Last Night in Sports: May 23, 2026

Saturday delivered one knockout blow and one comeback. New York took a 3-0 East Finals stranglehold on Cleveland behind 30 from Jalen Brunson, and Carolina answered Montreal's opener with an overtime Game 2 win in Raleigh to even the East Final at 1-1. MLB ran 14 games with three shutouts and a Cardinals-Reds doubleheader split.

NBA Playoffs — Knicks take a 3-0 East Finals lead

New York Knicks, 121 — Cleveland Cavaliers, 108. New York pulled away late in Game 3 to grab a 3-0 series lead. Jalen Brunson finished with 30 points and 6 assists, controlling the fourth quarter as the Knicks closed it out on the road. New York leads the series 3-0 and can sweep into the NBA Finals with a Game 4 win in Cleveland.

NHL — Hurricanes even the East Final in overtime

Carolina Hurricanes, 3 — Montreal Canadiens, 2 (OT). Nikolaj Ehlers buried the overtime winner as Carolina evened the Eastern Conference Final at 1-1. The Hurricanes had to grind out the response after dropping the opener at home, and now the series swings back to Montreal for Game 3 all square.

MLB — 14-game Saturday board, five shutouts, a doubleheader split

Fourteen games across the slate. The Cardinals-Reds doubleheader (makeup of Friday's rainout) split, five teams threw shutouts, and the Dodgers posted the biggest total of the day in Milwaukee.

St. Louis Cardinals, 8 — Cincinnati Reds, 1. St. Louis takes Game 1 of the doubleheader in a rout.

Houston Astros, 3 — Chicago Cubs, 0. Houston shuts out the Cubs at Wrigley.

Toronto Blue Jays, 5 — Pittsburgh Pirates, 2. Toronto wins by three at home.

Philadelphia Phillies, 3 — Cleveland Guardians, 0. Philadelphia answers Friday's loss with a shutout.

San Francisco Giants, 10 — Chicago White Sox, 3. San Francisco posts ten in a seven-run win.

Minnesota Twins, 4 — Boston Red Sox, 2. Minnesota takes the middle game in Boston.

Miami Marlins, 4 — New York Mets, 1. Miami wins by three at home.

Washington Nationals, 2 — Atlanta Braves, 0. Washington blanks Atlanta on the road, one of five Saturday shutouts.

Kansas City Royals, 5 — Seattle Mariners, 0. Kansas City evens the series with a shutout.

Cincinnati Reds, 7 — St. Louis Cardinals, 6. Cincinnati salvages the nightcap by one to split the doubleheader.

Los Angeles Dodgers, 11 — Milwaukee Brewers, 3. The Dodgers hang eleven in Milwaukee to answer Friday's 5-1 loss.

San Diego Padres, 2 — Oakland Athletics, 0. San Diego wins a tight one by two.

Los Angeles Angels, 5 — Texas Rangers, 2. The Angels win by three at home.

Arizona Diamondbacks, 5 — Colorado Rockies, 4. Arizona walks off the Rockies by one in the desert.

Rays-Yankees and Tigers-Orioles were both postponed by rain — Tampa Bay gets a Sept. 22 makeup, Detroit-Baltimore plays a doubleheader Sunday.

What to watch tonight

Both Western Conference series headline tonight, plus a 16-game MLB Sunday including the Tigers-Orioles makeup doubleheader. Full details in the Tonight preview.

• NBA: Oklahoma City Thunder at San Antonio Spurs, 8:00 PM ET on NBC. West Finals Game 4, Oklahoma City leads the series 2-1.
• NHL: Colorado Avalanche at Vegas Golden Knights, 8:00 PM ET on ESPN. West Finals Game 3, Vegas leads the series 2-0.
• MLB: Los Angeles Dodgers at Milwaukee Brewers, 2:10 PM ET. The Dodgers and Brewers close their three-game set after Milwaukee's 11-3 loss Saturday, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto lined up for LA.