Terance Mann says he is "not surprised" after helping the Los Angeles Clippers overturn a 25-point deficit to eliminate the Utah Jazz en route to reaching their first Western Conference Final.
Second-year forward Mann, drafted number 46 overall in the 2019 NBA draft, posted a career-high 39 points with seven-from-10 three-pointers – five of those in the second half – in Friday's remarkable 131-119 victory.
He had never scored more than 25 points in an NBA game. According to Stats Perform, the last player to have 14-plus points more in a playoff game than his previous career high was Michael Jordan in his NBA-record 63-point game in 1986.
The Clippers were without Kawhi Leonard and trailed the Jazz by 25 points early in the third quarter, before going on a 75-40 run to set up a showdown with the second-seeded Phoenix Suns for the right to go to the NBA Finals.
Mann averaged 7.0 points per game this season but proved the star of the show in the Clippers' famous win to earn the acclaim of his colleagues.
"You saw a complete game from a second-year player," said Paul George, who had 28 points.
"Honestly, he single-handedly willed us back through that stretch where he just, you know, 3 after 3 to downhill attacks to defending. You know, he did it all."
Mann made five of his seven threes over a 23:36 stretch, but the game-winning performance did not come as a surprise to the 24-year-old, who was given a standing ovation by the Staples Center crowd.
"I just had to lock in and do what I had to do," he said. "They were leaving me open.
"I trust my work. When you trust your work, you trust in yourself, you're not surprised when any of this happens."
The Clippers had trailed 2-0 in the NBA playoff series but rallied to close out the second-round matchup 4-2 against the side with the best regular-season record in 2020-21.
A first Conference Final in their 51-year franchise history now awaits and coach Tyronn Lue wants crosstown Los Angeles Lakers to get behind the Clippers when they face the Phoenix Suns, starting this Sunday.
"Just seeing our fans and how they stayed to the end and how they were cheering, it just felt good," Lue said. "The team has been starving for success, and the fan base has been doing the same thing.
"I know the Lakers are out and there's a lot of Lakers fans here. But once the Lakers are gone, if we're not playing them, you should be cheering for the Clippers because it's all in one city. I can feel the love, and I'm very happy and proud of our guys."
Shohei Ohtani put on a show with a pair of home runs as the Los Angeles Angels crushed the Detroit Tigers 11-3 in MLB action on Friday.
On the same day Ohtani announced his participation in next month's annual Home Run Derby, the two-way Angels star hit his 20th and 21st homers of the season to sink the Tigers.
Ohtani, who will be the first Japanese-born player to feature in the Home Run Derby – scheduled for July 12 in Denver, went long in a three-homer fifth inning for the Angels in Anaheim.
Angels sensation Ohtani then homered again in the eighth inning to become the second Japanese-born player with multiple 20-homer seasons, joining Hideki Matsui, who achieved the feat five times.
Pirates snap skid
The Pittsburgh Pirates prevailed 11-10 against the Cleveland Indians. According to Stats Perform, they became the second team in the modern era to allow 10-plus runs in a game in which they ended a double-digit losing streak, joining the Chicago Cubs (1982).
The Washington Nationals won their fifth consecutive game via a 1-0 victory over the New York Mets. Per Stats Perform, Washington have allowed seven total runs across their last eight games combined – the fewest over any eight-game span in franchise history (including Expos years).
New day, same story for Arizona
The Arizona Diamondbacks were blanked 3-0 by World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers as they fell to their franchise-record 15th straight defeat.
Yordan wins it for Houston
Yordan Alvarez produced his first walk-off hit as the Houston Astros edged the Chicago White Sox 2-1. His shot gave Yuli Gurriel enough time to dash to home plate for the winning run.
Friday's results
Pittsburgh Pirates 11-10 Cleveland Indians
Washington Nationals 1-0 New York Mets
Oakland Athletics 5-3 New York Yankees
Baltimore Orioles 7-1 Toronto Blue Jays
Atlanta Braves 9-1 St Louis Cardinals
Miami Marlins 10-2 Chicago Cubs
Minnesota Twins 7-5 Texas Rangers
Kansas City Royals 5-3 Boston Red Sox
Houston Astros 2-1 Chicago White Sox
Colorado Rockies 6-5 Milwaukee Brewers
Los Angeles Angels 11-3 Detroit Tigers
Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 Arizona Diamondbacks
San Francisco Giants 5-3 Philadelphia Phillies
San Diego Padres 9-2 Cincinnati Reds
Seattle Mariners 5-1 Tampa Bay Rays
White Sox at Astros
The Astros can claim their series against the White Sox on Saturday. Framber Valdez gets the start for the Astros as the White Sox counter with Lance Lynn in Houston.
Bryson DeChambeau said his swing fix "came to him" in a dream after the U.S. Open champion kept his title defence alive.
DeChambeau opened his bid for back-to-back U.S. Open trophies with a 73 but the big-hitting American responded by posting a two-under-par 69 on Friday.
An eagle, four birdies and four bogeys saw DeChambeau surge 47 positions on day two, moving within five shots of co-leaders Richard Bland and Russell Henley at Torrey Pines.
Reflecting on his bounce-back display heading into the weekend, DeChambeau credited a late-night tweak.
"I was sleeping and it came to me in the middle of the night," DeChambeau told reporters.
"Woke up and I was like, hmm, I'm going to try this, and my intuition is pretty good, so I went out and tried it and it worked, just keeping the right wrist bent for a lot longer through impact."
"It's more just my intuition telling me there's something weird here, what's going on, and I couldn't figure it out for an hour and a half last night, an hour last night," said DeChambeau said. "Going back and just sitting down, eating dinner and just thinking about it, thinking about it, I literally won't talk to anybody for like an hour, just thinking, thinking, thinking, and sure enough, I went to bed and I found a little something that worked for my driver."
DeChambeau added: "I feel like if I can clean up my iron play and get a little more comfortable with the irons and the drivers, I'll have a good chance for this weekend."
He is tied for 13th alongside the likes of rival Brooks Koepka (73), Justin Thomas (69) and Collin Morikawa (67).
Amid their ongoing feud, DeChambeau and two-time U.S. Open champion Koepka narrowly avoided being paired together for Saturday's penultimate round.
Koepka – eyeing a fifth major crown – lost ground on the leaders after mixing five bogeys and just three birdies but he told reporters: "I feel right there. I feel like I'm in it. Just need to put two solid good rounds and put the ball in the fairway, and that's it. I love the way I'm putting. I love the way I'm striking it. Just need to keep doing it."
Four-time major winner and former world number one Rory McIlroy is a stroke further back following his second-round 73.
"A bit of a rollercoaster, got off to a good start," McIlroy said. "Made a couple of birdies early on and was under par for the round. Then I made a couple of mental errors and missed it in the wrong spots, and when you do that around this golf course, it's just really hard to see a par.
"I made a few bogeys, but birdieing two of the last four holes definitely makes me feel better about the round and gives me a nice bit of momentum going into tomorrow…So, yeah, in for the weekend and still feel like I've got a really good chance."
US PGA Championship winner Phil Mickelson also feels he can "make a run at it" after avoiding the cut on Friday.
Joel Embiid said the Philadelphia 76ers' ball movement was the key to avoiding another late collapse and elimination from the NBA playoffs after the top seeds beat the Atlanta Hawks 104-99.
The 76ers let slip double-digit leads late in both Game 4 and 5, but held their nerve in Game 6 on Friday to force a series decider in the Eastern Conference semi-finals, despite pressure from the Hawks and All-Star guard Trae Young – who finished with a game-high 34 points.
MVP runner-up Embiid was important for Philadelphia down the stretch, with 22 points and 13 rebounds, while 76ers team-mates Tobias Harris and Seth Curry both scored 24 points.
The 76ers rallied behind a 12-0 run early in the third quarter, eventually winning by five points to force a decider in Philadelphia on Sunday.
"There was a bunch of stuff, we moved the ball a little better," Embiid told reporters in a media conference after the game when asked what was different in Game 6.
"In Game 5 the rhythm was messed up because they kept fouling. In those situations when you lose your rhythm, it's on me to figure it out too… you're not getting possession offensively and you need to play defense, you don't get to share the ball, tonight we just moved the ball.
"Whether it was Ben [Simmons] when he came back in with two minutes left, Tyrese [Maxey] at the point, Tobias, as a team everybody did their job."
Two years ago, Philadelphia's Conference semi-final series against the Toronto Raptors went to a decider, eventually losing Game 7 by two points on the road in a significant moment in Embiid's career reminiscent of Sunday's upcoming game.
"This time around it's at home," Embiid said. "That's why we worked so hard this year, to get that home court advantage."
He added: "I know we blew that lead last home game, which we should never have done. Tonight we kept telling each other, 48 minutes, we've gotta be focused for 48 minutes. That's what we have to do."
Philadelphia head coach Doc Rivers was expressive post-game when he spoke to Embiid and later explained what he said to his star center.
"I told him 'we'd win'. I said 'I told you'. I kept saying that," Rivers told the reporters via a post-game video conference.
"These guys are young, they need to believe that. I don’t know if they did or didn't. I thought they did, you can tell in the way they played.
"But we have another game. It was more about getting his head ready for the next game. That's what I talked about. I said 'I told you, but we're not done'. and we're not."
Rivers earned his 98th career playoff victory, tying former Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan for the sixth-most postseason wins in NBA history.
Philadelphia's Rivers added he felt his side handled the early pressure from the Hawks and saw out the win strongly after their recent late fades.
"They just hung in there," Rivers said. "You lose two leads, the lead the other night was such a tough loss.
"For them to jump on us, honestly I anticipated that, I believed if we could weather the storm a lot of energy would be spent. From that point on, we controlled the game."
The Los Angeles Clippers overturned a 25-point deficit to sensationally eliminate the Utah Jazz en route to their first Western Conference Final, stunning the top seeds 131-119 on Friday.
Despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard and a large third-quarter deficit against the Jazz, the Clipper produced a miraculous comeback to advance to a Conference Final for the first time in the franchise's 51-year history.
The Clippers had trailed 2-0 in the NBA playoff series but rallied to close out the second-round matchup 4-2 against the side with the best regular-season record in 2020-21 as the Phoenix Suns await, starting on Sunday.
Seeded fourth, the Clippers – who also rallied from 2-0 down against the Dallas Mavericks in the first round, having squandered a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets' in last season's Western Conference semi-finals, were fuelled by Terance Mann.
Terance Mann posted a career-high 39 points with seven-from-10 three-pointers, including five in the second half.
Mann had never scored more than 25 points in an NBA game previously. According to Stats Perform, the last player to have 14-plus points in a playoff game than his previous career high was Hall of Famer Michael Jordan in his NBA-record 63-point game in 1986.
Paul George was outstanding with 28 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while Reggie Jackson finished with 27 points and 10 assists to guide the Clippers.
It was a disappointing end for the Jazz, who were excellent throughout the regular season and had started strongly in Game 6, leading 72-50 at half-time.
Donovan Mitchell scored 39 points, with nine rebounds and nine assists for Utah as the Jazz became the first team in NBA history to win a postseason clash by double digits after trailing by 20-plus points at half-time, per Stats Perform.
Earlier on Friday, the Philadelphia 76ers responded after letting big leads slip in Game 4 and 5 to force an Eastern Conference semi-final decider with a 104-99 win away to the Atlanta Hawks.
Seth Curry, who made six of his nine three-point attempts, and Tobias Harris both scored 24 points for the top-seeded 76ers – who levelled the second-round series at 3-3, forcing a Game 7 in Philadelphia on Sunday.
Atlanta had started strong to compound the pressure on the 76ers, but Philadelphia withstood the early storm, with a 12-0 run after half-time before holding their nerve in the last quarter.
All-Star and MVP runner-up Joel Embiid finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds, while rookie Tyrese Maxey had an influential final quarter, scoring 16 points for the game, after Ben Simmons was benched plagued by his shooting woes.
Hawks All-Star Trae Young had a game-high 34 points, shooting five-from-10 from three-point range, along with 12 assists, five rebounds and three steals.
Bucks at Nets
The gripping Eastern Conference semi-final series between the Brooklyn Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks will be decided at Barclays Center on Saturday. Hosts the Nets will be missing Kyrie Irving due to an ankle injury as James Harden battles for mobility after re-injuring his hamstring in Game 1.
Richard Bland upstaged a star-studded field to earn a share of the U.S. Open lead at the halfway stage as defending champion Bryson DeChambeau soared up the leaderboard.
Unheralded Englishman Bland, 48, powered to the top of the summit at Torrey Pines thanks to his four-under-par 67 in San Diego, where he continues to prove patience pays off.
Alongside Russell Henley (70) for the one-stroke lead after two rounds, Bland is benefitting from perseverance, having gone almost 20 years without a European Tour title.
At the 478th attempt on the European Tour last month, Bland claimed an emotional win at the British Masters, which earned him a place in his fourth major championship.
Bland – who missed the cut at his one previous U.S. Open appearance in 2009 – dazzled on day two of this year's tournament, storming into the clubhouse lead before being joined by American Henley.
After opening with a 70, Bland holed seven birdies and three bogeys to catapult himself to the top of the standings, before Henley teed off in his second round, amid his improbable dream of clinching a major.
"I feel good about my game," said three-time PGA Tour champion Henley, whose previous best performance at a major came via an 11th-place finish at the 2017 Masters.
"I've never been in this position before in a major. Just feel like I'm going to learn something no matter what happens."
Louis Oosthuizen (71), who was the overnight co-leader along with Henley, ended day two in a tie for third position alongside Matthew Wolff (68), while Bubba Watson (67) and Jon Rahm (70) are a shot further back at three under through 36 holes.
DeChambeau boosted his hopes of back-to-back U.S. Open titles, though the big-hitting American star remains five strokes off the pace heading into the weekend.
A two-under-par 69 saw DeChambeau move to even par as he rose 47 positions into a tie for 13th alongside rival and two-time U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka (73), Justin Thomas (69), Collin Morikawa (67), Harris English (70), Branden Grace (70), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (70) and Adam Hadwin (72).
Koepka – eyeing a fifth major crown – lost ground on the leaders after mixing five bogeys and just three birdies, while Rory McIlroy followed his opening-round 70 with a 73 to be one over the card as world number one Dustin Johnson (73) ended the day two over.
US PGA Championship winner Phil Mickelson emerged from the jaws of elimination, qualifying for the weekend via a two-under-par 69 after his forgettable 75 on Thursday.
Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama (76), Adam Scott (75), Sergio Garcia (74), Patrick Reed (73) and Jordan Spieth (69) all avoided the cut, but Justin Rose (77) was not so fortunate at 13 over.
Utah Jazz star Mike Conley is set to make his long-awaited return against the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 6 of the Western Conference semi-finals.
Conley has not played since hurting his hamstring in the series-clinching Game 5 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round.
But with the top-seeded Jazz facing elimination from the NBA playoffs, All-Star guard Conley is available to face the Clippers on Friday.
The Jazz trail the fourth-ranked Clippers 3-2 heading into the must-win clash.
Conley has been averaging 17.4 points, a postseason career-high 8.6 assists and 3.8 rebounds through five games in the playoffs.
During the regular season, Conley averaged 16.2 points, 6.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game.
The Jazz have never lost a best-of-seven series after holding a 2-0 lead but have won only one of their nine best-of-seven series in when facing a 3-2 deficit, according to Stats Perform.
Utah have been down 3-2 with Game 6 on the road three times previously, losing all three. The Clippers have held a 3-2 series lead five times before – closing out the series in Game 6 only once (2020 against the Dallas Mavericks).
Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving will not face the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals, head coach Steve Nash confirmed.
Irving has been sidelined since spraining his right ankle in the Nets' Game 4 loss, missing Game 5 and 6 in the NBA playoffs.
With the second-round series set to be decided in Brooklyn on Saturday, the second-seeded Nets will be without Irving.
"Kai is still getting treatment ... he's got some miles to make up, but progressing and sticking to his rehab," Nash said. "He is officially out."
Kevin Durant has been carrying the load for the Nets, with fellow MVP winner James Harden far from his best since returning from a hamstring injury in Game 5.
"If we're able to advance, I think he'll [Irving] be back at some point," Nash said. "So I don't know if that's in a few days, in a week or beyond, but it's not a season-threatening situation."
Irving has been averaging 26.9 points, 6.0 assists and 4.8 rebounds in 2020-21, while boasting career highs in field-goal percentage (50.6) and free-throw percentage (92.2).
In this season's playoffs, Irving is averaging 22.7 points, a career-best 5.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists for the Nets, who are eyeing their first NBA championship.
Belinda Bencic let anger fuel her progress to the semi-finals of the bett1open in Berlin on Friday.
Bencic – the fifth seed – needed a third-set tie-break to see off Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-4).
The Swiss will face Alize Cornet at Steffi Graff Stadion in Saturday's semi-final, after the latter upset two-time grand slam winner and world number 13 Garbine Muguruza – similarly going the distance to prevail 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-5) and saving match point at 5-4 in the tie-break.
Bencic had lost two of her previous three encounters with Alexandrova and conceded to having problems with her opponent's playing style after a fired-up performance at the WTA 500 event.
"I have to get mad," she said. "When I'm mad, I play better, I'm just hitting the ball. So I'm trying to get mad on court."
"I definitely don't like playing her," said Bencic afterwards. "There's not so much rhythm, she's very aggressive player, it's tough to stay in the rally. I would say I'm more relieved [to reach the semi-finals].
The other semi-final pits two-time slam champion Victoria Azarenka against qualifier Liudmila Samsonova.
Former world number one Azarenka battled to see off Karolina Pliskova's conqueror Jessica Pegula 6-2 5-7 6-4, gaining a measure of revenge over a player who dumped her out in the first round of the Australian Open this year.
Samsonova stunned Madison Keys, with a deciding tie-break again required, albeit one that was emphatically dealt with as the world number 106 won 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 7-6 (7-0).
Bubba Watson believes golf should be celebrating the biggest hitters in the game – and he cannot work out why the sport is so "mad at that guy".
Without naming Bryson DeChambeau, Watson appeared to have his mind set on the likes of the man who leads the PGA Tour for driving distance this season.
DeChambeau, who is driving an average of over 320 yards, has faced some flak for placing such an emphasis on physical strength and building up his body to be more powerful off the tee. He plays with custom clubs, each of the same length, and is the defending champion this week at the U.S. Open, an unorthodox winner who rubs some up the wrong way.
Two-time Masters champion Watson, after moving into contention following the second round at Torrey Pines, used his platform to condemn what he sees as a culture of negativity towards players re-thinking the game and finding new ways to win.
"Truthfully, here's the sad part for me. I've got the microphone so I'm going to talk. The sad part for me is we celebrate every sport in the world. We celebrate accomplishments. We celebrate a guy scoring 50 points in the NBA. They are not saying quit shooting three-pointers. But we don't celebrate when a guy makes eight birdies or a guy bombs it 400 yards," Watson said.
"I don't understand how we're not celebrating. We're trying to make golf courses bigger, harder, dumber, however you want to word it, but we're not celebrating our great players.
"I'm definitely not in that group of great players. I'm saying I want to see these guys hammering the ball. I want the next up-and-comer. I want a 6ft 8in guy not playing in the NBA, I want to see him on the PGA Tour bombing the ball.
"We're the only sport not celebrating accomplishments of being a guy working out in the gym that can hit the ball miles. We're mad at that guy. I don't know why, but we are. I'm not, but some people are – golf course designers.
"The NBA, Tom Brady winning, throwing touchdowns, we celebrate that. They don't ever talk about us chopping out of the – hey, he laid up again. That's great. Anyway, that's my rant for the day."
Watson was offloading that baggage after adding a 67 to his opening 72 to reach three under, looking sure to be in contention going into the weekend as he sits just two shots behind clubhouse leader Richard Bland.
DeChambeau followed a 73 with a 69 to sit on level par, still in the hunt at five off the pace.
That was a far healthier position than Patrick Reed, Justin Rose and Jordan Spieth found themselves in.
Reed bogeyed his final hole to slip to three over, a five-foot putt brushing the edge of the cup. Reed won the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines earlier this year but was on the borderline of the cut mark after his round on Friday.
Rose added a 77 to his opening 78, and that meant the former champion had no chance of staying around for the weekend's action.
Three-time major winner Spieth followed an opening 77 with a gutsy 69 to give himself a slim chance of making the cut.
Top seed Matteo Berrettini has his sights set on the Queen's Club Championships title after beating Dan Evans in the quarter-finals.
After a delay of more than four hours because of rain in London, Berrettini overcame Evans 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 to reach his third ATP grass-court semi-final.
The Italian hit 13 aces and won 81 per cent of his first-serve points against Evans to set up a last-four clash with Alex de Minaur.
Berrettini improved his win-loss record to 24-6 for the season and laid out his ambition to walk away from the tournament with the trophy.
"I didn't serve that well, but I was returning well and I just played better in the last few points of the tie-break," he said.
"After that, I felt more confident. The conditions were really tough, windy and cold, so I took time to adapt a little bit. I am pretty happy with my performance.
"The court condition was really good. I expected slippery conditions, but it was like yesterday.
"I came here to win the tournament, that is my goal. Now I am two steps away. I am happy with the way I am playing, and my mental attitude is really good."
Up next for Berrettini is Australian De Minaur, who came from behind to defeat Marin Cilic 3-6 6-3 6-4.
The 22-year-old won 73 per cent (22/30) of his second-serve points and saved six of the seven break points he faced as he moved to 16-12 for the season.
In the battle of the British players, Cameron Norrie beat Jack Draper 6-3 6-3, while Denis Shapovalov was leading Frances Tiafoe 6-3 when their match was suspended due to fading light. They will resume on Saturday.
At the Halle Open, Andrey Rublev reached his sixth ATP Tour semi-final of the year thanks to a 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 win over 2011 champion Philipp Kohlschreiber.
"I am happy with my performance to reach the semi-finals for the first time," Rublev said. "The first set was really tough. He was 3-0 up in the tie-break and I came back, which was the key.
"After the first set, I think he mentally went down and I was pumped up. I hit a couple of good returns in the first game of the second set."
Russian Rublev will face Nikoloz Basilashvili in the last four after the Georgian defeated Lloyd Harris 6-4 7-6 (7-5).
In the day's other quarter-finals, Felix Auger-Aliassime beat Marcos Giron 6-3 6-2 and Ugo Humbert overcame Sebastian Korda 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-4.
Richard Bland, the Englishman who was a first-time winner at the 478th attempt on the European Tour last month, shot to the top of the U.S. Open leaderboard on Friday.
The 48-year-old enjoyed an emotional victory at the British Masters, held at The Belfry, and that helped to earn him a place in his fourth major championship.
He missed the cut on his one previous U.S. Open appearance, in 2009, but this time at Torrey Pines there was no danger of that, with Bland storming into the clubhouse lead and expressing the hope he might remain in the hunt come the back nine on Sunday.
Bland followed an opening 70 with a 67 to reach five under par, and that put him one ahead of Russell Henley, who was yet to start his second round, with Francesco Molinari and Rafa Cabrera Bello tied for third on three under. They too had yet to get under way. Louis Oosthuizen was also at three under through 14 holes, one over for his day.
Starting on the back nine, Bland began his second round with a birdie at the long par-four 10th and picked up three more shots by the turn, although he also gave two back.
Further gains at two, four and six moved Bland to six under, two clear of the field, but a dropped shot at eight meant his lead was trimmed.
When asked how he was feeling about his effort, Bland said: "Pretty good. Whenever you're leading in a major after 36 holes, you've got to be happy, especially at the U.S. Open. To be five under, I'm over the moon."
Speaking on the Golf Channel, Bland said fellow Englishmen Lee Westwood and Justin Rose, both former world number one players, had been among those who had given him pointers before the tournament began.
"I got some good information off Lee Westwood on Monday and Rosey on Wednesday. My coach Tim Barter, as well, gave me some notes. But I've been driving the ball well for a while now and that's critical at a U.S. Open, especially for someone like myself. I'm not one of the longer hitters. To hit fairways is more of a premium on a course this long.
"When I saw the course, it's set up pretty straight, it's all there in front of you, so if I kept driving it well I felt I could give myself chances."
Bland, who battled back from losing his European Tour card in 2018, admitted it would be impossible for him not to think about the prospect of landing a major.
"Of course, it's going to be pretty tough not to do that, but you look at the leaderboard and see the guys behind, and there's guys who have got a lot more on their CV than I have," Bland said.
"But I'm going to try to enjoy it, best I can. I'm here to compete and give it the best I've got and hopefully come the back nine on Sunday I'm there or thereabouts.
"That's all you can do, there's still 36 holes to go. Every hole is a potential disaster around here, but if I can keep doing what I'm doing I think I can be in there come Sunday."
He would not become the oldest major winner, of course, should Bland follow his efforts on the opening two days with a title push over the weekend.
Phil Mickelson owns that record, having won the US PGA Championship last month at the age of 50.
At his home course in San Diego this week, Mickelson began his U.S. Open effort with a four-over-par 75, meaning his prospects of adding this title to his collection to complete a career grand slam looked slim as he prepared to set out for his round on Friday. He was likely to need to shoot one or two under par to make the cut.
The Boston Celtics have reportedly agreed to trade Kemba Walker and a 2021 first-round draft pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for former favourite Al Horford.
Walker arrived in Boston in 2019 in a sign-and-trade deal with the Charlotte Hornets that would see the point guard paid a mammoth $140.8million over four years.
The Celtics made that move after losing Kyrie Irving and Horford in free agency.
Horford got a four-year, $97m contract with the Philadelphia 76ers but was traded to the Thunder 17 months later.
Friday's agreement ends miserable stays for both Walker and Horford on their respective teams, while Boston also receive 21-year-old center Moses Brown.
The trade, reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, sees Walker, this year's 16th overall pick and a 2025 second-round selection sent to Oklahoma City.
In return, the Celtics get Horford, Brown and a 2023 second-round pick in Brad Stevens' first trade since leaving his role as head coach to become president of basketball operations.
The move crucially allows Boston to get off Walker's contract, which still has $73.7m owed. Horford's deal has a slightly more palatable $53.5m remaining.
For the Thunder, who have already traded the majority of their assets for picks, it means they will have three selections in the first round of this year's draft.
Walker started all 82 games in his final year in Charlotte, contributing 25.6 points per game.
However, in Boston, he dealt with repeated knee injuries, scoring 20.4 points in his first season and 19.3 in his second, which concluded with a 4-1 playoff defeat to the Brooklyn Nets. Walker played three games and averaged 12.7 points.
Horford dropped from 13.6 points and 1.3 blocks on the Celtics to 11.9 and 0.9 on the 76ers.
He did improve after joining Oklahoma City but was then sat for the final two months of the season as the team tanked, handing greater opportunities to fellow big man Brown.
Brown averaged 8.6 points and 8.9 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game in his only season with the Thunder. He ended the year with a career-high 24 points against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Giannis Antetokounmpo acknowledged he was playing to his strengths in repeatedly attacking the rim in Game 6 against the Brooklyn Nets, ending without a three-point attempt.
The Milwaukee Bucks superstar came up with 30 points and 17 rebounds on Thursday to help keep his team alive in the postseason, levelling the Eastern Conference semi-finals series at 3-3.
While Khris Middleton led the Bucks in scoring with 38 points, Antetokounmpo was crucially more efficient than earlier in the playoffs.
In the 2020-21 postseason, the 'Greek Freak' is a 52.3 per cent shooter from the field, but that breaks down to 70.2 per cent at the rim, 39.3 per cent from midrange and a measly 17.1 per cent from three.
Antetokounmpo has averaged 4.1 attempts per game from beyond the arc – up on 3.2 in the regular season, which was an increase on a career average of 2.2.
Against Brooklyn, though, Antetokounmpo did not shoot once from deep.
It was only the fourth time this season the two-time MVP had zero three-point attempts, one of which came as he sprained his ankle at Houston after 46 seconds in April.
Meanwhile, Game 6 was the eighth occasion across Antetokounmpo's NBA career he had 20 field goal attempts and none from three – the first since 2018 and first in the playoffs since his home postseason debut in 2015.
"That was just how it went," he said. "I didn't shoot a three tonight, but I'm just trying to be aggressive. Get downhill, make the right play.
"I think there was maybe one or two plays I was open at the three-point line and maybe could have shot it.
"But what I know is that I enjoy the game when I'm aggressive and I can get downhill and I can get my team-mates involved, and when I play to my strengths.
"That's when I enjoy the game the most, and that's what I try to do."
Coach Mike Budenholzer added: "Giannis coming into the game was in a good place.
"Just get him where he's attacking and creating for his team-mates, creating for himself. He came in today in a good place, and we've got to stay there going into Game 7."
Game 7 is back on the road, with all six games to this point having been won by the home team.
Antetokounmpo, who has only once been beyond this round and never past the Eastern Conference Finals, said: "We knew what kind of game this was.
"There was only one option: win the game. We knew if we didn't win the game, our season would be over, and we've talked about it multiple times in the locker room among the guys that it's not going to be easy.
"As I've said all year long, we're built for this moment. Simple as that. No one said it was going to be easy. It might be hard. But we are capable of doing it.
"So, everybody had a great mindset, came to play, came to compete, and hopefully we can do that in Game 7."
The New York Yankees achieved a franchise first after rallying to sweep the Toronto Blue Jays on the road in MLB.
On Thursday, the Yankees overcame a deficit in the seventh inning to top the slumping Blue Jays 8-4 in the American League (AL) East showdown.
The Yankees trailed 4-3 in the seventh but came back to win behind Giancarlo Stanton's go-ahead homer in Buffalo.
According to Stats Perform, it was the first time the Yankees have ever swept a three-plus game road series despite trailing in the seventh inning or later in every game.
Tatis doing his thing
Fernando Tatis Jr. helped the San Diego Padres beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-4. Tatis homered alongside Victor Caratini, Eric Hosmer and Manny Machado. Padres star Tatis Jr. joined Cody Bellinger as the only players aged 22 or younger to hit 22 home runs through their first 53 games in a season.
Charlie Morton is the oldest Atlanta Braves pitcher to go 7.2-plus innings pitched without allowing a run since John Smoltz in 2006. The Braves blanked the St Louis Cardinals 4-0 behind Morton, who gave up just three hits while striking out seven batters. He carried a no-hitter into the seventh.
C.J. Cron's grand slam inspired the Colorado Rockies to a 7-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Sorry Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks suffered a 23rd consecutive road defeat after going down 10-3 at the San Francisco Giants. Arizona set unwanted history following the loss, breaking a tie with the 1963 Mets and 1943 Philadelphia Athletics for longest run of away defeats.
Caratini calls game
A sell-out crowd had plenty to celebrate in San Diego, where Caratini hit a walk-off two-run homer in the ninth inning to sink the Reds.
Thursday's results
Cleveland Indians 10-3 Baltimore Orioles
San Francisco Giants 10-3 Arizona Diamondbacks
New York Yankees 8-4 Toronto Blue Jays
Chicago Cubs 2-0 New York Mets
Atlanta Braves 4-0 St Louis Cardinals
Houston Astros 10-2 Chicago White Sox
Seattle Mariners 6-5 Tampa Bay Rays
Los Angeles Angels 7-5 Detroit Tigers
Colorado Rockies 7-3 Milwaukee Brewers
San Diego Padres 6-4 Cincinnati Reds
Dodgers at Diamondbacks
World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers (41-27) will look to inflict more pain on the Diamondbacks (20-5) when they visit on Friday. The Dodgers start with Walker Buehler, while the Diamondbacks send Matt Peacock to the mound.
James Harden is confident he will have improved mobility for Game 7 of the Brooklyn Nets' Eastern Conference semi-final series after appearing limited in the 104-89 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Harden returned from a hamstring injury sustained in the series opener, playing both Game 5 and Game 6, but his mobility has visibly been restricted by the issue.
At one stage in Thursday's Game 6 defeat to the Bucks, former NBA MVP Harden swooped on a loose ball, offering up a fast-break opportunity but he instead held up play to ensure he did not need to sprint.
The Bucks levelled the series at 3-3, with forcing a deciding Game 7 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Saturday.
Harden's return coincided with Kyrie Irving's absence after he injured his ankle in Game 4, triggering further doubts about his fitness but the former insisted he was improving.
"It's not even about rust. It's about being able to move," Harden said after finishing with 16 points, five rebounds and seven assists from 40 minutes on court.
"Day by day I continue to get better. Game 5 was the first time I did any movement since I got hurt. Tonight was no different.
"I'm out there to do whatever it takes to win. I've got to be better on both ends of the floor which I will be on Game 7."
Nets team-mate Kevin Durant, who scored 32 points and had 11 rebounds for second-seeded Brooklyn, felt Harden seemed to be on the improve.
"He was moving better today. That's a tough, tough injury," Durant said post-game.
"He's gutting it out for us. We're not expecting too much from him movement wise. He's going out there and giving it his all. You've got to respect that."
Durant was not happy with the way his side defended Khris Middleton, who had a game-high 38 points and 10 rebounds.
"I think we fouled him three times shooting threes, which got his rhythm going," Durant said.
"He's a shot maker. We gave him confidence. Every time it felt like they got an offensive rebound he hit a three. He made timely shots for them."
Brooks Koepka was pleased with his first round at the U.S. Open, while in-form Phil Mickelson was in an optimistic frame of mind despite struggling in San Diego.
On an interrupted opening day due to fog and weather at Torrey Pines, two-time U.S. Open champion Koepka finished two strokes behind co-leaders Russell Henley and Louis Oosthuizen (through 16) as play was suspended because of darkness on Thursday.
American star Koepka – chasing his fifth major title – set the standard with four birdies in his first 11 holes taking him into a solo lead.
However, two bogeys meant he had to scramble to recover as Koepka ended the day alongside Xander Schauffele, Hayden Buckley, Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, John Rahm (through 17) and Sebastian Munoz (through 14).
Koepka, who has gone on to win or finish second in six of the last 10 majors which he opened with a score in the 60s, said: "You can't win it today but you can definitely lose it. It was nice to get off to a good start, putted well, drove it well on the back nine, my front, but missed a couple fairways there.
"I missed them on the correct side, which is what you've got to do, depending on where the pin location is and get lucky enough where you've got a decent lie and get it there.
"Pretty pleased. Not the best, but I'll definitely take it."
US PGA Championship winner Mickelson is already facing an uphill task following his four-over-par 75.
Mickelson, who became the oldest major winner when he clinched the PGA Championship ahead of Koepka last month, finished with five bogeys, including back-to-back on the front nine.
"It was a great set up and I had some chances to get the round a little bit better," Mickelson said. "Fought hard, made a lot of short putts to kind of keep myself in it and then I ended up bogeying six and seven.
"Two over would have been a pretty good round and I ended up at four, so I'm a little disappointed about that. I feel like I'm close to putting together a good round."
South African veteran Oosthuizen – through 16 holes – moved into a tie at four under after birdieing the 14th.
Winner of the 2010 Open Championship, Oosthuizen is one of three players to finish in the top 10 at each of the last two U.S Opens.
"I just enjoy playing really tough golf courses. I think somehow I focus a little bit better when I play those courses, knowing that the margin for error is really small," said Oosthuizen.
"Especially around this place, you've got to drive it well, you've got to start it in the fairway, and you're going to have trouble if you're missing fairways around this golf course and I've really been driving it good lately."
Four-time major champion Rory McIlroy birdied his final hole to move within three shots of the lead heading into the second round.
"It was really nice. The birdie is awesome," McIlroy – who posted a 70 – said. "I mean, that putt was pretty, I was sort of like, I think it's straight, I'll hit it straight and we'll see. But it was nice to get in, get an extra hour of sleep tonight and it was a bonus to birdie in as well."
Louis Oosthuizen joined Russell Henley in a share of the lead as the opening round of the U.S. Open was interrupted, while Phil Mickelson's quest for back-to-back majors got off to an awful start at Torrey Pines.
A fog-enforced delay meant the start of the major tournament was pushed back by around an hour and a half on Thursday, and while Oosthuizen was unable to finish his round, the 2010 Open Championship winner still ended the day alongside Henley atop the leaderboard.
Oosthuizen – one of three players to finish in the top 10 at each of the last two U.S Opens, joining Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele – moved into a tie at four under after birdieing the 14th hole in San Diego.
Henley had set the early pace after claiming an early lead behind his impressive four-under-par 67, which was enough for him to initially head back to the clubhouse with a one-shot lead over Francesco Molinari and Rafa Cabrera Bello.
It was Henley's sixth career score of 67 or better in a major championship and first since the 2018 US PGA Championship (65 in round two).
Molinari and Cabrera Bello remain a stroke off the pace heading into Friday, with the first round scheduled to resume at 06:50 local time.
Two-time U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka is not far behind following his two-under-par 69 to kick off his pursuit of a fifth major crown.
Koepka, who finished second behind Mickelson at the PGA Championship, set the standard with four birdies in his first 11 holes taking him into a solo lead.
However, two bogeys meant he had to scramble to recover as Koepka ended the day alongside Schauffele, Hayden Buckley, Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, John Rahm (through 17) and Sebastian Munoz (through 14).
Koepka has gone on to win or finish second in six of the last 10 majors which he opened with a score in the 60s.
World number one Dustin Johnson and star Rory McIlroy were both through 17 holes when play was called for the day.
Johnson had mixed a birdie with a bogey, while four-time major champion and 2011 U.S. Open winner McIlroy had an eventful start with three bogeys and four birdies.
Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau and his bid for back-to-back trophies started with a two-over-par 73.
American star Mickelson ended the round two shots worse off than DeChambeau following his forgettable 75.
Mickelson, who became the oldest major winner when he clinched the US PGA Championship last month, finished with five bogeys, including back-to-back on the front nine.
Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo starred as the Milwaukee Bucks forced a deciding Game 7 in their Eastern Conference semi-final thanks to a 104-89 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday.
Bucks forward Middleton top-scored with an NBA playoff career-high 38 points, including five-from-eight three-pointers, and had 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals, as Milwaukee levelled the series at 3-3.
Two-time MVP Antetokounmpo produced a more aggressive display inside the paint to stay alive in the playoffs, putting up 30 points and 17 rebounds in a double-double display at home to the Nets.
Antetokounmpo played a key role in 14-0 fourth-quarter run, including a strong offensive rebound and slam, which warded off Brooklyn's threat.
Milwaukee's Antetokounmpo did not attempt one three-point shot in a clear change of strategy after criticism for his shooting earlier in the series.
James Harden started again for the Nets after returning from a hamstring injury in Game 5, getting through 39 minutes but was visibly hampered, lacking power and finishing with 16 points, five rebounds and seven assists.
Kevin Durant had another busy shift, playing 40 of the 48 minutes, however he could not carry the second-seeded Nets, scoring 32 points with 11 rebounds following his monster triple-double last time out.
PJ Tucker and Jrue Holiday were strong defensively, with the latter having four steals, harassing Durant – who only shot at 50 per cent from the field and two-from-eight beyond the arc.
Milwaukee led 59-48 at half-time with Antetokounmpo having 18 points in the opening half, shooting eight of nine from the field.
The Nets rallied in the third quarter and put pressure on the Bucks early in the last period with a 10-0 run.
Milwaukee hit back with their 14-0 run which led to Brooklyn benching Durant and Harden late.
The Nets will welcome the Bucks to Brooklyn for Game 7 on Saturday.
76ers at Hawks
The east and west's top seeds – the Philadelphia 76ers and Utah Jazz – could be eliminated on Friday, with the Atlanta Hawks and the Los Angeles Clippers both looking to wrap up their Conference semi-final series on their home courts leading 3-2.
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