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Nets drag 4-game losing streak into clash with stumbling Spurs

NBA: Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio SpursMar 2, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) lays the ball up in the first half against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

Something has to give when the Brooklyn Nets, losers of four straight games, square off against the slumping, short-handed Spurs on Tuesday night in San Antonio.

The Spurs play the second of a two-game homestand that began with a 146-132 loss to Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City on Sunday. Rookie Stephon Castle scored 32 points off the bench, which was just one point off his career high, and De’Aaron Fox had 20 points while playing his first true home game since being traded to San Antonio in early February.

“We scored 132 points — that’s enough to win every game in a season, but you can’t give up 146 and expect to win,” Fox said.

Jeremy Sochan added 17 points, Devin Vassell had 15 and Harrison Barnes scored 14 for the Spurs, who have dropped five of their past six games. They have been without star center Victor Wembanyama since Feb. 20 because of deep vein thrombosis (blood clot) in his right shoulder, which ended his season.

San Antonio, playing on back-to-back nights after winning in Memphis on Saturday, led by five points at halftime while canning a team-record 16 3-pointers for a half. But the Spurs ran out of gas in the second half, trailing by as many as 22 points late in the game.

“We made a lot of shots, and at some point we stopped scoring a little bit,” Spurs interim head coach Mitch Johnson said. “That’s where you have to put your energy at getting the stops and getting the rebounds and not turning ball over.”

The Nets head to San Antonio on the heels of a 115-94 setback in Detroit on Saturday. Tyrese Martin led the Brooklyn with 23 points off the bench. Jalen Wilson scored 14 points and Cameron Johnson added 13 in a game the Nets trailed by 23 points at halftime but rallying to within six points heading to the fourth before succumbing.

Brooklyn shot just 30.5 percent (29 of 95) from the floor in the loss and made only 6 of its 39 3-point attempts (15.4 percent). Johnson went 0-for-10 from beyond the arc, snapping a 60-game streak with at least one 3-pointer.

“Obviously, we struggled to shoot, and It’s hard to win a basketball game when you shoot like this,” Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said. “We will keep shooting — that means the next game we’re going to make more.

“On the positive side, we did OK taking care of the ball against a very aggressive defensive team and we created 24 points out of 23 turnovers, which tells you we were aggressive (on the defensive end).”

After tying a season-high with three straight wins in the second week of February, Brooklyn has dropped five of its past six games.

Brooklyn played without leading scorer Cam Thomas, who returned in Friday’s loss at home to Portland after missing two months with a strained left hamstring, and D’Angelo Russell (sprained right ankle). Russell has not played since Feb. 20 but could return. Thomas is expected to play.

On Monday, the Nets announced that they would not re-sign former lottery pick Killian Hayes to a second 10-day contract, cutting the point guard loose after he started Brooklyn’s past five games.

San Antonio won the first game between the teams this season 96-87 on Dec. 27 in Brooklyn.

–Field Level Media

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Pirates wreck Reds; tie MLB record for consecutive walks

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Pittsburgh PiratesMay 2, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Home plate umpire Willie Traynow keeps Cincinnati Reds second baseman Sal Stewart (27) away from Pittsburgh Pirates cvatcher Henry Davis after he was nearly hit by the ball during the seventh inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Philip G. Pavely-Imagn Images

The host Pittsburgh Pirates scored 15 runs in the first four innings and took advantage of record wildness by the Cincinnati Reds to roll to a 17-7 victory on Saturday.

Rookie Konnor Griffin doubled, tripled and went 4-for-5 while driving in two, while Ryan O’Hearn doubled and drove in three as the top eight hitters in the Pirates lineup each had at least one hit while seven batters had at least two hits.

Pittsburgh also drew seven consecutive walks in the second inning — tying a major league record set in 1909 and equaled in 1983. The Pirates scored five runs in the second without a hit, becoming the first team to accomplish the feat since 1994.

Right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski (2-2) was the beneficiary of the offensive outburst. He struck out a career-high 10 while scattering eight hits, two walks and five runs over 5 2/3 innings.

Will Benson and JJ Bleday homered and Nathaniel Lowe drove in three runs for the Reds, who trailed 15-3 after four innings. Cincinnati starter Rhett Lowder (3-2) surrendered eight runs, five hits and four walks before being removed with one out in the second.

Since losing 2-0 to Cincinnati in their first meeting on March 30, Pittsburgh has won the last four by a combined 42-14 score.

For a second straight day, the game was played in raw conditions, with a game-time temperature of 43 degrees.

Lowder appeared miserable in the cold and struggled badly early. He was unable to find his rhythm or command while allowing four runs before there were two outs in the first inning. The five runs allowed in the first were a career high for the right-hander.

Lowder labored through 30 pitches in the first as O’Hearn, Marcell Ozuna and Griffin each doubled in the five-run outburst. Lowder then walked the bases loaded in the second before being pulled.

Reliever Connor Phillips came in and walked all four Pirates he faced to force in four runs. He left after throwing just five of his 21 pitches for strikes.

The last time seven straight walks were issued in a Major League game came on May 25, 1983, when three Pirates pitchers walked seven in a row at Atlanta in a 6-0 Braves win.

The five runs without a hit in the second happened for the first time since April 27, 1994, when the Seattle Mariners allowed five runs to the New York Yankees in the top of the third inning.

With the score 15-6, Pittsburgh reliever Chris Devenski was ejected for throwing inside near the ribcage of Sal Stewart to open the seventh. Stewart took exception and stared out at the mound. But the encounter did not escalate as umpires intervened.

–Field Level Media

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Max Meyer, 2 relievers hold Phillies to 1 hit

MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at Miami MarlinsMay 2, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Max Meyer (23) throws against the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

Max Meyer only allowed one hit in seven shutout innings and Xavier Edwards homered in the host Miami Marlins’ 4-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday

Meyer (2-0) faced one over the minimum number of batters with a walk and seven strikeouts in the longest start of his career. He threw 55 strikes in 83 pitches.

Anthony Bender and Andrew Nardi each retired the side in order in the combined one-hitter.

Otto Lopez and Edwards each had two hits with a run and an RBI and Connor Norby was 2-for-3 with a run batted in for the Marlins, who evened the four-game series at one win each.

Garrett Stubbs got the lone hit for the Phillies, who had their four-game winning streak under interim manager Don Mattingly snapped. Kyle Schwarber was 0-for-3 with three strikeouts and has struck out in all eight at-bats over his last two games, tying a career high for consecutive strikeouts.

Philadelphia right-hander Andrew Painter (1-3) gave up three runs on seven hits in five innings with three walks and seven strikeouts.

The Marlins took a 2-0 lead in the third on consecutive bases-loaded, two-out walks to Agustin Ramirez and Norby.

It was the second straight inning Miami loaded the bases with one out with three consecutive singles. In the second, Painter got Graham Pauley on a foul out and struck out Esteury Ruiz swinging to end the inning.

Edwards’ one-out solo homer in the fifth made it 3-0. He drove Painter’s 1-1 four-seam fastball into the right-field stands for his second home run.

Lopez’s infield single with two outs in the sixth increased the Marlins’ advantage to 4-0.

Stubbs singled in the third with one out and was erased on an inning-ending double play.

Justin Crawford was scratched from the Phillies’ lineup because of a migraine.

Philadelphia also activated catcher J.T, Realmuto from the 10-day injured list (back spasms) earlier Saturday and designated Dylan Moore for assignment. Realmuto was hitless in three at-bats.

–Field Level Media

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Kelvin Yeboah nets brace as Minnesota rallies past Crew

Syndication: The Columbus DispatchColumbus Crew midfielder Sean Zawadzki (25) attempts to block the shot of Minnesota United FC forward Tomás Chancalay (8) in the first half of the MLS match at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field on Saturday, May 2, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.

Kelvin Yeboah’s brace and a goal and an assist by Anthony Markanich keyed a 15-minute second-half comeback as Minnesota United defeated the host Columbus Crew 3-2 on Saturday.

Markanich broke a 2-2 tie in the 74th minute off a throw-in when he scored on a header off a cross by Nectarios Triantis.

After Taha Habroune in the 31st and Hugo Picard in the 56th staked the Crew to a 2-0 lead, Yeboah scored from corner-kick setups in the 59th and 66th minutes as Minnesota (6-3-2, 20 points) moved to 5-1-1 in their past seven matches.

The Crew (3-5-3, 12 points) had won two straight and looked to be cruising until their collapse, falling to 2-2-2 at home.

Habroune, the 20-year-old Homegrown player, worked a give-and-go in tight space with Max Arfsten at the top right corner of the box for his second career goal in 33 matches.

Arfsten heeled the ball to Habroune, who rocketed a shot to the upper right corner. Arfsten has three goals and four assists in the past seven matches.

Picard scored his first career goal in his 19th MLS match after having scored four goals in two U.S. Open Cup matches this season, including two vs. USL One club One Knoxville on Wednesday.

He scored on a rebound of his own shot that was blocked by Loons defender Jefferson Diaz.

The Minnesota rally started when Yeboah slid between two defenders and right-footed a flick by Markanich.

Yeboah made it 2-2 when he had an open header from a corner kick by Joaquin Pereyra. Of Yeboah’s seven goals, five have come on the road where the Loons are 4-2-1.

Minnesota’s Colombian international midfielder James Rodriguez did not play due to “a previously scheduled routine medical procedure — not related to any injury,” according to the club. He practiced Friday morning and will rejoin the team next week.

–Field Level Media

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