Mavericks star Doncic hurts calf in last game
Dallas star guard Luka Doncic strained his left calf in the third quarter and did not play the rest of the way in the Mavericks’ 130-120 win over the visiting San Antonio Spurs in a regular-season finale Sunday night.
The two-time All-Star got a reprieve to play against the Spurs when the NBA rescinded what would have been his 16th technical foul of the season two nights earlier against Portland. Doncic would have been suspended for the game had the technical been upheld.
The playoff-bound Mavericks had a chance to move up to the Western Conference’s third seed with a win and a Golden State loss in New Orleans, but the Warriors won. Dallas will open the playoffs next weekend.
Kyrie Irving scored 35 points, and Brooklyn beat visiting Indiana 134-126. The Nets will host the first playin game of this year’s tournament when they face Cleveland on Tuesday night.
That matchup wasn’t set until Sunday, nor was the other Eastern Conference play-in matchup: No. 9 Atlanta will host No. 10 Charlotte on Wednesday. The winner of that game will play the Nets-Cavaliers loser Friday to determine who will face No. 1 Miami in an East first-round series.
The Nets-Cavaliers winner will be seeded No. 7 and meet second-seeded Boston in the first round.
Defending NBA champion Milwaukee is seeded No. 3 in the East and will play No. 6 Chicago in a firstround series. Fourth-seeded Philadelphia will face fifthseeded Toronto in another East matchup.
No. 3 seed Golden State will play No. 6 Denver in the first round in the West, and fourth-seeded Dallas will face No. 5 Utah.
Philadelphia center Joel Embiid is the NBA’s scoring champion, averaging 30.6 points this season. Embiid,
who hails from Cameroon, became the first international player to win that title. He is also the first center to win the scoring crown since Shaquille O’Neal for the Lakers in 1999-2000 . ... Charlotte will be without forward Gordon Hayward, announcing that he’s “out indefinitely with continued discomfort in his left foot.” ... Brooklyn signed forward Kessler Edwards, a secondround pick from Pepperdine who also was a standout at Etiwanda High, to a standard contract, making him eligible to play in the postseason.
ETC. Manfred gave a gift to players
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred gifted major league players Bose headphones on opening day as a peace offering after a bitter 99-day lockout that delayed the start of the season.
Major League Baseball confirmed that headphones and a letter signed by Manfred were left at the locker of each player when teams began their seasons Thursday and Friday. The present was first reported by the Athletic.
Manfred’s relationship with players has grown increasingly icy since he succeeded Bud Selig as commissioner in 2014.
San Diego scratched starting pitcher Blake Snell at Arizona because of left adductor tightness . ... St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol missed his second consecutive game after being diagnosed with f lu. … Boston second baseman Trevor Story was away from the team against the New York Yankees because of flu symptoms. … The Red Sox signed right-handed reliever Garrett Whitlock to a four-year, $18.75-million contract extension . ... Roki Sasaki pitched a perfect game with 19 strikeouts, leading the
Chiba Lotte Marines over the Orix Buffaloes 6-0 in Japan’s Pacific League.
Louisville’s college baseball game against North Carolina was delayed more than two hours following a bomb threat made on an online forum that forced the evacuation of the Cardinals’ stadium, a school spokesman confirmed. Louisville Metro Police were notified and sent K-9 and bomb detection units to the facility but did not find a bomb. The game resumed without spectators or media. Louisville won in 14 innings.
Reilly Opelka beat fellow American John Isner 6-3, 7-6 (7) to win the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston in the tallest matchup in an ATP Tour final. The 6-foot-11 Opelka won his fourth tour title and first on clay. He improved to 5-1 against the 6-10 Isner. … Belinda Bencic defeated Ons Jabeur 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 to win the Charleston (S.C.) Open for her first clay-court championship.
Police in Liverpool, England, are investigating an incident in which Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo apparently slapped a phone out of a supporter’s hand as he left the field after an English Premier League loss Saturday at Everton. … A 2-2 draw between first-place Manchester City and second-place Liverpool left host City a point ahead in the EPL. … American midfielder Gio Reyna, 19, will miss the rest of the Bundesliga season for Borussia Dortmund after suffering a muscle and tendon injury.
The Giltinis routed Rugby New York 43-0 at the Coliseum for their fourth straight Major League Rugby win . ... Charles Leclerc won the Formula One Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne . ... The Seattle Kraken agreed to terms with top prospect Matty Beniers, making him the latest University of Michigan player to jump immediately to the NHL.