Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder routed the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-94 to win the Western Conference finals series 4-1 and advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012. Chet Holmgren had 22 points, seven rebounds and three blocks and Jalen Williams added 19 points and eight rebounds for the Thunder. Oklahoma City will play the Indiana Pacers or New York Knicks in the finals. Indiana leads the Eastern Conference finals series 3-1 with Game 5 to be played in New York City at 8 p.m. tonight/Thursday.
NHL PLAYOFFS
Florida 5 Carolina 3
Carter Verhaeghe broke a tie off a feed from Aleksander Barkov with 7:39 left and the defending champion Florida Panthers advanced to their third straight Stanley Cup Final, beating the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 on Wednesday night in Game 5. The Panthers beat the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference final for the second time in three seasons. The Panthers will face the winner of the Western final between Dallas and Edmonton, with the Oilers up 3-1 to put them within a win of a rematch with Florida for the Cup. The Stars face the Oilers tonight at 8. Sam Bennett added an empty-net goal with 54 seconds left by skating down a loose puck straight out of the penalty box after Florida had held up against a critical late power play for the Hurricanes.
Florida coach Paul Maurice did not shake hands with the Carolina Hurricanes when the Eastern Conference final ended. And he asked Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour not to shake hands with the Panthers, either. It wasn’t out of disrespect. Quite the contrary. The handshake line at the end of a playoff series is one of hockey’s sacred traditions. And Maurice thinks the handshakes are part of what makes the game great to hockey fans, and he’s all for it happening. He has just said repeatedly throughout this postseason that he thinks the coaches shouldn’t be part of it and that he wants it all about the players.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
N.Y. Yankees 1 L.A. Angels 0
Clarke Schmidt allowed four hits over six sharp innings and the New York Yankees made a first-inning run stand up in a 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. Schmidt struck out four and walked one in a fantastic 99-pitch effort to help the AL East leaders complete a three-game sweep. They have won five straight and nine of 10. Ian Hamilton threw 1 2/3 innings, Tim Hill got the last out of the eighth and Mark Leiter Jr. struck out two in the ninth for his second save. The Angels have lost five in a row since an eight-game winning streak. Yusei Kikuchi yielded four hits and five walks in five innings. He threw 93 pitches, 51 strikes.
Milwaukee 6 Boston 5
Caleb Durbin’s sacrifice fly drove in the winning run for the Milwaukee Brewers, who earned their first sweep of the season with a 6-5 victory over the Boston Red Sox in 10 innings. For the second consecutive day, the Brewers won in walk-off fashion in extra innings. Christian Yelich’s grand slam in the 10th gave them a 5-1 victory Tuesday night. Durbin’s late-game heroics Wednesday capped off a two-hit, three-RBI day and included a two-run double that gave Milwaukee its first lead of the day. Tyler Alexander got the win. Justin Slaten took the loss.
Chicago White Sox 9 N.Y. Mets 4
Andrew Benintendi had a season-high four RBIs and finished a double shy of the cycle, powering the Chicago White Sox to a 9-4 win over the New York Mets that prevented a three-game sweep. Benintendi laced a two-run single in the first inning and an RBI triple in the sixth before hitting his sixth homer in the eighth. Lenyn Sosa also had three hits and Mike Tauchman provided a two-run double for the White Sox, who avoided being swept for the seventh time this season. Mark Vientos hit a three-run homer for the Mets, whose four-game winning streak ended.
The second game of a three-game series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves was postponed because of rain and was rescheduled for Thursday as part of a day-night doubleheader. The Phillies will host Atlanta in the first game at 1:05 p.m., and the originally scheduled game remains at 6:45 p.m. The Phillies beat Atlanta 2-0 on Tuesday and have won 10 of 11 games overall to lead the NL East.
Tampa Bay 5 Minnesota 0
Houston 5 Athletics 3
Toronto 2 Texas 0
Cleveland 7 L.A. Dodgers 4
Detroit 4 San Francisco 3
St. Louis 6 Baltimore 4
Kansas City 3 Cincinnati 2
Washington 9 Seattle 0
Pittsburgh 10 Arizona 1
Miami 10 San Diego 8
Chicago Cubs 2 Colorado 1
WNBA
Washington 83 Indiana 77
FRENCH OPEN
Two-time Grand Slam finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas went out in the second round of the French Open, losing 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 to unseeded Matteo Gigante G Aun TAY for his earliest exit at Roland-Garros since 2018. The big-serving Greek reached the French Open final in 2021. He got into the quarterfinals here last year and the year before, and also made the semifinals at Roland-Garros in 2020. Tsitsipas went out in the second round in 2018. After this defeat Tsitsipas said he expected “bigger things” given his experience and berated himself for "playing immature sometimes.”
Casper Ruud is hardly an up-and-comer simply trying to make his way — and a living — in professional tennis. He’s a three-time Grand Slam finalist, ranked No. 8, the owner of more clay-court victories than any other man since 2020 and someone who’s earned nearly $25 million in prize money. And yet Ruud felt the need to play through pain for the better part of two months. He voiced concerns, also expressed by other players, that there is an overwhelming sense of obligation to take the court as often as possible, no matter one’s health, thanks to a schedule and a system Ruud called a “rat race.”
NFL
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams made an attempt to quiet a controversy about how he had wanted to go to the Minnesota Vikings rather than his current team. Williams says he did have interest in the Vikings after a visit there but it all ended when he made a trip to Chicago, which owned the first pick in the 2024 draft. Then he decided he wanted to be the one who ended a long drought since the Bears last had a winning quarterback. Williams also labeled as false a part of the report suggesting he didn't know how to watch film last year and the Bears failed to help him.
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
New England 1 D.C. United 1
New York 4 Charlotte FC 2
Houston 3 New York City FC 0
Philadelphia 2 Toronto FC 1
Miami 4 CF Montréal 2
Lionel Messi scored twice and had an assist, and Inter Miami broke out of its slump with a 4-2 rout of Montreal. Messi scored in the 27th and 87th minutes and set up Luis Suárez’s goal with some nice dribbling in the 68th minute on Wednesday. Suárez added another in the 71st. The win gave Messi’s slumping Inter Miami team just its second victory in its past eight contests. Miami last won a match on May 3, going 0-2-2 since then and dropping to sixth in the Eastern Conference. Dante Sealy and Victor Loturi scored for Montreal.
Atlanta 3 Orlando City 2
FC Dallas 3 Cincinnati 3
Nashville 2 Columbus 2
Seattle 1 San Diego FC 0
Real Salt Lake 1 Austin FC 1
San Jose 1 LA Galaxy 0
Sporting Kansas City 0 Los Angeles FC 0
Portland 2 Colorado 1
Minnesota 0 Vancouver 0
TRACK-AND-FIELD
California is opening up its track-and-field championship to more girls after a transgender athlete drew controversy for qualifying for the meet. The state announced the change Tuesday after high school junior AB Hernandez qualified for the final. President Donald Trump referenced Hernandez in a social media post saying California must comply with an executive order he issued aimed at barring trans girls from competing in girls sports. Debates are ongoing nationwide over fairness in sports and the participation of transgender female athletes. Some experts say the rule may be discriminatory while others say it adds inclusivity because more athletes can compete.
SEC'S SPRING MEETINGS:
Nothing less than the future of college sports is being hashed this week at the Southeastern Conference’s annual spring meetings in Florida. Among the topics are the future of the College Football Playoff, the SEC’s own schedule, the transfer portal and the NCAA itself. All are influenced by the fate of a multibillion-dollar lawsuit settlement that hovers over almost every corner of college athletics.
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