In brief: Anthony’s 34 points lead Knicks over Nuggets
NBA: Carmelo Anthony returned from a two-game absence with 34 points against his former team, and the New York Knicks beat the visiting Denver Nuggets 112-106 on Sunday night in to remain the lone unbeaten team at home.
Back in the starting lineup after missing two games with a cut on the middle finger of his left hand that required stitches, Anthony twice made baskets in the final 2:08 after Denver had pulled within four points.
• Thunder too much for Pacers: Kevin Durant scored 27 points, Kevin Martin added 24 and the Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers 104-93 in Oklahoma City for their eighth straight win.
Russell Westbrook added 21 points and came up with a big block against 7-foot-2 center Roy Hibbert during a late 8-0 burst by the Thunder that put it away after the Pacers had pulled within three.
• Bucks hold off Nets: Brandon Jennings scored 26 points, Monta Ellis had 24 and Milwaukee withstood Brooklyn’s fourth-quarter rally in a 97-88 victory in New York.
The Bucks led by 29 points with 6:59 left in the third quarter but Brooklyn got within six.
Kim Yu-na back in championship form
Figure skaking: Olympic champion Kim Yu-na completed her triumphant return to figure skating by winning the NRW Trophy in Dortmund, Germany.
Kim overcame one fall in an otherwise assured free skate to end her 19-month sabbatical with 201.61 points, including the 72.27 awarded for the season’s best short program Saturday.
The 22-year-old South Korean was competing in the second-tier competition to secure a place at next year’s world championships in London, Ontario.
Russia’s Xenia Makarova was second with 159.01 points, followed by Sweden’s Viktoria Helgesson at 158.93.
Kim sat out the 2011-12 season to mull her future and announced in July she would return this year and retire after the 2014 Sochi Games.
Maze extends lead with giant slalom win
Skiing: Tina Maze of Slovenia won her third straight World Cup giant slalom to extend her lead in the overall standings, and defending champion Lindsey Vonn placed 27th after almost crashing out in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
Maze finished 0.08 seconds ahead of Viktoria Rebensburg, the Olympic champion from Germany, in a total time of 2 minutes, 11.07 seconds. Tessa Worley of France was third, trailing Maze by 0.55.
Maze now leads Germany’s Maria Hoefl-Riesch, who placed ninth, by 234. Vonn is third, 263 behind Maze.
• Hirscher wins ahead of Luitz: Defending World Cup champion Marcel Hirscher of Austria won a giant slalom race in Val d’Isere, France.
Hirscher finished 1.16 seconds ahead of Germany’s Stefan Luitz, with American Ted Ligety climbing up from sixth to finish 1.42 behind in third place on the Stade Olympique de Bellevarde course.
Indiana men earn eighth NCAA title
Soccer: Nikita Kotlov scored off a header pass from Eriq Zavaleta midway through the second half to give Indiana (16-5-3) a 1-0 victory over Georgetown (19-4-3) in Hoover, Ala., to win the NCAA men’s soccer championship.
It is the eighth championship for the Hoosiers.
• United ends City’s unbeaten start: Robin van Persie scored in the third minute of stoppage time to send Manchester United to a 3-2 victory over Manchester City in Manchester, England, ending the champions’ unbeaten start to the Premier League season.
Runnin’ Rebels edge Golden Bears
College Basketball: Quintrell Thomas grabbed Anthony Marshall’s airball under the basket and scored on a short hook shot with 1.2 seconds left to lift No. 21 UNLV to a 76-75 win over California (6-2) in Berkeley, Calif.
Anthony Bennett had career-highs of 25 points and 13 rebounds while leading UNLV (7-1) to its sixth straight win.
Royals trade top prospect to Rays
Baseball: The Kansas City Royals have acquired starting pitchers James Shields and Wade Davis from the Tampa Bay Rays for outfielder Wil Myers, the minor leagues’ top player last season, and a package of minor league prospects.
The Rays also are getting right-hander Jake Odorizzi, along with left-hander Mike Montgomery and third baseman Patrick Leonard. Kansas City also will receive a player to be named or cash.
• Indians agree to contract with Reynolds: A person familiar with the negotiations said Cleveland has agreed to a one-year contract with free-agent slugger Mark Reynolds. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal is pending a physical.