In brief: Steve Kerr returns, Golden State handles Indiana
NBA: Stephen Curry banked in a shot from midcourt with a hand in his face at the halftime buzzer and he finished with 39 points and a triple-double, helping coach Steve Kerr win his season debut in Golden State’s 122-110 victory over Indiana on Friday night in Oakland, California.
Kerr returned from a leave of absence dating to Oct. 1 for complications following two back surgeries, and defending champion Golden State delivered for him by winning its 38th straight home game at Oracle Arena to match the 1985-86 Celtics for third-longest home winning streak all-time.
The Warriors are 20-0 at home this season.
Curry added 12 assists and 10 rebounds for his second triple-double of the season and seventh of his career. The reigning MVP shimmied after his half-court shot and pounded his chest following his 201st 3-pointer at the 6:26 mark of the third quarter.
—Thomas scores 22, Celtics hold off late Bulls rally: Isaiah Thomas scored 22 points and Boston held off a furious rally in the fourth quarter to beat visiting Chicago 110-101.
Avery Bradley added 21 points, and Jared Sullinger finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds as the Celtics ended a two-game losing skid.
The victory also gives Boston a 2-1 win in the season series with the Bulls.
The Celtics were up by 15 points at the half before seeing their lead drop all the way to a point in the fourth quarter.
Jimmy Butler led Chicago with 28 points and 14 rebounds. Derrick Rose added 27 points, and Pau Gasol finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
The Bulls have lost six of their last eight.
—Jordan, Paul help Clippers coast past Knicks: DeAndre Jordan scored 20 points on 7-for-7 shooting, Chris Paul had 16 points, 13 assists and six rebounds, and visiting Los Angeles routed New York 116-88.
The duo hooked up on a few alley-oops during the game as Jordan didn’t have to work hard to improve his NBA-leading field-goal percentage to 72.1 percent.
Paul Pierce finished with 13 points as the Clippers rebounded from Thursday’s 115-102 loss in Cleveland to win for the 12th time in 14 games. Los Angeles shot 56.6 percent from the field.
Carmelo Anthony scored 16 points, but shot just 4 for 12 for the Knicks (22-23), who were trying for a third straight win that would have moved them over .500. Kristaps Porzingis shot even worse, going 4 for 17 while finishing with 13 points and eight rebounds.
Luongo, Panthers blank Blackhawks
NHL: Roberto Luongo stopped 27 shots for his fourth shutout of the season, Aaron Ekblad scored in his first game back from a concussion and Florida beat Chicago 4-0 in Sunrise, Florida, to stop a four-game losing streak.
Reilly Smith, Quinton Howden and former Chicago defenseman Brian Campbell also scored for Florida. The Panthers had lost their last eight games against Chicago, getting outscored 25-11 in those contests.
Scott Darling stopped 28 shots for Chicago, which lost on consecutive nights in the state of Florida. The Blackhawks lost in Tampa on Thursday, after winning 12 straight to match the Panthers for the longest winning streak in the league this season.
Florida has now won 13 straight games with Ekblad in the lineup. He missed the Panthers’ previous four games.
—Rookie Dylan Larkin leads Red Wings over Sabres: All-Star rookie Dylan Larkin had a goal and an assist and Petr Mrazek stopped 19 shots to lead visiting Detroit to a 3-0 victory over Buffalo in Buffalo, N.Y.
Henrik Zetterberg and Luke Glendening also scored for the Red Wings, who snapped a two-game losing streak.
Larkin scored the winner with 7:59 remaining in the game, circling from behind the net to collect the rebound off a Glendening shot and banking the puck off the pads of Robin Lehner.
Sabres coach Dan Bylsma challenged that Larkin was offside as he carried the puck into the offensive zone, but the goal was upheld on replay.
Larkin’s goal came 41 seconds after the Sabres killed off a four-minute penalty on forward Marcus Foligno for high-sticking.
—Tortorella breaks ribs, will not coach Blue Jackets: Columbus coach John Tortorella broke two ribs falling after a collision with forward Rene Bourque during an outdoor practice in Columbus, Ohio, and will not coach Saturday night at Boston.
Associate coach Craig Hartsburg will lead Columbus against the Bruins, the team said Friday. Tortorella’s status for Monday night against the Montreal Canadiens is unknown.
The injury occurred about 20 minutes into the Blue Jackets’ first practice at a temporary rink built for public skating in McFerson Commons, across the street from the Blue Jackets’ Nationwide Arena. The team practiced there to promote the opening of Winter Park.
Reynolds switches to RB for Shrine Game
College Football: Keenan Reynolds has learned to adapt to a lot of different situations while playing football at Navy, so he hardly lacks confidence he can handle his latest challenge.
The dual-threat quarterback broke the NCAA Division I record for career rushing touchdowns while leading the Midshipmen the past four seasons but is making the transition this week to running back and kick returner in hopes of impressing pro scouts at Saturday’s East-West Shrine Game in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Reynolds rushed for 1,373 yards and 24 touchdowns as a senior, helping Navy to an 11-2 record and finishing his college career with 4,559 yards and 88 rushing TDs.
The native of Antioch, Tennessee, only attempted 115 passes in 2015, throwing for 1,203 yards, eight TDs and one interception – effective with the Midshipmen, though not the type of production that suggests he has a future as a passer.
Now he’s at the East-West game, trying to prove he has the versatility to play other positions.
—QB transfer Jones may be heading back to Tennessee: Quarterback Sheriron Jones, who transferred from Tennessee to Colorado earlier this month, may be heading back to his original school.
Colorado has released Jones from his scholarship so that he could return to Tennessee.
Tennessee athletic department Ryan Robinson said he is aware of the statement Colorado issued, but he added that he couldn’t confirm anything until Tennessee receives official paperwork granting Jones’ release from Colorado.
“My job is to work with the whole person,” Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre said in a statement. “Each player is unique and comes with unique needs and concerns. Throughout the past couple of weeks, Sheriron and I have spent a lot of time trying to sort out his circumstances. We have concluded that it is in his best interests for him to return to Tennessee.”
In a university release announcing the move, Colorado said the NCAA allows a student-athlete to return to the school he transferred from if he decides to do so within a 14-day window.
Jones, who is from Perris, California, redshirted this season and has four years of eligibility remaining. Jones was rated as a consensus four-star recruit when he signed with Tennessee in February.
Azarenka advances, Muguruza out in 3rd round in Australia
Tennis: Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka walked on to Rod Laver Arena knowing that the No. 2- and No. 3-ranked players were already out of the tournament and that the draw appeared to be opening up in her favor.
She blinked at first, when Japanese qualifier Naomi Osaka broke her at love in the first game of their third-round match, before recovering responded quickly with a 6-1, 6-1 win in 56 minutes in Melbourne, Australia.
The 14th-seeded Azarenka, back in form after two injury-interrupted seasons, has dropped just five games in three matches at Melbourne Park after warming up with a title at the Brisbane International.
Azarenka had 24 winners to only four for Osaka, who was making her Grand Slam main draw debut.
“She’s a little unpredictable and she surprised me with her game,” said Azarenka, who signed off with a now-customary “dab” and discussion on dancing and music.
She will next play No. 48-ranked Barbora Strycova, who upset third-seeded Garbine Muguruza 6-3, 6-2.
Milos Raonic dedicated his third-round victory, a 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 win over Viktor Troicki on Margaret Court Arena, to victims of a shooting in a remote community in Saskatchewan, Canada which left four people dead and at least two injured.
The 25-year-old Canadian, his voice sounding emotional at times, told the crowd: “Today, before I stepped out on court it was a difficult day back home.” “I want to take a moment and give thoughts to that community. Today’s victory was for that community, and a quick recovery and all of Canada, and I’m sure the world is behind you.”
Raonic faces a tough fourth-rounder against Stan Wawrinka, the 2014 Australian and 2015 French Open champion, who advanced with a 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (3) victory over Lukas Rosol.
No. 10-seeded John Isner fired 44 aces as he advanced with a 6-7 (8), 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-4 win over Fernando Lopez.
In the women’s draw, Azarenka is one of three Australian Open champions remaining – six-time winner Serena Williams and 2008 winner Maria Sharapova are on the other half and could meet in the quarterfinals.
Muguruza’s rapid rise to the No. 3 ranking sharpened the focus on her run in Australia, attention which only increased after No. 2-ranked Simona Halep and No. 8 Venus Williams lost in the first round.
It didn’t help Muguruza, though, with her loss to Strycova extending a disappointing follow-up in majors since a breakthrough run to last year’s Wimbledon final. She lost in the second round at the U.S. Open and her third-round exit here was worse than her two previous trips to Melbourne Park, where she reached the fourth round.
“Clearly not my best, for sure. I think today is a very bad day, you know, at the office,” she said. “I just couldn’t find the court, my shots. Yeah. Didn’t really find my game.”
Her loss left No. 7 Angelique Kerber as the highest-ranked player in the bottom half of the women’s draw. Kerber beat Madison Brengle 6-1, 6-3 to move into a fourth-round match against fellow German Annika Beck and a potential quarterfinal with Azarenka.
Strycova has only been past the third round once before in 38 Grand Slams, and that was when she reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 2014. Knowing her next rival was likely to be the growing favorite, Azarenka, Strycova decided to stay in the moment.
“I will enjoy myself first because I beat No. 3 in the world,” she said.
Johanna Konta, who beat Venus Williams last Tuesday, became the first British woman to reach the fourth round at the Australian Open since Jo Durie in 1987, giving the Brits and Aussies something to celebrate.
Konta, who was born in Sydney and became a British citizen in 2012, beat Denisa Allertova 6-2, 6-2 and will next play No. 21-seeded Ekaterina Makarova, a semifinalist here last year, who had a 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 9 Karolina Pliskova.
Dufner takes lead at CareerBuilder
Golf: Jason Dufner patiently worked his way around PGA West’s TPC Stadium Course in La Quinta, California, to take the lead in the CareerBuilder Challenge.
Dufner shot a 7-under 65, matching the best round of the first two days on the difficult course that is being used in the tournament for the first time since 1987. Jamie Lovemark was a stroke back after a 65 on the adjacent Nicklaus Tournament Course.
Dufner parred the final four holes, escaping trouble on the par-5 16th. The 2013 PGA Championship winner played the front nine in 6-under 30, bogeyed the 10th after hitting into the water, and added birdies on 12 and 14.
Dufner had a 15-under 129 total. He opened with a 64 on Thursday on the Nicklaus Course, will play La Quinta on Saturday, and return to the Stadium Course for the final round Sunday.
—Waldorf in driver’s seat at Mitsubishi: Duffy Waldorf shot a 7-under 65 on Friday to take a one-stroke lead in the in the PGA Tour Champions’ season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Kaupulehu-Kona, Hawaii.
Waldorf had a bogey-free round at Hualalai Golf Course to reach 12-under 132.
Davis Love III, Tom Lehman and Tom Pernice Jr. were a stroke back in the event for major champions from the last five years, other tournament winners in the last two seasons and sponsor invitees.
York notches 1,000th victory in college hockey
Miscellany: Jerry York got his 1,000th career victory Friday night, becoming the first coach in NCAA Division I men’s hockey to reach the milestone.
York reached the mark with Boston College’s 8-0 win over Hockey East rival UMass Amherst, Massachusetts. York, in his 44th season on the bench and 22nd at Boston College, has compiled a 1,000-595-108 record since his career began in 1972.
The 70-year-old York has led his teams to five national championships – one at Bowling Green and four at Boston College – and is one of only three NCAA coaches to win a title at multiple schools.
York is also the career leader in NCAA Tournament wins with 39.
In 2012, York secured his 925th career victory to pass Rob Mason and become the winningest coach in college hockey history.
—Svindal wins World Cup super-G for 7th victory: Aksel Lund Svindal mastered a tricky super-G course Friday to extend Norway’s World Cup winning streak to five races, and Alexis Pinturault of France won the combined event for the third straight year in Kitzbuehel, Austria.
Svindal avoided major mistakes and sped to his seventh victory of the season and 32nd overall, winning in 1 minute, 11.79 seconds. He beat Andrew Weibrecht of the United States by 0.31, and Hannes Reichelt of Austria by 0.42.
In the combined event, which added the results of the super-G and those of a slalom run five hours later, Pinturault led a French sweep of the podium ahead of Victor Muffat-Jeandet and Thomas Mermillod Blondin.
Svindal, who failed to finish the slalom, remained in the overall World Cup lead.