NBA PLAYOFFS
Jalen Brunson scored 29 points, RJ Barrett had 26 and the New York Knicks took a 3-1 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in their first-round series with a 102-93 victory. Josh Hart moved into the starting lineup and had 19 points and seven rebounds for the fifth-seeded Knicks. New York can reach the second round for the first time in a decade if it beats the Cavs in Cleveland on Wednesday. Donovan Mitchell finished with just 11 points on 5-for-18 shooting for Cleveland.
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum each scored 31 points and the Boston Celtics led nearly the entire way, holding off the Atlanta Hawks for a 129-121 victory and a commanding 3-1 lead in their opening-round playoff series. The Celtics can deliver the clincher Tuesday night when the series returns to Boston for Game 5. Tatum and Brown combined to score Boston’s final 16 points. Brown has been wearing a protective mask after sustaining facial contusions in February. He took off the device after making only 1 of 7 shots and went 11 of 15 the rest of the way. Trae Young led Atlanta with 35 points.
Stephen Curry scored 32 points but gave Sacramento a late chance when he called a timeout Golden State didn’t have, and the defending champion Warriors held on to beat the Sacramento Kings 126-125 when Harrison Barnes missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Warriors evenening d the Northern California rivals' the playoff series at two games apiece. De’Aaron Fox scored 38 points for Sacramento. His 3-pointer with 28.7 seconds left pulled the Kings within one. Golden State led 126-121 with 42.4 seconds left when Curry called the excessive timeout, and Malik Monk made the technical free throw for Sacramento.
Reigning NBA Finals MVP Stephen Curry called a timeout in the final minute the defending champions didn’t have — and nearly cost Golden State a crucial playoff game. The Warriors held on to beat the Kings anyway. Curry said he thought it was a good decision but didn't know there were no timeouts remaining after the Warriors lost one when their earlier challenge of an offensive foul was unsuccessful. Curry scored 32 points in the 126-125 victory that evened the best-of-seven first-round series with Sacramento at 2-all. Coach Steve Kerr took responsibility for the ill-advised timeout, saying he neglected to inform his team.
Memphis agitator Dillon Brooks believes his image as an NBA villain contributed to the decision to eject him from Game 3 of the Grizzlies’ playoff series with the Los Angeles Lakers after he struck LeBron James in the groin. Brooks said Sunday that his flagrant foul 2 was an accident and he believes his reputation in the media and among fans was a factor in his ejection from the third quarter of Memphis’ 111-101 loss Saturday night. Brooks was tossed from a game for the third time this season, delighting the Lakers’ home crowd that had been booing his every move since pregame warmups.
Anthony Edwards scored 34 points, Karl-Anthony Towns had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Denver Nuggets 114-108 in overtime in Game 4 to avoid elimination. Rudy Gobert added 14 points and 15 rebounds for Minnesota which held on after Denver scored the final 12 points of regulation to force overtime. Mike Conley had 19 points for the Timberwolves. Game 5 is Tuesday in Denver. Nikola Jokic tied a playoff career high with 43 points and added 11 rebounds for the Nuggets.
NHL PLAYOFFS
Taylor Hall and Jake DeBrusk each scored twice, Linus Ullmark stopped 41 shots and the Boston Bruins beat the Florida Panthers 6-2 yesterday in an Eastern Conference first-round playoff game Sunday. Brad Marchand and Tyler Bertuzzi also had goals for the Bruins, who took a (taking a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series by getting a second consecutive win on Florida ice. Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett had goals for Florida, while Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 25 shots for the Panthers, who will try to fend off elimination when they visit Boston for Game 5 on Wednesday.
Seth Jarvis scored twice and the Carolina Hurricanes snapped an eight-game postseason road losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders on Sunday to take a 3-1 series lead. The loss pushed the Islanders to the brink of elimination. Sebastian Aho added a goal and two assists and Antti Raanta made 27 saves in helping the Canes win on the road for the first time in the playoffs since the second round in 2021. Game 5 is Tuesday night in Raleigh, North Carolina. Adam Pelech and Bo Horvat scored for New York.
Tyler Seguin scored two power-play goals and Jake Oettinger made 33 saves to help the Dallas Stars bounce(d) back from a lopsided loss and beat the Minnesota Wild 3-2 in Game 4 to even their first-round NHL playoff series. Evgenii Dadonov gave the Stars a two-goal lead early in the third period just 8 seconds after escaping the penalty box. John Klingberg against his former team to bring the Wild within one. But Seguin delivered again after Minnesota's Marcus Foligno took another contested penalty. Game 5 is in Dallas on Tuesday night.
Zach Hyman scored at 10:39 of overtime as the Edmonton Oilers rallied from three goals down late in the first period to beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-4 to even their first-round series at two games apiece. Leon Draisaitl had two goals and an assist for the Oilers, Evan Bouchard had a goal and two assists while Evander Kane also scored. Connor McDavid had three assists, and Jack Campbell, who came in after Stuart Skinner was pulled after one period, made 27 saves. Viktor Arvidsson had a goal and an assist for the Kings, while Kevin Fiala had two assists in his first game since April 1. Gabriel Vilardi, Anze Kopitar and Matt Roy also scored for the Kings while Joonas Korpisalo stopped 35 shots. Phillip Danault also had two assists.
Meanwhile, the New Jersey Devils play the N-Y Rangers tonight in game 4 at 7 p.m. The Rangers lead the series 2-1.
Toronto at Tampa Bay 7:30 p.m.
Vegas at Winnipeg 9:30 p.m.
Colorado at Seattle 10 p.m.
MLB
Masataka Yoshida homered twice during Boston’s nine-run outburst in the eighth inning as the Red Sox rallied to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 12-5. Justin Turner and Yoshida started the eighth with back-to-back homers off Matt Bush that gave Boston a 5-4 lead. Yoshida then capped the inning with a grand slam off Javy Guerra that landed in the second deck of right-field seats. Yoshida became the fifth Red Sox player to homer twice in one inning, and first since Hall of Fame slugger David Ortiz in August 2008. Brian Anderson homered twice for the Brewers.
Kevin Gausman struck out 11 in seven shutout innings, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Daulton Varsho hit back-to-back homers following an error by rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the New York Yankees 5-1. The Blue Jays won for the 12th time in 18 games and took two of three in the Bronx to hand New York its first series loss. The Yankees had won or split their first six series, their longest streak to start a season since 2003. New York had been 11-0 when facing a series loss and was the only team that hadn't dropped a series this year. Gausman held the Yankees to three hits, and Guerrero hit a two-run drive in the sixth off starter Clarke Schmidt.
Joc Pederson scored from first base on Mike Yastrzemski’s one-out double in the eighth inning, sending the San Francisco Giants to a 5-4 win over the New York Mets. Activated off the injured list before the game, Pederson drove in the Giants’ first run with a single in the first and then started the winning rally with a walk against Drew Smith. Yastrzemski followed with a line drive into right-center, and a sliding Pederson beat the relay to the plate. Thairo Estrada hit his fourth home run for the Giants. San Francisco, which entered with the third-lowest winning percentage in the National League, won its second straight against New York to split the four-game series. Touted rookie Francisco Álvarez homered for the Mets.
Trea Turner and Kody Clemens each hit solo homers, Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh each hit two-run shots and Zack Wheeler struck out 11 to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 9-3 win over the Colorado Rockies. The Phillies took the final three games of a four-game series and have won six of eight overall. Wheeler finished with his 17th career double-digit strikeout game and ninth with the Phillies. Rockies starter José Ureña got the loss, giving up four runs, walking four and failing to record a strikeout in 3 2/3 innings.
Vince Velasquez struck out 10 in seven innings, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat Hunter Greene and the Cincinnati Reds 2-0 for their seventh consecutive victory. It was the most strikeouts for Velasquez since May 10, 2018, when he had 12 for the Phillies against the Giants. He allowed two hits and walked two. The Pirates improved to 16-7 for the franchise’s best start since its last division title in 1992. David Bednar struck out two in the ninth for his eighth save, finishing a four-hitter.
CHEVRON CHAMPIONSHIP
Lilia Vu birdied the first playoff hole to win her first major at the Chevron Championship after fellow American Angel Yin hit her approach shot into the water. Yin’s second shot came up short and left and splashed into the pond guarding the par-5 18th hole at Carlton Woods, and Vu hit her approach just over the green. Vu converted the birdie from about 10 feet for the victory. The 25-year-old Californian won for the second time on the LPGA Tour and took a celebratory leap into the pond, a tradition borrowed from this tournament’s former venue at Mission Hills in the California desert.
NASCAR
Kyle Busch won his second race of the season since joining Richard Childress Racing when he snatched the victory in double overtime at Talladega Superspeedway. It was the second win for Busch at Talladega, 15 years apart. He won when Bubba Wallace was spun by Ryan Blaney as Wallace tried to block Blaney. It triggered a race-ending caution that gave RCR its 13th victory at NASCAR's biggest track. Blaney finished second to lead a parade of Ford drivers to second through fifth-place finishes.
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Final Atlanta 2 Chicago 1
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