NBA
Cavs 92, Bulls 85: CHICAGO -- LeBron James became the youngest player to score 15,000 career points, breaking Kobe Bryant's mark by about two years, and the Cleveland Cavaliers pulled away late to beat Chicago 92-85 on Friday night for their 12th win in 13 games.
James scored 13 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, giving him 15,026 in his career, and had 11 rebounds. He scored seven straight late in the game as Cleveland increased its lead to 10, sending the Bulls to their 10th straight loss.
James reached the milestone at 25 years, 79 days, and he did it in his 540th game. Bryant was 27 years, 136 days and playing his 657th game, according to STATS LLC, when he did it for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Bulls hung close without the injured Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah, but matched their longest losing streak since November 2001 despite strong efforts by rookies Taj Gibson (20 points, 13 rebounds) and James Johnson (16 points).
*
Trail Blazers 76, Wizards 74: PORTLAND, Ore. -- Brandon Roy rebounded from a cold spell to hit a 22-foot jumper with 0.9 seconds left and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Washington Wizards 76-74 on Friday night.
Roy, who averaged 27 points last week as the Western Conference player of the week, finished with 14 points for the Blazers, who have won five straight.
Mike Miller had 16 points for the Wizards, who have lost 10 straight. Washington trailed by 16 points, but pulled to 69-67 with 2:50 left after Al Thornton's dunk and free throw.
Randy Foye hit a 2-pointer with 2:11 left that gave the Wizards a 70-69 lead. After Andre Miller's free throw for Portland, Foye hit a pullup jumper to put Washington ahead 72-70.
Nicolas Batum made two free throws before Foye hit another jumper to put Washington ahead 74-72 with 1:01 left.
LaMarcus Aldridge made a pair of foul shots before Andray Blatche missed a layup. And Roy closed it out with his jumper on the other end.
*
Hawks 93, Bobcats 92, OT: ATLANTA -- Joe Johnson sank a fallaway jumper over three Charlotte defenders just before time expired for Atlanta.
Johnson returning after missing two games because of Achilles' tendinitis, had 18 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Josh Smith had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Atlanta. Raymond Felton led Charlotte with 25 points, and Gerald Wallace had 20 points and 16 rebounds in his return from an ankle injury.
*
Thunder 115, Raptors 89: TORONTO -- Kevin Durant scored 31 points, and Jeff Green had 25 to lead Oklahoma City to its sixth victory in seven games.
Russell Westbrook had 11 points and 10 assists for the Thunder, fifth in the Western Conference at 42-25. Chris Bosh led Toronto with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Andrea Bargnani had 15 points. The Raptors, eighth in the Eastern Conference, are 2-10 in their last 12 games and 33-34 overall.
*
Knicks 92, 76ers 88: NEW YORK -- Toney Douglas scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, rallying short-handed New York past Philadelphia.
Douglas scored 13 straight Knicks points down the stretch, helping New York win despite missing starters David Lee (right knee tendinitis) and Wilson Chandler (sore left groin). Danilo Gallinari had 25 points for the Knicks, who returned from a five-game trip to beat the 76ers for the second time in five days.
Elton Brand had 19 points for Philadelphia.
*
Pacers 106, Pistons 102: INDIANAPOLIS -- Danny Granger scored 29 points in his return from a cheek injury, and Troy Murphy added 20 points for Indiana.
Indiana trailed only once all night, 95-94, before sealing the win with an 8-0 run.
Detroit's Rodney Stuckey returned to action for the first time since collapsing on the bench during a game two weeks ago. He led the Pistons with 25 points.
GOLF
Transitions Championship: PALM HARBOR, Fla. -- Padraig Harrington shot a 6-under 65, his low score of the year, to build a one-shot lead at 8 under Friday on the tough Copperhead course at Innisbrook at the Transitions Championship.
The Irishman has not won a sanctioned tournament since his PGA Championship victory at Oakland Hills at the end of 2008.
Jim Furyk, whose last victory against a full field came in the 2007 Canadian Open, was atop the leaderboard with Harrington until missing a 6-foot par putt on the final hole. It wasn't enough to take away from an otherwise solid round of 68 to put him one shot behind. Also at 7 under were Carl Pettersson (68), a past winner at Innisbrook; Bubba Watson, who missed a 4-foot birdie putt on his final hole and had 65; and defending champion Retief Goosen after a 68.
Steve Stricker played the final eight holes even par and still shot a 66, putting him in the group two shots behind. Stricker, the highest-ranked player at Innisbrook at No. 2 in the world, was poised to catch Harrington until he hit driver on the 16th hole to make sure he cleared the water, went too far and had his ball land next to a tree, leading to bogey.
*
Trophee Hassan II: RABAT, Morocco -- Wales' Rhys Davies shot a bogey-free 8-under 64 to take a two-shot lead at 13 under in the Trophee Hassan II.
Davies played Royal Golf Dar Es Salam's shorter Blue Course after opening with a 68 on Thursday on the Red Course, the site of the final two rounds.
South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen (64), France's Thomas Levet (65) and Spain's Ignacio Garrido (67) were tied for second. Oosthuizen and Levet also played the Blue Course, while Garrido was on the Red.
NASCAR
BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Joey Logano backed up his fast showing in practice by winning the first pole of his NASCAR Sprint Cup series career Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Logano posted a lap at 124.630 mph in his Toyota to earn the first starting spot for Sunday's race. His previous best qualifying effort was fifth at Darlington last year.
Kurt Busch, winner of the last race two weeks ago at Atlanta, qualified second with a lap at 123.857 in his Dodge. He's off to a fast start to the season with new crew chief Steve Addington, who led Busch's brother, Kyle, to a pair of wins at Bristol last year.
Kurt Busch is a five-time winner at Bristol but hasn't been to Victory Lane at the short track since 2006.
-- Wire reports
RSS
Mobile
Daily Emails
Twitter
Facebook
