Red Bull rescued a dramatic victory for Max Verstappen with a powerful undercut and a bold second stop after his first-lap error put Lewis Hamilton in the ascendancy at the French Grand Prix.
A third consecutive win for Red Bull – two for Verstappen and one for Sergio Perez – boosted their leads in both the drivers' and constructors' championships.
Verstappen looked to be in trouble when he let Hamilton through at Turn 2, but his team's strategy turned the race on its head, extending his advantage to 12 points in the standings.
The championship leader – starting from pole – kept his nose in front at Turn 1 but then ran wide, exiting the track to give up position to Hamilton, who looked at ease at the front of the race.
Pit strategy proved pivotal, though, as Mercedes called in Valtteri Bottas – running in third – before team-mate Hamilton.
Red Bull followed as Verstappen boxed, causing Mercedes to react again, calling for "Hammer time" from their lead driver before bringing him in for a 2.1-second stop, the fastest of the three.
However, a flying out lap from Verstappen meant Hamilton could not quite get out ahead of his rival, instead settling in behind the Dutchman for a lengthy battle alongside Bottas.
Verstappen worked hard to keep Hamilton out of DRS range and gradually built a gap to the fading Silver Arrows that encouraged Red Bull to gamble with another stop and a switch to medium tyres.
Perez, who pitted after the other three, let Verstappen through to quickly take chunks out of the Mercedes lead, with Hamilton warned of a "painful" finish.
Bottas failed to hold Verstappen up, opening a gap for the rapid Red Bull and fuming at his team for delaying a second stop, with Perez soon following his team-mate through.
Red Bull cut it fine, but Verstappen eased past Hamilton on the penultimate lap after only a short tussle to land a significant blow in a thrilling title race.
Ugo Humbert upset the odds by overcoming Andrey Rublev to win the Halle Open title, clinching his first ATP 500-level trophy in the process.
Unseeded Humbert already claimed the scalp of Alexander Zverev earlier in the week and, having seen off Felix Auger-Aliassime to reach the final, came out on top against world number seven Rublev 6-3 7-6 (7-4).
Rublev was appearing in his eighth final since the start of 2020, though it was his first on grass. The Russian was seeking a fifth successive victory in an ATP 500 level final, yet ultimately came up short, meaning Humbert made it three wins from three in his career finals.
The 22-year-old won his first two titles – in ATP 250 events in Antwerp and Auckland – last year.
Humbert's victory took just 87 minutes, with the Frenchman winning 45 of 53 points on his first serve.
The only break of the game went Humbert's way when he struck to make it 5-3 in the first set before holding off two break points in the next game to take the lead.
Neither player offered a single break point in the second set, and it was Humbert who nosed himself in the tie-break to secure a third career triumph, becoming the first player to win the Halle Open on his debut at the tournament since Lleyton Hewitt defeated Roger Federer in 2010.
Humbert's win will also take him up six places in the ATP rankings, from 31 to 25.
President of the Jamaica Gymnastics Association has described Alana Walker’s historic bronze medal performance in women artistic gymnastics at the Junior Pan Am Gymnastics Championships in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Saturday as a major boost for the sport locally, one that could help the association generate desperately needed funding.
The 14-year-old Walker scored 49.850 to finish third in the All-Around – bars, beam, floor and vault - that was won by the USA’s Katelyn Jong with a score of 54.10. Her compatriot Madray Johnson scored 53.550 for second place. It was the first time that Jamaica has ever won a medal in gymnastics at a major event.
By winning the bronze medal, Alana, who is coached by Ashley Brooke Umberger at North Stars Gymnastics in Boonton, New Jersey, automatically qualifies for the Junior Pan Am Championships in Colombia later this year.
Grant, who spoke to Sportsmax.TV from Panama said this victory provides the push needed for the sport to continue to grow locally.
“Every appearance at any international competition of this nature is always a boost for the sport, that is what we thrive to be a part of and that is why we are working on our programme to ensure that we can participate and compete effectively as a country, as young as our sport is locally,” Grant told Sportsmax.TV today.
“This major win for us is very important to the growth and development of our local sport because it shows that we have the ability and the capability to do well in gymnastics.
“This is also a major boost for our young gymnasts who are preparing for a youth competition in Colombia later this year, the Pan American Age-Group Hopes Tournament where the age-group levels are from age eight right up to age 14 and she will also be competing in the elite category as well.”
Notwithstanding these achievements, Grant said, the sport continues to face significant obstacles.
“Our setback is equipment, landing equipment, something that we have been campaigning for, for some time now and it’s very important because when someone like Alana comes to Jamaica and trains at the gym, the landing equipment is not good enough at this time because of the kind of skills that she or he has,” Grant said.
“And that is why we are working so hard because when our elite athletes come to Jamaica they are in awe of the gym but as it relates to the landing aspect, it’s just not up to the standard and it’s really dangerous for them to train their high-level skills.”
Grant thanked the Jamaica Olympic Association, which she said, did not hesitate to provide funding for the trip, despite the ‘last-minute request’. She also thanked Alana’s parents, who “have always been there and have put out a lot of effort to ensure that she got the documentation in order for her to compete at the event.
She also expressed her gratitude to Marlene Hylton-Williams, who was instrumental in helping Alana getting the license that allowed her to be able to compete and Naomi Valenza, who allowed Alana’s late entry to be accepted into the tournament.
Marc Marquez claimed his first race win since returning from injury as he ended Honda's MotoGP drought with a dazzling ride at the German Grand Prix.
A six-time world champion who missed nearly all of the 2020 season – as well as the start of this year's campaign – due to a broken right arm, Marquez had failed to finish in his three previous races, a career first.
However, the Spaniard clearly felt right at home around a Sachsenring track where he had won his previous 10 outings, including seven in a row in the top category between 2013 and 2019.
Further success on German soil appeared a tall order considering both his form and also his starting position following qualifying, yet Marquez burst off the line to go from fifth to second in a flash and was out in front by the end of lap one.
It was a lead he retained for the remainder of the race to become just the second rider ever to take eight consecutive premier class wins at the same circuit.
Aleix Espargaro put the early pressure on as pole-sitter Johann Zarco slipped back, though the former's challenge faded as the laps ticked by.
Instead it was Miguel Oliveira – winner of the Catalan Grand Prix last time out – who headed the chasing pack, the Portuguese getting inside a second of the frontrunner at one stage, but Marquez remained calm under pressure and was even able to pull away in the closing laps.
His victory means Honda have now won 17 of the 23 MotoGP races at the venue, though this is the first triumph for the manufacturer since the 2019 Valencia Grand Prix, a barren run of 21 outings – the worst in their history – that is finally over.
Emotions were understandably high at the result. There were tears on the track and in the garage, while Marquez dropped to his knees after dismounting his bike and looked skywards appearing to offer a prayer.
As for the championship standings, leader Fabio Quartararo extended his lead thanks to a third-place finish. The Frenchman is now 22 points clear of compatriot Zarco, while Jack Miller sits a further nine back in third place.
Chris Paul and Kawhi Leonard – Los Angeles Clippers superstars past and present – will both be absent as the team enter the Western Conference Finals for the first time.
The Clippers play Paul's Phoenix Suns in Game 1 on Sunday, having battled past the top-seeded Utah Jazz.
Leonard and Co became the first team in playoff history to overturn 2-0 deficits twice in the same postseason, having recovered first against the Dallas Mavericks and then against the Jazz.
The Game 6 win over Utah at Staples Center was the Clippers' eighth in this playoff campaign – a team record.
However, they were without two-time NBA Finals MVP Leonard for Game 5 and Game 6 due to a knee injury that is reportedly feared to be serious.
The five-time All-Star had been averaging 30.4 points per game in the postseason but remains out for the trip to Phoenix.
Paul is missing for the Suns, too, though, due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols. As with Leonard, this means an indefinite spell on the sidelines.
Sixteen-year veteran Paul is considered among the Clippers' greatest ever players, having spent six seasons in LA.
In the regular season, he has the most assists in Clippers history (4,023), ranks sixth for points (7,674) and eighth for minutes (13,885).
"Control what we can control," Suns team-mate Devin Booker said. "Obviously Chris is in the health and safety protocols and we don't know the timetable on that, so we just go with what we hear day to day. It's next man up."
The next man up would appear to be Cameron Payne, the backup point guard who has only one start across the regular season and playoffs since moving to Phoenix in 2019.
In 20.4 minutes per game in the postseason, Payne has averaged 10.2 points but just 2.9 assists, although he and Paul have been on the floor together for 54 of the 26-year-old's 204 playoff minutes this year.
For the Clippers, Paul George has come to the fore since Leonard's injury, scoring 37 points at Utah in Game 5 – his highest playoff output for LA and tied for the second-highest of his career.
He will have to continue to perform, as coach Ty Lue said of Leonard: "I know [he is out for] Game 1 for sure.
"Right now he's back home getting treatment. We're not sure about Game 2 yet.
"Until he gets back, we can't do hypotheticals if he's coming back, what game. We have to prepare like he's not playing, just kind of go from there."
Giannis Antetokounmpo made clear there is still work to do for the Milwaukee Bucks after they survived a Kevin Durant onslaught to reach the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Bucks came out on top 115-111 in Game 7 against the Brooklyn Nets, albeit only after a dramatic finish in the fourth quarter that saw them escape by a matter of inches.
Durant hit a stunning turnaround jumper with one second remaining to tie the scores at 109-109, with Milwaukee relieved to see he had a foot on the three-point line as they narrowly avoided falling behind.
"Big, big shot," Antetokounmpo told the media about Durant's play that forced overtime. "That's KD – he makes shots like that."
However, the Nets were held to just two points in the extra period as the Bucks came through on the road, setting up a showdown with either the Philadelphia 76ers or the Atlanta Hawks – who meet in a Game 7 on Sunday – for a place in the NBA Finals.
Defeat was tough on Durant, who finished with 48 points – the most by any player in a Game 7 in NBA history – as he was on court for all 53 minutes. He went 0-for-6 in overtime, though, as the ailing Nets, minus the injured Kyrie Irving and with James Harden not at full fitness due to a hamstring issue, saw their season come to an end.
For the Bucks, however, the focus will have to quickly switch to their next assignment.
"We really wanted this as a team," said Antetokounmpo, who had 40 points and 13 rebounds.
"There were a lot of ups and downs during the series – there were a lot of ups and downs in just this game. We could have finished the game before overtime but weren't able to. We kept our composure."
He added: "At the end of the day, though, the job is not done. The job is not done. That's the message here and in the locker room, we’ve got to keep our heads in the game.
"We can't get too high, we can't get too low. It's a great step for our organisation and a great step for us, so we have got to enjoy this moment and then look at our next opponent.
"We've got to put this in the past and focus on the moment, focus on our next opponent."
Durant's performance drew praise from Stephen Curry, who simply tweeted at his former Golden State Warriors team-mate after the fourth-quarter shot: "That is insane."
Even P.J. Tucker – the player who attempted to cover Durant on the play – was suitably impressed.
"When I cut him off, I thought he would one-foot it, or step back. When he spun, he threw me off. That shot was incredible," Tucker said. "People don't really appreciate the level of difficulty with that shot, it was incredible.
"I laughed, I just laughed when he made it. I appreciated it, as a fan of the game, when someone makes that shot."
Durant was one of just 11 different players to score, the fewest in any regular season or postseason game since the merger.
Bryson DeChambeau is fully embracing the atmosphere created by the so-called 'Brooksy bros' at the U.S. Open.
There is little love lost between defending champion DeChambeau and two-time winner Brooks Koepka, with their simmering rivalry one of the more intriguing sub-plots in golf during 2021.
At last month's US PGA Championship, a video of Koepka visibly frustrated at an interruption from DeChambeau went viral, which led to the pair trading back-and-forth jibes on social media.
Prior to the tournament, DeChambeau admitted the two just "don't like each other". On Sunday, as he contemplated going for the par-five 18th in two while in a sand trap, fans of Koepka yelled "go get 'em Brooksy" and "Brooks would go for it".
DeChambeau resisted the temptation to bite but when questioned about it after his round, the world number five insists he is relishing the rivalry.
"Hey, I love it. I think it's so much fun," said DeChambeau, who recorded his first ever bogey-free round in major golf to sit two back of leaders Mackenzie Hughes, Louis Oosthuizen and Russell Henley at three under at Torrey Pines.
"People think that it annoys me. If anything, it just creates a great atmosphere for golf. At first, I didn't really know how to handle it. You're kind of thrown into a situation.
"But now I enjoy it. I think it's great. You've got to embrace it. There's going to be team Bryson, team Brooks out there, and hey, keep it up, I'm happy about it.
"I'm excited that one day we can eventually get paired up and play together. It would be fun."
DeChambeau, who scored a three-under 68 in round three, is using driver at almost every opportunity in tactics similar to those he employed when winning at Winged Foot last year.
He says he has learned the nuances of coping with major golf.
"You've got to be really patient out here at these majors. It's something that is not easy to do," he added.
"My first few goes at majors, I was not successful or anywhere near successful, and I feel like I'm starting to understand major championship golf and how to play it and how to go about managing my game, my attitude and just my patience level.
"If I can continue to do that [on Sunday], I think I'll have a good chance."
Jon Rahm is three off the lead after signing for a one-over 72 on Saturday. The Spaniard thinks being part of the chasing pack may actually play to his strengths.
"I feel like it's easy when you're in the lead to get a little tentative and start trying to be a little bit more safe in certain parts," he said.
"I feel like when you're a couple shots back, you have nothing to lose early on. So, I feel like you can be a little bit more aggressive and try to get some birdies.
"There will be somebody who gets a fast start, and hopefully that's me tomorrow, and I get a fast start, and I get it going fast."
Since winning The Open in 2010, Oosthuizen has been a perennial nearly man in the majors, recording five runners-up finishes including play-off defeats at the 2012 Masters and 2015 Open, while he was tied second to Phil Mickelson at the PGA Championship last month.
The South African is aiming to take the positives from those experiences, though, saying: "The two that really hurt was the playoffs. That's so close to winning.
"You know, the other ones, just good weeks and good results. Could have been better but taking more positive out of it than anything else."
Oosthuizen drained an eagle at the par-five 18th, which drew a huge reaction from the galleries.
"A year ago, that would have been a very boring eagle with a few people going nuts. But that was nice to see everyone back," he said, alluding to the return of fans who were unable to attend in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Boston Red Sox have returned to the top of the American League (AL) East division.
Boston defeated Kansas City 7-1 Saturday as Martin Perez and three relievers shut down the Royals' hitters while J.D. Martinez and Bobby Dalbec each hit two-run homers for the Red Sox.
That win on the road coupled with the Tampa Bay Rays' 6-5 extra-inning loss at the Seattle Mariners later in the evening put the Red Sox alone atop the division for the first time since May 22.
The loss was Tampa Bay's season-high fifth in a row, and the third in that stretch to come via a walk-off win by their opponent, as Mitch Haniger's 10th-inning single scored J.P. Crawford for the victory.
Crawford had hit a grand slam in the second inning to give Seattle a 5-2 lead but Tampa Bay came back to tie it on solo homers from Mike Zunino, Manuel Margot and Brandon Lowe.
Tatis' replacement lifts Padres
After replacing the injured Fernando Tatis Jr. in the fifth inning, Kim Ha-seong hit a two-run homer in the eight to give the San Diego Padres a 7-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Padres manager Jayce Tingler said Tatis is day-to-day after hurting his left shoulder while diving for a ball hit by Tyler Naquin.
Walker Buehler struck out 11 and had a no-hitter through seven innings in a 9-3 Los Angeles Dodgers win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Orioles collapse despite long-ball heroics
The Baltimore Orioles' first six hits of Saturday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays were home runs -- a franchise first, according to Stats Perform -- but the O's still managed to lose 10-7 after the Blue Jays scored six in the ninth inning.
The Chicago Cubs managed only three hits in an 11-1 loss to the Miami Marlins as they fell into a share of the National League (NL) Central lead with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Adames lights up Rockies
The Brewers prevailed over the Colorado Rockies thanks in large part to Willy Adames, whose two-run homer in the ninth provided the winning margin in a 6-5 victory. Adames also had three doubles, becoming just the fifth player in club history to record at least four extra-base hits in a game.
Saturday's results
Pittsburgh Pirates 6-3 Cleveland Indians
New York Mets 5-1 Washington Nationals
Washington Nationals 6-2 New York Mets
New York Yankees 7-5 Oakland Athletics
Toronto Blue Jays 10-7 Baltimore Orioles
Miami Marlins 11-1 Chicago Cubs
Minnesota Twins 3-2 Texas Rangers
Boston Red Sox 7-1 Kansas City Royals
Houston Astros 7-3 Chicago White Sox
Milwaukee Brewers 6-5 Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Angels 8-3 Detroit Tigers
Los Angeles Dodgers 9-3 Arizona Diamondbacks
Philadelphia Phillies 13-6 San Francisco Giants
San Diego Padres 7-5 Cincinnati Reds
Seattle Mariners 6-5 Tampa Bay Rays
Atlanta Braves-St Louis Cardinals (postponed)
White Sox at Astros
The Houston Astros (42-28) look for a four-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox (43-28) and their seventh win in a row as they send Lance McCullers Jr. to the mound against former team-mate Dallas Keuchel.
Kevin Durant turned in the most productive Game 7 performance in NBA playoffs history, but it was not enough to get the Brooklyn Nets through against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Brooklyn's 115-111 overtime loss in the Eastern Conference semi-finals decider saw the exhausted Nets give everything they had before the visitors prevailed in the end.
Durant scored a Game 7-record 48 points but could not do it all as a Brooklyn team missing the injured Kyrie Irving did not have enough weapons in the end.
"We've got to give credit to the Milwaukee Bucks," Durant told reporters. "They're a great, great team who've got a good chance to win a championship.
"The story should be about them and how well they played this series -- how well they played all year."
Though Milwaukee ultimately prevailed, few have performed better than Durant on the big stage.
With little in the way of a supporting cast, he played all 53 minutes in defeat after carrying the hobbled Nets through the series as Irving missed the decider and James Harden played the entire game though he has not been fully healthy for some time.
"I can't even speak about how much we missed Kyrie out on the floor and how much we missed James to start the series," Durant said.
"I could go for 40 minutes on both of those two and how much they care about us and how much they put their bodies on the line to help us out as a team.
"Kyrie had a gruesome ankle injury and he was thinking about when can he play next -- that shows that he cares about us so much.
"James, playing on one leg, came out there and gave it his all. ... There's nothing but respect and love for those two guys; we missed them out there. But we still had a chance to win."
The second-seeded Nets ultimately came up short, as head coach Steve Nash ran out of options to help ease the load on Durant.
"We didn't have a lot of buttons to push at the end in this series," Nash said. "But we had a chance to win, so that's all you can ask for."
Now the Nets are left to look forward rather than back, as they can only hope they will be at full strength this time next year.
"We want to win every game we play, we want to win a championship, just like every team," said Durant.
"So the last game of the season, you lose ... but the beauty of our profession is, we get up and keep going.
"Everybody on this team works extremely hard, they care about the game, so we get ready for next year."
Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks overcame a record-breaking performance from Kevin Durant to defeat the Brooklyn Nets 115-111 in overtime in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semi-final series.
Antetokounmpo scored 40 points and Khris Middleton had 23, including what proved to be the game-winning shot, as the Bucks won a Game 7 for the first time in 20 years, stunning the Nets in Brooklyn.
Durant finished with 48 points, the most ever scored in a Game 7, and for much of the game appeared ready to will the Nets through to the next round on his own.
Brooklyn was playing without the injured Kyrie Irving and leaned on Durant to carry the load as he had throughout the series. He played 53 minutes, making 17 of 36 shots from the field and 10 of 11 from the line, but he did not get enough help in the end.
James Harden was just five of 17 from the field, including two of 12 on three-point attempts, but every time the Nets needed a shot down the stretch they went to Durant.
That worked for a while, most notably at the end of regulation when he hit a turnaround jumper with his foot on the three-point line to tie the game at 109-109 and force overtime.
But the Bucks clamped down on Durant and everyone else in the extra session after Bruce Brown hit a jumper early in the period to put Brooklyn up by two.
The Nets would not score again the rest of the way, as Antetokounmpo tied the game with a shot over Durant with 1:12 to go before Middleton hit a jumper from the middle of the lane with 40.7 seconds remaining to take the lead and Brook Lopez added a pair of free throws with 0.3 seconds left for the final margin.
Entering the game, home teams were 109-31 in Game 7s in NBA history, but Milwaukee bucked that trend to advance.
They will await the winner of Sunday's Game 7 between the Philadelphia 76ers and Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Final.
Hawks at 76ers
The top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers host the upset-minded Atlanta Hawks in Game 7, with Atlanta looking for their fifth road win of the playoffs so far. Earlier Sunday, the Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix Suns open their Western Conference Final series.
Ten years to the day after he wrapped up his first major championship win at Congressional, Rory McIlroy put himself in position for another U.S. Open title by shooting 67 Saturday at Torrey Pines.
McIlroy is three under par for the tournament, two strokes back of the leading trio of Louis Oosthuizen, Mackenzie Hughes and Russell Henley entering Sunday's final round.
The Northern Irishman will feel good about his chances after a round that featured five birdies and just one bogey a day after he shot a wobbly 73.
The lone bogey may have been the key to his round, a difficult save that kept him from losing momentum after what had been a positive day.
"This is the only tournament in the world where you fist pump a bogey," McIlroy told reporters.
"Only losing one there was a big deal, and getting it up-and-down out of the bunker on 16 and making that birdie on 18 just to get that shot back that I lost, really big."
By the end of the day, McIlroy considered it "one of the best rounds of golf I've played in a while."
The 32-year-old broke an 18-month title drought with his win at the Wells Fargo Championship in May.
He also won that tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina for his first PGA Tour victory six weeks before securing his first major championship a decade ago.
There will be no repeat of that astonishing eight-stroke victory over Jason Day this weekend, but McIlroy is satisfied to be in the hunt for his first major title since the 2014 US PGA Championship.
"I mean, I'm trying to think of the last time where I really felt like I had a chance [at a major]," he said.
"Carnoustie in '18 felt like I maybe had half a chance, going into the final day at Pebble in 2019.
"But apart from that, there's been some good finishes but never felt like I was in the thick of things.
"I'm just excited for the opportunity to have a chance and be in one of the final groups."
Louis Oosthuizen and Mackenzie Hughes used eagles on the back nine to surge into a share of the lead heading into the final round of the U.S. Open.
They join Russell Henley atop a crowded leaderboard at Torrey Pines after the second-round co-leader saved par on 18 to complete an up-and-down round and sit at five under par for the tournament.
Oosthuizen finished with a flourish, draining a downhill putt for eagle on 18 to cap his one-under 70 as he continues the quest for his second major title 11 years after winning the Open Championship.
The unheralded Hughes, meanwhile, eagled the 13th and birdied the last for a 68 on the day. He is the first Canadian to hold at least a share of the lead after 54 holes of a major since Mike Weir at the 1999 US PGA Championship.
The 30-year-old missed the cut in his last five PGA Tour starts and has only one career victory, in the 2016 RSM Classic at Sea Island.
Impressive as Hughes was, the round of the day belonged to Rory McIlroy (67), who also birdied the 18th to reach three under for the tournament exactly 11 years after he closed out his runaway U.S. Open win at Congressional.
Bryson DeChambeau (68) also lurks two back of the leaders after a bogey-free third round.
Jon Rahm (72) is among the group at two under as he seeks his first major title, along with 2020 U.S. Open runner-up Matthew Wolff (73) and Scottie Scheffler (70).
The 2016 U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson (68) is four back of the lead at one under along with 2020 US PGA champion Collin Morikawa (70), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (70), Xander Schauffele (72) and Kevin Streelman (72).
Among other notables, Brooks Koepka and Justin Thomas are at even par after shooting 71 Saturday, while Jordan Spieth (68), Martin Kaymer (69), Lee Westwood (71) sit one over.
Richard Bland, who shared the lead with Henley after the second round, plummeted down the leaderboard to one over with a brutal round of 77 punctuated by the 48-year-old putting his approach shot in the water on 18.
Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson kept themselves well within a shout of second respective US Open successes with excellent third rounds on Saturday.
Johnson put in his best performance of this year's event at Torrey Pines, carding a 68 which moved the world number one to one under par, and he would surely have been even closer to the leaders if not for a dismal loss of form on the back nine on Friday.
"I feel like I'm swinging really well. I didn't drive it on the fairway enough but I felt like I managed the game pretty well. I rolled the putter really nicely today and made a lot of clutch par putts, which is what you've got to do in the US Open," Johnson told Sky Sports.
"When I was on the fairway I felt like I played pretty well, my irons were good and I'm controlling my distance – I'm just not getting enough shots from the fairway.
"I felt like they did a really good job of setting the course up - if you drive it on the fairway, you can attack the golf course and it's been like that all week. There's a few holes obviously where you will take a four and run but for the most part the way they set it up today, you can attack it."
McIlroy, meanwhile, went one better, finishing on 67 for the round to keep his chances firmly alive. The 2011 champion's birdie on the 18th ensured he was the clubhouse leader at three under.
Russell Henley, meanwhile, reached the turn with a two-shot lead over Richard Bland.
The overnight leader reached the front of the ninth in two shots, yet missed his eagle attempt and subsequently had to settle for a three-out par, whereas Henley snatched a birdie.
However, Henley then dropped a shot on the 10th, immediately cancelling out his own advantage.
Bryson DeChambeau is also in the hunt, with the defending champion T3 with McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Matthew Wolff.
Paul Casey had looked sharp earlier in the day, yet bogeys on the 16th and 17th meant he had to settle for 67, and heads into round four on par.
Lewis Hamilton is confident Mercedes are in a good position to challenge Max Verstappen on Sunday despite Red Bull's latest strong showing at the French Grand Prix.
Verstappen leads the Formula One drivers' championship while Red Bull sit top of the constructors' standings.
Even when Verstappen crashed out of a chaotic Azerbaijan Grand Prix last time out, team-mate Sergio Perez delivered maximum points in his first win for the team.
It was the first time in the Hybrid Era there had been two different Red Bull drivers triumphant in consecutive races.
The Austrian outfit are set for another strong outing in France after Verstappen secured pole position and Perez qualified fourth fastest, aiming to extend his streak of four consecutive top-five finishes.
In his post-qualifying media duties, Verstappen described himself as "quite confident" heading into the race.
"I knew it was going to be better than the last time we were here but this good I didn't expect, so that's promising for us," he said.
"We just have to keep on going, keep on pushing to try to make it better."
However, Hamilton starts from second and Mercedes colleague Valtteri Bottas is third, giving the Silver Arrows a chance even against a car with no obvious flaws.
"Of course, it seems [Red Bull] are just strong everywhere," Hamilton said. "Street circuits, it doesn't seem to matter where they go, they're very strong and we've got some areas we just need to improve.
"Obviously today I heard that we're losing out mostly on the straights, so we'll try to figure-out what that is.
"But it's great that we are second and third. It puts us in the middle of the Red Bulls, it gives us a chance to really apply pressure tomorrow – but it's just as close as ever before.
"Maybe they seem to have eked a little bit further forwards than we were perhaps in Barcelona."
Hamilton is two wins shy of an unprecedented 100 in Formula One, but will have the more modest aim of correcting a worrying run of form on Sunday.
He was seventh in Monaco and 15th in Baku and has not missed out on the podium in three straight races in the Hybrid Era.
Qualifier Liudmila Samsonova continued what she described as an "unbelievable" run by upsetting Victoria Azarenka to seal a place in the bett1open final in Berlin.
The world number 106 reached her first career final by beating two-time major champion Azarenka 6-4 6-2, having impressively seen off Madison Keys in the last eight.
It took just 66 minutes for Samsonova to win as she put on a powerful display of hitting on Saturday, firing down 11 aces.
The 22-year-old did not lose serve in the match and is the first qualifier to reach a WTA 500 final this season.
"It's all incredible for me, it's so new, and I'm very happy for it," Samsonova said amid a week that will give her a rankings surge.
"It’s unbelievable for me. It is the most important [week] of my life up to this moment.
"I'm sure it’s going to be a tough match because [Bencic] plays very good on this surface, and she's a good player. I will try to do my best and focus on my game, and we will see."
Fifth seed Bencic battled to a 7-5 6-4 victory over Alize Cornet in her last-four clash and will go into the final as favourite.
While the win came in straight sets, it was a hard-fought encounter, with Bencic winning all four of her break points while Cornet forced 10 but only converted two, which proved to be the difference.
Bencic, who will be encouraged ahead of Wimbledon, has now made four grass-court finals in her career and will seek her first WTA Tour title since October 2019 on Sunday.
The Swiss star, who had 29 winners and just 19 unforced errors against Cornet, lost to Iga Swiatek in Adelaide earlier this year in her only final appearance since that last title.
"I always try to play as many tournaments on grass as possible because I just love the surface," Bencic said.
"Of course it gives me a lot of confidence. It's always great to have this confirmation on grass that it is working well."
Matteo Berrettini continued his impressive charge at the Queen's Club Championships as he booked a place in the final against Cameron Norrie.
Top seed Berrettini, ranked nine in the world, has not dropped a set all week.
His impressive run has seen him defeat home hopes Andy Murray and Dan Evans, with one more Briton in the shape of Norrie left to see off in his bid for glory.
Berrettini ensured he will be in the final by claiming a 6-4 6-4 triumph over fourth seed Alex de Minaur in the semi-final on Saturday.
The Italian dropped just four of his 36 points on first-serve and sent down eight aces, with De Minaur only able to force one break point in the entire contest, which he did not take.
"[Making the final] was the goal of the week and now I have one more step," said Berrettini.
"It is a great achievement, especially for the history of this tournament. I am really happy because to beat Alex, I had to play my best tennis."
Berrettini has four tour titles to his name, though this would be his first at ATP 500 level or above.
Victory would also represent the biggest win of Norrie's career – he has lost each of his three previous finals, all at ATP 250 level.
Norrie impressively eliminated Denis Shapovalov to reach the showpiece, beating the Canadian 7-5 6-3.
Shapovalov had earlier finished off a 6-3 6-4 quarter-final win over Frances Tiafoe, a match that could not be completed on Friday due to fading light.
But the second seed could not muster up another victory against a fresher Norrie.
At the Halle Open, Andrey Rublev reached his eighth final since the start of 2020, though his first on a grass court.
Rublev dropped his first set of the week but ultimately prevailed with a 6-1 3-6 6-3 semi-final victory over Nikoloz Basilashvili.
The Russian has won his last four finals at ATP 500 level and will seek a fifth on Sunday.
"It's my first final on grass and in Halle," he said. "I think I can play on every surface and I will try my best again.
"I had good opportunities to break Basilashvili in the second set, some quite easy forehands and I stressed a little showing my emotions.
"I then came back and stayed calm, until the last game. But I won."
Rublev will take on unseeded Ugo Humbert, who held his nerve to edge a thriller against Felix Auger-Aliassime, winning 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-5).
Humbert beat Alexander Zverev earlier in the week and has had to win a deciding set in all four rounds, while the beaten Auger-Aliassime had previously seen off Roger Federer as part of a dramatic event.
Frenchman Humbert won each of his first two career finals, which both took place last year in ATP 250 events.
Simona Halep will not make her comeback in the inaugural Bad Homburg Open but remains hopeful of being fit to defend her Wimbledon title.
The two-time grand slam champion has been sidelined since suffering a calf injury during her a second-round match against Angelique Kerber at the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome last month.
Halep was due to feature in a new grass-court tournament in Bad Homburg, which starts on Sunday, but is not ready to return.
The world number three is determined to be back at full fitness to feature in the third major of the year at the All England Club.
She revealed in a social media post on Saturday: "I will not compete because my calf is not ready for a competition. I feel sorry about that and sad, because it's a beautiful place.
"I will keep practising because I really want to be able to play at Wimbledon, but for now I have to take care of my body and see how the recovery is going.
Wimbledon gets under way on June 28, having been cancelled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Max Verstappen feels his pole position for the French Grand Prix underlines the progress Red Bull are making as they take the Formula One title fight to Mercedes.
Mercedes are hoping to bounce back at Circuit Paul Ricard after chastening outings at the street circuits of Monaco and Baku.
But while they are close to Red Bull at the more traditional track in Le Castellet, they could not prevent Verstappen from claiming pole on Saturday with an advantage of 0.258 seconds to Hamilton.
Valtteri Bottas can also apply some pressure to Verstappen after the Finn came third, just ahead of the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez, who won a thriller in Baku last time out.
Mercedes were dominant in the two French Grand Prix editions held since the race returned to the F1 calendar as Hamilton won from pole in 2018 and 2019.
But they will have to triumph from behind this time if they are to make it a hat-trick.
"So far it has been a really positive weekend on a track where it has been normally a bit difficult for us," Verstappen said after claiming his first pole since the opening race in Bahrain.
"FP2 was a bit of a turnaround for us - of course to get pole position was even better and really nice. There is some great promise from our side and I hope we can keep it up.
"No points were scored but for us it is a great day and we have to finish it off on Sunday and try to get the 25 points that we lost in Baku.
"I am confident [with our race car] actually, the car felt good in FP2 so I am looking forward to it."
The lost points in Baku referred to Verstappen suffering a heartbreaking tyre failure as he closed in on victory, though his pain would be eased slightly as Perez ensured a Red Bull triumph while Hamilton did not pick up any points.
It has been another difficult few days for Hamilton, who was pleased to end up on the front row for a race where weather could be a factor.
"A really, really hard weekend - mentally and just trying to get the car into a happy place," said the seven-time world champion, who trails Verstappen by four points.
"You wouldn't believe how many changes I have made over the time since FP1, going round and round kind of chasing the tail and then ending up coming back to something similar to where we started.
"Congratulations to Max, they are incredibly quick, they've got a new engine this week and they are quick in the straights - a lot of time for them there.
"We have a race on our hands and we are loving the battle - we are going to keep pushing, fighting and giving it everything.
"Obviously in second you have at least a fighting chance down to turn one, plus there will be some interesting strategy and maybe some rain so a chance to see who is the rain master!"
Bottas is under pressure at Mercedes after a miserable start to the season but was satisfied with a solid weekend so far, having been competitive throughout practice.
"It has been a strong weekend, for sure a lot better than a couple of weeks ago, so at least we have seen the pace has been there," he said. "The last run in Q3 felt good for me.
"We have seen it is going to be close with Red Bull as it was in qualifying. Can't be too happy being third because it has been a strong weekend otherwise, but I think Red Bull were faster."
Yuki Tsunoda and Mick Schumacher crashed as two red flags in Q1 led to Lance Stroll being eliminated without setting a time.
Esteban Ocon, at his home race after signing a new deal with Alpine, was among the eliminated drivers in Q2, as was Sebastian Vettel, who took an impressive second place in Azerbaijan.
There was a big gap between the two leading teams and the rest in Q3, with Carlos Sainz ultimately taking fifth ahead of home favourite Pierre Gasly and the pole-sitter from the last two races, Charles Leclerc.
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1:29.990
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +0.258s
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) +0.386s
4. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +0.455s
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +0.850s
6. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) +0.878s
7. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.997s
8. Lando Norris (McLaren) +1.262s
9. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) +1.350s
10. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) +1.392s
Terance Mann says he is "not surprised" after helping the Los Angeles Clippers overturn a 25-point deficit to eliminate the Utah Jazz en route to reaching their first Western Conference Final.
Second-year forward Mann, drafted number 46 overall in the 2019 NBA draft, posted a career-high 39 points with seven-from-10 three-pointers – five of those in the second half – in Friday's remarkable 131-119 victory.
He had never scored more than 25 points in an NBA game. According to Stats Perform, the last player to have 14-plus points more in a playoff game than his previous career high was Michael Jordan in his NBA-record 63-point game in 1986.
The Clippers were without Kawhi Leonard and trailed the Jazz by 25 points early in the third quarter, before going on a 75-40 run to set up a showdown with the second-seeded Phoenix Suns for the right to go to the NBA Finals.
Mann averaged 7.0 points per game this season but proved the star of the show in the Clippers' famous win to earn the acclaim of his colleagues.
"You saw a complete game from a second-year player," said Paul George, who had 28 points.
"Honestly, he single-handedly willed us back through that stretch where he just, you know, 3 after 3 to downhill attacks to defending. You know, he did it all."
Mann made five of his seven threes over a 23:36 stretch, but the game-winning performance did not come as a surprise to the 24-year-old, who was given a standing ovation by the Staples Center crowd.
"I just had to lock in and do what I had to do," he said. "They were leaving me open.
"I trust my work. When you trust your work, you trust in yourself, you're not surprised when any of this happens."
The Clippers had trailed 2-0 in the NBA playoff series but rallied to close out the second-round matchup 4-2 against the side with the best regular-season record in 2020-21.
A first Conference Final in their 51-year franchise history now awaits and coach Tyronn Lue wants crosstown Los Angeles Lakers to get behind the Clippers when they face the Phoenix Suns, starting this Sunday.
"Just seeing our fans and how they stayed to the end and how they were cheering, it just felt good," Lue said. "The team has been starving for success, and the fan base has been doing the same thing.
"I know the Lakers are out and there's a lot of Lakers fans here. But once the Lakers are gone, if we're not playing them, you should be cheering for the Clippers because it's all in one city. I can feel the love, and I'm very happy and proud of our guys."
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