Sports
NBA roundup: Spurs storm past Blazers in Victor Wembanyama's return
Apr 26, 2026; Portland, Oregon, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) walks off the court after a game against the Portland Trail Blazers during game four of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images De’Aaron Fox scored 28 points and Victor Wembanyama had 27 in his return from concussion protocol, helping the visiting San Antonio Spurs to a 114-93 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round series on Sunday.
Fox sank 11 of 17 shots from the floor and drained four 3-pointers to aid the Spurs in overcoming a 19-point deficit to seize a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 5 is Tuesday in San Antonio. After sitting out Game 3, Wembanyama showed why he was the NBA’s first-ever unanimous Defensive Player of the Year by recording 11 rebounds, seven blocks and four steals.
Stephon Castle collected 16 points and eight assists while dealing with both an injured left hand and foul trouble. Devin Vassell added 11 points for the Spurs, who outscored the Trail Blazers by a 73-35 margin in the second half. Deni Avdija scored 26 points, Jrue Holiday had 20 and Jerami Grant added 17 off the bench for the Trail Blazers.
Tied at 74 entering the fourth quarter, the Spurs opened the period on a 27-7 run. Castle set up Wembanyama for a trio of alley-oop dunks before Fox sank a pair of jumpers and a 3-pointer to give San Antonio an 87-77 lead with 7:47 left. Sixth Man of the Year Keldon Johnson converted from beyond the arc and added a pair of driving buckets to extend San Antonio’s lead to 101-81 with 4:31 remaining.
Rockets 115, Lakers 96
Amen Thompson scored a game-high 23 points, Tari Eason added 20 and Houston averted elimination with a victory over visiting Los Angeles in Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series.
All five starters scored in double figures for the Rockets, who played without Kevin Durant (ankle) for the third time in the series. Reed Sheppard chipped in 17 points on 4-for-7 3-point shooting while Alperen Sengun (19 points) and Jabari Smith Jr. (16 points) rounded out the balanced offensive attack.
After dominating Game 3 and co-authoring the Lakers’ overtime victory, LeBron James (10 points, nine assists) and Marcus Smart (nine, five) shot a combined 5 of 17 from the floor. Deandre Ayton finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds but was ejected in the third quarter.
Raptors 93, Cavaliers 89
Brandon Ingram and Scottie Barnes each scored 23 points and Toronto held off visiting Cleveland to even the best-of-seven first-round playoff series at 2-2.
Barnes added nine rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots to his stat line and scored 10 fourth-quarter points, knocking down all six free throw attempts in the final 34.6 seconds. RJ Barrett added 18 points for the Raptors, and Collin Murray-Boyles scored 15 with 10 rebounds.
Donovan Mitchell scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter for Cleveland. James Harden added 19 points but had seven turnovers. Jarrett Allen had three points and a game-high 15 rebounds, while Sam Merrill contributed 14 points.
Celtics 128, 76ers 96
Payton Pritchard scored a career-playoff-high 32 points off the bench and Boston took a 3-1 series lead with a convincing road victory over Philadelphia.
Jayson Tatum made five treys and recorded 30 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds and Jaylen Brown added 20 points and seven rebounds as the second-seeded Celtics moved one victory away from winning the Eastern Conference first-round series. Game 5 is Tuesday in Boston.
Joel Embiid played for the first time in the series for the seventh-seeded 76ers after undergoing an appendectomy two-plus weeks ago. He scored 26 points on 9-of-21 shooting and collected 10 rebounds and six assists while playing 34 minutes. Tyrese Maxey scored 22 points and Paul George added 16 for the 76ers.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Rockies stifle Mets to clinch series in doubleheader opener
Apr 26, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; Colorado Rockies first baseman Troy Johnston (20) hits an RBI single in the fourth inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Troy Johnston had an RBI single in the fourth inning and hit into the tie-breaking, run-scoring double play in the sixth Sunday afternoon for the visiting Colorado Rockies, who beat the skidding New York Mets 3-1 in the opener of a doubleheader.
Jose Quintana (1-2) tossed 5 1/3 solid innings for the Rockies, who have won the first two games of the three-game set to lock up their third series win of the season. Colorado finished 43-119 last season and didn’t win its third series until July 18-20, when it took two of three from the Minnesota Twins.
Jake McCarthy added an insurance RBI single in the seventh for Colorado.
Tyrone Taylor homered in the fifth for the Mets, who have lost 14 of 16.
Quintana allowed one run on two hits and two walks while striking out five. The 37-year-old left-hander, who played for the Mets from 2023-24, threw 31 pitches in the first, when he walked Bo Bichette and Luis Robert Jr. and allowed a single to Mark Vientos to load the bases with one out.
But Quintana wriggled out of the jam by striking out Marcus Semien and Brett Baty. That began a stretch of 11 straight batters retired by Quintana, who set down the final four batters he faced after Taylor’s homer.
Juan Mejia retired all five batters he opposed before the Mets threatened in the eighth against Jaden Hill, who gave up one-out singles to Francisco Alvarez and Bichette before walking Juan Soto. But Hill got Robert to pop out to first and struck out Vientos.
Victor Vodnik threw a perfect ninth to close out the four-hitter and earn his fourth save.
McCarthy and Edouard Julien had two hits each for the Rockies.
Nolan McLean (1-2) gave up two runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks while striking out seven over five innings.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Astros awaken to salvage finale, end Yankees' 8-game win streak
Apr 26, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez (44) hits a double during the fifth inning against the New York Yankees at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images Spencer Arrighetti worked seven strong innings, Christian Walker produced a three-hit game with a home run and the Houston Astros salvaged the finale of their three-game series against the visiting New York Yankees with a 7-4 victory on Sunday.
Arrighetti (3-0) remained unbeaten in three starts after opening the season with Triple-A Sugar Land. He allowed three hits, walked one and posted eight strikeouts on 96 pitches, 64 for strikes.
Walker finished 3-for-4 with four RBIs while Isaac Paredes went 2-for-4 with a homer, three runs and three RBIs. Yordan Alvarez also produced a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with a pair of runs.
Paul Goldschmidt doubled twice and scored for the Yankees, who rallied for three runs with two outs in the ninth but had their eight-game winning streak snapped.
Arrighetti retired the Yankees in order in the top of the first, fourth and fifth innings. He worked around a one-out single from Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the second and stranded two runners after issuing a hit-by-pitch and a two-out walk in the third. Arrighetti retired nine consecutive batters before Aaron Judge clubbed a two-out homer in the sixth. Judge hit his 10th home run on his 34th birthday.
The Astros quickly pounced on Yankees right-hander Luis Gil (1-2), with Walker firing the first salvo on a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the first that plated Paredes. Walker, who homered in his final plate appearance in the ninth inning on Saturday, delivered the Astros a 2-0 lead with his seventh homer this season.
Two innings later, Paredes smacked his third home run off the left field foul pole, plating Alvarez and doubling the Houston lead to 4-0. Alvarez rallied from an 0-2 hole against Gil that extended the inning before Paredes capped the two-out rally by driving a 1-0 sinker 364 feet.
Alvarez chased Gil with a double to right that pushed Carlos Correa, who walked leading off the fifth, to third base. Paredes greeted Yankees reliever Paul Blackburn with an RBI single that scored Correa, and Walker followed with a two-run double to left-center for a 7-0 lead.
Gil allowed six runs on five hits and three walks in four-plus innings.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Jose Tena's HR in 10th helps Nationals edge White Sox
Apr 26, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Washington Nationals pitcher Foster Griffin (22) throws the ball against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images Jose Tena hit a pinch-hit solo home run in the 10th inning after CJ Abrams provided a go-ahead sacrifice fly as the visiting Washington Nationals defeated the Chicago White Sox 2-1 on Sunday.
Both pitching staffs allowed just four hits. Paxton Schultz worked around Tristan Peters’ RBI single in the bottom of the 10th for his first save.
Nationals left-hander Foster Griffin delivered his second consecutive quality start, scattering two hits in seven shutout innings. Griffin walked two and struck out a career-high eight.
Chicago righty Sean Burke shined, as well, limiting the Nationals to three hits in 7 1/3 innings with zero walks and four strikeouts.
After both clubs scored at least three runs in the first two games of the series, offense was a dicey proposition as Griffin and Burke matched zeroes for much of the afternoon.
The White Sox nearly gave Burke an early lead after opener Bryan Hudson pitched a scoreless bottom of the first. Chase Meidroth opened the game with a single, advanced to second on a balk and took third on a wild pitch. But Griffin struck out the side to keep Meidroth from scoring.
Tanner Murray contributed a one-out single in the second and Drew Romo walked two batters later before the rally faded. Griffin hit Colson Montgomery with a pitch in the fourth inning before recovering to retire 11 of the next 12.
Burke yielded a two-out double to Jacob Young in the second and a two-out single to James Wood in the third but kept the Nationals off the scoreboard. Romo, Chicago’s catcher, caught Wood stealing to end the threat in the second.
Burke mowed through the next 15 Washington batters after that, with a four-pitch seventh inning highlighting his dominance. Nasim Nunez broke the streak with a leadoff single in the ninth, stole second and advanced to third on a sacrifice fly. Reliever Sean Newcomb got two popouts to end the inning.
Chicago was unable to score in the bottom of the ninth. Everson Pereira singled with one out for the team’s first hit since the second and went to second on an errant pickoff attempt but was stranded.
Murray left the game with an apparent left-shoulder injury while making a diving catch on Abrams’ sacrifice fly to left field.
Richard Lovelady (1-1) pitched a scoreless ninth for the victory.
Seranthony Dominguez (1-3) took the loss.
–Field Level Media
