(SportsNetwork.com) - Zdeno Charas return didnt result in a victory for the Boston Bruins the last time out, but the Bs hope to pick up just their second win in December when they host the struggling Ottawa Senators on Saturday afternoon. Chara played on Thursday for the first time since Oct. 23, but the big defenseman couldnt help Boston beat the visiting Chicago Blackhawks, who earned a 3-2 regulation win at TD Garden. The Bruins captain did not have a banner night in his return from a torn ligament in his left knee, putting just one shot on net and getting whistled for a pair of minor penalties in over 24 minutes of ice time. The Bruins went a respectable 11-7-1 while Chara was sidelined with his injury, but Thursdays loss was the clubs fourth setback in five outings. Boston fell behind 3-0 to the Blackhawks before mounting a comeback bid. Reilly Smith cut the deficit to two goals late in the second period and Torey Krug made it a 3-2 game at 12:17 of the third. However, the Bruins were unable to produce another goal to even the score. The effort was there from start to finish, but as you could see in that first period, the execution was poor, said Bruins head coach Claude Julien. Weve got to get better in those areas if we want to start winning some hockey games. Tuukka Rask managed just 18 saves in the loss as his team was outshot by a 34-21 margin in the game despite holding a 10-2 lead in shots in the third period. Rask has excellent career numbers against todays opponent, going 6-2-1 with a 2.12 goals against average in 10 lifetime appearances against Ottawa. Boston has dominated the Senators in recent meetings, taking two straight, eight of 11 and 16 of the last 20 encounters. Ottawa, which is 5-8-2 as the visiting team this season, has dropped three in a row and nine of the last 11 matchups at TD Garden. While the Bruins lost in Charas return from a 19-game absence on Thursday, the Senators failed to pick up a win the same night in their first game since firing head coach Paul MacLean. Dave Cameron replaced MacLean, the former Jack Adams Award winner, after he was let go on Monday, but the new bench boss lost in his NHL head coaching debut, as the Senators fell 5-3 to the visiting Los Angeles Kings. Anze Kopitar and Trevor Lewis scored less than two minutes apart early in the third period to snap a 2-2 tie and help the defending Stanley Cup champions post the win in Ottawa. The two goals came shortly after Ottawas Mark Stone scored short-handed to tie the game at just 1:44 into the final frame. Cameron was elevated from assistant coach on Monday to replace McLean, who was fired after the Senators dropped 13 of their last 17 games. Ottawa was able to overcome the 2-0 deficit on goals by Bobby Ryan and Stone, but gave up three in the third period to fall to 1-4-1 in its last six outings. Jared Cowen notched a goal and an assist in the loss, with Craig Anderson stopping 31-of-35 shots for Ottawa. I dont think we can be too upset with the effort, said Cowen. We just have to bring it for the whole game. Ottawa played without defenseman Marc Methot (back) and forward Milan Michalek (upper body) for a second straight game and both players are questionable for Saturday. Meanwhile, enforcer Chris Neil suffered a knee injury on Thursday and is expected to miss at least a week. Todays tilt marks the start of a three-game road trip for the Sens, who also will play five of their next six away from Canadas capital. 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Its the second time this season that Milan has been sanctioned by the league judge, after fans also subjected Napoli supporters to discriminatory chants. The ban will come into effect for Milans next match, against Udinese on Oct.Cleveland, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Kyrie Irving started ice cold, missing his first seven shots. Hours later, his coach was asked to describe a performance he said was unlike anything hed ever seen. Irving piled up a career-high 55 points with an injured LeBron James cheering from the sideline and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 99-94 on Wednesday night for their eighth consecutive win. Irving electrified Quicken Loans Arena by making a team-record 11 3-pointers, the last of them coming with 6.4 seconds left to give the Cavaliers the lead for good. His 55 points were the most ever scored by a Cavaliers player at home and one shy of James franchise- record 56 in a game in Toronto on March 20, 2005. The fourth-year point guard almost single-handedly extended Clevelands winning streak. Final Score: Philadelphia 89, Detroit 69 Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Robert Covington made four 3-pointers en route to 19 points for the Philadelphia 76ers, who snapped a six-game losing streak with an 89-69 win over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday. Michael Carter-Williams returned from a one-game absence to finish with 14 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for the Sixers, who improved to 4-18 at home this season. JaKarr Sampson added 13 points and eight boards for Philadelphia. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute tallied 12 points and Henry Sims and K.J. McDaniels each scored 10 points. Final Score: Toronto 119, Sacramento 102 Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Lou Williams netted 27 points off the bench and the Toronto Raptors defeated the Sacramento Kings 119-102 on Wednesday night. Greivis Vasquez posted 18 points and six assists, Jonas Valanciunas provided 15 points and nine rebounds and Kyle Lowry added 13 points and seven assists for Toronto, which has won four straight games. The Raptors had seven players reach double figures in scoring. Final Score: Atlanta 113, Brooklyn 102 Atlanta, GA (SportsNetwork.com) - The longest winning streak in the NBA this season now belongs to the unselfish and red-hot Atlanta Hawks, who rolled to their 17th straight victory Wednesday with a 113-102 triumph over the Brooklyn Nets. Six Hawks scored in double figures and an impressive 76 percent (29- of-38) of their field goals came directly off an assist. Paul Millsap totaled 28 points and 15 rebounds, Jeff Teague orchestrated the offense with 13 points and 11 assists and Al Horford added 20 points and 10 boards for the victors. Kyle Korver made five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points for Atlanta, which has already matched its win total of 38 from last season. Joe Johnson scored a team-high 26 points and Jarrett Jack finished with 14 points and a career-high 13 assists in the Nets third straight loss. Final Score: Houston 99, Dallas 94 Houston, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - James Harden walked up to the foul line with a slight limp in the closing moments, but still sunk both game-clinching free throws. Josh Smith had 18 points and six rebounds, Harden added 17 points, eight assists and four steals and the Houston Rockets defeated the Dallas Mavericks 99-94 on Wednesday night. Harden was slow to get up after banging knees with Monta Ellis near the left elbow during the middle to late stages of the fourth quarter following a drive. Harden, though, gutted it out, but was seen grimacing near the Rockets bench after knocking down his foul shots. Donatas Motiejunas posted 16 points and five rebounds for Houston, which has won three straight games. Ellis finished with 33 points and five assists and Chandler Parsons netted 21 points for the Mavericks, who have dropped four consecutive contests. Final Score: Minnesota 110, Boston 98 Minneapolis, MN (SportsNetwork.com) - Kevin Martin returned to score 21 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves snapped a 10-game home losing streak with a 110-98 win over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night. Martin missed 34 games after suffering a fractured right wrist on Nov. 19 but led seven Timberwolves scorers in double figures while playing 29 minutes off the bench.ddddddddddddZach LaVine added 17 points in the win, Gorgui Dieng had 16 with 14 rebounds, Nikola Pekovic scored 14 and Andrew Wiggins and Thaddeus Young each had 12. The Timberwolves played without guard Mo Williams and won for the first time at home since a 90-82 victory over Portland on Dec. 10. The NBA basement dwellers snapped a five-game overall losing streak, winning for just the fourth time in the last 31 games. Final Score: Denver 93, New Orleans 85 New Orleans, LA (SportsNetwork.com) - Arron Afflalo and Ty Lawson were both instrumental down the stretch to help the Denver Nuggets snap their seven-game losing streak. Afflalo had a team-high 20 points and Lawson distributed 13 assists in the Nuggets 93-85 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night. Lawson had just five points on 2-of-12 shooting, but his basket late in the fourth along with a pair of assists to Afflalo aided to the win. Tyreke Evans scored 15 of his 25 points in the third quarter to pace the Pelicans, who had their four-game winning streak halted. Anthony Davis, who temporarily left the game in the third after suffering a leg injury, supplied 24 points and 12 rebounds in the setback. Final Score: New York 100, Oklahoma City 92 New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Carmelo Anthony tallied 31 points to help the New York Knicks continue their improved play of late with a 100-92 victory over a short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder squad. Anthony, who sat out Saturdays game at Charlotte to rest his ailing left knee, added 10 rebounds in the Knicks fourth win in five outings since they lost a franchise-worst 16 in a row from Dec. 14-Jan. 15. While Anthony was back on the court, the Thunder played without reigning league MVP Kevin Durant for a second straight contest due to a sprained left toe. Russell Westbrook did all he could to offset Durants absence by pouring in 40 points, which still wasnt enough to prevent Oklahoma City from a potentially costly loss to one of the NBAs bottom-feeding teams. Final Score: San Antonio 95, Charlotte 86 San Antonio, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Tim Duncan posted his second straight double-double and five Spurs reached double figures in San Antonios 95-86 win over the Charlotte Hornets. Duncan had 12 points and 14 rebounds, while Tony Parker and Danny Green scored 17 and 16 points, respectively, in the Spurs third straight win. They have also won nine of 11 and havent lost consecutive games since late December. Duncan and Green finished with three blocks and two steals apiece. Al Jefferson tallied 17 points and 16 rebounds for Charlotte, which is 9-3 over its last 12 games, with two of those losses coming to the defending champs. Cody Zeller neared a triple-double in the setback, posting nine points, 13 boards and seven assists. Final Score: LA Clippers 94, Utah 89 Salt Lake City, UT (SportsNetwork.com) - Chris Paul and Jamal Crawford each scored 21 points as the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Utah Jazz 94-89 on Wednesday night. Blake Griffin had 17 points and seven rebounds for the Clippers, who have won 13 straight over the Jazz. Los Angeles, which opened up an eight-game road trip, has won six straight overall. Enes Kanter paced Utah with 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Derrick Favors contributed 18 points with nine rebounds and Gordon Hayward added 11 points in the loss. Final Score: Phoenix 106, Washington 98 Phoenix, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Goran Dragic posted 20 points in the Phoenix Suns 106-98 win over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night. Isaiah Thomas had 18 points off the bench, Markieff Morris scored 16 and P.J. Tucker went for 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Suns, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Marcin Gortat and Otto Porter each netted 14 points in the loss, while Kris Humphries tallied 11 points and 15 rebounds. The Wizards had their two-game winning streak halted. ' ' '