Sports Briefs December 28, 2010
Shaquille O'Neal has been fined $35,000 by the NBA for his public comments about the officiating.
O'Neal criticized the referees following the Boston Celtics' 86-78 loss at Orlando on Christmas. He was angry after picking up his sixth foul when Magic center Dwight Howard fell to the ground as they were wrestling for position.
O'Neal said: "I just wonder why I've never gotten that call in 20 years. Don't pick and choose when you're going to make the call. ... That's what happens when you've got control freaks."
Timberwolves 113, Hornets 98: At Minneapolis, Michael Beasley had 30 points, nine rebounds and a career-high seven assists to lead Minnesota past New Orleans.
Grizzlies 96, Raptors 85: Zach Randolph scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half and host Memphis beat Toronto.
Hawks 95, Bucks 80: Al Horford had 18 points and 12 rebounds to lead visiting Atlanta over Milwaukee.
Mavericks 103, Thunder 93: Visiting Dallas lost Dirk Nowitzki to a knee injury in the second quarter, but beat Oklahoma City.
Nowitzki scored 13 points before leaving with 9:10 left in the second with what the Mavericks said was a sore right knee. Shawn Marion scored 20 points off the bench to help replace him.
Magic 104, Nets 88: At Newark, N.J., Dwight Howard had 19 points and 13 rebounds and visiting Orlando beat New Jersey.
Bobcats 105, Pistons 100: D.J. Augustin scored 27 points, Stephen Jackson added 23 and host Charlotte held on to beat Detroit.
Rockets 100, Wizards 93: Kevin Martin scored 20 pointsand host Houston won its fifth straight game, beating Washington.
Blazers 96, Jazz 91: At Salt Lake City, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 26 points, former Utah guard Wesley Matthews had 14, and Portland beat Utah.
Clippers 100, Kings 99: Eric Gordon tied a career high with six 3-pointers and scored 31 points, leading visiting Los Angeles over Sacramento.
Warriors 110, 76ers 95: At Oakland, Calif., Monta Ellis had 22 points to help lift and Golden State over Philadelphia.
Baseball
The New York Mets have acquired shortstop Chin-lung Hu from the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor league left-hander Michael Antonini.
The 26-year-old Hu spent the majority of last season at Triple-A Albuquerque where he hit .317 with four home runs and 25 RBIs. In two brief stints with Los Angeles he batted .130 (3 for 23).
Signed as a free agent by the Dodgers in 2003, Hu made his big league debut in 2007 and is hitting .191 (33 for 173) in 96 games over four seasons.
Antonini was 6-9 with a 4.23 ERA in 23 starts for Double-A Binghamton. The 25 year old also made six starts for Triple-A Buffalo, going 2-3 with a 5.11 ERA.
Rangers 7, Islanders 2: Defenseman Matt Gilroy had two goals and the host New York Rangers beat the New York Islanders.
Bruins 3, Panthers 2, SO: At Sunrise, Fla., Blake Wheeler scored the only goal in the shootout to lead Boston over Florida.
Blue Jackets 4, Wild 3, SO: At Columbus, Ohio, Rick Nash scored in the shootout to lift Columbus past Minnesota.
Flames 5, Sabres 2: Jarome Iginla and Olli Jokinen scored second-period goals to lead host Calgary over Buffalo.
Red Wings 4, Avalanche 3, OT: At Denver, Niklas Kronwall scored the game-winner in overtime and Detroit edged Colorado.
Kings 4, Sharks 0: Jonathan Quick made 24 saves to lead visiting Los Angeles over San Jose.
- The Associated Press