NBA:
Jimmy Butler scored 41 points, and the Miami Heat turned things around with a huge third quarter on the way to beating the shorthanded Boston Celtics 118-107 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday night.
Tyler Herro scored 18 and Gabe Vincent added 17 for the Heat, who outscored Boston 39-14 in the third quarter. Butler had 17 alone in the third, outscoring the Celtics by himself over those 12 minutes. Jayson Tatum scored 29 for the Celtics, who were without starters Marcus Smart (foot) and Al Horford (health and safety protocols). Jaylen Brown scored 24 for Boston, which got 18 apiece from Robert Williams III and Payton Pritchard.
In other playoffs news:
Milwaukee’s mayor and police chief are pleading with citizens and lawmakers to help address ongoing gun violence punctuated by shootings outside an NBA playoff game that left 21 injured. Police arrested 11 people varying in ages from 19 to 30. The incidents happened Friday night near a downtown entertainment area known as the Deer District.
The Orlando Magic won the NBA draft lottery and landed the No. 1 overall pick for the first time since they got Dwight Howard nearly two decades ago. Orlando finished with the worst record in the Eastern Conference at 22-60 and missed the playoffs for the eighth time in 10 years.
But they got a huge win in the lottery, with the top pick for the first time since taking Howard in 2004. Duke’s Paolo Banchero, Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren, Purdue’s Jaden Ivey and Auburn’s Jabari Smith are widely considered the most likely candidates to be taken first. The draft is June 23 in New York.
Oklahoma City got the second pick, followed by Houston and Sacramento.
In other NBA news:
According to a person familiar with the situation, the Charlotte Hornets have scheduled second interviews with Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham and Golden State Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson this week for their head coaching vacancy. The team is also scheduled to interview former Portland Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts this week.
The State Department said Tuesday that it still pushing to have regular contact with WNBA star Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury, who has been detained in Russia for nearly three months after vape cartridges containing oil derived from cannabis were allegedly found in her luggage at an airport in Moscow. The NBA also weighed in on the matter Tuesday, with Commissioner Adam Silver saying that he is working “side by side” with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert to try and bring Griner home.
Boston Celtics co-owner Rob Hale and his wife, Karen. are donating $2 million toward protecting the Florida manatees and their habitat following two seasons of record-breaking manatee mortalities in the state. Last year, a record 1,100 manatees died largely from starvation because water pollution.
NHL PLAYOFFS:
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period, Andrei Vasilevskiy remained red-hot with 34 saves and the Tampa Bay Lightning topped the Florida Panthers 4-1 in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series. Nikita Kucherov and Corey Perry each had a goal and an assist and Ross Colton also scored for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions. The Lightning took Game 1 against their in-state rivals for the second consecutive season. Anthony Duclair had the goal for Florida.
Also:
Josh Manson scored 8:02 into overtime, Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves in his return to the net from an eye injury, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 3-2 in Game 1 of their second-round series. Valeri Nichushkin and Samuel Girard also added goals for an Avalanche team that had a weeklong layoff after sweeping Nashville. They outshot the Blues 54-25, including 13-0 in OT. The Avalanche also hit three posts and two crossbars. Ryan O’Reilly had a first-period goal and Jordan Kyrou tied it late for St. Louis. Jordan Binnington finished with 51 saves.
MLB:
Aaron Judge homered twice after his first-inning drive bounced off the new left-field wall at Camden Yards, and the New York Yankees topped the Baltimore Orioles 5-4 for their 20th win in 23 games.
Judge came within a few feet of a three-homer game. His bid in the first hit high off the wall that was moved back and made taller before this season. He settled for an RBI double on that play, then hit solo shots in the third and fifth. Judge now has a major league-leading 14 home runs. Ramón Urías went deep for the Orioles.
In other Tuesday action:
The Astros tied the MLB record for most home runs in an inning, hitting five off Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi as part of a nine-run second to help Houston rout Boston 13-4. Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Jeremy Peña, Michael Brantley and Yuli Gurriel all went deep for the Astros. Eovaldi became just the third pitcher in major league history to surrender five home runs in an inning.
Mike Clevinger tossed one-hit ball over five shutout innings and the San Diego Padres beat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-0. Clevinger won for the first time in three starts this season. He missed last season while rehabbing after Tommy John surgery. T
Brady Singer outdueled Davis Martin as the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 2-1 in the second game of a doubleheader. The White Sox won the first game 3-0. Singer (1-0) had his best outing since last September 5, when he threw seven shutout innings against the White Sox. He struck out a career high nine batters and didn’t walk anyone.
Ronald Acuña Jr. returned to action, Marcell Ozuna hit a two-run homer and the Atlanta Braves ended their scoring drought in a 3-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. Adam Duvall scored an unearned run in the fifth to end a string of 20 straight scoreless innings for the Braves’ lineup.
Tyler O’Neill redeemed himself after setting a Cardinals record for a doubleheader with six strikeouts, beating out a tiebreaking infield single in the ninth inning as St. Louis beat the New York Mets 4-3 to split their twinbill.
Kevin Kiermaier, Brett Phillips and Randy Arozarena each homered and drove in two runs, Shane McClanahan struck out seven in seven innings and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Detroit Tigers 8-1.
José Berríos and two relievers combined on a six-hitter, George Springer provided all the offense with a bases-loaded triple, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Seattle Mariners 3-0. Berríos (3-2) snapped a two-start losing streak and matched his season-high by pitching seven innings. Seattle is 7-14 on the road.
Jeff McNeil and Dominic Smith helped New York chip away at Miles Mikolas, Trevor Williams was sharp in a spot start and the Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 to open a doubleheader.
Mike Moustakas drew the third straight walk in the 10th inning by Cleveland reliever Nick Sandlin to force in a run, and the Cincinnati Reds hung on for a 5-4 win over the Guardians. The Reds won their major league-worst 10th game.
Miguel Rojas homered, doubled and singled to lead the Miami Marlins over the Washington Nationals 5-1. The Marlins will attempt to complete their second three-game sweep of the season against Washington on Wednesday.
Keegan Thompson combined with three relievers on a five-hitter, and the Chicago Cubs shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates for the second straight game, a 7-0 win that extended their winning streak to a season-best four. The shutout was the fifth against Pittsburgh this season.
Baltimore Orioles pitcher Matt Harvey has been suspended for 60 games by Major League Baseball for distributing a prohibited drug of abuse. The punishment follows his admission that he provided opioids to Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, who fatally overdosed.
Harvey admitted in February during a federal trial in Texas stemming from Skaggs’ death that he used cocaine in New York and California.
In a second suspension:
Milwaukee pitcher J.C. Mejía has been suspended for 80 games following a positive test for a performance-enhancing substance under Major League Baseball’s drug program. A 25-year-old right-hander acquired from Cleveland in November.
Elsewhere in the majors:
Guardians manager Terry Francona is missing his fourth consecutive game after testing positive for COVID-19 last week. Francona and most of his coaching staff were forced to return from the team’s trip to Chicago and Minnesota after an outbreak in Cleveland’s clubhouse.
The Chicago Cubs placed outfielder Jason Heyward on the injured list with no designation and selected left-handed pitcher Brandon Hughes from Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday. Manager David Ross said Heyward is “doing OK” and added “he had some real stuff” that included body aches and hydration issues.
Mets leadoff man Brandon Nimmo is day to day with a bruised right quadriceps after fouling a ball off his right leg and leaving New York’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals.
NFL:
Former Chicago Bears running back Tarik Cohen, now a free agent, apparently suffered an injury during a training session being live-streamed on his Instagram account.
The hard-luck player, released in March by the Bears due to past injuries, grabbed the back of his leg after going down during the workout. The incident was seen on Instagram Live, with Cohen falling to the floor after back-peddling.
Cohen played three full seasons with Chicago but made it to only three games in 2021 before tearing knee ligaments.
In other NFL news:
The Tennessee Titans have agreed to terms on a multi-year contract with the 18th pick overall in wide receiver Treylon Burks. The Titans now have five of their nine draft picks under contract.
PGA:
Phil Mickelson isn’t even at Southern Hills and he’s still the talk of Tulsa.
Hardly a player could escape the microphone without addressing Mickelson’s decision to skip the PGA Championship after the incendiary comments he made about a Saudi-funded rival league he supports in conflict with the PGA Tour. Mickelson also skipped the Masters. But the PGA Championship at Southern Hills feels like an even bigger deal. It was supposed to be Lefty’s victory lap after his stunning win last year at age 50. Rory McIlroy called it “sad” that Mickelson isn’t defending his title.