Duncan key as Spurs slip past Clippers
NBA: Tim Duncan had a season-high 34 points, including a game-winning three-point play with 2.2 seconds left, and the San Antonio Spurs outlasted the Los Angeles Clippers104-102 on Friday night in San Antonio.
Duncan also had 11 rebounds for San Antonio (55-17), which won its seventh straight at home. Tony Parker added 24 points and eight assists and Tiago Splitter had 14 points.
Blake Griffin had 18 points, Jamal Crawford added 16, Chris Paul had 14, Caron Butler 11 and Willie Green had 10 for Los Angeles.
• Williams lights up Blazers in second half: Mo Williams scored 26 of his 28 points in the second half, and the Utah Jazz rallied with a 19-3 run in the final minutes to beat the Trail Blazers 105-95 in Portland.
Paul Millsap added 25 points and 10 rebounds as the Jazz snapped a nine-game losing streak on the road, their longest since they dropped 17 straight in the 1981-82 season.
• Also in the NBA: LeBron James scored 36 points, hitting six consecutive 3-pointers in less than six minutes during the first half, and the Miami Heat rebounded from their first loss in nearly two months to beat the New Orleans Hornets 108-89. … Nikola Pekovic had 22 points and 15 rebounds and Ricky Rubio added 17 points and seven assists to help Minnesota stun Oklahoma City 101-93 in Minneapolis. OKC’s Kevin Durant had 36 points and seven rebounds, but was just 4 of 9 in the final 22 minutes. … J.R. Smith scored 37 points, his third consecutive 30-point outing, and New York beat visiting Charlotte 111-102 for its season-high seventh straight victory.
Stars stop Wild’s winning streak at 7
NHL: Jamie Benn, Ray Whitney and Cody Eakin each had a goal and an assist to help lead the Dallas Stars to a 5-3 victory to end the visiting Minnesota Wild’s seven-game winning streak.
Erik Cole and Tomas Vincour also scored for Dallas, which moved within one point of the Western Conference’s final playoff spot. Jaromir Jagr also recorded his 1,000th career NHL assist.
• Late goal sparks Lightning: Alex Killorn scored with 15.1 seconds left in the third period and Tampa Bay won in a shootout over visiting New Jersey to give new Lightning coach Jon Cooper a 5-4 victory in his NHL debut. Teddy Purcell and Victor Hedman scored for Tampa Bay in the shootout.
Bogey-free Wheatcroft leads
Golf: Steve Wheatcroft ran off three straight birdies early in his round and kept bogeys off his card for a second straight 5-under 67. That gave him a one-shot lead over D.A. Points and Jason Kokrak going into the weekend at the Houston Open in Humble, Texas.
Rory McIlroy also will be around for two more days, but just barely.
In only his 10th full round of the year, McIlroy walked onto the seventh green – his 16th hole of the day – and saw that he was tied for 77th. He two-putted from 85 feet on the fringe for birdie on his next hole, and then safely found the green at the par-3 ninth for a 70. By the end of the day, McIlroy made the cut on the number.
Murray, Ferrer reach Sony Open final
Tennis: Andy Murray has advanced to the final of Sony Open in Key Biscayne, Fla., by rallying past No. 8-seeded Richard Gasquet 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-2.
Murray’s opponent Sunday will be No. 3-seeded David Ferrer, who beat No. 15 Tommy Haas, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Murray won the tournament in 2009 and was runner-up last year.
Murray is ranked No. 3 and would climb to No. 2 if he wins the title.
No. 1 Serena Williams will play No. 2 Maria Sharapova for the women’s title this morning.
Miami asks for NCAA case to end
Miscellany: A person with knowledge of the situation told the Associated Press that Miami has filed a motion to have the case against its athletic department thrown out altogether, citing massive improprieties with how the investigation was conducted.
Also, three former Miami assistant coaches filed a similar motion, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because neither filing was released publicly.
• Weber top qualifier at Tournament of Champions: Hall of Famer Pete Weber beat Australian two-hander Jason Belmonte 226-183 in their final match to take the top qualifying position in the PBA Tournament of Champions stepladder finals at Indianapolis.
The 50-year-old Weber, from St. Ann, Mo., is trying match the late Earl Anthony’s record for majors victories with 10 and complete the PBA’s Triple Crown an unprecedented second time.