Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr will not play for the Dominican Republic at the World Baseball Classic, withdrawing from the tournament due to inflammation in his right knee.
The 23-year-old slugger injured his knee Friday while running the bases in a spring training game and the team announced Saturday he would not participate in the WBC.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said an MRI showed no structural damage, and he is not expected to be sidelined for long.
Toronto, though, obviously do not want to take any chances as they head into the 2023 season with high expectations after finishing with 92 wins and reaching the playoffs last year.
Guerrero was named to his second All-Star Game in 2022 after leading the Blue Jays with 32 home runs and 97 RBIs while batting .274 in 160 games.
He is the third Toronto player to withdraw from the WBC, along with catcher Alejandro Kirk and relief pitcher Jordan Romano.
The Dominican Republic begins their WBC schedule next Saturday against Venezuela.
Kurt Kitayama recovered from a double-bogey to remain the outright leader after three rounds of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, but a star-studded chasing pack is well within reach.
Kitayama led by two strokes coming into his third trip around Bay Hill, but he did well to salvage an even-par 72 to stay at nine under after four birdies on the back-nine.
His lead was trimmed to one, with world number two and defending champion Scottie Scheffler joined by Viktor Hovland in a tie for second at eight under.
Hovland was one of three competitors to shoot the round of the day, with a bogey-free 66, while Scheffler had a four-under day with seven birdies and three bogeys.
Alone in fourth at seven under is Tyrell Hatton, who matched Hovland's bogey-free 66 after rounds of 71 and 72, while world number three Rory McIlroy is joined by Harris English at six under in a tie for fifth.
Close friends Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth will likely be paired together for the final round after joining Pierceson Coody – the day's third 66 – in a tie for seventh at five under.
Max Homa and Cameron Young are still in the hunt at four under, while top-10 talents Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele headline the logjam at three under.
After a close-season of significant change, the starting grid for the Bahrain Grand Prix has a familiar look with Max Verstappen starting the new campaign on pole ahead of Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez.
Pre-season testing at Sakhir had suggested the reigning world champion and his team would maintain their superiority to start the 2023 campaign, and further evidence to back up that point was provided in Q3.
Ferrari topped the timesheets in the opening two qualifying sessions, but it was Verstappen who reassumed command in the top-10 shoot-out with a time of one minute and 29.708 seconds.
Ominously for the two Ferraris on the second row, Charles Leclerc in third and Carlos Sainz in fourth, Verstappen's lap came following some significant struggles with the balance of the car, issues Red Bull fixed in time for the Dutchman to set the pace and put himself in position to dominate on race day.
Verstappen told the post-qualifying press conference: "I'm particularly happy because my whole weekend up until qualifying was very difficult.
"I couldn't really find the comfortable balance I had in testing and I was just struggling a lot to just get the car together, really. I went into Q1 and everything already felt a bit better, but it was still not, let's say, perfect. So yeah, I'm very happy then in Q3 that we could put these laps in.
"I still think it's not perfect, but in a better direction. So, for sure, for the next race we will have to analyse a bit why from the test to the race weekend it's so different for us, and also for me driving wise.
"But nevertheless, we are sitting here with two cars. So coming off last year I think this is again a very strong start for us. So yeah, very happy with that.
"Luckily in qualifying that's probably the best balance I've had throughout the weekend so far."
Asked about the race, he added: "That should normally be our stronger point than the one-lap pace. So hopefully we can show that again tomorrow."
Verstappen, though, knows he can take little for granted, acknowledging the field is closer than it was last season.
In Q1, first-placed Sainz and Nyck De Vries in 19th were separated by just over a second and, in addition to looking over his shoulder at the Scuderia, Verstappen may also have to concern himself with the threat of Aston Martin, who saw Fernando Alonso qualify fifth in his debut for the team ahead of the two Mercedes.
"They are all very close to us," Verstappen said when asked about to name his closest challengers. "Of course, we have shown really good race pace but we still need to show that tomorrow, and a lot of things can happen also during a race, which sometimes is not in your control.
"So yeah, we just, of course, need to focus on ourselves and try to do the best we can. And hopefully no crazy things will happen."
But Leclerc did not express much hope of Ferrari overhauling Red Bull in the race.
"I think we are only happy if we win," said Leclerc. "But again, realistically, they seem to be very, very quick.
"So I think in those weekends where we are a little bit underneath, that's exactly those weekend that we need to maximise and, and try to get what we can in terms of points.
"So yeah, if a win is possible tomorrow, I will go for it. If not, we'll try and get the maximum points."
Ja Morant apologised after an incident at a nightclub on Saturday led to the Memphis Grizzlies slapping him with a two-game suspension.
The point guard is under investigation by the NBA after appearing to show a gun during an Instagram Live video.
Morant will miss at least two games, the Grizzlies announced, with the 23-year-old to be absent for Sunday's meeting with the Los Angeles Clippers and the showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers two days later.
In a statement released to ESPN shortly after his suspension was confirmed, Morant apologised for his actions.
"I take full responsibility for my actions last night," he said.
"I'm sorry to my family, team-mates, coaches, fans, partners, the city of Memphis and the entire Grizzlies organisation for letting you down.
"I'm going to take some time away to get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being."
Ja Morant will miss at least the next two Memphis Grizzlies games, the team announced.
The point guard is under investigation by the NBA after he appeared to show a gun during an Instagram Live video at a nightclub on Saturday.
Morant's social media activity came a few hours after the 113-97 defeat to the Denver Nuggets, and he will now miss Sunday's meeting with the Los Angeles Clippers and Tuesday's face-off against the Los Angeles Lakers.
A statement from the Grizzlies read: "The Memphis Grizzlies announced today that Ja Morant will be away from the team for at least the next two games."
Earlier on Saturday, NBA spokesman Mike Bass confirmed the league was looking into the incident.
Last month, the NBA launched an investigation into a separate situation involving associates of Morant and members of the Indiana Pacers' travelling party in January.
It was alleged a red laser was pointed at the Pacers' team bus from a car Morant was a passenger in, with the Indiana group concerned the light may have come from a gun.
The NBA could "not corroborate that any individual threatened others with a weapon", the league finding "no evidence".
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff will do anything it takes to see Lewis Hamilton win his record-breaking eighth world title.
Wolff would go as far as pushing Hamilton "around the track" if it meant the 38-year-old clinching his eighth Formula One triumph.
That would see Hamilton surpass Michael Schumacher, with whom he shares the record of seven championships.
Hamilton and Mercedes endured a difficult campaign last year, however, as he suffered the first winless season of his F1 career.
Mercedes' 2023 season did not off to the greatest start on Saturday, with Hamilton qualifying seventh and his team-mate George Russell in sixth for Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix.
But Wolff is sure they will have more success than in 2022, and he will go to extremes to ensure Hamilton gets his eighth title at some stage.
"We're going to get his eighth. He has, compared to [Aston Martin's Fernando] Alonso, another four years in him as a minimum so we just need to get it done," Wolff told Sky Sports.
"Even if I have to push him around the track to win the eighth I am going to do everything that is needed."
Hamilton himself was confident he could close the gap on pole-sitter Max Verstappen in Sunday's season opener, and Wolff echoed the sentiment even if he conceded it was an ultimately disappointing qualifying session.
He added: "The gap is not ridiculous considering we only ran one tyre at the end but it is not where we want to be.
"We are continuing to develop the concept and thinking we could land it and fight for pole position and that wasn't the case today.
"That is the gap and this is what we need to find, or more, to win.
"We could have potentially overtaken Alonso [in fifth] with both cars but this is where we are. We are super critical with ourselves and what we need to achieve.
"We are looking at everything to get it right with the concept, should we have reacted earlier, all of that.
"Everybody in the engineering team thinks like that and we just need to get our act together."
It was a similar story for Russell, who said: "Our goal was to make sure we've got a car we can build upon and that there aren't any significant problems.
"We spent probably three-quarters of last year problem solving and now I feel we've got a car which is nice to drive.
"It generally feels like a good car, and now we can focus on adding downforce and performance which is what the team have done for so long.
"There are definitely signs to be positive, but we've got a lot to improve."
Formula One world champion Max Verstappen surprised himself by claiming pole position in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Verstappen, on the hunt for a third straight world title, will start at the front of the grid in Sunday's season-opening race after recording a quickest lap of 1:29:708 on Saturday.
Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez qualified in second to complete the front row, with the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz behind them on the second row.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton had to settle for seventh behind Mercedes team-mate George Russell, with Fernando Alonso wedged in fifth.
Ferrari had topped the opening two qualifying sessions but with Verstappen coming good in Q3, they elected against heading out again, instead choosing to conserve their tyres.
"It has been a bit of a tough start to the weekend yesterday and today not really finding my rhythm, but luckily in qualifying we managed to put the best pieces together," Verstappen said.
"I am very happy to be on pole. For the whole team coming off last year and again having such a strong car with Checo up there as well. It is amazing and I am looking forward to tomorrow.
"The changes slowed down the car a bit but we are still going faster, which is great to see. Throughout the year, you will see everyone increasing their performance again a lot and that is the beautiful thing about Formula One.
"I was actually positively surprised to be on pole after the struggles I had in practice. Normally our race car is better, so let's see."
Despite having plenty of work to do to compete for a podium finish, Hamilton was in a buoyant mood.
"We went in with a really open mind," he told Sky Sports. "I woke up thinking we were going to be a lot further behind, and so the fact we're even getting into Q3 was great.
"We made a step forward today and the car was feeling much more alive this morning, and all of a sudden we were in a different place to where we were the day before. But then we got to qualifying and for me the car just didn't feel alive, it felt kind of average.
"It's not an impossible mountain to climb, so that's a positive, and I know everyone back at the factory has been working so hard. We can definitely close the gap, we've just got really focus and push like never before."
Leclerc, meanwhile, was happy with Ferrari's strategy despite believing he had the chance to fight for pole.
"There wasn't any issue. I think we were in the fight for pole, which was a good surprise to be honest because I did not expect that after testing and after free practices that were a little bit difficult," Leclerc said.
"We managed to find that pace for the qualifying pace, which was great. However, we need to keep in our mind that on the race runs, we seemed to be a little bit on the back foot compared to Red Bull.
"I think that we're in a better place starting third with new tyres than starting first with older. I don't know if I would have been in pole or not but it would have been close."
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
5. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
6. George Russell (Mercedes)
7. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
8. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
9. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
10. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
Daniil Medvedev landed a third title in three weeks by swatting aside fellow Russian Andrey Rublev in the Dubai Tennis Championships final.
Former world number one Medvedev won 6-2 6-2 in an hour and eight minutes, adding to recent victories in Rotterdam and Doha as he extended his winning streak to 14 matches.
It gave him a tour-leading 19th match win of the season, edging ahead of Britain's Cameron Norrie, and means Medvedev will vault above Rublev to reach sixth in the new ATP rankings.
Appearing in his 30th tour-level final, Medvedev picked up his 18th career title and improved his head-to-head advantage to 5-2 against his compatriot.
He broke serve in the first and seventh games to sweep through the opening set, serving out to love to clinch it, and Rublev, who was the defending champion, offered no greater resistance in the second.
After beating Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals, this was supremely clinical from Medvedev, setting him up for tilts at the Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami over the coming weeks.
"It's amazing," said Medvedev in an on-court interview, "because the start of the year was not perfect."
He lost in round three of the Australian Open to Sebastian Korda, but has put that January jolt firmly behind him.
"In tennis, when you don't win tournaments, you are always doubting, no matter what happens in practice," Medvedev said. "So I was doubting a lot and now it just feels better. I was really happy with these three weeks and I'm looking forward to the next ones.
"Sometimes you feel you're doing all the right shots and you're losing matches, and sometimes you kind of don't even think, just go it, go for some crazy stuff. A lot of shots this tournament were landing which were maybe not supposed to be, and when confidence is going sometimes that helps a lot."
Medvedev's win makes him the third player in the last two years to land three titles in as many weeks, the ATP said, after Casper Ruud in July 2021 and Felix Auger-Aliassime.in October 2022.
Novak Djokovic was waiting on Saturday to learn whether he would get last-minute clearance to enter the United States to play at Indian Wells and Miami, as American tennis chiefs threw support behind the world number one.
US senator Rick Scott claimed Djokovic has been refused permission by the US Department of Homeland Security for a vaccine waiver and urged president Joe Biden to intervene on behalf of the Serbian and "fix this NOW".
Scott was backed by fellow senator Marco Rubio, who wrote on Twitter: "@DjokerNole [Djokovic] shouldn’t be prohibited from playing in the @MiamiOpen because of unconstitutional vaccine mandates.
"@POTUS [Biden] should immediately grant Djokovic a waiver to the vaccine mandate for international travellers."
Djokovic has refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and that stance has cost him places in two grand slam tournaments, being deported before last year's Australian Open and then denied permission to compete at the US Open later in the season.
It has also meant he has had to miss regular tour events in the United States, which demands international travellers are fully vaccinated.
Scott and Rubio are both senators for Florida, and accordingly their focus is on the Miami Open, which runs from March 22 to April 2.
More pressingly for the 35-year-old Djokovic, the Indian Wells tournament begins in the coming week, with main draw singles matches getting under way on Wednesday.
A statement posted on the US Open Twitter page confirmed support for the 22-time grand slam winner.
It read: "Novak Djokovic is one [of] the greatest champions our sport has ever seen.
"The USTA and US Open are hopeful that Novak is successful in his petition to enter the country, and that the fans will be able to see him back in action at Indian Wells and Miami."
Tiger Woods will not take part in The Players Championship next week after failing to enter the tournament before Friday's deadline.
The 82-time PGA Tour winner finished tied for 45th at the Genesis Invitational in February, with that his first appearance since The Open last July.
However, after competing in his first standard PGA Tour event since October 2020, Woods confirmed he will mainly focus on being ready for this year's four majors.
That means skipping the PGA Tour's flagship tournament, which gets under way on Thursday at TPC Sawgrass, with Woods not part of the 144-player field announced on Friday.
The list includes 43 of the world's top-50 players, including top three Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy.
Woods, who continues to be hampered by mobility issues caused in a career-threatening car accident in February 2021, had been eligible due to winning The Masters in 2019.
The two-time Players Championship winner is expected to next be in action at The Masters in early April.
Erik Spoelstra bemoaned Julius Randle's one-in-100 clutch three that defeated his Miami Heat and continued the New York Knicks' winning run.
The Knicks had won seven straight ahead of Friday's trip to the Heat but looked set to see that streak ended as they trailed by a point with only seconds remaining.
But Randle somehow worked room for a shot after initially fumble the ball on the right sideline and drained a stunning effort from three-point range.
Randle finished with 43 points and eight made threes, but it was understandably that final attempt that so frustrated Heat coach Spoelstra in a 122-120 defeat.
"If you did that play 100 times, 99 times out of that it's going to end up in our favour," Spoelstra said.
"That's just crazy unfortunate luck on our part and good fortune for them. He made a heck of a shot."
"Crazy" was how RJ Barrett described it, too, saying of Randle: "He just went crazy today.
"When you're in a mode like that and you're just making shots like that, the basket just gets bigger. We needed it, for sure."
Randle himself added: "It was fate. It felt good honestly when it left my hand. I was in the zone, I guess."
The forward so caught up in the moment he knocked Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau to the floor as he ran the length of the court to celebrate.
"He's a little mad at me right now," Randle joked later. "I need to talk to him."
Stipe Miocic will face the winner of Saturday's heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane, UFC president Dana White has announced.
Jones makes his long-awaited return to the UFC at heavyweight in Las Vegas.
A former two-time light heavyweight champion, Jones is facing Gane for the vacant heavyweight belt after Francis Ngannou left the UFC as a free agent.
Ngannou beat Miocic and Gane in his last two fights before quitting, and Jones will take on the same pair in reverse order if he comes through Saturday's bout at UFC 285.
"He's absolutely the next one," White said of Miocic. "So, whoever wins on Saturday night will face Stipe next."
But there will be no blockbuster return for Ngannou, who White says will not be allowed back into the UFC.
"We negotiated with him for years," he said. "It's over. That's over. He'll never be in the UFC again."
Seventh seed Tommy Paul claimed a spot in the Mexican Open final after proving too good for countryman Taylor Fritz in the longest match in Acapulco history on Friday.
Paul edged the third seed 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-2) in three hours and 29 minutes in their semi-final clash in Acapulco.
World number 23 Paul actually generated a match point late in the second set but spurned his initial chance, then waiting another two hours before winning in the third-set tie-break.
Paul let match point slip at 5-4 in the second set and had to rally back from 3-1 down in the third, but triumphed on his fourth match point.
"I couldn't be happier," Paul said. "The goal for this year was to get the ranking up and get more trophies. I only have one trophy on Tour between singles and doubles.
"You don't get trophies unless your in the final, and hopefully I can play another good match tomorrow and get the winner's trophy."
The 2023 Australian Open semi-finalist will take on Alex de Minaur in Saturday's decider, after he defeated Holger Rune 3-6 7-5 6-2 in two hours and 50 minutes.
In the Chile Open, local Nicolas Jarry progressed into the semi-finals with a 3-6 6-3 6-4 win over German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann. Jarry will face Spaniard Jaume Munar after he won 6-3 3-6 6-2 over Thiago Monteiro.
Third seed Sebastian Baez got past Laslo Djere 7-6 (7-4) 6-4, setting up a semi-final date with Tomas Martin Etcheverry after he won 6-1 6-2 over Dusan Lajovic.
Steve Kerr is enthused by the Golden State Warriors' recent form, believing his team have "turned a corner" in their season.
The defending NBA champions have endured a difficult up-and-down year, not helped by injuries to Finals MVP Stephen Curry.
But as Curry prepares to return from his latest lay-off, which has so far spanned 11 games, the Warriors are hitting form.
They ended a 5-0 homestand with victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, improving to 34-30 in fifth place in the Western Conference.
"It's been exciting to see our team, I think, turn a corner," said coach Kerr.
The Warriors are only a game behind the Phoenix Suns in fourth place, giving them a clear target for the remainder of the season.
"You realise how important all these games are from here on out," Klay Thompson added.
"We want to do everything we can to have home court, especially in the first round. So, it's a great challenge, and it's there for us to take."
Thompson, who is scoring 22.1 points per game for the year, has averaged 27.1 points over the last 11 games while Curry has been out and 30.3 points across the Warriors' seven wins in that time.
"Guys have figured out their roles, and I think we are in great condition," he said. "We are having fun, above all."
Joe Mazzulla could see the Brooklyn Nets' fightback coming even as the Boston Celtics led by 28 points on Friday.
The Nets produced the biggest comeback win of the season, tied for the biggest in franchise history, trailing by 28 midway through the second quarter but wiping out that deficit by midway through the third.
Brooklyn won 115-105 as the Celtics suffered their biggest collapse since blowing another 28-point lead against the Los Angeles Clippers in February 2019.
Yet Mazzulla had been concerned early on, with the Nets shooting 18.2 per cent from three-point range in the first quarter, showing the clear room for improvement.
The Celtics shot 44.4 per cent from beyond the arc over the same period, although they still only attempted nine threes. Only in five of their previous 51 first quarters had they attempted fewer, averaging 11.3 threes attempted in first quarters this season.
"I was actually worried, because we were scoring, but it wasn't because we were making shots," Mazzulla said. "It was because we were getting lay-ups.
"And they are a very analytically sound team, so I knew the tide was going to shift because they were going to continue to shoot threes.
"If we didn't play at a level of shooting threes and getting offensive rebounds and taking care of the ball, that was going to cost us."
Sure enough, as the Celtics made five-of-21 threes over the remaining three quarters (23.8 per cent), the Nets shot 12 of 33 (36.4 per cent).
Brooklyn's 44 total attempts from three tied their season high, and that volume shooting from deep made such a comeback feel far more achievable, according to Cam Johnson.
"It really does," Johnson said. "Especially when you know you're just messing up a lot, and that's the reason for it.
"In the NBA, leads aren't safe. Leads just aren't safe, you know? People go on runs. Sometimes shots go in, sometimes they don't.
"And so you've just got to stick to the script, keep your head down and keep working, and we had that effort across the board today and the result was a win."
The Brooklyn Nets produced the biggest comeback of the NBA season led by Mikal Bridges as they stunned the Boston Celtics 115-105 on Friday.
The Nets trailed by 28 points in the second quarter but rallied back with a 34-20 third quarter, eclipsing the previous largest comeback this season, set by the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this week, fighting back from 27 points down against the Dallas Mavericks.
Brooklyn outscored Boston 74-47 across the second and third quarters, claiming a three-quarter time lead before running away with their best victory since Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving's departures.
The Nets, sixth in the Eastern Conference, improve their record to 35-28, halting a four-game losing streak.
Bridges, who came in from the Phoenix Suns as part of the exchange for Durant, top scored with 38 points on 13-of-22 shooting with 10 rebounds and four assists.
New acquisitions Cam Johnson, who also joined in that trade from the Suns, Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie contributed 20, 17 and 17 points respectively.
Jayson Tatum went none-of-eight from beyond the arc, scoring 22 points with 13 rebounds, five assists and two blocks.
Jaylen Brown top scored for the Celtics with 35 points on 15-of-27 shooting from the field, but Boston shot nine-of-30 from three-point range.
Nugs down Grizz in west top-two clash
The Denver Nuggets rallied back from 11 points down in a clash against the top two teams in the Western Conference, winning 113-97 over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Nikola Jokic recorded another triple-double with 18 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists, but it was Michael Porter Jr who top scored with 26 points. Jamal Murray added 22 points with four three-pointers.
Ja Morant scored a game-high 27 points for the Grizzlies, who led by seven points with six minutes remaining in the third quarter, before the Nuggets stormed home, winning the fourth period 33-17.
The Nuggets' win, combined with the Celtics' loss, means Denver have the second-best record in the NBA, improving to 45-19. Memphis falls to 38-24.
Knicks stay hot after clutch Randle triple
The New York Knicks extended their winning streak to eight games as Julius Randle scored 43 points with eight three-pointers in their 122-120 triumph over the Miami Heat.
Randle's eight triples included a game-winning clutch three-pointer with 1.7 seconds remaining, underlining an outstanding individual display, helping the Knicks improve their record to 38-27 to close in on the east's top four.
Tyler Herro, who finished with 29 points had put the Heat up with a layup with 23.1 seconds left, before Randle made the crucial score, albeit in a broken play under pressure from Jimmy Butler. Butler had a team-high 33 points with eight rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Jon Rahm's brilliant recent run came to a dramatic halt in windy conditions as he slipped down the leaderboard on day two at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Friday, with Kurt Kitayama taking a two-stroke lead.
Rahm, who has claimed five wins from his past nine starts worldwide, had led the event after an opening-day seven-under 65 but carded a four-over round of 76 on day two to be six strokes off the pace at three-under overall.
The Spaniard's round saw him come back to earth, falling away dramatically late with three bogeys and a double bogey in his final five holes at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Florida.
Rahm's struggles opened the door for Kitayama, who had been joint second after the first day. Kitayama backed that up with a four-under 68 with five birdies and one bogey to be nine-under overall.
Kitayama has led three events this season after 36 holes and is yet to convert any into victories.
Over Kitayama's shoulder is three-time major winner Jordan Spieth who found his putting groove to card a three-under-par 69, sitting two shots off the lead at seven-under overall. Spieth might have been closer if not for a bogey on the 18th after a poor drive.
Xander Schauffele and Corey Conners are tied at six under, with Davis Riley, Patrick Cantlay, Matt Fitzpatrick and Justin Thomas behind them at five under. Conners carded the day's best round with a six-under 66.
Last month's Honda Classic winner Chris Kirk was tied for second after the opening day but also dropped away with a day-two 75 that included two double bogeys.
Among those to miss the projected cut, with play suspended with two players left on the course, were Collin Morikawa, Tom Hoge and Hideki Matsuyama.
Jonathan Isaac's season is over after just 11 games, adding to the Orlando Magic forward's injury woes.
The Magic announced on Friday that Isaac had received surgery to repair a torn left adductor muscle, ending his campaign.
The 25-year-old only returned in late January from a full two years on the sidelines after suffering an ACL injury during the 2020 NBA bubble.
"Our thoughts are with Jonathan, whose fortitude in dealing with adversity is unique," Magic president Jeff Weltman said in a statement.
"Jonathan has worked extremely hard to return to the court this season and has demonstrated his impact on our team. We will be by his side as he focuses on the work ahead."
The confirmation from the Magic on Friday said: "An MRI conducted on Wednesday revealed the injury, after [Isaac] felt discomfort following Tuesday's practice in Milwaukee."
Isaac was the sixth overall selection in the 2017 NBA Draft, and has made 147 appearances for Orlando since, averaging 11.9 points per game in the 2019-20 season, but only managed 5.0 points and 0.5 assists per game in his 11 games this season.
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