| (All times Eastern) |
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| Schedule subject to change and/or blackouts |
| Saturday, May 9 |
| COLLEGE BASEBALL |
| 5 p.m. |
NJIT at Boston College — ACCNX
| SOCCER (MEN'S) |
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| 7:30 p.m. |
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive TV listings provided by LiveSportsOnTV.
Winning on the road is tough, but beating the Thunder in OKC feels impossible.
The Lakers did a lot right in their Game 2 loss. They got a much better offensive game from Austin Reaves, won the points-in-the-paint battle 52-46 and Rui Hachimura remained elite, scoring 16 points on 60% shooting.
But the Thunder outscored the Lakers 36-22 in the third quarter to turn this game from a close contest to a blowout win for OKC.
Now, JJ Redick and the Lakers find themselves down 2-0 in this series and head home still looking to play a full 48 minutes.
Perhaps the uncomfortable truth is they just don’t have the personnel to play such a perfect game.
There are plenty of reasons the Lakers lost, but the main culprit was their play in the third quarter, particularly when Shai-Gilgeous Alexander was off the floor.
SGA went to the bench after earning his fourth foul at the 10:34 mark. With Reaves knocking down three subsequent free throws, LA was in front by five.
This was a golden opportunity for the Lakers to take advantage. Winning the minutes when SGA is off the floor is something Lakers head coach JJ Redick said was necessary after practice on Wednesday.
Apparently, the purple and gold didn’t get the memo.
Chet Holmgren began feasting inside. Then Jared McCain scored five straight points, and after Jaylin Williams knocked down a three and was fouled on the shot, the crowd erupted and LA’s lead had evaporated.
The Thunder continued to pile on, going on a 32-14 run while SGA watched from the bench. This was the turning point of the game as the Lakers never led again.
LA has done a great job containing SGA. He scored 18 points in Game 1 and only scored 22 on Thursday.
However, OKC is so dominant because of its tremendous team. The Lakers have allowed McCain to torch them in both games. Chet has been great as well, and Ajay Mitchell once again had another strong performance. If LA doesn’t find a way to contain them, this will be a sweep.
One of the silver linings was the play of Reaves. He struggled massively in Game 1, but had a bounce back performance in Game 2. He continued to attack the paint, but finished strong at the rim this game. He went 10-16 from the field, shot 50% from deep and 80% from the charity stripe.
Add in his six assists, and Reaves put LA in a position to remain competitive in this contest.
Now, if he can start as well as he finished and limit his turnovers, LA will have a great chance of winning one of their upcoming home games.
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The noise surrounding Reaves was overblown in Game 1.
He is a proven player, and one game doesn’t take away from all he has done over the years as a Laker. Still, recency bias is a thing, and it was good for him and the team that Reaves was able to be an impactful player for LA.
With Luka Dončić out, they’ll need all the help they can get in the backcourt to generate some points.
Before the game, Redick said he’d play a nine-man rotation. He barely did with only eight players logging at least 10 minutes. And Jake LaRavia barely cracked the 10-minute mark.
Redick looked for answers playing Adou Thiero in the first half, but while the minutes weren’t bad, they were unimpactful. And with LaRavia playing so poorly, there don’t seem to be many bench players who can play at this level.
Redick has to try something, though.
Can Redick find some responsible adults? Some players who can be depended on to be positive and at least eat up a handful of minutes?
It might be time to play Nick Smith Jr. and see if he can give the Lakers an offensive spark. Maxi Kleber can play some five and give Deandre Ayton a break. Even Bronny James can slot in for a moment to start the second, as he did against the Rockets.
So far, the Lakers haven’t found a winning recipe, so Redick has to throw the kitchen sink at OKC and see if he can find something that gets him a win.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers battled the Oklahoma City Thunder but were unable to even the NBA second-round series on Thursday, May 7.
Instead, the Lakers fall to 0-2 in the series and move one step closer to potentially being swept by the defending champions.
The Lakers continue to miss point guard Luka Doncic, and his absence is apparent after the Lakers turned the ball over 20 times, trying to move the ball around and generate some offense. The Thunder were able to produce 26 points off the Lakers' turnovers.
Austin Reaves was responsible for five, while LeBron James and Marcus Smart each had three. Reaves did carry the offense, shooting 10-of-16 from the field for 31 points.
While the turnovers will likely be a topic of discussion internally, the Lakers remained vocal throughout and after the game about the fouls called by the officiating crew.
Coach JJ Redick was asked about the officials after the game and noted that James has only had five free-throw attempts over the first two games of the series.
“LeBron (receives) the worst whistle of any star player I’ve ever seen,” Redick told reporters after the game. “I've been with him for two years now, the smaller guys, because they can be theatrical, tend to get more fouls and guys built like LeBron, it’s hard for them.”
Austin Reaves and the Lakers just had a meeting with the refs after the game to share their frustration with them. pic.twitter.com/exHIVkrese
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) May 8, 2026
Redick also said the Thunder have "guys that foul on every possession," which he noted all good defenses do. Still, he was left frustrated by the lack of calls.
"They're hard enough to play. They're hard enough to play. You gotta be able to just call it if they foul, and they do foul," Redick said.
Reaves and James were seen postgame among a crowd near midcourt that consisted of other members of the Lakers and the officiating crew.
Reaves, in particular, was vocal with his displeasure.
"I felt like I was respectful to all of them all night," Reaves told reporters. "... And when we were doing the whole tip ball and they were switching spots, I wanted to get on the other side because they had a guy on the other side, was just trying to keep an advantage. And he turned around and yelled in my face. I just thought it was disrespectful."
James himself had very little to say about the referees after the game.
Q: JJ Redick was irate about the officials, how was that a factor in the runs OKC put together?
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 8, 2026
LeBron James: “We’re down 2-0.”
Q: Redick said you get the worst whistle of any superstar he’s seen, why do you think that is?
LeBron: “I don’t know” pic.twitter.com/QyPwxUd9Td
The Lakers remained aggressive during the game, matching the pace of the Thunder as the teams exchanged respective scoring runs before Los Angeles took a one-point lead into the locker room at halftime.
OKC managed to pull away in the second half after a 32-14 run during the third quarter, all while the Thunder’s star player, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, was not on the floor.
The Lakers have the opportunity to overcome all that happened in Game 2, when the series moves to Los Angeles for the next two games.
The Thunder remain in a good place as the franchise has not lost a best-of-7 series when leading 2-0. Oklahoma City also improved to 6-0 during this postseason, having swept the Phoenix Suns in the first round.
The Lakers will host the Thunder on Saturday, May 9. The game will air on ESPN at 5:30 p.m. PT (8:30 p.m. ET).
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: JJ Redick, Lakers bemoan refs after Game 2 loss to OKC Thunder
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Lakers, one again, were so close.
But they kept getting in their own way in their 125-107 Game 2 loss to the Thunder at Paycom Center.
The Lakers had too many self-inflicted wounds, like their 21 turnovers for 26 OKC points.
Or the 17 second-chance points they allowed the Thunder to score, wasting the strong moments of halfcourt defense they had.
“We played well in spurts,” LeBron James said. “We had some really good minutes, obviously through three [quarters]. They were able to take a five-point lead in the third quarter and they made a run. Obviously, they kept scoring and they’re really good at exploiting matchups and things of that nature. But we had a good game plan. We tried to execute it as close to 48 minutes as possible, but it just didn’t get done.”
Even with Austin Reaves bouncing back from a purtid Game 1 performance with a playoff career-high 31 points to go with 6 assists, Game 2 was defined by the Lakers’ mistakes.
And the Thunder capitalized off them.
“They do a good job of capitalizing off turnovers,” Luke Kennard said. “Obviously, that’s going to be a big thing for us. We knew that going into it, their physicality. We gotta stay poised, under control when they go on those runs. I think we’ve done a pretty good job overall, but it’s gonna take a full, full 48 minutes.”
James had 23 points and 6 assists.
Rui Hachimura (16 points) and Kennard (10 points) combined for 26 points, but the Lakers wasted a strong shooting night (50% from the field, 37.9% on 3s).
Chet Holmgren led the Thunder with 22 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists and 2 blocked shots.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 22 points. Ajay Mitchell recorded 20 points and 6 assists, while Jared McCain had 18 points off the bench.
The Lakers are now trailing 2-0 in the best-of-seven second round series.
Under the 2-2-1-1-1 home/away pattern, the team with homecourt advantage has a 221-19 all-time record in playoff series after taking a 2-0 lead since the NBA moved to a 16-team playoff in 1984.
When Gilgeous-Alexander picked up his fourth personal and a Flagrant Foul penalty one foul at the 10:34 mark of the third quarter.
Reaves made a pair of flagrant free throws, and a technical free throw after Alex Caruso was assessed a technical from the bench, to put the Lakers up 66-61 as Gilgeous-Alexander subbed out and went to the bench for the remainder of the quarter.
Usually, this would be a positive moment for an opponent when the reigning MVP has to watch nearly an entire quarter from the bench.
That wasn’t the case for the Lakers, who were outscored 32-14 in the final 10 ½ minutes of the third.
Jared McCain (8 points), Holmgren (8) and Mitchell (7) combined for 23 points in the third, with the trio outscoring the Lakers, who had 22 points in the third.
“I talked about it a little bit [on Wednesday], them being plus-nine in the non-SGA minutes and then in the second half, we just got blitzed, 32-14, seven turnovers,” coach JJ Redick said. “They shot 14 free throws during that stretch. So we got to look at lineups, look at everything, try to figure out how we can be better in those minutes.”
The second-year guard continues his breakout season with another strong playoff performance.
He was the biggest reason why the Thunder won the non-Gilgeous-Alexander minutes in the second, scoring 11 points of his scoring total in the quarter.
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That’s how many points the Thunder outscored the Lakers by when Gilgeous-Alexander wasn’t on the floor before Redick subbed out his main rotation players with 2:14 left, with his team down 120-103.
The Lakers also struggled in the non-Gilgeous-Alexander minutes in Game 1, being outscored on Tuesday when Gilgeous-Alexander was on the bench.
Game 3 of Lakers-Thunder will tip off at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday at Crypto.com Arena.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Chet Holmgren and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander each scored 22 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Los Angeles Lakers 125-107 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinal series.
Ajay Mitchell had 20 points and Jaren McCain added 18 for the defending champion Thunder, who improved to 6-0 in the playoffs. The Lakers will host Game 3 on Saturday.
The Lakers again were without scoring champion Luka Doncic, who is out indefinitely with a strained left hamstring. They also were missing forward Jarred Vanderbilt, the reserve forward who dislocated the pinkie finger on his right hand during the second quarter of Game 1. The Lakers also had three players finish with five fouls, limiting their aggressiveness late in the game.
Lakers guard Austin Reaves, who struggled with his shot in Game 1, scored 31 points on 10-for-16 shooting in Game 2. LeBron James, coming off a 27-point effort in Game 1, followed that up with 23.
With the Lakers up 63-61 early in the third quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander got tied up with Reaves and was called for his fourth foul. Upon review, it was upgraded to a flagrant 1 for Gilgeous-Alexander’s follow through. Oklahoma City’s Alex Caruso was called for a technical foul as the situation was being sorted out.
Gilgeous-Alexander left the game with the Lakers up 65-61, but the Thunder rallied and took control without him. On a fast break, Holmgren found a trailing Jaylin Williams, who hit a 3-pointer and was fouled. His free throw put the Thunder up 85-74.
The Thunder outscored the Lakers 32-15 while Gilgeous-Alexander was out in the third quarter to take a 93-80 lead into the fourth. The Lakers cut Oklahoma City’s lead to five in the fourth quarter before the Thunder pulled away again.
With an early exit from the playoffs, it looks like there’s trouble in Celtics land.
There’s also reports out there that there might be something possible between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics.
It’s a trade that makes sense for both sides but if the Bucks decide they’re not interested in Brown maybe the Jazz could give them an offer that makes sense.
Here’s a trade that could make sense for both sides. If the Utah Jazz don’t jump in the NBA lottery, this trade makes some sense.
Lauri Markkanen and Jaylen Brown’s contracts match perfectly. If Utah ends up with the #6 or #7 pick, they could move that to Boston for Brown along with Markkanen and that might be enough to get it done. For Boston, they get a player that, even though he’s not the level of Brown, is still all-star caliber and they get a top ten pick.
For Utah, they get an upgrade and a player that fits better at the 3 and who’s also a huge upgrade defensively. It also fits all their pieces together much better. Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. are both at their best at the 4. This allows more cohesion with their team and a better defensive identity. A front court of Jaylen Brown, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Walker Kessler could be incredible defensively. On top of that, this would give Jaylen Brown the opportunity to be the lead dog of the Jazz. He wouldn’t be considered the Robing to another Batman and that could be appealing to him considering the frustrations he’s had in Boston.
It’s an interesting idea and we’ll see if it’s possible. What do you think? Is something like this a move the Jazz should consider?
The effort was being provided by all the Lakers at a high level and it was being led by LeBron James and Austin Reaves.
But the Lakers are facing the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals and it is a chore that remains too heavy for Los Angeles.
Even with Reaves recovering to score 31 points on 10-for-16 shooting and handing out six assists and James collecting 23 points and six assists, the Lakers still lost Game 2 of the best-of-seven series, 125-107, Thursday night at Paycom Center.
The Lakers trail the series 2-0, with Game 3 back in Los Angeles at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday night.
The odds have now increased against the Lakers winning this series. In NBA history, only 34 teams have recovered from a 2-0 hole to win a best-of-seven series, while 431 teams have gone on to win the series.
The Lakers even did a very good job again on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, throwing double teams at him to hold the All-Star guard to 22 points.
Chet Holmgren had another strong game with 22 points, nine rebounds, four steals and two blocks and Ajay Mitchell had 20 points for the Thunder.
The Lakers, who had a one-point lead at halftime, went down 13 points at the end of the third quarter, but a James three-pointer pulled them to within 95-89, forcing the Thunder to call a timeout with 8:57 left.
The Lakers even got to within five points in the fourth quarter, but a 10-2 run by the Thunder put L.A. in a 13-point hole with 5:53 left, this time forcing Lakers coach JJ Redick to call a timeout so his players could collect themselves.
The Lakers could not.
A big play was when Reaves took a charge against Gilgeous-Alexander with 10:34 left in the third quarter, which was his fourth foul. Gilgeous-Alexander was called for a flagrant foul on the play and Alex Caruso was called for a technical foul.
Reaves shot three free throws, making them all for a 66-61 Lakers lead.
Read more:Frustrated Luka Doncic breaks his silence; doctors forecasted he'd miss Thunder series
Gilgeous-Alexander then took a seat on the bench.
Yet the Lakers were unable to maintain their quality of play against a Thunder team that just kept charging ahead even with Gilgeous-Alexander on the bench.
The Thunder finished the third on an 18-8 run to open a 93-80 lead.
One of the many keys for the Lakers was getting a productive Reaves. It was just his fourth game back after being out a month because of a Grade 2 left hamstring strain, and it showed. Reaves missed 13 of his 16 shots in Game 1 and all five of his three-pointers, and scored just eight points.
Reaves didn’t make any excuses for his poor play.
“He’s got a great sense of self-accountability to where, you know, he’s his own worst critic and he’s going to hold himself to a standard of how he wants to play,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “Had a great conversation with him yesterday and today. He’ll be good to go.”
Reaves scored 13 points in the first half while distributing the ball.
He missed his first two shots, but finished the first half five-for-nine shooting.
Along with James scoring 10 points and handing out five assists, Rui Hachimura scoring 11 and Marcus Smart adding eight while doing his part to slow down Gilgeous-Alexander, the Lakers opened a 58-57 lead at the half.
The Lakers sent defenders at Gilgeous-Alexander often, double-teaming the league most valuable player and forcing the other Thunder players to shoot the basketball in the first half.
Gilgeous-Alexander only took nine shots in the first half and made four.
The Thunder shot just 25% from three-point range in the first 24 minutes.
Note: Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt was downgraded out for Game 2 because of a dislocated right pinkie finger.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Chet Holmgren and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander each scored 22 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Los Angeles Lakers 125-107 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinal series.
Ajay Mitchell had 20 points and Jaren McCain added 18 for the defending champion Thunder, who improved to 6-0 in the playoffs. The Lakers will host Game 3 on Saturday.
The Lakers again were without scoring champion Luka Doncic, who is out indefinitely with a strained left hamstring. They also were missing forward Jarred Vanderbilt, the reserve forward who dislocated the pinkie finger on his right hand during the second quarter of Game 1. The Lakers also had three players finish with five fouls, limiting their aggressiveness late in the game.
Lakers guard Austin Reaves, who struggled with his shot in Game 1, scored 31 points on 10-for-16 shooting in Game 2. LeBron James, coming off a 27-point effort in Game 1, followed that up with 23.
With the Lakers up 63-61 early in the third quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander got tied up with Reaves and was called for his fourth foul. Upon review, it was upgraded to a flagrant 1 for Gilgeous-Alexander’s follow through. Oklahoma City’s Alex Caruso was called for a technical foul as the situation was being sorted out.
Gilgeous-Alexander left the game with the Lakers up 65-61, but the Thunder rallied and took control without him. On a fast break, Holmgren found a trailing Jaylin Williams, who hit a 3-pointer and was fouled. His free throw put the Thunder up 85-74.
The Thunder outscored the Lakers 32-15 while Gilgeous-Alexander was out in the third quarter to take a 93-80 lead into the fourth. The Lakers cut Oklahoma City’s lead to five in the fourth quarter before the Thunder pulled away again.
PISTONS 107, CAVALIERS 97
DETROIT (AP) — Cade Cunningham had 25 points and 10 assists, Tobias Harris scored 21 points and Detroit beat Cleveland to take a 2-0 lead in their second-round series.
Game 3 is Saturday in Cleveland, where the Cavs were 4-0 in the first round against Toronto.
The top-seeded Pistons have won five straight games since Orlando put them on the brink of elimination in the first round.
Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points and Jarrett Allen had 22 points and seven rebounds, bouncing back from a poor performance in Game 1 for the fourth-seeded Cavs.
James Harden, though, missed 10 of 13 shots and was limited to 10 points. Harden had four turnovers, including one with 33 seconds left when the Cavs trailed by just six.
Cleveland’s Max Strus scored just three points after he had 19 in the series opener.
Detroit’s Duncan Robinson had 17 points, making 5 of 9 3-pointers, and Daniss Jenkins came off the bench to score 14 points, his third straight game in double figures.
Matthew Liberatore gave the St. Louis Cardinals the strong start they needed to begin their west coast swing as his nasty curveball and a power surge from Alec Burleson made the difference in a victory over the San Diego Padres 2-1 late Thursday night.
Matthew Liberatore looked both shaky and nasty in the bottom of the first inning. After getting the first two outs, he walked Manny Machado. Fernando Tatis Jr. singled to left moving Machado to second and Xander Bogaerts singled to right scoring Machado and giving the Padres a 1-0 lead.
The St. Louis Cardinals bats were quiet until the top of the 4th inning when Alec Burleson turned on a Michael King pitch and jacked it over the right field wall with an impressive exit velocity of 111 mph tying the game 1-1.
After a 1st inning where he looked vulnerable, Matthew Liberatore shut the Padres down giving the Cardinals six strong innings only allowing the 1 earned run on only 3 hits with 6 strikeouts and 3 walks. Michael King was equally impressive for San Diego as he also pitched a solid six innings allowing only 1 hit, but that one hit was the one from Burleson that left the park.
The Cardinals would take the lead in the top of the 7th inning when Jordan Walker missed a home run by maybe a foot crushing a line drive off of the left field wall for a double. He then scored when Masyn Winn hit a ball down the right field line to a helpless-looking Nick Castellanos who stumbled toward the ball as it bounced past him and continued to the right field wall as Walker scored and Winn cruised into third base giving St. Louis a 2-1 lead.
George Soriano entered the game in the bottom of the 7th inning giving up an infield single to Tatis Jr, but he was thrown out by Pedro Pagés even though the tag by JJ Wetherholt was unsuccessfully challenged by the Padres. That caught stealing muted any potential Padres threat in the 7th inning.
The bottom of the 8th inning belonged to JoJo Romero. He had no problems with Ty France, Nick Castellanos or Rodolpho Duran shutting the Padres down 1-2-3. That helped the Cardinals from having to deal with super-reliever Mason Miller as San Diego brought in Jason Adam to handle the top of the 9th inning as they still trailed 2-1. He was greeted by Jordan Walker who hit a laser shot into left center that he turned into a hustle double. Nolan Gorman then worked Adam for a 9-pitch walk. Yes, miracles do happen. Unfortunately, Masyn Winn was unable to get a sufficient bunt down as the Padres were able to get the force at third base for the first out. Nathan Church hit a weak fly to left field for out number 2 with neither runner being able to advance. Pedro Pagés was retired for the final out shutting down the Cardinals 8th inning threat.
Riley O’Brien came in to close out the Padres in the bottom of the 9th inning. He was tasked with facing the top of the San Diego lineup. He quickly retired Merrill on a weak groundout to JJ Wetherholt. Miguel Andujar struck out and failed to use the ABS challenge that probably wouldn’t have saved him anyway. Manny Machado grounded out to Masyn Winn to end the game giving the Cardinals a tight victory.
The St. Louis Cardinals will send Michael McGreevy to the mound for Friday night’s contest against Griffin Canning. First pitch is scheduled for 8:45pm central time and will be an Apple TV exclusive so finding a free 7-day trial is your friend.
PHILADELPHIA — The Knicks and the 76ers have major health questions as the Eastern Conference semifinal series shifts to Xfinity Mobile Arena on Friday night.
The two centers, Joel Embiid and Mitchell Robinson, missed Game 2.
Robinson (illness) is probable to return and Embiid (sprained right ankle, right hip soreness) is questionable.
Knicks guard Josh Hart is also questionable due to a sprained left thumb.
Hart suffered the injury late in the third quarter but was able to finish the game and play most of the final quarter.
Of the three, Embiid is likely the biggest question mark.
On Tuesday, he woke up sore, 76ers coach Nick Nurse said, and the team determined after shootaround that day he wouldn’t be able to play.
Andre Drummond started in Embiid’s place.
The oft-injured Embiid missed the first three games of the playoffs after undergoing an emergency appendectomy late in the regular season.
In Game 1 against the Knicks, he struggled on the defensive end, and shot just 3-of-11 from the field while scoring 14 points in a blowout defeat.
One key to the Knicks’ postseason run has been their ability to force turnovers.
Of the eight teams remaining, only the Thunder are forcing more in the playoffs.
The opposition is committing 15.6 per game against the Knicks.
That number is up from 14.4 during the regular season.
It has been a major strength so far against the 76ers, who are averaging 18.5 turnovers in the two games.
Tyrese Maxey has turned it over 10 times, six coming in Game 2.
The Knicks have turned Philadelphia’s 37 turnovers into 48 points.
Brendan Beck could have stopped playing long before Thursday arrived.
A second-round pick out of Stanford in 2021, he did not make his professional debut until 2023 because of Tommy John surgery.
He pitched in just 10 games that season before a follow-up elbow procedure was required, which erased his entire 2024 season, too.
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Try it freeThe 2025 campaign became the breakthrough, when the right-hander ascended all the way to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
And Thursday was the pinnacle, when he became a major league pitcher.
Beck was called up for his moment and for a Yankees victory, contributing three-plus innings in which he allowed two runs in a 9-2 win over the Rangers in The Bronx.
“You always want it to happen, and you think it’s going to happen,” the 27-year-old from Southern California said. “When it actually does, it’s still a dream.”
The Yankees knew before Wednesday’s game that Ryan Weathers, who had been sick, would be scratched from Thursday’s start.
Beck, who had been up and down with SWB but was coming off a strong effort, was lined up to pitch Thursday.
So after an afternoon game in Worcester, Mass., on Wednesday, the Yankees told Beck to be ready depending upon the night’s events.
As it turned out, Will Warren lasted four innings, and Yerry De los Santos, who could be and would be optioned, was needed for long relief.
Thus Beck was the best choice as a bulk pitcher, and SWB manager Shelley Duncan delivered the news in a hotel lobby.
Beck packed his bag and had hopped in a car destined for New York by about 9:30 p.m.
His wife, who was in Scranton, raced to the city.
His parents, sister and brother — Tristan, who is in the Giants organization — all made red-eye flights from California to see the No. 21 Yankees prospect make his debut.
Following opener Paul Blackburn, Beck let up a lot of hard contact — his first two at-bats were a 110.9-mph lineout from Jake Burger and 108.2-mph lineout from Evan Carter — and had location issues, walking three in three innings — but navigated through the Rangers lineup 1 ¹/₂ times with some help from his defense.
“Held his own out there. Gave us a chance to win,” manager Aaron Boone said of Beck. “Walked a few guys, and some of the hard contact found gloves, which was good. But he looked in control out there. Gave us just what we needed.”
Ezequiel Duran’s home run in the third inning dented Beck, and he walked Alejandro Osuna in the fifth before Tim Hill entered and allowed Osuna to score.
But from there, Brent Headrick, Jake Bird and Camilo Doval locked down a game with which the Yankees ran away.
A game that Beck has awaited for a long time.
“I’ve been through a lot of stuff,” said Beck, who was optioned back to SWB after the game, “but I think everyone has things they have to overcome.”
José Caballero was out of the starting lineup a day after getting plunked in the left elbow, which necessitated X-rays that came back negative, but entered the game in the eighth inning.
Max Schuemann got the start at shortstop and went 1-for-4 with an RBI double, his first hit and RBI with the club.
Cody Bellinger (3-for-4, two runs, a triple and two RBIs) is slashing .394/.465/.606 with runners in scoring position this season.
Ben Rice did not play for a fourth straight game because of the left hand contusion he sustained Sunday.
Rice, who ran in the outfield before the game, has not done much baseball activity since sustaining the injury “because he hasn’t wanted to aggravate it,” Boone said.
The Yankees still do not believe he will need an IL stint.
Former Knick and NBA veteran P.J. Tucker announced his retirement on Thursday, hanging up his sneakers after a professional basketball career that spanned parts of two decades.
Tucker, 41, played three games for the Knicks during his final season in the NBA last year, and his career included time with the Raptors, Suns, Rockets, Bucks, Heat, 76ers and Clippers.
“[Twenty] years being my job but 40 plus years of not being able to fathom doing anything other than it. So here’s to retiring from the NBA… because I will NEVER stop ballin,” he wrote on Instagram Thursday alongside a carousel of photos from across his career in the league.
The pinnacle of Tucker’s NBA career came in 2021 as part of the Bucks’ championship-winning team.
He was dealt from the Rockets to the Buckets before the trade deadline and appeared in 20 regular season games and another 23 in the playoffs.
Tucker averaged 4.3 points in 29.6 minutes per game during the postseason.
He was originally selected by the Raptors with the 35th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft right out of high school, but failed to earn much playing time and eventually found himself in the G League.
The Raptors waived him in late March of his rookie season, and Tucker failed to find another NBA team to play for — kicking off a five-year run of playing overseas in Israel, Ukraine, Greece, Italy and Germany.
Tucker found his way back to the NBA in 2012 with the Suns.
Over the course of his career, Tucker played in 886 NBA games and averaged 6.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 0.3 blocks per game.
The Lakers once again saw a tight game turn into a double-digit loss on Thursday. LA held a lead midway through the third but again saw the Thunder pull away in the fourth to win by double digits, 125-107.
The purple and gold had one of its best quarters of the postseason in the second, outscoring OKC 35-30 to lead by one at the half. They held the lead through the early stages of the second half before the Thunder took over and never looked back.
Nineteen LA turnovers turned into 26 OKC points while the Thunder also had 17 second-chance points and 48 points off the bench.
LA missed their first two shot attempts from behind the arc to start. OKC went up by as much as seven until Rui Hachimura converted on a midrange jumper to get the Lakers on the board.
Isaiah Hartenstein was off to a hot start for the Thunder with six points.
Hachimura was leading Los Angeles with five points, while LeBron was close behind with four. The Lakers surged on a 7-0 scoring run to tie the game. OKC had a quick response with their own 11-0 run.
Los Angeles was now shooting 33% from the field.
Jaxson Hayes and LeBron stopped the bleeding with back-to-back shots in the paint. Hachimura then splashed a triple that cut the deficit to four at the end of the first.
Jared McCain converted on a midrange jumper to open the second period. Ajay Mitchell provided a massive spark for the Thunder as he was up to nine points. Marcus Smart and Austin Reaves both knocked down much-needed 3-pointers for LA.
At the 7:50 mark, Oklahoma City was up by five.
Mitchell poured in four more points before he was subbed out. Reaves converted on his second three-point play in this half. He was the first player on the Lakers in double figures with 13, a much better showing and effort than Game 1.
Smart put LA up by one with four minutes left in the half.
Los Angeles continued playing well, with Luke Kennard and Hachimura both draining threes. With 2:13 now left in the half, the Lakers were nursing a tiny lead. Both teams spent the last minute of the half exchanging the lead, with the purple and gold heading into the locker room up one.
Chet Holmgren opened the second half with a jumper in the paint for OKC. Hachimura then continued his ridiculous shooting with another triple. Reaves scored on a midrange jumper before being fouled on the other end by SGA. The play was upgraded to a flagrant one along with Alex Caruso receiving a technical, so Reaves made three free throws in a row to give LA a five-point lead.
Lu Dort drained a 3-pointer to cut into the lead.
Reaves responded with a triple on the other end. The Thunder then scored four of the easiest points to make it a one-point OKC deficit. Cason Wallace converted on two free throws to put Oklahoma up by one.
OKC was up by seven at the 4:04 mark.
Everything was going in the way of the defending champs as they were on an extended 23-5 scoring run to give themselves a double-digit lead. The Thunder took full control, leading by 13 heading into the fourth.
After a pair of turnovers, Hachimura opened LA’s scoring with his signature midrange jumper. Los Angeles cut the deficit to six with a 7-0 run, with LeBron scoring five points.
The Thunder were forced to call a timeout.
Out of the break, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored on a layup. The Lakers were keeping close, but their turnover count was now at 19. With seven minutes left, it was an eight-point deficit for Los Angeles.
At the 5:53 mark, the Thunder were up by double figures after an 8-0 run.
The lead continued to grow as LA completely ran out of steam and didn’t have enough offense to keep it close. The Lakers waved the white flag with 2:14 left and down 17.
LeBron finished with 23 points and six assists. Reaves ended with 31 points and six assists. Hachimura notched 16 points, shooting an impressive 6-10 from the field and 4-7 from three.
Smart logged 14 points with five assists and four rebounds. Kennard had 10 points, Hayes scored six points to go with his three rebounds and two assists.
Game 3 will be on Saturday against the Oklahoma City Thunder at 5:30 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
One could argue that Sunday marks one of the biggest days the Jazz have seen in a long time, easily the biggest since the Jazz were in a very similar situation a year ago. While the 2026 NBA Draft has recently lost a lot of its depth, it remains incredibly strong at the top, and anyone lucky enough to select in the top four will be adding a potential franchise-changing talent. Last season the Jazz had the worst record in the association and held a 52.1% chance at a top four pick and a 14% chance at the number one pick. As we all know, the worst-case scenario came as the Jazz fell to the fifth pick before selecting Ace Bailey. This season the Jazz finished tied for the fourth-worst record with the Sacramento Kings, requiring a coin flip to decide who gets the tiebreaker. Luckily the Jazz won that coin flip, but what does that mean for the odds at each pick?
The Jazz have a 45.2% chance at a top four pick and an 11.5% chance at the number one pick, but it goes a little deeper than that. The worst-case scenario last year was falling to five. This year the worst-case scenario would be falling to eight, but that is very unlikely. Compared to last year, there was about a 48% chance we’d be selecting fifth. The odds for each pick are listed below.
How do those odds make you feel? Hopeful? Nervous? Scared? Excited? The Jazz have NEVER moved up in the lottery, but there’s always a first time for everything. While the sixth and seventh positions are the two highest probabilities by quite a large margin, there’s still a 55% chance we won’t be picking seventh or eighth! So here’s to hoping Sunday is an amazing day for the Jazz and their future.
Everyone wear your lucky shirt on Sunday, and if that’s the same shirt you wore last year… get a new lucky shirt. If you have any superstitions, listen to them. Do anything you can to give the Jazz that edge on Sunday! The NBA Draft Lottery is this Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Mountain Time on ABC.
The Atlanta Braves are coming off a series loss to the Seattle Mariners and have a challenging weekend ahead. After losing their first series of the season, the West Coast road trip has moved on to Los Angeles, where the Braves take on the Dodgers in a three-game set.
Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, and Bryce Elder are each expected to start against a talented LA pitching staff. The Braves are tied for the best record in the league with 26 wins and 12 losses, while the Dodgers enter play with a 23-14 record. Fortunately, the Braves are 14-6 on the road, and this could shape up to be a great series should Atlanta’s performance remain consistent.
The series gets underway Friday night at 10:10 ET.
With an abundance of moving parts in the starting rotation, we discuss what the Atlanta pitching staff looks like in the near future.
Tate Southisene continues his strong start with the Augusta GreenJackets after driving in three on Wednesday. More in the minor league recap.
The Boston Red Sox have placed outfielder Roman Anthony on the 10-day injured list due to a sprained ligament in his finger. The move is retroactive to May 5.
The Philadelphia Phillies claimed right-hander Grant Holman off waivers from the Detroit Tigers and optioned him to Triple-A.
Chicago Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd will undergo meniscus surgery and is expected to miss at least a month. Fortunately, the club does not expect a major meniscus repair.
After clearing waivers and being outrighted to Triple-A Gwinnett, the Carlos Carrasco saga continues.
A Braves beat writer has joined The Athletic.