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NBA-PLAYOFFS
Mavs, Blazers, Heat win
UNDATED (AP) — The Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers are heading home, and they're bringing home-court advantage with them.
The Mavs and San Antonio are tied at one game apiece in the NBA's Western Conference quarterfinals after Monta (MAHN'-tay) Ellis 21 points in a 113-92 blowout over the Spurs. Shawn Marion finished with 20 points and Devin Harris added 18 for the Mavericks, who had dropped 10 straight against the Spurs.
The Spurs had a whopping 22 turnovers resulting in 33 points for the Mavericks.
Dallas would be up two games to none if it didn't blow a 10-point lead in the final eight minutes of the series opener.
Game 3 is Saturday in Dallas.
Meanwhile, Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge followed his franchise playoff-record of 46 points in Game 1 by providing 43 points and eight rebounds in a 112-105 triumph at Houston. That gives the Blazers a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference quarterfinals.
Aldridge kept the Blazers afloat by hitting 18 of his 28 shots while the rest of the starters shot a combined 13-for-41. Damian Lillard finished with 18 points and 11 assists but was just 3 of 14 from the field.
Dwight Howard had team highs of 32 points and 14 rebounds for the Rockets.
Portland hosts Game 3 on Friday.
Also on Wednesday, the Heat never trailed after carrying a 29-19 into the second quarter of a 101-97 win over the Bobcats, giving Miami a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. LeBron James scored 32 points on 11-of-17 shooting and finished with eight assists and six rebounds. Chris Bosh was 4-for-5 from 3-point range and 8 of 11 overall in adding 20 points.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist paced the Bobcats with 22 points, while Al Jefferson added 18 and 13 rebounds.
Game 3 is Saturday in Charlotte.
NBA-MOST IMPROVED
Suns' guard honored
NEW YORK (AP) — Phoenix guard Goran Dragic (DRAHG'-ich) has been named winner of the NBA's Most Improved Player Award. He came into the season with a career scoring average of 9.5 points a game before registering 20.3 with 5.9 assists per game.
Indiana's Lance Stephenson was second in the voting, with Anthony Davis of the Pelicans third.
NHL-PLAYOFFS
Jackets, Stars, Hawks rally to square series
UNDATED (AP) — Two-goal leads weren't safe in the first three games of the NHL's opening-round series between Pittsburgh and Columbus, so the Penguins decided to take a three-goal lead in Game 4 on Wednesday. That didn't work, either.
The Blue Jackets trailed 3-0 midway through the first period before storming back for a 4-3 overtime win over the Pens. Boone Jenner and Ryan Johansen scored power-play goals to get the Jackets within 3-2 before Brandon Dubinsky notched the equalizer with just 24 seconds left in regulation. Nick Foligno ended it at 2:49 of OT to even the series at two games apiece.
Craig Adams, Chris Kunitz (KOO'-nihts) and James Neal scored in the first 11:10 for the Penguins, but Sidney Crosby failed to record a point while posting a -2.
The series returns to Pittsburgh for Game 5 on Saturday.
The eighth-seeded Dallas Stars also evened their opening-round series at two games apiece by erasing a 2-0 deficit in a 4-2 win over Anaheim. The game was tied 2-2 until Cody Eakin and Alex Goligoski scored 1:22 apart on the Stars' first two shots in the third period. Those goals came after Jamie Benn and Vernon Fiddler tallied while Dallas was outshooting the Ducks 16-3 in the second period.
Jonas Hiller finished in goal for the Ducks, who host Game 5 on Friday.
Not to be outdone, Chicago also knotted its series at two games all as Patrick Kane's second goal of the game ended the Blackhawks' 4-3 overtime win against St. Louis. The Hawks squandered a 2-0 lead in the second period and trailed 3-2 until Bryan Bickell scored with 3:52 left in regulation. Kane won it at 11:17 of the extra session, the third overtime game of the series.
Vladimir Tarasenko tallied twice for the Blues, who head home to host Game 5 on Friday.
NHL-WILD/COOKE
Cooke slapped with 7-game ban
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The NHL has cracked down hard on Matt Cooke, suspending the Minnesota Wild left wing for seven games for his knee-to-knee hit that injured Colorado Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie.
If the term of the ban isn't finished during the playoffs, Cooke must complete it at the beginning of the next regular season.
This is Cooke's sixth career suspension for various player safety violations, bringing his total of games banned to 34, including playoffs.
MLB-SCHEDULE
Diamondbacks stun Cubs
UNDATED (AP) — Leave it to the Chicago Cubs to spoil their own party.
On an afternoon in which the team celebrated the 100th anniversary of the first game at Wrigley Field, the Cubbies coughed up a 5-2 lead in the ninth inning of a 7-5 loss to Arizona. Martin Prado (mahr-TEEN' PRAH'-doh) hit a two-run single that bounced off the second-base bag. One batter later, the Diamondbacks were down to their last out until Miguel Montero hit a game-tying single and scored on Aaron Hill's two-run triple. Three of the five runs were unearned following an error by shortstop Starlin Castro.
The game was played 100 years after the Chicago Federals and Kansas City Packers played the opening game at the stadium. The Diamondbacks and Cubs wore throwback 1914 jerseys and the famed scoreboard listed Kansas City and Chi-Feds in their place.
Hall of Famers Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Fergie Jenkins and Andre Dawson were on hand to mark the anniversary of the second oldest park in the majors. Boston's Fenway Park is 102 years old.
Also in the majors:
— The Chicago White Sox pulled out a 6-4 win in Detroit on Marcus Semien's seventh-inning grand slam. Jose Abreu (ah-BRAY'-oo) hit another long home run for the White Sox.
— Jason Kipnis doubled home in Nick Swisher in the seventh inning to put Cleveland ahead 4-3 in a 5-3 victory over Kansas City. Michael Bourn had three hits and two RBIs to help the Indians overcome back-to-back homers by Salvador Perez and Mike Moustakas.
— Boston was a 5-1 winner over the New York Yankees as John Lackey allowed a run and seven hits while striking out 11 in eight innings. Yankees starter Michael Pineda (pih-NAY'-duh) was ejected in the second inning after umpires found a foreign substance on his neck, 13 days after the right-hander had brown goo on the lower part of the palm of his pitching hand during a 4-1 win over Boston
— Nelson Cruz launched a grand slam and a solo shot to help Baltimore build a 9-6 lead in a 10-8 win at Toronto. Chris Davis also went deep for the Orioles, who trailed 6-3 before scoring six times in the fifth.
— Chris Colabello was the hitting star in Minnesota's 6-4 win at Tampa Bay, smacking a two-run homer in the fourth and delivering a tiebreaking, two-run single in the top of the 12th. The Twins' bullpen allowed just three hits over seven shutout innings to help the team move back to .500.
— Martin (mahr-TEEN') Perez pitched his second consecutive shutout and Texas completed a three-game sweep with a 3-0 win over Oakland. Donnie Murphy hit a solo homer to back Perez, who stretched his scoreless streak to 26 games and helped the Rangers take over the AL West lead by a half-game over the A's.
— Seattle's eight-game losing streak is over after Kyle Seager belted a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to give the Mariners a 5-3 win against Houston. Seager also hit a two-run shot in the seventh and collected with a career-high five RBIs after the M's fell behind 3-0.
— Washington erupted for four runs in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-4 and avoid a three-game sweep. Jose Lobaton (LOH'-bah-tahn) led off the ninth with his first homer of the season and Jayson Werth added a two-run double before scoring on a walk-off single by Adam LaRoche.
— The Dodgers were 5-2 winners over Philadelphia in Los Angeles as Yasiel Puig (YAH'-see-ul pweeg) provided an RBI single and a run-scoring triple. Zack Greinke (GREHN'-kee) is 4-0 after giving up two runs and five hits while striking out 11 in seven innings.
— Pinch-hitter Evan Gattis (GAT'-his) laced a two-run double in the bottom of the eighth to lift Atlanta past Florida 3-1. Aaron Harang allowed just a run and six hits while fanning 11 in six innings, but he received a no-decision and actually saw his ERA rise from 0.70 to 0.85.
— Hector Sanchez hit two of San Francisco's six homers, including a grand slam in the 11th inning of a 12-10 victory over the Colorado Rockies. Brandon Belt also homered twice for the Giants, who trailed 5-1 before avoiding a three-game sweep.
— Alfredo Simon is 3-1 after holding the Pirates to two runs and four hits over 6 2/3 innings of Cincinnati's 5-2 victory in Pittsburgh. The Bucs led 2-1 until the Reds scored three times in the fifth on Billy Hamilton's RBI single, a throwing error by catcher Chris Stewart and Jay Bruce's run-scoring grounder.
— Jean Segura hit a three-run homer and Khris Davis added a solo shot in Milwaukee's 5-2 verdict over San Diego. Kyle Lohse (lohsh) surrendered just a run and five hits in seven innings to improve to 4-1.
— Jon Niese (nees) gave up a run and six hits in 6 2/3 innings to pick up his first victory of the season in the New York Mets' 3-2 decision over St. Louis. The Mets trailed 1-0 until Ruben Tejada and Kirk Nieuwenhuis (NOO'-ehn-hys) worked out bases-loaded walks against Michael Wacha (WAH'-kah) in the fourth inning.
MLB-NEWS
Padres lose Johnson for season
UNDATED (AP) — San Diego Padres starter Josh Johnson is scheduled to undergo elbow ligament-replacement surgery for the second time and will miss the entire season.
Johnson hasn't pitched since signing a one-year, $8 million contract with the Padres in November. He was 2-8 with a 6.20 ERA last season with Toronto.
Also in the majors:
— Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Mark Trumbo will be sidelined for an extended period of time because of a stress fracture in his left foot. An MRI taken Wednesday revealed the injury after an X-ray showed no structural damage.
— The Oakland A's have rejected a deal to play at their current ballpark in the foreseeable future, saying a 10-year lease extension offer doesn't meet all their requirements. The Oakland Tribune reports the rejection came just an hour after the joint board that runs the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum complex announced the extension proposal.
NFL-SCHEDULE
Seahawks, Packers kick off NFL slate
NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL has announced it's 2014 schedule, and it opens with the Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks hosting the Green Bay Packers on Thursday, Sept. 4.
That game is the one of four prime-time matchups on opening weekend. The Sunday night game will be a battle of Peyton Manning's current and former teams as Denver hosts Indiana. One day later, The New York Giants will be in Detroit to take on the Lions before Arizona hosts San Diego.
The Thanksgiving Day schedule has the Lions hosting Chicago and Philadelphia visiting Dallas before the Seahawks take on the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara.
OBIT-OLDEST FORMER BIG LEAGUER
Ex-MLB player passes away at 102
HAVANA (AP) — Family members say Conrado Marrero, known as Connie when he played for the Washington Senators in the 1950's, has passed away at the age of 102. He was the oldest living former Major Leaguer.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Women's coach at Boston U. quits
BOSTON (AP) — Boston University women's basketball coach Kelly Greenberg has resigned after some former players alleged she was verbally and emotionally abusive. She held the job for 10 years and had a record of 186-127.
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