NBA:
The Atlanta Hawks and New Orleans Pelicans have extended their seasons by winning their respective NBA play-in games.
Trae Young bounced back from a sluggish start to finish with 24 points in the Hawks’ 132-103 dismantling of the Hornets. De’Andre Hunter provided 16 of his 22 points while the Hawks outscored Charlotte, 42-24 in the third quarter to take a 27-point lead.
Clint Capela had 15 points and 17 rebounds for Atlanta, which played without John Collins and Lou Williams.
The Hawks will take on the Cavaliers on Friday, with the winner advancing to the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
LaMelo Ball had 26 points but hit only 7 of 25 shots in the Hornets’ elimination game.
CJ McCollum scored 27 of his 32 points in the first half of the Pelicans’ 113-103 victory against the Spurs. Brandon Ingram shook off foul trouble to add 27 points for New Orleans, which led 96-75 with 10:39 remaining. Jonas Valaciunas had 22 points and 14 rebounds to help the Pelicans earn a meeting with the Clippers on Friday.
New Orleans has advanced this far despite a 3-16 start to the season.
Devin Vassell had a team-high 23 points for the Spurs, who made things interesting with a 16-1 run in the final period.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL:
Arizona sophomore guard Bennedict Mathurin is entering the NBA draft.
Mathurin is a projected lottery pick after a breakout season after leading the Wildcats with 17.7 points per game and shot 45% from the field. He was a big reason Arizona finished with a 33-4 record this season and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Also in college basketball:
Alabama freshman point guard JD Davison is entering the NBA draft, telling ESPN he was “done with college.” Davison is projected as a potential first-round pick after averaging 8.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and a team-high 4.3 assists.
North Carolina big man Armando Bacot is returning for his senior season after the Tar Heels fell a game short of winning an improbable national championship. Bacot averaged a team-high 16.3 points and ranked third nationally in rebounding at 13.1 a game.
MLB:
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. suffered a gash on his right ring finger on Wednesday and still managed to bloody the New York Yankees.
Guerrero slammed three home runs as the Toronto Blue Jays earned a 6-4 win in the Bronx. The AL MVP runner-up went deep off Gerrit Cole in the first inning, had his hand accidentally spiked on a play at first base in the second, then sandwiched a pair of round-trippers around a double in the second three-homer game of his young career.
The Jays squandered a 3-0 lead before George Springer laced a tiebreaking single in the seventh.
The Yankees lost despite homers from Anthony Rizzo, Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres.
Elsewhere in the majors:
Clayton Kershaw made his season debut and fired seven perfect innings in the Dodgers’ 7-0 shutout of Minnesota. The three-time Cy Young Award winner struck out 13 and threw 80 pitches before being pulled by manager Dave Roberts. Cody Bellinger, Gavin Lux and Austin Barnes hit consecutive home runs in the eighth to secure the win.
Josiah Gray led the Nationals to a rubber-game win over the Braves, allowing one hit over five shutout innings of a 3-1 victory. His only trouble came in the fifth, when he hit Adam Duvall and walked Alex Dickerson with two out before striking out Manny Piña. Atlanta’s Austin Riley homered off Kyle Finnegan in the sixth.
Pete Alonso crushed a three-run homer and had five RBIs as the Mets took the rubber match of their three-game set in Philadelphia, 9-6. Max Scherzer worked out of a first-inning jam and allowed one run and five hits in five innings to pick up his second victory of the season. Brandon Nimmo homered off Aaron Nola to help New York move to 5-2.
The Guardians earned their fourth win in a row as Owen Miller homered twice in a 7-3 verdict over the Reds. José Ramírez homered, doubled and drove in three runs to help Cleveland complete a two-game sweep. Rookie Steven Kwan went 0-for-4, but he drew a bases-loaded walk and has reached base in 19 of 29 plate appearances.
The Pirates were 6-2 winners over the Cubs behind Ben Gamel’s three-run homer and Kevin Newman’s two-run triple. Pittsburgh’s Ke’Bryan Hayes went 4 for 4 a day after signing his eight-year contract. Seiya Suzuki was 1 for 3 with an RBI single in the fourth, leaving the Cubs rookie 6 for 20 with three homers and nine RBIs in six games.
The Giants earned a 2-1 win over the Padres as Logan Webb limited San Diego to a run while striking out seven over eight innings. Webb finished strong by retiring 22 of his final 24 batters. Luke Williams provided San Francisco’s offense with a two-run double.
The Brewers wasted a 2-0 lead before Kolten Wong tripled home the tiebreaking run in the ninth inning of their 4-2 win at Baltimore. Brewers starter Corbin Burnes limited the Orioles to three hits while fanning eight over seven shutout innings. Rowdy Tellez furnished a pair of RBI doubles for Milwaukee.
Tim Anderson homered and drove in three runs in the rain to carry the White Sox to a 6-4 win against the Mariners. Eloy Jiménez and Luis Robert also connected, helping Chicago to its fourth straight win since its dramatic loss at Detroit on opening day. Dallas Keuchel pitched five innings of three-run ball in his first start of the year.
Sean Murphy belted a three-run homer to back Frankie Montas in the Athletics’ 4-2 win over the Rays. Montas allowed two runs and five hits over 6 1/3 innings, striking out six, as the A’s defeated Tampa Bay for the second time in three days. Tampa Bay got a fourth-inning solo homer from Ji-Man Choi.
Jackie Bradley Jr., Kiké Hernández and Rafael Devers hit consecutive RBI doubles in the fourth inning to chase former teammate Eduardo Rodriguez in the Red Sox’s 9-7 downing of the Tigers. Hansel Robles got out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth by getting Jonathan Schoop to pop up on the infield. Robles retired the side in order in the ninth to secure a series win for Boston.
The Diamondbacks scored twice in the bottom of the 10th inning to beat the Astros, 3-2. Ketel Marte had the game-ending sacrifice fly in the 10th inning after Seth Beer tied it with a single, allowing Arizona to end a four-game skid despite stranding 14 baserunners. Alex Bregman’s sacrifice fly put Houston up, 2-1 in the top of the inning.
The Royals-Cardinals game in St. Louis was postponed due to inclement weather. It has been rescheduled for May 2.
Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer’s administrative leave has been extended yet again, this time by six additional days through April 22. That’s according to a person familiar with the proceedings.
Bauer was placed on seven days’ paid leave last July 2 under the joint domestic violence and sexual assault policy of MLB and the union. A Southern California woman said he choked her into unconsciousness, punched her repeatedly and had anal sex with her without her consent during two sexual encounters earlier last year. MLB and the union have since agreed to several extensions.
In other MLB news:
The Twins placed left fielder Alex Kirilloff on the 10-day injured list with inflammation in his surgically repaired right wrist. Outfielder Trevor Larnach was recalled from Triple-A St. Paul to replace the 24-year-old Kirilloff on the roster.
The Mariners have placed reliever Sergio Romo on the 10-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation. Right-hander Matt Koch was promoted from Triple-A Tacoma, and right-hander Casey Sadler was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
NFL:
A person with knowledge of the deal tells The Associated Press that the Las Vegas Raiders have given quarterback Derek Carr a three-year contract extension worth $121.5 million.
The eight-year veteran was entering the final year of his deal, worth nearly $19.8 million in base salary. That contract was for five years at $125 million, the richest in the NFL at the time he signed it in 2017.
Carr helped them to the playoffs as a wild card in the tough AFC West. He threw for a career-high 4,804 yards and 23 touchdowns as Las Vegas went 10-7 before losing at Cincinnati in the postseason.
In other NFL news:
Jaguars left tackle Cam Robinson has signed his franchise tender that guarantees him $16.7 million this season. General manager Trent Baalke and new coach Doug Pederson have said repeatedly they hope to sign Robinson to a long-term deal.
Baker Mayfield feels the Browns deceived him about their offseason plans, which resulted in their trading for Deshaun Watson. Speaking on a podcast, Mayfield said he feels “disrespected 100 percent” because the team told him one thing and did another. Mayfield’s tumultuous four-year run as Cleveland’s quarterback essentially ended when the team acquired Watson in a deal last month with Houston.
NHL:
The Rangers moved closer to the Metropolitan Division lead with a 4-0 win over the Flyers.
Kaopo Kakko scored twice for the Rangers, who also received goals by Artemi Panarin and Andrew Copp. They were Kakko’s first goals since Dec. 15.
Alexander Georgiev stopped 28 shots in his eighth career shutout, helping the Rangers improve to 24-15 on the road.
The Rangers are within two points of the first-place Hurricanes with seven games remaining.
The Flyers have been outscored, 18-5 during a three-game losing streak.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
The Avalanche have set a franchise record with their 53rd win by blowing out the Kings, 9-3. Nathan MacKinnon had three goals and two assists in Colorado’s seventh win in a row. Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored twice in a dominant first period, Valeri Nichushkin added two goals and Cale Makar had a goal and three assists.
Jack Roslovic scored twice and Patrik Laine had a goal and two assists in the Blue Jackets’ 5-1 win against the Canadiens. Cole Sillinger and Emil Bemstrom each added a goal and an assist, and Gus Nyquist and Jakub Voracek both had two assists. Elvis Merzlikins stopped 20 shots on his 28th birthday to lead Columbus over Montreal for the seventh time in eight home meetings.
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