Khris Middleton scored 38 points, Giannis Antetokounmpo added 30 and the Milwaukee Bucks never trailed in a 104-89 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday to force a decisive seventh game in their second-round playoff series. Game 7 will take place Saturday night in Brooklyn. The home team has won each of the first six games in this series. Milwaukee never trailed and broke the game open by going on a 14-0 run that started with less than 8 ½ minutes left. Kevin Durant had 32 points and 11 rebounds for the Nets.
In basketball news:
Rick Carlisle has stepped down as coach of the Dallas Mavericks, the second major departure for that franchise in as many days. Carlisle spent 13 seasons in Dallas, leading the Mavericks to the 2011 NBA title. His decision was announced Thursday, one day after general manager Donnie Nelson and the team agreed to part ways, ending a 24-year run for Nelson as part of the organization. Dallas becomes the seventh team with a coaching vacancy, joining New Orleans, Washington, Orlando, Indiana, Portland -- and Boston, where Carlisle played for the team that won the 1986 NBA title.
Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard is officially out for Friday night's Game 6 of the Western Conference second-round series against the Utah Jazz. Leonard sprained his right knee during Monday night's Game 4 win. He traveled with the Clippers to Salt Lake City, Lue said, then returned to Los Angeles for further testing. Despite missing Leonard, LA took a 3-2 series lead on Wednesday night with a 119-111 victory behind 37 points from Paul George. The Clippers are 12-9 without their All-Star forward this season, including 1-0 in the playoffs.
A former strength coach for UConn's men's basketball team has sued the school, claiming his contract wasn't renewed after he refused demands from coach Dan Hurley that he violate NCAA guidelines and school COVID-19 protocols. Sal Alosi alleges he was asked by Hurley to hold virtual and later indoor workouts that violate coronavirus guidelines. The school denies the allegations. A hearing was held Thursday on a motion by UConn to dismiss the lawsuit. The judge did not immediately rule on that motion.
NHL
Brayden Point kept up his scoring touch with a tiebreaking goal late in the second period, Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 27 shots and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Islanders 2-1 Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in the Stanley Cup semifinals. Yanni Gourde also scored to help Tampa Bay improve to 6-1 on the road in the playoffs. Cal Clutterbuck scored for the Islanders, and Semyon Varlamov finished with 23 saves. Game 4 is Saturday night at Nassau Coliseum, with Game 5 back in Tampa on Monday night.
In hockey news, the Carolina Hurricanes have reached a three-year contract extension with coach Rod Brind'Amour after three straight playoff appearances. The Hurricanes announced the agreement Thursday. The extension comes a little more than a week after the Hurricanes were eliminated by reigning Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay in the second round. Brind'Amour is one of three finalists for the Jack Adams Award presented annually to the NHL's top coach. Brind'Amour helped Carolina end a nine-season playoff drought after taking over in 2018. This season marked the first time the franchise had made three straight playoff trips since relocating to North Carolina in 1997.
GOLF
The opening round of the U.S. Open had to be suspended due to darkness with 36 players left on the course. The start of the round was delayed 90 minutes due to fog before giving way to bright sunshine on brutally-tough Torrey Pines. Russell Henley shot a 4-under 67 in the morning wave and is tied with Louis Oosthuizen, who will have to play his final two holes Friday morning. Francesco Molinaro and Rafa Cabrera Bello are one back after opening with 68s. A group of five players, including two-time U.S. Open champion and Masters champ Hideki Matsuyama, are two back.
MLB
Giancarlo Stanton hit a go-ahead homer in a four-run seventh inning and the New York Yankees pulled off a wacky triple play in an 8-4 win over the reeling Toronto Blue Jays. Stanton broke a 3-all tie with his 13th homer, an opposite-field, two-run shot off Anthony Castro. The triple play in the first inning marked the first time the storied Yankees franchise turned two in one year.
Elsewhere in baseball:
Kyle Hendricks flummoxed the Mets for six innings to win his career-best seventh straight start, Javier Báez hit a two-run homer in the first off Marcus Stroman and the Chicago Cubs beat New York 2-0 to avoid a four-game series sweep. Hendricks struck out seven and walked two, retiring his last eight batters after consecutive walks in the fourth. He improved to 4-0 against the Mets.
Charlie Morton didn't allow a hit until the seventh inning and took a shutout into the eighth, lifting the Atlanta Braves over the St. Louis Cardinals 4-0. Morton gave up his first hit when Paul Goldschmidt lined a single to left-center with one out, but the right-hander followed by getting Nolan Arenado to pop up and struck out Tyler O'Neill. He allowed singles to Matt Carpenter and pinch-hitter José Rondón in the eighth and was pulled with two outs.
Germán Márquez allowed one hit over six scoreless innings, C.J. Cron ignited a five-run first with a grand slam and the Colorado Rockies beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-3 for their fourth consecutive victory. Garrett Hampson followed Cron's slam with a homer, and Raimel Tapia extended his hitting streak to a career-best 14 games with an RBI single in the sixth. Luis Urias had a three-run double for the Brewers. Milwaukee committed four errors and lost its fourth in a row.
Shohei Ohtani yielded five hits and a run over six strong innings, and Taylor Ward hit his first career grand slam in the Los Angeles Angels' 7-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers. Ohtani also drew two walks at the plate in another two-way performance for the Angels, who celebrated the Big A's return to full capacity with 30,709 fans watching their 15th win in 23 games. Matt Manning allowed four hits and two runs over five innings in a solid major league debut for Detroit. Jonathan Schoop homered off Ohtani in the sixth for the Tigers, whose three-game winning streak ended.
Shed Long Jr. hit a tying double in the bottom of the ninth inning and pinch-hitter Kyle Seager singled home the winning run to rally the Seattle Mariners past the Tampa Bay Rays 6-5. Seattle lost starter Justin Dunn to a sore right shoulder after two innings, but came from behind with the help of a two-run homer by Ty France and a solo shot from Luis Torrens. Dylan Moore drew a four-pitch walk from reliever Pete Fairbanks to start the ninth. Jake Bauers singled and Long tied it 5-all with his double. Seager batted for Taylor Trammell and singled through the right side of a drawn-in infield to score Bauers. Seattle has won four of five.
Jose Altuve homered for the fourth time in three games, Michael Brantley and Abraham Toro also connected, and the Houston Astros beat the Chicago White Sox 10-2.
The Cleveland Indians extended Baltimore's road losing streak to 19 games with a 10-3 win over the Orioles. José Ramírez hit a two-run homer and Bobby Bradley added a solo shot during a three-run first inning. Yu Chang had four RBIs, including a two-run homer in the eighth. Austin Hays and Maikel Franco homered for the Orioles, who have lost eight straight overall. Indians starter Eli Morgan remained in the game after being struck by a line drive above the right elbow in the first inning.
The Arizona Diamondbacks made dubious history Thursday, setting an MLB record with their 23rd straight road loss, a 10-3 trouncing at the hands of the San Francisco Giants. The dejected D-backs trudged off the field and quietly made their way back to Oracle Park's visiting clubhouse following the final out of their record-setting loss, breaking a tie with the 1963 Mets and '43 Philadelphia Athletics for road futility The D-backs have lost 14 in a row overall and have the worst record in the majors.
In MLB news:
All fully vaccinated players and staff can stop wearing masks in dugouts, bullpens and clubhouses under the latest change to Major League Baseball's coronavirus protocols. In addition, fully vaccinated players and staff may eat in restaurants without restrictions and attend sporting events at venues with government approved safety protocols. The new rules are contained in a memo from, the commissioner's office and players' association.
Mets ace Jacob deGrom's shoulder showed no abnormalities, but New York was not yet ready to commit to him taking his next turn in the rotation Sunday against Washington. DeGrom left his second straight start with an arm injury, coming out after three perfect innings against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night with right shoulder soreness. He had an MRI today. DeGrom is 6-2 with a 0.54 ERA and 111 strikeouts and eight walks in 67 innings.
First baseman Mike Ford has been traded by the New York Yankees to the Tampa Bay Rays for $100,000 and a player to be named. Ford was designated for assignment Saturday when reliever Zack Britton was activated from the injured list. Ford, who turns 29 on July 4, batted .133 with three homers and five RBIs in 60 at-bats this season.
TENNIS
Rafael Nadal is skipping Wimbledon as well as the Tokyo Olympics. The 35-year-old Spaniard says he made the decision after "listening" to his body. Nadal reached the French Open semifinals last week but lost to Novak Djokovic. He says the fact that there are only two weeks between Roland Garros and Wimbledon makes it harder for his body to recover from the "demanding" clay-court season.Nadal has won the title at Wimbledon twice and also won the Olympic gold medal in singles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
He's not the only one sitting out: Naomi Osaka's agent says the four-time Grand Slam champion will also sit out Wimbledon, but she will compete at the Tokyo Olympics. The 23-year-old, who was born in Japan, withdrew from the French Open after the first round, saying she needed a mental health break.
NFL
The NFL has suspended San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Jordan Willis for violating the league's policy of performance-enhancing substances. Willis will be able to practice in training camp and play in all preseason games before beginning his suspension without pay. He'll be eligible to return to the active roster on Oct. 25 in advance of the 49ers' game at Chicago on Halloween.
In other football news:
The Chicago Bears have submitted a bid to buy a suburban horse racing track in suburban Arlington Heights, suggesting a willingness to move out of downtown Soldier Field for a new stadium. Soldier Field is the oldest stadium in the NFL. It opened in 1924. It can set 61,500 fans, making it the smallest venue in the league.
Officials in charge of the College Football Playoff have opened two days of meetings in suburban Chicago. The main topic is whether to expand the four-team playoff to 12, as proposed by a working group. Six spots would be reserved for league champions and the rest would go to at-large teams. The discussions put league championship games in the spotlight. The winner would be in the mix for a playoff bid, but an upset would hurt the league's chances overall.
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