SPORTS SHORTS
NBA: Dubs rally from 22 down, top Spurs
Stephen Curry scored 29 points and the Warriors rallied from a 22-point deficit in the opening quarter to beat the Spurs 110-98 on Wednesday night in San Antonio for their ninth straight win. Golden State extended its lead over San Antonio to 3 ¹/2 games for the league’s best record. The Warriors’ Kevin Durant has been cleared for non-contact basketball drills and could return from his knee injury before the end of the regular season.
In Orlando, Fla., Russell Westbrook scored 57 points in his 38th triple-double of the season and hit a 3-pointer with 7.1 seconds left to force overtime, leading the Thunder over the Magic, 114-106. Westbrook had 13 rebounds and 11 assists as the Thunder rallied after trailing by as many as 21 in the second half.
NCAA: St. Peter’s surges to CIT final
Nnamdi Enechionyia scored 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting, and St. Peter’s used a hot start to coast to a 77-51 win over Furman in the semifinals of the CIT on Wednesday night in Jersey City. The Peacocks will play for the CIT championship Friday at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, a 79-61 winner over Maryland-Baltimore County in the other semi.
Women’s basketball saw its lowest attendance for the NCAA Tournament regionals in 20 years. An average of 4,719 fans showed up for games in four neutral-site venues. That’s down 27 percent from last year and nearly 50 percent from 2014, when the games were played on campus sites. This year’s numbers were bolstered by the Bridgeport Regional, which sold out when UConn played there.
Maryland junior guard Melo Trimble is forgoing his final year of collegiate eligibility to enter the NBA draft and will sign with an agent.
Massachusetts hired Matt McCall, 35, as its next men’s basketball coach after two seasons at Chattanooga. The hiring is the second in two weeks for the Minutemen, after Winthrop coach Pat
Kelsey backed out of an agreement to coach the program just minutes before he was set to be introduced.
A federal judge granted North Carolina’s request to dismiss the school from a lawsuit filed by two former Tar Heels athletes tied to its academic scandal, ruling the school had immunity as an arm of the state that prevented it from being sued in federal court.
NHL: Preseason games set for China
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced the Kings and Canucks will play a pair of preseason games in September in Beijing and Shanghai, China. In Pittsburgh, Artemi Panarin and Richard
started a four-goal first period and the Blackhawks moved closer to locking up the Central Division title with a 5-1 win over the short-handed Penguins.
Wild forward Zach Parise likely will miss the next three games, with bruising and swelling around his eye from a high stick to the face Tuesday by Washington’s Tom Wilson.
The NHL will release teams’ protected and available lists to the public before the Vegas Golden Knights’ expansion draft in June. NHL general managers had expressed a desire to keep the lists private.
ETC.: Carroll: Beast Mode may be back
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said that retired running back Marshawn Lynch is considering a return to the NFL. Carroll said he talked to Lynch, who retired after the 2015 season, about 10 days ago.
The Red Bulls signed two-time MLS Golden Boot winner Bradley Wright-Phillips to a new contract, which they said is a multiyear deal.