NBA PLAYOFFS
Wizards open with win
UNDATED (AP) — Home-court advantage didn’t mean much in the NBA on Monday night. The Washington Wizards have opened their Eastern Conference semifinal series with their first victory at Indiana since April 18, 2007. And the Los Angeles Clippers began their Western Conference semifinal series by routing the Thunder in Oklahoma City.
Bradley Beal scored 14 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and Trevor Ariza (ah-REE’-zuh) finished with 22 points in the Wizards’ 102-96 triumph over the Pacers. Washington hit 10 of its 16 3-point attempts, with Ariza going 6-for-6.
The Wizards won a second-round game for the first time since 1982 and are 4-0 on the road in this year’s playoffs after winning at Indianapolis for the first time in their last 13 visits.
The Wizards closed the first half on a 17-6 run to take a 56-43 lead. The Pacers never got closer than five points the rest of the way.
Paul George and George Hill had 18 points for the Pacers, who host Game 2 on Wednesday.
In Oklahoma City, the Clippers closed the first quarter on a 23-6 run and led by 26 entering the final period before settling for a 122-105 win over the Thunder. Chris Paul drained a career-best eight 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 32 points and had 10 assists, while Blake Griffin added 23 points, five rebounds and five assists. Jamal Crawford chipped in 17 points for the Clippers, who went 15-for-29 from 3-point range and shot 55 percent from the field overall.
Russell Westbrook pumped in 29 points and Kevin Durant added 25, but the Thunder had just one other player with more than eight points.
The series stays in Oklahoma City for Game 2 on Wednesday.
NBA-ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Sixers guard named top rookie
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia 76ers guard Michael Carter-Williams has been named the NBA’s Rookie of the Year. He received 104 of the 124 first place votes cast by a nationwide panel of sports reporters after averaging 16.7 points, 6.3 assists and 6.2 rebounds a game.
He joined the Sixers out of Syracuse as the 11th overall pick in the draft.
NHL PLAYOFFS
Pens blank Rangers again
UNDATED (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins and Los Angeles Kings rode outstanding goaltending to victories last night.
Marc-Andre Fleury (marhk-ahn-dray FLOOR’-ee) and the Pittsburgh Penguins own a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals after shutting out the Rangers for the second straight night, this time 2-0. Fleury stopped 35 shots and Sidney Crosby notched his first goal in 14 playoff games.
Neither team scored until Crosby beat Henrik Lundqvist 2:34 into the second period. Jussi Jokinen (YOO’-see YOH’-kih-nehn) doubled Pittsburgh’s lead later in the period with an unassisted goal after coming out of the penalty box.
Both goals came moments after the Pens killed off a power play.
The Rangers went 0-for-5 with the man advantage and are now scoreless in their last 34 attempts.
Lundqvist faced just 15 shots for the Rangers, who host Game 3 on Wednesday.
In Anaheim, Jonathan Quick made an early 2-1 lead hold up as the Kings beat the Ducks 3-1 to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. Quick made 15 of his 36 saves in the final period to help Los Angeles pick up its sixth consecutive victory since dropping the first three games of their series with San Jose.
Alec Martinez snapped a 1-1 tie with 7:53 left in the opening period. Marian Gaborik (GAB’-uh-rihk) tallied just 34 seconds into the game, and Dwight King added an empty-netter.
The series continues Thursday in Los Angeles.
NHL-HURRICANES
Carolina dumps coach
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Kirk Muller (MUL’-ur) and most of his coaching staff have been fired by the Carolina Hurricanes, one week into Ron Francis’ tenure as general manager. Muller was 80-80-27 in three seasons with the Hurricanes, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2009.
Francis said former Canes captain Rod Brind’Amour (BRIHN’-dah-mohr) will be back for a fourth year as an assistant coach.
MLB-SCHEDULE
Brewers pound DBacks…Scherzer, Tigers win
UNDATED (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers had dropped four of five before they belted three home runs on Monday night.
Carlos Gomez hit a leadoff homer and had three RBIs in Milwaukee’s 8-3 rout of Arizona. Martin Maldonado and Jean Segura also homered for the Brewers, who are a major league-best 22-11 overall and 18-0 when scoring at least four runs.
Winning pitcher Matt Garza allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings.
In other major league action:
— San Francisco made it six straight wins as reliever Jared Hughes threw away a sacrifice bunt in the 13th inning, allowing Hunter Pence to score the winning run in the Giants’ 11-10 triumph at Pittsburgh. Backup catcher Hector Sanchez went 4-for-7 with three RBIs in the Giants 20-hit attack, while Buster Posey had three hits, three runs scored and two RBIs.
— Atlanta has a seven-game losing streak after Matt Carpenter hit a two-run double while St. Louis was scoring three times in the fifth inning of a 4-3 win over the Braves. Shelby Miller allowed two runs and six hits in five-plus innings for his fourth win.
— Washington now leads the NL East after the Nationals got five solid innings from their bullpen in a 4-0 shutout of the Dodgers. Anthony Rendon (rehn-DOHN’) and Danny Espinosa hit two-run homers in a game that was held up for over three hours by rain in the fourth inning.
— Casey McGehee (mih-GEE’) hit a game-winning single off the foot of reliever Gonzalez German (hur-MAHN’) in the bottom of the ninth to complete Miami’s comeback in a 4-3 win over the New York Mets. The Mets blew a 3-0 lead in the eighth and wasted a great effort by Jon Niese (nees), who allowed five hits in seven scoreless innings.
— Jose Reyes hit a leadoff homer and Melky Cabrera raised his average to .341 by going 2-for-4 with a run scored in Toronto’s 3-0 shutout of Philadelphia. Former Phillie J.A. Happ allowed just three hits in five innings for his first win of the season.
— Troy Tulowitzki (too-loh-WITS’-kee) smacked a pair of two-run homers and Jordan Lyles pitched eight strong innings in Colorado’s 8-2 thrashing of Texas. Nolan Arenado also homered to extend his hitting streak to 25 games, the longest in the majors this season.
— Marcus Semien hit a tiebreaking RBI double in a two-run 12th that gave the Chicago White Sox a 3-1 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. White Sox starter Jose Quintana pitched one-hit ball over seven innings.
— Will Venable hit a two-run single in the 12th inning to give the San Diego Padres a 6-5 win over the Kansas City Royals. Venable singled off Tim Collins (0-2) and over the head of right fielder Lorenzo Cain to score Chris Denorfia with the tying run and Yonder Alonso with the winning run from second base.
— Stefen Romero’s first big league homer was the tiebreaking blast in the fifth inning of Seattle’s 4-2 win at Oakland. Chris Young allowed two hits over six strong innings as the Mariners won for the eighth time in 10 games since an eight-game losing streak.
— Howie Kendrick, John McDonald and Chris Ianetta (eye-ah-NET’-uh) walked with the bases loaded in the eighth inning of the Angels’ 4-1 victory over the New York Yankees. Jared Weaver held the Yanks to a run and six hits while fanning seven in eight innings.
— Max Scherzer allowed just three hits while striking out nine over eight innings of the Tigers’ 2-0 shutout of Houston. The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner is 4-1 with a 1.72 ERA after winning his fourth consecutive start.
— Minnesota beat Cleveland 1-0 on Eduardo Escobar’s leadoff homer in the top of the 10th. It was the second straight day John Axford has served up a game-winning homer in the final inning.
MLB-MARLINS
Marlins ace Fernandez OK after hard grounder
MIAMI (AP) — Miami Marlins ace Jose Fernandez says he’s fine and won’t miss a turn after being hit by a batted ball.
Fernandez was struck on the inside of the left thigh during Sunday’s 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. On Monday, he was selected as the National League Pitcher of the Month.
In other baseball news:
— Reds right fielder Jay Bruce has undergone surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee and will be sidelined for about a month. He was scratched from the lineup Sunday because of a sore knee, but pinch hit and struck out during a 4-3, 10-inning win at Milwaukee.
— Minnesota Twins first baseman Joe Mauer will miss at least one game with lower back spasms. Mauer was taken out of Sunday’s win against Baltimore in the third inning when his back tightened.
— Tampa Bay Rays minor league pitcher Steve Geltz has been suspended 50 games after a second positive drug test. Geltz was pitching for Triple-A Durham, where he is 2-2 with a 3.86 ERA in 16.1 innings over 11 appearances.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Big 10 to face Big East annually
UNDATED (AP) — The Big Ten is continuing to create more of an identity on the East Coast after admitting Maryland and Rutgers into the circuit.
The league is going to make it official today that its 2017 tournament will be held at Washington’s Verizon Center, according to a person familiar with the plans. The conference said Commissioner Jim Delaney would appear at a news conference at Verizon Center but did not say why.
The Big Ten and Big East also announced a series of eight games between the leagues in the first week of the 2015-16 men’s basketball season. The games will take place the first Tuesday through Friday of the regular season and will be played at home sites, four from each conference. The competition will be named after the late Dave Gavitt, a Naismith Memorial Hall of Famer who founded the Big East.
The Big Ten says it will also continue its challenge series with the Atlantic Coast Conference.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL-OREGON STATE
Men’s hoops’ coach canned
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — It appears that connections in high places don’t mean much in the world of men’s college basketball. Craig Robinson, the brother of First Lady Michelle Obama, has been fired as coach at Oregon State. He had the job for six seasons and failed to make the NCAA tournament once. After going 14-18 in 2012-13, the Beavers were 16-16 this past season, including 8-10 in the Pac-12.
NFL-CONCUSSIONS LAWSUIT
Retirees rip proposed settlement
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The proposed $765 million settlement of NFL concussion claims is under attack again, this time by retirees who say they would get nothing for their residual health problems.
Seven former players asked to intervene in the court case in Philadelphia, saying the plan doesn’t offer anything to men who can still work, but suffer from headaches, personality changes, and other side effects.
Senior U.S. District Judge Anita Brody fears the settlement is too small, but lawyers for both the NFL and the lead players’ group hope to convince her otherwise.
The proposed $765 million agreement would give millions to men with Parkinson’s Disease and other serious neurological problems.
GOLF-WOODS
Woods updates his health
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Tiger Woods says his recovery from back surgery is going slowly and the world’s top-ranked player says he’s not sure when he’ll be able to return to golf. In a wide-ranging blog on his website, Woods says he remains sore from the incision during the March 31 operation for a pinched nerve. The surgery forced him to miss the Masters for the first time. He has said he hopes to return this summer.
NFL-PATRIOTS/SMITH
Pats ink Will Smith
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Free agent defensive end Will Smith has signed with the New England Patriots.
The 32-year-old veteran had played his entire 10-year career with the New Orleans Saints. Smith has played in 139 NFL games with 120 starts and has 67 1/2 sacks, 20 forced fumbles and seven fumble recoveries.
NASCAR-BOWYER
New deal for Bowyer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Clint Bowyer (BOY’-ur) has a new contract to drive for Michael Waltrip Racing. The team has announced that Bowyer has agreed to a three-year extension. He finished third in Sunday’s race in Talladega, Ala. Michael Waltrip Racing also announced an extension for crew chief Brian Pattie and said that 5-Hour Energy has agreed to extend its sponsorship.
