NBA champions the Boston Celtics, fueled by 32 points from Jayson Tatum, on Friday bounced back from an overtime defeat with a gritty 124-109 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
Tatum added 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season, while Jaylen Brown scored 25 points with six rebounds and five assists in a physical game that saw tensions erupt in the fourth quarter when former Celtics player Grant Williams sent Tatum sprawling with a shoulder-to-shoulder check.
Williams was ejected, but Brown and others were clearly angered.
Photo: AFP
Less than a minute later, LaMelo Ball was assessed a flagrant foul for crowding in under Tatum as the Celtics star attempted a three-pointer. Charlotte’s Miles Bridges was ejected in the final minutes for punching the ball.
It all could make for fireworks with the teams scheduled to face off again yesterday, but Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was not fazed.
“I loved it,” said Mazzulla, who received a technical foul as did his Hornets counterpart Charles Lee. “It was tremendous.”
Photo: AP
“Physical game, guys handled it well, great poise, great execution,” added Mazzulla, who was particularly pleased with Tatum’s response to the foul by Williams.
“I’m glad he’s fine,” Mazzulla said. “What I liked most is how he jumped right up, didn’t lay around ... went to the free-throw line and did his business.”
In Cleveland, Ohio, Darius Garland scored 25 points, while Donovan Mitchell added 22 as the Cleveland Cavaliers remained unbeaten with a 120-109 win over the visiting Orlando Magic.
Cleveland have won their first six games to start the season, matching the franchise’s best start since 2016-2017.
Evan Mobley had 14 points and 12 rebounds, Caris LeVert scored 13 points and Jarrett Allen grabbed 11 rebounds for Cleveland, who have scored at least 110 points in all six games under new coach Kenny Atkinson.
Cleveland never trailed in what was a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference first-round playoff series, which the Cavaliers won in seven games.
Orlando trailed by as many as 22 points in the third quarter and lost their second straight game.
Jalen Suggs scored a career-high 28 points, Franz Wagner and Tristan da Silva added 17 apiece, and Moritz Wagner had 14.
The Magic were without All Star forward Paolo Banchero, who sustained a torn right oblique in their loss to the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.
Elsewhere on Friday, it was:
‧ Hawks 115, Kings 123
‧ Nets 120, Bulls 112
‧ Pelicans 125, Pacers 118
‧ Pistons 98, Knicks 128
‧ Raptors 125, Lakers 131
‧ T’wolves 119, Nuggets 116
‧ Trail Blazers 114, Thunder 137
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to