NBA:
The Golden State Warriors are in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2019.
The Warriors were able to complete a five-game series win over the Mavericks in the Western Conference finals, 120-110.
All five Warriors starters and Jordan Poole all scored in double figures, led by Klay Thompson’s 32 points. Andrew Wiggins came up big with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Kevon Looney added 18 boards and 10 points.
Golden State led by 17 by halftime and pushed the margin to 23 early in the third quarter.
Luka Doncic had team highs of 28 points and nine rebounds for the Mavericks.
The New Orleans Pelicans have announced that forward Zion Williamson has been cleared to play this offseason without any restrictions after recent imaging on the fifth metatarsal in his right foot showed continued improvement. Barring any setbacks, that should pave the way for Williamson’s return next season after missing all of this NBA season.
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS:
The Carolina Hurricanes are a win away from reaching the NHL’s Eastern Conference finals.
The Hurricanes own a 3-2 lead in their second-round series following a 3-1 victory over the Rangers.
The Canes won with special teams as Vincent Trochek scored short-handed and Teuvo Teravainen added a rare power-play goal for Carolina, which has struggled with the man advantage. Andrei Svechnikov also scored, beating Igor Shesterkin with a backhander on a breakaway midway through the third period.
The Hurricanes outshot the Rangers 34-17 and improved to 7-0 at home in the postseason compared to 0-5 outside Raleigh.
Shesterkin stopped 31 shots for the Rangers, who host Game 6 on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have carried the Oilers to a 5-4 overtime victory against the Flames and a berth in the Western Conference finals.
McDavid provided the series clincher at 5:03 of the extra season, taking a pass from Draisaitl for his seventh goal of the postseason.
Draisaitl had four assists and finished with 17 points in the series, scoring at least three points in all five games.
McDavid and Draisaitl each have 26 points in the playoffs so far.
Zach Hyman had a goal and two assists for the Oilers, who will face either the Avalanche or Blues in the conference finals.
MLB:
Nelson Cortes and the New York Yankees continue to flourish.
Cortes carried a three-hit shutout into the ninth inning of the Yankees’ third straight win, 7-2 over the Rays. He was reached for one run and four hits over eight-plus innings as the Yanks improved to a major league-best 32-13, tying the second-best 45-game start in team history.
Cortes improved to 4-1 and lowered his ERA to 1.70. He’s allowed three runs or fewer in 18 consecutive starts since last season.
Aaron Judge had pair of RBIs to raise his total to 36.
The Yankees opened a 5 1/2-game lead over the Rays by winning the opener of a four-game series, the first of 10 games between the teams in a 28-day span.
Elsewhere on major league diamonds:
Trevor Story kept up his hot hitting with a three-run homer and four RBIs in the Red Sox’s 16-7 pounding of the White Sox. Story has seven homers and 21 RBIs in his last seven games, raising his season totals to nine home runs and 32 ribbies. Alex Verdugo had a pair of doubles among four hits as Boston outscored Chicago 33-13 in taking two of three in the series.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered off Shohei Ohtani for the first time, and George Springer hit a leadoff home run in the Blue Jays’ 6-3 victory over the Angels. Bo Bichette hit a two-run double and Santiago Espinal had an RBI single in the third inning for Toronto. Ohtani struck out 10 but surrendered five runs over six innings in his eighth mound start of the season.
Miguel Cabrera’s third hit of the night was a walk-off single in the ninth inning to send the Tigers past the Guardians, 4-3. Jonathan Schoop hit a one-out double in the final inning, advanced on a wild pitch from Trevor Stephan and scored on Cabrera’s 3,029th career hit. Cabrera also poked an RBI single that put the Tigers ahead, 3-0 in the second inning.
Adolis García doubled home the tiebreaking run in the ninth inning and Nathaniel Lowe followed with a two-run home run in the Rangers’ 4-1 verdict over the Athletics. García and Kole Calhoun each had two hits as the Rangers won their second straight after dropping three in a row. Chad Pinder had two hits for Oakland, which has dropped 12 of its last 14 home games.
Whit Merrifield fueled the Royals’ three-run eighth in a 3-2 comeback over the Twins. Merrifield laced a two-run double and scored on Bobby Witt Jr’s two-base hit as Kansas City halted a seven-game skid. Scott Barlow escaped a bases-loaded jam in the eighth and stranded two on base in the ninth to earn his fifth save.
Freddie Freeman highlighted a five-RBI, four-hit night with a three-run homer as the Dodgers crushed Arizona, 14-1. Chris Taylor had a two-run homer in the eighth, one of the Dodgers’ 24 hits. Los Angeles won for the 10th time in 12 games and joined the Yankees as the first major league teams to 30 victories this season.
The Brewers came away with a 4-3 win over the Cardinals as Josh Hader escaped a ninth-inning jam in his 37th straight scoreless appearance. Tyrone Taylor drove in a run for the seventh straight game and Luis Urías homered as the NL Central leaders increased their edge over the second-place Cardinals to 4 1/2 games. Paul Goldschmidt homered and extended his hitting streak to 17 games for St. Louis.
Aaron Nola struck out 10 while pitching shutout ball into the ninth inning for his first victory since opening day, leading the Phillies to a 4-1 decision over the Braves. J.T. Realmuto homered to support his batterymate, who entered with a 6.60 ERA with eight homers allowed over his last six starts in Atlanta. Philadelphia had lost each of Nola’s last eight starts, but he had a 3.69 ERA over that stretch.
Patrick Corbin ended a 10-start winless streak, allowing three runs over 7 1/3 innings to lead the Nationals over the Rockies, 7-3. Corbin had been 0-7 this season and hadn’t won since last September against Cincinnati. César Hernández singled, doubled, walked and scored twice for Washington, which took a 4-0, first-inning lead and improved to 7-17 at Nationals Park.
The Reds racked up their highest run total in 23 years by collecting 20 hits in a 20-5 thrashing of the Cubs. Kyle Farmer had four hits, including two home runs and five RBIs. Nick Senzel also had four hits, while Brandon Drury, Tommy Pham and Albert Almora Jr. had three each.
Matt Carpenter has agreed to a one-year contract with the New York Yankees, a week after he was released from the Texas Rangers’ minor league system.
The 36-year-old Carpenter hit .275 with six homers and 19 RBIs in 21 games this year for Round Round of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.
Injury-hit New York also selected the contract of 31-year-old left-hander Manny Bañuelos from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before a series opener at Tampa Bay. Bañuelos was in the Yankees’ minor league system from 2008-14 but never made it up to the big league club during that time.
Elsewhere around the majors:
Josh Donaldson has apologized to the wife and family of Jackie Robinson for referencing the pioneering Black baseball player in remarks that led to a confrontation with White Sox star Tim Anderson last Saturday. The Yankees third baseman was suspended for one game and fined on Monday by Major League Baseball. Donaldson has appealed the suspension. The league said Donaldson’s comment on Saturday was “disrespectful and in poor judgment.”
Major League Baseball and the players’ association are allowing teams to have an additional pitcher through June 19. The original plan set during spring training was to go with a 13-man limit on May 2, which was pushed back to May 30.
NFL:
The four men who smashed the race barrier in professional football in 1946 have been selected to share the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Ralph Hay Pioneer Award. The Canton, Ohio,-based organization announced that Kenny Washington, Woody Strode and Hall of Famers Bill Willis and Marion Motley will be celebrated during the Hall’s enshrinement week in August.
FRENCH OPEN:
The unexpected results in the women’s draw at the French Open keep piling up. Only three of the top 10 women’s seeds are still in the field before the third round has even started.
Two more were ousted Thursday when former No. 1 Karolina Pliskova lost to Leolia Jeanjean, who is ranked just 227th and is playing in her first Grand Slam tournament. No. 9 Danielle Collins lost to Shelby Rogers in a matchup between two Americans.
Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep said she had a panic attack while leading her second-round match that she eventually lost. The 2018 Roland Garros winner said she “lost it” and couldn’t regain focus while playing 19-year-old Qinwen Zheng, who won 2-6, 6-2, 6-1.
No surprises involving top-seeded Iga Swiatek, however. She ran her winning streak to 30 matches by beating Alison Riske 6-0, 6-2.
The other two top 10 seeds still standing are No. 3 Paula Badosa and No. 7 Aryna Sabalenka.
Other winners on the women’s side included Badosa and Madison Keys.
On the men’s side, U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev made it to the third round at Roland Garros for the second straight year with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 win over Laslo Djere. The second-seeded Russian has dropped just 16 games in winning all six sets he has played so far this week.
Joining Medvedev in the third round were fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, eighth seed Casper Ruud, No. 11 Jannik Sinner and No. 12 Hubert Hurkacz.
PGA:
Scottie Scheffler was among eight players who shot 4-under 66, creating a crowded leaderboard through one round of the Charles Schwab Classic. Scheffler was the only player in that group without a bogey, rebounding from his missed cut at the PGA Championship.
Cam Davis, Beau Hossler, Chris Kirk, Patrick Reed, Webb Simpson, Nick Taylor and Harold Varner III also shot 66s. Seven others were a shot back.
SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP:
Chris DiMarco is one of five golfers who shot an opening 4-under 67 at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores in Michigan. He is tied with Gene Sauers, Mark Hensby, Joakim Haeggman and Thomas Levet.
Defending Senior PGA champion Alex Cejka headed a group of six golfers who shot 3-under 68s.