Sports betting roundup: Game 7s and PGA Championship highlight weekend of sports

The NBA and NHL playoffs are on to the conference finals after a pair of Game 7s on Sunday.

And there was also the PGA Championship, where Scottie Scheffler won the third major of his career. Although he was briefly tied with Jon Rahm during the final round, Scheffler ran away from the rest of the field on the back nine, finishing at 11 under and winning by five shots.

The Florida Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-1 in the NHL’s Game 7. Florida was -140 on the moneyline at the BetMGM Sportsbook and took in 37% of the bets and 57% of the money. The over-under closed at five, and 62% of the bets and 51% of the money were on the under.

In the NBA, despite trailing in the first half, Oklahoma City blew out Denver 125-93. The Thunder closed as 8.5-point favorites and only took in 25% of the bets and 52% of the money.

At the PGA Championship, Scheffler opened with odds to be the outright winner at +450, and despite trailing by five strokes after the first round, he was +350 to win. After the second round, he improved to +200, and entering the final round with a three-shot lead, he was -400.

In the WNBA on Saturday, Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever were 8.5-point favorites over Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky. The Fever easily covered, winning 93-58, and Clark recorded a triple-double. Indiana took in 69% of the bets and 83% of the money to cover the spread.

The New York Knicks blew out the Boston Celtics 119-81 in Friday’s Game 6 to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. New York was +1400 to win the series 4-2.

The NBA Western Conference finals between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder begins Tuesday, while the Eastern Conference finals between the New York Knicks and Indian Pacers begins Wednesday.

New York is -160 to win the series and is taking in 39% of the bets and 76% of the handle. Meanwhile, the Thunder are -350 and are taking in 18% of the bets and 42% of the handle.

This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports

New York Knicks' Josh Hart (3) and Boston Celtics' Al Horford (42) fights for control of the ball during the first half of Game 6 in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs Friday, May 16, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Scottie Scheffler celebrates after winning the PGA Championship golf tournament at the Quail Hollow Club, Sunday, May 18, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

CORRECTS PLAYER'S TEAM AND NAME - Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins (21) celebrates after sinking a basket in the first half of Game 7 in the Western Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs against the Denver Nuggets, Sunday, May 18, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)

Florida Panthers centre Sam Bennett (9) and Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Simon Benoit (2) vie for control of the puck in front of Leafs goalie Joseph Woll (60) during the second period of an NHL Stanley Cup playoff hockey game in Toronto, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)