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ATLANTA -- The Chicago Bulls strengthened their hold on home-court advantage in the playoffs, and made it a little tougher for the Atlanta Hawks to extend their season. For that, the Bulls can thank D.J. Augustin. Again. Keeping up his inspired play, Augustin scored 23 points as Chicago held off slumping Atlanta for a 105-92 victory Wednesday night, bumping the Hawks out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with two weeks left in the season. Chicago stretched its lead to 2 1-2 games over Brooklyn for home court in the opening round of the playoffs. The Bulls may have lost Derrick Rose to major knee injuries two years in a row, but they are 35-20 since signing Augustin in mid-December. "Hes saved our season," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "D.J. can beat you a lot of different ways." The performance came three days after Augustin scored a career-high 33 points against Boston. "D-Rose is the face of this team," Augustin said. "Im just trying to come in, just trying to help us out, do whatever I can do to help us win and go forward in the playoffs." Chicago took control with a 16-3 run in the second quarter and led the rest of the way, fending off the last of Atlantas runs when Jimmy Butler swished a 3-pointer with just over a minute remaining. "We just want to finish the rest of the season strong," Augustin said. The Hawks are heading in the opposite direction, losing for the 21st time in 28 games. This one dropped them slightly behind New York for the eighth playoff seed. "We still control our own destiny," DeMarre Carroll said. "But now things got more interesting." The Knicks (33-43) routed Brooklyn 110-81 to climb percentage points ahead of Atlanta (32-42). Cleveland is also in the mix, two games out after beating Orlando. The Hawks host the Cavaliers on Friday night. Paul Millsap led the Hawks with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Jeff Teague added 21 points. But Kyle Korver, with 12 points, was the only other Atlanta player in double figures. Everyone else went 13 of 32 from the field. "Were a new team," Carroll said, referring to Atlantas massive turnover the last two summers. "This year is not going to make or break us. Just to be talking about making the playoffs is amazing." The Hawks were up 42-38 with 9 minutes left in the second quarter after Mike Muscala knocked down a couple of free throws. Chicago took control from there, clamping down defensively and scoring 16 of the next 19 points. The Hawks missed 12 of 13 shots, forced to settle mostly for outside jumpers and botching a couple of easy ones when they did get inside. Augustin capped the spurt with a brilliant hesitation move, freezing the Atlanta defenders before bursting through a gap for an easy layup. The Bulls led 57-49 at the half and never surrendered the advantage. Atlanta made several runs, only to have Chicago answer every one of them. With the Hawks down 93-87 and in possession, Taj Gibson swatted away Carrolls driving shot, the Bulls grabbed a loose ball and took off the other way, with Augustin sinking a 3-pointer that led to an Atlanta timeout. It was another trey by Butler that finished off the Hawks -- appropriate enough, since the Bulls went 12 of 25 beyond the arc. Augustin was 4 of 8 from long range, while Butler chipped in with three more. In contrast to the Hawks, six players were in double figures for the Bulls, including Butler and Kirk Hinrich with 17 points apiece. Atlanta has eight games left to pull out its seventh straight playoff appearance. "This team is competitive," Elton Brand said. "Theres no quit in us. Were going to play it out until the end." NOTES: Chicagos Joakim Noah had 10 points and 10 rebounds. ... The Bulls swept the season series 4-0 and now have won six straight against the Hawks since last season. ... Thibodeau shrugged off the 200th career victory. "Ive got a good team," he said after improving his record to 200-105 in four seasons. John Havlicek Jersey . - The Clippers have signed guard Dahntay Jones to a second 10-day contract. Robert Parish Jersey . Bradwell was scheduled to become a free agent Tuesday. Born and raised in Toronto, Bradwell is entering his sixth CFL season, with all six played for his hometown Argonauts. http://www.celticssale.com/kids-aron-baynes-celtics-jersey/. Maricopa County spokeswoman Cari Gerchick says thats the finding from an autopsy conducted Thursday by the county Medical Examiners Office. Shaquille ONeal Jersey . However, Therrien added that Galchenyuks status for next Wednesdays game against the Detroit Red Wings is questionable. Galchenyuk has been out since Jan. 6 with a broken right hand. Greg Monroe Jersey . Catch all the action on TSN2 and TSN GO at 9pm et/6pm pt. San Antonio took the series lead Monday night with a 122-105 home victory in Game 1. The Spurs used a balanced scoring attack and clamped down defensively late in the third quarter to claim the win.MONTREAL -- Taking two weeks off after a devastating loss will be unbearable for Impact defender Heath Pearce. Montreal blew a lead and conceded four first-half goals in a 4-2 defeat to D.C. United on Wednesday at Saputo Stadium. "Its torture," said Pearce, whose team wont play again until the end of the month due to Major League Soccers World Cup break. "Its torture to go two weeks without a game. The good thing about this sport is usually you play every week and you get a chance to correct things. "Weve seen what it takes for us to be good, the tools that we have and what happens when we dont implement them." Pearce and the Impact backline were sloppy on Wednesday, giving D.C.s forwards and midfielders too much space and time with the ball in the final third. On the opener in the sixth minute of play, striker Fabian Espindola tricked Pearce and centre back Wandrille Lefevre with a no-look pass to Luis Silva, who put away his first of the season en route to a first-half hat trick. Espindola caught the Impact ball watching again in the 23rd minute as he sent a seemingly harmless low cross into the box. The pass evaded three Montreal defenders and fell right to Nick DeLeon, who tied the game 2-2 with an easy tap-in. Silva gave the visiting team the 3-2 lead with a breathtaking strike from about 30 yards out in the 39th minute. Unchallenged, and with Montreals back four dropping off, D.C.s attacking midfielder curled a shot just past a diving Troy Perkins fingertips. The 25-year-old, who had gone nine games without a goal prior to Wednesday, completed his hat trick from the penalty spot after Steve Birnbaum being brought down Hassoun Camara. "What do you want me to do?" asked Impact manager Frank Klopas. "Jump on the field and play for them? Im a very competitive person, and this is not the team I want. I want a team thats going to go on the field and compete. I want a group of players that will go out there and leave everything on the field." Klopas said he likely wouldnt shuffle his backline during the break given the string of good performances over the last few weeks. Fresh off its Amway Canadian Championship victory, Montreal came into the match unbeaten att home in its last three games in all competitions and riding consecutive clean sheets.dddddddddddd. Klopas men hadnt conceded at Saputo Stadium in 206 minutes. The stretch of positive results after a devastating start to the season made the loss to D.C. United tougher to swallow. "We would be foolish to think that we werent going to have more setbacks along the way," said Pearce. "You dont correct a system overnight. But that result was unacceptable for us. In any league, on any team, you have to have enough guys on any single day having good games. Today we didnt have enough, if any." D.C.s win, the teams seventh in its last 11 games, propelled United (7-4-4) to the top of Eastern Conference standings. At the other end of the table, the Impact (2-7-4) are dead last with only 10 points from 13 games. Jack McInerney and Andres Romero gave their team a chance to take points from Wednesdays encounter, scoring back-to-back goals to give the Impact a 2-1 lead. McInerney found the back of the net in the 12th with a tight-angle shot that grazed the post to goalie Andrew Dykstras left before Romero gave the Impact a short-lived lead in the 21st with a great individual effort. Down 4-2, Impact captain Patrice Bernier had a golden opportunity to ignite a comeback in the 76th minute, but his penalty shot hit the post, went off Dykstras back and trickled out of play. The shot came after Davy Arnaud was called for a hand ball. Pearce tried making the most out of the loss. "As bad as it is, it gives us a chance to really reflect, and each guy to go home and take a look in the mirror individually and think about what we can do better and how we can help the team more, all of us, from A to Z," he said. Notes: This was only the second time Montreal conceded four goals at home in the MLS era. a Justin Mapp missed the game with a groin injury. a Three Montreal supporters were expelled from Saputo Stadium during the second half for igniting flares in the stands. The same three individuals were reprimanded last week for a similar incident. a The Impact signed Spanish midfielder Gorka Larrea prior to the game on Wednesday. Larrea has played for La Ligas Levante and Real Sociedad. 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