National Sports Briefs

Published 12:00 am Friday, January 2, 2009

Associated Press
MILWAUKEE ó Michael Redd scored 31 points, and Charlie Villanueva had 27 in the Milwaukee Bucks’ 103-75 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday night.
Richard Jefferson added 18 points in the Bucks’ fifth straight victory over the Bobcats. Boris Diaw led Charlotte with 16 points, Emeka Okafor had 11 points and 12 rebounds, and Gerald Wallace added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Celtics 108, Wizards 103
BOSTON ó Paul Pierce scored 26 points on nearly perfect shooting and the Boston Celtics roared back from a rough road trip to beat the Washington Wizards 108-103.
Cavaliers 117, Bulls 92
CLEVELAND ó Anderson Varejao scored a career-high 26 points for Cleveland, and LeBron James had 16 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his first triple-double of the season and the 18th of his career.
Nets 93, Hawks 91, OT
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. ó Vince Carter hit a long 3-pointer at the buzzer in overtime and New Jersey overcame a 20-point halftime deficit to end Atlanta’s winning streak at six games.
Nuggets 122, Thunder 120
OKLAHOMA CITY ó Carmelo Anthony’s 3-pointer from the corner with 0.1 seconds left capped a 31-point outing for Denver.
Suns 106, Clippers 98
PHOENIX ó Amare Stoudemire scored 23 points to help Phoenix extend it winning streak to three and hand Los Angeles its sixth consecutive loss.
Pacers 105, Knicks 103
NEW YORK ó Jarrett Jack made a jumper with 0.9 seconds left and scored a season-high 29 points, and Indiana snap a four-game losing streak.
Magic 86, Heat 76
ORLANDO, Fla. ó Rashard Lewis scored 17 points, Jameer Nelson added 16, and Dwight Howard had 15 points and 15 rebounds in Orlando’s 10th straight win over Miami.
Pistons 98, Kings 92
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. ó Rodney Stuckey scored 13 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter, and undermanned Detroit won its sixth straight game,
T’wolves 115, Warriors 108
MINNEAPOLIS ó Al Jefferson had 32 points and 10 rebounds, and Ryan Gomes scored 13 of his 21 points in the third quarter and added 10 rebounds for Minnesota.
Raptors 94, Rockets 73
TORONTO ó Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani each scored 19 points to help Toronto snap a three-game losing streak.
Mavericks 96, 76ers 86
DALLAS ó Dirk Nowitzki scored 31 points, and Jason Terry added 21 in Dallas’ sixth victory in its last seven games.
Spurs 91, Grizzlies 80
MEMPHIS, Tenn. ó Tim Duncan had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Tony Parker added 19 points for San Antonio.
NHL
NEWARK, N.J. ó Scott Clemmensen made 33 saves, Jamie Langenbrunner and Zach Parise each had a goal and an assist, and the New Jersey Devils beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 on Friday night.
Hurricanes 2, Blues 1
RALEIGH ó Eric Staal scored his team-leading 18th goal, and surging Carolina handed St. Louis its seventh straight road loss.
Thrashers 4, Canucks 3, SO
ATLANTA ó Eric Christensen scored the winner in an extra round of the shootout, and the Thrashers beat the Canucks to snap a four-game skid.
COLLEGE HOOPS
AUSTIN, Texas ó Dexter Pittman set career highs with 21 points and 11 rebounds, leading No. 8 Texas to a 78-43 victory over Appalachian State on Friday night.
Pittman scored the final seven Texas points of the first half and the first six of the second half as the Longhorns (11-2) went on a 19-2 run to take a 44-23 lead with 14:58 left in the game.
Texas held Appalachian State (5-5) scoreless for nearly seven minutes as the Longhorns used Pittman’s inside play to take control.
No. 13 Syracuse 59, South Florida 54
TAMPA, Fla. ó Jonny Flynn made a key jumper with 2 minutes to go and Eric Devendorf hit two free throws in the closing seconds, helping Syracuse hold off South Florida.
Andy Rautins scored 14 points and Arinze Onuaku added 13 for the Orange (14-1, 2-0 Big East).
South Carolina 85, No. 19 Baylor 84
WACO, Texas ó Zam Fredrick hit a go-ahead layup with 5.1 seconds left and South Carolina rallied to beat Baylor.
Devan Downey led the Gamecocks (10-2) with 23 points. Fredrick scored 19, Mike Holmes had 11 points and Dominique Archie and Brandis Raley-Ross scored 10 each.