OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton scored with 0.3 seconds left for Indiana’s first and only lead of the game and the Pacers, the last-minute comeback kings of these playoffs, did it again to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-110 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night. The Pacers were down by 15 with 9:42 left, matching the biggest fourth-quarter comeback in a finals game since Dallas came from 15 down to beat Miami on June 2, 2011. The coach of those Mavericks: Rick Carlisle. The coach of these Pacers: Rick Carlisle.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers went to the Eastern Conference finals last year and got swept. He went to the Olympics last summer and didn’t play much. He came into this season with high expectations and his Indiana Pacers got off to a 10-15 start. And on top of that, some of his NBA peers evidently think he is overrated. But in the ultimate moments of these playoffs, most recently Game 1 of the NBA Finals, he keeps delivering. His jumper with 0.3 seconds gave the Pacers a 111-110 win over the heavily favored Oklahoma City Thunder.
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — The defending champion Florida Panthers look to even things up in the Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 2 on Friday night. The Oilers won Game 1 in overtime on Leon Draisaitl's power-play goal following a puck-over-the-glass penalty on Florida's Tomas Nosek. The Panthers have won 10 of 11 playoff series since Matthew Tkachuk arrived via trade and Paul Maurice was hired as coach, making the final all three years. Connor McDavid, Draisaitl and the Oilers hope to sweep the first two games of the best-of-seven series at home before play shifts to Sunrise, Florida next week.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Aaron Rodgers and Mike Tomlin will have plenty on the line when they join forces this fall in Pittsburgh. Rodgers, a four-time MVP quarterback, is hoping to end his career on a more upbeat note after two miserable seasons with the New York Jets. Tomlin, the NFL's longest tenured head coach, hasn't had a single losing season in his 18 years in Pittsburgh. Bringing in Rodgers offers the Steelers their best chance to be competitive in 2025, though it could come at the cost of the club being in position to find its quarterback of the future in the 2026 draft.
PARIS (AP) — Coco Gauff's first Grand Slam title came at the 2023 U.S. Open by beating Aryna Sabalenka in the final. Gauff will need to beat Sabalenka again for a second major trophy. They will meet Saturday at the French Open in the first championship match there between the No. 1 and No. 2 women since 2013. This is Gauff's second final on the clay in Paris. She lost in 2022 to Iga Swiatek. Gauff says she got nervous back then but now has the perspective that a loss would not feel like the end of the world. Sabalenka seeks her fourth Slam title. The others came on hard courts.
LONDON (AP) — David Beckham, the former England soccer captain who has been an ambassador for the U.N. children’s fund, is to receive a knighthood in next week’s honors list from King Charles III, according to U.K. media reports. Without citing sources, the BBC said Friday that Beckham is set to receive the honor for his soccer career and his contributions to British society. The knighthood will make Beckham “Sir David” and his wife, former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham, “Lady Beckham.” In 2003, Beckham was awarded the Order of the British Empire, or OBE, for services to soccer. The Associated Press has not been able to immediately confirm the reports.
HOUSTON (AP) — When Cam Smith made his MLB debut on opening day for the Houston Astros it was the third-fastest that someone had gone from the draft to the majors. Selected 14th overall in by the Cubs in last year’s draft, Smith played just 32 minor league games, including just five games at the Double-A level, before moving to the big leagues. But behind the rookie’s meteoric ascent to the big leagues was years of work, preparation and planning coupled with a team working behind the scenes to help him reach the majors in near record time.
MORRISTOWN, N.J. (AP) — UFC 135-pound champion Merab Dvalishvili defends the championship against Sean O’Malley and Julianna Peña defends her 135-pound belt against two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison in the main bouts of UFC 316 Saturday night at the Prudential Center. O’Malley lost his championship to Dvalishvili when the two fought last year. O’Malley says he’s on a complete detox of all his vices. He’s cleansed himself of scrolling social media, stopped the hours of gaming each day and said he even quit smoking marijuana for a more a focused lifestyle as a father and as a fighter ahead of his championship fight.
FIFA’s newly expanded Club World Cup kicks off in Miami on June 14, featuring some of soccer’s biggest stars like Lionel Messi and greatest teams like Real Madrid. But the launch of the new-look tournament, staged in the United States, also comes with uncertainty over how it will be embraced in an already bloated calendar where soccer is played virtually year-round. This is world governing body FIFA’s big play to get a stronghold in the club game, which is dominated by the Champions League and the Premier League.
When a game is on the line in these NBA playoffs, Tyrese Haliburton delivers. The Indiana guard’s jumper with 0.3 seconds left gave the Pacers a 111-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night. It was Indiana’s only lead of the game and capped a 15-point fourth quarter comeback. The teams are officially off on Friday. Practices will resume Saturday. Game 2 is Sunday night in Oklahoma City.
INTERLEAGUE
Final St. Louis 6 Kansas City 5
Final Toronto 9 Philadelphia 1
Final Houston 8 Pittsburgh 2
Final Kansas City 7 St. Louis 5
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Chicago White Sox 3 Detroit 2
Final Baltimore 4 Seattle 3
Final Athletics 14 Minnesota 3
Final N.Y. Yankees 4 Cleveland 0
Final Tampa Bay 4 Texas 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Arizona 11 Atlanta 10
Final San Francisco 3 San Diego 2
Final L.A. Dodgers 6 N.Y. Mets 5
Final Chicago Cubs 7 Washington 1
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Final Indiana 111 Oklahoma City 110