Friday’s Sports In Brief
NBA
BOSTON (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 43 points to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 107-97 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, sending the series back to San Francisco knotted at two games apiece.
Curry added 10 rebounds and made a pair of baskets during a 10-0 fourth-quarter run that turned a four-point Boston edge into a 100-94 Golden State lead. The Celtics missed six straight shots during that span.
Andrew Wiggins had 17 points and 16 boards for the Warriors, who will host Game 5 on Monday night. They would also hold the home-court advantage in a seventh game, if necessary.
Jayson Tatum had 23 points and 11 rebounds, but managed just one basket while playing the entire fourth quarter. Jaylen Brown scored 21 points and Robert Williams III had 12 rebounds for Boston.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Charlotte Hornets have agreed to terms on a four-year contract with Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson to become their next head coach, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because Atkinson has not yet signed the contract. The Warriors play the Boston Celtics Friday night in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
The 55-year-old Atkinson was 118-190 in three-plus seasons as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets as the organization was undergoing a rebuilding process.
He is the second Golden State assistant to accept a new job during the Warriors’ playoff run this spring. Warriors assistant Mike Brown has taken the job as Sacramento’s new coach, though is remaining with Golden State through the end of the NBA Finals.
Atkinson’s hiring by the Hornets leaves only one current opening in the NBA -- that being Utah, after Quin Snyder made the decision to step down earlier this week.
NFL
WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio has been fined $100,000 by the team for his comments about protests in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd and the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Coach Ron Rivera announced the fine in a statement after meeting with Del Rio earlier in the day. He said Del Rio’s statements were hurtful to members of the local community and did not reflect the views of the organization.
Asked Wednesday about a social media post he made earlier in the week, Del Rio downplayed the deadly insurrection and questioned why the protests in the summer of 2020 after Floyd’s death were not receiving the same scrutiny. Del Rio called the Jan. 6, 2021, riot “a dust-up at the Capitol,” which he later apologized for.
Rivera said he feels strongly after their conversation that Del Rio “will have a greater understanding for the impact of his language and the values that our team stands for.” He said the money will be donated to the United States Capitol Police Memorial Fund.
BASEBALL
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Rhys Hoskins hit a pair of solo home runs and Kyle Schwarber added a three-run shot to lead the red-hot Philadelphia Phillies to their eighth straight win, 7-5 over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Phillies returned home from a three-game sweep of Milwaukee and mashed and bashed again against the Diamondbacks. The Phillies are a sterling 7-0 under interim manager Rob Thomson.
With Bryce Harper leading the charge, the Phillies are poised to make a summer run at an NL wild-card spot as they enter the softest spot of their schedule. The Phillies opened a six-game homestand against the sub-.500 Diamondbacks and Marlins. Then come four games at Washington (only the Reds are worse in the NL) and two games at Texas.
That’s 13 straight games against teams with losing records until June 23 against San Diego.
NEW YORK (AP) — Pinch-hitter Jose Trevino finally broke a stalemate in the 13th inning with a game-winning single that gave the New York Yankees a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
Gleyber Torres homered for New York in the fourth, but neither team managed a hit in extra innings until Trevino came off the bench and delivered with two outs and runners at second and third.
Batting for fellow catcher Kyle Higashioka, Trevino lined a 1-1 pitch from Alec Mills (0-1) over shortstop to give the major league-leading Yankees (42-16) their ninth victory in 10 games.
Jason Heyward hit his first home run this season for the Cubs, making their first visit to Yankee Stadium since April 2014. Chicago (23-34) dropped its fourth straight.
The teams matched Tampa Bay and Baltimore on May 20 for the longest game in the majors this season by innings.
SOCCER
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Jesús Ferreira tied the United States’ international record with four goals and the Americans beat Grenada 5-0 on Friday night in a World Cup sendoff, a CONCACAF Nations League match 164 days before their opener in Qatar.
After an array of misfires, Ferreira put the U.S. ahead in the 43rd minute, then added goals in the 54th, 56th and 78th to give him seven in 12 international matches. His four goals matched Landon Donovan (2003), Joe-Max Moore (1993), Buff Donelli (1934) and Archie Stark (1925).
Paul Arriola added a goal in the 62nd as the Americans stretched their home unbeaten streak to 26 games since a September 2019 loss to Mexico, matching the team record set from 2013-15.
GOLF
ST. ALBANS, England (AP) — Former U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau became the latest big name to sign on with the Saudi-funded breakaway series LIV Golf, and Charl Schwartzel remained on course to win the maximum prize of $4.75 million at its inaugural event outside London.
That kind of big money has already convinced a long line of leading golfers — although none from the top 10 so far — to accept offers from the series bankrolled by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund. DeChambeau is yet to explain why he made an about-turn to join that list, having previously said he would continue playing on the PGA Tour.
The PGA Tour announced Thursday that players who defect to the renegade series will face banishment from future tour events.
DeChambeau will be joining a series that already features Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson, who are also among the golfers to have spent the week facing questions about the decision to sign up given Saudi Arabia’s human rights violations.
On the course, Schwartzel shot a 4-under 66 to take a three-shot lead over fellow South African Hennie Du Plessis in the fight for the $4 million individual first prize at the 54-hole event, which will be decided on Saturday. Both players are on the Stinger team which is leading the way to share a $3 million purse for the best four-man team.
TORONTO (AP) — Wyndham Clark closed with an unlikely par save to take a one-stroke lead over defending champion Rory McIlroy and four other players into the weekend in the RBC Canadian Open.
After bogeying Nos. 15 and 16 in windy conditions at St. George’s, Clark got up-and-down from about 50 feet from a semi-plugged lie on the downslope in a greenside bunker on the par-4 18th. He was 7 under after an even-par 70.
McIlroy (68) was tied with Matt Fitzpatrick (70), Alex Smalley (67), Keith Mitchell (67) and Jim Knous (67). McIlroy had to wait three years to defend his 2019 title because of the COVID-19 pandemic that canceled golf’s fourth-oldest championship the last two years.
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — Australian rookie Stephanie Kyriacou shot a 6-under 65 to take the first-round lead in the ShopRite LPGA Classic at Seaview Hotel and Golf Club.
The 21-year-old Kyriacou, a two-time winner on the Ladies European Tour, teed off at 7:15 a.m. in the first group of the day off No. 1 on the Bay Course, before the tricky wind began to blow off Reeds Bay. At 6,197 yards, the course is among the shortest on tour, but the stiff breeze and small, undulating greens help provide a stiff challenge.
Sweden’s Frida Kinhult was a stroke back. Top-ranked Jin Young Ko was at 67 with Brooke Henderson, Dottie Ardina and New Jersey player Marina Alex. Alex won the Palos Verdes Championship in early May in California for her second tour title.
Twenty-time LPGA Tour winner Cristie Kerr and former local teaching pro Meaghan Francella were in the group at 68.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Steve Flesch shot a 7-under 65 to take the first-round lead in the PGA Tour Champions’ American Family Insurance Championship.
Flesch chipped in for eagle on the par-5 11th and had six birdies and a bogey at University Ridge.
The 55-year-old left-hander won the Mitsubishi Electric Classic a month ago in Georgia for his second victory on the 50-and-over tour after winning four times on the PGA Tour. He also won the Georgia event in 2018.
Miguel Angel Jimenez and Colin Montgomerie were a stroke back. Jimenez tied for second last year behind hometown favorite Jerry Kelly.