Resting Heat lose; Pacers East top seed
NBA: The Miami Heat opted for rest for LeBron James and Chris Bosh over the pursuit of the Eastern Conference’s top seed, and the host Washington Wizards capitalized in a 114-93 breeze of a game Monday night that clinched the No. 1 seed for the Indiana Pacers.
Trevor Ariza scored 25 points for the Wizards, who shot 59 percent and made 14 3-pointers to stay a game ahead of the Charlotte Bobcats in the race for the East’s No. 6 seed.
Michael Beasley scored 18 points for the Heat, and Toney Douglas had 14 for the two-time defending champs, who will be the No. 2 seed when the playoffs begin this weekend.
• Grizzlies earn last West berth: Zach Randolph scored 32 points and the visiting Memphis Grizzlies clinched the final playoff berth in the Western Conference with a 97-91 victory over Phoenix that eliminated the Suns from postseason contention.
• Warriors rally past T-Wolves: Stephen Curry had 32 points and 15 assists, and the Golden State Warriors rallied from 19 points down in the first half to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 130-120 in Oakland, Calif.
The Warriors withstood a strong start by Kevin Love to secure the sixth seed in the West. Love scored 22 of his 40 points in the first quarter. He finished with 14 rebounds and nine assists.
• Raptors set wins mark: Greivis Vasquez scored 25 points, Kyle Lowry had 24 and the Toronto Raptors set a franchise record with their 48th win, beating the visiting Milwaukee Bucks 110-100.
• Dumars leaving Pistons: Joe Dumars is stepping down as the Detroit Pistons’ president of basketball operations. Dumars will remain an adviser to the ownership team.
• Kings’ Cousins suspended: The season is over for Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins.
The NBA announced it upheld his 16th technical foul of the season. Players and coaches are suspended one game without pay when they reach 16 technical fouls.
Cousins will sit out Wednesday’s season finale against Phoenix.
Niners’ Culliver enters not guilty plea
NFL: San Francisco 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver pleaded not guilty in San Jose, Calif., to misdemeanor hit-and-run charges and felony possession of brass knuckles.
Culliver was arrested on March 28 after San Jose police say he struck a bicyclist, then rammed a witness’ vehicle that was blocking him from leaving until officers arrived.
• Browns sign Pressley: The Cleveland Browns signed fullback Chris Pressley, a potential lead blocker to open holes for new running back Ben Tate. Pressley missed all of last season with Cincinnati because of a knee injury.
Predators’ Trotz out after 15 seasons
Miscellany: Barry Trotz, the NHL’s longest tenured head coach with one team, will not be back for a 16th season with the Nashville Predators.
The Predators announced they have told Trotz his contract will not be renewed and that they are starting a search for a new coach immediately.
Trotz has been the only coach for this former expansion franchise, and he coached 1,196 games with Nashville. He has been offered a position in the team’s hockey operations department, but said he wants to keep coaching.
• Indy 500 adjusts qualifying: The new qualifying format for the Indianapolis 500 now allows any entry that has not made the field at the end of the first day of qualifying a chance to make the last row of the grid on the second day.
The changes allow positions 31-33 to be provisional. Those cars, plus any entry not already in the field that has declared intentions to qualify for the race, will participate in a separate qualification session May 18 to determine the 11th row on the grid.
• Robinson seeks settlement over fall: Baseball Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson is seeking a settlement of $9.9 million from the Seminole Indian tribe over injuries he suffered in a 2012 fall from a stage at the tribe’s South Florida casino.
Attorney Jack Hickey said Robinson will sue unless a settlement is reached. The case is complicated by the tribe’s lawsuit immunity protections, which generally limit damages to $200,000 for an individual who suffers an injury at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood.
Robinson, 76, was attending a charity event at the casino for the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital when he fell about 12 feet off a stage that had no back railing. Hickey said the Baltimore Orioles great suffered head, back and shoulder injuries that forced him to undergo physical therapy and required that he limit paid and charity appearances, celebrity golf tournaments and travel.
• NCAA selects enforcement head: Jonathan Duncan has been promoted to head of the NCAA’s enforcement division. NCAA President Mark Emmert removed the interim tag Monday. Duncan is now the vice president of enforcement after taking over a department in turmoil 13 months ago.
• Attorney in Miami case faces ethics charges: An attorney who assisted the NCAA during its probe of Miami athletics is facing charges from the Florida Bar, which alleges a wide range of ethics violations occurred during that investigation.
Maria Elena Perez could face probation, a public reprimand, suspension or even disbarment.
Monday’s complaint detailed a number of alleged violations by Perez, including procedural errors she made, questions about her billing, that she failed to inform deposed witnesses about her relationship with the NCAA and that she contacted producers at HBO about taping depositions.