NBA PLAYOFFS
Jayson Tatum missed his first six 3-pointers before he drilled two straight clutch ones late in the game that pushed the Celtics past the Philadelphia 76ers 95-86 to send the Eastern Conference semifinals back to Boston for Game 7. The defending conference champs are in familiar territory. Boston trailed 3-2 last season in the second round against Milwaukee before it won Game 6 on the road and the clincher at home. Tatum scored 19 points. Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey each scored 26 points for the 76ers. Game 7 is Sunday with the time still to be announced.
Nikola Jokic scored 32 points, Jamal Murray added 26 and the Denver Nuggets advanced to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2020 by beating the shorthanded Phoenix Suns 125-100 in Game 6 last night. Denver’s series victory comes two seasons after the Nuggets were embarrassed in a second-round postseason sweep by the Suns. This time, it was the Suns who were embarrassed. On their home floor, too. Denver jumped to an 81-51 lead by halftime. The Nuggets will play in the conference finals for the first time since they lost to the Lakers in five games in the Florida bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham said he excepts Anthony Davis to play tonight in Los Angeles, adding that the eight-time All-Star big man is “not showing any signs of anything” and is not in the NBA’s concussion protocol after being hit in the head late in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals. Davis is “doing great,” Ham said, and is probable for Game 6 against the Golden State Warriors. Davis was hurt by what appeared to be an inadvertent shot to the head from Golden State’s Kevon Looney midway through the fourth quarter of the Warriors’ 121-106 victory in San Francisco.
Meanwhile, the Miami Heat look to clinch the Eastern Conference second round over the New York Knicks in game six tonight at 7:30. The Heat lead the series 3-2.
And the Los Angeles Lakers can clinch the Western Conference second round over the Golden State Warriors in game six tonight at 10. The Lakers lead the series 3-2.
NHL PLAYOFFS
Jesper Fast deflected in a shot by Jesperi Kotkaniemi on a power play at 7:09 of overtime to give the Carolina Hurricanes a series-ending 3-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils last night. Fast’s deflection while shielding Akira Schmid set off a celebration for the Hurricanes, who never led until the final play and twice trailed by a goal before winning (won) the best-of-seven series 4-1 to reach the Eastern Conference final. In the first tight game of the second-round matchup, Fast made amends for when he popped a puck over the goal in front of an open net in the first period. Jaccob Slavin and Brent Burns also scored for Carolina, and Frederik Andersen made 27 saves.
Roope Hintz scored two goals and had an assist, Joe Pavelski scored his seventh goal of the second-round series and elsewhere, the Dallas Stars beat the Seattle Kraken 5-2 in Game 5. The Stars have a 3-2 series lead. Pavelski also had an assist on Hintz’s second goal, which ricocheted hard out of the net with 8:37 left for a two-goal lead, though play continued for nearly a half-minute before a replay review that confirmed the score. Radek Faksa added an empty-netter. Game 6 is Saturday night at 7 in Seattle. Adam Larsson and Jared McCann scored for Seattle.
In other playoff action, Edmonton will face Las Vegas tonight at for Game 6 at 10 in Las Vegas, and the Panthers look to close out their series against Toronto at 7 tonight in Toronto in Game 5.
NFL
Patrick Mahomes and the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs will kick off the NFL season against the upstart Detroit Lions in a matchup of high-powered offenses and will host Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles in a Super Bowl rematch on “Monday Night Football” in Week 11.
Aaron Rodgers will make his New York Jets debut in the first Monday night game of the season against the Buffalo Bills and later faces the Miami Dolphins in the NFL's first Black Friday game on Nov. 24.
Thanks to Rodgers' arrival in the Big Apple, the Jets will have six nationally televised games, including their first Sunday night game since 2011 when they take on the Chiefs on Oct. 1. That'll be the first ever Mahomes-Rodgers matchup.
“It’s not going to be monotonous with all the 1 o’clock games we’re used to,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said on NFL Network.
Coming off their second championship in four seasons, the Chiefs will host the Lions on Sept. 7 on “Thursday Night Football.” The Lions finished 9-8 last season after a 1-6 start and knocked Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers out of the playoffs with a 20-16 victory at Lambeau Field in the final regular-season game.
Mahomes, the two-time NFL MVP, led the Chiefs to a 38-35 comeback win over the Eagles in the Super Bowl. The teams will battle at Arrowhead Stadium on Nov. 20.
Fans will get their first look at Rodgers in his new green-and-white No. 8 Jets jersey when New York hosts Josh Allen and the Bills in an AFC East matchup on Sept. 11.
The NFL released the full schedule for its 104th season on Thursday night after revealing five international games and several others earlier in the day and Wednesday.
Other highlights include a rematch of the NFC championship game in Week 13 and a rematch of the AFC title game in Week 17. Hurts and the Eagles will host the San Francisco 49ers on Dec. 3. The Chiefs will host Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals on New Year's Eve.
The Eagles knocked quarterback Brock Purdy out of the conference title game on their way to a dominant 31-7 win. Purdy had elbow surgery in the offseason, but should be ready by the time the teams meet again.
The Thanksgiving tripleheader features three division games. It begins with Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers visiting the Lions. The Dallas Cowboys then host the Washington Commanders and the Seattle Seahawks host the 49ers in prime time.
Mahomes and the Chiefs will host AFC West rival Las Vegas in the early game of the Christmas Day tripleheader. The Eagles will host the New York Giants in one of 14 playoff rematches on the 2023 schedule. Lamar Jackson and the Ravens wrap up Christmas action in San Francisco.
The New England Patriots also announced seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady will be honored at the team's home opener against the Eagles on Sept. 10. Brady, who led the Patriots to six Super Bowl titles, retired in February after spending the last three seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
On Wednesday, the NFL announced that Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars will become the first NFL team to play two international games in the same season when they spend back-to-back weeks in London.
The Jaguars will host the Atlanta Falcons at Wembley Stadium on Oct. 1 and visit the Bills at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Oct. 8. The Jaguars were set to play two designated home games in London in 2020 but the pandemic canceled those plans.
The Tennessee Titans will host the Baltimore Ravens at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Oct. 15. The Chiefs will host the Dolphins in Germany at Eintracht Frankfurt Stadium on Nov. 5. The Patriots will host the Indianapolis Colts on Nov. 12, also in Frankfurt.
Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud, the first two picks in the draft, are scheduled to meet in Week 8 when the Carolina Panthers host the Houston Texans.
There will be three Monday night doubleheaders in Weeks 2, 3, and 14.
The Eagles have the toughest strength of schedule based on last year’s standings. Their opponents had a .566 winning percentage in 2022. The Falcons, who play in the lowly NFC South, have the easiest schedule with an opponents' winning percentage of .417.
The NFL’s 18-week, 272-game regular-season schedule concludes with 16 division games in Week 18, including two on Saturday Jan. 6.
MLB
Josh Lowe drove in a career-high five runs, Drew Rasmussen extended his scoreless streak against the Yankees to 21 innings and the Tampa Bay Rays kept up their domination of New York with an 8-2 rout. Lowe hit a three-run double off Ron Marinaccio to open a 4-0 lead in the sixth, then hit a two-run homer in a three-run eighth against Ryan Weber. Tampa Bay won the opener of the four-game series and improved to 3-1 against the Yankees this season. The Rays are a major league-best 30-9 and dropped the last-place Yankees nine games back.
The Cincinnati Reds erupted for four first inning runs against Kodai Senga, Spencer Steer added an insurance solo shot and four relievers made them stand up while cruising to a 5-0 win over the New York Mets, handing them a fifth straight series loss. Jonathan India, Jake Fraley and Tyler Stephenson each had two hits for the Reds, who took two out of three in the series while sending the Mets to their fourth loss in five games and 13th in the last 17. The Mets have lost five series in a row for the first time since 2012.
The Red Sox were off last night, they start a 3-game series against St. Louis tonight at 7:10.
Miami's top pitching prospect, Eury Pérez, will make his major league debut Friday when the Marlins host Cincinnati. At 20 years, 27 days old, he’ll become the youngest starting pitcher in the club’s history and the only MLB player born after 2002. Injuries to left-hander Trevor Rogers and right-hander Johnny Cueto made room for Pérez, who is listed on MLB pipeline as the No. 10 overall prospect and third-best right-hander. He was called up from Double-A Pensacola on Wednesday.
Rookie Casey Schmitt had four more hits, including a two-run homer, and Alex Cobb blanked Arizona into the eighth inning as the San Francisco Giants beat the Diamondbacks 6-2. Schmitt connected for a 443-foot home run into the second deck above the Diamondbacks’ bullpen in the second inning off Tommy Henry. Schmitt was recalled Tuesday from Triple-A Sacramento. He finished 4 for 4 with a run-scoring double in the ninth and is 8 for 12 with two homers and four RBIs through three games. Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio is the only other player since 1920 with at least eight hits, four RBIs and four runs scored through his first three games, according to OptaSTATS.
HORSE RACING
Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher has been suspended 10 days and fined. It is the result of a positive drug test last year involving Forte, who was scratched on Kentucky Derby day last weekend because of an injury. Forte was disqualified from his victory in the Hopeful Stakes on Sept. 5, 2022, at Saratoga in upstate New York for testing positive for meloxicam, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory. According to a ruling posted on the New York State Gaming Commission website, Pletcher plans to appeal and a stay of his suspension has been granted. He also was fined $1,000.
AT&T BYRON NELSON
S.Y. Noh has a three-shot lead at the AT&T Byron Nelson after he tied the course record with an opening-round 60. Noh decided against going for the green in two on the par-5 18th. He made birdie and finished at 11-under even after dealing with a cracked driver on the back nine. Sebastián Muñoz set the TPC Craig Ranch record last year with a 12-under opening round. The course is now a par 71 in its third year of hosting the Nelson after one of the par-5s was converted to a par-4. Two-time defending champion K.H. Lee of South Korea shot 71. Local favorite and world No. 2 Scottie Scheffler had a 64.
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