The top seed is out after just two rounds and 10 games of the NBA playoffs. The Heat are in the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in six years following a 103-94 win over the Bucks.
Playing without Giannis Antetokounmpo because of a sprained ankle, the Bucks raced out to a 28-15 lead but couldn't sustain the momentum. Miami answered with a 30-9 spurt that put the Heat ahead, 45-37. Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic each scored 17 points for the Heat, who overcame 22 turnovers and clinched their seventh trip to the conference finals since 2005. The Bucks are just the sixth No. 1 seed to fail to advance to the conference finals since the playoffs expanded to 16 teams in 1984. Khris Middleton scored a game-high 23 points for the Bucks. Next up for Miami is the winner of the East semifinal series between the Celtics and Raptors, which Boston leads, three games to two.
The Los Angeles Lakers enjoy a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference finals after beating the Houston Rockets for the second straight game. LeBron James scored 36 points and Rajon Rondo sparked a fourth-quarter rally in the Lakers' 112-102 win over the Rockets. Rondo scored eight straight points during a 10-0 run early in the fourth quarter that put the Lakers ahead for good. He finished with 21 points and nine assists to help James set an NBA record with his 162nd career playoff win, surpassing Derek Fisher. Anthony Davis had 26 points and Kyle Kuzma added 14. James Harden scored 33 points and Russell Westbrook had 30 for the Rockets.
In NBA news:
Billy Donovan won't return after five seasons as coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Donovan took the Thunder to the playoffs every year. He was a finalist for Coach of the Year this season after his squad outperformed expectations and pushed the Rockets to seven games in the first round of the playoffs. Donovan went 243-157 with Oklahoma City. Donovan was at the end of his contract. He and the team described his departure as a mutual decision.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was the Defensive Player of the Year, so it should be no surprise that he was also the leading vote-getter for the league's All-Defensive team. The Bucks forward appeared on 97 of the first-team ballots out of 100 cast by a global panel of sports writers and broadcasters who cover the league. Also on the first team: Lakers forward Anthony Davis, 76ers guard Ben Simmons, Jazz center Rudy Gobert and Celtics guard Marcus Smart.
The Clippers have received final approval from Inglewood's city government to begin construction on their new arena next summer. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is building a privately financed 18,000-seat arena along with a practice facility and corporate offices for his NBA franchise. Ballmer intends to open his new arena in 2024, immediately following the expiration of his team's lease at Staples Center.
NBA coaches or other team staffers could have guests in the bubble later this month. Team staffs would be limited to a total of 10 guests, all of whom would have to begin a self-quarantining period at home immediately. The would then travel to Central Florida next week to begin another week of even stricter lockdown.
NHL
The Vegas Golden Knights turned the tables on the Dallas Stars to even the NHL's Western Conference final at a game apiece. Two days after a shutout loss in the opener, the Knights allowed just 24 shots and blanked the Stars, 3-0. Robin Lehner posted his second consecutive shutout and fourth of the postseason. All the scoring came in a 10-minute span of the second period, beginning with Paul Stastny's goal at the 4:53 mark. Stastny also set up William Karlsson's power-play goal about 3 ½ minutes later. Tomas Nosek capped the scoring for the Knights, who put 32 shots on Anton Khudobin. Game 3 is Thursday.
MLB
The New York Yankees' slump continues as they threaten to fall out of the American League playoff picture. Jonathan Davis belted a two-run homer in his first at-bat of the season to spark the Blue Jays' third straight win, 2-1 over New York. Shun Yamaguchi allowed one run in two innings of relief to earn the win. The Yankees have dropped five straight and 15 of 20 to fall to 21-21. They sit behind the Blue Jays and first-place Rays in the AL East.
Elsewhere around the majors:
The Orioles homered four times as Ryan Mountcastle belted a two-run blast and Rio Ruiz added a three-run shot in an 11-2 dismantling of the Mets. The Orioles won their fourth straight and improved to 20-21, moving within a half-game of the slumping Yankees for the second wild-card spot.
Alec Bohm hit a two-out, two-run single in the seventh inning to rally the Phillies over the Red Sox 6-5 in Game 1 of a twinbill. Bohm drove in four runs with three hits, including his winner off Matt Barnes. The Red Sox took Game 2 as Bobby Dalbec homered for his fourth straight game a two-run shot in the sixth inning of a 5-2 victory against the Phillies.
Juan Soto drove in a run in his return to the lineup and the Nationals used strong relief pitching to beat the Rays 5-3 and sweep the two-game series. Soto missed five games with left elbow soreness.
The Twins and Cardinals split a doubleheader in St. Louis. Josh Donaldson, Nelson Cruz and Miguel Sanó all homered to lead the Minnesota Twins to a 7-3 victory in the first game. Jose Berrios picked up the win, striking out eight but allowing three runs and four hits over five innings.
Matt Wieters hit 14 foul balls during a 19-pitch at-bat that ended with a flyout as the Cards scratched out a 6-4 win in the nightcap. The Redbirds scored five runs in third, including a pair of bases-loaded walks, a hit batter and a fielder's choice.
Pinch-runner Jason Martin scored the winning run on catcher Yasmani Grandal's error in the bottom of the ninth as the Pirates rallied for a 5-4 victory over the White Sox. The error came after Grandal hit a two-run home run and Jose Abreu extended his hitting streak to 21 games for Chicago.
Khris Davis homered and hit an RBI double against previously unbeaten Zack Greinke as the Athletics dealt the Astros their sixth straight loss, 4-2 in Game 1 of a doubleheader. The Astros ended their skid by getting a tiebreaking, sacrifice fly from Yuli Gurriel in the seventh inning of a 5-4 win against Oakland. The split keeps Houston 4 1/2 games behind the AL-West-leading A's.
Kansas City snapped a seven-game losing streak by beating the Indians 8-6. Maikel Franco drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning and had an RBI single in the ninth for the Royals.
Elvis Andrus homered and the Rangers snapped a six-game slide with a 7-1 win over the Angels. Lance Lynn struck out six, walked two and limited Los Angeles to one run on four hits over seven innings to help Texas end the Angels' five-game winning streak.
The Dodgers pulled out a 10-9 win over the Diamondbacks by tying it with a four-run eighth before surviving a wild 10th inning. Gavin Lux launched a three-run homer to put Los Angeles ahead by four in the 10th, but Kenley Jensen allowed three runs in the 10th before fanning Wyatt Mathisen, to end it.
The Mariners' six-game winning streak is over after pinch-hitter Darin Ruf homered with one out in the seventh to complete the Giants' comeback in a 6-5 triumph over Seattle. Alex Dickerson and Mauricio Dubón also went deep for the Giants, who erased a 5-1 deficit to win for the seventh time in nine games.
Sixto Sánchez combined with four relievers on a four-hitter as the Marlins clobbered the Braves, 8-0. Jorge Alfaro, Garrett Cooper and Matt Joyce homered as Miami dumped Atlanta for the second straight day.
Wil Myers homered twice, including San Diego's seventh grand slam of the season as the Padres blasted the Rockies, 14-6. Austin Nola hit a three-run shot to back Mike Clevinger, who struck out eight but was reached for four runs and five hits in five innings.
The Cubs were 3-0 winners over the Reds as Alec Mills pitched six sharp innings and David Bote drove in two runs. Milles permitted four hits with six strikeouts and three walks in his first win since Aug. 24.
Spencer Turnbull allowed three hits in six scoreless innings, and the Tigers broke the game open with five runs in the fifth on their way to an 8-3 victory over the Brewers. Jeimer Candelario homered and drove in four runs for Detroit.
In MLB news:
The Braves' season-long rotation woes continue as Max Fried has been placed on the 10-day injured list. Fried had been the only current healthy member of the projected rotation before the season began. The latest blow to the rotation could accelerate the team's plans to have Cole Hamels rushed into action for his 2020 debut.
The Padres have put first baseman Eric Hosmer on the 10-day injured list with a broken left index finger. Manager Jayce Tingler said the recovery time could be two to three weeks.
The Cubs have added well-traveled outfielder Billy Hamilton to their active roster and optioned slumping slugger José Martínez to their alternate training site. Hamilton was claimed off waivers from the Mets on Monday after going 1 for 22 in 17 games with New York.
The Brewers have released first baseman Justin Smoak, who had been designated for assignment last week. Smoak hit .186 with five home runs and 15 RBIs in 33 games for the Brewers.
Former American League President Gene Budig has died. Budig brought an academic pedigree to the job and was the last one to hold the post, serving in the post from 1994 until 2000 when owners abolished league presidents.
All Puerto Rican players will be allowed to wear No. 21 on Wednesday during Major League Baseball's Roberto Clemente Day celebration. The move to wear the number started with the Pittsburgh Pirates and is similar to MLB's celebration of Jackie Robinson's No. 42 each April 15. Clemente died in a plane crash on Dec, 31, 1972, following takeoff from Puerto Rico on a flight to bring relief supplies to Nicaragua following an earthquake.
TENNIS
Two-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka set up a U.S. Open semifinal against 28th-seeded Jennifer Brady, who's never been this far at a major tournament. Osaka played far cleaner tennis than her opponent in a 6-3, 6-4 win over 93rd-ranked Shelby Rogers. Rogers finished with 27 unforced errors, Osaka with eight. The former No. 1-ranked played won the U.S. Open two years ago. Earlier, Brady defeated No. 23 seed Yulia Putintseva, 6-3, 6-2. It's been quite a surge for Brady, whose big serve and forehand have carried her to an 11-1 record since tennis returned from its pandemic hiatus.
On the men's side, Pablo Carreño Busta reached the semifinals for the second time with a marathon 3-6, 7-6, 7-6, 0-6, 6-3 win over Denis Shapovalov. The four-hour tussle came two days after Busta advanced when top seed Novak Djokovic was disqualified in the first set of their match. And Alexander Zverev is a Grand Slam semifinalist for the second time in as many majors this year. The fifth-seeded Zverev advanced to the final four by rallying past No. 27 Borna Coric 1-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-3, overcoming 12 double-faults and 46 unforced errors.
NFL
The Giants have waived cornerback DeAndre Baker, with the 22-year-old facing armed robbery charges relating to an incident in Florida in May. Baker has been on the commissioner's exempt list since July 27.
In other NFL news:
A person with knowledge of the situation tells The Associated Press the Denver Broncos fear star linebacker Von Miller suffered a season-ending ankle injury toward the end of Tuesday's practice. Miller appeared primed for a big season following an offseason in which he added several pounds of muscle and said he had rededicated himself to the sport.
Running back Kareem Hunt has signed a two-year, $13.25 million extension with the Browns. Hunt served an eight-game NFL suspension last year after joining Cleveland as a free agent.
The Cardinals have agreed to a two-year contract extension with star receiver DeAndre Hopkins that will keep the three-time All-Pro in Arizona through the 2024 season. The NFL Network reported that the extension is worth $54.5 million over two years, with $42.75 million guaranteed. The deal also has a no-trade clause and no-franchise tag clause.
Washington coach Ron Rivera missed his team's first game week practice to start treatment for a form of skin cancer. Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio stepped in and ran practice as planned when Rivera was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma.
The Jaguars have promoted quarterback Mike Glennon from the practice squad to the active roster and placed linebacker Quincy Williams on injured reserve. Glennon gives the Jaguars an experienced backup heading into the opener against Indianapolis on Sunday.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Leaders of six state legislatures in the Big Ten footprint have sent a letter to Commissioner Kevin Warren asking the conference to reconsider its decision to cancel the fall football season. The letter is written on the letterhead of Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield and also signed by statehouse leaders from Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. The Big Ten, and Warren in particular, have received strong pushback since the conference announced that university presidents voted to push back football and other fall sports until the second semester because of the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, Baylor became the third Big 12 team to postpone its scheduled season opener this week because of the coronavirus. The Bears were supposed to open at home Saturday against Louisiana Tech, but the visiting school announced that it would not be able to play because of a number of recent positive COVID-19 tests.
THOROUGHBRED RACING
Saratoga Race Course has completed its 40-day meet and all-sources handle topped $700 million for the second consecutive year despite being conducted without fans. Total handle was $702.5 million, just off last year’s mark of $705.3 million, with an average daily handle of $17.5 million. Klaravich Stables was the meet’s leading owner with 13 wins, Todd Pletcher won the training title for the 14th time with 32 wins, and Irad Ortiz Jr. won the riding title with 59 wins, one more than brother Jose.
TRACK
Two-time Olympic champion Caster Semenya has lost her long legal battle against track and field's rules to limit female runners' naturally high testosterone levels. Switzerland's supreme court says its judges dismissed Semenya's appeal against a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling last year that upheld the rules drafted by track's governing body affecting female runners with differences of sex development. The Swiss Federal Tribunal said CAS had the right to uphold the rules to guarantee fair competition for certain running disciplines in female athletics.
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