Las Vegas — Another race, another victory for Jimmie Johnson and yet another round of griping about the NASCAR champion’s dominance.

Only this time, there was a silver lining for those ready to see someone else hoist the Sprint Cup trophy: His competitors are clearly closing the gap.

Johnson reeled in teammate Jeff Gordon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where the four-time defending champion won for the second consecutive week. He needed luck to win last week at California and strategy Sunday at Las Vegas.

Sooner or later, though, he’s going to run out of ways to win.

“We don’t feel invincible,” Johnson said.

And he shouldn’t.

Kevin Harvick finished second for the second straight week, then showed signs of the swagger that only Harvick can pull off, and only when he’s running well.

“We can run with them, and they know it,” said Harvick, the current points leader.

Gordon, who dominated the race only to have to settle for third when his pit strategy backfired, was buoyed by his ability to lead 219 of the 267 laps.

“I think we’ve got more of what we showed today,” he said. “We’re going to show a lot more. I think we’re just starting to tap into it.”

Johnson took four tires on the final pit stop — Harvick and Gordon only took two — in a race-winning decision that gave him his 49th career victory and fourth at Las Vegas. It also made the four-time defending champion the career victory leader on 1.5-mile speedways with 15 — one more than Gordon, Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty.

Informed of his intermediate track dominance, he did a celebratory fist-pound with crew chief Chad Knaus and shook team owner Rick Hendrick’s hand.

This one required beating Gordon, Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate who hasn’t won a race in almost a year.

Gordon was out front when Kevin Conway’s spin brought out the final caution and debated pitting strategy with crew chief Steve Letarte.

The call was made at the last second for Gordon to come in, and Letarte changed just two tires to get Gordon back on track before the competition. Knaus called for four tires in a decision that put Johnson in fourth on the restart.

Clint Bowyer, who didn’t pit, restarted as the leader with 34 laps to go.

NBA

Thumb to sideline O’Neal

Independence, Ohio — Shaquille O’Neal’s regular season could be over. Now the Cavaliers hope the center they acquired for the postseason will be back in time for the playoffs.

O’Neal will undergo surgery today to repair his injured right thumb. He was examined Sunday by Dr. Thomas Graham at the National Hand Center in Baltimore. Graham will perform the surgery.

The Cavaliers said they will update a timeline for his return following the procedure, but a typical recovery period is six to eight weeks. There are seven weeks left in the regular season.

Jefferson apologizes

Minnesota — Minnesota Timberwolves star center Al Jefferson apologized to the team and fans Sunday after his arrest on suspicion of DWI following a weekend loss to Portland. The Timberwolves suspended Jefferson for the next two games without pay — a punishment Jefferson said he would accept.

All-Star Bosh held out

Oklahoma City — All-Star forward Chris Bosh did not travel with the Toronto Raptors and missed his fifth straight game Sunday night due to a sprained left ankle.

Bosh is listed as day-to-day. The Raptors played at Oklahoma City on Sunday night and are scheduled to play at Houston tonight.

Golf

Mahan wins Phoenix Open

Scottsdale, Ariz. — Hunter Mahan won the Phoenix Open for his second PGA Tour title, coming from four strokes back to beat Rickie Fowler by a shot in a 1-2 finish for former Oklahoma State players.

Quinn prevails in Panama

Panama City — Fran Quinn won the Panama Championship for his fourth career Nationwide Tour title, shooting a 1-over 71 for a two-stroke victory over Brian Smock.

Quinn had a tournament-record 15-under 265 total at Panama Golf Club.

Miyazato triumphs again

Singapore — Ai Miyazato won the HSBC Champions on Sunday to become the first LPGA Tour player in 44 years to sweep the first two events of a season, closing with 3-under 69 for a two-stroke victory over Cristie Kerr.

Tennis

Gulbis upsets Karlovic

Delray Beach, Fla. — Ernests Gulbis became the first Latvian to win an ATP Tour title when he upset second-seeded Ivo Karlovic of Croatia, 6-2, 6-3, at the Delray Beach International Championships on Sunday.

“Everything I do it’s the first for my country,” Gulbis said. “I was first one in top 300, first one in top 200, first one in top 100.”

Djokovic repeats in Dubai

Dubai, United Arab Emirates — Novak Djokovic successfully defended his Dubai Championships title on Sunday, beating Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3, in a rain-delayed final.

Leading 7-5, 2-0 before rain suspended play Saturday, the second-seeded Serb won his 17th career title in a match lasting 3 hours, 21 minutes at the Aviation Club. There were seven breaks of serve in Sunday’s 19 games.

Roger Federer is the only other player to win the Dubai title in successive years, winning three straight from 2003-05.

Kleybanova wins 1st title

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — Alisa Kleybanova won her first WTA title at the Malaysian Open on Sunday, beating top-seeded Elena Dementieva 6-3, 6-2 in an all-Russian final.

Williams defends crown

Acapulco, Mexico — Venus Williams came from a set down to defend her Mexican Open title, while David Ferrer defeated good friend and fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero to end his 14-match winning streak.

Williams beat Polona Hercog, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, late Saturday night for her second consecutive title — this one on clay to go with Dubai a week ago on hard courts. The win pushed her career total to 43 WTA championships, the most by an active player.

Almagro to replace Ferrero

Madrid — Nicolas Almagro will replace the injured Juan Carlos Ferrero for Spain’s Davis Cup tie against Switzerland on March 5-7.

Ferrero hurt his knee during the final of the Mexico Open in Acapulco, which he lost to David Ferrer.

MLB

Reyes meets with FBI

Port St. Lucie, Fla. — Mets shortstop Jose Reyes said Sunday he met with federal investigators last week regarding a Canadian doctor accused of selling an unapproved drug.

Dr. Anthony Galea is facing four charges in his country related to the drug known as Actovegin, which is extracted from calf’s blood and used for healing. His assistant also has been charged in the U.S. for having HGH and another drug while crossing the border in September.