In brief: Nelson moves to top of NBA victories list

NBA: Don Nelson set the NBA career record for victories by a coach in the Golden State Warriors’ 116-107 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night in Minneapolis.

Nelson won his 1,333rd career game, surpassing Lenny Wilkens to move atop the list. Nelson’s record is 1,333-1,061.

Stephen Curry had 27 points, 14 assists, eight rebounds and a career-high seven steals, and Anthony Tolliver scored a career-high 34 for the Warriors, who mobbed their 69-year-old coach as the game ended.

Nelson had 20 family members and friends in attendance, including a daughter who lives in the Minneapolis suburb of Minnetonka.

•Bobcats clinch first playoff berth: The Charlotte Bobcats clinched their first playoff berth since their founding six years ago, as Stephen Jackson scored 29 points and D.J. Augustin hit a crucial 3-pointer with 16 seconds left in a 104-103 victory over the New Orleans Hornets in New Orleans.

•Rockets give Adelman 900th win: Aaron Brooks and Kevin Martin scored 28 points apiece, and Rick Adelman became the 11th coach to reach 900 career victories in the Houston Rockets’ 113-96 win over the Utah Jazz in Houston.

The loss dropped Utah one-half game behind Dallas and Phoenix, both winners Wednesday night, in the race for the second-best record in the Western Conference.

•Nuggets nip Thunder: Chauncey Billups scored 31 points and Carmelo Anthony added 24 as the Denver Nuggets charged back from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 98-94 in Oklahoma City.

•Heat win ninth straight: Dwyane Wade scored eight of his 22 points in the final 4 minutes, Dorell Wright added 19 off the bench and the surging Miami Heat rallied past the Philadelphia 76ers 99-95 in Miami for their ninth straight win.

•Blazers move up: LaMarcus Aldridge had 27 points and 12 rebounds, Brandon Roy added 23 points and visiting Portland moved up to tie Oklahoma City for seventh place in the Western Conference playoff standings with a 93-85 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Portland is 11-2 in its last 13 games.

•Raptors in precarious position: Rajon Rondo scored 21 points, Paul Pierce had 20 and the Boston Celtics beat the Toronto Raptors 115-104 in Toronto.

Toronto’s lead over the Chicago Bulls for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference fell to one-half game.

•Daye sparks Pistons: Austin Daye played a career-high 44 minutes and finished with his first double-double to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 90-88 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in Auburn Hills, Mich.

Daye, who had 13 points and 10 rebounds, hadn’t played more than 33 minutes in an NBA game, and had a career high of 36 at Gonzaga University.

The Pistons, who were already shorthanded, lost Rodney Stuckey to a first-half rib injury.

Rangers keep playoff hopes alive with win

NHL: Erik Christensen scored two of New York’s three first-period goals, and the Rangers gave their tenuous playoff hopes a big boost with a 5-1 victory over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs.

If the Rangers win their final two games, it would get them into the playoffs for the fifth straight season.

•Big win for Blackhawks: Duncan Keith, Ben Eager, Bryan Bickell and Kris Versteeg scored in a 3:08 span in the first period and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the St. Louis Blues 6-5 in Chicago for their fifth straight victory.

Andrew Ladd and Jordan Hendry also scored to help Chicago reach a franchise-record 109 points and tie San Jose for first place in the Western Conference.

•Red Wings rally to victory: Tomas Holmstrom, Nicklas Lidstrom and Dan Cleary scored in a 1-minute, 16-second span of the third period and the Detroit Red Wings rallied for a 4-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets in Detroit.

Buckeyes’ Turner declares for draft

Miscellany: Associated Press player of the year Evan Turner of Ohio State declared for the NBA draft.

Joining Turner are two more one-and-done freshmen in Cincinnati’s Lance Stephenson and Kansas’ Xavier Henry. Dayton junior Chris Wright, Xavier sophomore Jordan Crawford and Florida junior Alex Tyus also declared their eligibility for the draft.

•Gray tops field: Ryan Gray of Cheney had the highest bareback riding score on the first night of the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo at Pocatello. Gray had a score of 84 on a re-ride.

•Clarett moved: A judge cleared the way for ex-Ohio State football star Maurice Clarett to move to a smaller detention facility in Columbus, Ohio, which could lead to his release within a few months.

Clarett served 31/2 years in prison for aggravated robbery and carrying a concealed weapon.

•No single cause for luge fatality: An investigation into the death of Nodar Kumaritashvili at the Vancouver Olympics will find no single cause for his fatal luge accident. Svein Romstad, secretary general of the International Luge Federation, told the AP that the FIL report is set to describe the Georgian’s crash at 90 mph on Whistler’s sliding track as something that could not have been foreseen.

•Gender test favors Semenya: Caster Semenya’s lawyers have told South African television that gender test results obtained in February show she can compete in track as a woman.

Semenya’s lawyers told the eNews channel that her medical team looked at test results following the 2009 world championships and their own tests and concluded that she was clear to compete.