WASHINGTON -- The Charlotte Bobcats have leapfrogged another

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WASHINGTON -- The Charlotte Bobcats have leapfrogged another team, increasing the odds that their return to the playoffs wont be a token appearance. The Washington Wizards have dropped a spot and are having issues. Or, as centre Marcin Gortat put it: "The way we play right now, we aint going to beat anybody, including Milwaukee." The Bobcats blew a 20-point, first-half lead to the Wizards on Wednesday night before winning 94-88 in overtime, moving Charlotte into position for the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference. "To go from basically the worst team going to the six seed, I mean, it shows a lot," said guard Kemba Walker, who scored the only field goal in overtime for either team. The win left both teams at 40-38 with four games remaining, but Charlotte won the season series 3-1 and therefore holds the tiebreaker. Both teams want to stay out of seventh or eighth to avoid a first-round series against the two conference powerhouses, the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers. The Bobcats have been in the playoffs only once before, when they were swept in the first round in 2010. "We getting better as a team, we two games above .500," said Al Jefferson, who had 20 points and 18 rebounds. "But does it really matter where were at for seeding-wise? No, we just happy to be in the mix." Walker made a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws in the extra session, and Jefferson added two free throws to account for all of the Bobcats scoring. Charlotte went 1 for 7 from the field in overtime, while Washington was 0 for 8 and got its only point from a free throw by John Wall with 34 seconds remaining. Walker finished with 17 points and 12 assists for the Bobcats, who have their longest winning streak since March 2010. "Hes got courage," Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said. "He wants the ball late and hes not afraid to take the big shot." Wall had a candidate for most underwhelming triple-double of the season -- 14 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists -- and Gortat finished with 27 points and 14 rebounds for the Wizards, who were nearly run out of their own building in the first half for the second straight game and are limping toward the finish line of their first playoff season since 2008. Among Washington coach Randy Wittmans reviews: "To have no more energy or drive or enthusiasm than we showed in that first half, its disappointing. ... I was just not expecting to come out and go through the motions. ... When you dont put effort in, youre not going to have (a) good showing." Added veteran Gortat: "I guess were immature and just not experienced enough and I guess everything starts in the practice. The first few minutes were walking and just fooling around and this is how you start a game." Such comments put the focus on young All-Star Wall, who went 6 for 18 from the field and committed five turnovers. Wall disagreed with his coachs "go through the motions" assessment. "I dont feel that way," Wall said. "I feel like we competed. ... The last couple of games we havent been able to knock down shots." Wall had called this game the most important of the year, but he also made a whirlwind overnight trip to Texas on Monday to watch Kentucky lose the NCAA championship game. He said that had "nothing to do" with his performance. "I practiced yesterday and had a good day," Wall said. "Came here and had a game today. Its not like I went the night before." Trevor Ariza, who has been battling the flu, went 0 for 6 from the field for the Wizards. Washington was 1 for 15 from 3-point range. The Wizards again made defence optional in the early going, echoing their beatdown by the Chicago Bulls on Saturday. But Washington hit its stride in the third quarter and took its first lead of the game on Bradley Beals 15-foot jumper with 5:28 to play. Jefferson forced overtime with a layup that tied the game with 3.2 seconds remaining. Wall didnt get a shot off as time expired in regulation. Notes: Wizards F Nene, back after missing six-plus weeks with a sprained left knee, was understandably rusty. He missed all four of his free throws and finished with 10 points in 17 minutes. ... It was Walls third career triple-double and second this season. ... Bobcats F Josh McRoberts returned after missing three games with a sprained left ankle. Wholesale Air Max For Sale . -- The taxing preseason, which included two games in China, is finally over. Nike Shoes Clearance Sale . The alleged sexual assault is believed to have happened over the weekend of Feb. 1, when the hockey team was in Thunder Bay for two games against Lakehead University. The criminal investigation branch of the Thunder Bay Police Service is leading the investigation with help from Ottawa police. http://www.cheapshoesnike.com/. INJURIES - Cardinals 1B Matt Adams has been put on the DL with calf tightness, resulting in some lineup shifting, with Allen Craig moving from right field to first base, so that the Cardinals could bring up top prospect Oscar Taveras, who was the No. Nike Shoes Wholesale China . Cox started the season with San Francisco, but was released by the team on Nov. 12 before being signed by Seattle, where he appeared in two games and tallied three tackles before being released on Dec. Cheap Nike Shoes Online .What they got was a bevy of players chipping in to pick up the slack.Josh Smith scored 18 points and James Harden added 17 as the Rockets used a balanced scoring effort to outlast the Mavericks for a 99-94 victory.FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots needed help on defence so they added three experienced players at midseason.Turns out theyre also solid students.Linebackers Akeem Ayers and Jonathan Casillas and defensive tackle Alan Branch dove into coach Bill Belichicks complex playbook then produced on the field.Were putting guys into play, right into the mix, Patriots cornerback Darrelle Revis said Thursday. Im sure that can be a hassle coming from another team and then a whole new playbook is in front of you, but youve got to give credit to those guys.Now they can help the Patriots (10-3) clinch the AFC East title with a win or tie against the Miami Dolphins (7-6) on Sunday.A season-ending right knee injury to defensive captain Jerod Mayo in the sixth game left the Patriots thin at linebacker. So they made two trades.Before the eighth game, they obtained Ayers and a seventh-round pick in 2015 from Tennessee for a sixth-rounder that year. Before the ninth game, they got Casillas and a sixth-round pick in 2015 from Tampa Bay for their fifth-rounder that year.Then on Oct. 29, one day after the Casillas deal, the Patriots signed Branch. He had been cut by Buffalo on Aug. 24, the day after he was arrested on a drunken-driving charge, but the main factor was performance in the decision to release him, Bills coach Doug Marrone said.All three played less than a week after joining the Patriots.Ayers, a second-round draft pick by Tennessee in 2011, started 43 of the 48 games he played in his first three seasons. But he was inactive for five of seven games with the Titans this year when they switched to a 3-4 scheme.In his first game with the Patriots, just four days after the trade, he had a sack against Jay Cutler of Chicago. In the next game, he sacked Denvers Peyton Manning. And last Sunday night, his fourth start with New England, he iintercepted a pass by Philip Rivers in a 23-14 win at San Diego.ddddddddddddJust being able to move around sometimes and just being able to do different things on defence, I really enjoy it, Ayers said.Hes getting more comfortable with the system but still has a lot to learn.I just try to narrow it down as much as I can, he said. Im pretty much learning on the go and I understand Im going to make mistakes out there and there are going to be a few things that arent perfect, but (I) just know that I can fix those mistakes and try not to make them twice.Both he and Casillas also have produced on special teams.Casillas signed with New Orleans as an undrafted free agent in 2009 and started just eight games in three seasons with the Saints. He was a backup in Tampa Bay last season before starting three of his five games with the Buccaneers this season.His approach to a different playbook is simple.Its really no secret, Casillas said. If you care what youre doing, you just have to put the extra time in. Ive been putting in a little extra time with (linebackers coach) Pat Graham and even with Akeem.Branch was a second-round pick by Arizona in 2007 and started 13 games for Buffalo last year. But he didnt attend any of the Bills voluntary spring practices this year then failed his conditioning in training camp.They definitely helped me out with the cardio program they have here (to) just make sure Im able to compete with the other guys for longer than a couple of plays at a time, he said. Im definitely appreciative of the chance theyve given me.And he, Ayers and Casillas have given back.All three of those players have definitely helped us, both with their playing time, their performance and Id say the rapid pace at which theyve picked things up, Belichick said.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '