Woods tied for lead; McIlroy struggles
Golf: Tiger Woods and most of the world’s best golfers were on their games Thursday in the Cadillac Championship in Doral, Fla.
Except for the world’s No. 1 player.
Woods made birdie on half his holes on the Blue Monster at Doral for a 6-under 66. He was part of a five-way tie for the lead that included Masters champion Bubba Watson, former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell, Sergio Garcia and Freddie Jacobson. Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker and Hunter Mahan were among those one shot behind.
It was another struggle for Rory McIlroy. He hit only three fairways and made six bogeys that kept him at par or worse on a perfect day for scoring. He wound up with a 73, and has yet to have a round under par this year.
• Romero, Percy lead in Puerto Rico: Andres Romero made two late bogeys to drop into a tie for the Puerto Rico Open lead with Cameron Percy at 7-under 65 in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.
Romero, the Argentine player who won the PGA Tour’s 2008 New Orleans event and the European Tour’s 2007 Deutsche Bank tournament, had an eagle and seven birdies on his first 15 holes to reach 9 under, then fell back with the bogeys on the par-4 seventh and par-5 eighth.
Percy, from Australia, had nine birdies and two bogeys on the Trump International course.
Blayne Barber and Jon Curran were a stroke back, and two-time major champion Angel Cabrera opened with a 67..
Knicks can’t beat Thunder sans Melo
NBA: Kevin Durant had 34 points, including the go-ahead free throws with 1:38 left, and the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder pulled out a 95-94 victory over the New York Knicks.
Russell Westbrook struggled over the final three quarters but finished with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists. Durant also had eight boards and six assists.
The Knicks, led by J.R. Smith’s season-high 36 points, were without All-Star Carmelo Anthony.
• Irving’s knee still a concern for Cavaliers: The Cavaliers won’t risk losing Kyrie Irving for any more games.
Cleveland coach Byron Scott said he will consider shutting down his All-Star point guard, who recently missed three games with a hyperextended right knee and said after Wednesday’s comeback win over Utah that the injury was still bothering him.
Bruins bounce back and beat Maple Leafs
NHL: Tyler Seguin had two goals and an assist and Patrice Bergeron had one of each to lead the Boston Bruins to a 4-2 victory over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs.
Anton Khudobin stopped 25 shots for Boston, which blew leads in each of its previous two games and lost both.
David Krejci also scored for Boston, and Brad Marchand had a pair of assists.
• Kunitz scores twice, Penguins beat Flyers: Chris Kunitz scored his second goal just 18 seconds into the third period to cap a four-goal rally and lift the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins to a 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Pascal Dupuis, James Neal and Tyler Kennedy also scored goals for the Atlantic Division-leading Penguins, who won their third straight game.
• Pronger not ready to retire: Chris Pronger isn’t ready to retire, even though a concussion specialist has advised him not to return to hockey.
The 2000 NHL MVP has not played for the Flyers since Nov. 19, 2011 and still suffers from lingering effects of multiple concussions. But he wouldn’t rule out attempting a return if physically possible.
Big Ten wide open after Spartans’ win
College Basketball: Keith Appling scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half to help No. 10 Michigan State pull away to beat No. 22 Wisconsin 58-43 in East Lansing, Mich., and stay in the Big Ten race.
The Spartans moved into a three-way tie for second with Michigan and Ohio State. The trio trails conference-leading Indiana with one game left in the regular season.
Four-time champ Buser leads Iditarod
Miscellany: There’s a new leader in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
Four-time champion Martin Buser was the first musher to leave the checkpoint in the ghost town of Iditarod in Anchorage.
Buser has already taken his mandatory 24-hour layover and left the checkpoint at 2 p.m. Thursday. The winner is expected to arrive in Nome sometime early next week.
• U.S. women down another goalkeeper: U.S. women’s soccer team goalkeeper Jill Loyden broke a bone in her left hand during training and will miss three months.
With Hope Solo out with a wrist injury, the Americans will use either veteran Nicole Barnhart or inexperienced Ashlyn Harris.
• Financing terms reached for new Falcons stadium: Officials say financing terms have been reached for the Atlanta Falcons’ proposal for a new $1 billion stadium in downtown Atlanta. The Atlanta City Council must now vote on the proposal.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed says the public contribution to stadium construction through hotel-motel tax revenue will be capped at $200 million.