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In Detroit Clark Harris Jersey , it would be an accomplishment if Casey can simply get the Pistons into the playoffs.

The Pistons hired the NBA coach of the year finalist Monday, hoping he can help the three-time NBA championship franchise regularly reach the postseason and eventually compete again for titles.

”Dwane is one of the most successful and highly respected coaches in our league,” Pistons owner Tom Gores said. ”He’s a great communicator and a leader who will connect with our players and accelerate their growth. Having spent many hours with Dwane over the last few weeks, I’m confident he is the right person to get us to the next level.”

A month after being fired by the Raptors , Casey agreed to a five-year deal to become head coach of the Pistons, two people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Monday. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the move, which was first reported by ESPN.

Casey led Toronto to a team-record 59 wins this year and helped the franchise earn the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time, a performance that won him coach of the year honors from his peers at the National Basketball Coaches Association. He had one year remaining on a three-year, $18 million dollar extension when he was fired shortly after Toronto was swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was 320-238 in seven seasons and is Toronto’s winningest coach.

The Pistons said Casey has already started work, including meetings with players, and will be introduced at a news conference next week.

Detroit had been looking for a coach for more than month since firing Stan Van Gundy , who was also its president of basketball operations. Michigan coach John Beilein was a finalist for the job before withdrawing his name from consideration last week and San Antonio Spurs assistant Ime Udoka also was a candidate.

”I’m confident that this team has the pieces in place to compete at a very high level,” Casey said. ”There is a lot of talent, a solid core and some exciting young players eager to get better. We’re getting to work right away on the things that will make us all successful.”

Casey certainly has work to do.

The Pistons have made the playoffs only once in nine years after advancing at least to the Eastern Conference finals six straight years, winning the 2004 NBA title and falling a victory short of repeating as champions in 2005. They do not appear to have much flexibility to make significant changes this offseason.

Detroit acquired Blake Griffin in a blockbuster trade this past season and that wasn’t enough to push Detroit into the playoffs. An injury to point guard Reggie Jackson derailed what looked like a promising season. If healthy, the Pistons do potentially have an intriguing nucleus with Griffin Gary Zimmerman Jersey , Jackson and Andre Drummond.

”In our meetings he displayed great insight into what this roster can accomplish, and great passion about our city and the team’s role in bringing people together,” Gores said. ”He’s an outstanding man with impressive character. He embodies our culture and will be a great representative for our franchise.”

The 61-year-old Casey is getting his third shot to lead an NBA team.

He coached the Minnesota Timberwolves for a little more than one season, going 53-69. He also has experience in the league as an assistant with Dallas and Seattle.

Casey, who is from Morganfield, Kentucky, played for the Wildcats and helped them win the 1978 NCAA title and began his coaching career the next year as a graduate assistant under Joe B. Hall. He later back to campus to work as an assistant for Eddie Sutton. He has five years of coaching experience in Japan and has spent time around the game in Europe.

Under Casey, the Raptors won four Atlantic Division titles and advanced to the playoffs in five consecutive seasons. But Toronto couldn’t get past Cleveland, losing to LeBron James and the Cavs in each of the past three playoffs, getting swept this year and last year.

Detroit moved into a new downtown arena last season, but with the exception of some brief success after trading for Griffin, the team didn’t create much buzz. The Pistons are still looking to hire someone to head basketball operation. They did bring in Ed Stefanski as a senior executive.

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AP Sports Writer Noah Trister contributed to this report.

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Patrick Reed is leading a major championship for the first time, and his confidence is so high that he can only see what’s ahead of him.

Reed started and finished the front nine with three straight birdies. He answered Marc Leishman’s bold shot for an eagle by polishing off another run of three straight birdies. It added to a 6-under 66 and a two-shot lead over Leishman going into the weekend at Augusta National.

Right behind them are five major champions – Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Henrik Stenson.

Nowhere near him are Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson Jake Butt Jersey , the two names that generated so much of the buzz for a Masters that otherwise is living up to expectations.

BASEBALL

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – Rookie sensation Shohei Ohtani is making himself at home in the Big A.

Ohtani hit a home run for the third straight game, Justin Upton hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the seventh inning and the Los Angeles Angels rallied from an early six-run defic it to beat the Oakland Athletics 13-9.

Ohtani, the two-way star from Japan, connected for a long, solo drive in the second inning against Daniel Gossett. The ball landed in the rocks beyond the center field wall after traveling 449 feet and was measured with a 112.3 mph exit velocity according to Statcast, the hardest-hit and longest of Ohtani’s three major league homers.

NEW YORK (AP) – Pedro Alvarez hit a grand slam in the 14th inning, Manny Machado homered twice and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Yankees 7-3 after New York saw four players forced to make early exits.

Yankees starter CC Sabathia left with hip soreness, star catcher Gary Sanchez limped off with a leg cramp right before Alvarez struck, third baseman Brandon Drury was lifted for migraines and second baseman Tyler Wade was removed because of flu-like symptoms. New York had to use 20 players in all – reliever Adam Warren was the only non-starting pitcher left.

Alvarez connected after midnight, deciding a game that took 5 hours, 20 minutes and included 14 pitchers, a couple of wild misadventures on the basepaths and an admitted missed call by umpires.

MMA

NEW YORK (AP) – Conor McGregor was arraigned on charges of felony criminal mischief charges and misdemeanor assault, menacing and reckless endangerment charges following a backstage melee he sparked at a UFC event in New York City the previous day.

He spoke only to acknowledge that he understood the conditions of his release, saying, ”Yes Cole Beasley Jersey , your honor.”

McGregor was released on $50,000 bond – pocket change for a fighter who was guaranteed $30 million last year in his ballyhooed boxing match against Floyd Mayweather Jr. McGregor is due back in court June 14.

In the underbelly of Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Thursday, McGregor went wild, using a dolly, chairs and guard rails as weapons, not his fists. Fueled by revenge and running with a pack of his ”hoodlums,” McGregor’s antics landed him in jail – and injured two fighters on Saturday’s UFC 223 card.

NBA

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Ben Simmons topped LeBron James in a triple-double battle to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to their 13th straight win in their biggest game in six years, 132-130 over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

With a buzz in the city over the Sixers that hasn’t been felt since the pre-Process days, they romped toward a 30-point lead over the Cavs in the first half and scored 78 points at the break.

Simmons had 27 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists. James had 44 points (17-of-29 shooting), 11 assists and 11 rebounds, bringing the Cavaliers to the brink of an epic comeback.

The Sixers (49-30) moved into third place in the Eastern Conference over the Cavaliers (49-31).

LOS ANGELES (AP) – The Lakers unveiled a statue of Elgin Baylor before their game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Baylor’s statue became the sixth that decorates the front of Staples Center, joining Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Jerry West and Chick Hearn. The Lakers selected Baylor first overall in the 1958 NBA draft. He averaged 27.4 points and 13.5 rebounds in 14 seasons for the franchise Ronnie Harrison Jersey , including the first two when it played in Minneapolis.

Various Lakers alumni spoke during Baylor’s ceremony, including O’Neal, Johnson, West and Abdul-Jabbar. Johnson said Baylor put entertainment into the NBA, and will always remember that Baylor set the Finals record for single-game points against the Boston Celtics on the road.

NHL

PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Penguins will start their bid for a Stanley Cup three-peat home.

Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel banked in goals off Craig Anderson minutes apart in the second period, Casey DeSmith stopped 34 shots and the Penguins beat the Ottawa Senators 4-0 to clinch second place in the Metropolitan Division and home-ice advantage in the opening round of the playoffs.

Phil Kessel collected his 34th goal of the season and Patric Hornqvist pushed his career-high to 29 when he beat Anderson late in the third period for the Penguins, who will host Columbus, New Jersey or Philadelphia next week.

AUTO RACING

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) – Kurt Busch got a little more aggressive in the first round of qualifying, and it paid off with a pole at Texas Motor Speedway.

Busch and his Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer will start in the top three spots in Texas after a weather-shortened qualifying session.

With his top lap of 197.368 mph, Busch earned his first pole this season and the 32nd in his career.

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