Victor Oladipo reflected on the difference a year can make as the injury-plagued star inspired the Miami Heat to the victory they needed to close out their first-round playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks.

It has been a luckless period for Oladipo, who has appeared in just 96 of a possible 309 regular-season NBA games over the past four years due to a combination of knee and quadriceps issues.

This season alone Oladipo has featured in only eight regular-season matches for the Heat but with Kyle Lowry (hamstring) and Jimmy Butler (inflammation in the right knee) both absent for Game 5, he stepped up to help the Heat to a 97-94 triumph and 4-1 series victory.

Oladipo had a game-high 23 points along with three assists and three steals. It was the first time he had contributed 20 points in a playoff game since playing against the Heat back in the NBA bubble in 2020 when featuring for the Indiana Pacers.

Speaking after the game, Oladipo reflected on his journey saying in quotes reported by ESPN: "A year ago today I was expecting and waiting for my next surgery. 

"I remember a year ago today, around this time last year, I was sitting in a dark room by myself and just broke down. 

"Not because I quit, but because I was at the lowest point I could be at. And now, God has put me in this position today so I just made the most of it.

"I could have done two things. I could have stopped. Or I could have ran right through it and I'm still running through it."

Speaking to NBA TV, Oladipo added his belief this is just the beginning for him.

"There's nothing I can't handle," he said. "At the end of the day, I feel like I can come back and get through anything. 

"So, when they told me I needed to start tonight, I just stepped up to the plate and did everything I could to help my team win.

"I credit my coaching staff and my teammates for believing in me, my family, my God in heaven for getting me through. It's only the beginning."

It was a real team effort for the Heat with Max Strus putting up 15 points, including a special personal 10-0 streak from 2:29 in the second quarter to 1:22.

Bam Adebayo also had 20 points on the back of 7-for-11 shooting and pitched in with 11 rebounds.

"Everybody that played had their fingerprints on this. We clearly had some adversity in this game not having Kyle or Jimmy, and our group doesn't even blink," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

"That's not even something we have to address. We just pivot and put in the game plan and everybody gets ready and tapes their ankles and gets out there and competes."

The Heat can now look forward to an Eastern Conference semi-final match up against either the Philadelphia 76ers or the Toronto Raptors – the former leading the latter 3-2 in that series.

In-form Anthony Rizzo produced the first three-home run game of his career while Joey Gallo blasted his first of the season as the New York Yankees won 12-8 over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.

Rizzo opened the scoring with a three-run homer in the third inning, before Gallo slugging a two-run blast in the fourth inning to end his lean run to start the season.

Rizzo added a two-run shot in the fifth inning to put the Yankees up 6-0, while Aaron Judge also got in on the act with a homer on his 30th birthday.

The Orioles closed the gap to 11-8 before Rizzo completed a treble of home runs with a third in the eighth inning.

Rizzo sits on top of the majors charts with eight home runs this season, while he has 13 runs, 17 hits and 18 RBIs.

Twins walk-off miracle

The Minnesota Twins miraculously defeated the Detroit Tigers 5-4 after two wild walkoff runs after catcher Eric Haase's errant throw.

At the bottom of the ninth with two out, the Twins trailed 4-3 when Miguel Sano's hit to right field led to a baserunning blunder.

However, the Twins were bailed out when Haase lobbed a throw too high to third base, allowing Trevor Larnach and Gio Urshela to correct their mix-up and both get home for victory.

Trout homers in Angels win

Mike Trout homered for the fifth time this season as the Los Angeles Angels won 4-1 over the Cleveland Guardians. Trout had two hits for three RBIs in the win.

The Arizona Diamondbacks rallied from 3-0 down to win 5-3 over the Los Angeles Dodgers, who were left to rue sloppy fielding from Cody Bellinger before David Peralta's two-run eighth-inning homer.

Carlos Rodon had nine strikeouts with three hits across six innings as the San Francisco Giants improved to 13-5 with an 8-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics.

Ja Morant produced a dazzling fourth-quarter display and game-winning lay-up to earn the Memphis Grizzlies a 3-2 series lead in their first round playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday.

The Grizzlies triumphed 111-109 over the Timberwolves, led by Morant with 30 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists.

Morant made the decisive contribution with a play with 3.7 seconds left with scores at 109-109, bucketing a left-handed lay-up from Dillon Brooks' inbound.

Memphis had trailed by 11 points in the last quarter before their rally, with recently crowned NBA Most Improved Player Morant scoring 18 points in the fourth. Morant had sparked after a massive third-quarter dunk.

Desmond Bane added 25 points for the Grizzlies, while Karl-Anthony Towns was excellent with 28 points including five three-pointers and 12 rebounds.

Heat seal series win over Hawks

The Miami Heat completed a 4-1 series victory over the Atlanta Hawks with a 97-94 win, despite the absences of Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry.

The Hawks failed to get a shot away in the final play in the dying seconds to force over-time as the Heat triumphed led by Victor Oladipo (23 points) and Bam Adebayo (20 points and 11 rebounds).

Trae Young struggled again with 11 points on two-of-12 shooting from the field, finishing the five-game series with 30 turnovers.

Bridges guides Suns into 3-2 lead

Mikal Bridges produced a 24-point second half as the Phoenix Suns won 112-97 over the New Orleans Pelicans to move ahead 3-2 in their first round series.

Bridges finished with 31 points for the game while Chris Paul had 22 points, 11 assists and three steals for the Suns who were without Devin Booker (hamstring).

The Suns, who came into the playoffs with the best record in the NBA, led from start to finish. Brandon Ingram top scored for the Pelicans - who had six turnovers in the first quarter - with 22 points.

The instructions for Ja Morant for his game-winning lay-up were as simple as "go get a bucket, Ja" in the Memphis Grizzlies' 111-109 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday.

Morant landed the decisive bucket from the final play with scores locked at 109-109 with 3.7 seconds to play, putting Memphis 3-2 up in their first round NBA playoffs series.

The NBA's Most Improved Player received Dillon Brooks' inbound, losing Anthony Edwards who went for the steal, before driving and putting in an under-handed lay-up past Jarred Vanderbilt.

"Go get a bucket, Ja," Morant told reporters when asked about the instructions for the final play.

Morant scored 18 fourth-quarter points after struggling with 12 until three-quarter time, appearing to be sparked after a dunk in the third quarter.

"I wasn’t that excited about the dunk," he said. "It was over a guard, that's pretty easy.

"Definitely ignited the crowd, gave us some energy, from then on being very aggressive."

The Grizzlies had trailed by 11 points in the last quarter before their rally led by Morant, but the All-Star said he was "tired" of being forced to fight back. Memphis had clawed their way back from 26 points down in Game 3 to win 104-95.

"It feels good when you win," Morant said. "Me personally, I'm tired of it. I'm tired of playing from behind.

"Game 2 you see what happened when we come out and play from the jump. We've got to have that mindset like we had in Game 2 in Game 6 [on Friday] not give them too much life to go ahead.

"We need to start early. The last three games we haven't played our basketball, not knocking down our shots but we battle."

Meanwhile, Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns, who had 28 points with 12 rebounds, bemoaned letting another lead slip.

"It's a tough pill to swallow," Towns said. "You feel like you got it after all the mistakes made and everything like that.

"We hit a big three to tie the game up with four seconds (left). You feel good. You feel good about going into overtime and having a chance to win the game. Just a learning experience."

Donovan Mitchell remains a chance to play in Game 6 of the Utah Jazz's first round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks.

Mitchell limped out of Monday's 102-77 loss to the Mavericks in the fourth quarter, as Dallas claimed a 3-2 series lead to put the Jazz on the brink of elimination.

The Jazz provided an update on Tuesday after an MRI on the injury was negative, ahead of Thursday's Game 6 in Salt Lake City.

"Mitchell has bi-lateral quadriceps contusions and will continue treatment," the Jazz said.

"His status for Game 6 against Dallas will be updated on Wednesday."

Mitchell doubled over in pain as he limped towards the tunnel on Monday, but said at the time he remained hopeful of playing in Game 6.

"This is the playoffs, so I've got to find a way," Mitchell said. "We'll see how I feel, but I'm a competitor."

Mitchell is averaging 25.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1,5 steals per game this season.

Dominic Thiem's wait for the first win of his comeback goes on after he lost to Benjamin Bonzi at the Estoril Open.

Thiem was competing in just his second tour-level event of 2022 after suffering a wrist tear last June, having lost to John Millman at the Serbia Open last week. 

The 2020 US Open champion could not find a way through against Bonzi, who did not face a break point in prevailing 6-3 7-6 (11-9).

Bonzi will next face Sebastian Korda, the eighth seed a straight-sets winner over Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

Fifth seed Frances Tiafoe and sixth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas defeated Dusan Lajovic and Jordan Thompson respectively, but seventh seed Tommy Paul lost to veteran Richard Gasquet.

At the BMW Open in Munich, sixth seed Dan Evans lost in his first match for the fourth time in five tournaments.

The sixth seed was beaten 6-4 6-4 by Maxime Cressy, while there were wins for Hugo Gaston, Ilya Ivashka and Oscar Otte.

Jimmy Butler was ruled out of Game 5 between the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday due to a knee injury. 

The Heat took a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference first-round series on Sunday, with Butler contributing 36 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. 

However, the six-time NBA All-Star joined Kyle Lowry (hamstring) in missing out as the series returned to FTX Arena. 

Butler has impressed against the Hawks, becoming just the third player in franchise history – after LeBron James and Dwyane Wade – to post 45 points, five rebounds and five assists in a playoff game in Game 2. 

Rafael Nadal plans to make his return from injury in his homeland at the Madrid Open next week.

Nadal has been sidelined since suffering a cracked rib during the Indian Wells Masters last month.

The 21-time grand slam champion on Tuesday revealed he has decided to make his ATP Tour comeback at the Caja Magica.

He posted on social media: "Despite preparation being difficult, I really want to play at home since the opportunities are few.

"[I want] To try to do it in the best possible way. See you in Madrid."

Taylor Fritz consigned Nadal, a five-time champion at the Madrid Open, to his first defeat of the year in the final at Indian Wells.

The Australian Open champion was visibly struggling to breath during that match after sustaining the injury during a semi-final victory over fellow Spaniard and heir apparent Carlos Alcaraz. The 35-year-old's 2022 record so far stands at 20-1.

Nadal's return is set to make his comeback just three weeks before he will be hoping to start his bid to win a 14th French Open title at Roland Garros.

Roger Federer will make his comeback at the Laver Cup in September before playing the Swiss Indoors Basel event in his home city.

It means the legendary 20-time grand slam winner is set to miss all four majors this year.

The eight-time Wimbledon champion will turn 41 in August, and it remains to be seen whether the two events turn out to be farewell tournaments before he retires.

Federer has battled knee trouble over the past two years and has barely featured on the ATP Tour, with his most recent appearance coming at Wimbledon last year, where he was beaten in the quarter-finals by Hubert Hurkacz, a straight-sets defeat that culminated in a 6-0 third set.

The Swiss great has undergone surgery in an effort to finish his career on his own terms.

News of his comeback plans were announced by the Swiss Indoors organisers, who issued a statement that said: "Ten-time singles champion and hometown hero Roger Federer has announced his comeback to the stadium at St Jakobshalle. The Swiss all-time great has confirmed his initial agenda will include the Laver Cup in London followed by the Swiss Indoors in Basel."

Responding to the announcement, Federer posted on Instagram: "Looking forward to playing back home."

The Laver Cup takes place in London from September 23 to 25, and the Swiss Indoors Basel runs from October 24 to 30.

Federer will play his opening match at the latter on Tuesday, October 25, the organisers said.

"The worldwide interest in the return of the hometown hero and 20-time grand slam champion to the ATP Tour is expected to be tremendous," the Swiss Indoors statement added.

Federer for a long time held the record for the most grand slam singles titles won by a man; however, he has been joined on 20 by Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal moved out on his own with 21 by triumphing at the Australian Open this year.

Novak Djokovic will be able to defend his Wimbledon title this year as players will not need to be vaccinated against coronavirus to feature in the tournament.

World number one Djokovic was unable to compete in the 2022 Australian Open after he was deported from the country in January.

The Australian government cancelled the Serbian's visa on "health and good order" grounds and he failed with an attempt to overturn that decision in court.

Djokovic will be able to play in the grass-court grand slam at the All England Club, though, due to a lack of COVID-19 restrictions in the United Kingdom.

All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) chief executive Sally Bolton said during a media briefing on Tuesday: "As you will be aware, the requirements set up by the government to enter the UK do not include mandatory vaccinations.

"Therefore, whilst of course it is encouraged, it will not be a condition of entry in order to compete in the Championships this year."

Djokovic can also play in the French Open following the easing of restrictions.

There will be no Russian or Belarusian players when Wimbledon is staged from June 27 to July 10 at SW19 due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

All England Club chairman Ian Hewitt says the decision to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from Wimbledon was the "most responsible decision possible in the circumstances."

Organisers of the grass-court grand slam confirmed this month that players from both nations would be barred from featuring in the tournament due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The decision was met by a significant backlash, with world number eight Andrey Rublev describing the decision as "discrimination" and Novak Djokovic stating he could not support it.

But speaking at the 2022 Wimbledon media briefing, Hewitt sought to clarify the process by which the decision was made.

"After lengthy and careful consideration we came to two firm conclusions that have formed the basis for our decision," he told reporters.

"First, even if we were to accept entries from Russia and Belarusian players with written declarations we would risk their success or participation at Wimbledon being used to benefit the propaganda machine of the Russian regime which we could not accept.

"Second, we have a duty to ensure that no actions we take should put the safety of players or their families at risk."

All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) chief executive Sally Bolton shed further light on the process of making such an "an immensely difficult decision." 

"We recognise that whatever decision we took would be setting a precedent," she added.

"We made our judgement in the scale of the response to an international war, the consequences of which reach far wider than the sport of tennis.

"We appreciate that this is an immensely difficult decision, and that people have different views which we respect and understand.

"We are deeply regretful of the impact that this will have on every single player who is affected.

"We are in ongoing dialogue with the players, with the tours, with the ITF and with our fellow grand slams, and will continue to work with them over the coming weeks.

"We believe that this decision is the only viable option for Wimbledon."

Wimbledon also confirmed that players who have not received a coronavirus vaccination will be allowed to enter the tournament. 

Djokovic hit the headlines when he was unable to play in the Australian Open this year after being deported due to his vaccination status.

Julian Alaphilippe will remain in hospital for a further period of observation after suffering serious injuries when he crashed during the Liege–Bastogne–Liege.

The world champion was involved in a huge pile-up in the middle of the peloton 62 kilometres from the end of the race on Sunday.

Alaphilippe sustained two broken ribs, a broken shoulder blade and a collapsed lung.

Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team on Tuesday revealed that the Frenchman will continue to be monitored in a hospital in the Belgian city of Herentals.

The 29-year-old's team said in a statement: "As previously reported, Julian sustained two broken ribs, a broken scapula and a haemopneumothorax [collapsed lung].

"The complexity of his condition means that a period of further observation will be required before a recovery pathway will be decided. He will remain in the hospital in Herentals for the time being."

Alaphilippe's team-mate Ilan Van Wilder broke his jaw when he crashed in the same incident, but the Belgian has been discharged from hospital following surgery

Van Wilder, however, has been ruled out of the Giro d'Italia.