NBA
Anthony Edwards scored 23 points, Karl-Anthony Towns had 22 points, 14 rebounds and five assists, and the Minnesota Timberwolves held off the Brooklyn Nets 107-102. Rudy Gobert had 12 points and 12 rebounds for Minnesota, which snapped a three-game losing streak. Mike Conley scored 18 points, nine in the fourth quarter. Spencer Dinwiddie had 30 points and six assists, Mikal Bridges scored 24 points and Dorian Finney-Smith had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Nets, who had their three-game win streak snapped. Their lead over Miami for the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference was cut to one game after the Heat’s 118-105 victory in Detroit.
Joel Embiid strengthened his MVP bid with 52 points, 13 rebounds, and the NBA scoring leader carried the Philadelphia 76ers to a 103-101 win over the Boston Celtics. James Harden had 20 points and 10 assists. Derrick White scored 26 points for the Celtics and Jayson Tatum had 19. P.J. Tucker gave Embiid and the Sixers the help they needed when he buried three late 3-pointers that turned a one-point deficit into a 101-95 lead. Embiid made 20 of 25 shots from the floor and 12 of 13 free throws en route to his ninth game of the season with at least 40 points and 10 rebounds. Embiid scored 50 points for the third time this season.
Golden State forward Andrew Wiggins has rejoined the Warriors after more than a month away from the team and is working his way back to being able to play again for the defending NBA champions. Wiggins says his family needed him and he appreciated the Warriors’ support in allowing him to be there for them during a crucial time. Wiggins was set to miss his 23rd straight game Tuesday night against Oklahoma City and hasn’t played since Feb. 13 versus Washington. He says he expects to play again soon. Coach Steve Kerr says he expects to have a better idea in the next couple of days when Wiggins might be able to play.
NHL
Dawson Mercer scored his first career hat trick and the New Jersey Devils beat the fading Penguins 5-1, putting Pittsburgh’s bid for a 17th straight Stanley Cup playoff berth in serious jeopardy. Dougie Hamilton and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils and Vitek Vanecek made 22 saves as New Jersey rebounded from its worst loss of the season. Coupled with Florida’s win over Buffalo, the Panthers moved a point ahead of the Penguins in the race for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Both teams have four games left, but they don’t play each other.
Matthew Tkachuk snapped a tie in the opening minute of the third period, and the Florida Panthers topped the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 for their fourth consecutive victory. Aaron Ekblad also scored for Florida, and Alex Lyon made 39 saves for his fourth straight win. It’s the longest win streak of the season for the Panthers, who moved into a tie with the New York Islanders for the top spot in the Eastern Conference wild-card standings. Florida owns the first tiebreaker because of its regulations wins.
Jordan Kyrou scored his 37th goal of the season to help the St. Louis Blues beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 on Tuesday night. Kyrou has six goals in his last six games. Tyler Pitlick, Justin Faulk and Alexey Toropchenko also scored for the Blues. Jordan Binnington, starting his 57th game of the season, has won four of his last five starts. He made 29 saves. The Flyers made it close by scoring twice in the third period on goals by James van Riemsdyk and Marcel Frost.
After six NHL players recently opted out of wearing rainbow-colored jerseys on their teams’ Pride nights for the first time, the league’s commissioner says it is weighing the future of the events. Some NHL fans and LGBTQ+ supporters say it’s a sign that a political climate that has led to restrictions on LGBTQ+ people and transgender sports participation both in the U.S. and internationally is now threatening events that are meant to be fun and affirming. One advocate says that because the NHL has been such a leader in how to do Pride nights well, it’s conspicuous to see players roll back their support.
MLB
Kyle Schwarber hit his 200th career homer on the game’s second pitch and added an RBI single as the Philadelphia Phillies became the last team in the major leagues to get a win this season, beating the New York Yankees 4-1 to avoid their worst start since 1934. The NL champions had been outscored 37-12 during an 0-4 start and were on the verge on their poorest beginning to a season since dropping their first seven games in 1934. Brandon Marsh also went deep.
Rowdy Tellez, Brian Anderson and Garrett Mitchell hit consecutive home runs off Max Scherzer in the sixth inning, and Wade Miley earned his 100th career win as the Milwaukee Brewers routed the New York Mets 9-0. Anderson and Mitchell also connected for back-to-back homers in the seventh off reliever Brooks Raley. The hot-hitting Anderson, who homered in Monday’s 10-0 victory over the Mets, had a two-run double in the first against Scherzer and finished with six RBIs. Miley pitched six sharp innings, giving up five hits. Three relievers completed an eight-hitter, handing the Mets consecutive shutouts for the first time since June 2021 against Atlanta. The Brewers beat New York for the 17th time in the last 20 games at Milwaukee.
Ji Hwan Bae hit his first career homer, Bryan Reynolds went deep for the third time in two games and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Boston Red Sox 4-1. Roansy Contreras held the Red Sox to three hits over 5 2/3 innings. He retired 13 straight after giving up a run in the first. David Bednar got the final three outs for his third save. Reynolds’ drive off Nick Pivetta went into Boston’s bullpen and made it 3-1 in the third. He added an RBI single in the seventh. Bostoin's run came on Masataka Yoshida’s first-inning groundout.
The average Major League Baseball salary was up 11.1% to a record $4.9 million to start this season, the biggest jump for the sport since 2001, according to a study by The Associated Press. The surge follows a spending spree in the first offseason since players and owners agreed to a five-year collective bargaining agreement last March. Texas Rangers second baseman and union executive subcommittee member Marcus Semien calls it “a step in the right direction.” The New York Mets led the way with a $355 million payroll, $70 million more than the previous high for a season’s start. Seven teams topped $200 million.
GOLF
Phil Mickelson returned to Augusta National on Tuesday for a practice round ahead of the Masters. He missed the event last year for the first time since 1994, after some controversial comments about the Saudi-backed LIV Golf breakaway circuit were published. Mickelson is now one of LIV Golf's star attractions. He is among 18 players from the circuit playing this week, including six former Masters champions. Mickelson called it his “favorite week” and lamented missing it a year ago. He also said he has no problems with players that have been critical of his decision to leave the PGA Tour, including 1992 champion Fred Couples, who recently referred to Mickelson as a “nutbag.”
Rory McIlroy is back at Augusta National, where one of the coolest moments of his career happened last year on the 18th hole on Sunday, when he and Collin Morikawa had back-to-back hole-outs to finish the Masters. What might top that moment this Sunday? Finally slipping on the green jacket to complete the career Grand Slam. McIlory has learned much about himself over the years and believes some of the scar tissue that built up with each disappointment was shed with that bunker shot a year ago. When you add that confidence and positive mindset to a string of brilliant performances, there's a reason why McIlroy is among the favorites to win the Masters this week.
Tiger Woods is at the Masters for the 25th time. Not even he knows how much longer he will keep playing. Woods says he doesn't know how many more he has in him because of injuries to his legs and back. He describes his right leg as being full of hardware. Round 1 of the Masters begins tomorrow. Woods brings a degree a normalcy to this Masters that is filled with chatter and speculation about LIV Golf. Woods still draws the biggest crowd. Now he sees if he can match the Masters record held by Fred Couples and Gary Player of making 23 cuts in a row.
NFL
The Buffalo Bills moved one major step closer to breaking ground on their new stadium by June 1 after formally submitting the final contractual agreements — including a 30-year lease — to the county. The county’s approval would clear the way for construction on the now-projected $1.5 billion-plus, 60,000-plus seat facility to begin across the street from the Bills current stadium in Orchard Park, New York. The cost of the facility has increased from the original estimate of $1.4 billion. A majority of the construction is expected to be completed in time for the 2026 season.
A person with knowledge of the situation says former Arizona Cardinals front office executive Terry McDonough has filed an arbitration claim against the team that accuses owner Michael Bidwill of cheating. McDonough claims he was eventually demoted after he objected to a scheme that would involve the use of so-called “burner phones” to circumvent the 2018 suspension of then-GM Steve Keim, who had been arrested for DUI. Cardinals spokesman Jim McCarthy says claims McDonough has made in the arbitration filing are false and reckless.
Attorneys for retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre say the civil lawsuit against him that seeks to recover misspent welfare money in Mississippi’s largest-ever public corruption case should be dismissed. They say the Mississippi Department of Human Services lacks evidence and is attempting to deflect from its own culpability. Favre’s attorneys wrote in court papers filed Monday that there is no basis for the agency’s claims that Favre is responsible for the misspending of millions of federal welfare dollars intended to help low-income Mississippi residents. Prosecutors say the funds were squandered on projects supported by wealthy or well-connected people like Favre. No criminal charges have been brought against the NFL Hall of Famer.
The Las Vegas Raiders signed quarterback Brian Hoyer on Tuesday. He will be Jimmy Garoppolo's potential backup. Hoyer is the latest player with New England ties to sign with the Raiders. Former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is the Raiders coach. Former Patriots executive Dave Ziegler is Las Vegas’ general manager. Hoyer is a 15-year NFL veteran. He was the Patriots’ backup quarterback the past three seasons. He has started 40 games and appeared in 36 others. Hoyer has passed for 10,668 yards with 53 touchdowns and 35 interceptions.
WWE-UFC
UFC President Dana White says combining marketing forces with World Wrestling Entertainment will create an even larger fan base for both organizations. The sides will work together after Endeavor announced a $21.4 billion deal to bring WWE under its umbrella with UFC. White also says the Power Slap League has agreed to a two-year media rights deal with Rumble. He says the deal includes eight events, with the championship of next season’s series expected to take place in United Arab Emirates.
NCAA
There was a short list of believers in the potential of a rebuilt UConn roster before the season started. It was made up mostly of the UConn players and coaches themselves. The team that was among “others receiving votes” in the first AP poll of the season ended up “cutting down nets” after the last game. It was as sure a sign as any that in the new college landscape reconstituted by the transfer portal and name, image and likeness deals, anything is possible. For anyone. The Huskies not only won the title but won it in one of history’s most dominating runs through the NCAA Tournament. They won their six games by an average of 20 points, closing it out with a 76-59 pasting of San Diego State.
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