Randy Arozarena was the hero as the Tampa Bay Rays set a major league record for scoring homers in each of their first 21 games in a 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday.
Arozarena brought up the milestone with a two-run blast over left-center field in the first inning, before hitting a walkoff RBI single in the 10th.
The Rays, who started the season with 13 straight wins, improved their record to 18-3, marking the best start by any side in the majors since the New York Yankees in 2003.
Tampa Bay also broke the Seattle Mariners' 2019 record of homering in 20 straight games to start that season.
The game was in the balance after homers from Eloy Jimenez and Yasmani Grandal for the White Sox, before Arozarena singled to left for Diaz to score at the bottom of the fifth.
Gavin Sheets squared the game up with a homer to right field at the top of the eighth, before Arozarena settled the game.
Jimmy Lambert intentionally walked Wander Franco with two out and a runner on second, before Arozarena's first-pitch single to right field, driving in Vidal Brujan. Arozarena finished with four RBIs.
Shane McClanahan sent down 10 strikeouts across six innings, while White Sox starter Dylan Cease had five K's.
Garcia crushed three HRs in Rangers rout
Adolis Garcia blasted three home runs and eight RBIs in five innings as the Texas Rangers smoked the Oakland Athletics 18-3.
Garcia blasted a two-run 432-foot homer at the bottom of the first, repeating the dose in the third inning with a 419-foot bomb over center.
The Rangers outfielder made it 13-2 at the bottom of the fifth with 401-feet blast, before a two-run double in the seventh capped a remarkable showing, taking his season tally to seven homers and 28 RBIs.
Garcia went five-for-four, becoming the third player since 1901 with at least 16 total bases, three homers, eight RBIs and five runs in a single game.
Tatis homers for first time since 2021
Fernando Tatis Jr blasted his first home run since returning from an 80-game drug suspension as the San Diego Padres won 5-3 over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Tatis, in his third game back since the suspension elapsed, crushed a 374-foot homer over left field for his first blast since 2021. The Padres outfielder led the majors for homers in 2021, with 42.
Right-hander Joe Musgrove earned his first win of the season, following a toe injury sustained in the weight room during spring training, striking out six, giving up three runs on seven hits.
The Winnipeg Jets have been dealt a major blow with Josh Morrissey ruled out of the rest of their Stanley Cup first-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights after Saturday's 5-4 double overtime loss.
Morrissey has had a career-best season, with 76 points in 78 games while averaging a team-high 24:14 per game, but collided knee on knee with Vegas defenseman Zach Whitecloud after four minutes in Saturday's game.
The Jets' All-Star defenseman favoured his right leg following the incident and exited down the tunnel and did not return.
Jets coach Rick Bowness confirmed the injury after the thrilling loss where Winnipeg had rallied back from 4-1 down, only to lose in OT, with VGK opening up a 2-1 series lead.
"It was very unfortunate to lose Morrissey, he's got a lower body [injury] and he's done for the series," he said.
"We've played all year long with a lot of injuries, every team does. You have the next man up. He's a top five D in this league right now. He plays important minutes. He drives the offense so he's a big hole.
"We played the rest of the game without him. We scored four. We're going to have the play the rest of the seirs without him because this series is far from over."
Adam Lowry had tied the game with 21.9 seconds left in regulation, capping the Jets' three-goal third period comeback, after goals from Nino Niederreiter and Mark Scheifele.
But Michael Amadio scored at 3:40 of the second overtime to earn the Golden Knights a crucial road win.
Bowness added: "That was a hell of a hockey game. The crowd was fantastic. The guys laid it all out on the line. They played their hearts out.
"We're down three going into the third and we kept fighting. There's no quitting in this group."
Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy praised his experienced side for clinching victory after letting slip their three-goal lead.
"You shouldn’t give up a lead when you have a veteran group, you should find a way to get it to the finish line," he said.
"We're also a veteran group who can put it behind us. If you've followed our team all year, we've found different ways to win."
On Morrissey's injury, Cassidy added: "Obviously that’s a heavy minute, highly productive player that they'll miss. Their depth will have to come through for them.
"It's a tough break in the playoffs to lose a guy like that but it won't change how we're going to play."
Wyndham Clark and Beau Hossler retained their lead at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with a third-round 62 in Saturday's four-ball.
The duo carded a 10-under 62 to be 26-under overall heading into the final day, leading by one stroke from Keith Mitchell and Sung-jae Im at TPC Louisiana.
The three teams are tied for third at 23-under overall, in Vincent Norrman and Matthias Schwab, Matthew NeSmith and Taylor Moore, and Nick Hardy and Davis Riley.
Clark and Hossler produced a bogey-free round with 10 birdies, including three in a row to start the back nine.
Clark birdied the 18th to ensure their solo lead from Mitchell and Im, who also went without a bogey for the round with the South Korean providing six front-nine birdies.
Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick also managed a third-round 62 to be 21-under overall, tied for seventh alongside two other teams.
Reigning champions Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay could only manage a six-under 66 on Saturday to slip down the leaderboard at 20-under overall.
Charley Hoffman, playing alongside Nick Watney, provided a highlight with a hole-in-one on the par-three ninth hole. The duo are back at 17-under overall.
The stroke play tournament concludes with the alternate shot format on Sunday.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was ruled out again for the Milwaukee Bucks ahead of Saturday's Game 3 in their NBA first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat, reports said.
Battling a bruised lower back, which he suffered in the series opener, the two-time NBA MVP had to miss the second game and remains on the injured list.
The Bucks had listed Antetokounmpo as doubtful on Tuesday after an X-ray and MRI scan both came back clean, and the problem has not gone away.
The Greek forward averaged 31.1 points and 11.8 rebounds per game during the regular season, sitting in the NBA's top five for both categories.
Without Antetokounmpo, the Bucks drew level in the seven-game series by winning 138-122 on Wednesday.
The Philadelphia 76ers will need Joel Embiid back for the Eastern Conference semi-finals, despite their Game 4 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
That is according to Tyrese Maxey, who labelled team-mate Embiid as a "leader", though the Sixers secured a 4-0 series sweep of the Nets without him on Saturday.
Embiid led the league for points per game in the regular season (33.1), but suffered a knee sprain in Game 3 against Brooklyn.
While a series comeback still seemed unlikely, the Nets had some hope on Saturday when they led by eight at half-time at Barclays Center, only for the Sixers to fight back and take the game 96-88.
Philadelphia will face either the Boston Celtics or Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference semis, which the Celtics lead 2-1 ahead of Game 4 on Sunday, and Maxey hopes Embiid can be back in time.
"It starts with Joel," the Sixers guard said. "He's the leader of this team and for him, he takes the guys before the game and he told us good luck and we appreciate him for that. And we need him to get healthy."
Tobias Harris top-scored with 25 on Saturday, while James Harden had an impressive outing with 17 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds, and he echoed Maxey's comments.
"Obviously, today was big for us, so we can get [the] big fella healthy," Harden said. "That's priority number one."
Coach Doc Rivers had explained the situation with Embiid before the game, but clarified further afterwards, suggesting the Cameroonian perhaps has a "50 per cent" chance of making it for the next round.
"I just don't know," he said. "I would say, right now, it's probably the same percentage I said before the game... probably 50 per cent, at best."
Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers is unsure when Joel Embiid will return from injury after a knee sprain sidelined the MVP favourite for Game 4 against the Brooklyn Nets.
It was announced on Friday that Embiid had suffered the injury in Thursday's Game 3 win over the Nets – the 76ers' third straight victory in the series.
Embiid has sustained injuries during several previous postseason campaigns, including sitting out two games as the 76ers were beaten by the Miami Heat in last year's Eastern Conference semifinals.
An ESPN report suggested Embiid could return to the court as early as next week, but Rivers was unwilling to put a timeframe on the center's recovery on Saturday.
"This is another obstacle in the story that we're going to write this year, and we're going to be okay. It may take a minute, but this is just part of it," Rivers said.
"He's human, and goodness, this happens again. Let's win, let's get him back on the floor and let's keep on our own journey."
Asked whether Embiid could return during this series if Brooklyn were to force a Game 5, Rivers added: "I don't know. I can't answer that, but I'm not sure.
"From my understanding, they checked his knee out right after the game because he was complaining about some soreness behind the knee, which is always a scary thing to hear about with players.
"There was swelling already, which is way too early, so we did the MRI. As a coach, I hate that word. I hate those three letters, because it never comes out well.
"It just feels like that, whenever they tell a coach you're going to get an MRI, it doesn't turn out well most of the time, and this time it did not."
Carlos Alcaraz raced through to the Barcelona Open final as the defending champion set up a final showdown with Stefanos Tsitsipas.
With his 20th birthday approaching on May 5, world number two Alcaraz will have the chance on Sunday to land his ninth ATP title as a teenager.
Alcaraz crushed the hopes of first-time Barcelona semi-finalist Dan Evans, racing to a 6-2 6-2 victory over a player who was seeking to become the first British finalist at this tournament.
Earlier, Tsitsipas, who had not dropped serve en route to the semi-finals, had to dig deep for a 6-4 5-7 6-3 victory against Lorenzo Musetti, the Italian who beat Novak Djokovic in Monte Carlo last week.
Greek star Tsitsipas bizarrely has a 0-9 record in finals at ATP 500 level, the tier at which this tournament sits, despite having won two of his six title matches in elite ATP 1000 events.
Alcaraz will start as a firm favourite in the final. He holds a 3-0 career head-to-head lead over Tsitsipas from their past meetings, including a three-set win in the Barcelona quarter-finals last year.
That was a stormy encounter, with Alcaraz taking exception to almost being hit by a shot from Tsitsipas at the end of the opening set, so the rematch could be one to savour.
"It's so special to play a final here in Barcelona, a tournament I love playing," Alcaraz said on Prime Video. "I came to watch this tournament when I was very, very young, and I played for this club when I was 12, 11. I love this club, I love this tournament, and it's so special to have the chance to lift the trophy here again.
"Last year [against Tsitsipas] we had a spicy match, but I know he's a really nice guy off the court."
At the BMW Open in Munich, it was much the same story on Saturday.
Defending champion Holger Rune, another 19-year-old with a birthday approaching, in his case on April 29, earned another shot at the title.
Rune set up a Sunday showdown against Botic van de Zandschulp, in what will be a repeat of last year's final.
A resilient Rune lived up to his top seeding by ending Christopher O'Connell's fine run, which included a win against Alexander Zverev at the last-16 stage.
The 6-3 6-2 outcome masked the fact Rune saved eight break points as unseeded world number 82 O'Connell threatened to make it a tighter contest on the scoreboard than it turned out to be.
Van de Zandschulp then scored a fine win in the second semi-final as the Dutch fourth seed got the better of American second seed Taylor Fritz, winning 6-4 7-6 (7-2)
Last year's trophy match ended in disappointment when Van de Zandschulp retired due to chest pains during the first set, with Rune saying it was "probably the worst way to win a final".
Rune has three ATP titles to his name, with 27-year-old Van de Zandschulp yet to lift a singles trophy.
Defending champion Iga Swiatek will face Aryna Sabalenka in the Stuttgart Open final after Ons Jabeur was forced to retire from their semi-final with a left calf injury.
World number one Swiatek was 3-0 up against Jabeur when her tearful opponent called a medical timeout and ultimately ended the contest early.
It sets up a mouthwatering showdown between top seed Swiatek and second seed Sabalenka, who defeated Anastasia Potapova in straight sets earlier on Saturday.
Jabeur, who struggled to shake off the injury sustained in the first game, said: "The third point, I don't know what happened.
"I was really excited to play Iga today – it's always a fun match between us. I wish her the best luck for the final. I'm sorry guys, I really tried to run, but Iga never makes it easy."
Sabalenka, a beaten finalist in the past two years, held her serve in the opening set against Potapova and twice broke her unseeded opponent to take the lead.
The Belarusian raced 4-0 ahead in the second set and saw out a comfortable 6-1 6-2 victory in a little under an hour to reach her fourth final of the year.
"I think I was really focused, and I think from the very first point I was playing really aggressive," Sabalenka said in her on-court interview. "I didn't give [Potapova] much time.
"I think that's why the match finished like that quick. But anyway, she's a great player, and I think in the future she's going to be a top player."
Swiatek defeated Sabalenka in last year's Stuttgart final 6-2 6-2 and is aiming to become the first player to defend the title since Angelique Kerber in 2016.
On the back of 46 goals out of 52 attempts from Jamaican shooter Romelda Aiken-George, the New South Wales Swifts completed a remarkable fourth quarter comeback to beat the Melbourne Vixens in their Suncorp Super netball League game at the Ken Rosewall Arena in New South Wales on Saturday.
The Vixens won the first quarter 16-15 before a 15-15 tie in the second meant they entered halftime with a 31-30 lead.
The Melbourne-based outfit then produced some excellent Netball in the third quarter, winning 22-16, to enter the fourth and final stanza with a daunting 53-46 lead.
The Swifts had other plans, however, winning the final quarter 21-14 to complete a narrow 67-66 win.
British goal attack Helen Housby provided good support for Aiken-George with 12 goals from as many attempts.
Malawi’s Mwai Kumwenda tried her best for the Vixens with 47 goals from 50 attempts.
Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the Madrid Open, with the world number one struggling with an elbow injury just over a month before the start of the French Open.
The 22-time grand slam champion wore strapping on his right elbow at last week's Monte Carlo Masters, suffering a shock 6-4 5-7 4-6 defeat to Lorenzo Musetti in the third round.
Djokovic was back in action at the Srpska Open in Banja Luka this week, losing to fellow Serbian Dusan Lajovic in the quarter-finals, but he sparked concerns regarding his injury on the eve of that tournament.
Djokovic described his elbow as "not in an ideal condition" on Tuesday, though he added it was "good enough" for him to continue his preparations for Roland Garros.
On Saturday, however, it was confirmed Djokovic would not compete at the upcoming Masters 1000 event in Madrid, which he has won on three previous occasions.
Djokovic's absence from the clay-court event, which finishes just three weeks before the French Open begins, leaves the 35-year-old facing a battle to be fit for the second grand slam of the year.
Djokovic will not be the only big-name absentee in Madrid, with Rafael Nadal withdrawing earlier this week as he continues to struggle with an injury to his left hip.
With Nadal's chances of participating at the French Open also in the balance, tournament director Amelie Mauresmo said it was "hard to imagine" the event taking place without the 14-time winner.
Both Djokovic and Nadal will be targeting a record-breaking 23rd grand slam singles title if able to compete at the French Open, which will run from May 28 to June 11.
Atlanta Hawks coach Quin Snyder applauded Trae Young for finding his "rhythm" after a wretched run to inspire Friday's win over the Boston Celtics.
The Hawks won their Eastern Conference first-round Game 3 clash 130-122 to prevent Boston going 3-0 ahead, which would have left them needing just one more win for a series sweep.
Young had previously shot a combined of 14-of-40 (35 per cent) from the field across the first two games of the series.
But on Friday he scored a team-high 32 points on 12-of-22 shooting, adding nine assists, six rebounds, two blocks and a steal, while his All-Star backcourt teammate Dejounte Murray chipped in 25 points (11-of-21 shooting), six rebounds and five assists.
Although it was arguably the Hawks' bench who got them over the line – with Onyeka Okongwu, Saddiq Bey, Jalen Johnson and Bogdan Bogdanovic combining to shoot 16-of-22 (72.7 per cent) from the field for 44 points – much of the post-game focus was on Young and Murray, who finally seemed to flourish together.
Young in particular has had a difficult time of it, especially in the playoffs – for Snyder, there was an element of just sitting back and letting things unfold as the two-time All-Star and Murray took matters into their own hands.
"First of all, [it was] kind of figuring out what they were thinking together playing off each other," Snyder said when asked about Young and Murray's on-court chatter.
"At one point, I was like, I should just be quiet. Usually when that's happening, as a coach, if you feel that and you respect those guys and they are communicating like that and if they're on the same page, people will play off of them. That's what happened us.
"That's when we're going to be playing our best basketball."
That certainly seemed the case on Friday, with the hard work appearing to pay off for Young.
"Those two guys, over the course of the game, not just with the other guys on the team, but with one another, were connecting and pushing one another," Snyder added.
"You could tell [Young] found a rhythm, and it was good to see that because he's been working on it. He's been watching [film] and trying to figure out how he can attack somebody.
"The message, as much as anything for him and the whole group, is just to stay aggressive and trying to make the right play.
"[Young] got a little down when he turned it over one time and he was shaking his head, and I just said, 'Let’s get to the next play.' I don't want him thinking about what just happened. Every mistake can make you better if you just process it the right way. You can tell he found his rhythm tonight."
Murray was in no doubt about it being his and Young's best performance as a duo.
"Absolutely. I don't want to talk about Boston a lot but I look at Jayson [Tatum] and Jaylen [Brown] a lot, two guys who were going through it a lot, just to get to the level they're at. Great things don't happen overnight. Great things take time."
Young seemingly disagreed to an extent but acknowledged there being a timeliness to his and Murray's link-up.
"You don't want to live in the moment too much," he said. "I mean, we won a game in the playoffs, it's big, but we've had some really good games together.
"I don't consider this our best game together. It's definitely one of them, but it came at the right time and we needed it."
The Hawks can level the series with a win in Game 4 on Sunday.
The Denver Nuggets are focusing all of their efforts on completing a series sweep over the Minnesota Timberwolves after taking a 3-0 lead on Friday.
Nikola Jokic inspired Denver to a 120-111 win at Target Center in Minnesota to take a huge step towards the Western Conference semi-finals, where the Phoenix Suns or Los Angeles Clippers will await.
Reigning back-to-back MVP Jokic posted 20 points (nine-of-13), 12 assists and 11 rebounds in a comprehensive effort against three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.
It was the seventh triple-double of Jokic's career and played a major role in the Nuggets opening a huge series lead, which they will now hope to turn into their first playoff sweep in franchise history.
That is certainly the aim, though coach Michael Malone accepts the Timberwolves are not going to make it easy on their return to Target Center in Game 4 on Sunday.
"Up 3-0, our mindset right now is – no disrespect to the T-Wolves because this is about us – but we don't want to go back to Denver," he said.
"We know to close out a series a lot of times can be the hardest game. I'm hoping that we can find a way.
"We don't have a mindset of, 'Hey, we can just go back and close it in Denver.' Our mindset should be to close it in Game 4."
It was put to Jokic afterwards that the Nuggets' performance was impressive in part because they did not "need to win", though this mindset clearly did not resonate with the center.
"That's a funny question. We needed to win, we didn't want to give them life, if that makes sense," Jokic said.
"We wanted to be the aggressor. We wanted to punch them first. They need to react to us. That was our plan. I think we did a good job.
"Of course, we expected them to be aggressive and play really good, they were attacking the paint, attacking, attacking. That was their plan, we kind of knew it."
Denver head into Game 4 3-0 up in a series for only the second time, with the first being the 2009 semi-finals against the Dallas Mavericks.
While they could not clinch the sweep on that occasion, they did manage to get the job done in Game 5.
Malone and Jokic will be hoping to go one better this time.
Trae Young answered his critics in the Atlanta Hawks' crucial 130-122 Game 3 victory at home against the Boston Celtics on Friday.
After shooting a combined 14-of-40 (35 per cent) from the field across the first two games of the series, Young scored a team-high 32 points on 12-of-22 shooting in Game 3, adding nine assists, six rebounds, two blocks and a steal.
His All-Star backcourt mate Dejounte Murray chipped in 25 points (11-of-21 shooting), six rebounds and five assists, but it was the Hawks' bench who really carried the home team over the line.
The combination of Onyeka Okongwu, Saddiq Bey, Jalen Johnson and Bogdan Bogdanovic combined to shoot 16-of-22 (72.7 per cent) from the field for 44 points, 18 rebounds, eight assists, four blocks and two steals.
Boston pulled the margin back to 100-99 early in the fourth quarter, but 15 points from Young in the period was enough to fend off the challenge.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 29 points (nine-of-22), 10 rebounds and five assists, and last year's Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart added 24 points (nine-of-19), eight assists and three steals.
Atlanta will have a chance to tie things up at home in Game 4, before the series heads back to Boston for Game 5.
Jokic toys with the Timberwolves defense
Reigning back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic was at his playmaking best, putting together a triple-double as the Denver Nuggets defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 120-111 to take a 3-0 lead in the series.
Jokic – who set the single-season record for assists per game by a center (9.8) this season – posted 20 points (nine-of-13), 12 assists and 11 rebounds in a comprehensive effort against three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.
After serious injuries in recent years prevented Michael Porter Jr from making an impact in the playoffs, the 24-year-old led the Nuggets in scoring with 25 points (10-of-17 shooting) and nine rebounds, playing a team-high 40 minutes in an indication that his troublesome back is finally at full strength.
Anthony Edwards tried his heart out for the Wolves, scoring a game-high 36 points (10-of-22 shooting) with seven rebounds, five assists and a game-high three steals.
Knicks defense shuts down the Cavs
The New York Knicks became the first team this season to hold their opponent under 80 points with their gritty 99-79 triumph at home over the Cleveland Cavaliers, taking a 2-1 series lead.
Incredibly, the Cavaliers could only score 32 points in the first half, as Darius Garland finished shooting four-of-21 from the field for his 10 points, while Caris LeVert was seven-of-17 for his 17 points.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks in scoring with 21 points on 10-of-18 shooting, while five different New York players finished with at least two steals each, headlined by Obi Toppin's four off the bench in just 15 minutes.
The Cavaliers ended up shooting 38.8 per cent from the field, 21.2 per cent from long range and 58.8 per cent at the free throw line in a forgettable outing.
The Tampa Bay Rays tied the record for the most consecutive games with a home run to start a season as they went deep three times in Friday's 8-7 home win against the Chicago White Sox.
With the win, the Rays improved their MLB-leading record to 17-3, having hit at least one homer in each game to tie the 2019 Seattle Mariners for the record.
Home fans did not have to wait long for the action to heat up, as Josh Lowe connected on a two-run double in the first inning, before Harold Ramirez followed him with a two-run homer as the very next batter to take a 4-0 lead.
The White Sox came storming back with three runs in the second inning – from three RBI singles – and another three runs in the third, courtesy of two bases-loaded walks and a wild pitch.
An Eloy Jimenez solo home run put Chicago up 7-4 in the fourth inning, and while the Rays got one run back in the bottom of the fourth, they left their comeback until the very end.
Christian Bethancourt's lead-off home run in the bottom of the ninth cut the margin to 7-6, and after a Yandy Diaz single, Brandon Lowe stepped up and hit a walk-off home run.
It was the second blown save of the season for Reynaldo Lopez, failing to get a single out in the ninth, while Diaz, Lowe, Ramirez and Bethancourt all finished with two hits each for the Rays.
Smyly finishes six outs from perfection
Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Drew Smyly pitched seven perfect innings before allowing his first baserunner in a 13-0 domination of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Smyly dismissed the first 21 Dodgers batters in order, before his bid for a perfect game was broken up in the eighth inning when Smyly tried to field a ball dribbling down the third-base line, but his catcher Yan Gomes crashed into him in his own effort to field it.
He ended up striking out 10 in his seven-and-two-thirds innings, allowing one run and no walks, while Nico Hoerner starred at the plate with four RBIs to go with his four-for-five day.
Patrick Wisdom was one of five Cubs with multiple hits, including his ninth home run of the season to draw level with New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso for the league's most.
Ohtani dominates the Royals
Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani put together his best pitching performance of the season as he struck out 11 batters in a 2-0 win over the visiting Kansas City Royals.
With three-time AL MVP Mike Trout not suiting up, the Angels knew they had to keep the Royals' scoring down, and the combination of Ohtani (seven innings, two hits, two walks), Carlos Estevez (one inning) and closer Jose Quijada (one inning) restricted Kansas City to three hits for the game.
The only runs of the contest were produced by veteran catcher Chad Wallach in his first game of the season, connecting on a two-run homer with his first at-bat of 2023.
The win pulls the Angels' record even at 10-10, while Ohtani lowered his ERA to 0.64 from his 28 innings, and the Royals fell to an equal MLB-worst 4-16.
LeBron James has done and seen it all during his 20-year NBA career, so the Los Angeles Lakers superstar was not about to be drawn into a war of words with Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks.
James refused to respond when asked about Brooks' comments after practice on Friday before the teams meet in Los Angles for Game 3 of their first-round series on Saturday.
"I’m not here for the bulls***," James said before cutting off his media availability after sidestepping Brooks-related questions for roughly five minutes. "I'm ready to play and that's it."
Brooks took a shot at James after the Grizzlies’ 103-93 victory in Game 2 evened the series, doubting the veteran’s effectiveness at this point in his career.
"I don’t care – he’s old. You know what I mean?" Brooks said Wednesday after staring down James on the floor when he hit a three in the fourth quarter. "I was waiting for that. I was expecting him to do that Game 4, Game 5. He wanted to say something when I got my fourth foul. He should have been saying that earlier on. But I poke bears. I don't respect no one until they come and give me 40."
James didn’t place any significance on the extracurricular activity.
"The game is won in between the four lines. Always has been and always will be," James said.
Lakers forward Rui Hachimura weighed in on Brooks’ comments.
"I heard about. I’m not really into social media, but I heard about it," he said. "Honestly, that’s all they can do. They’re a young team. They just want to talk. We just don’t really care. We’re going to play our game and we’re trying to win the games."
Two of the most important players in the playoffs will miss their respective Game 4s as Philadelphia 76ers MVP favourite Joel Embiid and Los Angeles Clippers franchise player Kawhi Leonard battle injuries.
It was announced on Friday that Embiid had suffered a knee sprain and would be unable to suit up for Game 4, although he is expected to return "early next week", per ESPN.
The 76ers lead their series against the Brooklyn Nets 3-0, with Tyrese Maxey stepping up as Philadelphia's top scoring option down the stretch of Game 3.
Embiid is having a down series by his lofty standards, averaging 20.0 points, 11.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.3 blocks in the three games so far, shooting 46.2 per cent from the field and only hitting one of his eight three-point attempts.
Meanwhile, Leonard was a surprise absentee in Game 3 with a knee injury of his own, and he has not been able to recover in time to make it back for a crucial Game 4 with his Clippers trailing 2-1.
Leonard has returned to his status as one of the best players in the league, and he was averaging 34.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.0 steals through his two games against the Phoenix Suns this series, shooting a blistering 54.5 per cent from the field, 60.0 per cent from deep and 88.2 per cent from the free throw line.
The Clippers lost Game 3 despite receiving a 42-point outburst from Norman Powell and a 30-point, 12-assist showing from the resurgent Russell Westbrook.
After a disappointing opening round, the defending champion team of Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele shot Friday's best round to climb into the top five at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
The highest-ranked duo in the field, world number four Cantlay and world number five Schauffele made the foursomes format look easy, posting a nine-under 63 in the alternate shot style. It set a new tournament record for a foursomes round.
It comes after they finished Thursday's first round outside of the cut-line as they could only muster a five-under 67 in the easier four-ball format, but they were three strokes better than every other team on their second trip around TPC Louisiana.
They are two strokes off the outright leading pair of Wyndham Clark with Beau Hossler, following their 61 with a solid 67 to be the only team at 16 under heading into the weekend.
One stroke behind in a tie for second are the teams of Im Sung-jae with Keith Mitchell and Doc Redman with Sam Ryder, while the Cantlay/Schauffele team are in a five-way tie for fourth.
The highly-rated team of Sam Burns and Billy Horschel are at 11 under in a tie for 20th, where they are joined by strong South Korean duo Tom Kim with Kim Si-woo, and also the Fitzpatrick brothers – Matt and Alex.
One of the favourites coming into the tournament, the team of Max Homa and Collin Morikawa missed the cut at eight under.
Novak Djokovic had only words of praise for his opponent after being beaten in straight sets by fellow Serbian Dusan Lajovic at the Srpska Open in Banja Luka.
Lajovic bested the 22-time grand slam winner 6-4 7-6 (8-6) on Friday in the quarter-finals, dumping Djokovic out against the odds.
The key for Lajovic was saving break points, managing to rescue an incredible 15 of 16 that Djokovic earned.
Speaking after his loss, the number one seed said: "Dusan is a fantastic person, great guy. Someone I've known for a very long time, since he started playing professional tennis. So many times on the Davis Cup team together, trained together. I'm happy for him, to be honest.
"I know this is an important win for him considering the last 12 months that he's been through, it's not been easy for him. He's playing well and he deserved to win today."
It was the first time Djokovic had lost to a compatriot since Janko Tipsarevic beat him at the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid in May 2012.
Lajovic declared it his biggest ever victory, and reciprocated the words of kindness from Djokovic.
"I'm overwhelmed, it is the biggest win of my career," Lajovic said on-court. "The emotions are very mixed because I'm playing here in front of the home town and I'm also playing against Nole, who is a good friend and he's a hero of our country.
"Beating him, it's something that I didn't even think is going to be possible, but it happened."
Lajovic will face another Serbian in the semi-finals in Miomir Kecmanovic, who beat Jiri Lehecka 7-5 6-0.
Projected number one pick for the 2023 NBA draft, Victor Wembanyama, has officially confirmed his participation.
The 19-year-old Frenchman is one of the most highly-anticipated picks in recent history, with all eyes on the draft lottery on May 15 where the team that gets the number one selection will be confirmed, almost certainly determining Wembanyama's destination.
He is averaging 21.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.1 blocks and 2.3 assists per game in France, and stands at seven-foot, five inches tall.
Speaking to ESPN, Wembanyama confirmed he has submitted his paperwork to the NBA to declare himself for the draft, which will take place on June 22.
"Declaring for the draft ... it's something crazy I'm not realising yet," he said. "I realised pretty young I wanted to play in the NBA but it becomes a reality more every day. I'm so lucky to have this dream within the reach of my hand."
Wembanyama also said he is preparing himself for the physical rigours of the NBA, aiming to make himself robust enough for what the league will throw at him.
"I've been working more than ever on my body with my personal trainer Guillaume [Alquier]," he said. "I'm ready to go over all sorts of obstacles. So far it's worked pretty well. I haven't missed a game yet. I've been there for my guys every game.
"There's so many games in an NBA season. It's hard to play all 82 games, some players are built a certain way. Others got to rest. My goal is to play the most games I can, and help my team as much as I can."
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