The Nets have forged a three-games-to-one lead with a 141-126 win at Boston. Kyrie Irving had 39 points and 11 rebounds to quiet the first post-pandemic full house at the TD Garden, where he was booed throughout Game 3 and most of Sunday. The former Celtic was nearly hit by a bottle thrown from the stands. Kevin Durant scored 42 points for the Nets, while James Harden added 23 with a career playoff-high 18 assists. Jayson Tatum followed his 50-point eruption in Game 3 by scoring 40 for the Celtics. Game 5 is in New York on Tuesday night, when the Nets will try to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time since 2014.
The Hawks own a three-games-to-one lead following their 113-96 rout of the Knicks. Trae Young lit up the Knicks for 27 points and John Collins added 22 despite taking a hard foul by Julius Randle. Atlanta led by four at halftime before shooting 10-for-19 in the third quarter to go ahead by 17. Randle had 23 points but shot just 7-for-19, leaving him at 27% from the field in the series. RJ Barrett finished with 21 points and Derrick Rose had 18 for the Knicks, who will try to stave off elimination at home on Wednesday.
The Clippers and Dallas are tied at two games apiece after Kawhi Leonard and Paul George led them to a 106-81 thumping of the Mavericks. Leonard had 29 points and 10 rebounds, while George scored 20 points. Leonard got to the rim when he wanted to and was efficient from 3-point range, making two of three. He was 11 of 15, and made 24 of 32 in the two games in Dallas. George had 18 points by the break to help the Clippers take control. Mavs guard Luka Doncic started slowly after being listed as questionable because of cervical strain. He scored a series-low 19 points after averaging 38 in the first three games. The Clippers will host Game 5 on Wednesday.
Chris Paul had 18 points and nine assists as the Suns downed the Lakers, 100-92 to reclaim homecourt advantage. Deandre Ayton had 14 points and 17 rebounds as the second-seeded Suns took advantage of Anthony Davis' absence from the second half with a groin injury. Devin Booker and Jae Crowder added 17 points apiece for the Suns, who began a 32-15 run shortly before halftime. LeBron James had 25 points and 12 rebounds for the Lakers, who fell too far behind in the third quarter while Davis was being evaluated in the locker room. James led a late 18-9 run that wasn't enough for the Lakers to take command of the series. Game 5 is Tuesday in Phoenix.
NHL
The Tampa Bay Lightning have quickly swiped home-ice advantage from the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Barclay Goodrow beat Alex Nedeljkovic for the go-ahead goal with 7:21 remaining to send the Bolts past the Canes, 2-1. Brayden Point opened the scoring with a second-period goal on the power play for Tampa Bay before Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 37 saves. Vasilevsky was outstanding at times and blanked the Hurricanes until Jake Bean scored on the power play to tie it early in the third period. Game 2 is Tuesday in Raleigh.
Another second-round series opened with the Colorado Avalanche blasting the Vegas Golden Knights. Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog each scored twice as the Avs easily earned a chippy 7-1 win over the Golden Knights. Young defenseman Cale Makar added a goal and three assists, while Brandon Saad and Mikko Rantanen also scored for the Avalanche. Colorado built a 5-0 lead before the game became a scrumfest. There were a total of 74 penalty minutes between the teams, including four 10-minute misconduct calls and a match penalty on Vegas' Ryan Reaves. The Avalanche host Game 2 on Wednesday.
INDY 500
Helio Castroneves has joined exclusive company by winning the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. The 46-year-old Castroneves joins A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears as the only four-time winners of the race. He's also the fourth-oldest winner of the Indianapolis 500. Castroneves won his first three 500s for Team Penske but was cut by the team after last season. He was snapped up by the fledgling Meyer Shank Racing team and has paid immediate dividends, passing Alex Palou for good with two laps remaining and beat him by nearly a half-second for the victory. Former Penske teammate and 2019 Indy 500 winner Simon Pagenaud was third, followed by 21-year-old Pato O'Ward.
NASCAR
Kyle Larson has ended six years of struggles at Charlotte Motor Speedway by easily winning the Coca-Cola 600 in dominating fashion. Larson led 328 of 400 laps and all four stages for his second win of the season. He also won at Las Vegas. It was the 269th career Cup Series victory for Hendrick Motorsports, passing Petty Enterprises for the most in NASCAR history. Petty Enterprises held onto the record since 1960. Twenty drivers have combined for Hendrick's 269 wins. It also was the sixth win in 16 races this season for Hendrick Motorsports. Hendrick drivers took four of the top five spots, with Chase Elliott finishing second, William Byron fourth and Alex Bowman fifth. Kyle Busch was third for Joe Gibbs Racing.
MLB
Rookie Tarik Skubal pitched six shutout innings and the Tigers completed their first home sweep of the Yankees in 21 years with a 6-2 victory. Gio Urshela and Glayber Torres combined for three errors that led to three unearned runs in New York's fifth loss in six games since a six-game winning streak.
Elsewhere in baseball:
Mike Zunino and Brett Phillips homered as the AL East-leading Rays won for the 15th time in 16 games, 6-2 versus the Phillies. Zunino hit his fourth home run in eight games with two out in the second, a two-run drive off Zach Eflin.
Tyler Chatwood forced in the tying run with his fourth straight walk in another wild outing, José Ramírez followed with a game-ending sacrifice fly and the Cleveland Indians rallied for two runs in the seventh inning without a hit to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 and gain a doubleheader split. Teoscar Hernández and Rowdy Tellez homered in the fourth inning off Aaron Civale to lift Toronto to a 4-1 win the opener, and Blue Jays led 4-0 in the sixth inning of the nightcap of the twin-bill of seven-inning games under pandemic rules.
The Baltimore Orioles are in the midst of their worst stretch in more than a decade. Lucas Giolito struck out 12 and the White Sox sent the Birds to their 13th straight loss, 3-1. Giolito allowed a run, three hits and three walks in seven innings. Nick Madrigal hit a tiebreaking triple in the seventh inning as the White Sox completed a four-game sweep. The AL Central leaders have won six of seven and climbed a season-high 12 games over .500. The Orioles' skid is their longest since 2009. They've dropped 20 of their last 22 to fall to a major league-worst 17-36.
Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks have put an end to their 13-game losing streak with a 9-2 thumping of the Cardinals. Ketel Marte hit a tying 457-foot home run in the third inning and go-ahead, two-run single in the fourth. Matt Peacock gave up two runs and six hits over six innings for his first victory as a starter.
Whit Merrifield had two hits and scored two runs as the Royals doubled up the Twins, 6-3. Andrew Benintendi and Hunter Dozier each drove in two runs to support right-hander Brad Keller, who improved to 3-0 in his last four starts by allowing three runs over five innings.
Jared Walsh's 12th homer sparked a four-run second before Angels relievers combined for six shutout innings to lead a 4-2 win over the Athletics. David Fletcher doubled twice and had two RBIs as Los Angeles won its second straight for a split of the four-game series.
Yusei Kikuchi took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning and Kyle Seager homered as the Mariners handed the Rangers their team record-tying 12th consecutive road loss, 4-2. Ty France drove in three runs with a pair of singles in his first two at-bats to help Seattle earn its fourth straight win.
The Cubs' six-game winning streak is over after Tyler Mahle worked five sharp innings and Eugenio Suárez homered to lead the Reds to a 5-1 victory at Wrigley Field. Tyler Naquin drove in two runs and Nick Castellanos went 2-for-5 to run his hitting streak to 16 games.
Charlie Blackmon provided three extra-base hits and keyed a two-run rally in the ninth that sent the Rockies past the Pirates 4-3. Blackmon hit two doubles and a triple as the Rockies ended a five-game losing streak.
The Brewers completed a three-game sweep as Avisaíl García belted a two-run homer off Max Scherzer in a 3-0 shutout of the Nationals. Brandon Woodruff struck out 10, allowed only two hits in seven innings and shrunk his ERA to 1.27.
The Padres absorbed their first loss in nine interleague games by falling to the Astros, 7-4. Kyle Tucker slammed a three-run homer in the first inning to back Zack Greinke, who held San Diego to a run and six hits over eight frames.
Kevin Gausman pitched six shutout innings and Mauricio Dubón hit one of two homers off Clayton Kershaw as the Giants beat the Dodgers for the third straight day, 5-4. Gausman improved to 6-0 by allowing just two hits while striking out eight before he was removed because of left hip tightness.
The Mets and Braves were rained out in New York for the second time in three days, creating a doubleheader for July 26.
Rain also caused the postponement of the Marlins-Red Sox game in Boston. The two teams will try again on June 7.
PGA
Jason Kokrak shot an even-par 70 in a final-group showdown with resurgent Jordan Spieth to capture the Charles Schwab Challenge at 14 under. He was two strokes better than Spieth, who hit his approach at No. 18 over the green and into the water. Kokrak had five bogeys to go with his five birdies. He twice needed two shots to get out of bunkers, and had back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 15 and 16. Kokrak won for the second time in 17 PGA starts after playing 233 tournaments before earning his first PGA win.
Also, Alex Cejka is on a major rush. Cejka is the winner of the Senior PGA Championship, giving him consecutive major titles. Cejka shot a 3-under 67 for a four-stroke victory over Tim Petrovic, three weeks after he beat Steve Stricker in a playoff in the Regions Tradition in Alabama. Stricker had a one-shot lead going into the final round and many expected another duel to the finish. That battle vanished early, with Stricker's usually reliable putting failing him greatly. Retief Goosen and K.J. Choi tied for third at 3 under, five behind Cejka.
TENNIS
Dominic Thiem was among the casualties during the first day of the French Open. The reigning U.S. Open champion and two-time French Open finalist blew a two-sets-to-none lead in a 4-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 loss to 68th-ranked Pablo Andujar. It's the first time the fourth-seeded Thiem has dropped an opening-round match at Roland Garros. First-round winners on the men's side included fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and No. 6 Alexander Zverev.
Women's second-ranked Naomi Osaka overcame 35 unforced errors to win her first-round match, 6-4, 7-6 against Patricia Maria Tig. Osaka was later fined $15,000 for blowing off the post-match news conference, keeping a promise she made before the tournament. Three-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1 Angelique Kerber was ousted by a qualifier from Ukraine ranked 139th making her tournament debut.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova saved a match point before rallying to beat Belgian qualifier Greet Minnen in three sets. Other women's winners were third seed Aryna Sabalenka, Victoria Azarenka and American Madison Keys, who played until around midnight before advancing in three sets.
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