Defending champions the Milwaukee Bucks outlasted the Charlotte Hornets 127-125 thanks to superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo in the NBA on Wednesday.
Antetokounmpo's monster double-double and late driving layup with 2.0 seconds remaining lifted the in-form Bucks (14-8) to their eighth consecutive victory midweek.
Milwaukee's Antetokounmpo had 40 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists in a near triple-double performance at home to the Hornets.
The Bucks withstood LaMelo Ball, who posted 36 points, nine assists and five rebounds on the road for the Hornets (13-11).
Doncic flexes his muscles
Luka Doncic fuelled the Dallas Mavericks' 139-107 victory at the New Orleans Pelicans. He put up 28 points and 14 assists in just 27 minutes. According to Stats Perform, Doncic is the first player to reach those numbers while playing 27 minutes or less since Hall of Famer Magic Johnson in 1987.
Jae'Sean Tate's career-high 32 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks helped the Houston Rockets rally past the Oklahoma City Thunder 114-110. The Rockets are the first team in NBA history with four straight wins immediately after a 15-game losing streak, per Stats Perform. As for Tate, he joined Hakeem Olajuwon as the only Rockets players to record 30-plus points, 10-plus rebounds, five-plus assists and five-plus blocks in a game.
Embiid struggles as Philly's offensive woes continue
In the absence of wantaway All-Star Ben Simmons, the Philadelphia 76ers continue to endure a topsy-turvy campaign following their 88-87 defeat to the Boston Celtics. MVP runner-up Joel Embiid had a double-double of 13 points and 18 rebounds, but he was just three-of-17 shooting. Tobias Harris was four-of-11 shooting – missing all four of his three-point attempts – for only eight points.
Duncan Robinson had a game to forget as the shorthanded Miami Heat went down 111-85 to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Robinson went scoreless in 20 minutes on 0-of-seven shooting from the floor, having failed to make any of his six efforts from beyond the arc.
Gobert voted Defensive Player of the Year for 4th time
Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert was voted as the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year for the fourth time in his career, beating out rookie sensation and fellow Frenchman Victor Wembanyama.
Gobert – who previously won the award as a member of the Utah Jazz in 2018, 2019 and 2021 – joins Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace as the only players to be named the league’s top defender four times.
Gobert received 72 of a possible 99 first-place votes after anchoring the Wolves’ top-ranked defence all year. Wembanyama received 19 first-place votes to finish second. Bam Adebayo narrowly edged Anthony Davis for third, while Herbert Jones rounded out the top five.
The Timberwolves allowed an NBA-low 106.5 points per game this season, almost two points ahead of the second-place New York Knicks (108.2). Gobert played 76 games while averaging 12.9 rebounds (second in the NBA) and 2.13 blocks (sixth).
Many of Gobert’s teammates in Minnesota have said that Gobert helped cultivate a culture that values defence, which has been on display throughout the Timberwolves’ 6-0 start to the playoffs.
“This year, training camp, we came Day 1 and said we wanted to be a top defence in this league,” Gobert said on TNT while accepting his award. “Every guy has bought in. Everyone has put in the work every single day, and now we’re here with one goal in mind, to try to get this championship.”
Many fans and analysts criticised the trade that brought Gobert to Minnesota as too expensive for a limited offensive player.
Tim Connelly, the Wolves’ president of basketball operations, has seen his vision manifested beautifully, as Minnesota leads the defending champion Denver Nuggets 2-0 in their Western Conference semifinals series that continues Friday.
The future of this award seems to be firmly in the giant palms of Wembanyama, who led the NBA with 3.58 blocked shots per game.
Joakim Noah became the first French player to be voted Defensive Player of the Year in 2014, and Gobert has built on that with his impressive run.
It would not be shocking if Wembanyama, 20, had a similar run of dominance in the near future.
'We weren't efficient' - Marquinhos bemoans PSG profligacy after Champions League exit
Marquinhos believes Paris Saint-Germain paid for their profligacy after suffering Champions League semi-final heartbreak against Borussia Dortmund.
Mats Hummels' second-half header from a Julian Brandt corner - the only goal at Parc des Princes - wrapped up a 2-0 aggregate victory for the Bundesliga side, who advanced to their third final and first since 2013.
Meanwhile, PSG's wait to land the elusive European crown goes on, despite a whopping 44 shots across the two legs, while they also struck the woodwork on six occasions - their overall tally of 14 the most recorded by a team during a single campaign.
Indeed, Luis Enrique's side failed to find the net in a home match for the first time since their 0-0 draw with Lorient in their first Ligue 1 match of the season, as their hopes of completing the treble vanished for another year.
"We lacked efficiency," Marquinhos told Canal+. "They scored two goals from corners and a through ball that we had worked on. We had to defend better. These are small details.
"We created chances, a lot more than them. We weren't efficient. They were efficient, they scored two goals and won both matches."
But despite the disappointment, the PSG skipper urged his team-mates to focus on the positives from their run to the semi-finals.
They recovered from a disappointing 4-1 defeat against Newcastle United to finish second behind Dortmund in Group F, before overturning a 4-2 aggregate deficit to deny Barcelona in the quarter-finals.
"There are a lot of things to take away from this competition," Marquinhos added. "At the beginning of the season, no one believed that we would get this far. We've overcome a lot of obstacles, we shouldn't throw everything away now just because we're eliminated.
"You have to remember that it's a new team, with a new coach. There are some positives to bring back for next season. We wanted to go to Wembley for the fans and our families.
"You have to stay calm after the elimination. It's very hard. We've come very close. We had to win tonight and be more efficient."
'Whatever we need, he'll provide' – Brunson continues stunning playoff run for Knicks
New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau hailed Jalen Brunson after he became just the fourth player to score 40 points in four straight playoff games, saying: "Whatever it is we need, he'll provide."
Brunson continued his incredible postseason form with 43 points in the Knicks' 121-117 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the teams' Eastern Conference semifinal series on Monday.
He is just the fourth player to achieve that feat in NBA history and the first since Hall of Famer Michael Jordan in 1993. Jerry West and Bernard King are the other players to do so.
Brunson also added six rebounds and six assists, while Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart supported him with 25 and 24 points respectively.
Speaking after the game, Thibodeau credited Brunson for his single-minded approach as he said: "You could go on and on every night, and the thing I love about him is he's all about the team.
"All he cares about is winning, and he cares about his team-mates, and he's like, in the end, what do we need? Do we need a big bucket? Whatever it is we need, he'll provide."
Brunson has averaged 12.4 fourth-quarter points in his last five games, and he came up clutch again on Monday by making six of 10 shots and all eight of his free throws in the final period.
The All-Star guard, however, chose to give credit to his team-mates, saying: "The little things can go a long way. The 40 points are cool and all, but it's the little things that help us win games like that.
"So I'm just happy I have the group of guys that I do. I just know that we're going to fight every single day. That's all I'm thinking about."
There was a hint of controversy about the Knicks' win as Indiana center Myles Turner was called for a moving screen on DiVincenzo with just 12.7 seconds left.
The Pacers challenged the call but failed to overturn it, having earlier seen Aaron Nesmith contentiously pulled up for a kicked ball – a decision the referees admitted to getting wrong after the game.
Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said: "We're not expecting to get calls in here. It would have been nice if they laid off that one, but they didn't. So that's just the way it goes."
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