A Florida Highway Patrol report says Hazell Stoudemire was driving an SUVthat crashed into the back of a trailer becoming towed by a truck early Mondaymorning. He had been driving on a highway in the heart of Florida&#8217s citruscountry. The report says Hazell Stoudemire, who lived in Lakeland, Florida, wasnot wearing a seat belt and died at the scene.

Authorities are still investigating the crash and awaiting test results tofind out if alcohol was a aspect.

Amare Stoudemire has returned to Florida to be with his family and was goingto miss Monday night&#8217s game against Utah. Knicks spokesman Jonathan Supranowitzsays he doesn&#8217t know how extended Stoudemire will be away.

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Reggie Johnson&#8212all 6-foot-10 and 284 pounds of him&#8212scored five of hiscareer-high 27 points in overtime of Miami&#8217s 78-74 upset of No. 7 Duke onSunday.

Johnson added a season-high 12 rebounds and was a handful all game for theBlue Devils to deal with. Miami outrebounded them 48-43 and outscored them 38-26in the paint.

Connected Coverage Weekly watch: Very best week of the season upcoming Reggie Johnson scored a profession-high 27 points as Miami shocked No. 7 Duke.(US Presswire)

&#8220I really feel I had the hot hand the entire game,&#8221 Johnson said, adding thatfirst-year coach Jim Larranaga &#8220was trying to ride me a whole lot. My teammatesfound me in great positions&#8212catch and score.&#8221

Kenny Kadji added 15 points for the Hurricanes (14-7, 5-three Atlantic CoastConference), who blew a 16-point lead in the second half, then regrouped toclaim their initial huge victory for their new coach.

&#8220To come in here and play with the kind of poise we did, play the kind ofdefense we did&#8212especially in the very first half and in the overtime&#8212wassomething that we can be really, quite proud of,&#8221 Larranaga said.

That poise gave Miami its initial victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium and justits second win more than Duke given that joining the ACC. The Hurricanes are on theirfirst 4-game winning streak given that 2008 and have won three consecutive ACCroad games for the 1st time.

Seth Curry scored 22 points and freshman Austin Rivers added 20 for the BlueDevils (19-4, 6-2), who appeared listless though falling into that deep deficitbefore waking up with about 16 minutes left.

Then, they missed all six of their free throws in overtime and wound upbeing beaten at household by a Florida-based conference rival for the second timethis season.

&#8220A Duke team must play with power for 40 minutes, or 45,&#8221 coach MikeKrzyzewski stated. &#8220Go outside appropriate now and you appear at the banners&#8212there arequite a handful of of them up there. They had been not won with out energy, without hunger,with no complacency, with individuals seriously wanting it.

&#8220And we&#8217ve wanted it a lot, and we&#8217ve won a lot. We&#8217re supposed to playhard and with energy all the time. Those are givens. Those ought to be givens.&#8221

Mason Plumlee added 13 rebounds for Duke, which had its 45-game property winningstreak snapped two weeks ago by No. 21 Florida State. The Blue Devils have losttwo of 3 at Cameron and have dropped multiple property games for the initially timesince going 15-four there in 2006-07.

&#8220The biggest emphasis for us was to shield our residence court,&#8221 guard QuinnCook mentioned. &#8220We&#8217ve got to get much better.&#8221

Nonetheless, the Blue Devils had plenty of probabilities in the additional session. Theytrailed 75-74 with Cook on the line, but he missed two no cost throws with 27.2seconds left.

After Johnson missed two foul shots with 26.2 seconds left to give Dukeanother shot, Cook missed badly on a operating jumper with about 15 seconds left.DeQuan Jones extended Miami&#8217s lead to 77-74 with two foul shots with 12.9seconds left.

Freshman Austin Rivers and Duke rallied in the second half but lost in overtime.(US Presswire)

Rivers and Ryan Kelly missed 3s in the final seconds and Johnson added afree throw with one-tenth of a second remaining to silence the subdued arena.

Johnson, a native of Winston-Salem, surpassed the 25 points he scored lastseason against Wake Forest.

&#8220It&#8217s huge&#8212my buddies, my family had been here,&#8221 Johnson mentioned. &#8220Growing uphere, I know about Duke. I know about North Carolina. I know about N.C. State.So to come in here and get a win against Duke is true major-time.&#8221

He scored the Hurricanes&#8217 initially four points in overtime just before MalcolmGrant&#8217s open-court layup put Miami up 75-69 with 2:ten left.

Durand Scott added 11 points on 3-of-12 shooting for the Hurricanes, who hada chance to win it in regulation.

Rivers tied it at 69 with one particular of two free of charge throws with 21.5 seconds left.Miami had the ball final, but Johnson passed out of a double-team in the post toScott, who couldn&#8217t get a shot off just before the buzzer.

Miami forced 14 turnovers and was cruising just before going cold midway throughthe second half, managing only one field goal in the course of the crucial stretch thatcoincided with Duke&#8217s rally.

Miami went up by 16 points 3 instances, the last on Kadji&#8217s open three-pointerfrom the essential that made it 53-37 with 14 1/two minutes left. But a putback by Johnsonwas the Hurricanes&#8217 only field goal for rather over the subsequent 8 1/2 minutes.

Duke, which missed 15 of 18 shots through the stretch that put it in such ahuge hole, got equally hot for the duration of the 16-two run led by Curry that put the BlueDevils suitable back in it.

&#8220For 24 minutes, I just think we had been not extremely superior at all,&#8221 Krzyzewskisaid. &#8220We had no power and they did. &#8230 Then in the last 16 minutes ofregulation, I thought we played extremely nicely and gave ourselves an opportunityto win.&#8221

The city turned over the documents to The Seattle Times on Friday under apublic records request (http://is.gd/PyQ06N ). The documents included the agendafor a meeting between the parties on Dec. 13, with topics including “Review ofBasic Deal Structure,” “City Debt Capacity” and “Financing Issues.”

A Seattle native who now lives in San Francisco, 44-year-old hedge-fundmanager Christopher Hansen, approached the city about his desire to buy an NBAteam and build an arena south of Safeco Field, the documents show. Hansen toldcity officials an arena could be built with minimal impact on taxpayers.

“I really appreciate it and look forward to making this happen in Seattle.I genuinely mean that and am confident that with a little effort and creativitywe can find a solution that meets our needs and the City’s/State’s desire to geta team back to Seattle without a large public outlay,” Hansen wrote in a June16 email to Julie McCoy, chief of staff to Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, and EthanRaup, the mayor’s director of policy and operations.

Seattle hasn’t had an NBA team since 2008, when owner Clay Bennett moved theSonics to Oklahoma City and renamed them the Thunder.

Hansen, who heads Valiant Capital Management LLC, offered to provideinformation on recent arena deals that have been put together.

The Dec. 13 meeting was attended by McCoy and Raup and set up by Carl Hirsh,a New Jersey arena consultant hired by the city in July. The agenda alsoincluded discussion of KeyArena, where the Sonics played, and which could beused as a temporary home for a new team with the permission of the NBA. Theleague considered it an unsuitable even before the Sonics departed.

The documents don’t mention how Seattle would obtain a team, but the Timesreported that they show the city has been following developments in Sacramento,which is under a March 1 deadline to come up with a proposal to build an arenafor the Kings.

In addition, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has expressed interest in placinga team in Seattle, leading to speculation the financially struggling PhoenixCoyotes could move to the city and possibly share an arena with a basketballteam.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn said Saturday he is taking the proposal seriously,but doesn’t want the city left “holding the bag.”

“It’s a pretty substantial commitment that would have to be made by theinvestors,” McGinn said, emphasizing that the city budget can’t be tapped tofund an arena.

He added that any offer also must honor the will of Seattle voters, who in2006 overwhelmingly approved an initiative that says the city must make a profiton any investment it makes in a sports arena.

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Reggie Hearn added 20 points on 7 of 8 shooting for the Wildcats (14-8,4-6), who shot 60 percent from the floor to win back-to-back Large Ten games forthe initially time this season.

Northwestern guard Reggie Hear&hellip AP – Feb five, 5:58 pm EST Illinois center Meyers Leonard&hellip AP – Feb five, 5:56 pm EST Northwestern coach Bill Carmod&hellip AP – Feb five, 5:55 pm EST Northwestern forward John Shur&hellip AP – Feb five, 5:55 pm EST Northwestern guard Reggie Hear&hellip AP – Feb five, five:54 pm EST Northwestern forward John Shur&hellip AP – Feb 5, five:53 pm EST Illinois coach Bruce Weber arg&hellip AP – Feb five, 3:59 pm EST Illinois center Meyers Leonard&hellip AP – Feb 5, three:58 pm EST Illinois guard Brandon Paul (3&hellip AP – Feb five, three:56 pm EST Illinois guard Brandon Paul (three&hellip AP – Feb five, 3:53 pm EST Illinois center Meyers Leonard&hellip AP – Feb five, 3:53 pm EST 1 of 11 N.W.-Ill Gallery

Brandon Paul scored 22 points and Meyers Leonard had 21 for Illinois (16-7,five-five). Leonard was ten of 12 from the field, generating his 1st nine shots.

Northwestern opened the game with 4 swift three-pointers to take an 18-9lead, but a driving layup from Tracy Abrams topped a 20-11 run for Illinois totie the game at 29.

Illinois didn&#8217t hold a lead till 16 minutes left in the second half, and anAbrams jumper with five:17 left tied the score at 56-56, but Northwestern went on a16-8 run from there to take control.

James&#8217 steal and dunk with just additional than two minutes left gave Miami somebreathing area, and the Heat held on to defeat the Toronto Raptors 95-89 onSunday. James completed with 30 points and Dwyane Wade added 25 for the Heat(18-6), who won for the 10th time in its last 12 games and moved inside one gameof Chicago (20-6) for the best record in the Eastern Conference.

&#8220We stuck with our principles,&#8221 James mentioned. &#8220And that&#8217s to defend.&#8221

Toronto Raptors head coach Dwa&hellip AP – Feb five, four:16 pm EST Miami Heat head coach Erik Spo&hellip AP – Feb five, four:02 pm EST Toronto Raptors &#039 DeMar De&hellip AP – Feb 5, 2:44 pm EST 1 of 3 Tor-Mia Gallery

Chris Bosh scored 12 points against his former team, which saw a 15-pointedge trimmed to three in the final minutes but in no way surrendered the lead. MarioChalmers added 11 for Miami.

DeMar DeRozan scored 25 for the Raptors, who got 17 apiece from JerrydBayless and Linas Kleiza.

&#8220I liked our disposition,&#8221 Raptors coach Dwane Casey stated. &#8220I liked theway we approached it. I liked the way we competed.&#8221

Kleiza&#8217s three-pointer with just under five minutes left got Toronto withineight, and a different three from Bayless as the shot clock expired on the next Raptors&#8217possession cut the Miami lead to 85-80&#8212the closest the game had been sinceearly in the third quarter.

Bayless scored once again to get the Raptors within three and cap a 12- Torontorun. And following Bosh missed a fadeaway from the correct baseline, Bayless attempted a3-pointer to tie. It bounced off, and with the game in the balance, James wentto operate.

He was fouled by James Johnson and produced two no cost throws with two:20 left, notbefore letting anyone around him know he wasn&#8217t pleased with the physicality ofthe play. The subsequent time James touched the ball, he didn&#8217t give the Raptors achance to foul him&#8212his steal and two-handed slam with 2:07 left gave Miami an89-82 edge and all but ensured the win.

&#8220Good back-to-back plays for our team and I was content I was able to makethem,&#8221 James mentioned.

James&#8212who leads the NBA in 1st-quarter scoring this season (9.1 points agame)&#8212got off to an additional major commence, producing his initially five shots and scoring 12points in the opening quarter. He&#8217s now shooting just below 60 percent in firstquarters this season.

Whilst scoring wasn&#8217t an concern, the Heat had been far from in the clear.

Casey told the Raptors that establishing pace and limiting turnovers&#8212especially early&#8212would be massive keys. Seemed like his team got the message: TheRaptors matched a season-high with 27 points in the initial quarter, and turnedthe ball over only 5 occasions in the 1st half. That, combined with DeRozantying his season best with 16 points in the opening two quarters, kept theRaptors close.

&#8220It just shows that we can compete with anybody,&#8221 DeRozan mentioned.

Miami&#8217s lead was only 53-48 at the break, and that was even soon after James andWade combined to score 22 points in the opening quarter on 8 for 9 shooting.

&#8220We knew it was going to be one particular of those grind-out kind of games,&#8221 Wadesaid. &#8220We fully grasp that a lot of teams do that when they play the Heat&#8212comeout on fire.&#8221

In the third quarter, the Heat lastly took manage&#8212not surprisingly, whenthe defense picked up a notch.

Toronto missed all but one of its shots more than a seven-minute stretch of thethird, a span exactly where Miami began with a 55-54 lead and improved it 73-57.Chalmers hit back-to-back 3-pointers late in the 18-three run, James produced a fadeawaywith three:27 to play in the period to close the flurry.

&#8220Our energy was good,&#8221 Heat coach Erik Spoelstra stated. &#8220Even throughoutthe game, I didn&#8217t have a issue with the energy. &#8230 It was much more of a realconcentration and a discipline toward the end of the (shot) clock. And that&#8217ssomething we&#8217ll have to continue to get far better at.&#8221

And, just as Casey feared, turnovers proved decisive. Toronto committedeight in the third, which Miami turned into nine points. Miami gave the ballaway only twice in the third, and the Raptors didn&#8217t score on either.

&#8220Next time we&#8217ve got to come out and make the plays and close,&#8221 Baylesssaid.

Notes: It was the second straight year Miami played at property on Super BowlSunday. The Heat beat the Clippers last year in a game that began at noon andwith James half-seriously asking officials to speed issues along. &#8230 Miami hasbeaten the Raptors six straight occasions. &#8230 It was Raptors C Jamaal Magloire&#8217sfirst time visiting Miami as an opponent since March 2008. The Toronto nativehad spent the past three seasons with the Heat and remains close to severalformer teammates. &#8220He was about as pure as anybody we have ever had as a roleplayer,&#8221 Spoelstra said.

The Panthers (15-9, four-7 Huge East) led by as quite a few as 18 in the second half,even though the Wildcats (10-13, 3-8 Huge East) had been in a position to trim that lead to threeon a pair of Jayvaughn Pinkston free of charge throws with 22.three seconds left.

Villanova coach Jay Wright pin&hellip AP – Feb 5, 4:29 pm EST Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon p&hellip AP – Feb 5, four:25 pm EST 1 of 2 Vill-Pitt Gallery

Villanova, losers of 3 straight, couldn&#8217t get any closer.

Woodall then snared a extended pass and created the layup though Ty Johnson wascalled for an intentional foul. Woodall hit each no cost throws to seal the game.

Maalik Wayns led Villanova with 18 points, with Dominic Cheek adding 13 andMouphtaou Yarou 12. Dante Taylor added nine points for Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh, which has utilised improved shooting to win its previous threegames, struggled at the outset.

The Panthers created just one particular of their 1st eight shots&#8212a game-opening3-pointer by Lamar Patterson&#8212and trailed 21-16 with 7:19 left in the firsthalf. But Pitt would recover from that early slump to hit 12 of its next 15shots and sprint away on a 22-2 run.

Each Gibbs and Woodall drilled a pair of three&#8217s through the run, and when Taylorwas fouled on a dunk and made the ensuing free of charge throw, the Panthers took a 38-23lead. Pitt took a 40-28 halftime lead into the locker room regardless of committingnine turnovers and allowing the Wildcats to pull down ten offensive rebounds.

Villanova, which missed its very first six shots of the game, couldn&#8217t match thePanthers&#8217 hot shooting. The Wildcats shot just 30.3 percent in the initially half(ten of 33), like 25 percent from three-point range (two of 8). Wayns, the team&#8217stop scorer, produced just 3 of ten initial-half shots.

Following shooting 53.8 percent in the very first half (14 of 26), the Panthersstruggled in the second, shooting just 32 percent (8 of 25). But Pitt hit 27 of31 no cost throws for the game, compared to 18 of 23 for Villanova.

Green had 14 points and 16 rebounds&#8212as many as his hated rival couldmanage&#8212to lead the ninth-ranked Spartans to a 64-54 win more than the 23rd-rankedWolverines on Sunday, ending a 3-game losing streak in the rivalry.

&#8220You can&#8217t say some thing and not back up your words,&#8221 he mentioned. &#8220I&#8217d beless of a man to guarantee one thing, promise one thing and not come out hereand do what I can to back up my word.&#8221

Michigan coach John Beilein re&hellip AP – Feb 5, 5:31 pm EST Michigan State &#039s Derrick &hellip AP – Feb 5, five:31 pm EST Michigan State &#039s Draymond&hellip AP – Feb five, 5:31 pm EST Michigan State &#039s Draymond&hellip AP – Feb 5, five:30 pm EST Michigan State &#039s Keith Ap&hellip AP – Feb 5, 5:11 pm EST Michigan State &#039s Branden &hellip AP – Feb 5, 5:11 pm EST Michigan&#039s Zack Novack, ri&hellip AP – Feb 5, 5:10 pm EST Michigan State &#039s Keith Ap&hellip AP – Feb five, four:38 pm EST Michigan State &#039s Branden &hellip AP – Feb 5, 4:34 pm EST From left to appropriate, Michigan S&hellip AP – Feb five, four:20 pm EST Michigan State &#039s Draymond&hellip AP – Feb 5, four:18 pm EST Michigan State &#039s Draymond&hellip AP – Feb 5, four:15 pm EST Michigan State &#039s Draymond&hellip AP – Feb 5, 4:15 pm EST 1 of 13 Mich-MISt Gallery

The Spartans (18-five, 7-3 Huge Ten) moved into sole possession of second placein the conference behind third-ranked Ohio State.

&#8220It was a lot more about the rivalry than it was the Large Ten,&#8221 Michigan Statecoach Tom Izzo stated.

For Green, it was actually personal.

He hadn&#8217t played specifically well in the past against the Wolverines andthis was the last scheduled shot for the Saginaw native to beat a team heacknowledges hating.

&#8220I don&#8217t care exactly where you&#8217re from, it never signifies as much as it does for theplayers in state and that&#8217s one of the factors I believe in recruiting in-stateguys,&#8221 Izzo stated. &#8220Draymond didn&#8217t want to go out losing four in a row.&#8221

Green was the center of attention before the game, promising to play afterspraining his left knee in a loss Tuesday night at Illinois and saying onlydeath could have kept him off the court.

&#8220It wasn&#8217t hurting,&#8221 he mentioned. &#8220I felt wonderful.&#8221

The do-it-all forward vowed Michigan State would win Sunday&#8217s game after hisfloating ten-footer and tip-in try in the final seconds of final month&#8217ssetback in Ann Arbor. Michigan had won 3 straight instances in the rivalry forthe first time because winning five in a row from 1996 to 1998.

&#8220The globe is back into location,&#8221 Green mentioned.

Green, whose previous high against Michigan was ten points, made a fadeawayjumper and left-handed layup to restore ten-point leads on ensuing possessionsafter the Wolverines cut their deficit to single digits midway by way of thesecond half.

He soared for a defensive rebound in the final minute for his 16th reboundand became just the fourth Major Ten player to at least equal his opponent&#8217s totalin a conference game due to the fact the 1996-97 season, according to STATS, LLC.

&#8220He&#8217s got a wonderful spirit and he had a great game,&#8221 Wolverines coach JohnBeilein mentioned. &#8220He&#8217s constantly been a difficult matchup for us, but he played his besttoday.&#8221

Michigan&#8217s ideal players, meanwhile, played poorly.

Tim Hardaway Jr. missed his initial six shots and had a season-low four pointson 1-for-10 shooting. Teammate Trey Burke had made only a single shot just before his3-pointer just ahead of halftime pulled the Wolverines inside eight points. Burkefinished four of 11 and scored 11 points.

&#8220What we did was shut down Burke&#8217s penetration and that&#8217s how Hardaway getshis shots,&#8221 Izzo stated.

The Spartans took control with a 17-7 run early in the very first half and pulledaway with eight straight points to take a 57-40 lead with just beneath 3 minutesleft soon after Brandon Wood tracked down an offensive rebound and created a 3-pointer.

Michigan State outrebounded the Wolverines 40-16, which includes acquiring ninemore on the offensive glass.

&#8220They only missed 22 shots and they ended up acquiring 12 of those back&#8212andthat&#8217s not great,&#8221 Beilein mentioned.

Keith Appling and Branden Dawson each scored 10 points and Wood added ninefor the Spartans, who made 52 percent of their shots and held the Wolverines tosub-40-percent shooting.

Michigan&#8217s Zach Novak scored 14 points and Jordan Morgan had 11.

The Spartans held Michigan scoreless for 5-plus minutes, but they were tiedat two right after generating only 1 shot and turning the ball over 4 instances.

Michigan State started clicking on offense while the Wolverines continued tostruggle, top 19-9 midway through the initial half.

The Spartans made 59 percent of their shots in the 1st half with eightplayers making a shot.

Michigan, meanwhile, had eight turnovers by halftime&#8212three fewer than itaverages in a game&#8212and shot 39 percent.

The Wolverines attempted to get Hardaway going early in the second half, but hemissed 4 shots in the opening minutes prior to lastly making a shot with 15:26left in the game.

&#8220We were trying to do every thing we can,&#8221 Beilein said.

Michigan State built a 16-point lead with just under 13 minutes left soonafter the generally composed Beilein was called for a technical foul for arguing acall. A couple of minutes later, the Spartans&#8217 bench was named for a technical and itwasn&#8217t clear if an assistant coach or the frequently fiery Izzo drew thewhistle.

Michigan State improved to 14- at the Breslin Center, which seemed louderthan it has been in years, and the Wolverines nonetheless have only one particular win on anopponent&#8217s residence court this season.

&#8220I thought the making had some power,&#8221 Izzo stated. &#8220I thought it wasoff the charts.&#8221

&#8212&#8212&#8212

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Operating the floor and searching robust on the glass, the 35-year-old Garnettmatched his season-high with 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead theCeltics to their fourth straight win, a 98-80 victory over the Memphis Grizzlieson Sunday.

&#8220He was feeling very good. It&#8217s a nonetheless a kids&#8217 game. He was getting enjoyable,&#8221Rivers said of Garnett, a 14-time All-Star. &#8220He was getting a ball playing todayand you don&#8217t want to tell him you have to come in because the lights are on, sowe let him play in the dark a little bit.&#8221

Boston Celtics &#039 Mickael P&hellip AP – Feb five, four:20 pm EST Memphis Grizzlies &#039 O.J. M&hellip AP – Feb five, 3:19 pm EST Memphis Grizzlies &#039 Rudy G&hellip AP – Feb 5, 3:16 pm EST Boston Celtics &#039 Paul Pier&hellip AP – Feb five, three:14 pm EST Boston Celtics &#039 Paul Pier&hellip AP – Feb 5, three:12 pm EST Boston Celtics &#039 Kevin Gar&hellip AP – Feb 5, 3:11 pm EST Memphis Grizzlies &#039 Sam Yo&hellip AP – Feb 5, 1:38 pm EST Memphis Grizzlies &#039 Dante &hellip AP – Feb 5, 1:32 pm EST Boston Celtics &#039 Rajon Ron&hellip AP – Feb 5, 1:30 pm EST Boston Celtics &#039 Jermaine &hellip AP – Feb 5, 1:30 pm EST 1 of 10 Mem-Bos Gallery

Garnett was 9 of 12 from the field, like his third three-pointer of theseason on three tries. He hit 1 in Friday&#8217s win more than New York.

&#8220He&#8217s shooting it properly,&#8221 Rivers mentioned, just before joking about Garnett&#8217s recent3-point good results. &#8220Gives us an additional solution at the finish of the game&#8212don&#8217t tellhim that.&#8221

Paul Pierce scored 21 points, moving nine behind Hall of Famer Larry Birdfor second location on the club&#8217s all-time list, and Ray Allen added 12. RajonRondo had 14 assists and reserve Chris Wilcox chipped in with 12 points.

Boston took charge with a 21-7 run early in the fourth quarter that turned asix-point lead to 90-70 on Garnett&#8217s jumper.

Relying on a mixture of reserves and two of their usual stars&#8212Garnettand Pierce&#8212the Celtics controlled the glass and outran the Grizzlies fortransition baskets.

&#8220I believed we put together some genuinely great runs and got the ball moving,&#8221Pierce stated.

Rudy Gay paced the Grizzlies with 21 points and seven rebounds, and O.J.Mayo scored 15 points for Memphis, which has lost six of eight.

The Celtics led by six points at halftime and pushed it to double digits(53-43) on Pierce&#8217s two free throws midway into the third. Boston relied on somehot long-range shooting in the third quarter, hitting five of its very first 6 frombehind the three-point line to maintain Memphis from coming back until Gay scored threeconsecutive baskets late in the period.

&#8220The essential to the game was that we didn&#8217t get back on defense. They had 26fast break points on us and that was big, and they controlled the glass,&#8221Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said. &#8220We turned them over but we couldn&#8217t getthe effortless transition buckets. They got back on defense and forced us to play halfcourt, and they did a very good job defensively.&#8221

Allen hit three shots from beyond the arc and was fouled on one, hitting thefree throw that produced it 62-51. Pierce and Garnett also hit 3s, with Garnett&#8217sbringing a loud ovation from the crowd.

&#8220I can shoot 3s,&#8221 Garnett mentioned. &#8220Everyone&#8217s acting like I&#8217m 50 and outhere on a single leg. I don&#8217t shoot 3s since we have one particular of the all-time greatest3-point shooters in the background of the league (Allen), we have Paul Pierce whohas won 3-point contests, we have other guys who can shoot 3. That ain&#8217t my rolehere. My role is to get those guys open and shoot it, dunk it, pass it, whateverto get us going. But, I can shoot 3s.&#8221

The Grizzlies knew they were in trouble.

&#8220They got on a run right just before the finish of the quarter,&#8221 Memphis guardMike Conley said. &#8220Ray Allen hit that corner three and we couldn&#8217t recover.&#8221

The Celtics held a 69-61 lead entering the final quarter.

Boston led 43-37 at halftime soon after the teams traded large second-quarterruns. The Grizzlies opened the period by scoring 16 of the very first 19 points,taking a 32-27 lead on Dante Cunningham&#8217s jumper.

Following Rivers known as time out, his team responded with a 16-2 run&#8212highlighted by a 7- spurt that was capped by a 3 by Allen from the left cornerand Jermaine O&#8217Neal coming down the lane for a dunk soon after a good feed fromRondo, who had ten assists in the opening half.

NOTES: Garnett also had 24 points in a New Year&#8217s Day win over Washington.&#8230 O&#8217Neal went to the locker space briefly late in the third quarter. &#8230Memphis guard and former Celtic Tony Allen didn&#8217t play due to the fact of a sore hip andknee, but he was in uniform on the bench. &#8230 Rivers stated F Brandon Bass was outwith &#8220swelling of the knee.&#8221 Rivers didn&#8217t make it sound like it was significant.&#8220I assume it&#8217s an accumulation of a lot of games,&#8221 he said. &#8230 The gamestarted just soon after noon. &#8220I don&#8217t like `em,&#8221 Rivers stated of the earlier start out.&#8220I like them on the road. I feel it favors the road team. You get on the busand get prepared.&#8221 &#8230 Bird had 21,791 points. Hall of Famer John Havlicek topsthe Celtics&#8217 all-time scoring list with 26,395. &#8230 Rondo played his secondstraight game immediately after missing eight with a sore suitable wrist. He wasn&#8217t wearing abrace like he did in Friday&#8217s win more than New York. &#8230 Gay came down awkwardlyafter hitting a jumper and limped for a couple of seconds, but stayed in the game.

The two teams exchanged leads all through the extra period, and Providence&#8217sGerard Coleman produced 1 of 2 no cost throws to tie it at 84-all with 10 seconds left.Bryant then drove down the court and hit the game-winner.

&#8220I just wanted to get the win and get out of here,&#8221 Bryant said. &#8220That&#8217sall I was thinking.&#8221

He led the Mountaineers (16-8, 6-five Huge East) with 32 points, Deniz Kilicliadded a profession-high 22 and Kevin Jones completed with 20.

Providence (13-11, 2-9) got off to a hot start off, producing 16 of 18 from thefield. But West Virginia put together a 12-three run at the finish of the 1st half tomake 42-36 at halftime.

West Virginia trailed 70-63 with 5:29 left in regulation and scored sixstraight, which includes four by Bryant.

&#8220What you saw these days was a excellent instance of one team with seniors who havewon going up against a team that is nevertheless finding out to win,&#8221 Providence coach EdCooley mentioned.

After West Virginia tied it at 72-72, Coleman created a brief basket to givethe Friars back the lead.

West Virginia then fouled Vincent Council, who created 1 of two from the line.Kevin Jones hit a shot for the Mountaineers to make it a a single-point game andColeman made a free of charge throw to tie it.

Bryant then made a driving layup to send it to overtime tied at 76.

Providence started the game 14 for 16 from the cost-free-throw line, but in thefinal three minutes of regulation it shot only 4 of 8.

&#8220We&#8217re really sincere with our guys about where we are and where we stand,&#8221West Virginia coach Bob Huggins mentioned. We necessary to win. And we&#8217re fortunate theymissed some no cost throws.&#8221

Coleman scored 30 points and Council had 16 points and nine assists to leadthe Friars, who lost their eighth straight to West Virginia.

As it occurred, he set a Trail Blazers record with nine 3-pointers andscored a profession-high 33 points to support Portland beat the Denver Nuggets 117-97Saturday night.

&#8220When I came in tonight I was thinking, `Don&#8217t hurt my knee, don&#8217t be crazytonight,&#8221&#8217 mentioned Batum, who sat out two games with a bruised bone. &#8220I tried todrive to the basket . I could not dunk, I could not even make a layup. All Icould do is shoot from the three-point line.&#8221

Portland Trail Blazers &#039 M&hellip AP – Feb five, 12:49 am EST Portland Trail Blazers &#039 M&hellip AP – Feb 5, 12:47 am EST Denver Nuggets &#039 Danilo Ga&hellip AP – Feb five, 12:36 am EST Denver Nuggets head coach Geor&hellip AP – Feb 5, 12:31 am EST Portland Trail Blazers &#039 N&hellip AP – Feb 5, 12:30 am EST Portland Trail Blazers head co&hellip AP – Feb four, 11:18 pm EST Portland Trail Blazers &#039 K&hellip AP – Feb four, 11:17 pm EST Portland Trail Blazers &#039 N&hellip AP – Feb 4, 11:06 pm EST Denver Nuggets &#039 Nene Hila&hellip AP – Feb 4, 11:04 pm EST Portland Trail Blazers &#039 M&hellip AP – Feb 4, 10:38 pm EST Portland Trail Blazers &#039 L&hellip AP – Feb four, 10:36 pm EST 1 of 11 Den-Por Gallery

LaMarcus Aldridge added 29 points for Portland, which

Gerald Wallace had 17 points and Marcus Camby had 20 rebounds for Portland.Batum created a profession-high nine 3-pointers, the most in an NBA game this seasonand a franchise record for the Blazers.

Danilo Gallinari had 20 points and Ty Lawson and Kosta Koufos each and every added 16to lead the Nuggets, who have lost 4 of their final 5, such as 93-89Friday night to the Los Angeles Lakers.

&#8220We just will need to start off being more physical,&#8221 stated Corey Brewer, who had 14off the bench for Denver. &#8220The last couple games we haven&#8217t had the physicalitywe require.&#8221

The Nuggets (15-9) had been playing their third game in three days and arrivedin Portland after four a.m. right after their flight out of Denver was delayed simply because ofsnow.

Portland was coming off a deflating 95-92 loss at Sacramento on Thursday.The Blazers have been a fully various team on the road this season, wherethey are 3-9. At the Rose Garden, Portland is 11-1, the second-best house recordin the Western Conference to San Antonio, which is 13-1.

The Nuggets (15-9) were playing their third time in as several days and arrivedin Portland after 4 a.m. immediately after their flight out of Denver was delayed because ofsnow. The Blazers were playing on 1 day&#8217s rest.

Batum returned after missing two games with a bruised knee. The 6-foot-9small forward provided a spark for the Blazers after entering the game late inthe initial quarter, hitting five of 6 three-pointers and scoring 17 points in a span ofless than seven minutes, lifting Portland to a 52-37 lead in the second quarter.

&#8220Trust me, I have to contest those shots in practice each and every day, so Ialready know what he can do,&#8221 Wallace stated. &#8220I was just impressed he was doingthat with a banged up knee.&#8221

Denver cut the lead to 59-53 by putting together a 15-4 run going intohalftime as Lawson scored eight points. The game got as close as 64-61 in thethird on a dunk from Koufos, but the Blazers went on a 14-2 run as the Nuggetshit the wall. Denver was never a threat the remainder of the game and theBlazers led by as several as 25.

&#8220Anytime we play three games in 3 nights it ought to be a forty minutegame,&#8221 Nuggets coach George Karl stated.

NOTES: The Nuggets play their subsequent 3 games at property, against Houston,Dallas and Golden State. &#8230 Blazers PG Raymond Felton left the game in thethird quarter with sprained foot. X-rays had been negative. &#8230 Denver G RudyFernandez was booed every time he touched the ball. He played for Portland from2008-11, but fell out of favor with fans when he asked to be released from hiscontract ahead of final season. Numerous fans also booed a video image of Greg Oden,the former No. 1 general draft pick who has not played because December 2009because of knee injuries. Oden had arthroscopic surgery on Friday in Denver.