Bobby Portis talks to himself in the third person when he gets on the court, saying stuff like ”Come on, B.P.” to get fired up. The rookie forward can shoot it from deep or score inside. And he is making quite an impression on the rest of the Bulls.Portis had 16 points and 10 rebounds in his third consecutive game scoring in double figures, and the Bulls shut down the New York Knicks in the fourth quarter for a 108-81 victory Friday night. ”Not trying to go out there and score or rebound,” Portis said. ”Just trying to go out there and just play my role and bring positive energy.” The 6-foot-11 Portis was a first-round pick in last year’s draft, but he barely played early this season. Then center

Joakim Noah got hurt, and Portis made the most of his chance for regular minutes.He is averaging 11.3 points and 6.9 rebounds in his last seven games, and coach Fred Hoiberg said Portis will remain in the rotation even when Noah returns. ”We’re going to continue to find minutes for Bobby,” Hoiberg said. ”There is no doubt about it. He’s playing too well.”

Jimmy Butler scored 23 points as the Bulls won for the fourth time in five games while avenging a blowout loss at New York on Dec. 19. Nikola Mirotic had 17 points and a career-high seven assists in one of his best games this season, and Pau Gasol added 17 points and eight rebounds.Carmelo Anthony had 20 points and seven rebounds for New York, which has dropped five of six. Jose Calderon went 3 for 3 from 3-point range and finished with 18 points.

”We had some shots that didn’t go in to start the fourth quarter and I thought we got discouraged and we let our energy get turned around the other way and it just kind of snowballed from there,”

Knicks coach Derek Fisher said. The Bulls blew a 17-point lead before pulling away from the Knicks in the final period. Portis made two free throws, Mirotic connected from deep and Butler had a driving layup to close out a 20-6 run that made it 97-79 with 4:48 left.New York managed just eight points over the last 12 minutes for the lowest total in franchise history in the fourth. The team missed 17 of its 19 shots in the final period. ”It was just extremely frustrating to miss all those shots,” rookie Kristaps Porzingis said.

”And that just, missing those shots, I think our energy got a little low, and we just couldn’t get good defensive stops.”

The final quarter looked a lot like the first period. The Knicks missed their first 10 shots and needed almost 4 minutes to score their first points of 2016, a layup for Porzingis with 8:05 left in the opening quarter.When Mirotic blocked Lance Thomas‘ shot and hit a 3-pointer at the other end, the Bulls had a 23-6 lead.But the Knicks slowly chipped away at the deficit. They got it down to 56-50 at halftime, and Porzingis’ hook shot put New York in front for the first time at 67-65 with 5:20 left in the third.

Noah missed his fifth straight game with a left shoulder sprain, but Hoiberg said the center is doing very well. ”He’ll get retested, re-evaluated on Monday and then we’ll have a better idea with how long he’ll be out,” Hoiberg said. ”Hopefully, at least in our room and in our circle, we’re hoping that he gets cleared right away.”

When asked about a timetable for Noah’s return if he gets cleared on Monday, Hoiberg said it will depend on what the doctors say.

NOTES—The 8 points in the fourth quarter is a New York franchise record low…Anthony has scored at least 20 points in 19 of his 32 games this season. He is averaging 21.9 points overall….New York has dropped its last nine games at the United Center. … Thomas finished with 11 points….Derrick Rose missed his second straight game due to right hamstring tendinitis. Hoiberg said the plan is for Rose to travel with the team to Toronto for Sunday’s game against the Raptors. … Butler has at least one steal in his last 39 games for the longest active streak in the league. … It was the franchise’s 4,000th regular-season game….The Bulls visit Toronto on Sunday afternoon.

AFC GAMES:NY Jets over BUFF, KC over Oak, CIN over Balt, HOU over Jax, Tenn over INDY, N.Eng over MIA, Den over SD, Pitt over CLEV

NFC GAMES:ATL over N.Orl, Wash over DAL, NYG over Phil, CAR over T.Bay, ARIZ over Seat, St.L over SF

NFC NORTH GAMES: Minn over GB(Sun Nite), Det over BEARS

Home games in ALL CAPS.

GLENDALE—Ezekiel Elliott bulldozed his way into the end zone in the first half, showing off his strength as Ohio State’s drive capper.He flashed his speed in the second, becoming the show stopper as he raced up the middle for a long run.Those skills should translate well in the NFL. They certainly worked out for the Buckeyes over the past three seasons.Elliott ran for 149 yards and matched a Fiesta Bowl record with four touchdowns to close the curtain on his college career, sparking No. 7 Ohio State’s prolific offense in a 44-28 win over Notre Dame on Friday.

”With all due respect to all the other running backs in Ohio State history, my first-round draft pick, I’d pick Zeke Elliott,” Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said. ”He’s as good as any running back I’ve been around.”

The Buckeyes (12-1) were left out of the College Football Playoff thanks to an inopportune loss. They may leave the desert wondering what could have been after blowing past another late-season playoff contender.Ohio State rolled past the Fighting Irish (10-3), quick-hitting its way to one scoring drive after another and 496 total yards.Elliott, who’s leaving school early for the NFL, scored on three short runs first half and left Notre Dame defenders flailing as he raced past them for a 47-yard score to open the second.J.T. Barrett gave the Buckeyes some balance, throwing for 211 yards and a score with 96 yards rushing in the highest-scoring game against Notre Dame’s defense this season.Ohio State’s seniors finished 50-4, tying the FBS record set by Boise State’s 2011 class for most wins in a four-year span.

”It’s been a wild journey with this team, something I couldn’t even imagine,” Ohio State cornerback Eli Apple said.

The Fighting Irish had some good offensive moments behind DeShone Kizer after Buckeyes star defensive end Joey Bosa was ejected for targeting in the first quarter.They just couldn’t keep up with the blistering Buckeyes after a string of injuries, including do-everything linebacker Jaylon Smith to a knee injury in the first quarter.

”The guy is so impactful on our defense,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. ”You lose a guy like that early on, it significantly affects what you’re doing defensively.”

Notre Dame missed its CFB chance by four points; two-point losses to Clemson and Stanford.Ohio State lost to Michigan State in its penultimate game and had to watch the Spartans join fellow one-loss teams Alabama and Oklahoma in the playoff.Those just-misses turned the Fiesta Bowl into a talent show, with NFL-caliber players dotting rosters from both teams.Two of the best players were gone before the first quarter ended.Smith, the Butkus Award winner as the nation’s best linebacker, had to be helped off four minutes in after suffering what Kelly said was a significant leg injury.Bosa, projected as a top-10 NFL draft pick, was gone a few minutes later after driving the top of his helmet into the chest of Kizer, long after the Notre Dame quarterback had released the ball.

”That was a kidney shot right there, but I guess it was the right call,” Meyer said.

Ohio State had its way with Notre Dame’s defense without Smith in the lineup, racing down the field for scores like a 7-on-7 drill.Elliott, another potential first-round pick, was the Buckeyes’ punctuation mark, scoring on a pair of 1-yard runs and another from 2 yards. Barrett accounted for the other score, finding Michael Thomas on a 15-yard TD to put Ohio State up 28-14 at halftime.Elliott showed off his speed to open the second half, blurring through a hole for his 47-yard touchdown to match the Fiesta Bowl record set by Arizona State’s Woody Green against Missouri in 1972.

”He’s a physical back. He makes his presence known,” Notre Dame defensive lineman Sheldon Day said. “He did some special things with his feet today.”

Notre Dame took advantage of Ohio State’s Bosa-less defense a few times, though not enough to keep pace with the Buckeyes.Kizer was the key, moving the Irish down the field to set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Josh Adams and on another drive that he capped himself with a 1-yard score. It was his 10th rushing TD, most by a Notre Dame quarterback in one season.Kizer connected with Chris Brown on a 4-yard touchdown pass to open the second half, pulling the Irish within a touchdown.After a quiet first three quarters, Will Fuller finally got a chance to show off his speed, using a quick move to create space before racing off on an 81-yard touchdown. The second-longest TD reception in Fiesta Bowl history pulled the Fighting Irish within 38-28, but they got no closer.Kizer threw for 284 yards and two touchdowns on 22-of-37 passing, but had an interception and lost a fumble.

TAMPA—Joshua Dobbs threw for 166 yards and ran for two touchdowns Friday, helping Tennessee cap its best season in eight years with a 45-6 rout of No. 12 Northwestern in the Outback Bowl.Dobbs scored on runs 14 and 18 yards, while Jalen Hurd ran for 130 yards and one TD for the Volunteers (9-4), who finished with at least nine wins for the first time since 2007.NU (10-3) sputtered offensively and was unable to keep up with the stronger, faster Vols defensively in falling short on a bid to finish with a school-record 11 victories.Dobbs completed 14 of 25 passes. The dual-threat quarterback ran 12 times for 48 yards, including a highlight-reel burst around right end in which he dove for his second TD after picking up a bobbled snap and tight-roping his way up the sideline to make it 31-6 early in the fourth quarter.The victory gives Butch Jones 17 wins in the last two seasons, finishing each year with a bowl win against a Big Ten foe. Preseason talk of the Vols being an SEC East dark horse was quieted by a few missteps early in the year, but the end result of a 9-win season, an improvement of last season with much of the same young talent taking a step forward, is something any Tennessee fan should be excited about when looking ahead to 2016. Northwestern’s offense had one great drive in the first half. Clayton Thorson was executing well and after a Justin Jackson touchdown, the Wildcats had a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive that pulled Northwestern within one score of Tennessee before halftime. Unfortunately, that one drive was the highlight of the day for Northwestern’s offense. Meanwhile, Josh Dobbs and Jalen Hurd used the extra touches — aided by Northwestern’s offensive struggles — to find some success in the third quarter for Tennessee. The Wildcats met the same fate as many of Tennessee’s opponents this season, unable to stop the bleeding once these incredibly talented skill players get rolling. It did take a while for Tennessee’s offense to get rolling, but the hard running of sophomore running back Jalen Hurd was the key once it did. Hurd finished the game with 130 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown. He also became the first Tennessee player to run for at least 100 yards in two bowl games.

DENVER–The Blackhawks haven’t found much recent success against Colorado. And after blowing a two-goal lead, it looked like the Avalanche and goalie Semyon Varlamov would again have the last laugh.Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane helped flipped the script.Toews scored a power-play goal at 3:29 of overtime, Patrick Kane extended his NHL points lead with a goal and two assists and the Blackhawks snapped a four-game losing streak to Colorado with a 4-3 win on Thursday night. ”They get back in the game and you don’t have a comfortable feeling,” Joel Quenneville, said. ”So it’s nice to get that off our back and then have a little more confidence (down the line) against that team.” Artem Anisimov scored his 100th NHL goal and Andrew Desjardins added another. Scott Darling, meanwhile, filled in for starter Corey Crawford and had 27 saves.Colorado erased a 3-1 deficit as Erik Johnson tied the game with less than 5 minutes remaining in regulation.Toews then answered on a man advantage with his fourth overtime goal of the season after the Avalanche were called for too many players on the ice. ”It’s frustrating to take a too many men penalty in overtime,” Johnson said. ”It’s a tough way to lose on a power play there.” Carl Soderberg and Cody McLeod also scored for Colorado. Semyon Varlamov had 39 saves and suffered his first loss in nine consecutive decisions against the Hawks. ”(Varlamov) plays really well against us,” Kane said. ”Tonight we had a lot of shots on him and were able to get a few by him.” Kane was the spark.He ended 2015 with 56 points in 39 games. On Thursday against the Avalanche, the same team that ended his 26-game point streak earlier in the month, he had two assists, including on Toews’ goal. He also finished a 2-on-1 power-play chance early in the second.The Blackhawks (22-13-4) are now 22-8-4 when Kane gets a point and 0-5-0 when he doesn’t.Thursday, their offense came alive near the end of the first period as Anisimov became the first Hawk player to beat Varlamov this season. The Colorado netminder had 29 saves in a 3-0 win over the Blackhawks on Dec. 15 and nine stops on Thursday before Anisimov tied the game at 1-1 with 1:28 left in the period. Desjardins and Kane followed suit and scored in the first 4:20 of the second period to extend the lead to 3-1. ”The second period, we were horrible,” Colorado coach Patrick Roy said. ”They dominated us. It was pretty simple. If not for Varly it could have been a 6-2 game.” In the opening minutes Soderberg had a power play goal at 4:04 of the first period for the Avs (18-17-3), who scored first for the 11th consecutive game. Later, McLeod cut the lead to 3-2 with his first goal since Nov. 23.Colorado dropped to 6-8-3 at home this season. NOTES—Jarome Iginla didn’t score on Thursday and remained at 599 goals for his NHL career. … Darling made only his second start of the month. … The Avs have scored first in 26 of 38 games this season, the most in the league