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NEW YORK, N.Y. - There was no yelling from Brad Stevens during the first timeout. Nobody got benched.It looked bad for the Boston Celtics on the scoreboard, but their coach liked what he was seeing on the court.Even when we were down 10-2, I felt good about the way we were playing, Stevens said, adding that his message to his players was were playing a lot better than the score.Eventually, they played a lot better than the Nets.Avery Bradley scored 21 points, and the Celtics snapped a three-game losing streak with an 89-81 victory over Brooklyn on Wednesday night.Tyler Zeller added 18 points for the Celtics, who won for just the second time in nine games by outplaying and outworking the Nets over the final three quarters. They trailed by 11 in the first half but gradually pulled away after halftime despite shooting under 40 per cent for the game.We knew what we had to do to come into the game tonight and get a win, reserve Jae Crowder said. We just came out with a little more effort than they did and it showed late.Nets centre Mason Plumlee agreed that the Nets were outhustled.No question, he said. It hurts to say that, but thats what happened.The Celtics had just seven turnovers, leading to four points for the Nets. Brooklyn turned it over 18 times, which Boston turned into 16 points.Joe Johnson scored 17 points for the Nets, who dropped their third in a row and fell to 16-19. Plumlee had 16 points and 12 rebounds but shot just 6 for 11 at the free-throw line.This is a game I think we definitely shouldve got, Johnson said.Brooklyn point guard Deron Williams came on late in the first quarter after missing a game with a sore left side, but made it just 4 minutes before having to take himself out and didnt return.Brooklyn took an early 10-point lead and was ahead 25-19 after one quarter, but managed just 14 points on 5-of-18 shooting in the second. The Celtics, who trailed by 11 early in the period, scored the final eight points of the half to grab a 40-39 edge.The Celtics pushed it to 69-62 after three and opened a series of double-digit leads in the fourth quarter. Their lead peaked at 82-68 on a dunk by Crowder, who was all alone under the basket when the Nets appeared to be looking the other way.TIP-INSCeltics: The Celtics improved to 3-0 on the road against Atlantic Division opponents, having won twice at Philadelphia. ... With all 15 players on the roster basically healthy, Stevens wrestled with who to make inactive before settling on veteran Jameer Nelson and rookie James Young. Young scored 13 points in 17 1/2 minutes off the bench Monday in a loss to Charlotte in his first extended playing time of the season, making it more difficult for Stevens.Nets: Plumlee had his seventh double-double, the most by a Nets player since Williams had 21 during the 2012-13 season. ... With Williams barely able to play, the Nets gave Darius Morris 4 minutes to rest starter Jarrett Jack. Morris had two points and an assist.PLAYING HARD PAYS OFFThe Celtics know they cant rely on talent alone the way previous Boston teams could. But theyre well aware effort can overcome that.Everyone knows that. You learn that when you first start playing basketball. You play hard and the basketball gods will bless you, Bradley said.LAZY LOPEZOn one botched Nets possession, centre Brook Lopez moved slowly after a ball thrown to the backcourt while Crowder kept hustling and dived after it. Lopez said he didnt know Crowder was behind him, and coach Lionel Hollins was asked if he was frustrated that Lopez stopped hustling.Of course, Hollins said. Just tell him that he was being lazy. Thats all it is.UP NEXTCeltics: Visit Indiana on Friday.Nets: Host Philadelphia on Friday. Marian Hossa Jersey . Of all the names out there who could realistically be dealt by Wednesdays deadline, Ryan Kesler remains No. 1 on the most desired list. And while were not sure if theyre any closer to a deal, we now have a defined price. Bobby Hull Jersey .com) - Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant combined for 51 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder took down the struggling Bucks 114-101 on Tuesday. http://www.authenticcoyotespro.com/Chris...coyotes-jersey/. -- Kyle Busch edged teammate Joey Logano at the Bristol Motor Speedway finish line Friday night to become the all-time winningest driver in Nationwide Series. Custom Arizona Coyotes Jerseys . "I just think what it does for everybody in life is real simple," said Babcock early on Friday afternoon. "You dont give in. You just keep on keeping on. Is it going to go your way every time? No. But you choose your attitude and how you perform and how hard you dig in." Nearly four years to the day of the 2010 gold medal match in Vancouver, his team dug in with its best effort of these Olympics, snuffing out the high-powered Americans for another opportunity at gold. Thomas Steen Jersey .com) - Stephen Currys jumper with 3.Scott Cullen takes a look at the stories from November 29th through December 5th in the NHL, including Jean Beliveau, Daniel Alfredsson, All-Star voting and more. BELIVEAU DIES Hockey lost perhaps its premier statesman when 83-year-old Hall of Famer Jean Beliveau died this week. Beliveau came up as a supremely-touted prospect, who was making more money playing senior league hockey for the Quebec Aces before he embarked on his pro career with the Montreal Canadiens. Over the course of his career, he scored 1,219 points in 1,125 games and added 176 points in 162 playoff games, winning 10 Stanley Cups with the Habs. During his final season, as a 39-year-old in 1970-71, Beliveau led the Canadiens with 76 points in 70 games, then added 22 points in 20 playoff games on the way to the Stanley Cup. That illustrious career, on its own, was a remarkable achievement, worthy of recognition, but what stands out about Beliveau is that after he retired, he may have been held in even higher esteem for how he carried himself as a representative for the Canadiens. In a purely anecdotal sense, every one that Ive ever come across that met Monsieur Beliveau gushed about the experience. To hold that reputation for 40-plus years in retirement is quite remarkable and it explains why there were so many glowing tributes to Beliveau this week. TSN Hockeys Managing Editor Steve Dryden wrote A Final Farewell to My Idol; Mike Ulmer wrote that Beliveaus Success was Unequaled in NHL History; Teammate Ken Dryden wrote about how Beliveau was such a nice man and venerated Montreal sportswriter Red Fisher offered a great tribute. On video, Michael Farber discussed hockeys Most Universally Respected Player and Man and Keith Olbermann weighed in on Beliveaus class. ALFREDSSON RETIRES Daniel Alfredsson signed a one-day contract so that he could retire with the Ottawa Senators, the team for which he played from 1995-96 through 2012-13. There was an unfortunate turn of events, something about a new contract, that led to Alfredsson leaving Ottawa for Detroit last season, but the fences were mended and Alfredsson was honoured for his illustrious career. Now the question is whether or not Alfredssons career, which included 444 goals and 1,157 points in 1,246 games would warrant induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Through the peak years of his career, from 1999-2000 through 2009-2010, Alfredsson ranked third in the league in scoring (behind Joe Thornton and Jarome Iginla), so his best years were at a very high level. Combine that with his international career, with Sweden, and his place as a face-of-the-franchise player for Ottawa and hes certainly worthy of discussion. ALL-STAR VOTING Second-year Buffalo Sabres centre Zemgus Girgensons is a surprise leader in voting for the NHL All-Star game. That may seem incongruous for a player with 14 points in 26 games, but hes reaping the rewards of national pride, getting mass support from his native Latvia. We can give Girgensons some credit, though. Its not like hes a fringe NHLer. He was the 14th pick in the 2012 Draft, has 10 points (6 G, 4 A) in his past 12 games and leads Sabres forwards in ice time with 18:27 per game. Maybe not quite All-Star calibre, but if he has a dedicated voting base, its going to be tough to knock Girgensons out of the starting lineup. Other leaders: Patrick Kane, Sidney Crosby, P.K. Subban, Duncan Keith and Carey Price. A NEW BLUE 42-year-old Martin Brodeur, a surefire lock Hall of Famer, who is the all-time leader in wins (688) and shutouts (124) played his first game for the St. Louis Blues Thursday, surrendering four goals on 24 shots at Nashville, after playing 1,259 games with the New Jersey Devils. The Blues, in a somewhat desperate position after the injury to Brian Elliott, turned to Brodeur, even though his game has clearly been in decline in recent seasons. What lingers over this decision is how much, ultimately, that Brodeur will play. If hes here, hes going to play, said head coach Ken Hitchcock. Hes not going to back up. If that playing time comes at the expense of Jake Allen, then Brodeurs results simply have to be better than they have been the past couple seasons. PHILLY PHADING The Philadelphia Flyers have one win in their past 11 games, winless in six, and the freefall has led to them leaving some high-priced talent in the press box.dddddddddddd Defenceman Andrew MacDonald, in the first year of a six-year, $30-million contract, spent time as a healthy scratch and, more recently, it has been Vincent Lecavalier. Lecavalier, 34, has seen his game drop off significantly in the past couple seasons and is mired in a personal slump that has seen him score no goals and two assists in his last dozen games. Lecavalier has three more years remaining on his contract, at a cap hit of $4.5-million, and that appears to be, at best, difficult to move. There are rumours that he could retire before his contract is up, but the current reality is a tough one for Philadelphia. Theyre capped out with a team more likely for the lottery than a playoff spot. WATCH YOUR STEP Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford will be out at least a couple weeks after suffering a foot injury at a Rise Against concert. Extra-curricular activities can intrude on a teams day-to-day and it appears that Crawford is the latest hockey player to knock himself out of action. Capitals right winger Tom Wilson broke his leg in the summer and Wild goaltender Josh Harding broke his foot, so its not like these off-ice injuries are unprecedented. With Crawford out, Antti Raanta and Scott Darling will man the net for the Blackhawks. Raanta has been excellent (.947 save percentage) in the four games that he has played this season. JETS DEFENCE GROUNDED With Tobias Enstrom already out, the Winnipeg Jets have also lost Zach Bogosian for a month and Grant Clitsome for a couple weeks, thinning their defence in short order. Desperate times call for desperate measure, so they have pushed Dustin Byfuglien back to the blueline to help out. Byfuglien shifted from defence to right wing last season, but he hasnt been especially productive up front this season, scoring 11 points (5 G, 6 A) in 26 games while primarily on the wing. If Byfuglien happens to be effective in this turn on the blueline, maybe the Jets would consider this move to be more than just a stopgap measure. STRANGE PRACTICE The Los Angeles Kings were fined $100,000 by the league for allowing suspended defenceman Slava Voynov to skate with the team during an optional practice. If it was indeed an accident, its a strange one, as it seemed out of place the moment it was reported. If it was the Kings thumbing their nose at the league, expressing frustration over the indefinite nature of the suspension, its strange timing because the league had alleviated the Kings salary cap situation by finally allowing Voynovs contract to be placed on Long-Term IR. Naturally, given the heightened awareness to domestic violence, anything surrounding Voynov wasnt going to sneak past anyone, so its hard to understand what exactly was happening here. OILERS HIT BOTTOM, AGAIN For as long as the Oilers winless streak continues -- and its up to 11 games -- there is the notion of impending doom around the Oilers, so there were lots of meetings following an overtime loss to Winnipeg Wednesday and trade rumours heated up, but there isnt an easy solution. Its hard to preach more patience, for a team that hasnt seen the playoffs since 2006 but, currently sitting in last, there just isnt an easy and immediate fix to their problems. Given that the playoffs are already out of reach, the Oilers really cant be facing any urgency to make moves. If a deal puts them in better position, long-term, then so be it, but there is no great incentive to get slightly better. RED WING RESURRECTED After two seasons marred by injury, it was getting to the point that no expectations could be placed on 31-year-old Red Wings forward Stephen Weiss. His contract, with a $4.9-million cap hit through 2018, seemed to be a millstone, one that could only be alleviated if Weiss was injured enough to be placed on the Long-Term Injured Reserve. With such low expectations on him, Weiss returned to the Detroit lineup on November 24, scoring a pair of goals. He has nine points (4 G, 5 A) in his past six games and is suddenly a contributor for Detroit. It may not last -- his percentages are sky-high -- but getting any kind of contribution from Weiss, even in a complementary role, is a major bonus for the Red Wings. 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