Brock Nelson, Brett Gallant, Mike Halmo, Anders Lee, Joh

Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - Pau Gasol faced his former team for the first time, but a showdown with Kobe Bryant will have to wait. Gasol had 23 points and 13 rebounds as the Chicago Bulls routed the Los Angeles Lakers 113-93 on Christmas Day. Gasol signed with the Bulls during the offseason after spending his previous six-plus seasons with the Lakers, winning a pair of NBA titles. It was weird, difficult at first to get going, Gasol admitted. Once you start playing, youre just playing the best game you can. The 36-year-old Bryant cited old age and sore knees as his reasons for sitting out Thursday nights game against Chicago during a pregame session with reporters. The team is struggling right now and its difficult to see him struggle, Gasol said of Bryant and the Lakers. The game in LA will probably be a little more emotional than this one. Gasol will return to Staples Center to play the Lakers on Jan. 29. Jimmy Butler posted 21 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Derrick Rose added 20 points and six assists for Chicago, which has won five straight and eight of its last nine games. Wesley Johnson supplied 19 points and nine boards and Ed Davis provided 13 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who have dropped four of their last five contests. Butlers turnaround fadeaway in the waning seconds of the first half staked Chicago to a 58-47 halftime advantage, but an 11-2 Lakers run to start the second half got them within a basket. Jordan Hill had six points during the surge, which was capped on a Johnson layup to trim the margin to 60-58. The Bulls pulled away during the latter stages of the third and early portion of the fourth with an 11-3 burst. Taj Gibson split a pair of foul shots to finish off the swing and give the Bulls a 92-80 spread. Chicago cruised to the easy win from there. Earlier, the Bulls led 27-24 following a quarter of play and outscored LA 31-23 in the second. It was also the first game for Carlos Boozer in a Lakers uniform playing against his former team. Boozer, who was claimed off waivers by the Lakers in July, had played the previous four seasons for Chicago. He had 14 points off the bench. At some point you have to put the emotions and feelings aside, go out there and win a basketball game, Boozer said. They came in waves. Game Notes Gasol signed a three-year, $22 million contract with Chicago during the offseason ... It wouldve been Bryants NBA-record 16th Christmas Day game had he suited up. He came in averaging 30.4 points over his last nine Christmas games ... LA turned the ball over just four times, but was outrebounded 57-39. Wholesale Shoes Brands . Altidore strained his left hamstring in the Americans opener against Ghana on June 16 and didnt play in their next two games. "We dont know how much because we need to see how hes going, but hes available," U. Wholesale Shoes 2020 .com) - The Chicago White Sox have officially announced that the club has agreed to terms with utilityman Emilio Bonifacio on a one-year, $4 million contract that includes a team option for the 2016 season. http://www.wholesaleshoes.us.org/ . Cabrera-Bello shot a 1-over-par 73 and was caught by Webster, who carded 70 at Doha Golf Club for three-round totals of 12-under 204. They were only one stroke ahead of Adrien Saddier of France, the biggest mover with six birdies in his opening seven holes in a round of 64, South African Thomas Aiken (70) and Denmarks Thorbjorn Olesen (68) on a packed leaderboard. Cheap Replica Shoes China . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Duck Calling With several marquee centres available via trade and expected to be available via free agency, the Anaheim Ducks could be primed to be big players in the coming days. Wholesale China Shoes Free Shipping . The veteran NFL receiver received his work permit and is in Montreal for the start of the Alouettes rookie camp. Johnson even took in the Montreal Canadiens Game 5 win over the New York Rangers at the Bell Centre Tuesday night.UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- The New York Islanders were seeking a positive finish to a frustrating season on home ice. Ottawas Jason Spezza and Craig Anderson did their best to block that effort. Spezza scored twice and Anderson made 45 saves as the Senators topped the Islanders 4-1 on Tuesday night. The Senators (34-31-14) will still miss the post-season for the first time since 2011 and just the third time since 1996. They were making their first appearance this season at Nassau Coliseum, and the Islanders won the previous two meetings in Ottawa. "It feels good to put together a team effort and come away with the win," Anderson said. "We played well." Matt Kassian scored an empty-net goal at 19:48, his first this season. Spezza, the Senators captain, had the chance for a hat trick, but instead passed to Kassian. Frans Nielsen scored the lone goal for the Islanders with his career-best 25th in the teams home finale. Anders Nilsson made 28 saves for the Islanders (31-37-11), who wont reach the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years. They finished 13-19-9 at home. "The effort has been there and will continue to be there," Islanders defenceman Travis Hamonic said. "Were going to keep pushing and playing hard until the end." Spezza opened the scoring on a tip-in at 12:45 of the second. Nielsen then tied it 22 seconds into the third. Rookie defenceman Kevin Czuczman and Josh Bailey had assists, giving Bailey points in six straight games. Spezzas go-ahead goal at 12:45 of the third came when his shot edged under crossbar behind Nilsson. Ales Hemsky, who assisted on both of Spezzas goals, added his 13th at 14:26 of the third to make it 3-1. The Islanders qualified for the post-season last year for the first time since 2007 and lost to the top-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins in a tough six-game opening-round series. But they never found firm footing this season after trading captain John Tavares longtime linemate Matt Moulson to Buffalo for Thomas Vanek on Oct. 27. They subseequently traded Vanek to Montreal at the March 5 deadline.dddddddddddd The Islanders also had to contend with a litany of injuries to key players, particularly veteran defenceman Lubomir Visnovsky, who missed most of the season with a concussion and starting goaltender Evgeni Nabokov. Then, Tavares suffered a season-ending knee injury during the Winter Olympics in February. The Islanders have dressed at least nine rookies in their last nine games in which theyve gone 5-2-2. They are 7-4-2 in their last 13 contests. There are 11 rookies on the current roster: Defencemen Calvin de Haan, Scott Mayfield, Matt Donovan and Czuczman in addition to forwards Brock Nelson, Brett Gallant, Mike Halmo, Anders Lee, John Persson and Ryan Strome plus Nilsson. All but an injured de Haan played against the Senators. "Im proud of the young guys, they are playing hard," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "When we get our team back next year and play the way we can play, I think we can make a push and get back to the dance." Gallant, 25, made his NHL debut. He had 245 penalty minutes in 56 games for Bridgeport of the AHL. The feisty forward levelled Kassian with a single punch midway through the first period. "He caught me with one," said Kassian, sporting a postgame bruise under his right eye. "Sometimes that happens in a fight, you get punched right in the face." The Islanders conclude their season with road games at Montreal, New Jersey and Buffalo. Ottawa hosts New Jersey and Toronto before finishing at Pittsburgh. NOTES: Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck left during the first period with an upper-body injury and didnt return. ... Ottawa was without defencemen Colin Greening and Jared Cowen with lower-body injuries, plus forward Bobby Ryan (sports hernia). ... Defenceman Thomas Hickey is the only Islander to play all 79 games this season. ... The Islanders are 25-10-4 when they score at least three goals and 6-27-7 when they do not. ' ' '