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SAN DIEGO -- Centre Nick Hardwick was cleared to work out five days after sustaining a concussion and was a limited participant as the San Diego Chargers practiced for the final time for their divisional-round playoff game at Denver. Josh James Jersey . Hardwick said he was cleared just before practice started late Friday morning. "Well see how we respond in the next day or two and go from there," Hardwick said. "Its always a good step. Were moving in the right direction but well see how you wake up and how the rest of the day goes." Hardwick was hurt in Sundays wild-card win at Cincinnati and replaced by Rich Ohrnberger. He was listed as questionable on the injury report, meaning the Chargers feel he has a 50-50 chance of playing. "Im always confident. How could you not be?" Hardwick said. Hardwick has had concussions before. "Its not ever something you want to be dealing with but its part of football. This isnt my first rodeo," he said. "Well see how we go. No guarantees. You never know how things are going to unfold here. Running back Ryan Mathews didnt practice all week and also was listed as questionable. He left Sundays victory in the third quarter and didnt return. Hes been bothered by the ankle injury since a victory against Oakland on Dec. 22. Mathews rushed for 144 yards in a victory against Kansas City the next week that helped the Chargers earn the AFCs final playoff berth. Mathews was a big reason why the Chargers beat the Broncos in Denver on Dec. 12. He ran 29 times for 127 yards and one touchdown as the Chargers controlled the ball in the 27-20 win. Mathews said his mindset was the same as earlier in the week, that he wants to play. He said he watched practice and took mental reps. "Im just trying to do whatever I can to help my team," he said of playing through the injury. "Youre always hopeful theyll be able to go play and play like they played the last five weeks," quarterback Philip Rivers said. "They know their bodies better than anybody. Until someone goes on the inactive before the game, you hope theyre going to be out there for you." Rivers said Mathews has "shown that toughness all year long. Obviously, this injury has lingered on and kind of came on the last few weeks, but hes been tough for us all year long. As a running back you battle all kind of nicks and bumps and bruises. Ive been happy for him and us that he didnt have to deal with a fluke collarbone deal or things that you cant battle through, and then he gets an ankle. Hes battling through it though." In 2012, Mathews broke his right collarbone on his first carry of the exhibition season and then broke his left collarbone in December. Also listed as questionable were right guard Jeromey Clary (shoulder), right tackle D.J. Fluker (ankle), wide receiver Eddie Royal (toe) and defensive tackle Sean Lissemore. Clary was limited Wednesday and didnt practice Thursday or Friday. Fluker didnt practice Wednesday and was limited Thursday and Friday. Royal didnt practice all week. Lissemore was limited all week. "Its going to be a tough game," Rivers said. "All winning there a month ago does is it allows us to know it can be done. Other than that, that game means nothing. Theyre the No. 1 seed for a reason Theyve been the best team in the AFC all year long. Were going to have to play our best game to go in there and get a win." Cy Sneed Jersey . Gorges is believed to have suffered the injury while blocking a shot with a hand during Montreals win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. The Canadiens added to their defensive depth this week by acquiring veteran Mike Weaver from the Florida Panthers. Jeff Bagwell Jersey Large . His head snapped back from the impact and hit the floor. The All-Star power forward was all right afterward, a relief for the Minnesota Timberwolves.ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Hawks are slowly picking up the ball-movement lessons Mike Budenholzer learned as a longtime assistant with the Spurs. Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games. The Hawks had 32 assists, adding to their NBA lead and bringing a smile to the face of their first-year coach. "Its an indication theyre just getting a better and better understanding of the ball movement and how we want to play," Budenholzer said. "Passing and hitting the open guy just becomes something thats expected." Atlanta set a scoring high with its 124-107 win over Sacramento on Wednesday night and has topped 110 points in three straight games. Al Horford, who had 23 points, has been a key in the recent flurry of high-scoring games. He has averaged 23.6 points in his last five games. Williams, who has played in only 14 games in his return from knee surgery, took extra shooting practice after scoring only two points in 20 minutes in Wednesday nights win over Sacramento. "Im glad it paid off," Williams said. "It was one of the nights we had everything clicking." The Hawks never trailed and pushed their lead to double digits for good in the opening period. They kept up the pressure, outscoring Utah in every period and making 52.3 per cent of their shots (45 of 86) from the field. Budenholzer said the most encouraging sign was "not so much putting them away, but just continuing to play the way we play, just doing the things we did to establish a lead. Tonight was a step forward in that direction." Jeff Teague had nine points and eight assists. Horford was resting when the Hawks took an 85-58 lead into the final period. "Our energy was the difference," Horford said. The Jazz agreed. Randy Johnson Jersey. "Its a mental thing," said Utahs Derrick Favours. "Weve just got to come out with the energy and the attitude like they had against us tonight." It was a letdown for Utah coach Tyrone Corbin following a win at Orlando on Wednesday night. "I thought we didnt come out with the sense of urgency wed been seeing," Corbin said. "I thought wed turned the corner, I felt like, the way we played in Orlando the other night. I was looking for that effort. We just didnt have it from the beginning tonight." Enes Kanter had 13 points and 13 rebounds for Utah (7-22). Alec Burks also had 13 points. Trey Burke, who scored a career-high 30 points against Orlando, made only 1 of 8 shots for two points. Atlantas Paul Millsap had 14 points and 10 rebounds against his former Utah teammates. The Hawks took their largest halftime lead of the season, pulling ahead by 21 points to lead 55-34 at the break. Horford had 14 points in the half. Kyle Korver extended his NBA record by making a 3-pointer in his 96th consecutive game. His made the first of his two 3s with 4:24 remaining in the first period. Utah had a scare midway through the third quarter when Gordon Hayward was slow to return to his feet following a collision with Teague as the two were reaching for a loose ball. Hayward remained in the game following a timeout and finished with 11 points. Jeremy Evans, the 2012 slam-dunk competition champion, missed a dunk and then landed hard on his back with 7:53 remaining, giving the Jazz another scare. Following a brief delay, Evans remained in the game and had 10 points. NOTES: The Jazz are 0-11 on the road and 1-13 overall when trailing at halftime. ... Atlanta leads the NBA with its average of 25.3 assists per game. ... Hawks G Cartier Martin (sprained left ankle) and F Gustavo Ayon (left ankle) have missed five straight games. ... Williams was 6 of 10 from 3-point range. ' ' '