CINCINNATI (AP) — Nick Martinez pitched six sparkling innings, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 for their fifth straight win. Martinez allowed one run and five hits in the opener of a seven-game homestand. Graham Ashcraft and Tony Santillan each got three outs before Emilio Pagán finished the five-hitter for his eighth save. Jose Trevino homered for Cincinnati, and Noelvi Marte drove in the go-ahead run with his first career triple. St. Louis right-hander Andre Pallante allowed three runs and six hits in six innings.
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed an antitrust lawsuit brought against the NCAA by several former college basketball players. They claimed that the NCAA has enriched itself off their name, image and likeness during the promotion of March Madness. U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer of New York pointed to a four-year statute of limitations for federal antitrust violations. He noted that their case was not demonstrably different from other settled cases involving the athletes.
MIAMI (AP) — Cleveland left no doubt on its way to Round 2 — and finished off the most lopsided series in NBA playoff history. Donovan Mitchell scored 22 points, De’Andre Hunter added 19 and the Cavaliers rolled past the Miami Heat 138-83 on Monday night to sweep their Eastern Conference first-round series in four games. Ty Jerome had 18 points, Evan Mobley added 17 and Jarrett Allen had 14 points, 12 rebounds and six steals for the Cavaliers — who led by as many as 60 points. Cleveland won the four games by a combined 122 points. The previous record: a 121-point combined win by Denver over New Orleans in 2009.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jimmy Butler converted three free throws with 58.7 seconds left, grabbed the game-clinching rebound with 4 seconds to go and then made two more free throws on the way to 27 points in his return from a pelvic injury, sending the Golden State Warriors past the Houston Rockets 109-106 in a heated Game 4 to take a 3-1 lead in the first-round playoff series. Fred VanVleet missed a 3-pointer under pressure at the buzzer. The teams return to Houston for Game 5 in the best-of-seven series on Wednesday night as seventh-seeded Golden State tries to close out the No. 2 seed Rockets on their home floor.
MIAMI (AP) — Cleveland left no doubt on its way to Round 2 — and finished off the most lopsided series in NBA playoff history. Donovan Mitchell scored 22 points, De’Andre Hunter added 19 and the Cavaliers rolled past the Miami Heat 138-83 on Monday night to sweep their Eastern Conference first-round series in four games. Ty Jerome had 18 points, Evan Mobley added 17 and Jarrett Allen had 14 points, 12 rebounds and six steals for the Cavaliers — who led by as many as 60 points. Cleveland won the four games by a combined 122 points. The previous record: a 121-point combined win by Denver over New Orleans in 2009.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jimmy Butler converted three free throws with 58.7 seconds left, grabbed the game-clinching rebound with 4 seconds to go and then made two more free throws on the way to 27 points in his return from a pelvic injury, sending the Golden State Warriors past the Houston Rockets 109-106 in a heated Game 4 to take a 3-1 lead in the first-round playoff series. Fred VanVleet missed a 3-pointer under pressure at the buzzer. The teams return to Houston for Game 5 in the best-of-seven series on Wednesday night as seventh-seeded Golden State tries to close out the No. 2 seed Rockets on their home floor.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump hosted the 2025 Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles at the White House, but several players, including quarterback Jalen Hurts, skipped the event. Hurts and other players cited scheduling conflicts as the reasons for their absences. That's according to a White House official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Trump in 2018 invited the Eagles to the White House after the franchise’s first Super Bowl title but later canceled it after it became clear most players weren't going to show up. He instead threw his own brief “Celebration of America" event.
DALLAS (AP) — Wyatt Johnston scored 9 seconds in for the quickest goal ever to start a playoff game for the Dallas Stars. He then added another goal and an assist as the Stars beat Colorado 6-2 in Game 5 of heir first-round series Monday night. Mikko Rantanen, who was with the Avalanche in the playoffs the past seven seasons, scored his first postseason goal and had two assists for the Stars as they took a 3-2 series lead. Game 6 is Thursday night in Colorado. Artturi Lehkonen and Nathan MacKinnon scored 2 1/2 minutes apart for the Avalanche in the second period to get them within 3-2. Johnston then scored on a power play.
MONDAY SCORES
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Minnesota 11 Cleveland 1
Final Baltimore 4 N.Y. Yankees 3
Final Houston 8 Detroit 5
Final Athletics 2 Texas 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final N.Y. Mets 19 Washington 5
Final Cincinnati 3 St. Louis 1
Final Atlanta 6 Colorado 3
Final L.A. Dodgers 7 Miami 6
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Final Cleveland 138 Miami 83
Final Golden State 109 Houston 106
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Florida 4 Tampa Bay 2
Final Dallas 6 Colorado 2