NBA PLAYOFFS
Jaylen Brown scored 32 points and the Boston Celtics powered past the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-95 in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series. Derrick White added 25 points, including 7 3-pointers to help the Celtics pull away in the second half. Jayson Tatum finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds. The Cavaliers went 11 of 42 from 3 and kept pace early. But the Celtics were even more efficient from the outside, connecting on 18 of 46 from beyond the arc for the game. It helped Boston carry a 15-point lead into the fourth quarter. Donovan Mitchell had 33 points for Cleveland, becoming the fourth player in league history with 30 or more points in six straight playoff series openers. Game two is Thursday night at 7.
Elsewhere, the New York Knicks play Game 2 of their second round series against the Pacers tonight at 8. New York leads 1-0.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points to help the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Dallas Mavericks 117-95 in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series. Chet Holmgren added 19 points, seven rebounds and three blocks for the Thunder. Jalen Williams struggled with his shot for three quarters but scored 10 of his 18 points in the fourth to help Oklahoma City remain unbeaten in the playoffs. Dallas star Luka Doncic scored 19 points on 6-for-19 shooting and had five turnovers. Kyrie Irving scored 20 points and Daniel Gafford added 16 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks for the Mavericks.
Rudy Gobert made some history. Victor Wembanyama nearly did. Gobert, the Minnesota center, was announced Tuesday night as the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year for a record-tying fourth time. He joins Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace. French centers went 1-2 in the voting, with San Antonio's Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama placing second. He nearly became the first rookie to win the award. Miami's Bam Adebayo was third and finished among the top five for the fifth consecutive season.
Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has been fined $100,000 by the NBA but avoided a suspension for what the league described as “throwing multiple objects in the direction of a game official during live play.” Murray threw a towel and a heat pack onto the court from the bench late in the second quarter of Denver's 108-80 loss to the Wolves. Minnesota leads the best-of-seven series 2-0 and Games 3 and 4 are in Minneapolis this weekend. The Nuggets were frustrated with the officiating as they allowed the Wolves to take a big lead in the second quarter.
NHL PLAYOFFS
Vincent Trocheck scored a power-play goal off a rebound at 7:24 of the second overtime to give the New York Rangers a 4-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Alexis Lafreniere scored twice, Chris Kreider had a power-play goal and Artemi Panarin had two assists for the Rangers. Igor Shesterkin stopped a season-high 54 shots. The Rangers remained perfect in six playoff games. Jake Guentzel scored twice, Dmitry Orlov also scored and Sebastian Aho had three assists for the Hurricanes. Frederik Andersen finished with 35 saves. The Hurricanes have lost three of their last four.
Meanwhile, the Boston Bruins are at Florida tonight to take on the Panthers at 7:30 p.m. Boston leads the series 1-0.
Miles Wood scored on a backhander 11:03 into overtime into overtime and the Colorado Avalanche, after trailing by three goals in the first period, beat the top-seeded Dallas Stars 4-3 in the opener of their second-round Western Conference series. Wood got the puck past Jake Oettinger to wrap up only the Avalanche’s third three-goal comeback to win a playoff game in their history. Cale Makar had a goal and two assists for Colorado, while Valerie Nichushkin had a goal and an assist. Nathan MacKinnon had the tying goal only 39 seconds into the third period Alexander Georgiev had 19 saves while winning his fifth consecutive game in goal for the Avalanche. Game 2 is Thursday night.
MLB
Alex Verdugo homered and tied a career high with four RBIs, powering the New York Yankees past Justin Verlander and the skidding Houston Astros 10-3. Anthony Volpe and Giancarlo Stanton also went deep off Verlander as the Yankees won their fourth straight game. Volpe finished with three RBIs and Juan Soto had three hits. Verdugo accounted for New York’s first four runs with a three-run homer in the first and an RBI single in the third against Verlander. The three-time Cy Young Award winner lasted five innings and gave up seven runs — the second-most he’s allowed in 37 regular-season and postseason starts versus the Yankees. He yielded eight runs in Detroit’s 13-9 loss on Sept. 1, 2008.
Brandon Nimmo hit a three-run homer to spark a six-run fifth inning, and the New York Mets rallied to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-5. The Cardinals not only dropped their fourth straight game, but also lost catcher Willson Contreras to a broken left forearm in the second inning after he was hit by J.D. Martinez’s swing. Contreras, a three-time All-Star, is hitting .280 with a team-leading six home runs. José Buttó allowed three runs in five innings as the Mets won their second consecutive game. All three runs he permitted came in the first, but Buttó retired nine of his last 10 batters.
Marcell Ozuna’s run-scoring single in the eighth inning gave Atlanta the lead and the Braves beat the Boston Red Sox 4-2 to snap a three-game losing streak. Boston’s Kutter Crawford and Atlanta’s Reynaldo López each allowed two runs in a matchup of right-handers with ERA’s under 2.00. With the game tied at 2-2, Boston right-hander Justin Slaten walked Ozzie Albies and gave up a single to Austin Riley to open the eighth. With one out, Ozuna bounced a grounder through the infield to drive in Albies for a 3-2 lead. Jarred Kelenic hit a two-run homer for Atlanta.
Bryce Harper hit a grand slam and had three hits, Cristopher Sánchez pitched seven strong innings and the red-hot Philadelphia Phillies routed the Toronto Blue Jays 10-1. Kody Clemens homered, tripled and drove in four runs for the Phillies, who have won seven straight games, 11 in a row at home and 18 of 21 overall. Philadelphia is leading baseball with 26 victories. Danny Jansen and Alejandro Kirk each doubled for Toronto. The Blue Jays have lost six of seven. José Berríos was roughed up for eight runs in 3 2/3 innings to drop to 4-3.
Kevin Pillar homered twice and drove in six runs, helping Patrick Sandoval and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-0. Logan O’Hoppe had four hits and two RBIs for Los Angeles, which had dropped three in a row and five of six overall. Willie Calhoun walked twice and scored three times. Sandoval struck out seven in seven innings in his first win since April 3 against Miami. The left-hander allowed three hits and walked one. The Angels went ahead to stay when Pillar connected for a three-run drive against Quinn Priester in the fourth.
Trevor Williams struck out eight in five scoreless innings, and the Washington Nationals stole four bases in a 3-0 victory over Corbin Burnes and the Baltimore Orioles. Burnes allowed three runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings, striking out six with three walks. He was the first Baltimore starter in four games to allow any scoring at all, and it was the first time in eight games the Orioles allowed more than two runs as a team. The Orioles lost for just the second time in eight games, and they were shut out both times. Williams yielded two hits and no walks.
Willy Adames hit a three-run homer into the left-field bullpen with two outs in the ninth inning, helping the Milwaukee Brewers rally for a 6-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night. James McArthur had retired the first two batters in the ninth when William Contreras began the comeback with a double on a full-count pitch. Gary Sanchez followed with a walk before Adames homered on an 83 mph curveball. Jared Koenig earned the win for Milwaukee, getting Hunter Renfroe to ground out to end the seventh and then surviving a scoreless eighth. Trevor Megill pitched the ninth for his third save.
Marcus Semien had four hits and five RBIs, and the Texas Rangers scored 10 times in the second inning of a 15-8 victory over the Oakland Athletics. Jonah Heim added four hits and two RBIs as Texas extended its season-high win streak to four games, outscoring opponents 37-16 during that stretch. The Rangers sent 16 batters to the plate in the second in their biggest inning since May 23, 2015, when they also scored 10 in the third against the New York Yankees. Kyle McCann and Seth Brown homered for Oakland, which lost its third straight game.
Andy Ibáñez homered his first two times up and drove in four runs and Ryan Vilade got his first major league hit and drove in three runs in his debut for Detroit, leading the Tigers to a 11-7 win over the Cleveland Guardians. Ibáñez homered on the third pitch of the game from Logan Allen and added a three-run shot in the second. Vilade, who was recalled earlier in the day from Triple-A Toledo, singled home two in the third and another in the seventh. Josh Naylor hit a two-run homer as Cleveland had its winning streak stopped at three.
Zach Eflin allowed one run and six hits in seven innings as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Chicago White Sox 5-1 for their fifth consecutive win. Eflin lost the shutout when Paul DeJong homered with two outs in the seventh. The right-hander worked out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the fifth by getting a flyball from Gavin Sheets on a 3-0 pitch. Eflin also retired Sheets on a grounder with two on and two outs in the seventh. Randy Arozarena and Isaac Paredes homered for the Rays. The AL-worst White Sox have dropped the first two games of the series to fall 20 games under .500, equaling a season high.
Josh Rojas and Ty France each hit an RBI single during Seattle’s four-run ninth inning, and the Mariners beat the Minnesota Twins 10-6. Cal Raleigh connected for a pinch-hit grand slam in the seventh for Seattle, which has won three of four. Mitch Haniger hit a solo homer and a sacrifice fly. Ryne Stanek got two outs for the win after fellow reliever Taylor Saucedo got hurt while covering first base. Andrés Muñoz handled the ninth for his sixth save in seven chances. Minnesota reliever Jorge Alcala issued two walks and threw a wild pitch during Seattle’s ninth-inning rally.
Zac Gallen threw six shutout innings in his first start in 11 days and Corbin Carroll had a three-run homer and five RBIs as the Arizona Diamondbacks dealt the punchless Cincinnati Reds a sixth straight loss, 6-2. Gallen (4-2) made his first start since April 26 when he left the game early due to a hamstring cramp. The right-hander allowed just one Reds hit through six innings, struck out six and walked three. The offensive woes continued for the Reds, who fell to three games under .500 for the first time this season.
Michael Busch led off the ninth inning with a game-ending home run, Cody Bellinger went deep in his return from broken ribs and the Chicago Cubs beat the San Diego Padres 3-2. Bellinger had three hits after missing two weeks. He gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead when he connected leading off the fourth against Randy Vásquez. It stayed that way until the eighth, when the Padres got to Shota Imanaga after he sailed through the first seven innings. He gave up a leadoff single to pinch hitter Luis Arraez before Jurickson Profar chased him with a two-run drive that just cleared the left-field wall. Busch won it in the ninth when he drove the first pitch he saw from Enyel De Los Santos out to right.
Kyle Harrison pitched seven scoreless innings and the San Francisco Giants scored four runs in a decisive fourth inning despite getting only two balls out of the infield in a 5-0 victory over Colorado. Harrison (3-1) gave up four hits, all singles, and struck out two. He has given up one run in his last 18 innings, although this was his first decision in that stretch. He walked two and used only 86 pitches. LaMonte Wade Jr. had a two-run single to cap the Giants’ four-run fourth inning and walked three times. Dakota Hudson took the loss.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched eight effective innings, Max Muncy hit a grand slam in the first and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Miami Marlins 8-2 for their sixth straight victory. Gavin Lux launched his first home run of the season for the Dodgers, who have won 13 of 15. They’ve gone deep 14 times in their past four games. Yamamoto shook off a first-pitch home run to win his third consecutive start. The $325 million rookie from Japan allowed two runs and five hits in his longest major league outing. Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a leadoff homer for the Marlins, who fell to 1-4 on their six-game trip. Bryan De La Cruz also went deep.
Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras broke his left forearm when he was hit by a swing during their game against the New York Mets. Contreras got hurt with J.D. Martinez at the plate in the second inning. After he was clipped by Martinez’s swing, the three-time All-Star tumbled over in obvious pain and then jogged away before sitting down while was examined by St. Louis training staff. Martinez was awarded first base due to catcher’s interference. The team said Contreras had a left forearm fracture, and Iván Herrera took over behind the plate.
WNBA
The WNBA plans to commit $50 million over the next two years to provide full-time charter flight service for its teams during the season. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a meeting with sports editors on Tuesday that the league will launch a charter program “as soon as we can get planes in places.” She said it’s projected to cost around $25 million per year for the next two seasons. That means no more long security lines, bodyguards in public spaces, cramped legroom or layovers for the professional athletes who have been lobbying for better travel long before Caitlin Clark’s celebrity brought newfound interest to the league.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Central defender Mats Hummels has headed Borussia Dortmund into the Champions League final as the German team wins 1-0 at Paris Saint-Germain. Moments after Warren Zaïre-Emery missed an open goal for PSG Hummels rose unchallenged to head in Julian Brandt’s corner from the left in the 50th minute. Dortmund advanced 2-0 on aggregate and largely contained PSG striker Kylian Mbappé. He is leaving at the end of the season. Dortmund plays either record 14-time champion Real Madrid or six-time winner Bayern Munich on June 1 at Wembley Stadium. Dortmund won the tournament in 1997.
Kylian Mbappé leaned forward with his head bowed and hands on his thighs. Another Champions League dream with Paris Saint-Germain was over. It was ruined by the ruthless efficiency of a Borussia Dortmund team that stopped him scoring in both legs of their Champions League semifinal and recorded a 1-0 win in each. Mbappé didn’t address questions about his future after the game. But most observers expect his next club to be Champions League powerhouse Real Madrid. Mbappé accepted his share of the blame for not being able to reproduce his magic in front of goal against Dortmund, saying "the first person who should have scored tonight is me.”
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