The San Antonio Spurs survived Tim Duncan’s short-lived injury scare before the team won against the Golden State Warriors from a 113-102 score on Monday night.

In the second quarter, Duncan fell to the floor when he suddenly experienced a left knee injury. This had alarmed the entire Spurs bench area. He went back to finish the game with 16 points and seven rebounds helping the San Antonio get back from a loss to New Orleans.

Shooting guard Manu Ginobili made 20 points and seven assists. Tony Parker supplemented further points with 18 scores and eleven assists, while Antonio McDyess scored 14 points and made 10 rebounds.

The NBA-best Spurs (38-7) went casually to a stress-free triumph that finalized the Western Conference’s best record all through the games on February 6. This means Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will be coaching the West squad February 20 in the All-Star game at Los Angeles.

David Lee scored a season-high 31 points along with 12 rebounds. Monta Ellis then scored 25 points for the Warriors in the hopes that they get to join the playoff picture.

The advantage for the Spurs is probably due to the fact that they left town with a complete team.

Duncan gave his teammates a fright when he turned to score the basket after setting a pick on Acie Law, but his left knee looked slightly buckled. He went down the floor, cringing while he seized his knee.

The entire Spurs bench ran to the floor to check the 12-time All-Star. Duncan needed help to get up but he then walked to the locker room on his own. Duncan came back to play the third quarter after he had a hyperflexed left knee. He played with no signs of injury.

Toronto Blue Jays swapped their All-star outfielder Vernon Wells to Los Angeles Angels and received outfielder Juan Rivera and catcher Mike Napoli as an exchange, the MLB teams said on Friday.

Wells spent his 14-year career with the Blue Jays who helped him achieve the fifth selection in the 1997 overall draft. He has a record of .280 hits with 223 home runs and 813 runs batted in. He also received three Gold Glove awards and a single Silver Slugger.

In the previous season, Wells got .273 hits with 31 home runs after falling in 2009.

The mentioned trade will create major financial flexibility for the Blue Jays since Wells will be paid $23 million next season and will get $86 million for the succeeding four seasons. Both Napoli and Rivera will gain almost $11 million that is combined for the next season.

Napoli got .238 hits on the previous season with a career high of 26 home runs. He also presented 68 runs as he played first base and catcher. For the last five seasons in the major league, Napoli had a career of .251 hits with 92 home ruins and 249 RBIs.

Rivera had played six seasons with 20 or more home runs, plus a career high of 25 last 2009. He has a career of .280 hits with 112 home runs and 418 RBIs.

He has played the last six seasons with the Angels and had previously played  with the New York Yankees, as well as Montreal Expos.

Kevin Garnet appeared uninjured when he stepped around a pick, reached out to interrupt a pass and helped the Celtics steal a win from Orlando on Monday night.

Celtics forward Garnett has returned after missing nine games because of leg injury. He scored 19 points, eight rebounds and a key steal with only 16 seconds remaining in his comeback that helped Boston beat the Magic 109-106.

Garnett had injured his right calf during Celtics’ match against Detroit on December 29. According to him, being hurt is not one of his favorite things and the last two weeks have been dark days for him.

He stepped around Jameer Nelson and intercepted a pass that was intended for Jason Richardson. Then, he threw the ball ahead Ray Allen, who was given a foul while trying to dribble out the clock.

Magic’s Dwight Howard scored 33 points and 13 rebounds, whereas Ryan Anderson scored 19 points that includes four 3-pointers. However, Boston scored 60 percent of its shots, which is yet the season-high for an Orlando opponent.

Orlando scored eight straight points in the fourth quarter that turned the six-point deficit into a 95-93 lead. Allen scored 3-points twice, but his third 3-point shot was negated by Garnett. The score reached 102-102 with only 65 seconds left.

At 39 seconds, the score tied again when Pierce moved in to draw a foul on Richardson. Upon Magic’s next possession, Nelson tried to pass the ball to Richardson but Garnett got the ball with his fingertips and scored it in.

Both teams have met in the playoffs in the last two seasons. Orlando knocked Boston out in 2009 while Celtics eliminated Magic last year.

Morgan Stanley informed on Thursday that there will be few executive changes throughout its divisions of retail brokerage and fixed-income trading. Executive James Gorman is revamping the bank’s management ranks, a year after the start of his term.

The actions that will follow the announcement about executive changes last week will come just before the firm releases its financial results for the fourth quarter.

Greg Fleming, 47, will become the president of global wealth management. He was the former Merrill Lynch president who previously led the asset management business of Morgan Stanley. Gorman had worked with Fleming at Merill Lynch before where he had managed the giant brokerage division.

Fleming takes over Charles Johnston, who was a former Citigroup executive. He served as the president of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney from the time when Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Inc formed the brokerage joint business in June 2009.

Some analysts thought that Johnston’s presence will be missed. Brad Hitz, a veteran analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, who is also the former Morgan Stanley treasurer, said that Johnston is well-liked among Smith Barney brokers for his keenness to listen to suggestions and hear out complaints.

Johnston, 57, will leave the firm by the end of this year to spend more time with his family and other charitable pursuits, the statement came from an internal memo from Gorman. But, he will act as the vice chairman of the Smith Barney.

Some analysts said that Johnson’s retirement will strengthen Gorman’s control over the business, where Johnson had been the most senior Smith Barney executive.

Gorman recruited Fleming in 2009 to help revive Morgan Stanley’s laggard asset management division. Today, he takes the additional challenge of making sure that Morgan Stanley Smith Barney takes in its fullest potential.

Li Na played an outstanding comeback from a 5-0 behind the game in the first set to disappoint Kim Clijsters, the Australian Open’s most favored player, in the Sydney International final on Friday.

Clijsters, 7-6 6-3, was the first time to be defeated in 14 semi-finals and finals since her return from retirement in August 2009. The manner of her defeat is even considered as a hindrance to her preparations just three days before the beginning of the year’s first grand slam.

The Belgian tennis player who won the 2003 and 2007 championship at the Sydney Olympic Park said that she was obviously disappointed. But, she personally thinks more about the feeling she had out on the court. According to her, the feeling she had was not the way she would like it to be.

Li, 28-years old, was a semi-finalist at the Australian Open last year. She received her fourth career title as she bashed away a U.S Open winner abandoned off the court after 90 minutes.

Clijsters took an impressive 18-minute period to put up a 5-0 lead over the Belgian player in the first set of the game.

Li said she saw the time and she thought about the fans who have paid a lot of money to watch the game and that it would be over in half an hour. She never believed she could get back up on the lead, but it all changed with one or two points. Clijsters led the first part of the second set just before Li settled it after scoring six points.

Clijsters ended the match with seven double faults and 27 unforced errors. She said she is looking forward to go back on the court to practice and improve again before her first round in Melbourne where she is going to meet former world No.1 Dinara Safina of Russia in her opener.

The Los Angeles Lakers showed no empathy for the Cleveland Cavaliers as they sent the Cavs to their 11th straight loss on Tuesday night with an appalling 112-57 score during their best defensive performance within the shot clock area.

Lakers’ Ron Artest and Andrew Bynum both scored 15 points while Pau Gasol made 13 points and 14 rebounds. Shannon Brown, Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom also made 13 points for the team that gave them 32 points ahead of the Cavaliers at halftime and on their way to winning their fifth game in a row.

Cavaliers’ reserves Alonzo Gee scored 12 points and Ramon Sessions with 10 points. Cleveland’s total points were the lowest ever made by a Lakers opponent. Their 30 percent shot was outscored by 52-38 and the team committed 19 turnovers as they lost for the 21st time in their 22 games so far this season.

The Cavs tumbled 8-30 overall, 3-18 on the game road trip and 1-5 against the Western Conference.

Brown ended the third quarter with a 3-point shot from just inside the half court. This gave the Los Angeles a 92-41 lead. That was the first time an NBA team has led that much after the third quarter since November 8, 2001 when Chicago was ahead of Minnesota.

The Cavaliers went from being a permanent playoff team to a team struggling with injuries and mounting losses since LeBron James left them during the offseason. After James left, he seems to be taking delight in his previous team’s humiliating performance.

The Cavs played without their starting center Anderson Varejao, who had torn his right ankle in routine conditioning drill. Other players missing were Joey Graham with a right quad strain, Daniel Gibson with a left ankle sprain, Leon Powe with right torn meniscus and Anthony Parker with lower back strain.

Tim Cahill scored twice during the Asian Cup opening held at Doha, Qatar on Monday. This gave Australia a strong 4-0 score and as they won against India in the group C match.

The star of Everton opened the game with a score in the 11th minute as he hit the ball into the net while positioned near the post after a simple cross from Brett Emerton.

Harry Kewell of Galatasary increased their advantage twice with a fine and long-range strike in the middle of the first half. That was his 14th goal for the Socceroos. Emerton scored the third goal just before halftime along with another cross from the right which was received by the head of Brett Holman.

India struggled hard to keep up with the game. They tried to stop Socceroos’ goals, but Cahill added their fourth goal after they returned from half time. He made his second as he rose well from a pinpoint cross made by Luke Wilkshire.

It was a truly great start for Holger Osieck and his men, whom four years ago had failed during their first appearance in the Asian Cup with a goalless draw against Oman. They also failed in their game against Iraq before they went to Japan on penalties during the quarterfinals.

Rank outsiders India, led by Englishman Bob Houghton are currently making their first appearance in the Asian Cup for 27 running years. They overlook their strength against an Australia team that consisted of several English Premier League regulars.

Later Monday, South Korea and Bahrain were playing to open their Asian Cup campaigns for the group C match.

The Miami Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano’s contract was extended for two years on Saturday. This means Sparano will still be together with the team until the finish of the 2013 season.

The Dolphins ended the 2009 season with three consecutive losses that gave them a 7-9 record and out for the playoffs for the second consecutive year under the head coach.

Intense speculations over Sparano’s future were all over the media a week before Dolphin’s owner Stephen Ross admitted that he had talked with head coach Jim Harbaugh.

But then, Ross denied the rumors that he had offered Harbaugh the Dolphins head coach job. Harbaugh was then, appointed the coach of San Francisco 49ers on Friday.

Ross told the reporters that his meeting with Harbaugh never got to that point of offering the job. He said that they realized they had the right man in Tony Sparano.

For the past week, Ross said that he may have been naive. He explained that he did not expect his meeting up with the hottest property in college football to make big rumors in the media. He did not think that it would be featured in national news.

Ross apologized, saying that it was a mistake on his part. He said that he should not have been speaking to coaches not unless he decided to make a change.

Sparano was clearly hurt upon hearing the breaking news. He admitted that it had been hard for him to keep his staff updated with the events while he had other responsibilities.

However, he received several text messages and support from the players, as well as the owner saying that he had kept his job. In an interview, the coach said that it was now time for them to put a stronger team.

Miami Heat beat the New York Knicks with a final score of 106-98 on Tuesday. This is the 15th win for the Heat in 16 games.

Miami’s shooting and point guard Dwayne Wade scored 40 points that helped the Heat beat the Knicks durring the game.

After the first quarter, the Heat gained a 34-18 advantage with the assistance of LeBron James’ spectacular game.

However, it was one of Miami’s less commended player that made a dominant role in the early part of the game. Lithuanian center Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the first quarter.

Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra told Big Z that he would have possibly made a 28 point and 17-rebound game only if he had a coach that would have placed him back in the game. He played very efficiently and more minutes than they had planned.

Wade took the leading role in the second quarter. He finished the first half with 17 points and the Heat had a comfortable 53-40 advantage at halftime.

In the third quarter, the New York Knicks were able to move up to 61-55, but that only encouraged further dominance by Miami’s Wade and Chris Bosh.

The New York Knicks, which are known for their determination to win games, fought back until there were two minutes left for them to score a three-point shot to tie the game. The Knicks were trailing behind from 97-94 score.

Spoelstra said that he warned his team abut the New York’s trademark determination. He told the team that their 22-point lead against the Knicks is only equivalent to seven-point lead against some other teams.

However, Miami’s “big three” James, Wade and Bosh made a turn to ensure that the late scare will not become a shock.

Miami followed behind the Boston Celtics at the top of the Eastern Conference while Knicks slipped lower.

NHL’s red-hot Atlanta Thrashers beat the slumping Toronto Maple Leafs with a final score of 6-3 on Monday. Fredrik Modin and Tobias Enstrom both helped the team as they scored a pair of goals during the game.

Andrew Ladd and Anthony Stewart also scored helped to regain the Thrashers top spot in the Southeast Division from the Washington Capitals as they got their sixth victory in nine games.

Three goals scored by Toronto came from the power play, Nikolai Kulemin, Mikhail Grabovski, and John Mitchell.

This defeat brings the struggling Maple Leafs to their five-day Christmas break, including their three-game losing place.

Clearly, the home team did not receive any Christmas cheer from the crowd since they heartlessly booed the Leafs on the latter part of the game. It has become a way for Toronto fans to complain against the team’s slumping play.

Mitchell told the reporters that their fan’s reactions were kind of a slap in the face. However, he hopes their fans will think differently and they just have to be better on the ice.

He also added that the first shift in the game was tough and they couldn’t work it out and everyone was just protesting all over the place.

The Thrashers scored two on their first three shots. Modin beat Jonas Gustavsson with a slap shot, while Enstrom added a power-play tally after 28 seconds.

Toronto recovered from their lapse earlier during the game by pulling one back in the second when Mitchell gave a big rebound and made wrist shot past Ondrej Pavelec. However, Modin made a two-goal cushion for the Trashers with only 56 seconds remaining in the clock.