Rockets top Wizards
The Houston Rockets built a 25-point lead, lost all of it and then some, then rallied from five down late in the fourth quarter to defeat the Washington Wizards, 114-107, Saturday night at Verizon Center in Washington in a game twice delayed by leaks in the roof.
Long after the stoppages of 35 and 22 minutes because leaks after a heavy rain, James Hardin tied the score with a driving layup with 2:33 to play, then gave the Rockets the lead again — this time for good — with a three-point play with 1:54 remaining. He finished with 25 points for the Rockets, who made only four field goals in the final period yet closed with a 17-5 run.
More pro basketball
Josh Smith’s driving, lefthanded bank shot with 1.2 seconds left gave the Detroit Pistons a 110-108 victory against the visiting Phoenix Suns.
Amare Stoudemire scored 21 points and Carmelo Anthony added 18 to lead the New York Knicks past the host Philadelphia 76ers, 102-92.
DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points, Patrick Patterson had 14 points and 12 rebounds, and the host Toronto Raptors snapped the Brooklyn Nets’ five-game winning streak, 96-80.
D.J. Augustin had 20 points and 12 assists and Joakim Noah added 19 points and 14 rebounds to help the streaking Chicago Bulls beat the visiting Charlotte Bobcats, 103-97, for their fifth victory in a row.
Kevin Durant scored 33 points after missing his first eight shots and Serge Ibaka added 17 points and 17 rebounds to help the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the visiting Milwaukee Bucks, 101-85.
Dirk Nowitzki scored a season-high 40 points, and the host Dallas Mavericks recovered from a cold start to beat the New Orleans Pelicans, 110-107.
Kenneth Faried had 17 points and nine rebounds, Randy Foye and Evan Fournier scored 18 points apiece, and the host Denver Nuggets beat the Orlando Magic, 120-94.
Golf
A birdie on the final hole gave Chris Kirk the outright lead in the Sony Open in Honolulu, and that’s about it. Cloudy conditions and only a mild breeze meant just about everyone had a chance at Waialae Country Club — even John Daly. At one point there was a six-way tie for the lead, and 14 players were separated by only one shot. Kirk had a 65, giving him a one-shot lead over Harris English (67) and PGA Tour rookie Will Wilcox (64). A dozen players are separated by three shots going into the final round, a group that includes Kapalua winner Zach Johnson (66). Daly matched the low score of the third round with a 64 and was five shots back.
Tommy Fleetwood birdied the final hole in a third-round 69 to seize a one-shot lead in the Volvo Champions in Durban, South Africa, with an overall 10-under 206. Dutchman Joost Luiten (70) and Victor Dubuisson (69) of France were tied in second on 9 under in the elite 36-player event. Defending champion Louis Oosthuizen was left counting the cost of having to take an “unplayable” penalty shot that led to triple bogey at the 16th hole in a round of 71. Oosthuizen dropped to fourth at 8 under.
Tennis
Top-seeded Juan Martin del Potro outclassed defending champion Bernard Tomic, 6-3, 6-1, in a 53-minute final of the Sydney International in Australia. Del Potro finished the match with his eighth ace and made only four unforced errors in securing his 18th career title and first in Sydney. He lost only six points on his serve, and Tomic appeared dispirited after being broken to fall behind, 4-1, in the second set.
John Isner fired 23 aces in a match which had no service breaks to beat Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan ,7-6 (4), 7-6 (7), in the final of the ATP’s Heineken Open in Auckland, New Zealand.
Garbine Muguruza of Spain defeated Klara Zakapalova of the Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-0 to win the Hobart International in Australia, her first WTA singles title.
Auto racing
British driver Max Chilton was retained by Marussia for the 2014 Formula One season. Chilton, 22, failed to win a point in his debut season in 2013 but impressed by finishing every race.