Unbeaten Knicks rally past Spurs
NBA: Raymond Felton scored 25 points and the New York Knicks stayed undefeated by rallying to beat the host San Antonio Spurs 104-100 on Thursday night.
J.R. Smith added 17 points for the Knicks (6-0), who closed on a 22-11 run to remain the NBA’s lone unbeaten team.
• Nets beat Rondo-less Celtics: Joe Johnson made the tiebreaking basket with 3:03 left, Deron Williams and Brook Lopez each scored 24 points, and the host Brooklyn Nets beat the Boston Celtics 102-97 for their fourth straight victory.
• James leads way with Wade out: LeBron James had 27 points and 12 assists, and the short-handed Miami Heat ended a decade-long drought in Denver with a 98-93 win over the Nuggets.
It was the Heat’s first win at Denver since Jan. 29, 2002, a streak of 10 straight losses.
The Heat nearly blew a 19-point second-half lead but held on despite being without Dwyane Wade (foot) and Mario Chalmers, who went to the bench after just 71/2 minutes with a strained right triceps.
• D’Antoni takes over the Lakers: Mike D’Antoni formally took over the Lakers on Thursday, four days after the slow-starting club hired him to replace Mike Brown. The former Knicks and Suns coach is still on crutches and pain medication, but knee surgery couldn’t keep him away from the Lakers any longer.
• T-wolves, Howard agree: The Minnesota Timberwolves agreed to terms on a one-year deal with free-agent forward Josh Howard, pending a passed physical.
Howard, 32, averaged 8.7 points and 3.7 rebounds in 43 games with Utah last season.
• Wizards waive Jannero Pargo: The winless Washington Wizards have waived Jannero Pargo and signed free-agent guard Shaun Livingston, bringing back a player they hope can help fill the void until John Wall returns from injury.
The 6-foot-7 Livingston was waived by the Houston Rockets in late October after spending the preseason with them.
• Raptors’ Lowry out 1-2 weeks: Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry will be sidelined another 1 to 2 weeks after being diagnosed with a bruised bone in his right foot. Lowry already missed four games after sustaining the injury Nov. 6 at Oklahoma City. He was averaging 18.3 points and 6.3 assists through four games.
12th-ranked Arizona handles UTEP
College basketball: Mark Lyons scored 17 points, Solomon Hill added 10 and No. 12 Arizona (2-0) overcame some sloppy ball-handling and 19 turnovers to beat Texas-El Paso (1-1) 72-51 at Tucson, Ariz.
Arizona shot 9 of 18 from 3-point range and dominated the glass, outrebounding the Miners 35-15.
• UCLA routs James Madison: Norman Powell scored a career-high 27 points, Jordan Adams added 25 and No. 13 UCLA (3-0) routed James Madison (0-1) 100-70 in regional play of the Legends Classic in Los Angeles.
• Huskies sign guard: Darin Johnson, a 6-foot-4, 195-pound guard from Sacramento, Calif., sent his letter of intent to Washington late Wednesday and is expected to join the Huskies for the 2013-14 season.
Triplett two back at Pebble Beach
Golf: Scott Stallings shot an 8-under 64 at Del Monte to take a two-stroke lead over William McGirt and Pullman High graduate Kirk Triplett in the Pebble Beach (Calif.) Invitational.
The event that features PGA, LPGA, Champions and Web.com tour players.
McGirt had a bogey-free 66 at Del Monte. Triplett had a 66 Pebble Beach to top the 11 Champions Tour entrants.
• Pettersen tied for lead: Coming off two wins in her last three starts, Suzann Pettersen birdied two of the last three holes for a 6-under 66 to give her a share of the lead after the opening round of the LPGA Tour’s season-ending Titleholders in Naples, Fla. She is tied with So Yeon Ryu and Sun Young Yoo.
• Guyatt in first at Australian Masters: Australia’s Matthew Guyatt upstaged the marquee players at the Australian Masters, shooting a 7-under 65 to take a two-shot lead after the first round at Kingston Heath in Melbourne
Adam Scott had five birdies on his final nine holes for a 67 and was tied for second with defending champion Ian Poulter of England and New Zealander Michael Hendry.
Selig doesn’t seem inclined to nix deal
Baseball: Commissioner Bud Selig provided no timetable for his review of this week’s controversial trade between the Florida Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays. But in wrapping up the owners’ meetings, Selig did not sound as if he would scuttle the deal, which is viewed as a huge salary dump by embattled Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria.
“I’m aware of the anger,” Selig said of the outrage in Miami. “I’m also aware that in Toronto, they’re very happy.”
The Blue Jays greatly improved their chances to win a division title by acquiring a handful of the Marlins’ best – and most expensive – players: Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, Emilio Bonifacio and John Buck.
ACC, ESPN reach Orange Bowl deal
Miscellany: The Atlantic Coast Conference has agreed to a 12-year deal with ESPN for the rights to televise college football’s Orange Bowl, with the conference champion facing either Notre Dame or a team from the Big Ten or SEC. The deal begins in January 2015.
• Ferrer to play Stepanek to open final: Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic will play David Ferrer of Spain in the opening singles match of tennis’ 100th Davis Cup final that begins today in Prague. Sixth-ranked Czech Tomas Berdych will face Nicolas Almagro in the second singles match today on an indoor hard court. Defending champ Spain is without injured Rafael Nadal.