May 29, 2025 4:25 am
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Carter Verhaeghe broke a tie off a feed from Aleksander Barkov with 7:39 left and the defending champion Florida Panthers advanced to their third straight Stanley Cup Final, beating the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 on Wednesday night in Game 5. The Panthers beat the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference final for the second time in three seasons. The Panthers will face the winner of the Western final between Dallas and Edmonton, with the Oilers up 3-1 to put them within a win of a rematch with Florida for the Cup. Sam Bennett added an empty-net goal with 54 seconds left by skating down a loose puck straight out of the penalty box after Florida had held up against a critical late power play for the Hurricanes.
May 29, 2025 4:25 am
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder routed the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-94 to win the Western Conference finals series 4-1 and advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012. Chet Holmgren had 22 points, seven rebounds and three blocks and Jalen Williams added 19 points and eight rebounds for the Thunder. Oklahoma City will play the Indiana Pacers or New York Knicks in the finals. Indiana leads the Eastern Conference finals series 3-1 with Game 5 to be played in New York City on Thursday.
May 28, 2025 4:37 am
PHOENIX (AP) — Bryan Reynolds had four hits, including a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth, and the Pittsburgh Pirates overcame a six-run deficit to stun the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-6. The Pirates, who entered the night 0-29 when trailing after seven innings, were down 6-2 before scoring seven times in the eighth against Arizona relievers Kevin Ginkel and Jalen Beeks. Joey Wentz (2-1) pitched 3 2/3 innings of long relief for the Pirates. David Bednar retired the side in order in the ninth for his sixth save. The Diamondbacks built a 6-0 lead, including Corbin Carroll’s first-innng homer.
May 28, 2025 4:45 am
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Corey Perry scored the tiebreaking goal on a power play in the second period and Stuart Skinner made 28 saves as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Dallas Stars 4-1 Tuesday night to take a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference finals. Perry finished with a goal and an assist, Leon Draisaitl also scored with a man advantage and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins added two assists for Edmonton, which can advance to the Stanley Cup Final with a victory over the Stars in Game 5 on Thursday night. Jason Robertson scored on a power play in the second period for Dallas. Jake Oettinger finished with 29 saves.
May 28, 2025 4:44 am
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton had 32 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds without a turnover in a sensational postseason performance to lead the Indiana Pacers past the New York Knicks 130-121 on Tuesday night for a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals. With his father, John, back in Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Haliburton carried the Pacers to within a victory of their second trip to the NBA Finals. Game 5 is Thursday in New York. Pascal Siakam added 30 points while Haliburton had four steals in his second career postseason triple-double. Obi Toppin’s 3-pointer with 46 seconds left sealed it. The Pacers have not lost consecutive games since March 10.
May 27, 2025 4:25 am
PHOENIX (AP) — Eugenio Suárez and Josh Naylor homered to back a stellar start from Ryne Nelson as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-0 to end a five-game skid. Suárez hit his 15th homer for a 3-0 lead against Andrew Heaney in the third inning. Suárez also walked with one out in the fifth before Naylor launched his sixth home run. Nelson permitted four hits in 6 2/3 innings as Arizona got back to .500 at 27-27. He struck out four and walked none. Justin Martinez stranded three inherited runners after coming in with the bases loaded and nobody out in the eighth. Ryan Thompson pitched the ninth to finish a six-hitter for Arizona’s fifth shutout.
May 27, 2025 4:24 am
PHOENIX (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Braxton Ashcraft pitched three scoreless innings in his major league debut. Ashcraft, one of the team’s top prospects, was recalled before Pittsburgh’s 5-0 loss at Arizona. Right-hander Isaac Mattson was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis. The 25-year-old Ashcraft entered after Andrew Heaney was tagged for five runs and eight hits in five innings. He fanned his first batter, Tim Tawa, for his first career strikeout. He allowed two hits and walked one. He threw 50 pitches, 32 for strikes.
May 27, 2025 4:29 am
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Frederik Andersen returned to the net and stopped 20 shots for his fifth career playoff shutout, Logan Stankoven got the only goal Carolina needed and the Hurricanes won their first Eastern Conference finals game in nearly 20 years by beating the Florida Panthers 3-0 on Monday night to stave off elimination. Sebastian Aho and Jordan Staal got empty-netters to seal it for the Hurricanes. They had dropped 15 consecutive East finals games, getting swept in 2009, 2019 and 2023, then dropping the first three games of this matchup. No sweep this time, however. Carolina still trails the series 3-1. Game 5 is Wednesday.
May 27, 2025 4:28 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 40 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in a steely performance befitting the NBA MVP and the Oklahoma City Thunder snapped back from a 42-point loss by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 128-126 in Game 4 to take a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference finals. Jalen Williams scored 34 points on 13-for-24 shooting, including 6 of 9 from 3-point range. Chet Holmgren added 21 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in a statement game in his hometown that helped the Thunder stave off several pushes by the Wolves to tie the series.
May 26, 2025 4:06 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Caleb Durbin and Brice Turang hit back-to-back doubles in the eighth inning to help the Milwaukee Brewers top the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-5. Durbin sent a sweeper from Ryan Borucki to the track in left field, driving in two and tying it at 5. Turang brought him home with a ball down the line in left. Jared Koenig got the win despite allowing two runs in 1 2/3 innings. Trevor Megill struck out two in the ninth while recording his ninth save. Adam Frazier drove in three runs for Pittsburgh, including two on a two-out double that put the Pirates ahead 5-3 in the seventh.
