Wizards rally to stun Lakers
WASHINGTON, March 7 (UPI) -- Kevin Seraphin put Washington in front for good with 2:35 to play Wednesday and the Wizards went on to shock the Los Angeles Lakers 106-101.
Washington trailed by 21 points early in the second half and came back to record just its ninth victory of the season. The Lakers have lost their first two outings in a three-game road trip.
Andrew Bynum's layup with 2:54 left gave the Lakers their last lead of the game and Los Angeles managed just two points the rest of the way. The Lakers went 1-of-4 from the field down the stretch and suffered a turnover as well.
The Wizards built enough of a cushion to withstand four misses in six free-throw attempts over the final 13 seconds.
Nick Young led Washington with 19 points and five other Wizards were in double figures. Trevor Booker claimed a career-best 17 rebounds along with 18 points.
Seraphin also had a career high in points with 14. Washington had lost its nine previous meetings with the Lakers, having last defeated them in December, 2006.
Kobe Bryant had 30 points for Los Angeles. Pau Gasol and Bynum had 19 each.
LIU-Brooklyn takes Northeast title
NEW YORK, March 7 (UPI) -- C.J. Garner led all five starters into double figures Wednesday, sending Long Island-Brooklyn to the NCAA Tournament with a 90-73 win over Robert Morris.
The Blackbirds won the Northeast Conference tourney on their home court for the second straight year. They extended their home winning streak to 27 games, second-longest in the country behind Kentucky's 52.
It will be the third NCAA trip for LIU-Brooklin. The Blackbirds were eliminated by North Carolina in the opening round last season.
Garner scored 21 points while Julian Bond and Jason Brickman both had 18. The Blackbirds, who won the conference's regular-season title as well, will take a 24-8 record into the NCAA Tournament.
LIU-Brooklyn shot 52 percent from the field and pulled away in the second half after leading by eight at the break.
Lucky Jones had 14 points off the bench for Robert Morris (24-9), the tournament's No. 3 seed.
Buffalo stays hot in playoff push
BUFFALO, N.Y., March 7 (UPI) -- Jason Pominville scored on the power play 56 seconds into overtime Wednesday, giving Buffalo a 3-2 victory over Carolina.
The Sabres won for the seventh time in nine games and stayed hot while they make a late-season playoff push. Buffalo has 70 points, tied with Washington for ninth place in the Eastern Conference and two behind Winnipeg for the final post-season position.
Thomas Vanek and Tyler Myers scored 40 seconds apart early in the second period to give the Sabres a 2-1 lead, but Chad LaRose tied it by tipping in a shot with 14:49 still left in the middle stanza.
That was all the scoring until Pominville came through with his 24th of the season while Bryan Allen was in the penalty box for hooking.
Ryan Miller made 22 saves to get the win. Miller has been a big part of Buffalo's current run, having recorded back-to-back shutouts on Feb. 29-March 1.
Cam Ward stopped 39 shots for the Hurricanes, who have lost three out of four.
Philadelphia routs Celtics in year's first meeting
PHILADELPHIA, March 7 (UPI) -- Guard Evan Turner, making his second start of the season, produced a career-best 26 points Wednesday in pushing Philadelphia to a 103-71 rout of Boston.
It was the first meeting of the season between the division rivals and the 76ers easily snapped Boston's five-game winning streak. Philadelphia leads the Celtics by two games at the top of the Atlantic Division.
Turner was given his first start of the year on Monday in a loss to Milwaukee and made only 1-of-12 from the field in that game.
He bounced back by hitting 11-of-19 field goal attempts and he also grabbed nine rebounds. The 76ers outscored Boston by 16 points in the opening period and were never threatened. Elton Brand added 18 points and Lou Williams had 14.
Philadelphia reached the 100-point mark for the second time in four contests after having not done so in 19 straight games.
Boston had little energy left after an overtime victory over Houston on Tuesday. The Celtics missed all eight of their 3-point attempts.
Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 16 points.
