Kevin Durant and the Nets have claimed the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 123-109 win over the Cavaliers. Durant fell two rebounds shy of a triple-double, providing 23 points and 13 assists in the Nets' fifth straight win. Kyrie Irving had 17 points for the Nets, who rested James Harden after he played the last two games following an 18-game injury absence.
Elsewhere in the NBA:
Thaddeus Young furnished 20 points and Coby White added 19 to lead the Bulls' 118-112 win over the Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo and the rest of the Bucks' starters sat out the game when the No. 2 seed became out of reach. Bucks rookie Jordan Nwora set career highs with 34 points and 14 rebounds.
The Knicks have wrapped up the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 99-92 win over the Celtics. Julius Randle capped his All-Star season with 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in helping the Knicks finish 41-31. RJ Barrett chipped in 22 points for New York, which is in the postseason for the first time since 2013.
The Wizards posted a 115-110 win over the Hornets to earn the eighth seed in the East and a play-in matchup against the Celtics. Russell Westbrook posted his 38th triple-double of the season and Bradley Beal scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half for Washington. Westbrook chipped in 23 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists.
Tyrese Maxey had 30 points, seven rebounds and six assists while the 76ers rested their starters in a 128-117 victory against the Magic. Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, Seth Curry and Danny Green stayed on the bench two days after Philadelphia clinched the top see in the East. Maxey picked up the slack by going 11 of 19 from the field, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range.
The Utah Jazz have come away with the first overall seed in the NBA playoffs by finishing first in the Western Conference. Jordan Clarkson scored 33 points and the Jazz completed a 52-20 campaign by hammering the Kings, 121-99. Rudy Gobert added 13 points and 16 rebounds for Utah, which needed to win its final two games to hold off Phoenix for the top spot. Mike Conley had 11 points, nine assists and six rebounds in his second game back after missing two weeks because of a right hamstring injury. Bojan Bogdanovic chipped in 18 points for the Jazz. Utah finished one game ahead of the Suns and won't know its first-round opponent until after the play-in tournament.
E'Twaun Moore scored 22 points and made a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds remaining that lifted the Suns past the Spurs, 123-121. Jevon Carter and Cameron Payne had 19 points each for Phoenix, which also received 54 points its bench. Carter and Payne started in place of Devin Booker and Chris Paul, who were given the day off.
The Lakers were relegated to the play-in tournament despite earning their fifth straight win, 110-98 over the Pelicans. LeBron James scored 25 points before he appeared to mildly aggravate a right ankle injury. Anthony Davis scored 14 points and Andre Drummond added 13 with 13 rebounds for Los Angeles.
Damian Lillard delivered 22 points and 10 assists for the Trail Blazers in a 132-116 victory against the Nuggets. CJ McCollum added 24 points, including five 3-pointers. The Blazers secured the sixth seed, which means they'll face the Nuggets in the opening round.
The Thunder topped the fourth-seeded Clippers, 117-112 as Rookie Aleksej Pokusevski scored a career-high 29 points for the winners. Josh Hall had never scored more than 10 points in an NBA game before contributing career highs of 25 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma City. Moses Brown had a career-best 24 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for the Thunder, who snapped a nine-game losing streak.
Anthony Edwards scored 30 points in his final audition for NBA Rookie of the Year, leading the Timberwolves to a 136-121 victory over the postseason-bound Mavericks. Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell scored 23 points apiece for Minnesota, which set a team record with 113 points through three quarters. Luka Doncic had 18 points, six rebounds and six assists in 21 minutes for the fifth-seeded Mavericks.
Rookie Onyeka Okongwu set career highs with 21 points and 14 rebounds in the Hawks' 125-95 laugher over the league-worst Rockets. Seven other players scored in double figures to lead Atlanta's second-biggest win of the season. The Hawks went with a makeshift lineup after being relegated to the fifth seed earlier Sunday.
Oshae Brissett delivered a career-best 31 points and Domantas Sabonis added 25 points, 16 rebounds and three steals, leading the Pacers to a 125-113 victory against the Pacers. Doug McDermott scored 20 points and hit four 3-pointers, while Caris LaVert added 13 points and six assists. Indiana comes away with the ninth seed in the East and will take on Charlotte in the play-in tournament.
Stephen Curry became the oldest scoring champion since Michael Jordan in 1998, finishing with 46 points as the Warriors downed the Grizzlies, 113-101. He made 9 of 22 3s and also contributed nine assists and seven rebounds in Golden State's sixth straight win, a streak that gives the Warriors the eighth seed in the West. The 33-year-old Curry averaged 32 points during his second 2,000-point season.
Nemanja Bjelica scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half of the Heat's 120-107 win over the Pistons. Precious Achiuwa scored a career-high 23 points and Max Strus added 20 for Miami, which rested its starters after being tethered to the sixth seed in the East. The loss assured that the Pistons would finish alone with the second-worst record in the league.
In basketball news: Ben Wallace, Jay Wright, Chris Bosh and Chris Webber are among the 16 names announced as this year's Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement class. The group that also includes Paul Pierce, coaches Rick Adelman and Cotton Fitzsimmons, and WNBA stars Yolanda Griffith and Lauren Jackson. Bill Russell becomes the fifth Hall of Famer who will be inducted as both a player and a coach, joining John Wooden, Lenny Wilkens and former Russell teammates, Bill Sharman and Tommy Heinsohn.
NHL
The New York Islanders, Minnesota Wild and Tampa Bay Lightning have opened their respective Stanley Cup playoff schedules with road wins. Kyle Palmieri's second goal of the day came in overtime to give the Isles a 4-3 comeback win at Pittsburgh. The Long Island native took a pass from JG Pageau near the goal line and gave the Isles their first win in five tries at the Steel City this year. Pageau and Brock Nelson also scored to support rookie Ilya Sorokin, who turned back 39 shots. Tristan Jarry made 37 saves in Pittsburgh's 10th loss in its last 11 postseason games.
Joel Eriksson Ek scored 3:20 into overtime to send the Wild past the Golden Knights, 1-0 in Game 1 of the first-round series. Ek was in the slot to send a shot that went off the skate of Golden Knights defender Alec Martinez and past Marc-Andre Fleury. Wild goaltender Cam Talbot made 42 saves and did some of his best work while Minnesota was outshot, 19-5 in the first period.
Brayden Point scored twice in the last seven minutes to rally the Lightning past the Panthers, 5-4. Point provided the game-winner with 1:14 remaining to complete the comeback. Nikita Kucherov finished with two goals and an assist for the Bolts, who trailed 2-1 and 4-3 before swiping home-ice advantage from the Cats. Game 2 is Tuesday near Miami.
Meanwhile, the Canucks and Flames are playing out the string. In the lone regular-season game, Calgary squandered a four-goal lead in the third period before Elias Lindholm scored the overtime winner to send the Flames past the Canucks, 6-5.
MLB
Maikel Franco homered and drove in three runs as the Orioles dumped the Yankees, 10-6 to avoid a three-game sweep. Yanks outfielder Aaron Judge homered for the third straight game and went 6 for 10 with four home runs and five RBIs in the series.
Elsewhere in baseball:
The Rays completed a three-game sweep of the Mets as Manuel Margot, Willy Adames and Brandon Lowe homered off Marcus Stroman in Tampa Bay's 7-1 victory. Ji-Man Choi had three hits, including an eighth-inning RBI double, in his first game after recovering from arthroscopic right knee surgery.
Down to their last out, the Los Angeles Angels were bailed out by Shohei Ohtani as they avoided a three-game sweep in Fenway Park. The Angels coughed up a 4-0 lead and trailed 5-4 until Ohtani smacked a two-run homer around the Pesky Pole to give Los Angeles a 6-5 win over the Red Sox. It was his second home run of the series and major league-leading 12th of the season. Drew Butera's two-run single put the Halos ahead by four. But Rafael Devers slammed a three-run drive and Kevin Plawecki added a blast in a four-run fifth that put Boston ahead.
Marcus Semien and Bo Bichette hit consecutive first-inning homers before Randal Grichuk had a two-run double in a five-run second that pushed the Blue Jays past the Phillies, 10-8. Semien finished with three hits and three RBIs, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went deep for the third game in a row.
Erick Fedde pitched seven scoreless innings and Yadiel Hernandez snapped a scoreless tie with a pinch-hit homer that sparked a three-run eighth in the Nationals' 3-0 shutout of the Diamondbacks. Fedde had his best outing of the year, using 97 pitches to navigate seven innings while allowing just three hits.
Kyle Hendricks struck out eight and took a shutout into the ninth inning of the Cubs' 5-1 victory over the Tigers. Ian Happ's three hits included a homer as Chicago won for just the second time in six games.
Rookie Ivan Castillo's first big league hit was an RBI single in a four-run fourth that put the Padres ahead in a 5-3 win versus the Cardinals. The Padres are 5-1 since Tuesday, when Fernando Tatis Jr. tested positive before a game at Colorado and right fielder Wil Myers and first baseman Eric Hosmer were pulled from the game.
Matt Chapman had three hits and three RBIs and Ramón Laureano scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the ninth inning as the Athletics defeated the Twins 7-6. Andrelton Simmons tied it for Minnesota in the eighth with a two-out, two-run homer off reliever Jake Diekman.
Mitch Haniger doubled twice and the Mariners ended Shane Bieber's record strikeout streak while beating the Indians, 3-2. Bieber had fanned at least eight in 20 straight games, but the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner fell short with seven over just 4 2/3 innings.
Wade Davis bounced a wild pitch that allowed José Abreu to dash home with the game-ending run, giving the White Sox a 4-3 triumph over the Royals. Kansas City led 3-2 in the ninth until Tim Anderson doubled and and scored on Yoán Moncada's single.
Avisail Garcia homered and the Brewers blew most of an 8-0 lead before holding on to beat the Braves,10-9. Freddy Peralta struck out eight over six scoreless innings, and Lorenzo Cain furnished a two-run single after Atlanta pulled within 8-7.
Alex Wood is 5-0 after allowing a run and eight hits over six innings of the Giants' 4-1 win at Pittsburgh. Mike Yastrzemski smacked a two-run homer and Buster Posey provided three of San Francisco's nine hits, leaving him with a .382 average.
Adam Duvall slammed a three-run homer and then threw out Mookie Betts at the plate during a busy fifth inning, leading the Marlins past the Dodgers, 3-2. Pablo López gave up seven hits and two runs over five innings in his first victory of the season.
The Reds scored ninth-inning runs on a passed ball and a wild pitch to rally past the Rockies, 7-6. Cincinnati trailed 6-1 in the eighth before Tyler Naquin singled home a pair in a four-run rally.
Chas McCormick singled home a pair as part of a four-run eighth that carried the Astros to their sixth straight win, 6-2 against the Rangers. Lance McCullers Jr. had to settle for a no-decision after limiting Texas to five hits over six shutout innings.
In MLB news:
World Series MVP Corey Seager will miss at least a few weeks for the Los Angeles Dodgers after breaking a bone in his right hand. Manager Dave Roberts says the star shortstop does not need surgery on his broken fifth metacarpal. The team placed Seager on the 10-day injured list Sunday and recalled catcher Keibert Ruiz from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
The Yankees have had another positive COVID-19 test, this one involving a staff member. The Yankees have had nine total positives within the traveling party since Monday — three coaches, five staffers and shortstop shortstop Gleyber Torres.
NASCAR
Alex Bowman won the the NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway as Hendrick Motorsports swept the top four positions. Bowman led the final 98 laps and teammate Kyle Larson led a race-high 263 laps. Larson finished second, followed by Chase Elliott and William Byron. Hendrick Motorsports is the first team to finish 1-2-3-4 since Jack Roush in 2005. HMS led 382 of the 400 laps at Dover.
GOLF
K.H. Lee is headed to the PGA Championship after getting his first PGA Tour victory at the AT&T Byron Nelson. The South Korean shot 6-under 66 and finished at 25 under for a three-shot win over third-round leader Sam Burns. Daniel Berger, Patton Kizzire, Charl Schwartzel and Scott Stallings tied for third at minus-21. Local Favorite Jordan Spieth got his first top 10 at the Nelson 11 years after contending on as a 16-year-old.
Also, Monday qualifier Dicky Pride won the Mitsubishi Electric Classic for his first PGA Tour Champions title. Pride closed with a 5-under 67 for an 11-under total and a three-stroke win over Stephen Ames, Kirk Triplett and second-round leader Paul Goydos. Making his 11th senior start, the 51-year-old Pride had six birdies in an 11-hole stretch before dropping a stroke on the par-4 15th. He parred the final three.
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