Celtics snap Rockets' NBA win streak at 22 games

Regular-season win leader Boston snapped the second-longest win streak in National Basketball Association history at 22 games here Tuesday with a 94-74 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Kevin Garnett led Boston with 22 points while Paul Pierce added 20 as the Celtics improved their league-best record to 54-13 and dropped the Rockets to 46-21, level with the Los Angeles Lakers atop the Western Conference.

The Rockets' run fell short of the all-time NBA win streak of 33 established in 1972 by the Los Angeles Lakers. Houston had not lost since falling 97-89 to Utah at home on January 27.

Houston won the last 10 in a row in the streak without Chinese All-Star center Yao Ming, lost with a season-ending foot injury.

By winning a possible preview of the NBA Finals, the Celtics improved to 22-4 against Western Conference clubs with their 13th triumph in 14 games and their seventh in a row on the road, ending a 15-game Houston home win streak.

"The Rockets are playing some unbelievable basketball. A streak of 22 in a row is hard to do in any sport," Garnett said. "But we have been on a little streak of our own. It's good to have a little consistency of our own." /afp.google.com

Nokia launches N82 in jet black

Nokia has unveiled the Nokia N82 in stylish black.

The Finnish phone giant says the jet black edition brings "a blend of state-of-the-art imaging, integrated navigation and high-speed internet connectivity to the Nseries range."

This "multimedia computer" comes with the same photography features as the original, including a 5-megapixel camera, Carl Zeiss optics and a Xenon flash.

The N82 enables people to "geotag" the images they capture ­ allowing them to not only be saved by date, but by location as well.

The N82 will also work with Nokia's free "Sports Tracker" application, that lets consumers share their whereabouts and travel route with others on the Sports Tracker website. /scenta.co.uk

Wizards beat Cavaliers

When the Vogue cover model missed the three-point attempt at the buzzer, the returning birthday boy and the Washington Wizards had an exhilarating win over a big nemesis.

Caron Butler unleashed a month's worth of pent-up energy on day he turned 28, coming back from a 16-game injury absence to score 19 points Thursday night in the Wizards' 101-99 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Butler, whose hip injury sent Washington into a February slump, scored the game's opening basket, survived some rough contact and made six of his first eight shots before fatigue set in.

The player the Wizards affectionately refer to as "Tough Juice" finished 8-for-18 from the field and had five rebounds in 41 minutes.

"Swag at an all-time high," said Butler, sporting a sharp suit with a purple-and-white tie and matching handkerchief after the game.

"Feeling good. Good win. Birthday. Going to go out with the team into the city and celebrate right now." /slam.canoe.ca

ZaNa Design's flash drives get customisable

ZaNa Design's unusual flint, stone and wood flash drives now come with the option of laser engraving with selected graphics art and fonts for a unique, customised way to store your data. /pocket-lint.co.uk

Broken finger cannot keep NBA's Iverson down

Denver Nuggets playmaker Allen Iverson has a broken right ring finger but will continue to play through the injury, the National Basketball Association club announced Monday.

An X-ray taken Monday in San Antonio showed the all-star guard with a small, non--displaced fracture on the end of the finger.

He suffered the injury Saturday against New Jersey.

Iverson, 32, leads the Nuggets with 26.8 points, 7.3 assists and 2.0 steals a game.

The club has a 37-25 record but ranks ninth in the Western Conference, two games behind Golden State for the final playoff spot in the West. /afp.google.com

Bryant's 52 points lift Lakers past Mavericks

Kobe Bryant scored 30 of his season-high 52 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to lift the Los Angeles Lakers to a 108-104 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.

Bryant had 22 points in the fourth quarter as the Lakers overcame a six-point Dallas lead and scored eight more in
overtime.

Jason Kidd, who had 15 points and 11 assists, rallied Dallas to within a point at 105-104 with 10 seconds remaining in overtime.

However, he missed a free throw and Bryant hit two with nine seconds to go."We didn't give them any good looks and I think eventually, that wears the team down," Bryant told reporters. "We really got it done on the defensive end."

The Mavericks needed a three-pointer by Dirk Nowitzki with two seconds left to force overtime."Both teams got into a defensive slugfest, it was a mud wrestling contest out there for at least the second half," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said."

We didn't have many turnovers, although the last play of regulation we did, but it was just a close game.Los Angeles scored the first five points of the extra period on a three-pointer by Sasha Vujacic and Bryant's layup.

Bryant also contributed 11 rebounds and four assists. /english.sabah.com.tr