SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Barry Bonds sidestepped a peppering of steroids questions in the very way teams avoid pitching to him - and did it with the same prickly demeanor that has defined him for years.

Bonds angrily avoided inquiries about his role in baseball's steroid scandal upon his arrival at spring training Tuesday, pronouncing himself weary but ready to resume his pursuit of Hank Aaron's home run record.

He called reporters liars, and pointed to problems in the world he considers much more important than steroids, such as alcoholism and drug abuse.

Bonds was entertaining as usual. Asked directly whether he'd ever used illegal substances, he said:

"I'm not a child. You repeat those things to children and then eventually they tell you. I don't."

In Bonds' first public comments since his grand jury testimony was leaked to the San Francisco Chronicle and reported in December, he had nothing to say about it, citing legal constrictions. But he had harsh words for the media and fans still consumed by the circumstances of his record-setting home run binge.

"You guys are like re-running stories," Bonds said to more than 100 reporters in attendance. "This is old stuff. It's like watching 'Sanford and Son.' It's almost comical, basically. ... Are you guys jealous, upset, disappointed, what?"

The San Francisco Giants slugger has 703 homers, trailing only Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) on the career list.

RALEIGH, North Carolina -- Even without Rashad McCants, North Carolina State couldn't slow down its Tobacco Road rival.

Raymond Felton led five players in double figures with 21 points and Melvin Scott hit some opportune 3-pointers as second-ranked North Carolina shot down Atlantic Coast Conference enemy North Carolina State, 81-71.

McCants, suffering from what team doctor's termed an intestinal disorder, did not make the trip and his return is undetermined. But Scott, who stepped into the starting lineup, hit a 3-pointer with 5:08 left in the opening 20 minutes to give the Tar Heels a 28-26 lead, their first advantage in over seven minutes, and his third shot from the arc as time expired pushed North Carolina's lead to 38-33 at the break.

Scott, who finished with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the arc, started the second half with a 3-pointer and Carolina pushed the lead to 49-39 seven minutes in on Sean May's short jumper. But the Wolf Pack responded on a 3-pointer by Engin Atsur and two shots from the arc and a three-point play from Andrew Brackman to close within 53-50 with 10 1/2 minutes left.

Felton then stepped up and hit a pair of 3-pointers, May dunked and Jawad Williams knocked down a shot from the arc as North Carolina rebuilt a 64-52 lead with just under eight to play. NC State got no closer than seven thereafter.

North Carolina (23-3, 11-2 ACC) shot 50 percent (26-of-52) from the field and knocked down 10-of-21 3-pointers to move one game ahead of Wake Forest atop the ACC standings.

Jawad Williams scored 15 and May and Marvin Williams chipped in 14 apiece for the Tar Heels.

Julius Hodge scored 20 points and Atsur added 14 as North Carolina State (15-11, 5-8) had its two-game winning streak snapped in an attempt to get back into NCAA Tournament contention.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - The last thing Vince Carter needed to see in his first game against his former team was a well-rested Jalen Rose.

Carter struggled in his first game against the team that traded him to New Jersey earlier this season, missing 17 of 25 shots while being outplayed by Rose in the Toronto Raptors' 100-82 victory over the Nets on Tuesday night.

Rose shot 12-for-15, scored 30 points and did a fine defensive job on Carter, who seemed to be pressing in a game he acknowledged meant a lot to him. Rose led the Raptors on a 14-4 run early in the fourth quarter, and New Jersey never recovered.

"He probably was a little tired from All-Star weekend. While he was running up and down the court throwing it off the backboard, I was laying on the beach drinking a fruity drink with an umbrella," Rose said. "So I probably gave myself an unfair advantage on that one."

Carter scored 22 points, and Jason Kidd added 20 for the Nets, who had no one else in double figures.

Carter seemed loose before the game as he discussed last weekend's slam dunk contest won by Josh Smith of Atlanta. Carter said he has a dunk in his repertoire that no one had seen yet, a specialty he plans to keep under wraps until the next time he enters the dunk contest.

But once the game began, Carter missed several drives, was off-target with his jumper, committed four turnovers and missed four free throws.

"It's disappointing, the way we played. I think we've played better," Carter said. "It's always a concern coming out of the All-Star break how your team makes its comeback after the break. It looked OK early, it got worse the rest of the night."

"It's disheartening," Kidd said. "We all know what the picture is. We're chasing two teams, not one. If this is the way we're going to play, I'll sit down and give the young guys some time. There's no need to waste our energy if everybody's not going to show up."

NBA Top 5 Power Rankings by ESPN's Marc Stein - Week 16

Apparently all the teams around San Antonio didn't like seeing Spurs punished with a steep drop, either. So they helped SA get back where it belongs to start the stretch run.

Every team needs an All-Star break, but if any team didn't want one, it was Dallas after that 4-0 road trip. And Mavs are still waiting to be full strength, which hasn't happened all season.

Suns apparently aren't greedy. Team sources say they'll be perfectly happy with any win total in the 60s.

Zo's arrival will give Miami the top three picks from the '92 draft, joining Shaq and Laettner. Weirder still: Miami has employed eight of the top 10 players from that draft, plus No. 12 Harold Miner.

So how soon do Supes clinch the division? Can they actually clinch before April? Not impossible, if our math is right.

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