Black Eyed Peas, Taylor Swift are early AMA winners

(AP) The Black Eyed Peas and Taylor Swift were among the early winners at American Music Awards on Sunday night, but the ceremony was as much a showcase for acts with new albums as it was a celebration of the biggest achievers of 2010.

"This is amazing!" said an exuberant Rihanna, who danced onstage to receive her award — favorite soul/R&B female. She ended her speech by yelling, "Wassup! Thank you!"

Rihanna, with her hair dyed a ruby red, gave the show a colorful and sexy start, performing a medley of songs from her just released album "Loud," including the No. 1 hit "What's My Name," wearing a bustier and what seemed like a scarf wrapped around her backside.

The Black Eyed Peas, winners for favorite pop/rock band, gave a levitating performance, singing from boxes atop the stage during part of their performance of their new single, "The Time."

But some of the prime-time performances were given to acts who weren't nominated, but had albums to promote. Diddy's latest incarnation with the group Diddy-Dirty Money sang material from their upcoming album, while Kid Rock gave a stirring, acoustic performance of "Times Like These," his song lifting up his hometown of Detroit during its recent economic struggles, from his new CD, "Born Free."

Swift, last year's artist of the year, took home favorite country female. Sporting sleek blonde hair instead of her usual cascading curls, Swift said simply: "I just want to thank the fans."

Swift was due to perform later in the evening, along with Bon Jovi, a pregnant Pink and more.

The night's top nominees were Eminem and Lady Antebellum with five apiece; they had yet to appear on the stage by mid-show.

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Usher and the Peas capture first AMAs of the night

(AP) Usher and the Black Eyed Peas captured the first honors at the American Music Awards on Sunday night, with Usher beating out Alicia Keys and Sade for R&B/Soul album of the year.

"All of my team back in New York City, I'm bringing this home for you," the leather-clad crooner said as he held his trophy high.

The Black Eyed Peas won best pop/rock band, duo or group. While they didn't give a noteworthy speech, frontman will.i.am wore a memorable outfit: A hat and a necklace made out of what appeared to be Legos.

The performance-driven show got off to a colorful and sexy start, courtesy of flaming redhead Rihanna, who performed a medley of songs from her latest album, including the No. 1 hit "What's My Name," wearing a bustier and what seemed like a scarf wrapped around her backside.

Eminem and Lady Antebellum were both up for a show-topping five awards apiece. Other major nominees included Ke$ha and Katy Perry.

A cold Los Angeles night didn't stop the stars from showing a little skin as they arrived for the awards at the Nokia Theatre.

Miley Cyrus walked the red carpet wearing a strapless dress with a flowing train. Avril Lavigne rocked in a mini animal-print dress.

John Legend was more covered up than the ladies, but even he remarked on the cold and windy conditions. Still, he said he expected a "pop music explosion" during the show.

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Jazz rally from 18 down, beat Clippers in 2 OTs

SALT LAKE CITY (AP)–  Deron Williams scored 30 points, making the tiebreaking layup with 6.8 seconds left in the second overtime, and the Utah Jazz overcame an 18-point deficit to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 109-107 on Saturday night.
Williams had 22 points after halftime, and Paul Millsap added 25 points and 13 rebounds. Al Jefferson finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds in Utah's 15th consecutive home victory over the Clippers.
Eric Gordon scored 27 points and his slam dunk with 6.2 seconds left in regulation tied it at 91. Gordon missed a runner in the lane at the end of the first overtime, and Craig Smith missed from short range at the final buzzer at the end of the second OT.
Chris Kaman scored 23 points despite playing most of the game with foul trouble for the Clippers, who fell to 1-6 and haven't won in Salt Lake City since Jan. 22, 2003.
Utah opened the second half with a 17-3 run, sparked by 3-pointers from Raja Bell and Andrei Kirilenko, and began the fourth quarter with a 14-7 spurt to build an 87-80 lead.
Williams scored 15 points in the third quarter and gave Utah its first lead of the game, 77-75, on a layup with 9:42 left in the fourth quarter. He missed a jumper from the top of the key at the end of regulation.
The Clippers struggled against Utah's zone defense in the second half. Rookie Blake Griffin scored 16 points, but was 0 for 4 from the floor after the first quarter. He fouled out with 2:28 to go.
Early on, Los Angeles hardly looked like a team playing on the road for the second consecutive night. The Clippers, who lost a night earlier to Denver, made nine of their first 10 shots and opened a 17-point lead less than nine minutes in. They led 55-39 at halftime.

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West leads unbeaten Hornets over Bucks

MILWAUKEE (AP) –  The New Orleans Hornets are rolling. The Milwaukee Bucks are sputtering — and growing increasingly frustrated.
David West made 10-of-12 shots and scored a season-high 25 points, and New Orleans remained unbeaten with an 87-81 victory over Milwaukee on Saturday night.
Chris Paul and Marco Belinelli each added 14 for the Hornets, who at 6-0 are off to their best start in franchise history. They entered play under rookie coach Monty Williams as one of only three undefeated teams in the NBA after beating the Miami Heat on Friday.
"I just wanted to be a presence," West said. "I knew we may be a step slow because we had a tough game last night, but we responded. Guys made big plays down the stretch."
Andrew Bogut had 19 points and 14 rebounds in his return to the lineup for Milwaukee after missing Friday night's game against the Indiana Pacers with a migraine. John Salmons added 14 points for the Bucks, who dropped to 2-5.
Brandon Jennings, who had 12 points for Milwaukee, said he can't pinpoint the cause of the early problems and used a couple of expletives in summing up his team's play to date.
"We just need to go out there and play basketball," Jennings said. "Anybody can talk in the locker room."
While Milwaukee looked sluggish for most of the first three quarters, there was no letdown for the Hornets after their 96-93 victory over the Heat on Friday.
They led 41-35 at halftime despite 13 first-half turnovers after Belinelli sank a 64-foot, three-quarter court shot at the halftime buzzer.
West scored 10 points in the third quarter, and the Hornets led by as many as 13 points in the period. They led 65-54 after three, but Milwaukee used an 11-2 run to cut it to 67-65 on Jennings' 3-pointer.
Milwaukee hung tight but got no closer the rest of the way.
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute's follow shot made it 84-81 with 1:48 left, but he missed a free throw, and Drew Gooden then missed two free throws with 1:09 remaining that would have made it a one-point game.
The Bucks again had a chance to cut into the lead on their next possession, but West picked off Salmons' errant pass with 42 seconds left, and Paul, who made three shots in the final 5:56, sealed it with a running baseline jumper with 21.5 seconds remaining.
"We had a two-and-a-half hour flight to get up here, and we easily could have just chalked this one up," West said. "At halftime, (coach) Monty (Williams) talked about just fighting the temptation of being tired, and we were able to come out and have a good third quarter, which I thought put them on their heels a little bit and made them fight uphill the rest of the game."
Milwaukee made just 38.6 percent of its shots and 25 percent (4 of 16) of its 3-pointers.
"They missed a lot of shots, but we had 19 turnovers," Williams said. "For us to overcome 19 turnovers, we had to defend."
Said Paul: "The crazy thing is we're still not where we need to be defensively. I think that says a lot about our team. Right now this team gets mad when other teams score."
Jennings said the Bucks could use similar energy.
"It was just an ugly game for us," he said. "It's starting to get a little bit ridiculous now because every day it's like it's something — shots not falling and we just all break down. Some people are probably not on the same page, or I don't know what it is, but it's getting a little bit annoying now.
"When things aren't going right, it just seems like the energy level goes all the way down. We have got to find something before it gets too late and it gets a little ugly."
Migraines have been a recurring problem for Bogut, who also missed a preseason game on Oct. 16 with one. He said it typically takes 48 hours to feel symptom-free and that he still had a minor headache and some light sensitivity before the game Saturday.

Notes: Bucks Andrew Bogut's 14 rebounds of the game gave him 3,059 for his career, moving him into 10th place in franchise history ahead of Ervin Johnson (3,050). ...

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Anthony's 27 points lead Nuggets past Mavericks

|DALLAS (AP) –  Carmelo Anthony scored 27 points and the Denver Nuggets went 13 for 21 from beyond the 3-point line in a 103-92 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night.
Chauncey Billups added 18 points and Al Harrington contributed 14 points and eight rebounds for Denver.
Jason Terry scored 26 points and Dirk Nowitzki had 23 for the Mavericks, who have lost two of their first three home games.
The teams met in Denver on Wednesday night, with Dallas pulling out a 102-101 victory behind Nowitzki's 35 points. This time, the Nuggets pulled away in the fourth quarter after it was tied at 79 after three.
Anthony hit three 3-pointers in the final 3:47 and scored 15 points in the third, but was on the bench for most of the Nuggets' 12-4 spurt to start the fourth. The run started and ended with dunks by Harrington, giving Denver a 91-83 lead with 7:23 left, and the Mavericks never recovered.
Terry had one point and Nowitzki went scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Denver clung to a 53-52 advantage at the break behind 6-for-9 3-point shooting. Terry's 23 points were among the few Dallas highlights, with Terry draining a 3-pointer with 5.9 left until halftime to get the Mavericks close.
The Nuggets went with a small lineup including 6-foot-9 Sheldon Williams as the tallest starter, and Denver assumed a 26-24 lead after one quarter as Dallas committed six turnovers in the first 12 minutes, 10 in the first half.
Late in the second quarter, Anthony got into a playful exchange with some heckling fans. Anthony was laughing during the give-and-take.
Denver was coming off Friday night's 111-104 home victory over the Clippers. The Mavericks had been idle since Wednesday night.

Notes: These is the 3rd straight game that Denver are without the presence of their three Bigs, Brazilian C Nene missed his third straight game with a strained left groin while Fs Kenyon Martin and Chris "the BirdMan"Anderson are out indefinitely while recovering from knee surgeries.

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