AP Tuesday Sports Roundup

NBA-SCHEDULE

Nets beat NBA leaders

UNDATED (AP) — The Brooklyn Nets have gained control of the final playoff slot in the NBA's Eastern Conference by beating the league's top team.

Brooklyn blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter before Jarrett Jack drained a tiebreaking jumper with 1.1 seconds left to give the Nets a 110-108 triumph over Golden State. Brook Lopez had 26 points and Deron Williams 22 to help the Nets earn their first home win since Feb. 6.

Brooklyn is a half-game ahead of Charlotte and Indiana, and a half-game behind seventh-place Miami in the East.

Stephen Curry led the Warriors' comeback, scoring 18 of his 26 points in the final period. But Klay Thompson shot just 3-for-17 from the field and 1-of-9 from three-point range as Golden State dropped to 46-12, still tops in the NBA.

Also in the NBA:

— Tyler Johnson scored a career-high 26 points and Goran Dragic added 21 against his former team to send Miami past Phoenix 115-98. Hassan Whiteside finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds before getting in a third quarter that featured five player technicals, three ejections and two flagrant fouls assessed.

— The Los Angeles Clippers won for the seventh time in nine games by holding the Timberwolves to one field goal in the fourth quarter of a 110-105 triumph at Minnesota. Chris Paul had 26 points and 14 assists for the Clippers, while DeAndre Jordan contributed 12 points and 18 rebounds.

— Richard Jefferson scored seven of his 16 points during a 16-0 Dallas run early in the third quarter in a 102-93 win against New Orleans. Monta Ellis had a team-high 20 points, and Rajon Rondo scored 15 of his 19 in the first half.

— Toronto's five-game losing streak is over after DeMar DeRozan scored a season-high 35 points and Lou Williams had 21 in the Raptors' 114-103 win at Philadelphia. Raptors coach Dwane Casey gave slumping All-Star and Philadelphia native Kyle Lowry another night off to rest.

NBA SUSPENSION-HARDEN

Harden suspended

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA has suspended Houston star James Harden one game without pay for kicking LeBron James in the groin during yesterday's game. The All-Stars and Olympic teammates made contact during the third quarter, causing Harden to hit the court before he kicked his foot up into James. Harden will miss Tuesday's game against Atlanta.

NBA-BULLS-BUTLER

Butler out 3-6 weeks

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bulls say All-Star guard Jimmy Butler will miss three to six weeks because of a sprained ligament in his left elbow. Butler joins fellow starting guard Derrick Rose on the sidelines after leading the team in scoring at 20.2 points a game. Tony Snell figures to start in Butler's place.

TOP 25 MEN'S BASKETBALL-SCHEDULE

Cavs clinch ACC crown

UNDATED (AP) — Second-ranked Virginia has wrapped up its second straight ACC regular-season title.

Anthony Gill scored 17 points and the Cavaliers improved to 16-1 in the conference by silencing Syracuse 59-47. The Cavs trailed by 11 in the first half before heading into intermission with a three-point lead.

Mike Tobey, Malcolm Brogdon, and London Perrantes each had 10 points for Virginia, which is 28-1 overall this season.

Also in top-25 men's basketball:

— Texas bolstered its fading NCAA tournament hopes by beating No. 14 Baylor 61-59 on Isaiah Taylor's shot in the lane with 4.8 seconds left. Demarcus Holland had 12 points as the Longhorns ended a four-game skid and snapped the Bears' four-game winning streak.

— Iowa State won a matchup of ranked teams as Georges Niang provided 20 of his 23 points in the second half to lead the 17th-ranked Cyclones past No. 15 Oklahoma, 77-70. Monte Morris had 19 points and helped Iowa State storm back from a 21-point deficit to end a two-game losing streak.

T25 BASKETBALL-POLLS

No change at the top of the AP men's poll

UNDATED (AP) — Kentucky and Virginia remain 1-2 in the new Associated Press men's basketball poll. The Wildcats received all 65 first-place votes again as they continue their march toward an undefeated season with a record of 29-0. The Cavaliers upped their record to 27-1.

Gonzaga fell from third to seventh after suffering its second loss in 31 games. The new No. 3 is Duke, followed by Villanova and Arizona.

Completing the second ten are Wisconsin, Gonzaga, Wichita State, Kansas and Maryland.

Connecticut remains the top team in the AP women's poll. The Huskies once again got all 35 first place votes to top Notre Dame, South Carolina, Maryland and Tennessee.

NFL-FRANCHISE TAGS

Last day for teams to tag players

UNDATED (AP) — This was the final day for NFL teams to designate franchise or transition players.

Among those getting the franchise tag on Monday are Dallas receiver Dez Bryant, Kansas City linebacker Justin Houston, New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul and kicker Stephen Gostkowski.

Denver receiver Demaryius Thomas also received the franchise tag, but a report on the Detroit Lions website says the team has declined to place its franchise designation on defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.

Teams had two weeks to use the franchise tag to avoid having a player hit the free agent market. The tag is for one year and guarantees the player a salary based on the five-year average cap percentage for the tag at every position.

NFL-SALARY CAP

An increase in the cap for 2015

NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL's salary cap is going up $10 million to $143.28 million for the 2015 season. This marks the second straight season that the cap went up by at least $10 million. Adding in benefits, the league says the projected player costs will be $180.775 million per team.

The salary cap is determined by a series of NFL revenue streams, with the players receiving 46 percent to 48 percent of those revenues, depending on the year.

NFL-TITANS-POLLARD

Source: Pollard to be released

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A person familiar with the decision says the Tennessee Titans have informed nine-year veteran safety Bernard Pollard he will be released. The 30-year-old Pollard suffered a season-ending Achilles injury that limited him to five games last season.

NHL-SCHEDULE

Zuccarello rewards Rangers after getting extension

UNDATED (AP) — The New York Rangers currently share first place with the Islanders in the NHL's Metropolitan Division after handing the Nashville Predators their season-high third straight loss.

Mats Zuccarello and Derrick Brassard assisted on each of the Rangers' first two goals in a 4-1 win over the Predators. Zuccarello was playing just hours after the team announced he had accepted a four-year, $18 million contract extension.

Chris Kreider scored the game-winner and Rick Nash notched his team-high 38th goal as the Rangers improved to 12-2-2 in their last 16 games.

The Predators remain four points ahead of second-place St. Louis in the Central Division.

Elsewhere in the NHL:

— Jonathan Toews scored Chicago's first two goals before notching an assist in a 5-2 triumph over Carolina. Toews had a short-handed goal 44 seconds into the second period before Brandon Saad and Marcus Kruger beat Cam Ward to make it 4-0 by the end of the period. The Blackhawks are eight points behind the Central Division-leading Predators after winning for the third time in four games.

— San Jose picked up a huge victory as Ben Smith and Joe Pavelski each had a goal and an assist in a 4-0 shutout of Montreal. Alex Stalock stopped 20 shots in his second shutout of the season to help the Sharks pull within three points of Minnesota for the final Western Conference playoff berth. The Canadiens still lead the Atlantic Division by five points over Tampa Bay.

NHL-TRADE DEADLINE

NHL GMs busy at trade deadline

UNDATED (AP) — Monday's NHL trade deadline led to 24 deals involving 43 players and a host of draft picks.

The Montreal Canadiens acquired defenseman Jeff Petry from the Edmonton Oilers for draft picks. The Habs also picked up forwards Brian Flynn and Torey Mitchell from Buffalo in separate deals.

Anaheim made four trades. The most significant involved Columbus, in which the Ducks acquired high-scoring defenseman James Wisniewski and a 2015 third-round pick for forwards Rene Bourque, Williams Karlsson and a 2015 second-round pick. Anaheim also received blueliner Simon Despres from Pittsburgh for defenseman Ben Lovejoy.

St. Louis has acquired forward Olli Jokinen from Toronto for forward Joakim Lindstrom and a conditional sixth-round draft pick in 2016. The Blues also picked up defenseman Zbynek Michalek and a conditional third-round draft pick from Arizona for prospect Maxim Letunov.

The New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres have swapped goalies, with the Isles acquiring Michal Neuvirth for Chad Johnson and a 2016 third-round pick. The Islanders also picked up forward Tyler Kennedy from San Jose for a draft pick.

Pittsburgh gets defenseman Ian Cole from the Blues for defenseman Robert Bortuzzo and a seventh-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.

Boston acquired forwards Maxime Talbot and Paul Carey from Colorado, forward Brett Connolly from Tampa Bay and forward Zack Phillips from Minnesota. Boston sent forward Jordan Caron and the Bruins' sixth-round pick next year to the Avalanche. The Lightning will get the Bruins' second-round picks this year and next, and the Wild received forward Jared Knight.

Defenseman Marek Zidlicky has been traded by New Jersey to the Red Wings for a conditional draft pick.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have dealt veteran defenseman Jordan Leopold to the Minnesota Wild for defenseman Justin Falk and a fifth-round pick in the 2015 draft.

MLB-TRAINING CAMPS

Kershaw gets opening day start

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — National League MVP and Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw will start for the Dodgers on opening day April 6 against San Diego. The fifth straight opening day assignment for the left-hander comes after he went 21-3 with a 1.77 ERA last season.

Elsewhere around the majors:

— The Arizona Diamondbacks will wear a black patch with "KAYLA" on it in spring training games this week in memory of Kayla Mueller. She's the 26-year old Arizona humanitarian worker who died while in captivity in Syria.

GOLF-HONDA CLASSIC

Harrington wins in playoff

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Padraig Harrington has captured his first PGA Tour title in more than six years, winning the Honda Classic on the second playoff hole. Harrington bested 21-year old rookie Daniel Berger, who hit his tee shot into the water to take a double bogey on the final hole. Severe weather wiped out most third round play on Saturday forcing the tournament to finish a day late.

NASCAR-Kurt Busch

Busch sets stage for return

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kurt Busch has agreed to follow NASCAR's recommended guidelines to be eligible for eventual reinstatement. The 2004 champion was indefinitely suspended Feb. 20 after a Delaware judge said he believed Busch likely committed an act of domestic violence against an ex-girlfriend and that there was a "substantial likelihood" of him doing it again.

Busch lost two rounds of appeals to be reinstated before the season-opening Daytona 500, and has missed the first two races of the season. The specific guidelines Busch must follow have not been disclosed.

AIR BILLIONAIRE

Jordan joins select group

NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Jordan has joined the annual Forbes magazine list of the world's billionaires. The magazine pegged Jordan's net worth at an estimated $1 billion, thanks to his well-timed investment in the NBA's Charlotte Hornets. The 52-year-old Hall of Fame player who won six NBA championships, reached billionaire status last June, according to Forbes.