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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Digest: Damian Lillard has 40, Blazers cut Warriors’ advantage to 2-1

Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard, left, shoots over Warriors’Andre Iguodala. (Craig Mitchelldyer / Associated Press)
From staff and wire reports

NBA: Damian Lillard had a playoff-best 40 points and the Portland Trail Blazers avoided a fourth-quarter letdown to beat Golden State 120-108 on Saturday night in Portland, Oregon, cutting the Warriors’ advantage in the Western Conference semifinal to 2-1.

The defending NBA champion Warriors were still without reigning MVP Steph Curry, who sprained his right knee in Game 4 of the team’s first-round series against Houston.

Al-Farouq Aminu had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and CJ McCollum added 22 points for Portland. The Trail Blazers led 58-46 at the half and stretched the lead to as many as 20 points in the fourth quarter.

Draymond Green had 37 points, and Klay Thompson added 35 for the Warriors, They had had won four straight against the Blazers.

Lowry leads Raptors to Game 3 win: Kyle Lowry scored 33 points on 11-for-19 shooting to snap out of a postseason funk and the Toronto Raptors beat the host Miami Heat 95-91 in Game 3 to seize back the home-court edge in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

DeMar DeRozan scored 19 points, and Jonas Valanciunas finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds in just 22 minutes to help the Raptors take a 2-1 series lead.

Both teams lost their starting centers – Miami’s Hassan Whiteside with a knee issue of still-unclear severity in the second quarter and Toronto’s Valanciunas with a sprained ankle in the third quarter.

Dwyane Wade had 29 of his 38 points after halftime and had eight rebounds for Miami. Goran Dragic scored 12 points, and Joe Johnson had 10.

Game 4 is Monday night in Miami.

Grizzlies fire Joerger: The Grizzlies fired head coach Dave Joerger in a surprising move after three seasons and three straight playoff appearances. A team battered by injuries finished the regular season at 42-40 before being swept in the first round by San Antonio.The Grizzlies used an NBA-record 28 players this season. Center Marc Gasol’s season ended in February with a broken right foot, and point guard Mike Conley’ was done in early March with left Achilles tendinitis. Memphis signed eight players to 11 10-day contracts before its playoff ouster.

Memphis becomes the fourth NBA team currently without a coach, joining the New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers, who fired coach Frank Vogel on Thursday. Memphis is starting its search immediately.

Ovechkin leads, Capitals force Game 6

Hockey: Alex Ovechkin scored a power-play goal and assisted on another, Braden Holtby made 30 saves and the host Washington Capitals beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 on Saturday night in Game 5 to stay alive in the second-round series.

Ovechkin was a force all over the ice with the Capitals on the brink of elimination and yet another early playoff exit. His blast on the power play set the tone early, and his shot created the rebound for T.J Oshie’s power-play goal in the second period.

Veteran Justin Williams also scored to help Washington force Game 6 on Tuesday night in Pittsburgh. The Penguins lead the series 3-2.

The Penguins got a power-play goal of their own, their first of the series, from Chris Kunitz but couldn’t overcome the Capitals’ desperation and Holtby’s brilliance. Matt Murray allowed three goals on 19 shots, looking like a rookie for the first time in the playoffs.

Blues lead series: Rookie playoff points leader Robby Fabbri had a goal and assist, Brian Elliott turned away a strong Dallas push in the third period and the visiting St. Louis Blues beat the Stars 4-1 for a 3-2 lead in their second-round series.

Dmitrij Jaskin’s first career playoff goal put the Blues ahead for good at 2-1 in the second period, and St. Louis protected a 3-1 lead in the third for a second straight road victory. The Blues surrendered the same lead before winning in overtime in Game 2 in Dallas.

Elliott had 27 saves to give the Blues a chance to wrap up the series in Game 6 at home on Monday night.

Troy Brouwer scored his fourth goal of the playoffs in a rare early start (noon) just 38 hours after the Stars won in overtime in St. Louis to even the series.

Sharks rout Preds: Joe Pavelski scored two goals and the San Jose Sharks bounced back from a triple-overtime loss to beat the Nashville Predators 5-1 in San Jose, California, to take a 3-2 lead in their second-round playoff series.

Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture also scored as part of San Jose’s reconfigured second line and the Sharks moved within one win of advancing to the Western Conference final for the fourth time in franchise history.

San Jose will look to secure a spot in its first conference final since 2011 by winning at Nashville in Game 6 on Monday night.

Melker Karlsson added a late goal and Martin Jones made 24 saves to give the home team its fifth straight win in this series.

Game 4 overtime hero Mike Fisher scored and Pekka Rinne made 23 saves, but Nashville allowed goals in the opening and closing minutes of the second period.

Wheat Kings edge Thunderbirds in OT: Jayce Hawryluk scored the winner at 6:56 of overtime as the Brandon Wheat Kings edged the Seattle Thunderbirds 3-2 at Brandon, Manitoba, in Game 2 of their Western Hockey League final to take a 2-0 series lead.

Tyler Coulter tied the game at 2-2 in the third for the Wheat Kings, who travel to Kent, Washington, for Game 3 on Tuesday. Nolan Patrick also scored.

Donovan Neuls and Ethan Bear found the back of the net for the Thunderbirds, who got 36 saves from Landon Bow.

Jordan Papirny kicked out 37-of-39 shots for the win in net.

Brandon was scoreless on five power plays while Seattle went 1 for 5.

Kane, Benn, Crosby named Hart Trophy finalists: Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks, Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars and Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins are the finalists for the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP.

The winner will be announced June 22 during the 2016 NHL Awards in Las Vegas.

Kane became the first U.S.-born player to lead the league in scoring. His 46 goals, 60 assists and 106 points are career highs.

Crosby rebounded from the worst start of his career to put up 76 points in his final 62 games and help get the Penguins into the playoffs. Pittsburgh’s captain, who finished with 36 goals and 49 assists, has been named MVP twice before, in 2013-14 and 2006-07.

Benn finished second to Kane in the scoring race with 89 points on 41 goals and 48 assists. He led the Stars to their first division title since 2006.

Wild hires Boudreau: Bruce Boudreau has agreed to terms to coach the Minnesota Wild. Boudreau was fired by Anaheim two days after the four-time Pacific Division champions’ first-round exit from the playoffs. He was 208-104-40 in parts of five seasons with the Ducks after going 201-88-40 in parts of five seasons with the Washington Capitals.

The 61-year-old Boudreau has a career record of 409-192-80, at .659 the highest winning percentage among active coaches.

John Torchetti finished the season as Minnesota’s interim coach after Mike Yeo was fired in February. The Wild lost to Dallas in the first round of the playoffs.

Boudreau played in St. Paul for the Fighting Saints in the World Hockey Association, scoring three goals in 30 games in 1975-76.

Matthews leads U.S. past Belarus: Auston Matthews scored his first two goals for the United States in a rough-and-tumble 6-3 win over Belarus at the world ice hockey championship in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Coming off a 5-1 loss to Canada on Friday, the U.S. showcased its young talent, leading 5-1 at one point.

In addition to the two goals from the 18-year-old Matthews, who is widely predicted to be the No. 1 NHL draft pick, three more U.S. goals were scored by players aged 20 or younger.

Discipline issues often dictated the flow of the game, with Belarusian defenseman Ilya Shinkevich ejected for a headbutt on Jordan Schroeder.

Switzerland surprisingly lost to Kazakhstan 3-2 in a shootout. Despite a 51-27 shots advantage, the Swiss struggled to beat Kazakh goaltender Vitaly Kolesnik. Canada-born wing Nigel Dawes secured the win for Kazakhstan in the shootout.

Also in the Moscow group for the preliminary round, Denmark began by pasting Norway 3-0 on two Nicklas Jensen goals, while Danish goalkeeper Sebastian Dahm made 44 saves for the shutout.

Fowler shoots 68 to lead Wells Fargo

Golf: Rickie Fowler shot a 4-under 68 to take the third-round lead in the Wells Fargo Championship at Charlotte, North Carolina.

Fowler, the 2012 winner for his first PGA Tour victory, birdied Nos. 14-17 and closed with two pars to reach 9-under 207. Roberto Castro was a stroke back, and Justin Rose and James Hahn were 7 under. Castro had a 71, Hahn shot 68, and Rose 69.

Jutanugarn takes three-stroke lead: Ariya Jutanugarn birdied eight of the final nine holes to match the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic record at 9-under 63 and take a three-stroke lead.

Seeking her first LPGA Tour victory, the 20-year-old Thai player had a 14-under 202 total in Prattville, Alabama.

Maggert, Parnevik share lead: Local favorite Jeff Maggert and Jesper Parnevik shared the Insperity Invitational lead at 7 under, leaving John Daly six strokes back in his PGA Tour Champions debut.

Maggert birdied the par-4 18th for a 3-under 69, and playing partner Parnevik had a bogey on the par-4 17th in a 68 at The Woodlands Country Club in The Woodlands, Texas.

Bolanos, Whitecaps rally to edge Timbers

Soccer: Christian Bolanos scored his third goal in three games and the Vancouver Whitecaps rallied to beat the Portland Timbers 2-1 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Bolanos broke a tie in the 66th minute on a chip into the penalty area that goalkeeper Jake Gleeson allowed to trickle between his legs after Whitecaps striker Blas Perez flashed in front. Masato Kudo tied it for Vancouver in the 60th minute with his first MLS goal. Kudo took a deflected pass from Cristian Techera and beat Gleeson at the near post on a low shot.

Bayer secures 4th straight Bundesliga title: Bundesliga top-scorer Robert Lewandowski scored twice for Bayern Munich to clinch an unprecedented fourth successive title with a 2-1 win at Ingolstadt, Germany.

The Poland striker opened the scoring with a penalty in the 15th minute and claimed his 29th goal of the season in the half. Moritz Hartmann pulled one back with another penalty before the break but Bayern never looked in danger of missing out on its record 25th Bundesliga title, and its 26th German championship overall.

Borussia Dortmund’s 1-0 loss at relegation-threatened Eintracht Frankfurt meant even a defeat would have been enough for Bayern, eight points clear of Dortmund with one round remaining.

Also, Borussia Moenchengladbach came from behind to beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 and all but secure the Champions League playoff spot.

Murray fights off Nadal, moves to final

Miscellany: Continuing to impress on clay ahead of the French Open, Andy Murray defeated Rafael Nadal 7-5, 6-4 in Madrid to reach his second straight Madrid Open final.

Murray fought off a strong challenge by Nadal, serving eight aces and saving 11 break points to win a rematch of last year’s final at the Masters tournament.

Murray needs to successfully defend his title on Sunday to avoid losing the No. 2 ranking to Roger Federer. Top-ranked Novak Djokovic plays No. 6 Kei Nishikori in the other semifinal on Saturday.

Nadal had his chances but failed on the decisive points, falling short on his attempt to win a third consecutive title this season.

It was Nadal’s first loss after 13 straight wins in 2016.

Dumoulin keeps lead: Tom Dumoulin retained the overall lead of the Giro d’Italia as Marcel Kittel sprinted to victory in the second stage in Nijmegen, Netherlands.

Kittel waited to start his sprint but once the German hit the front no one could challenge him, and the Etixx-QuickStep rider had time to raise his arms in celebration as he crossed the line several bike lengths ahead of Arnaud Demare.

Sacha Modolo was third on the 190-kilometer (118-mile) route from Arnhem to Nijmegen.

It was Kittel’s third stage win in the Giro. By coincidence, none of those victories have come in Italy, with his two previous successes in Belfast and Dublin in 2014.

Ohio State wins second title: Miles Johnson had 15 kills and Ohio State beat BYU 32-30, 25-23, 25-17 to win its second NCAA volleyball title in State College, Pennsylvania.

Blake Leeson added 11 kills and national player of the year Nicolas Szerszen and Driss Guessous each had 10 to help the second-ranked Buckeyes (31-3) close the season with their 23rd straight victory. They also won the 2011 title.

Brenden Sander had 14 kills for top-ranked BYU (27-4). The Cougars won titles in 1999, 2001 and 2004.