INDIANAPOLIS - George Hill scored 26 points and Paul George added 18 points and 14 rebounds Tuesday night, leading the Indiana Pacers to a 93-82 victory over the New York Knicks and a 3-1 lead in the second-round series.

Indiana needs one more win to reach the conference finals for the first time since 2004. Game 5 will be Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

NBA scoring champ Carmelo Anthony fouled out with 24 points. J.R. Smith had 19 on another dreadful night for the Knicks.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Jonathan Quick made 35 saves in his sixth career playoff shutout, and the Los Angeles Kings opened their second-round series with a 2-0 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night.

Slava Voynov and Mike Richards each had a goal and an assist in the defending Stanley Cup champions' 11th straight victory at Staples Center since March.

ST. LOUIS - Carlos Beltran drove in four runs and rookie left-hander John Gast picked up a win in his major league debut, helping the St. Louis Cardinals cruise past the New York Mets 10-4 on Tuesday night.

Gast (1-0) tossed five shutout innings before giving up four runs in the sixth. He surrendered six hits, struck out three and walked one in a 71-pitch effort to help the Cardinals win for the fifth time in six games and 11th in their last 13.

A Seattle man trying to dribble a soccer ball 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometres) to Brazil in time for the 2014 World Cup died Tuesday after being hit by a pickup truck on the Oregon Coast.

Police in Lincoln City, Oregon, said 42-year-old Richard Swanson was hit at about 10 a.m. while walking south along U.S. Highway 101 near the city limits. He was declared dead at a local hospital. The driver has not been charged.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Ottawa Senators know there is little margin for error if they want to upset the Pittsburgh Penguins.

If they don't slow down Pittsburgh's potent power play, they'll have a difficult time against Sidney Crosby and the rest of the Penguins.

Paul Martin and Chris Kunitz scored power-play goals and Pascal Dupuis added his sixth goal of the playoffs and the Penguins beat the Senators 4-1 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Tuesday.

INDIANAPOLIS - The Indiana Pacers finally figured it out.

When given the chance to take command of a playoff series, they can't give it back. On Tuesday night, they didn't.

George Hill scored 26 points and Paul George had 18 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, leading the Pacers past the New York Knicks, 93-82 and to within one win of their first conference finals appearance since 2004.

LONDON - Wigan is going to be relegated to the League Championship, while Arsenal seemingly is heading back to the Champions League.

Drained after winning the FA Cup for the first time on Saturday, Wigan crashed back to earth with a 4-1 loss at Arsenal on Tuesday to be relegated after eight seasons in the Premier League.

LONDON - Wigan became the first team to be relegated and win the FA Cup in the same season as a 4-1 loss at Arsenal ended an eight-year stay in the Premier League on Tuesday.

Arsenal, meanwhile, is now primed to qualify for the Champions League for the 16th consecutive season after reclaiming fourth place and sitting a point above Tottenham with one match remaining.

FRISCO, Texas - Glen Gulutzan couldn't end the longest playoff drought in franchise history for the Dallas Stars and the second-year coach didn't hold the option on the remaining season in his contract.

When the general manager who hired him was dumped two weeks ago, Gulutzan's firing looked like the inevitable next step in an overhaul of the staff and it came Tuesday in an announcement from new general manager Jim Nill. He nevertheless said the move wasn't a foregone conclusion in his mind.

ALTOPIANO DEL MONTASIO, Italy - Colombian rider Rigoberto Uran won the first big mountain stage of the Giro d'Italia on Tuesday, and Vincenzo Nibali held onto the overall lead after the 10th leg.

Pre-race favourite Bradley Wiggins dropped further behind on the steep, uphill finish, while defending champion Ryder Hesjedal dropped out of contention on the first climb.