GOLF:
Two months ago, Scottie Scheffler had never earned a PGA Tour victory. Today, he’s the world’s No. 1 golfer and the reigning Masters champion.
Scheffler picked up his fourth victory since Feb. 13 by defeating Rory McIlroy by three strokes at Augusta National. He came into the day with a three-shot lead, and he made sure it held up by closing with a 1-under 71. Scheffler finished at 10-under 278 overall, winning for the fourth time in his last six tournaments.
Scheffler four-putted for a double-bogey at the final hole, but he had such a comfortable lead it didn’t matter.
McIlroy was the runner-up after shooting 64, but he came into the day 10 strokes behind and was never a serious challenger to Scheffler. The Masters is the lone major to elude McIlroy.
Cameron Smith birdied his first two holes on Sunday to get within one stroke of the lead, but he fell out of contention with a triple-bogey at Amen Corner and finished five back. Smith and Shane Lowry finished in a third-place tie.
NBA:
The first two days of the NBA’s play-in schedule are finally set. The Nets will host the Cavaliers in the first Eastern Conference game on Tuesday night, one day before the Hawks entertain the Hornets. The Western Conference will have the Timberwolves hosting the Clippers on Tuesday, followed by Wednesday’s game between the Pelicans and visiting Spurs.
Kyrie Irving scored 35 points and Kevin Durant had a triple-double as the Nets beat the Pacers, 134-126 to claim seventh place in the East. Durant had 20 points, a career-high 16 assists and 10 rebounds against Indiana, which ends its season on a 10-game losing streak.
The Cavaliers came away with the eighth spot in the East by blowing out the Bucks, 133-115. Kevin Love made eight 3-pointers and provided 32 points for Cleveland, which scored the game’s first 14 points and led by 28 in the first quarter.
The Hawks stayed ninth in the East as Trae Young had 28 points and 11 assists in their 130-114 rout of the Rockets. Houston pulled within seven in the closing minutes before Atlanta scored the next 16 points.
LaMelo Ball finished an assist shy of a triple-double, providing 24 points and 10 rebounds in the Hornets’ 124-108 victory over the Wizards. Terry Rozier had 25 points for Charlotte, which made a 10-win improvement over last season to get the 10th seed in the East.
Also on the final day of the NBA’s regular season:
Jayson Tatum scored 31 points and the Celtics secured the second seed in the East with a 139-110 victory over the Grizzlies. Jaylen Brown finished with 18 points and Al Horford added 13 as Boston shot close to 55%.
Shake Milton, Tyrese Maxey and Paul Reed led the 76ers to a 118-106 victory over the Pistons and the fourth seed in the East. Playing without Joel Embiid and James Harden, Milton scored 30 points, and Maxey and Reed had 25 apiece.
Juancho Hernangomez had a season-high 22 points and the Jazz came away with the fifth seed in the West with an 111-80 crushing of the Trail Blazers. Rudy Gobert added 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Jazz while top scorer Donovan Mitchell sat out of the game with a non-COVID-19 illness.
The Heat absorbed a 125-111 loss to the Magic despite Victor Oladipo’s 40 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Mo Bamba and R.J. Hampton each scored 21 points, and Orlando hit 23 3-pointers against the top seed in the East.
Patrick Williams scored a career-high 35 points and Ayo Dosunmu had 26 points in a season-high 45 minutes as the Bulls hung on for a 124-120 victory over the Timberwolves. Neither team played their regular starters after wrapping up playoff or play-in seeds before the game.
The Warriors enter the playoffs as the third seed in the West after Klay Thompson made seven 3-pointers and scored 41 points in a 128-107 victory over the Pelicans. Jordan Poole scored 22 for Golden State, which opened up a 22-point lead in the second quarter and held on to close out the regular season on a five-game winning streak.
Luka Doncic strained his left calf in the Mavericks’ 130-120 win over San Antonio putting the superstar’s status in question for the playoff-bound Mavericks. Doncic had 26 points nine assists and eight rebounds before the injury. He wouldn’t have even been eligible for the game had the NBA not rescinded the 16th technical foul he received two nights earlier.
The Clippers were a whopping 50 points better than the Thunder as Amir Coffey had career highs of 32 points and 13 rebounds to highlight the 138-88 romp. Los Angeles rested George and Reggie Jackson, while Norman Powell sat out for maintenance after returning from a left foot injury earlier in the week.
Justin Holiday, Damian Jones and Donte DiVincenzo each scored 19 points for the Kings in a 116-109 downing of the Suns. At 64-18, Phoenix finished with the best mark in franchise history and had eight more victories than other teams.
The Lakers ended their frustrating season with a 146-141 overtime win at Denver. Malik Monk pumped in 31 points and Austin Reaves had a triple-double of 31 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists against the No. 6 seed in the West.
Obi Toppin poured in a career-high 42 points and Immanuel Quickley had a triple-double as the Knicks beat the Raptors, 105-94. Quickley contributed 34 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds as he and Toppin had their best nights of the season.
MLB:
The New York Mets were unable to post their first 4-0 start since 2012.
Nelson Cruz hit his 450th home run and added a tiebreaking two-run single in three-run eighth that pushed the Nationals past the Mets, 4-2 in Washington.
New York wasted a nice outing by Carlos Carrasco, who allowed Cruz’s first-inning homer but just one other hit over 5 2/3 innings.=
Also in the majors:
Michael Chavis hit a go-ahead grand slam as the Pirates overcame a three-run, third-inning deficit to earn their first win of the season, 9-4 at St. Louis.
The Reds came away with a 6-3 decision over the Braves as Hunter Greene allowed three runs over five innings to win his major league debut.
Bud Black picked up his 1,000th managerial victory as CJ Cron and Elias Diaz supplied two-run shots in the Rockies’ 9-4 thrashing of the Dodgers.
The Giants were 3-2 winners over the Marlins as Heliot Ramos had two hits and scored a run in his major league debut.
Jurickson Profar hit a grand slam and Jorge Alfaro followed with a solo homer to give the Padres a 5-0 lead in the second inning of a 10-5 thumping of the Diamondbacks.
Bobby Dalbec hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the sixth inning and the Red Sox avoided a season-opening sweep against with a 4-3 win over the Yankees.
Oakland avoided a three-game sweep as Billy McKinney homered and Daulton Jefferies combined with four relievers on a three-hitter in the Athletics’ 4-1 verdict over the Phillies.
Mike Brosseau’s first career pinch-hit homer snapped a tie in the seventh inning and gave the Brewers their first victory of the season, 5-4 versus the Cubs.
Steven Kwan went 5 for 5, Oscar Mercado belted a grand slam and Owen Miller had four RBIs as the Guardians clobbered the Royals, 17-3, Cleveland’s first win since the name change.
Tim Anderson returned from his two-game suspension to collect three hits, and Andrew Vaughn homered and drove in four runs for the White Sox in a 10-1 thumping of the Tigers.
Gary Sánchez launched a grand slam into the third deck and Carlos Correa cracked his first homer for the Twins in a 10-4 victory over the Mariners.
Alex Bregman poked a two-run single and José Urquidy yielded four hits over five innings in the Astros’ 4-1 victory over the Angels.
Brad Miller collected four RBIs and Jonah Heim drove in three as the Rangers came away with a 12-6 win at Toronto after trailing, 6-1.
Brandon Lowe smacked a two-run homer and Corey Kluber worked into the fifth inning of his Rays debut, an 8-0 rout of the Orioles.
NHL:
The scramble for playoff positioning continues in the NHL’s Metropolitan and Atlantic divisions. The Carolina Hurricanes took over first place in the Metropolitan, the third-place Penguins are four points ahead of the Capitals in the Metropolitan, while the Lightning are third in the Atlantic.
Jordan Staal registered his fourth career hat trick to lead the Hurricanes to a 5-2 win over the Ducks. Staal capped his first career three-goal game in 10 years with an empty-netter, helping Carolina move two points ahead of the Rangers. He scored the game’s only goals of the last two periods.
Sidney Crosby scored the second of his two goals at 2:21 of overtime for his 1,400th career point, helping the Pens snap a four-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory over the Predators. Crosby added an assist in his 1,100th game, becoming the seventh-fastest player in NHL history to reach the 1,400-point milestone.
Nashville has dropped two straight as it tries to nail down a Western Conference wild-card berth.
Lars Eller had a goal and an assist in the Capitals’ third straight win, 4-2 over the Bruins. Eller snapped a 2-2 tie with 12:48 remaining, and he set up Tom Wilson’s career-high 23rd goal.
John Carlson also scored, Alex Ovechkin added an empty-netter and Vitek Vanecek stopped 28 shots for Washington.
The Bruins’ loss allowed Tampa Bay to pass them in the Atlantic standings. Corey Perry and Ondrej Palat had goals 17 seconds apart in the first period of the Bolts’ 5-0 win over the Sabres.
Brian Elliott made 28 saves to improve to 18-4-2 lifetime against Buffalo.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
The Wild’s 6-3 comeback win over the Kings puts Minnesota in a second-place tie with St. Louis in the Central Division with one game in hand. Matt Boldy and Jared Spurgeon had a goal and an assist for the Wild after Los Angeles took a 3-0 lead.
Jason Robertson scored his team-leading 33rd and 34th goals about three minutes apart, leading the Stars to a 6-4 win at Chicago. Dallas moved two points ahead of Vegas for the second Western Conference wild card.
The Jets posted a 4-3 win over the Senators as Nikolaj Ehlers had a goal and two assists.
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