NEW YORK -- Knicks star point guard Jalen Brunson returned Sunday after nearly a month-long injury absence, logging 15 points and six assists to help New York to a 112-98 victory over a desperate Phoenix Suns club.

It wasn't Brunson's prettiest showing. He finished just 3-for-9 from the field, with some uncharacteristic missed jumpers. Still, the league leader in clutch points per minute hit a massive 3-pointer with just under two minutes left to extend the Knicks' lead to 10 and essentially seal the win.

"Could be better, could be worse. Definitely a lot of room for improvement on my end," Brunson said, adding that he had never missed this many games because of an injury.

Brunson played 34 minutes in his return, with his teammates doing their fair share of the lifting. Other than wing Mikal Bridges bringing the ball up the floor to initiate the offense a handful of times to ease Brunson's workload, wing OG Anunoby was fantastic, scoring 32 points -- including 19 during a third period in which he shot 7 of 7 from the floor -- to continue his recent hot streak.

Anunoby, playing more aggressively, has averaged nearly 24 points since Brunson sprained his right ankle in Los Angeles last month. Anunoby was averaging 16.5 points before Brunson's injury.

"I don't want to say [my injury] was a silver lining, but whenever someone goes out, it's a collective team effort, and everyone steps up," Brunson said. "It gives everyone a chance to come together and get better."

By getting their leading scorer back and having backup guards Miles McBride and Cameron Payne back in the rotation this weekend, the Knicks were as close to full strength Sunday as they have been all season. And the timing couldn't be better, with New York hoping to show it can compete with the NBA's best in the final week of the regular season.

The Knicks -- 0-8 against Oklahoma City (64-14), Cleveland (62-16) and Boston (58-20) -- host the Celtics on Tuesday and Cavs on Friday. New York (50-28) has a road game Thursday against the Pistons, whom the club could face in the first round.

But getting Brunson back was most important.

He appeared to grow more comfortable drawing fouls -- including an and-1 against Royce O'Neale in the third quarter -- and taking contact as the game continued.

"Usually what happens when a player comes back is he needs to get a feel, and usually there's a play or two where he'll be tested a little bit. And then once he realizes he's good, he takes off," Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said of Brunson. "I thought in the second half, there was a different gear to him."

With the victory, the Knicks -- who notched back-to-back 50-win seasons for the first time since 1993-94 and 1994-95 -- inched closer to officially locking up the East's No. 3 seed. (With one more win, or one more Pacers loss, they'll secure it.)

The Knicks also pushed the lowly Suns (35-43), who have the league's highest payroll, one step closer to missing the postseason. With four games remaining, Phoenix is 2 games behind Dallas for 10th place and the West's final play-in spot.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Seattle Mariners outfielder Victor Robles injured his left shoulder and was carted off the field after making a dazzling catch in the ninth inning of a 5-4 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday.

Robles was playing right field when he made a long dash to chase down a fly ball hit by Patrick Bailey. He went over the low railing in foul territory to make the catch, fell over the wall and crashed into the netting in the process. Robles appeared to be in immediate pain, flipping the ball away with his right hand and grabbing at his left arm.

Mariners manager Dan Wilson said Robles has a shoulder-related injury and was having tests done at Oracle Park.

"He's such a force," Wilson said. "Big hits, the great defense that he plays. He causes a lot of havoc on the bases, doing what he does out there. He's a great guy to have at the top of your lineup. That's why we're hoping for the best."

The 31-year-old Robles is hitting .273 with 3 RBIs and 3 stolen bases through 10 games this season after hitting .328 for the Mariners last season and going 30-for-31 in stolen-base attempts. He was the first Seattle player with a batting average of over .320 since Ichiro Suzuki hit .352 in 2009.

The Giants, who won the game on the next pitch on a single by Wilmer Flores, challenged the call that it was a catch, but it was upheld.

Center fielder Julio Rodriguez was the first to wave over athletic trainers after seeing Robles go down, and he called Robles a "very impactful player for our team, defensively and offensively."

"I just noticed that he was in pain and called the trainers immediately," Rodriguez said. "He made all that effort, but it was at a high cost."

Giants right fielder Mike Yastrzemski, who knows the dimensions of the ballpark well, said he was glad that netting was there as opposed to the concrete bricks that align the right-field wall.

"Who knows what could have happened?" Yastrzemski said. "It's one of those things where you hope he's OK. I've never seen anything like that."

Robles could have probably let the ball go foul, but "that's not who he is," said Bryan Woo, who started for the Mariners.

"He's got the respect of everybody in the clubhouse," Woo said.

BOSTON -- Alex Bregman hit a three-run homer and tied a career high with six RBIs, Rafael Devers had four hits and drove in three runs and the Boston Red Sox rolled to an 18-7 win and a doubleheader sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday night.

Wilyer Abreu added three RBIs for Boston, which finished with a season-best 22 hits and won its fifth straight. It was the 14th career four-hit game for Devers. Bregman posted his 10th career game with four hits.

All that offense made for an easy night for Hunter Dobbins (1-0), who scattered five hits and gave up two runs over five innings to win his major league debut. Cooper Criswell gave up four runs in the ninth, but went three innings for his first save.

St. Louis starter Miles Mikolas (0-1) allowed nine runs and 11 hits in 2 innings. Thomas Saggese hit a three-run homer in the ninth and Brendan Donovan had two RBIs for the Cardinals. St. Louis extended a team record with its ninth straight game getting at least 10 hits.

In the makeup of Saturday's rainout, Abreu singled off the Green Monster to drive in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning as the Red Sox rallied for a 5-4 victory in the opener. Devers, who began the season 0 for 21 with 15 strikeouts, also hit his first homer of the year in the first game.

Pedro Pagés replaced St. Louis catcher Iván Herrera in the first game after he exited with left knee inflammation. In an interview on the ESPN broadcast, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said initial testing came back clean and Herrera's knee was structurally sound. But he added the injury will require a stint on the injured list.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

The Pirates announced Sunday that they would be adding the No. 21 logo back to the right field wall to honor Roberto Clemente at PNC Park after the franchise icon's family expressed its unhappiness that the sign was removed for an advertisement.

"We did not intend to disrespect the legacy of Roberto Clemente by adding the advertisement to the pad in right field," Pirates president Travis Williams said in a statement.

"When we added the advertisement to the pad, it was an oversight not to keep the No. 21 logo. This is ultimately on me, not anyone else in the organization. It was an honest mistake. We will be adding the No. 21 logo back to the pad."

Williams added: "We want to make sure that the Clemente family understands that we intended no disrespect to their father. We look forward to continuing our relationship with the Clemente family and apologize to them and our fans for our honest mistake."

The sign, which had been on the right-field wall since 2022, featured Clemente's name and his No. 21, but it was replaced with an advertisement for Surfside, an alcoholic drink.

The right-field wall at PNC Park stands 21 feet high in honor of Clemente.

Earlier Sunday, Roberto Clemente Jr. expressed his family's unhappiness in a prepared statement.

"This change was made without any communication or consultation with our family," Clemente's statement said in part. "While we appreciate that the Pirates acknowledged their failure to inform us, it reveals a broader issue: a lack of meaningful collaboration between the organization and on matters that are deeply personal and historically significant to us and the fans.

"The outpouring of support from fans in Pittsburgh and across the country has been overwhelming and deeply appreciated. It is clear that our father's legacy continues to inspire and unite people, not only for his achievements on the field, but for the integrity and compassion he demonstrated off of it.

"We have always been open to building a sincere and lasting partnership with the Pirates, one grounded in respect and shared values," the statement continued. "Our hope is that this moment serves as an opportunity for reflection, paving the way for a more thoughtful, transparent, and collaborative relationship moving forward. I intend to reach out to the Pirates directly to explore this further."

Clemente spent his career with the Pirates from 1955 to 1972. He played in 15 All-Star Games and won 12 Gold Glove awards, four batting titles and the 1966 National League MVP.

Clemente died in a plane crash off the coast of San Juan in his native Puerto Rico on New Year's Eve in 1972 while attempting to deliver supplies to earthquake-ravaged Nicaragua. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame the following summer.

First baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Toronto Blue Jays are in agreement on a 14-year, $500 million contract extension, pending a physical, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan on Sunday night.

This is a monumental, no-deferral deal to keep the homegrown star in Toronto for the rest of his career, and comes as the 5-5 Blue Jays are in the midst of a road trip that takes them to Fenway Park to meet the Boston Red Sox on Monday.

Guerrero, 26, a four-time All-Star and son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, had said he would not negotiate during the season after the sides failed to come to an agreement before he reported to spring training. But the sides continued talking and sealed a deal that is the third largest in Major League Baseball history, behind only Juan Soto's 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets and Shohei Ohtani's 10-year, $700 million pact with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Blue Jays, snakebit in recent years by Soto and Ohtani signing elsewhere, received a long-term commitment from their best homegrown talent since Hall of Famer Roy Halladay.

They had tried to sign Guerrero to a long-term deal for years to no avail. Toronto got a glimpse of Guerrero's talent when he debuted shortly after his 20th birthday in 2019 and homered 15 times as a rookie. Guerrero's breakout season came in 2021, when he finished second to Aaron Judge in American League MVP voting after hitting .311/.401/.601 with 48 home runs and 111 RBIs.

Guerrero followed with a pair of solid-but-below-expectations seasons in 2022 and 2023, and in mid-May 2024, he sported an OPS under .750 as the Blue Jays struggled en route to an eventual last-place finish. Over his last 116 games in 2024, the Guerrero of 2021 reemerged, as he hit .343/.407/.604 with 26 home runs and 84 RBIs.

With a payroll expected to exceed the luxury tax threshold of $241 million, the Blue Jays ended the season's first week atop the American League East standings. Toronto dropped to 5-3 on Friday after a loss to the Mets, in which Guerrero collected a pair of singles, raising his season slash line to .267/.343/.367.

Between Guerrero and shortstop Bo Bichette's free agency after the 2025 season, the Blue Jays faced a potential reckoning. Though Bichette is expected to play out the season before hitting the open market, Guerrero's deal lessens the sting of Toronto's pursuits of Ohtani in 2023 and Soto in 2024.

Toronto shook off the signings of Soto and first baseman Pete Alonso with the Mets, left-hander Max Fried with the New York Yankees and infielder Alex Bregman with the Boston Red Sox to retool its roster. Toronto gave outfielder Anthony Santander a heavily deferred five-year, $92.5 million contract, brought in future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer on a one-year, $15.5 million deal, bolstered its bullpen with right-handers Jeff Hoffman and Yimi Garcia, and traded for Platinum Glove-winning second baseman Andres Gimenez, who is hitting cleanup.

Toronto's long-term commitments will allow for significant financial flexibility. In addition to Bichette and Scherzer, right-hander Chris Bassitt and relievers Chad Green and Erik Swanson are free agents after this season. After 2026, the nine-figure deals of outfielder George Springer and right-hander Kevin Gausman also come off the books.

Building around Guerrero is a good place to start. One of only a dozen players in MLB with at least two seasons of six or more wins above replacement since 2021, Guerrero consistently is near the top of MLB leaderboards in hardest-hit balls, a metric that typically translates to great success.

Like his father, who hit 449 home runs and batted .318 over a 16-year career, Guerrero has rare bat-to-ball skills, particularly for a player with top-of-the-scale power. In his six MLB seasons, Guerrero has hit .288/.363/.499 with 160 home runs, 510 RBIs and 559 strikeouts against 353 walks.

Originally a third baseman, Guerrero shifted to first base during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Had the Blue Jays signed Alonso, they signaled the possibility of Guerrero returning full time to third, where he played a dozen games last year.

With the extension in place, the 6-foot-2, 245-pound Guerrero is expected to remain at first base and reset a market that had been topped by the eight-year, $248 million extension Miguel Cabrera signed just shy of his 31st birthday in 2014.

Bordeaux: Buros; Penaud, Moefana, Tapuai, Uberti; Carbery, Lucu (capt); Poirot, Lamothe, Tameifuna; Cazeaux, Coleman; Daiby, Petti, Samu.

Replacements: Latterrade, Perchaud, Falatea, Bochaton, Vergnes-Taillefer, Lesgourgues, Janse van Rensburg, Jalibert

Ulster: Lowry; Ward, Hume, McCloskey, Stockdale; Murphy, Cooney; Warwick, Herring, O'Toole; O'Connor (capt), Treadwell; McNabney, Timoney, McCann

Replacements: Stewart, Reid, Wilson, Dalton, Matty Rea, Doak, Morgan, Moore.

Referee: Luke Pearce (England)

Goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili said on Saturday that he bet Vinícius Júnior that he'd save the Real Madrid forward's first-half penalty in Valencia's 2-1 win at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Madrid had the chance to take the lead in the LaLiga match when they were awarded a spot kick in the 13th minute -- after Kylian Mbappé was fouled by defender César Tárrega -- but keeper Mamardashvili palmed away Vinícius' effort.

Vinícius went on to score in the second half, drawing level with Madrid legend Ronaldo Nazario as the club's all-time highest scoring Brazilian, but Valencia won thanks to a goal from Hugo Duro in added time.

"I had a conversation with Vinicius, and I won 50," Mamardashvili told reporters after the game. "I asked him if he wanted to bet 50, and he said 'yes' and I won."

"He ought to pay me, but he hasn't yet," Mamardashvili -- who was outstanding throughout the match, making a number of saves -- added.

The result hit Madrid's chances of winning the LaLiga title, leaving them three points behind rivals Barcelona having played a game more, and increased Valencia's possibilities of staying up.

Mamardashvili signed for Liverpool last summer after starring at Euro 2024, but remained at Valencia on loan.

Vinícius was whistled by some fans at the Bernabéu, despite scoring Madrid's only goal, and equalling his hero Ronaldo on 104 goals for the club.

"A special day. It's an honour to have scored as many goals as my idol," Vinícius posted later on social media. "I arrived here as a child, and he showed me the way.

"A bad game, but we know where to improve. Madrid never give up. See you in London," Vinicius added, referring to Madrid's Champions League quarterfinal first leg with Arsenal on Tuesday.

Tottenham Hotspur supporters protested the ownership of the club ahead of the Premier League game against Southampton on Sunday with many chanting that chairman Daniel Levy should "get out of our club."

Spurs are 16th in the Premier League having only won 10 games of 30 in the competition this campaign, including 16 defeats.

Change For Tottenham organised the protests and said they are upset with owners Enic and Levy "whose tenure has been marked by financial growth but, in the eyes of many, sporting decline."

The Enic Group, a British investment company, took over Tottenham in 2001.

Levy has come under frequent criticism during his time at Spurs, with supporters voicing frustration at the club for not always spending as much as their rivals in the transfer market and failing to ensure their on-pitch exploits match up to their commercial success.

In quotes reported by BBC Sport, Change For Tottenham said: "Many lifelong Tottenham supporters feel alienated by the club's ownership and direction.

"The New Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is a state of the art facility, but at what cost? Ticket prices are among the highest in the Premier League, forcing many fans, some of whom have supported Spurs for decades, to give up their season tickets or attend fewer games.

"For years the team has lacked investment in key areas, particularly in defence, while transfer windows have felt reactive instead of proactive. The result? Another trophy-less season looms, extending a drought that has lasted since 2008."

"Time for change," "enough is enough, Enic out!" and "built a business, killed a football club," were some of the messages featured on banners at the protest Chants included "we want Levy out", and "Daniel Levy, get out of our club."

A number of Spurs supporters took part in a protest against Levy and the club's ownership before the team's Premier League match against Manchester United in February.

Levy recently defended Tottenham's transfer spending and described the 2024-25 season as "highly challenging" in a statement accompanying the club's annual financial results.

When the rain finally lifted after a 90-minute delay and the St. Louis Cardinals opened their season in front of 47,395 red-clad fans at Busch Stadium, two long-familiar sights were a bit of a surprise to anyone who followed the offseason rumor mill: Nolan Arenado coming out of the home dugout for a curtain call after a home run and Sonny Gray shutting down the opposition in a Cardinals uniform.

There was a feeling across the industry that the Cardinals could be a major storyline when the offseason began and that both players could be wearing new uniforms by Opening Day. One of MLB's storied franchises was embarking on a stated reset as it transitions from longtime executive John Mozeliak to former Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox exec Chaim Bloom, who is waiting in the wings to take over in 2026. A winter dealing away veteran players seemed likely.

The Cardinals rarely go through these downturns, when rumors center on them trading stars instead of acquiring them. In fact, it wasn't that long ago that the Cardinals nabbed former first baseman Paul Goldschmidt from the Arizona Diamondbacks (in Dec. 2018) and then third baseman Nolan Arenado from the Colorado Rockies (before the 2021 season) to help keep a 15-year streak of finishing above .500 alive.

But that came to an end in 2023 when St. Louis bottomed out, going 71-91 before bouncing back with an 83-win season in 2024. Still, their record wasn't nearly good enough to make the postseason and with declining television revenue and attendance, the franchise decided change was needed. Even while sweeping the Twins on opening weekend, attendance dropped after the first game with record-low numbers attending Busch Stadium -- including just 21,206 and 20,309 (the lowest totals in ballpark history) for two games against the Los Angeles Angels.

"The word 'reset' can be interpreted a lot of different ways," Mozeliak told ESPN. "I've been trying to use the word 'transition' more because it's more relatable to what we're trying to do. We are in a transition in leadership. We're also in a transition to what this team is going to look like."

"Our business model has changed. There's less revenue on the TV side, we have less revenue on the ticket-sale side right now. We're trying to make adjustments as best we can. The one lever to pull is payroll when you're dealing with that."

That's where this past winter was supposed to help accelerate the franchise's direction for the years ahead. The Cardinals' roster is full of veterans who could help other teams. Moving them out would also lead to more room for a word heard frequently this spring: Runway. St. Louis wants to give its young players the space for a real chance to show who they are during this transition. It's essential to the plan.

But a funny thing happened on the way to trading Arenado, Gray, starter Miles Mikolas or catcher turned first baseman Willson Contreras: They didn't want to leave (at least not for the teams that matched up with St. Louis in discussions). The no-trade clauses in their contracts wound up having a big impact on the Cardinals' winter.

"The reason those are given is we felt like those were below-market deals to come to St. Louis," Mozeliak said. "The market is getting more and more competitive. It feels like the coastal teams have a benefit. For us, when you think back to the last 30 years, that was our competitive advantage."

"There was a lot of chatter about us moving one of our veteran players. That didn't happen. Some of the things that we were thinking about in that transition didn't happen because of that, so we are where we are."

Nonetheless, the lack of activity was surprising to some in the industry.

"I thought they would do more," said one rival executive who didn't have trade discussions with the Cardinals. "I'm interested to see how things play out. No-trade clauses are tricky."

So the plan changed a little for 2025. Developing young players while still trying to win games with an older core has become the objective.

"We are walking two parallel paths," Mozeliak stated. "We have a younger club that has some uncertainty in how they're going to play, but if it clicks, it could be pretty good. But on that other parallel track, we are looking to build for the future."

The team also held onto All-Star closer Ryan Helsley and starter Erick Fedde (though neither has a no-trade clause) and began the season near the middle of MLB in average age.

The Cardinals also didn't have a qualified rookie on their Opening Day roster for the first time since 2007. But St. Louis is committed to getting playing time for young homegrown position players including Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman and Alec Burleson. While for the older players on the roster, their job for the next three-plus months is to leave the front office with tough choices to make at the trade deadline.

"If I have my way, the Cardinals are playing great baseball by then and we're adding guys instead of getting rid of them," Mikolas said. St. Louis got off to a fast start toward that goal, sweeping the Twins last weekend before finally losing their first game on Tuesday to the Angels.

"They talk about a reset, but the energy in the clubhouse is even way better this year because we see a lot of comments around us that make us a little mad -- in a good way," Contreras said. "We're here to prove what we can do."

Even with the team playing with a fire to compete, it's possible that by July, some of those in the clubhouse could change their minds regarding his no-trade clauses. Perhaps the toughest decision that the team could have to make will be what to do with Helsley if St. Louis is still competing in the NL Central or wild-card races. Teams in transition don't usually hold on to closers because they are so valuable to contenders looking for the final pieces.

After entering the offseason as a constant name in trade speculation, the 102 mph-throwing All-Star closer said he is surprised that he is even starting the season still with the team that originally drafted him in 2015.

"I'll be the first to admit, I thought I was gone for sure," Helsley said. "I mean if it's a reset, and this is my walk year. I thought I would be first to go. I was kind of surprised they brought me back."

Helsley got plenty of questions about his future from friends and family, but the attention on him was nothing compared to Arenado. After a down year last season -- then turning down a trade to Houston during the winter -- Arenado is hoping to return to All-Star form after consecutive down seasons. On Opening Day -- before the eighth-inning curtain call -- he was asked if he thought he would eventually accept a trade during the winter months.

"It was 50/50 and then at one point I probably got to like 70/30, I wasn't [returning], but at the end of the day I always knew there was a chance I could come back and so I've always been prepared for that," Arenado said.

The 10-time Gold Glove winner used Muay Thai to get away from the noise while training his body to be better prepared for the rigors of the season. He says that he's moving better than ever at age 33 and wants to prove he's still a valuable player after hitting just 16 home runs with a .719 OPS last season.

"I've read some things or seen the things on TV, what people have said about me, so of course that always motivates you," Arenado said. "I feel like my first step on defense is good again, so that's nice. Not that it was bad last year, but it wasn't the way I would like it."

Now that the new season has arrived, Marmol will be under the microscope as he tries to find the right mix during a unique time for the franchise. Will his decisions lean more toward the future than the present?

"When those opportunities present themselves, feel free to ask," Marmol said to reporters. "And we'll have that conversation. It will pop up. It's not a clear-cut task.

"You pick your spots to do things and you pick your spots to allow runway. You can do both effectively. You don't have to pick the runway button for 162. There is opportunity to do both."

O'Gara appreciated there was an "ironic" element to his side's latest reverse.

Having represented Munster 240 times, and played a huge part in Heineken Cup successes of 2006 and '08, he became known as a player who delivered in the big moments.

Jack Crowley's 70th-minute drop-goal ultimately proved the difference on Saturday with the Irish fly-half delivering a kick that the would have sat comfortably in the highlights reel of the man in the opposing coaching box.

"I'm obviously gutted but I think you've got to compliment and congratulate Munster on how they constructed their victory," O'Gara said.

"It was pretty ironic how they won it, getting it out to eight points with a peach of a drop-goal.

"I've seen a lot of good drop-goals but that's a top-class one."

For a man who represented Munster with such distinction, and who had a knack for delivering such dramatic moments himself, it was an odd feeling for O'Gara.

"For a second I thought Jack Crowley was with me then you're like, 'that's the wrong team'," he added.