Pacers eliminate top-seeded Cavaliers 114-105, advance to the Eastern Conference Finals
CLEVELAND (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton scored 31 points, Pascal Siakam added 21 and the Indiana Pacers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals with a 114-105 victory over Cleveland, eliminating the top-seeded Cavaliers in five games. Donovan Mitchell, who missed the second half of Sunday’s game due to a sprained left ankle, led Cleveland with 35 points. Evan Mobley added 24 points and 11 rebounds. The fourth-seeded Pacers will now await the winner of the matchup between the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks. New York has a 3-1 advantage in the series with Game 5 on Thursday night in Boston.
Gilgeous-Alexander scores 31 as Thunder beat Nuggets 112-105 and take 3-2 lead in West semifinals
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied from a double-digit deficit in the second half to beat the Denver Nuggets 112-105 and go up 3-2 in their Western Conference semifinal series. Oklahoma City overcame a 44-point, 15-rebound night from Denver’s Nikola Jokic. The Thunder can clinch the series on Thursday in Denver. Gilgeous-Alexander made 12 of 23 field goals and had seven assists. He led six Thunder players in double figures. Jokic made 17 of 25 field goals. Denver’s Jamal Murray scored 28 points, but he made just 10 of 27 shots.
MLB reinstates Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson, making them Hall of Fame eligible
NEW YORK (AP) — Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson were reinstated by baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred on Tuesday, making both eligible for the sport’s Hall of Fame after their careers were tarnished by gambling scandals. Rose’s permanent ban was lifted eight months after his death and comes a day before the Cincinnati Reds will honor baseball’s career hits leader with Pete Rose Night. Manfred announced Tuesday that he was changing the league’s policy on permanent ineligibility, saying bans would expire after death. Under the Hall of Fame’s current rules, it appears the earliest Rose or Jackson could be inducted would be in 2028.
Another hat trick by a Finnish player Dallas got in a trade. This time, it’s Granlund
DALLAS (AP) — Another playoff hat trick for a Finnish forward the Dallas Stars acquired in a trade during the regular season. This time, it was a first for Mikael Granlund. Not yet another three-goal game for Mikko Rantanaen. Granlund’s first career postseason hat trick accounted all of the goals for the Dallas Stars in their 3-1 win Tuesday night that put them up 3-1 in their second-round Western Conference series against the top-seeded Winnipeg Jets. Granlund scored in each period. The 33-year-old in his 13th NHL season and with his fifth team, had scored multiple goals only one time in his previous 69 playoff games. The Stars got Granlund from San Jose on Feb. 1. Rantanen was a deadline acquisition March 7 from Carolina.
Rights groups say migrant workers are dying on Saudi job sites as kingdom prepares for World Cup
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Two rights organizations have accused Saudi Arabia of turning a blind eye to labor abuses of migrant workers and preventable deaths. Human Rights Watch and non-profit FairSquare released separate investigations Wednesday, accusing the Saudi authorities of often misreporting such deaths and failing to investigate, preventing families from receiving compensation from the kingdom entitled to them or even telling them how their loved ones died. The kingdom is pushing ahead with hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure and development initiatives — including the 2034 men’s soccer World Cup and the futuristic city Neom — with FairSquare warning there could be thousands more avoidable deaths in the coming years.
Tatum to miss remainder of playoffs after Achilles tendon surgery, imperiling Celtics’ repeat hopes
BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Celtics say star Jayson Tatum had surgery to repair a ruptured right Achilles tendon that will sideline him for the remainder of the playoffs. The Celtics announced the extent of Tatum’s injury and the surgery on Tuesday. They did not give a timetable for his return but said a full recovery was expected. The injury, which the 27-year-old, six-time All-Star suffered late in the Celtics’ 121-113 Game 4 loss to the New York Knicks on Monday, puts both the hopes of the defending champions repeating and Tatum’s playing status for next season in doubt.
Angel City’s Savy King has heart surgery following on-field collapse
Angel City defender Savy King was recovering from heart surgery on Tuesday following her collapse on the field during a National Women’s Soccer League match on Friday night. King was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles following the medical event in the second half of Angel City’s match against the Utah Royals. Doctors who evaluated King discovered a heart abnormality, the team said in a statement on Tuesday night.
Injuries are becoming the story of the NBA playoffs. And not even the game’s stars are safe
These are the NBA playoffs of survival, where not even the stars are safe. The latest huge blow to this postseason: Jayson Tatum was wheeled off Monday night, his season over and now his 2025-26 season with the Boston Celtics in doubt because of a torn Achilles. Golden State’s Stephen Curry may run out of time before his injured hamstring allows him to play again. Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell is dealing with an ankle issue. If the Los Angeles Lakers’ season had gone any deeper, LeBron James would have been sidelined with a knee sprain. And Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard tore his Achilles.
Panthers vice chairman Doug Cifu suspended by NHL over comments on social media
The NHL has suspended Florida Panthers vice chairman and alternate governor Doug Cifu from any involvement with the team or the league, doing so in response to inappropriate posts on Cifu’s now-shuttered social media account. Cifu, in posts on X, got into a back-and-forth with a Toronto fan on Sunday night, the fan starting the exchange by comparing hits by Florida players in this ongoing series against the Maple Leafs to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. The league says “the NHL has concluded that Mr. Cifu’s X posts were unacceptable and inappropriate.”
Connecticut Sun exploring all options, including sale of franchise according to team president
The Connecticut Sun are looking at all options for the franchise’s future, including a potential sale, team president Jen Rizzotti said Tuesday. The team is owned by the Mohegan Tribe, which runs the casino where the team has played since 2003. The Tribe bought the franchise for $10 million and relocated it from Orlando that year. The Connecticut franchise was the first in the league to be run by a non-NBA owner and also became the first to turn a profit.