CAMDEN, N.J. -- Ben Simmons vows to move on to Game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Toronto Raptors without dwelling on the $20,000 that his Game 3 run-in with Kyle Lowry cost him. But not everybody on the Philadelphia 76ers is taking the same approach.

"It looked like he intentionally put his butt in [Simmons'] face," Sixers guard JJ Redick said, accusing Lowry of instigating the action that led to Simmons striking Lowry in the groin, resulting in the fine and a flagrant foul 1 assessed by the NBA after the fact. "That was weird."

Philadelphia went on to win Thursday's Game 3, dominating the Raptors 116-95 to take a 2-1 series lead. Lowry told ESPN's Tim Bontemps that Simmons apologized to him during the game for the contact.

The Sixers host the Raptors again at the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday with a chance to really tilt the series in their favor with a victory.

"We got another game to win, so I'm not really worried about it," Simmons said when asked about the fine after Saturday's practice.

Sixers coach Brett Brown credited Simmons' answer and said he will remind his team to avoid any scuffles that could result in suspensions and mar their postseason chances.

"It's part of the NBA, physicality and heightened emotions," Brown said. "And I think Ben said it best where he said he just wants to move forward and play Game 4. It's stuff where we talked a lot about it with my team before the playoffs began -- how things can go south with things of that sort."

Brown has brought up the 2007 playoff series between the San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns several times to reporters as a cautionary tale. Brown's Spurs upset the Suns after Amar'e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw were both suspended for leaving the bench area while responding to a hip-check foul by Robert Horry on Steve Nash.

"So, that's always on my mind as a coach to share those stories and remind them, but I think by and large, it's part of the NBA landscape, and as Ben said, we'll move forward and play Game 4," Brown said.

The New York Knicks are back in the championship mix heading into a summer that could shake up the NBA.

The SuperBook at Westgate Las Vegas on Saturday opened the Knicks at 16-1 to win the 2020 NBA championship. New York is behind only the Milwaukee Bucks (9-2), Boston Celtics (7-1) and Philadelphia 76ers (10-1) in the Eastern Conference. Kevin Durant's pending free agency is the reason why.

Jeff Sherman, who oversees NBA odds at the SuperBook, believes the Knicks are the favorites to land Durant this summer and created their title odds accordingly. Sherman said the Knicks would be somewhere in the range of 300-1 if they aren't able to land Durant or another of the high-profile stars who could be on the move this offseason. If New York does land Durant and Kyrie Irving, Sherman said he would still have the Bucks with better odds than the Knicks.

The Golden State Warriors enter the summer as the early favorites for the fourth consecutive season, but their odds have been tempered with the uncertainty surrounding Durant. The Warriors are listed at 7-4 at the SuperBook to win next season's title. Since signing Durant in 2016, the Warriors have started the past three seasons as odds-on favorites to win the NBA title.

"Before Durant, [the Warriors] were still the best team," Sherman, vice president of risk at the SuperBook, told ESPN. "Even if Durant comes back, we'll make an adjustment downwards, but they won't be [odds-on] favorites like we've seen in the past couple years. We'll obviously bump them up if he leaves, but it's kind of a middle ground now dealing with this team."

In addition to Durant, Toronto's Kawhi Leonard and Irving are pending free agents, and New Orleans star Anthony Davis is expected to be on the move as well. The Knicks, with nearly $73 million in salary-cap space, the most of any team, have enough cap room to grab two max players. Durant and Irving have been rumored as a potential tandem to join the Knicks, but even that would not make New York the clear-cut favorite, Sherman said.

"I could see them at 12-1 [with Durant and Irving]," Sherman said. "All we're doing is making these odds based on today's perception on where people think these guys might have a legitimate chance of going."

The LA Clippers, who also have cap room for two max contracts, are 16-1, followed by the Raptors and Los Angeles Lakers, each at 20-1. The Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder are next at 25-1.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- At some point during Friday's marathon Game 3 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic threw an elbow into Enes Kanter's injured left shoulder, to which Kanter took exception on social media after the game.

Take a freaking look at this please @OfficialNBARefs @NBAOfficial pic.twitter.com/pBtR51ycLi

— Enes Kanter (@Enes_Kanter) May 4, 2019

Portland Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts on Saturday called the play by Jokic "uncalled-for" and that he "certainly didn't approve of it."

Stotts said he hasn't heard if the league would review the play or not. The league routinely reviews plays after games and can retroactively assess technical or flagrant fouls if warranted.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone disagrees with Stotts.

"Normal play," Malone said. "I think Terry is off base there. Personally, I don't think it was anything malicious. Just like some of their screens in the first two games, I don't think there was anything malicious to it -- with Kanter getting tossed into Torrey Craig. This is the playoffs. We're all big boys, let's go out and play the game accordingly.

"I have known Nikola Jokic for four years," Malone said. "He doesn't have that kind of personality, he doesn't have that DNA gene where he's going to go out there and make nonbasketball plays and try to hurt anybody or do anything that is beyond the limits of what is sportsmanship and what is not sportsmanship. So I would definitely not agree with Terry's assessment."

Kanter played 56 minutes in the quadruple-overtime game despite dealing with a separated left shoulder that has caused him pain since he injured it in Game 5 of Portland's first-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Kanter said after Friday's game he thought he "separated my shoulder more," and that he had to tuck his arm into his jersey because he couldn't carry it. Kanter finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds as the Blazers took a 2-1 lead.

His status for Sunday's Game 4 is unknown, though the Turkish big man has said he hopes to be ready to play. The Blazers didn't hold a formal practice Saturday, and Stotts didn't have an official update on Kanter's status. He did say Kanter was at the practice facility getting treatment on his shoulder.

LeBron James was stunned and in disbelief when he first learned of Magic Johnson's sudden resignation.

In his first public comments about Johnson shocking the Los Angeles Lakers organization when he stepped down as president of basketball operations moments before the Lakers' season finale April 9, James said he was given no warning or heads-up on Johnson's decision.

On his HBO show "The Shop," James said he was stretching before the game against Portland when he was told Johnson had told the media of his decision.

"Man, get the f--- out of my face! You bulls---!" James said of his reaction when his longtime friend and business partner Randy Mims told him of what Johnson had done. "I came here to be a part of the Lakers organization having a conversation with Magic."

Johnson was the only Lakers representative who met with James at his Los Angeles home July 1 before James decided to join the Lakers.

Just a few days before Johnson stunned the Lakers and the NBA world with his abrupt decision, he and Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka met with James and James' agent Rich Paul, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported. Johnson gave James no inkling of his decision to come.

"So it was just weird for him to be like, 'I'm out of here,'" James said. "And not even have no like, 'Hey, Bron ... kiss my ass. I'm out of here.' I would have been OK with that."

Lakers teammate Lonzo Ball, who was also on the episode with James, said his reaction was, "That s--- crazy!"

CHICAGO -- Cubs second baseman Daniel Descalso left Saturday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals because of a sore left ankle.

Descalso was hurt rounding first on a single in the first inning. He was lifted for a pinch hitter in the fourth.

Descalso came into the game batting .247 with two homers and 11 RBIs.

Cody Bellinger was not in the Los Angeles Dodgers' lineup on Saturday, one day after he separated his shoulder against the San Diego Padres.

Bellinger said his right shoulder "popped out" before immediately popping in again as he made a diving attempt to stop a ground ball at first base. He stayed in the game and said later that the same thing happened once last year.

Manager Dave Roberts said Friday that the Dodgers would see if there was any soreness before Saturday's game.

Bellinger leads the majors in runs, hits, RBIs, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging, OPS and total bases.

Alex Verdugo gets the start in right field for the Dodgers on Saturday while Enrique Hernandez starts in center.

CINCINNATI -- The Reds have released injured outfielder Matt Kemp just over four months after acquiring the 2018 All-Star from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Cincinnati announced the move Saturday.

"With our support, [Reds Manager] David [Bell] is working hard to create a new environment in the clubhouse and on the field," Reds president Dick Williams told The Cincinnati Enquirer. "After giving it time to develop, we didn't see Matt fitting in. We wanted to give him the opportunity to help another team."

Kemp hit .200 with one homer and five RBIs before Cincinnati placed him on the injured list April 23 with a broken left rib. Kemp was injured colliding with an outfield wall in San Diego.

The 34-year-old was among four players acquired from Los Angeles in a seven-player trade in December along with outfielder Yasiel Puig, infielder Kyle Farmer and left-hander Alex Wood. Kemp is in the final season of a $160 million, eight-year contract.

Reds manager David Bell said the starting center-field job now belongs to Nick Senzel, a top prospect who made his major league debut Friday.

"We just didn't see a great fit for Matt here," Bell said. "He's obviously had a great career and has been a great player. Just how our outfield is shaping up and the roster construction, we didn't see a great fit for Matt and that's how the decision was made."

The Reds also optioned OF Scott Schebler to Triple-A Louisville and recalled LHP Cody Reed from Louisville. Schebler was hitting .123 with two home runs and seven RBIs in 30 games and had lost his starting job to Senzel.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

CHICAGO -- The Boston Red Sox strung together 10 consecutive hits against Chicago White Sox left-hander Manny Banuelos, ending one hit shy of the major league record during a nine-run third inning Saturday night.

Banuelos retired his first eight batters before Christian Vazquez opened Boston's two-out rally with a single. Xander Bogaerts, Michael Chavis and Eduardo Nunez each homered, Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez had RBI doubles, and Vazquez capped the streak with another single before White Sox manager Rick Renteria pulled Banuelos with a 9-1 deficit.

Carson Fulmer replaced Banuelos and interrupted the hit parade by walking Andrew Benintendi. Betts flew out to right to end the inning after 14 batters.

The Red Sox won Saturday's game 15-2.

The Colorado Rockies had a major league-record 11 straight hits during a 17-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field in Denver on July 30, 2010.

Boston went on to score five runs in the fourth and one run in the fifth to take a 15-1 lead.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Live footage from the worldwide run where participants start together and race until caught by the finish line ‘catcher car’

Taking place in numerous locations and via the app across the world, the Wings for Life World Run sees runners of all levels battle to stay in front of ‘catcher cars’ which start half an hour behind them and progress at a steadily increasing speed.

The race begins at 11:00 UTC but the pace of the catcher car will be different this year. As with previous events, the car – whether real or the virtual version on the Wings for Life World Run App – will accelerate incrementally as the run goes on. However, with an aim of making the simultaneous global run even more exciting, the pace of the moving finish line will increase more significantly, particularly in the critical later stages of the race.

This should see the last participants caught at around 65 to 70 kilometres (40 to 44 miles), creating a shorter race that provides an even more riveting finish.

Two-time world 110m hurdles gold medallist Colin Jackson, who is the international sports director for the Wings for Life World Run, said: “This change gives ultra runners and ambitious marathon runners a prime opportunity to challenge each other, something that’s unique to the Wings for Life World Run.

“I can think of no other event that sets up quite the same playing field. It’s going to be good fun for the athletes, and I personally can hardly wait to watch.”

Watch live on the stream below.