NBA PLAYOFFS
Jayson Tatum scored 33 points with LeBron James watching from a courtside seat and the Boston Celtics beat the severely short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers 109-102 in Game 4 to take a commanding 3-1 lead in their East semifinal series. Jaylen Brown added 27 for the Celtics, who can close out Cleveland with a win in Game 5 on Wednesday at home. The Cavs got pushed to the brink of elimination with Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen out with injuries. It was nothing new for a Cleveland team that dealt with injuries all season, but it was a big ask. Tatum added 11 rebounds and five assists. Darius Garland scored 30 and Evan Mobley and Caris LeVert 19 apiece for the Cavs.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder overcame a Dallas franchise playoff record of 13 blocks, rallying for a 100-96 victory to even their Western Conference semifinal series at 2-2. Chet Holmgren and Lu Dort hit a clutch 3-pointer apiece late, and Jalen Williams drove for a dunk and a 94-91 lead with 1:29 remaining as Dallas players and coaches screamed for a double-dribble call. The teams split a pair on each other’s home court. Game 5 is Wednesday night in Oklahoma City. The Mavericks’ last chance to tie came with 10.1 seconds left when trailing by two, Luka Doncic had two free throws. But the Dallas superstar missed the first.
LeBron James attended Monday night’s playoff game between the Boston Celtics and Cavaliers, an appearance certain to drive conversation about the superstar’s future. James, who can opt out of his contact with the Los Angeles Lakers and become a free agent this summer, played two stints in Cleveland. He led the Cavs to their only NBA championship in 2016 before leaving two years later. The league’s career scoring champion, James has maintained a home near his hometown of Akron. He’s come back to Cleveland many times since leaving in 2018, but has not attended any Cavs games. James arrived just as the game began and took a courtside seat along with his wife, Savannah, and agent Rich Paul.
Elsewhere, the Indiana Pacers face the New York Knicks in Game 5 at 8 tonight in New York. The series is tied at two games apiece.
NHL PLAYOFFS
Jordan Staal and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored 3:06 apart in the third period, and the Carolina Hurricanes got four goals in the third period for a 4-1 win over the New York Rangers in Game 5, staving off elimination for the second straight game. Jordan Martinook and Martin Necas also scored in the Hurricanes’ big third period, and Frederik Andersen — starting for the fourth time in five games in this series and ninth time in 10 games in the postseason — had 20 saves. Jacob Trouba scored a short-handed goal and Igor Shesterkin stopped 24 shots for New York, which has lost two straight after taking a 3-0 series lead. Game 6 is Thursday night at 7 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Wyatt Johnston scored twice on the eve of his 21st birthday as the Dallas Stars pushed Colorado to the brink of elimination with a 5-1 win in Game 4 that came hours after Avalanche standout Valeri Nichushkin was suspended for at least six months. Dallas can close it out at home in Game 5 on Wednesday. Miro Heiskanen and Evgenii Dadonov also scored, while Sam Steel added an empty-net goal. Jake Oettinger made 24 saves. Before the game, the National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players’ Association announced that Nichushkin was suspended for at least six months without pay.
Elsewhere, the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers play Game 5 of their second-round series at 7 tonight in Florida. The Panthers lead the series 3-1.
Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin was suspended at least six months without pay and placed in stage 3 of the league’s player assistance program before Game 4 on Monday night of a second-round series with Dallas. The National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players’ Association announced the news about an hour before the start of the game with the Stars. It’s the second time this season he’s been in the program. Stage 3 means Nichushkin violated the terms of the program. The 29-year-old Russian forward will miss the rest of the postseason and the first month next season at a minimum. He leads the team with nine playoff goals this season.
MLB
Bryson Stott hit a leadoff homer in the ninth against All-Star closer Edwin Díaz and delivered the tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the 10th inning as the MLB-leading Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Mets 5-4. The Phillies trailed 4-2 before Díaz gave up Stott’s homer and hit Alec Bohm with a pitch with the bases loaded and two outs. Bryce Harper, the automatic runner to start the 10th, took third on a wild pitch by Sean Reid-Foley (1-1) and scored easily on Stott’s long fly out to right. Orion Kerkering (1-0) threw a perfect ninth and José Alvarado earned his eighth save with a 1-2-3 ninth, stranding automatic runner DJ Stewart at second. J.D. Martinez had three hits and two RBIs for the Mets.
Amed Rosario hit a two-run triple during Tampa Bay’s three-run first inning and the Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 5-3. Rosario added an RBI double and Yandy Díaz had three hits for the Rays, who are in a stretch of 13 straight games vs rival AL East clubs. Boston’s Tyler O’Neill hit his 10th homer, a three-run shot. The Red Sox had won their last two games. Rays starter Zach Eflin gave up three runs on six hits in five innings. Their bullpen took over from there, with three relievers holding Boston to two singles.
Bryan Reynolds went 5 for 5 with a homer and two doubles, Mitch Keller threw six shutout innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 8-6. Jack Suwinski and Yasmani Grandal hit two-run homers for the Pirates. Milwaukee's Jake Bauers delivered his first career grand slam. The Brewers nearly came all the way back after trailing 7-2 in the eighth inning. Milwaukee’s Rhys Hoskins left the game after getting injured while running to first base on a second-inning single.
Spencer Torkelson hit a two-run home run to highlight a three-run outburst in the eighth inning as the Detroit Tigers rallied for a 6-5 win over the Miami Marlins on Monday night. After Miami got a two-run homer from Otto Lopez in the top of the eighth to take a 5-3 lead, Wenceel Pérez doubled off Anthony Maldonado (0-1) with one out and scored on Andy Ibáñez’s base hit. Matt Vierling struck out before Torkelson hit a 1-2 slider 446 feet over the Miami bullpen in left-center field. The Tigers won for the third time in 10 games, while Miami dropped to 2-8 in their last 10.
The St. Louis Cardinals scored eight runs in the seventh inning and rallied from a four-run deficit for a 10-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. Nolan Arenado homered and Matt Carpenter had a tying two-run single during the surge. St. Louis sent 14 batters to the plate during a rally capped by a two-run single from Iván Herrera, who had two hits in the inning. Kevin Pillar hit a two-run homer and Kyren Paris had an RBI double during a four-run third inning for the Angels, who have lost four of five during their homestand to drop to 5-15 at home.
Daulton Varsho robbed a homer with his glove, hit one with his bat and then drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th inning with a groundball to lift the Toronto Blue Jays to a 3-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles. The Blue Jays overcame two home runs by Adley Rutschman, tying the game on Varsho’s solo shot in the eighth and then prevailing in extra innings. With men on first and third and one out, Varsho’s grounder was fielded by diving second baseman Jorge Mateo. The Orioles — who had already turned three double plays to get out of significant jams — had no chance to pull off another.
Alex Bregman homered twice and had a season-high four RBIs to lead the Houston Astros to a 9-2 win over the Oakland Athletics on Monday night. Bregman homered off Oakland starter Ross Stripling in the fourth inning, reminiscent of the homer he hit off Stripling in the 2018 All-Star Game. Bregman homered again in the seventh off Mitch Spence. Bregman later added a double in the eighth that scored Trey Cabbage and Jeremy Peña to put Houston up 7-2. The Astros have now won four of their last five, including a series win in Detroit. Oakland has lost four of five.
José Ramírez had a pair of two-run singles and reached base five times as the Cleveland Guardians beat Texas 7-0 on Monday night and sent the Rangers to their first four-game losing streak of the season. Five Cleveland pitchers combined for the four-hit shutout of the defending World Series champions. The AL Central-leading Guardians have won 14 of their last 24 games. Ramírez drove in two runs with singles in the eighth and ninth innings. He walked twice and also reached on a fielding error by Corey Seager in the first inning.
George Kirby allowed three hits over seven shutout innings, Luke Raley hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Kansas City Royals 6-2. A night that started with a lucky fan catching foul balls on consecutive pitches ended with another dominant pitching performance that helped the Mariners improve to 19-11 over the past 30 games. Kirby had been bothered by a sore knee, but was terrific in striking out six and walking none. Raley's homer was his second of the season. Ty France also hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning. Kansas City starter Brady Singer allowed a season-high nine hits.
Zack Short made the most of his first start with Atlanta by breaking a scoreless tie with a run-scoring double in the sixth and the Braves spoiled another strong start by Chicago rookie Shota Imanaga to beat the Cubs 2-0. Short filled in at third base while Austin Riley was held out with tightness in his left side. Short's double into the right field corner drove in Travis d’Arnaud. Imanaga threw five scoreless innings, extending his team record to eight consecutive starts to begin his career without allowing more than two runs. Imanaga lowered his majors-leading ERA to 0.96.
Elehuris Montero had two hits and three RBIs to lead Colorado to an 5-4 victory over the San Diego Padres on Monday night and extend the Rockies’ winning streak to five games. Colorado relievers walked the bases loaded in both the eighth and ninth innings, but the Padres failed to score in either inning. San Diego drew 11 walks in the game and stranded nine runners in the loss. The Padres generated all their offense on home runs. Jurickson Profar hit a two-run shot and Xander Bogaerts and Jackson Merrill added solo homers.
Will Smith hit a two-run double in the 10th inning to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers a 6-4 win over the San Francisco Giants for their fourth straight victory this season over their rivals. Mookie Betts hit his 50th career leadoff homer and Kiké Hernández added a pinch-hit homer in the seventh inning to tie the game at 4 for Los Angeles. The Dodgers then won it in the 10th when Smith hit a drive to center field off Taylor Rogers to give Los Angeles the lead. Luis Matos hit a three-run homer for San Francisco in his first start in place of the injured Jung Hoo Lee.
Kevin Newman’s two-run single in the bottom of the ninth inning capped a four-hit night and gave the Arizona Diamondbacks a 6-5 victory over the reeling Cincinnati Reds on Monday night. Newman had a pair of doubles and a single before coming to the plate in the ninth against Alexis Diaz (1-2), who had loaded the bases with a hit batsman and two walks. Newman lined the pitch to shallow right to score Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Gabriel Moreno. Justin Martinez (1-0), the fifth Arizona pitcher of the game, picked up his first major league win. The Reds have lost 11 of their last 12 games, including a three-game sweep by the Diamondbacks in Cincinnati last week.
Washington at Chi White Sox 4:40 p.m. (Postponed)
The former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is likely to plead not guilty as a formality in a sports betting case. Prosecutors allege Ippei Mizuhara stole nearly $17 million from the Japanese baseball player to pay off debts. He has agreed to a plea deal on one count of bank fraud and one count of subscribing to a false tax return. But first he's likely to enter a not-guilty plea as a formality during his arraignment today in federal court in Los Angeles. Authorities say there was no evidence that Ohtani was involved in or aware of Mizuhara’s gambling.
NFL
A person familiar with the situation says the Detroit Lions and quarterback Jared Goff have agreed to a $212 million, four-year contract extension. The person told The Associated Press on Monday that the deal includes $170 million in guarantees and spoke on condition of anonymity because the terms were not announced. Goff ended the Motor City’s decades-long search for a playoff-winning quarterback in January. He helped the Lions earn two playoff victories in one postseason for the first time since winning the 1957 NFL title.
The Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs will open the regular season at home against the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 5 in a rematch of the AFC title game. The NFL will release the entire 2024 season schedule on Wednesday night on the NFL Network. The Chiefs beat the Ravens 17-10 in the AFC championship game in January and went on to defeat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime in the Super Bowl. The Ravens-Chiefs opener at Arrowhead Stadium will be a Thursday night game on NBC. Kansas City will be going for a third straight Super Bowl title and fourth in six years this season.
NCAA
One of the lead attorneys in a class-action antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA says settlement talks are progressing well. A deadline looms next week for the NCAA and major conferences to agree to a deal that could cost billions in damages and set up a groundbreaking revenue-sharing system with college athletes. Steve Berman, a Seattle-based attorney for the plaintiffs, would not confirm details of the possible agreement but told AP a settlement could create a new framework for paying college athletes that he believes could withstand other antitrust challenges.
HORSE RACING
Maryland Governor Wes Moore has signed a measure to rebuild Baltimore’s historic but antiquated Pimlico Race Course and transfer the track to state control. Under the new law, Maryland can use $400 million in state bonds to rebuild the home of the second jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes. The 149th running of the race is Saturday. The plan also calls for transferring Pimlico from the Stronach Group, which is the current owner of Pimlico and nearby Laurel Park, to a newly formed nonprofit that would operate under the state. The temporary move comes as the third Triple Crown race, the Belmont Stakes, is scheduled to return to Belmont Park from a two-year hiatus at Saratoga Race Course while the New York track undergoes a $455 million reconstruction.
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