NBA PLAYOFFS:
The Dallas Mavericks will head back to Phoenix for a seventh game in their Western Conference semifinal series.
Luka Doncic delivered 33 points as the Mavs clobbered the Suns, 113-86. Doncic played through an apparent left leg injury that sent him to the locker room in the second quarter. When he returned to the court, Dallas went on a decisive 19-5 run to finish the first half, turning a two-point lead into a 60-45 halftime edge.
Reggie Bullock scored 19 points and Jalen Brunson added 18 for Dallas. Spencer Dinwiddie had a series-high 15, all on 3s.
Devin Booker scored 19 points for the Suns but was shut out from 3-point range while going 6 of 17 overall from the field.
Game 7 is Saturday.
Meanwhile, The Miami Heat have won another NBA playoff round by stifling the Philadelphia 76ers’ top two stars.
The Heat are in the Eastern Conference finals for the second time in three years following a 99-90 comeback win over the 76ers.
Jimmy Butler pumped in 32 points for Miami, which will take on the Bucks or Celtics in the next round. Butler scored 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting in the third quarter, when the Heat went on a 16-2 run to take control.
Max Strus had 20 points and 11 rebounds to help the Heat overcome 7 for 28 shooting from 3-point range.
Sixers center Joel Embiid shot 7 of 24 in scoring 20 points. James Harden furnished all 11 of his points by halftime and finished with four turnovers and four baskets.
Memphis Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman has been named the NBA basketball executive of the year.
The 33-year-old Kleiman is the youngest to ever win the award and is the second executive with the Grizzlies to receive the honor. Jerry West won the award for the 2003-04 season while working with the Grizzlies.
Kleiman put together the roster that had the NBA’s second-best record at 56-26, tying the franchise record for wins in a single season. The Grizzlies’ No. 2 seed in the Western Conference is the highest in franchise history.
MLB:
The New York Mets haven’t reeled off a winning streak longer than three games so far this season, but they still haven’t lost a series.
Mark Canha and Taijuan Walker led the Mets to a 4-1 victory this afternoon in the rubber match of their series in Washington. Canha had three of New York’s five hits, including a two-run single and a solo homer. That was enough support for Walker, who scattered three hits over seven shutout innings.
The NL East leaders improved to 9-0-1 in series this season once Edwin Diaz worked the ninth to complete a combined four-hitter.
Also on major league diamonds:
The Phillies coughed up a 7-1 lead before scoring twice in the ninth to beat the Dodgers, 9-7. The Phillies scored the tiebreaking run on a wild pitch before Bryce Harper hit a sacrifice fly to give the Phillies a two-run lead. Harper also homered and had three RBIs.
Connor Overton got his first major league win and combined with three relievers on a four-hitter in the Reds’ first shutout of the season, 4-0 over the Pirates. Overton allowed three hits and four walks in 6 1/3 innings with one strikeout. Tyler Stephenson hit a home run and an RBI single for Cincinnati.
The Yankees earned their fourth straight win as Giancarlo Stanton homered twice and drove in six runs to lead their 15-7 thumping of the White Sox. Aaron Judge and Josh Donaldson also connected for major league-leading New York, which broke the game open with a seven-run eighth. Judge had four RBIs, and Donaldson drove in three.
The Orioles won the battle of the birds as Jorge Mateo and Anthony Bemboom homered in a 3-2 victory over the Cardinals. Rylan Bannon became just the third Baltimore player since 2000 to get a hit on the first pitch of his big league career. The O’s improved to 4-1 in rubber games this season.
The Astros rolled to an 11-3 rout of the Twins in the completion of a game suspended Thursday night because of rain. Jose Altuve and Jeremy Peña drove in three runs apiece, with Altuve and Kyle Tucker providing homers. Twins manger Rocco Baldelli was back in the dugout after missing a week due to COVID-19.
The Astros made it 10 straight wins by taking their other game on Thursday, 5-0 at Minnesota. Yordan Álvarez homered twice and Jeremy Peña capped a big day with three hits. Luis Garcia fanned nine over five innings and combined with three relievers on a seven-hitter.
Seth Brown delivered a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the eighth inning of the Athletics’ 5-3 verdict over the Tigers. Jed Lowrie hit an RBI single in a three-run first and scored on Brown’s go-ahead blast, which sent Detroit to its ninth loss in 10 games. Oakland took four of five in the series after reaching Motown on a nine-game losing streak.
Taylor Hearn allowed only one hit in five scoreless innings of the Rangers’ 3-1 downing of the Royals. Joe Barlow pitched a scoreless ninth, retiring Whit Merrifield on a grounder with two runners on base, for his sixth save in six opportunities. Brad Miller homered and scored the game’s first run.
Phillies slugger Bryce Harper has a small tear in his right elbow and won’t throw for four weeks, but the reigning NL MVP will stay in the lineup as Philadelphia’s designated hitter.
Manager Joe Girardi says Harper will receive a platelet-rich plasma injection Sunday and won’t play that day at Dodger Stadium.
Harper has seven home runs and 22 RBIs this season
Also around the majors:
Pitching coach Carl Willis will serve as the Guardians’ acting manager when the coronavirus-hampered team start a three-game series against the Twins Friday at Target Field. The Guardians reported no new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, a day after manager Terry Francona and five coaches tested positive. To this point, no players have tested positive with the virus.
NHL:
The St. Louis Blues are the second team to reach the second round of the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs.
Jordan Binnington made 25 saves and the Blues beat the Minnesota Wild, 5-1 to close out their opening-round series in six games. Ryan O’Reilly, Tyler Bozak and Vladimir Tarasenko scored in a dominant second period during which the Blues outshot the Wild, 22-5.
Nick Leddy also scored, Colton Parayko added an empty-netter and David Perron had two assists as St. Louis won its first series since defeating the Bruins in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.
Next up for the Blues are the Colorado Avalanche.
There will be at least three Game 7s in the first round.
The two-time defending-champion Lightning avoided elimination by outlasting the Maple Leafs, 4-3 in overtime. Brayden Point scored on a rebound with 1:56 showing on the clock in OT, preventing the Leafs from wrapping up their first series win since 2004.
Ondrej Palat, Anthony Cirelli and Nikita Kucherov also scored for the Bolts, who blew a two-goal lead for the second straight game and trailed 3-2 entering the third period.
Andrei Vasilevskiy had 30 saves, nine of them in overtime. He’s 18-0 in games following a playoff loss over the past three postseasons.
Game 7 is Saturday in Toronto.
The Bruins have stretched their first-round series to the limit with a 5-2 win over the Hurricanes. Brad Marchand delivered a goal and an assist, giving him 10 points in Boston’s three victories in the series. Marchand broke a scoreless tie 46 seconds into the second period. Charlie Coyle made it 2-0 later in the third period before Erick Haula and Derek Forbert beat Antti Raanta in the third. Curtis Lazar added an empty-netter.
Andrei Svechnikov provided Carolina’s goals
The home team has won each game by a combined 29-10 margin. Game 7 is Saturday in Raleigh.
The Oilers staved off elimination as Tyson Barrie snapped a 2-2 tie with 5:10 remaining in a 4-2 victory against the Kings. Edmonton squandered a 2-0 lead and were tied after Carl Grunstrom's goal 29 seconds into the third period.
Evander Kane clinched the win with an empty-netter, his second goal of the game and seventh of the series.
Connor McDavid had a goal and two assists for the Oilers, who will be home for Game 7 on Saturday.
Carey Price is the lone goaltender since 2002 to win the NHL’s Hart Trophy, capturing it in 2015. New York Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin could end that drought after being named one of the three finalists for this year’s honor.
Shesterkin just helped the Rangers earn their first conference quarterfinal appearance in five years, compiling a 2.07 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage. He;‘s also a finalist for the Vezina Trophy.
The other finalists are Toronto center Auston Matthews and Edmonton center Connor McDavid. Matthews led the league with 60 goals and McDavid was the leader in points with 123.
In other NHL news:
The Penguins could be without captain Sidney Crosby as they try to close out their Stanley Cup first-round series on Friday against the visiting Rangers. Crosby absorbed a high hit from Jacob Trouba in Game 5 on Wednesday and didn’t play the final 26 minutes. Without him, the Pens watched a two-goal lead become a 5-3 loss that allowed the Rangers to force a Game 6.
GOLF:
Sebastian Munoz fired a course-record 12-under 60 in the opening round of the Byron Nelson. He is the first PGA Tour player ever with two rounds of 60 in the same season.
Munoz was at 2-under par after taking a penalty shot because of a wayward tee shot at the eighth hole. The 29-year-old Colombian then was 6-under over his next four holes with two eagles. He finished with a 12-foot birdie.
He also had a 60 in the opening round of the the RSM Classic at Seaside in Georgia in November.
Munoz has a four-shot lead over Mito Pereira, Peter Malnati, K.H. Lee and Justin Lower.
Steve Stricker shot a 7-under 65 for a two-stroke lead over Miguel Angel Jimenez and Wes Short Jr. through the opening round of the Regions Tradition, the first of five PGA Tour Champions majors.
Stricker closed his bogey-free round with a birdie on No. 18 at Greystone Golf & Country Club. Jimenez started on the 10th tee and broke out of a 10-player logjam at 4 under with a birdie on No. 8. Both are former Tradition champions.
Short joined Jimenez at 67 with a closing birdie on 18, his sixth along with one bogey.
Madelene Sagstrom shot a flawless 9-under 63 to take one-stroke lead over Megan Khang after the first round of the Cognizant Founders Cup.
Nasa Hataoka was third after a 65 on the Upper Montclair Country Club course in New Jersey.
Bianca Pagdanganan, Amy Yang and Giulia Molinaro were tied for fourth at 66, a shot ahead of group that included Lexi Thompson and Minjee Lee.
NFL:
The Los Angeles Rams will open the upcoming NFL season against the Buffalo Bills on September 8.
The league announced its schedule for 2022, giving the defending Super Bowl champs the now-traditional honor of hosting the first game. The AFC-champion Bengals will begin their season at home against the Steelers on Sept. 11.
Sunday’s prime-time game features Tom Brady and the Buccaneers at Dallas.
Also in the NFL:
Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy was arrested Thursday on a domestic violence-related charge in suburban Denver. He was being held at the Arapahoe County Jail, which is next to the team’s training complex.
Former AFL Most Valuable Player and original member of the Boston Patriots Gino Cappelletti has died at 89. Cappelletti played receiver and kicker and scored the first regular-season points in AFL history, a 35-yard field goal in the first quarter of the Patriots’ 13-10 loss to the Broncos. He went on to be the league’s MVP in 1964 and was one of three players to play in every game in the AFL’s 10-year history, along with Jim Otto and George Blanda.
HORSE RACING:
There will be no Triple Crown winner in thoroughbred racing this year.
Rich Strike will not run in the Preakness as owner Rich Dawson and trainer Eric Reed stick to their initial plan to rest the colt for five weeks. Rich Strike went off at 80-1 in winning the Kentucky Derby last weekend.
The plan now is to have Rich Strike ready to run in the Belmont Stakes on June 11.
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