In brief: Blackhawks win, clinch division
NHL: Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist, and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the visiting Calgary Flames 4-1, moments after clinching their first division title since winning the Norris Division in 1992-93.
The Blackhawks, winners of three straight, were handed the Central Division minutes before the puck was dropped when the Detroit Red Wings lost 4-3 at Philadelphia.
Antti Niemi made 25 saves for Chicago, and Tomas Kopecky, Troy Brouwer and Dustin Byfuglien had the other goals. Brent Seabrook also had a pair of assists.
•Avalanche beat Sharks in OT: John-Michael Liles redirected Ryan Wilson’s shot into the net at 2:59 of overtime, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the San Jose Sharks 5-4 in Denver to gain ground in the race for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot.
The victory snapped the Avalanche’s season-high four-game losing streak and gave them a two-point lead over ninth-place Calgary. Colorado has four games left, one more than Calgary.
The Sharks remained the top seed in the West, but the loss allowed Washington to clinch the Presidents’ Trophy for the best regular-season record.
Allen’s 33 lead Celtics over Cavaliers
NBA: Ray Allen scored a season-high 33 points, hitting his sixth 3-pointer to give the Celtics a four-point lead with 48 seconds left, and Boston held on despite 42 points from LeBron James to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-113 at home.
James scored 20 in the fourth quarter, when the Cavs erased a 17-point lead and took their first lead of the game, 104-103, with 2:58 left.
Cleveland will still have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs after the Lakers lost later in the day.
•Spurs clinch playoff berth with win: Manu Ginobili scored 32 points, Tim Duncan added 24 and the San Antonio Spurs beat the host Los Angeles Lakers 100-81 to clinch their 13th consecutive playoff berth.
The Spurs moved into the No. 7 spot, a half-game ahead of idle Portland.
The Lakers got a season-high 32 points from Pau Gasol and 22 from Kobe Bryant, but failed to clinch the No. 1 seed in the West and heard boos from their fans.
•Magic beat on Grizzlies: Vince Carter had 26 points and seven rebounds, and the Orlando Magic beat the visiting Memphis Grizzles 107-92 after an on-court scuffle.
The scrum between Matt Barnes and Hasheem Thabeet escalated into a near 10-player shoving match. There were six technical fouls by game’s end, plenty of pop for an Easter matchup that had little meaning in the standings.
Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson scored 18 points apiece for the Magic, who are all but sure to win their third straight Southeast Division title and the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed. One Orlando win or Atlanta loss will seal the division.
Zach Randolph had 24 points and 18 rebounds, and Rudy Gay added 18 points to help Memphis rally from a 14-point deficit.
•Warriors win; Nelson ties career wins record: Don Nelson tied Lenny Wilkens for the most wins by an NBA coach when the Golden State Warriors held off the Toronto Raptors 113-112 in Toronto.
The victory was the 1,332nd for Nelson, who can pass Wilkens when Golden State plays at Washington on Tuesday.
Golden State’s players danced in a circle around Nelson after the wild finish, which saw Chris Bosh steal the inbounds pass only to have his game-winning layup attempt roll off the rim as time expired.
•Karl could miss first round: Denver Nuggets coach George Karl may miss the first round of the playoffs as he recovers from cancer treatments.
Karl has been fighting throat and neck cancer during the past two months. He has finished radiation treatment and is set to have his final round of chemotherapy on Wednesday.
The Nuggets have pulled into a tie with Utah for first place in the Northwest Division, along with tying the Jazz, Dallas and Phoenix for the second seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
•Bogut suffers multiple injuries from fall: Milwaukee Bucks center Andrew Bogut has a broken hand, dislocated elbow and sprained wrist that will keep him out indefinitely after a hard fall in Saturday night’s victory over the Phoenix Suns.
The team said it does not know when he will return, but the injuries leave his availability for a potential playoff run in doubt. He has been released from the hospital.
With Milwaukee leading late in the second quarter, Bogut took a long outlet pass in for a fast break slam dunk. He hung on the rim afterward, was touched in the back by the Suns’ Amare Stoudemire and crashed to the court. He wrenched his right elbow in ugly fashion trying to brace his fall.
Vettel wins Malaysian Grand Prix
Miscellany: Sebastian Vettel captured the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang, Malaysia, beating teammate Mark Webber to the checkers and posting a 1-2 finish for Red Bull.
Vettel passed Webber in the run to the first corner and held that lead throughout the Formula One race, with Nico Rosberg finishing third for Mercedes-Benz as forecast rain stayed away.
•Cancellara wins Tour of Flanders: Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara shook off Tom Boonen on the toughest climb of the Tour of Flanders and raced away to a solo victory at Meerbeke, Belgium, ahead of the Belgian champion in one of the season’s top one-day classics.
Lance Armstrong finished 27th as the leading Team Radioshack rider. He saw the event as a training run, while others raced it as their biggest challenge of the year. At 38, Armstrong proved he can still rattle and shake with the best on the wet and cold cobblestones, a key lesson to take into this summer’s Tour de France.
•Espinoza, Gomez penalized for Santa Anita Derby: Jockey Victor Espinoza has received a three-day suspension for his riding in the Santa Anita Derby, while Garrett Gomez was fined for punching Espinoza afterward.
Espinoza’s suspension begins April 11, while Gomez was fined $750. The California Horse Racing Board’s stewards handed down the penalties at Santa Anita.
•Weber moves into third on wins list: Pete Weber defeated Mike Scroggins to win the Lumber Liquidators Marathon Open at Baltimore, allowing the Hall of Fame bowler to move into third place on the PBA Tour’s career win list.
Weber, of St. Ann, Mo., has 35 victories to break a tie with Mark Roth.