AP Sports SummaryBrief at 7:59 a.m. EDT
Jokic gets triple-double, Nuggets roll past Heat 104-93 in Game 1 of NBA Finals
DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic got a triple-double in his NBA Finals debut, Jamal Murray scored 26 points and the Denver Nuggets had little trouble with the cold-shooting Miami Heat on the way to a 104-93 win in Game 1 of the title series on Thursday night. Jokic finished with 27 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who waited 47 years to make the finals and didn't disappoint. Aaron Gordon scored 16 and Michael Porter Jr. added 14 for Denver, which trailed for all of 34 seconds and eventually led by as many as 24. Bam Adebayo finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds for Miami, which shot 41 percent.
Nuggets get an NBA Finals gem from difference-maker Murray
DENVER (AP) — The highlight of Game 1 for Jamal Murray came when he dribbled into the middle, planted his surgically repaired left knee in the paint, made a full clockwise turn, then faded away and swished a mid-range jumper. His most important contribution to Denver's first win in the franchise's first appearance in the NBA Finals — well, take your pick. Murray finished with 26 points and 10 assists to help the Nuggets to a 104-93 win over the Miami Heat. In his 49 career playoff games, Murray has averaged 27.6 points, which is 33 percent more than he scores in the regular season.
NBA planning to announce latest Ja Morant decision after Finals, Silver says
DENVER (AP) — The latest sanctions, if any, that the NBA plans to levy against Memphis guard Ja Morant for his second instance of displaying a gun on social media will be announced shortly after the finals, Commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday. Silver did not say what the penalties were, not even saying if Morant would be available at the start of next season. Morant was suspended for eight games by the NBA in March for an incident where he broadcast himself on Instagram displaying a gun in a suburban Denver club, and was suspended by the Grizzlies last month after another video showed Morant displaying what appeared to be a gun yet again.
Referee Eric Lewis not selected to work NBA Finals while league looks into tweets
DENVER (AP) — Eric Lewis was not selected as one of the 12 referees who will work the NBA Finals, while the league continues to investigate whether he used a Twitter account to defend himself and other referees from online complaints. Lewis had been chosen to work the finals in each of the last four seasons. But after some now-deleted tweets were revealed last week, the league opened an investigation into whether Lewis violated NBA rules by speaking about officiating in an unauthorized manner. It has not been determined if Lewis was using the account.
NBA mock draft: Wembanyama to Spurs 1st, then Brandon Miller to Hornets
The San Antonio Spurs have the No. 1 pick and there is no mystery about who Gregg Popovich and company are going to bring in to revive the Alamo City. Victor Wembanyama could have started packing for Texas the night of the NBA draft lottery. The 7-foot-3 phenom from France will be San Antonio-bound minutes after the NBA draft begins at 8 p.m. EDT on June 22. Intrigue begins with the No. 2 pick, when the Charlotte Hornets will likely decide between Brandon Miller and Scoot Henderson. A pair of twin brothers and a number of freshmen should also go in the top 10.
Jessica Pegula, American seeded No. 3, loses at French Open to Elise Mertens
PARIS (AP) — Third-seeded Jessica Pegula lost to Elise Mertens 6-1, 6-3 in the third round of the French Open. Her exit is far earlier than Pegula has gotten used to at Grand Slam tournaments lately. She had made the quarterfinals at four of the most recent five majors. That includes a year ago at Roland Garros. Mertens is a 27-year-old Belgian who is seeded 28th. Her best Slam result was reaching the semifinals at the 2018 Australian Open. Another woman from the United States joined Pegula on the way out. Peyton Stearns was eliminated by No. 9 Daria Kasatkina of Russia 6-0, 6-1.
Riley avoids big numbers for 67 on tough day at Memorial
DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — Davis Riley had a 67 and is atop the leaderboard after one round at the Memorial for the second straight year. And that's where the similarities end. Muirfield Village was hot, dry and a beast. The average score was the highest for an opening round at the Memorial since 2000. Rory McIlroy made triple bogey on the last hole for a 72. It could have been worse. Chad Ramey hit four balls into the water on No. 9 and made a 13, the highest score on any hole in Muirfield Village history. Jordan Spieth was among those two shot backs.
Champions League final referee keeps job after apologizing for ties to far-right leader
GENEVA (AP) — Polish soccer referee Szymon Marciniak has apologized for speaking at a business event tied to a far-right politician and was confirmed by UEFA to officiate next week's Champions League final. Marciniak's appointment for the game between Manchester City and Inter Milan on June 10 was at risk. A Warsaw-based anti-racism group alerted UEFA to his conference appearance this week. UEFA says it accepted Marciniak's "profound apologies and clarification." UEFA adds that anti-racism group Never Again had also then asked for the referee to be retained. Marciniak also refereed the World Cup final in Qatar.
Claressa Shields fighting for gender equality for women boxers
DETROIT (AP) — Claressa Shields is perhaps in the prime of her career, establishing a big enough name as a two-time Olympic gold medalist and world champion in three weight classes to headline the first boxing card in the six-year history of Little Caesars Arena in the Motor City. She became the first woman to earn a seven-figure payday in her last two fights and is expected to make another $1 million on Saturday night when the undisputed middleweight champion faces top-ranked contender Maricela Cornejo. Still, Shields laments the gender inequities in boxing.
Devers breaks tie in 6-run 8th, Red Sox beat Reds 8-2 to avoid sweep
BOSTON (AP) — Rafael Devers doubled to break an eighth-inning tie and the Boston Red Sox overcame Chris Sale's early exit because of shoulder soreness to beat the Cincinnati Reds 8-2. Sale came out with two out in the fourth after walking Nick Senzel, with Boston trailing 1-0. After the Reds tied it off Chris Martin (1-1) in the eighth, Devers doubled in Alex Verdugo following a leadoff walk in the bottom of the inning. Devers hit a deep drive to straight away center that nearly went out. Boston added five more runs in the inning, with Connor Wong capping the outburst with a two-run shot into the Green Monster seats.
Baseball Glance
All Times EDT
East Division
W L Pct GB
Tampa Bay 40 18 .690 _
Baltimore 35 21 .625 4
New York 34 24 .586 6
Toronto 30 27 .526 9½
Boston 29 27 .518 10
Central Division
W L Pct GB
Minnesota 30 27 .526 _
Detroit 26 28 .481 2½
Cleveland 25 31 .446 4½
Chicago 23 35 .397 7½
Kansas City 17 39 .304 12½
West Division
W L Pct GB
Texas 35 20 .636 _
Houston 33 23 .589 2½
Seattle 29 27 .518 6½
Los Angeles 30 28 .517 6½
Oakland 12 46 .207 24½
___
East Division
W L Pct GB
Atlanta 33 23 .589 _
New York 30 27 .526 3½
Miami 29 28 .509 4½
Philadelphia 25 31 .446 8
Washington 24 32 .429 9
Central Division
W L Pct GB
Milwaukee 29 27 .518 _
Pittsburgh 28 27 .509 ½
Cincinnati 26 30 .464 3
St. Louis 25 32 .439 4½
Chicago 24 31 .436 4½
West Division
W L Pct GB
Arizona 34 23 .596 _
Los Angeles 34 23 .596 _
San Francisco 28 28 .500 5½
San Diego 26 30 .464 7½
Colorado 24 34 .414 10½
___
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Wednesday's Games
Detroit 3, Texas 2
L.A. Angels 12, Chicago White Sox 5
Tampa Bay 4, Chicago Cubs 3
Atlanta 4, Oakland 2
Cleveland 12, Baltimore 8
Milwaukee 4, Toronto 2
Cincinnati 5, Boston 4
Minnesota 8, Houston 2
Seattle 1, N.Y. Yankees 0, 10 innings
Thursday's Games
Toronto 3, Milwaukee 1
Boston 8, Cincinnati 2
Minnesota 7, Cleveland 6
Houston 5, L.A. Angels 2
Friday's Games
Oakland (Harris 0-0) at Miami (Cabrera 3-4), 6:40 p.m.
Tampa Bay (Glasnow 0-0) at Boston (Whitlock 2-2), 7:10 p.m.
Toronto (Bassitt 5-4) at N.Y. Mets (Verlander 2-2), 7:10 p.m.
Seattle (Castillo 4-2) at Texas (Gray 5-1), 8:05 p.m.
Cleveland (Civale 1-1) at Minnesota (Ober 3-2), 8:10 p.m.
Colorado (Anderson 0-0) at Kansas City (Lyles 0-9), 8:10 p.m.
Detroit (Olson 0-0) at Chicago White Sox (TBD), 8:10 p.m.
L.A. Angels (Ohtani 5-1) at Houston (Valdez 5-4), 8:10 p.m.
N.Y. Yankees (Severino 0-0) at L.A. Dodgers (Kershaw 6-4), 10:10 p.m.
Baltimore (Kremer 5-2) at San Francisco (Webb 4-5), 10:15 p.m.
Saturday's Games
Tampa Bay at Boston, 1:10 p.m., 1st game
Detroit at Chicago White Sox, 2:10 p.m.
Seattle at Texas, 4:05 p.m.
Colorado at Kansas City, 4:10 p.m.
L.A. Angels at Houston, 4:10 p.m.
Oakland at Miami, 4:10 p.m.
Toronto at N.Y. Mets, 4:10 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Boston, 6:10 p.m., 2nd game
Cleveland at Minnesota, 7:15 p.m.
N.Y. Yankees at L.A. Dodgers, 7:15 p.m.
Baltimore at San Francisco, 10:05 p.m.
___
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Wednesday's Games
Tampa Bay 4, Chicago Cubs 3
Atlanta 4, Oakland 2
Pittsburgh 9, San Francisco 4
Washington 10, L.A. Dodgers 6
Miami 2, San Diego 1
N.Y. Mets 4, Philadelphia 1
Milwaukee 4, Toronto 2
Cincinnati 5, Boston 4
Arizona 6, Colorado 0
Thursday's Games
Toronto 3, Milwaukee 1
San Diego 10, Miami 1
N.Y. Mets 4, Philadelphia 2
Arizona 5, Colorado 4
Boston 8, Cincinnati 2
Friday's Games
Milwaukee (Burnes 4-4) at Cincinnati (Williamson 0-0), 5:10 p.m.
Oakland (Harris 0-0) at Miami (Cabrera 3-4), 6:40 p.m.
Philadelphia (Wheeler 4-4) at Washington (Gray 4-5), 7:05 p.m.
St. Louis (Flaherty 3-4) at Pittsburgh (Contreras 3-4), 7:05 p.m.
Toronto (Bassitt 5-4) at N.Y. Mets (Verlander 2-2), 7:10 p.m.
Colorado (Anderson 0-0) at Kansas City (Lyles 0-9), 8:10 p.m.
Atlanta (Morton 5-5) at Arizona (Kelly 6-3), 9:40 p.m.
Chicago Cubs (Taillon 0-3) at San Diego (Wacha 5-1), 9:40 p.m.
N.Y. Yankees (Severino 0-0) at L.A. Dodgers (Kershaw 6-4), 10:10 p.m.
Baltimore (Kremer 5-2) at San Francisco (Webb 4-5), 10:15 p.m.
Saturday's Games
Philadelphia at Washington, 4:05 p.m.
St. Louis at Pittsburgh, 4:05 p.m.
Colorado at Kansas City, 4:10 p.m.
Milwaukee at Cincinnati, 4:10 p.m.
Oakland at Miami, 4:10 p.m.
Toronto at N.Y. Mets, 4:10 p.m.
N.Y. Yankees at L.A. Dodgers, 7:15 p.m.
Baltimore at San Francisco, 10:05 p.m.
Atlanta at Arizona, 10:10 p.m.
Chicago Cubs at San Diego, 10:10 p.m.
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