NBA PLAYOFFS:
The Golden State Warriors were unable to complete a four-game sweep of Denver in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Nikola Jokic pumped in 37 points and fed Will Barton for a 3-pointer with 8.3 seconds left in the Nuggets’ 126-121 victory against the Warriors. Barton’s trey came after Monte Morris hit a seven-footer than broke a 121-all tie with 33 ½ seconds left.
Morris came through after Denver wasted a 17-point lead. He nailed five 3’s in the third quarter and finished with 24 points.
Steph Curry dropped in 33 points, including a jumper that put Golden State ahead with just over a minute left. Klay Thomson had 32 points for the Warriors, who host Game 5 on Wednesday.
The Pelicans have knotted their series with the top-seeded Suns at two games apiece.
Brandon Ingram furnished 30 points and Jonas Valanciunas had a double-double in New Orleans' 118-103 win against Phoenix. Valanciunas came away with 26 points and 15 rebounds for the Pelicans, who took control by outscoring the Suns, 35-23 in the third quarter. Ingram had 16 points in the period.
Phoenix got within four in the final period before New Orleans scored the next 12 points.
The Suns' starting backcourt accounted for just 12 points, with Chris Paul finishing with four.
Deandre Ayton had 23 points and eight rebounds for the Suns, who will host Game 5 on Tuesday.
The Bucks are within one victory of advancing to the second round after completing a weekend assault of the Bulls in Chicago.
Grayson Allen and Giannis Antetokounmpo carried the Bucks to a 119-95 rout and a three-games-to-one lead over the Bulls.
Allen set playoff career highs with 27 points and six 3-pointers. He was 10 of 12 from the field and 6 of 7 from beyond the arc.
Antetokounmpo finished with 32 points and 17 rebounds for the Bucks, who outscored Chicago by 54 points after dropping Game 2.
Jrue Holiday had 26 points in helping Milwaukee put itself in position to finish the series at home on Wednesday.
Like the Bucks, the Miami Heat are up three games to one following a 110-86 pounding of the Hawks in Atlanta.
Jimmy Butler delivered 13 of his 36 points while Miami outscored the Hawks, 30-15 in the second quarter to take a 14-point lead. Butler also had 10 rebounds, four assists and one block.
PJ Tucker and Bam Adebayo each had 14 points and eight rebounds for the Heat, who can close out the series at home on Tuesday.
Trae Young had a rough game, finishing with just nine points and recording as many assists as turnovers: five.
MLB:
The defending World Series champs are off to a 7-10 start after dropping a three-game series to the Miami Marlins.
Avisaíl García hit a go-ahead double in the fifth inning of the Marlins’ 5-4 victory in Atlanta. Garrett Cooper had three hits and two RBIs for the Fish, who led 5-1 in the ninth until Matt Olson’s sacrifice fly and Austin Riley’s two-run homer off Tanner Scott.
Louis Head relieved and got his first big league save, allowing Marcell Ozuna’s double and then striking out Adam Duvall and Eddie Rosario.
The Braves still haven’t won a series this year, dropping three and tying two.
Also around the majors:
The Mets have opened the season with five straight series wins after Tylor Megill held Arizona to two runs and four hits over 6 2/3 innings of New York’s 12th victory in 17 games, 6-2. Francisco Lindor and J.D. Davis each had two hits and an RBI, with Davis smacking a home run.
Joc Pederson homered twice, doubled and drove in three runs to help the Giants rout the Nationals, 12-3 for a three-game sweep. Wilmer Flores added three RBI singles to back Logan Webb, who yielded three runs on seven hits over 6 2/3 innings.
Cody Bellinger homered twice and drove in four runs, leading Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers to a 10-2 romp over the Padres. Freddie Freeman added a two-run homer and Kershaw allowed one run and four hits in five innings to move to 3-0.
Eric Lauer struck out a career-high 13 over six innings but received a no-decision in the Brewers’ 1-0 shutout of the Phillies. Neither team scored until Christian Yelich poked a sacrifice fly in the ninth.
The Reds’ 11-game losing streak is over after Colin Moran drove in a pair to help them beat the Cardinals, 4-1. Nick Lodolo held St. Louis to a run and five hits over 5 2/3 innings as Cincinnati stopped its longest skid in six years.
The Rockies were 6-2 winners at Detroit as Randal Grichuk had three hits, including his first home run of the season. Charlie Blackmon had four hits, scored twice and drove in two runs for Colorado.
The Pirates bounced back from Saturday’s 21-0 loss at Wrigley Field by getting two hits and an RBI from Kevin Newman in a 4-3 win over the Cubs. Winning pitcher Dillon Peters pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of JT Brubaker, helping Pittsburgh hand Chicago its fifth loss in six games.
The Twins picked up a 6-4 win over the White Sox behind Byron Buxton, whose second-homer of the game was a three-run, walk-off blast in the 10th inning. Buxton hit a two-run, opposite field home run off Aaron Bummer to tie the game 3-3 in the seventh.
Rookie Jeremy Peña crushed a two-run homer in the 10th inning to lift the Astros past the Blue Jays, 8-7, ending Houston’s four-game losing streak. Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer to help the Astros end up 2-4 in their first homestand of the season.
Gerrit Cole bounced back from the shortest start of his career to strike out nine over 6 2/3 innings and lead the Yankees to a 10-2 victory and a three-game sweep of the Guardians. Anthony Rizzo, DJ LeMahieu and pinch-hitter Tim Locastro each belted two-run homers for the Bombers.
Shane McClanahan became Tampa Bay’s first starting pitcher to get a win this season as the Rays overcame a two-run, first-inning deficit to beat the Red Sox, 5-2. Pinch-hitter Ji-Man Choi had a tying, two-run double and Yandy Díaz added a seventh-inning homer, helping send Boston to its fourth loss in five games.
The Angels squandered a six-run lead before Taylor Ward worked out a bases-loaded walk in the seventh inning, bringing home Shohei Ohtani to push Los Angeles past the Orioles, 7-6. Jo Adell greeted reliever Travis Lakins Sr. with his second career grand slam to make it 6-0 before Baltimore recorded an out.
Jesse Winker provided the tying and game-winning RBIs in extra innings to send the Mariners past the Royals, 5-4. Winker ended it with a run-scoring single in the 11th, one inning after lifting a sacrifice fly.
Cole Irvin and three relievers combined on a four-hitter as the Athletics beat the Rangers, 2-0 to avoid a three-game sweep. Stephen Piscotty homered in support of Irvin, who allowed one hit in five innings to win his second straight decision.
The White Sox placed outfielder Eloy Jiménez on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a right hamstring strain, an injury that is expected to cause him to miss six to eight weeks.
Jiménez was injured Saturday at Minnesota trying to beat out a ground ball.
Chicago now has eight players on the injured list.
NHL:
The Carolina Hurricanes have doubled their lead in the NHL’s Metropolitan Division.
The Hurricanes earned their fourth straight win by scoring three unanswered goals in the third period of a 5-2 win over the Islanders.
Max Domi snapped a 2-2 for the Canes, who’ve tied franchise records with 52 wins and 112 points.
Antti Raanta made 17 saves on 18 shots before appearing to suffer an injury in the second period.
The Hurricanes are now missing their top two goaltenders, but they lead their division by four points over the Rangers.
Carolina has two games left, including a visit to Madison Square Garden to face the Rangers on Tuesday night. New York has three games remaining.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
The Panthers’ 13-game winning streak has ended with an 8-4 trouncing by the Lightning. Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman combined for 13 points, with Kucherov delivering two goals and three assists. Stamkos scored twice and had two assists, while Hedman set up four goals.
Colorado’s 4-1 loss at Winnipeg keeps the Avalanche four points behind the Panthers with the NHL’s best record. Adam Lowry, Blake Wheeler and Kyle Connor all scored in a span of 3:21 in the third period, sending the Avs to their fourth loss in a row.
Erik Haula and Patrice Bergeron each scored twice as the Bruins knocked off the Canadiens. Before the game the Bell Centre crowd had an opportunity to celebrate the life of Guy Lafleur, who died on Friday at age 70. Following a pregame ceremony, the crowd cheered for 10 minutes to honor the Canadiens legend.
Alex Ovechkin suffered an upper-body injury in the third period before the Capitals blew a 3-1 lead in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Maple Leafs. Jason Spezza tied it with 57.3 seconds and Alex Kerfoot scored to end the seven-round shootout.
Noah Cates had two goals and an assist as the Flyers whipped the Penguins, 4-1, slowing Pittsburgh’s push for third place in the Metropolitan Division. Martin Jones made 37 saves in Philadelphia’s second straight win since a six-game losing streak.
Dmitry Kulikov scored with 1.3 seconds showing on the clock in overtime to give the Wild a 5-4 win over the Predators. Joel Eriksson Ek had two power-play goals and an assist in Minnesota's fifth straight win, which keeps the Wild in a virtual tie for second with St. Louis in the Central Division.
Vladimir Tarasenko, Ivan Barbashev and Justin Faulk each had a goal and an assist during a dominant second period that pushed the Blues to their 14th win in 16 games, 6-3 at Anaheim. Ducks forward Ryan Getzlaf scored his final NHL point with a behind-the-back pass to Adam Henrique for a goal with 2:41 to play.
Max Pacioretty, Nicolas Roy and Chandler Stevenson each had a goal and an assist in the Golden Knights' 4-3 decision over the Sharks. The win puts Vegas within two points of Dallas for the second Western Conference playoff berth.
Rookie Nick Blankenburg scored his first NHL goal and added an assist to help the Blue Jackets beat the Oilers, 5-2. Columbus broke a five-game losing streak and kept Edmonton from clinching second place in the Pacific Division.
Alex Nedeljkovic had 17 saves and the Red Wings received a goal and an assist from both Oskar Sundqvist and Tyler Bertuzzi in a 3-0 shutout of the Devils.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL:
Duke freshman A.J. Griffin is heading to the NBA. He becomes the fifth Blue Devil in the past week to declare early for the draft.
Duke says the 6-foot-6, 222-pound wing regarded as a potential lottery draft pick plans to hire an agent. Griffin averaged 10.4 points while providing size, outside shooting and defensive potential to the wing.
Duke will bring in the nation’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class for first-year coach Jon Scheyer.
NASCAR:
Ross Chastain took the lead near the checkered flag at Talladega Superspeedway to steal his second career NASCAR Cup Series victory.
Chastain simply stayed in line over the final few laps as leader Erik Jones and reigning Cup champion Kyle Larson fought for the win. Larson made his attempt on the final lap and Jones moved for the defensive block.
Chastain just pointed his Chevrolet straight, slipped past the leaders and won for the second time in five races.
Austin Dillon finished second for Richard Childress Racing in a 1-2 sweep for Chevrolet. Kyle Busch was third, followed by Larson and Martin Truex Jr.
PGA:
Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele held off Sam Burns and Billy Horschel by two strokes in a record-setting, wire-to-wire victory in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
Cantlay and Schauffele closed with an even-par-72 in the alternate-shot final round to finish at 29-under 259. That broke the tournament mark set by Kevin Kisner-Scott Brown and Jonas Blixt-Cameron Smith in 2017, the first year the event was played as a team event.
Cantlay and Schauffele opened with a record 59 in best-ball play Thursday, and began Sunday at 29 under after shattering the 54-hole record of 23 under.
PGA TOUR:
Scott Parel parred the first playoff hole to capture the ClubCorp Classic, his second PGA Tour Champions title.
Parel two-putted for birdie on the par-5 18th hole for a 6-under 65 and won a three-man playoff over Steven Alker and Gene Sauers, who both went into the hazard on the closing hole and failed to make par.
Sauers birdied his last two holes in regulation for a 63.
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