Derby Day

Justify won the 144th Kentucky Derby on Saturday by 2 ½ lengths over Good Magic on a sloppy track and will next race in the Preakness Stakes on May 19.

Justify has never lost in four races but accomplished something last done in the Derby in 1882 – he won it without having raced as a 2-year-old.

Many of the other 19 horses in the field at Churchill Downs will skip the Preakness, the second jewel in the Triple Crown, so Justify will face a number of fresh competitors in the 1 3/16-mile run at Pimlico.

NHL: The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Boston Bruins 3-1 on Sunday to win their playoff series in five games. Boston led 1-0 after the first period but goals from Brayden Point and J.T. Miller in the second to secure their fourth straight victory. … The Vegas Golden Knights shut out the San Jose Sharks 3-0 to win their Western Conference series in six games. Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves for the Knights.

NBA: The Houston Rockets beat the Utah Jazz 100-87 on Sunday to take a 3-1 lead in their playoff series. The Golden State Warriors also went up 3-1 on the New Orleans Pelicans with a 118-92 victory in which Kevin Durant scored 38 points. Monday night’s games have the Boston Celtics, up 3-0 on the Philadelphia 76ers, playing at 6 p.m. ET and the Cleveland Cavaliers, up 3-0 on the Toronto Raptors, meeting at 8:30 p.m.

ELSEWHERE: Kevin Harvick won for the fourth time this season, capturing NASCAR’s AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway. He also won the first two stages. Clint Bowyer ran second.

Jason Day shook off two mid-round bogeys to win the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, N.C. It’s his second win of the season. … The Los Angeles Dodgers put lefty ace Clayton Kershaw on the 10-day disabled list.

The New York Yankees won for the 15th time in 16 games as Gleyber Torres hit a 3-run homer in the bottom of the ninth for a 7-4 triumph over the Cleveland Indians.

Wilmer Difo’s game-winning single gave the Washington Nationals a 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies to save Max Scherzer’s 15-strikeout effort.

Maryland’s men’s and women’s lacrosse teams were seeded No. 1 in their respective NCAA tournaments. Both are defending champions.

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