ATLANTA - One team was motivated by the goal of dodging the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs. Andrew Kittredge Jersey . The other teams goal was resting its starters. The result was predictable. Chris Douglas-Roberts dribbled into the lane and sank a short jumper as time expired, and the Charlotte Bobcats overcame a 15-point deficit in the final period to beat the Atlanta Hawks 95-93 on Monday night. Al Jefferson had 27 points and 15 rebounds for Charlotte, which remained one game behind Washington in the race for the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Gary Neal had 17. "Great shot," said Jefferson of Douglas-Roberts game-winner. "Great play. Great finish. Great win." Added Jefferson, referring to his role in the play: "Great pick!" Jeffersons turnaround jumper gave the Bobcats a 93-91 lead before Lou Williams answered with a tying jumper for Atlanta with 2.6 seconds remaining. Following a timeout, Douglas-Roberts penetrated and lobbed the soft jumper as the buzzer sounded. Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said Douglas-Roberts "made a great shot." Even so, the coach wasnt satisfied, especially with his teams defence. Charlotte has won seven of eight, but Clifford isnt satisfied his team is playing at the level he wants for the playoffs. "We didnt get the defence we needed out of the starters," Clifford said. "The big thing is to be playing well, which were not." The Hawks rested starters Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll the full game, and also held out starters Jeff Teague and Pero Antic the final quarter when the Bobcats made their charge. "Some of our young guys got great opportunities," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "I think theres a lot to take from tonight." Mike Scott led Atlanta with 20 points. Shelvin Mack and Williams each had 13, and Teague 11. The Hawks spot as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference already was set, so Budenholzer was playing to protect his top players. "I think when youre in our situation, health and all of those things are a priority," Budenholzer said. Added veteran Elton Brand: "We felt like we let it slip away, but guys got a lot of experience and that is important for us, too." By contrast, Charlotte still had much to play for. The reward for sixth is avoiding Miami in the first round. Washington beat Miami 114-93 on Monday night to protect its lead over Charlotte in the race for sixth and secure first in the conference for Indiana. The Hawks will face the Pacers in the first round. Douglas-Roberts had five points as part of the Bobcats productive bench. "We have a job to do," Douglas-Roberts said. "We did a great job of getting back into this game. Gary Neal and Luke Ridnour basically carried us up until that point. ... I feel like thats the least I can do to help these guys, the way they carried us the whole quarter." Atlanta led 50-44 at halftime and 80-65 entering the final period. The Bobcats opened the fourth period with a 19-4 run, capped by 14 consecutive points, to pull even at 84. Ridnour had all of his 10 points in the run, including the tying jumper with 6:07 remaining. Three free throws by Neal gave Charlotte its first lead of the half at 87-86. The Bobcats led 91-86 before Macks back-to-back baskets — a 3-pointer and short jumper — tied the game at 91. Kemba Walker had five points and seven assists in his returned for the Bobcats after missing two games with a sore right groin. NOTES: The Bobcats salvaged one win in the four-game season series. ... Former Turner Entertainment Networks president Steve Koonin was introduced in the day as the Hawks CEO and co-owner. Koonin will direct business operations and represent the owners in league meetings. ... Jefferson posted his eighth straight double-double. ... A young fan sitting on the front row and wearing a Hawks jersey was bowled over by Charlottes Anthony Tolliver. The boy appeared to be shaken up but quickly regrouped as he received high-fives and fist-bumps from Hawks players. During a timeout minutes later, he was presented player-sized athletic shoes which were too big to remain in his lap. Tampa Bay Rays Store . -- Jonathan Diaz is easy to spot in the Blue Jays clubhouse. Custom Tampa Bay Rays Jerseys . Join World Soccer Pickem 2014 for your chance to win $5,500 in cash prizes by picking the winner of each game all the way through to the tournament final. Will you ride a favourite such as Spain or Germany, or cast your lot with an underdog like Ivory Coast or Mexico? Perhaps key victories from Netherlands or the United States will be your key to victory. https://www.cheapraysonline.com/ .The Toronto Raptors guard, who will represent the Eastern Conference at the All-Star Game in New Orleans on Sunday, says he doesnt complain in the face of adversity "because I know this little girl is just happy for anything.LONDON, Ont. -- Matt Rupert scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the London Knights extended their win streak to nine games by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Mitchell Marner and Max Domi also scored for the Knights in regulation (44-12-5) while Ryan Rupert clinched the win with Londons second shootout goal. Londons Jake Patterson made 22 saves for the win. Jack Flinn gave the Attack (26-26-8) a chance to win by stopping 52-of-55 shots. Daniel Milne scored twice for Owen Sound and Kurtis Gabriel added the other. Both clubs went 0 for 3 on the power play. --- FRONTENACS 10 BULLS 2 KINGSTON, Ont. -- Sam Bennett scored three times as the Frontenacs used a five-goal first period to crush Belleville. Darcy Greenoway and Henri Ikonen each had a goal and two assists for Kingston (33-22-4) while Mikko Vainonen, Ryan Verbeek, Robert Polesello, Corey Pawley and Spencer Watson added the others. Lucas Perissini stopped 37-of-39 shots for the Frontenacs. Cameron Brace scored both goals for the Bulls (19-36-6) as Michael Giugovaz allowed all 10 goals on 39 shots against. --- COLTS 2 WHALERS 1 (SO) PLYMOUTH, Mich. -- Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 49 shots for the Whalers, but gave up the winner to Zach Hall in the third round of the shootout as Barrie won for the first time in three outings. Andreas Athanasiou forced overtime for the Colts (32-26-3) when he scored at 5:20 of the third period. Plymouths (24-30-7) Zach Lorentz opened the scoring at 6:04 of the second. Mackenzie Blackwood made 35 saves for Barrie. --- OTTERS 4 STING 3 SARNIA, Ont. -- Dane Fox scored twice, including his 58th of the season at 19:22 of the third period to break a 3-3 deadlock, as Erie edged the Sting. Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist for the Otters (45-144-2) and Travis Wood scored the other. Tampa Bay Rays Shirts. Nickolas Latta, Hayden Hodgson and Vladislav Kodola scored for Sarnia (16-39-6) and Nikolay Goldobin tacked on two assists. Eries Oscar Dansk made 18 saves for the win as Taylor Dupuis stopped 33-of-37 shots in defeat. --- SPIRIT 5 RANGERS 2 SAGINAW, Mich. -- Justin Kea scored twice and Jake Paterson stopped 36 shots as the Spirit handed Kitchener its fourth loss in a row. Jeremiah Addison, Dylan Sadowy and Jimmy Lodge also scored for Saginaw (30-26-5) and Nick Moutrey had two assists. Mason Kohn and Curtis Meighan scored for the Rangers (22-36-3). Matthew Greenfield started in net for Kitchener and allowed four goals on 16 shots before being relieved by Jordan DeKort to start the third period. DeKort stopped 5-of-6 shots in relief. --- GENERALS 4 STEELHEADS 1 MISSISSAUGA, Ont. -- Ken Appleby made 27 saves and Oshawa produced all its offence in the first period en route to defeating the Steelheads. Josh Sterk, Jacob Busch, Joe Manchurek and Hunter Smith scored for the Generals (40-17-5). Mississauga (23-34-4) got its lone goal from Bobby MacIntyre. Chase Marchand allowed all four goals on 15 shots before Spencer Martin took over to start the second period. Martin made 19 saves in relief. --- WOLVES 6 STORM 5 SUDBURY, Ont. -- Trevor Carrick scored once and set up two more as the Wolves came from behind to defeat Guelph. Ray Huether, Nicholas Baptiste, Jacob Harris, Radek Faksa and Nathan Pancel also scored for Sudbury (31-2-10), which trailed 5-2 after 40 minutes of play. Robby Fabbri, Pius Suter and Zach Mitchell each had a goal and an assist for the Storm (47-11-3) while Brock McGinn and Marc Stevens added singles. Franky Palazzese made 36 saves for the Wolves. Guelphs Justin Nichols stopped 32-of-38 shots in defeat. ' ' '