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

In brief: LeBron James, Cavaliers roll by Nets in front of Britain’s Prince William and wife Kate

LeBron James warms up in an "I Can't Breathe" shirt prior to Cavaliers’ game against Nets. (Associated Press)

NBA: LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers turned a close game into a clinic after Britain’s Prince William and his wife, Kate, grabbed courtside seats to watch them, beating the host Brooklyn Nets 110-88 on Monday night.

Kevin Love was shooting free throws when the royal couple emerged from a tunnel with 7:14 remaining in the third quarter. Perhaps distracted by the loud roar, Love missed the second, leaving the game tied at 61.

But James, putting on a show that few others could, threw some sharp passes to go with his nine points in the period and the Cavs cruised from there to their seventh straight victory.

He finished with 18 points after joining Kyrie Irving and some Nets players in wearing “I Can’t Breathe” shirts during warmups to support Eric Garner’s family.

Garner died July 17 after a police officer placed him in a chokehold when he was being arrested for selling loose, untaxed cigarettes. A recording of the arrest showed Garner gasping, “I can’t breathe” during the fatal encounter, and thousands have protested a grand jury decision not to indict the officer since the announcement on Wednesday.

Griffin scores 45, hits winner in OT: Blake Griffin scored a season-high 45 points, drilling the winning 3-pointer that hit the rim and dropped in at the buzzer, to help the Los Angeles Clippers beat the visiting Phoenix Suns 121-120 in overtime.

It was the Clippers’ eighth straight victory.

Eric Bledsoe had a triple-double of 27 points, a career-high 16 assists and 11 rebounds for the Suns.

Wizards outlast Celtics: John Wall scored 26 points, including Washington’s last 10, and the host Wizards rallied for a 133-132 win over Boston in double overtime.

Wall added a career-high 17 assists, Paul Pierce scored a season-high 28 points and Marcin Gortat had 21 points and 12 rebounds for Washington, whichsquandered a 23-point third-quarter lead before rallying in both overtime periods.

Warriors win 13th straight: Stephen Curry overcame a rare off night from long range to post 21 points and seven assists and help Golden State to its 13th consecutive win with a 102-86 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis.

Curry missed six of his seven 3-point attempts, but the top-ranked Warriors’ defense forced the short-handed Timberwolves to shoot 36 percent and turn the ball over 19 times to improve to an NBA-best 18-2. Former WSU standout Klay Thompson added 21 points and the Warriors left holding their breath after Andrew Bogut left with a knee injury early in the first quarter.

The Warriors called it “right knee irritation” and deemed his return to the game questionable, but he watched the rest from the bench.

Kentucky unanimous No. 1 selection in poll

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Kentucky is still No. 1, and this time on top of every ballot.

The Wildcats became a unanimous No. 1 team in the new AP men’s poll, getting the first-place votes on all 64 ballots cast.

Wisconsin had been getting some first-place votes before its 80-70 loss last week to Duke. The Badgers slipped from second to fifth.

Duke replaced Wisconsin at No. 2, jumping ahead of No. 3 Arizona, which stayed undefeated with a 66-63 overtime victory against No. 9 Gonzaga.

• Kentucky announced that it will face UCLA next season in a home-and-home series that will bring the Bruins to Rupp Arena for the first time in 2016.

Gamecocks still atop poll: South Carolina remains No. 1 in the Associated Press women’s poll for the third consecutive week after a last-second victory over Duke on Sunday.

Connecticut moved up to No. 2 after beating Notre Dame on Saturday. The Huskies received seven first-place ballots. Texas is third, drawing four first-place votes. Texas A&M advanced a spot to fourth. The Irish dropped to fifth.

Rangers hold on to beat Penguins in OT

NHL: Kevin Klein, bloodied earlier by a high stick to the ear, ripped in a slap shot 3:45 into overtime to give New York a 4-3 victory over visiting Pittsburgh.

Klein, a defenseman showing off his offensive skills recently, scored for the second straight game and for the sixth time this season. He rescued the Rangers, who blew a 3-1 lead late when Pittsburgh scored twice in 24 seconds to tie it in the third.

Blues beat Panthers: Martin Brodeur made 32 saves in his first home game with St. Louis, and Chris Porter scored his first goal of the season late in the third period to send the host Blues to a 4-2 victory over Florida.

Porter’s goal came just more than three minutes after Florida tied the game. Porter redirected Barret Jackman’s slap shot past Roberto Luongo at 18:06 to give the Blues a 3-2 lead.

Senators fire coach: Paul MacLean was fired as coach of the Ottawa Senators less than 18 months since he was the NHL Coach of the Year.

The coaching dismissal was the first in the NHL this season and comes with the team off to an 11-11-5 start. Team executives had problems with MacLean dating to last season when the Senators missed the playoffs.

New flexible Olympic program approved

Miscellany: The IOC has approved plans for a more flexible sports program, a move that could lead to the inclusion of baseball and softball at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee voted in favor of the revised system on the opening morning of a special two-day session to adopt president Thomas Bach’s 40-point “Olympic Agenda 2020” reform package.

The IOC will abolish the cap of 28 sports for the Summer Games and move to an “events-based” system that would allow new events to come in, while keeping to a limit of about 10,500 athletes.

Host cities will be allowed to propose the inclusion of one or more additional events for their games. Baseball and softball are both highly popular in Japan.

Hahnemann retires: Former U.S national team goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann has announced his retirement from soccer after spending the majority of his career playing in England.

Hahnemann was a backup for the Seattle Sounders for the past two years.