Celtics Begin Series With Big Win Over Sixers
Many people have jumped on to the Philadelphia 76ers' bandwagon in the NBA Playoffs, but the Boston Celtics are not falling for it. They began their second round series the right way on Monday, pulling away for a 117-101 victory in Game 1. Terry Rozier scored 29 points to lead the Celtics for a second straight game, while Jayson Tatum added a career-high 28 on their home floor. Rozier was coming off a big 26-point performance, which was a playoff career-high at the time, although that was topped on Monday. The young star also added eight rebounds and six assists, as the Celtics look for a quicker series after needing seven games to get past the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. The Sixers have been riding the high train since the final couple months of the regular season, and that was boosted with the return of Joel Embiid in the first round. Embiid. led the way with 31 points and 13 rebounds in Monday's loss, which was just their second defeat in 22 games. Philadelphia had a rare cold night from beyond the arc, finishing at a 5-for-26 clip, and got off to a slow start by missing 15 of their first 20 shot attempts. They also could not stop the many contributors for the Celtics, including Al Horford, who had 26 points and seven rebounds. Game 2 of the series will take place at TD Garden on Thursday night.
Golden Knights, Lightning Bounce Back From Losses
Two top seeds went down early on in their second-round series, but both took care of business on Monday night. First, the Las Vegas Golden Knights came back from their first postseason loss with a 4-3 overtime win over the San Jose Sharks in Game 3. William Karlsson scored 8:17 into overtime, giving his team a 2-1 series lead at the SAP Center. Karlsson's goal was his first of the postseason after posting 43 goals in the regular season, as the Knights overcame a tough, double overtime loss in on their home ice in Game 2. Marc-Andre Fleury made 39 saves on the night, including a robbery of Logan Couture, who nearly won it in the extra period. The Knights will be back in San Jose for Game 4 on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Lightning bounced back on their home ice after dropping Game 1, rolling to even the series with a 4-2 win over the Boston Bruins on Monday. Brayden Point had three assists and an empty-net goal, while Yani Gourde got things going with a first period tally. Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat also scored for the Lightning, who dropped the first game by a score of 6-2. Charlie McAvoy and Torey Krug both scored for the Bruins, beating Andrei Vasilevskiy, who made 18 saves. Tuukka Rask stopped 27 shots in the loss for the Bruins, who will host the third game of the series on Wednesday.
Astros Snap Yankees' Win Streak
The ALCS rematch on Monday night between the Houston Astros and New York Yankees was even more anticipated with the Yankees' recent nine-game winning streak. The Astros were able to put an end to that run on Monday night, edging the Yankees, 2-1. Charlie Morton pitched phenomenal on the mound with 10 strikeouts while pitching into the eighth. He allowed just two hits to shut down the powerful Yankee offense, while Ken Giles came in to shut things down by striking out the side in the ninth. Carlos Correa had two hits and an RBI in the first game between these two teams since Game 7 of the ALCS, which was a 4-0 win for the eventual World Series champion Astros. Morton improved to a perfect 4-0 on the season with his outing, as Brad Peacock came in with two outs in the eighth after Aaron Judge doubled to knock Morton out. Peacock couldn't finish things off, as Chris Devenski had to come in for the final out, but not before allowing an RBI single to Brett Gardner. The win for the Astros improves them to 20-10 on the season, which is tied for the best start in franchise history, which was done last season and 1973. These two teams will play three more games this week at Minute Maid Park.
Many people have jumped on to the Philadelphia 76ers' bandwagon in the NBA Playoffs, but the Boston Celtics are not falling for it. They began their second round series the right way on Monday, pulling away for a 117-101 victory in Game 1. Terry Rozier scored 29 points to lead the Celtics for a second straight game, while Jayson Tatum added a career-high 28 on their home floor. Rozier was coming off a big 26-point performance, which was a playoff career-high at the time, although that was topped on Monday. The young star also added eight rebounds and six assists, as the Celtics look for a quicker series after needing seven games to get past the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. The Sixers have been riding the high train since the final couple months of the regular season, and that was boosted with the return of Joel Embiid in the first round. Embiid. led the way with 31 points and 13 rebounds in Monday's loss, which was just their second defeat in 22 games. Philadelphia had a rare cold night from beyond the arc, finishing at a 5-for-26 clip, and got off to a slow start by missing 15 of their first 20 shot attempts. They also could not stop the many contributors for the Celtics, including Al Horford, who had 26 points and seven rebounds. Game 2 of the series will take place at TD Garden on Thursday night.
Golden Knights, Lightning Bounce Back From Losses
Two top seeds went down early on in their second-round series, but both took care of business on Monday night. First, the Las Vegas Golden Knights came back from their first postseason loss with a 4-3 overtime win over the San Jose Sharks in Game 3. William Karlsson scored 8:17 into overtime, giving his team a 2-1 series lead at the SAP Center. Karlsson's goal was his first of the postseason after posting 43 goals in the regular season, as the Knights overcame a tough, double overtime loss in on their home ice in Game 2. Marc-Andre Fleury made 39 saves on the night, including a robbery of Logan Couture, who nearly won it in the extra period. The Knights will be back in San Jose for Game 4 on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Lightning bounced back on their home ice after dropping Game 1, rolling to even the series with a 4-2 win over the Boston Bruins on Monday. Brayden Point had three assists and an empty-net goal, while Yani Gourde got things going with a first period tally. Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat also scored for the Lightning, who dropped the first game by a score of 6-2. Charlie McAvoy and Torey Krug both scored for the Bruins, beating Andrei Vasilevskiy, who made 18 saves. Tuukka Rask stopped 27 shots in the loss for the Bruins, who will host the third game of the series on Wednesday.
Astros Snap Yankees' Win Streak
The ALCS rematch on Monday night between the Houston Astros and New York Yankees was even more anticipated with the Yankees' recent nine-game winning streak. The Astros were able to put an end to that run on Monday night, edging the Yankees, 2-1. Charlie Morton pitched phenomenal on the mound with 10 strikeouts while pitching into the eighth. He allowed just two hits to shut down the powerful Yankee offense, while Ken Giles came in to shut things down by striking out the side in the ninth. Carlos Correa had two hits and an RBI in the first game between these two teams since Game 7 of the ALCS, which was a 4-0 win for the eventual World Series champion Astros. Morton improved to a perfect 4-0 on the season with his outing, as Brad Peacock came in with two outs in the eighth after Aaron Judge doubled to knock Morton out. Peacock couldn't finish things off, as Chris Devenski had to come in for the final out, but not before allowing an RBI single to Brett Gardner. The win for the Astros improves them to 20-10 on the season, which is tied for the best start in franchise history, which was done last season and 1973. These two teams will play three more games this week at Minute Maid Park.
