PHILADELPHIA -- Al Jefferson tried to explain how hitting his jumper forces defences to change their approach. Whitey Herzog Rangers Jersey . "It keeps them on their toes, in my opinion," Jefferson said before being cut off. "It dont change nothing," reserve Jannero Pargo chimed in from two lockers down, "he aint going to pass the ball." Much like his first-half shooting, Jeffersons retort was nearly flawless. "Well if I pass it to you, Ill get a turnover, because youll be on the bench," he said. With a one-liner about as sharp as his stat line, Jefferson had his Bobcats teammates howling. Jefferson had every reason to feel loose, with 25 points and 10 rebounds in Charlottes 123-93 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night. "This is all the time," a smiling Jefferson said of the locker room banter. So are the big wins lately for Charlotte. Perhaps Charlotte is getting hot at the right time, winning by 30-plus points for the second time in six games. "Lets hope theres a couple more," coach Steve Clifford said. Gary Neal scored 15 points to help the Bobcats inch closer to a playoff berth. The Bobcats (37-38) have the seventh-best record in the Eastern Conference. They are 4 1/2 games ahead of the eighth-place New York Knicks and need three wins in the final seven games to clinch their first playoff berth since 2010. The Bobcats are counting on Jefferson to carry them deep into April -- and possibly beyond. "It falls a lot on me," Jefferson said. "Ive only been twice (to the playoffs), but twice is more than a lot of the other guys have been." The Bobcats raced to a 13-point lead in the first quarter, stretched it to 35 and never once let the Sixers threaten. Michael Carter-Williams scored 22 points on 10-of-18 shooting for the Sixers, who have lost two straight since snapping an NBA-record tying 26-game losing streak on Saturday. The Bobcats set the tone in the first quarter en route to putting away the lowly Sixers. Led by Jefferson, the Bobcats made 11 of their first 15 shots and finished with nine assists on 12 baskets. Jefferson picked up where he left off in March, when he was named Eastern Conference player of the month. He averaged 24.7 points on 56 per cent shooting (178-321), 10.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists. He was the first Bobcat to ever win the award. He kept his sharp shooting rolling in the first game of April with a 13-point first quarter. "Its important to set a tone that youre going to play through him early in the game," Clifford said. Jefferson finished 9 of 17 from the floor and made 7 of 10 free throws. He has 20-plus points and 10-plus boards in the same game 23 times this season. Even in a season that has them with the second-worst record in the NBA, this was as bad as the Sixers have played in weeks. Trailing by 13, the Sixers had five turnovers and only four baskets. They missed all seven 3-point attempts in the first half and finished 4 of 18 overall. The Sixers had two starters go scoreless in the half. "They beat us up pretty bad," Carter-Williams said. Charlotte, one of the few teams to lose to the Sixers this season, broke the game open with a 22-8 run in the second. Anthony Tolliver, who scored 16 points, hit a pair of 3s during the spurt and the Bobcats cruised from there. "Thats a team getting ready for the playoffs," Sixers guard Tony Wroten said. "You can tell a big difference." The Bobcats continued doing the big things that have them within striking distance of Washington for sixth place. They had only nine turnovers (average a league-low 12.3), outrebounded the Sixers 47-32 and had three bench players score double digits. NOTES: Charlotte F Josh McRoberts (left ankle) sat out. Cody Zeller scored nine points in his first career start. ... 76ers coach Brett Brown again said that injured rookie F Nerlens Noel likely will not play at all this season. "Theres so much to weigh out if were smart with this, and we will be," he said. ... The Bobcats finished one-point shy of matching their season-high point total. Jonathan Hernandez Jersey . Brooks replaces right-hander Yordano Ventura, who left his last outing with a sore elbow. Ventura is expected to miss one start. Brooks has made one relief appearance for the Royals this season, allowing six runs in two innings in a May 3 loss to Detroit. Ronald Guzman Jersey . Im very excited about the playoffs, particularly in the Western Conference with amazing match-ups, as well as the wonderful local story in the Toronto Raptors. It should be a blast. Here are my predictions, but based upon my lousy prognostications during the NCAA Tournament, you might be better off going the other way on some of mine - particularly with the Raptors, who I hope and pray are able to win an incredibly difficult match-up. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/682h-rougned-odor-jersey-rangers.html . -- Phil Mickelson will be watching the final two rounds of the Masters from home for the first time in 17 years.Manchester City and Chelsea are set to do battle at the Etihad on Monday, a monumental clash that will pit the first-place Citizens against the third-place Blues. Watch Chelsea vs. Manchester City live on TSN2 at 3pm et/Noon pt. City managed to move to the top of the Premier League table by capitalizing on Arsenals 2-2 draw with Southampton on Tuesday, cruising to a 5-1 demolition of Tottenham at White Hart Lane the following day. The Citizens have been in cruise control over the past couple of months, winning its last eight Premier League contests. After suffering defeat at Sunderland on Nov. 10, City has gone on to take a total of 34 points from 12 games. But even in such a rich vein of form, the Citizens only find themselves one point clear of Arsenal at the Premier League summit, and manager Manuel Pellegrini does not think his side deserves to be labeled the title favorites. "I think its too soon to be the favorites - [there are] a lot of matches to play," Pellegrini told the clubs official website after Wednesday defeat of Spurs. "If we continue to play the way we are, we will have chances to win but its early." City boasts an unblemished home record through 11 league matches at the Etihad this term, but Chelsea will be quite motivated to end that spell Monday. Not only did the Blues drop points for the first time in five Premier League outings with a scoreless draw against West Ham on Wednesday, but they can take confidence from their 2-1 win over City at Stamford Bridge in October. Chelsea can lean on its stout defense, which has leaked just three goals in the clubs last eight matches. And with Sergio Aguero, Citys main scoring threat, looking doubtful for Mondays clash,, the Blues certainly have a solid opportunity to pick up some valuable road points. Danny Santana Rangers Jersey. Building to Mondays main course is one of Englands fiercest rivalries, taking place at St. James Park in Saturdays early fixture. Newcastle suffered a 2-1 loss at the Stadium of Light earlier in the season, but the Magpies will be hoping to reverse the result when they play host to Sunderland in the latest installment of the Tyne-Wear derby. Manchester United has been rejuvenated by the arrival of Juan Mata, who helped lead the club to a 2-0 defeat of Cardiff City on Tuesday. The Red Devils have taken just two wins from their last four Premier League outings, but the club is hopeful that Mata can bring two successive wins with maximum points at Stoke City on Saturday. Danny Rose, who was harshly sent off in Tottenhams horrific defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday, had his red card rescinded by the English Football Association this week and is available for selection this weekend. Spurs will head to the KC Stadium on Saturday to face a Hull City side that is hoping to snap a four-game slide. Also on Saturday, Fulham will look to avoid a fourth straight defeat when it welcomes Southampton to Craven Cottage, Cardiff City will aim to snap a four- game losing streak when it hosts Norwich City, Aston Villa will attempt to build upon its narrow midweek win with a vital victory over Everton at Goodison Park and West Ham United squares off with Swansea City at Upton Park. On Sunday, Arsenal will look to apply some additional pressure on Chelsea and City by taking three points from its contest with Crystal Palace at the Emirates, and Liverpool heads to the Hawthorns to do battle with West Bromwich Albion. ' ' '