Only for Guild Members » Looking to crash tthe party will be Johnson

NEW YORK -- Jason Collins started walking from the bench to the scorers table, fans rising out of their seats all around Barclays Center. Lee Smith Jersey . He committed a foul five seconds after entering. His only shot barely hit the rim. Collins performance may not have been pretty, but everything else was great. Collins played the final minutes of a winning home debut with the Brooklyn Nets, who cooled off the Chicago Bulls with a 96-80 victory Monday night. "It was cool. It was a lot of fun to go into the game," Collins said. "The most important thing was that we got the win. Chicagos been playing really well as of late and for us to come out and really be -- I think we played more physical than they did tonight." Finally playing at home more than a week after returning to the NBA as the leagues first openly gay player, Collins checked in to a standing ovation from a sellout crowd of 17,732 that included former NBA Commissioner David Stern with 2:41 remaining. He grabbed a rebound and had one of the Nets NBA season high-tying 19 steals in their third straight victory. Deron Williams scored 20 points and Joe Johnson had 19 for the Nets (29-29), who got back to .500 for the first time since they were 2-2 after beating Utah on Nov. 5. D.J. Augustin scored 16 points off the bench for the sloppy Bulls, who turned it over 28 times, leading to 30 Nets points, and had their four-game winning streak snapped. The Bulls had a franchise-low three turnovers in their 109-90 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday and had won nine of 10. But the Nets were too good in this one, building a series of comfortable leads and making the only intrigue down the stretch whether Collins would get in during his first home appearance for the Nets since Jan. 29, 2008, against Milwaukee in East Rutherford, N.J. A chant of "Jason Collins! Jason Collins!" broke out while Williams was shooting a free throw with the Nets leading 90-73 with 3:27 remaining. Fans finally got their wish less than a minute later -- though not because coach Jason Kidd was listening to them. "No, the game was out of hand, so I wanted to get those guys some rest," he said. "D-Will was shooting free throws. Couldnt put Twin in at that time, so I told him after the free throws that he would come in." Collins original 10-day contract will expire Tuesday and the Nets plan to sign him to a second deal on Wednesday. A Nets player from 2001-08, he has appeared in all five games since he signed on Feb. 23. Paul Pierce and Shaun Livingston each scored 14 points for the Nets, who were without starting centre Kevin Garnett for a second straight game because of back spasms. "Mentally, the Bulls have really had our numbers," Pierce said. "To be honest, if I was them Id feel like when they come play the Nets, they feel like they could beat us every time. I think the guys really had pride tonight to say, You know were tired of getting pushed around by the Bulls." Joakim Noah managed just 10 points, six rebounds and one assist for the Bulls, a day after finishing with 13 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds in his fifth career triple-double. The All-Star centre rolled his right ankle early in the second half of that game and said it hurt after the game, but he was determined to play Monday in his hometown. The Bulls had dominated the first two meetings and beaten the Nets four straight times, but Brooklyn controlled this one most of the way in improving to 12-2 at home since Chicagos rout here on Christmas Day. "We smashed them in the mouth twice, its never going to be easy to come in to tough-minded team and do it again," Bulls forward Taj Gibson said. The Nets scored the first eight points, the last one on Williams free throw after Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau screamed his way to a technical foul after calling time. Their lead grew to 15, but the Bulls trimmed it to 27-18 by the end of the first quarter. Brooklyn led 50-42 at halftime, and Chicago started the second half just as bad as the first. The Nets scored the first seven to take a 57-42 lead when Williams set up Mason Plumlee for a dunk. "I think we had all intentions to play hard, but like I say, it didnt show," Augustin said. "Being down early, you cant come start the game down, you cant start the second half down, so that was our big mistakes, and then the turnovers killed us." NOTES: The Nets 19 steals were their most since finishing with 20 against Indiana on March 21, 1989. ... Brooklyn hadnt scored more than 23 points in a period against Chicago this season and surpassed that in both the first (27) and third (26). Marcus Gilchrist Jersey . Raonic, the mens No. 8 seed from Thornhill, Ont., needed more than three hours to overcome Frenchman Gilles Simon 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 and become the first Canadian man into the fourth round at Roland Garros. Martavis Bryant Jersey . Patrick Deslisle-Houde and David Rose each scored in the second to give the fourth-seeded Redmen a 3-1 lead after Jean-Philippe Mathieu scored in the first. http://www.officialraidersgear.com/Raiders-Jerry-Rice-Draft-Jersey/ .FIFA says it is relaxing the rule which forced match officials to leave its international list at the end of the year they turned 45.After taking light heavyweight champion Jon Jones to the limit, a knee injury stole Alexander Gustafsson’s title rematch opportunity, if he wants it back he’ll have to defeat Anthony Johnson, who has title aspirations of his own, at UFC Fight Night Stockholm. You can catch the action live on TSN4, beginning with the prelim fights at 5pm et/2pm pt. The main card gets underway on TSN4 at 8pm et/5pm pt. Gustafsson was slated to fight Jones in a rematch of their UFC 165 bout that ended in a controversial unanimous decision victory for the champ. The second fight was scheduled to take place at UFC 178 before a torn meniscus forced the Swede out of the bout. The 28-year-old, who holds a stellar 16-2 MMA record, knows how important it is to focus on his Fight Night opponent and not to look forward at another shot at the gold. “I don’t think about Jon Jones right now,” Gustafsson told UFC.ca. “He’s not in the picture right now for me. I know that I’ve got a force coming up right now in Anthony Johnson and he’s not a game for me.” Gustafsson fights out of Stockholm and will enjoy a hometown crowd and partisan support in the main event. Looking to crash tthe party will be Johnson, who fights out of Boca Raton, Florida and is aiming to earn his first light heavyweight title matchup. Marshawn Lynch Jersey. To do so he knows he’ll have to overcome a tough crowd and an even tougher competitor. “He’s definitely going to be hard to hit, but I have to stay calm and do what I do,” said Johnson. “I have to finish this guy.” The 30-year-old has put his problems with making weight in the past with the move to light heavyweight and has also reeled off eight straight victories, including a first round knockout of Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in his last outing. Trying to make 170 was tough, said Johnson. But if I hadnt fought at 170 people might not know who I am right now if I hadnt made that sacrifice and did the things I did at 170. In Stockholm’s co-main event, 44-year-old Dan Henderson, who has dropped three of his last four bouts and hasn’t fought since May of last year, returns to middleweight to face Gegard Mousasi who is also looking to right the ship after a loss in his previous bout. Phil Davis will face Ryan Bader and Akira Corassani will take on Sam Sicilia, rounding out the main card of the event. Cheap Nuggets Jerseys Cheap Timberwolves Jerseys Cheap Thunder Jerseys Cheap Blazers Jerseys Cheap Jazz Jerseys Cheap Warriors Jerseys Cheap Clippers Jerseys Cheap Lakers Jerseys Cheap Suns Jerseys Cheap Kings Jerseys Cheap Mavericks Jerseys Cheap Rockets Jerseys Cheap Grizzlies Jerseys Cheap Pelicans Jerseys Cheap Spurs Jerseys ' ' '