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SAN ANTONIO -- The Chicago Bulls took advantage of the injury-riddled San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night. Jimmy Butler had 19 points and Carlos Boozer added 16 points and 12 rebounds and the Bulls handed the Spurs their third straight loss, 96-86. "It was huge," Butler said. "Its big to come in here and get a win on the road." Tony Parker had 20 points and Tim Duncan had 17 points and 12 rebounds for San Antonio, which hadnt lost back-to-back games until this current skid. The Spurs were without Manu Ginobili, Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and Tiago Splitter, who were all out due to injuries. Ginobili joined San Antonios growing injury list Tuesday night, straining his left hamstring against Houston after throwing down a one-handed dunk. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich dismissed any talk of fatigue. "I dont care, thats just an excuse," Popovich said. "Everybody tried as hard as they could. I dont know how to measure fatigue. Just go play. We try to watch peoples minutes and that kind of thing. "It doesnt matter whos hurt, or what your schedule is, or anything like that. You go play. Nobody cares. All that matters is the win or the loss. We lost or defensive consistency and they went up." The Bulls can certainly relate after losing All-Star point guard Derrick Rose to a season-ending knee injury. The Bulls have attempted to step up collectively since the injury and that depth led them to their 10th road victory of the season. Chicago had seven players score in double figures, with D.J. Augustin and Taj Gibson adding 15 points each and Joakim Noah had 10 points and 10 rebounds. "We have a roster full of NBA players just like everybody else," Butler said. "A lot of people sleep on us, but we have a really talented group of guys that do so many things well. When we play together and just as hard as we can, I think we can win a lot of games." With four players missing from their main rotation, the Spurs turned to their depth with less effectiveness. Nando De Colo and newly signed Othyus Jeffers, who both played in the D League, both started for the first time this season. Jeffers brought hustle and De Colo another distributor, but neither brought much offence. Jeffers failed to score, going 0 for 1 from the field, and De Colo had eight points. It led to a disjointed and inconsistent offence for San Antonio. The Spurs had 19 turnovers and only 16 assists on their 33 field goals. "Its tough to keep a rhythm," Duncan said. "With a lot of our guys out, our consistency just isnt there on both ends. We cant sustain for the periods of time that we need to. "But at various points throughout the game were where we want to be. And then we go through lulls where defence or offence cant get it done." San Antonio went scoreless for nearly five minutes as part of Chicagos 12-5 run to close the first quarter. It could have been worse, but Patty Mills made a 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds remaining to keep the Spurs within 21-15. San Antonio responded with a 17-3 run to take a 27-24 lead. Chicago scored just seven points in 10 minutes bridging the first and second quarters, turning a 21-12 lead into a 36-28 deficit. But the second half belonged to the Bulls and Butler. "Its just tough right now," Parker said. "Back to back, it felt like we had no energy. We didnt make shots in the first half. We had some pretty good looks in the first half; open 3s. They just didnt go in and we just try to fight through it. We tried to get some energy in the second half, but they played better than us." Butler was 7 for 11 from the field as the Spurs had no answer for the athletic forward. "Jimmy was terrific," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said, "with his defence and then turned that defence into offence, which was a big plus for us." Not having to guard Ginobili, Leonard or Green on the wings allowed Butler to defend Parker and the other Spurs guards. Parker finished 8 for 17 with six assists in 34 minutes. "Its a challenge (defending Parker)," Butler said. "He can do so many things well, but whenever I was beat, I had Taj (Gibson), (Nazr) Mohammed, Jo (Noah) or Booz (Boozer) to alter his shot or make him go a different direction." NOTES: Green (fractured left index finger), Leonard (fractured right fourth metacarpal) and Splitter (sprained right shoulder) all sat behind the bench during the game, all wearing sport coats with no ties. Ginobili was not with the team. ... Noah (illness) and Kirk Hinrich (right hamstring) both played after being game-time decisions due to injury. ... Jeffers endeared himself to the fans and Spurs quickly, diving onto court twice on the same possession for a loose ball, earning a jump ball. ... Noah was given a technical foul with 5:02 remaining in the third by official Josh Tiven. As he ran back defensively, Noah punched the air in disgust after missing a layup he thought was caused by a foul on Duncan. ... When asked how the Spurs will handle the rash of recent injuries, coach Gregg Popovich said he didnt want to be a smart-(aleck) but ... "You play the guys on the bench. We cant play the guys on the other team. I know that." Racer Pink Air Max Plus 97 . The Brewers finalized a US$36 million, three-year contract with free agent third baseman Aramis Ramirez on Wednesday, adding a much-needed bat to their lineup. Air Max 97 Vapormax Cheap . Leave it to Matt Niskanen, the newly proclaimed Eddie Haskell of the Washington Capitals. http://www.outletairmax97.com/ . He learned about pressure and expectations at the 2010 Games in his hometown of Vancouver. His next mission is to build on that experience at his next Olympic appearance in Sochi, where he plans to ride the momentum from the teams strong start to the season. Air Max 97 Plus Hybrid Pink .com) - His team lost in the round of 16 of the FCS playoffs, yet Northern Iowa football coach Mark Farley says his team has made a strong case to be voted to the top 5 in the final rankings. Air Max 97 Plus Cheap . Altidore strained his left hamstring in the Americans opener against Ghana on June 16 and didnt play in their next two games. "We dont know how much because we need to see how hes going, but hes available," U. FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Fumbles plagued Stevan Ridley even when the ball was dry. A steady rain presents another challenge to the New England Patriots running back. It wasnt a problem for him Thursday. The Patriots continued their organized team activities on a soggy day and Ridley gripped the ball as if his job depended on it. It might if he keeps fumbling. "I told one of the young guys today, thats the quickest way to get off the field," Ridley said. "You can ask me first." Hes speaks from experience. Ridley lost fumbles in three consecutive games last season. After the third, in the first quarter against the Denver Broncos on Nov. 24, he was benched for the rest of New Englands 34-31 comeback win in overtime. He lost a total of four fumbles last season leading to three touchdowns and a field goal. So hes been focusing on avoiding a repeat this year. "All you can do is really squeeze (the ball) high and tight," Ridley said. "I think that was a lesson I had to go through and, hopefully, I wont have to go through it again, but who knows? "A little bit of adversity never hurts anybody. ... You take your mistakes, you learn from them and you grow and you just keep on pushing." The third-round pick from LSU fumbled just once as a rookie in 2011, but the Patriots recovered it. He lost two of his four fumbles in 2012 before the problem escalated last year. And his rushing production dropped -- from 1,263 yards and 12 touchdowns on 290 carries in 2012 to 773 yards and seven touchdowns on 178 attempts. So hes concentrating on improving his overall focus on every play. "I think if I can do that I can become a better player," Ridley said. "When you lose focus on the small things -- whether its small assignments, whether its carrying the football, whether its running a route, whether its blitz pickup -- those are things that cost you your playing time." LeGarrette Blount emerged as the top back late in the season, rushing for 431 yards and eight touchdowns in tthree straight games before both runners were shut down in a 26-16 loss at Denver in the AFC championship game.dddddddddddd Blount left for the Pittsburgh Steelers as a free agent, leaving Ridley, Shane Vereen and Brandon Bolden as coach Bill Belichicks veteran backs. "You can go out there and be a starter one game and the next game youre two or three guys behind," Ridley said. "Thats what Coach stresses to us every week. We have to go out there and be as competitive as we can be. Hes going to play the matchups game and we just have to be unselfish enough to capitalize on the plays that we get." Ridleys four fumbles last year came on dry days. It rained during the last regular-season game, a 34-20 win over the Buffalo Bills, and the first playoff games, a 43-22 win over the Indianapolis Colts. Both games were at Foxborough. On Thursday, three months before the regular season, rain fell throughout practice. "Theres no contact so you should be running your routes perfect. You should be catching every ball thats thrown to you. You shouldnt be dropping anything on the ground," Ridley said. "Rain, sleet, whatevers out there, whatever the conditions are, you have to find a way to fight through that." Some had trouble. One receiver fell while trying to cut. "When you have a wet surface, you have to stick to your fundamentals," wide receiver Julian Edelman said. Wet or dry, Ridley knows he must do that all the time. "Were practicing either way. Coach says he doesnt care about the conditions -- rain, sleet, snow -- were playing in them," he said. "You just never know, but whatever it is there are no excuses." Ridley is entering the final season of his contract and tries not to think much about it. "I have to go out there and play football and hit it hard and run the ball and get wide open," he said. "I just have to be the same player Ive been." Anything else? "Try to go out there and be mistake-free." ' ' '