NBA PLAYOFFS:
The Dallas Mavericks have turned the NBA Western Conference semifinal series into a best-of-3. So have the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Mavericks have evened the series at two games apiece with a 111-101 win over the Suns.
Luka Doncic scored 26 points and helped Dallas shoot 20 of 44 from 3-point range. Dorian Finney-Smith delivered a playoff career-high 24 points on 8 of 12 from beyond the arc.
Suns guard Chris Paul fouled out early in the fourth quarter, one game after committing seven turnovers. Paul finished with just five points, seven assists and seven rebounds.
Devin Booker had a game-high 35 points for the Suns, who host Game 5 on Tuesday.
James Harden scored 31 points and the 76ers picked up their second straight win by downing the Heat, 116-108 in Game 4. Joel Embiid had 24 points and 11 rebounds in his second game since missing the first two of the series with a fractured orbital bone and a mild concussion.
Embiid made 5 of 6 shots in the first quarter, including a 3-pointer, and scored 15 points to put the Sixers ahead.
Jimmy Butler scored 40 points and nearly willed Miami to victory. The Heat missed 28 of 35 3-pointers.
The series returns to Miami for Game 5 on Tuesday.
Grizzlies guard Ja Morant is unlikely to play in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals against Golden State on Monday night.
The All-Star injured his right knee on a play with Jordan Poole in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 142-112 loss to the Warriors.
Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins says he doesn’t expect Morant to be available with Memphis trailing the Warriors 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.
NHL:
The Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning and Los Angeles Kings were able to knot their respective Stanley Cup first-round series at two games apiece.
Brad Marchand was the catalyst as the Bruins knocked off the Hurricanes, 5-2. Marchand provided two goals and three assists, giving him eight points in the two games in Boston. The Bruins trailed 2-1 until Marchand scored consecutive power-play goals bridging the second and third periods.
Patrice Bergeron chipped in a goal and two assists. David Pastrnak scored for the B’s, and rookie Jeremy Swayman handled 23 shots.
Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy was scratched after being placed in COVID-19 protocol an hour before the opening faceoff.
Brett Pesce and Jordan Staal did the scoring for the Hurricanes, who host Game 5 on Tuesday.
The Blues also earned a 5-2 win as Jordan Kyrou and David Perron each scored twice. The game was tied 1-1 until Kyrou and Perron scored 54 seconds apart in the second period.
Jordan Binnington made 28 saves in his first start this postseason. Ryan O’Reilly added a goal and two assists, and Perron also had an assist for St. Louis.
Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy scored for Minnesota, where Game 6 will be played on Tuesday.
Steven Stamkos, Pierre Edouard Bellemare and Pat Maroon scored in the first eight minutes of the Lightning’s 7-3 win against the Maple Leafs.
Ross Colton scored twice and Andrei Vasilevskiy had 22 saves for the two-time defending champs. Vasilevskiy improved to 17-0 in games following a playoff loss over the past three postseasons.
Jack Campbell gave up five goals on 16 shots before being replaced in the second period by Erik Kallgren, who stopped all 10 shots he faced.
William Nylander scored twice for the Leafs, who travel to Tampa for Game 5 on Tuesday.
The Kings came away with a 4-0 win over the Oilers as Jonathan Quick stopped 31 shots in his 10th career playoff shutout and first since the 2014 Stanley Cup Final.
Trevor Moore and Troy Stecher scored six minutes apart in the first period. Carl Grundstrom added the third goal and an empty-netter after setting up Moore's game-winner.
Mike Smith made 42 saves for the Oilers, who will be the home team for Game 5 on Tuesday.
Washington’s Evgeny Kuznetsov and Jamie Benn of Dallas have been fined $5,000 for high sticking on a pair of incidents that didn’t get penalized.
Kuznetsov’s play against Florida’s Noel Acciari came in the first period of the Capitals’ 6-1 victory in Game 3 Saturday.
Benn’s infraction against Calgary’s Andrew Mangiapane was in the middle of the second period of the Stars’ 4-2 victory in Game 3.
MLB:
Baseball’s defending champs were able to win a series for just the second time this season.
The Braves scored four runs in the second inning and led 9-0 by the fifth inning of a 9-2 rout of the Brewers. Matt Olson hit a two-run double in the second, one inning before Duvall homered off starter and loser Aaron Ashby. William Contreras added a three-run drive in the fifth off Jandel Gustave to pad the lead.
Charlie Morton entered the game with a 7.85 ERA in four starts this season before allowing two hits and three walks over five shutout innings.
Atlanta took the last two games of the series to cool off the NL Central leaders.
Also on major league diamonds:
The Mets split a pair with the Phillies, earning a 6-1 win following a 3-2 loss in the opener. Bryce Harper homered off former Nationals teammate Max Scherzer for the second straight meeting, Harper also had an RBI single to help the Phillies bounce back from Thursday’s 8-7 loss to the Mets.
The Mets improved to 8-0-1 in series this season when Pete Alonso homered twice and drove in five runs. Alonso hit a two-run shot and a three-run blast after going 0-for-3 in the opener. Chris Bassitt allowed one run in 5 ⅔ innings for the NL East-leaders, including Jean Segura’s home run.
Walker Buehler was a winner in his 100th career start by holding the Cubs to one run and four hits over seven innings of the Dodgers’ 7-1 victory. Cody Bellinger had three hits for Los Angeles, and Justin Turner and Freddie Freeman each contributed a sacrifice fly. Mookie Betts went 2 for 5 while extending his hitting streak to a team-high nine games.
The Padres pulled out a 3-2 win over the Marlins on Jorge Alfaro’s three-run homer with two out in the bottom of the ninth. Trent Grisham and CJ Abrams got on base ahead of Alfaro, who victimized his former team. Jazz Chisholm homered for the Marlins, who have lost seven of eight.
Mike Yastrzemski belted a tiebreaking home run into McCovey Cove in the sixth inning of the Giants’ 4-3 verdict over the Cardinals. LaMonte Wade Jr. also homered in his third game off the injured list to help the Giants win their second straight after a five-game losing streak. San Francisco closer Camilo Doval got slugger Nolan Arenado to strike out swinging with the tying run on second base to complete his fifth save.
The Diamondbacks were 4-0 winners over the Rockies as Zac Gallan struck out seven while yielding five hits over seven frames. Jose Herrera hit a two-run double for his first big-league RBIs, and Ketel Marte had three hits to boost his average to .206. Arizona has won nine of its last 12.
Colin Moran was the hitting star in the Reds’ 7-3 win against Pittsburgh, providing a grand slam and a two-run homer against his former team. Tyler Mahle pitched five solid innings and the Reds rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the sixth. Cincinnati took two of three in the series after entering the weekend with a major league-worst 3-22 record.
The Angels scored three times in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Nationals, 5-4. Shohei Ohtani tied it with a two-run double and scored on Anthony Rendon’s walk-off single. Jack Mayfield also drove in two runs for the Angels.
The Yankees had to settle for a split of their doubleheader, winning 2-1 before absorbing a 4-2 loss in the nightcap. Gleyber Torres ended the opener with a walk-off homer in the ninth inning. Gerrit Cole allowed a run and five hits in 6 1/3 innings for a no-decision in Game 1.
In Game 2 in the Bronx, Brad Miller hit a go-ahead pinch hit two-run homer in the seventh inning that ended Michael King’s string of 14 1/3 scoreless innings. Eli White also homered as Texas won for the fifth time in six games. Giancarlo Stanton belted a two-run homer for the Yankees, who lost for only the second time in 14 games.
The Astros ran their winning streak to seven games as Aledmys Díaz hit a grand slam and Jake Odorizzi threw five innings of one-hit ball in a 5-0 shutout of the Tigers. Alex Bregman later padded the lead with a solo homer off Joe Jimenez for his fifth home run of the season. Houston’s winning streak followed an 11-11 start.
Abraham Toro hit a tying homer in the ninth inning and Ty France singled home the winning run in the 10th to give the Mariners their first win in seven games, 2-1 versus the Rays. Toro connected off Andrew Kittredge with one out in the bottom of the ninth for his fourth home run. Manuel Margot hit his third home run of the series for the Rays, who had won six straight overall and eight in a row on the road.
It’s now a nine-game losing streak for the Athletics after the Minnesota bullpen combined for 6 2/3 innings of shutout work in a 4-3 downing of Oakland. Jorge Polanco laced a two-run single in the third inning for a 4-3 lead. The Twins allowed only four runs over three games against the Athletics.
Oscar Mercado’s RBI single in the eighth inning gave the Guardians a 4-3 decision over the Blue Jays. Toronto took a 3-2 lead into the eighth, but Owen Miller’s one-out homer off Tim Mayza tied it. José Ramírez furnished an RBI triple in the win.
The Orioles and Royals split a pair in Baltimore, with the Birds taking a 4-2 win in the nightcap following Kansas City’s 6-4 victory. Michael Taylor hit a tiebreaking single in the ninth of the opening after a pair of two-out Baltimore errors. Kansas City manager Mike Matheny recorded his 700th career win in the majors with the Royals and St. Louis.
José Abreu poked a two-run double and Leury García added an RBI single as the White Sox beat the Red Sox, 3-2 for their season-high sixth straight victory. Dallas Keuchel allowed two runs on eight hits to end a three-start losing skid. The White Sox are over .500 for the first time since April 20.
Red Sox right-hander Michael Wacha was scratched from his scheduled start in Sunday’s series finale against the Chicago White Sox and placed on the 15-day injured list.
Manager Alex Cora said Wacha was feeling sore on his left side after his last bullpen session. Cora said the 30-year-old Wacha had an MRI Saturday and “everything was clean.”
Also in the majors:
The Mets have released second baseman Robinson Canó, a week after the 39-year-old was designated for assignment despite nearly $45 million remaining on his contract. Cano is hitting .195 this season.
The Cubs scratched Marcus Stroman before their game against the Dodgers, putting the right-hander on the injured list without a designation. The move likely means Stroman’s absence is connected to a COVID-19-related issue.
NASCAR:
Joey Logano bumped leader William Byron from behind on the next to last lap to win the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway.
Logano tracked Byron for about 25 laps until catching him and hitting him hard in the rear bumper turn three. Byron slid into the wall and Logano went on to his first win of the season and first at the track.
Byron finished 13th and wasn’t happy with Logano’s late-race tactic, calling him an idiot.
Tyler Reddick was second, followed by Justin Haley, Kevin Harvick and Chase Elliott.
Max Verstappen used an aggressive early pass on Formula One championship leader Charles Leclerc then controlled the inaugural Miami Grand Prix for his third victory of the season.
The reigning world champion started third, but Red Bull quickly got the best of Ferrari for a second consecutive race.
Ferrari settled for second and third for Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr.
PGA:
Max Homa now has four career PGA wins, with half of those coming in the Wells Fargo Championship.
Homa turned a two-stroke deficit into a two-shot win over Keegan Bradley near Washington, D.C. It comes three years after he won the Wells Fargo title at Quail Hollow. The tournament was moved to Maryland this year while Quail Hollow prepares to host the Presidents Cup in September.
A two-shot swing on the 15th hole gave Homa a three-shot lead. He closed with a 2-under 68 for an 8-under total in his second win of the season.
Steve Flesch rallied from four shots behind with a 7-under 65 for a one-shot victory in the Mitsubishi Electric Classic, his second title at the TPC Sugarloaf.
Flesch also won this tournament in 2018, his only other win on the PGA Tour Champions.
David Toms had a two-shot lead on the back nine when he missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the 13th and then a 6-footer for par on the 14th.
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