Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd slammed his side's performance as "awful" and "dogs***" and says they deserved to be booed during their 117-109 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Friday.
Despite having star duo Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic available, the Mavericks were brushed aside by the under-manned Hornets who are already out of playoff contention.
The defeat significantly hurts the Mavs' own playoff aspirations, slipping outside the play-in tournament spots to 11th in the Western Conference with a 36-38 record after three straight losses.
The home crowd at American Airlines Center made their feelings known, booing the team during a third-quarter timeout when they trailed by 18 points.
"We probably should have been booed in the first quarter," Kidd told reporters. "The effort in the play. They have a right, they paid to see a better show, it wasn’t there until the second half.
"It was awful, dogs***. Understanding the talk before the game with what we're playing for, playoffs or championship, to come out in that first quarter and give up 37, the interest level wasn't high. It was just disappointing."
The Mavs are 7-12 since Irving was traded in from the Brooklyn Nets in February to make them a championship contender. Dallas are 3-7 when Irving and Luka Doncic have played together.
Doncic scored a game-high 34 points with 10 rebounds and eight assists, while Irving added 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, but the Mavs were undone after their poor first-half showing.
Irving downplayed the significance of the fans booing the side, despite losing six of their past eight games.
"So what? Just the way I feel about it," Irving said. "I've been in New York City, so I know what that's like. You obviously want to play well, but it's only five people on the court that can play for the Dallas Mavericks.
"If the fans want to change places, then hey, be my guest. Got years of work ahead to be great enough to be on this level. But our focus isn't necessarily on the boos.
"It should be on our performance and just being there for each other."
The Golden State Warriors stormed home to rally back from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to down the Philadelphia 76ers 120-112 despite Joel Embiid's 46 points on Friday.
Jordan Poole was clutch with 33 points off the bench including six three-pointers, while Stephen Curry added 29 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field with eight rebounds at the Chase Center.
Poole made a pivotal three-pointer for a 115-110 lead with 1:18 remaining in the last as the Warriors improved to 39-36 to sit sixth in the Western Conference.
The 76ers had led by 11 points with 11:32 remaining in the fourth quarter after Shake Milton laid off for Paul Reed's alley oop layup, but the Warriors launched their comeback with Poole and Curry at the heart of it.
Poole scored 19 of his 33 points in the fourth period, while Curry stepped up with eight points in the final four minutes.
Klay Thompson added six triples in his 21 points, while Draymond Green had 10 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists in a busy display.
MVP candidate Embiid was huge with 46 points on 13-of-23 shooting from the field with nine rebounds and eight assists.
Tobias Harris added 23 points for the 76ers, with Tyrese Maxey contributing 21. James Harden was absent with Achilles soreness.
Embiid scored 13 straight points for the 76ers in the fourth quarter after checking back in with 8:26 left.
Mavericks slip out of play-in spots
The Dallas Mavericks suffered their third straight loss as their playoff hopes took another hit with a disappointing 117-109 loss to the short-handed Charlotte Hornets.
Luka Doncic scored a game-high 34 points with 10 rebounds and eight assists, while Kyrie Irving added 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, but the Mavs were undone after a slow first half, with Hornets forward P.J. Washington managing a team-high 28 points.
The loss leaves the Mavs outside the play-in tournament spots in 11th in the Western Conference with a 36-38 record.
Lakers up to .500 for first time this season
The Los Angeles Lakers squared their ledger at .500 and moved up to eighth in the West with a 116-111 triumph over the Oklahoma City Thunder securing three consecutive wins.
Anthony Davis had 37 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, while Lonnie Walker impressed in his return with 20 points and Denis Schroder added 13 of his 21 points in the second half.
The Lakers improved to 37-37 with the win, getting to .500 for the first time this season, with LeBron James' return form injury reportedly not far away. LA are 8-5 during James' latest absence.
Top overall seed Alabama were ousted from the NCAA tournament Sweet 16 after an upset 71-64 loss to San Diego State on Friday.
The Crimson Tide were well below their best in a sloppy performance with 14 turnovers, shooting three-of-27 from beyond the arc.
SDSU's Darrion Trammell scored 21 points as San Diego progressed to the Elite Eight for the first time.
Trammell led the way offensively for the Aztecs, while Nathan Mensah had eight rebounds and five blocks, while Lamont Butler had three steals, four rebounds and four assists.
For Alabama, top-five NBA Draft prospect Brandon Miller scored nine points with 11 rebounds but committed six turnovers and shot three-of-19 from the field, including one-of-10 from three-point range.
Crimson Tide guard Mark Sears scored 16 points with 10 rebounds but shot none-of-five from beyond the arc.
"Everybody is really disappointed in the loss," Alabama coach Nate Oats said. "It ended too soon."
Midwest regional top seed Houston were also eliminated in the Sweet 16 on Friday after losing 89-75 to Miami.
Hurricanes guard Nijel Pack led the way with 26 points including seven-of-10 three-pointers as Miami made 11 of their first 22 attempts from beyond the arc.
Miami will take on Midwest second seed Texas in the Elite Eight after the Longhorns won ___ over the Xavier Musketeers, with Tyrese Hunter scoring a team-high __ points with __-of-__ three-pointers.
South regional six seed Creighton defeated Princeton 86-75 to set up a Elite Eight meeting with SDSU, after Ryan Kalkbrenner and Baylor Scheierman scored 22 and 21 points respectively.
World number one Carlos Alcaraz wasted no time in advancing to the Miami Open third round with a straight-sets win over Facundo Bagnis in just 64 minutes, while 13th seed Alexander Zverev suffered an early exit on Friday.
Reigning US Open champion Alcaraz eased past Bagnis 6-0 6-2, firing 12 winners and three aces for the match, committing only 11 unforced errors.
The Spaniard won the first set in 24 minutes, marking the first time he has won an opening frame 6-0 at an ATP Masters 100 event. It was also the first bagel he has dished out since beating Bagnis in Umag last year.
"I knew that I needed to be focused for my first match," Alcaraz said after his win, having triumphed in Indian Wells last week. "To start a new tournament is never easy, different conditions.
"I have to be ready to get used to these new conditions, but I was really focused on the match from the beginning, and I'm happy with the way that I played. I try to improve every day."
Alcaraz will face Dusan Lajovic after he beat 30th seed Maxime Cressy 6-4 7-6 (7-2), having knocked off Andy Murray in the first round.
Zverev was the highest seed to bow out on Friday, going down 6-0 6-4 to Japan's Taro Daniel, who beat world number four Casper Ruud last month in Acapulco.
Daniel triumphed in 73 minutes against the German, hitting 17 winners and committing only two unforced errors for the match, while Zverev gave up 18.
The Japanese wild card will meet Emil Ruusuvuori in the third round after the Finn beat 22nd seed Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4 7-6 (7-5) to open up that section of the draw.
Third seed Ruud also had few problems getting past Ilya Ivashka 6-2 6-3 to set up a clash with Botic van de Zandschulp after his three-set win over Alexei Popyrin.
Sixth seed Andrey Rublev overcame J.J. Wolf 7-6 (7-3) 6-4, having been broken in the opening game of what was a tight contest.
Jannik Sinner beat Laslo Djere 6-4 6-2, marking his 16th win out of 20 appearances at the Sunshine Double (Indian Wells and Miami), with only three other players – Novak Djokovic, Alcaraz and Hubert Hurkacz – having as many wins within their first 20 matches.
Ninth seed Taylor Fritz defeated fellow American Emilio Nava 6-4 6-1, and will face Denis Shapovalov in round three after he beat Guido Pella 6-3 3-6 6-3.
American 16th seed Tommy Paul came from a set down to beat Marc-Andrea Huesler 5-7 6-3 6-4, while seventh seed Holger Rune beat Martin Fucsovics 6-3 7-5.
Top 10 seeds Ons Jabeur, Caroline Garcia and Maria Sakkari were all eliminated in a day of upsets in the Miami Open second round on Friday.
Qualifier Varvara Gracheva earned her first career top-five win by beating 2022 Wimbledon and US Open finalist Jabeur 6-2 6-2 in only 67 minutes.
Fifth seed Caroline Garcia also crashed out, losing 6-2 6-3 to 74th-ranked Sorana Cirstea, having also recently beaten the Frenchwoman at Indian Wells.
Bianca Andreescu came from a set down to beat seventh seed Maria Sakkari 5-7 6-3 6-4 in a match that lasted over three hours.
Andreescu displayed some of the form that saw her lift the 2019 US Open title, fighting back from a set down and proving composed in the big moments.
The Canadian, who is ranked 31st, will take on 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the third round.
Second seed Aryna Sabalenka had few problems against Shelby Rogers, winning 6-4 6-3 in one hour and 17 minutes. Sabalenka will next face 31st seed Marie Bouzkova.
The 2023 Australian Open champion has won 65 main draw matches in WTA-1000 events, which equals Marion Bartoli and Ashleigh Barty at the 30th place since 2009 for the most wins at this level.
Indian Wells winner Elena Rybakina beat Anna Kalinskaya 7-5 4-6 6-3, and Petra Kvitova eased past compatriot Linda Noskova 6-3 6-0.
Ninth seed Belinda Bencic dropped just two games as she cruised past Leylah Fernandez 6-1 6-1, and will face Ekaterina Alexandrova next as the 18th seed needed three to get past Taylor Townsend.
Veronika Kudermetova was eliminated by Marketa Vondrousova 6-4 6-2, who goes up against Karolina Pliskova in round three after she eased past Wang Xinyu in straight sets.
Jon Rahm was the major casualty from the WGC Match Play on Friday as Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay all advanced with perfect records.
The Spanish second seed was dumped out after losing 5 and 4 to 2021 WGC Match Play winner Billy Horschel in their final Group 2 match at the Austin Country Club in Texas.
Horschel went 1-up with a par on the second hole and never relinquished the lead, with Rahm failing to register a birdie throughout the day's play.
The 36-year-old American pulled away with birdies on the 10th and 11th holes followed by a 21-foot birdie putt on the 14th to clinch a spot in the round of 16 against Cameron Young.
Horschel progressed in a tight group with a 2-0-1 record ahead of Rickie Fowler (2-1-0), Rahm (1-2-0) and Keith Mitchell (0-2-1).
Top seed and reigning champion Scheffler advanced after beating Tom Kim 3 and 2 to round out a 3-0-0 group stage record.
Kim came out strong with birdies on the first two holes to go 2-up, but Scheffler rallied back immediately winning three of the next four holes.
Third seed McIlroy topped Group 3 unblemished after beating Keegan Bradley 3 and 2, while fourth seed Cantlay beat Brian Harman 2 and 1 to top Group 4 with a 3-0-0 record.
Kurt Kitayama won a three-way sudden death playoff over Tony Finau and Adrian Meronk to progress atop Group 10.
Canadian Mackenzie Hughes produced an upset to advance via Group 12 from Taylor Montgomery who he beat 6 and 4. Jordan Spieth, who beat Hughes on Thursday, missed out after losing to Shane Lowry 2 and 1.
J.J. Spaun also pulled off a surprise by topping Group 11 with a 3-0-0 record, downing Min Woo Lee 2 and 1 to seal his progress.
Max Homa, Xander Schauffele, Andrew Putnam, Matt Kuchar, Sam Burns, Lucas Herbert, J.T. Poston, Jason Day and Young also all progressed into Saturday's last 16 knockout stage.
Englishman Matt Wallace leads the Corales Puntacana Championship by one stroke at the halfway point ahead of American pair Sam Stevens and Wyndham Clark.
Wallace, who was third after the first day, carded a second-round six-under-par 66 on Friday to be 11-under overall at the picturesque Puntacana Resort's Corales Golf Course in the Dominican Republic.
The 32-year-old Englishman has never won a PGA Tour event but has a golden opportunity with most of the world's top-ranked players competing at the WGC Match Play.
Wallace's second round was bogey free, carding birdies in four of his final six holes to claim the lead, with early leaders Brice Garnett and Ben Martin scoring 70 and 72 to slip down the leaderboard.
Stevens and Clark are 10-under overall, with the former managing eight birdies with one bogey in his seven-under round.
Clark also carded a seven-under 65, including an eagle on the par-five fourth hole to help launch his surge up the leaderboard.
Tyler Duncan, Akshay Bhatia, Nicolaj Hojgaard and Garnett, who won the event in 2018, are all tied for fourth at eight-under overall. Bhatia carded the best round of the day, with a nine-under 63.
Lane Johnson's goal is to retire as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, and he now looks destined to achieve that aim by signing a one-year extension.
The All-Pro right tackle inked an extension worth $33.445million, and includes $30m guaranteed.
It will keep the 32-year-old under contract through the 2026 season.
"My whole goal is to retire an Eagle," Johnson said on Friday.
"That's what I'm going to do. I'm just excited to be here, be as fortunate as I am to be with one team for as long as I have.
"I love this game and, more importantly, I love the people and the coaches that I'm with every day and that's why I love the game so much."
Johnson is a two-time first-team All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler who has started 127 games in a stellar career.
Having won Super Bowl LI with the Eagles in 2017, the 2013 fourth overall pick helped Philadelphia to Super Bowl LVII last season, where they lost 38-35 to the Kansas City Chiefs.
In 2022, his aggregate win rate across pass protection and run blocking of 78.26 per cent was ninth among all tackles, according to Stats Perform data.
Luka Doncic has been fined $35,000 after making "an inappropriate and unprofessional gesture" towards an official.
With just 1.7 seconds to go of the 127-125 defeat to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, the Dallas Mavericks star rubbed his fingers together at a referee, appearing to reference money.
One piece of fortune for Doncic was that he was not given a technical foul for the gesture, with the Slovenian just one shy of the 16 required for a one-game suspension.
However, the NBA confirmed on Friday that Doncic will be fined for the incident.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban wrote on Twitter after the game that they will protest what he called the "worst officiating non-call mistake possibly in the history of the NBA".
Dallas' objections are based on a referee call that led to Warriors center Kevon Looney scoring an uncontested dunk to make it 90-87 from a Jordan Poole inbound pass with 1:54 left in the third quarter following a Mavericks timeout.
The Mavericks believed they had possession of the ball, and so were not in position for the inbound, with Cuban claiming that was due to a miscommunication by the referees.
Markquis Nowell said the back-and-forth clash between the Kansas State Wildcats and the Michigan State Spartans in Thursday's Sweet 16 round at the NCAA Tournament was "like a Rocky fight."
Nowell starred as the Wildcats won 98-93 in overtime, recording 19 assists to break the tournament record for a single game.
The five-foot-eight guard has 64 points, 42 assists and 11 steals in his three outings so far, with the last division one college basketball or NBA player to reach all of those numbers over any three-game span being Allen Iverson in 2005.
"It was like a 'Rocky' fight," Nowell said about the game, which saw 16 lead changes and neither team ever holding a double-figure lead.
Nowell's 19 assists were complimented by 20 of his own points, joining Chris Paul and James Harden as the only players from either division one college basketball or the NBA in the last 10 years to put up a game of at least 20 points, 15 assists and five steals.
And he attributed his success to his team-mates, with the Wildcats setting up an Elite 8 clash with the Florida Atlantic Owls on Saturday.
"We're at our best when we're sharing the ball, passing the ball around the perimeter and different guys is getting into double figures in the scoring category," Nowell said. "I wouldn't have 19 assists if they didn't make any shots."
He produced a stunning alley-oop pass to Keyontae Johnson late in the game, and Johnson heaped praise on Nowell, especially after sustaining an ankle injury during the second half that still did not slow him down.
"He's our starting point guard," he said. "His IQ, his feel for the game, he brings everybody confidence, and when he came back... everybody saw how he was trying to fight through his injury, and we just wanted to fight back for him."
Coco Gauff loves the inner "dog" in Jimmy Butler's basketball game and hopes the Miami Heat star saw plenty to admire about her own tenacity as she made a positive start at the Miami Open.
Winning 6-4 6-3 against Canadian Rebecca Marino got Gauff off the mark at this fortnight's WTA 1000 tournament, with the 19-year-old American very much at home in Florida.
Butler was watching at courtside, and the 33-year-old was so close Gauff could hardly ignore his presence.
"I mean, he was right next to my towels. I had no choice but to see him," Gauff said.
Gauff is a fan of the Heat, so to be watched by six-time NBA All-Star Butler was flattering for the teenager.
She is a high achiever herself, reaching the French Open final last year and setting up camp in the WTA top 10 rankings, so there was mutual respect, and the pair met up after Thursday's match.
"It was really cool because I love watching the Heat, they're my team. He has just that mentality, that dog in him, something that I really admire a lot," Gauff said. "I always do that when I'm on the court, but I was, like, I hope he sees that in me."
Gauff also spoke about having met players from the Buffalo Bills, the NFL franchise owned by world number three Jessica Pegula's parents.
"They might have been here for Jess, but I'm glad they stayed to watch my match," Gauff said.
Pegula beat Katherine Sebov in the match directly after Gauff's clash on the Stadium court.
Gauff said it was a "privilege" to be watched by fellow sports stars.
"I think it means more than maybe an actor or singer watching me, because it's like, as an athlete, finding the time to appreciate other sports is really hard," she said. "For them to want to do that, especially for a sport like tennis, which generally most of them don't understand, is really cool."
Gauff next faces Anastasia Potapova, the Russian player who beat Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk at the last-64 stage.
That match was notable largely for Kostyuk's refusal to shake hands afterwards with Potapova, a player who earlier this month was warned by the WTA for wearing a Spartak Moscow jersey at Indian Wells.
Russian and Belarusian players are competing under a neutral flag on the WTA Tour this season, amid the continuing invasion of Ukraine.
Mercedes are missing the influence of Niki Lauda amid their ongoing struggles, team principal Toto Wolff said.
Three-time champion Lauda held a non-executive chairman role with Mercedes until his death in 2019 and played an integral role during the team's dominant years in Formula One.
That spell at the top now seems a million miles away, having conceded the Constructors' Championship to Red Bull last season when they won just a single race.
Mercedes' struggles look set to continue in 2023 after failing to get on the podium in either of the first two races of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, where Red Bull dominated.
While the team are in need of development upgrades to close the gap on their rivals, Wolff outlined why the absence of Lauda is also a hindrance.
"Niki's missed all those years because Niki always simplified things to really what mattered," he said.
"I'm having to think what would he have said, and how would he have positioned [things], and the two of us worked well together in that sense that sometimes oversimplification can lead you straight to the results.
"But there are lots of nuances. This is a technical sport, so maybe my role was to translate it in a way that we actually were able to execute it in the car design.
"But this is very simple: the stopwatch never lies, and we see on the data where we are missing and that needs to be corrected."
Top seed Chris Binnie got off to a strong start at the Jamaica Squash Association's senior trials defeating the number-five seed Bruce Burrowes in straight sets 11-9, 11-9 and 11-8 at the Liguanea Club in Kingston on Thursday.
As the scores indicate, all three sets were competitive with Burrowes enjoying the lead over Binnie briefly in each set but was not able to convert any to a win.
"Good game. I think that shows, you come, you have to play and everyone is competitive and today he (Burrowes) took it to me and it was really close so I am happy to get a 3-0 win and I am looking forward to tomorrow (Friday)," said the nine-time Caribbean men’s singles champion.
"When you start playing events, you want to get that first win under your belt, you want to get that first match done with as well so little nerves to start getting used to the court. I am not based here so the courts I play on are a lot colder so getting used to all of that. I am super happy with how it ended. Hopefully tomorrow (Friday) I can be a little bit better and hopefully get another win."
Despite the loss, Burrowes was not unhappy with his play.
"Chris is a top notch player; Caribbean national player, Caribbean top player, top national player. He is definitely of a different level than the local boys that I am able to train with here but I was able to hold my own against him in the game with points 11-9, 11-9, 11-8,” he said.
“That's not bad even though it’s a 3-0 loss. (I) just have to move on to the next match. Wish Chris all the best in the rest of his matches and just hope that Jamaica can put together our strongest team of these trials."
The trials opened with number-four seed Dane Schwier defeating the number-six seed Stephan Morrison in straight sets.
Meanwhile, reigning national champion and number-two seed Julian Morrison beat the U19 champion and number-seven seed Tobias Levy 3-0.
The four-day trials to select Jamaica's team to the upcoming PanAm Games in June and the Senior Caribbean Squash Championship in August, continue on Friday with matches starting at 6:00 pm at the Liguanea Club.
Tom Brady hopes investing in the Las Vegas Aces will help the WNBA "continue to do to grow" and "empower future generations of athletes."
Seven-time Super Bowl champion Brady has acquired an ownership interest in the world champion Aces.
The legendary former quarterback, who retired in February, jumped at the chance to be part of the organisation.
He said: "I am very excited to be part of the Las Vegas Aces organisation. My love for women's sports began at a young age when I would tag along to all my older sisters' games.
"They were by far the best athletes in our house! We celebrated their accomplishments together as a family, and they remain a great inspiration to me.
"I have always been a huge fan of women's sports, and I admire the work that the Aces' players, staff, and the WNBA continue to do to grow the sport and empower future generations of athletes.
"To be able to contribute in any way to that mission as a member of the Aces organisation is an incredible honour."
Aces owner Mark Davis said: "Since I purchased the Aces, our goal has been to win on and off the court. Tom Brady is a win not only for the Aces, and the WNBA, but for women's professional sports as a whole."
Kawhi Leonard played a lead role as the Los Angeles Clippers won without the injured Paul George and urged teammates to "dial in even deeper" over the remainder of the regular season.
The Clippers scored a 127-105 home win against the Oklahoma City Thunder, two nights after George suffered a knee injury in a 101-100 loss to the same opposition.
Leonard played the lead role as the two-time NBA Finals MVP scored a game-high 32 points on 13-of-15 shooting from the field, adding six assists and six rebounds, while Russell Westbrook added 24 points.
Asked how the Clippers would cope without eight-time All-Star George, Leonard said: "Like we did tonight. Eric Gordon stepped in and started in his position, and it provided more minutes for Bones [Hyland] and Terance [Mann] and they came in and did a great job, provided a positive energy. Nobody's head was down.
"We wish PG a speedy recovery. It's next man up and that's how we've got to play.
"We've got to keep sharing the ball, and dial in even deeper."
He said the Clippers must collectively be "more focused because we're missing a superstar".
George is set to miss the rest of the regular season but crucially he has avoided serious ligament damage, so it should not be a long-term lay-off.
Leonard might be the franchise player, but he wants everyone to be making big contributions in George's absence as the Clippers look to nail down their postseason spot. For now, they sit fifth in the Western Conference with a 39-35 record.
"Missing a guy like that, the ball's going to be in my hands more," Leonard said in his post-game press conference.
"But everybody else as well. One man can't win these basketball games. We'll have to come in with a group effort and everybody focus up, buy in, and try to do what we can do without him."
As for how Westbrook is faring, almost five weeks on from his arrival from the Utah Jazz, Leonard was complimentary, saying it was positive "just having a Hall of Fame point guard on the floor".
"He brings energy to the team, brings pace, plays both ends of the floor," Leonard said. "He's been doing a good job."
Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery hailed his side for rising to the challenge of a tough schedule to beat the Montreal Canadiens.
A 4-2 win at TD Garden marked a fifth consecutive victory for the Bruins and saw the team hit the 55-win mark, their second-highest all-time total behind only the 57 wins secured by the 1970-71 side.
The Bruins' fine run has highlighted their resilience, having endured a two-game skid prior to their current streak, with no side in the NHL currently having a longer win streak.
Having already secured their playoff berth, the Bruins are looking to maintain their momentum heading into the postseason and Montgomery was delighted by the result, though admitting his team were not at their best.
"Happy that we got the two points. It's a tough league to win in," he told reporters after Thursday's win. "I know we've won a lot this year, but it really is.
"With the schedule as challenging as it is right now – we're playing four games a week, and it's four in six nights consecutively for five weeks – we're not going to have the most energy we usually do have.
"I don't think we skated very well tonight, but it's understandable at times. You've got to give credit to those guys. We find a way to win hockey games.
"It's not an easy league to win in, and we find ways to do it. That's the positive side of things."
David Pastrnak was again on form for the Bruins, hitting his 49th goal of the season to represent his best campaign and tie him with Ken Hodge for eighth-highest scorer all-time for the Bruins with 289.
The 26-year-old was not focused on his display, however, and simply enjoyed the rivalry clash against the Canadiens.
"This is the kind of game where the only thing you think about is getting the win," Pastrnak said.
"These games against Montreal never get old. It doesn't really matter where in the standings each team is. It brings so much history.JI
"It's a big win. When Montreal and the Bruins play, both teams are gonna play hard."
Gonzaga Bulldogs center Drew Timme was a man amongst boys as he carried his side to a comeback 79-76 victory over the two-seed UCLA Bruins in Thursday's Sweet 16 action at the NCAA Tournament.
Timme, a senior, was named a consensus First-Team All-American this year after back-to-back Second-Team selections in his sophomore and junior seasons.
While his career at Gonzaga has been littered with individual honours, the six-foot-10 fringe NBA prospect looked destined to end his run as a Bulldog without capturing their elusive first National Championship as they trailed 46-33 at half-time.
But Timme would not let three-seed Gonzaga go down quietly, putting together a monstrous 36 points on 16-of-24 shooting while adding 13 rebounds, four assists and two blocks to turn their deficit into a 72-62 lead with 2:30 remaining.
UCLA's Jaime Jaquez Jr made things interesting with a quick eight-point burst on his way to a team-high 29 (12-of-25 shooting), 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals, setting up Amari Bailey for a three-pointer to put the Bruins back in front 76-75 with 13 seconds on the clock.
With the game on the line, Julian Strawther drained the clutch three to give Gonzaga the lead and the win, booking their fifth Elite 8 trip from the past eight editions of the tournament.
Gonzaga will face the four-seed Connecticut Huskies next after they wiped the floor with the eight-seed Arkansas Razorbacks 88-65.
It was another strong performance from UConn's top NBA prospect Jordan Hawkins, as the lanky six-foot-five wing dropped a game-high 24 points on six-of-13 shooting with three assists, marking the third tournament game in a row he has drained at least three three-pointers.
The nine-seed Florida Atlantic Owls are through to their first Elite 8 in school history after upsetting the four-seed Tennessee Volunteers 62-55.
The Owls came into the tournament at 31-3, and while there were questions about their strength of schedule, they have continued to prove they are one of college basketball's best teams this year, holding Tennessee to just 33 per cent shooting.
Florida Atlantic will play Kansas State in the next stage after the Wildcats survived a thrilling 98-93 overtime battle against Tom Izzo's Michigan State Spartans.
Five-foot-eight Wildcats point guard Markquis Nowell played the game of his life, ending up with 20 points (seven-of-18 shooting), 19 assists, five steals and just two turnovers in his 43 minutes.
He joins Chris Paul and James Harden as the only players from either division one college basketball or the NBA in the past decade to put up a game of at least 20 points, 15 assists and five steals.
No Paul George, no worries for the Los Angeles Clippers as Kawhi Leonard carried them to an important 127-105 home win against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.
It was the second consecutive meeting between these two sides in Los Angeles after George limped off with a knee injury in Tuesday's 101-100 loss to the Thunder, but with the Clippers' playoff future up in the air, Leonard rose to the occasion.
The two-time NBA Finals MVP scored a game-high 32 points on red-hot 13-of-15 shooting from the field. He was seven-of-seven for 15 points in the first quarter, with his team leading 36-29, but the Clippers began to fall apart as he tried to look for his team-mates in the second period.
Leonard did not attempt a field goal in the second, allowing the Thunder to claw back to 54-54 at half-time, but he came out of the break determined to decide the outcome.
The Clippers' franchise star played the entire third quarter, and the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, not coming out until his side had built a 103-85 lead.
Leonard added six rebounds, six assists and four steals in a dominant two-way performance, finishing with a plus/minus of plus 16 in his 35 minutes.
He was supported well by an efficient night from Russell Westbrook, as he chipped in 24 points (eight-of-13 shooting) with seven assists.
A loss would have seen the Clippers tied with the Golden State Warriors at 38-36 in the sixth seed – only one game clear of the play-in tournament placings – but they are now two games clear of the drama in fifth with only eight fixtures remaining.
It was a devastating loss for the Thunder's playoff hopes, blowing an opportunity to move into the seventh seed outright, and instead slipping down to 11th, although there is now a four-way tie at 36-37.
Okoro wins it at the buzzer
The Cleveland Cavaliers secured a 116-114 road win against the Brooklyn Nets in the last second as Isaac Okoro drilled a game-winning three-pointer from the corner.
Cleveland rode the dynamic duo of Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley all night, with Mitchell scoring a team-high 31 points on 11-of-24 shooting, while Mobley racked up 26 points (11-of-18), 16 rebounds, four blocks and three assists.
But the biggest moment of the game came down to Caris LeVert and Okoro, as the former Net came up with a loose ball and zipped a cross-court pass for Okoro's three in a hectic closing sequence.
The Cavs have been a disappointing 18-20 away from home this season, but have now won five of their past six on the road.
With the loss, the Nets fell to 39-34 and down into play-in spots. The Miami Heat (40-34) leapfrogged them into sixth.
Magic continue to show progress
The Orlando Magic have quietly become one of the most exciting young teams in the league, and they knocked off another playoff side with a 111-106 home win over the New York Knicks.
It was Orlando's third win from their past four outings, also taking down the Clippers and the Washington Wizards, and their number one draft pick led the way. Paolo Banchero scored a team-high 21 points on seven-of-17 shooting, adding six rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks.
Both Immanuel Quickley and Quentin Grimes scored 25 points each in the absence of starting Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson, but a three-of-12 performance with five turnovers from R.J. Barrett was hard to overcome.
Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff headlined a great day for the Americans at the Miami Open as they both advanced into the third round on Thursday.
Pegula, who is the second-highest seed remaining in the field after Iga Swiatek's withdrawal, had no issue dispatching Canada's Katherine Sebov 6-3 6-1 in just 66 minutes.
Gauff, the six seed, followed suit as she raced to a 6-4 6-3 win over Canadian Rebecca Marino in just 73 minutes.
Florida's own Danielle Collins thrilled her hometown crowd with a 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 triumph against Bulgaria's Viktoriya Tomova, and rising 22-year-old talent Clare Liu made it a perfect 4-0 sweep for the USA representatives by defeating Julia Grabher 6-4 6-3.
Last week's Indian Wells Open champion Elena Rybakina was made to work in her 7-5 4-6 6-3 win over Anna Kalinskaya, while an even more gruelling effort was required in Paula Badosa's two-hour-and-52-minute 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 6-2 result against Laura Siegemund.
The top seed to fall on Thursday was eighth seed Daria Kasatkina, as she won the first set before going down 4-6 6-2 6-2 against Elise Mertens.
Liudmila Samsonova, the 12th seed, made light work of Viktorija Golubic in a 6-1 6-1 drubbing, and 22nd seed Jelena Ostapenko prevailed 6-3 6-4 against Mirjam Bjorklund.
Ostapenko will next play 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia after she won a strange back-and-forth contest 7-6 (7-4) 0-6 6-0 over Tereza Martincova.
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