The Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs have strengthened their holds on the NBA's two conference races following last night's losses by Miami and Oklahoma City.
Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points and the Knicks earned their third straight win by downing the Heat 102-92 in New York.
The Heat ended a three-game winning streak and fell to 27-9, 1 1/2 games behind the East-leading Pacers. LeBron James had 32 points and Dwyane Wade added 23 for Miami.
The Thunder were clobbered in Denver as Randy Foye scored 24 points in the Nuggets' 101-88 win over Oklahoma City.
Kevin Durant had a game-high 30 points but hit just seven baskets as Oklahoma City suffered its second straight loss and fell one game behind West-leading Portland.
In college basketball, No. 1 Arizona beat UCLA 79-75. No. 24 Memphis has a 73-67 victory over No. 12 Louisville. Seventeenth-ranked Oregon fell to California 96-83. No. 20 Iowa defeated Northwestern 93-67 and Portland topped No. 22 Gonzaga 82-73.
In the NHL, New Jersey shut out Dallas 1-0. It was Florida over Buffalo 2-1 in a shootout. Carolina topped Toronto 6-1. Washington defeated Tampa Bay 4-3. Anaheim beat Nashville 4-3. Minnesota took Phoenix 4-1. St. Louis blanked Calgary 5-0. Los Angeles doubles up Boston 4-2 and Detroit fell to San Jose 4-1.
In the NFL, Jay Gruden was introduced as the new head coach of the Washington Redskins.
Meanwhile, first-year nominees Derrick Brooks, Tony Dungy, Marvin Harrison and Walter Jones are among the 15 modern-era finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
In college football, Bobby Petrino is back as football coach at Louisville. He held the job from 2003-06 and left with a record of 41-9.
ESPN reports that a contract making Vanderbilt’s James Franklin Penn State’s next coach should be finalized as soon as Saturday.
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