second time in two wins over Atlanta this season that they h

MILAN - Title-chasing Roma was held to 1-1 at home by relegation-threatened Empoli on Saturday and looks set to lose more ground on Serie A leader Juventus.It was Romas fourth consecutive league draw, and left it six points behind Juventus, which visits Udinese on Sunday. Napoli can also close the gap to second place to four points if it wins at Chievo Verona.We are in a period with so many problems, and the only thing to take out of this is the reaction of the team, Roma coach Rudi Garcia said. Not only were we a goal down but also a man down. We gave everything in the second half, not only to draw, but also to win.With (Juan) Iturbes injury and (Davide) Astori hitting the crossbar, we can say that the wheel of fortune isnt turning for us. Things go better when you have choices, and at the moment I dont have that. Now we have to grit our teeth and, with the players we have, give everything to get back to winning ways.Roma already had personnel problems with a host of players injured, and Gervinho and new signing Seydou Doumbia at the African Cup of Nations. Matters grew worse when Iturbe was forced off with a knee injury after just 24 minutes.Empoli took a surprise lead in the 39th minute after Kostas Manolas was sent off for bundling into Riccardo Saponara, when the Empoli midfielder was through on goal. Massimo Maccarone converted the resulting penalty.The visitors were also reduced to 10 men in first-half stoppage time as Saponara received a second yellow card for a handling offence, although he argued he controlled the ball with his shoulder.Roma again looked like a different side after the break as it fought back for the fourth successive match, levelling when Douglas Maicon curled a Miralem Pjanic pass into the far bottom corner in the 57th.The capital side could have taken the lead shortly after but Davide Astori headed onto the crossbar.The tension was high, and Mario Rui claimed Pjanic punched him in the ribs off the ball. Empoli coach Maurizio Sarri was sent off for dissent.Empoli moved two points off the relegation zone with its seventh draw in nine matches.Earlier, Genoa drew 1-1 at home to Fiorentina.Fiorentina remained sixth ahead of the rest of the weekends fixtures, four points behind third-place Napoli. Genoa was three points further back.Genoa took the lead in comical circumstances. Stefano Sturaro, who was playing his last game for Genoa before moving to Juventus, somehow failed to put the ball straight into an empty net from six yards, but his shot hit the inside of the post and went in off the back of goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanus head.Fiorentina, which was playing its first match without Juan Cuadrado after his move to Chelsea, levelled 10 minutes into the second half. Matias Fernandezs cross was nodded on by a Genoa player, and Gonzalo Rodriguez headed in at the back post.Genoa had to play the final nine minutes with 10 men after Nicolas Burdisso was sent off following a second booking. Wholesale Salomon Australia .com) - The collective hearts of Chicago Bulls fans sank on Friday night when Derrick Rose went down with a leg injury against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Buy Salomon Shoes Australia . Johnny Manziel, college footballs most entertaining player with the reputation for pulling off magical plays, was selected with the No. http://www.wholesalesalomonaustralia.com/ .Y. - Geno Smith shouted a couple of mighty expensive expletives. Salomon Shoes Clearance Australia . Of course that doesnt mean hes ignoring it. Thats actually rather impossible given the behind-the-scenes access to the Toronto Maple Leafs the network is getting. Discount Salomon Shoes . -- Caris LeVert had 14 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for his first career double-double, and No.ATLANTA - DeMar DeRozan loves when the Toronto Raptors have a balanced scoring attack.Thats what its going to take to win, he said. Honestly, thats what its all about.DeRozan scored 27 points, Lou Williams added 22 and the Raptors beat the Atlanta Hawks 126-115 on Wednesday night for their sixth consecutive victory.The Eastern Conference-leading Raptors had their highest point total of the season. They have won 11 of 12 to match the best stretch in the franchises 20-year history, also accomplished from March 22-April 14, 2002.Jeff Teague had 24 points and 12 assists for Atlanta, and Al Horford scored 23 points.The Hawks, who won in Washington on Tuesday night, were trying to beat the Easts top two teams on consecutive nights.Kyle Lowry had 14 points and 13 assists for Toronto, which is 4-1 on the road for the first time in team history.I wanted to get my guys involved, Lowry said. My shot wasnt falling the way I wanted it to, but the guys did a great job of screening and getting some great shots.Hawks guard Kyle Korver hit a pair of free throws to cut Torontos lead to 109-105 with 4:45 remaining, but the Raptors pulled away from there. James Johnsons fast-break dunk increased Torontos advantage to 13 just 1:16 later.Korver finished with 19 points.Williams, playing his first game in his hometown since getting traded by the Hawks last summer, hit four 3-pointers and went 6 for 6 on free throws.Three nights in a row its been somebody else stepping up, said Williams, who scoredd a career-high 36 last Saturday night as Toronto overcame an 18-point deficit to win at Cleveland.ddddddddddddIt just shows the depth and the character of this team.Raptors coach Dwane Casey was pleased to watch his teams defence guard the perimeter better in the second half.Once Toronto had itself together defensively, the ball movement improved offensively as the Raptors took time to select better shots. It marked the second time in two wins over Atlanta this season that they had seven players score in double figures.Reserve guard Greivis Vasquez was a major beneficiary, scoring all 21 of his points in the second half.It was great to see Greivis get going with his shooting, Casey said. He has just needed to see the ball go through the hoop.SPEAKING UPTen fans staged a peaceful protest of the Ferguson grand jury decision during the first half.Seven men and three women marched briskly through upper and lower levels of Phillips Arena on Wednesday night and shouted Hands up! Dont shoot! for 10 approximately minutes.The game was not disrupted during the march.NICE STARTDeRozan hit all five of his field-goal attempts to finish the first quarter with 14 points. Williams added seven.TIP-INSRaptors: Reserve big man Tyler Hansbrough missed his fourth straight game with a sprained right shoulder.Hawks: Reserve swingman Thabo Sefolosha was sent home before the game with flu symptoms.UP NEXTRaptors: Host Dallas on Friday night.Hawks: Host New Orleans on Friday night. ' ' '