Iverson hits last-gasp shot as Detroit wins
Allen Iverson kept the ball this time.
A week after passing up a chance at a winning shot against the Utah Jazz, Iverson hit an off-balance runner with 0.2 seconds left to give the Detroit Pistons a 90-88 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night at Auburn Hills, Mich.
“The play was for me to run the clock down and try to get to the basket,” he said. “There wasn’t much time for me to create anything else.”
On Dec. 19, Iverson passed the ball to Rodney Stuckey, who missed a 3-pointer at the end of the first overtime, and Utah went on to win.
•Nuggets edge 76ers: Kenyon Martin took a bounce pass from Chauncey Billups and drove for the go-ahead dunk with 9 seconds left to lift the Denver Nuggets to a 105-101 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in Denver.
Andre Iguodala of the 76ers got called for traveling on the next possession and Andre Miller got called for a technical foul with 2.9 seconds left. Billups made the free throw, then Chucky Atkins made two more to push the lead to four and seal Philly’s third straight loss.
•Celtics fall again: Stephen Jackson scored eight straight points during the decisive fourth-quarter stretch to finish with 28, and the Golden State Warriors sent Boston to back-to-back losses for the first time this season by rallying past the Celtics 99-89 in Oakland, Calif.
NFL
Patriots’ injuries pile up
New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi is expected to sit out again Sunday against Buffalo because of a knee injury, and defensive end Richard Seymour is questionable with a sore back.
Two other starters, cornerback Ellis Hobbs and tackle Matt Light, were probable after being limited in practice for three consecutive days.
The Patriots can win the AFC East with a victory over the Bills and a Miami loss to the New York Jets.
•Bears’ Brown out: Chicago Bears safety Mike Brown will miss the rest of the season because of a calf injury, leaving the defense without one of its emotional leaders heading into Sunday’s game at Houston that could decide whether they make the playoffs.
If the Bears beat Houston, they would need Minnesota to lose to or tie the New York Giants to win the division, since the Vikings hold the tiebreaker. To get the wild card, they would need losses or ties by Dallas and Tampa Bay.
•Singletary mum on Martz: Mike Singletary was noncommittal when the San Francisco 49ers’ interim coach was asked whether offensive coordinator Mike Martz would return to the club with him next season.
Singletary, 4-4 since taking over the 49ers (6-9) from fired coach Mike Nolan on Oct. 20, is widely expected to get the permanent job early next week.
Singletary has been outspoken in his desire for a powerful, run-based offense, which probably runs counter to the pass-happy Martz’s strengths.
•Titans’ injuries mount: The Tennessee Titans could be without as many as seven players for the season finale against Indianapolis on Sunday.
Linebacker David Thornton (hip), cornerback Nick Harper (groin) and defensive end Dave Ball (back) will all be doubtful after not practicing Wednesday or Friday. Titans players had Thursday off. Additionally, running back LenDale White did not practice all week because of illness and will be questionable.
The Titans also declared three injured players – defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch (groin), defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth (knee) and center Kevin Mawae (elbow) – out for the game.
The Titans are expected to rest plenty of players Sunday because they have locked up the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs. Indianapolis has sewn up the No. 5 spot.
NHL
Guerin reaches milestone
Bill Guerin scored twice to reach 400 goals, Rick DiPietro made 28 saves in his first game since late October, and the New York Islanders snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over Toronto in Uniondale, N.Y.
Guerin became the 79th NHL player, and the eighth U.S.-born player, to score 400 goals.
•Capitals nip Sabres: Alex Ovechkin, Viktor Kozlov and Boyd Gordon scored goals, and Jose Theodore made 22 saves in the Washington Capitals’ 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres at Washington.
•Penguins get first shutout of season: Marc-Andre Fleury made 37 saves for Pittsburgh’s first shutout of the season, and Ruslan Fedotenko scored midway through the second period in the Penguins’ 1-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils at Newark, N.J.
Miscellany
No. 2 UConn wins
Jeff Adrien scored 21 points, Hasheem Thabeet had 20 and second-ranked Connecticut (11-0) dominated down low against undersized Fairfield (8-4) in a 75-55 men’s basketball victory at Hartford, Conn.
•U.S. skier injured: American skier TJ Lanning crashed at high speed during training for a World Cup downhill at Bormio, Italy, and was ruled out of racing this weekend.
Lanning had cuts on his face and a possible bruise to his knee after losing control and slamming into the safety netting lining the Stelvio course.