Kirk Cousins and the Washington Redskins figured they had to get a road win somewhere to have a chance of winning their division.They found what they were looking for in Soldier Field. And they can thank another late field goal miss by Robbie Gould.Cousins threw for 300 yards and a touchdown Sunday, and the Redskins hung on for a 24-21 victory over the Bears after Gould missed a 50-yard field goal.Washington (6-7) remained tied with Philadelphia for the NFC East lead and moved a half-game ahead of the New York Giants, who play Miami on Monday.The Redskins went ahead by three early in the fourth quarter on Dustin Hopkins‘ 47-yard field goal and stopped a nine-game road losing streak dating to last season. ”It feels good to win, especially on the road,” Cousins said. ”It’s not an easy thing to do. It felt like it took the whole team. It took special team plays, defense plays, offensive plays, it took a lot of different guys making plays, contributing to finding a way.” It also took one big miss by a slumping kicker who for more than a decade has been as reliable as they come. But after making all 15 attempts in his first six games, Gould is 11 of 17, three of those misses coming the past two weeks.The Bears (5-8) were in position to score after Jay Cutler hit Alshon Jeffery with a 50-yard pass to on the Washington 35. Gould, who missed the potential winner at the end of regulation in last week’s overtime loss to San Francisco, got a chance to redeem himself. But his 50-yarder sailed wide right with 1:40 left, giving the Bears their second straight loss. ”The wind was at my back, the wind was blowing right to left,” Gould said. ”It was in perfect range. I could have probably kicked from 61 going that way, 60-ish maybe. They got in range. I’ve got to make it.” Cousins completed 24 of 31 passes on a soggy but unusually warm 62-degree afternoon. Jordan Reed had 120 yards receiving and a touchdown. Alfred Morris ran for a TD in the Redskins’ first road win since they beat Dallas on Oct. 27, 2014.Now that they finally came out on top away from home, the Redskins will try to do something else for the first time this season – win two in a row. They last did that when they took out Tennessee at home and won at Dallas last season. ”We have everything we want still in front of us,” coach Jay Gruden said. ”It keeps us alive, it keeps our heart beeping, heart pumping, guys should be excited to come back to work on Monday.” The Bears showed some spark after a sluggish start, but came up short once again in yet another home loss. After their playoff hopes were all but dashed against San Francisco, on Sunday they fell to 1-6 at Soldier Field.Jay Cutler threw for 315 yards and two touchdowns after a gut-wrenching week for his family.A body believed to be that of his brother-in-law Michael Cavallari was discovered Thursday in southern Utah. Cutler is married to reality TV personality Kristin Cavallari.Jeffery caught six passes for 107 yards and a touchdown. Zach Miller added 85 yards receiving and a TD. Matt Forte ran for the tying score in the third quarter, but for the fourth time this season, the Bears lost by three points or less. ”It’s Groundhog’s Day,” Cutler said. ”I mean, we’re right there. Sometimes we make a play, other times we’re not making the play.” Washington grabbed a 21-7 lead early in the third quarter when Cousins fired a 5-yard strike to Reed, capping a 10-play drive. But in a flash, the Bears tied it.They drove 80 yards for their first third-quarter touchdown of the season, with Cutler connecting with Miller from the 9.Kyle Fuller stepped in front of what appeared to be an underthrown pass by Cousins at the Washington 30 and returned it to the 21. Forte then scored on a 7-yard run to tie it with 1:24 remaining, a scenario that seemed far-fetched after Washington scored touchdowns on its first two possessions. NOTES—Washington Coach Jay Gruden said WR DeSean Jackson was a bit sore after he hurt his knee making a catch as he dived out of bounds in the fourth quarter. … Redskins TE Derek Carrier exited with a right knee injury in the first quarter and will have an MRI on Monday. … Eddie Royal had just one reception for 15 yards after missing five games with a knee injury.

Patrick Kane found a way to stay on a roll. So did Corey Crawford.Kane extended his points streak to 26 games, Crawford made 30 saves for his second straight shutout, and the Blackhawks beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 on Sunday night.Kane, the NHL’s leading scorer with 46 points, had the second assist on Duncan Keith‘s power-play goal midway through the first.

”We’re all having fun watching it, enjoying the different fashions that he’s been able to keep moving forward,” Joel Quenneville said.

Kane could have had more in this one, but the assist was his only mark on the score sheet – and he wasn’t exactly sure what happened on the play.

”I think I passed it and it went in 10 or 15 seconds later,” Kane said. ”I didn’t know I had an assist until they announced it. I was hoping they didn’t get it wrong and they’ve got to call it back.”

Dennis Rasmussen, Andrew Shaw and Brandon Mashinter all scored late in the third for the Blackhawks, winners of four of five.Kane surpassed Sidney Crosby’s 25-game streak, set in 2010-11, for the longest in the league since 1992-93. The Blackhawks’ right wing has 16 goals and 24 assists during his run, and a point in 29 of of the last 31 games.Ryan Miller had 26 saves for the Canucks.Rasmussen made it 2-0 with 8:24 left in the third and Shaw had an empty-netter with 31 seconds remaining. With Miller back in the net, Mashinter completed the scoring with 10 seconds left with his first NHL goal.Crawford has four shutouts this season, tied for the league lead with St. Louis’ Jake Allen and Minnesota’s Devan Dubnyk.

”He’s been awesome,” Keith said. ”He’s made huge saves when we’ve needed him, and when he’s going like that, it allows us to make more mistakes and play with a little more confidence.”

Crawford’s shutout was the 16th of his career and followed a 25-save effort in a 2-0 win against Winnipeg on Friday. For the second straight time, the goalie credited his team’s perfect penalty killing – 3 for 3 against Vancouver – and shot blocking (15).

”Our team is starting to come around,” Crawford said. ”Our PK is really strong, and it seems like we’re just getting better and better here.”

The Canucks opened a six-game trip on Sunday that continues to Minnesota, Philadelphia, Detroit, Florida and Tampa Bay.Keith opened the scoring during a Hawk man advantage at 11:51 of the first. After taking Artemi Panarin‘s feed, Keith one-timed a wobbling shot from the left circle with Artem Anisimov and Vancouver’s Matt Bartkowski in front and screening Miller.The game remained 1-0 until the late in the third as Crawford and Miller hooked up in a duel.

”I thought our guys had a good desire tonight,” Canucks coach Willie Desjardins said. ”I thought we wanted the game. We did everything we could to win and we just came out on the wrong end of it.”

Crawford was especially sharp in the second period. He came up with a quick pad save on Daniel Sedin‘s tip-in attempt during a power play about five minutes in, then a lunging glove save on Chris Higgins‘ rebound midway through.Miller matched Crawford, making tough stops late in the frame including a blocker save on Panarin’s one-timer from the left circle with 5:00 left.Midway through the third, Crawford dropped to make a pad save on Sven Baertschi‘s one-timer from the slot.Rasmussen scored his second goal in four games since being recalled from Rockford of the AHL at 11:36 of the third. He tapped the puck in after Bryan Bickell‘s shot from the slot trickled off Miller’s glove.Crawford’s shutout was preserved when an apparent power-play goal by Henrik Sedin with 6:30 left was disallowed. Sedin fired the puck in after his brother Daniel directed the puck to him off his glove.

NOTES—The Canucks played their first game without D Dan Hamhuis, who suffered a gruesome facial fracture last Wednesday when he was hit in the mouth by a shot by the New York Rangers’ Dan Boyle. … Marian Hossa played in his 1,200th caeer game and D Niklas Hjalmarsson in his 500th. … Vancouver F Radim Vrbata skated in his 900th game. … Bickell’s assist on Rasmussen’s assist was his first point in 12 games this season.

EVANSTON—Chris Collins usually can depend on his team to be sharp mentally. But the Northwestern coach doesn’t believe that was the case early in Sunday night’s game.Tre Demps tied his career-high with 23 points and Northwestern shrugged off a sluggish start for a 77-35 rout of Chicago State. ”Playing right after final exams can be a challenge, especially when you’re at a school like ours,” Collins said. ”I thought we were a little bit brain dead in the first half offensively.” That was until Demps – who was 9 for 18 from the field (including 5 of 10 on 3-pointers) – got things going. The fifth-year senior also scored 23 in three previous games, the last being in February against Indiana. Nathan Taphorn also had 11 points for Northwestern.Devon Friend led Chicago State (3-8) with 12 points. ”I’d like to apologize for the showing,” Cougars coach Tracy Dildy said. ”We’re a much better team than a team that loses by that many points.” The Wildcats (8-1) have won five straight and are off to their best start since also winning eight of nine to start the 2010-11 season.It was Northwestern’s first game in eight days. The Wildcats hadn’t played since an 81-56 win over SIU-Edwardsville on Dec. 5.The long layoff was apparent early as Chicago State jumped out to a 5-0 lead and Northwestern didn’t connect on its first field goal until four minutes and 32 seconds into the game.The Wildcats, though, quickly gained control. After falling behind by five points early, they limited Chicago State to just 10 points the remainder of the first half. Northwestern led 31-15 at halftime paced by Demps’ 13 points.Chicago State scored the first basket of the second half to pull within 14, but the Wildcats scored the next 15 points to open up a 46-17 lead with just under 15 minutes left.Chicago State was held to 15 of 60 (25 percent) shooting for the game. Northwestern was 18 of 30 (60 percent) in the second half. ”What I loved tonight was our defense,” Collins said. NOTES—The Cougars beefed up their non-conference schedule this season by playing most of the major Illinois schools. Besides Northwestern, they have faced Illinois, Northern Illinois and DePaul. They’ve also played Valparaiso, which is near the state line in northwest Indiana…..Demps entered the game in 24th place on the Wildcats’ all-time scoring list and moved all the way up to 21st place. Demps now has 1,160 points, passing Frank Ehmann (1,145), Brian Schwabe (1,150) and Andre Goode (1,155)…..Collins announced after the game that C Joey Van Zegeren, a graduate transfer from Virginia Tech, is out with a ”stress-related” foot injury and will be sidelined for a couple of weeks. ”Hopefully, he’ll be back for the start of the Big Ten season,” the coach said…..NU’s first league game is Dec. 30 at Nebraska…..Northwestern has never made the NCAA tournament, but Dildy believes that will change this season…..”Northwestern is a great ballclub,” the Chicago State coach said. ”They’re a dangerous team for the Big Ten. I can tell you this, I’ll go on record – that is an NCAA tournament team. I can guarantee you that.”…..Chicago State plays at Minnesota on Wednesday…..Northwestern hosts Mississippi Valley State on Tuesday.

SOUTH BEND—After a couple of energized recent practices, Notre Dame freshman sharpshooter Matt Ryan was feeling it Sunday afternoon, and Loyola didn’t have an answer.Ryan scored 14 points and knocked down 4 of 6 from 3-point range to help the Irish pull away from the Ramblers in the second half of an 81-61 win. ”I came into today just ready to fire,” Ryan said. ”The past couple practices, I’ve been very aggressive and it definitely helped my confidence coming into today.” Ryan also grabbed five rebounds and played 19 minutes off the bench as he continues to develop into a vital component for the Irish. ”Matt Ryan really energized us tonight,” said Notre Dame coach Mike Brey. ”He’s just a weapon that we will have to play more and more.” Bonzie Colson, Notre Dame’s ”Junkyard Dog,” as Brey calls him, had 14 points and seven rebounds. V.J. Beachem added 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists, and Demetrius Jackson and Steve Vasturia each scored 10.The Irish (7-2) won their third game in a row and are idle the rest of the week for final exams before traveling to Indianapolis to face Indiana in the Crossroads Classic on Saturday.Tyson Smith and Donte Ingram each scored 12 points for Loyola (5-4), which has lost three of four, but will play its next four games at home to close out December.The Ramblers scored the first two field goals after halftime and trailed by two points, but Notre Dame took control with a 19-3 run, capped by back-to-back 3-pointers by Ryan, to go up by 18 with 10:36 to play.The Irish went to a full-court press then dropped back into a 2-3 zone at the start of their run, and Loyola hit only one of its next nine shots while committing four turnovers. Notre Dame’s lead reached 25 points with 7:20 to play on Beachem’s offensive rebound and putback. ”It’s a complete different rhythm playing against it,” Brey said of the defensive switch. ”We like to extend (the zone) with that little tempo press.” Moser said it made the difference against his team in the second half. ”It changed our rhythm and we were getting into our offense a little late,” Moser said. ”It was a good move.” In the first half, Loyola used a 7-0 run to tie the game, 25-25 with 5:38 left. The Irish didn’t hit a field goal in over five and a half minutes during that stretch, but consecutive 3s by Beachem and Vasturia started a 12-2 Notre Dame run that got the lead up to 10.The Ramblers scored the last four points of the half, capped by Ben Richardson’s baseline jumper with 1.6 seconds left, to cut the Irish lead to six at halftime. NOTES—The Irish improved to 30-2 all-time against the Ramblers in the first matchup between the teams since 2000. Loyola hasn’t beaten Notre Dame since a 70-58 victory in 1994…..The Ramblers haven’t beaten an ACC team in 30 years, when they took down North Carolina State, 60-58 in 1985. The Irish were an independent for that 1994 Loyola victory…..In Loyola’s five wins, Milton Doyle has averaged 18.4 points and shot over 60 percent from the field, but in the Ramblers’ previous three losses, he had averaged just 7.7 points and shot 37.5 percent. Notre Dame held Doyle to eight points on 25 percent shooting (3 of 12), though he managed to dish out nine assists. ”Even though Milt was missing shots, he still was facilitating the offense,” said Loyola coach Porter Moser. Notre Dame faces Indiana on Saturday in Indianapolis for the Crossroads Classic.Loyola hosts Cleveland State on Wednesday.

The Bulls struggled for most of the night against the lowly New Orleans Pelicans.Then the reserves took over.Aaron Brooks scored 15 of his 17 in the fourth quarter, and thricago rallied for a 98-94 victory over New Orleans on Saturday.Pau Gasol had 18 points and Jimmy Butler added 15 points for the Bulls, who trailed for most of the game. Led by Brooks, bulls reserves totaled 52 points.Anthony Davis and Tyreke Evans each scored 22 points for the 6-17 Pelicans, who led by as much as 14 points and fell to 1-11 on the road. Eric Gordon added 14.

”Somehow down the stretch in the games, that’s the only part we have to do better at,” Gordon said. ”We do fine the first half, and we do fine in the third quarter sometimes. It’s just that fourth quarter when we have a lead or when we’re close, we have to be the team that takes over the game.”

Davis tied it at 94 with a three-point play with 1:48 remaining, and Brooks’ layup put the Bulls in front with 40 seconds to play.Gordon missed a 3 before Derrick Rose nailed a 15-footer for a 98-94 lead with 11.5 seconds remaining. Evans missed a 3 before the buzzer.Doug McDermott added 12 points for the Bulls. Joakim Noah and Nikola Mirotic each had 10.

”They were having fun out there,” Hoiberg said. ”It was just such a grind-out, slow-motion-type of a game, and we finally got a little energy injected out there. They were moving. It was fun to watch. It’s fun to sit there and see it as opposed to going down and moseying into our offense.”

The Pelicans were outscored 34-24 in the final quarter and fell to 0-7 in the second part of back-to-back games.

”We really wore down the Pelicans,” McDermott said. ”They played last night, so they were a little tired.”

Brooks and Kirk Hinrich hit back-to-back 3-pointers for a 73-70 Bulls lead with 9:43 remaining – their first lead since 6-5. But the Pelicans retook the lead at 79-77 on Evans’ 3 with 7:32 left.With the score tied at 89, Davis missed two free throws. Gordon made a layup for a brief Pelicans lead before Brooks hit a 3 to put the Bulls back on top. Gasol’s jumper extended made it 94-91 with 2:05 left.

”My overall take on it is that if we compete at that level, we’ll be fine if we shore up the breakdowns that we had,” Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said.Gentry, a former associate head coach of Golden State, refrained from comparing the 24-1 Warriors to the 1996 Bulls (72-10).”They’re completely different,” he said. ”The league is kind of different now. I don’t understand why we just can’t accept greatness.”

Noah finished with a season-high 10 points. He also had nine rebounds and four blocked shots.Hoiberg highlighted when Noah dunked for a 75-71 lead.

”Jo made all the difference with his energy,” Hoiberg said. ”During the play when he drove around Davis and dunked it, I thought he was going to run into the crowd and chest-bump people.”

NOTES—Rose played without a face mask for the entire game for the first time this season. He ditched the mask in the second half of Thursday’s game against the Clippers after he was cleared to play without it earlier in the week. Rose fractured his left orbital bone on the first day of practice. ”I’m just happy that it’s off. I don’t have to worry about it,” Rose said. . G/F Mike Dunleavy remains in ”rehab mode,” Hoiberg said. Dunleavy is recovering from back surgery he underwent in September. Hoiberg said the Bulls are unable to set up a timetable for Dunleavy’s return until he performs on-court workouts….The Bulls host Philadelphia on Monday.

Josh Hagins scored 19 with eight assists and keyed an 18-4 run to start the second half as Arkansas-Little Rock extended the best start to a season in program history with a 66-44 win over DePaul on Saturday night.The Trojans led 32-23 at halftime before Hagins had six points and two assists during the decisive run that pushed the UALR lead to 23 points with 11 minutes to play.UALR (8-0) overcame poor shooting from the field – the Trojans shot just 40.7 percent on 54 attempts, including 6 of 20 from 3-point range – by making 16 of 20 free throws and forcing 20 DePaul turnovers.UALR came into the game ranked No. 2 nationally in free throw percentage (.815) and fifth in turnover margin (6.4). The Trojans were plus-11 in turnovers Saturday night.Myke Henry led DePaul (5-4) with 16 points. Billy Garrett Jr., who came in leading the Blue Demons at 15.6 points per game, finished with two points on 1-of-6 shooting.

John Groce hasn’t always liked the way his Illinois basketball team has started or finished games early in a season when the Illini have battled injuries and inconsistency.But when Illinois needed to respond Saturday after their double-digit lead disappeared in the second half, Groce couldn’t complain with the result.Malcolm Hill scored 22 points and Jalen Coleman-Lands added 15 as the Illini beat UIC 83-79 for their third straight win.Hill hit four straight free throws in the final minute to allow the Illini (6-5) to hold off the Flames after fighting back from a late deficit when UIC used a 14-0 run to take a two-point lead with under 10 minutes to play.

”I think bad teams – if they weren’t connected – they probably would have crumbled instead of staying composed,” Coleman-Lands said. ”I think that was good for our team right there.”

Coleman-Lands’ 3-point field goal with 4:10 remaining gave Illinois a 66-65 lead after UlC’s offense went cold during a stretch when the Flames (1-6) missed 8 of 10 shots.Hill, who finished 11 of 14 from the free-throw line, hit a pair of free throws with 3:49 left to snap a 66-66 tie and give Illinois the lead for good.Michael Finke and Kendrick Dunn each had 14 points in Illinois’ balanced scoring attack.But it was the way Illinois responded that will stick with Groce moving forward.

”I’m really proud of the way, we get down one, and they just show great poise and composure,” Groce said. ”I thought that was a great step for us.”

The Flames, who lost their fourth straight, took a 56-54 lead on a short jumper by Dixson as part of the 14-0 scoring run that gave UIC the lead.Illinois, which had led by as many as 12, failed to score for five minutes before Hill split a pair of free throws to end the drought.But the Flames, who hit 9 of 15 from 3-point range – including one by Paris Burns that got UIC to within 82-79 with five seconds left – couldn’t keep surging, eventually giving way to Illinois’ strong finish.

”I knew they’d answer the run,” Flames’ first-year coach Steve McClain said. ”They’re a good basketball team. They’re a Big Ten team. We put ourselves in a position to win. That’s growth for us.”

Dikembe Dixson led the Flames with 20 points to go along with 18 from Dominique Matthews.Illinois led 41-30 at halftime. The Illini, who trailed by as many as seven in the first half, used an 11-0 run midway through the half to help build the double-digit lead.But after UIC used its own run to take the lead before the Illini made their surge late in the second half, a team that is still adjusting to not being at full strength showed its mettle in a game Groce said his team will learn from as the Illini move closer to Big Ten play.

”Winning can sometimes be a deodorant and it can hide up maybe what you stunk at,” he said. ”We don’t want to use that. We want to find the things we need to get better at.”

Matthews, the brother of Kentucky’s Charles Matthews, scored the Flames’ first 12 points. … Flames starting guard Najeal Young left the game in the first half with an ankle injury.The Illini used the same starting lineup for a second straight game, but have used 10 different groups of starters in 11 games. … The Illini improved to 14-2 against UIC. … Saturday’s game marked the 50th time Illinois has played at the United Center (36-14).UIC hosts Illinois State on Wednesday.Illinois hosts South Dakota on Dec. 19.

Patrick Kane keeps finding ways to add to his franchise-record points streak. On Friday night he made a timely contribution to a tidy win for the Blackhawks.Kane extended his streak to 25 games with a power-play goal, Corey Crawford stopped 25 shots for his third shutout of the season, and the Hawks beat the Winnipeg Jets 2-0.Jonathan Toews also scored during a man advantage, ending a seven-game goal-scoring drought, as the Blackhawks won for the third time in four contests and beat the Jets in the United Center for the second time this week.Kane, the NHL’s leading scorer, got his 19th goal midway through the second period to match Sidney Crosby’s 25-game streak, set in 2010-11, for the longest in the league since 1992-93. Kane has 16 goals and 23 assists during his run.

”Obviously, I feel honored and very fortunate to be involved with names like those,” Kane said. ”It’s something I’m trying not to think about it too much. Just go out and play the game.The last few games, I don’t think I’ve played as well as I probably could have, but sometimes you end up with those chances and you can take advantage and get a point.”

Kane’s goal made it 2-0 as the Blackhawks went 2 for 5 on the power play, and killed all five Winnipeg advantages one night after a lackluster 5-1 loss in Nashville.

”It was a different type of game out there,” Kane said. ”A lot of penalties both ways. Obviously, we cashed in on a couple power-play goals; that was the difference in the game.”

Crawford wasn’t heavily tested in recording the 15th shutout of his career as the Blackhawks blocked a season-high 23 shots in front of him.

”Our penalty kill did a great job,” coach Joel Quenneville said. ”They were disruptive in the neutral zone. They were excellent in the defensive zone.”

Winnipeg rookie Connor Hellebuyck, making his fifth NHL start since No. 1 goalie Ondrej Pavelec suffered a knee sprain, had 29 saves in taking his first loss after four wins.

”I liked his game tonight, boy he was good – solid,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said. ”I’m not looking at him on either one of (the goals).”

What Maurice did look at: The Hawks had 10 shots on its five power plays, while limiting the Jets to only one shot on their five advantages.The Jets also played for the second straight night after beating Columbus 6-4 at home on Thursday.The two teams met at the United Center for second time in five nights. The Hawks beat Winnipeg 3-1 and goalie Michael Hutchinson on Sunday.The Blackhawks rebounded from their loss in Nashville with an energetic first period, outshooting the Jets 13-7 and taking a 1-0 lead.Toews connected on a power-play 4:34 in, wrapping in a loose puck after Hellebuyck stopped Andrew Shaws’ deflection of a shot from the point and Marian Hossa‘s point-blank rebound attempt.Kane made it 2-0 at 10:36 the second, completing a crisp give-and-go with Teuvo Teravainen across the slot. Kane fired a rising one-timer from the left circle that beat Hellebuyck over the shoulder for his 10th power-play goal.

”What a play. What a shot,” Quenneville said. ”It’s fun being a part of it, fun watching him continue to find different ways.”

Crawford had to be sharp during a couple of flurries in the third and made a point-blank stop on former Blackhawk Andrew Ladd midway through the period.

NOTES—Trevor Daley returned to the lineup after missing two games with what he called a neck injury, suffered on Sunday in a collision against the Jets. … The Blackhawks assigned F Marko Dano to Rockford of the AHL earlier on Friday….Michal Rozsival was healthy scratch for the first time since coming back from a broken ankle on Nov. 14.

This time, the Bulls dug in.They let a big lead slip away in the second half, but made just enough plays down the stretch to win a game they needed in a big way.Pau Gasol scored 24 points and the Bulls beat the Los Angeles Clippers 83-80 on Thursday night to snap a three-game losing streak. ”We have an opportunity here to do something special,” Gasol said. ”I would hate if we would throw it away ourselves.” The Bulls caught a big break midway through the third quarter when Clippers All-Star Blake Griffin was ejected for a hard foul against Taj Gibson, and they came away with the win after blowing a 16-point lead.Derrick Rose banked in a floater with 45 seconds left to make it 83-77 before Los Angeles’ Wesley Johnson buried a 3-pointer. The Clippers then rebounded a miss by Jimmy Butler with 6 seconds left, but Chris Paul‘s tying 3-point attempt hit the rim just before the buzzer.Gasol hit a career-high three 3-pointers.Rose came on strong down the stretch, scoring nine of his 11 points in the fourth quarter. He also played the second half without the protective mask he has been wearing after fracturing his left orbital on the first day of practice.Butler, coming off a career-high 36 points against Boston the previous night, scored 14 and had a season-high eight assists. Gibson finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.Griffin had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Los Angeles. Paul scored 12, while DeAndre Jordan added 10 points and 14 rebounds. The Clippers hit eight 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and were 10 of 22 for the game, but they came up short after winning three straight and six of seven.The Bulls were leading by 14 when Griffin knocked Gibson to the floor with a blow to the face as he head-faked and went up for a shot inside with 5:59 left in the third.Griffin helped Gibson to his feet. But after a review, the officials called a flagrant foul 2, meaning an automatic ejection for Griffin. ”I wasn’t trying to hit him in the face,” Griffin said. ”There was no intent to hurt, or intent to even really hit him. I was going to try to hit the ball and he pump faked me.” Gibson, who called Griffin a ”great guy” and said it’s ”no big thing,” made both foul shots to make it a 16-point game. But the Clippers came roaring back. The lead was down to 10 going into the fourth, and the Clippers tied it at 66-all on Josh Smith‘s 3-pointer with 7:19 remaining.But the Bulls, outscored a combined 102-70 in the final quarter the previous three games, made the big plays Thursday.Butler hit a jumper and took a charge from Lance Stephenson. Gibson threw down a thunderous put-back dunk off a missed 3 by Aaron Brooks and Rose nailed a 3 from the top to make it 73-66 with 5:15 left. ”I want to play like this every night,” Rose said. ”We have to play with this consistency. We have to play with this urge and energy every night.” Rose said he was cleared a few days ago to play without the mask but decided to keep wearing it. He forgot it in the locker room at halftime and decided to go without it the rest of the way. He said he ”might” wear it the next game.Clippers coach Doc Rivers was asked if he’s spoken recently to his former assistant and ex-Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau. His answer was hardly a surprise. ”Other than every day, I would say no,” Rivers said. Thibodeau assisted Rivers in Boston for three seasons, helping the Celtics win a championship, before coaching the Bulls the past five years. He was fired by the Bulls in May and is out of the league. NOTES—Los Angeles had won five straight in the U.C…..The Bulls set season lows for points allowed, points given up in the paint (18) and fouls (12). … Joakim Noah had 13 rebounds and Nikola Mirotic grabbed a season-high 11…..The Bulls host New Orleans on Saturday.

NASHVILLE—Patrick Kane extended his franchise-record points streak to 24 games. The Nashville Predators also got what they wanted most: a very big win over their Central Division rivals.James Neal, Craig Smith and Filip Forsberg each scored in the first period and the Predators beat the Blackhawks 5-1 after losing 4-1 in the United Center on Tuesday night. ”Nobody felt good about it, and I think that showed tonight by the way we took the ice,” Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. The Predators weren’t very happy either with how Kane extended his points streak, scoring his 18th goal this season at 5:43 of the third. He’ll have a chance Friday night against Winnipeg back in the U.C. to match Sidney Crosby’s 25-game streak, set in 2010-11, for the longest since Mario Lemieux’s 28-game streak in 1995.Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne thought he had covered the puck with his glove when center Marcus Kruger came in and knocked it away. Kane had the easy tap-in from the side, and Rinne skated out near the blue line to argue his case with the officials. Rinne hadn’t seen the replay after the game and didn’t want to comment. ”I guess it was loose, but for sure he didn’t make contact with the puck,” Rinne said. ”He pushed me and tried to push me in the net. Obviously, I didn’t agree with the call.” The Predators lost their challenge for goaltender interference.Neal sealed the victory with his second goal unassisted at 14:55, and Eric Nystrom scored a short-handed empty netter with 1:14 left.Rinne made 35 saves to improve to 12-7-5. The Predators evened the season series at 1-1.Kruger and Duncan Keith had the assists on Kane’s goal. ”It is a silver lining, and it is great for him,” Blackhawks goalie Scott Darling said of Kane’s streak. ”He is playing great, like he always does. So it is good for him.” Kane extended his streak Tuesday night with an empty netter. The Predators looked as if they had been stewing over that loss since leaving the United Center, and they opened with possibly their best period this season in grabbing a 3-0 lead. ”They blitzed us right off the bat, and we didn’t have a response to it,” Joel Quenneville said. They took the first 10 shots before Dennis Rasmussen finally had a wraparound chance on Rinne at 5:42 of the first. Neal scored on Nashville’s 11th shot with a snap shot past Darling after dodging Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson at 6:54 for his 11th this season.They then scored twice in 37 seconds with Smith beating Darling on a backhander from Viktor Arvidsson that trickled over the line with 4:04 left. Kruger then hooked Cody Hodgson, giving Nashville the man advantage, and Forsberg scored his sixth on a power-play wrister with 3:27 remaining.The Predators even killed three penalties, a category in which they rank 28th in the NHL.The Blackhawks had several chances in the second, outshooting the Predators 13-8 in the period. Nashville defenseman Mattias Ekholm fell trying to corral the puck behind the net, and Rinne made the save. Rinne also stopped Andrew Shaw right in front at 5:48.Rinne stopped three shots by Kane through the first 40 minutes. Rinne also came up with a big stop on a one-timer by Artemi Panarin from the slot off a pass by Kane 90 seconds into the third. ”I’m really happy with how we stuck with it at the end there and we had to defend, and defend really well,” Rinne said. ”A big win.” NOTES—Kane now has 15 goals and 23 assists in his points streak. … Nashville has scored six power-play goals over the past four games. … Neal has seven goals in his past five games against the Hawks, and Mike Ribeiro has an assist in seven of his last nine against the Blackhawks. p