Francis’ milestone goal

helps ‘Canes drop Leafs
By The Associated Press

TORONTO – Ron Francis scored his 545th goal, surpassing Maurice Richard for 20th place on the NHL’s career list, and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 on Monday night.

Erik Cole also scored a power-play goal for the Hurricanes, who have won just two of their last 10 games.

Lightning 6, Capitals 3

WASHINGTON – Martin St. Louis sparked Tampa Bay’s four-goal third period with a goal and two assists Monday night and the Lightning rallied for a 6-3 victory over the Washington Capitals.

St. Louis, who also had an assist in the first period, helped the Lightning take command in a third period where they outshot Washington 14-2.

Canadiens 4, Rangers 1

NEW YORK – Jose Theodore made 31 saves to snap his five-game losing streak, and Saku Koivu had a goal and two assists, helping the Montreal Canadiens beat the New York Rangers 4-1 Monday night.

Theodore was 0-5 with an .873 save percentage since playing in the All-Star game.

Mighty Ducks 1, Coyotes 1

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 37 saves in his season-high eighth straight start, and the Anaheim Mighty Ducks tied the Phoenix Coyotes 1-1 Monday night.

Jason Krog scored for the Mighty Ducks, who are 0-1-1-1 in their last three games after winning five of six.

NBA
Cavs 104, Hornets 100

CLEVELAND – LeBron James scored 21 points, fellow rookie Jason Kapono added a season-high 19 and the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied from a 25-point deficit Monday night for an improbable 104-100 victory over the New Orleans Hornets.

Carlos Boozer had 24 points, and Jeff McInnis added 14 points and nine assists for the Cavs, who have won three straight – at home against San Antonio and New Orleans and at New York – in the past four days.

Pistons 76, 76ers 66

PHILADELPHIA – Richard Hamilton scored 15 points and Tayshaun Prince added 14, leading the Detroit Pistons to a 76-66 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night.

Ben Wallace had 12 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks, and Rasheed Wallace added 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Pistons.

Trail Blazers 89, Heat 81

MIAMI – Zach Randolph scored 22 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, and Derek Anderson added 20 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers over the Miami Heat 89-81 Monday night.

The Blazers won their fourth straight, snapping Miami’s four-game winning streak.

Portland took control with a surge that extended from the third quarter into the fourth. Down by 10 points, the Blazers rallied late in the third and built a nine-point lead early in the fourth.

Damon Stoudamire added 18 points as Portland evened its record at 28-28.

Lamar Odom led the Heat with 25 points. Dwyane Wade, the Eastern Conference player of the week after leading Miami to three double-digit wins, finished with 12 points on 5-of-15 shooting.

The Blazers opened the fourth period with a 14-0 spurt, with Stoudamire’s second 3-pointer in the run providing a 73-64 lead. Shareef Abdur-Rahim’s corner jumper gave Portland its first lead, 65-64, since early in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, the Heat missed their first six shots from the floor. The drought lasted five-plus minutes until Odom converted a three-point play with 6:54 left.

Odom’s drive pulled Miami to 82-79 with 1:27 left, although his missed free throw kept the Heat from cutting further into the lead.

Anderson knocked down a jumper to give the Blazers an 84-79 lead with 43 seconds left.

Wade missed a runner, and Stoudamire hit a pair of free throws to seal the win for the Blazers.

Notes: Portland has won six of the last seven meetings in Miami. … Wade’s streak of shooting 50 percent or better was stopped at 11 games. … The Heat dropped to 7-4 at home against Western Conference teams. … The Blazers are 8-2 in their past 10 road games. … Anderson got a technical foul for hanging on the rim following a third-quarter dunk. … Randolph had his 32nd double-double of the season.

AP-ES-02-23-04 2221EST