Derrick White put up 28 points on Friday as the Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat 119-111 while NBA Draft top pick Victor Wembanyama starred in his first win for the San Antonio Spurs.
Jayson Tatum scored 22 points and Jaylen Brown contributed 27 in a strong all-around display from Boston, with all five starters in double figures as the Celtics won their home opener, a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference championship series.
Miami trailed by just three points with 47.1 seconds left when Jimmy Butler was called for a foul on White, which was unsuccessfully challenged by Miami coach Erik Spoelstra.
Photo: AFP
White then drained his two free throws and when Tyler Herro missed a three-point jumper and Brown sank his from 10m out, Miami’s resistance was finally over.
Three crucial blocks added to an impressive performance from White, who was delighted with beating a Heat team who secured a place in the NBA Finals with a Game 7 triumph in Boston.
“Anytime you’re on home court, you want to protect the home court and obviously, last time we played them here, they came out winning,” White said. “It’s always a big game every time we play against them and we’re going to see them down the line a lot of times. So it’s always fun.”
Photo: AP
Frenchman Wembanyama turned on the style in San Antonio’s 126-122 overtime victory over the Houston Rockets, coming up big in the latter stages of the game as he put up 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds with three blocked shots and two steals.
The Spurs trailed by two with 32.1 seconds remaining when the 19-year-old grabbed a defensive rebound and tied the game on a driving layup with 20 seconds remaining in regulation time.
Wembanyama’s jumper put his team ahead in overtime and he grabbed four total rebounds in the additional period.
Photo: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was impressed by the youngster’s impact in his second NBA start, despite “Wemby” going only two of 10 from the floor in the first half.
“He’s a competitor of course. He’s gonna be decisive and do everything to win, but they’re all like that,” he said. “We showed some composure and some not so composed. That’s work in progress. Good was they were persistent.”
Wembanyama finished the night with seven of 19 shooting from the floor, grabbing five offensive and seven defensive rebounds.
His three dunks brought the arena fans to their feet, but he received plenty of verbal attention from Popovich in the final minute of the game.
Nikola Jokic scored 22 points and made 12 rebounds and seven assists as reigning NBA champions the Denver Nuggets went to 2-0 with a 108-104 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Chicago Bulls also enjoyed an overtime win, beating the Toronto Raptors 104-103 with Demar DeRozan scoring 33 points.
Alex Caruso’s three-point jumper with 2.1 seconds remaining secured the victory for Chicago.
Luka Doncic scored 49 points, including a crucial three-pointer with 26.1 seconds left, as the Dallas Mavericks held off the Brooklyn Nets 125-120.
Elsewhere on Friday, it was:
‧ Hawks 120, Knicks 126
‧ Kings 114, Warriors 122
‧ Cavaliers 105, Thunder 108
‧ Hornets 99, Pistons 111
‧ Jazz 120, Clippers 118
‧ Trail Blazers 97, Magic 102
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
LONG TIME COMING: With the addition of Marcus Smart, the Washington Wizards finally held a team to under 100 points, the last team this season to do so The Detroit Pistons on Monday won their seventh straight game in the NBA with in-form Cade Cunningham making 32 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a 106-97 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Pistons, who are in the playoff position, moved to 32-26, their best record at this stage of a season for 17 years. It was an all-round effort from Detroit with Tobias Harris adding 20 points and Jalen Duren making 19 rebounds along with his 12 points. It was a tight contest until Detroit pulled away late in the third quarter to tie their longest winning streak since the 2014-2015
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