NBA
T.J. McConnell turned a surprise start into the save of the season and Dario Saric scored 25 points to help the Philadelphia 76ers stave off elimination in a 103-92 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 4. The Sixers still face daunting odds headed into Game 5 Wednesday and trailing 3-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals. McConnell had a career-high 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists in only his second start of the season
LeBron James scored 29 points, Kevin Love added 23 and the Cleveland Cavaliers swept Toronto for the second straight postseason by winning Game 4 128-93 to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. The Cavs have won 10 consecutive playoff games over Toronto. Raptors All-Star DeMar DeRozan was ejected in the third quarter for a flagrant foul. The Cavs will take on the winner of the Sixers- Celtics series.
In other basketball news:
Stan Van Gundy will not return to the Detroit Pistons as coach or president of basketball operations.
The Pistons announced Van Gundy's departure Monday, with owner Tom Gores saying in a statement that the team has not progressed over the past two seasons. Gores said Van Gundy wanted to return for a fifth season with the team.
The Pistons went 39-43 this season, missing the playoffs for the third time in four years under Van Gundy. They've made the postseason just once in the past nine years, and even a blockbuster trade for Blake Griffin wasn't enough to salvage 2017-18.
David Fizdale has been hired as coach of the Knicks, saying he is hoping to "build the type of winning team the passionate fans of New York will be proud of." The Knicks announced the hiring after agreeing to terms with the former Memphis Grizzlies coach last week. They plan to introduce Fizdale at a news conference Tuesday.
NHL
Filip Forsberg scored two incredible goals and added an assist, Pekka Rinne made 34 saves for his second shutout of the playoffs and the Nashville Predators defeated the Winnipeg Jets 4-0 on Monday to avoid elimination and tie their second-round series 3-3.
Game 7 goes Thursday in Nashville, with the winner taking on the expansion Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference final.
Viktor Arvidsson had two goals of his own, including one into an empty net, and set up another for Predators, while Roman Josi and Ryan Johansen chipped in with two assists each.
Connor Hellebuyck stopped 25 shots for the Jets.
Elsewhere in the Stanley Cup:
Evgeny Kuznetsov's breakway goal 5:27 into overtime gave the Washington Capitals a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 6 on Monday night, and a berth in the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 20 years.
Kuznetsov took a lead pass from Alexander Ovechkin and tucked the puck by Matt Murray to end Pittsburgh's two-year reign as Stanley Cup champions and propel the Capitals into the NHL's final four for just the third time in franchise history.
Braden Holtby stopped 21 shots for the Capitals, who will face Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference finals. Alex Chiasson scored his first playoff goal in four years during a taut, tight contest through regulation.
Kris Letang scored for the Penguins and Murray finished with 28 saves.
MLB
Odubel Herrera homered twice and drove in five runs, helping Zach Eflin and the Philadelphia Phillies to an 11-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants. Carlos Santana and Cesar Hernandez also connected for Philadelphia, which had dropped six of eight. Santana drove in four runs, and Hernandez had two RBIs. Eflin struck out a career-high nine in 6 2/3 innings.
In other MLB action:
Matt Adams homered in consecutive innings and drove in five runs, Trea Turner homered in his first at-bat at Petco Park and Stephen Strasburg beat his hometown team again, leading the Washington Nationals to an 8-5 victory against the San Diego Padres.
George Springer went 6 for 6 with a home run to match a Houston record as the Astros routed the Oakland Athletics 16-2. Last year's World Series MVP doubled and scored in the first inning, hit a three-run homer in the second and then singled and scored in the fourth.
Jurickson Profar hit a tiebreaking RBI triple in a wild seventh inning and the Texas Rangers beat the Detroit Tigers 7-6. Delino DeShields and Shin-Soo Choo both scored from first in the seventh for Texas.
Fernando Romero didn't allow a run for the second straight start to begin his major league career, throwing six sharp innings to lead the Minnesota Twins over the St. Louis Cardinals 6-0. The win was a season-high fourth straight for the Twins, who have won 13 of their last 16 games against National League opponents dating to last year.
Ian Happ homered from both sides of the plate, and the Chicago Cubs stopped a five-game slide by routing the Miami Marlins 14-2. The Cubs collected 15 hits after scoring three or fewer runs in 10 of the previous 11 games. Kris Bryant and Javier Baez connected, and Happ finished with five RBIs.
Tim Lincecum has made his first rehab appearance with the Texas Rangers' Triple-A team, 21 months after his last big league start. The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner allowed two runs and struck out two while pitching the fifth inning for Round Rock against the Iowa Cubs.
Jay Bruce hit a two-run homer in the ballpark where he had his best moment, rounding the bases to a familiar "BRUUUCE" chant, and Adrian Gonzalez connected twice, powering the New York Mets to a slump-ending 7-6 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. The Mets hit the road after getting swept during a six-game homestand that included three shutout losses. Game 2 is Tuesday 7:10 p.m.
The Yankees will host Boston Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. kicking off a three-game series. The Red Sox and Yankees bring the two best records in the big leagues into a fight for first place in the AL East. Following their throwback brawl at Fenway Park last month. New York ace Luis Severino is scheduled to start the opener of a three-game showdown against Boston left-hander Drew Pomeranz.
In other major league baseball news:
The mother of Athletics outfielder Stephen Piscotty has died, less than a year after being diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease. Gretchen Piscotty died Sunday night from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the A's said Monday. She was diagnosed in May 2017 when her son was with St. Louis. The Cardinals traded him to Oakland in December in part to allow Piscotty to be closer to his home in the East Bay suburb of Pleasanton during his mother's terminal illness. The A's stressed they had targeted Piscotty beginning last July and were in search of a right-handed hitting outfielder.
San Francisco pitcher Johnny Cueto will be sidelined for six-to-eight weeks because of a strained right elbow. The 32-year-old right-hander will undertake rest and rehabilitation and will not have Tommy John surgery. Cueto is 3-0 with an 0.84 ERA in five starts.
Chicago White Sox reliever Danny Farquhar has been released from a hospital, and a doctor who treated the 31-year-old right-hander expects he will pitch again but not this season. Farquhar collapsed in the dugout with a brain hemorrhage caused by a ruptured aneurysm during a home game against Houston on April 20. He had surgery the following day.
NFL
The NFL players' union has filed a non-injury grievance on behalf of free agent safety Eric Reid.
Considered one of the top safeties in the league, Reid played out his contract with San Francisco last season. He has been a strong supporter of former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who in 2016 became the first player to kneel during the anthem to protest police brutality and racial inequality.
The NFLPA cites one team appearing "to have based its decision not to sign a player based on the player's statement that he would challenge the implementation of a club's policy prohibiting demonstration" during the national anthem.
Also in the NFL:
Michael Griffin says his 10-year NFL career was a blessing that lasted far longer than some of his former teammates at the University of Texas. The two-time Pro Bowl safety officially ended that career by signing a one-day contract with the Tennessee Titans and retiring with the franchise that drafted him with the 19th pick overall in 2007.
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