Top-ranked Wildcats fall
TUCSON, Ariz., Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Matt Lottich scored 20 points and made a clutch three-pointer Thursday night, giving Stanford a shocking 82-77 win over No. 1 Arizona.
Stanford was one of only two visiting teams to win at McKale Center last season and duplicated the feat in its return. Arizona had its 10-game overall winning streak snapped and lost at home for the first time since Stanford's previous visit.
The Cardinal had a 75-71 lead before Luke Walton and Jason Gardner made consecutive baskets to forge a tie with 1:59 left.
Nick Robinson followed with a bank shot to give Stanford (15-5, 6-2 Pac-10) the lead for good and Lottich hit his fifth three-pointer for an 80-75 cushion with 58 seconds to go.
Rick Anderson made a follow shot at 43 seconds for Arizona (15-2, 7-1), but Gardner missed a potential game-tying three-pointer with nine second remaining.
Julius Barnes, who finished with 14 points, sank two free throws with 8.5 seconds left to seal Stanford's fourth straight win.
Gardner scored 22 points and Walton added 18 for the Wildcats, who have lost two straight to the Cardinal for the first time since 1996.
In other action involving top 10 teams, No. 5 Duke defeated Butler, 80-60; and No. 9 Maryland won over North Carolina State, 75-60.
The loss by Arizona puts No. 2 Pittsburgh in position to take over the top spot if the Panthers can record a win Saturday over Syracuse.
Colorado spoils Sather's debut
NEW YORK, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Glen Sather took over as coach of the New York Rangers Thursday and a few hours later saw his team lose in overtime to the Colorado Avalanche.
Defenseman Greg de Vries scored 2:29 into the extra period to give the Avalanche a 4-3 victory.
Sather added the title of coach to his general manager duties Thursday, a day after he fired Bryan Trottier. Things got off to a shaky start as Colorado grabbed a 2-0 lead midway through the second period.
The Rangers battled back to take the lead, scoring twice in a 28-second span of the third for a 3-2 advantage. But Peter Forsberg made two brilliant plays to get the Avalanche two points.
Forsberg made a tip pass at center ice to spring Alex Tanguay on a breakaway for the equalizer. Tanguay got Mike Dunham to commit to his right before sliding a backhander past him at 15:42 of the third.
After Eric Lindros missed from the doorstep for New York early in overtime, Forsberg raced down and warded off a check before making a one-handed drop pass to de Vries, who beat Dunham with a slap shot from the right wing.
In becoming the Rangers' coach, Sather bypassed a pair of experienced assistants in Jim Schoenfeld and Terry O'Reilly.
The Rangers are on their way to missing the playoffs for an unprecedented sixth straight season.
Other NHL results on the final night before the All-Star break: New York Islanders 3, Montreal 1; Tampa Bay 3, Carolina 1; Washington 2, Pittsburgh 1; Columbus 2, Nashville 1; Detroit 2, Florida 2; New Jersey 5, Philadelphia 1; Toronto 5, Atlanta 2; Chicago 3, Boston 1; St. Louis 2, Buffalo 1 in overtime.
Mavericks rally past Timberwolves
DALLAS, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Dirk Nowitzki and fellow All-Star Steve Nash combined to rally the Dallas Mavericks to a 111-109 win over Minnesota Thursday night.
Notiwzki had 32 points and 10 rebounds and Nash added 25 points and eight assists to overcome another outstanding effort from Kevin Garnett.
Nowitzki and Garnett are unquestionably two of the best players in the league. But with Nowitzki surrounded by a deep and talented roster, Garnett continues to carry the load for Minnesota, which had a season-long six-game winning streak snapped.
Garnett was nearly unstoppable with 31 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists, but had little help down the stretch as the Nowitzki and Nash took over.
Nowitzki scored 11 points in the final five minutes and forged a 104-104 tie on an alley-oop from Nash with 90 seconds remaining. He stripped Garnett at the other end before Nash hit a runner at the foul line to give Dallas the lead with 49 seconds left.
Garnett made a reverse layup for a 106-106 tie 10 seconds later, but Nowitzki hit a turnaround jumper over Minnesota's Anthony Peeler to give Dallas the lead for good with 22 seconds to go.
Raef LaFrentz and Nash each made a pair of free throws in the final seven seconds and the Mavericks won for the fifth time in six games.
Minnesota's Troy Hudson scored 23 of his season-high 31 points in the second half but was held to just one three-pointer in the final five minutes.
Other NBA results: Milwaukee 97, Washington 90.
Buccaneers convince Kiffin to stay
TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 31 (UPI) -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers convinced defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin to stay home Thursday.
Tampa Bay rewarded Kiffin with a three-year contract extension that reportedly makes him the highest-paid assistant in the NFL.
Kiffin, the architect of the defense that carried the Buccaneers to their first Super Bowl victory last Sunday, had been considered the frontrunner for the San Francisco 49ers coaching job.
No terms were disclosed, but there was a report that the contract is valued at $5.1 million, including a $1.1 million signing bonus.
Known for speed and sure tackling, the Buccaneers' defense became the only one other than the 1985 Chicago Bears to lead the NFL in fewest yards allowed, fewest points allowed and most interceptions.
Jay Haas leads Hope Classic
LA QUINTA, Calif., Jan. 31 (UPI) -- The lowest round in the 26-year career of Jay Haas boosted him into the lead Thursday at the Bob Hope Classic.
Haas fired an 11-under 61 while Pat Perez recorded the same score and had an excellent chance to become the fourth player in tour history to break 60.
Haas, 49, got hot late in the day at PGA West to record a two-day total of 16-under 128, one shot better than Harrison Frazer and two shots ahead of Perez, Joe Durant and Stephen Ames.
Perez, in his second year on the tour, started on the back nine and birdied 10 of his first 11 holes at Bermuda Dunes. If he could have managed three birdies over the last seven holes, he would have joined Al Geiberger, Chip Beck and David Duval in recording a 59.
But Perez managed only one birdie the rest of the way, that coming when he two-putted from 60 feet at the par-5 eighth.
Perez had a chance to win last year's Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, but he hit his tee shot at the final hole into the water and then put on a display of anger in front of national television cameras.
"I think I have learned from that," he said. "Today, I didn't get nervous or anything. Usually, if I have made six birdies, I kind of slow down and try to protect. Today, I tried to make as many birdies as I could."
With three rounds still to play, a host of players were within touch of the lead. Davis Love and Mike Weir were at 131, three shots back, while Chris DiMarco and John Huston were among those at 132.
Ducks obtain Sandis Ozolinsh
ANAHEIM, Calif., Jan. 31 (UPI) -- The Florida Panthers sent All-Star defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in a four-player deal Thursday.
The Panthers, who host this year's All-Star weekend that begins Saturday with the YoungStars Game and SuperSkills competition, traded Ozolinsh and defenseman Lance Ward for center Matt Cullen and defenseman Pavel Trnka.
Scheduled to make his seventh All-Star Game appearance and sixth as a starter after being voted to the lineup by fans, Ozolinsh leaves the Panthers as their fourth-leading scorer with seven goals and 26 points in 51 games.
The 30-year-old Latvian, who was a member of Colorado's Stanley Cup championship team in 1996, has been traded four times since being selected by San Jose in the second round of the 1991 draft.
In 712 career games with the Sharks, Avalanche, Carolina and Florida, Ozolinsh has 148 goals and 343 assists.
Potvin out 6-8 weeks
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Jan. 31 (UPI) -- The Los Angeles Kings learned Thursday that goaltender Felix Potvin will be out from six to eight weeks with a knee injury.
Potvin was placed on injured reserve Wednesday, one day after suffering a sprained right knee in the first period of a loss to the San Jose Sharks. He underwent an MRI Wednesday that revealed the extent of the sprain. Potvin became the seventh player on injured reserve for the Kings, who were swept by the Sharks in a home-and-home series and have lost six of their last seven games.
Stojakovic becomes All-Star
NEW YORK, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Sacramento Kings foward Peja Stojakovic was named Thursday to replace teammate Chris Webber on West's All-Star roster.
Stojakovic, a reserve on last year's Western Conference team, will be making his second NBA All-Star appearance. He is the Kings' third-leading scorer, averaging 18.0 points per game.
Webber, the Kings' leading scorer at 23.0 points per contest, will be sidelined for at least three weeks with a sprained left ankle suffered the injury in Tuesday's loss to the Utah Jazz.
Webber was picked over Michael Finley of the Dallas Mavericks, who is averaging 19.9 points per game.
The All-Star game will be played in Atlanta on Feb. 9.
