CONCACAF WOMEN'S GOLD CUP
Alyssa Naeher had three saves in the penalty shootout after a rain-soaked 2-2 draw with Canada on Wednesday night, earning the United States a spot in the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup final. The United States advanced 3-1 on penalties and will play Brazil in the title game on Sunday evening. Brazil defeated Mexico 3-0 in the earlier semifinal match on Wednesday. The game was a sloppy mess with standing water on the field at San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium from heavy rain in San Diego. The players had difficulty with control. The U.S. got goals from Jadyn Shaw and Sophia Smith, while Jordyn Huitema and Adriana Leon scored for Canada.
NBA
Jaren Jackson Jr. had 30 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks, Jake LaRavia had 19 points and 13 rebounds and the Memphis Grizzlies used an 11-0 run late in the fourth quarter to rally to a 115-109 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. The Grizzlies trailed by 12 entering the fourth before getting hot in the final minutes much like they did in a win Monday night at Brooklyn. One of the worst teams in the NBA, Memphis has won two in a row following a five-game losing streak. The Grizzlies outscored the 76ers 34-16 in the fourth. Kelly Oubre Jr. led the 76ers with 25 points and Paul Reed had 17.
Franz Wagner scored 28 points, Paolo Banchero added 25 and the Orlando Magic rallied from a 21-point second-quarter deficit to beat Washington 119-109 and hand the Wizards their 16th consecutive loss. Washington tied a team record for its longest losing streak. It matched a skid from the 2009-10 season. The Wizards looked on their way to ending this slide, but they were done in by a 44-point second half against one of the league’s best defensive teams. Orlando has won eight of nine. Jordan Poole scored 26 points for Washington.
Saddiq Bey scored 23 points and the Atlanta Hawks recovered after losing a 21-point lead to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 112-101. Bogdan Bogdanovic also scored 23 points for the Hawks, who prevented the Cavaliers from sweeping the four-game season series. The Cavaliers rallied to take the lead after trailing the Hawks by 21 points in the third. This time Cleveland couldn’t make the comeback stand. Jarrett Allen led Cleveland with 18 points and 19 rebounds. Hawks forward Jalen Johnson sprained his right ankle early in the third period and was helped off the court.
Kawhi Leonard had 28 points, and Paul George and James Harden each scored 21 as the Los Angeles Clippers rallied for a 122-116 win over the Houston Rockets. The Clippers trailed by as many as 20 points and didn’t lead in the second half until there were less than three minutes remaining. Los Angeles overcame another big night from Houston big man Alperen Sengun, who had 23 points, a season-high 19 rebounds and 14 assists for his fourth career triple-double. It came a night after he scored a career-best 45 points in a win over San Antonio.
DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points, including the go-ahead basket with a minute left, to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 119-117 victory over the Utah Jazz. Coby White scored 25 points, including seven 3-pointers, for the Bulls who survived a late comeback to beat Utah for the fourth straight time. Nikola Vucevic had 23 points and 12 rebounds. John Collins led Utah with 25 points and 14 rebounds. Collin Sexton had 24 points and seven assists. Brice Sensabaugh added a career-high 15 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in his first NBA start.
Stephen Curry had 29 points, Jonathan Kuminga scored 20, and the Golden State Warriors ran away from Milwaukee for a 125-90 win, handing the Bucks their first defeat since the All-Star break. Rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis had 15 points along with four of Golden State’s season-high 13 blocked shots to match his own career high. Kuminga swatted another three. Giannis Antetokounmpo, who missed Monday night’s win at home against the Clippers because of left Achilles tendinitis, had 23 points and seven rebounds. Damian Lillard finished with 20 points and six assists.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 37 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder held off a late rally by the Portland Trail Blazers for a 128-120 victory on Wednesday night. Jalen Williams added 31 points and Chet Holmgren finished with 21 points and a season-high 14 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which led by as many as 18 points. Anfernee Simons had 29 for the shorthanded Blazers, who have been beset by injuries.
De’Aaron Fox tied his career high with 44 points, Malik Monk added 26 and the Sacramento Kings bounced back with a 130-120 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. It was Fox’s seventh game this season with at least 40 points, fourth-most in the NBA. Domantas Sabonis recorded his fourth triple-double in seven games with 16 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists. He's the sixth player in NBA history with at least 22 triple-doubles in a season. LeBron James led the Lakers with 31 points and 13 assists while Rui Hachimura scored 29. Anthony Davis had 14 points and 11 rebounds.
NHL
Auston Matthews scored his NHL-leading 54th goal at 4:20 of overtime to give the Toronto Maple Leafs a 2-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres last night. Matthews took Mitch Marner’s feed from behind the net and beat Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen high to the blocker side. William Nylander also scored for Toronto and Ilya Samsonov made 24 saves, the best when he gloved Tage Thompson’s shot in overtime. The Maple Leafs are 10-2-0 in their last 12 and 36-18-8 overall. Victor Olofsson scored for Buffalo. Luukkonen stopped 25 shots. Buffalo failed to get a shot on goal for the first 14:50 on the scoreless first period. Nylander opened the scoring at 2:29 of the second with his 34th. Olofsson tied it at 6:31 of the second.
The Anaheim Ducks beat the Ottawa Senators 2-1. Alex Killorn scored the tiebreaking goal on a pass from rookie Olen Zellweger early in the third period of the Ducks’ third victory in four games. Ryan Strome also scored and Lukas Dostal made 29 saves for the Ducks in a meeting of two long-struggling franchises already playing out the string in seasons that will end in the extension of two playoff droughts stretching longer than a half-decade apiece. Mark Kastelic scored and Mads Sogaard stopped 14 shots for the Senators, who have lost five straight.
Cale Makar had his first career hat trick, Nathan MacKinnon extended his home points streak to 31 games with a goal and three assists and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Detroit Red Wings 7-2 on Wednesday night. Makar had the fourth hat trick by a defenseman in franchise history. He joined Sandis Ozolinsh (Dec. 6, 1999), Uwe Krupp (March 1, 1995) and Bryan Fogarty (Dec. 1, 1990), according to NHL Stats. Makar also had an assist. MacKinnon had his second straight four-point game. He has an NHL-leading 109 points. Artturi Lehkonen, Jonathan Drouin and Jean-Luc Foudy also scored. It was the first NHL goal for the recent call-up Foudy. Alexandar Georgiev stopped 27 shots for his 32nd win.
Stanley Cup contenders aren't waiting until the NHL trade deadline day to shore up depth for what they hope is a long playoff run. The league-leading Florida Panthers got deeper on the wing by acquiring Vladimir Tarasenko from Ottawa. Connor McDavid's Edmonton Oilers added a pair of centers in Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick from Anaheim. The New York Rangers added a player they coveted in Alexander Wennberg from Seattle. And Colorado loaded up by getting defenseman Sean Walker from Philadelphia and center Casey Mittelstadt from Buffalo.
NFL
The Buffalo Bills’ salary cap-related purge of players cut deep into the team’s core. Veteran safety Jordan Poyer and center Mitch Morse were among five players the team announced it had released. And cornerback Tre’Davious White is also being cut, a person with direct knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press. The person spoke to The AP on the condition of anonymity because the Bills did not announce White being cut because of the timing of his release is designated for June 1. Also cut were sixth-year backup cornerback Siran Neal, backup receiver Deonte Harty and running back Nyheim Hines.
In a span of just a few days in the 2022 offseason, the Denver Broncos and Cleveland Browns made aggressive trades to acquire what they hoped would be franchise-altering quarterbacks. The results so far have been very underwhelming, with the Broncos set to cut Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson providing little so far for the Browns. Those are part of a list of some of the worst deals in NFL history, including Minnesota’s deal with Dallas for Herschel Walker and a trade that sent future Hall of Famer Brett Favre to Green Bay.
The Bills saved another $8.6 million in cap space by restructuring edge rusher Von Miller's contract, a second person with direct knowledge of the deal told the AP. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Bills don't discuss contract discussions. Miller's restructured contract was first reported by ESPN.com.
Buffalo was also able to retain several pending unrestricted free agents. The Bills agreed to re-sign safety Taylor Rapp to a three-year contract, the first person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the deal has not been signed. The person said the Bills were also in talks with free agent quarterback Mitch Trubisky to fill the backup job he held in Buffalo in 2022 after spending last season with Pittsburgh.
The Bills announced re-signing backup offensive lineman David Edwards to a two-year contract extension, and punter Matt Haack to a one-year extension.
PGA TOUR
Bay Hill had a $20 million purse and a strong field that produced a dynamic finish last year. Now it's a signature event, and really the only change is a smaller field. Only 69 players are in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The signature events have smaller fields for the elite players, along with 16 players who earned their way in. But it's been quiet so far. Still to be determined is what kind of finish Bay Hill produces. The year so far on the PGA Tour has produced four first-time winners and only one winner from the top 50.
Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the BNP Paribas Open a day before he was supposed to play his first official match in two months. The 22-time Grand Slam champion posted the news on social media Wednesday night, writing that he was announcing the withdrawal “with great sadness.” The 37-year-old from Spain (Nadal missed nearly all of last season because of a hip injury that required surgery, then briefly returned to action for three matches in early January before tearing a muscle near the hip. That forced him to bypass the Australian Open — and he has not been on tour since. He was scheduled to face Milos Raonic on today.
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
UMass 66 Fordham 64
UConn 74 Marquette 67
L.J. Cryer scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half to lift No. 1 Houston to a 67-59 comeback victory over UCF that clinched at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season title in the Cougars’ first season in the conference. Houston led by nine points after a Cryer 3-pointer with 2:18 to play. UCF closed to within four with just over a minute to play, and then Cryer hit another clutch shot to pull away for the win. The Cougars trailed by as many as seven points and never led in the first half. C.J. Walker led UCF with 15 points.
Dalton Knecht had 26 points with five 3-pointers as No. 4 Tennessee won its first Southeastern Conference regular-season title since 2018 with a 66-59 victory over No. 17 South Carolina. The Volunteers withstood a late run by the Gamecocks, who cut a 14-point second-half deficit to 59-56 with 1:13 to play. But then Tennessee hit seven foul shots down the stretch to hold on and take a two-game lead in the SEC with one to play. Six years ago, Tennessee shared first place with Auburn. The last time the Vols had won an outright SEC regular-season title was 2008.
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