DALLAS -- The Vegas Golden Knights will face the Florida Panthers for the Stanley Cup after eliminating, and absolutely dominating, the Dallas Stars in a 6-0 victory on Monday night in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals.

Vegas will host Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday night.

The NHL is guaranteed to have a franchise win its first ever Stanley Cup this postseason. It's the second trip to the Stanley Cup Final for both franchises, as the Knights played for the Cup in 2018 and the Panthers did so back in 1996.

"The first trip was just kind of overwhelming. You've never been there before. Maybe you took it for granted a little bit back then," Vegas center William Karlsson, one of six players from that Stanley Cup run in the franchise's inaugural season, said. "Five years later, there's been ups and downs. You realize that this opportunity doesn't come around too often."

Karlsson scored twice and goalie Adin Hill made 23 saves in the Game 6 win, one of the more lopsided games of the 2023 playoffs.

The Stars were eliminated after trailing the series 3-0 and rallying for two wins. Teams that take a three games-to-none lead in the Stanley Cup playoffs now have an all-time series record of 202-4. Teams that hold that lead in the round before the Cup Final are now 48-0 all-time, with both the Golden Knights and Panthers adding to that total in their respective conference finals.

"This was a great opportunity. It was. It takes a big effort to get here and guys gave everything they had. It definitely hurts. You always think there's something else out there for you, something more you can do. But we came up short," Stars center Joe Pavelski said.

Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said his team expended more energy leading up to Game 6 than its opponents did.

"I think Vegas went to another level, and maybe one too many nights of us going to the well in an elimination game. That was our fourth. Vegas hasn't played one yet," DeBoer said. "Every time you go into an elimination game, it takes a toll physically and mentally. It's hard to fill that tank over and over again. I didn't think there was a lot left tonight."

Vegas was frustrated after allowing the Stars back into the series with two straight losses and vowed to come out in Game 6 with a better effort. The team had a meeting after Game 5 in which players and coaches aired their concerns about their play and discussed where the team's killer instinct had gone.

"We had a little honest conversation about that last night, about what's in front of us. It's OK to dream a little bit once we get that fourth one. We talked about what prevented them from doing it in previous years. We talked openly about it," Las Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. "I thought we did a really good job handling those conversations and getting back to work. To a man, they all brought their A-game."

Game 6 started with a blistering pace with the teams trading chances. Vegas was able to quiet the home crowd by striking first. Forward Keegan Kolesar won a battle near the end boards, with the puck slowly sliding out to the slot. That's where William Carrier found it and patiently waited out goaltender Jake Oettinger (23 saves) for his second goal of the playoffs at 3:41. That marked the third straight game in Dallas in which the Knights took a lead within the first five minutes of the game.

The Knights made it 2-0 at 10:25 of the first period on a power-play goal from Karlsson. Stars defenseman Esa Lindell was whistled for delay of game but earned some style points for knocking the puck out of midair over the glass before it could bounce into an open net behind Oettinger. Reilly Smith's pass was deflected by Nicolas Roy over to Karlsson, whose shot from the left side beat Oettinger.

Kolesar made it 3-0 thanks to another strong play from the Vegas fourth line. Kolesar flipped the puck off the boards to Carrier as he entered the Dallas zone. Kolesar sprinted past a spinning Lindell and Carrier found him alone in front of Oettinger for a quick shot. Kolesar's second goal of the postseason came at the 14-minute mark, leaving the Stars' home building in stunned silence and Dallas coach Peter DeBoer staring at his bench, arms crossed.

"At the end of the day, you expect that we could be better in those situations and not let it get to that point. I think we, as a group, take some of that blame. Give them credit. They were ready to play. They were hungry," Pavelski said.

Just like in Game 3, the Golden Knights built a 3-0 lead on the road in the first period.

"We've been good on the road and we wanted a good start, especially after our past two games. And we did that. After the first period, we're up 3-0 and we weren't satisfied. We wanted more," Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault said. "I think that's the mentality that we've had a lot [this season]. And it's been good for us."

The Stars got to their game a little better in the second, earning a power play just 4:03 into the period, but were unable to impact the scoreboard. Then at 10:25 of the second, Ivan Barbashev met a streaking Marchessault, who slid the puck through Oettinger for a 4-0 Vegas lead.

Karlsson struck again at 2:06 of the third period, his 10th goal of the playoffs. Michael Amadio scored his third of the playoffs at 12:25 of the third as the rout continued.

Dallas entered the game with the momentum of two straight victories and the return of captain Jamie Benn, who was suspended after Game 3 for cross-checking Vegas forward Stone in the face. The Stars rallied around the concept of extending the series long enough to have Benn return to the playoffs. They finished the series 0-4 with Benn in the lineup.

For the Golden Knights, who finished atop the Western Conference with 111 points, the trip to the Final comes after the team used five different goaltenders this season, after last season's starter, Robin Lehner, had offseason surgery.

Laurent Brossoit started all five games of their series win over the Winnipeg Jets and the first three games of their series win over Edmonton. He suffered a lower-body injury in Game 3, leading to the 27-year-old Hill taking over as the starter.

Hill posted two shutouts in the conference finals, in Game 3 and Game 6 at Dallas.

After the game, Hill and his teammates surrounded the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl, awarded to the winner of the Western Conference championship. Every postseason, there are discussions about the superstitions surrounding the touching of the conference trophies and how that impacts a team's Stanley Cup fortunes. The Florida Panthers touched their trophy. The Golden Knights did not.

Marchessault could be heard on the ice encouraging his teammates not to touch the Campbell Bowl. The Knights touched the trophy in 2018 and lost to the Washington Capitals in the Stanley Cup Final.

"It's just one of those things where it didn't work out for us the first year, right," Marchessault asked. "So, we're back here and we want to do things different. The one that we want to touch is four wins away."

According to ESPN Stats & Information research, each of the past four head-to-head, touch vs. no-touch Cup Final series has been won by the team that touched the conference title trophy. Regardless, the betting world favors the home team -- at least for now. Not long after the shutout, Caesars installed Vegas as a -130 favorite to win the series.

BOSTON -- As Jayson Tatum trudged to the podium inside TD Garden long after the Boston Celtics saw their season come to an end with a 103-84 loss in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, there was a visible limp from the sprained ankle he suffered on the opening play of the game.

"It was just frustrating that I was ... a shell of myself," Tatum said after he played 42 minutes and finished with 14 points on 5-for-13 shooting in the loss, which ended the Celtics' season and also denied them the chance to become the first team in NBA history to overcome a 3-0 series deficit.

"It was tough to move. Just frustrating, it happening on the first play."

There was much for the Celtics to be frustrated about, beginning with Tatum having the bad luck of landing on Heat guard Gabe Vincent on the first possession of the game. But that was far from the only thing.

The Celtics followed up their worst 3-point shooting game of the season (7-for-35) in Game 6 by shooting 9-for-42 in Game 7 to equal their second-worst shooting performance of the season. Boston played seven games this season in which it shot under 26% from 3-point range, and Game 6 was the only one the Celtics came away from with a win.

Meanwhile, Boston watched as Caleb Martin continued his series-long assault on the Celtics' defense, going 11-for-16 and scoring 26 points, while Eastern Conference finals MVP Jimmy Butler contributed 28 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals.

The Heat shot 14-for-28 from 3-point range Monday night and were 28-for-58 over the final two games of the series.

"We got punked," Celtics forward Grant Williams told ESPN. "We didn't play our game from start to finish. Defensively, we just lost it all, and then offensively we were scrambled and trying to do everything ourselves and just didn't go our way.

"You hate to have that be the end of your season, especially with the fight that we've shown. But shots didn't fall either, so that didn't help ... it's just tough."

It was a resounding thud of an ending to a season that entered Memorial Day with sky-high expectations, after the Celtics had recovered from blowing the first two games of the series here at home, and then getting blown out in Game 3 in Miami, with three straight impressive performances to move to the brink of history.

But after Derrick White's remarkable putback at the buzzer gave the Celtics a magical push into a do-or-die Game 7, it seemed their luck ran out.

Even after Tatum sprained his ankle, Boston was off to a quick start, taking an early 9-4 lead. But then the Celtics kept missing ... and missing ... and missing. And Miami responded with an 11-2 run and never looked back, ending the quarter up 22-15.

Boston never got closer than that 7-point margin the rest of the game.

"[We were] missing shots, and then they're coming down and hitting shots," Marcus Smart said. "It puts a lot of pressure on our defense to get stops. And they were hitting some shots and they got in a rhythm and we weren't making ours."

Jaylen Brown, meanwhile, had a dreadful game, finishing with 19 points on 8-for-23 shooting to go along with 8 turnovers, as his repeated forcing of the action offensively was symbolic of how Boston's entire night played out.

Now, the Celtics head into the offseason after falling short of a return trip to the NBA Finals -- something the team had stated as its goal going all the way back to last June's Game 6 loss to the Golden State Warriors -- and will have to figure out where to go from here.

Coach Joe Mazzulla will have a full offseason of preparation -- something he didn't have heading into his first season, after being placed in the job days before the start of training camp after his predecessor, Ime Udoka, was suspended for violations of team rules.

Both Tatum and Brown praised Mazzulla for how he handled the season.

"I give Joe my respect," Brown said. "Tough situation to be in. And he took it and he took it head-on and ran with it. We had two rookie head coaches in the last two years, and Joe picking up from Ime as an interim starting off and then progressing as being the head coach, just fully took that challenge on and led us to this point. That's a tough position for a guy to be in. It's a tough position for a team to be in, coming off of a Finals run, but we didn't make any excuses and I'm not making any excuses now.

"We came up short. But I still give my respect to our coaching staff and that group that we had on the floor."

As for his future, Brown -- who is eligible to sign a five-year, $295 million supermax extension this summer after making second-team All-NBA -- said he wasn't sure about his thought process heading into the summer.

"I don't even really know how to answer that question right now, to be honest," Brown said. "My thought process is take it one day at a time, focus on getting better. Focus on what the future holds and see where we are from there."

White, meanwhile, said he's going to get an MRI on his left leg after injuring it in the second half.

"I mean, I'll be fine," White said. "I'm not too worried about it. But I'll find out more tomorrow."

Overall, the Celtics left TD Garden with a sense of regret. After a 57-win regular season, advancing to the East finals for a fifth time in seven seasons, and climbing all the way back from a 3-0 hole, their season fell five wins short of raising an 18th banner to the rafters.

And while both Mazzulla and the players raved about their group's toughness, it wasn't enough to make history Monday.

"You can't go through life talking about what you could have, you should have done," Tatum said. "S--- happens and the past is the past.

"We fought like hell to give ourselves a chance today. Just not the outcome that we anticipated."

The Denver Nuggets, who will be making their first appearance in the NBA Finals, were installed as -360 favorites over the Miami Heat by Caesars Sportsbook on Monday night.

Denver also opened as an 8-point home favorite in Game 1 on Thursday, with an over/under of 219.

The Heat are only the second 8-seed to capture a conference championship, and just the third team to win its first three series as an underdog. Miami has racked up a 13-5 postseason record against the spread, winning a record-tying nine games outright as an underdog.

"Miami's playoff run has really solidified the fact that they're a team built for the postseason," David Lieberman, lead NBA oddsmaker for Caesars Sportsbook, told ESPN. "We've seen it a couple of times over the past three seasons, but everyone seemed to forget about that over the course of the regular season. [Jimmy] Butler and [coach Erik] Spoelstra are able to find a new gear come playoff time."

The Heat were 200-1 championship long shots before defeating the Chicago Bulls in an elimination play-in game. Prior to their playoff opener, the Heat had 150-1 odds.

Miami could potentially see the return of 2022 Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro, who suffered a broken hand in the team's playoff opener on April 16 and has not played since. Herro said at the time the injury would require four to six weeks of recovery, and that he would hope to be back in time for the NBA Finals should the Heat advance.

"I am unsure an announcement with Herro will change much," DraftKings sportsbook director Johnny Avello told ESPN. "We have to put up the series price now and just go with the current rosters. We will adjust after each win."

Sportsbooks will offer numerous proposition bets for each game and the entire series. Nuggets superstar and two-time league MVP Nikola Jokic is a -125 favorite to average a triple-double in the Finals.

BOSTON -- Jimmy Butler called his shot.

A year to the day after Butler vowed to get the Miami Heat over the hump following a hard-fought Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics in the 2022 Eastern Conference finals, he made good on his promise.

Miami joined the 1999 New York Knicks as the second No. 8 seed to make the NBA Finals after a dominant 103-84 victory over Boston in Game 7 of the conference finals on Monday night.

"Figure out a way to be consistent," Butler had said after that Game 7 defeat in 2022 -- one that ended with him missing a 3-pointer that would have potentially won Miami the game. "I think we had enough, I think we do have enough ... next year, we will have enough and we're going to be right back in this same situation and we're going to get it done."

He was right.

Butler's words have proved prophetic throughout the Heat's magical run this postseason. He scored 28 points, grabbed seven rebounds and made six assists in 43 minutes in Monday's Game 7, earning the Larry Bird Trophy as the Eastern Conference finals MVP.

"I just know why Coach Pat [Riley] and Coach [Erik Spoelstra] wanted me to be here," Butler said after Monday's win, when asked about his comments from a year ago. "And that's to compete at a high level and to win championships.

"I know that the group that they put around me at all times is going to give me an opportunity to do so. ... I know the work that we all put into it, so I know what we're capable of. Nobody is satisfied. We haven't done anything. We don't play just to win the Eastern Conference; we play to win the whole thing."

While Butler paced the group Monday night, Caleb Martin -- who didn't play in last year's Game 7 -- stole the show with another huge outing for the Heat, scoring 26 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in 45 minutes. Martin had clutch performances throughout this series and went 11-for-16 from the field in Game 7.

After an initial push by the Celtics to start the game in front of a rabid TD Garden crowd, the Heat got up by as many as 17 in the first half, never letting Boston all the way back as their defense held tough all night. The Celtics took an early blow when star Jayson Tatum turned his left ankle on the opening possession of the game and appeared to struggle with the injury over the remainder of the contest. He finished with 14 points on 13 shots in 42 minutes.

The rest of the Celtics labored to score, as well, as the team finished 9-for-42 on 3-pointers.

The Heat, meanwhile, made 50% of their 3-pointers in Game 7 -- and they are now set to face their biggest test in Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets starting on Thursday in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

"There's no way to quantify the confidence that he can instill in everybody," Spoelstra said of Butler. "And you know, Jimmy has never had to apologize. I don't want him to ever apologize for who he is and how he approaches competition. It's intense. It's not for everybody, and we're not for everybody. That's why we think it's like an incredible marriage. We never judge him on that. He doesn't judge us for how crazy we get. It's the same language. But the confidence level that he can create for everybody on the roster is incredible.

"He's gnarly, but he knows how to have a soft touch to give somebody some confidence at the right time. That's the special gift that he has."

"I don't call them role players; I call them teammates, because your role can change any given day."

Jimmy Butler on the Heat's culture

With Butler leading the way, the Heat went on the most improbable postseason run in recent memory, one in which they made history -- and avoided it, by not becoming the first NBA team to blow a 3-0 lead in a playoff series.

After losing the first game of the play-in tournament to the Atlanta Hawks last month, the Heat were on the verge of not even making the playoffs after falling behind late to the Chicago Bulls during the second play-in game. That's when Butler took over. He finished with 31 points in that tilt -- and he hasn't stopped dominating since.

Butler put together arguably the best performance of his career during Game 4 versus the No. 1-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the first round, scoring 56 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a 119-114 win. It was another sign of things to come for Butler and the Heat as he led them on one of the most impressive revenge tours.

The Heat knocked out Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks in five games during the first round. Then Miami took out Tom Thibodeau, Butler's former coach, and the No. 5-seeded New York Knicks in six games. Next came the Celtics, the same team that beat Miami last year.

At each turn, Butler and his team rose to the occasion, a feat made even more impressive while playing without injured guards Tyler Herro (hand) and Victor Oladipo (knee). Herro broke his right hand in Game 1 of the Bucks series; he has started to do more shooting in his rehab work, and he sounded hopeful he would return at some point in the Finals.

Aside from Butler's brilliance, the Heat have received contributions from up and down the roster. Martin is playing with the kind of confidence that has defined this Heat run. Gabe Vincent, Max Strus and Duncan Robinson all hit big shots at various points in the Celtics series, while center Bam Adebayo served as a defensive anchor despite inconsistent offensive performances.

"I definitely reflect on where I started and the journey it's taken to get here," Martin said. "I also understand that we have four more. The job is not done. We didn't go through what we went through all the regular season and my personal journey to stop here."

That the Heat were able to rebound emotionally from a heartbreaking Game 6 loss -- in which Celtics guard Derrick White rebounded a Marcus Smart miss and laid it in at the buzzer for a 104-103 win to keep the series alive -- speaks to the mental toughness Spoelstra has praised his team for throughout the postseason. He was confident coming into Monday's game that his group had gotten over the tough loss and would play well. He was rewarded throughout Game 7, as the Heat responded to every challenge along the way.

With Spoelstra calling the shots and making adjustments on the fly, the Heat maintained the belief they could win the series and were buoyed by the hardworking, no-excuses culture that Spoelstra and Riley have built for years in Miami.

"When a guy goes down, the next guy could fill in that gap and do exactly what that guy that went down did -- and do it at a high level," Butler said when discussing the Heat's culture. "Then be humble enough to know that when that guy comes back, you've got to take a step back and get back in your role. Nobody ever complains. They always do exactly what you ask of them to do, which is why you want to play with guys like that, which is why they are the reason we win so many games.

"I don't call them role players; I call them teammates, because your role can change any given day."

The Heat continue to give all they have behind the example that Butler provides on a daily basis. The confidence and belief Butler's play has instilled within the Heat's locker room is palpable. They trust him to deliver in the biggest moments for a team that now sits four wins away from its first NBA championship since 2013.

"He's playing at a phenomenal level," veteran Heat guard Kyle Lowry said of Butler. "We ride with him. And I think he rides with us, if that makes sense. He doesn't get upset if guys shoot shots; he just wants everyone to be successful and contribute to winning no matter what it is. He can do it sometimes by himself, but he knows that he needs help sometimes, and he instills the power of us to help him."

BOSTON -- Ten years ago, after a historically painful Game 6 loss to the Miami Heat that cost them a championship after an incomprehensible Ray Allen shot, the battle-tested San Antonio Spurs were shell-shocked.

Victory party canceled, Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich famously took the team to an Italian restaurant , gave them wine and went player-to-player, trying to coax them through the emotions in time for Game 7. They played well but lost anyway.

Saturday night, coach Erik Spoelstra looked at the wreckage that was the Heat locker room in the wake of a similarly spirit-crushing Game 6 loss after an unbelievable Derrick White shot at the finish and quickly made a decision on what to do.

Nothing.

"It wasn't scripted," Spoelstra said Monday night, wearing a 2023 Finals T-shirt after his team stopped the Boston Celtics from making history at the Heat's expense with a 103-84 Game 7 victory.

"When you have such an intimate relationship with a locker room and they have it with each other, the staff has it with them, they have it with the staff, sometimes it's just whatever's raw, whatever's real at that time," he said.

It sounds simple, but Spoelstra's read on his team -- and what to do -- was perfect. Confident and collected, the longtime coach was not at all interested in rehashing what had just happened.

Facing living the rest of their lives knowing they might be the first team to blow a 3-0 series lead, and perhaps having to see the White shot every spring on the all-time highlight reel, Spoelstra looked his players in the eyes and told them, essentially, it was business as usual.

As it would turn out, the Heat started winning Game 7 moments after they'd lost Game 6.

"Professional sports is just kind of a reflection sometimes of life, that things don't always go your way," Spoelstra said. "The inevitable setbacks happen and it's how you deal with that collectively. There's a lot of different ways that it can go. It can sap your spirit. It can take a team down for whatever reason. With this group, it's steeled us and made us closer and made us tougher.

"These are lessons that hopefully we can pass along to our children, that you can develop this fortitude. And sometimes you have to suffer for the things that you want. Game 6, the only thing that we can do is sometimes you have to laugh at the things that make you cry."

When the players got together Sunday to fly to Boston, the mood was better. They were told to pack for a week because after the expectation of a win in Boston, they would move on to face the Denver Nuggets immediately for the start of the Finals.

When they had their next film session at the team hotel, they saw they'd done a lot of positive things at the end of Game 6 that had given them the chance to win. And by Monday morning, when it was time for the Game 7 shootaround, the Heat were loose and focused, with Game 6 not even a glint in their eyes.

"We were positive. I think it was a good sign, at least for me personally, just kind of seeing the mood and just the head space guys were in after that game," said Caleb Martin, the Heat's unexpected series hero who closed out his first career Game 7 with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

"I truly think that we believed that we were going to come here and get a win."

The Heat got blown out of Game 5 in Boston last week starting in the first quarter. The Celtics also used a huge early surge to easily beat the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of the conference semifinals. There was no time for lingering emotions.

Miami started Monday's game strongly, building a seven-point lead by the end of the first quarter and never letting it go. The zone defense they used to smother the Celtics at the end of Game 6 was tight and crisp. The Celtics just couldn't score on it.

Indeed, Jayson Tatum turned his ankle in the game's opening moments. And Boston missed some open looks. But the strategy forced the Celtics to miss its first 12 3-point attempts. By then, the Heat were galloping away from them and toward history, as the second No. 8 seed to reach the Finals.

"I'm not going to say losing three in a row is part of the Heat culture we like to talk about, because we don't play to lose and we don't want to lose," said Jimmy Butler, who had 28 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. "But we have some hoopers. We have some real-deal basketball players that can score, can defend and can pass and can win games for us."

They also have a 52-year-old coach, now headed to his sixth Finals, who will be in the Basketball Hall of Fame himself one day.

Butler collected the Larry Bird Trophy for series MVP. Udonis Haslem, finishing his 20th season, carried the Bob Cousy Trophy for winning the conference title into the locker room. Standing on the periphery, Heat team president Pat Riley couldn't help but smile as he took it all in.

Riley likes few things more than beating the Celtics, dating to his days as a Los Angeles Lakers player and coach. The Celtics and Heat have battled many times since he got to Miami nearly 30 years ago, including last year when the Celtics took the two trophies named for Celtics greats away from Miami after a Game 7 win in the conference finals.

"Pat feels a certain way about Boston, so I make sure everybody feels a certain way about Boston," Spoelstra said. "That's part of my job as the caretaker."

He's a little more than a caretaker. And pulling this six-week effort from his team using a mix of grit, strategy, discipline and remarkable timing is a reflection as much on Spoelstra as it was on series stars Butler and Martin.

They survived near elimination in the play-in. They beat the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks despite an injury to Tyler Herro. They halted the surging New York Knicks despite an injury to Butler. Then they broke the No. 2 seed Celtics despite negative momentum -- and ignominious history -- pressing down on them.

As their team 757 plane took off and turned toward the Rockies after 1 a.m. Tuesday, Spoelstra began to work on another plot for another upset. And the Heat had the same mindset they brought with them on that plane to Boston after it was so easy to count them out.

"Everybody's confidence is so high," Butler said. "We have belief that we can do something incredibly special. So we are going to hit the ground running when we get to Denver. And I like our chances."

CARSON CITY, Nev. -- Nevada lawmakers questioned whether a proposal to subsidize a new MLB stadium with tax credits and bonds would further boost Las Vegas' economy, or serve as a handout for a big business that could strain government resources.

In a committee hearing on Monday -- likely the only before a vote on the proposal to help fund the Oakland A's potential stadium on the Las Vegas Strip -- the Republican governor's chief of staff and the Democratic treasurer both said it would provide tax revenue and well-paying jobs while further aiding Las Vegas' transformation into a sports city.

But lawmakers questioned whether an A's stadium on the site of the Tropicana Las Vegas would be worth it. They cited an MLB team with the worst record in baseball, financed in-part by a county and state struggling to fund public services including schools, which rank toward the bottom in national student-teacher ratios and per-pupil funding.

"Regular citizens see us having a conversation and a discussion around funding a stadium," said state Sen. Dina Neal (D-North Las Vegas). "Yet, we don't have enough revenue to fund and give a 20% (salary) increase to teachers."

Stadium subsidies for teams in cities from Buffalo, New York, to Arlington, Texas, have sparked similar heated discussions in statehouses across the country in recent years. A last-minute bill in Nevada's 2016 special session paved the way for $750 million in public assistance for Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium, home of the Raiders. T-Mobile Arena, home to the Vegas Golden Knights, opened to the public that year with no public assistance.

Like in many stadium financing arrangements, public assistance would not go directly toward constructing facilities but through bonds underwritten by the county and credits that could otherwise go into state general fund revenue.

The A's plan would authorize up to $380 million in public assistance for the potential $1.5 billion retractable-roof stadium in a special tax district, mainly through $180 million in state transferable tax credits and $120 million in bonds mostly from Clark County. The county also would contribute $25 million in credit toward infrastructure costs. The proposal would not directly raise taxes.

Presenters projected $900 million in annual construction wages and $17 million in tax revenue from operations each year in a study run by firms including Goldman Sachs, and funded by the Athletics. They said the state's general fund would increase from the project.

"This is a good investment," said Steve Hill, president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, adding that Las Vegas' tourists would help fill the stadium. "There will be more money available at both the state and local level, if this deal is done then if it's not."

Lawmaker questions from a multitude of concerns in the bill that lawmakers said could have an outsized effect on their communities. This included how a lack of recent success from the Athletics could affect attendance, traffic along the Strip, compatibility with the nearby airport and the integrity of the metrics that they used to gather projection numbers.

Some lawmakers flatly said they were not in favor of the bill, or indicated that the proposal is a hard sell.

"The Raiders came to this state with a huge fan base. We had a lot of people that would make the travel to California to see the Raiders," said Assemblywoman Daniele Monroe-Moreno (D-North Las Vegas). "I don't see that happening for the A's."

In testimony, building trade unions and commerce organizations said the construction would provide access for local employment. Many brought up positive revenue, new jobs and the potential to make Las Vegas the "sports capital of the world."

Those in opposition echoed lawmakers' concerns about funding a stadium while many public initiatives don't receive funding.

The stadium would be on the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip, at the current location of the Tropicana Las Vegas casino resort. Las Vegas would become the smallest TV market in Major League Baseball and the smallest market to be home to three major professional sports franchises. The 30,000-seat capacity would make it the smallest MLB stadium.

The stadium financing bill was introduced late Friday night after more than a month of speculation, as the A's move away from Oakland appeared increasingly imminent. As of Monday night, it is already the most-commented on proposal this session with over 2,200 opinions online -- over three-quarters of which are in opposition.

With less than a week before legislative session adjourns on June 5, the plan faces an uncertain path in Nevada's Legislature. On Thursday, Democratic leaders said financing bills, including for the A's, may not go through if Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo follows through on threats to veto several Democratic-backed spending bills if his legislative priorities are not addressed.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- During the dark days of his long rehabilitation while recovering from two separate tears to his right Achilles tendon, Michael Soroka imagined a triumphant comeback on the mound.

Finally back in the majors Monday night, Soroka took his first loss in three years. But he sort of won anyway.

The right-hander tossed six innings for the Atlanta Braves in his long-awaited return to the big leagues, pitching for the first time since a devastating series of injuries to his lower leg.

"Today was a big one," he said, "a day like today and the people that believed in me. I always said I was going to be back here for the people that believed in me, not the ones that said I couldn't."

Soroka was called up from Triple-A Gwinnett by the National League East leaders to start the series opener against the Oakland Athletics on Memorial Day -- a whopping 1,030 days between outings for the Braves' 2020 Opening Day starter. He allowed four runs on five hits, struck out three and walked two. Soroka left trailing 4-1, and Oakland (11-45) won 7-2 to stop an 11-game skid.

It felt like even longer that he hadn't pitched because of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

"When I think about how long ago it really was, to be honest with you, we can even go back to 2019 because there was nobody in the stands in 2020 so it didn't really feel like big league baseball that year," Soroka said.

The 25-year-old pitcher received cheers from Braves fans as he ran out to the mound for the bottom of the first to make his first major league appearance since Aug. 3, 2020, then calmly retired the side in order on 13 pitches and received a standing ovation from the loud Atlanta fans.

"It's been a whirlwind, and I'm kind of excited to put that storyline behind us now and get back to putting up zeros," Soroka said.

Left fielder Eddie Rosario made a leaping catch at the wall to start the second, robbing Aledmys Diaz of a home run as a delighted Soroka acknowledged the play and celebrated.

"Let's go, Michael!" one fan yelled.

Soroka didn't allow a hit until Jonah Bride's one-out single in the third but quickly loaded the bases with another single and a hit batter. He emerged unscathed after inducing Seth Brown's inning-ending double play.

But then Soroka plunked Shea Langeliers with a pitch to begin the fifth and gave up an RBI single to Esteury Ruiz before Ryan Noda's three-run homer put Oakland up 4-1.

Sean Murphy had staked Soroka to a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the first against his former team.

Soroka went 13-4 with a 2.68 ERA in 2019 to finish second in NL Rookie of the Year voting and sixth for the Cy Young Award. He first tore his Achilles on Aug. 3, 2020, and then had more hard luck. A setback led to a follow-up surgery, then he tore the same Achilles again while rehabbing midway through the 2021 season.

This spring, Soroka had another complication in his comeback because of a hamstring injury. He said he is grateful to everybody who supported his tough journey.

"There's been some people in my corner for a long, long time that have stuck by me," Soroka said. "It's a day for them, too. Those were the people that kept me going."