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Ryan Callahan scored for the fifth time in four days and defenseman Ryan McDonagh snapped a second-period tie to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
Kobe Bryant hit a baseline jump shot with 4.2 seconds left and the Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up a six-game road trip by holding on to beat the Raptors 94-92 on Sunday, their eighth victory in nine meetings with Toronto
Arc's five up, five down: After No. 11 Michigan State's 58-48 upset of No. 3 Ohio State, you'd be a fool to discount the Spartans' national title chances now.
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The United States completed a 5-0 rout of Switzerland in the Davis Cup on Sunday, with 19-year-old Ryan Harrison and John Isner winning closing singles matches.
Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
Tessa Worley of France fought off gusting winds to win a second consecutive World Cup giant slalom Sunday in the Andorran Pyrenees. Overall leader Lindsey Vonn was more than a second behind and finished eighth.
Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.
AFP/Getty ImagesThat big clincher was with 40 seconds left and the Lakers hanging on 95-93. It appeared Pierce had beaten Bryant after the screen from Garnett, but Bryant poked the ball away and ran out for a slam dunk and 99-95 lead.
"He made a great defensive play," said Pierce. "He reached around and tapped the ball from behind, and it was just a great defensive play. That was pretty much all he could do that Kevin set the pick, so he was struggling. Kobe is a great player. He made two big steals on myself there in the fourth quarter that I shouldn't have allowed. It definitely hurts, tough one to swallow, and we'll just try to get the next one at home. I thought it was great defense. That's all it was, it was good defense. I wouldn't ask the refs for a call down the stretch. You let the players decide the game, and I thought that's what happened."
It was a classy response from Pierce, who has been the best player in this series after being doubted in the NBA for many years. His relentless driving kept the Celtics alive as Garnett was mistake prone down the stretch and sitting out early with fouls, and Ray Allen was controlled.
"My play tonight?" said Garnett. "It was trash. I played like garbage tonight. I can do better and I will."
Once again, Posey hit a big three to pull the Celtics within four with just under six minutes left after the Lakers had led by 14 earlier in the fourth quarter. But Garnett missed one of two free throws with the Celtics down two with 3:54 left and then both free throws with the Celtics down two with 2:31 left. In between that, Bryant knocked the ball loose from Pierce with 3:09 left and the Lakers ahead by three, and it led to a Fisher free throw.
A late House three wasn't enough as the Lakers clinched it with free throws after Bryant's second steal.
"Give them credit," said Rivers. "I thought they made plays. They made tougher plays down the stretch. We had a couple of balls right at the basket in our hands. They took them out of our hands. They blocked our shots. We had great shots. We missed some lay ups, missed some free throws. That's the way it goes."
And so it goes back to Boston, just like it did in 1986, the last time the Celtics won a championship. That was over Houston when you just had the feeling the Celtics were dominating as they opened at home 2-0, won one of three in Houston and then went home for Game 6 to wrap it up.
"We wanted to go back home, but we didn't want to play," said Rivers. "You know what I mean? But now we have to go play, and we earned that right. That's why the regular season is so important. We fought for it all year. We have Game 6 at home, and that's not a bad place to be."
Kobe Bryant hit a baseline jump shot with 4.2 seconds left and the Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up a six-game road trip by holding on to beat the Raptors 94-92 on Sunday, their eighth victory in nine meetings with Toronto
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Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
Ryan Callahan scored for the fifth time in four days and defenseman Ryan McDonagh snapped a second-period tie to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
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