Sports
Jimmy Butler questionable as Warriors, Rockets gear up for Game 4
Apr 26, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (left) and forward Jimmy Butler III (right) hug after defeating the Houston Rockets during game three of first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images The Golden State Warriors survived one playoff game without Jimmy Butler. They are hoping he’s not a spectator again on Monday night.
Golden State will learn sometime before tipoff whether they will have their star forward in Game 4 when it hosts the Houston Rockets in Game 4 at San Francisco.
Butler, who is listed as questionable, missed Saturday’s 104-93 home win over the Rockets due to a pelvic injury and glute muscle soreness after he was injured in Game 2 on Wednesday.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr doesn’t yet have a feel of whether Butler will suit up when his team attempts to stretch its lead to 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.
“He’s literally day-to-day,” Kerr said. “We have (Sunday) off and it will be helpful for him to have another day. It’s a night game so he gets a few extra hours. We’ll see. I have no idea right now if he will play.”
Butler was a force in Game 1 when he contributed 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals in Golden State’s 95-85 road victory.
With Butler watching from the bench Saturday, veteran Stephen Curry guided the Warriors back from a 13-point deficit to post a pivotal victory.
Curry scored 36 points to move into 10th place on the NBA’s all-time postseason scoring list with 4,053 points. He passed former San Antonio Spurs great Tony Parker (4,045).
Curry also had nine assists and seven rebounds in a strong all-around effort.
“This is what superstars do in playoff games,” Kerr said. “You can’t win games without the great players in this league. When you go deep, the playoffs get tougher and tougher, and great players just give the whole team confidence. And that’s what Steph does.”
Golden State also received 42 bench points in the victory. Buddy Hield scored 17 points and Gary Payton II had 16 on 7-of-9 shooting.
“The intensity is fun, it’s great,” Hield said of the postseason stage. “You just have to enjoy the moment and seize the moment. You can’t be shy.”
Houston is kicking itself after letting a golden opportunity get away. The Rockets began the fourth quarter with a 71-69 lead before Golden State turned things up a notch and outscored Houston 35-22 in the decisive period.
“I thought they executed at a higher level than we did,” said Rockets guard Fred VanVleet, who tallied a team-leading 17 points.
VanVleet was among the Houston backcourt players powerless to slow Curry, who had 21 second-half points. Curry is averaging 29 points, seven assists and six rebounds and has made 14 of 31 3-point shots in the series.
“We’re not going to hold him to three points every time we play him, I think we’ve got to understand that,” VanVleet said. “He’s one of the all-time greats. I think our coverages were a little slow, some of the switching and some of the physicality were a touch down from where we had it ramped up the previous game.”
Rockets guard Jalen Green was unable to follow up his stellar 38-point outing in Game 2. He had just nine points on 4-of-11 shooting for his second anemic game of the series. Green had seven points on 3-of-15 shooting in Houston’s Game 1 loss.
“We gave him too much separation in Game 2,” Kerr said. “They did a good job of getting him downhill and creating space. We did a better job (Saturday night) of taking away some of his space.”
Alperen Sengun paces Houston with averages of 19.3 points and 12 rebounds in the series. Green averages 18 points. VanVleet is averaging 11.3 points but shooting just 26.8 percent (11 of 41).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Phillies place closer Jhoan Duran (oblique) on injured list
Mar 28, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Jhoan Duran (59) throws a pitch against the Texas Rangers in the tenth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images The Philadelphia Phillies placed closer Jhoan Duran on the 15-day injured list Saturday with a left oblique strain.
In a series of moves, right-hander Seth Johnson and utilityman Felix Reyes were recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, while utilityman Otto Kemp was optioned and minor league outfielder Pedro Leon was released.
Duran’s move to the IL was retroactive to Wednesday. The 28-year-old right-hander is 1-1 with a 1.35 ERA and five saves in seven appearances for the Phillies this season. Over five major league seasons with the Minnesota Twins and Phillies, he has a 2.41 ERA and 95 saves in 253 appearances.
Johnson, 27, made one appearance with the Phillies earlier this season and has a combined 9.72 ERA in 12 appearances (one start) for Philadelphia over three seasons.
Reyes, 25, is set to make his major league debut after he batted .272 with 48 home runs and 247 RBIs over six seasons (374 games) in the Phillies’ system. Kemp, 26, was 2-for-20 in 10 games for Philadelphia this season.
Leon, 27, was batting .283 in 12 games at Lehigh Valley. He has seven games of major league experience with the Houston Astros in 2024.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Late goal helps Toronto FC salvage tie, point vs. Austin FC
Apr 18, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Austin FC defender Jon Bell (15) passes the ball against Toronto FC defender Richie Laryea (22) during the first half at BMO Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images Kobe Franklin delivered the game-tying goal in the 88th minute and host Toronto FC pulled off a 3-3 draw with Austin FC on Saturday afternoon in just the third-ever match between the sides.
Franklin was in the penalty area when Malik Henry ripped a shot off the right post and scored off the rebound to beat Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver low to the right side and even the match.
The draw allowed Toronto FC (3-2-3, 12 points) to extend a six-match unbeaten streak, while outscoring opponents 11-8 during the 3-0-3 run.
After conceding the late goal, Austin FC (1-3-4, 7 points) remained winless since March 1 with an 0-3-3 record during the run.
Jon Bell scored Austin FC’s opening goal in the 29th minute while turning onto his left foot in traffic and beating Toronto keeper Luka Gavran. The score came off a feed from Guilherme Brio.
Myrto Uzuni tried to double the Austin FC lead with a shot in the 34th minute before Gavran made the save. Toronto FC’s Josh Sargent and Daniel Salloi responded with low-percentage shots that Stuver turned away.
Salloi tied the score 1-1 in the 52nd minute, running to the far post to volley home a pass from Sargent that deflected off an Austin defender and directly to the right knee of the Toronto striker.
Gallagher’s shot eight minutes later forced Gavron into a key save and kept the game tied. Richie Laryea’s goal in the 67th minute gave Toronto a 2-1 lead.
Austin FC tied the score 2-2 on a nifty Facundo Torres goal in the 75th minute off assists from Robert Taylor and Uzuni. Christian Ramírez gave Austin FC a 3-2 lead when he booted home a deflected shot by Torres in the 82nd minute.
That set stage for Franklin, who beat an Austin defender to Henry’s shot off the right post to produce the draw and earn Toronto FC a point in the standings.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Fresh off play-in win, Suns take on top-seeded Thunder
Apr 17, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green (4) celebrates after a slam dunk against the Golden State Warriors during the first half in the play-in rounds of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images The Phoenix Suns come into their first-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder with some momentum after knocking off the Golden State Warriors in the play-in finale Friday to earn the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.
The Thunder haven’t played in a week heading into Sunday’s Game 1 of the series in Oklahoma City.
After letting a big lead slip away in the play-in opener against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Suns bounced back with a 111-96 home win over the Warriors.
Jalen Green was one of the biggest factors in Phoenix advancing, with 36 points in Friday’s victory.
“They’re going to come in, play hard, play their game, but I think if we bring the same energy that we brought (Friday night) and getting stops, playing defense, getting out and running, we can use that to our advantage,” Green said, looking forward to facing Oklahoma City. “It should be a good series.”
The Thunder are looking to become the first team since Golden State in 2017-18 to repeat as champions.
“It’s an opportunity,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I think just going through last year and realizing that’s so far down the line. So many things are going to happen before we get to the Finals clinching game. … So many things have to go our way that aren’t in our control and so many things we have to control that are hard to control at this level for a long period of time for us to have that opportunity.”
Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren said there’s value in having the experience, but that his team can’t take any team lightly.
“You have to try to carry over the experiences that you learn from, but you can’t carry over the result, because the result means absolutely nothing,” Holmgren said. “If you’re sitting here in the playoffs saying, ‘Oh, we won last year,’ that’s not going to win you a playoff series or a game or get a stop on a possession.”
The series features two of the best defenses in the league.
The Thunder had the NBA’s best defensive rating, allowing just 106.5 points per 100 possessions during the regular season while the Suns were ninth at 112.9.
In Friday’s win, Phoenix scored 30 points off Golden State turnovers to help fuel the win, while Oklahoma City led the league with 22.0 points per game off turnovers during the season. The Thunder also limited opponents to just 14.7 points per game off turnovers, second-best in the NBA.
The Thunder won three of the five regular-season matchups between the teams, with Phoenix being one of just three teams to hand Oklahoma City multiple losses this season.
The teams closed the regular season against each other, though that game — a 32-point Suns win — will bear little resemblance to Sunday’s matchup.
With their playoff/play-in positions set, both teams sat most of their starters, with the Thunder’s only regular starter to play being Luguentz Dort.
Phoenix was without Grayson Allen (hamstring) and Mark Williams (foot soreness) for Friday’s win.
–Field Level Media
Phillies place closer Jhoan Duran (oblique) on injured list
Late goal helps Toronto FC salvage tie, point vs. Austin FC
