NBA PLAYOFFS
Nikola Jokic's powerful display at both ends of the court propelled the Denver Nuggets past the Los Angeles Lakers 132-126 in the opener of the Western Conference Finals. The Nuggets led by as many as 21 points before the Lakers made a late push before falling short of winning an opener on the road for the third time in these playoffs. Anthony Davis scored 40 points for the Lakers and LeBron James came up one assist shy of a triple double to go with his 26 points and 12 rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat are meeting in the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year and third time in the last four. Game 1 is tonight at 8:30 in Boston.
Elsewhere, Victor Wembanyama is now set to begin his NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs, after they won the NBA draft lottery and the No. 1 overall pick on Tuesday night. The Spurs were one of three teams with the best odds — 14% — to land the No. 1 pick, which they’ll almost certainly use on Wembanyama in June. The 7-foot-3 French 19-year-old is one of the most highly touted prospects in NBA history and will be expected to make an immediate impact on the league.
While Wembanyama isn’t officially a member of the Spurs yet, it’s all but a foregone conclusion that he’ll be selected by San Antonio in June with the first pick in the draft. He could be with his new club for summer league games in early July.
The Philadelphia 76ers fired coach Doc Rivers following a third straight exit in the second round of the playoffs. It was the second time in that span that he lost a series lead and a Game 7. Rivers led the 76ers to their second straight 50-win season behind NBA MVP Joel Embiid but again failed to lead them to the Eastern Conference Finals or beyond. The 76ers held a 3-2 semifinal series lead against Boston before dropping Game 6 at home and were crushed in Game 7 on the road. Rivers fell to 6-10 in Game 7s. He had two years left on his contract. He won the 2008 NBA title as coach of the Boston Celtics.
Ja Morant says he takes accountability for the latest video in which he is apparently seen holding a firearm. His statement came a couple hours after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver expressed disappointment that the Memphis guard is under investigation by the league again. Silver met with Morant after a similar incident in March and suspended him for eight games. Silver said he was “shocked” when he saw the video during in a televised interview with ESPN before Tuesday’s draft lottery in Chicago.
MLB
Aaron Judge’s tiebreaking, two-run homer broke a large maple leaf attached to the front of the Rogers Centre’s restaurant, lifting the New York Yankees to a contentious 6-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays after pitcher Domingo Germán was ejected for sticky stuff. Judge was booed while striking out in his first two at-bats following allegations of sign stealing Monday, when he hit a pair of solo homers in a 7-4 win. Judge's 448-foot drive to center in the eighth inning chipped a corner of a white Maple Leaf below a redesigned social area.
Isaac Paredes homered twice and drove in five runs, ruining Justin Verlander’s home debut for the New York Mets as the Tampa Bay Rays rolled to an 8-5 victory. Jose Siri also went deep and Harold Ramírez had two RBI singles among his three hits for the Rays, who improved the best record in baseball to 32-11. Yonny Chirinos got 14 outs in relief after opener Jalen Beeks tossed two scoreless innings. New York trailed 6-0 before Brett Baty homered and Pete Alonso launched a two-run shot. Verlander served up both long balls to Paredes and was tagged for six runs on eight hits over five innings in his third start for the staggering Mets.
Masataka Yoshida doubled, tripled and drove in three runs while scoring on a wild pitch, and the Boston Red Sox ended a four-game losing streak with a 9-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Justin Turner, Triston Casas and Jarren Duran homered for Boston. Yoshida had a tiebreaking ground-rule double in the fifth, then scored on a wild pitch. The Red Sox were swept by the last-place St. Louis Cardinals and lost the series opener against Seattle. Nick Pivetta allowed four runs with six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. Taylor Trammell homered for Seattle.
Joey Bart’s routine pop fly turned into a tiebreaking RBI double and the San Francisco Giants beat Philadelphia 4-3, sending the Phillies to their third straight loss. With a runner on first and two outs in the fourth inning, Zack Wheeler got Bart to pop up just behind first base. Phillies first baseman Kody Clemens lost track of the ball in the air and a sliding attempt at a catch by second baseman Bryson Stott was unsuccessful, allowing Casey Schmitt to score. LaMonte Wade Jr. followed with an RBI single to give San Francisco a 4-2 lead. Taylor Rogers earned his first win as a member of the Giants. Zack Wheeler took the loss.
Michael Lorenzen had a season-high seven strikeouts in six innings, Spencer Torkelson doubled twice and the Detroit Tigers beat the slumping Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 last night. Lorenzen (2-2) gave up five hits and two walks and has allowed just two runs in his last three starts. Will Vest worked two scoreless innings, with three strikeouts, and Jose Cisnero pitched the ninth. Torkelson scored and knocked in another run. Riley Greene had three hits. Shut out for the second time in three games, Pittsburgh has lost 12 of 14 games while scoring just 22 runs. Luis Ortiz (0-2) allowed four runs, three earned, and seven hits in three-plus innings.
Domingo Germán insisted he only had rosin on his hand, but umpire James Hoye said he felt something stickier on the fingers of the New York Yankees right-hander. Germán was ejected from a game against the Toronto Blue Jays after umpires checked his hands for banned sticky stuff. Germán’s ejection, likely to trigger a 10-game suspension, was the fourth since Major League Baseball started its crackdown on prohibited grip aids two years ago and the second this season. It occurred during the second game of an increasingly acrimonious series between AL East rivals. Aaron Judge was booed during his first two at-bats following allegations of sign stealing Monday.
NHL
The Arizona Coyotes’ bid for a new arena appears to be dead. In the first release of results from Tuesday’s referendum, voters in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe were strongly against three propositions to build a $2.3 billion entertainment district that would include a new arena for the Coyotes. Opposition to the three propositions had a double-digit lead over those in favor, with only ballots dropped off Tuesday left to count. The Coyotes had hoped a new arena in Tempe would finally allow the franchise to settle down after playing in three different venues since moving to Arizona. Now it appears the franchise has to search for a new home again.
The NHL is about to stage a very non-traditional pair of conference finals. Every game will be played in the Sun Belt for the first time. There is not an Original Six franchise in sight. Carolina will take on the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final, with Game 1 on Thursday night. The Dallas Stars and the Golden Knights open the West final Friday night in Las Vegas. Even with Sun Belt teams filling every spot in the finals for the first time, this quartet isn’t new to the playoffs. All have made it to a Stanley Cup Final.
NFL
Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre is asking the Mississippi Supreme Court to remove him as a defendant in a civil lawsuit that seeks to recover millions of dollars of misspent welfare money. The funds were supposed to help some of the neediest people in the United States. In papers filed late Monday, Favre’s attorneys argue the Mississippi Department of Human Services is making “utterly meritless” legal arguments in suing Favre over money spent on a volleyball arena. On April 24, Hinds County Circuit Judge Faye Peterson said Favre could not be removed from the lawsuit. Favre is asking the state Supreme Court to reverse Peterson's ruling.
WNBA
The WNBA has suspended Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon, one of the league’s marquee figures, for two games without pay after former Aces player Dearica Hamby said she had been bullied and manipulated for being pregnant. Hammon, who in her first season last year led the Aces to the WNBA championship, was suspended without pay Tuesday after a monthslong investigation. The league also rescinded the Aces’ first-round pick in the 2025 draft for a different issue — a violation of league rules regarding impermissible player benefits involving Hamby. Hammon and the Aces have not responded to requests for comment.
LPGA
Marlene Hagge-Vossler has died at age 89. She was the last surviving member of the 13 women who founded the LPGA Tour in 1950. Hagge-Vossler was only 15 when she signed the incorporation papers to start the LPGA. She was hugely successful as an amateur. She was charismatic and glamorous. And as a professional, her 26 LPGA victories included the 1952 LPGA Championship. She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2002. Her death Tuesday comes two months after the remaining LPGA founders were voted into the Hall of Fame for the 2024 induction.
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