NBA PLAYOFFS
Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby each scored 29 points before Mikal Bridges stole the ball from Jaylen Brown with a second left in overtime, and the New York Knicks stunned the Boston Celtics 108-105 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series last night. Karl-Anthony Towns added 14 points and 13 rebounds for New York, which lost all four games against its longtime rival during the regular season and trailed by 20 points in the second half of this game. Jayson Tatum and Brown both had 23 points for the defending champion Celtics, who had an NBA playoff-record 45 missed 3-pointers to blow a game they appeared to have in control. Game 2 is at 7 Wednesday night in Boston.
Nikola Jokic had 42 points and 22 rebounds, and Aaron Gordon hit a 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds to give the Denver Nuggets a stunning 121-119 comeback win over the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinals series. Denver’s Russell Westbrook, who started his career with the Thunder, assisted on Gordon’s game-winner. It was his first playoff game in Oklahoma City as an opposing player. Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 33 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Thunder, who hadn’t played in more than a week after sweeping the Memphis Grizzlies. Game 2 is set for 9:30 Wednesday night in Oklahoma City.
Kenny Atkinson went through a winless preseason with the Cleveland Cavaliers and wondered if his team would be any good. Turns out, they were better than good. And their coach — he was the NBA’s best this season. Atkinson is now an NBA Coach of the Year winner, announced Monday night as this year’s recipient of the Red Auerbach Trophy. Atkinson led Cleveland to a 15-0 start to the season — one of three winning streaks of at least 12 games this season by his club — and led the Cavaliers to the best record in the Eastern Conference.
MLB
Mike Shildt had seen enough, and he was so angry with plate umpire Adrian Johnson that he tossed his glasses. A tantrum by San Diego's manager following the first major league ejection of star slugger Fernando Tatis Jr. fired up the Padres, who overcame a three-run deficit in the eighth inning to beat the New York Yankees 4-3 and extend their winning streak to six. Tatis was ejected after a strikeout, causing Shildt to rush out onto the field. He threw his lineup card and then his spectacles.
Milwaukee 5 Houston 1
Kansas City 3 Chicago White Sox 0
Athletics 7 Seattle 6
Atlanta 4 Cincinnati 0
L.A. Dodgers 7 Miami 4
Chicago Cubs 9 San Francisco 2
St. Louis 6 Pittsburgh 3
The Red Sox and Phillies were off last night. Boston is at home, where they take on the Rangers in the first of three at 6:45 tonight. Philadelphia is on the road, where they’ll start a three-game set against the Tampa Bay Rays at 7:05 tonight.
NHL PLAYOFFS
William Nylander scored twice in the first period before adding an assist as Toronto built a big lead before holding on to beat the Florida Panthers 5-4 in the opener of the second-round series. Matthew Knies and Chris Tanev each had a goal and an assist, and Morgan Rielly also scored for the Maple Leafs. Max Pacioretty and Jake McCabe each had two assists. Anthony Stolars stopped eight of the nine shots he faced before leaving in the second period with an undisclosed injury. Joseph Woll stopped 17 shots in relief. Seth Jones, Eetu Luostarinen, Uvis Balinskis and Sam Bennett scored for the Panthers, and Brad Marchand and Carter Verhaeghe each had two assists. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 24 shots.
The New York Islanders won the NHL draft lottery on Monday and vaulted nine teams, including the last-place San Jose Sharks, in winning the opportunity to have the No. 1 pick. The Islanders, who finished 10th in the standings and are in the midst of a front-office change, overcame having just a 3.5% chance to winning the lottery. Utah won the second lottery drawing and made the jump from 14th to fourth. The Sharks will pick second after entering the day with the best odds, 18.5%, to win the lottery and a 25.5% chance of landing the No. 1 choice.
Governor Kathy Hochul is calling on the NHL to revisit its decision to cancel the 2026 all-star game that had been scheduled to be held on Long Island in February. Hochul send a letter to hockey Commissioner Gary Bettman Monday, saying the decision to replace the event at UBS Arena with a Winter Olympics kickoff event instead was made without consulting New York. Hochul says the state has been a “critical partner in supporting this facility” and says the move sends the wrong message to public entities that support the NHL. Hochul called on Bettman to bring a hockey event “with equal or greater economic activity and cultural value to the region in 2027.” The Democrat adds she expects “the NHL to honor its commitments to the people of New York.” The NHL has been mulling ideas after the success of the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament this year. NHL players will participate in the Olympics in Italy next year for the first time since 2014.
NFL
The Baltimore Ravens say they are releasing kicker Justin Tucker, months after reports that he was accused of inappropriate sexual behavior by massage therapists. The Baltimore Banner has reported that over a dozen massage therapists have accused Tucker of inappropriate sexual behavior. The NFL said it would investigate, and the Ravens drafted kicker Tyler Loop late last month. Last weekend, coach John Harbaugh suggested a decision on Tucker might come before the NFL completed its inquiry.
President Donald Trump announced the NFL draft is coming to Washington in 2027. The plan is to hold the event on the National Mall with the Washington Monument, U.S. Capitol and other landmarks part of the backdrop. Trump announced the news in the Oval Office flanked by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Commanders controlling owner Josh Harris and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. Washington hosting the draft two years from now is the latest off-field victory for the Commanders, who a week ago reached an agreement with the D.C. government to build a stadium on the old RFK site.
Cleveland Browns linebacker Devin Bush faces charges of harassment and misdemeanor simple assault after allegedly chasing a woman through his suburban Pittsburgh house and smashing her cellphone. Officers said they responded to a 911 call on Sunday from Bush's home in Sewickley. The woman, who was identified only as his girlfriend, alleges Bush assaulted her, took her car keys and broke her phone to prevent her from calling for help. Investigators say Bush admitted he smashed the phone but denies getting physical with the woman. Police say they saw injuries on her wrist and foot.
NCAA
An attorney in the $2.8 billion legal case reshaping college sports says he thinks an updated agreement with the NCAA will solve the judge’s concerns over roster limits that have delayed the settlement’s approval. Steve Berman, co-lead counsel for the defendants, told The Associated Press that all is on track to file paperwork later this week.
Several colleges from our region will be playing in the Division I lacrosse tournament starting this week. On the men’s side, America East champion UAlbany will host crosstown rival Siena College Wednesday at 7 p.m. Siena won the MAAC championship to reach the tournament. The winner advances to face top-seeded Cornell in the first round. Elsewhere, Colgate faces fifth-seeded Penn State on Saturday, and sixth-seeded Syracuse goes up against Harvard on Sunday. In women’s action, UMass faces Princeton, while Yale hosts UAlbany on Friday. The winner of that game will advance to meet the Syracuse-Brown victor.
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