Tag: good odds

Celtics stars united as Kidd comment stirs debate

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Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown, left, and Jayson Tatum jump before Game 1 of the basketball team’s NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, June 6, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

The Boston Celtics, coming off an authoritative game one victory over Dallas in the NBA Finals, aren’t about to let Mavericks coach Jason Kidd get in their heads going into Game 2.

In comments widely interpreted as a bid to sow discord in the Celtics ranks, Kidd twice told reporters on Saturday that Jaylen Brown is Boston’s “best” player — but Brown and star teammate Jayson Tatum didn’t bite.

“No reaction,” Tatum said as the teams spoke to reporters ahead of Sunday’s game two in Boston. “This is a team sport, right. We understand that.

“We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t have JB on our team and we can say that for a lot of guys.

“We have all played a part in getting to where we’re at, and we understand that people try to drive a wedge between us. I guess it’s a smart thing to do or try to do.

READ: NBA Finals: Mavericks plan to get Celtics to fight among themselves

“We’ve been in this position for many of years of guys trying to divide us and say that one of us should be traded or one is better than the other. So it’s not our first time at the rodeo.”

Brown led Boston’s scoring with 22 points and was dominant on the defensive end in Thursday’s 107-89 victory.

“Jaylen is their best player,” Kidd said when asked about the difficulty of containing him. “Just looking at what he does defensively, he picked up Luka (Doncic) full court. He got to the free throw line. He did everything, and that’s what your best player does. Just understanding he plays both sides, defense and offense, at a high rate. And he’s been doing that the whole playoffs.”

Brown and Tatum are familiar with the question of which is the team’s top star — long a favorite topic of media debate.

As always, Brown said, the Celtics are tuning it out, even though this time it comes from a coach whose three trips to the NBA Finals as a player included a championship run with Dallas in 2011.

READ: NBA Finals: Celtics formula leaves Mavericks searching for solution

“We’ve been just extremely focused on what our roles and our jobs are,” Brown said.

“We have all had to sacrifice. Jason (Kidd) has had to do that at the highest of levels, right, and I respect him and tip his cap for it.

“Right now, at this point, it’s whatever it takes to win and we can’t let any outside interpretations try to get in between us.”

Instead, Brown said, the Celtics are focused on finding more ways to unsettle the Mavericks’ star duo of Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

“We’ve got to be ready because they are really good after a loss,” Brown said.

That is just what Kidd is counting on.

“I think there’s no panic with this group,” Kidd said. “We didn’t play well in game one … but it’s a series and we don’t just look to capitalize on just one game.

“We believe that we can respond in game two.”

Mavs plan to get Celtics to fight among themselves

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Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown, fornt, and Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving vie for the ball during the first half of Game 1 of basketball’s NBA Finals, Thursday, June 6, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

BOSTON — Jason Kidd couldn’t figure out how to stop the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Now he’s hoping they will get in their own way.

The Mavericks coach seemed eager to sow dissension in the Boston locker room on Saturday when he singled out Jaylen Brown as the Celtics’ best player — words transparently designed to irk Jayson Tatum, an actual NBA first-teamer who was sixth in the voting for the league’s MVP.

Asked during his off-day media availability about a game-plan to defend Brown, Kidd said, “Well, Jaylen’s their best player …” prompting reporters to perk up and wonder: Did he really say that? (It was the final question of his news conference, so there was no follow-up.)

Tatum said it won’t work.

READ: NBA Finals: Attitude, not environment, key for Mavericks in NBA Finals fightback

“We understand that people try to drive a wedge between us. I guess it’s a smart thing to do — or try to do,” Tatum said. “We’ve been in this position for many years, of guys trying to divide us and say that one of us should be traded, or one is better than the other. So it’s not our first time at the rodeo.”

On that, Brown agreed completely.

“We’ve been just extremely focused on what our roles and our jobs are. We have all had to sacrifice,” he said. “Right now, at this point, it’s whatever it takes to win. And we can’t let any outside interpretations try to get in between us.”

Drafted third overall in back-to-back years, Brown and Tatum have emerged as one of the NBA’s best duos, combining to lead the Celtics to the Eastern Conference finals five times in their seven seasons together. But even with the success — 64 wins this year, the league’s No. 1 overall seed, and a second trip to the NBA Finals — they have had to combat speculation that there wasn’t room in the locker room for both of them.

Although Tatum’s career numbers have been better, Brown is the highest-paid player in the league — a quirk of timing and age that gave him the first shot at a supermax contract extension that will earn him more than $300 million over five years. Brown also outplayed Tatum in the 2022 NBA Finals, was the MVP of this year’s conference finals and outscored Tatum 22-16 in the Game 1 victory over Dallas on Thursday night.

That may explain why Kidd said on Saturday — twice — that Brown was Boston’s main threat.

READ: NBA Finals: Celtics’ formula leaves Mavericks searching for solution

“Jaylen’s their best player,” the Mavericks coach said. “He did everything, and that’s what your best player does. Just understanding how to play both sides — defense and offense at a high rate — he’s been doing that the whole playoffs.”

But no one else seems to think so.

Tatum averaged 27 points, eight rebounds and five assists this season, and Brown averaged 23, 5.5 and 3.6. And even with Brown outscoring him in Game 1, Tatum’s numbers are also better in the playoffs so far. (And besides: The real star of the opener was Boston big man Kristaps Porzingis.)

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said he’s not worried about internal rivalries getting in his team’s way, as long as his players “focus on the truth.”

“What goes on in our locker room, how we communicate with each other, how we build relationships with each other and how we treat each other on and off the floor, that’s the most important thing,” he said.

The Mavericks have their own Big Two, with five-time All-NBA first-team guard Luka Doncic teaming up with Kyrie Irving to form an All-Star backcourt. Irving, who teamed with LeBron James to win the 2016 NBA championship in Cleveland even as they struggled to co-exist, said he tries not to pay attention to talk pitting him against his teammate.

“I’m just here to play basketball,” Irving said. “You’ve got to be selfless in your approach. Obviously, you’re not going to get it right all the time, but as a teammate, you just want to push those other things to the side that don’t really matter or get you better as a team. So we just leave it to everybody else to argue whose team it is and who has the most responsibility. It’s all our jobs to be prepared.”

Marcio dagger has changed complexion of series

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Marcio Lassiter is more focused on the Beermen’s title bid than he is on his chase of a cherished league record. —PBA IMAGES

Frosty for most of Friday night, San Miguel Beer marksman Marcio Lassiter came through in the final moments of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals, bailing the much-fancied Beermen out from what would have been a 0-2 hole against hard-fighting Meralco.

Despite a 1-for-7 shooting going into that final play, Lassiter hit a step-back triple from the left wing with 13.2 seconds remaining to give the Beermen the lead. It turned out to be the basket the defending champions needed to ultimately level the best-of-seven championship series to a game apiece.

“We just knew if I get to my spot and just read the defense—that was all I really needed,” he told reporters on the heels of the 95-94 escape act fashioned out before a decent-sized crowd at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

“Anytime I can get a good look and see the rim, I really feel like I [can hit it]. I’ve done it a few times before so I just tried to stay poised,” he added.

Lassiter is a holdover of San Miguel’s fabled starting unit dubbed the “Death Five.” Him, Chris Ross, along with reigning Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo are all shooting for their 11th PBA crown.

Teammate Jericho Cruz believes that winning so much in the past has sharpened Lassiter for such clutch situations.

“They’ve been here long enough. They’ve been in the league for quite a while. I bet we can no longer count the number of game-winning shots he has made,” the sparkplug guard said of Lassiter, a 13-year veteran.

CJ Perez’s equally resilient performance set the stage up for the game-winner, as the spitfire guard was also having a rough shooting by going 11-for-27 before hitting a triple of his own that allowed the Beermen to pull within one, 93-92, with 22 seconds to go.

Perez wound up with a career playoff-high 34 points, while Lassiter had six.

“[Marcio], Chris, June Mar, right? For me, as long as they’re inside, we’re confident that we could win the game,” Cruz went on. “I just hope this goes on until we become champions again.”

Celtics’ formula leaves Mavericks searching for solution

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Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown, left, celebrates with center Al Horford, center, as the Celtics lead the Dallas Mavericks during the second half of Game 1 of the NBA Basketball Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, Thursday, June 6, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

BOSTON — When the Boston Celtics make a ton of 3-pointers, forget it. They’re probably not going to lose.

That was surely something the Dallas Mavericks understood before Game 1 of the NBA Finals — and if they, or anyone else, somehow were unaware of that fact, it was on full display in the opener.

The Celtics made 16 3s, outscoring the Mavericks by 27 points from long range, in their 107-89 victory Thursday night. Both teams have an off day Friday and are scheduled to resume practice Saturday. Game 2 is Sunday night in Boston.

“We’ve got to be better,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “Nerves or not being in this situation, we can’t use that as an excuse. It’s just basketball, and we’ve got to be better at the game of basketball on Sunday.”

And it’ll start with doing a better job on 3s — either making more, giving up fewer, or both. Consider these trends for the Celtics this season:

READ: Porzingis returns, Celtics open NBA Finals with big win over Mavericks

— When making 16 or more 3s, Boston is 51-6. When making 15 or under, the Celtics are 26-14. That’s still a very good mark, but at least opponents have a realistic chance of winning when that happens.

— When the Celtics make more 3s than their opponent, they’re 61-5. When they don’t, they’re 16-15, basically a coin-flip to see who wins.

— When the Celtics make at least four more 3s than their opponent, they’re 49-3.

— When factoring in both the regular season and the playoffs, not only has Boston made more 3s than anyone else (1,572 so far this season, 24 away from matching the league’s total-season mark the Celtics set last year), but the Celtics also have a better percentage this season than any other club. They’re at .3852 for the season now, a whisker ahead of Oklahoma City’s .3851.

“I think they are the best 3-point shooting team in the NBA, so sometimes (it’s) really hard to take those away,” Mavericks guard Luka Doncic said. “Especially when they have five guys out and they can all shoot. Obviously, we’ve got to make more.”

READ: Porzingis a big problem in NBA Finals for Mavericks team that cast him off

And it was a team effort for the Celtics in Game 1. That has to be what makes it doubly scary for Dallas — because just about everyone in Boston’s rotation was part of the prowess from deep.

Jayson Tatum and Derrick White each made three 3s, while five other Celtics each made two. It was only the seventh time in NBA playoff history that seven teammates made at least two 3s in a game; it was the second such instance for Boston in this year’s playoffs, and the first time it ever happened in an NBA Finals.

“They are going to make some 3s at times, but we want to make them tough,” Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving said. “When they are at home, they shoot incredibly well.”

Boston led by 29 in the first half, then Dallas got the margin down to eight in the third quarter. It looked manageable — that is, until the Celtics started making 3s again. Tatum hit a 3, pushing the lead to 16. Al Horford hit another, and the lead was 19. Jaylen Brown hit another; lead up to 22.

Crisis averted. Collapse warning lifted. The game wasn’t in doubt again.

“When they cut it to eight, that’s when the game started,” Brown said. “I liked how our team responded. We stayed composed. Offensively, we got to our spacing and was able to push that lead back out and make some plays on offense.”

Made some plays on defense, too. A lot of them, actually. That was a theme all night for Boston; Dallas didn’t reach 25 points in any quarter of Game 1.

Dallas had five assists through three quarters — the fewest by any team in the first 36 minutes of any game in the last three seasons. The Mavericks aren’t exactly a high-assist team; they had the 19th-most in the regular season, but five through 36 minutes is almost impossible considering Doncic and Irving are on the team.

But that’s how good Boston’s defense was. It took away fast-break points (Dallas finished with only six), and one of the reasons why the final margin wasn’t even larger is because the Mavericks managed 16 second-chance points.

Translation: Nothing came easily for Dallas.

“Everyone was really locked in on the defensive end,” Horford said. “The things that we needed to do, we just wanted to be very solid throughout.”

The Mavericks finished Game 1 with nine assists, five fewer than their lowest in any other game this season. Doncic has 27 games so far this season alone where he’s had a triple-double of points, rebounds and assists — but Dallas’ entire team didn’t manage such a triple-double in Game 1.

“Just great individual defense,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “Everybody has to take on the challenge of guarding those guys. They’re an amazing team and they put a ton of pressure on you with their ability to score. Everyone is going to take their matchup personal, have personal pride in individual defense.”

It has been Boston’s formula all season — 3s on one end, stops on the other. And in Game 1, it worked like a charm.

Filipino bets advance in World Pool Championship

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Filipino cue artist during the World Pool Championship

Filipino cue artist during the World Pool Championship. –HANDOUIT PHOTO

Three Filipino cue artists are still in the title hunt after reaching the round-of-16 of the World Pool Championship with victories Thursday in Saudi Arabia.

Johann Chua, Jeffrey Ignacio and Anton Raga won two matches each to progress further in the knockout stages that began at Green Halls in Jeddah.

Chua defeated Chinese-Taipei’s Ko Ping Han, 11-5, before edging out Austria’s Max Lechner, 11-10, while Ignacio ousted Spain’s Jonas Souto Comino, 11-10, and fellow Filipino Patric Gonzales, 11-7.

READ: Carlo Biado adds World 10-Ball Championship to collection

Raga kept his dreams of winning the best title of his pool career by prevailing over Chinese-Taipei’s Liu Ri Teng, 11-3, and Austria’s Mario He, 11-10.

The round-of-16 is set late Friday with Chua facing Syria’s Mohammad Soufi, Ignacio playing Spain’s David Alcaide and Raga battling Germany’s Joshua Filler, who was champion in 2018.

The quarterfinals will be held on the same day.

All three are aiming to become the first Filipino winner of the prestigious nine-ball event since Carlo Biado ruled the 2017 event in Doha.

Efren “Bata” Reyes (1999), Ronnie Alcano (2006) and Francisco “Django” Bustamante (2010) are the other Filipinos who have won the tournament. Alex Pagulayan was also victorious in 2004 while representing Canada.

CJ Perez turns frustrations into 34-point explosion

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SCHEDULE: PBA Philippine Cup Finals San Miguel vs Meralco

San Miguel Beermen's CJ Perez during Game 2 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals against Meralco Bolts.

San Miguel Beermen’s CJ Perez during Game 2 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals against Meralco Bolts. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Forget the past and focus on the present. That was the central game plan for CJ Perez in San Miguel’s Game 2 win over Meralco in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.

In the Beermen’s 95-94 victory over the Bolts at Araneta Coliseum on Friday, Perez let his frustrations from Game 1 go to focus on an all-important second game in the best-of-seven series.

“I told myself that I won’t mind it [last game] because it was my mistake also. If they reviewed the tape in Game 1, I think it was my fault. I got fouls pretty early,” said Perez in Filipino.

HIGHLIGHTS: PBA Finals Game 2 San Miguel vs Meralco

“I just addressed it in Game 2.”

In the opener of the PBA Finals series, Perez figured in several complaints with game officials for his early foul trouble.

This time, the 2024 Commissioner’s Cup Best Player of the Game certainly locked in and brought the series back to square one with both teams tied at one win apiece.

San Miguel Beermen's CJ Perez during Game 2 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals against Meralco Bolts.

San Miguel Beermen’s CJ Perez during Game 2 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals against Meralco Bolts. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

Perez exploded with a game-high 34 points with five assists, five steals and four rebounds to match, including crucial shots down the line of a neck-and-neck game.

“CJ’s always been like that for the past two to three seasons. When we needed baskets, we weren’t hesitant to go to him or Marcio,” explained coach Jorge Gallent.

“We’re not hesitant to let him shoot the ball, especially coming in crunch time,” added the veteran tactician.

Perez and the Beermen look to take the one-up on Game 3 of the series happening this Sunday, still emanating live at the Big Dome.

San Miguel survives Meralco in thriller to tie series

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SCHEDULE: PBA Philippine Cup Finals San Miguel vs Meralco

San Miguel Beermen's CJ Perez during Game 2 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals against Meralco Bolts.

San Miguel Beermen’s CJ Perez during Game 2 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals against Meralco Bolts. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

San Miguel played with steely nerves down the stretch to survive plucky Meralco, 95-94, leveling the championship series of the PBA Philippine Cup to a game apiece.

The Beermen rode the hot hand of CJ Perez all of Friday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City, to keep the Bolts within striking range before turning to Marcio Lassiter in the crunch for a step-back triple with 13 ticks left to seal the club’s escape act.

“A very good shot by CJ to bring the lead down to one and then another good shot from Marcio to give us this victory today. So, kudos to the two of them,” said head coach Jorge Gallent.

HIGHLIGHTS: PBA Finals Game 2 San Miguel vs Meralco

“Sobrang crucial talaga ng Game 2, so binigay naming ang 110 percent naming. ‘Di siya perfect but I know makaka-adjust pa kami in the next games naming,” added Perez, who finished with a playoff career-high 34 points that went with five rebounds and five steals.

June Mar Fajardo chipped in 17 points while Don Trollano and Mo Tautuaa 12 and 10, respectively, as the powerhouse squad–installed as the favorite in this best-of-seven series–avoided sliding into a 0-2 deficit.

San Miguel’s high-wire escape laid waste to the heroics of Cliff Hodge and Chris Banchero. The former had a season-best 25 points spiked with nine rebounds, while the latter delivered 16 points, including a trey with 27 seconds remaining that seemingly took the fight out of the Beermen.

READ: PBA Finals: Meralco still ‘absolutely’ has not cracked San Miguel code

Perez, who later in the post-game chat said that he was not going to let his shooting percentage get in the way of his efforts, hit a three to pave the way for Lassiter’s eventual game-winner. He was 12-for-28 from the field in the equalizing Game 2.

Chris Newsome had 14 points for the Bolts, who led by eight points at one point in the duel.

The two clubs will break the series tie this Sunday at the same venue.

PBA Scores:

SAN MIGUEL 95 – Perez 34, Fajardo 17, Trollano 12, Tautuaa 10, Cruz 7, Lassiter 6, Ross 5, Brondial 2, Teng 2, Enciso 0

MERALCO 94 – Hodge 25, Banchero 16, Newsome 14, Quinto 9, Maliksi 8, Rios 6, Bates 6, Torres 5, Caram 3, Pascual 2, Almazan 0, Jose 0

Quarterscores: 21-22, 49-48, 69-73, 95-94.

Jasmine Paolini surprises herself by reaching final

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Jasmine Paolini French Open Tennis

Italy’s Jasmine Paolini reacts during her semifinal match of the French Open tennis tournament against Russia’s Mirra Andreeva at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Thursday, June 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

PARIS — Jasmine Paolini is struggling to believe she’s into her first Grand Slam final.

Paolini, who had never previously been past the fourth round at a major tournament, continued her run at the French Open by beating Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 6-1 in Thursday’s semifinals.

“It’s a great feeling to be in a Grand Slam final,” the 28-year-old Italian said. “I don’t know. It seems something impossible, you know, but it’s true.”

She faces two-time defending champion Iga Swiatek in Saturday’s final, the day before the men’s final.

READ: Iga Swiatek beats Coco Gauff to reach French Open final

And an Italian double is still a possibility because Jannik Sinner can reach the men’s final if he gets past Carlos Alcaraz on Friday. Win or lose, the Australian Open champion Sinner will have the No. 1 ranking on Monday.

“It’s unbelievable to see Jannik when he was 15 years old say that his dream was to be No. 1,” Paolini said. “For me it’s something different. I never dreamed to be in a Grand Slam final, and I’m here. I’m so happy.”

Paolini was far more clinical than the 17-year-old Andreeva, winning four of six break points while Andreeva was 0-6. Andreeva appeared tearful after going 4-1 down in the second set.

“I could have played better,” she said. “I had a lot of mistakes.”

Andreeva missed three break points in the fifth game of the first set on Court Philippe Chatrier. Instead of pulling back to 3-2, she trailed 4-1 and her confidence seemed to wane.

Missing a shot at deuce in the sixth game of the second set, she remonstrated with her racket.

Paoloni broke Andreeva to love in the next game, winning on her first match point with a forehand winner at the net.

She smiled broadly, clenched her fists, then praised the crowd — in two languages.

“Grazie mille, ragazzi (Thanks, guys),” Paolini said, before adding “Merci beaucoup a toute la France (Thanks a lot to all of France).”

The 23-year-old Swiatek remains on course for a fifth major, including four at Roland Garros.

Iga Swiatek French Open Tennis

Poland’s Iga Swiatek celebrates winning her semifinal match of the French Open tennis tournament against Coco Gauff of the U.S. at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Thursday, June 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

After saving a match point against the former No. 1 Naomi Osaka in the second round, she won 6-2, 6-4 against Coco Gauff on Friday to extend her winning streak in Paris to 20 matches.

Swiatek has 21 career singles titles, compared to two for Paolini. Paolini’s career record at the French Open before this year was 3-5; Swiatek’s career Roland Garros record after eliminating Gauff is 34-2.

“Iga is unbelievable player,” Paolini said. “So young, but so many achievements and Grand Slams.”

Andreeva, meanwhile, leaves Roland Garros with something she worked hard to get: a photo with three-time major winner Andy Murray.

“It was a nice moment in the beginning of the tournament because I had a gift. I had, like, retro camera,” she explained. “I made a list with who I want to take a picture. Of course, Andy, he was first on the list.”

But she was reluctant to approach him.

“He was warming up, he was eating. So I was, like, ‘Well, next time, next time.’ Then on that day I saw him just talking to his team. I was, like, ‘Well, he’s busy, no, no, no,’” Andreeva continued. “My coach was, like, ‘No, you go, you do it, and after we forget about it.’ So she kind of pushed me to him. Well, finally, I had a picture with him.”