Digital Sports Desk

Online Destination for the Best in Boston Sports

Archives for May 1, 2021

JT = 60 as Celtics Top Spurs in OT

by

BOSTON – Boston Celtics all-star forward Jayson Tatum scored a career-high 60 points, including four key free throws in the final 12 seconds of overtime, as the Boston Celtics came back from a 32-point deficit to beat the vSan Antonio Spurs, 143-140, Friday night at TD Garden.

The 60-point performance tied Boston’s franchise record for most points in a game, set by Hall of Famer Larry Bird on March 12, 1985 in a game against the Atlanta Hawks that even had the Hawks players frolicking on the bench in amazement.

YouTube player

The Celtics fell to the 32-point deficit 18 minutes into the game, but they roared back to tie the contest midway through the fourth period.

Boston took its first lead since the game’s opening minutes at 127-126 on Tatum’s 3-pointer with 38 seconds remaining in regulation. Tatum hit a free throw with 18.8 seconds to play to push the Celtics’ lead to two points. but the Spurs’ DeMar DeRozan re-tied the game with a pair of free throws with 10.8 seconds left, giving Boston a final shot for a win in regulation. Tatum missed a jumper at the buzzer to force overtime.

The extra period went back and forth, with the Spurs taking the lead at 137-136 on a jumper by Lonnie Walker IV with 31.7 seconds left. Jaylen Brown canned a 3-pointer to put Boston on top with 16.7 seconds to play, and Marcus Smart stole San Antonio’s ensuing inbounds pass, setting the stage for Tatum’s free throws that capped the comeback win for the Celtics.

YouTube player

Brown added 17 points for the Celtics (34-30), though he hit just 5 of 24 shots from the floor. Aaron Nesmith had 16 points, and Smart and Robert Williams III scored 10 for Boston. Tristan Thompson grabbed 15 rebounds and Smart had 12 assists.

DeRozan scored 30 points and distributed 14 assists, tied for his career high, for the Spurs (31-31) in the loss. Dejounte Murray and Walker added 24 points apiece, Rudy Gay had 16 and Jakob Poeltl racked up 15 points and 10 rebounds.

The Spurs were up by as many as 25 points on the way to a 39-16 lead after 12 minutes of play. The Celtics’ first 12 points in the period were scored by Tatum, who finished with 14 in the first quarter.

 

Lots of “QB Talk” on Day 2 of NFL Draft

by

FOXBORO – Ask anyone in Foxboro, Boston, Lexington or Concord and there is no quarterback controversy in New England. At least not yet.

New England Patriots head coach and head of football operations, Bill Belichick, clearly stated that veteran Cam Newton remains his starter — despite the Patriots drafting Alabama’s highly touted QB Mac Jones in the first round on Thursday night, not to mention that Tom Brady’s heir apparent of a year ago, Jarrett Stidham, is still on New England’s QB depth chart.

Embed from Getty Images

The QB talk came as Day 2 of the annual NFL Draft marched on and several other teams drafted to find their future QBs.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Florida quarterback Kyle Trask, the Minnesota Vikings grabbed Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond and the Houston Texans selected Stanford quarterback Davis Mills on Friday night.

Teams made their second- and third-round picks, and they will return to action Saturday to conclude the draft with Rounds 4-7. Trask was taken with the last pick of the second round at No. 64 overall. The former Gators signal-caller will back up Tom Brady after throwing for 4,283 yards, 43 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 2020.

The Vikings grabbed Mond soon after with the second pick of the third round, No. 66 overall. Mond is coming off a stellar senior season in which he passed for 2,282 yards, 19 touchdowns and three interceptions in 10 games with the Aggies.

Mills heads to Houston after serving as a Stanford team captain in 2020. He made only 11 starts in college but impressed scouts with his mobility and prowess at reading the field.

The Jacksonville Jaguars selected Georgia cornerback Tyson Campbell on Friday to begin a busy night of drafting. Campbell, 21, started 24 games in three seasons with Georgia.

Campbell was a five-star recruit out of high school in Florida and ranked as the second-best cornerback in his class behind only Patrick Surtain II, who was chosen in the first round by the Denver Broncos (No. 9 overall) on Thursday night.

The New York Jets followed by taking Ole Miss wide receiver Elijah Moore with the second pick of the second round at No. 34 overall. The Broncos took North Carolina running back Javonte Williams at No. 35, the Miami Dolphins selected Oregon safety Jevon Holland at No. 36, and the Eagles picked Alabama center Landon Dickerson at No. 37.

The New England Patriots maintained their strong pipeline with Alabama when they selected Crimson Tide defensive tackle Christian Barmore with the sixth pick of the second round. Barmore will reunite with college teammate Mac Jones, whom New England drafted at No. 15 overall in the first round.

Florida State cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. had to wait until the middle of the second round until the Los Angeles Chargers selected him at No. 47 overall. Samuel led the Seminoles with three interceptions and served as a team captain in 2020 before opting out after eight games.

Notre Dame pass rusher Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah slid to No. 52, where the Cleveland Browns selected him. Many draft analysts had projected the former Fighting Irish star to be a first-round pick after a season in which he was a first-team All-American, captured Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors and won the Butkus Award given to the nation’s top lineup.

 

PGA Tour: Moving Day at Valspar

by

PGA Tour Brunch Coverage of the The Valspar After 36 Holes

Keegan Bradley and Sam Burns are tied for the lead at (-12) after 36 holes at the Valspar Championship. On Friday, Burns shot a tournament low eight-under (63) to match his opening round (67). Bradley, the leader after 18 holes with a scorching, bogey-free (64), shot five-under (66) and will join Burns in the final group today.

Embed from Getty Images

They set the Valspar Championship 36-hole scoring record at 12-under (130) (Previous: 131 by K.J. Choi/2002).

For Sam Burns, this marks the fifth time this season he is in Top-5 after the opening two rounds, the most of any player on Tour.

Two-time defending champion Paul Casey opened with 3-under (68) and followed Friday with an even par (71) in a bid to earn a third consecutive title at the Valspar Championship. He’s currently T-33.

The cutline came in at (-1).

Notables who missed the cut at Valspar include: Emiliano Grillo (66) and (76) – (E); Patrick Reed (70 and (72) – E; Phil Mickelson (73) and (69) – E; Graham McDowell (74) and (73) – (+5) and Justin Rose (74) and (73) – (+5).

After receiving widespread attention ahead of his PGA Tour debut, Monday qualifier Michael Visacki (T-114) with (74) and (71) for (+3), missed the cut.

Tournament Tee Times begin today at 8:20am and run through 2:05pm (EDT) when Keegan Bradley and Sam Burns tee-off.

Weather: A weak frontal boundary will stall across Central Florida on Saturday shifting the wind from the northeast during the morning before the sea breeze moves onshore during the afternoon. The front will move back to the north on Sunday allowing hot and humid conditions to return into early next week. The west coast of Florida will remain dry this weekend with any isolated shower and thunderstorm chances remaining over the weekend. Temperatures Saturday expected to be 71-85-degrees and winds expected 6-12 mph.

Next Week: Wells Fargo Championship (Charlotte, NC)

Kentucky Derby: Essential Quality?

by

LOUISVILLE – After the draw for starting positions for this Saturday’s horse race, three-year old fave Essential Quality was placed as the 2-1 favorite to win the 147th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

Embed from Getty Images

Essential Quality will run out of the No. 14 post “on the first Saturday of May” in a 20-horse stampede at the traditional timing for the first race of North America’s Triple-Crown. A No. 14 start hasn’t been a successful starting point in the Kentucky Derby. Middle Ground (1950) and Carry Back (1961) are the lone two horses to emerge victorious from that position at famed Churchill Downs.

Essential Quality won the recent 2021 Southwest Stakes and claimed the prestigious Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in 2020. The colt is trained by Brad Cox, who aims to become the first Louisville native to win the Derby.

Rock Your World, who won the Santa Anita Derby earlier this month, is listed at 5-1 odds and will start from the No. 15 post, the starting gate that served for Authentic, who won the 2020 Kentucky Derby last November when the race was postponed from May to the Fall because of the global pandemic.