Paul George may have insisted it is not time to worry just yet but the Los Angeles Clippers face a critical Game 3 on the road against the Dallas Mavericks.
Dallas returned home from LA with a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series that is a repeat of a first-round playoff clash in the NBA bubble from last season. On that occasion, the teams were locked together at 2-2 before the Clippers pulled clear to prevail.
This time around, the favoured team - though admittedly it is a meeting of the fourth and fifth seeds in the Western Conference - has plenty of work to do if they are to progress again.
Luka Doncic starred once more in a 127-121 triumph on Tuesday to help the Mavericks double their advantage, though George made clear in the aftermath that the Clippers can still dig themselves out of the early hole.
"It's a competition. We've got to rise to the occasion. The fact of the matter is if we don't, we're done for," he told the media.
"But it's no level of concern. We've just got to play our game. We've got to play through this. We've got to incorporate our defense.
"Luka's going to get his touches. We've just got to do a better job defensively of just quieting everybody else."
Doncic is certainly getting touches - the Slovenian has scored 70 points so far in the series, as well as contributing 18 assists. Now with home-court advantage, he has the chance to push Dallas' much-fancied opponents to the brink of an early elimination that will raise serious questions over their future.
With George and Kawhi Leonard paired together, the Clippers were tipped to contend in the 2019-20 season. A dramatic collapse when 3-1 up against the Denver Nuggets in the West semi-finals put paid to any title hopes, but an even earlier exit this year would be just as surprising.
"This is playoff basketball, we've just got to figure it out," Leonard told the media. "Just like the regular season, you might lose two in a row and then go on a winning streak, so just having that same mentality.
"We're playing the same team; we know what they're doing. We've just got to stay focused and make sure we are keeping our eye on the prize."
A defeat in Dallas, however, and the Clippers should be seriously concerned about their predicament.
TOP PERFORMERS
Luka Doncic – Dallas Mavericks
In the previous series between these teams, Doncic dazzled in defeat. He averaged 31.0 points per game back then – but he is already up at 35 this time around. That number is helped by him shooting 41.7 per cent from deep, while the team itself are averaging a spectacular 50.0 per cent on their attempts from three-point range.
Paul George - Los Angeles Clippers
After averaging 23.3 points per game in the regular season, George has raised that number up to 25.5 at the start of the playoffs, despite landing just three of his 15 shots from beyond the arc. That level of production is pivotal for the Clippers, but so too is his ability to help get stops as they aim to slow Dallas' offensive production.
KEY BATTLE – TAKING AIM FROM DISTANCE
Can the Mavs remain hot from long range? Doncic was always likely to get points in the series, but the supporting cast have done an excellent job helping their star turn. Tim Hardaway Jr has been particularly impressive, averaging 24.5 points thanks to 11 made three-pointers.
In contrast, LA have not lived up to their team average of 41.1 per cent on three in the regular season, which was the best in the league. It is not due to a lack of opportunities either, as they have had 10 more field-goal attempts than their rivals through the opening two games.
HEAD TO HEAD
The franchises are locked together at four wins apiece when it comes to previous playoff meetings, but Dallas dominates the record in the regular season at 95-67. They won two out of three earlier in this campaign, but the solitary defeat did come at home.
Novak Djokovic felt he produced his best performance of the year in breezing past Federico Coria at the Belgrade Open for a milestone victory.
World number one Djokovic needed a little under an hour to beat Coria 6-1 6-0 on Thursday and set up a semi-final with Andrej Martin on home soil.
The victory moves the 34-year-old above Argentine great Guillermo Vilas for the fifth-most victories in the Open Era with 952.
He is 70 wins adrift of fourth-placed Rafael Nadal (1,022). Ivan Lendl (1,068) is third, behind Roger Federer (1,243), with Jimmy Connors holding the record of 1,274 wins.
Djokovic won 53 of the 75 points played against Coria and dropped just one game to remain on course for a third crown in Serbia ahead of the French Open.
"It was a great display," Djokovic said in his on-court interview. "It's probably one of the best matches, if not the best match, I played this year. I felt fantastic from the first point.
"It was the first time that I played against Coria and I tried to impose an aggressive style from the very beginning and not allow him to have too much time to play around. I played a phenomenal second set, really flawless.
"It's not always possible to play like this. But I think this definitely helps me feel better on the court. I think everything worked perfectly for me today."
Martin awaits Djokovic in the last four after the world number 119 recovered from a set down to beat Dusan Lajovic 3-6 6-3 6-4.
Alex Molcan remains in the hunt for a shock triumph in Belgrade, meanwhile, after beating Fernando Verdasco 6-2 6-0 to set up a showdown with Federico Delbonis.
Eighth seed Delbonis advanced to his second semi-final of the season following Roberto Carballes Baena's withdrawal through illness.
At the Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma, Sebastian Korda eliminated Yoshihito Nishioka to set up an all-American semi-final with Tommy Paul, who took down Jan-Lennard Struff with a 6-2 6-4 victory.
Richard Gasquet was another seeded player to fall as he lost 6-1 6-1 to Jaume Munar, with the Spaniard now set to take on Italian wild card Marco Cecchinato – a straight-sets winner against lucky loser Norbert Gombos – for a place in the final.
Unseeded duo Sorana Cirstea and Jule Niemeier marched into the semi-finals of the Internationaux de Strasbourg on Thursday.
Romanian Cirstea emphatically beat eighth seed Zhang Shuai 6-2 6-1 and moved into the last four after Bianca Andreescu withdrew following her second-round success over Maryna Zanevska due to an abdominal injury.
Cirstea lost only seven of the 31 points on her first serve and did not face a solitary break point in an impressive victory ahead of the French Open.
She broke Zhang on four occasions and will do battle with Magda Linette for a place in the final.
Linette took out fourth seed Yulia Putintseva 6-3 6-3, breaking once in the first set and three times in the second.
Qualifier Niemeier upset seventh seed Shelby Rogers, completing a 6-4 7-6 (8-6) victory following a rain delay.
The German will look to pull off another surprise when she faces Barbora Krejcikova, who eliminated Ekaterina Alexandrova with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 victory.
In a mere eight games, Luka Doncic has established himself as an elite postseason performer. Need proof? Just ask the Los Angeles Clippers, who surely must be tired of his act by now.
The Dallas Mavericks superstar is already among the game's best players at 22 years old, but that he seems to be taking his game even further when it means the most bodes well for his inclusion as a player potentially on his way to legendary status.
All eight of Doncic's playoff games have come against the Clippers, the first six last summer as part of the NBA bubble and two more this week at Staples Center. Dallas lost last season's series in six games despite stellar play from Doncic but has taken the first two games of this first-round series with more otherworldly efforts from the Slovenian wunderkind aided by a better supportive cast.
In the first two games of this series, Doncic has totalled 70 points on 27-of 53 shooting (50.9 percent) with 17 rebounds and 18 assists. He notched his second career 30-point triple double in the playoffs in Game 1, to go along with his 43-point performance in Game 4 against the Clippers last August. The only other active player to have a 30-point triple-double in the playoffs at age 22 or younger was LeBron James in 2006.
Doncic, who also had a triple-double in Game 3 of last season's series against Los Angeles, is the first player in NBA history with three triple-doubles in his first seven career playoff games. He is also the only player since at least 1984-85 to accumulate 250 points, 70 rebounds and 70 assists in his first eight postseason games.
Doncic's playoff scoring has him alongside basketball royalty at this early juncture of his career. Since the 1963-64 seasons, only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (287), Michael Jordan (283), LeBron James (266), Bob McAdoo (261) and Anthony Davis (258) scored more points in the first eight playoff games of their NBA career than Doncic's 256.
Whichever defender has been sent his way in the first two games of this series, Doncic has had an answer. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George aren't just outstanding offensive players but also have reputations as excellent on the defensive end. Both have locked down star players in the past but neither has had much success in this series against Doncic.
While Doncic's physical gifts are well-documented, his basketball IQ and calm demeanour are just as important parts of his basketball arsenal. Also working in Dallas' favour this time around is a supporting cast that has continued its strong play from the regular season.
A more confident Kristaps Porzingis has scored 34 points in the first two games and Tim Hardaway Jr. has been an absolute revelation for the Mavericks with 49 points - including 11 of 17 from three-point range - on 17 of 27 overall from the field. Jalen Brunson and Maxi Kleber also have made key contributions.
Conventional wisdom says double-teaming Doncic is the easiest way to slow him down, but that won't work if Hardaway continues to knock down shots with such regularity.
If the Clippers' plan was to push Doncic further away from the basket, that may need to be reconsidered after he connected on 10 of 24 from long range in the first two games.
Perhaps sending Doncic to the free throw line is the way to go since he has made just six of 14 in this series. Since sinking 14 of 15 from the stripe in his playoff debut last season, Doncic is just a 54.0 percent (34 of 63) free-throw shooter in seven postseason contests.
The Clippers were the league's top three-point shooting team in the regular season at 41.1 per cent but have only made 24 of 73 (32.9 per cent) in this series. Dallas, meanwhile, has hit exactly half of its shots from beyond the arc (35 of 70) and is shooting a blistering 54.4 per cent (86 for 158) overall. Los Angeles needs that to change if it is to have any chance at coming back.
There is not much more the Clippers' stars can do after Leonard poured in 41 points and George added 28 in Tuesday's Game 2 loss. It's almost hard to believe the Clippers are down 0-2 in this series heading to Dallas with Leonard and George combining for 118 points on 51.8 percent (43 of 83) from the field and 34 rebounds.
The Mavericks haven't won a postseason series since Dirk Nowitzki led them over Miami in the 2011 Finals, losing all five of their series since then. They certainly weren't expected to win this one, and while there's still plenty of work to be done, history is on their side.
Since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976, only four teams have won a series after losing the first two games at home: The 1993 Suns (Lakers), the 1994 Rockets (Suns), the 2005 Mavericks (Rockets) and the 2017 Celtics (Bulls).
Alberto Bettiol chased down Remi Cavagna on the final climb to claim victory on stage 18 of the Giro d'Italia on a day that saw Egan Bernal retain his lead.
EF Education-Nippo rider Bettiol was part of a 23-strong breakaway when starting his pursuit with 15 kilometres remaining and caught Cavagna with six to go on the longest stage of the race.
The 2019 Tour of Flanders winner went solo from that point on to earn his maiden win on home soil and his team's first stage triumph at this year's race, while Cavagna slipped down to ninth.
"I really wanted a victory like this," Bettiol said. "I had already come close on a couple of occasions.
"This morning Hugh [Carthy] gave me the green light to go on the attack. I want to thank him and the whole team. I didn't want to miss this opportunity."
Bettiol finished 17 seconds ahead of a congested pack, with Simone Consonni second after pipping Nicolas Roche on the line in Thursday's 231km journey from Rovereto to Stradella.
The peloton were around 23 minutes further back as Bernal enjoyed a stress-free day on the mostly-flat surface to hold on to the maglia rosa, having finally showed signs of weakness on Wednesday.
He will head into the three remaining stages with a two minute and 21 seconds lead over Damiano Caruso, while Simon Yates is three minutes and 23 seconds behind.
Friday's 166km stage 19, which has been rerouted following a tragic cable car crash earlier this week, takes the riders from Abbiategrasso to Alpe di Mera and gives Caruso and Yates another chance to chase down the race leader.
"I hope I've recovered well. I felt much better on the bike than yesterday and I hope tomorrow will be another good day," Bernal said.
"It's difficult to say I'm super confident – I'm just trying to do my best. I have a lot of respect for the other guys and I need to be focused and do my best, that's it."
STAGE RESULT
1. Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-Nippo) 5:14:43
2. Simone Consonni (Cofidis) +00:17
3. Nicolas Roche (Team DSM) +00:18
4. Nikias Arndt (Team DSM) +00:18
5. Diego Ulissi (UAE Emirates) +00:18
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) 77:10:18
2. Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) +02:21
3. Simon Yates (Team BikeExchange) +03:23
Points Classification
1. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) 135
2. Davide Cimolai (Israel Start-Up Nation) 113
3. Fernando Gaviria (UAE Emirates) 110
King of the Mountains
1. Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroen Team) 180
2. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) 109
3. Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) 79
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic could meet at the semi-final stage of the French Open, while Iga Swiatek and Ash Barty are in the same half of the draw.
Nadal will start his quest to win the Paris grand slam a staggering 14th time with a first-round encounter against Australian Alexei Popyrin next week.
Defending champion Nadal, the third seed, is in the same half of the draw as fellow all-time greats Djokovic and Federer, who could face the Serbian world number one in the last eight.
Top seed Djokovic, who is two major titles shy of the record of 20 held by Federer and Nadal, will take on Tennys Sandgren in the first round.
Swiss great Federer will come up against a qualifier in round one at Roland Garros, while two-time runner-up Dominic Thiem is up against Pablo Andujar.
Pole Swiatek claimed her maiden grand slam title at the French Open last year and takes on her close friend Kaja Juvan in the first round.
World number one Barty, who did not travel to Paris to defend her title in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, has will make her return at the clay-court major against Bernarda Pera.
Serena Williams comes up against Irina-Camelia Begu, while last year's runner-up Sofia Kenin must do battle with the 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko in a standout first-round match.
Carla Suarez Navarro can expect plenty of support when she takes on Sloane Stephens in her first tournament since successfully completing cancer treatment.
Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant is not interested in records despite making history with 47 points in his side's 141-129 Game 2 defeat to the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.
The Jazz levelled their NBA first round playoffs series at 1-1 despite Morant's remarkable haul, with the 21-year-old having led the Grizzlies to victory in Game 1 with 26 points.
Morant became the second youngest player in playoffs history to score 45 or more points, behind only LeBron James in 2006 (45 points vs Washington).
It also meant Morant scored the most points all-time by a player aged 21 or younger in a playoff game, Stats Perform confirmed.
Asked about whether he takes anything from such records, Morant told a post-game news conference: "Not at all. I'm blessed to be in a position I'm in and to be able to play the game at the highest level, but that's not on my mind at all. We lost."
Utah led by 20 points at half-time on Wednesday but Morant and the Grizzlies fought back with a 43-29 third quarter, closing within two in the last, before falling short.
Morant was busy throughout, with 15-from-26 from the field, while he was fouled throughout including a few tangles with Jazz center Rudy Gobert, making 15-from-20 from the stripe.
"I'm not afraid," Morant said. "That's the job to protect the rim. My job when I'm attacking the rim is to go finish.
"He [Gobert] made a good block but as you'd seen throughout the game, I was right back in the paint."
Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, who returned from an ankle injury with 25 points, was full of praise for Morant.
"Give credit to Ja, he had 50 [47]," Mitchell said post-game. "He's a hell of a player. I respect the hell out of his game.
"He fought but we fought. It's 1-1, they came here and stole one. We need to take care of business."
The series now moves to Memphis with back-to-back home games for the Grizzlies.
Trevor Bauer was centre of attention as the Los Angeles Dodgers' eight-game winning streak came to an end with a 5-2 defeat to the Houston Astros on Wednesday.
Bauer publicly labelled the Astros as "hypocrites" and "cheaters" in February last year in light of the MLB sign-stealing scandal.
There was no love lost for Dodgers ace Bauer, who was silenced by the Astros in Houston midweek
The Astros were led by Jose Altuve's lead-off solo home run, his sixth of the season.
With both sides tied at 1-1 at the bottom of the sixth inning, Carlos Correa homered for the Astros.
Bauer managed only three strikeouts across six innings, with four hits but he walked a season-high four, before the Astros brought in three runs in the seventh inning from Nate Jones.
Albert Pujols came in late for World Series champions the Dodgers but could not produce any heroics as their winning run was halted.
Rays back among winners with walkoff
The Tampa Bay Rays – World Series participants during last season's coronavirus-shortened campaign – returned to winning ways. After their 11-game winning streak was snapped on Tuesday, the Rays recorded a 2-1 walk-off triumph over the Kansas City Royals. Tyler Glasnow starred on the mound for the Rays with 11 strikeouts across eight shut-out innings. It was the sixth game this season that Glasnow has had 10 or more strikeouts, surpassing Gerrit Cole and Shane Bieber. Glasnow has tallied 10-plus strikeouts and allowed five hits or fewer in all five home starts this season. According to Stats Perform, the only other pitcher in the modern era to do so was Johan Santana in 2004.
The in-form San Diego Padres made it 11 wins from their past 12 games with a 2-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in the 10th inning. While the Brewers lost, they now have three home runs by pitchers in a season for the first time since 2011.
Miguel Sano's three-run homer guided the Minnesota Twins past the Baltimore Orioles 3-2 for a three-game sweep.
A pair of Tommy Edman home runs fuelled the St Louis Cardinals, who upstaged the high-flying Chicago White Sox 4-0 to avoid a three-game sweep.
Shildt ejected after hat-swap request
There was an ugly incident between the Cardinals and White Sox when St Louis manager Mike Shildt was ejected. Shildt was sent from the dugout after pitcher Giovanny Gallegos was told by umpire Joe West to swap his hat as it allegedly had a foreign substance on it. Shildt was incensed and came out arguing, leading to his ejection.
Homer history in Angels-Rangers
Justin Upton hit his first-ever lead-off home run on Tuesday and he backed that up with another in the Los Angeles Angels' 9-8 win over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday. It was Upton's 10th home run of the season. Adolis Garcia also homered for Texas, scoring the most in a month by a rookie in Rangers history.
Wednesday's results
Minnesota Twins 3-2 Baltimore Orioles
St Louis Cardinals 4-0 Chicago White Sox
Oakland Athletics 6-3 Seattle Mariners
Los Angeles Angels 9-8 Texas Rangers
Chicago Cubs 4-1 Pittsburgh Pirates
Miami Marlins 4-2 Philadelphia Phillies
Tampa Bay Rays 2-1 Kansas City Royals
Detroit Tigers 1-0 Cleveland Indians
San Diego Padres 2-1 Milwaukee Brewers
Houston Astros 5-2 Los Angeles Dodgers
Boston Red Sox 9-5 Atlanta Braves
San Francisco Giants 5-4 Arizona Diamondbacks
New York Yankees-Toronto Blue Jays (postponed)
New York Mets-Colorado Rockies (postponed)
Washington Nationals-Cincinnati Reds (suspended)
Blue Jays at Yankees
The New York Yankees (28-20) will look to resume their series against the Toronto Blue Jays (24-23) following Wednesday's postponement with an American League (AL) East doubleheader, weather permitting on Thursday. Top Blue Jays prospect Alek Manoah will make his debut in the opening game, with the Yankees countering with Domingo German.
The Philadelphia 76ers are on track to advance to the Eastern Conference semi-finals after easing past the Washington Wizards in Game 2 of their NBA playoff matchup.
Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid combined to guide the 76ers – eyeing a first championship since 1983 – to a 120-95 rout of the Wizards in Philadelphia on Wednesday.
All-Star pair Simmons and Embiid both posted 22 points apiece as the top-ranked 76ers claimed a 2-0 series lead midweek.
It was Simmons' fourth career 20-plus point playoff game and his first since 2019, while it was Embiid's seventh consecutive 20-plus point playoff performance, dating back to 2019 – the streak tied with Allen Iverson for the 10th longest in Philadelphia postseason history.
As for Philadelphia's Matisse Thybulle, he became the first player in NBA history with four steals and five blocks in 20 or fewer minutes of any game, regular season or playoffs.
The game was marred by an unruly fan showering popcorn on Wizards star Russell Westbrook.
Westbrook had to be restrained after a fan in Philadelphia dumped popcorn on the former MVP as he exited the court with a right ankle injury.
Washington's Westbrook – who finished with 10 points, 11 assists and six rebounds before appearing to roll his ankle inside the final 10 minutes – was left seething at Wells Fargo Center, where Bradley Beal led the Wizards with a game-high 33 points.
Morant makes history but Jazz bounce back
Ja Morant had 47 points – the most in franchise history – but the Memphis Grizzlies still lost 141-129 to the top-seeded Utah Jazz, who levelled the Western Conference opening-round series at 1-1. Morant's 47 points are the most in playoff history by a player aged under 22, while the Grizzlies sensation is the second youngest player in league history to score 45-plus points in a postseason contest (21 years and 289 days), only behind LeBron James (21 years and 124 days in 2006). Donovan Mitchell (25 points) fuelled the Jazz in his return from an ankle injury, while Mike Conley (20 points and 15 assists) and Rudy Gobert (21 points and 13 rebounds) contributed double-doubles.
The New York Knicks won their first playoff game since 2013 after rallying to beat the Atlanta Hawks 101-92 in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference battle. Julius Randle's 15 points and 12 rebounds helped the Knicks level the series, despite 30 points from Hawks star Trae Young. Derrick Rose led the Knicks with 26 points off the bench.
Milton in game to forget
Usually a reliable contributor, Shake Milton struggled in Philadelphia's victory. Milton ended the game scoreless on 0-for-six shooting. He also had two turnovers off the bench.
Gobert says no!
There was no way past Jazz All-Star Gobert, who produced a monster block to thwart the Grizzlies in the second quarter.
Wednesday's results
Philadelphia 76ers 120-95 Washington Wizards
New York Knicks 101-92 Atlanta Hawks
Utah Jazz 141-129 Memphis Grizzlies
Suns at Lakers
Defending champions the Los Angeles Lakers will welcome the Phoenix Suns to Staples Center in LA on Thursday, with the Western Conference series locked at 1-1.
Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons insisted he is "here to win" not to prove doubters wrong following his aggressive display as the Eastern Conference top seeds seized control against the Washington Wizards.
Simmons' shooting and scoring have been scrutinised since entering the league, but the NBA All-Star was influential in the 76ers' 120-95 rout of the Wizards in Game 2 on Wednesday.
In 29 minutes, Simmons posted 22 points – including 12 in the opening quarter – on 11-for-15 shooting, to go with nine rebounds, eight assists, two steals and one block in Philadelphia midweek.
It was Simmons' fourth career 20-plus point playoff game and his first since 2019 as the Australian dismissed his critics.
"I'm not trying to stick to anybody in Philly," Simmons said, with the 76ers on track to progress from the first-round series. "I thought it was pretty hard to get 15 assists and 15 rebounds in the NBA in the playoffs.
"I thought that was pretty impressive. And we won. What y'all want? You want to win? For me, I'm here to win and I'm doing what I need to do to help my team win whatever it is.
"I'm not trying to prove anybody wrong or anything like that. I'm trying to do my job to win. I want to win a championship."
Philadelphia head coach Doc Rivers described Simmons as "special" following his Game 1 performance.
"It didn't motivate me because what I did in the first game, my guys are feeling it," Simmons added. "Tobias [Harris] was scoring, Joel's [Embiid] scoring. That's the point of basketball right? People who have it going, you got to give them the ball.
"I'm not surprised Doc said that because Doc knows the game. A lot of these people who are saying that have never even touched a basketball or never played the game at a high level."
MVP hopeful and 76ers team-mate Joel Embiid also had 22 points at home to the Wizards, who will host Game 3 on Saturday.
It was Embiid's seventh consecutive 20-plus point playoff performance, dating back to 2019. The streak is tied with Allen Iverson for the 10th longest in Philadelphia postseason history.
Embiid hailed Simmons, saying: "I told him 'you've got all the space and all the time in the world. Just attack. He's physical and he's athletic and he can make plays."
Rivers also heaped praise on Simmons as the 76ers eye their first championship since 1983.
"We scored 125 points the first game," said Rivers. "It's all about us scoring points and whichever way we do it, I'm good with that.
"If we had scored 130 and he had the same numbers as the first game, that would have meant he was great in doing something else. That's what I mean. His value to us is almost, you can't measure it."
Russell Westbrook said he is eagerly awaiting the NBA's response after the Washington Wizards star was showered in popcorn by an unruly fan during Wednesday's playoff clash against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Westbrook had to be restrained after a fan in Philadelphia dumped popcorn on the former MVP as he exited the court with a right ankle injury in the 120-95 Game 2 defeat to the top-seeded 76ers.
Washington's Westbrook – who finished with 10 points, 11 assists and six rebounds before appearing to roll his ankle inside the final 10 minutes – was left seething at Wells Fargo Center.
"To be completely honest, man, this s*** is getting out of hand, especially for me. The amount of disrespect, the amount of fans just doing whatever the f*** they want to do, it's [wrong]," Westbrook said after the Wizards fell 2-0 behind in the Eastern Conference first-round series.
"Any other setting, I'm all for the fans enjoying the game and having fun. It's part of sports, I get it. But there are certain things that cross the line. Any other setting, I know for a fact they wouldn't come up, a guy wouldn't come up on the street and pour popcorn on my head because they know what would happen.
"A guy wouldn't come up to me talking about my family and my kids on the street because the response would be different.
"The arena's have gotta start protecting the players. We'll see what the NBA does, but there's a huge problem for us as players, and for me, where fans they say whatever and the consequences for me are a lot more [detrimental] for me than the fans in the stands because they're untouchable.
"They can say what they want at a sporting event and they enjoy the game. But what a lot of fans don't realise is this is my job. I don't just play, this is something I love to do, it's something I compete at. So, to get food thrown on top of me, it's just bulls***, really."
Wells Fargo Center president of business operations Valeria Camillio said in a statement: "This was classless, unacceptable behaviour, and we're not going to tolerate it at Wells Fargo Center.
"We're proud to have the most passionate fans in the country and the best home-court and home-ice advantage around, but this type of behaviour has no place in our arena."
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James also weighed in via Twitter.
James wrote: "By the way WE AS THE PLAYERS wanna see who threw that popcorn on Russ while he was leaving the game tonight with an injury!! There's cameras all over arenas so there's no excuse! Cause if the [shoe] was on the other [foot]."
Naomi Osaka has imposed a media ban during her upcoming French Open campaign, citing mental health reasons.
Osaka – the reigning Australian Open champion and four-time grand slam winner – announced the shock media boycott ahead of the Roland Garros event, which will get underway on Sunday.
Under French Open rules, typical of any tennis tournament, players are required to hold media conferences after each match.
Osaka is the world's highest earning female athlete and will be fined by tournament officials should the world number two follow through and not take part in news conferences.
Japanese star Osaka hopes the fines she will receive can be donated towards mental health charity.
"I'm writing this to say that I'm not going to do any press during Roland Garros," Osaka wrote on Twitter. "I've often felt that people have no regard for athletes' mental health and this rings true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one.
"We're often sat there and asked questions that we've been asked multiple times before or asked questions that bring doubt into our minds and I am not going to subject myself to people who doubt me.
"I've watched many clips of athletes breaking down after a loss in the press room and I know you have as well. I believe that whole situation is kicking a person while they're down and I don't understand the reasoning behind it.
"Me not doing press is nothing personal to the tournament … However, if the organisations think that they can just keep saying, 'do press or you're gonna be fined', and continue to ignore the mental health of the athletes that are centrepiece of their co-operation then I just gotta laugh."
Osaka heads to Paris having never progressed beyond the third round of the French Open.
The 23-year-old skipped last year's French Open amid the coronavirus pandemic, though she claimed her second US Open crown at Flushing Meadows.
Atlanta Braves slugger Marcell Ozuna will be sidelined for at least six weeks after fracturing two fingers, the MLB franchise announced on Wednesday.
Ozuna was hurt during Atlanta's 3-1 win over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Tuesday.
The Gold Glove Award winner and two-time Silver Slugger sustained two fractured fingers – both the middle and right fingers of his left hand.
"Thank God, nothing more serious happened," Ozuna wrote via Instagram midweek. "Now wait six more weeks recovering."
Ozuna injured the fingers as he attempted to advance from second to third base, with his ring finger bending awkwardly as he grounded his slide and crossed over Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers' left foot.
Braves manager Brian Snitker had hoped the slugger may have only dislocated his fingers after the initial X-rays did not reveal a fracture.
"I was hoping they wouldn't have found anything and he'd have been back in a few days after allowing the swelling to go down," Snitker said.
"This is a significant time to be without a big player on your team."
"I guess the good thing is there won't be a surgical process," he added. They just cast him up and it's going to take time."
Entering Wednesday's action, Ozuna had career lows for batting average (.213) and on-base plus slugging (.645).
Ozuna – a two-time All-Star – has only managed seven homers this season, with 21 runs and 40 hits with 26 RBI in 188 at-bats.
New York Yankees pitcher Corey Kluber could miss up to two months of MLB action due to a shoulder injury sustained in Tuesday's 6-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Kluber only lasted three innings in the defeat, replaced by Michael King, and underwent an MRI on his right shoulder, which revealed a strain of the subscapular muscle.
On Wednesday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said two-time Cy Young Award winner Kluber would not be able to throw for at least four weeks.
"It's tough news to get, considering how well he's throwing the ball and all he's been through to get back," Boone said, with the midweek showdown against the Blue Jays postponed due to inclement weather.
"Hopefully we can start the recovery process for him and have him back in our rotation sooner rather than later."
Boone said three-time All-Star Kluber, 35, will get a second examination for the "subscap strain".
Kluber joined the Yankees in the offseason after spending 2020 with the Texas Rangers, where he only played once due to a shoulder injury.
He also endured injury problems in his final season with the Cleveland Indians in 2019.
The right-handed pitcher had tossed down a no-hitter for the Yankees against the Rangers last week and his start against the Blue Jays was his first since.
Kluber has a 3.04 ERA this season across 10 starts for the Yankees, with 55 strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Yankees star Luke Voit has landed on the injured list with a strain of his right oblique.
Voit led the majors with 22 home runs during last season's coronavirus-shortened campaign.
"He’s frustrated," Boone said. "He's had such success with the knee, so to have a setback that's going to land him on the IL … hopefully it's not something that keeps him down too long."
Third seed Ekaterina Alexandrova beat Clara Burel – and the persistent rain - to reach the quarter-finals of the Internationaux de Strasbourg.
Alexandrova is the highest-ranked player remaining in the tournament after top seed Bianca Andreescu withdrew on Tuesday with an abdominal injury.
The world number 33 converted six of her 10 break points to see off Burel 6-3 6-4 in an hour and 10 minutes as she reached her fourth quarter-final of the season, two of those on clay.
Barbora Krejcikova awaits Alexandrova in the last eight after battling back from a set down to beat Caroline Garcia 3-6 6-2 6-1.
Previous Strasbourg champion Garcia held serve throughout the opening set to open up a convincing lead, but Krejcikova did likewise in the second and third sets to advance through.
Number four seed Yulia Putintseva is also into the quarter-finals after Jil Teichmann retired injured when two games down in the opening set.
Arantxa Rus had a walkover win of her own, with French wildcard Harmony Tan a set down when having to withdraw through injury.
Wednesday's other matches also came to an early end because of rain.
Jule Niemeier leads Shelby Rogers 6-4 2-1 ahead of the resumption of that match on Thursday, which is also when Zhang Shuai and Sorana Cirstea will begin their second-round contest – the winner of which will go through to the semis following Andreescu's withdrawal
Dan Martin went solo to claim a maiden Giro d'Italia stage victory and leader Egan Bernal finally showed signs of weakness on a brutal final climb.
Martin moved away on his own just over 10 kilometres from the end of the gruelling 193km stage 17 from Canazei to Sega di Ala and there was no catching the Irishman.
The Israel Start-Up Nation rider was the only member of a breakaway group, which had included eight men at one point, who was not reeled in.
Martin's victory completed a Grand Tour clean sweep, with two Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana successes already to his name.
He finished 13 seconds ahead of Joao Almeida and crossed the finishing line 30 seconds before Simon Yates, who showed he is still very much up for the fight in the battle for the maglia rosa.
Bernal had won stage 16 in impressive fashion on Monday, but looked in trouble on steep sections on a long final ascent in the maglia rosa.
The INEOS Grenadiers had to grit his teeth as Yates shot up the mountain in front of him, yet is still in a strong position with an advantage of two minutes and 21 seconds over Damiano Caruso.
Yates moved into third place overall, with three minutes and 23 seconds to make up on the 2019 Tour de France champion from Colombia.
Bernal has been troubled by a lingering back injury and had to really dig in, with great support from team-mate Daniel Martinez, as Yates made a statement in the final week of the race.
Hugh Carthy dropped off the podium to fifth as he suffered late on another hugely challenging day.
STAGE RESULT
1. Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) 4:54:38
2. Joao Almeida (Deceuninck–Quick-Step) +00:13
3. Simon Yates (Team BikeExchange) +00:30
4. Diego Ulissi (UAE Emirates) +01:20
5. Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) +01:20
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) 71:32:05
2. Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) +02:21
3. Simon Yates (Team BikeExchange) +03:23
Points Classification
1. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) 135
2. Davide Cimolai (Israel Start-Up Nation) 113
3. Fernando Gaviria (UAE Emirates) 110
King of the Mountains
1. Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroen Team) 180
2. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) 109
3. Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) 79
Dirk Nowitzki was a "lucky charm" for the Dallas Mavericks as he watched their Game 2 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, according to head coach Rick Carlisle.
Nowitzki, a 14-time All-Star, spent his entire NBA career in Dallas, winning a championship under Carlisle in 2011 when he was Finals MVP.
But the 2007 MVP retired in 2019 and so was restricted to the role of spectator as the Mavs looked to build on a Game 1 first-round playoff win on Tuesday.
His presence was enough to inspire his former team, too, with the German pictured with current Mavs superstar Luka Doncic following the game.
Doncic led the way with 39 points in an impressive 127-121 win, improving his postseason average to 32.0 points per game. That is the highest mark of any Dallas player regardless of games played, with the top spot previously belonging to Nowitzki as he scored 25.3 points across 145 playoff appearances.
There is a long way to go before Doncic can think about repeating Nowitzki's Finals run – a Miami Heat series in which he averaged 26.0 points – but the support of the team's greatest ever player is a boost.
"I saw him and [wife] Jessica in the hotel yesterday," said Carlisle, Mavs coach since 2008.
"It gives you a profound lift when you're in between the first two games of the playoffs and you see that playoff warrior who we've been through so many battles with.
"He said that he was going to be coming to the game, which was great news.
"And I certainly believe that him being there tonight was a lucky charm for us. It never hurts, never hurts."
Although Doncic was the obvious star once again, there was also a big performance from Tim Hardaway Jr, who contributed 28 points and made six attempts from beyond the arc. Both were career playoff highs.
Hardaway said: "[It was] 2-0 when Dirk gets in the building, I'll tell you that.
"Yeah, Dirk, we saw 'Dirky' earlier in the day, we knew he was there and we were happy we were able to pull out a victory.
"It's still a long series and the job is not done at all. It's just creeping into what we can become and we've just got to keep on focusing in and locking in."
Paul George insists the Los Angeles Clippers are not concerned despite falling 2-0 behind to the Dallas Mavericks in their first-round series.
The Clippers have had home advantage so far but now head to Dallas with a significant deficit.
Tuesday's Game 2 saw the Mavs run out 127-121 winners, again led by Luka Doncic.
The Slovenian had a 31-point triple-double on Saturday and added another 39 points this time, maintaining a remarkably high standard in the postseason.
Doncic's eight career playoff games have all come against the Clippers – this year and last – and he has tallied 32.0 points per game on average.
His total of 256 points is the sixth-most for any player across their first eight playoff games from 1963-64 onwards, trailing only Anthony Davis, Bob McAdoo, LeBron James, Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who scored a league-high 287 in 1970.
The Clippers appear to have no answer for the 22-year-old, as George himself acknowledged.
But the seven-time All-Star, who has averaged 20.3 points across the same eight games against the Mavs, says his team are not worried.
Although the Clippers are now on a five-game losing run in the postseason dating back to last year's series against the Denver Nuggets, George said of their "level of concern": "I mean, there is none.
"It's a competition. We've got to rise to the occasion. The fact of the matter is if we don't, we're done for.
"But it's no level of concern. We've just got to play our game. We've got to play through this. We've got to incorporate our defense.
"Luka's going to get his touches. We've just got to do a better job defensively of just quieting everybody else."
The Clippers lost their final two games of the regular season to the Houston Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder, the bottom two teams in the Western Conference.
They therefore finished on the same record as Denver and slipped into the fourth seed, seemingly to ensure they would avoid the Los Angeles Lakers, the defending champions who they now cannot meet until the West Finals.
However, playing into a series with Dallas, who they defeated last year, only served to motivate the Mavs.
Doncic said: "I didn't know they were doing that. Somebody told me that in the first game.
"But if you want to win the championship, at the end of the day, you've got to win against everybody. So, I don't think that makes a big statement. You just go out there and play."
Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said: "This time of year you shouldn't need extra motivation. NBA playoff basketball is a self-explanatory adjective.
"It is raw passion. It's all about the team. It's all about one thing. And that is a group of guys getting together and making a stand on every possession.
"If you can't get excited for that, you know, you should be in some other line of work, because they're not pulling people off the street to do these jobs."
However, George added of the Mavs: "That's the team that's the most dangerous, the team [where] I'm pretty sure everyone expected to us win this.
"They were the underdogs, and when you're a lower seed, you really don't have high expectations, so they're playing free, they're playing with confidence.
"I think we were giving them a little too much confidence, so that's on us to shut that down.
"But they're playing with it. They're playing their game. They're playing with confidence. They're making shots.
"The supporting cast for Luka is being aggressive and they're doing their job."
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."
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