In brief: Nuggets get thumped, fall to 3rd in West

NBA: Tim Duncan had 18 points and 10 rebounds Saturday, and the visiting San Antonio Spurs spoiled the return of Denver’s Kenyon Martin with a 104-85 victory over the Nuggets.

Richard Jefferson and Manu Ginobili each added 15 points to help the Spurs rebound from a loss the night before against Memphis.

San Antonio temporarily moved into seventh in the Western Conference, avoiding – at least for the moment – a first-round matchup with the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers.

For the Nuggets, the loss was a blow to their hopes of securing the No. 2 seed. It also dropped them into a tie with Utah for the Northwest Division lead.

•Celtics shoot down Bucks: Paul Pierce scored 18 of his 24 points in the second half and the visiting Boston Celtics beat Milwaukee 105-90 without Kevin Garnett, pushing the Bucks around in the process.

After a rough-and-tumble game in Milwaukee last month, this one featured more pushing and shoving late and could be a sign of things to come in a first-round matchup in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Short-handed goals put Bruins in playoffs

NHL: The Bruins clinched a playoff berth after three short-handed goals in 64 seconds on the same penalty powered Boston to a 4-2 victory over the visiting Carolina Hurricanes.

Daniel Paille, Blake Wheeler and Steve Begin scored short-handed goals in the second period to make it 3-0, and Milan Lucic added an empty-netter with 1 minute left.

•Stamkos gets to 50 goals: Steven Stamkos scored his 50th goal and the only goal in the shootout to lead Tampa Bay to a 4-3 victory over the Florida Panthers in the Lightning’s home finale in Tampa, Fla.

At 20 years, 2 months and 3 days, only Wayne Gretzky (19 years, 2 months) and Jimmy Carson had 50-goal seasons earlier than Stamkos.

Wozniacki rallies in Ponte Vedra semis

Tennis: Caroline Wozniacki still has one more match at the MPS Group Championships in Ponte Vedra, Fla., after rallying past fourth-seeded Elena Vesnina 1-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4 in the semifinals after trailing 5-3 in the second set.

Wozniacki, the top seed and defending champion, will face Olga Govortsova in today’s final.

•Wilander wins exhibition match: In his first match since retiring 16 years ago, Ivan Lendl committed numerous unforced errors and fell to former rival Mats Wilander 6-3 in a one-set exhibition match in the Caesars Tennis Classic at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.

Berto defends WBC welterweight title

Boxing: Andre Berto stopped Carlos Quintana in the eighth round to retain his WBC welterweight championship at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla.

Berto (26-0) did heavy damage from the third round through the eighth.

He finally felled former WBO champion Quintana (27-3) with a succession of hard rights before referee Tommy Kimmons stopped the bout with 2:16 left.

•Holyfield claims WBF belt: Evander Holyfield stopped Frans Botha in the eighth round to win the WBF heavyweight title in Las Vegas.

The 47-year-old Holyfield (43-10-2) knocked down the 41-year-old Botha (47-5-3) with 2:36 left in the round with a right to the left chin.

■Referee Mercante dies: Hall of Fame boxing referee Arthur Mercante, the third man in the ring for the first Ali-Frazier fight and more than a hundred other world title bouts, died at his home in Westbury, N.Y. He was 90.

Stately Victor pulls away at Blue Grass

Horse racing: Stately Victor stunned the field at the $750,000 Blue Grass Stakes in Lexington, Ky., surging to the front in the stretch then pulling away to beat Paddy O’Prado by 41/4 lengths and secure an unlikely spot in next month’s Kentucky Derby.

The 3-year-old bay colt went off at 40-1 odds, the longest shot in the nine-horse field filled with Derby hopefuls.

•Line of David edges out win: Front-running Line of David won the $1 million Arkansas Derby at Hot Springs, Ark., by a neck, propelling the 17-1 long shot into Kentucky Derby consideration after his first race on dirt.

Line of David had never run in a stakes race and his last two victories were on the turf.

Barcelona beats Madrid in El Clasico

Soccer: Lionel Messi scored his 40th goal of the season and defending champion Barcelona beat Real Madrid 2-0 at Madrid to take a three-point lead in the Spanish league race with its fourth straight victory in the rivalry.

Power grabs pole for Alabama race

Racing: Will Power will start on the pole for the second straight race in today’s inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at the 2.38-mile, 17-turn Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala.

Power is trying to become the first driver to win the opening three IndyCar races. Sam Hornish was the last to start out 2-0 in 2001.