Detroit Lions coach Matt Patricia maintained his innocence and his new team said it supported him after a 1996 sexual assault allegation resurfaced.

The Detroit News reported that Patricia and a friend of his were indicted 22 years ago by a Texas grand jury Tyron Smith Jersey Womens , on one count each of aggravated sexual assault for an alleged incident involving a woman on South Padre Island. The accuser did not testify and the case was dismissed 10 months later.

The Lions hired Patricia after last season to replace Jim Caldwell as coach. He had previously been an assistant with the New England Patriots.

The Lions said a ¡±standard pre-employment background check¡± did not turn up the incident. But the team said it was standing by Patricia.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) ¨C The Philadelphia Eagles have signed running back Matt Jones to a two-year contract and also agreed to terms on four-year deals with all five of their draft picks.

Jones was a third-round pick by the Washington Redskins in 2015. He had 950 yards rushing and six touchdowns while averaging 3.9 yards per carry in two seasons with the Redskins. He played for the Colts in 2017 and only carried five times. After Indianapolis selected two running backs in the draft, Jones was cut on May 1.

Jones will get a chance to earn a roster spot with the Super Bowl champions in a crowded backfield that includes Jay Ajayi, veteran Darren Sproles and Corey Clement.

NBA

BOSTON (AP) ¨C Jayson Tatum caught a pass underneath the basket, shook off a hit and went up for the go-ahead layup with 23 seconds left and the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 114-112 to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.

Tatum scored 25 points, Jaylen Brown had 24 and Terry Rozier 17, sinking a pair of free throws after forcing Joel Embiid¡¯s turnover in the final seconds. Al Horford added 15 points and eight rebounds for Boston, which will play Cleveland for the second straight year for a spot in the NBA finals.

Game 1 is Sunday in Boston.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) ¨C Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George has had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

The procedure was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles.

George is expected to returning to normal offseason activities in six to eight weeks. He averaged 21.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.04 steals and 36.6 minutes in 79 games this season, his first with the Thunder.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) ¨C The Sacramento Kings have promoted Peja Stojakovic to assistant general manager.

General manager Vlade Divac announced the move to put Stojakovic in a role where he will assist in management of player development Youth Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jerseys , talent evaluation and oversight of the team¡¯s G League affiliate.

Stojakovic spent the past three seasons as an executive with the Kings. He most recently served as vice president of basketball and team development.

Stojakovic was an All-Star three times in seven-plus seasons as a player in Sacramento. He also played for Indiana, New Orleans, Toronto and Dallas in his 13-year career. He was a reserve on the Mavericks¡® championship team in 2011.

NEW YORK (AP) ¨C The Toronto Raptors¡® Dwane Casey was the NBA¡¯s best coach this season, according to his fellow NBA coaches.

Casey was announced as the coach-of-the-year selection by the National Basketball Coaches Association. The award, named for longtime NBCA executive director Michael H. Goldberg, is voted on only by the league¡¯s head coaches.

A media panel voted separately for the NBA¡¯s Coach of the Year award, which will be announced June 25.

BASEBALL

NEW YORK (AP) ¨C Brett Gardner capped a slump-busting performance with a go-ahead, two-run triple off Craig Kimbrel in the eighth inning, Aaron Judge followed with a homer and the New York Yankees rallied to beat the Boston Red Sox 9-6 for their 17th victory in 18 games.

Kimbrel entered with two on and one out to face Gardner seeking the first five-out save of his career. Gardner drilled a full-count pitch into left-center, well over the head of center fielder Mookie Betts, who was playing shallow. Neil Walker scored easily from third and rookie Gleyber Torres raced from first and slid past a lunging tag attempted by catcher Christian Vazquez.

Judge followed with his ninth homer of the season. He had three hits and three RBIs as New York won its eighth straight overall and 11th in a row at home.

Aroldis Chapman pitched the ninth for his ninth save as New York (26-10) broke a tie with Boston for first place in the AL East and has sole possession of the best record in the majors for the first time since July 27, 2012.

HOCKEY

CHARLOTTE Youth P.J. Hall Jersey , N.C. (AP) ¨C Alex Krushelnyski scored 6:48 into the fifth overtime period and Alex Lyon made 94 saves to lead the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to a 2-1 win over the Charlotte Checkers in the longest game in the American Hockey League¡¯s 82-year history.

The Phantoms, the top affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, took a 3-1 series lead in the Atlantic Division finals by outlasting the Carolina Hurricanes¡¯ farm team in a game that began shortly after 7 p.m. EDT Wednesday night and ended at 1:09 a.m. after more than seven periods and 146 minutes and 48 seconds of play.

The seemingly endless game surpassed the Philadelphia Phantoms¡¯ 3-2 win over the Albany River Rats that took 142:58 to decide in 2008.

¡ª Andrew Luck spent two straight offseasons contemplating how it would feel to play football again.

He¡¯ll find out Thursday night.

Coach Frank Reich announced Tuesday that Luck would start and could play most of the first quarter in the Indianapolis Colts¡® preseason opener at Seattle.

¡°I¡¯ll be excited and a little nervous,¡± Luck acknowledged after practice. ¡°There were one or two moments where I wondered if, ¡®Am I ever going to be able to do this again?'¡±

He wasn¡¯t the only one asking that question during a nearly 600-day wait between starts. And he¡¯s not the only one who will be nervous lining up against the Seahawks¡¯ traditionally strong defense.

Much has changed since Luck performed in a televised game.

There¡¯s a new general manager and a new coach in town. There¡¯s been another new offense installed and Luck is still trying to learn everybody¡¯s names. Even the once formidable offense has undergone a major revamp.

Rookie Quenton Nelson and free agent signee Matt Slauson have moved in as the new starting guards. Tight Eric Ebron and receiver Ryan Grant are promising new targets for Luck, who will be handing off to second-year running back Marlon Mack for the first time in a game Thursday.

Luck can¡¯t wait to see how it all works together ¡ª even if it takes an entire preseason to work out the kinks.

¡°Every day I feel a little bit better about my technique in those team drills,¡± he said. ¡°And also I feel better, I feel stronger, I feel more fit, I feel like my arm has a little more in it and a little more in it and a little more in it. I¡¯m certainly feeling more comfortable in the offense.¡±

That¡¯s all good news for Colts fans who cringed at the notion their bright, young star may never return to his pre-injury form following surgery.

But after looking understandably rusty at his first training camp practice, Luck has shown indications he is getting back to his old ways.

His passes seem crisper Josh Jackson Color Rush Jersey , he¡¯s more in sync with his receivers and he¡¯s been able to complete passes consistently through smaller and smaller windows. His final throw Sunday ¡ª a 45-yarder on the run across his body for a touchdown to T.Y. Hilton in a two-minute drill ¡ª reminded Reich just how close Luck is to being completely healthy.

¡°We¡¯re doing end of half situation or end of game situation and he¡¯s just bailing out of there, 100 mph and that¡¯s a tough throw to kind of turn and make that,¡± Reich said. ¡°That¡¯s definitely checking something off (the list).¡±

Luck figures It¡¯s about time.

He initially hurt the right shoulder in September 2015 against Tennessee, missed the next two games, then returned to make four more starts before sustaining a season-ending lacerated kidney.

Instead of opting for surgery immediately, Luck decided to rest the shoulder. When the pain persisted, he played through it ¡ª making 15 starts and turning in arguably his best season as a pro in 2016 before undergoing surgery.

Indy expected Luck to return last season, but he didn¡¯t start throwing till early October and was shut down two weeks later after complaining of more pain. He went on injured reserve in November and didn¡¯t resume throwing footballs again until May.

Luck ramped up his activity during summer workouts in California and finally began practicing with the starting offense for the first time in 18 months after arriving at training camp ¡ª albeit on a revised schedule that mimics his regular-season routine.

And now, finally, Luck appears ready to take the next big step in his recovery, even if he only plays a couple of series.

¡°Part of playing in a game is being able to go through a hurdle when something happens and something doesn¡¯t go right, and surviving in a sense and being able to check off that box in your mind  http://www.lionsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-da_shawn-hand- jersey ,¡± he said.

The question, of course, is how the shoulder will react under game conditions, especially when he takes his first hit.

It¡¯s an answer everyone, including Luck, wants to know. But for now, Luck will be content getting acclimated to playing on the big stage again.

¡°How will warmups feel? What does that feel like? How do you feel when you turn the ball over?¡± Luck said. ¡°What happens on third-and-long and it¡¯s loud and the headset goes out? What do you call? OK, boom, did we do that well? How would you change that? Checking those boxes off.¡±

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