NBA:
The Boston Celtics erased a 21-point deficit in the second half and beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 111-108 on Avery Bradley's 3-pointer with less than one second remaining. The Celtics ended the Cavaliers NBA record-tying 13-game playoff winning streak and pulled within 2-1 in the Eastern Conference finals. Bradley finished with 20 points and Marcus Smart scored 27 points while Boston held LeBron James to 11 points on 4 of 13 shooting.
Celtics All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas has been ruled out for the remainder of the postseason with a hip injury. Coach Brad Stevens said at Sunday's shootaround that Thomas might need surgery for the hip impingement, which has bothered Thomas since March. The injury was so severe that Stevens said he was surprised Thomas was able to play Game 7 of Boston's semifinal series against Washington.
Tonight Golden State will face San Antonio at 9 p.m.
NHL:
The Pittsburgh Penguins have grabbed a three-games-to-two lead in the NHL's Eastern Conference finals by blowing out the Ottawa Senators, 7-0. Bryan Rust and Scott Wilson scored 2:13 apart to give the Pens a 4-0 lead late in the first period. Rust, Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel each had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, who chased Craig Anderson in the first period.
Tonight Anaheim will be in Nashville to take on the Predators at 8 p.m.
NCAA:
In men’s college lacrosse, first seeded Maryland advanced over No. 8 UAlbany 18-9. Towson took out No. 2 Syracuse 10-7.
MLB:
Brett Gardner hit his eighth home run, one more than this 2016 total, and CC Sabathia won consecutive starts for the first time in nearly a year to help the New York Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 Sunday and avoid a three-game sweep.
Mike Trout homered, doubled and drove in three runs, C.J. Cron hit a grand slam and the Los Angeles Angels bolted to a big lead in beating the New York Mets 12-5 Sunday. Matt Reynolds, Curtis Granderson and Jay Bruce hit home runs as the Mets tried to rally.
Mitch Moreland homered in his third consecutive game and the Boston Red Sox beat the Oakland Athletics 12-3 Sunday to avoid a four-game sweep. Eduardo Rodriguez allowed three runs over eight innings for his second straight win. The left-hander struck out eight and walked one.
Tim Tebow may have found his hitting groove once more with the Columbia Fireflies. After ending an 0-for-18 slump with an RBI double on Saturday night against the West Virginia Power, Tebow followed that up with his first home run in six weeks on Sunday for the Class A New Mets affiliate.
Elsewhere:
— Yolmer Sanchez singled home a pair while the White Sox put together a five-run first to rip the Mariners, 8-1. Sanchez ran his hitting streak to 12 games, and Tim Anderson added a solo shot while going 3-for-4 with two RBIs for Chicago. Winning pitcher Derek Holland capped his longest outing of the season by fanning the side in the eighth inning.
— The Royals took the opener of their doubleheader in Minnesota as Brandon Moss hit two of their four homers in a 6-4 verdict over the Twins. Salvador Perez and Jorge Bonifacio also went deep for the Royals, who had lost their seven previous games against Minnesota. Reliever Mike Minor worked out of a fifth-inning jam and retired four batters for his first big league win since 2014.
— The Twins gained a split of their twinbill behind homers from Robbie Grossman, Max Kepler and Chris Gemenez in an 8-4 whipping of the Royals. Grossman and Kepler each hit two-run homers in the first inning. Adalberto Mejia allowed three runs over seven innings for his first big league win.
— Rookie pitcher Kyle Freeland hit one of Colorado's four solo homers off Bronson Arroyo in a 6-4 downing of the Reds in Cincinnati. Carlos Gonzalez, DJ LeMahieu, and Pat Valaika also cracked solo shots as the Rockies improved to 28-17, the best 45-game start in team history. LeMahieu had four of Colorado's 11 hits, including a double and an RBI single.
— Brandon McCarthy retired his first 14 batters and allowed one run over six innings as the Dodgers doubled up the Marlins, 6-3. Adrian Gonzalez had three RBIs in his first three-hit game of the season, two days after returning from a 12-game absence caused by a sore right elbow. Gonzalez hit a two-run double in the first and Joc Pederson homered for a 3-0 lead in the third.
— San Diego had dropped five in a row before Clayton Richard tossed a five-hitter to lead a 5-1 win over Arizona. Richard also had an RBI single during a three-run fifth off Zack Godley. Ryan Schimpf hit a leadoff homer to start the rally.
— Kris Bryant homered twice and Jake Arrieta (ar-ee-EH'-tuh) held the Brewers to an unearned run over six innings of the Chicago Cubs' 13-6 romp over Milwaukee. Bryant was 3-for-3 and was hit twice by pitches to reach base in all five plate appearances. Anthony Rizzo and Ben Zobrist also homered for the Cubs, who also got three hits and three RBIs from Wilsson Contreras.
— Randal Grichuk drove in four runs and the Cardinals stopped a four-game skid by ripping the Giants, 8-3. Matt Carpenter slammed a two-run homer off Matt Cain, who was reached fir seven runs and nine hits over 5 1/3 innings. Adam Wainwright added an RBI double and was sharp over 6 1/3 innings, giving up one run and five hits.
— The Nationals ended their four-game losing streak as Stephen Strasburg fanned a season-high 11 while allowing five hits over 7 2/3s to lead a 3-2 decision over the Braves in Atlanta. Strasburg is 5-1 overall this season and 7-1 in his last nine starts versus the Braves. Daniel Murphy smacked a solo homer for the NL East leaders.
— The Pirates pulled out a 1-0 win over the Phillies as Chad Kuhl (kool) and four relievers combined on a three-hitter. Adam Frazier had two hits and scored the lone run when Aaron Nola hit David Freese with the bases loaded. Nola lost despite surrendering just four hits over seven innings.
MLS:
David Villa scored twice and New York City FC beat Orlando City 3-0 on Sunday night to extend its unbeaten streak to four games. Orlando City lost for the first time in seven matches at its new stadium, dating to a 1-0 win over NYCFC on March 5th.
Diego Fagundez scored two goals in 10 minutes and the New England Revolution rallied from an early deficit to beat the Columbus Crew 2-1 Sunday. The 22-year-old Fagundez has scored all three of his goals this season in the last two games. The Revolution have back-to-back wins, for the first time this season, after a five-match winless streak.
Fantasy Sports:
Lawmakers in New Jersey are set to vote on legislation to regulate and tax daily fantasy sports. The Democrat-led Assembly is scheduled to vote Monday on a bill that would impose a quarterly fee of 10.5 percent of gross revenues on daily fantasy sports providers. The measure calls for the Division of Consumer Affairs to issue permits to fantasy sports operators including casino licensees and racetracks.
FDNY Team Mascot:
A semi-pro football team made up of New York City firefighters has an interesting choice for a team mascot — a chicken named Pudgie they found in Chicago. Last month, members of the FDNY Bravest rescued the malnourished chicken who was wandering near a Chicago-area slaughterhouse. The Daily News reports Pudgie is named in memory of team founder Lieutenant Robert "Pudgie" Walsh, who died in September 2016. Firefighter Jarrett Howe says someone just shouted "It's Pudgie," and the team went along with the new name. Between games and practice at a Queens-area high school, Pudgie is shared by the team and lives at various firehouses all around the city.
New Hampshire Baseball:
Given their penchant for destroying trees, emerald ash borers aren't exactly festive, but a New Hampshire baseball team is hoping to have a bit of fun while raising awareness of the invasive beetles. The New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands and other agencies are hosting "Emerald Ash Borer Day" at the New Hampshire Fisher Cats game on Monday.
PGA:
Billy Horschel sank a par putt on the first playoff hole to win the AT&T Byron Nelson after Jason Day pulled his 4-foot putt left and past the hole. Horschel fired a 1-under 69 on Sunday, including a 60-foot birdie putt on 14. Day finished with a 68 for a 12-under total.
Bernhard Langer pulled away from the other contenders and captured the Regions Tradition in Birmingham to match Jack Nicklaus' record of eight major titles on the PGA Tour Champions circuit. Langer closed with an 8-under 64 for a 20-under total. The 59-year-old German wiped out a six-stroke deficit over the weekend and entered the final round two strokes behind Fred Funk. Langer won the event by five shots over Scott McCarron and Scott Parel after winning last year's Tradition by six strokes.
LPGA:
Lexi Thompson completed a wire-to-wire victory in the LPGA's Kingsmill Championship by closing with a 6-under 65. Thompson was 20 under in breaking the tournament record for best total score in relation to par, topping Annika Soranstam's 19 under in 2008. Runner-up In Gee Chun shot a bogey-free 67 to finish five shots back.
Tennis:
Novak Djokovic is joining forces with Andre Agassi in an effort to return to No. 1. Djokovic announced Sunday that Agassi will coach him at the French Open, which starts next Sunday.
The second-ranked Djokovic split with his longtime coach, Marian Vajda, and two other team members at the start of the month.
NASCAR:
Scott Dixon has grabbed the pole for next Sunday's Indianapolis 500 with a four-lap average of 232.164 mph in Sunday's qualifying. Ed Carpenter was second in qualifying, followed by defending champion Alexander Rossi, Takuma Sato and Two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso.
James Davison will replace Sebastien Bourdais in next Sunday's Indianapolis 500. Bourdais crashed during qualifying Saturday, leaving the four-time Champ Car season champion with multiple fractures in his pelvis and a fractured right hip. The French driver had pelvic surgery and is recovering in a hospital. Dale Coyne's team says Bourdais will likely miss the rest of the season. It's unclear if Davison will remain in the car beyond next Sunday's race.
Hockey World Championship:
Canada's bid for a third straight ice hockey world championship fell just short as Sweden earned a 2-1, shootout victory in the title game at Cologne, Germany. Nicklas Backstrom and Oliver Ekman Larsson scored in the shootout, while goaltender Henrik Lundqvist stopped each of Canada's four attempts. Lundqvist also made 42 saves during the game, while Canadian netminder Calvin Pickard stopped 41 shots as the two teams skated to a 1-1 tie through overtime.
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