Atlanta 100,New Orleans 111

The New Orleans Hornets rarely win back-to-back games.

Greivis Vasquez had never put up a triple-double in the NBA.

Both happened Friday night.

Vasquez scored 21 points, dished out 12 assists and grabbed 11 rebounds for New Orleans, which rallied from a 14-point deficit in the first half and withstood a late charge by the stumbling Atlanta Hawks for a 111-100 victory.

For the last-place Hornets, it was a second straight victory - just their fourth winning streak of a rebuilding season.

While many contributed, including Eric Gordon with 27 points and Ryan Anderson with perhaps the biggest shot of the game, Vasquez led the way.

"To see him take command of a game like that says a lot about him, the work ethic, his ability to take coaching, which a lot of NBA guys can't do," Hornets coach Monty Williams said. "A lot of NBA guys don't want to be coached. They want to be babied and coddled. That kid is probably the toughest guy I've been around."

Vasquez came into the game ranked third in the league in assists, but he'd never had an all-around game like this.

"This one really feels great," the third-year guard said. "It's special because it's my first one, and with a win. I can't be satisfied. I want more, and I want to help the team win games."

Al Horford drove for a slam that cut the Hornets' lead to 98-94 with 3 1/2 minutes remaining. But Anderson sank a 3-pointer that caught the front of the rim, bounced high off the backboard and fell through. Anderson pumped his right fist as he headed the other way; the Hawks never got closer than five the rest of the way.

But the Hornets really won this game late in the first half, and with a totally dominant performance in the third quarter, when New Orleans outscored the Hawks 29-16, forced four turnovers and limited Atlanta to 5-of-16 shooting.

"We played tough," Vasquez said. "When we play tough, and with this mindset that we've got to fight, we've got to bump people, we've got to be physical, we're a better team."

The Hawks had a familiar swoon after halftime and took another blow in a once-promising season. Atlanta started out as one of the NBA's most surprising teams but has lost 12 of 19 since Jan. 1, falling off the pace in the Eastern Conference.

"We have to develop a killer instinct," coach Larry Drew said. "If we want to be a team that's mentioned with some of the better teams, we've got to learn to put teams away. Right now, we're just not very good at that."

Josh Smith led Atlanta with 23 points and Jeff Teague added 21.

But the way the year is going, Smith is facing more and more questions about just how long he'll be in Atlanta. His contract is up at the end of the season, and there's persistent speculation that he might be dealt before this month's trade deadline.

"Every year, people ask me the same questions," Smith said. "They asked me the same questions four years ago, and I'm still here. I'm not worried about rumors. I'm just going to keep playing."

At the start, it looked as though the Hawks would win in a breeze. They led 45-31 after John Jenkins' free throw midway through the second quarter.

Atlanta lit it up from long range, shooting 9 of 16 from outside the arc in the first half. But New Orleans got hot near the end of the period, closing the gap to 55-50 by halftime.

The Hornets kept it up in the second half, leading by as many as 14 themselves. Vasquez knocked down three shots from 3-point range and Anderson went 4 of 7 beyond the line. New Orleans finished 45 of 86 from the field, including 9 of 16 on deep shots - even after Williams complained before the game about his players being too focused on shooting 3-pointers.

The Hornets might make some silly mistakes, but they're clearly a team with a promising future.

Youth certainly won out on this night.

"I wasn't even tired," Vasquez said. "That was the key: we were playing with energy. Sometimes teams push us around because we're young kids. We played physical and we got a win."

Kyle Korver went 3 of 6 from 3-point range, setting an Atlanta franchise record with his 43rd consecutive game making at least one shot beyond the arc. He broke the mark set by Mookie Blaylock, who had 42 in a row during the 1996-97 season.

But the Hawks struggled to find a spark in the second half.

"Whenever you give a team a little hope, especially a team that's young, you're going to be in for a battle," Smith moaned.

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There are many websites that provide soccer statistics, match predictions and football betting tips. Thanks to the analysis provided by these sites many people have been able to bet successfully on the outcome of various matches. These tips are given by full time professionals who have many years of experience in this field. Information is collected on things like injuries, suspensions, roster changes, club problems and player transfers. Factors like a team going through a slump in form are also considered by the professionals who give betting advice.

Gambling is a very risky activity. Irrespective of how many years one has spent in this activity he or she will always face the risk of losing their money. That is why seasoned gamblers never stop reading through all the useful material that they can find. The more information one has the higher their chances are of handling this risk successfully. In fact more than beginners one finds that it is seasoned professional who are always scouring various sources for football betting tips. Many people consider the outcome of betting activities to be based on luck. But veterans in this field know that with a little bit of skill and some useful information one can always win money on a regular basis.  

Many players prefer to follow useful guides that can be found on the internet these days. The first piece of advice that they give is that the players should only place a wager on the leaders in different leagues. The second bit of advice that they give is that it is wise to take a chance on teams who have a good winning percentage at home. Similarly one should only take a chance on teams who win more than a third of their matches away from home. Websites that offer free soccer picks will have all the statistics needed by punters to follow these strategies.

The most important aspect of placing a bet on sport is money management. Unfortunately, it is also the most neglected. Gamblers should never bet more than they can afford to lose. One should ideally set aside a certain amount of money for wagering. They should play within this amount. Irrespective of whether they win or lose they should not increase their bankroll. Many tipster websites follow two main methods of money management. They use either straight flat betting or they use a progression system.  

Many football betting tips follow a handicap system. The handicap system makes an allowance for the game ending in a draw. But there is also an Asian handicap system that does not consider matches that end with no result. There are also different variances of these systems. Punters can attempt the one ball handicap, the two ball handicap and the half ball handicap. There are many betting agencies available on the internet. They offer different methods of wagering and different betting limits. Punters can decide as to which one suits them the best and play on that site. Thanks to this useful football betting tips many people have earned quite a bit of money through games of speculation. 

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Penguins -Capitals , 5-2

After some harsh early-season struggles during the middle 20 minutes of games, the Pittsburgh Penguins are now second to none.

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin each had a goal and two assists during Pittsburgh's five-goal second period, and the Penguins moved into the top spot in the Eastern Conference with a 5-2 win against the Washington Capitals on Thursday night.

The victory was the first at home in regulation against the Capitals in almost six years for the Penguins (8-3-0), who extended the longest active winning streak in the NHL to five games.

"Everything's clicking ... Everyone's feeling good about their games," forward Pascal Dupuis said. "It's something that you want every night. It doesn't [always] happen, but you take it when it comes."

Scoreless for the first 26:59 of the game, Malkin tied it at 1-1 with a power-play tally. Less than six minutes later, Dupuis gave the Penguins the lead with the first of four Pittsburgh goals in a span of 6:49.

James Neal and Matt Cooke scored 11 seconds apart during that stretch, one that continued a startling reversal of fortune for the Penguins during second periods this season. Pittsburgh was outscored 11-2 in the middle period of its first six games. In its next five, the Penguins have outscored opponents in the second by that same 11-2 margin.

"The big thing was the couple games at home here early where we didn't play well," Neal said. "It was kind of an eye-opener early in the season, and I think we're glad that happened early. We got that out of the way, and we've definitely had a different mindset ever since then. We've been playing some good hockey, and hopefully we can keep it going."

Washington has been outscored 19-6 in the second this season. Alex Ovechkin and Mike Ribeiro each had a goal and an assist for the Capitals, who have lost three in a row and five of six.

Veteran defenseman Tom Poti did not play due to an upper-body injury for Washington, which lost in regulation in Pittsburgh for the first time since Feb. 18, 2007. The Caps had been 9-0-1 in their last 10 visits.

After the game, Ovechkin was visibly agitated. Although the captain and two-time scoring champion appears to be breaking out of his personal slump -- he has five points in his past five games after having only one in his first six -- the losing appears to be taking its toll.

Ovechkin was asked how angry he was.

"Angry enough."

What went wrong?

"Second period ... Didn't play ... No emotion."

The big second period was Pittsburgh's first five-goal period since the first 20 minutes of a Jan. 5, 2011, win against Tampa Bay.

Incidentally, that was the final game that season that Crosby would play due to his head and neck injuries. A week prior to that, Crosby had a 25-game scoring streak snapped. He currently has at least a point in each of his past six games -- his longest such streak since the 25-game run in late 2010.

Crosby's goal Thursday, his fifth of the season, displayed his remarkable hand-eye coordination -- he batted a puck out of mid-air into a virtually empty net at 19:38.

"We did a lot of good things," Crosby said of the second-period outburst. "Sometimes you get the results when you do that, and sometimes you don't. It's nice to get rewarded, but it doesn't always mean you'll produce five goals in a period -- it might still be tied. Right now, we're just confident in the way we're playing. We believe in the way we're playing and we know that at the end of the game we'll hopefully get result we want."

Crosby's was the third power-play goal of the period for the Penguins. He also assisted on Malkin's tally with the extra man when he fed him a cross-ice pass 10 seconds after Karl Alzner was called for interference. Malkin was wide-open as he walked in from the left circle and fired a wrist shot that beat Michal Neuvirth high and just inside the far corner for his third of the season.

Crosby added another assist 5:50 later when Dupuis finished a strong transition play for his fourth of the season. Four Pittsburgh players touched the puck in a matter of seconds as play moved from the Penguins' end all the way down to Dupuis sliding a bouncing puck through Neuvirth, causing Capitals coach Adam Oates to pull his 24-year-old goalie.

"It got even worse after I got in," replacement Braden Holtby said.

First, it was a Neal power-play goal -- the reigning 40-goal man's first home tally of the season -- at 16:33.

Cooke quickly made it 4-1 with his second, a shot immediately after Brandon Sutter cleanly won a faceoff in the left circle to him. Cooke's low wrist shot was in the net inside the right post before Holtby ever saw it.

The Penguins' big period came without power-play quarterback Kris Letang. The defenseman was scratched for the first time this season due to a lower-body injury.

About the only thing that went wrong for the Penguins was allowing the opponent to open the scoring for only the second time in 11 games this season. Ribeiro scored 4:12 into the contest when he beat a helmet-less Marc-Andre Fleury.

The Penguins argued the goal should not have been allowed, but it correctly was upheld. When a goalie loses his helmet while the opposing team has possession of the puck, Rule 9.5 states that "play shall only be stopped if there is no immediate and impending scoring opportunity."

Ovechkin earned an assist on the play, and he completed his first multiple-point game of the season by scoring a power-play goal with 11:26 left. But it wasn't nearly enough to avoid the Capitals dropping to an NHL-worst 2-8-1.

"There's not a whole lot of confidence in our abilities right now," forward Troy Brouwer said. "We did look deflated because we were."

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Katherine Webb dives into TV show on 'Celebrity Diving'

Katherine Webb, the super-hot Miss Alabama and girlfriend of Alabama quarterback A.J. Carrington is striking while the iron is hot, and she has Brent Musburger to thank for it. Webb will be a contestant on the upcoming ABC reality TV competition show "Celebrity Diving," TMZ reported on Monday.

The show will require Webb to spend a lot of time in a swimsuit, which isn't something males in the audience will complain about. There will be plenty of male eye candy for the females in the audience, though.

Along with Webb, other contestants will include Detroit Lions player (and NFL bad boy) Ndamukong Suh, Lakers legend and NBA Hall-of-Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, former “Baywatch” beauty Nicole Eggert, reality star Kendra Wilkinson, comedian Louie Anderson, Drake Bell of “Drake & Josh," Chuy from “Chelsea Lately”, and ex-”Cosby Show” actress Keshia Knight Pulliam.

The show is the first of its kind: a high diving reality TV show.

Webb's rapid rise in fame began when ESPN and Brent Musberger tried to create some excitement during the otherwise boring BCS Championship game by focusing cameras on Webb and commenting how beautiful she was (which she is). Some felt Musberger, 73, went a little overboard on Webb, and ESPN later issued an apology for his comments.

Webb, however, defended him, saying the bruhaha was overblown. She said, "I think the media has been really unfair to [Musburger]. If he would’ve said something along the line that we were hot or sexy or made any derogatory statements like that, I think that would’ve been a little bit different, but the fact that he said that we were beautiful and gorgeous, I don’t see why any woman wouldn’t be flattered by that."

Musburger also felt he had nothing to apologize for. When caught at an airport later by TMZ, hesaid "Individuals say what individuals say. And corporations do what corporations do. Obviously, they [ESPN] felt it was the right thing for them to do."

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Miami Heat 118,Houston 108

On a night when the Miami Heat allowed more than 11 points over their season average, and against a team that has made scoring look amazingly easy over the last couple weeks, three plays in the final minute made all the difference.

And all were on the defensive end.

Mario Chalmers and Udonis Haslem each took a charge in the final 46 seconds, Dwyane Wade blocked a 3-point try by James Harden to essentially seal the outcome, and the Heat held off the Houston Rockets114-108 on Wednesday night.

''We held them to 108,'' Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. ''That team can score.''

The Rockets, who scored 140 points and tied an NBA record with 23 makes from 3-point range on Tuesday night against Golden State, have averaged 118.5 points in their last six games. Harden, who led all scorers with 36 points, scored 16 in the fourth quarter alone for the Rockets, who rallied from what was a 17-point deficit in the second half to make it a one-possession game.

But they never got closer.

Chalmers stepped in front of Harden to draw an offensive foul with 46 seconds left, and Haslem took one against James Anderson with 18 ticks remaining and the Heat hanging onto a three-point lead. Wade blocked Harden's shot with about 11 seconds left, and the Heat escaped with their 20th home win in 23 tries this season.

''We had a tough run scoring the basketball,'' said Harden, who added 12 rebounds and seven assists. ''We even got stops, but the big plays where we needed to make a play, they got stops - so that was the difference in the ballgame.''

The Heat offense played a role as well, naturally.

LeBron James scored 32 points on 11 for 18 shooting, and Wade added 31 points and eight assists. Shane Battier scored 12, Norris Cole added 10 and Haslem - starting for Chris Bosh, who missed the game with the flu - grabbed 13 rebounds for Miami.

Houston got a 15-point, 14-rebound night from Omer Asikand 15 more points from Patrick Patterson. Jeremy Linand Chandler Parsons each scored 13 for the Rockets, who were 9 for 25 from beyond the arc, one night after their record-tying show against the Warriors.

''They have no quit in them and it starts with their head coach,'' James said of the Rockets. ''They've been through a lot and first of all, my condolences still to Kevin McHale and his family with what they've been through this year. It's very sad, but this team never gives up. They had 140 points last night and tied the NBA record in 3s, so we knew we had to defend the 3, but we made enough plays down the stretch and got enough stops.''

McHale was away from the Rockets for nearly a month earlier this season after his 23-year-old daughter died of complications from Lupus.

Wednesday's game had a distinct trend: Miami would try to take control, Houston would claw back.

And it held true all the way to the end.

Even with Miami up 12 with 6 minutes left, the Rockets had enough left for one more rally. Harden was fouled shooting a 3-pointer with 2:29 left, made all three shots, and the Rockets were within 104-101. Battier answered with a 3-pointer to restore Miami's six-point edge, and a 3 from Harden got the Rockets within 109-106.

That's when the Heat took charge - well, charges. And they were huge.

''You have to have great timing, great courage to put your body in there. But those were big,'' Spoelstra said.

Wade and James both reached double digits in scoring by the end of the first quarter, with Miami ending the period up 32-30 after the teams shot a combined 63 percent. Houston, which was down by 10 in the first, used a 30-15 run to build a seven-point lead around the midpoint the second quarter, before the Heat closed the half on a 20-6 run to bring a seven-point lead into the locker room.

The third quarter was more of the same, with the Heat going on a big run, and Houston answering.

James, whose 13-for-14 effort from the field on Monday night came with him never venturing far from the rim to shoot - his average make that night being just over 3 feet in length - connected on three 3-pointers in the third. Two of them were in a 25-second span as the Heat opened on a 14-4 run that gave the reigning NBA champions a 77-60 lead.

And back came Houston.

The Rockets went on a 21-8 run to get within 87-83, and 3-pointer by Patterson opened the fourth-quarter scoring and cut Miami's lead to three. Miami answered with an 11-2 run, but predictably, that wasn't enough to put things away.

The Rockets had enough for one more run, and the Heat had enough to hang on one more time.

''They're one of the toughest teams to guard,'' Wade said. ''To win this game, we had to get stops - key stops. And I thought we were able to do that.''

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Calgary 4, Detroit 1

 Miikka Kiprusoff is one of the most durable goalies in the NHL. Now, the Calgary Flames aren't sure when they'll get him back.

Kiprusoff, who has played in more than 70 games each of the past seven seasons, had to leave a 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night after two periods because of a lower-body injury.

''He's going to be re-evaluated (Wednesday). I can't tell you any more,'' Flames coach Bob Hartley said.

Kiprusoff made 19 saves and backup Leland Irving stopped all six shots he faced in the third period.

Jarome Iginla, who scored his first goal of the season, talked about what Kiprusoff means to Calgary.

''You take for granted how good he is and how consistent he is,'' the Flames' captain said. ''He's a big part of our team.''

Dennis Wideman had a goal and an assist, and Curtis Glencross and Mark Giordano also scored for Calgary. Mike Cammalleri had two assists.

''We kind of carried over from our last game (a 3-2 shootout loss to Chicago on Saturday) and did some of the same things,'' Iginla said. ''Our power play was good tonight and our penalty kill was good.''

Hartley was happy with the effort.

''We talked about how we've done so many good things and we didn't have anything to show for it,'' he said. ''We said if that was the way our team was going to play, we were going to get rewarded.''

Johan Franzen scored for Detroit and Jimmy Howard made 19 saves. Howard also stopped Iginla on a penalty shot.

''I thought we did some good things tonight, but we made some mistakes and they shot in our net without any question about it, so we're chasing the game,'' Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said.

Wideman extended Calgary's lead to 3-1 with 24 seconds left in the second period. He beat Howard with a wrist shot from just inside the blue line after Matt Stajan beat Pavel Datsyuk on a faceoff. It was Wideman's second goal this season.

Giordano added a power-play goal late in the third period.

Franzen put Detroit on the board on a power-play goal with 7:23 remaining in the second period. He beat Kiprussoff high to the glove side with a backhand shot from the bottom of the left circle for his third goal.

Howard foiled Iginla on a penalty shot with 6:48 left in the second period after Jonathan Ericsson interfered with Iginla on a breakaway chance.

Datsyuk hit the goal post on a rebound almost a minute into the second period during a power play.

Calgary led 2-0 after the first. Iginla opened the scoring 3:24 into the game when he put in a rebound during a goal-mouth scramble for his 517th NHL goal.

''Always the first of the year, it's nice to get over,'' Iginla said. ''Every single year, you want to get that first one off your back.''

Glencross added a 5-on-3 power-play goal with 9:35 left in the first when he tapped a pass from Cammalleri into the open side of the net. It was Glencross' fourth goal.

NOTES: It was Calgary forward Jiri Hudler's first game against his former team after signing a four-year, $16 million contract with the Flames over the summer. Hudler spent seven seasons in Detroit. ... Detroit defenseman Ian White returned after missing five games due to a cut on his left leg. ... According to a report published in the Detroit News, Datsyuk is suing a suburban Detroit man for allegedly using his name and likeness on hockey memorabilia without permission. ... Red Wings center Darren Helm, who has been limited to one game due to a sore back, is expected to see a back specialist. ... Tuesday was the

33rd anniversary of the 1980 NHL All-Star game at Joe Louis Arena.

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Miami Heat shoot down an inspired Charlotte Bobcats 99-94

LeBron James was at his deadly accurate best and scored 31 points to help the Eastern Conference-leading Miami Heat shoot down an inspired Charlotte Bobcats 99-94 on Monday.

James made 13 of his 14 field goal attempts and added eight assists and eight rebounds as he flirted with a triple double in a red-hot display that allowed the Heat to prevail in a surprisingly competitive test against the struggling Bobcats.

"I knew how important this game was, just as important as any game on our road trip," James told reporters after the Heat had played their 10th game in the last 12 away from home.

"For me as a leader, I cannot ever have a night off."

Miami were never able to build a double-digit lead against the visitors and were ahead just 89-87 in the final minute and a half before a 6-0 run by their three All Stars put the game away.

Dwyane Wade finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat (31-14) while Chris Bosh added 23 points.

Ramon Sessions had 18 to lead six double-figure scorers for the Bobcats (11-36), who lost their fourth straight.

On Saturday, Charlotte's rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had to leave the game on a stretcher after sustaining a concussion in a big collision.

In his absence, the Bobcats played with passion but they could not keep James out of the paint as Miami's leader never attempted a shot outside of 15 feet.

"At some point, you realise, boy, he's getting to the rim a lot," said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.

"He has a great feel and read for each game."

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New Jersey's three third-period goals in the Devils' 3-0 victory

Martin Brodeur isn't the only New Jersey Devils goalie who knows a thing or two about shutouts.

Veteran backup Johan Hedberg made 22 saves for his 22nd career blanking, and Steve Bernier scored two of New Jersey's three third-period goals in the Devils' 3-0 victory over the New York Islanderson Sunday.

The game was scoreless until Bernier broke the deadlock with a power-play goal with 3:54 remaining. He doubled New Jersey's lead just 1:10 later, and David Clarkson sealed the win with an empty-net goal in the final minute as the Devils snapped a four-game losing streak (0-1-3).

''We're going to have to have contributions from all kinds of different people,'' Devils coach Pete DeBoer said. ''It's nice to be able to get the win.''

Hedberg's biggest save came 8:08 into the third period when he denied Michael Grabner on a short-handed breakaway.

''He had a few breakaways against us, especially short-handed,'' Hedberg said of the speedy Grabner. ''Just tried to come out and try to match his speed as (well) as possible.

''He's one of the quickest players in the world, I think. I haven't seen him do that move before. I've seen him shoot, I've seen him go to the backhand and now something else.''

Evgeni Nabokov was strong in making 24 saves for New York. His best stop was 2:05 into the second when he snared a drive by Patrik Elias following Brian Strait's giveaway in the Islanders zone.

''He played well. Kept us in, especially in the second period when they gained some momentum,'' Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. ''(New Jersey) came at us pretty hard. I thought both goalies played well. Nabby gave us a chance to win the game.''

However, he couldn't stop Bernier's rebound putback of Adam Henrique's shot that was blocked in front.

Bernier struck again soon after with his second of the game and third of the season - all against the Islanders.

''We were buzzing around on the power play and we (shot) the puck and go for the rebound. That's exactly what happened,'' Bernier said. ''On the second, our line (Stephen Gionta and Ryan Carter) did a great job on the forecheck. We were able to keep the puck in.

''I was trying to put the puck in the right places in front of Nabby where I (would) be able to get the rebound and the puck went in. It's great. Obviously great work by everybody on the ice.''

The teams took turns controlling playing throughout the first 55 minutes. New York outshot the Devils 10-7 in a high-tempo first period, and New Jersey clamped down on defense in the second.

New Jersey killed all seven New York power plays. The Islanders stifled the Devils' first two advantages before Bernier broke through with the winning goal on New Jersey's third power play.

The Islanders generated only five shots in their 11:30 of power-play time. New York entered the day with the NHL's most potent power play.

''We can't get too frustrated. We had our opportunities on the power play,'' Capuano said. ''They came a little bit more aggressive, I thought. They probably made a few adjustments, but again I thought we got in the zone in our entries the way that we had to but after that there was no energy.

''They were winning all the puck battles. We weren't moving our feet. We weren't functioning properly.''

NOTES: New York scratched defensemen Joe Finley and Radek Martinek, and RW Colin McDonald. New Jersey scratched defensemen Peter Harrold and Henrik Tallinder, and C Stefan Matteau. .The Islanders and Devils will play twice more this season - Feb. 16 at Nassau Coliseum, and April 1 in New Jersey. ... The announced attendance was 11,558.

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The Spurs held on to pick up a 96-86 win

 It’d be impossible to start this recap with anything other than Tim Duncan’s injury. Duncan went down in the second quarter with a left knee injury that the team described as a left knee sprain. He picked up a right ankle sprain as well. It came on a defensive play where Martell Webster went down and rolled up on the back of Duncan’s legs, much like offensive lineman in football get rolled up on.

Duncan stayed down on the floor holding his left knee (the one in the brace) for a couple of minutes before he was helped off the floor with the help of a couple of teammates. Fox Southwest cameras apparently caught Duncan then walking under his own power after going through the tunnel.

According to reports from players, Duncan left the arena under his own power as well. No wheelchair, crutches or anything. I can almost guarantee Duncan will undergo more tests over the next couple of days. As Jeff McDonald pointed out, it’s hard to imagine the Spurs would let their franchise big man leave the arena with any sort of aid if the injury was as serious as everyone fears.

“I just talked to the doctors and they said he is going to be fine,” Wizards head coach Randy Wittman said after the game. “That was not a pretty thing to see.”

I’m not sure whether Wittman’s referring to Spurs team doctors or getting the opinion of the Wizards team doctors, but the more positive news you can hear, even if it’s just hearsay, the better. That said, I like to be pleasantly surprised as opposed to sorely disappointed, so I’m going to go ahead and assume the worst.

Either way, you can probably assume that Duncan won’t play in the next five games to start the Rodeo Road Trip or the NBA All-Star Game (I doubt he’s too broken up about that), regardless of how minor the injury is.

Otherwise, there was a basketball game played both before and after Tim Duncan’s injury. San Antonio came out rolling in the first half, jumping out to an early lead and generally controlling proceedings. The Washington Wizards are not a great basketball team, and the difference in class was readily apparent in the first half. The Spurs defense was polished and they were easily contesting shots. Washington shot just 26% in the first half.

The second half, especially the third quarter, was a completely different story. Probably shaken by the sight of Duncan going down (the injury occurred with less than four minutes left in the first half), San Antonio played a flat second half. Washington outscored the Spurs 30-17 in the third quarter and cut what was a 51-26 halftime lead to six points early in the fourth quarter.

The Spurs eventually held on to pick up  a 96-86 win. Tony Parker led the way with 19 points and 12 assists. Kawhi Leonard also had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, though he only shot 3-for-9 from the field.

One of the biggest problems on the evening for the Spurs, even before the shock of Duncan’s injury, was turnovers. The Spurs coughed the ball up 16 times on the night with 13 of those coming through three quarters. It was a mixed bag of mistakes, mostly travelling violations and poor passes, with out of bounds calls thrown in for good measure.

In the end, the Spurs held on. The Spurs adjusted to Duncan’s absence, only turned the ball over three times in the fourth quarter and scored down the stretch to keep the Wizards at bay. The stops on demand weren’t there, that could have something to do with Duncan, but the offense was just good enough to get by. How long San Antonio is without Tim Duncan is the only thing on everybody’s minds tonight.

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New York extended its winning streak to three games with a 96-86 victory

 Knicks coach Mike Woodson wants to know why his team waits until the second half to lock down on defense.

If his players would simply start off that strong, winning could be so much easier.

Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points, Amare Stoudemire had 17 points and seven rebounds off the bench, and New York extended its winning streak to three games with a 96-86 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.

After Monta Ellis gave the Bucks a 12-point lead, their largest of the night, on a turnaround jumper in the opening minutes of the third quarter, the Knicks got stingy on defense. They chipped away at Milwaukee's lead and went ahead for good late in the period.

"I wish I could explain," Woodson said. "If we played like we did in the third and the fourth quarter, we would have won this thing going away."

After a strong showing to close the third quarter, the Knicks' defense kept it up, keeping the Bucks scoreless for almost 5 minutes to begin the final quarter before Brandon Jennings made a layup.

Milwaukee shot 20 for 42 in the first half and 6 of 13 on 3-pointers for a 53-47 lead, but withered in the second half. The Bucks hit just 13 of 41 shots and were limited to 13 points in the fourth quarter.

"You've got to give Milwaukee credit, too. They're 8-4 with their coach," Woodson said. "They've beat some good teams on the road and they came in here and played a good first half. But I thought our third- and fourth-quarter defense kicked in and secured the win for us."

The Knicks will need similar defensive efforts if they plan to make a deep playoff run this season.

"I think overall over the past six or seven games we have been playing pretty good defense," said Anthony, who has scored 20 or more points in a career-best 31 straight games, extending the single-season franchise record.

"The first quarter, we still have to work on that and figure that out. But for the most part, for the whole course of the game, we've been holding the teams to a low percentage shooting-wise. We'll take that on any given night. Offensively we're going to miss shots, they're going to make shots, but if we can buckle down and do what we've been doing these last couple of weeks, we'll be fine."

J.R. Smith had 17 points and Tyson Chandler pulled down 20 rebounds in New York's fourth straight win over Milwaukee.

"You've got to have that type of effort for 48 minutes," Stoudemire said.

Ersan Ilyasova led the Bucks with 19 points and seven rebounds. Monta Ellisadded 16 points and Jennings scored 14.

Ellis and Jennings combined to make eight of 23 shots in the second half.

"We were just missing shots. They're not a great defensive team," Jennings said. "They do more switching but I think that made us hesitant a little bit. We were just missing point-blank shots."

The Knicks trailed for the majority of the game until late in the third quarter when they stormed back.

With 4:02 remaining in the period, New York was down 70-63 after a turnaround jumper by Ellis. But the Knicks went on an 8-0 run as Anthony hit a 3-pointer and Raymond Felton connected on an alley-oop with Chandler, who finished with nine points.

Smith then hit a 3-pointer to make it 71-70 with 2:04 left.

Ilyasova drove to the basket and was fouled by Chandler before making a free throw that tied it at 71. Samuel Dalembert briefly gave the Bucks a 73-71 lead with a tip-in after Ilyasova stole the ball from Anthony.

But the Knicks answered right back. Anthony scored on a drive and was fouled, converting a three-point play that put New York ahead for good with 42.5 seconds left in the third.

"For us offensively, we just kind of hit a wall there. We couldn't score enough points," Bucks coach Jim Boylan said. "We were searching for offense pretty much the whole second half. We only had 20 points in the third quarter and we've been a pretty good third-quarter team coming out of the locker room. But tonight for whatever reason, we just didn't have enough."

The Knicks opened the fourth quarter with another run. Stoudemire made a pair of free throws and a hook shot in the lane to give the Knicks a 78-73 lead before Milwaukee called a timeout after Pablo Prigioni drew a charge onMike Dunleavy with 9:35 left.

Milwaukee missed its first five shots and turned the ball over twice before Jennings' layup made it 78-75.

The Knicks then went on an 8-2 run and never looked back. Iman Shumpertscored on a layup and Chandler followed with a dunk to make it 82-75.Marquis Daniels answered with a layup for Milwaukee but Shumpert made another basket and Felton followed with a 3-pointer to make it 87-77 before the Bucks called timeout with 4:58 to go.

"We've got to get after guys from the start to finish," Stoudemire said. "So we started off a little bit slow tonight but we were able to get it going in the second half."

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