NBA:
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James has become the first player in NBA history to be part of 10 different four-game sweeps during his career. James dropped in 33 points and nailed a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:08 remaining before the Cavs held on to top the Pacers, 106-102 at Indiana. The Cavaliers squandered a 96-83 lead in the fourth quarter and trailed 102-100 before James hit his only trey of the game.
Nene was unstoppable in the Houston Rockets 113-109 win at Oklahoma City, scoring 28 points on 12 of 12 shooting and contributing 10 rebounds as Houston took a 3-1 lead in the NBA first-round series. Nene helped the Rockets overcome an off night by James Harden, who finished with 16 points on 5-for-16 from the field. Thunder guard Russell Westbrook had a triple-double by halftime and finished with 35 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists.
Meanwhile Utah tied the series up at 2 games apiece after downing the Clippers 105-98.
Boston and Chicago are tied at two games apiece in their NBA first-round series after Isaiah Thomas scored 33 points to lead the Celtics to a 104-95 win over the Bulls. Boston blew a 20-point lead and trailed 65-63 before Thomas delivered 10 points during a 12-0 run that put them ahead to stay. Joe Johnson scored 11 straight Utah points and finished with 28 as the Jazz downed the Los Angeles Clippers, 105-98 to square that series at two games apiece.
Around the NBA:
— Warriors coach Steve Kerr says he won't be on the sidelines for Game 4 on Monday at Portland. Kerr stayed behind at the team hotel Saturday as Mike Brown guided Golden State to a 119-113 win. Kerr is still experiencing lingering symptoms from complications following two back surgeries.
— Jusuf Nurkic won't play for the Trail Blazers in Game 4 Monday versus the Warriors as he continues to recover from a non-displaced fracture in his right leg. He played in Saturday's loss to Golden State but reported soreness after scoring two points and grabbing 11 rebounds in under 17 minutes.
— The NBA has fined Bulls guard Rajon Rondo $25,000 for attempting to trip Celtics forward Jae Crowder from the bench in Game 3 of their first-round series. The league also fined Rockets guard Patrick Beverley $25,000 for confronting a fan after Game 3 of their first-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
NHL:
Marcus Johansson provided the tying and winning goals as the Washington Capitals pulled out a 2-1 overtime win at Toronto to win their NHL first-round series in six games. Johansson ended the six-game series at 6:31 of OT after knotting the score with 7:09 left in regulation. Neither team scored until Auston Matthews beat Braden Holtby 7:45 into the third period.
The Ottawa Senators have won a playoff series for the first time in four years by ousting the Boston Bruins in six games. Clarke MacArthur scored a power-play goal 6:30 into overtime to give the Senators a 3-2 win over the Bruins. Bobby Ryan and Kyle Turris scored about five minutes apart early in the second period to put Ottawa ahead 2-1, but Boston forced OT on Patrice Bergeron's goal 1:57 into the third.
On Saturday, the Rangers advanced to the conference semifinals and will next face Ottawa on Thursday.
The NHL postseason is down to eight teams with the St. Louis Blues hosting the Nashville Predators and the Anaheim Ducks hosting the Edmonton Oilers to start the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs Wednesday night. After the two Western Conference series get going, the Ottawa Senators host the New York Rangers and the Washington Capitals host the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night.
In other NHL news:
— Penguins forward Chris Kunitz returned to practice on Sunday and wore a non-contact jersey to protect him from a lower-body injury suffered in a March 31 game against the Rangers. The defending Stanley Cup champions are hoping the 37-year-old forward can return to action at some point during the playoffs.
— Ducks All-Star defenseman Cam Fowler is practicing with the Ducks again and could be on target for a quick return to the Stanley Cup contenders' lineup. Fowler has been out since April 4, when Calgary captain Mark Giordano hurt him with an unpenalized knee-on-knee hit.
— The Kings have promoted associate head coach John Stevens to head coach, replacing the recently-fired Darryl Sutter. Stevens also was interim head coach of Los Angeles for four games during the 2011-12 season after going 120-109-34 in three-plus seasons as head coach of the Flyers.
NFL:
Former NFL player Aaron Hernandez's Connecticut hometown is preparing to say farewell to him. A private funeral service is scheduled for 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Monday for the former New England Patriots tight end, who was found hanged in his cell in a maximum-security prison in Massachusetts last week. Hernandez was serving a life sentence for a 2013 murder and had just been acquitted of a 2012 double murder. His death has been ruled a suicide.
MLB:
In baseball, Pittsburgh beat the Yankees 2-1, Boston tripled up Baltimore 6-2, and it was Washington over the Mets 6-3. The Yankees face Boston tonight at 7 p.m. The Mets have a day off.
Daniel Murphy hit an early grand slam against his former team, Max Scherzer pitched eight fiery innings and the Washington Nationals beat the New York Mets 6-3 Sunday night for their seventh straight victory. Ryan Zimmerman added a two-run homer for the Nationals, who completed a three-game sweep of the short-handed Mets. Michael Conforto and Neil Walker homered for the Mets.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees are cutting payroll and their luxury tax bills — just as Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and perhaps Clayton Kershaw near the free-agent market after the 2018 season.
The Dodgers are on track to slice their tax bill by about a quarter this year and the Yankees by two-thirds. The San Francisco Giants also are set to slice their payment in the first season of baseball's new collective bargaining agreement, but the Detroit Tigers are slated to pay more despite saying they want to reduce payroll.
If a team doesn't pay tax in 2018, its tax rate would drop to 20 percent in 2019 — allowing perennially high-spending clubs to sign stars at a lower cost.
The Dodgers are forecast to pay a $25.1 million competitive balance tax this year, according to opening-day calculations by the commissioner's office obtained by The Associated Press, down from $43.6 million in 2015 and $31.8 million last year. The Yankees' bill is slated to be just under $9 million, their lowest since the tax began in 2003 and less than one-third of the $27.4 million they owed last season.
MLS:
Cyle Larin scored two goals to help Orlando City coach Jason Kreis beat his former team New York City FC, 2-1 on Sunday to move atop the Eastern Conference standings. Kreis returned to Yankee Stadium for the first time since being dismissed in 2015 as NYCFC's inaugural coach.
NASCAR:
NASCAR had to postpone the Monster Energy Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway until Monday because of heavy rain. Friday's qualifying was washed out, causing the lineup to be settled on points. Pole-sitter Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott will start from the front row Monday, weather permitting.
IndyCar:
Josef Newgarden has kept Team Penske on top at Barber Motorsports Park Sunday with his second Indy Grand Prix of Alabama win in three years. The new Penske driver didn't allow Scott Dixon an opening over the final stretch to give Chevrolet its first win of the season. Newgarden had moved to the front for the first time when Will Power was forced to pit with a punctured left rear tire with 14 laps to go.
NCAA:
Police in Meridian Township, Michigan, say former Michigan State defensive end Auston Robertson is in custody after being charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct. The 19-year-old is accused of forcing a woman to have sex with him at her apartment on April 8. Robertson was dismissed from the team shortly after prosecutors announced the charge on Friday.
PGA:
Kevin Chappell finally has his first PGA Tour victory, doing it in his 180th career start. Chappell sank an 8-foot putt on the final hole to win the Valero Texas Open by one stroke over Brooks Koepka at TPC San Antonio. Chappell closed with a 4-under 68 to finish 12 under for the tournament.
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