The New York Knicks continue to climb the NBA's Eastern Conference standings with their longest winning streak since 2013. RJ Barrett scored 18 of his 24 points in the third quarter to lead the Knicks to their seventh win in a row, 109-97 over the Hornets. Barrett's offense and the Knicks' defense changed the game after the Hornets scored 66 points in the first half. Derrick Rose and Immanuel Quickley each scored 17 points off the bench for the Knicks, who moved into fifth place in the East.
Checking out Tuesday's other NBA action:
Kyrie Irving scored 32 points and Joe Harris added 24 as the Nets topped the Pelicans, 134-129, putting Brooklyn within a half-game of the 76ers for the Eastern Conference lead. Irving contributed a tough turnaround jumper, a driving layup through converging defenders and four free throws in the final minute to ice the win. Landry Shamet had 18 points and eight assists for the Nets, while teammate Blake Griffin furnished 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
Paul George had 33 points, including two free throws with 4.8 seconds left that gave the Clippers a 113-112 victory over the Trail Blazers. George also had 11 rebounds for Los Angeles which beat Portland for the sixth straight time despite playing without Kawhi Leonard. CJ McCollum had 28 points for the Blazers but missed a pullup jumper at the final buzzer.
Trae Young scored 25 points and Lou Williams added 22 in his best game since returning to Atlanta, leading a 112-96 romp over the Magic. The Hawks took command in the second quarter, outscoring the Magic 28-13 over the final 7 minutes to build a 65-48 lead at halftime. Atlanta won for the fifth time in six games to move a step closer to locking up its first postseason berth since 2017.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points and a season-high 18 rebounds to carry the Timberwolves past the Kings, 134-120. Anthony Edwards and D'Angelo Russell added 28 points apiece for the winners.
In NBA news, the Denver Nuggets have bolstered their injury-depleted point guard ranks by signing veteran Austin Rivers to a 10-day contract. The Nuggets lost star Jamal Murray to a torn ACL in his left knee last week and Monte Morris injured his left hamstring Friday night. Coach Michael Malone says Morris will miss multiple games. Rivers brings a 9.1-point career scoring average and plenty of playoff experience to the Nuggets. He is expected to be available when Denver visits Portland on Wednesday night.
MLB
The Yankees broke their five-game losing streak by scoring on a run-scoring wild pitch and bases-loaded walk from Braves reliever Nate Jones in the eighth inning of a 3-1 victory. Gio Urshela hit a tying home run in the fifth inning off Charlie Morton and New York won with only five hits.
In other MLB action:
Jake Arrieta pitched five effective innings and Craig Kimbrel escaped a jam in the ninth to secure the Cubs' 3-1 victory over the Mets. Eric Sogard had two hits, scored twice and drove in a run to help Chicago rebound from Sunday's 13-4 loss to Atlanta.
Xander Bogaerts hit a three-run home run to back Eduardo Rodríguez as the Red Sox doubled up the Blue Jays, 4-2. Rodríguez allowed two runs on three hits over six innings of his first home start since missing all of last year due to COVID-19 complications.
Yan Gomes drew a four-pitch walk against Giovanny Gallegos to force in the go-ahead run in an odd eighth inning that pushed the Nationals past the Cardinals, 3-2. St. Louis led 2-1 until Gallegos walked a batter and hit another before Trea Turner's RBI single to right on an 0-2 count tied the game.
Alex Dickerson and Wilmer Flores went deep during a six-run eighth that propelled the Giants past the Phillies, 10-7. Buster Posey had his first multihomer game in nearly five years, and Tommy La Stella also went deep for San Francisco.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have ended their first two-game losing streak of the season, thanks to an outstanding pitching performance. Julio Urías threw one-hit ball over seven innings of a 1-0 win over the Mariners in Seattle. Urías struck out a career-high 11 in winning a matchup against Marco Gonzales, who surrendered Corey Seager's RBI single in the third inning. Urías allowed two baserunners and neither reached second base. The Dodgers played without outfielder Mookie Betts, one day after he was hit on the right forearm by a pitch. Manager Dave Roberts doesn't expect it to be a long-term issue.
Corbin Burnes lowered his season ERA to 0.37 while fanning 10 in six innings of the Brewers' 6-0 shutout of the Padres. Billy McKinney homered to spark a five-run third that included a two-run double by Travis Shaw and a two-run single from Omar Narváez.
Reds reliever Lucas Sims walked in a run to give the Arizona Diamondbacks a 5-4 lead over Cincinnati in the top of the eighth inning before the game was suspended because of rain. It will resume before the teams play their regularly scheduled game on Wednesday night.
Trey Mancini and Freddy Galvis each hit a solo homer in the third inning before the Orioles completed a 7-5 decision over the Marlins. Matt Harvey allowed three runs in five innings for his first win since July 13, 2019, with the Angels.
Carlos Rodón followed up his no-hitter against the Indians by hanging around for five shaky innings to beat Cleveland for the second time in a week, 8-5. José Abreu smacked a pair of solo homers to back Rodón, who was reached for two runs and three hits.
Brandon Lowe, Austin Meadows and Mike Zunino homered and the Rays pounded out 17 hits in a 14-7 rout of the Royals. Meadows, Randy Arozarena and Joey Wendle had three hits each, and Manual Margot and Yoshi Tsutsugo each drove in three.
Matt Olson hit a grand slam and Mitch Moreland homered twice to back Sean Manaea's shutout as the Athletics slammed the Twins, 7-0 in Game 1 of a doubleheader. Moreland connected for a two-run homer in the second inning and a solo drive in the fourth off Matt Shoemaker. Oakland swept the twinbill as Jesús Luzardo allowed two hits over 5 1/3 innings of a 1-0 victory. Jake Diekman stranded two runs in the seventh for his first save, getting a great catch from Mark Canha at the warning track in left to finish it.
Shohei Ohtani pitched four rollercoaster scoreless innings in the Angels' 6-2 win over the Rangers, striking out seven and walking six. Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Kurt Suzuki provided round-trippers as Anaheim won for the sixth time in nine home games.
The Rockies rolled to a 6-2 win over the Astros as C.J. Cron homered and drove in five runs. Dom Nuñez also hit a home run in Colorado's first win in its last 10 meetings with Houston.
The Tigers and Pirates were postponed in snowy Detroit because of inclement weather. The teams will try to play a doubleheader Wednesday.
In MLB news:
Nationals right fielder Juan Soto has gone on the 10-day injured list with a strained left shoulder. The reigning NL batting champion originally was listed in Washington's starting lineup Tuesday facing the Cardinals, but the announced the roster move less than an hour before the first pitch. Outfielder Yadiel Hernandez was being recalled from its alternate training site as the roster replacement for Soto, who is batting .300 with two homers and eight RBIs this season.
Orioles right fielder Anthony Santander had to be helped off the field after he sprained his left ankle in the first inning of Tuesday's game at Miami. Santander singled and was hurt returning to first base on a pickoff throw.
The Padres say left-hander Adrián Morejón has undergone Tommy John surgery. Morejón came out of his second start of the season, at Texas on April 11, after throwing just 16 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. He had no record and a 3.86 ERA in 4 2/3 innings.
Infielder Neil Walker has announced his retirement at age 35 after 12 major league seasons. Walker hit .231 with no homers and three RBIs in 18 games with Philadelphia this year. He batted .267 with 149 homers and 60 RBIs for Pittsburgh, the New York Mets, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Miami and the New York Yankees.
NHL
The Islanders rolled to a 6-1 win over the Rangers after scoring just 11 times over their previous eight games. Josh Bailey scored twice and Anthony Beauvillier had a goal and three assists as the Isles reclaimed a share of the East Division lead. Jordan Eberle and JG Pageau each had a goal and an assist in the Islanders' seventh win in 10 games.
Elsewhere in the NHL:
Tuukka Rask recorded his first shutout of the season and the Bruins extended their winning streak to five games with a 2-0 victory over the Sabres. Rask made 32 saves including a highlight-reel save on Sabres rookie Dylan Cozens in the first period that helped give the Bruins their seventh win in nine games. Brad Marchand and Connor Clifton scored for Boston.
The Penguins are within one point of the East lead after building a 6-0 lead before holding off the Devils, 7-6. Jeff Carter, Bryan Rust, Mike Matheson and Brian Dumoulin tallied in Pittsburgh's four-goal first period. Rust, Sidney Crosby and Evan Rodrigues each finished with a goal and an assist as the Pens bounced back from an ugly loss to Buffalo.
The Canucks doubled up the slumping Maple Leafs, 6-3 as Tanner Pearson and Brandon Sutter each scored twice. Braden Holtby stopped 37 shots in the Canucks return from a massive COVID-19 outbreak. John Tavares had two goals for the Maple Leafs, who lost their fifth straight but remain atop the North Division.
The Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes continue to share first place in the NHL's Central Division after both won on Tuesday. The Panthers picked up a 5-1 win over the Blue Jackets as Sam Bennett scored twice and Spencer Knight made 33 saves in his NHL debut. Jonathan Huberdeau had a goal and two assists, and Anthony Duclair set up three scores to help Florida improve to 7-0-1 against the Jackets this season. Duclair has five assists in his last two games.
Nino Niederreiter, Jordan Staal and Steven Lorentz scored second-period goals to lead the Hurricanes to a 4-1 victory over the Lightning. Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 26 shots for the victory, allowing only a goal by Brayden Point. Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 32 saves for the Bolts, who are three points off the Central lead with 10 games remaining.
Rookie Jason Robertson had a goal and an assist in the first period of the Stars' fourth win in a row, 5-2 versus Detroit. Joe Pavelski, Tanner Kero, Blake Comeau and Jamie Oleksiak also scored for Dallas, which finished a 4-0-1 homestand and extended its season-best point streak to eight games at 6-0-2. The Stars are one point behind fourth-place Nashville for the Central Division's last playoff spot with two games in hand.
Andreas Athanasiou and Blake Lizotte each had a goal and two assists for the Kings in a 4-1 victory against the Ducks. Anze Kopitar and Carl Grundstrom also scored for the Kings, who had gone 14 games since their last win by at least three goals.
SOCCER
A bid to create a Super League in European soccer is fading after all six English clubs dramatically abandoned plans to join the breakaway circuit. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham deserted the 12-team project amid an escalating backlash that saw the government warn of legislating to stop the breakaway competition. The Super League responded by saying its breakaway European competition is being reconsidered after exodus of all English clubs. The project was overseen by Real Madrid President Florentino Perez, who also signed up Barcelona and Atlético Madrid in Spain, and Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan from Italy. The rival for the UEFA-run Champions League became unviable without the six clubs from the world's richest league.
City was the first club to publicly announce its decision Tuesday, Chelsea soon followed and Liverpool was publicly urged to desert the Super League by its players who repeated a tweet first posted by Jordan Henderson. The Liverpool captain wrote, "We don't like it and we don't want it to happen. This is our collective position." The renegade league featuring teams from England, Spain and Italy was announced on Sunday, creating an immediate uproar from government officials, fans, players and managers. Man City's Pep Guardiola and Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp have been among the most vocal managers to rail against the league.
NFL
Mike Tomlin is sticking with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The club announced its longtime coach has signed a contract extension that runs through the 2024 season. Tomlin is 145-78-1 in 14 years with the Steelers with one Super Bowl victory. The deal means Tomlin will likely be part of the process whenever quarterback Ben Roethlisberger opts to retire. The 39-year-old Roethlisberger is returning for the 2021 season but the team has no heir apparent in place.
In other NFL news:
Veteran tackle D.J. Fluker has signed a one-year contract with the Dolphins, fortifying an offensive line that had three rookie starters last year. Fluker has 96 career starts with four teams, including eight for the Ravens last year.
The Bears re-signed veteran safety Tashaun Gipson to a one-year contract. Gipson signed with the Bears last year after being released by Houston and started all 16 games, making 64 tackles and two interceptions.
THOROUGHBRED RACING
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has successfully appealed his 15-day suspension to the Arkansas Racing Commission. The six-time Kentucky Derby winner can now resume preparations to run Medina Spirit in next weekend's Derby. Baffert was fined and suspended last year by Arkansas stewards for a pair of drug positives after Charlatan and Gamine tested positive for the painkiller lidocaine following their wins at Oaklawn Park on May 2.
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