Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell is questionable for Tuesday’s Game 5 against the Indiana Pacers (7 p.m. ET, TNT) with a sprained left ankle and will be a game-time decision.

Mitchell did not play in the second half of Indiana’s 129-109 blowout victory in Game 4 on Sunday.

The Pacers lead the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals series 3-1 and can close out the series in Game 5. Indiana is trying to reach the conference finals for the second consecutive season. Cleveland is the No. 1 seed in the East after posting a 64-18 mark.

Mitchell told reporters after Game 4 that he would be ready for the next game, but that’s a decision that will be made in conjunction with the team’s medical and training staff. He had an MRI on Monday and was listed on the injury report later in the day

Mitchell has had terrific games in the playoffs, scoring at least 30 points in five games, including 48 and 43 points in consecutive games against the Pacers. However, injuries have devastated the Cavs in this series. Key players Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter have missed games due to injuries.

Follow NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt on social media @JeffZillgitt

Lottery luck or shady backroom dealing?

When it comes to the NBA draft lottery, opinions are all over the spectrum. The 2025 NBA Draft is all about Duke star Cooper Flagg, who is the crown jewel of the class.

The Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets and many more were hoping for the chance to alter the course of their franchise if the lottery went that way.

Instead, the tinfoil hats were out in full force moments after the Dallas Mavericks were given the honor to make the first selection June’s draft.

The NBA has been using a lottery format to determine their draft order since it was installed in 1985. Ahead of the 2019 lottery, the format was changed to the odds system in the hopes that it would discourage tanking. In a way, it has done the exact opposite.

This year’s lottery was filled with many non-competitive teams that chose to ‘load manage’ their way through a season with the idea that it would give them a few extra percentage points. None of them, much like last year when the Atlanta Hawks won, will pick at No. 1.

In fact, the team with the worst record has yet to make the first selection since the format changed.

Just months after dealing Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in one of the most controversial trades in NBA history, Dallas took advantage of its 1.8% odds to bring Flagg to the Lone Star State. In other words, you’re saying there’s a chance.

Bottom line, fans were not pleased with the outcome and didn’t waste time in sharing those thoughts on social media. Here’s a look at the reaction.

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Numerous news media outlets reported that Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter had graduated from the University of Colorado on May 8, citing social media posts from CU that showed him attending the graduation ceremony and saying he “GOT THAT DEGREE!”

Another CU football post showed Hunter in a video saying he “graduated in three years.”

What actually happened is a little more complicated. He is not scheduled to graduate until December after applying to graduate in fall 2025, according to an athletics department spokesman.

He attended the May 8 graduation ceremony in Boulder anyway to be able to experience it now, before he begins his pro football career as the No. 2 overall draft pick for the Jacksonville Jaguars, according to the school.

“Travis walked in (the May 8) commencement ceremony and will graduate with a degree in anthropology in December 2025,” said Steve Hurlbert, the athletics department spokesman. “He’s likely to be a little busy that time of year and he really wanted to experience all the pomp and circumstance.”

Hurlbert also noted Hunter has a 3.9 grade-point average.

How common is ‘walking early’ before graduation?

It is not that unusual. It’s allowed at other schools, too, for different reasons, such as wanting to participate in the graduation ceremony with your friends even if you need to complete a few more classes to get your degree.

Actually graduating is still different than attending the commencement ceremony because it requires students to meet all their degree requirements. At CU, students are required to apply to graduate for the semester in which they’ll “officially and successfully” complete all requirements for the degrees and majors they’re pursuing, according to the university website.

In Hunter’s case, Hurlbert said he applied to graduate in the fall of 2025, which ends in December. It’s not clear what requirements Hunter has left to complete. Hurlbert declined to say, citing privacy law covering academic records. A message seeking comment from Hunter through his agent was not returned.

This explains why Hunter was not listed among the thousands of degree candidates in the CU commencement program for May 8 even though he attended the ceremony.

“CU had 67 student-athletes graduate last week and 103 student-athletes walked in the ceremony, so it’s not unusual at all for student-athletes who have graduated last winter or will graduate in August or next December to participate in spring commencement because it’s such a great experience,” Hurlbert said.

Why did CU’s social media indicate he got his degree?

The posts from CU football’s social accounts led to widespread reports that Hunter had in fact graduated, including the post that said he “GOT THAT DEGREE!” It showed Hunter in graduation attire with friends saying, “Boys out here graduating man.”

“It was just a social media staffer who didn’t know that (Hunter) was just walking” in the ceremony, Hurlbert said.

Hunter himself seemed to confirm it in another CU post when he said he had “graduated in three years.”

That would be approximate if he only has a small amount of degree requirements to complete. He enrolled at Jackson State in January 2022 after graduating high school, according to The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi. He transferred to Colorado in January 2023 after head coach Deion Sanders made the same move.

After previously being listed as a psychology major at CU, he chose to major in anthropology, the study of humanity. In January, he was named the Division I Academic All-American Team Member of the Year.

“I’m an anthropology major, and I really enjoy learning about different cultures and how they interact with one another,” Hunter said in an email interview with USA TODAY Sports last year. “Being able to learn about these cultures and skills is incredibly beneficial to me even when playing football. I have the opportunity to learn the importance of accepting and interacting with other people and playing with other people despite their cultural or ethnic makeup.”

Shilo Sanders earns master’s degree from Colorado

Among the 67 student-athletes who graduated in May, the university said Deion Sanders’ safety son, Shilo Sanders, earned a master’s degree in organizational leadership after previously earning an undergraduate degree at Jackson State. He is now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent.

Sanders’ youngest son, Shedeur Sanders, the former Colorado quarterback, said on his YouTube show in January that he hoped to graduate at the end of the past semester in May. He was selected in the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns in the NFL draft in April. The university said he is on track to graduate later this year but has not applied for graduation yet.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

Monday was not the best day to be a Washington, D.C. sports fan.

The city got bad news after bad news Monday night as three of its professional teams got dealt a bad hand and suffered major losses.

It started just after 7 p.m. ET in the NBA draft lottery. It was another painful season for Wizards fans after they went 18-64 during the 2024-25 season, just a slight improvement from the 15-win season before. With the second-worst record in the NBA, it was with the Utah Jazz and Charlotte Hornets for the best odds to get the top pick in the draft. Get the first overall pick, and the Wizards could select Cooper Flagg and change the course of its franchise.

That didn’t happen. The Wizards were guaranteed a top six pick, and they ended up with the sixth selection in the 2025 draft. The worst possible outcome coming to fruition as the Dallas Mavericks won the Flagg sweepstakes.

A few hours later, the Nationals pulled off a ninth inning comeback on the road against the Atlanta Braves to tie it 3-3. But in the bottom of the ninth, Alex Verdugo hit a RBI single to bring in Eli White and walk it off for the Braves. Now the Nationals are 17-25 and on a six-game losing streak.

The Nationals’ loss came as the Carolina Hurricanes were putting the finished touches on a 5-2 win over the Capitals in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Carolina now has a commanding 3-1 lead over the top seed in the conference, putting the Capitals’ stellar season on the brink of ending.

A day to forget in the nation’s capital.

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The Carolina Hurricanes are one win away from advancing to the Eastern Conference final thanks to a 5-2 victory Monday over the Washington Capitals in Game 4 of their second-round series.

The Edmonton Oilers also took a 3-1 lead in their series with a 3-0 victory against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Sean Walker had a goal and an assist, the first two postseason points for the veteran defenseman, as did forward Taylor Hall. Shayne Gostisbehere, Seth Jarvis and Andrei Svechnikov also scored for the Hurricanes, who can punch their ticket by winning Game 5 Thursday in Washington. Frederik Andersen stopped 19 shots in the win.

Jakob Chychrun had a goal and an assist and Alex Ovechkin scored as the comeback attempt by the Capitals fell short. Logan Thompson made 32 saves.

Washington had pulled to within 3-2, but Carolina went back up by two goals when Capitals defenseman Rasmus Sandin’s stick got stuck in the boards.

Carolina took the early lead with Gostisbehere netting the first first-period goal of the series. Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who assisted on the goal with Eric Robinson, screened Thompson on the shot with 9:36 left.

The Capitals had chances in the first period to tie the game as Carolina racked up six penalty minutes. That included a high-sticking double minor on Jordan Martinook with 3:36 left. However, Carolina’s league-best penalty killing unit in the postseason allowed the Capitals just one shot on goal while they had the advantage.

Moments after Martinook left the penalty box, Jarvis upped the Hurricanes’ lead by being in the right place at the right time just 65 seconds into the second period, pouncing on a rebound off Sebastian Aho’s shot that glanced off Thompson and the crossbar.

Washington finally found a way past Andersen when Chychrun scored on a one-timer from Matt Roy with 14:42 left in regulation. However, the Hurricanes recovered their two-goal advantage three minutes later when Jack Roslovicsprung Hall for a breakaway.

Ovechkin broke his three-game goalless streak by scoring on a 5-on-3 power play with 7:36 left. The Capitals had 1:43 remaining on the power play but could not tie the game.

Walker made it 4-2 with 3:15 left. Svechnikov’s empty-netter 54 seconds later sealed the victory.

Oilers shut out Golden Knights for 3-1 series lead

Adam Henrique scored twice to put the Oilers one win away from advancing to the conference final for the third time in four seasons. Edmonton, up will try to wrap up the series on Wednesday in Las Vegas.

Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner made 23 saves to pick up his first win of this year’s playoffs. Skinner, who began the playoffs as the starter but struggled and lost the job, returned to the net for the past two games with Calvin Pickard injured. He posted his second career playoff shutout.

Goalie Adin Hill stopped 29 shots for the Golden Knights, who failed to build on their last-second Game 3 victory.

Henrique opened the scoring 87 seconds into the game by burying an open chance from the slot after Connor Brown won a board battle behind the Vegas net and sent a puck to him.

The Oilers controlled the bulk of the play in the opening period and went up 2-0 at 13:03 of the period when Henrique slipped home a loose puck during a scramble. Hill went after Evander Kane, who collided with him after the goal.

Kane extended Edmonton’s lead at 7:38 of the second period when he slid a shot through Hill’s legs as he drove down the wing on an odd-man rush.

Connor McDavid earned an assist on the goal, running his point-scoring streak to eight games.

During the first period, the first fight of the playoffs took place between Edmonton’s Trent Frederic and Vegas’ Nicolas Hague.