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Suns adjusting to life without Devin Booker, face lowly Nets

NBA: Phoenix Suns at Atlanta HawksJan 23, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Grayson Allen (8) reacts after a play against the Atlanta Hawks in the third quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Phoenix Suns will look to regain their offensive rhythm when they host the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, understanding things change without leading scorer Devin Booker.

Booker’s absence stood out in the Suns’ 111-102 home loss to Miami on Sunday, when they shot 37% from the field and made only 7 of 35 3-point attempts (20%).

“He’s able to create the first domino so many times and make the right play,” Suns coach Jordan Ott said of Booker.

“His ability to get off it at the perfect time, have a feel for the game, have a feel for his teammates, is unmatched. (Unlike) anything I’ve been around.”

Booker, who leads the Suns in points (25.4) and assists (6.2) per game, suffered a right ankle sprain in a 110-103 loss at Atlanta on Friday and is expected to miss the next several games during a stretch in which the Suns have nine of 10 at home.

The Suns are 1-4 without Booker, who is to be reevaluated at the end of the week. Suns guard Jalen Green (hamstring) is questionable after aggravating his hamstring injury in Atlanta and missing the Miami game.

“Feel helpless, to be honest with you, at times,” Ott said of the offense when Booker and Green are out.

The Heat’s switching defense kept the Suns from getting their normal looks on the perimeter, and Booker’s loss magnified the effect.

“When (Booker) is in the game, it simplifies the way we get open looks,” said Grayson Allen, who had 18 points against the Heat while starting in place Booker.

“We still do a good job most of the time generating open looks for each other without him in the game. It is harder to sustain for a 48-minute game … there were some times we got stalled out and a little slow offensively.”

Allen was 1 of 11 from distance against the Heat and Royce O’Neale was 0 for 7. The Suns’ seven made 3-pointers were their second-lowest total of the season.

Brooklyn enters the second game of a five-game trip after its second lopsided loss in three games, a 126-89 thrashing at the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

The Nets have lost five in a row and 10 of 11, and they were stuffed 120-66 at the New York Knicks last Wednesday, the second-worst loss in franchise history. In between was a 130-126 double-overtime home loss to Boston on Friday.

“Right now, one out of three games … as far as being competitive, is not good enough,” Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said. “We should be three for three competitive, whether you win or lose.

“We have to decide who we want to be, and it starts with everybody’s focus and effort. We’re obviously going to need the right pieces on the floor that compete at a certain standard.”

The Nets have found it difficult to generate offense throughout the season. They are averaging a league-low 107.9 points per game and are shooting 44.2% from the field, tied with Indiana for the league low entering Monday.

Egor Demin (12 points) was the only starter in double figures against the Clippers as the Nets shot 34.1%.

After the Clippers outscored the Nets 38-14 in the first quarter, Fernandez found positives in the Nets’ play in the late second quarter and the third. The Nets outscored the Clippers 29-28 in the third.

“You can lose or you can be a loser,” Fernandez said. “For 18 minutes we lost and we were competitive. For 30 minutes we’re losers. So we have to decide what we want to be.”

–Field Level Media

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CF Montreal wins first game under Philippe Eullaffroy, beat Red Bulls

MLS: Red Bull New York at CF MontrealApr 18, 2026; Montreal, Province of Quebec, CAN; CF Montreal forward Prince Owusu (9) celebrates with teammate midfielder Victor Loturi (22) after scoring a goal against the Red Bull New York during the first half at Saputo Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

Prince Owusu recorded a goal and three assists as CF Montreal bested the visiting New York Red Bulls 4-1 in the home side’s first match under interim head coach Philippe Eullaffroy.

Owusu scored his fifth goal of the season, as Montreal (2-6-0, 6 points) claimed their 100th win all-time at Stade Saputo.

Montreal strode past the visitors’ backline with relative ease in the early going. Red Bulls (3-3-2, 11 points) captain Emil Forsberg failed to control a hurried pass from his goalkeeper, allowing Owusu to play in Victor Loturi, who blasted it past Ethan Horvath in the fifth minute to make it 1-0.

Owusu nearly extended their lead soon after when Ivan Jaime played him through on a one-on-one. The towering center forward opted to hold the ball up before sending it wide of goal.

Owusu made no mistake on his 39th-minute penalty, catching out Horvath with a sly stutter step and slotting it into the left corner to make it 2-0. The penalty came as a result of Dylan Nealis’s handball.

Montreal’s Matty Longstaff knocked balls into both nets at the start of the second half. Longstaff met Owusu’s perfectly threaded through ball to make it 3-0 in the 49th minute. The English midfielder then overhit an attempted backpass to goalkeeper Thomas Gillier four minutes later and inadvertently brought the Red Bulls back within two.

More than the flurry of goals, the single biggest change in Montreal’s approach was in their defensive setup. Eullaffroy’s zonal marking stood in stark contrast to Marco Donadel’s aggressive man-marking, the Red Bulls managing just one shot on goal all game long. Eullaffroy also started Samuel Piette in the midfield after the Montreal captain remained on the bench in their last two outings.

Owusu chipped the ball over Matthew Dos Santos and into the path of Kwadwo Opoku, who guided it into the open net to restore Montreal’s three-goal lead.

The victory marked Montreal’s first at home since August of last year. Both of Montreal’s wins this season have come against the Red Bulls. New York, meanwhile, has won just one of its last six league matches.

–Field Level Media

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Carson Kelly's pinch-hit homer propels Cubs over hapless Mets

MLB: New York Mets at Chicago CubsApr 18, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pinch-hitter Carson Kelly (15) hits a three-run homer against the New York Mets during the sixth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images

Carson Kelly hit a tie-breaking three-run pinch-hit home run in the sixth inning Saturday afternoon for the host Chicago Cubs, who beat the skidding New York Mets 4-2.

The pinch-hit homer was the second of Kelly’s career and his first since Aug. 25, 2021, when he went deep for the Arizona Diamondbacks against the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Anthony Banda.

Ian Happ homered in the second for the Cubs, who have won four straight and have scored 51 runs while winning five of their last six games. Chicago scored 59 runs in its first 14 games this season.

Kelly’s homer off Brooks Raley made a winner of Jameson Taillon (1-1), who gave up one run on five hits and three walks while striking out four over six innings.

Mark Vientos provided the visitors a short-lived lead by homering in the top of the second for the Mets, who have lost 10 straight — their longest skid since an 11-game losing streak from Aug. 28-Sept. 8, 2004. New York hasn’t led at the end of an inning since first inning of an 11-6 loss to the Athletics on Apr. 11 — a span of 62 frames.

New York’s Bo Bichette scored when second baseman Nico Hoerner threw wide of the bag on Francisco Alvarez’s two-out grounder in the eighth. But reliever Ben Brown induced Vientos to ground out to third and strand two before Caleb Thielbar struck out two in a perfect ninth to earn his first save of 2026.

Freddy Peralta (1-2) took the loss after allowing three runs on three hits and two walks while striking out three over 5 2/3 innings. Peralta issued both walks with two outs in the sixth, after which Kelly took Raley deep on the first pitch he saw. The homer was the first surrendered by Raley since 2023.

The Cubs only managed five hits as Happ reached in 3-of-4 plate appearances with a pair of walks.

Francisco Lindor and Luis Robert Jr. had two hits apiece for the Mets, who were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

–Field Level Media

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WTA roundup: Elena Rybakina continues sizzling start to 2026

Syndication: Desert SunElena Rybakina waves to the crowd after advancing to the quarterfinals after Sonay Kartal retired from their match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., Wednesday, March 11, 2026.

Top-seeded Elena Rybakina continued her outstanding 2026 campaign by overwhelming sixth-seeded Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-1 on Saturday to reach the finals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany.

Rybakina, who represents Kazakhstan, will face No. 7 seed Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in Sunday’s final. Muchova pulled off a mild upset with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 victory over No. 4 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.

Rybakina, who won the 2026 Australian Open and reached the finals at Indian Wells, exchanged breaks with Andreeva before winning four of five points on the Russian’s serve to capture the first set. She cruised in the second set, winning a combined 21 of 25 points on her first serves and Andreeva’s second service offerings.

The deciding set between Muchova and Svitolina looked to be going the distance, but the Czech won the final eight points of the match — four on her opponent’s serve in the ninth game — to set up the fourth all-time meeting with Rybakina. Muchova has won two of three prior matches, including a quarterfinal victory in January at Brisbane.

Rouen Metropolitan Open

Top-seeded Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine cruised past Germany’s Tatjana Maria 6-3, 6-0 to reach the finals in Rouen, France.

Kostyuk will take on teenage qualifier and countrywoman Veronika Podrez. She advanced in a walkover prior to her scheduled match against Romania’s Sonia Cirstea, who withdrew due to a leg injury.

Kostyuk, who will be trying to win her second WTA title and first since a 2023 championship in Austin, Texas, fended off all four break points in the match against the 38-year old German. Maria could not contain Kostyuk’s power, dropping 32 of 43 (74.4%) service points.

Podrez, 19, advanced to the semifinals with wins over Sloane Stephens, No. 7 seed Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy and Great Britain’s Katie Boulter.

–Field Level Media

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