LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers’ coaching search has been very public, seemingly chaotic and dominated by famous names. Totally Hollywood, in other words. The Lakers’ reported plan to offer a massive contract to UConn coach Dan Hurley is the latest twist in the monthlong race to replace Darvin Ham, who was fired May 3 after two seasons. On Thursday night, ESPN reported Hurley is traveling to Los Angeles for a Friday meeting with Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and owner Jeanie Buss. Citing unidentified sources in the report, ESPN also said Hurley informed UConn of his interest in talking to the Lakers on Wednesday and spoke to his players Thursday.
BOSTON (AP) — Kristaps Porzingis didn’t want to make predictions about how his body would respond heading into the NBA Finals after he spent more than a month on the sideline with a calf injury. Just fine, it turned out. Jaylen Brown scored 22 points, Porzingis made an immediate impact off the bench and added 20 and the Boston Celtics powered past the Dallas Mavericks 107-89 on Thursday night in Game 1. Derrick White finished with 15 points for Boston, which led by 29 points in the first half and connected on 16 3-pointers in a powerful start to its quest for an 18th NBA title.
CHICAGO (AP) — Jarren Duran and Enmanuel Valdez homered, Tanner Houck pitched seven solid innings and the Boston Red Sox handed the White Sox their franchise-record 14th straight loss, beating Chicago 14-2 on Thursday night. The White Sox surpassed a mark set by the 1924 team while extending baseball’s longest slide this season. They are a major league-worst 15-48.
PARIS (AP) — Iga Swiatek is as good as it gets in tennis at the moment, especially at the French Open. Been that way for quite some time. So her unyielding success against Coco Gauff just about everywhere — and certainly at Roland Garros — should come as no surprise by now. Swiatek continued her mastery over Gauff and extended her winning streak in Paris to 20 matches with a 6-2, 6-4 victory in the semifinals on Thursday. In Saturday’s title match, Swiatek will face No. 12 Jasmine Paolini of Italy, a 6-3, 6-1 winner against unseeded 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva of Russia in the second semifinal.
NEW YORK (AP) — Trent Grisham homered and had three RBIs, doubling his totals in both categories, and the New York Yankees completed a season sweep of the Minnesota Twins with an 8-5 victory Thursday night for their eighth straight win. New York slugger Juan Soto was removed with left forearm discomfort following a 56-minute rain delay before the sixth inning. He will undergo imaging Friday, and Boone said it’s too early to tell if the star right fielder will need to miss time. Gleyber Torres bounced a two-run double inside first base for the Yankees (45-19), who broke a tie with Philadelphia for the best record in the majors. They moved to 25-6 in the last 31 games and extended their longest winning streak since a nine-game run in June 2022.
PARIS (AP) — The Paris Olympics organizers on Friday unveiled a display of the five Olympic rings mounted on the Eiffel Tower as the French capital marks 50 days until the start of the Summer Games. The structure of rings, made of recycled French steel, will be displayed on the south side of the 135-year-old landmark in central Paris, overlooking the Seine River. Each ring is 9 meters (30 feet) in diameter. Thousands of athletes will parade through the heart of the French capital on boats on the Seine along a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) route in the opening ceremony at sunset on July 26.
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Florida junior Parker Valby won the 10,000 meters in a meet-record time and the Gators took the women’s team lead Thursday in the NCAA outdoor track and field championships. Valby finished in 31 minutes, 46.09 seconds for her fifth NCAA title. She pulled away on the third lap. Florida has 26 points after six of the 21 events. Nebraska was second with 22, followed by Oregon with 15. In the men’s decathlon, Texas’ Leo Neugebauer shattered his own NCAA record with 8,961 points to defend his title. Neugebauer broke the decathlon world record in the discus at 189-4 and he matched his personal best of 17-1 in the pole vault. Neugebauer headed into the final event with 8,309 points — the second-most ever after nine.
THURSDAY'S SCORES
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Kansas City 4, Cleveland 3
NY Yankees 8, Minnesota 5
Toronto 6, Baltimore 5
Seattle 3, Oakland 0
Boston 14, Chicago White Sox 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Arizona 4, San Diego 3
Colorado 3, St. Louis 2
Cincinnati 8, Chicago Cubs 4
Atlanta 5, Washington 2
LA Dodgers 11, Pittsburgh 7
NBA FINALS
Boston 107, Dallas 89 Boston leads series 1-0