NBA-SCHEDULE
The NBA season opener was supposed to feature a matchup between LeBron James and former teammate Kyrie Irving. Instead, a gruesome injury overshadowed an otherwise entertaining game as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Boston Celtics 102-99.
Gordon Hayward had to be carted off the floor after breaking his ankle in the first quarter of his Celtics debut. He went up for an alley-oop pass and fell awkwardly following a collision with James.
Hayward had his leg wrapped in an air cast as he left the arena.
Irving scored 22 points and helped Boston overcome am 18-point, third-quarter deficit, but he missed a potential game-tying 3-point attempt at the buzzer. Irving received plenty of boos as he was introduced just two months after being traded by the Cavaliers.
James managed to play well despite missing all but one preseason game due to an ankle injury. James scored 13 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and also fed Kevin Love for a 3-pointer that put the Cavs ahead 102-98 with 46 seconds to play.
Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors raised their second NBA championship banner in three years before falling to the Rockets, 122-121.
The Warriors almost pulled out the victory, but Kevin Durant's game-winning bucket was waved off after officials ruled his baseline jumper left his hands after the final buzzer.
James Harden had a team-high 27 points for Houston, which trailed by 13 heading into the final period. Eric Gordon finished with 24 points, but Chris Paul added just four on 2 of 9 shooting in his Rockets debut.
Nick Young had a more productive first game with his new team, leading the Warriors with six 3-pointers and 23 points. Curry scored 22 points and Durant had 20 after a slow start.
MLB-ALCS
The American League Championship Series is tied at two games apiece following the New York Yankees' greatest postseason comeback since Aaron Boone's walk-off homer in the 2003 ALCS against Boston.
The Yanks scored six times over their final two at-bats to erase a 4-0 deficit and earn a 6-4 win over the Astros. Gary Sanchez delivered the tiebreaking, two-run double while New York scored four times in the eighth.
Aaron Judge sparked the rally with a solo homer in the seventh, one day after slamming a three-run shot in New York's 8-1 victory. Judge also tied the game with an RBI double before scoring the go-ahead run.
The Astros appeared to be in control heading into the bottom of the seventh. Yuli Gurriel opened the scoring with a three-run double in the sixth off reliever David Robertson. Houston made it a four-run lead on Starlin Castro's error at second base.
The Yankees were held to just one hit by Astros starter Lance McCullers over the first six innings. McCullers was pulled once he surrendered Judge's homer.
The rally made a winner out of Chad Green, who allowed an unearned run and one hit over two innings.
Astros closer Ken Giles retired just one of the five batters he faced to take the loss.
Aroldis Chapman worked the ninth to get the save.
Game 5 is Wednesday at 5:08 PM in the Bronx as the Yankees send Masahiro Tanaka to the mound against Dallas Keuchel in a rematch of the series opener.
MLB-NLCS
The Los Angeles Dodgers stayed perfect in this postseason by earning a relatively easy win at Wrigley Field.
Chris Taylor went 2-for-5 with a solo homer and an RBI triple as the Dodgers whipped the Cubs, 6-1. Taylor's blast snapped a 1-1 tie in the top of the third, one inning after Andre Ethier went deep to tie it.
Winning pitcher Yu Darvish blanked the Cubs following Kyle Schwarber's first-inning homer. Darvish was reached for just five other hits while striking out seven over 6 1/3 innings.
The Dodgers' bullpen followed with 2 2/3 scoreless innings to help the team take a three-games-to-none lead in the National League Championship Series. Kenley Jansen entered with runners on second and third with nobody out in the ninth before getting the save.
Losing pitcher Kyle Hendricks gave up both Dodger homers and was reached for three earned runs and six hits over five-plus innings.
The Dodgers will try to close out the National League pennant Wednesday in Chicago at 9:01 PM. Alex Wood is scheduled to start for Los Angeles against Jake Arrieta.
NBA-NEWS
San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is calling President Donald Trump "a soulless coward who thinks that he can only become large by belittling others." Popovich is responding to Trump's comment Monday that former President Barack Obama and other commanders in chief "didn't make calls" to families of fallen soldiers.
Former Obama staffers and a spokesman for former President George W. Bush pushed back on Trump's comments. The White House press secretary said that Trump wasn't criticizing his predecessors.
Popovich has been an outspoken critic of Trump, but tells The Nation magazine that Trump's comments Monday were "beyond the pale" and "as low as it gets." He calls Trump "a pathological liar in the White House, unfit intellectually, emotionally, and psychologically to hold this office and the whole world knows it."
In other NBA news:
— A person with knowledge of the negotiations tells The Associated Press that veteran forward Richard Jefferson has agreed to a one-year deal with the Denver Nuggets. ESPN first reported the agreement, which the network said is worth $2.3 million. Jefferson was recently waived by Atlanta after being dealt to the Hawks from Cleveland.
NFL-COWBOYS-ELLIOTT
Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott has received another legal reprieve in his fight to avoid a six-game suspension over domestic violence allegations.
A New York federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order blocking the league's suspension, clearing Elliott to play Sunday at San Francisco.
U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty's ruling came five days after a federal appeals court overturned a Texas court's injunction that had kept Elliott on the field.
Crotty granted the request for the restraining order pending a hearing before the presiding judge, Katherine Polk Failla, who is on vacation.
NFL-NEWS
A group of 11 NFL owners and more than a dozen players met at the league's headquarters to discuss social issues, a discussion that Indianapolis Colts defensive back Darius Butler termed "positive."
Among the topics discussed was enhancing the players' platforms for speaking out on social issues. The players' union and the league issued a joint statement saying the meeting focused on how the two sides "can work together to promote positive social change and address inequality in our communities."
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross called the meeting "constructive" but added that the NFL's policy on the national anthem "did not come up."
In other NFL news:
— The Giants have ended their suspension of veteran cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie for insubordination. Team officials say Rodgers-Cromartie was reinstated to the active roster after missing the game against Denver on Sunday night. The 31-year-old veteran was suspended for leaving the team facility before practice last week.
— The Jaguars have parted ways with kicker Jason Myers, waiving him two days after he hooked two 54-yard field goals in a loss to the Rams. The Jaguars replaced him with free agent Josh Lambo, who made 54 of 64 field goals and 70 of 78 extra points in two seasons with the Chargers.
NHL-SCHEDULE
The Toronto Maple Leafs are 5-1-0 after shutting out one of the NHL's top offenses.
Frederik Andersen stopped 30 shots and the Leafs scored twice in the third period to come away with a 2-0 win at Washington. Braden Holtby was also working on a shutout until Connor Brown scored with 14:07 left. Nazem Kadri added an empty-netter after Holtby stopped 28 shots.
Washington has now lost two in a row since top defenseman Matt Niskanen went out with a long-term upper-body injury.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— The Penguins dealt the Rangers their fourth straight loss as Evgeni Malkin scored 58 seconds into overtime to complete Pittsburgh's 5-4 win at Madison Square Garden. Sidney Crosby forced overtime by beating Henrik Lundqvist with 56 seconds to play.
— Michal Neuvirth turned back 40 shots and the Flyers put together a four-goal second period to beat the Panthers 5-1. Sean Couturier, Shayne Gostisbehere, Claude Giroux and Dale Weise all scored in the middle stanza as Philadelphia enjoyed another rout after beating the Capitals 8-2 on Saturday.
— The Blue Jackets also scored four times in the second period as Kyle Connor and Jack Johnson tallied 84 seconds apart to put Columbus ahead 4-1 in a 5-2 victory against Winnipeg. Cam Atkinson and Nick Foligno also scored in the middle period of the Jackets' fourth straight win.
— David Perron's second goal of the night game came 3:52 into overtime and completed the Golden Knights' 5-4 decision over the Sabres. Vegas coughed up a three-goal lead in the third period before improving to 5-1-0, making the expansion club the first Western Conference team with 10 points.
— The Sharks were 5-2 winners over the Canadiens behind Logan Couture's two goals and Martin Jones' 28 saves. San Jose has won 11 straight at home against Montreal since November 1999.
— Drew Stafford scored twice before Kyle Palmeiri provided the only shootout goal to lift the Devils past the Lightning, 5-4. New Jersey ended Tampa Bay's four-game winning streak and improved to 5-1 despite Nikita Kucherov's eighth goal in seven games this season.
— The Predators were 4-1 winners against Colorado as Viktor Arvidsson and Roman Josi each registered a goal and an assist. Colton Sissons and Austin Watson also scored and Pekka Rinne stopped 20 shots in Nashville's third win in four games.
— The Hurricanes rode Jordan Staal's short-handed goal and three assists to a 5-3 triumph at Edmonton. Teuvo Teravainen scored twice in the first 4:53 before Elias Lindholm made it 3-0 late in the first period.
— Canucks netminder Anders Nilsson picked up a shutout in his first start of the season, making 32 saves in a 3-0 win at Ottawa. Brock Boeser and Alexander Burmistrov had a goal and an assist as Vancouver dealt the Senators their first regulation loss in six games.
— Dan Hamhuis broke a 1-1 tie in the second period and Radek Faksa finished with a goal and an assist in the Stars' 3-1 verdict over the Coyotes. Ben Bishop handled 27 shots for Dallas, which has its first winning streak of the season.
