In brief:
NBA: Kevin Durant bounced back from the worst shooting game of his playoff career with 34 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder retook control of their first-round series with a 131-102 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 3 on Thursday night, in Dallas.
Durant had seven field goals midway through the second quarter on nine shots after he needed 33 to get there in a Game 2 loss that followed a 38-point win in the opener.
The 2014 MVP scored 20 points in the first half, when the Thunder led by as many as 19 points on their way to a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Dirk Nowitzki played despite a right knee bruise and scored 16 points but the Mavericks let Oklahoma City dictate the pace and couldn’t keep up, never leading while missing 10 of their first 12 shots from 3-point range.
Russell Westbrook scored 20 of his 26 points in the second half, answering a couple of Dallas runs in the third quarter with two 3-pointers and some of his 15 assists, one off his playoff career high.
Game 4 is Saturday night in Dallas.
DeRozan, Lowry score 21 in raptors win: DeMar DeRozan rebounded from his postseason shooting slump, and he and Kyle Lowry scored 21 points as Toronto beat Indiana 101-85, in Indianapolis.
The Raptors lead the best-of-seven first-round series 2-1 and have reclaimed the home-court advantage they squandered by losing the series opener last weekend.
Silver: Change in NC law needed: Commissioner Adam Silver believes the NBA has been “crystal clear” that the 2017 All-Star Game only stays in Charlotte if a North Carolina law goes.
Political and business leaders he’s spoken with in the state believe it will, so he’s holding off for now on setting any deadlines for when the NBA might act.
Ryu takes early lead in Swinging Skirts
GOLF: So Yeon Ryu shot a tournament-record 9-under 63 on to take the early first-round lead in the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic, in Dallas City, California.
Playing in the first group of the day off the 10th tee, the South Korean player had seven birdies in an eight-hole stretch on the back nine and added two more on the front nine at Lake Merced.
Steele tops Texas Open leaderboard: Brendan Steele topped the Texas Open leaderboard at 8 under through 13 holes when the first round was suspended because of darkness.
Steele, whose only PGA Tour victory came in the tournament five years ago, was unable to finish the opening round after play was delayed for 3 1/2 hours because of a morning rain shower at the San Antonio course.
Penquins dominate to take 3-1 lead in series
NHL: The Penguins took a chokehold on their first-round playoff series against the New York Rangers with a 5-0 victory in Game 4 at Madison Square Garden.
The headliners were center Evgeni Malkin, who had two goals and a pair of assists, and rookie goalie Matt Murray who, in his second playoff start, recorded a 31-save shutout.
Killhorn’s goal lifts lighting: Ben Bishop stopped 34 shots and Alex Killorn scored with less than two minutes remaining as the Tampa Bay Lightning advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Detroit Red Wings, in Tampa, Florida.
Killorn’s second winning goal of the series was set up by Ryan Callahan, who retrieved goalie Petr Mrazek’s bad pass behind the Detroit net and centered the puck in the crease for Killorn’s backhander at 18:17 of the third period.
Ducks beat Predators to even series: Nate Thompson and Jamie McGinn scored second-period goals to snap a tie and the Ducks forged one in the Western Conference first-round series by taking a 4-1 Game 4 victory over the Nashville Predators, in Nashville.
Ryan Getzlaf and Andrew Cogliano also scored and the Ducks got another strong effort from goalie Frederik Andersen, who saw his shutout streak end but gave his team 30 saves.
Laughton released from hospital: The Philadelphia Flyers say forward Scott Laughton has been released from the hospital and is doing well a day after being taken off the ice on a stretcher.
The team says he won’t travel to Washington for Game 5 Friday on night.
Swoopes created hostile environment
Miscalleny: A former Loyola University basketball player says women’s coach Sheryl Swoopes created a hostile environment and routinely threatened to cut players from the roster or have their scholarships scrapped.
The university said last week it was investigating the women’s basketball program after allegations of player mistreatment surfaced. Details of the allegations were not released. Former player Cate Soan told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that Swoopes, who has coached at Loyola for three seasons, made her feel “belittled” and “humiliated.”
Nadal makes Barcelona quarterfinal: Nearly 14 years after their first meeting as professionals, Rafael Nadal maintained order by beating Spanish countryman Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-2 to make the Barcelona Open quarterfinals.
Nadal has yet to drop a set in six tour-level and challenger matches against Montanes. They exchanged early breaks but the top-seeded Nadal soon took control.
St Louis, Sacramento lead as expansion candidates: Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber called St. Louis and Sacramento, California, “front-runners” for the next round of expansion, which could occur as soon as 2020.
He said other candidates, in priority order, were Detroit; San Diego; San Antonio and Austin, Texas; and Cincinnati. Mississippi receives 30-day extension: Mississippi has put its response to alleged NCAA rules violations on hold after a third-party was granted a 30-day extension in the case.
Ole Miss said in a statement that one of the “other parties” involved in the case, which involves the football, women’s basketball and track and field programs, requested the extension.
Virginia baseball team involved in crash: A bus carrying Virginia’s defending national champion baseball team was involved in a crash in Miami, after the driver had an undisclosed medical emergency and lost consciousness while behind the wheel.
Virginia coach Brian O’Connor and members of his staff immediately began trying to tend to the driver when his medical issue occurred by administering CPR as the bus rolled through a busy intersection at rush hour and crashed into a roadside tree, said Miami Fire Rescue.