Chicago Cubs power-hitting outfielder Seiya Suzuki will not be available for Opening Day, manager Craig Counsell told the assembled media before Saturday’s Cactus League game vs. Seattle in Peoria, Ariz.

The Cubs open the season at Wrigley Field vs. the Nationals on Thursday. Counsell ruled Suzuki out for that game, but not necessarily on the injured list.

“Look, we’ve had good days ever since he’s been back to camp,” Counsell said. “Opening Day, it’s not going to happen. (He’s) not going to be ready to play on Opening Day. Once you get past Opening Day, we’ve got to make a decision, does it just make sense to give him some time? We’ve got time to make that decision.”

Suzuki suffered a minor sprain of the right posterior cruciate ligament while attempting to steal second base in the first inning of Japan’s World Baseball Classic quarterfinal loss on March 14 to eventual champion Venezuela.

Entering his fifth year with the Cubs, the 31-year old has done some throwing and hitting, but has not started any running drills.

Suzuki posted career highs a season ago with 32 home runs and 103 RBIs in 151 games played. In four seasons with the Cubs, he has hit for an average of .269, belted 87 home runs and driven in 296 runs.

He is in the final year of a five-year $85 million contract.

According to reports, non-roster invitee Michael Conforto has been informed that he will be added to the 40-man roster and begin the season in Chicago. Conforto is a ten-year big league outfielder, who has played with the New York Mets (2015-21), San Francisco Giants (2023-24) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2025). He has 179 home runs and 556 RBIs, including 33 and 92 respectively in 2019.

–Field Level Media

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points as the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Wizards 132-111 on Saturday to stretch their winning streak to 11 and Washington’s skid to 15.

Just before halftime, the Wizards’ Justin Champagnie and the Thunder’s Jaylin WIlliams got into a scuffle that led to their ejections along with Williams’ teammates, Ajay Mitchell and Cason Wallace.

The scuffle moved behind the basket, with the teams’ coaching staffs and security coming over to help break up the brawl.

Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren added 18 points and 10 rebounds and Jared McCain scored 18 off the bench.

Isaiah Hartenstein continued to make a significant impact early, with six rebounds and two assists before scoring his first points since March 1 to put the Thunder up by nine just four minutes in.

Hartenstein finished with nine points, a career-high-tying 20 rebounds and 10 assists, nearly missing out on his second career triple-double.

Though the Wizards (16-54) had been struggling and the Thunder (56-15) soaring, it wasn’t until a late third-quarter burst that Oklahoma City gained control for good.

After Will Riley’s three-point play with less than two minutes remaining tied it, Gilgeous-Alexander took over.

He scored seven points and had an assist in a 10-3 Thunder run to end the quarter. His first and last shots during that sequence were his most impressive.

After Riley tied it, the reigning MVP drove to the basket and got knocked off balance, flipping the ball underhand as he fell for a basket as he fell to the floor.

Then, with time winding down, Gilgeous-Alexander hit a step-back, 27-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to keep the momentum heading Oklahoma City’s way.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 points in the third, going 7 for 12 from the floor with three assists. He finished 17 of 27 with seven assists.

It was Gilgeous-Alexander’s seventh 40-plus-point game of the season.

The Thunder scored the first 15 points of the final quarter to put the game away.

Washington didn’t score for nearly six minutes in the fourth, missing its first 10 shots.

Oklahoma City outscored Washington 64-40 in the paint.

Bilal Coulibaly led six Washington players in double figures with 21 points while Bub Carrington added 19.

–Field Level Media

Nikola Vucevic will remain unavailable with a broken finger when the Boston Celtics face the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night, but that doesn’t mean Boston won’t have a quality center.

Luka Garza has given the Celtics (47-23) more offense since Vucevic was injured on March 6. Garza averages 7.6 points for the season, but has scored at least 15 points in three of his last four games. That includes a season-high 22 in Friday night’s 117-112 victory over Memphis.

Garza also had seven rebounds, five of which came at the offensive end.

“He was great on both ends of the floor,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. “He does a great job screening. They (the Grizzlies) play a hectic style. They put a ton of pressure on you from a physicality standpoint and you have to be able to read and make plays and play through physicality. No one’s better at that than Luka.”

Vucevic, who had surgery on his ring finger March 7, isn’t expected back until the first half of April, so Garza likely will maintain his more significant role until then.

“Guys have always stepped up,” Garza said. “In my position, just try to make the little plays and help us win. So it’s definitely fun when you’re the guy doing that.

“I love being a part of this team. We play hard every single night no matter what, and I think when you do that, you put yourself in a good position.”

Jaylen Brown tossed in 30 points during Friday’s game, which extended Boston’s winning streak to four. Brown averages 28.5 points, which ranks fifth in the NBA.

The Timberwolves (43-28) were again without Anthony Edwards and Naz Reid for Friday night’s 108-104 loss to Portland. Edwards, who’s dealing with inflammation in his right knee, ranks third in the NBA with his 29.5 points per game. The Timberwolves are 2-1 in the three games Edwards has missed with the injury. Reid has missed the last two games with a right ankle sprain.

Minnesota allowed 68 points in the first two quarters of Friday’s loss, but limited Portland to 40 in the final two quarters.

“There wasn’t defensive intensity in the first half,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “Thirty-three and 35 in the first two quarters and 40 in the last two tells the story.”

Minnesota trailed Portland by 18 at one point in the second quarter.

“Slow start … a step behind everything in the first quarter,” Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert said. “We got down 18 points and then we started playing hard. The last few games we’ve had a lot of these starts. We got to figure it out because we put ourselves in a tough position.

“We have to find a way to start the game more fired up — be mentally ready at the start of the game. It’s not physical, right? I think it’s just being mentally ready to start the game. We were warmed up, it’s not physical. It’s just mentally being a little sharper at the beginning of the game.”

–Field Level Media