Powered by a history-making Nikola Jokić triple-double, the Denver Nuggets rallied for a 113-111 win to complete a 4-0 sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals. The victory continued a remarkable postseason run by the Nuggets while securing their first-ever trip to the NBA Finals. They did so while overcoming the best effort of the postseason by one of the game’s all-time greats.

Lebron James started the game on fire, scoring 21 points in the first quarter as the Lakers took a 34-26 lead. He shot 7-of-9 from the field, including a 4-of-4 effort from 3-point distance. A lob attempt from beyond the 3-point arc instead dropped through the net for a basket in a sign of things to come.

The bucket sparked a personal 8-0 run by James that gave the Lakers a 23-15 lead. He remained hot throughout the half, and didn’t leave the game until taking an early break to the locker with with 4.3 seconds remaining in the half. The Lakers led 73-58 at the break powered by James’ 31 first-half points.

But the Nuggets weren’t fazed. From there, the game remained a back-and-forth battle through the final minute. But as they’ve done all postseason, the Nuggets made the big plays when it mattered most down the stretch. A Jokić layup in traffic with 51.1 seconds remaining gave Denver the lead for good at 113-11.

Young Reds starter Hunter Greene had some nasty stuff early on Sunday morning in Cincinnati, but the Yankees made their four hits against him count. Homers from Harrison Bader and Gleyber Torres put New York ahead, and the Bombers won Luis Severino’s much-anticipated season debut, 4-1.

Luis Severino’s return was worth the wait. It took longer than initially expected when he strained his lat in the final week of spring training, and he is still not all the way built up after an abbreviated rehab assignment. 

But working on a pitch count of 75, Severino got stronger as his season debut went on. The right-hander struck out five over 4 innings of one-run ball, retiring nine of the final 10 batters he faced in an encouraging outing overall. 

“I feel pretty good,” Severino said. “Feel like I was attacking the  zone after the first walk. But everything else was really good.” 

Severino also built up his velocity as the game went on, averaging 96.7 mph with his fastball but topping out at 98.6 mph on a strikeout of Kevin Newman in the fifth inning. 

His fastball generated eight of his 12 swings and misses on the day.

Retired NFL quarterback Tom Brady has acquired an ownership interest in the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, the team announced.

“I am very excited to be part of the Las Vegas Aces organization,” Brady said. “My love for women’s sports began at a young age when I would tag along to all my older sisters’ games—They were by far the best athletes in our house! We celebrated their accomplishments together as a family, and they remain a great inspiration to me.” 

The Aces, formerly the San Antonio Stars, relocated to Las Vegas in 2018 and were purchased by Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis prior to the 2021 season.

“I have always been a huge fan of women’s sports, and I admire the work that the Aces’ players, staff, and the WNBA continue to do to grow the sport and empower future generations of athletes. To be able to contribute in any way to that mission as a member of the Aces organization is an incredible honor.”

Nabisco announced the launch of new Oreo Blackout Cake Chocolate Sandwich Cookies.

Oreo Blackout Cake Chocolate Sandwich Cookies feature a classic chocolate basecake with a layer of chocolate cake flavor creme stacked on top of a layer of dark chocolate cake flavor creme.

You can find the new Oreo Blackout Cake Chocolate Sandwich Cookies at retailers nationwide wherever Oreo is sold.

IHOP is spreading more joy with its largest menu evolution to-date, featuring a selection of craveable items spanning across breakfast, lunch, dinner, and beyond. 

The new menu was driven by the brand’s research that identifies exactly what guests are looking for when it comes to IHOP’s menu – quality ingredients, options that meet the indulgent and lighter side of cravings, choice, and value.

As the leader in all things breakfast, IHOP continues to elevate and expand its offerings to ensure the brand is providing guests with quality ingredients. IHOP debuts its fresh take on Sweet & Savory Crepes, best-in-class Eggs Benedicts, juicy Ultimate Steakburgers with a new Four-Cheese Crisp, and the return of fan-favorite Cinn-A-Stack Pancakes crafted to satisfy guests’ cravings any time of day. 

Jalen Brunson had a superb season, from the start until the bitter end, but the Knicks’ other top players couldn’t do nearly enough to help him keep that season alive.

Brunson followed up his 48-minute masterpiece from two nights earlier  with 41 points in 45 minutes, but the Knicks received little production from Julius Randle and RJ Barrett in a crushing, season-ending 96-92 loss to the Heat in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series at Kaseya Center.

“You’ve got to give the Heat a lot of credit. They didn’t play like an eight seed, at all,” Brunson said. “For me, we did a lot of great things this season. We obviously want the team to keep playing, to have the opportunity.

“It stings a little bit, definitely a learning experience. But if you don’t win, you lose.”

Aside from Brunson, who finished 14-for-22 from the field, the other four Knicks starters shot a combined 15.6 percent (5-for-32). 

That shoddy statistic included 20 of 24 misses by Randle (15 points) and Barrett (11) as the Knicks fell to 0-15 in their history when trailing 3-1 in a best-of-seven playoff series.

The Yankees made the most of their get-right series by sweeping the worst team in baseball. Now they will try to funnel that momentum into taking another shot at the best team in baseball.

In between showdowns against the division rival Rays, the Yankees got a laugher of a series against the Athletics, which they completed with an 11-3 blowout in The Bronx — capped off by Anthony Volpe’s first career grand slam.

Coming off a brutal loss to the Rays on Sunday in Tampa, in which they blew a 6-0 lead and coughed up a chance to win the series, the Yankees came home to the soft cushion of playing the lowly A’s. 

The three-game series was a welcome respite — in which the Yankees combined to outscore the A’s 28-10 — from an otherwise mediocre start to the season.

Before welcoming the Rays to The Bronx for a four-game series on Thursday, the Yankees enjoyed one more round of batting practice that counted as a real game on Wednesday. 

It included a three-hit day from Aaron Judge, more home runs for Harrison Bader and DJ LeMahieu, and Volpe’s first-pitch grand slam that put an exclamation point on a seven-run fifth inning.

Panera celebrates all things salad with the introduction of the new Southwest Caesar Salad with Chicken alongside the return of its signature Strawberry Poppyseed Salad.

The new Southwest Caesar Salad with Chicken features crisp romaine tossed in Caesar dressing, with a drizzle of chipotle aioli and the crunch of blue corn tortilla strips. Raised without antibiotics grilled chicken breast, chunks of fresh avocado, grated parmesan cheese, and cilantro top off the new dish.

In addition to the new Southwest Caesar Salad with Chicken, Panera is welcoming back the Strawberry Poppyseed Salad.

The Strawberry Poppyseed Salad features romaine lettuce, chicken raised without antibiotics, mandarin oranges, fresh strawberries, pineapple and blueberries, tossed with Panera’s poppyseed dressing and topped with roasted pecan pieces.

After taking a 6-0 lead against the Rays and blowing it with Gerrit Cole on the mound, the Yankees came back to force extra innings before suffering a crushing loss.

The Rays walked it off for an 8-7 win in 10 innings in front of 32,142 in a playoff-like atmosphere at Tropicana Field.

Despite the teams being separated by nine games entering the series — with the Rays (28-7) atop the AL East and the Yankees (18-17) in last place, just as they finished the weekend — they played three one-run games. 

And yet dropping two of three, especially with how gut-wrenching Sunday’s finale was, felt like a brutal swing for the beaten-up Yankees.

“I feel like we could have walked away with three of these games and they probably feel the same way,” Anthony Rizzo said.

After the Yankees’ bullpen had already used Jimmy Cordero, Clay Holmes, Wandy Peralta and Michael King to get through the ninth inning — with Ian Hamilton and Ron Marinaccio unavailable — Albert Abreu came on for the bottom of the 10th and allowed a one-out single to Isaac Paredes to end it.

The Mets were defeated 5-2 by the Rockies in yet another lifeless performance that is becoming all too common. Tylor Megill struggled through over four innings and the offense remained uncompetitive against southpaws, or against pitching in general. They have scored just four runs in their last 38 innings and have now lost ten of their last thirteen.

The Mets did manage to tie the game twice when the Rockies took a one-run lead, but the difference became the Mets scoring on outs and never finding the big hit. The Rockies, however, did not have that problem. 

First it was Elias Díaz who bookended Megill’s day. He opened the scoring in the first with a RBI single and then ended the righty’s day with another RBI hit with two-outs in the fifth. Megill badly needed to get that out but couldn’t manage it on a day when he was in trouble throughout the entire outing.

Megill’s final line for the day was 4.2 innings, six hits, three walks, three runs, and four strikeouts which is unacceptable when the plan is to have Joey Lucchesi pitch on three days rest for the finale of the series.