OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Chet Holmgren scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 108-90 in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Ajay Mitchell each added 18 points for the Thunder. The Thunder improved to 5-0 in the playoffs, despite missing 2025 All-Star Jalen Williams with an injured left hamstring for the third straight game. The Lakers struggled without Luka Doncic, who's been out for a month with a left hamstring. LeBron James scored 27 points, but the Thunder's strong shooting and defense secured the win. Game 2 is set for Thursday.
DETROIT (AP) — Cade Cunningham scored 23 points, Tobias Harris had 20 and the Detroit Pistons beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 111-101 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of their second-round series. Duncan Robinson added 19 points for the top-seeded Pistons, who ended an NBA-record tying 12-game postseason losing streak against an opponent, a drought that dated to the 2007 Eastern Conference finals. Game 2 is Thursday night in Detroit. Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points, ending his NBA-record streak of scoring 30-plus points in nine straight series openers.
DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon scored a goal and assisted on two more as the Colorado Avalanche rolled through Minnesota’s newest netminder, Filip Gustavsson, on their way to a 5-2 win over the Wild to grab a 2-0 lead in the second-round playoff series. This featured a little more defense than in the 9-6 contest in Game 1. The 14 goals this series for the Avalanche are the most in the first two games of a playoff series since the Calgary Flames had 15 against the Los Angeles Kings in 1988. Martin Necas, Gabriel Landeskog and Nicolas Roy all scored their first goals of the series. Valeri Nichushkin added an empty-netter in the closing seconds.
Stefon Diggs’ acquittal in court clears a path for the four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver to return to the field. He still could face discipline from the NFL. “We have been monitoring all developments in the matter which remains under review of the personal conduct policy,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said Tuesday. Diggs was found not guilty Tuesday of assaulting his personal chef. The jury deliberated for less than two hours before clearing Diggs of all charges. Diggs spent last season with the New England Patriots, helping them reach the Super Bowl, where they lost to Seattle. He was released in March and remains a unsigned.
The WNBA is poised for a historic 30th season after a transformational new collective bargaining agreement was reached in March. Now the league can focus on the play on the court which will feature the Las Vegas Aces looking for a fourth championship in five years, the return of Caitlin Clark after she missed most of last season with injuries and the debut of expansion teams the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo. The Aces have their core intact from last season’s title run, including four-time league MVP A’ja Wilson. She was picked by a national media panel as the preseason AP Player of the Year. Las Vegas has won three of the last four championships with New York taking home the crown in 2024.
HOUSTON (AP) — Shohei Ohtani allowed his first two home runs of the season to Christian Walker and Braden Shewmake, and Peter Lambert pitched seven strong innings to give the Houston Astros a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night. Lambert (2-2) allowed three hits and walked four with four strikeouts in his longest outing of the season. Walker sent Ohtani’s first pitch of the second inning to the train tracks atop left field to make it 1-0. There was one out in the second when Shewmake hit a fastball from Ohtani into the seats in left field to extend the lead to 2-0.
LONDON (AP) — Arsenal is back in the Champions League final for the first time in 20 years thanks to a late first-half goal from Bukayo Saka that secured a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid. Saka was on hand to slot in the rebound after Leandro Trossard’s shot was saved by Jan Oblak in the 45th minute to put Arsenal up 2-1 on aggregate in the semifinal. The Gunners’ stingy defense did the rest as Arsenal has now kept a clean sheet at home in all three knockout rounds. It will be only Arsenal’s second final in Europe’s premier competition, having lost the 2006 title match to Barcelona. This time it will face either defending champion Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich.
The NFL and its officials are moving closer toward a new agreement that avoids a work stoppage. After a lengthy stalemate, negotiations have reached a point where the NFL Referees Association is planning to have a ratification vote this week, a person with knowledge of the discussions told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the conversations are private. ESPN first reported the development. Last month, the league began the onboarding process for replacement officials because negotiations weren’t progressing. The NFL’s collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Referees Association is set to expire on May 31. The league and the union have been negotiating a new CBA since the summer of 2024.
STERLING, Va. (AP) — Jon Rahm has resolved his financial dispute with the European tour, a move that potentially gives him a place to compete in 2027 and beyond with LIV Golf facing an uncertain future. Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton took questions Tuesday at LIV Golf Virginia after LIV CEO Scott O’Neil spoke to reporters about his efforts to court investors for the league. LIV Golf is losing its chief financial backer, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, at the end of the season. Both players declined to speculate on their future and noted that they remain under contract with LIV for years to come.
WACO, Texas (AP) — The American Football Coaches Association is proposing the elimination of conference championship games and other changes as part of its non-binding recommendation for the College Football Playoff to be completed by the second Monday each January. The AFCA has no authority within the NCAA or CFP governance structures. The AFCA, which has FBS coaches as part of its board and membership, publicly revealed its positions Tuesday. As for the size of the playoff field, currently 12 teams and expected to expand, the AFCA didn’t publicly endorse a certain number. It did say, however, that future playoff models should maximize the number of participants while honoring the proposed completion date.
Finals
INTERLEAGUE
Final Philadelphia 9 Athletics 1
Final Minnesota 11 Washington 3
Final Baltimore 9 Miami 7
Final Houston 2 L.A. Dodgers 1
Final Atlanta 3 Seattle 2
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Tampa Bay 4 Toronto 3
Final Boston 10 Detroit 3
Final Kansas City 5 Cleveland 3
Final N.Y. Yankees 7 Texas 4
Final L.A. Angels 4 Chicago White Sox 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Chicago Cubs 3 Cincinnati 2
Final Arizona 9 Pittsburgh 0
Final San Diego 10 San Francisco 5
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Colorado 5 Minnesota 2