In brief: Stephen Curry leads Thompson-less Warriors to win
NBA: Stephen Curry bounced back from his worst shooting performance of the season to score 24 points, Leandro Barbosa added a season-high 19 off the bench and the Golden State Warriors pulled away late to beat the Utah Jazz 106-91 on Saturday night in Oakland, California.
One day after shooting 4 of 17 in a win over New Orleans, Curry went 8 of 18 from the floor against a Utah defense that had been the NBA’s stingiest over the past three weeks.
Draymond Green added 15 points, six rebounds and seven assists for the Warriors (56-13), who have the best record in the NBA.
Derrick Favors had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Jazz.
• Green, Conley help Grizzlies over Blazers: Jeff Green had 23 points and Mike Conley scored 21 with nine assists to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 97-86 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in Memphis, Tennessee.
Damian Lillard led the Trail Blazers with 27 points and seven assists. LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 points, but didn’t play in the second half because of an injury to his left hand. The team said X-rays on Aldridge’s hand were negative.
Second-straight shutout for Price
NHL: Tomas Plekanec scored in the first period and Carey Price made 29 saves for his second shutout in a row and ninth of the season as the host Montreal Canadiens beat the San Jose Sharks 2-0 for their third-straight win.
Price, coming off a 4-0 win over Carolina on Thursday, earned his NHL-leading 40th victory to become the third Canadiens goalie to reach that milestone.
• Jets win fourth straight: Ondrej Pavelec made 27 saves, and the Winnipeg Jets beat the Washington Capitals 3-0 in Winnipeg, Manitoba for their fourth consecutive win.
Winnipeg extended its lead to four points over Los Angeles in the chase for the final Western Conference wild card.
Stenson’s late surge gives him Bay Hill lead
GOLF: Henrik Stenson of Sweden made a 20-foot eagle and a tap-in birdie over the last three holes at Bay Hill to seize control in the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Florida.
Stenson, at 16-under 200, had his second straight 6-under 66 for a two-shot lead over Morgan Hoffmann, who had a 71.
Rory McIlroy, the world’s No. 1 player pulled within one shot of the lead on the back nine until he made three straight bogeys.
Alex Prugh (Ferris) shot a 73 and is at 215.
• Kim leads Founders Cup: Hyo Joo Kim took the third-round lead in the LPGA Tour’s JTBC Founders Cup in Phoenix.
The 19-year-old South Korean player, at 16-under 200, shot a 6-under 66 at Desert Ridge to take a two-stroke lead over 2013 winner Stacy Lewis.
Top-ranked Lydia Ko was 12 under after a 69.
• Dawson leads in Tucson: Marco Dawson made a 15-foot par putt on the par-4 18th for a 5-under 67 and the second-round lead in the Champions Tour’s Tucson Conquistadores Classic in Tucson, Arizona.
The 51-year-old Dawson, making his 21st start on the 50-and-over tour, is at 10-under 134 on Tucson National’s Catalina Course.
Miami reaches NIT quarterfinals
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Manu Lecomte scored 17 points, Davon Reed added 15 and Miami rallied from a second-half deficit to beat Alabama 73-66 in an NIT second-round game at Coral Gables, Florida.
Miami (23-12) advances to Tuesday’s NIT quarterfinals against either Richmond or Arizona State, who play tonight at Richmond.
Harvick cruises to Xfinity Series win
NASCAR: Kevin Harvick earned his second Xfinity Series win of his phenomenal season, easily holding off Brendan Gaughan at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.
Harvick has won two Sprint Cup Series races and finished second in the other two heading into today’s race. He also won the Xfinity race at Atlanta, and finished third in his other start.
Djokovic and Federar in Indian Wells final
MISCELLANY: Novak Djokovic defeated Andy Murray 6-2, 6-3 to reach the final of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, handing Murray his worst hard-court loss to the world’s top-ranked player since 2007.
Djokovic will play for his fourth career title in the desert in today’s final against four-time champion Roger Federer, a 7-5, 6-4 winner over Milos Raonic.
In the women’s doubles final, top-seeded Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza defeated second-seeded Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina, 6-3, 6-4. Vasek Pospisil and Jack Sock beat Italians Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-7 (3), 10-7 for the men’s doubles title.
• Austrian skier Hirscher wins fourth World Cup title: Marcel Hirscher of Austria became the first skier to win the men’s World Cup overall title for a fourth straight year.
Only Austrian great Annemarie Moser-Proell won more overall titles in a row — five in the early 1970s.
• Dubai Sky wins Spiral Stakes: Dubai Sky stalked a quick early pace, staying clear from the extreme outside, before taking the lead ahead of the quarter-pole and drawing clear to a 2 1/4-length win in the Grade 3 $550,000 Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park in Florence, Kentucky.