Luka Doncic says Kyrie Irving was "born for the clutch situations" as the Dallas Mavericks produced another late show to deny the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Mavs, who overcame a late two-point deficit, prevailed 116-107 in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals series, becoming the first NBA side in history to take a 3-0 series lead despite trailing in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter in each game.
Dallas had the second-best clutch record (23-9) and best clutch offence (127.1 points per 100 possessions) during the regular season, and have continued that momentum into the playoffs.
Indeed, they also came from behind late on in Game 6 of their conference semi-final series victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Irving scored 14 points in the fourth quarter in Game 3, and now has 31 such points this series; the most by any player in this year's conference finals.
"Unbelievable. That's why some people call him Mr Fourth Quarter, right?" Doncic said of his team-mate. "Just amazing. He's born for these situations. He's born for the clutch situations, so we just get the ball to him."
"Down the stretch, that's where we make our money," Irving added. "I think we have that poise now, and we're just showcasing our skill sets out there that a lot of teams have to guard, the depth that we have. A lot of teams have to guard each one of us, and you got to pick your poison."
Irving and Doncic scored 33 points apiece to become the first starting backcourt to each register at least 30 points in three playoff games over the past 50 seasons.
"I feel like we're both born for this if you ask me, but it's just basketball. You've got to give the game what it needs at times," said Irving, who called for focus in his franchise's quest for a second NBA title.
"It doesn't mean anything if we don't win a ring together. Right now, I want to show a lot of respect to the guys that have come before us and have actually done it. And our time will come."
Thunder reportedly acquiring Caruso from Bulls for Giddey
Oklahoma City and Chicago have swapped guards, with the Thunder acquiring Alex Caruso from the Bulls in exchange for Josh Giddey on Thursday.
ESPN was the first to report the trade, which cannot become official until July 6.
The 30-year-old Caruso is considered one of the NBA's top defenders, having been named to a pair of All-Defensive teams.
He is also viewed as an important role player for a potential championship contender after helping the Los Angeles Lakers win the 2019-20 title.
The Thunder finished with the Western Conference's best record this past season, but were knocked out of the play-offs in the semi-final round by the Dallas Mavericks.
A seven-year NBA veteran, Caruso averaged career highs of 10.1 points and 3.8 rebounds this past season, along with 3.5 assists and 1.69 steals while starting 57 of 71 games.
Giddey, the sixth overall pick of the 2021 draft, started 80 games for the Thunder this past season, but saw his numbers drop from 2022-23.
After averaging 16.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists in his second season, the 21-year-old Giddey averaged 12.3 points, 6.4 boards and 4.8 assists in 2023-24. He is a career 46.4 per cent shooter from 3-point range.
He was investigated for having an improper relationship with an underage girl, but the NBA and police were "unable to corroborate any criminal activity."
The NBA dropped its investigation.
Lakers to hire Redick as head coach
The Los Angeles Lakers will hire JJ Redick as their next head coach, handing him the job despite the former NBA guard having no coaching experience whatsoever.
Redick was not the Lakers’ first choice after they were recently turned down by Dan Hurley, who led the University of Connecticut to its second straight NCAA Tournament title this past season.
Los Angeles will instead have the 39-year-old Redick – and LeBron James’ podcast partner - on the sidelines next season after the former Duke University star spent the last few years with ESPN following his retirement from the NBA in September 2021.
Redick and James started a podcast called “Mind the Game” in March, and Los Angeles hopes that relationship convinces James to exercise his $51.4million contract option this month and not become a free agent.
Redick takes over for Darvin Ham, who was fired in May after the Lakers went 47-35 before losing to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs.
Ham guided Los Angeles to the Western Conference finals in his first season as head coach in 2022-23. The Lakers were swept by the eventual NBA champion Nuggets.
The Orlando Magic selected Redick with the 11th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, and he went on to play 15 seasons in the league.
He is 20th all-time in NBA history with 1,950 made 3-pointers and ranks 15th in league history with a 41.5 shooting percentage from 3-point range.
Kane calls for calm but accepts England not good enough
Harry Kane called for some perspective following England's 1-1 Euro 2024 draw against Denmark but accepts his side were not good enough.
England failed to build on a 1-0 win over Serbia in their Group C opener as they saw Kane's opener cancelled out by Morten Hjulmand in Thursday's match in Frankfurt.
Gareth Southgate's side once again failed to push on after taking the lead in a game and supporters made their frustrations known.
The draw means England have still yet to ever win their first two matches at a European Championship, with their place in the last 16 not yet certain.
And Kane - the third man to score at four different major tournaments for England along with Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney - admits an improvement is needed.
"We're struggling with and without the ball," he told BBC Sport. "The pressing in both games hasn't been quite right, and with the ball we haven't been good enough – that's from top to bottom, from me to Picks (Jordan Pickford).
"It was tough out there with the heat and the pitch. It wasn't our greatest game but we got away with a draw.
"There's no easy games at major tournaments and I think that's being shown. There are levels we can reach, with and without the ball, but it’s a sign of a good team that you can get results when you’re not playing well."
England sit top of Group C with four points from two matches and will guarantee a place in the knockouts with a draw against Slovenia on Tuesday, while a win sees them through in top spot.
"We're top of the group and we've all but qualified," added Kane, who was substituted with 20 minutes to go. "I know there’ll be loads of noise and a bit of disappointment at home, but we experienced this when we drew with Scotland in the last Euros.
"It's a time to stay calm, reflect and try to improve. Step by step, we'll get there."
Kane's opener was his fifth goal at the Euros, making him the first England player and the eighth from any country to score five or more in both this competition and the World Cup.
However, Hjulmand levelled 16 minutes later with a shot from 30 yards - his first goal for Denmark in all competitions on what was his ninth appearance - and England could not find a response of their own.
Southgate's side dropped deep after going in front, as they did against Serbia and have done in recent tournaments, and Kane believes that is an area that needs working on.
"It’s not just when we score that [we drop deep]," he said. "It's something we need to get better at. When the teams drop a few players deeper, we're not sure how who's supposed to be pressing.
"In the second half we tried to change it a bit with me and Jude [Bellingham] playing in front of their two midfielders and then trying to get up. But it was difficult. Credit to Denmark, they’re a really good side and they carried a threat."
England have now won just two of their past eight competition meetings with Denmark, and this most recent result means they are unable to rest up against Slovenia.
Reflecting on the disappointing performance, Southgate told BBC Sport: "The performance was not what we would have hoped. At the moment we're not using the ball well enough, and if you do that you'll suffer as we have at times tonight. There's another level we have to find.
"There's a huge amount of work to do - that's evident. We have to stay tight. We understand people will be disappointed with the performances, and rightly so. We've got make them better."
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