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WASHINGTON -- If the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards meet in the first round of the playoffs, the Bulls will have a nice little blueprint to follow. The Bulls dominated from the get-go Saturday night and never trailed in a 96-78 win over the Wizards, avenging two losses from earlier in the season and providing perhaps a psychological edge if these teams are cranking up for a seven-game series in a couple of weeks. "It was definitely a statement game," Washington forward Drew Gooden said. "We were going in the mindset of this being a statement game, getting a possible matchup in the first round, and they took it the same way. They wanted to make a statement early." And they certainly did, holding the Wizards to 16 points in the first quarter and 10 in the second while building a lead that grew as large as 28 points. At one point, Washington was 0 for 7 from the 3-point line and 0 for 3 from the free throw line for the game, as well as 2 for 13 from the field in the second period. "They were taking shots they didnt want to take," Bulls forward Taj Gibson said. D.J. Augustin found plenty that he liked, as long as he was behind the arc. He led Chicago with 25 points, making 6 of 11 3-pointers but only 2 of 8 2-pointers. Joakim Noah had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Carlos Boozer added 16 points for the Bulls, who have won five straight and are tied with the Toronto Raptors for the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. Augustin has averaged 19.8 points during the winning streak. Unlike the Wizards, who freely talked about a rematch in the playoffs, the Bulls didnt want to think that far ahead. "We lost to these guys at home. We lost to them here. It was just getting this win tonight," Augustin said. "Were not looking forward to the playoffs just yet, but we wanted to come out tonight and do it for ourselves." John Wall scored 20 points, and Marcin Gortat had 19 for the Wizards, who sit in sixth place in the East. If they hold that spot, they would face the third-seeded team. Several Washington players cited fatigue as an issue on the back end of a back-to-back, but coach Randy Wittman noted that Chicago played Friday night as well. It also didnt help that Trevor Ariza played through an illness and went 1 for 9 from the field. Wittman, however, said his team wasnt ready for the Bulls intensity and aggression. "You fight aggression with aggression," Wittman said. "And it was only a one-way fight tonight." One likely difference if the teams do meet again: Wizards forward Nene, out with a sprained left knee, is expected back for the playoffs. He played in the two early wins over the Bulls. "Nene gives us another facilitator," Wittman said. "And against a team like this you need another one. Nene was another guy that kind of can play like Noah does, up at the top with the ball in his hands. Thats not an excuse why we lost. Id love to have him back, though." The Wizards made a run in the third quarter, scoring more points (35) in the period than they had in the entire first half (26). Walls 30-foot bounce pass to Trevor Booker on a fast break led to a dunk that pulled Washington within 11 and brought the crowd to its feet. But Noah took over and quickly squashed the rally. His three-point play started a 12-0 run early in the fourth quarter that put the game away. "We wanted to throw the first punch tonight, and I think we did a good job with that," Noah said. "In the beginning of the game, we were the more aggressive team. Usually, the most aggressive team wins." Notes: Noah was naturally less than thrilled that his college, Florida, lost its game in the Final Four. He opened his postgame remarks by saying: "No questions about the Gators, sensitive issue." ... The Wizards finished 3 for 16 from 3-point range. ... As the team with the NBAs only Polish player (Gortat), the Wizards celebrated Polish Heritage Night. Polands ambassador to the U.S. made a presentation to Gortat before tipoff. ... The Wizards recalled G Glen Rice from Iowa of the D-League. Wholesale New Balance Canada . - Buffalo Bills running back C. Cheap New Balance Canada . According to the CFL Scouting Bureaus January rankings, four of the top five Canadian prospects line-up on the offensive side of the trenches, which is good news for Bombers general manager Kyle Walters. With only one selection in the first two rounds — Walters sent his second-round pick to Saskatchewan in the days ahead of the 2013 trade deadline — the No. http://www.wholesalenewbalancecanada.com/ . Louis Blues, having added Ryan Miller and Steve Ott from Buffalo, remain the No. Cheap New Balance Shoes . The team said Saturday that the 36-year-old Robidas is expected to miss four to six months, jeopardizing his return this season. He was injured when he slid hard into the boards in the second period of a 2-1 shootout loss to Chicago on Friday. New Balance Canada Sale . On Saturday night, Winnipegs strong offense was again accompanied by some fantastic pitching which gave the Fish a commanding victory. LOS ANGELES -- A.J. Ellis hit an RBI single in the ninth inning, Hanley Ramirez hit a tape-measure, three-run homer in the first against Cliff Lee and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 on Saturday night. Philadelphias Chase Utley homered in his first two career at-bats against Hyun-Jin Ryu. But the Dodgers won for the seventh in eight games, bouncing back from a 16-1 loss Friday that was the franchises most lopsided at home since a 19-2 rout by the New York Giants on July 3, 1947 -- during Jackie Robinsons rookie season. Ramirez led off the ninth against rookie Justin De Fratus (2-3) with a single before Matt Kemp took a called third strike. De Fratus walked Andre Ethier before Ellis lined a 2-2 pitch to right, scoring Ramirez. Kenley Jansen (2-3) got the win. He came in trying to protect a 3-2 lead in the ninth for Ryu, but was charged with his third blown save in 10 chances as a result of some shoddy defence by his teammates. Michael Young led off the ninth with a single down the right-field line and continued to second when rookie Yasiel Puig misplayed the ball for an error. Young advanced on Utleys groundout and held up on Jimmy Rollins shallow fly to centre fielder Kemp, whose hurried throw to the plate was about 20 feet to the first base side and bounced away from catcher Ellis, allowing Young to dash home with the tying run. Domonic Brown followed with a triple to left field that Ethier -- playing out of position -- had difficulty tracking. But Jansen came back to strike out Delmon Young. Lee gave up three runs and four hits in seven innings and struck out 10, after going 7-0 with a 2.00 ERA in his previous 10 starts. The left-hander, five years removed from his only Cy Young Award, escaped a based-loaded, no-out jam in the fourth by starting a 1-2-3 double play on a dribbler to the left of the mound by Ellis and then retiring Juan Uribe on a groundout. Ryu allowed two runs, seven hits and three walks in seven innings and struck out six. Lefty Paco Rodriguez relieved Ryu and faced one batter, retiring Brown on a foul popup. Then righty Ronald Belisario came in, and the Phillies loaded the bases on a single by Young, a double by pinch-hitter Laynce Nix and an intentional walk to Ben Revere. Uribe then fielded Carlos Ruizs grounder to third base and got the force at the plate, with Ruiz just beating the relay to first by Ellis. Slumping slugger Ryan Howard, who was not in the starting lineup for this game and Friday nights because left-handers were starting for the Dodgers, was sent up to hit for Lee and Los Angeles countered with lefty J.P. Howell. Manager Charlie Manuel took the bat out of Howards strong hands and sent up Kevin Frandsen, who was robbed of a hit by shortstop Ramirez on a grounder up the middle. Ramirez smothered the ball and made a backhanded flip to second baseman Mark Ellis for the force on Ruiz.dddddddddddd Puig, who has hit safely in 21 of his first 25 major league games, triggered the Dodgers first-inning rally with a single before Lee walked Adrian Gonzalez. Ramirez drove the next pitch an estimated 439 feet to centre field, where it landed on top of an elevated platform where the anchor desk for the Dodgers postgame show sits. It was only the second homer Lee has given up on the road this season in 82 innings. Utley, the second batter Ryu faced in his first career start against the Phillies, drove a 1-1 pitch deep into the right-field pavilion and then hit a 0-1 delivery into the lower seats in the right-field corner two innings later. It was Utleys 20th career multihomer effort, and marked the first time he went deep twice in a game against the same pitcher since April 28, 2009 -- when he did it against current teammate John Lannan in a 7-1 win over the Washington Nationals at Philadelphia. Revere, who had three hits against Ryu and eight during the first three games of this series, doubled into the right-field corner with two outs in the sixth and the ball caromed off the Puigs left foot and over the short wall. Manuel came out to argue with first base umpire Bill Miller that Revere could have made it to third without Puigs impetus, but it remained a ground-rule double. NOTES: Dodgers RHP Josh Beckett is scheduled to undergo season-ending surgery in about 1 1-2 weeks to relieve pressure on the nerve in his neck. The announcement was made by the club following a consultation Beckett had with team physician Neal ElAttrache and Dr. Greg Pearl of Dallas, who will perform the surgery there. "I know he had some tingling again yesterday after throwing," manager Don Mattingly said. "He didnt throw very long. I know there was a little bit of a setback there." ... The Phillies have pushed back struggling LHP Cole Hamels two days in the rotation to next Thursday at Pittsburgh, which would give him seven days rest between starts. The 2008 World Series MVP and NLCS MVP is 2-11 with a 4.58 ERA in 17 outings and leads the majors in losses. "He might benefit by clearing his head," Manuel said. "Hes totally healthy. We just want to give him a blow and see if it wont help him some, and see if it can get him feeling good about himself." ... Dodgers RHP Peter Moylan, who gave up five runs over two innings after relieving Chris Capuano in Fridays game, was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque. The club purchased the contract of RHP Jose Dominguez from Albuquerque. This will be his first trip to the big leagues. ... Mark Ellis was 0 for 3 against Lee, and has four hits in 29 career at-bats against him. ... A moment of silence was observed for Justin Miller, who spent the final season of his seven-year career with the Dodgers in 2010 and made 19 relief appearances. He died Wednesday at age 35. ' ' '