Kevin Garnett trade rumors: Boston Celtics trade with LA Clippers close?

The Los Angeles Clippers have contacted the Boston Celtics about a possible trade for forward Kevin Garnett, The Sporting News’ Sean Deveney reported on Sunday. Citing multiple sources, Deveney reported that the Clippers’ offer would center on second-year guard Eric Bledsoe and veteran forward Caron Butler.

The report came as the Celtics beat the Clippers 106-104 in Boston on Sunday, the Celtics’ fourth straight victory since losing star point guard Rajon Rondo for the rest of the season. The Clippers also played without their star point guard in the loss — Chris Paul missed his seventh straight game with a bruised right knee cap.

Any deal would have to be completed by the Feb. 21 trade deadline. It would represent a major push by the Clippers to contend at the top of the Western Conference, while the Celtics would signal that they are ready to rebuild away from a long-time core that includes both Garnett and Paul Pierce.

Aside from Paul, the Clippers have also been hampered by injuries to guard Chauncey Billups and forward Jamal Crawford. Still, they sit third in the Western Conference even after Sunday’s loss, four games behind the San Antonio Spurs.

The Celtics remain comfortably in the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference at 24-23 after their four-game winning streak. In addition to Rondo, they also lost rookie big man Jared Sullinger for the season last week.

Ravens beat 49ers 34-31 in Super Bowl

The Ravens hang on for a 34-31 win after a late 49ers rally falls short.

A power outage at the Super Bowl put the nation’s biggest sporting event on hold for more 30 minutes Sunday, interrupting an otherwise electric, back-and-forth game that ended with Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens as NFL champions thanks to a 34-31 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

Flacco threw three first-half touchdown passes to cap an 11-TD, zero-interception postseason. Jacoby Jones returned the second-half kickoff 108 yards, a Super Bowl record, to give Baltimore a 22-point lead.

Moments later, lights lining the indoor arena faded, making it difficult to see. When action resumed, the 49ers scored 17 consecutive points, getting as close as 31-29. But Baltimore stopped San Francisco on fourth-and-goal from the 5 with under 2 minutes left.

Baltimore Ravens Lead 49ers 21-6 in Super Bowl Second Quarter

David Akers kicked a 27-yard field goal for the San Francisco 49ers, who trail the Baltimore Ravens 21-6 after the second quarter of the Super Bowl.

Joe Flacco capped the Ravens’ opening drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin at the Superdome in New Orleans before the 49ers pulled within 7-3 on a 36-yard field goal in the first quarter by Akers.

Ravens quarterback Flacco then found Dennis Pitta with a 1- yard pass for a touchdown midway through the second quarter before throwing a 56-yard scoring pass to Jacoby Jones to extend Baltimore’s lead to 21-3.

Who will win Super Bowl XLVII Ravens-49ers

Sprinter's speed makes San Francisco's Colin Kaepernick truly dangerous. Baltimore's Joe Flacco is a classic drop-back passer.

Ravens Anquan Boldin has been playing great this postseason and his teammate Torrey Smith will play as a deep threat, that can mean trouble for the 49ers.

Raven's Lewis has 44 tackles in the past three playoff wins and he has been great in the Raven's defense. The Raven's have a pretty good front seven that can dominate the game.

San Francisco 49ers will need to run with Kaepernick's speed, he can dominate the game. San Francisco has the most talented defense in the NFL.

Expert Pick:

Celtics Rondo's Season Over; tears right ACL

BOSTON (AP) -- Boston Celtics star Rajon Rondo has torn his anterior cruciate ligament and will miss the rest of the season.

The team made the announcement during Sunday's 100-98 double-overtime win over the Miami Heat. The victory in the nationally televised game snapped a losing streak that had reached six games despite back-to-back triple-doubles by the point guard who had been elected to start for the East in the Feb. 17 All-Star game in Houston.

''We've just got to rally around each other,'' Paul Pierce said after the game. ''I feel for him. He was having such a good season. It's disappointing news.''

As Celtics players walked off the court through a tunnel toward their locker room, Rondo, dressed in street clothes, greeted them.

Rondo injured his right knee in Friday night's double-overtime loss in Atlanta, a game in which the Celtics blew a 27-point lead. He reported to the TD Garden on Sunday for a pregame shootaround but was taken to a hospital after complaining of knee pain.

The initial report was a hyperextended knee but tests showed the ACL tear, an injury that usually takes up to a year for recovery. Surgery had not been scheduled as of Sunday afternoon, said team spokesman Brian Olive, who confirmed that Rondo's season was over.

Rondo was averaging career highs of 13.7 points and 5.6 rebounds along with 11.1 assists this season. Still, the Celtics struggled to remain at .500, entering the day with a 20-23 record to hold the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Victoria Azarenka beats Li Na to win Australian Open title

MELBOURNE, Australia - The defending champion and world number one, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, overcame a slow start and unfriendly crowd to beat Li Na and retain the Australian Open title after defeating sixth seed Li Na of China 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 at Melbourne on Saturday.

Jermaine O’Neal out for Suns vs. Kings, gets heated with GM Lance Blanks

Suns center Jermaine O’Neal will be with the Phoenix Suns for their road trip and will missed practice on Tuesday because of a medical condition that’s being kept under wraps by the team.

Paul Coro's tweeted, Suns beat reporter for the Arizona Republic, O’Neal will not travel to Sacramento for the Suns game against the Kings on Wednesday night because of the medical condition.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweeted Tuesday afternoon that O’Neal and Suns general manager Lance Blanks engaged in an “expletive-laced confrontation on Monday,” though it’s unconfirmed whether that incident is at all tied to the decision for O’Neal to miss the road trip to Sacramento. A 17 year veteran, the oft-injured O’Neal is averaging 6.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 15 minutes per game this season.

The Suns, currently the third worst team in the league with a record of 13-28, parted ways with head coach Alvin Gentry last week. Former NBA player Lindsey Hunter, who was the player development director under Gentry, has been named the interim head coach. But Hunter is already adding to a disappointing season with an off-the-court issue; according to a report from SBNation, Hunter is part of an ongoing FBI investigation into mortgage fraud.