AP Sports Wrap From Wednesday, Dec 16, 2015

UNDATED (AP) — The San Antonio Spurs are still perfect at home -- and have a franchise record to prove it.

The Spurs improved to 14-0 at home this season with their franchise-record 23rd straight home victory, 114-95 over Washington.

Kawhi (kuh-WY') Leonard led the Spurs with 27. LaMarcus Aldridge added 14 for the Spurs, who are 22-5 overall.

The Wizards have lost 16 straight times in San Antonio. Washington was without leading scorer Bradley Beal and fellow starter Nene (nuh-NAY').

In other NBA:

__ The Golden State Warriors are 25-1. The Warriors recovered nicely from their first loss of the season Saturday night in Milwaukee by hammering Phoenix 128-103. The Warriors led by 40 after three quarters. Klay Thompson led all scorers with 43. Stephen (STEH'-fihn) Curry added 25 points and seven assists.

— The L.A. Clippers beat Milwaukee 103-90. Chris Paul had a big night for the Clippers -- 21 points, six rebounds and eight assists.

— Carmelo Anthony had 20 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists, Arron Afflalo scored 29 points, and the New York Knicks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 107-102. Kristaps Porzingis (pohr-ZIHN'-gihs) had 11 points, six rebounds, six blocks and three assists for the Knicks in his first matchup against fellow rookie and No. 1 pick Karl-Anthony Towns. Towns had 25 points and 10 rebounds for the T-Wolves.

— Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored a career-high 31 points and the Detroit Pistons beat the Boston Celtics 119-116.

— Dwyane (DWAYN) Wade scored 10 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, and Hassan Whiteside had 20 points and 13 rebounds as the Miami Heat beat the Brooklyn Nets 104-98.

— Indiana outscored Dallas 30-17 in the third quarter and coasted past the Mavericks 107-81. Monta Ellis scored 13 of his 19 points in the third quarter. C.J. Miles led the Pacers with 20.

— Jimmy Butler finished with 24 points, Derrick Rose scored 19 and the Chicago Bulls beat the Memphis Grizzlies 98-85.

— Kevin Durant scored 24 points, leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 106-90 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. OKC has won six in a row.

— New Orleans downed Utah 104-94. Ryan Anderson scored 24 points off the bench for the Pelicans.

— Atlanta routed the Philadelphia 76ers 127-106. Paul Millsap led five Hawks in double figures with 21.

— Channing Frye had a season-high 17 points to help the Orlando Magic rout the Charlotte Hornets 113-98.

NBA-WARRIORS-KERR

Coach feeling better, hopes to return soon

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr is feeling better as he deals with complications from back surgery, and hopes to be back on the bench in the coming weeks.

Golden State has given no formal timeline for the coach's return, reiterating Kerr will tell the team when he is ready.

Kerr has been dealing with headaches following two back surgeries. Assistant Luke Walton has taken over coaching on an interim basis and coached the Warriors to a record 24-0 start before their first loss last Saturday in Milwaukee. They are 25-1 after last night's 128-103 rout of Phoenix.

T25-SCHEDULE

Tar Heels back in win column

UNDATED (AP) — North Carolina's basketball team has rebounded nicely from a last-second loss at Texas over the weekend. Brice Johnson had a career-high 25 points and 10 rebounds in leading the 11th-ranked Tar Heels past Tulane 96-72. The Heels are 9-2.

Marcus Paige added 16 points and Justin Jackson had 13. The Tar Heels won their first game without injured big man Kennedy Meeks. Joel Berry II had 12 points and Isaiah Hicks finished with 11 for North Carolina, which shot 50 percent and enjoyed a 43-33 rebounding advantage.

In other AP Top-25 hoops:

— Mark Tollefesen scored 19 points, Ryan Anderson had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Arizona overwhelmed Northern Arizona 92-37.

— Johnathan Motley had 23 points to lead five Baylor players in double figures and the No. 16 Bears beat Hardin-Simmons 104-59. This was the first regular-season college basketball game played at Fort Hood, one of the nation's largest Army posts.

— No. 18 SMU enjoyed an 86-42 laugher over Nicholls State. Ben Moore had 22 points and 15 rebounds for the 8-0 Mustangs.

— Damion Lee scored 18 points as No. 19 Louisville used another strong shooting performance to beat Kennesaw State 94-57. The Cardinals shot 59 percent from the field.

NHL-SCHEDULE

Stingy Holtby leads Caps to third straight win

UNDATED (AP)— Braden Holtby made 26 saves to help the Washington Capitals beat the Ottawa Senators 2-1. Eastern Conference-leading Washington has won three consecutive games and four of its last five.

Holtby lowered his NHL-best goals-against average to 1.83 and improved to 20-4-1. He has allowed three goals in his last three games.

In the only other NHL game, Boston blanked Pittsburgh 3-0. Tuukka (TOO'-kuh) Task made 34 saves for his 30th career shutout, and fourth this season. The Bruins are red-hot, 9-1-3 in their last 13. The Penguins are 0-2 under new coach Mike Sullivan, scoring just one goal.

MLB-TRANSACTIONS

Frazier to White Sox in three-team, seven-players trade

CHICAGO (AP) — The Reds, White Sox, and Dodgers have pulled off a seven-player deal. The centerpiece of the trade is All-Star third baseman Todd Frazier who goes from the Reds to Chicago. The Dodgers are getting second baseman Micah Johnson, right-hander Frankie Montas and outfielder Trayce Thompson from the White Sox, while the Reds get infielders Brandon Dixon and Jose Peraza and outfielder Scott Schebler from the Dodgers.

The 29-year-old Frazier was an All-Star in each of the last two seasons and hit .255 this year with 43 doubles, 35 homers and 89 RBIs. He has a $7.5 million salary next year and can become a free agent after the 2017 season.

In other major league news:

— Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina (YAH'-dee-err moh-LEE'-nah) may not be available to the team on opening day. He has undergone a second operation on his injured left thumb because of discomfort and will be in a cast for 4-5 weeks. The first operation came in mid-October.

— A person familiar with the negotiations says 42-year-old pitcher Bartolo Colon (bar-TOH'-loh koh-LOHN') has agreed to a $7.25 million, one-year contract to remain with the New York Mets. Colon was 14-13 with a 4.16 ERA in 31 starts and two relief appearances, then had a 2.08 ERA in seven relief appearances during the postseason.

— The Colorado Rockies have finalized a one-year, $2.6 million deal with veteran infielder Mark Reynolds. The 32-year-old figures to compete for time at first base with Ben Paulsen.

— Catcher Tyler Flowers and the Atlanta Braves have completed a $5.3 million, two-year contract, a deal agreed to last week at the winter meetings. The 29-year-old hit .239 with nine homers and 39 RBIs this year, his seventh season with the Chicago White Sox.

— A person familiar with the deal says the Indians have an agreement with free agent first baseman Mike Napoli on a $7 million, one-year contract. Napoli hit .224 with 18 home runs and 50 RBIs with Boston and Texas last season.

— Outfielder Daniel Nava has agreed to a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels. Nava batted .152 in 29 games with Boston last season before the Red Sox waived him.

— Will Middlebrooks became the latest candidate for the Milwaukee Brewers' third base job, agreeing to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training. The 27-year-old Middlebrooks spent last season with the San Diego Padres, hitting .212 with nine homers and 29 RBIs.

NFL-NEWS

Updates from the NFL

UNDATED (AP) — The unbeaten Carolina Panthers won't have running back Jonathan Stewart for Sunday's game against the Giants in New Jersey. The leading rusher on the team with 989 yards has a sprained left foot. The Panthers are 13-0 while the Giants, at 6-7, are tied for first in the NFC East.

— The Houston Texans won't have quarterback Brian Hoyer this Sunday when they face the Colts. He is out with his second concussion in a month. T.J. Yates, who started the last time Hoyer was out and led them to a win, will get the start with Brandon Weeden backing him up. The Texans and Colts enter the game tied for first in the AFC South.

— Peyton Manning has returned to practice after missing more than a month with an injured left foot. However, he will not start Sunday's game at Pittsburgh. Brock Osweiler will. He's 3-1 filling in for Manning.

— Jacksonville middle linebacker Paul Posluszny has been cleared to practice with a broken hand. He had surgery last Wednesday to repair his right hand, which he broke in three places against Tennessee on Nov. 19. Posluszny ranks second on the team with 104 tackles this season.

— The Buffalo Bills have placed starting cornerback Stephon Gilmore on season-ending injured reserve with a dislocated shoulder. Gilmore was hurt in a win over Houston on Dec. 6.

— The New York Giants have released veteran safety Brandon Meriweather. He started the season's first 11 games before missing the last two with a knee injury.

SOCCER

US women lose in Wambach's final game

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Abby Wambach (WAHM'-bahk) threatened to score several times in the final game of her extraordinary career, but China shut out the World Cup champion United States 1-0. That's the Americans' first loss on home soil in more than a decade.

Wambach played 72 minutes, managing two threatening headers and a shot from inside the penalty area before subbing out of a match for the final time.

Wambach is the career leader in international play — for men and women -- with 184 goals.

COLLEGE SPORTS-O'BANNON APPEAL

O'Bannon appeal denied

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court has decided not to reconsider its ruling striking down a plan to pay college football and basketball players.

The payment plan emerged from a lawsuit against the NCAA by former UCLA basketball star Ed O'Bannon.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 against having a larger panel of judges rehear the case. None of the other judges on the court requested a vote on whether to hold such a new hearing.

WNBA-ARENAS COMMENTS

WNBA, players fire back at ex-player

NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA and several angry players fired back at former NBA guard Gilbert Arenas, who suggested that they play in undergarments to improve the popularity of the league.

Spokesman Mike Bass responded to the comments in a statement on behalf of the NBA and the WNBA, saying, "Gilbert Arenas' comments are repugnant, utterly disrespectful and flat-out wrong."