Sports
With eye on NBA Cup quarters, Knicks face lowly Pelicans
Nov 29, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) complains about a possible foul during the second half against the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images The New York Knicks will get a chance to advance to the NBA Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday night.
Before that, though, the Knicks will look to continue progressing towards an even more important goal — establishing the consistency necessary to contend for the NBA title.
The Knicks will attempt to break a win-one-lose-one cycle Sunday night, when they host the New Orleans Pelicans in a nonconference matchup.
Both teams were off Saturday after playing road NBA Cup contests Friday. The Knicks overcame a six-point fourth quarter deficit to edge the Charlotte Hornets 99-98 in East Group A action while the struggling Pelicans fell to the Memphis Grizzlies 120-109 in a West Group C game.
With the win, the Knicks improved to 3-0 and set up a winner-take-all game for the East Group A’s automatic bid to the quarterfinals with the Orlando Magic, who are also unbeaten through three games following Friday’s 123-100 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
The Knicks entered Saturday one of four Eastern Conference teams with at least 10 wins this season even though they’ve won back-to-back games just once outside of a four-game winning streak from Nov. 15-20.
For much of Friday afternoon, the Knicks appeared headed for their second two-game losing streak of the season. New York, which suffered a 129-114 loss Wednesday night to the Dallas Mavericks despite the latter being without superstar point guard Luka Doncic (right wrist), trailed the Hornets for more than 38 minutes Friday even though Charlotte star LaMelo Ball sat out with a left calf injury.
Jalen Brunson helped the Knicks avoid the upset over the final five minutes, when he scored 11 of his game-high 31 points. The victory allowed New York to finish 3-2 on a road trip that began with four games against Western Conference foes before the Black Friday noon tipoff in North Carolina.
“It’s a weird schedule,” Brunson said. “But there’s no complaints and you can’t change it, so we’ve got to go out and find a way. We came out really soft, made some runs and then they made some shots where it looked like they were just going to get away from us. We kept fighting and found a way to get a win.”
The search for a win has grown increasingly frustrating for the injury-wracked Pelicans, who suffered their seventh straight loss and fell to 1-13 in their last 14 games with Friday’s loss.
New Orleans, which is last in the Western Conference with a 4-16 record, has played just three games this season with its optimal starting lineup of Brandon Ingram, Herbert Jones, C.J. McCollum, Daniel Theis and Zion Williamson. The quintet has combined to miss 52 games. Ingram (right calf) is day-to-day after missing the last three games while Jones (right shoulder) and Williamson (left hamstring) are out indefinitely.
The Pelicans lost by 11 points or fewer for the sixth time in their last 13 defeats Friday when they missed opportunities to creep closer to the Grizzlies in the second half. New Orleans committed turnovers on consecutive trips while down 83-75 late in the third and went five straight possessions without scoring in a 101-89 game shortly before the midway point of the fourth.
“We had some chances there where we cut the lead to 10, cut it to eight,” Hornets coach Willie Green said. “A few miscues, a few missed shots, some 50/50 balls that we had to come up with that we didn’t. Our margin for error is extremely small right now, so you’ve got to capitalize on those opportunities.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Minnesota United, FC Dallas put unbeaten streaks on line
Apr 18, 2026; Frisco, Texas, USA; FC Dallas forward Petar Musa (9) scores a goal against the LA Galaxy during the first half at Toyota Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images Two teams riding extended unbeaten strings meet Wednesday night when Minnesota United visit FC Dallas in Frisco, Texas.
Coming off a 2-0 win Saturday night over the Portland Timbers, Minnesota (4-2-2, 14 points) is 3-0-1 over its last four matches. Its three straight wins constitute its longest winning streak in nearly two calendar years.
Meanwhile, Dallas (3-1-4, 13 points) is 2-0-3 in its last five fixtures, including a 2-2 draw Saturday night with the Los Angeles Galaxy. It could have been a three-point result but Kaick’s goal in the 75th minute was flagged for an offsides violation.
Minnesota has hit its stride in part because of the recent form of midfielder Tomas Chancalay. The Argentinian has hit the scoresheet in three straight matches, scoring a goal and assisting on the other goal against Portland.
Chancalay has looked a lot like the guy who the New England Revolution spent $3.1 million for three years ago instead of the player they traded to Minnesota after last season for $100,000.
“I am really happy here,” Chancalay said of his new organization. “The team put their confidence in me here in Minnesota. I’m happy to stay here and I want to help the team.”
While Chancalay is playing well, no one in MLS these days is scoring like Dallas’ Petar Musa. His brace in the first half gave Dallas a 2-0 lead but its defense gassed it by conceding twice before halftime.
Musa leads the league with nine goals, two more than Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi and Nashville SC’s Sam Surridge. But Dallas’ inability to see a two-goal advantage through over the final 52 minutes was concerning to coach Eric Quill.
“Your mentality has to be disciplined, together and committed on every play,” Quill said. “It was little details that changed the game and we know those moments can’t happen. We need to improve our discipline because I think we’re going to have leads often.”
It marked the second time in this recent unbeaten stretch that Dallas has coughed up a two-goal advantage.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Frustrated San Diego FC vying for better result at Dynamo
Mar 22, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego FC defender Luca Bombino (27) moves the ball during the first half against Real Salt Lake at Snapdragon Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chadd Cady-Imagn Images San Diego FC hope to snap out of an extended funk when they travel east to square off against the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday in a Western Conference match.
San Diego (3-3-2, 11 points) hasn’t tasted victory since a 1-0 win at Sporting Kansas City on March 7 and heads to the Bayou City with a five-game winless swoon. The team has dropped its past three matches and has been outscored 9-3 in those games.
The most recent of those setbacks was a 4-2 loss at Real Salt Lake on Saturday in which San Diego conceded two goals in the first six minutes and never recovered. Marcus Ingvartsen and Anders Dreyer found the net for San Diego FC, with the latter a window dressing tally on a penalty kick in the 66th minute after the side trailed by three.
“It’s definitely frustrating because we expect a lot from ourselves,” San Diego defender Luca Bombino said. “Things haven’t necessarily gone our way, but we know that we have all the talent and the hard work within the squad to achieve the things we want to do.”
It’s been feast or famine for Houston (3-4-0, 9 points) this season. A 1-0 win at Orlando City on Saturday showed that things may be turning for the Dynamo after three straight losses in MLS play, which included a 6-2 shellacking on the road against Colorado on April 11.
Hector Herrera’s goal in the 75th minute, his first of the season, was the difference in the win over Orlando as the Dynamo captured both their first road win of the year and their first clean sheet of the season.
“I still think we can be clearer on how to build the game and have longer possessions and make better decisions and not have to defend as much as we’ve had to,” Houston coach Ben Olsen said. “Until we’re well-oiled and we know exactly who we are, we have to have character and personality and resiliency.”
San Diego has just four points from four road games this season, including one win. The Dynamo are 2-2-0 on their home pitch.
The sides played twice in 2025, with each winning on the road.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Victor Wembanyama (concussion) to miss rest of Spurs-Blazers Game 2
Apr 21, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija (8) drives to the basket past San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) during the first half of game two of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images San Antonio star center Victor Wembanyama was forced from Game 2 of the Spurs’ first-round playoff series with the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday with an apparent concussion after hitting his face on the floor early in the second quarter.
The Spurs later announced that Wembanyama had entered concussion protocol and would not return to the game.
Wembanyama hit his face on in the floor at near-full speed after being knocked off his feet during a drive to the basket at the 8:57 mark of the second period, with the contact leaving him dazed enough to struggle standing up before jogging off the floor to the locker room.
San Antonio trailed 34-32 at the time of Wembanyama’s exit and he had amassed five points, four rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot in 11:41 of court time when he was injured. The game was tied 57-57 by halftime.
The Spurs have had plenty of success without their star this season. Wembanyama missed 18 games this season with various injuries, with San Antonio going 12-6 in those games.
–Field Level Media
Minnesota United, FC Dallas put unbeaten streaks on line
Frustrated San Diego FC vying for better result at Dynamo
