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#SportsReport: Bucks Beat Celtics; Red Sox Down Athletics

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The Milwaukee Bucks have evened their Eastern Conference semifinal series at a game apiece by nailing a string of 3-pointers to rebound from Sunday's 22-point loss to Boston. Khris Middleton drained seven of the Bucks' 20 treys in a 123-102 romp over the Celtics.

Middleton finished with 28 points for Milwaukee, which went 20 for 47 from beyond the arc. All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo also had a bounceback performance with 29 points and 10 rebounds. Antetekounmpo shot 7-for-16 from the floor and 13 of 18 from the line after missing 14 of his 21 field-goal attempts in the series opener. Eric Bledsoe chipped in 21 points and five assists for the Bucks, who led by as many as 31 points after a closely played opening half. Marcus Morris paced the Celtics with 17 points, but Kyrie Irving scored just nine on 4 of 18 shooting. Game 3 is Friday in Boston.

Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors will head to Houston with a two-games-to-none lead in the NBA's Western Conference semifinals. Durant poured in 29 points and established an early defensive tone against James Harden before the Warriors completed a 115-109 win over the Houston Rockets. Durant took an early charge from Harden and blocked one of his shots as Houston committed five quick turnovers that led to 10 points. Klay Thompson scored 21 points and hit consecutive 3-pointers late in the third to give Golden State some breathing room. Draymond Green had 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, while teammate Stephen Curry delivered 20 points despite dislocating a finger in the first quarter. Harden finished with 29 points and seven rebounds for the Rockets, who won't host Game 3 until Saturday.

NHL 

The Columbus Blue Jackets are two wins away from advancing to the NHL's Eastern Conference finals after taking a two-games-to-one lead in their second-round series with the Boston Bruins. Sergei Bobrovsky turned back 36 shots and the Jackets improved to 6-1 in the postseason by nipping the Bruins, 2-1. Bobrovsky preserved the Blue Jackets' one-goal lead while the Bruins were outshooting Columbus, 15-7 in the third period. Matt Duchene's power-play goal put the Jackets ahead, 2-0 12:37 into the second period. Boone Jenner also scored against Tuukka Rask, who made 32 saves. Jake DeBrusk scored late in the second period for the Bruins, who stay in Columbus for Game 4 on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the San Jose Sharks are up 2-1 in their second-round series following a hat trick from Logan Couture. The Sharks forward scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:10 remaining and added an empty-netter in a 4-2 victory over the Avalanche. Couture's go-ahead tally came 65 seconds after Matt Nieto tied it for Colorado. Timo Meier also scored and Martin Jones stopped 25 shots as the Sharks regained home-ice advantage heading into Game 4 at Denver on Thursday. Philipp Grubauer made 27 saves for Colorado, which snapped an eight-game home win streak.

MLB

The defending World Series champs have completed a disappointing first month of the season with back-to-back wins over the Oakland Athletics. Rick Porcello worked eight shutout innings and the Red Sox slammed a pair of homers in a 5-1 victory over the A's. Porcello limited Oakland to a pair of runs and two walks becoming the first Boston starter to go past the seventh inning. Mookie Betts and Mitch Moreland homered as the Red Sox improved to 13-17 with their fourth win in six games.

CC Sabathia became the 17th player in major league history and third left-hander to reach 3,000 career strikeouts, but Zack Greinke pitched better while working 7 2/3 innings in the Diamondbacks' 3-1 win over the Yankees. Wilmer Flores hit a solo homer and a run-scoring single to support Greinke, who won his fifth straight game and stretched his scoreless innings streak to 18 before Gleyber Torres' RBI double in the fourth inning.

Niko Goodrum socked a two-run homer and Miguel Cabrera had an RBI single to help the Tigers earn a 3-1 victory over the Phillies. Spencer Turnbull allowed just a run and three hits over six innings as Detroit snapped a four-game losing streak.

The Cardinals were 3-2 winners at Washington as Adam Wainwright limited the Nationals to two runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings. Harrison Bader drove in two runs and Kolten Wong had two hits as the NL Central leaders earned their fourth straight victory.

The Mets blew a 3-1 lead in the ninth before J.D. Davis doubled and scored on rookie Pete Alonso's sacrifice fly in the 10th inning to give New York a 4-3 victory over the Reds. Todd Frazier homered against his former team, and Jason Vargas blanked the Reds on two hits until Eugenio Suárez homered in the sixth.

Elsewhere in the majors, The Astros cruised to an 11-0 romp over the Twins as Gerrit Cole tossed one-hit ball over seven innings. George Springer, Jake Marisnick and Alex Bregman all homered, giving the Astros 43 for the month.

Carlos González belted a tiebreaking three-run homer for the Indians in a 7-4 victory over the Marlins. Trevor Bauer shook off a slow start to improve to 4-1, yielding four runs while striking out 10 over seven innings.

Brian Goodwin hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning to send the Angels past the Blue Jays, 4-3. Griffin Canning retired his first 10 batters and struck out six while pitching into the fifth inning of his major league debut.

David Freese launched a three-run homer and Justin Turner went deep for the first time this season as the Dodgers crushed the Giants, 10-3. Kiké Hernández also connected and Walker Buehler pitched into the sixth inning to improve to 3-0 in six starts this season.

Jesus Aguilar belted a three-run homer and Jhoulys Chacin pitched six scoreless innings as the Brewers topped the Rockies, 4-3. Milwaukee scratched out a sixth-inning run after being held without a base runner by German Marquez during the first five frames.

Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run homer with two out in the eighth to lead the Cubs to a 6-5 win at Seattle. Daniel Descalso and Anthony Rizzo also supplied round-trippers in Chicago's third consecutive victory.

Franmil Reyes homered twice and drove in three runs as the Padres knocked off the Braves, 4-3. Eric Hosmer also went deep to back rookie Chris Paddack, who gave up two runs and four hits over six innings.

The Pirates ran their season-worst losing streak to nine games as Asdrúbal Cabrera blooped a two-run single in the fourth inning of the Rangers' 3-1 verdict over Pittsburgh. Adrian Sampson struck out five without a walk and hit a batter over 5 2/3 innings of his first victory in 13 big league appearances and eight starts.

The Rays and Royals were washed out in Kansas City, as were the Orioles and White Sox in Chicago. Both games will be made up as part of Wednesday doubleheaders.

In MLB news, Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon is finally heading to the injured list with a bruised left elbow after sitting out seven of the team's last eight games. Rendon was hit by a pitch on his elbow during an April 20 game against Miami, ending a 17-game hitting streak. He missed the next four games, went 0 for 3 in one appearance, then skipped three more games for the Nationals. Rendon is batting .356 with six home runs and 18 RBIs in 20 games this season.

The Dodgers say center fielder A.J. Pollock might need surgery because of an infection in his surgically repaired right elbow. The NL champions put Pollock on the injured list before Tuesday night's game in San Francisco.

The Padres' injured list now includes rookie star Fernando Tatis Jr., who is expected to miss at least two weeks with a hamstring injury. The 20-year-old shortstop was hitting .300 with six home runs and 13 RBIs in 27 games before injuring his left hamstring on Sunday.

The Tigers have activated shortstop Jordy Mercer and placed second baseman Josh Harrison on the injured list. Mercer had been out because of a right quad strain, and Harrison had been on the 10-day injured list retroactive to April 27 with a bruised left shoulder. Detroit also put pitcher Tyson Ross on the paternity list.

Ichiro Suzuki has rejoined the Mariners as a special assistant to the chairman and will also work as an instructor. Suzuki retired from baseball last month following Seattle's opening two-game series in Japan against the Athletics.

Marlins outfielder Lewis Brinson has been optioned to Triple-A New Orleans, the latest setback for the team's centerpiece in the Christian Yelich trade. Brinson is hitting .197 with 28 strikeouts in 76 at-bats this season after batting .199 last year.

In other baseball news, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York has a new president. The appointment of Tim Mead, who has spent 40 years in the Los Angeles Angels organization, was announced Tuesday. He replaces Jeff Idleson. Mead, who is 61, has been Vice President of Communications for the Angels for the past 22 years. He becomes the seventh president of the Baseball Hall of Fame over its 80-year history.

NFL

The Indianapolis Colts have added running back depth by signing Spencer Ware. The 27-year-old Ware returned from a serious knee injury to gain 246 yards on 51 carries for the Chiefs last season. He gained 921 yards rushing and another 447 yards receiving for Kansas City in 2016 before a preseason knee injury caused him to miss the 2017 campaign. The Colts also waived safety Isaiah Johnson, defensive tackle DeShawn Williams and receiver James Wright

The Falcons have released guard Brandon Fusco after bolstering the position in free agency and last week's NFL draft. Fusco started the first seven games at right guard last season before suffering a season-ending right ankle injury.

Hall of Fame defensive end Gino Marchetti has died at 93. Marcheti helped the Baltimore Colts win consecutive NFL titles in the last 1950s and was named to the Pro Bowl during 11 of his 14 seasons. Marchetti fought in the Battle of the Bulge in World War II and enjoyed his greatest financial success with his Gino's Hamburgers chain that he eventually sold to Marriott in 1982.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Wake Forest has signed football coach Dave Clawson to a contract extension through the 2026 season. Athletic director Ron Wellman announced the extension on his final day before his retirement. Clawson is 28-35 in five seasons at Wake Forest and 22-17 during his last three years with three consecutive bowl victories. No other coach in program history has won more games in his first five seasons.

PENN STATE

A federal judge has thrown out former Penn State President Graham Spanier's misdemeanor child-endangerment conviction. The ruling came less than a day before he was due to turn himself in to begin serving a minimum sentence of two months. The decision by U.S. Magistrate Judge Karoline Mehalchick in Scranton, Pennsylvania, gave state prosecutors three months to retry Spanier under the state's 1995 child endangerment law, the version in place in 2001. Mehalchick agreed with Spanier that he was improperly charged under a 2007 law for actions that occurred in 2001 The 70-year-old Spanier was forced out as Penn State president shortly after former football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was arrested in 2011 on child molestation charges. A year later, Spanier was accused of a criminal cover-up, although many of those charges were dismissed by an appeals court.

KENTUCKY DERBY

Omaha Beach is the 4-1 early favorite for the Kentucky Derby after drawing the No. 12 post position in the 20-horse field at Churchill Downs this weekend. Omaha Beach enters the Derby on a three-race winning streak and is trained by Hall of Famer Richard Mandella. Bob Baffert-trained Game Winner is the 5-1 second choice from the No. 16 post starting inside stablemate Roadster, the 6-1 co-third choice with Improbable, at the No. 5 hole. Baffert is going for his sixth Kentucky Derby win and second straight. Last year he won with Justify, culminating in the Triple Crown. That came three years after he took the Triple Crown with American Pharoah.

TENNIS

Wimbledon is "highly likely" at the 2020 tournament to introduce a serve clock that debuted in Grand Slams at last year's US Open. Players have 25 seconds to prepare after a point for the next first serve. They are first warned, then assessed a fault for the second violation. Tournament CEO Richard Lewis detailed the timetable at a news conference on Tuesday saying the clock is "not a rule change, just a visible device on the court to manage the rule." Wimbledon will also have a retractable roof on the No. 1 court, with an increased capacity of 12,345.

GYMNASTICS

USA Gymnastics have removed Edward Nyman's appointment as the first full-time director of sports medicine and science, barely 24 hours after naming him to the position. USA Gymnastics sited an unspecified conflict of interest as the reason for re-opening the job. Nyman was a competitive gymnast from 1987-93 and spent time as a coach before getting a doctorate in biomechanics at the University of Toledo. Meanwhile, a new lawsuit seeks to protect potentially thousands of abused gymnasts who might not have known about a deadline for filing claims against USA Gymnastics in the embattled group's ongoing bankruptcy. The suit filed Monday in Indianapolis alleges USA Gymnastics knows or should know the identities of many abuse survivors who had not filed claims by Monday's bankruptcy claims deadline. The suit states that it's aimed at protecting the claims of people sexually abused by someone other than former sports doctor Larry Nassar , who was sentenced to decades to prison for molesting girls and young women.

© The Associated Press 2019. All Rights Reserved.