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Joel Embiid, 76ers overwhelm Nets

NBA: Philadelphia 76ers at Brooklyn NetsJan 4, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) is guarded by Brooklyn Nets forward Noah Clowney (21) during the first half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Joel Embiid totaled 28 points and 12 rebounds in three quarters as the Philadelphia 76ers overcame an extremely early 11-point deficit and rolled to a 123-94 victory over the short-handed Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night in New York.

Embiid made 8 of 16 shots, hit all 10 free throws and played 29 minutes en route to his fourth double-double in 13 games this season.

Playing with Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George for the 10th time this season, the 76ers bounced back nicely from Thursday’s 139-105 loss at Golden State. Philadelphia outscored Brooklyn 123-83 after allowing the game’s first 11 points and won for the 12th time in 19 games since dropping five straight from Nov. 12-20.

Maxey added 18 for Philadelphia, which led by double-digits for the final 29:23 and held the lead for the final 41:39 after a dunk by Embiid. George and Caleb Martin contributed 17 apiece as the Sixers shot 51.2 percent and sank 15 3s in their most lopsided victory this season.

Ziaire Williams led the Nets with 19 points, Tyrese Martin added 16 and Keon Johnson contributed 15 as Brooklyn shot 41 percent and allowed 32 points off 22 turnovers.

The Nets lost for the 12th time in 16 games. The team announced Cameron Johnson sprained his right ankle in Thursday’s win at Milwaukee and will miss the next three games.

Brooklyn also dropped its fifth straight home game after announcing leading scorer Cam Thomas sustained a strained left hamstring Thursday and will be reevaluated after the West Coast road trip Jan. 10-19.

Brooklyn also played without Ben Simmons (left calf soreness) and lost D’Angelo Russell to a bruised right shin at halftime of Saturday’s game.

Embiid picked up a technical foul for shoving Keon Johnson going for a rebound with 8:15 left in the opening quarter, when he scored 15 as the Sixers took a 29-19 lead after allowing the game’s first 11 points.

The Sixers held a 13-point lead when Embiid and George returned with about five minutes left in the second and expanded their lead to 64-47 by halftime.

Embiid hit Maxey with a nice bounce pass for a reverse layup and the guard finished the three-point play for a 72-49 lead less than three minutes into the second half. The Sixers pushed the lead to 91-66 entering the fourth, allowing the center to get a rest.

–Field Level Media

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On 6-game win streak, Cards out to keep Dodgers' bats cold

MLB: Cleveland Guardians at St. Louis CardinalsApr 15, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Dustin May (3) pitches against the Cleveland Guardians during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Players and coaches are wearing number 42 in recognition of Jackie Robinson Day. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Two teams trending in opposite directions meet when the St. Louis Cardinals aim for a sweep of their three-game series against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.

St. Louis beat the Dodgers 3-2 on Saturday for their sixth straight win, while Los Angeles’ offense has gone quiet during its four-game losing streak.

Michael McGreevy tossed six scoreless innings on Saturday to help the Cardinals move a season-best seven games over .500 at 20-13.

“We’re going to give you hell when you play us,” McGreevy said. “There (were) a ton of expectations put on us in the offseason, and it’s been so freeing for the guys just to be able to show up and play.”

Jordan Walker hit his 10th home run of the season Saturday and is 6-for-8 with four RBIs in the first two games of the series.

“It just feels nice that the work that I put in during the offseason is showing up here,” Walker said. “Now the main focus is just keeping it consistent, and it feels like I know what it feels like, so when I get (off track), just get back on.”

The Dodgers have gone five straight games without a home run and have hit a total of three homers in their past 11 games. Los Angeles also hit into four double plays in Saturday’s loss.

“It’s what every team is going to go through in baseball throughout the course of a season,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I felt tonight, although it didn’t show for the first eight innings, I thought the intentions were better on balls in the hitting zone.”

Los Angeles has been held to two runs or fewer in six of its last 11 games.

After opening the season on a tear at the plate, Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages has eight hits in his last 38 at-bats. He struck out twice Saturday.

“Just trying to focus on what I can do, not focus so much on the whole,” Pages said through an interpreter. “Just focus on taking good at-bats, doing good turns, not really trying to get too ahead of myself. Baseball is really hard. So offensively, there’s gonna be times where we’re not clicking, and that’s one of those times right now.”

Left-hander Justin Wrobleski (4-0, 1.50 ERA) will take the mound for the Dodgers. He won his fourth straight start last Sunday, allowing four hits over six solid innings in a 6-0 home win over the Chicago Cubs.

Wrobleski, 25, has allowed two runs on 16 hits in 26 innings across his last four outings.

Pedro Pages is 4-for-6 with two homers against Wrobleski, who is 1-1 with a 5.79 ERA in three career games (two starts) versus St. Louis.

The Cardinals will counter with right-hander Dustin May (3-2, 5.28), who spent the first five-plus seasons of his career from 2019-25 with the Dodgers.

May, 28, gave up two runs over six innings in a no-decision against the Pittsburgh Pirates last Monday. He has allowed two earned runs or fewer in each of his last four starts, going 3-0 in those outings. May is facing his former team for the first time.

–Field Level Media

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Cubs eager to continue home dominance in clash vs. D-backs

MLB: Chicago Cubs at San Diego PadresApr 27, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Matthew Boyd (16) delivers during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

The Chicago Cubs will turn to left-hander Matthew Boyd in an attempt to sweep the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday afternoon and bump their home winning streak to 11 games.

Winners of 14 of their last 17 games overall and 13-5 at home this season, the Cubs secured a series win with a 2-0 triumph on Saturday. Behind starter Shota Imanaga’s seven scoreless innings, Ben Brown became Chicago’s seventh reliever to record a save this season.

“You play the game in front of you and play with the guys you have and then you go from there,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said about a series of injuries that have put pitchers into new roles.

“That builds resiliency, if anything.”

Boyd (1-1, 7.00 ERA) will oppose Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly (1-2, 9.20) in a matchup of rotation stalwarts who have yet to find their footing in a season disrupted by injury.

Boyd, the Cubs’ Opening Day starter, struck out 10 in a 6-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels in his second start of the season on April 1. He reported slight arm discomfort, however, and the Cubs placed him on the injured list with a left biceps strain as a precaution.

He returned to the rotation on April 22 and since has made two starts, although he has not made it through five innings in either one. He notched a no-decision against both Philadelphia and San Diego in which he gave up seven runs on 13 hits in 8 2/3 innings.

Boyd was irked at himself for a failed ABS challenge in the first inning of his latest outing, the Cubs’ 9-7 loss at San Diego on Monday.

He called for a review on the fourth pitch of the first inning — a 2-1 fastball to leadoff hitter Ramon Laureano that was shown to be a ball. The Padres used two walks and three hits to score three runs that inning.

“It’s putting our hitters and our team in a hole when you do something like that in that situation, so early in the game,” Boyd said. “It was not a smart move on my part. I regretted it. I’ll do my best to not make that mistake again.”

The Cubs rallied to take a 5-3 lead into the last of the third inning but could not hold on.

Boyd is 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in three career starts against the Diamondbacks, the most recent a no-decision in which he gave up four hits over five scoreless innings in a 10-6 loss in Arizona on March 30, 2025. Ketel Marte is 2-for-5 against him.

Kelly opened the season on the injured list with intercostal nerve irritation, which caused mid-back tightness. He has not shown his typical control in three starts since returning in a 4-3 victory at Baltimore on April 14. He has surrendered 13 runs on 16 hits in his two most recent starts while walking eight, ballooning his WHIP to 2.25.

Kelly was asked if command of his four-pitch repertoire might be the last thing to come after the injury-forced layoff.

“I think every comeback is different,” he said after walking five in a 13-2 loss at Milwaukee on Tuesday. “I think everybody’s different. The answer for me right now is ‘yes.’ I have to stop putting myself in bad situations.”

Kelly is 3-1 with a 3.25 ERA in eight career starts against the Cubs, the most recent an 8-1 victory in Arizona on March 28, 2025. Michael Busch is 2-for-6 with a homer against him.

–Field Level Media

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Why Cavaliers Should Cover at Home in Game 7 Against Raptors

In the world of basketball, the saying goes, “a series doesn’t start until someone loses at home”. Well, we’re heading into game seven in Cleveland, and neither the Raptors or Cavaliers have been able to steal one on the road. If the Raptors want to pull off the big-time upset, they’re going to have to end that streak and find a way to pull one out in Rocket Arena.

The Cavs have been heavy favorites each game in this series, and enter Sunday once again as 8.5-point favorites. Cleveland is 2-1 ATS at home this series, and had to go the final two minutes of game five without scoring to not be 3-0 ATS.

That’s been the biggest negative for Cleveland in this series. They’ve struggled to close out games and threw away two road games against the Raptors, and now are battling to avoid a massive collapse here in this one.

However, despite losing game six in dramatic fashion, I think they figured a few things out. Donovan Mitchell finally came alive in the 4th quarter, scoring 11 points, finally figuring out how to get into the teeth of this large, physical Raptors defense.

A big reason Toronto’s defense has looked so great is the play of Scottie Barnes. He’s been the by far best player in the series, shutting down Mitchell and company on defense, and scoring on whoever’s thrown on him from Cleveland.

Shockingly, James Harden has actually done a solid job walling up against Barnes. He and Dean Wade have been the only two players to give Barnes any fits at all. Speaking of Wade, it was shocking to see him out of the Cleveland starting lineup the last few games. He’s been inconsistent offensively, but has still provided spacing and saved Cleveland defensively.

Wade has a +23 net rating for the Cavs in the postseason, easily the best on the entire team. Max Strus, who replaced him in the starting lineup, has been a -8.3. More specifically, the starting lineup with Strus has been a -19.7, while the one with Wade has been a +30.8. Cleveland ran the lineup with Wade as they made their comeback in game six, so if he’s inserted back in the starting lineup, I think they have a great chance to cover in this one.

Lastly, Toronto’s offense fell incredibly stagnant in game five after Brandon Ingram’s injury. If he’s unable to go in game seven, I can’t see a way they’re able to pull off the upset.

I love Cleveland -8.5 and o211.5 as they will move on to face the winner of Detroit and Orlando.

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