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NBA roundup: Spurs storm past Blazers in Victor Wembanyama's return

NBA: Playoffs-San Antonio Spurs at Portland Trail BlazersApr 26, 2026; Portland, Oregon, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) walks off the court after a game against the Portland Trail Blazers during game four of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

De’Aaron Fox scored 28 points and Victor Wembanyama had 27 in his return from concussion protocol, helping the visiting San Antonio Spurs to a 114-93 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round series on Sunday.

Fox sank 11 of 17 shots from the floor and drained four 3-pointers to aid the Spurs in overcoming a 19-point deficit to seize a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 5 is Tuesday in San Antonio. After sitting out Game 3, Wembanyama showed why he was the NBA’s first-ever unanimous Defensive Player of the Year by recording 11 rebounds, seven blocks and four steals.

Stephon Castle collected 16 points and eight assists while dealing with both an injured left hand and foul trouble. Devin Vassell added 11 points for the Spurs, who outscored the Trail Blazers by a 73-35 margin in the second half. Deni Avdija scored 26 points, Jrue Holiday had 20 and Jerami Grant added 17 off the bench for the Trail Blazers.

Tied at 74 entering the fourth quarter, the Spurs opened the period on a 27-7 run. Castle set up Wembanyama for a trio of alley-oop dunks before Fox sank a pair of jumpers and a 3-pointer to give San Antonio an 87-77 lead with 7:47 left. Sixth Man of the Year Keldon Johnson converted from beyond the arc and added a pair of driving buckets to extend San Antonio’s lead to 101-81 with 4:31 remaining.

Rockets 115, Lakers 96

Amen Thompson scored a game-high 23 points, Tari Eason added 20 and Houston averted elimination with a victory over visiting Los Angeles in Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series.

All five starters scored in double figures for the Rockets, who played without Kevin Durant (ankle) for the third time in the series. Reed Sheppard chipped in 17 points on 4-for-7 3-point shooting while Alperen Sengun (19 points) and Jabari Smith Jr. (16 points) rounded out the balanced offensive attack.

After dominating Game 3 and co-authoring the Lakers’ overtime victory, LeBron James (10 points, nine assists) and Marcus Smart (nine, five) shot a combined 5 of 17 from the floor. Deandre Ayton finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds but was ejected in the third quarter.

Raptors 93, Cavaliers 89

Brandon Ingram and Scottie Barnes each scored 23 points and Toronto held off visiting Cleveland to even the best-of-seven first-round playoff series at 2-2.

Barnes added nine rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots to his stat line and scored 10 fourth-quarter points, knocking down all six free throw attempts in the final 34.6 seconds. RJ Barrett added 18 points for the Raptors, and Collin Murray-Boyles scored 15 with 10 rebounds.

Donovan Mitchell scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter for Cleveland. James Harden added 19 points but had seven turnovers. Jarrett Allen had three points and a game-high 15 rebounds, while Sam Merrill contributed 14 points.

Celtics 128, 76ers 96

Payton Pritchard scored a career-playoff-high 32 points off the bench and Boston took a 3-1 series lead with a convincing road victory over Philadelphia.

Jayson Tatum made five treys and recorded 30 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds and Jaylen Brown added 20 points and seven rebounds as the second-seeded Celtics moved one victory away from winning the Eastern Conference first-round series. Game 5 is Tuesday in Boston.

Joel Embiid played for the first time in the series for the seventh-seeded 76ers after undergoing an appendectomy two-plus weeks ago. He scored 26 points on 9-of-21 shooting and collected 10 rebounds and six assists while playing 34 minutes. Tyrese Maxey scored 22 points and Paul George added 16 for the 76ers.

–Field Level Media

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Casey Schmitt powers Giants' comeback win over Marlins

MLB: Miami Marlins at San Francisco GiantsApr 26, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants designated hitter Casey Schmitt (10) slides safely home on an RBI double by Rafael Devers during the sixth inning against the Miami Marlins at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

Casey Schmitt hit a go-ahead home run for the second consecutive day, Landen Roupp ran his personal winning streak to four games and the San Francisco Giants closed out a winning homestand with a 6-3 victory over the Miami Marlins on Sunday afternoon.

Jung Hoo Lee had four hits, including a triple, and scored twice for the Giants, who rebounded from a 9-4 loss on Friday to win a second straight series and complete a 4-2 week at Oracle Park.

Roupp (5-1) served up a three-run homer to Graham Pauley, his first of the season, in the second inning before taking a two-hitter and 6-3 lead two outs into the eighth. Erik Miller finished up from there, retiring all four batters he faced to pick up his second save.

Roupp walked two and struck out six in the longest outing of his three-year career.

A throwing error on Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez allowed the Giants to get on the board in the third and RBI hits by Rafael Devers and Drew Gilbert drew the hosts even at 3-3 in the sixth before Schmitt’s difference-making blast in the seventh.

Lee set the stage for Schmitt’s heroics with a leadoff single off Miami’s third pitcher, Andrew Nardi (1-1), after which Matt Chapman drew a walk.

Luis Arraez sacrificed the baserunners to second and third, and with Devers moving on-deck, the Marlins elected to pitch to Schmitt, who launched his fourth homer of the year over the barrier in left-center field for a 6-3 lead.

Schmitt, who also walked, scored twice and Gilbert had two hits for the Giants, who have gone 7-3 since a 6-12 start. Lee’s four hits were half of San Francisco’s total.

The Marlins managed just two hits, both coming in the three-run second. Liam Hicks followed Xavier Edwards’ walk with a single, after which both jogged home on Pauley’s home run.

Miami starter Max Meyer was pulled after five innings, having limited the Giants to just one run, which was unearned. He allowed four hits and one walk while striking out five.

–Field Level Media

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Despite 2-1 series deficit, Golden Knights not panicking vs. Mammoth

NHL: Stanley Cup Playoffs-Vegas Golden Knights at Utah MammothApr 24, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Rasmus Andersson (4) skates with the puck against Utah Mammoth center Nick Schmaltz (8) during the third period in game three of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images

After an unlikely Game 3 victory, the Utah Mammoth will try to secure their third straight win over the visiting Vegas Golden Knights on Monday in Salt Lake City during Game 4 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series.

Vegas secured a 4-2 home win in Game 1, but the Mammoth erased the Knights’ home-ice advantage by winning Game 2. Utah then took command of the series with a 4-2 victory Friday in the first-ever NHL playoff game in Salt Lake City.

The Mammoth won Game 3 despite being outshot by a 32-12 margin. Utah became the eighth team since 1974 to win a playoff game with 12 or fewer shots, while the Golden Knights lost despite allowing the second-lowest shots total in any game (regular season or playoffs) in Vegas franchise history.

Sunday’s practice saw the Knights deploy some new line combinations and new power-play units. Vegas has gone 2-for-9 on the power play in the series and 5-for-6 on the penalty kill, though coach John Tortortella felt “we lost the special teams battle in the first three games.”

While the lineup may have some new looks in Game 4, Tortortella said neither his coaching staff or his veteran players have any panic.

“We’ve made some adjustments, as you do in (the) playoffs. Not crazy stuff, but when you get down in a series and you lose a couple in a row, it’s belief,” Tortortella said. “It’s believing in what we’re doing, belief in how we’re preparing. This is mental. This is where I feel very comfortable with this team. … We can draw as much stuff as we can on the board x’s and o’s-wise, this is belief. I think we have that in that room.”

Utah defenseman MacKenzie Weegar said his team also has a few new tricks in mind for Game 4.

“We expect a really good response from a really good opponent over there, so we’re going to need to be focused and prepared,” he said.

As efficient as the Mammoth were with their shots in Game 3, Weegar knows that level of production won’t normally win games.

“We’re definitely going to make some corrections for the next game, which will I think build a little bit more speed and we’ll get a little more offense going.”

Twelve different Mammoth players have at least one point in the series, and five players share the team lead with three points apiece. Weegar, Dylan Guenther, Lawson Crouse, and Logan Cooley each have two goals and an assist, and Kailer Yamamoto has three assists.

Playing in his first career playoff games, Karel Vejmelka has risen to the occasion with a 2.36 goals-against average and .916 save percentage in the series. The numbers are a step beyond Vejmelka’s solid 2.75 GAA and .897 save percentage in the regular season.

Mark Stone, Ivan Barbashev (each with two goals and one assist) and Jack Eichel (one goal, two assists) all have three points in the series, sharing the Vegas team lead.

Though Carter Hart allowed four goals on 12 shots in Game 3, he’ll be back in the Vegas net on Monday. Hart went 7-1-0 with a .932 save percentage over his last eight starts spanning the end of the regular season and first two postseason games.

–Field Level Media

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Spurs dominate 2nd half to go up 3-1 on Trail Blazers

NBA: Playoffs-San Antonio Spurs at Portland Trail BlazersApr 26, 2026; Portland, Oregon, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) celebrates a three point basket by guard De’aaron Fox (4) during the first half of game four of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

De’Aaron Fox scored 28 points and Victor Wembanyama had 27 in his return from concussion protocol, helping the visiting San Antonio Spurs to a 114-93 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round series on Sunday.

Fox sank 11 of 17 shots from the floor and drained four 3-pointers to aid the Spurs in overcoming a 19-point deficit to seize a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 5 is Tuesday in San Antonio.

After sitting out Game 3, Wembanyama showed why he was the NBA’s first-ever unanimous Defensive Player of the Year by recording 11 rebounds, seven blocks and four steals.

Stephon Castle collected 16 points and eight assists while dealing with both an injured left hand and foul trouble.

Devin Vassell added 11 points for the Spurs, who outscored the Trail Blazers by a 73-35 margin in the second half.

Deni Avdija scored 26 points, Jrue Holiday had 20 and Jerami Grant added 17 off the bench for the Trail Blazers.

Tied at 74 entering the fourth quarter, the Spurs opened the period on a 27-7 run. Castle set up Wembanyama for a trio of alley-oop dunks before Fox sank a pair of jumpers and a 3-pointer to give San Antonio an 87-77 lead with 7:47 left. Sixth Man of the Year Keldon Johnson converted from beyond the arc and added a pair of driving buckets to extend San Antonio’s lead to 101-81 with 4:31 remaining.

Tempers flared after Castle pushed the ball into the chest of Avdija. A shoving match ensued, resulting in a technical foul on both parties.

Portland held a two-point lead after the first quarter before extending that advantage to 19 points at 58-39 after Donovan Clingan’s 3-pointer with a minute left.

San Antonio cut into the deficit by scoring the last two points of the second quarter and the first 13 of the third, highlighted by 3-pointers from Justin Champagnie, Fox and Vassell on consecutive possessions. The Spurs seized a 64-62 lead after a pair of jump shots from Vassell and then Wembanyama added a dunk in the final second to forge the tie at the end of the third quarter.

–Field Level Media

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