HOUSTON -- The Houston Texans have fired general manager Brian Gaine, the team announced Friday.

The Texans hired Gaine in January 2018 after former general manager Rick Smith took a leave of absence to help take care of his wife as she battled breast cancer. Gaine was signed to a five-year contract.

"After a thorough evaluation of our football operations, we have decided to relieve Brian Gaine of his duties as general manager," Texans CEO Cal McNair said in a statement.

Statement from #Texans Chairman and CEO Cal McNair: pic.twitter.com/MmhWYGtCiU

— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) June 7, 2019

The Texans finished last season 11-5 to win the AFC South but lost to the Indianapolis Colts in the wild-card round.

Until the Texans hire Gaine's replacement, Houston's football operations will be led by Chris Olsen, the team's senior vice president of football administration.

Gaine spent the 2017 season as the Buffalo Bills' vice president of player personnel.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Kawhi Leonard said Friday that if the Toronto Raptors hadn't put him on a load-management plan during the regular season, he wouldn't be playing in the NBA Finals.

"It was big," Leonard said in a sit-down interview with ESPN's Rachel Nichols. "When it got bad, we ended up taking, you know, four or five games off. And, you know, if we didn't do that, I wouldn't be here right now.

"The way we laid out the schedule was good. I'm happy."

When asked if the load-management plan really made that big of a difference, Leonard doubled down.

"For sure," he said. "I don't think I'd be playing right now if I would've tried to go through that season [without it]."

After his 36-point effort in Friday night's 105-92 win in Game 4, Leonard is averaging 31.1 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 22 games during this postseason. That includes averages of 30.8 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists in the first four Finals games.

Leonard and the Raptors have steadfastly said throughout the Eastern Conference finals and the NBA Finals that he's fine, despite him occasionally limping at times throughout each of the past several games. But while Leonard has continued to say if he's able to play it means he isn't injured, he admitted it is taking extra time for him to get ready to play each game.

"Just go out and play," Leonard said. "But I mean, you know, it takes a lot of, you know, pregame effort now. I'm seeing medical, warming it up, and, you know, going from there. That's the big thing about when you do get an injury. And you can't just run on the floor after you're in shootaround -- pregame shots. Gotta go back and do something with somebody until game time."

Meanwhile, the specter of his upcoming free agency looms over both Leonard and the Raptors. The possibility exists that, no matter what happens over the final few games of this series, that Leonard could go elsewhere -- likely to the LA Clippers, if he does leave -- as an unrestricted free agent this summer.

For his part, though, Leonard maintains that the only thing he is thinking about right now is what is in front of him: trying to win a second NBA title. The Raptors lead the best-of-seven series 3-1. Game 5 is Monday night in Toronto.

"Not now," Leonard said. "I mean, obviously -- you know what you want. But I'm not thinking, like -- just because of this and this, I'm gonna re-sign.

"I'm not even thinking about signing or what team I'm gonna go to, free agency, none of that. I'm just focused on what's in front of me right now. And then, you know, once it's over, then I'll revisit everything."

Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet needed seven stitches after taking an elbow to the face in the fourth quarter on Friday, but he was more upset about damaging a tooth.

"If that's what being a Canadian is, I don't think I want it," VanVleet said with a smile after the game. "You know I don't play hockey, I've got a lot of respect for those guys and what they do, but you know, losing a tooth is not fun. Obviously, the stitches I could deal with, but I was more upset that I could have the remnants of my teeth floating around in my mouth as I was laying there on the ground."

VanVleet's face was left bloodied by the elbow of Golden State Warriors guard Shaun Livingston, who was coming down after a layup attempt, with 9:35 left in the fourth quarter of the Raptors' 105-92 win in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

The stitches repaired the cut under VanVleet's eye, but he did not suffer a concussion. He left the game after scoring eight points in 29 minutes.

A piece of tooth initially remained on the court after the guard was helped up, but it was eventually returned to him.

VanVleet went back to the bench after getting treatment and was available to check back into the game, but he was not needed, as the Raptors cruised to victory to take a 3-1 series lead.

"Hopefully by the next time you guys see me, I'll have it fixed. Took a nice shot there," he said. "Unfortunately, it took me out of the game. But I was trying to hurry up, get it stitched up and be back on the bench with the guys. And they took care of business."

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Playing on an injured left hamstring, Golden State Warriors swingman Klay Thompson scored 28 points in his return from a one-game absence, but it wasn't enough to will his team past the Toronto Raptors in Friday night's 105-92 loss in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

The fact that Thompson, who hurt his hamstring in Game 2 and missed Game 3 because of the injury, was able to play and produce at such a high level over 42 minutes on Friday made a lasting impression on his teammates and coaches.

Likewise for forward Kevon Looney, who scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds in 20 minutes while playing with a nondisplaced first costal cartilage fracture on his right side.

Like Thompson, Looney suffered the injury in Game 2, was ruled out for the series before Game 3 and then gutted out a return after the organization decided he could do no further damage to the area.

"Klay was amazing," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "With a tweaked hamstring, to do what he did. Looney as well, coming in and playing 20 minutes, given his injury status. So both those guys are -- they're warriors. No pun intended. They just compete, compete, compete, and I'm really proud of both of them. Both played really well, but again, it wasn't enough in terms of our team effort."

The Warriors were hopeful that Thompson would be able to produce, but as Kerr noted before the game, they were going to watch him closely to make sure he was moving well on both ends of the floor.

"It didn't affect me," Thompson said of his injury. "Like I said before, it's the Finals. It's a long season. You play 100-plus games, you're going to be banged up. But you just got to dig deep. No one's going to feel sorry for you, so you just got to go out there, man up and play to the best of your ability."

Looney acknowledged that his injury started to cause some issues down the stretch of the game, but he still managed to make some plays despite dragging his right arm at times throughout the night.

"It was pretty tough," Looney said. "The first half it was pretty good. The adrenaline was going. Little sore in the fourth. You've just got to block it out and do your job."

The Warriors remain hopeful that injured star forward Kevin Durant might be able to return for Game 5 on Monday as he continues recovering from a right calf injury. The issue for the Warriors is that Durant still hasn't been cleared to practice, and his teammates understand that they have to prepare as if he isn't coming back for the rest of the series.

"As far as KD, there's been hope that he would come back the whole series," Warriors forward Draymond Green said. "So that's not going to change. We hope to have him but, you know, we'll see what happens. We don't make that final call. S---, he don't even really make that final call. His body will tell him if he can get out there or not. And if he can, great. And if not, we still got to find a way to win the next game."

All the optimism regarding both Durant's potential return and the Warriors' ability to come back in this series has been muted over the past two days. After Game 3, the Warriors were optimistic that Durant would be able to participate in 3-on-3 scrimmages and be cleared to play Friday. Now they aren't sure if he'll be able to return at all.

With a loss in Game 4, the Warriors -- down 3-1 in this series -- face the possibility that they played their final game at Oracle Arena. The Warriors will move to Chase Center in San Francisco after 47 years playing in Oakland. The finality of the situation was felt inside the Warriors' locker room as the group dressed, showered and left the arena faster than they have all season. It was as quiet a setting inside the locker room as there has been.

The Warriors face the unenviable task of trying to extend the series by winning Game 5 on Monday in Toronto.

"You don't succeed the way we have over the course of these years without that mentality," guard Stephen Curry said, brushing off the idea that the Warriors were shocked by what has happened. "So as the second half unfolds and things aren't going our way, we're still fighting and trying to get over the hump. But until the final buzzer sounds and somebody gets the four wins, we still have life and have an opportunity to win.

"So like Klay said, nobody's going to feel sorry for us at all. It's just a matter of can we get it done or not, and we're going to leave it all out there starting on Monday."

OAKLAND, Calif. -- When the Toronto Raptors emerged from the visitors locker room at halftime of Game 4 of the NBA Finals trailing the Golden State Warriors by only four points -- despite being badly outplayed in the opening 24 minutes -- they knew they had a chance.

Kawhi Leonard then made sure they took full advantage of it.

A stunning display to open the third quarter -- Leonard opened the scoring with a 3-pointer over Draymond Green, then stole the ball from Green, dribbled it up and made a second 3-pointer over his outstretched arm -- erased that deficit in a span of 16 seconds, and it gave Toronto its first lead of the game.

By the time the quarter was over, Leonard had scored 17 of his 36 points in the quarter alone, blowing the game open almost single-handedly as the Raptors claimed a 105-92 victory over the Warriors.

Toronto now has a commanding 3-1 lead in this best-of-seven series, and it can claim its first championship with a win back at Scotiabank Arena in Game 5 on Monday night.

"Kawhi Leonard came out and hit two big F-you shots to start the half," Raptors teammate Fred VanVleet said. "There's no defense for that. There's no schemes for that.

"Two big-boy shots we came out of the half with, two back-to-back 3s ... that just kinda let you know how we were gonna approach the third quarter and the rest of the half."

Time and again during these playoffs, Leonard has delivered for Toronto. His efforts in Game 4 in the Eastern Conference semifinals in Philadelphia allowed the Raptors to survive that game, before his incredible series-ending buzzer-beater in Game 7 allowed them to advance. Switching onto Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals swung that series in Toronto's direction, as the Raptors swept the final four games to advance to their first NBA Finals.

But his performance Friday night -- those 36 points on 11-for-22 shooting, including 5-for-9 from 3-point range, to go with 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, a block and no turnovers in 40 minutes -- might have been his very best yet.

Part of that is because of the magnitude of the moment, as the Raptors found themselves staring at a chance to put a stranglehold on this series. And part of it is because of the degree of difficulty with which Leonard was presented. The Warriors, desperate to prevent this from being the final game at Oracle Arena, came out playing suffocating defense in the first quarter, and they quickly jumped out to a 23-12 lead.

But while his teammates combined to go 1-for-13 in the opening 12 minutes, scoring a total of three points, Leonard went 5-for-8 and scored 14 by himself, allowing the Raptors to end the quarter, somehow, trailing only 23-17.

"I mean, at the same time, I knew I had faith that it was going to turn around for us," Leonard said. "We were missing a lot of wide-open shots."

That faith was well-placed, as Leonard missed all four shots he took in the second quarter, but the rest of the Raptors went 9-for-17 to allow Toronto to go into the break trailing by only those four points, setting the table for his third-quarter explosion that put the game away.

Leonard finished the third quarter with those 17 points, powering the Raptors to a 37-21 advantage in the quarter that allowed Toronto to take a 79-67 lead into the fourth quarter. It was a performance that had the feel of a heavyweight boxer hitting an opponent in the body with one power shot after another, as Leonard went 5-for-8 from the field and another 5-for-5 from the foul line to slowly but surely pound the Warriors into submission.

It was especially jarring because the third quarter is typically when the Warriors take off.

This time, Toronto beat Golden State at its own game.

"Kawhi's two big 3s to start the half really, I thought, changed the whole feel of everybody," Toronto coach Nick Nurse said. "I just thought everybody was like, 'OK, man, we know we are here. Let's go.'

"We just kind of kept going from [there]."

At times in the fourth quarter, the Warriors made mini-runs to begin to cut the deficit. But at every turn, the Raptors did what they have done so many other times during these playoffs: respond to a big play by an opponent with one of their own.

By the time it was over, so many guys had stepped up. Serge Ibaka had 20 points off the bench, going 9-for-12 from the field. Pascal Siakam recovered from an ugly first half by scoring 13 points in the second and finishing with 19 in the game. VanVleet continued to play strong defense on Stephen Curry, who scored 27 points but shot 9-for-22 overall and 2-for-9 from 3-point range. The Raptors' guard had to leave the game in the fourth quarter after taking an inadvertent elbow to the head from Shaun Livingston that required seven stitches. Toronto committed only 11 turnovers and forced Golden State into 19.

Nothing, though, could match what Leonard did. And, thanks to his latest sublime showing, and yet another piece of evidence in an ever-growing number of them declaring that he has become, in fact, the best player in the world, Toronto has moved to within one win of a championship few could see coming.

Don't think, though, that the Raptors are going to start celebrating just yet.

"We didn't do nothing yet," Toronto guard Kyle Lowry said. "We haven't done anything. We won three games.

"It's the first to four. We understand that. They're the defending champs, and they're not going to go out easy. They're going to come and fight and prepare to play the next game, and that's how we're preparing ourselves.

"We got to prepare ourselves to play the next game. We haven't done anything yet."

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors were down 15 late in the fourth quarter, and the sounds from the Oracle Arena crowd were edging from disbelief to silence. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala were bent at the waist, gassed, clutching their shorts for ballast. Steve Kerr sat on the bench, hands threaded, looking like a man who was out of ideas. You didn't even need the scoreboard; the body language told you everything.

When the Toronto Raptors took a two games to one lead in the NBA Finals with a Game 3 win at Oracle, the Warriors reacted with a shrugging defiance. They were a compromised team about to get closer to whole. They were champions. They had overcome worse situations against better teams -- none of this was a big deal.

But after the Raptors won Friday's Game 4 -- convincingly, 105-92 -- to take a 3-1 series lead, the defiance evaporated, replaced by a grudging acknowledgment. For the Warriors to win their third straight title, it's going to take something spectacular -- and something they have shown no signs of possessing.

It has been a balky and theme-less series, but in Game 4, something happened that would have seemed unfathomable two weeks ago. The Warriors, up by four at halftime, were outscored by 16 points in the third quarter. The Raptors pressured them on defense, double-teamed Curry and attacked on offense, getting open shots and easy pick-and-roll baskets.

In short, the Raptors out-Warriored the Warriors.

"The third quarter got away from us," Shaun Livingston said. "But I think in the first half -- first quarter especially -- we had a couple of stretches where we didn't capitalize, and they were always in striking distance. That's dangerous when you're playing a team with that kind of firepower. They got hot in the third quarter, and it got away from us."

This has been the leaguewide refrain since the Warriors won their first title five years ago. Every team in the league has felt the blast-furnace rush of a Golden State run and been powerless to stop it. No timeout, no play call, no defensive adjustment proved to be a reliable deterrent. And now here the Warriors are, one game from elimination, sounding as if they're playing against a former version of themselves.

"They found a rhythm," Draymond Green said, "and once a team like that finds a rhythm, it's hard to get them out of it."

The night started with such promise. Thompson, whose presence represented the physical manifestation of the Warriors' hopes, took the court a little more than 50 minutes before the game. The Oracle Arena crowd, desperate to carry the final days of the arena to their latest possible conclusion, cheered wildly when he came out of the tunnel and again nine minutes later when he raised his arms and went back to the locker room.

After missing Game 3 because of a hamstring strain, Thompson scored 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting in a remarkable 42 minutes. Backup center Kevon Looney was back too -- somehow -- after missing Game 3 because of a broken bone near his right collarbone that was previously diagnosed as season-ending. Although he was struggling by the end, Looney scored 10 points and had six rebounds in an inspiring 20 minutes. But Kevin Durant, whose return is eternally pending, was once again watching the game from the locker room, his calf injury still not deemed fit for duty.

Durant's situation remains perplexing, with Kerr admitting before the game that the medical updates and prognostications have "gone haywire." The prospect of his return was viewed as the fastest and surest way for the Warriors to even -- and then win -- the series, and the pregame buildup had led to the expectation that Game 4 would be his logical return. His absence, and a future looking murkier by the day, instead added another layer of resignation.

"There's been hope that he will come back the whole series," Green said. "Obviously, we hope to have him, but we'll see what happens. ... His body will tell him if he can get out there or not. And if he can, great. And if not, you still got to try to find a way to win the next game."

Through four games, the Raptors have shown remarkable resilience. And so this never felt like typical Warriors dominance -- not even when Golden State built an 11-point first-quarter lead with every Raptor but Kawhi Leonard missing shots. During a particularly heinous stretch late in the first quarter, coach Nick Nurse called a timeout, surging from the bench as if he just might leave the building. Nurse -- the master of angst, the maestro of the dropped head and the slumped shoulders -- got about eight steps toward the tunnel before reconsidering. He turned as if heeding the call of a drill sergeant and began clapping his hands as if he'd come to the sudden realization that everything was going to be all right. Leonard, probably the least loquacious man in the building, put it this way: "Have faith, and not put our head down."

The tightened focus of the Finals creates a constant gush of speculation: who's up and who's down, the indispensable and the disposable. It has been an uneven series, and there are so many fascinating figures:

• DeMarcus Cousins, eager but diminished, constantly a step behind the action

• Iguodala, the statesman, playing 38 minutes

• Leonard, the man who manages to go beyond stoicism to some unexplored realm of engaged indifference

• Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet, linebackers in constant pursuit of Curry

Kerr was asked where the Warriors go from here, and he gave the only appropriate answer: "We go to Toronto, and we try to win a game."

This building might be finished -- and the Golden State dynasty along with it. The teams' identities have been switched like a clumsy plot twist. The Warriors are the team playing to keep the Raptors from running away with a massive lead. The Raptors are winning games with strong third-quarter offense and walking off the court like resolute pioneers determined to find the first title for franchise and country.

And somewhere, amid the maze of the arena's underbelly, Durant watches, his absence every bit as powerful as his presence. We're always eager to let what happens next determine the meaning of what happened before, but it took four games for this series to develop a theme: Nobody really knows anything.

Seattle Mariners center fielder Mitch Haniger was placed on the 10-day injured list on Friday with a ruptured testicle after hitting himself with a foul ball Thursday.

Reliever Tayler Scott is being called up from Triple-A Tacoma to take Haniger's spot on the roster. Mac Williamson replaced Haniger in Seattle's lineup Friday against the Angels.

Haniger suffered the injury in the third inning of Thursday's loss to the Houston Astros but didn't leave until the seventh inning. Haniger, who began the season on a tear, is struggling at the plate -- his average has dropped to .220, and he leads the American League in strikeouts with 81. He has 15 homers, 32 RBIs and 46 runs scored.

MIAMI -- Left-hander Dallas Keuchel says he doesn't expect to need much time tuning up in the minors before he joins his new team, the Atlanta Braves.

The team confirmed Friday night that the 2015 American League Cy Young Award winner had agreed to a one-year contract. He's scheduled to pitch Saturday for Triple-A Gwinnett.

During a conference call, Keuchel said he has been pitching seven innings in simulated games in Southern California, and he's eager to start pitching for the Braves.

"I'm built up to go five or six innings at least," he said. "There's no concrete timetable, but I would expect, knowing how I operate, it wouldn't be long at all."

The veteran starter will earn $13 million this season, which is prorated from a figure of $21.21 million, sources said, confirming a Yahoo! report.

Keuchel went 12-11 with a 3.74 ERA in 34 starts last season for Houston and turned down a $17.9 million qualifying offer in November.

The two-time All-Star didn't voice any regrets about how things turned out. He joins a Braves team that won the National League East last year and is in the thick of the division race this season.

"They were one of the teams I had pinpointed going into free agency, with how youthful and exciting their team could be," Keuchel said. "I've always been an advocate of this formula -- a great mixture of veteran leadership and young talent. It could become special. Hopefully I can bring a little something extra."

Keuchel is 31. Atlanta's all-28-and-under rotation thus far has been led by 21-year-old rookie right-hander Mike Soroka, who improved to 7-1 with a 1.38 ERA by beating the Miami Marlins on Friday night.

Afterward, Soroka grinned when asked about the acquisition of Keuchel.

"It's a little surreal," Soroka said. "It's exciting when you see a team where we've got so much talent and experience. To add a guy like him hopefully gives us confidence to make a run for it."

Keuchel is 76-63 with a 3.66 ERA in seven major league seasons, all with the Astros.

"He makes everybody better," Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos said. "The innings, the competitiveness, the experience, the winning -- there are not a lot of opportunities to get guys like this. We're real excited."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

European Athletics vice president among those to receive recognition

Cherry Alexander has been made an OBE for services to elite sport in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

The major events director at British Athletics was recently elected as a vice president of European Athletics and has been involved in the sport for the best part of 40 years.

She was managing director of London 2017, which staged the successful IAAF World Championships and World Para Athletics Championships, and has worked to deliver numerous other major events on UK soil.

Alexander received an MBE at the end of 2012 for services to sport following the significant part she played in the athletics competition delivery during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“I’ve been very blessed to work in the sport for the best part of 40 years, 20 of which have been for UK Athletics,” she wrote in a recent column for AW.

“During that time I have seen so many parts of the sport change and had some amazing challenges.

“As managing director of London 2017 I was very proud to be involved with the best-ever staging of the IAAF World Championships and World Para Athletics Championships and have had fun supporting and overseeing many of the other world and European level championships the UK has hosted over the last 20 years.”

On being made an OBE, she told British Athletics: “This is a humbling and incredible moment for me and my family and one I am truly grateful for.

“When I do collect the OBE, I will be thinking of my work mates over the years and my family who have supported me and have always accepted it was never ever just going to be a day job!

“Many congratulations to all those in all walks of life who have been recognised in these honours, but especially for those in sport where my heart truly lies.”

Joining Alexander in receiving recognition in the Queen’s Birthday Honours is 1984 Olympic sprint hurdler and former Wales rugby international Nigel Walker who becomes an OBE for services to elite sport, David Campbell who is made an OBE for voluntary service to athletics and Scottish Athletics historian and statistician Arnold Black who becomes an MBE for services to athletics.

Medallist of the Order of the British Empire honours go to John Glover of Athletics Northern Ireland, John Hillier of Blackheath & Bromley, John Pownceby of Schools Athletics Cumbria and Jill Wright for voluntary services.

Coverage of the Golden Fly Series street athletics event in Innsbruck, Austria, on June 8

World indoor long jump champion Juan Miguel Echevarria and European indoor pole vault champion Anzhelika Sidorova are among the athletes set to compete at the Golden Roof Challenge in Innsbruck, Austria, on Saturday (June 8).

The event takes place on a specially designed “FlySwat”, a mobile athletics facility which brings spectators right up close to the action.

The men’s long jump field also includes Britain’s Feron Sayers, Paralympic champion Markus Rehm and South Africa’s Zarck Visser, while the women’s competition includes European indoor silver medallist Nastassia Mironchyk-Ivanova and European indoor and outdoor medallist Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk.

Joining Sidorova in the women’s pole vault is Sweden’s Angelica Bengtsson, Switzerland’s Angelica Moser and Aksana Gataullina, while the men’s competition features Britain’s Charlie Myers, Konstantinos Filippidis and Axel Chapelle.

The event begins at 19:00 local time (18:00 UK) and can be viewed via the below live stream.