NEW YORK (AP) — CJ McCollum was headed for an early summer until the Washington Wizards sent him to the Hawks in January in the trade for Trae Young. McCollum not only replaced Young in Atlanta, now he’s replaced him in Madison Square Garden. McCollum was the villain who carried the Hawks past the New York Knicks in a playoff game. The veteran guard scored 32 points Monday night to help the Hawks rally for a stunning 107-106 victory that tied the Eastern Conference first-round series at one game apiece. He was profanely taunted by the Garden fans, just as Young was in a 2021 first-round series.
DENVER (AP) — Jaden McDaniels took perhaps his most notable shot after Minnesota’s 119-114 playoff win at Denver in Game 2. The Timberwolves forward pretty much labeled all the Nuggets’ players bad defenders. Thrown in there were Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. McDaniels, who had 14 points, said to “go after Jokic, Jamal, all the bad defenders. Tim Hardaway, Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, the whole team, just go at them.” The Timberwolves overcame a 19-point deficit to even the first-round series as its shifts to Minnesota for Game 3 on Thursday night. Anthony Edwards led the way with 30 points for the Timberwolves despite playing on a sore knee.
There had never been a unanimous NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Until now. Victor Wembanyama was announced Monday night as the league’s top defensive player. The San Antonio center was second in the voting for DPOY as a rookie. Wembanyama was the favorite last season until a medical condition ended his season prematurely, then left no doubt this year. At 22, the native of France is the youngest winner of the award. Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren was second and Detroit’s Ausar Thompson was third.
Six teams enter the first round of the NFL draft without a pick. Six others have two picks apiece. Let’s make a deal. There have been 60 trades involving first-round picks over the past five years. Eighteen were traded in 2022. Last year, six first-round picks were dealt. That was tied for the fewest since 1985. The Bengals, Packers, Jaguars, Falcons, Colts and Broncos don’t have a first-round pick while the Giants, Jets, Dolphins, Cowboys, Browns and Chiefs each have two. The Eagles, Buccaneers, Cowboys, Jets and Dolphins are five teams that could be active on Thursday night.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Fernando Mendoza and Diego Pavia pulled off an unprecedented double at the Heisman Trophy ceremony in December. It marked the first time in the history of the prestigious award that two Latino players were finalists. Even more notable: Mendoza, of Indiana, joined Jim Plunkett and Bryce Young as just the third Latino to win the trophy while Pavia, of Vanderbilt, was the runner-up. Now with NFL draft weekend almost here, the two quarterbacks headline a group of Latino prospects hoping to hear their names called by Saturday. So are players such as former Texas A&M receiver KC Concepcion and former Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Jordan Martinook beat Linus Ullmark from the slot at 13:53 of the second overtime to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Ottawa Senators 3-2 on Monday night. That gave Carolina a 2-0 lead in their first-round series in the NHL playoffs. Nikolaj Ehlers found Martinook for the shot that beat Ullmark, who was partially shielded by Carolina captain Jordan Staal at the top of the crease. Logan Stankoven and Sebastian Aho also scored for Carolina. Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens scored for Ottawa. Ullmark finished with 43 saves.
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Kasperi Kapanen scored his second goal of the game with 1:54 left in the third period to give the Edmonton Oilers a 4-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks in the opener of their first-round playoff series. Jason Dickinson also scored twice for the Oilers, who trailed 3-2 entering the third. Oilers star Leon Draisaitl returned to the ice after missing the final 14 regular-season games with an injury. Draisaitl and Jake Walman each had two assists for Edmonton. Troy Terry had two goals and an assist and Leo Carlsson also scored for the Ducks, who are in the playoffs for the first time since 2018. Connor Ingram made 25 saves to earn the win. Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Wednesday in Edmonton.
NEW YORK (AP) — New York Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler says he’s looking forward to his Fenway Park debut against Boston even after revealing he and his family have received death threats from Red Sox fans. Schlittler overcame similar threats to thrive against Boston in the postseason last year. That gives him confidence before his first game at Fenway Park. Schlittler grew up a Red Sox fan in Walpole, Massachusetts. He told the New York Post that he and his family have received death threats leading up to Thursday night’s game. He says it's not necessary to get police involved.
The PGA Tour is bidding aloha to Hawaii on its schedule. The Sentry at Kapalua was canceled last January because of a water dispute that kept the Plantation course from being ready in time. Wisconsin-based Sentry has a sponsorship deal through 2035 and will be going elsewhere. One likely landing spot is Torrey Pines in San Diego. The PGA Tour has also confirmed the Sony Open in Honolulu also won't be on the 2027 schedule. It's part of a revamped schedule that's slowly changing. The tour is talking to the Sony Open about being a PGA Tour Champions event next year.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers are still waiting for Aaron Rodgers to decide whether he wants to return for a 22nd season. Steelers general manager Omar Khan says the club remains in frequent communication with the four-time MVP, who led Pittsburgh to an AFC North title last season. Rodgers' status is unlikely to play a significant role in the club's strategy when the NFL draft descends on the Steel City this week. The Steelers will head into the draft with 12 picks, including the 21st overall selection in the first round.
Finals
INTERLEAGUE
Final Cincinnati 6 Tampa Bay
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Boston 8 Detroit 6
Final Houston 9 Cleveland 2
Final Baltimore 7 Kansas City 5
Final Athletics 6 Seattle 4
Final Toronto 5 L.A. Angels 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Miami 5 St. Louis 3
Final Atlanta 9 Washington 4
Final Chicago Cubs 5 Philadelphia 1
Final L.A. Dodgers 12 Colorado 3
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Final Cleveland 115 Toronto 105
Final Atlanta 107 New York 106
Final Minnesota 119 Denver 114
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Philadelphia 3 Pittsburgh 0
Final 2OT Carolina 3 Ottawa 2
Final Dallas 4 Minnesota 2
Final Edmonton 4 Anaheim 3