Update on the latest sports
APNBA-SCHEDULE
Clippers, Nuggets win
UNDATED (AP) — The Los Angeles Clippers remain a game ahead of the Denver Nuggets as they battle for the No. 3 seed in the NBA’s Western Conference playoffs.
The Clippers cruised to a 115-96 win over the Raptors as Kawhi (kah-WY’) Leonard scored 20 points and Paul George added 16 in the wire-to-wire victory. Terance Mann also scored 20 points and Ivica Zubac had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Clippers. The Clippers never trailed after Marcus Morris opened the scoring with a 3-pointer.
Nikola Jokic (nih-KOH’-lah YOH’-kihch) delivered 30 points, 11 rebounds and six assists as the Nuggets got past the Hornets, 117-112 to end a two-game skid. Michael Porter also finished with 30 points and nailed six 3-pointers for Denver. The Nuggets withstood Charlotte’s furious late rally led by Devonte Graham, who hit five 3-pointers while scoring 19 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter.
Checking out Tuesday’s other NBA action:
— The Heat clinched a playoff spot and locked the Celtics into the play-in tournament with a 129-121 victory against Boston. Tyler Herro (HEE’-roh) provided 24 points for Miami, which moved into a tie with Atlanta for the fifth seed in the East. Bam Adebayo (ad-eh-BY’-oh) and Duncan Robinson each scored 22 points to help the Heat beat the Celts for the second time in three days.
— Karl-Anthony Towns scored 28 points and Anthony Edwards added 22 as the Timberwolves beat the Pistons, 119-100. Ricky Rubio chipped in 19 points for Minnesota while DeAngelo Russell added 15 with 10 assists.
NBA-NEWS
James out for Knicks game
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James is sitting out tonight’s game against the Knicks to make sure his sprained right ankle is as healthy as possible.
James practiced with the team on Monday. Head coach Frank Vogel says the four-time MVP could return to action on Wednesday against the Rockets.
MLB-SCHEDULE
Giants double up Rangers
UNDATED (AP) — Logan Webb set a career high with 10 strikeouts in six innings and the San Francisco Giants beat Texas 4-2, keeping the Rangers winless in interleague play this season. Swept in the two-game series, Texas dropped to 0-5 against NL opponents this year. The Rangers have lost a team-record nine straight interleague games overall — their next try to end the drought will be June 1 at Colorado.
In other major league action:
— The Yankees beat Tampa Bay for just the second time in seven games this season as Aaron Judge and Gary Sánchez homered in a 3-1 decision over the Rays. Jordan Montgomery gave up one run, two hits, walked one and tied a career high with nine strikeouts
— Shane Bieber pitched out of some early trouble and César Hernández hit a two-run homer, sending the Indians to a 3-2 win over the Cubs. Bieber struck out eight and has now fanned at least that many in 20 consecutive starts, extending his own major league record.
— The Rangers dropped a 4-2 decision to the Giants in San Francisco to fall to 0-5 in interleague play. Logan Webb tied a career high with 10 strikeouts over six innings to help the NL West leaders complete a two-game sweep.
— Troy Stokes Jr. drove in runs with each of his first two major league hits as the Pirates beat the Reds for the first time in nine tries since last season, 7-2. JT Brubaker allowed one run on five hits to win for the first time in his last four starts.
MLB-NEWS
DeGrom on IL
UNDATED (AP) — New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom has resumed playing catch and plans to evaluate his mechanics after New York placed him on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with tightness in his right side.
The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner was pulled before the sixth inning of Sunday’s 4-2 win over Arizona, his first appearance after skipping a start due to discomfort in his right lat muscle. The 32-year-old got an MRI on Sunday night that showed no structural damage.
DeGrom is 3-2 with a major league-best 0.68 ERA along with 65 strikeouts in 40 innings.
Elsewhere in baseball:
— Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis (tah-TEES’) Jr. has tested positive for COVID-19 and was put on the injured list, along with two teammates. Tatis leads the Padres with nine homers and 23 runs. Utilitymen Jurickson Profar (JUR’-ihk-suhn PROH’-fahr) and Jorge Mateo were added to San Diego’s injured list for contact tracing protocols.
— All-Star second baseman Jeff McNeil was pulled from the New York Mets’ game against Baltimore on Tuesday night with body cramps after trying to stretch a single into a double. McNeil lined his second hit of the game off starter John Means with two outs in the third inning and tried to beat center fielder Cedric Mullins’ throw to second. He slowed down about halfway between first and second and was out by several steps.
— Brewers pitcher Jordan Zimmermann has retired in his 13th major league season. The 34-year-old right-hander went 95-91 with a 4.07 ERA during a career that included two All-Star Game appearances with the Nationals. He threw the first no-hitter in Nationals’ history in 2014.
— Major league home run champion Luke Voit (voyt) was activated from the 10-day injured list by the Yankees. The 30-year-old had surgery March 29 to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. Voit batted .277 last season with 22 homers and 52 RBIs in 213 at-bats over 56 games.
— Yankees third base coach Phil Nevin is away from the team after a positive COVID-19 test. Several other coaches are expected to miss the game due to contact tracing, but manager Aaron Boone said the contact tracing does not include any players.
—The Rays have designated infielder-outfielder Yoshi Tsutsugo (soo-SOO’-goh) for assignment. Tsutsugo hit .167 with five RBIs in 26 games this season. It follows a disappointing 2020 when the left-handed hitter had a .197 batting average with eight homers and 24 RBIs over 51 games.
— The Cubs have placed outfielder Jake Marisnick (mah-RIHZ’-nihk) on the 10-day injured list with a strained right hamstring and recalled reliever Brad Wieck from Triple-A Iowa. The 30-year-old Marisnick is hitting .264 with four homers and 14 RBIs in 27 games in his first season with the Cubs.
— Major League Baseball has instructed the Athletics to explore relocation options as the team tries to secure the new ballpark in Oakland. MLB released a statement expressing its longtime concern that the current Coliseum site is “not a viable option for the future vision of baseball.” A’s owner John Fisher said in a statement he will honor MLB’s instructions but remains committed to continuing to pursue a waterfront ballpark.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Caps nip B’s with seconds to spare
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Capitals have won a preview of their Stanley Cup first-round series with the Boston Bruins.
Michael Raffl (RAH’-ful) scored from a tight angle with 1.8 seconds remaining to give the Caps a 2-1 victory over the B’s. Carl Hagelin (HAG’-lihn) also scored and Vitek Vanecek (VEE’-tehk VAN’-eh-chehk) stopped 25 shots for Washington in the regular-season finale for both teams.
The Capitals also welcomed back forwards Alex Ovechkin and center Nicklas Backstrom from lower-body injuries.
Curtis Lazar (lah-ZAHR’) scored for the Bruins, who played largely a reserve squad.
NFL-FAVRE-REPAYMENT
Mississippi says it awaits $600K repayment from Brett Favre
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Authorities say former NFL quarterback Brett Favre has yet to pay back $600,000 in money received from the state of Mississippi for multiple speaking events he never showed up for.
The former athlete had previously said he would pay the state after an audit revealed $1.1 million had been paid to Favre’s company, Favre Enterprises. Auditors said that was just a part of $94 million in welfare spending that was “questioned” in an audit last year, meaning auditors saw clear misspending or could not verify money was lawfully spent. Favre made an initial payment of $500,000 a year ago. He has not been accused of a crime.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MILWAUKEE
Brewers, Bucks go to 50 percent
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers and Milwaukee Bucks are increasing the seating capacity at their home games to 50%.
Brewers officials say they’ll start filling half the seats at American Family Field on Saturday The Bucks won’t start allowing fans to fill half the seats at Fiserv Forum until the start of the NBA playoffs.
FOOTBALL-OBIT-COLT BRENNAN
Famed Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan dead at age 37
HONOLULU (AP) — Former University of Hawaii star quarterback Colt Brennan has died. His father Terry Brennan says his son died early Tuesday at a California hospital. He was 37.
Colt Brennan finished third in the 2007 Heisman Trophy balloting. He also had public struggles with alcohol.
Terry Brennan says he took his son to an emergency room over the weekend because he had been drinking and wasn’t doing well. But unbeknownst to his family, the hospital released him because the detox facility was full.
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN-DOCTOR-SEXUAL ABUSE
Report: U. of Michigan missed chances to stop doctor’s abuse
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — A report says staff at the University of Michigan missed many opportunities to stop a doctor who committed sexual misconduct against hundreds of patients over decades at the school.
The report released Tuesday by the WilmerHale firm comes more than a year after former students publicly accused the late Robert Anderson of molesting them. The report university has acknowledged Anderson’s abuse but hired the law firm for a comprehensive review. Some university officials at the time took no action despite being aware of complaints.
NCAA-HOMERUN RECORD
Nevada’s Bosetti homers in NCAA-record 9th straight game
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Nevada’s Tyler Bosetti has homered in nine consecutive games, breaking an NCAA Division I record that stood for 30 years.
Bosetti homered to right-center field in his first at-bat Tuesday against Arizona. It was the 11th homer in 10 games for the senior third baseman. Georgia Tech’s Andy Bruce homered in eight straight games in 1991 and Duke’s Ryan Jackson matched the feat three years later.
HORSE RACING-MEDINA SPIRIT-BAFFERT
Medina Spirit could run Preakness
BALTIMORE (AP) — Medina Spirit is set to run in the Preakness on Saturday to go for the second leg of the Triple Crown, as long as the Kentucky Derby winner passes a series of additional drug tests.
Maryland racing officials have reached an agreement with trainer Bob Baffert to allow Medina Spirit and his other horses to enter races this weekend at Pimlico Race Course subject to extra testing and monitoring.
Baffert says Medina Spirit was treated with an antifungal ointment containing the steroid betamethasone that may have caused the horse to fail a postrace drug test.
Baffert says Medina Spirit was treated with the ointment for dermatitis once a day leading up to the race and that experts have told him this could explain the test results. Baffert says the horse tested positive for 21 picograms of the substance, which would lead to a disqualification if upheld with another test.
OLYMPICS-NADAL
Nadal not sure he’ll go to Tokyo Olympics
ROME (AP) — Rafael Nadal has joined the growing number of tennis players expressing doubts about competing in the Tokyo Olympics, saying his status is uncertain.
Nadal says that in a normal world, he would never think about missing the Olympics, adding that everyone knows how important it has been to him to always play in the Olympics.
The Tokyo Olympics were postponed from 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Nadal is hesitant about competing this year because of the health situation.
