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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Hot-shooting Cal surprises No. 23 Syracuse

California’s Sam Singer and Kingsley Okoroh, right, defend as Syracuse guard Trevor Cooney attempts a layup. (Associated Press)
From Staff And Wire Reports

Men’s basketball: Jordan Mathews scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half, and California routed No. 23 Syracuse 73-59 to reach the championship game of the 2K Classic in New York City.

California (3-0) seized control by hitting four straight 3-pointers late in the first half and cruised to its first big victory in the Cuonzo Martin era. Jabari Bird added 16 points.

The Golden Bears will face No. 10 Texas, which beat Iowa 71-57 in the first semifinal, tonight.

Kaleb Joseph and Michael Gbinije each scored 13 points for Syracuse (2-1), which couldn’t get much going in front of its orange-clad fans who surrounded the court at Madison Square Garden.

Leading scorer Rakeem Christmas was limited to eight points before fouling out with 6:23 left and the Orange trailing by 14 points. He came in averaging 18 points.

• SMU falls: James Blackmon Jr. scored 26 points and Indiana (3-0) used a big run in the second half to get past No. 22 SMU (1-2) 74-68 at Bloomington, Indiana.

• Villanova edges Bucknell: Dylan Ennis scored 16 points, including four free throws in the final 30 seconds, and No. 12 Villanova (3-0) survived a serious upset scare with a 72-65 win over visiting Bucknell (1-2) in the Progressive Legends Classic at Villanova, Pennsylvania.

• Aztecs win ugly: Dwayne Polee II was the game’s only player in double figures with 13 points and No. 16 San Diego State (3-0) survived another awful shooting performance to win 51-27 against visiting Cal State Bakersfield, which missed its first 20 shots.

The 27 points by Bakersfield (0-4) were the lowest in Division I this season.

Paul leads Clippers’ rout of Miami Heat

NBA: Chris Paul had 26 points and 12 assists, Blake Griffin added 26 points and the Clippers wasted no time in taking control on the way to a 110-93 win over the host Miami Heat.

DeAndre Jordan scored 12 points – on six shots, all dunks – and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Clippers, who led 39-15 after one quarter. Chris Bosh scored 28 for Miami.

• Kings topple Bulls: DeMarcus Cousins had 22 points and 14 rebounds and Rudy Gay scored 20 points to help Sacramento beat Chicago 103-88 at Sacramento, California, snapping the Bulls’ six-game road winning streak.

Kane nets winner for Blackhawks

NHL: Patrick Kane scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period to lift Chicago to a 4-3 victory over Calgary at Calgary, Alberta.

With the game tied at 3, Kane’s unassisted goal at 9:12 came after goalie Jonas Hiller turned over the puck behind his net.

• Wild win late: Jason Zucker scored with 45.4 seconds left to lift visiting Minnesota to a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.

• Tatar boosts Wings: Tomas Tatar scored two goals and added an assist as Detroit beat host Winnipeg 4-3.

• Canadiens roll: Max Pacioretty scored twice as Montreal beat visiting St. Louis 4-1.

• Caps pick up win: Alex Ovechkin scored late in the third period, Braden Holtby stopped 27 shots and Washington beat Colorado 3-2 in Denver.

• Cowen helps Senators: Bobby Ryan, Alex Chiasson and former Spokane Chief Jared Cowen all scored in the second period, Robin Lehner stopped 33 shots, and Ottawa beat visiting Nashville 3-2.

• Leafs stop Lightning: James van Riemsdyk scored two goals to lead Toronto to a much-needed 5-2 home victory over Tampa Bay.

• Stars dump Coyotes: John Klingberg, Cody Eakin and Jason Spezza all scored in the third period, as Dallas rallied to a 3-1 victory over Arizona to break a seven-game home losing streak.

• Kings clip Hurricanes: Tanner Pearson ended his 11-game goal drought with the tiebreaking score, and Jonathan Quick made 25 saves in Los Angeles’ NHL-best 10th home victory of the season, 3-2 over Carolina.

• Ducks edge Canucks: Corey Perry scored the shootout winner, lifting Anaheim Ducks to a 4-3 road victory over Vancouver at Vancouver, British Columbia.

• Panthers triumph: Nick Bjugstad scored twice during regulation and added the winning shootout goal as Florida won its fourth straight in San Jose, California, beating the Sharks 3-2.

• Johnson bankrupt: Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson filed for bankruptcy while earning millions under a $30.5 million contract in his ninth NHL season.

In federal court records, the 27-year-old said his finances have fallen apart under his parents’ management. He said creditors and his financial advisers took advantage of him through fraudulent transactions and predatory lending.

• Voynov charged: Kings defenseman Slava Voynov has been charged with felony domestic violence following his Oct. 20 arrest.

Voynov faces one felony count of corporal injury to a spouse with great bodily injury.

Granada holds lead at LPGA’s finale

Miscellany: Julieta Granada played bogey free in a tough wind for a 6-under-par 66 to take a two-shot lead in the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida.

The season finale on the LPGA Tour is the conclusion to the Race to CME Globe that pays a $1 million bonus. Only the top nine players in the standings can win the prize, and the top three in the race – Stacy Lewis (69) , Inbee Park (71) and Lydia Ko (71) – have to win the tournament for the $1 million bonus.

• McIlroy in front: Top-ranked Rory McIlroy returned from a six-week absence to shoot a 6-under 66 for a share of the lead on the first day of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

McIlroy birdied four of his opening five holes to join Irishman Shane Lowry at the top of the leaderboard.

• Texas trumps Stanford: Nneka Enemkpali scored 18 points and No. 10 Texas beat No. 6 Stanford 87-81 in overtime in women’s basketball play at Stanford, California.

Empress Davenport added 13 points in the visiting Longhorns’ first win over a Top-10 team in almost six years.

• Manfred gets five years: Rob Manfred has been given a five-year term as baseball commissioner when he succeeds Bud Selig in two months.

• Japan beats U.S. team: Yuki Yanagita drove in two runs in the eighth inning as Japan beat the Major League Baseball All-Stars 6-4 in an exhibition game in Naha, Japan, following their five-game postseason tour.

• Federer good to go: Despite his bad back, Roger Federer will face Gael Monfils in the second singles match when Switzerland faces France in the Davis Cup final in Lille, France. Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka will open the best-of-five series on clay against Jo-Wilfired Tsonga.