Cardinals knock off top-seeded Spartans 57-44

PHOENIX (AP) — Gorgui Dieng swatted away the West Region's top seed to send Rick Pitino into another regional final.

Chane Behanan scored 15 points and Dieng anchored Louisville's stifling defense with seven blocked shots, helping the Cardinalsknock off top-seeded Michigan State 57-44 Thursday night in the West Regional semifinals.

Louisville (29-9) smothered the NCAA tournament's best-shooting team with its matchup zone, getting good pressure from its guards up top and some big swats by Dieng, one of the nation's top shot-blockers.

The Cardinals relied on 3-point shooting in the first half and went inside the second to befuddle the Spartans, earning a trip to the West final against Marquette or Florida on Saturday.

Michigan State (29-8) started slow and never got going against Louisville's amoebic defense, shooting 28 percent while being outscored 20-14 inside by the leaner Cardinals.

Dieng finished with five points, seven rebounds and had three steals. Peyton Siva overcame a rough shooting night — four points on 2-of-9 shooting — with nine assists.

Draymond Green had 13 points and 16 rebounds in his final game for Michigan State and Brandon Wood added 14 points.

This sweet matchup of top programs featured two of college basketball's best short-preparation coaches.

Pitino has used his speed-the-opponent-up system to reach the Final Four five times, becoming the first coach to lead three different schools to the national semifinals. Once past the NCAA tournament's first week, he's had a knack for guiding his team farther along the bracket, advancing to the regional final all 10 times he's gotten a team to the semifinals.

Tom Izzo has been in 17 years at Michigan State, building teams that can handle the rigors of the Big Ten or switch to greyhound mode when the opponent plays fast. He's been as consistent as any coach in the game, leading the Spartans to the Final Four six times, including the 2000 national title, and 10 trips to the regionals round the past 15 years.

Izzo played the right hand the last time these two basketball brains met, taking the Spartans to the 2009 Final Four after they found a way to break Louisville's pressure.

Pitino had something up his sleeve this time.

With Michigan State bogging the game down, the Cardinals struggled early, missing 12 of their first 13 shots. They snapped out of it by hitting 3s.

Russ Smith hit a pair, Jared Swopshire and Chris Smith each dropped one in and, even Dieng — 0-for-2 in his career previously — got one to go in.

Swopshire closed it out with a 3 from the corner to put the Cardinals up 23-15 at halftime. Louisville was 7 of 15 from the arc in the half, but got almost nothing inside, hitting 1 of 15 shots from 2-point range.

Michigan State couldn't seem to hit anything from anywhere, going 6-for-22 from the field, 2-for-9 from the arc.

Louisville shifted gears to open the second half, getting two layups and a dunk to keep its cushion. Swopshire followed with an alley-oop to Siva for the point guard's first points, then stole the inbound pass to set up two free throws by Russ Smith that put the Cardinals up 35-25.

Michigan State managed a short run to get within four, but Louisville used its pressure to get a couple of steals and baskets to go up 43-32. Dieng followed with a couple more swats — one on Keith Appling that sailed into the stands — to keep the Spartans from making a run.

Louisville outscored Michigan State by six inside and had a 17-4 advantage off the bench.

Indiana rallies to top VCU 63-61

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Will Sheehey had two options when he grabbed the loose ball: back it out and play for the final shot of regulation, or take the open jumper.

Indiana coach Tom Crean wanted the Hoosiers to be aggressive on Saturday, and Sheehey was paying attention.

The sophomore forward made a 15-footer from the baseline with 12.7 seconds left after a shot was blocked right to him, and the fourth-seeded Hoosiers beat 12th-seeded VCU 63-61 on Saturday to reach the NCAA tournament's round of 16 for the first time in a decade.

Welcome back Indiana.

"It's been a constant grind for us ever since the end of last year," Christian Watford said. "We've been working hard and we did a great job with adversity, and it feels great to be in this position."

Indiana (27-8) trailed by as many as nine at 57-48 and held VCU to just four points the final 12½ minutes. When Rob Brandenberg's open look at a potential winning 3 rimmed off, the Hoosiers were finally able to celebrate their first trip to the regional semifinals since 2002.

Next up is a rematch with top-seeded Kentucky in Atlanta. The Hoosiers' last-second win over the Wildcats back in December announced their return to the national stage.

Saturday's victory and the trip to the round of 16 is another milestone in Crean's rebuilding job from the decimated program he inherited four years ago.

"All college basketball teams work really hard," Crean said. "But these guys have had to come from a long way, a long way, and I'm proud of them."

Watford and Cody Zeller had 16 points apiece for the Hoosiers. Watford was huge at the end of the first half, scoring the final eight points after VCU had threatened to run away during a frenetic first 20 minutes. Zeller stepped up late with his first field goal since the middle of the first half with 2:55 left.

But while those two were the scoring leaders, they became secondary figures in the final seconds.

The first star for Indiana was Victor Oladipo. After Bradford Burgess missed two foul shots that could have given VCU a five-point lead with about a minute left, Oladipo made an aggressive sprint to the basket and converted a tying three-point play with 46.5 seconds left.

When Troy Daniels missed a 3 for VCU, Indiana had a chance at the lead. Instead of calling timeout, Oladipo tried to get to the rim, but was blocked by Darius Theus. The loose ball bounced to Sheehey and he knocked down his only basket of the second half.

"I thought the momentum was on our side. We had made a little comeback there. And I'm comfortable shooting at that range," Sheehey said. "It was pretty open, so I decided to take it."

VCU (29-7) had one last chance. Theus drove aggressively into the lane and passed out to Brandenberg, but his 3 bounced on the rim and came off as the buzzer sounded.

"The guys really executed the plan in that play," VCU coach Shaka Smart said. "Rob got a wide open shot in front of our bench. I'll take that shot every day of the week."

Burgess led VCU (29-7) with 15 points, but he had just three in the second half. Brandenberg added 13 off the bench and Troy Daniels scored 10, only to be left crouched on the floor long after the buzzer in disbelief.

VCU had seen that stunned reaction before, but it belonged to its opponents most of the time over the last two NCAA tournaments. And for most of Saturday it appeared Indiana was going to be the latest storied program to go down against the Rams.

Indiana survived a season-high 22 turnovers. It shot just 36 percent in the second half but was able to move on because of its own defensive effort that limited VCU to just seven second-half field goals and 30 3-point attempts.

"I'm sure it was a great basketball game for people to watch from the stands. It was really a great game for me, as well, because I got to see this game, the last six or seven minutes through our players' eyes," Crean said. "And they were so locked in and had such great resolve to never panic and to just truly believe that they were going to win."

McCollum leads Lehigh to 75-70 upset win over Duke

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — C.J. McCollum scored 30 points and Lehigh upset Duke 75-70 to become the second No. 15 seed to beat a No. 2 during a wild Friday in the NCAA tournament.

The Mountain Hawks are the sixth 15 seed overall to pull off the trick. Norfolk State edged Missouri 86-84 in the West Regional earlier in the day, and No. 14 seed Ohio knocked off Michigan to add to the madness.

Duke dropped its first tournament game for only the second time in the past 16 years, and this one occurred just 55 miles from its campus. The Blue Devils also dropped their opener against 11th-seeded Virginia Commonwealth in 2007.

The Blue Devils had no answer for McCollum, a speedy guard who's a two-time Patriot League player of the year and the nation's fifth-leading scorer.

It didn't help that the Blue Devils hit just 6 of 26 shots from 3-point range.

Lehigh (27-7) led most of the game, drawing support from North Carolina fans who borrowed brown signs from Mountain Hawks supporters that read "Go Lehigh" to root against their rivals.

Lehigh coach Brett Reed said before the game his team came to Greensboro to do more than just compete — and that's exactly what it did.

The Patriot League champions led most of the first half despite shooting just 38 percent from the field.
Lehigh grabbed the lead for good at the 8:21 mark of the second half when Mackey McKnight made a 3-pointer.
The Mountain Hawks' momentum continued to build as the game went on and they started to pull away in the final three minutes.

McCollum hit a 3-pointer off a screen from Gabe Knutson and John Adams followed with a breakaway dunk to push the lead to 61-54 with two minutes to go.

Duke would get as close as three twice in the final 30 seconds, including when Quinn Cook hit a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left.

Duke fouled McCollum on the inbounds pass and he made up for two earlier misses from the line by hitting both shots to seal a shocking victory that sent the Greensboro Coliseum crowd into a frenzy.

Syracuse avoids being first No. 1 to lose to 16

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Syracuse was missing its starting center. North Carolina-Asheville thought the Orange got help from three men in striped shirts.

With Syracuse facing the kind of NCAA tournament history no team wants to make, the top-seeded Orange rallied for a 72-65 victory Thursday in the second round of the East Regional.

Two calls by the officials had the sellout crowd of 18,927 at Consol Energy Center — except for those wearing orange — booing throughout the final minute but it didn't matter.

Syracuse made it 109-0 for No. 1 seeds against No. 16s since the NCAA went to a field of 64 in 1985.

"I don't think luck had anything to do with this game today," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said, "and I think the better team won."
The Orange were staring at NCAA tournament history. A No. 1 seed has never lost to a No. 16 seed, and they were trailing North Carolina-Asheville with just over 6 minutes to play.

"We gave it everything we had. We battled the best that we could," Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach said. "These guys are great. They deserved a better fate than they had today."

Syracuse, which won the national championship in 2003, had already made negative history in the tournament, becoming the first No. 2 seed to lose to a 15 when it fell 73-69 to Richmond in 1991.
The Orange managed to avoid adding another black mark by holding Asheville to one field goal over the final minute while they went 6 of 7 from the free throw line.
Syracuse was playing without 7-foot center Fab Melo, who was declared ineligible for academic reasons by the school and will miss the tournament.
"The fact that this game was close had nothing — nothing — to do with the center position," Boeheim said.
Syracuse (32-2) will play eighth-seeded Kansas State in the third round on Saturday. The Wildcats beat Southern Mississippi 70-64.

The Bulldogs (24-10), who talked Wednesday about pulling off the upset, were led by J.P. Primm's 18 points.

They led 34-30 at halftime — the third 16 to do that — but the Orange took the lead for good with 6:17 left on a turnaround jumper by reserve James Southerland, who had 15 points and a season-high eight rebounds.

"James has to continue to make the shots and I think he will," Syracuse guard Scoop Jardine said. "I'm happy for him because he's a big part of our offense and today he showed it."

Southerland, who scored 13 points in the second half, had three of the Orange's five 3-pointers.
"James came in, gave us a huge lift off the bench," Boeheim said of the 6-foot-8 junior.
The Bulldogs got within three points three times in the final 1:04 but could get no closer as Syracuse made its free throws and the officials made a couple of controversial calls.
The first call that caused the crowd to react was a lane violation with 1:20 left. Jardine missed the front end of a 1-and-1 but Primm was called for passing the head of the key before Jardine let the shot go. Jardine got to shoot the front end again, made it, and made the second for a 64-58 lead.
"They gave me a second chance to make the shot and I made it," Jardine said. "I got myself into a rhythm. I made every free throw from there on out because I do what I practice and believed in myself at that time and made the shots for us."
Primm said: "They showed it on the replay, I think the crowd let him know that it wasn't the right call. ... Like I said, when it gets crunch time like that, like I say, everyone is human."
With 35 seconds left and the Orange leading 66-63, the ball appeared to go out of bounds off Syracuse's Brandon Triche but the officials pointed the other way and gave it to the Orange. Jardine made two free throws a second later.
Coordinator of Officiating John Adams said he would have given the ball to UNC Asheville on the inbounds play.
"The out of bounds is not reviewable and it is not a play we would discuss," official Ed Corbett told a pool reporter. "I'm not going to comment further because it is a judgment call. It was a clear (lane) violation. The player released early, before the ball hit the rim. We've since watched the replay 20 times and it was the right call."
Boeheim had his own take on the play with Triche.
"First of all, all the noise about the ball going out of bounds, I mean, Triche got pushed. That's why it went out of bounds," he said. "Maybe they missed the out of bounds, they missed the foul call. Those things equal out."

Inexplicably the Orange kept shooting 3-pointers and missing. Despite having a huge height advantage — Asheville's talllest starter was 6-foot-5, bigger only than the Syracuse guards — the Orange kept taking 3s against the Bulldogs' 2-3 zone, which isn't as well known as the one Syracuse has played for decades but was just as effective Thursday.

The height advantage didn't do much for the Orange as far as rebounding went either as they had 33, one more than the Bulldogs. Then again, Syracuse was outrebounded by its opponents for the season.
"We just played a good 2-3 zone and mixed it up a little bit, playing man-to-man on one possession, zone on the other, just enough to try to keep 'em off balance," Biedenbach said
Kris Joseph and Dion Waiters both had 12 points for Syracuse, which played its fourth game this season without Melo, the Big East defensive player of the year who missed three games in January over academic issues. The Orange are 3-1 without him.
"We (would) love to have him, but it's about us playing the game," Jardine said. "We got a lot of guys that stepped up today."
Jaron Lane added 16 points and Jeremy Atkinson had 12 for the Bulldogs, whose leading scorer, Matt Dickey, went 1 for 13 from the field, 1 of 9 from 3. Asheville went 9 of 23 from beyond the arc.
"The excitement of the game was crazy. It was March Madness at its finest," Dickey said. "It was awesome and we'll cherish this moment and the opportunity that we had but we'll always look back at this moment and say we should have won or could have won, but that's not enough."
Other No. 1s have trailed a 16 at halftime, the last Kansas, which was behind by two points before going on to beat Holy Cross 70-59 in 2002.

There have been two one-point wins by No. 1s over 16s — Georgetown over Princeton and Oklahoma over East Tennessee State, both in 1989. And there was one two-point game — Purdue over Western Carolina in 1996 — and one that went overtime — Michigan State 75-71 over Murray State in 1990.

Boeheim earned his 46th win in the NCAA tournament, breaking a tie with Bob Knight for seventh on the career list.

Lions sign WR Calvin Johnson to 8yr, $132M deal

ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — For five years, Calvin Johnson has thrilled Detroit Lions fans, helping the city's troubled NFL franchise recover from almost unimaginable depths to become one of the league's most exciting young teams.

Now the Lions are rewarding the star receiver, giving "Megatron" a contract worthy of his catchy nickname.

Johnson has signed an eight-year deal worth up to $132 million, the largest contract in NFL history. He had a year remaining on a deal he signed after being drafted in 2007, but this extension starts immediately and runs through the 2019 season.

"I'm so comfortable here now," the 26-year-old Johnson said at news conference Wednesday. "At first, not at all, but being here for five years, being around these people here in Detroit, teammates and just the city — I'm just growing accustomed to it."

Johnson's agent, Bus Cook, said the contract is worth $60 million guaranteed. That figure and the total value of the deal are both NFL records.
"Calvin's one of those guys — we've said this about a few guys that we have in our building — whatever they pay him is not enough," Lions coach Jim Schwartz said. "He's truly a special player."

After years of questionable drafts, the Lions finally began building a talented nucleus when they took Johnson with the No. 2 overall pick in 2007. Detroit went 0-16 in his second season but added quarterback Matthew Stafford with the top pick in 2009. The Lions then took defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh with the second pick the following year.

Detroit made the playoffs last season for the first time in a dozen years. The challenge now is keeping these stars long term, and the Lions took care of Johnson with minimal angst.

"They were happy to get this thing done with, and I was happy as well," Johnson said. "It wasn't a lot of confrontation. We weren't butting heads or anything. It was just something that we knew needed to get done."

The 6-foot-5 Johnson is a two-time Pro Bowler and his 45 touchdowns receiving are the most in the NFL since 2008. His deal tops one given to receiver Larry Fitzgerald of Arizona last year — an eight-year deal that could pay him as much as $120 million.
News of the record contract rippled across the league.
Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, who signed a 7-year deal worth up to $100 million at the start of last season, tweeted: "Calvin Johnson! Brother you're Worth every cent!!! But hey,Can I borrow a Dollar! Hahaha Now that's how its done! Congratulation!"
Johnson is coming off a spectacular season in which he caught 96 passes for a league-best 1,681 yards and 16 touchdowns. He became the third player in NFL history with at least 95 receptions, 1,600 yards and 15 touchdowns in a season, joining Jerry Rice and Randy Moss.
He's also one of six receivers to post at least 45 TD catches and 5,000 yards receiving in a four-season span, along with Rice, Moss, Terrell Owens, Marvin Harrison and Lance Alworth.
"There are not many guys when you do a contract of this magnitude," team president Tom Lewand said. "We obviously did one years ago with Barry Sanders, and he was one of those kinds of guys, who is so special on the field, truly deserving of a contract of this size, and a guy who you have no doubt will handle all that comes with it with a great deal of skill on and off the field."
Stafford is coming off his first full season of good health. Johnson and the rest of the team benefited.
"We know what Matt can do," Johnson said. "We know what we can do as an offense. We can get hot at any time. There's a lot of potential."
In the playoffs, Johnson caught 12 passes for 211 yards and 2 touchdowns in a loss to New Orleans, becoming the first player with 200 yards receiving in a playoff debut.
Johnson said the conclusion of Peyton Manning's tenure in Indianapolis made him appreciate the opportunity to stay with the Lions for a while.
"The comfort level you receive, being able to be in one place for a long time, is unlike any other," Johnson said. "Having security, not having to worry about where I'm going to be next year. And then two — having a good team, having a lot of guys locked up on this team that you've had success with, and that you just continue to grow with."
Stafford has three years left on the deal he signed as a rookie, so the Lions appear set with arguably the league's top quarterback-receiver tandem for the foreseeable future.
"When you're fortunate to have a good quarterback, those don't come by a lot in the league," Johnson said. "How many teams are looking for a No. 1 quarterback right now? I would have to be beside myself to leave here."

No. 6 UNC tops No. 4 Duke 88-70 for ACC title

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Kendall Marshall felt dissed by Duke. The Blue Devils played the highlights of their last-second win over North Carolina on the video scoreboard and Marshall didn't like it, so he brought his Tar Heels into a quick huddle.

"I told my teammates I thought that was disrespectful, and we need to go out here and prove a point," Marshall said.
Did they ever.
North Carolina never trailed in an 88-70 rout of No. 4 Duke on Saturday night, claiming the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title behind 20 points and 10 assists from its motivated point guard.
"It left a bad taste in our mouths," Marshall said, "and we wanted to be able to come out and play well today."

Tyler Zeller had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Harrison Barnes added 16 points for the Tar Heels (27-4, 14-2). For the second straight year, they rolled in a winner-take-all season finale with the ACC tournament's top seed — and possibly one in the NCAA tournament, too — on the line.
"My team's had some bounce-back to them all year long," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "We go down to Florida State and lose by 3 million and everybody's jumping off the bandwagon ... but our team kept playing. We lose to Duke and everybody's got a great opinion of how stupid we are ... (and) my team kept playing."
North Carolina shot 54.5 percent, built a 45-28 rebounding advantage and sent Duke to its deepest halftime deficit ever at Cameron Indoor Stadium — 24 points — while winning its seventh straight since last month's loss to the Blue Devils.
Mason Plumlee had 17 points, and brother Miles Plumlee added 16 points and 11 rebounds in his final home game for the Blue Devils (26-5, 13-3). Freshman guard Austin Rivers — the hero of that last meeting — had 15 points.
But Duke — which erased a 10-point deficit in the final 2½ minutes to win the first matchup, then rallied from 20 down in the second half to beat North Carolina State — couldn't come up with another improbable escape and instead had its seven-game winning streak snapped.
"Throughout the year, we've been immature. We always want to see how little we have to do to win," Miles Plumlee said. "You give a team like that a 20-point lead, it's nearly impossible to win. We need to fight, like we did at times, for a whole game."
Duke was trying for its second regular-season sweep of North Carolina in three years, after the Blue Devils won the dramatic first meeting in Chapel Hill. They hit 14 3-pointers in that game — none bigger than Rivers' buzzer-beater that punctuated the 85-84 win.
For too long in this one, those shots didn't fall.
The perimeter-reliant Blue Devils finished 6 of 21 from 3-point range. They missed 15 consecutive shots, including their first seven 3s, and had two 7-minute field goal droughts in the opening half. That left them down 48-24 at the break — their largest halftime deficit anywhere since the 1990 team trailed the Tar Heels by 24 in Chapel Hill.
"When you base, like we do, a lot of our offense on 3-point shooting ... some will say, 'Don't.' That's who we are, man," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "And if we're not hitting them, we have a much greater chance to lose."
The closest they got in the second half was 75-64 on Miles Plumlee's free throw with 6:01 left. But Seth Curry missed an open 3-pointer roughly 30 seconds later that would have brought down the house.
Instead, Marshall hit a 19-footer with 4 minutes left, James Michael McAdoo added a layup and Barnes swished a deep 3 to stretch it to 82-64 with 2 minutes to play.
For Zeller, it was a welcome catharsis after his late-game struggles in the previous meeting. Back then, he accidentally batted a ball into the Duke basket and missed two free throws in the final minute before Rivers hit that last 3 over him.
Those noisy Cameron Crazies persistently reminded him of it, chanting "Tyler Zeller, MVP" at him during pregame warmups.
"Yeah, I heard it all," Zeller said.
And the North Carolina big man got the last laugh, making his final trip to Cameron one to remember by hitting nine of his 11 shots before fouling out in the final minute. Only when he and John Henson got in foul trouble did the Tar Heels' offense really bog down.
Henson had 13 points and 10 rebounds, giving the Tar Heels three players with double-doubles — the first time they've done that since 2003 — while Reggie Bullock added 12 points.
Curry finished with 12 points on 3-of-13 shooting for Duke.
Among the famous faces in the crowd were NFL players Peyton Manning — who has been throwing on campus under the tutelage of his college offensive coordinator, Duke coach David Cutcliffe. Manning sat next to Cutcliffe in a courtside seat under the basket the Blue Devils defended in the first half.
Those two saw plenty of early action — all by the Tar Heels.
North Carolina once again raced out to a quick double-figure lead, this time riding an 18-1 run in which it converted nearly every shot it took in the paint. That lead grew throughout the half, with Marshall's jumper with 3 seconds left stretching it to 48-24 at the break.
"We were just kind of overwhelmed, by them and the situation," Krzyzewski said. "It's like a surprise gift, you know? You open it up, and for the most part, it's been a nice surprise. I never have any idea of what's inside the present. And today there was nothing. It was an empty box."

McIlroy closes in on No. 1 in the world

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida (AP) — Rory McIlroy made two big par saves on a windy back nine and finished with a birdie from the bunker for a 4-under 66 and a two-shot lead over Harris English and Tom Gillis in the Honda Classic on Saturday.

The 22-year-old from Northern Ireland is one round away from becoming the second-youngest player behind Tiger Woods to reach No. 1 in the world. He would have to win the tournament on Sunday to replace Luke Donald atop the rankings.

"I definitely feel like I need to put it out of my mind tomorrow," McIlroy said. "I need to focus on just trying to win this golf tournament. It might be a little difficult."
McIlroy was in a similar spot last week when he reached the final of the Match Play Championship, knowing a win would make him No. 1. He lost to Hunter Mahan, 2 and 1.
This time, there is more than one player to contend with in the final round. Seven players were within five shots of the lead, a group that includes PGA champion Keegan Bradley and Masters champion Charl Schwartzel.
The difference from last week?
"I wasn't standing up 2 up on the first tee in the final," McIlroy said, smiling.
The group does not include Woods. He finally made a few putts, but not nearly enough to keep pace with everyone else. Woods went the last 11 holes without a birdie and had to settle for a 69, leaving him nine shots behind.
"I was close to putting a low one up there today," he said. "I felt like it could be had, I could make a run and post 5-under par for the day or something like that and get myself within reach. Right now, Rory is playing some great golf."
English, the 22-year-old rookie who won on the Nationwide Tour last year while still an amateur, made a 10-foot par save on the 17th and finished with a 66. He will be in the final group with McIlroy, a rare time when the U.S. Open champion will be playing with someone his own age with a tournament on the line.
They will be joined by Gillis, a 43-year-old journeyman who turned pro a year after McIlroy and English were born. Gillis had the lead to himself on the back nine until a bogey on the par-3 15th. He had a 69.
McIlroy is getting accustomed to the pressure as one of the game's top players. Thousands of fans lining every fairway and surrounding every green cheered him on Saturday, and one fan even asked him on the 17th tee what kind of shampoo he uses on those curly brown locks.
"When you get yourself into positions in tournaments like his, it's not just the golf you have to deal with," he said. "It's everything else that goes on outside that. That's something I feel like I'm a lot more comfortable with. I feel like a better player all around."
With the wind getting stronger, the tees were moved forward on the par 3s over the water because of the dangerous front hole locations.
That's where McIlroy was at his best.
He hit 8-iron at the middle of the green on No. 5 with a draw that held up against the wind to 10 feet and made one of only 10 birdies on the day. On the 15th hole, the start of PGA National's famous finish, McIlroy hit 9-iron to just outside 5 feet, the closest anyone got in the third round.
There also was a bonus birdie on the par-4 11th, with water in front of the green. McIlroy was in mangled rough to the right, and the safe route was to play short and left of the green to avoid a big number. He blasted a 7-iron from 181 yards to the back fringe, and then holed a 50-foot putt.
Despite his six birdies, his two key shots were for par. From the right rough on the 13th, the best he could manage was to hit into a front bunker, some 30 yards short of the flag. McIlroy nearly holed the shot to escape with par, and then he made an 8-footer for par on the next hole.
"They were two crucial holes today," he said.
English is showing that his win last summer on the Nationwide Tour was not an accident. He breezed through Q-school in December and has yet to miss a cut all year, though he has not finished better than a tie for 15th in the Phoenix Open.
Even so, he is polished and looks capable of winning, even against a player whom everyone is ready to crown as No. 1.
"Rory is awesome," English said. "I haven't had a chance to meet him yet, but I've definitely watched him play the last couple of years. He's got a great game and he deserves. I think he's the best player in the world right now, hands down, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow. He's very impressive."
Bradley had a 68 and was in the group at 7-under 203 with Brian Harman (69) and Justin Rose (71). Schwartzel wasted a good start with a double bogey on the 11th hole, but still had a 67 and was five shots behind with Dicky Pride.
Starting times have been moved up for the final round because of storms in the forecast, meaning players will be in threesomes. Gillis could only laugh at the notion of a journeyman being in the last group with a pair of kids.
"Hopefully, they don't walk too fast and I can catch up to them," Gillis said.
Behind that self-deprecating humor, developed from toiling in 26 countries in a hardscrabble career, is a guy who has been around too long to be intimidated by much, even someone of McIlroy's ability.
Gillis dropped only one shot, going over the back of the par-3 15th and into the bunker, with his next shot stopped a few feet from going into the water. Otherwise, he was steady.
"I wish I could have got a couple out at the end to get a little closer to Rory," Gillis said. "He's not the type of guy you want to spot two shots to. But anything can happen on this golf course — anything. So we'll just add them up tomorrow."

New Orleans case puts scrutiny on NFL bounty pay

The revelations were shocking and appalling to those outside the NFL: A team paid bounties to knock opponents out of the game, including some of football's biggest stars.

For those who suit up, however, it sounded more like the long-accepted cost of doing business in a brutal sport, a dirty little secret that everyone kept on the down low.
Atlanta Falcons star Roddy White called it a "league thing" that goes far beyond the New Orleans Saints. Shawne Merriman of the Buffalo Bills wondered what all the fuss was about, having long maintained he was targeted and sustained a career-altering injury. Former All-Pro guard Alan Faneca said he wasn't surprised at all that a sordid system had finally been exposed.

"It's a violent game we play. Whether people want to think about it or not, part of the game is to exert physical dominance over your opponent," Faneca, who retired after the 2010 season, told The Associated Press on Saturday. "If it results in a guy not finishing the game, then that's what happened in the course of playing the game."
Former NFL player Matt Bowen was the bluntest one of all.
"Bounties, cheap shots, whatever you want to call them, they are a part of this game," Bowen wrote Saturday in a column in the Chicago Tribune.
The NFL said Friday that Saints players and at least one assistant coach maintained a bounty pool of up to $50,000 the last three seasons to reward game-ending injuries inflicted on opposing players, including star quarterbacks Brett Favre and Kurt Warner.
"Knockouts" were worth $1,500 and "cart-offs" $1,000, with payments doubled or tripled for the playoffs. According to the NFL, the pool amounts reached their height in 2009, the year the Saints won the Super Bowl.
The NFL investigation, by its own security department, delivered a blow to a league that has placed increased emphasis on safety, especially concerning concussions and dirty hits.
But as objectionable as many find the activity, is it a crime?
There was no immediate sign that prosecutors would investigate. The NFL has yet to hand out punishments, which could include suspensions, fines and loss of draft picks.
"I haven't studied the issue yet and it's not before us," said Leon Cannizzaro, the district attorney of Orleans Parish in New Orleans.
Another government agency to keep an eye on: the Internal Revenue Service, which might view bounties as extra income that wasn't reported on tax returns.
Asked whether there is a culture of "bounties" that goes beyond the Saints, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said: "If we find other violations of league rules, we will take action." He declined to comment on whether other teams are being investigated.
If the news stunned NFL fans, it didn't evoke the same reaction in seasoned players.
"It's a league thing, but it's about to end because of the Saints story," White tweeted Saturday.
He also posted, "I got my own bounty on the Saints defense I want to kill them every year."
The Falcons have a bitter rivalry with the Saints that dates to the 1960s, when they entered the league a year apart as expansion teams. They have long been in the same division, facing each other twice a season. When one of White's Twitter followers asked if he knew how much the Saints might've paid to knock him out of a game, he replied, "At least a million dollars."
Merriman, a three-time Pro Bowler, claims he was intentionally injured in 2007 while with the San Diego Chargers. in retaliation for hitting Tennessee quarterback Vince Young after a handoff. Merriman hasn't been the same dominating player since the knee injury.
"Why is this a big deal now? Bounties been going on forever," Merriman tweeted.
Former Saints defense coordinator Gregg Williams apologized and admitted overseeing the sordid program, which involved between 22 and 27 defensive players and, according to the NFL, was carried out with the knowledge of head coach Sean Payton.
"It was a terrible mistake, and we knew it was wrong while we were doing it," said Williams, who is now defensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams.
Bowen, who played strong safety in the NFL for seven years, said Williams had a similar bounty system during his tenure with the Washington Redskins.
"Prices were set on Saturday nights in the team hotel," Bowen wrote in the Tribune. "In a makeshift meeting room, with the whisper of evening traffic pouring in from the Beltway, we laid our bounties on opposing players. We targeted big names, our sights set on taking them out of the game."
From Bowen's perspective, it was the price of doing business.
"It's a fundamental part of the NFL's culture that isn't talked about outside of team facilities," he wrote. "I'm not saying it's right. Or ethical. But the NFL isn't little league football with neighborhood dads playing head coach. This is the business of winning. If that means stepping over some line, you do it."
This isn't the first time the bounty business has surfaced in the NFL.
In 1989, then-Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson claimed that his Philadelphia counterpart, Buddy Ryan, took out a bounty on two Cowboys players. The game became known as the "Bounty Bowl."
Ryan's son, Rex, now coaches the New York Jets and said he has never ordered his players to take someone out.
"I've never condoned it and I've never coached it," he said in a statement.
Detroit Lions defensive end Lawrence Jackson took a similar stance.
"In every locker room, it's posted clearly: No exceptions to the rule on bounties for hurting people," he said at a sports conference in Boston Saturday. "I just don't believe it's right, on a human level."
But another Lions player, tight end Tony Scheffler, conceded that all teams walk an ethical fine line.
"There is a lot of stuff that goes on over the course of the season," he told the AP. "There might be something that happened in the first meeting between teams and that brings attention to a certain guy, who might've cheap-shotted a teammate, and then there's an opportunity to get back at that guy.
"But as far as coaches putting a bounty on a guy, I've never seen it. I have heard of it. The nature of the game is so physical and a lot goes into game preparation each week and those game plans always include getting physical with the best players on the other team."
Former Washington quarterback Joe Theismann said he's surprised it took this long for such an ugly, widespread case to be revealed. He knows for sure bounties were put out on him when he played in the 1970s and '80s. His career ended on Nov. 18, 1985, when New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor broke Theismann's leg in a gruesome sack that exposed his broken bone on "Monday Night Football".
"In a sick way, I guess it's flattering," Theismann told the AP. "If you had a bounty on you, you were a pretty good player and they wanted to get rid of you."
He said bounties are probably not as widespread as they once were, with the league's increased emphasis on safety.
"It's a violent game and this is part of the game that I'm sure the NFL doesn't want fans to know of," said retired offensive lineman Pete Kendall, who played in the league for 13 seasons. "But it shouldn't stun anybody who spent any time working in that game."
___
AP Pro Football Writers Howard Fendrich in Washington and Barry Wilner in New York, AP Sports Writers Larry Lage in Detroit, Dennis Waszak in New York and Jimmy Golen in Boston, and Alan Sayre in New Orleans contributed to this report.

Bryant hits game-winner, Lakers edge Raptors 94-92

TORONTO (AP) — After leading by 18 points in the first half, the Los Angeles Lakers were staring at a four-point deficit with less than two minutes to play.

Metta World Peace wasn't worried about losing. He was trying to figure out how much the Lakers would win by. Having Kobe Bryant as a teammate gives you that kind of confidence.
Bryant hit a baseline jump shot with 4.2 seconds left and the 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.
"When you've got a guy like Kobe Bryant, you're always going to give yourself a chance," Lakers coach Mike Brown said.

Bryant, who scored 27 points, took an inbound pass from World Peace, evaded DeMar DeRozan and shot over the outstretched arms of James Johnson to deny the Raptors.
"I just noticed a spot open on the baseline," Bryant said. "Everything was set for me to try and catch it down there because I knew I could catch and shoot. If I go to the top of the floor the defense can kind of key on me and I'm far away from the basket. Once I noticed that space open it was just a matter of me trying to shake DeRozan and get to that spot."
Pau Gasol had 16 points and 17 rebounds and Andrew Bynum scored 14 for the Lakers, who went 3-3 on the road trip. Sunday's win was just the fifth road victory for the Lakers in 15 games away from Staples Center.
"We're a poor road team, and that's what we need to turn around," Bryant said. "If we could figure out a way to win games on the road, our record would be much, much better."
Bryant's late-game scoring came as no surprise to World Peace, who approached Brown with just over a minute to go and volunteered to guard the Raptors' Jose Calderon, who scored a career-best 30. Brown turned the offer down.
Brown said World Peace then told him, "You know what? You're right. There's still time on the clock. We're fine. We'll win by ... uh."
"I said, 'Don't worry how much we'll win by, let's just win,'" Brown said.
Bryant made sure they did by hitting a 3, then forcing a steal and feeding World Peace for a driving layup to erase Toronto's lead. After Calderon made a jumper, Bryant responded with his game-winning shot from the baseline.
"The bottom line is Kobe's two shots at the end of the game," Brown said. "The 3 was big for us and obviously the shot he took along the baseline. That's who he is. If we're in a one-point game or a two-point game, the ball is going to be in his hands and we're going to expect him to make a play and he did that tonight."
Down 93-92, Toronto blew its best chance at a winning shot when Rasual Butler couldn't inbound the ball and failed to call a timeout before five seconds had elapsed. Bryant made one of two from the line to put the Lakers up by two with 3.7 seconds left.
"I asked (referee Scott Foster) to count out loud and he did," Butler said. "I heard four, I turned to call a timeout and he felt like it was five seconds."
Butler had not played in the game until that point, but Raptors coach Dwane Casey said he turned to him because the veteran is Toronto's "best inbounds passer."
"What teams normally do is put their longest guy on the ball," Casey explained, "and that's why we put Rasual up there."
Calderon inbounded to DeRozan on the final possession, but he airballed his potential game-tying shot at the buzzer.
Linas Kleiza scored 15 points and Leandro Barbosa had 12 for the Raptors, who lost for the seventh time in 10 games.
Calderon hit two 3-pointers with less than 5 minutes left to tie the score at 84-84. After a missed jumper by Bryant, DeRozan fed Ed Davis for a fast break dunk, giving Toronto its first lead. Bryant missed again before Kleiza made a driving hook shot, putting the Raptors up 88-84 with 2:12 remaining.
The Raptors led 90-86 with just over a minute left and had a chance to extend the lead. Kleiza missed a 3-pointer and the ball went out of bounds, with Toronto initially awarded possession.
But a video review gave the ball to the Lakers, and Bryant made the most of it with his key 3-pointer.
NOTES: Calderon's previous career high was 27 against San Antonio on Feb. 11, 2008. He finished with 13 made field goals, also a career high. ... The Lakers scored a season-high 34 points in the first quarter. ... Gasol led Los Angeles with six assists. ... DeRozan had a career-high seven assists for Toronto. ... Andrea Bargnani, who sat for the 16th time in 18 games Sunday with a strained left calf, has been doing plenty of pool work in his rehab. "His new nickname is Flipper," Casey joked, adding that Bargnani will increase his workload this week to include weight-bearing exercise. There's still no timetable for the return of Toronto's leading scorer. ... Toronto Maple Leafs players Dion Phaneuf and James Reimer attended the game.

Paul Pierce scores 28 points to lead Boston Celtics over Indiana Pacers

By JIMMY GOLENAP Sports Writer

BOSTON – Paul Pierce played more than 44 minutes in Orlando on Thursday night, then boarded a plane with his Celtics teammates and arrived in Boston after 3 a.m. Friday.

If he was tired, he didn’t show it.

One night after helping Boston erase a 27-point deficit to beat the Magic, Pierce scored 17 of his 28 points in the third quarter as the Celtics pulled away from the Indiana Pacers to win 94-87.



“I like to come out in the third quarter and just be aggressive,” said Pierce, who also had 10 rebounds and eight assists. “You can make your run. You can’t really settle on the lead. I try to focus on extending the lead, being more aggressive and getting better as the game goes on.” 

Kevin Garnett and Mickael Pietrus added 13 points and eight rebounds apiece as the Celtics won their fourth straight game despite playing without starters Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo and Jermaine O’Neal.

Pierce was 4 of 7 from 3-point range, one of them to break a 46-46 tie early in the third quarter. He added two more baskets as the Celtics ran off 11 points in a row to take the lead for good and extend it to double digits.

“Hats off to Paul Pierce. He turned back the clock,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “Obviously, he’s playing like one of the best players in the league again, carrying the load for them. They deserved to win tonight.”

The Celtics had a home-and-home series with the Magic this week, beating them in Boston on Monday and then falling behind by 27 in the first half in Orlando on Thursday before holding them to eight fourth-quarter points in a 91-83 victory.

The Celtics flew back to Boston and arrived early Friday morning; most of the players went to sleep, but the coaches stayed up to prepare for the Pacers.

Meanwhile, Indiana was in Boston, resting.

“They were going to try to run us out of the gym,” Rivers said. “This was a tough game against a good team that had a day off, waiting for us.”

Danny Granger scored 21 points for Indiana, which had beaten Boston both previous meetings this season – both times by more than 10 points. Paul George scored 16 with nine rebounds and David West had 14 points and eight rebounds.

It was 46-all with 8:44 left in the third when Pierce hit his 3 to break the tie. In the next 2½ minutes, Pierce fed Avery Bradley for a layup and then, after Roy Hibbert was called for an offensive foul, Pierce hit a layup, Garnett made a jumper and then Pierce drove for another basket to make it an 11-point game.

“This was their night,” Hibbert said. “Paul Pierce made some real tough shots. He’s been leading this team since Ray and Rondo went out.”

The Celtics were up 90-80 with 35 seconds left when Pietrus was called for a flagrant foul under the Pacers’ basket and a technical for taunting. After three free throws, the Pacers got the ball trailing by only seven. But Garnett blocked Granger’s attempt to drive for a layup, and the Celtics were able to make their free throws to run out the clock.

The Celtics opened the second half with a 42-34 lead, but the Pacers cut it in half on two quick layups by Granger and then tied it at 46 when he stole a bad pass from Pierce and brought it in for another.

Reserve Chris Wilcox had 14 points and six rebounds, and Brandon Bass had 12 points for Boston.

Kuznetsova and Zvonareva win Australian Open doubles

 Russians Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva ground down the Italian pairing of Roberta Vinci and Sara Errani 5-7 6-4 6-3 to win the Australian Open women's doubles title on Friday.

The unseeded Russians captured the decisive break in the second game of the third set at Rod Laver Arena and survived five break points before closing out the match on the third match point.

The win secured the Fed Cup team mates their first grand slam doubles title in their first tour final, though each had won major doubles titles separately.

Kuznetsova won the 2005 Australian Open with Australian Alicia Molik, while Zvonareva won the 2006 U.S. Open with France's Nathalie Dechy

Tebowmania grabs headlines from Brady

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — For his latest trick, Tim Tebow is making Tom Brady disappear from the headlines. Now, with Tebowmania in full force, the Denver Broncos hope to make the New England Patriots disappear from the playoffs when they meet Saturday night.

Photographs of the devout, much doubted Denver quarterback kneeling on the turf in prayer are a weekly occurrence. There are shots of him with arms thrust in the air after a scoring play.

But where are those pictures of Brady posing with supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen or with the Patriots' title trophies?

That's what happens when Tebow leads the Broncos to four overtime wins in one season, capped by last week's playoff victory over Pittsburgh. For Brady, coming off one of the best of his 10 full seasons, greatness is expected and not often celebrated.

Bryant scores 40 points, Lakers beat Jazz in OT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Andrew Bynum wasn't on the court the first time the Los Angeles Lakers faced the Utah Jazz.
He made his presence felt Wednesday night, with five blocked shots, including a game-saver on Al Jefferson's short jumper with 1.9 seconds remaining in overtime as the Lakers held on for a 90-87 victory.
Kobe Bryant scored 40 points to lead the Lakers, including a pair of free throws with 0.7 seconds remaining for the final margin.
"Andrew kind of made of his own coverage on Al and we tried to keep telling him to get out of it," Lakers coach Mike Brown said. "But he didn't listen to us and whatever he did, worked. So I'm going to add it to my defensive package."

Jefferson, who was coming off a season-high 30-point effort against Cleveland on Tuesday, was held to 11 points on 5-of-17 shooting.
Paul Millsap led the Jazz with a season-high 29 points, hitting 14 of 24 shots.
The loss was the first at home for the Jazz this season and halted their five-game winning streak.
The Lakers embarrassed the Jazz in Utah's season-opener, winning by 25 even without Bynum on Dec. 27.
This one was close throughout, with Millsap's tip-in tying it at 78 with 21 seconds left in regulation.
Bryant, coming of a 48-point game Tuesday night at home against Phoenix, missed a shot at the buzzer that would have won it in regulation for Los Angeles.
Millsap then scored the first four points of overtime, but the Lakers fought back, with 3-pointers by Bryant and Pau Gasol.
"Pau's got a green light to shoot the 3," Brown said. "As you can tell, guys trust him. Kobe made a pass to him late in the game at a crucial point. To see him step and knock it down was huge for us."
Seven-foot Bynum came up even bigger.
He made just 5 of 13 shots, but his tip-in with 51 seconds left in OT put the Lakers ahead 88-87.
Millsap brought the Jazz within one, then after Bryant's miss, the Jazz found themselves with a chance to win.
Gordon Hayward had the ball and started toward the lane, only to pass it to Jefferson underneath.
Bynum was there.
"It was just a reaction," Bynum said about his block. "I'm lucky he went for the quick flip."
Hayward said he thought about shooting it himself.
"The clock's winding down, a final scramble and we didn't know what was going on," Hayward said. "There were 8 seconds left, so I got to make a play. Maybe I could have shot a 1-2 pullup, but I thought it was the right play, the right pass. We got a good look. Bynum just made a good play."
Bryant would block a long 3-point attempt by Devin Harris as the Jazz inbounded with 0.7 seconds remaining in OT.
The win was the first on the road for the Lakers (8-4), while Utah (6-4) is 5-1 at home.
"It felt good to get a road win here," Bryant said. "It's a very tough place to play and it was a huge test for us."
But even he wasn't so sure Gasol could knock down the 22-footer from the corner.
"Pau's been shooting them well in practice and coach has been urging me to trust him at the 3-point line," Bryant said. "I thought about passing it to him, it seemed like an eternity. But I said, 'What the hell.'
"You think Tebow prays? When that ball left his hand, I must have said 30 Hail Mary's."
Gasol finished with 14 points. He was just 5 of 14 overall, but hit his only 3-point attempt — his first of the season.
"Tonight was not a very effective game on our part, for the most part," Gasol said. "But we continued to fight through it. We forgot about everything else and we made two big plays down the stretch with the put-back and the block and I was able to make a couple plays. Hopefully we'll get the bodies that we have injured right now and it will give us a deeper rotation."
If the Lakers were celebrating a little more than usual, they say they earned the right.
"It was a tough game. It's hard to get a win here. Back to back, getting in here late last night, going to bed late. It's something to be proud of as a team," Gasol said. "Hopefully, we'll get some sleep and get ready for another back-to-back."
The Jazz also left feeling pretty good despite the loss, saying they are a different team than the one that faced the Lakers in the opener.
"We kept playing hard, didn't give up," Jefferson said. "It's one of those games at the end of the day we wish we could have won, but we could walk out with our head up. We played hard until the end. We just got to get ready for New Jersey."
The Jazz face the Nets on Saturday in a game that marks the return of Deron Williams for the first time since he was traded away last February.
"We're coming, we're getting better," Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. "We played against a good team tonight. They were a little bit better but our effort was great."
NOTES: Lakers forward Jason Kapono missed his second game so he could be with his wife, who gave birth Tuesday to twin girls. ... Josh McRoberts (sprained toe/thumb) and Troy Murphy (stomach ailment) also did not suit up for L.A. ... Jazz guard Raja Bell was assessed a first-quarter technical after giving Bryant a quick shove then having a few words with him. ... Both teams were a combined 1-10 from 3-point range in the first half... Lakers guard Steve Blake suffered a rib contusion in the fourth quarter.

Clippers outlast Heat 95-89 in overtime

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Clippers couldn't hit a basket in the final four minutes of regulation. The Miami Heat could barely make free throws. Two tired teams coming off road losses the night before staggered into overtime.
Then the Clippers took over.
They outscored Miami 9-3 in the extra session and earned the biggest win of their young season, 95-89 Wednesday night.
"It's good to get a win and get it by grinding it out," said Blake Griffin, who had 20 points and 12 rebounds.

Their next test against one of the league's power teams comes Saturday against the Lakers.
Chris Paul had 27 points, 11 assists and one turnover in nearly 45 minutes, Caron Butler added 20 points, and Chauncey Billups had 12 for the Clippers, 9-2 against Miami at home since 2001-02. DeAndre Jordan had 11 rebounds and six blocked shots to set the tone defensively.
"They didn't surprise us," said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who got ejected with 5 seconds left. "We have great respect for them.
"That was great compelling playoff basketball in early January."
LeBron James had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the 200th double-double of his career, Mario Chalmers added 18 points, Dwyane Wade 17 and Chris Bosh had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Heat, who have lost their last four games against the Clippers at Staples Center.
"They are a good team, they are a really good team," Bosh said. "They are going to have some battles and adversity is going to come. We'll see how they handle it and just keep playing."
The Heat were coming off an overtime loss to Golden State, while the Clippers had lost at Portland a night earlier.
In overtime, James, Bosh and Wade missed on a combined seven shots. Miami's Big Three struggled in the fourth quarter, as well, combining to go 3 for 8.
James missed three consecutive baskets in overtime and he was 6 of 10 from the line in the final 5:49 of regulation. Chalmers hit a 3-pointer for Miami's only points in the extra session.
The Heat were 20 of 34 from the line, with James accounting for eight of their 14 misses.
"I've been shooting the ball particularly well from the free throw line, but tonight I didn't make enough. So I put our free throw shooting on me," he said. "It's kind of a rhythm when it trickles down to everybody else, so I've got to concentrate a little more and knock them down when I get fouled."
Wade added, "We haven't missed this many free throws on this team, probably ever."
The Clippers' shooting nearly let them down in the final 4 minutes of regulation when they missed on seven straight possessions, but were bailed out by Miami's own problems.
The Clippers led by two with 27 seconds left in regulation before James tied it 86 on a free throw. The Clippers called their final timeout and Paul dribbled around with James hounding him before putting up a shot that missed as time expired, forcing the Heat to the third overtime of their trip.
"We defended and gave ourselves a chance to win, and that's all you can ask for," James said. "So we can be satisfied. I mean, you don't like to lose, but we're not going to hang our heads about this one."
With the Clippers trailing 84-83, Billups got fouled by James on a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left in regulation and made all three free throws. The Clippers finished 17 of 23 from the line.
The Heat won two video reviews in the final 16 seconds of regulation, but they failed to make a field goal in the final 7:32.
"A lot of times we were able to get LeBron to the rim and that's what we wanted," Wade said. "It's not always going to go in, but we can leave here with our heads up high, knowing that we stuck to our game plan. We just didn't get the win."
Neither team led by more than three points in a physical fourth quarter that featured Wade knocking Paul to the court and Norris Cole and Mo Williams colliding.
"There's a lot of guys out there that, if you look at them, they like to lift a lot of weights, so it is going to be physical," James said. "These are two teams that have high hopes, so when that kind of clash happens, it's going to be physical."
Notes: The Clippers went 1-1 in their first back-to-back of the shortened season. ... The Heat are 5-3 in four back-to-back sets. ... Paul evened his career rivalry with good friend James at six wins apiece. "We hate to lose to each other," Paul said. ... The game drew a standing room only crowd of 19,341. The Clippers have sold out all five of their home games and 17 straight dating to last season. ... Celebs attending included Rihanna, Chris Rock, Billy Crystal, Sinbad, Gabrielle Union, and former Los Angeles Angels teammates Jered Weaver and John Lackey. Union is Wade's girlfriend.

Giants rout Falcons 24-2 in NFC wild-card game

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — All the missing pieces — defense and a running game — are aligning at the right time for Eli Manning and the New York Giants. And just in time to play the Packers.
After routing the Atlanta Falcons 24-2 Sunday in the NFC wild-card game, the Giants head to Green Bay next weekend, a place where they will need all the help they can muster.
Manning carried the Giants (10-7) for much of the season, hoping the defense would get stingy, the pass rush would materialize and the running game would get on track. Now, all of that is happening.
"A great mix of run and pass and these guys have a great
understanding of what our offense is," Manning said of the help he's receiving. "If we can get that run game going like we did in the second half, that opens up a lot of windows."
And if the defense remains impenetrable, watch out.
"If we can play defense like that, we will continue to make ourselves heard in this tournament," coach Tom Coughlin said.
Manning punctuated his best pro season by throwing for three touchdowns and scrambling for a 14-yard gain that woke up New York's offense in its first postseason victory since its Super Bowl upset of undefeated New England four years ago. Next up is as big a challenge: the defending champion Packers (15-1), who won here 38-35 in December.
"We know they are a good team," Manning said. "We played them tough here, did some good things here, we scored some points. We know offensively we are going to have to play strong, score some points."
The team that couldn't run the ball will be sprinting there, bringing along a defense the Packers actually might fear. Not to mention the passing offense led by Manning, who hooked up on a 72-yard catch and run by Hakeem Nicks in the third quarter that put away the inept Falcons (10-7). Manning also connected on a 4-yard TD with Nicks in the second period, and a 27-yard TD throw to Mario Manningham in the fourth quarter that finished it off.
The Giants' last postseason trip to frigid Lambeau Field was a 23-20 overtime victory for the NFC championship two weeks before they upset the Patriots.
"Cold, I remember that. I remember coach Coughlin's face. I remember (tackle) David Diehl sweating and it froze on his hair and he had icicles on his hair," defensive end Justin Tuck said. "And I remember us winning.
"Hopefully, we can go back there and do it again."
The tempo in the first playoff game at MetLife Stadium was set by New York's defense, which never allowed Atlanta to get going, and by the league's lowest-ranked rushing game, which ran for a season-high 172 yards, 92 by Brandon Jacobs and 63 by Ahmad Bradshaw. The Giants averaged 5.5 yards a carry, 2 yards more than in the regular season.
For all of Jacobs' and Bradshaw's success, it was Manning's escape and 14-yard dash on third down in the second period that got the Giants rolling. Jacobs soon broke a 34-yard run, and Manning hit Nicks on a post pattern to put the Giants up 7-2.
"I don't think anyone is game-planning for me to run the ball," Manning said, "but obviously there were a couple of situations where you have to do it. I am not scared of running to get a few yards."
The Giants never really had to look back as the Falcons bumbled their way to their third straight playoff loss under coach Mike Smith and quarterback Matt Ryan.
"They did a great job of defending us, especially in the second half," veteran tight end Tony Gonzalez said. "That shouldn't happen to a team like we have. We're a lot better than this."
New York was aided greatly by Atlanta's penchant for gambling on fourth downs — and failing. Twice the Giants stymied the Falcons on fourth-and-1 as Ryan's sneaks went nowhere. The defense also stopped Michael Turner, supposedly the most effective runner on the field, on a third-and-inches late in the third period.
"That really inspired everybody, to be honest with you," Coughlin said. "Those plays that our defense made really inspired everybody.
Atlanta missed on a fourth-down try in overtime that cost the Falcons a game against New Orleans during the season. While they negated New York's recently revitalized pass rush for much of the day, the Falcons couldn't gain any traction on the ground, being held to 64 yards rushing.
"Our defense played great, kept us in the lead," Manning said.
Other than some sporadic movement, Atlanta's offense was incompetent — particularly in short yardage.
"It's less than a yard, less than half of a yard. It's a play we go through all the time," Smith said. "I felt it was the right play both times, but we didn't execute. We should be able to move the ball there."
Both offenses sputtered in the first half with an assortment of penalties, drops and poor throws.
When the Falcons wheeled out the no-huddle offense, though, they marched from their 10 to a fourth-and 1 at the New York 24. On the first play of the second quarter, Ryan was stacked up on his sneak.
But it turned out positively for the Falcons anyway.
Giants guard Chris Snee was called for holding, and, from his 13, Manning was pressured back into the end zone by James Sanders. He threw the ball away to avoid the sack, resulting in a safety.
New York had its own fourth-and-inches run on its first touchdown drive. Jacobs ran over safety Thomas DeCoud on the play from the Atlanta 6.
Nicks caught his post pattern over Dominique Franks, the fill-in for injured cornerback Brent Grimes, to make it 7-2.
Notes: The Giants' most recent home playoff victory was a 41-0 rout of Minnesota for the 2000 NFC title. ... Atlanta's last playoff win was in 2005 over St. Louis when Michael Vick still was the Falcons' quarterback. ... Ryan was 24 for 41 for 199 yards and was sacked twice. .. There were no turnovers in the game. ... Giants CB Aaron Ross and RB D.J. Ware left with concussions. ... Gonzalez is 0-5 in playoff games in his 15-year career.

Calvin Johnson, Jared Allen lead All-Pro voting

Calvin Johnson took one look at the voting and smiled broadly.
"That's sweet," he said, as he studied The Associated Press 2011 NFL All-Pro Team. "That's one of the best honors you can have other than being a Super Bowl champion. To be an All-Pro is a tremendous honor."
Johnson and Vikings defensive end Jared Allen were the leading vote getters, each just one vote shy of being a unanimous pick.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers made the team for the first time, easily beating Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints, 47½ to 2½. Rodgers led Green Bay to a league-best 15-1 record this season, after taking the Packers to the Super Bowl title last February.

"I am a competitor," Rodgers said. "I care desperately about winning and doing everything I can to contribute. But personally, speaking for my own self, you learn exactly what you need to do to be able to balance the pressure from the outside with the pressure from within, that you put on yourself to be successful. Last year's run is really going to help all of us and our preparation through the week."
Johnson and Allen received 49 votes Friday from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the NFL. It was the fourth All-Pro Team for Allen, who led the league with 22 sacks, one-half short of the record. Johnson made it for the first time after hauling in 96 catches for a 17.5-yard average and scoring 16 touchdowns.
"The All-Pro Team to me is one of the all-time accomplishments," said Allen, who also was selected in 2007 through 2009. "Pro Bowls are nice, but guys get voted in longer than they should and guys who deserve to go don't always get to. It's the whole league. It's not just an AFC and NFC thing. So to me this is the honor I hold the highest. It's something to put on the resume and tell the grandkids about."
One rookie made the squad: Arizona's Patrick Peterson was selected as the kick returner. Peterson tied an NFL mark when he ran back four punts for touchdowns, including a 99-yarder in overtime to beat the Rams.
"It's special to be the only rookie on the list and a nice way to end my first NFL season," said Peterson, a cornerback.
Another cornerback, Darrelle Revis of the Jets, was behind Johnson and Allen with 48 selections. Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs got 47.
One oddity: Both first-team guards, Carl Nicks and Jahri Evans, were from the Saints. That hasn't happened since 1953, with Detroit's Lou Creekmur and Dick Stanfel.
"That's a great honor and that's a long time since it happened," Nicks said. "I think this shows it's recognized that we are strong and physical and not just big guys. We are athletic enough to pass protect 45 to 50 times a game and keep Drew clean."
In the All-Pro backfield joining Rodgers, whose quarterback rating of 122.5 broke Peyton Manning's single-season mark, were Maurice Jones-Drew of Jacksonville, LeSean McCoy of Philadelphia, and fullback Vonta Leach of Baltimore.
It's the first All-Pro selections for Jones-Drew, the league's rushing leader with 1,606 yards, and McCoy. Leach made it last year with Houston.
"It is a 'we' thing, not a 'me' thing," Jones-Drew said, praising his teammates on offense and his coaches. "The guys who don't get the glory and keep blocking all day, and the coaches who don't get enough credit, it's for them."
McCoy scored 20 touchdowns, 17 rushing, and was the brightest spot in a down year for the hyped Eagles. Yet ...
"There are so many things I can do better," he said. "I look at the numbers and see so many plays I left on the field, so many yards. I can perfect my game a lot more."
Record-setter Rob Gronkowski was the tight end. The Patriot set the single-season mark at his position with 1,327 yards receiving. Teammate Wes Welker (league-high 122 catches) was the other receiver.
Pittsburgh's Maurkice Pouncey was the center, with Philadelphia's Jason Peters and Cleveland's Joe Thomas at tackle.
Joining Allen on the defensive line were ends Jason Pierre-Paul of the Giants, and tackles Haloti Ngata of the Ravens and Justin Smith of the 49ers — who also placed third at DE; the 49ers used him at both spots.
"Actually, I knew that I was going to have a great year this year," said Pierre-Paul, in his second season with the Giants. "I came in and last year I had an all right season and I wanted to do better than what I did last year. Next season in 2012, I should be better than this year."
The linebackers were Suggs and DeMarcus Ware of Dallas on the outside, Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman of the 49ers and Derrick Johnson of the Chiefs on the inside. Bowman and Johnson tied with 16 votes, half of Willis' total.
Revis and Charles Woodson of the Packers were the cornerbacks, with Troy Polamalu of the Steelers and Eric Weddle of the Chargers at safety.
Both kickers were 49ers: placekicker David Akers and punter Andy Lee.
Repeaters from 2010 were Polamalu, Revis, Willis, Ngata, Evans, Thomas and Leach.
In addition to Johnson, Jones-Drew, McCoy and Peterson, other first-timers were Gronkowski, Nicks, Peters, Pouncey, Pierre-Paul, Smith, Suggs, Bowman, Johnson and Weddle.
The 49ers led the All-Pro Team with five players, a testament to the turnaround in San Francisco under new coach Jim Harbaugh. Baltimore was next with three players. The Ravens are coached by Jim Harbaughs brother, John, whose team beat the 49ers on Thanksgiving night.
There were 16 players from the NFC and 12 from the AFC.