Undefeated Syracuse tops Notre Dame

College basketball: Kris Joseph had 18 points, Scoop Jardine had 15 points and nine assists, and fifth-ranked Syracuse beat No. 15 Notre Dame 70-58 in on Saturday in Syracuse, N.Y.

The Orange (15-0, 2-0 Big East) broke open a tight game with a 17-3 run that started with a jumper from the top of the key by Joseph. That snapped a 44-all tie with 13:02 left as the Irish (12-2, 1-1) began losing the ball too often.

After committing only four turnovers in the first half, the Irish had nine by the 11-minute mark in the second half.

Tim Abromaitis led Notre Dame with 15 points.

• Freeman, Clark spark Hoyas: Austin Freeman and Jason Clark scored 21 points apiece, and No. 9 Georgetown (12-2, 1-1 Big East) survived a second-half scare before pulling away for an 86-75 win over DePaul (6-8, 0-2) in Washing- ton in the Hoyas’ first New Year’s Day game in 68 years.

Duncan’s Spurs crush Durant’s Thunder

NBA: Tim Duncan scored 21 points and the NBA-best San Antonio Spurs won their fourth in a row, 101-74 over Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder in San Antonio.

Coming off wins over the Lakers and Mavericks, the Spurs again beat one of the West’s top teams to improve to 29-4 – one the 10 best starts in NBA history.

Durant scored 16 for the Thunder, who suffered their most lopsided loss of the season.

• Heat rally to beat Warriors: LeBron James had 25 points and 10 assists, Dwyane Wade also scored 25 and the Miami Heat overcame a 20-point deficit to beat the visiting Golden State Warriors 114-107 for their 17th victory in 18 games.

Chris Bosh added 20 points and 11 rebounds for Miami, which pulled into a virtual tie with Boston atop the Eastern Conference.

• Bucks surprise Mavericks: Earl Boykins scored a season-high 26 points and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the injury-depleted Dallas Mavericks 99-87 in Milwaukee.

Missing Dirk Nowitzki for the third straight game because of a sprained right knee and Shawn Marion with a thigh injury, the Mavs suffered another blow when Caron Butler injured his right knee in the first quarter and didn’t return. The trio averages just over 50 points.

• Millsap sparks Jazz: Paul Millsap scored 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting and Deron Williams had 10 points in the fourth quarter to help the Utah Jazz beat the visiting Memphis Grizzlies 98-92.

The Grizzlies, playing without leading scorer Rudy Gay because of illness, fought back from a 13-point deficit to take a 79-78 lead on O.J. Mayo’s 3-pointer with 8 minutes left.

The game was tied at 81 and 83 before Williams got going. He made two free throws to make it 96-91, then passed to Gordon Hayward for a dunk that sealed it with 18.9 seconds left.

Stafford leads Sabres to shootout victory

NHL: Drew Stafford scored three times and Tyler Ennis netted the decisive shootout goal in rallying the Buffalo Sabres to a 7-6 win over the Boston Bruins in Buffalo, N.Y.

Jason Pominville had two goals and two assists and Thomas Vanek had a goal and an assist as the Sabres came back from a 4-2 deficit. Stafford capped his fourth career hat trick by forcing overtime with 28 seconds left.

• Sharks blank Kings: Antti Niemi posted his ninth shutout with 29 saves, and Devin Setoguchi scored on his 24th birthday to lead the San Jose Sharks to a 1-0 victory over the host Los Angeles Kings.

• Maple Leafs win behind rookie goalie: Tyler Bozak scored two goals, rookie James Reimer made 31 saves in his first NHL start, and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Ottawa Senators 5-1 in Ottawa.

Darryl Boyce scored his first NHL goal for Toronto.

• Thompson delivers for Lightning: Nate Thompson scored 19 seconds into overtime to help the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Rangers 2-1 in Tampa, Fla.

The Rangers forced extra time when Marian Gaborik tied it from the low slot with 45.6 seconds left in regulation.

Also, Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher said they have obtained 41-year-old goalie Dwayne Roloson from the New York Islanders for minor league defenseman Ty Wishart.

Nadal beats Federer in exhibition final

Miscellany: Top-ranked Rafael Nadal started 2011 with a win over rival Roger Federer, beating the Swiss 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) to defend his title at the World Tennis Championships exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

• Vereen will leave California: California running back Shane Vereen says he will skip his senior season to enter the NFL draft. In three seasons with the Golden Bears, Vereen ran for 2,834 yards and scored 35 touchdowns.

• Edgar retains title: Frankie Edgar retained his lightweight championship after fighting to a draw against Gray Maynard at UFC 125 in Las Vegas. Earlier, Brian Stann stopped Chris Leben by TKO at 3:37 of the first round.