NBA
Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points and Evan Mobley had 21 points and 10 rebounds to help the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the top-seeded Boston Celtics 118-94 to tie their second-round playoff series at one game apiece. Two nights after losing by 25, the Cavaliers seized the lead in the third quarter and answered with a blowout of their own. Mitchell scored 16 in the third. Jayson Tatum scored 25 for Boston, and Jaylen Brown added 19 points. The series moves to Cleveland for Games 3 and 4 on Saturday and Monday, with a return trip to Boston for Game 5 on Wednesday.
Luka Doncic had 29 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 119-110 to even their Western Conference semifinals series at one win apiece. The Thunder held Doncic to 19 points on 6-for-19 shooting in Game 1. He bounced back and made 11 of 21 field goals in Game 2. P.J. Washington added 29 points and 11 rebounds for the Mavericks. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 33 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists and Jalen Williams added 20 points for the Thunder. Oklahoma City lost for the first time in the postseason.
OG Anunoby won’t play for the New York Knicks in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at 7 tonight in Indiana because of a strained left hamstring. Jalen Brunson is questionable with his sore right foot. The Knicks lead the series 2-0. Brunson returned from his injury after missing the second quarter to lead the Knicks to a 130-121 victory Wednesday over the Indiana Pacers. But Anunoby was hurt in the second half after scoring a career playoff-high 28 points, leaving the Knicks’ injury-depleted frontcourt without yet another starter. The forward limped off the court holding the back of his leg. The Knicks are 26-5 this season with Anunoby in the lineup.
The Indiana Pacers have, as coach Rick Carlisle said they would, sent 78 plays they believe were officiated incorrectly from the first two games of their series against the New York Knicks to the NBA office for review, a person with knowledge of the action said Thursday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because neither the Pacers nor the league had publicly confirmed the clips were actually sent. Officials acknowledged an incorrectly called kicked ball violation late in Game 1, but the Pacers believed there were plenty other instances of wrong whistles.
The Phoenix Suns have fired coach Frank Vogel after one disappointing season. The team made the announcement on Thursday, less than two weeks after getting swept out of the first round of the NBA playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Suns finished the regular season with a 49-33 record. Vogel won a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020. Vogel was hired last summer to lead the Suns’ All-Star trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, but the group was never quite able to gel.
NHL PLAYOFFS
Artemi Panarin redirected a pass between his legs at the crease to beat Pyotr Kochetkov just 1:43 into overtime and the New York Rangers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 on Thursday night to take a 3-0 lead in the second-round playoff series. Panarin scored after Carolina defenseman Dmitry Orlov lost control of a puck in the corner in the defensive zone. Vincent Trocheck collected it on the right side and sent it toward the crease to Panarin, who tipped the puck behind him as defenseman Jalen Chatfield tried to push him away from the crease. The puck slipped under the right elbow and past the ribs of Kochetkov. The Rangers can complete the sweep in Game 4 in Carolina at 7 Saturday night.
Dallas defenseman Miro Heiskanen scored two power-play goals, Roope Hintz had a goal and three assists and the Stars beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-3 in Game 2 on Thursday night to even the second-round Western Conference series. Tyler Seguin got his first goal this postseason on a short-hander at the end of a 3-on-1 breakaway for the Stars that put them up 4-0 late in the second period. Esa Lindell added an empty-netter with 20 seconds left. Jake Oettinger had 28 saves for Dallas. Joel Kiviranta, Brandon Duhaime and Valeri Nichushkin scored in the third period for the Avalanche.
Elsewhere, the Panthers and Bruins face off in Game 3 at 7 tonight in Boston.
MLB
Yordan Alvarez and Jon Singleton each hit long homers in the first inning for the Houston Astros who beat the New York Yankees 4-3 to avoid being swept in the season series. Alvarez hit a two-out solo shot off Marcus Stroman into the second deck in right field measured at 116.8 mph. Two batters later, Singleton hit a two-run homer off the facade along the third deck clocked at 115.4 mph. Anthony Volpe hit a two-run homer off Astros starter Ronel Blanco. Aaron Judge also homered for the Yankees.
Manny Margot highlighted a five-run first inning for Minnesota with a three-run double off Seattle ace Logan Gilbert, and the Twins beat the Mariners 11-1 to win their fifth consecutive series. Pablo López pitched into the seventh with a season-high 10 strikeouts to win his third straight start. Ryan Jeffers and Max Kepler each homered and drove in two runs and Margot matched his career high with five RBIs as the Twins won for the 15th time in 17 games. Gilbert gave up eight runs for his most since he was a rookie in 2021.
Erick Fedde worked six scoreless innings, Tommy Pham had two hits and an RBI and the Chicago White Sox held on to beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-2. Chicago won its second straight and for the fourth time in six games to improve to 10-28. The White Sox no longer have the worst record in the majors, moving ahead of the Colorado Rockies, who are 9-28. Andrew Vaughn and Paul DeJong added RBIs for Chicago. José Ramírez and Josh Naylor launched back-to-back solo homers off Chicago reliever John Brebbia with two outs in the eighth inning for AL Central-leading Cleveland.
Dairon Blanco had three hits, including a two-run homer in the third, Michael Wacha picked up his first win in over a month and the Kansas City Royals rolled to a 10-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. Vinnie Pasquantino also had a two-run homer in the third and drove in three runs for the Royals, who have won three of four. Pasquantino has nine RBIs in his last five games. Maikel Garcia added three hits, including a two-run double in the sixth. The Angels had five hits and are 4-12 at The Big A for the worst home start in franchise history.
Slade Cecconi pitched 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball, Corbin Carroll drove in the game-winning run with an eighth-inning single and the Arizona Diamondbacks hung on to beat Cincinnati 5-4. The win Thursday capped a series sweep and extended the Reds’ losing skid to eight games. Joc Pederson homered in the first inning for Arizona, which won its fourth straight. Five different players drove in runs. Spencer Steer’s two-out single in the seventh inning tied the game for the struggling Reds, but Carroll’s two-out hit in the eighth brought home Tucker Barnhart and gave Arizona a lead that stuck.
Ezequiel Tovar had a triple, double and single and Brenton Doyle hit a three-run homer in a seven-run outburst in the fourth inning as the Colorado Rockies snapped a four-game skid with a 9-1 win over the San Francisco Giants. Colorado, which entered the game with the worst record in the majors, won for just the ninth time and avoided being swept for the fourth time this season. Charlie Blackmon drove in two runs and finished a homer shy of hitting for the cycle for Colorado. Michael Conforto homered for San Francisco.
Rhys Hoskins, Jake Bauers and Joey Ortiz all homered to cool off Sonny Gray as the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the slumping St. Louis Cardinals 7-1. The Cardinals suffered their fifth straight loss as they opened a four-game series with the NL Central-leading Brewers. William Contreras and Christian Yelich each went 3 of 4 for the Brewers. Milwaukee scored six runs off Gray during his five-inning stint. Gray entered the game with an 0.89 ERA through five starts.
WNBA
Caitlin Clark walked into her new home arena with No. 22 shirts and jerseys peppered from floor to ceiling. A late-arriving but louder-than-usual crowd roared during her first official introduction to Fever fans on Thursday night. And when the former Iowa star made the layup for her first basket with 7:00 left in the first quarter, the applause grew. It was even louder when she completed a three-point play a few minutes later. She had 12 points to help lead the Fever to an 83-80 preseason win over the Atlanta Dream. It was a moment Fever fans have dreaming about since they won the lottery in December.
GOLF
Rory McIlroy hoped that his victory with Shane Lowry two weeks ago in the Zurich Classic team event would serve as a springboard for the remainder of the season. He’s off to a good start. McIlroy positioned himself for a run at a record fourth Wells Fargo Championship title Thursday, opening with a 4-under 67 that left him three shots behind leader Xander Schauffele. Collin Morikawa and Alex Noren also shot 67, and Justin Thomas topped the group at 68. Quail Hollow is one of McIlroy’s favorite courses, and with good reason after victories in 2010, ‘15 and ’21.
Tiger Woods has company in player negotiations with the Saudi-backers of LIV Golf. Rory McIlroy says he and Adam Scott also are on the transactional subcommittee of the PGA Tour Enterprises board. It was yet another twist in the bizarre governance being played among as the PGA Tour tries to work out a deal with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. The tour disclosed only five people on the subcommittee. Its latest release shows McIlroy and Scott part of the group. McIlroy says he's already been involved in discussions. He says he has no vote, only a voice.
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