DeMar DeRozan knocked down a buzzer-beating three-pointer as Eastern Conference leaders the Chicago Bulls dramatically defeated the Indiana Pacers 108-106.
The Bulls ended 2021 on a high with a sixth straight victory that came about when DeRozan picked up the ball with around nine seconds remaining, looked around for options on the court before taking on the shot himself when he noticed the clock winding down.
It was the second time in DeRozan's career he had hit a buzzer-beater, while no Bulls player had achieved the feat since Jimmy Butler in 2016.
DeRozan drained 28 points in total to go with six assists and three rebounds, while Coby White had 24 points. DeRozan is the league leader for both total points and points per game in the fourth quarter.
Victory sees the Bulls head into the new year top of the East, with an identical record (23-10) to the Brooklyn Nets.
Celtics stop the skid to down Suns
The Phoenix Suns entered their showdown with the Boston Celtics with the best record in the NBA but lost for the third time in four games with a 123-108 defeat.
Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart each scored 24 points with the former registering 11 rebounds and the latter eight assists as the Celtics stopped a three-game losing streak. Robin Williams had a triple-double of 10 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds.
Deandre Ayton and Jae Crowder missed a third straight game for the Suns due to being placed on the health and safety protocols. Devin Booker put up 22 points, Cam Johnson had 20, Jalen Smith registered 19, and Chris Paul had 14 points and eight assists, but it was all in vain for the Suns.
LeBron James had a season-high 43 points and extended his streak of 30-point games to seven as the Los Angeles Lakers routed the Portland Trail Blazers 139-106 to improve to 18-19 on the season.
Bulls on a hot-streak
Chicago's six-game winning streak has propelled the Bulls to the top of the East and represents their best winning run since December 2017.
Liverpool line up Feyenoord coach Slot as Klopp replacement
Arne Slot appears to be at the front of the queue to replace Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager.
Klopp confirmed in January that he would be leaving the Reds at the end of the season.
Xabi Alonso, who has led Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, was swiftly established as a leading candidate to take the helm at Anfield, where he starred as a player for the Reds between 2004 and 2009.
The 42-year-old, however, is staying put in Germany, and Liverpool's search for Klopp's successor has taken them to Feyenoord's door.
Slot has been previously linked to jobs in the Premier League. Leeds United wanted to appoint him last season before their relegation to the Championship, while he was targeted by Tottenham before they appointed Ange Postecoglou.
The Dutchman intimated when linked with Spurs: "A normal next step would be to go abroad and I've always said that the best league in the world is the Premier League."
Ideally, Liverpool will be aiming for a coach who can come close to replicating Klopp's style of play, and in particular has a flair for working with and developing young players.
Slot has enjoyed fantastic success in Rotterdam. He became Feyenoord head coach in December 2022, after leaving AZ, and went on to win the Eredivisie title in 2022-23, having reached the Europa League final in the previous season.
The 45-year-old has a 64.4 per cent win record from 146 games in charge, winning 94, drawing 29 and losing just 23.
His Feyenoord team have scored 329 goals, an average of 2.2 per match, conceding 147 in return. Slot's points per game is a hugely impressive 2.13.
Feyenoord are, though, set to relinquish their Eredivisie crown, as they trail leaders PSV by nine points. They have, however, won the KNVB Cup this term.
As there is no break clause in the Dutchman's contract, it has been reported that a compensation fee in the region of €10million (£8.5m) could prise him away from Feyenoord.
Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim is another coach who has been heavily linked with the Liverpool job, albeit he is reportedly in talks with West Ham.
Haliburton says younger brother was racially abused at Game 1 of Pacers-Bucks series
Tyrese Haliburton says a fan directed a racial slur at his younger brother while he was in attendance for Game 1 of the Indiana Pacers' playoff series with the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum.
The Pacers guard made the claim during his post-game news conference after Indiana returned to Milwaukee for Game 2 on Tuesday, levelling up the series with a 125-108 win.
Haliburton, who was born in Wisconsin, has made his first two playoff appearances in his home state, with the Pacers dropping the first contest by a 109-94 scoreline on Sunday.
After they bounced back with Tuesday's win, in which Haliburton had 12 points and 12 assists, he addressed the incident upon being asked about his experience of returning to Wisconsin.
"My little brother in the stands the other day was called the N-word," Haliburton said. "It was important for us as a family to just address that.
"That was important for us to talk about because that just didn't sit right with anybody in our family.
"It's just been important to have my family here right now. My little brother has handled that the right way."
He then added: "The team did a good job of handling this environment. The conversation… it's friendly during the regular season because I'm the hometown kid, but it's a little different when you're visiting in this environment."
The Bucks were asked about the incident after Tuesday's game, with a team spokesperson saying the accused individual denied the accusation.
"An arena guest services representative reported that during Sunday's game a few guests were not sitting in their correct seats," a Bucks spokesperson said.
"The guest services representative asked the group to move one section over to their correct seats. Then, one of the individuals in the group claimed to the representative that a person sitting in front of him had used a derogatory term toward him.
"The accused person denied the accusation. The group moved to their correct seats and no further incident was reported. We take our fan environment extremely seriously and are committed to providing a safe and secure experience."
Pascal Siakam was the star of Game 2 as his 37-point haul helped the Pacers overcome another fast start from Bucks guard Damian Lillard, who had 26 first-half points in the absence of two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
"We've got to be the hungry team," Siakam said after the game. "We've got to be the team that's coming in and wanting to show something.
"That's the attitude that we’ve got to have against those guys, because they've done it before."
Rudy Gobert says nobody wants to face Timberwolves defense
Rudy Gobert declared nobody wants to face the Minnesota Timberwolves' defense after they opened up a 2-0 series lead over the Phoenix Suns with a 105-93 win in Game 2 on Tuesday.
Gobert joined Mike Conley Jr. in scoring 18 points in support of Jaden McDaniels, who had 25 as the third-seeded Wolves tightened their grip on the series at Target Center.
The Suns' star trio of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal were held to a combined 18 for 45 from the field, the team failing to score triple figures for the second time in the series.
Three-time Defensive Player of the Year Gobert – who averaged 9.2 defensive rebounds, 0.7 steals and 2.1 blocks per game through the regular season – is relishing the Wolves' steely reputation.
"We can see it. I can feel it. I can see them. It's tough," Gobert said. "No one likes going against the type of defense that we're playing right now."
The Suns' woes were compounded when they lost guard Grayson Allen in the third quarter, the 28-year-old aggravating the right ankle sprain he suffered in Game 1.
Guarding Conley on a drive, Allen jumped in an attempt to block his opponent's shot and landed awkwardly. Having been helped from the court, he was ruled out for the rest of the game.
Suns coach Frank Vogel later told reporters X-rays on Allen's ankle had been negative, so his condition will be assessed on a day-to-day basis ahead of Game 3 on Friday.
"It's just a little bit tougher since I was in the air and landing, but when I watched the replay, it looked like I landed on someone's heel and rolled it pretty hard," Allen said.
On the only previous occasion on which Minnesota took a 2-0 lead in a playoff series, they went on to eliminate the Denver Nuggets 4-1 in the first round in 2004.
However, as the series heads to Footprint Center, Booker says nothing is decided yet.
"Don't count us out," Booker said. "It's a series for a reason."
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