BASKETBALL
The NBA wants to know why the Dallas Mavericks held out several key players from the team’s next-to-last game of the season, even while the club still had mathematical hopes of making the play-in tournament.
NBA officials opened an investigation Saturday into the Mavericks’ decision-making surrounding Friday’s game against the Chicago Bulls. Dallas sat Kyrie Irving and four other players for the entire game and Luka Doncic for most of the contest. Dallas blew an 11-point fourth quarter lead and lost, eliminating the Mavericks from postseason contention.
That outcome makes it likely that Dallas will hold on to its first-round pick in this year’s draft – and with it, potentially a 4.5% chance of winning the lottery and getting the chance to select French phenom Victor Wembanyama.
With one game left, the Mavericks have the NBA’s 10th worst record, one game behind Chicago and Oklahoma City. If their first-round pick is not in the top 10, it goes to the Knicks as part of the compensation agreed to in the Kristaps Porzingis trade in 2019.
• Kawhi Leonard scored 27 points, Norman Powell added 23 and the Los Angeles Clippers solidified their hopes of avoiding a play-in game with a 136-125 victory over the visiting Portland Trail Blazers.
The Clippers can clinch the No. 5 seed in the West by defeating Phoenix on Sunday, but could drop to seventh if they lose.
HOCKEY
NHL: Connor McDavid became the first player in 27 years to reach 150 points in a season when he had two goals and an assist in Edmonton’s 6-1 win over the San Jose Sharks.
• Sidney Crosby became the 15th player in NHL history to reach 1,500 career points, scoring two goals and adding an assist in Pittsburgh’s crucial 5-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.
The Penguins, trying to extend their run of 16 straight playoff appearances, began the day one point behind Florida for the second wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference.
• Tage Thompson scored the go-ahead goal 6:15 into the third period, and Rasmus Dahlin had a goal, two assists and a key blocked shot as Buffalo kept its slim playoff hopes alive with a 4-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.
BASEBALL
MLB: The Tampa Bay Rays extended Major League Baseball’s best start in 20 years behind Jeffrey Springs’ seven innings of three-hit ball and Randy Arozarena’s four RBI, routing the Oakland Athletics, 11-0, for an 8-0 record.
Tampa Bay is the first big league team to open 8-0 since the 2003 Kansas City Royals won their first nine games.
• Rays center fielder Jose Siri was placed on the 10-day injured list because of a strained right hamstring and infielder/outfielder Vidal Bruján was recalled from Triple-A Durham.
• Byron Buxton and Kyle Farmer hit three-run homers to power the Minnesota Twins to a 9-6 win at home against the Houston Astros.
The Twins placed right fielder Max Kepler on the 10-day injured list because of lingering soreness in his right knee.
SOCCER
U.S. WOMEN: Emily Fox and Lindsey Horan scored for the United States in a 2-0 victory over Ireland in Austin, Texas, that was marred by what appeared to be a serious left knee injury to Mallory Swanson, the team’s leading scorer this year.
MLS: Dylan Borrero and Carles Gil scored first-half goals and the New England Revolution cruised to a 4-0 victory over CF Montreal.
Bobby Wood added an unassisted goal early in the second half for the Revolution (5-1-1). Giacomo Vrioni – with an assist from goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic – capped the scoring in the 86th minute.
ENGLAND: Erling Haaland scored twice – including a spectacular scissor-kick volley – to lead Manchester City to a 4-1 victory at Southampton and keep the pressure on Arsenal in the Premier League title race.
City is five points behind Arsenal, which visits Liverpool on Sunday.
• Harry Kane scored his 23rd Premier League goal of the season to earn Tottenham a 2-1 win over top-four rival Brighton in a match that saw both managers sent off after a touchline scuffle.
Tottenham’s Cristian Stellini and Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi – both Italians – had been dismissed by the time Kane ran onto a cutback from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and found the corner of the net with a fierce drive in the 79th minute.
Tottenham stayed in fifth place, three points behind both third-place Newcastle and fourth-place Manchester United, having played one game more.
• Alexander Isak kept Newcastle’s Champions League quest on track, scoring the winner in a 2-1 victory at Brentford.
• Marcus Rashford hobbled off with an apparent groin injury late in Manchester United’s 2-0 win at home against Everton.
• Frank Lampard had a disappointing start to his second spell in charge of Chelsea, which lost 1-0 at relegation-threatened Wolverhampton.
HORSE RACING
KENTUCKY DERBY PREPS: There was chaos on the Kentucky Derby trail Saturday, with bumping down the stretch and close finishes from coast-to-coast on the last weekend of major prep races before the Triple Crown begins next month.
The winners were separated by a mere quarter-length.
Practical Move held off Japan’s Mandarin Hero by a nose to win the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby in California. At Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky, Tapit Trice won the $1 million Blue Grass by a neck over Verifying. At Aqueduct in New York, 59-1 shot Lord Miles survived an inquiry to win the $750,000 Wood Memorial by a nose.
Each of the winners earned 100 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby, which puts the trio in the field of 20 horses on May 6.
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