Two innings. Four quarters. One newsletter.

Good morning. Three sports, three playoff races, one weekend where every result matters. Here's what you missed.

Punjab beats Lucknow. Delhi is out.

Punjab Kings chased 165 in Lucknow last night to win by 7 wickets — and in doing so, ended Delhi Capitals' season. The math was always tight: Punjab needed the win to reach 15 points and lock the fourth playoff spot. They got it.

Delhi finishes the league phase still mathematically alive on paper, but practically buried. KL Rahul's form wasn't enough. They've now missed the playoffs in four of the last five seasons.

The playoff field is set:

What it means: RCB and Gujarat get two cracks at the final via Qualifier 1. Hyderabad and Punjab play the Eliminator. Two matches remain in the league phase tonight and tomorrow, but they're now ceremonial. The real cricket starts Monday.

Qualifier 1: Monday, May 25. Final: Sunday, May 31, in Bengaluru.

Knicks 2, Cavaliers 0. Tonight: Game 3.

New York went into Cleveland and stole both games. The Cavs were the East's #1 seed for most of the season. They beat Detroit in seven games to get here. And now they're staring at a 2-0 hole on their own floor.

As of right now, Game 3 is mid-second quarter at Madison Square Garden. Knicks lead 60-54. If New York wins tonight, this series is effectively over — no team has come back from 3-0 in NBA history.

The Knicks' formula has been familiar and unstoppable: Jalen Brunson getting buckets in the half-court, OG Anunoby on the opposing star, and Karl-Anthony Towns punishing whatever Cleveland tries to do defensively. Cleveland's offense, so smooth in the regular season, has looked stuck.

Out West:

Oklahoma City beat San Antonio 123-108 in Game 3 last night to take a 2-1 series lead. The Thunder are 21-1 in the playoffs over the last two seasons when leading by halftime. They led by 14 at the half.

Wembanyama had 31. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 38. Game 4 is tomorrow night in San Antonio.

Bottom line: A Knicks-Thunder Finals is starting to feel less like a possibility and more like a destination.

Right now: Hurricanes and Canadiens are tied 2-2 in Game 2.

Six minutes left in the third period in Raleigh. Carolina absolutely needs this. They lost Game 1 at home 6-2 — a result that's still hard to explain, because it wasn't close. Montreal's 4th-seed Cinderella run is real: they ousted Tampa in 7, beat Buffalo in 7, and walked into Carolina and won by four.

The Hurricanes are the East's #1 overall seed. Down 0-1 to a team that wasn't supposed to be here, with the series shifting to Montreal after this game.

If Carolina drops Game 2 tonight, they're staring at the same kind of pressure New York is putting on Cleveland.

Out West:

Vegas leads Colorado 2-0 in the conference final. The Knights have been the playoff team everyone underestimated — and they've responded by winning their first two games against the West's top seed.

Game 3 is tomorrow night in Las Vegas. If Vegas wins, this series is essentially over.

The pattern: Across both NBA and NHL conference finals, the #1 seeds in the East and West are in deep trouble. Carolina (NHL East 1) trails 0-1. Cleveland (NBA East 1) trails 0-2. Colorado (NHL West 1) trails 0-2. Only OKC (NBA West 1) is in front.

It's been a brutal week for top seeds.

Champions League final is tonight. We'll cover the result Monday.

WNBA is one week into its season. Caitlin Clark's Fever beat the Sky 88-71 in front of a sellout crowd in Indianapolis on Thursday. Indiana is 3-1.

MLB: The Dodgers are 8 games up in the NL West. The Yankees are 1.5 games up on Toronto in the AL East. Nothing dramatic to report mid-May — but ask me again in September.

MLC: Major League Cricket season 4 starts June 12. Six teams. Three weeks. We'll preview every roster the week before.

That's the briefing. Tomorrow: Sunday Sit-Down — a longer read. Monday: the IPL Qualifier 1 preview.

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— Maidan

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