Bennedict Mathurin scored 27 off the bench, Tyrese Haliburton scored 22 and the Indiana Pacers reclaimed the lead in the NBA Finals by beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 116-107 in Game 3 on Wednesday night. Haliburton also had 11 assists and nine rebounds for the Pacers, who got 21 points from Pascal Siakam and enjoyed a whopping 49-18 edge in bench points on their way to a 2-1 lead in the series. The Pacers, who lost Game 2 in Oklahoma City, improved to 10-0 in mid-March in the game immediately following a loss. Jalen Williams scored 26 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 and Chet Holmgren had 20 for the Thunder, who led by five going into the fourth. Game 4 is tomorrow night at 8:30
The New York Knicks have been denied permission to speak with coaches Jason Kidd of Dallas, Ime Udoka of Houston and Chris Finch of Minnesota in a slow start to find Tom Thibodeau’s replacement. All three coaches are under contract and two people with knowledge of the details say their organizations declined to make them available for interviews with the Knicks. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the interview process was to remain private. The Knicks fired Thibodeau on June 3, despite reaching the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years.
WNBA
Phoenix 93 Dallas 80
Seattle 94 Minnesota 84
Los Angeles 97 Las Vegas 89
NHL
Edmonton at Florida 8 p.m.
Coach Kris Knoblauch says the Edmonton Oilers are likely making a change for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers. Knoblauch would not reveal what the move would be. He also declined to reveal his starting goaltender between Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard. Game 4 is tonight at 8 in Florida. Top-line forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is again going to be considered a game-time decision with an undisclosed injury. One possibility is veteran defenseman John Klingberg getting scratched after a rough start to the series. Troy Stecher figures to take his place.
Cale Makar captured the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman for a second time in four seasons. The Colorado Avalanche standout finished the regular season with 30 goals to become to first NHL blueliner to reach that mark since Mike Green scored 31 for Washington in 2008-09. Makar also led all defensemen this season with 62 assists and 92 points. He received first-place votes on 176 of the 191 ballots cast by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. The 26-year-old from Calgary, Alberta, has been a finalist in each of the last five seasons.
MLB
Boston 4 Tampa Bay 3
Marcelo Mayer’s first major league home run was greeted by a chorus of boos as he rounded the bases at New York’s Yankee Stadium last week. The Red Sox rookie added his latest two homers on much friendlier soil. Mayer hit a pair of solo home runs, two of four on the day for Boston, to help the Red Sox claim the rubber match of their three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 on Wednesday. The 22-year-old, who has played 15 games since being called up May 24, is the youngest Red Sox player to have a multi-homer game since Rafael Devers in 2018.
Red Sox rookie Hunter Dobbins made some headlines prior to his first career start against the Yankees last week when he said he’d rather retire than pitch for New York. Now he’s explaining why the claims he made about his father once playing in the minors for Boston’s longtime rival aren’t the intentional fabrication that a New York newspaper report says. Dobbins says the references he made stemmed from stories passed along from his father when he was a kid and nothing more. He says he understands the fervor his comments created and says his focus now is on his upcoming matchup with the Yankees this weekend.
N.Y. Mets 5 Washington 0
David Peterson pitched a six-hitter for the first nine-inning complete game of his professional career, and the New York Mets beat the Washington Nationals 5-0 for their fifth straight win. Brandon Nimmo homered twice and Juan Soto went deep against his former team for the second consecutive night. Pete Alonso put the Mets ahead in the first inning with his major league-high 63rd RBI, his 20th in the past 10 games. NL East-leading New York moved a season-best 20 games over .500 at 44-24. Peterson won his third decision in a row, striking out six and walking none in a game that took just 2 hours, 16 minutes. He threw 106 pitches and lowered his ERA to 2.49.
N.Y. Yankees 6 Kansas City 3
Aaron Judge homered for the third consecutive game, helping the Yankees to a 6-3 win over the Royals on Wednesday night. Clarke Schmidt earned the win, allowing two hits over six innings while walking three and striking out seven. Paul Goldschmidt had a pair of RBIs during a five-run second inning that set the tone for New York. Kris Bubic allowed all five of those runs for Kansas City, lasting just 4 1/3 innings. The Yankees improved to 5-0 against Kansas City this season and 12-3 since the start of last season, including their series win in the playoffs. Salvador Perez hit a two-run homer in the ninth for the Royals.
Philadelphia 7 Chicago Cubs 2
Kyle Schwarber homered, Alec Bohm hit a solo shot and had four RBIs, and Jesús Luzardo struck out 10 in six innings to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-2 win over the Chicago Cubs. Nick Castellanos also knocked his first triple of the year, and Max Kepler and Trea Turner both doubled. Luzardo didn’t walk a batter, allowed only one run and recorded his fourth double-digit strikeout game in his 15th start. Max Lazar worked two innings of relief and Michael Mercado tossed a scoreless ninth for the Phillies.
Cleveland 11 Cincinnati 2
Toronto 5 St. Louis 2
Arizona 5 Seattle 2
L.A. Angels 6 Athletics 5
Baltimore 10 Detroit 1
Houston 10 Chicago White Sox 2
Minnesota 6 Texas 2
Pittsburgh 5 Miami 2
Atlanta 6 Milwaukee 2
L.A. Dodgers 5 San Diego 2
San Francisco 10 Colorado 7
GOLF
The star of this U.S. Open is Oakmont. Rory McIlroy had a peaceful start to his final day of practice with the sun rising on the horizon. The chaos begins when the score starts to count in the opening round Thursday. Oakmont is reputed to be the toughest course in the land. The U.S. Open prides itself on being the toughest test in golf. Scottie Scheffler is the favorite. He's coming off three wins in his last four starts. That includes the PGA Championship. U.S. Open official says they don't try to protect par. Oakmont usually does that for them.
On the 25-year anniversary of Woods’ historic dismantling of Pebble Beach in the U.S. Open — a milestone win that some thought might puncture golf’s stereotype as a sport for rich, white men — Chase Johnson is the only player of Black heritage in the 156-man field at Oakmont. The last man to qualify for this year's Open, Johnson says he's trying to build his profile so maybe he can inspire young players the way Woods once inspired him.
NCAA
Eight female athletes have filed an appeal of a landmark NCAA antitrust settlement. They argue that women would not receive their fair share of $2.7 billion in back pay for athletes who were barred from making money off their name, image and likeness. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken approved the settlement last week. The athletes who appealed the settlement Wednesday competed in soccer, volleyball and track. An attorney representing the women says the settlement violates Title IX, the federal law that bans sex-based discrimination in education. The attorney says female athletes are being deprived of $1.1 billion.
World Cup
When the 2026 World Cup begins across North America one year from this week, sports figures from across Los Angeles are hoping the global soccer community will find the U.S. both inspiring and welcoming. The Fox network marked the one-year milestone Wednesday night with a big party at its studio lot in Century City. The attendees all expressed excitement about the return of the world’s premier soccer tournament to the U.S. while acknowledging the uncertainty of whether the nation’s fraught political climate could present challenges to the teams, the World Cup organizers and the network that will broadcast the tournament domestically.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Deion Sanders posted on social media that “everything is OKAY” after not being able to attend football camps in Boulder, Colorado, so far this spring. The Colorado coach’s health has come into question because of his extended absence. Sanders thanked al the well wishers on X for all their thoughts and prayers. He added that once he arrives back in Boulder he will give updates. The 57-year-old Sanders has dealt with issues surrounding his left foot since having two toes amputated in 2021 because of blood clot issues while at Jackson State.
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