The Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Clippers have turned their respective NBA playoff series into a best-of-3. The Hawks evened their Eastern Conference semifinal series at two games apiece with a comeback win over the 76ers, 103-100. Trae Young overcame a cold shooting start to score 25 points, including a floater that gave Atlanta the lead with 1:17 remaining. The 76ers led 60-42 late in the first half before Atlanta rallied. Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 22 points and John Collins had 14 points and 12 rebounds. Young made only 8 of 26 shots but had 18 assists. Tobias Harris led the 76ers with 20 points, while Joel Embiid added 17 with 21 rebounds. Game 5 is Wednesday night in Philadelphia.
Meanwhile, the Clippers beat the Jazz for the second straight game as Kawhi Leonard and Paul George each scored 31 in a 118-104 downing of Utah. Leonard and George went over 30 points for the second straight game, allowing LA to knot the Western Conference semifinal series at two games apiece. They are the third duo to score at least 20 in their team's first 11 playoff games and the first since Lakers stars Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal in 2003. Marcus Morris added 24 points and went 5 of 6 on 3-pointers for fourth-seeded Los Angeles. Donovan Mitchell led Utah with 37 points, making him the first player since Golden State's Stephen Curry in 2019 to have six straight 30-point games in the playoffs. Game 5 is Thursday in Salt Lake City.
In basketball news:
The WNBA will hold its All-Star Game in Las Vegas on July 14 pitting the U.S. women’s national team that will play in the Olympics against some of the league’s best players. Voting for the WNBA’s team, which starts Tuesday, will be determined from a pool chosen by fans, players and media members. Players can vote for themselves. Coaches will chose the 12-player WNBA team from the top 36 vote-getters who aren’t on the U.S. Olympic team. Coaches can’t vote for their own players.
The president of basketball's world governing body has stepped aside during its investigation into alleged systemic sexual abuse of women players at his home federation. FIBA has issued a statement saying Hamane Niang "strongly denies the allegations" that he ignored abuse by coaches and officials in Mali when he led the national federation there from 1999 to 2007. The New York Times published allegations implicating around 12 coaches and officials in sexual abuse that involved around 100 women players. Niang was not accused of abusing women.
NHL
The Montreal Canadiens came down to earth on Monday by dropping Game 1 of their Stanley Cup semifinal series with the Golden Knights in Las Vegas. Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves and the Knights picked up their fifth straight win by stifling the Habs, 4-1. Shea Theodore had a goal and an assist for Vegas, which also received tallies from Alec Martinez, Mattias Janmark, and Nick Holden. The Canadiens had won seven straight since falling behind three games to one in their first-round series against Toronto. Rookie Cole Caufield scored his first career playoff goal for Montreal, while goaltender Carey Price made 26 saves.
In NHL news:
The New York Rangers' next head coach is someone who recently led a team to the Stanley Cup Final. A person with knowledge of the move tells The Associated Press that Gerard Gallant has been hired to take over for David Quinn. Gallant was a highly sought-after coaching candidate three years after leading Vegas to the Stanley Cup Final in its inaugural season. He is fresh off coaching Canada from an 0-3 start to the gold medal at the world hockey championship. This will be Gallant's fourth NHL head coaching job after stints with the Blue Jackets, Panthers and Golden Knights.
Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne has won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy that annually honors a player for leading on the ice and off it with humanitarian work. The league is giving Rinne $25,000 to donate to a charity or charities. Devils defenseman P.K. Subban and Sharks forward Kurtis Gabriel were finalists and each will receive $5,000 to donate.
MLB
The Boston Red Sox survived a weekend homer barrage by the Toronto Blue to earn a split of their four-game series. Rafael Devers slammed a line drive off the Green Monster in the bottom of the ninth to give the Sox a 2-1 win over the Blue Jays. Devers went deep a half-inning after Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered to tie it. It was Guerrero's major league-leading 22nd home run of the season, and his fourth in as many games. The walk-off win came after the Blue Jays belted 13 home runs in back-to-back weekend wins.
In other major league action:
David Peterson earned his first win in exactly two months by allowing just one hit over six shutout innings of the Mets' 5-2 win over the Cubs. Dominic Smith hit a solo homer and Kevin Pillar added a two-run double as New York beat Chicago at home for the first time in eight games.
The Dodgers managed to turn just three hits and four baserunners in a 3-1 win over the Phillies as Will Smith belted a two-run homer and Chris Taylor added a solo blast. LA's bullpen scattered four hits over 5 1/3 innings, with Kenley Jansen working the ninth for his 16th save.
Kyle Schwarber homered for the fourth time in three games to support Jon Lester in the Nationals' third win in four games, 3-2 over the Pirates. Jon Lester allowed two runs and six hits over 5 ? innings making it into the sixth inning for just the fourth time in nine starts this season.
Homers by Austin Meadows, Brandon Lowe and Randy Arozarena powered the Rays to their fourth consecutive win, 5-2 versus the White Sox. Tampa Bay starter Tyler Glasnow left after four innings with right elbow inflammation.
The Indians handed the Orioles' their team record-extending 16th straight loss, 4-3. José Ramírez picked up a pair of RBIs made possible by Baltimore blunders in the field, helping Indians rookie reliever Nick Sandlin pick up his first career win.
Willi Castro, Robbie Grossman and Niko Goodrum homered for the Tigers in a 10-3 rout of the Royals. Miguel Cabrera got three hits and drove in two for Detroit, which ended a four-game skid despite losing starter Matthew Boyd and reliever Alex Lange to injuries.
Jake Bauers barely cleared the wall with his first home run since being traded to the Mariners, a tiebreaking shot in a 4-3 downing of the Twins. Minnesota led 3-1 until Ty France had an RBI double and Dylan Moore an RBI triple in the fifth for Seattle.
Sean Murphy smacked a two-run homer and Mitch Moreland had a two-run single as the Athletics defeated the Angels, 8-5. Sean Manaea allowed just one run despite nine hits over 5 2/3s as Oakland improved to 41-27 and ended the Halos' six-game winning streak.
Vladimir Gutiérrez and three relievers combined on a four-hitter with 12 strikeouts to help the Reds trounce the Brewers, 10-2. Joey Votto and Aristides Aquino each hit a two-run homer in Cincinnati's fourth win in a row.
The Cardinals won for only the third time in 14 games as Tyler O'Neill doubled home the tiebreaking run in the eighth inning of their 4-2 victory against the Marlins. Adam Wainwright gave up two runs over six effective innings and Paul Goldschmidt had two hits and an RBI for St. Louis.
Austin Gomber continued his dominance at hitter-friendly Coors Field with eight shutout innings in the Rockies' 3-2 verdict over the Padres. Gomber was reached for just three hits and improved to 3-1 at home, where he hasn't allowed an earned run in 23 1/3 innings.
The Giants were 5-2 winners over the Diamondbacks behind Brandon Crawford's two-run homer and three RBIs. Arizona has dropped 20 consecutive road games, two off the major league record held by the 1963 Mets.
In MLB news, Indians ace and reigning AL Cy Young winner Shane Bieber has a strained right shoulder and will not pitch for at least two weeks. Manager Terry Francona said Bieber complained of tightness in his shoulder after pitching Sunday and underwent an MRI. The Indians placed the right-hander on the injured list and recalled reliever Kyle Nelson from Triple-A Columbus. Bieber's loss is a major blow to Cleveland, which has managed to stay in contention in the first 2 1/2 months of the season despite a rash of key injuries.
NFL
Patriots starting quarterback Cam Newton has returned to the field. He participated in the team's first mandatory minicamp workout without restriction after missing the final three voluntary workouts last week with a hand injury. Stephon Gilmore, meanwhile, was one of several players absent from minicamp. He previously skipped the voluntary workouts as he enters the final year of his contract. The team's top cornerback and the 2019 NFL defensive player of the year is due to make $7.5 million this year, which would rank him 25th among league cornerbacks.
In other NFL news:
A person with direct knowledge of the decision says Jets wide receiver Jamison Crowder agreed to a renegotiated deal that will keep him with the team through this season. Crowder was due to make $10 million this year, but the Jets had been trying to get the 28-year-old receiver to take a pay cut.
The Eagles have agreed to terms with quarterback Nick Mullens. The 26-year-old Mullens spent his first four seasons with the 49ers, going 5-11 in 16 starts. Mullens joins Jalen Hurts and Joe Flacco on Philadelphia's roster.
The Jacksonville Jaguars expect quarterback Trevor Lawrence to be fully cleared to practice by training camp next month. Lawrence was a limited participant as the Jaguars opened a two-day, mandatory minicamp Monday, getting reps in some seven-on-seven drills. The former Clemson star and this year's No. 1 draft pick wore a compression sleeve on his left leg to help his hamstring, which he tweaked during practice last week.
THOROUGHBRED RACING
Trainer Bob Baffert has filed suit in federal court in an effort to get his suspension by the New York Racing Association lifted. The NYRA suspended the Hall of Famer in mid-May after Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit failed a postrace drug test that found 21 picograms of betamethasone. The steroid helps reduce swelling and Baffert acknowledged that Medina Spirit tested positive for the substance that is banned on race day in Kentucky. The trainer later said an ointment used to treat a skin condition contained the substance.
TENNIS
The British government says Wimbledon will be allowed to have a full crowd at Centre Court for the men's and women's finals next month. The announcement comes as the government eases restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic. Wimbledon begins on June 28. The tournament will allow 50% capacity at the start but increase to 100% on Centre Court for the finals. The decision to ease restrictions on crowds will also increase attendances at soccer's European Championship and other sporting events.
OLYMPICS
The International Boxing Association has commissioned an investigation into possible corruption and match-fixing at the 2016 Olympic tournament. The announcement comes just over a month before the next Olympics in Tokyo. The investigation will be led by Richard McLaren. The Canadian law professor detailed Russian doping and cover-ups before the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The IOC has previously barred the AIBA from organizing the Tokyo tournament and has ruled that none of the referees or judges from 2016 will be eligible to have any role.
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