GOLF-MASTERS
Spieth completes amazing Augusta journey
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) β Jordan Spieth (speeth) has been fitted for a green jacket after completing one of the greatest performances in Masters history.
The 21-year-old Spieth closed with a 2-under 70 to win his first Grand Slam title by four strokes over Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose. His lead never shrank below three shots in a final round that allowed him to finish 18-under, tying the Masters record score set by Tiger Woods in 1997.
Spieth was in line to break the 72-hole record until he missed a five-foot par putt on the final hole.
Spieth opened with an 8-under 64 on Thursday, allowing him to become the first wire-to-wire winner since Raymond Floyd in 1976. It comes one year after he lost a share of the lead in the final round.
Craig Woods in 1941 is the only other Masters champion who led by at least three shots from the opening round to the trophy presentation.
Rory McIlroy finished at minus-12 six shots back and one ahead of Hideki Matsuyama.
NBA-SCHEDULE
Battling for playoff spots
UNDATED (AP) β The Milwaukee Bucks have wrapped up an NBA playoff berth just a year after posting a league-worst 15-67 record.
Ersan Ilyasova (eel-yah-SOH’-vah) scored 21 points and the Bucks secured the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference by clobbering Brooklyn 96-73. O.J. Mayo added 17 points for the Bucks, who have extended their season despite losing rookie star Jabari Parker to a torn ACL in his left knee before Christmas.
The Nets and Indiana are tied for eighth in the East, one game behind Boston.
The Celtics ripped Cleveland 117-78 behind Isaiah Thomas’ 17 points. The Celtics outscored the Cavaliers 34-9 in the second quarter while taking advantage of the absence of LeBron James, Kyrie (KY’-ree) Irving, Kevin Love and J.R. Smith, who were given the day off.
The Pacers picked up their fifth straight win by outscoring Oklahoma City 116-104. C.J. Miles finished with 30 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers, while Roy Hibbert chipped in 17 points and 10 boards.
The Thunder lost despite Russell Westbrook’s 54 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Oklahoma City and New Orleans are tied for the final Western Conference playoff berth with two games remaining.
The Pelicans were losers in Houston as James Harden scored 30 points and the Rockets opened the fourth quarter on a 14-5 run to pull away in a 121-114 triumph over New Orleans. Dwight Howard and 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Rockets, who ended a two-game skid and pulled into a virtual tie with Memphis for the third seed in the West.
San Antonio leads the Southwest Division by a half-game over Memphis and Houston following the Spurs’ 11th consecutive win, 107-91 over Phoenix. Tim Duncan contributed 22 points and 10 rebounds in under 26 minutes, while Kawhi (kah-WY’) Leonard chipped in 18 points and nine boards.
In other NBA finals:
β Tyson Chandler was 9-for-10 from the field while scoring 20 points and grabbing nine rebounds in the Dallas Mavericks’ 118-102 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Richard Jefferson was among seven Mavericks in double figures with 17 points, one more than Dirk Nowitzki.
β John Wall delivered 24 points and nine assists to spark Washington’s 108-99 triumph over Atlanta. The Wizards are 46-34, their first season with more than 45 wins since 1978-79.
β Kenneth Faried (fah-REED’) scored a season-high 30 points and Wilson Chandler chipped in 21 points and nine rebounds in Denver’s 122-111 win against Sacramento. Kings coach George Karl received a warm welcome in his first game in Denver since he was fired by the Nuggets two years ago.
β Andre Drummond had 15 points and 19 rebounds in Detroit’s 116-77 rout of Charlotte. Greg Monroe scored 17 points in what might have been his final home game at the Palace, about three months before he’s scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent.
MLB-SCHEDULE
Tigers, Royals at 6-0
UNDATED (AP) β There are just two unbeaten teams remaining in the majors, and both reside in the American League Central.
The Detroit Tigers are 6-0 for the first time in 30 years after Miguel Cabrera went 4-for-4 with two homers and had four RBIs in an 8-5 victory against Cleveland. Cabrera was 11 of 14 with six RBIs in the three-game series, helping the Tigers improve to 18-5 in Cleveland since 2013.
J.D. Martinez added three hits and three RBIs to back Kyle Lobstein, who won despite yielding three runs and eight hits in five innings.
Kansas City also has a 6-0 record after Alcides (al-SEE-dehs) Escobar and Alex Rios hit two-run doubles in a 9-2 pounding of the Los Angeles Angels. Salvador Perez homered and Yordano Ventura gave up two runs and four hits while striking out seven over 5 2/3 innings.
Angels first baseman Albert Pujols (POO’-hohlz) hit his 522nd career home run to move past Ted Williams, Willie McCovery and Frank Thomas for 18th on the all-time list.
In other major league play:
β Chase Headley and J.D. Drew homered while the New York Yankees put together a seven-run first inning to beat Clay Buchholz and the Boston Red Sox 14-4. Alex Rodriguez hit a three-run double during the big rally and finished with four RBIs.
β Alex Guerrero smacked his first big league homer and four RBIs as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat Arizona 7-4 to avoid a three-game sweep. Yasiel Puig (YAH’-see-ul pweeg) hit his first homer of the season and Guerrero finished 3 for 5 with a two-run homer.
β Nelson Cruz homered for the second straight day, a 10th-inning drive in Seattle’s 8-7 win at Oakland. The A’s rallied after Rickie Weeks crushed a three-run shot that put the Mariners ahead 7-3 in the seventh.
β The Chicago Cubs beat Colorado 6-5 on Dexter Fowler’s two-run homer with two out in the ninth. The Rockies led 5-3 until pinch-hitter Wellington Castillo hit an RBI single and scored on Fowler’s blast.
β Backup catcher Wil Nieves hit his first career grand slam to give San Diego a 4-2 lead in the fourth inning of a 6-4 verdict over San Francisco. Tyson Ross struck out eight and yielded three runs and five hits in six innings.
β Hank Conger hit a two-run homer in the 14th inning to send Houston past Texas 6-4. George Springer kept the Astros alive in the 10th with a leaping catch at the wall in right on a ball hit by Leonys Martin (lay-OH-nees mahr-TEEN’).
β Atlanta suffered its first loss as Bartolo Colon worked seven innings and collected his first RBI in 10 years to push the New York Mets past the Braves 4-3. Michael Cuddyer (kuh-DY’-ur) hit his first homer as a Met and pinch-hitter Daniel Murphy lifted a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth.
β Tampa Bay knocked off Florida 8-5 as Nathan Karns limited the Marlins to one earned run and two hits in seven innings. David DeJesus socked a three-run homer and catcher Rene Rivera snapped out of an 0-for-17 skid with three hits and two RBIs.
β Wilson Ramos capped his two-RBI afternoon with a tiebreaking single in the 10th inning of Washington’s 4-3 triumph at Philadelphia. Bryce Harper hit a solo homer and Clint Robinson had three hits as the Nationals avoided a three-game sweep.
β White Sox ace Chris Sale made his season debut and held Minnesota to a run and five hits in six innings of a 6-2 victory against Minnesota. Adam LaRoche homered for the second straight day and had a run-scoring single as the White Sox earned their second straight win since an 0-4 start.
β Homers by Jose Bautista, Dalton Pompey and Kevin Pillar powered Toronto past Baltimore 10-7. The Orioles got within 8-7 before Bautista belted a two-run shot in the eighth, helping the Blue Jays improve to 4-2.
β Matt Carpenter hit a two-run homer off Kevin Gregg in the 11th inning giving the St. Louis Cardinals a 7-5 win over the Reds in Cincinnati. Cuban pitcher Raisel Iglesias allowed three runs and five hits over five innings in his major league debut for the Reds.
β Pittsburgh crushed Milwaukee 10-2 as Andrew McCutchen had four RBIs after missing Saturday’s game with a sore left knee. McCutchen and Neil Walker each hit three-run homers to back Casey Sadler, who have up two runs over five innings for his first big league win.
MLB-INDIANS-GOMES
Gomes goes on DL
CLEVELAND (AP) β Cleveland catcher Yan Gomes (gohmz) has been placed on the 15-day disabled list and could miss up to two months after spraining his right knee in Saturday’s game against Detroit.
The Indians said an MRI revealed Gomes sustained a “moderate” sprain to his medial collateral ligament and will be out six to eight weeks.
NHL-SABRES-NOLAN
Nolan leaves Sabres again
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) β Ted Nolan is leaving the Buffalo Sabres for the second time in his head coaching career.
The decision to dismiss Nolan was made after a lengthy evaluation which ended with GM TIm Murray’s exit interviews with Sabres players, a day after Buffalo closed its season with a 2-0 loss to Pittsburgh. The Sabres compiled the NHL’s worst record this season after finishing last the previous year.
NHL-MAPLE LEAFS-FIRINGS
Leafs fire GM, interim coach
TORONTO (AP) β The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired general manager Dave Nonis, interim coach Peter Horachek and his staff after the team’s worst season in almost 20 years.
Nonis was dismissed with three years left on his contract. The Leafs went 30-44-8 with 68 points, the fewest in an 82-game season since 1996-97.
Toronto was in a playoff position in early January when club president Brendan Shanahan and Nonis fired coach Randy Carlyle and replaced him with Horachek. The Leafs went 9-28-5 under Horachek, whose ouster was expected.
NHL-PANTHERS-JAGR
Jagr signs deal with Panthers
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) β Jaromir Jagr (YAR’-oh-meer YAH’-gur) has signed a one-year, $3.5 million contract to stay with Florida, saying he felt revitalized in his 20 games with the Panthers.
The 43-year-old Jagr had six goals and 18 points after coming to Florida from New Jersey in February. He ranks fourth on the NHL’s all-time list with 1,802 points, fifth with 722 goals and six with 1,080 assists.
INDYCAR
Hinchcliffe races to victory
AVONDALE, La. (AP) β On a wet track James Hinchcliffe cruised to victory in the IndyCar race in Avondale, Louisiana. The victory in the inaugural Grand Prix of Louisiana is the fourth of his career. Hinchcliffe pitted only once on Lap 13, and then spent much of his day leading the field around the NOLA Motorsports Park.
FORMULA ONE-CHINESE GRAND PRIX
Hamilton wins
SHANGHAI (AP) β Lewis Hamilton put Mercedes back on top in Formula One, leading nearly the entire race to capture his fourth Chinese Grand Prix.
Hamilton’s teammate, Nico Rosberg, finished second and Ferrari’s Sebastien Vettel (VEHT’-ehl) was third.
It was the 35th win of Hamilton’s career, and his 13th in the past 21 races dating back to last season.
