Tyrese Maxey scored 31 points — including an 11-point fourth-quarter burst — to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 109-97 play-in victory over the Orlando Magic on April 16, securing the East’s No. 7 seed and a first-round series against the No. 2 Boston Celtics beginning Sunday. Philadelphia finished 45-37; Orlando, also 45-37, lost the tiebreaker and must host the Charlotte Hornets Friday for the final Eastern playoff spot. Joel Embiid, recovering from an emergency appendectomy last week, surprised teammates by returning to the locker room before the game and watched from the bench, with no timetable for his playing return. Desmond Bane led Orlando with 34 points. Later the same night in Inglewood, Stephen Curry scored 35 points — 27 in the second half — and the Golden State Warriors rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 126-121 in the West 9/10 play-in. Al Horford hit four fourth-quarter 3s and Kristaps Porziņģis added 20. Golden State will travel to Phoenix on Friday for the West’s final seed; the winner there would meet top-seeded Oklahoma City in the first round. The Clippers’ loss ends their bid to reach the postseason.

April 15-16 — A volatile two-night NBA play-in produced high drama on and off the court. The Charlotte Hornets edged the Miami Heat 127-126 in overtime after LaMelo Ball drove for the winning layup; an earlier sequence in which Ball appeared to grab Bam Adebayo’s leg left the Heat star with a lower-back injury and out for the night. The league retroactively assessed a flagrant-2 on Ball, fined him $35,000 for the play and $25,000 for using profanity in a postgame interview (a combined $60,000), but did not suspend him. Video also showed Ball delivering two punches to the Hornets’ mascot during celebrations. In other play-in results, Tyrese Maxey scored 31 to lift the Philadelphia 76ers past the Orlando Magic 109-97 to clinch the No.7 seed and a first-round series with Boston; Orlando will meet Charlotte Friday for the final East berth. Deni Avdija’s 41 points propelled the Portland Trail Blazers to a 114-110 win over Phoenix and the No.7 seed — a result that triggers Portland’s conveyance of a protected No.15 2026 draft pick to the Chicago Bulls. Broadcasters streamed play-in coverage across new rights partners, with all play-in games carried on Amazon Prime Video under the NBA’s reworked media deal.

Manchester City confirmed on April 16, 2026 that captain Bernardo Silva will leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the season. The 31-year-old Portugal international joined City from Monaco in 2017 and has made 451 appearances, scoring 76 goals and providing 77 assists across nine seasons. Silva has been a central figure in City’s most successful era, winning multiple domestic titles and European honours — including six Premier League crowns and a Champions League — and lifting the Carabao Cup this season as captain. In an open letter to supporters on social media he thanked the club, manager Pep Guardiola, teammates and fans, saying he will “leave as one more of you, a Man City supporter for life.” City said it will stage a fitting farewell at the end of the campaign. Silva’s exit, on a free transfer, has already attracted reported interest from top European clubs and sides outside Europe, and he has the opportunity to add further silverware while City pursue the Premier League and FA Cup.

Former NBA player and coach Damon Jones is expected to change his plea and plead guilty in federal gambling cases that allege he sold non-public injury information to sports bettors and participated in rigged poker games. Jones, 49, requested a change-of-plea hearing and is due to appear in Brooklyn federal court later this month, according to filings and media reports. Prosecutors say Jones provided tips about the status of stars including an unnamed player widely identified as LeBron James and information about Anthony Davis, texting a co-conspirator on Feb. 9, 2023, to “get a big bet on Milwaukee” before James was officially ruled out. He faces wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy counts in indictments first unsealed last October that are part of a wide DOJ sweep charging more than 30 people, including alleged organized-crime figures and basketball personalities such as Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier. Jones is also charged in a separate alleged rigged-poker scheme that prosecutors say used altered equipment and deception to defraud wealthy players. He had previously pleaded not guilty and remains free on bail.

LIV Golf moved swiftly on April 15-16, 2026 to counter widespread reporting that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is set to cut backing for the breakaway circuit. Chief executive Scott O’Neil sent staff and players a memo saying the 2026 season will proceed “exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle,” as the tour prepared to stage its Mexico City event. Multiple outlets including the Financial Times and New York Times had reported the PIF was reconsidering support after a new 2026-30 PIF strategy and mounting scrutiny of expensive overseas sports investments. Sources and LIV representatives pushed back, noting stronger ticketing, sponsorship and broadcast revenue and saying funding would cover the remaining nine events on the 14-tournament calendar. Players say they were earlier told funding extended through 2032, but recent exits (Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed) and multibillion-dollar losses — reported at more than $1.1 billion internationally since 2021 — have intensified uncertainty. The episode unfolds against broader Saudi reallocation of capital and geopolitical pressures that PIF officials cite as reasons to reassess some sports investments.