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ARLINGTON, Texas -- Ezekiel Elliott ran faster after he crossed the goal line than he did looking for a hole to get in the end zone from the 2-yard line.Dallas rookie sensation and NFL rushing leader had his eyes on an oversized Salvation Army red kettle in front of the stands. He jumped in, then disappeared when he crouched down.Elliott rushed for a career-high 159 yards and that short score and the Cowboys closed in on home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs with a 26-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday night.The Cowboys (12-2) bounced back after their franchise-record 11-game winning streak ended, hanging on after what looked to be a festive night following Elliotts antics turned tense when Jameis Winston rallied the Bucs from a 17-3 deficit to a 20-17 lead.One of the words we talked about right from the outset this week was `response, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. We did a good job early in the ballgame to get a lead and they started throwing the ball a lot early in the second half and they went ahead.And again, that word `response came back to the forefront.Making his debut in the Sunday night spotlight, Winston threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns but had four turnovers, including an interception that led to Dan Baileys 38-yard field goal that gave Dallas a 23-20 lead early in the fourth quarter.Tampa Bay (8-6) had its five-game winning streak snapped and fell a game behind Atlanta in the NFC South.Weve just got to keep winning, see how it plays out, Winston said. I know Im going to keep fighting. Im not worried about not fighting. We just got to keep winning games.Dallas stayed two games ahead of the New York Giants in the NFC East and needs a win without any help to clinch the home field for the postseason.Elliott had NFL career rushing leader and former Dallas star Emmitt Smith and plenty of his teammates laughing when he jumped into the kettle -- a staple in the end zones from Thanksgiving on every year with one of the Cowboys most visible charities.Garrett wasnt quite as amused, mostly because the move cost the Cowboys a 15-yard penalty on the kickoff.He was actually talking about that pregame, should he do it, will they fine him, said fellow rookie Dak Prescott, Elliotts quarterback. I didnt know he was actually going to go down and come back up slow. Got a good laugh out of it, him coming up real slowly. It was funny.Prescott bounced back from his worst game as a pro, going 32 of 36 for 279 yards a week after completing less than 50 percent of his passes in a 10-7 loss to the New York Giants.He also set a franchise record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback on a wide-open 2-yarder up the middle on a draw. His sixth rushing score of the year topped Don Merediths previous club record from 1966.Elliott had 76 of his yards with Dallas trying to control the clock on its final two possessions, but Winston still had a chance in the final 2 minutes after second-half scoring tosses to Adam Humphries and Cameron Brate gave the Bucs a brief lead.Tampa Bays last chance ended on downs at its 20, and the Bucs got just one first down on their final three possessions.COOLED-DOWN DEFENSEThe Bucs streak of five straight games of holding opponents to under 21 points -- their longest since 2009-10 -- ended, with Dallas gaining 449 yards, second-most this year against Tampa Bay. Elliott was the second 100-yard rusher of the season. A week after Drew Brees threw three interceptions in New Orleans loss to the Bucs, Prescott had his 11th game without one.PASSING TODallas tight end Jason Witten passed former teammate Terrell Owens for seventh place on the career receptions list, getting his 1,079th on a 6-yarder in the second quarter. The 34-year-old Witten, in his 14th season, had eight catches in the first half and 10 for the game, giving him 1,086.RARE MULTIPLE MISSESBailey missed two in a game for the first time since his rookie year in 2011. The first came up short from 56 yards , and the second was wide left from 52 in the final seconds of the first half. The misses against Arizona five years ago were from 50 and 49. Bailey is the NFLs career leader in accuracy among kickers with at least 100 attempts.INJURIESTampa Bay defensive lineman William Gholston and Dallas linebacker Justin Durant left the game with elbow injuries.UP NEXTBuccaneers: Finish regular season with two games against NFC South opponents, at New Orleans on Saturday and home against Carolina on Jan. 1.Cowboys: Wrap up regular-season home schedule against Detroit the day after Christmas, a Monday night, before visiting fading Philadelphia in finale.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Schuyler Dixon on Twitter at https://twitter.com/apschuyler Carlos Sanchez Moreno Colombia Jersey .Y. - Free agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, fresh off winning the World Series with Boston, reached agreement with the rival New York Yankees on a seven-year contract worth about $153 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday night. Daniel Torres Colombia Jersey . 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"It is still taking a little time to sink in what Ive achieved this week as was the case when I won the FedEx Cup but then it just kept getting better and better as the days went on and I am sure this will be the same," he said. Sydney Kings have unveiled the biggest screen in the southern hemisphere, a super cluster of video screens above the brand new Qudos Bank Arena hardwood, but NBL legend Andrew Gaze didnt mince his words when observing the new stadium addition, saying who says size doesnt matter.Preparing for his first season as an NBL head coach, Gaze has surrounded himself with assistants who have a plethora of NBL experience - including former New Zealand Breakers head coach Dean Vickerman.Gaze says the individual roles of the coaching team are yet to be decided, but he takes solace in knowing their understanding of his system will allow them to come to an agreement on what is best suited for the team; and he says the coaching staff work well as a collective because theyve know each other a long, long time.The Kings as a whole are optimistic about their chances this season, with high expectations being placed upon them after marquee signings, including that of former NBA draftee Brad Newley from Spain, and that means Gaze faces no easy task to try to keep a lid on things.We as a group understand that were not quite there yet, Gaze told ESPN.Hopefully we can be patient with each other and if thats the case then we feel like we would be in a good position to improve to a point where we can compete.Gaze is under no illusions about the size of the task off the back of the Boomers success in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games; he marvels at the talent the league has attracted, and believes players are choosing the NBL over Europe because they can see the direction in which the competition is heading.ddddddddddddPlayers are making these decisions because they can see ... some good times ahead, Gaze told ESPN.The Kings play their first game of the season against league newcomers Brisbane Bullets, who opened their campaign with a bang against the defending champion Perth Wildcats, and theyre hoping for a reversal of fates after falling to the Queensland side during the Australian Basketball Challenge in September.It was an odd game because we got the jump on them and came out of the blocks really hard and established a strong lead that was cast away very quickly, Gaze said of the Kings loss to the Bullets.The Kings also head into the season with an unfinished roster, but the front office isnt going to make any rush decisions after preferring to wait to announce who will fill the third import spot until after receiving confirmed injury news about Julian Khazzouh.Khazzouh will miss the opening three games of the campaign as he is still recovering from a torn quadriceps tendonWeve been very conservative in not getting someone straight away, but I think now that weve got a better idea of where Julian Khazzouh is at we can make a decision and be in a position to do that within the next week or so, Gaze said. 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