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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In Brief: Thompson and Green carry the Warriors

Former Cougar Klay Thompson had a big day to lead Golden State past Portland in series opener. (Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)
From staff and wire reports

NBA: From the opening tip, Klay Thompson shot lights-out and even heaved one in from way out in Stephen Curry territory. Draymond Green began yapping from the start while doing his thing to make plays every which way, calling on his teammates to bring an edge on defense.

With Curry sidelined because of a sprained right knee, Green and Thompson took charge.

Thompson scored 37 points in another brilliant performance as his fellow “Splash Brother” watched, and the Golden State Warriors dominated once more without their MVP to beat the visiting Portland Trail Blazers 118-106 Sunday in the opener of the Western Conference semifinals.

“Everything has to be racheted up,” said Green, who posted his second career postseason triple-double with 23 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists for the defending champions. “I just told the guys that we’ve got to come out with a defensive mindset.”

The offense happened on its own, with all five starters scoring in double figures.

Thompson hit seven more 3-pointers to become the first player in NBA history to make at least seven 3s in three straight playoff games.

Thompson hit a Curry-esque 30-foot 3-pointer in the opening minutes. He scored 18 of his points in the first quarter on 7-for-10 shooting with four 3s as Golden State built a 37-17 lead.

Damian Lillard had another slow start back home in the Bay Area, missing 11 of his first 13 shots before finishing with 30

.

“They are an elite team either way, and they showed that tonight,” said Lillard, his voice hoarse because of a chest cold. “We’ve just got to understand they’re a good first-quarter team. We’ve got to be better from the start of the game.”

Raptors finally advance: At Toronto, DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 15 rebounds and 10 points and the Raptors beat Indiana 89-84 in Game 7 of the first-round playoff series to advance to face Miami in the conference semifinals.

Rookie Norman Powell added 13 points, Kyle Lowry had 11 points and nine assists, and Patrick Patterson had 11 points to help Toronto win a seven-game series for the first time in franchise history.

The Raptors won their first postseason series since a five-game triumph over the New York Knicks in 2001, ending the NBA’s longest active drought between playoff series victories.

Heat hot in Game 7: At Miami, Goran Dragic scored 25 points, Gerald Green added 16 and the Heat emphatically ended Charlotte’s season 106-73 in Game 7.

Luol Deng scored 15 pointsfor the Heat, who have won their last four Game 7s – each of the previous three coming along the way to winning NBA championships.

Pavelski’s late goal puts Sharks up 2-0

NHL: Joe Pavelski scored the tiebreaking goal with 2:40 left in regulation and Martin Jones stopped 36 shots to lead San Jose to a 3-2 victory over visiting Nashville and a 2-0 lead in the second-round playoff series.

Logan Couture added a power-play goal and Joe Thornton scored an empty-netter to put the Sharks in control.

Mattias Ekholm tied the game earlier in the third and Ryan Johansen also scored for Nashville.

Blues even series: At Dallas, David Backes scored off a rebound during a power play 10:58 into overtime and St. Louis beat the Stars 4-3 to get even in the second-round series at 1-1.

Caps’ Orpik suspended: Washington defenseman Brooks Orpik has been suspended three games for his late hit to the head of Pittsburgh defenseman Olli Maatta.

Schwartzman wins first ATP Tour title

Tennis: Unseeded Diego Schwartzman staged a stunning comeback to upset second-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4), 6-0 and claim his maiden ATP Tour title at the Istanbul Open.

Playing his first final, the Argentine was trailing 5-2 in the second set before winning four straight games. Schwartzman failed to serve the set out but prevailed in the tiebreaker, before dominating the third set with three breaks and completing the victory in 2 hours, 47 minutes.

In his best week on the tour, Schwartzman knocked out top-seeded Bernard Tomic in the second round before saving a match point in the quarterfinals against Damir Dzumhur. In the semifinals, he upset fourth-seeded Federico Delbonis.

Kohlschreiber wins BMW: German Philipp Kohlschreiber defeated Dominic Thiem of Austria 7-6 (7), 4-6, 7-6 (4) to win his third BMW Open title in Munich.

Almagro wins at Estoril: Nicolas Almagro recovered from a set down to beat fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 6-7 (6), 7-6 (5), 6-3 and win the Estoril (Portugal) Open.

Leiscester celebration on hold after draw

MISCELLANY: One chance gone for Leicester in its attempt to clinch a first English league title.

Over to you, Tottenham.

Needing three points to pull off the ultimate underdog success story in sports, Leicester only managed to pick up one from a 1-1 draw at Manchester United in the Premier League.

Leicester still has two games left – against Everton at home next weekend and Chelsea away on the final day – to collect the required two points. It might not even go that far, as the second-place Tottenham Spurs have to beat Chelsea on Monday to keep the title race alive.

Timbers triumph: Diego Valeri scored on a free kick in the 74th minute to give the Portland Timbers a 2-1 victory over Toronto FC.

The match capped an eight-game trip for Toronto FC to open the season while BMO Field is renovated.

Northern Colorado hires coach: Jeff Linder is the new basketball coach at Northern Colorado. He spent the last six seasons at Boise State, where he was associate head coach for the Broncos since 2013-14. Linder replaces B.J. Hill, who was fired last month amid an NCAA investigation into allegations of violations in the program.