Heat rally past Raptors; Curry returns to help Warriors

UNDATED (AP) — It took Stephen Curry about three quarters to find his rhythm last night after missing the Warriors' previous four games with a sprained right knee. He was unstoppable after that as he helped Golden State take a three-games-to-one lead in the NBA's Western Conference semifinals.

Golden State Warriors v Portland Trail Blazers - Game Four
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Curry scored 27 of his 40 points over the fourth quarter and overtime to lead Golden State to a 132-125 triumph at Portland. He had 17 of the Warriors' 21 overtime points, including their first 12 of the extra period. He drained three 3-pointers in OT and secured the victory by hitting two free throws in the closing seconds.

Curry was activated just before the opening tip. He hit 16 of his 32 shots and finished with nine rebounds and eight assists. He entered the game from the bench and was pressed into serious minutes after guard Shaun Livingston was ejected late in the first half.

Klay Thompson delivered 23 points and Draymond Green added 21 to the win.

The Trail Blazers jumped out to a 21-5 lead and were ahead 48-35 midway through the second quarter before the Warriors began to chip away. Damian Lillard had 36 points for the Blazers, who will try to stave off elimination Wednesday in Oakland.

Meanwhile, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat have knotted their Eastern Conference semifinal series at two games apiece with a comeback victory against Toronto.

Wade hit two big baskets and finished with a game-high 30 points as the Heat downed the Raptors 94-87 in overtime. The Miami guard supplied a game-tying layup with 12.6 seconds left in regulation and added a dunk to ice the victory. Wade also scored five straight points after the Raptors went ahead 79-72 with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

Goran Dragic contributed 15 points, including a huge 3-point play with 22.4 seconds left in OT. Joe Johnson also had 15 points for Miami.

Toronto shot under 40 percent for the game, with starting guards Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan combining for just 19 points on 6 of 28 shooting. Terrence Ross and Cory Joseph each had 14 points for the Raptors, who host Game 5 on Wednesday.

NBA-MVP

AP Source: Curry wins again

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Stephen Curry will continue his reign as the NBA's Most Valuable Player. He also reclaimed his spot in the Golden State Warriors' lineup tonight.

A person with knowledge of the award tells The Associated Press that the Warriors guard will be named MVP again, with an announcement coming as soon as Tuesday. Curry led the league in scoring with 30.1 points per game and shattered his own record for 3-pointers by making 402. He starred on a Warriors team that set an NBA record with 73 victories during the regular season.

Curry earned his first MVP before helping the Warriors win the NBA championship last season.

NBA-KINGS

Kings have a new coach

UNDATED (AP) — Dave Joerger has been named the new coach of the Sacramento Kings, two days after being let go by Memphis.

He replaces George Karl and becomes the Kings' ninth head coach since the team went to the playoffs in 2006 under Rick Adelman.

Joerger went 147-99 in three seasons with the Grizzlies and took them to the playoffs each year. He led the injury-ravaged team to 42 wins this season, pushing them to the playoffs, where they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round.

NBA-HORNETS

Surgery for Walker

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Hornets guard Kemba Walker has undergone what is being called successful surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. The team says he will be sidelined from all basketball activities until early July.

Walker finished second in NBA Most Improved Player balloting this season after averaging a career-high 20.9 points per game.

NBA-EXEC OF THE YEAR

Spurs GM honored

UNDATED (AP) — San Antonio Spurs general manager R.C. Buford has been named the NBA's Executive of the Year for the second time in three seasons after the team won a franchise-record 67 games. Buford re-signed leading scorer Kawhi  Leonard and brought in free agents LaMarcus Aldridge and David West over the past year to bolster an aging team. Portland's Neil Olshey finished second in voting by fellow league execs, followed by Bob Myers of Golden State.

NHL PLAYOFFS-SCHEDULE

Stars, Predators still alive

UNDATED (AP) — The Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators can keep the golf clubs in the closet for the time being. Both teams have forced a Game 7 in the second round of the NHL's Western Conference playoffs.

In St. Louis, Kari Lehtonen stopped 35 shots and the Stars scored three times in the first period of a 3-2 triumph over the Blues. Mattias Janmark and Vernon Fiddler tallied 20 seconds apart to put Dallas ahead 2-0 just 5:13 into the game. The Stars scored on three of their first seven shots to chase Blues netminder Brian Elliott. Jason Spezza's power-play goal caused St. Louis Ken Hitchcock to change goalies just 16:49 in.

Lehtonen was sharp while the Stars were outshot by the Blues 37-14, including a 14-2 margin the third period. He blanked St. Louis until Alex Steen scored 7:29 into the second period.

The Blues couldn't get the equalizer following Patrick Berglund's goal with 11:01 to play.

Game 7 is Wednesday in Dallas.

In Nashville, the Predators erased deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 before knocking off San Jose 4-3 on Viktor Arvidsson's goal 2:03 into overtime. Colin Wilson forced OT by beating Martin Jones with 7:16 left in regulation, about 2 ½ minutes after Logan Couture's power-play goal put the Sharks up 3-2.

Ryan Johansen and Roman Josi also scored for the Predators, who won all three games in Nashville to get within one victory of their first-ever trip to the conference finals.

The Predators rallied after Chris Tierney scored twice in a 1:56 span to put San Jose ahead 2-0 midway through the first period.

Pekka Rinne stopped 15 shots for the Predators, who take on the Sharks in San Jose on Thursday.

MLB-SCHEDULE

White Sox keep winning

UNDATED (AP) — Not much was expected of the Chicago White Sox this season, especially after first baseman Adam La Roche walked off the team during spring training due to a disagreement over clubhouse rules. The Pale Hose remain the top team in the American League following a series-opening win at Texas.

Todd Frazier crushed a grand slam in the 12th inning to push the White Sox past the Rangers 8-4. The bases-loaded blast came after Hanser Alberto singled home the tying run off closer David Robertson in the bottom of the ninth.

Frazier went 4-for-6 with two home runs and a career-high six RBIs as the White Sox improved to 23-10.

Chicago starter Miguel Gonzalez gave up a run and three hits in 5 2/3 innings after being promoted from the minors earlier Monday.

Elsewhere in the majors:

— Jackie Bradley Jr. extended his career-high hitting streak to 15 games with a two-run single and a grand slam in Boston's 14-7 pounding of Oakland. Brock Holt hit a two-run homer, and David Ortiz had three hits and two RBIs in the Red Sox's seventh victory in 10 games.

— Carlos Beltran smacked two of the New York Yankees' five home runs off Chris Young in a 6-3 triumph over Kansas City. Brian McCann homered in the first before Brett Gardner and Aaron Hicks added back-to-back shots in the third inning of the Yankees' third victory in four games. Aroldis Chapman struck out two in a scoreless ninth, his first appearance since serving a 29-game suspension under baseball's domestic violence policy. .

— Houston was a 7-1 winner over Cleveland as Mike Fiers yielded just one run and three hits in seven innings. Jose Altuve had three RBIs, including a two-run double in the Astros' five-run third off Corey Kluber.

— Ketel Marte cracked a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the sixth inning of Seattle's 5-2 decision over Tampa Bay. Marte was 4-for-5 with three runs scored as the Mariners stayed atop the AL West.

— Edwin Encarnacion hit a two-run homer and Aaron Sanchez tossed seven strong innings as Toronto downed the Giants 3-1 in San Francisco. Sanchez allowed a run and three hits while outpitching Jake Peavy, who has surrendered five home runs over his last two starts.

— Clint Robinson belted a walk-off, solo homer in the bottom of the ninth to complete the Washington Nationals' comeback in a 5-4 triumph over Detroit. The Tigers led 4-1 until Daniel Murphy smacked a two-run homer in the sixth. Murphy had three RBIs and Washington's bullpen tossed two shutout innings after Stephen Strasburg was reached for four runs while striking out 11 in seven frames.

— Steven Matz won his fifth straight start and supplied an RBI double as the New York Mets beat the Dodgers 4-2 in Los Angeles. Curtis Granderson and Kevin Plawecki hit solo homers off Scott Kazmir to support Matz, who gave up Trace Thompson's two-run blast but just five other hits in six innings.

— Pittsburgh lost for the sixth time in eight games as Tucker Barnhardt belted a tiebreaking, solo homer in the seventh to send Cincinnati past the Pirates 3-2. Zack Cozart and Joey Votto also went deep off Jon Niese in the Reds' fourth victory in six games.

— Miami was a 4-1 winner over Milwaukee behind Jose Fernandez, who fanned 11 and limited the Brewers to four hits in seven scoreless innings. Marlins outfielder J.T. Realmuto hit what should have been a two-run homer that was ruled an RBI single after he passed teammate Marcell Ozuna on the base path.

— Jake Lamb ripped a go-ahead, three-run homer while Arizona scored five times in the fifth inning of a 10-5 win at Colorado. Jean Segura also homered and Lamb had four RBIs in the Diamondbacks' fourth consecutive win.

— The Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres were rained out at Wrigley Field, leading to a split-doubleheader on Wednesday. It's the third home rainout of the season for the Cubs, who are 24-6 and off to the best start in the majors since the 1984 Detroit Tigers.

— And the Twins postponed their series opener against the Baltimore Orioles because of bad weather. The makeup date is set for July 28.

MLB-NATIONALS-STRASBURG

Nats, Strasburg work out extension

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Nationals and pitcher Stephen Strasburg have reached terms on a contract extension.

A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press the Nats will pay Strasburg $175 million over seven seasons starting in 2017.

Strasburg would have been eligible for free agency for the first time after this season. Instead, he stays with the team that drafted him No. 1 overall in 2009 and shut him down before the playoffs in 2012 to protect his surgically repaired right elbow.

Strasburg is 5-0 with a 2.76 ERA in seven starts this season.

MLB-NEWS

Surgery for Simmons

UNDATED (AP) — Los Angeles Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons will undergo surgery after tearing a ligament in his left thumb while diving for a grounder in yesterday's loss to Tampa Bay. The team said it would have an update on Simmons following the surgery to repair the tear of the ulnar collateral ligament. Simmons was batting .219 with a home run and eight RBIs before the injury.

Also in the majors:

— The White Sox activated Alex Avila from the 15-day disabled list in time for tonight's series opener against the Rangers in Texas. Avila had been sidelined with a strained right hamstring since getting hurt running the bases on April 23. The AL Central leaders designated catcher Hector Sanchez for assignment to make room for Avila.

NFL-EAGLES

Bradford returns to Philly

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford has reported for voluntary workouts and says he is committed to the organization, one month after demanding a trade.

Bradford signed a two-year contract worth $36 million with $22 million guaranteed before the Eagles traded up twice in the NFL draft and selected quarterback Carson Wentz with the No. 2 overall pick. Bradford started 14 games for Philadelphia last season, completing 65 percent of his passes for 3,725 yards, 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL-ARKANSAS-KINGSLEY

Kingsley staying in school.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas' Moses Kingsley says he has withdrawn his name from the NBA draft and will return for his senior season.

The 6-foot-10 center from Nigeria was a second-team All-SEC selection, averaging 15.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocks last season, his first as a starter.

OLYMPICS-BASKETBALL

Coach K has hernia surgery

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Duke and Team USA men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski has undergone hernia surgery but says he'll be just fine for the Olympics and that he will be in "great physical condition."

It's the second procedure for the 69-year-old Krzyzewski this offseason. He previously underwent left knee replacement surgery in early April.

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