Agencies

• Álvarez outpoints Scull to re-unify 168lb championship
• Mexican announces he will fight Crawford in September

Moments after Canelo Álvarez fended off William Scull to become the undisputed super middleweight champion again, he was facing off against Terence Crawford in the same ring in Riyadh to promote a showdown in September.

Álvarez became an undisputed champion in the division for the second time when the judges scored his ho-hum bout early Sunday Saudi local time against Scull 115-113, 116-112, 119-109. The 34-year-old Mexican boxer improved to 63-2-2, with 39 knockouts, and is unbeaten in 10 fights in the super middleweight category.

• Nuggets destroy Clippers 120-101 in Game 7 laugher
• Denver advance to face top-seeded Oklahoma City

Nikola Jokić got plenty of help from his teammates and the Denver Nuggets weren’t about to let up when they built a big lead and raced past the Los Angeles Clippers in a 120-101 Game 7 laugher Saturday night.

The No 4 seed Nuggets, who led by as many as 35 points, advanced to take on the No 1 seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, who swept Memphis in the first round and have had a week off. The teams split their season series 2-2, with both teams winning one on the road.

• Sovereignty outduels favorite down stretch in Louisville
• Baeza was third while Final Gambit came in fourth

Sovereignty won the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Kentucky, in a thrilling fight to the finish line on Saturday to capture the first leg of US thoroughbred racing’s famed Triple Crown.

The bay colt thrived in the wet and sloppy conditions at Churchill Downs to finish the one-and-a-quarter-mile race in two minutes and 2.31 seconds, beating the heavy favorite Journalism down the final stretch.

• Dent’s grandson announces golfer’s passing at 85
• Augusta native became one of PGA’s longest hitters

Jim Dent grew up in the caddie yards of Augusta, Georgia, eventually working at the Masters and honing his game at the municipal course known as ‘The Patch’. He went on to become one of the PGA Tour’s longest hitters and one of the top Black golfers of his generation.

Dent died on Friday at age 85, a week before his birthday, his grandson posted on Facebook. The PGA Tour said on its website that Dent suffered a stroke the day after Augusta National announced plans for Tiger Woods to design a par 3 course at The Patch.

• Rockets beat Warriors 115-107 in Game 6
• VanVleet posts 29 points and eight assists

Fred VanVleet had 29 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, Alperen Sengun contributed 21 points and 14 rebounds, and the Houston Rockets kept their season alive by beating the Golden State Warriors 115-107 on Friday night and forcing a deciding Game 7 in their first-round playoff series.

Golden State went cold when it mattered most: The Warriors missed 13 straight shots between Draymond Green’s basket with 10:12 left and a three-pointer by Stephen Curry at the 3:35 mark.

• Knicks beat Pistons 116-113 in Game 6 to win series 4-2
• Brunson finishes with 40 points including game-winner
• Clippers hold off Nuggets 111-105 to force seventh game

Jalen Brunson made a tiebreaking three-pointer with 4.3 seconds left and finished with 40 points to lead the New York Knicks to a 116-113 win over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night and into the second round of the NBA playoffs.

“He’s at his best when his best is needed and he’s done it all year,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “That’s what makes him special.”

• Ledecky beats McIntosh for another stunning win
• France’s Marchand makes return to competition
• USA’s Casas wins 100m freestyle, 50m backstroke

US freestyle great Katie Ledecky posted the second-fastest 400m free time of her storied career on Thursday, clocking 3min 56.81sec to run down Summer McIntosh for a second stunning victory in as many days at the TYR Pro Swim Series meeting in Florida.

Ledecky, who posted the second-fastest 1,500m free time in history on Wednesday, overshadowed the return to action of Paris Olympic star Leon Marchand, who posted a personal best in finishing third in the men’s 400m free in his first competition in four months.

• Wolves beat Lakers 103-96 in Game 5 to win series 4-1
• Minnesota to play Warriors or Rockets in round two
• James’s bid for fifth title in his 22nd season ended

Rudy Gobert had playoff career highs with 27 points and 24 rebounds, Julius Randle added 23 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves advanced in the NBA playoffs with a 103-96 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 of their first-round series Wednesday night.

• The Canadian side won 3-1 in the second leg
• Whitecaps will face Tigres or Cruz Azul in final

Brian White and Pedro Vite scored two minutes apart and the Vancouver Whitecaps stunned Inter Miami 3-1 in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup semi-final on Wednesday night, spoiling Lionel Messi’s squad’s hopes of making the tournament’s final.

Sebastian Berhalter also scored for Vancouver, which advanced with a 5-1 aggregate to face either Cruz Azul or Tigres UNAL in the Champions Cup final on 1 June.

• Belichick says girlfriend wasn’t out to control interview
• Hudson, 24, interjected during question on relationship

North Carolina football coach Bill Belichick defended his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, for interjecting during a CBS interviewer’s questions about their relationship and said she was “simply doing her job”.

The six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach and first-time college coach at UNC issued a statement through the school Wednesday, which followed an appearance on CBS News Sunday Morning to promote his upcoming book. In the interview, Hudson objected to a question about how the two had met while Tony Dokoupil referred to her during the segment as being a “constant presence” in the interview.