Celtic stretched their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership to eight points with a 2-1 victory over spirited Motherwell at Fir Park. Leigh Griffiths atoned for a penalty miss by taking his tally to 37 goals for the season as he netted either side of a Scott McDonald strike in a thrilling encounter.Motherwell were looking for a point to secure a top-six finish and they could have made more of an early opportunity when Marvin Johnson raced towards the corner of the 18-yard box and slipped a pass inside to Chris Cadden, but his first-time shot was weak and easily saved by Craig Gordon. Celtic responded when Stefan Johansen laid a pass out to Mikael Lustig and his deep cross was headed towards the far corner by Griffiths where the ball dropped on to the top of the net with Connor Ripley struggling to deal with the danger.Ripley then blocked a shot from Patrick Roberts with his foot at the near post and three minutes later the Motherwell keeper pushed away Nir Bittons dipping effort from 25 yards. Marvin Johnson trips Celtic winger Patrick Roberts to concede a penalty The visitors continued to probe and Griffiths tested Ripley from a similar distance with a swerving shot which the stopper could only parry, but there were no takers for the rebound.Celtic squandered a great chance to open the scoring on 26 minutes when Johnson tripped Roberts as he weaved into the box, but Griffiths dragged the resulting penalty wide of the post seconds later.And Ripley again thwarted Griffiths with a superb one-handed block at his near post when the striker ran on to Bittons forward pass as Celtic broke swiftly on a counter-attack.At the other end McDonald took advantage of a slip by Charlie Mulgrew and slipped a pass to Johnson on the overlap but Scott Brown got across to block his low delivery inside the six-yard box.Ripley again came to Motherwells rescue when he blocked a sweeping drive from Colin Kazim-Richards on the six-yard line after Griffiths dummied a cutback from Lustig. Motherwell players celebrate Scott McDonalds equaliser The Well goalkeeper then clawed away a dipping net-bound shot from Kieran Tierney and moments later he saved another swerving drive from Roberts as Celtic laid siege around the penalty area.But the Hoops finally made the breakthrough a minute before the interval when Johansen threaded a pass to Tierney and his low centre was swept home by Griffiths from 10 yards, despite the best efforts of Ripley. Luke Shanley and Neil McCann analyse Celtics win over Motherwell in the SPFL Premiership. Motherwell had the ball in the net nine minutes after the break when Johnson and Louis Moult combined on the left side of the penalty area and the latter centred for McDonald to tap home, but the striker had strayed offside.A minute later Ripley turned a fierce drive from Roberts round his near post as the winger danced past Steven Hammell, and the keeper denied the same player as he got down the push away another powerful shot.But McDonald equalised after an hour when Tierney misjudged a forward pass, allowing Moult to get goalside in the box and lay the ball back from the goal-line for the former Celtic striker to blast into the far corner. Leigh Griffiths scores his first goal in Celtics 2-1 win Celtic restored their lead 15 minutes from time when Tierney hooked a cross into the box from the left as Motherwell struggled to clear their lines and Griffiths sent a snap-shot which squirmed through Ripleys grasp over the line.Ripley denied Griffiths once more at his near post with three minutes remaining when the striker nicked the ball off Kieran Kennedy and raced into the box. First team coach John Kennedy gives thoughts after Celtic beat Motherwell in the SPL. The league leaders saw the match out though and are now seven points away from becoming Champions of Scotland for the fifth successive season. Quenton Nelson Youth Jersey . Kuznetsov, who was selected by the Capitals in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has been playing for his hometown team Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL. Margus Hunt Jersey . The Padres made the moves before Fridays game at Washington. They promoted infielder Jace Peterson from Double-A San Antonio and right-hander Kevin Quackenbush from Triple-A El Paso. http://www.coltsofficialstore.us/authent...k-colts-jersey/. According to TSNs Farhan Lalji, Richardson is heading to Toronto for a physical and is expected to sign with the Argonauts. Andrew Luck Jersey . He reps the 4-1-6The insecurity of Canadian basketball fans is not what it once was with the home grown talent making its way to the big leagues, but it is still nice to see the local kids remembering where they come from once they make their way south. Devin Funchess Jersey . Bjoerndalen, who had failed to win any major race for two years before Sochi, writes in a Facebook entry that he is "full of energy and inspiration" after winning the 10-kilometre sprint and mixed relay at last months Olympics.CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Steve Clifford isnt exactly singing his teams praises after the Bobcats won for the sixth time in seven games. In fact, the first-year head coach said hes a little concerned about his teams focus as the playoffs approach. "We havent been the same team the last two games," Clifford said. "Whether we exhaled after clinching (a playoff spot), or whatever it is, I dont know. Whatever it is, we have two games to get it back." The Bobcats held on to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 111-105 on Saturday behind 29 points and 12 rebounds from Al Jefferson, but it was far from an impressive victory. The win came on the heels of a costly loss at Boston Friday night that dropped the Bobcats back to seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings. Charlotte (41-39) remains one game behind Washington in the race for the sixth seed with two games left. The Wizards defeated Milwaukee 104-91 on Saturday night. Jefferson said the Bobcats need to find their mojo with two tough games coming up to close the season — at Atlanta on Monday night and at home against Chicago on Wednesday. "I thought (the loss to Boston) would wake us up for this game, but I dont know whether it was a back-to-back, three games in four nights or what," Jefferson said. "... You could tell we were low energy. But we found a way to win, so thats the positive side of it." You cant blame Jefferson for the teams sudden funk. He has at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in each of the last six games, a franchise record. Luke Ridnour, starting in place of injured point guard Kemba Walker, had 12 points and eight assists in his first start for Charlotte. Clifford said he expects Walker to return from a groin injury Monday night. But he expressed plenty of confidence in Ridnour to handle the role when needed. "Were organized when Luke is in there," Clifford said. "He gets guys into their right spots. He has a high basketball IQ and he knows the NBA game." Michael Carter-Williams had 23 points and eight assists to lead the 76ers, who havee lost 16 of their last 17 games on the road.dddddddddddd The same problem that haunted the Bobcats in their loss to Boston — poor defensive effort — hurt them early on against the 76ers. Philadelphia took a 59-56 at the break despite the Bobcats shooting 62 per cent from the field in the first half. Charlotte would begin to take control late in the third quarter, opening a double-digit lead behind a pair of 3-pointers from Ridnour and Chris Douglas-Roberts and some solid inside play from Cody Zeller. But ultimately the game came down to Philadelphias inability to stop Jefferson in the low post. Jefferson is averaging 26.1 points and 13 rebounds over the past six games and he showed again why hes an All-NBA team candidate. Jefferson had his way early on scoring 21 points in the first half on 10-of-13 shooting. He used his old-school style of play to make defenders Henry Sims and Byron Mullens look foolish at times by getting them to leave their feet with pump fakes, leading to easy up-and-under layups. "Hes got one of the best head fakes in the game, so its tough to defend him," Mullens said. Philadelphia got 16 points from Thaddeus Young and 15 from Henry Sims, but it wasnt enough for the leagues second-worst team. Still, it was a better showing than last week when the 76ers lost by 30 to the Bobcats on their home floor. At one point, the 76ers fell behind by 16, but closed to within four in the final minute — but were unable to take the lead. "It was entirely different," coach Brett Brown said. "When you look at the last time we played this team, it was as good an effort as anybody has played on our home court. They shot it and they guarded. Tonight we blinked a little in the third, but we found a way to get back in it in the fourth." NOTES: Philadelphias Jarvis Varnado was a late scratch with a right heel injury. ... The Bobcats have won 24 games at home, the second-most in franchise history. .. The Bobcats are 18-9 since the All-Star break, including 14-6 in their last 20 games. ' ' '