The Boston Celtics, fueled by a near triple-double from Jayson Tatum, on Sunday held off the short-handed, but determined Miami Heat 110-106 in an NBA clash that turned testy in a tense fourth quarter.
NBA leaders Boston, who blew out the Heat last month, found the going tougher this time as the Heat cut a 15-point third-quarter deficit to two with less than two minutes remaining.
Boston star Jaylen Brown and Miami’s Duncan Robinson exchanged heated words after tangling early in the final period, with Brown assessed a flagrant foul, but the Celtics — stunned by the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals last season — kept their heads down and polished off Miami.
Photo: Jim Rassol-USA Today
Tatum scored 26 points with 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Kristaps Porzingis added 25 points, Brown scored 20 points and Jrue Holiday chipped in 15 for the Celtics, who made 16 of 39 three-point attempts.
Tyler Herro scored 22 of his 24 points in the second half. His three-pointer with 1 minute, 49 seconds remaining pulled the Heat within 106-104, but Porzingis and Tatum sealed the win at the free-throw line.
“They’re a good team, they’re going to go on runs,” Tatum said. “You’ve just got to withstand it and answer.”
Tatum said the Celtics are “better than we were last year at this point,” but cautioned that the pressure “really kicks up” after next week’s NBA All-Star Game break.
“We’re playing good basketball, but we’ve still got some ways to go,” he said. “But I think we’re on the right direction.”
The Heat were without their scoring and assists leader Jimmy Butler, who was absent from the team after a death in his family.
They also lost Terry Rozier and Josh Richardson to injuries. Rozier made an awkward landing on his right leg on a drive to the basket in the third quarter. Richardson departed in the second quarter with a shoulder injury.
In Sunday’s only other game, Western Conference contenders Oklahoma City snapped a two-game skid with a 127-113 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 38 points and Jalen Williams added 32 for the Thunder, who bounced back from a lopsided loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.
The Thunder have not lost three straight all season and they looked determined to keep it that way, jumping to an 18-8 lead midway through the first quarter.
“Usually when we lose and we lose big it’s because of our first quarter,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We set the tone early and that gave us the edge the rest of the game.”
Oklahoma City led by 17 going into the fourth quarter and Sacramento could not get the deficit below seven points in the final period.
Kings center Domantas Sabonis had a triple-double of 21 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists, while Malik Monk scored 26 points off the bench.
De’Aaron Fox, who was averaging almost 27 points per game, was held to 15 as the Thunder scored 30 points off 18 Kings turnovers.
“We got into a good rhythm,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We were playing fast, we were getting stops and when we get out in transition we’re the best version of ourselves.”
Taiwan’s participation in the Olympic Games has been a story of politics as much as sports, with the name it has competed under since 1984 — Chinese Taipei — drawing as much attention as its athletes. However, with the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad set to begin in Paris on Friday, the exploits of Taiwan’s athletes past and present who have won 36 medals since the country’s debut in Melbourne in 1956 deserve a nod. Many of Taiwan’s medal winners have gained considerable name recognition, but only two have achieved legendary status — Maysang Kalimud and Chi Cheng, the only medal winners
Shohei Ohtani on Sunday hit a 473-foot (144m) home run as the Los Angeles Dodgers went deep six times in a 9-6 victory over the Boston Red Sox. Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernandez, Gavin Lux, Austin Barnes and Jason Heyward also connected as Los Angeles swept the three-game series. “Going into the break, we weren’t playing good baseball, and then to come out fresh against a really good ball club and to play the way we did — the offense came to life,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said. It was the 25th time the Dodgers launched at least six homers in a game
Canada women’s soccer coach Bev Priestman on Wednesday said she would step away from the team’s opening game against New Zealand at the Paris Olympics in the wake of a drone scandal. New Zealand complained to the International Olympic Committee’s integrity unit after it said drones were flown over closed practice sessions earlier in the week. As of press time last night, Canada, the defending Olympic champions, were set to open the Paris Games against New Zealand in Saint-Etienne. In the fallout of the complaint, two staff members — assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joseph Lombardi — were sent home, the
Conventional wisdom dictates that the average retirement age for elite female players in the intense and physically demanding sport of badminton is well under 30 years old. Five female shuttlers are set to turn that on its head when they make their fourth Olympic appearances at the Paris Games, a feat never accomplished before. Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying, 30, Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon, 29, Belgium’s Lianne Tan, 33, and Hong Kong’s Tse Ying Suet and Canada’s Michelle Li, both 32, are to compete for Olympic glory at Porte de La Chapelle Arena from Saturday to Aug. 5. “These achievements get missed because they’re women,” said