Carlos Boozer scored 23 points, pulled down 15 rebounds and handed out five assists as the Chicago Bulls again overcame the absence of Derrick Rose to outlast Boston 89-80.

Luol Deng and Joakim Noah on Thursday also had "double-doubles" for Chicago, Deng contributing 23 points with 10 assists and Noah scoring 15 points with 16 rebounds.

Behind concrete walls and with no men in sight, Saudi women wearing shorts and short-sleeve shirts meet three times a week to play football in an all-female club in Saudi Arabia's port city of Jeddah.

Cheering them on is Jeddah King's United coach and striker Rima Abdullah, who is also leading a campaign in the ultra-conservative Muslim country to allow women to participate in sports and compete internationally.

The city of Manchester were hoping to see their two football sides fight out the Champions League final, but instead on Thursday both sets of fans will have to make do with the lesser fare of the Europa League.

However, both face tricky second round ties if they are to progress a step closer to the final on May 9 in the mundane surroundings of Bucharest rather than the glamour of the Champions League final in Munich on May 19.

Jeremy Lin ignited a balanced New York attack with a career-high 13 assists as the Knicks stretched their NBA win streak to seven games with a 100-85 victory over Sacramento.

"Linsanity" continued at Madison Square Garden as Lin, the first U.S.-born NBA player of Taiwanese and Chinese heritage, continued a magical run that has seen him rise from the Knicks bench to become a global sensation.

Tony Parker scored 34 points and added 14 assists to lead San Antonio over the Toronto Raptors 113-106, stretching the Spurs' NBA win streak to nine games.

Brazil's Tiago Splitter and Danny Green each added 13 points for the Spurs, who improved to 21-9 as they chase Western Conference leader Oklahoma City.

Juventus missed the chance to retake the lead in Serie A as Parma held them to a 0-0 draw on Wednesday.

AC Milan had gone top with a 2-1 win at Udinese on Saturday but the draw, Juve's 10th in 22 league games this season, left them a point behind the rossoneri.

The most highly anticipated matchup of the Champions League's first knockout round was hardly even a contest.

AC Milan outclassed Arsenal on Wednesday to plant one foot firmly in the Champions League quarterfinals, beating the English club 4-0 in the first leg of their round of 16 series.

Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has become the fourth Germany star forced out of the pre-Euro 2012 friendly against France because of injury, but coach Joachim Loew insists he is staying calm.

The towering centre-back picked up an ankle injury in the Gunners' 2-1 victory at Sunderland last Saturday and posted a picture of his swollen ankle on his Facebook page.

Thierry Henry will be looking to give the club he loves a farewell gift as he makes his final appearance for Arsenal against AC Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Henry's second spell at the North Londoners is set to come to an end on Thursday when he will return to the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.

West Ham midfielder Ravel Morrison faces disciplinary action by the Football Association after being charged with an alleged homophobic comment posted on Twitter.

Morrison, who joined West Ham from Manchester United in the January transfer window, is alleged to have made the remark during an exchange with another user on the micro-blogging site.