Reuters Sports News Summary
Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.
Federer downs injured Isner in Miami for 101st career title
Roger Federer defeated a hobbling John Isner 6-1 6-4 for his 101th career title at the Miami Open on Sunday. Holder Isner struggled to continue late in the second set, hampered by pain in his left foot.
MLB roundup: Harper launches first Phils HR in win over Braves
High-priced offseason acquisitions Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto hit their first home runs for Philadelphia and sparked the Phillies to an 8-6 win over the visiting Atlanta Braves on Saturday. Realmuto ripped a two-run shot into the center field bleachers that put the Phillies ahead to stay in the fifth inning, and Harper hammered a 465-foot solo homer in the seventh. Maikel Franco was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and homered for the second straight game.
Heartbreak for Leclerc as Hamilton wins in Bahrain
Five times world champion Lewis Hamilton took a lucky Bahrain Grand Prix win for Mercedes on Sunday after engine trouble in the dying stages denied Ferrari's Charles Leclerc a first Formula One victory. The luckless Leclerc had looked like becoming Ferrari's youngest ever race winner, at 21, after starting on pole position and leading comfortably. Instead, the Monegasque ended up third.
NHL roundup: Islanders down Sabres, clinch playoff spot
Anthony Beauvillier scored twice Saturday night for the New York Islanders, who capped one of the most remarkable stories of the NHL regular season by clinching a playoff berth with a 5-1 win over the visiting Buffalo Sabres. Jordan Eberle, Michael Dal Colle and Ryan Pulock also scored for the Islanders (46-26-7), who will return to the playoffs for the first time since 2016 thanks to a raucous victory in a building they thought they'd left in the spring of 2015.
NBA roundup: Harden's 50-point triple-double lifts Rockets over Kings
James Harden recorded a 50-point triple-double, and the Houston Rockets fended off the hot-shooting Sacramento Kings for a 119-108 victory on Saturday at Toyota Center. Harden posted his ninth 50-point game on the season while producing 50 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. With the Rockets clinging to a 101-100 lead midway through the fourth quarter, Harden sank three free throws, converted back-to-back floaters, and added a 3-pointer to extend the advantage to 111-102. Harden reached 50 points with two free throws with 48.8 seconds remaining. The 50-point triple-double was the fifth of his career.
Kisner, Kuchar to meet in all-American Match Play final
Kevin Kisner and Matt Kuchar will meet in an all-American final at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play after dispatching their respective opponents in close Sunday morning semi-finals in Texas on Sunday. Kisner upset Italian seventh seed Francesco Molinari 1-up, while Kuchar won by the same margin when he edged Danish 50th seed Lucas Bjerregaard on a chilly morning at Austin Country Club.
Auburn tops Kentucky for first Final Four berth
There will two debutants at the Final Four ball this year. Auburn joins Texas Tech as first-time participants in college basketball's biggest stage after a 77-71 victory over Kentucky on Sunday in the Midwest Region final in Kansas City. The Tigers will face the Virginia Cavaliers in Saturday's national semifinals.
No. 3 Texas Tech upsets top-seeded Gonzaga, earns first trip to Final Four
Third-seeded Texas Tech made history Saturday, using its trademark sticky defense to shut down top-seeded Gonzaga's high-scoring offense and produce a 75-69 win in the West Regional final at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. "We're trying to build a program at Tech like a Gonzaga," Red Raiders coach Chris Beard said afterward. "The Final Four is awesome and all that, but the most cool thing is I get to coach these guys again."
Elite Eight roundup: Virginia survives overtime thriller
Virginia needed a wild buzzer-beating play to force overtime and had to survive a scoring onslaught by Purdue guard Carsen Edwards to advance to its first Final Four since 1984. The top-seeded Cavaliers beat the third-seeded Boilermakers 80-75 in the NCAA Tournament's South Region final in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday night. Edwards scored 42 points but missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer with nine seconds left in overtime.
NBA player Porzingis denies rape allegation: lawyer
The lawyer for National Basketball Association player Kristaps Porzingis on Sunday denied an allegation that his client sexually assaulted a woman in 2018. "We are aware of the complaint ... and unequivocally deny the allegations," the lawyer, Roland Riopelle, said in a statement to Reuters.
