Spurs keep it going...Thunder duo strikes again
- Published Date
ATED (AP) — The San Antonio Spurs kept the NBA's longest winning streak alive with a 106-102 victory over the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.
Richard Jefferson's 3-pointer from the corner with 6.5 seconds left sealed the Spurs' 11th consecutive victory.
Tony Parker was high man for San Antonio with 23 points and Matt Bonner drilled five 3-pointers en route to a 20-point performance.
The loss was Utah's fifth straight against the Spurs, who improve the second-best record in the Western Conference to 23-9. They are two games behind first-place Oklahoma City.
In other NBA action:
— One night after combining to score 91 points in an overtime victory over the Denver Nuggets, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook had 31 each in the Thunder's 101-93 victory over lowly New Orleans. Oklahoma City's 10th straight home win improves its record to 25-7, matching that of East leader Miami.
__ Kobe Bryant poured in 28 and the L.A. Lakers went on a 21-0 run in the first half to cruise past Portland 103-92. The Trail Blazers went eight minutes without scoring in the first half. Andrew Bynum pulled down 19 rebounds for the Lakers.
__ Golden State rallied past the L.A. Clippers 104-97 behind 32 points from Monta (MAHN'-tay) Ellis. Ekpe Udoh (ehk-PAY' YOO'-doh) had a season-high 19 points and eight rebounds in place of ill starting center Andris Biedrins (AHN'-dris BEE'-uh-drinsh). The Clippers' Pacific Division lead over the city-rival Lakers is down to one game.
— Dirk Nowitzki (noh-VIHT'-skee) had 26 points and moved into the top 20 on the NBA career scoring list and the Dallas Mavericks beat the struggling Boston Celtics 89-73. Boston has lost four straight and six of seven.
__ All-Star Deron (DEHR'-ihn) Williams poured in a season-high 38 points and outplayed fellow point guard Jeremy Lin in the Nets' 100-92 victory over the Knicks. Lin made only 7 of 18 shots, finishing with 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. New York's Carmelo Anthony returned from a seven-game absence due to a groin injury and hit just four of his 11 shots while collecting 11 points.
— Marcin Gortat (MAHR'-chin GOHR'-tot) scored 20 points, Steve Nash had 12 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds in three quarters, and the Phoenix Suns beat Washington 104-88 for their 10th straight win over the Wizards.
— Dwight Howard had 28 points and 16 rebounds, Jameer Nelson added 15 points and the Orlando Magic beat the Milwaukee Bucks 93-90. The win was Orlando's third over Milwaukee in 10 days.
— Arron Afflalo (AHF'-ah-loh) hit a tiebreaking floater in the lane with 33.7 seconds remaining in overtime and reserve Al Harrington scored a season-high 31 points as the Denver Nuggets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 103-101.
— Kyle Lowry scored 24, Kevin Martin added 22 and Courtney Lee hit four key free throws down the stretch as the Houston Rockets held off the Memphis Grizzlies 97-93.
__ The Chicago Bulls raced out to an 18-point halftime lead and beat the Atlanta Hawks 90-82 as reigning MVP Derrick Rose returned following a five-game absence caused by back spasms. Rose scored 23 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out six assists. Chicago is 26-8 and pulled even with Miami for best record in the league and the Eastern Conference race.
NBA-NEWS
Rondo suspended 2 games...More surgery for Oden...Ginobili out 2 weeks
NEW YORK (AP) — Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo (RAH'-zhahn RAHN'-doh) has been suspended two games without pay by the NBA for throwing a ball at an official during a game.
Stu Jackson, the NBA's executive vice president for basketball operations, announced the suspension Monday, one day after Rondo received two technical fouls and was ejected late in the third quarter of Boston's 96-81 loss at the Detroit Pistons.
Rondo missed the Celtics' 89-73 loss at Dallas and will also sit out Wednesday's game against Oklahoma City.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — There appears to be no end in sight for Greg Oden and his troublesome knees.
The Portland Trail Blazers said Monday that a procedure to clear debris out of Oden's left knee resulted in another microfracture surgery. Oden had the surgery in Vail, Colo. It was originally expected to be an arthroscopic procedure to clean out the 7-foot center's knee, but the surgeon determined there was additional damage.
The former No.1 pick in the 2007 NBA draft has now had two microfracture surgeries on his left knee, and one on his right. He has also undergone surgery for a fractured left kneecap.
The Blazers say Oden will not play this season.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili (MAN'-oo jih-NOH'-blee) is expected to miss two weeks with a strained left oblique.
Ginobili was hurt during the second half of San Antonio's 103-100 victory at the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday. Ginobili had an MRI on Monday that confirmed the injury
NHL-FINAL SCORES
Senators blanks Isles...Canes crush Caps
UNDATED (AP) — Ottawa strengthened its seventh-place standing in the NHL Eastern Conference playoff race by whipping the Islanders 6-0 at New York for a third straight victory. Erik Karlsson and Jason Spezza (SPET'-suh) each scored twice and Craig Anderson made 28 saves for the Senators, who move six points ahead of Toronto and Winnipeg, both of which were idle.
In the only other NHL game on Presidents Day, Carolina built a 3-0 first-period lead and cruised past Washington 5-0. Justin Peters cruised to his first NHL shutout. Eric Staal scored twice, including one short-handed. That keeps the Caps one point behind the Maple Leafs and the Southeast Division rival Jets in the race for the final postseason berth in the East. The Capitals are two points behind division leader Florida.
MLB-SPRING TRAINING
Pujols and Fielder join new teammates...Welcome back, Manny!
UNDATED (AP) — Two of baseball's prized offseason acquisitions showed up at their new teams' training camp Monday morning.
Albert Pujols (POO'-hohls) reported to the L.A. Angels facility in Arizona. The three-time National League MVP headed to the clubhouse to meet his new teammates, but not before stopping at the team's equipment room, where he was introduced to several employees and clubhouse attendants.
Pujols left the St. Louis Cardinals in December after 11 seasons for a contract in the $250 million range.
Meanwhile, Prince Fielder was an early arrival at the Tigers camp in Florida. The slugging first baseman agreed to a $214 million, nine-year contract with Detroit after playing his entire big league career in Milwaukee.
He joins slugger Miguel Cabrera and ace Justin Verlander to form an imposing trio of MVP-caliber players in their primes.
In other new from around the major leagues:
— Manny Ramirez and the Oakland Athletics have reached agreement on a minor league contract. Ramirez is expected to report to spring training by the end of the week. The 12-time All-Star is due to serve a 50-game suspension for his second positive drug test before he can play for the A's. Barring rainouts, his first game could be May 30 — on his 40th birthday.
__ A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that Raul Ibanez (rah-ool ee-BAHN'-yehz) and the New York Yankees have agreed to a $1.1 million, one-year contract. The 39-year-old outfielder played with Philadelphia the last three seasons. He is expected to be the Yankees' primary designated hitter against right-handed starting pitchers. New York chose Ibanez over former Yankees Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui (hih-DEK'-ee mat-SOO'-ee), who also are free agents.
— Stephen Strasburg will follow the same path as Washington Nationals teammate Jordan Zimmermann in his comeback from elbow-ligament replacement surgery. Nationals manager Davey Johnson said Monday that Strasburg will be limited to 150-160 innings this season. Zimmermann threw 161 1-3 innings last year following surgery and hopes to reach 200 this season.
__ Calling his age a nonfactor, 49-year-old Jamie Moyer is looking to resume his career with the Colorado Rockies, one of a few teams that showed interest. Moyer last pitched with the Phillies in July 2010 before undergoing elbow-ligament replacement surgery last year.
— Colorado Rockies manager Jim Tracy has received what general manager Dan O'Dowd calls an "indefinite" contract extension. The 56-year-old manager says he would like to one day retire with the Rockies.
T25-FINAL SCORE
Baylor had an Acy in the hole
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Quincy Acy had 22 points and 16 rebounds to power No. 13 Baylor to a tough 77-72 win over Texas in the only game Monday night involving a ranked team.
Baylor rallied from a 12-point deficit early in the second half. Acy scored seven straight points to push the Bears to a five-point lead with under 3 minutes to play Pierre Jackson made six consecutive free throws to put the game away for Baylor.
T25-MEN'S AP POLL
Top 5 the same
UNDATED (AP) — Kentucky and Syracuse are 1-2 in The Associated Press Top 25 for a fourth straight week.
The Wildcats are spending their fifth consecutive week at the top and seventh overall, after getting 63 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel. The Orange, who spent six weeks at No. 1, got the other first-place votes.
Missouri, Kansas and Duke stay third through fifth and are followed by Michigan State, North Carolina, Ohio State, Georgetown and Marquette.
T25-WOMEN'S AP POLL
Lady Bears unchallenged
UNDATED (AP) — Baylor is a unanimous No. 1 in the women's AP basketball poll for a 12th straight week. The Lady Bears are 27-0 after beating Oklahoma State and Texas Tech to clinch the Big 12 regular-season title.
Stanford and Notre Dame move up one spot to second and third while Connecticut drops two spots to fourth and Miami slips up one to No. 5.
St. John's jumps in at No. 20 after ending UConn's 99-game home winning streak Saturday.
NFL-CHIEFS-ROUTT
Chiefs get help at corner
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs have agreed to terms on a $19.6 million, three-year deal with cornerback Stanford Routt. That should help Kansas City absorb the potential loss of free agent Brandon Carr, who has been a stalwart in its secondary.
Routt's contract includes a $4 million signing bonus and $6 million the first season, a person with direct knowledge of the deal tells The Associated Press.
Routt is still owed $5 million next month from the Oakland Raiders, who released him after the first year of a $54.4 million, five-year deal. The $11 million Routt will make in 2012 puts him among the three highest-paid cornerbacks in the NFL.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.