Last Night in Sports: April 23, 2026

Thursday had three NBA playoff Game 3s with two home teams losing, three NHL Game 3s with Colorado and Carolina both moving to the brink of a sweep, and nine MLB games including three walk-offs and a Phillies team that has now lost nine straight.

NBA Playoffs — Hawks steal one in New York, Wolves dominate Denver

Three Game 3s. Two underdogs won. One team rolled.

Atlanta Hawks, 109 — New York Knicks, 108. Atlanta won by one and leads the series 2-1. The Hawks took Game 3 in what had to be a wire-to-wire finish given the margin. New York had home-court advantage and lost the first home game of the series. The Knicks are now in a position where they have to win three of the next four, starting on the road.

Minnesota Timberwolves, 113 — Denver Nuggets, 96. Minnesota won by 17 and leads 2-1. This was not a close game. The Timberwolves dominated in a way that puts Denver on the wrong side of a series they won just two seasons ago. The Nuggets have to respond at home in Game 4 or this gets away from them fast.

Toronto Raptors, 126 — Cleveland Cavaliers, 104. Toronto won by 22 but Cleveland still leads the series 2-1. The Cavaliers won the first two at home and coughed up Game 3 on the road in a blowout. They retain the advantage, but a 22-point road loss is not the kind of result that builds confidence heading into Game 4.

NHL Playoffs — Colorado and Carolina both up 3-0, Buffalo takes series lead

Three Game 3s. Two series now look like sweeps. One went to the road team.

Colorado Avalanche, 4 — Los Angeles Kings, 2. Colorado wins Game 3 and leads the series 3-0. The Kings have not won a game yet. The Avalanche are one win from advancing to the second round, and the Kings now have to win four straight — including three in Denver — to survive. That has happened before in the NHL, but it is rare.

Carolina Hurricanes, 2 — Ottawa Senators, 1. Carolina wins Game 3 and leads 3-0. Ottawa is three straight losses from being eliminated. The Hurricanes have allowed a total of one goal in the last two games and are in full control of a series they have dominated from the drop.

Buffalo Sabres, 3 — Boston Bruins, 1. Buffalo takes Game 3 at home and leads the series 2-1. Boston had evened it with a road win in Game 2, then came to Buffalo and lost by two. The Bruins need to win Game 4 on the road to keep from falling into a deficit. A year ago Buffalo wouldn't have been the favorite in this series; right now they are the team with the edge.

MLB — Three walk-offs, nine straight losses for Philadelphia

Nine games Thursday. Detroit, Chicago, and New York each won in walk-off fashion. The Phillies extended a losing streak that is now at nine.

Atlanta Braves, 7 — Washington Nationals, 2. Atlanta answered Washington's 11-4 loss in the last meeting with a comfortable win. The Braves scored seven and held the Nationals to two in what looked like a straightforward result.

Detroit Tigers, 5 — Milwaukee Brewers, 4. Detroit won on a walk-off to take this one. Milwaukee led late and couldn't close it.

Chicago Cubs, 8 — Philadelphia Phillies, 7. Another walk-off, this time at the expense of Philadelphia, who has now lost nine straight. The Phillies gave the Cubs a game they could have won and left with nothing.

San Diego Padres, 10 — Colorado Rockies, 8. San Diego put up 10 in a high-scoring game against Colorado. The Rockies scored eight but it wasn't enough.

Chicago White Sox, 4 — Arizona Diamondbacks, 1. Chicago held Arizona to one run and won by three. Straightforward.

Los Angeles Dodgers, 3 — San Francisco Giants, 0. Los Angeles shut out San Francisco. The Dodgers pitched a clean game and won by three.

New York Yankees, 4 — Boston Red Sox, 2. The Yankees won their second straight at Fenway. New York took both games of the trip and swept the Boston series. The Red Sox have given up eight runs over two games to a Yankees team that is playing clean baseball.

New York Mets, 10 — Minnesota Twins, 8. New York won on a walk-off. The Mets scored 10 and came back late against Minnesota, who had scored eight.

Texas Rangers, 6 — Pittsburgh Pirates, 1. Texas handled Pittsburgh without much trouble. Six runs, one allowed.

What to watch tonight

Friday has three NBA Game 3s on Prime Video, three NHL Game 3s, and 14 MLB games.

• NBA: Boston Celtics at Philadelphia 76ers, 7:00 PM ET on Prime Video. The Sixers host for the first time with the series tied 1-1. Philadelphia won Game 2 on the road in Boston after losing Game 1 by 32 points.
• NBA: Los Angeles Lakers at Houston Rockets, 8:00 PM ET on Prime Video. LA leads 2-0 and can go up 3-0. Houston needs a win at home to stay in it.
• NHL: Tampa Bay Lightning at Montreal Canadiens, 7:00 PM ET on TNT. The Bell Centre hosts Game 3 with both teams at 1-1. Montreal upset Tampa on the road in Game 1.
• NHL: Vegas Golden Knights at Utah Mammoth, 9:30 PM ET on TBS. Both teams tied 1-1, first game in Utah.
• MLB: Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers, 10:15 PM ET on Apple TV. Late West Coast matchup on national television.

See the full Tonight preview for every game on the board.