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Rockets beat Golden State with tough D

Ben Simmons, Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum on All-Rookie team

OAKLAND, Calif. -- It's all such a blur, the man who assembled these Houston Rockets couldn't remember exactly what sent him out of Oracle Arena on Tuesday night for some air.

"I'm not doing very well right now," Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said.

Fifteen minutes had passed since the Rockets had rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the defending champion Golden State Warriors95-92 to even the Western Conference finals at 2-2. Morey's face looked pale. His cheeks were flush. Thoughts and words were hard to string together after such an intense game.

Pressure flips back to Celtics as LeBron, Cavs tie series with Game 4 victory

Brian WindhorstESPN Senior Writer

CLEVELAND -- LeBron James has reached a sublime level that few athletes have ever achieved: He has normalized absolute greatness.

On Monday, James scored 44 points for the Cavaliers in a vital Eastern Conference finals victory -- 111-102 over the Boston Celtics to tie the series at 2-2. It was his sixth 40-point game in the 15 he has played this postseason. He did it playing a version of big brother ball that some like to criticize him for not exploiting at every chance, scoring 13 baskets in the paint, the second most in his playoff career.

He now has 22 30-point playoff games and four 40-point playoff games against the glorious Celtics franchise, moving into Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry Westterritory. He passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most baskets in postseason history (in five fewer games). He already has the most points and steals among anyone in playoff history.

And when it was over, there was a collective shrug. James was nonchalant after the game, talking about the need to take some series momentum to Boston for Game 5. He spent significantly more time after the game praising Kyle Korver(14 points, three blocks) and Tristan Thompson (13 points and 12 rebounds, to go with strong defense) than talking about anything he did.

In the locker room as he iced his body after yet another 40-minute outing, James was talking to his 3-year-old daughter, Zhuri, on FaceTime when she asked to talk to Kevin Love. James passed the phone to Love and Zhuri complimented Love on his game, which included 3-of-12 shooting, five turnovers and five fouls.

"I think you meant to say that to your dad," Love said. "I don't know what game you were watching.

Not only is little Zhuri immune from her father's routine awesomeness, Love's compliment was about the only praise coming from James' teammates. They're so used to seeing it, it doesn't require remarks.

Thompson's excellent game -- he had two of the Cavs' eight blocks, one of the reasons the Celtics missed a frustrating 19 shots in the paint in Game 4 -- got him invited to the podium. There he was asked about James' game ... on the eighth question.

"It's been huge," Thompson said. "He's the captain of our team."

That's accurate. But James had just played a game that would've been the greatest career performance for about 99 percent of the NBA, and Thompson moved through remarking on it like he would any other routine task. He was hardly alone.

Korver held court for 15 minutes after the game. He talked about being compared to Dikembe Mutombo, golf, how his dive on the floor for a loose ball reminded people of Pete Rose and how he liked being 36 years old way more than he likes being 37 -- "I wish I was 36; I loved being 36" -- and only mentioned James' incredible game in passing.

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Nationals' Juan Soto, 19, homers in first start; 'special,' Bryce Harper says

Rams' Aaron Donald absent from OTAs; Sean McVay says no contract timetable

Lindsey Thiry | ESPN Staff Write

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Cornerback Marcus Peters is new to the Los Angeles Rams but has quickly developed an opinion on defensive tackle Aaron Donald's contract situation.

"Pay the man," Peters said Monday after the Rams' first organized team activities workout.

Donald, a four-time Pro Bowler and reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, did not report for voluntary OTAs on Monday because of an ongoing contract dispute. Rams coach Sean McVay said that he doesn't anticipate seeing Donald until a resolution is reached.

NFL OTAs roll call: Brady, Gronk among stars skipping workouts

Tom Brady, Julio Jones and Aaron Donald are conspicuously absent but Odell Beckham Jr. is attending OTAs.

"It is something that we want to get resolved," McVay said. "As far as a timetable, don't really have any dates on that."

Donald, who turns 27 on Wednesday, is entering the fifth year of his rookie contract and is scheduled to earn $6.89 million, but he is seeking to become one of the highest-paid players in the league.

The Rams' defense underwent significant changes this offseason to better accommodate defensive coordinator Wade Phillips' 3-4 scheme. Outside linebacker Robert Quinn was traded to the Miami Dolphins, and linebacker Alec Ogletree was dealt to the New York Giants.

The Rams acquired Peters in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs and cornerback Aqib Talib in a trade with the Denver Broncos. Defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh signed as a free agent.

"Aaron is a vet, man," Talib said. "He's going to take care of his own business. What's his business is his business."

Before addressing Donald's situation, Peters said the offseason program played an important role in the development of chemistry.

"We've got to make it jell at the end of the day," Peters said. "You can say that we've got all these big names and that you've got this person and that person, but if we don't make it jell, then it ain't going to do nothing for us. So we've got to come in and learn each other. It's going to be a learning process for us throughout OTAs, going into minicamp and then going into training camp."

Donald's contract negotiations began after the 2016 season. He did not attend organized team activities last May but reported to mandatory minicamp. Donald then held out of training camp and reported a day before the Rams' season opener without a deal in place.

"He and I have had good dialogue," McVay said of Donald. "I spoke with him last week. This feels a lot different than last year. Certainly, any time that you have something where the team comes together, to have a player that's as important as he is here, you would prefer that. But it is voluntary. We understand that, and we have a lot of respect and understanding for what's going on."

The Rams' mandatory minicamp is scheduled for June 12-14.

Eddie MatzESPN Senior Writer

WASHINGTON -- Juan Soto just keeps hitting home runs.

Making his first start for the Washington Nationals on Monday, the 19-year-old outfielder went deep in his first at-bat against Padres starter Robbie Erlin, helping propel Washington to a 10-2 win over San Diego. Soto's three-run, opposite-field shot came on the first pitch from Erlin and traveled an estimated 422 feet before landing over the wall in left-center.

"I didn't think it was going to go out of the park," Soto said. "I just run hard, the same I do in the minor leagues. Then I heard the noise, and I know it was gone."

Upon returning to the dugout, Soto received a curtain call from the crowd at Nationals Park.

Before getting called up this past weekend, Soto was hitting .362 with 14 homers in 39 minor league games across three levels. Despite those numbers, his promotion was a surprise, given that he had only 31 at-bats above Class A. But after utility man Howie Kendrick tore his Achilles on Saturday, the latest in a rash of injuries that has severely depleted Washington's outfield options, Soto got the call, making him the youngest player in the majors.

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