CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Charlotte Bobcats are getting used to big nights from Al Jefferson and Kemba Walker. Now, they have Gary Neal to throw into the offensive mix. The newly acquired Neal came off the bench and scored 19 points as the surging Bobcats won their seventh home game in a row, defeating the Denver Nuggets 105-98 on Monday night. Jefferson led all scorers with 26 points and Walker scored 24, but it was Neals work off the bench that may have made the biggest difference with Gerald Henderson out with a strained right calf muscle. "It was a huge to get a win at home and protect our homecourt, especially with the standings the way they are," said Neal, who was playing in his only his seventh game with the team since coming over from Milwaukee in a trade on Feb. 20. "I felt good in the (Monday) morning shootaround and had a good individual workout before the game," Neal added. "Then, the first couple shots fell and I got in a good rhythm." Neal actually made his first six field-goal tries as the Bobcats, currently in position to grab the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference for the playoffs, improved to 30-34. Three of those baskets by Neal were 3-pointers. The Nuggets, who fell to 27-36, were led by Ty Lawsons 24 points -- 15 of which came in the fourth quarter as he tried to rally his team. "They were without Gerald Henderson and Gary Neal stepped in and did what he needed to do," Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said. "We have to learn to respect everyone, whether hes a starter or coming off the bench." Jefferson made 10 of his first 14 field-goal attempts, and also contributed a game-high 13 rebounds. Walker added seven assists for the Bobcats. Jefferson scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the first quarter, after which the Bobcats led 25-22. But they actually extended their lead to 12 in the second quarter, as Neal scored nine points. "That boy can score. He made plays, thats all," Jefferson said of Neal. "If he can play like that, its going to give a big lift to the second unit. With him hitting 3s like that, thats just going to open up the paint for guys like me who like to attack it." Josh McRoberts added 15 points for Charlotte, including a key 3-pointer with 6:15 left at the shot-clock buzzer to extend Charlottes lead to 90-82 after Denver had cut it to five. Denver also got 15 points from Kenneth Faried, 16 from Aaron Brooks, and 11 points and a team-high 10 rebounds from J.J. Hickson. After Faried led a brief Denver comeback to cut Charlottes lead to 51-45 at the half, Walker and Jefferson hit the first two baskets of the third quarter to push the Charlotte advantage back to 10 and the home team never trailed in the second half. Denver did pull to within 101-96 in the final minute, but Walker, who made all 12 of his free-throw attempts on the night, hit a pair with 55.6 seconds left and then Jefferson hit a jumper after a defensive stop to seal the Bobcats victory. "We hung in there and fought hard," Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said. "It wasnt our best game. We made a lot of mistakes in the fourth quarter. But its a good win and an important win for our team." Clifford said Neal, who has now scored in double figures in six of the seven games hes played for the Bobcats, is providing the kind of instant offence that he had hoped for when Neal was acquired from the Bucks along with backup point guard Luke Ridnour. "He played great," Clifford said. "Forget the 7-for-9 (field-goal shooting). He made two big plays out of the pick-and-roll when we were struggling. They blitzed Kemba and Gary Neal hit CDR (Chris Douglas-Roberts) for a big 3 and he started the ball movement on another pick-and-roll that led to a Kemba jumper. Hes the one who kind of got our offence back on track." NOTES: Clifford said Henderson, who missed Mondays game and has been out a week with a strained right calf muscle, might attempt running during Tuesdays practice. He hopes Henderson will be available to resume playing in games soon. Clifford said that likely wont occur until next week, however. ... The Bobcats have 18 home wins, three more than all of last year. Jrue Holiday Pelicans Jersey . Toronto FC hosts the three-time Italian league champions in a friendly Aug. 7 at BMO Field, a game that Roma CEO Italo Zanzi said falls within a key part of their pre-season. Anthony Davis Jersey . Yet coming off consecutive series losses at St. Louis and Pittsburgh, Los Angeles needed some sort of spark as August approaches. The Dodgers found it in the ballpark of their biggest rival, and left the Bay Area in first place following an emphatic three-game swing. http://www.shoppelicansonline.com/Authen...elicans-Jersey/. Once again, the third baseman delivered in a big spot. Ramirez kept up his torrid hitting with a two-run homer to help back Wily Peraltas solid start, and the Brewers extended their winning streak to seven with a 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night. ETwaun Moore Pelicans Jersey . - Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II says the NFL has told the team it will not be docked a pick in this years draft for coach Mike Tomlins foray onto the field against Baltimore last November. Anthony Davis Pelicans Jersey .com) - Wimbledon runner-up Eugenie Bouchard notched a win, while second-seeded two-time champion Ana Ivanovic, third- seeded Australian Open runner-up Dominika Cibulkova and fifth seed Sabine Lisicki all exited the draw at the Generali Ladies Linz tennis event.MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The Memphis Grizzlies are leaning on point guard Mike Conley as they wait for other starters to return from injury. Hes coming through. Conley matched his career high with 31 points and led a fourth-quarter rally as the Grizzlies defeated the Phoenix Suns 104-99 Friday night. It marked Conleys second consecutive game with at least 30 points as Memphis plays without centre Marc Gasol, who is rehabbing a knee injury. Tony Allen, Conleys backcourt mate, has missed three straight games with a sprained left wrist. "(Conleys) been great," said forward Zach Randolph, who had 20 points and 13 rebounds for Memphis. "The kids worked on his game, and he keeps getting better and better." Ed Davis had 10 points and a career-high 17 rebounds as the Grizzlies outrebounded the Suns 53-44. Mike Miller finished with 11 points. Randolph tied his season high in assists with seven. "We were really focused on getting boards, and they still get them," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said of the Grizzlies. Conley was a key force in the fourth quarter when he scored five points in run that put the Grizzlies ahead for good. He finished the night 11 of 19 from the field, including 3 of 7 from outside the arc. "Im having fun with it," Conley said. "Ive had games where I dont play well, and Im still trying to carry the load and games where I do. Im just having fun and trying to help us get wins." Goran Dragic led the Suns with 21 points and eight assists, connecting on six of 10 shots. Markieff Morris came off the Phoenix bench for 17 points. Gerald Green had 12 points. The Phoenix loss came on a day when the Suns announced that guard Eric Bledsoe, the teams second-leading scorer, is out indefinitely after having knee surgery earlier in the day to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. Phoenix held an 88-86 advvantage with about 6 minutes left when Memphis scored seven straight points.dddddddddddd Memphis lead was built as the Suns struggled from the field in the final quarter, connecting on only 9 of 27 shots, including 2 of 11 from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Memphis hit 10 of 18 shots in the fourth. "They are not known to be a 3-point shooting team," said Channing Frye who scored 10 points for Phoenix, "but they hit some huge threes down the end." Hornacek, like others, did not lose sight of Conleys impact. He talked about the point guards court vision and quickness to keep the Grizzlies offence flowing. "Mike Conley made a bunch of great plays at the end of the game," Hornacek said. "You want to have a chance to win in the fourth quarter. .They made the plays that we didnt. We missed layups. We had open shots. We just didnt finish them." The Suns built a 10-point before carrying a 55-48 lead into the break. After Phoenix opened the third quarter hitting 4 of 5 shots from outside the arc, Memphis chipped away, outscoring the Suns 16-7 in the closing minutes of the third to tie the game at 74 entering the fourth. "We crashed the boards," Conley said of the second half rally. "They started missing a couple of shots. They were making some tough shots throughout the game. We had a feeling that once they started to miss, we had to be there to get the rebound and go down on the other end and convert it." NOTES: Memphis has won all three games in the series this season, holding the Suns to 91 points in the first two victories. ... Suns G Leandro Barbosa, signed to a 10-day contract earlier this week, scored four points in his return to the Suns. Barbosa played his first seven years with the Suns and was the 2006-07 Sixth Man of the Year. ...With the win, Memphis has alternated wins and losses over the last nine games. ' ' '