Celtics bully Magic into corner in East finals

They’re laughing at the Orlando Magic now, taunting them on the way out of Amway Arena and onto the NBA Finals. Between the end of Game 2 and the joyous bus ride to the Boston Celtics’ charter flight, it appeared that Paul Pierce(notes) gleefully punched four acidic words into his Twitter account: “Anybody got a broom?”

Somehow, this declaration found its way onto Pierce’s page. The keepers of his website insisted later this was the work of a hacker, but, nevertheless, those words were waiting for Dwight Howard(notes) on Tuesday night. It’s Pierce’s page, his responsibility. The brave public face of a privately shattered franchise, Howard plopped down on an interview podium and had Pierce’s alleged parting shot read back to him.

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Rays vs. Yankees

There's little doubt that the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees have established themselves as the top teams in the AL East, the division New York reclaimed last year after the Rays won it in 2008.

They also may be the two best clubs in baseball.

Tampa Bay can bolster its early lead on the Yankees and extend its latest winning streak to five on Wednesday night, but to do so the Rays will need to end a string of six straight losses in the Bronx.

New York (25-14) has begun defense of its World Series title in strong fashion only to be overshadowed by the Rays, who are the only team in the majors with a better record.

Tampa Bay (28-11) dropped two of three to the Yankees at home from April 9-11, but manager Joe Maddon's team - already with a three-game lead - has a chance to make a statement in New York before beginning interleague play.

"It's going to be fun going up there, as it should be," said Maddon, whose team has gone 15-4 on the road in 2010 but was outscored 31-12 while losing its last six in the Bronx last season.

"You want to be on the top. You want to play the best teams. You want to play in the best division. I think it's great," Maddon added. "Our guys will be ready for it. Our game's a pretty good game right now. We haven't hit to our potential yet, but we've been doing everything else."

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Longoria Delivers for Rays

Evan Longoria drove in three runs and David Price pitched six strong innings to become the AL’s first six-game winner as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Indians, 6-2, yesterday in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The AL East leaders improved baseball’s top record to 28-11 heading into a two-game series at Yankee Stadium. New York has the second-best mark in the majors.

“It’s going to be fun going up there, as it should be,’’ Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “You want to be on the top. You want to play the best teams. You want to play in the best division. I think it’s great. Our guys will be ready for it. Our game’s a pretty good game right now. We haven’t hit to our potential yet, but we’ve been doing everything else.’’

Longoria, who has 21 RBIs in his past 19 games, had a run-scoring double off David Huff (1-6) in the third and a two-run triple off Hector Ambriz that was the biggest blow in a four-run sixth.

Price (6-1) won his fourth straight decision. The 24-year-old lefthander held the Indians to an unearned run and four hits before turning over a 5-1 lead to the bullpen.

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Flyers rout Habs in opener

The Flyers turned the opening game of the Eastern Conference finals into a laugher early with a 6-0 rout of the Montreal Canadiens.

The Flyers led 3-0 after the first period, and 4-0 early in the second when Montreal yanked goalie Jaroslav Halak. Six players scored for the Flyers...Braydon Coburn, James van Riemsdyk, Danny Briere, Simon Gagne, Scott Hartnell and Claude Giroux.

Michael Leighton stopped all 28 shots that came at him. The Flyers will host game two onTuesday night.

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TORONTO NATIONALS LOSE TO CHICAGO IN SEASON OPENER

Toronto's John Grant Jr. scored a hat trick but the defending Major League Lacrosse champion Nationals opened the season on a sour note Sunday, losing 16-9 to the Chicago Machine.

Terry Kimener led Chicago with three goals, one of which counted for two, while Matt Striebel, Kevin Leveille, Brett Garber, Bill McGlone and Mike Leveille each scored two apiece.

Chazz Woodson and Greg Bice added singles for the Machine (1-0).

Josh Sims scored twice, including a two-point goal, for Toronto (0-1), while Jordan Hall also added two and Brodie Merrill scored a single.

Machine goaltender Mike Gabel made six saves for the win, while at the other end Doc Schneider stopped 14 shots.

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Howard frustrated by Celtics in Game 1 loss

Dwight Howard knew what the Boston Celtics had planned. Whenever he got the ball in the post, someone was going to hit him, bump him, push him, do whatever it took to keep him from getting into rhythm.

It wasn't a new approach.

The Celtics simply do it better than just about everyone else.

Howard made only 3 of his 10 shots from the floor Sunday, continuing what's been a yearlong offensive struggle against the Celtics, and his Orlando Magic lost Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals to Boston 92-88.

"I played like a robot," Howard said.

He doesn't have long for reprogramming. Game 2 is Tuesday night.

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Rays rally, again beat Mariners' Lee

Sean Rodriguez delivered a seventh-inning double and Gabe Kapler an eighth-inning sacrifice fly as host Tampa Bay overcame a frustrating afternoon against Cliff Lee to rally past Seattle, 2-1, Sunday.

Lee (1-2) took a 1-0 lead into the seventh, but the Rays (an MLB-best 26-11) rallied to beat him for the second time in 11 days. He allowed two runs and five hits in eight innings.

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