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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Kings avoid elimination, beat Sharks

Kings goalie Jonathan Quick made 36 saves, helping Los Angeles extend the series against San Jose. (Associated Press)
From Staff And Wire Reports

NHL: Justin Williams and Marian Gaborik scored two goals apiece, and the Los Angeles Kings emphatically avoided first-round playoff elimination with a 6-3 victory over the visiting San Jose Sharks in Game 4 on Thursday night.

Captain Dustin Brown had a goal and an assist, and Tyler Toffoli scored on his 22nd birthday during a three-goal second period as the Kings dodged a series sweep with a one-sided win that could plant a seed of doubt in their dominant California rivals’ minds.

Jonathan Quick made 36 saves for Los Angeles, which chased Sharks goalie Antti Niemi on Gaborik’s goal early in the third period.

James Sheppard, Matt Nieto and Joe Pavelski scored for the Sharks, who couldn’t finish off the second playoff sweep in franchise history.

• Bruins grab 3-1 series lead: Jarome Iginla scored with 6:28 left in overtime, lifting the visiting Boston Bruins to a 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings in Game 4 of their first-round series. Boston leads 3-1.

Detroit took a 2-0 lead early in the second period after Pavel Datsyuk and Niklas Kronwall each had a goal and an assist.

Boston’s Tuukka Rask stopped 35 shots. Detroit’s Jonas Gustavsson made 37 saves in a surprise start, filling in for Jimmy Howard, who was out with the flu.

Wild even series with win over Avalanche: Charlie Coyle scored his third goal of the series for Minnesota, and the Wild dominated the Colorado Avalanche for the second straight game on their way to a 2-1 win in St. Paul, Minn., that evened the first-round matchup at two apiece.

The Wild outshot the Avalanche a stunning 32-12, establishing a franchise record for fewest allowed by Minnesota.

Former Spokane Chief Jared Spurgeon used a slap shot to get a puck past Colorado’s Semyon Varlamov just 3:47 into the game .

• Finalists announced for Selke award: Anze Kopitar, Patrice Bergeron and Jonathan Toews are finalists for the NHL’s Selke Trophy, awarded to the best defensive forward.

The winner will be honored June 24 at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas.

Suspended Cooke apologizes: Minnesota Wild left wing Matt Cooke has apologized for the knee-to-knee hit on Colorado Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie.

Cooke drew a seven-game suspension from the NHL for the hit that knocked Barrie out of action for 4 to 6 weeks.

Teague, Korver lead Hawks past Pacers

NBA: Jeff Teague flung in a wild 3-pointer after the officials appeared to miss him stepping out of bounds, and Kyle Korver finished off Indiana from beyond the arc to lead the Hawks to a 98-85 victory in Atlanta and another lead in the series with the top-seeded Pacers.

Hardly playing like a No. 8 seed that finished 38-44 during the regular season, the Hawks took control in the third quarter and held off the Pacers to go up 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

The Hawks were up 84-78 with the shot clock running down when Teague launched a running shot from the wing – after his foot seemed to clip the line. It counted, even after a video review.

Grizzlies blow big lead, beat Thunder in OT: Mike Conley scored five of his 20 points in overtime, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder 98-95 in taking a 2-1 lead in their first-round Western Conference series.

The Grizzlies led by 17 before going cold for most of the final 7:43 of regulation. Courtney Lee clinched the win, hitting 3 of 4 free throws in the final 10.9 seconds of overtime.

NBA scoring champ Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook each scored 30 for the Thunder. But Durant missed all eight 3-point attempts and was 10 of 27. Westbrook was 9 of 26.

Clippers hold off Warriors: Blake Griffin scored 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds, DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and 22 rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers outlasted the Golden State Warriors 98-96 in Oakland, Calif., to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series.

The frontcourt tandem bullied and bruised the Warriors inside to power the Clippers ahead by 18 points in the third quarter.

Klay Thompson scored 26 points, and Stephen Curry had 16 points and 15 assists to rally the Warriors back. But Curry forced a contested, step-back 3-pointer over Chris Paul in the final seconds to seal the Clippers’ victory.

Grizzlies’ Conley wins sportsmanship award: Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley has won the NBA’s Joe Dumars Trophy for sportsmanship.

Conley received 77 first-place votes of a possible 334 and earned 2,335 points overall.

The NBA is donating $10,000 on Conley’s behalf to the charity of his choice, the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for research pertaining to sickle cell anemia.

• McRoberts fined for foul on James: Charlotte Bobcats forward Josh McRoberts was fined $20,000 by the NBA for making unnecessary and excessive contact with Miami Heat forward LeBron James.

McRoberts’ foul against James with 50 seconds remaining Wednesday in the Heat’s 101-97 playoff victory over the Bobcats has been upgraded to a Flagrant 2. James drove and was met at the rim by McRoberts, whose right elbow struck the four-time NBA MVP around his chin.

Benfica, Sevilla grab first-leg semi wins

SOCCER: Substitute Lima scored in the 84th minute to give Benfica a 2-1 victory over Italy’s Juventus in the first-leg of their Europa League semifinal in Lisbon, Portugal.

Sevilla beat Valencia 2-0 in the other semifinal.

Central defender Ezequiel Garay opened the scoring for Benfica on a header in the second minute, and Carlos Tevez tied it for Serie A-leading Juventus in the 72nd minute.

In Seville, Spain, Stephane Mbia and Carlos Bacca scored in a four-minute span in the first half to lift Sevilla past Valencia in the first leg of the all-Spanish semifinal.

Martin shoots 62 at Zurich Classic

GOLF: Ben Martin treated a tiny gallery to a course-record round, shooting a 10-under 62 in the first round of the Zurich Classic in Avondale, La.

Peter Hanson and Sueng-Yul Noh were tied for third at 65. Ferris grad Alex Prugh ranks 36th after shooting a 70.

Quiros, Dyson share lead in China: Spain’s Alvaro Quiros and England’s Simon Dyson shared the China Open lead at 5-under 67 when play was suspended because of darkness at Genzon Golf Club in Shenzhen, China.

Sweden’s Henrik Stenson opened with a 71. He has a chance to take the top spot in the world ranking from Tiger Woods with a victory.

• Icher impresses at Swinging Skirts: Karine Icher of France birdied four of her first seven holes and finished with a 6-under 66 to take the lead in the inaugural Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic in Daly City, Calif.

The start was delayed two hours because of fog and play was suspended because of darkness before all of the women finished the first round.