Sports
Magic can't sulk over Game 6 as Game 7 approaches with Pistons
May 1, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) dribbles the ball against the Detroit Pistons in th fourth quarter during game six of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images One game remains, and suddenly all the pressure has shifted.
After staring down elimination just days ago, the top-seeded Detroit Pistons forced a winner-take-all Game 7 on Sunday against the visiting Orlando Magic, putting themselves on the brink of history.
Only 13 teams in NBA history have rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win a playoff series, a reminder of both the rarity of Detroit’s push and the opportunity still in front of Orlando. The winner will face either Cleveland or Toronto in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Detroit’s 93-79 victory in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference first-round series on Friday flipped the series on its head, erasing what once looked like a commanding Orlando march after the eighth-seeded Magic built and then squandered a 24-point lead.
“It’s going to be a war,” said Detroit’s Duncan Robinson. “It’s pretty much what every game has been so far this series — super physical.
“They got a lot of pride in their locker room too. We expect them to come out swinging on Sunday. We’re super excited to get back and have a game seven on our home floor in front of our fans. So, it’s going to be a great challenge.”
The Pistons were able to force the decisive game by mounting a furious, defensive-ignited comeback in the second half. The Magic missed 23 consecutive shots, including 27 of their final 28 shots, and were outscored 55-19 during that span.
“Hopefully we start the game like we finished the game,” said Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff. “That’s going to be extremely important for us.
“I expect us to do what we do, and that’s keep swinging.”
The Magic are looking to avoid their second 3-1 collapse in franchise history. In 2003, they blew a 3-1 advantage over the top-seeded Pistons in their NBA first-round series. The Pistons haven’t won a playoff series since 2008, while the Magic haven’t since 2010.
Magic coach Jamahl Mosley was asked what his team has to do in Game 7 to bounce back from the stunning defeat.
“You got to wash it, you got to learn from it, you got to go get Game 7,” Mosley said. “You got to get it the hard way.
“We’ve been in Game 7 before, and we understand what it looks like on the road, the magnitude of it, what we know we’re capable of doing in this situation.”
Orlando will need to move past its 1-of-20 fourth-quarter shooting performance, including a combined 1-of-15 effort from Paolo Banchero, Desmond Bane and Jalen Suggs, while also preparing for the likelihood of being without forward Franz Wagner, who has missed the last two games with a calf injury.
“It’s the playoffs and this series has been a slugfest,” Banchero said. “Series ain’t over. They’ve clawed their way to tie it at 3-3. You don’t have time to hang your head about this. Obviously, it was a bad loss. Got to chalk it up. There’s nothing we can do about it at this point.”
The Magic will also need to figure out how to cool off Detroit’s Cade Cunningham who has scored 77 points over the last two games, including 32 in Game 6.
“He’s their engine,” Banchero said of Cunningham. “He does a lot of their scoring and facilitating and so, yeah, we got to make it hard on him, try to make others beat us, just do whatever we can to win the game.
“It’s one game. It’s all that matters is just one game. So, I think we got to just do whatever it takes.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Sparks still adjusting without Kelsey Plum with Storm on horizon
Jun 27, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Los Angeles Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike (30) in the first half against the Indiana Fever at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images Returning home from a rough road swing, the Los Angeles Sparks will look to bounce back after a lengthy layoff when they host the Seattle Storm on Monday.
Los Angeles (8-10) dropped decisions by 28 points at Toronto on June 25 and 24 points at Indiana on June 27. The blowout losses came on the heels of the Sparks learning they would be without leading scorer Kelsey Plum for a stretch of at least four weeks.
A nine-year veteran who is averaging 2.6 made 3-pointers and a career-high 23.9 points per game, Plum sustained a left leg injury that required heavy wrapping during Los Angeles’ 98-97 win over New York on June 21.
“She’s the best one-on-one player in the league. She’s having an MVP (type of) season,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said of Plum.
Roberts lamented Plum being excluded from the starting lineup of the WNBA All-Star Game, which was determined by a combination of fan, player and media balloting. Plum finished sixth among guards in fan voting, with Los Angeles teammate Nneka Ogwumike eighth among frontcourt players.
Ogwumike is averaging 16.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in Year 1 of her second tenure with the Sparks. Ogwumike leads Los Angeles on Monday against a Seattle franchise for which she finished in the top seven of MVP voting in the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
Ogwumike’s exit to return to Los Angeles, where she previously played from 2012-2023, is not the only change from a year ago for the struggling Storm (5-17).
Gone from Seattle’s 2025 roster after sweeping offseason changes are Gabby Williams, Skylar Diggins, Brittney Sykes and Erica Wheeler, a veteran guard who joined Ogwumike with the Sparks. Of the Storm’s top six scorers a season ago, four-time WNBA All-Defensive honoree forward Ezi Magbegor is the only one still in the Seattle organization.
Magbegor, though, was sidelined for the first 20 games of the regular season with a right foot injury. She made her 2026 debut in Thursday’s 90-67 loss at Phoenix, scoring eight points in 17 minutes. Magbegor followed that with four points, seven rebounds and two blocks in 14 minutes of Seattle’s 77-72 loss Saturday to Portland.
While the new-look Storm roster adjusted before Magbegor’s return, rookie Awa Fam stepped up as one of the team’s most consistent contributors. Fam is averaging 12.0 points on 51.7% shooting from the floor, 5.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.
“It’s just been fun to see her growth over the last few games,” Magbegor said of Fam. “She’s not new to this professional life, but just to be able to see her settle into the (WNBA) is really exciting.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Kelsey Mitchell leads Fever to first regular-season win at Aces
Jul 5, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell (0) dribbles against Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young (0) in the second quarter of their game at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images Kelsey Mitchell poured in 27 points and the visiting Indiana Fever pulled away from the Las Vegas Aces to win 84-68 on Sunday.
Aliyah Boston’s 18 points and 10 rebounds were critical for the Fever (12-8), who hadn’t played in more than a week. Lexie Hull added 10 points. It marked Indiana’s first-ever regular-season victory in Las Vegas.
Mitchell, who was 7-for-18 from the field and made 10 of 12 free throws, scored 25-plus points for the third game in a row as Indiana launched a four-game road trip.
Mitchell, Boston and Sophie Cunningham connected on three 3-point shots apiece for the Fever.
Jackie Young led Las Vegas with 15 points, while Jewell Loyd posted 12 points and Chelsea Gray had 10 points. Gray shot 2-for-11 from the field.
The Aces (15-6), who fell out of a first-place tie atop the league standings, made 40% of their shots. That included 4-for-19 on 3-pointers (21.1%). Las Vegas failed to reach the 70-point mark for the second time this season.
Both teams were without injured All-Star starters, with the Fever minus Caitlin Clark (back) and the Aces missing league scoring leader A’ja Wilson (ankle).
The Fever stormed out to a 66-53 lead in the third quarter. Boston scored the first eight Indiana points of the quarter.
Hull hit her second shot with the shot clock winding down when she drained a jumper from the left side to extend the margin to 75-62 with 4:24 remaining. That basket ended the Fever’s scoring drought that was approaching five minutes.
The Aces managed only five points in the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter.
The Fever, despite being outscored 11-5 on free throws in the first half, went to the break holding a 42-41 lead. Neither team led by more than six points in the opening half.
Mitchell and Loyd each had 12 points at halftime to pace their respective teams.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Penguins sign F Egor Chinakhov, G Arturs Silovs
Apr 5, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Egor Chinakhov (59) shoot the puck against the Florida Panthers during the third period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark Alberti-Imagn Images Forward Egor Chinakhov signed a three-year, $18.75 million contract to remain with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.
Chinakhov, who was a restricted free agent, will earn an average annual salary of $6.25 million.
Pittsburgh also kept goaltender Arturs Silovs in the fold by signing the restricted free agent to a one-year, $2.8 million contract.
The Penguins acquired Chinakhov from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Dec. 29, 2025 for forward Danton Heinen and two draft picks.
Chinakhov had six points (three goals, three assists) in 29 games for the Blue Jackets and 36 points (18 goals, 18 assists) in 43 regular-season games for the Penguins. He played in six playoff games for Pittsburgh and had no points or penalty minutes with a minus-4 rating, three blocks and 11 hits.
The Russia native, 25, has career totals of 113 points (55 goals, 58 assists), 46 penalty minutes, 102 blocks and 216 hits in 247 regular-season games for Columbus (2021-25) and Pittsburgh.
Columbus selected Chinakhov in the first round (21st overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft.
Silovs, 25, was 19-12-8 last season for Pittsburgh with a 3.07 goals-against average and an .887 save percentage in 39 games (38 starts).
For his career, Silovs is 27-20-10 with a 3.09 GAA and an .885 save percentage in 58 games (56 starts) for the Vancouver Canucks (2022-25) and Penguins. He also is 7-6 with a 2.56 GAA and a .907 save percentage in 13 postseason starts.
Vancouver selected the Latvia native in the sixth round of the 2019 draft.
–Field Level Media
Sparks still adjusting without Kelsey Plum with Storm on horizon
Kelsey Mitchell leads Fever to first regular-season win at Aces
