Update on the latest sports 4/12/2023
Celtics thrive on 3s, beat Heat 110-97 in Game 5 to extend East finals
BOSTON (AP) — Derrick White had 24 points, including six 3-pointers, helping lead the charge as the Boston Celtics dominated the Miami Heat 110-97 in Game 5 on to extend the Eastern Conference finals. Marcus Smart had 23 points and five steals. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown finished with 21 points apiece as the Celtics claimed their second straight win and trimmed Miami’s series lead to 3-2. It keeps alive Boston’s hopes of becoming the first team in NBA history to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series. Game 6 is Saturday in Miami. Duncan Robinson led the Heat with 18 points.
Joe Pavelski scores on OT power play, Stars beat Golden Knights 3-2 to avoid West sweep
DALLAS (AP) — Joe Pavelski scored on a power play at 3:18 of overtime and the Dallas Stars avoided a sweep in the Western Conference final with a 3-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night. Jason Robertson scored twice for his first career multigoal playoff game for Dallas, which played without suspended captain Jamie Benn. Jake Oettinger had 37 saves, two nights after he was pulled 7:10 into Game 3 after allowing three goals on five shots. Benn was suspended two games by the NHL on Wednesday for his cross-check with his stick landing near the neck of Vegas captain Mark Stone in the first two minutes of Game 3 on Tuesday night. William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault scored for Vegas.
Brittney Griner, Phoenix earn 1st win of WNBA season 90-81; make 13 3-pointers vs Lynx
PHOENIX (AP) — Brittney Griner and the Phoenix Mercury earned their first win of the WNBA season with a 90-81 victory against the Minnesota Lynx on Thursday night. Diana Taurasi had 23 points and 10 assists, Griner added 19 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. The Mercury finished with 13 3-pointers. Phoenix made 11 of 17 3s in the first half, taking a 57-40 lead. Aerial Powers paced the Lynx (0-3) with 20 points off the bench. The Lynx went 3 of 18 from beyond the arc.
Suspended Lions WR Jameson Williams says he wasn’t aware of NFL rules on gambling he violated
ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — Detroit Lions receiver Jameson Williams, suspended for the first six games of the season, said he was unaware of the NFL gambling policy that he violated. Williams told reporters Thursday that the suspension hit him out of the blue. The league suspended former Lions players Quintez Cephus and C.J. Moore along with Washington’s Shaka Toney for the entire 2023 season in April for betting on NFL games last year, adding they may petition for reinstatement. Williams and teammate Stanley Berryhill were benched for six games for betting on non-NFL games at a league facility.
Spain takes action against racism after Vinícius case but punishing fans remains a challenge
MADRID (AP) — The attention brought by the latest case of abuse against Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior has taken Spain to what could be a turning point in the fight against racism in soccer. Never before had local authorities acted so quickly to take action against fans who insulted players. Never before had soccer officials sanctioned a club so harshly for their fans’ racist behavior. Things have clearly changed after Vinícius threw the spotlight on Spain by pointing a finger at those who racially abused him last weekend in Valencia. But some of the challenges that existed before Vinícius’ case stirred Spain into action are still in place.
Sports no sure respite from politics when title-winning athletes visit the White House
WASHINGTON (AP) — Politics and sports go together like baseball and apple pie. Title-winning teams have visited the White House for decades. But what started as a nonpartisan rite of passage has become increasingly tangled up in politics. It’s a shift that some peg to Bill Clinton’s presidency. One pro golfer declined a White House invitation and described Clinton in unflattering terms. On Friday, President Joe Biden will welcome the NCAA champion LSU women’s basketball team along with UConn’s men’s team. Some took umbrage when first lady Jill Biden suggested also inviting the Iowa team that lost in the finals to LSU. After significant pushback, that idea faded away.
Harry Hall crashes the ‘Block’ party at Colonial with 62 as club pro shoots 81
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — So much for the Block party at Colonial. California club pro Michael Block had a dream week at the PGA Championship when he made a hole-in-one and tied for 15th. He came back to reality in the Charles Schwab Challenge. Block had three double bogeys on the last four holes and shot 81. He in last place in the 120-man field. Harry Hall of England shot a 62 and leads Harris English by three shots. Scottie Scheffler and defending champion Sam Burns opened with 67s. Jordan Spieth shot a 72. Block says he had a day when everything went wrong.
Heat head home to Miami, confident as ever with another chance to clinch
BOSTON (AP) — After blowing a second straight chance to eliminate the Celtics, the Miami Heat are headed home with still two more chances to clinch a spot in the NBA Finals. But they would be wise to do it in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night and avoid a decisive seventh game in Boston. Miami star Jimmy Butler says the Heat are “all smiles” even after the Celtics won 110-97 in Game 5 to cut the Heat’s lead in the best-of-seven series to 3-2. None of the other 150 teams in NBA history to fall behind 3-0 have come back to win a best-of-seven playoff series. But the Celtics won Game 4 in Miami by 17 points and then led by as many as 24 in a Game 5 victory.
Man United secures Champions League return with 4-1 rout of Chelsea
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United has secured a return to the Champions League with a 4-1 win over Chelsea. Goals from Casemiro, Anthony Martial, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford ensured a victory that means a Premier League top-four finish is now certain for Erik ten Hag’s team. United moved up to third and two points above Newcastle going into the final game of the season. United needed a point from its final two games to secure qualification to the Champions League and went ahead in the sixth minute when Casemiro headed in Christian Eriksen’s free kick. United’s win assures Liverpool will finish fifth with a Europa League spot.
Manfred: Vote on Athletics’ Las Vegas move could take place at June meetings
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says a vote on the Oakland Athletics’ prospective move to Las Vegas potentially could come when the league’s owners meet next month. Manfred noted that “it’s very difficult to have a timeline” regarding the move “until there’s actually a deal to be considered.” The MLB owners meetings take place June 13-15 in New York. Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo said Wednesday that legislative leaders and the Athletics had reached a tentative agreement on a $1.5 billion stadium funding plan that would lure the franchise to Las Vegas.