The Orlando Magic will not have Franz Wagner available for Sunday’s Game 7 matchup versus the Detroit Pistons. The fifth-year forward is listed as out on the latest NBA injury report with a strained right calf.

Wagner, 24, will miss his third consecutive playoff game after suffering the calf injury late in Orlando’s Game 4 win over Detroit. He returned to the sideline to ride an exercise bike, but did not return to the game. An MRI exam the next day revealed the strain.

That 94-88 victory gave the Magic a 3-1 series lead and advancing to the second round seemed imminent. However, the Pistons have since come back to win the next two games, including Friday’s stunning Game 6 comeback in which Orlando squandered a 24-point lead and scored only 19 points in the second half.

Wagner was the Magic’s second-leading scorer during the regular season, averaging 20.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He also shot 35% on 3-pointers. But Wagner appeared in only 34 games due to a high-ankle sprain.

In the four playoff games he played before getting injured, Wagner has been Orlando’s third-leading scorer at 16.8 points per game, shooting 33% on 3s while also averaging 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.8 steals.

Would the Magic have already closed out this series if Wagner had been available? In his place, Jamal Cain scored three points and Tristan da Silva added 10 off the bench in Game 6.

It’s certainly possible Wagner would have shot as poorly as his teammates (35% from the floor). Paolo Banchero hit four of his 20 shots, Desmond Bane shot 7-of-18 and Jalen Suggs went 1-for-10.

Orlando’s season is at stake, but Wagner’s absence indicates how seriously calf injuries are currently viewed in the NBA. Teams have taken extra caution with treatment and recovery, especially when calf injuries have often developed into season-ending Achilles injuries.

The Magic and Pistons tip off for Sunday’s Game 7 from Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena at 3:30 p.m. ET.

The Baltimore Orioles will reportedly activate top pitching prospect Trey Gibson to start against the New York Yankees on Sunday.

The move hasn’t been officially announced, but Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said the plan was for Gibson to pitch Sunday, according to the Baltimore Banner’s Andy Kostka. He’ll be opposed by Max Fried pitching for the Yankees.

The 6-foot-5 right-hander was called up from Triple-A to join the Orioles’ taxi squad of minor leaguers that travels with the major-league club on road trips to provide replacements when necessary.

For Baltimore, a starting pitcher is certainly necessary. Trevor Rogers (illness), Dean Kremer (quad) and Zach Eflin (elbow) are on the injured list, among the 12 players who are currently sidelined for the Orioles.

Gibson, 23, is ranked as Baltimore’s No. 3 prospect by MLB.com and Baseball America. He signed with the Orioles as an undrafted free agent in 2023 out of Liberty University and has steadily progressed through the minor-league system.

From MLB.com:

“Gibson has a power-pitcher build and power-pitcher stuff. He’s a 6-foot-5, 240-pound right-hander with a four-seamer that he can rev into the high 90s, a two-seamer to generate ground balls and an array of secondary offerings designed to miss bats in abundance.

“He throws two different sliders and an above-average curveball, both in the low-to-mid 80s, as well as a cutter and developing changeup. He’s added velocity and proven durable since entering pro ball, cutting his walk rate as he’s climbed to the upper levels.”

In starts for Triple-A Norfolk this season, Gibson has a 4.01 ERA in six starts with 25 strikeouts and 12 walks in 24 2/3 innings. He was already scheduled to start on Sunday, so he will be on his normal turn in the rotation.

The Orioles went into Saturday’s matchup versus the Yankees (21-11) with a 15-17 record, six games out of first place in the AL East.

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum has been ruled out for Game 7 of a thrilling first-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Tatum sat out the entire fourth quarter of a Game 6 loss because of left calf tightness. While Boston announced Friday it had no injuries to report, Tatum popped up on its Saturday injury report with left knee stiffness, initially being listed as “questionable” before downgraded again hours before tip-off.

Tatum tore his right Achilles tendon last May against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals. He returned to action this year on March 6. Tatum played 16 regular-season games for the Celtics, who earned the No. 2 seed in the East despite his absence throughout most of the 2025-26 campaign.

In the playoffs this year, he’s averaged 23.3 points, 10.7 rebounds and 6.8 assists per contest while shooting 47.5% from the field, including 36.5% from 3.

While Tatum not playing in the fourth quarter in Game 6 on Thursday raised the antennae of basketball fans everywhere, especially those in Boston, injury concerns were minimized postgame, as well as Friday.

ESPN’s Shams Charania was asked for an update on Tatum early Friday on “Get Up.”

“It’s positive right now,” Charania reported at the time. “Everyone in Boston is downplaying anything with Jayson Tatum, that this was even an injury. Joe Mazzulla denied that it was an injury at all. Jayson Tatum said after the game that it was just stiffness that he felt in his leg.

Charania continued: “I’m told Jayson Tatum told some teammates after the game he’s fine, he’s good to go. So I think the expectation in Boston is, Game 7, Jayson Tatum is all good.”

That stiffness in Tatum’s leg will now keep him out of a win-or-go-home matchup between the Eastern Conference rivals that’s set for a 7:30 p.m. ET tip. Mazzulla told reporters pregame that the six-time All-Star forward came in Saturday with “knee discomfort.”

“Back-of-the-knee stiffness,” Mazzulla said, per Celtics reporter Noa Dalzell. “Day-to-day.”

Mazzulla reportedly said he and the medical staff made the call.

“We made a decision for him,” Mazzulla said, according to Dalzell.

The Celtics have dropped back-to-back games in the series after taking a 3-1 lead. The Sixers have found their mojo with Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George all healthy and rookie VJ Edgecombe providing contributions beyond his years.

Philadelphia has never come back to win a playoff series it’s trailed 3-1. It’s 0-for-18 in those scenarios. The Sixers are hoping to pull off a turnaround of that kind Saturday at TD Garden.

Sixers-Celtics. Magic-Pistons. Raptors-Cavaliers. The first round of the NBA playoffs rolls on with not one, not two, but three series-deciding Game 7s — all in the Eastern Conference. It’s the most Game 7s in the first round since 2014.

So, who will advance? And are the Knicks, who have already earned their spot in Round 2, the team to beat in the East? Our writers weigh in.

Sixers-Celtics, Game 7: Who wins?

Tom Haberstroh: Celtics. The Celtics have shot below 30% from deep in the last two games, which is unconscionable with all the shooting talent on this team. Three straight games south of 30% on 3s? That’s never happened in the Jayson Tatum-Jaylen Brown playoff era, and I don’t see the drought continuing.

Steve Jones: Celtics. The Sixers have delivered the right blend to get to this Game 7. Joel Embiid’s presence has elevated them in the half-court, Paul George has contributed on both ends, and Tyrese Maxey has gotten more aggressive and decisive as the series has gone on. But I expect a level of desperation from the Celtics in Game 7, a willingness to try anything defensively (or lineup-wise) to take one of the Sixers’ dominoes off the board. The Garden will have its anxious moments, but the Celtics win. 

Dan Titus: Sixers. The momentum belongs to Philly. It’s hard to believe, but Boston’s starting lineup has been the worst offensive unit thus far in the postseason. Expect Philly to throw the kitchen sink defensively because when the Celtics shoot 30% from 3, they lose. If the Sixers ditch the slow starts, attack in transition and continue to play unselfishly through Embiid, the curse ends tonight. Give me the road-dog Sixers.

Ben Rohrbach: Celtics. These teams are far more even than I figured at series’ start, especially since Embiid returned to the lineup for the 76ers. But the Celtics have not lost three games in a row since the first three games of the regular season, when they were a different team. It’s hard to imagine Brown and Tatum blowing three games at home in this series, too, including a Game 7, but I don’t feel great about the pick. The Sixers absolutely have a chance.

Magic-Pistons, Game 7: Who wins?

Rohrbach: Pistons. The Magic have to be shell-shocked after blowing a 24-point lead in the second half of what would have been a close-out Game 6 for them in Orlando. I don’t know how they recover from that, especially if Franz Wagner is not available. Meanwhile, a 60-win No. 1 seed at home in Game 7 of a first-round playoff series seems like a safe bet. In this rock fight of a series, though, anything is possible. I just trust Cade Cunningham more than Paolo Banchero.

Titus: Pistons. How do you go 45 real minutes without a field goal? Orlando has been the more physically imposing team, but after a comeback like that, I don’t think the Magic will recover. The Detroit fan base needs this and, led by Cunningham, we’ll see a more prepared and assertive version of the Pistons, who are looking to avoid becoming the seventh team in NBA history to lose as a 1-seed in the first round.

Haberstroh: Pistons. I guess? I’ll take the 60-win team at home, but considering both teams have suffered identity crises every other quarter in the series, I have the confidence of a kindergartener tying their shoes on the first day of school. 

Jones: Pistons.The good news for the Magic is it can’t go any worse than shooting 4 for 37 in the second half of Game 6. They can still battle defensively and hope for shot-making in the fourth. The LCA should be rocking, though, and the Pistons should feel a level of freedom. Cunningham’s play has gotten more attention from the Magic’s defense, which has unlocked parts of the Pistons’ offense. Plus, when I was 16, I told my dad there was no way the 8-seed, T-Mac-led Magic would lose to the Pistons. They lost to the Pistons. 

Raptors-Cavaliers, Game 7: Who wins?

Jones: Cavaliers. The Raptors have consistently remained annoying in this series. Physical on both ends of the floor, Darko Rajaković has had his team prepared, and Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett have willed the Raptors without Brandon Ingram. While the Raptors have worked to scheme and double James Harden and Donovan Mitchell out of rhythm, I anticipate the Cavs stars will put their stamp on this game. You came together for a reason, and this Game 7 is it. 

Haberstroh: Raptors. Harden has lost his last three Game 7s, including a seven-point dud against Denver last year and a nine-point whiff against Boston in 2023. The Raptors’ youth and gnarly defense will serve them well against a Cleveland core that hasn’t been known to stand up against adversity.

Rohrbach: Cavaliers. Man, has Scottie Barnes been a revelation in Toronto. He will have his Raptors playing hard, and that is a scary proposition for a Cleveland team that carries Harden’s big-game woes into a Game 7. But this is what the Cavs have Mitchell for. I just think there’s too much talent in Cleveland, and if the Cavs can harness their effort into one game — at home — they can meet Toronto’s intensity and trust in Mitchell to carry them into Round 2.

Titus: Cavaliers. Toronto stole Game 6, but I think Cleveland will figure it out at home in Game 7. Of course, the narrative surrounding Harden in these moments will be the headlines, but having Mitchell to relieve some of that pressure is key. Toronto’s defense has been great, but this one will come down to experience. The Cavs have it, and I think they get it done in convincing fashion, especially if Evan Mobley keeps playing well.

True or False: The Knicks are the team to beat in the East. 

Titus: True. Of course there’s some recency bias here, but it’s more about the inconsistencies or lapses we’ve seen from the top seeds throughout the first round in the East. The Knicks have at least shown the ability to shift their game plan from a more Jalen Brunson-centric offense to one that allows Karl-Anthony Towns to take on more offensive responsibilities. Their depth and flexibility will be important as they navigate these next rounds. They have the wing defenders and the bigs to cover the best of what’s left. Now they just have to execute.

Rohrbach: True? Everyone in the East has looked shaky, including the Knicks at the start of their series, but they seemed to have found themselves — that hard-charging identity that made them so scary for a stint in last year’s playoffs — in Games 5 and 6 of their series with Atlanta. Who is to say whether the Pistons, Celtics or Cavaliers can rediscover what has made them so formidable over the course of a Game 7, but only one team right now knows who it really is.

Jones: Going to lean false, mainly because, uh, the rest of the East has a lot to worry about before they can get to the Knicks. The big positive is the Knicks did get proof of concept of being able to elevate in the playoffs. The defense raised its level as the series wore on. Brunson and Towns were able to find counters. OG Anunoby would not stop making shots. Josh Hart would not stop defending. The Hawks gave them a taste of what they could see going forward. Figuring that out should give the Knicks confidence.

Haberstroh: True. At least with this Karl-Anthony Towns, who just ripped off two triple-doubles. The Knicks center just registered 36 assists in the Atlanta series, which is more than KAT totaled in the entire playoff run last year with the Knicks (24 in 18 games) and more than his first three postseasons runs combined (34 in 16 games). Something changed and so did the title favorite out East.