Tatum, Brown help Celtics hold off huge Dallas rally for 106-99 win, 3-0 lead in NBA Finals

Tatum, Brown help Celtics hold off huge Dallas rally for 106-99 win, 3-0 lead in NBA Finals
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, left, goes up for a basket against Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively II during the first half in Game 3 of the NBA Finals Wednesday in Dallas. The Celtics won 106-99. (Pool Photo via AP)
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Updated 13 June 2024
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Tatum, Brown help Celtics hold off huge Dallas rally for 106-99 win, 3-0 lead in NBA Finals

Tatum, Brown help Celtics hold off huge Dallas rally for 106-99 win, 3-0 lead in NBA Finals
  • The Celtics stars are on the brink of joining the litany of big-name predecessors to put a banner above the parquet floor back home
  • The Celtics have led 3-0 in the NBA Finals only once, finishing off the Lakers in a sweep in 1959

DALLAS: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown shared a long hug after helping Boston avoid the biggest collapse in an NBA Finals game since at least 1997.

The reward? The Celtics stars are on the brink of joining the litany of big-name predecessors to put a banner above the parquet floor back home.

Tatum scored 31 points, Brown had 30 and the Celtics held off a furious Dallas rally to move to the verge of a record 18th championship with a 106-99 victory over the Mavericks on Wednesday night for a 3-0 lead.

Brown finished with eight rebounds and eight assists as the Celtics extended their franchise record with a 10th consecutive playoff victory and moved to 7-0 on the road this postseason. They can win the series and break a tie with the Lakers for most NBA championships with a victory Friday in Dallas.

And Boston can forget about nearly blowing a 21-point lead with 11 minutes to go.

“Not really trying to look too much into it,” Tatum said. “The game of basketball is about runs. It’s never going to go like you expected. If you want to be a champion, you have to be resilient in those situations, and we did that tonight.”

Boston also improved to 10-1 in these playoffs without Kristaps Porzingis after the 7-foot-2 Latvian was ruled out before the game because of a rare tendon injury in his lower left leg sustained in Game 2.

The status of Porzingis for the rest of the series appears in doubt, but it might not matter. None of the previous 156 teams to face a 3-0 deficit has rallied to win an NBA playoff series.

The Mavs almost pulled off a crazy comeback to avoid the big hole — 13 years after Dallas had the biggest fourth-quarter rally in the play-by-play era of the NBA Finals (since 1997) when a 15-point comeback in Game 2 started its run to the franchise’s only title against Miami.

Boston led 91-70 at the end of a 20-5 run early in the fourth quarter before Dallas answered with a 22-2 spurt to get within a point with 3 1/2 minutes remaining.

Problem was, Luka Doncic picked up his sixth foul with 4:12 remaining when a challenge was unsuccessful before Kyrie Irving, who scored 35 points, hit a jumper to get Dallas within one.

Tatum and Brown saved the Celtics from there, with some help from Derrick White, who scored 16. Those three combined for the remaining 13 Boston points to get the Celtics within a victory of their first title since 2008, and just the second since 1986.

The Celtics have led 3-0 in the NBA Finals only once, finishing off the Lakers in a sweep in 1959.

The first step for Dallas is trying to avoid getting swept in a seven-game series for just the second time in franchise history.

“We just got to make history,” rookie Mavs center Dereck Lively II said. “We got to go out there and we just got to play like our lives are on the line.”

In a game that seemed over early in the fourth, the score was stuck on 93-90 for more than three minutes. That included when Doncic was called for a blocking foul on a driving Brown.

The Mavs had nothing to lose with the challenge, since it meant trying to save their superstar from disqualification.

Without Doncic, P.J. Washington Jr., Irving and Tim Hardaway Jr. each missed a 3-pointer in the final minute as Irving’s personal losing streak against his former team reached 13 games.

“We had a good chance,” Doncic said. “We were close. Just didn’t get it. I wish I was out there.”

An energized Dallas crowd was ready for its first finals game in 13 years, with Super Bowl-winning quarterback and Mavs fan Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs frequently getting out of his seat near midcourt.

The Mavs used the needed boost coming off two losses in Boston, taking their biggest lead of the series while running out to a 22-9 lead. Doncic and Irving drove for buckets while also hitting a 3 apiece.

The Celtics answered with a 21-9 finish to the first quarter. Sam Hauser hit two of his first-half 3s — on three attempts — to help wrap up a run that started with four points from Brown and a 3 from Tatum.

Defense dominated the start of the second quarter, Boston holding a 5-2 edge nearly six minutes in before Irving and Tatum traded 3s to start a scoring burst.

“They came out swinging,” Tatum said. “That was to be expected. They were at home, the crowd was behind them. We expected their first punch.”

Once they withstood it, it appeared the Celtics would coast after outscoring the Mavs 35-19 in the third quarter, before the Mavs’ late rally. And the answer from Tatum and Brown.

“We’ve been in those moments a lot,” Brown said. “And we’ve been in those positions, and we’ve lost. It was great to overcome that with my brother, Jayson, and with our team. That was special.”

After it was over, pockets of Celtics fans screamed with delight in a mostly empty arena, seemingly starting the celebration of the inevitable.

To everyone but the Celtics.

“You’ve got to understand we are just as vulnerable if not more vulnerable than they are,” coach Joe Mazzulla said. “When you understand that you’re vulnerable and your back’s against the wall, you’ve got to fight. And so that’s the mindset that we have to have.”


Morocco’s Salah Eddine Hamli ready to make a mark at PFL MENA in Jeddah

Morocco’s Salah Eddine Hamli ready to make a mark at PFL MENA in Jeddah
Updated 18 April 2025
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Morocco’s Salah Eddine Hamli ready to make a mark at PFL MENA in Jeddah

Morocco’s Salah Eddine Hamli ready to make a mark at PFL MENA in Jeddah
  • Hamli faces Bahrain’s Abbas Khan on May 9 at Onyx Arena

JEDDAH: On May 9 the second season of PFL MENA kicks off in Jeddah with several young fighters battling to make their mark in the sport.

A new talent is Morocco’s Salah Eddine Hamli, who meets Bahrain’s Abbas Khan in a lightweight quarterfinal bout.

Undefeated in eight professional bouts with five wins by stoppage, Hamli has fought for multiple promotions, most recently with WAR MMA in Spain, where he scored back-to-back unanimous decision wins.

Stepping onto the biggest stage of his MMA career, Hamli says that getting to compete in the PFL SmartCage is a dream come true.

“It means a lot to me because it reflects all the hard work I’ve put in,” Hamli said. “Having the opportunity to compete in such a big organization like PFL is a dream come true.”

Hamli says that he followed the first season of PFL MENA, thanks in large part to compatriot Rachid Haz.

Haz fell short of claiming the PFL MENA bantamweight championship, losing by knockout to Ali Taleb in the first round of the finals bout.

“I followed (the first season) especially since Rachid, my fellow Moroccan, made it to the final,” Hamli said. “Even though he didn’t win, we supported him all the way.”

“I’m super prepared and focused, and people are going to see a great show,” Hamli said. “I believe I’m a complete fighter in every aspect, and I’m very hungry for this.”

Hamli knows that Khan will not be an easy assignment. “He’s a good opponent, quite well-rounded. I’m really looking forward to stepping inside the SmartCage with him.”

The complete 2025 PFL MENA 1 Fight Card:

Featherweight quarterfinal: Abdullah Al-Qahtani (10-2) vs. Islam Reda (12-1)

Lightweight quarterfinal: Mohsen Mohammadseifi (7-2) vs. Ahmed El-Sisy (6-1, 1 NC)

Lightweight quarterfinal: Salah Eddine Hamli (8-0) vs. Abbas Khan (8-3)

Featherweight quarterfinal: Izzedine Al-Derbani (15-5) vs. Yanis Ghemmouri (12-3)

Flyweight Showcase: Malik Basahel (0-0) vs. Mountasser Boutouta (1-0)

Featherweight quarterfinal: Abdelrahman Alyhasat (5-0) vs. Taha Bendaoud (4-0)

Featherweight quarterfinal: Hussein Salem (12-5) vs. Assem Ghanem (6-0)

Lightweight quarterfinal: Georges Eid (10-5, 1 NC) vs. Mohammad Fahmi (4-0)

Lightweight Showcase: Ahmed Makki (1-3-1) vs. Hasham Elnamer (3-0)

Lightweight quarterfinal: Abdullah Saleem (5-0, 1 NC) vs. Souhil Tairi (7-6-1)

Featherweight Showcase: Youssef Alhosani (4-1) vs. Neder Jeffel (2-0)

Amateur catchweight 166 pounds (74kg) Showcase: Abdulaziz bin Moammar (10-3 AM) vs. Fares Hamdani (2-0 AM)


Top drivers geared up for Jeddah F1 weekend

Top drivers geared up for Jeddah F1 weekend
Updated 18 April 2025
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Top drivers geared up for Jeddah F1 weekend

Top drivers geared up for Jeddah F1 weekend
  • Defending champion Max Verstappen hopes to improve on Bahrain
  • Veteran Fernando Alonso thinks ‘high-speed’ circuit suits his team

JEDDAH: Some of the world’s top drivers including Max Verstappen, Fernando Alonso and Isack Hadjar are geared up for the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah this weekend.

At a press conference on Thursday, Red Bull’s Verstappen, the defending champion, said: “I hope it will be better than Bahrain (where he finished sixth), there are high-speed corners with a different asphalt.

“And I hope we will be more competitive. Here we have always done one stop but we will see how the tires hold up, it will be quite hot. We are making an improvement process.”

Aston Martin’s Alonso said: “The first few weekends have not been easy for us but I think the high-speed nature of Jeddah should suit us better.

“We are still discovering the car, the first GPs showed that the slow corners were our weak points but there were other concerns about bouncing and we are still working on it.

“Here there is much more grip and it should be a better weekend. I think in Formula 1 there is never a quick fix to solve the problems but we have some ideas, some are related to the set-up that we will try this weekend.”

Red Bull Junior Hadjar shared his excitement about racing in Jeddah: “Bahrain wasn’t as good as the previous two GPs. I don’t think our level was that low and I think this track will suit us better.

“Every track is always impressive for the first time, I think I got into the rhythm straight away and I’m looking forward to trying the track here, especially the first sector.”

Several other drivers also spoke to the media on Thursday including Williams’ Alex Albon, Haas’ Ollie Bearman and Stake’s Gabriel Bortoleto.


Luka Doncic eager to start playing big games for Lakers, starting in playoff date with Timberwolves

Luka Doncic eager to start playing big games for Lakers, starting in playoff date with Timberwolves
Updated 18 April 2025
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Luka Doncic eager to start playing big games for Lakers, starting in playoff date with Timberwolves

Luka Doncic eager to start playing big games for Lakers, starting in playoff date with Timberwolves
  • Doncic is one of the top playoff performers of his generation, and he is just one year removed from his remarkable effort in carrying the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals
  • Doncic’s supporting cast in Hollywood is more impressive than it was in Dallas last

EL SEGUNDO: Luka Doncic has been with the Los Angeles Lakers for 2 1/2 months now, and he’s feeling fairly comfortable in his new home. He is building chemistry with his new teammates, who are getting used to his brilliant passes, prolific scoring outbursts and fiery competitiveness.

But the playoffs begin this weekend, and the Lakers know they’re about to see yet another side of their Slovenian superstar.

“I like big games,” Doncic said Thursday with his typical understatement. “The playoffs is a fun time. Everybody plays 100 percent. It’s just fun to be out there.”

Doncic is one of the top playoff performers of his generation, and he is just one year removed from his remarkable effort in carrying the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals despite significant injuries to his right knee, left ankle and chest.

Doncic is healthier now — and he has LeBron James on his side this spring when the third-seeded Lakers begin the first round against the surging Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 on Saturday night.

While Los Angeles drew a difficult opening-round matchup for a team still assembling an identity around its new centerpiece, the Lakers expect to see something special from Doncic.

“Oh man, it’s exciting,” said Lakers swingman Dorian Finney-Smith, Doncic’s teammate for five seasons in Dallas. “I already know bro is going to come with the juice. He loves the moment. Knowing him, probably got to calm him down, too, because he’s going to be barking. It’s going to be exciting.”

Doncic faced Minnesota in the playoffs just last season, and it was one of the finest series performances of his career. He led the Mavericks past the Timberwolves in five games in the Western Conference finals, averaging 32.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 2.2 steals while hitting 23 3-pointers.

Doncic’s entire 2024 postseason was outstanding — incredibly, he led the NBA in playoff points, rebounds and assists — but it wasn’t even his most prolific playoff performance. His 28.9 points per game over the 22-game stretch actually comprised his lowest scoring output in his four trips to the postseason.

Can he do something similar in his first trip to the playoffs with the 17-time NBA champion Lakers? Doncic isn’t guaranteeing anything, but he will be hungry and healthy after getting seven days off since the Lakers clinched the No. 3 seed by beating Houston last Friday.

“The goal is to win a championship,” Doncic said. “I think we have a great team. We have guys that are willing to go to war. Everybody is staying together. The chemistry is high, so I think we for sure have a chance.”

Doncic’s supporting cast in Hollywood is more impressive than it was in Dallas last season, when Kyrie Irving was the only other major offensive contributor. Along with the top scorer in NBA history, the Lakers also have capable third option Austin Reaves and a gallery of solid role players on a team that has gone 19-12 since Doncic arrived.

Doncic is averaging 28.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists in his 28 games with the Lakers — just 21 of those with both James and Reaves alongside him. That’s not much time to build a championship-winning dynamic, but Doncic and James both have ample experience as postseason leaders and winners.

And whatever Doncic manages to accomplish, his teammates know he’ll do it with style.

“He’s smiling on the court and off the court, talking a lot of trash on the bench or with whatever fans he’s picking out that’s yelling at him, and it’s exciting,” Finney-Smith said. “He brings an excitement to the game. He makes unbelievable passes. That last (regular-season) game, the Houston game, I cut, thinking he wasn’t going to throw the ball to me. He threw it my direction, and he was like, ‘What, you think I didn’t see you?’”


Justin Thomas makes 11 birdies for a 61 to take the lead at Harbor Town

Justin Thomas makes 11 birdies for a 61 to take the lead at Harbor Town
Updated 18 April 2025
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Justin Thomas makes 11 birdies for a 61 to take the lead at Harbor Town

Justin Thomas makes 11 birdies for a 61 to take the lead at Harbor Town
  • Fifty players in the 72-man field broke par on a course that yielded an average score of 69.2
  • Justin Thomas makes 11 birdies for a 61 to take the lead at Harbor Town

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C.: Justin Thomas had a round to match the immaculate weather Thursday at Harbor Town with 11 birdies that allowed him to tie the course record with a 10-under 61 to lead the RBC Heritage.

The best shot he hit all day was an 8-iron that dropped near the pin and settled 5 feet away. He missed that birdie putt, one of the few chances he didn’t convert.

There was little to complain about on a day of hardly any wind, a course in mint condition and warm sunshine that added to the RBC Heritage being the ideal place to decompress from the hectic week at the Masters.

Defending champion Scottie Scheffler, coming off a tie for fourth at the Masters, had very little stress at Harbor Town in a round of 64 that looked easy — which is not to say it felt that way.

“I will never say that golf is easy, ever. Golf is hard,” Scheffler said with a laugh.

But he was out of position only once off the tee and one other time when he went long of a green and both times he saved par. Otherwise, he putted for birdie or better on the other 16 holes and converted enough chances for a start that only looked good — not great — because of Thomas with the lowest score at Harbor Town in 10 years.

Bay Hill winner Russell Henley also had a 64, while Wyndham Clark was another shot back at 65. The group at 66 included former Hilton Head winner Matt Fitzpatrick and Gary Woodland, on the road back from brain surgery and building momentum from a runner-up finish in Houston.

Fifty players in the 72-man field broke par on a course that yielded an average score of 69.2

“I felt like if you compared my four rounds last week to today, today would be a much less stressful round of golf in terms of scrambling for a par,” Scheffler said. “A lot of the stuff I had to do last week I felt like I didn’t have to do today to shoot a good score. The golf course is obviously a bit different, but I was in position most of the day today.

“Overall, yeah, I would say stress-free day.”

Thomas is winless since capturing his second PGA Championship title in 2022, though his game has been trending enough in the right direction that he is No. 8 in the world. The Masters was a disappointment — no round lower than 70, 13 shots behind in a tie for 36th — but he put in some good work at Hilton Head for two days and made it pay off.

Six of his birdie putts were inside 10 feet, and he threw in three birdies from the 35-foot range, one of them on the 17th hole that put him in range of the course record.

He thought he had it with that 8-iron to a front pin on the 18th, which runs along the Calibogue Sound, only to miss the putt. He also missed a 4-foot par putt on the 10th.

“I’ve been playing really well, really solid. Felt good about things,” Thomas said. “I just didn’t play well last week. Put some really good work in the couple days leading into the start today, and I felt prepared. It was just about going out and doing it, and it was nice to do so.”

Among those who played later as the breeze — and nothing more than a breeze — began to pick up was Justin Rose, who lost in a playoff last week. He birdied his last two holes for a 67 to join a group that included Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay and Tommy Fleetwood.

Masters champion Rory McIlroy decided to skip this signature event even before the Masters got started. Hilton Head was not a course he felt suited him with its tight, tree-lined angles.

Thomas felt differently.

“I love it. I wish we played more places like it,” Thomas said. “I think more architects should design places like this. It kind of stands of test of time, I think. Especially if we continue to get weather like this and if these fairways get firm — the greens are already getting firm — it’s going to be everything we want by the end of the week.”

He got everything he could have wanted — save for that birdie putt on the 18th — at the start of the week.


SPL title race blown wide open as Al-Ittihad lose and Al-Hilal win

SPL title race blown wide open as Al-Ittihad lose and Al-Hilal win
Updated 18 April 2025
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SPL title race blown wide open as Al-Ittihad lose and Al-Hilal win

SPL title race blown wide open as Al-Ittihad lose and Al-Hilal win
  • Al-Ittihad’s lead at the top of the table has been cut to just four points with six games to play
  • They lost 2-0 at relegation battlers Al-Fateh, while closest rivals Al-Hilal defeated Al-Khaleej 3-0

JEDDAH: Al-Ittihad lost 2-0 at Al-Fateh on a dramatic day of Saudi Pro League action, while closest rivals Al-Hilal defeated Al-Khaleej 3-0 to blow the title race wide open with just six games left to play.

Al-Ittihad’s lead at the top of the table has been cut to just four points, and given that Al-Hilal’s goal difference is far superior, there is a lot to play for.

Al-Hilal were the first of the top two to play and made the most of the opportunity to put the league leaders under pressure. Salem Al-Dawsari opened the scoring after 26 minutes. Kaio Cesar twisted and turned in the area and the Brazilian’s pass to the left-hand corner of the six-yard area was swiftly converted by the 2022 Asian Player of the Year.

With six minutes of the game remaining, the Saudi international struck again to seal the win. Aleksandar Mitrovic found Al-Dawsari on the edge of the area, who took a touch and then slotted home. There was still enough time for Mitrovic to remove all doubt about the result.

The victory meant Al-Ittihad had to win to restore their advantage at the top of the league. However it was Amine Sbai who opened the scoring for Al-Fateh after just 10 minutes, shooting high into the net from just inside the area.

Ten minutes before the break Mourad Batna missed a chance to put his team further ahead from the spot. The Moroccan must have felt a bit better about his miss nine minutes later when Al-Ittihad midfielder Fabinho saw his penalty, after a handball in the area, saved by Nawaf Al-Aqidi.

And so the score remained 1-0 (though Karim Benzema had a goal ruled out for offside just after the hour mark) until the 69th minute, when Matias Vargas ran onto to a long ball over the top from deep and slotted past Al-Ittihad goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Mahasneh. That was the end of the scoring and the victory moved Al-Fateh into 13th place in the league, four points clear of the relegation places.

Third-place Al-Nassr have a chance to pile more pressure onto Al-Ittihad on Saturday, as a win at Al-Qadsiah would move them within five points of the leaders.