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NBA PLAYOFFS-SCHEDULE
Pacers beat Hawks...Carter's buzzer-beater lifts Mavs
UNDATED (AP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder were minutes away from falling behind three games to one in the first round of the NBA playoffs until backup Reggie Jackson bailed them out.
Reggie Jackson scored poured in a playoff-best 32 points and the Thunder square their series at two games apiece by beating the Grizzlies 92-89 in overtime at Memphis. Oklahoma City blew a 14-point lead and trailed late in regulation scored five straight points in the final minute of the fourth quarter.
Jackson managed to outscore teammates Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who scored 15 points apiece and shot a miserable 11 for 45.
The series moves back to Oklahoma City for Game 5 on Tuesday.
The No. 1 seeds in the playoffs continue to struggle, although the Indiana Pacers still managed to even their conference quarterfinal series at two games apiece.
The Pacers trailed 85-83 before Paul George and David West hit 3-pointers to rally Indiana past the Hawks 91-88 in Atlanta. George scored 24 points and West added 18 to help the Pacers regain home-court advantage.
Paul Millsap led the Hawks with 29, but the All-Star forward committed a key turnover in the final minute before missing a shot in the lane.
Game 5 is Monday at Indianapolis.
Meanwhile, the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs fell behind two games to one in their conference quarterfinal series. Vince Carter nailed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give the Mavericks a 109-108 win over the Spurs in Dallas. Carter's game-winner came 1.7 seconds after Manu Ginobili (MAN'-oo zhih-NOH'-blee) hit a layup that put San Antonio ahead 108-106.
Monta (MAHN'-tay) Ellis kept the Mavericks close in the fourth quarter and finished with a game-high 29 points.
Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 22 points.
The Mavs host Game 4 Monday.
The Miami Heat are one victory away from advancing to the NBA's Eastern Conference semifinals.
LeBron James had 30 points and 10 rebounds as the Heat beat the Bobcats 98-85 in Charlotte to take a 3-0 series lead. James was 10 of 18 from the field as he pushed his record to 18-0 against the Bobcats since joining the Heat in 2010. Miami has won 19 straight overall against Charlotte.
Dwyane (dwayn) Wade added 17 points for the Heat, who shot 8-for-11 from 3-point range.
Al Jefferson had 20 points but couldn't help the Bobcats finally in their first-ever playoff win.
Game 4 is Monday in Charlotte.
NBA-WIZARDS
No, No, Nene
NEW YORK (AP) — Washington Wizards forward Nene (neh-NAY') has been suspended by the NBA for Game 4 of the team's first-round series against the Chicago Bulls for head-butting and grabbing Jimmy Butler around the neck with both hands and attempting to throw him down. Nene received two technical fouls and was ejected from the game for the incident, which occurred with 8:28 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Wizards' 100-97 loss to the Bulls on Friday night.
NBA-CLIPPERS
League investigating alleged comments by owner
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The NBA is investigating a report of an audio recording in which a man purported to be Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling makes racist remarks while speaking to his girlfriend. In the recording posted on TMZ, the man questions his girlfriend's association with minorities and tells her not to bring blacks to games.
NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement that the league is in the process of authenticating the validity of the recording posted on TMZ's website. Bass called the comments "disturbing and offensive."
Clippers coach Doc Rivers said players discussed boycotting Game 4 of their first-round playoff series at Golden State on Sunday during a 45-minute team meeting but quickly decided against it.
Former Clippers guard Baron Davis wrote on Twitter that Sterling's discrimination has been "going on for a long time."
Former Lakers' star Magic Johnson said he will never attend another Clippers game as long as Sterling is the owner. He said he feels bad that friends such as Rivers and Clippers point guard Chris Paul had to work for Sterling.
MLB-SCHEDULE
Cards' offensive drought continues
UNDATED (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals continue to have trouble putting runs on the scoreboard.
The Redbirds have scored just five times in their last six games after collecting just five hits in a 6-1 loss to Pittsburgh.
Gaby Sanchez doubled home a pair in a four-run fourth before the Pirates' bullpen took over the rest of the way. Pittsburgh relievers allowed just a run and three hits in seven innings after starter Francisco Liriano left the game with flyu-like symptoms.
The Bucs also held Yadier Molina (YAH'-dee-ehr moh-LEE'-nuh) hitless in four at-bats after the Cardinals' catcher entered play on a 15-game hitting streak.
Also in the majors:
— Khris Davis hit a solo homer and Milwaukee improved to a major league-leading 18-6 by beating the Chicago Cubs 5-3. Jeff Bianchi hit a two-run single after replacing shortstop Jean Segura, who was hit accidentally on the right side of his head with a bat being swung by teammate Ryan Braun in the dugout.
— Homers by Adrian Gonzalez and Matt Kemp powered the Dodgers past Colorado 6-3 in Los Angeles. Paul Maholm (mah-HAH'-luhm) allowed two runs and six hits while throwing just 84 pitches over seven innings.
— Tanner Roark's (ROH'-ahrks) first career complete game is a shutout as he retired his first 16 batters before settling on a three-hitter in Washington's 4-0 win over San Diego. Ian Desmond had three hits, including an RBI double in the Nationals' three-run first.
— Rookie right-hander David Hale allowed only two hits over eight innings of Atlanta's 4-1 victory against Cincinnati. Freddie Freeman hit a two-run homer and Justin Upton and Evan Gattis added solo shots for the Braves.
— Florida won for just the second time in 11 road games as Jarrod Saltalamacchia (sahl-tah-lah-MAH'-kee-uh) homered in the 10th inning of a 7-6 win over the Mets in New York. The Mets led 5-1 until Giancarlo Stanton launched a two-run homer to ignite the Marlins' five-run sixth.
— Pinch hitter Cody Asche hit a two-run double while Philadelphia scored four times in the eighth to beat Arizona 6-5. Carlos Ruiz went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored to help the Phillies storm back from an early 5-0 deficit.
— Hunter Pence hit a two-run single in a four-run fifth inning that pushed San Francisco past Cleveland 5-3. Buster Posey added a solo homer in the sixth for the Giants, who trailed 3-0 before earning their third straight win.
— John Ryan Murphy hit his first big league homer and drove in three runs in the New York Yankees' 4-3 win over the visiting Los Angeles Angels. David Robertson posted his first save since coming off the disabled list, ending the game by retiring Albert Pujols (POO'-hohlz) and Howie Kendrick with the tying run in scoring position.
— A.J. Pierzynski (peer-ZIHN'-skee) hit his eighth career grand slam and Will Middlebrooks added a solo home run to power Boston past the Blue Jays 7-6 in Toronto. Middlebrooks has five home runs and 10 extra base hits in 13 career games at Toronto's Rogers Centre.
— Cesar Ramos combined with two relievers on a five-hitter and Ryan Hanigan hit a tiebreaking, two-run double as Tampa Bay shut out the Chciago White Sox 4-0. James Loney went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored to help the Rays end a three-game skid.
— Baltimore beat Kansas City 3-2 on an RBI single by Nick Markakis in the bottom of the 10th. Markakis also drove in the Orioles' first run with a first-inning single.
— Phil Hughes allowed one earned run and four hits in seven innings of Minnesota's 5-3 victory against Detroit. The Tigers led 2-0 before starter Anibal (AH'-nih-bahl) Sanchez left in the third with a blister on the middle finger on his throwing hand.
— Texas erased an early 3-0 deficit against Felix Hernandez before Mitch Moreland hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning of a 6-3 win at Seattle. Aaron Poreda pitched two scoreless innings to earn his first major league victory in almost five years.
— Dexter Fowler hit an RBI single to spark Houston's four-run eighth in a 7-6 win over Oakland. Brandon Moss got the A's within 7-6 with a three-run homer in the ninth before the Astros beat the Athletics for only the sixth time in 31 meetings.
NHL PLAYOFFS
Another Bruins-Habs clash on tap
UNDATED (AP) — The Boston Bruins were able to wrap up their NHL conference quarterfinal series on Saturday. The San Jose Sharks were not.
Tuukka (TOO'-kah) Rask turned back 31 shots and the B's advanced with a 4-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings in Game 5. Milan Lucic (LOO'-cheech) scored the eventual game-winning goal 4:27 into the third period before setting up Jarome Iginla's (ih-GIHN'-luhz) empty-netter. Loui (LOO'-ee) Ericksson and Zdeno Chara (zuh-DAY'-noh CHAH'-rah) scored power-play goals, who won four straight after dropping the series opener at home.
Next up for the Bruins are the Montreal Canadiens.
Los Angeles staved off elimination for a second straight game as Jonathan Quick turned back 30 shots in the Kings' 3-0 win over the Sharks. Quick blanked the Sharks for the fourth time in his playoff career and has bounced back nicely after surrendering 16 goals in the first three games.
Tyler Toffoli (tah-FOH'-lee), Anze Kopitar (AHN'-zhay KOH-pih-tahr) and Jeff Carter scored against Antti Niemi, who was pulled for the second straight game.
The Kings host Game 6 on Monday.
Pittsburgh is up three games to two in its first-round series after the Penguins scored the last three goals in a 3-1 triumph over Columbus. Jussi Jokinen (YOO'-see YOH'-kih-nehn) scored the go-ahead goal with 13:54 remaining after Chris Kunitz (KOO'-nihts) tied the game with a power-play goal in the second period.
Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 23 shots and blanked the Blue Jackets after Boone Jenner scored in the first period.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 49 shots for the Blue Jackets, who were outshot 51-24.
Game 6 is in Columbus on Monday.
Colorado pulled off a nice comeback to take a 3-2 series lead over Minnesota. Rookie Nathan MacKinnon scored 3:27 in overtime to lift the Avalanche past the Wild 4-3. Zach Parise (pah-REE'-see) and Kyle Brodziak (BRAHD'-zihk) tallied 1:51 apart to put the Wild ahead 3-2 early in the third period. It remained 3-2 until PA Parenteau (PAR'-ehn-toh) scored with just 74 seconds left in regulation.
MacKinnon also had two assists, giving him two goals and 10 points in the series.
Game 6 is Monday in Minnesota.
NHL-CAPITALS
Caps let coach and general manager go
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Capitals have cleaned house, firing coach Adam Oates and announcing that they will not renew the contract of general manager George McPhee. The team failed to make the NHL playoffs for the first time since 2007.
Oates is a former Caps player and had one season left on his three-year contract. This was his first job as a head coach. McPhee's contract was up. He was GM of the team for 17 years.
NASCAR
Logano gets first Richomd win
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Joey Logano was the winner of Saturday's Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Speedway.
Logano took advantage of a three-car duel by sneaking below the trio to take the lead, outrunning former champions Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon and Brad Keslowski.
Logano's fifth career victory and first in Richmond came seemingly from nowhere after a restart with nine laps to go.
Gordon finished second, followed by Kyle Busch, Keselowski and Kenseth.
INDYCAR
Open wheel racing in Alabama
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Will Power will start Sunday's IndyCar race in Birmingham, Ala., from the pole. A two-time winner at Barber Motorsports Park, Power posted the time to beat fairly early in qualifying for IndyCar's Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. James Hinchcliffe starts second after sitting out the final few minutes, followed by defending champion Ryan Hunter-Reay.
GOLF-ZURICH CLASSIC
Third round complete
AVONDALE, La. (AP) — Seung-Yul Noh has the lead after three rounds of the PGA's Zurich Classic outside New Orleans. He shot a 7-under-65 to finish 18 shots under par, two shots in front of Keegan Bradley. Midway leader Ben Martin is four shots off the lead.
GOLF-SWINGING SKIRTS CLASSIC
Lewis leads
DALY CITY, Calif. (AP) — Stacy Lewis has a one-stroke lead over Lydia Ko through three rounds of the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic in California.
Lewis is 10-under after she and each shot 4-under 68's. Jenny Shin was four strokes back following a 68.
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