NEW YORK -- The New York City Marathon returned after a one-year absence with big crowds, heightened security and a familiar champion. Geoffrey Mutai successfully defended his title Sunday, while fellow Kenyan Priscah Jeptoo came from behind to win the womens race. Bronx resident Buzunesh Deba finished runner-up for the second straight time in her hometown event. Fans again packed the 26.2-mile course, undaunted by the events of the past year. The 2012 NYC Marathon was cancelled because of the devastation of Superstorm Sandy, but not before many New Yorkers were enraged by initial plans to hold the race. After the bombings at Aprils Boston Marathon, bomb-sniffing dogs roamed the course, and barricades limited access points to Central Park. A record 50,740 runners started the race through the five boroughs. Mutai pulled away around Mile 22 and beat Ethiopias Tsegaye Kebede by 52 seconds. On a windy morning, Mutais time of 2 hours, 8 minutes, 24 seconds was well off his course record of 2:05:06 set in nearly perfect conditions two years ago. Hes the first man to repeat in New York since Kenyas John Kagwe in 1997-98. Kebede, the London Marathon champ, clinched the $500,000 bonus for the World Marathon Majors title. South Africas Lusapho April was third. Jeptoo trailed Deba by nearly 3 1/2 minutes at the halfway point. But she started making her move as the race entered Manhattan and passed the Ethiopian with just over 2 miles to go. Jeptoo, the 2012 Olympic silver medallist and 2013 London Marathon Champ, won in 2:25:07 to clinch the $500,000 World Marathon Majors bonus. The womens race played out almost identically to the last NYC Marathon two years ago. But this time, Deba was the pursued, not the pursuer. In 2011, Mary Keitany pulled away to a big early lead, and Deba and countrywomen Firehiwot Dado chased her down. Dado, who won that day, was 14th Sunday as the defending champ. This time, Deba and training partner Tigist Tufa separated themselves right from the start. Deba wound up finishing 48 seconds behind Jeptoo, while Tufa fell back to eighth. Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia, the 2005-06 New York champ, placed third at age 37. Security was tight from the moment the runners arrived on Staten Island. They were corralled into long bag-check lines, and officers and volunteers repeatedly reminded them to keep cellphones out. "Security is 100 per cent tougher than what Ive seen at other races," said Chris Patterson of Rochester, N.Y., who was signed up for New York last year and ran Boston in April. Elizabeth Hutchinson of Seattle recalled the joy at the starting line in Boston this year. People were handing out sunscreen, Band-Aids and energy gels with a smile. On Staten Island, she said, "the machine-guns are very visible." "The atmosphere is so different," she said, "It kind of makes me sad." Charles Breslin, who lost his home in the storm and was volunteering at the marathon, welcomed the races return. "I dont know how the rest of Staten Island feels about, but it can only be a good thing," he said. "You have to get back to normalcy." As the professional women approached Central Park, only a sprinkling of onlookers stood at the police barricades. Ginny Smith, a Manhattan resident who comes to watch each year, said she felt "very frustrated." Three hours after she first arrived at the park, she was finally allowed to walk in. At Columbus Circle, near the 26th and last mile of the route, police kept her waiting for two hours. "It was difficult, it was horrible -- for something thats basically for the people," she said. "Its unbelievable; you would think there was a war in the city." Ashley OBrien of Brooklyn was ready with a bullhorn to cheer members of her running group, the Hudson Dusters. She got teary-eyed remembering the events of the past year. 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Edmonton won its third straight game last Wednesday against visiting San Jose, beating the Sharks 3-0 as Scrivens stopped 59 shots to set an NHL record for saves in a regular-season shutout. Nick Williams Jersey . The announcement was made by the hall on Friday, March 14. She joins Switzerlands Denise Biellmann as this years inductees to the Hall, based in Colorado Springs, CO. Larry Bowa Jersey .ca MLB Power Rankings, the third consecutive week that the As have held top spot and the third straight week that they have been one ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays.ATLANTA - Jeff Teague scored 25 points, and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Memphis Grizzlies 96-86 on Wednesday night for their sixth consecutive win.Atlanta has won 20 of 22 overall. The Eastern Conference-leading Hawks also have a nine-game winning streak against teams from the West.The Hawks grabbed control with a 10-0 run following an 84-all tie. Al Horford, who had 12 points, started the run with a jumper. Teague and Kyle Korver followed with 3-pointers and Teague added another basket for a 94-84 lead.Mike Conley led Memphis with 17 points. Marc Gasol had 16.WARRIORS 117, PACERS 102OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Klay Thompson scored 40 points, and Golden State shook off a slow start on the way to its fifth straight win.Thompson made 14 of 25 shots, including 6 of 11 from 3-point range, and Stephen Curry added 21 points and a season-high-tying 15 assists to help the NBA-leading Warriors (28-5) stretch their home winning streak to 13 games.The Pacers pulled ahead by 11 points early and gave Golden State a rare fight despite centre Roy Hibbert limping off with a sprained left ankle in the first quarter. The Warriors roared back to tie it at 50 at the half, opened the third quarter on a 14-1 run and made the game look easier than it really was with the final margin.Solomon Hill scored 21 points and David West had 16 for the Pacers.ROCKETS 105, CAVALIERS 93CLEVELAND (AP) — James Harden scored 21 points, Dwight Howard had 17 points and 19 rebounds, and Houston roared past Cleveland in the fourth quarter.The Cavaliers played their sixth straight game without LeBron James. The four-time NBA MVP said hes on target to return in a week from a strained back and knee.The Rockets handed the Cavs their seventh loss in nine games.Kyrie Irving scored a season-high 38 points for the Cavs, who lost their fourth straight at home. J.R. Smith didnt score in 19 minutes in his Cleveland debut. The unpredictable guard was acquired earlier in the week from the Knicks along with guard Iman Shumpert.During the game, the Cavs pulled off their second big trade in three days, acquiring 7-foot-1 centre Timofey Mozgov from Denver in exchange for two first-round draft picks.HORNETS 98, PELICANS 94CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kemba Walker scored 31 points, including a tiebreaking three-point play with 1.4 seconds left, and Charlotte earned its third consecutive win.Walker drove the right side of the lane and converted an 11-foot jumper after Jrue Holiday hit him on the arm. Walker then made the foul shot for a 97-94 lead.The Pelicans had one last chance to tie, but Marvin Williams stole the inbounds pass at half court and was fouled. He went 1 for 2 at the line to seal the victory.Anthony Davis had 32 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks for New Orleans.WIZARDS 101, KNICKS 91WASHINGTON (AP) — The Knicks set a record for longest in-season slide in the proud franchises 69-year history.The defeat was the Knicks 13th in a row, surpassing the mark set at the end of the 1984-85 season, and their 23rd in 24 games. It featured all the now-familiar follies and a few new ones: passes that went nowhere, shots that became bricks, and Tim Hardaway Jr.s bizarre decision to pass the ball away from the basket when he had a two-on-one fast break right in front of him.John Wall had 18 points and eight assists for the Wizards, who avoided slipping in an obvious trap game after a tough five-game road trip.Jose Calderon scored 17 points for the Knicks.CLIPPERS 114, LAKERS 89LOS ANGELES (AP) — Blake Griffin scored 27 points, Chris Paul had 24 and the Clippers routed the Lakers for their ninth win in 10 games against the 16-time NBA champions.Griffin also had nine rebounds and eight assists. Paul added 11 assists.The Clippers led by 10 after the opening quarter, stretched it to 22 points at halftime and were up by 36 going into the fourth in winning their fifth straight against the Lakers. They are enjoying their most successful stretch against the Lakers in franchise history.Jordan Clarkson scored 14 points for the Lakers. Kobe Bryant finished with four points, eight rebounds and seven assists after going scoreless in the first half.KINGS 104, THUNDER 83SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Rudy Gay scored 28 points and Darren Collison added 24 to help Sacramento snap a 12-game losing streak to Oklahoma City.ddddddddddddDeMarcus Cousins had 23 points and 15 rebounds, and the Kings rolled to just their fourth win in 11 games under new coach Tyrone Corbin and first against Oklahoma City since Feb. 12, 2012.Kevin Durant scored 24 points for the Thunder, who shot just 32.6 per cent and lost both games of a brief Northern California road trip.This marked the first time all season that Oklahoma City lost back-to-back games with Durant and Russell Westbrook in the lineup. The Thunder had won nine of 11 with their two stars healthy before the losses to Golden State and Sacramento.SUNS 113, TIMBERWOLVES 111MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gerald Green scored 15 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, and Phoenix handed Minnesota its 13th straight loss.Green hit three 3-pointers in the fourth, helping the Suns wipe away a seven-point deficit to start the period in the blink of an eye. Goran Dragic added 25 points and the Suns (22-16) survived a scare from the undermanned Timberwolves to win for the 10th time in 12 games.Andrew Wiggins scored 25 points, but missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have won the game for the Timberwolves, who havent won since Dec. 10. Mo Williams added 23 points and 11 assists and the Wolves led by as many as 13 points. But they turned the ball over 22 times to fall to 5-29 on the season.JAZZ 97, BULLS 77CHICAGO (AP) — Derrick Favours had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Utah used a strong defensive effort to get the win.The Jazz held the Bulls to a season-low point total on just 28-of-84 (33.3 per cent) shooting. The Bulls were averaging 103.1 points.Gordon Hayward had 18 points for Utah (13-23), and Trey Burke scored 17. Seven of the Jazzs wins have come on the road.Jimmy Butler led the Bulls (25-11) with 16 points and 11 rebounds, and reserve Taj Gibson added 15 points.Chicago point guard Derrick Rose had just seven points on 3-for-15 shooting. The 2011 NBA MVP is shooting 25.5 per cent (28 for 110) in his last six games.PISTONS 108, MAVERICKS 95DALLAS (AP) — D.J. Augustin scored 17 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, and Detroit earned its seventh consecutive victory.The Pistons (12-23) have the NBAs longest current winning streak.Greg Monroe had 27 points and 18 rebounds for Detroit. Brandon Jennings added 14 points, and Jodie Meeks had 11.Andre Drummond had a game-high 19 boards for the Pistons, who outrebounded the Mavericks 60-43.Dallas (26-11) had won six in a row.Dirk Nowitzki scored 19 points for the Mavericks, and Monta Ellis had 16.NUGGETS 93, MAGIC 90DENVER (AP) — Ty Lawson scored 23 points in Denvers third consecutive win, and Arron Afflalo had 17 against his former team.The Nuggets also got a key contribution from Jusuf Nurkic, who had eight points in his first career start in place of Timofey Mozgov, who was traded to Cleveland earlier in the day in exchange for two first-round draft picks.Nikola Vucevic scored 20 points for the Magic, who lost for the sixth straight time in Denver. Victor Oladipo had 17 points.CELTICS 89, NETS 81NEW YORK (AP) — Avery Bradley scored 21 points, and Boston snapped a three-game losing streak.Tyler Zeller added 18 points for the Celtics, who won for just the second time in nine games by outplaying the Nets over the final three quarters after a slow start. They trailed by 11 in the first half but gradually pulled away after halftime despite shooting under 40 per cent for the game.Joe Johnson scored 17 points for the Nets, who dropped their third in a row and fell to 16-19. Mason Plumlee had 16 points and 12 rebounds but shot just 6 for 11 at the free-throw line.BUCKS 97, 76ERS 77PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Brandon Knight and Khris Middleton scored 18 points apiece, leading Milwaukee to the victory.The Bucks (19-18) shot 53.9 per cent from the field in their fifth consecutive road win. Zaza Pachulia had 11 points and 12 rebounds, and reserve O.J. Mayo added 15 points.K.J. McDaniels scored 14 points for the Sixers (5-29), who were trying to win consecutive home games for the first time since the start of the 2013-14 season.The Sixers shot 30.1 per cent from the field. 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