Amazon Prime's stream crashed during the NBA play-in tournament opener and Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball punched the team's mascot not once, and that's the least of the league's worries

The San Antonio Spurs will face the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs.Portland won at Phoenix on Tuesday night, 114-110, to earn the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference and a first-round matchup with the second-seeded Spurs.Heres how the Spurs fared against the Trail Blazers during the 2025-26 regular season. San Antonio won two of three head-to-head matchups versus Portland.Regular season resultsGame 1 at Portland Nov. 26, 2025: Spurs 115, Blazers 102This was an NBA Cup group stage contest. Victor Wembanyama sat out with a left calf strain.DeAaron Fox led the Spurs with 37 points. San Antonio shot 22 of 25 (88%) from the free throw line. The Spurs trailed for most of the first half, but they needed a second-half surge to come away with the win. Game 2 at San Antonio Jan. 3, 2026: Blazers 115, Spurs 110Wembanyama sat out again this time with left knee soreness. Devin Vassell did not suit up, either, due to a strained left adductor.Trail Blazers All-Star Deni Avdija posted a triple-double with 29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Portland made 19 3-pointers compared to the Spurs 10 threes. Game 3 at San Antonio April 8, 2026: Spurs 112, Blazers 101As was the case for the first two games, Wembanyama did not face the Blazers due to injury. Stephon Castle also sat out with right knee soreness.Fox led the Spurs with 25 points. Sixth Man of the Year candidate Keldon Johnson added 20 points off the pine. San Antonio had six players score in double figures to help offset Wembanyamas absence. Notes on the Trail BlazersDont let the No. 7 seed fool you. Interim head coach Tiago Splitter has Avdija, two-time NBA champion Jrue Holiday and a hungry young roster ready to give his former team everything it can handle.Avdija led the Trail Blazers in scoring (24.2 points per game) and assists (6.7 per game) during the regular season. He faced the Spurs in all three games and averaged 31.7 points per game his best average against any team he faced three or more times this season.Now in his second NBA season, center Donovan Clingan played in 77 games and averaged 12.1 points and 11.6 rebounds. Though he never squared up against Wembanyama this season, he posted 14.7 points and 11.3 rebounds in three games against San Antonio. Clingan will also share the court against friend, ex-college teammate and budding Spurs guard Stephon Castle. Both Clingan and Castle helped the UConn Huskies capture their second of back-to-back national titles in 2024. Holiday, a veteran guard, is in his first season with the Blazers. He averaged 16.3 points and 6.1 assists per game in the regular season. The 17-year NBA veteran brings championship pedigree to Portland.The Trail Blazers are led by Splitter, a former Spurs forward.On Oct. 23, 2025, Splitter was named interim head coach after Chauncey Billups was arrested in connection with a federal gambling investigation and placed on administrative leave by the NBA.The Spurs selected Splitter with the 28th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. He developed into a key part of San Antonios 2014 NBA championship team.San Antonio holds homecourt advantage in the best-of-seven series. Game 1 will be tip at 8 p.m. on Sunday at the Frost Bank Center. More recent San Antonio Spurs coverage on KSAT: NBA announces tipoff times, TV networks for first 4 Spurs-Trail Blazers playoff gamesSpurs hold first practice ahead of playoffs, leaning on 2 NBA champions to prepare young coreSpurs guard Devin Vassell serves up heat at Panda Express meet-and-greet ahead of playoffsSpurs playoff return coincides with Fiesta, igniting San Antonio spiritNBA playoff odds show Spurs as No. 2 favorite to take home title

LaMelo Ball was so excited after delivering a knockout blow to the Miami Heat in Tuesday nights electric 127-126 play-in tournament win that he carried it over to his victory celebration, delivering two right-hand jabs to the oversized head of Hugo, the Charlotte Hornets mascot.In a wild sequence, Ball avenged two critical mistakes just seconds earlier by scoring on a driving right-handed layup with 4.7 seconds left, and Charlotte prevailed after Miles Bridges blocked Davion Mitchells layup attempt on the other of the court as time expired. That set off a wild celebration on the court involving players, coaches and fans as the team earned its first home postseason win in a decade.Ball celebrated at midcourt, flexing after the winning layup. Local television station WBTV caught video of the hyped point guard delivering two seemingly playful blows at Hugo before embracing teammate Coby White in a bear hug. Hugo simply walked away.Ball was the center of attention all night, and it remained uncertain if he could face disciplinary action from the league ahead of Charlotte's next play-in game on Friday night after it appeared he took a swipe at the leg of Bam Adebayo early in the second quarter, causing the Heat center to fall on his back.Ball was not called for a foul and play continued. Adebayo did not return because of a lower back injury, playing just 11 minutes.Afterward, Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said Ball should have been ejected.Ball apologized after the game and said he was disoriented on the play after getting hit in the head seconds before on a drive to the basket.The ninth-seeded Hornets play on the road against the loser of Wednesdays night game between Orlando and Philadelphia as they look to snap a 10-year playoff drought.We drew up a good play, I feel like. Just orchestrated it and it worked," Ball said of the winning shot.Ball was not asked about punching the mascot after the game; the video of it had not surfaced at that point.The crowd was amazing," Ball said of the sold-out crowd. "Everyone who came out today was real loud, so it was a good crowd.Charlotte was able to get to overtime after White hit an off-balanced 3-pointer from the corner with 10.8 seconds left to tie the game, and Miami's Tyler Herro missed a jumper at the end of regulation.The Hornets surrendered a five-point lead in OT behind two Ball blunders.After Herro drained a turnaround 3 in the corner, Ball turned the ball over at midcourt and then fouled Herro on a 3-point attempt. Herro made all three free throws to briefly give Miami a 126-125 lead, setting up Ball's theatrics on an inbounds play.We just stayed together throughout it all, it was an up-and-down game. But thats what the play-in is about," Bridges said. "... We did a great job executing on offense, LaMelo did a great job getting a layup, and then we executed on defense on the other end.___AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Ben Stokes has revealed he considers himself fortunate to still be alive following a frightening incident in February that left him with a fractured cheekbone.The England Test captain sustained the injury when a cricket ball struck him directly in the face while he was working with young players at Durham's academy.Stokes told the England and Wales Cricket Board: "I copped one straight in the face. Pretty nasty but, funnily, probably the best result of a bad situation, to be honest."The 34-year-old all-rounder underwent what he described as "pretty major facial surgery" to repair the damage.TRENDINGStoriesVideosYour Say"All things considered... I've got out quite lucky. So pretty thankful for that," he said, adding it had been "a pretty scary situation".Stokes explained a split-second reaction may have prevented a far worse outcome. Had the ball connected just slightly differently, the consequences could have been devastating.He said: "Just a couple of inches one way or the other, I might not be here doing this interview, if I didn't turn my head round."The incident occurred while Stokes was standing at the side of the net during an indoor training session. A ball driven by one of the youth players struck him with considerable force.At the time, the England skipper shared a graphic photograph on social media showing a bloodied nose, heavy bruising around his right eye, and a visibly grazed cheek."It was a bit of a mess under here," Stokes said, gesturing to his cheekbone.LATEST SPORT NEWSF1 implement immediate rule change to stop George Russell's controversial 'engine trick'Manchester United star receives ban for swearing at referee as full punishment revealedHugo Ekitike injury update: Liverpool star could be out 'until 2027' after severe Achilles problemThe injury disrupted Stokes's preparations for the new season by approximately a month to five weeks, forcing him to reassess his plans.He said: "I just had to quickly go back to the drawing board and put a plan together to get me ready to play a couple of games for Durham before the Test summer starts."The all-rounder has not featured in competitive cricket since England's Ashes campaign concluded in January, where he was also recovering from an abductor injury sustained during the fifth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.However, Stokes confirmed he is now approaching the end of his rehabilitation and expects to return for Durham in the County Championship.He is scheduled to play against Worcestershire on May 8, with a second county fixture also planned before international duties resume.Stokes is set to captain England when they face New Zealand in the opening Test of the summer at Lord's on June 4, a date that coincides with his 35th birthday.The three-match series against the Black Caps will be followed by another red-ball contest against Pakistan later in the summer, while India and Sri Lanka are scheduled for white-ball tours.England will be seeking to recover from their disappointing winter campaign in Australia, where hopes of a first Ashes triumph since 2010/11 ended in a 4-1 defeat.Stokes has indicated he and head coach Brendon McCullum will approach matters "in a slightly different way" this summer, although he dismissed suggestions of any rift between the pair.Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter

The pop star confirms the follow-up to her classic 2005 album will be released in July.

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Nico Luaces, journaliste pour AZZ, une chane de tlvision argentine, a ralis une interview assez particulire avec une fan en marge de la victoire de Boca Junior en Copa Libertadores ce mardi soir.

Denmark's two-time Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen, 32, has retired due to persistent back issues, ending a dominant era in badminton. His career, marked by two Olympic golds and two World Championship titles, redefined the sport's physical standards. Axelsen's influence extended globally, particularly in China, where he connected with fans in Mandarin.

representation of these athletes. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has not issued an immediate

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