LeVert set to return after battling cancer

Caris LeVert will make his Pacers debut on Saturday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

A small cancerous mass was found on his left kidney during an examination after he was traded from the Nets as part of the four-team deal involving James Harden. The guard underwent surgery to remove the mass in late January. The 26-year-old LeVert averaged 18.5 points and six assists in 12 games for Brooklyn prior to the trade.

The Pacers will take on the Suns on Saturday.

Rockets guard Eric Gordon will be out for four to six weeks with a strained groin, sources told ESPN. Gordon suffered the injury in a loss to the Kings on Thursday, the team’s 14th consecutive this season. He’s averaging 17.8 points for the Rockets.

College football: The Nebraska athletic department acknowledged Friday that it explored the possibility of backing out of this fall’s game at Oklahoma before ultimately deciding to go ahead with it. The game is Sept. 18 in Norman, Oklahoma, and will mark the 50th anniversary of the 1971 Game of the Century, Nebraska’s 35-31 win over the Sooners in a clash of the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the nation. According to unidentified sources who spoke to Stadium, the Huskers contacted teams in the Mid-American Conference and Old Dominion about playing in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Sept. 18.

MLB: Outfielder Nick Markakis has retired after 15-year career with the Braves and Orioles. The 37-year-old Markakis, who was a free agent, told The Athletic that he was done playing after accumulating 2,388 hits, earning his lone All-Star selection in 2018 and coming within one win of reaching the World Series in his final season.