Thunder strike down "crumbling" Lakers

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - With Kevin Durant in cruise control, the Oklahoma City Thunder overpowered the injury-hit Los Angeles Lakers in a 116-101 win on Friday, inflicting a rare sixth straight defeat on the home team.Sharp-shooting forward Durant scored a season-high 42 points and guard Russell Westbrook weighed in with 27 and 10 assists as the Thunder drew level with the Los Angeles Clippers at...

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Hill injury adds to mounting Lakers woes

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - As if a sixth defeat on the bounce was not bad enough, the injury-hit Los Angeles Lakers faced further gloom on Friday with the news that back-up forward Jordan Hill will likely miss the rest of the season.Hill, the most impressive bench player for the Lakers in a surprisingly below-par campaign, sat out the 116-101 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder with a left hip injury.The...

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Lakers star Kobe Bryant and wife reconcile, won't divorce

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant and his wife, Vanessa, have reconciled and are no longer planning to divorce, the couple said in separate posts on social media sites.Bryant, widely considered one of the greatest players ever in the National Basketball Association, and his wife filed for divorce in December 2011 after 10 years of marriage.But they had been seen out together...

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Iran confiscates over a ton of narcotics a day

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's media are reporting that police confiscate over a ton of narcotics a day from smugglers.Gen. Ali Moayedi, head of Iran's anti-narcotics police, is quoted by newspapers Sunday as saying that some 30 drug smugglers and addicts are identified and arrested every hour in Iran. He said over 200,000 were detained in the past nine months alone.Iran lies on a major drug route between...

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Influential Israeli rabbi released from hospital

JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli religious party says its powerful spiritual leader has been released from hospital after a minor stroke, easing concerns his health could affect the party's fortunes ahead of Jan. 22 elections.Yakov Betzalel, who is spokesman for the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, said Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, 92, was at home with his family and would resume his daily routine later Sunday.Yosef...

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Syrian army advances in strategic Damascus suburb

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian troops advanced in a strategic suburb of Damascus and bombarded other areas around the capital Saturday in a push to secure President Bashar Assad's seat of power as rebels make gains in the north.A government official said regime forces had taken much of Daraya, an area on the edge of a major military air base just south of the capital, after nearly two months of heavy...

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Ex-baseball star Lenny Dykstra sentenced in bankruptcy fraud case

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Lenny Dykstra, the 1980s World Series hero who pleaded guilty earlier this year to bankruptcy fraud, was sentenced on Monday to six months in federal prison and ordered to perform 500 hours of community service.The 49-year-old former ballplayer - who is already serving time in state prison for grand theft auto, lewd conduct and assault with a deadly weapon - was also ordered...

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