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Bartolo Colon carried a perfect game into the eighth inning and Robinson Chirinos drove in all three runs for the Texas Rangers during their 3-1 victory over the Houston Astros in 10 innings Sunday night.

The 44-year-old Colon turned back the clock and dominated the defending World Series champions for seven innings [url=http://www.bengalsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-mark-walton-jersey]http://www.bengalsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-mark-walton-jersey[/url] , retiring his first 21 batters in an entertaining pitchers’ duel with Astros ace Justin Verlander.

Colon walked Carlos Correa on a 3-1 pitch to start the eighth before Josh Reddick lined an 0-2 delivery down the right-field line for a double that put runners at second and third, spoiling the no-hit bid as well.

Opposing fans in Houston gave Colon a standing ovation, and he clapped his bare hand softly against the outside of his glove. Two outs later, he was pulled with the score tied at 1.

NBA

HOUSTON (AP) – James Harden scored 44 points and powered a big fourth-quarter run that allowed the Houston Rockets to outlast the Minnesota Timberwolves 104-101 Sunday night in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series.

Minnesota scored four straight points to get within 3 with about 30 seconds left. Chris Paul added two free throws after that for Houston, but a tip-in by Karl-Anthony Towns got Minnesota back within 3. After a bad pass by Paul gave the Timberwolves a chance to tie it with 1.5 seconds left, Jimmy Butler’s shot was short.[img]http://www.sndpic.com//nike_nfl_jerseys/nike_atlanta_falcons/nike_falcons_2216.jpg[/img]

CLEVELAND (AP) – Victor Oladipo scored 32 points and the Indiana Pacers held off Cleveland’s second-half rally for a stunning 98-80 victory Sunday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference series, handing LeBron James and the Cavaliers‘ their first loss in the opening round in eight years.

Indiana was in control from the outset [url=http://www.authenticssanfrancisco49ers.com/cheap-kentavius-street-jersey]Kentavius Street Color Rush Jersey[/url] , opening a 21-point lead in the first quarter and leading by 23 in the third. The Cavs stormed back and got within seven, but Oladipo hit a big 3-pointer and Bojan Bogdanovic helped put Cleveland away with a 3 to make it 88-71.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Paul George scored 36 points to help the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Utah Jazz 116-108 in Game 1 of their Western Conference playoff series on Sunday night.

George set an Oklahoma City playoff record with eight 3-pointers, blowing past the previous record of five. He made eight of 11 shots from long range, and 13 of 20 shots overall. It was his first playoff game with the Thunder since being acquired in a trade with the Indiana Pacers in the offseason.

Russell Westbrook had 29 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists and Carmelo Anthony added 15 points for the Thunder.

BOSTON (AP) – Al Horford had 24 points and 12 rebounds and Boston overcame Khris Middleton’s long 3 that beat the fourth-quarter buzzer to top Milwaukee 113-107 in overtime in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference series.

The Celtics led 99-96 with 0.5 seconds left in regulation when Middleton took an inbounds pass on the far right wing and hit a contested 35-footer.

Terry Rozier added 23 points, four rebounds and three assists for Boston in his first career playoff start. Jaylen Brown finished with 20 points, and rookie Jayson Tatum added 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 35 points [url=http://www.atlantabravesteamshop.com/authentic-mike-foltynewicz-jersey]Mike Foltynewicz Atlanta Braves Jersey[/url] , 13 rebounds and seven assists before fouling out in overtime. Middleton had 31 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

HOCKEY

WASHINGTON (AP) – Matt Calvert scored 12:22 into overtime, Sergei Bobrovsky made 54 saves and the Columbus Blue Jackets overcame two goals from Alex Ovechkin to beat the Washington Capitals 5-4 on Sunday night to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series.

Columbus heads home for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Thursday two victories away from advancing to the second round for the first time in franchise history.

Cam Atkinson scored twice, Anderson had a goal at even strength and Zack Werenski added one on the power play for the Blue Jackets, who have the odds on their side. In Stanley Cup playoff history, 86.4 percent of teams that take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven series have gone on to win it.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists and Matt Murray stopped 26 shots to help Pittsburgh silence a raucous Philadelphia crowd with a 5-1 win to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series.

Crosby scored his fourth goal of the series in the first period, and Derick Brassard [url=http://www.billsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-josh-allen-jersey]Authentic Josh Allen Jersey[/url] , Evgeni Malkin and Brian Dumoulin scored in the second to make it 4-0. Malkin and Dumoulin scored 5 seconds apart.

Justin Schultz made it 5-1 in the third on Pittsburgh’s third power-play goal of the game.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Mikael Granlund and Zach Parise scored power-play goals in the first period for the spark Minnesota was missing on the road, and the Wild used a four-goal second to roar back for a 6-2 win against Winnipeg in Game 3 of the Western Conference series.

Jordan Greenway scored his first NHL goal just 20 seconds after Eric Staal sent a wrist shot past past a struggling Connor Hellebuyck, who was pulled for Steve Mason at the second intermission.

Matt Dumba and Marcus Foligno bookended the furious middle frame with goals for the Wild, who won a postseason home game for only the second time in their last nine contests. Mikko Koivu and Nick Seeler each had two assists and Devan Dubnyk made 29 saves, keeping the crowd loud all night.

LOS ANGELES (AP) – James Neal scored the tiebreaking goal with 5:37 to play, and the Vegas Golden Knights rallied from a third-period deficit to beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 to move to the brink of the expansion franchise’s first playoff series victory.

Cody Eakin tied it at 6:10 of the third [url=http://www.authenticsseattleseahawks.com/cheap-alex-mcgough-jersey]Alex McGough Color Rush Jersey[/url] , and William Karlsson scored 21 seconds after Neal’s goal to make it 3-1 in a final-period flurry fo

A look at what’s happening around the majors Thursday:

CLUTCH CITY

Alex Bregman is red-hot at the plate as the Astros travel to Tampa Bay for a four-game series, and he’s been especially good late in games. Bregman has homered in three straight, including a game-ending two-run shot Wednesday to cap Houston’s rally from five runs down against Toronto. That was the second walk-off hit this month for Bregman, who also had a game-ending single in Game 5 of last year’s World Series. Bregman is 9 for 17 with three homers and five doubles since shaving his mustache midway through a game Sunday.

TAKE TWO

Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw looks to sharpen his stuff against the Cubs in his second start since ending a DL stint for a lower back strain. Kershaw stumbled through three innings against the Mets last Saturday after surprisingly nixing a scheduled minor league rehab assignment, though Los Angeles beat New York 8-3 that day behind stellar relief work from rookie Caleb Ferguson. The 21-year-old left-hander is set to follow Kershaw again against Chicago. Kershaw acknowledged feeling some rust at Citi Field, when he was limited to 55 pitches. He’s hoping to go deeper and pitch more effectively this time at Dodger Stadium.

BOSIO FIRED

The Tigers fired pitching coach Chris Bosio on Wednesday, saying he made insensitive comments to another employee of the team. General manager Al Avila said Bosio made the comments recently and they were brought to Avila’s attention Tuesday. Avila decided Wednesday to terminate Bosio’s contract after the team investigated the situation and spoke to all of the people involved. Detroit promoted bullpen coach Rick Anderson to replace Bosio. Roving pitching instructor A.J. Sager will be the team’s bullpen coach until Triple-A Toledo pitching coach Jeff Pico takes his place next week. The Tigers are set to wrap a four-game series against Oakland.

ANOTHER SHOT AT NOLA

The Nationals try to solve the Phillies’ Aaron Nola five days after the right-hander won a 5-3 decision in Washington. Nola (9-2 [url=http://www.authenticshoustontexans.com/cheap-justin-reid-jersey]Justin Reid Color Rush Jersey[/url] , 2.5 allowed two runs, four hits and three walks over six innings while striking out five in that game. Nola is fifth in the NL in ERA, and only Mets ace Jacob deGrom has allowed fewer home runs per nine innings than Nola (0.53) among qualified NL starters.

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