Darren Collison

Arron Afflalo scored 24 points, Darren Collison added 18 and No. 5 UCLA rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat host Arizona State, 67-61, last night. Trailing by 49-39 with 10:24 to play, the Bruins took command with an 18-2 run, with Darren Collison hitting three three-pointers and Afflalo another to put UCLA ahead, 57-51. Arizona State pulled to 63-61 on Serge Angounou's three-pointer with 16 seconds left, but Afflalo hit two free throws and Josh Shipp added two more to ice the win for UCLA (22-3, 11-2 Pac-10)

Derrick Rose didn't take long to adjust to the college game. The highly touted freshman had 17 points, six rebounds and five assists in his collegiate debut and No. 3 Memphis beat visiting Tennessee-Martin, 102-71, last night in the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic. Chris Douglas Roberts tied his career high with 28 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Memphis (1-0). Lester Hudson had 35 points for Tennessee-Martin (0-1), which gave the Tigers an early scare in the tournament that benefits Coaches vs. Cancer.

UCLA coach Ben Howland says All-America Kevin Love and teammate Darren Collison have not yet decided whether they will make themselves available for the NBA draft. Howland dismissed a report on the Los Angeles Times' Web site that said the players had decided to leave and were expected to hire agents, which would prevent them from returning to the Bruins. "It's an erroneous report," Howland said, adding that both players were upset about the report because they have yet to discuss their future with their families.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - For a city that prides itself on glamour and glitz, Los Angeles might have a tough time getting used to this UCLA basketball team. The Bruins play neither pretty nor flashy. What they do is win, and that's what it's all about, after all. They won again last night, 64-55, over Pittsburgh, in a West Regional semifinal at HP Pavilion. UCLA (29-5) will face Kansas in the regional final tomorrow. This one - especially in the second half - had all the fluidity of a drunk trying to recite the alphabet.

For the 76ers, the next stop on the off-season trail is the NBA draft, on June 25. The Sixers have the 17th pick. Even with the pending addition of shooter Jason Kapono , general manager Ed Stefanski said the team still planned to select either a point guard or a shooting guard, based on which position had the most talented player remaining on the board. Stefanski said that head coach Eddie Jordan , hired just over a week ago, was committed to drafting a guard. "He's more concerned with the best player at one of those spots," Stefanski said.

Damion James dunked with 8 seconds remaining to help visiting No. 8 Texas upset second-ranked UCLA, 63-61, after the Longhorns blew a 16-point, first-half lead last night in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series. James and D.J. Augustin finished with 19 points each, and the Longhorns (7-0) survived their closest game after winning their first six by at least 15 points. James also had 10 rebounds. UCLA's first loss of the season ended the Bruins' 25-game home winning streak. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute had 14 points, and Darren Collison added 12 in his first start for the Bruins (7-1)

THE 76ERS don't see Jrue (pronounced Drew) Holiday as an immediate impact player. They don't see him as a starter in the coming season. But they made it clear last night that they see him as their point guard of the future. For all the people who thought North Carolina's Ty Lawson or Virginia Commonwealth's Eric Maynor was the right choice at No. 17 in the first round of the NBA draft, the Sixers' boardroom gang secretly was hoping Holiday might slip through the cracks. And once Brandon Jennings went No. 10 to Milwaukee and Indiana opted for big man Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina rather than a guard at No. 13, they began to think they had a chance.

Chris Paul had his first double-double since returning from injury with 15 points and 13 assists to help the New Orleans Hornets beat the visiting Los Angeles Lakers last night, 108-100. David West scored 20 points for New Orleans, while Marcus Thornton had 18 points and fellow rookie Darren Collison, a former UCLA standout, added 17 points against his hometown team. Kobe Bryant had 31 points and Pau Gasol added 26 points and 22 rebounds, but they didn't have much help as the Lakers trailed throughout the final three quarters and fell behind by as much as 17 points in the fourth before losing for the second time in three games.

LeBron James had 20 points and 12 assists, and Antawn Jamison scored 18 points in his first start for Cleveland and the Cavaliers beat the visiting New Orleans Hornets, 105-95, last night, and snapped a three-game losing streak. New Orleans rookies Marcus Thornton and Darren Collison combined for 59 points, including a franchise-record 23 from Thornton in the second quarter. James closed out another win for Cleveland in the final 2 minutes, hitting a three-pointer and finishing a three-point play to escape a huge night from the Hornets' rookies.

Brandon Rush made a successful early return from ACL surgery, scoring seven points and giving No. 4 Kansas a physical and emotional lift in an otherwise routine 92-60 rout of visiting Washburn. Rush, the 6-6 All-Big 12 guard who had planned to be flashing his moves in the NBA this year before injuring himself in a practice game in May, was 3-for-5 from the floor and also had three rebounds in 12 minutes, all in the first half. Wearing a heavy brace on the right knee, the Jayhawks' leading scorer each of the past two seasons went hard to the floor twice and appeared to be fine.

No matter who talks about 76ers second-year point guard Jrue Holiday, the subject invariably turns to age. Holiday won't turn 21 until June 12, but he has been given the keys to the offense, and in this breakout season he has continued on an upward path. As the season has just passed the three-quarter mark, however, Holiday is feeling his age - and then some. "My legs feel old," he said with a laugh before a recent morning shootaround. For a moment he got reflective, realizing what he has achieved at such a young age. "My friends are 20, 21, and still in college," he said.

The Indiana Pacers traded forward Troy Murphy to New Jersey and acquired point guard Darren Collison from New Orleans - in a four-way trade that also includes Houston. The Nets sent guard Courtney Lee to Houston. To complete the trade, the Rockets shipped swingman Trevor Ariza to New Orleans. Indiana also got forward James Posey from New Orleans in the deal. The Pacers were searching for a point guard because T.J. Ford fell out of favor last season with coach Jim O'Brien . Collison averaged 12.4 points and 5.7 assists as a rookie last season, including 18.8 and 9.1 in 37 starts.

Chris Paul had his first double-double since returning from injury with 15 points and 13 assists to help the New Orleans Hornets beat the visiting Los Angeles Lakers last night, 108-100. David West scored 20 points for New Orleans, while Marcus Thornton had 18 points and fellow rookie Darren Collison, a former UCLA standout, added 17 points against his hometown team. Kobe Bryant had 31 points and Pau Gasol added 26 points and 22 rebounds, but they didn't have much help as the Lakers trailed throughout the final three quarters and fell behind by as much as 17 points in the fourth before losing for the second time in three games.

LeBron James was in street clothes. Shaquille O'Neal was nowhere to be found, and Antawn Jamison was in the locker room icing his sore knee. If they had lost, the Cleveland Cavaliers had plenty of excuses. They didn't have to use one. Mo Williams made two free throws with 9 seconds left and Delonte West made the kind of plays down the stretch reserved for James as the Cavs last night won without their superstar for the first time in three seasons, 97-95, over the visiting San Antonio Spurs.

Former NBA star Jayson Williams was sentenced to 5 years in prison yesterday for fatally shooting a hired limo driver in 2002, ending an 8-year legal odyssey by tearfully apologizing to the victim's family. He will be eligible for parole in 18 months. Williams, avoiding a retrial on a reckless manslaughter count that deadlocked the jury at his 2004 trial, pleaded guilty last month to aggravated assault in the death of Costas Christofi on Feb. 14, 2002. At the same 2004 trial, he was acquitted of aggravated manslaughter but convicted on four counts of covering up the shooting.

LeBron James had 20 points and 12 assists, and Antawn Jamison scored 18 points in his first start for Cleveland and the Cavaliers beat the visiting New Orleans Hornets, 105-95, last night, and snapped a three-game losing streak. New Orleans rookies Marcus Thornton and Darren Collison combined for 59 points, including a franchise-record 23 from Thornton in the second quarter. James closed out another win for Cleveland in the final 2 minutes, hitting a three-pointer and finishing a three-point play to escape a huge night from the Hornets' rookies.

The Sixers were the sixth seed in the East. The conference finalists (Orlando, Cleveland) got better on draft day before anybody made a choice. When you get perennial All-Stars like Vince Carter and Shaq, you definitely improve. Boston will get Kevin Garnett back. Atlanta got better with Jamal Crawford. Washington got a lot better with Randy Foye and Mike Miller. The Sixers get Elton Brand and the No. 17 pick, UCLA's Jrue Holiday. A point guard, the freshman Holiday played out of position at UCLA because senior Darren Collison played point.

So . . . everybody who had Jrue Holiday atop their draft board raise their hand. The guard from UCLA, taken by the 76ers with the 17th pick last night, is an interesting choice, partly because everyone in Philadelphia had focused on Eric Maynor of Virginia Commonwealth and Ty Lawson of North Carolina. But more so because Holiday had such a tepid season in his single year at college, and partly because he has considerable upside at his true position, point guard. The scouting report on NBAdraft.

THE 76ERS don't see Jrue (pronounced Drew) Holiday as an immediate impact player. They don't see him as a starter in the coming season. But they made it clear last night that they see him as their point guard of the future. For all the people who thought North Carolina's Ty Lawson or Virginia Commonwealth's Eric Maynor was the right choice at No. 17 in the first round of the NBA draft, the Sixers' boardroom gang secretly was hoping Holiday might slip through the cracks. And once Brandon Jennings went No. 10 to Milwaukee and Indiana opted for big man Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina rather than a guard at No. 13, they began to think they had a chance.

With the NBA draft now 13 days away, the 76ers auditioned another group of five players yesterday at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. The Sixers, who own the 17th pick, have said they are looking to get a guard in that spot. As was the case at the team's first session on Friday, only backcourt men were in the gym. Among the invitees were Temple's Dionte Christmas and North Carolina's Wayne Ellington, the latter of whom played at Episcopal Academy. Darren Collison of UCLA, Jack McClinton of Miami, and Marcus Thornton of Louisiana State were also on hand.