AP Sports Wrap from January 30, 2016
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic has maintained his perfect streak in six Australian Open finals with a 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (3) victory that consigned Andy Murray to a fifth defeat in championship deciders at Melbourne Park.
Djokovic equaled Roy Emerson's long-standing record of six Australian Open titles and increased his career haul to 11 Grand Slam titles, including four of the last five.
Murray became only the second man to lose five finals at one major. Ivan Lendl lost five and won three U.S. Open finals in the 1980s.
The 28-year-old Murray had his share of distractions, leaving his pregnant wife in Britain — their first child is due in February — and his father-in-law being rushed to hospital by ambulance during the tournament.
NBA-SCHEDULE
Cavs outduel Spurs...Warriors barely beat Sixers
UNDATED (AP) — The Cleveland Cavaliers are 4-1 under new coach Tyronn Lue (TY'-rahn loo) and owners of a four-game winning streak after knocking off one of the NBA's best teams.
LeBron James scored 29 points and the Cavs padded their lead in the Central Division by beating the Spurs 117-103 in San Antonio. Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving each had 21 points for the Cavaliers, who had been a combined 0-5 versus the Spurs, Golden State and Chicago.
Cleveland leads the Eastern Conference at 34-12, 2 1/2 games ahead of Toronto.
The Spurs played their third consecutive game without Tim Duncan because of a sore right knee. Kawhi (kah-WY') Leonard finished with 24 points for the Spurs, who fell to 39-8.
Also on Saturday, the NBA's best team met the worst as Golden State needed Harrison Barnes' 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left to pull out a 108-105 victory over the 76ers in Philadelphia. The Sixers trailed by double-digits most of the second half until a 15-2 run late in the fourth quarter tied the game at 105 with 22.3 seconds left.
Klay Thompson had 32 points and Stephen (STEH'-fehn) Curry scored 23 points for the Warriors, who coughed up a 24-point lead before winning their sixth in a row.
Golden State is 43-4, matching the 1966-67 76ers' NBA record for best 47-game start to a season.
In other NBA action:
— Toronto ran its franchise-record winning streak to 11 straight games as DeMar DeRozan had 29 points in the Raptors' 111-107 victory against Detroit. Kyle Lowry had 18 points and backup center Bismack Biyombo added 12 points and 13 assists.
— Jeff Green poured in 29 points and Memphis shook off Sacramento's late rally in a 121-117 win over the Kings. Marc Gasol (gah-SAHL') had 22 points, six rebounds and five assists to help the Grizzlies win for the ninth time in 11 games.
— Washington's three-game skid is over after John Wall had 19 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds in the Wizards' 123-122 triumph at Houston. The Rockets dropped their third in a row despite James Harden's 40 points, 11 assists and seven boards.
— New Orleans pulled out a 105-103 win over Brooklyn on Jrue (juh-ROO') Holiday's 15-footer with 1.3 seconds. New Orleans' Anthony Davis scored 20 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in his first game back after sitting out with a concussion.
— Monta (MAHN') Ellis scored a season-high 32 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Indiana's 109-105 overtime win against Denver. Ellis converted a three-point play with 20.4 seconds left in OT to wrap up the Pacers' second straight victory.
T25-SCHEDULE
Jayhawks top Wildcats...Aggies pull away from Cyclones
UNDATED (AP) — Forty minutes weren't enough to decide a matchup pitting two of the most storied college basketball programs.
Wayne Seldon scored seven of his career-high 33 points in overtime to lead fourth-ranked Kansas to a 90-84 win over No. 20 Kentucky in the premier showdown of the Big 12/SEC Challenge. Frank Mason III added 13 points and eight rebounds for the 17-4 Jayhawks, who snapped a three-game losing streak to the Wildcats and earned their 35th straight win at Allen Fieldhouse.
The Wildcats built an eight-point lead midway through the second half before Kansas switched to a zone defense and mounted a comeback.
Tyler Ulis (YOO'-lihs) finished with 26 points and eight assists for Kentucky.
In other top 25 finals:
— Fifth-ranked Texas A&M is 18-3 after closing on a 16-4 run to beat No. 14 Iowa State 72-62. The Cyclones led 58-56 before Danuel House hit a 3-pointer with about four minutes left to spark the run. House finished with 20 points, including a pair of free throws that put A&M ahead 63-58 with 2:29 remaining.
— Isaiah Cousins drained a go-ahead jumper with four seconds left to complete Oklahoma's comeback from a 14-point deficit in a 77-75 triumph against LSU. Buddy Hield (heeld) made seven of his eight 3-pointers in the second half on his way to a 32-point performance that helped the top-ranked Sooners improve to 18-2.
— Make it 12 wins in a row for No. 2 North Carolina after an 89-62 rout of Boston College. Brice Johnson had 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Marcus Paige had 12 points for the 19-2 Tar Heels.
— Trevon Bluiett scored 15 points and No. 7 Xavier turned an early seven-point deficit into an 86-65 rout of DePaul. The Musketeers put together a 29-5 run bridging the two halves to take a 17-point lead.
—Florida's Dorian Finney-Smith scored 24 points to lead the way in an 88-71 upset of No. 9 West Virginia. Brandone Francis-Ramirez hit three huge 3-pointers to help the Gators improve to 14-7 and enhance their chances for making the NCAA Tournament.
— Ben Bentil and Kris Dunn scored 26 points apiece and 10th-ranked Providence improved to 18-4 by fending off Georgetown 73-69. Rodney Bullock added 10 points and 14 rebounds to the victory.
— Malcolm Brogdon and Anthony Gill each scored 13 points to lead No. 11 Virginia's 63-47 win over 16th-ranked Louisville 63-47. The 17-4 Cavaliers held the Cardinals to season lows with 33 percent shooting and 47 points. Louisville fell to 17-4.
— Nic Moore scored 22 points and No. 13 SMU bounced back from its first loss of the season with an 80-68 victory over Memphis. Freshman guard Shake Milton added 15 points for the Mustangs, who improved to 19-1.
— Anthony "Cat" Barber scored 30 points to help North Carolina State beat No. 15 Miami 85-69. Abdul-Malik Abu added 19 points for the 12-10 Wolfpack, who led the entire second half and shot 51 percent for the game.
— No. 17 Baylor beat Georgia 83-73 behind Rico Gather's 17 points and nine boards. Baylor trailed 35-32 at the break before Gathers had one of the Bears' five three-point possessions during a 17-2 run in the first four minutes of the second half.
— Gabe York dropped in 24 points and Ryan Anderson added 13 and 12 rebounds as 18th-rated Arizona whipped visiting Oregon State 80-63. The Wildcats were in action for the first time since their 49-game home winning streak was stopped by Oregon on Thursday.
— Thomas Bryant scored a career-high 23 points to help No. 19 Indiana hang on for its 13th victory in 14 games, 74-68 over Minnesota. The 18-4 Hoosiers barely retained their share of the Big Ten lead after blowing a 16-point second-half advantage.
— No. 21 Purdue was an 89-74 winner against Nebraska as A.J. Hammons scored a career-best 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Rapheal Davis had 17 points and six rebounds, and Isaac Haas scored 13 points to help the Boilermakers improve to 19-4.
NHL-SKILLS COMPETITION
Larkin, Weber shine among the stars
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The NHL held its skills competition on the eve of the 61st NHL All-Star game in Nashville. In short, Detroit rookie Dylan Larkin was the quickest legs and Shea Weber was the hardest shot.
Larkin set a record for the fastest lap around a full rink, timed at 13.172 despite a slip in turn 3. That topped Mike Gartner's previous record time of 13.386 seconds in 1996.
Larkin's record-setting performance came after he beat Predators defenseman Roman Josi (YOH'-see) in 12.894 seconds during the first round, when the players use just one side of the rink.
Weber won the hardest shot at 108.3 mph. The Predators' blueliner just missed Zdeno Chara's (zuh-DAY'-noh CHAH'-rahz) record of 108.8 mph set in 2012.
The Eastern Conference won the skills competition 29-12, giving John Tavares and Jaromir Jagr (YAH'-roh-meer YAH'-gur) the choice as captains of which period to play their semifinal game Sunday in the All-Star Game. They chose the first period for the 3-on-3 competition.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-SENIOR BOWL
Quarterbacks shine in South's win
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — SEC West quarterbacks Dak Prescott, Jake Coker and Brandon Allen all led scoring drives to help lead the South to a 27-16 win over the North the Senior Bowl.
Arkansas's Allen passed for a game-high 106 yards, including a couple of on-target deep balls. Mississippi State's Prescott threw for 61 yards and a touchdown with both teams rotating their four quarterbacks after each quarter.
PGA TOUR
Choi, Brown takes lead
SAN DIEGO (AP) — K.J. Choi is in position to end a five-year winless drought on the PGA Tour. Choi birdied the final hole for a par 72 and share of the lead after the third round of the Farmers' Insurance Open. His 9-under total ties him with Scott Brown for the top spot. Brown shot a 70. Jimmy Walker and Gary Woodland are just one shot back.
LPGA TOUR
Hull, Nordqvist share lead
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) — Charley Hull and Anna Nordqvist share the lead after three rounds of the in the season-opening Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic.
Hull made a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th to match Nordqvist at 12-under. Nordqvist also birdied the 18th for a 68.
Ha Na Jang had the first hole-in-one on a par 4 in tour history, acing the 218-yard eighth hole. The South Korean player was five strokes back after a 68.
NFL-BROWNS-MANZIEL
Manziel making negative headlines yet again
CLEVELAND (AP) — Johnny Manziel finds himself in yet more trouble.
The Cleveland Browns quarterback is being investigated by police in Fort Worth and Dallas following a disturbance early Saturday during which he may have assaulted his ex-girlfriend.
Police didn't say if the ex-girlfriend was injured. The police report said the woman was uncooperative with officers, who were unable to locate a crime scene. The woman told the officers she was involved in a disturbance with her ex-boyfriend earlier that night in Dallas and possibly other locations.
According to a statement released by Fort Worth police, they used their Air One Unit helicopter to locate Manziel after his unidentified ex-girlfriend said she was concerned about his well-being.
This is the second time Manziel has been investigated by police following an argument with his now ex-girlfriend.