NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Anaheim rookie Beckett Sennecke collected his third goal of the season and the Ducks beat the Nashville Predators 5-2 on Tuesday night.
The 19-year-old Sennecke dropped to one knee to blast a feed from Mason McTavish past Juuse Saros with just over three minutes left in the second period to give the Ducks a two-goal lead they wouldn't come close to squandering. Sennecke, the third overall pick in this year's draft, now has five points in five games for Anaheim.
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Anaheim Ducks left wing Ross Johnston, second from left, celebrates his goal with right wing Sam Colangelo (12), center Ryan Poehling, second from right, and defenseman Radko Gudas (7) during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Anaheim Ducks left wing Ross Johnston, second from left, celebrates his goal with right wing Sam Colangelo (12), center Ryan Poehling, second from right, and defenseman Radko Gudas (7) during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Anaheim Ducks defenseman Olen Zellweger (51) and Nashville Predators left wing Erik Haula (56) chase the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Anaheim Ducks left wing Cutter Gauthier (61) celebrates his goal with teammates during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jacob Trouba (65) moves the puck past Nashville Predators left wing Filip Forsberg (9) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Anaheim Ducks right wing Beckett Sennecke (45) moves the puck past Nashville Predators center Fedor Svechkov (40) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Ross Johnston scored his first goal of the season and added two assists. Cutter Gauthier, Leo Carlsson and Troy Terry also scored for Anaheim. Jacob Trouba had two assists and Lukas Dostal made 26 stops.
Anaheim played without veteran forward Chris Kreider, who missed the game due to an illness.
Tyson Jost and Filip Forsberg scored for the Predators, who have dropped four straight. Saros made 28 saves for Nashville, which has surrendered 19 goals during its slide.
The teams traded goals in the first period and again in the opening minutes of the second before the Ducks took control in the latter stages of the period.
Gauthier gave Anaheim the lead for good when he and Alex Killorn broke in 2-on-1 on Saros. Gauthier's wrist shot from the slot beat Saros to the glove side to make it 3-2.
Sennecke doubled Anaheim's advantage later in the period thanks in part to some sloppy stickhandling behind the Nashville net by Saros, who left the puck for Brady Skjei. Johnston stripped it from Skjei and fed it to McTavish, who then fed a cross-ice pass to a streaking Sennecke.
Ducks: continue their five-game road trip in Boston on Thursday.
Predators: Host Vancouver on Thursday.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
Anaheim Ducks left wing Ross Johnston, second from left, celebrates his goal with right wing Sam Colangelo (12), center Ryan Poehling, second from right, and defenseman Radko Gudas (7) during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Anaheim Ducks defenseman Olen Zellweger (51) and Nashville Predators left wing Erik Haula (56) chase the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Anaheim Ducks left wing Cutter Gauthier (61) celebrates his goal with teammates during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jacob Trouba (65) moves the puck past Nashville Predators left wing Filip Forsberg (9) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Anaheim Ducks right wing Beckett Sennecke (45) moves the puck past Nashville Predators center Fedor Svechkov (40) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Go crazy, New York. Or, perhaps more accurately, crazier.
The red-hot Knicks are going home, two wins away from an NBA championship that the capital of the world has been waiting to see for generations.
Jalen Brunson hit a go-ahead free throw with 9.5 seconds left after a turnover by Victor Wembanyama moments earlier, then Wembanyama missed a jumper at the end of New York’s 105-104 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night for a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals.
“What a ballgame,” Knicks coach Mike Brown marveled.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Brunson and Mikal Bridges each scored 20 for the Knicks. They have won 13 straight, the second-longest streak by any team in NBA playoff history.
“New York City showed up,” Towns said. “The fans showed up. The energy showed up. And we found a way to get it done.”
The Knicks are now just the third team to win the first two games of a finals on the road, joining Michael Jordan and the 1993 Chicago Bulls, and Hakeem Olajuwon and the 1995 Houston Rockets.
Both of those teams won championships, the Bulls needing six games to oust the Phoenix Suns, the Rockets going home after winning those first two games in Orlando and sweeping the Magic. The Knicks, seeking their first championship since 1973, are in position to join them.
Wembanyama, after a very quiet first half, scored 29. De’Aaron Fox had 20 for San Antonio.
“We can't change the past,” Wembanyama said, “We're already thinking about Game 3.”
The series now shifts to New York. Game 3 is at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.
President Donald Trump — a native New Yorker — plans on attending Monday. And ticket prices on the secondary market, for the worst seats at MSG, were approaching $9,000 apiece on Friday night, with Knicks fans evidently willing to pay tippy-top dollar just to be in the building as the team nears what would be its first championship in 53 years.
The Spurs were down 14 midway through the fourth and came all the way back — scoring the next 14 points to tie the game. Wembanyama's three-point play with 57 seconds left gave the Spurs their first lead in nearly two full quarters, putting San Antonio up 104-102.
“We showed tremendous desperation, urgency and competitive response,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “Hopefully we can try to bottle that up ... and try to play to that same level.”
But the Knicks got the last three, Brunson — the hero of Game 1 for the Knicks — getting them all.
Brunson scored on the next possession, just his seventh basket in 24 shots on the night, and the game was tied. Wembanyama missed a long jumper, OG Anunoby got the rebound for New York with 30 seconds left, the Knicks called time and the stage was set.
The Spurs got a stop, but Wembanyama threw the ball away. Brunson got fouled, the Knicks had the lead back and before long Spurs fans were filing out of the arena — possibly for the final time this season.
The Spurs called time with 7.5 seconds remaining. Fox took the inbound pass, then set up Wembanyama for a jumper that would have won it. The shot bounced off the rim, and it was over.
“We had to get a stop. We hadn’t gotten a stop all quarter,” Towns said.
They got their stop. Next stop: New York, where the hottest team in basketball knows an NBA title is just two wins away.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns hugs his dad, Karl-Anthony Towns Sr., after Game 2 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the San Antonio Spurs, Friday, June 5, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns hugs his dad, Karl-Anthony Towns Sr., after Game 2 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the San Antonio Spurs, Friday, June 5, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama walks off the court as time expires during the second half of Game 2 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the New York Knicks, Friday, June 5, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama walks off the court as time expires during the second half of Game 2 of the NBA Finals basketball series as New York Knicks guard Landry Shamet (44), guard Josh Hart (3), and center Mitchell Robinson (23) celebrate, Friday, June 5, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns leaves the court after Game 2 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the San Antonio Spurs, Friday, June 5, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns is embraces as he leaves the court after Game 2 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the San Antonio Spurs, Friday, June 5, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper shoots as New York Knicks forward Og Anunoby defends during the second half of Game 2 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Friday, June 5, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama drives on New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the second half of Game 2 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Friday, June 5, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) blocks the shot of New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) during the second half of Game 2 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Friday, June 5, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) and guard De'aaron Fox (4) reacts after a foul call during the second half of Game 2 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the New York Knicks, Friday, June 5, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson, right, and New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson (23) battle for the ball during the second half of Game 2 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Friday, June 5, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) looks towards San Antonio Spurs guard De'aaron Fox (4) after a foul during the second half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) looks to his bench during the first half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the New York Knicks, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson stretches during a workout prior to the start of the NBA Finals basketball series against the San Antonio Spurs, Tuesday, June 2, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
