Reuters Sports News Summary
Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.
NBA roundup: Simmons shoots Sixers past Nets
Ben Simmons scored a playoff-career-high 31 points and handed out nine assists to lead the visiting Philadelphia 76ers past the Brooklyn Nets 131-115 on Thursday in New York for a 2-1 lead in an Eastern Conference opening-round playoff series. Simmons, whose wayward shooting was the subject of a "Missing" poster outside of Barclays Center pregame, made 11 of 13 attempts from the field and 9 of 11 from the foul line.
NBA notebook: Texas Tech's Culver declares for draft
Texas Tech standout Jarrett Culver, the Big 12 Player of the Year, announced Thursday he will forgo his last two seasons in Lubbock and declare for the 2019 NBA Draft. The 6-foot-5, 195-pound guard made the announcement during a press conference in Lubbock, Texas.
NFL notebook: Rosen calls life in limbo 'annoying'
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Josh Rosen spoke publicly for the first time Thursday about the limbo he finds himself in with the team that drafted him last year, telling SI TV that it's "annoying" but that he "definitely understands the situation." The Cardinals hold the No. 1 pick in next week's NFL draft and speculation is rampant that the team, with new coach Kliff Kingsbury at the helm, will select former Oklahoma quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray.
NHL roundup: Avs put Flames on brink with OT win
Mikko Rantanen's second goal of the game was the overtime winner as the Colorado Avalanche erased a two-goal deficit and beat the Calgary Flames 3-2 Wednesday night in Denver. The result put the Western Conference's No. 1 seed, Calgary, on the brink of elimination in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Avalanche lead the best-of-seven series 3-1. Game 5 will be Friday in Calgary.
MLB roundup: Astros' streak halted at 10
Matt Chapman broke a sixth-inning tie with a home run Wednesday night, helping the host Oakland Athletics snap the Houston Astros' 10-game winning streak with a 2-1 victory. Frankie Montas (3-1) gave up one run and three hits in 6 1/3 innings, and the Oakland bullpen got the final eight outs as the A's beat the Astros for the first time in five tries this season to split the two-game series.
Boxing: Miller denies knowingly taking banned substance
American Jarrell Miller says he never knowingly took a banned substance and will appeal a decision to revoke his license over an adverse finding from a doping test ahead of his heavyweight title fight with Britain's Anthony Joshua. Miller, who was due to fight WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO world champion Joshua on June 1 in New York, wrote on his Instagram account he was devastated upon hearing his boxing license was revoked in New York State.
NHL roundup: Hurricanes top Caps in final seconds
Jaden Schwartz scored with 15 seconds remaining in the third period Thursday as the St. Louis Blues recorded the fifth straight road win in their Western Conference first-round series with a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets in Game 5. Tyler Bozak wired a centering feed from along the right-wing boards to Schwartz, who batted the puck out of the air and past Connor Hellebuyck to stun the crowd in Winnipeg. The Blues will look to close out the best-of-seven series at home on Saturday night.
MLB roundup: Mariners blow 8-run lead, win in 9th
Ryon Healy homered twice and drove in five runs, and the Seattle Mariners ended a six-game losing streak with an 11-10 win against the Los Angeles Angels in the opener of the four-game series on Thursday in Anaheim, Calif. After the Mariners squandered a 10-2 lead with the Angels scoring seven runs in the seventh and tying the game in the eighth, Jay Bruce moved Seattle ahead 11-10 with a pinch-hit single in the ninth off Cody Allen (0-1).
NBA roundup: Celtics rally past Pacers for 2-0 series lead
Jayson Tatum buried a go-ahead 3-pointer with 50.8 seconds remaining Wednesday night, allowing the host Boston Celtics to overcome a late Indiana Pacers flurry and pull out a 99-91 victory in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series. With the fourth-seeded Celtics having successfully held serve on their home court to go up 2-0 in the best-of-seven set, the fifth-seeded Pacers will host Games 3 and 4 on Friday night and Sunday afternoon.
MLB notebook: A's sign Davis through 2021
Oakland Athletics slugger Khris Davis signed a contract extension Thursday that covers the 2020 and '21 seasons for a reported total of $33.5 million. Davis was scheduled to become a free agent in November. Davis' 143 home runs since the start of the start of the 2016 season are the most in baseball over that span -- 19 more than second-place Giancarlo Stanton.