Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis said he wanted to "make a statement" in his side's 109-102 win over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday after a "terrible" Game 1 performance.
Davis led the way for the Lakers with a brilliant display at both ends of the court, contributing 34 points and seven assists, along with 10 rebounds and three blocks.
The performance came after an underwhelming return in the opening game when the Lakers were beaten 99-90, with Davis scoring 13 points and providing just two assists.
"Locked in. I know my performance the other day was terrible," Davis told ESPN. "To win a series or to win games, I can't have that performance.
"I put it on myself, as all leaders do. I wanted to make a statement this game. Come out with more energy and effort at both ends on the floor… it paid off today."
LeBron James landed a crucial three-pointer which stretched the Lakers' lead to nine points inside the final minute. He would finish with 23 points, four rebounds and nine assists as LA levelled the first round series.
Davis insisted James did not need to tell him anything about how to respond from his underwhelming display.
"We've been together for a while now," Davis said. "He don’t have to be in my ear. He saw it on my face.
"We didn’t talk much at all today. [The] first time we talked when was when we got to the arena. He just knows.
"I knew I can't have my team in that position with my performance. Since last year he's always been on me about perfection. Playing hard, playing through environments like this, it's paying off.
"It's getting to the point where I don’t need ‘Bron to tell me what I need to do. I know now. I put it on myself to be better for my team."
James added: "He responds to games like Game 1. He's not a guy who talks about it. He goes out and does it."
Game 3 will take place at the Staples Center in LA on Thursday and Davis said he expects the crowd to be "crazy exciting and loud".
Suns guard Chris Paul will hope to feature more heavily in that game after struggling with a shoulder complaint throughout Tuesday's meeting, including sitting out most of the final quarter.
"I took him out," Suns coach Monty Williams said in the post-game video conference. "It was all me looking at him holding his arm the way he was holding it.
"I couldn’t watch him run like that. He was trying to make plays, he battled, he's a warrior. I just made a decision to take him out."
He added: "He's not able to make the passes he wants. He was labouring tonight… We're hopeful it'll get better over the next 48 hours, but I don’t want to say too much."
The Tampa Bay Rays' 11-game winning streak ended as they went down 2-1 to the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday in the MLB.
With veteran Rich Hill on the mound, the Rays were exceptional in the outfield in the early innings with Austin Meadows and Kevin Kiermaier pulling off spectacular catches from Andrew Benintendi.
Hill, at the cherry ripe age of 41, tossed down 13 strikeouts across seven innings for the Rays.
But the Royals got their go-ahead run in the sixth inning when Cam Gallagher touched down from Salvador Perez's hit.
Shohei Ohtani hit his 15th homerun of the season, a 117 mph rocket, as the Los Angeles Angels won 11-5 over the Texas Rangers, while the San Diego Padres made it 10 wins from their past 11 with a 7-1 victory at the Milwaukee Brewers.
Guerrero moves to 16, DeGrom returns
Vladimir Guerrero moved into the outright lead for most homeruns this season in the Toronto Blue Jays' 6-2 win over the New York Yankees.
Guerrero hit his 16th homer of the 2021 MLB season in the third inning, as Yankees pitcher Corey Kluber started for the first time since last week's no-hitter.
Kluber only sent down 58 pitches across three innings, allowing his first hit in 39 batters, before being hastily replaced by Michael King, with fears of a shoulder injury.
The result ended the Blue Jays' six-game losing streak too.
Jacob deGrom returned for his first game since April 28 with ride side tightness and pitched five innings with nine strikeouts as the New York Mets won 3-1 over the Colorado Rockies.
It was not a perfect return for deGrom, allowing only his third homerun of the season, when Ryan McMahon homered in the second inning. It was the first he has allowed in the strike zone too.
Right-hander Edwin Diaz stepped up to finish the job for the Mets with three strikeouts, sending down a 100 mph pitch on the corner to end the game.
Max Scherzer was on song for the Washington Nationals but it was not enough for victory as the Cincinnati Reds triumphed 2-1 with Kyle Farmer and Eugenio Suarez homeruns.
Scherzer pitched seven innings and had nine strikeouts, including eight out of the strike zone.
Jack's rough high school reunion
Harvard-Westlake pals Jack Flaherty and Lucas Giolito reunited in the Chicago White Sox's 8-3 win over the St Louis Cardinals. Flaherty had started with an 8-0 record in his first eight appearances for the Cardinals but that came to an end in a hard day, including a wild pitch to Yermin Mercedes which allowed Nick Madrigal to score. Jose Abreu also returned to form with a homer off Flaherty.
Greinke vs Kershaw in Houston
Star pitchers Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw faced off with the latter getting the upper hand as the Los Angeles Dodgers won 9-2 at the Houston Astros. Kershaw sent down 81 pitches with 57 strikes and six Ks. He only gave up one run and did not walk anybody.
Tuesday's results
Chicago Cubs 4-3 Pittsburgh Pirates
Philadelphia Phillies 2-0 Miami Marlins
Cincinnati Reds 2-1 Washington Nationals
Toronto Blue Jays 6-2 New York Yankees
Atlanta Braves 3-1 Boston Red Sox
Kansas City Royals 2-1 Tampa Bay Rays
New York Mets 3-1 Colorado Rockies
Cleveland Indians 4-1 Detroit Tigers
San Diego Padres 7-1 Milwaukee Brewers
Minnesota Twins 7-4 Baltimore Orioles
Chicago White Sox 8-3 St Louis Cardinals
Los Angeles Dodgers 9-2 Houston Astros
Los Angeles Angels 11-5 Texas Rangers
San Francisco Giants 8-0 Arizona Diamondbacks
Seattle Mariners 4-3 Oakland Athletics
Padres at Brewers
Fernando Tatis Jr and the San Diego Padres continue their enthralling series away to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Anthony Davis responded after his poor Game 1 by leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 109-102 win over the Phoenix Suns to square their NBA playoffs first round series on Tuesday.
Davis was self-critical after their Game 1 loss, stating "this is on me", and responded with a double-double with 34 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and seven assists.
LeBron James was brilliant with 23 points, including a final quarter threein the final minute which was the nail in the coffin. James also had nine assists and four rebounds.
The Lakers led by seven at the final change but Phoenix came hard at them, albeit largely without Chris Paul who played limited minutes in the last quarter due to a shoulder issue which hampered him all game.
But the reigning champions rallied, with a Davis block followed by a three-pointer pressing them ahead in the final minutes.
For the Lakers, Dennis Schroder had 24 points, while Andre Drummond had 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Paul only managed six points from 23 minutes in a major worry for the Suns moving forward, while Devin Booker impressed with 31 points.
KD gets it done, Mavs down Clippers
Kevin Durant got it done at both ends as the Brooklyn Nets claimed a 2-0 series lead against the Boston Celtics with a 130-108 win.
Durant was dominant with a game-high 26 points as well as five assists, eight rebounds and four blocks for the Nets who led by 24 points at half-time.
Joe Harris shot a playoffs career-high seven three-pointers among his 25 points, including 22 in the first half, while James Harden added an impressive 20 points, five rebounds and seven assists for the Nets.
Blake Griffin made two big dunks for the Nets, having not attempted one in his final 25 games for the Detroit Pistons before his move.
Luka Doncic and Kawhi Leonard traded blows with massive individual performances but the Dallas Mavericks claimed a 2-0 lead in their series against the Los Angeles Clippers with a 127-121 win on the road.
Doncic scored 39 points with seven rebounds and seven assists, with able assistance from Tim Hardaway Jr who made six three-pointers among his 28 points, with Dallas moving ahead in a 30-19 third quarter.
Leonard had 41 points, six rebounds, two steals and four assists, while Paul George scored 28 points with 12 rebounds and six assists for the Clippers, who face an uphill task to turn around the series in Texas.
CP3 and Tatum injuries
Injuries to both Paul and Celtics forward Jason Tatum denied spectators the best contest possible, with the former barely entering the court in the last with his shoulder issue which remains an issue for the rest of the series. Tatum left the game in the third quarter after a poke to the eye from Durant. He only managed nine points from 21 minutes, shooting at 25 per cent from the field.
Harden's three-point playoffs feat
Harden went past Reggie Miller into sixth on the all-time NBA playoffs three-pointers made list, scoring four-from-eight beyond the arc in the Nets' win over the Celtics. The 31-year-old has 321 playoffs three-pointers, behind Stephen Curry (470), LeBron James (417), Ray Allen (385), Klay Thompson (374) and Manu Ginobili (324).
Tuesday's results
Brooklyn Nets 130-108 Boston Celtics
Los Angeles Lakers 109-102 Phoenix Suns
Dallas Mavericks 127-121 Los Angeles Clippers
Grizzlies at Jazz
Western Conference top seed Utah Jazz will look to square their series against the Memphis Grizzlies after their upset defeat in Game 1.
Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash is happy with the continued progress of their 'big three' after Tuesday's 130-108 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of their NBA playoffs first round series.
The Nets opened up a 2-0 lead with the comfortable victory, which comes after the 'big three' contributed 82 points in their 104-93 Game 1 win.
Kevin Durant starred with 26 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four blocks on Tuesday.
James Harden had 20 points, including four three-pointers along with five rebounds and seven assists, while Kyrie Irving added 15 points, six rebounds and six assists.
"It's about that time together on the floor, time together to understand, to gel, to make those connections that will afford us more down the line," Nash said post-game.
"It's the time and mindset we need to improve. I keep saying, we're not a team that's running this back three-four-five. We're trying to figure it out as we go.
"Each night is important, not only on the scoreboard but our development."
The Nets are 8-2 with the 'big three' in their line-up this season, but the contribution of Joe Harris, who had 22 points by half-time, to finish with 25 including seven three-pointers, cannot be underestimated.
"It's a nice luxury to have when he’s banging three balls like that and getting the crowd going," Nash said.
Boston lost star forward Jayson Tatum in the third quarter after copping a poke to the eye.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens said they needed to be much better all over the court.
"We've got to be way better. We've go to get down the floor quicker, we've got to execute faster, we have to be more detailed and better in our defense," he said.
"I was disappointed in how we played versus the other night."
Former world number one Jordan Spieth said he would not be surprised if this week's US PGA Championship winner Phil Mickelson had another major title in him.
Mickelson, 50, made history as the oldest major winner on Sunday when he triumphed at the US PGA Championship at Kiawah Island in South Carolina, claiming his sixth career major title.
The American's major victory in the twilight of his career was similar to golf greats Tiger Woods at the 2019 Masters and Jack Nicklaus at the 1986 Masters.
Spieth was full of praise for his childhood hero and long-time mentor, when speaking ahead of this week's Charles Schwab Challenge at the Colonial Country Club in Texas.
"It seems like all the great ones have that one left at the end," Spieth said.
"I know he'll probably tell you, he thinks he's got more than one left. I don't think anybody will doubt him after this one, but I think it's just wild. I think it's incredible."
The 27-year-old, who has won three major titles, said he watched on in awe as Mickelson triumphed on Sunday for his first major victory since 2013.
"I thought it would be very, very difficult," Spieth said. "He hadn't been in contention in quite a while on the PGA Tour against the guys he was in contention with.
"I know he's won many times on the Champions Tour… I think that might have been something that had been helpful for him as he's coming down the stretch.
"It's just so difficult to be in contention for the first time in a while and be able to tap into that confidence that you're supposed to be there and you're supposed to win."
Spieth's career skyrocketed after playing alongside Mickelson at the 2013 Deutsche Bank Championship where he shot a final-round 62. That round prompted Mickelson to call US Presidents Cup Captain Fred Couples to insist on calling up Spieth.
The Texan has long held an adoration for Mickelson, revealing he had got his prized signature in his youth. That adoration has been further reinforced by the recent fears of Mickelson, 23 years Spieth's senior.
"His streak of not being outside the top 50 in the world for however long, that is going to be a very difficult task for anybody going forward to match," Spieth said.
"Then to win a tournament, let alone a major championship, at 50 with how young and stacked the game has gotten is just an incredible feat.
"I think the way he handled Saturday and Sunday, when he did make mistakes - especially on the back nine on Saturday to then close that out and remain in the lead - it was typical Phil."
Julius Randle's breakout season has been recognized after winning the NBA's 2020-21 Most Improved Player which was announced on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old power forward has played a key role in lifting the New York Knicks into the playoffs, with few expecting the franchise to reach the postseason, let alone claim fourth seed in the East.
Randle averaged 24.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and six assists across 71 games this NBA season, ranking in the top 20 in all three categories. He set career highs in points and assists, equalling his career high for rebounds too.
In his second season with the Knicks, after earlier stints with the New Orleans Pelicans and the Los Angeles Lakers, he made a career-high 160 three-pointers, shooting at 40.1 per cent. He'd previously only made 168 three-pointers at 29.5 per cent across six seasons.
Randle, who was selected for the 2021 NBA All-Star Game for the first time, received 98 first-place votes and 493 total points from the panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters.
Bianca Andreescu was in good form again as she saw off Maryna Zanevska to reach the last eight at the Internationaux de Strasbourg.
Until this week the Canadian had been absent from the WTA Tour since making the final in Miami back in March, missing recent events after a positive COVID-19 test.
But she has now won two straight matches on clay for the first time in her career, having barely played on the surface at tour level before.
Top seed Andreescu was playing an opponent ranked outside of the world's top 250 for a second straight day, though she emphatically did the job against qualifier Zanevska, winning 6-1 6-4 in just 65 minutes.
Aside from needing to recover from 4-2 down in the second set, Andreescu had few problems and converted all five of the break points she forced in the contest.
However, the second seed at the WTA 250 event is out.
Australian Open quarter-finalist Jessica Pegula was upset by Arantxa Rus, losing 6-4 6-4.
Pegula won only 10 of her 31 points on second serve as she was broken on five occasions.
But there was relief for seventh seed Shelby Rogers, who won an epic contest lasting three hours and 23 minutes against fellow American Christina McHale.
Rogers won 7-5 6-7 (6-8) 7-5 in a memorable clash. The eventual winner was a point away from wrapping up the victory in straight sets before later needing to save a match point herself in the decider.
Justin Burrowes won the Alliance National Amateur Golf Championship at the Caymanas Golf Club by a massive 20 strokes to claim his second title in three years.
Burrowes led on all four days of the championship but Sunday's round was his most impressive.
He shot seven birdies and just one bogey in his final round 66 for a four-day today of 278.
He had birdies on holes 2 and 6 and a bogey on five for a one-under-par 35 on the front nine but saved his best for last with birdies on 10, 12, 13,14 and 17 on the back nine for five-under-par 31 to close the round.
Overall, his scores on each of the four days were 73, 69, 70 and 66 to be 10 under for the tournament.
"Today (Sunday) was a great day. I felt like I was able to put everything together for once in the past four days. I drove it well, hit it well, putt it well and made a lot of crucial putts especially coming down the stretch,” he said.
“That was the only real difference between today and the other days. I just want to thank my coach, parents and all my supporters because without them this would not be possible."
By contrast, William Knibbs, the 2020 national champion, had a rough championship, posting scores of 74, 79, 70 and 75 for a combined total of 10 over par 298. He was hurt, particularly, by his second-day performance on hole number 10 at he which required six extra shots on a par-four hole.
“Where the performance this week in the tournament is concerned, whilst there were lots of good moments in the tournament, I made a lot of mistakes that had I been at my best I know I would have avoided them,” he said.
“Hats off to Justin, he played really, really well. I just would have liked to have been closer to him coming into the last day but I do take some pride in knowing that I finished runner-up in this event four of the last five years so there are always positives and negatives."
Zandre Roye scored 70 on the final day for a total score of 303 to claim third. He had scores of 76, 82, and 75 for the first three days.
Mention must be made of 15-year old Aman Dhiman, who posted the second-lowest score of the championship, a four-under-par 68 on the third day as well as the best score for that particular day. He sent down five birdies on holes 1, 2, 4, 7 and 16 and only one bogey on hole number 10.
The top two in the Men Senior 7-12 category were Thajae Richards who had a total of 337 and Richard White, 370.
The Men Senior 0-12 category, which was played over three days, was shared by former Cricket West Indies president Dave Cameron (245) and Tony Allison 83 (245) while Vikram Dhuman 78 (245) was third.
The Men Super Senior 0-12 category, also played over three days, was topped by Mike Boyd (235), while George Hugh (240) former JGA president Wayne Chai Chong (240) were tied for second.
The Men Super Senior 13 and over had one participant, Desmond Brown, who had a three-day total of 282.
Damian Lillard expects to see Aaron Gordon again in the remainder of their first-round playoff series after an improved defensive showing denied the Portland Trail Blazers superstar a postseason record.
Lillard had 34 points in Game 1 as the Blazers upset third seed the Denver Nuggets.
And the six-time All-Star was in sensational form to start Game 2 with 32 points by half-time, including eight three-pointers from 11 attempts.
That tied Vince Carter's mark for the most threes in a half in the playoffs and Lillard appeared certain to reach Klay Thompson's 2016 game record of 11 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Lillard himself made 10 against the same team in 2019.
But the Nuggets switched Gordon onto Lillard and Portland's main man made only a single further shot from beyond the arc as he was limited to five attempts.
It meant Lillard, who led the league with 173 clutch points this season, had only 10 points in the second half and two in the fourth quarter – both from the free-throw line.
Asked about Gordon's defense after Denver levelled the series, Lillard said: "I expect it to continue. [I need to be] just moving around more off the ball, getting more off-ball sets.
"Usually bigger guys can use their length and athleticism on the ball, but when you start to move around on flares and pindowns and things like that, typically you can get a little bit of space."
The Blazers point guard was perhaps surprised the Nuggets did not start by getting Gordon out to him.
"It's just a bigger defender, taller guy, more athletic, just a big body," he said.
"But I'm used to that; usually throughout the regular season, whoever their defensive wing or taller wing is, that's who guards me.
"Like the Phoenix game, Mikal Bridges guarded me; Golden State, Kelly Oubre guards me. I'm always against a bigger wing.
"That's an adjustment they went to in the second half. But I think they just gave me more attention, more so than it was just one guy. I'm never going against one guy."
Even before that change, though, the Nuggets were 12 points up, and they ran out 128-109 winners after 38 points from leading MVP candidate Nikola Jokic.
Denver coach Michael Malone said: "That right there was a playoff game.
"The intensity, you had two high-level players in Damian Lillard and Nikola Jokic playing at their respective levels, the crowd was great.
"But it was chippy. And that's the way it should be. We're both fighting for something. That's the way the playoffs should be. I loved it. That's my kind of game right there."
Giannis Antetokounmpo revealed his love for football after leading the Milwaukee Bucks past the Miami Heat in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference matchup in the NBA playoffs.
Antetokounmpo led the way as the Bucks routed the Heat 132-98 on Monday for a commanding 2-0 lead in the first-round series.
Two-time reigning MVP Antetokounmpo posted 31 points in 31 minutes, while also tallying 13 rebounds, six assists and three steals on home court in Milwaukee.
A superstar with the basketball, Antetokounmpo also demonstrated his football skills after juggling the ball during a break in play against the Heat.
Afterwards, Greece international Antetokounmpo told reporters: "I can do probably like 300 of those.
"I used to play soccer when I was young. My dad used to be a soccer player. I love soccer.
"I wanted to play soccer. I didn't want to play basketball growing up."
Milwaukee – seeded third in the east – used a 46-20 opening quarter to crush Miami in Game 2 of their NBA playoff clash.
Jrue Holiday (11 points and 15 assists) added a double-double of his own, while Bucks team-mate Bryn Forbes made six three-pointers to contribute 22 points off the bench.
The Bucks set a franchise record for threes made in a playoff game after nailing 22 from beyond the arc.
Forbes, who joined the Bucks in November following four seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, said: "That was a huge part in me coming here. You know that there would be these opportunities and we would be in the playoffs. ... It's just great to be in this position, be in the playoffs again and have an opportunity and stage."
"It's just how the game goes," Forbes added. "It's ebbs and flows. Some games you're open a lot more. Some games you aren't. Tonight I think we moved the ball great and had a lot of open shots."
Bucks star Holiday hailed Forbes, saying: "If my man got the hot hand, I'm going to him. And he wasn't missing, so at that point we were running everything to him just to -- really just to see what happens."
It was an impressive shooting display from the Bucks as head coach Mike Budenholzer added: "Guys have got to shoot it with confidence. They've got to let it fly. They've got to know they’re going to get threes.
"I think the activity offensively, the attack, can create good looks for us. We've just got to continue to let it fly when you're open."
"Lots of times, there's just so much talent in the league and so many good teams, sometimes you get the early lead and things just happen and it becomes a close game," Budenholzer said. "Today we were able to keep the focus."
The Tampa Bay Rays extended their MLB-best winning streak after outlasting the Toronto Blue Jays 14-8 thanks to a monster 11th inning.
Tampa Bay celebrated an 11th consecutive victory following a seven-run 11th inning at TD Ballpark in Dunedin on Monday.
Francisco Mejia hit a tie-breaking, two-run single during the Rays' outburst in the 11th as Tampa Bay moved within one victory of the franchise record for successive wins.
The Rays raced out to a five-run lead in the opening inning behind Joey Wendle's grand slam before the Blue Jays rallied via Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Marcus Semien homers in the eighth and 10th innings respectively.
Guerrero hit two of Toronto's five home runs as the Blue Jays sensation now leads MLB in on-base slugging percentage (1.104), while he level with Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna for the most major homers this season (15).
The Rays now top the American League (AL) East by a half-game ahead of the idle Boston Red Sox.
Woodruff lifts Brewers
Brandon Woodruff starred as the Milwaukee Brewers held off the high-flying San Diego Padres 5-3. Woodruff – who leads the way in ERA (1.41) – dazzled over seven innings at American Family Field, where the Brewers ace allowed three singles and no walks while striking out eight batters. His performance helped snap San Diego's nine-game winning streak.
The AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox ended a three-game skid thanks to a 5-1 win over the St Louis Cardinals. Lance Lynn held the Cardinals hitless for 5.1 innings, while Andrew Vaughn launched a two-run homer in the sixth inning to put the White Sox ahead.
Adam Duvall's three-run homer ignited the Miami Marlins, who accounted for the Philadelphia Phillies 9-6.
Slumping Jays
The Blue Jays have now lost six consecutive games following a four-game sweep at the hands of AL East rivals the Rays, who are five and a half games clear of Toronto atop the standings.
Kelenic's star continues to rise
Jarred Kelenic produced another memorable moment. The Seattle Mariners prospect hit a towering solo home run in the fifth inning of his team's 4-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics – his second career homer.
Monday's results
Tampa Bay Rays 14-8 Toronto Blue Jays
Miami Marlins 9-6 Philadelphia Phillies
Cleveland Indians 6-5 Detroit Tigers
Colorado Rockies 3-2 New York Mets
Minnesota Twins 8-3 Baltimore Orioles
Milwaukee Brewers 5-3 San Diego Padres
Chicago White Sox 5-1 St Louis Cardinals
Seattle Mariners 4-2 Oakland Athletics
Dodgers at Astros
World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers (29-18) – riding a seven-game winning streak – open their series against the Houston Astros (26-21) on Tuesday. It will be a battle of the aces as Clayton Kershaw takes to the mound, while Zack Greinke starts for the Astros, who have lost three in a row.
The Milwaukee Bucks earned a commanding 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series after Giannis Antetokounmpo and his team-mates blew away the Miami Heat 132-98.
Only two points separated the Bucks and Heat in overtime on Saturday as the third seeds edged Jimmy Butler's Miami 109-107.
But the Heat were no match for the Bucks on Monday after Milwaukee used a 46-20 opening quarter to rout Miami in Game 2 of their NBA playoff clash.
Antetokounmpo – the two-time reigning MVP – fuelled the Bucks with a game-high 31 points in 31 minutes, 13 rebounds, six assists and three steals on home court in Milwaukee.
Jrue Holiday added a double-double of his own, while Bucks team-mate Bryn Forbes made six three-pointers to contribute 22 points off the bench.
The Bucks set a franchise record for threes made in a playoff game after nailing 22 from beyond the arc.
Entering the second matchup, the Bucks and Heat had the NBA's two best records when making more three-pointers than their opponents this season – Milwaukee were 25-3 (89.3 per cent) in those games and Miami were 18-3 (85.7 per cent). But the Bucks won Game 1 while making only five of 31 three-point attempts, 16.1 percent, a season low.
The Heat had no answer on the road, where reserve Dewayne Dedmon was Miami's best performer with a team-high 19 points as Butler (10 points on four-for-10 shooting), Bam Adebayo (16 points), Duncan Robinson (10 points) and Kendrick Nunn (nine points) struggled to get going, while Trevor Ariza (0-for-three shooting) was scoreless.
In the day's only other game, the Denver Nuggets levelled their Western Conference matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers thanks to a 128-109 victory.
MVP frontrunner Nikola Jokic inspired the third-seeded Nuggets in Game 2, scoring 38 points on 15-for-20 shooting, while also tallying eight rebounds and five assists in Denver.
Not even Damian Lillard's monster performance was enough for the sixth-ranked Trail Blazers to take down the Nuggets for back-to-back wins.
Lillard finished with 42 points and 10 assists – the All-Star made eight three-pointers by half-time, tying Vince Carter's all-time playoff record in a half.
Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash insisted his star-studded team must remain humble in their Eastern Conference first-round series against the Boston Celtics.
The second-seeded Nets drew first blood in the NBA playoff series, winning Game 1 104-93 on Saturday.
Boasting Kevin Durant (32 points and 12 rebounds), James Harden (21 points) and Kyrie Irving (29 points), the Nets starred offensively, but they were particularly impressive on defense against the Celtics.
The Celtics carried a six-point lead into half-time but the Nets – behind a strong defensive display – powered past the seventh-ranked Celtics in the second half in Brooklyn.
As the Nets – eyeing their maiden championship – prepare for Tuesday's Game 2, Nash warned against overconfidence on the defensive side.
"If we think that we're the greatest defensive team of all time we're probably asking for a butt-kicking in Game 2," said Nash following Monday's practice.
"If we're humble and hungry and try to stick to our details and our game plan maybe we have a chance to make it difficult for them."
Durant, Harden and Irving combined for 82 of Brooklyn's total points against Boston in Game 1 – 78.8 per cent of the scoring, including 28 of 31 in the third quarter and 48 of 57 in the second half.
"I think that's something that we have the luxury of having those guys that are so difficult to defend in iso situations," Nash added. "But that's not necessarily the way we want to go.
"We were probably more iso heavy the first game because it's all so new, and in default, and Boston switched a lot of stuff. I think that pushed us towards more isos. But it will be interesting to see, it's just all so new that we, like I don't know, if that's going to be something that we dominate the direction we go in or if we're going to be able to get away from that more so and run more action.
"We've got to figure this out as we go so it's hard to answer that question relative to small experience. The luxury is they all are incredible isolation players and it's not the worst thing in the world, but I would like us to get more to where we’re playing off one another."
Donovan Mitchell expressed his frustration and unhappiness with the Utah Jazz's decision to hold him out of Sunday's loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, though the All-Star has been cleared to return for Game 2 of the Western Conference first-round series.
Mitchell was surprisingly absent as the top-seeded Jazz were upstaged 112-109 by the Grizzlies in Utah, where the guard had expected to play.
Utah's Mitchell has been sidelined since spraining his right ankle on April 16 and he addressed the decision ahead of Tuesday's game, which the 24-year-old is listed as available.
"For me, for my team, I was definitely frustrated and upset that I wasn't able to play," said Mitchell on Monday.
"I'm a competitor. I felt I was ready to go. I felt ready to go, and unfortunately, that wasn't the case. That was not how it happened. I was ready to go when I spoke [to media after Sunday's shootaround], and they came to the decision that that's what it was.
"The biggest thing for us is moving forward. We lost Game 1, and we've got s*** to handle. Excuse my language, we've got s*** to handle moving forward."
Mitchell has been averaging career highs in points (26.4), assists (5.2) and three-point percentage (38.6) this season.
"The biggest thing is I felt like I should have played," said Mitchell. "To be honest with you, it's no secret. We all know that. At the end of the day, the experts said no. We can disagree on those things, but that was the frustration.
"It was unfair to my team. I felt like, man, I let them down in the sense that you're not there for them in a playoff game. That probably hurts me more than anything else. It eats me. I barely slept because you think about that stuff. So that was really where it hit me, where it hurt."
Shimona Nelson outshot Romelda Aiken as the Collingwood Magpies defeated the Queensland Firebird 68-65 in the Suncorp Superleague Netball tournament on Saturday.
After being eliminated with a pair of losses in the play-in tournament, the Golden State Warriors know they still have work to do if they want to get back to contending for NBA titles.
Arguably the most important step is to sign league scoring champion Stephen Curry to a contract extension – something Golden State general manager Bob Myers believes will happen this offseason.
Curry, 33, is not scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent until after next season having signed a then-record $201million, five-year contract in July 2017.
"I don't see any reason not to be optimistic," Myers said on Monday to the media. "He seems like he's motivated, we're motivated. I would say pretty confident we'll get something done."
Golden State can sign the two-time league MVP and three-time NBA champion to a four-year, $215.4m extension during the offseason.
Curry would be 38 at the end of such a deal, but he has shown no signs of slowing down after averaging a career-high 32.0 points during the regular season to become the oldest NBA scoring champion since a 35-year-old Michael Jordan accomplished the feat in 1997-98.
Curry carried the Warriors in 2020-21 with Klay Thompson missing his second straight season due to an injury and No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman going down with a season-ending knee injury on April 10.
Myers admitted he is not sure if Thompson will be healthy by the start of next season. The five-time All-Star tore his right Achilles before training camp.
That came after Thompson missed the 2019-20 season with a torn ACL suffered in a Game 6 NBA Finals loss to Toronto in June 2019 that gave the Raptors their first NBA title.
"I don't know that it'll be the start of the year," Myers said. "We'll see more as camp gets closer. When I say start of the year, I mean Game 1. I don't know if that's realistic or not.
"What we're focused on is when do we expect Klay to be Klay, and I don't know if that'll be January, February, March. It's too early to say."
Myers did say Wiseman should be good to go for training camp following surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee.
He also said the center will be part of the team in 2021-22 despite having an up-and-down rookie season in which he averaged 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds while appearing in just 39 games.
"We don't want to trade James Wiseman," Myers added. "I think he's a tremendous talent and he was put in a position where, again, the guy is taking hopefully all of his lumps early in his career, but I think he can be very helpful to us in the future. I think he can be helpful in the present."
Ex-Formula One boss Max Mosley has died at the age of 81 after a battle with cancer.
President of motorsport's ruling body the FIA from 1993 to 2009, Mosley was responsible for safety reforms in the wake of Ayrton Senna's death in 1994.
He also set up the FIA Foundation to support road safety and sustainable transport programmes in more than 100 countries.
Former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone told the BBC that Mosley's death was "like losing a brother", adding: "He did, a lot of good things not just for motorsport, also the [car] industry. He was very good in making sure people built cars that were safe."
FIA president Jean Todt tweeted to say he was "deeply saddened", while the governing body described him as "a road safety pioneer, leader and donor".
Mosley also campaigned for stronger press regulation after he was awarded damages for an article published by The News of the World in 2008 detailing allegations around his private life.
Damon Hill, who won the F1 driver's championship in 1996, said on Twitter: "There will be much spoken in the next few months and years about this complicated and controversial man.
"But for now, may God rest his soul and condolences to his family."
World number one Novak Djokovic will face Mats Moraing in the second round of the Belgrade Open on Tuesday.
Moraing, who is ranked 252 places below Djokovic, beat Egor Gerasimov 4-6 7-6 (9-7) 7-5 in a gruelling encounter on Monday.
Djokovic is seeking his 83rd Tour-level title as he warms up for the French Open, the main draw of which begins on May 30.
Fellow home favourite Dusan Lajovic, the highest seed to compete on day one, will meet Jeremy Chardy next after beating Ricardas Berankis in straight sets.
Eighth seed Federico Delbonis required three sets to see off Lukas Klein, while seventh seed Miomir Kecmanovic – another Serbian in the draw – was beaten 6-3 6-2 by Pablo Cuevas.
Veteran Fernando Verdasco set up a contest with Adrian Mannarino after an impressive 7-5 6-2 win over Lucas Pouille.
At the Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma, all of Monday's play had to be cancelled due to persistent rain.
Fifth seed Richard Gasquet is in action on Tuesday.
Bianca Andreescu had little trouble in her first outing on clay this season, easing past Andrea Lazaro Garcia at the Internationaux de Strasbourg.
Andreescu had been absent from the WTA Tour since making the final in Miami back in March, when she was forced to retire when a set and 4-0 down against Ashleigh Barty due to an ankle injury.
A positive COVID-19 test result ruled her out of competing in Madrid and also Rome, though the Canadian showed few signs of rust on her return.
The top seed defeated the world number 279 – who was making her main-draw debut after coming through qualifying – in just 61 minutes, a 6-1 6-2 triumph sealed in a hurry thanks to five breaks of serve.
Champion at the 2019 US Open, Andreescu did not play in any grand slam event last year. She has only featured in the main draw at the French Open once before, reaching the second round at Roland Garros two years ago.
"I feel really, really good," the world number seven said after an impressive opening display. "I had really good preparation coming into this tournament, so I'm super happy."
Also in action on Monday, Yulia Putintseva overcame Sweden’s Rebecca Peterson via a tie-break in the deciding set of their see-saw contest.
The fourth seed eventually prevailed 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-2) after three hours and 20 minutes on court, booking her a spot in the last 16 of the tournament.
Zhang Shuai was successful in her first outing, beating Misaki Doi 7-5 6-4. Barbora Krejcikova was another seed to make it through, having led 6-3 3-0 when opponent Oceane Dodin retired.
Caroline Garcia overcame Zarina Diyas 7-5 6-2, while Maryna Zanevska needed less than an hour to overcome Yuliya Hatouka 6-2 6-1 and set up a clash with Andreescu.
Jil Teichmann was also a winner in straight sets against Anna Blinkova, but Venus Williams' campaign is over early after going out to Sorana Cirstea, who dominated a decider to triumph 6-1 2-6 6-1.
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