D'Angelo Russell scored 20 points and Joe Harris added 19 in leading Brooklyn to a 108-96 victory over the Pacers. The Nets scored the last seven points of the third quarter and used two 3s early in the fourth to build a 95-78 cushion.
The Magic are going to the playoffs for the first time in seven years after Terrence Ross had 26 points and Nikola Vucevic added 25 with 12 rebounds in a 116-108 win over the Celtics. Orlando stayed tied with Brooklyn for the sixth seed in the East and left Boston one game ahead of Indiana for the fourth spot.
Mario Hezonja scored a career-high 30 points and made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 44 seconds left in the Knicks' 113-110 triumph over the Wizards.
Checking out Sunday's other NBA action, the Houston Rockets have a firmer grip on the third seed in the NBA's Western Conference after breaking their league record for 3-pointers in a game. Five days after hitting 26 from downtown, the Rockets drained 27 3s in a 149-113 blowout win over the Suns. Eric Gordon led the 3-point barrage by tying a career high with eight. James Harden added five treys and scored 30 points in just three quarters. Austin Rivers broke the record with 69 seconds remaining before the Rockets improved to 53-28, good for a 1 ½-game lead over Portland for third place in the West.
Damian Lillard scored 30 points to lead the Trail Blazers to a 115-108 victory over the Nuggets. Al-Farouq Aminu added 23 points and 11 rebounds for Portland, which pulled two games ahead of Utah with two to play as the Blazers try to wrap up home-court advantage in the opening round.
Stephen Curry scored 27 points and the Warriors wrapped up the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs by winning their fifth in a row, blasting the Clippers, 131-104. Kevin Durant added 16 points and seven assists in the final NBA regular-season game at Oracle Arena.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 30 points and Khris Middleton added 21 to send Milwaukee to a 115-107 victory over the Hawks. The outcome gives the Bucks 60 wins in a season for the first time since 1981.
The Heat dropped their fourth in a row as Pascal Siakam had 23 points and 10 rebounds in the Raptors' 117-109 overtime win against Miami. Dwyane Wade scored 21 points and James Johnson had 18 for the Heat, who are one game behind Detroit for the final Eastern Conference playoff berth.
Charlotte is also within one game of a playoff slot following a 104-91 victory over the Pistons. Kemba Walker scored 20 of his 31 points while the Hornets were building a 60-42 halftime lead in their third straight win.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 32 points and the short-handed Lakers snapped Utah's seven-game winning streak with a 113-109 victory over the Jazz. Pope scored 18 points during the fourth quarter as Los Angeles rallied for its second consecutive win.
Russell Westbrook recorded another triple-double with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 15 assists in the Thunder's 132-126 victory against the Timberwolves. Paul George also scored 27 points and Dennis Schroder had 14 of his 21 in the fourth quarter as Oklahoma remained a half-game ahead of San Antonio for seventh in the West.
The Spurs coasted to a 112-90 pounding of the Cavaliers as LaMarcus Aldridge contributed 18 points and 13 rebounds. DeMar DeRozan and Patty Mills added 14 points apiece for San Antonio, which dealt Cleveland its ninth straight loss.
Salah Mejri scored a career-high 19 points, including the tying basket in regulation and the first seven points of overtime as the Mavericks defeated the Grizzlies, 129-127.
Ian Clark scored 31 points with a career-best seven 3-pointers, and Elfrid Payton provided 12 of his 25 points in the final 3½ minutes of the Pelicans' 133-129 verdict over the Kings.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
The Baylor Lady Bears fought off adversity before capturing their first NCAA women's basketball championship in seven years. Baylor coughed up a 17-point lead and lost star forward Lauren Cox in an 82-81 victory over Notre Dame in the championship game at Tampa. Chloe Jackson provided the tiebreaking layup with 3.9 seconds left, but the Irish had a chance to force overtime until Arike Ogunbowale missed the first of two free throws. Ogunbowale hit a buzzer-beating jumper to give Notre Dame the title last year. Cox injured a knee late in the third quarter and didn't return. Jackson finished with 26 points and Kalani Brown had 20 for Baylor. Ogunbowale led all scorers with 31 points.
The men’s NCAA Tournament final is tonight – No. 3 Texas Tech faces No. 1 Virginia at 9:20 p.m. on CBS.
In college basketball news, former Siena coach Rob Lanier has been hired as the new Georgia State men’s basketball coach. Lanier was with Siena from 2001-2005, taking the team to one NCAA Tournament.
MLB
The New York Yankees are starting to heat up despite having 11 players on the injured list. The Yankees banged out seven home runs and completed a three-game sweep with a 15-3 thrashing of the Orioles in Baltimore. The seven home runs are the most by the Yanks in a road game since May 30, 1961 at Fenway Park. Gary Sánchez went deep three times for the Bombers, who scored their first 18 runs of the series via the long ball. Clint Frazier homered twice for the Yankees, who also received round-trippers from Austin Romine and Gleyber Torres.
The Red Sox completed a 3-8 road trip by getting a seventh-inning homer by Mitch Moreland to beat the Diamondbacks, 1-0. Boston carried a 6.97 ERA into the game before Hector Velázquez, combined with four relievers on a three-hitter.
Rhys Hoskins smacked a two-run homer and Zach Eflin scattered six hits over seven innings of the Phillies, 2-1 victory over the Twins. Eflin allowed a leadoff homer to Max Kepler and continued to trail 1-0 until Hoskins went deep off Jose Berrios in the sixth.
Anthony Rendon belted a three-run homer and the Nationals were helped by 12 walks in a 12-9 win over the Mets. Kurt Suzuki also homered to back Max Scherzer, who picked up his first win in three starts despite allowing four runs and eight hits over 6 1/3 innings.
Elsewhere around the majors, Daniel Vogelbach homered twice, hit a bases-clearing double and set a career high with six RBIs in leading Seattle to a 12-5 romp over the White Sox. Edwin Encarnación had a two-run homer and three hits for the 9-2 Mariners, who own the AL's best record after extending the best start in club history.
Jose Altuve worked out a bases-loaded walk off Blake Treinen with two out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning to complete the Astros' 9-8 victory and three-game sweep of the Athletics. Aledmys Diaz got his first hit as an Astro with a three-run homer in the first before driving in a fourth run with a bases-loaded walk.
Cleveland polished off a four-game sweep of the Blue Jays as Mike Clevinger struck out 10 and allowed one hit over five scoreless innings of the Indians' 3-1 victory. Clevinger has struck out 22 without allowing a run in 12 innings over two starts this season, but he left Sunday's game with back tightness.
Tyson Ross allowed a run and five hits with eight strikeouts over seven innings in his Comerica Park debut as the Tigers downed the Royals, 3-1. Rookie outfielder Christin Stewart following Saturday's grand slam with two more RBIs to help Detroit complete a three-game sweep.
Mike Trout homered for the fourth straight game and Brian Goodwin also connected in the Angels' third consecutive win, 7-2 against the Rangers. Play was stopped for five minutes in the fifth when a swarm of bees began flying around the bullpens in left center field.
Yandy Diaz homered on the game's second pitch and Yonny Chirinos threw five scoreless innings as the Rays downed the Giants, 3-0. Rays reliever Adam Kolarek pitched a perfect sixth inning to protect a 2-0 lead, then had two different stints on the mound while also shuttling from first base in the seventh.
The Dodgers already have 24 home runs this season after Max Muncy belted a two-run shot and Cody Bellinger added a solo blast in a 12-6 thumping of the Rockies. Bellinger had three hits and scored four times as Los Angeles picked up its fifth straight win to move to 8-2.
The Brewers won for the seventh time in eight games as Christian Yelich homered and drove in three to lead a 4-2 victory over the Cubs. Zach Davies pitched effectively into the sixth and Josh Hader picked up an eight-out save to help Milwaukee win a series for the 15th time in 16 tries.
The Braves pulled out a 4-3 win over the Marlins on Dansby Swanson's game-ending single against a five-man infield in the bottom of the ninth. The winning rally was aided by a passed ball and a catcher's interference call on Chad Wallach.
Adam Wainwright tossed five-hit ball over six sharp innings as the Cardinals topped the Padres, 4-1 to avoid a three-game sweep. Paul DeJong drove in a pair of runs with a fourth-inning double off Matt Strahm.
Pittsburgh's 7-5 win over the Reds included a benches-clearing fracas in which Cincinnati outfielder Yasiel Puig barreled into a bunch of Pirates. Josh Bell crushed an estimated 474-foot home run in the fourth, a half-inning after the skirmish led to the ejection of five players.
In MLB news, catcher Travis d'Arnaud has been activated by the Mets, nearly one year after he had Tommy John surgery. D'Arnaud was reinstated from the 10-day injured list before Sunday's game against Washington, causing the Mets to option catcher Tomas Nido to Triple-A Syracuse.
The Atlanta Braves have placed catcher Brian McCann on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain suffered during Saturday's game to the Marlins. Alex Jackson was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett and made his major league debut by starting in Sunday's game against Miami.
The Diamondbacks have placed catcher Alex Avila on the injured list with a strained left quadriceps, an injury sustained while circling the bases on a home run Friday.
NHL
The Florida Panthers and Buffalo Sabres will be interviewing potential head coaches. The Panthers fired Bob Boughner the day after the season finale, ending his two-year tenure with one year remaining on his contract. The Panthers didn't make the postseason under Boughner and have missed the playoffs 16 times in the last 18 seasons. In Buffalo, the Sabres fired coach Phil Housley following two underperforming seasons and after the team extended its franchise-worst playoff drought to an eighth consecutive year. A 10-game winning streak left the Sabres 17-6-2, but they won just 16 of their final 55 games.
In other NHL news, the Kings say Willie Desjardins is not a candidate to become the next head coach after serving in an interim role most of the season. Desjardins said after Saturday's 5-2 victory over the Golden Knights that he was going to enjoy the win and worry about his coaching future in the coming weeks.
NASCAR
The Busch Brothers have claimed yet another victory at Bristol Motor Speedway. Kyle Busch passed his older brother, Kurt, on the final restart to win Sunday's NASCAR race. The Busch Brothers were first in line not to pit for tires during the 11th caution to set up a final shootout between Bristol's two winningest active drivers. It's the eighth Bristol victory for Kyle, who prevented Kurt from getting his seventh on the .533-mile high-banked oval. Kurt Busch lamented lamented over the P.A. system that he should have wrecked his brother for the win. Joey Logano finished third, followed by Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Paul Menard and Clint Bowyer.
GOLF
Corey Conners has become the first Monday qualifier since 2010 to win a PGA event. Conners claimed his first PGA Tour victory and earned an invite to the Masters by capturing the Valero Texas Open. He made three birdies in the final five holes, shooting a 6-under 66 for a 20-under total. Charley Hoffman finished second at 18 under, while Ryan Moore was another shot back. Moore closed with an 8-under 64, one off the course record.
Jin Young Ko won the ANA Inspiration on Sunday at Mission Hills for her first major title and second victory in three weeks. Ko closed with a 2-under 70 for 10-under total and a three-stroke victory over Mi Hyang Lee. The 23-year-old South Korean won for the fourth time on the LPGA Tour, completing a desert sweep after taking the Founders Cup in Phoenix. She leads the money list and has five top-three finishes in six events this year.
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