to be there but Pascal made all the plays there." The Heat drew even at 10:52 whileast th

CHICAGO -- Luol Deng and the Chicago Bulls found a way to win, so this ugly game looked just fine to them. Deng scored 21 points and the Bulls overcame a rough shooting night to beat the Charlotte Bobcats 86-81 on Monday for their fifth straight victory. "As I told our guys, it got choppy, particularly in the second quarter, and they do that to you. Theyre very good defensively," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "I thought in the second half we did a better job of getting the ball to the second side, which you have to do." Carlos Boozer had 12 points and 17 rebounds for Chicago, which is on its longest winning streak since taking eight in a row from Feb. 20-March 7, 2012. Jimmy Butler had 14 points and Derrick Rose finished with 12. Dengs 3-pointer with 27.1 seconds remaining gave the Bulls an 85-81 lead. Gerald Henderson then missed for the Bobcats, and Rose had a free throw to help Chicago wrap it up. The Bulls went 26 for 31 at the foul line, compared to 8 for 16 for the Bobcats. "We fought hard. Obviously, the difference in the game was the difference in free throws," Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said. "You come here and theyre a great team, theyre well prepared. You cant get outscored by 18 at the free-throw line. Thats the game in a nutshell." Rose, who hit a career-high six 3-pointers in the Bulls 110-94 win Saturday over Indiana, went 4 for 13 from the field. The Bulls shot 27 of 75 (36 per cent) overall. "Well take it," said Rose, who played 31 minutes in his second game back after missing Chicagos win at Toronto on Friday with a sore right hamstring. Butler missed part of the game with a right toe injury but came back with 6:35 left in the fourth. Charlotte was looking for its fourth consecutive road victory and third in four games overall, but it was unable to take advantage of the Bulls poor shooting. Once again, the Bobcats struggled from the floor despite a strong effort in the paint. The Bobcats were shooting a league-worst 40.2 per cent from the field coming into the day, and they were 28th from 3-point range at 29.3 per cent. On Monday, they shot 36.3 per cent despite outscoring the Bulls 38-28 in the paint. "We played hard the whole game," said Henderson, who made two free throws with 51.3 seconds left to cut the Bulls lead to one. "We came out a little sluggish. We played them hard. We just didnt come up with the plays at the end of the game, defensively." Jeffery Taylor led Charlotte with a career-high 20 points and Henderson had 16 in a game that featured two of the leagues top defensive teams. Entering Monday, the Bulls were third in opponents scoring at 90.0 points per game, while the Bobcats were fourth at 93.6. "Theyre great defensively," Thibodeau said. "Steves a hell of a coach. Hes doing an unbelievable job. Im happy for him that hes finally gotten an opportunity and the job that hes doing." That defence helped Charlotte stay in the game without one of its best scorers. Bobcats centre Al Jefferson missed his third consecutive game with a bone bruise in his right ankle. Clifford said he hopes Jefferson can play Wednesday against Brooklyn, but he will more likely play Friday against Phoenix. Jefferson, who signed a three-year, $40.5 million contract with the Bobcats in July, has played in three of Charlottes 11 games and is averaging 15 points and 8.7 rebounds. Without him, Charlotte had a chance to win in the final minutes in Chicago, but couldnt find a way past the Bulls. "It was a long summer. We havent played in a while, all together. I think were starting to get a rhythm," Deng said. "Our offence, it still can get a lot better." NOTES: It was the Bulls last home game before they host New Orleans on Dec. 2. Their next six are away from Chicago as they go on their annual circus trip. ... Clifford and Thibodeau were on the New York Knicks coaching staff from 2001-2003 and in Houston from 2003-2007. ... Charlotte plays five of its next six at home. ... Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, former Houston Rockets centre Yao Ming, Bulls Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen and NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver were in attendance. Asics Shoes From China . Malone will become an unrestricted free-agent and as per the collective bargaining agreement, the Lightning will be responsible for two-thirds of the remainder of his contract over twice the length of the rest of the deal. Cheap Asics Shoes . Numbers Game looks at the As getting Jon Lester from Boston, sending Yoenis Cespedes to the Red Sox along with a deal involving the As and the Minnesota Twins. The Athletics Get: LHP Jon Lester, LF Jonny Gomes, OF Sam Fuld and cash. http://www.cheapasics.com/ . -- Howie Kendrick had a two-run single in his first game batting leadoff this season, Chris Iannetta hit a pair of RBI singles and the Los Angeles Angels beat Cleveland 6-4 Tuesday night, sending the Indians to their fifth straight defeat. Discount Asics Shoes . Bibeau, Torontos sixth-round pick at No. 172 overall in last years draft, was named the outstanding goaltender of the 2014 MasterCard Memorial Cup. Wholesale Asics Shoes Authentic . -- All-Pro tight end Jimmy Graham and the New Orleans Saints met Tuesday for arbitration on his contract.ABBOTSFORD, B.C. -- Benn Ferrieros familiar with scoring important goals, just not in back-to-back games. Ferriero scored the overtime goal for the second-straight night to lift the Utica Comets to a 4-3 win over the Abbotsford Heat in American Hockey League action Saturday. "Ive never scored two in a row like that, but Ive scored a couple OT winners in my career in college and pro," said Ferriero. "It feels good to help the team like that." Ferriero took advantage of Chris Breens broken stick at the Abbotsford blue-line, burst past the lone defender and buried a slap shot top corner on goalie Joey MacDonald. "They had a good rush going there but they got a little unlucky when (Breen) broke his stick," said Ferriero. "I saw there was the one D man that I thought I could catch. (Yann) Sauve made a great pass to me. Im pretty happy about that one." The 26-year-old right-winger is red-hot. Besides also scoring the only goal in Fridays 1-0 win against the Heat, he has five goals in as many games and 10 points during an eight-game point streak. After signing with the Vancouver Canucks in the summer, hes played just two games for the Comets NHL affiliate. Even though Abbotsford is in the Canucks backyard -- just an hour east -- he thinks his consistency will be what gets him back the sports top level. "Youve got (their presence) in the back of your head, but you cant control anything, except how you play out there," said Ferriero, who has 31 points in 39 games this season. "This year Im really trying to work on consistency and bringing it every single night." Alex Grenier scored twice for the Comets, but like Ferriero, he says he doesnt like to dwell on that either. "Maybe a little, its a bit different, but youve got to concentrate and play your game," said Grenier, Vancouvers 2011 third-round choice. "Theyre not looking for guys who are better here than anywhere else. We just give it everything and hope its enough." Brandon DeFazio had the other Comets goal, while Pascal Pelletier had two assists for Utica (15-20-5), which has won four straight. "It was a real tight game, tight-checking, feisty," said Ferriero. "We knew coming in, since we beat them a couple times in a row. Thhey pushed back and responded from the beginning.dddddddddddd." Joacim Eriksson made 23 saves in the win. Max Reinhart and Markus Granlund each had a goal and an assist for Abbotsford (26-14-4) and Brett Olson also scored. MacDonald made 35 saves in the losing effort, though his coach says he doesnt blame him for the overtime goal. "The game-winning goal was a great goal," said Heat head coach Troy Ward. "That would have gone in in the NHL. That was a goal-scorers goal. He had one intent, and that was to shoot it as hard as he could. He did that, and I give that guy a lot of credit." The Comets opened the scoring 2:05 into the game. After a lively dump into the Abbotsford zone, Jordan Schroeder chipped the puck to the front of the net where DeFazio swept it past MacDonald with a backhander for his fifth of the season. Granlund, however, evened the score with a power-play goal at 7:42. He took a feed from Reinhart and beat Eriksson with a wrist shot glove side for his 17th of the year. Despite failing to score on a two-man advantage earlier in the second period, the Comets regained the lead at 7:51. Pelletier chipped the puck in front, where Grenier turned and quickly beat MacDonald blocker side for his 14th of the season. "Pelletier made really nice plays to me," said Grenier, "I was fortunate to be there but Pascal made all the plays there." The Heat drew even at 10:52 while killing a penalty for too many men. Granlund fanned on his shot attempt on a two-on-two rush, but Reinhart redirected the puck past the Comets netminder for his ninth of the season. Olson scored at 7:18 to give the Heat their first lead of the night. Olsons forecheck pressured Yann Sauve into coughing up the puck at the face-off dot. Olson pounced, walked in on Eriksson and went short side for his seventh of the year and his first point in 14 games. The Comets, however, evened the score at 11:13. Pelletier forced John Ramage to give it up behind the net and Grenier was there to bury his second of the game. Then, at 1:10 of overtime Ferriero netted the winner. "That was an unbelievable shot, one of the best Ive ever seen," said Grenier. "Im really happy for Benny. Hes been one of our key players for the season." ' ' '