as Denver rode its reserves to the finish line. Final Score: Golden

(SportsNetwork.com) - There is a reason that Bill Belichick is the best coach in professional football and everyone else is fighting for second place. Baltimores John Harbaugh is among the scrum who can be considered for the runner-up spot but the chasm between those two positions only grew after the Ravens coach objected to what he called a substitution trick by New England in the third quarter of the Patriots eventual 35-31 divisional-playoff win. The wrinkle was unveiled on the Pats second drive of the third quarter after rookie center Bryan Stork was forced to leave with a knee injury. New England kicked Ryan Wendell inside to the pivot and lined up just four natural offensive linemen, declaring a normally eligible receiver like blocking tight end Michael Hoomanawanui or running back Shane Vereen as ineligible, all in an effort to keep Baltimore off balance. There was a lot to the plays, Hoomanawanui said. I have to report as ineligible. I cant go down the field. I can only block. So as hard as it is for them to figure out, theres a lot that goes into it on our side, too. You could see how frustrated they were on who to cover and this and that, so it turned out to be great plays for us. The strategy worked as Ravens defenders were often confused when trying to substitute and match up, causing Harbaugh to blow his stack and draw an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. (The officials) didnt understand what was going on, Harbaugh claimed. We wanted an opportunity to be able to ID who the eligible players were. What (the Patriots) were doing was they announce the ineligible player and then Tom (Brady) would take them to the line right away and snap the ball before we had a chance to figure out who was lined up where. That was the deception part of it. It was clearly deception. Predictably Brady disagreed with Harbaughs description. Maybe those guys gotta study the rule book and figure it out, he said. We obviously knew what we were doing and we made some pretty important plays. It was a real good weapon for us. Belichick also explained the tactic, which he used on three different occasions. Its a play that we thought would work, the veteran coach said. We ran it three times, a couple different looks. We had six eligible receivers on the field, but only five were eligible. The one who was ineligible reported that he was ineligible. No different than on the punt team or a situation like that. On the surface Harbaughs objections seem like sour grapes. After all, a big part of football in general is about deceiving your opposition whether its disguising a blitz or coming up with a trick play like Julian Edelmans touchdown pass to Danny Amendola is this very game. So if most of you missed the memo where deception in football was disallowed, youre not alone and Harbaughs true complaint reveled itself later when he blurted out (its a tactic) nobody has ever seen before. The league will look at that type of thing, and Im sure that theyll make some adjustments and things like that, he continued. Harbaugh has had plenty of success over the years, especially in the postseason. The arrogance to that, however, is the assumption that thinking what you did yesterday will be sufficient for everything that is thrown at you tomorrow. Belichick was a power pitcher who pulled the string on Harbaugh on Saturday in Foxborough and the Ravens mentor froze in the batters box, unable to react. You can blame the officials and even trot out Don Shula to call Belichick Beli-cheat again but all the Pats coach did was take advantage of an on-the- books rule that others have failed to utilize in the past. So label the strategy as anything you want -- deception, a loophole -- but understand its real title is innovation. And Harbaugh was under the learning tree on Saturday. Hopefully he figures that out. nike vapormax skroutz . 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Nike Air Vapormax Flyknit Greece . -- Thirty years ago, the Detroit Pistons beat the Denver Nuggets 186-184 in triple overtime, a game that remains the highest scoring in NBA history.Charlotte, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Al Jefferson had 23 points and 14 rebounds as the Charlotte Hornets defeated the Boston Celtics 96-87 on Wednesday night. Kemba Walker posted 18 points, seven assists and three steals, while Lance Stephenson added 13 points for Charlotte, which has won consecutive games on the heels of a 10-game losing streak. The Bobcats got starting forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist back after he missed the last 12 games with a foot injury. He had nine points and six boards in just over 19 minutes of action. Rajon Rondo recorded his third triple-double of the season with 12 points, 10 boards and 10 helpers for the Celtics, who have dropped two in a row after a three-game winning streak. Marcus Thornton netted 13 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter in the loss. Jeff Green also netted 16 points and Tyler Zeller provided 13 and eight rebounds for Boston. Final Score: LA Clippers 103, Indiana 96 Indianapolis, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - Chris Paul scored 17 points, handed out 15 assists and pulled down eight rebounds in the Los Angeles Clippers 103-96 win over the Indiana Pacers. Jamal Crawfords 18 off the bench led the Clippers, who have won nine games in a row. Blake Griffin scored 17 with 10 boards and DeAndre Jordan chipped in 12 points with 19 rebounds. C.J. Miles led all scorers with 30 points off Indianas bench. The Pacers reserves scored 66 points in their sixth straight loss. Lavoy Allen added 14 points and 13 rebounds in a reserve role and he was joined by Luis Scola, who finished with 12 points and 14 boards. Final Score: Washington 91, Orlando 89 Orlando, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - The Washington Wizards avoided playing a third overtime this week with an alley-oop at the buzzer. Bradley Beal caught Andre Millers inbounds pass near the rim with 0.8 seconds left and put the ball through the rim in time to give the Wizards a 91-89 win over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night. The play came after Victor Oladipo missed a jumper for the Magic at the other end with a chance to go ahead. It followed Washingtons 133-132 win over the Boston Celtics on Monday in double-overtime. John Wall scored the last 10 Wizards points in that one and had 21 with 11 assists against the Magic, helping Washington to its sixth win in seven games. Final Score: Atlanta 95, Philadelphia 79 Atlanta, GA (SportsNetwork.com) - Paul Millsap and Kyle Korver each scored 17 points to help the Atlanta Hawks to a 95-79 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday. DeMarre Carroll posted 14 points with 11 rebounds and Al Horford chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds for the Hawks, who have won eight straight overall and five in a row at home. Luc Mbah a Moute paced the Sixers with 12 points, while Michael Carter-Williams filled the stat sheet with eight points, nine assists and 10 rebounds, but committed a team-high nine turnovers. Philadelphia, coming off its second win of the season on Saturday in Detroit, has dropped its past five games against Atlanta. Final Score: Chicago 105, Brooklyn 80 Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - Derrick Rose scored 23 points and the Chicago Bulls stifled the Brooklyn Nets in the second half en route to a 105-80 victory at the United Center. After holding the Nets to 31.8 percent shooting in the third quarter to take a 77-68 lead into the fourth, Chicagos defense yielded a mere 12 points in the final period to send Brooklyn to a third straight lopsided defeat. The Nets, who lost soundly at home to both Atlanta and Cleveland over the past week, were a dreadful 4-of-20 from the field in the fourth quarter. Taj Gibson led the Bulls stout defensive effort with six blocks in addition to recording 11 points and 10 rebounds. Pau Gasol swatted away four shots to go along with 16 points and 16 boards, with Jimmy Butler chipping in 18 points in the win. Deron Williams paced the Nets, who shot just 33 percent overall, with 17 points. Final Score: Dallas 112, New Orleans 107 Dallas, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Monta Ellis scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and the Dallas Mavericks beat the New Orleans Pelicans 112-107 on Wednesday night. The Mavericks never trailed after Brandan Wrights dunk gave them a one-point lead in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter, but it was tight down the stretch. Ellis helped them stay in front with several key plays, including a 3-poinnter with 4 1/2 minutes remaining after Anthony Davis dunk at the other end got the Pelicans within three.ddddddddddddLater, his teardrop layup over 7-footer Omer Asik extended Dallas lead to four with 22.9 seconds left. Ryan Anderson missed a 3-pointer with five seconds remaining and a chance to tie the score for New Orleans, and Richard Jefferson sealed the win for the Mavericks with two free throws at the other end. Dirk Nowitzki, Chandler Parsons and Devin Harris scored 20 points apiece for Dallas, which was coming off a 114-105 loss in Memphis Tuesday despite making 18 3-pointers against the Southwest Division leader. Davis had 31 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Pelicans, who were going for what would have been a season-high three consecutive wins. Davis was limping after coming down on his right foot at the end of his one-handed alley-oop dunk down the stretch but remained in the game with what Pelicans coach Monty Williams said was a jammed toe. Final Score: Minnesota 90, Portland 82 Minneapolis, MN (SportsNetwork.com) - Andrew Wiggins posted his first career double-double to help the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 90-82 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday. Wiggins finished with a team-high 23 points with 10 rebounds for Minnesota, which snapped a six-game losing streak overall and at home. The Timberwolves last victory at Target Center was Nov. 19 against New York. Corey Brewer had 19 points and Thaddeus Young added 13 points in the win. Damian Lillard, who entered the contest 8-1 in his career against Minnesota, led the Blazers with 23 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists. Wesley Matthews tallied 18 points and LaMarcus Aldridge scored all of his 10 points in the second half for Portland, which had a five-game winning streak snapped. Final Score: San Antonio 109, New York 95 San Antonio, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - The San Antonio Spurs didnt need their Big Four to make easy work of the Carmelo Anthony-less New York Knicks. Marco Belinelli had 22 points off the bench as the Spurs routed the Knicks 109-95 on Wednesday night. Tony Parker missed his second straight game with a left hamstring strain, Kawhi Leonard sat with a bruised hand and Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili were both held out to rest. Danny Green netted 13 points, while Boris Diaw added 12 points and four assists for the Spurs, who had dropped two of their last four games coming in on the heels of an eight-game winning streak. Anthony sat out due to left knee soreness. Tim Hardaway Jr. posted 23 points to lead New York, which has lost 10 consecutive games. Final Score: Denver 102, Miami 82 Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) - Wilson Chandler scored 17 points and the Denver Nuggets snapped a four-game losing skid with a 102-82 rout of the Miami Heat on Wednesday. The Nuggets turned a 48-48 halftime score into a comfortable lead thanks to a dominant third quarter. Chandler set the tone with a jumper less than a minute in. Ty Lawson followed with five straight points and J.J. Hicksons putback layup forced a Miami timeout. Denver continued to expand its lead, with Timofey Mozgovs three-point play with just over a minute remaining in the period making it 72-59. Erick Green beat the buzzer with a deep 3, and the Nuggets took a 79-62 lead into the fourth. The margin reached 27 in the final period, as Denver rode its reserves to the finish line. Final Score: Golden State 105, Houston 93 Oakland, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - The Golden State Warriors clamped down defensively in the fourth quarter to extend their franchise-record winning streak. Stephen Curry had 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, Klay Thompson added 21 points and the Warriors defeated the Houston Rockets 105-93 on Wednesday night, upping their streak to 14 games. Golden State outscored Houston 32-17 in the fourth, holding the Rockets to just 31.6 percent (6-of-19) from the floor in the period. Harrison Barnes posted 20 points and seven boards for the Warriors, who improved to an NBA-best 19-2 on the season. Andrew Bogut missed the game due to knee tendinitis. James Harden supplied 34 points, eight rebounds, four helpers and four steals for Houston, which had won seven of its last eight games coming in. Dwight Howard missed his 10th straight game due to a knee strain. ' ' '