In brief: Digest: Favor’s dunk drives Jazz past Rockets
NBA: Derrick Favors’ dunk with 1.6 seconds left lifted the Utah Jazz to an 89-87 victory over the host Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.
Gordon Hayward had 22 points as Utah moved a half-game ahead of Houston into the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference playoff standings.
The Jazz trailed by as many as 18 in the second half before rallying for their first lead of the game with about 4 minutes left. The teams exchanged leads several times after that before Dwight Howard tied it on a dunk with 22.3 seconds remaining.
Rodney Hood then found Favors, who finished with 17 points, under the basket and he finished with the slam to put Utah on top. Houston had a chance to win it after that, but James Harden’s 3-point attempt bounced off the rim.
Mudiay’s buzzer-beater lifts Nuggets: Emmanuel Mudiay made a 35-footer at the buzzer to finish with 27 points and give the Denver Nuggets a 104-103 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in Denver.
Mudiay, who also had 11 rebounds, was sandwiched between two defenders and nearly lost the ball before regaining control and launching the game-winning shot.
Spurs stay undefeated at home: Kawhi Leonard matched his career high with 32 points before leaving with a bruised quadriceps and the San Antonio Spurs beat the visiting Miami Heat 112-88 to remain perfect at home.
San Antonio has won its first 36 home games, leaving the Spurs a game shy of matching the record set by Chicago in 1995-96. The Spurs have won 47 consecutive regular-season games at home over two seasons.
Leonard’s injury could have put a damper on the team’s 60th overall victory, but it did not appear serious. He left with 6:01 remaining in the third quarter completing a three-point play after being fouled on a driving layup by Justise Winslow.
James, Love lead Cavs: LeBron James scored 26 points, Kevin Love added 24 and the Cleveland Cavaliers stayed drama-free during a 113-104 victory over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks.
Kyrie Irving celebrated his 24th birthday by flirting with a triple-double and Tristan Thompson added 13 points and 10 rebounds for Cleveland, which maintained its grip on the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
Pistons win four straight: Andre Drummond had 30 points and 14 rebounds, and the Pistons never trailed in their 118-102 victory over the Magic in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
The Pistons, who are chasing their first postseason appearance since 2009, have won four straight, and they still have four games to go on their nine-game homestand.
Detroit shot 54 percent from the field and 11 of 24 from 3-point range.
UW’s Chriss, Murray declare for NBA draft
College Basketball: Washington freshmen Marquese Chriss and Dejounte Murray have both declared for the NBA draft and will hire agents, ending their college careers after one season.
Both players are projected to be first-round picks after up-and-down first seasons of college basketball where each flashed NBA potential.
Chriss is a 6-foot-9 forward from Sacramento, California, with the ability to play on the low block and stretch his game beyond the 3-point line. Chriss struggled with foul trouble throughout his freshman season and played just 25 minutes per game because of the fouls, but averaged 13.7 points.
Murray, a 6-foot-4 guard from Seattle, came on as the season progressed. He averaged 16.4 points, 6 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game.
UCF hires Dawkins: UCF has hired Johnny Dawkins as its new men’s basketball coach.
Dawkins, who will be the Knights seventh head coach since the program’s inception in 1969, was fired last week by Stanford after coaching the Cardinal eight seasons.
He replaces Donnie Jones, whose UCF run ended following a disappointing first-round loss to No. 10 seed Tulane during the first round of the American Athletic Conference tournament on March 10.
Dayron extends Miller’s contract: Dayton coach Archie Miller has gotten a contract extension for the third straight year after leading the Flyers to a share of the Atlantic 10 regular-season title and the NCAA Tournament.
Miller’s extension adds one year and additional compensation, taking him through the 2022-23 season.
The Flyers are 115-55 during Miller’s five seasons of reviving the program. After Dayton failed to reach the NCAA Tournament for four straight years, Miller led the Flyers to the Elite Eight in 2014, beating Ohio State to start their run. They won two games in the tournament last year – including one on their home floor in the First Four – and lost in the first round to Syracuse 71-50 last week.
Florida State’s Bacon submits name to draft: Florida State freshman Dwayne Bacon announced Wednesday night that he will submit his name for the NBA draft but will not hire an agent.
Bacon made the announcement on his Twitter account and it was confirmed by a school spokesman.
Bacon is taking advantage of a new rule that allows underclassmen to attend the May 10-15 NBA draft combine to get feedback from teams and then decide their future as long as they haven’t signed with an agent. The deadline to withdraw from the draft is May 25.
Providence’s Bentil declares for NBA draft: Providence sophomore Ben Bentil says that he will declare for the NBA draft but not hire an agent, leaving open the option to return to school. He has until May 25 to withdraw his name from draft consideration without forfeiting the remainder of collegiate eligibility.
Goodell still open
to Vegas relocation
NFL: Roger Goodell didn’t dismiss Las Vegas as a potential home for an NFL franchise when asked about Raiders owner Mark Davis’ interest in moving his team there.
Traditionally, the NFL has strongly opposed the idea of America’s gambling capital hosting a franchise. After being passed over for relocation to Los Angeles in January, Davis has shown interest in moving to Las Vegas or other cities if he’s unable to get a new stadium built in Oakland.
Because of the NFL’s stance against gambling, the prospect of doing any sort of business in Las Vegas had been taboo in the league for decades. While Goodell denied there has been a philosophical shift on the subject, he didn’t completely reject the idea of the Raiders winding up in Nevada.
Kelly discusses Philly firing: Chip Kelly closed the chapter on his tenure in Philadelphia by taking shots at the team’s front-office structure and blaming his firing solely on his failure to win last season.
Speaking openly about his abrupt dismissal for the first time since the Eagles fired him Dec. 29, Kelly insisted he never demanded control over personnel decisions and distanced himself from contracts given to free agents DeMarco Murray and Byron Maxwell last year.
“You learn from what you did, how things worked and you move on and try to get better every day,” Kelly said at the NFC coaches’ breakfast during the NFL owners’ meetings in Boca Raton, Florida.
Day tweaks back
in Match Play victory
Miscellany: Jason Day overcame an early deficit to win his opening match in the Dell Match Play.
In the latest in a series of injuries for Day, he was reaching for his back on the 15th hole and then winced and grabbed it after a tee shot on the 16th hole. He took a knee on the green, where he closed out Graeme McDowell, 3 and 2.
Day headed straight for the fitness trailer for treatment. The severity of the injury was unclear.
Beam falls at World Cup stadium: A metal support beam at a stadium being built for the 2018 World Cup in the Russian city of Volgograd collapsed during construction work, the company contracted to oversee construction of the arena said.
The extent of damage to the stadium was not immediately clear, though the Stroytransgaz company said World Cup preparations would remain on schedule.