Warriors’ Curry may miss Game 2OAKLAND, Calif. — The Golden State Warriors are preparing to play without NBA MVP Stephen Curry for Game 2 of their playoff series against Houston as he nurses an ankle injury.Even if they know he will beg and plead to play through any pain. As long as he can’t make it worse, Curry insists it will be hard to keep him off the court Monday night.Coach Steve Kerr called Curry’s status questionable again Sunday, when the point guard didn’t practice a day after hurting his right ankle late in the first half of a 104-78 win over the Rockets in the playoff opener.

Celtics’ Bradley likely lost for series,/b>ATLANTA — The Boston Celtics will likely be without their best perimeter defender for the rest of the opening-round playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks.Guard Avery Bradley sustained a severely sprained right hamstring in the fourth quarter of a Game 1 loss.Before the Celtics practiced Sunday at Georgia Tech, coach Brad Stevens announced that Bradley was out for Game 2 and probably won’t return in the best-of-seven series. Bradley remained at the team hotel, undergoing treatment.Nets hire Atkinson as new head coachNEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets hired Atlanta assistant Kenny Atkinson as their new coach on Sunday, though he won’t be taking over until the Hawks’ season ends.Atkinson spent the last four seasons in Atlanta, with the Hawks making the playoffs each year. Before that, he was an assistant with the New York Knicks for four seasons.The Nets fired second-year coach Lionel Hollins in January with the team off to a 10-27 start. Under interim coach Tony Brown, Brooklyn went on to finish 21-61 — its worst showing since the 2009-10 season and the second-worst mark in the Eastern Conference.Rodriguez homer keys historic winNEW YORK — Alex Rodriguez, dropped three spots to sixth in the batting order, hit a two-run homer that snapped his hitless skid and sent the New York Yankees past the Seattle Mariners 4-3 on Sunday, ending their four-game losing streak.Masahiro Tanaka topped old pal Hisashi Iwakuma in the first major league pitching matchup of former Japanese teammates, a game that was broadcast live on television back home — at 2 a.m. in Tokyo.Tanaka (1-0) yielded three runs — two earned — and six hits in seven efficient innings. He struck out six and walked none, improving to 4-0 in four career starts against Seattle. Iwakuma (0-2), teammates with Tanaka from 2007-11 with Rakuten in Japan, was charged with four runs and eight hits in seven innings.Nadal claims 9th Monte Carlo titleMONACO — Rafael Nadal overcame a sloppy performance on his serve to beat Frenchman Gael Monfils 7-5, 5-7, 6-0 on Sunday and win the Monte Carlo Masters for the ninth time.This was the Spaniard’s first tournament win in Monte Carlo since winning the last of his eight straight titles there in 2012. It is also the record-equaling 28th Masters title for Nadal, bringing him alongside top-ranked Novak Djokovic.