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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Lopez helps propel Nets over Cavaliers

Nets’ guard Donald Sloan looks to pass as Cavs’ forwards LeBron James and Kevin Love defend, in the Nets’ Thursday night win. (Kathy Willens / Associated Press)
From staff and wire reports

NBA: Brook Lopez scored 22 points and the Brooklyn Nets blew by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the fourth quarter for a 104-95 victory Thursday night in New York.

James was scoreless and missed both shots in the fourth quarter after he scored 30 points on 13-for-14 shooting through three. Lopez had the final five points in a 14-0 run down the stretch as the Nets surged past the Eastern Conference leaders.

Shane Larkin added 16 points and seven assists for the Nets in his return to the starting lineup. Bojan Bogdanovic had 12 points.

The Cavaliers finished 10 of 38 on 3-pointers, needing a make by Jordan McRae after the Nets had taken control to extend their franchise-record streak to 10 games with 10 or more makes. But they misfired way too often, with Kyrie Irving finishing 6 for 22 from the field and Kevin Love going 5 for 14.

Green apologizes for video: Draymond Green apologized for a now-deleted video posted by the Golden State forward showing his speedometer at 118 mph.

Green said after Golden State’s victory Wednesday night over the Clippers he used “poor judgment.”

Kerr doesn’t expect to have further issues with his emotional player, whose face isn’t shown in the driver’s seat of the speeding vehicle.

“He said he used poor judgment, which obviously is the case,” Kerr said. “I’m very confident he won’t do it again. I’m glad that he’s fine and nobody got hurt or anything, but the main thing is he came out and apologized, so we move on.”

Ginobili will play for Argentina: Manu Ginobili will be available to play for Argentina’s basketball team in the Rio Olympics.

It will be a fourth Olympics for the San Antonio Spurs star, who has led Argentina to a gold and bronze medal in three appearances.

Argentina won gold in 2004 and bronze four years later in Beijing, but lost to Russia in the third-place game in 2012. His Olympic career appeared over, but the Argentines somewhat surprisingly earned a berth in Rio last summer by reaching the final of the FIBA Americas tournament.

NBA unsure if Charlotte can host All-Star Game: The NBA says it is “deeply concerned” about a North Carolina law it views as discriminatory toward gays and says it doesn’t know if it can successfully host the All-Star Game in Charlotte next season.

The league joined those opposing the state’s “Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act,” which has been criticized because it allows businesses to discriminate against gays and lesbians.

Spieth avoids drama in Dell Match Play

Golf: Jordan Spieth had another stress-free day in the Dell Match Play in Austin, Texas, avoiding some of the drama the 18th hole provided.

Spieth again built a big lead and lost only one hole in a 5-and-4 victory over Victor Dubuisson of France. He has played 30 holes in his two victories, and needs only to halve his match Friday against Justin Thomas to reach the round of 16 at Austin Country Club.

Park takes share of Kia Classic lead: Inbee Park shot a 5-under 67 for a share of the lead in the Kia Classic, in Calsbad, California, the final event before the major ANA Inspiration next week in Rancho Mirage, California.

The second-ranked South Korean player rebounded in her afternoon round after missing the cut last week in the Founders Cup in Phoenix. She played the back nine at Aviara in 4 under, making her final birdie on the par-5 17th.

Compos leads Puerto Rico Open: Rafael Compos shot an 8-under 64 in front of his home fans at Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, to take the first-round lead in the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open.

Compos had eight birdies in a bogey-free round at windy Coco Beach. He made four straight birdies on Nos. 9-12, added another on the par-5 15th and parred the final three holes.

Williams defeats McHale at Miami Open

Miscallany: Serena Williams began her bid for a ninth Key Biscayne (Florida) title by beating fellow American Christina McHale 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.

Williams, seeded No. 1, earned her 19th consecutive victory in the tournament and hasn’t lost since the 2012 quarterfinals.

Boll suspended four games: Columbus Blue Jackets forward Jared Boll was suspended for four games without pay by the NHL for interference against Philadelphia Flyers forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.

Boll was assessed a major penalty for interference and a game misconduct for the blind-side hit during Columbus’ 3-2 shootout victory. He’s considered a repeat offender under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement