NBANHLThe Cheat SheetBy Alex Putterman on

Sports fans had no shortage of viewing options Monday night, with two NBA playoff games, four NHL playoff games and 10 MLB games.

It’s not easy to concisely sum up quite so much sports action, but we’re going to try anyway.

Welcome to The Cheat Sheet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bz0CUYTOXgY

Big Three all have big games as Cavs go up 2-0 on Pacers

CLEVELAND, OH – APRIL 17: Kyrie Irving #2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers looks to drive around Jeff Teague #44 of the Indiana Pacers during the first half in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena on April 17, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

In some ways, Monday night’s Cavaliers-Pacers game looked exactly like what Cleveland fans imagined when LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving first became teammates.

In a 117-111 Cavs win, James scored 25, Love put up 27, and Irving led the way with a game-high 37.

Cleveland’s defense still looks a little shaky, and guard J.R. Smith could miss some time with a hamstring injury, but things are generally looking good for the defending champs. After falling out of the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and backing into the playoffs, the Cavs are up 2-0 on the Pacers as the series heads to Indianapolis.

Paul George continues to do his best to keep Indiana afloat—he accounted for 32 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in Monday’s Game 2—but there’s no stopping LeBron and company.

Your thoughts, Larry?

Grizzlies make Spurs sweat, but San Antonio goes up 2-1

SAN ANTONIO,TX – APRIL 17 : Kawhi Leonard #2 of the San Antonio Spurs dunks over the Memphis Grizzlies in Game Two of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2017 NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center on April 17, 2017 in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that , by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)

For a minute there, it looked like the Spurs might actually be trouble.

After trailing by 26 points in the first half Monday, the Grizzlies chipped away steadily and narrowed their deficit to 4 with 10 minutes to play in Game 2 of their Western Conference playoff series against San Antonio. But the Spurs characteristically didn’t crack and wound up pulling away again to prevail 96-82.

One game after tying a postseason career high, former NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard… set a new postseason career high.

One of the keys to the game was the free-throw disparity between the two teams. The Spurs attempted 32 shots from the charity stripe, whereas the Grizzlies were awarded only 15. This caused Memphis coach David Fizdale some consternation, which he took out on the referees.

https://twitter.com/SInow/status/854193752189087744

 

The Spurs lead this series 2-0, and there’s little reason to think the Grizzlies have a shot, even with Game 3 taking place in Memphis.

On the bright side for the Grizz, this was pretty cool.

Capitals go down 2-1 to Maple Leafs, causing Washington fans to feel deja vu

TORONTO, ON – APRIL 17: Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates away from John Karlson #74 of the Washington Capitals in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Air Canada Centre on April 17, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Capitals 4-3 in overtime.(Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

Year after year, the Washington Capitals are among the best teams in the NHL, and year after year they flame out in the postseason.

So you can somewhat forgive Caps fans for absolutely panicking after their team blew a 2-0 lead Monday night and wound up losing to the Maple Leafs 4-3 in overtime to fall behind in the series 2-1.

Minutes later, Capitals fans had settled down just a bit, but the point remained: They’re expecting the worst.

The No. 8 seed Maple Leafs won Monday on an overtime power-play goal from Tyler Bozak. The victory was Toronto’s second consecutive 4-3 overtime win over the Caps in this series, and it gives Mike Babcock’s team a decided edge in the best-of-seven series.

Overall, it was quite a night for the NHL playoffs.

The Senators beat the Bruins 4-3 in overtime (sound familiar?) to take a 2-1 lead in that series. The game-winning goal came courtesy of Bobby Ryan.

https://twitter.com/WorldofSports77/status/854168604752830464

The Chicago Blackhawks scored a goal (multiple, in fact!) for the first time this postseason but lost 3-2 to the Predators in overtime. Kevin Fiala scored the winner for Nashville.

And finally, in yet another overtime game, the Ducks beat the Flames 3-2 on a goal from Corey Perry to extend their series lead to 3-0.

If the entire NHL playoffs are like Monday night, we’ll all need defibrillators by the end.

Quick hits

– In baseball news, the Cubs put on a bunting clinic Monday against the Brewers. It started with Kyle Schwarber…

And continued with fellow slugger Anthony Rizzo…

The shift giveth, and the shift taketh away.

– The baseball that got stuck to Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina’s chest protector was sold at auction for $2,015. That purchase has “buyer’s remorse” written all over it.

– Meanwhile in the Chinese Professional Baseball League, here’s an amazing bat flip:

– Adam “Don’t Call me Pacman” Jones flipped out at a reporter who asked about his recent arrest.

– Raiders quarterback Derek Carr said he thinks “true Raiders fans,” will follow the team to Las Vegas, which presumably didn’t sit well with the true Raiders fans who live in Oakland and care about the team precisely because it’s in Oakland.

– Danish soccer fans threw dead rats at opposing players, but joke’s on the fans because they had to hold the vermin for almost two hours of game-time.

– Braun Strowman’s massive superplex of the Big Show broke the Monday Night Raw ring.

– The last remaining person born in the 1800s has died at the age of 117.

One last moment of procrastination:

You’ve probably seen a few videos of a college walk-on being told of his new scholarship. But have you ever seen one involving an elaborate Easter egg hunt?

 

About Alex Putterman

Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.

View all posts by Alex Putterman