Knicks clinch No. 2 seed in East
NBA: Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points on 9-for-23 shooting against the rugged Indiana defense, and the New York Knicks clinched the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 90-80 victory over the visiting Pacers.
Chris Copeland added 20 points and J.R. Smith had 15 for the Knicks, who will host seventh-seeded Boston next weekend.
The Knicks won for the 15th time in 16 games and locked up their highest seed since they were also a No. 2 in 1994.
• Heat set new mark at home: LeBron James scored 24 points, Dwyane Wade added 22 and the Miami Heat set a franchise record for home wins in a season, beating the Chicago Bulls 105-93.
Mario Chalmers and Chris Andersen each scored 15 for Miami, which improved to 36-4 at home – topping the 35-6 mark by the 2004-05 Heat.
• Nuggets reach record 55 wins: Andre Iguodala scored 28 points and Denver beat short-handed Portland 118-109 to set an NBA franchise record with its 55th win.
The Nuggets also extended their franchise-best winning streak at home to 22 straight to move a game ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis for the third seed in the West.
The Nuggets are 37-3 at home – also a team best since joining the NBA 37 years ago.
• Lakers win first game without Bryant: Dwight Howard had 26 points and 17 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers staged a dramatic rally in the fourth quarter for a win in their first game since losing Kobe Bryant for the season, beating the visiting San Antonio Spurs 91-86 to stay in position for a playoff berth.
Steve Blake scored 23 points for the Lakers (44-37), who lead Utah (42-38) by 1 1/2 games for the eighth postseason spot in the Western Conference.
Blackhawks beat Blues, end streak
NHL: Corey Crawford stopped 30 shots and Chicago got goals from Bryan Bickell and Marian Hossa for a 2-0 win at St. Louis, ending Blues goalie Brian Elliott’s shutout streak at three games.
The Blackhawks lead the NHL with 68 points, and have won five in a row.
• Red Wings reclaim No. 8 spot: Henrik Zetterberg scored in the second period, and the Detroit Red Wings beat the Predators 3-0 in Nashville, Tenn., for a crucial two points in their chase to extend their streak of playoff berths.
The Red Wings moved into sole possession of eighth in the Western Conference, two points ahead of Dallas and Columbus.
Davis leads Dynamo to win over Fire
MLS: Brad Davis had a goal and an assist, and the Houston Dynamo set an MLS record for longest home unbeaten streak in all competitions with a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Fire.
Houston (4-2-0) has not lost a home game across all competitions in 35 matches. The previous record was set by Real Salt Lake from 2009-11.
Isner claims Clay Court Championship
Tennis: John Isner of the U.S. beat Argentina’s Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 7-5 in the final of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston.
Isner won his first tournament of the year and the sixth of his career. He had seven aces in the match, giving him a record 64 for the tournament.
He broke the record of 60 set by Pete Sampras in 2002. Almagro leads the ATP Tour with 266 aces. He had five against Isner.
• Robredo takes 11th career title: Tommy Robredo won the Grand Prix Hassan II in Casablanca, Morocco, by beating Kevin Anderson of South Africa 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-3 in the final for his 11th career title.
Robredo saved four break points in the third set and broke Anderson for the second time in the match to clinch his first title since winning on outdoor clay in February 2011.
Ferrari’s Alonso earns win at Chinese GP
Auto Racing: Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso won the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, claiming his and the team’s first win since last year’s race in Germany.
Alonso took the lead for good with 13 laps to go and won by 10 seconds from Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen, with pole sitter Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes finishing third, just two tenths of a second ahead of Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel.
Vettel retains the championship lead, now just three points ahead of Raikkonen, with Alonso moving into third, ahead of Hamilton.
• Larson holds off Logano: Kyle Larson picked up his first NASCAR national series win by holding off Joey Logano on the final restart of the Truck Series race at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway. Brendan Gaughan was third behind Logano and was followed by Johnny Sauter, and Chase Elliott.