Sixers win first game to avoid tying record
NBA: The Philadelphia 76ers avoided tying the record for the worst start to a season in NBA history, ending their 0-17 skid with an 85-77 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis on Wednesday night.
Michael Carter-Williams had 20 points, nine rebounds and nine assists and Robert Covington added 17 points to keep Philadelphia from tying the 0-18 start by the New Jersey Nets in 2009-10.
The Sixers shot just 39 percent against the worst defense in the league and turned the ball over 19 times. They scored only nine points in the second quarter.
• Nets snap Spurs’ streak: Mirza Teletovic had a season-high 26 points and a career-best 15 rebounds starting in place of Kevin Garnett, and the Brooklyn Nets snapped the San Antonio Spurs’ eight-game winning streak, defeating a team with a winning record for the first time this season with a 95-93 overtime victory in New York.
• Rockets stop streaking Grizzlies: James Harden scored 21 points, and Trevor Ariza and Jason Terry added 16 each to help the short-handed Houston Rockets cruise to a 105-96 win over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies (15-3) had won five in a row. Their two previous losses this season had been by a combined five points.
No. 4 Blue Devils get past No. 2 Wisconsin
College men: Tyus Jones scored 22 points, Rasheed Sulaimon added 14 and No. 4 Duke (8-0) shot 65 percent to beat No. 2 Wisconsin 80-70 in Madison, Wisconsin, in a highly anticipated matchup of college basketball heavyweights.
With 17 points, Wisconsin (7-1) senior Frank Kaminsky outscored Duke freshman Jahlil Okafor (13 points) in a test for the two of the nation’s top big men.
• Virginia turns up defense, stops Maryland: Malcolm Brogdon scored 18 points, Justin Anderson added 16 and No. 7 Virginia (8-0) handed 21st-ranked Maryland (7-1) its first loss, 76-65 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, at College Park, Maryland.
• Iowa upsets Tar Heels: Mike Gesell hit a driving layup through contact for the go-ahead three-point play with 1:16 left, helping Iowa (6-2) upset No. 12 North Carolina (5-2) 60-55 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
No. 12 Nebraska upsets No. 9 Duke
College women: Emily Cady put back a missed shot with 49 seconds remaining to put No. 12 Nebraska up by five and seal a 60-54 win over No. 9 Duke in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Nebraska (7-0), which led by as many as 13 points in the first half, held Duke (5-2) to four points in the last 5 minutes.
• No. 2 Notre Dame cruises past No. 15 Maryland: Jewell Loyd had 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists and No. 2 Notre Dame quickly jumped to a 24-point lead and cruised to a 92-72 victory over No. 15 Maryland in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in a rematch of an NCAA tournament semifinal from last season.
Just like in the semifinal game, which the Fighting Irish won by 26 points, Notre Dame (8-0) took control early and the Terrapins (6-2) never seriously threatened as they lost in their first appearance as a Big Ten member in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
• Hill gets hospice care as tumor grows: Lauren Hill is getting hospice care at home as the inoperable tumor in her brain grows.
Hill played in a Division III basketball game for Mount St. Joseph on Nov. 2 despite the tumor, which was diagnosed a year ago. She made layups for the first and last baskets of the game. Hill also has helped to raise more than $324,000 for cancer research and treatment.
Blackhawks win fourth straight
NHL: Kris Versteeg scored 59 seconds into the third period, Patrick Kane added two more goals, and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the visiting St. Louis Blues 4-1 for their fourth consecutive victory.
Marcus Kruger also scored for Chicago, and Antti Raanta had 40 saves in his first start since Corey Crawford was sidelined by a left foot injury. Versteeg also had the primary assist on each of Kane’s goals as the Blackhawks’ second line enjoyed another big effort.
• Bortuzzo suspended two games: Pittsburgh Penguins forward Robert Bortuzzo was suspended two games by the NHL for an illegal hit on New Jersey’s Jaromir Jagr.
• Kings sign Martinez to extension: The Los Angeles Kings agreed to a six-year, $24 million contract extension with Alec Martinez, the defenseman who scored two series-ending overtime playoff goals last June.
• Ducks sign Bryzgalov: Goalie Ilya Bryzgalov agreed to a pro tryout contract with the injury-depleted Anaheim Ducks.
The Ducks announced the return of Bryzgalov, Anaheim’s second-round pick in 2000.