💫 Unlikely Heroes

Happy Thursday! Some guy on Twitter said it best: Nicolas Batum is the LeBron James of Tobias Harrises. Two sleeping giants took the floor last night in a highly anticipated NBA play-in game, in which the Sixers fought fire with fire and cooled off the Heat using the hot hand of an unlikely hero. In the nightcap, Coby White played like the man his first name sounds like, and dropped a career-high with the Bulls season on the line. Another role player also made a name for himself yesterday, but for the wrong reasons, as Jontay Porter gambled on his career and lost — big-time. Meanwhile, the hockey world turned its attention to Auston Matthews, who was looking to etch his name in history but couldn’t find a point to do so. Also, the Champions League semifinals are set, and the O’s are addicted to walk-offs, preferably long ones. Let’s go!

WTF Stat: The Orioles have hit three or more home runs in five straight games, which is tied for the second-longest streak by any MLB team since 1900 - the 1987 O’s hold the record with at least three homers in six straight games.

🏀 Raptors F Jontay Porter has received a lifetime from the NBA for violating the league’s gambling policy - Porter, 24, privately told a sports bettor he was hurt, removed himself from at least one game to manipulate prop bets on his own play, and placed his own wagers on NBA games while playing in the G League

🏀 Pelicans F Zion Williamson has been ruled out of Friday’s play-in tournament elimination game against the Kings due to a left hamstring injury - Williamson suffered the injury late in the 4th quarter of New Orleans’ loss to the Lakers on Tuesday

🏀 Play-In Paladin

NBA Play-In Tournament - Last Night’s Games

• East | #7 Philadelphia 76ers 105, #8 Miami Heat 104: In a tail of two halves, Philadelphia had no answers for Jimmy Butler (19 PTS, 5 AST, 5 STL) and Miami’s defense early on and entered the break down 51-39 after a dreadful 2nd quarter, but Nicolas Batum (20 PTS, 6-10 3PT, 5 REB) came off the bench to spark a massive second-half run with Joel Embiid (23 PS, 15 REB, 5 AST), who fed Kelly Oubre Jr. (11 PTS, 8 REB) for a tiebreaking and-1 with 35 seconds to play before Batum blocked Tyler Herro (25 PTS, 4-14 3PT, 9 AST) on the other end, as the Sixers rallied down the stretch to edge out the Heat, setting up a first-round matchup against the No. 2 Knicks - Butler looked hobbled in the second half after tweaking his knee, which is feared to be an MCL injury, and Herro hit a three with 0.3 seconds left

• East | #9 Chicago Bulls 131, #8 Atlanta Hawks 116: Coby White’s (42 PTS, 15-21 FG, 9 REB, 6 AST) emergence continues to unfold in front of our very eyes as the promising young guard took over last night’s elimination game by dropping a career-high 42 points, and DeMar DeRozan (22 PTS, 6 REB, 9 AST) added an extra boost to help Chicago oust Dejounte Murray (30 PTS, 7 REB, 6 AST), Trae Young (22 PTS, 4-12 FG, 10 AST, 6 TO), and the Hawks, who trailed nearly the entire way - Chicago will face Miami tomorrow in another elimination game for the final playoff spot in the East

See the full box scores here and the entire NBA playoff bracket here.

Final Play-In Games - Friday, April 19

Note: There are no games tonight.

• East | #9 Chicago Bulls @ #8 Miami Heat 7:00pm ET, ESPN

• West | #9 Sacramento Kings @ #7 New Orleans Pelicans 9:30pm ET, TNT

See Tuesday’s letter for a full explanation of the Play-In Tournament format.

Blitz Prime - Play-In Picks Results

• ✅ Pelicans @ Lakers (-1)

• ❌ Warriors (-2.5) @ Kings

• ✅ Heat (+4.5) @ 76ers

• ✅ Hawks @ Bulls (-3.5)

Subscribe to Blitz Prime for our future picks!

NHL - Top Games

• Tampa Bay Lightning 6, Toronto Maple Leafs 4: With both teams’ playoff spots already locked in, this game was meaningless in terms of seeding — but not for hockey history. All eyes turned to Auston Matthews last night, as the Leafs superstar entered Wednesday one goal shy of becoming the first NHL player since 1992-93 to tuck 70 bingos in a single season. But, despite some incredible efforts, Matthews (21 MIN, 12 S) was kept off the scoresheet, and Nikita Kucherov (1 G, 1 A) and the Bolts got the win in Tampa - Matthews’ 69 goals are the most in a regular season since Mario Lemieux hit the same mark in 1995-96

• New York Islanders 5, Pittsburgh Penguins 4: The playoff-bound Islanders capped their regular season with their eighth victory in nine games, as Simon Holmstrom (1 G) netted the game-winner with five minutes left to beat Evgeni Malkin (1 G, 1 A) and the already-eliminated Pens - Pittsburgh saw their playoff hopes dashed with the Capitals’ win on Tuesday

• Dallas Stars 2, St. Louis Blues 1 (SO): The Central Division champs celebrated their season finale by notching their 52nd win of the year — the most in the Western Conference — thanks to this ridiculous save by Jake Oettinger (25 SV) in overtime and Jason Robertson’s lone shootout goal - Dallas enters the postseason having won eight of their last 10 games

See the full NHL scoreboard here and the current standings here.

MLB - Top Games

• Baltimore Orioles 4, Minnesota Twins 2: “Sweep dreams Minnesota!” Gunnar Henderson (2-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI) went yard for the third day in a row, and Cedric Mullins (1-4, 1 HR, 2 RBIs) launched a two-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the 9th to stamp the O’s three-game sweep of the Twins at Camden Yards - Baltimore (12-6) has won four straight games and seven of their last 10

• Atlanta Braves 5, Houston Astros 4: Keep the brooms out! Marcell Ozuna (1-5, 1 HR, 1 RBI) hit his MLB-leading eighth ding dong, and Orlando Arcia followed up a game-tying sac fly in the 8th inning with a go-ahead single in the 10th to complete Atlanta’s three-game sweep of Yordan Alvarez (2-5, 1 HR, 1 RBI) and the ‘Stros in Houston - Houston (6-14) has the second-worst record in the American League

• Texas Rangers 5, Detroit Tigers 4: After falling into a 4-1 hole, the Tigers tied the game in the bottom of the 8th on Javier Baez’s (1-4, 1 RBI) one-run single, but Josh Smith (1-1, 1 RBI) responded with a pinch-hit RBI double in the 9th, and the Lone Stars survived to improve to 10-9 on the year

See the full MLB scoreboard here and the current standings here.

UEFA Champions League - Quarterfinals (2nd Legs)

• Real Madrid 1, Manchester City 1 (4-4 aggregate - RMA advances 4-3 on PKs): In a theatrical finish at the Etihad, Madrid’s Rodrygo (12’) and City’s Kevin De Bruyne (76’) traded goals in regulation to ultimately set up a dramatic penalty shootout, where City’s Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic saw their shots saved by Andriy Lunin, while the LaLiga side netted their final four attempts, capped by Antonio Rudiger’s decisive strike, to oust the defending champions on their home pitch - the victory gives Real Madrid their 12th Champions League semifinals appearance in 14 years

• Bayern Munich 1, Arsenal 0 (MUN advances 3-2 on aggregate): After a 2-2 draw in the first leg in London, Bayern grinded out a victory against a favored Arsenal side thanks to Joshua Kimmich’s (63’) second-half header and a fierce defensive performance - the Bavarians will face Real Madrid in the last four

Semifinals Schedule - 1st Leg, April 30

• Real Madrid @ Bayern Munich (Time TBA)

• Paris Saint-German @ Borussia Dortmund (Time TBA)

See the full international scoreboard here and the UCL bracket here.

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On April 18, 1946, Montreal Royals 2B Jackie Robinson made his professional debut, marking the first time the color barrier had been broken in a minor league game. The game took place at Roosevelt Stadium in New Jersey, marking the season-opener for both the Royals and their opponent, the Jersey City Giants. Pitching against Robinson was Warren Sandel, who had played against him when they both lived in California. During Robinson's first at-bat, Jersey City's catcher, Dick Bouknight, demanded Sandel to throw at Robinson, but Sandel refused. Although Sandel forced Robinson to ground out in his first at-bat, Robinson ended up going four-for-five, including a three-run homer for his first minor league hit. He also scored four runs, drove in three, and stole two bases in the Royals' 14-1 victory. Robinson proceeded to lead the International League that season with a .349 batting average and .985 fielding percentage, and he was named the league's Most Valuable Player. Although he often faced hostility while on road trips (for example, the Royals were forced to cancel a Southern exhibition tour), Montreal fans enthusiastically supported Robinson and his presence at opposing ballparks — whether it was in support or not — created a massive surge in attendance. More than one million people went to games involving Robinson in 1946, which was an astounding figure by minor league standards. In 1947, the Dodgers called Robinson up to the major leagues, and he made his MLB debut wearing his famous No. 42 on April 15 - which, of course, is now Jackie Robinson Day.

NHL

• Seattle Kraken @ Minnesota Wild 7:00pm ET, ESPN

• Vancouver Canucks @ Winnipeg Jets 8:00pm ET, NHLPP / ESPN+

• Edmonton Oilers @ Colorado Avalanche 9:30pm ET, ESPN

• Full Schedule

MLB

• Texas Rangers @ Detroit Tigers 1:10pm ET, Local

• Miami Marlins @ Chicago Cubs 7:40pm ET, ESPN+

• Arizona Diamondbacks @ San Francisco Giants 9:45pm ET, FS1

• Full Schedule

Trivia Time Answer

D. 1954. Jontay Porter is the first active player or coach to be banned from the NBA for gambling since Jack Molinas in 1954. Molinas played college ball at Columbia and was drafted by the Fort Wayne Pistons with the third pick in the 1953 draft. He made the All-Star Game his rookie year but was expelled from the NBA later that season for wagering on Pistons games. In 1963, Molinas went to prison for his involvement in a college basketball point-shaving scheme with New York City mobster Thomas Eboli which involved 50 players from 27 different schools. Molinas was shot to death in 1975 at the age of 43 while standing in the backyard of his Los Angeles home - this story is brought to you by FanDuel, America’s No. 1 sportsbook! (Jk Lol)

Prime Lock of the Day

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The NBA is awesome because any given player can go off at any given moment. The talent is so deep, and the shot-making is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. These guys are insanely good. It’s really fun to watch and something we should appreciate!