PRO BASKETBALL
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - CJ McCollum matched his career playoff high with 41 points, Rodney Hood hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 18.6 seconds left in the NBA postseason record-tying fourth overtime and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Denver Nuggets 140-137 to take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
It was the second quadruple-overtime playoff game in NBA history, joining a 1953 game between the Boston Celtics and the Syracuse Nationals.
McCollum scored 28 points after the third quarter and Damian Lillard added 28 in the game for Portland, which stretched its winning streak at home to 12 games dating to the regular season. Hood came off the bench to score seven points in the final OT and help the Blazers remain unbeaten at home this postseason.
Nikola Jokic had his third triple-double of the playoffs with 33 points, 18 rebounds and 14 assists, but missed a crucial free throw with 5.6 seconds to go. The 7-foot center played 65 minutes, two shy of the postseason record.
Jamal Murray had a playoff-high 34 points for the Nuggets.
Game 4 is Sunday.
CHICAGO (AP) - The Chicago Bulls and coach Jim Boylen have agreed to a contract extension.
Boylen was already under contract for next season when the Bulls promoted him from assistant coach to take over for the fired Fred Hoiberg in December. They never gave him the interim tag. Executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson said at the end of the season that Boylen would likely get an extension. The Bulls made it official, though they did not announce the length or financial terms.
The Bulls went 22-60 in the second year of their rebuild and finished with one of the worst records in franchise history. They were 5-19 when Hoiberg got fired and went 17-41 the rest of the way under Boylen.
PHOENIX (AP) - Philadelphia 76ers assistant Monty Williams will be the new coach of the Phoenix Suns, replacing Igor Kokoskov, who was fired last week after one disappointing season.
The Suns announced that they had come to terms with Williams, who will join Phoenix after the 76ers complete their run in the NBA playoffs. The 76ers have a 2-1 lead over Toronto in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The 47-year-old Williams has previous head coaching experience, spending five seasons in charge in New Orleans from 2010 to 2015, a stint during which he led the franchise to two postseason appearances. He is in his first season as an assistant coach with the 76ers. He also played nine years in the NBA, including time with New York, San Antonio, Denver, Orlando and Philadelphia.
TRACK AND FIELD
DOHA, Qatar (AP) - Caster Semenya easily won the 800 meters at a Diamond League meet, her first race since losing a high-profile court case against track and field’s governing body.
The Olympic champion was never challenged when she won in 1 minute, 54.98 seconds, her fourth-fastest time. She faced a strong field that included two Olympic medalists - Francine Niyonsaba and Maragaret Wambui.
Semenya’s dominance in the 800 might be at an end, though. This was the last women’s 800-meter race before new regulations take effect. They will require Semenya and other female athletes with high levels of natural testosterone to lower them to be eligible to compete in certain events. She was emphatic when she told reporters after Friday’s race that she wouldn’t take the medication.
SPORTS BETTING
HELENA, Mont. (AP) - Montana became the first state to legalize sports betting this year after Gov. Steve Bullock signed a bill for the state lottery to oversee a system of wagering through kiosks and mobile applications that could be running by fall.
Montana is at the head of a wave of states passing legislation this year to allow gambling on sports, and it becomes the seventh state to legalize the practice since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed it nationwide last year.
Tennessee’s governor will allow a bill in that state to become law without his signature. Bills passed by lawmakers in Iowa and Indiana are awaiting action by the governors. Colorado’s Legislature on Friday approved a ballot question that will ask voters this fall if sports gambling should be legalized there.
The Montana law became effective immediately, and supporters expect to move quickly to get the system operating. The bill’s sponsor, Democratic Rep. Ryan Lynch, said the goal is to have it running by the start of the football season in September.
BASEBALL
CLEVELAND (AP) - Corey Kluber doesn’t need surgery on his broken right arm - for now. And, for the time being, the Indians season is cracked, not crushed.
Cleveland placed the two-time AL Cy Young Award winner on the 10-day injured list, and the club didn’t provide a definitive timeline for his return to the rotation.
Kluber sustained a non-displaced fracture of his ulna bone on Wednesday night when he was hit by a line drive during a start against Miami. He had more imaging tests taken Thursday at the Cleveland Clinic, and the results confirmed the initial diagnosis.
Manager Terry Francona said Kluber’s arm will be immobilized for the next week - the Indians will keep him out of the dugout to prevent his arm from being bumped - and the 33-year-old will be X-rayed once a week. The cast will be removed in three weeks, when doctors will decide what’s next.
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