Update on the latest sports
APNBA-SCHEDULE
Knicks clinch No. 4 seed in East…Wizards 8th, Pacers 9th
UNDATED (AP) — Julius Randle and the New York Knicks will open the NBA playoffs at home. Randle capped his All-Star season with 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and the Knicks beat the Boston Celtics 96-92 to clinch the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. RJ Barrett scored 22 points for the Knicks, who won their third straight to finish 41-31 and set up a first-round series with the Atlanta Hawks.
New York is headed to the playoffs for the first time since winning the Atlantic Division title in 2012-13. The Celtics were already locked into the No. 7 spot in the play-in tournament and rested all their top players.
In other NBA results Sunday:
— The Washington Wizards finished eighth in the Eastern Conference standings and set up a play-in matchup against the No. 7 Boston Celtics by coming back to beat the Charlotte Hornets 115-110. Bradley Beal scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half for Washington. The Hornets led by as many as 16 points in the first half. But they closed the regular season on a five-game losing streak to drop to the 10th spot in the East and will play at Indiana in the play-in round. Beal returned after missing three consecutive games with a strained left hamstring. Russell Westbrook had a triple-double for the Wizards.
— Oshae Brissett scored a career-best 31 points and Domantas Sabonis added 25 points, 16 rebounds and three steals as the Indiana Pacers beat the Toronto Raptors 125-113 to lock up the Eastern Conference’s ninth seed. Indiana snapped a two-game losing streak and secured home-court advantage for Tuesday’s play-in game against Charlotte. Toronto point guard Malachi Flynn scored a career-best 27 points and hit five 3-pointers. Stanley Johnson scored 24 points and DeAndre Bembry had 23 for Toronto, which missed the playoffs for the first time since 2013.
NBA-BUCKS-MIDDLETON
Bucks’ Middleton to miss regular-season finale against Bulls
CHICAGO (AP) — Milwaukee Bucks star Khris Middleton will miss the regular-season finale against the Chicago Bulls because of a sore left ankle.
Middleton was ruled out Sunday after scoring 21 points the previous night in a win over Miami. The two-time All-Star is missing his fourth game this season.
The Bucks began the day a game behind Brooklyn for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. They needed a win over the Bulls plus a loss by the Nets to the Cleveland Cavaliers to clinch the second seed. Otherwise, they would finish third in the East.
BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME-2021 CLASS
The Hall calls: Bosh, Webber, Wright among the 2021 class
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Chris Bosh, Ben Wallace, Chris Webber and Jay Wright are among 16 new members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The class of 2021 announced Sunday also includes Paul Pierce and WNBA stars Yolanda Griffith and Lauren Jackson. And it includes someone who has been a Hall of Famer for 46 years: Bill Russell. The 11-time NBA champion was enshrined in 1975 as a player and has now been selected again as a coach.
Russell becomes the fifth Hall of Famer who will be inducted as both a player and a coach, joining John Wooden, Lenny Wilkens, Bill Sharman and Tommy Heinsohn.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Palmieri’s OT winner lifts Isles by Penguins 4-3 in first-round opener
UNDATED (AP) — Kyle Palmieri’s second goal of the game 16:30 into overtime lifted the New York Islanders to a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1 of their first-round series. Palmieri collected a pass from Jean-Gabriel Pageau near the goal line and lifted it over Tristan Jarry and into the net.
The victory was the first for New York in five tries at PPG Paints Arena this season.
Sidney Crosby scored his 69th career playoff goal, but the Penguins lost for the 10th time in their past 11 postseason games.
MLB-SCHEDULE
Hendricks takes shutout into 9th, Cubs beat Tigers 5-1
UNDATED (AP) — Kyle Hendricks took a shutout into the ninth inning and the Chicago Cubs defeated the Detroit Tigers 5-1. Hendricks allowed eight hits and struck out a season-high eight in eight-plus innings without allowing a walk. He left after Harold Castro and Miguel Cabrera started the ninth with singles.
Dan Winkler appeared to get Jonathan Schoop to hit into a game-ending double play with runners on the corners, but the call at first was overturned after a review, allowing Detroit to score its only run. Ian Happ had three hits, including a homer, and was aggressive on the bases as the Cubs won for the second time in six games.
Elsewhere in the majors:
— Manuel Margot, Willy Adames and Brandon Lowe homered off Marcus Stroman, leading the Tampa Bay Rays over the New York Mets 7-1for a three-game sweep. Two-run homers by Margot in the fourth and by Adames in the fifth built a 4-0 lead, and Lowe led off the sixth with his seventh home run this season. Ji-Man Choi had three hits, including an eighth-inning RBI double, in his first game after recovering from arthroscopic right knee surgery. Josh Fleming allowed up one hit in five scoreless innings, an infield single by Jeff McNeil leading off the game.
MLB-NEWS
Dodgers’ Seager likely out for a few weeks with broken hand
UNDATED (AP) — World Series MVP Corey Seager will miss at least a few weeks for the Los Angeles Dodgers after breaking a bone in his right hand. Manager Dave Roberts says the star shortstop does not need surgery on his broken fifth metacarpal. The team placed Seager on the 10-day injured list Sunday and recalled catcher Keibert Ruiz from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Seager became the 13th player on the Dodgers’ injured list, joining regular position players Cody Bellinger, AJ Pollock and Zach McKinstry. They’ve already lost powerful starter Dustin May and infielder Edwin Ríos for the entire season.
In other MLB news:
— The Yankees have had another positive COVID-19 test, this one involving a staff member. Manager Aaron Boone made the announcement before the Yankees’ game against the Orioles at Camden Yards on Sunday. Boone didn’t identify the staff member, saying only that he was part of the team’s support staff. Another staff member was unavailable because of contact tracing. The Yankees have had nine total positives within the traveling party since Monday — three coaches, five staffers and shortstop Gleyber Torres.
NFL-GIANTS MOVES
Giants sign veterans Kelvin Benjamin, Corey Clement
UNDATED (AP) — The New York Giants have signed wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin and running back Corey Clement.
Benjamin, who was a first-round pick of the Carolina Panthers in 2014, has not played in the NFL since 2018 when he split time between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs.
In four seasons with the Panthers, Bills and Chiefs, Benjamin played in 61 regular-season games. He had 209 receptions for 3,021 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Clement, who joined the Eagles as a rookie free agent, spent the past four seasons with the Philadelphia and won the Super Bowl in his rookie season. He caught four passes for 100 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown pass from Nick Foles as the Eagles beat the New England Patriots 41-33 for their first Super Bowl title.
The Giants waived running back Jordan Chunn and tight end Nate Wieting.
WTA-ITALIAN OPEN
Nadal beats a tired Djokovic for 10th Italian Open title
ROME (AP) — Rafael Nadal has beaten a tired Novak Djokovic (NOH’-vak JOH’-kuh-vich) 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 for a record-extending 10th Italian Open title.
The Spaniard recovered from a potentially dangerous fall after tripping over a raised line to take the latest installment of the most-played rivalry in modern men’s tennis. It was the 57th meeting between Nadal and Djokovic, the most matches between two men in the Open era. It was also their ninth meeting in Rome, where they have played more than anywhere else.
Nadal will be aiming for an even harder-to-believe 14th title at the French Open starting in two weeks. Nadal beat Djokovic in straight sets in last year’s Roland Garros final.
In the women’s Italian Open final, reigning French Open champion Iga Swiatek routed Karolina Pliskova 6-0, 6-0.
