BASKETBALL
The Minnesota Timberwolves will enter their second round playoff series against defending champion Denver with an unsettled bench — Coach Chris Finch will be recovering from knee surgery.
Finch, who was hurt in a sideline collision with Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley, will have his ruptured right patellar tendon repaired Wednesday, according to a person with knowledge of the plan. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the team had not yet made the details public. ESPN first reported the news.
The surgery will leave Finch with only three days of recovery before Game 1 in Denver, and this type of procedure typically requires the leg to be immobilized for more time than that. He’ll need crutches for awhile, too. The cramped space on an NBA sideline makes it difficult to envision Finch being able to be on the bench for the beginning of the series.
Assistant coach Micah Nori took the lead after Finch hobbled off late in the Game 4 win at Phoenix that completed the first-round sweep. Nori also coached the team March 8 at Cleveland when Finch was ill. Filling any voids will be a team effort from a staff that has developed a strong sense of chemistry in the short time it’s been together.
• Kawhi Leonard will miss Game 5 of the Los Angeles Clippers’ tight first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night due to right knee inflammation.
Leonard was ruled out by Clippers Coach Tyronn Lue on Tuesday. The six-time All-Star will sit out for the third time in the series’ five games.
Leonard missed Game 1 and Game 4 of the series after missing the final eight games of the regular season with right knee pain. Leonard returned to play in the second and third games of the series, but managed just 24 points in the two games, failing to make a 3-pointer and generally not looking sharp.
Surprisingly, the Clippers won both of the games that Leonard missed, and Dallas won both of the games in which Leonard played.
• The Miami Heat will be without yet another starter when they face an elimination game in Boston on Wednesday night.
Rookie forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. did not travel with the team to Boston for a Game 5 against the Celtics, ruled out with a strained right hip flexor. Jaquez Jr. joins Jimmy Butler (knee) and Terry Rozier (neck) on the list of Miami starters sidelined by injuries. The Heat have also been without guard Josh Richardson for months following shoulder surgery.
Jaquez Jr. left Game 4 against the Celtics — a 102-88 loss — on Monday night after suffering the injury in the second half. He had nine points in 22 minutes before departing, and tests on Tuesday showed the severity of the issue.
• New York Knicks swingman Bojan Bogdanovic will have surgery on his left foot and miss the rest of the playoffs.
Bogdanovic, who had played well off the bench, was hurt in Game 4 on Sunday when Nicolas Batumof the 76ers fell on his leg while they chased a loose ball.
The Knicks didn’t specify the nature of the injury or when Bogdanovic would have surgery. They said he would be evaluated again in three months.
TENNIS
MADRID OPEN: Carlos Alcaraz was put to the test and pulled through, but Rafael Nadal couldn’t overcome his challenge and is done in likely his last appearance at his home tournament.
Two-time defending champion Alcaraz needed nearly three hours to defeat Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4) to reach the quarterfinals. Nadal, a record five-time champion in Madrid, struggled from the start in a 7-5, 6-4 loss to 31st-ranked Jiri Lehecka.
BOXING
TYSON-PAUL: Mike Tyson’s fight against Jake Paul in Texas this summer has been sanctioned as a competitive boxing match rather than an exhibition, and the rounds will be shorter and the gloves will be heavier.
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation this week approved terms for the July 20 fight at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Netflix will provide live coverage of the bout between the 27-year-old Paul, a social media star-turned-boxer, and 57-year-old Tyson, who hasn’t fought since an exhibition against Roy Jones Jr. in November 2020.
SOCCER
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Vinícius Júnior scored twice for Real Madrid to draw 2-2 at Bayern Munich in the first leg of their semifinal.
Bayern dominated, but Madrid survived, and the tie is still wide open ahead of the second leg in Madrid on May 8.
The winners of the two-leg semifinal will play either Borussia Dortmund or Paris Saint-Germain in the final in London on June 1.
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