AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) β Jordan Spieth (speeth) fell one stroke short of the tournament record while grabbing a three-stroke lead in the first round of the Masters. Spieth birdied eight of his first 14 holes in an 8-under 64 at Augusta National. Ernie Els, Justin Rose, Charley Hoffman and Jason Day share second, and Tiger Woods is 1-over in his first tournament in about two months.
MIAMI (AP) β The Miami Heat blew a 19-point halftime lead and dropped to 10th in the Eastern Conference by losing 89-78 to Chicago. Pau Gasol (pow gah-SAHL’) had 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Bulls, who opened the second half on a 39-8 run after being outscored 33-12 in the second period. The outcome gives moves the Bulls a half-game ahead of Toronto for third in the East and drops the Heat 1 1/2 games out of a conference playoff berth.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) β Stephen (STEH’-fehn) Curry poured in 45 points and Klay Thompson added 26 in Golden State’s 116-105 victory against Portland. Curry shot 17-for-23 from the field, including 8-for-13 from 3-point range. He broke his own NBA record for most treys in a season.
UNDATED (AP) β The Ottawa Senators have moved into seventh place in the NHL’s Eastern Conference and are two points ahead of Boston for the final playoff berth. The Senators are 5-0-1 in their last six games after Andrew Hammond stopped 23 shots in a 3-0 win over the Rangers in New York. The Bruins suffered their second straight loss as Jonathan Huberdeau (HOO’-bur-doh) and Brad Boyes scored early in the third period to put Florida ahead 3-1 in a 4-2 verdict over Boston.
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) β The Los Angeles Kings are the fifth team in NHL history to miss the playoffs after winning the Stanley Cup the previous year. Jiri Hudler (YEER’-ee HOOD’-lur) scored the game-winner and had an assist as Calgary beat the Kings 3-1, knocking Los Angeles out of playoff contention and putting the Flames and Winnipeg in the postseason. Also in the Western Conference, St. Louis clinched the Central Division title with a 2-1 triumph over Chicago and Nashville’s 4-2 loss to Minnesota.
