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WASHINGTON -- Bradley Beal scored 26 points, and the Washington Wizards moved a step closer to claiming the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference on Saturday night with a 104-91 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, whose loss guaranteed they will finish with at least a tie for the worst record in the NBA. John Wall added 15 points and eight assists for the Wizards, who also clinched the franchises first winning record since 2008 -- which was also the last time they made the playoffs. Washington leads the seventh-place Charlotte Bobcats, who beat the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, by one game with two to play. The Bobcats hold the tiebreaker if Washington and Charlotte finish tied. Both teams are hoping to finish higher than seventh in order to avoid a first-round series against Miami or Indiana. Khris Middleton and Ramon Sessions scored 20 points apiece to lead the Bucks, who trail the 76ers by two games with two to play at the bottom of the league. The Bucks also failed in their latest chance to have their first winning streak of the season. They had won Friday night after losing six in a row. Injuries and a suspension to Larry Sanders had already thinned Larry Drews bench, and on Saturday the Bucks coach was down to a rotation of eight players after Brandon Knight was a late scratch with a sore right hip. The Wizards, meanwhile, played without Nene, who was resting on a back half of a back-to-back, having recently returned from sprained left knee. His fill-in, Trevor Booker, had another solid game, scoring 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting. Beal has been streaky of late, both good and bad. He was 12 for 22 from the field Saturday night, but just 2 for 7 from 3-point range. He has made only five of 28 3-pointers in his last five games. Trevor Ariza, whose shot has suffered while he battled the flu for more than a week, looked a bit more refreshed as he went 5 for 7 from the field and scored 13 points for Washington. Marcin Gortat added 13 points and 13 rebounds. The Bucks and Wizards had gone to overtime in two of their three previous meetings this season, and this one stayed tight into the third quarter. Milwaukee stayed close by taking advantage of the offensive boards, while Washington had all the space in the world to work the baseline and drive to the paint. The Wizards never trailed in the first half, but their lead never reached double digits. The Bucks took their only lead of the game on Zaza Pachulias layup early in the third quarter, but a three-point play from Booker, a dunk from Gortat and a 3-pointer from Martell Webster -- along with six Milwaukee turnovers in eight minutes -- help put Washington ahead 87-74 headed into the fourth. NOTES: The Bucks shot exactly 50 per cent (10 for 20, 8 for 16, 8 for 16) in each of the first three quarters. ... The Wizards made 8 of 22 3-pointers, a modest improvement after going just 6 for 50 from in their previous three games. ... The Wizards signed 10-year-old Amaris Jackson to a one-day contract in partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Amaris, who is to have surgery to remove a tumour in her lungs, was introduced with the starting lineup. Yeezy From China . -- Ryan Millers debut for the St. China Shoes To USA . That time around, the cage is as much a part of baseballs daily routine as a beer and a hotdog is to a fan in the stands. Coaches, scouts, broadcasters and other media hover, tossing verbal barbs, telling stories and sharing laughs. Occasionally, especially in spring when the atmosphere is relatively laid back, the list of invited guests expands and on this day, Gibbons welcomed two men strongly influential in his life. https://www.chinashoes.us/ . -- The road to the Masters got off to a bumpy start Sunday for Tiger Woods when he withdrew from the Honda Classic with what he said was a lower back injury. Fake China Shoes . -- Stacy Lewis shot 7-under 65 to lead the LPGA Tour team to the championship of the 3Tour Challenge on Tuesday. China Shoes Store . -- The Denver Broncos retired John Elways No.PHILADELPHIA -- Another gem by Phillies starter Cole Hamels was nearly wasted again. Darin Ruf hit a solo homer in the eighth to break a 2-2 tie and lifted the Philadelphia Phillies to a 3-2 victory Sunday and three-game sweep over the Atlanta Braves. "It was a good sign for Darin to go right-centre like that," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "He seems to get a lot of pitches away. Its a good sign he stayed on that one, and it was a big moment. Thats what he needs to continue to do." Hamels (7-13) made just two mistakes Sunday -- two long homers off the bat of Evan Gattis -- and they nearly cost him the win. Gattis first home run, in the second inning, travelled 480 feet to centre field. In the seventh, he tied the game with a long ball that went deep into the left-field bleachers. It was his first career multi-homer game. "Hes strong," Hamels said. "He swung with everything he had in him. I felt like I was throwing a golf ball out there and he had a driver." They were the only two hits Hamels allowed over eight innings. He struck out nine, walked two and retired the side in order four times. "He was outstanding," Sandberg said. "Its about time he got a late-inning run to get the W." Gattis almost had another home run in the fifth inning, but it died at the warning track in dead centre field with a strong wind blowing in. "I guess if the 50 mile-an-hour winds didnt keep it in play, it definitely wouldve went off the wall," Hamels said. "Or through it." B.J. Rosenberg earned his first career save with a perfect ninth inning. "He took it and ran with it," Sandberg said. "He earned the spot there today, came through big time with great stuff, pounded the strike zone with strikes." David Carpenter (3-1) took the loss for allowing Rufs homer in the eighth. Chase Utley doubled and Ruf singled to knock in the Phillies first two runs in the first inning. Utley and Ruf both finished with two hits apiece. Braves starter Paul Maholm went six innings and allowed two runs on seeven hits, three walks and a hit batter.dddddddddddd He struck out five and stranded seven Phillies baserunners. "He gave us a great opportunity to win the game," Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "We only had two hits. We didnt do much offensively to the whole series." Two baserunning blunders by Cesar Hernandez may have cost the Phillies extra runs. He was picked off in the first inning and thrown out by Joey Terdoslavich attempting to go first to third in the fifth inning. Philadelphia squandered a chance for more runs in the sixth. After the first two men reached base via a walk and an error, Freddy Galvis grounded into a double play and Hamels struck out. B.J. Upton, who went 0 for 4, finished the series 0 for 12 with seven strikeouts. B.J. and Justin Upton are hitless in their last 32 at-bats combined. "They pitched well all three games," B.J. Upton said. "We were in all three games, it just didnt work out. ... Were fine. Well come back to play tomorrow." The Braves had just 10 hits in the series. The Phillies are 11-2 in their last 13 one-run games. "Its great to just play well in all facets of the game, pitching, defence, swinging the bats well this series too," Ruf said. "It was nice just to see what we can do when all phases of the game are clicking for us." NOTES: Atlanta LHP Scott Downs is considered day-to-day with a non-displaced fracture to the tip of his right ring finger. Down left Saturdays game after being hit on his glove hand with a line drive. ... Cole Hamels has gone at least five innings in 72 consecutive starts, the longest active streak in the majors. ... Braves OF Justin Upton, hitless in 16 at-bats entering Sunday, did not start. He entered as a pinch hitter in the eighth and struck out. ... Atlanta, which owns baseballs best home record at 51-20, is just 34-37 on the road. ... Philadelphia resumes its homestand Tuesday against the Padres with Roy Halladay (3-4, 7.19) on the mound. ... Atlanta heads Monday to Miami, where Kris Medlen (12-12, 3.48) will take the hill. ' ' '