And it took less than 10 minutes for the Bronx Bombers to welcome him back in the rudest fashion.

The Yankees led off the game with three consecutive home runs on the first five pitches of the game, added a fourth one out later and torched Gibson for seven hits and five runs before the Orioles even had a chance to bat.

The Yankees became the first team in major league history to twice in a season lead off a game with three consecutive home runs, repeating the feat first accomplished March 29 at Yankee Stadium against Milwaukee.

Nine innings later, the Yankees deposited six home runs over fences and onto flag courts and even Eutaw Street beyond right field, and recorded a 15-3 victory over the Orioles.

Gibson, 37, was summoned after a spate of spring training and early-season injuries and the poor performance of Charlie Morton to patchwork the worst rotation, by ERA, in the major leagues.

Yet the Yankees needed no time to flex on him and grab a 5-0 lead before fans settled in at Camden Yards.

Trent Grisham, a 412-foot bomb onto Eutaw Street, on the game’s second pitch.

Aaron Judge, his team-leading ninth home run, 364 feet the opposite way.

Ben Rice, a changeup he quickly dispatched 378 feet to right.

After a Paul Goldschmidt groundout, Cody Bellinger crushed another Gibson offering to right field for a 4-0 lead. They plated another run on consecutive doubles by Jazz Chisholm and Anthony Volpe.

‘It really starts with Grish,’ says Judge. ‘He set the tone for us early on. When he goes up there and takes a tough pitch and sends one to Eutaw Street, it’s pretty impressive and gets you going. You go up and think, ‘I gotta do my job.’ It takes a little weight off everybody’s shoulders when Grish does that.’

Grisham tied Judge for the Yankee home run lead with eight. The tie lasted less than a minute when Judge drove a pitch the opposite way for his ninth.

‘I can’t let him have that,’ says Judge. ‘It was fun and I’m happy he got us a lead and we were tied for a second, so, had to take that back.’

An inning later, Rice hit his second home run for a 6-0 lead, his first multi-homer game since hitting three against Boston in 2024.

The Yankees’ first back-to-back-to-back first-inning barrage came in Game 2 of the season, when they posterized former teammate Nestor Cortes for consecutive homers by Goldschmidt, Bellinger, and Judge leading off the first.

‘It’s hard to wrap your head around that,’ Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of a pair of back-to-back-to-back leadoff homer gambits. ‘What a performance.’

Judge hit three homers in that March 29 game and the Yankees hit a franchise-record nine, causing a brief media tumult thanks to the torpedo bats Volpe and Chisholm used. Judge needs no torpedo; he continued his sizzling first month with his usual lumber.

For Gibson, it was the first time he’d given up four homers in an inning and his five homers given up were a career high — and he needed just two innings to do so. He gave up 11 hits, nine runs, five home runs and two walks before manager Brandon Hyde removed him with two outs in the fourth.

The barrage finally stopped after Austin Wells – the lone Yankee without a hit at that point – crushed an opposite-field shot off reliever Bryan Baker with two outs in the top of the ninth. Now, the Yankees have a major league-leading 51 home runs — and an entire summer ahead to add to their longball lore.

This story has been updated with new information.

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Tyrese Haliburton ended the Indiana Pacers’ first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks with a go-ahead layup to cap an eight-point run in overtime to seal Game 5.

Tuesday’s matchup between the Pacers and the Bucks went to overtime after both teams scored 103 in regulation in Indianapolis. The Bucks were on the verge of forcing Game 6 after going up 118-111 with 40.0 seconds remaining in overtime. The Pacers then went on an 8-0 run to close the game and win the series, 119-118.

Indiana’s Andrew Nembhardknocked down a three to come within 118-114 of the Bucks with 34.1 seconds remaining. A bad pass from Milwaukee’s Gary Trent Jr. led to a Haliburton layup to cut the Pacers’ deficit to two points with 17.0 seconds left. Haliburton was fouled on the play and knocked down a free throw to bring the Pacers within one point. Trent committed another turnover with 10.1 seconds remaining after losing the ball out of bounds. Haliburton gave the Pacers the go-ahead with a layup to give the Pacers a 119-118 advantage with 1.1 seconds remaining. It was enough to win the game and the series 4-1.

Haliburton finished with 26 points, nine assists and five rebounds. Myles Turner added 21 points and nine rebounds.

Trent had a team-high 33 points (8-of-17 3PT) for the Bucks in the losing effort. Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with a triple-double, with 30 points, 20 rebounds and 13 assists.

The Pacers will face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round. The Cavaliers swept the Miami Heat to advance.

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The first time I met Bill Belichick was decades ago. It was after a training camp practice. We talked briefly and in those 20 minutes he crammed so much football, ideas, beliefs and strategies into the conversation it felt like a talk with an encyclopedia.

More conversations would follow. Football on top of football wrapped inside a big ol’ football. As you spent more time around the Patriots, you’d notice something else: Belichick ran the team with an iron fist. This is not breaking news. Many know this. It just bears repeating in this moment as we watch Belichick’s personal life spill out like it’s a Teen Vogue cover story.

For those who may not fully know, you have to understand this: When Belichick, now the North Carolina coach, controlled the Patriots for over two decades, it was the most ruthlessly run, tightest controlled organization in the history of the NFL, and maybe in the history of American professional sports. There weren’t many loose lips. Leaks happened but they were rare. Patriots players worried about saying the wrong thing to the media so not to irritate their head coach.

Much of the organization was on super-duper secret lockdown. It was this way for almost the entirety of Belichick’s tenure. And he rarely, if ever, spoke about his personal life. It was on to Cincinnati. We’re gonna look at the film. Do your job. We can only control what we can control. Player expressions and beliefs were often suppressed for the good of the system. Former Cincinnati Bengals wideout T.J. Houshmandzadeh once said of Patriots players: ‘They are completely scared of Bill, it’s a dictatorship in New England.’ 

And anything about his personal life? Pfftt. Almost never. The Patriot Way was to disembowel everyone of personality for the benefit of the organization. That included, to be blunt, Belichick doing that to himself.

The Belichick we are seeing now, living such a public life, with all kinds of personal drama and Instagram messages and human messiness is so foreign, so alien, it’s like: Who is this person?

Belichick did have at times a messy professional life. There was Spygate and Deflategate. There were gates. But personally? Almost nothing at all publicly.

What we’re seeing now from Belichick is in some ways a good thing. He has shed his android exoskeleton to publicly show human frailty and emotions. Love this. He’s truly one of us after all. It also shows Belichick struggling with control. With the Patriots, he controlled the news. He controlled the PSIs of footballs. But now that he’s promoting a new book, the news controls him. This has to be extremely uncomfortable for Belichick.

When Belichick’s girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, repeatedly interrupted Belichick’s interview with CBS Mornings, it was, well, absolutely wild to watch. Tom Brady would have been scared to do that. None of this is to criticize Hudson, either. There are elements of misogyny entering the chat in this story and we all need to be careful how we’re describing her.

The point isn’t the messiness. It’s that we’re seeing it. If you had told me ten years ago Belichick’s girlfriend would be interrupting him during a television show about a book he was promoting, I would have laughed in your face.

Or if you had told me that his girlfriend would have released an email Belichick sent to a small group of people in his inner circle, I would not have stopped laughing in your face.

There is one part of the email that is extremely Belichick and it’s him trash talking the media.

“This is about what I expected from the media,’ the email read in part. ‘We went through how important it was for me to put ‘I (expletive deleted) up’ in the book, and of course, that is the feature of this article — which is mostly about admitting mistakes and talking about a Super Bowl mistake. I am fine with putting mistakes in the book, but I am certainly not surprised that of 260+ pages, that is what they would highlight. And of course, the ‘I (expletive deleted) up’ is the click bait they used for the story. We’ll see what the title of the article is, which I noticed has been conveniently left out — do we have approval on that. I would approve this article if we can also approve the headline, which is actually more important than the article.’

Then there was this notable part: ‘I will say again, that I want this book to be presented as a look at my professional life and how I did my job on the way up to, and as the leader of an organization that grew from a $500 m franchise to an $8 b organization that played in 10 and won 6 Super Bowls over 25 years. This book is about how I did my job, and lessons from my 50 years in and around the NFL — not a bathroom book that highlights my mistakes.’

What you hear in that graph is Belichick losing control and not liking it. Welcome, Bill!

All of this begs the question:

Who is this Bill Belichick?

And what have you done with his android body?

Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 35 points to help the Boston Celtics clinch their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series with a 120-89 Game 5 victory on Tuesday night over the visiting Orlando Magic.

Tatum was 10 of 16 from the field and made all 11 of his free-throw attempts while adding eight rebounds and 10 assists as the Celtics wrapped up their first-round series in five games for the second year in a row. Jaylen Brown added 23 points for the Celtics, who outscored the Magic 73-40 in the second half.

‘There’s a lot we can learn from this series and now we have to get ready for whoever we play against,’ said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla. ‘Take the days that we need and even without knowing the opponent, there’s stuff that we have to get better at.’

The Magic lost their sixth consecutive first-round series — dating back to 2010-11 — despite 25 points from Franz Wagner. Paolo Banchero collected 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Wendell Carter Jr. added 12 points and 10 rebounds.

‘I’m not taking any moral victories from this series,’ Banchero. ‘The goal was to win.’

Second-seeded Boston took control after Banchero went to the bench after being called for his fifth foul with 9:46 remaining in the third quarter. It was 53-53 at the time, but the Celtics outscored the seventh-seeded Magic 36-13 in the third and owned an 83-62 advantage entering the fourth. Boston had a 24-4 run in the third quarter.

Orlando had a 15-3 edge in offensive rebounds, but shot 8-of-38 from 3-point territory. The Magic shot 37.5 percent from the field in the game (33-of-88).

‘We struggled to score when Paolo went out and they made a lot of 3s in the third and fourth quarter,’ Wagner said. ‘We had a couple good looks that didn’t go. A couple bad possessions as well, and they went on a big run (in the third quarter).’

The Celtics didn’t make a 3-pointer until Tatum connected with 10:22 left in the third quarter, but they made 13-of-24 3-point attempts overall. Boston was 43-of-76 from the field (56.6 percent) in the game.

Boston was again without guard Jrue Holiday, who missed his third straight game with a strained right hamstring.

Orlando was up 27-23 after one quarter and, despite shooting 36.2 percent from the field (17 of 47) through the first two quarters, held a 49-47 halftime lead. Boston missed all six of its 3-point attempts in the first half.

Linus Ullmark made 27 saves for his first career playoff shutout in the Ottawa Senators’ 4-0 win over the host Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference best-of-seven first-round playoff series.

The Maple Leafs lead the series 3-2, but the Senators have claimed the last two and host Game 6 on Thursday.

Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk each had a goal and two assists and defenseman Thomas Chabot and Dylan Cozens also scored for the Senators.

Anthony Stolarz stopped 15 of 17 shots for the Maple Leafs, who have lost 13 of their last 14 chances to close out a playoff series.

Chabot gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead 3:46 into the second period.

Stutzle won the face-off and he and Tkachuk combined to get the puck to Chabot at the left point. He moved to the center of the ice and, from just inside the blue line, beat Stolarz with a wrist shot for his first career playoff goal.

Cozens’ short-handed goal 8:24 into the third period stretched the Senators’ lead to 2-0. He scored from the slot off the rush after taking a pass from Adam Gaudette. It was also Cozens’ first career playoff marker.

Stutzle produced an empty-net goal with 2:51 left and Tkackuk added another empty-netter with 47 seconds left.

The Maple Leafs outshot the Senators 12-3 in the first period, but Ottawa came the closest to scoring in the first 20 minutes.

After Perron hit the goal post from the left circle 2:06 into the game, the puck caromed off of Stolarz’s equipment and was sliding toward the goal line, inches away from it, before Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly knocked it away and under Stolarz.

After Chabot gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead, Toronto’s Steven Lorentz was poised to get the equalizer late in the second. He took a stretch pass from Stolarz and appeared to be in alone on Ullmark, but defenseman Nikolas Matinpalo and forward David Perron combined to bother Lorentz and knock the puck away.

Carolina Hurricanes eliminate New Jersey Devils with 2OT win

Sebastian Aho scored his second goal of the game at 4:17 of the second overtime period, and the Carolina Hurricanes advanced to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 5-4 win against the New Jersey Devils in Game 5 on Tuesday in Raleigh, N.C.

With less than a minute remaining on a high-sticking double minor to New Jersey’s Dawson Mercer, Aho beat goalie Jacob Markstrom with a one-timer from the right circle.

Aho also had an assist and Pyotr Kochetkov made 31 saves for the Hurricanes, who overcame a three-goal deficit on Tuesday to capture the best-of-seven series. Taylor Hall, Jackson Blake and Andrei Svechnikov also scored for Carolina, which will face the winner of the Washington Capitals-Montreal Canadiens series in the next round.

Carolina’s Shayne Gostisbehere and Seth Jarvis each logged two assists.

Stefan Noesen had a goal and an assist, and Brett Pesce had two assists for the Devils. Dawson Mercer, Timo Meier and Nico Hischier added goals, and Markstrom made 48 saves.

Vegas Golden Knights top Minnesota Wild in OT

Brett Howden scored at 4:05 of overtime to give the Vegas Golden Knights a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild in Game 5 of the Western Conference first round on Tuesday night in Las Vegas.

Howden, alone at the bottom edge of the left circle, one-timed a backhand pass from Tanner Pearson from the end boards inside the far post. It was his third goal of the playoffs and second career overtime winner with the Golden Knights.

William Karlsson scored a shorthanded goal, Jack Eichel had two assists and Mark Stone also scored for Vegas, which took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Adin Hill made 20 saves for the Golden Knights, who can wrap up the series with a Game 6 win on Thursday night in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Mattias Janmark scores game-winner to lift Edmonton Oilers past LA Kings

Mattias Janmark scored the third-period game-winning goal to give the visiting Edmonton Oilers a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday and put them one win away from advancing in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Evander Kane and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored for the Oilers in yet another comeback victory, which gives them a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series.

Goaltender Calvin Pickard made 21 saves.

Leon Draisaitl collected an assist to tie a franchise record with his 19th consecutive playoff game against the Kings with a point. He has netted 17 goals and 19 assists in that run.

The Oilers will try to close out the series Thursday at home. Edmonton is looking to knock out the Kings in the first round for the fourth consecutive year.

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Three days and 257 picks later, the 2025 NFL Draft is behind us. NFL teams sent a clear message with their use of draft capital as to what they’re prioritizing ahead of the season.

The draft came weeks after the start of free agency which saw plenty of movement in the veteran market. Former Pro Bowl and All-Pro players are in new places, like Davante Adams in Los Angeles and DK Metcalf in Pittsburgh.

Both moves brought plenty of fantasy football implications with them. The same goes for the draft as teams used their draft picks on offense powered by a very deep, talented running back class.

Many teams have a roster reset following the draft’s completion. Fantasy football stars and starters from last year could see a smaller role while others might have a better chance to thrive.

We’re taking a look at who has much to gain from the 2025 NFL Draft and those who do not. Here are six winners and six losers from the draft results:

Fantasy football winners from the 2025 NFL Draft

Geno Smith, QB, Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders picked the best running back (Ashton Jeanty) in an outstanding class in the first round then followed it up with one of the top possession receivers (Jack Bech) in the class in Round 2. By the end of Day 3, Las Vegas had selected two more receivers: an outside receiver (Dont’e Thornton Jr.) and a prospect for the slot (Tommy Mellott).

Smith already had record-breaking tight end Brock Bowers to throw to in his first year with the Raiders. Now the team has multiple legitimate threats in the passing game and brought in depth on the offensive line to keep Smith protected.

Bryce Young, QB, Carolina Panthers

Carolina invested in offense last offseason and continued to build up even more in the draft this year. First-round pick Tetairoa McMillan and sixth-rounder Jimmy Horn Jr. bring different skillsets to the wide receiver room alongside 2024 top pick Xavier Legette.

Young looked much improved down the stretch of 2024 and, with more investment in the receiving corps and running backs, should be in for more improvement. Carolina now has a mix of youth and experience in the pass catchers and lots of depth at running back. The offense as a whole could take a step forward.

Justin Fields, QB, New York Jets

New York prioritized offense early on in their draft class and it should pay off. With 2024 top pick Olu Fashanu at left tackle and 2025 top pick Armand Membou at right tackle, the Jets have one of the more talented young tackle duos in the league. That should provide Fields with consistent protection.

The Jets followed the Membou pick by taking tight end Mason Taylor in the second round. That move should provide Fields a great No. 2 option in the passing game behind Garrett Wilson. Fields likely will be a featured runner a lot as he was in 2024 with the Steelers, but this opens up more possibilities in the passing game in his first year in New York.

Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints

New Orleans spent their top pick on offensive line with Kelvin Banks Jr. and then got great value on Day 3 by selecting running back Devin Neal. The Kansas running back was one of many good early-down running backs in this class. Neal has the skillset to get chunk yards thanks to his patience.

Bringing Neal in should take some of the load off of Kamara in the running game. Kamara hasn’t played more than 15 games in a season since his rookie year and is entering his age-30 season. Neal’s arrival and the upgraded offensive line should be to his benefit.

Aaron Jones, RB, Minnesota Vikings

After investing in free agency to change the offensive line, the Vikings spent their top pick on another offensive lineman in Ohio State’s Donovan Jackson. That bodes well for Jones and the other Minnesota running backs. Jones had a career-high 1,138 rushing yards last season, but could see an even bigger jump in his production thanks to the improved line.

Ladd McConkey, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

McConkey was one of many impressive rookie wide receivers in 2024. The second-round pick finished top-10 in the league in receiving yards as he quickly became quarterback Justin Herbert’s top target in the passing game.

The Chargers hit offense early and often in the 2025 draft. Los Angeles took running back Omarion Hampton and wide receiver Tre Harris with their first two picks in the class. Both should take some attention away from McConkey from opposing defenses. McConkey should operate from the slot very well again in 2025, but could face less coverage.

Fantasy football losers from the 2025 NFL Draft

Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers

McCaffrey had a tough 2024 season due to nagging injuries. The league leader in scrimmage yards and touchdowns in 2023 posted career-lows in carries, yards and touchdowns.

San Francisco was one of many teams to take a running back on Day 3 and chose Jordan James in the fifth round. James is very unlikely to be the starter over McCaffrey but offers a great skillset to take some carries off of him. James is a stout, powerful runner and accomplished receiver. That could take some early down carries away from McCaffrey in a bounce-back year.

Jakobi Meyers, WR, Las Vegas Raiders

The upgrades at wide receiver on offense in Las Vegas will cut into Meyers’ target share in the passing game. He was viewed as the No. 2 option behind Bowers but now will have to compete with Bech and Thornton Jr. Add in Jeanty as a receiver out of the backfield and that could see him drop down the hierarchy for what will likely be a run-first offense.

Romeo Doubs, WR, Green Bay Packers

Doubs is entering a contract year after finishing behind Jayden Reed on the Packers in receptions, yards and touchdowns among wide receivers. Then Green Bay went out and drafted Matthew Golden in Round 1 and Savion Williams in Round 3.

Golden is likely to be a vertical threat for quarterback Jordan Love and Williams will be a developmental piece who should get involved in the running game. Neither are Doubs’ strengths but both players will likely diminish his role in a crucial year.

Travis Etienne, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville made major moves in the draft and prioritized defense in their first two picks. On Day 3, they made a lot of depth moves, including at running back by bringing in the dynamic Bhayshul Tuten and the pass-catching threat LeQuint Allen.

New Jaguars coach Liam Coen made an offense work very well with multiple running backs, but those two rookies likely can take Etienne’s responsibilities. Tank Bigsby, a third-round pick last season, still has value as a power back and should still get a share of the backfield touches.

Calvin Ridley, WR, Tennessee Titans

Tennessee invested in the wide receiver room in free agency and then hit it again in the draft. Fourth-round picks Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike bring youth and a new wrinkle to the passing game. Ayomanor could compete for reps at outside receiver sooner than later. Add in free-agency additions Van Jefferson and Tyler Lockett, and Ridley won’t have a clear path to being the top receiver in Tennessee.

Chris Godwin, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay re-signed Godwin in free agency after a devastating ankle injury and looks to be on the right timeline to playing in 2025. But then the Buccaneers went and took Emeka Egbuka with their first-round pick.

Egbuka was one of the most pro-ready receivers in the 2025 class thanks to his impressive route running and quarterback-friendly approach to the position. Egbuka is best in the slot where Godwin’s operated for years and could take a sizable share of targets away from him.

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NEW YORK — The Detroit Pistons may not have history on their side, but they’re not out of it just yet.

The Pistons held off the New York Knicks on Tuesday night in a 106-103 victory, temporarily staving off elimination in their first-round series and setting up a Game 6 in Detroit on Thursday night (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT).

Jalen Duran’s dunk off a Cade Cunningham assist gave the Pistons a 95-93 lead with 3:08 left that they would not relinquish.

The Pistons are trying to become just the 14th team in NBA history to rally from a 3-1 series deficit, with 95.5% of teams in such situations failing to advance.

The Knicks, meanwhile, had been trying to close out a postseason series at home for the first time since the 1999 Eastern Conference finals, when current head coach Tom Thibodeau was a young assistant on staff.

Pistons first-time All-Star Cade Cunningham carried Detroit with a big second half, finishing with 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists on 6-of-17 shooting. Forward Ausar Thompson, known more for his defense, poured in 22 points and seven boards, often getting easy opportunities in the paint on cuts and lobs.

As they have all series long, the Knicks once again entered the fourth quarter facing a deficit and tried to rally.

One positive development for the Knicks — who at times this series have overly depended on the scoring of stars Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns — was that role players and reserves carried the burden until Brunson and Towns found their footing.

All five Knicks starters reached double figures, with backup center Mitchell Robinson’s 13 points making it six Knicks to reach double figures.

With three-and-a-half minutes left in the half, the pair had combined for just 1-of-10 shooting and five points.

Brunson would finish with 16 points, while Towns would add 17.

Sluggish third quarters had been an issue all series for New York, and the Knicks again Tuesday started the period slowly, falling behind by 10 points midway through the period, their largest deficit of the game.

But the Knicks closed the period on a 13-6 run to go into the fourth quarter down by three.

Still, the Pistons ramped up their defensive intensity down the stretch and hit enough shots to maintain a steady, if minor lead.

The Knicks did hit a pair of late 3s to keep the game close, but Detroit converted its free throws, eventually pulling away.

INDIANAPOLIS — Tyrese Haliburton scored 26 points including a driving layup with 1.3 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Pacers a 119-118 win over the Bucks in Game 5 of the first round of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs. They clinched the series 4-1 and move on to play the No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference semifinals.

Myles Turner scored 21 points. Forward Aaron Nesmith had 19 points and 12 rebounds. Milwaukee’s Gary Trent Jr. scored 33 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double with 30 points, 20 rebounds and 13 assists.

Trent Jr. and Antetokounmpo tried to carry the Bucks, who were without star guard Damian Lillard – diagnosed with a torn Achilles suffered early in Game 4 – but they came up short in the playoffs for the second year in a row. Lillard also missed a portion of the playoffs last season, and Antetokounmpo missed all of last season’s playoffs.

Here are three observations:

Tyrese Haliburton shrugs off misses, goes to the rim for game-winner

Haliburton missed six shots in overtime including four 3-pointers and those were a big part of the reason the Pacers fell behind by six points in the period. However, in the final 30 seconds he scored two driving layups, drawing a foul on one to finish with five points in that stretch to give the Pacers the lead back. He also scored the last six points of regulation to force overtime and finished with 26 points and nine assists.

T.J. McConnell steps up

After a sensational performance in last year’s playoffs, T.J. McConnell has been a little quieter this season. He entered Tuesday night averaging 8.0 points and 5.0 assists per game after scoring 11.8 per game and averaging 5.1 assists. He was still shooting 51.7% from the floor, but had scored in double figures just twice in the first four games with a zero-point performance in Game 3.

Game 5 would count as his breakout performance of the playoffs, however, as his funky mid-range game and ability to get into the lane proved critical as the Pacers steadied themselves after falling behind by 20 points. He scored 18 points on 7-of-11 scoring, dished out three assists and also hit four key free throws.

Pacers put themselves in a 20-point hole, recover

It’s an easy joke to make that the Pacers didn’t get the memo that they were starting at 6 p.m., an hour earlier than a typical weeknight start time, but they certainly didn’t seem to be present in anything resembling their usual form until after the first quarter.

The Bucks — who entered three new starters into the lineup in AJ Green, Kevin Porter Jr. and Bobby Portis — went on a 13-0 run to start the game and the Pacers didn’t score until the 7:32 mark in the first period, posting four missed field goals, two missed free throws and a turnover before they got on the board.

The Pacers weren’t much better on either end the rest of the quarter. They lost the period 30-13, allowing the Bucks to make 12-of-19 field goals and 4-of-7 3s, posting 1.31 points per possession while they made just 4-of-17 field goals and 1-of-8 3s, turning the ball over five times and posting an abysmal 0.55 points per possession. The Bucks scored first in the second quarter on a Kyle Kuzma 3-pointer to go up 33-13.

But after that, the Pacers woke up and showed more fire on both ends of the floor and by the 9:03 mark of the third quarter they had erased the deficit entirely, taking a 52-51 lead on a 30-foot Andrew Nembhard 3-pointer.

The San Antonio Spurs continue to rebuild with promising young stars.

The Spurs rookie was overwhelmingly voted the winner with 92 first-place votes out of 100 ballots, and a total of 482 points. First overall pick Zaccharie Risacher of the Atlanta Hawks finished second with five first-place votes and 245 points. Jaylen Wells of the Memphis Grizzlies finished third with three first-place votes and a total of 123 votes.

The No. 4 pick in the 2024 NBA draft out of Connecticut, Castle gives San Antonio back-to-back seasons with the league’s top rookie after Victor Wembanyama won the award last season. Castle was clear cut one of the best rookies as he led the freshmen class with 14.7 points per game and a rookie-high 74 steals this season. He was an iron man as he played 81 games in his first season, tied with Detroit’s Ron Holland for the second-most among rookies after Washington’s Bub Carrington played in all 82 regular-season games.

Castle was brought in to be a key piece of the backcourt as Wembanyama continued to establish himself as the future of a San Antonio team that hasn’t been in the playoffs since the 2018-19 season.

With solid size and the ability to play anywhere on the court, Castle showed flashes of potential in the early stages of his professional career, but he really showed how valuable he is after Wembanyama was ruled out for the season in February. After the All-Star break, Castle averaged 17.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5,0 assists and a steal per game as he forced his way into becoming a starter.

Despite the loss of Wembanyaama, De’Aron Fox and coach Gregg Popovich due to health issues, Castle and San Antonio finished the season 34-48, the most wins in the past four seasons.

Castle is the fourth Spurs player to win Rookie of the Year, joining Wembanyama, Tim Duncan in 1997-98 and David Robinson in 1989-90. The four rookie awards by San Antonio are tied with the Portland Trail Blazers and Wizards for the third-most in NBA history. However, the Spurs are the only team to have four rookie award winners in the past 35 years.

It is the second time in the past 50 years a team had back-to-back rookie award winners, the last being in 2015 and 2016 when Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns did so for the Minnesota Timberwolves. It’s the fourth time in league history as Earl Monroe and Wes Unseld won it with the Baltimore Bullets in 1968 and 1969 and Bob McAdoo and Ernie DiGregorio of the Buffalo Braves did it in 1973 and 1974.

(This story has been updated with voting results.)