Manchester City moved to within touching distance of a first English league title in 44 years after Yaya Toure scored twice in a 2-0 win at Newcastle United.

Victory left leaders City in front of reigning Premier League champions Manchester United -- who beat Swansea City 2-0 later on Sunday -- on goal difference with just one round of fixtures remaining.

Ramon Sessions nailed the go-ahead three-point shot with 48 seconds left to lift the Los Angeles Lakers to a 92-88 win over the Denver Nuggets in game four of their first round NBA playoff series.

Kobe Bryant finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists, Andrew Bynum scored 19 points and Pau Gasol had 13 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, who seized a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

The New York Knicks fended off elimination in the first round of the NBA playoffs on Sunday, holding off the star-studded Miami Heat 89-87 to force a fifth game in their Eastern Conference series.

Carmelo Anthony poured in 41 points and Amare Stoudemire returned with a bandage on his stitched-up left hand to score 20 points and grab 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who trimmed the deficit in the best-of-seven series to 3-1.

The NBA champion Dallas Mavericks were swept out of the first round of the playoffs on Saturday as the Oklahoma City Thunder wrapped up their Western Conference series with a 103-97 victory.

James Harden scored 15 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter as the Thunder won their fourth straight in the best-of-seven series to make the Mavericks the first defending champions to be swept in the first round since the Miami Heat in 2007.

More than 40,000 spectators watched as a cascade of white balloons was released to open London's Olympic stadium on Saturday, exactly 2,012 hours before the Games begin.

Capping off an evening of music, comedy and fun sports events, Paralympic gold medal-winning archer Danielle Brown shot arrows at spinning targets to select the name of a youngster in the audience to open the east London stadium.

Barcelona star Lionel Messi scored all four goals in a 4-0 rout of Espanyol to bring up his half century in La Liga and take his total goals tally for the season to a record-breaking 72 on Saturday.

In what was Pep Guardiola's last home match in charge at the Nou Camp, Messi made sure there was a happy ending to what was an emotional night for the home fans.

U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur got off to a winning start at the Madrid Masters Saturday, the Australian advancing to the second round with a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5) defeat of Croatian Petra Martic.

Stosur was joined by Romanian Sorana Cirstea, who upset French seventh seed Marion Bartoli 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 6-3.

Chelsea withstood a late Liverpool onslaught to seal their fourth FA Cup final victory in six seasons here Saturday with a 2-1 win at Wembley.

A goal in each half from Brazilian midfielder Ramires and veteran striker Didier Drogba clinched a narrowly deserved win for Chelsea, with substitute Andy Carroll scoring for Liverpool.

The Philadelphia 76ers rallied to beat the top-seeded Chicago Bulls 79-74 on Friday and gain a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round NBA playoff series.

The battered Bulls, already without reigning league Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose, suffered another injury blow as French center Joakim Noah hurt his ankle in the third quarter of the defeat.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is confident Robin van Persie will remain at the club after a prolific season that has seen the Dutch striker crowned Footballer of the Year.

Van Persie declared he would "always be a Gunner" on Thursday after collecting his latest honor from the Footballer Writers' Association at a London awards ceremony.