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MINNEAPOLIS -- D.J. Augustins career was swirling down the drain when the Toronto Raptors waived him in December, and the former No. 9 overall pick seemed destined to join the long list of promising prospects that just never made it in the NBA. Four days later, the Chicago Bulls signed him in an attempt to add some scoring punch to a defence-first team. Augustin has flourished in Chicago, one of the big reasons the surprising Bulls have been able to weather Derrick Roses injury and the trade of Luol Deng to stay in the hunt in the Eastern Conference. "We needed him," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said, "and he needed us." Augustin had another big game Wednesday night, scoring 21 points to lead Chicago to a 102-87 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Joakim Noah added 15 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for his fourth triple-double, moving into a tie with Indianas Lance Stephenson for the most in the NBA this season. Kirk Hinrich scored 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting and the Bulls hit 11 of 21 3-pointers to stay right on Torontos heels for the third seed in the Eastern Conference. "We wouldnt be in this position without D.J.," Noah said. "His passing ability, his scoring ability, just the way he plays the game. ... I feel like I have really good chemistry with him and I think the rest of this team feels that way, too. Were going to need him down the stretch." Kevin Love had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Timberwolves. But he hyperextended his right elbow in the first half and only made 7 of 20 shots, including 2 of 8 3-pointers. Ricky Rubio added 15 points and six assists, but the Wolves were just 4 for 17 from long distance. "I shouldve made a lot of those open shots that I missed," said Love, who also had a large bloody scratch on his chest after getting tied up with Carlos Boozer. "Yeah it was bothering me a little bit. But thats no excuse for the poor shooting." The Bulls entered the night with the same record as Toronto, with the tiebreaker going to the Raptors and only five games to play before the playoffs begin. The schedule certainly favours the Raptors, who beat the 76ers on Wednesday night and finish the season with two games against the Knicks and one each against the Pistons and Bucks. Thanks to the raggedy East, the Bulls dont have it much tougher with the Pistons, Knicks and Magic coming up before the season finale at playoff-bound Charlotte. That made this game against short-handed Timberwolves a crucial one. The Timberwolves played without Nikola Pekovic (right foot), Chase Budinger (right ankle), Kevin Martin (right heel), Shabazz Muhammad (right knee) and J.J. Barea (back and neck), leaving them with only 10 healthy players, and without three of their better offensive players to go at the tenacious Bulls defence. But even though the Wolves have been eliminated from playoff contention, theyve put up quite a fight against some of the best teams in the league down the stretch. Last week Minnesota beat Memphis at home and won at Miami. The Wolves then throttled the Spurs at Target Center on Tuesday night and shot 52.6 per cent to take a 53-48 lead over the Bulls at halftime. Eventually that Bulls defence started squeezing the Wolves and grinding the game down. The Wolves missed eight of their first 10 shots of the second half and scored only 17 points in the third quarter. They shot 33 per cent and managed just 34 points in the second half. "It looked like we ran out of gas in the second half," Wolves coach Rick Adelman said. On the other end, the 3s kept falling. Mike Dunleavy, who had 15 points, hit one to give the Bulls a 65-62 lead they would never relinquish. Augustin hit two more in the fourth to help the Bulls pull away. Even bigger were his 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the first half, when the Bulls were struggling to get their offence going. "Im just getting a chance to play, period," Augustin said. "Just getting an opportunity and trying to make the best of it." NOTES: Bulls F Taj Gibson finished with 13 points and five rebounds. He picked up a technical foul in the fourth quarter for gesturing angrily after not getting a foul call under the basket. ... Little-used PG Alexey Shved had nine points and a season-high five assists in 16 minutes for Minnesota. ... The Wolves host their former coach and GM Kevin McHale and the Houston Rockets on Friday night in their third home game of the week. Philipp Lahm Jersey . No, really, his head. Late in the game, the St. Louis goalie craned his neck into the air to block a shot, taking a puck square in the mask. Robert Lewandowski Jersey . - Quarterback Brady Quinn says he has been released by the Miami Dolphins. http://www.soccerfcbayernshop.com/kids-m...unich-jersey/.C. -- Tony Stewart will not race Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, the third Sprint Cup race hes skipped since his car struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr. Joshua Kimmich Jersey . Returning to Davis Cup tennis, Federer cruised past Ilija Bozoljac, winning 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 in less than two hours. Federer faced little challenge from Bozoljac, who served well but still was no match for his Swiss opponent. Fabian Benko Bayern Munich Jersey . For Bergevin, the best pick is the 30th — which traditionally goes to the Stanley Cup winner. "Thats our goal.PITTSFORD, N.Y. - After a shaky start to training camp, Buffalo Bills quarterback EJ Manuel has had a renewed confidence on the practice field in recent days. Buffalo is looking to keep that momentum on its side in its first real test of the preseason when the Bills play the New York Giants in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, on Sunday. "Obviously we want to go out there and put out a great product," Manuel said. "Its national TV. Its the kickoff of the NFL season so obviously we want to start off with a bang." Most of the attention has been on Manuel at Buffalos training camp in suburban Rochester. The Bills have surrounded the second-year quarterback with an assortment of playmaking options, including newcomers Sammy Watkins and Mike Williams at wide receiver and incumbents C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson at running back. With an assortment of talent at the skill positions, the pressure is on the former first-round pick to step up and lead the Bills into the post-season for the first time since 1999. As expected, the results have been mixed two weeks into training camp. Watkins, the dynamic rookie chosen fourth overall after Buffalo traded up in the draft, has been electric. After injury-filled seasons one year ago, Spiller and Jackson are healthy and running well. But Manuels first week on the practice field was littered with incompletions, slow reads in the pocket and questionable decision-making. Manuel has made progress throughout Buffalos second week of camp. On Wednesday, he appeared to have more command in the pocket and connected with second-year receiver Robert Woods for a pair of impressive touchdowns in the red zone. He also connected with receiver Chris Hogan on a decisive throw in a tight window down the middle of the field. On Thursday, he was aggressivee early in the practice session and found Watkins for a 99-yard touchdown down the left sideline.dddddddddddd "We have been making strides," Manuel said. "Even in the dog days of last week, I felt like we were still making strides to get to this point. Its not always going to be perfect. The O-line has been doing a great job. Our communication has really picked up. I think thats just allowing us quarterbacks to have time to throw the ball downfield to our receivers." After displaying a conservative nature on the field as a rookie, Manuels aggressiveness in recent days has been encouraging. The quarterback said that he has watched film of top quarterbacks around the league — including Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Russell Wilson and Cam Newton — and gained more of an appreciation for taking chances down the field. "I think a lot of the throws that Ive started to make this year, at least attempted to make, I wasnt doing it last year," Manuel said. "I think instead of being more cautious ... our receivers, they want to make plays. They want the opportunity to make a big catch. I think watching a guy like Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees, they cut it loose. They allow their receivers to go out and make a play and earn their money. I think thats what Ive started to do." Manuel and the Bills still have a long way to go, but the quarterback feels that their progress is heading in the right direction. On Sunday, they get their first chance to prove it. "I think were progressing along the timeline that we want to be progressing," Manuel said. "Were still four weeks away from the opener in the regular season, so as long as we continue to put a brick in each day and get better and better, I think well be more than ready to go." ' ' '