PHILADELPHIA -- Forget tanking. wholesale nfl jerseys . Rookie Michael Carter-Williams and the Philadelphia 76ers cant lose. Pegged in the preseason to be one of the leagues worst teams, the Sixers continued their stunning start to the season, beating the Chicago Bulls 107-104 on Saturday night behind 26 points and 10 assists from Carter-Williams. Evan Turner had 20 points and Spencer Hawes added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the supposedly rebuilding Sixers (3-0), who have already defeated the Washington Wizards and two-time defending champion Miami Heat to rise to first place in the Atlantic Division. "We understand what everybody has said and written about us," first-year coach Brett Brown said. "Our guys have put in the day-to-day stuff, which has always been our message. Im lucky Ive found a group that enjoys each others company and they enjoy playing together." Carlos Boozer led the Bulls with 22 points and 10 rebounds and Luol Deng had 20 points. Still dealing with neck soreness, Derrick Rose finished with 13 points and six assists for Chicago, shooting 4 for 14 from the field and committing eight turnovers. "I would blame tonight on me," said Rose, who wore tape around his neck for the second straight game. "Turnovers, missed shots, miscommunication -- I just couldnt get in my groove." After trailing by as many as 18 points earlier in the second half, the Sixers took a 100-99 lead with 3:29 left after Carter-Williams picked up a loose ball and calmly laid it in. It was the Sixers first time in front since they led 11-10 midway through the first quarter. Rose buried a 3-pointer with 2:12 left to put the Bulls in front 104-102 but the 2011 MVP committed turnovers on the next two Chicago possessions, allowing the Sixers to tie the game on a layup by Turner and then take a 105-104 lead when Turner made one of two free throws with 1:30 remaining. With 5.9 seconds left, Hawes made a jumper to put the Sixers ahead 107-104, and Deng missed a potentially game-tying 3-pointer on the other end. "At the end, they got to almost every loose ball and hit almost every shot they needed to win the game," Rose said. Carter-Williams, the Sixers prized first-round draft pick out of Syracuse, said he relished the chance to play against Rose, just one night after going toe-to-toe with Washingtons John Wall. And Rose, who sat out the entire 2012-13 season with a knee injury, looked at times unable to slow down Carter-Williams, who drove the lane with the kind of fearlessness and determination usually seen in veterans. The rookie was 10 for 22 from the field and had three steals. "Coach gives me a lot of confidence out there," Carter-Williams said. "Im able to play freely and I just try to make things happen within the team. I try to do my job out there and get all my teammates involved. They did a great job. And when they do a great job, it makes me look good." In the first half, the Bulls looked like one of the NBAs premier teams, as theyre supposed to be. Dominating the inside and outrebounding the Sixers by a wide margin, Chicago closed the first quarter on a 24-11 run before increasing the lead to 20 late in the second quarter. But a 3 by Hawes followed by a driving layup through traffic from Carter-Williams cut the Bulls lead to 79-74 with just under 5 minutes remaining in the third quarter, getting the crowd back into the game. And the Sixers had a chance to take the lead after three quarters but a pullup jumper by Darius Morris rolled around the rim and out. "In this league, no lead is safe," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "I know you get tired of hearing that. But in one minute, a team can make up 10 points very quickly." Five Bulls ended up scoring in double figures, with Taj Gibson getting 12 and Joakim Noah adding 10 points and nine rebounds. Kirk Hinrich was effective spelling Rose with nine points and six assists. But Thibodeau knows his team wont be able to start churning out wins until Rose starts playing like he did two seasons ago. "Its hard to execute when you dont practice," he said. "We need time in the gym. Hell work his way through it. Hell be fine." Brown, meanwhile, doesnt have too many concerns about his team, as his young players are flying high and putting all talk of a high pick in the 2014 NBA Draft to bed for now. On Saturday, Brown played all 11 players available, with 10 of them scoring. Thaddeus Young finished with 13 points and Tony Wroten added 11 for the Sixers, who shot 48.8 per cent from the field and 50 per cent from 3-point range. "Im surprised weve been able to score at the rate that weve able to score," Brown said. "I didnt know they had it in them." NOTES: Before Saturdays loss, the Bulls had won five straight over the Sixers, dating to 2011-12. . Saturdays game marked the first of four straight at home for the Sixers. . Philadelphia rookie Brandon Davies made his NBA debut and banked in his first shot as a professional. wholesale jerseys . Left guard Clint Boling tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during a 17-10 victory in San Diego on Sunday. The Bengals put him on injured reserve Tuesday. cheap jerseys . Barcelona says Pique tore a muscle in his right leg. The Spain international will miss Spanish league games against Almeria and Valladolid, but should be back for the Champions league match against Manchester City on March 12. CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Jim Boeheim had no concerns when No. 12 Virginia pounded the ball inside to Akil Mitchell and Mike Tobey in the first half against Syracuses zone. "That was fine. They had 27 points. We were fine with that," Boeheim said. What the Hall of Fame coach was worried about happened in the second half on Saturday, when Virginia started connecting from outside, making 7 of 11 3-point tries to hand the No. 4 Orange their third loss in four games, 75-56. Malcolm Brogdon did much of the damage, scoring 17 of his career-high 19 points after the intermission, and London Perrantes and Justin Anderson each hit a pair from behind the arc. Brogdon (12.4) and Harris (11.5) came into the game leading the Cavaliers in scoring, but were combined 1 for 8 with three points at halftime. They got untracked in the second half, finding openings in the Orange defence. "I just thought we allowed Brogdon to shoot and we started the game for the whole first half not allowing him to shoot," Boeheim said. The Orange also were hampered by the second-half absence of Jerami Grant, their leading rebounder and No. 3 scorer, who played 13 minutes in the first half before an aching back forced him to the bench. He did not score, missing three shots, and grabbed just one rebound. It all meant the Orange, in close games all year, couldnt stay in this one. "This is the first game all year that we have been out of the game," Boeheim said. Brogdon scored eight points during a decisive second-half run and Virginia won its 13th consecutive game and clinched the top seed in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. Mitchell added 12 points and nine rebounds and Tobey and Anderson scored 11 each for the Cavaliers (25-5, 16-1 ACC),, who won their only other outright ACC regular-season title 33 years ago -- 1980-81 -- when Ralph Sampson was a sophomore. cheap jerseys from china. The final buzzer brought hundreds streaming onto the court. Tyler Ennis and C.J. Fair scored 13 each for the Orange (26-3, 13-3). Syracuse allowed Virginia to shoot 50 per cent (27-54) while shooting just 35.7 per cent (20-56). Brogdon broke a 42-all tie with two free throws, and then hit a jumper from the foul line. After a turnover by the Orange, Perrantes hit a deep 3-pointer that gave the Cavaliers a 49-42 lead. Rakeem Christmas dunk after a Syracuse timeout quieted the crowd, but only for a minute because Anderson made a 3-pointer from the right side, Brogdon followed an Orange miss with a jumper and then followed another miss with a jumper. The lead was 56-45 with 5:15 remaining and fans sensed that the Cavaliers were in the process of putting the game away. Ennis, playing with four fouls, hit a pair of free throws to slow the run, but Joe Harris hit a free throw, and then followed a Syracuse miss with a 3-pointer, his first basket in nine tries, causing the crowd to erupt in appreciation for the four-year starter. Harris was removed with 38.9 seconds left to a deafening cheer at Jones Paul Jones Arena. Virginia had first-half runs on 9-0 and 8-2 in building a 22-15 lead, but a jumper by Fair and Ennis 3-pointer -- the first of the game -- with 5:14 left in the half sparked 13-2 burst for the Orange. Trevor Cooney, who had missed 22 of his last 27 3-point shots, and Richmond native Michael Gbinije then connected back-to-back from beyond the arc for Syracuse, and Christmas dunk made it 28-24. Justin Anderson hit a 3, Virginias first, with 47 seconds left and it was 28-27 at the half. cheap jerseys ' ' '
