start off the second half of the season with a

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Derrick Rose missed the first NBA game played in South America on Saturday, sitting out the Chicago Bulls 83-81 victory over the Washington Wizards with soreness in his surgically repaired left knee. The NBA stars absence disappointed a sellout crowd of 13,635 at the HSBC Arena in Rio -- the gymnastics venue at the 2016 Olympics -- where the top ticket price for the preseason game was 2,000 Brazilian reals ($915). Taj Gibson led the Bulls with 18 points and Luol Deng added 14. Bradley Beal paced Washington with 16. Rose had played two preseason games without any sign of problems, but Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said the knee flared up in practice Friday and Rose ended his work about halfway through the session. "We wanted to see where he was today, but he wasnt as well as we would have liked," Thibodeau said. "He still had the soreness. So we anticipated giving him time off. We view our training camp as the entire month. So if he needs a day, or a couple of days well do that." Kirk Hinrich started at point guard in Roses absence and finished with eight points and three assists. "Its more, I think, just a precaution. Hes coming off a really big injury. Were not too worried," Hinrich said. "Hes been good all camp and Im assuming everybody is expecting him to be ready. "Coming back from a big injury like that, you dont want to push it too hard, too fast." Chicago led 44-35 at halftime and was in control most of the way until Washington took a 79-77 lead with 5:42 left on Glen Rices 3-pointer. Fans started chanting late in the game "Rose, Rose," hoping to see him take the floor, but Thibodeau plans on playing it safe with his star point guard. "In training camp when guys get sore, you usually rest them," he said. "You are always concerned with injuries or soreness. We knew coming into the season hes coming off a major injury." Rose hoped to be ready for the Bulls next game, at home Wednesday against the Pistons. "I know that I should be ready to go next game," he said. Chicagos Joakim Noah also missed the game, sitting out with a groin injury. "Over the course of a season you are always going to have different issues in terms of health," Thibodeau said. "So we expect when someone is out, the next man will step up and get the job done. We had a lot of guys do that last year and we expect the same next year." Brazilian great Oscar Schmidt got a rousing welcome from the fans, but Wizards centre Nene, who grew up near Sao Paulo, was jeered as he took the floor. And he was jeered each time he went to the free-throw line. Many Brazil fans are unhappy because Nene seldom plays for the national team, and Schmidt has criticized him for not doing so. Chicago is 3-0 in the preseason and Washington is 0-2. Wholesale Jerseys Online . The Marlies surrendered two power-play goals and failed to score on six man-advantage opportunities en route to a 4-1 defeat in American Hockey League action on Saturday. Baseball Jerseys From China . The Maple Leafs will play on the road for the first time this season after dropping home contests to Montreal and Pittsburgh to begin the campaign. After losing a one-goal decision to the Canadiens on Wednesday, they were bested 5-2 on Saturday by the Penguins. http://www.cheapnflchinajerseysonline.com/ . 1-9 on TSN. With more than 65 hours of exclusive live coverage, TSN delivers all the action beginning with Draw 1 on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 2 p. Cheap Jerseys Online .B. -- Canadas Rachel Homan opened the Ford Womens World Curling Championship with a 7-5 win over Russia on Saturday. Cheap MLB Jerseys . Clevelands manager had just watched his team lose 5-3 to Kansas City, which completed a 2-6 homestand and dropped the Indians 2 1/2 games behind Detroit in the AL Central.(SportsNetwork.com) - The St. Louis Blues aim to extend a 10-game point streak and grab a share of first place in the Central Division on Sunday afternoon as they visit the Washington Capitals. The Blues picked up a fourth win in a row on Friday, posting a 3-2 shootout win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk had the winner in the tiebreaker, scoring as St. Louis second shooter before Jake Allen sealed things with a stop on Eric Staals wrister. Allen made 26 saves, while David Backes and Ryan Reaves scored early to help the Blues improve to 9-0-1 in their last 10 games. This was a big game to win, said St. Louis head coach Ken Hitchcock. We played back-to-back, and our record was only two games over .500 on the road. To start off the second half of the season with a big road win is important, so they deserve a lot of credit. Backes goal extended his point streak to nine straight games and he has totaled eight goals and 16 points over the run. St. Louis is second in the Central Division with 66 points, two ahead of Chicago and a pair of points back of Nashville, which visits Pittsburgh on Saturday. Brian Elliott, who leads the NHL with a 1.95 goals against average, will start today for the Blues and is 5-2-0 lifetime versus the Capitals with a 3.19 GAA and .881 save percentage in nine games (8 starts). The Capitals are in action for a second straight afternooon, having lost a 1-0 overtime decision to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.dddddddddddd Braden Holtby, coming off a shutout win over Pittsburgh, made 29 saves, but gave up the only goal of the game with Montreals Max Pacioretty chipped home a pass with 1:52 left in overtime. Were happy with the way we played against a very good team, Holtby said. There were some big performances on both sides. Alex Ovechkin, tied for the league lead with 29 goals, had a big performance despite not scoring. He logged just over 25 minutes of ice time and had eight shots on net along with five hits. However, Washington still fell to 1-3-2 in its last six games and is tied for third in the Metropolitan Division with the New York Rangers. Holtby made his 42nd start of the season, tied for second most in the NHL, and it is unknown if hell get the call again today. He has won both of his previous starts versus the Blues, giving up only two goals on 76 shots. Backup Justin Peters, meanwhile, is 0-2-0 versus St. Louis while giving up seven goals on 65 shots for a 3.50 GAA and .892 save percentage. The Capitals have won four of their past six versus the Blues overall and four of the last five meetings at home, but St. Louis did notch a 4-1 victory as the hosting club on Nov. 15. Elliott made 24 saves and Backes was one of four goal-scorers for the Blues, while Peters made 30 saves. ' ' '