A.P. Tuesday Sports Roundup

NBA-SCHEDULE

Heat outscore Sixers...Bulls silence Bucks

UNDATED (AP) — James Harden had another MVP-type performance in leading the Houston Rockets to victory on Monday.

Harden record his second triple-double of the season, contributing 31 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 113-102 triumph over Minnesota. The Rockets led by just one until Harden scored five points in a 14-2 run that Houston back in control.

Terrence Jones added 15 points and 15 rebounds as the Rockets moved 20 games over .500 at 38-18.

Elsewhere in the NBA:

— Mike Conley scored 18 points and Jeff Green added 16 and the red-hot Memphis Grizzlies ended the Clippers' four-game winning streak, 90-87 in Los Angeles. The Grizzlies have gone 15-3 since acquiring Green from Boston last month, allowing them to pull within three games of West-leading Golden State.

— San Antonio is 0-3 since the All-Star break after Trey Burke's 23 points led the Jazz over the Spurs 90-81 in Utah. Gordon Hayward scored 18 and helped the Jazz turn the Spurs' season-high 22 turnovers into 17 points.

— Ian Snell scored 20 points and the Chicago Bulls outrebounded Milwaukee 62-41 in an 87-71 stifling of the Bucks. Nikola Mirotic had 16 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, while Pau Gasol added 15 points and 10 boards in the Bulls' sixth victory in seven games.

— New Orleans picked up its seven straight win by erasing an 18-point deficit in a 100-97 win over Toronto. Alexis Ajinca capped a 16-point performance with a go-ahead layup in the final minute as the Pelicans improved to 29-27 with a comeback win over the Atlantic Division leaders.

— Luol Deng scored 29 points on 11 of 14 shooting as Miami dumped Philadelphia 119-108. Goran Dragic added 23 points and 10 assists for the Heat, who shot 55 percent and outrebounded the 76ers 45-33.

— Brooklyn clobbered the Nuggets 110-82 in Denver as Brook Lopez led seven Nets players in double figures with 19 points. Deron Williams added 16 points and 12 assists to the rout.

— Avery Bradley scored 23 points and Boston drained 10 of its 14 3-pointers in the first half of a 115-110 triumph at Phoenix. Isaiah Thomas burned his former team with 21 points, eight coming in the last two minutes.

NBA-HEAT-BOSH

Bosh improving

MIAMI (AP) — The Miami Heat say All-Star forward Chris Bosh continues to improve and will leave a South Florida hospital soon. Bosh has been hospitalized since last week because blood clots were found on a lung. He will not return to play this season.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra says he has not been told an exact date for Bosh's discharge.

TOP 25 MEN'S BASKETBALL

K-State stuns Kansas...Cardinals rally to beat Jackets

UNDATED (AP) — Eighth-ranked Kansas had beaten archrival Kansas State 49 times in their last 53 meetings before the Jayhawks had their pockets picked in Manhattan.

Nigel Johnson scored a career-high 20 points and Nino Williams hit a clinching jumper in the final minute as the Wildcats stunned the Jayhawks 70-63. Williams finished with 15 points to help Kansas State roar back from an eight-point, second-half deficit.

Perry Ellis had 24 points to lead the Jayhawks, who fell to 22-6 and saw their lead in the Big 12 reduced to a half-game over Iowa State.

In the other top-25 game, 17th-ranked Louisville trailed by 13 with under 10 minutes to go before pulling out a 52-51 triumph at Georgia Tech. Terry Rozier capped his 22-point night by hitting the go-ahead basket from the lane with 20 seconds remaining.

The Cardinals were playing one day after starting guard and No. 3 scorer Chris Jones was kicked off the team.

T25 BASKETBALL-POLLS

New poll is out with little change

UNDATED (AP) — As expected, the top seven teams in the new Associated Press men's basketball poll are the same as last week's. That means Kentucky is once again the unanimous choice at No. 1 after receiving all 65 first place votes. Second-ranked Virginia is followed by Gonzaga, Duke, Wisconsin, Villanova and Arizona. It's the first time the top seven have remained the same for six straight weeks since 1992-93.

Northern Iowa moved into the top 10 for the first time in school history, sliding in behind No. 8 Kansas and No. 9 Notre Dame.

In women's hoops, the University of Connecticut remains No. 1 in the AP poll. The Huskies received all 34 first place votes to remain in front of South Carolina, Baylor, Notre Dame and Maryland.

MLB-YANKEES-RODRIGUEZ

Rodriguez reports

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez worked out at the team's minor league complex on Monday before speaking with the media for about 8 ½ minutes.

The three-time AL MVP is coming off a season-long suspension for violations of baseball's drug agreement and labor contract. Rodriguez says there is no justification for the mistakes he made, and that he can't explain why he made them.

He said he cringes when he looks at some of the things he did, but he never said why he resumed the use of performance-enhancing drugs, never explained what he did and avoided getting into any specifics.

A-Rod arrived at Steinbrenner Field this morning for his physical, three days before the first workout for Yankees position players.

MLB-TRAINING CAMPS

Cabrera feeling better after surgery

UNDATED (AP) — Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera says it's too early to say whether he'll be ready for opening day. Cabrera is hitting in the cage after undergoing ankle surgery in October, and he says he feels his ankle getting stronger. He dealt with ankle problems last season while hitting .313 with 25 homers, the lowest home run output of his career over a full season.

In other training camp news:

— New Twins manager Paul Molitor says Phil Hughes is penciled in to be the opening day starter against Detroit April 6. Hughes is coming off a 16-10 season with a 3.52 ERA in 32 starts.

— Ron Gardenhire has told the Twins he plans to take the year off after being offered a position within the organization. Gardenhire was dismissed after last season with a year left on his contract.

— Toronto catcher Dioner Navarro says he's asked the Blue Jays to trade him after Toronto signed Russell Martin to a five-year, $82 million contract in November. Navarro still wants to be dealt so that he can be an everyday catcher. He's slated to back-up Martin.

— The Reds are taking exception to comments made Sunday by former Cincinnati pitcher Mat Latos, who said the team rushed him back from left knee surgery last season. Reds manager Bryan Price called the assessment unfair and inaccurate, while general manager Walt Jocketty insisted the team follows very strict protocols after surgeries.

— Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley says he's able to take regular batting practice and fielding work despite spraining an ankle last month. Utley says the ankle has improved dramatically over the past two weeks, but it's still not 100 percent.

— Rangers second baseman Jurickson Profar is expected to miss his second straight season following surgery to repair a tear in his right shoulder. An MRI last week revealed Profar had the same muscle strain that caused him to sit out the 2014 campaign.

— The Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to a one-year contract with right-hander Dustin McGowan, who was 5-3 with a 4.17 ERA in eight starts and 45 relief appearances for Toronto last season. McGowan gets the $507,500 minimum but will receive a $1 million bonus if he is on the opening-day roster.

— A group of investors headlined by Red Sox president Larry Lucchino has announced that it's purchased the Pawtucket Red Sox and will relocate the team to Providence. The new owners say they decided to move the team to Providence because making improvements to 73-year-old McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket would be expensive.

— Adrian Beltre and the Texas Rangers have reworked the final two seasons of his six-year, $96 million contract by eliminating the team's conditional right to void his 2016 salary. The 35-year-old third baseman hit .324 with 19 homers and 77 RBIs in 2014.

NFL-PANTHERS-WILLIAMS

Williams: Panthers to release me

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams said the team plans to release him after nine seasons. He told Charlotte television station WBTV Monday that he was informed of the decision in a meeting last week with general manager Dave Gettleman and coach Ron Rivera.

Williams is the franchise's all-time leading rusher with 6,846 yards, but his production dropped off this past season due in part to injuries that forced him to miss 10 games.

NFL-CARDINALS

New deals for coach and GM

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Cardinals have extended the contracts of coach Bruce Arians and general manager Steve Keim (kym) following consecutive seasons with double-digit wins. The new deals put the pair under contract through the 2018 season with team options for 2019.

The Cardinals went 10-6 in 2013, then 11-5 last season.

Arians was NFL coach of the year last season, the second time he has received the award in three years.

NFL-COLTS-JEAN FRANCOIS

Colts cut Jean Francois

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Colts have released defensive tackle Ricky Jean Francois in a move that will provide the team with a nearly $5 million salary cap savings.

Jean Francois started 23 games and had 54 tackles, 5 1/2 sacks, six passes defensed and one fumble recovery in two seasons after signing a four-year, $22 million contract with Indianapolis.

NHL-SCHEDULE

Ducks outshoot Wings in shootout

UNDATED (AP) — The Anaheim Ducks staged a third-period comeback before pulling within four points of the first-place Nashville Predators in the NHL's Western Conference.

Corey Perry and Jakob Silfverberg scored shootout goals before John Gibson stopped Tomas Tatar to secure the Ducks' third-straight win, 4-3 over Detroit. Anaheim trailed 2-0 midway through the third period before Andrew Cogliano, Emerson Etem and Francois Beauchemin scored in a 3:40 span to make it 3-2.

Riley Sheahan's goal with 3:51 left in regulation allowed the Red Wings to snag a point and climb within four of the East-leading Montreal Canadiens.

Corey Schneider stopped 38 shots and the Devils picked up their fourth consecutive win by downing Arizona 3-0. Mike Cammalleri scored twice and Scott Gomez provided the game-winner to support Schneider's third shutout of the season. The outcome leaves the Devils 11-2-3 in their last 16 home games and within eight points of Boston for the final Eastern Conference playoff berth.

NHL-BLUES-SHATTENKIRK

All-Star "weeks away" from returning

ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Blues coach Ken Hitchcock says All-Star defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk has been skating for a few days but is weeks away from returning after undergoing abdominal surgery earlier this month.

The 26-year-old Shattenkirk led NHL defensemen with 32 assists and was second with 40 points when he was injured in a victory at Washington on Feb. 1.

NHL-SENATORS-COWEN SUSPENDED

Sens defenseman suspended

OTTAWA AP) — The NHL has suspended Ottawa Senators defenseman Jared Cowen three games for his late hit to the head of Florida Panthers forward Jussi Jokinen on Saturday. The NHL noticed the lateness of the hit and that Cowen's shoulder made contact with Jokinen's head.

This is Cowen's second suspension.

NASCAR-SHR-REGAN SMITH

Smith to keep driving for SHR

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (AP) — Stewart-Haas Racing says it is sticking with Regan Smith in place of suspended driver Kurt Busch. Smith subbed for Busch and drove the No. 41 Chevrolet to a 16th-place finish in the Daytona 500 Sunday. Smith will be behind the wheel for Sunday's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

NASCAR suspended Busch last week after a Delaware judge said the 2004 champion almost surely choked and beat his former girlfriend last fall.

TENNIS-DAVIS CUP

No Federer this time

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — After helping Switzerland win its first Davis Cup title last year, Roger Federer has announced he's going to skip this year's event. Federer played the entire Davis Cup season last year, with Switzerland beating France 3-1 in the final.

AUTO RACING

F1 driver Alonso improving

MONTMELO, Spain (AP) — McLaren says Fernando Alonso is making a "solid recovery" after being concussed following a crash in Formula One testing and is staying in the hospital for further observation. The Spanish driver was airlifted by helicopter to the hospital for precautionary checks after his McLaren collided with a wall at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit on Sunday.