Lakers end slide...Bobcats at .500...Bucks rally past Celtics

UNDATED (AP) -- The Los Angeles Lakers ended their longest losing streak of the season -- three games -- by edging the Toronto Raptors 109-107 at Staples Center last night.

Kobe Bryant's 17-foot fallaway jumper with 1.9 seconds left capped the Lakers rally. Bryant finished with 32 points and six assists as the Lakers avoided their first four-game losing streak since April 2007.

Chris Bosh hit a 3-pointer with 9.5 seconds left to tie it for the Raptors, who outplayed the defending champions for most of the first three quarters before losing on another big shot by Bryant, who scored 14 points in the fourth quarter.

In the rest of the NBA:

-- Stephen Jackson scored 17 and the Charlotte Bobcats used a fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Miami Heat 83-78. The Bobcats are 31-and-31, reaching .500 at the latest point in their six-year history. Charlotte moved into a tie with Miami as they both tangle with Chicago for the last two playoff spots.

-- Utah routed the Chicago Bulls 132-108. Deron Williams led six Jazz players in double figures with 28 and dished out 17 assists.

-- Andrew Bogut had 25 points and 17 rebounds, and the Milwaukee Bucks used a fourth-quarter rally to beat the Boston Celtics 86-84.

-- Luis Scola had 23 points and 10 rebounds, Kevin Martin scored 21 points, and the Houston Rockets moved back above .500 with a 96-88 win over Washington.

-- Dahntay Jones scored 25 points, leading the Indiana Pacers to a 107-96 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers that snapped a four-game losing streak.

-- Despite scoring just 36 points in the second half, Portland eased past Sacramento 88-81. Brandon Roy led the Trail Blazers 88-81.

-- Dwight Howard had 22 points and 15 rebounds, and the Orlando Magic rolled past the Los Angeles Clippers, 113-87 to tie a season high with their sixth straight victory.

Clippers dump Dunleavy as GM...Stuckey to sit out tonight

UNDATED (AP) -- Mike Dunleavy is out as general manager of the Los Angeles Clippers, barely a month after relinquishing his head coaching duties. Assistant general manager Neil Olshey will take over Dunleavy's job. The Clippers are 12th in the NBA Western Conference standings with a 25-and-39 mark, winning just 42 games the last two seasons.

In other NBA news:

-- Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey will miss at least a second game after collapsing Friday night in Cleveland. Detroit president of basketball operations Joe Dumars says Stuckey won't play tonight against Utah, and there's no timetable for his return, which will be determined by doctors.

Butler earns 20th straight...North Texas is in...Oakland is dancing

UNDATED (AP) -- Twelfth-ranked Butler is going into the NCAA tournament on a 20-game winning streak, the longest win streak in the country. The Bulldogs thumped Wright State 70-45 in the Horizon League title game. Shelvin Mack scored all 14 of his points in the first half, and Matt Howard had 14 points and nine rebounds.

Butler goes into the NCAA tournament as the only Division I team to complete a perfect season in its conference.

Two other automatic bids were also won tonight:

-- Josh White's shot from near the free-throw line with 22 seconds left gave North Texas a 66-63 win over Troy and a trip to the NCAA tournament by winning the Sun Belt tournament championship game. North Texas has won 11 straight.

-- Oakland of Michigan defeated IUPUI 76-64 to win the Summit League automatic bid. Derick Nelson scored a career-high 36. Oakland also reached the big dance in 2005. The Golden Grizzlies enter the tourney on an 11-game winning streak.

UConn women extend record with 72nd straight

HARTFORD (AP) -- One night after setting the NCAA women's record winning streak, top-ranked UConn has won its 72nd straight game.

The Huskies endured a cold-shooting first half, but still handily beat ninth-ranked West Virginia 60-32 for its 16th Big East tournament title. The Huskies shot just 27 percent in the first half, but still took a 30-20 halftime lead before breaking it open in the second half. UConn clamped down on the defensive end, holding West Virginia to just 12 points in the second half.

Kalana Greene had 15 points and 12 rebounds for UConn, which is 33-and-0 this season. She was named tournament MVP.

Flames burn Red Wings...Another Canucks comeback

UNDATED (AP) -- On NHL ice, Jarome Iginla and Rene Bourque scored 1:31 apart in the third period, lifting the Calgary Flames to a 4-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings.

The Flames moved into a seventh-place tie with Nashville in the Western Conference and pushed Detroit to ninth.

Iginla snapped his 19-game streak without a goal against Detroit to make it 2-all. Bourque scored the winner 7:16 into the third.

In other NHL finals:

-- Mikael Samuelsson had his first NHL hat trick, and the Vancouver Canucks rallied to beat the Colorado Avalanche 6-4. That's the Canucks' 10th victory when trailing entering the final period.

-- Colin Wilson scored off an Atlanta miscue and Dan Ellis turned aside 30 shots, leading the Nashville Predators to a 2-1 victory over the slumping Atlanta Thrashers.

-- The Montreal Canadiens won their third in a row, 5-3 over Tampa Bay. Mathieu Darche scored a pair for the Habs.

-- Nikolai Kulemin scored 4:11 into overtime to give the Toronto Maple Leafs a 4-3 victory over Boston. The Bruins fall two points back of the Canadiens into the eighth and final playoff slot in the East.

-- The Philadelphia Flyers beat the New York Islanders for the 15th straight time, 3-2. Simon Gagne's power-play goal broke a third-period tie.

-- Cory Stillman scored the winning shootout goal and the Florida Panthers held the Minnesota Wild to a franchise-tying low 11 shots in a 3-2 victory.

-- Ottawa scored three times in the final period and beat Edmonton, 4-1. Milan Michalek got his 22nd goal.

-- Columbus, which was coming off a 6-0 loss to the L.A. Kings the night before, regrouped for a 5-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.

Chiefs beef up run game...Eagles pick up Vick's option

UNDATED (AP) -- The Kansas City Chiefs have signed free agent running back Thomas Jones. He was the NFL's third-leading rusher last season while helping the New York Jets to the AFC championship game.

Jones had career highs of 1,402 yards and 14 touchdowns last season. He was a 2008 Pro Bowl selection with 1,312 yards and 13 touchdowns.

The 31-year-old is expected to supplement third-year running back Jamaal Charles, who was Kansas City's MVP last season with 1,120 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.

In other pro football news:

-- Michael Vick says the Eagles exercised their 2010 option on him, meaning the quarterback will receive a $1.5 million roster bonus sometime this week. Separately, Vick was named one of 32 recipients of the Ed Block Courage Award given to players who exhibit sportsmanship.

-- The Browns released quarterback Derek Anderson, who made the Pro Bowl in 2007 when he threw 29 touchdown passes and led the club to a 10-6 record. But Anderson lost his starting job to Brady Quinn last season.

-- The Denver Broncos continue beefing up their defensive line with the signing of unrestricted free agents Jamal Williams and Jarvis Green. Williams is a 12-year vet who anchored the Chargers' D-line. The 6-foot-3, 285 pound Green spent his first eight NFL seasons in New England.

-- Pittsburgh has re-signed safety Ryan Clark and brought back wide receiver Antwaan Randle El, who left four years ago to sign a seven-year deal with the Redskins.

Nathan's status for 2010 up in the air...Strasburg impressive

UNDATED (AP) -- Minnesota Twins All-Star closer Joe Nathan has a torn ligament in his throwing elbow and could miss the 2010 season.

General Manager Bill Smith says the plan is to shut Nathan down for two weeks, eliminate the soreness and build up the strength in his elbow before making any decisions about surgery.

Nathan may get a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews, the surgeon who operated on his elbow last October to remove bone chips. Nathan was 2-2 with a 2.10 ERA last year with a career-high 47 saves.

In other spring training news:

-- Top draft pick Stephen Strasburg made his spring training debut for the Nationals, pitching two scoreless innings against the Detroit Tigers. Strasburg started the game and was consistently clocked at 97-98 mph. The right-hander threw 15 of his 27 pitches for strikes and allowed two hits.

-- Mets shortstop Jose Reyes has an overactive thyroid and is expected to remain in New York while the results of additional blood tests are used to determine his treatment. He's been cleared to play Friday.