Brown spoke on the streaming platform Twitch on Sunday, a day after the second-seeded Celtics lost Game 7 at home to the seventh-seeded 76ers in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Boston played without injured star forward Jayson Tatum, but Brown found other reasons for the Celtics' downfall as Philadelphia won the last three games in the best-of-seven series.

Embiid collected 34 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in the 76ers' 109-100 victory on Saturday. The 7-foot, 270-pounder was 9 of 11 at the free-throw line. He used his big body to draw fouls and used some physical acting to get extra calls, Brown contended.

"I mean, this is my personal opinion on basketball," Brown said. "Some of y'all might disagree, you know what I mean? But argue with your grandma. Flopping has ruined our game.

"Embiid is a great player, one of the best bigs in ... basketball history, flops," Brown continued. "He knows it. This ain't breaking news."

Brown acknowledged that he has been critical of officiating in the regular season, and he believes that carried over in how referees called the series, particularly in calling offensive fouls on him.

"Why are you targeting me? They clearly had an agenda," he said. "Maybe because I spoke, I was critical of the refs in the regular season. So you know how they responded? ‘We're gonna call every -- you're gonna lead the playoffs in offensive fouls.' That was the response from the officiating crew.

"You could clearly tell," he continued. "I've actually spoken to some refs and they said it was an agenda going into each game. ‘Any time Jaylen brings his arm up, just from reputation, just call it.' "

Brown said that Paul George of the 76ers and Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks, for example, make push-off moves with their off arm when driving with the ball to create space, but they don't get called like he does for offensive fouls.

"It's a basketball play, whether y'all believe it or not," Brown said. "Everybody does that when you drive, especially if you've got bodies on you. But Philly took advantage of it, and they took advantage of the officiating. It cost us to some degree. I've been doing it all regular season, not a problem. Now, all of a sudden, it's an offensive foul every time. Keep that same energy with everybody else. That's all I've gotta say."

Brown was whistled for 10 offensive fouls in the first round, more than twice as many as the next-highest player, according to reports. In the regular season, the Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns was called for 65 offensive fouls, with Brown second in the league at 40.

Brown, 29, is a five-time All-Star who won the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award when the Celtics captured the league championship in 2024.

He averaged career highs with 28.7 points and 5.1 assists and matched the mark with 6.9 rebounds per game in 71 regular-season games this season. Brown averaged 25.7 points, 3.3 assists and 5.7 rebounds in seven playoff games.

Makar added an assist, Devon Toews had a goal and three assists, Nathan MacKinnon added a goal and two assists, Artturi Lehkonen and Sam Malinski each contributed a goal and an assist, and Nick Blankenburg and Jack Drury also scored for Colorado.

Game 2 is Tuesday night in Denver.

Quinn Hughes had a goal and two assists, and Mats Zuccarello, Marcus Johansson, Vladimir Tarasenko, Ryan Hartman and Marcus Foligno scored for Minnesota, which rallied from down 3-0 early to take a brief lead late in the second period.

The game was tied 5-all when Makar, who shook off an early injury, got a pass from MacKinnon in the right circle and wristed a shot high past Jesper Wallstedt at 3:21. Kadri padded the lead at 5:43 of the third with a breakaway goal.

Wallstedt turned away 34 of 42 shots in the game.

Zuccarello gave the Wild life when the puck went off his leg and in at 16:01, but Makar answered at 17:06. MacKinnon added an empty-netter to seal it.

Martin Necas had three assists and Valeri Nichushkin contributed two assists for the Avalanche.

Scott Wedgewood had 10 of his 30 saves in the third period to make the lead stand up for Colorado

Malinski, Drury and Lehkonen scored 2:01 apart midway through the first period to give the Avalanche a 3-0 lead. Johansson and Hartman answered with goals a minute apart to cut it to 3-2.

The second period continued the scoring trend. Blankenburg scored 4:16 into the second to make it 4-2, and Tarasenko answered at 6:45 to get the Wild back in it.

Hughes tied it when his shot through a screen beat Wedgewood at 12:43 of the second, and Foligno scored a short-handed goal at 16:55 to give Minnesota a 5-4 lead.

Toews tied it again when he scored at 18:04, seconds after the Wild killed off a power play.

Fourth-seeded Cleveland, which trailed by double digits in the first and second quarters, will play the top-seeded Detroit Pistons in the East semifinals, beginning Tuesday in Detroit. The home team won every game in the Cavaliers-Pistons series.

Donovan Mitchell also had 22 points and James Harden posted 18 points and six rebounds for the Cavaliers, who built a 94-72 lead early in the fourth. Allen had 10 rebounds -- five offensive -- in the third when Cleveland outscored the Raptors 38-19.

Scottie Barnes collected 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists for fifth-seeded Toronto. RJ Barrett had 23 points on 9-of-25 field goal attempts and Jamal Shead added 14 points and seven assists.

Cleveland is 5-0 all-time at home in Game 7 and has beaten the Raptors all 11 times in the playoffs in its arena. The Cavaliers also have won all four of their postseason series against Toronto.

Evan Mobley, who had 13 points, scored the first basket of the second half to give Cleveland its initial lead at 51-49. It turned into a 20-2 run spanning the second and third quarters when Mitchell made a hoop with 9:28 remaining in the third to make it 58-49.

Cleveland used an 11-2 run to close the opening half, tying the score for the first time at 49-all on a Jaylon Tyson 3-pointer. Shead and Barnes led all players at the half with 14 points apiece, while Harden had 10 points and Sam Merrill added eight off the bench.

The Cavaliers committed 13 turnovers in the first half, which Toronto turned into 14 points. Cleveland had six miscues in the first quarter and seven in the second.

Barnes netted the first five points of the evening after Allen missed a dunk on Cleveland's opening possession. Shead made a runner to give the Raptors a 22-12 advantage, but Merrill had five points in the final three minutes to cut it to 26-24.

Shead scored seven points in the period and Barnes had five points and four assists, helping Toronto shoot 55% from the floor.

The Raptors were without two starters, small forward Brandon Ingram (right heel soreness) and point guard Immanuel Quickley (right hamstring strain).

That changes on Monday night in Las Vegas when the two teams open a best-of-seven Western Conference second-round series.

The Pacific Division champion Golden Knights, who defeated the Utah Mammoth in six games in the first round, will be playing in the second round for the sixth time in nine seasons.

Anaheim, which eliminated Connor McDavid and two-time defending Western Conference champion Edmonton in six games, will be playing its first second-round series since 2017. The Ducks defeated the Oilers in seven games that year before losing to the Nashville Predators in the Western Conference final.

Vegas is 27-8-3 all-time against the Ducks, including 15-3-1 at home, but division rival Anaheim won all three meetings this season, including two in overtime.

"It's going to be an exciting matchup," said defenseman Shea Theodore, a first-round draft pick of the Ducks in 2013 who was traded to Vegas before the 2017-18 season. "They're a great team. Watching how well they played against Edmonton, and how good Edmonton has been the last couple years, that was a tough matchup. It's going to be a tough test."

Third-year defenseman Jackson LaCombe, a member of the U.S. gold medal-winning Olympic team, led the Ducks in the opening round with nine points and a plus-six rating. He also drew praise for his defensive effort against McDavid, who scored just one goal and had five assists in six games.

Left wing Cutter Gauthier, 22, led the team with 41 goals in the regular season and also against the Oilers with four goals. Center Leo Carlsson, the second overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, had 29 goals and 38 assists in 70 games, then the 21-year-old followed that up with three goals and five assists against Edmonton.

The Ducks were particularly lethal on the power play, converting eight of 16 chances (50%).

"They're a fast team," said Vegas center Jack Eichel, who led the Golden Knights with nine points against the Mammoth after scoring a team-best 90 points in the regular season. "I think having played Utah, having improved throughout the series in terms of some of our deep defensive responsibilities, we should be able to take from that a bit."

"They're a good team. They're always trying to make plays through you and around you. " Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin added. "They're young. They have some experience, too, on the backend especially. Should be a lot of fun."

This is the first time since 2018 that Anaheim has played in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

"Now we've got a taste of playoff hockey," said first-year Anaheim coach Joel Quenneville, who led the Chicago Blackhawks to three Stanley Cup titles (2010, 2013 and 2015). "And I think we can feel at this moment that it's so much more fun playing games that have more meaning. And then it seems to grow from this level on."

Eichel gave Vegas fans a scare at practice Sunday when he departed with trainers with towels held to his face after getting hit in the lip with a puck. However, he returned to finish practice.

Also noteworthy was center William Karlsson, out since suffering a lower-body injury on Nov. 8, returning to practice Sunday. Vegas was tight-lipped about Karlsson's possible return to the lineup. Karlsson, a two-way star and a key member on power play and penalty kill units, also is a former Duck who was obtained by Vegas from the Columbus Blue Jackets in the expansion draft.

"He hasn't played in a while. I've been through that," Vegas captain Mark Stone said. "It's not the easiest thing in the world to come back right into the playoffs. But he's a tremendous skater and in tremendous shape."

The designated hitter, who went 4-for-5 and had half of his club's hits, looped a fastball off Caleb Kilian (1-1) over second base to easily score designated runner Chandler Simpson as the Rays moved to 16-5 in the past 21 games.

Ian Seymour (1-0) fired a perfect 10th inning as Tampa Bay allowed just two runs in 28 innings to the Giants, who lost their sixth straight. Starter Steven Matz allowed one run on four hits in six innings.

San Francisco's Casey Schmitt had two hits, an RBI and stole base, while Rafael Devers had a double and a run. Starter Tyler Mahle tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings and allowed only four hits.

Twins 4, Blue Jays 3

Luke Keaschall, Kody Clemens and Matt Wallner doubled in runs and host Minnesota overcame the early exit of starting pitcher Joe Ryan to beat Toronto in Minneapolis.

Ryan departed after just nine pitches and two hitters with what was termed right elbow soreness. Rookie right-hander Andrew Morris (1-1) came out of the bullpen to toss 3 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk while fanning three. Four other relievers followed, with right-hander Justin Topa surviving a rocky ninth for his second save.

The Blue Jays' Kazuma Okamoto belted a two-run homer, his ninth of the year, with Myles Straw aboard with one out in the ninth. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Jesus Sanchez followed with singles to put the potential go-ahead runs aboard before Lenyn Sosa grounded into a game-ending 4-6-3 double play. Trey Yesavage (1-1) permitted five hits and a run in four innings with three walks and six strikeouts for Toronto.

Yankees 11, Orioles 3

Jasson Dominguez scored the tiebreaking run in the sixth inning before hitting a two-run homer and an RBI double during a seven-run eighth as New York pulled away for a victory over visiting Baltimore.

Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer off Baltimore rookie starter Trey Gibson. Ben Rice hit his 12th home run of the season in the first and doubled ahead of Judge's 13th homer in the third. Dominguez started New York's big inning with a two-run drive into the right field seats off Andrew Kittredge for a 6-3 lead, and he came up again later in the inning with a double for an 11-3 lead.

Blaze Alexander had an RBI single in the third for the Orioles. Leody Taveras hit an RBI infield single and Tyler O'Neill scored on a double-play grounder by Jeremiah Jackson in the fourth.

Pirates 1, Reds 0

Oneil Cruz's two-out RBI single in the bottom of the eighth broke a scoreless tie and host Pittsburgh defeated Cincinnati to sweep the three-game series.

The two teams combined for only nine hits as the Pirates' Braxton Ashcraft and Reds' Chase Burns locked up in a pitchers' duel. Ashcraft had the longest start of his career at 7 2/3 innings, in which he only allowed four hits. Gregory Soto (3-0) retired the side in order in the ninth.

Burns pitched seven shutout innings, which included beginning the eighth for the first time in his career, in which he stayed in to face a single batter. For the day, he gave up three hits and got seven strikeouts.

Astros 3, Red Sox 1 (10 innings)

Cam Smith had three hits, including a two-run single in the top of the 10th inning, to help visiting Houston earn a victory over Boston.

Smith's two-out single came against Zack Kelly (0-2). The Red Sox had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the 10th, but Bryan Abreu got Ceddanne Rafaela to ground into a double play to end the game.

Jarren Duran hit a home run for Boston, which stranded 13 runners and was 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Abreu (1-2) pitched two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out one.

Phillies 7, Marlins 2

Bryson Stott belted his second three-run homer of the series and Jesus Luzardo struck out 10 batters, fueling visiting Philadelphia to a victory over Miami.

Luzardo (3-3), who pitched for the Marlins from 2021-24, breezed through six innings before surrendering a two-run homer to Esteury Ruiz in the seventh. That was the lone blemish for Luzardo, who allowed just those two runs on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings. Kyle Schwarber and Brandon Marsh reached base three times apiece for the Phillies, who banged out 11 hits.

Otto Lopez and Christopher Morel each had two hits for Miami, which has lost five of its last eight games. Chris Paddack (0-5) permitted seven runs on six hits in 2 2/3 innings.

Rays 2, Giants 1 (10 innings)

Jonathan Aranda's walk-off RBI single in the 10th inning capped a four-hit outing, and Tampa Bay swept the first half of its six-game homestand with a victory San Francisco in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The designated hitter, who went 4-for-5 and had half of his club's hits, looped a fastball off Caleb Kilian (1-1) over second base to easily score designated runner Chandler Simpson as the Rays moved to 16-5 in the past 21 games.

Ian Seymour (1-0) fired a perfect 10th inning as Tampa Bay allowed just two runs in 28 innings to the Giants, who lost their sixth straight. San Francisco's Casey Schmitt had two hits, an RBI and stole base, while Rafael Devers had a double and a run.

Nationals 3, Brewers 2

Nasim Nunez had a pair of RBI singles and Washington avoided a three-game sweep with a win over visiting Milwaukee.

CJ Abrams had two infield singles and scored twice for the Nationals, who had won four of five before getting outscored 10-2 in the first two games against the Brewers.

Brandon Lockridge had two of the four hits for Milwaukee, which had won three in a row.

Braves 11, Rockies 6

Jonah Heim homered, doubled and drove in a career-high-tying five runs as visiting Atlanta completed a three-game series sweep of Colorado in Denver.

Matt Olson went 2-for-4 with two doubles, two runs and an RBI as Jorge Mateo also homered and had two hits with two RBIs for the Braves. Three teammates finished with two hits: Eli White (triple, RBI), Ozzie Albies (three runs, RBI) and Drake Baldwin.

Mickey Moniak hit two home runs and drove in three runs, Troy Johnston had two hits with two walks and a run, and TJ Rumfield went 3-for-5 with a home run, two RBIs and a run for the Rockies, who suffered their fourth straight loss.

Dodgers 4, Cardinals 1

Justin Wrobleski tossed six scoreless innings as visiting Los Angeles snapped a four-game losing streak with a win over St. Louis.

Andy Pages doubled in a run and Hyeseong Kim, Freddie Freeman and Alex Call each had RBI singles to help the Dodgers end the Cardinals' six-game winning streak and avoid a sweep of the three-game series.

Wrobleski (5-0) gave up six hits with one walk and no strikeouts. Tanner Scott retired St. Louis in order in the ninth for his second save. Cardinals starter Dustin May (3-3) allowed three runs on seven hits over six innings against his former team.

Mets 5, Angels 1

Mark Vientos hit a pair of two-run homers for visiting New York, which earned a rare series win by beating Los Angeles in the rubber game of a three-game interleague set.

Carson Benge had an RBI double immediately before Vientos' second homer in the eighth for the Mets, who won for just the fifth time in 23 games. Starter Clay Holmes (4-2) earned the win by allowing the one run on four hits over 6 2/3 innings. The outing lowered his National League-leading ERA to 1.69.

Jorge Soler delivered a run-scoring single in the first for the similarly skidding Angels, who have dropped 12 of 14 since an 11-10 start. Starter Jack Kochanowicz (2-1) gave up two runs on five hits over 6 1/3 innings.

Cubs 8, Diamondbacks 4

Michael Busch drove in four runs to lead Chicago over visiting Arizona for its fifth consecutive victory.

Busch doubled and scored a run in the second and broke the game open for good with a three-run triple in the fifth as the Cubs finished the three-game sweep with their 11th straight win at home. Starter Matthew Boyd (2-1) gave up four hits and two runs over six innings.

Diamondbacks pinch hitter Adrian Del Castillo hit a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth to finalize the scoring. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. went 2-for-3 with a run for Arizona. Starter Merrill Kelly (1-3) went 4 1/3 innings, giving up eight hits and six runs.

Padres 4, White Sox 3

Xander Bogaerts' RBI infield single in the bottom of the eighth inning was enough for the winning run as San Diego snapped a four-game losing streak with a decision over visiting Chicago.

Jason Adam (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth and Mason Miller mowed Chicago down in the ninth for his 11th save in as many chances. Miguel Andujar and Manny Machado each hit solo shots.

Derek Hill belted a two-run homer and Drew Romo had a solo blast, but the White Sox's five-game winning streak was snapped.

Athletics 7, Guardians 1

Colby Thomas, Zack Gelof and Tyler Soderstrom hit home runs and Aaron Civale tossed six innings of one-run ball as the Athletics defeated visiting Cleveland in West Sacramento, Calif.

Jeff McNeil had a team-high three RBIs as the A's avoided the sweep in the series finale, having lost to the Guardians 8-5 and 14-6 on Friday and Saturday. Tyler Soderstrom went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.

Civale (3-1) had traffic on the bases in every inning of his outing, conceding seven hits and two walks in total, but he kept the damage to a minimum. Cleveland's only run came courtesy of a Chase DeLauter solo homer in the fifth.

Royals 4, Mariners 1

Kris Bubic pitched seven strong innings as Kansas City beat host Seattle to sweep the three-game series after winning just three of its first 15 road games this season.

Bubic (3-1) gave up one run on four hits -- all singles. The left-hander walked two and struck out seven. Daniel Lynch IV worked a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his first save of the season. Teammate Isaac Collins went 2-for-2, added a walk, a sacrifice fly and drove in two runs. Vinnie Pasquantino added two hits in five at-bats and scored once.

Mariners starter Luis Castillo (0-3) allowed four runs on six hits over six innings. The right-hander walked two and fanned five.

Tigers 7, Rangers 1

Spencer Torkelson smacked a two-run homer, Kevin McGonigle supplied a pair of run-scoring hits and Detroit beat visiting Texas in the rubber game of a three-game series.

Matt Vierling had a two-run double and Hao-Yu Lee added an RBI single. Tyler Holton was used as an opener and pitched two-thirds of an inning. Brenan Hanifee got the next five outs and winning pitcher Brant Hurter (4-0) tossed 3 1/3 scoreless frames, allowing two hits. Ricky Vanasco gave up one run in 1 1/3 innings. Kyle Finnegan and Burch Smith each added an inning of scoreless relief.

Rangers starter Jack Leiter (1-3) struck out 10, tying his career high, in 6 2/3 innings. He was charged with five runs and five hits with one walk.

Matt Vierling had a two-run double and Hao-Yu Lee added an RBI single. Tyler Holton was used as an opener and pitched two-thirds of an inning.

Brenan Hanifee got the next five outs and winning pitcher Brant Hurter (4-0) tossed 3 1/3 scoreless frames, allowing two hits. Ricky Vanasco gave up one run in 1 1/3 innings. Kyle Finnegan and Burch Smith each added an inning of scoreless relief.

Rangers starter Jack Leiter (1-3) struck out 10, tying his career high, in 6 2/3 innings. He was charged with five runs and five hits with one walk.

Leiter struck out six of the first eight batters he faced. He didn't allow a baserunner until the fifth, when Riley Greene drew a leadoff walk on four pitches. Leiter got ahead 0-2 in the count to Torkelson, then hung a slider that Torkelson crushed to left-center for his sixth homer of the season.

Detroit extended its lead to 3-0 in the sixth. Jake Rogers led off with a sinking liner to center. Evan Carter tried to make a diving catch and the ball bounced past him, allowing Rogers to go all the way to third for a triple. McGonigle then lined a single to right to knock him in.

The Rangers broke through in the seventh. Ezequiel Duran had a one-out double to left and Josh Smith walked. A wild pitch moved up both runners and Duran scored on Kyle Higashioka's groundout. Vanasco struck out Brandon Nimmo to keep the score at 3-1.

Detroit made it 7-1 in the bottom of the seventh. Kerry Carpenter had a one-out single, advanced on a groundout and scored on Lee's single. Tyler Alexander replaced Leiter and gave up a single to Rogers and another to McGonigle, scoring Lee. Rogers and McGonigle scored on Vierling's double.

Nick Suzuki also scored for the Canadiens, who were outshot 29-9 and outplayed for much of the deciding game, but now face the Buffalo Sabres, who finished atop the Atlantic Division, in the second round, a best-of-seven series that begins Wednesday in Buffalo.

The Canadiens set a Stanley Cup Playoffs record for fewest shots on goal in a win, per Sportsnet.

Montreal goaltender Jakub Dobes made 28 saves, standing especially tall while Tampa Bay peppered him with shots in the second period.

With overtime on the horizon, Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped a point shot, sending the puck bounding to the end boards. But Newhook batted it out of the air toward the front of the cage, banking it off Vasilevskiy and into the cage for his first goal of this year's playoffs with 8:53 remaining in regulation.

Montreal had last won a series in 2021, the year the Canadiens lost to Tampa Bay in the Stanley Cup Final.

Dominic James scored for the Lightning, who were eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs for a fourth consecutive year.

Vasilevskiy stopped seven of nine shots in the game.

The Canadiens opened the scoring on the game's first big break. Suzuki netted his first goal of the series when he deflected Kaiden Guhle's point shot off Lightning defenseman J.J. Moser and into the net at 18:39 of the opening frame.

James tied the game with a deflection tally of his own, tipping a Charle-Edouard D'Astous point shot for a power-play marker at 13:27 of the second period.

The Canadiens failed to register a shot on goal in the middle period, even with a power play, while the Lightning fired 12 on the Montreal net in the period. It is the first time the Canadiens failed to net a shot on goal in a period during the playoffs since shots were counted in 1955-56.

The Canadiens finally put a puck on net more than five minutes into the third period, going nearly 27 minutes between shots. That sparked Montreal to gain some momentum and eventually Newhook's winning goal.

The Lightning pushed, and even pulled the goalie for the extra attacker with more than two minutes remaining, but could not find the equalizer.

Montreal benefited from the return of defenseman Noah Dobson, who had been out since being hit in the left hand by a slap shot April 11. Dobson blocked a shot with his right hand in the waning minutes of regulation.

Edwards, originally considered week-to-week and assumed to be out for the opener Monday at the San Antonio Spurs, was listed as questionable on Sunday evening's injury report.

Edwards suffered a hyperextended left knee and a bone bruise on an awkward landing during Minnesota's Game 4 victory over the Denver Nuggets in the first round on April 25. He avoided ligament damage and was ruled out for the rest of the first round.

Just eight days later, the Timberwolves have cleared Edwards for basketball activities. ESPN reported that the team initially targeted Games 3 or 4 of the best-of-seven series against San Antonio, but he now could be ahead of schedule.

Edwards, 24, also posted a video to YouTube on Sunday that showed him running on an underwater treadmill and featured a clip with David Hines, Minnesota's vice president of medical performance.

In the video, Hines said, "I think he can return sooner if he can hit all his metrics for pain management, mobility, functional strength."

The four-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA selection scored a career-high 28.8 points per game on 48.9% shooting, including 39.9% from 3-point range, in the regular season (61 games). He put up 18.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in four starts against the Nuggets.

Ayo Dosunmu, who led the Timberwolves in scoring in the Denver series (21.8 ppg), including 43 points in Game 4, is also questionable due to right calf soreness. He missed the clinching Game 6 win over the Nuggets with the ailment.

Volpe played four games at Scranton and eight with Double-A Somerset to start the season as he works his way back from offseason shoulder surgery.

However, with Jose Caballero playing well as New York's everyday shortstop, the club opted not to rush back the 25-year-old -- an apparent change of heart after general manager Brian Cashman insisted "the plan" was for Volpe to return to the starting role.

Volpe made his major league debut in 2023 after spending just 22 games at Triple-A the year prior. He won the starting shortstop job in spring training and posted a 21-home run, Gold Glove rookie season. Volpe played in 159 games, then 160 in 2024 and 153 in 2025.

But his batting average and his fielding dipped in 2025, and it was revealed that the Yankees were playing Volpe despite a partial labrum tear in his left (non-throwing) shoulder. He had surgery in October after the Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs.

In 472 career games, Volpe has batted .222 with 52 homers, 192 RBIs, 82 doubles and 70 stolen bases. Across his 12 minor league rehab games, he batted .275 with one homer and six RBIs.

He also made one error, after he tied the American League lead with 19 errors in 2025.

Caballero, meanwhile, has laid his claim to the everyday job for the AL-leading Yankees (23-11). He has batted .259 with four homers, 12 RBIs and 12 steals through 32 games. He has a fielding percentage of .978.

Before the Yankees opened a series against the Baltimore Orioles Friday, manager Aaron Boone said Caballero's play "complicates it a little bit, clearly," when it comes to Volpe's return.

"Jose's earned opportunities and been a key part of our club here and a part of the success here to start out the season," Boone said.

Caballero, 29, was a trade deadline acquisition from the rival Tampa Bay Rays last summer and has also played second base, third base and the outfield.

The second-seeded Boston Celtics took a 3-1 series lead over the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Eastern Conference quarterfinals. Six-time All-Star forward Jayson Tatum, who came back from Achilles tendon surgery much faster than anyone expected, was averaging 24.8 points through the first four games of the series.

But then the Sixers routed the host Celtics in Game 5 and Tatum hobbled off the court in the second half of Game 6, another Philadelphia triumph.

It was not apparent whether Boston coach Joe Mazzulla did not re-insert Tatum into Game 6 due to an injury or the fact that his team trailed by 23 points in the fourth quarter.

But Tatum's status for Sunday's Game 7 continued to downgrade and two hours before tipoff, he was ruled out for Boston's do-or-die contest.

Hence, the four-time All-NBA first-teamer sat on the bench in street clothes as the Sixers completed the comeback, ousting Boston 109-100.

Tatum addressed the media on Sunday, reflecting on his satisfaction on returning to the court and his frustration about the last few days.

"My recovery and comeback (from the Achilles injury) were going so well that how it ended, I didn't think it was going to end that way," said Tatum. "It was just unfortunate.

"I worked really, really, really, really hard to come back in the fashion that I did and play at the level I was playing at. So for it to end the way it did was a tough pill to swallow."

Tatum explained that, since he was still in the return-to-play window, NBA protocols had to be followed pertaining to his left knee stiffness. The Celtics' medical team and Tatum's trainer, Nick Sang, agreed that he would not be able to compete on Saturday.

Tatum admitted on Sunday that he was not playing at full capacity since his return to the court on March 6 vs. Dallas. He rated himself at about 80-85% and relayed that his right leg is still shorter than his left.

The Boston star averaged 31.0 minutes per game in 11 March games and 36.2 minutes in five regular-season contests in April. His scoring (21.8) and shooting splits (41.1% FG, 32.9% 3FG) were a little below his career marks, but he rebounded at a career-best 10.0 per game heading into the playoffs.

But Tatum has no regrets about pushing himself to return in a 10-month window and help this year's team.

"I'm happy and proud of the fact that I was able to do that," Tatum said. "And, unfortunately, if somebody else has to deal with this, they can look at what I was able to do and have some hope and inspiration that it's not what people used to think it was. And you can come back from this and be who you were and hopefully be better."