Turns out all Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints needed to solve their problems was to show up in Soldier Field.Nothing like playing the Bears to break a slump. Even better, the Saints jumped into first place.Brees threw for 375 yards and three touchdowns, and New Orleans beat the Bears 31-15 on Monday night to grab the NFC South lead.The Saints (6-8) moved into first place ahead of Carolina (5-8-1) and Atlanta (5-9) after losing four of their previous five games. They also rebounded from a 41-10 loss to the Panthers.

”I think we’ve shown a couple times we can handle adversity,” Brees said. ”Let’s make sure we can handle success, too.”
The Saints host the Falcons before finishing the season at Tampa Bay.
”The tendency after success is to relax, and it’s not time to relax,” Brees said.

Brees completed 29 of 36 passes and reached the 4,000-yard mark for the ninth straight year. He threw two touchdown passes to Josh Hill and another to Marques Colston.Pierre Thomas had five catches for 83 yards. David Hawthorne had three of New Orleans’ seven sacks and the Saints intercepted Jay Cutler three times to bring his NFL-leading turnover total to 24.

”We were not in unison tonight collectively on the offensive side of the ball and that starts with me,” Marc Trestman said.

For the Bears (5-9), the loss comes after a week in which they were again engulfed in controversy. Offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer acknowledged he was a source behind a critical report by the NFL Network about Cutler, owning up to it in public Friday after earlier asking players and coaches for forgiveness.Cutler completed 17 of 31 passes for 194 yards, and the Bears couldn’t get anything going. They managed only 278 yards against one of the league’s worst defenses on a soggy night in which thousands of seats went unused.There were 10,749 no-shows, and that might not have been a bad thing for the Bears, the way they played.The Saints went ahead in the second quarter after wasting several opportunities in the opening period. Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller was called for a 17-yard pass-interference penalty trying to defend Jimmy Graham, setting up New Orleans with a first down at the 8.Brees then rolled to his right on the first play of the second quarter and found an open Hill, who lunged across the goal line.The first half was so bad for the Bears that their best play might have been Patrick O’Donnell’s 56-yard punt that went out of bounds at the New Orleans 5 with about four minutes left in the second. But the Saints responded with a 10-play, 95-yard drive.Brees threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Colston with 38 seconds left, giving the Saints a 14-0 lead. Cutler’s pass was then picked off by Pierre Warren on the final play in the half.Brees and Hill connected for a 7-yard TD on their first possession in the third on a similar play as their first score, making it 21-0. It was 24-0 early in the fourth when Cutler hit Marquess Wilson with a 1-yard touchdown pass, denying New Orleans its first shutout since 2012.The Saints wasted a big scoring opportunity in the early going.New Orleans took over at the Bears 24 after Patrick Robinson intercepted a pass that went off Martellus Bennett’s hands on the game’s third play from scrimmage. Rather than grab the lead, the Saints quickly gave the ball back.Nick Toon got stripped by Brock Vereen after a 10-yard reception and Jared Allen made the recovery at the 3.The Saints came away empty-handed on their next possession when Shayne Graham’s 51-yard field-goal attempt fell short. But the Saints eventually found their stride.

”I think there’s a sense of urgency that we need to create each week, and we need to be mindful of how important that edge is to play well,” coach Sean Payton said. ”It’s something we made a point of emphasis with everyone.”

NOTES—Bears kicker Robbie Gould was inactive with a right quadriceps injury, leaving the kicking duties to Jay Feely for the second straight week. Safety Chris Conte and offensive lineman Michael Ola missed the game because of back injuries. … Saints LT Terron Armstead (neck) started and LB Junior Galette (knee) played after they were listed as questionable. … Singer Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy performed the National Anthem.

Brandon Saad scored with 7:03 left in the third period, and the Blackhawks beat the Calgary Flames 2-1 on Sunday night for their 12th victory in the last 14 games.After motoring past Calgary defenseman Mark Giordano, Saad took a centering pass from Jonathan Toews and lifted a shot past Jonas Hiller‘s glove.Toews also set up Patrick Sharp‘s power-play goal as the surging Blackhawks dealt the Flames their fifth straight loss. The Hawks had won eight in a row before Saturday night’s 3-2 loss at the New York Islanders.Jiri Hudler had his team-leading 12th goal for Calgary, which has scored just eight times during its slide.Sharp’s goal was his first since returning Tuesday from a knee injury that sidelined him for 14 games. Sharp, who led the Hawks with 34 goals last season, has four this year – all on the power play.Antti Raanta made 23 saves while subbing for Corey Crawford, who is out with a foot injury. Rookie Scott Darling had started the Blackhawks’ last four games.Hiller finished with 26 saves.Before the game, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said he expected Crawford to return next weekend. Raanta and Darling have filled in quite nicely since Crawford was hurt while leaving a concert two weeks ago.Neither team had many chances in the scoreless first period.Hiller made a sprawling pad save on Andrew Shaw‘s rebound attempt 6:15 in. Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau danced down the slot with a series of nifty moves with 7:59 left, but was stopped by Raanta.Hudler opened the scoring at 4:27 of the second when he trailed in late on a rush and was left open. Hudler took Gaudreau’s cross-ice feed and whistled it past Raanta’s glove.Sharp’s goal at 8:43 – just nine seconds into a power play – came off a fast passing series with Kane and Toews. From below the goal line, Toews dished across the slot to Sharp, who sprinted into the left circle and ripped in a high one-timer.The Blackhawks came on in the up-tempo third period, dominating for chunks of time and outshooting the Flames 10-5. Hiller had to be sharp to keep it close, including making several tough saves on Kris Versteeg.

NOTES—Tim Erixon, acquired from Columbus earlier on Sunday for F Jeremy Morin, played on the left side of a defensive pair with Michal Rozsival. … The Blackhawks also reassigned D Klas Dahlbeck to Rockford of the AHL on Sunday. … Calgary D Corey Potter, recalled from AHL Adirondack on Saturday, was a healthy scratch, as was former Blackhawks F Brandon Bollig. … With Erixon in the Hawk lineup, D David Rundblad, one of his former teammates in Sweden, sat out.

MIAMI—Mike Dunleavy scored 22 points and the Bulls overcame a sloppy start Sunday to beat the offensively inept Miami Heat, 93-75.Heat leading scorer Chris Bosh (calf strain) missed a game for the first time this season, which left them without enough punch or size to challenge the Bulls. Miami shot a season-low 35 percent, including 4 for 22 from 3-point range.Dunleavy was shut out in the first half but scored 19 points on eight shots in the third quarter, when the Bulls outscored Miami 33-16. Dunleavy finished 4 for 5 from 3-point range, while the Bulls shot 9 of 18 beyond the arc and 47 overall.Jimmy Butler had 17 points for the Central Division-leading Bulls. They improved to 11-3 on the road -best in the Eastern Conference.Dwyane Wade and Luol Deng led Miami with 17 points apiece. The Heat’s point total matched their season low.The teams slogged through an ugly first half in their first matchup this season. The Bulls committed 13 turnovers but led 39-32 because Miami shot only 29 percent.The Bulls scored only three points in a 7 1/2-minute span after Derrick Rose went to the bench with two early fouls. The dry spell included turnovers on seven consecutive possessions midway through the first half as Miami built a six point lead.Aaron Brooks scored eight consecutive points in three possessions to give the Bulls a 22-20 lead, and they were ahead to stay. They started the second half by outscoring Miami 12-2 to increase their lead to double digits. Bosh sat out with a slight calf strain that began to bother him more before the game, according to coach Erik Spoelstra. Forward Josh McRoberts missed his third game in a row because of a right knee bruise. Chris Andersen played 18 minutes after missing the previous nine games with a sprained right ankle.
NOTES—Doug McDermott is expected to be sidelined another four to six weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery Saturday on a right knee injury that has sidelined him all month. Joakim Noah missed his third straight game because of a sprained right ankle….The Bulls are at Atlanta on Monday. The Bulls have won six in a row against the Hawks.

ROSEMONT—Paris Lee converted a four-point play to spark a 12-3 run in the final minute, pushing Illinois State past DePaul 78-72 on Sunday night.Billy Garrett Jr.’s layup gave DePaul a 58-49 lead with 8:16 remaining. Illinois State answered with a 17-9 run to pull within 69-66 with 1:15 left before Lee made it 70-69 with 58 seconds to go.Daishon Knight’s three-point play pushed the Redbirds’ lead to 73-69. Garrett split a pair of free throws to make it 73-70, but ISU made five of six from the line to seal it.Knight scored 25 points. MiKyle McIntosh added 14 points, and Reggie Lynch 13 points and 13 rebounds for Illinois State (5-3).Jamee Crockett scored 22 points, and Tommy Hamilton IV had 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead DePaul (6-3). Durrell McDonald dished out five assists for the Blue Demons.

EVANSTON—Alex Olah scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Northwestern snapped a three-game losing streak by beating Mississippi Valley State 101-49 on Sunday.Nathan Taphorn had 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting while Bryant McIntosh and Tre Demps had 15 points apiece for the Wildcats, who were playing without senior guard JerShon Cobb (right foot) but still eased to their highest point total and most lopsided victory of the season.Northwestern (6-3) dominated play for most of the night – placing five players in double figures – and shot 57.4 percent, including 11 of 24 from beyond the arc, after dropping decisions to Northern Iowa, Georgia Tech and Butler. Cobb averaged 12.2 points last season but has struggled so far, contributing only 5.1 through eight games. He wore a large gray walking boot on his right leg during the game.Latrell Love led MVSU (1-8) with 15 points.Two Olah free throws with 8:53 remaining in the first half gave the Wildcats their first 10-point lead. Vic Law’s emphatic one-handed dunk with 7:54 to go in the half gave the Wildcats a 29-15 lead, and Demps’ slam with 3:09 to go before halftime grew the lead to 17.NU got a scare with 15:38 left in the first half when Olah was helped off the court favoring his right knee. Olah returned with 12:42 remaining.The Delta Devils shot only 29 percent from the field and lost their second straight following their lone victory of the season, a 66-63 win over North Carolina A&T on Nov. 29.

Derrick Rose scored a season-high 31 points, and the Bulls beat the Portland Trail Blazers 115-106 on Friday night.Rose, who tore the meniscus in his right knee against the Blazers last season, went past his previous high of 24 points and scored over 30 for the first time since March 12, 2012. He was 14 of 24 from the floor for the Bulls, who have won three of four and improved to 4-5 at the United Center.The Bulls broke a seven-game losing streak to Portland.Pau Gasol had 13 points and 10 rebounds for his eighth straight double-double and 14th of the season. Rookie Nikola Mirotic had 15 points and nine rebounds, and Aaron Brooks scored 17 points for the Bulls, whose bench outscored Portland’s 40-15.LaMarcus Aldridge scored 21 of his 35 points in the first quarter, his 10 field goals in the period matching a team record set by Darius Miles in 2005. But he was held to two points in the final quarter.Damian Lillard also had 35, making seven 3-pointers and scoring 18 in the fourth for the Blazers, who have lost back-to-back games and dropped their first against an Eastern Conference team. Wesley Matthews had 10 and made the 717th 3-pointer of his career, putting him into a tie with Damon Stoudamire for second in franchise history.Portland had won seven straight overall before losing 90-82 in Minnesota. The Blazers were held to their fewest points of the season and had their worst shooting night (.388) in that one, but went 43 of 88 from the field in the United Center.The Bulls were without center Joakim Noah and forward Doug McDermott. Noah sat his second straight game with a sprained right ankle, and McDermott was absent for the fifth consecutive time due to a right knee problem that will require arthroscopic surgery Saturday.But despite Noah’s absence and Aldridge’s explosive first half, the Bulls led 59-51 at halftime.

NOTES—Portland recorded 20 assists, running its streak of at least 20 to 23 games to start the season. . Portland couldn’t improve to 11-0 against the Eastern Conference, failing to tie a team record set last season for most consecutive wins against the East to start a season…..Bulls Swingman Mike Dunleavy was inadvertently elbowed in the nose by Nicolas Batum in the first quarter but returned soon after. . The Bulls ran their streak of 100 or more points to eight games, their longest since an eight-game span from March 26-April 11, 2009.

AFC GAMES:
INDIANAPOLIS over Houston
CLEVELAND over Cincinnati
BALTIMORE over Jacksonville
NEW ENGLAND over Miami
KANSAS CITY over Oakland
Denver over SAN DIEGO
NY Jets over TENNESSEE

NFC GAMES:
CAROLINA over Tampa Bay
NY GIANTS over Washington
SEATTLE over San Francisco

INTER-CONFERENCE:
Pittsburgh over ATLANTA

THURSDAY NIGHT:
ST.LOUIS over Arizona

SUNDAY NIGHT:
Dallas over PHILADELPHIA

NFC NORTH GAMES:
Green Bay over BUFFALO
DETROIT over Minnesota
New Orleans over BEARS
HOME TEAMS in ALL CAPS
LAST WEEK: LES 12-4, ADAM 11-5, ZACH 12-4, KEVIN 12-4
THROUGH WEEK 14: LES 139-72-1 ADAM 138-73-1, ZACH 128-83-1, KEVIN 134-77-1

BOSTON—The Boston Bruins got their captain back on the ice for the first time in seven weeks.The Blackhawks lost theirs, and they hope he won’t be gone much at all.The Blackhawks beat the Bruins 3-2 on Thursday night for their eighth consecutive victory, a win that was tempered by the loss of forward Jonathan Toews, the Hawks captain and No. 2 scorer who left the game after Dennis Seidenberg came up behind him, hit him on the back of the shoulder and sent him face-first into the boards in the second period.

”Dangerous. Tight area. Strong guy,” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. ”He seemed all right. We’ll see how he is tomorrow, but it looks like he’s going to be all right.”

Seidenberg said he was aiming for the shoulder and had no intent to injure Toews, who was the MVP of the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs. A two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time NHL champion, Toews has 11 goals and 12 assists in 28 games so far this season.

”It was unfortunate how he went into the boards,” said Seidenberg, who waited in the hallway outside the Blackhawks dressing room after the game to shake hands with alternate captain Patrick Sharp.”I try to be clean,” Seidenberg told reporters. ”I would never want to hurt anyone.”

Ben Smith assisted on the Blackhawks’ first goal and scored their second as they opened a 3-0 lead before Boston rallied. Scott Darling made 32 saves for the Blackhawks, who have won 11 of their last 12 games and lost just twice in the past month.Tuukka Rask stopped 18 shots for Boston. The Bruins have lost four of their last five games and six of eight.The Bruins were boosted by the return of captain Zdeno Chara, who missed seven weeks with a torn ligament in his left knee. But they couldn’t take advantage of the 6-foot-9 defenseman’s presence.Klas Dahlbeck and Patrick Kane also scored for the Hawks, and Marcus Kruger had a pair of assists. They then had a lengthy power play, including almost two minutes of a 5-on-3, thanks to three penalties in a row against Boston.One of them was the boarding call against Seidenberg that knocked Toews out of the game.

”We definitely hope it’s not too serious,” Smith said. ”He’s our leader, and he’s our catalyst. We definitely rallied behind him.”

The Bruins killed off the power plays, and near the end of the period Reilly Smith scored to make it 3-1. It stayed that way until there were eight minutes left, when Milan Lucic bulled his way through two defenders, taking them both with him behind the net before passing it back to Torey Krug for the goal.The play ended with several players pairing up and fighting, with the longest-lasting Boston’s Chris Kelly against Andrew Shaw.

NOTES—The Bruins observed a moment of silence before the game for former Montreal Canadiens Hall of Famer Jean Beliveau. … The Blackhawks scored at least three goals for the 12th time in 13 games. … Chara, who is annually No. 1 on the Bruins in time on ice, played 24:11. He was not on the ice for any of the five goals. The Bruins went 11-8-1 while he was out.

The Bulls used a rare lull in the schedule to focus on their defense, and it paid off in the second half against Brooklyn.Derrick Rose scored 23 points, and the Bulls pulled away from the Nets for a 105-80 victory on Wednesday night. The Bulls held Brooklyn to 29 points on 26.2 percent shooting (11 for 42) in the final two periods.

”They came out with a lot of energy. They got us back on our heels,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. ”I liked the way we responded in the second half.”

The Bulls had six players, including all five starters, score in double figures in its first game since Saturday night’s 112-102 loss to Golden State. Jimmy Butler had 18 points, Pau Gasol added 16 points and 16 rebounds, and Mike Dunleavy scored 14 points. Taj Gibson finished with 11 points and 10 boards.

”The third quarter, we really got into it,” said Gibson, who also matched a career high with six blocked shots. ”We tried to be a dominant team on rebounding, tried to just finish strong.”

Deron Williams led Brooklyn with 17 points, but the Nets dropped their third straight. Kevin Garnett scored 13 points, and Alan Anderson had 12.”They turned up their defense and they put on a block party,” Brooklyn coach Lionel Hollins said.Garnett left in the fourth quarter because of a left foot injury. The team said X-rays were negative, and Garnett said he was all right.The Bulls grabbed control with a 17-3 run in the third quarter.Rose made a 3-pointer, and Gibson had a big dunk before Gasol capped the surge with four straight points, including two foul shots that made it 70-58 with 3:32 to go.It just got worse for injury-riddled Brooklyn in the final period, with the Bulls scoring 15 straight points to increase its advantage to 101-73 with 3:17 to go. Butler finished the run with a jumper.

“It’s a work in progress,” Garnett said. ”We’ve got to continue to work. It doesn’t help that guys are out of the lineup so we’ve all got to continue to come in here, continue to work, and try to get better.”

The 25-point margin was the biggest win of the season for , which also beat Brooklyn 102-84 on Nov. 30. The Bulls had allowed at least 100 points in four of their previous six games, but Rose said the work in practice on Monday and Tuesday helped them turn it around.

”We did a lot of defensive drills,” Rose said. ”I think he (Thibodeau) was just trying to make us be aggressive while we were out there instead of just holding back and letting them walk wherever they want to go, run wherever they want to go.”

The Nets played without forward Mirza Teletovic, who was sidelined by a right hip pointer. Joe Johnson (flu) and Brook Lopez (lower back strain) missed their second straight game, and Andrei Kirilenko was held out because of personal reasons, according to the team.Joakim Noah, the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and rookie Doug McDermott missed the game for the Bulls. Noah has a sprained right ankle, and McDermott has been hampered by a sore right knee.The Bulls outrebounded the Nets 57-44. The 57 rebounds were a season high for the Bulls.Brooklyn dropped to 4-6 on the road. It has lost 10 of its last 12 games at the United Center, counting the postseason. … Garnett had two steals to give him 1,801 for his career. He is the 16th NBA player with at least 1,800.

NOTES—Gasol has recorded a double-double in each of his last seven games. He leads the team with 13 this season. … The Bulls have scored at least 100 points in seven straight games for its longest streak since an eight-game run from March 26-April 11, 2009. … The Bulls improved to 3-5 at home.The Bulls Host Portland on Friday.

NEWARK—New Jersey Devils rookie Keith Kinkaid has never been a fan of the shootout, and that was long before he faced Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane in his first NHL start.Toews and Kane scored on the Blackhawks’ first two chances, and they rallied late and earned their seventh straight victory, 3-2 over the Devils on Tuesday night.

”They are top guys in the NHL,” Kinkaid said after his outstanding 37-save performance ended in a loss. ”Obviously I was a little too far out on the Toews one, I wanted to get the leg out, and then Kane has a great set of hands. You never know what he is going to do.”

The Blackhawks had to work to get the best of the 25-year old Kinkaid, who was called up from Albany earlier Tuesday with the Devils playing the second game of a back-to-back set.New Jersey had the better of play for almost the first 25 minutes before the Blackhawks started showing why they are one of the NHL’s top teams.

”Early on, he was playing pretty well,” Toews said of Kinkaid. ”We threw some shots at him and I think, if anything, we built his confidence up a little bit throughout the game. Nowadays, even backups are strong, and you have to make their job as tough as you can.”

Bryan Bickell and Duncan Keith had goals in regulation for the Hawks, whose winning streak matches the NHL high for this season. Scott Darling made 22 saves, including two stops in the shootout.Jordin Tootoo and Stephen Gionta scored for New Jersey. Steve Bernier added two assists for the Devils, who were trying for back to back wins for the first time in almost a month.Darling made a glove save on Martin Havlat to start the shootout, and Toews easily beat Kinkaid with a backhander. After Darling made a pad save on Jaromir Jagr, Kane skated in on Kinkaid, danced in front of him, and slid the puck into the net for the Blackhawks’ fourth win in four shootouts.

”You want to get the win for the team, so it’s a little tough,” Kinkaid said. ”I hate the shootout anyway, so they are big points, and we are fortunate to get one”.

The Hawks had tied it with 3:13 left in regulation when defenseman Duncan Keith put the rebound of Marian Hossa’s shot into an open net. The play developed after the Blackhawks kept the puck in the Devils zone, and Toews found Hossa for a good shot in close.

”Give him some credit,” Keith said of Kinkaid. ”He played big for his first game. We just played a patient game. I don’t think it was our best game, but we hung in there until the end and we were able to do it in the shootout.”

It appeared that Stephen Gionta’s goal on a baseball swing at 2:31 of the third period was going to be the winner.Defenseman Damon Severson took a shot from the right point that Darling stopped. Blackhawks defenseman Klas Dahlbeck used his glove to swat the rebound away, but Gionta lined it right into the net.Havlat nearly gave the Devils a two-goal lead later in the period but his breakaway drive hit off the post and crossbar with 9:30 left.Kinkaid had stopped Patrick Sharp on a breakaway just about 30 seconds before Gionta’s second goal of the season.The was a little off its game in the first period, but it dominated the second, outshooting New Jersey 17-7. Bickell got the only goal with a shot from the right circle after he carried the puck into the Devils zone leading a 3-on-1 break.Sharp, playing for the first time since Nov. 4 because of a lower-body injury, got the only assist on the play set up by a Devils turnover.New Jersey’s goal also was the result of a turnover. Tootoo scored from the same circle as Bickell after taking a pass from Bernier.

NOTES—The game was the second of a five-game trip for Chicago. … Keith played 30:36 for Hawks.