NBA PLAYOFFS
Derrick White’s tiebreaking 3-pointer with 43 seconds left gave Boston the lead and the Celtics closed out a four-game sweep of the Indiana Pacers 105-102 to reach the NBA Finals for the second time in three years. White finished with 16 points and only two 3s in the game. Jaylen Brown led Boston with 29 points while Jayson Tatum added 26 points. Indiana, which again played without two-time All-Star Tyrese Haliburton, lost its second straight at home — both in the final minute after giving up leads. Andrew Nembhard had 24 points, 10 assists and six rebounds but missed a potentially tying 3-pointer in the closing seconds and the Pacers never go the ball again.
The Finals are set to start June 6th in Boston. In the West, the Dallas Mavericks lead the Minnesota Timberwolves 3-0, with Game 4 tonight at 8:30 in Dallas.
Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving have been the closers for the Dallas Mavericks, who have a chance to sweep Minnesota in the Western Conference finals. The Dallas co-stars are coming off another big fourth quarter in a victory that gave the Mavs a 3-0 series lead. Game 4 is Tuesday night in Dallas. The Mavs can reach the NBA Finals for the first time since winning their only title 13 years ago. Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns and the Timberwolves face some long odds. No team has rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the NBA playoffs. Fifteen of the 20 teams that have lost the first three games while starting the series at home have been swept.
Bill Walton, who starred for John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins before becoming a Basketball Hall of Famer and one of the biggest stars of basketball broadcasting, has died. The league announced on behalf of his family that Walton, whose career finished with three seasons with the Boston Celtics beween 1985 to 1988, died Monday after a prolonged fight with cancer. He was the NBA’s MVP in the 1977-78 season, a two-time champion as a player, and a member of both the NBA’s 50th anniversary and 75th anniversary teams. That followed a college career in which he was a two-time champion at UCLA and a three-time national player of the year.
NHL
Jason Robertson completed his first-career playoff hat trick midway through the third period as the Dallas Stars defeated the Edmonton Oilers 5-3 on Monday night to take a 2-1 lead in the NHL’s Western Conference final. Wyatt Johnston and Miro Heiskanen, into the empty net, had the other goal for Dallas. Jake Oettinger made 26 saves. Roope Hintz, Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn had two assists each. Connor McDavid, with a goal and an assist to give him 100 career playoff points, Zach Hyman and Adam Henrique scored for Edmonton, which got 17 stops from Stuart Skinner.
Elsewhere, the New York Rangers play the Panthers at 8 p.m in Florida. The Rangers lead the series 2-1.
MLB
Kyle Stowers had three hits, including two doubles and a career-high four RBIs, Ryan Mountcastle also had three hits and the Baltimore Orioles cruised to a 11-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox. Cedric Mullins added a two-run triple as Baltimore scored five runs in the fourth off Boston’s Cooper Criswell to help open the series with its fifth consecutive win. Cole Irvin pitched five shutout innings in a return to the rotation. Criswell allowed seven runs — six earned — over four innings as Boston lost its third out of four overall.
When Blake Snell takes the mound, his mind is all on pitching — even with a baby on the way who will make him a first-time father.
With a no-decision for the Giants in Monday's 8-4 win against the Phillies, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner remains winless with San Francisco since signing a $62 million, two-year contract in March. He is eager to get on a roll and is focusing on the positive strides he’s making while getting to know the staff.
Charlie Blackmon homered to cap a six-run fourth inning and the Colorado Rockies ended Cleveland’s nine-game winning streak with an 8-6 victory over the Guardians. Blackmon drove in four runs and made a sliding catch in foul territory for Colorado, which is 11-6 since an 8-28 start. The fourth-inning rally ended Cleveland’s longest winning streak since it won an AL record 22 straight from Aug. 24 to Sept. 14, 2017. José Ramírez continued his strong start to the season with two doubles and drove and increased his major league RBI lead to 54 with two driven in. He had a chance for more but struck out with a runner on in the ninth.
Joe Ryan pitched seven smooth innings for the Minnesota Twins, who got a two-run homer by Jose Miranda and a three-run shot from Trevor Larnach and hung on to beat the Kansas City Royals 6-5 in the opener of a four-game series. Ryan allowed one run and four singles while lowering his team-leading ERA to 2.96. The right-hander struck out nine and walked none. Jhoan Duran got the final out of a four-run ninth by getting Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. to bounce back to the mound. The Twins are 5-1 after a seven-game losing streak.
George Springer, Bo Bichette and Davis Schneider homered, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the lowly Chicago White Sox 5-1. Chris Bassitt struck out seven in five scoreless innings as Toronto stopped a three-game slide. Springer connected in the second inning after Daulton Varsho reached on a two-out walk against Nick Nastrini. It was Springer’s fourth homer of the season. Bichette led off the fourth with his fourth homer, a 419-foot drive to center. Nastrini allowed three hits in five innings. Last-place Chicago lost its sixth consecutive game. It dropped to 15-40 for the worst 55-game start in franchise history.
Bryce Miller allowed two runs over six innings to pick up his first win since April 17, and Seattle used a big first inning against Houston starter Framber Valdez to hold on for a 3-2 win over the Astros. Seattle scored three times in the first off Valdez and then leaned on its pitching to make the early lead stand up. Miller did his part and then turned it over to relievers Trent Thornton, Gabe Speier and Andrés Muñoz to close out the victory. Cal Raleigh had a sacrifice fly, and Mitch Haniger and Ty France had RBI singles in the first inning to account for Seattle's runs.
Nick Lodolo came off the injured list to pitch 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball, Jeimer Candelario homered and the Cincinnati Reds won a season-high fourth straight game, 3-1 over the St. Louis Cardinals. Lodolo, who missed his last two starts while nursing a groin injury, allowed a first-inning home run to Paul Goldschmidt but otherwise stayed out of trouble against the hot-hitting Cardinals. The 26-year-old lefty allowed five hits, struck out three and did not issue a walk.
Willy Adames hit a three-run homer during Milwaukee’s five-run eighth inning, and the Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 5-1 in Craig Counsell’s return to American Family Field. Counsell, the winningest manager in Brewers history, left Milwaukee after last season when the Cubs signed him to a five-year contract worth over $40 million. He already had managed against his former team when the Cubs took two of three from the Brewers at Wrigley Field from May 3-5. The Brewers welcomed Counsell back with a brief thank-you video message on the scoreboard that was accompanied by a chorus of boos from Brewers fans in the sellout crowd of 41,882. Counsell was booed every time he left the dugout.
Mitchell Parker pitched five-hit ball into the seventh inning and CJ Abrams homered, helping the Washington Nationals beat the depleted Atlanta Braves 8-4. Parker allowed three runs, struck out six and walked none in 6 1/3 innings. The rookie left-hander has permitted three runs or fewer in each of his first eight major league starts. The Braves adjusted their lineup in their first game since losing Ronald Acuña Jr. to a season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Second baseman Ozzie Albies was the new leadoff hitter.
Jake Cronenworth drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs in the seventh, one batter after shortstop Tim Anderson committed his second error of the inning, and the San Diego Padres beat the Miami Marlins 2-1. It was the Padres’ second consecutive home win after losing five straight games at Petco Park. After failing to score with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth, the Padres came through in the seventh. After Anderson bobbled the ball on what could have been an inning-ending force out at second base, Cronenworth drew a walk to bring in the go-ahead run.
The Dodgers’ scheduled game against the Mets was postponed due to due to rain, and will be made up as part of a doubleheader starting at 4:10 this afternoon.
Elsewhere, the Yankees were off last night, they’ll take on the Los Angeles Angels tonight at 9:38 in Anaheim.
The Atlanta Braves have placed outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. on the 10-day injured list after the reigning NL MVP tore his left ACL, ending his season. Acuña was hurt during the Braves’ 8-1 win at Pittsburgh on Sunday. The Braves announced Sunday night an MRI showed a complete ACL tear that will require surgery. Acuña tore his right ACL in July 2021. Acuña was voted the NL MVP last season after hitting .337 with 41 homers, 106 RBIs and 73 stolen bases.
Shohei Ohtani says he lost sleep after his translator was accused of stealing millions of dollars from the two-way baseball star. Ippei Mizuhara was fired by the Los Angeles Dodgers after the season opener on March 21 when a federal gambling investigation became public. Mizuhara agreed to plead guilty to bank and tax fraud in a sports betting case in which prosecutors allege he stole nearly $17 million from the two-time AL MVP to pay off debts. Ohtani began Monday with a major league-leading .336 batting average, 13 homers, 35 RBIs and 13 stolen bases.
Craig Counsell’s first game at American Family Field since the Chicago Cubs hired him away from Milwaukee included a warm scoreboard message and a couple hearty rounds of boos. A brief pregame video showcased some highlights from Counsell’s tenure as Milwaukee’s manager before displaying him wearing a Brewers cap alongside the message, “Thank You No. 30.” Brewers fans booed throughout the video, and then booed again when he was introduced as the Cubs’ manager.
Longtime umpire Ángel Hernández, who unsuccessfully sued Major League Baseball for racial discrimination, is retiring immediately. During a career that lasted more than three decades, the 62-year-old Hernández was often scorned by players, managers and fans for missed calls and quick ejections — some in high-profile situations. Hernández issued a statement through MLB on Monday night saying he has decided he wants to spend more time with his family.
FRENCH OPEN
Rafael Nadal lost in the first round of the French Open to Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in what might turn out to be the 14-time Roland Garros champion's last match at his favorite tournament. The nearly 38-year-old Nadal has been dealing with hip and abdominal injuries since January 2023 and played infrequently, so he was unseeded for the French Open for the first time. That's why he ended up facing the No. 4-seeded Zverev. Nadal has said 2024 likely would be his last season before retirement, but he said Saturday he isn't 100% sure he won't play again at the French Open. He reiterated that Monday. He said after his match, "If it’s the last time that I played here, I am at peace with myself.”
CAR RACING
As Roger Penske investigated the cheating incident that cost Josef Newgarden his IndyCar season-opening victory, never did Newgarden worry about his job security at Team Penske. One way to ensure a new contract is in your future is by winning the Indianapolis 500, which Newgarden did Sunday after a four-hour rain delay. His pass of Pato O’Ward two corners from the finish line gave Penske a record-extending 20th Indy 500 victory and made Newgarden the first back-to-back winner since Helio Castroneves did it for Penske in 2001 and 2002. O'Ward, meanwhile, was devastated by his near-miss.
Kyle Larson spent a year preparing to run the double. Instead, he got to run only the single, leaving the NASCAR star beyond disappointed. Larson’s goal to run the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday and join Tony Stewart as only drivers to complete all 1,100 laps did not go nearly as planned. He finished 18th at Indianapolis after a pair of rookie mistakes. He arrived in Charlotte to run the NASCAR race but never got to turn a lap after the race was ended early because of rain.
© 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
