Sports
Kawhi Leonard, 'confident' Clippers plot to topple Nuggets
Jan 27, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) brings the ball up the court against the Utah Jazz during the second half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images The Los Angeles Clippers were in the midst of a forgettable start to the season the last time they played the Denver Nuggets.
Things have turned around quickly for Los Angeles, which visits the Nuggets on Friday night in the second of three matchups between the teams this season.
The Clippers began the season with a 6-21 record, and one of those setbacks was a 130-116 loss at home to the Nuggets on Nov. 12. Kawhi Leonard didn’t play in that game but he is healthy and competing at a high level now.
Leonard, who is averaging 27.9 points per game, has scored at least 20 points in 25 straight games. Only three times in 33 games this season has he failed to reach 20 points. Leonard and James Harden have been the catalysts for the turnaround.
Los Angeles is 16-3 since a 21-point loss at Oklahoma City on Dec. 18.
“We’re confident, we’re playing well, but we’ve still got to play better,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “We still have to run through the tape and continue to execute the right way. … Overall, we’re playing well. We’ve got to keep it going.”
Harden is second on the team in scoring at 25.4 points a game and leads Los Angeles in assists (8.1). Ivica Zubac is contributing 14.6 points per game and tops the team in rebounding average (10.9).
Friday night will be the Clippers’ first trip to Denver since losing Game 7 of their first-round playoff series last April. They catch the Nuggets on the second game of a back-to-back and without four starters – Nikola Jokic (left knee), Cameron Johnson (right knee), Christian Braun (left ankle) and Aaron Gordon (right hamstring).
While head coach David Adelman said before Thursday night’s 107-103 win over Brooklyn that Jokic, Johnson and Braun could return by the All-Star break, Gordon is going to miss up to six weeks after suffering the injury in Milwaukee on Jan. 23.
“We know he’ll be back before the end of the season, and he’ll get back to being who he is,” Adelman said of Gordon. “Just an unfortunate thing in a season of many unfortunate things.”
Adelman has been able to keep the team near the top of the Western Conference despite not having Jokic, a three-time MVP, for the last 16 games. Denver is 10-6 since he went down Dec. 29 in Miami after beating the Nets.
Jamal Murray, who has dealt with hamstring tightness, and Peyton Watson have helped the Nuggets find success. They were both instrumental in the Nuggets’ holding off Brooklyn on Thursday. Murray is averaging 25.9 points a game, second to Jokic’s 29.6, and Watson is putting up 14.5 points a night.
Tim Hardaway Jr. also was integral to Denver beating the Nets. Hardaway made a season high-tying seven 3-pointers and finished with 25 points. He had struggled from deep before going 4-for-9 in Tuesday’s loss to Detroit. He was 4-for-27 in the previous four games.
He is averaging 16.0 points this month despite scoring just two points at Washington on Jan. 22.
–Field Level Media
Sports
CF Montreal wins first game under Philippe Eullaffroy, beat Red Bulls
Apr 18, 2026; Montreal, Province of Quebec, CAN; CF Montreal forward Prince Owusu (9) celebrates with teammate midfielder Victor Loturi (22) after scoring a goal against the Red Bull New York during the first half at Saputo Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images Prince Owusu recorded a goal and three assists as CF Montreal bested the visiting New York Red Bulls 4-1 in the home side’s first match under interim head coach Philippe Eullaffroy.
Owusu scored his fifth goal of the season, as Montreal (2-6-0, 6 points) claimed their 100th win all-time at Stade Saputo.
Montreal strode past the visitors’ backline with relative ease in the early going. Red Bulls (3-3-2, 11 points) captain Emil Forsberg failed to control a hurried pass from his goalkeeper, allowing Owusu to play in Victor Loturi, who blasted it past Ethan Horvath in the fifth minute to make it 1-0.
Owusu nearly extended their lead soon after when Ivan Jaime played him through on a one-on-one. The towering center forward opted to hold the ball up before sending it wide of goal.
Owusu made no mistake on his 39th-minute penalty, catching out Horvath with a sly stutter step and slotting it into the left corner to make it 2-0. The penalty came as a result of Dylan Nealis’s handball.
Montreal’s Matty Longstaff knocked balls into both nets at the start of the second half. Longstaff met Owusu’s perfectly threaded through ball to make it 3-0 in the 49th minute. The English midfielder then overhit an attempted backpass to goalkeeper Thomas Gillier four minutes later and inadvertently brought the Red Bulls back within two.
More than the flurry of goals, the single biggest change in Montreal’s approach was in their defensive setup. Eullaffroy’s zonal marking stood in stark contrast to Marco Donadel’s aggressive man-marking, the Red Bulls managing just one shot on goal all game long. Eullaffroy also started Samuel Piette in the midfield after the Montreal captain remained on the bench in their last two outings.
Owusu chipped the ball over Matthew Dos Santos and into the path of Kwadwo Opoku, who guided it into the open net to restore Montreal’s three-goal lead.
The victory marked Montreal’s first at home since August of last year. Both of Montreal’s wins this season have come against the Red Bulls. New York, meanwhile, has won just one of its last six league matches.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Carson Kelly's pinch-hit homer propels Cubs over hapless Mets
Apr 18, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pinch-hitter Carson Kelly (15) hits a three-run homer against the New York Mets during the sixth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images Carson Kelly hit a tie-breaking three-run pinch-hit home run in the sixth inning Saturday afternoon for the host Chicago Cubs, who beat the skidding New York Mets 4-2.
The pinch-hit homer was the second of Kelly’s career and his first since Aug. 25, 2021, when he went deep for the Arizona Diamondbacks against the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Anthony Banda.
Ian Happ homered in the second for the Cubs, who have won four straight and have scored 51 runs while winning five of their last six games. Chicago scored 59 runs in its first 14 games this season.
Kelly’s homer off Brooks Raley made a winner of Jameson Taillon (1-1), who gave up one run on five hits and three walks while striking out four over six innings.
Mark Vientos provided the visitors a short-lived lead by homering in the top of the second for the Mets, who have lost 10 straight — their longest skid since an 11-game losing streak from Aug. 28-Sept. 8, 2004. New York hasn’t led at the end of an inning since first inning of an 11-6 loss to the Athletics on Apr. 11 — a span of 62 frames.
New York’s Bo Bichette scored when second baseman Nico Hoerner threw wide of the bag on Francisco Alvarez’s two-out grounder in the eighth. But reliever Ben Brown induced Vientos to ground out to third and strand two before Caleb Thielbar struck out two in a perfect ninth to earn his first save of 2026.
Freddy Peralta (1-2) took the loss after allowing three runs on three hits and two walks while striking out three over 5 2/3 innings. Peralta issued both walks with two outs in the sixth, after which Kelly took Raley deep on the first pitch he saw. The homer was the first surrendered by Raley since 2023.
The Cubs only managed five hits as Happ reached in 3-of-4 plate appearances with a pair of walks.
Francisco Lindor and Luis Robert Jr. had two hits apiece for the Mets, who were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
–Field Level Media
Sports
WTA roundup: Elena Rybakina continues sizzling start to 2026
Elena Rybakina waves to the crowd after advancing to the quarterfinals after Sonay Kartal retired from their match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., Wednesday, March 11, 2026. Top-seeded Elena Rybakina continued her outstanding 2026 campaign by overwhelming sixth-seeded Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-1 on Saturday to reach the finals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany.
Rybakina, who represents Kazakhstan, will face No. 7 seed Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in Sunday’s final. Muchova pulled off a mild upset with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 victory over No. 4 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.
Rybakina, who won the 2026 Australian Open and reached the finals at Indian Wells, exchanged breaks with Andreeva before winning four of five points on the Russian’s serve to capture the first set. She cruised in the second set, winning a combined 21 of 25 points on her first serves and Andreeva’s second service offerings.
The deciding set between Muchova and Svitolina looked to be going the distance, but the Czech won the final eight points of the match — four on her opponent’s serve in the ninth game — to set up the fourth all-time meeting with Rybakina. Muchova has won two of three prior matches, including a quarterfinal victory in January at Brisbane.
Rouen Metropolitan Open
Top-seeded Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine cruised past Germany’s Tatjana Maria 6-3, 6-0 to reach the finals in Rouen, France.
Kostyuk will take on teenage qualifier and countrywoman Veronika Podrez. She advanced in a walkover prior to her scheduled match against Romania’s Sonia Cirstea, who withdrew due to a leg injury.
Kostyuk, who will be trying to win her second WTA title and first since a 2023 championship in Austin, Texas, fended off all four break points in the match against the 38-year old German. Maria could not contain Kostyuk’s power, dropping 32 of 43 (74.4%) service points.
Podrez, 19, advanced to the semifinals with wins over Sloane Stephens, No. 7 seed Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy and Great Britain’s Katie Boulter.
–Field Level Media
