Plus Golf, Baseball And NASCAR

The Boston Celtics cracked the Cleveland Cavaliers’ defense and played a bit of D on their own Sunday in beating the Cavs 108-83 in Game 1 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference finals.

The Celtics ran out to a 36-18 lead by the first quarter’s end and never really let up. The Cavs wound up pulling LeBron James (15 points) for the final 7:09 of the game. The Cavs shot 4 of 26 on 3-pointers.

The Celtics got balanced scoring, with Jaylen Brown leading them with 23 points, followed by Marcus Morris with 21 and Al Horford with 20.

Game 2 is Tuesday night. The Western Conference series between the Golden State Warriors and Rockets begins Monday night in Houston. This is the first playoff series that begins on the road for the Warriors since 2014.

NHL: The Washington Capitals scored five straight goals and defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2 to sweep the first two games of the Eastern Conference finals on the road. The Western Conference final between the Vegas Golden Knights and Winnipeg Jets continues on Monday night with the Jets up 1-0.

GOLF: Webb Simpson’s 1-over 73 on Sunday was his worst round of The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra, Florida, but his work through the first three days held up as he won by four strokes over Charl Schwartzel. It was Simpson’s first win since the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas in October 2013. Tiger Woods, who barely made the cut, played his best in the third round, carding a 65. He finished in a tie for 11th.

BASEBALL: The generally awful Cincinnati Reds won their sixth straight game on Sunday and swept a four-game set from the Dodgers … in Los Angeles. Eugenio Suarez and Joey Votto homered for the Reds in their 5-3 victory. … The slow-to-awaken Giancarlo Stanton had four hits (including a home run) and four RBIs as the Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics 6-2. He’s 9 for 23 over his last six games and has raised his batting average by 20 points to .252. … The Baltimore Orioles homered four times in a 17-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

NASCAR: Kevin Harvick’s victory on Saturday night at Kansas Speedway was his fifth of the season. That ties a career high.

COLLEGES: Southern Cal won its fifth women’s national water polo title, defeating Stanford 5-4. … Maryland’s lacrosse teams won in the NCAA tournament on Saturday. Both the men, who beat Robert Morris 14-11, and women, who topped Denver 15-4, are top seeds and defending champions.

 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman