In brief: Capitals come back for 10th straight win

NHL: Alex Ovechkin scored the go-ahead goal with 6:26 remaining, and the Washington Capitals tied a franchise record with their 10th straight win, beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 at home.

The reigning two-time league MVP slid on one knee and into the boards to celebrate his 35th goal of the season, a shot from the slot that beat Mike Smith to the stick side. The score rescued the Capitals after Washington blew a two-goal lead in the third period.

•Vokoun, Panthers shut out Islanders: Tomas Vokoun stopped 33 shots to earn his seventh shutout of the season and the Florida Panthers beat the New York Islanders 2-0 in Sunrise, Fla.

Jordan Leopold and Keith Ballard scored for the Panthers, who have won seven of 11.

Vokoun had four shutouts in January, with his previous one coming Jan. 23 against Toronto, when he made 39 saves in a 2-0 win. His seven shutouts this season are a career high.

Cavs use first quarter surge to down Clips

NBA: LeBron James, en route to 32 points, scored half of Cleveland’s 46 points in the first quarter and the streaking Cavaliers tied an NBA record with 11 3-pointers in the opening period of their 114-89 win over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers.

The 46 points tied a franchise mark for most in a quarter, and Cleveland’s 16 3-pointers fell one shy of the team record for a game.

Cleveland made 3-pointers on seven consecutive possessions during the spurt.

•Stoudemire, Nash carry Suns in OT: Amare Stoudemire scored a season-high 36 points, Steve Nash handed out 16 assists and the visiting Phoenix Suns beat the Houston Rockets 115-111 in overtime.

Nash scored 11 points and grabbed a season-high eight rebounds, and Grant Hill added 19 points for the Suns, who snapped a five-game road losing streak. Phoenix has won nine of its last 12 games in Houston.

•Melo-less Nuggets beat Spurs: Kenyon Martin scored 27 points and the Denver Nuggets won again without Carmelo Anthony, beating the San Antonio Spurs 103-89 on the road.

The NBA’s leading scorer missed his fourth consecutive game with a sprained ankle but the Nuggets still bounced back after Oklahoma City pummeled them Friday, ending Denver’s eight-game win streak.

Chauncey Billups scored 25 and J.R Smith had 18 for the Nuggets, who’ve breezed through the new year so far. Denver went 12-3 in January.

George Hill scored 17 points in place of San Antonio’s own injured star, Tony Parker. The point guard sat out for the second game with a left ankle sprain.

South Florida upsets No. 17 Pittsburgh

College men: Dominique Jones scored 37 points and South Florida extended its school-best Big East winning streak to three straight games with a 70-61 upset of sputtering No. 17 Pittsburgh in Tampa, Fla.

USF (14-7, 4-5) nearly squandered a 14-point lead down the stretch, but held on by making 11 of 14 free throws in the final three minutes.

Pittsburgh (16-5, 6-3) has lost three of four.

•Tennessee halts skid, beats Florida: Scotty Hopson came out of a timeout and quickly hit a long jump shot with 21 seconds left to give No. 14 Tennessee a 61-60 win over Florida in Knoxville, Tenn.

The basket gave the Volunteers (16-4, 4-2 SEC) their sixth straight win over their East Division rival and fifth straight victory in Knoxville. It also kept Tennessee from dropping a third game in a row.

Alex Tyus, who led the Gators with 18 points, had a chance to grab the lead back for Florida (15-6, 4-3) but missed a jumper in the middle of a crowd under the basket with 5 seconds left.

Lady Vols survive to beat S. Carolina

College women: Kamiko Williams scored a career-high 17 points to help No. 5 Tennessee edge South Carolina 60-55 in Columbia, S.C.

The Lady Vols (19-1, 7-1 Southeastern) fell behind 13-0 and never led until 7:53 was left in the game. But they finished on an 8-1 run to beat the Gamecocks (11-10, 4-5) for the 38th straight time.

Williams saved Tennessee on a night its three leading scorers struggled. Angie Bjorklund (University HS), Glory Johnson and Shekinna Stricklen together average 41 points per game, but combined for just 18. Bjorklund finished with seven points and a game-high four steals.

•No. 9 Georgia upset by Auburn: Alli Smalley scored 22 points to help host Auburn beat No. 9 Georgia 67-53, dealing the Lady Bulldogs their third consecutive defeat.

KeKe Carrier added 15 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots for the Tigers (12-10, 3-6 SEC), who came into the game on a four-game losing streak that included Thursday night’s 29 point shellacking at No. 5 Tennessee.

Huefner wraps up World Cup luge title

Miscellany: Germany’s Natalie Geisenberger won the women’s luge World Cup finale on the 2006 Olympic track in Cesana, Italy, while Erin Hamlin of Remsen, N.Y. finished third for her third bronze medal of the season.

Olympic favorite Tatjana Huefner finished second to wrap up her third World Cup overall title.

•Fagan wins Dick Weber Open: Mike Fagan defeated PBA Hall of Famer and all-time wins leader Walter Ray Williams Jr. for his first individual Tour title in the PBA Dick Weber Open in Fountain Valley, Calif.

Fagan, of Patchogue, N.Y., defeated Williams 241-213 in the championship match to earn the $25,000 first prize.