Miguel Cabrera achieved his 3,000th career hit as the Detroit Tigers defeated the Colorado Rockies 13-0 in the opener of a day-night double-header on Saturday.

After getting intentionally walked in the eighth inning against the New York Yankees on Thursday, Cabrera did not have to wait long, claiming his milestone hit in only the first inning, driving up right-center field off Antonio Senzatela.

The 39-year-old was embraced by Rockies shortstop and former Tigers teammate, Jose Iglesias, before going on get a second hit from four at-bats.

Adding the proverbial cherry on top to a Hall-of-Fame career, Cabrera became only the seventh player in the history of the major leagues with at least 500 home runs and 3,000 hits over their career.

The Rockies claimed the second game of the double-header at Comerica Park, though, winning 3-2.

Yankees win marred by fan controversy

New York Yankees fans pelted Cleveland Guardians outfielders with bottles, cans and other missiles, as their team rallied in the ninth inning for a 5-4 win.

After Gleyber Torres followed Isiah Kiner-Falefa up and scored a walk-off RBI hit with two outs in the ninth inning, Yankees players in Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton had to calm the crowd down instead of celebrating the win.

It all came after rookie Steven Kwan crashed into the outfield wall trying to save Kiner-Falefa's hit, and Guardians center-fielder Myles Straw confronted hecklers who appeared to applaud what could have been an injury.

Giants march on Washington

The San Francisco Giants claimed their third win in four games and moved to within a game of the Los Angeles Dodgers atop the National League West, defeating the Washington Nationals 5-2.

Wilmer Flores and Joc Pederson each had two hits for the Giants, while Alex Wood allowed two runs and four hits in 77 pitches over five innings.

Nationals starting pitcher Aaron Sanchez was pulled in the fifth inning, giving up six hits and four runs. Sam Clay gave up the fifth run and lasted only 13 pitches before he was also called to the bench.

Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele are on track to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, closing the third round of play with a five-stroke lead.

After a record opening-round score of 59 in the first day of four-ball play on Thursday, the Presidents and Ryder Cup teammates scorched the back nine at TPC Louisiana with eight birdies to finish with a 12-under 60 for the day.

The two lead the field at an extraordinary 29-under after three rounds, with the South African duo of Garrick Higgo and Branden Grace five strokes back in second, improving on a solid second day to put themselves in the frame from Presidents Cup selection this year.

The pair will be seeking to go one better than their countrymen Louis Ooosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel, who finished second at TPC Louisiana last year to Australian pair Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman.

Another Australian pair looking to work their way into calculations for Quail Hollow in September are Jason Day and Jason Scrivener, who improved on scores of 65 over the opening two rounds with a nine-under 63 on Saturday, birdieing the final four holes to sit on 23-under.

They're joined by the team of Aaron Rai and David Lipsky, along with Sam Burns and Billy Horschel, who bounced back from a bogey on the par-three ninth to close the back nine with five birdies.

Cantlay and Schauffele have been the stars of the weekend, however.

After blitzing the 54-hole record, only a catastrophic final round of alternate play would deny the reigning FedEx Cup and Olympic champions from smashing Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown's 72-hole record of 27-under.

Closing out on Sunday would make for maiden PGA Tour win this season for both Schaffele and Cantlay, with the latter coming into this weekend off a playoff loss to Jordan Spieth at the RBC Heritage.

Though Schauffele claimed the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics last year, his last tour win came in 2019.

Tyson Fury reiterated he is ready to quit boxing after beating Dillian Whyte at Wembley to retain his WBC heavyweight title.

A sixth-round knockout gave Fury an emphatic victory, but it remains to be seen whether he can be tempted back into the ring.

This was Fury's first fight since beating Deontay Wilder in the final part of their trilogy last October in Nevada.

The undefeated 33-year-old, who improved his career record to 32-0-1, told BT Sport Box Office: "I promised my lovely wife Paris of 14 years that after the Wilder III fight that would be it, and I meant it.

"But I got offered to fight at Wembley, at home, and I believed I owed it to the fans, I owed it to every person in the United Kingdom, to come here and fight at Wembley.

"And now it's all done, I have to be a man of my word and I think this it. This might be the final curtain for the Gypsy King, and what a way to go out."

He was thrilled with the manner of his win, saying: "I think Lennox Lewis would even be proud of that right uppercut tonight."

Fury is confident there will remain quality fighters in the heavyweight ranks if he retires, praising the man he beat on Saturday night in London.

"Dillian Whyte is a warrior and I believe Dillian will be a world champion," Fury said. "But tonight he met a great in the sport. I'm one of the greatest heavyweights of all-time and unfortunately for Dillian Whyte he had to face me tonight.

"He's as strong as a bull and has got the heart of a lion, but you're not messing with a mediocre heavyweight, you're messing with the best man on the planet, and you saw that tonight with what happened."

Tyson Fury successfully defended his WBC heavyweight title with a stunning sixth-round knockout of Dillian Whyte at a packed-out Wembley.

Fury's camp had been adamant the fight would not go beyond the sixth round, and their man made good on those predictions in devastating fashion.

He controlled the opening five rounds with ease, demonstrating a gulf in reach and gulf in class between the fighters.

Whyte had struggled to make any kind of impression and his chance to do so in his maiden world title fight was taken away when Fury landed a crushing right uppercut.

The end result never looked in doubt, and the only question now is whether Fury will make good on his promise to end his career on the back of this victory.

Fury, returning to the United Kingdom after five fights in the United States, left the door open for another bout in the post-fight interview in which he suggested he would likely still walk away. 

Yet he never opened the door for Whyte to take the WBC and lineal belts away from him.

Indeed, the only time Fury ever looked perturbed was during a tempestuous fourth round in which Mark Lyson had to repeatedly get involved, warning Whyte for following in with his head and Fury for hitting on the break.

The two fighters exchanged words and that episode perhaps increased Fury's desire to end things quickly, doing so with one of the finest punches of his professional career and perhaps his last.

Carlos Alcaraz will chase a first home title on Sunday at the Barcelona Open but must do it the hard way after rain held up both semi-finals.

The tussle between Spaniard Alcaraz and Australia's Alex De Minaur was locked at 2-2 in the first set when play was abandoned for the day, and it was the same score in the last-four clash between Argentinian Diego Schwartzman and Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta.

Both clay-court semi-finals at the ATP 500 tournament are due to resume at 11:00 local time (10:00 BST) on Sunday, followed by the final not before 16:00 (15:00 BST).

Eighteen-year-old Alcaraz has won ATP titles in Umag, Rio de Janeiro and Miami in the past 12 months but has yet to triumph at an event in Spain, and potentially having to play two matches on the same day complicates his task.

On Monday, the fast-rising youngster will become the first teenager since Andy Murray in 2007 to enter the ATP top 10 rankings.

Luka Doncic will return for the Dallas Mavericks for Game 4 of their NBA playoffs series against the Utah Jazz on Saturday.

Mavs point guard Doncic missed the first three games of the Western Conference first-round series with a left calf strain.

However, the organisation confirmed on Saturday that Doncic is available for Game 4 at Vivint Arena.

Dallas lead Utah 2-1 in the series despite being without their star man, with Jalen Brunson stepping up with 96 points in the three clashes so far.

The return of Doncic will still undoubtedly be a big boost for the Mavs, who have not progressed beyond this stage of the playoffs since they won the 2011 championship.

The Slovenian has been one of the most impressive players in the league this season, averaging 28.4 points per game in his 65 regular season appearances, as well as 8.7 assists and 9.1 rebounds.

Novak Djokovic will chase the first title of his chaotic season when he tackles Andrey Rublev in the Serbia Open final on Sunday.

Playing in his home city of Belgrade, world number one Djokovic will be expected by many to carry off the trophy for a third time.

He scored a 4-6 6-1 6-2 victory over Russian Karen Khachanov in the first of Saturday's semi-finals.

Djokovic has made a habit of losing opening sets this week, rebounding from early deficits to beat fellow Serbians Laslo Dere and Miomir Kecmanovic on his way through to the last four, where it happened again.

The 34-year-old was able to recover and improve his career win-loss record to 13-2 at the clay-court tournament.

Djokovic, who has been prevented from playing events in Australia and the United States this year after refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19, believes he is gradually building up form and match fitness.

He said in an on-court interview: "I'm already feeling quite comfortable on the courts. I think the three matches that went all three sets gave me enough of the match play.

"I was running enough in order to be at my optimum best. I don't think the lack of matches now plays a role. Maybe it was the case three or four days ago, not today.

"But in terms of the audience, of course that's going to be a huge motivation boost for me, so I'm going to enjoy the crowd's support as much as I can and hopefully bring the title to Serbia."

Rublev, another Russian, beat Italian Fabio Fognini 6-2 6-2 in the second semi-final, saying it had been his best performance of the week.

The world number eight is relishing playing Djokovic, saying: "It's going to be fun. Tomorrow I have nothing to lose, I can go out and enjoy it. He plays at home, so it will be his moment. The best I can do is fight and try to do my best."

Iga Swiatek had to come from a set down to book her place in the Stuttgart Open final with a hard-earned victory over Liudmila Samsonova.

The world number one produced a 22nd consecutive victory as she scraped a 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-5 win in a contest that lasted more than three hours.

The Pole will face third seed Aryna Sabalenka in Sunday's final on the German clay.

Swiatek broke early to race out to a 3-0 lead, but was pegged back by her Russian opponent, who fought hard to claim the first set on a tie-break.

The 20-year-old was looking to break the record of Serena Williams, equalling a feat of winning 28 sets in a row, but Samsonova prevented her from doing so.

It was the first time Swiatek had dropped a set since her Indian Wells Open last 16 match against Angelique Kerber in March, but she soon got back into her rhythm and clinched the second set 6-4.

She broke early again in the decider, but was once more broken back by a determined Samsonova, and Swiatek showed frustration with herself as she struggled to put away her opponent.

However, an unusually sloppy service game from Samsonova gave Swiatek another break in the 11th game of the set, which she closed out to seal her place in the final.

The other semi-final in Stuttgart saw Sabalenka overcome second seed Paula Badosa 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.

There were 14 double faults (seven each) in the match, but it was Sabalenka's big serve that ultimately led her to victory, hitting nine aces and winning 76.9 per cent of points on her first serve.

The Belarusian also saved six of eight break points faced as she ultimately eased past her Spanish opponent.

At the Istanbul Cup, third seed Veronika Kudermetova will play Anastasia Potapova in the final after seeing off second seed Sorana Cirstea in straight sets, 6-3 6-3.

Potapova had earlier come from a set down to beat Yulia Putintseva 2-6 6-2 6-2 in the other semi-final.

Aleix Espargaro conceded he was fearful heading into the final session of Saturday's qualifying ahead of the Portuguese Grand Prix.

A crash-laden Q1 at Portimao saw Remy Gardner and Francesco Bagnaia, who has finished on the podium in his last two races at the Algarve International Circuit, crash, with the latter failing to set a time.

Johann Zarco produced a stunning lap to come out on top in Q2 to take pole and spare Ducati's blushes, finishing ahead of Joan Mir and Espargaro, who across four races this season has collected 50 points, more than in two of his previous five whole seasons with Aprilia (44 points in 2018 and 42 in 2020).

Reigning champion Fabio Quartararo – the winner at Portimao last year – also struggled in the wet, though the Yamaha driver overcame a tricky moment to clinch fifth on the grid, while Marc Marquez, chasing his 100th MotoGP podium this weekend, was left to rue a yellow flag, having initially set the fastest lap.

After negotiating the difficult conditions, a relieved Espargaro was thrilled with his efforts.

He said: "I hate to say it – I was scared! Today I was scared, the wet patches were very slippery.

"When you are sitting in the garage and see many crashes, and all the crashes have been huge. You have to be very focused but you cannot be.

"I tried to feel perfectly the whole track to see where I could push in the last five minutes. I am very happy, this is like a victory because I hate these conditions, so I'm super happy."

Having recorded a time of 1:42.003, Zarco, too, acknowledged the state of the track made assessing where and when to push hard difficult.

"Pretty, pretty happy. I did not expect it to be so good. It was so tricky," the Frenchman said.

"I was pretty happy to go straight through Q2. I couldn't analyse the Q1 well. The best strategy was to stay on track, do the full 15 minutes with the same tyre to get confidence with the track, it worked pretty well for me."

Mir, meanwhile, revelled in taking a place on the front row for just the second time in his MotoGP career.

"In normal conditions we always struggle to make one lap but in tough conditions we can give a little but more," the Suzuki Ecstar rider said.  

"My feeling is improving. We are following good steps, we are improving and it looks like when we make a good step [forward], we don't go back. So it's important. Let's see if we can go faster tomorrow, but it will be a hard race."

Ferrari's tyre strategy could be key to preventing Max Verstappen from cutting into Charles Leclerc's championship lead after Red Bull's reigning world champion triumphed in the sprint at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Having been passed by Leclerc at the start, pole-sitter Verstappen ensured he will start Sunday's 63-lap race first on the grid after overtaking Leclerc on the penultimate lap of the 21-lap sprint.

Leclerc and the raucous home Ferrari fans were denied a victory to cheer as his right front tyre grained in the closing laps, Verstappen taking advantage by sweeping around the outside into Tamburello.

It meant Verstappen collected eight points while Leclerc took seven to extend his championship lead to 40 points, with Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz his closest challenger after finishing fourth behind Red Bull's Sergio Perez in third.

Ferrari, like most of the grid, were on the soft tyres for the sprint, but Leclerc is unsure what compound they will initially select on Sunday after his fast start resulted in that critical degradation.

He told Sky Sports: "I pushed hard at the beginning to try not to be too vulnerable with Max having the DRS behind and I felt like I paid the price of doing that at the end of the race.

"It felt also like they had maybe something more today and he kept it until the end of the race and overtook me when it mattered.

"We'll work on ourselves for tomorrow and try to maximise our package and hopefully the same start as today without the degradation that we had at the end.

"I think with today's data it will help us make the right decision for tomorrow, but whether we will go for the hard compound or not I'm not sure yet."

Only three drivers went with the medium compound for the sprint, including the Haas drivers of Kevin Magnussen (eighth) and Mick Schumacher (10th), both of whom had impressive pace in the final laps.

And Verstappen conceded he may not enjoy the same fortune on Sunday with the harder compounds set to play a more prominent role.

"The start was very bad. I don't know exactly what happened or why it was so bad, just too much wheelspin," he said at the post-race presentation.

"After that we had to stay calm. It initially looked like Charles was having a bit more pace but I think he ran out of tyres and we could close the gap and go for the move into turn 2.

"I know tomorrow it might be again a bit different, but for sure today it worked out for us to be on this compound, so I'm very happy to have a clean sprint race in the end.

"I'm happy about today, but I know it might be different tomorrow with those other tyre compounds coming into play."

Max Verstappen recovered from a slow start to Saturday's sprint race at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix to prevail and ensure he will start Sunday's race in first.

The Tifosi at Imola are hoping for a weekend-long celebration amid Ferrari's resurgence, led by Charles Leclerc, in 2022.

He was on course to give them something to cheer in the sprint, getting past pole-sitter Verstappen and, for most of the 21 laps, looking set to claim the maximum eight points.

But Leclerc's front right tyre grained in the final laps as Verstappen closed quickly in an impressive Red Bull, the reigning world champion retaking the lead on the penultimate lap to claim victory.

Leclerc extended his championship lead to 40 points as Mercedes' George Russell finished outside the eight points places on another dismal day for the Silver Arrows, while Ferrari's Carlos Sainz moved into second in the drivers' standing as he took fourth behind Red Bull's Sergio Perez.

An abundance of wheelspin at the start saw Verstappen surrender top spot to Leclerc and he was not close to the Ferrari at a safety car restart following a collision between Pierre Gasly and Zhou Guanyu.

But, as Leclerc's right front faded, Verstappen struck a blow for Red Bull as he got himself within a second at the DRS zone on the start-finish straight and swept around the outside of the Ferrari into the Tamburello chicane.

Perez got himself up from seventh to third while Sainz improved from 10th to fourth after his crash in qualifying, with the McLarens of Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo claiming fifth and sixth.

The final points places went to Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas and Haas' Kevin Magnussen, with Russell and Lewis Hamilton non-factors who will start 11th and 14th respectively.

It was a doubly painful night on Friday for Miami Heat point guard Kyle Lowry, limping out of Game 3 against the Atlanta Hawks with a hamstring injury, before seeing the Hawks win it late on.

Lowry pulled up in the third quarter of the 111-110 defeat for the Eastern Conference's number one seeds at State Farm Arena.

The Hawks win brought the series margin back to 2-1, but it required some late-game heroics from Trae Young to get the job done.

Trailing by one point with 12 seconds to go, Atlanta did not call a timeout, which enabled Young to put his side up by one with less than five seconds on the clock.

Not hiding his feelings post-game, Lowry told ESPN: "I'm pissed the f*** off," before referring to himself as the X-Men character "Wolverine," famous for his ability to heal quickly.

The 36-year-old suffered the injury with around two minutes left in the third quarter and with Miami leading by 13 points, before Atlanta produced a fine comeback to steal it at the death.

"All I know right now is it's a hamstring," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "But I do not know the severity of it and we'll find out more tomorrow."

Lowry made just two of seven field goal attempts on the night, and two of six from beyond the arc, as well as registering four rebounds and five assists before his game came to a premature end.

Heat team-mate Jimmy Butler added: "I know we love that guy as our point guard. If he's with us, yippee-ki-yay. If he's not, somebody has got to step in and do his job.

"It's very, very hard to do. But we got enough in that locker room to try to bring to the table what Kyle does. He'll get his treatment and we'll see where he's at."

Game 4 takes place on Sunday in Atlanta.

Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul was all smiles after his side's crucial 114-111 road win against the New Orleans Pelicans, in a city that holds a special place in the heart of the 'Point God'.

With Devin Booker out for the game with a hamstring injury, Chris Paul assumed a greater offensive load on Friday and took it in stride.

He posted a gaudy playoff stat line of 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting, with 14 assists, while Deandre Ayton was superb, riding a hot start to a 28-point (13-of-20 shooting), 17-rebound showing.

Paul, who was drafted by the New Orleans Hornets back in 2005, dismissed a question in the post-game press conference about whether he heard fans in the arena chanting their displeasure for their former favourite son, and wrapped his arms around the city he once called home.

"These are my people, man. I grew up here," he said. "Six of the best years of my life I played for New Orleans.

"I know how I am with this city, that will never change. I have my parents here, my family here. 

"There's nothing like it, it will always be so much love between me and the city here."

Touching on the game, Paul was full of praise for both Suns centers who played key roles in Game 3.

"[Ayton's start] was huge, it was big-time," he said. "You can't replace everything that Devin [Booker] does for us, so it's going to be different spurts, where guys get going. 

"[Ayton] kept us in this game in order to bring it home down the stretch… he kept telling me he was going to get me loose, and to stop passing and just shoot the ball.

"JaVale [McGee] was amazing. We talked about it – this was the third game where Larry Nance came in and they started to switch everything – so we wanted to try and punish them on the inside. 

"JaVale's energy is contagious – him rebounding and getting those put-backs kept us in the game, too."

The Suns were a top-10 team in three-point percentage during the regular season, but shot just four-of-26 from downtown on Friday.

Paul went into detail about why he feels that stat bodes well for his side going forward in this series, and why he thinks they are built to handle adversity and win tough games.

"We got a lot of good looks," he said. "I was one-for-six, and I didn't realise we were four-of-26 [from three-point range] – but the thing about it is we got great looks.

"All season long we've been a really good shooting team, so to win this game without shooting well, that's a plus for us, because if we can get the same shots next game, hopefully we can knock them down.

"We've got a good group who have been together – we're sort of battle-tested when it comes to things. We went on an incredible run last year, and we're still building.

"I don't know the amount of playoff games our team has under our belts, so everything is still new to a certain extent, but guys know what to expect, and we know what we want to get to [offensively] down the stretch."

Trae Young said he had no doubts that his game-winning shot would go in, and gave a special mention to the role players who ignited the Atlanta Hawks' 111-110 win against the Miami Heat.

The crucial win pulled the series margin back to 2-1, avoiding a dreaded 3-0 lead for the Heat, but it required some late-game heroics from Young to get the job done.

Trailing by one point with 12 seconds to go, Atlanta did not call a timeout, instead opting to live or die with Young's decision making. Weaving through the defense, Young got to his floater and made no mistake, putting his side up by one with less than five seconds on the clock.

Speaking with post-game media, Young broke down what was going through his mind on that crucial last shot.

"I didn't have any doubt that if I shot it that I was going to make it, but I was really just trying to make the right read," he said.

"I was driving to the middle and waiting to see if somebody helped, and to be honest I was going to hit a shooter if they helped, or if they didn't I was going to go to the basket like I did.

"We just didn't give up. We didn't stop fighting, or stop playing. In the NBA, teams are going to make runs.

"They made their run in that third quarter, and got going, and it was about our time to make a run too."

He went on to finish with 24 points and eight assists, shooting six-of-14 from the field and 10-of-12 from the free throw line, but he was just one of seven Hawks to score at least nine points in the contest.

The All-NBA point guard made a point of shouting out the three-man group of Bogdan Bogdanovic, Delon Wright and Onyeka Okongwu, who played a massive role in coming back from a 94-80 deficit with less than 10 minutes to play.

"[The chemistry] was great," he said. "It started on the defensive end for Delon and 'O' [Okongwu].

"They really helped us get out in transition and push the ball – and when 'Bogey' [Bogdanovic] gets hot like that, he's one of the best shooters in this league. He got going tonight and it really sparked our offense.

"This was a total team effort, and a total team win, so it was a great job by our whole team tonight."

With the Hawks' season on the line, and coming off a Game 2 in which he had 10 turnovers, Young touched on the adjustments he made coming into Friday's game.

"I didn't think I took care of the ball in Game 2, so I wanted to come here and take care of the ball, and at least give our team a shot on the offensive end," he said. "I just wanted to play the right way.

"I think in the first two games [of the series] – having to really battle to get into the position we were in [through the play-in tournament] really wore on us. 

"I think tonight showed that when we've got our guys [fresher] and we take care of the ball, we can play. 

"It's only one game, so I've got to do it again."

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge hit two home runs to guide his side to a 4-1 win against the Cleveland Guardians at Yankee Stadium on Friday.

Judge, 29, has been vocal about his decision to test free agency ahead of next season after he and the Yankees failed to come to an agreement on a contract extension before Opening Day.

Demonstrating his value, he stepped up with two outs and one runner on base in the third inning, and crushed a fastball back over Guardians pitcher Eli Morgan's head to center-field.

His very next at-bat, Judge did it again, blasting a high fastball into the right-field bleachers for a solo shot, giving the Yankees a 4-1 lead.

The New York pitching staff did an excellent job of defending the lead throughout, as Jameson Taillon started and pitched five strong frames for five strikeouts, and one run from seven hits with no walks. He was relieved by Michael King for the sixth inning, and he was even better, striking out eight of the 10 batters he faced, conceding just one hit.

Aroldis Chapman finished things off with a save, hitting 101mp/h with the last pitch of the night for a strikeout.

Wander whacks a pair

The jewel of the Tampa Bay Rays and one of the best prospects in all of baseball, Wander Franco, hit a pair of home runs in a 4-3 home loss against the Boston Red Sox.

Franco, 21, was named the number one prospect in the majors prior to his debut, and he has done nothing to change anyone's mind as he is sporting a batting average of .393.

He hit a solo home run in the first inning, and another in the fifth inning, but the Red Sox scored twice in the opening frame and never allowed the Rays to tie things up.

Mookie mashes for the Dodgers

Mookie Betts joined the list of stars to hit two home runs on Friday in the Los Angeles Dodgers' 6-1 win against the San Diego Padres.

In a clash between two of the best teams in the league, Julio Urias put in a terrific starting pitching performance, allowing just one run and five baserunners in five innings.

The Dodgers did not take the lead until the fifth inning, when Mookie Betts bombed a 420-foot solo shot to lead off the inning and tie the game at 1-1, before Max Muncy also sent a towering fly ball over the fence just three batters later.

Muncy drove in another two runs in the seventh, before Betts put the finishing touches on in the ninth inning with his second homer.

Trae Young hit a dramatic game-winner with less than five seconds remaining in the Atlanta Hawks' 111-110 home win against the Miami Heat.

The win is the Hawks' first of the series, keeping things alive at 2-1 with Game 4 remaining in Atlanta, while Kyle Lowry may be missing for the Heat after leaving Friday's game with a hamstring complaint.

Momentum switched hands throughout the contest, with Atlanta putting up 39 points in the second quarter to lead 61-54 at half-time, before the Heat came out on fire in the third, winning the frame 31-16 to take an eight-point lead into the last.

Miami extended their lead to 94-80 with 9:06 to play in the fourth quarter, when Bogdan Bogdanovic and Onyeka Okongwu began to drag the home side back into the game.

Bogdanovic hit a trio of three-pointers in less than three minutes, while Okongwu had seven points down the stretch and was the Hawks' primary defensive presence on the interior, more than holding his own against Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler.

But after a P.J. Tucker three-ball put the Heat up 110-109 with 54 seconds to play, only one man was going to have the final say for the Hawks.

When Butler missed a jump shot with 12 seconds left, the Hawks opted not to call a time-out, letting Young make his way up the court quickly, weaving his way into the lane for one of his trusty floaters, getting the friendly home-rim roll.

He finished with 24 points on six-of-14 shooting, also dishing nine assists. Bogdanovic had 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and De'Andre Hunter scored 17, including some important buckets when the Hawks were sputtering.

Butler's desperation three on the buzzer fell short, but he played well, scoring 20 (eight-of-20 shooting) with 10 rebounds and eight assists, while Tyler Herro led the Heat in scoring with 24 off the bench and Max Strus had 20, hitting five-of-10 from three-point range.

Paul, Ayton carry Phoenix

The duo of Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton led the top-seeded Phoenix Suns to a crucial Game 3 114-111 win against the New Orleans Pelicans to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

With Devin Booker absent for at least this game and the next, Paul had to take on a greater offensive burden than usual, but he did it in style, racking up 14 assists and scoring 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting.

He needed someone to get hot with him, and Ayton rose to the occasion, scoring 28 points on 13-of-20 shooting and grabbing 17 rebounds, with three steals and a block. The performance demonstrated the ability to be an offensive focal point that was envisioned when he was selected number one overall in the 2018 NBA Draft.

It was far from smooth sailing for the Suns, as the Pelicans kept it close throughout, and even poked their head in front at 93-92 with less than six minutes to play.

But the Suns as has been the story of the Suns' season, they have been the best clutch team in the NBA, and once again showed why. Paul's surgical precision on the offensive end, and a sea of swarming length and physicality on the defensive end, was too much for a young Pelicans team that played three rookies in the fourth quarter (Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III and Jose Alvarado).

Brandon Ingram had 34 points on 11-of-19 shooting in a strong performance for New Orleans, and C.J. McCollum also contributed 30 points (11-of-23 shooting), but no other Pelican could score more than a dozen.

Bucks cruise without Middleton

The Milwaukee Bucks were shot out of a cannon and never allowed the Chicago Bulls a foothold into the game, winning 111-81 to take a 2-1 series lead.

With extended minutes due to Khris Middleton's knee injury, Grayson Allen set the tone to close the first quarter, scoring three consecutive three-pointers in just 62 seconds on his way to a game-high tally of 22 points.

With 1:15 to play in the first half, the Bucks opened up their lead to 60-37 as they dominated both ends of the floor.

Giannis Antetokounmpo only needed to play 29 minutes before getting an early rest, scoring 18 points (seven-of-12 shooting) with seven rebounds and nine assists, and the Bucks were plus 36 during his time on the floor.

After only playing six minutes in the Game 2 loss, Bobby Portis made his case for his playoff value with 18 points and 16 rebounds, hitting four of his eight three-point attempts.

Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele backed up a record 59 in round one of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with a tidy four-under 68 to retain the lead after round two.

The duo birdied holes two and four to get off to a great start, and their only bogey through the first two rounds – on the 12th on Friday – was sandwiched between birdies on 10, 11 and 13.

Their figure of 17 under is a 36-hole record in the event.

Speaking with the media after the round, Cantlay said they were enjoying their form – and the vibes.

"I think we just wanted to hit a bunch of quality golf shots, and we did that today," he said.

"We really fought hard and made a bunch of those mid-range putts, especially in the middle of the round, and that kind of kept the momentum going.

"I felt like we just have had good vibes all week, and we’ve been playing really solid golf. Same game plan for the weekend."

Schauffele added: "Alternate shot is an opportunity to do some cool things if you're making a lot of birdies.

"But for the most part, you're trying to leave your partner in a good spot to make an easy par."

One stroke further back are the pairings of Aaron Rai with David Lipsky and Doc Redman with Sam Ryder. Those teams both shot five under after shooting 61 in the first round.

Jay Haas made history as the oldest player to ever make the final two days of a PGA Tour event, teaming up with son Bill to shoot 65 on Thursday and following it up with a 66 in the tougher Friday format to sit right on the cut line at eight under.

Cameron Tringale and Wyndham Clark are tied for fourth on 15 under, along with the South African pairing of Branden Grace and Garrick Higgo, while Australians Jason Day and Jason Scrivener are one of two teams at 14 under in a tie for sixth.

The Grace-Higgo and Day-Scrivener duos also shared round-of-the-day honours, as the former went bogey-free with seven birdies, and the latter has seven birdies, two bogeys and an eagle on the seventh.

Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman, along with Bubba Watson and Harold Varner III, highlight the logjam at 11 under.

Masters champion Scottie Scheffler and his team-mate Ryan Palmer were disappointing in the second round, but were one of four pairs to make the cut despite shooting even par for the day.

Jay Haas is on the verge of becoming the oldest player to ever make the cut of a PGA Tour event, at 68 years old.

Haas is competing in a duo with his son, Bill Haas, at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, with the pair shooting 65 in the first-round four-ball, and backing it up with 66 in the second round's alternate shot format to finish Friday on eight under par.

At the time of finishing their round, eight under was the projected cut line.

They were sitting pretty at 10 under after birdieing the 11th hole – their fourth birdie with one bogey up to that point – but further bogeys on 14 and 17 forced a clutch par putt on 18 to hold on.

Carlos Alcaraz produced some supreme tennis as he overcame world number five Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open.

Having already played earlier on Friday, defeating compatriot Jaume Munar 6-3 6-3, 18-year-old Spaniard Alcaraz went the distance against Monte Carlo champion Tsitsipas.

Showing his proficiency on clay, Alcaraz triumphed 6-4 5-7 6-2 to set up a semi-final against Alex de Minaur, who prevailed 6-3 5-7 6-1 over Cameron Norrie.

Alcaraz, the fifth seed, was in excellent form against the top seed and last year's runner-up, and cruised ahead in a dominant first set, striking 14 winners to Tsitsipas' five.

Indeed, Tsitsipas – who had beaten Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets earlier in the day – could not hide his frustration when he smashed the ball hard Alcaraz's way to give up the set, much to the anger of a partisan crowd.

Alcaraz seemed en route to having things wrapped up quickly as he followed up a supreme backhand winner with a sensational drop shot, yet from 4-1 down, Tsitsipas reeled off four straight games to nudge himself ahead, breaking to take the set.

That comeback took just too much out of Tsitsipas, though, with Alcaraz roaring into a 4-0 lead in the decider and, after fending off two breakpoints, sealed his biggest win so far at the first time of asking to reach a fourth semi-final of 2022.

Alcaraz has won all three of his meetings with the Greek and will break into the top 10 of the ATP rankings next week, becoming the youngest player to do so since Spanish great Rafael Nadal in 2005, following his first title in Barcelona.

Indeed, he will be the ninth youngest player overall to make the top 10 and the 20th teenager to do so, though the first since Andy Murray in 2007.

"Probably my biggest win on clay court. It was unbelievable," said Alcaraz. 

"Unbelievable game that I played, unbelievable atmosphere that I lived today on court. It was unbelievable everything. The atmosphere here, the crowd, the level that I played, the level of the match. It was incredible.

"I'm playing an incredible level. And I think that I'm ready to get the title."

Vying for a place in the final in the other semi will be Diego Schwartzman and Pablo Carreno Busta, who both produced remarkable turnarounds in their quarter-final matches.

Schwartzman came back to beat Felix Auger-Aliassime 3-6 6-2 6-3, following on from an earlier win over Lorenzo Musetti. 

Carreno Busta, meanwhile, toppled Casper Ruud 4-6 7-6 (10-8) 6-3, though only after saving three match points in the second set in a victory that took three hours.

At the Serbia Open, second seed Andrey Rublev defeated qualifier Taro Daniel 6-3 6-3 to progress to the semi-finals.

In windy conditions in Belgrade, Rublev had little trouble in securing a 74-minute win, teeing up a clash with Fabio Fognini and moving to 21-5 for the season.

Rublev has met the Italian on nine occasions previously, losing five times and winning on four occasions.

"It's going to be tough. Fabi, he's super talented, he can play amazing and it's going to be a tough match with a lot of long rallies, so I just need to do my best and we will see what happens," said Rublev.

Fognini made light work of defeating Oscar Otte 7-5 6-4.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.