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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Hawks pull away from Cavaliers

Hawks guard Kyle Korver gets all fired up in Atlanta’s victory. (Associated Press)

NBA: Al Horford scored 19 points and Kyle Korver hit two big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter after struggling much of the night, leading the Atlanta Hawks to a 106-97 victory over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers in a game could be a preview of what’s to come in the playoffs.

LeBron James and the Cavaliers entered the season as the overwhelming favorite in the Eastern Conference, but the Hawks are running away in the standings. They won their sixth in a row and for the 42nd time in the last 48 games.

James was held to 18 points on 5-of-13 shooting.

• Leonard and Parker lead Spurs over Nuggets: Kawhi Leonard had 25 points and Tony Parker added 24 as the San Antonio Spurs survived a wild offensive pace to beat the visiting Denver Nuggets 120-111 for their fourth straight victory.

Tim Duncan added 15 points for San Antonio, which has won 11 of its past 12 home games.

The Spurs remain in seventh place in the Western Conference, a game behind Dallas.

Wild win 5th straight, beat Hurricanes

NHL: Mikael Granlund and Zach Parise scored in a two-minute span of the third period as the Minnesota Wild won their fifth game in a row, defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Charlie Coyle also scored for Minnesota, which won its sixth consecutive road game. Devan Dubnyk made 37 saves for the Wild. Minnesota is 16-2-1 since the All-Star break.

• Hudler’s 2 goals lift Flames over Red Wings 5-2: Jiri Hudler scored twice against his former team, and the visiting Calgary Flames beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-2.

Sean Monahan, Matt Stajan and Mason Raymond also scored for the Flames, who rallied in convincing fashion after Detroit’s Justin Abdelkader scored the game’s first two goals.

Calgary moved into a tie for second with Vancouver in the Pacific Division.

No. 11 Northern Iowa routs Bradley

Top 25: Nate Buss scored a season-high 23 points and No. 11 Northern Iowa overwhelmed Bradley in the second half for a 71-46 rout in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament in St. Louis.

The second-seeded Panthers advanced without much from Valley player of the year Seth Tuttle, who made his first basket with 13:47 to go and finished with 10 points.

Northern Iowa has won 17 of 18 and faces either Indiana State or Loyola on Sunday in the semifinals.

• No. 2 Notre Dame women top Miami in ACC quarters: Jewell Loyd scored 16 points and No. 2 Notre Dame beat Miami 77-61 in an Atlantic Coast Conference quarterfinal in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Brianna Turner had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the top-seeded Irish, who earned their 15th straight win.

Jessica Thomas scored a career-high 24 points for the eighth-seeded Hurricanes.

Adrienne Motley, who averages nearly 17 points, finished with just five on 2-of-8 shooting.

Holmes keeps lead at Doral despite 73

Golf: J.B. Holmes kept his lead at Doral.

Holmes was 11 shots worse than his record-tying 62 in the opening round. A double bogey on the 18th hole gave him a 1-over 73, still enough to take a two-shot lead over Ryan Moore at Trump National in Doral, Florida.

• Alex Cejka leads PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open: Alex Cejka birdied three of his last five holes Friday for a 5-under 67 and a one-stroke lead in the PGA Tour’s wind-swept Puerto Rico Open in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.

Cejka birdied Nos. 5, 7 and 9 in a bogey-free round to reach 7-under 137 at Trump International-Puerto Rico.

Change in illegal man downfield rule tabled

Miscellany: The NCAA playing rules oversight panel tabled a proposal to change the illegal man downfield rule from 3 yards to 1 because it did not get enough feedback from head coaches.

The football rules committee proposed last month to shorten the distance offensive linemen can move forward from the line of scrimmage before a pass is thrown.

The proposed change drew complaints from offensive coaches who have become adept at deceiving defenses by using run blocking on plays that give quarterbacks the option to pass or run.

The current rule of 3 yards will stay in effect for the 2015 season and will be a point of emphasis for coaches and officials, the NCAA said.

• Coroner: Ohio State athlete had concussions: An Ohio State athlete who committed suicide had suffered concussions but didn’t show evidence of trauma affecting the brain, a coroner said in Columbus, Ohio.

Wrestler and football scout team member Kosta Karageorge, who was 22, had been missing for several days when his body was found in a trash bin in Columbus not far from his campus-area apartment on Nov. 30. A handgun was found near his right hand.

• Keane’s LA Galaxy open MLS season with 2-0 win over Chicago: Jose Villarreal scored in the 65th minute, Robbie Keane added a late goal and the defending champion LA Galaxy opened the 20th MLS season with a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Fire in Carson, California.

Brian Rowe earned the shutout with just one save.

The Galaxy are unbeaten in 17 league games at home since March 8, 2014.

• Morgan’s goal sparks 3-0 U.S. win over Switzerland: Alex Morgan redirected Lauren Holiday’s free kick for a goal some nine minutes into the second half and the U.S. women’s national team went on to defeat Switzerland 3-0 in group play at the Algarve Cup in Vila Real de San Antonio, Portugal.

The U.S. improved to 2-0-0 in its last international tournament before the Women’s World Cup in Canada later this year.

• Gordon wins 1st pole at Las Vegas in final start at track: Jeff Gordon won the pole for Sunday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

It is Gordon’s first career pole at Las Vegas and 79th of his career. The four-time series champion has now won a pole at every active NASCAR track except Kansas and Kentucky. He’s retiring at the end of this season.

• Ward tops Isner, Britain leads U.S. 2-0 in Davis Cup: James Ward came from two sets down to beat John Isner in a Davis Cup match in Glasgow, Scotland, that lasted almost five hours, giving Britain a 2-0 lead over the United States in the first round.

The 111th-ranked Ward produced a big upset, clinching a 6-7 (4), 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (3), 15-13 victory on his sixth match point.