Spurs, Castle Take Game 1 against Blazers, Clingan, Thompson leads Sabres Game 1 Comeback
Game 1: Donovan Clingan vs Stephon Castle
The opening minutes of Game 1 were a dream for Husky fans.
Back and forth Castle and Clingan went to begin the game, but the San Antonio Spurs controlled most of it, taking down the Portland Trail Blazers 111–98 in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round. Castle finished the night with 17 points on 4-of-13 shooting, including 1-of-5 from three-point range and a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line. The second-year guard also grabbed seven rebounds and added seven assists in 33 minutes of action.
Meanwhile, it was a much more difficult night for Clingan, who managed just four points on 2-of-7 shooting, missed all three of his three-point attempts, and also grabbed seven rebounds in 22 minutes on the floor.
Game 2 is set for Tuesday April 21st at 8:00pm ET on NBC/Peacock.
Andre Drummond
Drummond logged the second-most minutes off the Philadelphia 76ers bench (21), but it didn’t matter what the 76ers did, as the Boston Celtics never trailed in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round, cruising to a 123–91 win inside the TD Garden. Drummond scored two points on 1-of-2 shooting along with five rebounds, two assists and one block.
Game 2 is scheduled for Tuesday April 21st at 7:00pm ET on Peacock and NBCSN.
Tyrese Martin/Tristen Newton
Neither Tyrese Martin of the Philadelphia 76ers nor Tristen Newton of the Houston Rockets appear to be on a playoff roster. In my last article, I noted that Martin was on the playoff roster; however, the play-in games are not considered official postseason games. As a result, teams are allowed expanded rosters that include two-way players for those games, which is the type of contract both Martin and Newton are on. However, once the first round begins, rosters are reduced and only players with standard NBA contracts are eligible for the playoff roster.
Tage Thompson
The Buffalo Sabres seemed all but done in their first playoff game since 2011. The Boston Bruins extended their lead to 2-0 after an early third period goal from Elias Lindholm. The next 11 plus minutes were filled with building frustration and an awkward silence from the Sabres crowd.
Enter Tage Thompson.
Thompson, the Sabres’ regular-season goal leader, scored his first goal with 7:58 remaining in the third period, then followed it up with a game-tying goal at 4:16 left to make it 2–2. He capped off an epic final near eight minutes by earning his third point of the night, assisting on the Sabres’ final goal, an empty-netter that sealed a 4–2 comeback win.
In a postgame interview, Thompson commented, “These are the games that you dream of. … So happy to finally be here.”
Game 2 will be on Tuesday April 21st at 7:30pm ET on ESPN and NESN.
Naphessa Collier
On Thursday, the five-time WNBA All-Star signed a one-year $1.4 million super max deal with the Minnesota Lynx per ESPN’s Alexa Philippou. Collier averaged a career-high 22.9 points on a personal best 53.1% from the field last season.
The one-year deal may seem a bit odd at first glance, especially with other WNBA superstars such as A’ja Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu and her former UConn teammate Breanna Stewart all signing multi-year contracts this past week. However, Collier is expected to miss the start of the regular season as she recovers from multiple ankle surgeries. She is also projected to become a restricted free agent next offseason, when the salary cap is expected to rise.
In a press conference after signing the contract, Collier said, “I’m so focused on right now with my injury and this year winning a championship... so I’m just focused on this year and winning.”
Despite an impressive collection of WNBA hardware, including 2019 Rookie of the Year, 2024 Defensive Player of the Year, three All-WNBA First Team selections, five All-Star nods and the 2025 All-Star Game MVP , Collier is still in search of her first career WNBA championship. The Lynx fell to Breanna Stewart and the New York Liberty in the 2024 WNBA Finals in a winner-take-all Game 5 heartbreaker, then lost to the Phoenix Mercury in the semifinals last season.
Breanna Stewart
Stewie signed a 3-year standard max contract this past Friday per the team. The deal is worth $1.19 million this season and she’ll be getting 17% of the cap each year. Her fellow Liberty teammates Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones also signed similar deals, keeping the superstar trio together through the 2028 season.
The four-time NCAA Champion averaged 18.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game last season. The 2026 season will be her fourth with the Liberty and 10th overall in the WNBA.
Tiffany Hayes
Tiffany Hayes is gearing up for year number 14 after re-signing with the Golden State Valkyries on a one-year deal, per the team. Hayes averaged 11.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 26 games a year ago. She missed the final eight regular season games and three playoff contests due to a knee injury.
Golden State could literally roll out a lineup full of Huskies, as Hayes’ return gives the Valkyries five UConn products on the roster. She joins Gabby Williams, Kiah Stokes, Kaitlyn Chen and Caroline Ducharme. Chen and Ducharme both received training camp contracts and will be competing for roster spots.
Anthony Kay
The southpaw made his fourth appearance of the season out of the bullpen Thursday in the Chicago White Sox’ 5–3 home loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. Despite starting his previous outing and earning the win after tossing 5⅔ scoreless innings with six strikeouts against the Kansas City Royals, Kay entered in the top of the second inning and allowed just one run over 2⅔ innings. Kay also picked up his 100th career Major League strikeout after fanning Rays’ Ben Williamson.
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