REBELS TO START EARLY

COLUMBIANA — In an effort to beat the rain, the Beachwood at Crestview sectional baseball tournament game set for today will start at 3:30 p.m. It was originally set for 5 p.m. None of the other area teams scheduled to play today have adjusted their schedules. Rainy weather is expected to start Friday afternoon and extend into Sunday.

KNICKS TWO UP ON CAVS

NEW YORK (AP) — Josh Hart scored a playoff career-high 26 points, Jalen Brunson had 19 points and 14 assists, and the New York Knicks moved halfway to their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999 by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-93 on Thursday night.

Mikal Bridges also scored 19 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, who won their ninth straight game. That’s the NBA’s longest postseason winning streak since the Boston Celtics won 10 straight on their way to the 2024 championship.

Two nights after rallying from a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter, the Knicks made sure they would be in control late with an 18-0 run in the third quarter that gave them a 71-53 lead. Fans chanted “Knicks in four! Knicks in four!” in the final minute, long after the starters had gone to the benches.

Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points and James Harden had 18 for the Cavaliers, who will have to climb out of a 2-0 deficit for the second straight round. They host Game 3 on Saturday.

The Knicks are in the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year but haven’t played for the championship since losing to the San Antonio Spurs in 1999.

Brunson scored 38 points and led the Game 1 comeback. He had only two points in the first half Thursday before making the first basket of the run that broke open the game.

Hart burned a Cavaliers defensive strategy that seemed built around leaving him open from long range after he was benched for the rally in Game 1, playing just three minutes combined in the fourth quarter and overtime.

The forward had been shooting just 26.7% from 3-point range and after a third straight miss from long range early Thursday, he put his jersey in his mouth and bit it, bouncing the ball down hard in frustration three times. But he kept firing and finished 5 for 11 on 3s.

GUARDIANS SWEEP TIGERS

DETROIT (AP) — Patrick Bailey hit a solo home run, Joey Cantillo threw 5 2/3 shutout innings and the Cleveland Guardians extended their winning streak to six games with a 3-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Thursday.

Brayan Rocchio had three hits, including two doubles, and scored a run. Daniel Schneemann and Jose Ramirerz drove in the other runs for the Central Division-leading Guardians, who completed a four-game series sweep.

Cantillo (4-1) limited the Tigers to three hits while striking out six. Hunter Gaddis got the last three outs for his first save.

Cleveland has won nine of its last 10 games, while the Tigers have lost six straight and 14 of their last 16.

Dillon Dingler hit his team-leading ninth homer for the Tigers. Starter Casey Mize (2-3) gave up two runs and four hits without a walk while striking out five in 6 2/3 innings.

The Guardians scored a pair of two-out runs in the third. Rocchio and Schneemann hit back-to-back doubles to right field for the first run. Ramirez brought in Schneemann with a single.

Detroit loaded the bases in the first inning. Cantillo then settled in, allowing only a single and two walks before he departed.

Bailey led off the eighth against Burch Smith with his second homer this season. Dingler homered off Tim Herrin in the bottom of the inning.

PIRATES TOPPLE ST. LOUIS

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Brandon Lowe homered, Marcell Ozuna drove in two runs and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-2 on Thursday.

Rookie Konnor Griffin extended his hitting streak to eight games with a double. He also scored a run and stole a base. Griffin went 6 for 13 in the series and improved to 13 for 33 during his streak.

Braxton Ashcraft (3-2) struck out nine in seven innings. He gave up one run on four hits and two walks.

The Pirates won their fourth consecutive road series against National League Central opponents.

Ozuna, a former Cardinal, singled with one out to score Spencer Horwitz and Griffin, extending the lead to 4-1 in the sixth.

Henry Davis hit a leadoff homer in the seventh and Bryan Reynolds drove in a run with a ground out, making it 6-1.

Lowe, who also singled, hit a 3-2 fastball that bounced off the top of the wall just inside the left-field foul pole in the first inning. It was originally declared an inside-the-park home run before the stat was changed by the scorer.

The Pirates went ahead 2-1 in the fourth inning. Griffin scored on a fielder’s choice by Jake Mangum.

A two-out home run by Iván Herrera in the third inning tied the score at 1-1. Herrera also scored in the eighth on a single by Jordan Walker.

Dustin May (3-5) pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks while striking out seven.