Stats & Info insights into this morning's top sports stories 1. FLYERS COME BACK: The
Philadelphia Flyers overcame a three-goal deficit in the first period to beat the
Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in overtime.
FROM ELIAS: Philadelphia became the first NHL team since 1996 to start the playoffs with a win in which it overcame a three-goal deficit; 16 years ago, the Capitals won 6-4, also at Pittsburgh, after they had trailed 4-1 late in the second period.
2. HELP ME RONDO: FROM ELIAS: Rajon Rondo posted 20 assists, 10 points and 10 rebounds in the Boston Celtics’ overtime win over the
Atlanta Hawks. It was the fourth game in his NBA career (two this season, two last season) in which Rondo had a triple-double that featured at least 20 assists. That ties Magic Johnson for the most such games in the history of the NBA.
3. BYNUM CRASHES THE BOARDS: Andrew Bynum had 16 points and 30 rebounds as the
Los Angeles Lakers beat the Spurs in San Antonio without
Kobe Bryant. He is just the second player in the last 15 seasons to have a 30-rebound game.
FROM ELIAS: Bynum became the fifth Lakers player to collect 30 rebounds in a game, joining George Mikan, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain (who had 16 such games) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The last Lakers player with a 30-board game was Kareem, who had the second of his two 30-rebound games with the Lakers back in 1978.
4. VERLANDER FALLS APART LATE: After allowing just one hit and no runs through eight innings,
Justin Verlander allowed four runs in the ninth inning in a 4-2 loss to the
Tampa Bay Rays. It was the
Detroit Tigers first loss of the season. The reigning AL Cy Young and MVP Award winner has allowed just four runs in 16 1/3 innings but is 0-1 this season.
FROM ELIAS: Verlander became only the second starting pitcher in major-league history to fail to earn a win in either of his first two starts of a season after having tossed shutout ball over the first eight innings of each game. The only other pitcher to endure such hard luck was Minnesota’s Pete Redfern in 1980.
5. RONALDO HITS 40: Cristiano Ronaldo scored three goals in a 4-1 Real Madrid win. He has 40 goals this season, tying his own record for the most goals in a single season in La Liga history. He is one goal ahead of
Lionel Messi who has 39.
