Magic win playoff rematch

UNDATED (AP) -- The Orlando Magic got the better of the Boston Celtics Friday night, just like they did during last season's NBA Eastern Conference finals.

Vince Carter scored a game-high 26 points and the Magic made it four straight wins by downing the Celts 83-78 in Boston. Rashard Lewis provided 16 points and 10 boards for the Magic, who led 29-13 after one quarter and scored the game's final five points.

Paul Pierce finished with 21 points in Boston's third loss in four games. Rasheed Wallace grabbed 13 rebounds for the Celtics but shot just 4-for-16, including an 0-for-8 effort from three-point range.

Friday's 10-game NBA slate includes Cleveland's 105-95 win at Indiana. LeBron James delivered a season-high 40 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Atlanta made it seven straight wins as Josh Smith hit a followup basket with 0.7 seconds left to give the Hawks a 105-103 win over Houston. Marvin Williams had a season-high 29 points in helping the Hawks improve to a league-best 11-and-2.

Jason Terry scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter to help Dallas eke out a 104-102 win against Sacramento. The Mavericks got 52 points from the bench, including 25 of the team's 36 in the final period of the Mavs' fifth straight win.

Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani had double-doubles in Toronto's 120-113 victory over Miami. Bosh finished with 29 points and 12 rebounds, while Bargnani added 24 points and 10 boards.

Rookie Brandon Jennings scored 29 points and the Milwaukee Bucks concluded a 5-and-1 homestand by beating Charlotte 95-88. Hakim Warrick's 16 points helped the Bucks win without injured starters Andrew Bogut and Michael Redd. Bogut will be out two to four weeks with a leg strain and contusion suffered Wednesday.

Reserve forward Rasual Butler scored 27 points and Al Thornton added 18 in the Los Angeles Clippers' 106-99 decision over Denver. The Nuggets wasted Carmelo Anthony's 37 points.

Monta Ellis scored a season-high 34 points and had eight assists to lead Golden State past Portland 108-94. Anthony Morrow added 23 points to the Warriors' ninth straight home win against the Trail Blazers.

Rudy Gay tied his season high with 33 points and Zach Randolph added 21 as Memphis earned its first road win, knocking off Philadelphia 102-97.

Kevin Durant dropped in 35 points, Russell Westbrook scored 26 and rookie James Harden added a season-high 25 in Oklahoma City's 127-108 pounding of Washington.

Iverson not The Answer for Knicks

GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) -- New York Knicks president Donnie Walsh says the team will not pursue Allen Iverson, adding the decision has nothing to do with the point guard's ability to play. The Knicks remain committed to building with young players such as Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, and feel a player who shoots as much as Iverson could hinder that development.

A good night for the Big East

UNDATED (AP) -- Syracuse has come a long way since its preseason loss to LeMoyne. The Orange are 4-and-0 after winning the 2K Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden.

Tournament MVP Wesley Johnson poured in 25 points and Syracuse used a second-half surge to put away No. 6 North Carolina 87-71 tonight. The Orange trailed 39-37 until Brandon Triche and Arinze Onukau combined for 13 points while the Orange opened the second half on a 22-1 spurt.

No. 15 Ohio State won the tournament consolation game, nipping 13th-ranked Cal 73-70. Buckeyes star Evan Turner posted his fourth double-double in as many games, finishing with 26 points and 14 rebounds.

Fifth-ranked Villanova is now 2-for-2 at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, although they could have easily lost both games.

Corey Fisher scored 18 points today as the Wildcats held off No. 18 Dayton 71-65. Fisher was 10 for 12 from the free-throw line and converted his last four shots in the final minutes after Villanova blew most of an 18-point lead.

'Nova needed a three-pointer in the closing seconds to beat George Mason 69-68 yesterday.

Mason suffered its second loss in two days. Gani Lawal had 18 points and 14 rebounds to lead No. 21 Georgia Tech past George Mason 70-62 in the consolation round.

Also in top-25 action:

-- Draymond Green had 15 points and second-ranked Michigan State earned its 42nd straight home win against a nonconference opponent by downing Toledo 75-62.

-- In St. Thomas, E'Twaun Moore scored 22 points and JuJuan Johnson added 13 and 10 rebounds to help seventh-ranked Purdue escape with a 74-63 triumph over South Dakota State.

-- Tennessee also won in the Virginia Islands as Scotty Hopson scored 25 points to lead the 10th-ranked Voles to a 105-66 rout of East Carolina.

-- No. 14 Washington beat San Jose State 80-70 as Quincy Pondexter set a career high for the second consecutive game with 30 points, including 13 in a row to begin the second half.

-- Manny Harris scored 25 points and DeShawn Sims chipped in 22 as No. 15 Michigan breezed through Houston Baptist 77-55.

-- No. 22 Clemson blew past UNC Greensboro 89-67 behind Trevor Booker's season-high 17 points.

-- Landon Milbourne scored a career-high 24 points and Eric Hayes added 15 to lead No. 25 Maryland's 82-55 rout of New Hampshire.

B's outlast Sabres

UNDATED (AP) -- The Boston Bruins have their second two-game winning streak of the season after knocking off the Northeast Division leaders.

The B's pulled out a 2-1 victory at Buffalo on Patrice Bergeron's goal at 47 seconds of overtime. Milan Lucic also scored, and Tuukka Rask made 25 saves as the Bruins dealt the Sabres their second straight loss.

Florida also pulled out a 2-1 overtime win against Detroit as Bryan McCabe's goal ended the game 40 seconds into the extra session. Steven Weiss provided the Panthers' first goal and Scott Clemmensen stopped 39 shots to help Florida send the Red Wings to their second straight home loss.

Elsewhere on ice last night, Travis Moen and Tomas Plekanec scored three minutes apart early in the second period before Montreal held on for a 3-1 triumph in Washington. Carey Price stopped 32 shots and received a lucky break when Mike Green rang a shot off the right post with under 25 seconds left.

Dany Heatley's hat trick was the difference in San Jose's 6-3 win against the visiting Philadelphia Flyers. Joe Thornton had four assists, including the 600th of his career to help the Sharks improve to 7-0-and-2 at home.

Christian Ehrhoff tallied twice before Henrik Sedin notched the tiebreaking goal in Vancouver's 5-2 win over Colorado. The Avalanche lost despite power-play goals by David Jones and rookie Matt Duchene in the game's first nine minutes.

Owen Nolan scored his second goal of the night with 67 seconds left to lift Minnesota past the New York Islanders 3-2.

Another Boise blowout

LOGAN, Utah (AP) -- Sixth-ranked Boise State remains on course for its third perfect season since 2004 after running through the Utah State defense last night.

Doug Martin ran for 121 yards and four touchdowns as the Broncos buried Utah State 52-21. Jeremy Avery added 116 yards rushing and two touchdowns for the Broncos, who improved to 11-and-0 overall and 6-and-0 in the Western Athletic Conference.

Boise broke it open by rolling up 243 yards and scoring four touchdowns in the second quarter.

New deal for Johnson

ATLANTA (AP) -- Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson is now signed through 2016 after agreeing to a one-year extension. The school gave him a new seven-year, $17.7 million deal after he led the 2008 Yellow Jackets to a surprising nine-win season in his debut.

His second year has been even better as the No. 7 Yellow Jackets are 10-and-1 and preparing for the ACC championship game.

Giants lose Pierce...Orton still sidelined...Cleveland's Cribbs doing well

UNDATED (AP) -- New York Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce is out indefinitely after an MRI exam yesterday surprisingly revealed a bulging disk in his neck. The 31-year-old Pierce originally sustained a burner when the Giants played Arizona on Oct. 25. He had very little discomfort until practice this week, when the club's medical staff scheduled the MRI exam.

Also in the NFL, Denver Broncos coach Josh McDaniels says quarterback Kyle Orton's availability for Sunday's pivotal contest with San Diego will be a gametime decision. Orton missed a third straight practice yesterday with a sprained left ankle, leaving backup Chris Simms in line to make his first start since September 2006.

Steelers safety Troy Polamalu won't play Sunday in Kansas City due to a left knee injury. He may miss the Nov. 29 game at Baltimore as well.

Browns coach Eric Mangini expects Josh Cribbs to play Sunday against Detroit in a matchup of 1-8 teams. The wide receiver and special teams standout was strapped to a backboard and carted off the field after the last play of the Browns' 16-0 loss to Baltimore on Monday night. Ravens defensive end Dwan Edwards was fined $5,000 for the hit on Cribbs. Edwards plans to appeal the fine.

Saints running back Reggie Bush is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against Tampa Bay after being held out of practice for the third straight day. Bush came out of the St. Louis game with swelling and soreness in his left knee after rushing for 83 yards on only six carries.

And the NFL has fined Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Darnell Dockett $7,500 for his elbow to the throat of Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck.

Cubs and Grabow agree...Chisox eye Vizquel

CHICAGO (AP) -- Chicago's baseball teams made news yesterday.

The Cubs and lefty reliever John Grabow have agreed to a two-year contract. The 31-year-old left-hander combined to go 3-0 with a 3.36 ERA in a career-high 75 appearances last season.

And the White Sox are closing in on a contract agreement with free agent shortstop Omar Vizquel, who turns 43 next April. A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press the deal could be announced as soon as Monday. The 11-time Gold Glove winner is a lifetime .273 hitter who batted .266 in 62 games as a part-timer for Texas.

Johnson has Homestead pole

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) -- Jimmie Johnson will start from the pole for the season-ending Sprint Cup race at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday as he looks to clinch his record fourth straight Cup title. Johnson has a 108-point lead over Mark Martin and needs only to finish 25th or better to win the title.

Scott Speed was second in yesterday's qualifying, followed by Marcos Ambrose, Martin and Tony Stewart.

Rain halts second round

RICHMOND, Texas (AP) -- Rain hampered second-round play at the LPGA Tour Championship yesterday, preventing leader Lorena Ochoa and No. 2 Reilley Rankin from teeing off. Ochoa grabbed the lead with a 6-under-par 66 Thursday, leaving her one shot ahead of Rankin. Sophie Gustafsson played 11 holes yesterday at 2-under, putting her in a third-place tie at minus-4 when play was halted.

ATP won't investigate

LONDON (AP) -- ATP chairman Adam Helfant says the tour will not reopen a doping case against Andre Agassi even though he admitted to lying about using crystal meth in 1997. Helfant says the ATP cannot do anything since Agassi no longer plays on the tour.