NBA
The Brooklyn Nets hired Steve Nash as their coach Thursday, putting the Hall of Fame point guard in charge of the team that hopes to have Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving together next season.
Nash, two-time MVP as the engineer of the high-scoring Phoenix Suns teams under Mike D’Antoni, had been a player development consultant with Golden State, where he worked with Durant.
The Nets finished the season under Jacque Vaughn, who they said would remain on staff as Nash’s lead assistant.
The Nets reached the postseason despite having Irving for only 20 games and Durant for none, but the two stars who came to Brooklyn together last summer are expected to be ready for the 2020-21 season.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) - Memphis’ Ja Morant was the runaway winner of the NBA rookie of the year award for 2019-20, the first Grizzlies player to win the award since Pau Gasol in 2001-02.
Morant averaged 17.8 points and 7.3 assists this season. Miami’s Kendrick Nunn was second and New Orleans’ Zion Williamson was third in the voting. Morant got 99 of the 100 first-place votes, with Williamson getting the other. Morant’s Grizzlies teammate Brandon Clarke was fourth in the voting.
Nunn, who was undrafted, averaged 15.3 points for the Heat. Williamson averaged 22.5 points and 6.3 rebounds, but the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft missed much of his rookie season while dealing with injury.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) -Kawhi Leonard scored 29 points and the Los Angeles Clippers rolled past the Denver Nuggets 120-97 on Thursday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.
Paul George scored 19 points and Marcus Morris added 18. The Clippers shot 57% from the field.
Nikola Jokic scored 15 points for the Nuggets, who were coming off a seven-game series with Utah that just ended Tuesday. Jamal Murray, who averaged 31.6 points in the first round and scored at least 50 points twice in that series, finished with just 12 points on 5-for-15 shooting. Denver shot just 42%.
The Clippers took charge in the second quarter, outscoring the Nuggets 38-20 to take a 69-51 lead at halftime. Los Angeles held Denver to 25% shooting into the second quarter.
NHL
TORONTO (AP) - Ivan Provorov scored at 15:03 of the second overtime and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the New York Islanders 5-4 on Thursday night to force a deciding Game 7.
Kevin Hayes, James van Riemsdyk, Michael Raffl and Scott Laughton also scored for Philadelphia, and Carter Hart made a career-high 49 saves. The Flyers won a third overtime game in a postseason series for the first time.
Mathew Barzal and Derick Brassard each had a goal and an assist, and Anders Lee and Matt Martin also scored for New York, which trailed 2-0 midway through the first period before taking leads of 3-2 and 4-3. Semyon Varlamov stopped 26 shots.
Game 7 is Saturday, with the winner advancing to face Tampa Bay in the conference finals
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) - The Vancouver Canucks appeared to be down and out, faced with a 3-1 series hole and their starting goalie out. A rookie backup from San Diego has changed their vibe.
Bring on Game 7.
Thatcher Demko stopped 48 shots, Quinn Hughes set an NHL record with a goal and an assist, and the Canucks staved off elimination for the second straight game with a 4-0 win over the Vegas Golden Knights Thursday night.
J.T. Miller had a goal and an assist, Jake Virtanen also scored and Bo Horvat added an empty-net goal with 4 1/2 minutes left. Hughes has 16 points this postseason, one more than the record for rookie defenseman Colorado’s Cale Makar set Wednesday night.
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