Nuggets beat OKC for 13th straight win
NBA: Ty Lawson scored 25 points, Andre Miller had 20 points and nine assists and the visiting Denver Nuggets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 114-104 Tuesday night to win a 13th straight game for the first time since joining the NBA.
The Nuggets trailed by one at halftime but took control in the third quarter and never let Oklahoma City reclaim the lead. Denver moved within 3 1/2 games of the Thunder in the Northwest Division and became the first team this season to beat Oklahoma City three times.
Kevin Durant had 34 points and Russell Westbrook chipped in 25 for Oklahoma City, which lost at home for just the fifth time this season.
• Indiana blasts Orlando: Paul George scored 19 points and Tyler Hansbrough had 14 points and 14 rebounds, leading Indiana to a 95-73 rout of struggling Orlando at Indianapolis, Ind.
The Pacers improved to 27-8 at home despite playing without second-leading scorer David West because of a sprained lower back.
• Bucks whip struggling Blazers: Brandon Jennings scored 24 points and Monta Ellis added 21 to help the Milwaukee Bucks hang on for a 102-95 victory over the visiting Portland Trail Blazers.
Milwauked outscored Portland 31-8 in the second quarter — the Trail Blazers’ fewest points in any period this season. The Blazers shot a woeful 2 for 20 from the field and had six turnovers in the quarter.
The Trail Blazers lost for the 10th time in their last 11 road games.
• Kings rally to defeat Clippers: Marcus Thornton had 25 points, Toney Douglas scored 17 of his 19 in the fourth quarter and the host Sacramento Kings rallied from eight down in the final 11 minutes to stun the Los Angeles Clippers 116-101.
Blake Griffin finished with 26 points, four rebounds and five assists for the Clippers. Los Angeles has lost four of its last seven.
Niskanen, Crosby lead torrid Penguins
NHL: Defenseman Matt Niskanen scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, Sidney Crosby had two assists, and the Pittsburgh Penguins extended their winning streak to 10 with a 2-1 victory over the visiting Washington Capitals.
Niskanen’s goal at 11:58 came nine seconds after the Eastern Conference-leading Penguins killed a four-minute penalty.
The winning streak is the second-longest in the NHL this season.
Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves, and Crosby earned his NHL-leading 36th and 37th assists for the Penguins, who were without reigning MVP Evgeni Malkin (shoulder) for a sixth game.
• Canucks down Blues: Daniel Sedin had a goal and an assist, and Cory Schneider made 32 saves in the Vancouver Canucks’ 3-2 victory over the visiting St. Louis Blues. Jannik Hansen and Dale Weise also scored for Vancouver (14-9-6), which ended a two-game losing streak.
Jaden Schwartz and Patrik Berglund both scored in the third period for the Blues.
• Gonchar hits winner: Sergei Gonchar scored with 1 minute left for Ottawa, which netted four goals in the third period and rallied to beat the New York Islanders 5-3 in Uniondale, N.Y.
Gonchar’s second goal of the season came on a blast from the point to make it 4-3, and Guillaume Latendresse added an empty-net goal to seal the win.
• Florida ends skid: Tomas Fleischmann, Marcel Goc and Shawn Matthias scored 6:12 apart in the third period to lead Florida past Carolina 4-1 at Raleigh, N.C., snapping a six-game losing streak.
• Blue Jackets on roll: Sergei Bobrovksy shook off a slap shot to his mask and withstood two late goals, and Mark Letestu had a goal and an assist as host Columbus beat struggling Nashville to extend its franchise-record point streak to 11 games. Columbus is on a 7-0-4 run.
• Ott connects in OT: Steve Ott’s second goal of the game at 2:16 of overtime lifted visiting Buffalo to a 3-2 win over Montreal.
• Winnipeg rallies: Blake Wheeler and Evander Kane scored 57 seconds apart in the third period, and Winnipeg rallied to beat visiting Boston.
Meersman wins 2nd stage in Spain
Cycling: Belgium’s Gianni Meersman won the second stage of the Volta a Catalunya on to extend his overall lead in the seven-stage race Spain.
The Omega Pharma-Quick Step rider timed his final sprint perfectly to finish just ahead of Daniele Ratto and Brett Lancaster, with all three clocking 3 hours, 47 minutes, 43 seconds.
Meersman also won the first stage and has a 14-second lead.