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It’s do or die for the New York Knicks and the status of one of their stars is in question.

Karl-Anthony Towns (left knee contusion) is listed as questionable for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals as the series shifts back to New York with the Knicks trialing the Indiana Pacers 3-1. Towns injured his left knee late in the Knicks’ 130-121 Game 4 loss to the Pacers after he bumped knees with Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith with less than two minutes remaining in the game. Towns immediately went down and grabbed his left knee as he writhed in pain.

Towns gutted out the remainder of the game with a visible limp Tuesday and finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds and three assists, which Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said was ‘a good sign.’ Thibodeau, however, said Towns’ status for Game 5 on Thursday will come down to an evaluation on his knee.

Here’s everything we know about Towns’ injury:

Karl-Anthony Towns injury update: Knicks center questionable

New York Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns (left knee contusion) is listed as questionable ahead of Game 5 vs. the Indiana Pacers.

When asked about his knee on Tuesday, Towns shut down all talk of his injury and said he’s ‘only thinking about the loss.’ He added, ‘I’m not thinking about (my knee) right now. It’s disappointing when you don’t get a win and we didn’t do enough to get the job done tonight.’

Towns injured the same knee that he suffered a torn meniscus in during the 2023-24 season while playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was forced to miss an entire month with the injury before returning for the 2024 playoffs.

The five-time All-Star has averaged 25.8 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists through four games of the Eastern Conference finals. He had a team-high 24 points in the Knicks’ Game 3 comeback win, when he scored 20 of his 24 in the fourth quarter as the Knicks overcame a 20-point deficit.

‘We’ve been a team that has kind of found a way to do the impossible when it seems impossible,’ Towns said on Tuesday. ‘We just keep fighting. This is going to be a testament to our whole playoff run. Now we have to be in the biggest fight of our life and of our season.’

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Tiger Woods’ 16-year-old son, Charlie Woods, won his first American Junior Golf Association event with a final-round score of 6-under on Wednesday.

Woods finished the Team TaylorMade Invitational with a 15-under 201 at the Streamsong Resort Black Course in Bowling Green, Florida, beating a field of 71 total players.

The younger Woods’ final round consisted of eight birdies and two bogeys for a three-shot victory over Phillip Dunham, Luke Colton, and Willie Gordon.

Woods, a junior at the Benjamin School, began the tournament ranked No. 606 in the AJGA rankings, with his best finish tying for 25th at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley in March.

Woods began the day at 9-under and finished with four straight pars.

Earlier this month, Woods failed in his second attempt to qualify for the 2025 U.S. Open, set for June 12-15 at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

Tyreek Hill is ready to turn the page and begin a new chapter with the Miami Dolphins.

Hill’s 2024 season began with him being detained by police outside Hard Rock Stadium and ended with him ready to move on. But that trade never came and Hill is back in the fold for the upcoming season.

He has some fences to mend in advance of training camp.

The receiver is now singing a different tune at organized team activities (OTAs), saying on Wednesday that he needs to prove himself again as a receiver and a teammate.

‘That’s every day in this league,’ Hill told reporters, via NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe. ‘Every day, you’ve got to prove who you are, and it doesn’t matter how much you’ve earned or how much success you’ve had in this league. It’s always the next day mentality. That’s something that my grandparents raised me by and that’s something Mike (McDaniel) preaches here in this locker room.

‘Every day, I’m trying to prove myself as one of those guys that this team can depend on in crucial moments. I’m (going to) stand on that, too, though, just me as a person, as a player, as an individual. I try to carry myself in that way.’

Hill missed the playoffs for the first time in his nine-year career last season, which seemed to be a major source of frustration following a Week 18 loss to the New York Jets.

‘It was tough. Obviously, emotions were high then,’ Hill said. ‘At the end of the day, man, I’m just looking to move forward from that, hoping that I can prove to myself and prove to my teammates that I’m still one of them ones, man, who likes chasing 2K (receiving yards), still one of those ones chasing playoff dreams and all that great stuff.’

‘For one, … I’m going to church more and doing more therapy more,’ Hill said. ‘I’ve been finding that more of my side lately, just being more involved in that. Then, just understanding what coach is trying to do. I feel like when I first got here, I wouldn’t say that I wasn’t all the way bought in, but me having a better understanding of what he’s trying to push throughout the locker room, I feel like now I understand him better. I understand Tua (Tagovailoa) better, I understand Bev (offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell). Our new receiver coach (Robert Prince), me and him clicked immediately when he got here.

‘Everybody’s on the same page, man.’

When asked about his desire to be a team captain, Hill responded by saying he doesn’t deserve it.

‘I gotta prove myself,’ Hill said, via the Miami Herald’s Omar Kelly. ‘This OTAs, training camp, I gotta prove myself. I gotta show up different. The mindset gotta be different. I don’t feel like I deserve it, and if I didn’t get it, I wouldn’t dwell on it. I wouldn’t sweat it because I put myself in that position.’

A five-time All-Pro, Hill failed to reach 1,000 receiving yards for just the third time in his career last season. His third year in Miami proved to be the worst after two 1,700-yard seasons following his arrival.

Hill battled a wrist injury all season long and dealt with the floundering Dolphins’ offense, which struggled to find the magic from years prior – dropping from the second-best scoring offense in 2023 to 22nd-ranked in 2024.

Fresh off surgery to repair that nagging injury, the 31-year-old will work to regain his form in 2025, in the hopes that Miami does, too.

If nothing else, this season is already off to a better start.

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Mike Vrabel is midway through his first offseason as head coach of the New England Patriots. He’s been tasked with helping the franchise improve on a 4-13 campaign in 2024.

New England invested significantly in free agency to enhance the roster with veteran talent, particularly at wide receiver. The Patriots agreed on a three-year contract with four-time Pro Bowl wideout Stefon Diggs.

As offseason training activities (OTAs) begin this week for the Patriots, Vrabel is answering questions about their big-name wide receiver addition.

Diggs was not in attendance for OTAs – which are voluntary – on May 28. He was recently seen on a boat in a video circulating on social media, and Vrabel said the team is ‘aware of’ the viral post.

‘Obviously, we want to make great decisions on and off the field,’ Vrabel said when asked about the video. ‘We’re hoping that with our time here on the field today, that when we don’t have a script and we’re on the call periods, that we’re making great decisions. The message will be the same for all our players, that we’re trying to make great decisions. Any conversations that I’ve had with Stefon will remain between him, I and the club.’

When asked if he’s talked to Diggs since the video was posted on social media, Vrabel said he talks to the players every day, including the ones who are at OTAs and the ones who are not.

Vrabel reiterated that some players are in attendance for OTAs but others aren’t.

‘This is a voluntary part of our offseason program,’ he said. ‘Every player that’s not here, which there aren’t many, have been in communication with me and their position coaches.’

Diggs is recovering from a torn ACL suffered in Week 8 of the 2024 season. He injured his knee while running a route in the third quarter against the Indianapolis Colts.

‘I think he’s doing everything like everybody else,’ said Vrabel. ‘He’s working hard; I think he’s excited about being here and being a Patriot. He’s a motivated player, he’s a hungry player, just like everybody else that’s here.’

Diggs is expected to be healthy for the start of the 2025 season, his 11th in the NFL.

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If Pittsburgh Steelers fans are frustrated with the current state of their team’s quarterback situation, they are not alone.

Former Steelers quarterback and Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw slammed his former team on 103.7 The Buzz’s ‘Morning Mayhem’ show on Tuesday. Bradshaw criticized the team for mishandling the development of quarterback Kenny Pickett in previous years and lambasted their current pursuit of veteran Aaron Rodgers.

‘I liked Kenny Pickett,’ Bradshaw said of the Steelers’ 2022 first-round pick, whom the team traded after two seasons. ‘When they got him to Pittsburgh, they didn’t protect him, they didn’t get him an offensive line. They wanted to run the football, but they didn’t have an offensive line that could protect and they didn’t have weapons. He had no wide receivers to speak of.

‘Then they throw a kid in there for two years and you’ve got an offense that doesn’t fit and doesn’t work, and they can’t run because their offensive line’s not even good enough for a run blocking team. Now, they’re saying Kenny Pickett is a failure. He wasn’t a failure, the Steelers were a failure.’

In 2024, after trading away Pickett, Pittsburgh relied on two veteran starters: former Bears first-rounder Justin Fields and Super Bowl 48 champion Russell Wilson. Both left for New York in free agency – Fields signed with the Jets; Wilson, with the Giants.

Pickett is now with his third team, the Cleveland Browns, after the Philadelphia Eagles traded him earlier this offseason. The former Pitt product holds a 15-10 career record as a starter with a career completion rate of 62.4%, 4,765 passing yards and 15 touchdowns to 14 interceptions.

Terry Bradshaw rips Steelers for Aaron Rodgers pursuit

Bradshaw’s criticism didn’t end at the team’s past fiascos. Bradshaw also tackled Pittsburgh’s current, months-long courtship of Rodgers, who is still a free agent, even as the Steelers began OTAs on Tuesday.

‘That’s a joke. That to me is just a joke,’ Bradshaw said. ‘What are you gonna do? Bring him in for one year, are you kidding me? That guy needs to stay in California. Go somewhere and chew on bark and whisper to the gods out there.’

Team owner Art Rooney II recently told reporters multiple times that he and the team will wait ‘a little while longer’ on Rodgers to make a decision.

In the meantime, the Steelers have three other quarterbacks on their roster: Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson, both of whom signed with the team this offseason, and Will Howard, Pittsburgh’s 2025 NFL Draft sixth-round pick.

Rudolph has the most starting experience between the three (18 games) and played five seasons with the Steelers prior to joining the Tennessee Titans last year. He re-signed with Pittsburgh on a two-year, $8 million deal in March.

In 2024, Rodgers had a completion rate of 63% with 3,897 passing yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. New York let Rodgers know the team planned to go in a different direction in February before releasing him in March.

Time will tell whether the Steelers (or Rodgers) will heed Bradshaw’s words or if they’re destined for another year of regular-season success before an early playoff exit. Pittsburgh has made the playoffs in four of the last five seasons but has not won a postseason game since 2016.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

No player’s path to the NFL draft resembles a straight line.

While it’s typical for prospects to enjoy steady and sometimes even exponential growth on their way to the pros, there’s no single way to reach the next level. And with injuries, coaching changes and other challenges now commonplace in the collegiate world, experiencing a setback or two is hardly a death knell for a player’s NFL future, especially in a landscape that has routinely given rise to late bloomers and sixth-year seniors breaking out. And with the likes of Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr. serving as some of the most prominent examples of players who shook off earlier struggles en route to changing the draft conversation surrounding themselves, there’s still plenty of hope for anyone looking for a career reset.

Here are 10 NFL draft prospects for 2026 who will be looking to bounce back this season in order to boost their stock:

Carson Beck, QB, Miami (Fla.)

At this point last year, there were few established entities among the 2025 draft-eligible quarterbacks. The search for a potential franchise passer pointed some to Beck, whose impressive build (6-4, 220 pounds) and comfort dissecting defenses over the middle suggested the Georgia starter could be the early front-runner to be the first signal-caller selected in his class. But by the middle of last fall, the composure that was a hallmark of his style in 2023 was sorely missing, as Beck regularly melted down under pressure and had four contests with multiple interceptions. Still, his stock is far from unsalvageable. As the successor to Cam Ward after his transfer to Miami, Beck will look to capitalize on his transfer and final collegiate season just as the No. 1 pick did for the Hurricanes last year. His playing style is, of course, markedly different from that of Ward, as Beck’s rhythmic approach often leaves him out of sorts when he’s forced to account for an instant pass rush or operate out of structure. But if he keeps the highest-scoring offense in the Football Bowl Subdivision rolling, Beck could re-enter the first-round conversation.

Conner Weigman, QB, Houston

Between the tools that helped earn him five-star status as a recruit and the promise he showed in four stats the previous season, Weigman stirred plenty of excitement as a new coaching staff took over at Texas A&M in 2024. Then the reality check hit hard. He sustained a shoulder injury in a disastrous outing in a season-opening loss to Notre Dame, with the ailment later sidelining him for nearly a month. Despite engineering an upset of a then-top 10 team in Missouri upon his return, he was later benched for Marcel Reed against LSU and would never resume his starting role. In search of a fresh start, the 6-3, 215-pounder jumped to Houston, where he could boost his profile if he’s able to elevate an offense that ranked ninth-lowest in passing yards in 2024. Though he’s at best a developmental prospect at this point, the junior still has two years to deliver on his considerable upside.

Byrum Brown, QB, South Florida

As a redshirt freshman, Brown was the only other player besides Jayden Daniels to throw for more than 3,000 yards and rush at least 800 in the 2023 season. That’s pretty good company, especially for a redshirt freshman. A leg injury, however, knocked him out for eight games last season and halted his upward trajectory. With two years of eligibility remaining, the 6-3, 225-pounder will have ample time to highlight his substantial arm strength and comfort making plays on the move. While he’ll have to demonstrate he can hold up against stiffer competition after struggling against Alabama and Miami last season, Brown could generate a significant buzz if he fares well in his highly anticipated return.

Jaydn Ott, RB, Oklahoma

For the first two years of his career, Ott powered Cal’s offense with his reliable running, racking up 2,202 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground from 2022-23. But things fell apart last season when he suffered an ankle injury in the Golden Bears’ opener, as he managed just 385 yards (and 3.5 yards per carry) while dealing with the fallout of the ailment. At Oklahoma, he shouldn’t have to shoulder the same load he did at Cal, which should allow him to re-establish himself as a ball carrier capable of pacing an offense with his interior running.

Deion Burks, WR, Oklahoma

After transferring from Purdue, Burks looked to be in a good spot to stake his claim as the latest diminutive pass catcher worthy of an early-round draft slot. The 5-9, 181-pounder showed early flashes of his promise with three touchdown catches against Temple in his Sooners debut. But he suffered a soft-tissue injury in a September loss to Tennessee and would play in just one game the rest of the year, with a concussion sustained against Missouri knocking him out for the remainder of the campaign. With new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and quarterback John Mateer importing the high-flying passing attack they mastered at Washington State, Burks should be in line to showcase his deep speed and impressive tracking ability one year after he averaged just 7.9 yards per catch.

Nic Anderson, WR, LSU

Having hauled in 10 touchdown catches and averaged 21 yards per reception in a breakout 2023 campaign, Anderson entered last season as one of college football’s most formidable big-play receivers. But his follow-up effort never truly launched, with an injury that was sustained in fall camp and later reaggravated limiting him to just one appearance last year. The 6-4, 219-pounder is now starting over with the Tigers, and quarterback Garrett Nussmeier should relish the chance to take advantage of Anderson’s downfield playmaking ability.

Earnest Greene III, OT, Georgia

Despite boasting three players who would end up as Day 2 draft picks this spring, the Bulldogs’ offensive line was not without its fair share of miscues last fall. An insufficient push up front led the rushing attack to rank just second to last in the Southeastern Conference (124.4 yards per game), and the group also surrendered nearly twice as many sacks (25) as it did the previous season (13). Among the letdowns was Greene, an SEC All-Freshman pick in 2023 who was hampered by a shoulder injury for part of his sophomore campaign. The 6-4, 320-pounder is now flipping to right tackle after serving as Beck’s blindside protector for most of the past two seasons. If he exhibits more refinement and help gets Georgia’s offense back on track, Greene could draw teams in thanks to his quickness as both a pass protector and run blocker. But he still has work to do to be considered among the top draft-eligible offensive tackles, and his frame could portend a move to guard.

Patrick Payton, DE, LSU

When the Los Angeles Rams selected Jared Verse and Braden Fiske in the first two rounds of last season’s draft, Payton seemed well-positioned to be Florida State’s next premier pass rusher as he came off a seven-sack season. But the Seminoles’ woes in a 2-10 year extended to seemingly every level, and the 6-5, 255-pounder netted just four sacks. Transferring to LSU as part of a highly touted portal class, however, could help Payton rediscover his early-career form. A spot in the top 50 is entirely within reach for an edge threat with his frame and range of ways to get into the backfield, though he’ll need to bulk up and play stronger at the point of attack to get there.

Bear Alexander, DT, Oregon

A former five-star recruit who began his career at Georgia, Alexander still finds his college career defined by potential more so than production. The 6-3, 315-pounder was one of the few bright spots for a maligned USC defense in 2023, as he generated consistent pressure seldom seen for a player of his build on the interior. But Alexander decided last season to redshirt after just three games amid a clash with the coaching staff over playing time. Now at Oregon, he’ll be looking to take the sizable step from generating a smattering of splash plays to becoming a full-time force.

Harold Perkins Jr., LB, LSU

Perkins is one of three LSU players on this list, and his stock might have the most volatility of any of them. In his breakout freshman season, he quickly established himself as one of college football’s most explosive defenders, racking up 7 ½ sacks and 13 tackles for loss. But his effectiveness waned after moving from an edge rusher role to inside linebacker in 2023, and he then suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament last September. The 6-0, 220-pounder poses a substantial riddle for any team hoping to unlock his full explosiveness and ability to chase down plays in the backfield. While moving to the STAR position in the Tigers’ defense should help underscore his versatility, Perkins also will have to prove that he has an answer for beating the blocks that too often engulfed him in previous years.

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‘We’re not expecting him back for the playoffs,’ said coach Kris Knoblauch, who didn’t specify which injury Hyman suffered when he left the game on a hit by the Dallas Stars’ Mason Marchment during the first period.

The Oilers won the game 4-1 to take a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference finals.

Hyman scored 70 goals last season between the regular season and the playoffs. This season, he has 11 points in 15 playoff games and a league-leading 111 hits in the postseason, nearly 30 more than the next player.

‘Zach is going to be a huge hole, but we’re fortunate to have a lot of depth that guys can come in and step up and give us quality minutes,’ Knoblauch said.

Forward Connor Brown will miss a second consecutive game in Thursday’s potential clinching Game 5 in Dallas with an unspecified injury. Viktor Arvidsson came back in the lineup for Game 4 to replace Brown.

It’s uncertain who would come in for Hyman, but offseason acquisition Jeff Skinner has played only one playoff game.

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If the impending NBA Finals matchup of the league’s 23rd and 27th-ranked media markets is supposed to spell doom for the league, it is a doom the NBA’s owners intentionally brought on themselves. 

While two glitz-free Midwestern cities in the Finals might not have the celebrity pull the NBA has largely enjoyed through its historically successful franchises, it was an inevitable outcome once the league designed a collective bargaining agreement that dismantled its traditional cycle of superteams and dynasties. 

Welcome to the new NBA, where championship windows are smaller, the life cycle of a roster is shorter and the number of teams that can win a title in any given year is beyond anything we’ve seen in our lifetimes.

But rather than post memes of Adam Silver shedding tears over the Larry O’Brien Trophy because we are likely getting Indianapolis and Oklahoma City playing for it, consider adjusting your expectations going forward. Because this is the league of relative parity the NBA wanted, and it’s the league they shall have for the foreseeable future. 

We are only in Year 2 of the current CBA, which extends through the 2029-30 season. And it’s working precisely as the majority of league owners intended, flattening the field and making it remarkably difficult to keep a championship contender intact for very long. 

Exhibit A? The Boston Celtics, with a roster that has a projected $197 million committed next season to just five players. In order to avoid the so-called second apron, Boston will have to shed at least $20 million in salary or else face a variety of penalties that aren’t merely financial but would limit their ability to make certain kinds of moves. 

And that’s exactly how the NBA wants it: The more successful your team is, the more expensive its roster becomes, the more difficult the rules make it to continue the same course. 

That day is coming for Indiana as its key players cycle through their current contracts, and it’s certainly coming for Oklahoma City as players like Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren come off their rookie deals, and several other veterans hit free agency in the summer of 2026. 

If anything, it starts to look more like an NFL model, where the teams that tend to do well have a roster oriented toward a few stars making big money and a lot of players contributing early in their careers and performing at a higher level than their contracts would suggest. But when they hit free agency and seek a significantly bigger contract, the decisions become more difficult, and the organization is tested in its ability to fill holes through the draft. 

Does that seem fair? No, but it wasn’t designed to be fair. It was designed to redistribute talent through the league at a greater rate than we had seen previously, and it appears to be working. 

It is perhaps no coincidence that as the NBA will crown its seventh different champion in the last seven years, teams that were as far down as the play-in ranks this year are measuring whether a mega-trade for someone like Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kevin Durant could immediately lift them into the Finals conversation. At least on paper, the league seems that wide open, and it will no longer seem like an anomaly when two of the smaller, less-glamorous markets end up as the last teams standing.  

If you were an owner outside the handful of heavyweight markets that have traditionally attracted the best free agents, wouldn’t you want the same thing? Though we are just a couple of years into this CBA, there’s already proof of concept: If you manage your assets correctly and build elite depth through the draft, you don’t need to recreate the 2010-14 Miami Heat to contend for a title. 

There are certainly drawbacks to this approach. If you’re a good team that made a great draft pick in the teens or 20s and developed them into a quality role player, there’s an argument that you should be able to both keep and reward that player for the long haul without having to fundamentally alter your team. In the old CBA, there were a few more nooks and crannies that allowed teams to work around the edges. 

Also, consider what’s about to happen in Cleveland, where Evan Mobley winning defensive player of the year expanded the contract extension he already signed last summer by roughly $7 million next year and by $45 million over the life of the deal. That margin will directly impact how much Cleveland will be able to improve its team this summer, as the Cavaliers are projected to be in the second apron – and may even cost them a player. 

The real kicker to it is that Victor Wembanyama was running away with the award at the All-Star break but was shut down in February due to a blood clot and finished short of the 65-game minimum requirement for most NBA awards, making Mobley next in line. In other words, the chain reaction of an injury in San Antonio ends up limiting what a championship contender this year can do with its roster – even though nothing really changed from a basketball-value standpoint. 

That may not be the ideal way to run a league, but such absurdities are precisely what NBA owners signed up for with this CBA. What used to be a fairly simple way to build a dynasty – acquire a generational player in the draft, then attract other stars through trades or free agency – is now a much more complex dance with different paths to a title. 

Indiana and Oklahoma City have nailed it – for now. But greatness in this NBA isn’t meant to be forever. So if this likely Finals matchup isn’t your jam, there’s a simple solution. 

Just wait ‘til next year. 

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The Indiana Fever are 0-1 without superstar Caitlin Clark.

The Washington Mystics defeated the Fever 83-77 on Wednesday in Indiana’s first game without Clark, who is expected to be sidelined at least two weeks with a left quad strain that dates back to the WNBA preseason.

The Fever’s DeWanna Bonner had a team-high 21 points off the bench. It marked a historic night for her she’s the first player in WNBA history to reach 7,500 points, 3,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists. But Bonner’s big night was not enough in the end for the win.

Brittney Sykes had 21 points for Washington, nine rebounds and four assists, finishing just one rebound short of a double-double. Mystics rookies Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron added 16 and 13 points, respectively.

The Mystics move to 3-3 on the season and end a three-game skid. (Washington’s three losses have been by a combined 11 points.) The Fever drop to 2-3 following back-to-back losses.

Fever vs. Mystics highlights

End of Q3: Mystics 60, Fever 53

The Mystics have a 60-53 lead over the Fever heading into the fourth quarter, which marks Washington’s largest of the game. Mystics rookie Lucy Olsen dropped back-to-back 3s in the third quarter and is up to six points on the night. Fellow rookie Kiki Iriafen has eight points and five rebounds.

Halftime: Mystics 44, Fever 40

The Mystics outscored the Fever 25-17 in the second quarter to take a four-point lead into the locker room at halftime. Washington’s Shakira Austin leads all scorers with 13 points off the bench, in addition to two rebounds and one steal. Rookie Sonia Citron added nine points, four rebounds and one assist. The Mystics are outscoring the Fever in paint points (30-18) and fast-break points (5-0). Meanwhile, Natasha Howard leads the Fever with 10 points and five rebounds, but has four turnovers. DeWanna Bonner added nine points off the bench for Indiana.

End of Q1: Fever 23, Mystics 19

No Caitlin Clark, no problem so far for the Fever. Indiana has a four-point lead over Washington heading into the second quarter, following a team-high eight points from Natasha Howard. The Fever are collectively shooting 50% from both the field and 3-point line, while the Mystics are only shooting 35% from the field and 25% from 3. Shakira Austin leads Washington with six points off the bench.

What time is Fever vs. Mystics?

The Indiana Fever vs. Washington Mystics game will tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, May 28 at CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore.

The Mystics typically play their home games at CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C., which seats 4,200, but are playing both of their home games against the Fever at the larger CFG Bank Arena (14,000 capacity).

How to watch Fever vs. Mystics WNBA game: TV, stream

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore
TV: NBA TV
Stream: Fubo

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

The Indiana Fever are set to play the Washington Mystics on Wednesday in what will be the franchise’s first game this season without the services of Caitlin Clark.

Clark is dealing with a left quad strain that is expected to sideline her for at least two weeks. She dealt with a left quad injury during the WNBA preseason, notably missing a matchup against the Mystics because of it, but was healthy enough to play in the Fever’s season opener against the Chicago Sky.

Without Clark, the Fever will rely more on Aliyah Boston to carry their offense. Boston is averaging 18.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game this season and is tied with Kelsey Mitchell for the second-most assists per game (2.3) on the team.

Mitchell is more of an off-ball guard but may be asked to up her playmaking ability with Clark out of the lineup. Veteran guard Sydney Colson is set to take over the starting point guard duties in Clark’s stead while Sophie Cunningham will also be a part of the rotation at the position.

Regardless of who runs the point, Fever coach Stephanie White conceded the offense is ‘going to look different’ with Clark out of the lineup.

Meanwhile, the Mystics will be looking to snap a three-game losing streak after winning back-to-back games to open the season. Washington’s three losses have been by a combined 11 points and the team has gotten strong performances out of its first-round rookie duo of Sonia Citron (15.4 points per game) and Kiki Iriafen (13.8 points, 11.2 rebounds per game).

Here’s what to know about the Fever vs. Mystics game, including how to watch the Wednesday matchup.

Halftime: Mystics 44, Fever 40

The Mystics outscored the Fever 25-17 in the second quarter to take a four-point lead into the locker room at halftime. Washington’s Shakira Austin leads all scorers with 13 points off the bench, in addition to two rebounds and one steal. Rookie Sonia Citron added nine points, four rebounds and one assist. The Mystics are outscoring the Fever in paint points (30-18) and fast break points (5-0). Meanwhile, Natasha Howard leads the Fever with 10 points and five rebounds, but has four turnovers. DeWanna Bonner added nine points off the bench for Indiana.

End of Q1: Fever 23, Mystics 19

No Caitlin Clark, no problem so far for the Fever. Indiana has a four-point lead over Washington heading into the second quarter, following a team-high eight points from Natasha Howard. The Fever is collectively shooting 50% from both the field and three-point line, while the Mystics are only shooting 35% from the field and 25% from three. Shakira Austin leads Washington with six points off the bench.

What time is Fever vs. Mystics?

The Indiana Fever vs. Washington Mystics game will tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, May 28 at CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore.

The Mystics typically play their home games at CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C., which seats 4,200, but are playing both of their home games against the Fever at the larger CFG Bank Arena (14,000 capacity).

How to watch Fever vs. Mystics WNBA game: TV, stream

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore
TV: NBA TV
Stream: Fubo

This post appeared first on USA TODAY