Lightning edge Senators in shootout
NHL: Nikita Kucherov scored the lone shootout goal to help the Tampa Bay Lightning defeat the Ottawa Senators 4-3 on Thursday night in Tampa, Fla.
Tyler Johnson, B.J. Crombeen and Ondrej Palat scored in regulation for the Lightning, who had lost each of their previous five home games (0-3-2) by one goal.
Ottawa’s Chris Neil tied it at 3 from the right circle with 2:18 remaining in the third.
• Blue Jackets set mark with win: Matt Calvert and Brandon Dubinsky each had a goal and assist to lead the Blue Jackets to a team-record eighth straight win – the longest active streak in the league – in the franchise’s 1,000th game, beating the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2 in Columbus, Ohio.
• Wild’s Parise cleared to return: Minnesota Wild left wing Zach Parise has been cleared to return from the broken left foot that has kept him out of the last 14 games.
Bosh, James lead Heat over Lakers
NBA: Chris Bosh scored 31 points, LeBron James added 27 points and 13 rebounds and the Miami Heat never trailed in a 109-102 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers.
Nick Young added 19 points – needing 20 shots to do it – for Los Angeles, which nearly came all the way back from a 16-point second-half deficit.
• Blazers rally past Nuggets: LaMarcus Aldridge had a career-high 44 points and 13 rebounds, and the Trail Blazers rallied for a 110-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Portland.
The Blazers trailed by as many as 15 points in the third.
• Elbow sidelines Knicks’ Bargnani: The New York Knicks say forward Andrea Bargnani has a torn ligament in his left elbow and is out indefinitely.
• Kings’ Cousins, Gay day-to-day: Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (sprained left ankle) and forward Rudy Gay (strained left Achilles tendon) are day-to-day.
• Hawks without Antic: Atlanta Hawks center Pero Antic has a stress fracture in his right ankle and is expected to miss two to four weeks.
Wawrinka reaches first Grand Slam final
Tennis: Stanislas Wawrinka reached his first Grand Slam final with a 6-3, 7-6 (1), 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4) win over Tomas Berdych in semifinals of the Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia.
Wawrinka will meet the winner of the semifinal between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Buckeyes end skid with win over Illini
Men’s basketball: LaQuinton Ross scored 18 points and Lenzelle Smith Jr. had 16 – including a critical 3-pointer in the waning moments – to help No. 17 Ohio State (16-4, 3-4 Big Ten) end a four-game skid with a 62-55 win over Illinois (13-7, 2-5) in Columbus, Ohio.
Aaron Craft added 11 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Buckeyes.
• Spartans lose Dawson: No. 3 Michigan State will be without junior forward Branden Dawson for 4-5 weeks after he broke a bone in his right hand.
Dawson says he slammed his hand against a table in frustration while watching film from Thursday’s win over Indiana, breaking the fifth metacarpal bone.
No. 3 Tar Heels hold off Seminoles in OT
Women’s basketball: Tricia Liston scored 25 points as No. 3 Duke (19-1, 6-0 ACC) needed overtime for an 85-77 win over No. 24 Florida State (14-5, 2-4) in Tallahassee, Fla.
Liston finished with 25 points, including four 3-pointers, after scoring just four points in the first half.
• Virginia ends Maryland’s streak: Kelsey Wolfe scored 24 points and Ataira Franklin and Faith Randolph each scored 19 as Virginia (10-9, 3-3 ACC) ended No. 6 Maryland’s 14-game winning streak with an 86-72 victory in Charlottesville, N.C.
Alyssa Thomas added 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Terrapins (16-2, 4-1).
• Alabama edges No. 9 Kentucky: Daisha Simmons scored 17 of her 22 points in the second half, including a layup with 2.3 seconds left that lifted Alabama (9-10, 2-4 SEC) to a 57-55 win over No. 9 Kentucky (15-4, 3-3) in Lexington, Ky.
Cink leads Farmers; Woods opens with 72
Golf: Stewart Cink ran off three straight birdies late in his round on the North Course at San Diego’s Torrey Pines for an 8-under 64, good for a one-shot lead over Gary Woodland in the Farmers Insurance Open.
In his 2014 debut, Tiger Woods opened with a 72 on the tougher South Course. He failed to birdie any of the par 5s. It was the first time in his career he failed to break par in the first round of this tournament.
Chris Williams, of Moscow, Idaho, shot a 1-under 71 while Spokane native Alex Prugh closed with a 7-over 79.
• Ko tied for lead in LPGA opener: Lydia Ko took a share of the lead in her first start as an LPGA Tour member, matching Meena Lee with a 5-under 68 in the season-opening Bahamas LPGA Classic in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
Ranked No. 4 in the world, the 16-year-old South Korean-born New Zealander had six birdies and a bogey.
Wendy Ward (Edwall, Wash.) closed the first round with a 78.
Goergl claims super-G victory in Cortina
Skiing: Elisabeth Goergl of Austria finished in 1 minute, 24.23 seconds to win a World Cup super-G in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
Overall World Cup leader Maria Hoefl-Riesch finished second, 0.04 seconds behind, and Nicole Hosp of Austria was third, 0.34 behind.