Last Update on May 22, 2013 15:12 GMT

NBA PLAYOFFS

MIAMI (AP) -- The Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers open up the NBA's Eastern Conference final tonight with Game 1 in Miami. This is a series featuring two contrasting teams. The Heat, the defending league champions, are a battle-tested squad very familiar with the pressure of late-season playoffs. For the Pacers, these are pretty much untested waters as only one member of the team has ever been in a conference final. Backup big man Ian Mahinmi got all of 71 seconds in one game of the 2011 West title series with Dallas.

A year ago in the playoffs Indiana took Miami to six games in the Eastern semifinals, leading the series 2-1 at one point.

The clubs met three times during the regular season with Indiana taking two of the contests. Those two wins came in Indianapolis while the Heat won in Miami.

Game 2 will take place in Miami Friday night.

NHL PLAYOFFS

OTTAWA (AP) -- The Penguins can take a commanding 3-1 lead over Ottawa in their best-of-seven Stanley Cup Eastern Conference semifinal tonight. That said, it won't be easy as once again the Senators have home ice advantage. Playing in Pittsburgh the Pens won 4-1 and 4-3 but lost the third game, played in Ottawa, 2-1 in double overtime.

Sens captain Daniel Alfredsson tied the game at 1-1 with 29 seconds left in regulation and Colin Greening scored the game winner.

Game 5 will be played back in the Steel City Friday night.

MLB-SCHEDULE

UNDATED (AP) -- Being Wednesday, this is another get-away day in baseball as teams move from one location to another. Because of that, there are seven day games around the big leagues. In the lone interleague game of the day Minnesota is playing in Atlanta this afternoon.

Among the games these evening there are two pitchers who are looking for their seventh win of the season. Hiroki Kuroda (hih-ROH'-kee kuh-ROH'-duh) of the Yankees is 6-2 and facing the Orioles in Baltimore, while Clay Buchholz is 6-0 and looking for No. 7 against the White Sox in Chicago.