Thunder top Pacers to tie NBA Finals; what does House v. NCAA settlement mean for college athletics?

This is an article version of the CBS Sports HQ AM Newsletter, the ultimate guide to every day in sports. You can sign up to get it in your inbox every weekday morning here.

THE OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER

Now that was more like it from Oklahoma City's point of view. After blowing a double-digit fourth quarter lead in Game 1, the Thunder thumped the Pacers, 123-107, to even the NBA Finals.

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 34 points and eight assists. His 72 points in this series are the most ever by a player after his first two career Finals games.
• After a tough Game 1, his co-stars showed up, too: Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren combined for 34 points.
• But it was the bench returning to its normal sterling standards that was the biggest difference. Oklahoma City's reserves scored 48 points, with Alex Caruso posting 20 and Aaron Wiggins adding 18. Both scored more than any Pacers player did.
• Oklahoma City is 5-0 this postseason after a loss, with an average winning margin of 19.6 points.

Yes, the offense got flowing after an unsightly Game 1, but we'd be remiss to not mention guys like Lu Dort, who led the charge once again against Tyrese Haliburton. Indiana's star had only five points through three quarters, and when he finally started hitting shots (he finished with 17 points), the game was out of reach -- yes, even for this Pacers team.

Indiana, just like Oklahoma City, hasn't lost consecutive games in these playoffs. In order for that to continue, Haliburton has to be more assertive, even if that's much easier said than done against the Thunder, Jack Maloney writes.

• Maloney: "For what it's worth, Haliburton left the podium following his postgame press conference with a slight limp. He has not been on the injury report and it's not clear what's bothering him, but his health could be a storyline to watch heading into Game 3 in Indianapolis on Wednesday."

And for our Brad Botkin, he writes that Indiana's one road to upsetting Oklahoma City was denied emphatically.

• Botkin: "Indiana has to win the 3-point battle because OKC is better everywhere else on the floor. They're bigger. They have the best one-on-one creator certainly in the series and possibly in the world. They have one of the best defenses in history. There's a reason almost nobody picked the Pacers to win this series, and why many of us didn't even think they could get more than one win."

👍 Honorable mentions 👎 Not so honorable mentions 🎾 Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff win French Open titles in dramatic fashion

Court Philippe-Chatrier has hosted some all-time matches. The dominance of Rafael Nadal. Roger Federer's 2009 breakthrough. Andre Agassi's 1999 breakthrough. Ivan Lendl over John McEnroe.

Put Carlos Alcaraz vs. Jannik Sinner up against any of them ... and maybe above all of them. Alcaraz completed not one but two stunning rallies to repeat as the French Open champion, 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10-2).

As that score shows, Alcaraz came back from two sets down. What it doesn't show is that Alcaraz trailed 5-3, 0-40 in the fourth set before staving off three championship points, breaking Sinner when he was serving for the championship the next game, getting into a tiebreak and winning it.

And then came the fifth set: championship tennis at its absolute highest level, this time Sinner breaking Alcaraz when he was serving for the match before Alcaraz ultimately dominated the tiebreak. After five hours and 29 minutes -- the longest French Open final in the Open era and the second-longest slam final ever -- the 22-year-old Spaniard collapsed to the clay in exhaustion and ecstasy.

Alcaraz is a magnificent 13-1 in five-set matches, but this is the first time ever he'd overcome a two-set deficit. Here's what Alcaraz and Sinner said after the match, and here's how Agassi praised Alcaraz.

One day earlier, Coco Gauff notched an impressive comeback win of her own, a 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 win over Aryna Sabalenka. It's Gauff's second career major, and she's the first American woman to win the French Open since Serena Williams in 2015.

Gauff won 11 of the final 17 games of the match, taking advantage of an erratic performance from Sabalenka, who finished the match with 70 unforced errors amid windy conditions.

Here's what Gauff said post-match.

⚾ MLB Power Rankings, weekend roundup: Blue Jays rounding back into form

It was a bumpy offseason for the Blue Jays, who, after a disappointing 2024, once again swung and missed on the marquee free agents. Then there was lots of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. contract drama before they ultimately got a deal done. And when Toronto started slow, it looked like the offseason had carried over into the regular season.

Then, they got on a run. Even with a loss Sunday, the Blue Jays have won 9 of 11 and are 35-30 this season, currently occupying a wild card spot. R.J. Anderson examined how Toronto turned it around, and Matt Snyder has the Blue Jays up three more spots to 13th in his latest MLB Power Rankings. Here's his top five:

1. Tigers (previous: 1)
2. Mets (2)
3. Yankees (4)
4. Cubs (5)
5. Dodgers (3)

Here's more:

💰 House v. NCAA settlement approved: what it means, winners, losers

After a half-decade of litigation, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken approved the landmark House v. NCAA antitrust settlement Friday, ending the NCAA's amateurism model and opening the door for revenue sharing. It goes into effect July 1.

Here are the key points, from Brandon Marcello:

• The $2.8 billion, 10-year settlement will pay past athletes who competed from 2016-24 for missed NIL opportunities and allow colleges to pay current players directly.
• Schools can share as much as $20.5 million of their revenues with players during the upcoming academic year. The cap will increase by at least 4% every year during the 10-year agreement. Here's how it'll work.
• How schools use their $20.5 million is TBD. Most schools will follow the back-payment formula for former athletes: 75% to football, 15% to men's basketball, 5% to women's basketball and 5% to all remaining sports. Some schools, however, may use a gross revenue formula.
• Though it's unclear how this will impact NIL deals among third parties, those deals will come under more scrutiny via an enforcement agency.

So, is it going to end the "Wild West" era of college athletics? Chris Hummer says no.

• Hummer: "The NCAA still lacks an anti-trust exemption. The NCAA nor its member schools collectively bargain with their athletes. Lacking one or both of those elements means any changes that come with House are stopgap measures ... It only takes one desperate school to push the boundaries of fair market value. If you don't think a school will get creative -- i.e. break the rules -- to find an extra $500,000 for a five-star recruit, you are probably one of those people who believes wads of cash show up in a McDonald's bag during a recruiting trip by accident."

Gary Parrish echoes those sentiments, and John Talty says "There's never been a better time to be a lawyer with an interest in college sports."

Here are John's winners and losers.

📺 What we're watching Monday

⚾ Marlins at Pirates, 6:40 p.m. on FS1 🏒 Game 3: Oilers at Panthers (Series tied 1-1), 8 p.m. on TNT/truTV ⚾ Mariners at Diamondbacks, 9:40 p.m. on FS1