Streak

at Charlotte 107, Denver 95: Gerald Wallace had 25 points and 16 rebounds and the Bobcats frustrated Carmelo Anthony to end the Nuggets' four-game winning streak. Anthony, the NBA's leading scorer, had 34 points and seven rebounds, but he picked up a technical foul with just under a minute left. New Jersey 103, at Chicago 101: Brook Lopez scored 25 points and Devin Harris made the go-ahead basket with 14.9 seconds left as the Nets got their second win of the season and first on the road.

Meanwhile, back on the third rock from the sun the rest of us live on, the Dodgers lost. Lost big, lost like regular mortals and everything. The Dodgers fell 11-4 Wednesday to the Diamondbacks in Phoenix to snap their six-game winning streak. There was no pixie dust on this night, no wide-eyed comeback, just a good old-fashioned derriere kicking.

at Utah 120, Orlando 111: Deron Williams scored 32 points and had 15 assists and eight rebounds, leading the Jazz to a victory that snapped the Magic's six-game winning streak. Boston 104, at Washington 102: Rajon Rondo's driving dunk with a minute remaining broke a tie and led the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics to their ninth straight victory. -- associated press

PHOENIX — The hitting wasn't there. You could see that coming. The Dodgers had not thrown out a lineup without Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp all season. The pitching, well, that was a little off. The Arizona Diamondbacks scored early and often Wednesday, pounding Ted Lilly and Jamey Wright for 11 runs in the first five innings of an 11-4 victory over the Dodgers. The Dodgers' six-game winning streak came to an abrupt end. Nonetheless, the Dodgers (30-14) flew home with the best record in the major leagues, and a seven-game lead in the National League West.

Could Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs today? Could Wayne Gretzky score 200 points today? Could UCLA win 88 in a row today? Could Wilt Chamberlain score 100 points and average 50 points and 25 rebounds a season today? Who knows? These people were head and shoulders above their peers at the time. The UConn women have won 89 consecutive games. Don't compare them to others, revel in their accomplishment; they are head and shoulders above their peers. Bill Homann San Marcos :: Congratulations to the UConn women's basketball team for winning their 89th straight game and extending the women's record that they own. However, they did not break the men's record set by UCLA.

Jason Kidd had 20 points and nine assists, Caron Butler added 16 points, and the Dallas Mavericks recovered from a lethargic start and matched the NBA's longest winning streak this season with their 13th straight victory, 96-87, over the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday night. Rookie Roddy Beaubois' 16 points and Shawn Marion's 14 points and 13 rebounds helped the Mavericks equal Cleveland's winning streak from Jan. 10-Feb. 11. -- associated press

Marian Gaborik scored two goals and added an assist as the New York Rangers ended a three-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory against the Phoenix Coyotes on Monday night. New York netted two goals on five shots in the first period and two more on only six more attempts in the second to chase goalie Ilya Bryzgalov. -- associated press

HOUSTON — Aaron Brooks swished a jumper with 2.9 seconds left and scored 31 points to help the Houston Rockets rally for a 125-123 victory over Denver on Monday night, snapping the Nuggets' six-game winning streak. Carmelo Anthony scored 45 points for the Nuggets, but missed a three-point try at the buzzer. Luis Scola grabbed the final rebound. Scola, who was coming off a career-high 44-point game, converted a key three-point play with 41 seconds remaining to put Houston ahead, 122-121.

Lyle Overbay and Aaron Hill hit home runs and Toronto ended New York's winning streak at seven games with a 5-4 victory Monday night. Overbay drove in two runs, and Edwin Encarnacion and Joe Inglett also drove in runs for the Blue Jays, who played an inspired game about 30 minutes after learning that teammate Alex Rios had been claimed off waivers by the Chicago White Sox. Shawn Camp (1-5) picked up the victory in relief of starter Marc Rzepczynski, who gave up three home runs and didn't make it out of the fourth inning.

at Chicago 101, Atlanta 98 (OT): Derrick Rose scored a career-high 32 points and the Bulls overcame a season-high 40 points from Joe Johnson to end the Hawks' winning streak at six games. at Phoenix 121, Washington 95: Steve Nash had 15 points and 15 assists before sitting out the fourth quarter as the Suns, the only NBA team without a home loss, improved to 10-0 in Phoenix. Utah 110, at Charlotte 102: Deron Williams had 23 points and 10 assists, and Carlos Boozer had 22 points and 11 rebounds as the Jazz bounced back from Friday's blowout loss in Atlanta.

He wasn't invoking the wisdom of hockey greats such as the legendary Gordie Howe or even Wayne Gretzky, a star with some serious Kings cred in his background. Kings Coach Darryl Sutter thought about the topic of playing with a lead, reached into his own coaching/playing past and landed in the Midwest — more precisely, in Chicago. "What was Michael Jordan's famous line? Structure gets me to the fourth quarter and then I take over," Sutter said on Monday in El Segundo. The third period would work just fine too. For the second time in three days, the Kings will attempt to close out the Phoenix Coyotes in the Western Conference finals, this time as the visiting team.

MINNEAPOLIS — It was the third inning, and it was only one run, but Ervin Santana reacted in the dugout as if it was the turning point of a playoff game, thrusting both fists sharply into the air after Mike Trout's run-scoring double clanged off the left-center field wall in Target Field. The Angels right-hander, for the first time in seven starts this season, had a lead. "I was very excited," Santana said after throwing 71/3 strong innings to lead the Angels to a 6-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night.

Certain aspects of baseball never change, which is part of the game's charm. Players today are as superstitious as they were in the days of Babe Ruth. Pitchers still drill opposing hitters in retaliation if a batter from their team is hit. Rookies continue to be hazed. Then there's the sacrifice bunt. There is statistical research indicating the tactic is counterproductive, but teams continue to use it. Teams such as the Dodgers. The Dodgers tried two late-inning sacrifice bunts Tuesday night, one that resulted in a double play in the seventh inning and another that took the bat out of Matt Kemp's hands in the eighth.

Kyle Busch capped a perfect weekend in Virginia on Saturday night by winning the spring NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Richmond for the fourth consecutive year. The victory snaps a 22-race winless streak for Busch. It came a day after he went to Victory Lane for the first time as a Nationwide Series team owner, celebrating brother Kurt Busch's Friday night win. Busch beat Tony Stewart off pit road on the final stop of the race, which came after a caution for debris with 13 laps to go. He then pulled away from Stewart on the restart with nine laps left and wasn't challenged for the victory.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It's a postgame scene the Angels have grown far too familiar with: dead silence in the clubhouse, grim looks as players shuffle past each other, the room filled with dejection. Add a veteran consoling a kid reliever by putting both hands on his shoulders and whispering in his ear, and you'll feel what the Angels felt after their stunning 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in Tropicana Field on Thursday. Two outs away from a well-played and much-needed victory, closer Jordan Walden, in only his second save opportunity this season, gave up a single to B.J. Upton and a walk-off, two-run home run to pinch-hitter Brandon Allen, who was claimed off waivers from Oakland last week.

When: 7:30 p.m. Where: Home Depot Center. On the air: TV: Prime Ticket, KWHY. Records: Chivas 3-3, Philadelphia 1-3-1. Record vs. Philadelphia: 0-1-1 (2011). Update: Not only is Chivas USA winless at home this season, in its three matches at the Home Depot Center it hasn't even scored. And the Union hasn't allowed a goal in its last 242 minutes. Something will have to give because Philadelphia is winless on the road. Chivas is riding a two-match winning streak, victories Coach Robin Fraser says have resulted in renewed confidence.

Charlie Villanueva's 23 points and nine rebounds helped the Detroit Pistons end a 13-game losing streak by beating the downtrodden and distracted Washington Wizards, 99-90, Tuesday night. It was the Pistons' first win since beating Golden State on Dec. 12. "It felt like forever," Villanueva said. It came against a Washington club whose best player, Gilbert Arenas, was suspended indefinitely by the NBA amid a guns investigation. Coach Flip Saunders and several players have had to speak to authorities about that case.

Kansas City's bullpen pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings and the Royals ended the Detroit Tigers' six-game winning streak with a 7-5 victory Tuesday night. The AL Central-leading Tigers led, 5-2, but starter Rick Porcello and their bullpen couldn't hold it. In another blow to the Detroit bullpen, closer Fernando Rodney was suspended three games for throwing a ball toward the stands Friday after a win over Tampa Bay. The team said it would appeal, delaying the start of the suspension.

After matching the worst start in team history with the expansion Angels of 1961, this far richer version opened its series against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday trying to end a record four lost series to open the season. "The talent in this team is real, it will come to the forefront," Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said before the game. On cue, Howie Kendrick and Jerome Williams did their part in a 6-3 victory over the Orioles that ended the Angels' losing streak at three games.

PHOENIX - The Clippers were more irate about the physical attack on Blake Griffin by Suns reserve center Robin Lopez than they were about their 93-90 loss to Phoenix Thursday night at US Airways Center. The Clippers were upset by the flagrant two foul called on Lopez for his neck-tying of Griffin in the fourth quarter than they were by having their five-game winning streak ended. The Clippers were more angry about the strained neck Griffin suffered because of the play that got Lopez ejected than they were about not being able to execute late in the game.