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WASHINGTON -- No, confetti didnt fall from the rafters, and theres no parade scheduled for Pennsylvania Avenue. But John Wall pumped his right arm and smiled broadly as he dribbled out the clock, and the first word out of Bradley Beals mouth when he addressed the crowd said it all: "Finally." The Washington Wizards celebrated what they hope is the end of mediocrity Monday night, moving above .500 for the first time in more than four years with a 100-90 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. "Its only one game over, but, yeah, its a big relief," said Wall, who has endured more than his share of Wizards frustration since his selection as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft. "But the main thing is weve got bigger goals to try to keep winning games and try to keep getting better and try not to go back down -- so we wont have to have this talk again." Wall scored 22 points, and Trevor Ariza added 20 and had another solid defensive game for the Wizards, who hadnt had a winning record since beating the New Jersey Nets to improve to 2-1 on Halloween in 2009. Washington committed six turnovers while forcing 16 from Portland, and Wall and Co. didnt look back after Kevin Seraphin led a 12-0 run that put the Wizards up by 17 early in the fourth quarter. "Its great to finally get this team over the hump," Beal said. No one on the current Wizards roster was on the team when it was last above .500. They had lost this season at 0-0, 9-9, 14-14, 19-19, 20-20, 21-21 and 22-22, and the hurdle became such a bugaboo that players starting declaring the subject taboo when reporters asked about it. Coach Randy Wittman at one point cautioned against thoughts that "all of a sudden fairy dust is going to fall on us if we get over .500." Sticking with that theme, Wittman wasnt about to consider having slightly more "Ws" than "Ls" as much of an accomplishment. "It aint out of the way. How many more games have we got to play?" Wittman said. "You act like that was the last daggum game. ... If were going to learn to be a good basketball team, we have to do this every night, no matter who youre playing." The Wizards are 120-236 since that Oct. 31 victory 51 months ago, a .336 winning percentage better than only Minnesota and Sacramento over that span. The streak of futility fell just a few days shy of spanning an entire Winter Olympiad. "Its great that were 24-23 now, but I dont want them to focus on a number," Wittman said. "I want them to focus on the act of why youre 24-23. Thats where you keep it going. I want this team to get on a run. They havent ever been on a run." Another way to put the quest to move above mediocrity in perspective: The Trail Blazers would have to lose their next 20 in a row just to fall back to .500. But the Wizards have now topped two of the Wests top teams in back-to-back games, having taken care of Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday. Washingtons first playoff berth since 2008 is well within reach, especially in the watered-down East. The Trail Blazers arrived averaging a league-best 108.3 points and shot 61 per cent in the first half, but Portland was 6 for 17 from the field with seven turnovers in the decisive third quarter as Washingtons defence again held its own against a more celebrated lineup. Seraphin went 7 for 10 from the field and scored a season-high 19 points, making his mark by scoring the last four points of the third quarter and the first four points of the fourth. He followed a turnaround hook shot with a jumper to put the Wizards ahead 86-69. The Trail Blazers cut the deficit to six on a layup by LaMarcus Aldridge with 1:12 remaining, but Nene answered with a jumper to give the Wizards a 98-90 lead. Damian Lillard scored 25 points, and Aldridge had 20 to lead the Trail Blazers, who have lost four straight road games. They could care less about Washingtons over-.500 benchmark, but they know one thing for certain: The Wizards are a better team these days. "Give Washington credit," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "They are playing well, theyve beaten some good teams, and they are playing with a lot of confidence." Notes: G Garrett Temple committed three of Washingtons six turnovers. ... Wizards F Trevor Booker missed the game due to personal reasons. Custom Arizona Cardinals Jerseys . -- So much for concern that running back Marshawn Lynch would be absent from the Seattle Seahawks minicamp. China Custom Jerseys Store . Austin does not believe the game-time temperature is going to be an advantage for either side heading into the Grey Cup. "We dont think about (the cold)," said Austin. "Im not even sure how you would determine an advantage. http://www.jerseyscustom.us/custom-san-francisco-49ers-jerseys/ .C. -- Jackson Whistle made 26 saves for his first shutout of the season as the Kelowna Rockets blanked the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes 5-0 on Saturday in Western Hockey League action. Cheap Custom Jerseys . The triple gold medallist from the 2010 Paralympics tweeted on Tuesday: "Woke up with a virus yesterday. Timing couldnt be much worse. Not the ideal prep for the . Fake Custom Jerseys . -- Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer will be out three to six weeks with a stress fracture of the third finger of his right hand.CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bulls have experienced such a turnaround this season that their wins are now being rated. According to some observers, the 102-90 victory over the hapless, short-handed Milwaukee Bucks didnt rate because the expected lopsided blowout didnt materialize. The Bulls, who spent much of the first two months of the season below .500, took issue with that assessment. "Just because theyre the worst team in the league doesnt mean . nothing, really," Taj Gibson said. "Its tough because youre playing against guys fighting for their jobs, fighting for their livelihoods. Theyre going to play hard." Jimmy Butler and Kirk Hinrich had 17 points apiece to lead seven players in double figures, and the Bulls, despite some occasional lapses in the fourth quarter, cruised. Carlos Boozer and D.J. Augustin scored 14 points apiece. Gibson added 13, Mike Dunleavy 12 and Joakim Noah had 11 points and 13 rebounds. "A wins a win," Butler said. "Wins are hard to come by in this league. Every team has a roster full of NBA players; there really are no bad teams. You get a win, youre happy with that." The Bulls have won four straight and six of seven, and remained tied with the Toronto Raptors for third in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls (44-32) face Washington, a possible first-round opponent, on Saturday. "I love the balance of the team," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "We had seven guys in double figures again. The shot distribution was pretty even, and thats important for us. "I like the balance of our team. Each night it could be someone different." Brandon Knight had 22 points before fouling out with just over two minutes left for Milwaukee. Jeff Adrien added 21 points for the Bucks, who have dropped four straight overall and 12 straight on the road to fall to 14-62 overall. Milwaukee entered the game with just eight healthy players because of injuries and coach Larry Drew decided to play just seven of those until the final 22 seconds of the ggame.dddddddddddd "I thought we did a good job fighting back in the second half," Knight said. "Playing hard. Not backing down. "Theyre a great team playing great basketball right now. Theyre a very solid defensive team. Theyre physical. Theyre everything youd want in a team." The Bulls lead was 27-15 after the first quarter and 51-35 at halftime. The Bucks rallied at the start of the second half and pulled within 63-53 midway through the third quarter. But they werent able to trim the deficit to single digits and the Bulls built their advantage back up to 82-62 entering the fourth quarter. The game appeared over, but the Bulls created some suspense by managing to score just three points in the first six minutes of the period to let Milwaukee pull within 85-77. Hinrich finally broke the drought when he hit a 3-pointer with 5:59 left to make it 88-77. "You have to give them credit," Thibodeau said. "I thought they played hard throughout the game. They never went away. Even when we got up 20, they kept battling back. "I think Larrys done a good job keeping them together. Theyve been hit with a lot of things, but theyre still together." NOTES: The Bulls waived rookie Erik Murphy on Thursday and there have been multiple reports saying they are interested in signing a veteran, possibly former Bull Ronnie Brewer. Murphy had been with the team all season, but only played a total of 62 minutes in 24 games. "It was done more so for roster flexibility," Thibodeau said. "I thought he did a great job for us, and I thought he had gotten significantly better." . Bucks C Larry Sanders, currently out with an injury, was suspended for five game on Friday for violating the NBA drug policy. Sanders said in a statement released by the team that he was penalized for using marijuana. "I think the most important thing is that he learns from his mistakes," Drew said. "Hopefully, he can put them behind him, get on the right track and stay on the right track." ' ' '