DALLAS: Paul George and James Harden are two-for-two without Kawhi Leonard in the Los Angeles Clippers’ first-round playoff series against Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks.
The healthy LA stars can afford to shrug over the blown 31-point lead in Game 4.
George and Harden each scored 33 points while playing key fourth-quarter roles to help the Clippers hold off a huge rally fueled mostly by Irving for a 116-111 victory Sunday to even the first-round series at 2-2.
“We knew they would make a run,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “But also, we didn’t think we’d come into this building and be up 31 points either. So I told our team, just get the win, however you’ve got to get it. In the playoffs, it don’t matter how you win.”
Leonard was out with right knee inflammation again after missing the series opener, then playing in both Dallas victories. The Clippers aren’t sure he’ll make it back for the third Western Conference first-round meeting between these teams in the past five seasons.
The teams have split a pair on each other’s home court. Game 5 is Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
Irving scored 40 points for Dallas, including an acrobatic layup with 2:15 remaining for a 105-104 lead that was the first for the Mavericks since the middle of the first quarter.
Doncic had 29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in his fourth career playoff triple-double — all against the Clippers — while clearly struggling with right knee soreness that had him questionable until he warmed up before the game.
“It’s hurting, obviously,” said Doncic, who was 1 of 9 from 3-point range and not as effective on defense, a strength for him in this series. “But it shouldn’t be an excuse. Just came out sloppy. We’ve got to be way better than that.”
George scored 26 points in the first half, when the Clippers’ lead reached 55-24 on a 3-pointer by Harden. The high-scoring stars combined to go 11 of 15 from long range as LA finished 18 of 29 overall.
After Irving’s go-ahead layup, George hit his first basket of the second half, a fadeaway 3 from the corner. Irving missed a layup, and Harden converted a three-point play for a 110-105 lead. The 10-time All-Star scored 15 points in the fourth, hitting five of his well-known floaters that were mostly absent in the first three games.
This is part of why the Clippers added Harden in an early-season trade, giving them another option with a star such as Leonard sidelined.
“I’m blessed to be able to change it up and be a facilitator or a scorer,” Harden said. “My mindset coming to this team was doing whatever it takes to win and get to the end goal. Whether that’s scoring or facilitating, I think it goes possession by possession and game by game.”
The Clippers tied a franchise playoff record for a quarter with eight 3s in the first, and George had three of them while scoring his playoff first-quarter high with 16 points to match the Mavericks and help build a 39-16 lead.
Harden’s 3 for the 31-point lead midway through the second quarter came not long after Doncic was called for a technical foul coming down the court when his miss dropped Dallas to 0-11 from long range..
It was almost a replay of Game 1, when the Leonard-less Clippers led by 26 at halftime and 29 early in the third quarter. Minus the massive rally, although Dallas did whittle the deficit in the second half of the opener.
“This is like Game 1,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “Early game, for whatever reason we just haven’t played well. We’ve gotten off to slow starts. That’s just something that we’ve got to talk about as a team. If there’s another afternoon game, we’ve got to make sure we’re ready to go from the jump and we can’t wait.”
Irving hit the next two 3s for Dallas, and the rally was on. He scored 16 in the second quarter and kept it going in the third, finishing those two quarters with 26 after a scoreless first. Dallas trailed by four entering the fourth quarter.
“We dug ourselves in a hole,” Irving said. “There’s no time to complain about it or look to each other for any excuses. It was just time to get it going. Fell short, but this is a consistent thing in this series so far where Kawhi doesn’t play and we’re just dealing with a barrage of James Harden and Paul George getting off.”
Paul George, James Harden help Clippers even series with Mavs at 2-2 after blowing 31-point lead
https://arab.news/c5jpj
Paul George, James Harden help Clippers even series with Mavs at 2-2 after blowing 31-point lead
Dembele hits double as PSG win ahead of Liverpool return
- Bradley Barcola and Goncalo Ramos had PSG 2-0 up in Brittany before Lilian Brassier pulled one back for Rennes
- Dembele netted twice in stoppage time to seal the victory for the visitors
PARIS: Ousmane Dembele scored twice as Paris Saint-Germain warmed up for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Liverpool by winning 4-1 away to Rennes in Ligue 1 with a much-changed team on Saturday.
Bradley Barcola and Goncalo Ramos had PSG 2-0 up in Brittany before Lilian Brassier pulled one back for Rennes, but Dembele netted twice in stoppage time to seal the victory for the visitors.
The result allowed the Ligue 1 leaders to maintain their unbeaten record in domestic competition this season.
The Parisians are now a huge 16 points clear at the top before closest challengers Marseille play at home to Lens later.
Luis Enrique’s side were ultimately comfortable winners despite the coach making eight changes to his starting line-up in between the two legs of the Liverpool tie, with the return at Anfield coming up on Tuesday.
“We are in perfect condition to go and take on Liverpool. We have nothing to lose and we will give everything to try to qualify,” for the quarter-finals, said Luis Enrique.
“It was difficult but we put in a serious performance and it gives us lots of hope before going to Liverpool,” the Spaniard added of his team’s display.
Barcola, Joao Neves and Willian Pacho were the only players to keep their places for PSG against Rennes following the 1-0 home loss to Liverpool in the first leg last Wednesday.
Dembele was among the regular starters to be rested at kick-off, but he came off the bench just after the hour mark and the France forward’s double strike moves him onto 20 league goals for the campaign.
The player who began his career at Rennes has now scored 28 times in all competitions this season, including 23 goals in 18 appearances since mid-December.
Rennes came into the game on a run of four wins in five outings to climb up into mid-table after Habib Beye replaced Jorge Sampaoli as coach at the end of January.
However, PSG went in front at Roazhon Park on 27 minutes as Desire Doue, another former Rennes player, quickly took a free-kick just inside the home half and released Barcola to run through and score his 18th goal of the season.
Teenage forward Mohamed Kader Meite almost equalized for Rennes before the break, heading off the crossbar from Adrien Truffert’s cross.
Barcola then turned provider as PSG doubled their lead five minutes after half-time, squaring for Ramos — one of those brought into the starting line-up — to net his 13th this season in all competitions.
Center-back Brassier pulled one back for Rennes shortly after, heading in from close range after a corner had been flicked on.
However, Luis Enrique then sent on the cavalry, with Dembele, Nuno Mendes, Vitinha, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Achraf Hakimi all coming off the bench for the latter stages.
PSG made sure of the points as Hakimi ran through on goal before unselfishly squaring for Dembele to make it 3-1 in the first minute of stoppage time at the end of the game.
Dembele then fired in his second and PSG’s fourth goal from the edge of the area in the 94th minute.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Lille were 1-0 winners at home to Montpellier in a game that fell in between the two legs of their Champions League last-16 tie against Borussia Dortmund.
Jonathan David scored the only goal of the game early in the second half, the Canadian netting his 14th of the campaign in Ligue 1.
Lille are fifth in the table, behind Monaco in fourth on goal difference.
They entertain Dortmund on Wednesday after drawing 1-1 in the first leg in Germany.
‘No advantage’ in playing Champions Trophy matches in Dubai, says Indian coach
- Rohit Sharma’s team to face New Zealand in the title clash today
DUBAI: India playing all their Champions Trophy matches in Dubai was a pre-tournament decision and the talk of unfair advantage is baseless, the team’s batting coach has said.
Rohit Sharma’s team face New Zealand in the title clash on Sunday at the Dubai International Stadium, where India have been unbeaten in four matches.
India refused to tour hosts Pakistan in the eight-nation tournament due to political tensions and were given Dubai as their venue in the United Arab Emirates.
“The draw that happened, it happened before,” batting coach Sitanshu Kotak told reporters. “After India winning four matches, if people feel that there is an advantage, then I don’t know what to say about it.”
The tournament’s tangled schedule, with teams flying in and out of the UAE from Pakistan while India have stayed put, has been hugely controversial.
South Africa batsman David Miller said “it was not an ideal situation” for his team to fly in to Dubai to wait on India’s semifinal opponent and then fly back to Lahore in less than 24 hours.
Even nominal hosts Pakistan had to jump on a jet and fly to Dubai to play India, rather than face them on home soil.
The pitches have been vastly different in the two countries. Pakistan tracks produced big totals, in contrast to the slow and turning decks of the Dubai stadium.
“End of the day, I think in a game, you have to play good cricket every day when you turn up,” the 52-year-old Kotak said. “So the only thing they (critics) may say is that we play here. But that is how the draw is.”
“So nothing else can happen in that. It is not that after coming here, they changed something and we got an advantage,” he added.
India have been the team to beat after they topped Group A, which had New Zealand, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
They then beat Australia in the first semifinal.
New Zealand, led by Mitchell Santner, lost the last group game to India by 44 runs before they beat South Africa in the second semifinal in Lahore.
Kotak said the previous result between the two teams will have no bearing on their mindset going into the final.
“That depends how the New Zealand team thinks, but I think we should not think that,” said Kotak. “We should just try and turn up and play a good game of cricket because there is no use thinking about the last match.”
New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said they are not too worried about India’s advantage.
“I mean, look, the decision around that’s out of our hands,” said Stead.
“So, it’s not something we worry about too much. India have got to play all their games here in Dubai. But as you said, we have had a game here and we’ll learn very quickly from that experience there as well.”
“And if we’re good enough to beat India on Sunday, then I’m sure we’ll be very, very happy,” he added.
Barcelona game is postponed after a member of their medical staff dies
- Fans were informed of the decision minutes before the game was scheduled to kick off
BARCELONA: Barcelona’s home game against Osasuna has been postponed after the death of a member of Barcelona’s medical staff, the Spanish club said.
Fans were informed of the decision minutes before the game was scheduled to kick off Saturday night in Barcelona at Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium.
Barcelona lead La Liga by one point over Atletico Madrid.
The Osasuna game will be rescheduled.
The match was canceled due to the death of the FC Barcelona’s team doctor Carlos Minarro Garcia.
‘Captain America’ to the rescue as Pulisic scores 2 goals in Milan’s 3-2 win at Lecce
- Pulisic first earned and converted a penalty to level the score at 2-2 after Lecce had been leading 2-0
- The result saw Milan inch up to eighth in the Italian league
MILAN: Christian Pulisic was the hero for AC Milan on Saturday with his two goals helping the Rossoneri end a three-match losing streak in Serie A.
Pulisic first earned and converted a penalty to level the score at 2-2 after Lecce had been leading 2-0. The United States international — who is nicknamed “Captain America” — then scored the late winner in a 3-2 victory at Lecce.
The result saw Milan inch up to eighth in the Italian league. Lecce remained three points above the relegation zone.
City rival Inter Milan were playing bottom club Monza later Saturday and looking to move four points clear at the top of the table.
Milan were in deep crisis as they had also been knocked out of the Champions League by Feyenoord before their miserable run at home. They thought they had got off to the perfect start at Lecce as Santiago Giménez had the ball in the back of the net after just 47 seconds but it was ruled out for offside.
Instead it was Lecce that took the early lead, within seven minutes, with a stunning Nikola Krstovic curler from 20 yards.
It was Lecce’s first goal in 367 minutes, having failed to find the back of the net in their previous four matches.
Milan had more celebrations cut short in the 15th minute when Matteo Gabbia volleyed home Theo Hernández’s free kick but it was again ruled out for offside.
Both teams also hit the woodwork before Krstovic doubled his and Lecce’s tally in the 59th, sweeping a low cross into the bottom left corner.
However, Milan turned things round in the space of five minutes.
João Félix’s effort was probably going wide but went in off Lecce defender Antonino Gallo for an own-goal and then Pulisic leveled in the 73rd with a powerful spot kick down the middle after being tripped by Federico Baschirotto.
The turn-around was complete nine minutes from time. Rafael Leão floated in a free kick from the left for Pulisic to volley in at the back post.
Fight against relegation
A last-gasp penalty saw Venezia snatch a third successive draw, holding Cesc Fabregas’ Como 1-1.
Venezia remained 19th in the 20-team league, five points from safety.
Parma inched two points above the relegation zone after two Mateo Pellegrino goals saw them twice fight back to draw 2-2 against Torino.
Salah fires Liverpool 16 points clear, Forest beat Man City
- Fresh from a smash-and-grab 1-0 Champions League victory over Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool boss Arne Slot made just three changes
- The Egyptian slotted home a second penalty two minutes from time to take his tally for the season to 32 goals
LONDON: Premier League leaders Liverpool needed two Mohamed Salah penalties to beat bottom-of-the-table Southampton 3-1 on Saturday.
Liverpool stretched their lead at the top to a massive 16 points, despite a sloppy first 45 minutes.
Fresh from a smash-and-grab 1-0 Champions League victory over Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool boss Arne Slot made just three changes.
However, the Dutchman was forced into making three half-time alterations to kickstart the champions-elect.
Southampton have taken just nine points from 28 games all season, but stunned Anfield when Will Smallbone fired the visitors in front in first-half stoppage time.
Alisson Becker was Liverpool’s hero at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday but the Brazilian and Virgil van Dijk got in each other’s way to allow Smallbone to roll into an unguarded net.
Slot turned to Harvey Elliott, Alexis MacAllister and Andy Robertson at the break, and the changes had the desired effect with two goals in three minutes before the hour mark.
Darwin Nunez levelled with a sharp near-post finish from Luis Diaz’s cross.
Nunez was then upended inside the area and Salah converted from the spot.
The Egyptian slotted home a second penalty two minutes from time to take his tally for the season to 32 goals.
Second-placed Arsenal have two games in hand on the leaders, the first of which comes away to Manchester United on Sunday.
But it appears a matter of when not if Liverpool will clinch just their second league title in 35 years.
Crystal Palace shrugged off the loss of top scorer Jean-Philippe Mateta to a serious ear injury to beat Ipswich 1-0 thanks to Ismaila Sarr’s winner.
The Eagles have won nine of their last 11 games in all competitions and climb to 11th.
Brighton boosted their own Champions League hopes courtesy of Joao Pedro’s 98th-minute penalty to beat Fulham 2-1.
Raul Jimenez’s spectacular strike opened the scoring for Fulham, but Jean Paul van Hecke levelled before half-time.
Pedro’s spot-kick lifts the Seagulls to sixth and within one point of City.
Aston Villa travel to Brentford and Wolves host Everton in Saturday’s later kick-offs.
