Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is reportedly cleared to return to action after missing the last nine games with an abdominal strain, according to ESPN NBA insider Tim MacMahon. Gilgeous-Alexander is not on the Thunder’s injured report for Friday’s game against the Denver Nuggets.

Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged 31.8 points, 6.4 assists and 4.4 rebounds this season and is a frontrunner to win MVP for the second consecutive year. He has missed 11 games this season and must play at least 16 of the remaining 22 regular-season games to remain eligible for the award. Players need to play 65 games to be eligible for NBA awards.

Despite Gilgeous-Alexander’s return, the Thunder still have a lot of work to do to get back from injuries. Jalen Williams has played in only 26 games this season after battling hamstring and wrist injuries at points in the season. Thunder reserve guard Ajay Mitchell has not played since Jan. 21 with an abdominal injury.

The Thunder were without most of their starting lineup and key bench players in Wednesday’s loss to the Pistons. The Thunder are expected to get their starting front court back with Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein expected to play against the Nuggets.

Alex Caruso and Isaiah Joe are also expected to return to the lineup. Despite the Thunder’s injury woes, they continue to lead the Western Conference standings at 45-15. Their depth was able to keep them afloat, with the Thunder going 5-4 in the recent games that Gilgeous-Alexander missed.

Donovan Mitchell will miss the Cleveland Cavaliers’ big Friday matchup with the Detroit Pistons. Mitchell is listed as out for the game on the NBA injury report with a groin issue.

Additionally, James Harden is listed as questionable with a fractured right thumb. Also questionable on the report are Keon Ellis (left index finger fracture), Dennis Schröder (ankle sprain) and Dean Wade (ankle sprain). 

The Cavaliers (37-23) currently hold the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, 7.5 games behind the NBA-best Pistons (43-14). 

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Mitchell also missed Wednesday’s 118-116 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, the second end of a back-to-back following Tuesday’s 109-94 blowout win over the New York Knicks. He has appeared in 55 of the Cavaliers’ games this season, averaging 28.5 points (seventh best in the NBA), 4.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists while shooting 37% on a league-leading 517 3-point attempts. 

Cleveland has been on a hot run going into Friday’s matchup, winning 15 of its past 20 games. The Cavs haven’t lost consecutive games since Dec. 25-27, when they fell to the Knicks and Rockets. 

Since being acquired by Cleveland at the NBA trade deadline, Harden has appeared in seven games, averaging 18.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 8 assists. He’s shooting 49% on 41 3-point attempts. Overall, Harden has played 51 games this season, 44 of them with the Los Angeles Clippers. The Cavaliers have gone 6-2 since he joined the team.

[Get more Cavaliers news: Cleveland team feed]

Evan Mobley is not listed on the injury report after missing Wednesday’s game with left calf injury management. He is Cleveland’s third-leading scorer this season, averaging 17.5 points per game with 8.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.8 blocks. 

The Pistons have a clean injury report as of Thursday. Isaiah Stewart is out while serving the sixth game of his seven-game suspension for leaving the bench during the Feb. 11 game between Detroit and the Charlotte Hornets. 

Detroit has also won 15 of its past 20 games.

Donovan Mitchell will miss the Cleveland Cavaliers’ big Friday matchup with the Detroit Pistons. Mitchell is listed as out for the game on the NBA injury report with a groin issue.

Additionally, James Harden is listed as questionable with a fractured right thumb. Also questionable on the report are Keon Ellis (left index finger fracture), Dennis Schröder (ankle sprain) and Dean Wade (ankle sprain). 

The Cavaliers (37-23) currently hold the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, 7.5 games behind the NBA-best Pistons (43-14). 

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Mitchell also missed Wednesday’s 118-116 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, the second end of a back-to-back following Tuesday’s 109-94 blowout win over the New York Knicks. He has appeared in 55 of the Cavaliers’ games this season, averaging 28.5 points (seventh best in the NBA), 4.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists while shooting 37% on a league-leading 517 3-point attempts. 

Cleveland has been on a hot run going into Friday’s matchup, winning 15 of its past 20 games. The Cavs haven’t lost consecutive games since Dec. 25-27, when they fell to the Knicks and Rockets. 

Since being acquired by Cleveland at the NBA trade deadline, Harden has appeared in seven games, averaging 18.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 8 assists. He’s shooting 49% on 41 3-point attempts. Overall, Harden has played 51 games this season, 44 of them with the Los Angeles Clippers. The Cavaliers have gone 6-2 since he joined the team.

[Get more Cavaliers news: Cleveland team feed]

Evan Mobley is not listed on the injury report after missing Wednesday’s game with left calf injury management. He is Cleveland’s third-leading scorer this season, averaging 17.5 points per game with 8.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.8 blocks. 

The Pistons have a clean injury report as of Thursday. Isaiah Stewart is out while serving the sixth game of his seven-game suspension for leaving the bench during the Feb. 11 game between Detroit and the Charlotte Hornets. 

Detroit has also won 15 of its past 20 games.

The Phillies’ starting rotation has been the backbone of their climb to back to back National League East titles. When Zack Wheeler went down last year to an unexpected surgery, it made his 2026 season look dire. Now, we’re even closer to his returning in full.

Zack Wheeler threw off a mound Thursday, a huge step in his recovery from thoracic outlet surgery in his right side. The team thought it was the right time, so they let him go.

“The velo was good, the ball flight was good,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said following a 7-3 Grapefruit League victory over the Nationals. “He hit the glove. It was good. He felt great. We’ll check him tomorrow, find out how he’s feeling and get a plan going moving forward.”

Wheeler throwing off the mound makes one possibly think that maybe he can be ready earlier than usual, but let’s pump the brakes a bit.

But asked if Wheeler could be ready for big league games in six weeks, Thomson said, “Possibly.”

Possibly doesn’t mean likely, however. Wheeler’s timeline is fluid. They will not rush him back.

His health is too important.

“It all depends on how he feels and how he recovers,” Thomson said. “It’s new stuff, and it’s different from a lot of other injuries. You can’t pin it down to a week or a day, really.”

Still, it’s good to hear that he has taken this step. Now, the strength building can begin.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will look to pick up their second win this week against a team in the top half of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Cleveland has split its previous two games against the conference-leading Detroit Pistons, but its current team looks a lot different from the one that faced them in October and January. We’ll see how this version stacks up against one of the most consistent teams in the league.

The Pistons have been the best team in the conference by every statistical measure. They have the best record, best defense, and have been playing at a high level all season. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has gotten the most out of this group. Whether or not that translates to the playoffs remains to be seen.

Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (37-23) at Detroit Pistons (43-14)

Where: Little Caesars Arena – Detroit, MI

When: Fri., Feb. 27 at 7 PM

TV: ESPN, FanDuel Sports Network – Ohio, FanDuel Sports Network App

Point spread: Pistons -7

Cavs injury report: Donovan Mitchell – OUT (groin), James Harden – QUESTIONABLE (thumb), Dennis Schroder – QUESTIONABLE (ankle), Dean Wade – QUESTIONABLE (ankle), Keon Ellis QUESTIONABLE (left index finger fracture), Max Strus – OUT (foot), Tristan Enaruma – OUT (G League), Riley Minix – OUT (G League)

Pistons injury report: Isaiah Stewart – OUT (suspension), Bobbi Klintman – OUT (G League), Chaz Lanier – OUT (G League), Wendell Moore Jr. – OUT (G League)

Cavs expectedstarting lineup: James Harden, Sam Merrill, Jaylon Tyson, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen

Pistons expected starting lineup: Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Tobias Harris, Ausar Thompson, Jalen Duren

Previous matchup: Missed defensive rebound cost the Cavs in their Jan. 4 loss to the Pistons

Here’s a look at both teams’ impact stats via Cleaning the Glass.

The Cubs lost to the Angels 5-4 in Tempe Thursday, but the big story of this one was Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd. Boyd had allowed five hits in less than two innings in his first spring start earlier this week.

Thursday afternoon in Tempe, Boyd was much better. He retired all nine Angels he faced — many of them expected to be on their Opening Day roster — and struck out three. He threw an efficient 34 pitches (23 strikes) and here’s how he struck out Mike Trout:

Boyd had seven swings-and-misses and looked really sharp. This is likely his last outing before heading to Team USA for the World Baseball Classic. Team USA is having a workout next Monday in preparation for an exhibition game against the Giants in Scottsdale next Wednesday. Then they will head to Houston to begin WBC pool play against Brazil a week from tomorrow.

The Cubs took an early lead on doubles by Jefferson Rojas and Dylan Carlson in the first inning, although Carlson got himself picked off second to end the inning.

Then the Cubs added a pair in the second. Chas McCormick doubled and went to third on a single by James Triantos. McCormick then scored on a sac fly by Pedro Ramirez. A double by Justin Dean and walk drawn by Scott Kingery loaded the bases, and the Cubs’ third run scored when Michael Busch was hit by a pitch.

Unfortunately, Jaxon Wiggins got knocked around in an inning and a third of work. He faced 10 batters and six of them had hits. The Angels scored one off Wiggins in the fourth and four in the fifth to take the lead, with five runs overall charged to Wiggins. So Wiggins’ first spring outing was… not one he’ll want to remember, except for learning purposes.

After that a lot of the Cubs regulars departed. Riley Martin took over in the sixth and there was a brief delay while Craig Counsell and the Cubs trainer had a look at Martin after a pitch, but Martin stayed in the game. He threw a scoreless sixth.

Minor league plate umpire Louie Krupa had four calls challenged in this game and all four were overturned.

And that’s pretty much it from this game. Dylan Carlson had two hits and is 4-for-8 in the early spring going with three walks. It’s really hard to tell whether Carlson or McCormick has the “lead” in the fourth outfielder race, given the very small sample size. You can be sure, though, that both will get more opportunities, especially with Pete Crow-Armstrong departing soon for the WBC.

The Cubs return to Sloan Park Friday afternoon to take on the Cleveland Guardians. Game time Friday is 2:05 p.m. CT. Edward Cabrera will make his first spring start for the Cubs, and Logan Allen will go for Cleveland. No TV or radio coverage for Friday’s game.

Minnesota Timberwolves’ guard Anthony Edwards has been fined $25,000 by the NBA for throwing the game ball “with force” into the stands during halftime of Minnesota’s 124-121 road win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday.

The incident occurred at the end of the second quarter, when Edwards snagged a rebound off a Portland miss, then faked a heave to end the half. After the buzzer had already sounded, Edwards launched the ball toward the basket and struck someone standing nearby.

Edwards did not throw the ball out of anger or frustration, but the ball did clearly hurt the bystander.

WATCH: The heave that cost Edwards $25K

You can watch the full video of the incident here, on nba.com.

The following has been released by the NBA. pic.twitter.com/4g7WkBCbXw

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) February 26, 2026

Has Edwards been fined before?

He’s certainly no stranger to fines. Last year, Edwards was fined $420,000 across eight transgressions, mostly for foul language used in interviews with the press following games.

Has anyone else been fined for similar actions?

Funny enough, Orlando Magic guard Desmond Bane was also fined $25K for throwing a ball into the stands “with force” during the team’s Tuesday night win against the Los Angeles Lakers. Bane’s incident occurred at the end of the game.

You can watch that incident here.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Watch the ball toss that cost Anthony Edwards $25K

There were a lot of firsts in Thursday’s game against the Chicago White Sox, and all of them were good and promising.

Tyler Glasnow had his first outing of the season and is just another starter that looks like they are in mid-season form. He struck out the side first inning and had a ground out and two more K’s in the second inning.

Glasnow started the day with a two-inning/30 pitch limit. Since he finished the second inning with 29 pitches, he came out to start the top of the third where he gave up a base hit and called it a day.

Most promising was his fastball velocity. Last year, Glasnow’s fastball velocity averaged 95.7mph. In the first inning of Thursday’s game, it was sitting at a 97.1 average. Overall, for his 33 pitches, he averaged 96.7mph.

After his outing, Glasnow remarked that the uptick in velocity is something he had been working on over the offseason and has been very intentional about it. He feels like his mechanics are in a much better place and is feeling fully healthy. All that and the addition of 20 pounds on Glasnow’s long frame having him looking like he’s in a great spot to start the season.

In his first start of the season, Max Muncy grounded out to third in the first inning, followed by line drive base hit in his next at bat. He ended up going 1-3 on the day.

Muncy talked to reporters after the game and commented on why some of the older Dodgers are taking a slower approach in Spring Training. He noted that there was a conversation with several players, and it was “give your body as much rest as possible” mentality going into the season. The Dodgers have had to start back-to-back seasons with trips across the Pacific and have played more postseason games than any other team in the last two seasons. A slow start for the veterans is well deserved.

Blake Treinen also had first outing of spring where he set the White Sox down 1-2-3, with two strikeouts and a groundout using only 15 pitches.

The team finally broke their home run drought, with Will Smith hitting the first home run of Spring Training. He was followed later in the game by Keston Hiura and Hyeseong Kim who went back-to-back with solo homers of their own.

What the Dodgers did not have their first of, however, was a loss. They beat the White Sox 7-6 to remain the only undefeated team in spring. Does this mean anything? Of course not but it makes it a lot more fun.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto will have his second outing of the spring on Friday against the San Francisco Giants, before heading out to join Team Japan for the World Baseball Classis.

Last game: 5-4 loss to Angels

Next spring training game: Friday, Feb. 27, vs. Guardians at Sloan Park, 2:05 p.m. CT. TV: None. Radio: None

Next regular season game: Thursday, March 26, vs. Nationals at Wrigley Field, 1:20 p.m. CT. TV: Marquee Sports Network

Cubs regular season radio: WSCR/The Score (all regular season games), Cubs broadcast radio affiliates, Cubs Sirius XM radio schedule

Current MLB standings

2026 Cubs regular season schedule

Cubs 2026 spring training record: 2-5
Al’s 2025 spring training record: 1-3

Cubs 2025 regular season record: 92-70 (50-31 home, 42-39 road)
Cubs 2025 postseason record: 4-4 (4-1 home, 0-3 road)
Al’s 2025 regular season record: 53-37 (50-31 home, 3-6 road)
Al’s 2025 postseason record: 4-2 (4-1 home, 0-1 road)

Cubs 2025 regular season record on various TV channels

Marquee Sports Network: 81-64
Fox: 4-2
ESPN: 4-2
Apple TV+: 3-1
Roku: 0-1

Cubs 2025 regular season record wearing various uniforms

White pinstripe: 41-25
Chicago Blues: 9-4
Blue alternate: 14-15
Road gray: 28-25
Ryne Sandberg tribute: 0-1