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NBA referee Zach Zarba explained why Kevin Durant wasn’t assessed a technical foul near the end of overtime during the Houston Rockets’ 125-124 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.

“None of the three game officials saw Kevin signal that timeout,” Zarba said in the pool report after the game. “That’s why it wasn’t granted before the expiration of time.”

With the score tied 115-115 towards the end of overtime, Durant grabbed a rebound and appeared to call a timeout when Houston didn’t have any left. If an official noticed him doing so, it would have resulted in a technical foul and one free throw for the Thunder.

Instead, time expired before Oklahoma City ultimately emerged victorious in double overtime.

Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander weighed in on the incident after the game.

“Kevin definitely called timeout about three times verbally and physically with his hands,” Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters. “I think the refs just missed it. That’s life. You make mistakes in life and you move on.”

The game came to a close after Alperen Şengün connected on a layup to give Houston a one-point lead with 11 seconds left in double overtime before Oklahoma City jumped back in front with a pair of free throws from Gilgeous-Alexander that gave him 35 points.

The Rockets ultimately couldn’t connect on a buzzer-beater to end the game, as Durant wasn’t on the floor during their final possession after fouling out.

Durant finished with 23 points and nine rebounds on 9-of-16 shooting in the loss.

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Ahead of a five-game road trip, the Vancouver Canucks are making some roster changes.

Head coach Adam Foote announced on Tuesday that centre Braeden Cootes is being sent back down to the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds. In a subsequent move, forward Max Sasson is being called up from the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks.

Cootes, 18, played in Vancouver’s first three games of the 2025-26 season, posting a minus-two plus/minus in 10:47 of average ice time with a 38.5 face-off win percentage.

According to Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre, Foote praised Cootes for his brief NHL stint to open the season, adding that the youngster will be able to apply that experience back in Seattle.

The NHL rookie was a point-per-game player with the Thunderbirds last year, logging 63 points (26 goals and 37 assists) in 60 appearances.

The Canucks selected Cootes with the 15th overall pick in the 2025 draft.

Meanwhile, Sasson now prepares for his second NHL stint after playing 29 games with Vancouver last season. The 24-year-old posted three goals, four assists and was plus-one in that span.

The Canucks are 1-2-0 as they enter the five-game stint away from Rogers Arena, tied for the team’s second-longest road trip of the season, beginning with a tilt against the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

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Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese and Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers were among the star players to support Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier’s comments regarding WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

Collier called out Engelbert during her exit interview on Tuesday, telling reporters that the WNBA has the “worst leadership in the world.”

Reese appeared to acknowledge Collier’s statement in a post on X, while Bueckers posted a picture of herself along with the Lynx star on her Instagram story (h/t ESPN’s Alexa Philippou).

As part of Collier’s remarks, she disclosed a conversation that she had with Engelbert regarding the WNBA’s young stars including Bueckers and Reese.

“I also asked how she planned to fix the fact that players like [Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers], who are clearly driving massive revenue for the league and are making so little for their first four years,” Collier said, via ESPN’s Myron Medcalf. “Her response was, ‘[Clark] should be grateful. She makes $16 million off the court because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything.'”

“And in that same conversation, she told me, ‘Players should be on their knees, thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal that I got them,'” she added.

Seattle Storm star Nneka Ogwumike and Los Angeles Sparks forward Dearica Hamby also supported Collier in separate posts on X (h/t Philippou).

Meanwhile, Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham wasn’t pleased with Engelbert’s purported comments about Fever teammate Caitlin Clark.

The WNBA and WNBPA are currently in discussions surrounding a new collective bargaining agreement, which will shape the future of the league moving forward.

Bueckers and Reese, two of the WNBA’s rising stars, have now backed Collier.

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With three games left in the regular season and a spot in the postseason on the line, the Mets are looking to bolster their bullpen.

According to The Athletic’s Will Sammon, the Mets will call up relief prospect Dylan Ross from Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday before their game against the Miami Marlins.

SNY MLB Insider Andy Martino reported the move wouldn’t be made ahead of the series opener, but likely at some point this weekend. It seems that the time is Saturday.

The 25-year-old right-hander had a 2.17 ERA, and 1.15 WHIP over 49 appearances across three minor league levels this season. Ross saw most of his action in Triple-A, pitching to a 1.69 ERA with 39 strikeouts over 28 games (32.0 IP).

Martino reported on Sept. 17 that Ross was “a real possibility to get a tryout this month” as the team works to fill their righty reliever need.

Ross was a 13th-round pick by the Mets out of the University of Georgia in the 2022 MLB Draft, but underwent Tommy John surgery during the 2022 season and a revision procedure in 2023, causing him to miss all of the 2023 season.

He pitched one inning for St. Lucie in 2024 before throwing 54.0 innings during the 2025 season, recording an impressive 80 strikeouts to just 33 walks.

The reliever is listed at 6-foot-5 and 251 pounds and features a fastball that sits at an average of 96.8 mph, with the ability to hit triple-digits. He also throws a splitter, cutter, slider, and occasional curveball.

Ross is eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this winter due to being a college draftee with three seasons of professional baseball under his belt.

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Cody Rhodes has no problem with John Cena continuing to use the “last real champion” moniker even though he’s no…

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  Alden GonzalezSep 15, 2025, 02:21 PM ET

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  ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the L.A. Rams for ESPN from 2016 to 2018 and the L.A. Angels for MLB.com from 2012 to 2016.

The San Francisco Giants, suddenly back in the playoff race with two weeks remaining in the regular season, are calling up top prospect Bryce Eldrige, a source confirmed to ESPN on Monday.

Eldridge, a 20-year-old first baseman who was No. 29 in the latest prospect rankings by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel, will seemingly take on the role vacated by fellow left-handed hitter Dominic Smith, who went on the injured list with a hamstring strain over the weekend.

The 16th overall pick out of high school in 2023, Eldridge surged in Double-A at the start of the season and was slashing .249/.322/.514 with 18 homers, 88 strikeouts and 28 walks for the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate. His strikeout rate remained high of late, but his production improved over these past 17 games, during which he boasted a .294 batting average with 10 extra-base hits.

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The Giants had been using Rafael Devers at both first base and designated hitter, with Smith and the right-handed-hitting Wilmer Flores essentially platooning at the other spot. Eldridge will seemingly take on Smith’s role for the stretch run, while hoping to push the Giants toward an unlikely playoff spot.

After acquiring Devers in the middle of June, the Giants went 13-22 heading into the trade deadline at the end of July, prompting the front office to deal veteran players. As of Aug. 22, the Giants were seven games below .500 and 7½ games out of the final wild-card spot, but they have since won 14 of 20 games and currently trail the slumping New York Mets by only 1½ games with 13 remaining.

The San Francisco Chronicle first reported Eldridge’s callup.

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OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. — Patrick Roy and Anthony Duclair cleared the air this summer after the Hall of Fame goaltender-turned-New York Islanders coach sharply criticized the wingerâ€s play publicly late last season.

Roy after a loss in early April said Duclair was “god-awful†and “not playing up to what we expect from him.â€Â Duclair took a leave of absence and did not play another game.

Duclair said Roy drove to his off-season home in Montreal to apologize, and they each expressed a desire to move past the awkward situation. Duclair explained he was still dealing with the effects of a groin injury that sidelined him for two months.

“I told him I didnâ€t need an apology — I just needed him to know I was playing hurt, and he told me he didnâ€t really know the extent of the injury,†Duclair said Monday at the Islanders’ annual charity golf tournament. “I think it was just a miscommunication by everybody, myself included. He just obviously thought I was playing (at) 100 per cent, which I wasnâ€t.â€

Roy thought the conversation with Duclair went “really, really well†and regretted his postgame comments.

“Itâ€s an emotional game, and sometimes youâ€re saying things, but the outcome didnâ€t do anything good for us,†Roy said. “I feel like it almost was negative more than anything else, and I think Anthony had a lot of trust in me, and I felt like I let him down a little bit there.â€

Duclair, who turned 30 on Aug. 26, said his groin muscle was torn completely off the bone last October and did not heal as quickly as expected. After two goals in five games before getting hurt, he had just five along with four assists in his next 39, culminating in Roy ripping him for not skating and not competing.

“Weâ€re in a performance sport, and we have expectations and Iâ€m sure Anthony has his, but itâ€s behind me now and I want to move forward to this year and really hope that Anthony will start like he did because he had a really good start,†Roy said. “When he came back from his injury, it was a little tougher for him for some reasons. But I want him to be who he was before he got hurt.â€

Duclair scored 24 goals in the 2023-24 season for San Jose and Tampa Bay and signed a four-year, $14 million contract with the Islanders as an unrestricted free agent. Going into the second season of that deal and after spending more time rehabbing, he is working toward finally being fully healthy for opening night.

“My focus is Game 1 of the regular season and being ready for that,†Duclair said. “Going to take all the time thatâ€s needed during training camp, preseason, whatever it is.â€

Roy figures Duclair will start camp on the third line with Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Simon Holmstrom.

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Ric Flair gives his take on Bret Hart calling out Gunther for his chops, saying Hart never liked taking chops.…