CHAMPAIGN—Rayvonte Rice scored 23 and led Illinois to a badly needed win over Nebraska Wednesday, 69-57.The Illini (19-11, 9-8 Big Ten) have won two straight as they look for a way into the NCAA tournament.Nebraska (13-16, 5-12) has lost seven games in a row and nine of its last 10.Rice had a quiet six-point first half but scored 17 in the second 20 minutes. That included seven straight over a key stretch midway through the half that brought Illinois back from a 40-39 deficit to a 46-42 lead.He drilled home a long 3-pointer with 1:35 left in the game to give Illinois a 59-50 lead.Kendrick Nunn and Leron Black added 11 each for Illinois.Shavon Shields led Nebraska with 14 points. Terran Petteway added 13.

Nikola Mirotic scored 23 points to lead the short-handed Bulls to a 97-92 win Tuesday over the Washington Wizards.The Bulls were without former MVP Derrick Rose (right knee), all-star Jimmy Butler (left elbow), and trusted reserve Taj Gibson (left ankle) but still managed to improve to 4-2 on their season-high seven-game homestand.Along with Mirotic, Aaron Brooks had 22 points while Pau Gasol had 20 and 10 rebounds for the Bulls, who had five players in double figures. Joakim Noah added 14 points and 12 rebounds.Kirk Hinrich appeared in his 696th game with the Bulls, tying Jerry Sloan for third in franchise history.Because of the injuries, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau had to improvise once again.The Bulls starting lineup of Brooks, Tony Snell, Mike Dunleavy, Gasol and Noah was the 20th it has used this season. That’s the most since 2007-08, when the Bulls also used 20.Washington was led by John Wall’s 21 points and 11 assists. His 3-pointer to beat the third-quarter buzzer cut Washington’s deficit to seven at 74-67, and an Otto Porter floater with 1:49 left in the game cut the Bulls lead to three. Bradley Beal then had a chance to tie the game with an open 3-pointer, but his shot rimmed out with 55.9 remaining.Mirotic then hit one of two free throws before Porter split a pair from the line, cutting the lead to three with 29 seconds left. Gasol rebounded a missed Snell jumper and was fouled, hitting two shots to give the Bulls the final score with 8.5 seconds left. It was Washington’s eighth consecutive loss on the road.The Wizards were coming off a 99-95 win Saturday against Detroit that snapped a six-game losing streak but still lost for the seventh time in eight. Paul Pierce had 16 and Marcin Gortat added 12 and 12 rebounds. It didn’t help the Wizards win their sixth straight game in Chicago, including the postseason.Nene, who on Monday said he hates the Bulls, was held to no points and six rebounds and fouled out with 5:28 left, much to the delight of Bulls fans. That animosity had only intensified with 8:13 left in the fourth when he was called for a flagrant foul on Noah as the Bulls center was driving to the basket. Pierce was also called for a technical during the sequence.Beal, playing his second straight after missing three weeks due to a right leg injury, had 13 on 6 of 18 shooting.
NOTES—Butler told reporters at Tuesday’s shootaround that he and Rose both want to be back before the end of the regular season. ”I think we’re both going to be back ASAP, as soon as possible, but I think we both have to be smart about it,” Butler said. … Thibodeau, asked about the Wizards’ Nene saying he hates the Bulls, said he had no reaction. ”It’s all chatter.”…..The Bulls host Oklahoma City on Thursday.

EVANSTON—The way Northwestern was racking up losses not too long ago, it’s not hard to see why coach Chris Collins was beaming after the latest victory. And what a wild one it was.Tre Demps hit tying 3-pointers at the end of regulation and the first OT, Alex Olah scored 25 and Northwestern beat Michigan 82-78 in double overtime Tuesday night.The Wildcats (15-15, 6-11 Big Ten) wiped out a 12-point deficit in the second half and came away with one wild victory thanks to some huge shots down the stretch by Demps, who finished with 20 points. Olah grabbed 12 rebounds. JerShon Cobb scored 14, and Northwestern won for the fifth time in six games after dropping 10 in a row.Zak Irvin scored 28 for Michigan. Aubrey Dawkins added 21 points, but the Wolverines (14-15, 7-10) lost for the seventh time in eight games.Demps’ 3 in the closing seconds of regulation tied it at 59. He had a chance to win it after Michigan committed a turnover on the inbounds but missed a jumper, sending the game it overtime.He did it again in the first OT, nailing a 3 with about 10 seconds left and then hitting another after a turnover by Michigan on the inbounds.The tying 3s by Demps at the end of regulation and the first OT came with the Wolverines choosing not to foul.In the second overtime, Northwestern was leading by one before Vic Law hit a 3 and Demps made 1 of 2 free throws with 36 seconds remaining. Irvin answered with a 3 to pull Michigan within two before Bryant McIntosh hit a pair of free throws for the Wildcats with 18 seconds remaining.Northwestern was leading by five in the first OT when Spike Albrecht and Aubrey Dawkins hit back-to-back 3s to put Michigan on top 68-65 with just over a minute left. Albrecht added two free throws to make it a five-point game with 34 seconds remaining and 1 of 2 with 16 seconds left to make it a six-point game.Demps nailed a 3 in transition to make it a three-point game with nine seconds left in the first overtime. Northwestern then caught a huge break when a pressured Irvin couldn’t handle Albrecht’s inbounds. The ball bounced out along the sideline, and Demps buried another one from long range – this time from the left corner – to force the second OT.Tre Demps needs two points to reach 1,000 for his career. … Cobb returned after missing six games because of foot and knee injuries.Northwestern senior JerShon Cobb on playing his final home game: ”I’m undefeated on senior night.” NU visits Iowa on Saturday.

Jonathan Toews had two goals and assisted on Marian Hossa’s score as the Blackhawks rolled to a 5-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night.Brandon Saad scored his 20th to reach that mark for the first time in his career and Marcus Kruger also connected for the Blackhawks, who have won three of their last four. Toews increased his total to 21 goals, trailing only the injured Patrick Kane (27) for the team lead.Corey Crawford made 27 saves, and lost his bid for a second straight shutout when Carolina’s John-Michael Liles scored at 4:29 of the third period. Alexander Semin also scored late in the third for the Hurricanes, who snapped a three-game winning streak.Cam Ward allowed four goals on 18 shots through the first two periods for Carolina, and was replaced by Anton Khudobin to start the third. Khudobin stopped seven of the eight shots he faced.A day after declaring the re-tooled Blackhawks a ”tight group” that knows ”what our potential is this year,” Toews delivered as the Hawks improved to 2-1 without Kane. Toews, the Blackhawks’ captain, has five goals in his last five games.Antoine Vermette and defenseman Kimmo Timonen, two of the three players acquired by the Blackhawks during a four-day run-up to Monday’s trade deadline, made their debuts with the Hawks.Vermette, who came from Phoenix in a deal on Saturday night for a first-round draft pick and defenseman prospect Klas Dahlbeck, was slotted on a line between Saad and Patrick Sharp.The 39-year-old Timonen played for the first time since last April’s playoffs with Philadelphia. He had been sidelined all season because of blood clots discovered in his leg and lungs last summer, and resumed skating just a few weeks ago.The Blackhawks made the deals to shore up their roster heading into the playoffs without Kane, who underwent surgery to repair a broken left collarbone last Wednesday and is expected to miss 12 weeks.Toews scored the only goal of the first period, finishing a breakaway with a rising shot past Ward’s glove at 8:07.After taking Michal Rozsival’s long pass from the Hawk blue line, Toews got past Carolina’s defenders and motored down the slot.Toews made it 2-0 with by capping a short-handed break with a shot under Ward’s pads 44 seconds into the second.This time, Duncan Keith flipped a pass from center ice and Toews drove past Justin Faulk to the net.The Blackhawks killed overlapping penalties to Sharp and Hossa – including a 5-on-3 Carolina advantage that lasted 1:14 – early in the second period.Saad extended the lead to 3-0 at 9:42 on a shot from he left circle after Carolina’s Michal Jordan had blocked an initial attempt. The fourth-year left wing had scored 19 in each of his previous two seasons.Kruger drove to the net and knocked in a rebound of Andrew Shaw’s shot with 4:18 left in the second, making it 4-0.Liles put Carolina on the board at 4 1/2 minutes into the third, beating Crawford from the left circle after taking a cross-ice pass from Andrej Nestrasil.Set up by Toews, Hossa made it 5-1 on a wrist shot from the slot 3:26 later.Semin completed the scoring on a backhander with 1:10 left.

NOTES—Toews has scored 20 or more goals in each if his eight NHL seasons. His lowest ouput was 23 in 47 games in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign. He has three two-goal games this season. … The Blackhawks acquired F Andrew Desjardins from San Jose for F Ben Smith in a swap of fourth-line players just hours before Monday’s deadline. The Sharks also got a 2017 conditional pick. Desjardins is expected in Chicago on Tuesday. … The Blackhawks and Hurricanes meet again on March 23 in Raleigh, N.C.

DeAndre Jordan’s rebounding was too much for the short-handed Bulls.Jordan continued his recent tear with 26 rebounds and Chris Paul had 28 points 12 assists and the Clippers earned a 96-86 victory over the Bulls on Sunday.Jordan had 17 rebounds in the first two periods, the most by an NBA player in one half this season.In his 300th straight game, the longest active streak in the league, the league’s top rebounder also blocked two shots and altered several more.

”You look at the stat sheet, you don’t see how many times (an opponent) didn’t drive because D.J. was there, how many guys went up but didn’t shoot because he was there,” Paul said. ”He should be considered for MVP, but that’s how the league works. It’s an offensive league.”

”What he’s doing defensively, if he was doing that offensively, he would be recognized as the MVP or one of them,” coach Doc Rivers said. ”But because it’s defensively, no one notices.”

Well, almost no one.

”Particularly with Blake Griffin being out for them, (Jordan) is playing at an unbelievably high level,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. ”When you look at their team and scoring margin, it tells you how good they are.”

Jordan had at least 15 rebounds in his eighth straight game.

”I agree because I’m a big guy, but others don’t. Our league is about points, obviously,” he said.

Los Angeles was behind 76-75 when Jamal Crawford made a 3-pointer with 8:02 left. It never trailed the rest of the way.After a scoreless first half, Crawford had 16 points in the final two quarters.The Clippers extended their winning streak to five in a row in the United Center, the longest in franchise history. They haven’t lost there since Dec. 17, 2008.Rookie reserve Nikola Mirotic scored a career-high 29 points for a short-handed Bulls team that was without Derrick Rose (right knee surgery) and Taj Gibson (sprained left ankle).And with Jimmy Butler (sprained left elbow) sidelined for most of the second half and Pau Gasol less than 100 percent, Mirotic accounted for all but one of his team’s 17 points in the fourth quarter.Aaron Brooks finished with 14 points, and Joakim Noah had 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls.

”Without Derrick, Pau and Jimmy, somebody needed to shoot the ball,” Mirotic said. ”My teammates were trying to find me. I took some tough shots.”

Los Angeles jumped to a 26-18 lead in the first quarter in which Paul scored eight points and Jordan grabbed nine rebounds. But with Paul on the bench at the start of the second period, the Bulls went on a 12-2 run to go up 30-28. Mirotic scored eight of his 11 points in the quarter.The Bulls shot only 39 percent in the field but managed to stay in the game because of a 22-13 advantage in free throws and a 17-13 edge in offensive rebounds.

”We’ve just got to find a way to win,” Thibodeau said. ”It doesn’t matter who’s out. That was a winnable game down the stretch and we didn’t get it done.”

The Clippers improved to 2-1 on their four-game road trip. The Bulls lost for the third time in their past 10 games.

NOTES—Rivers remembered former New York Knicks forward Anthony Mason as a ”great teammate.” Mason died of heart problems at 48 on Saturday. ”He was so tough and so loyal,” Rivers said. ”We had a pretty crazy group when you think about Anthony Mason and John Starks and Greg Anthony and Patrick Ewing and Charles Oakley and Anthony Bonner all on one team. I was the saint on that team.”……Butler’s status was unknown pending the results of an MRI on Monday. He ran into a Jordan pick three minutes into the second half and did not return. .. A moment of silence was observed for former White Sox star Minnie Minoso, who died earlier in the day. … The home team wore its red Los Bulls uniforms as part of the league’s annual Latin nights program….The Bulls host Washington on Tuesday night.