In brief: Bryant scores 38 as Lakers outlast Kings
NBA: Kobe Bryant scored 38 points and the Los Angeles Lakers bounced back from a humbling Christmas Day loss to Cleveland by beating the Sacramento Kings 112-103 on Saturday night in double overtime in Sacramento, Calif.
After Lamar Odom opened the second overtime with a putback basket, Bryant connected on a pair of 3-pointers to put the Lakers in front 109-103 with 2:37 left. Los Angeles outscored the Kings 11-2 in the second OT.
Beno Udrih scored 23 points for the Kings, who held the Lakers scoreless in the final 3:35 of the fourth quarter to force overtime. Tyreke Evans had 18 points, Donte Greene had 16 and Omri Casspi added 15 points and 10 rebounds.
•Warriors snap skid: Corey Maggette scored a season-high 33 points and had eight rebounds, Monta Ellis added 33 points and 10 assists and the Golden State Warriors beat the Phoenix Suns 132-127 in Oakland, Calif., to end a seven-game skid. Steve Nash had 36 points and nine assists for Phoenix.
•McGrady gets weekend off: Tracy McGrady was not with the Houston Rockets when they visited the New Jersey Nets on Saturday night, nor will he play today in Cleveland.
McGrady, who accompanied the team to New Jersey, was given permission to return home, said team spokesperson Tracey Hughes. He left before the Rockets’ 98-93 victory over the Nets.
McGrady has been unhappy with his diminished role. He has played sparingly in six games this season following microfracture surgery on his left knee in February, averaging 3.2 points in the comeback.
OT win keeps West Virginia unbeaten
College basketball: Devin Ebanks scored 22 points, Da’Sean Butler had 21 and Kevin Jones added 19 to lead No. 6 West Virginia to a 90-84 overtime victory over Seton Hall in Newark, N.J., keeping the Mountaineers one of six unbeaten teams in Division I.
Ebanks had 17 rebounds and Jones grabbed 14 for the Mountaineers (10-0) in the Big East opener for both teams.
Jeremy Hazell had a career-high 41 points for the Pirates (9-2), who closed regulation with a 12-2 run to force the extra 5 minutes.
Caps beat Devils, top overall standings
NHL: Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom each had a goal and two assists to help Washington beat the visiting New Jersey Devils 4-1, giving the Capitals a one-point lead in the NHL overall standings.
Washington has 54 points, one more than New Jersey, Pittsburgh, Chicago and San Jose. The Caps won their third straight and ended New Jersey’s five-game winning streak.
•Bertuzzi lifts Wings: Todd Bertuzzi scored twice, Jimmy Howard made 28 saves and the Red Wings rallied to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 in Detroit. The Red Wings, coming off consecutive shutout losses to Chicago, ended a three-game losing streak. The Blue Jackets have lost nine straight.
•Canucks stop Oilers: Roberto Luongo made 24 saves, and Daniel Sedin had a power-play goal and two assists in the Vancouver Canucks’ 4-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers at Vancouver, British Columbia.
Two win spots on U.S. speedskating team
Miscellany: Lauren Cholewinski and Mitchell Whitmore won spots on the American Olympic team in the 500 meters at the U.S. Speedskating Championships in Kearns, Utah.
Whitmore led the 500 after the first heat and won with a combined time of 70.6 seconds. He joins Tucker Fredricks, Shani Davis and Nick Pearson, who had already qualified in the 500 for the U.S. team headed to the Vancouver Games.
Cholewinski won the women’s title with a combined time of 72.21 seconds. She trailed Heather Richardson and two-time Olympian Jennifer Rodriguez after the first heat, but they had already qualified for Vancouver and did not skate in the second at the Utah Olympic Oval.
The U.S. women’s 500-meter skaters will be Richardson, Rodriguez, Elli Ochowicz and Cholewinski.
•Takahashi headed to Vancouver: Daisuke Takahashi won the Japan national figure skating championships in Osaka to secure a place in the Vancouver Olympics.
Takahashi, who was first after the short program, made several mistakes in the free skate but was good enough to finish first with a total of 261.13 points.
In the women’s short program, Mao Asada finished first to strengthen her chances of securing a berth for the Olympics.
•Misremembered upset: M One Rifle led wire to wire and upset trainer Bob Baffert’s heavy favorite Misremembered to win the $300,000 Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.
Ridden by Mike Smith for trainer and part-owner Bruce Headley, M One Rifle led the field of 13 3-year-olds by 1 1/2 lengths for most of the Grade 1 Malibu, then kicked away to win by 2 1/2 lengths, covering seven furlongs in 1:21.05.
The winner paid $16.20, $6.80 and $5. Misremembered paid $4 and $3.20. Papa Clem was a neck back in third and paid $6 to show. M One Rifle earned $150,000 for the win, his fourth in eight starts.
A race earlier, Evita Argentina rallied from last in a field of 11 3-year-old fillies for a two-length victory in the $300,000 La Brea Stakes.