Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd hailed Luka Doncic after his starring role in their Game 4 win over the Golden State Warriors having been named in the All-NBA first team earlier on Tuesday.
Doncic had a near triple-double with 30 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists as the Mavericks won 119-109 over the Warriors to avoid a clean sweep.
Earlier in the day, Doncic had been named alongside Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum and Devin Booker in the All-NBA first team for the third time in his career.
"I don’t think anybody is surprised that he's first team but it's really cool," Kidd told reporters.
"It shows the talent level. The other four are pretty talented too. It shows where he's going, his growth."
Kidd was full of praise for Doncic, who also had two steals and two blocks in Game 4, playing a key role in the fourth quarter to ward off the Warriors' late charge.
"What he does for this team is incredible, not just points and assists, but being able to rebound the ball," Kidd said.
"At the end, he came up with a nice little blocked shot to pad his defensive stats. He's our leader. When he goes, we go. He loves that stage.
"Being first team with the other four, it's a great honour for him."
Doncic, 23, was delighted with the accolade, which comes for the third straight season, having joined the Mavs in 2018.
"It's a blessing," Doncic told reporters. "As a kid I only dreamed of being in the NBA, and now it's my third All-NBA team.
"It's a blessing. I'm really happy and thankful to everybody that made it happen."
Doncic was also hopeful about the Mavericks in the Conference Finals despite history being against his side, who trail the Warriors 3-1.
Tuesday's win was the Mavs' fourth in franchise history in a Game 4 when facing a 3-0 deficit in a playoff series, losing Game 5 on the previous three occasions. Golden State has led 10 playoff series 3-0 in the past, sweeping six and winning in five on four occasions.
"I still believe we can win," Doncic said when asked if he was relieved to avoid a sweep.
"Swept or not swept, in the end, if you lose, you lose. It doesn’t matter how many you win, but we have to go game by game. We're going to believe until the end."
The New York Rangers are feeling confident about their prospects of reaching the NHL Stanley Cup Finals after fighting back from 2-0 to square their series with the Carolina Hurricanes, earning a 4-1 win on Tuesday.
The Hurricanes have had the wood over the Rangers in recent times, winning eight out of their previous nine encounters prior to the past two meetings in this heated series.
Rangers center Andrew Copp, who scored a goal with two assists in the Game 4 win, said the momentum was with his side after winning 3-1 in Game 3.
"We're confident," Copp told reporters. "We get two games where we win, we play well, we give up two goals total.
"Now the reverse of the talk of you guys is on them now. We just got to kind of block all that out and stay with our game.
"Guys are feeling better about themselves and we got to ride this momentum into Carolina."
Rangers goal tender Igor Shesterkin stopped 30 shots but had his shutout bid spoiled by Teuvo Teravainen's third-period goal.
Earlier, goals to Frank Vatrano and Adam Fox earned the Rangers a 2-0 first-period lead, with Mika Zibanejad extending that advantage 16:48 into the second. Teravainen made it 3-1 before Copp rounded it out from Ryan Strome's assist 11:10 in the third period.
Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant was delighted with his team's display after a tight series, where the Hurricanes won Game 1 in over-time 2-1, before triumphing 2-0 in Game 2.
"Really, you look at the four games," Gallant said. "It's not just the two at home, but the four games have been pretty much one-goal games most of the way through.
"We are two teams that are close and battling. I just think it's been outstanding hockey by both teams."
The result means the Hurricanes are 0-5 on the road in the playoffs, while they are 6-0 at home ahead of Game 5 in Carolina.
Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said: "You've got to keep getting the chances. I'm happy that we're at least creating some offense.
"[Shesterkin] played well, you've got to give him tons of credit. But to me, the start is what did it to us."
Elsewhere, the Edmonton Oilers took a 3-1 lead in their second round series against the Calgary Flames, winning 5-3 in Game 4 after blowing a 3-0 first-period lead.
The Dallas Mavericks forced a Game 5 in the Western Conference Finals after holding off the fast-finishing Golden State Warriors, winning Game 4 119-109 on Tuesday.
Luka Doncic scored a team-high 30 points for the Mavs, including a crucial fourth-quarter dunk after the Warriors closed within eight points with 3:23 to play.
The Slovenian was one assist away from a triple-double, with 14 rebounds and nine assists along with two steals and two blocks, shooting 10-of-26 from the field.
The Mavericks shot 20-of-43 three-pointers for the game to stave off elimination, with Dorian Finney-Smith contributing 23 points and Reggie Bullock adding 18 points with six triples.
Dallas, who trailed 3-0 in the series coming into Game 4, led by as much as 29 points after dominating the middle quarters before the Warriors stormed home with a 39-20 final quarter.
Golden State's bench players led the fightback, with Jonathan Kuminga scoring 17 points, but Stephen Curry was their top scorer in the game, with 20 points.
Fifteen of Curry's 20 points came in the first half, while he also had five rebounds, eight assists and one steal.
The Warriors shot 10-of-28 from beyond the arc, with Curry only managing two-of-five from three-point range, while Klay Thompson went two-of-six for his 12 points.
After the Mavs led 62-47 at half-time, the game was delayed for 16 minutes in the third quarter after heavy rain in Dallas leaked onto the American Airlines Center court from the roof.
Dallas would hold on, marking the fourth time they have won Game 4 when facing a 3-0 deficit in a playoff series, losing Game 5 on the previous three occasions.
Golden State has led 10 playoff series 3-0 in the past, sweeping six and winning in five on four occasions.
Game 5 will take place in San Francisco on Thursday.
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was in no mood to talk about the playoffs on Tuesday and instead delivered a desperate plea against gun violence following the latest mass shooting in the United States.
Kerr was attending his usual pre-game news conference prior to Game 4 of the Conference Finals between the Warriors and the Dallas Mavericks and started by declaring he would not discuss basketball.
The Warriors head coach, whose father was shot dead in a terrorist attack in Beirut in 1984, instead spoke about the shooting at a school in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday where at least 19 students and two adults were killed.
Kerr, who was visibly emotional, directed his anger at senators for refusing to pass legislation requiring background checks on people before their purchase of firearms.
"Any basketball questions don’t matter. Since we left shootaround, 14 children were killed, 400 miles from here and a teacher," Kerr told reporters, before banging his hands on the table and yelling: "When are we going to do something?
"I'm tired. I am so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there. I am tired of the moments of silence. Enough!
"There's 50 senators right now who refuse to vote on H.R.8, which is a background check rule that the House passed a couple of years ago that's been sitting there for two years. There's a reason they won't vote on it, to hold on to power.
"I ask you [Senate Minority Leader] Mitch McConnell, all of you senators who refuse to do anything about the violence, the school shootings and the supermarket shootings, I ask you are you going to put your own desire for power ahead of the lives of children and our elderly and our church-goers. That's what it looks like."
Kerr called for fans to deeply consider the victims and not desensitise themselves to another mass shooting, with the game still to be played.
"We can't get numb to this," Kerr said.
"We can't sit here and just read about it and go 'well let's have a moment of silence, go Dubs'. 'C'mon Mavs, let's go'."
Stefanos Tsitsipas completed the third comeback win from two sets down of his career on Tuesday, defeating Lorenzo Musetti 5-7 4-6 6-2 6-3 6-2 at the French Open.
Before moving to a 2-0 head-to-head record over Musetti, the fourth-seed Greek's last such victory was against Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals at the 2021 Australian Open.
Tsitsipas needed to draw on that experience and dig deep after only winning 60 per cent of points on his first serve in the first two sets on Tuesday, going on to then win 15 of 17 points in the deciding set.
Post-match, the world number four explained how he needed to isolate his focus on each point and build from there after going two sets down.
"Things don't come easy. I refuse to give up. That's simply how it works with me," Tsitsipas said. "You never really think about getting back after being two sets to love. You just play it point after point. You just wish that your efforts will pay off on a longer scale, longer run.
"Being in that situation, it's a mountain that you have to climb, and I was able to climb it and regain the momentum steadily, but consistently."
The 20-year-old Musetti was able to gain early momentum from the baseline and won the longer points, with an even share of winners as well as forced and unforced errors from Tsitsipas.
The match turned as Tsitsipas regained rhythm on his serve and with more free points coming his way, it then allowed him to apply pressure.
According to Tsitsipas, however, it was far from easy against a tough opponent who is at home on clay.
"He's fighting. He's a talented player that has a very nice one-handed backhand," he said afterwards. "He knows the game on clay. He has grown up playing these courts. He's definitely a difficult opponent to face in any circumstance, really.
"Once I really found my momentum on the serve, my routines and everything, I knew that it can be a different match.
"I felt like I was serving better than him, creating more opportunities with my serve, pressing more. It would have been kind of not fair from my perspective to have a different outcome."
Wigan Athletic hopes to lure Jamaica international Jamal Lowe back to the DW Stadium following the team’s return to the English Championship.
The 27-year-old recently secured promotion to the English Premier League with AFC Bournemouth where he scored 7 goals this season. Following the team’s return to the top flight, however, doubts have been raised surrounding the likelihood of the player getting any significant game time.
In fact, Lowe was left out of the squad for the team's crucial promotion fixture against Nottingham Forest, which may not augur well for the future.
Wigan in the meantime are preparing for life back in the second tier following their promotion from League One. Lowe was a popular figure at Wigan having made some 46 appearances between 2019 and 2020.
Wigan could do with some reinforcements to their squad as they continue to eventually plot a return to the Premier League.
Ilkay Gundogan revealed Jurgen Klopp was one of the first to congratulate him after Manchester City beat Liverpool to the Premier League title on Sunday.
Gundogan came off the bench to score twice as City came from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Aston Villa 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
The win meant Klopp's Liverpool remained a point from City in the race for the Premier League, but that did not stop the 54-year-old from getting in touch.
Gundogan played under Klopp at Borussia Dortmund between 2011 and 2015, before the latter left for Anfield, and the 31-year-old revealed his former boss was quick to put his own ambitions aside.
"He was one of the first," Gundogan told Sport1. "We have always treated each other with the utmost respect. He had another very good season with Liverpool and made life extremely difficult for us. He's just an outstanding guy and coach, and he's shown that over the years.
"That was absolutely unbelievable. The fact that we won the title in front of a home crowd in this way was really picture-perfect. The stadium literally exploded, we just cried out our joy and relief.
"We had to play our absolute maximum for 38 games and couldn't afford to be careless because Liverpool were lurking at every second. It was a great end to a long and nerve-wracking season."
In Sergio Aguero's absence, City's midfield has had to carry added responsibility in goal output and Gundogan has been a steady contributor in that regard, backing up last season's 13 goals with eight in the Premier League this term.
Reflecting on the win over Villa and the wider context of the game, he believes that his winning goal ranks as the most important of his career.
"Based on the ending, I would say yes - and definitely one of my most emotional ones," Gundogan said. "The goal in the 2013 Champions League final for BVB against Bayern [Munich] was also important, even if it wasn't enough in the end.
"On Sunday, a great deal of pressure was lifted because we struggled so much over the entire 90 minutes and we knew that Liverpool was breathing down our necks."
City Football Group chief executive Ferran Soriano says Erling Haaland could have gone anywhere, but chose to play under Pep Guardiola in Manchester.
The Norwegian forward landed in Manchester on Tuesday to finalise a £51million move from Borussia Dortmund, after completing his medical.
City essentially won the Premier League without a striker this season, with Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez the three players to break the 10-goal barrier.
Soriano believes Haaland will ultimately adapt and thrive at City and despite how Guardiola's side has counteracted the need for a centre forward like him this season, he is still required.
"Haaland has chosen us because we explained a project to him," Soriano told RAC 1. "What we pay him could be paid by PSG, [Manchester] United, Bayern [Munich] or Real Madrid. We put the focus on football.
"Haaland will need a period of adjustment and we will have to be patient, but he will succeed. Our focus is on football, playing well and winning, rather than star players, and we were missing a centre forward.
"We had someone spectacular like [Sergio] Aguero. We lost him because of his age, and we have been looking for a replacement for more than a year and Haaland is one."
Soriano also refuted suggestions City are state-owned like Paris Saint-Germain and pointed to their shareholder structure, with Chinese and American consortiums owning a 24 per cent stake.
Meanwhile, the ex-Barcelona vice president used examples within the Premier League like Manchester United and Chelsea to suggest City's dominance is not simply financially driven.
"We are not a state club, we are a club owned by three shareholders looking for profitability," he said.
"The French market is different because the gap between PSG and the rest of the French clubs is huge. City and PSG are not the same.
"City has less income than United or Chelsea, for example. The debate about state clubs is ridiculous, because United has spent much more than us."
Bryson DeChambeau has withdrawn from this week's Charles Schwab Challenge in Texas with a lingering wrist injury.
The 28-year-old has slipped down to number 22 in the world rankings after an injury-plagued first half to the year.
He has not played since missing the cut at the Masters in mid-April and undergoing surgery on his wrist a few days later.
A return to action at last week's US PGA Championship looked likely, only for him to pull out of the second major of 2022 after taking part in a practice round on the eve of the tournament.
DeChambeau's comeback has now been delayed further as he still does not feel ready to compete to the best of his abilities.
"I'm definitely close but don't have the endurance for four full days yet. Getting there. Taking a bit of time to make sure it's fully healed," he wrote in a text to Golfweek.
DeChambeau previously missed around two months earlier in the season through hip and wrist injuries and has missed the cut in three of his past four starts this year.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has pipped Manchester City's Pep Guardiola to the League Managers Association's (LMA) Manager of the Year award.
Klopp masterminded a superb second half to the Premier League season, yet it was not enough to overhaul City, who claimed the title on a dramatic final day of the campaign on Sunday.
The Reds went the entire season unbeaten at home, doing so for a joint-record fifth time in the Premier League.
Liverpool have also excelled in cup competitions under Klopp this term, having won the FA Cup and EFL Cup.
They will complete a cup treble on Saturday if they overcome Real Madrid in the Champions League final in Paris.
Reflecting on the dramatic final day, which saw City score three goals in the space of five minutes to beat Aston Villa 3-2, Klopp said: "It was a bit nervy, it wasn't the best outcome for us, but we are already over it.
"And when you win a prize like this you are either a genius or you have the best coaching staff in the world. I am here with four of my coaching staff, and they know how much I appreciate them."
It is the second time Klopp has claimed the award, which is combined with the Premier League Manager of the Year award, after the German was recognised in 2020 for leading Liverpool to the title.
Eddie Howe, Patrick Vieira and Thomas Frank, of Newcastle United, Crystal Palace and Brentford respectively, were also up for the award.
Former world number one Simona Halep says she will put "as much pressure as possible" on herself as she seeks French Open glory.
The 2018 Roland Garros champion came through her first-round clash against 18-year-old lucky loser Nastasja Schunk 6-4 1-6 6-1 on Tuesday.
Number 19 seed Halep, who is now coached by Serena Williams' former coach Patrick Mouratoglou, has played 42 main-draw matches at the French Open – more than any other player in this year's competition.
Asked if that experience brings with it more pressure, Halep told a media conference: "Well, hopefully I put as much pressure as possible on myself because I love pressure. It's good to have it and it keeps you focused.
"Everyone is playing well, so it's a big challenge every match. We are at Grand Slam, so it's always tough. But I'm here to face these challenges, and I'm here to give my best.
"So, I will focus on myself. I will try to do what I have to do, and that's it. Then we will see.
"I will think about the next round only, and then if I will win it, I will think about the next one.
"I don't want to look further than that. It's important to just stay focused and to play the next match."
Halep will face Zheng Qinwen in the second round after the Chinese player overcame Maryna Zanevska 6-3 6-1 on Monday.
Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have paid tribute to the "charismatic" Jo-Wilfried Tsonga after the 37-year-old brought his 18-year professional career to a close.
Tsonga, who reached a career-high ranking of world number five in 2012, confirmed in April that he would retire at the culmination of his French Open campaign.
That duly came in the first round on Tuesday as he bowed out to world number eight Casper Ruud 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 7-6 (7-0).
He retires having won, according to Opta, 464 Tour-level matches since September 2004.
Tsonga is one of just three players, along with Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro, to have beaten Nadal, Federer and Djokovic while they were ranked world number one.
He is also one of three players, alongside Stan Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych, who have defeated Nadal, Federer and Djokovic at grand slams.
A video tribute was played on court after his defeat to Ruud, which featured messages from the sport's most iconic players.
Federer said: "I wanted to congratulate you on an amazing career and it was a pleasure to share the court with and play against you, even to lose against you!
"We had some great battles. Enjoy the moment in Paris with all your friends and family, in front of all your adoring spectators."
Djokovic added: "Jo is one of the most charismatic tennis players ever to play the game. I was very happy to share the court with him many times.
"We get along well and he's a really nice guy. He brought a lot of positive attention and popularity to our sport not just because of his dynamic game style, but also his charisma and his personality, so it's a big loss for professional men's tennis to have him retire.
"I wish him all the best, and he definitely should be happy about his career and his achievements. He's made his mark and his legacy in our sport."
Nadal said: "He is very charismatic. I've known him since we were kids; he is a good guy and I think he brings a lot of positive things to our sport so I'm sad to see him going but we are getting old so it's going to happen for everyone."
Speaking at a media conference after his defeat, Tsonga said he would now spend some time relaxing before focusing on the development of his tennis academy.
He said he will miss the adrenaline of playing on court, as well as how he was able to express himself completely when competing.
"It's adrenaline, to step onto a big court like this one," he said. "It's adrenaline you can feel when you have 15,000 people shouting out your name, supporting you on the court.
"This is what I'm going to miss – the contact with the crowd. And with those who have been supporting me for all these years.
"You know, in real life, it's sometimes difficult to be intense. You don't want to shock, you don't want to be too rude, you don't want to hurt somebody.
"You always try to act to be nice, to be sociable. But, you know, on the court, you can express your fever. You can express everything about you, and it's sometimes freeing."
Andrey Rublev is unsure what the best course of action is ahead of Wimbledon, but hopes tennis can "work together" to ensure the grand slam goes ahead, with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic targeting history.
Wimbledon was last week stripped of its ranking points by the WTA and ATP over the decision from The All England Club to ban Belarusian and Russian players – including Rublev – from competing.
That decision was made in the midst of Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
With ranking points now not on offer, several high-profile players, including former WTA number one Naomi Osaka, have suggested they may skip the tournament.
Rublev might have no choice not to compete at Wimbledon, unless The All England Club scraps the ban altogether, but he says it is of utmost importance that tennis comes together to find a solution.
And Rublev believes the very elite players – such as Nadal and Djokovic – will compete anyway, regardless of ranking points or prize money, as he suggested tennis owes the duo, along with fellow great Roger Federer.
He told a news conference: "I don't know, because I haven't talked with any player about it, especially top ones. I guess the top players, especially Rafa, Novak, they are not playing now for points or for money.
"They are playing to be the first in history who achieve this amount of slams. So they are playing for a different thing. That's why it's very important to work together, to keep this amazing glory that we are having now, because of these players.
"If we are not going to work together, we just destroy it. What Roger, what Rafa, what Novak is doing, they did all these years.
"They are other players from another generation, and we have to respect this, and that's why somehow we need finally to defend each other. Players need to defend the tournaments. Tournaments need to defend the players.
"Like this, tennis will grow, grow, grow a lot, because now all the success of tennis is only because of these three players, because of Roger, Rafa and Novak."
Rublev came through his first-round match at Roland Garros on Tuesday, defeating Kwon Soon-woo 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-2 6-4.
However, the seventh seed lashed out after losing the first set, recklessly hitting a ball out onto the court as he approached his chair, before slamming a water bottle into the court in frustration.
"I was quite tight, and I had a lot of emotions and I tried to really control them," Rublev said.
"I tried to understand the situation. Be positive. I was able to be quiet and just be positive basically until the end of the first set. Then, yes, I lost my mind for a moment, and of course I regret what I did.
"It's unacceptable to hit the ball the way I hit it. It's more, I don't know, better even, if I just hit the racquet on the seat, because the ball can affect – I mean, it's not about me – it can affect someone. That's when the problem comes.
"This is unprofessional from my side, and hopefully I will never do it again."
Chelsea's proposed takeover has taken a huge step towards completion after the Premier League confirmed the sale was approved on Tuesday.
The Blues agreed to terms for the sale of the club to an ownership group led by Todd Boehly, Clearlake Capital, Mark Walter and Hansjorg Wyss for £4.25billion earlier in May.
The takeover, which promises investment of £1.75billion into the club, briefly appeared to be in doubt due to suggestions Roman Abramovich was unhappy with the sale structure.
Abramovich denied that to be the case, and the deal appears to be nearing a resolution, though the sale still needs to be approved by the UK government.
The proceeds of the sale are expected to be donated to the victims of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
A Premier League statement released on Tuesday read: "The Premier League Board has today approved the proposed takeover of Chelsea Football Club by the Todd Boehly/Clearlake consortium.
"The purchase remains subject to the government issuing the required sale licence and the satisfactory completion of the final stages of the transaction.
"The Board has applied the Premier League's Owners' and Directors' Test (OADT) to all prospective directors, and undertaken the necessary due diligence.
"The members of the Consortium purchasing the club are affiliates of the Clearlake Capital Group, L.P., Todd Boehly, Hansjorg Wyss and Mark Walter.
"Chelsea FC will now work with the relevant governments to secure the necessary licences to complete the takeover."
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