Chicago stays hot with win over Knicks

NBA: Derrick Rose scored 32 points and the Bulls beat New York 104-99 on Monday night in Chicago, handing the Knicks their sixth straight loss.

Rose shot 12 of 29 from the floor and had six rebounds and seven assists as the Bulls got their 10th win in 11 games.

Taj Gibson had 15 points and a team-high 13 boards for Chicago, which outrebounded New York 56-38. The Bulls entered the game leading the league in rebounding margin.

Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points and Amare Stoudemire added 20 for the Knicks, but the two combined for just seven points in the fourth quarter as the Bulls pulled away.

Jeremy Lin had 15 points and eight assists for New York, but shot just 4 of 11 from the floor and had little luck stopping Rose.

The Knicks have lost six straight for the second time this season and, combined with Milwaukee’s win at New Jersey, are now tied with the Bucks for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. New York has lost eight of 10 since Anthony returned to the lineup from an injury on Feb. 20.

• Love helps T-Wolves rally past Suns: Kevin Love scored 13 of his game-high 30 points in the fourth quarter and the Minnesota Timberwolves outlasted the Suns 127-124 in Phoenix.

Nikola Pekovic scored 24 points and Derrick Williams added 19 to help the Timberwolves snap a nine-game losing streak in Phoenix.

Avalanche edge Ducks, eye playoffs

NHL: Gabriel Landeskog scored at 1:52 of overtime, Semyon Varlamov stopped 38 shots and the Colorado Avalanche beat the banged-up Anaheim Ducks 3-2 in Denver, to remain in the thick of a tightly congested Western Conference playoff chase.

Jamie McGinn and Kevin Porter also scored for the surging Avalanche, who have won four of five to move into the eighth and final playoff spot.

• Sharks get past Oilers: Logan Couture scored a tiebreaking goal early in the third period and the San Jose Sharks snapped a five-game slide with a 3-2 victory over the Oilers at Edmonton, Alberta.

San Jose is one point back of eighth-place Colorado in the tight Western Conference race.

Portland victorious in MLS opener

Soccer: Scottish striker Kris Boyd scored the go-ahead goal and the Portland Timbers went on to win their home opener 3-1 over the Philadelphia Union at Portland.

Boyd’s first Major League Soccer goal came off Kalif Alhassan’s cross in the 66th minute against Union goalkeeper Zac McMath.

Boyd, the Scottish Premier League’s all-time leading scorer, was acquired by the Timbers in the offseason. His goal came with the match tied at 1 after a Portland own goal and Andrew Jean Baptiste’s equalizer earlier in the half.

Alhassan added a goal of his own in the 76th minute in the MLS opener for both teams.

Seavey moves into lead in Iditarod

Miscellany: Dallas Seavey arrived at the checkpoint in Koyuk, Alaska, about an hour-and-a-half ahead of Aliy Zirkle in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, but his team is moving slower than hers.

The 25-year-old son of 2004 Iditarod champion Mitch Seavey arrived at 3:17 a.m. Monday, with Zirkle arriving at 4:53 a.m. The Koyuk checkpoint is 123 miles from the race finish in Nome.

Zirkle had been leading the race, but Dallas Seavey made a move Sunday, overtaking Zirkle and erasing what was a strong lead. Aaron Burmeister moved into third place. Defending champion John Baker now is in fourth.

• UNC football program punished: The NCAA infractions committee has hit North Carolina’s football program with a one-year postseason ban, a reduction of 15 scholarships and three years of probation following an investigation into improper benefits and academic misconduct.

The committee said the school was responsible for multiple violations, including academic fraud and a failure to monitor its football program.

• Graduation report reflects decrease in race disparity: The graduation rate disparity between African-American and white players at schools in this year’s men’s NCAA tournament decreased slightly after growing 10 percent over the previous three years.

An annual report by the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport shows African-American players’ graduation rates increased from 59 percent to 60 percent in 2012, while white players’ dropped from 91 percent to 88 percent. The racial gap was 22 percent in 2009.

The overall graduation rate for this year’s tournament teams increased from 66 to 67 percent.

• Indians’ Hernandez to have charges dropped: Dominican Republic prosecutors say Cleveland Indians pitcher Roberto Hernandez has agreed to a deal to have false identity charges against him dropped in return for completing a work program in his Caribbean homeland.

Formerly known as Fausto Carmona, Hernandez was placed on baseball’s restricted list after he was arrested in the Dominican Republic last month. Authorities say he is 31, three years older than the pitcher claimed.

Carmona is due to make $7 million this year, and the Indians hold options for 2013 at $9 million and 2014 at $12 million.

• American maintains lead at Tirreno-Adriatico: Forty-year-old American Chris Horner kept his overall lead in the next-to-last stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico cycling race at Offida, Italy.

Joaquin Rodriguez of Spain broke away with less than a mile to go to win the sixth stage in the weeklong race. Horner finished fourth and holds a five-second lead over Roman Kreuziger of the Czech Republic.

• Guillen ejected from spring training game: While the Miami Marlins worked on their hitting, pitching and fielding, new manager Ozzie Guillen practiced, too.

His arguing, that is.

Guillen was ejected from a spring training game at Fort Myers, Fla., for disputing a foul ball, then got a wave goodbye from Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine in Boston’s 5-3 win.

“A little excitement, set the tone, protecting my players. That’s it,” Guillen later.

Known for his volatile nature, Guillen was tossed by first base umpire Tim Timmons in the sixth inning after a grounder down the line by Miami’s Terry Tiffee was ruled foul.

• Paerson to retire from skiing: Anja Paerson, an Olympic gold medalist in 2006 and seven-time world champion skier, plans to retire after this week’s World Cup finals because of a string of injuries.

The 30-year-old Swede said in a statement on her country’s ski federation website that she has been slowed by the injuries, especially to her left knee.