The Hornets havent received the regular bench play to match the Hawks this

WASHINGTON -- Atlanta pitcher Julio Teheran insisted he didnt mean to plunk Washingtons Bryce Harper with a pitch two innings after the 2012 NL Rookie of the Year homered. Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said after his clubs 2-1 victory over the Nationals on Tuesday night that "it definitely wasnt on purpose." Harper -- and everyone else connected to the Nationals -- was sure it was. "Its part of the game and its something, I guess, hes got to do," Harper said, his hands on his hips. Then, asked whether he was surprised Teheran hit him, Harper offered this nugget: "Uh, I hit that ball pretty far off him. So no, not really." And Washington manager Davey Johnson observed: "You file it for future reference." All in all, the sort of stuff rivalries and high-drama playoff chases are made of. Except, in this particular case, Evan Gattis two-run single in the fifth, and the six innings thrown by Teheran (9-5) while allowing one run, combined to produce Atlantas season-high 12th consecutive win, padding their NL East lead to 14 1/2 games over Washington. It was the latest weak hitting performance by a Nationals club thats had trouble at the plate since April and is now five games under .500 a year after leading the majors with 98 wins. "Theres no point in looking back and hanging our head. Weve got two options now: We can cash it in and think about next year or we can grind it out and see what happens," said Adam LaRoche, who grounded out on a 2-0 pitch with the bases loaded against reliever Luis Avilan to end the seventh. "Im pretty sure were going to keep pushing." Gattis big hit came off Gio Gonzalez (7-5), who pitched one night after Major League Baseball announced its Biogenesis investigation cleared the left-hander. Adding to the theatrics: Gattis was only in the game because he replaced Jason Heyward, who left with a neck muscle strain after popping out in the first inning. "Adrenaline kind of takes over," Gattis said about getting thrown into the lineup. "Theres kind of not much time to think about it." Harper put Washington ahead 1-0 with one out in the third, driving the first pitch of the at-bat onto the grassy hill in straightaway centre for his 17th homer. Harper paused a bit as he left the batters box, watching the ball fly, then dropped his bat and took a slower-than-usual-for-him trot around the bases. "Yeah, he sat there for a little bit, but it is what it is," Braves catcher Brian McCann said. Asked about Teherans intent during Harpers next turn up, in the fifth, McCann answered: "Im not sure. I dont have the ball." When Harper went to the plate with Washington trailing 2-1, Teherans first pitch hit him on the right leg. Harper barked at Teheran and pointed at the right-hander. McCann moved toward Harper, before an umpire got in the way. "Obviously Bryce didnt like it, (and) we dont blame him," LaRoche said. Members of both teams streamed onto the field, but they stayed separated and no punches were thrown. Even Heyward came out onto the grass, with a blue shirt on but not his jersey. "Boys being boys," Fredi Gonzalez called it. Not long after, the clubs official Twitter feeds mixed it up a bit. The Braves tweeted: "Clown move bro," tweaking Harpers famous retort to a reporter last season, "Thats a clown question, bro." The Nationals then replied on Twitter: "Which part, giving up the home run, or drilling the 20-year-old on the first pitch his next time up?" Teheran wound up allowing four hits and the lone run. He gave way to Avilan, who got out of that jam in the seventh. Jordan Walden struck out the side in the eighth, and Craig Kimbrel did the same in the ninth, collecting his 35th save by whiffing Harper swinging at a high, 99 mph fastball. Asked afterward whether he thought about charging the mound when he got hit, Harper said: "Nah, I wasnt going to go out there. I mean, 14 1/2 games down, and I need to be in the lineup." Notes: The Braves listed Heyward as day to day. After the game, he said a doctor told him it was a spasm. ... Former major league closer Billy Wagner, who spent the final season of his 16-year career with the Braves, was in the visitors clubhouse before the game. Wagner, now a high school baseball coach, recently wrote an autobiography called "A Way Out." "Its not meant to be a bestseller," Wagner said. "Its meant to help that kid that is in Southwest Virginia, who somebody said, Youre not going to be anything, and youre never going to accomplish anything. Its meant for those people, so that they can read it and go, Well, this kid was in the same situation. You might not go on to be a major leaguer, but theres a way out." Fake Soccer Jerseys . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. China Jerseys . The Australian is competing in his final season in Formula One and still looking for his first win this year. He will look to end Vettels run of six straight race wins on Sunday. Webber, who is fifth in the championship, earned his second pole from the past three races and 13th of his career. https://www.fakejerseys.us.com/ . The news was first reported on Gonzalezs Twitter account and confirmed by the Rockies. Gonzalez has a six-week window before position players have their first workout at spring training in Arizona. Fake NBA Jerseys . -- Running backs Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings were back at practice for the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday despite being hampered by hamstring injuries. Fake Jerseys From China . Aduriz headed home Markel Susaetas cross in the sixth minute to open the scoring at San Mames Stadium. He bettered that with a long-range blast that went in off the goal frame in the 18th, and converted a penalty in the 72nd after Diego Mainz was sent off for fouling Aduriz with only the goalkeeper to beat. The Atlanta Hawks have shown they can win no matter the location and who is missing from the lineup.Atlanta plays seven of its next eight games on the road starting with Friday nights early-season Southeast Division showdown against the Charlotte Hornets.Playing without center Dwight Howard and key reserve Thabo Sefolosha, the Hawks stretched their streak to six games with a 107-100 home victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday after winning at Miami the previous night.Both could be back to face the Hornets, who are coming off a 115-108 victory at Minnesota on Tuesday.With the back-to-back games, the Hawks didnt practice on Thursday in Atlanta, meaning there was no injury update and Howards status might not be known until shortly before the opening tip.Howard, who was walking without a noticeable limp after Wednesdays win, suffered a left quad contusion when kneed by Heat center Hassan Whiteside in the third quarter of the victory at Miami.There has been a positive response, positive progress, coach Mike Budenholzer said Wednesday.Mike Muscala scored 16 points while filling in for Howard against the Bucks and the bench, led by Tim Hardaway Jr., still made a major contribution despite the absence of veteran Sefolosha, who sat out with a mild knee sprain.Muskie continues to play really well, Budenholzer said. Its interesting for him to play (33) minutes. Its a good thing the game ended at 48 (minutes). He gave us all he had.The victory coupled with a Cleveland loss tied the Hawks for the best record in the Eastern Conference at 9-2 and gave them their best start to a season since they were 11-2 in 2009-10.The Hornets have the third best record in the East at 7-3 after overcoming a 12-point halftime deficit at Minnesota withh a 36-17 third-quarter blitz after coach Steve Clifford gave the team a tongue-lashing at the break.dddddddddddd.It was perfect timing, and we needed it, Hornets guard Kemba Walker after the game. We just (werent) ourselves, and he got into us a little bit. It worked out for us, because we needed to pick our energy up.Walker, averaging 25.8 points, scored 30 against Minnesota and also had six assists, five rebounds and five steals.The Hawks won three of the four games against the Hornets last season, including two in the first week of the season by a combined five points. The lone win by the Hornets came at Charlotte in January when Walker hit 4 of 6 3-pointers en route to 23 points.The Hornets havent received the regular bench play to match the Hawks this season, but Frank Kaminsky had 20 points against Minnesota. The Hornets were hoping Jeremy Lamb might return against Atlanta after missing seven games with a strained hamstring but announced Thursday he will not play.The Hawks have shot 50 percent while winning by an average of 10 points during their streak, and had 29 assists on 35 baskets against the Bucks. Taking care of the basketball, though, remains an issue.The Hawks have had as many as 24 turnovers in a game and committed 16 against Milwaukee after 19 at Miami.Its a bad trend that you have to take note of, Budenholzer said. We play with a lot of freedom, with a lot of ball movement. So if thats what you embrace, there may some more margin for error. But I think weve taken that margin to an extreme and I think everybody wants to reduce it. If we can do that, it will help us significantly. ' ' '