San Antonio Spurs and Brooklyn Nets advance to next round of NBA playoffs
In the NBA Playoffs,
The San Antonio Spurs and Brooklyn Nets have advanced to the next round of the NBA playoffs after claiming wins in the fourth and fifth Game-7's of an exciting opening round.
The Spurs' Tony Parker knocked down 32 points to lead his club to a 119-96 victory over the Dallas Mavericks to advance to the Western Conference semi-finals.
The Spurs will face the fifth-seeded Portland Trail Blazers, who upset the Houston Rockets in a six-game series.
The Toronto Raptors' cinderella season has come to an end following a 104-103 loss to Brooklyn Nets in their Game-7.
Kyle Lowry led Toronto with 28 points with seven rebounds.
Joe Johnson led the Nets with 26 points.
Marcus Thornton finished with 17.
Booklyn Nets' Head Coach Jason Kidd.
"I thought that (Marcus) Thornton was great for us early on and throughout the whole game. You know he was knocking down shots, he was rebounding, but everyone again, played a part in this soirees help us win so, no matter if I play eleven or twelve guys or nine guys, everybody's a part of the win."
The Nets will meet the two-time defending champion Miami Heat in the next round.
Pittsburgh Penguins beat New York Rangers 3-0 to tie Eastern Conference semi-final series
In NHL playoff action,
Bryan Bickell had a goal and 2 assists as the Chicago Blackhawks took a 2-0 series lead this morning following a 4-1 win over the Minnesota Wild.
Brandon Saad also scoring a pair for the Blackhawks, who had just 22-shots on net to hand Ilya Bryzgalov the loss.
Cory Crawford only had to face 19 shots in the victory.
The series now shifts to Minnesota for a game on Wednesday morning.
Out east,
The Pittburgh Penguins have evened their series with the New York Rangers at 1 with a 3-0 win this morning.
Kris Legang leading the Pens with a goal and two assists.
Marc Andre-Fluery only had to turn aside 22 shots for the shutout.
This series now shifts to New York very quickly, with Game-3 set to be played at Madison Square Garden tomorrow morning.
ITTF World Team Championships semi-finals in Tokyo
In table tennis,
China's men's and women's teams have both reached their respective finals at the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Tokyo.
The men's team has advanced after downing Chinese Taipei.
China's women squad emulated their male counterparts by beating Singapore 3-0 in their semi-final.
They'll meet Japan in the final, who are coming off a 3-1 win over Hong Kong in the semis.
Germany beat hosts Japan 3-1 to set up a mens team final against the defending Chinese champions.
Madrid Open underway
Serena Williams has opened up defense of her Madrid Open title, brushing aside Belinda Bencic of Switzerland 6-2, 6-1.
She's set to face China's Peng Shuai in the 2nd round.
Maria Sharapova was also victorious in her first match, dumping Klara Koukalova 6-1, 6-2.
In the men's tournament, Novak Djokovic has withdrawn because of a right wrist injury that already affected his play at Monte Carlo last month.
JB Holmes wins the Wells Fargo Championship
In golf,
J.B. Holmes fired a final-round 1-under par 71 to secure a one stroke victory over Jim Furyk to win this year's Wells Fargo Championships in North Carolina.
Holmes finished at 14-under.
Furyk fired a final-round 65 to vault into second place at 13-under.
Phil Mickelson had a rough final round, missing four putts from inside the 4-foot range close with a 76 to finish out of the top 10.
Rory McIlroy, the 2010 winner of this tournament, finished tied for 8th.
In the LPGA,
Stacy Lewis has taken this year's North Texas LPGA Shootout, firing a 7-under-64 for a commanding six-stroke victory over Meena Lee.
This is Lewis' 9th career LPGA Tour victory, but her first since last August when she won the Women's British Open.
The victory moves her into 2nd place in the world rankings.
China's Lin Xiyu failed to make the cut at this year's event.
Top 3 all fluff lines in race fro Spanish league title
In soccer,
In action from the Spanish La Liga,
Real Madrid has failed to capitalise on a previous loss by title rivals Atletico Madrid, as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Valencia last night.,
Atletico Madrid's march to the Spanish league title hit a bump after it lost 2-0 at Levante.
This means Atletico must win its remaining two games to clinch the title for the first time since 1996.
Atletico's first loss since February has left them three points ahead of Barcelona.
However, the two teams are due too clash in the final game of the season.
In Italian Serie A action.
Roma has fallen to Catania 4-1, handing the Serie A title to Juventus.
With only two rounds left in the Serie A this season, the loss means second-placed Roma can't overcome its eight-point gap with Juventus, who are to play Atalanta later on tonight..
At the same time, AC Milan has joined the race for the final Europa League berth after they beat cross-city rivals Inter 1-0 last night.