May 4, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Anaheim Ducks right wing Beckett Sennecke (45) shoots against the Vegas Golden Knights during the second period of game one of the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Beckett Sennecke, Leo Carlsson and Jansen Harkins scored, Lukas Dostal came 5.6 seconds from his first career playoff shutout and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-1 on Wednesday night to even their series at a game apiece.
The Ducks head home with the chance to grab hold of the best-of-seven second-round NHL playoff series, with Game 3 on Friday night. Vegas hopes to pull off a repeat of its first-round series when the Golden Knights went to Utah at 1-1 before winning in six games.
Sennecke, a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy that goes to the league’s top rookie, became the fourth Ducks player 20 or younger to score multiple goals in a postseason.
Dostal saved 23 shots and nearly had his third career shutout, including regular-season play, before Mark Stone scored a power-play goal in the closing seconds.
Carter Hart made 25 saves for the Golden Knights. Brett Howden’s four-game goal streak ended, as did Ivan Barbarshev’s seven-game point streak.
The Golden Knights’ penalty kill gave them a chance. They killed all five penalties, including a stretch of 6:19 in the first period in which the Golden Knights took four penalties, including a double minor by Jack Eichel for high sticking. Vegas has killed off 19 straight penalties this postseason and is 24 of 25 overall.
But offense again was at a premium for Vegas, and coach John Tortorella adjusted his lines to try to find some life. Stone moved to the top line, William Karlsson shifted to the second and Pavel Dorofeyev dropped to the third.
Ducks coach Joel Quenneville found some magic by moving Cutter Gauthier up to the second line with Mikael Granlund and Alex Killorn. That group had 20 scoring chances to one for Vegas in just 6:25 of action after two periods, according to Natural Stat Trick. They finished with a 23-5 advantage.
The Ducks broke through in the second period, controlling play for about six minutes as Vegas struggled to keep the puck out of its zone. Then finally it was too much, Jeffrey Viel passing from below the goal line to Sennecke, camped out in front of the net for the 1-0 lead with 8:37 left in the period.
Troy Terry’s backhand pass to Carlsson at 6:36 of the third period made it 2-0 for the Ducks. Harkins added an empty-net goal with 3:30 remaining.
For the second straight playoff series, the Golden Knights are headed out of town for Games 3 and 4 tied 1-1, and home ice squandered after losing Game 2.
The Anaheim Ducks scored three unanswered goals and cruised to a 3-1 win Wednesday night to knot the second-round series at one game apiece.
Beckett Sennecke, Leo Carlsson and Jansen Harkins scored for the Ducks, while Lukas Dostal made 21 saves.
Vegas captain Mark Stone saved the Knights from enduring their third-ever home shutout loss in the playoffs when he scored with six seconds left in the game. Goalie Carter Hart made 25 saves.
KEY MOMENT
At the midway point of the first period, Anaheim's Tim Washe was called for goaltender interference, giving the Golden Knights their first power-play opportunity. Vegas had already staved off Anaheim's first two power-play chances and had the chance to seize momentum with the third-best home power play of the playoffs. Instead, the Knights didn't even get a shot on goal.
KEY STAT
4 ... Wednesday marked the fourth-straight Game 2 playoff loss at home for the Knights. Last year they fell to the Minnesota Wild in the opening round, as the two split the first two games. The Knights went on to win the series, 4-2. In the second round, the Edmonton Oilers won both Games 1 and 2, but then won Game 3 in Canada to cut the series lead in half. In this year's opening round, the Knights lost Games 2 and 3 to the Utah Mammoth, before winning Games 4-6 to advance. The Golden Knights have now lost Game 2 seven times, and are 3-3 after doing so the first six times.
WHAT A KNIGHT
Though he didn't score or have anything to do with Stone's goal, give Ivan Barbashev the nod for this space. Barbashev, who scored the game-winning goal in Game 1 and failed to register a point for the first time this postseason, still led the team with five shots on goal. He had three other shots blocked and led the team with eight hits.
UP NEXT
The teams continue their series in Anaheim for Game 3 on Friday night.
PHOTO CAPTION
Anaheim Ducks defenseman Pavel Mintyukov (98) blocks a shot by Vegas Golden Knights left wing Ivan Barbashev (49) during the third period of game two of the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Beckett Sennecke, Leo Carlsson and Jansen Harkins scored, Lukas Dostal came 5.6 seconds from his first career playoff shutout and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-1 on Wednesday night to even their series at a game apiece.
The Ducks head home with the chance to grab hold of the best-of-seven second-round NHL playoff series, with Game 3 on Friday night. Vegas hopes to pull off a repeat of its first-round series when the Golden Knights went to Utah at 1-1 before winning in six games.
Sennecke, a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy that goes to the league’s top rookie, became the fourth Ducks player 20 or younger to score multiple goals in a postseason.
Dostal saved 23 shots and nearly had his third career shutout, including regular-season play, before Mark Stone scored a power-play goal in the closing seconds.
Carter Hart made 25 saves for the Golden Knights. Brett Howden’s four-game goal streak ended, as did Ivan Barbarshev’s seven-game point streak.
Josh Doan and Jordan Greenway also scored for Buffalo making its first second-round appearance since 2007, and first overall in 15 years. Alex Lyon stopped 26 shots and improved to 4-1 since taking over the starting duties in Game 3 of Buffalo’s opening-round opponent Boston.
Nick Suzuki and Kirby Dach scored for Montreal, which appeared slow to find its legs three days after defeating Tampa Bay in Game 7 of its first-round series. Jakub Dobes finished with 12 saves, and allowed four goals after allowing a combined two in splitting Games 6 and 7 against the Lightning.
Montreal has yet to win consecutive playoff games this postseason, and was coming off a series in which all seven games were decided by one goal, including four in overtime.
Buffalo hosts Game 2 on Friday night, before the series shifts to Montreal on Sunday.
Ducks forward Leo Carlsson celebrates after scoring in the third period against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals on Wednesday night. (John Locher / Associated Press)
Before the Ducks had even checked out of their hotel Wednesday for the short bus ride to T-Mobile Arena for Game 2 of their Stanley Cup playoff series, the Las Vegas sports books had made the hometown Golden Knights heavy favorites.
That proved to be a poor bet a couple of hours later when the Ducks rolled to a 3-1 victory, evening the best-of-seven playoff series at 1-1. The second-round series resumes Friday at Honda Center.
The Ducks' goals came from Beckett Sennecke in the second period and Leo Carlsson and Jansen Harkins in the third. Harkins’ goal, into an empty net, was the exclamation point on the win. Jack Eichel scored Vegas’ only goal on a power play in the final seconds, denying goaltender Lukas Dostal and the Ducks their first shutout of the season.
Ducks forward Beckett Sennecke celebrates after scoring in the second period against the Golden Knights in Game 2 on Wednesday. (Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
It wasn't the first time the Ducks defied the odds this postseason. After losing the opener of their first-round series to favored Edmonton, the Ducks won four of the next five.
This one shouldn’t have been that close. The younger, faster Ducks dominated the plodding Golden Knights for most of the game, but Vegas stifled the Ducks' power play, which kept it in the game.
“The way to beat them is just outpacing them,” Ducks center Ryan Poehling said. “And it's not just with speed. It's how we play. Guys are supporting one another, and you saw that tonight.
“Tonight was kind of a game plan of what we want to do to win, for sure.”
The Golden Knights, who killed four penalties in Game 1, saw three players go to the box in the first 5½ minutes, giving the Ducks a man advantage for eight consecutive minutes. For one minute and 41 seconds, Vegas was down two players.
Yet the Ducks couldn’t score.
Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal protects the net in front of Vegas forward Tomas Hertl during the second period. (John Locher / Associated Press)
The Ducks were shut out on another power play in the second period, extending to 19 the number of consecutive penalties the Golden Knights have killed in the playoffs. They’ve allowed just one power-play goal in 25 tries in the postseason.
Which isn’t to say the Ducks weren’t dangerous through the first period and a half, they were. But goaltender Carter Hart was stellar, turning away 17 shots before Sennecke got one past at 11:23 of the second. Jeffrey Viel set up the goal, with his pass from behind the goal line finding Sennecke for a quick wrist shot from the top of the crease.
Carlsson, left all alone on the right side, doubled the advantage with his fourth goal of the playoffs at 13:24 of the third period, redirecting in a backhand pass from Troy Terry.
Defensive games haven’t been the Ducks’ strength this season — they gave up more than 3.5 goals a game during the regular season, more than any other playoff team — but they have smothered the Golden Knights. They gave up just 23 shots in Game 2.
Vegas was also plagued by poor passing and puck handling while the Ducks defenders did a good job of keeping the crease clear.
Ducks forward Leo Carlsson scores past Vegas goaltender Carter Hart during the first period Wednesday. (John Locher / Associated Press)
“We're picking a good time here to play our best hockey,” defenseman Jacob Trouba said.
Now the Ducks go home having split of the first two games, but feeling like they’re leading the series.
“We didn't like Game 1 ended, but we liked our game,” Poehling said about a game that turned on a missed icing call. “That's hockey sometimes. You can play the right way, do all the right things, we end up losing.
“We kept the momentum going into Game 2 and now we're headed home, which is fantastic.”
For the once-favored Golden Knights, they need to hold serve in Anaheim to keep home-ice advantage when the series returns to Las Vegas.
“We got a split here,” coach John Tortorella said. “We need to get a game there.”
On year ago, the notion of the Pittsburgh Penguins trading their 2026 first-round pick would have been met with understandable and unabashed criticism.
Of course, it's not hard to see why: One year ago, the Penguins were waiting for word on the New York Rangers' decision on the first they surrendered to Pittsburgh, and the Rangers chose to keep their 2026 first instead of their 2025 first. One year ago - and this still holds true - folks were talking about how many impact, franchise players would headline the 2026 class. And, one year ago, most of the hockey world thought the Penguins would be one of the teams vying for a precious spot in the top-five, potentially even possessing the most lottery balls.
Well, one year later, a playoff berth and a much later draft selection have certainly changed a few things.
With the NHL Draft Lottery concluded - and the Toronto Maple Leafs winning it to get the first overall pick - the Penguins will select 22nd overall in this year's draft, which will take place Jun. 26-27 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. It's a far cry from the top-five, where almost everyone thought they would be drafting going into the 2025-26 season.
Then, they were a top-10 team in the NHL for most of the season, and they made the playoffs. Yes, they were finished off in the first round by the Philadelphia Flyers - even if they made the series interesting by forcing a Game 6 after going down 3-0 - but with some up-and-coming talent on the way and some veterans still playing at a very high level, it stands to reason that the Penguins can build on what they accomplished this season.
So, there's the million dollar question: Will the Penguins mobilize this summer? And, if so, will they deal their 22nd overall pick for a young player?
Typically, a team in the midst of a rebuild, even if the Penguins did make the playoffs this season, isn't exactly in a position to leverage those higher-value assets. But, the Penguins are in a bit of a unique situation.
For starters, their veterans are still playing at a very high level. Sidney Crosby just clinched his 21st consecutive season above point-per-game. Evgeni Malkin - whose future for next season, as a UFA, has not yet been decided - was above point-per-game for the first time in three years. Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell matched their paces from last season. Anthony Mantha, another UFA, led the team in goals. And Erik Karlsson played some of the best hockey of his career since his days as an Ottawa Senator nearly a decade ago.
On the surface, some may say that the Penguins are too reliant on their veterans. But they have some key young pieces who should be breaking through on the NHL roster - or, in some cases, have already broken through - sometime next season.
Ben Kindel made the team as an 18-year-old, was the third-line center all season long, has mature details in his game already, and will only continue to grow in terms of production. Egor Chinakhov, 25, only scratched the surface of his potential as an impact top-six winger after being traded to the Penguins by the Columbus Blue Jackets in late-December, as he registered 18 goals and 36 points in 43 games.
Then, there is 22-year-old goaltender Sergei Murashov, who had another really solid professional campaign in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) and figures to graduate to the NHL from the AHL next season. There is also defenseman Harrison Brunicke, 20, who broke the NHL roster out of training camp at 19, eventually found himself back on his junior team, is playing top-pair minutes for WBS during the playoffs, and is the highest-upside defenseman in their system. He should also push for a full-time NHL roster spot next season.
And that's not even counting other peripheral players like Avery Hayes, Rutger McGroarty, Ville Koivunen, Tristan Broz, Owen Pickering, and Tanner Howe, all of whom will be in the mix over the next two years.
Finally, there's the potential of the trade market this summer.
Even with the cap rising by $8.5 million next season, there are still some teams who are either in cap trouble or are heading in the wrong direction organizationally. The Dallas Stars will try to figure out a way to sign pending-RFA superstar forward Jason Robertson, but that may expose other high-upside young pieces such as defenseman Thomas Harley and forward Mavrik Bourque.
The Leafs - despite winning the lottery - have one of the league's worst farm systems and a captain in Auston Matthews that isn't sure about his future in Toronto with two years remaining on his contract. Even if not Matthews, players like Matthew Knies and Nick Robertson could become available. St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas could also be on the market, even though he'd probably cost a king's ransom.
The Anaheim Ducks and Montreal Canadiens have a surplus of young blueliners and, in an effort to take the next step in contention, may covet a good veteran player like Rakell or Rust. There is even some potential turmoil in Edmonton, although the Oilers are unlikely to put their two best players on the market this summer.
Even if the free agent market is rather thin this summer, the trade market could have a lot of opportunity, and that's not something that happens very often in the NHL. If an opportunity arises to acquire a young impact talent that could help the Penguins in both the short-term and the long-term, they have to take advantage of that.
They also have a high second-round pick thanks to the Winnipeg Jets, so there won't be an overwhelmingly large talent gap between where they're picking at 22 in the first round versus picking at 39 in the second. And they have another second-round pick at 54.
Obviously, there are bound to be many other teams in on these players, should they become available, so the acquisition cost isn't going to come cheap. A high-end player like Robertson would cost the Penguins at least Rust or Rakell, the first-rounder, and a high-value prospect like Brunicke at a starting point. And that's only a starting point, as it would certainly take at least another prospect and/or an NHL rostered player, plus a few other picks.
And, even if not a Robertson-level talent, someone like Harley would still cost quite a lot. But it's something they should still be able to execute.
The beauty of the Penguins' situation - and what actually makes it pretty advantageous - is the fact that they have a high volume of draft capital, a high volume of viable prospects, and more cap space than anyone else in the NHL. So, even if the Penguins lack some of the higher-end blue-chip prospects other organizations possess, they have so much more flexibility in terms of building out a high-volume package that could push deals over the finish line.
They can tack on picks. They can tack on a prospect or two. And they can take on some salary or a bad contract to help cap-strapped teams like Dallas clear out more space. All of these things do add up, and they could spell the difference in terms of setting themselves apart.
The Penguins and GM/POHO Kyle Dubas have positioned themselves nicely to make a big splash because they have those "extra assets." They have that peripheral prospect talent, mid-round draft capital, and cap space that other teams don't. And they have enough of those things that giving up a few of them for a star player or a rising young player wouldn't be a detriment to their future.
If there is a summer to leverage their first-round pick in a trade for a legitimate young talent, it's this summer. Since they're not going to land a lottery pick, they may be better off landing a sure talent using that first-rounder as leverage rather than hoping that the pick turns into one of the guys they could have traded for.
May 6, 2026; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram (4) celebrates his goal with teammates during the second period against the Montréal Canadiens in game one of the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Bowen Byram and Ryan McLeod scored on consecutive power-play opportunities in reviving Buffalo’s anemic special-teams unit, and the Sabres defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series on Wednesday night.
Josh Doan and Jordan Greenway also scored for Buffalo, which was making its first second-round appearance since 2007, and first overall in 15 years. Alex Lyon stopped 26 shots and improved to 4-1 since taking over the starting duties in Game 3 against Buffalo’s opening-round opponent Boston.
Nick Suzuki and Kirby Dach scored for Montreal, which appeared slow to find its legs three days after defeating Tampa Bay in Game 7 of its first-round series. Jakub Dobes finished with 12 saves, and allowed four goals after allowing a combined two in splitting Games 6 and 7 against the Lightning.
Montreal has yet to win consecutive playoff games this postseason, and was coming off a series in which all seven games were decided by one goal, including four in overtime.
Buffalo hosts Game 2 on Friday night, before the series shifts to Montreal on Sunday.
The Sabres were the more rested team, having had four days off since beating Boston 4-1 in Game 6 on Friday.
“I like the quick start we got off to. I know we can be a lot better,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said, noting he thought Buffalo looked disjointed at times. “There’s a couple situations in the game that we gave them a little bit of momentum.”
Doan opened the scoring 4:31 in by converting Zach Benson’s pass to cap a 2-on-1 after Montreal defenseman Lane Hutson fell and turned over the puck in front of his bench.
McLeod made it 2-0 by converting Benson’s pass through the crease on Buffalo’s second power-play opportunity 13:26 into the first period. Byram scored on the next opportunity by snapping in a shot from between the circles to put Buffalo up 4-1 midway through the second period.
Byram’s goal was his fourth, matching the Sabres’ franchise playoff record for defensemen, joining Mike Ramsey (1988), Jason Woolley and Alexei Zhitnik, who both scored four in 1999.
Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis was pleased with how much more room his players had to create with the puck after a tight-checking series against the Lightning. His only issue is the Canadiens need to take advantage of it.
“Now, what does that mean? I got to rewatch,” St. Louis said.
“I have ideas, but I’m not going to put my stamp on those ideas right now. Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you,” he added. “I’m confident that we can play any style. I’m confident that we could play the game that’s in front of us. And I’m confident that we can learn from this one and be better.
Buffalo converted 2 of 3 power-play chances, breathing new life into a unit that went 1 of 24 against Boston. The Sabres’ 4.2% conversion rate was tied for 865th out of 897 teams that had 20 or more opportunities in a playoff series since 1978.
And Buffalo’s man-advantage woes carried over from the final seven regular-season games, during which the team went 0 for 22.
McLeod didn’t mind hearing questions about the power play on Wednesday night.
“I mean, maybe keep asking, if we’re gonna keep scoring now,” he said with a laugh. “It’s a process of building it and getting your look. So I think, we got them tonight and it was going in.”
Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin limped off favoring his right leg with under three minutes left after blocking a shot by Jake Evans. Dahlin briefly went up the tunnel, before returning to the bench, but did not see any further ice time.
Ruff said he doesn’t believe there’s an issue after seeing Dahlin walking down the hallway.
Dach scored the game’s highlight goal, cutting Buffalo’s lead to 4-2 with 3:29 left in the second. Driving up the right wing, Dach’s centering pass was blocked by Lyon’s stick. The puck caromed back to Dach who, while falling, was able to lift the puck over the goalie’s glove.
Mar 7, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats center Malachi Moreno (24) passes the ball during the first half against the Florida Gators at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images
For players testing the NBA Draft waters while retaining their collegiate eligibility, the deadline to announce a return to school or stay in the Draft is May 27th. That’s three weeks from today.
Malachi Moreno is testing the NBA Draft waters, which was thought to be happening this Spring. While the feeling is that he’s going to return to Kentucky for the 2026-27 season, it’s still not a for-sure thing.
Recently, Moreno was an early second-round pick projection to the New York Knicks, going 31st overall. Moreno also worked out with the Knicks on Tuesday, including with national champion Elliot Cadeau from Michigan, according to Adam Zagoria.
Moreno is coming off a strong freshman season at Kentucky, starting 30 of the Wildcats’ 36 games. He averaged 7.8 points and 6.3 rebounds, while also blocking 53 shots and dishing out 64 assists.
In addition, Moreno shot 58.2 percent from the field and 69.8 percent from the free-throw line. It was his buzzer-beater at LSU in mid-January that likely saved the Cats’ season, a season that culminated with an All-SEC Freshman Team selection.
In high school at Great Crossing, Moreno was a McDonald’s All-American and Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball as a senior.
The Knicks hosted a pre-draft workout on Tuesday that included prospects Donavan Atwell (Texas Tech), Elliot Cadeau (Michigan), Malachi Moreno (Kentucky) and Jackson Paveletzke (Ohio), per league source. https://t.co/C3gsqNiRnX
The New York Knicks took a 2-0 lead over the Philadelphia 76ers in their second-round series with a 108-102 victory Wednesday night, but attention now turns to the health of one of their best players.
OG Anunoby, who had a strong game with 24 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals, could not finish the contest due to an apparent injury.
In the late proceedings, he was seen grabbing his right leg after making a cut and Knicks coach Mike Brown said postgame that Anunoby had asked to be subbed out shortly after the sequence. He was replaced with 2:31 to go in the game by Miles McBride.
OG came up gimpy on this cut. Then tried and missed a dunk. Then asked out.
May 6, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) steals third base during the third inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
It was an interesting game at times tonight, though often not in the good interesting way for Kansas City. Regardless of the oddities, the bats just never did very much and the winning streak ends at five.
Cole Ragans exiting the game early, which was the biggest event of the game possibly in the short and long-term. When this happened against Cleveland a few weeks ago, it was very apparent why. This time it took a couple of innings to get information. In the first three innings, Ragans only gave up 1 hit and 2 walks while striking out 4 and surrendering no runs. Next thing we knew, Luinder Avila was warming up and starting the 4th. Eventually it was announced that Ragans left with “left triceps/elbow soreness”. No idea what that means going forward, but tonight it meant the bullpen had to get through 6 innings.
While that drama was unfolding, the Royals scored a run in the bottom of the third. Bobby ended up on first after a fielder’s choice and then was moved to second when Lane Thomas walked. Witt decided he would rather be on third base, but getting there required a phenomenal slide that is unfortunately not available as an embed yet or I would be showing it to you right now. Without that the Royals don’t score, but it set up a sac fly from El Capitan to take a 1-0 lead.
Avila’s first inning went fine, but he got in trouble in his second frame. Austin Hedges was walked to leadoff. You never want to walk the guy with a .562 career OPS. Halpin then singled to set up a strange set of events. Cleveland looked like they wanted Martinez to sac bunt them to 2nd and 3rd, but on the first pitch he held back and Diaz tried to backpick Hedges at second. The throw beat him to the bag though he was called safe and the Royals challenged, you can take a look for yourself here:
I get why the call was not overturned, it probably would not have been had the original call been out either. Then Hedges and Halpin stole to move up thus any need to bunt though Martinez struck out just before anyway. Avila was not holding the runners much and it cost the Royals big. Chase DeLauter took advantage with a weak single sneaking through and rolling slow enough to score them both. Avila managed to get out of the inning after that.
Shreiber took over next and got 5 outs including one at third base when Schneemann tried to stretch a double into a triple. Lange took over for the last out in the 7th. He returned in the 8th and the Guardians added their third run of the night on another leadoff walk, this time to Jose Ramirez. If you have not been paying attention, Ramirez has stolen over 40 bags each of the last two seasons, and he took one here for his 14th already this season. He moved to third on a David Fry groundout and then scored when a hard ball to third went off Garcia. Bobby did pick it up and throw the batter out, there just wasn’t any way to keep Ramirez from scoring.
There was a debut tonight. Eric Cerantola, who was called up by the Royals this afternoon, took on the ninth inning with KC behind and not wanting to tax the back of their bullpen. We had another odd, and similar, situation to the 5th. Rocchio walked to lead off and then moved to third on an Austin Hedges single. Halpin comes up and shows bunt but does not lay one down on the first or second pitch. On said second pitch Diaz threw behind Rocchio at third and again the ball beat the runner to the bag where he was called out instead of safe this time. That call was subsequently overturned on review and Rocchio remained on third. On the next pitch, Hedges tried to steal second and Diaz did throw him out. Then Cerantola recorded his first strikeout against Halpin and his second K on Angel Martinez to end the inning with no damage done.
Cade Smith came in to get the save for Cleveland. Vinnie did single to get the tying run to the plate, but that was all the Royals could muster before Smith struck out the side including a challenged ball call becoming strike three against Isaac Collins to end it. The ABS challenge to end the game is a new phenomenon and not the one Royals fans wanted to see in this situation. They will have to win tomorrow to get the series win. No extra base hits and scattered singles and walks is not a winning formula most nights.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 06: Nathan Eovaldi #17 of the Texas Rangers pitches during the eighth inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on May 06, 2026 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images) | Getty Images
There was reason to be optimistic heading into tonight. Will Warren has been outstanding early this season and the Yankee offense has been humming. Warren has been stingy with issuing walks and has kept the ball in the yard, while the bats have been posting crooked numbers on the regular.
Conversely, there was a very good reason to be pessimistic about tonight. Nathan Eovaldi entered tonight having not allowed a Yankee run in the last 16 innings he pitched against them. The last time a Yankee touched up Eovaldi was almost a calendar year ago on May 22, 2025, when Jorbit Vivas hit a solo home run off Eovaldi – the only run he allowed that night. Unfortunately (predictably, considering his history against us?), Eovaldi was more than up to the task of stifling the Bronx Bombers
Warren and the Yanks fell behind early. After getting a pair of quick outs in the first, Warren fell behind 3-0 to a scuffling Corey Seager. Warren, quite rightly, didn’t want to walk Seager in front of a hot Josh Jung, so unleashed a 96-mph fastball that hit the strike zone high and tight. To Seager’s credit, he turned on it, kept it fair, and deposited it in the short porch.
For the Yankees, Cody Bellinger came into tonight with a seven-game hitting streak, hitting .444 with 12 RBI in that span. He wasted no time extending it to eight games, singling off Eovaldi in the home first. Unfortunately, that ended up being an offensive highlight against Eovaldi.
After a quiet second inning, Texas touched Warren up again in the third. Brandon Nimmo drew a leadoff walk and, in the least surprising outcome imaginable, came in to score on an Ezequiel Duran double. Warren came into the game with a 5.3 BB% (91st percentile in baseball) so it’s tough to get too upset with him. But it’s illustrative of a baseball truism nonetheless. Leadoff walks come around to score.
Unlike the first inning, Warren couldn’t contain the damage. He left what was supposed to be a back foot sweeper to Evan Carter over the plate. Carter did not miss. His two-run shot extended the Texas lead to 4-0. After only surrendering four home runs in his first 37.2 innings, Warren allowed two in fewer than four frames tonight. Regression to the mean. Bah.
Warren walked two more Rangers in the fourth and, lo and behold, two more runs scored. A sacrifice fly and a single put the Yanks in a 6-0 hole. Warren managed to get out of the fourth but that was the end of the road in what was easily his worst start of the season. His command just wasn’t there tonight, uncharacteristically walking opponents and missing badly on the pitch to Carter. Yerry De los Santos, recently recalled to the Bronx, came on in relief to begin the fifth.
Meanwhile, Eovaldi continued to annihilate the Yankees. After Bellinger’s first inning single, no Yankees reached base except Jose Caballero, who took a curveball off the elbow, only to promptly be erased by a double play ground ball from Trent Grisham. Finally, in the bottom of the fifth, Austin Wells poked a single to left field for the Yanks’ second knock of the night. He advanced no further, and Eovaldi was through five with only 63 pitches.
The Yanks got on the board in the sixth, thanks to the prodigious power of Aaron Judge. The Captain drove a belt-high sinker to center field for his 15th home run of the season. As Joe Girardi noted in the booth, Judge also tied Paul O’Neill on the Yankee career RBI leaderboard. Judge’s blast mercifully ended Eovaldi’s scoreless streak against the Yankees at 21.2 innings. Please go away, Eovaldi.
De los Santos was a godsend for Aaron Boone, throwing 3.1 scoreless innings. Alas, as Michael Kay and Girardi pointed out, when a long guy throws that many innings and pitches (54), a one-way ticket back to Triple-A is the usual reward. At any rate, De los Santos’ performance kept Boone from having to burn through his entire bullpen. Similarly, Ryan Yarbrough covered the final five outs, so, despite Warren only going four, the vast majority of the bullpen got the night off.
Eovaldi stayed on the mound for Texas, and kept dominating the Yankee lineup. When his night finally ended after the eighth, it meant he’d thrown 15 innings of one-run ball against New York in the last week. Thank the baseball gods he’s in the AL West. Jacob Latz came on for the final three outs, snapping the Yankees’ five-game winning streak.
Join us tomorrow for the rubber game of this three-game set. Rangers offseason trade addition MacKenzie Gore will face Paul Blackburn, subbing in for an ill Ryan Weathers. First pitch at 12:35 pm ET.
Game 2 between the Knicks and 76ers on Wednesday night in Madison Square Garden was not a pretty game. At times, it was a downright ugly game with 43 fouls called, 31 turnovers, one flagrant foul, and one technical foul. Yet, when the final whistle blew, the Knicks had secured a hard-fought 108-102 win to secure a 2-0 series lead.
In many ways, this was not a game the Knicks should have won. They shot just 27% from beyond the arc, while the 76ers shot 38%. Jalen Brunson was only 9-for-21 from the field for 26 points with three turnovers. Foul trouble limited Karl-Anthony Towns to just eight minutes in the first half and 27 minutes in the game, and OG Anunoby seemed to get hurt with three minutes left and the Knicks up by six.
At most points in the regular season, that would have been enough to cause the Knicks to lose focus and let the game slip away, but not the playoff version of the Knicks.
Something happened to the Knicks after their Game 3 loss to the Hawks in round one of the playoffs. Maybe being down in the series finally crystallized how quickly this season could be over. Maybe they got a sense of the failed promise it would leave in its wake. Maybe they were just slow in adjusting to the elevated pace and physicality of the playoffs.
Whatever it is, something woke up inside the Knicks after that game, and this simply hasn’t been the same team since. It’s not just that they’ve won five games in a row. It’s not just that they’ve posted two of the most lopsided wins in playoff history. It’s that no matter what the opposition throws at them, they’ve been able to adjust their offensive approach and find a way to attack a different weakness.
On Wednesday, the Knicks had to adjust to a version of the 76ers that was operating at a faster, more frenetic pace. With Joel Embiid forced to miss Game 2 with ankle and hip injuries, the 76ers came out with their eye on fire, turning their offense fully over to their two young guards, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, the way they did early on in this season. From the jump, it was immediately clear that the 76ers would play faster without Embiid. On offense, they spread the Knicks out wide and didn't worry about making sure Andre Drummond had touches. They attacked the paint off the wing and either tried to finish at the rim or kick to shooters if the Knicks closed out. It’s similar to the style of offense the Knicks have been playing during their four-game winning streak.
As a result, Philadelphia made their first six shots of the game, including three threes, and raced out to a 15-8 lead. The 76ers had just three fastbreak points in all of Game 1. They had more than that by the end of the first quarter in Game 2 and had eight at the half. However, they would also finish with eight fastbreak points.
As they've done throughout this winning streak, the Knicks adjusted defensively. They cut off the 76ers' fastbreak attacks and pestered their ballhandlers with constant pressure. If the 76ers were going to run their offense through the perimeter, then the Knicks were going to force those guards to hold onto the ball despite somebody being all over them. It's a big reason that Maxey, who led the 76ers with 26 points and six assists, also had six turnovers on the day.
The Knicks also clamped down late in the game on Paul George, who was tremendous for the 76ers to start the game. George led both teams with five three-pointers, including two in the first quarter when he scored eight of the 76ers’ first 10 points of the game. At the end of the third quarter, George had 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting and had knocked down five-of-11 from three. By the end of the fourth quarter, George had 19 points on 7-of-18 shooting. In fact, the 76ers as a team did not make a field goal in the final seven-plus minutes of the game.
While the 76ers started hot and finished the game cold, the Knicks were ice cold from beyond the arc the entire game. In the Knicks’ four-game playoff winning streak coming into Wednesday, they had made 57-of-130 (43.8%) from three-point range. At some point, the Knicks’ shots were not going to keep falling at the rate they had been. That time was tonight. They shot 2-of-7 from three in the first quarter and continued to get and miss good looks throughout the game, finishing just 7-of-26 from deep.
With their shots not falling, they needed to find another way to win.
Early on, it seemed like that would be using Towns on the perimeter to attack a much slower Drummond. The Knicks’ big man hit two quick shots and dished out two assists in the first quarter, but then the fouls came. With a little over seven minutes gone in the first quarter, Towns picked up his second foul while challenging a Quentin Grimes drive. With Mitchell Robinson out for the game with an illness, Knicks coach Mike Brown had to turn to Ariel Hukporti again. The German big man quickly picked up three fouls of his own within two minutes of entering the game, and the Knicks had to turn to late-season free agent signing Jeremy Sochan as their center.
The fouls would continue to be far too big a story in this game. In fact, there were so many fouls that Madison Square Garden PA announcer Mike Walczewski seemed to lose his voice in the second half.
At the end of the first quarter, the 76ers had been called for seven fouls, and the Knicks had six. With three minutes left in the second quarter, the 76ers still had seven fouls, and the Knicks had 14. With 2:37 left in the second quarter, Adem Bona was called for a foul for running into Josh Hart from behind, and the Madison Square Garden erupted in a cheer so loud you’d think Brunson had hit a game-winner. By the time the third quarter ended, the 76ers had been called for 19 fouls, and the Knicks had been called for 17. All in all, the number of whistles created a fragmented and stagnant game that too often disrupted the rhythm of the offenses.
That was easier to see with the Knicks.
With their offensive hub, Towns, on the bench for long periods of time, the Knicks' fast-paced offense started to feel a little frenetic. Players cut into the same spots. Passes were hurried. Shots were frequently off-balance. Still, the Knicks keep pushing.
They abandoned using a big man altogether and used Josh Hart at the five. They used that small-ball lineup to continue trying to get out in transition. They were able to string together stops and turn them into quick fastbreak layups. Their shots from beyond the arc weren’t falling, so they kept attacking the basket, cutting hard from the wings and attacking a weak middle of the 76ers' defense. On the day, they had 15 points in transition to the 76ers’ six and 56 points in the paint to the 76ers’ 30.
With Brunson not shooting as efficiently early in the game, and Towns on the bench in foul trouble, the Knicks spread the offense around. They had nine players score in this game, and four players scored at least 18 points. Towns would wind up with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists, continuing his per-minute dominance in the playoffs. Mikael Bridges wound up with 18 points and five rebounds, while OG Anunoby added 24 points, five rebounds, four steals, and two assists.
It was a tremendous team win for a team that has continued to rise to the occasion this postseason. It seems that their next challenge may be trying to find a way to win without Anunoby, who came up hobbled while cutting to the basket with a little over three minutes left in the game. He would collect himself and attempt a dunk on the same possession, but he quickly motioned to the bench, was taken out of the game, and headed immediately to the locker room.
While the Knicks didn't have information about the extent of Anunoby's injury at the end of the game, there are only two days before the teams take the court again on Friday in Philadelphia. If Anunoby isn't out there for the Knicks, it will be a huge obstacle to overcome. The wing came into tonight's game averaging 21 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.6 steals, 1.1 blocks, and 1.1 assists in seven games this postseason while emerging as one of the best two-way forwards in the NBA.
For a team that has proven they can change the way they attack in order to pull out a win, playing without Anunoby may be one of the biggest adjustments the Knicks will need to make.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 29: Tarik Skubal #29 of the Detroit Tigers pitches in the second inning against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on April 29, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s Wednesday night here at BCB After Dark: the hippest hangout for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in for a while. We always have a seat for a friend, new or old. There’s no cover charge. The hostess will seat you now. Bring your own beverage.
BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.
Last night I asked you what was your favorite home run of the season, so far? Fifty-eight percent of you picked Conforto’s walk-off, and that was to be expected. Another 22 percent picked Dansby Swanson’s two-run home run in the top of the ninth in Los Angeles that ended up beating the Dodgers. But in truth, the poll was just a good excuse to relive some terrific highlights of the 2026 season. So far, of course.
The Cubs won their eighth in a row tonight, 7-6 over the Reds in ten innings. It was their third-straight walkoff and their 14th-straight home win. I think that calls for Judy.
Here’s the part with the music and the movies. You’re free to skip that if you want. You won’t hurt my feelings.
Tonight we are honored to have jazz guitarist Julian Lage join us from Tokyo and the summer of 2025. Joining Lage is Jorge Roeder on bass and Dave King on drums.
Before I we go on, I want to acknowledge the passing of former Atlanta Braves owner (and manager!) Ted Turner. There are a lot of obituaries out there and I’m sure you can find one on your own. But I want to take a moment to thank him for the creation of Turner Classic Movies, which is the greatest gift anyone has ever given to the cinephile community.
While much of the credit for what TCM is today should go to the people Turner hired to run the place, including longtime host Robert Osborne, it was Turner’s vision that created it. Turner bought the rights to a whole library of films, mostly from MGM, to show on his TBS Superstation in the eighties. More films than he could possibly show on a channel that also had Braves games and television reruns. Although he rightly got criticized for some of the early stuff that he did with those films, such as the colorization debate of the eighties, eventually he decided these films needed to be seen somewhere. So in 1994, Turner Classic Movies was launched as a commercial-free, uncut movie channel. Yes, they showed big hits like Turner’s favorite film Gone With the Wind, but they also showed tons of more obscure films that had mostly been forgotten. Nothing has been more instrumental in the preservation and distribution of the history of cinema than TCM.
People smarter than me have said that you can get a film school education just by watching Turner Classic Movies, free with your cable or satellite subscription. If you ask me how I know so much about movies, I certainly have read some books and listened to the commentary tracks on the physical media I buy. I have a Criterion Channel subscription as well. But mostly, I just watch a lot of TCM. So thanks, Ted.
Moving on. Last night, I watched my first Nancy Reagan movie, the 1950 noirShadow on the Wall, directed by Patrick Jackson. I’ve seen plenty of films featuring Ronnie, but this is the first film I’ve ever seen with a future First Lady in it. Obviously Nancy’s career, under her maiden name of Nancy Davis, was not as extensive as Ronnie’s, who was a much-in-demand supporting actor during his career. But Nancy does a fine job in Shadow on the Wall, even if it’s not in a terribly challenging role.
To be clear, Nancy Reagan is not the star of Shadow on the Wall. The film stars Ann Sothern, Zachary Scott and Gigi Perreau in a potboiler noir about a man, David Starrling (Scott), falsely convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of his wife. The only witness who can clear his name is his eight-year-old daughter Susan (Perreau), who has unfortunately blocked out the memory of the whole event because of the trauma. Davis (and I suppose I should call Nancy Reagan “Nancy Davis” from this point on) is in a supporting role as the psychologist trying to help Susan overcome her trauma and recover her memory.
The setup of Shadow on the Wall is that David’s wife Celia (Kristine Miller) is cheating on him with the fiancé of her sister Dell (Sothern). David confronts Celia about the affair and Celia, wrongly thinking David is going to kill her (don’t ask), hits him over the head and knocks him out. Meanwhile, Dell has jealousy issues with her sister and the affair with her fiancé was the last straw. While David is out cold, Dell shoots and kills her sister. Little Susan sees all of this from the hallway, but the trauma of the event forces it from her memory.
As far as the police are concerned, Celia and David were the only ones in the room. David wakes up with no memory of what happened and assumes the police are telling the truth when they tell him he murdered his wife. He’s tried, convicted, and given the death sentence.
Davis shows up now as Dr. Caroline Canford, a child psychologist who tries to help Susan get through the trauma of seeing her mother murdered. In order to do that, she needs to get her to remember what happened. To be clear, Dr. Canford is not doing this to find out who really killed Celia, at least not at first. She’s just trying to get Susan through her PTSD (although she calls it “shell shock” in the terminology of the time). But eventually as Susan begins to remember more and more, the doctor starts to suspect that maybe David may be innocent and that only Susan can save her father’s life.
Meanwhile, Sothern’s Dell needs to stop Susan from regaining her memory. As the girl’s closest-living relative (other than her father on death row), she puts on the charm offensive to try to get custody of her, which would make it all that much easier for Dell to kill Susan. So yeah, Sothern has the really good role here—playing a psychopath who murders her sister, lets her brother-in-law take the rap for her and is now trying to murder her niece. She plays it well and certainly Dell has some qualms about murdering her niece at first. But she’s so petrified of going to the chair herself that any moral issues she has slowly disappear as she becomes a monster. Dell’s first murder was just a crime of passion. Her attempts to murder Susan are just cold-blooded evil.
Gigi Perreau has the only other really good part here as Susan. Yes, there’s a kind of artificiality to the way her character is written and she’s certainly too articulate for an eight-year old trauma patient. But that’s the way all kids in movies were written at the time. She’s better than most child actors of the era.
As far as Nancy Davis goes, she’s fine? Good, even? Her psychologist character really has only one emotional state, concern and curiosity. There’s not a lot of range here, and that’s on the script. But she’s certainly believable as a concerned child psychologist and she handles the mid-century psychologist tropes with ease. This was Davis’ first big film role and were I watching this in 1950, I’d come away saying that she’s got a future as a fine character actress. Maybe she did.
At no point did she ever tell Susan to “Just Say No,” in case you were wondering.
Watching Shadow on the Wall reminded how much the theories of Freud was a major part of mid-century culture. The entire plot of Shadow on the Wall is about repressed memories and working towards catharsis.
Shadows on the Wall is a decent noir, not a great one. If you like shadows in your noir, then they’re a major plot point here, as you might deduce from the title. But the biggest reasons to watch it is Sothern’s great performance as a murderess and because you want to see what kind of an actress Nancy Reagan was.
Shadow on the Wall is available on HBO Max.
The trailer for Shadow on the Wall. Since Nancy Davis was an unknown when this film was released, she’s barely in this trailer. You can get a quick glimpse of the future First Lady at the 42 second mark.
Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.
The Tigers got bad news as the co-Best Pitcher on the Planet™ Tarik Skubal is going to have surgery to remove bone chips from his left elbow. The Tigers are not putting a timetable on his return, but the normal timeframe on this is 2 to 3 months.
This is just another twist to one of the biggest storylines of the season. This is Skubal’s walk year and he was likely looking at a $400 million contract on the free agent market this upcoming winter. Because of that high number, many thought the wisest course of action was for the Tigers to trade Skubal last winter rather than let him leave this winter for just a draft pick. However, understandably the Tigers didn’t do that. They made the playoffs as a Wild Card last year and advanced to the Division Series. They lost that when Seattle won the winner-take-all Game 5 in the 15th inning. It wasn’t unreasonable to think that, with Skubal, the Tigers could make the playoffs again and have a decent chance to make it to the World Series.
Skubal’s injury puts a dent in those plans. As I write this, the Tigers are a game under .500. Of course, in the weak AL Central, that puts them in a tie for first place. As long as the Tigers are in spitting distance of the playoffs, they’re not going to trade Skubal at the deadline. Fangraphs gives them a 57 percent chance of making the playoffs, although I don’t think that number takes the Skubal injury into consideration.
But let’s assume that the Tigers do fall out of the playoff hunt in July and they decide to trade Skubal. There’s no guarantee of that, but it’s possible. The problem is, it’s unlikely that Skubal will be back on the mound before they have to make that decision. Yes, if Skubal comes back in exactly two months, that would have him return in early July with three weeks to go before the deadline.
The problem is that there is no reason to think Skubal will only be out the minimum. In fact, it’s in both the Tigers’ and Skubal’s best interests to make sure he’s 100% before he takes the mound. For the Tigers, if they have any chance of making some noise in October, they need Skubal at full strength for the playoffs. He gives them a chance to win any series, but only if he doesn’t re-injure himself trying to come back early.
For Skubal, he’s got about 400 million reasons to make sure he doesn’t re-injure himself before he hits the market this winter. He also wants to look good in every start he has left in Detroit.
So assuming that the Tigers decide to trade Skubal and assuming that he doesn’t make it off the injured list before the trade deadline, are you still willing to give the Tigers a haul for Skubal? This assumes that the medical prognosis is that Skubal is likely to return to the mound sometime around Labor Day, or at least before the playoffs. Of course, with injuries, there are no guarantees.
So the risk of trading for Skubal is that you have to give up multiple Top 100 prospects for maybe a month of the regular season and the playoffs of the co-Best Pitcher on the Planet™. The upside is that Skubal returns to what he was before the injury and he becomes the ace the team needs in the playoffs. He starts a few must-win games and the Cubs’ chances of winning the World Series goes way up.
The downside is that he comes back and he’s not the pitcher that he was before surgery. Or worse, he doesn’t come back at all or he comes back and injures himself again and doesn’t pitch in the playoffs. Then he leaves for a $400 million contract with the Dodgers or Yankees when the season ends. The Cubs farm system gets stripped for a bag of magic beans.
Any team that trades for Skubal is going to be buying what’s behind door number three without knowing if it’s a new car or a zonk.
It’s impossible to guess what it would cost in trade capital to acquire Skubal without knowing how his recovery is going. But the Tigers aren’t going to give him away cheap. The price, I would think, begins with two top 100 prospects. For the Cubs, that means something like Jaxon Wiggins and Pedro Ramírez. Or maybe Josiah Hartshorn and Jefferson Rojas. Since those players are closer to the bottom of the top 100 lists than the mid-section, there might be another throw-in prospect, but let’s just take it as two top 100 prospects for now. All this for a guy who is almost certain to leave after the season and for whom the Cubs will only be able to hope that he’ll be back to Cy Young form by October.
The cost would be high. The risk factor is high. The payoff is potentially huge. Would you make that kind of deal?
Thank you to everyone who stopped by tonight and all week. I appreciate every one of you who takes the time to join us. Please get home safely. Call a ride if you need to. Don’t forget any personal items. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again next week for more BCB After Dark.
NEW YORK — It’s the second quarter, and Karl-Anthony Towns is perched on his padded seat at the end of the New York Knicks' bench. He’s hunched over, staring at the floor. He’s shaking his head now, burying it in a towel. He mutters to himself.
It’s the second quarter and Towns is in foul trouble.
***
Towns is back. It’s the third quarter now, and he hasn’t missed a shot. He has embraced his new role as point-center, a role that has helped the Knicks become the most dangerous team in the East. Towns has been slashing to the rim, zipping passes to his teammates when the defense collapses on him. He has been lacing trail 3s.
But Towns picked up his fourth foul, so he’s back at the end of the bench, towel in hand, shaking his head.
***
It’s very late in the fourth quarter, and Towns is checking out of the game for the last time. Coated in sweat, he’s extending his hand out to courtside fans. He stops to dap up coach Mike Brown. He heads to the end of the bench and hugs Jose Alvarado.
After just missing out on what would’ve been his third triple-double of the playoffs, Towns and the Knicks scrapped their way to an uneven 108-102 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers Wednesday, May 6. Now with a 2-0 lead in the conference semifinals, this game proved two things:
No team in the world has been playing better basketball than the New York Knicks.
The only team that can stop the New York Knicks in the East is the New York Knicks.
Entering Wednesday night, they had won their previous four playoff games by 135 points, most ever in NBA postseason history. They also became the first team in NBA history to win three consecutive playoff games by at least 25 points.
They have continuity and balance. They have a trio of demons in OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart, the architects of the best perimeter defense in the East. They can ignite on offense with Towns and Jalen Brunson.
But New York falls into foul trouble frequently. There are times, particularly late in close games, when the ball can stagnate on offense in the hands of Brunson.
This is all to say that, right now, the Knicks are the team to beat in the East. What’s more: this New York squad is the best this city has seen in a quarter century and its best bet to break a 52-year title drought. But to do that, the Knicks need to avoid the self-imposed mistakes, the avalanche of undisciplined fouls.
By the 5:47 mark in the second quarter Wednesday night, the Knicks had already committed 5 team fouls to put Philadelphia in the bonus; the Sixers, at that point, hadn’t committed a single infraction.
Yet, despite the disparity of free throws, New York entered halftime down by only one point.
In the second half, the Knicks responded and played smarter. They didn’t fall for the bait and adapted to the style of officiating, avoiding careless swipes at the ball. More importantly, they settled into their regular offensive rhythm.
Towns finished the game with an ultra-efficient 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting and nearly recorded his third triple-double of the postseason, adding 10 rebounds and 7 assists.
Brunson led all New York players with a steady 26 points. Anunoby added 24.
Now, this series flips Philadelphia, where the 76ers may get the return of star center Joel Embiid. For New York to close Philadelphia out, it will need its players to be available and on the floor and it will need to stick to its identity.
Because as currently constructed, there’s no other squad right now out East that can threaten this team.
The Yankees will not have their scheduled starter for the series finale against the Rangers on Thursday.
Manager Aaron Boone announced after Wednesday's loss that Ryan Weathers is scratched due to an illness. A new starter was not announced.
Boone said Weathers was ok and is now set to start Monday.
Ryan Yarbrough threw 29 pitches across 1.2 innings on Wednesday, while Paul Blackburn, another long reliever, last pitched Monday against the Orioles after tossing 17 pitches in 1.0 IP. The Yankees, whose bullpen has been taxed over the last few days, will have to try and piece it together before heading to Milwaukee for a three-game series with the Brewers.
The Yankees could also call up another pitcher and option Yerry De los Santos, who pitched 3.2 innings on Wednesday.
Weathers is having a solid start in his first season with the Yankees. In seven starts, he's pitched to a 2-2 record and a 3.03 ERA. He's struck out 45 batters across his 38.2 innings.
In his last start, Weathers allowed just one run on three hits and two walks in five innings in the win against Baltimore.
Aaron Boone says Ryan Weathers will not start tomorrow's game due to an illness he suffered this week, but he will pitch on Monday
