NBA
The Denver Nuggets are going to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. Nikola Jokic had 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists as the Nuggets swept the Los Angeles Lakers with a 113-111 victory in Game 4 of the Western Conference final. Jamal Murray scored 25 points for the top-seeded Nuggets, who overcame LeBron James’ 31-point first half and a 15-point halftime deficit to earn their first conference title in 47 seasons in the NBA. James finished with 40 points after the highest-scoring postseason half of his matchless career.
LeBron James began the final game of his 20th NBA season with the highest-scoring postseason half of his matchless NBA career. He ended it by questioning how much longer he plans to chase history after his Los Angeles Lakers were swept out of the Western Conference finals. James set a (setting a personal record with 31 points in the first half of Game 4, but the Denver Nuggets ended the Lakers’ season with a 113-111 victory. The 38-year-old James finished with 40 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and immense frustration after Los Angeles’ remarkable late-season rally ended with four consecutive defeats.
Blown out in Game 3, facing elimination in Game 4, tasked with engineering the sort of comeback that no team in their league has ever pulled off before. This may sound familiar to Boston fans. Yes, what the Red Sox did to the New York Yankees in 2004 was discussed around the Boston Celtics on Monday. A day after a debacle in Miami to fall into a 3-0 deficit in these Eastern Conference finals, the Celtics will try to extend the series and at least delay a Heat celebration in Game 4 tonight. Elsewhere, Boston faces Miami at 8:30 tonight at home, trying to stave off a sweep.
Carmelo Anthony, the star forward who led Syracuse to an NCAA championship in his lone college season and went on to spend 19 years in the NBA, announced his retirement on Monday. Anthony, who was not in the NBA this season, retires as the No. 9 scorer in league history. Only LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O’Neal scored more than Anthony. He finishes his career with 28,289 points.
NHL
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 32 shots for his first career playoff shutout, Sam Reinhart scored a power-play goal midway through the second period and the Florida Panthers moved one win away from a most improbable trip to the Stanley Cup Final by blanking the Carolina Hurricanes 1-0. Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett had the assists on Reinhart’s goal for Florida, which now leads the Eastern Conference final 3-0. The Panthers haven’t played for the Stanley Cup since 1996, but can clinch a trip to the title round with a win in Game 4 is on Wednesday.
MLB
Mickey Moniak homered in the eighth inning and the Los Angeles Angels won for the fourth time in five games, beating the Boston Red Sox 2-1. Moniak drove a changeup from Kutter Crawford over the wall in right field to lead off the eighth. Masataka Yoshida had two hits and an RBI for the Red Sox, who have dropped two straight after winning four in a row. Angels’ right-hander Jaime Barria tossed five shutout innings in his first start in two years. Chase Silseth got the win, working two scoreless innings.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. extended the longest active hitting streak in the majors to 15 games, going 4 for 4 with a homer, double and two RBIs as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-3. Pavin Smith also homered for the Diamondbacks, who have won eight of their last 10 games and five of seven on their nine-game trip to Oakland, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Kyle Schwarber and Bryson Stott hit solo homers for the Phillies, who have lost six of their last eight games.
Tucupita Marcano hit his first career grand slam, rookie Luis Ortiz pitched into the eighth inning and earned his first major league victory and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Texas Rangers 6-4. Ortiz allowed two runs and five hits in 7 2/3 innings, picking up the win in his eighth career start, including four this season. He struck out four and walked two in a 93-pitch effort. Marcano’s slam to straightaway center field off Joe Barlow capped a five-run seventh inning and put the Pirates ahead 6-1. Pittsburgh won for the fourth time in 11 games and snapped the Rangers’ three-game winning streak.
Meanwhile, the Yankees were off last night, they’ll start a 3-game series against Baltimore at 7:05 tonight in the Bronx. The Mets also had an off day yesterday, they begin a three-game series against the Cubs at 7:40 tonight in Chicago.
NFL
Las Vegas Raiders principal owner Mark Davis tells ESPN that recently retired and seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady will become a minority owner of the team. Brady and Davis also have a business relationship with the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces. Davis is the majority owner, and Brady has a stake in the club. At least 24 NFL owners will need to approve Brady’s deal with the Raiders. He also has a 10-year, $375 million broadcasting contract with Fox Sports than begins in 2024.
NFL owners have approved a flexible scheduling policy for Thursday night games on Amazon Prime Video. The rule covers Weeks 13-17, and teams would have their games moved only with at least 28 days’ notice. The league could push a Thursday night matchup in that range to Sunday afternoon if there is a more desirable game. The mechanism is currently in place for Sunday night and Monday night games. The flexible scheduling for Thursday night games was approved on a trial basis for 2023 only. Owners also approved at their spring meetings a rule allowing teams to play an emergency quarterback from the inactive list if the first two are injured during a game.
Rookie quarterbacks will get much of the attention this week when most NFL teams hit the field for non-contact practices. Twenty teams kicked off their voluntary organized team activities on Monday and 10 more will do so today. Only the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles and the AFC runner-up Cincinnati Bengals aren’t holding workouts this week. Teams are allowed, per the collective bargaining agreement, to hold 10 days of practices without pads and no live contact over a four-week span. They can run 7-on-7, 9-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills.
The Super Bowl will return to the Bay Area in 2026 at the home of the San Francisco 49ers. NFL owners approved the site at their spring meetings. This will be the third time for the big game in the Bay Area. Levi’s Stadium hosted Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara when Denver beat Carolina. The 49ers won Super Bowl 19 at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto when they beat Miami after the 1984 season. The 2026 game will be Super Bowl 60. The next Super Bowl is scheduled for Feb. 11, 2024, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
LA LIGA
Spanish police say four people suspected of hanging an effigy of Real Madrid player Vinícius Júnior off a highway bridge in Madrid in January have been arrested. The arrests come two days after the latest case of racial abuse against the Brazil forward in a Spanish league game against Valencia. The effigy was hanged by the neck the morning of a derby between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey. Along with it was a banner with the words “Madrid hates Real.” Vinícius is Black. He has been subjected to repeated racist taunts in Spain.
Spanish soccer is again embroiled in a racism debate and the support for Vinícius Júnior is growing rapidly after yet another case of abuse against the Brazil forward this weekend. Officials, players and other athletes continued to show their solidarity with Vinícius. He considered leaving the field after being insulted by fans during Real Madrid’s 1-0 loss at Valencia in the Spanish league. Vinícius said after the match the Spanish league “now belongs to racists” and that Spain “is seen as a racist country.” Real Madrid asked authorities to investigate the abusive behavior. France forward Kylian Mbappé says “we are with you and we support you.”
INDIANAPOLIS 500
Stefan Wilson fractured a vertebrae during a heavy crash with Katherine Legge in practice for the Indianapolis 500 on Monday. The British driver will not be allowed back into the car for Sunday’s race. Wilson was immobilized on a stretcher and wearing a neck brace but gave a thumbs-up as he was loaded into an ambulance and taken to the hospital. Legge was able to climb from the cockpit of her crumpled machine on her own. It was the first wreck in the two-week build-up to the race. It was unclear who will step into Wilson’s car for Sunday, but JR Hildebrand has been at the speedway. He’s made 12 consecutive starts, nearly winning as a rookie in 2011 before finishing second, but could not put together a ride this year.
© 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved.