Tyrese Haliburton’s status for Game 6 of the NBA Finals is understandably in at least some doubt, after the Olympic gold-medal-winning guard was undergoing evaluation Tuesday to determine the extent of the injury to his lower right leg.

Part of that evaluation was an MRI exam, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because neither Haliburton nor the team revealed that publicly. ESPN first reported that an MRI was scheduled.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle did not specifically say that the MRI would be part of the team’s next moves in figuring out how best to proceed with Haliburton, though made clear that the Eastern Conference champions would be taking a close look at the injury. Given that it is evidently a muscular injury, an MRI is part of the typical evaluation process.

Haliburton left Game 5 late in the first quarter and returned to the bench area with a wrap on his lower leg. He not only returned to the game, he played 34 minutes — but did so while missing all six of his shots and with him barely looking to shoot at all in the second half. He finished the game with seven rebounds and six assists, but only four points.

PWHL

Frost sign Rooney to three-year contract

Goaltender Maddie Rooney has signed on with Minnesota for three more years.

“Maddie has again and again proven herself to be an elite goaltender in the PWHL,” said Frost General Manager Melissa Caruso.

In her first two years with the Frost, Rooney earned a .910 save percentage over 29 regular season games. During the Frost’s two playoff runs, her save percentage was .939. Rooney holds a record in the two-year-old PWHL league, with the most career shutouts at six.

Nine other players are under contract for next year, including Nicole Hensley, another goaltender.

The Frost will add six picks to their roster during the PWHL Draft on June 24 at 6 p.m.

— Staff report

NHL

Panthers star Bennett wins playoff MVP

Sam Bennett won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after leading all players in goals scored to help the Florida Panthers win a second consecutive Stanley Cup championship.

Bennett scored 15 goals during a postseason run that culminated with a victory in Game 6 of the final against the Edmonton Oilers. He also was a factor physically by making big hits, crowding the crease and knocking goaltender Stuart Skinner and other opponents off their game.

Men and women’s hockey

2026 Olympic schedule revealed

The International Ice Hockey Federation unveiled the schedule for the men’s and women’s tournaments at the 2026 Olympics in Milan and Cortina.

Women’s hockey starts on Feb. 5 with the U.S. against Czechia and Canada versus Finland among the opening games. The U.S. and Canada renew their rivalry in the preliminary round on Feb. 10, and the gold-medal game is set for Feb. 19.

Men’s hockey with the return of NHL players opens the following day with Finland facing Slovakia and host Italy against Sweden. Without Russia in the 12-team field, the U.S. is grouped with Germany, Latvia and Denmark and will play each of them in a round robin.

The U.S. opens Feb. 12 against Latvia, the same day Canada faces Czechia. The NHL’s best are participating for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.

WNBA

With Clark’s 20, Fever in running for Cup

Caitlin Clark had 20 points, six assists and four 3-pointers and the Indiana Fever beat the Connecticut Sun 88-71 on Tuesday night in a physical game that included three late ejections.

With 46.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Connecticut guard Jacy Sheldon made a steal and raced the other way before being wrapped up by Sophie Cunningham under the basket for a hard foul. Sheldon got up quicky and got into a shoving match with Cunningham, leading to Cunningham, Sheldon and Lindsay Allen all getting ejected.

Sheldon was also the center of another official review in the third quarter after she poked Clark in the eye and then Marina Mabrey came in late to shove Clark to the floor. Three technical fouls were called, leading to Clark’s three free throws for a 58-45 lead.

The Indiana win, combined with an Atlanta loss to New York, secured the Fever’s spot in the Commissioner’s Cup with a 4-1 record. The Fever held the tiebreaker with the Liberty after a 102-88 win on Saturday.

Wings sign two to make full roster

The Dallas Wings signed Kaila Charles and Haley Jones to hardship contracts because the team had only eight available players before the two were added to the roster.

Charles and Jones were both expected to be available to play for the Wings (1-11) in their home game against Golden State on Tuesday night.

Wings centers Teaira McCowan and Luisa Geiselsoder are away fulfilling national team obligations. Tyasha Harris and Maddy Siegrist are both out with knee injuries.

WNBA teams qualify for hardship exemption when they have fewer than 10 available players.

BRIEFLY

Auto racing >> Spire Motorsports fined Carson Hocevar $50,000 for derogatory comments he made about Mexico City on a live stream as NASCAR raced there last weekend.

MLB >> Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds left Tuesday night’s game against the Detroit Tigers in the second inning when his wife went into labor.

MLB >> Hall of Fame manager Joe Torre will serve as an honorary coach for the American League at the All-Star Game in Atlanta next month.

Tennis >> The man accused of stalking tennis player Emma Raducanu tried to obtain tickets to Wimbledon but was blocked by the All England Club’s security system.

— From news services