(AP) — Jayson Tatum scored six of his 37 points in the final 65 seconds and the Boston Celtics held on for a 124-118 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night.
The Celtics led by as many as 23 points in the first half, but trailed for much of the third quarter. Jrue Holiday tied the game with back-to-back 3-pointers, and Tatum put the Celtics up 116-114 by hitting a pair of free throws with 1:05 left.
The Pistons missed two shots on the ensuing possession and Tatum’s jumper made it 118-114 with 29 seconds left.
Malik Beasley’s 3-pointer pulled Detroit within one, but Derrick White hit two free throws and Boston clinched the game from the line.
Jaylen Brown had 24 points and 10 rebounds for Boston. Jaden Ivey had 26 points for Detroit while Cade Cunningham finished with 21 points and 10 assists.
Takeaways
Celtics: Boston started the game looking like they would break the NBA record of 29 3-pointers they tied on Tuesday against the Knicks. They had 15 in the first 18 minutes of the game, building a 64-44 lead. In the next 18 minutes, they went 4 of 14 on 3s.
Pistons: A young team could have rolled over when they were getting blown out by the defending champions, but Detroit outshot Boston 59.1% to 33.3% in a 31-point third quarter. But they couldn’t create good shots down the stretch.
Key Moment
After cutting Detroit’s lead to 110-106 with 8:16 left, the Celtics failed to score on their next six possessions until Holiday hit a 3-pointer with 3:32 to play. However, the Pistons only scored two points in the stretch.
Key Stat
The Pistons led 110-106 with 8:16 to play, but only scored eight more points.
Up Next
The Celtics play host to the Milwaukee Bucks while the Pistons face the Heat in Miami on Monday night.
Second-year quarterback Aidan O’Connell made his second consecutive start for the Silver and Black but played only two offensive series before leaving the game with a right thumb injury. O’Connell was 6-of-10 for 52 yards on those two possessions, which both ended in punts.
Gardner Minshew II replaced O’Connell and played the rest of the half. The Rams took a 14-3 lead but a Daniel Carlson field goal as time expired cut the Raiders’ deficit to one possession entering the break.
With veteran wide receiver Jakobi Meyers out for the second straight game, the Raiders’ pass game leaned heavily on rookie tight end Brock Bowers. Bowers’ 25-yard catch-and-run on the Raiders’ third drive of the game was the longest play of the half by either team. It set up kicker Daniel Carlson for a successful 38-yard field goal.
Bowers finished the half with six receptions for 64 yards and now has the NFL record for most receptions (43) by a tight end in their first seven career games.
The Minnesota Lynx are one win away from the WNBA Finals after a 90-81 victory over the Connecticut Sun in Game 3 of their semifinals matchup. The Lynx took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.
Connecticut cut Minnesota’s lead to 86-79 with 1:20 remaining in the fourth quarter, but could get no closer than that in a game the Lynx controlled throughout. Courtney Williams and Bridget Carleton nailed jump shots in the final minute to ensure the win.
Napheesa Collier bounced back from scoring nine points in Game 2 with 26 points and 11 rebounds to lead Minnesota on Friday. She had 16 in the first half, making 7-of-10 shots and surpassing her 14-point average for the first two games of the series.
Williams added 16 points and eight assists. Kayla McBride contributed 13 points with five assists, while Carleton scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds.
The Sun’s DeWanna Bonner scored 16 points and passed Candace Parker for No. 2 on the WNBA’s all-time playoff scoring list. Bonner now has 1,159 points to Parker’s 1,149. Only Bonner’s former Phoenix Mercury teammate, Diana Taurasi, (1,455) has scored more postseason points during her career.
Brionna Jones led the Sun with 21 points, four rebounds and five assists, followed by Marina Mabrey with 14 points. Alyssa Thomas scored 13 points with nine rebounds and seven assists, playing all 40 minutes of the game, while DiJonai Carrington added 13 points with five rebounds.
All five of the Sun’s starters scored in double figures, but the reserves added only four points. By comparison, the Lynx got 16 points from their bench.
Poor 3-point shooting hurt Connecticut. At one point, the Sun missed nine consecutive shots from behind the arc and shot 3-for-20 overall from 3. Mabrey went 1-for-11 on her 3-point attempts.
That contributed to Connecticut shooting 41% from the floor, with only Jones and Thomas shooting 50% or better. Meanwhile, Minnesota shot 57.4% overall, which might best explain the final score. Collier shot 11-of-19 and Williams made 7-of-10 shots.
Game 4 of the series is scheduled for Sunday, with the Lynx having an opportunity to close it out and advance to the WNBA Finals.
A first half Robert Lewandowski goal was enough for Barcelona to continue their perfect start to La Liga with a 1-0 victory against Getafe.
Hansi Flick’s young side almost rued missing a host of chances as with the last kick of the match Getafe substitute Borja Mayoral fired wide.
Polish forward Lewandowski could have doubled his side’s lead before the break only to be denied by the visitors’ goalkeeper David Soria.
Soria was also on hand to tip a glorious effort from teenage sensation Lamine Yamal over the crossbar in the second half.
Yamal also hit the crossbar as he capitalised on a tiring Getafe defence and Barcelona skipper Raphinha also had chances to secure the points.
However, Barcelona will breathe a sigh of relief as they sit four points clear at the summit of La Liga.
Despite controlling possession Flick’s young side showed weaknesses in defence as they head to Osasuna looking to make it eight league wins on the bounce.
Meanwhile, Getafe have just four points to their name from seven matches but will be encouraged by another strong defensive performance.
Getafe have home games against Alaves and Osasuna when they will hope to pick up a first league win.
Barcelona’s perfect start to the new season has put pressure on Real Madrid early on. The defending champions, after all, dropped two points against Mallorca and currently sit five points behind the leaders, albeit with a game in hand.
The men in white play their third game of the league season on tonight against Luis Miguel Carrion’s Las Palmas side and will be put to a tough test away from home.
Gran Canaria will play host to Carlo Ancelotti’s men, and while it is a venue they have dominated in recent years, they only took three points at the stadium last season courtesy of a late strike by Aurelien Tchouameni.
Heading into the game, the hosts sit on just one point in two games with one defeat and one draw to their name. Real Madrid will thus fancy their chances and hope to maintain the pressure on Las Palmas.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Las Palmas vs Real Madrid.
Time for minor rotations
Time for rotations? (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
The 2024-25 campaign is just getting started but is set to go down as one of the most hectic seasons in the history of the game.
Real Madrid, as defending champions both domestically and in Europe, have the pressure of being the favourites and cannot let their guard down at any point. Optimal squad management, needless to say, becomes paramount.
With the team playing its second game in less than a week, Carlo Ancelotti must set the tone concerning rotations straight starting tonight, however minor they may be.
For starters, Ferland Mendy will likely replace Fran Garcia at left-back after completing his suspension and resting at the weekend. Dani Carvajal, meanwhile, is likely to be rested at right-back with Lucas Vazquez taking his place.
The clash at Gran Canaria could also bring with it a first start for Luka Modric whose role has been highly subdued to this point. He could take the place of Federico Valverde who has been a constant feature over the past three games.
While there may be changes in the final third, the topic warrants a segment of its own given the intricacies and complexities associated with the gold-mine of options Ancelotti has.
The Guler-Diaz conundrum
Brahim or Guler in the starting XI? (Photo by THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images)
Jude Bellingham’s injury earlier this month came as a big blow to Ancelotti’s plans given that the youngster was just recovering to his best version.
It did, however, open the door for some of the team’s other talented youngsters who have been waiting for their chance to shine for a long time.
Arda Guler and Brahim Diaz, by far, were the manager’s two strong candidates to replace the Englishman in the starting lineup and Ancelotti eventually opted for the Turkish star to earn the start.
Playing as the attacking midfielder, the youngster dished out a confident display with flawless distribution, good vision, a key pass and a stunning three shots on target.
While his performance would be celebrated on any other day, Diaz’s cameo on the night changed the perception.
Coming on for just 21 minutes, the Moroccan star recorded one goal and one assist in addition to a 100% pass completion rate and one key pass. His cameo made a strong claim for a place in the starting lineup, leaving Ancelotti with a dilemma.
The manager must thus choose if he opts to deploy Guler or Diaz tonight in the place of Jude Bellingham. A third option would be to start both players and rest Rodrygo Goes, giving Diaz a place on the right wing.
Pressure growing on Mbappe
Under pressure to deliver. (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)
Coming in as Real Madrid’s marquee signing after years of melodrama, Kylian Mbappe was always going to be under pressure at the Spanish capital.
The Frenchman handled the weight of the expectation well on debut, scoring a wonderful goal and pitching in with useful contributions against Atalanta in the UEFA Super Cup.
His first two games in Spain, however, have not seen him replicate the same impact and his struggles in front of goal were well documented in the team’s latest clash.
Mbappe was inspiring against Mallorca, creating threat time and time again in the hosts’ box. However, he simply could not find the finish and had both his shots on target saved.
Against Valladolid, the World Cup winner was a shadow of his best as he missed two big chances and was poor in the face of goal.
Heading into his third game in La Liga, the pressure is thus steadily growing on Mbappe and will continue to do so until he scores his first goal. Given his quality, it is only a matter of time and the Gran Canaria could be the stadium where he makes it happen.
