Kevin Garnett had 24 points and 11 rebounds, Rajon Rondo added 13 points and 12 assists, and the Boston Celtics scored the final 10 points for a spirited 96-86 victory over the New York Knicks on Monday night.

With blood flowing and bodies flying, the Celtics showed the Knicks they will be tough to beat next month if this was in fact a preview of a first-round playoff series.

France playmaker Franck Ribery, back in the national team for the first time since the World Cup fiasco, apologized on Monday for his behavior in the run up to and during a disastrous 2010 season.

Before his first press conference since the World Cup, Ribery read a statement in which he explained how he "got it wrong in his behavior as a footballer (during) a horrible 2010 from all points of view."

World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki claimed her 14th career title, outlasting France's Marion Bartoli 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 in the WTA Indian Wells final on Sunday.

Denmark's Wozniacki captured her second title of 2011 and becomes the eighth different women's champion in eight years at the $4.5 million WTA hardcourt tournament.

Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic won the ATP Indian Wells title, rallying to beat world No. 1 Rafael Nadal 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 and improve his record this season to 18-0.

Djokovic, who took over the No. 2 world ranking by beating Roger Federer in the semi-finals, on Sunday avenged a loss to Nadal in the 2007 Indian Wells final.

Carlo Ancelotti insists his Chelsea remain bystanders in the title race but their chances of making a late charge will strengthen if they can secure victory over Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Similarly, City's hopes of remaining on the coat-tails of leading two Manchester United and Arsenal will be maintained should they complete a second successive double over Ancelotti's side.

World number one Rafael Nadal battled back from losing the first set against 239th-ranked Ivo Karlovic to reach the semi-finals at Indian Wells.

The Spanish top seed on Thursday clinched a 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (9/7) win on his third match point in the third set tiebreak when the Croatian smacked a forehand long to end the match lasting nearly two-and-a-half hours.

French Sports Minister Chantal Jouanno said on Thursday that she hopes France coach Laurent Blanc does not recall Franck Ribery and Patrice Evra for the country's forthcoming matches.

Ribery and Evra received bans of three and five games respectively for their roles in the France squad's mutiny at last year's World Cup in South Africa and have not played for Les Bleus since the end of the tournament.

Novak Djokovic extended his match win streak to 16 and Roger Federer barely broke a sweat as they powered their way into the Indian Wells fourth round with straight-set wins.

Djokovic on Tuesday capped his 6-0, 6-1 demolition of Ernests Gulbis with back-to-back aces and Federer had an equally easy time ousting Juan Ignacio Chela 6-0, 6-2 in the $9 million WTA and ATP Masters Series 1000 tournament.

John Terry has warned Chelsea's European rivals that his side are finally in the right frame of mind to fight for Champions League glory.

Carlo Ancelotti's team had been stuck in a rut for several months as injuries and poor form derailed their attempt to retain the Premier League title, but they have rediscovered their momentum just in time to push for victory in Europe's elite club competition.

Asian football chief Mohamed Bin Hammam on Tuesday declined to reveal whether he would challenge Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency but promised to make an announcement this week.

The president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has dropped repeated hints in the past two months that he may stand, writing on microblogging site Twitter on Monday that he will "clarify" his position on Friday.