PHILADELPHIA -- Down and out or down to the wire, the 76ers are freefalling toward NBA history. 12th Fan Womens Jersey . D.J Augustin scored 20 points and Taj Gibson had 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 102-94 win over Philadelphia on Wednesday night, handing the 76ers their 22nd straight loss. The Sixers are four losses shy of matching the NBA record for the longest single-season losing streak. The Cleveland Cavaliers set the record of 26 consecutive losses in the 2010-11 season. The Vancouver Grizzlies (1995-96), Denver Nuggets (1997-98) and Charlotte Bobcats (2011-12) each lost 23 straight. "Winnable game," 76ers coach Brett Brown said. "I say that because a group thats been losing ... still stays together. They still compete. Im proud of them." The Sixers also lost their 17th straight home game since beating Charlotte on Jan. 15. They were 8-11 at home at that point and had already defeated Miami, the Bulls, and Houston in Philadelphia. After the Sixers were 3-0 following a Nov. 2 win over Chicago, fans held signs that said, "3-0. Thats No Bull." That seems like another season at times after the Sixers traded Evan Turner, Spencer Hawes and Lavoy Allen at the deadline for draft picks, a necessary step for a rebuilding franchise. Unlike most of the first 21 losses in the streak, the Sixers were competitive until the final possessions, never letting the Bulls lead by more than 11. Sixers centre Byron Mullens, who hadnt attempted a shot all game, hit consecutive 3s to pull the Sixers to 83-80. He made a nifty save on a ball headed out of bounds, leading to Henry Sims bucket and a foul. With a chance to tie the game, Sims missed the free throw with 8:19 left. Thaddeus Young bailed him out a possession later with a 3-pointer that made it 85-all. Joakim Noah buried a go-ahead 3 from the top of the arc and Augustin followed with one from the sideline to put the Bulls up 91-85. Tony Wrotens 3 made it 93-90 but it was just more false hope. Carlos Boozers emphatic dunk stretched the lead to six and the Bulls did enough to hang on and move to .500 on the road (17-17). The Sixers have lost three of four by less than 10 points after losing each of the previous 10 games by double-digits. "We knew it would be this type of game," Augustin said. "We just tried to fight them until the end and it was a fight, a real fight." The Sixers could make it 23 straight with a loss Friday to New York. Then three straight on the road at Chicago, San Antonio and Houston. If the Sixers lose all of those games, the potential record 27th loss would come March 29 vs. Detroit. Young scored 24 points for the Sixers and Wroten had 17. "Were going to get one soon," Wroten said. Boozer had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls and Noah added 14 points and 10 boards. The Sixers solid 11-for-24 3-point shooting was undone by a 9 of 19 mark from the free-throw line. "There is just no inch for error," Brown said. "Theres no wiggle room at all." The Sixers stayed tight and chipped away in the third, making it 64-61 on Youngs 3-pointer. Sims was 0 for 7 from the floor until his first basket cut it to 64-63. The Sixers just couldnt make the clutch basket or two to finally take the lead. Theyd get as close again as two points in the third and trailed only 75-69 at the end of the quarter. "I think Bretts done a great job with them," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "Theyve got a lot of moving parts. I give a guy like Young a lot of credit for his professionalism -- how hard he plays. They shot the ball well. The Bulls played without Derrick Rose, the former MVP point guard who tore the meniscus in his right knee at Portland in November and was ruled out for the remainder of the season. Thibodeau said Rose could could be ready to return if he gets the call to play this summer for Team USA at the world championships. "I know hed like to do it," Thibodeau said. "I know how USA basketball feels about him. If hes cleared to do it, Id love to see him do it." NOTES: The Sixers are 3-32 since a four-game winning streak ended Jan. 4. ... The Bulls have won seven of eight against the Sixers. Derrick Coleman Jersey . On Tuesday, they did it again. Roy Hibbert scored 22 points and Lance Stephenson fell just short of his fourth triple double this season, helping the Pacers hold off Torontos late charge for an 86-79 victory that allowed them to keep the NBAs best record. Seahawks Jersey . Lee doubled and scored in his debut, Buerhle struck out a season-best eight over 7 2-3 innings and Miami beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-0 Thursday to split the four-game series. MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Hitting a tough shot over one of the NBAs best defenders is a boost to any ego. For Kobe Bryant, its a sign hes getting back to his own personal standard. Bryant scored 21 points in his sixth game of the season, and the Los Angeles Lakers closed out a four-game road trip with a 96-92 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night. "I know Im back when those pull-up jumpers start going, especially against a defender like Tony Allen, who is just breathing all over you and is very physical," Bryant said. "I felt really comfortable being able to elevate and shoot through contact." Pau Gasol added 21 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, who were coming off a 114-100 loss at Atlanta on Monday night. Nick Young had 18 points, and Jodie Meeks finished with 13. Young said having Bryant on the floor makes a big difference. "Especially when he is getting his groove back like he is," Young said. "Weve just got to feed off each other. We cant just sit back and watch and let him do everything. Weve still got to help him out and feed off of him and Pau." Zach Randolph had 18 points and a season-high 16 rebounds for Memphis, which lost its fourth straight. It also was its first loss when Randolph leads the team in scoring. The Grizzlies played without Mike Conley, who sat out after bruising his left thigh in Sundays loss to Minnesota. Memphis coach Dave Joerger wasnt happy that his Grizzlies let the Lakers jump on them from the start. "Thats a couple games in a row," Joerger said. "We cannot come out and wait, especially at home to take a hit. We are letting teams get up by shooting the basketball and getting loose balls. They are getting after us instead of us getting after them." The Grizzlies still managed to take a 69-67 lead in the fourth quarter, but the Lakers responded with a 17-4 run. Bryant played more than 32 minutes, matching his most action since returning from his torn left Achilles tendon. He was 9 for 18 from the field, both season highs, despite running the offence most of the night. "It makes a big difference when he operates well from the post and facilitates for us," Gasol said. Randolph gave Memphis its last lead with the first bucket in the fourth. The Lakers then put togetther their big run, and Youngs 3 made it 84-73 with 7:30 left. Bobby Wagner Womens Jersey. The Grizzlies came back with eight straight, six by Jerryd Bayless. But the rally fizzled from there, and Bryant hit a 3-pointer from 28 feet with 2:39 left to put the Lakers up 91-85. "Kobe looked great today, Pau was big down the stretch," said Allen, who had a season-high 16 points. Bryant, who was 4 of 14 for eight points in the loss in Atlanta, was active right from the start in Memphis. He missed his first two shots and had two quick turnovers. But he hit four of his first eight shots before going to the locker room apparently to help keep warm rather than just chilling on the bench. "Just try to figure it out what you can do and try to keep it as loose as possible throughout the course of the game," Bryant said. Playing for the second straight night, the Lakers still made 11 of their first 16 shots in building a 15-point lead that Memphis managed to whittle down to 34-24 after the first quarter. The Grizzlies used a 12-2 run in the second quarter to close to 43-41, and Bryant and Gasol returned to the floor to push that lead back to 52-47 at halftime. Bryant went down on the court and was slow to get up with 3:25 left in the third. He spent a couple minutes during a timeout bent over at the waist flexing his left leg before gingerly walking to the bench with trainer Gary Vitti. Bryant returned to the floor after the timeout. The Grizzlies outscored the Lakers 20-15 in the third to tie it at 67, but they were unable to keep pace with the Lakers in the fourth. Bayless and Jon Leuer added 13 points apiece for the Grizzlies, who shot 41 per cent from the floor, compared to 49 per cent for Los Angeles. NOTES: The 21 points for Bryant matched his season high at Charlotte on Dec. 14. ... Memphis lost its 10th at home, more than the Grizzlies lost all last season (nine). ... Randolph had his 14th double-double. ... Young had his 11th straight game in double figures. ... Tayshaun Prince, who had hit just 10 of his last 39 shots over the past six games for Memphis, played only nine minutes, missed his only shot and didnt play in the second half. ... Leuer has scored in double figures in five straight games. ... Memphis had a season-high 18 offensive rebounds and outrebounded the Lakes 49-37. cheap jerseyscheap jerseys from china ' ' '
