and a score, helping the 14-point underdogs knock Philadelphia out of contention for a first-round playoff bye. The Eagles (10-5) could’ve secured a first-round bye with a victory over the Vikings (6-9) and Dallas and with a loss by either the Bears or Atlanta next week. “We don’t deserve it after that performance,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “Every phase was terrible. We didn’t coach well enough. We didn’t play well enough. I’m disappointed in myself. It’s embarrassing.” Now the Eagles are locked into the NFC’s No. 3 seed and will host the No. 6 seed on Jan. 8 or 9. Their final game against the Cowboys is meaningless in the standings, so it’s likely Vick and most of the starters will rest.Two days after a winter storm forced a postponement, there wasn’t even a snowflake visible at the Linc. The game was switched from Sunday because of a howling storm that dumped about a foot of snow in the area — perhaps a good idea considering Philadelphia’s history of snowball-throwing fans.But 42 years after fans got a bum rap for tossing snowballs at Santa — the man in the costume said it was playful pelting — the Eagles said snowballs didn’t factor in the decision to move the game.

Carlos Boozer and Derrick Rose stuck to the simple game plan in the fourth quarter that helped make Boozer a star in Utah.Boozer had 24 points and nine rebounds, Luol Deng scored 24 points, and the Bulls beat the Milwaukee Bucks 90-77 on Tuesday night.Rose had 18 points, 12 assists and six assists for the Bulls, who have won 11 of their last 13 games.Milwaukee was clogging up the lane for most the game, so the Bulls used the pick-and-roll to spread the floor in the fourth quarter.Rose and Boozer are starting to jell after Boozer missed the first 15 games of the season with a broken hand.John Salmons scored 18 points for the Bucks, who shot a season-low 32.1 percent.Trailing 45-44 at the half, the Bulls opened the second half by outscoring the Bucks 9-0. Rose started the run with a 3-pointer and had a basket to make it 52-45.The Bulls pulled away for good midway through the fourth quarter by going on a 16-4 run. Leading 69-66, Rose started it with a jumper and the Bulls got consecutive 3-pointers from Rose and Kyle Korver to make it 86-72.The Bucks, already missing starting point guard Brandon Jennings with a broken foot, learned before the game they would be without backup Earl Boykins. Boykins was suspended by the NBA for one game without pay for making intentional contact with a referee in Monday’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks.The Bucks have been short-handed at the guard position.The Bucks led 45-44 at the half despite trailing by as many as 12 in the first quarter and shooting 32 percent in the half. Salmons got the Bucks back by scoring eight points in the second quarter. He was 6 for 7 from the free throw line in the first half, as a team they were 13 for 17.Boozer got off to a fast start, scoring eight points in the first quarter, but was held to two in the second. Deng led the Bulls with nine points in the half.Corey Maggette scored 15 points off the bench and Luc Mbah a Moute added 12 points and 10 rebounds for Milwaukee, but Andrew Bogut was held to four points on 2-of-12 shooting.

NOTES—Bucks F Drew Gooden missed his third straight game with left plantar fasciitis….The Bulls opened a four-game homestand…..Taj Gibson blocked five shots.

ST. LOUIS—No way Ty Conklin thought he’d be starting in goal against the Stanley Cup-champion Blackhawks. Not with Jaroslav Halak coming off a shutout and Conklin getting torched for seven goals in Chicago last month.The St. Louis Blues’ backup goalie made coach Davis Payne’s decision seem like the logical choice after he stopped 25 shots in a 3-1 victory on Tuesday night.Vladimir Sobotka, Brad Boyes and Brad Winchester scored for the Blues, who dominated much of the way to win their fourth in a row and end the Blackhawks’ four-game winning streak. The Blues pelted Marty Turco with 43 shots, making things a bit easier on their backup goalie.The Blues tied the Blackhawks for seventh in the Western Conference, each with 43 points.Just as the Hawks were getting healthier, with Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa returning the last two games, the Blackhawks lost another key player. Jonathan Toews, the Hawks second-leading scorer with 33 points, was injured on a check in the first period and didn’t return. Teammate Tomas Kopecky was struck in the face by an errant puck despite wearing a visor but didn’t leave the bench.Coach Joel Quenneville said Toews had an upper body injury and expected to know more on Wednesday. Quenneville wasn’t pleased with the rest of the roster.Boyes deflected a shot from the point by Erik Johnson for the go-ahead goal at 3:08 of the third. Turco reached back to snare the puck in mid-air on Winchester’s shot off a rebound with 5:50 to go, and replays confirmed it crossed the goal line to put the Blues up 3-1.Quenneville blistered players after calling timeout following Sobotka’s unassisted goal that tied it at 1 at 4:39 of the second. The Blues had a 25-8 shots advantage after Sobotka grabbed a loose puck along the side boards and scored with a high drive.The Blackhawks were outshot 18-7 in the first period but got the lone goal on Jake Dowell’s fifth of the season and first in 14 games. Viktor Stalberg set up the goal, stealing the puck from Alex Steen near the blue line.

This was like Arena Football for three quarters,but in the end,the Bears used three touchdown passes from Jay Cutler and a TD on the ground from him,and overcame a big game from Mark Sanchez to outscore the New York Jets 38-34 to retain the inside track for the #2 NFC Playoff seed and first round bye.

Snow was not a factor early,but about five minutes into the game,it started.The Jets Nick Folk kicked off short to the Bears Rashied Davis whop returned 16 yards to his 34. Matt Forte carried off the middle for four yards.He than swept around right end for five,just short of a first down. On third down, Chester Taylor powered over an ‘eight in the box’ defense for the new set of downs at his 46.A quick false start against Brandon Manumeleuna made it first and fifteen.Cutler scrambled and found a wide open Devin Hester to the right for 14 at the Jets 45. Forte took the hand off two yards behind the line and was clobbered by David Harris for no gain.On play action, Cutler tried to his Kellen Davis,who was bumped by LB Calvin Pace(though not really by much), and the pass interference penalty made it first down at the Jets 26.Cutler overthrew Johnny Knox on first down.Forte then picked up three to the 23.On a screen pass,Forte was stopped by Brodney Pool leaving it fourth and three and Robbie Gould converted his 37 yard field goal,even though it was tipped at the line.Brad Smith returned the kickoff 19 yards to his 26 and was clobbered by Davis. On first down,LaDainian Tomlinson was nail,but the Jets were called for holding.Sanchez then hit on a slant play to Santonio Holmes.Tomlinson broke up the middle,fumbled and teammate Brandon Moore recovered. Sanchez then hit Jerricho Cotchery for a first down at the NYJ 38. Holmes on an end around to the left side was hit by Tim Jennings, fumbled and Chris Harris recovered at the Jets 45.A Cutler pass for Greg Olsen went threw his hand and Knox caught it for a 15 yard gain to the NJ 30.Forte then gained 8 hard yards before being tossed out at the 22.Forte then busted two tackled en rout to scoring a 22 yard rushing TD and with Gould’s PAT, it became 10-0 with 4;54 left in the first quarter. Gould’s kickoff went through the end zone for a touch back.On this drive, New York looked like a different offense, as they did for the rest of the first half, as they marched right through the Bears, 80 yards in just eight plays. Shonn Green got a fast 12 yards on first down. Sanchez on a play fake found a wide open Matthew Mulligan at his 45.Sanchez then found a wide open Dustin Keller for 26 at the Bears 29. Sanchez tossed a lateral to Cotchery for no gain.Greene on a delay was stopped by Tommie Harris for no gain.With no pass rush,Sanchez hit Keller at the Bears 11 for a first down.A false start on Robert Turner made it first at 15.Sanchez hit Braylon Edwards for 13 to the Bears 3 as the first quarter ended. Greene then busted up the middle,just about untouched for a three yard TD, cutting the Bears lead to 10-7 on the first play of the second period. Manning returned the kickoff to the NY 46,but a holding penalty on Rod Wilson brought the ball back to the Bears 25. From that point,this drive was a disaster! A false start on Chris Williams brought the ball back to the 20.Taylor was killed behind the line by Pace for a loss of five.Cutler then tried to hit Earl Bennett,but Dwight Lowery jumped in front of him, picked it off and scored untouched 20 yards, to make it 14-10 Jets. Davis got another short kickoff and returned it to his 40. After an incompleted pass,Forte picked up two yards.Then after another incompleted pass, Brad Maynard to Cotchery who escaped two two tackled and got to his 28. On first down, Edwards caught a Sanchez pass for 16 to the 44. Greene,on a pitch out,was hit by D.J.Moore for no gain. A short pass to Keller(who was stopped by Brian Urlacher)was limited to fours yards. A Sanchez pass intended for Cotchery,was thrown right to Chris Harris,which he missed.That was Sanchez’s first incompletion. Former Illini Steve Weatherford angled a punt away from Hester out of bounds at the Bears nine. After a short gain by Taylor,Cutler had all day,found nobody open,but did not throw it away. He instead took a ten yard sack back at the three.A delay of game moved it back to the one and a half. Cutler then overthrew Hester,forcing Maynard to have to punt from deep in his end zone,and his very short 34 yard kick rolled dead at the Bears 36.Two running plays left it third and seven,but Sanchez hit Holmes for 16 at the Bears seventeen.Sanchez was flushed out of the pocket,but got away from T.Harris for twelve and a first and goal at the Bears three.Tomlinson then scored easily to make it 21-10 with 5:44 left in the half. The kickoff was returned to the Bears 36. Cutler’s first completed pass of the second quarter was a five yarder to Olsen.But another false start by Williams gave those yards right back.A little screen pass to Forte worked for 24 to the NYJ 40.The next pass for Forte was incomplete with David Harris on his back,but no flag. Cutler then missed a wide open Forte at the 20.This time Bennett came back on an under thrown pass,and grabbed it for 14 yards to the 26.A little lob pass was caught by Forte who was forced out at the Jets two.Cutler then on a play action,scrambled around right end and scored without a hand being laid on him,and the Jets lead was cut to 21-17 with 2:44 left in the half. Gould’s kick into the wind,was returned to the Jets 33. Greene went off left tackle to 12 quick yards as the two minute warning hit. Sanchez then hit Greene for five at midfield.Greene then found a hole for seven to the Bears 43.Holmes then caught a fast pass to the right at the Bears 25. Greene swept the left for a first down at the Bears 14,then he ran into the line for a one yard loss. Sanchez scrambled as his line got away with an obvious,but uncalled hold,his Homes at the Bears nine.Keller then dropped a sure TD pass and Folk kicked a 26 yard field goal with :12 left in the half. The half ended 24-17 Jets.

The Jets took the opening kickoff,and rather than punt to Hester after getting stopped on the first three plays,they went for it on fourth down and an incompleted Sanchez pass gave the Bears the ball at the Jets 40.The Bears made the visitors pay quickly as Cutler dropped back and hit Knox who got behind Lowery for the tying score just 1:40 into the half.Joe McKnight returned Gould’s kickoff his 27.After stopping the Jets three and out, Weatherford punted to Hester who zig-zagged 38 yards to the Jets 32.Forte made a shoestring catch of a short pass for four yds. On a ‘Wildcat’ formation, Forte took the direct snap for three yds.On third down, Cutler dropped back,and found Hester for a 25 yard TD to give the Bears the lead back 31-24 just 5:31 into the third qtr. Brad Smith returned Gould’s kickoff to the NYJ 34. Sanchez threw a bullet to Edwards for 19 yds to the Bears 48. Greene picked up six,then broke into the open for 18 to the 23. Holmes then lost everyone on a blown coverage and caught the game tying 23 yard TD pass. Hester returned the kickoff 40 yds to the Jets 48. Hester then caught an 8 yd pass to the NYJ 40.Forte then picked up the first down to the 39.Then Knox caught one at the Jets 26.This time Knox made a summer-salt catch in the end zone and the Bears regain the lead with 6:06 left in the third quarter.Smith fielded Gould’s kickoff on the bounce and returned it to his 38. Edwards caught the first down pass at his 45.The Jets then had a third and less than a yard, and Tony Richardson picked it up to the Bears 44.Tomlinson gained four to the 39. On a play action that had kept the Bears off balance all day, Sanchez hit Keller for a first down at the 32.Tomlinson gained eight to the 24.He then easily got four to the 20 for a first down.Sanchez over threw Holmes in the near coffin corner. Tomlinson gained four to the sixteen as the third quarter ended.The Jets had to settle for a 34 yard Folk field goal as the fourth period began,trimming the Bears lead to 38-34.The kickoff was away from Hester this time and the Bears started at their 34. Fote carried to his 40. On a pitchout,he rolled around the left side and gained 12 to the Jets 48.Cutler went deep to Hester who just missed it at the Jets five yard line.Forte busted through the left side for 32 yards and got to the NYJ 16.Taylor then picked up a pair to the 14.Cutler,hit from behind was sacked for a three yard loss.Then came an incompleted pass that was intended for Olsen and Gould missed a 35 yard field goal try wide right,giving the Jets the ball at their 25 with 11:26 left. Tomlinson got hit for a two yard loss by Lance Briggs. Sanchez hit a quick slant pass to Edwards for 11. On third and one, Richardson got the first down to his 36.On first down, Anthony Adams got Sanchez’s arm as he over threw Holmes. But them Greene got open for a screen pass and the Jets had another third and one,and on a scramble to the right,he hit Keller for a first down at midfield.Greene picked up 4 off right guard to the Bears 46.Sanchez appeared in the grasp,but then threw the ball away and got away with it.Edwards then got free and took a Sanchez pass for seven yards at the Bears 39. Greene danced for four yards to the 35.Sanchez avoided a sack and air mailed a pass out of bounds. A pass intended for Edwards was broken up by Charles Tillman. Weatherford was called on to punt and rolled it dead at the Bears ten.Forte was stopped for no gain on first down. Cutler then missed connection with Forte on second down. Cutler then avoided a sack in the end zone and threw one away,forcing Maynard in for his biggest punt of the game.He sent a 49 yarder to Cotchery who lost a yard on the return.The Jets began at their 40.Keller caught on over the middle for six at his own 46.Tomlinson was stopped by C.Harris for a one yard loss.On third down, Sanchez tried to his Cochery and D.J.Moore broke it up. Weatherford kicked it out at the Bears five with 3:02 left.Forte gained two on first down as the Jets used their first time out. Forte then broke free for eight and a first down to the 15 as New York used their second time out.Forte went off left tackle for no gain and the Jets took their last time out with 2:43 on the clock.Forte on second down picked up one yard to the sixteen as the clock ticked to the two minute warning.The Bears kept it on the ground as Forte gained two and the Bears ran the play clock to one and called their first time out with 1:14 left. Maynard kicked it on the ground and it hit Marquice Cole,but Catchery recovered it at his 28.A first down pass intended for Cotchery was incomplete but the Bears were offside,making it first and five at 33 and Chris Harris brought this game to an end with an interception and the Bears took over at their 31. Cutler kneeled down to end it.

NOTES— Cutler was 13-25 for 215 yards,3 TD,one interception and scored on TD on th ground.His passer rating was 104.2……Sanchez ende up 24-37 for 269 yds,1 TD,I interception and a passer rating of 84.2…..The Jets clinched a Playoff birth despite their loss,since Washington upset Jacksonville.

LES

NEW YORK—Amar’e Stoudemire and Raymond Felton each scored 20 points, and the New York Knicks limited the Bulls to two baskets in the first 10 minutes of the fourth quarter, pulling away for a 103-95 victory Saturday.Former DePaul Blue Demon Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari added 15 apiece for the Knicks, the NBA’s highest-scoring team but 28th in defense. Yet they didn’t allow a field goal for more than 8 minutes after the game was tied in the opening minutes of the final period.Stoudemire anchored the defensive effort, grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking six shots. Rookie Landry Fields finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks, who improved to 21-25 on Christmas. Felton had 12 assists and Chandler also grabbed 10 boards.Wearing green uniforms for Christmas, the Knicks looked like a completely different team in beating the Bulls for the second time this season, winning the series for the first time since 2000-01.Carlos Boozer had 26 points and 19 rebounds for the Bulls, who lost for just the second time in 11 games.The Bulls flopped in their first Christmas game since 1997, committing 22 turnovers that led to 23 points. They fell to 9-6 on the holiday, including 2-3 against the Knicks.Derrick Rose had 25 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Bulls, but also committed seven turnovers.Back-to-back baskets by Ronnie Brewer and Rose tied it at 87 with 10:11 left before the Knicks, who were allowing 107 points per game, started defending the way they did in the 1990s.Chandler and Felton each had two baskets in a 10-0 run as the visitors missed 11 of its first 13 shots in the period. Chandler’s bucket made it 97-87 before Boozer ended the Bulls’ drought with 1:52 remaining. The Bulls later got within six, but missed a chance to get closer when Kurt Thomas threw a pass out of bounds, and the Knicks held on to win the matchup of teams who have been the best of the East lately outside of Boston and Miami.Neither team pulled off the major free agent score it was looking for, but the moves they did make have paid off nicely. Stoudemire and Felton have the Knicks (18-12) off to their best start in a decade and searching for their first playoff berth since 2004. The Bulls are 9-4 since Boozer debuted after missing the first 15 games with a broken right hand.With the Bulls wearing red, the court certainly looked festive. But the basketball was pure ugly at the start.The Bulls offset their nine first-quarter field goals by turning it over nine times, handing the Knicks 10 points that helped New York take a 21-20 lead. Sloppy play continued early into the second, when Boozer powered into the lane and shot the ball over the basket and out of bounds — not a turnover, but served the same purpose.But the Bulls, despite missing injured rebounding leader Joakim Noah, made up for their struggles by overwhelming the Knicks on the backboards, outrebounding them 31-21 in the half and converting 12 offensive rebounds into 19 second-chance points. Boozer made a jumper in front of his bench as time expired to give the Bulls a 54-52 halftime lead.The Knicks then hit six 3-pointers in the third quarter, punishing the Bulls from behind the arc like they did while ringing up 120 points in their victory in the United Center last month — highest total the Bulls have allowed this season — and took an 85-83 lead to the fourth.

NOTES—Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau was a Knicks assistant for seven years. … Felton has had double-digit assists in six straight games, three shy of Micheal Ray Richardson‘s franchise record set from Dec. 23, 1979 to Jan. 8, 1980.