The Los Angeles Clippers have their backs against the wall but head coach Tyronn Lue is confident the championship-chasing franchise will show their true colours in Game 3 of the Western Conference first round.

Expectations are high with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George leading the way in Los Angeles, however the Clippers trail the Dallas Mavericks 2-0 heading into Friday's showdown in the NBA playoffs after back-to-back defeats on home court.

The fourth-seeded Clippers are looking to banish the demons of last season, which saw the team sensationally surrender a 3-1 series lead in a 4-3 defeat to the Denver Nuggets in the Conference semi-finals under former coach Doc Rivers.

"I think when you're down 2-0 and you're coming into another team's arena, it shows what you're made of," Lue said on Thursday.

"Our toughness all year, just trust, sticking together, this is going to show us tomorrow who we are and what we are made of. So I'm excited to see [it]."

Lue added: "Urgency is the right word. Pressure or panic, I don't believe in that. ... [The Clippers have to] understand the urgency and understand what we are trying to do and basically everybody get on the same page.

"That's the biggest thing for me. But like I said, we are urgent and we are ready to go. We cleaned up some things we need to clean up."

The Clippers have lost five consecutive playoffs games since last winning in the postseason – Game 4 against the Nuggets in 2019-20.

"You can't hit back if you don't swing ... We've got to bring physicality to the game," Lue, who won the championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, said. "They've definitely been the more physical team, and I don't know why that is because we talk about that. So in order to throw a punch, you've got to swing."

"We have got to be more physical, we've got to swing and we have to come out punching and we can't keep getting behind the 8-ball in the first quarter. We have to be better defensively to start the game. We are well aware of that, and now we have to go out and execute it."

New York Mets ace Noah Syndergaard has been shut down for six weeks due to right elbow inflammation.

Syndergaard had been targeting a mid-June return, having missed the coronavirus-shortened 2020 MLB season following Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow.

The 2016 All-Star – who threw a career-high 197.2 pitches in 2019, with 202 strikeouts but a career-worst 4.28 ERA – had felt discomfort during a minor league rehab start on Tuesday.

Now, Syndergaard and the Mets have been dealt a major blow, with the pitcher set to remain on the injured list until at least August.

"We pray that he can pitch for us this year," Mets manager Luis Rojas said of the 28-year-old – who is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2021 season – on Thursday.

"As tough as it is for us to hear, I can't imagine how tough it is for him," Rojas said. "This guy works really hard. He was in unbelievable shape.

"He was throwing the ball like you expect him to throw the ball, with all the force that he has, and probably that caused this to happen."

Rojas added: "It's big. We were just counting on him being here a month or less than a month from now, and this happening is tough.

"All in all, it's good to hear that there's no structural damage in the UCL [ulnar collateral ligament], but let's see. … I think this is the right approach, being preventative."

Riccardo Bocalon's last-gasp goal confirmed Venezia's promotion to Serie A, as they claimed a 2-1 aggregate victory over Cittadella in the Serie B play-off.

Venezia were last in Serie A in 2001-02, but having led 1-0 from the first leg, their hopes of a return to the top flight were dented when Federico Proia scored in the 26th minute to put Cittadella ahead on Thursday.

Indeed, their chances appeared to be slim as Cittadella piled on the pressure, with the visitors mustering 16 attempts in total, with five – including their goal – on target.

But a battling Venezia performance, which also included Mattia Aramu, who had already been subbed off, being sent off for foul language, came good in the 93rd minute when Bocalon struck to secure a long-awaited return to the big time.

Venezia, who finished fifth in Serie B, follow Empoli and second-placed Salernitana into the top tier for the 2021-22 campaign.

Davide Calabria should be fit to return for next season after undergoing surgery on a sports hernia, Milan have confirmed.

The full-back has not been included in Italy's provisional squad for Euro 2020, so his season was already over after helping Milan qualify for the Champions League with a 2-0 win over Atalanta on Sunday.

Calabria played 36 times across all competitions for Milan in 2020-21, scoring twice and providing one assist from 26 chances created, while also helping Stefano Pioli's team keep 11 clean sheets.

The 24-year-old may well feel hard done by to have missed out on Roberto Mancini's 33-man selection, which will be cut to 26 by the deadline of midnight on June 1.

His numbers stack up well when compared to the three right-backs included in Mancini's squad – Alessandro Florenzi, Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Manuel Lazzari.

Napoli's Di Lorenzo is the be standout option from an attacking perspective, having scored four goals and teed up a further seven in all competitions, with his 62 chances created far better than the efforts Calabria, Florenzi or Lazzari (both 28).

Defensively, however, Calabria seems to the outstanding candidate. He attempted 105 tackles, 10 more than Di Lorenzo and far ahead of Florenzi (38), who spent the season on loan at Paris Saint-Germain, and Lazio wing-back Lazzari (29), with an impressive 61.9 per cent success rate. 

Calabria went into 333 duels, winning 200 – more than either Florenzi or Lazzari – and he won 32 of his 62 aerial battles, with Di Lorenzo bettering the Milan man for interceptions (47, compared to 41).

He did attempt fewer open-play crosses (78) than any of his counterparts, with only 21 of them finding a team-mate, although Calabria's tally of 130 passes into the final third was second only to Di Lorenzo (153).

Nevertheless, Calabria's focus will now be on Milan's 2021-22 campaign, with the club confirming a planned recovery time of six weeks.

A Milan statement read: "The operation, performed by videolaparoscopy by Dr Giuseppe Sansonetti in the presence of Rossoneri doctor Lucio Genesio, was perfectly successful."

Paul George may have insisted it is not time to worry just yet but the Los Angeles Clippers face a critical Game 3 on the road against the Dallas Mavericks.

Dallas returned home from LA with a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series that is a repeat of a first-round playoff clash in the NBA bubble from last season. On that occasion, the teams were locked together at 2-2 before the Clippers pulled clear to prevail.

This time around, the favoured team - though admittedly it is a meeting of the fourth and fifth seeds in the Western Conference - has plenty of work to do if they are to progress again.

Luka Doncic starred once more in a 127-121 triumph on Tuesday to help the Mavericks double their advantage, though George made clear in the aftermath that the Clippers can still dig themselves out of the early hole.

"It's a competition. We've got to rise to the occasion. The fact of the matter is if we don't, we're done for," he told the media.

"But it's no level of concern. We've just got to play our game. We've got to play through this. We've got to incorporate our defense.

"Luka's going to get his touches. We've just got to do a better job defensively of just quieting everybody else."

Doncic is certainly getting touches - the Slovenian has scored 70 points so far in the series, as well as contributing 18 assists. Now with home-court advantage, he has the chance to push Dallas' much-fancied opponents to the brink of an early elimination that will raise serious questions over their future.

With George and Kawhi Leonard paired together, the Clippers were tipped to contend in the 2019-20 season. A dramatic collapse when 3-1 up against the Denver Nuggets in the West semi-finals put paid to any title hopes, but an even earlier exit this year would be just as surprising.

"This is playoff basketball, we've just got to figure it out," Leonard told the media. "Just like the regular season, you might lose two in a row and then go on a winning streak, so just having that same mentality.

"We're playing the same team; we know what they're doing. We've just got to stay focused and make sure we are keeping our eye on the prize."

A defeat in Dallas, however, and the Clippers should be seriously concerned about their predicament.

TOP PERFORMERS

Luka Doncic – Dallas Mavericks

In the previous series between these teams, Doncic dazzled in defeat. He averaged 31.0 points per game back then – but he is already up at 35 this time around. That number is helped by him shooting 41.7 per cent from deep, while the team itself are averaging a spectacular 50.0 per cent on their attempts from three-point range.

Paul George - Los Angeles Clippers

After averaging 23.3 points per game in the regular season, George has raised that number up to 25.5 at the start of the playoffs, despite landing just three of his 15 shots from beyond the arc. That level of production is pivotal for the Clippers, but so too is his ability to help get stops as they aim to slow Dallas' offensive production.

KEY BATTLE – TAKING AIM FROM DISTANCE

Can the Mavs remain hot from long range? Doncic was always likely to get points in the series, but the supporting cast have done an excellent job helping their star turn. Tim Hardaway Jr has been particularly impressive, averaging 24.5 points thanks to 11 made three-pointers. 

In contrast, LA have not lived up to their team average of 41.1 per cent on three in the regular season, which was the best in the league. It is not due to a lack of opportunities either, as they have had 10 more field-goal attempts than their rivals through the opening two games. 

HEAD TO HEAD

The franchises are locked together at four wins apiece when it comes to previous playoff meetings, but Dallas dominates the record in the regular season at 95-67. They won two out of three earlier in this campaign, but the solitary defeat did come at home.

Simone Inzaghi has stepped down as head coach of Lazio amid strong links with the vacant Inter job.

The 45-year-old has spent his entire five-year managerial career at Stadio Olimpico, where he also enjoyed 11 years of service during his playing days.

Inzaghi guided Lazio to Coppa Italia success in 2018-19 and a couple of Supercoppa Italiana triumphs in 2017 and 2019, as well as ending the club's 13-year wait for Champions League qualification.

He had been widely expected to extend his contract with the Biancocelesti, which is due to expire at the end of next month, but it has now been confirmed the former Italy international is leaving the club.

Lazio released a statement on their official website on Thursday but did not refer to Inzaghi by name.

"We respect the change of mind of a coach and, before that, of a player who for many years tied his name to the Lazio family and the many Biancocelesti successes," the statement read.

Inzaghi, who was previously touted as a contender for the Tottenham job, won 108, drew 35 and lost 55 of his 198 matches in charge of Lazio.

Reports from Italy suggest Inter are close to agreeing a deal with Inzaghi to succeed Antonio Conte, who left San Siro by mutual consent on Wednesday just a month on from ending the Nerazzurri's 11-year Scudetto wait.

Conte's departure came amid a reported dispute between the coach and the club's owners over salary cuts and player sales, with Inter reportedly looking to raise €100million to help balance the books.

Novak Djokovic felt he produced his best performance of the year in breezing past Federico Coria at the Belgrade Open for a milestone victory.

World number one Djokovic needed a little under an hour to beat Coria 6-1 6-0 on Thursday and set up a semi-final with Andrej Martin on home soil.

The victory moves the 34-year-old above Argentine great Guillermo Vilas for the fifth-most victories in the Open Era with 952.

He is 70 wins adrift of fourth-placed Rafael Nadal (1,022). Ivan Lendl (1,068) is third, behind Roger Federer (1,243), with Jimmy Connors holding the record of 1,274 wins.

Djokovic won 53 of the 75 points played against Coria and dropped just one game to remain on course for a third crown in Serbia ahead of the French Open.

"It was a great display," Djokovic said in his on-court interview. "It's probably one of the best matches, if not the best match, I played this year. I felt fantastic from the first point.

"It was the first time that I played against Coria and I tried to impose an aggressive style from the very beginning and not allow him to have too much time to play around. I played a phenomenal second set, really flawless.

"It's not always possible to play like this. But I think this definitely helps me feel better on the court. I think everything worked perfectly for me today."

Martin awaits Djokovic in the last four after the world number 119 recovered from a set down to beat Dusan Lajovic 3-6 6-3 6-4.

Alex Molcan remains in the hunt for a shock triumph in Belgrade, meanwhile, after beating Fernando Verdasco 6-2 6-0 to set up a showdown with Federico Delbonis.

Eighth seed Delbonis advanced to his second semi-final of the season following Roberto Carballes Baena's withdrawal through illness.

At the Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma, Sebastian Korda eliminated Yoshihito Nishioka to set up an all-American semi-final with Tommy Paul, who took down Jan-Lennard Struff with a 6-2 6-4 victory.

Richard Gasquet was another seeded player to fall as he lost 6-1 6-1 to Jaume Munar, with the Spaniard now set to take on Italian wild card Marco Cecchinato – a straight-sets winner against lucky loser Norbert Gombos – for a place in the final.

Unseeded duo Sorana Cirstea and Jule Niemeier marched into the semi-finals of the Internationaux de Strasbourg on Thursday.

Romanian Cirstea emphatically beat eighth seed Zhang Shuai 6-2 6-1 and moved into the last four after Bianca Andreescu withdrew following her second-round success over Maryna Zanevska due to an abdominal injury.

Cirstea lost only seven of the 31 points on her first serve and did not face a solitary break point in an impressive victory ahead of the French Open.

She broke Zhang on four occasions and will do battle with Magda Linette for a place in the final.

Linette took out fourth seed Yulia Putintseva 6-3 6-3, breaking once in the first set and three times in the second.

Qualifier Niemeier upset seventh seed Shelby Rogers, completing a 6-4 7-6 (8-6) victory following a rain delay. 

The German will look to pull off another surprise when she faces Barbora Krejcikova, who eliminated Ekaterina Alexandrova with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 victory.

In a mere eight games, Luka Doncic has established himself as an elite postseason performer. Need proof? Just ask the Los Angeles Clippers, who surely must be tired of his act by now.

The Dallas Mavericks superstar is already among the game's best players at 22 years old, but that he seems to be taking his game even further when it means the most bodes well for his inclusion as a player potentially on his way to legendary status. 

All eight of Doncic's playoff games have come against the Clippers, the first six last summer as part of the NBA bubble and two more this week at Staples Center. Dallas lost last season's series in six games despite stellar play from Doncic but has taken the first two games of this first-round series with more otherworldly efforts from the Slovenian wunderkind aided by a better supportive cast.

In the first two games of this series, Doncic has totalled 70 points on 27-of 53 shooting (50.9 percent) with 17 rebounds and 18 assists. He notched his second career 30-point triple double in the playoffs in Game 1, to go along with his 43-point performance in Game 4 against the Clippers last August. The only other active player to have a 30-point triple-double in the playoffs at age 22 or younger was LeBron James in 2006.

Doncic, who also had a triple-double in Game 3 of last season's series against Los Angeles, is the first player in NBA history with three triple-doubles in his first seven career playoff games. He is also the only player since at least 1984-85 to accumulate 250 points, 70 rebounds and 70 assists in his first eight postseason games.

Doncic's playoff scoring has him alongside basketball royalty at this early juncture of his career. Since the 1963-64 seasons, only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (287), Michael Jordan (283), LeBron James (266), Bob McAdoo (261) and Anthony Davis (258) scored more points in the first eight playoff games of their NBA career than Doncic's 256.

Whichever defender has been sent his way in the first two games of this series, Doncic has had an answer. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George aren't just outstanding offensive players but also have reputations as excellent on the defensive end. Both have locked down star players in the past but neither has had much success in this series against Doncic. 

While Doncic's physical gifts are well-documented, his basketball IQ and calm demeanour are just as important parts of his basketball arsenal. Also working in Dallas' favour this time around is a supporting cast that has continued its strong play from the regular season. 

A more confident Kristaps Porzingis has scored 34 points in the first two games and Tim Hardaway Jr. has been an absolute revelation for the Mavericks with 49 points - including 11 of 17 from three-point range - on 17 of 27 overall from the field. Jalen Brunson and Maxi Kleber also have made key contributions. 

Conventional wisdom says double-teaming Doncic is the easiest way to slow him down, but that won't work if Hardaway continues to knock down shots with such regularity. 

If the Clippers' plan was to push Doncic further away from the basket, that may need to be reconsidered after he connected on 10 of 24 from long range in the first two games. 

Perhaps sending Doncic to the free throw line is the way to go since he has made just six of 14 in this series. Since sinking 14 of 15 from the stripe in his playoff debut last season, Doncic is just a 54.0 percent (34 of 63) free-throw shooter in seven postseason contests. 

The Clippers were the league's top three-point shooting team in the regular season at 41.1 per cent but have only made 24 of 73 (32.9 per cent) in this series. Dallas, meanwhile, has hit exactly half of its shots from beyond the arc (35 of 70) and is shooting a blistering 54.4 per cent (86 for 158) overall. Los Angeles needs that to change if it is to have any chance at coming back. 

There is not much more the Clippers' stars can do after Leonard poured in 41 points and George added 28 in Tuesday's Game 2 loss. It's almost hard to believe the Clippers are down 0-2 in this series heading to Dallas with Leonard and George combining for 118 points on 51.8 percent (43 of 83) from the field and 34 rebounds. 

The Mavericks haven't won a postseason series since Dirk Nowitzki led them over Miami in the 2011 Finals, losing all five of their series since then. They certainly weren't expected to win this one, and while there's still plenty of work to be done, history is on their side.

Since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976, only four teams have won a series after losing the first two games at home: The 1993 Suns (Lakers), the 1994 Rockets (Suns), the 2005 Mavericks (Rockets) and the 2017 Celtics (Bulls). 

Alberto Bettiol chased down Remi Cavagna on the final climb to claim victory on stage 18 ​of the Giro d'Italia on a day that saw Egan Bernal retain his lead.

EF Education-Nippo rider Bettiol was part of a 23-strong breakaway when starting his pursuit with 15 kilometres remaining and caught Cavagna with six to go on the longest stage of the race.

The 2019 Tour of Flanders winner went solo from that point on to earn his maiden win on home soil and his team's first stage triumph at this year's race, while Cavagna slipped down to ninth.

"I really wanted a victory like this," Bettiol said. "I had already come close on a couple of occasions. 

"This morning Hugh [Carthy] gave me the green light to go on the attack. I want to thank him and the whole team. I didn't want to miss this opportunity."

Bettiol finished 17 seconds ahead of a congested pack, with Simone Consonni second after pipping Nicolas Roche on the line in Thursday's 231km journey from Rovereto to Stradella.

The peloton were around 23 minutes further back as Bernal enjoyed a stress-free day on the mostly-flat surface to hold on to the maglia rosa, having finally showed signs of weakness on Wednesday.

He will head into the three remaining stages with a two minute and 21 seconds lead over Damiano Caruso, while Simon Yates is three minutes and 23 seconds behind.

Friday's 166km stage 19, which has been rerouted following a tragic cable car crash earlier this week, takes the riders from Abbiategrasso to Alpe di Mera and gives Caruso and Yates another chance to chase down the race leader.

"I hope I've recovered well. I felt much better on the bike than yesterday and I hope tomorrow will be another good day," Bernal said.

"It's difficult to say I'm super confident – I'm just trying to do my best.  I have a lot of respect for the other guys and I need to be focused and do my best, that's it."

STAGE RESULT

1. Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-Nippo) 5:14:43
2. Simone Consonni (Cofidis) +00:17
3. Nicolas Roche (Team DSM) +00:18
4. Nikias Arndt (Team DSM) +00:18
5. Diego Ulissi (UAE Emirates) +00:18

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) 77:10:18
2. Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) +02:21
3. Simon Yates (Team BikeExchange) +03:23

Points Classification

1. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) 135
2. Davide Cimolai (Israel Start-Up Nation) 113
3. Fernando Gaviria (UAE Emirates) 110

King of the Mountains

1. Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroen Team) 180
2. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) 109
3. Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) 79

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic could meet at the semi-final stage of the French Open, while Iga Swiatek and Ash Barty are in the same half of the draw.

Nadal will start his quest to win the Paris grand slam a staggering 14th time with a first-round encounter against Australian Alexei Popyrin next week.

Defending champion Nadal, the third seed, is in the same half of the draw as fellow all-time greats Djokovic and Federer, who could face the Serbian world number one in the last eight.

Top seed Djokovic, who is two major titles shy of the record of 20 held by Federer and Nadal, will take on Tennys Sandgren in the first round.

Swiss great Federer will come up against a qualifier in round one at Roland Garros, while two-time runner-up Dominic Thiem is up against Pablo Andujar.

Pole Swiatek claimed her maiden grand slam title at the French Open last year and takes on her close friend Kaja Juvan in the first round.

World number one Barty, who did not travel to Paris to defend her title in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, has will make her return at the clay-court major against Bernarda Pera.

Serena Williams comes up against Irina-Camelia Begu, while last year's runner-up Sofia Kenin must do battle with the 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko in a standout first-round match.

Carla Suarez Navarro can expect plenty of support when she takes on Sloane Stephens in her first tournament since successfully completing cancer treatment.

Antonio Conte celebrated the "journey" he has been on at Inter and the success of being able to "break the logic of mediocrity" after he decided to leave the Serie A champions.

Conte guided Inter to their first Scudetto since 2010 in the 2020-21 season, with the Nerazzurri ending Juventus' dominant nine-season streak.

Inter finished second and reached the Europa League final in Conte's first season at the club, but there was speculation he would leave then amid rumours of disagreements with the club's hierarchy.

Conte stayed on but, with speculation of a supposed dispute with the club's owners over salary cuts and player sales, his departure was confirmed on Wednesday.

Links to the now-vacant Real Madrid job have already started to surface, while Inter reportedly have to raise €100million by selling players ahead of next season, with the futures of star men Romelu Lukaku, Lautaro Martinez and Milan Skriniar uncertain.

But with his future up in the air for now, Conte used his official Instagram account to reflect on his time at Inter and thank the club's president Steven Zhang, who has been the subject of fan ire following the upheaval. 

"What a journey in these two years!" Conte posted.

"Every day we have made grow in us more and more strength, determination, will and sacrifice, managing to break the logic of mediocrity with which we are often surrounded.

"No excuses, but only work, work and work, combined with respect and education. We brought the Scudetto back to Inter after 11 years, but above all we brought Inter back to the place where history and tradition deserve to be.

"THANKS to who made this possible! Footballers, staff, president, managers and all those people who have helped and supported us in these two years.

"I would like to say to the Inter fans that in a very difficult period for everyone due to the pandemic, we have always felt their support, warmth and closeness.

"The image of the Scudetto Cup raised from the highest ring of San Siro with you in celebration, I will always carry it with me! THANK YOU!"

Inter lost just three league games to secure the title and finished with 91 points – 12 more than runners-up Milan.