In brief: Flyers force Game 7 with overtime win

NHL: Ville Leino scored 4:33 into overtime to lift the visiting Philadelphia Flyers to a 5-4 victory on Sunday and force Game 7 of their first-round playoff series against the Buffalo Sabres.

Danny Briere scored twice while Brian Boucher stopped 24 shots in the latest Flyers goalie shuffle. Boucher took over to start the second period after Michael Leighton allowed three goals on the first seven shots he faced.

Scott Hartnell had a goal and an assist and James van Riemsdyk also scored for the Flyers, who overcame a two-goal deficit while drawing upon Chris Pronger’s presence.

• Predators beat Ducks to advance: In Nashville, Tenn., Nick Spaling scored his second goal of the game at 4:53 of the third period and the Nashville Predators closed out their first postseason series victory to advance to the Western Conference semifinals, defeating the Anaheim Ducks 4-2.

Steve Sullivan scored a goal, David Legwand had an empty-netter and Jordin Tootoo assisted on Spaling’s goals. The Predators won the series 4-2 in their sixth postseason in seven seasons.

Jason Blake scored a power-play goal, and Teemu Selanne also had a goal for the Ducks. Anaheim looked tired early after blowing a lead late before losing Game 5 in overtime. They looked tired late as coach Randy Carlyle went heavily with his top two lines trying to rally.

• Smith scores in OT as Blackhawks even series: Ben Smith scored on a rebound at 15:30 of overtime and the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks beat the visiting Vancouver Canucks 4-3 to force a seventh game in the opening-round series.

The Canucks, with the NHL’s best record during the regular season, have lost three straight after it appeared they were in control of the series.

Smith, a rookie, followed in a long, hard shot from the point by teammate Niklas Hjalmarsson that bounced off goalie Roberto Luongo.

Luongo didn’t start the game but was called upon in the third period when Cory Schneider had to be helped off the ice when he was injured as he tried to stop Michael Frolik’s penalty shot that tied it at 3.

Celtics complete series sweep of Knicks

NBA: Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 10 rebounds, Rajon Rondo added 21 points and 12 assists, and the visiting Boston Celtics swept their way into the Eastern Conference semifinals, holding on for a 101-89 victory over the New York Knicks.

Ray Allen and reserve Glen Davis each added 14 points for the Celtics, the first team into the second round after sweeping a series for the first time since a 3-0 victory over Indiana in 1992. That series victory was Boston’s last for their old Big Three before Larry Bird retired.

The Celtics had a 23-point lead cut to four in the fourth quarter, but pulled away again behind Garnett, who scored 20 after halftime.

• Paul’s triple-double lifts Hornets past Lakers: Chris Paul had 27 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds, and the New Orleans Hornets held on for a 93-88 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers to even their first-round playoff series at 2-2.

Wearing a black wrap on his left hand and a small bandage over his right eye, Paul scored 14 of New Orleans’ 24 points in the fourth quarter. Kobe Bryant had 17 points for the Lakers, but did not score in the first half and finished 5 of 18 shooting.

• Sixers rally to prevent sweep: Lou Williams hit a 3-pointer with 8.1 seconds left and the Philadelphia 76ers avoided a sweep with an 86-82 win over the visiting Miami Heat.

Miami was 95 seconds away from winning Game 4, holding an 82-76 lead.

Williams and Evan Turner led the Sixers with 17 points each. Andre Iguodala added 16 points and Elton Brand had 15 points and 11 rebounds.

LeBron James scored 31 points for the Heat and Dwyane Wade 22. Chris Bosh scored 12 points and had two blocks late in the game that seemed to seal the win for the Heat.

• Crawford helps Hawks topple Magic: Jamal Crawford scored 25 points and Joe Johnson hit four big free throws in the final 20 seconds after Atlanta struggled most of the night at the line, leading the Hawks to an 88-85 victory over the visiting Orlando Magic and a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference playoff series.

Atlanta made only 12 of 20 free throws, but Johnson came through when the Magic were forced to foul. Orlando had a last chance to tie it up, but Al Horford knocked the ball away from Hedo Turkoglu as he tried to get loose for a 3-pointer.

Turkoglu got the ball back with only enough time to force one up. It missed badly, and the Hawks celebrated a commanding lead in the series.

• McDyess expects to play in Game 4: San Antonio center Antonio McDyess expects to play in Game 4 against the Memphis Grizzlies tonight despite a neck nerve injury that forced him to leave Saturday night’s loss to the Grizzlies.

Nadal claims sixth Barcelona title

Tennis: In Barcelona, Spain, Rafael Nadal won his 34th match in a row on clay, defeating good friend David Ferrer 6-2, 6-4 to win his sixth Barcelona Open, his 31st clay title from 46 overall career trophies.

Nadal did not have the match all his own way: He lost breaks of serve in both sets, winning the first set in 38 minutes but battling in the second as Ferrer, his calf injury strapped and bothersome, took a 4-2 lead with two consecutive breaks of the Nadal serve.

• Goerges upsets Wozniacki in Stuttgart final: In Stuttgart, Germany, Julia Goerges upset top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki 7-6 (3), 6-3 in the final of the Porsche Grand Prix.

Wozniacki saved one match point at 5-3 on her serve, but Goerges served out the match in the next game, converting her second match point with a service winner, then threw herself to the red clay in celebration.

• Brianti tops Halep, wins Grand Prix: Italian veteran Alberta Brianti defeated seventh-seeded Simona Halep of Romania 6-4, 6-3 in the final of the Grand Prix SAR to earn her first WTA title at Fez, Morocco.

The 31-year-old Brianti broke her opponent five times as Halep lost for the second year in a row in the final of the clay-court tournament.