PHOENIX (AP) — Ozzie Albies and Matt Olson opened the ninth inning with back-to-back home runs, sending the Atlanta Braves to a 2-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. Grant Holmes held the Diamondbacks to one hit through six innings, matching zeros with Arizona starter ...

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer PHOENIX (AP) — Dawn Staley and South Carolina are back in the NCAA Tournament title game after knocking off unbeaten UConn and Geno Auriemma in a physical contest that ended with a heated exchange between the game's most recognizable ...

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer MILWAUKEE (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 26 points, Jayson Tatum added 23, and the hot-shooting Boston Celtics capitalized on another fast start in a 133-101 victory over the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night. Tatum was an assist shy of his ...

By SCHUYLER DIXON AP Sports Writer DALLAS (AP) — Wendell Carter Jr. scored 28 points and the Orlando Magic beat Dallas 138-127 on Friday night, overcoming a 51-point showing from rookie No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg and handing the Mavericks their 14th consecutive loss at home. Desmond Bane ...

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer PHOENIX (AP) — UConn's Geno Auriemma was not a happy man. With the officiating. With his team's performance. With South Carolina coach Dawn Staley. The Huskies coach ripped into the officiating during a live TV interview and then had a heated argument ...

By ADAM SPOLANE Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 25 points and the Houston Rockets won their fifth straight game, beating the Utah Jazz 140-106 on Friday night. Durant shot 8 of 12 from the field and added five assists. It was the 45th time this season he's scored 20 ...

By ADRY TORRES Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — OG Anunoby scored 31 points, Mitchell Robinson had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and the New York Knicks routed the Chicago Bulls 136-96 on Friday night in a game they led by 47 points. Anunoby was 9 for 15 from the field, including 7 for 10 ...

By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Brandon Miller scored 22 points, Kon Knueppel added 20 and the Charlotte Hornets beat the Indiana Pacers 129-108 on Friday night for their eighth victory in 10 games. Miles Bridges scored 19 points and LaMelo Ball had 18 points and ...

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer CLEVELAND (AP) — Chase DeLauter has developed a knack for memorable openers. DeLauter became the first Cleveland player to make his major league debut in last year's AL Wild Card series against Detroit. On March 26 at Seattle, DeLauter became the seventh ...

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Robert MacIntyre added the Valero Texas Open this year to be sharp for the Masters, and he looked every bit of that Friday with four birdies in his last five holes for an 8-under 64 and a four-shot lead over Ryder Cup teammate Ludvig Aberg. MacIntyre felt comfortable with ...

By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer PITTSBURGH (AP) — All of the emotions were there, from joy to jitters and everything in between. Well, almost everything. The one thing Konnor Griffin didn't feel when the Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop — all 19 years and 344 days of him — ahead of his ...

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Sports Writer MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Tristan Gray hit his first career grand slam to cap a seven-run seventh inning for the Minnesota Twins in a cold and rainy 10-4 home-opener victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday. Gray's one-out line drive off a 1-1 cutter from ...

By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer DENVER (AP) — Brandon Marsh hit a three-run homer as part of a seven-run first inning, Aaron Nola pitched efficiently into the seventh and the Philadelphia Phillies spoiled Colorado's home opener by beating the Rockies 10-1 on Friday. The Phillies set the ...

By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer PITTSBURGH (AP) — Konnor Griffin debuted in style. The 19-year-old Pirates shortstop delivered an RBI double in his first big league at-bat as Pittsburgh held off the Baltimore Orioles 5-4 on Friday. Griffin, called up on Thursday and the consensus top ...

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer CLEVELAND (AP) — Rookie Chase DeLauter had three hits, including a two-run homer in the seventh inning, and drove in three runs as the Cleveland Guardians won their home opener 4-1 against the Chicago Cubs on Friday. Gabriel Arias also went deep in the ...

By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Baseball Writer ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Tyler Stephenson hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the ninth inning and the Cincinnati Reds won in their first road game this season, a 5-3 victory to spoil the home opener for the Texas Rangers on Friday. Spencer Steer and ...

By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Illinois coach Brad Underwood doesn't need any reminders about what happened the last two times his team faced UConn. He can just plug in the game tapes, rewind them and watch them again. Back in November, the Huskies led ...

By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — UConn had just finished Friday's public practice at the Final Four. Coach Dan Hurley had paced around the court for the better part of an hour clutching a tablet, staring and poking at the screen seemingly as much as he watched his ...

By KYLE HIGHTOWER AP Sports Writer BOSTON (AP) — Marcelo Mayer and Willson Contreras both hit home runs as part of a three-run sixth inning and the Boston Red Sox snapped a five-game losing streak with a 5-2 win in their home opener over the San Diego Padres on Friday. Caleb Durbin ...

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the first inning, and the New York Yankees beat the Miami Marlins 8-2 in their home opener Friday for their second 6-1 start in three seasons. Trent Grisham reached leading off with the first of 11 walks by Marlins pitchers and ...