the football and running away from defenders in the

ATLANTA -- After a horrible stretch, the Atlanta Hawks are healthy again -- well, sort of -- and feel like they can move back up in the Eastern Conference. Jeff Teague equaled his career best with 34 points, Paul Millsap had the first triple-double of his career and the Hawks extended their longest winning streak of the season to five in a row, beating the Toronto Raptors 118-113 in overtime Tuesday night. Millsap had 19 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Hawks, who have bounced back after losing 14 of 15 to strengthen their hold on the final playoff spot in the East. Theyre looking to improve on that position in the final month of the regular season. "We wanted to win this game really bad," Teague said. "Weve been playing well lately." Even after losing centre Al Horford for the season with a torn pectoral muscle, the Hawks were surprisingly four games above .500 at the start of February when the injuries really started to pile up. That sent them into a tailspin that threatened their bid to even make the playoffs. Now, they seem back on track. "Were not going to make any excuses," Millsap said. "Weve just got to push forward and try to win some games." Coming off a victory the previous night at Charlotte, the Hawks overcame an early 13-point deficit in a game that went back and forth in the final quarter. Millsap missed a chance to win it at the end of regulation, but Teague knocked down four free throws in the closing seconds to clinch it for Atlanta. DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 29 points, but he had two crucial turnovers in the last minute of regulation, getting called for an offensive foul and slipping on another drive, losing the ball out of bounds. "A lot of things didnt go our way," DeRozan said, "but we shouldnt have put ourselves in that situation to start with." The Hawks went ahead for good when Millsap found DeMarre Carroll all alone under the basket for a layup, which put Atlanta up 111-109 with 2:37 remaining and gave Millsap his 10th assist. Toronto went more than 3 1-2 minutes without scoring in the overtime, allowing the Hawks to hang on when most of their shots werent falling, either. "Weve got to learn from it," DeRozan said. Kyle Korver added 16 points for Atlanta. DeRozan had a double-double, pulling down 10 rebounds, while Kyle Lowry chipped in with 20 points. The Hawks got off to a miserable start, making just 6 of 24 shots in the opening period and trailing 22-9. But the Raptors failed to take advantage of the poor shooting, and the Hawks bench got the home team back in the game. Shelvin Mack knocked down a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter, cutting the Raptors lead to 26-17. Then, Atlanta started the next period with a quick 8-0 run -- and, just like that, it was a ballgame again. Cartier Martin swished a par of treys, sandwiched around Mike Scotts driving layup. The game was tied 49-all at halftime. Neither team could break away in the third, the margin never more than four points, and there were 10 lead changes in the final period. NOTES: Teague previously scored 34 points at Cleveland on Dec. 26. ... Toronto C Jonas Valanciunas left the game with a lower back sprain and didnt return. ... The Hawks lost rookie G Dennis Schroder, who sprained his left ankle while hustling back on defence in the fourth quarter. ... Carroll took an elbow near his left eye and had to be taken back to the locker room to get four stiches. He finished the game with a bandage over his wound. ... Atlanta C Pero Antic and Lowry picked up double-technicals in the third quarter for jawing at each other after a play that left Antic sprawled on the court. The big man tried to draw a charging foul on Terrence Ross, and both players went down in front of the Hawks bench. As the teams headed to a timeout, Antic and Lowry picked up Ts. Giancarlo Stanton Jersey . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two. Don Mattingly Jersey .Best moustache: How can we not give this to Lanny McDonald? Check out the duster for yourself. https://www.cheapyankees.com/381g-gleyber-torres-jersey-yankees.html . It will be their 15th head-to-head meeting and fourth in the post-season (Sunday at 2pm et/11am pt on CTV) and for his part, Brady isnt downplaying just how big the game is for him. "Im excited - Its everything you could ask for as an athlete," the New England Patriots quarterback told WEEI Radio in Boston on Monday. Greg Bird Jersey . Week 2s biggest games include Florida facing Miami and Notre Dame travelling to the Big House to conclude their rivalry against Michigan in primetime on TSN2 and TSN 1050. Casey Stengel Yankees Jersey . - Diego Fagundez scored his team-leading 13th goal of the season in the 76th minute to lift the Revolution to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Crew on Saturday night that kept New Englands playoff hopes alive. PITTSBURGH -- Since Jerome Bettis retired after the 2005 NFL season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have searched for a big, bruising running back in his mould. The list of hopefuls has been long, if not particularly distinguished. Verron Haynes, Najee Davenport, Carey Davis, Gary Russell, Frank Summers, Jonathan Dwyer and Isaac Redman all failed to consistently provide production in short-yardage and goal line situations. Enter LeGarrette Blount. The 6-foot, 250-pound veteran certainly looks the part. And while he has a long way to go to be mentioned with the likes of Bettis, there have been plenty of flashes during his four seasons in the league. Blount averaged 5.0 yards per carry while splitting time with Stevan Ridley in New England last season, and gashed the Indianapolis Colts for 166 yards and four touchdowns in the playoffs. Though second-year back LeVeon Bell remains the starter, Blount is confident he can make an impact no matter what situation. "I know they brought me in here to run the football, so I hope there are plenty of carries to go around," Blount said Wednesday. "I know that LeVeon is going to get his fair share, so I hope theres enough for all of us." Bell, last years second-round pick, missed the opening three games while recovering from a preseason foot injury. But he still played nearly 700 snaps, a heavy workload the 6-foot-1, 230-pound Bell managed with ease. Still, the Steelers will find opportunities to go from the patient and pragmatic Bell to the bruising Blount, with the emphasis on bruising. "Thats my running style," Blount said. "Thats how I run the football, and I feel like (Bell) is also a big, tough running back, too. So, thats just how this team is built, with a physical running game, and I think thats what theyre trying to get back to. So, hopefully, we can do that." Blount noted a balannced offence is needed to make a run to the Super Bowl such as the ones by Seattle and Denver last year.dddddddddddd The champion Seahawks had Marshawn Lynch running the ball and Russell Wilson throwing it, while the Broncos ran the ball with Knowshon Moreno when Peyton Manning wasnt breaking NFL passing records. "I think its huge for us to (sign Blount), because Ive always said that we need to be a balanced offence," quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. "So, we need to run the ball. We need to be great at running the ball, and weve got guys that want to be great at running the ball. So, hopefully, we can do it and do it successfully." Blount added that while his body type and size make him an ideal power back, he has a variety of skill sets, such as catching the football and running away from defenders in the open field. But he certainly has proven he can run over them as well. Those attributes, combined with Bells slashing style, should give the Steelers a solid one-two punch. "I think we have a really good mix of running backs," Blount said. "(But) Ive seen the NFL Network, and they have these top 10 or top five running back duos in the NFL. I noticed that were not one of them, and I dont like it. In all honesty, I believe theyre downgrading the skill level that we have in our backfield. . I think thats kind of disrespectful." Does that mean Blount and Bell have something to prove? "Were not going to go out here and go on about how were not in that group," Blount said. "But were going to go out there and show that we belong there with our performance." NOTES: RB Dri Archer has missed the opening two OTAs, just like linebacker Jordan Zumwalt from UCLA, because his school is on the quarters system and their class has not yet graduated. . OTAs continue Thursday and also run Tuesday through Thursday next week. ' ' '