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NBA-SCHEDULE
Pacers in control...15 straight for Spurs
UNDATED (AP) — It's beginning to look as if the Indiana Pacers will be the No. 1 seed in the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs. With 10 games left in the regular season, the Pacers own a three-game lead over Miami after last night's 84-83 victory over the Heat in a game played with the intensity of the playoffs.
Paul George scored 23 points and Roy Hibbert had 21 in leading the Pacers back from a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit. That helped the Pacers end a two-game losing streak.
LeBron James scored 38 points, but missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer late. Chris Bosh threw up an air ball on the Heat's final shot at the buzzer.
Indiana is 2-1 against Miami this season. The Heat and Pacers will meet again on April 11 in their final meeting of the regular season.
In other NBA action:
__ It's now a 15-game winning streak for San Antonio. The Spurs dispatched Denver 108-103 behind Tim Duncan's 29 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. Danny Green scored 16 points before leaving with a foot injury in the second half.
__ The New York Knicks moved closer to the playoffs with a 107-99 win at Sacramento. Carmelo Anthony scored 36 points, J.R. Smith added 29. The Knicks are two games back of fading Atlanta for the final Eastern Conference playoff berth.
— Terrence Ross scored 24 points, Kyle Lowry 23 and the Toronto Raptors edged closer to their first playoff berth since 2008 with a 99-90 win over the Boston Celtics. DeMar DeRozan added 20 points for Toronto, which increased its Atlantic Division lead to 2 1/2 games over Brooklyn.
__ The Charlotte Bobcats won for the 10th time in their last 12 home games, a 116-111 overtime win over Brooklyn. Al Jefferson scored 35 points. Kemba Walker had a double-double with 20 points and 12 assists. The win pulled the Bobcats within three games of the Nets, the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference.
— Anthony Davis had 16 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks, and the under-manned New Orleans Pelicans won their fourth straight, 98-96 over the Los Angeles Clippers.
__ The Phoenix Suns opened an early 25-point lead and held off a Washington rally to beat the Wizards 99-93 for their fifth straight victory. Goran Dragic (GOHR'-uhn DRAH'-gitch) led the Suns with 25. Eric Bledsoe added 23 points and seven assists.
— Dion Waiters hit a baseline jumper at the buzzer, completing a rally that lifted the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 97-96 victory over the Detroit Pistons. Matt Dellavedova (deh-lah-veh-DOH'-vuh) led Cleveland with a career-high 21 points. Waiters had 18 and Jarrett Jack 17.
__ Minnesota trounced Atlanta 107-83. Corey Brewer and Kevin Martin each had 18 for the T-Wolves.
__ Memphis rallied from a 16-point second half deficit to win at Utah 91-87. Zach Randolph led the Grizzlies with 22 points and 13 boards. Randolph made two clinching free throws with 11.6 seconds left.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Rangers keep rolling
UNDATED (AP) — On NHL ice, the New York Rangers continued their late-season push to the playoffs with their fifth straight win, a 3-1 victory over Philadelphia. Ryan McDonagh scored his 14th goal. Derek Dorsett and Dominic Moore also lit the lamp for the Broadway Blues.
The Rangers have moved three points ahead of the Flyers in their race for second place in the Metropolitan Division.
Henrik Lundqvist turned back 30 shots in goal.
In other NHL action:
— David Booth scored two unassisted goals and Eddie Lack made 29 saves to lead the Vancouver Canucks over the Minnesota Wild 5-2.
__ Anaheim got a late goal from Andrew Cogliano and nipped Calgary 3-2. The Ducks are four points back of St. Louis in the race for best record in the Western Conference.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-NIT
SMU-Clemson, Florida State-Minnesota NIT Final Four
DALLAS (AP) — Nic Moore made a 3-pointer with 6.5 seconds left to lift SMU past California 67-65 and into the NIT semifinals against Clemson.
Moore's shot provided one more dose of Moody Magic, sending Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown and the Mustangs (26-9) to Madison Square Garden.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Aaron Thomas scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half and Okaro White had 14 first-half points as Florida State defeated Louisiana Tech 78-75 to reach the NIT semifinal round. Louisiana Tech's Raheem Appleby missed a pair of 3-point attempts in the final 7 seconds that could have tied the game.
Florida State will play Minnesota in the NIT semifinals on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.
MLB-SPRING TRAINING
Darvish likely going on DL...Nats add pinch-hitter extraordinaire
UNDATED (AP) — The Texas Rangers have been told by doctors that ace pitcher Yu Darvish has no structural damage in his stiff neck. Still, the club will most likely place Darvish on the disabled list to start the season. Darvish led the majors in strikeouts last season.
In other spring training items:
— Utilityman Kevin Frandsen signed a $900,000, one-year contract with the Washington Nationals, who optioned infielder-outfielder Jeff Kobernus to Triple-A Syracuse and catcher Sandy Leon to Double-A Harrisburg. The 32-year-old Frandsen, who led the NL with 14 pinch-hits last season, chose to become a free agent after being optioned to the minors by Philadelphia last weekend
-- NL Cy Young award winner Clayton Kershaw will miss his scheduled start for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Diego Padres his weekend because of an inflamed back muscle.
— Kansas City Royals closer Louis Coleman will probably start the season on the disabled list because of a bone bruise on his right middle finger.
— Giants second baseman Marco Scutaro (SKOO'-tah-roh) says he'll open the season on the disabled list with back problems that have bothered him for most of the spring.
— The Los Angeles Angels have granted right-handed pitcher Joe Blanton his unconditional release. The club will have to pay Blanton $8.5 million. The 33-year-old struggled in spring training after going 2-14 last year.
— Carlos Carraso has been named part of the Cleveland pitching rotation. He edged out Josh Tomlin for the fifth spot.
— Pittsburgh and left fielder Starling Marte (MAHR'-tay) have worked out terms on a six-year contract. Marte hit .280 with 12 home runs, 35 RBIs and a team-high 41 steals during his first full season in the majors in 2013.
— Forbes magazine ranks the New York Yankees as the most valuable team in Major League Baseball, with a value of $2.5 billion. That's an increase of nine per cent over last year. The Los Angeles Dodgers are No. 2, at an even $2 billion.
COLLEGE ATHLETICS-UNION
Federal agency approves notion of union
CHICAGO (AP) — A regional director of the National Labor Relations Board in Chicago has ruled that football players at Northwestern University can create the nation's first college athlete's union.
The decision means the NLRB agrees that the athletes qualify as employees under federal law and therefore can legally unionize.
The university argued against the plan, which was started by outgoing Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter and supported financially by the United Steelworkers union.
Northwestern says it plans to appeal to the full labor board in Washington, D.C.
NFL-MOVES
Allen reaches terms with Bears
UNDATED (AP) — Free agent defensive end Jared Allen has agreed to a four-year contract with the Chicago Bears. The four-time Pro Bowl selection spent the last six seasons playing with Minnesota after four years with Kansas City. A person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press that Allen will get $15 million guaranteed on a deal that could be worth as much as $32 million.
Elsewhere:
— The New Orleans Saints have come to terms on a one-year contract with quarterback Luke McCown. He served as the Saints' backup last season to Drew Brees. McCown is entering his 11th NFL season out of Louisiana Tech.
— The NFL will experiment with extra-point kicks from the 20-yard line for two weeks in preseason this summer. League owners want to see how the change works before considering implementation on a full-time basis. Commissioner Roger Goodell (guh-DEHL') says it is also possible that the playoffs could expand next season. The owners have discussed the notion of adding two more teams, one from each conference.
TENNIS-KEY BISCAYNE
Djokovic benefits, Federer loses
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) — Novak Djokovic (NOH'-vak JOH'-kuh-vich) benefited from an erroneous call and posted a 7-5, 6-3 win over Andy Murray in the quarterfinals of the Sony Open.
Roger Federer was up a service break twice in the second set but lost to No. 20-seeded Kei Nishikori 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. Nishikori will play Djokovic today.
FORMULA ONE-MALAYSIA
Racers to honor flight victims
SEPANG, Malaysia (AP) — Formula One teams, drivers and officials are preparing to honor the victims of flight MH370 at this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix.
Sunday's race will be held at the Sepang circuit, adjacent to Kuala Lumpur's main airport where the ill-fated flight took off earlier this month. Authorities now say it is almost certain it crashed in the Indian Ocean, killing all 239 people aboard.
The Mercedes team, which is sponsored by Malaysian oil company Petronas, will have messages of support on its cars and driver helmets.
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