The Minnesota Lynx handed the Los Angeles Sparks their first loss of the season.

Star forward Napheesa Collier led the Lynx to a 89-75 road victory over the Sparks on Sunday at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena, finishing with 23 points, six rebounds, two steals and one assist in the win. Courtney Williams finished one assist short of a double-double, ending the night with 13 points and nine assists.

The Lynx led by a many as 16 points in the contest, but the Sparks came within five points with 7:45 remaining, 75-70. The Lynx responded by stepping on the gas and closed the game on a 14-5 run to move to 2-0 on the season.

Azura Stevens led the Sparks with 21 points, while Dearica Hamby recorded a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Kelsey Plum finished with 18 points and five assists.

Here is a recap of the Lynx and Sparks battle in Los Angeles:

End of Q3: Lynx 70, Sparks 62

The Minnesota Lynx have an eight-point lead over the Los Angeles Sparks heading into the fourth quarter. Napheesa Collier has 19 points and six rebounds, while Courtney Williams added 13 points and six assists. Dearica Hamby scored 20 points, while Azura Stevens added 17 and Kelsey Plum recorded 15 points.

Halftime: Lynx 46, Sparks 45

The Sparks outscored the Lynx 20-16 in the second quarter, yet trail Minnesota by one at halftime. Sparks’ Dearica Hamby scored nine of her 15 points in the second quarter, while Azura Stevens added 14. Napheesa Collier is the only Lynx player in double-digits with 17 points, shooting 7-of-11 from the field and 2-of-2 from three.

End of Q1: Lynx 30, Sparks 25

The Minnesota Lynx have a five-point advantage over the Los Angeles Sparks heading into the second quarter. Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier led the way with 12 points and three rebounds, shooting 5-of-6 from the field and 1-of-1 from three. Sparks’ Azura Stevens has a game-high 14 points, shooting 5-of-5 from the field and 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.

What time is Lynx vs. Sparks?

The Minnesota Lynx and Los Angeles Sparks will tip off at 6 p.m. ET, 3 p.m. local time, on Sunday, May 18 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.

How to watch Lynx vs. Sparks: TV, stream

Time: 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT
Location: Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California
TV: Spectrum SportsNet, FanDuel Sports Network – North
Stream: Fubo, WNBA League Pass

Watch the Sparks vs. Lynx live with Fubo

Maybe if Aaron Gordon hadn’t been limited by a hamstring strain, the Denver Nuggets could’ve made it a closer game or even beaten the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.

Maybe. But we will never know.

On the road for Game 7 with Gordon hobbled by an injury that rendered him way less than 100% and should’ve sidelined him, the Nuggets didn’t have enough.

The Thunder moved to the Western Conference finals with a 125-93 victory against Denver, an anticlimactic Game 7 that showed promise early but turned into a Thunder rout late in the second quarter and into the second half.

MVP finalist Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with an efficient 35 points on 12-for-19 shooting, plus four assists, three rebounds and three steals, and Jalen Williams had 24 points, seven assists and five rebounds.

The Thunder used their size, depth, versatility and offensive and defensive power throughout the series, and they made offense difficult for Denver MVP finalist Nikola Jokic.

This was an impressive series for the Thunder, and they took one step further in the playoffs than they did last season. Oklahoma City closed out Game 5 against Denver for a 3-2 series lead and left no doubt in Game 7. The Thunder are learning in real time what’s required to get to the next level, and that’s an encouraging sign.

But they will need to be much better in the conference finals against the Timberwolves and Anthony Edwards.

Both teams are relatively healthy – as healthy as a contender can be at this point in the season – and seeds no longer matter. Minnesota beat the third-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in five games, dispatched the Golden State Warriors in five (albeit no Steph Curry for the final four games) and now gets the Thunder.

Minnesota has a star in Edwards, Julius Randle is playing outstanding in the postseason, and while the Timberwolves might not be as deep and versatile as Oklahoma City, they still have a strong bench and can go big or small.

It should be a competitive series.

But Oklahoma City – based on its 68 regular-season wins, No. 1 seed and home-court advantage – is favored. The roster was assembled and designed for long-term success which includes competing for a championship. The Thunder have been close, getting to the NBA Finals with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden in 2012 and the West finals three other times before this season.

Following Durant’s departure in 2016 and Westbrook’s departure in 2019, the Thunder embarked on another rebuild, and executive vice president and general manager Sam Presti, this season’s NBA executive of the year, used trades, free agency and the draft to create the roster. He’s as good as it gets in the front office – not only does he and his staff have an eye for talent but they have a knack of knowing the right combination of players.

With stakes and pressure rising with each game, the Thunder must prove – to themselves and the rest of the league – they can take the next step. That’s the storyline that hangs over this series.

Follow NBA columnist Jeff Zillgitt on social media @JeffZillgitt

Friday night, he was the Baltimore Orioles’ third base coach and infield instructor, a minor league lifer who’d earned his stripes on the major league staff the past four seasons. Saturday morning, he was thrust into the manager’s seat when the man who gave him a big-league shot, Brandon Hyde, was fired amid a 15-28 start.

By Sunday morning, he was holding his first media briefing and aiming to contextualize it all.

‘This is very different than what I was doing. I had a nice little silo that I worked in, and it was comfortable,’ says Mansolino. ‘This is about as uncomfortable as it gets right now.’

A few hours later, Mansolino learned it can always, always get more uncomfortable.

For the second consecutive game in the post-Hyde era, the Orioles trailed their quasi-rival Washington Nationals by seven runs after just two innings. Both games, the Orioles trailed before recording an out, with CJ Abrams ripping Sunday’s first pitch from Baltimore ace Zach Eflin over Camden Yards’ right field wall.

Abrams would homer his next at-bat, and Dylan Crews hit a three-run homer, and a lively crowd on Little League day was soon lulled into the catatonic stupor that just may accompany Baltimore’s final 117 games of the season.

If the firing of Hyde – who endured the club’s tanking and survived to guide it to a 101-win season and two playoff berths – was supposed to invigorate a clearly underperforming club, it’s initially had the opposite effect.

The Orioles were swept at home by the Nationals, who prevailed 10-4 on Sunday, for the first time since 2018, when they lost a franchise-record 115 games that inspired this rebuild that only recently went sideways, resulting in Hyde’s firing.

For a team widely expected to make the playoffs a third consecutive season, and a young core that seems to be regressing rather than peaking, there’s seemingly no bottom.

‘I don’t think there’s really any words I can tell you,’ says Eflin after withstanding the early barrage to pitch into the sixth inning. ‘I mean, it’s frustrating. We’re not necessarily having fun right now.’

And for a young club playing for a different manager for the first time, it might take some adjustments.

A new sensation

The Orioles looked relatively shell-shocked in the aftermath of Hyde’s Saturday firing. Mansolino, 42, who has four seasons of minor league managerial experience, does not expect that to disappear overnight.

‘This is tough. This is emotional. There’s a lot of emotions,’ says Manosolino. ‘For a lot of our guys, for us as coaches. I mean, this was a tough pill to swallow in a lot of ways.

‘So, we have to say that, but we also have to recognize this is not going to be as linear as we want.’

With that, Mansolino anticipates the seven-game trip that begins Monday at Milwaukee will allow space after a chaotic weekend to pull individuals aside and take their emotional temperature.

‘This is going to linger for a little bit,’ he says, ‘and we got to do the best we can to move forward and try to win some games.’

All this is new for the Orioles’ core. They sent five players to the All-Star Game last season, with Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman and Jordan Westburg representing the homegrown core of the rebuild.

Henderson missed the start of the season with an oblique injury, one of many nicks that have waylaid the club so far. He had a predictably uneven beginning to the season but now has reached base in 21 of his past 23 games.

He slammed his seventh homer Sunday, then reflected on this new sensation for the group.

‘It’s definitely different,’ says Henderson. ‘This is my first change in manager, so it is a little bit different, but I have full faith in Manso and the surrounding staff, so we’ll see if we can get it turned around.’

That seems unlikely – at least, to the extent that the 15-30 Orioles reach .500, avoid a sell-off at the trade deadline and remain live dogs for their third consecutive playoff berth.

Still, it’s plenty early, though that means nothing if the team can’t pitch. Sunday, the club designated for assignment right-hander Kyle Gibson, one day after he created that 7-0 second-inning hole in the first game of the Mansolino era.

Eflin, their opening-day starter, won’t meet that fate after his Sunday foibles. But he also couldn’t stop whatever bleeding – on the scoreboard, and emotionally – that lingered from the Hyde dismissal.

‘This was tough yesterday. There’s no doubt,’ Mansolino said Sunday. ‘But as you walk into that clubhouse today, even yesterday, I don’t think that they’re feeling sorry for themselves. I don’t think that their compete has diminished in any ways.’

For the first time, the World’s Strongest Man hails from Africa.

Rayno Nel, a South African rugby player turned strongman, held on to win Sunday in his World’s Strongest Man debut — becoming the first man from outside Europe or Noth America to take the title in the competition’s 48-year history. He is also the first rookie to win since 1997.

‘I’m just over the moon,’ he told USA TODAY Sports shortly after securing the title at the 2025 competition, held in Sacramento, California.

‘To represent (South Africa) in any way whatsoever, it feels surreal. I mean, we’re a small country with a lot of struggles. To have something like this I know means a lot to my people.’

It was a stunning outcome, particularly given the circumstances — and the frantic finale.

At World’s Strongest Man, competitors earn points based on the order of finish in each event, with the top finisher getting the most points. Nel built a sizable lead on the first day of the finals Saturday by finishing no worse than second in the day’s three events, but he knew that his two worst events — the Flintstone Barbell and the storied Atlas Stones — were ahead of him. The Flintstone Barbell requires competitors to overhead press a bar weighing 531 pounds, while the Atlas Stones involve placing a series of stones between 310 and 460 pounds on pedestals.

‘I think to have your two worst events coming up, that’s one thing. But knowing that (2023 champion) Mitch Hooper and (three-time World’s Strongest Man) Tom Stoltman are chasing you, with your worst events coming up, that’s something different,’ Nel said. 

‘I just tried to stay focused and do as much damage limitation as possible.’

Nel, 30, ultimately won by just half a point over Stoltman thanks to a third-place finish in the Atlas Stones, which was the last event of the finals. 

Not bad for a guy who, at least as of three years ago, had only played rugby.

‘Rugby was what I thought I would do for my sport career. I didn’t think I’d do any sport ever again,’ he said. ‘But I always had this competitive side to me, so when I stopped playing rugby, I knew I needed to do something competitive. That’s just who I am.’

Nel, who is 6 feet 3 and weighs 326 pounds, has said he realized at one point that he had always had a bit more muscle over even larger opponents in rugby matches. So he decided to give strongman a try. He said he lucked out because his coach, Terence Bosman, had a world-class facility just a few miles from his house.

‘Although the strongman community is very small in South Africa, of the whole country, I lived 5 kilometers from the best place to train,’ Nel said.

Though he had won continental strongman competitions before this week, Nel admitted that World’s Strongest Man marked a massive step up. Of the 25 strongmen in the field, he had only competed against one of them before. He said it led to some nerves — errors — in the opening events.

‘Coming in, I won’t say I was starstruck by everything, but World’s Strongest Man is just such a big scene and competition,’ he said.

‘Luckily in the sport, I know what the other guys’ numbers are. I know, pretty much, what they can do. So deep down, I knew there was a chance.’

Asked about how he would celebrate his win — and the history he made for his continent — Nel laughed. His only plan was to have a beer with his family, even if his preferred South African brand, Black Label, would likely be impossible to find.

‘I’ll try out some American beer tonight,’ he said.

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @tomschad.bsky.social.

(This story has been updated to add new information).

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Lionel Messi held his arms up in the air in disbelief. The rest of his Inter Miami teammates joined him in complaint, and waited to see what would come from their contest with a referee.

No one was watching Orlando City’s Luis Muriel, who scored a goal just before halftime that kept the Inter Miami players fuming as they walked onto the pitch for the second half.

Orlando City’s Marco Pašalić doubled the lead (53’), Dagur Thorhallsson scored before the final whistle (90’+4’), and Inter Miami lost 3-0 at Chase Stadium on MLS Sunday Night Soccer.

“There’s always something going on with the referees, some isolated plays. I think MLS needs to look a little more closely to the referees,” Messi said during a post-match interview with Apple TV.

It’s easily the most difficult stretch Inter Miami has experienced in the Messi era – even more for first-year coach Javier Mascherano, whose lineup changes are not sparking enough fire offensively to keep up.

Inter Miami has won just one match in its last seven games – conceding 20 goals, while scoring just 12. They have lost five matches during the stretch, including their elimination in the semifinals of the Concacaf Champions Cup tournament by MLS Western Conference leaders Vancouver late last month. 

Messi and his squad are a club in disarray, about to be exposed on the world stage during the FIFA Club World Cup next month.

“It’s a difficult time, but we’re going to come through this together,” Messi said. “Now we’ll really see if we’re a team in difficult times because when everything is going well, it’s very easy. But when difficult times come, like now, that’s when we have to be more united than ever, be a real team and get through it.”

“We as a coaching staff are failing, and we have to try to turn things around,” Mascherano added.

Inter Miami’s frustration boiled over as Messi, Luis Suarez and others contested with referees before their first goal allowed.

Messi contested an Orlando player made a pass backward to his goalkeeper, who then picked the ball up with his hands – leading to the transition goal. However, there was another Orlando player in front of the goalkeeper who did not touch the ball – making it permissible for the goalkeeper to pick it up.

“There was a strange play where one of their players passed the ball to goalkeepers and the referee told me that he didn’t know the rule, that he didn’t think it was a foul or that he didn’t understand it,” Messi said. “And well, from there came a long ball, and the goal.”

Messi and Luis Suarez each received yellow cards within minutes of each other midway through the second half as tensions remained raised. A season ago, they both scored twice in a 5-0 win over their in-state rivals as part of a record-setting season where Inter Miami won the MLS Supporters’ Shield.

After losing the Florida Derby during MLS Rivalry Week, Inter Miami fell to sixth place (21 points) in the MLS Eastern Conference, jumped by Orlando City (24 points) in the standings.

They dropped from fourth to fifth earlier this week behind Philadelphia Union (29 points), FC Cincinnati (29 points), Columbus Crew (27 points) and Nashville (24 points) after a 3-3 draw in San Jose on Wednesday night.

Inter Miami’s last win was a 4-1 victory against the New York Red Bulls on May 3.

Inter Miami has three MLS regular-season matches remaining, and Messi is expected to join Argentina for two World Cup qualifying matches – Argentina will visit Chile on June 5, and host Colombia on June 10 –before the Club World Cup.

They will play in the tournament opener on June 14 against Egyptian side Al Alhy at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, the first of three group-stage matches during the summer tournament between 32 of the best teams in the world.

They’re barely a Top 15 team in MLS, amid their difficult stretch. And time isn’t on their side for much-needed improvement.

“It has been a period of poor results, but we must continue working and think about what lies ahead,” Messi said. “We have four games left to finish the month on a high note ahead of the Club World Cup.” “If we all start pulling in different directions, it’s going to be impossible to get out of it. It’s clear that we have to get out of this together,” Mascherano added.

Marco Pašalić scores goal: Orlando City 2, Inter Miami 0

Inter Miami allowed a goal before halftime, and one to begin the second half. Marco Pašalić has scored in the 53rd minute to double Orlando City’s lead.

Luis Muriel scores goal: Orlando City 1, Inter Miami 0

Orlando City is on the board just before halftime as Luis Muriel scored a breakaway goal in the 43rd minute of the match.

Iván Angulo shot saved by Oscar Ustari: Inter Miami 0, Orlando City 0

Inter Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari saved this attempt by Orlando City’s Iván Angulo in the 24th minute. Ustari has been on the opposite end of 17 goals allowed in the last six games.

Messi misses shot with right boot: Inter Miami 0, Orlando City 0

Lionel Messi lined up this opportunity with his right foot instead of his legendary left, but was unable to score past Orlando City goalkeeper Pedro Gallese in the 22nd minute.

Messi contract talks: When will he re-sign with Inter Miami?

Lionel Messi is under contract this season, but Inter Miami wants to extend the World Cup champion.

Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said of a possible extension for Messi: “Hopefully in a few weeks, we can have some news about Leo because I think it will be very, very good for the club, for the fans, and for MLS.”

Is Messi playing vs. Orlando City? Inter Miami lineup today

Yes, Messi was announced as a starter by Inter Miami before the match. Here are the starting lineups for both clubs:

How to watch Inter Miami vs. Orlando City match on TV, live stream?

The match is available on the Apple TV+ channel, and MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.

What time is Inter Miami vs. Orlando City match?

The match begins at 7 p.m. ET (8 p.m. in Argentina).

Is Luis Suarez playing tonight vs. Orlando City?

Suarez is also listed in the starting lineup, and returns after missing the last two Inter Miami matches due to personal reasons.

Inter Miami vs. Orlando City prediction

Inter Miami 2, Orlando City 1: Messi scores a goal and has an assist in a 2-1 victory for Inter Miami against Orlando City. — Safid Deen, Lionel Messi reporter.

Inter Miami vs. Orlando City betting odds

Inter Miami enters the match as the favorite (-130), while a draw (+290) has slightly lower odds than a win by Orlando City (+300), according to BETMGM.

Messi to join Argentina before Club World Cup

Messi has been called up by the defending World Cup champions for qualifying matches for the 2026 tournament. Argentina will visit Chile on June 5, and host Colombia on June 10.

Messi, Inter Miami upcoming schedule

May 24: Philadelphia Union vs. Inter Miami, 7:30 p.m. ET
May 28: Inter Miami vs. CF Montreal, 7:30 p.m. ET
May 31: Inter Miami vs. Columbus Crew, 7:30 p.m. ET

Messi, Inter Miami schedule for Club World Cup

June 14: Inter Miami vs. Al Alhy, 8 p.m. ET (Hard Rock Stadium in Miami)
June 19: Inter Miami vs FC Porto, 3 p.m. ET (Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta)
June 23: Inter Miami vs. Palmerias, 9 p.m. ET (Hard Rock Stadium in Miami)

The WNBA said it is looking into hateful comments made during the season opener between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky on Saturday in Indianapolis.

‘The WNBA strongly condemns racism, hate, and discrimination in all forms – they have no place in our league or in society. We are aware of the allegations and are looking into the matter,’ the league said in a statement.

While the league didn’t specify what the allegations are, a person with knowledge of the situation told IndyStar, part of the USA TODAY Network, it’s directed toward hateful comments to Sky forward Angel Reese.

‘The WNBPA is aware of reports of hateful comments at yesterday’s game in Indianapolis and supports the WNBA’s current investigation into this matter. Such behavior is unacceptable in our sports,’ the players’ union said in a statement.

A rivalry between Reese and Fever guard Caitlin Clark has been going on since their college days, and it’s been no different in the WNBA. There was anticipation for the season beginning with the two stars starting their second-year campaigns against one another, but it got heated during the contest.

With less than five minutes left in the third quarter, Clark intentionally fouled Reese on the arm and shoved her as the Chicago star went for a layup. Reese immediately got up and appeared to say something to Clark as she went toward her before Indiana forward Aliyah Boston intervened. Clark walked away while the situation was quickly deescalated by the players on the court and coaching staff.

Referees reviewed the play and upgraded the foul by Clark to a Flagrant 1, while Boston and Reese were given offsetting technical fouls.

Reese was heavily booed by the Indiana crowd during player introductions and throughout the game, but the intensity picked up as she shot the free throws following the Flagrant 1 call.

Indiana won the contest 93-58. Clark finished with a game-high 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the third triple-double of her career, while Reese had 12 points and a game-high 17 rebounds.

The Oklahoma City Thunder did what they needed to do.

They beat the Denver Nuggets 125-93 in Game 7 on Sunday, advancing to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2016 and for the fifth time since the franchise moved from Seattle to Oklahoma City in 2008.

The top-seeded Thunder will play the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves for a spot in the NBA Finals, starting with Game 1 on Tuesday in Oklahoma City (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

OKC broke open a close game in the second quarter, finishing the final 3:11 on an 18-5 run for a 60-46 halftime lead. The Thunder’s dominance continued in the third quarter, leading 72-50 and 96-69. The margin grew to 106-74 early in the fourth, and Nuggets interim coach David Adelman pulled his starters, including Aaron Gordon who played with a strained left hamstring he sustained in Game 6.

The Thunder sat their starters when MVP finalist Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 3-pointer made it 114-76 with 7:47 remaining in the game.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 35 points and added four assists, three rebounds and three steals, and All-Star forward Jalen Williams had 24 points, seven assists and five rebounds.

Gordon delivered a valiant effort basically on one leg. He had eight points and 11 rebounds, but he attempted just four shots and wasn’t close to 100%.

Nuggets MVP finalist Nikola Jokic finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and Christian Braun scored 19 points.

Read what you missed and see highlights from Sunday’s Nuggets vs. Thunder Game 7:

Game 7 highlights: Thunder 125, Nuggets 93

Final: Thunder 125, Nuggets 93

Nuggets pull starters, empty bench down 32

Nuggets interim head coach David Adelman threw in the towel with 9:36 remaining in the fourth quarter. With the Nuggets trailing 106-74, Adelman emptied his bench and pulled his starters from the game. Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneau followed suit and pulled his starters with 7:40 remaining in the game while up 38 points.

End of Q3: Thunder 97, Nuggets 72

The Thunder are firing on all cylinders and are one quarter away from the team’s first Western Conference Finals since 2016. The Thunder led by as many as 27 points and have a 25-point heading into the fourth quarter.

Four of Oklahoma City’s starters are in double figures, led by 23 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is shooting 7-of-14 from the field and 2-of-3 from three. Chet Holmgren already has a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Thunder recorded 12 steals and three blocks and scored 22 points off 17 Denver turnovers. Oklahoma City is also winning the fast break (20-9) and points in the paint (58-32) battle by a wide margin.

Nikola Jokic is on triple-double with with 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Jamal Murray has 11 points, shooting 5-of-15 from the field and 1-of-8 from three.

Watch: Cason Wallace dunks on Nikola Jokic

Wallace posterized the three-time MVP. He showed off his hops by slamming down a dunk on Jokic to put the Thunder up 78-57with 6:31 remaining in the third quarter.

Turnovers are a problem for Nuggets, again

Just like it was in Game 6, turnovers have also become an issue for the Denver Nuggets in Game 7.

During Sunday’s Western Conference semifinal elimination game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver committed 12 turnovers in the first half, which helped spark the Thunder on massive runs.

Oklahoma City outscored the Nuggets by 19 points in the second quarter to take a 14-point lead into halftime, though the Thunder actually went on an extended 44-20 run going back to the one-minute mark of the first quarter.

Turnovers have been the difference. The Thunder are swarming and deflecting the ball, particularly when the Nuggets push it into the low post. The double — and sometimes triple — teams have led to poked balls that the Thunder have used for breakaway buckets.

The Thunder have scored 12 points off turnovers, while the Nuggets haven’t scored a single point off of the 3 Oklahoma City turnovers. The Thunder recorded 8 steals in the first half; the Nuggets swiped the ball just 3 times, by comparison.

Thunder forward Jalen Williams, who scored 17 points in the first half on 8-of-12 shooting, has been the main beneficiary of the steals, getting a trio of easy transition layups and dunks off of steals.

Halftime: Thunder 60, Nuggets 46

The Thunder went on an 18-5 run to close the first half with a 14-point lead over the Nuggets, marking their largest of the game, 60-46. Turnovers have been costly for the Nuggets and Oklahoma City has capitalized. Denver has turned the ball over 12 times in the first half, surrendering 12 points as a result.

After struggling in Game 6 with only six points, Jalen Williams came alive in the second quarter and scored 17 points, in addition to three assists and one steal. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 12 points. The Thunder have doubled the Nuggets in points in the paint (40-20) and fast-break points (5-10).

Nikola Jokic has 17 points and six rebounds for the Nuggets, while Christian Braun has 12 points. Jamal Murray has been quiet so far with only four points in the seventh Game 7 of his career. Aaron Gordon, playing with a strained left hamstring, has eight points and eight rebounds.

End of Q1: Denver 26, Thunder 21

The Nuggets led by as many as 11 points in the first quarter, but the Thunder closed the quarter on a 11-5 run to come within five points of Denver. Christian Braun has a team-high nine points. Nikola Jokic added seven points, four rebounds and three assists. Aaron Gordon, who is visibly limping as he plays through a hamstring strain, collected five rebounds and scored three points.

Oklahoma City is shooting 38.5% from the field, compared to 45.0% for Denver. Chet Holmgren has a team-high six points and four rebounds.

What time is Nuggets vs. Thunder Game 7?

Game 7 of the Denver Nuggets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder series will tip off Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.

How to watch Nuggets vs. Thunder Game 7: TV, stream

Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City
TV: ABC
Stream: Sling TV, YouTube TV, Fubo (free trial)

Watch Nuggets vs. Thunder Game 7 on Fubo

Nuggets’ Aaron Gordon has strained hamstring, will start

Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon will try to play with a strained left hamstring against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 of their Western Conference semifinals series Sunday.

Gordon has been listed as questionable but participated in pregame warmups, and the Nuggets then upgraded his status to available and put him in the starting lineup.

Gordon didn’t do any strenuous jumping or running during his warmup. He sustained a left hamstring strain chasing a loose ball late in the Nuggets’ 119-107 Game 6 victory against the Thunder. It won’t take long to see what Gordon can provide.

Nuggets starting lineup today

Thunder starters for Game 7

Isaiah Hartenstein stats

Hartenstein averaged career-highs in points (11.2), rebounds (10.7) and assists (3.8) in 57 regular season games this year. He’s averaging 11.2 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists through six games of the conference semifinals vs. Denver.

Michael Porter Jr. stats

In 77 games in the regular season, Porter averaged 18.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists. However, Porter has struggled in the conference semifinals, averaging only 7.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists in six games against the Thunder while playing with an injured shoulder.

Nuggets vs. Thunder Game 7 predictions

With Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon playing with a hamstring strain, Denver’s chances to upset the No. 1 seed Thunder on the road become far more precarious.

Lorenzo Reyes: Oklahoma City, 107-102

Heather Tucker: Denver, 108-105

Jeff Zillgitt: Oklahoma City, 110-95

Nuggets vs. Thunder NBA playoff schedule, results

(Oklahoma City wins series 4-3)

Game 1: Nuggets 121, Thunder 119
Game 2: Thunder 149, Nuggets 106
Game 3: Nuggets 113, Thunder 104 (OT)
Game 4: Thunder 92, Nuggets 87
Game 5: Thunder 112, Nuggets 105
Game 6: Nuggets 119, Thunder 107
Game 7: Thunder 125, Nuggets 93

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The news that’s emerged about Caleb Williams and how he wanted to circumvent the draft process or, more specifically, prevent the Chicago Bears from selecting him (the team that has buried the careers of numerous quarterbacks) is of course interesting.

That part of this recent Williams story isn’t the most interesting part.

I’ll tell you what is.

In the ESPN story that originates from Seth Wickersham’s upcoming work, ‘American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback,’ is this stunning piece of information about Williams and the Bears’ coaching staff: “At times, Williams said he would watch film alone, with no instruction or guidance from the coaches. ‘No one tells me what to watch,’ Caleb Williams told his dad. ‘I just turn it on.’”

Wut?

I suspect in the coming days Williams will attempt to clean this quote up, lessen its impact, portray it differently. That’s because there are so many damning aspects to this remark it’s difficult to find a place to start.

We need to break this down like forensic scientists and try to understand exactly what Williams is saying. First, what did Williams mean exactly by ‘no one tells me what to watch?’ Did the way he watched film at USC not translate to the NFL?

Or did Williams mean he needed the Bears’ coaching staff to explain how they watched film? Or that he needed help with what to look for in the NFL?

Either way, it cannot be overstated how much of an indictment this is of the Bears and last season’s since-fired coaching staff. More on that in a moment.

It’s been noted that Williams himself isn’t quoted on this. His father is. A number of former NFL players didn’t seem to care either way. Some of them obliterated Williams for not being more aggressive in learning how to watch film on his own.

Former Packers wide receiver James Jones, a Bears critic (because, well, he’s a Packer), blasted Williams.

‘I don’t know Caleb Williams personally, man, you know what I mean? And I don’t want to call (anyone) a liar, but I played a long time in the National Football League,’ Jones said. ‘…There is time in a day to where we watched film as an offense, to where we watch film as a position group.

‘So you’re not going to sit up here and tell me that you (didn’t watch) film with your quarterbacks or you didn’t watch film with your offense because you do. They put that in the schedule.’

But it seems the issue was Williams’ uncertainty when watching film alone as opposed to in position groups.

Former Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason, the crankiest old man in any room, went a step further and called Williams entitled.

‘When you think about this, I think a lot of these kids and their parents are nowadays and that the level of entitlement is breathtaking,’ Esiason said. ‘It’s no wonder why he failed initially and it’s no wonder why the coach got fired. So now they go out and get an offensive coach in Ben Johnson and you know what? Now it’s on (him). It’s going to be on (him) to live up to these so-called lofty expectations that he has for himself and that his father has for his son.’

(You can almost hear Esiason’s old man ramblings careening off clouds.)

It’s true that on rare occasions we’ll hear about players who don’t individually study film. Super Bowl champion Rob Gronkowski, an infamous lunkhead, once admitted he didn’t watch film, and instead got human cheat sheet Tom Brady to summarize the key plot points for him like Brady was ChatGPT.

‘I don’t watch film,’ Gronkowski told the Manning brothers in 2021 on their ‘Monday Night Football’ alternate broadcast. ‘I do go up to Tom, because I know Tom watches like, I don’t know, 40 hours of film a week.’

‘My teammate (Cameron Brate) just asked me the other day, ‘Rob, I have a serious question: Do you ever watch film?’ And I said, ‘No, I don’t. I just run by guys, if I’m feeling good, I’m feeling good,” Gronkowski recalled. ‘So I don’t watch film. I do watch film when the team is showing it.’

‘(I’ll ask), ‘Tom, who is covering me, and what type of coverages are they doing?’ I go, ‘That’s why I love playing with you Tom, you know everything,” Gronkowski said.

(All of that is so Gronk.)

Wickersham told the story to Fox 32 in Chicago that when veteran quarterback Alex Smith, the former No. 1 overall pick, came into the league he also wasn’t told what to look for when watching film and did so alone. When Smith later went to Kansas City, he helped teach Patrick Mahomes how to watch film as a pro.

Arizona Wildcats wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan said before the 2025 draft he didn’t do individual film study when in college.

‘I don’t like watching film either,’ McMillan said. ‘I don’t ever need to watch it by myself because we go over it as a receiver group.’

So, yes, not every player watches film, but it remains extremely rare for quarterbacks in football today to be left on his own to do it. It simply does not happen with any sort of regularity.

Maybe this is an indictment of Williams but I don’t think so. This is more about the Bears. This is a massive, gigantic, almost incomprehensible failure of the franchise.

How does the staff, namely former head coach Matt Eberflus, and former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, not notice this issue? Or did they know and ignore it? There are so many questions here.

What’s not in question is the Bears again proving their quarterback dysfunction. This is such a good example of why. It’s almost comical. You can’t imagine some of the great franchises in the league doing this today. Teams take so much care in how they treat quarterbacks. Educate them. Protect them. They are the NFL’s equivalent of the rarest of diamonds.

There seems to be so much more to this story. There’s a lot we don’t know, but from what we do, this is quarterback malpractice.

It’s true that this offseason the Bears have done a great deal to try to help Williams. They got a new offensive-minded head coach in Ben Johnson, more offensive line help and weapons. Maybe that all works and the Chicago QB Dysfunction Era will end. But what this story shows is that the dysfunction in the Bears organization when it comes to quarterbacks dies hard.

What quarterbacks look for in film study (or are supposed to) are all the trickeries and tells in defenses. Not to mention what they learn about their own offense (and themselves) from watching practice film. Yes, coaches can relay a lot of that, but it’s better if you can digest it on your own. Brady wasn’t born with the ability to decode a defense. He learned so much of that from study. All of the great ones do. There’s no film gene.

Brady has spoken about how Bill Belichick taught him how to break down film. Brady would expand on Belichick’s instruction and become one of the great film studiers of all time. It got to the point where Brady knew some defenses better than they knew themselves.

“I asked Tom once, ‘Is that film study why you are so confident out there?’” Damon Huard, Brady’s backup from 2001-2003, once explained. “He said, ‘Yeah, it’s awesome.’”

Williams was apparently in the film room. Just alone. Which is extremely Bears-ian.