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NBA-SCHEDULE
Spurs, Thunder win...Pacers extend win streak
UNDATED (AP) — The San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker was in top form un Sunday after missing the team's previous six games.
Parker had 22 points and seven assists as the Spurs downed Dallas 112-106. He hit his first shot and finished 10-for-15, including a crucial layup with 45 seconds left.
Parker looked refreshed after not playing since Feb. 10 for what was officially listed as "rest," but unofficially was due to a series of lower body maladies.
Tim Duncan finished with 17 points and Kawhi (kah-WY') Leonard added 16 as the Spurs earned their third straight win and beat the Mavericks for the eighth consecutive time.
San Antonio remains 1 ½ games behind the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Thunder were 116-99 winners against Charlotte as Kevin Durant contributed 28 points and Russell Westbrook added 26. Serge Ibaka had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which outrebounded the Bobcats 44-29.
The Indiana Pacers managed to pick up their fifth consecutive victory after struggling against one of the NBA's worst teams.
David West scored 25 points and Paul George added 22 as the Pacers held off Utah 94-91. CJ Watson had 13 points while starting for George Hill, who sat out his second straight game with a bruised shoulder.
Former Butler star Gordon Hayward had a team-high 21 points for the Jazz in his return to Indianapolis.
The outcome gives the Eastern Conference-leading Pacers a 2 ½-game lead over idle Miami.
Checking out the rest of the NBA finals:
— Gerald Green pumped in 33 points and the Morris twins combined for 39 points as Phoenix outscored Atlanta 129-120. Markief (mahr-KEEF') Morris finished with 21 points and brother Marcus added 18 to help the Suns win their second straight since a three-game skid.
— Joakim Noah (JOH'-keem NOH'-ah) recorded his fifth career triple double, finishing with 13 points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists, in Chicago's ninth victory in 10 games, a 109-90 rout of the Knicks. D.J. Augustin (AW'-guh-steen) was a key contributor for the Bulls with 21 of his 23 points coming in the fourth quarter.
— The Raptors own a four-game lead in the Atlantic Division after DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points and Kyle Lowry had 13 in Toronto's 104-98 win against Golden State. Stephen (STEH'-fehn) Curry scored 34 points and David Lee had 20 and 11 rebounds as the Warriors lost for just the second time in their past seven games.
— Philadelphia's losing streak has grown to 14 games with a 92-81 setback in Orlando. Tobias Harris scored a career-high 31 points, and Nikola Vucevic had 18 points and 17 rebounds for the Magic.
NBA-THUNDER
Thunder lose guard
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Thunder guard Thabo Sefolosha (tah-BOH' sehf-ah-LOH'-shuh) will miss four to six weeks with a left calf strain. He left Friday's game against Memphis in the first half and didn't return. The 6-foot-7 defensive stopper had started 55 of the team's 59 games this season and averaged 6.7 points and 3.7 rebounds.
T25 BASKETBALL-SCHEDULE
Buckeyes fall again
UNDATED (AP) — The 22nd-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes could fall from Monday's Associated Press men's basketball poll following their second straight loss.
Yogi Ferrell scored 20 points and Will Sheehey added 19 as Indiana knocked off the visiting Buckeyes 72-64. The Hoosiers closed the first half on a 21-5 to take a 33-25 lead into intermission.
It was the second straight win for the Hoosiers, who knocked off 20th-ranked Iowa on Thursday.
LaQuinton Ross and Lenzelle Smith Jr. had 19 points each for the Buckeyes
Also in top-25 hoops:
— Aaron Gordon scored 19 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds to help No. 3 Arizona beat Stanford 79-66 and clinch the Pac-12 regular-season title. T.J. McConnell scored 14 points to help the Wildcats cap an unbeaten home schedule.
— Darrun Hilliard scored a career-high 26 points as No. 8 Villanova set a school record for regular-season wins with a 73-56 victory over Marquette. Josh Hart added 13 points and JayVaughn Pinkston had 11 points and seven rebounds to help the Wildcats improve to 26-3.
— Wisconsin has a seven-game winning streak after Josh Gasser scored 15 points to lead the 14th-ranked Badgers to a 71-66 win against Penn State. Ben Brust scored 14 points and Traevon Jackson added 13, including four clutch free throws down the stretch.
— Iowa snapped a three-game losing streak with an 83-76 win over Purdue. Roy Devyn Marble scored 21 points for the Hawkeyes, who are 20-9 and 9-7 in the Big Ten.
— No. 25 New Mexico rallied from an early 14-point deficit to beat Nevada 72-58. Cameron Bairstow scored 22 points as the Lobos kept their share of first place in the Mountain West Conference.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Ducks win, Blues keep pace
UNDATED (AP) — The Anaheim Ducks have regained a five-point lead in the NHL's Western Conference race by earning their third straight win since a three-game skid.
Frederick Andersen finished with 49 saves and the Ducks raced out to a 5-0 lead before settling for a 5-3 win over Carolina. Andersen kept the Hurricanes at bay by turning back 24 shots in the final period.
Corey Perry led the Anaheim offense with two goals and one assist, all in the first period. Dustin Penner set up two tallies for the Ducks, who picked up their league-leading 43rd victory and improved to 24-5-2 at home.
The Ducks top the West by five points over Chicago and St. Louis. The Blues kept pace by scoring four unanswered goals in the third period of a 4-2 win at Phoenix. Patrik Berglund and Magnus Paajarvi (lah-YAHR'-vee) scored early in the final period before Kevin Shattenkirk produced the game-winner with 7:14 left.
Tuukka (TOO'-kah) Rask and Dougie Hamilton helped the Boston Bruins complete their first season sweep of the New York Rangers in 31 years.
Rask made 19 of his 39 saves in the first period to before the Bruins erupted in a 6-2 victory at Madison Square Garden. Hamilton contributed to Boston's first three goals, sandwiching two assists around his go-ahead goal early in the second period.
Brian Campbell added a pair of third-period goals, including the game-winner, as the B's stretched their lead in the NHL's Atlantic Division to six points over Pittsburgh. Boston also pulled within three points of East-leading Pittsburgh.
Also on ice:
— Nick Holden scored twice and four other Colorado players had two points in a 6-3 win over Tampa Bay. The game was tied 3-3 until Erik Johnson, Holden and Paul Stastny (STAS'-nee) scored in the final 3:55.
— Vincent Lecavalier (leh-KAV'-uhl-yay) scored at 2:45 of overtime to complete Philadelphia's comeback in a 5-4 triumph at Washington. The Flyers trailed 4-2 in the third period but forced overtime on Claude Giroux's (juh-rooz) goal with 65 seconds left in regulation.
— The Canucks blew a 2-0 lead and suffered their ninth loss in 10 games, 4-2 against Ottawa in the Heritage Classic. Cody Ceci (SEE'-see) scored the tiebreaking goal midway through the second period in front of more than 54,000 at Vancouver's BC Place.
— Matt Nieto (nee-EH'-toh) scored the go-ahead goal at 6:20 of the third period and Alex Stalock made 21 saves and the San Jose Sharks defeated the New Jersey Devils 4-2. Logan Couture (kuh-CHUR') and Raffi Torres (RAH'-fee TOHR'-ehz) also scored as the Sharks won for the fifth time in six games.
— Florida trailed 4-2 in the third period until Scottie Upshall scored twice to lead the Panthers to a 5-3 win over the New York Islanders. Shawn Mattias also tallied twice for the Panthers.
NASCAR
Harvick wins at Phoenix again
AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Kevin Harvick led 224 of 312 laps in winning the second Sprint Cup race of the 2014 season at Phoenix International Raceway, edging Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. Harvick started 13th and pulled away on a series of late restarts to win his second race with Stewart-Haas Racing. It was the fifth Sprint Cup victory at Phoenix for Harvick, who also won their last fall.
Pole-sitter Brad Keselowski was third, followed by Joey Logano and Jeff Gordon.
MLB-MOTA
Veteran pitcher calls it quits
SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Reliever Guillermo Mota (gee-EHR'-moh MOH'-tah) has announced he is retiring after 14 seasons in the major leagues. Mota was a non-roster invitee to the Kansas City Royals camp and did not pitch last season.
The 40-year-old right-hander made 743 career relief appearances with a 3.94 earned run average during his big league career.
MLB-TRADE
Indians and Dodgers deal
GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — The Cleveland Indians have acquired infielder Justin Sellers from the Los Angeles Dodgers for cash considerations. The 28-year-old played 82 games for the Dodgers in the past three years, hitting .199 with three home runs and 17 RBIs. He split time at shortstop, second base and third base.
PGA-HONDA CLASSIC
Henley wins in playoff
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) —Russell Henley won the PGA's Honda Classic after finishing regulation in a four-way tie for the lead. The win is his second on the PGA Tour. Along with Henley, the playoff included Ryan Palmer, Russell Knox and Rory McIlroy, who had a chance to win the event on the 18th hole but his attempt at an eagle missed the mark.
Tiger Woods withdrew from the final round after playing 13 holes. Woods said he was suffering from back spasms.
LPGA-HSBC
Creamer wins
SINGAPORE (AP) — Paula Creamer (KREE'-mer) sank a 75-foot eagle on the second playoff hole against Azahara Munoz (MOON'-yohz) to win the HSBC Women's Champions event for her first LPGA title since the 2010 U.S. Women's Open. Creamer's putt curled across the green and then rolled slowly down the slope into the hole.
Creamer and Munoz finished 72 holes tied at 10-under 278, setting up a playoff after Karrie (KAHR'-ee) Webb, the leader after every round this week, made a series of mistakes to give up a three-stroke lead on the back nine.
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