WARRIORS-TRAIL BLAZERS
Curry has 28 points and Warriors beat the Blazers 127-104
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 28 points, 23 in the third quarter alone, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Portland Trail Blazers 127-104 on Tuesday night to extend their early season winning streak to three games.
Ian Clark came off the bench with a career-high 22 points for the Warriors, who have rebounded after a season-opening loss to San Antonio. Kevin Durant added 20 points and Golden State rested its starters down the stretch after leading by as many as 35 points.
Damian Lillard had 31 points for the Blazers, who fell in five games to the Warriors in the Western Conference semifinals last season. Playing the first of a back-to-back, Portland coach Terry Stotts also went to his reserves with eight minutes left.
The Blazers beat the Warriors 137-105 in Portland last February, with Oakland native Lillard scoring a career-high 51 points against his hometown team. It was one of just nine losses for the Warriors. Lillard averaged 36.5 points against the Warriors last season.
Lillard scored with 0.3 seconds left to give the Blazers a 115-113 win at Denver on Saturday. He finished with 37 points.
Golden State was coming off a 106-100 victory over Phoenix on Sunday.
PLAYOFF RANKINGS
CFP Rankings: Texas A&M 4th behind ‘Bama, Clemson, Michigan
UNDATED (AP) — Texas A&M is ranked fourth behind Alabama, Clemson and Michigan in the season’s first College Football Playoff rankings.
The Aggies (7-1) are surprisingly a spot ahead of unbeaten Washington in the first of six selection committee rankings. The Crimson Tide (8-0), Tigers (8-0), Wolverines (8-0) and Huskies (8-0) are the only remaining undefeated teams from Power Five conferences and hold the top four spots in the latest Associated Press poll.
The 12-person committee, however, gave a nod to Texas A&M’s strength of schedule.
Ohio State Is sixth and Louisville Is seventh.
The final rankings will be released Dec. 4, with the top four teams moving on to the College Football Playoff semifinals on Dec. 31 at the Fiesta and Peach bowls.
Selection committee chairman Kirby Hocutt, Texas Tech’s athletic director who is now in the role that Arkansas AD Jeff Long held the firsts two seasons of the CFP, made it very clear that Texas A&M’s four victories against teams with winning records (Auburn, Arkansas, Tennessee and South Carolina — though it should be noted the Gamecocks are 4-4) provided the margin over Washington. The Huskies have two such victories.
Hocutt says there was a lengthy discussion about Washington and says they had a good win on the road against Utah but Texas A&M still has played a stronger schedule.
The good news is there is room for the Huskies to grow. Washington still has USC and Washington State on its schedule and a possible Pac-12 championship game, which could be against Utah (16th in the committee’s rankings), Colorado (15th) or USC, which would need a strong finish to get there. A big stretch run by Stanford would also help the Huskies.
Oregon being terrible is hurting the Huskies, who are getting little credit for pounding the Ducks. Another reason for Washington fans to hate Oregon.
Most important is this: The Huskies control their path to a Pac-12 championship and Texas A&M does not. The Aggies will need Alabama to lose at least a couple of times to reach the Southeastern Conference championship game.
The committee is told when considering similar teams to weigh conference championships like a tiebreaker.
If Washington wins out, the Huskies should be fine to get into the top four. If they win the Pac-12 but lose once along the way, it could get a little dicey for the Huskies when matched against an 11-1 A&M team that has lost only to Alabama.
Washington State is No. 25 while Boise State is 24th.
T25-WOMEN’S BKB POLL
Irish smiling: Notre Dame No. 1 in preseason AP women’s poll
UNDATED (AP) — Notre Dame is ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll for the first time in 15 years.
The Irish garnered 14 first place votes on Tuesday from a 33-member national media panel to earn the top ranking in the preseason poll. Notre Dame last held the No. 1 ranking on March 5, 2001. McGraw returns most of the core back from a team that went 33-2 last season.
Baylor was a close second, four points behind the Irish. The Lady Bears had 12 first place votes.
UConn, which has won 75 consecutive games and four straight national championships, was third. South Carolina and Louisville round out the top five teams.
National runner-up Syracuse was 14th while Final Four participants Washington and Oregon State were 17th and 25th.
ALLEN RETIRES
Ray Allen, the top 3-point shooter in NBA history, retires
MIAMI (AP) — Ray Allen announced his retirement from the NBA on Tuesday, ending a career that saw him make more 3-pointers than any player in league history and win championships with Boston and Miami.
Allen last played with the Heat in 2014. He entertained some ideas about coming back since, then announced his decision about stepping away in a post published on The Players Tribune .
In the post, Allen says he “is completely at peace with himself.”
Allen spent 18 seasons in the league with Milwaukee, Seattle, the Celtics and then the Heat. He made 2,973 3-pointers, 413 more than anyone else has to date, and averaged 18.9 points in 1,300 career games.
JETS-SPILLER
AP Source: Jets plan to sign C.J. Spiller, cut Knile Davis
NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Jets will sign running back C.J. Spiller and cut newly acquired running back Knile Davis, a person with direct knowledge of the team’s plans told The Associated Press.
Davis was claimed off waivers from the Green Bay Packers on Tuesday, but will be waived when the Jets sign Spiller on Wednesday, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced its plans.
The person told the AP that New York was in discussions earlier Tuesday to sign Spiller, but had not received a firm commitment. So, the Jets claimed Davis as insurance — a few hours before reaching an agreement with Spiller.
NFL Network first reported the Jets’ intentions to sign Spiller.
Spiller was released by Seattle last Wednesday after being signed on Sept. 28.
BAREFOOT MARATHONER-LAWSUIT
Lawsuit over use of barefoot marathoner’s name dismissed
SEATTLE (AP) — A federal judge says the maker of a popular line of minimalist running shoes is not liable for naming some of its models after Abebe Bikila, the legendary Ethiopian runner who won the 1960 Olympics marathon barefoot.
Bikila’s family sued Vibram, which makes foot-glove-style shoes, in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, Washington, early last year, seeking $15 million in damages. The family said the Concord, Massachusetts-based company didn’t have permission to use the Bikila name.
But Judge Ronald Leighton dismissed the case on Monday. He found that the family knew by 2011 that Vibram was using the name, yet didn’t file suit until 2015. The judge said it would have been unfair to Vibram to allow the lawsuit to go forward after such a delay.
Alex Trauman, a lawyer for the Bikilas, said the family is disappointed and considering an appeal.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
