CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Al Jefferson and the Charlotte Bobcats cant help but sneak a peek at the Eastern Conference standings every now and again. "I would be great to get in that sixth spot," Jefferson said. The reasoning if obvious: It would help the Bobcats avoid a potential first-round playoff series with Indiana or Miami. For now, the Bobcats are the seventh seed in the East, but theyre gaining ground. Charlotte took a big step on Wednesday night with Jefferson scoring 35 points and Kemba Walker adding a double-double in a 116-111 overtime victory over the Brooklyn Nets. The win pulled the Bobcats within 1/2 games of sixth-seeded Washington, which lost Wednesday night to Phoenix, and three games behind the fifth-seeded Nets. "I think if we continue to win games everything will take care of itself, everything will work out," Jefferson said. "At this point we should be happy and blessed to be in any (playoff) spot." Walker had 20 points and 12 assists, and Chris Douglas-Roberts added 16 points, including two big jump shots in overtime. Deron Williams finished with 29 points for Brooklyn after scoring 18 in the first quarter. Joe Johnson had 18. Josh McRoberts put the Bobcats ahead for good in overtime when he cut to the basket, received a pass from Jefferson and twisted his body in midair for a reverse dunk in traffic, bringing the crowd to its feet. Douglas-Roberts and Johnson traded 3-pointers before Walker hit a 19-footer over Williams to push the lead to 114-111. Shaun Livingston missed a driving layup with 35 seconds left and the Bobcats got the ball. McRoberts was blocked on the ensuing possession, but Douglas-Roberts tracked down the loose ball and made a 20-footer from the left wing to push the lead to five and seal the victory. "I thought the defence was great, but in the end, we come up with a blocked shot, the ball bounces, and you know CDR, he makes a shot with the shot clock winding down and so everybody executed," Nets coach Jason Kidd said. "The ball just bounced their way tonight." Williams tied the game with 26.8 seconds left in regulation when he knocked down a 20-footer from the left wing. The Bobcats had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation, but the ball slipped out of Walkers hands as time expired. Douglas-Roberts joined the Bobcats in December from the NBA Developmental League and has been a reliable contributor during the teams playoff push. He saw extra minutes off the bench with Gary Neal out with an ankle injury. "Im very confident when Im on the floor and I go in there knowing I have to contribute for this team," Douglas-Roberts said. Williams set a career-high with 57 points in this same building against the Bobcats on March 4, 2012. And early on he looked like he was aiming to better the mark. Despite missing the morning shootaround with an illness, he made seven of his first eight shots, including four 3-pointers to finish with 18 points in the first quarter. The Bobcats, who have surrendered 62 points to Carmelo Anthony and 61 points to LeBron James this season, seemed intent not to allow that to happen again. They shaded their coverage to Williams in the second quarter and he was limited to only two more points before halftime. In the meantime, Jefferson was starting to heat up, scoring 22 points in the first half on 9-of-14 shooting, using a variety of low-post moves and jump hooks. "We gave him some easy ones early," Brooklyns Mason Plumlee said. "... You cant give a great scorer easy buckets early." Brooklyns Jorge Gutierrez was ejected from the game with 6:42 left in the fourth quarter after a flagrant two foul against Cody Zeller. Zeller grabbed an offensive rebound and Gutierrez came down hard with both hands on Zellers shoulders, sending the 7-footer crashing to the hardwood. "I watched the replay and it looked pretty bad -- but that wasnt my intention to do that," Gutierrez said. "Coach always says Nothing easy. Make them earn it on the free throw line. I was just trying to do a hard play." NOTES: The Bobcats are 12-7 since the All-Star break. ... Grammy Award winner Nelly took in the game from a courtside seat. ... The Bobcats and Wells Fargo gave away a new home to former Marine Josh Morgan during the first half of the game as part of the Military Warriors Support Foundation. Morgan was injured in Afghanistan. Vans Old Skool Black Sale . Both the top-seeded Djokovic and sixth-seeded Fish took relatively easy paths, with the Serb winning when opponent Jo-Wilfried Tsonga retired in the second set with a sore arm and Fish dominating Janko Tipsarevic in two quick sets. Vans Shoes Clearance .The third-seeded Murray, who won here in 2009, will face seventh-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa next on the indoor hard court. http://www.vanssalestore.com/vans-slip-on-clearance.html. Argentina, who have yet to beat New Zealand in 17 meetings, rocked the All Blacks with an early converted try to backrower Juan Manuel Leguizamon and led 7-0 after five minutes. But Smiths double in the 23rd and 26th minutes - when Argentina was reduced to 14 men by the sin-binning of hooker Eusebio Guinazu - turned the tide of the match and set up New Zealands third straight Championship win. Vans Shoes Sale . The Canadian defensive tackle suffered the injury on Monday and had tests done on Tuesday. He was a potential starter on the defensive line but head coach Mike OShea said he wasnt even thinking about the ratio when he got the news. Vans Old Skool Discount . Jones took a beating, the worst one of his record reign, in a bout against Alexander Gustafsson that knocked the light heavyweight champion on the canvas for the first time in his career and put his belt in jeopardy.CHICAGO -- Chris Sale is a dominant power pitcher with the potential for a double-digit strikeout performance every time he takes the mound. But the Chicago White Sox ace said his focus against the San Diego Padres on Sunday was being economical. "The philosophy is on or out in three, so I was just trying to fill the zone with quality strikes and go from there," he said. Sale pitched a two-hitter, Paul Konerko homered and the White Sox posted 4-1 victory to avoid being swept. Sale (5-0) struck out nine, walked none and threw 100 pitches in the complete game performance that lasted just 2:08. He froze Everth Cabrera for a called strike three to end the game, and retired the final 14 batters. Sale has allowed just two earned runs in his last 25 innings spanning four starts, and has a 1.59 ERA overall. The lefty was on the disabled list in late April because of a strained muscle in his pitching arm. Because of that, Sale was on a pitch count -- the White Sox wouldnt say how many -- but he never was in danger of being removed because he was so efficient. "I think the rain-shortened start and then pitching on his regular turn, he was fresh," San Diego manager Bud Black said, referring to Sales last start on Tuesday when he went just three innings. "We havent seen him during the regular season, but you can see why this guys one of the best pitchers in the American League: deceptive delivery, good velocity, really good change, good breaking ball," he said. "He had it working today." Konerko also doubled and drove in three runs as the White Sox won for the eighth time in 13 games. The veteran slugger has been playing every day with rookie Jose Abreu on the disabled list, but that is scheduled to end Monday when Abreu is activated. "Im just trying to chip in," Konerko said. "Im here to have good days against left-handed pitching like that, and you try to do your best on the other days when you have to play like its been. Its been a bit of a whirlwind the past couple weeks getting back in there and playing, but its good to have it today with the way (Sale) pitched." EEric Stults (2-6) gave up four runs and five hits in six innings.dddddddddddd Sale sailed through the first four innings, retiring 12 straight batters to start the game. Konerko gave Chicago a 1-0 lead in the second when he hit a drive to the back of the left-field bullpen for his third homer of the season. Chase Headley led off the Padres fifth with his fifth homer. Tommy Medica followed with a single, but Sale quickly regrouped. He got Jedd Gyorko to ground into a double play and struck out Yonder Alonso to end the inning. "I dont think he missed any of that one," Sale said of Headleys homer. "It was a fastball left right there for him and you cant do that to him. Hes a big, strong guy and made me pay for it, obviously." It was a rare mistake. Through eight innings he had thrown just 84 pitches, making the decision to bring him out for the ninth that much easier for manager Robin Ventura. The White Sox regained the lead in the fifth on a solo homer by Tyler Flowers. They added two more in the sixth when Konerko doubled down the left-field line with two out, driving in Dayan Viciedo and Alexei Ramirez. That was plenty of offence for Sale. "He was fantastic today," Ventura said. "This was as efficient as he has been ever from watching him. He was pounding the strike zone and down in the zone, too." NOTES: Abreu (tendinitis left ankle) played in a simulated game for the second straight day and said he feels fine. He is set to play Mondays game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. "Sitting out has been difficult," Abreu said through a translator. "But you have to recognize there are things we dont control." No official move will be made until Monday, but Chicago is sending INF Marcus Semien to Triple-A Charlotte. ... Padres CF Cameron Maybin missed the game and is listed as day-to-day after leaving Saturdays game with a sore right calf. ... Director of scouting Doug Laumann said that the White Sox, who pick third in Thursdays amateur draft, "more than likely" would select a pitcher in the first round. ' ' '