Blake Snell makes his season debut against Spencer Strider.
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The Colorado Avalanche entered Game 3 looking to take a commanding 3–0 series lead, but instead ran into a Minnesota Wild team that responded with urgency on home ice.
Kirill Kaprizov, Quinn Hughes, Ryan Hartman, Brock Faber, and Matt Boldy all scored for Minnesota, while Jesper Wallstedt delivered a composed performance between the pipes to help the Wild secure a 5–1 victory and cut Colorado’s series lead to 2–1.
Colorado struggled with turnovers and defensive-zone breakdowns throughout the night, and those mistakes proved costly against a Wild team that capitalized on its opportunities. Nathan MacKinnon scored the Avalanche’s lone goal on the power play in the second period, briefly giving Colorado life before Minnesota quickly answered to restore control.
The game also featured an early goaltending change for the Avalanche after Ryan Hartman’s goal early in the second period made it 3–0. Head coach Jared Bednar elected to pull Scott Wedgewood in favor of Mackenzie Blackwood after Wedgewood allowed three goals on 12 shots.
Colorado struggled in the early stages, with turnovers limiting their ability to establish any sustained pressure. One giveaway at the blue line came when Martin Nečas tried to get too creative with the puck, only to cough it up and hand possession back to the opposition.
Even past the halfway point, the Avalanche continued to have trouble maintaining control in the offensive and neutral zones. Cale Makar also misplayed the puck in his own end, opening the door for Kirill Kaprizov to create a dangerous chance. However, Scott Wedgewood came up large, turning aside the opportunity with a sequence of three key saves to keep the game scoreless.
On the very next shift, Colorado’s depth began to show. Nazem Kadri found Parker Kelly coming off the boards with a sharp pass, sending him in alone on Jesper Wallstedt. Kelly went to the backhand, but Wallstedt got just enough of it with the glove to slow it down. The puck slid behind him but never fully crossed the goal line, keeping the game tied.
The ensuing minutes featured a series of penalties that disrupted the flow of the game. Brock Faber was called for high-sticking Nathan MacKinnon, giving Colorado a power-play opportunity.
The Avalanche were unable to capitalize with the man advantage, as Minnesota’s penalty kill held firm and kept them off the scoreboard.
Shortly after, tempers flared after a whistle when Parker Kelly and Ryan Hartman became entangled in some post-play roughing. The officials quickly intervened, assessing matching minors to both players and restoring order before play resumed.
Kirill Kaprizov scored his fourth goal of the playoffs with just under four minutes remaining in the opening period during a 4-on-4 sequence. He carried the puck into the offensive zone, patiently waited out Scott Wedgewood, and then snapped a shot top shelf to give the Wild a 1–0 lead.
Quinn Hughes made it two goals in 1:33 when Scott Wedgewood lost his stick, allowing Hughes to take control of the puck. He circled the zone, settled himself, and then unleashed a heavy wrist shot that sailed over Wedgewood’s blocker to double the lead.
Sometimes you’re just unlucky, and that’s exactly how the second period started for the Avalanche. Ryan Hartman was left alone in the slot and batted a puck out of midair to triple the lead at 4:23. At that point, head coach Jared Bednar made the decision to pull Scott Wedgewood in favor of Mackenzie Blackwood. Wedgewood finished the night with nine saves on 12 shots.
Nearly nine minutes later, Nathan MacKinnon finally got Colorado on the board with a power-play goal. After Gabe Landeskog’s initial shot was turned aside by Jesper Wallstedt, MacKinnon crashed the crease and buried the rebound to cut the deficit to 3–1.
However, Minnesota answered just 20 seconds later during a delayed penalty at 13:31. Vladimir Tarasenko fired a snap shot from the left circle that rebounded off Mackenzie Blackwood before deflecting off Brock Faber’s right leg and into the net, restoring the Wild’s three-goal advantage at 4–1.
Colorado’s response was immediate but costly, as they were then assessed a penalty. Devon Toews was identified as the guilty party after hooking Matt Boldy, sending Minnesota to the power play and shifting momentum further in the Wild’s favor.
Colorado largely dictated the pace of the third period, controlling possession and generating the better opportunities. What the Avalanche could not do, however, was the most important part of the game — score.
And sometimes, playoff games are decided by the slimmest of margins.
Colorado pulled Blackwood for the extra attacker with a little more than two minutes remaining, desperately searching for a late push to get back into the game.
Matt Boldy added an empty-net goal with four seconds remaining as the Wild secured a 5–1 victory, cutting Colorado’s series lead to 2–1.
PHOENIX — Tobias Myers is quite the utility player for the Mets.
But unlike other players fitting that description, Myers doesn’t play multiple positions. Instead, he’s a pitcher who has shown the capability to handle various roles.
Already this season he had been used as an opener, long reliever and setup man. And then on Friday he got thrust into the closer’s role, working a perfect 10th inning in the team’s 3-1 victory over the Diamondbacks.
Myers’ save was the first of his major league career.
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Try it free“It was a cool moment to get my first one and have guys like Craig Kimbrel, Devin Williams and Luke Weaver, guys who have done it in the past, cool to kind of see their reaction and talk to those guys after the game,” Myers said before the Mets’ loss to Arizona on Saturday.
He entered the day with a 3.42 ERA in 12 appearances, a trusted reliever in a bullpen that overall has been respectable, but hardly great. The Mets began play with a 3.93 ERA from relievers, which ranked 13th in MLB.
“[Myers] has been huge for us, in a lot of different ways,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “As a multi-inning guy, an opener. High leverage, [Friday] night asking him to get the last three outs and coming in and doing his part, bouncing back from a tough one in Colorado, that shows a lot. It shows who he is as a competitor and as a player.”
For that Wednesday appearance, he was summoned to protect an eight-run lead, but got knocked out, forcing Mendoza to work deeper into his bullpen in the victory.
Myers allowed four earned runs on five hits, including two homers, over two-thirds of an inning in his least effective outing since arriving at the club.
“I think it was a lack of a good game plan,” Myers said. “I knew going in the splitter wasn’t going to play the same [because of the altitude] and I probably should have went away from it a little bit. It was a mixture of that and a lot of noncompetitive middle/middle pitches, either non-competitive or right down the middle.”
The Mets acquired the 27-year-old righty in the January trade that also brought Freddy Peralta to Queens and sent Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams to Milwaukee.
Myers has pitched as long as three innings in relief. His lone start came April 19, when he pitched two inn- ings as an opener against the Cubs.. It’s possible Mendoza will go the opener route Sunday, ahead of David Peterson, putting Myers in play for the start. Mendoza has also used Huascar Brazobán in the opener’s role ahead of Peterson.
If Myers has an obvious strength it’s his ability to throw strikes. He entered Saturday with four walks in 23 ²/₃ innings. His walk rate of 4.3 percent ranked in MLB’s 96th percentile.
“When I am going my best I am going in there, no matter what the pitch is called, I am just attacking the zone, trying to throw it in the zone,” Myers said. “Get ahead, strike one, strike two. That mentality is definitely where I wants to stay at. Coming in from the bullpen, nobody wants to give free bases, especially late in the game. So, just trying to make the hitters earn it type of mentality.
Myers had a barrel rate of 4.2 percent that placed him in the 84th percentile.
“I probably have to give credit to the catchers and the pitches they are calling,” Myers said. “I think I have done a decent job of putting the fastball in good spots, but as far as the breaking balls and the splits, they are kind of over the plate, so I think the catchers read the hitters, read the swings and are pressing the right buttons.”
Just four days after suffering a gruesome injury, Jarred Vanderbilt was available to play again.
Vanderbilt was upgraded from questionable to available for Saturday’s Game 3 against the Thunder.
The 6-foot-8 forward suffered an open dislocation to his right pinky during the second quarter of Tuesday’s Game 1 loss to the Thunder in Oklahoma City.
Medical personnel were able “to put his finger back together,” according to Lakers coach JJ Redick, who added that Vanderbilt’s status was day to day.
Vanderbilt was doubtful before being downgraded to unavailable for Thursday’s Game 2 loss.
“We just had to kind of make sure that the tissue and the stitches were good to go so that the bone wouldn’t pop out again. But, I mean, he’s certainly tough-minded and wants to give it a go,” Redick said.
Redick added on the left-handed Vanderbilt: “Glad he’s never taken a shot right-handed in his life.”
Sources told The California Post on Tuesday that a bone in Vanderbilt’s pinky broke through the skin after he attempted to block an alley-oop for Chet Holmgren during the second quarter of Game 1, with Vanderbilt’s pinky hitting the backboard as he swiped for the ball.
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The 6-foot-8 forward immediately went to the ground in pain, holding his right hand near the Thunder bench, with Oklahoma City players reacting when they saw Vanderbilt’s hand.
He immediately went back to the locker room at the 5:51 mark of the second quarter.
Today is a weird day. The San Francisco Giants traded their two-time Gold Glove catcher and then, a few hours later, placed their two-time All-Star starting pitcher on the 15-Day Injured List. And yet, through it all, the games must go on, and the Giants still have a date with the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight.
Landen Roupp makes the start for the Giants, as he looks to build on his great season. The 27-year old right-hander has made seven starts this season, and is 5-2 with a 3.18 ERA, a 2.65 FIP, and 43 strikeouts against 16 walks in 39.2 innings. He’s looking to bounce back from his worst start of the year, when he allowed four runs in 4.1 innings against the Tampa Bay Rays.
For the Pirates, it’s Braxton Ashcraft, a 26-year old right-hander in his second season. Ashcraft has made seven starts this year, and is 1-2 with a 3.02 ERA, a 2.99 FIP, and 45 strikeouts against 14 walks in 41.2 innings. He’s coming off his best start, when he pitched 7.2 shutout innings against the Cincinnati Reds.
Enjoy the game, everyone! Go Giants!
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Who: San Francisco Giants (15-23) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (21-18)
Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California
When: 6:05 p.m. PT
Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area
National broadcast: n/a
Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM
The Golden State Warriors appear ready to run it back — at least with one key piece of the puzzle reportedly locked in.
Steve Kerr has agreed to return as head coach of the franchise after both sides agreed to a two-year contract extension, his agents told ESPN. Kerr will remain the highest-paid coach in the NBA on a yearly basis, ESPN reports.
This comes after weeks of speculation that Kerr was considering stepping down. Kerr, whose contract was set to expire, had been engaged in meetings with the Warriors over his future with the team.
“I still love coaching, but I get it,” Kerr told reporters after the Warriors lost in the Play-In Tournament. “These jobs all have an expiration date. There's a run that happens, and when the run ends, sometimes it's time for new blood and new ideas and all that.”
In fact, in the closing seconds of the Warriors' season-ending loss April 18 against the Phoenix Suns, Kerr embraced Stephen Curry and Draymond Green on the sideline.
“I don't know what's going to happen next,” the Amazon Prime Video mics picked up Kerr telling his star players. “But I love you guys. Thank you.”
This is a clear indication that the Warriors are looking to run it back once more with Stephen Curry (38 years old), Jimmy Butler (36) and Draymond Green (36) — all of whom will be on expiring contracts in 2026-27, assuming Green exercises his player option.
Green could decline the option and seek a multi-year deal, but the Warriors will need to carefully consider their future beyond the next two seasons.
It’s also an indication that Kerr and the Warriors feel they can win; presumably, Kerr wouldn’t want to be part of a rebuild. And, along a similar thread, if the Warriors were looking to build for the future, they would presumably want a coach earlier in his career than the 60-year-old Kerr.
In any case, the Warriors likely need to add some pieces to stay competitive in the Western Conference.
In January, Butler suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament, and his status for the start of the 2026-27 season could be in doubt. Either way, it became clear that this Warriors roster was deficient, so Golden State general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. could use this closing window to compete to seek out a star.
Prior to the February trading deadline, the Warriors had been linked to Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, and as Antetokounmpo’s future in Milwaukee will be assessed this offseason, Golden State could once again become involved in that pursuit.
In any case, one thing that will benefit the Warriors is if Kerr can get some of their younger players to develop and take steps forward.
Since taking over in 2014, Kerr’s record at Golden State is 604-353 (.631). He’s the second longest-tenured active head coach in the NBA behind only Erik Spoelstra, who has been head coach of the Miami Heat since 2008.
The 2025-26 season marked the first time in Kerr’s 12-year run that the Warriors finished with a losing record (37-45) in an 82-game season. Golden State went 15-50 in 2019-20, but they played only 65 games because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Not counting his five rings as a player with the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs, Kerr has won four NBA championships as the head coach of the Warriors.
Kerr took over in 2014-15 for previous head coach Mark Jackson and led Golden State to the Finals in his first season. Eventually, the Warriors knocked off the Cleveland Cavaliers, ending a 40-year title drought. The team won a regular-season record 73 games the following year but ultimately lost a Finals rematch against the Cavs in seven games after Golden State blew a 3-1 lead.
That offseason, the Warriors shifted the balance of power in the NBA by signing Kevin Durant and proceeded to win consecutive titles in 2017 and 2018 before losing their bid for a three-peat to the Toronto Raptors in 2019.
The Warriors captured their most recent championship in 2022.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Steve Kerr contract with Warriors reached: Coach staying in Bay Area
If the sun is blocked at some point Sunday by clouds passing over Dodger Stadium, Freddie Freeman won’t move his sunglasses to the brim of his cap.
He doesn’t want his shades to obscure the Dodgers’ logo.
“It will be on the back of my hat,” Freeman said. “That’s Bobby. Bobby’s still in me.”
Freeman smiled often Saturday as he told stories of his first MLB manager, Bobby Cox, whose death was announced earlier in the day by the Braves. The Dodgers are in the middle of a three-game series against the Braves.
Cox, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014, was 84.
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A September call-up in Cox’s final season as a manager, in 2010, Freeman’s time with the Braves didn’t overlap much with Cox’s. However, Freeman said Cox had an oversized influence on him.
“A manager who relentlessly had our backs,” said Freeman, who was in the Braves’ major-league spring training camp in each of Cox’s last two years.
Freeman recalled walking into the Braves’ clubhouse for the first time on Sept. 1, 2010, and seeing a lineup card on which he was listed as the team’s No. 6 hitter.
“I almost threw up,” Freeman said.
Freeman was staring into space in front of his locker when Cox walked over. The manager dropped an expletive, which was followed by a question: “What took you so long to get here to the big leagues?”
“All the nerves immediately went away,” Freeman said.
Freeman said everyone who was in Cox’s orbit had stories like that.
“A lot of how the game goes is already played out before the game,” Freeman said. “There’s meetings with pitching coaches, who’s available, who’s down, but the managers that can connect with you as a person, that’s what makes a great manager. And that’s what Bobby was.”
Freeman’s favorite memory of Cox wasn’t even from a baseball field or clubhouse. In spring training of 2017, Freeman and his wife were out to dinner with their then-6-month-old son, Charlie. They ran into Cox and his wife.
“To see Hall of Famer Bobby Cox, the joy on his face when he saw my 6-month-old son, that’s the stuff I will never forget,” Freeman said.
Location: Oracle Park, San Francisco, CA
Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet
Starting Pitcher: Braxton Ashcraft
The Pittsburgh Pirates are on the road today against the San Francisco Giants looking to grab a win.
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MILWAUKEE — The biggest Yankees workhorse over the past two seasons is ready to get back in the saddle.
Nearly seven months after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow to remove loose bodies and shave down a bone spur, Carlos Rodón is set to return from the injured list Sunday to make his season debut against the Brewers at American Family Field.
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Try it freeThe left-hander will do so with an unfamiliar feeling: no longer pitching through discomfort.
Across an MLB-high 33 starts last season, and even for some time before then, Rodón had limited range of motion with his left arm — making everyday tasks like buttoning his shirt difficult — which he had learned to pitch through, and pitch well. He posted a 3.09 ERA with 203 strikeouts across 195 ¹/₃ innings and finished sixth in the American League Cy Young voting.
Now, after spending much of his rehab process rediscovering how to harness the extended range of motion that he was not used to, Rodón is about to find out how it plays on a big league mound.
“I just want to go out there and compete,” Rodón said Saturday. “I know I can still do this.”
After right hamstring tightness in late March slightly delayed his buildup, the 33-year-old made three rehab starts, getting up to 83 pitches and 6 ¹/₃ innings Tuesday with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He will likely be limited to a pitch count around that same range Sunday as the Yankees ease him back in.
“This being probably my third time through a lengthy rehab process, I have some experience, although most people don’t want to really say that,” Rodón said. “Just [leaning] back on those times and working on the craft and trying to get back here and help the team.”
Aaron Boone acknowledged that Rodón, who admitted not being good at staying patient, would have liked to be back pitching in the big leagues a few turns sooner. But the manager is looking forward to getting him back Sunday.
“Feel like he’s had a good couple months, even in and around the hamstring that didn’t trip him up too much,” Boone said.
Rodón’s return gets the Yankees one step closer to having their full rotation, with Gerrit Cole possibly joining it by the end of the month after he makes two or three more rehab starts in his own comeback from Tommy John surgery.
The Yankees rotation has gotten off to a terrific start without the two veterans, entering Saturday with a 3.09 ERA (the second best mark in the majors, trailing only the Dodgers’ 2.95) and a 4.9 fWAR (which was the best in the majors). Much of that has been thanks to Max Fried and Cam Schlittler, though Will Warren and Ryan Weathers have been strong in their own rights, with the rotation providing the backbone for the AL-best 26-13 record coming into Saturday.
“They’ve been impeccable,” Rodón said.
But adding Rodón — whose 370 ¹/₃ innings from 2024-2025 were the fifth most in the majors and 3.50 ERA the 20th best during that span — into the mix has the potential to make the Yankees even better.
In his first few starts back, Rodón’s command and velocity will bear watching. He only walked three batters in 16 innings during his rehab process, though he acknowledged at various points of his comeback that he was still relearning his arm path after compensating for the limited range of motion in recent years.
As for the velocity, part of the reason why Rodón finally underwent the surgery in October was because his four-seam fastball velocity took a fairly significant step down last season — averaging 94.1 mph compared to 95.4 mph in 2024. In his final rehab start Tuesday, Rodón’s four-seamer averaged 93.3 mph, though that number is expected to tick up a bit when he gets the adrenaline back of pitching in the major leagues.
Just how much that accounts for in miles per hour remains to be seen, but after staying patient throughout a lengthy rehab process, Rodón is champing at the bit to find out.
The Nationals had a chance to get back to .500 this afternoon and after the first couple innings, it looked like they would pull it off. They were all over Marlins starter Janson Junk early. However, when the game got turned over to Zack Littell and Mitchell Parker, things went off the rails.
As we mentioned, things started so well in this late afternoon showdown. For the third time this season, James Wood hit a leadoff home run. It was a towering 442 foot shot that went way into the second deck. Seeing Wood really get a hold of a ball is truly a joy to watch.
After the Wood homer, Luis Garcia Jr., Brady House and CJ Abrams got three straight hits. Before you could even blink an eye it was 3-0 Nats. The same sort of thing happened last night, but this time it was even faster. Last night the Nats could not add on and were lucky to escape with a victory.
This time the Nats scored on a sac fly after a CJ Abrams triple. However, the offense went quiet after that. The Nats did not score between that Lile sac fly and the ninth inning. While the Nationals were in an offensive malaise, the Marlins struck.
Once Zack Littell entered the game, the momentum really shifted. Littell has probably been the biggest disappointment of the season so far. He is fooling absolutely nobody, and even in a bulk relief role he struggled. Even the outs he was getting were loud outs.
Littell did not totally melt down in this one, but he allowed the Marlins to slowly chip away. In the 4th, he allowed a home run on an absolute meatball to Kyle Stowers. Nats pitchers got punished for hanging their offspeed pitches all afternoon in this one. All three Marlins homers came on secondary pitches right down the middle.
Littell was also not helped by his defense. CJ Abrams made an error for the second straight game, and has really gone back to old habits defensively. He looked great on defense the first week or two of the season, but that has shifted in a big way. While Abrams is a superstar at the plate, he might be the worst defender of any everyday shortstop. His -5 OAA ranks in the 1st percentile.
Littell was not convincing at all, but he did maintain the lead for the Nats in his four innings of work. However, I am not sure how much longer you can continue with this experiment. He just has not had it in a Nats uniform.
Mitchell Parker had looked promising in a multi-inning relief role before this game, but today was not his day. After giving up a game tying home run and limping his way through the 7th inning, that much was clear. However, Blake Butera decided to stick to his plan and roll out Parker for a second inning.
That decision backfired in a huge way. Parker’s command was just completely off today. He was unable to consistently throw his fastball in the zone and his slider was just hanging on a tee for Marlins hitters. After a single and a walk, Parker allowed a gut punch of a homer to Jakob Marsee. It was on yet another hanging slider.
He was unable to stop the bleeding there either. Still in the game, Parker allowed a double to Esteury Ruiz before Blake Butera finally pulled him, a move he made way too late. Butera went to Zak Kent, who allowed the inherited runner to score, but stopped the bleeding there.
It was a major gut punch and the game felt all but over, but the Nats had one last rally in them. Jose Tena led off the inning with a double, and then the light hitting Drew Millas drove him in with an RBI knock. With the top of the order coming up, the boys were in business.
James Wood made the game even more interesting with an RBI double on a rope to left field. Luis Garcia Jr. drove him in with yet another hit. It was now 8-7 Marlins with a runner at second base. Joey Wiemer would pinch run for Garcia, but his base running would cost the Nats. Pinch hitter Jorbit Vivas hit a ground ball to third, and Wiemer was caught between second and third base. He got tagged out trying to scramble back to second.
That meant the game would be up to CJ Abrams. There was only a runner on first now, but the Nats had the right man in the box. The Marlins went to a lefty out of the bullpen, and unfortunately, the move paid off. Abrams got under an 0-2 sweeper and flew out to left to end the ball game.
This was a really frustrating loss. The Nats were in control for most of the contest, but allowed the Marlins to wrestle that control away. Sloppy mistakes were just scattered across this contest. I did not think Blake Butera had his best game either. The Nats had a chance to get to .500 and they blew it. Now the boys need to brush off that disappointing loss and go for the series win tomorrow afternoon.
Join us and discuss tonight’s game in the comments below, as the Braves look to even up their series against the Dodgers in LA!
Game Time: Saturday, May 9th, 9:10 pm EDT
Location: UNIGLO Field at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA.
Watch: BravesVision
Radio/Audio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan
PHILADELPHIA — It seemed like a throwaway comment at the time, but it’s the perfect encapsulation of how Mike Brown has the Knicks on the front foot.
When asked how the 76ers might adjust to the Knicks playing without OG Anunoby in Game 3, Nick Nurse said, “I guess I gotta see what happens, which way they go.”
Throughout these playoffs, it’s been Brown who is dictating things, and opposing coaches who are reacting and trying to keep up.
Brown used the regular season to experiment — a major departure from his predecessor, Tom Thibodeau — and it is paying major dividends in the postseason.
The Knicks have been nimble in making needed adjustments, whether with the rotation or with scheme.
The biggest adjustment has been with the offense. Midway through the first round, the Knicks began running their offense through Karl-Anthony Towns at the elbow. It allowed Jalen Brunson to play off the ball and set screens for his teammates. It gave OG Anunoby more freedom as a cutter, rather than having to stand in the corners for kickout 3s. It brought the best out of Towns and his playmaking ability.
In the first round, Quin Snyder tried to combat the new offense by having Dyson Daniels guard Towns instead of Brunson. It was a complete failure, and he quickly abandoned the plan.
“I feel like the real change for us came before Game 4 in Atlanta,” Towns said Saturday. “I think that’s when we really changed our offense. It’s been great. It’s been something I’ve talked about for a lot of the season, to feel like we can help our guys more. We made the right moves. [Brown] set the table for us to have this kind of run.”
And in this second-round series, the Knicks decided to completely target Joel Embiid, when he’s playing and on the floor, in pick-and-rolls to expose his lack of mobility. Nurse and the 76ers have had no answer for it.
On the defensive end, Brown and his staff — in collaboration with the players — have made huge impacts on the game with their matchup decisions. The move to have Josh Hart guard CJ McCollum completely neutralized McCollum and changed the course of the first round. In Friday’s 108-93 Game 3 win over the 76ers, they at times shifted Mikal Bridges onto Paul George, who torched them for 15 points in the first quarter and then went scoreless and 0-for-9 from the field the rest of the way.
Nurse and the 76ers had no successful countermove to get George going the final three quarters.
“It was the perfect time for all of us to really get on the same accord,” Towns said. “There’s no better time to be playing your best basketball than right now. So shout out to Mike and really the whole coaching staff for putting us in the best position to succeed.”
Even before the Knicks played without Anunoby in Game 3, the rotation looked different than expected. Jose Alvarado, who appeared to be out of the playoff mix when the postseason started, now has regular minutes. It was a tweak Brown felt was needed to have a more natural point guard on the floor rather than having Miles McBride or Landry Shamet handling that responsibility.
It meant Shamet was buried on the bench, a major departure from the key role he played in the regular season. But, without Anunoby in Game 3, there he was, providing a huge lift with 15 points in 26 minutes Friday. It didn’t matter that he had basically been on ice since early in the first round. He stayed ready.
“When guys are engaged like that 24/7 throughout the course of the year,” Brown said, “it bodes well for the environment, for the culture and guys are actively trying to keep their mind present because when they get an opportunity, they want to perform well.”
It’s part of a culture of professionalism Brown has established where there are contributions up and down the roster. Every coach talks about players being ready for when their number is called. For the Knicks — because Brown gave them all a chance in the regular season — it’s actually reality.
“As a coach, you love to see it,” Brown said. “That’s why you give different guys opportunities at different times. Sometimes, you start Landry. Sometimes, you start Mo. Sometimes, you start this guy. And what hopefully it shows at the end of the day coming from me is that I have confidence in them, and not only that, your number can be called any time, so be ready. And our guys have taken that to heart. We’ve got a lot of good guys that are resilient. They’re fighters. And they’ve done a good job of keeping their mind on staying present in whatever we’re doing, and it’s showing when they go out there and get the opportunity.”
Whether with schematics or rotation, Brown is pressing the right buttons.
And it has the Knicks surging at the perfect time.
The Montreal Canadiens struck back with authority in Game 2, powering past the Buffalo Sabres 5–1 to level the series at one win apiece as the matchup now shifts into a hostile setting at the Bell Centre for Game 3.
Buffalo, meanwhile, won’t be making the trip at full strength—but they will be adding back a familiar, physical presence at the right time.
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed to reporters, including TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, that forward Sam Carrick is expected to draw back into the lineup for Game 3 against the Canadiens.
Carrick isn’t the type to drive headlines, but his value shows up in all the places coaches notice most—penalty kills, defensive-zone faceoffs, and the grinding minutes that stabilize a bottom-six group. For Buffalo, his return is less about flash and more about function, restoring a layer of structure and physical edge that becomes even more important in a tightly contested playoff series.
Across the season, Carrick split time between the New York Rangers and the Sabres, appearing in 73 games while recording nine goals, seven assists, and 16 points. He also delivered 106 hits and finished with a plus-2 rating, cementing himself as a dependable depth forward. Since joining Buffalo, he’s chipped in five goals and an assist in 13 games, quickly earning trust in a checking-line role.
Still, the bigger message out of Buffalo isn’t about personnel—it’s about belief.
Even after a decisive Game 2 loss, Ruff projected calm rather than concern, leaning on his group’s ability to respond to adversity rather than spiral from it. The Sabres’ bench boss emphasized that postseason swings are part of the rhythm of winning in the playoffs, and that one result rarely defines the next.
“Sometimes when you're winning, you don't ever think you're going to lose in the playoffs,” Ruff said. “Then when you lose one, you don't ever think you're going to win again.”
He pointed to recent examples of Buffalo’s resilience during the regular season, including responses after uneven stretches and setbacks following long winning runs. For Ruff, the pattern has been consistent: the Sabres have shown an ability to reset quickly rather than carry frustration forward.
“We knew we had to play really well in Boston,” he added, referencing a previous playoff series. “The whole year we've answered the call. You had a couple stretches, even after our 10-game winning streak. We played a terrible game in Columbus, and we bounced back with real good hockey, so really just reset, refocus, let's take the temperature down a little bit.”
Now, with the series tied and the pressure shifting to Montreal, Buffalo’s message is simple—Game 2 is in the rearview mirror. Game 3 is a different game entirely.
After dropping the first game of this nine-game homestand last night and on a three-game losing streak, the Chicago White Sox will rely on Anthony Kay to provide a lead the turnaround. Kay (1-1, 5.70 ERA, 7.62 xERA) has struggled with consistency in the early going and hasn’t pitched into the sixth inning since April 9 in Kansas City. He’s yet to find the success he had on the other side of the world, so here’s hoping he settles in against a Mariners squad on the verge of breaking through.
As for his mound mate, he’s off to a rocky start himself. Luis Castillo (0-3, 6.29 ERA, 5.86 xERA) has given up runs in every start apart from his first of the year. He’s already had two such starts where he’s given up seven runs. Let’s see if the Sox can make it three.
Either way, something’s gotta give between these two starting pitchers.
Looking to keep the offense the way it was last night, Will Venable makes two small changes: swapping out his catcher and substituting an Andrew Benintendi dealing with neck soreness with Randal Grichuk, who homered in his pinch-hit appearance yesterday.
Here’s how the Mariners will line up:
Luckily for us, Luke Raley is not in tonight’s starting lineup — but Josh Naylor is.
You can catch tonight’s game at 6:40 p.m. CT on CHSN or ESPN 1000. Let’s get back in the win column!
Many reasons explain why the Lakers are trailing their best-of-seven second-round playoff series against the Thunder.
The Thunder’s depth has overwhelmed the Lakers, evident by the 82-39 combined margin the Thunder’s reserves outscored the Lakers’ in Game 1 and Game 2.
Or the fact the Thunder outscored the Lakers by 22 points across the 33 minutes that Thunder superstar and reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t play in the first two games.
The Lakers have struggled taking care of the ball: The Thunder averaged 23 points off the Lakers’ 19.5 turnovers in the first two games.
The Thunder also averaged 19 second-chance points despite only grabbing nine offensive rebounds per game — highlighting how efficient they were with an extra scoring opportunity.
These are the areas the Lakers were better during the first round, especially toward the end of their series victory over the Rockets.
And were significantly better throughout the regular season.
But the Thunder also exploited an old Lakers’ weakness during the first two games in Oklahoma City: The Lakers struggle against teams that deploy drop coverage defensively.
The issue is far from new.
It was a talking point from coach JJ Redick after the Lakers’ Feb. 22 home loss to the Celtics, a team that deployed a deep drop coverage to stifle the Lakers’ offense, which mustered 89 points in defeat — their third-lowest scoring total of the season.
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The Lakers became less efficient against drop coverage throughout most of December and January before improving throughout February, March and the end of the regular season, utilizing the proper counters.
That wasn’t the case in the first two games against the Thunder.
The Thunder had their big men in drop for most of Game 1, with the Lakers not creating quality looks against the coverage — in part because of poor shotmaking but also the team and players not using the proper counters.
Too many drag screens that didn’t create quality offense.
Not enough stack sets. Not enough pull-up 3-pointers. Not enough Gortat screens.
“Our options out of early offense, specifically, we ran so many just early drags,” Redick responded ahead of Game 2 when asked what stood out from the offensive film of Game 1. “Which has been a great play for AR [Austin Reaves], but was not a great PPP [points per possession] play for us [Tuesday] night. So just trying to be organized with early offense.”
The Lakers struggled against the Thunder’s drop in Game 2, but they also faced it less often because the Thunder decided to hedge/blitz more — specifically when Reaves handled the ball coming off a screen.
The Lakers are very comfortable in this situation.
The counters are more natural for them after seeing these types of coverages more since Luka Doncic joined the franchise in February 2025.
But the Thunder’s decision to go away from what was working masked an issue that it looked like the Lakers had overcome toward the end of the regular season.
If the Lakers don’t consistently tap back into those counters from the late winter/early spring against the Thunder’s drop, their season will likely end this week.