76ers top ailing Bulls; Rondo return lifts Celts

SPENCER HAWES scored 21 points, grabbed nine rebounds and hit the goahead jumper late in the fourth quarter to help the eight-seeded host 76ers rally to beat the top-seeded Bulls, 79-74, on Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference series. Game 4 is Sunday in Philadelphia. Already without reigning MVP Derrick Rose, the isiting Bulls got a scare in the third quarter when Joakim Noah left with a sprained left ankle. Noah, who scored 12 points, returned in the fourth quarter but was hobblikng.

n Rajon Rondo had a triple-double with 17 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists to lead the host Celtics to a 90-84 overtime victory over the Hawks for a 2-1 lead in the series. Rondo missed Game 2 because he was suspended for bumping a referee late in Game 1. Game 4 is Sunday night. Ray Allen (ankle) returned after missing almost a month and scored 13 points. n Javalle Mcgee came off the bench to score 16 points and grab 15 rebounds and the host Nuggets blitzed the Lakers in a 30-14 first qurater en route to a 99-84 victory to cut their deficit to 2-1 in the series. Kobe Bryant led L.A. with 22 points but shot 7-of-23.

TIGER MISSES CUT

Tiger Woods didn’t make a birdie on any of the par 5s and wound up with a 1-over 73 to miss the cut at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, N.C. It was only the eighth time he has missed a cut. He finished at even-par 144, with 74 players ultimately making the cut at 143. Nick Watney shot a 64 for a one-shot lead over Webb Simpson (68) at 132.

COYOTES TAKE 3-1 LEAD

Shane Doan scored in the first period, Mike Smith made 25 saves and the visiting Coyotes beat the Predators, 1-0, to grab a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinal.

The NFL players union challenged commissioner Roger Goodell’s authority to suspend players who participated in the Saints’ pay-for-pain scandal and wants him removed from hearing appeals. Goodell banned linebacker Jonathan Vilma for the 2012 season; defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove, now with Green Bay, for eight games; defensive end Will Smith for four games; and linebacker Scott Fujita, now with the Browns, for three games.

New documents filed by the attorneys for former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky suggest there are at least 17 accusers in the child sexual abuse case, a much higher number than described in criminal charges.

UNION APPEALS

MORE SANDUSKY ACCUSERS