Raptors hand Thunder first home loss of season
NBA: Kyle Lowry scored 22 points, making a pair of clinching free throws with 9.8 seconds left, and the Toronto Raptors handed the Oklahoma City Thunder their first home loss with a 104-98 victory on Sunday night.
The Raptors outscored Oklahoma City 6-0 in the final 1:25, all from the free-throw line, and ended the Thunder’s nine-game winning streak.
Oklahoma City had been 13-0 at home, the NBA’s longest unbeaten stretch to open a season since Cleveland won its first 23 home games during the 2007-08 season.
Amir Johnson had 17 points and 13 assists for Toronto, which won its fourth straight road game.
• Clippers outlast Timberwolves in OT: Jared Dudley made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 38 seconds remaining in overtime and Chris Paul made five free throws in the final 19 seconds, leading the host Los Angeles Clippers to a 120-116 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Blake Griffin had 32 points and 10 rebounds and was an uncharacteristic 10 for 11 from the free-throw line before fouling out with 4:08 left in OT.
Kevin Love had a season-high 45 points and tied a season best with 19 rebounds for the Timberwolves.
• Pacers run away from Celtics: Paul George scored 24 points and Lance Stephenson recorded his third triple-double of the season, leading the Indiana Pacers to a 106-79 victory over the Boston Celtics in Indianapolis.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens lost in his return to his hometown. Stevens grew up in Zionsville, an Indy suburb, and led nearby Butler to back-to-back national championship games as the Bulldogs’ coach.
Canucks beat Jets; Luongo injured
NHL: Defenseman Chris Tanev broke a tie in the third period and host Vancouver beat the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 after Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo left early because of an injury.
Luongo left with 3:30 remaining in the first period. Earlier, Luongo had his leg clipped by big Winnipeg defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, and was knocked flat during a goal-mouth collision with the Jets’ Blake Wheeler.
Luongo was replaced by Eddie Lack.
• Big second period carries Rangers: Carl Hagelin and Mats Zuccarello scored second-period goals, and backup Cam Talbot made 24 saves in the host New York Rangers’ 4-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild. Talbot was steady in relief of struggling No. 1 goalie Henrik Lundqvist.
No. 2 Duke women top No. 5 Kentucky
College basketball: Tricia Liston scored a season-high 28 points to help No. 2 Duke women beat No. 5 Kentucky 69-61 before 23,706 fans at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky.
Five days after defending champion and No. 1 Connecticut soundly dealt the Blue Devils (12-1) their first loss, they used their size and length to hand the Wildcats (11-1) their first defeat before the largest crowd to see a women’s game in Kentucky.
• Top-ranked UConn women throttle Cal: Breanna Stewart matched her career high with 29 points in Connecticut’s 80-47 victory over California in the Maggie Dixon Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Connecticut (12-0) led by 20 at halftime and Cal (7-3) could get no closer in the second half. Cal star Brittany Boyd had nine points on 3-of-23 shooting.
• Houston women’s coach resigns: Houston women’s basketball coach Todd Buchanan has resigned for personal reasons. He was in his fourth year at Houston, going 46-56, including 4-7 this season.
• Notre Dame men’s leading scorer out for season: Notre Dame will be without leading scorer Jerian Grant for the rest of the season because of an academic problem.
Grant, the son of former NBA player Harvey Grant, was averaging 19 points a game.
White enhances chances in slopestyle
Winter sports: Shaun White finished third behind two Norwegians at the U.S. Grand Prix in Copper Mountain, Colo., putting himself in strong position to earn a spot on the U.S. team for the Olympic debut of slopestyle.
• Hirscher wins, Ligety third: Two-time defending overall World Cup champion Marcel Hirscher won the challenging giant slalom on the Gran Risa course in Alta Badia, Italy, with two solid runs, while favorite Ted Ligety finished third.
• Wierather wins women’s giant slalom: Ini Val D’Isere, France, Tina Wierather protected her lead from the first run to win a women’s World Cup giant slalom and clinch her second victory of the season.