AP Sports SummaryBrief at 11:53 p.m. EDT

By The Associated Press

The Heat are headed to Boston after ousting the Bulls 112-91 in East play-in finale

MIAMI (AP) — Tyler Herro scored 24 points and was an assist shy of a triple-double, rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 21 points and the Miami Heat grabbed the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs, running away from the Chicago Bulls 112-91 in a play-in tournament elimination game. Kevin Love scored 16 and Bam Adebayo added 13 for Miami. The Heat head to Boston for a rematch of the last two East finals against the Celtics. It’s Round 1 this time, with the Heat set to be huge underdogs against the runaway favorite to win the NBA title. DeMar DeRozan scored 22 points for the Bulls.

The NBA playoffs are finally here. And as LeBron James says, ‘it’s a sprint now’

There’s a 64-win team in Boston that ran away with the league’s best record. The defending champions in Denver, a group that won 57 games. A fearless young bunch in Oklahoma City, whose No. 1 seed was no fluke. A trio of Villanova alums in New York, who turned the Knicks into a real contender. And, once again, there’s LeBron James, too. The NBA playoffs are about to begin with the Celtics and Nuggets the heavy favorites to collide in the Finals, and no shortage of teams have realistic belief that they can win the whole thing as well.

Sign of the times: NCAA approves coach-to-player helmet communication for 2024 football season

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Following a sign-stealing scandal that rocked college football and hung over Michigan’s championship run in 2023, the NCAA’s oversight committee approved the use of coach-to-player helmet communications in games for the 2024 season. The football rules committee last month made a recommendation to allow — but not require — teams at the highest tier of Division I to use radio technology similar to what NFL teams use to call in plays. Only one player for each team will be permitted to be in communication with coaches while on the field.

Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula explores selling non-controlling, minority stake in franchise

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula are exploring the possibility of selling a non-controlling, minority interest in the franchise, the team announced. A person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press the stake in the team the Pegulas would be preparing to sell would be about 25%. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because that detail was not announced by the team. The Bills announced the Pegulas have hired Allen & Company to oversee the process, while stressing no sale would take place without the Pegulas maintaining a controlling interest in the franchise.

Mario Andretti offended by F1 rejection. ‘If they want blood, well, I’m ready,’ says 1978 champ

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Mario Andretti says he was deeply offended by the language Formula One Management used in denying his family and General Motors the opportunity to join the global motorsports series. Andretti Cadillac in late January was denied its application to expand the grid to accommodate a two-car American team. Andretti is the 1978 F1 champion and said he was offended by the reasoning F1 gave in denying the application. He was with his son, Michael, last week when the team opened its new facility for an F1 team in England. The Andretti executives were able to meet with FOM after. Another meeting is scheduled for the Miami Grand Prix next month.

Nelly Korda 1 shot back through 36 holes at Chevron Championship as she chases 5th straight victory

THE WOODLANDS, Texas (AP) — Nelly Korda is one shot off the lead through 36 holes at the Chevron Championship as she seeks to tie an LPGA Tour record with her fifth straight win. Korda shot a 3-under 69 on Friday at the year’s first major. She’s at 7-under 137, trailing Atthaya Thitikul and Jin Hee Im by a shot. Korda made a double bogey on the first hole but followed that with six birdies and one bogey. The 25-year-old, top-ranked Korda is seeking her second major title after winning the Women’s PGA Championship in 2021.

Collin Morikawa part of 4-way tie for the lead at Hilton Head. Scottie Scheffler lurks 3 shots back

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — Every round brings Collin Morikawa closer to where he feels his game should be. The two-time major champion contended last week at the Masters. And he shot a 66 at the RBC Heritage for a four-way share of the lead. Morikawa says even when he doesn’t hit it his best, he knows he’s on the right track and getting closer to the consistent form that made him such a threat. He’s tied with Tom Hoge, Sepp Straka and J.T. Poston. Masters champion Scottie Scheffler certainly hasn’t lost his touch. He made a 65 look easy and was three shots back.

Verstappen wins again. This time he takes first Formula 1 sprint race of the season

SHANGHAI (AP) — Max Verstappen has continued his dominance in Formula 1 and took the first sprint race of the season — the prelude to the full-blown Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday. Verstappen passed Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes on the ninth of 19 laps and then stretched out his lead to win about 10 seconds on Saturday. Red Bull’s Verstappen is the three-time defending F1 champion. He will be the favorite to win Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix, which is the fifth race of the season. Verstappen has won three of the first four GP races and 22 of the last 26.

Braves’ Travis d’Arnaud hits first 3 HRs of season, including go-ahead slam, in 8-3 win over Rangers

ATLANTA (AP) — Travis d’Arnaud hit a go-ahead grand slam in the sixth inning for a three-homer game and the Braves beat the Texas Rangers 8-3 for their fifth straight win. Chris Sale allowed three runs and five hits in seven innings in the interleague matchup of first-place teams. Adolis García’s two-run double off Sale in the sixth tied it at 3. Texas’ Jacob Latz gave up a single by Michael Harris II to load the bases before d’Arnaud lined a fastball 433 feet to left-center for his third career grand slam. Harris also homered for Atlanta.

UConn freshman Stephon Castle declares for NBA draft and becomes school’s second one-and-done player

STORRS, Conn. (AP) — UConn freshman Stephon Castle has entered his name into the NBA draft, becoming the fifth Husky starter to at least explore moving on after Connecticut’s latest title run. UConn and coach Dan Hurley confirmed the move Friday on social media after it was first reported by ESPN. The 6-foot-6 guard averaged 11.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists in his only season as a Husky, while often drawing the defensive assignment to shut down the opposition’s top perimeter player. He was even more impressive during the Final Four, scoring 21 points in UConn’s semifinal win over Alabama and putting up 15 points in the win over Purdue in the national championship game.