hes "unhappy" when Pittsburgh fails to produce, but

PHOENIX -- The sore left elbow Phoenix Suns guard Goran Dragic is dealing with might sting less than the All-Star snub he got earlier this week. Dragic isnt letting either affect his play. He scored 25 points and the Suns made almost 57 per cent of their shots through three quarters Saturday night in a 105-95 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats. "I was kind of sad, mad, just full of emotions when I found out (about not being named an All-Star reserve), but thats the way it is," Dragic said. "It doesnt matter. I just want to play hard and be with my teammates and make the playoffs." Marcus Morris added 15 points for the Suns, who have won five straight games and seven of their last eight. Its the second time the Suns have won five in a row, matching their longest winning streak of the season. Phoenix held Charlotte to 14 second-quarter points, the lowest total in that quarter for an opponent this season. The Bobcats had played the night before in Los Angeles. "You cant have many nights like that. We just didnt try," Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said. "We had no effort to start the game. If you are not ready to play or defend then you have no chance. The guys who came off the bench were worse than the starters." The Suns limited Al Jefferson, Charlottes leading scorer, to just 10 points after hed logged three straight 30-point games. He was 4 of 15 from the field and didnt play in the fourth quarter. "Guys were just fighting and made it tough on him," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said of Jefferson, whom he coached as an assistant with the Utah Jazz. "Hell shake his head and say Why do you keep trapping me all the time? Thats the kind of player he is, where we have to do that to him all the time." Markieff Morris threw down a dunk with 3.4 seconds left in the third quarter to give the Suns a 90-63 lead. He finished with 13 points and nine rebounds. The Bobcats cut the Suns lead to 99-86 with just under four minutes left in the fourth quarter but couldnt sustain the run. Reserve Anthony Tolliver led Charlotte with 14 points and Jannero Pargo added 12 points and six assists. Ish Smiths floater with 7:05 left in the first half gave the Suns a 47-35 lead, and his driving right-hand layup made it 50-36 with 5:59 left. Marcus Morris hit a 3 off a feed from Dragic to make it 55-41, and Dragic scored the final four points of the half as the Suns closed it out on a 9-0 run. Dragic hit 10 of 14 shots in 27 minutes of action and has 20 or more points in four straight games. "Im more relaxed," Dragic said. "I know how the opponent is going to guard me. . It feels like Im playing basketball with my friends back home, no pressure and I just go there and do my job, I get great support from my teammates and its just fun." The Bobcats failed to score for the final five-plus minutes of the first half. The Suns defence on Jefferson was a major factor as they double-teamed the big man at times or sent a player over to stab at the ball as soon as he caught it. "We didnt have the energy that we needed, we werent making shots, no excuses," Jefferson said. The Bobcats had won their last two games, the first stops of a four-game western road swing. NOTES: The Bobcats were without guard Kemba Walker, whose 18.7 points and five assists per game were missed. Walker has been out with a sprained left ankle for two weeks and is expected to return soon. ... Saturday was Fan Appreciation Night at the US Airways Center. About half the crowd received "Go Suns" foam fingers. ... Injured Suns guard Eric Bledsoe has been out since Jan. 2, but he is the featured player on bobblehead dolls that will be given to fans at the next Suns home game, Tuesday against the Chicago Bulls. ... The balls used for Saturdays game were among the first ones to bear the signature of new NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. ... The two teams wore warm-up shirts bearing the Twitter hashtag ".NBABHM" in honour of Black History Month. Wholesale Predators Jerseys . - Hitting was supposed to be the Pittsburgh Pirates weakness coming into the season yet they lead the major leagues in home runs through the first 16 games of the season. Cheap Adidas Predators Jerseys .Those stars, most notably the top line of James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel, struggled against the Montreal Canadiens and must be better as the Leafs look ahead to facing the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers this weekend. http://www.adidaspredatorsjerseys.com/ . Showing more spark after not taking enough challenging shots on goal in their 1-0 loss Friday night, the Bruins had 18 shots in the first period after managing just 25 in the entire opener. Luke Glendening cut Bostons lead to 2-1 at 13:20 of the second period before Milan Lucic scored late in the second and Zdeno Chara added a power-play goal early in the third. Cheap Nashville Predators Jerseys . The England international had both goals in TFCs season-opening 2-1 win over the Seattle Sounders on Saturday. Cheap Predators Jerseys Authentic .com) - It appears both the Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls will reach the playoffs, but the two squads are coming off losing efforts.PITTSBURGH -- Ben Roethlisberger isnt going anywhere. Not if he has anything to say about it. The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback called a report he may seek a trade in the off-season "ridiculous." NFL.com reported early Sunday the Steelers expected Roethlisberger to ask the team to explore trade options in the off-season. Roethlisbergers agent, Ryan Tollner, called the speculation "completely wrong" and added the 31-year-old quarterback is "100 per cent committed to winning a championship with the Steelers." Roethlisberger went even further after passing for 204 yards with a touchdown and an interception in a 23-10 win over Buffalo on Sunday. "I dont know where that came from," he said. "It is one of the most (untrue) stories that Ive ever heard of. Ive always said that I want to be a Steeler for life. I love it here. Im happy here." The report called Roethlisberger "very frustrated" by his teams ugly start. The Steelers improved to 3-6 after drumming the Bills, but still remain well out of the mix in the AFC North. Roethlisberger, who has won two Super Bowls in 10 seasons, agreed hes "unhappy" when Pittsburgh fails to produce, but welcomed his share of the blame.dddddddddddd Roethlisberger and offensive co-ordinator Todd Haley have struggled to communicate at times since Haley was hired nearly two years ago. The quarterback and the coach have spent much of the season trying to find common ground. Steelers president Art Rooney II added "the Pittsburgh Steelers have not explored trading quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and have no plans to do so." Roethlisbergers current contract will expire at the end of the 2015 season. He is due a base salary of $12.1 million next season, with a salary cap number of nearly $19 million. That alone would could make it difficult for the Steelers to move Roethlisberger even if there was interest. Apparently, theres not. Tollner said Roethlisbergers roots are "firmly" planted in western Pennsylvania. Roethlisberger and his wife are expecting their second child next spring. "Im a Pittsburgher," Roethlisberger said. "Ive told people that. Im so proud to raise my kids here. I want to finish my career here, however long that is. I dont want to play for anybody else. This is it for me." ' ' '