Daniel Susac (6) started his first big league game as the San Francisco Giants played the New York Mets at Oracle Park in San Francisco, on Thursday, April 2, 2026. (Photo by Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Daniel Susac had to wait four seasons to get to the majors, then another six games just to make his big league debut. All that patience paid off on Thursday night.
The former Arizona Wildcats catcher went 3 for 3 with a walk in his first career start, helping his hometown San Francisco Giants beat the New York Mets 7-2. He became the first Giants player to reach base four times in his first start since 2006.
In his first @MLB start, Daniel Susac came to the plate four times and reached base all four times đź‘Ź pic.twitter.com/1WFo2sRCyE
The 24-year-old Susac, who made his MLB debut as a defensive replacement on Wednesday, wasted no time in his first plate appearance, sending a first-pitch curve ball into right-center field for a single. He singled through the left side of the infield on the next pitch he saw, then drew a 4-pitch walk in his third at-bat and singled up the middle to end the evening.
Per OPTA Stats, Susac is the first catcher with three hits and a walk in his first MLB start since Mike Piazza in 1992.
Susac, who played for Arizona in 2021-22, was a 1st round pick of the Oakland (now Sacramento) Athletics in the 2022 MLB Draft. Blocked at the big league level by other prospects, Susac helped Las Vegas reach the Triple-A championship game last season and then was not added to the Athletics’ 40-man roster in the offseason.
That made him available for the Rule 5 Draft, which allows teams to pick up players from others’ farm systems who aren’t on the 40-man. Those drafted must remain on the MLB roster all season or be offered back to their original team.
Susac was selected by the Minnesota Twins, who then traded him to the Giants. A Northern California native, Susac’s older brother AndrewSusac made his MLB debut with San Francisco in 2014.
At the UA, Susac was Pac-12 Freshman of the Year in 2021 when he helped the Wildcats reach the College World Series, and as a sophomore was an All-American and Golden Spikes Award semifinalist. In 125 career games he hit .351 with 24 home runs and 126 RBI.
After sufficing a three-goal lead and needing to go to a shootout, Luke Evangelista scored in the eighth round of the shootout to give the Nashville Predators a critical 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday at Crypto.com Arena.
In the winning shootout goal, and the only conversion by either team, Evangelista faked a shot on the forehand before pulling it to the backhand and beating goaltender Darcy Kuemper.
The Predators came out of the gate hot, outshooting the Kings, 18-9 in the first period and taking a 2-0 lead. Filip Forsberg netted his 35th goal of the season from an odd angle and Zach L'Heureux scored on the backhand.
L'Heureux had a goal disallowed in the first minute of the game as it was ruled that he had knocked down a Ryan O'Reilly feed with a high stick.
In the early second period, Jonathan Marchessault put away a Matthew Wood rebound to make it 3-0. Adrian Kempe scored four minutes later to get the Kings on the board, but Steven Stamkos responded with his 37th of the year.
Nashville was in a comfortable place up 4-1 halfway through the second period. However, it allowed three unanswered goals, two in the second and one in the third, allowing the Kings to force the game to overtime.
This was the 30th time the Kings have gone to overtime this season and 19th overtime loss, both of which are NHL records.
Nashville generated just two shots on net to LA's one in overtime. In the shootout, O'Reilly, Forsberg, Stamkos, Marchessault, Erik Haula, Tyson Jost and Roman Josi all missed on their attempts before Evangelsita scored.
Despite the Predators picking up the extra point, they are still not in the Wild Card position. San Jose also has 79 points but has played one fewer game than the Predators, giving it the tiebreaker.
Nashville does have the tiebreaker over the Kings in regulation wins.
Juuse Saros made 29 saves on 33 shots in the victory, shutting down every Kings shooter in the shootout.
This won't be the last time the Predators will see the Kings, as they will be back at Crypto.com Arena on Monday.
Nashville will face the Sharks next in San Jose on Saturday at 9 p.m. CST, a game that will break another tie in the Wild Card race.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander became the third Thunder player to win the MVP award since 2014 last year [Getty Images]
The Oklahoma City Thunder condemned the Los Angeles Lakers to one of the heaviest defeats in their history - one made more painful by an injury to star Luka Doncic.
Reigning NBA champions Thunder claimed a commanding 139-96 victory, helped by 28 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, as they improved their league-best record to 61-16.
The Lakers have only been beaten by a greater margin on six occasions, with this 43-point loss just six points short of their worst margin of defeat against the Dallas Mavericks in 2017.
It was a first defeat in five for the Lakers, who must now wait to learn the severity of Doncic's left hamstring injury after the Slovenian appeared emotional as he exited the court during the third quarter.
Doncic, who had scored 40 or more points in each of his previous three games and five of his past seven, will have an MRI scan on Friday, Lakers coach JJ Redick confirmed.
The Lakers had won 13 of their previous 14 games as they seek to hold on to the third seeding in the Western Conference, behind Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs, before the play-offs begin on 18 April.
Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning Most Valuable Player, finished with 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, while Isaiah Joe added 20 points for the Thunder.
Austin Reaves led the Lakers with 15 points despite struggling with back pain, and LeBron James added 13 in 26 minutes.
Thunder's 139 points were the most conceded by the Lakers this season and the 43-point defeat was the team's heaviest since a 44-point loss to Philadelphia in November 2023.
The Mets offense, as a whole, is struggling, but Bo Bichette is starting to look more like himself, and Thursday proved that.
Bichette's box score shows he went 1-for-4, but he could have easily had three hits and driven in a lot more runs. It started in the first, when he lined a double to left field to score the game's first run. He then took Robbie Ray very deep in the third inning. Bichette launched an 86 mph slider to straightaway center. The ball exited the bat at 104 mph and went 390 feet. Unfortunately for Bichette and the Mets, it needed to go 391 feet as Harrison Bader leapt and caught it at the top of the wall.Â
"I don't know, I thought I hit it OK," Bichette said after the game of the near-homerun. "I mean, if I thought I got it, I would've came out of the box a little different."
After a strikeout in the fifth, Bichette's night ended similarly to the robbed home run. He hit a liner that first baseman Casey Schmitt jumped and snagged on a line, before stepping on first base to complete the double play that ended the eighth.Â
"Bo had some really good at-bats today," manager Carlos Mendoza said. "That first inning, that double. The one he drove to centerfield. I thought the at-bats from him today looked like Bo Bichette."
Bo Bichette's first extra base hit as a Met is a double to drive in Juan Soto for the game's first run! pic.twitter.com/O17d90QVoI
The high-profile free agent signing hasn't lived up to his billing in the early going. Entering Thursday's game, Bichette was just 3-for-27 with no extra-base hits. Bichette even admitted that he didn't feel like himself in the first series against the Pirates, but it seems the infielder has found his stroke, especially over the last couple of games.
Although the hits haven't been there, the at-bats look better. He struck out eight times in the first three games, he's struck out just once since and that includes Thursday.Â
"Other than the first three games at home, he’s settling in nicely," Mendoza said. "Not trying to do too much. When he does that, he’s a pretty good player."
But Bichette's re-emergence has not translated to much offense for the team overall. After going 0-for-11 with RISP in Wednesday's series finale against the Cardinals, they were 0-for-3 on Thursday.Â
"I mean, we've faced some pretty good pitchers recently. Or pitchers that have pitched well, that's part of it," Bichette said of the team's struggles. "I think for the most part, guys are having good at-bats. Maybe the contact is just not where we need it... This is baseball, so things go up and down, not that you're OK with it. You need to figure out a way to be better, but this is baseball. We'll show up tomorrow and do it again."
Bichette was asked about his two hard outs -- the near-homerun and the linedrive double play had xBAs of .680 and .520, respectively -- and whether the team is just a bit unlucky to start the season.
"Maybe, but that's not something to fall on. Should always be looking to do better, be better," Bichette said. "So that's what we'll do. Good thing about baseball, we get to do it tomorrow.
"I think people are looking at everything, every day throughout the whole season. Some years you get off to good starts, some years you don't. Just part of it."
Washington Wizards (17-59, 15th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Miami Heat (40-37, 10th in the Eastern Conference)
Miami; Saturday, 3 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Washington will try to stop its three-game road slide when the Wizards face Miami.
The Heat are 24-23 in Eastern Conference games. Miami is fifth in the Eastern Conference with 12.0 offensive rebounds per game led by Kel'el Ware averaging 2.9.
The Wizards are 11-35 in conference matchups. Washington is 2-2 in games decided by less than 4 points.
The Heat score 120.4 points per game, 3.9 fewer points than the 124.3 the Wizards give up. The Heat average 112.7 points per game, 5.5 fewer points than the 118.2 the Heat allow to opponents.
The teams square off for the third time this season. The Heat won the last matchup 150-129 on March 10, with Bam Adebayo scoring 83 points in the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: Adebayo is scoring 20.3 points per game with 10.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists for the Heat. Tyler Herro is averaging 20.2 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 44.4% over the past 10 games.
Bub Carrington is averaging 10.2 points and 4.6 assists for the Wizards. Will Riley is averaging 17.0 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Heat: 2-8, averaging 119.6 points, 41.6 rebounds, 27.8 assists, 7.0 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 46.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 129.3 points per game.
Wizards: 1-9, averaging 113.2 points, 36.6 rebounds, 24.6 assists, 7.6 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 48.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 128.6 points.
INJURIES: Heat: Norman Powell: day to day (illness).
Wizards: Anthony Davis: out (finger), Cam Whitmore: out for season (shoulder), Alex Sarr: day to day (toe), Kyshawn George: out for season (elbow), D'Angelo Russell: out (not injury related), Trae Young: out (quad).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
San Antonio Spurs (58-18, second in the Western Conference) vs. Denver Nuggets (49-28, fourth in the Western Conference)
Denver; Saturday, 3 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: San Antonio plays the Denver Nuggets after Victor Wembanyama scored 41 points in the Spurs' 127-113 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
The Nuggets are 31-16 in Western Conference games. Denver leads the Western Conference with 121.4 points and is shooting 49.5%.
The Spurs are 33-14 in conference matchups. San Antonio averages 119.6 points and has outscored opponents by 8.3 points per game.
The Nuggets average 14.1 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.0 more made shot on average than the 13.1 per game the Spurs give up. The Spurs average 13.7 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.3 more makes per game than the Nuggets allow.
The teams square off for the third time this season. The Nuggets won 136-131 in the last meeting on March 13. Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 39 points, and Stephon Castle led the Spurs with 30 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Nikola Jokic is averaging 27.7 points, 13 rebounds and 10.8 assists for the Nuggets. Murray is averaging 25.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 7.1 assists over the last 10 games.
De'Aaron Fox is averaging 18.5 points and 6.2 assists for the Spurs. Julian Champagnie is averaging 2.3 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Nuggets: 8-2, averaging 126.4 points, 45.8 rebounds, 33.1 assists, 6.3 steals and 3.2 blocks per game while shooting 50.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 117.2 points per game.
Spurs: 10-0, averaging 124.3 points, 51.2 rebounds, 32.0 assists, 7.1 steals and 5.9 blocks per game while shooting 49.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107.1 points.
INJURIES: Nuggets: Zeke Nnaji: day to day (hip), Peyton Watson: day to day (hamstring), Tim Hardaway Jr.: day to day (knee), Spencer Jones: day to day (hamstring).
Spurs: David Jones Garcia: out for season (ankle), Victor Wembanyama: out (injury management).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
BOTTOM LINE: Indiana faces Charlotte in Eastern Conference action Friday.
The Hornets are 24-24 against Eastern Conference opponents. Charlotte is fourth in the Eastern Conference at limiting opponent scoring, giving up just 111.4 points while holding opponents to 46.7% shooting.
The Pacers are 14-33 against conference opponents. Indiana is 6-34 in games decided by at least 10 points.
The Hornets average 116.2 points per game, 4.5 fewer points than the 120.7 the Pacers allow. The Pacers average 13.3 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.5 more makes per game than the Hornets allow.
The teams meet for the fourth time this season. The Hornets won 133-109 in the last matchup on Feb. 27.
TOP PERFORMERS: LaMelo Ball is averaging 19.6 points and 7.1 assists for the Hornets. Coby White is averaging 18.7 points over the last 10 games.
Jay Huff is averaging 9.4 points and 1.8 blocks for the Pacers. Pascal Siakam is averaging 13.7 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Hornets: 7-3, averaging 119.7 points, 46.1 rebounds, 25.5 assists, 6.6 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 47.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 105.1 points per game.
Pacers: 3-7, averaging 121.4 points, 38.4 rebounds, 34.2 assists, 6.7 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 52.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 125.3 points.
INJURIES: Hornets: PJ Hall: out (ankle).
Pacers: T.J. McConnell: out (hamstring), Obi Toppin: day to day (foot), Johnny Furphy: out for season (knee), Andrew Nembhard: out (back), Ivica Zubac: out for season (rib), Jarace Walker: out (back), Pascal Siakam: day to day (knee), Aaron Nesmith: out (neck), Tyrese Haliburton: out for season (achilles).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
LAS VEGAS -- Mitch Marner registered the fourth hat trick of his career and the Golden Knights improved to 2-0 under coach John Tortorella after coming from behind to defeat the Calgary Flames 6-3 on Thursday night.
Vegas two-game win streak comes at a perfect time, as the team will embark on its final road trip of the season, a four-game trek that begins in Edmonton on Saturday.
The Oilers and Anaheim Ducks lead the Pacific Division with 87 points, while the Knights sit third with 84. The Ducks have a game in hand on the Oilers and Knights.
Pavel Dorofeyev, Brett Howden and Ivan Barbashev also scored for the Knights, while Carter Hart made 19 saves in his first appearance since Jan. 8.
The Golden Knights hit the road on a four-game point streak.
KEY MOMENT
Though it would be easy to pinpoint Howden's game-winning goal with 7:40 left in the game, the key moment goes to Hart, who made a key stop on Blake Coleman, who had two goals for the Flames. He could have had three, but Hart stymied the left wing during a short-handed odd-man rush with 11:31 left in the game. Marner showed off his defensive skills there, too, as he batted the puck from the air off the rebound from Hart's save to help keep the game tied at 3-all.
KEY STAT
+3 ... The Hockey News colleague Hannah Kirkell makes an excellent point that the number of 2-on-1 situations Vegas gave Calgary could easily be the key stat. Unfortunately, the eye test doesn't give us an official stat for that. Instead, the +3 goal differential in the third period for the Knights was the difference, as they continued their domination in the final period. For the season, Vegas has outscored teams, 97-57.
WHAT A KNIGHT
Marner had his hand in five of the team's six goals, scoring three of them and assisting on two others. Tortorella said he planned on shaking things up with his forward lines, most notably moving Marner around in the lineup, including a potential top line of Jack Eichel, Mark Stone and Marner. For Thursday, Marner centered wingers Barbashev and Stone, a line that produced nine points (4 goals, 5 assists).
UP NEXT
The Golden Knights open a four-game road trip on Saturday, when they'll visit their Pacific Division rival, the Edmonton Oilers.
PHOTO CAPTION: Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mitch Marner (93) celebrates after scoring his third goal of the game against the Calgary Flames during the third period at T-Mobile Arena.
It's not often that the Detroit Red Wings pick up a victory in the City of Brotherly Love, but for just the fourth time since early 1997, they did just that - and at a most critical time of their season.
Detroit defeated the Philadelphia Flyers by a 4-2 final score at Xfinity Mobile Arena, moving into a three-way tie with the Ottawa Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets in the ultra-tight standings.
The Red Wings were paced by a pair of goals from Alex DeBrincat and a strong performance in net by goaltender John Gibson, who made his 13th straight start and rebounded from being pulled twice in a row.
While they were outshot by the Flyers, Detroit's intensity was far more apparent than it had been in three of their four previous outings, all regulation losses.
"Great effort, right from the start of the game, we knew it would be a tough road game," said Patrick Kane, who scored the game-winning goal in the third period. "It's hockey. Nothing is going to go perfectly throughout the game. We found a way to get some timely goals for sure."
Alex DeBrincat scored his team-leading 38th and 39th goals of the season, the latter of which came just 15 seconds after Travis Konecny scored to bring the Flyers back to within a single tally.
"Right from the start, we played hard and matched the physicality and their intensity," DeBrincat said. "I thought we played pretty well for the whole game. Obviously, in the third period, they came on us a little bit, and it took us a little bit to settle into that speed, but overall, right after their goal, we scored another one and got a big two points."
DeBrincat is now one goal away from becoming Detroit's first 40-goal forward since Marian Hossa in the 2008-09 NHL season.
As said by head coach Todd McLellan, the Red Wings need to make this winning feeling contagious as they head into another pivotal game on Saturday against the New York Rangers.
"Going forward, winning and losing is contagious: lose, and you get down and question yourself, maybe question your system or your linemates," McLellan said. "But a win can turn that and go the other way."
"We worked real hard tonight," he continued. "We had a formula we thought would give us a chance at success. And that shouldn't change as we head to New York. We'll get a quick practice in tomorrow and move on."
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Whether Sean Manaea returns to the Mets rotation is yet to be seen, but the left-hander's performance in Thursday's loss to the Giants was a good sign for the club.Â
In relief of David Peterson, who allowed six runs over 4.1 innings, Manaea gave the team and their bullpen some much-needed rest by finishing the game.
Manaea wasn't perfect; he allowed a run on four hits and two walks in his 3.2 innings against his former team, but what he showed on the mound was enough for manager Carlos Mendoza to be impressed.
"It was a positive step there. He was aggressive, fastball had life. Got some swings and misses and for him to finish that game and save the bullpen, it's huge," Mendoza said after the game. "Talking about Manaea, personally, can build on this one. There were a lot of good signs out of this one today."
"Felt really, really good," Manaea said of his outing. "Was kinda grindy there in the seventh. Lost a little, but locked it in, and the eighth inning felt really, really good."
That seventh is where Manaea pitched into trouble. After getting the first two outs, the Giants hit back-to-back singles and Manaea walked the bases loaded. He got out of it by getting Rafael Devers -- who homered off of him in the sixth -- to ground out to end the threat. With the Mets playing their sixth straight game, with the next day off not arriving until Monday, it was important for Manaea to give the team length, and he did.
"Meant everything [to get out of the seventh]. Where the game was at, there was no reason to use anyone else," Manaea said. "I was going to be down regardless; might as well use me for the rest of the game....This is a family, this is a team. Everyone has work to do. I was happy I was able to help out the boys today."
Manaea said he felt "free and easy" throwing his pitches on Thursday, and with confidence. He boasted about getting to throw some left-on-left changeups and his sinker was working well for him.Â
But the velocity continues to be a topic for Manaea. It's well-documented that the velocity dipped from last season, and while it was a tick up on Thursday, his fastball is still averaging in the high 80s. Manaea said that the small tick in velocity is a result of changes that he's made since spring.
"Just working on some things. It’s small incremental changes," Manaea explained. "Today was the first day that felt synced up and connected. Felt great."
Before the game, Mendoza said that if Manaea were to get into a game, he'd want his southpaw to throw 50-60 pitches to keep stretching him out. On Thursday, Manaea tossed 74 and he'll be down for a few days.Â
The Mets skipper was asked about the possibility of Manaea returning to the rotation soon, but Mendoza maintains that the situation remains fluid.
"The fact there’s a lot of positive from his outing today is good for us," Mendoza said. "
It was important for him to throw that many pitches, continue to have him stretch out in case we make the decision when we have to. There was a lot of positive from him today. Not only from a workload standpoint, but from the way he threw the ball."
Manaea was asked his thoughts on the rotation situation and whether it's his desire to be a starter again. The veteran, who has been a starter and a reliever in different parts of his career, gave a selfless response.Â
"All I’m worried about is pitching and helping out this team. Whether I’m in the starting rotation or not, that’s all that I care about," he answered. "
We’ve got five extremely talented starters and my role right now is to help this team in the capacity that I’m doing, and I’m very excited to do that."
The Calgary Flames dropped a 6-3 decision to the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday night.
It was the first meeting with Rasmus Andersson since his departure from Calgary, while Zach Whitecloud was welcomed back with a standing ovation from the Vegas crowd. Connor Zary and Yan Kuznetsov returned to the lineup after missing time with injury, and Dustin Wolf got the start in goal.
Vegas controlled the early pace, but Calgary opened the scoring. Following a penalty kill, Morgan Frost forced a turnover, held the puck with time and space, and beat Carter Hart at 7:41 for an unassisted goal. The Flames couldn’t capitalize on a late 5-on-3 advantage and were outshot 14-7 in the first, with Wolf keeping the game in check.
The Golden Knights tied it early in the second. Mitch Marner tipped a Shea Theodore point shot past Wolf at 1:47, with Brayden McNabb adding an assist.
Calgary answered quickly after a key save from Wolf, who broke up a breakaway with a one-handed poke check. The Flames transitioned the other way, and Mikael Backlund found Blake Coleman in stride. Coleman finished the rush at 4:38 to restore the lead, with Joel Farabee picking up the secondary assist.
Vegas responded again. Jack Eichel found Andersson jumping into the play, and Andersson set up Marner for his second of the night at 6:42 to make it 2-2.
Coleman struck again midway through the period. After chipping the puck out of the defensive zone, he raced up ice and beat Hart with a shot off the post at 12:11 to give Calgary a 3-2 lead.
The Golden Knights pulled even before the intermission on the power play, as Marner set up Pavel Dorofeyev for a one-timer at 16:21 to tie it 3-3.
Vegas took control in the third. Brett Howden finished a rush from the high slot at 12:20 to give the Golden Knights their first lead, and Ivan Barbashev added insurance at 14:59.
Marner capped the night late, completing the hat trick with a wraparound tally at 18:31 to seal the 6-3 final.
Three Takeaways:
1. Coleman led the Flames offence with two goals, continuing his strong stretch and pulling into a share of the team lead with 19.
LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 31: James Harden #1 of the Cleveland Cavaliers looks on during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 31, 2026 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, California. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Cleveland Cavaliers overcame a heavy turnover game to win on the road against the Golden State Warriors.
All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.
Yet, as much as I want to bemoan the quality of attempts like this, I can’t deny that Mitchell was scoring efficiently. I can’t say I love the process. But for tonight, I’ll live with the results.
Turnovers were an issue for Mitchell. Though each unforced error seemed to fuel his frustrations and make him more engaged defensively. As I said, this was a contradictory game.
Grade: B-
James Harden
19 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, 4 turnovers
Harden’s defense has been as bad as advertised. It’s not fun watching him get backdoor cuts for easy layups. It is, however, fun to watch him throw lobs. The duality of man.
The Cavs closed this game behind two plays from Harden. First, he drew a double team and dished to Max Strus for a huge three-pointer. Then, he danced one-on-one for a tough floater in the lane to extend the lead to six with 21 seconds remaining. That will help your grade.
Grade: B
Evan Mobley
12 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal
Mobley has historically struggled against Kristaps Porzingis. With this in mind, he certainly handled that individual matchup better than in the past. Mobley didn’t appear as bothered by KP’s length and was able to help contain him on the other end.
Zooming out, Mobley lost this matchup in the non-Porzingis minutes. That was his opportunity to make his presence felt. Instead, Mobley lacked the aggression he had in March. Let’s hope he finds that again soon.
Grade: C+
Jarrett Allen
16 points, 13 rebounds, 1 steal
Allen is still clearly working through some pain in his knee. He hasn’t been as explosive with the ball. Though, he’s still converting most of his looks at the rim and playing a key role as Cleveland’s defensive anchor.
Gotta hit more than half of your free throws, Fro. He shot 6-12 from the line tonight.
Grade: B+
Sam Merrill
13 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals
We’ve seen a few games like this from Sam recently. He couldn’t find his rhythm from downtown, but he made up for it by getting downhill and creating plays off his gravity. Still, we’d like to see Sam get free for a big scoring night. He’s not out there to pass the ball.
Grade: C–
Max Strus
24 points, 2 assists, 5 rebounds
The Cavs lose this game without Strus Point, blank, period.
It wasn’t just his pair of triples in the clutch, but also his activity away from the ball. Strus helped the Cavs secure numerous rebounds with timely box outs — and he even forced a tough turnover on the Warriors by pressuring the ball on a defensive board.
Grade: A+
Keon Ellis
4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
I’m sobering up to the Ellis experience on defense. He isn’t as sound a defender as the blocks and steals would make you think. His game has some rough edges in terms of suppressing shot attempts and making the correct rotations.
That said, he’s given me the exact opposite impression on offense. Ellis has broken out of a box and become more than a traditional catch-and-shoot player. I’ve enjoyed watching him cut to the basket and play from the middle of the floor. He had two nice dunks tonight off of cuts.
Schroder nearly threw this game off the rails in the fourth quarter with a flagrant foul followed by a tech for complaining to the officials. Yes, he was being grabbed — but that was a bad time to get on the referee’s bad side.
He saves his grade by scoring efficiently tonight. Schroder shot 4-7 from the floor and 3-3 from the free throw line. That’s a big boost in a game where the Cavs struggled to score consistently.
Grade: B-
Thomas Bryant
3 points, 3 rebounds
The last few games haven’t been kind to Bryant. His impact is slipping as the season goes on. This wasn’t his best effort.
Apr 2, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Atlanta Braves designated hitter Dominic Smith (8) celebrates a home run during the third inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Arianna Grainey-Imagn Images | Arianna Grainey-Imagn Images
In what quickly became the most lopsided game of the season, the Braves struck early and often against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Thursday night en route to a 17-2 win.
The Braves are now 5-2 on the young season, It took until game 17 last year to win five games.
Matt Olson and Dom Smith both launched solo homers in the first and third innings, respectively, to make it 2-0 early. Both baseballs traveled 430 feet in cavernous Chase Field. Smith continues to really hit the ball after being thrown into the DH role midway through the spring, while Olson continued to damage baseballs in Phoenix, where his career OPS is above 1.100.
The real magic transpired in the fifth inning, when Atlanta sent TWELVE batters to the plate and scored eight runs.
Ronald Acuña Jr. walked with the bases loaded to make it 3-1. In what ended up being perhaps the play of the game, Drake Baldwin grounded a ball to Nolan Arenado that appeared to be an inning-ending double play. Baldwin flew down the first base line and somehow beat the throw by a step — overturned on instant replay review — to keep the inning alive. Matt Olson then doubled down the right field line, Birthday Boy Austin Riley drove in two more runs with a double of his own, Ozzie Albies doinked one to the outfield, and Michael Harris capped it off with a line drive off the left field wall to make it 10-2 in the blink of an eye.
Reynaldo Lopez was effective over five innings, needing 79 pitches to get through Arizona’s lineup. He allowed one run on four hits and a walk, striking out three. His velocity was solid again with his fastball hovering in the mid-90s, although he only recorded six whiffs.
Tyler Kinley and Osvaldo Bido closed things out as the Braves continued to tack on runs against Arizona’s lifeless bullpen.
The series continues on Apple TV on Friday night with Grant Holmes set to face Eduardo Rodriguez. First pitch is set for 9:45 p.m. ET.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — De'Aaron Fox scored 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting, and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Los Angeles Clippers 118-99 on Thursday night without Victor Wembanyama in the lineup to win their 11th in a row.
Wembanyama was rested on the second night of a back-to-back. He had 41 points and 18 rebounds in a 127-113 win at the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.
The Spurs had six players in double figures, including Stephon Castle with 20 points and Dylan Harper with 19 off the bench.
San Antonio kept alive its hopes of catching Oklahoma City for the top spot in the West. The Spurs improved to 27-2 since Feb. 1 and 11-5 when Wembanyama doesn't play.
Kawhi Leonard scored 24 points to lead the Clippers with his 53rd consecutive game of 20 or more points. Bennedict Mathurin added 18 points off the bench and John Collins had 15. The loss dropped them to the ninth spot for the play-in tournament with their second straight loss after winning five in a row. Portland moved into eighth after a 118-106 win.
The Spurs led by 26 points in the first half. They shot 72% from the floor early in the second quarter, opening with an 11-2 run and hitting 20 of their first 28 shots.
The Clippers rallied in the third when they outscored the Spurs 34-19. Mathurin had 10 points and Leonard eight as the Clippers closed with a 14-4 run to trail 87-78 going into the fourth.
But the Spurs quickly regained the momentum. Castle scored eight of their 10 points in extending the lead to 99-84.
Up next
Spurs: Visit Denver on Saturday in final road game of regular season.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 02: Max Strus #2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers makes a three-point shot in the fourth quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on April 02, 2026 in San Francisco, California. 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 Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Cleveland Cavaliers pulled out a win against the Golden State Warriors. Let’s go over today’s winners and losers.
WINNER AND LOSER – Defense
On one hand, the Cavs played to their strengths by packing the paint and daring Golden State to shoot from downtown. The math worked in Cleveland’s favor as the Warriors shot just 12-44 from downtown. That’s a win for the Cavs.
Nonetheless, am I greedy for thinking the Cavs’ defense could have been even better? They blew a handful of possessions by simply falling asleep at the wheel.
Let’s take a look at a few examples.
This first clip is a prime example of ball watching. If any of Cleveland’s guards made an active effort to attack the glass, they might have secured this defensive stop.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand why you’d leave a non-shooting threat open. But, is it really smart to not even make the Dubs work for it? I’m not sure it’s wise to leave anyone this available on an inbounds play. Payton misses the shot, but my point remains.
Finally, here’s a clip of James Harden being backdoor cut for a layup. This happened a handful of times tonight.
The Cavs didn’t need to have razor-sharp focus to beat the Warriors in April. But they will need to be more dialed in later this month. This was another missed opportunity to build healthier habits defensively — even if the result was a win.
(Honorable WINNER mention for RealCavsFans. Thanks for the clips.)
LOSER – Turnovers
Unforced errors were the name of the game. The Cavs let a few mental lapses stop them from having a truly dominant night on defense. The same can be said for their sputtering offense.
Cleveland had double-digit turnovers going into halftime. But it wasn’t just the frequency at which they turned it over; it was how they threw the ball away.
There’s nothing more damaging than carelessly throwing the ball to your opponent. Granting the enemy a full head of steam going the other way with a numbers advantage is how you lose control of games. The Cavs flirted with this outcome throughout the first half, dangerously giving the Warriors plenty of opportunities to score in transition.
Golden State outscored the Cavs 23-8 in points off turnovers. A 15-point swing in one category is big in a game that came down to the wire.
The Dubs deserve some credit. Draymond Green, in particular, did a fantastic job guarding the pick-and-roll and was responsible for blowing up numerous actions. The Cavs’ ball-handlers had a difficult time getting comfortable against a pesky Warriors backcourt, too.
Things eventually normalized as Cleveland regained control in the second half. Still, it was a bit frustrating to see the Cavs spin their wheels for minutes at a time. This offense is too potent to get stuck in the mud. A single Cavalanche would have made this game feel much more digestible.
LOSER – That near collapse
The Cavs picked up a flagrant foul and two technicals in a span of 30 seconds. Toss in a few turnovers, and I can only describe this moment with one gif:
Thankfully, things didn’t go as badly as they could have. The Cavs pulled themselves back together just in time for a great finish.
WINNER – Max Strus
This was shaping up to be a bummer of a game. Turnovers and defensive errors were going to result in a frustrating loss.
Then Max Strus happened.
Strus poured on 24 points on 6-10 three-point shooting, multiple coming in the crunch time of the fourth quarter. His off-ball activity made it so the Cavs always had a release valve — and his pairing with James Harden is seamless. Any time the Warriors overloaded on Harden, Strus made them pay.
On defense, he ramped up the intensity by being aggressive on box-outs and getting into his opponent’s chest. All of the tone-setting things you’d expect from a winner like Max.
“Big Shot Max,” said Kenny Atkinson after the game. “It’s just certain guys whose DNA is made, make or miss, it’s either a big shot or a big offensive rebound. That’s why, now that I know him better, it’s like we need him at the end of the game.”
The Cavs know what they have in Strus. That’s why he’s already back in the starting lineup and playing 28 minutes just a few games after returning from injury. This is a guy who can help you win on the margins, as he did tonight.
