Anthony Edwards scored 30 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves staged a double-digit fightback for a series-leveling 119-114 upset of the Denver Nuggets in the NBA playoffs on Monday.

A titanic duel in Denver saw the Wolves overturn an early 19-point deficit before a clinical fourth-quarter display sealed a crucial victory in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series.

The Nuggets, 116-105 winners in game one on Saturday, picked up where they left off with a blistering first-quarter performance that pushed them into a 39-25 lead.

But the Timberwolves bounced back in the second quarter to tie the game 64-64 at halftime before edging the second half.

Edwards was backed by 24 points from Julius Randle while Donte DiVincenzo added 16.

Jamal Murray led the Denver scoring with 30 points while Nikola Jokic added 24 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists.

“We did what we expected to do,” Randle said.

“When you’re coming on the road to start a series, you want to steal one. So we did that, and now we go home and we’ve got two days to get our bodies right.”

CJ McCollum scored 32 points and led a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback as the Atlanta Hawks overturned a 12-point deficit to score a series-leveling 107-106 defeat of the New York Knicks.

Atlanta looked poised to fall 2-0 down in the series after trailing a confident Knicks line-up by as much as 14 points in the third quarter at Madison Square Garden.

But the Hawks roared back to life in the fourth quarter, hauling themselves back into the contest with an 11-0 run to take a 103-100 lead with under two minutes remaining.

A Jalen Brunson 3-pointer tied it at 103-103 but McCollum calmly nailed a fadeaway jump shot to put Atlanta back in front before Jalen Johnson’s dunk gave the Hawks a 107-103 lead with 10 seconds remaining.

Another Brunson 3-pointer cut the lead to 107-106 to set up a frantic finale, but Mikal Bridges missed an attempted buzzer-beater for New York and Atlanta claimed the win.

Cavs in control

“It’s not a series until you get one on the road — and we’ve got one,” McCollum said. “We’re tough, we’re young, but we’re gaining experience by the day.

“We didn’t play our best basketball tonight, but we gave ourselves a bunch of chances and we did enough to win.”

Donovan Mitchell and James Harden combined for 58 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Toronto Raptors 115-105 to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference series.

Fourth-seeded Cleveland, convincing 126-113 victors in game one on Saturday, once again proved too strong for fifth-seeded Toronto as they powered to a wire-to-wire victory.

Mitchell scored 30 points, including four 3-pointers, while Harden finished with 28 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Evan Mobley also had a big night for the Cavs, weighing in with 25 points from an efficient 11-of-13 shooting display.

The Cavs’ victory provided more evidence that the offensive partnership between Mitchell and the 36-year-old Harden, who was traded to the team in February, is blossoming at the right time for Cleveland.

“He’s been doing it a little bit longer than me, but we’ve still been doing it for a long time – just trying to find ways to win,” Mitchell said of Harden.

“Whether it’s passing, it’s rebounding, getting stops — when you have two guys who are trying to chase the same thing, it definitely helps for sure,” Mitchell added.

Toronto’s scoring was led by Scottie Barnes with 26 points, while RJ Barrett added 22.

Game three of the series takes place in Toronto on Thursday.

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Tennis took center stage at the Laureus Awards in Madrid on Monday, where Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz were named Sportswoman and Sportsman of the Year.

The pair were honoured after glittering 2025 campaigns that ⁠saw them finish atop the women’s ⁠and men’s tennis rankings, respectively.

Spaniard Alcaraz, 22, reclaimed the year-end world number one spot after capturing two Grand Slam titles ​at the French Open and U.S. Open, underlining ​his supremacy ⁠across surfaces.

Belarusian Sabalenka, 27, meanwhile, stood alongside him in the winners’ circle in New York and also reached the final in Australia and France, capping a season of relentless consistency.

With her triumph, Sabalenka joins a roll call of Laureus Sportswoman of the Year recipients from her sport, including Serena Williams, Jennifer Capriati, Justine Henin and Naomi Osaka.

In a first for the awards, the ceremony was hosted by two athletes – both former Laureus winners – Novak Djokovic and Eileen Gu. Last year’s top ⁠honours ⁠went to gymnast Simone Biles and pole-vaulter Mondo Duplantis.

Mcilroy takes comeback prize

Elsewhere, Rory McIlroy claimed the World Comeback of the Year Award after ending an 11-year wait to complete the career Grand Slam with a playoff victory at the 2025 Masters, a title he defended in 2026.

Formula One’s Lando Norris was named World Breakthrough of the Year, while Paris St Germain took World Team of the Year after ⁠a trophy haul in 2025 that included the French league and Cup, plus their first Champions League crown.

The Laureus World Sports Awards nominees are selected by the global ​media, while the winners are determined by the 69 members of the ​Laureus World Sports Academy.

The awards have been presented annually since 2000.

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Arsenal’s hopes of a first Premier League title in 22 years suffered a major blow with Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at Manchester City, renewing the familiar specter of Pep Guardiola’s side surging past them in the title race.

Mikel Arteta’s men remain on top of the table for now but could be knocked off their perch for the first time in 2026 when City, with a game in hand, visit doomed Burnley on Wednesday.

Arsenal had lost just three times in 49 games this season before last month’s League Cup defeat to City.

But they have won just one of their past six games, including four consecutive defeats in domestic competitions, as they contemplate another trophyless season.

It is a case of history repeating itself for long-suffering Arsenal fans, who have seen their side finish second in the Premier League for the past three seasons.

In both the 2022/23 and 2023/24 campaigns, Pep Guardiola’s relentless team reeled in Arteta’s side, while last season the Gunners finished behind a resurgent Liverpool.

Once again, City have hit their stride when it matters most, just as Arsenal have run out of steam.

Guardiola has now won 31 of his 39 Premier League games in April as he eyes a seventh title during his decade in Manchester.

By contrast, Arteta has overseen just 11 victories in 27 April league fixtures during his six-and-a-half years in charge.

Arteta was keen to stress that fortune had not favored his side in a game of fine margins at the Etihad.

While Arsenal clearly showed signs of nerves in losing at home to Bournemouth last weekend, they took the game to City and were undeterred by Rayan Cherki’s brilliant opener.

Kai Havertz charged down Gianluigi Donnarumma’s attempted clearance to level almost immediately and Arsenal had plenty of other chances.

Eberechi Eze’s shot somehow came off the post and along the line rather than into the net when the score was 1-1 and Gabriel Magalhaes’s deflected header also came off the post in a frantic finale.

But Arsenal have only themselves to blame for repeated failings that have not been addressed.

Havertz missed two huge chances in the second half – the German international failed to beat Donnarumma when one-on-one before heading over when unmarked deep into stoppage time.

Arteta fell to his knees in the technical area in despair.

After an injury-disrupted 18 months, Havertz was thrust into action for the full match as Arteta left Viktor Gyokeres on the bench until the final minutes.

The Swede was the man signed to solve Arsenal’s need for a prolific No. 9 in last summer’s transfer window.

Gyokeres is the club’s top scorer with 18 goals in all competitions, but he has rarely looked as if he is the answer against top-quality opposition.

Ruthless City

Arteta admitted that City were sharper in attack.

“We proved that we are there, but the reality is that in the two boxes there was a difference,” said Arteta. “That’s what we think is the difference between the two sides, the finishing in the boxes.”

“There is an element of luck, there is an element of timing, of execution. There are a lot of things that have to be your way,” he added.

“At the end, winning or not winning is going to come down to this moment. There are certain individual moments that you need in order to achieve what we want,” Arteta said.

For Guardiola, Erling Haaland proved the value of a world-class striker.

The Norwegian had been well-marshalled in a bruising battle with Gabriel, but stole ahead of his marker to slot home the winning goal and his 47th for club and country this season.

“You can see the difference today on the field and those top players made a difference today,” former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira told Sky Sports.

“They will feel the pressure more now. I always question the mental strength of the team and I will question it more now regarding the result today.”

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The Orlando Magic upset the Detroit Pistons 112-101 Sunday, while defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder and the Boston Celtics opened the NBA playoffs with emphatic victories.

The Thunder, trying to become the first team since Golden State in 2017 and 2018 to repeat as champions, came out firing in a 119-84 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

The Celtics, seeded second in the Eastern Conference behind Detroit, dominated the Philadelphia 76ers 123-91.

San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama, meanwhile, made a triumphant playoff debut, scoring 35 points as the Spurs beat the Portland Trail Blazers 111-98.

Oklahoma City looked rested and recharged after a week off since they locked up the Western Conference top seed and best record in the league.

But Eastern Conference top seeds Detroit looked rusty and the Magic, who battled through the play-in to bag their playoff berth, took advantage.

Paolo Banchero scored 23 points and Franz Wagner scored 11 of his 19 in the fourth quarter as the Magic withstood a 39-point performance from Pistons star Cade Cunningham.

Detroit trailed by as many as 13 in the first quarter and by 11 early in the third. A Cunningham 3-pointer tied it midway through the third, but the Magic pulled away again.

“I liked our composure the whole game, our energy,” Wagner said after the Magic handed the Pistons an 11th straight home playoff defeat, a skid dating back to 2008.

“(We) just didn’t come out with the right energy, gave them life early on,” Cunningham said. “Then we had to deal with that for the rest of the game.”

But Cunningham remained confident that the Pistons can turn things around in the best-of-seven first-round series.

“There’s no confidence drop from us,” he said. “It’ll be a long, fun series.”

Fans were revved in Oklahoma City, where reigning NBA Most Valuable Player and NBA Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 25 points.

He connected on just five of 18 from the field but made 15 of his 17 free throw attempts and added seven assists and two blocked shots before sitting out the entire fourth quarter.

Jalen Williams added 22 points and Chet Holmgren scored 16 for the Thunder.

Devin Booker scored 23 points for Phoenix, but the Suns were otherwise stifled by the Thunder.

“It was a great defensive performance,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “We forced them to earn everything.”

In Boston, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 51 points as the Celtics led wire-to-wire against the Sixers.

‘Incredible feeling’

Tatum led the charge, racking up 21 of his 25 points in the first half. Brown poured in 16 of his 26 in the third quarter alone.

“It’s an incredible feeling,” said Tatum, whose unexpected late-season return from a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered in last year’s playoffs has plenty of pundits picking Boston, not Detroit, to emerge from the East.

“Not too long ago, I wasn’t even sure if I was going to be able to play this season, let alone get an opportunity to play in the playoffs.”

In San Antonio, the second-seeded Spurs led by as many as 16 points on the way to a 59-49 halftime lead.

Portland, led by 30 points and 10 rebounds from Deni Avdija, cut the deficit to two early in the third quarter.

But the Spurs pulled away again, thrilling the San Antonio fans who have waited since 2019 to see the five-time champion franchise return to the playoffs.

“We were solid, but job’s not done,” said Wembanyama, who earlier in the day joined Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver’s Nikola Jokic as a finalist for regular-season MVP honors.

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Fenerbahçe reclaimed the EuroLeague Women title Sunday with a commanding 68-55 victory over archrival Galatasaray in an all-Turkish final in Zaragoza, Spain.

The win helped the Istanbul giants secure their third crown and reassert dominance in Europe’s premier women’s basketball competition.

Playing at Pabellon Principe Felipe, both teams struggled to find rhythm early, with Fenerbahçe edging a tight first quarter 17-16 despite Galatasaray’s strong defensive presence in the paint.

Galatasaray briefly took control in the second period with an 8-0 run to lead 27-25, but Fenerbahçe responded through efficient inside play, led by Iliana Rupert, to carry a 37-32 advantage into halftime.

Fenerbahçe tightened their grip in the third quarter, sparked by back-to-back 3-pointers from floor general Julie Allemand.

While Galatasaray stayed within reach behind efforts from Elizabeth Williams and Smalls, Fenerbahçe maintained a 51-45 lead heading into the final period.

The defending champions then pulled away in the fourth quarter, stretching the margin into double digits and closing out a comfortable 68-55 win.

Allemand was named Final Six MVP after delivering a near triple-double in the final with 13 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists.

Across the tournament, she averaged 12.5 points, 7.0 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game, underlining her pivotal role in Fenerbahçe’s title run.

Teammate Emma Meesseman further cemented her legacy as one of the competition’s all-time greats by claiming her seventh EuroLeague Women title, the most by any player in the modern era.

The Final Six All-Star Five featured Allemand and Meesseman alongside Galatasaray’s Williams, Merritt Hempe of host club Casademont Zaragoza and Klara Holm of Spar Girona.

Earlier Sunday, Zaragoza secured their first-ever podium finish by defeating Spar Girona 66-63 in the third-place game, marking a historic achievement for the hosts.

The triumph capped a dominant campaign for Fenerbahçe, who had previously lifted the EuroLeague Women trophy in 2023 and 2024, and now return to the top of European basketball once again.

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LeBron James led the Los Angeles Lakers to a 107-98 win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday, while the Denver Nuggets held off the Minnesota Timberwolves in a physical opener to the NBA playoffs.

The Nuggets, fueled by Nikola Jokic’s 25-point triple-double and 30 points from Jamal Murray, beat the Timberwolves 116-105.

The New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers also powered to wins in the Eastern Conference, the Knicks beating the Atlanta Hawks 113-102 and the Cavaliers thumping the Toronto Raptors 126-113.

In Los Angeles, 41-year-old superstar James launched his record-equaling 19th playoff campaign with a double-double of 19 points and 13 assists.

He added eight rebounds as the Lakers shook off the injury absences of league-leading scorer Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves with a convincing victory in game one of their best-of-seven Western Conference series.

“We understand the circumstances that we’re in,” James said of a Lakers team that will be without Doncic and Reaves indefinitely after both suffered late-season injuries.

“We don’t have time to wait around, especially versus a hard-playing, well-coached team like Houston. So it was a good first test for us.”

Grimy game

All five Lakers starters scored in double figures, with Luke Kennard leading the way with 27 points on nine-of-13 shooting, including five-of-five from 3-point range.

“He stepped up big-time,” James said.

Turkish center Alperen Şengün scored 19 points to lead the Rockets, who felt the absence of Kevin Durant after the 37-year-old star was ruled out shortly before the game with a bruised knee.

“Hopefully it’s a one-game thing,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said.

In Denver, three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic added 13 rebounds and 11 assists, shaking off a slow start that saw him score just six points in the first half.

Murray scored 17 of his 30 in the first half to keep the Nuggets close and finished a perfect 16 of 16 from the free-throw line.

The third playoff series in four seasons between the teams got off to a physical start, with more than 40 fouls called, a flagrant foul called on Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels and a technical on Denver coach David Adelman.

The Nuggets trailed by as many as 12 in the first quarter before bearing down in the second period and pulling away after the break.

Adelman was pleased with the way his team responded after the early punch from the visitors.

“Winning a grimy game, it’s good,” Adelman said. “Both teams are experienced and used to winning these games. They know what it means to play in a physical match-up. There’s respect … there’s also a want to win.”

Anthony Edwards, battling back from a knee injury, led the Timberwolves with 22 points, and Rudy Gobert added a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds.

‘Always interesting’

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch called the number of free throws awarded to Murray “a head scratcher”.

“Sixteen free throws is a lot,” Finch said. “It’s almost as many as we shot all game.”

Countered Murray: “They were real fouls.”

“It was physical,” Jokic said. “Whenever we play them, it’s always interesting.”

In New York, Jalen Brunson scored 28 points and Karl-Anthony Towns added 25 for the Knicks against the Hawks.

Brunson scored 19 in the first quarter alone, and when he cooled off, Towns scored 19 in the second half to keep things rolling for a Knicks team aiming to improve on their trip to last year’s Eastern Conference finals.

In Cleveland, Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points to fuel the Cavaliers in a 126-113 win over the Toronto Raptors.

James Harden added a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds and Max Strus scored 24 points off the bench for the Cavs.

RJ Barrett scored 24 points for the Raptors, who never led after the opening minutes and trailed by as many as 24.

Mitchell has now scored at least 30 points in an NBA record nine straight playoff series openers.

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