Warriors win without Curry...Mavs beat cold-shooting Thunder...Raptors get even

UNDATED (AP) — The Golden State Warriors were able to take a two-games-to-none lead in the NBA's Western Conference quarterfinals last night despite the absence of Stephen Curry.

Houston Rockets v Golden State Warriors - Game Two
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Klay Thompson scored 15 of his 34 points from the free-throw line as the Warriors got past Houston 115-106. Shaun Livingston shot 7-for-9 while scoring 16 points in place of Curry, who sat out the game after reinjuring his right ankle during his 24-point performance in the opener on Saturday.

Andre Iguodala was productive off the bench, hitting four of his six 3-point attempts and finishing with 18 points. Draymond Green had 12 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists for the defending champs.

James Harden had team highs of 28 points and 11 assists for the Rockets, who host Game 3 on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks experienced a 39-point turnaround after being hammered in Game 1 of their series on Saturday. The Thunder shot under 34 percent and had a potential game-winning basket disallowed as Dallas earned an 85-84 victory to even the series at a game apiece. Raymond Felton scored 21 points for the Mavericks, who held Kevin Durant to 21 points on 7 of 33 shooting. Dirk Nowitzki finished with 17 points and Deron Williams scored 11 of his 13 in the first five minutes.

Steven Adams appeared to hit a game-winning shot on the put-back of Durant's final miss, but the basket was waved off upon review.

Russell Westbrook had 19 points and 14 boards for the Thunder, who travel to Dallas for Game 3 on Thursday.

Toronto and Indiana are tied at a game apiece. Jonas Valanciunas had 23 points and 15 rebounds as the Raptors won for the first time in their last eight playoff games, downing the Pacers 98-87. Valanciunas scored 13 points in the first quarter and added six rebounds as Toronto used a 19-3 run to lead 27-16 after one.

Kyle Lowry added 18 points, nine assists and seven boards for the Raptors, who hadn't won a postseason game since April 2014 against Brooklyn.

Paul George scored 28 points and Monta Ellis had 15 for the Pacers, who host Game 3 on Thursday.

NBA-AWARDS

Leonard named top defender

NEW YORK (AP) — San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard has been named the winner of the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award for the second straight year.

Leonard beat out Draymond Green of the Warriors to become the first non-center to win the award in consecutive seasons since Dennis Rodman in 1989-90 and 1990-91.

The 6-foot-7 Leonard received 84 first-place votes and 547 points from a panel of 130 sports writers and broadcasters throughout the U.S. and Canada. Green was runner-up for the second straight year with 44 first-place votes and 421 points.

Miami center Hassan Whiteside was third with 83 points and two first-place votes.

NBA-PISTONS-VAN GUNDY FINED

Van Gundy fined for ripping officials

NEW YORK (AP) — Detroit Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy has been fined $25,000 for public criticism of officiating.

Van Gundy made his comments in a live television interview during the Sunday's loss at Cleveland in Game 1 of the Pistons' first-round playoff series.

NHL PLAYOFFS

Caps hammer Flyers

UNDATED (AP) — The NHL's top team during the regular season remains unbeaten through three Eastern Conference playoff games.

Alex Ovechkin scored two of the Washington Capitals' five power-play goals and had an assist in a 6-1 pounding of the Flyers in Philadelphia. Ovechkin snapped a 1-1 tie 8:50 into the second period and added an insurance goal.

The Caps expanded their lead on power-play goals by Evgeny Kuznetsov and John Carlson during the first eight minutes of the third period. Jay Beagle closed out the scoring, also with the man advantage.

Marcus Johansson had a power-play goal, while Carlson, Justin Williams, T.J. Oshie  and Nicklas Backstrom each had two assists.

The Flyers showed some spirit immediately after the team held a pregame ceremony to remember founder Ed Snider, who died last week. Michael Raffl scored 57 seconds into the game, but the Flyers and their fans grew quiet as Braden Holtby made 31 saves.

The Caps will try to complete their first-ever, four-game sweep Wednesday at Philadelphia.

Minnesota is within two games to one in its Western Conference first-round series with Dallas.

Jason Pominville scored twice and Mikko Koivu provided the eventual game-winner as the Wild beat Dallas 5-3. Pominville collected three points and Erik Haula added a goal and an assist after Patrick Sharp scored twice to give the Stars a 2-0 lead.

Devan Dubnyk needed to make just 14 saves for the Wild, who host Game 4 on Wednesday.

And Los Angeles avoided falling behind 3-0 in its series with San Jose. Tanner Pearson scored 3:47 into overtime to complete the Kings' 2-1 triumph over the Sharks. Pearson's goal was the first after Joe Thornton and Anze Kopitar traded goals in the first 8:10.

Jonathan Quick turned back 29 shots and was perfect after Thornton scored just 30 seconds into the game.

Game 4 is Wednesday night in San Jose.

NHL-RANGERS

New York may get McDonagh back

GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) — New York Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh may be able to play for the team in Game 3 of its playoff series with Pittsburgh. McDonagh took part in team practice on Monday for the first time since sustaining an injury to one of his hands in the final week of the regular season. He sat out as the Rangers split the opening two games of their best-of-7 series with the Penguins.

MLB-SCHEDULE

Lackey tames ex-mates

UNDATED (AP) — John Lackey enjoyed his return to St. Louis on Monday as his current team beat his former one.

Lackey struck out 11 and fired four-hit ball over seven innings to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 5-0 shutout over the Cardinals. Lackey fanned cleanup hitter Brandon Moss three times and came within one of his career high for K's.

Lackey also hit an RBI single and improved to 3-0 with a 3.66 ERA.

Jayson Heyward was 0-for-4 in his first game at Busch Stadium since leaving the Cardinals for a free-agent deal with the Cubs, but he also made two nice catches in right field.

Dexter Fowler homered for the second straight game as the Cubs ended a two-game skid and improved to 10-3, their best start since 1970.

Elsewhere in the majors:

— Russell Martin's two-run single capped a four-run eighth as Toronto rallied to beat the Red Sox 4-3 on Patriot's Day in Boston. Winning pitcher J.A. Happ allowed just one run and four hits in seven-plus innings.

— Giancarlo Stanton belted a solo homer and had two RBIs as the Marlins whipped Washington 6-1. Jose Fernandez earned his first win of the year by holding the Nationals to a run and three hits while striking out nine in six innings.

— The New York Mets are back at .500 after David Wright smacked a pair of solo homers in a 5-2 verdict over the Phillies at Philadelphia. Lucas Duda and Neil Walker also went deep to back Noah Syndergaard, who struck out eight and gave up a run and five hits in seven innings.

— Hector Santiago gave up two hits and struck out 10 over seven innings of the Angels' 7-0 rout of the White Sox in Chicago. C.J. Cron was 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI singles for the Angels, who chased White Sox starter Carlos Rodon during a five-run first.

— Rookie Trevor Story clubbed his major league-leading eighth home run, a tiebreaking, solo shot in the eighth inning of Colorado's 5-1 win at Cincinnati. Ben Paulsen added a three-run blast in the eighth, and Jordan Lyles held the Reds to an unearned run and four hits in seven innings.

— Miguel Sano and Byung Ho Park hit solo homers in Minnesota's 7-4 triumph over Milwaukee, a game that was shortened to six innings because of rain. The Twins have won four straight since a team record-worst 0-9 start.

— Jake Lamb hit a tying homer with two outs in the ninth inning and doubled home an insurance run in the 11th, rallying the Arizona Diamondbacks past the San Francisco Giants 9-7. Phil Gosselin scored on Jean Segura's go-ahead infield single with two outs in the 11th. Lamb made it a two-run cushion with his RBI double.

MLB-TWINS-GARDY

Ex-manager signs as special assistant

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins have hired former manager Ron Gardenhire as a special assistant to general manager Terry Ryan. His responsibilities include traveling to all minor league affiliates as an instructor and evaluator.

The Twins fired Gardenhire in 2014 after Minnesota finished that season 70-92. He spent 27 years in the Twins organization, including 13 years as manager.

NFL-NEWS

Update on concussions case tops the news

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The plan by the NFL to settle thousands of concussion lawsuits filed by former players has been upheld by a federal appeals court in Philadelphia. The decision released by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes almost a year after a revised deal was approved.

Critics of the settlement had argued that any deal should include future payments for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the brain decay found in dozens of former players after their deaths.

The appellate judges acknowledge those points in the 69-page ruling but ruled in favor of the NFL's plan.

In other NFL news:

— Colts quarterback Andrew Luck has told reporters that he has recovered from a kidney injury that forced him to miss the last seven games in 2015. Luck also missed two games last season with a right shoulder injury and says the shoulder feels good, but that there's still some offseason work to do before he's 100 percent.

— Bills backup defensive tackle Corbin Bryant has signed his qualifying offer. Bryant's rights were retained by the Bills when the team tendered him a one-year contract.

— The Vikings have re-signed fullback Zach Line, who has appeared in 20 games over three NFL seasons. The deal comes six weeks after the restricted free agent signed a contract tender that gave the Vikings the right to match any offer from another team.

— Wide receiver and special teamer Josh Bellamy has signed his exclusive rights tender with the Bears. Bellamy was second on the team last season with 10 special teams tackles, and also finished with 19 receptions for 224 yards and two touchdowns.

— Pro Bowl placekicker Josh Brown has re-signed with the Giants. He scored a career-high 134 points last season, fifth-most in the NFL and the fourth-highest total in Giants history.

— Veteran defensive tackle Chris Jones has been claimed off waivers by the Miami Dolphins after missing last season because of an injury. Jones started for the New England Patriots in 2013 and 2014 but was on the physically unable to perform list last year.

NFL-CHIEFS-TAMPERING

KC loses appeal and draft picks

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs' appeal of anti-tampering violations has been denied by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, meaning Kansas City will forfeit its third-round draft pick this year and sixth-round pick next year.

The club did have its fine reduced from $250,000 to $200,000. Coach Andy Reid's fine was reduced from $75,000 to $60,000.

The violations stem from the Chiefs contacting then-free agent wide receiver Jeremy Maclin when prohibited by NFL rules. Maclin, who had been drafted by Reid in Philadelphia, eventually signed with Kansas City.

BOSTON MARATHON

Ethiopia's day in Boston

BOSTON (AP) — Ethiopians made a sweep of the Boston Marathon.

Lemi Berhanu Hayle won for the men and Atsede Baysa for the women. The 21-year-old Hayle pulled away from defending champion Lelisa Desisa late in the race to win by 47 seconds.

The victory completed Ethiopia's first-ever sweep of the men's and women's races in Boston.

Zachary Hine of Dallas was the top U.S. man, finishing 10th. Colorado's Neely Spence Gracey was the top American woman, coming in ninth.

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