GOLF
Patrick Reed was able to fend off several outstanding competitors before donning a green jacket early Sunday evening.
The 27-year-old Texan and Augusta University product closed with a 1-under 71 to win his first Major championship, holding off Rickie Fowler by one stroke at the Masters. Reed pulled ahead of Jordan Spieth with an 8-foot birdie on the 14th hole. He stayed in front with a par-saving putt on 17 and closed out the tournament with a two-putt for par for a 15-under total.
Reed entered the final round with a three-shot lead before losing it while Spieth and Fowler made charges.
Spieth began the day nine shots behind before turning in an 8-under 64 in one of the greatest final rounds in Masters history. But a disappointing bogey at the last hole gave Reed just enough of a cushion.
Fowler made quite a run at his first major title, making six birdies over the final 11 holes for a closing 67.
NBA
The Philadelphia 76ers have clinched home-court advantage for the first round of the NBA playoffs by posting their first 50-win season since the 2001-01 squad lost to the Lakers in the Finals.
J.J. Redick scored 18 points and the Sixers earned their team record-tying 14th consecutive victory by topping the Mavericks, 109-97. Ben Simmons added 16 points, seven rebounds and nine assists, while Robert Covington had 15 points and 10 boards.
The 50-win plateau puts another stamp on a tremendous turnaround for a team that won just 10 games two seasons ago. The only other 76ers squad to win 14 straight in a season was the 1983 championship team of Julius Erving, Moses Malone and Maurice Cheeks.
The Sixers have managed to stretch the win streak without Joel Embiid, who is out until at least the start of the playoffs because of an orbital fracture in his left eye.
Philadelphia has a one-game lead over the Cavaliers for third place in the East.
Checking out Sunday's other NBA action:
Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points and the Jazz clinched a playoff berth with a 112-97 win over the Lakers. Mitchell also had nine rebounds and eight assists, while Joe Ingles delivered 10 assists and 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting.
The Pacers still have a shot at the Central Division title and home-court advantage in the opening round. Domantas Sabonis scored a career-high 30 points and Victor Oladipo added 27 on 12 of 15 shooting in Indiana's 123-117 victory over the Hornets. Lance Stephenson had 10 rebounds, 10 assists and eight points in the Pacers' seventh win in nine games.
Toronto notched its franchise-record 58th win as C.J. Miles scored 22 points and OG Anunoby had a career-high 21 in the Raptors' 112-101 decision over the Magic. Serge Ibaka scored 13 points, and Jakob Poeltl and Delon Wright each had 12 as the Raptors picked up their team-record 34th and final home win.
The Warriors beat the Suns for the 15th straight time as Klay Thompson scored 22 of his 34 points in the first quarter of a 117-100 rout in Phoenix. Kevin Durant added 17 points and nine assists for Golden State.
Taurean Prince poured in 33 points and the Atlanta Hawks stormed back from a 13-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Boston Celtics, 112-106. Isaiah Taylor and Dewayne Dedmon combined to score nine straight points for the Hawks after they trailed 103-101 with two minutes remaining. Boston coach Brad Stevens rested his regulars the entire fourth quarter.
MarShon Brooks scored 25 points and Dillon Brooks added 22 as the Grizzlies beat the Pistons, 130-117 to end a four-game losing streak. The two teams combined to hit 39 3-pointers, including 23 by Detroit.
Elsewhere in the NBA:
The Charlotte Hornets have hired Mitch Kupchak as president of basketball operations and general manager.
Kupchak has been a part of 10 NBA championship teams; three as a player and seven as a Lakers executive. He replaces Rich Cho, who was fired earlier this season.
NHL
The Florida Panthers played spoilers just a day after being eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoff picture.
The Boston Bruins have to settle for a second-place finish in the Atlantic Division following a 4-2 loss to the Florida Panthers. The outcome gives the Tampa Bay Lightning the division crown and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Frank Vatrano put Florida ahead to stay late in the first period, snapping a 1-1 deadlock. Vatrano also set up Henrik Borgstrom's goal 82 seconds into the game.
James Reimer and Roberto Luongo combined to stop 41 shots for the Panthers, who ended up one point behind the Devils for the final Eastern Conference playoff berth despite a season-ending, five-game winning streak.
David Backes and David Pastrnak did the scoring for the Bruins, who needed a victory to overtake the Lightning.
The Bruins open the playoffs against the Maple Leafs in Boston Thursday.
MLB
Shohei Ohtani demonstrated he can do a little pitching when he's not hitting home runs.
Ohtani retired the Athletics' first 19 hitters and allowed just one hit over seven innings to pitch the Angels to a 6-1 victory. He struck out 12 and kept Oakland off the bases until Marcus Semien singled in the seventh.
Ohtani struck out the side twice during the latest feat in a series of early-season superlatives by the 23-year-old Japanese prodigy. He currently has a three-game home run streak and is hitting .389 with seven RBIs in 18 at-bats.
Mike Trout and Ryan Schimpf homered, and Albert Pujols had an RBI double in the Angels' seventh win in nine games.
Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox earned their eighth straight win by scoring six times in the eighth inning of an 8-7 comeback over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Tampa Bay led 7-2 until Rafael Devers hit a two-run double and scored on a single by Christian Vasquez. Mookie Betts followed with a run-scoring single and Andrew Benintendi capped the rally with an RBI double.
The rally allowed the Bosox to set a team record for the longest winning streak immediately following a season-opening loss.
Looking at the rest of the major league schedule:
Craig Gentry provided a tiebreaking, RBI single in the 12th inning before Brad Brach escaped a no-out, bases-loaded jam to preserve the Orioles' 8-7 beat the Yankees. Anthony Santander hit his first big league homer and Danny Valencia added a two-run shot after New York took a 5-0 lead.
The Indians earned a 3-1 win over the Royals on a two-run, walk-off homer by Yan Gomes in the bottom of the ninth. The game-time temperature was 32 degrees, the lowest in the 25-year history of Progressive Field.
Steve Pearce homered on Cole Hamels' first pitch and Kendrys Morales added a three-run shot in the first inning to jumpstart the Blue Jays' 7-4 win at Texas. Jaime Garcia got his first win with Toronto, pitching into the sixth inning and leaving after Joey Gallo's two-run homer made it 7-3.
Mike Fiers combined with four relievers on a three-hitter as the Tigers held off the White Sox, 1-0. Neither team scored after Leonys Martin led off the game with a single, stole second and advanced on a passed ball before scoring on Miguel Cabrera's sacrifice fly.
Max Stassi crushed a three-run homer and Charlie Morton threw four-hit ball over six innings of the Astros' 4-1 verdict over the Padres. Josh Reddick also homered as the defending champs improved to 8-2 and dropped San Diego to a major league-worst 2-8.
The Mets are a National League-best 7-1 after Yoenis Cespedes delivered an RBI single in the 12th inning to send New York to their fifth straight win by downing the Nationals, 6-5. Adrian Gonzalez hit a grand slam for his first homer as a Met, and Asdrubal Cabrera hit a shot to help New York overcome Bryce Harper's sixth home run of the season.
Jameson Taillon threw a one-hitter in his first career shutout as the Pirates blanked the Reds, 5-0 to improve to 7-2. Taillon also hit an RBI double and didn't allow a hit after Tyler Mahle's third-inning single.
The Diamondbacks are also 7-2 after David Peralta and A.J. Pollock belted eighth-inning homers to power Arizona past the Cardinals, 4-1. The game was tied until Peralta slammed a two-run blast to help Yoshihisa Hirano pick up his first major league win.
The Cubs finally head home after Jose Quintana tossed three-hit ball over six innings of a 3-0 shutout of the Brewers. Ben Zobrist hit a solo homer and Albert Almora Jr. doubled home a run to help Chicago finish 5-4 on their season-opening road trip.
Kyle Farmer's pinch-hit double scored an ailing Cody Bellinger with the tiebreaking run as the Dodgers beat the Giants in 10 innings. Los Angeles ace Clayton Kershaw allowed a run and six hits over seven innings. Bellinger made an impact after being held out of the lineup due to food poisoning.
Nick Markakis and Dansby Swanson hit back-to-back homers to support a strong performance by Sean Newcomb as the Braves blanked the Rockies, 4-0. Newcomb allowed three hits in the first inning before retiring the next 16 batters to help Atlanta take two of three in Colorado's home-opening series.
Brian Anderson's tiebreaking, two-run double pushed the Marlins past the Phillies, 6-3. Jake Arrieta lasted just four innings in his Philadelphia debut, allowing two earned runs and three hits, including a solo homer by Miguel Rojas.
The Mariners and Twins were postponed due to wintry weather, one day after the two teams played the coldest outdoor game in Minnesota history. The game has been rescheduled for May 14.
The Mets take on the Marlins in Florida at 7:10 tonight.
In MLB News:
Reds third baseman Eugenio Suarez broke his right thumb after getting hit by a pitch during Sunday's game against Pittsburgh. Suarez winced after a pitch from Jameson Taillon caught him on the right hand leading off the fourth inning. Suarez was tended to by trainers before taking first base, then was replaced in the bottom of the inning by Cliff Pennington. Suarez entered the game as Cincinnati's RBI leader.
Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts left in the seventh inning after injuring his left ankle while sliding into the Tampa Bay dugout. He was covering third base and chasing an errant throw by J.D. Martinez.
Indians right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall is expected to be sidelined for four to six weeks after straining his right calf. It's an injury similar to the one that caused him to miss nearly two months last season.
The Brewers have placed outfielder Christian Yelich on the 10-day disabled list with a right oblique injury and recalled reliever Taylor Williams from Triple-A Colorado Springs. Yelich went on the DL retroactive to Thursday, a day after he was hurt during a 6-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
NASCAR
Kyle Busch picked up his third career NASCAR Cup win at Texas Motor Speedway and gave Joe Gibbs Racing its first victory of the season by holding off Kevin Harvick at the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500.
Busch stayed ahead of Harvick the final 24 laps following the final restart. Busch led 116 of 334 laps in earning his 44th career victory.
Busch continues a strong start to a season in which he had finished second three times and third once in the first six races before taking the checkered flag at Fort Worth.
Jamie McMurray was third, followed by Erik Jones and Ryan Blaney.
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