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Pacers vs. Celtics: Whole Lotta Offense

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Based on past performance, it’s unlikely that generating good offense will be a problem for either team when the Indiana Pacers visit the Boston Celtics for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals Tuesday night.

Sixth-seeded Indiana led the NBA in scoring during the regular season, when it averaged 123.3 points per game. Top-seeded Boston averaged 120.6 points per contest in the regular season, which ranked No. 2.

The Pacers shot 67.1 percent from the field — an NBA playoff record — when they beat the host New York Knicks 130-109 in Game 7 of the conference semifinals Sunday. Tyrese Haliburton led the way with a 26-point performance.

“I’m just proud of this group,” Indiana’s Myles Turner said. “This is the most special group I’ve been around since I’ve been here. We all play for each other. There’s no ego. When you have guys who can score 15-plus points every single night — seven, eight guys — there can be a lot of ego involved with that, and we were able to nip that in the bud a lot early in the season.

“And obviously having Pascal (Siakam) coming here midway through the season, adding his leadership and everything he’s able to provide for us offensively and defensively has been huge. … We’re not done yet.”

Haliburton averaged a team-high 20.1 points per game during the regular season, but Siakam is the team’s leading scorer in the playoffs (21.2). The Pacers have scored at least 140 points 11 times this season.

“I think it’s just the old-school way of thinking that you can’t play this fast in the playoffs, but I think opportunistically you can do it,” Haliburton said. “I think if we’re able to get stops, of course we can.”

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown do most of the heavy lifting on the offensive end for the Celtics. Through 10 playoff games Tatum is averaging 24.3 points and 10.4 rebounds. Brown is averaging 23.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in the postseason.

“We understand what we can do individually,” Tatum said. “Each night just kind of presents different challenges and being ready and up for the task to do whatever is needed because both of us are capable on the basketball court to do literally everything.”

Indiana dispatched the Milwaukee Bucks in the opening round before it eliminated New York. Boston advanced by defeating the Miami Heat in the first round and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference semifinals. Each series went five games.

The Celtics will likely be without center Kristaps Porzingis, who will reportedly miss at least the first two games of the series with a calf injury. Porzingis was injured during Game 4 of Boston’s series against Miami. The Celtics have a 5-1 record in the playoffs when Porzingis hasn’t played.

“You know that he wants to play,” Boston’s Jrue Holiday said. “You know that he wants to get out there and play with his teammates, but then seeing him out there and seeing him working has been good. And honestly just hope that he recovers fast so that we can get him back out there.”

Boston won three of five meetings against Indiana during the regular season.

“Really excited to get back out there and play,” Holiday said. “Seems like we’ve been off for a while, so excited to get out there Game 1, kind of get it started.”

–Field Level Media

Red Sox and Rays Meet Again

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TAMPA-ST.PETE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Tampa Bay Rays will play an 11th straight game against an American League East foe on Monday evening when they open a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox in Florida.

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The Rays are a combined 6-4 against the New York Yankees, Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays in the 10-game stretch. They took three of four last week from the Red Sox and have had the upper hand over the past five-plus seasons against Boston.

Manager Kevin Cash’s squad sports a 57-31 mark against the Red Sox since 2019, although Boston claimed the most important triumphs when it won three of four games in the 2021 AL Division Series.

Last week in their first matchups between the teams in 2024, Tampa Bay overcame an awful gaffe before posting a series win. With two outs and Jason Adam trying to close a series-clinching win, the reliever yielded a walk to Rob Refsnyder and a single to Rafael Devers, prompting a mound visit from Rays pitching coach Kyle Snyder.

However, the Rays were out of visits — a fact noted on the Fenway Park scoreboard — and Adam was removed for swingman Erasmo Ramirez, who prevented further embarrassment by getting a game-ending comebacker.

“Hundred percent on me. I let the mound visits slip in my mind,” Cash said. “I screwed up, and I’m glad that it didn’t cost us a ballgame.”

With left-handed reliever Colin Poche (back) on the injured list, the Rays made a trade Saturday for southpaw Richard Lovelady. He specializes in retiring left-handed hitters, with a .235 career average against him.

Garrett Cleavinger currently is the only bullpen option from that side.

Tampa Bay’s seven-game road trip ended on a sour note as the Blue Jays topped the Rays 5-2 on Sunday.

Isaac Paredes homered with two outs in the ninth to keep the Rays from being blanked for the second time this season as Tampa Bay lost for the first time in the past five games.

“Awesome, we’re rolling,” said catcher Ben Rortvedt, who had one of his team’s four hits. “We didn’t end the road trip the way we should have, but we feel good.”

Boston snapped a four-game losing streak Sunday by way of six excellent innings of one-hit, one-run ball from starter Nick Pivetta and homers from Tyler O’Neill and Devers in an 11-3 win at the St. Louis Cardinals.

O’Neill, a former Cardinals player, rocked a 439-foot shot in the first inning. Devers stepped up in the sixth, tying Bobby Dalbec’s franchise record with a homer in his fifth straight game.

“Pretty special weekend for me and my family,” O’Neill told The Roku Channel. “Circled this one on the calendar for a long time coming.”

Monday’s meeting will be a rematch between Tanner Houck and Taj Bradley, who squared off Wednesday in the Rays’ 4-3 victory.

Houck (3.15, 2.17 ERA) allowed three runs, only one earned, and five hits in 5 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts en route to dropping his fourth straight decision.

Across 58 innings, the right-hander has allowed 14 earned runs and 48 hits. He has surrendered one home run, and his 1.02 WHIP and .219 batting average against are elite.

In six career appearances (four starts) against the Rays, Houck is 0-4 with a 5.91 ERA.

Bradley (1-1, 2.45 ERA) won Wednesday’s game with five innings of two-run ball on four hits with six strikeouts.

The right-hander is 3-0 with a 4.20 ERA in three career starts against the Red Sox.

–Field Level Media

Panthers Send Bruins to Early Summer

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BOSTON – Florida’s Gustav Forsling’s rebound goal with 1:33 left in regulation lifted the visiting Panthers to a 2-1, series-clinching win over the host Bruins in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Friday.

Anton Lundell had his initial shot stopped by Boston goaltender Jeremy Swayman (26 saves), but from the left side Forsling slipped the loose puck inside the near post for the deciding goal.

Lundell finished with a goal and an assist after scoring the tying tally at 12:44 of the second, helping the Panthers to their sixth straight playoff win at TD Garden.

Pavel Zacha scored Boston’s lone goal.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 22 saves for Florida, including nine in the third period.

Bruins captain Brad Marchand returned to the lineup following a two-game absence due to an upper-body injury.

After the Bruins were unable to clear a shot blocked by Jake DeBrusk, Lundell picked up a loose puck in the slot and unleashed a dart to beat Swayman and tie the game at 12:44 of the middle frame.

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A rollercoaster first period saw the Bruins post the first four shots on goal before a span of 14:11 without one, but Zacha buried the opening goal — the first of his 25-game playoff career — with 52.8 seconds left to make it 1-0.

DeBrusk continued his strong playmaking run with a dish off the neutral zone wall to spring Zacha for the breakaway, which he brought to his backhand and slipped under the crossbar.

Bobrovsky came up with several key saves in the second period that allowed his Panthers to tie the game, including denying Justin Brazeau’s one-timer on the same shift as Lundell’s goal.

Florida looked to take a 2-1 lead in the opening minute of the third. Brandon Montour took a slapper from the right point that Swayman initially thought beat him through the five-hole, but the Boston netminder had the puck behind his pads after it clanked off the post.

Bobrovsky made another important stop eight minutes into the final frame, holding both posts to keep out Charlie McAvoy’s driving attempt to the crease.

Neither team could cash in on a power-play attempt late in the third period, which included 22 overlapping seconds of 4-on-4.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Face Cards for 3-Game Set

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ST. LOUIS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – After losing three of their past four games at home, the Boston Red Sox will try to regroup on their six-game road swing. That journey begins when they open a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night.

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The Red Sox are coming off a 7-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night in one their best offensive games of the month. Jarren Duran (3-for-5, homer, two doubles, two runs) and Rafael Devers (2-for-4, homer, two runs) led the attack. Devers has hit a homer in consecutive games while Duran is 5-for-8 with four doubles and three runs in his past two outings.

But since May 2, the Red Sox have scored three or fewer runs nine times. They went 4-9 during that period to fall further off the pace in the American League East.

The Red Sox will open the series with starting pitcher Brayan Bello (4-1, 3.13 ERA), who came off the 15-day injured list to earn a 3-2 victory over the Washington Nationals in his most recent start. He allowed those two runs on four hits over five innings while striking out one and walking two.

“For his first one coming out of the IL? Good,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Gave us five, two runs. So now he’ll be ready for the next one.”

Right lat tightness had knocked Bello out of the starting rotation for a few turns.

“Feels good to be back, feels good to help the team win and also it feels good that a lot of good things are happening for us right now,” Bello told reporters through the team interpreter. “A lot of guys are coming back, so it feels really nice.”

This will be his first career appearance against the Cardinals, who have lost 10 of their past 14 games.

St. Louis will counter with starting pitcher Kyle Gibson (2-2, 3.67). He received a pair of no-decisions over his past two starts, allowing five runs (four earned) on 10 hits in 11 innings.

Gibson struck out 11 and walked six in those games. He didn’t receive much in terms of run support, which has been a persistent problem for St. Louis this season.

During their 7-2 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday, the Cardinals were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. They went 11-for-73 while posting a 3-4 record on their trip against the Milwaukee Brewers and Angels.

Still, St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said he believes his team is in a better place ahead of this Boston series after taking two of three from the Angels.

“Road trip started in a bad way,” Marmol said Wednesday in Anaheim Calif. “Look at how those first games, especially that second game in Milwaukee (an 11-2 loss last Friday). They weren’t good at all. The third game (a 5-3 loss last Saturday) I actually felt like we got beat. We didn’t beat ourselves. And that was the turning point for how the rest of the series went in Milwaukee and how the first two games went here. Feel good going back home. Really do.

“We’re in a much better spot. All areas of the game look like they’re supposed to right now. The offense is starting to click. And that’s what we’ve been missing. It feels right.”

Gibson is 4-4 with a 3.41 ERA in 10 career starts against the Red Sox.

–Field Level Media

Celtics Eliminate Cavaliers

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s center Al Horford had 22 points and 15 rebounds as the host Celtics advanced to the Eastern Conference finals by handing the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers a 113-98 loss in Game 5 of a semifinal series on Wednesday night.

Top-seeded Boston won the best-of-seven series 4-1. The Celtics advanced to the Eastern Conference finals for the third straight season and for the sixth time in the past eight years.

Jayson Tatum added 25 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for Boston. The Celtics led by just three points early in the fourth quarter but extended the lead to 14, 101-87, on a Tatum 3-pointer with 6:45 to play. The Cavaliers didn’t threaten after that.

It was a skeleton crew that took the court for Cleveland, which played without star guard Donovan Mitchell (calf), center Jarrett Allen (rib) and guard Caris LeVert (knee).

The calf injury also caused Mitchell to miss Cleveland’s 109-102 loss in Game 4 on Monday night. Allen didn’t play in the series, and LeVert was coming off a 19-point performance in Game 4.

Evan Mobley had a game-high 33 points and seven rebounds for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers. He made 15 of his 24 field-goal attempts.

Cleveland received a season-high 25 points from Marcus Morris Sr., who made 5 of 6 3-point attempts.

It was 28-28 after one quarter. Cleveland used an 18-6 run to take a 46-40 lead in the second quarter, but Boston responded with a 13-2 spurt that put the Celtics in front 53-48. Boston had a 58-52 lead at halftime.

The Celtics had a 69-57 advantage with 8:41 remaining in the third quarter after a Horford 3-pointer capped an 11-0 run. Cleveland kept fighting back, however, and was within seven points, 85-78, at the end of three quarters.

Cleveland failed to score 100 points in eight of its 12 playoff games.

–Field Level Media

 

Diaz Takes Down Red Sox

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Tampa’s Yandy Diaz’s two-run single in the sixth inning was the difference as the Rays edged past the host Boston Red Sox 4-3 on Wednesday. The Diaz hit highlighted a three-run frame, and the relief trio of Shawn Armstrong, Pete Fairbanks and Kevin Kelly combined to throw three scoreless innings to finish the game.

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Kelly recorded his first save of the season for Taj Bradley (1-1), who struck out six while allowing just two runs on four hits over the first five innings.

Jose Siri went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored for Tampa Bay, which has won two of the first three games in the four-game series.

Jarren Duran went 2-for-3 with two doubles and a run scored while Wilyer Abreu and Rafael Devers homered for the Red Sox.

Boston manufactured a go-ahead run right out of the gates in the first inning, as Duran lined a leadoff double off the Green Monster in center and scored on Connor Wong’s sacrifice fly two batters later.

Boston starter Tanner Houck (3-5) pitched a 1-2-3 first inning before working around baserunners in each of the next two frames, but the visitors knotted the score at 1-1 in the fourth.

After Jonathan Aranda walked and Isaac Paredes chopped a single down the third-base line with one out, Richie Palacios reached on Boston first baseman Garrett Cooper’s fielding error to get Tampa Bay on the scoreboard.

Abreu wasted no time giving the Red Sox a 2-1 lead back in their half of the fourth, launching a towering solo home run out to right.

The Rays didn’t take the lead back until Houck departed after allowing three runs (one earned) on five hits over 5 2/3 innings.

After Palacios and Jose Caballero hit consecutive singles and a strikeout of Ben Rortvedt ended Houck’s day in the sixth, Siri knocked a game-tying base hit through the left side. Palacios scored just ahead of catcher Wong’s tag.

Caballero swiped third before scoring ahead of Siri on Diaz’s single past diving shortstop Ceddanne Rafaela and into left.

The Red Sox got a run back in the last of the sixth when Devers lined a solo shot to straightaway center, but got no further as the final three Tampa Bay relievers recorded scoreless frames.

Despite the loss, Boston’s bullpen was also strong as Cam Booser and Chase Anderson combined to throw three scoreless and hitless innings after Weissert exited. Booser struck out four over two frames.

–Field Level Media

Bruins Heading Home for Game 6

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SUNRISE – Boston’s Charlie McAvoy had a goal and an assist to help the Bruins stave off elimination with a 2-1 win against the Florida Panthers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Tuesday night in Florida.

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The Panthers still lead the best-of-seven series 3-2 heading to Game 6 on Friday night in Boston.

Morgan Geekie also scored and Jeremy Swayman made 28 saves for the Bruins, who have never overturned a 3-1 series deficit in a best-of-seven set in 25 previous attempts.

Sam Reinhart scored and Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves for the Panthers, who had won three in a row to take command of the series.

Geekie gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 4:49 of the first period with his fourth goal of the playoffs.

Jake DeBrusk retrieved the puck behind the Florida net and passed it to Geekie driving toward the crease. Bobrovsky came off the goal line to attempt a save, but Geekie pulled the puck to his backhand and slid it into the net.

The Panthers were getting outshot 17-8 when Florida coach Paul Maurice gave his team a spirited pep talk during a timeout early in the second period.

Aleksander Barkov won the ensuing faceoff and the Panthers kept the puck in the Boston zone before Aaron Ekblad took a shot from the right point that hit Reinhart in the slot.

Swayman tried to poke the puck through the middle, but it went back to Reinhart, who banked his shot off the post and into the net to tie it 1-1 at 6:23.

McAvoy moved Boston back ahead 2-1 at 10:25 of the second.

Trent Frederic entered the Florida zone off a rush and passed the puck back to Charlie Coyle, who dropped it for McAvoy. The Boston defenseman had room to skate between the hashmarks and score with a wrist shot.

Boston forward Danton Heinen made contact with Bobrovsky just before McAvoy’s goal, prompting the Panthers to challenge for goalie interference, but the goal was upheld after a video review.

Bobrovsky kept it a one-goal deficit when he turned away DeBrusk on a breakaway with 5:35 left in the second period. He also stopped Pavel Zacha on a short-handed breakaway at 2:13 of the third.

Boston played its second straight game without team captain Brad Marchand, who was injured late in Game 3 on a hit to the head by the Panthers’ Sam Bennett. Marchand leads the Bruins in scoring during the postseason with 10 points (three goals, seven assists).

–Field Level Media

Fever Go Down in Clark Debut

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UNCASVILLE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – DeWanna Bonner climbed the all-time scoring list with 20 points and the Connecticut Sun capitalized on Caitlin Clark’s turnover-prone WNBA debut to defeat the Indiana Fever 92-71 in the season opener Tuesday in Connecticut.

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Clark, who was chosen with the No. 1 pick after a record-breaking college career, tallied a team-high 20 points and three assists but committed 10 turnovers and four fouls. She shot 5-for-15 from the floor, including 4-of-11 from 3-point range.

Clark’s miscues included six bad-pass turnovers and one traveling call. Connecticut scored 29 points off Indiana’s 25 total turnovers.

On a transition bucket in the third quarter, Bonner passed Candice Dupree for the fifth-most points in WNBA history and now has 6,901. Alyssa Thomas, who recorded a league-record six triple-doubles last season, picked up where she left off with 13 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for Connecticut (1-0).

DiJonai Carrington and Tyasha Harris each added 16 points and Rachel Banham had 10 for the Sun.

Clark connected with Aliyah Boston to tally an assist on the game’s opening possession. But the rookie also picked up two early fouls and sat for most of the final 4:51 of the period.

Harris made three 3-pointers in the first quarter to help the Sun build a 19-13 lead. Carrington poured in 14 points in the second quarter alone to add to that edge.

Clark’s first WNBA basket came on a driving layup midway through the second after an 0-for-4 start. Her first professional 3-pointer was a catch-and-shoot play from the left wing to cut the deficit to single digits with 30.1 seconds before halftime, but Connecticut eventually took a 49-39 edge to the locker room.

Clark hit a 29-foot triple and Erica Wheeler added five points in an 8-2 Fever spurt early in the third quarter to trim their deficit to 53-47. That’s as close as they would get, as Bonner and Thomas combined for the next six points.

Bonner’s three-point play at the 6:37 mark of the fourth quarter made it 75-59 Sun. Clark made her third 3 on the ensuing possession, but Harris answered with one for Connecticut and the Fever never threatened again.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Win in 12 Innings

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Romy Gonzalez ripped a walk-off single just inside the first-base line in the bottom of the 12th inning as the Red Sox earned a 5-4 win over the visiting Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday.

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Before scoring single runs in the 11th and 12th innings, the Red Sox had been held scoreless since Ceddanne Rafaela’s solo home run in the fifth.

Dominic Smith first put Boston ahead with a two-run double in the fourth.

Rafaela’s throwing error from shortstop on Isaac Paredes’ fielder’s choice scored Randy Arozarena to put Tampa Bay ahead in the 11th. The Red Sox answered in the bottom of the inning as Rob Refsnyder’s grounder back to the pitcher — which was unable to turn into an inning-ending double play — scored David Hamilton with Boston’s tying run.

The Red Sox then won it in the 12th after reliever Brennan Bernardino (2-1) caught Rays catcher Ben Rortvedt looking at strike three, stranding runners on the corners. Wong then scored the clinching run for Boston.

Josh Lowe (home run), Paredes and Amed Rosario all had multiple hits for Tampa Bay. Arozarena also went deep.

Manuel Rodriguez (0-1) took the loss.

After Tampa Bay tied the game at 3-3 in the sixth, strong relief pitching limited each team to just a single hit until the game reached extras.

Zack Kelly worked an impressive 10th, stranding the automatic runner at third with an inning-ending strikeout of Harold Ramirez. In the bottom half, Tampa Bay reliever Jason Adams turned a Vaughn Grissom liner into a double play to get through the frame.

The Rays struck first in the first inning for the second straight night, staking Aaron Civale to a 1-0 lead when Lowe took Pivetta deep to right-center field for a two-out solo home run.

Civale allowed only Rafael Devers’ leadoff single through the first three innings, but the Red Sox tagged him for two go-ahead runs in the fourth as Smith ripped a double past Lowe’s dive in right.

Rafaela upped Boston’s lead to 3-1 in the fifth, taking a one-out pitch deep down the left-field line for a solo homer.

After Arozarena homered to left-center to end Pivetta’s outing, Justin Slaten came out of the Boston bullpen and allowed a Lowe double to center and then Paredes dumped a single into shallow right to make it 3-3.

Aside from the homers, Pivetta allowed just two other hits and struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings.

A product of nearby Northeastern University, Civale finished the first Fenway Park start of his MLB career with six strikeouts and three runs allowed on five hits across the first five innings.

–Field Level Media

Jansen, Red Sox Take on Rays

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Tampa Bay Rays probably won’t have to worry about Kenley Jansen when they visit the Boston Red Sox on today for the start of a four-game series.

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Jansen, Boston’s closer, pitched in each of his team’s past three games, and he earned the save in the Red Sox’s victories on Saturday and Sunday.

“It’s good, man,” Jansen said following Boston’s 3-2 series-clinching triumph over Washington on Sunday. “It’s fun. Coming out there more often is better. I’m gonna be sharper. Last three in a row. Now I’m going to go on vacation (Monday), but I’ll come back the next day. Feel great.

“We’re showing that we can pitch. We just have to keep playing and give the hitters a chance to win ballgames.”

Jansen has seven saves this season and 427 in his career — fifth most in major league history. Sunday marked the first time he pitched three days in a row this year.

“That means he feels good, right?” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “We didn’t see that last year early in the season. … Glad that he was available. Glad he got the save.”

Despite losing two of three games against the New York Yankees over the weekend, Tampa Bay is coming off a 6-3 homestand.

The Rays surrendered five home runs during Sunday’s 10-6 setback.

“I thought we played really well the first two (games), and then I still think we did some really good things (Sunday),” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. “Would have liked to find a way to win the series, but I feel like we’re heading into the road trip a better team than when we came here.”

The Yankees took a 6-0 lead on Sunday, but Tampa Bay was within a run following a five-run seventh inning that included a grand slam from Jose Siri.

“Encouraged and happy for (Siri),” Cash said. “He has been going through it a little bit. That was a big hit in the moment to get us right back in the ballgame with one swing of the bat. Took a lot of good at-bats to get there.”

Kutter Crawford (2-1, 1.75 ERA) is listed as Boston’s probable starter on Monday, opposing fellow right-hander Zach Eflin (2-4, 3.75).

Crawford has gone at least six innings in each of his past four starts. He allowed two runs on five hits, walked two and struck out six in six innings in his most recent outing, a no-decision against Atlanta last Tuesday.

Crawford is 1-0 with a 3.75 ERA in six career appearances (three starts) against Tampa Bay. He’s recorded 29 strikeouts in 24 innings against the Rays.

Eflin is coming off a seven-inning outing, earning a win against the visiting Chicago White Sox last Tuesday. He gave up a run on six hits, struck out three and didn’t issue a walk.

Eflin is 1-0 with a 6.16 ERA in his career against the Red Sox. He’s faced Boston four times (all starts) and has given up 23 hits (including five home runs) and 13 runs in 19 innings. He also has 25 strikeouts.

Boston and Tampa Bay will meet seven times in the next 10 days.

–Field Level Media