Raptors’ Barnes edges Cavaliers’ Mobley for top rookie
Toronto forward Scottie Barnes was voted NBA rookie of the year on Saturday, edging Cleveland’s Evan Mobley in a close vote.
Barnes got 48 first-place votes and 378 points from a global panel of 100 sports writers and broadcasters. Mobley received 43 firstplace votes and finished with 363 points.
The difference of 15 points was the smallest margin in the rookie category under the current voting format that began with the 2002-03 season. Players receive five points for a firstplace vote, three points for a second-place vote and one point for third.
The award was announced before the Raptors beat Philadelphia in Game 4 of their first-round series. Barnes returned after missing two games because of a sprained left ankle and had 11 rebounds.
Barnes averaged 15.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 35.4 minutes per game, starting all of the 74 games he played. He led all rookies in minutes and was third in points and rebounds.
Campbell will return to UCLA
UCLA point guard Tyger Campbell intends to return to play for the Bruins next season, said his mother, Jennifer Krekeler-Campbell, allowing the team to retain its primary playmaker.
A two-time first-team All-Pac-12 selection, Campbell averaged 11.9 points and 4.3 assists last season while compiling an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.2-to-1.
Campbell has two seasons of eligibility remaining and his return alongside that of guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. will provide a major boost to the team’s national championship hopes.
— Ben Bolch
Duke freshman Trevor Keels is the fourth Blue Devils player in the past week to announce plans to enter the NBA draft.
World heavyweight champion Tyson Fury retained his World Boxing Council title with a brutal, sixth-round stoppage of fellow Briton Dillian Whyte in front of more than 94,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium in London. A right uppercut from Fury sent Whyte to the canvas and the champion raised his right hand in celebration. Whyte, who appeared to lose a tooth from the mighty punch, got to his feet and tried to show he was ready to continue but then staggered, leading the referee to end the fight. It was a 32nd win for the undefeated Fury, who defended his WBC belt for the second time and has talked of retiring at the age of 33. What might make him continue is the chance to be the undisputed champion from what could be a hugely lucrative bout against Oleksandr Usyk or Anthony Joshua.
Noah Gragson held off Jeffrey Earnhardt in triple overtime to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway for his second victory of the season . ... Christopher Bell won the pole at Talladega Superspeedway by turning the fastest lap as the final driver to qualify for Sunday’s Cup Series race.
Novak Djokovic booked a place in the Serbia Open final after overcoming another slow start and Karen Khachanov 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. Djokovic will face Andrey Rublev in Sunday’s final . ... Top-ranked Iga Swiatek will play Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the Stuttgart Open in Germany . ... The semifinals of the Barcelona Open were suspended because of rain.
Shae Harvey and Charlotte Kohler each scored four goals and the under-17 national team beat Grenada 20-0, setting a record for goals for a U.S. women’s team at any level in World Cup qualifying . ... Cristian Espinoza finished a hat trick with a penalty-kick goal in second-half stoppage time as the San Jose Earthquakes erased a two-goal deficit for their first win of the season, 4-3 over Seattle.