Milestone win for Syracuse and Boeheim

Men’s basketball: Dion Waiters had 16 points and Scoop Jardine had 12 points and 10 assists as No. 1 Syracuse beat Pittsburgh 71-63 in Syracuse, N.Y., to open the season with 20 straight wins.

The Orange (20-0, 7-0 Big East) set a school record for most consecutive victories to start a season and it was win No. 876 for coach Jim Boeheim, tying him with Adolph Rupp of Kentucky for fourth place all-time in Division I. North Carolina’s Dean Smith is third with 879.

Boeheim extended his Division I record for most 20-win seasons to 34.

Huskies hand Tar Heels historic loss

Women’s basketball: Bria Hartley scored 17 points and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis added 15 to help No. 3 Connecticut (15-2) beat 24th-ranked North Carolina 86-35 in Storrs, Conn., handing the Tar Heels (12-5) the worst loss in school history.

Westbrook’s 3s lift Thunder over Celtics

NBA: Russell Westbrook scored 26 points, hitting a pair of 3-pointers in the final 91 seconds to help the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder pull away from Boston and beat the slumping Celtics 97-88.

Kevin Durant scored 28 with seven rebounds for the Thunder, who won their seventh consecutive game.

• Blazers beat Hornets to end skid: LaMarcus Aldridge scored 22 points and the Portland Trail Blazers snapped a three-game skid with an 84-77 victory over the Hornets in New Orleans.

Nicolas Batum added 19 points and Gerald Wallace 14 for Portland.

• Griffin, Aldridge added to Olympic player pool: The U.S. basketball team announced the 20 players who will be candidates for the 2012 London Games, adding Blake Griffin of the Clippers and LaMarcus Aldridge of Portland to the 18 holdovers from either the 2008 Olympics or 2010 world championship who have said they wish to be considered again.

The 12-man roster and alternates for the Olympics will be chosen from the new player pool in June.

Returning from the team that won gold in Beijing are: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Deron Williams. Back from the reigning world champions are: Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Tyson Chandler, Eric Gordon, Rudy Gay, Kevin Love, Lamar Odom, Chauncey Billups, Russell Westbrook and Andre Iguodala.

Detroit gets 15th straight home win

NHL: Henrik Zetterberg scored the first of Detroit’s three goals in the opening period and the Red Wings broke a franchise record with their 15th straight home victory, a 5-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres.

It is the longest single-season winning streak by an NHL team at home since 1976 when Philadelphia won 20 in a row to match a league mark set by Boston during the 1929-30 season, according to STATS, LLC.

• Bruins edge Panthers in shootout: Patrice Bergeron scored two goals and David Krejci scored the winner in the shootout and the Boston Bruins beat the Florida Panthers 3-2.

Bergeron scored two goals for Boston, and Tuukka Rask stopped 38 shots.

• Crosby to meet with specialist: Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby, who has been sidelined since Dec. 5, will meet with chiropractic neurologist Dr. Ted Carrick this week because of the same lingering concussion-like symptoms that held him out for more than 10 months last year.

• Capitals’ Green out another 4-6 weeks: Washington defenseman Mike Green will have abdominal surgery and is expected to be sidelined another 4-6 weeks.

Green, recently placed on long-term injured reserve, has played in only 10 games this season. He was sidelined early in the season with a sprained right ankle, and then injured his groin in early November.

Architect of ‘Greatest Show on Turf’ retiring

Miscellany: Mike Martz, the former Chicago Bears offensive coordinator, told Jason La Canfora of the NFL Network he is retiring after 19 seasons of coaching in the NFL. Martz spent the last two seasons with the Bears and previously was the head coach of the Rams for five seasons.

Martz will best be remembered for the “Greatest Show on Turf,” the record-setting offense he directed with the Rams.

• Cavs owner buys AFL’s Gladiators: Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert has bought the Cleveland Gladiators of the Arena Football League.

Gilbert’s ownership group purchased the team from Jim Ferraro, an area attorney who has owned the Gladiators since 2000.

• Auburn quarterback not returning: Auburn quarterback Barrett Trotter isn’t coming back for his senior season.

The seven-game starter, who graduated last August with a degree in communications but remains enrolled in graduate school, isn’t planning to transfer.

Trotter relieved an injured Clint Moseley in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, passing for 175 yards and rushing for 32 to beat Virginia.