Sorry for missing yesterday! It would have been a Masters day 1 recap.

TOP STORY

NBA

Spurs 104 @ Rockets 103

The San Antonio Spurs held MVP candidate James Harden (who averages nearly 28 points) to 16 points in their 10th straight win, a 104-103 win over the Houston Rockets. The win jumped the Spurs up to the 3 seed in the western conference. Tim Duncan had 29 points and blocked James Harden’s potential game winning layup with 2.9 seconds left.

The Spurs started to employ a “Hack-a-Josh-Smith” strategy in the 2nd half to keep the ball out of the hands of James Harden. At the end of the day Smith was intentionally fouled 12 times and missed more than half of his free throws. When asked about the strategy he answered the following.

“Absolutely, I’d trade it any day rather than have James Harden with the basketball,” Popovich said. “That’s kind of scary.” (quote via ESPN.go.com)

After Harden made a 3 to cut the lead to one, Tony Parker turned the ball over and it looked like Harden would give Houston the lead until Duncan came in to block it.

The close game snapped San Antonio’s NBA-record tying streak of 9 straight 12+ point wins. Josh Smith had 20 points and Dwight Howard added 12 points and 14 boards in a losing effort.

OTHER TOP SCORES

Golf

2015 The Masters Tournament at Augusta, Georgia

1. Jordan Spieth (USA) -14

2. Charley Hoffman (USA) -9

T3. Justin Rose (ENG) -7

T3. Dustin Johnson (USA) -7

T3. Paul Casey (ENG) -7

6. Phil Mickelson (USA) -6

7. Ernie Els (RSA) -5

T8. Kevin Na (USA) -4

T8. Kevin Streelman (USA) -4

T8.Bill Haas (USA) -4

T8. Ryan Moore (USA) -4

MLB

Nationals 1 @ Phillies 4

Blue Jays 12 @ Orioles 5

Red Sox 6 @ Yankees 5 (19 INNINGS)

Cardinals 4 @ Reds 5

Dodgers 3 @ Diamondbacks 4 (10 INNINGS)

NBA

Celtics 99 @ Cavaliers 90

Wizards 80 @ Nets 117

Suns 75 @ Pelicans 90

Mavericks 144 @ Nuggets 143 (2OT)

NHL

Islanders 3 @ Penguins 1

Sabres 2 @ Blue Jackets 4

MLS

Colorado Rapids 4 @ FC Dallas 0

Top Story

NCAAW

1 Notre Dame 53 vs 1 UConn 63

Geno Auriemma won his 10th national title Tuesday night as the UConn Huskies ended their dominant season with a 63-53 win over fellow 1 seed Notre Dame to win the 2015 NCAA women’s basketball championship this ties Geno with men’s coach John Wooden as the only 2 collegiate basketball coaches with 10 titles.

“Obviously, it’s a very significant number because that’s the number that’s been out there and people want to talk about it. I’ll be the first to say I’m not John Wooden, and I got a bunch of friends who’d tell you I’m right, I’m not,” Auriemma said. “As I said the other day, I just think what we’ve done here in the last 20 years is pretty remarkable in its own right. (quote via espn.go.com)

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Moriah Jefferson each scored 15 points for the hall of fame coached Huskies. It was UConn’s third straight title. 2 time AP Player Of The Year Breanna Stewart added 15 rebounds and eight points for the Huskies (who finished 38-1 on the year) and was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player for the third time, being the only women to do so ( Kareem Abdul-Jabbar achieved the same feat on the men’s side)

“There just hasn’t been a player like Stewie in the women’s game in a long, long time,” Auriemma said. “She might be two inches taller than Cheryl Miller and Cheryl Miller was one of best players I saw. … Stewie’s the kind of player that women’s basketball probably hasn’t seen.” (quote via espn.go.com)

Stewart could be the the first to win 4 straight NCAA titles.

“I think it’s really surreal and I haven’t had a chance to even think about that,” said Stewart I’ve won three national championships but said I wanted to win four. You can’t win four without winning three first.”

It was heartbreak city for Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw who has taken the Irish to 4 title games in 5 years… and lost all 4 including the last two to that very same Huskie team.

Other Scores

MLB

Orioles 6 vs Rays 5

Braves 12 vs Marlins 2

Cardinals vs Cubs POSTPONED

Giants 6 vs Diamondbacks 7

Padres 7 vs Dodgers 3

Angels 2 vs Mariners 0

NBA

Suns 69 vs Hawks 96

Spurs 113 vs Thunder 88

Warriors 100 vs Pelicans 103

Lakers 100 vs Clippers 105

SOCCER

Aston Villa 3 vs Queens Park Rangers 3

NHL

Rangers 4 vs Devils 2

Islanders 4 vs Flyers 5

Penguins 3 vs Senators 4 OT

Jets 1 vs Blues 0

Wild 2 vs Blackhawks 1

Predators 2 vs Avalanche 3

LA LIGA

Atletico Madrid 2 vs Real Sociedad 0