NBA
The matchup is now set: It’ll be Boston vs. Dallas for the Larry O’Brien Trophy, a series that starts on the Celtics’ home floor on June 6. This, after Luka Doncic had a 20-point first quarter on his way to 36 points for his high this postseason, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-103 to breeze through the Western Conference finals in five games. Kyrie Irving also scored 36 points for the Mavericks. They built a 29-point halftime lead on 61% shooting to deflate the once-energized crowd and went up by 36 in the third quarter. The Mavs have a week to rest before the NBA Finals begin in Boston. Anthony Edwards scored 28 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 28 points and 12 rebounds for the Wolves.
Kyrie Irving returning to Boston. Luka Doncic’s first trip to the title round. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, getting another chance at a ring. Kristaps Porzingis facing his former team, too. Pick a storyline. There are many in these NBA Finals.— meaning everyone will be sitting around and waiting for about a week, a byproduct of the Celtics and Mavericks making short work of their respective conference finals.
WNBA
Caitlin Clark scored 20 points and had nine assists while playing nearly the entire game but the Indiana Fever continued to struggle in a 103-88 loss to the Seattle Storm. Jewell Loyd had 22 points and Skylar Diggins-Smith added 18 points and nine assists as the Storm (5-3) scored a season high in points to improve to 5-3. Nneka Ogwumike scored 17 for the Storm. Fever forward NaLyssa Smith scored 15 of her team-high 23 points in the first half but as Indiana fell to 1-8. The Storm ripped off a 10-0 run in the first quarter and never trailed after that.
Marina Mabrey scored 20 points and tied a career high with six 3-pointers, Elizabeth Williams had 17 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks, and the Chicago Sky beat the Los Angeles Sparks 83-73 for their first home win of the season. Mabrey gave Chicago a 21-point lead with 6:59 remaining in the third quarter. Los Angeles battled back to within 67-58 entering the fourth. The Sky committed 10 fouls in the third quarter, turned it over six times and allowed 27 points. Los Angeles was within 78-69 with 2:16 left after Rickea Jackson completed a three-point play, but rookie Angel Reese made a shot in the lane on back-to-back possessions to extend Chicago’s lead to 82-69. Los Angeles was slowed by 18 turnovers.
NHL
Anton Lundell broke a tie with 9:38 left and the Florida Panthers moved within a victory of returning to the Stanley Cup Final, beating the New York Rangers 3-2 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final Thursday night. Gustav Forsling and Sam Bennett also scored, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 25 saves to help the Panthers win their second straight in the best-of-series series after losing Games 2 and 3 in overtime. Chris Kreider and Alexis Lafreniere scored for the Rangers, and Igor Shesterkin made 34 saves in another magnificent effort. The Panthers can end the series Saturday in Florida, where Game 6 is set for 8 p.m. If a seventh game is necessary, it will be at Madison Square Garden, where the Panthers have won twice this series.
MLB
Aaron Judge hit his 275th home run, Juan Soto broke things open with a bases-clearing triple in the seventh inning and the New York Yankees beat the Los Angeles Angels 8-3 when a pair of streaks ended. Anthony Volpe went 0 for 4, ending his hitting streak at 21 games. He matched Arizona’s Ketel Marte for the longest in the majors this season. Carlos Rodón allowed three runs in six-plus innings, ending the starting staff’s MLB-record run in which they have gone at least five innings and allowed two runs or fewer at 16 games. Logan O’Hoppe hit his fourth home run in eight games for the Angel
J.D. Martinez hit a go-ahead, eighth-inning home run, Francisco Lindor had four hits and drove in the tying run after Pete Alonso doubled as a pinch hitter and the New York Mets kept up their domination of the Arizona Diamondbacks with a 3-2 victory. Arizona ace Zac Gallen got hurt and left after his sixth pitch, forcing the NL champions to use relief pitchers for 24 outs. The Diamondbacks then wasted a two-run lead and lost their fourth straight game, matching their season high of six games under .500. Arizona has scored nine runs in its last six games.
Jack Flaherty allowed one hit over 6 2/3 innings, Akil Baddoo, Riley Greene and Gio Urshela hit home runs and the Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox 5-0. Flaherty carried a no-hitter through 6 1/3 innings and improved to 2-4. His bid was snapped when Boston outfielder Rob Refsnyder singled on a 3-2 pitch. The Red Sox had just two hits. Flaherty struck out nine and threw 66 of his 104 pitches for strikes. He was still featuring a mid 90s fastball before getting taken out with Detroit up 2-0. Boston pitcher Nick Pivetta tied Roger Clemens for the Red Sox record with eight consecutive strikeouts.
Ryan Jeffers homered twice and Carlos Correa added a two-out, bases-clearing triple in the sixth inning and the Minnesota Twins rallied from a four-run deficit for a 7-6 win over the Kansas City Royals. Reliever Chris Stratton allowed pinch-hitter Max Kepler’s RBI single and walked two batters to load the bases with two outs. Correa lifted a 3-1 fastball down the right-field line to break a 4-4 tie. Reliever Caleb Thielbar got the win for the Twins, who took three of four in the series. Vinnie Pasquantino and MJ Melendez each homered for Kansas City.
Jose Siri tied the game in the ninth with a home run and Richie Palacios hit an RBI single in the 12th to give the Tampa Bay Rays a 6-5 win over the Oakland Athletics. Siri pulled the Rays even at 4 on his second homer of the game Thursday, a solo shot off Mason Miller. It was the rookie’s first blown save in 12 chances. In the 12th, Richard Lovelady left runners stranded at second and third. Palacios’ RBI then gave Tampa Bay its second win of the three-game series and third in its past 10 games.
Spencer Arrighetti allowed two hits over six shutout innings to help the Houston Astros beat the Seattle Mariners 4-0 and avoid a four-game series sweep. Alex Bregman hit a two-run homer in the fourth against Mariners starter Logan Gilbert on Thursday. Kyle Tucker led off the inning with a single and Bregman put Houston up by a pair of runs with the shot that barely cleared the left-field wall. Victor Caratini hit a solo homer in the fifth against Gilbert. Arrighetti allowed just a pair of singles while walking three and striking out a career-high eight Seattle hitters.
Gary Sánchez hit a tiebreaking two-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning and the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Chicago Cubs 6-4. The NL Central-leading Brewers won three of four games against Chicago in a series that marked Cubs manager Craig Counsell’s return to American Family Field. Counsell is the winningest manager in Brewers history. He was showered with boos every time he left the dugout this week. Sánchez put the Brewers ahead for good with a 422-foot drive over the center-field wall on a 3-2 sweeper from Tyson Miller.
Trevor Williams combined with four relievers on a five-hitter and Washington beat Atlanta 3-1 for the Nationals’ first four-game series win over the Braves since 2016. Williams gave up only four hits and one run in 5 2/3 innings. The Nationals won three of four for their first four-game series win against Atlanta since Aug. 18-21, 2016 — the year before the Braves moved to Truist Park. Joey Meneses gave Washington a 2-0 lead over Ray Kerr with a two-run double. Atlanta is 12-14 in May and has scored three or fewer runs in 11 of the losses.
Jorge López has been cut by the struggling New York Mets, a day after the reliever threw his glove into the stands following his ejection at Citi Field. The Mets have seven days to trade or release López or to assign him outright to the minors if he goes unclaimed. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza had called the outburst “not acceptable” and said it would be handled internally. López expressed no remorse. López gave up a two-run homer to Shohei Ohtani late in a 10-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The right-hander was ejected moments later for shouting at third base umpire Ramon De Jesus.
Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen appears headed to the injured list after straining his right hamstring five pitches into a 3-2 loss to the New York Mets. The 28-year-old right-hander, who finished among the top five in NL Cy Young Award voting in each of the last two seasons, was scheduled to return to Phoenix on Friday for a scan. Gallen felt the injury on his knuckle-curve that Francisco Lindor lined to center for a leadoff single. Gallen also felt a hamstring issue in an April 26 start at Seattle and a May 18 outing against Detroit.
GOLF
For Nelly Korda, this was a most imperfect 10. The No. 1 player in women's golf had a shocker of a start in the U.S. Women's Open when she made a 10 on her third hole. She wound up with an 80, matching her worst score as a professional. Korda hit into the water three times on the par-3 12th hole. Korda hit her tee shot into a back bunker. Her sand shot went through the green into the water. She dropped on the other side of the stream, and her next two chips rolled back into the water. Korda says "today was just a bad day.”
Yuka Saso is leading the U.S. Women's Open with a 68 on a day of survival at Lancaster Country Club. The course is playing so difficult that only four players broke par. One of them was Adela Cernousek, the recent NCAA champion from France. Nelly Korda turned in the biggest shocker. She made a 10 on her third hole and went on to shoot 80. Korda wasn't alone. The leading 10 players in the women's world ranking averaged 75.5. Brooke Henderson and Lydia Ko each shot 80. Rose Zhang had a 79. Saso won the Women's Open three years ago.
TENNIS
Unseeded American Peyton Stearns’ elimination of No. 10 Daria Kasatkina at the French Open was one of several losses for seeded women on a rainy day filled with matches. Play was still continuing after midnight as Thursday turned to Friday because weather delays kept stopping the action and organizers were determined to complete the second round. It's a good thing the French tennis federation installed artificial lights on every court at Roland Garros in 2021. Stearns is a 22-year-old from Cincinnati who won an NCAA singles title at the University of Texas. She used 17 forehand winners through the cold, damp and slow conditions to defeat Kasatkina 7-5, 6-2.
NFL
A person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press that wide receiver Jaylen Waddle has agreed to a three-year, $84.75 million contract extension with the Miami Dolphins. The deal includes $76 million guaranteed and keeps Waddle under contract through the 2028 season. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract details have not been announced. Waddle will now become one of the highest-paid receivers in the NFL after three productive seasons to start his pro career.
NCAA
Schools in basketball-centric leagues face the challenge of generating revenue to pay future players without the lucrative revenues from football. The NCAA and major college conferences approved the settlement of a federal class-action lawsuit on paying athletes. That includes paying $2.77 billion to former athletes over 10 years. But leagues like the Big East, Atlantic 10 and West Coast Conferences depend on basketball, which lags behind football in terms of generating revenue. That could create challenges in keeping up with teams in the power conferences when it comes to the ability to pay future players.
© 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
