The ATP Rome Masters 1000 is nicely rolling along with Round of 32 action underway. Top seeds are in action trying to gather up momentum before the French Open. As ever, we preview and predict the matches scheduled for you.
ATP Rome Day 6 Predictions
Marcos Giron vs Hubert Hurkacz
Head-to-head – Giron 0-3 Hurkacz
Both players enter this tournament with middling results in 2025. Marcos Giron doesn’t play his best on clay and Hubert Hurkacz does play well on the clay courts. They have never played each other on clay but Giron has lost all three matches they have played before. Expect Hurkacz to play a solid match like he did in his first round match. Prediction: Hurkacz in 2
Francisco Cerundolo vs Sebastian Ofner
Head-to-head – Cerundolo 2-0 Ofner
Francisco Cerundolo is having a great season so far and his recent showing at the Madrid Masters cemented his place as a contender for going deep at the French Open. He takes on Sebastian Ofner who has played well this week but will find himself a little out of depth against the heavy forehand by Cerundolo. Expect the Argentinian to proceed. Prediction: Cerundolo in 2
Alex de Minaur had made a strong start this week and he has a good draw to proceed further. The Australian faces Hugo Dellien who fought a tight battle in the first round but hasn’t had wins under his belt prior to Rome. Expect de Minaur to control the match with his consistent groundstrokes and move ahead. Prediction: de Minaur in 2
Matteo Berrettini vs Casper Ruud
Head-t0-head – Berrettini 3-4 Ruud
Matteo Berrettini will no doubt enjoy the crowd’s support and he will need every bit of it against the in-form Casper Ruud who is fresh after winning Madrid last week. Expect a battle of forehands but as the game grows tight, it should be Ruud who is more decisive and confident in his shots. Berrettini should eke out a set but Ruud should be the one emerging as the victor. Prediction: Ruud in 3
Aaron Judge has made the incredible look easy for long enough that we’re running out of words to describe his excellence, so here’s maybe the best way to sum up what the New York Yankees superstar is doing in 2025: There is usually a max exodus to the concession stands after his at-bats.
Even after going a mere 1-for-5 with a double Sunday, Judge is hitting an astounding .423/.510/.777. His eighth-inning double Sunday extended his hitting streak to 14 games — he has hit .474 with 10 extra-base hits during the streak — and his on-base streak to 30 games. Judge leads the majors in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and hits, and is tied with Teoscar Hernandez for the lead in RBIs. He also leads in WAR along with adjusted metrics OPS+ and weighted runs created.
Somehow, after an astonishing 62-homer season in 2022 and then an even better all-around season in 2024, Judge has seemingly raised his game again. He’s hitting at levels few have reached, joining the company of all-time legends of the sport such as Babe Ruth and Josh Gibson and Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle and Barry Bonds.
“We’re watching one of the best ever to play this game,” Yankees broadcaster Paul O’Neill said during Judge’s latest hot streak.
It’s hard to disagree with that assessment. His at-bats are worth holding off on that hot dog or beer run to watch. Let’s dig into some of the numbers.
.423 batting average
Here are the highest batting averages through 34 team games since division play began in 1969:
Paul O’Neill, 1994 Yankees: .459/.562/.847, 9 HRs, 31 RBIs
Rod Carew, 1983 Angels: .449/.480/.593, 2 HRs, 21 RBIs
Luis Arraez, 2023 Marlins: .430/.483/.533, 1 HR, 12 RBIs
Barry Bonds, 1993 Giants: .429/.539/.813, 8 HRs, 29 RBIs
Judge comes in fifth. Yankees fans might remember O’Neill’s start in 1994 — he was hitting .475 through 41 games and remained above .400 through June 16. He finished at .359 in the strike-truncated season, winning the American League batting title. Arraez got off to that great start two years ago and was last over .400 on June 24 before finishing with a career-best .354 average.
Of course, Arraez was a singles hitter; Judge decidedly is not. He has kept his average in this area while hitting more home runs through 34 games than anyone else on the list.
There will certainly be some regression because Judge is riding a .500 average on balls in play — it was .367 last season. But let’s consider that. If Judge keeps his current pace of at-bats, home runs and strikeouts, but his BABIP drops to .367 the rest of the season, what would he hit? We get a batting average of .331 the rest of the way and a final average of .351.
He is also doing it in an era when the league-wide batting average is just .242. Since 1969, there have been nine previous seasons when the MLB average dipped under .250 (1969, 1971, 1972, 2018 and 2020 to 2024). Ignoring the shortened season of 2020, here are the top averages in each of those seasons:
1969: Pete Rose, .348 (16 HRs)
1971: Joe Torre, .363 (24 HRs)
1972: Billy Williams, .333 (37 HRs)
2018: Mookie Betts, .346 (32 HRs)
2021: Trea Turner, .328 (28 HRs)
2022: Jeff McNeil, .326 (9 HRs)
2023: Luis Arraez, .354 (10 HRs)
2024: Bobby Witt Jr., .332 (32 HRs)
Some of these guys had power — but not Judge power. Assuming Judge’s average eventually drops — let’s wait until at least mid-June before we start talking .400 — he has nonetheless put a .350 season with 50 home runs in play. The only player to do that since the sport was integrated in 1947 was Mickey Mantle in 1956, when the Yankees outfielder hit .353 with 52 home runs.
1.287 OPS
Here are the five highest OPS totals through 34 team games since 1969:
Judge comes in only tied for 15th here, so in terms of raw numbers, we’ve seen these kinds of hot starts before. Context matters, however. Most of those starts came in the high-scoring era between 1993 and 2007 — and four of them belong to Bonds. Even Bellinger’s start came in the juiced-ball year in 2019.
So here’s another way to look at Judge’s dominance: Pete Alonso is the only other hitter with an OPS over 1.000 this season. As my ESPN colleague Jeff Passan posted about Judge on Saturday: “He is the best hitter in baseball and it is not particularly close.”
The Bonds mentions are noteworthy because, as Jeff posited, it will be interesting to see if Judge starts getting the Bonds treatment — meaning a lot of intentional walks. Judge will never get to the Bonds level — he peaked at an absurd 120 intentional walks in 2004, a season in which he hit .362, after totals of 68 intentional walks in 2002 and 61 in 2003 — because the intentional walk is much rarer in today’s game, but at some point, his total might go up if he remained locked in. That hasn’t been the case so far as Judge has received only four intentional walks, about on pace to match the 20 he received last season, and the Rays went after him Sunday even though Judge was coming off five straight games with multiple hits. But you have to wonder if opposing managers will stop facing him, especially considering his OPS is more than 300 points higher than anyone else on New York’s roster this season.
270 wRC+ (entering Sunday)
While others have similar hot starts in terms of raw numbers, when we use weighted advanced metrics, we can see the true context of Judge’s performance. Entering Sunday, he had a weighted runs created (wRC+) of 270 — a figure that adjusts for league and home park effects in a given season. Sure, that number will drop a few points and there is a lot of baseball to be played, but that would be the highest figure of all time, topping even Bonds’ 244 in 2002 and 235 in 2001. Meaning that even with some regression expected throughout the next five months, Judge has a chance at a history-making season compared with what the rest of the league is doing at the plate.
To hammer home the point about Judge’s place in history: His 218 wRC+ in 2024 ranks seventh all time — and that was after he hit an uncharacteristic .207 with a .754 OPS and just six home runs in March/April of last season. You could say Judge took off from there, so let’s take a look at what he has done over his past 162 games: .366/.491/.773, good for a 1.264 OPS. In other words, what Judge has done over these first 34 games is a continuation of what he did over the final five months of the 2024 regular season. It is absolutely a historic level of hitting.
20.3% strikeout percentage
All of these incredible numbers beg one question: How is Judge doing it? How is he getting better at age 33, when most players — even stars — tend to start fading?
Simple: He is making more contact. Check out his strikeout rates from each of his biggest seasons:
2017: 52 home runs: 30.7% SO rate, .284 average 2022: 62 home runs, 25.1% SO rate, .311 average 2024: 58 home runs, 24.3% SO rate, .322 average 2025: 52 home runs (pace), 20.3% SO rate, .423 average
He has taken the improvement from early in his career to his most recent MVP-level seasons to another level in 2025.
What explains the lower strikeout rate? Judge’s swing metrics and chase rates are all in line with previous years, other than one thing: He’s making a little more contact on the pitches in the zone. His directional hits are similar, so it’s not like he’s hitting the ball more to right-center or anything like that. The hits are just falling.
.845 slugging percentage vs. softer stuff
One thing that stands out is Judge’s damage against softer stuff this year. He is slugging .845 against pitches 94 mph or less this season, and the fastest pitch he has hit for a home run was a 93.7 mph sinker from Tim Mayza. The complete list starting with that three-homer day against the Brewers: 88.2 mph cutter, 88.8 mph cutter, 85.4 mph changeup, 89.7 mph cutter, 93.2 mph four-seamer, 93.7 mph sinker, 93.1 mph sinker, 87.6 mph cutter, 91.4 mph sinker, 82.6 mph sweeper, 88.7 mph slider.
What does it mean? Are pitchers not challenging Judge with hard stuff enough? Well, Judge can hit the hard stuff, too. Check out his results against pitches of 95-plus mph the past two seasons:
2024: .380/.464/.686, 25.5% SO rate 2025: .500/.538/.667, 19.2% SO rate
No, he hasn’t homered against a 95-plus fastball in 2025, but he’s getting hits. Overall, 17.7% of the pitches Judge has seen this year have been 95-plus compared with 19.8% last season, so either pitchers are throwing him more offspeed or the Yankees have faced less velocity this season.
Going back to 2022, Judge has been a little weaker against breaking balls than fastballs — generally true for all hitters, of course — but he has also improved in that department since last season. Yes, he remains a little susceptible to sliders off the plate from right-handed pitchers, but you have to get to that two-strike count in the first place and that’s getting harder to do.
Essentially, we’re looking at a hitter at his absolute peak of talent, experience and aptitude. And here’s the scary part: Judge hasn’t really gone on one of his patented home run binges just yet. Buckle up.
The Golden State Warriors are just trying to stay alive long enough to get Stephen Curry back. After falling short in Game 2 despite what felt like a best-shot type of effort, getting 63 points from Jimmy Butler and the suddenly revitalized Jonathan Kuminga, Golden State is now down 2-1 to the Minnesota Timberwolves going into Game 4 on Monday night.
It feels like must-win time. If the Warriors lose on Monday, they’ll go back to Minnesota down 3-1 and probably face an elimination game without Curry. But if they can get a win on Monday and tie the series 2-2, they will, no matter what happens in Minnesota, guarantee themselves a Game 6, which has probably been Curry’s unofficial target return all along.
He still has to pass a bunch of tests on his strained left hamstring to even make that a possibility (it’s all about how his body responds to what is a first-time injury for him) but the good news is his initial progress is promising. Curry made it through “a pretty strenuous workout” prior to Saturday’s game, according to Anthony Slater of the Athletic, in a “notable advancement” in what Golden State hopes will be an “expedited” return.
From the Athletic:
Curry didn’t push it to full speed, according to a team source. He’s yet to burst or cut or test that left hamstring in a manner that’ll deliver him and Rick Celebrini — the team’s lead medical decision maker — the true information they’ll need on whether the hamstring is healed enough to return deeper in this series. But he went through a medium-speed shooting routine and rode the stationary bike. This was a notable advancement for Curry in his race against time.
If you’re getting your hopes up about that “expedited return” wording, it’s important to understand that Curry passing the full-speed test is a far cry from half-speed shooting drills, so don’t even think about Game 4 and probably not Game 5. But if this initial progress is a sign that he is responding well, and if that continues, then yes, Game 6, which was never a certainty, feels realistic.
Grade 1 hamstring strains, which is what Curry has, typically call for a 7-10 day recovery period. Curry got hurt on May 6. Game 5 is May 14. Technically that would be seven days, and if Golden State is indeed down 3-1 it’s going to be interesting if Curry pushes it to come back on the absolute front end of the timeline.
But the key here is the three days off between Games 5 and 6, which isn’t scheduled until May 18. If the Warriors can make it there, that would be 12 days off for Curry, who by then would seemingly be in position to not just return, but return at close, or much closer, to 100%. The schedule even gives him time to ramp his conditioning back up after two weeks off.
It all comes down to Game 4 on Monday. If the Warriors can get that one they guarantee a Game 6, which Curry sounds on track to make it back for.
🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
The Los Angeles Dodgers added a lot of talent after their latest World Series championship, but they haven’t all worked out so far.
Two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell only made a pair of starts before hitting the injured list. Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki has struggled with his command in his stateside debut. And outfielder Michael Conforto is batting just .139.
As Conforto’s slump at the plate extended in a recent matchup against the division rival Arizona Diamondbacks, he admitted his performance so far has been concerning.
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 9: Michael Conforto #23 of the Los Angeles Dodgers stands on deck in the third inning during a game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on April 9, 2025 in… WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 9: Michael Conforto #23 of the Los Angeles Dodgers stands on deck in the third inning during a game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on April 9, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images)
Sloter/Getty
Dodgers fans could be feeling the same way, but they might not have to stick with Conforto for much longer. After signing a one-year, $17 million deal to join the Dodgers, Conforto might see the team part ways with him after this season. And USA Today’s Bob Nightengale has reported they have made a decision concerning a blockbuster replacement.
“The Los Angeles Dodgers plan to jump into the free-agent fray for (Chicago) Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker this winter,” Nightengale wrote. “They may not be the high bidder, but they’ll surely keep everyone honest just as they did when they were in the Juan Soto sweepstakes.”
Tucker would be a significant addition to the Dodgers’ batting order, even though it already features the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. He has earned All-Star bids in each of the past three seasons and is slashing .276/.387/.545 with 10 homers, 32 RBI and 10 steals so far for the first-place Cubs.
Without an extension from the Cubs, Tucker will become the most coveted free agent in all of baseball at the end of the season. ESPN’s Jeff Passan recently projected Tucker’s next contract to reach the $500 million range.
And while the Dodgers probably wouldn’t be able to offer him as much money as any other team, they can offer the best chance to compete for a World Series.
More MLB: How Controllable Pirates Pitcher Could Help Boost Padres Past Dodgers In NL West
The 2025 NBA Playoffs will continue on Sunday with two Game 4 matchups in the conference semifinals. In the East, the Pacers hold a 2-1 series lead over the Cavaliers, while the Nuggets have a 2-1 advantage over the Thunder in the West. Superstars like Tyrese Haliburton, Donovan Mitchell, Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could take on significant action for NBA player props. However, you can often find the best value on role players who might be in line for expanded minutes due to a matchup or an injury.
Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith only averaged 12.0 points per game during the regular season, but he’s averaging 15.1 points per game during the postseason and 15.7 during the Cleveland series. However, the latest NBA props from FanDuel Sportsbook list his over/under for total points at 12.5 and you can get almost even money (-102) on the over. Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland (toe) returned to the starting lineup on Friday against the Pacers, finishing with 10 points, three assists and one rebound. Garland’s over/under for total points scored on Sunday is 10.5, and his over/under for total assists is 5.5.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past six-plus seasons. One of the Data Scientists behind the model, Stephen Oh (@StephenOhCBS), analyzed the sim results and broke down the supporting evidence to reveal which player props have the best value for today’s slate. The NBA odds could change, so act now for maximum value.
Michael Porter Jr. Over 11.5 points (-125)
Most of the major online sportsbooks have this NBA player prop listed at 12.5 with payouts between -102 and -115 on the Over, but the model is going to Hard Rock and paying a little extra juice to buy this over/under down to 11.5. Porter averaged 18.2 points per game during the regular season, and even though that number is down to 10.7 in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, he’s coming off a 21-point outing in Game 3 against the Thunder.
“Taking this over does run counter to our two other plays but with a projection of 15.6 points and a season average of 17.3 points this line is just too low to not take,” SportsLine data analyst Stephen Oh said. “If he was healthy the line would be 15.5 or more given his home average of 17.9 points (vs 16.7 on the road) and 12+ trend of 36-6, 85.7% at home (34-11 on the road).” You can also get 11.5 at BetMGM if you’re not in a state where Hard Rock is live, but you’ll pay a little extra juice (-135).
Pascal Siakam Over 17.5 points (-120)
The three-time NBA all-star has averaged at least 20 points per game in each of his last six seasons and he averaged 20.2 points per game in his first full season in Indiana. During this postseason, Siakam is averaging 18.3 points per game, but he’ still been incredibly efficient. He’s shooting 54.1% from the floor and 40.7% from the 3-point line, and he might be incentivized to come out aggressive after a blowout loss in Game 3 where he managed 18 points on 8-for-14 shooting in only 28 minutes.
“The model projects him for 20 points in this buy low spot as he has not scored 20 in his last five games,” Oh said. “His backups have either not been shooting well (Obi Toppin 1 for 7 in Game 3, just 2-9 from 3pt range in the series) or have not been playing (Jarace Walker just 16 minutes in the series) so Siakam should be a lock for 35+ minutes.” DraftKings is offering the best price with several books bumping this line up to 18.5 overnight.
Andrew Nembhard Under 21.5 points + rebounds + assists (-102)
You can get this number at 22.5 at most online sportsbooks but you’ll pay a lot more juice on the Under, with BetMGM offering -120 while Caesars and FanDuel are offering -125. However, the model is recommending you go to FanDuel to buy this line down to 21.5 for the better payout. Nembhard averaged 10.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists (18.3 PRA) during the regular season and he only managed 10 points, four rebounds and four assists in Friday’s Game 3 loss to Cleveland. He’s gone Under on this prop in four of his last five games where Indiana has been a home underdog.
Bailey Falter allowed just two hits over six innings as the Pittsburgh Pirates made manager Don Kelly a winner in his debut, holding off the Atlanta Braves 3-2 on Friday night.
Kelly, a Pittsburgh-area native promoted from bench coach to manager Thursday after the club fired Derek Shelton, received a warm ovation when introduced before the game then sat back and watched the Pirates put together a crisp nine innings that has been elusive during their miserable start.
The new manager then received the customary postgame celebration, getting doused in ice-cold water that did little to dampen his enthusiasm after one of the more solid performances by Pittsburgh this season.
“It’s safe to say that I feel like everyone was kind of playing for [Kelly] tonight,” Falter said.
There were butterflies as Kelly made the drive to PNC Park earlier in the day ahead of the start of Pittsburgh’s weekend series.
Those jitters will soon fade away as Kelly, 45, tries to coax more out of an underperforming roster that hasn’t played like the group most in the organization believed was on the cusp of contending when the season began six weeks ago.
“When we look at these things, yes, the record isn’t where any of us hope it would be right now,” Kelly said. “But there’s a lot of opportunity for growth, there’s a lot of opportunity to get better.”
The Pirates’ win Friday ended a seven-game losing streak that had them already 10 games out of a playoff spot thanks largely to an offense that ranks among the worst in the majors in every important category.
It’s one of the reasons Shelton’s dismissal wasn’t surprising, not even to a player who hasn’t been in the majors a full calendar year.
“At the end of the day, we’re 12-26,” reigning National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes said. “Someone’s got to be held accountable. And unfortunately, right now, it’s him. That’s just kind of how it goes. But I don’t know that it fixes the root of the issue, which is we need to play better.”
Enter Kelly, who played collegiately at Point Park University, a small liberal arts school across the Allegheny River from PNC Park. A stint in a college summer league between his sophomore and junior years convinced the Detroit Tigers to select Kelly in the eighth round of the 2001 draft. He spent nine seasons bouncing from team to team — including the Pirates — as a 6-foot-4 version of duct tape: willing to patch a hole wherever needed.
Kelly retired after the 2016 season and spent some time as a scout before going into coaching full time with the Houston Astros in 2018. By the end of 2019, he was back home as the bench coach on Shelton’s staff.
He isn’t sure what kind of impact he can have over the final 120-plus games of the season. Yet he has no plans to change who he is or how he communicates with players now forced to see him in a different light.
“When the players know you care about them and they know that at the bottom line you care about the team, you care about winning, that’s what it all ties back to,” Kelly said.
During his first full day in his new gig, Kelly challenged the Pirates to find the kind of joy in playing that has been elusive during a miserable spring.
Asked how much progress could be expected, the man who still walks across a darkened PNC Park after games and marvels at the city skyline offered an honest response.
“I guess time will tell,” he said. “I don’t exactly know.”
We’re in a golden era for action RPGs at the moment. Last Epoch currently has my attention, but Path of Exile 2 continues to make great strides forward, its predecessor is gearing up for a new chapter, and Diablo 4 Season 8 is as robustly reliable as ever. If you love smashing mobs and snagging loot, however, you’ll want to make time for Titan Quest 2. The upcoming Greek fantasy ARPG recently closed the doors on its first big playtest, and in its wake developer Grimlore Games offers fresh feedback and an update on its release plans.
“First and foremost, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude for the overwhelming response,” Grimlore writes in a new blog. It reveals that 92% of survey respondents from the Titan Quest 2 beta described the overall experience as ‘positive to very positive.’ The playtest included the introductory chapter of the RPG, the ability to select your two masteries, and a battle against the first major boss, and the studio expresses that “seeing you play, stream, and discuss the game was incredibly motivating and showed us that we were on the right track in many regards.”
In addition to the positive overall response, Grimlore notes that around two-thirds of playtest participants “have recently played Titan Quest 1 or would consider themselves Titan Quest experts.” It says it’s satisfied that the appreciation from that group “means we managed to capture the Titan Quest spirit quite well,” while the similarly enthusiastic feedback from newcomers represents TQ2’s success in “keeping the old spirit alive while creating a modernized game.” Furthermore, an “overwhelming majority” say they would recommend the game to friends in its current state.
Among the big winners were the atmosphere and visuals, along with the sense of exploration, hidden areas, environmental storytelling, and narrative events. “This playtest only contained the smaller, more linear intro chapter, so expect much more openness and handcrafted quests, encounters, and events in the future,” Grimlore promises. It says it’s also content with players rating the difficulty at an average of 3.63 out of six; “This is a good place to be, challenging but not unfair. We want to strike a balance between engaging combat and an experience relaxing enough to enjoy after a long day.”
Of course, playtests exist to find areas of improvement, and Grimlore picks out several. It remarks on some players describing combat as sluggish or slow, saying, “Our goal is to make combat more tactical and meaningful, but it should never feel sluggish.” It’s working on improvements there, along with adjustments to the aiming system following some responses that mentioned difficulty targeting effectively with bows.
Grimlore is taking balance feedback into consideration as it works to fine-tune where abilities land. It’s also monitoring performance issues, although remarks that most respondents were happy with the current state and adds that it wants to focus more on this aspect closer to the 1.0 launch. “It’s much better to optimize when you have all the pieces in front of you, without new ones getting added and existing ones being moved around constantly.”
The team has already implemented “several smaller enhancements” in response to the playtest. Among these are some handy control options from first launch, allowing you to select between mouse movement and WASD controls before you begin playing. There’s also the option to select a ‘classic scheme’ based on the original that puts both movement and attack on the left mouse button. Finally, new visual effects have been introduced to make it more obvious when and where you have unspent mastery points.
In closing, Grimlore addresses the Titan Quest 2 release window. Previously, it was planning to launch into early access by early 2025 at the latest, but “realized there was a lot of noise with regards to ARPG in our targeted release window.” That’s putting it mildly; April saw new seasons for Diablo 4, Path of Exile 2, Last Epoch, and Torchlight Infinite. As such, the studio “decided to move the start of early access to summer,” adding that it hopes to announce a concrete date soon.
While we wait for that news, there are plenty more of the best games like Diablo to keep you busy. Alternatively, you can look ahead to the rest of the big upcoming PC games for 2025 and beyond.
You can follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides. We’ve also got a vibrant community Discord server, where you can chat about this story with members of the team and fellow readers.
SAN FRANCISCO — About 90 minutes before tip on Saturday night, Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry went through a pretty strenuous workout on the team’s practice court in the dungeons of Chase Center. It was the clearest initial step in what Curry hopes to be an expedited return from the hamstring strain that has come to define this second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Curry didn’t push it to full speed, according to a team source. He’s yet to burst or cut or test that left hamstring in a manner that’ll deliver him and Rick Celebrini — the team’s lead medical decision maker — the true information they’ll need on whether the hamstring is healed enough to return deeper in this series. But he went through a medium-speed shooting routine and rode the stationary bike. This was a notable advancement for Curry in his race against time.
Ninety minutes later, Curry was dressed in a gray sweatsuit on the sideline, watching his Warriors fail in their second crack at a win without him. The Timberwolves won Game 3: 102-97. They’re up 2-1 in the series. Curry hasn’t been officially ruled out for Game 5, but the internal message in the aftermath of Curry’s injury has always been about getting that second win to stretch it past next week’s three-day break, giving Curry a more relaxing and realistic target: Game 6 on Sunday.
“If we don’t win, we damn sure don’t have to worry about getting Steph back this year,” Jimmy Butler said. “We gotta put our big boy pants on and go out there and compete at a high level and get this one on Monday.”
They had a real chance to get it without Curry on Saturday night. Butler, as expected, throttled up the aggressiveness significantly. He played 43 minutes despite aggravating his glute injury and got up 26 shots, six more than he’d taken in any previous game with the Warriors and his most field-goal attempts since the 28 he took in Game 7 of the 2023 Eastern Conference finals to will the Miami Heat past the Boston Celtics.
Butler finished with 33 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. The Warriors were outscored by four points in the five minutes he rested.
“Man, Jimmy was incredible,” Steve Kerr said. “He really controlled the game for us and put us in a position to win, and we just couldn’t close it out. But he was brilliant all night.”
Butler spent part of his postgame media session after Game 2 sending a convincing message that he could fit on the court with Jonathan Kuminga, despite the small sample late in the regular season that made Kerr hesitant to put them together. Without Curry, Kerr’s been forced to rearrange his rotation, and Kuminga’s offensive talent has dragged him from out of the picture back to the forefront.
The fourth-year forward responded with the best high-leverage game of his life, scoring 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting in 36 bench minutes that didn’t even feel like enough, given his two-way impact. Kuminga blocked a Jaden McDaniels dunk, swatted a Mike Conley corner 3 and pressed both Julius Randle and Anthony Edwards — his two defensive assignments — out to half court.
“Beautiful sight to see,” Butler said. “Like I tell everybody, me and him can thrive together. I know how to space the floor. I can tell him, ‘Hey, when I have the ball, you go here and you do this.’ We talk. We listen to one another. I know that he’s going to be a huge part of us winning on Monday.”
Kuminga opened up the defense with an early mid-range jumper and finished 3 of 4 on 3s, but his most important offensive damage came in the paint, out in transition and at the rim. He has been aggressive attacking Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid in space this series.
“It was fantastic to see,” Kerr said. “You can see how necessary he is in this matchup, especially without Steph. We’re having a tough time getting free, and he’s obviously capable of giving us some points, getting to the rim.”
The last two games have looked more like the Kuminga who was exploding back in January before he went down with an ankle injury that kept him out for 31 games. He acknowledged after the game that he still occasionally worries about landing on that ankle and has had difficulty regaining his touch and rhythm with sporadic playing time since returning.
“I was just a little nervous on one play,” Kuminga said. “I missed a layup that I don’t usually miss. It was against Conley. The up-and-down-and-under, I was nervous landing. But just throughout the game, throughout all this time, it feels better. It’s not easy (getting the feel back), especially when you don’t get too many opportunities to be out there. I can do all that in my workouts and stuff like that, but if you’re not in the game, it’s different and more serious.”
Kuminga’s resurgence is a major boost next to Butler for a Warriors offense that is otherwise drowning without Curry. Those two power wings combined for 63 of the team’s 97 points. They were only able to generate 23 attempted 3s. Buddy Hield hit four of them to provide at least a splash of supplementary scoring, but there was almost nothing else.
Brandin Podziemski remains in a deep funk. He missed nine of his 10 shots and is now 6-of-26 shooting in this series, failing to finish inside over length and continually rimming out his short floaters.
“If things bounce the other way and we’re in here with a win, nobody cares that he didn’t score a lot,” Kerr said of Podziemski, who played 40 minutes. “When the game goes in one direction or the other, it’s easy to look at different stats or different things. He’s not a big scorer. He’s a basketball player. He does a lot of great things out there. I thought he played really well tonight. The shots didn’t go, but I’m confident they will go in Game 4.”
Moses Moody and Quinten Post received only brief first-half cameos and seem likely to be trimmed from the rotation entirely in Game 4. Gary Payton II missed both of his 3s. Trayce Jackson-Davis started at center and chipped in seven points in 11 minutes, but Kuminga’s strong play kept his court time limited.
Draymond Green’s limited production and foul trouble might’ve been the biggest issue. He committed six fouls and five turnovers in 29 minutes. His fourth foul came on a questionable block-or-charge whistle on Randle in the third quarter. Kerr challenged it and lost. Green was forced to the bench for an extended stretch.
After returning in the fourth quarter, Green was given an after-the-review fifth foul when Minnesota challenged a Randle foul on Kuminga and the officials ruled that he grabbed Randle’s shirt before contact. One possession later, on a contest at the rim, Green was called for a questionable sixth foul on McDaniels and Kerr couldn’t challenge it. Green was disqualified with 4:38 left and the Warriors down two. They lost by five.
“The sixth one was a tough one,” Kerr said. “That didn’t feel great looking at the replay, but it is what it is. They outplayed us in the fourth, and they deserved to win.”
The Warriors will rest Sunday. They’ll regroup on Monday. Then they’ll get 48 more minutes to help buy Curry’s hamstring more time.
The second round of the 2025 NBA playoffs has begun, as eight teams look to take another step closer to a title.
All four rounds of the NBA playoffs are best-of-seven, and teams are not reseeded after each round. The team with the better regular-season record in each series will have home-court advantage for that series. All series are played in a 2-2-1-1-1 format, with the team with the better record hosting Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 (if necessary).
The Cleveland Cavaliers claimed the No. 1 seed in the East and advanced to the second round after sweeping the No. 8 Miami Heat. The Cavs now face the No. 4 Indiana Pacers, who eliminated the No. 5 Milwaukee Bucks in five games. The No. 2 seed Boston Celtics continue their title defense after also only needing five games to oust the No. 7 seed Orlando Magic. The Celtics will face the No. 3 New York Knicks.
In the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder landed the No. 1 seed for a second straight season behind MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and and became the first team to advance to the second round after sweeping the No. 8 seed Memphis Grizzlies. Finishing at No. 2 were the Houston Rockets, one of the season’s most improved teams, but are now in must-win mode against the No. 7 Golden State Warriors. LeBron James and Luka Doncic led the Los Angeles Lakers to a No. 3 seed but were eliminated by the No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves. Meanwhile, three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and the No.4 Denver Nuggets outlasted the No. 5 LA Clippers in a Game 7 rout.
We’ll have complete coverage of the NBA playoffs all the way through the 2025 NBA Finals, which tip off June 5 on ABC and the ESPN App.
MORE: First-round recap
EASTERN CONFERENCE
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0:31
‘Playoff Donovan’ stares down Pacers after big-time and-1
Donovan Mitchell drives and drains a big-time and-1 to pad the Cavaliers’ lead in the fourth quarter.
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Game 1: Knicks 108, Celtics 105 (OT)
Game 2: Knicks 91, Celtics 90
Game 3: Celtics 115, Knicks 93
Game 4: Celtics at Knicks | Monday, May 12 (7:30 ET, ESPN)
Game 5: Knicks at Celtics | Wednesday, May 14 (TBD, TNT)
Game 6*: Celtics at Knicks | Friday, May 16 (8 ET, ESPN)
Game 7*: Knicks at Celtics | Monday, May 19 (8 ET, TNT)
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1:08
Celtics start hot from beyond the arc in the first quarter
The Celtics go 6-for-7 in the first quarter from 3, giving them a 36-20 lead over the Knicks.
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
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0:57
Nuggets rally in OT to claim 2-1 series lead
The Nuggets outscore the Thunder 11-2 in overtime to claim a 2-1 series lead.
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Ant buries dagger 3 to seal Game 3 for the Wolves
Anthony Edwards drills a clutch 3-pointer to secure the victory in Game 3 for the Timberwolves.
After earning major plaudits for her displays at the Masters, TV personality Amanda Balionis struggled to keep her composure during a ferry ride on the way to the Mizuho Americas Open
CBS announcer Amanda Balionis earned plaudits for her composure during the ferry ride(Image: Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Amanda Balionis admitted that she was struggling to deal with the strong winds as she took the ferry past the Statue of Liberty on the way to Liberty National.
The popular CBS Sports reporter was present at the New Jersey venue ahead of the Mizuho Americas Open, spending time with junior golfers in the build-up to the tournament. The TV personality is gearing up for her next appearance on screen, after earning plaudits for her recent displays – including an emotive conversation with Scottie Scheffler.
Alongside this memorable moment, Balionis won the hearts of viewers with her interviewing style during her chat with Justin Thomas alongside his wife. Moreover, her interview with the Masters winner Rory McIlroy at Augusta National will be recalled for years to come after the superstar finally completed a career Grand Slam.
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Speaking before the Mizuho Americas Open, she spoke excitedly about the spectacle, which will take place from May 8 onwards. Taking to Instagram, she posted a video with the caption: “Come with me for a day at the @mizuholpga at @libertynationalgc what host @michellewiewest has created here is so special.
“Can’t wait to watch the stars of the @lpga_tour tee it up this week alongside the future of game thanks to the top @ajgagolf players being a part of the competition.”
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In the video, she addressed the camera, telling fans: “Taking the ferry back after spending an incredible day at the Mizuho Americas Open, you’ll just have to deal with me in this wind. You can see the Statue of Liberty right behind me, this is an amazing ferry ride back over to Liberty National.””
One fan waxed lyrical about the TV personality’s unique approach to the art of sportscasting, saying: You really are such a bright light for golf…more air time please!!” while a second enthusiast said: “Looks like a great time! Enjoy yourself out there! Beautiful weather too!”
CBS Sports reporter Amanda Balionis(Image: Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
This week, Balionis earned praise after her kind gesture as she donated clothing to the Drive Fore the Future charity, which aims to improve accessibility to the game of golf for those from under-privileged backgrounds.
A post from the organization on X read: “Amanda has donated a bunch of clothes to our @driveftf which is amazingly helpful.
READ MORE: Scottie Scheffler savagely mocks PGA Tour star who was suspended over LIV Golf moveREAD MORE: Amanda Balionis shows her true colors as ‘amazingly helpful’ gesture made
“Tonight I met her for the first time and thanked her. She has credited me every time she has used stuff of mine and been really supportive of what I’m doing. Guy in the balcony is looking at us.”
A fan lauded her efforts in the comments section, as they said: “You both are a welcome gift to the golf world. Each in you own way have over the past several years given great things to golf. Stay the course.
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A second joined in, saying: “So many awesome people behind the scenes that are making kids’ dreams of playing golf possible. So cool to see and not possible without @acaseofthegolf1.”
Likewise, a third added: “1) Does “Amanda” have a last name or are you on 1st name basis with everyone? 2) Trust us when we say this, but the guy in balcony is NOT looking at “us” he’s looking at Amanda!”
