Hearts midfielder Cammy Devlin is relishing a high-stakes finale to the season as Hearts aim to continue hunting down Aberdeen and secure European group-stage football.
The Jambos pulled off a potentially huge victory over the Dons on Saturday to cut the gap between the teams from five points to two in the battle for third place in the cinch Premiership.
Hearts travel to Rangers on Wednesday and host city rivals Hibernian on Saturday, while the Dons welcome St Mirren before finishing away to Celtic.
Devlin knows it will be a “special” ending to the season if his side can pip the Reds and secure third place – and the financial and European rewards that go with it – for the second year running.
“Being a professional footballer you want to play in the big pressure games,” said the Australia international. “For all of us being fortunate enough to be at a club like Hearts, that pressure is normal.
“It’s about building yourself up for the games and being up for it, and there’s no excuses for not being up for it.
“On Saturday, as individuals and as a team, we showed we are up for it. We’ve got massive games coming up and it could be very special, but we’ve just got to control what we can control and hopefully make that happen.”
Devlin is adamant Hearts never gave up hope of finishing third even though Aberdeen, who won eight games out of nine before the split, seemed to be marching clear in recent months.
“I don’t think we’ve ever taken our mind off third,” he said. “That’s where we know we need to be. Obviously there was a period there where we as players weren’t good enough, but I think you can see now where we want to be.
“We look like we’re turning it around. Saturday was a massive result and it showed how hungry we are to give back to the people who pay to come and watch us home and away, and hopefully we can finish that off in the last two games.”
Hearts had 30 goal attempts against Aberdeen and 38 in their recent 6-1 victory over Ross County.
Devlin has enjoyed the “front-foot” football Steven Naismith has encouraged since being appointed interim manager in April and the midfielder feels that approach is essential for Wednesday’s match with Rangers at Ibrox, a venue at which the Jambos have not won in nine years.
“We’ve found it tough against Rangers, they are a very good team, there’s no shying away from that,” said Devlin.
“But since Naisy’s come in we’ve changed a few things. A few results haven’t been ideal, but I think the football we’ve been playing has been attractive to watch and as a player it’s enjoyable to be playing attacking football on the front foot.
“The defensive side of it is so important (at Ibrox), but we need to go and score more goals than them.
“Naisy won’t want to set us up defensively because that’s not the coach he is and (assistants) Frankie (McAvoy) and Gordy (Gordon Forrest) aren’t like that.
“As players you never want to sit back on your box inviting pressure, that’s not enjoyable for any player, so we certainly won’t be doing that.
“Naisy wants us to play attacking football and take any opportunity to go forward and put pressure on the opponent. He’s instilling that into the players and I think it’s showing.”
Leicester boss Dean Smith believes his side have piled the pressure onto Everton after seeing his team set up a dramatic final day of the Premier League season with a battling draw at high-flying Newcastle.
The 2016 champions will head into Sunday’s home clash with West Ham knowing even victory might not prove enough to keep them in the top-flight, but having piled the pressure on rivals Everton and Leeds.
If the Toffees win at home to Bournemouth, both City and Sam Allardyce’s side, who host Tottenham, will be relegated regardless of their results.
But a draw at Goodison Park coupled with a Leicester win would see the Foxes survive by virtue of goal difference and Smith believes they have put the heat on Everton.
“I think we have because if they draw and we win, we stay up. I did say it might be down to goal difference,” Smith said.
“But we’ve got a tough game against West Ham, who have just qualified for a European final and have got a very good manager who’s a friend of mine, David Moyes, who I have got a lot of respect for.
“He’ll make it, certainly, a really tough game for us. We hope now that we can get to the King Power and if fortunes go our way…
“We have taken it to the last game, we’ve made Everton have to win if we win ourselves.”
The need to win – something City have done on only eight occasions to date in the league this season – means there is no margin for error on Sunday with two points currently separating them from the final safe spot in the table.
However, Smith will not adopt a gung-ho approach to the task.
“No, because if you chuck everything, they have got good enough players – they’ve just qualified for a European final – that they could open some doors against us, and we can’t allow that,” Smith added.
“We have to make sure that we play a balanced performance to make sure we don’t give big chances away, but go and create some.”
It was a very different balance on Tyneside, where Smith admitted he had set up simply to avoid defeat by a team chasing and ultimately securing Champions League qualification, although the visitors might have emerged with three priceless points had Nick Pope not made his only save of the game to keep out Timothy Castagne’s stoppage-time volley.
“Have I gambled with Leicester’s future? No. I am a bit of a risk-taker, but that wasn’t a gamble,” Smith said when asked about his approach.
“If I came here and went at Newcastle, we could have been beaten four or five. It wasn’t a gamble.
“We kept a clean sheet, which was what we needed to do. We need to score, which we know we’ve got our problems with.”
Alfredo Morelos leads the list of five out-of-contract players confirmed as leaving Rangers this summer.
The Colombia striker, winger Ryan Kent, veteran goalkeeper Allan McGregor, midfielder Scott Arfield and defender Filip Helander will depart the cinch Premiership outfit.
The Ibrox club also announced that veteran midfielder Steven Davis, whose contract is also expiring, “remains in discussions to continue working with the club’s medical team to support his return to full fitness following a long-term ACL injury suffered in December 2022”.
The Light Blues finished runners-up to Premiership champions Celtic this season and will end the season without a trophy.
Boss Michael Beale, who took over from Giovanni van Bronckhorst in November, promised a revamp of the Rangers squad for next season.
A statement on the club’s official website read: “Each of the departing players has given the club excellent service and will move on to the next stage in their careers with the warmest wishes and thanks of everyone at Ibrox and the Rangers Training Centre.
“The individuals have contributed enormously to the club’s capture of a record 55th Scottish league title, last season’s Scottish Cup, the run to the UEFA Europa League final and qualification for the UEFA Champions League this season.
“Allan McGregor, of course, also gained significant honours with the club in his first spell and broke the 500 appearance mark for Gers back in April.
“Tributes to the departing players will be paid at tomorrow’s match with Hearts.
“Additional acknowledgements to those leaving will continue on the club’s digital platforms in the coming weeks, with Allan McGregor to be further recognised in his testimonial match with Newcastle on July 18.”
A laid-back temperament is sure to help Sprewell as he bids to give Jessica Harrington a maiden Derby victory.
That is the message from the County Kildare handler, whose three-year-old son of Churchill is charting a course to the Epsom Classic on Saturday week.
Sprewell has blossomed this term, winning both starts, including an impressive three-length victory in the Group Three Derby Trial Stakes at Leopardstown.
“I’ve been delighted with him,” said Harrington. “We knew he would come on over the winter and he has run two good, solid races since.
“He came out of Leopardstown very well. He definitely stepped forward from there again and we are looking forward to Saturday week.
“I think the step up to a mile and a half will definitely suit him. He ran through the line very strong and he’s a very nice, relaxed horse, which is the main thing.
“Nothing seems to faze him and I think going the mile and a half will suit him, because I think he will settle well, which he has done in both of his races this year.”
Harrington has previously been better known for training jumping stars such as Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Sizing John, Champion Hurdler Jezki and Champion Chaser Moscow Flyer.
Yet in recent times she has acquired more Flat horses – and quality ones at that.
She has won the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot with Alpine Star and Alpha Centauri, who also took top-class success in the Falmouth, Irish 1,000 Guineas and the Prix Jacques le Marois, while Millisle landed the Cheveley Park and Albigna the Prix Marcel Boussac.
She is no stranger to Classic glory, annexing the Irish Oaks last season with Magical Lagoon before a tough period in her personal life following a breast cancer diagnosis in October.
On a conference call to promote the Betfred-sponsored blue riband, Harrington added: “Things are great and I’m lucky enough.
“I’ve finished the worst part of it probably now, the chemotherapy, and we are just going onto the next stage now. It will take a bit longer, but I’ll be out and about very shortly.
“I’ve been very lucky enough to have a great support team. My daughter Kate and my son-in-law and my other daughter Emma, they’ve been around all winter, keeping things going.
“I did my best to get out every single day I could to look at the horses, because that was the best therapy I reckoned I had, because it was just lovely looking at the horses every day.
“I went racing last Friday at Leopardstown, but I go when it is nice and near when I can.
“I will most likely be watching the Derby at home, but I just don’t know. I’ll see how I get on.”
Harrington has only had one runner in the Derby before, with 150-1 chance Gold Maze finishing ninth to Serpentine, a renewal run during the Covid pandemic in July 2020.
Sprewell goes to Epsom with a greater degree of confidence behind him as a general 12-1 chance and the 76-year-old feels his rapid progress this year, after two runs as a juvenile, will stand him in good stead.
“He’s done everything we hoped he would do,” said Harrington. “We were fairly confident going to Naas for the conditions race, rather than going for a maiden. He did that well and he learned a bit that day.
“He made a big step forward when we sent him to Leopardstown and he hit the line very strong that day, having come round the outside.”
“I think he will improve for racing,” she added. “He’s a fine, big horse.
“We are very happy with the temperament he’s got so far. He’s a laid-back horse and he’s very straightforward, and each time he’s run, he’s walked round the parade ring in a very relaxed manner.
“I know there will be much more hype and buzz in Epsom, but so far he has been very good.”
Physically and mentally, the difference between last year and this has been startling.
She added: “We always thought he would be a better three-year-old than a two-year-old. He never looked like a two-year-old. He was big and backward-looking all the way through last summer.
“He had to grow into himself and then seemed to get organised mentally. He had to grow up mentally more than anything else, he was very babyish last year.”
Those looking to pick holes in his form will point to the ground conditions. All four previous runs have some with plenty of ease and not once has the word ‘good’ entered the going description.
However, Sprewell’s conditioner feels this is something of an outlier and should they race on quick ground at Epsom, she believes it will not be a major factor.
Harrington said: “I think they will all go on it once. He is a low-moving horse, he is a very good-moving horse and I see no reason why he won’t run very well on it.
“It is just out of circumstances he’s run on soft ground, because it was a wet autumn in Ireland last year and it has been a wet spring.”
The Mohamed Khalid Mohamed Abdulrahim-owned colt has ticked every box thus far. Shane Foley’s mount will, of course, have to overcome Epsom’s idiosyncrasies of cambers and undulations, but Sprewell has plenty of the right attributes.
“He is a very well-balanced horse, so I’m hoping he will cope with it fine,” said Harrington.
“It would be very special to win the Derby. It’s on the bucket list. It is great to go there with a horse that’s got a chance. It’s very exciting.”
Callum Wilson is in line for an England recall as boss Gareth Southgate waits on Jude Bellingham’s fitness.
Newcastle striker Wilson has scored 11 goals since he was overlooked for the European Championship qualifying wins against Italy and Ukraine in March.
On Wednesday Southgate names his squad for the Euro 2024 qualifiers in Malta on June 16 and at home to North Macedonia in Manchester on June 19, with England top of Group C.
Wilson has helped spearhead the Magpies’ top-four charge and they confirmed their return to the Champions League after 20 years with Monday’s 0-0 draw against Leicester.
The 31-year-old went to the World Cup in Qatar but scored just once in 13 games after the season resumed, prompting Southgate to leave him out.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has previously backed his striker for a recall.
He said: “It’s one for Gareth, but he is certainly doing the right things, scoring goals. That is always going to get you the headlines. He is certainly in great form. I don’t know if it is his best.
“But I think he is very focused at the moment and he knows he has to be. I think the biggest compliment I can pay him is that, whatever situation he’s been in, he’s still been himself, laughing, smiling, joking.
“He is a really positive character. He’s somebody that the squad needs to be positive because he’s such a big personality within it.”
There is a spot available after Ivan Toney’s eight-month ban for betting offences was confirmed this month.
The Brentford striker made his debut as a late substitute in the 2-0 win over Ukraine but will be unable to play competitively again until January.
Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins missed out on a call-up last time and will come into Southgate’s thoughts again.
Watkins has 15 goals this season, although he has not scored in his last six outings and missed a penalty in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Liverpool.
Borussia Dortmund’s Bellingham missed Sunday’s 3-0 win at Augsburg with a knee problem he suffered in the 5-2 win over Borussia Monchengladbach and is a doubt for Saturday’s final game against Mainz.
Dortmund are two points clear of Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga, hunting their first title since 2012.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is almost certain of a return after his improved form for Liverpool and with Reece James’ season having been ended by a hamstring injury in April.
Marcus Rashford is expected to be fit after injury and illness this month and Raheem Sterling could be recalled after being injured in March, while Morgan Gibbs-White’s form, which has helped Nottingham Forest stay in the Premier League, makes him an option for Southgate.
Ben Chilwell has a hamstring injury, which could open the door for Arsenal’s Ben White to return, while Chelsea team-mate Mason Mount had surgery on a pelvic injury last month and is unlikely to be risked.
David Probert is set for a swift return to action having escaped serious injury when kicked at Windsor on Monday night.
The incident occurred in the parade ring before the 5.35 race where Probert was due to ride Bits And Bobs for Andrew Balding and having been kicked by his intended mount, green screens were put in place while he was attended to before being taken to the nearby Slough hospital.
However, there appears to be no lasting damage, with Probert tweeting on Monday night that his X-rays had come back all clear and that he was simply sore and bruised.
He intends to return to the saddle on Wednesday where he has a full book of rides at Kempton’s evening all-weather meeting.
“I’ve spoken to David this morning and he is just bruised. All being well he will be back tomorrow,” said Neil Allan, the jockey’s agent.
“He won’t be riding today because he is bruised, but he was in good spirits when I spoke to him this morning.”
LaLiga will request greater jurisdiction to punish clubs whose fans are guilty of racist abuse after feeling “powerless” at the lack of current sanctions in the wake of the latest Vinicius Junior incident.
The Spanish league is engulfed in a racism scandal after Real Madrid forward Vinicius was allegedly subjected to racist chants during Sunday’s game at Valencia and later claimed it was an example of “continuous episodes spread across several cities in Spain”.
LaLiga, according to the country’s law, can currently only identify and report incidents, and punishment is rarely handed out.
Now it wants legislation changing so that it has the power to impose punishment such as forcing games to be played behind closed doors or financial penalties.
It said in a statement: “LaLiga will request more sanctioning powers, with the aim of being more agile and effective in the fight against violence, racism, xenophobia and intolerance in sport, where LaLiga has been leading the identification and reporting of such behaviour in football stadiums for years, but feels powerless when observing how its reporting ends.
“Despite its intense and continuous fight against violence and racism to the full extent of its powers (currently, according to Spanish legislation, limited to identifying and reporting the facts that occur), LaLiga feels tremendous frustration at the lack of sanctions and convictions by the sports disciplinary bodies, public administrations and jurisdictional bodies to which it reports.
“Faced with this serious situation, in the coming days LaLiga will formally request the amendment of Law 19/2007 of July 11, against violence, racism, xenophobia and intolerance in sport and Law 39/2022 of December 30, on sport.
“The purpose of the proposal is to request that LaLiga may exercise disciplinary authority over incidents of this type which occur in matches of the professional competition, so that the disciplinary bodies of LaLiga may proceed to sanction them, among other things, with the total or partial closure of the sports venue, the prohibition of access to it in the case of members/fans and the imposition of financial penalties, without prejudice to the adoption of provisional or precautionary measures that may be appropriate, depending on the nature and seriousness of the incidents.
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“As we have been repeating in recent days, LaLiga has been leading the fight against violence, racism and intolerance on football pitches, both inside and outside the stadium, identifying such behaviour through its match directors, security officers and television cameras, and subsequently reporting it to the relevant bodies.”
It comes on the day four people have been arrested in Spain under suspicion of hanging an effigy of Vinicius off a bridge in January.
An inflatable doll dressed in a Vinicius shirt was hung from the railings with a banner that read ‘Madrid hates Real Madrid’ ahead of Real’s Copa del Rey game with city rivals Atletico at the start of the year.
And Spanish police confirmed on Tuesday that four suspects had been apprehended.
They tweeted: “Arrested in #Madrid 4 people who allegedly hung a mannequin with the #Vinicius shirt on a bridge near the Ciudad Deportiva del @realmadrid.”
The arrests follow the latest racism scandal that has engulfed Spanish football, with Vinicius targeted by racist chants during Sunday’s LaLiga game with Valencia.
The Brazil international threatened to leave the pitch in the second half after being subjected to alleged monkey chants at the Mestalla.
Real Madrid said the abuse constituted a “hate crime” and filed a complaint with the Spanish State Attorney General’s Office.
Valencia confirmed police had identified a fan who made racist gestures at Vinicius and that individual faces a lifetime stadium ban.
Vinicius tweeted on Monday night: “Every round away from home is an unpleasant surprise. And there were many this season. Death wishes, hanged doll, many criminal screams… All registered.
“But the speech always falls on ‘isolated cases’, ‘a fan’. No, these are not isolated cases. They are continuous episodes spread across several cities in Spain (and even in a television programme).
“The evidence is there in the video. Now I ask: how many of these racists had names and photos exposed on websites? I answer to make it easier: zero. None to tell a sad story or make those fake public apologies.
“What is missing to criminalise these people? And punish clubs sportingly? Why don’t sponsors charge LaLiga? Don’t televisions bother to broadcast this barbarity every weekend?
“The problem is very serious and communications no longer work. Not blaming me to justify criminal acts either. You are not football, you are inhuman.”
LeBron James paid tribute to the Denver Nuggets after the Los Angeles Lakers were swept in the Western Conference finals.
The 38-year-old said he and teammate Anthony Davis are in agreement that Denver was the best team they had faced while playing together with the Lakers.
Despite 40 points from James, 31 of which came before halftime for his highest scoring total in a half in a playoff game in his illustrious career, the Lakers lost a close Game 4 contest.
Denver prevailed 113-111 with Nikola Jokic having 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists and Jamal Murray adding 25 points as they clinched an historic 4-0 series win.
The Nuggets claimed their first Western Conference title in the team’s 47-year existence and will face either the Miami Heat or Boston Celtics for the league championship
"Me and AD were just talking in the locker room and we came to the consensus this is one of the best teams, if not the best team, we’ve played together for all four years," James said about the Nuggets.
"Just well-orchestrated, well put together. They have scoring. They have shooting. They have playmaking. They have smarts. They have length. They have depth.
"And one thing about their team, when you have a guy like Jokic, who as big as he is but also as cerebral as he is, you can’t really make many mistakes versus a guy like that."
James, who was 15-of-25 shooting, prompted a wave of coverage after Game 4 by suggesting he was considering basketball retirement.
After saying he had a lot to think about in the post-game news conference, he was asked to clarify his comments by ESPN.
Asked what he would be thinking about, James replied: "If I want to continue to play. I got to think about it.
"It was a very challenging season for me, for our ballclub, and obviously we know whatever went on early on [the Lakers started 2-10 start]. It was cool, a pretty cool ride.
"We'll see what happens going forward. I don't know. I don't like to say it's a successful year, because I don't play for anything besides winning championships. I don't get a kick out of making a conference [finals] appearance.
"I've done it a lot, and it's not fun to me to not be able to be a part of getting to the [NBA] Finals."
Davis had 21 points for the Lakers and all five starters reached double figures, but a seemingly comfortable 73-58 halftime lead swiftly evaporated as Denver outscored them 28-10 to start the second half.
Jokic’s eighth triple-double of this year’s playoffs broke a tie he shared with Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain for the most in a single postseason.
Denver will face either Miami or Boston in the Finals. The eighth-seeded Heat own a 3-0 lead in the East finals ahead of Game 4 on Tuesday.
Last year’s Derby hero Desert Crown will make his eagerly-awaited return to action after 355 days on the sidelines in Thursday’s Racehorse Lotto Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown.
Trained by Sir Michael Stoute, the Saeed Suhail-owned colt is unbeaten in three racecourse appearances.
A Nottingham maiden win at two was impressive by any standards, but he stepped up on that to win the Dante at York on his first outing at three and he looked to have the world at his feet when toying with the Derby field at Epsom.
Richard Kingscote was on board that day and maintains the partnership on a horse who has been off the track since due to injury.
Nursed along by Stoute, he is now ready to return in a race which the trainer has traditionally used as a starting point for his best middle distance horses such as Pilsudski, Notnowcato and Workforce.
Stoute also runs Solid Stone, in the same ownership, who will be ridden by Ryan Moore.
Desert Crown faces far from a penalty kick as another long-absent star returns to action in Hukum. Trained by Owen Burrows, he was last seen winning the Coronation Cup at the Derby meeting but in doing so he picked up an injury which has kept him off the track since.
Jane Chapple-Hyam’s Royal Ascot winner Claymore, David Simcock’s Cash and the Keith Dalgleish-trained Chichester returns complete the field.
Frankie Dettori has the ride on Enemy in the Racehorse Lotto Henry II Stakes. Nate The Great, Roberto Escobarr, Sleeping Lion and Princess Anne, trained in France by Hiroo Shimizu, are the other contenders.
Some very highly rated juveniles go to post for the Racehorse Lotto National Stakes, led by James Tate’s Blue Storm.
The Newmarket race he won on debut could hardly have worked out any better, as Tate explained: “Blue Storm was very taking up at Newmarket. He has been very natural at home and has showed up well all winter.
“We gave him one piece of work just before the Craven meeting, which he showed up nicely in before winning at Newmarket.
“Generally speaking my two-year-olds come on a lot from their first run to their second and if he follows that rule, we have every reason to be excited.
“What is even better is that the second, third, fourth and fifth have all won since, so the form looks great.
“There are not too many negatives and lots of reasons to be optimistic.”
Richard Hannon’s Dapper Valley, Hugo Palmer’s Chester winner Hackman and Charlie Appleby’s On Point all carry tall reputations into the 10-runner contest.
Lebron James cast doubt on his future with the Los Angeles Lakers after their season-ending defeat by the Denver Nuggets.
The 38-year-old, the top scorer in NBA history, even sparked rumours of retirement following the 113-111 loss in game four of the Western Conference finals.
“We’ll see what happens going forward,” James said at his post-game press conference.
“I don’t know. I don’t know. I’ve got a lot to think about, to be honest. Just for me personally going forward with the game of basketball, I’ve got a lot to think about.
“It was a very challenging season for me, for our club. It was a pretty cool ride, but I don’t know.
“I don’t get a kick out of making a Conference appearance. I’ve done it a lot and it’s not fun to me to not be a part of getting to the (NBA) finals.”
James scored 40 points against the Nuggets but missed two shots to tie the game in the dying seconds.
He has previously revealed a desire to play alongside his son Bronny, 18, who currently plays college basketball for the University of Southern California and will be eligible for the NBA next year.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves for his first career playoff shutout, and the Florida Panthers moved a win away from a surprising spot in the Stanley Cup Final with Monday’s 1-0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.
Bobrovsky made Sam Bennett’s power-play goal midway through the second period hold up as Florida took a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
The Panthers are aiming to become only the fourth No. 8 seed in a conference to reach the Stanley Cup Final since the NHL adopted a 16-team postseason in 1979-80.
Florida, whose lone Final appearance came in 1996, can finish off the series at home on Wednesday. In the history of the NHL playoffs, teams with a 3-0 lead have advanced in 200 of the previous 204 occurrences.
The Panthers won Game 3 despite being outshot by a 32-17 margin and losing captain Alexsander Barkov to a lower-body injury in the first period. Bobrovsky came up with 14 saves in the second period and 11 in the third, in which the Panthers managed only two shots on goal.
Nikola Jokic had 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists as the Denver Nuggets advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history with a 113-111 comeback win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday to complete a four-game sweep of the Western Conference finals.
Top-seeded Denver overcame a 15-point halftime deficit to claim its first Western Conference title in its 47-year existence and will face either the Miami Heat or Boston Celtics for the league championship. The eighth-seeded Heat own a 3-0 lead in the East finals.
Jokic made history as well by recording his eighth triple-double of this year’s playoffs to break a tie he shared with Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain for the most in a single postseason. The two-time NBA MVP also hit the eventual game-winning shot when his layup with 52 seconds remaining snapped a 111-111 tie.
The Lakers had built a seemingly comfortable 73-58 halftime lead behind 31 points from LeBron James, his highest scoring total in a half in a playoff game in his illustrious career.
Los Angeles came out cold in the third quarter, however, making just one field goal over the first 4-and-a-half minutes as the Nuggets steadily cut into their deficit. Denver outscored the Lakers 28-10 to start the second half and grabbed an 86-83 lead on Michael Porter’s tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3:34 remaining in the period.
Jokic’s 3-pointer with 2:50 left to play extended Denver’s advantage to 110-104, but the Lakers’ Austin Reaves answered with a triple on the ensuing possession to spark a 7-1 run that tied the game at 111-111 entering the final minute.
After Jokic’s layup put the Nuggets back in front, James missed a 20-footer and had his final attempt blocked by Aaron Gordon right before time expired.
James finished with 40 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists but shot just 4 of 12 from the field in the second half.
James DeGale made history by claiming the vacant IBF super-middleweight title with a thrilling unanimous decision victory over Andre Dirrell in Boston eight years ago.
DeGale became the first person to win Olympic gold and a world crown in the professional ranks for Britain after withstanding a fierce comeback from his American opponent.
The Londoner appeared on course for a sensational early stoppage after dropping Dirrell twice in the second round, with the first knockdown coming from a brutal overhand left.
Dirrell weathered the storm in the early rounds as DeGale, who won middleweight gold at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, looked for the knockout and even came on strong in the second half of the fight.
But DeGale finished strongly and two judges scored the fight 114-112 in his favour, with the third of 117-109 seemingly a bit harsh on Dirrell.
After improving his record to 21-1 (14KOs), DeGale said: “I’ve finally done it. It’s an unbelievable feeling, I’m world champ. I made history!
“I will take on any super-middleweight in the world, I’m hard to beat when I’m at my best.
“(Dirrell) is a very, very good opponent, he’s very talented, he’s hard to beat, if anything it’s me and him second and third in the rankings. Andre Ward’s there and there’s me and him. There’s no other super-middleweight that would beat me on my day.”
DeGale held the title until 2017 when he lost it to Caleb Truax before regaining it in a rematch with the American the following year.
He retired from professional boxing after a defeat by Chris Eubank Jr in February 2019.
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