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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Lakers edge Thunder, cut deficit to 2-1

Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, left, puts up a shot as Thunder’s Thabo Sefolosha defends. Bryant scored 36 points in a 99-96 win. (Associated Press)
From Staff And Wire Reports

NBA: Kobe Bryant made 18 free throws without a miss and scored 14 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter, and the host Los Angeles Lakers rallied late for a 99-96 victory over Oklahoma City in Game 3 on Friday night, cutting the Thunder’s second-round series lead to 2-1.

Metta World Peace swiped the ball from Kevin Durant and hit two free throws with 12.9 seconds left for the third-seeded Lakers, who shook off the memory of their late collapse in Game 2.

When Durant missed a potential tying 3-pointer before Andrew Bynum blocked Serge Ibaka’s shot at the buzzer, the Lakers’ frenzied crowd celebrated only their second victory in the last six playoff games.

Durant scored 31 points before missing his last shot for Oklahoma City as the Thunder lost for the first time in the postseason.

Game 4 is tonight.

• Sixers knot series with Celtics: Andre Iguodala snapped a tie with five straight points in the final 90 seconds to help the host Philadelphia 76ers storm back from 15 points down and stun the Boston Celtics 92-83 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Sixers tied the series at 2 and guaranteed a return home for one more game.

Paul Pierce led Boston with 24 points.

Game 5 is Monday night in Boston.

Lakers’ Gasol NBA’s top citizen: Lakers forward Pau Gasol has won the NBA’s J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for his extensive charity work as a UNICEF ambassador. Members of the Professional Basketball Writers Association vote for the award.

• Hawks keeping Drew as coach: The Atlanta Hawks announced the team is exercising its option on coach Larry Drew’s contract for next season, which will be his third at Atlanta.

Dufner finishes fast for lead in Nelson

Golf: Jason Dufner birdied four of the last five holes for a 4-under-par 66 and a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Byron Nelson Championship in Irving, Texas.

Matt Kuchar, coming off a victory Sunday in The Players Championship, was tied for second with first-round leader Ryan Palmer, Chad Campbell, Pat Perez, Dicky Pride and Marc Leishman.

Tseng advances in match play: Top-ranked Yani Tseng beat Katie Futcher 2 and 1, and No. 2 Na Yeon Choi was a 3-and-2 winner over fellow South Korean Jenny Shin in the second round of the Sybase Match Play Championship in Gladstone, N.J. The third round and quarterfinals are played today, and the semifinals and final are Sunday.

• Top-seeded Kaymer eliminated: Top-seeded Martin Kaymer was eliminated from the Volvo World Match Play Championship by the lowest-ranked player in the field, losing 1-up to Richard Finch. Defending champion Ian Poulter beat Tom Lewis 4 and 3. The round of 16 is today.

McNamee: Some items not Clemens’

Baseball: Brian McNamee testified in Washington that some of the medical evidence he saved in a beer can was not used on former pitcher Roger Clemens.

McNamee is the main prosecution witness in the case against Clemens, who is accused of lying to Congress when he denied using performance-enhancing drugs. McNamee testified this week that he injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone.

McNamee has said he kept medical evidence from injecting Clemens with steroids in 2001, and stored some of the material in a beer can. But under cross-examination, he acknowledged that some of the items in the can were not in fact used on Clemens.

Cavendish wins stage of Giro d’Italia

Cycling: World champion Mark Cavendish won the 13th stage of the Giro d’Italia in a sprint finish, while Joaquin Rodriguez retained the overall lead. It marked the third stage win of the year for Cavendish, who finished in a time of 3 hours, 2 minutes and 7 seconds on the shortest leg of the race, a 75-mile ride from Savona to Cervere.

• Georges wins stage in California: Sylvain Georges of France pedaled to a long, solo win and Dave Zabriskie maintained his race lead with a main field finish in the mountainous Stage 6 of the eight-stage Amgen Tour of California near Big Bear Lake.

Women’s league folds after 3 years

Miscellany: The Women’s Professional Soccer league has folded after three seasons. The WPS had canceled the 2012 season in January, at the time hoping to return next year.

Ohio State reports 46 minor violations: Ohio State, already under NCAA probation for players getting cash, tattoos and too-high summer wages, committed 46 minor violations across 21 sports since football coach Jim Tressel was forced to resign last May 30. Athletic director Gene Smith said it was a “typical year” of inadvertent mistakes.

• Jets agree with Bell: A person familiar with the deal says the New York Jets and former Miami Dolphins starting safety Yeremiah Bell agreed to terms on a one-year NFL deal worth $1.4 million.

• Avalanche sign Hejduk: The Colorado Avalanche signed 36-year-old forward and captain Milan Hejduk to a one-year NHL deal.