Wembanyama, Spurs win the West, topple Thunder 111-103 in Game 7 to head to NBA Finals
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs started the Western Conference finals with a win in Oklahoma City, then ended the series the same way. The champions are dethroned. Wembanyama and the Spurs are headed to the NBA Finals. Wembanyama had 22 points, Julian Champagnie got 18 of his 20 points off of 3-pointers and the Spurs beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-103 on Saturday night. The Spurs, who are headed to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014. They’ll play host to Game 1 against the New York Knicks on Wednesday night. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 35 for the Thunder.
Wembanyama wins West finals MVP, and looks ahead to NBA Finals matchup
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — When the Western Conference finals started, Victor Wembanyama watched Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hoist a Most Valuable Player trophy that the San Antonio Spurs star desperately wanted. Wembanyama left the series with an MVP trophy of his own — and a whole lot more. The French standout — in just his third season — has led the Spurs to the NBA Finals. The newly crowned Western Conference finals MVP had 22 points in a Game 7 win at Oklahoma City, one that gave San Antonio a chance to play for the NBA title for the first time since 2014.
A rematch of 1999: It’s Spurs vs. Knicks for NBA title, after teams met in NBA Cup final as well
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The last time the New York Knicks made the NBA Finals, the San Antonio Spurs were the opponent and just happened to have a generational big-man talent who was heading to the title round for the first time. Déjà vu. Back then for the Spurs, it was Tim Duncan. This time for the Spurs, it’s Victor Wembanyama. Here they go again — San Antonio vs. New York is the matchup for the 2026 NBA Finals, a Spurs team looking to return to basketball’s mountaintop for the sixth time and a Knicks team looking for its first championship in 53 years.
Marta Kostyuk stuns Iga Swiatek on her birthday to reach a first French Open quarterfinal
PARIS (AP) — Marta Kostyuk reaches the French Open quarterfinals for the first time by defeating Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-1. Swiatek, a four-time champion, turned 25 on Sunday. Kostyuk had never won a set against Swiatek in their previous matches. The match featured an intense baseline battle, with Swiatek initially taking the lead. Kostyuk broke back and eventually took the first set. Swiatek struggled with double faults and unforced errors. Kostyuk, undefeated on clay this season, won the last five games. She extends her winning streak on clay to 16 matches after her recent title in Madrid.
PSG is targeting a Champions League threepeat. So how do you make the best better?
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — After going back-to-back in the Champions League, the next target for Paris Saint-Germain is the threepeat. The French team, built with Qatari riches and styled by a Spanish perfectionist, looks capable of setting all kinds of records in European club soccer’s biggest competition. And after triumphing 4-3 in a penalty shootout against Arsenal in Saturday’s final, there is no indication that PSG is ready to relinquish its position of dominance. Those words will ring ominously around Europe. When Qatar-backed PSG goes to the market, it goes hard.
PSG wins back-to-back Champions League titles after shootout victory against Arsenal
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain has won back-to-back Champions League titles by beating Arsenal on penalties in a dramatic final in Budapest. Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes fired the last of his team’s penalties over the bar to hand PSG a 4-3 shootout victory. The game had ended 1-1 in regulation time and neither team could find a breakthrough in extra time, sending the game to spot kicks.
Paris police detain dozens after violence erupts during celebrations of PSG’s Champions League title
PARIS (AP) — Paris police have detained dozens people after violence disrupted celebrations of Paris Saint-Germain’s second Champions League title win and a group tried to storm a police station. Fans began celebrating in the French capital after the final whistle on Saturday in Budapest, Hungary, where PSG won by beating Arsenal on penalties. Dozens of fans marched near the Arc de Triomphe, setting off flares and blaring car horns. The Paris police prefecture said groups vandalized shops and set fires. It says that by 10 p.m. 45 people were taken into custody. Around 20,000 people gathered on the Champs-Elysees, with police working to contain the crowd.
Eric Cole gets a shot at his 1st PGA Tour win after 63 in 3rd round at Colonial
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Eric Cole has put himself in position for a shot at his first PGA Tour victory. He had a season-best 7-under 63 in the third round of the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial on Saturday. He has his first career 54-hole lead at 12-under 198, a stroke ahead of Ryan Gerard after he finished a round of 68 with back-to-back birdies. Mac Meissner and reigning U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun are both two strokes back. Cole had four birdies his first eight holes on a 90-degree day at Hogan’s Alley, which firmed up in that heat after rain earlier in the week. His only bogey was sandwiched by birdies on the back nine.
Hurricanes’ longtime holdovers savor breakthrough moment in reaching Stanley Cup Final
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes’ return to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in two decades is a big moment for the team’s longtime holdovers. Captain Jordan Staal, line-mate Jordan Martinook, top-line forwards Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov, and defenseman Jaccob Slavin have been a part of all eight playoff trips under coach Rod Brind’Amour. That group had lost three times in the Eastern Conference Final. But they punched through that roadblock Friday night by closing out the Montreal Canadiens in five games. They’ll next face the Vegas Golden Knights for the Cup.
Claude Lemieux’s brain is being donated to Boston University’s CTE Center, his family says
Claude Lemieux’s brain is being donated to the Boston University CTE Center to research the long-term effects of repetitive brain injuries, his family said Saturday in a statement released by daughter Claudia Lemieux Bishop. Lemieux died of suicide at age 60 on Thursday, according to authorities. Lemieux played nearly 1,500 NHL games with six teams from 1983-2009 and was known for his hard-hitting style and ability to perform in big games on the way to winning the Stanley Cup four times. The family said it gave the CTE Center permission to publicly share any findings.