National Sports

TORONTO — Terrence Ross' post-mortem on Orlando's lopsided loss to Toronto in Game 2 of their NBA playoff series Tuesday was short and not very sweet. "We just played bad," said Ross, a former Raptor. The numbers backed him up.

TORONTO — The Scotiabank Arena crowd cheered encouragement at Kyle Lowry when he stepped up to the free-throw line to score what would be his first points of these NBA playoffs.

MINNEAPOLIS — Teoscar Hernandez delivered a go-ahead hit for the Toronto Blue Jays for the second straight game. But it was a defensive play by Hernandez that had his manager beaming after Toronto's 6-5 win over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday.

PITTSBURGH — Barry Trotz had questions when he took over the New York Islanders last summer. About the defence . About the goaltending. About where the scoring would come from if star John Tavares bailed in free agency.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Sullen and speechless, the Tampa Bay Lightning had little explanation for how they followed up a glorious regular season by getting bounced from the playoffs with record-setting haste.

TURIN, Italy — Cristiano Ronaldo shook his head as he walked off the field, while the Ajax players and staff celebrated with their fans long after the final whistle.

BARCELONA, Spain — Lionel Messi made sure there was no memorable Champions League comeback for Manchester United at Camp Nou this time.

LOS ANGELES — Todd McLellan was hired as the new head coach of the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, taking over a two-time Stanley Cup-winning franchise that slumped to the NHL's second-worst record this season.

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Whitecaps know exactly what they need to do to capture their first win of the season against Los Angeles FC on Wednesday, says coach Marc Dos Santos.

Canadian international wing Brock Staller has been named player of the week in Major League Rugby after league-record 22-point performance in Seattle's 52-10 win over the Houston SaberCats.