AP Sports Wrap From Saturday, Dec 19, 2015

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The New York Jets have bolstered their AFC playoff chances by pulling out a victory in Dallas.

Randy Bullock atoned for a couple of bad kicks by drilling a 40-yard field goal with 36 seconds left to complete the Jets' fourth-quarter comeback in a 19-16 win over the Cowboys. Bullock missed an extra point and was wide right on a 45-yard field-goal attempt at the end of halftime before helping the Jets improve to 9-5.

The Jets trailed 13-9 until Ryan Fitzpatrick engineered a 70-yard drive that ended with a three-yard TD pass to Eric Decker with 9:01 remaining. Fitzpatrick completed 26 of his 39 passes for 299 yards and one interception.

Bilal Powell had 79 total yards for the Jets, who have their first four-game winning streak since 2010.

Kellen Moore threw for 158 yards, one TD and three interceptions after replacing an ineffective Matt Cassel in the first half.

Darren McFadden had 110 yards rushing for the 4-10 Cowboys, who were officially eliminated from postseason contention.

T25-SCHEDULE

Utah surprises Duke

UNDATED (AP) — New York City usually is a great place to visit the week before Christmas, but it turned out to be a rough trip for a pair of top-10 men's basketball teams.

Kyle Kuzma and Jakob Poeltl (YAH'-kahb PUR'-tul) led Utah's 77-75 overtime triumph against seventh-ranked Duke at Madison Square Garden. Kuzma paced the 9-2 Utes with 21 points and Poeltl added 19 and 14 rebounds before fouling out late in OT.

Utah led 73-67 after Jordan Loveridge made four free throws in a 10-second span. But Luke Kennard brought Duke back, scoring eight points in 16 seconds to cut Utah's lead to 77-75. The outcome wasn't settled until Kuzma grabbed the rebound of Brandon Ingram's missed layup in the waning moments.

The Blue Devils fell to 9-2 despite Kennard's game-high 24 points.

Ohio State pulled off the other upset by knocking off No. 4 Kentucky 74-67 in Brooklyn. The Buckeyes led by 16 midway through the second half, but the Wildcats got within 63-60 with four minutes left before falling to 9-2.

Marc Loving and Keita Bates-Diop (kahp) each scored 14 points for the Buckeyes, who were just 5-5 entering the game.

Freshman Jamal Murray had a season high 33 points for the Wildcats.

Northern Iowa also surprised a top-10 team on Saturday as Wes Washpun scored a career-high 28 points and 11 assists in the Panthers' 81-79 victory over fifth-ranked Iowa State in Des Moines. Paul Jesperson added a career-high 21 points on seven 3-pointers to help Northern Iowa earn their second win over a top-five opponent this season.

In other top 25 play:

— Top-ranked Michigan State overcame an early five-point deficit to beat Northeastern 78-58 and improve to 12-0, matching the best 12-game start in team history. Denzel Valentine led the way with 17 points, six assists and five rebounds.

— Perry Ellis had 18 points and nine rebounds as second-ranked Kansas buried Montana 88-46. The Jayhawks are 9-1 following their eighth straight win.

— Buddy Hield (HEE'-uld) scored a career-high 33 points to help No. 3 Oklahoma pull away from Creighton, 87-74. The Bluejays got within three points in the second half before Hield scored nine straight to help the Sooners stay unbeaten at 8-0.

— Jake Layman scored a season-high 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds as sixth-ranked Maryland posted an 82-61 win against Princeton. The Tigers led 25-19 before Layman and Melo Trimble each scored five points in a 16-2 run that helped the Terrapins go up 35-31 by halftime.

— Anthony Gill scored 22 points and London Perrantes (pur-AHN'-tehz) scored 15 of his 19 in the second half as No. 8 Virginia held off No. 12 Villanova 86-75. The 9-1 Cavaliers have won eight in a row. Kris Jenkins scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half for the 8-2 Wildcats.

— Butler won a top-25 matchup as Roosevelt Jones scored 19 points and Tyler Lewis had 17 to lead the 17th-ranked Bulldogs to a 74-68 triumph over No. 9 Purdue. The Boilermakers absorbed their first loss despite Caleb Swanigan's 25 points and 11 rebounds.

— Jalen Reynolds had a season-high 18 points for 10th-ranked Xavier in an 85-61 win over Auburn. The Musketeers' 11-0 start is the best in school history.

— Brice Johnson hit his last 11 shots and finished with 27 points to help No. 11 North Carolina overcome some horrible 3-point shooting and beat 22nd-ranked UCLA 89-76.

— Dusan Ristic scored a career-high 20 points and 13th-ranked Arizona shot 52 percent in defeating UNLV 82-70.

— Ben Bentil had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead No. 14 Providence past Rider 73-65.

— No. 15 Miami hammered College of Charleston 85-63 as Ja'Quan Newton scored a career-high 20 points off the bench and Sheldon McClellan added 14 for the 9-1 Hurricanes.

— Jalen Jones and Danuel House each contributed 17 points as 24th-rated Texas A&M beat No. 16 Baylor 80-61.

— Louisville is 9-1 after Quentin Snider scored 16 points and Trey Lewis and Damion Lee each added 15 to carry the 19th-rated Cardinals to a 78-56 win over Western Kentucky.

— Tyler Cavanaugh's 18 points led No. 21 George Washington to an 87-74 win over St. Peter's.

— Troy Caupain and Farad Cobb had 15 points apiece in leading No. 23 Cincinnati to a 69-63 victory over VCU.

NBA-SCHEDULE

Thunder crush Lakers

UNDATED (AP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder had little trouble beating the undermanned Los Angeles Lakers.

Kevin Durant, Enes Kanter and Russell Westbrook sent the Thunder to their eighth straight home win, a 118-78 pounding of the Lakers. Durant finished with 22 points and eight rebounds, while Kanter contributed 19 points and 14 boards in Oklahoma City's fifth consecutive victory over the Lakers. Westbrook added 13 points and 11 assists against the Lakers, who played without Kobe Bryant because of a sore right shoulder.

Los Angeles has dropped 15 of its last 17 games.

In other NBA action:

— Mike Conley scored 20 points and Marc Gasol (gah-SAHL') and Matt Barnes each had double-doubles as Memphis beat Indiana 96-84 to end a two-game skid. Gasol finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Barnes delivered 15 points and 10 boards.

— Houston built a 26-point lead in the first half before completing a 107-97 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Dwight Howard had 22 points and 14 rebounds as the Rockets returned to .500 at 14-14.

— New York picked up its fourth straight win as Carmelo Anthony scored 27 points in a 107-91 triumph over Chicago. Arron Afflalo (af-LAH'-loh) chipped in 18 points and helped the Knicks get back to .500 at 14-14.

— Washington beat Charlotte 109-101 behind John Wall's 27 points and 12 assists. Garrett Temple scored a career-high 21 points for the Wizards.

NBA-CAVALIERS-IRVING

Irving to return for Cavs

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland's Kyrie (KY'-ree) Irving will make his season debut on Sunday against the Philadelphia 76ers, returning to the floor for the first time since breaking his left kneecap in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

The Cavaliers will head into the game with 17-7 record, the best mark in the Eastern Conference.

NBA-PACERS-GEORGE FINED

Pacers George fined for comments on officials

NEW YORK (AP) — Indiana Pacers forward Paul George has been fined $35,000 by the NBA for public criticism of officiating and using profanity in a live television interview.

George made the comments following the Pacers' 104-97 home victory over Brooklyn on Friday night.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL-BOWLS

Bowl barrage begins

UNDATED (AP) — The college bowl schedule opened on Saturday, beginning a 23-day run that will conclude with the national championship game at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

Kenneth Dixon became No. 1 on the NCAA career touchdown list by scoring four times at the New Orleans Bowl, leading Louisiana Tech to a 47-28 win against Arkansas State. Jeff Driskel completed 26 of his 37 passes for 457 yards and three touchdowns for the Bulldogs.

Anu Solomon threw two touchdowns passes and ran for another score to help Arizona hold off pesky New Mexico 45-37 in a wild New Mexico Bowl. Jared Baker ran for 107 yards and three touchdowns, and Cayleb Jones had 182 yards receiving and a touchdown for the Wildcats.

Tarik Cohen rushed for 295 yards and touchdowns of 83, 74 and 73 yards to carry North Carolina A&T to a 41-34 win over Alcorn State in the Celebration Bowl. Cohen's 73-yard scoring run with 4:17 left in the game was the game-winner.

Utah scored five first-quarter touchdowns on turnovers before holding off BYU 35-28 in the Las Vegas Bowl. Tevin Carter intercepted two passes in the opening period, returning one for a TD and taking the other to the 1 while the Utes were building a 35-0 lead.

Zach Matics drilled a 23-yard field goal on the final play to lift Appalachian State to a 31-29 victory over Ohio in the Camellia Bowl. MVP Marcus Cox gained 162 yards on 24 carries for the Mountaineers, who trailed 24-7 in the fourth quarter.

Kenny Potter scored on a 42-yard run and threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Josh Oliver in San Jose State's 27-16 comeback victory over Georgia State in the inaugural Cure Bowl. Tyler Ervin returned a punt 85 yards for a touchdown for the Spartans.

NHL-SCHEDULE

Stars humble Habs

UNDATED (AP) — The Stars continue to lead the NHL's Western Conference and Central Division races by six points over St. Louis after Dallas added to Montreal's recent woes.

Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza (SPET'-suh) each collected three points and Antti Niemi (AN'-tee nee-EH'-mee) stopped 21 shots as the Stars ripped the Canadiens 6-2. Benn notched his 21st and 22nd goals, while Spezza added a goal and two assists to help the Stars improve to 24-7-2.

The Canadiens have lost seven of eight since a 19-4-3 start, scoring just 13 goals during their skid.

Elsewhere on NHL ice:

— Patrick Kane scored on a 5-on-3 power play with 34 seconds left in regulation before netting the lone shootout goal in Chicago's 3-2 triumph at Buffalo. Kane has scored at least one point in 28 of his last 29 games, giving him a league-high 48 for the season.

— Vladimir Tarasenko notched his 21st goal of the season and also had two assists as St. Louis beat Calgary 3-2 to end the Flames' seven-game winning streak. Colton Parayko (pah-RAY'-koh) and Jori Lehtera (YOHR'-ee LEH'-the-rah) also scored to back Brian Elliott's 36-save effort.

— Los Angeles suffered its third loss in four games as Michael Grabner scored twice and had two assists in Toronto's 5-0 rout of the Kings. Leo Komarov also had two goals to help Jonathan Bernier pick up his first victory in 15 games since April 5.

— Mike Ribeiro (rih-BEHR'-oh) had a goal and an assist while Nashville was building a 3-0 lead in a 3-2 win against Minnesota. The Wild fired just 21 shots on Pekka Rinne (PEH'-kah REE'-nay) in losing for the first time in four games.

— Louis Domingue picked up his first career shutout by stopping 26 shots in Arizona's 1-0 win over the slumping New York Islanders. Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored the lone goal in the first period as the Coyotes handed the Isles their third straight loss since an 8-0-2 stretch.

— Cam Ward finished with 37 saves and Jordan Staal and John-Michael Liles scored power-play goals in the first 15 minutes of Carolina's 2-1 triumph at Pittsburgh. The Penguins have been outscored 18-6 during their current five-game losing streak.

— Columbus blew a 2-0 lead in the third period before Cam Atkinson and Brandon Dubinsky scored shootout goals to lift the Blue Jackets past Philadelphia 3-2. Brandon Saad (sahd) and Ryan Murray scored regulation goals in the Jackets' second straight victory since a 1-5-3 skid.

— First-period goals by Chris Stewart and Ryan Kesler helped Anaheim down New Jersey 2-1. Frederik Andersen stopped 21 shots and blanked the Devils until Mike Cammalleri's goal with 4:34 remaining.

— Semyon Varlamov (SEHM'-yuhn vahr-LAH'-mahv) handled 40 shots and Tyson Barrie had a goal and an assist in Colorado's 5-1 win over Edmonton. The Oilers have dropped three straight since a season-high, six-game winning streak.

NHL-MOORE OBIT

Ex-Canadien star dies

MONTREAL (AP) — Former Montreal Canadiens left winger and Hockey Hall of Famer Dickie Moore has died at 84.

Moore twice led the NHL in scoring and was named a First Team All-Star during his 12 seasons with the Canadiens. He came out of retirement to help the St. Louis Blues reach the 1968 finals, scoring seven goals and 14 points in 18 postseason games.

Moore was elected to the Hall in 1974 after scoring 261 goals and 608 points in 719 NHL games.

MLB-A's-PARKER

Parker accepts offer

UNDATED (AP) — The Oakland Athletics have avoided arbitration with pitcher Jarrod Parker by working out a one-year pact worth $850,000.

Parker hasn't pitched in the majors since 2013 because of Tommy John surgery and a fractured elbow. Before that, he was 25-16 with a 3.68 ERA in two-plus major league seasons.

Elsewhere in the majors:

— A person with knowledge of the situation says the Colorado Rockies and right-handed reliever Adam Ottavino have agreed on a three-year extension. Ottavino underwent Tommy John surgery in May after tossing scoreless ball over 10 1/3 innings.