TOP PICK: Brittney Griner, shakes hands with WNBA President Laurel Richie after the Phoenix Mercury selected Griner as the No. 1 pick in last night’s WNBA Draft. (AP)
WNBA: Liberty draft Texas A&M star
The Liberty and new coach Bill Laimbeer took Texas A&M’s Kelsey Bone with the fifth pick in last night’s WNBA Draft, and then two picks later drafted Oklahoma State’s Toni Young.
Brittney Griner of Baylor was chosen by the Phoenix Mercury as the No. 1 pick. Chicago took Delaware’s Elena Delle Donne with the No. 2 pick. Tulsa took Notre Dame guard Skylar Diggins with the third pick.
St. John’s had two players chosen — point guard Nadirah McKenith by Washington in the second round and wing Shenneika Smith, who was chosen by the Liberty in the third round. To acquire the pick to draft Smith, the Liberty traded backup center Quanitra Hollingsworth to Washington.
NBA: Thunder clinch West’s top seed
Kevin Durant scored 29 points, Russell Westbrook had 21 before getting ejected in the final three minutes and the Thunder clinched the top seed in the Western Conference s by beating the Kings 104-95.
Westbrook was ejected after drawing his second technical of the game after spiking the basketball following a Travis Outlaw dunk. The two technical fouls brought Westbrook’s total to 15 for the season, one short of the number that would draw him an automatic one-game suspension.
Al Jefferson had 22 points as the Jazz kept their playoff hopes alive with a 96-80 victory over the Timberwolves. The Jazz need to win at Memphis tomorrow night and for the Lakers to lose at home against the Rockets to get into the playoffs. Utah owns the tiebreaker over the Lakers.
Carlos Boozer scored 22 points as the Bulls snapped a two-game skid with a 102-84 victory over the Magic. The win keeps alive Chicago’s hopes of catching the Hawks for the fifth seed in the East.
The 76ers and Doug Collins are trying to resolve their relationship after the coach told them he would not return for a fourth season, sources said. Collins told the Sixers on Sunday he would not return next season.
Nerlens Noel, Kentucky’s All-American freshman forward recovering from a torn ACL, said he is entering theNBA Draft.
MLB: No surgery for Reyes
Blue Jays shortstop Jose Reyes won’t need surgery on his sprained left ankle, but is still expected to miss three months, general manager Alex Anthopoulos said.
**** J.P. Arencibia and Maicer Izturis hit solo homers as the Blue Jays topped the White Sox 4-3 . … Jordan Zimmermann pitched a six-hitter for his third victory of the season as the Nationals beat the Marlins, 10-3. … Joe Mauer had a home run among his four hits and drove in three runs for the Twins in an 8-2 victory over the Angels … Brandon Phillips drove in a pair of runs with a bases-loaded single in the eighth inning as the Reds ended their five-game losing streak by beating the Phillies 4-2.