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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Warriors edge Clippers, force seventh game

Los Angeles guard Darren Collison shoots against Golden State forward Harrison Barnes during the first half on Thursday. (Associated Press)
From Staff And Wire Reports

NBA: Stephen Curry scored 24 points and handed out nine assists, and the Golden State Warriors forced a decisive Game 7 by outlasting the Los Angeles Clippers 100-99 Thursday night in Oakland, California.

Andre Iguodala added 15 points and Draymond Green had 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Warriors, handing Los Angeles one more obstacle to overcome in a week full of them after owner Donald Sterling earned a lifetime ban from the NBA for his racist remarks.

The Warriors limited big men Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan even after center Jermaine O’Neal left with a sprained right knee in the second quarter. The Clippers simply ran out of time in the closing minute, missing three shots before Matt Barnes made a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left.

• Pacers tie up series: David West led Indiana on a 16-4 run to end the game, extending the season for the top-seeded Pacers with a 95-88 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in Atlanta.

Trailing 3-2 after losing at home for the second time in the best-of-seven series, Indiana was poised for an early summer when the Hawks pushed out to an 84-79 lead with just over 3 minutes remaining, cheered on by a raucous crowd.

West seemed to make every big play down the stretch, scoring four straight points and forcing a huge turnover to begin the turnaround. West hit two more baskets in the final minute to wrap things up, finishing with 24 points.

• Thunder avoid elimination: Kevin Durant scored 36 points to break out of a slump, and the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder routed the Memphis Grizzlies 104-84 to force a deciding seventh game in the first-round Western Conference series.

Russell Westbrook added 25 points for the Thunder, who haven’t been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs since 2010. They took control early with Durant scoring 14 points in the first quarter, led by 15 at halftime and never let Memphis get closer in the second half.

Marc Gasol had 17 points and Zach Randolph 16 for Memphis. Guard Mike Conley strained his right hamstring, briefly returned and left for good with 8:48 left.

• Owners hope to move quickly on Sterling: The NBA owners’ advisory/finance committee has held its first meeting about Donald Sterling and is committed to ending his ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers “as expeditiously as possible.”

The 10-member committee held a conference call to discuss “the process for termination of Donald T. Sterling’s ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers,” the league says in a statement.

Subban lifts Canadiens in 2OT

NHL: P.K. Subban scored his second goal of the game at 4:17 of the second overtime to give the Montreal Canadiens a 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The goal came 7 seconds into the Canadiens’ second power play of overtime. Fans pelted the ice with cups and giveaway towels as the players filed off of the ice.

Carey Price stopped 48 shots for Montreal.

• Hart finalists announced: Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby, Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf and Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux are finalists for the Hart Memorial Trophy.

The trophy essentially serves as the league’s MVP award. The winner will be announced June 24.

• Poti announces retirement: Longtime defenseman Tom Poti is retiring from hockey after 14 NHL seasons.

In 824 regular-season games with the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, New York Islanders and the Washington Capitals, Poti had 69 goals and 258 assists.

The 37-year-old Poti was a 2003 All-Star with the Rangers, and helped the United States win a silver medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

• Canucks fire Tortorella: The Vancouver Canucks have fired John Tortorella one year into the fiery coach’s long-term deal.

Tortorella, who signed a five-year contract last summer after being dismissed by the New York Rangers, failed to reach the playoffs behind the Vancouver bench. Assistant coach Mike Sullivan was also fired.

The Canucks finished 25th in the 30-team NHL, their worst finish in 14 years.

Mickelson well in reach at Wells Fargo

GOLF: Phil Mickelson kept it entertaining to the very end and finished one shot behind Angel Cabrera in the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Cabrera played in the morning and thrived on the new Bermuda greens at Quail Hollow. He made seven birdies in a round of 6-under-par 66.

Mickelson made birdies off the pine straw, made a long par save on one hole and three-putted another. Mickelson finished with a 6-iron from a tough stance in the bunker that led to par and a 67.

Pettersen leads at North Texas: Suzann Pettersen shot a bogey-free 5-under 66 to take the first-round lead at the North Texas LPGA Shootout in Irving, Texas.

Pettersen, who returned to the LPGA Tour last week after missing a month with back issues, had a one-stroke lead over playing partner Cristie Kerr and Michelle Wie, Caroline Masson, Christina Kim, Cydney Clanton and Dori Carter.

Sevilla vs Benfica in Europa League final

SOCCER: The final of European soccer’s No. 2 club tournament will be an all-Iberian matchup, just like in the Champions League.

Benfica and Sevilla will meet in the Europa League final at Turin on May 14, 10 days before Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid play in the Champions League final at Lisbon.

Sevilla, the 2006 and 2007 winner, advanced despite a 3-1 loss at Valencia on Thursday night. Stephane Mbia scored on a header in the fourth minute of stoppage time, tying the aggregate 3-3 in the home-and-home, total-goals series and allowing Sevilla to advance on 1-0 away goals.

Benfica tied 0-0 at Juventus to advance on 2-1 aggregate. The visitors played a man short after midfielder Enzo Perez was ejected in the 67th minute for his second yellow card, given for a foul on Arturo Vidal.

U.S. to host Copa America: The United States will host the Copa America soccer tournament for the first time in 2016. The 16-nation tournament will be held from June 3-26, and U.S. cities will bid to host the games.

The U.S. and Mexico, in the CONCACAF region, will compete. All 10 national teams will compete from South America. The CONCACAF region of North and Central America and the Caribbean will have four other teams competing based on standings and playoffs.