Update on the latest sports

NBA-SCHEDULE

76ers finally beat Cavaliers

UNDATED (AP) — A distracting day turned into a disappointing night for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

J.J. Redick scored 22 points and Joel Embiid (joh-EHL’ ehm-BEED’) had a double-double as the 76ers knocked off the Cavaliers, 108-97. Embiid had 17 points and 14 rebounds in helping Philadelphia beat Cleveland for the first time in their last 12 meetings.

Ben Simmons chipped in 18 points and Dario Saric 16, including a critical 3-pointer in the closing minutes.

The Cavaliers erased most of a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter and trailed 95-94 until the Sixers went on an 8-0 run.

LeBron James finished with 30 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Cavs.

The Cavaliers played without guard J.R. Smith, who was given a one-game suspension by the team Thursday afternoon for detrimental conduct. Head coach Tyronn Lue said Smith was fine during the morning shootaround, but something happened afterward. Lue and the team declined to elaborate.

Rodney Hood scored 11 points on 5 of 14 shooting while starting in place of Smith.

In Thursday’s other NBA action:

— Damian Lillard poured in 35 points and CJ McCollum added 19 in the Trail Blazers’ fifth straight win, 108-99 against Minnesota. Karl Anthony Towns had 34 points and 17 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who lost for the first time in three games since All-Star Jimmy Butler suffered a knee injury.

— Newcomer Isaiah Thomas poured in a season-high 29 points and Julius Randle had 25 as the Lakers thumped the Heat, 131-113 at Miami. Brandon Ingram added 19 for Los Angeles, which shot 59 percent overall and was 16 of 29 from 3-point range. The Lakers won at Miami for the first time in 10 years and improved to 16-7 since their 11-27 start.

— Bogdan Bogdanovic made a go-ahead short runner with 1:06 left in overtime and added a pair of free throws in leading the Kings past the Nets, 116-111. Bogdanovic finished with 23 points and Willie Cauley-Stein added 17 with a team-high six assists.

T25- COLLEGE BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

Wildcats win as Miller, Trier return

UNDATED (AP) — There was a sense of normalcy for the Arizona men’s basketball team on Thursday following a tumultuous week. Sean Miller returned to the bench and Allonzo Trier was back on the court as the 19th-ranked Wildcats knocked off Stanford, 75-67.

Trier had 18 points following a two-game absence. He was cleared by the NCAA after being suspended for a positive test of a banned substance that led to his 19-game suspension last season.

Dusan Ristic delivered 15 of his 21 points in the first half to help Arizona clinch at least a share of the Pac-12 regular-season championship.

The game was played after university president Robert C. Robbins confirmed Thursday that Miller will remain the head coach. Robbins made the statement following an Arizona Board of Regents meeting, less than three hours after Miller vehemently denied a report that he discussed a six-figure payment to a top recruit to attend the school.

ESPN cited anonymous sources in reporting last Friday that the FBI had Miller on a wiretap discussing a $100,000 payment to Wildcats freshman Deandre Ayton to attend the school. Miller called the report “inaccurate and completely false.

In other top-25 action:

De’Andre Hunter’s 3-pointer as time expired gave top-ranked Virginia a 67-66 victory at Louisville. Ty Jerome scored 21 points, while Devon Hall and Kyle Guy each had 10 for the Cavaliers. The outcome made Virginia the first ACC team to go 9-0 on the road in league play.

— No. 10 Cincinnati clinched a share of the American Athletic Conference as Kyle Washington contributed 16 points, seven boards and two blocks to a 78-49 stifling of Tulane. Cane Broome scored 13 for the 26-4 Bearcats, who can wrap up the regular-season crown with a win at Wichita State on Sunday.

— Shaquille Morris scored 19 points and Conner Frankamp added 16 as No. 11 Wichita State beat Central Florida, 75-71 in overtime. Landry Shamet scored 14 points and had six assists in helping the Shockers get their seventh straight win and improve to 24-5 overall.

— Duncan Robinson made the Wolverines’ only field goal of overtime and 15th-ranked Michigan survived foul trouble and poor shooting to beat Iowa, 77-71. The Wolverines missed 16 of their 19 3-point attempts and were just 18 of 32 from the line. But Robinson was 3-for-6 from beyond the arc, including a go-ahead bucket with 2:15 remaining.

— Brandon Walters scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as No. 24 Middle Tennessee whipped Western Kentucky, 82-64 to clinch its second straight Conference USA title. Nick King scored 18 points and had nine rebounds for the Blue Raiders, who cracked the national rankings for the first time in school history last week.

NHL-SCHEDULE

Bruins batter Penguins

UNDATED (AP) — The Boston Bruins had an offensive explosion as they try to catch the Tampa Bay Lightning atop the NHL’s Atlantic Division.

David Krejci (KRAY’-chee) recorded his fourth career hat trick and David Pastrnak (PAS’-tur-nak) had two goals and an assist as the Bruins crushed the Penguins, 8-4. Krejci and Pastrnak each scored while Boston put five shots past Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith in the first period.

It was the Bruins’ highest-scoring game since 2012 and allowed them to move into second place in the Atlantic, six points behind the Lightning.

Olli Maata (OH’-lee MAH’-tah) scored twice for the Penguins, who remain three points behind the Metropolitan Division-leading Capitals.

The Lightning pulled out a 5-4 win on Cory Conacher’s goal at 4:19 of overtime. Tampa Bay’s Anthony Cirelli had a goal and an assist in his NHL debut before the Lightning picked up a victory in their fourth game in six nights that went past 60 minutes.

Checking out the rest of Thursday’s NHL schedule:

— The Predators enjoy a six-point lead in the Central Division after they spotted the Oilers an early 2-0 lead before rallying for a 4-2 triumph at Edmonton. Viktor Arvidsson scored twice, including the game-winner with 5:08 remaining. Pekka Rinne (PEH’-kuh REE’-nay) stopped 34 shots in David Poile’s 1,320th career win as a general manager, the most in NHL history.

— The Wild’s five-game winning streak is over after Richard Panik scored the tiebreaking goal midway through the third period of the Coyotes’ 5-3 decision over Minnesota. Max Domi had three assists and Antti Raanta (AN’-tee RAHN’-tah) made 31 saves as Arizona pushed the Wild 10 points off the Central Division lead.

— Justin Williams scored twice and Cam Ward stopped 21 shots as the Hurricanes beat the Flyers, 4-1 to halt a six-game losing skid. Philadelphia ended a six-game winning streak and stayed one point off the Metropolitan Division lead.

— Joe Pavelski scored twice and Dylan DeMelo set up three goals as the Sharks hammered the Blackhawks, 7-1. Logan Couture (koo-TOOR’) notched his 27th goal and Joonas Donskoi had two assists to help San Jose get within eight points of the Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights.

— Second-period goals by Nate Thompson, Alex Iafallo and Tanner Pearson allowed the Kings to erase a 2-0 deficit in a 5-2 win against the Blue Jackets. Iafallo scored twice and Jeff Carter also tallied as Los Angeles picked up their third straight win to move three points ahead of Anaheim for third place in the Pacific.

— Aleksander Barkov scored twice and Roberto Luongo (loh-AHN’-goh) stopped 29 shots as the Panthers earned their fourth consecutive win, 3-2 against the Devils. New Jersey netminder Cory Schneider stopped 29 shots in his first start since missing 16 games with a lower-body injury, but the Devils were unable to trim their five-point deficit on the Metropolitan Division-leading Capitals.

NHL-SEATTLE-SEASON TICKETS

NHL ticket drive in Seattle gets off to hot start

SEATTLE (AP) — Apparently, sports fans in Seattle are ready for the NHL.

The group looking to bring an expansion team to Seattle for the 2020 season said it surpassed 25,000 ticket commitments in two hours after kicking off its season-ticket drive on Thursday. The season-ticket drive is one the steps required by the NHL as part of the expansion process and is meant to gauge the interest in the market. Fans were required to put down a deposit of $500 per ticket or $1,000 for club tickets.

JIM KELLY-CANCER

Hall of Fame QB Kelly says tests show return of oral cancer

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly has once again been diagnosed with oral cancer.

Kelly released a statement Thursday through his publicist saying he is “shocked and deeply saddened” by the news, and vows to once again fight to overcome the disease. He did not go into specifics on the diagnoses except to say the cancer was discovered following a test. Kelly had been cancer-free since September 2014, but had been required to undergo follow-up testing every six months.

Kelly’s battle with cancer began in June 2013, when he had surgery to remove cancerous cells in his upper jaw. The cancer then spread to his sinus in March of 2014. Kelly then spent two months undergoing a barrage of treatments that left him in a weakened state but successfully removed the cancerous cells.

In other NFL News:

— Jaguars defensive end Dante Fowler has been sentenced to a year of probation and 75 hours of community service for a parking lot attack on a man. News outlets report Fowler was sentenced Thursday after pleading no contest to misdemeanor charges of battery, criminal mischief and petty theft. He could still be disciplined by the NFL.

— Browns general manager John Dorsey is willing to entertain trade offers for the No. 1 overall draft pick. He’s even encouraging teams to make that call. Dorsey spoke Thursday at the NFL’s scouting combine in Indianapolis, and it didn’t take long for the annual quarterback questions to pop up. But as Dorsey repeatedly swatted away queries about where he had players ranked, he acknowledged there were many things he could do with the top pick in April’s draft.

MLB-MARINERS-HERNANDEZ

M’s optimistic King Felix won’t miss much time

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — The Mariners are hopeful Felix Hernandez will miss only one spring training start due to a bruised right forearm.

Hernandez was hit by a liner off the bat of the Chicago Cubs’ Victor Caratini on Monday.

Seattle manager Scott Servais (SUR-vihs) says Hernandez still has some swelling in the arm, and the team hopes the injury is just a minor setback.

PGA-MEXICO CHAMPIONSHIP

Oosthuizen leads through 18

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Louis Oosthuizen (WUHST’-hy-zehn) is the leader after one round of the Mexico Championship.

Oosthuizen made a short eagle putt late in his round and birdies on two of the short par 4s for a 7-under 64. He’s one stroke ahead of Chris Paisley and Shubhankar Sharma, who are making their first appearances in a World Golf Championship.

Xander Schauffele (SHOW’-flee) also shot a 65, while defending champion Dustin Johnson carded a 69.

RAISMAN-USOC LAWSUIT

Olympic star Raisman files suit against USOC, USA Gymnastics

UNDATED (AP) — Six-time Olympic medalist Aly Raisman (AL’-ee RAYS’-mihn) is suing the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics, claiming both organizations failed to properly police a disgraced former national team doctor now in prison for sexually abusing young athletes.

The lawsuit alleges negligence by the USOC and USA Gymnastics for failing to make sure appropriate protocols were followed to monitor Larry Nassar. Raisman also claims both organizations “knew or should have known” about Nassar’s conduct. The lawsuit was filed in Santa Clara, California, on Wednesday.

Nassar, who is named as a co-defendant, is serving decades in prison for molesting some of the sport’s top athletes and others as well as child pornography crimes.

Raisman, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time captain of the U.S. women’s Olympic gymnastics team, revealed last fall she was abused by Nassar. Raisman says in the lawsuit the abuse began in 2010 and continued through 2015.

SPECIAL OLYMPICS

Monument to celebrate Special Olympics at site of 1st event

CHICAGO (AP) — A new monument near Chicago’s Soldier Field will celebrate the Special Olympics and the site where its first event was held 50 years ago.

Officials from the Special Olympics and the Chicago Park District will join other dignitaries at a Friday groundbreaking in Chicago for a 30-foot monument known as the Eternal Flame of Hope.

Among those attending Friday’s event are Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke, who as a park district employee helped start the Special Olympics. Athletes who participated in the first games also will attend.

Chicago will also host athletes for a 50th anniversary celebration this summer.

The Special Olympics is the largest sports organization in the world for people with intellectual disabilities. The first event was held in Chicago in 1968. Today, 5 million athletes from 172 countries participate.

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