Update on the latest sports
APNBA-SCHEDULE
Davis and James lead Lakers to 122-115 win over Pacers
UNDATED (AP) — Anthony Davis scored 28 points and LeBron James returned after a six-game absence to score 24 as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Indiana Pacers 122-115.
The Lakers can notch the No. 6 seed if they win at New Orleans on Sunday and Portland loses to Denver. If the Lakers finish No. 7, they will be in the play-in tournament against the No. 8 seed.
Davis missed the previous game with a tight left thigh. He sank 9 of 18 shots and grabbed 10 rebounds.
James played 28 minutes, hitting 11 of 22 shots. James had eight assists and seven rebounds. James had missed the last six games trying to recover from high ankle sprain.
Elsewhere in the NBA:
— Kyrie Irving scored 22 points while playing with Kevin Durant and James Harden for the first time in three months, leading the Brooklyn Nets to a 105-91 victory over the Chicago Bulls. The eighth appearance of the season for Brooklyn’s Big Three wasn’t particularly pretty, with the Nets falling quickly into a 12-0 hole. But they had some sharp stretches and won their fourth straight, improving to 6-2 with their three All-Stars together again. Durant shot just 4 for 17 but finished with 12 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Harden had seven assists, five points and five rebounds.
— Julius Randle had 33 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds, and led an overtime surge that sent the New York Knicks past the Charlotte Hornets 118-109. Reggie Bullock added 17 points for the Knicks, who improved to 40-31 and moved into a tie with the idle Atlanta Hawks for the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Miles Bridges had 30 points and Devonte Graham added 25 for the Hornets, who have lost four straight games. New York led by 17 points with 7:45 left in the third quarter before the Hawks rallied.
— Devin Booker had 27 points and the Phoenix Suns maintained their hope of earning the top spot in the Western Conference with a 140-103 victory over the short-handed San Antonio Spurs. Phoenix moved within a game of Utah for first in the West. The Jazz conclude their season Sunday in Sacramento while the Suns close a two-game series in San Antonio. Phoenix swept the season series against Utah. Keldon Johnson had 18 points to lead San Antonio, who previously clinched 10th in the West and will face either Memphis or Golden State on the road Wednesday.
— Jayson Tatum had 26 points and 11 rebounds as the short-handed Boston Celtics cruised to a 124-108 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Evan Fournier added 18 points and was 5 of 8 from 3-point range. Six Celtics scored in double figures as Boston snapped its four-game losing streak. Karl-Anthony Towns led Minnesota with 24 points and 14 rebounds. It was his 27th game of the year with 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds. Rookie Anthony Edwards scored 23 points in the loss.
NHL-AVALANCHE-MACKINNON
MacKinnon on track to return for Game 1 against Blues
DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon returned to the ice for practice Saturday and all signs point to his being back in the lineup for Game 1 of a first-round playoff series against the St. Louis Blues.
The difficult-to-contain Colorado Avalanche forward missed four of the final five games of the regular season with a lower-body injury. But coach Jared Bednar said he expects MacKinnon and forward Brandon Saad to be ready to go Monday night for the start of their best-of-seven series at Ball Arena. The top-seeded Avalanche went 5-3 against the Blues this season.
MacKinnon finished second on the team with 65 points, a point behind fellow linemate Mikko Rantanen.
HORSE RACING-PREAKNESS
BALTIMORE (AP) — The Preakness offers another step toward normalcy Saturday, with fans back at Pimlico Race Course and, for the first time since 2018, a Triple Crown on the line. Trainer Bob Baffert is trying for a record-breaking eighth victory.
Baffert’s Medina (meh-DEE’-nah) Spirit has been cleared to run after passing three rounds of pre-race drug testing. The colt tested positive for the steroid betamethasone after winning the Kentucky Derby.
Attendance is limited to 10,000 — a fraction of the typical 100,000 that packs Pimlico for the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown.
With just over three hours until post time, Midnight Bourbon was the 5-2 favorite, with Medina Spirit the 3-1 second choice and fellow Bob Baffert-trained Concert Tour next at 4-1.
