In brief: Durant pushes Thunder past Pistons
NBA: Kevin Durant scored 11 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 91-83 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night.
The franchise is 2-0 for the first time since the 2003-04 season when it was in Seattle.
Ben Gordon, starting for the injured Richard Hamilton, had 25 points in his home debut for Detroit after scoring 22 in their season-opening win at Memphis.
•Bobcats blow lead, still win: D.J. Augustin made two free throws with 2.5 seconds left in the second overtime and the Charlotte Bobcats recovered from blowing an 18-point, fourth-quarter lead for a 102-100 double-overtime victory over the New York Knicks.
After Chris Duhon’s tying layup with 7.7 seconds left, Augustin was fouled by Al Harrington on a drive to the basket. Augustin had missed two free throws 16 seconds earlier, but this time sank both.
•Carter drops 16, gets injured: Vince Carter returned to New Jersey and scored 16 points before leaving the game against his former teammates Nets in the second quarter with a sprained left ankle and the Orlando Magic rolled to a 95-85 victory at East Rutherford, N.J.
All-Star center Dwight Howard more than made up for Carter’s absence with 20 points, 22 rebounds and four blocks as the Magic won their second straight and handed the Nets their second loss in as many games.
Crosby lifts Penguins in shootout
NHL: Pittsburgh scored twice in the final 3 minutes of regulation to tie it and Sidney Crosby had the only goal in the shootout to lead the Penguins to a 4-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Columbus, Ohio.
The Penguins improved to 6-0-0 on the road, the franchise’s best start away from home.
•Stars fall in shootout: Steven Reinprecht had a natural hat trick in a 5:11 span of the first period, and Rostislav Olesz scored in the second round of a shootout to give the Florida Panthers a 6-5 victory over the host Dallas Stars.
Dallas rallied to send the game to overtime and the shootout, where Olesz was the only successful shooter when his attempt caromed off the goal post and behind Alex Auld.
Westbrook remains questionable
Football: Eagles running back Brian Westbrook is questionable for Sunday’s key NFC East game against the New York Giants, while Philadelphia wide receiver Kevin Curtis and two others are out.
•Stafford, Johnson make progress: Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz says it will be game-day decisions on whether quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Calvin Johnson’s play against the St. Louis Rams.
Schwartz said that Stafford and Johnson have made “a lot of progress” in recent weeks after injuring their right knees.
•Johnson’s agent, Chiefs continue talks: Larry Johnson remained a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, but no one could say how much longer that might be the case.
Johnson’s agent, Peter Schaffer, said there had been no progress in discussions with the team over the future of the suspended running back.
Earnhardt to keep McGrew in 2010
Miscellany: Lance McGrew had the interim tag removed from his crew chief title when Hendrick Motorsports said he’ll stay with Dale Earnhardt Jr. next season.
McGrew replaced Tony Eury Jr. in late May in an effort to save Earnhardt’s sinking season.
•Allmendinger given breath test: NASCAR driver A.J. Allmendinger was required to take a breath test before practice at Talladega Superspeedway following his arrest on a drunken driving charge.
•Viking Classic postponed: PGA Tour officials have postponed the Viking Classic until at least Sunday and will evaluate the course today before making a decision on when or if the tournament will be held.
Heavy rain this week has left standing water and mud all over the course. Officials said in a late afternoon news conference that they didn’t want to speculate on what could be done with the tournament.
•Cook takes lead in senior finale: John Cook shot a tournament-record 10-under-par 62 to take a three-stroke lead over Tom Watson and Phil Blackmar after the second round of the Champions Tour’s season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
Kuznetsova puts Venus into Doha semis: Venus Williams has reached the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Championships with a little help from Svetlana Kuznetsova, whose 6-3, 6-2 victory over Elena Dementieva secured the American’s passage into the knockout round.
After round-robin play, Venus will join her sister Serena Williams and Jelena Jankovic in the semifinals.
Victoria Azarenka of Belarus or 19-year-old Caroline Wozniacki will take the last semifinal berth.
•Winter Games torch relay diverted: Protesters have forced the 2010 Vancouver Games torch relay to be diverted from its planned route hours after organizers kicked off what is supposed to be the longest domestic torch relay in Olympic history.
Several hundred protesters, angry that billions are being spent on the Olympics instead of housing and health care, blocked Victoria city streets for hours.