A daily glance inside the numbers from the world of sports:
NBA
• The Nets overcame an 18-point deficit and won at Chicago 86-83. Last Friday, New Jersey trailed 18-0 and rallied to beat the Bulls 91-86. Over the last ten seasons there was only one other instance in which one NBA team beat another twice in one season in games in which the losing team held a lead of 18 or more points. That was in 2003-04, when the Lakers beat Orlando in that manner twice.
Jason Kidd's 82nd triple-double of his NBA career, the third-highest total in league history, highlighted the Nets' 86-83 victory. It was the 15th time that Kidd fashioned a triple-double in a game in which his team scored fewer than 90 points. No other player in NBA history has had as many as five triple-doubles in sub-90-point games. Only three of Magic Johnson's 138 triple-doubles came in games in which the Lakers scored fewer than 90 points, and none of Oscar Robertson's 181 triple-doubles came in games in which his team didn't reach the 90-point mark.
• Ben Wallace did not score for the Bulls in 30 minutes of play. It was the first time in the NBA this season that a starting center was held scoreless in a game while playing at least 30 minutes.
• Chris Webber, who was waived by the 76ers on Thursday, is one of only six players in NBA history to average 20 points, 10 rebounds and four assists per game for his career. The others are Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Billy Cunningham, Larry Bird and Kevin Garnett.
• Denver traded Earl Boykins to Milwaukee on Thursday. Boykins averaged 10.9 points per game this season (in 20 games) prior to the suspensions resulting from the Knicks-Nuggets brawl. But since the suspensions went into effect, Boykins has averaged 23.2 points per game (in 11 games), the 15th-highest average in the league over that span (Dec. 18 to Jan. 10), and 10th-highest among guards.
NFL
• The Giants fired defensive coordinator Tim Lewis on Thursday. During Lewis's three-year term in that position the Giants had by far the poorest red-zone defense in the league, ranking 32nd in both 2004 and 2006 and 26th in 2005. The NFL teams that allowed the highest touchdown percentages on drives that penetrated the defense's 20-yard line over the last three seasons combined: Giants (65 percent), Tennessee (59 percent), Dallas (58 percent).
NHL
• The Islanders trailed the Bruins three different times in the third period, 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3, but tied the score each time on goals by Trent Hunter, Tom Poti and Viktor Kozlov, before winning in a shootout. It was the second time in Islanders history that they had three score-tying goals in the third period of one game. They did that in Detroit on Dec. 20, 1981, with John Tonelli, Bob Bourne and Clark Gillies each tying the score in the third period in a game the Islanders went on to win 5-3.
Over the last two seasons the only other team to record three such goals in the third period in one game was Phoenix on Feb. 12 last year against San Jose. (The Sharks won that game in overtime.)
• Carolina trailed Florida 3-0 at the end of the second period but the Hurricanes outscored the Panthers 6-1 in the third period to earn a win over their division rival. It was the 11th time in NHL history that a team scored six or more goals in one game, all in the third period. The only other clubs to do that in the last 30 seasons were Tampa Bay against Winnipeg in Dec. 1995 (trailed 1-0 through two periods, won 6-3) and Detroit against Vancouver in Nov. 1998 (trailed 1-0 entering the third period, won 7-1).
• Vincent Lecavalier scored two goals against Olaf Kolzig in Tampa Bay's 5-4 win over Washington. Lecavalier has 12 goals in 29 games against Kolzig, the most that he has scored against any goaltender in his NHL career. Lecavalier's next favorite victims are Roberto Luongo (10 goals) and Martin Brodeur (nine).
The Senators built a 5-0 lead but had to hold off a third-period rally by the Rangers to escape New York with a 6-4 win. It was the league-high 10th time this season that Ottawa scored at least six goals in one game, two more than runner-up Buffalo.
• Mats Sundin assisted on two goals for the Maple Leafs in their win in Buffalo. Sundin has 68 career points against the Sabres (27 goals, 41 assists in 76 games), third-most among active players, behind Jaromir Jagr (92) and Joe Sakic (74).
• Teemu Selanne scored three goals to lead the Ducks to a 5-1 win in Dallas. It was Selanne's 19th career hat trick, tying him with Peter Bondra for the highest total among active players. Brendan Shanahan (18) and Pierre Turgeon (15) have the next-highest totals among current NHL players. Selanne's hat trick was his first since March 29, 2001, when he scored three goals for San Jose against Anaheim.
MLS
• David Beckham announced on Thursday that he will join the Los Angeles Galaxy in August.
Beckham has scored three World Cup goals. The only foreign MLS players to score that many goals in World Cup play are Lothar Matthaus (6 for Germany), Hristo Stoitchkov (6 for Bulgaria) and Luis Hernandez (4 for Mexico).
He's played 13 World Cup games. The only MLS players to appear in that many are Matthaus (25 for Germany) and Hong Myung Bo (16 for South Korea).
Beckham had a hand in seven of England's 12 goals in the last two World Cups. In 2002, England scored twice off Beckham corner kicks. Beckham also scored on a penalty kick vs. Argentina and assisted on a goal by Emile Heskey. In 2006, Beckham scored on a free kick, had another free kick deflected in for an own goal, and assisted on Peter Crouch's goal vs. Trinidad and Tobago.
He will be the first MLS player who also appeared in the World Cup for England.