CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Cavaliers remain unbeaten in the NBA’s post-season, handily defeating the visiting Toronto Raptors 116-105 to take a 1-0 lead Monday evening in the best-of-seven semifinal series after sweeping the Indiana Pacers 4-0 in the opening series. LeBron James led Cleveland with 35 points and Kyrie Irving added 24, as the Cavaliers showed no rust from the long layoff between the two playoff series. The Cavs hadn’t played since wrapping up the Pacer playoff on April 23.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The Houston Rockets made 22 of 50 three-pointers en route to a 126-99 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA’s Western Conference semifinal series. The win gives the Rockets a 1-0 lead. They were led by Trevor Ariza, who scored 23 points, followed by James Harden’s 20 points and 14 rebounds. Houston had six players in double figures. Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with 21 points, although he sank only 5 of 14 shots. It was the Spurs’ worst loss in a series opener under longtime coach Gregg Popovich.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Washington Capitals had their backs to the wall when the puck was dropped for their third game in the best-of-seven NHL series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, trailing 2-0. They recovered in overt9ime after blowing a 2-0 lead in the game when Washington’s Kirk Shattenkirk scored a goal 3:13 into the extra period. The Penguins may lose the services of star Sidney Crosby, who left just over 5 minutes into the game after getting cross-checked to the head by Washington’s Matt Niskanen.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Johnny Cueto (QUAY’-toh) outpitched Clayton Kershaw in the San Francisco Giants’ 4-3 victory over Los Angeles, snapping the Dodgers’ four-game winning streak. The Giants entered the game with a National League-low 16 home runs, but hit two against Kershaw — a two-run shot by Hunter Pence in the first inning and a solo drive by Buster Posey in the third.
NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA will stream 20 games a year over the next few seasons on Twitter in a newly-announced deal. The agreement also includes the WNBA joining Twitter’s Amplify program, which will include 40 highlight packages per week being featured across Twitter.Streaming games on Twitter isn’t the only growth the WNBA is seeing this season. More games will be televised locally than last year.
