Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP winners
Larry Bird Trophy
Eastern Conference Finals MVP
2025 — Pascal Siakam, Indiana Pacers
2024 — Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
2023 — Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat
2022 — Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
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Associated Press
13 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Hunter Goodman homers twice as Rockies beat Marlins 6-4 to end 8-game losing streak
MIAMI (AP) — Hunter Goodman homered twice, including a go-ahead two-run shot in the fifth inning, and the Colorado Rockies beat the Miami Marlins 6-4 on Monday night to snap their fourth eight-game losing streak of the season. It was the 10th win against 50 losses for the Rockies, who had already wrapped up the worst 60-game start in the modern era (since 1901). The 1904 Washington Senators and 1932 Boston Red Sox both opened 11-49. Goodman had a two-out single in the first off Max Meyer, and Thairo Estrada followed with an RBI double to give Colorado the lead. Goodman was charged with an error in the bottom half when he dropped a throw at home plate, allowing the tying run to score. Otto Lopez added an RBI single off Germán Márquez, and a sacrifice fly by Eric Wagaman gave Miami a 3-1 lead. Jesús Sánchez's run-scoring double made it 4-1 in the second. Goodman homered in the third, and Tyler Freeman's two-out RBI single in the fourth got the Rockies within a run. Ezequiel Tovar singled leading off the fifth and Goodman followed with his ninth homer for a 5-4 advantage. Keston Hiura doubled leading off the ninth for his first hit with Colorado, and Sam Hilliard's one-out double drove in an insurance run. Márquez (2-7) allowed four runs — three earned — and nine hits in five innings. Jake Bird, Tyler Kinley and Seth Halvorsen each pitched a scoreless inning before Zach Agnos worked the ninth for his fourth save. Meyer (3-5) gave up five runs — four earned — and 10 hits in five innings. Miami has lost three of four to begin a six-game homestand. Key moment Sánchez singled leading off the ninth for Miami (23-35) before he was forced out at second on a pop fly by Agustín Ramírez that dropped in front of Freeman in right field. Agnos got Kyle Stowers to hit into a game-ending double play two pitches later. Key stat Goodman, a third-year catcher, leads Colorado in home runs and RBIs (34). Up next Marlins RHP Sandy Alcantara (2-7, 8.47 ERA) starts the middle game of the series Tuesday. The Rockies hadn't announced a scheduled starter. ___ AP MLB:
USA Today
27 minutes ago
- USA Today
Indiana Fever sign Aari McDonald as emergency player after Caitlin Clark injury
Indiana Fever sign Aari McDonald as emergency player after Caitlin Clark injury Show Caption Hide Caption Caitlin Clark's quad injury could affect Fever for next two weeks Caitlin Clark will miss at least two weeks with a left quad strain. Indiana Fever fans may be worried, but Clark is confident in her teammates. Sports Seriously With Caitlin Clark still out with an injury, and other players on the roster getting banged up, the Indiana Fever have added a guard to help. Indiana signed Aari McDonald Monday via an emergency hardship exception. The exception allows any WNBA team to sign a player immediately if it has less than 10 game-eligible players available at any time during the season. The signing comes as Clark remains sidelined due to a left quadriceps strain that was announced following the loss to the New York Liberty on May 25. The 2024 WNBA rookie of the year will miss at least two weeks with her first possible game back on June 10 at the Atlanta Dream. Clark isn't the only injured player the Fever have. Sophie Cunningham and Sydney Colson were injured in the team's loss to Connecticut Sun on Friday, leaving Kelsey Mitchell and Lexie Hull as the only healthy point guards for Indiana, paving the way for the Fever to sign McDonald. 'When I got the call I was very excited, very blessed," McDonald said Monday. "It's a humbling experience to join a team like the Fever, and I'm excited, ready to compete and just win.' Indiana is 2-4 on the season and is on a three-game losing streak. What to know about Aari McDonald McDonald burst onto the scene as a member of the Arizona Wildcats after starting her college career at Washington. She had a memorable senior season in Tucson as she was named Pac-12 player of the year and led Arizona to its first Final Four appearance in the 2021 NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats advanced to the national championship and lost by one-point to Stanford. She was drafted third overall in the 2021 WNBA Draft by the Atlanta Dream and was named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team in her first season. McDonald played three seasons in Atlanta before she was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks prior to the 2024 season. She played in 26 games for Los Angeles and was released by the team before the start of the 2025 season. In four years in the league, McDonald has averaged 8.6 points, 2.8 assists and 2 rebounds per game. When do the Indiana Fever play next? The Indiana Fever host the Washington Mystics on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The game will be televised on NBA TV and can be streamed on WNBA League Pass.
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
2025 NBA Finals: The incredible Paul George trades that turned the Pacers and Thunder into title contenders
As it turns out, all you needed to do to reach the 2025 NBA Finals was trade Paul George. Remarkably, this year's Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers and Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Thunder were both built from assets each team received in exchange for dealing George. How the Pacers built from trading Paul George Indiana selected George with the 10th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. He made four All-Star teams for the Pacers, leading them to a pair of conference finals appearances, before informing the franchise in 2017 that he was planning to sign elsewhere — preferably with the Los Angeles Lakers — in free agency. Advertisement Not wanting to lose George for nothing, Indiana dealt him to the Thunder on July 6, 2017, in exchange for a 25-year-old Victor Oladipo and a 21-year-old Domantas Sabonis. Both Oladipo and Sabonis developed into All-Stars under Indiana's watch, though as a tandem they peaked in a pair of first-round playoff exits. (Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports Illustration) By 2020, Oladipo had begun to experience the right knee problems that would ultimately end his career, so the Pacers flipped him to the Houston Rockets as part of the four-team trade that sent James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets. In return, Indiana received Caris LeVert and a pair of second-round draft picks. One of those second-rounders became the 32nd overall pick in the 2023 draft, which the Pacers packaged, along with the No. 29 overall pick in the same draft, for a 2024 first-round draft pick from ... the Thunder. That selection was one of two first-round draft picks that Indiana dealt to the Toronto Raptors in January 2024 in exchange for Pascal Siakam, this year's Eastern Conference finals MVP. Advertisement Meanwhile, the Pacers flipped LeVert to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a 2022 second-round draft pick, a 2023 first-round draft pick and a 2027 second-round draft pick. The first two of those picks became Andrew Nembhard and Ben Sheppard, a pair of rotation players for this year's conference champions. Sabonis played for the Pacers until February 2022, when at the deadline they dealt him and some ancillary assets to the Sacramento Kings for Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson. Haliburton, of course, has developed into an All-NBA point guard for the Pacers and their best player. Finally, Indiana flipped Hield to the Philadelphia 76ers at the 2024 trade deadline for a pair of second-round draft picks — the first of which they traded again, turning that selection into Johnny Furphy. Advertisement In one way or another, the Pacers turned George into Haliburton, Siakam, Nembhard, Sheppard and Furphy. That is roughly a third of Indiana's entire roster, half of its rotation and both of its leaders. How the Thunder built from trading Paul George George played two seasons for the Thunder — both first-round playoff exits. In July 2019, though, the Los Angeles Clippers came calling with an offer Oklahoma City could not refuse. The Clippers were trying to sign Kawhi Leonard in free agency, but the two-time Finals MVP wanted a star partner in L.A., so the organization went about the business of trying to pry George from the Thunder. Advertisement OKC executive Sam Presti squeezed the Clippers for everything he could, acquiring Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari and the rights to a handful of first-round draft picks in exchange for George. As if recouping Gilgeous-Alexander, this year's MVP, were not enough, one of those picks — the No. 12 selection in 2022 — became Jalen Williams, who has developed into an All-Star for Oklahoma City. Much of the rest of the package from the Clippers is tied up in this year's draft, as the Thunder own pick Nos. 15, 24 and 44 in June, all from assets they received in the George deal. Oklahoma City can use those selections to replenish whomever they lose from their rising salary costs over the next couple of years. Between Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and whoever is still to come, the Thunder have built from George a budding dynasty. First, though, they must get through what they traded to acquire George from Indiana.
