Today is
Monday May 13, 2024
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Vancouver rookie goalie Arturs Silovs is already earning a reputation for stepping up in big moments.
Silovs stopped 42 shots, Brock Boeser had two goals and an assist, and Elias Lindholm also scored twice as the Canucks held on to beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 on Sunday night to take a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference playoff series.
“The kid has given us game,” Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet said of the goalie. “It’s a big stage and he’s not blinking. He’s coming in every day and he’s working hard.”
Quinn Hughes and J.T. Miller each had two assists for the Canucks.
Silovs withstood another late barrage when the Oilers, trailing 4-2, opted to pull goalie Calvin Pickard in favor of an extra attacker with 3:23 on the clock.
Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch did everything he could to keep superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the ice, including calling a time out with 2:39 to go.
The persistence finally paid off with 1:16 remaining when Evan Bouchard launched a long shot on net and the puck bounced off Silovs’ glove and in.
The 23-year-old Latvian goalie faced 36 shots over the second and third periods while allowing just two goals.
“I just felt confident,” Silovs said, adding that his teammates supported him in Vancouver’s 5-4 win to open the series last Wednesday. “So I had to have them today. Everyone’s resilient, blocking shots. Really high scoring chances they had and our guys managed to block a lot of them. So credit to them, too.”
Mattias Ekholm and Leon Draisaitl also scored for the Oilers. Stuart Skinner stopped 11 of 15 shots before he was replaced by Pickard to start the third period. Pickard finished with three saves in his NHL playoff debut.
Game 4 in the best-of-seven series is Tuesday night back here in Edmonton.
Edmonton’s league-leading power play was 2 for 4, and Vancouver was 2 for 3.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Denver Nuggets were far from done after dropping the first two games of the Western Conference semifinals at home in humbling fashion.
Nikola Jokic scored 16 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter, and Aaron Gordon had 27 points on 11-for-12 shooting to propel the Nuggets to a series-tying 115-107 victory over the Timberwolves on Sunday night in Game 4 .
“It’s just like a laser-sharp focus,” Gordon said, “and a surgical execution.”
Jamal Murray had 12 of his 19 points in the third quarter for the derfending champion Nuggets in a momentum carryover from his buzzer-beating swish from behind half court, and the Wolves only had the deficit below double digits in the second half for a total of 3:19.
Anthony Edwards scored 44 points in another spectacular performance for Minnesota that set the franchise postseason record, shooting 16 for 25. But despite a 42-31 rebounding edge, the Wolves were beaten at their own game for the second straight time at home.
“Game 2 definitely woke us up,” Murray said. “We realized we can’t hold ourselves back.”
The series goes back to Denver for Game 5 on Tuesday night.
DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) — Chris Buescher let his frustrations out over a second close call that cost him a NASCAR victory for a second straight week.
Buescher had lost out by 0.001 of a second at Kansas to Kyle Larson a week ago in what was the closest ending in NASCAR history. This time, Buescher lost his chance at the Goodyear 400 when Tyler Reddick tried to pass for the lead.
Reddick’s car slid up into Buescher, knocking him against the wall and ruining both their chances for a Darlington victory.
Buescher angrily confronted Reddick when both were out of their cars. Buescher shoved him and shouted that he should not have tried that move.
“I tried to back out,” Reddick said. “The last thing I wanted to do was wreck your car. I’m sorry.”
Buescher pointed to the NASCAR playoff decal on his car for those, like Reddick, who’ve qualified for the postseason. “That doesn’t work for me,” Buescher said. “We don’t have that sticker on my door right now. I need you to be better. We’ve raced each other for so long just fine.”
Buescher had said how agonizing his loss to Kyle Larson at Kansas last week was, replaying it and coming up with several things he might have done differently given another chance. At Darlington, Buescher knew who to blame.
“That’s two weeks in a row we had a shot to win races,” Buescher said. “One, I’m going to relive in my head forever at what I would’ve done different (at Kansas). The other, I need someone else to be more mature about it.”
Reddick continued apologizing in his post-race comments.
He said his attempted pass was aggressive and he tried to check up so he would not slide into Buescher.
“It’s tough to walk away knowing that I used someone up, took their chance away from winning the race that’s racing me really cleanly,” Reddick said. “I have to work on that and try and make some better decisions.”
Buescher’s owner at RFK Racking, Brad Keselowski, was the beneficiary of the on-track dust-up with Reddick. Keselowski moved in front for his first NASCAR victory in three years.
Keselowski understood his driver’s frustration over the past two weeks, but does not believe he should change his driving style or demeanor.
“Just keep being Chris,” Keselowski said. “Just keep doing what you’re doing.”
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Rory McIlroy has a full head of steam heading into the PGA Championship.
McIlroy won the Wells Fargo Championship for a record fourth time Sunday with another dominating performance at Quail Hollow, easily overcoming a two-stroke deficit to beat Xander Schauffele by five shots.
No other player has won the event more than twice.
McIlroy closed with a 6-under 65, playing the final 11 holes in 6 under even with a double bogey on the 18th hole. He finished at 17-under 267 after four straight rounds in the 60s and won his second straight PGA Tour event after teaming with Shane Lowry to take the Zurich Classic two weeks ago in New Orleans.
That should give McIlroy plenty of momentum heading to Kentucky for the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club, the site of his last major win 10 years ago.
“I really got some confidence,” McIlroy said. “My golf swing feels a lot more comfortable than it has. So going to a venue next week where I’ve won, it feels like the stars are a lining a little bit. But I’ve got a lot of golf to play and a lot of great players to try to beat next week. Going into the next major of the year feeling really good about myself.”
McIlroy trailed by two after Schauffele made an eagle on the par-5 seventh, but the world’s second-ranked player quickly shifted into another gear.
The star from Northern Ireland pulled even after birdies on Nos. 8 and 9 and then made a 33-foot eagle putt on the 10th for his first lead of the tournament after Schauffele settled for birdie.
Schauffele’s bogey at 12 gave McIlroy more breathing room.
McIlroy then essentially sealed the win on 13 when he made birdie and Schauffele missed another putt for bogey, resulting in a four-shot advantage.
But McIlroy wasn’t done.
He made another birdie on 14 and then punctuated the victory by chipping in from the sand for another eagle on No. 15 to move to 19 under, completing a remarkable stretch of playing eight holes ion 8-under par.
“He’s Rory McIlroy, you know?” Schauffele said. “He hits it 350 yards in the air downwind and he has shorter clubs into firm greens than anyone else. When he’s on, he’s on. Hats off to him for winning. He played unbelievably well.”
At that point the only question was if McIlroy could match his own course record of 61 and tournament record of 21 under.
He didn’t.
But he managed a smile when he blew his second shot on No. 18 over the green and into the water and had to take a drop. He tapped in for a double bogey victory as the crowd chanted his name.
“I birdied mine and then I just went on a run that for whatever reason I’m able to go on at this golf course,” McIlroy said. “Quail Hollow, Charlotte in general has been really good to me over my career and this is just another great day to sort of add to all the rest of them.”
McIlroy’s finish was reminiscent of 2010 when he carded six straight 3s en route to a final round 62 to beat Phil Mickelson for his first career PGA Tour win. He also won the event in 2015 and 2021.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — After three games that went down to the wire, the Indiana Pacers were off and running early in Game 4.
The short-handed New York Knicks just didn’t have the legs to keep up.
Tyrese Haliburton scored 20 points, T.J. McConnell finished with 15 points and 10 assists and the Pacers routed the Knicks 121-89, using the third-largest playoff victory in the franchise’s NBA history to even the series at 2-2.
Game 5 will be played Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.
“All we did was do our job,” Haliburton said after finishing with six rebounds, five assists and four 3-pointers. “When you’re at home, you have to protect home court, so we did our job. We understand the magnitude of Game 5 and we’ll be prepared for that one.”
The first three games all came down to key plays in the final three minutes.
Sunday’s provided a different twist. Indiana led by as much as 43 — the largest deficit any playoff team has faced in these playoffs — and fell just short of matching its two largest NBA postseason victories, a 34-point blowout over Cleveland in April 2018 and a 33-point win over the Lakers in the 2000 NBA Finals.
And while Indiana could seemingly do nothing wrong, the Knicks couldn’t do anything right.
Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin each scored 14 points, Aaron Nesmith grabbed 12 rebounds and the Pacers shot 56.8% from the field, 45.2% on 3-pointers and erased their only deficit of the game, 2-0, just 44 seconds into the game.
The Knicks, who again played without four key players because of injuries, looked fatigued.
Alec Burks finished with 20 points for New York. Brunson, who entered the day with a league-best 34.6 points per game in the postseason, scored only 18 on a day the Knicks shot 33.7% from the field, 18.9% on 3s and flirted with posting the worst playoff loss in franchise history. The record, 41, came at Chicago in April 1991.
Brunson wasn’t the only one struggling. Donte DiVincenzo, who had 35 points in Game 3, scored just seven on Sunday. The two guards were a combined 9 of 30 from the field and 1 of 11 on 3s.
“We can talk about fresher legs and you can give us all the pity we want,” Brunson said. “Yeah, we’re short-handed, but that doesn’t matter right now. We have what we have. So there’s no we’re short-handed, there’s no excuse. We lose, we lose. That’s what that was.”
Once again, the Pacers fed off the energy of a nearly full Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where they are now 5-0 with Game 6 coming back to Indianapolis on Friday. Those watching from courtside included Indiana-born singer John Mellencamp, Indianapolis 500 winners Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti and former Pacers stars Dale Davis and Derrick McKey.
What they witnessed was the most dominant performance in the series.
Without forwards OG Anunoby, Bojan Bogdanovic and Julius Randle as well as center Mitchell Robinson, New York produced a 14-point first quarter and a 41-point first half — its two lowest totals through the first 10 playoff games this season.
A predictable result ensued.
“We started slowly, they made shots, got a big lead and it snowballed,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “I thought we missed some wide-open shots early that probably took some energy out of us and we can’t allow that to happen.”
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The Pacers did not make that mistake.
Haliburton’s first 3 gave Indiana the lead for good at 5-2 and the Pacers followed with a decisive 29-7 first-quarter spurt that made it 34-11.
New York never recovered. It cut the deficit to 36-19 early in the second, only to see Indiana answer with 10 straight points before extending the halftime margin to 69-41.
Things only got worse in the second half.
Indian led 101-63 after three quarters, a deficit so large both teams rested their starters the entire fourth quarter. Indiana’s 43-point lead in the fourth quarter marked the third time this season it’s led by at least that margin and the first time New York trailed by that much since Dec. 5, 2019, a span of 388 games.
But to the Pacers, this was not a moment to celebrate; just a step on a journey they hope to continue when they return to New York.
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BOSTON (AP) — Aleksander Barkov slipped through three Bruins defenders to score the go-ahead goal on Sunday night, and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 16 shots to give the Florida Panthers a 3-2 victory over Boston and a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
One year after Florida knocked out the record-setting Bruins in the first round on its way to the Stanley Cup Final, the Panthers won their third straight to send Boston to the brink of elimination.
Sam Bennett and Anton Lundell also scored for the Panthers, who scored three times in a row to rally from a two-goal deficit. Florida can advance to the Eastern Conference finals with a victory in Game 5 at home on Tuesday night.
Playing without captain and leading scorer in the postseason Brad Marchand, Boston jumped to a 2-0 lead with goals from David Pastrnak and Brandon Carlo. Jeremy Swayman made 39 saves for the Bruins.
One game after his hit — or, as the Bruins believe, his sucker punch — knocked Marchand out of Game 4, Bennett scored a disputed goal to tie the game 2-all about four minutes into the third period. After Swayman made a save on Lundell, Bennett gave Boston’s Charlie Coyle a shove, sending him into the goaltender, and then flipped the puck into the net.
The Bruins challenged, claiming goaltender interference, but the replay confirmed the goal. The NHL is alone among the major North American sports in refusing to make referees available to reporters to explain controversial calls.
Boston, which lost three of its last four games in the regular season to fall one point below Florida in the Atlantic Division, now must win three straight — with two on the road — to remain alive in the playoffs.
Pastrnak had 47 goals this season, but just one on the power play in the final 34 games of the regular season and the first 10 of the playoffs. Boston hadn’t scored at all on the man-advantage in its first 11 tries in the Florida series. But Pastrnak slapped a 92 mph missile past Bobrovsky just off the faceoff after Aaron Ekblad was sent off for interference midway through the first period.
Carlo, who scored in Game 1 just a few hours after his wife gave birth to their son, made it 2-0 with five minutes left in the first on a seemingly harmless wrist shot from the blue line.
But the Panthers kept putting shots on net, outshooting Boston 15-5 in the first period, and it paid off early in the second when Lundell made it a one-goal game five minutes into the second.
DENVER — — Converted reliever Ty Blach pitched five solid innings in his second start this season, Ezequiel Tovar homered and the Colorado Rockies beat the Texas Rangers 3-1 on Sunday to complete a three-game series sweep of the defending World Series champions.
It was the first time the Rangers, losers of four of their last five, have been swept this season. Their offense was also stifled by three double plays, two sparkling defensive plays by third baseman Ryan McMahon and a run-saving catch against the center field wall by Brenton Doyle for the final out of the fifth inning.
Doyle also drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the eighth inning for the Rockies’ final run.
The Rangers’ single run represented their lowest total in three games at Colorado and they were outscored 15-6 overall during the series.
“It’s fair to say with most of the order, you’ve got some guys that just aren’t swinging like they normally do,” Bochy said. “We did have some guys who did some good things. But we just couldn’t mount a good inning in three games here and that’s what surprises me more than anything.”
Bochy also said the Rockies’ defense figured prominently in the outcome.
“They made some great plays in the outfield, infield,” Bochy said. “When we did hit it pretty good, they made the plays.”
The sweep by the Rockies, who have won a season high four in a row, was their first since May 2-4, 2023, against Milwaukee. It was their only series sweep during last year’s 103-loss season.
Jalen Beeks got three outs for his third save in three chances.
Blach (1-1) allowed one run on seven hits. He gave up three singles in the first inning, including an RBI single by Adolis Garcia, but limited the damage by inducing a double-play grounder from Nathaniel Lowe. He gave up three more singles around a double play in the fifth before Doyle crashed into the wall to snare Corey Seager’s sharply hit line drive to the fence.
In the third inning, Seager was denied another swing at the plate when McMahon chased down his foul ball, making an over-the-shoulder catch on a dead run. McMahon also ranged to his left to make a diving stop of pinch-hitter Josh Smith’s sharply hit grounder in the seventh inning before scrambling to his feet and throwing him out by half a step. “I think defense definitely won that game,” said Brendan Rodgers, the Rockies second baseman who was at the center of a pair of double plays.
He teamed with Tovar on a fifth-inning gem when the Rockies shortstop snagged Andrew Kizner’s grounder behind second base, flipped the ball to Rodgers, who made a barehanded catch and hustled a one-hop throw to first baseman Hunter Goodman, who made the scoop to complete the double play. “The plays that were made behind me, just unbelievable,” Blach said. “When you have that going for you defensively it makes it that much easier to go out there and pound the zone.”
Charlie Blackmon singled off José Ureña to start the game and Tovar followed by driving a 2-1 offering over the left field fence for his fourth home run of the season.
Ureña (1-3) allowed two runs on six hits. He struck out three and walked one.
TRAINER’S ROOM Rangers: OF Evan Carter was held out of Sunday’s game because of lingering lower back stiffness. He was scratched from Saturday’s lineup due to the injury. Manager Bruce Bochy said Carter was being held out as a precaution. “He tried to play through it and it got worse so this is why we’re trying to catch it before it gets to the point where he would be missing a while,” Bochy said.
UP NEXT Rangers: Return home to open a three-game series Monday night against Cleveland with RHP Michael Lorenzen (2-2, 4.66 ERA) scheduled to start the first game. The Guardians counter with RHP Tanner Bibee (2-1, 4.91).
DETROIT (AP) — Justin Verlander dominated his former team and Kyle Tucker homered as the Houston Astros beat the Detroit Tigers 9-3 on Sunday at Comerica Park.
Verlander (2-1) pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits while striking out eight. He now has 3,365 career strikeouts, two behind former teammate and friendly rival Max Scherzer for 11th on the all-time list and six behind Greg Maddux for 10th.
“Max isn’t done — he’s supposed to be back soon and it was fun battling back and forth with him last year — but that’s pretty cool,” Verlander said. “This game has been around so long, and any time you can get into the top 10 … jeez. That would be one of those things where I really try to take a beat and appreciate it.”
Mauricio Dubón had four hits for Houston and Jake Meyers went 3 for 3 with three RBIs despite not entering the game until the seventh inning.
“It is nice to be able to give (Jose) Altuve a day off and see Dubón come in and do that,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “When he stays in the zone and swings at the pitches he can handle, he’s a pretty good hitter.”
Jack Flaherty (0-3) took the loss, allowing three runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings. Detroit relievers allowed six runs on 11 hits in the final 2 1/3 innings.
a lot of pressure on him with baserunners and he kept making pitches. He was just unfortunate the offense ran into Verlander and couldn’t help him.”
Verlander retired the first 14 Tigers before Colt Keith beat out a slow dribbler to short, and he was promptly thrown out trying to steal second.
“He’s on his way to Cooperstown for a reason,” said Spencer Torkelson, who went 0 for 3 against Verlander with two strikeouts. “I thought we had a good plan — capitalize on mistakes — and we realized early there weren’t going to be many mistakes to capitalize on.”
Houston had baserunners in the first four innings, but Detroit turned three double plays. After Dubón singled in the sixth off Flaherty, though, Tucker hit his 13th homer to make it 2-0.
With two out in the bottom of the inning, Verlander walked Carson Kelly and Riley Greene before hitting Mark Canha. Matt Vierling lined out to left on the next pitch.
Joey Wentz replaced Flaherty with two outs in the seventh and a runner on first. After Joey Loperfido singled, Meyers and Dubón made it 4-0 with RBI singles. Wentz walked Tucker to load the bases, but Alex Lange got Jeremy Peña to fly out.
Lange allowed four runs while only getting one out in the eighth.
Verlander finished with a perfect seventh. He is now 4-3 with a 2.35 ERA in seven starts against Detroit, having struck out 62 batters in 46 innings.
“He demonstrated all the arts of pitching,” Hinch said.
The Tigers broke the shutout in the ninth when Akil Baddoo tripled and scored on a balk before Spencer Torkelson hit his first home run of the season.
UP NEXT
Astros: Head home to start a four-game series with the Oakland Athletics. RHP Spencer Arrighetti (0-4, 8.44) is scheduled to start Monday against Oakland RHP Ross Stripling (1-6, 5.14).
Tigers: Remain home for three games with the Miami Marlins. RHP Matt Manning (0-1, 4.24) is expected to be called up from Triple-A Toledo to start Monday for Detroit.
CHICAGO (AP) — The Atlanta Hawks won the NBA draft lottery on Sunday, landing the No. 1 pick and a potential cornerstone player in a year where there’s no clear-cut choice.
The Hawks hit the jackpot despite just 3% odds after finishing 10th in the Eastern Conference at 36-46. They dropped their final six regular-season games and lost to the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the play-in tournament.
The Hawks haven’t won a postseason series since a surprising run to the Eastern Conference finals in 2021. They got knocked out in the first round in 2022 and 2023.
Atlanta has some big decisions to make this offseason, including whether to break up its backcourt of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray. General manager Landry Fields can build with the No. 1 pick, though it’s not clear who will be taken first after Victor Wembanyama was the obvious choice for San Antonio last year.
Washington, Houston, San Antonio and Detroit rounded out the top five. The draft is June 26-27 in Brooklyn.
Washington and Detroit had the best chances to land the top pick at 14%. Only four teams have won the lottery with slimmer odds than Atlanta, with the biggest longshot being Orlando at 1.52% in 1993. The Magic orchestrated a blockbuster draft night trade with Golden State, sending the rights to Chris Webber to the Warriors for the rights to Penny Hardaway along with three future first-round picks.
San Antonio landed a generational player last year in Wembanyama. The franchise that previously took David Robinson and Tim Duncan with the No. 1 overall pick got its next great big man, and all the Frenchman did was turn in one of the best rookie seasons in NBA history.
The No. 1 pick could once again come from France, whether it’s center Alex Sarr or sharp-shooting forward Zaccharie Risacher, but that’s far from a certainty. UConn guard Stephon Castle and Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham are both expected to be off the board within the first few selections.
The 7-foot-1, 224-pound Sarr has the size and mobility that teams crave and can defend the perimeter when he’s not blocking shots down low. The 19-year-old from Toulouse is known for his explosiveness around the rim, though he could use some more muscle. It would help, too, if he developed into a more reliable 3-point shooter.
Sarr, whose brother Olivier plays for the Oklahoma City, spent this past season in Australia’s National Basketball League.
Risacher, who was born in Spain and grew up in France, is known as a dynamic, albeit streaky shooter for JL Bourg, whether he’s popping off screens or pulling up for 3-pointers. He often guards the other team’s best player.
Castle joined Andre Drummond in 2012 as UConn’s only one-and-done players when he declared for the draft in April after the Huskies’ latest NCAA championship run. The 6-foot-6 guard averaged 11.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists while often drawing the defensive assignment to shut down the opposition’s top perimeter player. He scored 21 in UConn’s Final Four win over Alabama and had 15 points in the championship game against Purdue.
Sheppard and Dillingham both came off the bench in their lone college seasons.
Sheppard, who was voted the Southeastern Conference’s top freshman by coaches after leading the league in steals, was one of the league’s best playmakers and perimeter shooters. He was Kentucky’s No. 3 scorer at 12.5 points per contest and averaged an SEC-best 2.5 steals that ranked eighth nationally, despite starting just five of 33 games. He also averaged 4.5 assists, 4.1 rebounds and made 52% of his 3-point attempts.
Dillingham was voted the SEC’s top sixth man after averaging 15.2 and 3.9 assists. Kentucky tied for second in the conference and earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, only to get knocked out by Oakland in the round of 64. Coach John Calipari then left after 15 years for Arkansas.
ROME (AP) — Fifteen days before he is scheduled to play in what will likely be his final French Open, Rafael Nadal is so unsatisfied with his level of tennis that he’s still debating whether or not to go to Roland Garros.
Nadal’s surgically repaired hip and his 37-year-old legs didn’t provide him with the necessary means to be competitive enough on Saturday as ninth-ranked Hubert Hurkacz overwhelmed the 22-time Grand Slam champion on the Spaniard’s beloved clay for a 6-1, 6-3 victory in the third round of the Italian Open.
It was Nadal’s first match against a top-10 player in 1½ years and he couldn’t have been more disappointed.
“Tough day for me in all ways because I felt more ready than what I showed,” Nadal said. “I am little bit more unpredictable today, not playing enough for the last two years. Too many doubts.”
In terms of games won — just four — it was the most lopsided loss for Nadal on clay in 21 years, since also winning only four games against Gaston Gaudio in Hamburg in 2003 when he was only 16.
Now Nadal will need to dig deeper on the practice court if wants to be competitive one last time at the French Open, where he is the record 14-time champion. Roland Garros starts on May 26.
Nadal said he had two options for Paris.
“One is to say, ‘OK, I am not ready, I am not playing enough well,” Nadal said. “Another is accept how I am today and work the proper way to try to be in a different way in two weeks.
“The decision, as you can imagine, is not clear in my mind today. But if I have to say what’s my feeling and if my mind is closer one way or the other way, I going to say be in Roland Garros and try my best,” Nadal added. “Physically I have some issues, but not probably yet enough to say not playing in the most important event of my tennis career.”
Nadal is still regaining his fitness after missing nearly all of 2023 with a hip injury that required surgery.
“Let’s see what’s going on, how I feel myself mentally tomorrow, after tomorrow, and in one week,” Nadal said. “If I feel ready, I going to try to be there and fight for the things that I have been fighting the last 15 years, if now seems impossible.”
Against the big-serving Hurkacz, appeared slow at times and lacked the lucidness to finish off points.
Twice in the first set, Nadal missed drop shot attempts to hand Hurkacz breaks of his serve.
Then early in the second set, Nadal lacked oomph on a backhand volley, allowing Hurkacz to reply with a forehand up the line that clipped the net and landed in for another break.
On the changeovers, Nadal sat hunched over, sweat dripping from his headband and deep in thought for solutions that he couldn’t find.
Nadal has indicated this will be his final season on tour and fans inside Campo Centrale tried to encourage the record 10-time Rome champion with chants of “Ole Ole Ole, Ra-fa, Ra-fa.”
The crowd even hung around outside the stadium after the match, with thousands of spectators cheering for Nadal when he walked over a bridge leading out of the stadium to the players’ area.
Nadal hadn’t faced a top-10 player since beating No. 4 Casper Ruud at the 2022 ATP Finals.
Nadal didn’t convert any of his seven break points and committed twice as many unforced errors as Hurkacz — 20 to 10.
Hurkacz served nine aces to Nadal’s one.
After the match, Nadal declined to participate in a celebration of his career that local organizers had prepared.
Meanwhile, top-ranked Novak Djokovic said he was “fine” after accidentally getting knocked on the head by a water bottle while signing autographs after his opening win on Friday.
But Djokovic wasn’t taking any further chances when he showed up at the Foro Italico for practice on Saturday, putting on a biking helmet when he met with fans again.
In the women’s tournament, top-ranked Iga Swiatek beat Yulia Putintseva 6-3, 6-4 for her eighth consecutive win; and Naomi Osaka defeated No. 11 Daria Kasatkina — the highest-ranked player she’s faced this year — 6-3, 6-3,
Swiatek trailed 4-1 in the second set but then won five straight games after saving four break points to hold for 2-4.
“I needed to get my focus together,” Swiatek said.
Having won the Madrid Open last week, Swiatek is attempting to become the first woman to win the “dirt double” since Serena Williams in 2013. She’s already a two-time Rome champion.
Nadal was Swiatek’s role model.
“He’s a huge inspiration,” Swiatek said. “He’s basically the only idol I ever had in my life. So it’s great that he’s back to play some tennis.”
Hurkacz will next face 25th-seeded Tomas Etcheverry, who eliminated Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-3, 7-5.
Also, defending champion Daniil Medvedev beat Jack Draper 7-5, 6-4.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Héctor Herrera scored his first goal of the season and Ibrahim Aliyu added a goal in the 78th minute to help the Houston Dynamo beat Sporting Kansas City 2-1 Saturday night and end a three-game losing streak.
Leading the counter-attack, Griffin Dorsey worked from the right side to the center as he worked down field and then played a through ball to a streaking Aliya near the penalty spot, where he bent a low shot around the outstretched arm of goalkeeper Tim Melia and inside the back post to give Sporting the lead for good at 2-1.
Herrera opened the scoring in the 31st minute. He tapped a corner kick to nearby Amine Bassi, who played a ball that led Herrera to to corner of the area, where he ripped a one-touch shot that gave the Dynamo (5-4-2) a 1-0 lead.
Dániel Sallói, just outside the penalty area, quickly turned a fired a low roller that slipped inside the near post for Sporting that made it 1-1 in the 61st.
Kansas City (2-5-5) has lost three consecutive games and is winless in six straight.
Houston went into the match having lost three in a row and four of its last five since the Dynamo won three straight to close the month of March.
Melia and the Dynamo’s Steve Clark had five saves apiece.
FRISCO (AP) — Petar Musa scored in the first half and picked up an assist on a second-half goal by Jesús Ferreira to lead FC Dallas to a 2-1 victory over Austin FC on Saturday night.
Dallas (3-6-2) jumped on top early, using an unassisted goal by Musa to take a 1-0 lead in the 4th minute. It was the fourth netter of the season for Musa.
Ferreira used assists from Musa and rookie midfielder Patrickson Delgado to score his second goal in his fourth start and seventh appearance this season. It was the first career assist for the 20-year-old Delgado, who subbed in for Asier Illarramendi to begin the second half.
Austin (4-4-4) did not get on the scoreboard until Sebastián Driussi found the net unassisted in the 84th minute for his third goal this season and his first since scoring twice in a 4-3 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on April 6.
Maarten Paes finished with four saves in goal for Dallas.
Brad Stuver saved one shot for Austin, which entered play with three shutouts in a row. Stuver began the day with a league-high 58 saves and his four clean sheets have him in a six-way tie for the league lead.
Dallas leads the all-time series 6-2-2. Austin is 0-4-1 in Frisco.
Austin beat visiting Dallas 2-1 on March 30 and had gone 4-1-1 since then.
Austin returns home to host the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday. Dallas travels to play the Houston Dynamo on Saturday.
DENVER — — Tyler Seguin scored the tiebreaking goal in the second period and added an empty-netter in the third, and Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger made it all hold up, powering the Stars to a 4-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night for a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference second-round series.
The Avs pulled goaltender Alexander Georgiev with just under 2 minutes remaining and Seguin scored an empty-netter with 1:37 to go to make it 3-1, and Logan Stankoven, who scored Dallas’ first goal, added a second empty-netter at with 28 seconds remaining.
With their second straight win, the Stars regained home-ice advantage in the best-of-seven series by throttling Colorado’s high-powered offense that entered the night having averaging 5 goals a game in these playoffs, where they hadn’t scored fewer than three goals in a game.
Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin was held scoreless for the first time in these playoffs. He was looking to become the third player in NHL history to have an eight-game goal streak during the playoffs (Reggie Leach, Philadelphia Flyers, 10 games in 1976; Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning, nine games in 2021).
Game 4 is Monday night at Ball Arena, where the Avalanche are now 33-10-1, including 2-1 in the playoffs.
The Stars were an NHL-best 26-10-5 on the road during the season and have won three of four playoff games away from American Airlines Center.
Oettinger had 29 saves on 30 shots.
The Stars took a 2-1 lead into the third period after breaking the tie on an odd-man rush with just under five minutes left in the second. Evgenii Dadonov skated down the left side and sent a pass through the slot that Seguin redirected past Georgiev, who had 19 saves on 21 shots.
Seguin has three goals in the last two games. He scored his first goal of these playoffs in Dallas’ 5-3 win in Game 2.
The Stars led 1-0 after one period despite getting just three shots on goal in the first 18 minutes. Miro Heiskanen fed Stankoven in the slot after a turnover in the Avalanche’s zone by Colorado defenseman Devon Toews and Stankoven beat Georgiev with a wrister inside the left post with 1:21 remaining in the opening period.
That snapped a nearly two-month scoring drought for Stankoven, the 21-year-old rookie who made his NHL debut with six goals in his first dozen games from Feb. 24-March 20, then went 21 games without a goal, the last 12 regular season games and the Stars’ first nine playoff games.
The Avs nearly scored on a power play early in the first on Nathan MacKinnon’s shot that actually went through Jake Oettinger’s legs. Dallas defenseman Ryan Suter and center Jamie Benn both reached behind Oettinger to keep the puck from trickling across the line.
MacKinnon stickhandled through three Stars players and lifted a backhand that Oettinger stopped. The rebound landed in the crease behind Oettinger and Mikko Rantanen tapped it in to tie it 1-all midway through the second period.
That was Rantanen’s 99th career point in 77 Stanley Cup playoff games.
A goal by Nichuskin also would have tied Pat LaFontaine’s NHL record for longest playoff-opening goal streak set in 1992.
DENVER (AP) — Elias Díaz had two hits including a tiebreaking single in a six-run seventh inning, Ryan McMahon tied a career high with four hits, and Colorado won its first series of the season with an 8-3 victory over the Texas Rangers on Saturday night.
The Rockies, who had lost 11 of their first 12 series and split the other, won their third straight game for the first time this season.
Jacob Stallings had a two-run single and Charlie Blackmon had a two-run double in the seventh, when the Rockies scored all six runs with two outs. Blackmon had his 599th career extra-base hit, tying Larry Walker for second in franchise history.
Leody Taveras had two hits including a 389-foot homer off Jake Bird to give the Rangers a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh.
Tyler Kinley (2-0) got out of a two-out, two-on situation by striking out Adolis Garcia to end the seventh.
David Robertson (2-1) did not retire any of the four batters he faced after entering with a 3-2 lead and a runner on second base with two outs in the seventh.
Jordan Beck singled to open the seventh off Jose Leclerc and was sacrificed to second before Robertson entered. McMahon singled to tie the game, took second on a wild pitch and scored Díaz’s single. Robertson hit Sean Bouchard and walked Brenton Doyle before Cole Winn entered and gave up hits to Stallings and Blackmon.
Texas starter Andrew Heaney gave up eight hits and struck out a season-high eight in five innings.
Heaney has not issued a walk in his last 28 innings, since the first inning of an 8-3 loss to Atlanta on April 19. He has given up four runs over 18 innings his last three starts without receiving a decision.
Colorado starter Ryan Feltner gave up two hits in four scoreless innings before the Rangers scored twice in the fifth for a 2-1 lead.
Hunter Goodman hit a 444-foot homer leading off the third inning for the Rockies.
Colorado manager Bud Black was ejected by home plate umpire Chad Fairchild following a play in which Rockies’ leadoff man Ezeqiuel Tovar was called out for over-sliding second on a stolen base attempt to end the fifth inning.
TRAINER’S ROOM Rangers: RHP Max Scherzer (thumb) has not begun throwing again but is “coming along with the rehab,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “Improvement is starting to happen.” … OF Evan Carter (low back tightness) was a late scratch from the starting lineup. “For this to flare up at this point in the season, there is a little concern,” Bochy said. Carter missed much of the 2021 minor league season with a stress fracture in his back.
Rockies: OF Nolan Jones (back) and 1B/OF Kris Bryant (back) are scheduled to begin rehab assignments at Triple-A Albuquerque on Tuesday. Bryant, who has not played since April 13, took batting practice and did running drills before the game and could join the team on Monday.. … LHP Kyle Freehand (elbow) played catch for a third straight day Saturday, gradually increasing his intensity. He is a week to 10 days from throwing off a mound, manager Bud Black said.
UP NEXT Rangers: RHP Jose Ureña (1-2, 3.86 ERA) will make his second start of the season after giving up one earned run in five innings in a victory at Oakland on Tuesday.
Rockies: TBA LHP Ty Blach (0-1, 3.46 ERA) will make his second start of the season.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 33 points, Jaylen Brown added 28 and the Boston Celtics looked more like themselves after stumbling at home, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-93 on Saturday night in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The top-seeded Celtics didn’t mess around after dropping Game 2 on their home parquet floor by 24.
That lackluster performance — Boston was favored by double digits — was reminiscent of the first round, when the Celtics lost Game 2 against Miami before winning three in a row to eliminate the Heat.
“We just wanted to bounce back,” said Tatum, who added 13 rebounds. “Disappointing loss the other night, coming into a hostile environment on the road. It was a good test for us to see how we respond.”
Tatum scored on a three-point play and the Celtics opened the second half with 14 straight points to take a 23-point lead.
That was way too much for the Cavs, who overcame a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter to stun Boston in March.
Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points for Cleveland, but the All-Star guard aggravated a left knee injury in the fourth quarter and was labored. With Boston up 13 and in control, Mitchell left the court with 1:19 left and walked directly to the locker room.
Cleveland got within nine three times in the fourth but the Celtics, who went just 8 of 35 on 3-pointers in Game 2, got back-to-back 3s from Payton Pritchard and Derrick White to stave off the Cavs’ comeback.
Game 4 is Monday night in Cleveland.
Down by 23 and unable to stop Tatum, the Cavs clawed back.
They cut Boston’s lead to 15 by the end of the third, and scored the first six points in the fourth, sending their towel-waving crowd at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse looking for another upset into a frenzy.
But whenever the Celtics needed a bucket, they went to either Tatum or Brown, who broke down Cleveland’s defense for layups or made tough, contested jumpers.
Evan Mobley added 17 points and Darius Garland and Caris LeVert 15 apiece for the Cavs, who lost for the first time at home in these playoffs.
Cleveland was again without starting center Jarrett Allen, who missed his sixth straight game with a painful rib injury. Allen has been out since Game 4 of the opening-round series against Orlando and there’s no telling when — or if — he’ll be available.
Mitchell made six 3-pointers and scored 23 in the first half to pace the Cavs, but Cleveland didn’t get nearly enough from the rest of its starters or bench as the Celtics opened a 57-48 halftime lead.
After the Celtics were stunned on their home floor in Game 2 despite being heavy favorites, coach Joe Mazzulla said the message to his players heading into Game 3 was simple.
“Do what you do best, and do it better,” he said.
The Celtics started cold again, missing their first two 3-pointers before making 5 of 8 to take a 30-28 lead after one.
Cleveland got a nice early lift as forward Dean Wade made his postseason debut after missing the past two months with a sprained knee. Wade, who scored a career-high 23 against Boston on March 5 when the Cavs overcame a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter, knocked down a 3-pointer on his first touch.
Boston center Kristaps Porzingis missed his fourth straight game with a calf strain.