Rangers 3, Mariners 2
Something that is good or, sometimes, less bad: J.P. Crawford, +.016 WPA
Something that is less good or, sometimes, bad: Dominic Canzone -.270 WPA
Game Thread Comment of the Day
4-8: Chart
E.J. Liddell scores career-high 21 points to lead Nets past Bucks, 96-90
NEW YORK (AP) — E.J. Liddell scored a career-high 21 points to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 96-90 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.
Ben Saraf added 19, while DrakePowell and Malachi Smith each had 11 for the Nets (20-59), who have won two straight and three of their last five.
AJ Green scored 20 points for Milwaukee, which dropped to 31-48. Taurean Prince added 16 points, Cormac Ryan chipped in with 14 and Jericho Sims had 12.
Five years after the Bucks edged the Nets in Game 7 of a thrilling second-round series on their way to the NBA championship, both teams are out of the playoff race and Milwaukee's Doc Rivers indicated before the game he might not coach much longer.
Liddell, who came off a 15-point, five-rebound, two blocked shots effort in Brooklyn’s 121-115 win over Washington on Sunday, scored 17 points in the first half. But he was the only Nets player to score in double figures in the opening 24 minutes and Brooklyn only led 49-43 at halftime.
The game remained close throughout the third quarter, with the Nets holding a 70-62 advantage.
Brooklyn extended its lead to 83-72 in the first five minutes of the fourth. Saraf converted a one-legged fadeaway and had a breakaway dunk in consecutive possessions.
Milwaukee cut the deficit to 88-87 on Prince’s corner 3 with 2:28 left. But that was as close as the Bucks would come.
Up next
Bucks: Visit Central Division rival Detroit on Wednesday.
Nets: Conclude the home portion of their 2025-26 season against Indiana on Thursday.
Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns find elusive Knicks harmony in key moment
ATLANTA — There were only about 3 ¹/₂ minutes remaining in a game that the Knicks felt they had to win to build momentum and confidence.
They trailed the Hawks by five. They had just 92 points. They needed offense in a half-court set because the game had slowed down.
Just like the playoffs.
And they found something.
Five times over their next six possessions — interrupted only by a transition bucket off a turnover — the Knicks ran the same play: Brunson brought up the ball and gave it to Karl-Anthony Towns, who was on the wing at the 3-point line with a defender pressuring him.
The same spot every time.
From there, options were abundant and, as it turned out, highly efficient.
Brunson twice hit runners in the lane off give-and-gos; KAT drew a foul after spinning around his draping defender; Brunson hit an open 3-pointer after a dribble handoff because his defender couldn’t get around Towns.
Half of Towns’ six assists were collected in a 40-second stretch of crunch time. The Knicks went from down five to up two, eventually beating the Hawks 108-105 on Monday night.
It became an example of two gifted offensive players — KAT and Brunson — working in harmony, rather than taking turns as they had for most of this campaign.
“I thought we did a great job [Monday] of utilizing it,” Towns said. “When the game got dicey, the coaching staff and our teammates leaned on us to have that two-man game show up when we needed it the most. And it worked.
“We have a good rapport where I think that, what you saw at the end of the game with me and J.B., allows him not to have so much pressure on him and allows me to help him out and do what I do best — cause gravity, which allows him to get a step on a defender, and that’s all he needs to score. It gave us a chance for him to play one-on-one and also get a step on the defender and give him some of the best looks of the night.”
- CHECK OUT THE LATEST NBA STANDINGS AND KNICKS STATS
Towns was giddy after Monday’s win and clearly excited about the play calling. He and Brunson combined for 51 points and 19 assists, engaging more often with the pick-and-rolls that were always projected as key to producing a powerful offensive duo. It wasn’t just down the stretch Monday.
“It’s huge to know a guy like Jalen can shoot and score the way he does. On top of that, he’s crafty. He’s crafty with the ball, crafty without the ball,” coach Mike Brown said. “Having KAT as a passer [makes it tougher on the opposition]. On top of that, KAT’s a great shooter. So you put those two guys in space in a two-man game, and teams gotta make decisions. Both those guys came through.”
However, the Knicks have gotten away from that two-man game for much of this season. Perhaps not coincidentally, Brunson and Towns both produced down years statistically — especially Towns.
Monday became a reminder of the possibilities with the playoffs around the corner.
“Playoffs are going to come down to a possession game,” Brunson said. “It’s real important for us.”
With the Wizards losing to the Bulls 129-98 on Tuesday night, they will keep their protected first-round pick as they cannot fall past seventh in the draft order (the pick was top-eight protected).
The Knicks will now get Washington’s 2026 and 2027 second-round picks instead.
Red Wings Lose Late Third Period Lead, Drop 4-3 Shootout To Blue Jackets
The Detroit Red Wings were 16.1 seconds away from a badly-needed regulation victory at Little Caesars Arena, but the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets snatched that victory from the jaws of defeat.
Former Michigan Wolverines defenseman Adam Fantilli scored the game-tying goal with 16.1 seconds remaining in regulation, and fellow former Wolverine Zach Werenski netted the decisive shootout goal, lifting the Blue Jackets to a 4–3 win over the Red Wings in a critical matchup for both teams.
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 8, 2026
The Red Wings are now three points behind the Ottawa Senators, who defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, for the final Wild Card postseason spot with only four games remaining. Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets moved to 90 points, one ahead of Detroit.
Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features.
Things didn't start well for the Red Wings, who surrendered the opening goal to Danton Heinen after a defensive zone turnover at 2:06 of the opening frame. But team captain Dylan Larkin netted his 31st goal of the season midway through the period on the power-play, knotting the score at 1-1.
Defenseman Justin Faulk, who made his return to the lineup after missing the last few games, scored a beautiful in the second period after cutting through multiple Jackets players and beating goaltender Jet Greaves with a glove-side shot.
But Columbus made Detroit pay after David Perron was whistled for a minor penalty; Werenski whistled a shot from the high slot past Gibson, tying the score.
At 15:14 of the third period, Faulk scored his second of the game right off a face-off, taking a pass from Alex DeBrincat and firing a one-timer past Greaves.
With Greaves on the bench for an extra attacker, Columbus won a critical face-off following an icing call to the Red Wings, setting up Fantilli's game-tying goal.
Neither team scored in overtime, but both exchanged goals in the ensuing shootout. Detroit got goals from Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat, while the Blue Jackets responded with tallies from Kent Johnson and Charlie Coyle before Zach Werenski delivered the dagger.
Goaltender John Gibson made 32 saves, while Greaves countered with 34 saves. Detroit also lost forward Michael Rasmussen, who recently missed seven games, with an injury after blocking a shot.
From here on out, the Red Wings are officially in "must-win" mode while also having to hope for outside help.
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Amed Rosario crushes two home runs to charge Yankees’ comeback win over the A’s
The life of a backup position player isn’t a fun one. Sure, you get paid a lot to spend most of the game on the bench and have relatively little blame go your way any time your team loses, but any person who’s ever played sports tells you that it’s not fun to sit on the bench.
It was for that reason that Amed Rosario decided to take less money ahead of the 2024 season to sign with the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees reportedly offered him a $4 million contract in their pursuit of bench depth, but Rosario took a $1.5 million deal to get more playing time with the Rays. A year and a half later, fate brought him to the Yankees at the Trade Deadline as a right-handed platoon bat off the bench, where he got some big at-bats but ultimately sat in the backup role he once shrugged off.
After hitting free agency this offseason, he elected to accept that bench role and returned to the Yankees on a small deal to fill the same role. It would be rare that he would face a right-handed pitcher, but in the wake of Ryan McMahon’s deep slump to start the year, Aaron Boone decided to give Rosario a start against a pitcher with semi-reverse splits.
That decision may go down as one of Boone’s best-ever moves, at least on an individual game basis. Rosario blasted two home runs Tuesday night. Both against righties, both gave the Yankees the lead, and both induced emphatic celebration. His pair of long homers lifted the Yanks back up off the mat, helping them come back from a 3-1 deficit to knock off the (Sacramento) Athletics, 5-3, to open a three-game set.
Cam Schlittler started his outing on the right note, retiring the first six batters he faced with a trio of strikeouts, including one over the American League’s Luis Arraez, Jacob Wilson. Against Aaron Civale, the Yankees drew a couple of walks in the first two innings and had Aaron Judge reach on catcher’s interference, but the only real damage would come on a long home run to left field by Rosario to open the scoring. Amusingly enough, it was his first regular season homer at Yankee Stadium since he walked it off for the Mets in the most 2020 game of all time.
Schlittler unraveled in the third. Max Muncy nubbed an infield single, Jeff McNeil lined a hit to right field, and Schlittler was able to jump ahead of the light-hitting Denzel Clarke, 0-2. Despite having two strikes, Clarke laid down a successful bunt, which set up slumbering slugger Nick Kurtz to break out of his rut with a two-run double. Two batters later, Tyler Soderstrom ripped a double down the right-field line to make it 3-1, A’s.
Civale went back out and worked around a two-out walk to Ben Rice to get through the third and had a 1-2-3 fourth, while Schlittler settled back in after a rough third inning. The Yankees finally got something going off Civale in the fifth with a José Caballero double and a Judge walk, but the veteran righty was able to strand the tying run in scoring position.
Schlittler wrapped up his outing with two straight clean innings, ultimately finishing with seven strikeouts and three runs allowed in five innings. While it was his worst start of the year, and his velo was down because of the blistering cold, he continued an impressive walkless streak. Once considered his biggest weakness, the 25-year-old is now up to 22 strikeouts and zero walks in 16.2 innings on the season.
Jake Bird got the sixth for the Yankees, trying to bounce back from an awful outing on Sunday. It was a mixed bag, as he gave up a smoked single to Soderstrom, but bounced back to strike out Brent Rooker and retire Wilson. Boone elected to play to a matchup with Lawrence Butler due up with Brent Headrick, but the lefty walked him, and after a throwing error by Austin Wells on a stolen base, there were runners on the corners. Fortunately, Headrick rebounded to strike out Muncy to end the frame.
Justin Sterner was first out of the bullpen for the Athletics, and he got through the sixth cleanly, striking out Giancarlo Stanton and erasing a Jazz Chisholm Jr. single with an immediate 6-4-3 double play by Rosario. Boone elected to be aggressive with the matchups again in the seventh, taking out Headrick with two outs so Fernando Cruz could get Shea Langeliers. An update on Headrick’s odd reverse splits: righties are 0-for-12 with two walks and eight strikeouts against him, while lefties are 5-for-11 with two doubles, two walks, and two strikeouts.
Wells drilled a leadoff double at 111 mph into the gap to start the bottom of the seventh, but was stranded after Caballero, Grisham, and Judge all grounded out off Sterner. Cruz walked a pair of A’s in the eighth, but tip-toed his way out of a jam with a strikeout of Muncy.
I had a very soft spot for Mark Leiter Jr. last year, almost to a fault. The Yankees played unfathomably poor defense behind him, and he ran an impossibly high BABIP all season long. I believed in his stuff, which was still very strong (along with his peripherals) until a midseason injury. He was non-tendered in the offseason and picked up by the Athletics, where he’s one of their better relievers.
Leiter was tasked with holding the lead in the eighth, which he did not do. Bellinger and Rice hit two jamshot singles to start the frame before an absolutely baffling knuckleball single by Stanton that somehow evaded Wilson at shortstop brought in a run.
Whatever curse was put on Leiter at Yankee Stadium was clearly in full effect.
After the righty narrowly avoided a fourth consecutive bloop single on a diving play by Clarke in center, he faced Rosario, and this was his night. The veteran journeyman absolutely cranked a splitter that stayed up into the second deck, prompting one of the most emphatic home run celebrations I’ve seen from a Yankee in April, to make it 5-3. It’s just his third career multi-homer game and first in nearly five years.
After Caballero’s single and stolen base were stranded to end the inning, it was time for Renegade. David Bednar got the call to face 8-9-1. He fell behind McNeil, but rebounded to strike him out in a lengthy at-bat in what would be the only time he’d have to sweat. A pinch-hitting Carlos Cortes flew out, and Kurtz did the same to end it, with Bednar picking up his fifth save of the season.
The Yankees will look to win their fourth consecutive series to start the season in the middle game of this three-game set, as Will Warren faces former Yankee Luis Severino tomorrow at 7:05pm ET on YES.
Amed Rosario crushes two home runs to charge Yankees’ comeback win over the A’s
The life of a backup position player isn’t a fun one. Sure, you get paid a lot to spend most of the game on the bench and have relatively little blame go your way any time your team loses, but any person who’s ever played sports tells you that it’s not fun to sit on the bench.
It was for that reason that Amed Rosario decided to take less money ahead of the 2024 season to sign with the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees reportedly offered him a $4 million contract in their pursuit of bench depth, but Rosario took a $1.5 million deal to get more playing time with the Rays. A year and a half later, fate brought him to the Yankees at the Trade Deadline as a right-handed platoon bat off the bench, where he got some big at-bats but ultimately sat in the backup role he once shrugged off.
After hitting free agency this offseason, he elected to accept that bench role and returned to the Yankees on a small deal to fill the same role. It would be rare that he would face a right-handed pitcher, but in the wake of Ryan McMahon’s deep slump to start the year, Aaron Boone decided to give Rosario a start against a pitcher with semi-reverse splits.
That decision may go down as one of Boone’s best-ever moves, at least on an individual game basis. Rosario blasted two home runs Tuesday night. Both against righties, both gave the Yankees the lead, and both induced emphatic celebration. His pair of long homers lifted the Yanks back up off the mat, helping them come back from a 3-1 deficit to knock off the (Sacramento) Athletics, 5-3, to open a three-game set.
Cam Schlittler started his outing on the right note, retiring the first six batters he faced with a trio of strikeouts, including one over the American League’s Luis Arraez, Jacob Wilson. Against Aaron Civale, the Yankees drew a couple of walks in the first two innings and had Aaron Judge reach on catcher’s interference, but the only real damage would come on a long home run to left field by Rosario to open the scoring. Amusingly enough, it was his first regular season homer at Yankee Stadium since he walked it off for the Mets in the most 2020 game of all time.
Schlittler unraveled in the third. Max Muncy nubbed an infield single, Jeff McNeil lined a hit to right field, and Schlittler was able to jump ahead of the light-hitting Denzel Clarke, 0-2. Despite having two strikes, Clarke laid down a successful bunt, which set up slumbering slugger Nick Kurtz to break out of his rut with a two-run double. Two batters later, Tyler Soderstrom ripped a double down the right-field line to make it 3-1, A’s.
Civale went back out and worked around a two-out walk to Ben Rice to get through the third and had a 1-2-3 fourth, while Schlittler settled back in after a rough third inning. The Yankees finally got something going off Civale in the fifth with a José Caballero double and a Judge walk, but the veteran righty was able to strand the tying run in scoring position.
Schlittler wrapped up his outing with two straight clean innings, ultimately finishing with seven strikeouts and three runs allowed in five innings. While it was his worst start of the year, and his velo was down because of the blistering cold, he continued an impressive walkless streak. Once considered his biggest weakness, the 25-year-old is now up to 22 strikeouts and zero walks in 16.2 innings on the season.
Jake Bird got the sixth for the Yankees, trying to bounce back from an awful outing on Sunday. It was a mixed bag, as he gave up a smoked single to Soderstrom, but bounced back to strike out Brent Rooker and retire Wilson. Boone elected to play to a matchup with Lawrence Butler due up with Brent Headrick, but the lefty walked him, and after a throwing error by Austin Wells on a stolen base, there were runners on the corners. Fortunately, Headrick rebounded to strike out Muncy to end the frame.
Justin Sterner was first out of the bullpen for the Athletics, and he got through the sixth cleanly, striking out Giancarlo Stanton and erasing a Jazz Chisholm Jr. single with an immediate 6-4-3 double play by Rosario. Boone elected to be aggressive with the matchups again in the seventh, taking out Headrick with two outs so Fernando Cruz could get Shea Langeliers. An update on Headrick’s odd reverse splits: righties are 0-for-12 with two walks and eight strikeouts against him, while lefties are 5-for-11 with two doubles, two walks, and two strikeouts.
Wells drilled a leadoff double at 111 mph into the gap to start the bottom of the seventh, but was stranded after Caballero, Grisham, and Judge all grounded out off Sterner. Cruz walked a pair of A’s in the eighth, but tip-toed his way out of a jam with a strikeout of Muncy.
I had a very soft spot for Mark Leiter Jr. last year, almost to a fault. The Yankees played unfathomably poor defense behind him, and he ran an impossibly high BABIP all season long. I believed in his stuff, which was still very strong (along with his peripherals) until a midseason injury. He was non-tendered in the offseason and picked up by the Athletics, where he’s one of their better relievers.
Leiter was tasked with holding the lead in the eighth, which he did not do. Bellinger and Rice hit two jamshot singles to start the frame before an absolutely baffling knuckleball single by Stanton that somehow evaded Wilson at shortstop brought in a run.
Whatever curse was put on Leiter at Yankee Stadium was clearly in full effect.
After the righty narrowly avoided a fourth consecutive bloop single on a diving play by Clarke in center, he faced Rosario, and this was his night. The veteran journeyman absolutely cranked a splitter that stayed up into the second deck, prompting one of the most emphatic home run celebrations I’ve seen from a Yankee in April, to make it 5-3. It’s just his third career multi-homer game and first in nearly five years.
After Caballero’s single and stolen base were stranded to end the inning, it was time for Renegade. David Bednar got the call to face 8-9-1. He fell behind McNeil, but rebounded to strike him out in a lengthy at-bat in what would be the only time he’d have to sweat. A pinch-hitting Carlos Cortes flew out, and Kurtz did the same to end it, with Bednar picking up his fifth save of the season.
The Yankees will look to win their fourth consecutive series to start the season in the middle game of this three-game set, as Will Warren faces former Yankee Luis Severino tomorrow at 7:05pm ET on YES.
Amed Rosario crushes two home runs to charge Yankees’ comeback win over the A’s
The life of a backup position player isn’t a fun one. Sure, you get paid a lot to spend most of the game on the bench and have relatively little blame go your way any time your team loses, but any person who’s ever played sports tells you that it’s not fun to sit on the bench.
It was for that reason that Amed Rosario decided to take less money ahead of the 2024 season to sign with the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees reportedly offered him a $4 million contract in their pursuit of bench depth, but Rosario took a $1.5 million deal to get more playing time with the Rays. A year and a half later, fate brought him to the Yankees at the Trade Deadline as a right-handed platoon bat off the bench, where he got some big at-bats but ultimately sat in the backup role he once shrugged off.
After hitting free agency this offseason, he elected to accept that bench role and returned to the Yankees on a small deal to fill the same role. It would be rare that he would face a right-handed pitcher, but in the wake of Ryan McMahon’s deep slump to start the year, Aaron Boone decided to give Rosario a start against a pitcher with semi-reverse splits.
That decision may go down as one of Boone’s best-ever moves, at least on an individual game basis. Rosario blasted two home runs Tuesday night. Both against righties, both gave the Yankees the lead, and both induced emphatic celebration. His pair of long homers lifted the Yanks back up off the mat, helping them come back from a 3-1 deficit to knock off the (Sacramento) Athletics, 5-3, to open a three-game set.
Cam Schlittler started his outing on the right note, retiring the first six batters he faced with a trio of strikeouts, including one over the American League’s Luis Arraez, Jacob Wilson. Against Aaron Civale, the Yankees drew a couple of walks in the first two innings and had Aaron Judge reach on catcher’s interference, but the only real damage would come on a long home run to left field by Rosario to open the scoring. Amusingly enough, it was his first regular season homer at Yankee Stadium since he walked it off for the Mets in the most 2020 game of all time.
Schlittler unraveled in the third. Max Muncy nubbed an infield single, Jeff McNeil lined a hit to right field, and Schlittler was able to jump ahead of the light-hitting Denzel Clarke, 0-2. Despite having two strikes, Clarke laid down a successful bunt, which set up slumbering slugger Nick Kurtz to break out of his rut with a two-run double. Two batters later, Tyler Soderstrom ripped a double down the right-field line to make it 3-1, A’s.
Civale went back out and worked around a two-out walk to Ben Rice to get through the third and had a 1-2-3 fourth, while Schlittler settled back in after a rough third inning. The Yankees finally got something going off Civale in the fifth with a José Caballero double and a Judge walk, but the veteran righty was able to strand the tying run in scoring position.
Schlittler wrapped up his outing with two straight clean innings, ultimately finishing with seven strikeouts and three runs allowed in five innings. While it was his worst start of the year, and his velo was down because of the blistering cold, he continued an impressive walkless streak. Once considered his biggest weakness, the 25-year-old is now up to 22 strikeouts and zero walks in 16.2 innings on the season.
Jake Bird got the sixth for the Yankees, trying to bounce back from an awful outing on Sunday. It was a mixed bag, as he gave up a smoked single to Soderstrom, but bounced back to strike out Brent Rooker and retire Wilson. Boone elected to play to a matchup with Lawrence Butler due up with Brent Headrick, but the lefty walked him, and after a throwing error by Austin Wells on a stolen base, there were runners on the corners. Fortunately, Headrick rebounded to strike out Muncy to end the frame.
Justin Sterner was first out of the bullpen for the Athletics, and he got through the sixth cleanly, striking out Giancarlo Stanton and erasing a Jazz Chisholm Jr. single with an immediate 6-4-3 double play by Rosario. Boone elected to be aggressive with the matchups again in the seventh, taking out Headrick with two outs so Fernando Cruz could get Shea Langeliers. An update on Headrick’s odd reverse splits: righties are 0-for-12 with two walks and eight strikeouts against him, while lefties are 5-for-11 with two doubles, two walks, and two strikeouts.
Wells drilled a leadoff double at 111 mph into the gap to start the bottom of the seventh, but was stranded after Caballero, Grisham, and Judge all grounded out off Sterner. Cruz walked a pair of A’s in the eighth, but tip-toed his way out of a jam with a strikeout of Muncy.
I had a very soft spot for Mark Leiter Jr. last year, almost to a fault. The Yankees played unfathomably poor defense behind him, and he ran an impossibly high BABIP all season long. I believed in his stuff, which was still very strong (along with his peripherals) until a midseason injury. He was non-tendered in the offseason and picked up by the Athletics, where he’s one of their better relievers.
Leiter was tasked with holding the lead in the eighth, which he did not do. Bellinger and Rice hit two jamshot singles to start the frame before an absolutely baffling knuckleball single by Stanton that somehow evaded Wilson at shortstop brought in a run.
Whatever curse was put on Leiter at Yankee Stadium was clearly in full effect.
After the righty narrowly avoided a fourth consecutive bloop single on a diving play by Clarke in center, he faced Rosario, and this was his night. The veteran journeyman absolutely cranked a splitter that stayed up into the second deck, prompting one of the most emphatic home run celebrations I’ve seen from a Yankee in April, to make it 5-3. It’s just his third career multi-homer game and first in nearly five years.
After Caballero’s single and stolen base were stranded to end the inning, it was time for Renegade. David Bednar got the call to face 8-9-1. He fell behind McNeil, but rebounded to strike him out in a lengthy at-bat in what would be the only time he’d have to sweat. A pinch-hitting Carlos Cortes flew out, and Kurtz did the same to end it, with Bednar picking up his fifth save of the season.
The Yankees will look to win their fourth consecutive series to start the season in the middle game of this three-game set, as Will Warren faces former Yankee Luis Severino tomorrow at 7:05pm ET on YES.
Celtics’ strong 4th quarter stings Hornets, 113-102
The Boston Celtics hosted the eighth-placed Charlotte Hornets for their final matchup of the regular season. With four games to go in the regular season, the Celtics needed just two wins from the final four games to lock in the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference. In what could be a possible playoff match up, Boston held their nerve to mount a strong comeback to start the 4th quarter after going behind multiple times against a feisty Hornet team, they hold on to win, 113-102.
Boston came into the game with the first clear injury list of the season, as Nikola Vucevic was finally cleared to play. It was Jayson Tatum bobblehead night at the TD Garden, and the C’s started Sam Hauser, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Neemias Queta. The Hornets started LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, Miles Bridges, and Moussa Diabate.
Jaylen Brown got the C’s on the board first with a cutting layup; Neemias Queta scored the second bucket of the night on a fast break cut to the basket. La Melo rattled home 8 of Charlotte’s first 10 points, with Sam Hauser failing to stop La Melo Ball’s score on the offensive end. A Sam Hauser three-pointer made the score 11-13, Charlotte ahead early.
Queta was dominant inside for Boston; he had 3 big scores on the interior and a pair of second-chance makes in the Charlotte key. La Melo was hot to start the game; he had 13 quick points for Charlotte after just 7 minutes of action. At the first timeout, the scores were deadlocked at 18 apiece in a frenetic start.
Nikola Vucevic had his first reps in over a month, coming off the bench alongside Payton Pritchard and Baylor Scheierman. Former Boston Celtic Grant Williams got early first minutes back on the court at TD Garden; he hit six straight points as the scoring dried up for Boston. Charlotte went 7/17 from three after the first quarter compared to Boston’s 2/11. That hot shooting gave Charlotte an eleven-point lead after one quarter, 20-31.
Boston was just 35 percent from the field after the first and scoreless for it. four minutes to end the quarter. Payton Pritchard nailed his first triple on a cross-court pass from Hauser. Tatum hit three straight free throws as the C’s raced back into the game. Just 5 points, 28-33.
Neemias Queta had 10 early points to lead the C’s as he continued to impact the game for the home team. Tatum and Diabate were whistled for a double foul after tangling on the baseline as both teams and the refs broke up the action.
Derrick White connected on his first triple of the game, Tatum hit a fade away deuce, and JB scored on a terrific spinning reverse layup to make it 37-44, Charlotte’s first-quarter lead shrinking in real time.
Jaylen Brown’s free throws, followed by a transition three-pointer with four minutes to go in the half, cut the Hornets lead to just 2 points. Boston improved their efficiency and scoring output in the second quarter; the Hornets’ climbing foul count saw the home team in the bonus with a lot of time remaining in the half.
A Jordan Walsh corner triple in front of the Charlotte bench gave Boston its first lead since the opening minutes of the game. Jordan Walsh pressured LaMelo Ball into a backcourt turnover to give Boston another scoring attempt, JB converting a layup for his 18th point of the night.
Boston had 13 second chance points in the first half compared to just 6 for Charlotte. LaMelo Ball’s shot-making (23 points) was the difference between the two teams at the half, Charlotte up 55-61 at the half.
Jayson Tatum hit his first three-pointer to start the 3rd quarter. Neemias Queta found himself in rebounding position on the offensive glass; he caught a Tatum miss and went right back up to score his twelfth point. White hit a triple from up top, with Queta getting the assist. Boston down by one, 69-68.
Jaylen Brown hit on his 2,000th point of the season, becoming just the eighth Celtic all time to achieve such a feat. In an entertaining third, the Hornets and Celtics were trading leads throughout. Boston, however, recorded 4 straight turnovers in a horrible stretch as Charlotte opened back up a 7-point lead, 75-82.
Jordan Walsh was having an outstanding game for Boston; he had 9 points and 5 boards while matched up on LaMelo Ball. Baylor Sheierman had a dagger triple with Charlotte scrambling to cut it back to 4 late in the third. A JB step back over Knueppel gave Boston the lead back. JB then converted on a floater to give Boston their biggest lead of the game, 3 points, 90-87.
Vooch finally scored his first points of the game to start the fourth; he hit on a turnaround hook shot off a great Pritchard entry pass. Jaylen Brown hit the thirty point mark with 9 minutes to go in the game, he had 31 points, 8 boards and 2 assists.
Tatum had a tough step through lay up over Miller and Diabate, he had 18 points of his own. Pritchard’s three-pointer came after multiple kick outs, White with the assist, C’s go up 101-94. Boston extending it’s lead with La Melo on the bench for Charlotte, before Charles Lee went back to his high scoring guard.
In a crucial period, Boston went on a 26-7 run to start the 4th, Boston up double digits, 106-94. Vucevic showed good defensive minutes also in that stretch for Boston with Queta out after knocking heads to end the 3rd quarter. That was pretty much ball game as Tatum and Brown showed the young Hornets how to close out a tight contest.
Boston will next face the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, Thursday night (9th April) at 7:30pm, a win would see them secure the 2nd seed.
Gamethread 4/7: Phillies at Giants
Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:
For the Giants:
Let’s talk about it.
Gamethread 4/7: Phillies at Giants
Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:
For the Giants:
Let’s talk about it.
Gamethread 4/7: Phillies at Giants
Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:
For the Giants:
Let’s talk about it.
Jeremiah Fears sets a franchise rookie mark with 40 points as the Pelicans top the Jazz 156-137
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jeremiah Fears set a Pelicans rookie record for points in a game with 40, and New Orleans snapped an eight-game losing streak on Tuesday night with a 156-137 victory over the Utah Jazz, who lost their 10th straight.
Fears, the seventh overall pick in the draft, shot 17 for 29 from the field and 1 for 7 from 3-point distance. Jordan Poole scored 34 points, including 22 in third quarter, when New Orleans set a franchise record for points in a period with 50. The Pelicans also set a franchise record for points in a game, despite playing without usual starters Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III, Dejounte Murray, Herb Jones and Saddiq Bey.
While Murphy (right ankle) and Murray (bruised left hand) were injured, Williamson, Jones and Bey were all active, but were left on the bench for New Orleans' final home game of a second-straight non-playoff season.
Poole, who has spent more than half the season on the bench, shot 7 of 16 from 3-point range in his seventh start for New Orleans.
Rookie Micah Peavy scored a season-high 20 points, 2023 first-round draft choice Jordan Hawkins added 25 points for New Orleans and 2025 first-rounder Derek Queen (13th overall) had 17 points and 12 rebounds as the Pelicans finished with a franchise-record 90 points in the paint.
Veteran center Kevin Looney also started for just the seventh time this season and finished with 12 rebounds.
Kennedy Chandler scored 31 and Cody Williams scored 26 for Utah, which lost for the 14th time in 15 games. Brice Sensabaugh, who was averaging 25.7 points in his previous 10 games, finished with 18 points.
Bez Mbeng, a first-year player out of Yale playing in his 13th game, added a personal-best 26 points and John Konchar had 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
New Orleans' previous record for points in a game by a rookie was 37, set by Marcus Thornton in 2010. The club's previous high-scoring game was 153 points, also against Utah in January 2024.
Up next
Jazz: Host the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.
Pelicans: At the Boston Celtics on Friday.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
6-5 – Higgy’s homer helps Rangers to 3-2 win over M’s
The Texas Rangers scored three runs while the Seattle Mariners scored two runs.
I have this impression that George Kirby is one of the greatest pitchers to ever live because I’ve mostly only ever seen him pitch against the Rangers and when Kirby pitches against the Rangers, he’s one of the greatest pitchers to ever live.
Coming into tonight’s game, Kirby was 8-0 with an ERA of 1.04 in his career spanning ten starts and 60 2/3 innings against Texas. Simply put, Kirby has been one of the all-time Rangers slayers on the mound.
So imagine my not-surprise when the offensively-challenged-at-home Rangers were getting shut down by Kirby on like 30 something pitches through four scoreless frames. I was certain the Rangers were going to get shutout on a turbo Maddux on like 65 pitches by Kirby and it would have been like maybe one of his second or third best outings against them.
But a weird little thing happened . In the top of the fifth, after Texas starter Nathan Eovaldi had shrugged off a first pitch home run by Brendan Donovan to give the Mariners an immediate 1-0 lead, Eovaldi got into a spot of trouble with three consecutive two-out baserunners that scored Seattle’s second run.
Eovaldi needed a ton of pitches to get out of the inning without further damage but for as brisk as Kirby was working, it offered a moment where he had to sit and wait. This effectively worked to ice Kirby as in the bottom of the inning the Rangers ambushed the righty for three runs and a lead.
Joc Pederson singled on a ball to third base that Donovan threw away. With Pederson at second base, Evan Carter drove in his first run on the season with an RBI single and then Kyle Higashioka had the big hit with a two-run dong that gave the Rangers their lead and the game its eventual final score.
Just like that, Kirby had proved to be mortal and the Rangers have their first win against Seattle’s Rangers killer despite the fact that Kirby went on to finish an eight inning complete game.
Player of the Game: Eovaldi (6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 K) bouncing back from not only two poor starts to begin the year, but also the lead off home run, was critical but there was no bigger moment than his battery mate Higashioka giving Texas the lead on the eventual game-winning two-run homer that turned what looked like another dominant Kirby start against the Rangers into a win.
Thanks to Eovaldi and Higgy, the victory guarantees Texas no worse than a series victory over Seattle in their first battle of the year and it also moved the Rangers back above .500.
Also, hat tip to the two Jac(k)obs Latz and Junis for three innings of scoreless ball with two frames from Jacob and a one-run save for a second consecutive night for Jakob.
Junis’ 9th inning was scary with the first two hitters reaching but after two flyouts, the game ended on a check swing grounder in the front of the plate off the bat of Donovan that Higgy pounced on for the out and a bit of poetry.
Up Next: The Rangers will close out this series eyeing their first sweep of the season with LHP MacKenzie Gore set to make the start for Texas opposite RHP Bryan Woo for Seattle in the latest stellar pitching matchup between these two AL West rivals.
The Wednesday afternoon finale from The Shed is scheduled for 1:35 pm CDT and will be aired on the Rangers Sports Network.
6-5 – Higgy’s homer helps Rangers to 3-2 win over M’s
The Texas Rangers scored three runs while the Seattle Mariners scored two runs.
I have this impression that George Kirby is one of the greatest pitchers to ever live because I’ve mostly only ever seen him pitch against the Rangers and when Kirby pitches against the Rangers, he’s one of the greatest pitchers to ever live.
Coming into tonight’s game, Kirby was 8-0 with an ERA of 1.04 in his career spanning ten starts and 60 2/3 innings against Texas. Simply put, Kirby has been one of the all-time Rangers slayers on the mound.
So imagine my not-surprise when the offensively-challenged-at-home Rangers were getting shut down by Kirby on like 30 something pitches through four scoreless frames. I was certain the Rangers were going to get shutout on a turbo Maddux on like 65 pitches by Kirby and it would have been like maybe one of his second or third best outings against them.
But a weird little thing happened . In the top of the fifth, after Texas starter Nathan Eovaldi had shrugged off a first pitch home run by Brendan Donovan to give the Mariners an immediate 1-0 lead, Eovaldi got into a spot of trouble with three consecutive two-out baserunners that scored Seattle’s second run.
Eovaldi needed a ton of pitches to get out of the inning without further damage but for as brisk as Kirby was working, it offered a moment where he had to sit and wait. This effectively worked to ice Kirby as in the bottom of the inning the Rangers ambushed the righty for three runs and a lead.
Joc Pederson singled on a ball to third base that Donovan threw away. With Pederson at second base, Evan Carter drove in his first run on the season with an RBI single and then Kyle Higashioka had the big hit with a two-run dong that gave the Rangers their lead and the game its eventual final score.
Just like that, Kirby had proved to be mortal and the Rangers have their first win against Seattle’s Rangers killer despite the fact that Kirby went on to finish an eight inning complete game.
Player of the Game: Eovaldi (6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 K) bouncing back from not only two poor starts to begin the year, but also the lead off home run, was critical but there was no bigger moment than his battery mate Higashioka giving Texas the lead on the eventual game-winning two-run homer that turned what looked like another dominant Kirby start against the Rangers into a win.
Thanks to Eovaldi and Higgy, the victory guarantees Texas no worse than a series victory over Seattle in their first battle of the year and it also moved the Rangers back above .500.
Also, hat tip to the two Jac(k)obs Latz and Junis for three innings of scoreless ball with two frames from Jacob and a one-run save for a second consecutive night for Jakob.
Junis’ 9th inning was scary with the first two hitters reaching but after two flyouts, the game ended on a check swing grounder in the front of the plate off the bat of Donovan that Higgy pounced on for the out and a bit of poetry.
Up Next: The Rangers will close out this series eyeing their first sweep of the season with LHP MacKenzie Gore set to make the start for Texas opposite RHP Bryan Woo for Seattle in the latest stellar pitching matchup between these two AL West rivals.
The Wednesday afternoon finale from The Shed is scheduled for 1:35 pm CDT and will be aired on the Rangers Sports Network.
6-5 – Higgy’s homer helps Rangers to 3-2 win over M’s
The Texas Rangers scored three runs while the Seattle Mariners scored two runs.
I have this impression that George Kirby is one of the greatest pitchers to ever live because I’ve mostly only ever seen him pitch against the Rangers and when Kirby pitches against the Rangers, he’s one of the greatest pitchers to ever live.
Coming into tonight’s game, Kirby was 8-0 with an ERA of 1.04 in his career spanning ten starts and 60 2/3 innings against Texas. Simply put, Kirby has been one of the all-time Rangers slayers on the mound.
So imagine my not-surprise when the offensively-challenged-at-home Rangers were getting shut down by Kirby on like 30 something pitches through four scoreless frames. I was certain the Rangers were going to get shutout on a turbo Maddux on like 65 pitches by Kirby and it would have been like maybe one of his second or third best outings against them.
But a weird little thing happened . In the top of the fifth, after Texas starter Nathan Eovaldi had shrugged off a first pitch home run by Brendan Donovan to give the Mariners an immediate 1-0 lead, Eovaldi got into a spot of trouble with three consecutive two-out baserunners that scored Seattle’s second run.
Eovaldi needed a ton of pitches to get out of the inning without further damage but for as brisk as Kirby was working, it offered a moment where he had to sit and wait. This effectively worked to ice Kirby as in the bottom of the inning the Rangers ambushed the righty for three runs and a lead.
Joc Pederson singled on a ball to third base that Donovan threw away. With Pederson at second base, Evan Carter drove in his first run on the season with an RBI single and then Kyle Higashioka had the big hit with a two-run dong that gave the Rangers their lead and the game its eventual final score.
Just like that, Kirby had proved to be mortal and the Rangers have their first win against Seattle’s Rangers killer despite the fact that Kirby went on to finish an eight inning complete game.
Player of the Game: Eovaldi (6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 K) bouncing back from not only two poor starts to begin the year, but also the lead off home run, was critical but there was no bigger moment than his battery mate Higashioka giving Texas the lead on the eventual game-winning two-run homer that turned what looked like another dominant Kirby start against the Rangers into a win.
Thanks to Eovaldi and Higgy, the victory guarantees Texas no worse than a series victory over Seattle in their first battle of the year and it also moved the Rangers back above .500.
Also, hat tip to the two Jac(k)obs Latz and Junis for three innings of scoreless ball with two frames from Jacob and a one-run save for a second consecutive night for Jakob.
Junis’ 9th inning was scary with the first two hitters reaching but after two flyouts, the game ended on a check swing grounder in the front of the plate off the bat of Donovan that Higgy pounced on for the out and a bit of poetry.
Up Next: The Rangers will close out this series eyeing their first sweep of the season with LHP MacKenzie Gore set to make the start for Texas opposite RHP Bryan Woo for Seattle in the latest stellar pitching matchup between these two AL West rivals.
The Wednesday afternoon finale from The Shed is scheduled for 1:35 pm CDT and will be aired on the Rangers Sports Network.