Sports
OG Anunoby's presence in jeopardy as Knicks seek 3-0 edge over 76ers
May 6, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks forward Og Anunoby (8) falls to the court after missing a shot against the Philadelphia 76ers during game five of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images The Philadelphia 76ers played short-handed in Game 2 of their second-round playoff series.
Now it appears the New York Knicks might face similar adversity when the teams meet Friday in Game 3 in Philadelphia.
The Knicks lead the series 2-0, but they could be without second-leading scorer OG Anunoby, who strained his right hamstring late in Wednesday’s 108-102 victory. The versatile forward, who is averaging 21.4 points this postseason, is listed as questionable and could be a game-time decision Friday.
Injuries, of course, are nothing new for Philadelphia center Joel Embiid, who sat out Game 2 with hip and ankle discomfort. Without Embiid, the seventh-seeded Sixers hung tough with the No. 3 seed Knicks before fading down the stretch.
Philadelphia managed only 12 points in the fourth quarter, in part due to fatigue. Tyrese Maxey played 47 minutes, while Paul George (43), VJ Edgecombe (40) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (40) also logged heavy workloads.
“I thought we just ran out of gas,” George said. “We got a little flat. We got some pretty good looks, for the most part. We just didn’t knock ‘em down.”
Maxey led the Sixers with 26 points, while Oubre and George notched 19 apiece.
Jalen Brunson (26 points) and Anunoby (24) were the top scorers for New York, while Karl-Anthony Towns chipped in with 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
“We got the stops that was needed,” said Towns, who battled foul trouble in the first half and only played 27 minutes. “Got the rebounds — I think that was something that was really hurting us, with their offensive rebounding — and we found a way to get the stops and end those possessions.”
Another key to the Knicks’ victory was the turnover battle. New York committed 13 turnovers but forced 18 and ended up with a 23-9 advantage in points off turnovers.
“That is certainly one negative of the game,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said, “and then they turned those into points pretty (well). That was certainly one of the differences in the game.”
The Knicks also will be looking to send the Sixers to the free-throw line less frequently. Even without Embiid, Philadelphia attempted 28 foul shots (including nine by Maxey) in a physical Game 2 contest.
“It’s tough to win a ballgame if you’re getting beaten from the free-throw line like that versus a really good team,” New York coach Mike Brown said. “We’ve got to look at every aspect of it.”
If Anunoby cannot play, Brown could give more minutes to Miles McBride, who had only four points on 1-of-5 shooting in Game 2. Jordan Clarkson or Landry Shamet also could be in line for more minutes.
Meanwhile, if Embiid cannot go Friday, the Sixers could turn to Dominick Barlow for an increased role. With Andre Drummond and Adem Bona both limited in their effectiveness Wednesday, Barlow played a postseason-high 16 minutes and notched six points on 3-of-3 shooting to go along with two rebounds, two blocks and a steal.
That said, the bulk of the offensive responsibility will land on Maxey, who has shot just 37.5% with 10 turnovers through the first two games against New York.
“We definitely feel like we can pull ourselves out of this one,” Maxey said. “Gotta go home and get two.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Walk-off error helps Marlins beat Orioles, avoid sweep
May 7, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Marlins catcher Liam Hicks (34) rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run lagainst the Baltimore Orioles in the first inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images Joe Mack doubled with two outs and scored the winning run on a walk-off throwing error as the Miami Marlins claimed a 4-3 victory against the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night, dodging a series sweep.
Mack’s hit brought Javier Sanoja to the plate, and his grounder was fielded by third baseman Coby Mayo but bounced in front of first base and ricocheted off Pete Alonso’s glove to allow Mack to score. It was the only error of the game.
Liam Hicks hit a two-run home run in the first inning for the Marlins, his ninth of the season which more than doubles any of his teammates.
Calvin Faucher (3-2), the fourth Miami reliever of the game, allowed one hit and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning.
Mayo and Dylan Beavers each provided two hits for Baltimore, but the Orioles had a two-game win streak halted and have lost six of their last eight games. Andrew Kittredge (0-1) struck out one and allowed one unearned run in two-thirds of an inning.
Miami starter Max Meyer worked five innings, holding the Orioles to two runs on six hits and two walks. He recorded five strikeouts. Andrew Nardi and Michael Petersen both worked a shutout inning before Josh Ekness yielded the tying run in the eighth.
Orioles starter Cade Povich was done after three innings, exiting with left forearm discomfort. He allowed three runs on three hits and two walks.
Gunnar Henderson’s single in the third inning put the Orioles on the board with a single run, but they left the bases loaded.
Miami had three hits through seven innings, two of them singles in the third. Connor Norby extended the lead for the Marlins with an RBI single which scored Sanoja after his leadoff walk.
Tyler O’Neill’s run-scoring single in the fourth pulled the Orioles to within 3-2. Baltimore tied the score on Pete Alonso’s single before an out was recorded in the eighth. However, they again squandered a chance for a big inning and finished the game 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
The Marlins put their first two batters in the bottom of the eighth on base but Orioles left-hander Keegan Akin worked out of the jam.
–Field Level Media
Sports
NHL salary cap rising to record $104M for 2026-27 season
Mar 14, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; View of an NHL logo on a jersey worn by a linesman during the third period at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images The NHL’s salary cap will reach a record of $104 million per team in 2026-27, the league and the NHL Players Association announced Thursday.
That figure is an increase of $8.5 million (8.9%) from the 2025-26 cap.
The salary cap floor will be $76.9 million, making the midpoint $90.4 million. To demonstrate the rapid growth of the league, the minimum is higher than the ceiling was in 2018.
Per PuckPedia, seven teams exceeded the cap in 2025-26, led by the Vegas Golden Knights, who spent $107.49 million. Teams may use players’ salaries that have been placed on long-term injured reserve and exceed the cap without penalty.
The youthful Chicago Blackhawks spent $82.35 million, which was still comfortably over the salary cap floor.
Moreover, television and streaming deals with ESPN and TNT Sports will help the league exceed $7 billion in mixed currency revenue this season. The NHL just enjoyed record viewership milestones for the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“It’s a really good time, and we don’t even have the biggest markets (involved in the playoffs),” league commissioner Gary Bettman said recently in an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. “This is about how good the hockey is.”
The individual player maximum will also increase to $20.8 million for 2026-27.
Current projections indicate an even larger increase in 2027-28, with a $9.5 million jump to $113.5 million.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Miami host committee assured ICE will not be at World Cup games
Jun 16, 2022; New York, New York, USA; A detail view of The FIFA World Cup Trophy sits on a stand outside of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Mandatory Credit: Jessica Alcheh-Imagn Images U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will not be seen at World Cup matches this summer, according to the co-chair of the Miami host committee.
Rodney Barreto told The Athletic on Thursday that he received reassurances from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that ICE would steer clear of the world soccer showcase.
“ICE is not going to be at the stadium,” Barreto told The Athletic. “This is not going to turn into some ‘round them up’ type of thing. That’s not the purpose of this.
“It’ll be a great experience for everybody. I think that we’re lucky that we do have a president who loves sports and has given us the resources to reimburse the cities for their police protection.”
Barreto added, “I spoke to Marco and, first of all, he’s going to make sure that the passports get processed and people can get here and there is an orderly process so people won’t be held up. It’s going to be a major undertaking by the federal government to do that. We feel very comfortable that we’re going to be in good hands.”
The deployment of ICE for immigration-enforcement raids has increased since Donald Trump began his second stint as president last year, igniting a significant political debate in the U.S.
South Florida’s role as a World Cup host market also comes against the backdrop of scenes from the 2024 Copa America championship game, when fans stormed the gates at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., causing a number of injuries and delaying the start of the Argentina-Colombia match.
“(The Miami World Cup organizing committee) took the position that we didn’t want to be critical of the planners of that event,” Barreto told The Athletic. “It wasn’t our event. But now that time has passed, I would tell you that where the failure was, which was that there were no perimeters.
“People without tickets should have been nowhere near the entrance ways of that stadium. It didn’t take much to overrun an entrance. But listen, you learn from all these events, and you learn to do it better and come up with different scenarios which mitigate this from happening in the future. So that’s where we’re at.”
–Field Level Media
Walk-off error helps Marlins beat Orioles, avoid sweep
NHL salary cap rising to record $104M for 2026-27 season
