Update on the latest sports
APNBA PLAYOFFS-SCHEDULE
Bucks sweep Heat with 120-103 win
UNDATED (AP) — Turns out, there was a reason the Milwaukee Bucks weren’t worried about a playoff rematch with the Miami Heat in Round 1 this year. The last four games proved why.
Brook Lopez scored 25 points, Giannis Antetokounmpo (YAH’-nihs an-teh-toh-KOON’-poh) had a triple-double — 20 points, 12 rebounds and 15 assists — and the Bucks became the first team to advance in this year’s playoffs. They beat the Heat 120-103 to finish off a four-game, first-round sweep over last season’s Eastern Conference champions.
The Heat became the second team in this playoff format to go from sweeping in the first round one year to being swept in the first round the next. The only other team to endure that: the then-New Jersey Nets, who swept New York in 2004 and lost 4-0 to Miami in 2005
Bam Adebayo (ad-eh-BY’-oh) scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Miami, which got 18 points from Kendrick Nunn, 14 from Tyler Herro, 13 from Goran Dragic (GOHR’-uhn DRAH’-gich) and a triple-double — 12 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists — from Jimmy Butler.
NBA-OBIT-EATON
Mark Eaton, shot-blocking king and Jazz legend, dies at 64
UNDATED (AP) — NBA shot-blocking king and Utah Jazz legend Mark Eaton has died. The Jazz announced his death Saturday but did not give a cause. He was 64.
The 7-foot-4 center twice won the NBA defensive player of the year award. He spent his entire career with the Jazz and led the league in blocks per game four times. His average of 5.6 per contest in 1984-85 remains the highest average since the NBA started officially tracking that statistic. Eaton’s No. 53 was one of the first jerseys retired by the Jazz.
Eaton had been, among other things, a restaurateur and motivational speaker in his retirement. In recent years, he served as a mentor to Utah center Rudy Gobert (goh-BEHR’) — the only other player in Jazz history to win the defensive player of the year award.
Eaton’s death came days after he was in Chicago to be part of the celebration for his friend Joe West, who broke baseball’s umpiring record by working his 5,376th regular-season game on Tuesday night.
NHL PLAYOFFS-SCHEDULE
Fans return in Montreal…2nd round starts with Islanders at Bruins
UNDATED (AP) — There will be fans in the arena Saturday night as the Montreal Canadiens host the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series. About 2,500 people will be allowed after Quebec loosened its rules. It will be the first crowd at an NHL game in Canada since March of 2020.
While Montreal tries to force a Game 7, the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs will get started in Boston as the Bruins take on the New York Islanders. It’s a matchup of two similar teams, each expecting a hard-fought series with a spot in the NHL’s final four on the line. The Islanders won the first five meetings this season and the Bruins won the final three.
MLB-SCHEDULE
Brubaker, Bucs open doubleheader with 7-0 win over Rockies
UNDATED (AP) — JT Brubaker tossed six shutout innings to help the Pittsburgh Pirates win the first game of a seven-inning doubleheader against the Colorado Rockies 7-0 on Saturday.
Brubaker allowed only two hits until the sixth inning, when Raimel Tapia had a leadoff single and C.J. Cron was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. Charlie Blackmon and Brendan Rodgers flew out to end the inning.
The right-hander gave up four hits with five strikeouts before being relieved by Chasen Shreve in the seventh. Brubaker recovered from his previous two starts, when he allowed five runs in 5 2/3 innings against the St. Louis Cardinals on May 18 and surrendered seven in 5 1/3 to the Atlanta Braves five days later.
Bryan Reynolds hit his team-leading sixth homer for Pittsburgh, a two-run shot to right that pushed the lead to 5-0 in the fifth.
Elsewhere in the majors:
— The Indians postponed Saturday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays due to high winds, forcing Cleveland to play doubleheaders on consecutive days. The team announced the postponement less than two hours before the first scheduled pitch at Progressive Field. Many of the ballpark’s employees already had arrived for work and fans were outside the gates when the game was postponed. The teams played in gusting wind and blowing rain on Friday night. They’ll now play a doubleheader consisting of two 7-inning games on Sunday. The Indians also have a doubleheader scheduled for Monday at home against the Chicago White Sox.
MLB-NEWS
Rockies place Story on injured list with sore right elbow
UNDATED (AP) — Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story has been placed on the injured list due to inflammation in his right elbow. The team announced the move before Saturday’s doubleheader in Pittsburgh against the Pirates.
Story was taken out on Thursday in New York against the Mets as a precaution. He’s off to a slow start this season, hitting .255 with five homers. The two-time All-Star is in the final year of his deal and figures to be a hot commodity toward the trade deadline.
The Rockies also reinstated infielder Matt Adams from the injured list. Story was taken out on Thursday in New York against the Mets.
In other MLB news:
— The Philadelphia Phillies have reinstated catcher J.T. Realmuto (ree-al-MOO’-toh) from the 10-day injured list. Realmuto was placed on the IL on May 21, retroactive to May 18, with a bruised hand. He was in the lineup for Saturday’s game against Tampa Bay. Catcher Rafael Marchán was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Realmuto was hitting .294 with four homers and 17 RBIs in 35 games before being sidelined.
— Chicago Cubs infielder David Bote (BOH’-tee) left Saturday’s game against Cincinnati after hurting his left shoulder on a slide. Bote grabbed his shoulder after the play at second base in the fourth inning. He was helped off and replaced by Patrick Wisdom at third before the Reds batted in the top of the fifth. The Cubs have been hit hard by injuries this month, especially among their position players.
NASCAR-CHARLOTTE
Hendrick eyes all-time Cup Series win record at Charlotte
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Hendrick Motorsports’ quest to pass Petty Enterprises as the all-time winningest NASCAR Cup Series race team got off to a good start Saturday when Kyle Larson captured the pole for the Coca-Cola 600.
Ricky Stenhouse will start second, followed by Hendrick teammates Chase Elliott and William Byron.
Car owner Rick Hendrick is tied with Richard Petty with 268 Cup Series owner wins entering Sunday’s race.
Chevys took six of the top seven starting spots for NASCAR’s longest race, a grueling 400-lap marathon at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
All four Hendrick drivers already have won this year, including Elliott’s rain-shortened victory last week at the Circuit of the Americas.
