Sports

Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley made quite a statement in the first part of the Cleveland Cavaliers' home-and-home set with the Atlanta Hawks, combining for 53 points and 26 rebounds Wednesday in a 122-116 victory.It's now the Hawks' turn to host. And there is significantly more pressure on them as the Eastern Conference teams meet Friday in Georgia.Fourth-place Cleveland (51-29) sits one game behind the New York Knicks (52-28) in the East with two games remaining for each team. The Cavaliers can finish no worse than fourth.Atlanta (45-35), tied for fifth place, must win one of its final two games in order to clinch a playoff berth. Falling out of the top six -- and into the play-in tournament -- is a concern for the Hawks."If we can get in the playoffs, I don't think we care who we play,...

Vitor Pereira had one eye on a crucial Premier League game agains Aston Villa — but still ensured that his Nottingham Forest side retain one foot in Europe.The Forest head coach spoke of the importance of finding a balance as he prepared to make his return to the familiar surroundings of Porto, where he has history as youth team coach, assistant coach and head coach.It was not, perhaps, the perfect balance — but it was definitely a delicate one that he struck, as he looked to maintain Forest’s competitiveness on two very different fronts.His starting line-up included only two players — in Morgan Gibbs-White and Murillo — who you would be confident will start when Forest host Champions League hopefuls Villa at the City Ground on Sunday.Otherwise Pereira managed the minutes of his key player...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — LeBron James had 26 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds but didn't get to compete against rival and pal Stephen Curry as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors 119-103 on Thursday night.James shot 11 for 17 and made three 3-pointers. He exited briefly after appearing to jam his hand blocking a shot by Pat Spencer with 6:05 remaining in the third quarter.After 23 years in the league and at age 41, James' future is uncertain. He is three years older than Curry, who sat out the front end of a home-road back-to-back in what is always a highly anticipated matchup — it was Golden State's final scheduled game at Chase Center, given the team is headed on the road for the play-in tournament as the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference.Curry had played the previ...

BOLOGNA: Ezri Konsa headed the opener before Ollie Watkins struck twice to give Aston Villa 3-1 victory over Bologna and a first-leg advantage in their Europa League quarterfinal opener. An eighth consecutive Europa League triumph also marked the club’s first win in a UEFA match in Italy on our first visit to the country since 1994. Coming into the game on a club-record 11-match unbeaten Europa League run, Bologna repeatedly threatened an opener and almost succeeded when Emiliano Martínez pawed Juan Miranda's acrobatic drive behind and Lewis Ferguson volleyed Jonathan Rowe's cross against the underside of the crossbar. Visiting captain John McGinn curled an effort narrowly wide from distance, but Villa had not fashioned an attempt on target before Ezri Konsa met a corner by Youri Tielema...

Getty Lakers guard Luka Doncic will miss the rest of the regular season with a Grade 2 hamstring injury. Former NBA head coach Stan Van Gundy does not believe Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic should be granted an “Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge” so he can be eligible for All-NBA and other end-of-season honors.Doncic, who appeared in 64 games before sustaining a hamstring strain, is technically ineligible for All-NBA because he didn’t meet the 65-game threshold. However, the Slovenian plans to file an appeal with the league, noting that he missed two games in early December to travel to Slovenia for the birth of his second child.Addressing the controversy on the “Zach Lowe Show” on Thursday, Van Gundy said that Do...

The first legs of the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals transpired on Wednesday and Thursday. Two of the ties have one team in a great spot to advance, while the other two are even going into next week. Here is a stat for all eight clubs left in the competition.14 - Braga were unable to hold onto their first-half lead against Real Betis, as Florian Grillitsch's early flick was cancelled out by a Cucho Hernandez penalty at the hour mark. The match ended 1-1 in Portugal, meaning that anything could happen in Seville next Thursday.Braga, who have enjoyed an excellent UEL season, have found the back of the net in all but two games thus far. At home, they have scored in each of their last 14 matches stretching back to last term.4 - Betis, chasing a second straight European final after making th...

April 9, 2026Updated April 10, 2026, 12:26 a.m. ETLeBron James and Bronny James continue to share more time on the court together as the Los Angeles Lakers’ regular season comes to a close.The James family set another unique milestone for the league as Bronny was credited with an assist to LeBron on Thursday, April 9, during the Lakers' game against the Golden State Warriors.Bronny stole the ball with 51 seconds left in the first quarter and bounced the ball toward LeBron, who then crossed halfcourt and finished the play in transition with an uncontested dunk. It's the first son-to-father assist in NBA history.The Lakers beat the Warriors 119-103 in San Francisco.The father-and-son duo completed a similar milestone on March 27, recording the first father-to-son assist the league has seen.A...

Tottenham Hotspur have not found themselves in this position overnight.While their marvellous home has become a destination for world-famous pop stars, NFL events, and boxing title fights, the football team hasn’t been built with the same care and attention. As with most poorly built constructions, it has been compromised by long-term defects that no one has invested time or money to fix.Tottenham are one point away from the relegation zone with seven league games remaining. By the time they next kick a ball, they may have slipped into the bottom three, with 18th-placed West Ham United facing bottom-side Wolves this evening (Friday). That in itself could prove a huge psychological hurdle to overcome as reality sinks in — if it hasn’t already — that relegation is the trajectory of this team...

Jockeying for positioning in the Western Conference play-in round hits the home stretch on Friday when the Portland Trail Blazers welcome the Los Angeles Clippers for a crucial showdown.Los Angeles (41-39) heads into its final two games of the regular season with a one-game lead over Portland (40-40) for eighth place in the West. The Clippers overtook the Blazers thanks to Portland's back-to-back losses at Denver and San Antonio on Monday and Wednesday.However, Los Angeles was unable to take a critical two-game lead, falling Wednesday against NBA-leading and reigning league champion Oklahoma City 128-110.The Clippers won two straight heading into Wednesday's contest, routing Sacramento and Dallas to rebound from losses to Portland and San Antonio. Los Angeles coach Tyronn Lue said revisiti...

It’s been three weeks since we last had Premier League action, with the international break and then a crucial FA Cup weekend that has set lay of the land for the rest of the season in Fantasy Premier League.We will have a Blank Gameweek 34 caused by the FA Cup semi-finals, with those postponed fixtures falling the previous midweek to create a Double Gameweek 33 for six teams.This will be the biggest double gameweek of the season, with another probable double for Manchester City and Crystal Palace scheduled to arrive later on, with these two teams having had their Gameweek 31 fixture postponed for the Carabao Cup final last month.For those managers with a Wildcard available, activating it in Gameweek 32 will be a popular strategy to prepare for a crucial period, but who are the players you...