UNDATED (AP) β The Washington Wizards and Golden State Warriors both opened their conference semifinal series with victories. Bradley Beal poured in 28 points and John Wall finished with 18 points and 13 assists as the Wizards downed Atlanta 104-98. The Warriors picked up their 21st straight home win as Stephen (STEH’-fehn) Curry delivered 22 points and seven assists in a 101-86 win against Memphis.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) β A person familiar with the decision says Warriors point guard Steph Curry has won the league’s MVP award. Curry averaged 23.8 points, 7.7 assists, 4.3 rebounds and two steals this season. He also drained an NBA-record 286 3-pointers in helping the Warriors finish with a league-best 67 wins.
UNDATED (AP) β The Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning and Anaheim Ducks enjoy two-games-to-none leads in their NHL second-round series. Patrick Kane scored twice in the Blackhawks’ 4-1 victory over Minnesota, and Steven Stamkos and Valtteri Filppula (val-TEHR’-ee FIHL’-puh-luh) each had a goal and two assists as the Lightning whipped Montreal 6-2. Frederik Andersen stopped 30 shots in his first career shutout, a 3-0 triumph for the Ducks against Calgary.
TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) β Dale Earnhardt Jr. claimed his first Sprint Cup victory of the season by finishing in front of Jimmie Johnson at Talladega Superspeedway. Earnhardt led a race-high 67 laps and easily won when no one from a single-file line of cars could challenge him. It’s the sixth career victory at Talladega for Earnhardt, but his first since 2004.
MILWAUKEE (AP) β The Milwaukee Brewers will have a new manager when they host the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight. The Brewers have fired Ron Roenicke (REHN’-ih-kee) after 4 Β½ seasons and a 342-331 record. Milwaukee is a major league-worst 7-18 this year following a late-season meltdown that cost them a 2014 National League playoff berth.
