NBA
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) - Nikola Jokic made the tiebreaking basket with 27 seconds left and the Denver Nuggets advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs by the slimmest of margins Tuesday night.
Denver beating the Utah Jazz 80-78 in Game 7 when Mike Conley’s 3-pointer spun out at the buzzer.
The Nuggets became the 12th team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 deficit to win a series, but only after they blew a 19-point lead in this game.
They advanced to face the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference semifinals.
NFL
NEW YORK (AP) - The NFL has updated its gameday protocols by requiring every coach and staff member in the bench area to wear a mask and reducing the size of each team’s travel party.
Owners also will have to follow COVID-19 testing requirements to gain access to the locker room, field or team charter.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league, the NFL Players Association and medical experts have “developed a comprehensive set of protocols that put us in the best possible position to complete the season, culminating with the Super Bowl in Tampa Bay.”
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Running back Leonard Fournette is now a free agent.
Fournette went unclaimed after Jacksonville waived him Monday. Fournette’s representatives responded by formally filing a grievance against the Jaguars in an effort to recoup the $4.17 million in base salary he was initially guaranteed for this season.
Jacksonville voided all remaining guarantees in Fournette’s rookie deal late in 2018. The void only came into play because the Jags parted ways with the fourth overall pick in the 2017 draft.
The Jaguars took the unusual action following Fournette’s one-game suspension for fighting with Buffalo linebacker Shaq Lawson in November 2018.
MLB
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Detroit Tigers outfielder JaCoby Jones is expected to miss the rest of the season after fracturing his left hand when he was hit by a pitch Tuesday in a 12-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Jones was leading off the eighth inning with the Tigers ahead 6-1 when he was hit by a pitch from Phil Bickford in the reliever’s major league debut.
Bickford hit each of the first two batters he faced: Jones and Emilio Bonifacio. Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said after the game that Bonifacio was fine.
NFL
NEW YORK (AP) - The NFL has updated its gameday protocols by requiring every coach and staff member in the bench area to wear a mask and reducing the size of each team’s travel party.
Owners also will have to follow COVID-19 testing requirements to gain access to the locker room, field or team charter.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league, the NFL Players Association and medical experts have “developed a comprehensive set of protocols that put us in the best possible position to complete the season, culminating with the Super Bowl in Tampa Bay.”
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
UNCASVILLE, Conn (AP) - The Big East Conference is moving its women’s basketball tournament to the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut.
The move, announced Tuesday, follows the return of the University of Connecticut to the Big East from the American Athletic Conference.
The 10,000-seat arena, which also is the home of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun, is scheduled to host the Big East women’s tournament for the next three seasons, the conference announced Tuesday.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma said he’s thrilled with the decision.
TENNIS
NEW YORK (AP) - Andy Murray saved a match point and managed to come back from two sets and a break down for a victory at the U.S. Open.
It was his first Grand Slam match in about 20 months.
Murray is working his way back after having two operations on his right hip. He is a popular player among his fellow pros and several sat in Arthur Ashe Stadium to watch him get past Yoshihito Nishioka in five sets that stretched over more than 4 hours, 30 minutes on Tuesday.
After that long match, Serena Williams won in straight sets to break the record for most U.S. Open match wins with 102.
NEW YORK (AP) - Mounting a comeback at the U.S. Open, Kim Clijsters fell victim to one.
The three-time champion powered her way to an early lead but couldn’t hold it, and Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova rallied Tuesday night for a first-round victory, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1.
It was Clijsters’ first match at a Grand Slam tournament since 2012, when she retired after the Open. Now 37, the mother of three and a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, she has decided to resume her career this year but is 0-3.
GOLF
SHANGHAI, China (AP) -The International Federation of PGA Tours confirmed the inevitable on Wednesday when it canceled the HSBC Champions World Golf Championships event in China.
The tournament was scheduled for Oct. 29-Nov. 1 at Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai. The Chinese government announced in July that because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the country would not host international sports events for the rest of 2020.
SPORTS-BUSINESS
The Big Ten Conference, already in court and under pressure from players and parents over its decision to cancel fall football, is now hearing from President Donald Trump.
Trump tweeted Tuesday that he had spoken with Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren about reinstating the fall season.
“Had a very productive conversation with Kevin Warren, Commissioner of the Big Ten Conference, about immediately starting up Big Ten football,” the tweet said. “Would be good (great!) for everyone - Players, Fans, Country. On the one yard line!”
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