Winners and losers: Winning and losing faces beside each other: Horizon's Bobby Gray (l), MVP celebrates on Sunday at the National Arena while Storm's Da'Rell Dominek grimaces in defeat after his team was beaten 113-89 in the final at the National Arena in Kingston.
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Bobby Gray scored 45 points as Horizon successfully defended its title after thrashing Storm by 113-89 in the final of the Elite 1 Caribbean Basketball Winter League on Sunday at the National Arena in Kingston.
Meanwhile, Waves copped third place by delivering a similar thrashing to the Rivers who ended the competition without a victory from their eight games.
The final was competitive right up to two minutes before the end of the first quarter when Horizon went on a 10-2 run to open up a 12-point lead.
After that, it was basically one-way traffic as Horizon increased their lead in each subsequent quarter leading 59-47 and 83-68, before emphatically retaining their title.
Gray was named MVP but he was supported by Asaad Woods and Rasheed Maynard Woods who scored 18 and 17 points, respectively.
Da'Rell Dominek scored 30 points and Jayrn Johnson 22 for the Storm, but could have done with a big game from their best player Brandon BDot Armstrong, who scored only six points in what was his worst game of the tournament.
"(I) feel pretty elated tonight. We had done it in the summer and this is the winter league and we are able to pull off another championship again,” said Horizon head coach Cleon Morgan.
“We came out tonight looked a little bit smoother even though we started off a little sloppy but regardless of that we picked up back the pace and we maintained the lead all the way till the end of the game."
Storm’s head coach, Oneil Brown, said his team did not play to win.
"Actually, a lot of us struggled. I think the guard play; Horizon had better guard play than us tonight,” he said.
“Their guards outscored us and you can see the score at the end. I am disappointed in my team. If it wasn't for Da'Rell we'd by down by 40 and the game would be long over but it has been a good season, ups and down and we looking forward for next year."
In the playoff for third, Waves came prepared to close out the championship with a win after narrowly missing out on a place in the final.
They dominated Rivers in every quarter and category - three-pointers, blocks, free throws and defense. They led 30-12, 52-33, 82-67 before closing out the victory 110-86.
Lushane Wilson scored 27 points and Cameron Burhannon 26 points for Waves while Ricky Shuford had a game-high 35 points and the dependable Anthony Ottleym 14, for Rivers.
"It was a good game but it was one of the toughest games of the season for us mentally. I am really proud of the guys because I was worried,” said Waves coach Rohan Robinson afterwards.
“They said they wanted to finish it off strong, they’re not going out like losers. They are looking forward again to the next tournament in the summer."
After leading Rivers to yet another disappointing loss, Ludlow Barker hopes to get another chance at coaching in the league.
"I think if we going to have the rosters and we can select some more of the players then. If we can choose the kind of team we need then we will get a chance but if you have to play with those you are given then you have to work with it," he said.
League owner Wayne Dawkins was pleased with the tournament stating that the league was here to stay.
"The level of talent we were able to attract down here was extremely high,” he said.
“Our coaching staff did a phenomenal job, our table staff and everybody else, because we really have to get that down in order to be able to scale and grow this thing and so that I was very pleased with."
Heat rally in fourth quarter to even NBA Finals at 1-1
Gabe Vincent scored 23 points and helped spark a fourth-quarter rally that propelled the Miami Heat to a 111-108 win over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, evening the championship series at 1-1.
The Heat overcame an eight-point deficit to start the fourth quarter to snap the Nuggets' seven-game winning streak and send the series to Miami all tied. Game 3 will take place Wednesday.
Denver also was handed its first loss in 10 home games during this postseason despite another big effort from two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić, who poured in 41 points on 16-of-28 shooting along with 11 rebounds.
Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo each contributed 21 points for the Heat, while Duncan Robinson scored all 10 of his points during a pivotal 15-2 run to open the fourth quarter that sent Miami ahead to stay.
Jokic scored the final six points of the third quarter to give the Nuggets an 83-75 lead that turned out to be short-lived. Robinson had the first eight points of Miami's momentum-shifting surge, and Vincent later added a 3-pointer before hitting two free throws that put the Heat up 90-85 with nine minutes remaining.
Miami held a 107-95 advantage after Caleb Martin's 3-pointer with 3:39 left to play, but the Nuggets responded with a late charge to put the outcome back in doubt.
Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray hit 3-pointers to ignite an 11-2 run Murray capped with another triple that pulled Denver within 109-106 entering the final minute.
After Jokic countered two Butler free throws with a short turnaround jumper with 35.6 seconds left, Butler missed a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to give the Nuggets a chance to tie.
Murray misfired on a step-back 3-point try with 1.9 seconds left, however, and Martin grabbed the rebound as time expired.
Denver, which led by as many as 15 points in the first half, had been 11-0 this postseason when holding a double-digit lead.
Miami Heat rally late against Denver Nuggets to even NBA finals series
The Miami Heat produced a fourth-quarter comeback to win the second game of the NBA finals 111-108 and even up the seven-match series against the Denver Nuggets.
The Heat trailed by eight heading into the final period, having trailed by 15 earlier in the game in the wake of another massive performance from Nikola Jokic.
Jokic scored 41 points, scoring 16 of 28 shots from the floor including one with 36 seconds remaining which cut the Heat’s lead to three points.
But after Jimmy Butler missed on Miami’s next possession, Jamal Murray was unable to tie the scores with an effort on the buzzer.
The defeat was Denver’s first since May 7 and they had won all 11 play-off games in which they had opened a double-digit lead.
They had trailed 21-10 in the opening quarter before a barrage of three-point scores helped them to a 44-32 advantage which had been trimmed to six points at the break.
And Miami held on through the third quarter before the late surge that takes the series to Miami all square.
Gabe Vincent led the way for Miami with 23 points as Butler and Bam Adebayo each grabbed 21.
Knicks' Julius Randle has ankle surgery, expected healthy for 2023-24
New York Knicks forward Julius Randle underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle Friday and is expected to recover in time to participate in training camp before next season.
The team announced the successful operation Saturday on Twitter.
Voted a member of the All-NBA Third Team this season, Randle was hindered down the stretch after spraining his ankle during a March 29 game against the Miami Heat and re-injuring it in the playoffs.
Randle missed the Knicks’ final five regular season games. He returned to play through the injury in 10 of New York’s 11 postseason games but averaged 16.6 points on 37.4-percent shooting from the field.
Before spraining his ankle, Randle played the first 77 games of the 2022-23 season, averaging a career-high 25.1 points, 10 rebounds and 4.1 assists while being voted to his second career All-Star Game.
This season, Randle and offseason addition Jalen Brunson led the Knicks to a 47-35 record, a No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and a first-round series win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
With Randle visibly hobbled, the Knicks were eliminated by the Heat in six games in the East semifinals.
Randle, 29, has two years and $58.5 million remaining on his deal, plus a $32.4 million player option in 2025-26.
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