Last Night in Sports: April 25, 2026

Saturday delivered four NBA Game 3s and a Game 4, three NHL Game 4s including Carolina's first sweep of the playoffs, and 14 MLB games headlined by a Red Sox 17-run blowout, a wild Mariners-Cardinals 11-9 game, and the Cubs' 10-game winning streak ending in LA.

NBA Playoffs — Wolves go up 3-1, Thunder one win away, Knicks even it

Four games. SGA hung 42, Dosunmu dropped 43 off the bench, KAT got a road triple-double, and Orlando held serve at home.

Minnesota Timberwolves, 112 — Denver Nuggets, 96. Minnesota leads the series 3-1. Ayo Dosunmu came off the bench for 43 points and led all scorers. That is the kind of bench performance that decides a playoff series. Denver now has to win Game 5 in Minneapolis to avoid going home for an elimination Game 6.

Oklahoma City Thunder, 121 — Phoenix Suns, 109. OKC leads the series 3-0. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put up 42 points and 8 assists. The Thunder won by 12 on the road and now stand one win from advancing to the second round. Phoenix has to win Sunday to keep the series alive.

New York Knicks, 114 — Atlanta Hawks, 98. Series tied 2-2. Karl-Anthony Towns recorded a triple-double of 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 16-point road win. Atlanta had taken Games 2 and 3 to push New York into a hole; the Knicks responded by winning Game 4 in Atlanta by double digits.

Orlando Magic, 113 — Detroit Pistons, 105. Orlando leads the series 2-1. Paolo Banchero went for 25 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists, one short of a triple-double of his own. The Magic held home court in Game 3 after the series came in tied 1-1. Detroit goes back to Orlando needing a Game 4 win on Monday to keep the series even.

NHL Playoffs — Hurricanes sweep, Wild force OT, Pens get the road win

Three Game 4s. Carolina finished Ottawa, Minnesota stayed alive in OT, and Pittsburgh kept its series alive on the road in Philadelphia.

Carolina Hurricanes, 4 — Ottawa Senators, 2. Carolina wins the series 4-0 and becomes the first team in either conference to advance. Sebastian Aho scored twice and Frederik Andersen made 25 saves on 27 shots for a .926 night. The Hurricanes head to the second round with rest while the rest of the bracket plays itself out.

Minnesota Wild, 3 — Dallas Stars, 2 (OT). Series tied 2-2. Jesper Wallstedt made 43 saves on 45 shots for a .956 night, and Matt Boldy and Brent Faber each scored. Minnesota was down 2-1 in the series and now heads back to Dallas with a clean slate.

Pittsburgh Penguins, 4 — Philadelphia Flyers, 2. Philadelphia leads the series 3-1. Sidney Crosby opened the scoring and Pittsburgh got the road win to keep the series alive, but the Pens still face elimination at home in Game 5. The Flyers had two chances to close it out and split. They get the next try in Pittsburgh.

MLB — Red Sox put up 17, Mariners-Cards trade 20, Cubs streak ends

Fourteen played, one rained out. The Red Sox bats finally showed up, the Mariners and Cardinals combined for 20 runs, and the Cubs lost in LA to end the longest active streak in baseball.

Boston Red Sox, 17 — Baltimore Orioles, 1. Boston scored 17 and won by 16. The same Boston offense that got swept by the Yankees at Fenway last week put up a season high on the road in Baltimore. The Orioles, who had beat the Red Sox 10-3 on Friday, got walked back hard.

Seattle Mariners, 11 — St. Louis Cardinals, 9. Seattle scored 11 and won by two in a 20-run game. Both bullpens got worked. Seattle, which had won 3-2 on Friday, now goes for the series win on Sunday.

Los Angeles Dodgers, 12 — Chicago Cubs, 4. The Cubs' 10-game winning streak ends in LA. Chicago had won 10 in a row including Friday's 6-4 win at Dodger Stadium; the Dodgers responded by hanging 12 on the road team. Series finale Sunday afternoon decides who takes the set.

Kansas City Royals, 12 — Los Angeles Angels, 1. KC won by 11. The Angels managed one run on the road and got run-ruled in everything but the box score.

New York Yankees, 8 — Houston Astros, 3. New York leads the series 2-0. The Yankees followed up Friday's 12-4 win with another five-run margin, and now have a chance to sweep Houston on Sunday. The bats have not cooled since the Boston sweep.

Cincinnati Reds, 9 — Detroit Tigers, 2. Cincinnati scored nine and won by seven. The Reds had edged Detroit 9-8 on Friday; this one was not close.

Philadelphia Phillies, 8 — Atlanta Braves, 5. Philadelphia wins on the road by three. The Phillies, who lost 5-3 in Atlanta on Friday, evened the series with the bats.

San Diego Padres, 6 — Arizona Diamondbacks, 4. San Diego wins by two in Mexico City as part of MLB's World Tour. The series finale is Sunday at the same venue.

San Francisco Giants, 6 — Miami Marlins, 2. San Francisco scored six and won by four at home.

Tampa Bay Rays, 6 — Minnesota Twins, 1. Tampa held Minnesota to one. The Rays have now beaten the Twins by four and five on consecutive days.

Washington Nationals, 6 — Chicago White Sox, 3. Washington wins by three on the road.

Toronto Blue Jays, 5 — Cleveland Guardians, 3. Toronto wins by two at home and gets back at Cleveland after losing 8-6 on Friday.

Pittsburgh Pirates, 6 — Milwaukee Brewers, 3. Pittsburgh wins by three after shutting Milwaukee out 6-0 on Friday. The Pirates now have a chance to sweep on Sunday.

Texas Rangers, 4 — Oakland Athletics, 3. Texas wins by one at home, the rare close game on a day full of blowouts.

Postponed: Colorado Rockies at New York Mets. Rain. The Mets and Rockies will play a doubleheader on Sunday with first pitch at 1:40 ET and the nightcap at 5:10.

What to watch tonight

Sunday brings two sweep watches and a 16-game MLB slate.

• NBA: Los Angeles Lakers at Houston Rockets, 9:30 PM ET on NBC/Peacock. Game 4. LA leads 3-0 after winning Game 3 in OT. Sweep on the line in Houston.
• NHL: Colorado Avalanche at Los Angeles Kings, 4:30 PM ET on TNT. Game 4. Colorado leads 3-0 and can finish the series in LA. Second sweep watch of the day after Carolina already finished Ottawa on Saturday.
• NBA: Boston Celtics at Philadelphia 76ers, 7:00 PM ET on NBC/Peacock. Game 4. Boston leads 2-1 with a chance to push the series to 3-1.
• MLB: New York Yankees at Houston Astros, 2:10 PM ET on MLB.TV. New York leads 2-0 in the series and goes for the sweep.
• MLB: Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers, 4:10 PM ET on MLB.TV. Series rubber game the day after the Cubs' streak ended at 10.

See the full Tonight preview for every NBA, NHL, and MLB game on the board.