In brief: McIlroy recovers to claim one-shot lead at Honda Classic
Golf: Golf is starting to feel easy again for Rory McIlroy, who bounced back from a sloppy start Friday in the Honda Classic at Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., for a 4-under 66 that gave him his first 36-hole lead on the PGA Tour in 18 months.
Tiger Woods is making it look hard.
McIlroy recovered from two early bogeys by running off six birdies in a 10-hole stretch. He looked solid from tee-to-green, hit putts with growing confidence and wound up with a one-shot lead over Brendon de Jonge.
McIlroy was at 11-under 129.
Woods was over the cut line after scrambling for a bogey on the 11th hole and wound up with a 69 to make the cut on the number. Because 79 players made the cut, there will be another cut to top 70 and ties today.
And at least he’s still playing the weekend. That wasn’t the case for Phil Mickelson. Playing the Honda Classic for the first time in 12 years, he had a 71 to miss the cut. So did Henrik Stenson, the No. 3 player in the world, with rounds of 73-76.
• Webb opens up lead: Australia’s Karrie Webb opened a two-stroke lead in the LPGA HSBC Women’s Champions, shooting a 3-under 69 to reach 9 under on Sentosa’s Serapong Course in Singapore. Angela Stanford, the 2012 winner at Tanah Merah, was second after a 69.
Curry records triple-double in win
NBA: Stephen Curry had 27 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in three quarters, Klay Thompson added 25 points, and the visiting Golden State Warriors sent the frustrated New York Knicks to a fifth straight loss with a 126-103 victory.
Curry made five 3-pointers, as did backcourt mate Thompson. The 6-foot-3 All-Star also grabbed nine defensive rebounds in his fourth career triple-double and third this season.
Carmelo Anthony had 23 points and 16 rebounds for the Knicks, blown out for the second straight night in a season that’s starting to feel hopeless no matter what the sorry Eastern Conference standings say.
• Bulls put away Mavs: Taj Gibson had 20 points and 15 rebounds, Mike Dunleavy hit a go-ahead 3-pointer and the Chicago Bulls overtook the host Dallas Mavericks for a 100-91 victory.
Monta Ellis scored 20 to the lead the Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki had 15.
• Thunder hold off Griz: Kevin Durant scored 30 of his 37 points in the second half to help the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Memphis Grizzlies 113-107. Mike Miller scored all 19 of his points in the fourth quarter to help visiting Memphis nearly erase a 16-point deficit.
• League donating Collins jersey proceeds to LGBT groups: The NBA plans to donate proceeds from sales of Jason Collins jerseys to the Matthew Shepard Foundation and the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network.
The league says the donations will total no less than $100,000, and it will also auction off Collins’ autographed, game-worn jerseys to benefit the same organizations.
Ex-NFL safety Sharper surrenders
Miscellany: Former NFL All-Pro safety Darren Sharper surrendered to Los Angeles police after being named in a warrant involving a rape case in New Orleans.
Sharper, 38, also is under investigation in sexual assault cases in Florida, Nevada and Arizona and has pleaded not guilty to rape charges in Los Angeles.
Sharper’s surrender Thursday night had been arranged in advance, LAPD Officer Bruce Borihan said. He was being held at the downtown Metropolitan Detention Center.
• Federer defeats Djokovic in Dubai semifinal: Third-seeded Roger Federer ended top-seeded Novak Djokovic’s chance of defending his Dubai (United Arab Emirates) Championships title with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 semifinal win.
Federer will be looking for his sixth Dubai title when he plays third-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in today’s final. Federer now leads Djokovic 17-15 in their career head-to-head meetings.
• Anderson beats Dolgopolov: Kevin Anderson came back to defeat Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 and advance to the Mexican Open final at Acapulco, Mexico.
The fifth seeded South African will face the winner of the Andy Murray and Grigor Dimitrov match.