Update on the latest sports
APNBA-PLAYOFFS
Top-seeded 76ers host Wizards
UNDATED (AP) — The Philadelphia 76ers are looking to make quick work of the Washington Wizards as they open their first-round playoff series. Philadelphia went 49-23 and won the Eastern Conference.
The Sixers have home court through the East playoffs. Coach Doc Rivers is nine wins shy of becoming the fifth coach in NBA history with 100 postseason victories. The Sixers have not won the NBA title since 1983.
The Wizards were a disaster early in the season, dealing with injuries and a COVID-19 outbreak, soft defense and little cohesion. They started 0-5 and were 17-32 in early April before claiming the East’s No. 8 seed with a 34-38 record. They are trying to become the first team with a losing record to win a playoff series since the 1987 Seattle SuperSonics.
In Sunday’s other playoff games:
— The Phoenix Suns got a tough draw in their return to the NBA playoffs for the first time in 11 years. The Suns finished with the league’s second-best record in the regular season but must face the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in the first round. Lakers superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis are back on the floor after missing much of the regular season with injuries. The Suns have built their best team in years by adding veterans Chris Paul and Jae Crowder to a young core that includes Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges. Game 1 is Sunday in Phoenix.
— The Knicks’ first playoff game since 2013 is being hyped as the largest indoor event in New York since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with a crowd of 15,000 expected at Madison Square Garden. For a long time, like back when Tom Thibodeau (THIH’-buh-doh) was their assistant coach in the late 1990s, Knicks playoff games were a routine part of the city’s spring. Now, after seven silent seasons, Game 1 against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night is shaping up as a Garden party. Atlanta is ending its own drought with its first appearance since 2017.
— Utah enters the NBA Playoffs as a No. 1 seed one year after exiting the first round when it blew a 3-1 series lead to Denver. The Jazz are looking to prove they are a true title contender. Says star Utah guard Donovan Mitchell: “Nothing is going to be given to us. At the end of the day, we have an X on our backs.” Meanwhile, Memphis is looking to upend a top seed for the first time since 2011. The Grizzlies beat San Antonio and Golden State to secure a playoff spot. Says forward Jaren Jackson Jr.: “We’re still hungry. It’s surging through everybody.”
NHL-PLAYOFFS
St. Louis and Washington on the brink of elimination
UNDATED (AP) — The first round of the NHL playoffs continues Sunday with four games, starting with Carolina at Nashville. The Hurricanes lead that series 2-1.
The Colorado Avalanche can complete a series sweep in Game 4 in St. Louis.
The Boston Bruins can eliminate the Washington Capitals Sunday night in Game 5. The Caps won the series opener, then dropped the next three games and now find themselves on the brink of their third consecutive first-round playoff loss, three years after winning the Stanley Cup.
The Edmonton Oilers head to Winnipeg down two games to none. Edmonton captain Connor McDavid led the NHL scoring 105 points and Edmonton teammate Leon Draisaitl ranked second with 84 points. Yet both have been kept off the scoreboard and have a minus-2 rating as the second-seeded Oilers have to go on the road looking for their first win this postseason.
MLB-NEWS
DeGrom on track to start Tuesday
UNDATED (AP) — New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom is on track to start Tuesday at home against the Colorado Rockies after being sidelined since May 9 with tightness in his right side. DeGrom threw a side session Sunday, and manager Luis Rojas said “everything looked good.” DeGrom struck out eight and walked none Thursday in three hitless innings during an injury rehabilitation outing for the St. Lucie Mets. The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner is 3-2 and has an MLB-leading 0.68 ERA in six starts this year. He has 65 strikeouts and seven walks in 40 innings.
In other MLB news:
— The Minnesota Twins have placed pitcher Kenta Maeda on the 10-day injured list with a right adductor strain. The right-hander was pulled from Saturday’s game against Cleveland before the sixth inning. Maeda has been bothered by the injury in previous starts, so manager Rocco Baldelli said the decision was made to give him some time off. Infielder Nick Gordon was called up from Triple-A St. Paul. Maeda joins an extensive list of injured players for the Twins, who are last in the AL Central.
— The Cleveland Indians have placed cleanup hitter Franmil Reyes on the 10-day injured list with a strained left abdominal muscle. The designated hitter was injured while fouling off a pitch Saturday against Minnesota and was removed during the at-bat. Reyes could miss a significant amount of time. His absence will be a major setback for Cleveland’s offense, which has struggled most of the season. He leads the Indians with 29 RBIs and is second with 11 homers.
— The Washington Nationals placed outfielder Victor Robles on the 10-day injured list with a sprained right ankle. The move is retroactive to Wednesday. Robles is hitting .246 with five RBIs in 39 games. Washington also placed right-handed pitcher Will Harris on the 10-day injured list with right hand inflammation. Harris is 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA in eight appearances this season. The Nationals recalled right-hander Kyle McGowin from Triple-A Rochester to take Harris’ place on the roster.
— Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier has another freaky injury: left eye irritation stemming from an eyelash. Kiermaier left Saturday night’s game against Toronto in the fifth inning after first experiencing discomfort while shagging balls during batting practice. Kiermaier isn’t starting Sunday’s game against the Blue Jays but was available off the bench. He has a history of offbeat injuries, including hurting his hand during a base-running slide and injuring a wrist while attempting a diving catch. Kiermaier said it “seems like this stuff could only happen to me.”
GOLF-PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
Early signs of a gentler Kiawah for PGA finale
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — It’s a new look at Kiawah (KEE’-uh-wah) Island for the final day of the PGA Championship. The early scoring looks different, too.
Abraham Ancer took advantage of milder, less windy conditions at the Ocean Course and posted the lowest score of the PGA Championship with a 65. He had seven birdies and no bogeys to finish at 1-under par for the tournament.
There might be more such low rounds ahead as 50-year-old Phil Mickelson tries to become golf’s oldest major champion. He starts the day with a one-shot lead over Brooks Koepka (KEHP’-kuh).
Wind coming off the Atlantic battered the course for much of the first three rounds, confounding the world’s best golfers in the year’s second major.
NASCAR-AUSTIN
Reddick claims pole as Elliott chases 1st win of season
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Tyler Reddick has claimed his first career NASCAR Cup Series pole position ahead of Sunday’s Texas Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas. The new race at the track built for Formula One is one of a record seven road races in the Cup Series this season.
Defending Cup Series champion Chase Elliott is looking for his first win of the season and qualified eighth. He has five career road course wins. NASCAR’s season of parity with 10 winners in 13 races has so far excluded him.
There is a strong chance the race will be a wet one with forecasts of rain in the afternoon in Austin.
F1-MONACO GRAND PRIX
Verstappen wins Monaco GP, takes F1 title lead from Hamilton
MONACO (AP) — Max Verstappen has won the Monaco Grand Prix for the first time to take the Formula One championship lead from Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen’s second win this season and 12th of his career moved him four points ahead of Hamilton overall. The seven-time world champion finished seventh on a bad day for the usually ultra-reliable Mercedes team.
His teammate Valtteri Bottas dropped out when in second place after his team botched a tire change. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. finished second and McLaren’s Lando Norris was third. Hamilton took a bonus point for the fastest lap.
Pole sitter Charles Leclerc pulled out just before the race started.
