NBA PLAYOFFS
Giannis Antetokounmpo had his second career postseason triple-double to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 101-89 victory over the Boston Celtics.
The Greek Freek scored 24 points with 13 rebounds and 12 assists. Jrue Holiday had 25 points and 10 rebounds and Bobby Portis had 15 and 11 for the defending NBA champions.
Jayson Tatum led Boston with 21 points.
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Boston.
Klay Thompson hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 36 seconds left, and the Golden State Warriors overcame Draymond Green’s first-half ejection to edge the Memphis Grizzlies 117-116 in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.
Jordan Poole led the Warriors with 31 points off the bench. Stephen Curry added 24 points.
Memphis had a chance at the game-winner. This time Ja Morant’s last-second layup went over the rim. Morant finished with 34 points and 10 assists.
Green was called for a Flagrant 2, sending him to the locker room just before halftime. After reviewing the play, the official explanation was that Green hit Brandon Clarke in the face and threw him to the court on a follow-through.
In the other NBA series getting started Sunday,
MLB
Dominic Smith went 4 for 4 with three RBIs to back an inconsistent Max Scherzer, as the New York Mets won their seventh straight series by beating the Philadelphia Phillies 10-6.
The Mets took two of three in the weekend set between National League East rivals.
Scherzer struck out his first five batters for the first time in his career. But he also gave up two home runs to Mets nemesis Kyle Schwarber, and a solo shot to Bryce Harper. Still, the three-time Cy Young Award winner is 15-0 — the longest winning streak of his career — in his last 24 regular-season starts.
Jeff McNeil also had four of New York’s 15 hits, and Starling Marte drove in three runs.
Elsewhere around the majors:
Aaron Judge returned from a scheduled day off to homer twice and drive in the tying run as the Yankees rallied past the Royals 6-4 for their ninth straight win. Judge went deep for the third straight game when he connected off Daniel Lynch for a drive estimated at 453 feet in the first inning. He added another no-doubt shot in the ninth, giving Judge five homers in his last five games and eight on the year.
Rougned Odor homered in a six-run sixth and the Baltimore Orioles beat the skidding Boston Red Sox 9-5. Red Sox starter Nick Pivetta blanked the Orioles until the fifth, when they pounded the righty and two relievers for five hits and three runs. That sent the Red Sox to their ninth loss in 12 games.
Logan Gilbert kept up his run of impressive starts, and the Seattle Mariners ended Miami’s seven-game winning streak, beating the Marlins 7-3. Gilbert held the Marlins hitless until Jon Berti’s two-out single in the fifth and was lifted after allowing Brian Anderson’s solo homer with two outs in the sixth. The 24-year-old righty exited with a 0.64 ERA through five starts. Julio Rodríguez crushed his first major league homer onto a walkway in left-center.
Walker Buehler pitched five scoreless innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Detroit Tigers 6-3. The game saw Miguel Cabrera hit his 503rd career home run and his first this season off reliever Phil Bickford in the eighth inning. But the Tigers attempt at a rally fell short as Craig Kimbrel earned the save.
Yadiel Hernandez drove in a career-high five runs with three hits as the Washington Nationals beat the San Francisco Giants 11-5. Juan Soto also had three hits and scored three times for the Nationals. Washington starter Josiah Gray allowed one hit in six innings for the win.
Triston McKenzie threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings and The Cleveland Guardians beat the Athletics 7-3 on Sunday to complete their first sweep in Oakland in 22 years. Triston McKenzie threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings for Cleveland.
Santiago Espinal drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI single in the seventh inning, Bo Bichette added a two-run home run, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Houston Astros 3-2. Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman struck out a season-high 10 over seven innings to win his second straight decision as Toronto took two of three from Houston.
Marcus Stroman threw two-hit ball for seven innings, outpitching Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes and leading the Chicago Cubs over the Milwaukee Brewers 2-0. Patrick Wisdom homered as the Cubs ended a four-game losing streak.
Mike Trout homered, doubled and scored three runs, Michael Lorenzen pitched into the ninth inning and the Los Angeles Angels held off the Chicago White Sox 6-5 for their seventh win in eight games. Shohei Ohtani had an RBI as the Angels’ designated hitter, but exited in the ninth with tightness in his groin. He says he expects to play Monday.
Harrison Bader and Nolan Arenado homered in the seventh inning to help the St. Louis Cardinals rally past the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-5. St. Louis won for the third time in five games and salvaged a split of the four-game series. Jordan Luplow hit two homers for Arizona, and Nick Ahmed and Christian Walker also went deep.
Adolis Garcia highlighted a three-hit, four-RBI day with a bases-clearing triple in the third inning to help the Texas Rangers beat the Atlanta Braves 7-3. Taylor Hearn allowed both runs on four hits and three walks in five innings for his first victory since last September.
Joe Musgrove struck out eight over seven solid innings and the San Diego Padres beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-2. The game was Musgrove’s second with the Padres at PNC Park since being traded from Pittsburgh to San Diego after the 2020 season. He pitched three years for the Pirates. Musgrove improved his record this season to 4-0.
Kyle Freeland tossed seven strong innings for his first win of the season, and the Colorado Rockies completed a series sweep of the struggling Cincinnati Reds 10-1. Brendan Rodgers broke out of a season-long slump with two hits and four RBIs and C.J. Cron (krohn) and Randal Grichuk homered for the Rockies.
The Twins jumped on Tampa Bay starter Josh Flemming for five runs in the first inning and cruised to a 9-3 victory. Minnesota start Josh Winder held the Rays scoreless through six innings, yielding just two hits and a walk against seven strikeouts to earn the win.
NHL
Kyle Connor scored his 47th goal of the season to rally the Winnipeg Jets to a season-ending 4-3 win over the Seattle Kraken. Winnipeg missed the playoffs but finished the season with a perfect four-game homestand.
In other NHL news:
The Pittsburgh Penguins will begin their first-round playoff matchup with the New York Rangers without goaltender Tristan Jarry.
Head coach Mike Sullivan characterized Jarry as “day to day” but indicated he would not be available when the best-of-seven series opens in New York on Tuesday.
Jarry hasn’t played since being diagnosed with a lower-body injury following a victory over the New York Islanders on April 14.
Casey DeSmith will get the nod when the Penguins head to Madison Square Garden.
Alex Ovechkin and Aaron Ekblad both practiced on Sunday. Those are positive developments for the Washington Capitals and Florida Panthers.
All signs point to Ovechkin being in the lineup for Game 1 of an Eastern Conference first-round series against the Panthers on Tuesday night. He missed the final three games of the regular season with what the team is calling an upper-body injury.
And Florida interim coach Andrew Brunette says there’s a chance Ekblad could be back for Game 1 as well. He missed Florida’s final 21 games with a knee injury.
NFL-BEARS
The Chicago Bears have released veteran quarterback Nick Foles.
Foles was third string last year behind Justin Fields and Andy Dalton. He started one game with the other two quarterbacks injured.
Foles was MVP of Super Bowl 52 when he was with Philadelphia.
The Bears have signed Trevor Siemian to back up Fields.
NFL DRAFT
GIANTS
The New York Giants' first draft under general manager Joe Schoen is history. The former Buffalo Bills assistant GM handled it well, filling major needs by taking edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux and offensive tackle Evan Neal with the fifth and seventh picks overall. He added two extra picks by moving down twice in the second round on Friday and then spent the rest of the draft filling needs by selecting players who showed versatility. The Giants finished taking six defensive players and five on offense. New York had a 4-13 record last season.
The Giants tried to add help on both sides of the ball. On Friday, they took Kentucky wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson in the second round and added North Carolina offensive lineman Joshua Ezeudu and LSU safety Cordale Flott in the third.
There were six picks Saturday with New York taking tight end Daniel Bellinger of San Diego State and Iowa safety Dane Belton in the fourth round; linebacker Micah McFadden of Indiana and defensive tackle D.J. Davidson of Arizona State in the fifth and offensive lineman Marcus McKethan of North Carolina — Ezeudu's teammate — and linebacker Darrian Beavers of Cincinnati in the sixth round.
“I think we added competition and depth,” Schoen said. “Hopefully many guys can turn into stars, but we want them to come in and work hard.”
JETS
New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas was an early, active participant in the NFL draft, getting three players in the first round. The Jets added two more playmakers Friday and some more depth early Saturday. Douglas thinks the Jets are a better team now than they were before the draft began. And it's hard to argue after a haul that included cornerback Sauce Gardner, wide receiver Garrett Wilson and defensive end Jermaine Johnson.
BILLS
Josh Allen's influence was felt across Buffalo during the NFL's three-day draft. The quarterback generated attention while holding court in a private suite alongside Bills first-round pick Florida cornerback Kaiir Elam at the NHL Buffalo Sabres' season finale Friday. His presence was also felt some 20 minutes away in Buffalo's draft room where general manager Brandon Beane easily dismissed all the quarterback prospects falling in the draft order. With the quarterback position secured for the long term, Beane was able to address his team's most immediate need in selecting Elam while spending the rest of his seven selections addressing positional depth needs.
And that included the selection of San Diego State punter Matt Araiza in the sixth round.
“I’m glad that we have Josh, and I look forward to having him for many years,” Beane said. “If you’ve got your quarterback, and you’ve got your head coach, that’s the two most important things. You’ve got to be really good there if you want to be championship level.”
Call it “The Josh Allen Effect.” Four years after trading up to draft the Wyoming player with the No. 7 pick, Allen has not only blossomed into one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks, he’s elevated the entire franchise.
The Bills added another weapon for Allen on Saturday, trading up in the fifth round to select Boise State receiver Khalil Shakir. Buffalo moved up 20 spots to No. 148 in a trade with Chicago, also giving up the 203rd selection in the sixth round.
Buffalo had a need at receiver behind starters Stephon Diggs and Gabriel Davis after Cole Beasley was cut for salary cap reasons. The 6-foot, 196-pound Shakir brings speed and versatility, having been utilized as a runner and kick returner in college.
The Bills also drafted Villanova cornerback Christian Benford and Virginia Tech offensive tackle Luke Tenuta in the sixth round, and Clemson linebacker Baylon Spector in the seventh.
PATRIOTS
The Patriots drafted three players to protect quarterback Mac Jones and one to back him up. After making a surprising reach for Chattanooga guard Cole Strange in the first round of the NFL draft, the Patriots added LSU guard Chasen Hines and Michigan offensive tackle Andrew Stueber on Day Three. Coach Bill Belichick also helped out the offense by moving up to grab Baylor receiver Tyquan Thornton in the second round and drafted a pair of running backs. But the biggest surprise might have been Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe in the fourth round. He'll join the quarterback room as a backup to Jones.
GOLF-MEXICO OPEN
Jon Rahm is a winner again and it wasn’t easy.
Rahm has won the Mexico Open with a 69 in the final round at Vidanta Vallarta. The Spaniard now has 14 wins worldwide and seven on the PGA Tour. He says he could have done without the stress.
Rahm never fell behind. But after he missed an easy birdie conversion on the par-5 12th, he suddenly found himself in a four-way tie for the lead.
Brandon Wu shot 63. So did Tony Finau. Kurt Kitayama joined them. But then Rahm birdied the 14th, and he held on with pars.
GOLF-TOUR CHAMPIONS
Steven Alker is now the man to beat on the PGA Tour Champions.
One week after he threw away a chance to win, Alker shot 66 on Sunday for a four-shot victory in the Insperity Invitational.
The final round was delayed two hours by rain. Alker was leading by one shot over Steve Stricker. After the rain, Alker played a six-hole stretch in 6-under par to build a four-shot lead.
It was Alker's second win this year and he now leads the Charles Schwab Cup.
GOLF-LPGA TOUR
Marina Alex won the Palos Verdes Championship on Sunday for her second LPGA Tour title.
Alex broke a tie with a two-putt birdie on the par-5 16th and parred the final two holes for a one-stroke victory over Jin Young Ko.
Three strokes behind Hannah Green entering the round, Alex closed with a 5-under 66 to finish at 10-under 274 at hilly and windy Palos Verdes Golf Club. The top-ranked Ko also shot a 66.
WIMBLEDON-RUSSIA-NADAL-DJOKOVIC
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic say Wimbledon acted unfairly in barring Russian and Belarus players from this year’s tournament following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Prominent players affected include reigning U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev Andrey Rublev and French Open runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who are all from Russia.
Nadal says the war is “not their fault.”
