Reuters Sports News Summary

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. Motor racing: Ferrari need to recover their testing pace, says Vettel

Ferrari are taking strength from their pace in pre-season testing as they seek to dash Mercedes' bid for a fifth successive one-two finish in Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel, a four-times Formula One world champion with Red Bull, warned there was no silver bullet but recovering the sort of speed they showed in March would be a step in the right direction. Report: Injured Durant might not travel to Houston

Kevin Durant is unlikely to travel to Houston for Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals, according to CBS Sports. Without Durant, the Warriors rallied to win Game 5 in Oakland on Wednesday night. But the All-Star forward could be done for the series, and his status for the remainder of the postseason -- if Golden State closes of the Rockets and advances to the Western Conference finals -- is up in the air. Motor racing: Hamilton tightens the gloves for battle with Bottas

Lewis Hamilton says he will be tougher on track to Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas now that the Finn is again leading the Formula One championship, even if relations would remain respectful. The five-times world champion said after Bottas won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the team's fourth successive one-two finish, that he had been "too friendly" at the start and "basically gave it to him". Golf: Koepka in the hunt at Byron Nelson ahead of PGA Championship defense

Brooks Koepka did not get the luxury of seeing the full Trinity Forest layout before the opening round of the AT&T Byron Nelson in Dallas on Thursday but that did not keep him from shooting a six-under-par 65. Koepka, who next week will defend his PGA Championship title, saw the back nine during a Tuesday practice round but never got a chance to see the front nine as rain washed out the pro-am event on Wednesday. Commissioner Silver wants half of new NBA referees and coaches to be women

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on Thursday made a call for more gender diversity among referees and head coaches in a league he has overseen for five years. Silver, speaking during a moderated discussion at The Economic Club of Washington, D.C., said two of the last five referees brought into the NBA from its developmental league were women, which brought the total number to three. Federer survives match points to beat Monfils

Roger Federer survived two match points against French maverick Gael Monfils to extend his claycourt comeback and reach the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open on Thursday. He was joined in the last eight by five-times Madrid champion Rafael Nadal and world number one Novak Djokovic. Golf: Jordan takes British Masters lead with course record 63

England's Matthew Jordan fired a brilliant nine-under-par 63 for a new course record at the Hillside Golf Club to grab the lead in the British Masters first round on Thursday. Making only his ninth European Tour appearance, the 23-year-old showed no signs of nerves, finishing two shots ahead of compatriot Matt Wallace and Marcus Kinhult of Sweden. Reports: CB Taylor joins Seahawks

Cornerback Jamar Taylor agreed to a one-year deal with the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday, per multiple reports. Taylor, a nickel cornerback, follows defensive end Ziggy Ansah as another potential value find deep into free agency. World number one Osaka exits Madrid Open

World number one Naomi Osaka lost in three sets to unseeded Swiss Belinda Bencic in the Madrid Open quarter-finals on Thursday as Simona Halep, Sloane Stephens and Kiki Bertens completed the final four line-up. Osaka, 21, admitted she over-thought about the need to win the match in order to retain her ranking at the top of the women's game as she went down 3-6 6-2 7-5. MLB roundup: Cubs stay hot, walk off in 11

Jason Heyward hit a walk-off solo home run in the 11th inning to lift the Chicago Cubs to a 3-2 win over the visiting Miami Marlins on Wednesday night. Heyward drove an outside pitch to the opposite field, and the ball landed in the basket atop the ivy-covered wall. It was Heyward's sixth homer of the season, only two shy of his total from all of 2018.