BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown had 36 points and 10 rebounds, Kristaps Porzingis returned to the game after getting a bloody gash to the forehead and finished with 20 points, and the Boston Celtics beat the Orlando Magic 109-100 in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Wednesday night.
Boston took a 2-0 series lead while playing without All-Star Jayson Tatum, who has a bone bruise in his right wrist and missed a playoff game for the first time in his career.
Boston led by 15 points in the second half, then held off a late push by Orlando. The Celtics hit 12 3-pointers and went 25 of 33 from the free-throw line. Derrick White and Brown had 17 of Boston’s 28 points in the final period; White finished with 17.
Paolo Banchero led the Magic with 32 points and nine rebounds. Franz Wagner scored 25 points.
CAVALIERS 121, HEAT 112
CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter, and Cleveland held on for a victory over Miami Heat on Wednesday night for a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.
The top-seeded Cavaliers set an NBA playoff record with 11 3-pointers in the second quarter and had 22 for the game. However, Cleveland had to hold off a second-half charge by Miami.
Tyler Herro scored 33 points for Miami, which hosts Game 3 on Saturday afternoon.
The Cavaliers had a 19-point lead with under 3 minutes remaining in the third quarter before the Heat made their run to get within 105-103 lead with 3:11 left.
Mitchell, who also had six rebounds and six assists, then put the game on his shoulders. He scored Cleveland’s next eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers, during an 8-2 run to give them some breathing room.
Evan Mobley had 20 points and Darius Garland 19 for the Cavaliers.
ROCKETS 109, WARRIORS 94
HOUSTON (AP) — Jalen Green made eight 3-pointers and scored 38 points to lead Houston to a win over Golden State in a testy matchup to even the first-round Western Conference series at one game apiece.
The seventh-seeded Warriors never led and played short-handed for most of the night after Jimmy Butler left with a pelvis contusion after a hard fall on a foul late in the first quarter.
Green, the No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft, rebounded from a flop in his playoff debut, when he scored just seven points on 3-of-15 shooting, with a dominant Game 2.
His eight 3-pointers were two more than the No. 2-seeded Rockets made on 6-of-29 shooting in a 95-85 Game 1 loss.
Alperen Sengun had 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Rockets. Tari Eason had 14 points off the bench.
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) drives to the basket against Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac (1) during the first half in game 2 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
ATLANTA (AP) — AJ Smith-Shawver is breaking out as an emerging force in the Atlanta Braves' rotation.
That rotation soon will receive another boost, as Spencer Strider is ready to come off the injured list.
After Smith-Shawver allowed only two hits and no earned runs in six innings in the Braves' 5-2 win over the Washington Nationals on Thursday, manager Brian Snitker said Strider would return to the rotation when Atlanta plays at Washington next week.
“We're not sure which game,” Snitker said.
Snitker didn't say how the Braves would create a spot for Strider, who threw a five-inning simulated game at Truist Park on Wednesday. The right-hander was placed on the 15-day injured list on April 21 after straining his right hamstring.
The hamstring injury came after Strider had completed his comeback from UCL internal brace surgery on his right elbow on April 12, 2024. He was an All-Star in 2023, when he finished fourth in the NL Cy Young Award voting after going 20-5 with a 3.86 ERA and a major league-best 281 strikeouts.
Strider pitched five innings in a 3-1 loss at Toronto on April 16 in his first game back from the surgery. Then his comeback was put on hold, thanks to the hamstring injury.
Smith-Shawver, 22, has been dominant since his recall from Triple-A Gwinnett on April 29. Though it's not clear how the Braves will make room for Strider, Smith-Shawver has made a strong case that he ranks as one of the team's top starters.
“For me, it's really just been trusting my stuff,” Smith-Shawver said Thursday.
“I don't know if it's more belief or just getting more comfortable with more reps.”
Smith-Shawver (3-2) has allowed one earned run in 19 2/3 innings over his last three starts, leaving his ERA at 2.33. The right-hander took a no-hitter into the eighth inning of a 4-0 win over Cincinnati on May 5. Snitker said Thursday's start, which included six strikeouts, “might have been better.”
“Very impressive right there,” Snitker said. “He came out of the shoot firing, boy.”
Smith-Shawver has won his last three decisions and is a big reason the Braves (22-22) returned to .500 for the second time in three days after losing their first seven games to open the season.
The rotation has also included 2024 NL Cy Young winner Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach, Grant Holmes and Bryce Elder. Following Thursday's game, Elder was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett.
Right-hander Reynaldo López was shut down for 12 weeks last month following surgery on his inflamed right shoulder but could return in the second half of the season.
Snitker said a six-man rotation is “not feasible” when the team has off days.
Smith-Shawver says he knows the team could face a surplus of starting pitchers.
“Those decisions are always tough,” he said, adding he's just focusing on each opportunity.
“When they tell you to throw the ball, you throw the ball and enjoy it.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker stands in the dugout before a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh, Saturday, May 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Atlanta Braves pitcher AJ Smith-Shawver delivers in the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)
