Oklahoma City routs L.A. to open series
NBA Playoffs: Russell Westbrook had 27 points and nine assists, Kevin Durant added 25 points and the Thunder blasted the weary Los Angeles Lakers 119-90 on Monday night in the opening game of the Western Conference semifinals at Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma City led by as many as 35 points, getting a measure of vengeance for the elbow Metta World Peace delivered to the head of the Thunder’s James Harden three weeks earlier – and without needing dirty tactics to do it.
Thunder starting center Kendrick Perkins limped off after aggravating a hip injury from the first round.
Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum scored 20 points each for the Lakers.
• 76ers even series with Celtics: Evan Turner made the go-ahead layup with 40.4 seconds left and Philadelphia held off host Boston the rest of the way with six straight free throws as the 76ers evened the second-round Eastern Conference series with an 82-81 victory.
Turner finished with 10 points, including his layup that put the Sixers up 76-75.
Kevin Garnett had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Celtics.
• Miami uncertain how long Bosh will be out: Chris Bosh will be out indefinitely, so the Miami Heat have to adjust. So do the Indiana Pacers.
An MRI confirmed Bosh strained a lower abdominal muscle in Miami’s Game 1 victory. The diagnosis is clear, but the prognosis is not, with the team saying there’s no firm timetable for Bosh’s return.
Lundqvist, Rangers get past Devils
NHL Playoffs: Rangers rookie Chris Kreider and defenseman Dan Girardi both had a goal and an assist in the third period, and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 21 shots for his fifth career playoff shutout, as the Rangers opened the Eastern Conference finals with a 3-0 victory over the well-rested New Jersey Devils in New York.
The Rangers were playing just two days after eliminating Washington in a stirring 2-1 Game 7 victory. The Devils had been off for five days since they knocked out the Philadelphia Flyers in five games.
McNamee takes stand at Clemens’ trial
MLB: Brian McNamee says he injected Roger Clemens with steroids about 8 to 10 times when they were with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1998.
McNamee took the stand in Washington, and described in detail how he became intertwined with one of the most successful pitchers in baseball history.
McNamee was the strength and conditioning coach for the Blue Jays at the time.
McNamee is the chief witness in the trial of the seven-time Cy Young Award winner. Clemens is charged with lying to Congress when he testified in 2008 that he had never used steroids or human growth hormone.
• MLB fires arbitrator from Braun case: Major League Baseball management has fired Shyam Das, the arbitrator who overturned Ryan Braun’s drug suspension in February.
Following a grievance hearing, Das decided in February to overturn the 50-game suspension of Braun for a positive drug test. Management publicly disagreed with his decision.
Hesjedal maintains lead at Giro d’Italia
Cycling: Francisco Ventoso of Spain won the ninth stage of the Giro d’Italia in a sprint finish at Frosinone, Italy, after several other contenders fell at the last turn. Ryder Hesjedal, a Canadian with Garmin- Barracuda, kept the overall lead.
• Sagan takes another stage at Amgen Tour of California: Peter Sagan of Slovakia won his second straight stage with a powerful and unchallenged sprint and retained the overall lead at Aptos, Calif., in stage 2 of the Amgen Tour of California.
College of Idaho to restore football
College football: The College of Idaho will revive a football program that was discontinued in the late 1970s.
The board that governs the state’s oldest private liberal arts college voted to reinstate football during a meeting last week on the Caldwell campus.
The program won’t compete until the fall of 2014.