Coach J. B. Bickerstaff lauded Evan Mobley's "will to win" after the rookie "stepped up big" in the Cleveland Cavaliers' stunning comeback victory against the Boston Celtics.
The Cavaliers moved to 9-5 with their sixth win in seven games on Saturday, making this their best start to a season since 2016-17 – a year in which LeBron James led the team to the third of four straight NBA Finals visits.
This latest 91-89 triumph was particularly impressive as Cleveland trailed by 19 points when Mobley returned to the game late in the third quarter.
"We keep talking about chemistry and bonding and belief in one another, and that was on full display tonight," said Bickerstaff. "That's the only way you can explain it.
"There's no basketball reason we should have won that game, but there was a collective spirit that refused to allow us to lose that game. That's what we keep talking about brewing in that locker room.
"Don't get me wrong, some guys made critical plays and carried their weight, but it's the spirit of that basketball team, that has that fight in them, that won't give up."
Several of those critical plays belonged to third overall pick Mobley, who finished with 19 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and two steals in 40 minutes. Of those, 12 points, two blocks and a steal came in the fourth quarter as he played its entirety.
No player in the NBA scored more clutch points than Mobley's six on Saturday, albeit tied with the Celtics' Jayson Tatum – who the Cavs man was asked to stop.
"It's the will to win basketball games," Bickerstaff said of Mobley's best trait. "Literally the only thing that matters to him is: how do I help this team win?
"Not only was it the block, but it's the free throws, it's the baseline jumper, it's the post move to get to the finish. It was an array of different things.
"Then at the end of the game, we had him on Jayson Tatum. We put him on the other team's best player. Whatever it takes to win, he's willing to do it.
"He's not satisfied with these small victories or these small moments. He understands what he wants long-term, and he understands that in order to get there, you've got to do it every night.
"He didn't start out blazing, he was working his way through it in the first half. Then as the game got going, he found his way. And when it was clutch time, he stepped up big."
Mobley has quickly proven a threat from anywhere on the court in his short time in the NBA but is especially effective at the rim, making 70.1 per cent of his attempts.
In fact, 36.8 per cent of his successful field goal attempts have been dunks, with his 32 made dunks ranking joint-third in the NBA. Team-mate Jarrett Allen's 47 lead the way, while no team can rival the Cavaliers' combined 98.
Allen's latest dunk put Cleveland up with 35.9 seconds left against Boston, and Darius Garland said: "It's super fun, just bringing all the crowd into it, the arena gets pumped up. I like seeing it a lot."
Bickerstaff, whose team rank fourth in the league for points in the paint (672), added: "We want to put pressure on the rim, and however we can do that, we'll take it.
"Jarrett is an elite lob threat, and when you put that much pressure on the rim, defenses get concerned. Even if it's only two points, it's an emphatic two points, and defenses don't like that. Then they start to collapse and we've got wide open threes.
"We've got guys who we feel like can dominate the paint – that's our objective: offensively, we want to dominate the paint as much as we can."
Joel Embiid should be back in the lineup soon, but the Philadelphia 76ers need to figure some things out on defence in the meantime.
Philadelphia fell 118-113 to the Indiana Pacers on Saturday after digging a large first-half hole as the 76ers proved unable to stop anyone from scoring.
Indiana shot 67.4 per cent from the floor in the opening half, embarking on a 15-0 run beginning late in the first quarter and leading by as many as 20 before the break.
"Listen, we didn’t deserve to win tonight," Philadelphia head coach Doc Rivers told reporters. "They shot 57 per cent from the field, 67 I think at half-time, and we cooled them off a little bit.
"They played harder. They beat us in transition, I think they had 18 transition points in the first half, we cut it in the second half to make the game manageable, but when you’re on the road, and you get down 20 and you dig yourself a hole, it’s hard coming back, it is.
"Give them credit. They were better prepared. They were the better team tonight."
It was the fourth successive loss for the 76ers as Embiid missed his fourth consecutive game after testing positive for COVID-19 on Monday.
Matisse Thybulle also missed his fifth game in a row due to health and safety protocols, and Tyrese Maxey said the void is significant.
"They’re like defensive bail-outs," Maxey said. "When you make a mistake, they’ll cover it up because they’re just special guys. You can go for a gamble, miss it, Matisse will cover it up and get a block.
"Joel’s seven-foot at the rim, you get blown by, he’s blocking it or he’s challenging shots. It’s hard for offensive players to score on them. We’ve got to be collectively more solid without those guys."
In a stretch when the short-handed 76ers cannot afford any letdowns, Maxey also said the team's "competitive nature slipped" in the first half, "and that's one thing we can never let slip".
The Cleveland Cavaliers scored just nine points in the first half and trailed much of the game before rallying to stun the Boston Celtics 91-89 on Saturday.
Cleveland (9-5) trailed by as many as 19 with 3:05 left in the third quarter before roaring back with a 24-4 run to set up a frenzied finish that featured seven ties and five lead changes in the last seven minutes of the game.
Darius Garland led the Cavaliers with 22 points, including two critical free throws with 9.4 seconds left that provided the final margin. He had kept the home team in the game single-handedly earlier in the evening, making 10 of Cleveland's 12 first-half field goals.
One night after dropping 38 points in a home win against the Milwaukee Bucks, Dennis Schroder had a game-high 28 for on Saturday, but he missed a potential game-tying shot at the buzzer.
The Celtics (6-7) were foiled in their attempt to get over .500 for the first time this season but will have a chance to get back to even with a rematch Monday in Cleveland.
The Cavaliers have won six of their last seven games.
Clippers win seventh straight
After a 1-4 start to the season, the Los Angeles Clippers picked up their seventh straight win with a 129-102 defeat of the Minnesota Timberwolves (4-8). The Clippers (8-4) put the game away by half-time, building a 70-43 lead as Reggie Jackson scored 18 of his 21 points before the break. Paul George led all scorers with 23 and Anthony Edwards topped the Timberwolves with 21.
The Washington Wizards (9-3) continued their hot start even without star Bradley Beal, rolling to a 104-92 victory over the Orlando Magic (3-10) behind 23 points, 11 rebounds and six assists from Spencer Dinwiddie and 20 points, six rebounds and seven assists off the bench by Montrezl Harrell. Beal missed the game to mourn the death of his grandmother.
The New Orleans Pelicans opened up a lead of as many as 22 points in the first half and held on for a 112-101 defeat of the Memphis Grizzlies (6-7). The victory snapped a nine-game losing streak for the Pelicans (2-14) as they continue to play without Zion Williamson.
Jazz continue to struggle
The Utah Jazz (8-5) lost for the fourth time in five games, falling 111-105 at home against the Miami Heat (8-5). The visitors built a 95-69 lead after three quarters and cruised the rest of the way as Tyler Herro led all scorers with 27 points. Utah made just 35 of 85 shots from the field (41.2 per cent), including 17 of 53 from three-point range (32.1 per cent).
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka bounced back from a disappointing defeat in her opening match at the WTA Finals to rally past Iga Swiatek in Guadalajara.
Sabalenka steadied herself after dropping the opening set and prevailed 2-6 6-2 7-5 Saturday to keep alive her hopes of reaching the semi-finals in her maiden appearance at the event.
Swiatek, the youngest player in the field at age 20, broke Sabalenka in her final two service games of the first set but could not maintain the momentum as the Belarusian returned the favour in the second.
Sabalenka entered Saturday with a 9-13 record in three-set matches compared to 35-4 in two-setters but maintained her nerve after the pair traded breaks early in the decider.
The world number two broke Swiatek to take a 6-5 lead, then served the final game out at love for the victory.
With Sabalenka's win, Paula Badosa advances to the semi-finals as winner of the group, while the winner of Monday's match between Sabalenka and Maria Sakkari also will advance. Swiatek is out of contention for the semis.
History is not necessarily on Sabalenka's side, as the top seed has failed to advance from the group stage at three of the past five WTA Finals.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Sabalenka – 16/27
Swiatek – 15/18
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Sabalenka – 8/16
Swiatek – 2/3
BREAK POINTS WON
Sabalenka – 4/7
Swiatek – 3/7
Roberto Martinez knows expecations are always high for his Belgium side, and he was proud to tick another important box Saturday as the Red Devils secured qualification for the 2022 World Cup.
While Belgium did not repeat their 2018 feat of being the first European side to qualify, they will take their place alongside Denmark, France and Germany in Qatar after defeating Estonia 3-1.
Winners of all but two of their qualifiers since Martinez took charge in 2016, Belgium have plenty of reason to be proud.
"We're in a situation where we always have to win everything," Martinez told reporters. “That is what the outside world expects and it creates extra pressure. I am very happy that our players are handling this well. They always go for it.
"Every player is always in a special situation at his club, but with the national team all noses are in the same direction. That's a good mindset. It's not as obvious as it seems.
“We have now played 27 qualifiers under my reign. We won 25 of those. We should be happy about that. That is why we should really celebrate this qualification. That is not so normal.”
Belgium played their penultimate 2022 qualifier without star Romelu Lukaku, who continues to recover from an ankle injury.
In his absence, Christian Benteke, Yannick Carrasco and Thorgan Hazard found the net in Brussels.
Martinez said goalkeeper Thibault Coutois may not travel to Cardiff for Tuesday's Group E finale against Wales, but otherwise Belgium will put forth a representative side as their opponents try to lock up second place in the group.
“We have to try to win there, play the game fairly," Martinez said. "The atmosphere will be very hostile as Wales want to qualify for the play-offs. I will therefore go there with the strongest possible core.
"Only Courtois may not go to Wales, he is not completely fit and has not trained much. For the rest, no yellow cards or injuries, so everyone is coming along.”
Lewis Hamilton has reason for optimism in Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix despite starting from the 10th position.
The Mercedes driver roared up 15 places over just 24 laps in Saturday's sprint, finishing fifth after starting 20th following a DRS infringement in qualifying Friday.
A five-place grid penalty for taking a new engine will put him further behind front-row starters Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen in the main event but Hamilton's speed from the back Saturday should stand as a warning to his rivals.
"It's not over yet," Hamilton said over the radio after the sprint.
He later told reporters: "Really it was just the mental state of mind that I went into, which was just never give up, keep pushing, still I rise, you can do this.
"Because it was really difficult to swallow the result that we got [the penalty] but we won’t let that hold us back.
"Now I’ve got to start focusing on tomorrow. I’ll give it everything. It’s a much longer race tomorrow so hopefully we can get further."
Hamilton can also take solace in Verstappen finishing second to Bottas in the sprint after starting first following Hamilton's penalty.
While Bottas went with soft tyres, Verstappen opted for medium and had a gear sync issue that also hung him up, a double blow to the Red Bull driver's hopes.
"All-in-all that didn’t work out for me," Verstappen said of his Saturday setup. "Then of course, I dropped to third on the first lap but then after that, I mean the pace was fine but you can’t overtake around here.
"The tyres just very quickly overheat and you are stuck – especially when the cars are closely matched on pace: there’s not much you can do in the sprint without a pit stop. So, I just sat behind basically."
With significantly hotter conditions expected Sunday, Verstappen was not sure how that might change the setup.
"Yeah, let’s see," he said. "It’s going to be quite a bit warmer. I mean, today was also quite a late race, so hopefully that will be a bit better for us – but it’s a bit difficult to say at the moment."
Verstappen is 21 points clear of Hamilton in the standings as he bids to end Mercedes' seven-year drivers' championship monopoly and deny the Briton an eighth world title.
Aaron Finch claims there has been no talk in the Australia camp of securing an elusive T20 World Cup title ahead of the final against New Zealand on Sunday.
Australia have never been crowned world champions in the shortest format, losing to England in their only other final back in 2010.
The Black Caps stand in the way of Finch's side and a historic maiden title at the Dubai International Stadium after both sides pulled off brilliant semi-final run chases.
Australia beat Pakistan by five wickets and New Zealand defeated England by the same margin to set up an eagerly awaited trans-Tasman showdown.
Captain Finch revealed there have been no discussions between the players of Australia finally getting their hands on the trophy.
The opening batter said: "We haven't actually spoken about it as yet. We are just committed to turning up and playing some really aggressive and good cricket.
"We understand that T20 cricket can be fickle in its nature at certain periods of time and you have to embrace the challenges of it, whether it's a final or whether it's a one-off game in any kind of series, I think they all mean a lot. We are just excited to get under way.
"I think the New Zealand side, they have got a huge amount of quality and they have shown that over a long period of time now. I think they have been the best powerplay performing team with the ball in this tournament, so that's going to be a challenge.
"They have got obviously Daryl Mitchell, who played a great knock in the last game against England. Martin Guptill, class and power. And then you've got Kane Williamson, who is all class as well as a top three.
"They have got match-winners right throughout their innings, and with the bat and ball, Ish Sodhi and Mitch Santner have showed their class in the past as well. It's a game between two sides that are really similarly matched I think, and yes, it will be a great game."
Finch says he has no concerns about the former of Steve Smith, who only made five against Pakistan after being dismissed for only one in his previous knock in a loss to England.
"No, not concerned one bit about his form," he said. "He's a world-class player and he's someone in big games has showed how valuable he is. He's been hitting the ball as well as I've seen for a long time, so no, no concerns there whatsoever."
Virgil van Dijk was left fuming with a "scandalous" second-half performance after the Netherlands missed a chance to seal qualification for the World Cup when they drew 2-2 with Montenegro.
The Oranje knew a win at Podgorica City Stadium would seal top spot in Group G and their place in the tournament in Qatar next year following Norway's goalless draw with Latvia earlier in the day.
It appeared to be mission accomplished when Memphis Depay doubled their lead early in the second half, having opened the scoring from the penalty spot.
But Montenegro struck twice in the final eight minutes to stun Louis van Gaal's side, Ilija Vukotic rounding Justin Bijlow and slotting home before fellow substitute Nikola Vujnovic rose above Daley Blind to head home.
The Oranje go into what promises to be a tense final group game against third-placed Norway on Tuesday leading their opponents and Turkey by two points.
Captain Van Dijk offered a frank and scathing assessment of his side's collapse.
The Liverpool defender told NOS: "It is just scandalous how we played the second half. We all want to have the ball, we all want to play football, attack and score.
"But we have to make sure that we also think defensively. Spaces were created for them on the counter. And if you don't have the organisation right... It's just awful."
Van Dijk says there can be no excuses for the group leaders failing to get the job done with a game to spare.
He added: "We just had to secure qualification here. With all due respect to Montenegro, but as the Netherlands you just have to win here.
"Especially if you are leading 2-0. Maybe it was a bit of laziness. We need to discuss that carefully. Now it just has to happen on Tuesday in an empty stadium.
"We are going to prepare well. We keep faith in our group and are going to give everything, we can't do more. But it should definitely be better than tonight."
The Netherlands had not let a 2-0 lead slip in a competitive game since a 2004 clash with the Czech Republic at Euro 2004.
Depay is the leading European scorer in this World Cup qualifying campaign with 13. The Barcelona forward has scored 37 times for his country, the joint-fourth highest along with Dennis Bergkamp and Arjen Robben.
Didier Deschamps hailed a "beautiful" win for his France side after Kylian Mbappe inspired Les Bleus to an 8-0 thrashing of Kazakhstan.
Mbappe scored a first-half hat-trick at Parc des Princes, paving the way for Karim Benzema, Adrien Rabiot and Antoine Griezmann to get in on the act after the break.
The Paris Saint-Germain star rounded off the scoring as France booked their place at the Qatar World Cup in truly excellent fashion.
It was an emotional match on Saturday, with the game played six years to the day since the terrorist attacks that took place across Paris on November 13, 2015.
In total, 130 people were killed across separate incidents, with one target having been the Stade de France, which was at the time hosting a game between France and Germany.
With tributes paid before kick-off, Griezmann celebrated his goal by lifting up his jersey to show a shirt with "13/11/15" and a love heart.
And on a significant day in France's history, Deschamps believes France's performance delivered.
"It is a very beautiful evening of football, even if we do not forget that it is a day of remembrance," Deschamps told M6.
"The objective was to qualify, but in addition there is the manner [in which it is done] and the pleasure that the players have playing together, the understanding between them, especially the forwards.
"It is good, everyone had their piece of the pie. It's a result that rewards everything we did well. We had the right tempo. The risk is always to relax a little but we continued."
Star of the show Mbappe added: "The most important thing was qualifying. We wanted to give ourselves this chance to defend our title.
"Even for those who played and won it, it remains an unimaginable dream to play in a World Cup. We respected the game and the opponent, we wanted to hurt until the end."
Mbappe is the first player to score four goals in a game for France since Just Fontaine in June 1958, against West Germany.
The 22-year-old also got an assist when he teed up Benzema's second goal of the game - a strike that saw the latter overtake David Trezeguet as France's fifth-top scorer (35).
"I am proud of it. Trezeguet, he is a legend and that makes me happy, but the most important thing is to participate in a victory," said Benzema.
France have now qualified for a 14th consecutive major tournament, having not failed to do so since missing out on the 1994 World Cup.
Paula Badosa made it two wins from two at the WTA Finals as she saw off a battling Maria Sakkari in straight sets.
In-form Badosa triumphed 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 in two hours and four minutes to win her eighth straight match, having come into the tournament on the back of her triumph at Indian Wells.
Permutations for the last round of group-stage matches in Guadalajara will become clearer after Aryna Sabalenka has taken on Iga Swiatek later on Saturday.
But after beating Sabalenka and Sakkari without dropping a set, Badosa looks all but certain to reach the semi-finals on her debut appearance at the event.
In the first meeting between the two players, Badosa led 5-2 only to be forced into an opening-set tie-break by Sakkari, who then undid her hard work by losing the first four points of the breaker, with the Spaniard ultimately sealing the first set courtesy of a fine forehand.
Badosa struck first again with a break early in the second set and although Sakkari was able to level matters at 4-4, her opponent broke decisively immediately after before serving it out, converting her third match point with a backhand winner.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Sakkari – 25/49
Badosa – 23/22
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Sakkari – 1/4
Badosa – 10/6
BREAK POINTS WON
Sakkari – 2/5
Badosa – 3/12
Carlos Alcaraz rounded off a superb 2021 by claiming the ATP Next Gen Finals title with a straight-sets victory over Sebastian Korda.
Alcaraz produced a performance in keeping with a breakthrough year for the Spaniard, prevailing 4-3 (7-5) 4-2 4-2 in Milan.
It marked Alcaraz's 32nd tour-level win of a year that also saw him reach the quarter-finals of the US Open.
The 18-year-old is the youngest player to claim 32 wins in a year since 1992, when Andrei Medvedev achieved the feat at 18.
Alcaraz faced five break points in his first two service games but had to stave off just one more the rest of the way.
He did fall 0-30 behind when serving for the match, yet Korda could not deny Alcaraz his second Tour title of the year.
"It is amazing," Alcaraz said in his on-court interview. "To be able to win this tournament means a lot to me.
"I am so excited right now and emotional. I was very, very nervous at the start.
"I had to be calm to save the break points. I know Korda is serving very well, so I had to play my best in those moments.
"It went 0-30 on my serve. So I had to be focused in that moment and I had to stay calm. It was really, really tough."
The Netherlands missed the chance to seal qualification for the 2022 World Cup as Montenegro produced a late comeback to snatch a 2-2 draw.
Norway's goalless draw with Latvia earlier in the day gave the Oranje a chance to win Group G with a game to spare at Podgorica City Stadium and they were well on course to grasp their opportunity courtesy of a Memphis Depay double.
Depay struck from the penalty spot in the first half before the leading scorer in European qualifying took his tally to 11 after the break to give Louis van Gaal's breathing space.
Montenegro looked beaten, but Ilija Vukotic set up a tense finale when he halved the deficit with eight minutes to play and fellow substitute Nikola Vujnovic stunned the Netherlands when he equalised after 86 minutes.
The Oranje go into what promises to be a tense final group game against third-placed Norway on Tuesday leading their opponents and Turkey by two points.
Kylian Mbappe scored four and set up another as France thrashed Kazakhstan 8-0 to seal their place at the 2022 World Cup with ease.
Going into Saturday's Group D fixture knowing a win would ensure their spot in Qatar, the reigning world champions had little trouble in brushing aside a team placed 122 places below them in FIFA's latest rankings.
Mbappe starred on his Paris Saint-Germain stomping ground, with two superb first-time finishes paving the way for him to wrap up his hat-trick with a fantastic header before he then teed up Karim Benzema after the break.
Benzema had made it 4-0 just four minutes prior, with Adrien Rabiot and Antoine Griezmann getting in on the act before Mbappe fairly had the final say in an emphatic victory.
It took just six minutes for Mbappe to get Les Bleus rolling with a cushioned, side-foot volley from Theo Hernandez's cutback.
Another six minutes followed before Mbappe struck again, drilling home after Kingsley Coman - playing at right wing-back - had got beyond the hapless Stas Pokatilov, who had rushed out of goal wildly.
Mbappe's hat-trick was completed by the 32nd minute, the forward rising between two static defenders to head in brilliantly from Coman's inch-perfect cross.
Hernandez levelled with Coman for assists when he laid it up for Benzema to prod in at the near post, and the Real Madrid striker was soon celebrating again when he finished into an empty goal after playing a delightful one-two with Mbappe.
Pokatilov managed to prevent Maksat Taykenov bundling into his own net, with Moussa Diaby denied a goal for offside before Rabiot's close-range finish.
Vladislav Vassiljev's ludicrously late challenge on Griezmann was penalised on a VAR review, with the Atletico Madrid forward converting the resulting spot-kick before Mbappe's crisp finish finally rounded off the scoring.
Belgium clinched their spot at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with a routine 3-1 victory over Estonia in their penultimate qualifier.
Roberto Martinez's men were predictably in control throughout the Group E encounter, Christian Benteke's simple finish putting them on course for victory inside a quarter of an hour.
The Red Devils peppered the Estonia goal to no avail for the rest of the first half before Yannick Carrasco, having played a part in the opener, thrashed home a second in the 53rd minute.
Erik Sorga pulled one back for the group's second-bottom side but Thorgan Hazard, after replacing brother Eden, restored Belgium's two-goal advantage, their five-point lead at the summit ensuring they will be at the Finals in the Middle East, which begin next November.
Estonia could only delay the inevitable until the 11th minute as Benteke tapped in after Matvei Igonen spilled Carrasco's pull back following a stunning ball from Kevin De Bruyne.
De Bruyne saw a free-kick superbly turned onto the post by Igonen before Benteke was frustrated by the woodwork and then Igonen as Belgium piled on the pressure.
The instrumental De Bruyne sent Eden Hazard through on goal with a magnificent pass with the outside of his boot, but the Real Madrid man failed to round Igonen, who made a fine smothering stop.
But Igonen could do nothing to stop a swerving long-range effort from Carrasco nestling in the top corner to give Belgium the measure of command their performance merited.
Estonia did produce an unexpected reply, Sorga pouncing on the rebound after Thibaut Courtois could only parry Rauno Sappinen's drive.
It was fittingly De Bruyne who made sure Belgium had the final say as his perfectly weighted cross to the far post was nodded home by Thorgan Hazard, further gloss to the scoreline from Alexis Saelemaekers removed by the offside flag.
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