Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe continued his rehab assignment with the Somerset Patriots at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater on April 17, 2026. | Alexander Lewis / MyCentralJersey / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: Anthony Volpe’s rehab assignment will end today, and the Yankees will have to chose what to do with the former top prospect. He will either need to be activated and added to the MLB roster, or optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and begin his season for real in the minors. With José Caballero doing everything the Yankees could possibly ask of him, especially with his shortstop defense, some time in Scranton to ensure that Volpe can be a representative MLB player might not be the worst idea. Of course the counterpoint is what risk do you pose in hurting Volpe’s confidence, a player who has already struggled to live up to the expectations placed on him in his career?
NJ.com | Bob Klapisch: Much was made over the winter about the new Trajekt machines, batting practice aids that replicate the arm angle and movement of virtually any MLB pitcher. At least one Yankee has found success in a more low-tech environment though, with the aforementioned Caballero sinking his teeth into onfield batting practice. The shortstop has hit four home runs on the year, after five all of last season, and credits the confidence that watching the ball travel around the stadium during BP instills with the power surge. I’m not sure Cabby will ever be hitting in the top third of a lineup, but not having automatic outs at the bottom of the order has been a big part of the Yankees’ success early.
New York Post | Bridget Reilly: Yep, I’m gonna talk about Ben Rice again. The perceived vulnerability in the Yankee slugger was supposed to be left handed pitching — Paul Goldschmidt came back to the Bronx on a $4 million insurance policy as a partial hedge against that weakness. Instead, Rice is the second-best hitter in all of baseball against lefties, with a sterling 1.308 OPS facing southpaws in the first six weeks of the season. The Yankees lost Juan Soto and then effectively made Juan Soto out of a 27-year-old Dartmouth alum, one of the more stunning player development successes in recent years. A platoon hitter no more!
May 2, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) talks with Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) following game seven of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images | Winslow Townson-Imagn Images
BOSTON — Minutes after Jayson Tatum was ruled out of Game 7, Joe Mazzulla walked into the media room wearing a black “Celtics Mindset” hoodie. He didn’t raise his voice or change his tone. “This season was about creating different identities,” he said. “We’ve done this before.”
It landed the way most of his comments do. Calm. Controlled. Almost separate from the moment.
Out on the floor, it didn’t feel that way.
By the time warmups started, there was a tension in the building that didn’t need volume to be obvious. You could see it in how people stood. Conversations shorter than usual. A few deep exhales mixed into the usual pregame buzz. When I was interviewing fans before Game 5, there were plenty of smiles and laughs. Not so much tonight. A Game 7 without one of your best players will do that to a fanbase.
Still, the players didn’t show it. Derrick White jogged out early, smiling, acknowledging the crowd. Payton Pritchard followed, more locked in than jovial, but that’s just PP. Sam Hauser stood along the sideline talking quietly with his family before heading back to the locker room, his dad giving him a firm pat on the back before saying goodbye.
For the Celtics, this was either going to be one more night of many more to come or the last one for a while.
I got to my press seat a few minutes before tip, right around the time the starting lineup was announced.
Ron Harper Jr. Luka Garza. Baylor Scheierman. Derrick White. Jaylen Brown.
Joe heard the calls for adjustments and went full Michael Keaton. “You wanna get nuts? Fine. Let’s get nuts.”
Sitting next to me was a reporter from Istanbul, there for Adem Bona, who moved to Turkey at age 13 to play professionally with Istanbul Basket. His name? Bozkurt. His third language? English. But I’d soon learn that he knew enough English, and enough about basketball, to spend the next two and a half hours becoming my temporary Game 7 nemesis.
We shook hands. The game started. I had no idea the stranger sitting next to me was going to help me cope with the end of the Celtics’ season.
The terrible, horrible, no good, very bad first quarter
The first few possessions didn’t do anything to settle the nerves.
Three early shots, all from deep, all missed. No paint touches or pressure on the defense. By the 9:36 mark, Boston still hadn’t scored, and Philadelphia looked right at home despite playing on the road.
As he had the past few games, Joel Embiid set the tone right away. When Boston stayed home, he stepped into midrange jumpers. When help came, he moved the ball cleanly. There was no rush to anything he was doing. By the end of the quarter, he had 10 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists, and it never felt like he had to force it.
Philadelphia shot 65 percent in the first quarter. They led 32-19, while Boston looked like a team still trying to figure out what the game was going to ask of them.
There was movement offensively, which was encouraging, but not a whole lot of purpose. Possessions drifted late into the clock. Too much dribbling without forcing a decision. On the other end, it was worse. Backdoor cuts. Easy entries. Not nearly enough resistance.
Bozkurt didn’t need to say much early. He didn’t have to. Every Embiid jumper seemed to make his case for him. Every clean Sixers cut, every easy action, every possession where Philadelphia looked like the team with the clearer plan. He’d react with a small nod or a sound that somehow carried the same meaning as a 500-word column.
“Besides Shaq, Embiid has to be most dominant center ever, yes?” Bozkurt asked, or really, stated.
I was still at the point where I felt the need to be professional and courteous. The best I could muster was, “He’s pretty good!”
In any case, the Celtics looked uncomfortable from the jump, and the Sixers looked right at home in TD Garden.
Mazzulla started looking elsewhere for answers early. Pritchard checked in before the eight-minute mark. Queta followed. Walsh soon after. By the end of the quarter, Boston had already gone deep into its bench.
It didn’t fix the first quarter. But it sure did change the second.
The stretch that pulled everyone back in
The second quarter didn’t open clean either, but it felt different almost right away.
Hugo González, who had seen a total of six minutes of action in this series coming into Game 7, checked in and gave Boston something it had been desperately searching for: resistance. He picked up Maxey, fought through screens, and stayed attached far better than most Celtics players had fared through the series. It wasn’t perfect, but it made Philadelphia work a little more to get into what it wanted.
At the other end, Derrick White started to steady things.
A floater. A pull-up. Then a three that brought it back within two. On the next possession, he drew an offensive foul, and the building woke up with it.
Pritchard followed with a three, and suddenly Boston had its first lead of the night.
I couldn’t help it. I fist-pumped. Take that, Bozkurt.
This is the part where I’m supposed to tell you I handled the whole night with the professional detachment expected from someone sitting in a media section. I did not. Not really. The first time I covered a game with credentials, which was Tatum’s return game and Cooper Flagg’s first one in Boston, I kept it together. Game 5 cracked me a little. Game 7 fully found the Celtics fan in me and dragged him out by the collar.
Part of that was the game. Part of that was the Garden. And part of it was Bozkurt.
He had come to cover Bona, but with Bona on the bench, he became an Embiid backer by necessity. Or maybe by choice. I’m still not sure. At one point in the second quarter, he leaned over, put two hands on my shoulders, and unprompted, said, “Two players with best whistle in league. SGA. Tatum.”
That’s what I was dealing with.
The Celtics, meanwhile, were finally giving me something to work with.
The ball was moving like it was early on in the season. Players cut with purpose instead of watching and waiting for their turn to go 1-on-1. Defensively, there were hands in passing lanes, bodies meeting drives earlier, and far more urgency across the floor. It wasn’t perfect, but it was connected and it was effort.
White carried the scoring, pouring in 19 by halftime. Jaylen Brown started to find his rhythm later in the quarter, while Queta was finally able to give them useful minutes without getting into foul trouble. Hugo was the biggest spark of the first half.
It felt like a montage of the regular season. One guy after another stepping forward as if to say, “Hey, remember me? Remember what I brought to this season?”
After Game 6, Brown had talked about playing faster, freer, with more trust in the group. For a stretch in the second quarter, that version showed up.
Still, the game never fully flipped. Embiid came back in and slowed everything down again. A rebound here. A trip to the line there. The lead stretched back out just enough to keep Boston chasing.
At halftime, it was 55-50. Given where it started, you had to take it.
Bozkurt looked up at the scoreboard, then over at me.
“Careful,” he said.
He was right. Annoyingly, painfully right.
The fight was real. So was the hole.
The third quarter was always going to say a lot about how the Celtics felt about this game. Boston had survived the first half. Now was the time to turn survival into control.
Queta opened with a smooth move over Embiid. A few possessions later, Maxey hit a three, then an effortless midrange jumper. The lead was back to double digits before fans had even settled back in their seats.
Keep it close became the quiet mantra for myself. Maybe not even quiet. I’m pretty sure I wrote it in my notes three or four times because I was trying to convince myself as much as anyone.
Brown gave them a moment out of a timeout, an and-one midrange that cut it back to eight. Then, Pritchard hit a three to make it a one-possession game. Jaylen took on the Embiid assignment and clapped in his face, prompting Embiid to talk that talk after making a shot. For a minute, it felt like something personal was brewing between the two of them.
The less fun part was that Philadelphia kept answering.
Embiid dragged the game back to his pace. Maxey found enough cracks. Paul George, who seemed to locate the Indiana version of himself for this series, hit a big three whenever Boston needed him not to.
At one point, the lead hit 15. Then 18.
Bozkurt put his arm around me again and said, “Sorry, brother.”
I laughed because I didn’t know what else to do. What a ridiculous place to be. Sitting at the top of TD Garden, in a Game 7, next to a man from Istanbul who had become my emotional support rival. He was half consoling me, half enjoying the fact that Embiid was dismantling everything I held near and dear to my heart.
The Garden was still trying, despite Bozkurt’s Philadelphia’s best efforts. “Let’s Go Celtics” chants broke out during a timeout, but it didn’t sound like the usual Garden roar. Stunned is how I would describe it. Down 18 at home in Game 7 after leading the series 3-1, it felt appropriate.
After three quarters, it was 88-75.
Boston was shooting under 40 percent. Philadelphia was over 50. The Celtics needed a miracle.
For much of the fourth quarter, they made everyone believe in one.
The last time we got to believe
The fourth quarter started with Hauser hitting a three to cut it to ten. Derrick White followed with a steal and a layup to make it eight. The building responded immediately, like it had been waiting for permission to get to that yet-unreached decibel level.
By then, Bozkurt was on his feet too.
I looked over at him and nodded. No words needed.
Not done yet.
When Jaylen scored off a great pass from White to cut it to six, the Garden felt alive in a way that made the previous three quarters feel like they belonged to a different night. Nervous murmurs became excited murmurs. Everyone was standing. Bill Chisholm was on his feet courtside. Spider Kid was on the jumbotron. Save us, Spider Kid.
Queta finished through contact and turned to the crowd, yelling, and it was one of those moments where the game and the fandom stopped feeling like separate things.
Neemias Queta scores the And-1 off a pass by Derrick White to cut the 76ers lead to just 4 (with replays).
Reggie Miller is convinced there should have been an offensive foul call on White prior to the And-1. pic.twitter.com/z8ilcdXgD5
Queta felt the energy immediately and leaned into it, chest out, screaming back at 19,156 people who were already halfway out of their seats.
We saw a version of that in Game 5 with Walsh, a small play that turned into something bigger because of how quickly the crowd grabbed onto it. This felt the same, just louder, heavier, more desperate.
In that stretch, everything was feeding everything else. The defense, the effort, the noise. In TD Garden, it doesn’t take much for that loop to close. And once it does, it’s hard to tell who’s pushing who.
Jaylen followed with an and-one. One-point game.
At that point, the idea of acting like a neutral observer felt deeply stupid. Bozkurt was standing. Hell, everyone was standing. The Garden was so loud that even if I cheered, no one would hear me anyway. I’m all the way up here, I told myself. I write for CelticsBlog. Who am I pretending for?
For a stretch, the Celtics looked like the team Brown later wished they had trusted more.
“I wish we trusted that style more,” Brown said after the game. “You saw tonight how everybody came out and played their tail off.”
He was right. During that run, all five guys on the floor mattered. The ball was zipping. The defense was hounding. Queta crashed. White pushed. Pritchard spaced. Hauser hit. Jaylen guarded Embiid and had some seriously loud blocks in the fourth like he was trying to drag the whole season back by himself.
It got down to one again and again.
But they never broke through.
Brown had a three go in and out. Pritchard missed a wide-open three after a ridiculous Jaylen block. Then Brown missed a clean midrange look, followed by a Hauser miss from deep. Five straight empty trips at the worst possible time.
After the game, Mazzulla said they had “two or three great looks to take the lead.”
They sure did. They just didn’t go in. As one fan told me before Game 5, it feels like a make-or-miss league these days.
Maxey answered. Then again. The lead stretched. The air came out in pieces. The game didn’t end all at once. But eventually, it faded into oblivion.
109-100.
What you can say right away, and what you can’t
The first thing that hits you in a Game 7 loss isn’t analysis.
It’s that it’s over.
I get that no one wants a positive spin right now. No one should. The Celtics blew a 3-1 series lead for the first time in franchise history. They lost three straight, two of them at home. And they lost to the Sixers. That all matters, and it will matter for a long time.
There will be hours and days to unpack all of it. The lineup choices. The reliance on three-point shooting. The offensive lulls. The defensive possessions where Embiid looked far too comfortable. The missed chances in Games 5 and 6. The way a season that once felt like a bonus, then an opportunity, somehow ended as a gut punch.
But in the immediate aftermath, sitting there while the Garden emptied out, I kept coming back to the same thing.
I loved watching this team.
That doesn’t make the loss sting any less, and it doesn’t make the collapse easier to swallow. Nor does it mean anyone has to skip the anger stage and move straight to gratitude because that would be obnoxious, and also impossible.
But this team gave us more than most people expected back in October. More than any team without Jayson Tatum for most of the year had any business giving. More than a gap year was supposed to contain.
Jaylen said as much after the game.
“This is probably one of my most fun years playing basketball,” he said. “I’m so grateful to be with this group.”
That matched what I felt watching them, even in a loss that will sit with Celtics fans for a long while. They were imperfect. Weird. Fun. Stubborn. Occasionally maddening. Sometimes hard to explain. They won a lot of basketball games and made a lot of people care more than they expected to. That can make the downfall hurt even more.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – MAY 02: Head coach Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics looks on during the fourth quarter of a game against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game Seven of the First Round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs at TD Garden on May 02, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Mazzulla talked about the other side of chasing something bigger.
“When you go after something bigger than yourself,” he said, “you have to accept the other side of that.”
That is a very Joe way to put it. Maybe a little too philosophical when the wound is still so raw. But there’s truth in it, even if nobody wants to hear it yet.
Bozkurt stayed for a minute after the final buzzer. Not long. Just enough to take one more look around before leaving. Then he turned to me, pulled me in for a quick hug, and said, “Always next year.”
It wasn’t gloating. It wasn’t even really about the result. It felt like acknowledgment, like he understood what that game had just taken out of the people in that building.
I told him good luck, and I meant it. No edge left, no need for one. Somewhere along the way, the whole back-and-forth stopped feeling like a battle and started feeling more like a friendship.
I don’t think Bozkurt knew every Celtics rotation or the full weight of what it meant for this franchise to blow a 3-1 lead. And I certainly didn’t know much about Istanbul or what this Sixers team meant to him.
But basketball has its own language. You can feel when a game is slipping, just like you can feel when a crowd still believes. You can also feel when something is over before the clock says it is.
Those parts translated just fine. And for the record, if we ever revisit the “Embiid vs. every center ever” conversation, I’ll be sending him a playlist. Kareem. Hakeem. Russell. Wilt. We’ll take it from there.
Eventually, the Garden made everyone leave. Bozkurt. Me. All of us.
I wasn’t ready. Being around this team up close a few times this season only made it harder to let go of it. The way they played, the way the building responded to them, the way nights like this could swing from hopeless to electric in a matter of minutes.
The season ended earlier than it should have, and that part won’t sit right for a while.
But it was a ride I never will, and never would want to, forget.
Montreal Canadiens (48-24-10, in the Atlantic Division) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (50-26-6, in the Atlantic Division)
Tampa, Florida; Sunday, 6 p.m. EDT
LINE: Lightning -159, Canadiens +134; over/under is 5.5
NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Series tied 3-3
BOTTOM LINE: The Montreal Canadiens visit the Tampa Bay Lightning in game seven of the first round of the NHL Playoffs. The teams meet Friday for the 11th time this season. The Lightning won 1-0 in overtime in the previous matchup.
Tampa Bay has a 19-10-3 record in Atlantic Division games and a 50-26-6 record overall. The Lightning have a +57 scoring differential, with 286 total goals scored and 229 allowed.
Montreal is 48-24-10 overall and 19-10-3 against the Atlantic Division. The Canadiens are seventh in league play with 279 total goals (averaging 3.4 per game).
TOP PERFORMERS: Nikita Kucherov has scored 44 goals with 86 assists for the Lightning. Jake Guentzel has three goals and seven assists over the past 10 games.
Cole Caufield has 51 goals and 37 assists for the Canadiens. Nicholas Suzuki has one goal and nine assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Lightning: 5-3-2, averaging 2.3 goals, 3.9 assists, 6.7 penalties and 17.6 penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game.
Canadiens: 5-3-2, averaging 2.4 goals, 4.5 assists, 6.7 penalties and 16.6 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game.
INJURIES: Lightning: Victor Hedman: out (personal), Pontus Holmberg: out (upper-body).
Canadiens: Patrik Laine: out (abdomen), Noah Dobson: out (thumb).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - MAY 02: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics looks on during the second quarter of a game against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game Seven of the First Round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs at TD Garden on May 02, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) | Getty Images
BOSTON – On Sunday night, the Celtics were on top of the world, holding a 3-1 series lead over their rival Philadelphia 76ers, equipped with a fully healthy roster and on the heels of a spectacular 56-win regular season.
Fresh off a 32-point offensive masterpiece, Payton Pritchard sat at the podium and reflected on the biggest game of his playoff career.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown had just finished their 119th playoff game as teammates.
Jordan Walsh was emerging as one of the best defensive stoppers of the playoffs.
In the locker room after the game, Brown randomly dubbed Baylor Scheierman “Big Shot Bob” with a smile.
The vibes, as the kids say, were high. And, the Celtics seemed to be at the beginning of what felt like an inevitably long playoff journey.
Instead, they never won another game. Six days later, the season is over.
At the Celtics locker room at TD Garden, Brown stares straight ahead. The players are silent. Tatum is in street clothes. Derrick White is fighting tears.
How did it all go to flames in the blink of an eye?
The big-picture, non-technical answer is: that’s just sports. The unpredictability of basketball is what makes it great. It’s what keeps us watching. It’s also what makes the heartbreak so sudden, so painful.
The same Orlando Magic team that lost to the Celtics’ bench unit came out and assumed a 3-1 series lead over the Detroit Pistons a few weeks later.
And, just a few days after that, that same Magic team scored a stunning 19 points in the entire second half of their Game 6. How can one make sense of that?
The Celtics were, and are, aware of the ridiculous unpredictability of this sport.
After they took a 1-0 lead in the Philly series, Joe Mazzulla’s media availability was filled with questions about how great a job he’d done this season, about his incoming Coach of the Year award.
He, as he’s done all year, deflected the praise.
“This could all change 24 hours from now, to where we’re having different conversations,” Mazzulla said. “So it’s part of just the perspective of being rooted in something, regardless of the environment around you on a 24-hour cycle.”
Unfortunately for him, those words aged well: the Celtics’ season, a season that was as special as it was unexpected, is over.
The bleeding began last Tuesday night, when the Celtics got crushed in the second half of Game 5, and missed 14 straight field goals to lose the game. A 13-point third-quarter lead turned into a blowout loss.
In Game 6, they were outworked in front of a raucous 76ers crowd that brought back the “We Got Boston” chants.
And in Game 7, all the mileage had begun to catch up to Tatum. After missing the last 15 minutes of Game 6, he was a late add to the injury report on Saturday, with left knee tightness.
Two hours before tip-off, he was ruled out.
“He came in today with knee discomfort,” Mazzulla said. “We made the decision for him.”
That meant the Celtics had to come into Saturday’s game with a completely different look.
Making sense of Game 7
Mazzulla made the decision to bench two starters — Neemias Queta and Sam Hauser – in favor of Ron Harper Jr. and Luka Garza. Neither guy ended up playing significant minutes — Harper Jr. played 4 minutes, and Garza played 9 — but that stunning decision set the tone for what ultimately ended up being a wild Game 7.
Pritchard said he wasn’t surprised by that new-look starting five. The Celtics, after all,
The Celtics trailed by as many as 15 in the first quarter and by as many as 18 in the fourth, but each time, they clawed their way back into the game, ultimately cutting the deficit to 1 with two minutes to spare.
But, just like they did in Game 5, they went cold. In the final 5 minutes of the game, they missed 10 straight field goals, including a wide-open Pritchard three, and multiple Jaylen Brown middies.
Game 7, however, was in many ways different from that Game 5 collapse. The Celtics went 10 guys deep, relying on 13 first-half Hugo Gonzalez minutes. For the first time since Game 1, they recorded fewer turnovers than their opponents. They were undoubtedly the harder-playing team. Neemias Queta, who struggled through the series’ first six games, put together a masterful performance, tallying 17 points on 7-8 shooting.
Perhaps in turn, the TD Garden crowd was the loudest it’s been all year.
Brown wished that the Celtics had played that frenetic pace all series, before Game 7.
“Tonight, I wish we played that style and trusted that style more even throughout the playoffs,” he said. “Even through wins and through losses. Obviously, it’s not always the easiest decision, but I wish that style for our team was how we empowered the rest of our group, and you saw tonight how everybody came out, and they played their tail off. I wish we trusted that more.”
Hindsight is 20-20, but dozens of fans at TD Garden echoed that sentiment.
“I’m just happy to be watching this team,” one fan told me at halftime, emphasizing how much he appreciated the fact that the Stay Ready players were getting a shot.
“I’m so grateful to be with this group,” Brown said. “This group is awesome. I had a fun year. This is probably one of my most fun years playing basketball. It wasn’t always perfect. It wasn’t always analytically or aesthetically pleasing. But we won a lot of basketball games, and people could see the grit and the fight that we played with every single night. Tonight was an example of that. We left it all out there, we played a rookie, we played whatever, and we scrapped all the way to the end. Just came up a couple plays short.”
Payton Pritchard’s perspective was all about the big picture, about how the 2025-2026 season could be used as a building block for the future, just as the pre-2024 seasons culminated in a championship.
“Just because you don’t win a championship one year, doesn’t mean it didn’t build for the next championship,” Pritchard said. “So, when we won Banner 18, four years before that, we lost four straight — lost to Miami, lost in the finals. So those might have been disappointing years, but maybe those led to the championship. So, that’s how I look at it.”
It’s a beautiful mindset. Still, it’s difficult to immediately make sense of the fact that a season that had so many beautiful highs ended with sudden devastation.
As White exited the TD Garden parquet with a towel over his head, it was hard to believe that less than a week ago, the Celtics were returning to Boston with a 3-1 lead, seemingly on top of the world, with a whole playoff run ahead of them, a healthy Jayson Tatum, and title aspirations.
Joel Embiid's return for the Philadelphia 76ers in their series against the Boston Celtics proved crucial [Getty Images]
Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey inspired the Philadelphia 76ers to victory in their series decider against the Boston Celtics as they knocked their rivals out of the NBA play-offs and set up an Eastern Conference semi-final against the New York Knicks.
The 76ers, who came back from 3-1 down in the best-of seven series to force a deciding match, won 109-100 on the road to eliminate the 2023-24 NBA champions.
Embiid contributed 34 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, while team-mate Tyrese Maxey scored 30 points and registered 11 rebounds and seven assists as Philadelphia became only the 14th team to win a series after going 3-1 down, achieving the feat for the first time in their history.
The 76ers also beat the Celtics in the play-offs for the first time since 1982, having lost their last six series to Boston.
"We had a talk after game five and just said, 'Hey, man, we can't let the same stuff happen over and over and over again," Maxey told NBC. "At some point we've got to put a stop to it.
"And we did."
Boston were 99-98 behind following two Neemias Queta free throws before Maxey scored eight unanswered points to give his side a 107-98 lead with 15 seconds left.
"We started off well and then in the second quarter we kind of relaxed a little," said Embiid. "Same thing with the start of the fourth.
"But we stuck together, closed it out."
He added: "It means a lot. You can't win alone, you need a team to be able win and everybody doing their job."
Embiid had returned for the last four games of the series after an emergency appendectomy had ruled him out since 6 April.
"What changed in the series is Joel Embiid came back, and they're a completely different team," said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla.
Boston star Jayson Tatum missed the decider because of a left knee issue, with Jaylen Brown top scoring for them with 33 points.
"Loved the looks that we got, loved the process that we had, but hate the result," said Mazzulla.
In the middle of a dreadful start to the season, the players and coaches on the field aren’t the only ones making mistakes for the Mets. Yes, it seems it’s now spreading beyond the walls and into the video replay room.
In the first inning of Saturday’s eventual 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles in extra innings, Nolan McLean allowed three straight two-out hits with the third hit resulting in both an out and a run scoring.
Except it shouldn’t have.
Upon further review, the runner trying to advance to third base was tagged out, on a great throw by Austin Slater in right field, before the runner going home touched the plate which should’ve negated the run from counting.
The Mets did not challenge the call on the play and manager Carlos Mendoza was asked why not.
“He missed it,” the skipper said, referring to Mets replay analyst Harrison Friedland. “We called, obviously, and he missed it. Harrison is one of the best at his job. Obviously it ends up being a big play when you lose by one run, but I also think we had chances there and we couldn’t cash in.”
Yes, New York ended up losing by a single run in extra innings, meaning had they challenged the call and got it overturned and everything else stayed the same, the Mets would’ve won.
However, while that mental lapse proved costly, Mendoza doesn’t believe it’s the only reason his team lost. After all, once they tied the game in the seventh inning they had two more big chances to take the lead but were unable to cash in.
The first opportunity came with the bases loaded and one out and the top of the order coming up. In a lineup bereft of big hitters, this was the perfect time for the Mets to go for the jugular as Bo Bichette and Juan Soto, the two survivors of a once-thought stacked lineup, were due up.
Instead, Bichette, who had an RBI single earlier in the game, grounded into a force out at home and Soto struck out. Inning over.
Nevertheless, by a stroke of luck (and catcher’s interference), Bichette had a chance to redeem himself in the 10th inning with runners on first and second and nobody out. Once again, Bichette grounded out, this one a double play.
“I just hit two sliders in the ground,” Bichette said after the game. “I think for me just trying to be too perfect, have the perfect swing for every pitch and that’s not attainable.”
“This one stings,” he said. “We had our chances, but more times than not guys like Bo and Juan, those are the guys that we want at the plate to be in those situations. They’re gonna come through more times than not, today they just didn’t do it.”
Philadelphia 76ers (45-37, seventh in the Eastern Conference) vs. New York Knicks (53-29, third in the Eastern Conference)
New York; Monday, 8 p.m. EDT
LINE: Knicks -7.5; over/under is 211.5
EASTERN CONFERENCE SECOND ROUND: Knicks host first series matchup
BOTTOM LINE: The New York Knicks host the Philadelphia 76ers to begin the Eastern Conference second round. New York and Philadelphia tied the regular season series 2-2. The Knicks won the last regular season meeting 138-89 on Thursday, Feb. 12 led by 26 points from Jose Alvarado, while Tyrese Maxey scored 32 points for the 76ers.
The Knicks are 35-17 against conference opponents. New York is eighth in the Eastern Conference with 27.4 assists per game led by Jalen Brunson averaging 6.8.
The 76ers are 9-7 against Atlantic Division teams. Philadelphia is sixth in the Eastern Conference with 16.9 fast break points per game led by VJ Edgecombe averaging 8.0.
The Knicks' 14.2 made 3-pointers per game this season are just 0.8 more made shots on average than the 13.4 per game the 76ers allow. The 76ers score 5.8 more points per game (115.9) than the Knicks allow their opponents to score (110.1).
TOP PERFORMERS: Karl-Anthony Towns is shooting 50.1% and averaging 20.1 points for the Knicks. Brunson is averaging 24.2 points over the last 10 games.
Maxey is averaging 28.3 points, 6.6 assists and 1.9 steals for the 76ers. Paul George is averaging 2.6 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Knicks: 7-3, averaging 113.5 points, 42.8 rebounds, 25.2 assists, 9.1 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 50.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 101.8 points per game.
76ers: 6-4, averaging 105.9 points, 43.8 rebounds, 21.8 assists, 6.9 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while shooting 44.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 105.9 points.
INJURIES: Knicks: None listed.
76ers: None listed.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Ronny Mauricio is headed to the injured list, according to manager Carlos Mendoza, after he fractured his left thumb Saturday while diving into first base in the seventh inning of the Mets’ 4-3 loss to the Angels in 10 innings.
Mauricio hit a grounder to first base and beat Nolan Schaunuel to the bag with a dive into the base — a play that was originally ruled an out but was overturned on replay — and fractured his thumb.
He was removed after the half inning concluded.
Mauricio became the starter at shortstop just over a week ago when Francisco Lindor was placed on the IL with a left calf strain expected to sideline him for months.
Bo Bichette moved from third base to shortstop for the final four innings on Saturday and is a candidate to play the position in Mauricio’s absence.
Bichette was a shortstop before switching to third base this season.
Nolan Schanuel dives to first after Ronny Mauricio dives safely into the base for an infield hit in the seventh inning of the Mets’ 4-3, 10-inning loss to the Angels on May 2, 2026 in Anaheim, Calif. Unfortunately for the Mets, Mauricio fractured his left thumb and is headed to the IL. Getty ImagesRonny Mauricio walks back to the dugout after striking out during a game against the Nationals on April 29, 2026. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
“I have got to wait and see who the player is coming up [from Triple-A Syracuse],” Mendoza said. “I am pretty sure Bo is going to be in the conversation.”
Minnesota Timberwolves (49-33, sixth in the Western Conference) vs. San Antonio Spurs (62-20, second in the Western Conference)
San Antonio; Monday, 9:30 p.m. EDT
LINE: Spurs -13.5; over/under is 216.5
WESTERN CONFERENCE SECOND ROUND: Spurs host first series matchup
BOTTOM LINE: The San Antonio Spurs host the Minnesota Timberwolves to start the Western Conference second round. Minnesota went 2-1 against San Antonio during the regular season. The Spurs won the last regular season matchup 126-123 on Sunday, Jan. 18 led by 39 points from Victor Wembanyama, while Anthony Edwards scored 55 points for the Timberwolves.
The Spurs are 36-16 in Western Conference games. San Antonio ranks seventh in the Western Conference with 11.4 offensive rebounds per game led by Luke Kornet averaging 3.4.
The Timberwolves are 31-21 in Western Conference play. Minnesota is 6-4 in games decided by 3 points or fewer.
The Spurs make 48.3% of their shots from the field this season, which is 2.1 percentage points higher than the Timberwolves have allowed to their opponents (46.2%). The Timberwolves average 13.8 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.8 more makes per game than the Spurs give up.
TOP PERFORMERS: Stephon Castle is scoring 16.6 points per game and averaging 5.3 rebounds for the Spurs. De'Aaron Fox is averaging 19.5 points and 3.6 rebounds over the last 10 games.
Rudy Gobert is averaging 10.9 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks for the Timberwolves. Ayo Dosunmu is averaging 14.8 points and 1.9 rebounds while shooting 60.4% over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Spurs: 7-3, averaging 118.0 points, 45.7 rebounds, 26.8 assists, 7.7 steals and 6.4 blocks per game while shooting 48.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.7 points per game.
Timberwolves: 7-3, averaging 118.4 points, 42.7 rebounds, 26.4 assists, 7.7 steals and 5.1 blocks per game while shooting 49.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 113.9 points.
INJURIES: Spurs: David Jones Garcia: out for season (ankle).
Timberwolves: Anthony Edwards: out (knee), Kyle Anderson: day to day (illness), Ayo Dosunmu: day to day (calf), Donte DiVincenzo: out for season (leg).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Toronto Raptors (46-36, fifth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (52-30, fourth in the Eastern Conference)
Cleveland; Sunday, 7:30 p.m. EDT
LINE: Cavaliers -8.5; over/under is 211.5
EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Series tied 3-3
BOTTOM LINE: The Toronto Raptors visit the Cleveland Cavaliers in game seven of the Eastern Conference first round. The Raptors defeated the Cavaliers 112-110 in overtime in the last matchup on Friday. Scottie Barnes led the Raptors with 25 points, and Evan Mobley led the Cavaliers with 26.
The Cavaliers are 33-19 in conference matchups. Cleveland ranks seventh in the Eastern Conference with 11.7 offensive rebounds per game led by Mobley averaging 2.7.
The Raptors have gone 33-19 against Eastern Conference opponents. Toronto has a 7-4 record in games decided by less than 4 points.
The Cavaliers average 14.3 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.8 more made shots on average than the 12.5 per game the Raptors give up. The Raptors are shooting 48.2% from the field, 1.8% higher than the 46.4% the Cavaliers' opponents have shot this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Donovan Mitchell is averaging 27.9 points, 5.7 assists and 1.5 steals for the Cavaliers. James Harden is averaging 2.3 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
Barnes is averaging 18.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.5 blocks for the Raptors. RJ Barrett is averaging 21 points and 6.2 rebounds over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cavaliers: 6-4, averaging 116.5 points, 44.1 rebounds, 24.1 assists, 8.4 steals and 4.9 blocks per game while shooting 48.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 115.2 points per game.
Raptors: 6-4, averaging 114.9 points, 42.0 rebounds, 27.7 assists, 8.8 steals and 5.1 blocks per game while shooting 49.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 109.1 points.
INJURIES: Cavaliers: None listed.
Raptors: Brandon Ingram: day to day (heel), Immanuel Quickley: out (hamstring).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Orlando Magic (45-37, eighth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Detroit Pistons (60-22, first in the Eastern Conference)
Detroit; Sunday, 3:30 p.m. EDT
LINE: Pistons -8.5; over/under is 202.5
EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Series tied 3-3
BOTTOM LINE: The Detroit Pistons host the Orlando Magic in game seven of the Eastern Conference first round. The Pistons defeated the Magic 93-79 in the last matchup on Friday. Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 32 points, and Desmond Bane led the Magic with 17.
The Pistons have gone 39-13 against Eastern Conference teams. Detroit leads the Eastern Conference with 57.9 points in the paint led by Jalen Duren averaging 14.6.
The Magic have gone 26-26 against Eastern Conference opponents. Orlando is ninth in the Eastern Conference with 26.5 assists per game led by Paolo Banchero averaging 5.2.
The Pistons score 117.8 points per game, 2.7 more points than the 115.1 the Magic allow. The Magic average 11.7 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.0 fewer made shot on average than the 12.7 per game the Pistons allow.
TOP PERFORMERS: Cunningham is averaging 23.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 9.9 assists for the Pistons. Tobias Harris is averaging 16.3 points and 6.3 rebounds over the past 10 games.
Banchero is scoring 22.2 points per game and averaging 8.4 rebounds for the Magic. Jalen Suggs is averaging 2.9 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Pistons: 6-4, averaging 109.6 points, 46.6 rebounds, 25.3 assists, 8.8 steals and 9.1 blocks per game while shooting 47.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 104.5 points per game.
Magic: 6-4, averaging 108.0 points, 43.8 rebounds, 23.7 assists, 10.0 steals and 6.0 blocks per game while shooting 43.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 104.4 points.
INJURIES: Pistons: Kevin Huerter: day to day (adductor).
Magic: Franz Wagner: out (calf), Jonathan Isaac: day to day (knee).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MAY 02: Emerson Hancock #26 of the Seattle Mariners reacts after getting a strike out against the Kansas City Royals at T-Mobile Park on May 02, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Olivia Vanni/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Randy Johnson is the first Mariners pitcher I remember watching. Somewhere there is a picture of a mulleted Randy taken by me with a hot pink camera in the Kingdome at a Kid’s Day. It’s blurry, and his head is partially cropped off, seven-year-old me tilting up the camera at the towering figure above me. That’s what it felt like watching him pitch: larger than life, scary, and a little bit thrilling.
Emerson Hancock, while very tall in his own right, does not spark the same fear, with his kind smile and soft Georgia accent. I have seen many versions of Emerson Hancock over the years: the college acee whose career and trip to Omaha was cut short; a young pitcher surrounded by other young pitching that leapfrogged him on his journey to the bigs; a beaten but not defeated Hancock searching for answers after a bad start, and another, and another; and tonight, what should have been a triumphant Hancock coming off a career-best start of 14 strikeouts against not walks, but was instead a chastened Hancock forced to explain away his teammates’ mistakes in a crushing 3-2 extra-innings loss.
Randy Johnson was famous for telling his offensively anemic Mariners teammates “just get me one run tonight, boys, that’s all we need.” Hancock would need just a little more than that. He wouldn’t get it.
The Mariners did oblige The RJ Doctrine in the first. Julio Rodríguez continued his torrid stretch with a one-out double that missed being a home run by about a foot, tagging a 90-mph fastball on the opposite corner of the plate. Josh Naylor followed him up with a classic Naylor single, the high fastball away that he punched into center field for a run. Unfortunately, Randy Arozarena capped the scoring there by unluckily lining into a double play, so the Mariners really did just get the one run, boys. That would prove to be significant, later, in a chain of events that undid this game from what should have been a thrilling win into a loss.
The Royals got their own run in the third through some bad luck for Emerson Hancock. Nine-hole hitter Kyle Isbel got a hold of a cutter at the bottom of the zone and laced it just past a diving Josh Naylor. Maikel Garcia then threw his bat at a first-pitch sweeper on the outer edge of the zone and blooped it into left field to bring home Isbel. Hancock rebounded even with one out, getting Bobby Witt Jr. to pop out on the sweeper (assisted by a strong throw from Luke Raley to hold the runner at second) and ending the inning on a strikeout looking to Vinnie Pasquantino, a perfectly spotted four-seamer at 97.4 mph.
The Mariners were able to get a go-ahead run in the fifth but it came…weirdly. With one out, the Mariners loaded the bases on back-to-back-to-back singles from Leo Rivas, J.P. Crawford, and Julio Rodríguez; Rivas then scored on a wild pitch by Royals starter Seth Lugo, the reigning Royals organizational Pitcher of the Month. Josh Naylor then struck out for the second out, but Randy Arozarena walked to re-load the bases…and then was picked off to end the inning, having lost track of the count. Manager Dan Wilson was gracious about the mental mistake postgame, saying there are times where he’s forgotten the count, or rolled the ball back with runners on, but once again, a scoring chance would be squandered, and eventually, the Mariners would run out of chances.
That sent Hancock out to protect the precious one-run lead once again. It looked like he might be done after the sixth, having to work around a leadoff ground-ball single from Bobby Witt Jr. followed by a line drive base hit from Vinnie Pasquantino. With Hancock’s velocity trending downwards and some location misses with sinkers leaking onto the plate, things felt dangerous. But Hancock spun a bunch of sweepers at Salvador Perez to get him to strike out, retired Carter Jensen on a frankly scary flyout, and then got Jac Caglianone to tap a comebacker right at him to end the inning without trouble.
Then, a surprise: Dan Wilson sent Hancock back out for a seventh inning of work, and Hancock dug down for what he had left, collecting two more strikeouts from the bottom of the order and getting Kyle Isbel to pop out softly to put a cap on his night. It was a brilliant, beautiful performance from Hancock that deserved so much better than this loss. It deserves a full recap devoted to the particular journey Hancock has taken this season, tunneling himself out of the fear and doubt and ineffectiveness of his first few seasons, bad outings and worse ones, and the perseverance he’s shown in making himself into not just a big-league starter, but the current anchor of this rotation.
If you want to just watch this highlight and stop reading, go ahead. I won’t fault you.
But once again, the bullpen wasn’t able to protect that slender lead, and the offense wasn’t able to add on. To be clear, Eduard Bazardo is blameless in this; he worked a clean eighth inning with some help from a diving Randy Arozarena. But Andrés Muñoz had the ninth and things started off roughly, with perpetual Mariner-killer Salvador Perez lining a leadoff single into right field and then pinch-runner Lane Thomas getting to second on a called balk. “DAN DO SOMETHING!” hollered one aggrieved fan in front of me in the press box and honestly, yes, I would also have liked for Dan to fix it somehow. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do. Muñoz struck out Carter Jensen on a slider, but then Jac Caglianone ambushed a first-pitch heater for an RBI single – and then advanced to third on a fielding error by the normally surehanded Julio Rodríguez, who just sort of…let the ball roll past him. A swinging bunt from Isaac Collins advanced the runner to third, bringing up Michael Massey, who popped out to end the inning and make Julio’s error academic, but it felt like another missed stitch in the ugly afghan that was this game. May seems a little late to be making these kinds of mistakes, and so many of them.
The Royals brought out the anciént one (Matt Strahm) again for the ninth, causing Wilson to dip into his bench and summon Rob Refsnyder to pinch-hit for Canzone after Cole Young flew out softly for the first out of the inning. But righty pinch-hitters Refsnyder and Connor Joe couldn’t get anything cooking, and the game went to extras.
Cooper Criswell was tasked with handling the tenth and immediately had a base stolen off him, but was able to strike out Kyle Isbel for the first out of the inning, so it was basically like the sac bunt worked. That turned the lineup over, though, and Maikel Garcia was able to get that runner home with a shallow sac fly. Criswell was able to retire Bobby Witt Jr., but the Mariners – who hadn’t scored on a hit since the first inning of the game, remember – now entered with the bottom of their lineup to try to score off Royals closer Lucas Erceg.
They did not. It’s not important how. In lieu of dwelling on this annoying, frustrating, frankly godawful loss, let’s return to Emerson Hancock. While images of Randy Johnson snarling and strutting filled the giant screen behind him, Hancock warmed up as he always does, keeping an even tempo. The old baseball rule is you don’t talk to pitchers on their start days; most of the Mariners starters don’t follow that, but definitely not Hancock, who greets every member of the media as he does every day, with a soft hello-how-are-ya. Pregame, he was hanging on the batting turtle with Kevin Seitzer, maybe talking about the Braves, who come into town next, cheering a Dominic Canzone homer that scraped the upper deck. Hancock admitted he was a little starstruck by the baseball luminaries – Nolan Ryan and Pedro Martinez among them – whose voices filled the stadium before his start, but stopped short of saying he felt pressure to bring something of their greatness into his game, despite his career-best performance.
“You go out there and you try to be someone you’re not, you try to do something you don’t usually do, you can run into a trap,” said Hancock.
Not intent to dominate but intent to compete. Not a 99 mph fastball but one that ticks down to 93 at times and he lets it. Not an untouchable, harrowing presence, but a warm one that reflects the Georgia sun and open farmlands. Not a snarl but a smile. Emerson Hancock has always done it his way, and tonight he did it better than he ever has. In a frustrating game, that’s worth holding on to – the lesson that you don’t have to borrow anyone else’s persona to be great. Stick to who you are, be who you are, and you can find your own way to it, no matter how long it takes.
BOSTON — The Sixers must swiftly turn the page to Round 2.
After the elation of their Game 7 win Saturday night over the Celtics, the No. 7 seed Sixers will prepare to face the No. 3 seed Knicks. Game 1 is set for Monday night at Madison Square Garden.
“They’re a really great team,” VJ Edgecombe said. “They’ve obviously played together for a minute, so they have good chemistry. They play hard. We’ve just got to go in there and do the same thing. Match their energy, match their intensity and may the best team win.”
Below is the full schedule for the best-of-seven series. Start times and broadcasters are TBD for (potential) Games 5 through 7.
Game 1: Monday, May 4 at 8 p.m. ET: Sixers at Knicks on NBC and Peacock
Game 2: Wednesday, May 6 at 7 p.m. ET: Sixers at Knicks on ESPN
Game 3: Friday, May 8 at 7 p.m. ET: Sixers vs. Knicks on Amazon Prime
Game 4: Sunday, May 10 at 3:30 p.m. ET: Sixers vs. Knicks on ABC
The 2025-26 Knicks went 53-29 during the regular season. While the Sixers are a hot, confident group, they clearly respect what New York will bring to the table.
“Their starting lineup is incredible,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said. “I think they continue to bolster their bench. They can play in a variety of ways with one big, two bigs. (Jalen) Brunson is obviously a big problem. Their rebounding is a big problem. I think they’re a much bigger team in general than what we just saw.
“I think they’re very, very good. I think it’s going to be a tremendous challenge.”
The Mets pitching prospect fired a one-hitter over six innings with six strikeouts and two walks against Lehigh Valley.
Tong, who took a no-hitter into the sixth, has pitched to a 4.60 ERA in seven starts this season, but his 44 strikeouts are tied for the most in the minor leagues.
“We need to continue to see that,” manager Carlos Mendoza said before the Mets’ 4-3, 10-inning loss to the Angels, when asked about Tong’s latest performance.
“He’s a guy that is important for this organization, for us, and we will continue to watch him closely. But it was good to see him today putting together another good outing out there.”
Tong, 22, started five games for the Mets last season and pitched to a 7.72 ERA.
Jonah Tong was absolutely DOMINATE today on the mound!
Jonah Tong throws a pitch during a spring training game March 21. AP
Austin Slater and Andy Ibáñez, both of whom joined the Mets within the last week, were the starting corner outfielders against Angels left-hander Reid Detmers.
“They have done it throughout their career at this level, so there is a reason why they are here and we will continue to give them chances,” Mendoza said.
Ibáñez was 1-for-2 with a sacrifice fly before being pinch it for by Carson Benge. Slater went 2-for-3 and scored a run.
Mets officials were encouraged by Christian Scott’s performance Friday, when he rebounded from a shaky performance a week earlier — in his return to the major leagues following Tommy John surgery — and went five innings against the Angels, allowing three earned runs, with eight strikeouts.
Scott walked five batters over 1 ¹/₃ innings in his previous outing.
Scott surrendered a two-run homer to Jorge Soler in the first inning.
Over the next four the Angels managed just an unearned run against him.
“Not only because of his stuff, but he’s just got a really good head,” Mendoza said. “He doesn’t get too high or low. After the last outing and the first inning [Friday] he goes out and kind of like, ‘Here we go again.’ And he didn’t show any sign. I am not surprised. It just goes to show you he’s a mature kid.”
Jorge Polanco has begun taking batting practice on the field in his rehab from a right wrist contusion that has sidelined him for the last two weeks.
Polanco has also dealt with left Achilles bursitis.
The Mets are now 305-305 all time in interleague play.
May 1, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson (1) rebounds against the Los Angeles Lakers during the third quarter of game six of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images | Erik Williams-Imagn Images
There are two ways a team can lose to end the season: graciously and how the Rockets went out.
Then, far more controversially and dangerously, as the Lakers were cycling their starters off the floor, Amen had an objectively dirty play by yanking Austin Reaves’ arm and pulling him to the ground away from the play.
The officials did not see it on the floor, so no call was made. On Saturday afternoon, the league announced that Thompson had given a Flagrant 1 foul for the play.
Amen Thompson’s (HOU) foul against Austin Reaves (LAL) at 5:55 of 4th qtr on 5/1/26 has been upgraded to a Flagrant 1 after league review. https://t.co/OPaXWfNxN7
That is the extent of the punishment Thompson will receive on the play, which feels…generous. Considering how dirty the play was, it’s kind of wild he’s just going to get a fairly modest fine, especially considering the contract he may be signing this summer.
As for Reaves, it doesn’t seem like he’s injured, though it’s not entirely clear. Dan Woike of The Athletic asked about his shoulder postgame and there was no injury.
The lack of clarity part comes from the fact that Reaves was limping after the play, not holding his shoulder. He went to the bench and was using a massage gun on his inner thigh. That being said, he was joking and celebrating with teammates on the bench during the final minutes of the game and didn’t appear to be limping after the game.
It’s a shame this is the conversation that has to be had after the game. But this also isn’t a surprise as this has been the player Thompson has been.
