Rose leads surging Bulls over Heat

Fri., Feb. 25, 2011

Derrick Rose, center, scored 26 to lead Chicago to a victory over Miami, bringing the Bulls to 2 1/2 games back of Heat in the East. (Associated Press)

NBA: Derrick Rose scored 26 points and Luol Deng added 20, including the tiebreaking 3-pointer, and the host Chicago Bulls beat the Miami Heat 93-89 on Thursday night in a showdown between two of the Eastern Conference’s top teams.

In a game that could have playoff seeding implications, the Bulls used a big third quarter to turn a nine-point halftime deficit into a 71-67 advantage.

Deng’s 3-pointer with 16 seconds left broke an 89-all tie and sent Chicago to its 16th win in 21 games.

Dwyane Wade scored 34 points and LeBron James added 29 for Miami, which lost for only the second time in 13 games.

• New-look Nuggets beat Celtics: Kenyon Martin scored 18 points and newcomer Wilson Chandler chipped in 16 as the Denver Nuggets closed the game with a 16-0 run to beat the visiting Boston Celtics 89-75. Paul Pierce led Boston with 17 points.

Canucks blow lead, come back to win

NHL: Manny Malhotra scored the go-ahead goal 1:05 into the third period and the Vancouver Canucks beat the St. Louis Blues 3-2 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Mikael Samuelsson and Sami Salo put Vancouver ahead 2-0 in the first period, but Alex Pietrangelo, on the power play, and David Backes scored 74 seconds apart in the second.

• Kings top Wild in homecoming game: Drew Doughty scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period, Wayne Simmonds had two goals, and the Los Angeles Kings returned from a 10-game road trip with a 4-2 victory over the visiting Minnesota Wild.

Jonathan Bernier made 25 saves and Anze Kopitar scored a 170-foot short-handed empty-net goal with 1:14 to play for the surging Kings in their first home game since Jan. 26.

• Slumping Stars bounce back to beat Red Wings: Mike Ribeiro, Loui Eriksson, Krystofer Barch and Jamie Langenbrunner scored goals to help the Dallas Stars beat the host Detroit Red Wings 4-1.

Dallas had lost five straight and was in a 2-10-1 slump, falling from one of the top spots in the Western Conference to a tie for last place in its division entering the game.

• Quenneville returns as Blackhawks down Predators: At Nashville, Tenn., Tomas Kopecky and Marian Hossa scored, and goaltender Corey Crawford stopped 31 shots as the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 in coach Joel Quenneville’s return to the bench.

Quenneville missed four games with a bleeding ulcer.

• Flyers top Islanders in overtime: Andrej Meszaros scored at 4:42 of overtime to lift the host Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-3 win over the New York Islanders.

Meszaros buried a 25-footer from the slot over Al Montoya’s right shoulder for his fifth goal of the season and helped the Flyers continue their dominance over the Islanders.

League, union make ‘some progress’

NFL: The NFL and the players’ union have made “some progress” over seven consecutive days of face-to-face meetings in Washington, “but very strong differences remain,” and negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement will resume next week, the federal mediator overseeing the talks said.

George Cohen, director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, announced the continuation of talks in his first public comments since he began working with the league and the NFL Players’ Association last week.

Marquette topples No. 14 Connecticut

Men’s basketball: Darius Johnson-Odom scored nine of his 17 points in overtime to lead Marquette to a 74-67 victory over No. 14 Connecticut in Hartford, Conn.

Jimmy Butler added 16 points for the Golden Eagles (17-11, 8-7 Big East), who tied the game at 59 with 5.3 seconds left on a drive by Johnson-Odom. Kemba Walker led the Huskies (20-7, 8-7) with 27 points.

Miami rallies to beat No. 12 Florida State

Women’s basketball: Shenise Johnson had 25 points and No. 12 Miami beat No. 14 Florida State 84-68, putting away the Seminoles with an 18-0 run late in the second half in Coral Gables, Fla.

Morgan Stroman scored 19 points and Riquna Williams finished with 18 as the Hurricanes (25-3, 11-2 Atlantic Coast) won their 24th straight home game and avenged a 66-59 loss at Florida State (22-6, 10-3) on Jan. 24.

• Ohio St. upsets No. 10 Michigan St.: Jantel Lavender scored 24 points, and Ohio State (18-9, 9-6 Big Ten) spoiled Michigan State’s conference title celebration with a 54-53 win over the 10th-ranked Spartans in East Lansing, Mich.

The Spartans (24-4, 12-3) already had clinched a share of the regular-season conference title, but they had their 20-game winning streak snapped.

Fowler bounces Lefty from match play

Golf: Rickie Fowler brought Dove Mountain to life as much with his golf game as his colorful attire, making two eagles in a span of three holes to send Phil Mickelson to his worst loss at the Accenture Match Play Championship in Marana, Ariz.

Equally impressive was Italy’s teen sensation, 17-year-old Matteo Manassero, who hit a 6-iron to 4 feet on the 17th hole and closed out Charl Schwartzel of South Africa to advance.

Nick Watney knocked out top-ranked Lee Westwood – the third straight year the No. 1 seed did not make it out of the second round.

The highest seed remaining after two wild days was PGA champion Martin Kaymer, who had to go 20 holes to beat Justin Rose.

• Toms shares lead in Mayakoba Golf Classic: David Toms got off to a good start in a bid for his first PGA Tour victory in more than five years, shooting a 5-under 66 for a share of the first-round lead in the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Andres Gonzales, Mark Hensby and Kyle Stanley also opened with 66s.

Toms, winless since the Sony Open in Hawaii in January 2006, had five birdies and a bogey on the front nine to make the turn at 4 under. The 12-time PGA Tour champion dropped a stroke on No. 11, then closed with two birdies on the final three holes.

Cabrera reports to camp, apologizes

MLB: Miguel Cabrera arrived at the Detroit Tigers’ spring training facility in Lakeland, Fla., for the first time since he was arrested last week on suspicion of drunken driving and promptly apologized as Major League Baseball said he will undergo treatment set up by doctors administered by management and its players’ union.

The 27-year-old was arrested Feb. 16 on suspicion of driving under the influence and resisting an officer without violence, both misdemeanors. He is set to be arraigned on March 16.