Durant leads road victory over Blazers
NBA: Kevin Durant had 36 points and 10 rebounds and the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder edged the Portland Trail Blazers 98-95 on Tuesday night.
Jeremy Lamb had 19 points, including a key 3-pointer with 1:38 left for the Western Conference-leading Thunder, who have won 14 of their last 16 games.
Nicolas Batum had 18 points for Portland, which has lost five of seven and appears tired as the league approaches the All-Star break. Robin Lopez had 17 points and 14 rebounds.
Portland led by as many as 13 points in the first half and held a 55-45 advantage at the break, but the Thunder kept chipping away and the teams went into the fourth quarter tied at 80.
Lamb’s 3-pointer gave the Thunder a 96-95 lead, and Oklahoma City held on.
• LeBron bounces back: LeBron James rebounded from one of his worst games of the season to score 37 points and the visiting Miami Heat beat the Phoenix Suns 103-97.
James, who had matched his season low with 13 points in Saturday’s loss at Utah, scored 25 in the second half, 14 in the fourth quarter.
• Jazz hand Lakers another home loss: Reserve Alec Burks scored 13 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and the visiting Utah Jazz sent the injury-riddled Los Angeles Lakers to a franchise record-tying sixth straight home loss, 96-79.
• Bobcats end Mavs’ win streak: Al Jefferson scored 30 points, Anthony Tolliver added 22 points and the host Charlotte Bobcats earned a rare win over the Dallas Mavericks, 114-89.
The Bobcats had lost 17 of 18 against the Mavericks.
• Beal’s 37 not enough for Wizards: Nick Calathes and Marc Gasol scored 18 points each, and the Memphis Grizzlies survived a career-best 37 points from Washington’s Bradley Beal to defeat the visiting Wizards 92-89.
• Noah has triple-double: Joakim Noah scored 19 points as part of a triple-double, and the Chicago Bulls beat the visiting Atlanta Hawks 100-85. Noah added 16 rebounds and 11 assists.
Wyoming upsets No. 5 San Diego St.
College basketball: Riley Grabau scored 17 points, Larry Nance Jr. had 14 and Wyoming beat No. 5 San Diego State 68-62 at Laramie, Wyo., to end the Aztecs’ 20-game winning streak.
The victory by Wyoming (15-9, 6-5 Mountain West Conference) came almost 16 years to the day after the Cowboys last beat a top-5 team at home, a 62-56 win over No. 5 Utah.
The Aztecs (21-2, 10-1) won 20 in row after losing to Arizona in their second game of the season.
• Michigan snaps losing streak at Columbus: Nik Stauskas scored 15 points and Derrick Walton III added 13 – including three critical free throws with 1:55 left – to power No. 15 Michigan to a 70-60 victory over No. 22 Ohio State.
The victory ended a nine-game losing skid over the last 11 years in Columbus, Ohio, for the Wolverines (18-6, 10-2 Big Ten), who came into the game tied for the top spot in the conference with Michigan State.
LaQuinton Ross had 24 points and Lenzelle Smith Jr. 13 for Ohio State (19-6, 6-6), which had a three-game winning streak snapped. The Buckeyes hadn’t lost to their archrivals on their home court since a 61-50 setback on Jan. 15, 2003.
• Gators win 16th straight: Scottie Wilbekin had 21 points and six assists, and No. 3 Florida (22-2, 11-0 SEC) stepped up its defense in the second half to outlast Tennessee (15-9, 6-5) 67-58 for its 16th consecutive victory.
• Shockers stay unbeaten: Ron Baker scored 19 points, Cleanthony Early added 18 and Wichita State (26-0, 13-0 Missouri Valley) overcame a sloppy start to beat Southern Illinois 78-67 (10-16, 6-7) at Wichita, Kan., and remain unbeaten.
• Texas routs Oklahoma State: Javan Felix scored 27 points, making six 3-pointers and Texas (19-5, 8-3) rolled to a 87-68 win over Oklahoma State (16-8, 4-7) at Austin, Texas, which played its first game without suspended star Marcus Smart.
Smart sat out the first of a three-game suspension by the Big 12 for shoving a Texas Tech fan. Without him, the Cowboys never had a chance.
Tanaka charters 787 for Big Apple intro
Baseball: Masahiro Tanaka was introduced by the Yankees on Tuesday after chartering a Boeing 787 Dreamliner for his trip from Tokyo to New York.
The 25-year-old right-hander agreed Jan. 22 to a $155 million, seven-year contract and stopped in New York for a news conference at Yankee Stadium en route to the team’s spring training complex in Tampa, Fla., where workouts start this weekend.
Tanaka put on his No. 19 jersey and, speaking in English, said “I’m very happy to be a Yankee.”
Tanaka charted the Japan Airlines plane, which seats about 200, at what was reported to be a cost of about $200,000 for a flight said to include five passengers and his poodle Haru.
• Verlander throws off mound: Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander says he threw about 20 pitches off a mound on Monday at Lakeland, Fla.
Verlander said he didn’t have any pain in his groin and hip. The right-hander had surgery on Jan. 9.
Verlander went 13-12 with a 3.46 ERA last year for the A.L. Central champions.
• Braves will honor Aaron: The Atlanta Braves are planning to honor the 40th anniversary of Hank Aaron’s record 715th home run in a pregame ceremony before their home opener against the Mets on April 8.
The team also announced that the Braves will wear a commemorative patch on the right sleeve during the season. The patch, shaped like home plate, carries the number 715, Aaron’s autograph and a “40th Anniversary” banner.
Aaron celebrated his 80th birthday on Feb. 5.
CFL fines players for anti-gay remarks
Football: The Canadian Football League fined two players for making inappropriate comments about openly gay NFL prospect Michael Sam.
Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Arland Bruce and Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive tackle Bryant Turner Jr. were penalized undisclosed amounts for postings on social media. Bruce misspelled the word “gay” in his message, which urged Sam to “man up” and get on his knees and “submit to God fully.”
The 36-year-old Bruce is a three-time CFL all-star and two-time Grey Cup champion who appeared in two NFL games with San Francisco in 2003. He and Turner both played college football in the United States, Bruce at Minnesota and Turner at Alabama-Birmingham.
Turner apologized in a series of tweets, calling his post “inappropriate and insensitive.”