BASKETBALL
Caris LeVert scored 22 points, Jarrett Allen added 17 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists and the patchwork Brooklyn Nets clinched a playoff berth by beating the Sacramento Kings 119-106 on Friday.
The surprising Nets improved to 3-2 since the restart.
• Tobias Harris had 23 points and 15 rebounds, and the Philadelphia 76ers held off the Orlando Magic, 108-101, without All-Star Ben Simmons.
Simmons is out indefinitely after injuring his knee Wednesday night.
• Dillon Brooks scored 22 points, and the Memphis Grizzlies claimed their first win since the restart with a 121-92 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
• Derrick White scored 24 points, Jakob Poeltl added 19 points and 10 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs got a 119-111 win over the short-handed Utah Jazz.
• Jrue Holiday scored 28 points, and the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Washington Wizards 118-107 without star rookie Zion Williamson.
The Pelicans continued their practice of holding Williamson out of the second game of back-to-backs, as they did before the hiatus while managing his recovery from a right meniscus tear.
WNBA: Lexie Brown scored a career-high 26 points with nine assists and four steals, and the Minnesota Lynx used a second-quarter surge to beat the Indiana Fever, 87-80.
• Amanda Zahui B. had 14 points and 14 rebounds, Kia Nurse scored 17 points, and the New York Liberty gave Coach Walt Hopkins his first career win with a 74-66 victory over the Washington Mystics.
FOOTBALL
NFL: The NFL’s chief medical officer says the league is establishing a new two-step protocol for players and coaches who have no known history of the COVID-19 infection and receive a positive test.
Dr. Allen Sills said any individual in that situation who is also asymptomatic will be given two confirmatory tests on the day following a positive test result. Both confirmation tests will be nasal swabs, Sills said.
During the confirmation period, the individual must remain out of the team facility and isolate at home until the confirmatory test results are returned. If both confirmatory tests are negative, the individual is not considered COVID positive and may resume all normal activity.
If a test is ruled either invalid or inconclusive, or there is a “technical error,” the individual must retest. The restrictions will continue until the individual passes both tests.
• Long snapper and Pro Bowler Zak DeOssie has retired after 13 seasons with the Giants.
• Washington released running back Derrius Guice after he was charged in multiple domestic violence incidents.
• The New Orleans Saints signed linebacker Nigel Bradham and activated linebacker Kaden Elliss from the reserve/COVID-19 list.
The 6-foot-2, 241-pound Bradham is an eight-year veteran who spent the last three seasons with the Eagles and started 12 games in 2019.
GOLF
LPGA: Lydia Ko ran off four straight birdies to start her round and finished with birdies on her last two holes for a 6-under 65 and a one-shot lead over Jodi Ewart Shadoff at the Marathon Classic in Sylvania, Ohio.
Ko, the former No. 1 player in women’s golf, is a two-time winner at Highland Meadows but is winless in her last 44 events worldwide and has dropped to No. 55 in the world.
She was at 13-under 129.
EUROPEAN TOUR: Andy Sullivan carded a 28 on the back nine to cap a 9-under 62 that gave him a one-shot lead over Laurie Canter and Dean Burmester midway through the English Championship in Ware, England.
SOCCER
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus seized on defensive mistakes to lead Manchester City to a 2-1 victory over Real Madrid and a place in the quarterfinals.
Manchester City, which finished a 4-2 aggregate victory, next faces Lyon on Aug. 15 in Portugal.
• Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice but could not prevent Juventus from going out of the Champions League despite a 2-1 victory over Lyon.
The French team progressed to the quarterfinals on away goals after a 2-2 draw on aggregate.
• Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic won’t play in Saturday’s match against Bayern Munich and is expected to be out for at least six weeks because of a right hamstring injury that could see him miss the start of the new English Premier League’s season.
TENNIS
U.S. OPEN: Two more top-10 women – Elina Svitolina and Kiki Bertens – will miss the tournament, joining No. 1-ranked Ash Barty in skipping the Grand Slam event during the coronavirus pandemic.
Defending men’s champion Rafael Nadal also has said he won’t play at the U.S. Open, citing concerns about traveling during the pandemic. Five-time champion Roger Federer is sitting out the rest of the season after two operations on his right knee.
PALERMO LADIES OPEN: Top-seeded Petra Martic and fourth-seeded Anett Kontaveit advanced to the semifinals of the first tour-level event in five months.
The other semifinal will feature Fiona Ferro of France against local favorite Camila Giorgi of Italy.
MOTORSPORTS
TRUCKS: Zane Smith scored the first Truck Series win of his career with a last-lap pass in double overtime at Michigan International Speedway.
Grant Enfinger tried to win the race as the leader on four previous restarts, but a slew of cautions spoiled his race. Enfinger was the leader on the final restart and surged to the front with a push from Austin Hill, but then attempted to block Hill, resulting in contact that caused Enfinger to spin. Christian Eckes moved into the lead with a lap to go but couldn’t hold off Smith.
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