Last Update on May 23, 2013 07:52 GMT

NBA PLAYOFFS

MIAMI (AP) -- It was an MVP performance by the NBA's top player.

LeBron James hit a layup as time expired in overtime to lift the Miami Heat past the Indiana Pacers 103-102 in Game 1 of the NBA's Eastern Conference finals. The Heat led 101-99 until Paul George hit three free throws with 2.2 remaining in overtime. James bailed out the Heat by driving down the left side of the lane and providing the game's 17th and final lead change.

James finished with his ninth postseason triple-double, delivering 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. The Heat also received solid production from Chris Anderson, who came off the bench to added 16 points on 7-of-7 shooting.Dwyane (dwayn) Wade chipped in 19 points, six rebounds and five assists before fouling out.

The Pacers' starting forwards accounted for 72 points. George was high man for the Pacers with 27 points, David West finished with 26 and Roy Hibbert had 19 and nine rebounds.

Game 2 is Friday at Miami.

NHL PLAYOFFS

OTTAWA (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Penguins are a win away from a berth in the NHL's Eastern Conference finals.

The Penguins scored five straight goals over the second and third periods to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 7-3 rout of the Senators in Ottawa. Chris Kunitz (KOO'-nihts) and Jarome Iginla (ih-GIHN'-luh) scored 40 seconds apart during the first two minutes of the second period to put Pittsburgh ahead 3-2. Pascal Dupuis (doo-PWEE'), Sidney Crosby and Iginla later tallied during a 1:44 span of the third period to make it 7-2 with 10:07 remaining.

Neal and Iginla each finished with two goals and an assist, while Kris Letang (leh-TANG') set up four goals.

Tomas Vokoun (voh-KOON') stopped 31 shots for the Penguins, who can wrap up the series at home on Friday.

NHL-CANUCKS-VIGNEAULT

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- The Vancouver Canucks have fired head coach Alain Vigneault (VEEN'-yoh) and assistants Rick Bowness and Newell Browne following the team's quick exit in the NHL's Western Conference quarterfinals. The Canucks won the Northwest Division title but were swept by the Sharks in the opening round. Vigneault is the club's all-time leader in coaching victories, going 313-170-57 with six division crowns, two Presidents' trophies and a trip to the 2011 Stanley Cup finals.

MLB-SCHEDULE

UNDATED (AP) -- Don Mattingly teed off on his players Wednesday morning, just before his players teed off on the Milwaukee Brewers.

Don Mattingly publicly discussed his club's lack of mental toughness and said he wanted a balanced team that has grit and fight. He benched All-Star outfielder Andre Ethier (EE'-thee-ur) for the third time in six games and said he was "putting out my lineup that I feel is going to be the most competitive and going to compete the hardest." The comments came with the Dodgers mired in the NL West basement at 19-26.

Mattingly's club responded by scoring seven runs over the first three innings of a 9-2 rout of Milwaukee. Carl Crawford and Scott Van Slyke drove in two runs each and Ramon Hernandez hit his first home run with the Dodgers.

Also in the majors, Evan Gattis (GAT'-his) launched a grand slam and Atlanta picked up its sixth consecutive win by whipping Minnesota 8-3. B.J. Upton and Ramiro Pena also went deep as the Braves dealt the Twins their eighth straight loss.

Colorado has grabbed a piece of the NL West lead by taking the rubber match of its series with Arizona, beating the visiting Diamondbacks 4-1. Carlos Gonzalez hit a solo homer and an RBI triple to help Jorge De La Rosa improve to 8-0 lifetime against the Diamondbacks at Coors Field.

San Francisco dropped into a first-place tie by failing to complete a three-game sweep of Washington, losing 2-1 in 10 innings. Bryce Harper hit a solo homer in the sixth and scored the winning run on Ian Desmond's RBI single.

Tyler Lyons was outstanding in his major league debut, surrendering only one run and four hits in seven innings to pitch St. Louis past San Diego 5-3. Lyons had a three-hit shutout until Jedd Gyorko (JUR'-koh) led off the bottom of the seventh with a homer.

Brandon Phillips provided the tiebreaking, RBI double while Cincinnati was scoring three times in the ninth to beat the Mets 7-4 and complete a three-game sweep. Phillips had a pair of RBIs, Joey Votto (VAH'-toh) belted a two-run homer and Zach Cozart went 4-for-5 with two runs scored in the Reds' 10th win in 12 games.

Pittsburgh won for the 10th time in 12 games as Francisco Liriano gave up just two hits in seven innings of a 1-0 shutout of the Chicago Cubs. Andrew McCutchen doubled twice and scored the game's only run on a single by Garrett Jones in the first.

Cliff Lee tossed a three-hitter and Delmon Young homered for the second straight day in Philadelphia's 3-0 victory at Miami. It was Lee's 12th career shutout and first since Sept. 5, 2011.

Miguel Cabrera continued his torrid start by going 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and three RBIs in Detroit's 11-7 win at Cleveland. Cabrera has 13 homers and leads the majors with a .387 average and 52 RBIs.

Texas used first inning homers by David Murphy and Adrian Beltre (BEHL'-tray) for a 3-1 win over Oakland. Thirty-year old Ross Wolf picked up the win in his first major league start, allowing a run and three hits in five-plus innings.

Chris Davis socked his league-leading 14th homer and Matt Wieters (WEE'-turz) added a three-run shot as Baltimore doubled up the New York Yankees 6-3 in the rubber match of the series. Nick Markakis (mahr-KAY'-kihs) also homered for the Birds, who've won two straight since a six-game skid.

Clay Buchholz is 7-0 after holding the White Sox to a run and five hits in seven innings of Boston's 6-2 victory at Chicago. David Ortiz and Daniel Nava (NAH'-vah) poke two-run singles as the Red Sox win for the sixth time in eight games.

C.J. Wilson struck out 10 while allowing a run and six hits in eight innings of the Angels' 7-1 win over Seattle. Josh Hamilton hit a two-run single and Alberto Callaspo (ky-AS'-poh) had two RBIs as Los Angeles sent the Mariners to their season-high sixth straight loss.

Toronto rode Jose Bautista's bat to a 4-3, 10-inning win over Tampa Bay. Bautista was 4-for-4 with two homers and four RBIs, including the walk-off single.

J.D. Martinez hit a two-run homer off James Shields before Houston completed a 3-1 win against Kansas City. Jordan Lyles allowed a run and six hits in six innings to help the Astros win a series for only the fourth time this year.

MLB-BREWERS

UNDATED (AP) -- The New York Yankees have suffered another injury to a key player.

Pitcher Hiroki Kuroda (hih-ROH'-kee kuh-ROH'-dah) suffered a bruised left calf when struck in the leg by a line drive off the bat of Manny Machado in the second inning. Kuroda tried to pitch through the pain before coming out in the third inning.

Kuroda was tagged for five runs and eight hits in two-plus innings.

In other major league news, Cardinals hurler Jaime (HY'-may) Garcia is expected to miss the rest of the season following surgery to repair tears in his rotator cuff and labrum. Garcia is 5-2 with a 3.58 ERA in nine starts this year.

Right-hander Kyle Lohse (lohsh) will miss his next scheduled turn in the Milwaukee Brewers' rotation because of irritation in his pitching elbow. Lohse signed a $33 million, three-year contract with Milwaukee a week before opening day and is 1-5 with a 3.76 ERA.

Third baseman Trevor Plouffe (ploof) has been placed on the seven-day disabled list by the Twins with a concussion. He was struck in the head by Dan Uggla's shin while breaking up an attempted double play Tuesday in a game with Atlanta.

Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley is scheduled for an MRI on his sore ribcage on Thursday. Utley was scratched from the Phillies' 7-3 win against the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night and wasn't in Wednesday's lineup. He is hitting .272 with seven homers and 25 RBIs.

NFL-URLACHER

CHICAGO (AP) -- Former Associated Press defensive player of the year Brian Urlacher (UR'-lah-kur) says he's retiring after spending 13 seasons with the Chicago Bears.

Urlacher started 180 games from 2000 through 2012, and recorded a team-record 1,779 tackles. He has 41 1/2 sacks, 22 interceptions, 16 fumble recoveries and 11 forced fumbles.

The eight-time Pro Bowl selection was the AP's defensive player of the year in 2005 and helped lead the 2006 team to the Super Bowl.

He became a free agent after failing to work out a new contract with the Bears in March.

NFL-49ERS-CRABTREE

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- San Francisco 49ers leading wide receiver Michael Crabtree has had surgery to repair a torn right Achilles tendon. Crabtree had the surgery a day after suffering the injury during an organized team activity.

Coach Jim Harbaugh would not speculate when Crabtree might return to play, but indicated that the surgery was not expected to be season ending.

The 25-year-old Crabtree had career highs last season with 85 receptions for 1,105 yards and nine touchdowns for the NFC champion Niners.

NFL-JETS-GOODSON

MORRISTOWN, N.J. (AP) -- New York Jets running back Mike Goodson has pleaded not guilty to drug and weapons charges in New Jersey. He was arrested early last Friday along with a friend after they were found in a car stopped on Interstate 80. The men were charged with marijuana possession, possession of drug paraphernalia and weapons offenses stemming from a 45-caliber semi-automatic handgun that included a hollow-point bullet found in the vehicle.

OLYMPICS

UNDATED (AP) -- It looks like Mike Krzyzewski (shuh-SHEF'-skee) wants more gold.

A person with knowledge of the decision says the Duke coach has agreed to return as U.S. men's Olympic basketball coach for the 2016 Olympics.

Krzyzewski was originally expected to step down but instead will attempt to lead the Americans to a third straight gold medal, the person tells The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no official announcement has been made.

The Hall of Fame coach has led the Americans since 2005, winning gold at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, and the 2010 world basketball championship.

FRENCH OPEN

PARIS (AP) -- Americans Brian Baker and Mardy Fish have pulled out of the upcoming French Open. Organizers say that Baker has not recovered from a right knee operation and Fish is unfit because of heart problems. Seventh-ranked Juan Martin del Potro (wahn mar-TEEN' dehl POHT'-roh) of Argentina has pulled out as well because of a respiratory virus.

U.S. Open champion Andy Murray pulled out Tuesday because of a chronic back injury.

GOLF

UNDATED (AP) -- Sergio Garcia apologized to Tiger Woods for saying he would serve fried chicken if they were to have dinner at the U.S. Open, an ugly addition to nearly two weeks of verbal sparring.

The flap is the latest dust-up between the two golfers who verbally sparred during The Players Championship two weeks ago. Garcia made the remark at a European golf celebration in England yesterday. The Spanish golfer says he feels sick about it.

Woods took to Twitter to say the comment wasn't silly, rather it was wrong and hurtful. He says he's confident there is "real regret" about the comment as made.