In brief: Paul Pierce beats buzzer; Wizards beat Hawks

NBA: Paul Pierce’s banked-in 21-foot jumper at the buzzer gave the Washington Wizards a 103-101 victory over the visiting Atlanta Hawks, even with an injured John Wall reduced to cheerleading, and a 21-point lead that had dwindled down to nothing.

The Wizards lead the Eastern Conference semifinal series 2-1.

Washington was missing Wall, its All-Star point guard, for a second consecutive game because of a broken left hand, but it was the Hawks who seemed out of sorts most of the evening.

The Wizards led by 21 with less than 10 minutes left – and then held off Atlanta, which used a 17-0 run to get within three points with less than 3 1/2 minutes remaining and tied the game on Mike Muscala’s 3-pointer with 14.1 seconds.

Game 4 is Monday at Washington.

• Grizzlies take 2-1 series lead over Warriors: Zach Randolph scored 22 points and Marc Gasol added 21 points and 15 rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Golden State Warriors 99-89 in Memphis, Tennessee, to take a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference semifinal.

Mike Conley and Courtney Lee both finished with 11 points for Memphis, which has won two straight with Conley, their point guard, back in the lineup.

MVP Stephen Curry finished with 23 points for Golden State but was 8 of 21 from the field, including 2 of 10 outside the arc. Klay Thompson had 20 points, and Harrison Barnes added 16.

Game 4 is Monday night in Memphis.

• Paul set to play Game 4 against Rockets: Chris Paul’s hamstring injury is showing improvement and he will start for the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 4 today against the Houston Rockets.

Coach Doc Rivers says Paul might play a few more minutes because he was feeling better a day after the Clippers won 124-99 to take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.

The Clippers plan to continue monitoring Paul closely because Rivers says he doesn’t think hamstring injuries completely heal until the offseason.

• Bulls’ Gasol questionable for Game 4 against Cavaliers: The Bulls say forward Pau Gasol is questionable for today’s Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers because of a strained left hamstring.

Gasol left Friday night’s game, and an MRI showed no major structural damage, although coach Tom Thibodeau said he was “not sure” how severe the strain is. He also said “we’ll see how he feels” when asked if the five-time All-Star will play in Game 4.

Canadiens beat Tampa, force Game 6

NHL: Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau broke a tie with 4:07 left and the Montreal Canadiens beat the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 to force a sixth game in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

P.K. Subban slipped the puck to Parenteau for a long shot over goalie Ben Bishop’s glove.

Montreal has won two straight to cut Tampa Bay’s series lead to 3-2. Game 6 is Tuesday night in Florida.

Carey Price made 24 saves for the Canadiens, and Bishop stopped 27 shots for Tampa.

• Canada makes quarterfinals at worlds: Canada overcame France 4-3 to maintain a perfect record at the ice hockey world championship in Prague and become the first team to secure a quarterfinal spot.

Defending champion Russia thrashed Belarus 7-0 for its fourth win at the worlds.

Canada tops Group A with 15 points from five games, followed by Sweden with 11 points.

Russia joined the United States atop Group B with 12 points.

• Rockets beat Wheat Kings for 2-0 lead in WHL final: Nick Merkley’s short-handed goal midway through the third period was the eventual winner as the Kelowna Rockets held on for a 5-3 win over the Brandon Wheat Kings in Brandon, Manitoba, in Game 2 of the Western Hockey League final.

Kelowna leads the series 2-0 and hosts Game 3 on Wednesday.

It was Merkley’s second goal of the game, after scoring at 19:57 of the first period to give the Rockets a lead heading into the intermission.

Kirk nudges in front at TPC tournament

Miscellany: Chris Kirk kept his cool during a rocky patch and made three straight birdies for a 4-under 68 that gave him a one-shot lead at The Players Championship golf tournament in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, going into the final round that is very much up for grabs. Kirk went from out of the top 10 to a share of the lead in three holes.

Ben Martin fell out of the lead with a bogey on the 18th for a 68, leaving him one shot behind along with Kevin Kisner (67) and Bill Haas (68).

At the end of the day, 24 players were separated by four shots. That included Rory McIlroy, the world’s No. 1 player, who had a 70 to stay in the mix.

• Madefromlucky wins Belmont’s Peter Pan: Madefromlucky is headed for the Belmont Stakes after rallying to beat Conquest Curlinate by a length in the $196,000 Peter Pan Stakes for 3-year-olds in New York.

The 1 1/8-mile Peter Pan is the traditional local prep for the final jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown on June 6 at Belmont Park.

• Kvitova wins Madrid final; Nadal to face Murray: Petra Kvitova eased to her second Madrid Open tennis title when she beat an unwell Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-2.

On the men’s side, Rafael Nadal reached his seventh final at the Madrid Open by defeating Tomas Berdych 7-6 (3), 6-1.

Nadal will face 2008 champion Andy Murray, who eliminated last year’s finalist, Kei Nishikori.

Nadal has won the last two Madrid Opens, and will attempt to win his fifth overall.

• Orica wins team time trial on opening day of Giro d’Italia: Orica Green-Edge won cycling’s Giro d’Italia’s opening team time trial in San Remo, Italy, for the second year in a row, with Simon Gerrans taking the overall leader’s pink jersey.

Orica was the overwhelming stage favorite and clocked a time of 19 minutes, 26 seconds along the 10.94-mile course from San Lorenzo al Mare to San Remo. The 98th Giro finishes on May 31, in Milan.

• WNBA’s Griner, Johnson married in Phoenix ceremony: The WNBA’s Brittney Griner and Glory Johnson have been married in a ceremony in a Phoenix resort.

The wedding came less than a month after the two basketball players were arrested on domestic violence-related charges at their home in Goodyear, Arizona.

Griner plays for the WNBA champion Phoenix Mercury, while Johnson plays for the Tulsa Shock.

• Loyola-Chicago takes second straight volleyball title: Player of the year Thomas Jaeschke had 20 kills and Loyola-Chicago successfully defended its NCAA men’s volleyball championship with a five-set victory over Lewis in Stanford, California.

The Ramblers (28-2) won the 21-25, 25-23, 25-15, 25-27 23-21 marathon title clash between two Chicago-area schools at Stanford’s Maples Pavilion.

It was the first title game between two non-West Coast teams in tournament history.