NBA
James Harden matched his playoff career high with 45 points and hit a go-ahead, step-back 3-pointer over Al Horford with 8.7 seconds left as the Philadelphia 76ers rallied without Joel Embiid to beat the Boston Celtics 119-115 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal. Tyrese Maxey added 26 points and Tobias Harris finished with 18 for the Sixers, who made 17 3-pointers in the absence of MVP finalist Embiid, who sat sat out with a sprained right knee. Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 39 points and 11 rebounds. Jaylen Brown added 23 points. Boston hosts Game 2 on Wednesday night.
The Denver Nuggets took a 2-0 lead over the Phoenix Suns in their Western Conference semifinal as they rallied for a 97-87 victory at Ball Arena. Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 39 points and 16 rebounds one night before the MVP winner is announced by the NBA. Jokic has won the last two MVP awards. Devin Booker led the Suns with 35 points and Kevin Durant added 24. The Suns slowed down the high-scoring Nuggets but Denver kept chipping away at a stubborn deficit and surged ahead in the fourth quarter when they turned up the defense. Game 3 is Friday night at 10 in Phoenix.
It’s LeBron vs. Steph on the big stage, Take Five. Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and these Warriors have never faced LeBron’s Los Angeles Lakers in the playoffs — even if they’re plenty familiar with James himself. The Warriors faced James' Cleveland Cavaliers in four straight Finals from 2015-18. Game 1 in this best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series is on the Warriors’ home floor Tuesday night — Golden State is the sixth seed and the Lakers No. 7.
NHL PLAYOFFS
Akira Schmid rebounded from his only bad game and made 31 saves in Game 7 to lead the New Jersey Devils to a 4-0 victory over the New York Rangers Monday night in an entertaining first-round playoff series. Michael McLeod and Tomas Tatar scored second-period goals in the series decider and Erik Haula and Jesper Bratt added insurance goals in game between the long-time Hudson River rivals. Coming off a franchise best 52-win season, the Devils will open the Eastern Conference semifinals on Wednesday against the Metropolitan Division-winning Hurricanes in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The first round of the NHL playoffs is usually chaotic. This year is no exception. The Stanley Cup favorite, the defending NHL champion and the team that made three consecutive trips to the final are all out. After winning a playoff series for the first time since 2004, the Toronto Maple Leafs are now favored to win its first championship since 1967. Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers also have a chance to come out of the West in another bid to end Canada's 30-year Cup drought.
MLB
Alex Verdugo belted a leadoff homer in the ninth inning against Jordan Romano for his third walk-off hit this season, and the Boston Red Sox beat Toronto 6-5 to end a nine-game losing streak to the Blue Jays. Emmanuel Valdez hit his first major league home run, a two-run drive, and Jarren Duran added a solo shot for the Red Sox. Masataka Yoshida had two hits with an RBI and extended his hitting streak to 11 games for Boston, which had lost its last eight games at Fenway Park against the Blue Jays. Bo Bichette hit a three-run homer and went 5 for 5 for the Blue Jays, who lost for just the fourth time in 12 games.
Sean Murphy had a pair of three-run homers in the opener, powering the Braves to a 9-8 victory. In the second game, Francisco Álvarez hit a go-ahead, two-run double in the sixth inning and the New York Mets beat Atlanta 5-3 to split a doubleheader after Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. exited the nightcap early with a bruised shoulder. Sean Murphy had a pair of three-run homers in the opener, powering the Braves to a 9-8 victory after the teams were rained out the previous two days. In the first game, Acuña launched a 448-foot home run and finished a triple shy of the cycle. Leading off the second game, he was drilled in the left shoulder with a 93-mph fastball from Tylor Megill and came out. The Mets won for the second time in eight games and snapped a six-game losing streak to Atlanta.
Josh Naylor hit a two-run single and Mike Zunino drew a go-ahead, bases-loaded walk in a three-run, ninth-inning rally that lifted the Cleveland Guardians over the reeling New York Yankees 3-2. After AL MVP Aaron Judge became the latest in a string of Yankees stars on the injured list, Domingo Germán took a one-hitter and a 2-0 lead into the ninth. But New York lost for the sixth time in eight games and dropped to 15-15, the Yankees’ first time at .500 since they were 1-1.
Mookie Betts had three hits, including a two-run homer, as the Los Angeles Dodgers went deep four times in a 13-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. David Peralta hit a three-run homer, and Will Smith and Jason Heyward had solo shots as the Dodgers extended their winning streak to four. It is the 10th time this season Los Angeles has hit at least three homers in a game, which is second in the majors behind Tampa Bay’s 11. Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber hit a solo shot in the fourth inning and Nick Castellanos had two hits, including a two-run single in the fifth.
Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper is expected to return to the lineup on Tuesday, 160 days after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. The two-time National League MVP indicated on Instagram that an appointment with Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Monday went well and that he was cleared to return. The Phillies arrived in Los Angeles overnight to begin a three-game series against the Dodgers on Monday. ESPN was the first to report that Harper was cleared. The return would complete a stunning recovery for Harper. The Phillies said when Harper had surgery on Nov. 23 that he was expected to return around the All-Star break in mid-July.
Yankees captain Aaron Judge is going on the injured list because of a strained right hip, joining Giancarlo Stanton, Harrison Bader and third baseman Josh Donaldson on the sidelines. Judge was hurt last Wednesday when he landed hard while making an awkward headfirst slide at Minnesota on his 31st birthday. He remained in the game and started Thursday at Texas, then left in the fourth inning after striking out twice. A four-time All-Star and the reigning AL MVP, Judge is batting .261 with six homers and 14 RBIs in his first season after signing a $360 million, nine-year contract.
Batting average for left-handed hitters was up 13 percentage points through the first full month of the season, an impact of baseball’s new rule changes. Average time of a nine-inning game is 2 hours, 37 minutes, down from 3:05 at the same point last year. Stolen bases rose 40% to their highest level in nearly a quarter-century and scoring increased by 1.1 runs per game. Pitch clock violations averaged 0.74. The big league batting average was .248 through 425 games. Lefties hit .242, up from .229 through April last year. Righties are hitting .250, up from .234.
CHURCHILL DOWNS
Todd Pletcher-trained colt Forte and Brad Cox's filly Wet Paint are the morning line favorites respectively for the 149th Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. Forte, the 2-year-old champion whose 190 points led the Derby qualifying trail, drew the No. 15 post at 3-1 odds on Monday for the $3 million premier race for 3-year-olds. Stablemate Tapit Trice is the 5-1 second choice after drawing the No. 5 post, with Cox’s Angel of Empire the 8-1 third choice after drawing the No. 14 post. Wet Paint drew the No. 7 post for the Oaks at 5-2 odds.
NPB
Former Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer is about to start his first game for his new team — the Yokohama BayStars. Bauer was shunned by major league baseball after claims of domestic violence and sexual assault. He was eligible to play this year in the MLB but no team would take a chance. His past has not followed him to Japan where he's a minor celebrity with Yokohama fans hoping he can bring the team its first championship in 25 years. A local department store will unveil a massive poster of Bauer to promote his first game.
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