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Playoff Game Preview: Knicks vs 76ers, Game 1, May 4, 2026

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 03: Tyrese Maxey #0 of the Philadelphia 76ers in action against Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks during game at Madison Square Garden on January 03, 2026 in New York City. The Philadelphia 76ers won 130-119. 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 Ishika Samant/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The New York Knicks (53–29) open their second-round series tonight against the Philadelphia 76ers (45–37) at Madison Square Garden. Game time is 8 p.m., and you can catch it on NBC and Peacock.

The Knicks finished their first-round series 4–2, thanks to a 51-point evisceration of the Hawks on Friday. Pacome Dadiet went 2-of-4 and finished with five points. Nice! Our heroes scored a couple of extra days off, thanks to Philadelphia pushing their series with Boston to seven games, completing a comeback from a 3–1 hole.

These teams split the season series 2–2. The last meeting—February 11 in Philadelphia—was a demolition, a 138–89 Knicks win. Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges controlled the game, while Tyrese Maxey had 32 in defeat.

The Philadelphia 76ers (45–37, seventh in the East) profile as a middle-of-the-pack team on both ends—17th in offense (115.9 PPG), around league average defensively (116.1 allowed). It’s a volatile group that leans heavily on star power rather than depth or consistency. They ranked in the bottom tier for three-point shooting, but they get to the free-throw line a bunch and were sixth in steals.

Joel Embiid averaged 32 points, 10.5 rebounds, and five assists in two tussles with the Knicks this season. The big fella—who once had some choice words for Karl-Anthony Towns—is listed as probable for today’s game with a sore hip. After a regular season defined by load management and a late-season appendectomy, Joel Embiid has regained his MVP-caliber form at the perfect moment for the Cheesesteaks. After playing just 38 games this season, the big man has been a dominant presence in the postseason so far, dropping 34 points in the final game against Boston. Although this became Tyrese Maxey’s team while the aging Embiid nursed his injuries, Embiid remains the biggest problem on New York’s whiteboard.

Karl-Anthony Towns has averaged 20.6 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 14 games versus Joel Embiid, while Embiid has averaged 28 points, 9.4 boards, and 3.6 dimes. But really, we’re most excited to see Mitchell Robinson square up with Joel, especially after the latter tried to end Mitch’s career in their last playoff series.

Speaking of Maxey, the young guard had another strong 2025–26 regular season as the Philadelphia 76ers’ primary option. He averaged 28.3 points (5th in the NBA), 6.6 assists (15th), and 4.1 rebounds per game across 70 games, while playing heavy minutes (>38 MPG). Shooting 46% from the field, 37% from three, and 89% from the free-throw line, he’s a scoring threat from all depths—and not shabby on defense either (1.9 steals per game). We expect Mikal Bridges will guard him to start the series.

Jalen Brunson (23.6 PPG, 5.7 AST, 4.6 REB) has a slight all-around edge over Tyrese Maxey (22.5 PPG, 4.3 AST, 2.9 REB) across their 16 career matchups.

The third star of their squad is Paul George, who pulled off one of the cleverest scams in NBA history. Not only did he take a banned substance that (we assume) benefited his body, but that led to a 25-game suspension (or, if you like, rest) that has him nice and fresh for the postseason. Aging hoopers, take note! Due to his scandal-shortened season (scandal seems strong, given how little media attention has been given to his malfeasance), Georgie boy appeared in just 37 games, averaging 17.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.7 steals in 30.7 minutes per game. The 15-year vet just turned 36 this week, but can still shoot—he made 44% from the field, 39% from three-point range, and 82% from the free-throw line. We expect OG Anunoby to defend him to start the series.

VJ Edgecombe had an outstanding rookie 2025–26 regular season with the Sixers after being selected third overall in the 2025 NBA Draft. The 20-year-old guard played in 75 games (all starts), averaging 16 points, about six boards, and 1.4 steals in 35 minutes per game. While making 43.8% from the field, 35.4% from three, and 81.8% from the free-throw line, he showed strong two-way versatility, athleticism, and playmaking as a primary wing creator. As a result, he earned strong Rookie of the Year consideration (finishing third) and has become a cornerstone piece for the Sixers.

Rounding out Nick Nurse’s starting five is one of my least favorite players in the league, Kelly Oubre Jr. When not perfecting his Sideshow Bob hairdo or suspicious hit-and-run stories, Oubre has carved a nice niche for himself in Philly. In an injury-shortened 2025–26 season, he appeared in 50 games (41 starts), averaged 14.1 points, five boards, and 1.4 steals in 31.5 minutes per game. Oubre shot 46.7% from the field, 36% from three-point range, and 77% from the free-throw line, providing reliable scoring, athleticism, and perimeter defense.

One thing that might sting will be seeing Quentin Grimes come off the bench. The former Knick had a productive 2025–26 regular season as a key rotation guard/wing for the Sixers, appearing in 75 games (19 starts) and averaging 13.4 points in 29.4 minutes per game. He shot 45% from the field, 33.4% from downtown, and 84% from the free-throw line. In the Celtics series, he delivered in a few big moments, and it can be hard to watch him without thinking what could have been. You may recall that Q-Dot was traded to the Detroit Pistons in February 2024 as part of a multi-player deal to acquire Bojan Bogdanović and Alec Burks.

Aside from Embiid’s hip, there’s nothing noteworthy on the injury report for tonight’s game. Check back later in this series, which is sure to be physical, and you’re likely to see the list fill up.

Prediction

ESPN.com thinks the Knicks have a 77% chance tonight. Wowza! The central question seems to be: can Philly’s top-end talent generate enough offense to overcome New York’s depth, size, and physicality? The Knicks want a grind, and they stand a good chance to win the series if they can dictate pace and physicality (and make their shots). It starts with one win, however, and it starts with defense and rebounding. Towns and Robinson need to control second chances and make Embiid sweat. If New York can stymie Embiid, Maxey, and George and deliver on the offensive end, then we should enjoy a nice, eight-point Knicks win to start Round Two. Go Knicks!

Game Details

Who: New York Knicks (0-0) vs Philadelphia  76ers (0-0) 
Date: Monday, May 4, 2026
Time: 8:00 PM ET
Place: Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, NY
TV: Peacock / NBC
Follow: @ptknicksblog and bsky

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4th straight 1st-round exit leaves the Lightning searching for answers

TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Lightning dominated most of Game 7, had triple the scoring opportunities and still found a way to lose.

It’s an early exit for the fourth straight season.

A pair of fluky goals helped the Montreal Canadiens beat the Lightning 2-1, sending Tampa Bay to a familiar first-round exit.

The Lightning played their best game of the series, held the Canadiens to just nine shots and yet are heading on vacation while the Canadiens advance to face the Buffalo Sabres.

Montreal’s first goal bounced off Lightning defenseman J.J. Moser and went in. The second was whacked out of the air behind the net, hit goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy’s pad and his backside and went in..

“The hockey gods have been in my corner many, many times. Tonight they were in the other corner,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said.

For a talented team whose standard is hoisting Stanley Cups, nobody has any answers. Since falling two wins short of a three-peat in 2022, Tampa Bay can’t win a series.

“I don’t really have words,” Ryan McDonagh said. “You like a lot about the game. From start to finish, we stuck with our process and our plan. But at the end it doesn’t matter because they had two, we had one. It’s a loss. Credit to them. They grinded and found a way.”

The Lightning just couldn’t get much past rookie goalie Jakub Dobes throughout the series. He made 28 saves in Game 7. Tampa Bay didn’t get enough production from its offensive stars. Nikita Kucherov, who had 130 points in the regular season, still has zero in his career in Game 7s.

“There’s some disbelief in our room that we can play like that and not walk away with anything,” Cooper said about the defensive effort. “We couldn’t have played any better and still it wasn’t good enough. You have to tip your cap to (Canadiens coach) Martin St. Louis, Jakub Dobes and the Montreal Canadiens.”

After tallying 106 points in the regular season and finishing second in the division, the Lightning missed an opportunity to make a run at the Cup.

And, the team could be running out of time together.

Kucherov and Jake Guentzel, the team’s two leading scorers in the regular season, and Vasilevskiy are in their early 30s. McDonagh is 36. Captain Victor Hedman, who hasn’t played since March, is 35.

Darren Raddysh, who is coming off a breakout 70-point season, will be a free agent.

“It sucks. You don’t get any younger that’s for sure,” Brandon Hagel said. “I have one goal on my mind every single year and I just want to win.”

The Lightning have to wait until next year to do that.

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Anthony Volpe’s rehab ends and Yankees option shortstop to Triple-A with José Caballero playing well

NEW YORK — Anthony Volpe’s rehab from left shoulder surgery ended, but the shortstop’s next step is not rejoining the New York Yankees.

With José Caballero excelling as New York’s everyday shortstop, the AL East-leading Yankees announced they had optioned Volpe to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

“Caballero is playing the heck out of the position and playing really well,” manager Aaron Boone said before an 11-3 win over Baltimore. “That complicates it.”

Volpe batted .250 (11 for 44) in 13 minor league rehabilitation games, mostly for Double-A Somerset. He reached the maximum 20th day for a rehab assignment in the minors.

If Volpe remains in the minors for another 20 days or more, it would delay his free-agent eligibility by a year until after the 2029 season.

Volpe had left shoulder surgery on Oct. 14, a week after the Yankees were eliminated by Toronto in the AL Division Series.

Volpe hit .212 with 19 homers and a career-high 72 RBIs last year and made a career-high 19 errors, tied for third-most among major league shortstops. He got a cortisone shot on Sept. 10 after reaggravating a previous shoulder injury three days earlier.

Volpe also had a cortisone shot during the All-Star break. He initially got hurt when he felt a pop in his shoulder during a loss to Tampa Bay on May 3 last season.

As a rookie in 2023, Volpe won a Gold Glove and hit .209 with 21 homers, 60 RBIs and had 24 stolen bases after winning the shortstop job in spring training.

He batted .243 with 12 homers and 60 RBIs in 2024.

In the 2024 playoffs, Volpe batted .286 and hit a grand slam in Game 4 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Caballero has started at shortstop in 33 of the Yankees’ 34 games this season. On Friday, he had a go-ahead, second-inning homer off Baltimore’s Cade Povich. He is batting .259 with four homers, 12 RBIs and 13 stolen bases.

“He’s been right in the middle of that, defensively and offensively,” Boone said. “He’s earned some opportunities there. It’s really as simple as that.”

A 29-year-old acquired from Tampa Bay last July 31, Caballero is hitting .316 (24 for 76) with 11 RBIs in his last 21 games.

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Shohei Ohtani wins NL pitcher of month for April

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 28: Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani (17) reacts after throwing a pitch during the MLB game between the Miami Marlins and the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 28, 2026 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani has six player of the month honors in his career, but on Monday he won his first career pitcher of the month award, taking home top National League honors for his excellent mound work in March and April.

Ohtani allowed only four total runs, two of them earned in his 30 innings of work, with 34 strikeouts and nine walks to go with his 0.60 ERA and 2.24 xERA in five starts. Among NL pitchers with at least 30 innings, Ohtani led the league in ERA, xERA, and FIP (1.98), and ranked sixth in strikeout rate (28.6 percent) and ninth in strikeout-minus-walk rate (21 percent).

In Dodgers history, Ohtani’s 0.60 ERA is third-best in the live-ball era through the end of April in at least five starts, trailing only Fernando Valenzuela in both 1981 (0.20 ERA) and 1985 (0.21 ERA).

Ohtani has led the National League in ERA after each of his five starts, but only intermittently so as his innings total has at times lagged behind the total number of Dodgers games played. He’s completed exactly six innings in each of his starts thus far, and will need to do so again to qualify for the leaderboard on Tuesday, pitching in the Dodgers’ 36th game of the season, in Houston.

Ohtani has won player of the month six times in his career — June 2021, July 2021, June 2023, July 2023 with the Angels; then September 2024 and May 2025 with the Dodgers.

Tyler Glasnow was among the other National League pitchers receiving votes for the monthly honor, with his 2.56 ERA, 3.07 xERA and 23.6-percent strikeout-minus-walk rate with 47 strikeouts and 13 walks in 38 2/3 innings over six starts.

The Dodgers won two pitcher of the month awards last season, both by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, in March/April and in September.

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Crawfish Boil: Astros’ Espada Job Security, Yordan Award, Vintage Defense & More

CLEVELAND, OH - APRIL 22: Yordan Alvarez #44 of the Houston Astros celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run in the first inning during the game between the Houston Astros and the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Wednesday, April 22, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Grace Hoppel/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images

The latest news on the Houston Astros and from around MLB:

Is Astros Manager Joe Espada’s job hanging by a thread? MLB Insider Bob Nightengale addressed that and more with our Craig Larson Jr. in Four Big Questions:

Yordan Alvarez named AL Player of the Month:

Astros will go the opener route Monday against the Dodgers:

It only took about 2 and a half weeks:

AJ Blubaugh, who has not been pitching in longer outings recently, gave the Astros a very important 11 outs Sunday:

Its a commandment: Thou shalt not steal on Christian Vazquez:

The Astros have mostly gotten vintage Carlos Correa since acquiring him:

Brice Matthews and Mauricio Dubon text each other to talk trash. This is awesome.

Bryan Abreu pitched 2 innings without giving up a run for the win Sunday. Yes, this is real life.

Houston’s much-maligned defense performed better this weekend at Fenway:

Astros dodged a major bullet with Christian Walker avoiding injury after getting beaned:

Spencer Arrighetti continued to give the Astros innings and got his 4th straight win to start the season:

Zach Dezenzo is starting to find his rhythm at the plate on his rehab assignment:

Xavier Neyens. Boss Tendencies:

Change for change sake doesn’t always work:

Laz Diaz is still an awful umpire:

Baseball mourns the passing of legendary broadcaster John Sterling:

Red Sox 1B Willson Contreras thinks the Boston clubhouse has been a little more at ease without Alex Cora on the bench:

Contreras also managed to tick off his young teammates:

The Braves have done something the franchise hasn’t done in over 130 years. Thankfully they don’t play in the AL West.

Things that should not happen, but somehow did:

Maybe not the mother of all backfires, but that did not look like it went as planned:

Deals like this are probably why the Red Sox aren’t doing so well:

Shohei Ohtani was the victim of a vicious plunking:

Full list of MLB award winners for April:

Bob Nightengale’s best and worst of the first month of the season – and the Astros didn’t land on any worsts:

All or nothing:

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Ducks bring speed to challenge the playoff-tested Golden Knights

LAS VEGAS — If the first round of the NHL playoffs played out almost exactly like the opening series a year ago when the Golden Knights eliminated Minnesota in six games, their next opponent is a striking reminder to the one they just vanquished.

The Golden Knights again are the more playoff-seasoned team, but the Anaheim Ducks counter with a faster team interested in more of a track meet when their best-of-seven series opens in Vegas.

Much like the Utah Mammoth, a team Vegas eliminated in six games. The Golden Knights are -210 favorites.

Their playoff experience was crucial against the Mammoth, never panicking even when the Golden Knights had every reason to, trailing in the third period in each of the first five games. They found ways to survive before putting together their most complete game in the 5-1 clincher.

“I think (the experience) only helps the farther you go,” Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “The pressure ramps up as you keep going. A lot of guys in here have had long playoff series and understand what it’s like. Intensity and speed kind of ramp up as the series goes on.”

The Golden Knights have advanced beyond the first round for sixth time in their eight playoff appearances. The 2023 Stanley Cup champions have missed the postseason only once in their nine years as a franchise.

This is the Ducks’ first playoff appearance since 2018, but Vegas captain Mark Stone said that is misleading. Nine players not only appeared in the playoffs before this season, eight have played in conference finals and beyond. Alex Killorn won two Stanley Cups in Tampa Bay and John Carlson was on the Washington team that beat the Golden Knights for the 2018 championship.

“So you still have to be on your toes,” Stone said. “You just have to play good. You’re playing against the same opponent for seven games potentially. Experience helps, but it’s not everything.”

The Ducks certainly aren’t exhibiting a just-happy-to-be-here vibe. That was evident in their six-game series victory over an Edmonton team that played in the past two Cup Final series.

“We didn’t accomplish any goal yet,” Anaheim defenseman Jackson LaCombe said. “We’re kind of playing as underdogs through the whole playoffs here, so we’re just going to keep doing our thing.”

Ducks wing Troy Terry said the focus after dispatching the Oilers didn’t take long to shift to the Golden Knights.

“It’s May, and you guys (media) are still talking to me,” Terry said. “It’s new for me, and it’s new for a lot of us. It’s just exciting to come to the rink.”

Young Ducks rising

LaCombe appeared to signal his arrival as an NHL star in the first round with nine points and shutdown defense against Connor McDavid, but other Anaheim youngsters also had auspicious playoff debuts.

Leo Carlsson scored eight points and thrived in the run-and-gun tempo of the first series, demonstrating his formidable two-way game while centering Anaheim’s top line. The 21-year-old Swede led the Ducks with 28 shots.

Cutter Gauthier kept up the pace from his 41-goal regular season, pumping four past the Oilers – three on the power play with his vicious one-timers from the faceoff circle. The 22-year-old wing had seven points and forced the Oilers to pay inordinate attention to his side of the ice and created opportunities for the likes of linemate Ryan Poehling, who scored four goals.

The other Great One

Golden Knights forward Brett Howden was being interviewed at his locker when teammate Keegan Kolesar yelled out, “Brettsky!”

Howden kept on talking, and even he knows it’s a little much to be compared to Wayne Gretzky.

“(Kolesar) likes to call me whatever he wants to call me,” Howden said with a chuckle. “Only my dad and my mom called me that growing up.”

The Golden Knights are probably done for the season if not for Howden. He scored four goals over the final three games. Two were short-handed, including the Game 5 overtime winner.

Anaheim roots, Vegas heights

The careers of Shea Theodore and William Karlsson will come full circle in this series: Two of the most important players in Golden Knights history began their NHL careers in Anaheim before ex-Ducks general manager Bob Murray foolishly let them go.

Theodore, a first-round pick by Anaheim, was two seasons into his NHL career when Murray traded him to Vegas in 2017 to ensure the Knights would not pick Josh Manson off the Ducks’ unprotected list in the expansion draft. Theodore has been a mainstay on Vegas’ blue line ever since, become the top-scoring defenseman in team history.

Karlsson, a Ducks second-round pick in 2011, still was finding his NHL stride when Murray traded him to Columbus in March 2015 in an inexplicable deal for aging defenseman James Wisniewski, who only played 13 games for Anaheim.

Vegas took Karlsson in the expansion draft two years later, and “Wild Bill” grew into the second-leading scorer in Golden Knights history. He has been sidelined since last November with a lower-body injury, but is back skating in practice and might suit up this in this series.

Special teams could decide it

Both teams made it this far because of their success on special teams.

For the Ducks, that came off the power play, where they converted 50% of their chances against the Oilers. The penalty kill was key for the Golden Knights, in which they were 15 of 16 and even outscored the Mammoth 2-1 on the Utah power play.

“I think it can definitely carry over,” McNabb said of the PK. “It’s been good all year. It’s something we’re going to need.”

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Today’s Yankees birthday: Miguel Cairo

BRONX, NY - APRIL 29: Miguel Cairo #41 of the New York Yankees makes a throw during the game against the Oakland A's on April 29, 2004 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. The Yankees defeated the Athletics 7-5. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Our Yankees birthday series has covered players from every era of Yankees history, from the legends immortalized in Monument Park to virtually unknown characters of franchise lore. If those are the two extremes of the sliding scale of fame, Miguel Cairo can probably be found directly down the middle. Cairo was your prototypical dependable reserve—a 17-year big leaguer who played over 1500 games between the regular season and playoffs for nearly a third of all teams in the league, but never played a starring role. Cairo was, above all, the kind of guy you remember during idle conversations with friends years after he took the field.

One of Cairo’s best MLB seasons came in 2004, during the first of two different stints in the Bronx. He filled the keystone position admirably that year as the direct predecessor to franchise cornerstone Robinson Canó. Two years later he returned to the Yankees and stayed through August of 2007 before his winding journey through the league resumed for another five seasons.

Miguel Jesus Cairo
Born: May 4, 1975 (Anaco, Venezuela)
Yankees Tenure: 2004, 2006-07

Cairo was born in Anaco, a city in northern Venezuela further inland and east of the capital Caracas. (For those curious, Anaco is roughly 6,200 miles away from the capital of Egypt—Cairo, New York is about 4,000 miles closer.) Cairo signed at the age of 15 with the Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1990, and began a slow and steady climb through the Minor Leagues in 1992. He left his first organization, for whom he never played a game, in a trade to the Mariners, a team he wouldn’t play for until the back-nine of his career in 2008. He was shipped to Seattle in a November 1995 deal for third baseman and clairvoyant Mike Blowers—then flipped by the M’s to Toronto in another trade the following month.

It was with the Blue Jays in 1996 that Cairo first had a cup of coffee in the Show—and we do mean a cup of coffee, as he played just nine games and logged 30 plate appearances for a fourth-place team. In the offseason, the Cubs acquired Cairo in a prospect swap, and afforded him 16 games of Major League action for an even less impressive team. Then came the 1998 expansion draft, in which the Diamondbacks and Devil Rays entered the league. Cairo was selected by the latter club and at last planted roots in the Cairo of America: St. Petersburg, Florida..

Cairo’s official rookie season, which came in the Devil Rays’ rookie season of 1998, was by bWAR the best of his career. While he only managed a 74 OPS+ at the plate as their everyday second baseman—a mark well in line with career norms—he quickly proved to be a strong defensive player. Cairo stayed in Tampa for three seasons before being released at the end of 2000. He signed with Oakland, then returned to the Cubs in a preseason trade for Eric Hinske. Chicago waived him in the summer, so he caught on with St. Louis at the end of 2001, hitting .333 down the stretch for a playoff team.

Cairo couldn’t replicate that success at the dish in two subsequent seasons with the Redbirds, but had at last reached free agency ahead of 2004. Enter: the big bad Yankees. In a move seen as highly unfair to the rest of baseball, the Yankees signed Cairo in their most publicized deal of the offseason to form a new star double-play combo with captain Derek Jeter—the kind of co-star capable of hitting clutch home runs like this go-ahead grand slam in Texas on August 12.

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…Okay, fine. Maybe A-Rod was a bit more important to the Yankees’ success that season than our hero, but Cairo was quite valuable for them! Incumbent second-sacker Enrique Wilson wasn’t cutting the mustard at the plate, so Joe Torre made the move to Cairo about two months into the season. Miguel rewarded his skipper with one of the best offensive seasons of his career, hitting .292/.346/.417 (good for an OPS+ of exactly 100), giving the Yankees a perfectly pesky ninth-place hitter that opponents couldn’t overlook.

Enough ink has been spilled on the Yanks’ 2004 postseason that we won’t belabor it here, but Cairo continued to play well for New York throughout the run—posting a .383 OBP across 11 postseason games. He was particularly effective against Boston, grabbing seven of his ten hits in the ALCS.

Cairo became a free agent again in the offseason, so he simply moved across town to Queens to spend 2005 with the Mets before the Yankees welcomed him back to their neighborhood in 2006. Of course, the Bombers had a new everyday second baseman in town: the smooth-swinging, sweet-smiling Robinson Canó. So Cairo wasn’t about to get his starting role back, but plied his trade as a dependable utilityman for the Yankees throughout 2006 and the better part of 2007. By August, however, the 33-year old appeared to be running out of steam, so the Yanks cut him to give more looks to young players like Wilson Betemit and Shelley Duncan—two more excellent Remember-Some-Guys guys.

Cairo’s journey was far from over. After sojourning in St. Louis in September (say that five times fast), he had a few more destinations to check off his bucket list. In 2008, he finally played for the Mariners, who had dealt him away 13 years earlier. A season later at age 35, Cairo joined the defending champion Phillies, and made a few appearances off the bench throughout their NL pennant run—though he never appeared in that year’s Fall Classic against the Yanks.

Cairo spent the final three years of his playing career in the Queen City, hitting to a highly respectable .751 OPS with the Reds across 193 contests in 2010 and 2011. But in yet another win for sports’ greatest dynasty, Father Time, Cairo’s numbers plummeted to subterranean depths in 2012. The vet made three more appearances in the playoffs for the Redlegs in their NLDS loss to the Giants before finally calling it quits.

Unsurprisingly, Cairo has stuck around baseball since retiring as a player. His MLB coaching career began in 2021 with the White Sox, and he served as interim manager for Chicago in 2022 after Tony La Russa stepped away for good. He did the same for the Nationals last season after the dismissal of skipper Dave Martinez.

This season, Cairo joined the Orioles’ staff as an infield coach—meaning he’ll be celebrating his 52nd birthday tonight at Yankee Stadium. Welcome back, Miguel! ¡Y feliz cumpleaños!

I’ve often said to friends that the Guy We Remember is one of the most universally respected kinds of people in American life; players who weren’t good enough or prominent enough for public opinion to tilt one direction or the other, but whose mention elicits a hearty “oh yeah, that dude!” Cairo is the perfect example of a guy we fans love to remind ourselves of—but owing to his longevity in the league and success as a coach, it’s clear he was more than just a great pull on Immaculate Grid. It wouldn’t be surprising if Cairo gets an opportunity as a full-time manager in MLB someday soon. After all, it’s hard to imagine there’s anything he hasn’t seen throughout a full life spent on the diamond.

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

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The Turning Point Of the Canadiens vs. Lightning Series Didn’t Happen On The Ice

In the end, it wasn’t Max Crozier’s thundering hit on Juraj Slafkovsky that was the turning point in this series or that Brandon Hagel’s jab to his chin, but rather when coach Martin St-Louis stopped hoping his top guys would “figure it out”. The Montreal Canadiens’ bench boss has been known for sticking to his guns, as he explained a couple of years ago, he didn’t care for the opinion of people he wouldn’t ask for advice. The bench boss is the type of person who believes he knows better until he’s proven wrong, and after Game 4, he concluded that he had been.

At that stage of the series, he realized that if he let the Tampa Bay Lightning’s bench boss get the matchups he wanted, the Habs wouldn’t come out on top. He not only decided to make some changes to his attacking lines but also learned to do so on the fly, mixing things up to keep Jon Cooper guessing as the game went on.

Canadiens Steal The Series With Close 2-1 Win
Former Canadiens Player Says St-Louis Was Always Going To Be A Coach
Canadiens Made Impressive Progress In A Season

The coach realized that if he didn’t react, his team would be doomed. He understood that while there’s an argument to be made for not disturbing his players’ rhythm by letting them play with consistent lines, that also allowed the Bolts to gain some rhythm because of the Canadiens changes’ predictability.

St-Louis mixing up his lines and spreading the talent around gave Cooper headaches; he didn’t have two Anthony Cirelli. He still had his top defensive center stick to Nick Suzuki like glue, but having Juraj Slafkovsky take some shifts on another line at times with Ivan Demidov created some opportunities, even if they couldn’t convert. Furthermore, that freed his bottom six to create offense, as they had easier matchups.

In the end, this series forced St-Louis out of his comfort zone, and he proved up to the challenge, getting the better of the Jack Adams Trophy finalist he was pitted against. Montreal is a young team on the ice, and behind the bench, just like his players gained experience by taking on the Bolts, the coach gained some by facing Cooper.

There’s no doubt that St-Louis won’t want to take the credit for the series win, because he wasn’t on the ice, but recognizing his impact on proceedings doesn’t take anything away from the fact that Jakub Dobes was impressive all the way through, that the Canadiens played a physical brand of hockey that put pressure on the Bolts’ defense, that Josh Anderson’s forecheck was key or that the defense managed to make-do without Noah Dobson for six games. Credit has to be given where credit is due. The Canadiens won their duel with the Lightning, but they couldn't have done it if St-Louis didn't win his with Cooper. 

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NBA Finals Odds Update: Thunder Lead, Knicks Biggest Winner of Playoffs So Far

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As the NBA Playoffs transition to the conference semifinal stage on Monday, sportsbooks are still heavily backing the Oklahoma City Thunder to win their second straight championship.

While the Thunder are the outright leaders, the New York Knicks enjoyed the largest surge in Finals odds after the Boston Celtics were eliminated in seven games.

Key Takeaways

  • The Thunder and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander lead in Finals and Finals MVP odds.

  • Philadelphia’s 3-1 comeback propelled the Knicks to lead the East in Finals odds.

  • BetMGM users are backing Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs in Finals and Finals MVP markets.

The Thunder began the year as a +240 leader in NBA Finals odds, according to BetMGM. They had closed to +115 when the playoffs began and are now down to -140 (58.3% implied chance) with a leading 19.3% of all money in the futures market behind them, along with 10.6% of tickets (third).

The San Antonio Spurs have shortened from +450 at the start of the playoffs to +325. They have 10.9% of tickets, first among remaining teams, and 16.8% of the handle, second only to the Thunder. 

One of the main reasons the Spurs have such a large share of the handle is that they have the largest reported futures bet at BetMGM, a $50,000 wager at +650 odds.

Over on the other side of the brackets, the Knicks (7% of bets, 6.5% of money) were only fourth in odds to win the Eastern Conference when the postseason commenced. Their title odds grew from +2200 to +900, the new leading mark in the East, after they dispatched the Atlanta Hawks in six games. 

While the Knicks are now the team to beat in their conference, they wouldn’t be in their current position without several unforeseen developments.

No result was more beneficial for the Knicks than the Celtics blowing a 3-1 lead against the Philadelphia 76ers. Boston was +550 in odds to win the NBA Finals (third) when the playoffs began and would’ve faced the New Yorkers in the second round had they advanced. Instead, Philly overcame their near-fatal position and will now battle the Knicks for a spot in the conference finals.

The 76ers’ improbable victory shocked the odds board as they climbed from +25000 to +3500. Despite that, they only have 3.8% of tickets and 3.4% of the pot. 

The first-seed Detroit Pistons were also shockingly taken to seven games and needed to overcome a 3-1 deficit to get past the eighth-seeded Orlando Magic. Their title odds (+1700) are the same as they were at the start of the playoffs, but they have 10.4% of tickets, 8.5% of the handle, and one $25,000 wager at +1400 odds supporting them. 

Who else is in the picture?

Only three teams that are still alive have not been mentioned up to this point. One of those is the Los Angeles Lakers, who are both the biggest winners and losers of the postseason thus far.

LA was an enormous underdog against the Houston Rockets in the first round as both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves were sidelined by injuries. Despite that, they raced ahead to a 3-0 lead and eventually closed the series out in six games. Their NBA Finals odds are down from +20000 at the beginning of the playoffs to +2500.

Unfortunately for the purple and gold, they now get to battle a Thunder team that won the Western Conference at 64-18, swept the Phoenix Suns in the first round, and is the largest series favorite of the second round (-2000). 

Reaves is back, but Doncic is still out and reportedly hasn’t begun running. Despite that, the Lakers have 9.1% of bets and 7.5% of money wagered backing them.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were +1600 in odds to win the Finals at the beginning of the playoffs, but they fell to +2000 after being taken to seven games by the Toronto Raptors. They’re looking up at the Knicks and the Pistons in the East.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are the final team remaining. Although they upset the Denver Nuggets in the first round, their odds lengthened from +8000 to +10000 due to injuries suffered by Anthony Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo, and Ayo Dosunmu. Chris Finch's team has 5.5% of bets, and 5.2% of money is in favor of the Wolves.

NBA Finals MVP odds picture

While the Thunder are in pole position to win the championship, the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama is BetMGM bettors’ pick in the NBA Finals MVP odds market. A high percentage of tickets, 14.5%, and 7.5% of the handle are on the French sensation, who is down from +600 in the first round to +400 currently.

Only three players received more than 7.5% of the handle in this market. Two of them, Jamal Murray and Jayson Tatum, were already eliminated.

The third, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, has 7.6% of tickets and 14.3% of bets behind him. He sits at -135 to win his second straight Finals MVP after beginning the playoffs at -105.

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

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Flyers @ Hurricanes: Round 2, Game 2 – Preview and Game Thread

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 02: K'andre Miller #19 of the Carolina Hurricanes knocks the puck away from Garnet Hathaway #19 of the Philadelphia Flyers in Game One of the Second Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Lenovo Center on May 02, 2026 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images

The Carolina Hurricanes are ready to do battle again with the Philadelphia Flyers for game two of round two of the NHL Playoffs. Game time is 7 P.M. tonight at the Lenovo Center.

So far in these playoffs the Hurricanes have been at the top of their game regarding puck possession and shot suppression. They have yet to trail at any point in a game this postseason.

The scary part is, they can still be better.

While Logan Stankoven, (points in 13 straight games), Taylor Hall, (leads team in postseason scoring with 8 points in five games), and Jackson Blake are tearing it up, the other lines are ready to break through as well.

The penalty kill is almost flawless, but the powerplay needs to improve.

Walt Ruff is reporting from the morning skate. Fred Andersen is in the starter’s net.

I expect Nikishin to be a game time decision based upon how he feels. The lines are the same as in game one.

How will the Flyers regroup?

The game will be televised by ESPN. Our friends, Mike Maniscalco, Tripp Tracy, and Shane Willis will be on 99.9 The Fan with the play-by-play and analysis.

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The Lakers and their stylistic similarities to chess

Apr 9, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) celebrates with an imaginary crown after a 3 point basket in the second half against the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

I may not be very good at it, but I love chess. Not to the level that I love basketball, the NBA, or the Lakers, but it’s not too far off!

The strategy, the tactical decisions, the way every player seems to have their own style and approach that forces you to play them as much as what the board is telling you to play, the way you can instantly switch from defending to attacking and back, the way a great move exhilarates and a blunder totally deflates you…there’s just not really another game quite like it.

In fact, after reading the above graf again, maybe I enjoy the game as much as I do exactly because it does remind me of basketball in a bunch of ways.

No, it’s not physically taxing in the same way as, say, defending Luka Dončić coming off a pick and roll or trying to fend off LeBron James in the post, but playing chess at the highest levels can put a massive toll on your body, and some believe that “a chess grandmaster’s stress reactions can mimic what elite athletes experience…based on breathing rates (which triple during competition), blood pressure (which elevates) and muscle contractions before, during and after major tournaments”.

What does any of this have to do with the Lakers right now, you might ask?

Well, first, in the aftermath of the Lakers’ upset win over the Rockets my mind reflexively goes to how much of the series mirrored a high-level chess match, with JJ Redick taking a lead in the opening with his superior game planning to help get his team an early lead, the Rockets getting their footing the middle game to try to come back, and then the Lakers leveraging their better position to execute a check mate and close things out.

And then, second, in a recent episode of the Mind the Game podcast, Austin Reaves recalled a story about having to carry around a chessboard on road trips his entire rookie season, courtesy of Rajon Rondo. This then led me to the biggest chess connection to the Lakers, which is Luka Dončić’s love of the 64 squares.

Dončić is a well-known lover of the game and once even had an AI-driven chess bot created in his likeness by chess.com. The Luka-bot would improve the more games it played, learning the tendencies of players who tested it and ultimately becoming good enough to beat elite players. It’s now one of the best bots on the site and nearly impossible to beat.

In any event, this has all led me to think about this year’s team and how they relate to chess. And, what better way to do that than to compare the players themselves to actual chess pieces?

If you’re not familiar with the game or the pieces themselves, don’t worry too much. I’ll do my best to explain my reasoning below. You can also learn more about the pieces and how they move here. With that, here we go…

Luka Dončić

Clearly, Luka is the queen — the game’s most powerful piece. Like the queen, Dončić is the game’s most ferocious attacking piece and is equally a threat from long distance and in close quarters and everywhere in between.

The queen also has full reign of the entire board, moving in whatever direction it likes for as far as it wants to go, which aptly describes how Luka traverses the court, getting to whatever spot he pleases, whether through craft, skill, or brute force. There’s no more dangerous a piece than the queen and there’s no more dangerous player than Luka.

Just ask any opponent he faced during the blazing heater that earned him Western Conference Player of the Month for March.

I know Luka is still out with injury, but when healthy and at the top of his game, there are few players in the league who can match the diversity of his skill set and all the ways he deploys it to take down opponents.

LeBron James

With Dončić out injured, LeBron put his crown back on and took on that same role to dominate the Rockets series and push the Lakers into the second round. That said, when everyone has been healthy this season, the man whose nickname is “The King” is more of a rook in the way he’s asked to play on these Lakers.

Rooks are an incredibly powerful piece whose forceful, straight-line, and limitless exploration of the board remind of LeBron streaking up court in transition for powerful dunks and (what remain) insane finishes at the rim.

Further, rooks are masterful end-game pieces who often take over games when both players’ queens come off the board and LeBron has long been a master in the clutch, making the right decision for the team to win the game instead of seeking out glory for himself. Again, ask the Rockets about how Game 3 ended.

Lastly, because they’re so powerful and important, Rooks can also greatly impact the game by giving themselves up in a sacrifice in order to open up space for another piece to attack and checkmate the opposition, which almost perfectly describes how LeBron, in the last part of the regular season, took on a lower usage role for this team so Dončić and Austin Reaves can cook.

Austin Reaves

Some might find this controversial, but I see Austin as a knight. Knights are tricky pieces that move in unorthodox ways and excel in tight spaces. They often deceive opponents, particularly in end-game situations, where their ability to hop around the board can lead to taking down queens and rooks just as easily as they would a pawn.

If this doesn’t perfectly describe how Austin manipulates defenses with quick changes of direction, playing in tight quarters and finishing in the paint under and around bigger defenders, I don’t know what does. Also, just like a knight, he is great in end-game situations, particularly when teaming up with a rook to control a bounty of space on the court — just as he has for so long with LeBron.

Rui Hachimura and Luke Kennard

Okay, so this one is as obvious as it is easy — these guys are the Lakers Bishops. Bishops are long-range snipers who help control the game from long distances, but can also do damage in close quarters when protected by their mates. This is exactly the role that Rui and Kennard fill on the Lakers, spacing the floor and targeting opponents from behind the arc.

But if they get pressured, they are also adept at moving in closer while maintaining their deadly accuracy.

Kennard and Rui were both deadly in this exact way vs. the Rockets, with Luke’s outside shooting driving the team’s success early in the series, and then Rui’s hot-shooting Game 6 helping to clinch the series and send the Lakers to the 2nd round.

Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia

It might sound pejorative, but these two rugged wings are like center pawns. The two pawns directly in front of the king and queen control critical space in the middle of the board, often serving vital roles on both offense and defense.

These pawns help deflect opponents and keep them at bay, preventing them from penetrating past a certain point to protect the back line. The nature of them being the middle of the action give them great responsibility as defenders, often absorbing much of the offensive pressure from the other team and, if doing their job well, forcing the opposition to attack from different parts of the board.

Offensively, they help anchor in your main pieces, serving as complementary forces who can bring value when they create an outpost for your Knights and Bishops or when they advance in tandem up the board to protect each other.

These are the types of roles Smart and Jake serve for the Lakers, helping protect their teammates with their hard-nosed defense while also showing enough offensive utility to help win games. This is especially true of Marcus, who, as he did against Houston, showed enough two-way ability to help win the team games both by knocking down shots and working out of the post and by thwarting the Rockets’ offense with steals and drawn charges.

Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes

If Smart and Jake are manning the center of the board, I see Ayton and Hayes operating more as flank pawns, serving in complementary roles to the pieces who operate in the middle of the action but are also critical to the rest of the game.

Flank pawns work in tandem with their mates in the middle, protecting them when they advance up the board for defensive stability but also can sneak outside near the edge of the board to pose practical problems on offense. And then, when they do advance up the board, they can anchor themselves in near the edge of the board, ready to sacrifice themselves for the Queen or a Rook to deliver the death blow.

For these Lakers, this is how Ayton and Hayes operate.

Defensively, they back up their perimeter partners to deny driving lanes and protect the rim, but sometimes have to step up themselves and defend on an island while others assist them. Ayton is particularly adept at holding up in this exact way, defending post players one-on-one on the block while also venturing further out to check perimeter players on switches.

On offense, they are constantly trying to sneak behind the opposing defense to get closer to the rim, either to finish themselves or to screen a defender so Dončić, James or Reaves can score. There’s a thankless nature to the work they do, but without their efforts, the team would not be nearly as successful. In this way, they’re very similar to a flank pawn who, if the board shifts a certain way, can become the most dangerous passed pawn that pulls attention there way for a more critical piece to do damage on another part of the board.

There are many more analogies to make regarding the Lakers and the other game I love. But I think the most basic one is that, just as in chess, a key to the Lakers’ success is as much mental as anything they do physically. By locking in, playing with discipline, and leaning into the nuances of their own gameplan — while also being smart enough to know how to disrupt their opponents — the Lakers can position themselves to win any game in front of them.

You can follow Darius on BlueSky at @forumbluegoldand find more of his Lakers coverage on the Laker Film Room Podcast.

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Jayson Tatum's sudden knee injury highlights the issue of inside information

The NBA has an inside information problem. How it's handled. How it's possibly mishandled. How it's potentially misused.

The key to ensuring that inside information isn't abused is limiting it. As Saturday's Game 7 in the 76ers-Celtics playoff series approached, it's clear that Boston was carrying around a key piece of inside information.

Jayson Tatum, who made an early exit from Game 6 and didn't return after the game morphed into a blowout, wasn't going to play in the final game.

On Saturday afternoon, roughly six hours before the game started, the Celtics added Tatum to the injury report, with a knee injury. And then he didn't play at all.

After Game 6, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters that Tatum hadn't been injured when he left in the second half. "He just went to the back and just got stretched, got some treatment," Mazulla said. "That was about it."

Tatum also downplayed the situation. "My leg just was a little stiff when I came out in the third quarter," Tatum said. "But, you know, just kind of assessing the moment, like, the game was a little out of reach."

Mazzulla again downplayed the possibility of Tatum being injured when he spoke to reporters on Friday. By Saturday, Tatum was listed as questionable with a knee injury.

Whether the Celtics complied with the NBA's rules is one thing. If they didn't, that's for the NBA to address. If they did, the NBA has a different issue.

The rules, if the Celtics complied with them, demonstrate the existence of significant, and valuable, inside information. When did the Celtics know Tatum wouldn't play? When did they know there was a good chance he wouldn't play?

Who knew? And what did they do with that information?

Just last week, former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones pleaded guilty to charges arising directly from his mishandling of inside information. Surely, others have done the same thing, especially since the moment sports betting became normalized and legalized.

And so, at a time when the NBA is increasingly concerned about the impact of tanking on the integrity of the game, the NBA should be taking a closer look at ways to minimize the information that isn't available to the public. The manner in which the Celtics handled Tatum's injury reconfirms that the effort to keep the opponent in the dark keeps the public in the dark.

Which could allow someone who knows the truth to get in the money.

The NFL should be paying close attention. To date, the NFL has not had a major gambling scandal. If the NFL isn't careful, it's inevitable.

It could be inevitable anyway.

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Orlando Magic fire Jamahl Mosley as head coach day after team eliminated

One day after the team was eliminated in a Game 7, the Orlando Magic fired head coach Jamahl Mosley on Monday.

"We're grateful to Jamahl (Mosley) for all he's done for the Orlando Magic," Orlando President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman said in a statement. "We appreciate his leadership and the positive contributions he made as head coach. While this was a difficult decision, we feel it's time for a new voice and fresh perspective. We wish Jamahl and his family nothing but the best."

Mosley had five seasons as head coach, and this team was eliminated in the first round each of the last three years. This move was expected and had been rumored almost since the season tipped off for three reasons:

• This team underachieved all season long, and frankly, for a couple of years. When Weltman and the front office sent out four first-round draft picks and a pick swap, they thought they had a roster that could compete with any in the East. Most pundits projected Orlando to hit 50 wins and push for a top-three seed in the East, instead they were the No. 8 seed and had to fight through the play-in just to make the playoffs. While the offense improved slightly, the team's defensive calling card fell way off this season. While injuries to stars like Franz Wagner had something to do with that, Mosley had not built a culture or system that overcame those issues, as we saw in Boston, for example.

• He did not have a good relationship with Orlando star Paolo Banchero. It was the worst-kept secret in the league and occasionally spilled out in public.

In the NBA, star players have the power, and if there is a conflict with the coach, the player wins 99% of the time.

ª Orlando's offense was unimpressive schematically, something a lot of scouts were willing to talk about. While this season Orlando's offense finally moved out of the bottom 10 for the first time in a decade, it was still just 19th in the league. While the injuries to Wagner and Banchero this season played into that, a lot of people around the league have openly wondered whether a new coach could get more out of this roster.

A new coach likely will get a chance. While there is some speculation about whether Orlando might move on from one of Banchero (more likely) or Wagner, the general belief around the league is that the Magic get a new coach, make changes around the edges, and run it back and see if a new person in charge and maybe some better luck with health will change things.

Weltman will lead the search for a new coach. Weltman signed an extension with the organization during the regular season, something that just became public as Mosley's exit was announced.

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Magic fire coach Jamahl Mosley after NBA playoffs collapse vs Pistons

The Orlando Magic fired coach Jamahl Mosley one day after the team was eliminated from the 2026 NBA playoffs in a Game 7 against the Detroit Pistons.

The eighth-seeded Magic had a 3-1 series lead over the Pistons, who are the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed, before losing three games in a row.

"We're grateful to Jamahl for all he's done for the Orlando Magic," said team president Jeff Weltman in a statement. "We appreciate his leadership and the positive contributions he made as head coach. While this was a difficult decision, we feel it's time for a new voice and fresh perspective. We wish Jamahl and his family nothing but the best."

NBA GAME 7 ANALYSIS: Pistons, Cavaliers score knockout blows

Mosley had been the Magic's coach for five seasons and led the franchise to the playoffs the past three years. But Orlando made a big move during the 2025 offseason acquiring Desmond Bane from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for a package built around four first-round draft picks. Expectations were that the Magic would be contenders in the East this year with former No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner still in the fold.

The Magic, however, endured a stilted campaign in which they needed to qualify for the playoffs through the play-in tournament. Their offensive issues of previous seasons continued to be a problem into the postseason. Their historic Game 6 collapse against the Pistons last Friday included 23-straight missed shots and just 19 second-half points.

Mosley had a 189-221 overall record with Orlando and never won a playoff series.

Orlando Magic coaching candidates

The Magic job remains an intriguing one despite Orlando's collapse against the Eastern Conference's top seed. The Magic still have 2022 No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero, Desmond Bane and former lottery picks Franz Wagner and Wendell Carter, Jr. under contract, and could potentially make the jump many anticipated this season a year later with the right hire.

Former Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan, Tom Thibodeau and an NBA champion from the past five years lead this USA TODAY Sports breakdown of six potential candidates to replace Mosley as the Orlando Magic's next coach.

Jamahl Mosley reaction: Magic 'more attractive job than Milwaukee'

"They didn't fire you because you lost a 3-1 lead. They fired you because they wanted to. They fired you because this was all in the plan and there was probably going to be very little to nothing Jamahl Mosley could have done about that," ESPN NBA reporter Vince Goodwill said on "The Rich Eisen Show" after Mosley was fired. "... I do think Orlando, with their young players, a more attractive job than Milwaukee because you don't know Giannis' future, you don't know about his health, you don't know about the direction of the organization. "

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jamahl Mosley fired by Orlando Magic after NBA playoffs collapse

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Shaun Murphy v Wu Yize: World Snooker Championship final day two – as it happened

A terrific break of 91 won a final-frame decider, Wu Yize winning his first world title at the age of 22 – the second-youngest ever so to do

Shaun Murphy 7-10 Wu Yize (72-37) Shaun leaves a snick to left corner but wu’s radar isn’t booted up yet; it’s the fourth such shot he’s missed in the frame, all of them by a way – though he gets second prize of a fluked snooker. The escape, though, is straightforward and, on his next visit, Shaun can go at a long one … which he drains nicely, before tucking in behind the brown. And, with the final red defended by blue and black, if Wu misses he’s almost certain to leave a free ball … but he hits the big dog, so it’s seven away and back in … to sneak through a tiny gap, great work. This frame is on a rolling boil now, the youngster botching yet another long pot – one you really expect him to take – punished with a snooker behind the pink, close to the side, with the red down the rail. Wu will need to deploy the swerve here, but he doesn’t get anywhere near with his first two goes, seeking to come off the bottom cushion, so he tries the side and hits the blue. The penalty points are piling up here, another miss takes Wu to within a foul of needing all the balls to tie … and it duly arrives, leaving a free ball. Shaun, though, refuses it, Wu finally hits, and the frame is almost over, the lead 35 with 35 left.

Shaun Murphy 7-10 Wu Yize (39-37) Shaun gets a red off the side then goes to remove another off the blue, but misses it by a way; end of break. So he sends a ball down the table, using the black to block off the white, and Wu’ll have to go some to hit either target, never mind get it safe; he plays it well, and this frame is maturing into a crucial battle of wits and skill.

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