Magic runs out in Chicago…Westbrook leads Thunder past Raptors
UNDATED (AP) — After opening the NBA season with three victories in their first year after All-Star center Dwight Howard went to the L.A. Lakers, the Orlando Magic tasted defeat for the first time.
Luol Deng scored 15 of his 23 points in the second half to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 99-93 win over the Magic.
Deng and Nate Robinson keyed a 15-2 second-half burst when Chicago turned a five-point deficit into an eight-point lead. Joakim Noah added 20 points, nine rebounds and five blocks for Chicago.
Arron Afflalo led the Magic with 28.
In the rest of the three-game NBA schedule:
— The Oklahoma City Thunder walloped Toronto 108-88. Russell Westbrook led six Thunder players in double figures with 19. Westbrook also clamped down on defense. He held Toronto’s leading scorer, Kyle Lowry, to two points before Lowry suffered a sprained ankle late in the first half.
— Andre Iguodala scored six of his 17 points over the final three minutes to help the Denver Nuggets hold off the Detroit Pistons 109-97 for their first win of the season in their fourth game. Detroit and Washington are the only two NBA teams without a victory.
Bobcats’ Henderson out a month
UNDATED (AP) — The Bobcats report that starting guard Gerald Henderson could miss approximately 2-4 weeks with a sprained left foot. Henderson, Charlotte’s leading scorer last season, suffered the injury during Saturday night’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Through two games Henderson is averaging 12.5 points, 3 steals, 2.5 assists and 2 rebounds in 28 minutes a game.
Either Ramon Sessions or Ben Gordon will take Henderson’s spot in the starting lineup when the Bobcats host the Suns tonight.
In other NBA news:
— Mavericks forward Shawn Marion will miss at least three games with a sprained left knee ligament. The team says the four-time All-Star was a scratch for tonight’s home game against Toronto and won’t make a two-game trip to New York and Charlotte. The 34-year-old will be re-evaluated next week.
— New Orleans Hornets coach Monty Williams was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Tuesday for public comments criticizing the league’s concussion policy. Specifically, Williams blasted the NBA’s protocols for determining when a player can return from a concussion, saying, “Now, they treat everybody like they have white gloves and pink drawers and it’s getting old. It’s just the way the league is now.”
There’s a glimmer
NEW YORK (AP) — Negotiations between the NHL and the locked-out players’ association went deep last night, and went well enough that the sides agreed to return to the bargaining table for more talks today.
Both sides kept details of the meeting, which lasted over seven hours, close to the vest. That also could be taken as an optimistic sign that the second round of talks in four days went well.
Today is Day 53 of the NHL lockout.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly and union special counsel Steve Fehr were there, as they were for a marathon session by themselves Saturday. They were joined by Commissioner Gary Bettman, NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr, a handful of team owners, and 13 players including Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Crosby has been an active participant in the process.
Ball State knocks off No. 23 Toledo
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — There was a college football game involving a team ranked in the AP Top-25 last night. Jahwan Edwards scored untouched on a 15-yard run around left end with 1:43 left to give Ball State to a 34-27 victory over No. 23 Toledo. That ends the Rockets’ eight-game winning streak. Toledo is 8-2.
Keith Wenning completed 29 of 42 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns, but was intercepted three times for Ball State, which improved to 7-3.
Snyder hopeful on Klein…Davidson goes in a different direction
UNDATED (AP) — Kansas State coach Bill Snyder says that he’s hopeful injured quarterback Collin Klein will be available to start the No. 3 Wildcats’ game at TCU this weekend. The Heisman Trophy contender sustained an apparent head injury in last Saturday’s 44-30 victory over Oklahoma State.
In other college football news:
— Davidson has fired head football coach Tripp Merritt following a disappointing season in which the Wildcats were 1-8 overall and 1-5 in the Pioneer Football League. The school has announced Brett Hayford, will serve as the interim head coach until further notice. Hayford has been the associate head coach for the past eight years.
— New Orleans will be the site of the new marquee bowl game between the Southeastern Conference and Big 12. The game will still be called the Sugar Bowl and will be played in the Superdome, which beat out Cowboys Stadium and other sites for the game.
MLB- NEWS
Injury and surgery for Duda…No World Baseball Classic for Darvish
NEW YORK (AP) — Mets outfielder Lucas Duda broke his right wrist while moving furniture last month at his apartment in Southern California. The team says he had surgery Monday and is expected to be ready for spring training in February. The 26-year-old slumped to a .239 average with 15 homers and 57 RBIs in 459 plate appearances this year, down from a .292 average with 10 homers and 50 RBIs in 347 plate appearances in 2011.
In other baseball news:
Yu Darvish decided that he won’t pitch for his native Japan in the World Baseball Classic next spring, and will instead focus on preparing for his second season in the major leagues. Darvish went 16-9 with 221 strikeouts in his first big league season with the Texas Rangers.
— The New York Yankees have claimed off waivers right-hander David Herndon from the Toronto Blue Jays and lefty Josh Spence from the San Diego Padres.
— The Houston Astros have hired David Stearns as assistant general manager. The 27-year-old Stearns was Cleveland’s director of baseball operations last season.
— The annual MLB general managers’ meeting is taking place in the Palm Springs area. The weather was hot, but the trade market was not. Yankees GM Brian Cashman repeated he doesn’t anticipate inquiries about Alex Rodriguez, who was benched during the playoffs. A-Rod has $114 million and five years left on his contract.