Morant pivots to grenade celebration

Ja Morant got in trouble again for aiming an imaginary gun to celebrate 3-pointers, so he has gone to a different make-believe violent way to mark a long-distance shot. The Grizzlies leading scorer, who was fined $75,000 recently for mimicking pointing a long gun after a basket from outside the arc, acted like he was pulling the pin and tossing a grenade in Thursday night’s 141-125 loss to the Timberwolves. Morant, who was 5 of 13 from 3-point range, in some cases even covered his ears after the windmill-like hurl of the invisible explosive. “That’s my celebration now until somebody else has a problem with it, and I’ll find another one,” Morant said after Thursday’s shootaround. The league handed down the $75,000 fine on April 4 after Morant twice made what was considered an “inappropriate” imaginary gun-aiming gesture on the court. He was previously warned by the league office that this gesture could be interpreted in a negative light. The gestures that drew the fine were made by Morant during the Grizzlies’ 110-108 victory over the Heat on April 3.

Hurricanes ink top prospect Nikishin

The Hurricanes on Friday signed top prospect Alexander Nikishin to a two-year, entry-level contract that begins immediately. Nikishin, 23, got his first NHL contract hours after he and his KHL club, SKA Saint Petersburg, mutually terminated that deal. SKA did the same with the Canadiens’ Ivan Demidov earlier this week. “We are grateful for Alexander’s time with SKA, a premier European hockey franchise, which helped him develop into one of the top prospects in hockey,” Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky said in a statement. “His size and skill have allowed him to have a record-breaking career in the KHL, and we believe he will be an impactful player in the NHL.” It was not immediately clear when Nikishin would join the Hurricanes, who are locked into second place in the Metropolitan Division and a first-round matchup against the Devils. Nikishin captained SKA this past season, had 46 points in 61 games and is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer among defensemen. The Hurricanes drafted him in the third round in 2020.

Salah signs 2-year deal with Liverpool

Mohamed Salah’s trophy-laden spell with Liverpool is set to extend to a decade after the prolific Egypt forward signed a new contract with the Premier League leader, ending months of uncertainty over his future. The 32-year-old Salah was one of three key senior players — with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk — due to be out of contract at the end of this season. He is the first to extend his stay, having already established himself as a club great with 243 goals in 394 appearances, placing him third in the list of Liverpool’s all-time top scorers. Liverpool didn’t disclose the length of Salah’s new deal in an announcement on Friday but manager Arne Slot did, saying in a news conference it was a two-year contract. “Of course I’m very excited,” said Salah, who joined from Roma in 2017 for 42 million euros ($50 million). “We have a great team now. Before also we had a great team. But I signed because I think we have a chance to win other trophies and enjoy my football. It’s great, I had my best years here. I played eight years, hopefully it’s going to be 10. Enjoying my life here, enjoying my football.” —AP