Golden Knights, Lightning Move on to Conference Finals
Two teams have inched just one step away from the Stanley Cup Finals, with one of those teams making history. The Las Vegas Golden Knights continued their unimaginable inaugural season on Sunday night, advancing to the Western Conference Finals with a 3-0 shutout of the San Jose Sharks in Game 6. Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves in his fourth shutout of this postseason and 14th of his career in the playoffs, Jonathan Marchessault, Nate Schmidt, and Cody Eakin all scored to support Fleury's efforts, making the Knights the third team in NHL history to win multiple series in its first season. They will await the winner of the Winnipeg Jets-Nashville Predators series, which could come to an end with a Jets' victory at home in Monday's Game 6. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Lightning clinched their spot in the Eastern Conference Finals with a 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins to end a convincing series victory in five games. Brayden Point and J.T. Miller each scored in the second period, while Anton Stralman added an empty-netter with 1:29 to play in regulation. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves, including 14 in the third period to prevent a Bruins' comeback. Boston did win the first game of the series, but the Lightning bounced back with four straight wins, advancing to their third Conference Finals in four years. They will battle either the Pittsburgh Penguins or Washington Capitals, who will battle in Game 6 on Monday with the Capitals ahead in the series 3-2.
Warriors, Rockets Go Up 3-1
The Western Conference side of the NBA Playoffs is looking more and more like it will come down to the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets, which come to the surprise of no one. First, Kevin Durant scored 38 points on the road to help the Warriors bounce back from a Game 3 loss with a 118-92 rout of the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday for a 3-1 series lead. Durant added nine rebounds and finished at 15-of-27 shooting from the floor in a dominant performance. The Warriors led by as many as 26 on this day after losing by 19 in Game 3 ,as Steph Curry added 23 points, Klay Thompson had 13, and Quinn Cook had 12. They will look to finish off the series at Oracle Arena on Tuesday. Elsewhere, the Houston Rockets rolled on the road for a second straight game, never trailing in a 100-87 win over the Utah Jazz in Game 4. Chris Paul finished with a double-double of 27 points and 12 rebounds, while James Harden added 24 points to move the Rockets within a game of the Western Conference Finals. Donovan Mitchell overcame a couple of poor outings with 25 points, while Joe Ingles had 15 in the loss for the Jazz, who cut the deficit to five with a 10-2 run in the second half, but could not get any closer. Clint Capela led the Rockets' defense, while also posting a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds, and finished with six blocks on the night. Houston will return to the Toyota Center for Game 5 of the series on Tuesday night.
Yankees Lose No-Hit Bid, Walk-Off For Win
So much is going right for the New York Yankees, that it's only fitting that an eventful game like Sunday would take place for them. First, Domingo Herman made his major league debut and did not allow a hit over six innings while striking out nine, but unfortunately earn the no-decision. The combined no-hit bid was lost in the eighth inning by Dellin Betances, who surrendered a leadoff single to Yonder Alonso to break that up. The Cleveland Indians would go on to score four runs in the inning, but of course, the game was far from over. After rallying to make things interesting, 21-year-old Gleyber Torres stepped up with a walk-off, three-run home run in the ninth inning to give the Yankees a 7-4 win and a three-game weekend series sweep of The Tribe. The victory is also New York's 15th in the past 16 games, while the Indians dropped their seventh contest in the past 10 games. It was a pitcher's duel both ways, as Indians' starter Mike Clevinger lasted 7.1 innings and set a career-high with 10 strikeouts and 116 pitches. The Yankees scored all seven of their runs in the final two innings, with three in the eighth and then four in the ninth. Torres' walk-off shot makes him the first position player since 1900 to start and win 14 of his first 15 career games. New York's recent hot streak has them within a game of the first-place Boston Red Sox, whom they will play host to with a three-game series that begins on Tuesday night.
Two teams have inched just one step away from the Stanley Cup Finals, with one of those teams making history. The Las Vegas Golden Knights continued their unimaginable inaugural season on Sunday night, advancing to the Western Conference Finals with a 3-0 shutout of the San Jose Sharks in Game 6. Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves in his fourth shutout of this postseason and 14th of his career in the playoffs, Jonathan Marchessault, Nate Schmidt, and Cody Eakin all scored to support Fleury's efforts, making the Knights the third team in NHL history to win multiple series in its first season. They will await the winner of the Winnipeg Jets-Nashville Predators series, which could come to an end with a Jets' victory at home in Monday's Game 6. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Lightning clinched their spot in the Eastern Conference Finals with a 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins to end a convincing series victory in five games. Brayden Point and J.T. Miller each scored in the second period, while Anton Stralman added an empty-netter with 1:29 to play in regulation. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves, including 14 in the third period to prevent a Bruins' comeback. Boston did win the first game of the series, but the Lightning bounced back with four straight wins, advancing to their third Conference Finals in four years. They will battle either the Pittsburgh Penguins or Washington Capitals, who will battle in Game 6 on Monday with the Capitals ahead in the series 3-2.
Warriors, Rockets Go Up 3-1
The Western Conference side of the NBA Playoffs is looking more and more like it will come down to the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets, which come to the surprise of no one. First, Kevin Durant scored 38 points on the road to help the Warriors bounce back from a Game 3 loss with a 118-92 rout of the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday for a 3-1 series lead. Durant added nine rebounds and finished at 15-of-27 shooting from the floor in a dominant performance. The Warriors led by as many as 26 on this day after losing by 19 in Game 3 ,as Steph Curry added 23 points, Klay Thompson had 13, and Quinn Cook had 12. They will look to finish off the series at Oracle Arena on Tuesday. Elsewhere, the Houston Rockets rolled on the road for a second straight game, never trailing in a 100-87 win over the Utah Jazz in Game 4. Chris Paul finished with a double-double of 27 points and 12 rebounds, while James Harden added 24 points to move the Rockets within a game of the Western Conference Finals. Donovan Mitchell overcame a couple of poor outings with 25 points, while Joe Ingles had 15 in the loss for the Jazz, who cut the deficit to five with a 10-2 run in the second half, but could not get any closer. Clint Capela led the Rockets' defense, while also posting a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds, and finished with six blocks on the night. Houston will return to the Toyota Center for Game 5 of the series on Tuesday night.
Yankees Lose No-Hit Bid, Walk-Off For Win
So much is going right for the New York Yankees, that it's only fitting that an eventful game like Sunday would take place for them. First, Domingo Herman made his major league debut and did not allow a hit over six innings while striking out nine, but unfortunately earn the no-decision. The combined no-hit bid was lost in the eighth inning by Dellin Betances, who surrendered a leadoff single to Yonder Alonso to break that up. The Cleveland Indians would go on to score four runs in the inning, but of course, the game was far from over. After rallying to make things interesting, 21-year-old Gleyber Torres stepped up with a walk-off, three-run home run in the ninth inning to give the Yankees a 7-4 win and a three-game weekend series sweep of The Tribe. The victory is also New York's 15th in the past 16 games, while the Indians dropped their seventh contest in the past 10 games. It was a pitcher's duel both ways, as Indians' starter Mike Clevinger lasted 7.1 innings and set a career-high with 10 strikeouts and 116 pitches. The Yankees scored all seven of their runs in the final two innings, with three in the eighth and then four in the ninth. Torres' walk-off shot makes him the first position player since 1900 to start and win 14 of his first 15 career games. New York's recent hot streak has them within a game of the first-place Boston Red Sox, whom they will play host to with a three-game series that begins on Tuesday night.
