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Finalists for 2020-21 NBA Awards

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NEW YORK – The NBA announced the finalists for six awards that honor top performers for the 2020-21 regular season: NBA Coach of the Year, Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Kia NBA Most Improved Player, Kia NBA Most Valuable Player, Kia NBA Rookie of the Year and Kia NBA Sixth Man.


The three finalists for each annual award, based on voting results from a global panel of sports media and sports/game broadcasters, are listed in alphabetical order below:

NBA Coach of the Year

Quin Snyder, Utah Jazz
Tom Thibodeau, New York Knicks
Monty Williams, Phoenix Suns

Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year

Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers

Kia NBA Most Improved Player

Jerami Grant, Detroit Pistons
Michael Porter Jr., Denver Nuggets
Julius Randle, New York Knicks

Kia NBA Most Valuable Player

Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets

Kia NBA Rookie of the Year

LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets
Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
Tyrese Haliburton, Sacramento Kings

Kia NBA Sixth Man

Jordan Clarkson, Utah Jazz
Joe Ingles, Utah Jazz
Derrick Rose, New York Knicks

The NBA on TNT studio and game crew will announce the winner of each award during coverage of the 2021 NBA Playoffs.

Bruins Win in Double-OT, 3-2

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) –  Overtimes are us!

Boston’s Craig Smith took fast advantage of a momentary lapse of judgement by Washington’s reserve goalie Ilya Samsonov to deposit the game-winner 5:48 into the second overtime to lead the Bruins to victory over the Capitals, 3-2, in the key Game 3 of their East Division first-round series at TD Garden.

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Smith went behind the opposing net to pounce on a loose puck, then wrapped it around the left side of the goal before Samsonov could get back into position after he misplayed a puck behind his own goal.

Smith’s fortunate – right place, right time – goal gave the Bruins a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-seven series.

Taylor Hall and Brad Marchand each had a goal for the Bruins, who kept their momentum rolling after a 4-3 overtime win on the road in Game 2. Goalkeeper Tuukka Rask made 35 saves for Boston.

Washington’s all-star Alex Ovechkin and Nic Dowd scored for the Capitals. Samsonov made his series debut in net after being activated from the COVID-19 list and he made 40 saves.

All three games in the series have been decided in overtime and each of the last 12 playoff games between the Caps and Bruins has been decided by one goal, extending the longest such streak in NHL history.

Game 4 is Friday night in Boston.

Opening Round PGA Championship

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THIS WEEK on the PGA TOUR: PGA Championship 

COURSE: The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort (South Carolina)

ARCHITECT: Pete and Alice Dye

YARDS/PAR: 7,876 yards/Par 72

PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: TBD (Previously $11,000,000/$1,980,000 in 2020)

DEFENDING Champion (August 2020) – Collin Morikawa – (2020 Leaderboard)

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 600

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @PGAChampionship

OFFICIAL SITE: (PGA Tour on the PGA Championship) – (Official Tournament Site)

TV COVERAGE: Today and Friday, May 20 and 21: 1:00pm to 7:00pm (EDT) on ESPN. On Saturday, May 22 and Sunday, May 23 – ESPN’s coverage runs from 10:00am to 1:00pm (EDT), then CBS takes over from 1:00pm to 7:00pm (EDT).

STREAMING: ESPN will streamcoverage online and ESPN+ ($) will provide Featured Groups and Featured Holes. See: (link)

ONLINE and RADIO COVERAGE:  Beginning at 1pm (EDT) today and continuing through the completion of each day’s play, hear live hole-by-hole coverage co-produced by SiriusXM and Westwood One. PGA Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92) or online on PGATour.com. For additional information, see: Sirius XM Blog

How to Watch: (PGATourCom)

Welcome to PGA Tour Brunch at PGA Championship

It’s Opening Round for the 2021 PGA Championship and the PGA of America has set-up a LONG golf course. At 7,876 yards, the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Resort will be the longest course on record in major championship history. The previous mark of 7,741 yards was held by the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills.

World No. 1 and reigning FedExCup champion Dustin Johnson has finished as runner-up at the PGA Championship in each of the last two years, becoming the first player to do so since Jack Nicklaus (1964, 1965). Johnson withdrew before the start of last week’s AT&T Byron Nelson due to a knee injury.

Three of the four events this season awarding 600 FedEx points to the winner have been won by players entering the week in the Top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking: Bryson DeChambeau, 2020 U.S. Open (9); Dustin Johnson, 2020 Masters (1); Justin Thomas, The PLAYERS (3).

There have been just five first-time PGA Tour winners this season: Carlos Ortiz, Vivint Houston Open; Jason Kokrak, The CJ CUP @ Shadow Creek; Joel Dahmen, Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship; Sam Burns, Valspar Championship; K.H. Lee, AT&T Byron Nelson.

Nine of the top 10 players in the FedExCup standings are in their 20s, led by No. 1 Bryson DeChambeau. The only player 30 or older in the top 10 is Stewart Cink (7).

First Look at the PGA Championship

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THIS WEEK on the PGA TOUR: PGA Championship

COURSE: The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort (South Carolina)

ARCHITECT: Pete and Alice Dye

YARDS/PAR: 7,876 yards/Par 72

PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: TBD (Was $11,000,000/$1,980,000 in 2020)

DEFENDING Champion (August 2020) – Collin Morikawa – (2020 Leaderboard)

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 600

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @PGAChampionship

OFFICIAL SITE: (PGA Tour on the PGA Championship) – (Official Tournament Site)

TV COVERAGE: Thursday and Friday, May 20 and 21: 1:00pm to 7:00pm (EDT) on ESPN. On Saturday, May 22 and Sunday, May 23 – ESPN’s coverage runs from 10:00am to 1:00pm (EDT), then CBS takes over from 1:00pm to 7:00pm (EDT).

STREAMING: ESPN will stream coverage online and ESPN+ ($) will provide Featured Groups and Featured Holes. See: (link)

ONLINE and RADIO COVERAGE:  Beginning at 1pm (EDT) on Thursday, May 20 and continuing through the completion of each day’s play, hear live hole-by-hole coverage co-produced by SiriusXM and Westwood One. PGA Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92) or online on PGATour.com. For additional information, see: Sirius XM Blog

How to Watch: (PGATourCom)

Welcome to PGA Tour Brunch – 1st Look at PGA Championship

The 2021 PGA Championship is the 34th of 50 events on the PGA Tour. It is organized by the PGA of America.

Collin Morikawa won his first major championship title at the 2020 PGA Championship and will attempt to become the eighth player to successfully defend his title. The most recent was Brooks Koepka, 2018/2019. In 2020, Morikawa became the third-youngest to win the PGA Championship since WWII, behind Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

Five players have won the Career Grand Slam and Jordan Spieth can become the sixth with a win on the Ocean Course. Spieth won the 2015 Masters Tournament, 2015 U.S. Open and 2017 Open Championship. He is making his fifth start in the PGA Championship since the 2017 Open (T-28/2017, T-12/2018, T-3/2019, T-71/2020).

The 2021 PGA Championship will be played at the Pete and Alice Dye-designed Ocean Course at Kiawah for the second time in tournament history and first since 2012. In 2012, Rory McIlroy won the tournament by eight strokes, the largest margin of victory in PGA Championship history. McIlroy is making his first start since the Wells Fargo Championship, where he earned his 19th PGA Tour victory and his first of the season.

PGA Championship Tee Times begin Thursday at 7:00am (EDT) through 2:42pm (EDT).

Weather: Kiawah Island can be windy! Thursday’s forecast is for sunny skies and 53-degrees but winds will blow 26 mph NW. No chance of rain.

PGATourBrunch will be posting at 7:00am (EDT) Thursday and Friday.

Next Week: Charles Schwab Challenge (Colonial, Fort Worth, Texas)

Field Update:

Vijay Singh (WD) / Wyndham Clark (in)

Celtics Play Well, Play “In”

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BOSTON – Boston’s all-star forward Jayson Tatum scored 23 of his 50 points in the third quarter and the Celtics advanced to the NBA Playoffs with a 118-100 victory over the Washington Wizards in the NBA’s new “play-in” tournament. Washington will play the Indiana Pacers (144-117 winners over Charlotte) on Thursday with the winner grabbing the final Eastern Conference playoff slot.

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All-Star Kemba Walker added 29 points as Boston, which had lost five of its final six regular-season games, claimed the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference bracket. The Celtics will meet the second-seeded Brooklyn Nets in a first-round matchup, with Game 1 set for Saturday night.

Washington, which went 17-6 to finish the regular season and outscored Boston 33-25 in the second quarter of play, led 56-55 at the beginning of the third quarter before the Celtics exploded with 14 straight points as part of a 19-2 run.

 

Slumping Celtics Take on Washington

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Services Reports) – The oft-injured, chemistry-challenged Boston Celtics ended the NBA regular season in a deep slump, while the surging Washington Wizards soared to the finish line. Yet, with the NBA’s new Play-In pre-playoff tournament beginning this week, the two teams will converge Tuesday night when the Celtics host the Wizards. The winner will land the No. 7 seed for the Eastern Conference Playoffs, while the loser will get another attempt to play their way in on Thursday night.

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The play-in games are going to be exciting for fans and it puts an added weight and added importance,” Boston coach Brad Stevens said. “And then once you get into the playoffs and teams dial into each other and prepare for each other, you see everybody’s level rise.”

The Celtics (36-36), who finished seventh in the Eastern Conference, need to raise their level now as they struggled down the stretch with five losses in six games and nine of their past 13. In previous NBA seasons, the Celtics would be facing the No. 2 Brooklyn Nets in a first-round Best of 7 series, beginning in Brooklyn.

Regardless, the Celtics are limping into the postseason, having recently lost standout swingman Jaylen Brown (wrist) for the rest of the season. He averaged 24.7 points per game and losing Brown’s firepower hurts even more when the opponent trots out Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook as the starting backcourt.

Washington (34-38), which is in the eighth position, was red-hot down the stretch with 17 wins in its past 23 games. Westbrook went into high-level triple-double mode and finished with 38 on the season and 184 for his career, eclipsing NBA legend Oscar Robertson‘s long-held record of 181.

Beal finished second in the NBA in scoring at 31.3 points per game but is less than full strength due to a strained left hamstring that caused him to miss three games before he returned Sunday and scored 25 points in a 115-110 win over the Charlotte Hornets.

“There’s no set-backs, which is good,” Beal said. “I didn’t injure it any worse than what it was. Obviously, it still probably won’t be 100 percent. It is just a matter of managing it as best I can.”

Westbrook recorded triple-doubles in 20 of his past 24 appearances and his first season of teaming up with Beal has been a big success. He averaged a triple-double for the fourth time in the past five seasons, recording an NBA-leading 11.7 assists to go with 22.2 points and a career-high 11.5 rebounds.

After having to yield to James Harden last season with the Houston Rockets, Westbrook has been free to play the game his way under Washington coach Scott Brooks, who was previously his coach in Oklahoma City.

“You gotta give credit to our coach because he’s done an amazing job of making adjustments on the fly,” Westbrook said of Brooks. “The players always get the recognition, but Scotty has done a hell of a job of being consistent and finding ways to make us better along with the coaching staff.”

There will certainly be the eyes on the Boston coach as well as Stevens’ club took a step back this season after losing in the Eastern Conference finals in three of the past four seasons.

This time, the Celtics are still trying to make it into the field and multiple players have been ailing down the stretch, including star forward Jayson Tatum (ankle).

Tatum isn’t worried about the injury for Tuesday, but he understands his club needs to step up its performance.

“It’s been such an up-and-down season,” said Tatum, who averages 26.4 points per game. “Obviously, the last couple of games haven’t gone our way.”

Can Bruins Bring “Ole Mo” Back Home?

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Services Report) – Boston forward Brad Marchand and his Bruins teammates will attempt to build on their momentum as their first-round series against the Washington Capitals shifts to TD Garden for Game 3 on Wednesday night.

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Marchand scored just 39 seconds into overtime to give the Bruins a 4-3 win at Washington on Monday night to even the best-of-seven series at 1-1. The Capitals were 3-2 overtime winners in Game 1 Saturday after Nic Dowd scored 4:41 into the extra period.

Through eight periods, the Bruins and Capitals have each scored six goals and Boston holds a narrow 74-71 advantage in shots on goal.

“Obviously, they’re hard games. They’re playing tough, they’re playing physical, and they’re not giving up a ton,” Marchand said. “It (was a) big one to win, but it doesn’t matter how good it feels. Game’s over and we’ve got to get prepared for the next one.”

Marchand’s winner was the fastest in overtime in franchise history, beating out the legendary Bobby Orr’s iconic leaping goal that finalized a sweep of the Stanley Cup Final against St. Louis on May 10, 1970, by one second.

Boston will needs its top line to show up like it did on Monday to take control of the series. After going scoreless in Game 1, the Bruins’ “perfection line” of Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak combined for three points in the win.

K.H. Lee wins at Byron Nelson Classic

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McKINNEY, TEXAS – In the final round, K.H. Lee birdied four of first six holes and 71st and 72nd holes to claim his first PGA Tour victory. Lee became the second consecutive Korean-born player to win the AT&T Byron Nelson joining Sung Kang in 2019. The 2020 event was cancelled due to the coronavirus global pandemic.

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The tournament’s 54-hole leader, Sam Burns (2nd place/-22), closed with a 2-under (70) in his bid to become the first player since Camilo Villegas in 2008 to have his first two Tour victories come in back-to-back starts. Burns won the Valspar Championship in his last start two weeks ago.

With the runner-up finish at TPC Craig Ranch, Burns moved to No. 5 in the FedExCup points standings.

Patton Kizzire (T-3/-21) posted the low round of the day with a 9-under (63), resulting in his best finish on Tour since winning the 2018 Sony Open in Hawaii.

Please see PGA Tour Brunch for full tournament wrap-up and subscribe for season-long e-News.

Basketball Hall Elects 16 New Members

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SPRINGFIELD – A day after its COVID-19 delayed 2020 induction ceremony, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced the 16 honorees for the Class of 2021 which will be enshrined on Saturday, September 11, 2021 in ceremonies at Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun resort hotel and arena.

The 2021 honorees class includes nine voted in from the North American and Women’s committees, including the ninth-winningest coach in NBA history Rick Adelman, two-time NBA champion and 11-time NBA All-Star Chris Bosh, NBA Finals MVP with the Boston Celtics and 10-time NBA All-Star Paul Pierce, the first Black NBA head coach Bill Russell, four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and NBA Champion Ben Wallace, five-time NBA All-Star and NBA Rookie of the Year Chris Webber, two-time NCAA national champion Villanova Wildcats coach Jay Wright, seven-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Yolanda Griffith and seven-time WNBA All-Star and three-time WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson of Australia.

Distinguished committees focused on preserving all areas from the game also selected seven direct-elect enshrinees, including the first President of the WNBA and current BIG East Commissioner Val Ackerman, NBA coach Cotton Fitzsimmons and basketball guru Howard Garfinkel from the Contributor Committee, Clarence “Fats” Jenkins from the Early African American Pioneers Committee, Croatia’s Toni Kukoc from the International Committee, Bob Dandridge from the Veterans Committee and Pearl Moore from the Women’s Veterans Committee.

“For the first time in our history, we’ll enshrine two Classes in one calendar year,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The Class of 2021 Enshrinement festivities will begin at Mohegan Sun on Friday, September 10 with the Enshrinement Tip-Off Celebration and Awards Gala. The Class of 2021 and returning Hall of Famers will then journey to Springfield, Mass. for the annual celebratory events taking place at the newly renovated Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and MassMutual Center on September 11

While We’re Young (Ideas) – Notebook

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – Whether the sport in being celebrated two hours to the south at Mohegan Sun, an hour and a half to the west in Springfield, Mass, being played at WNBA and NBA arenas nationwide or destinations around the globe, the game of basketball is in the news in a big way this weekend and for many months to come.

The Basketball Hall of Fame is utilizing the Mohegan Sun (Uncasville, Connecticut) as headquarters for the 2020 Enshrinement ceremony this weekend, then packing up the circus tents and heading to the newly renovated Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame museum in Springfield – the birthplace of basketball – to announce the 2021 class of inductees. (The names of Celtics star Paul Pierce and Ben Wallace of the Detroit Pistons’ Bad Boy era have already leaked out as ‘21 inductees).

First! The 2020 class is among the most elite in history, with Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and the late Kobe Bryant headlining the group. The 2020 class induction, forever to be known as a memorial tribute to Bryant, has been delayed – for what seems to be forever and a day – because of the global pandemic. While Bryant deserved top billing, for sure, the class of ‘20 represents a wide-ranging group, spanning the globe from FIBA HQ in Europe (to honor the late Patrick Baumann) to Bentley College, only 11 miles down the road where Bentley Coach Barbara Stevens calls home.

The 2020 class represents every aspect of the sport of basketball quite well. Stevens and Baylor/LSU women’s coach Kim Mulkey are inducted as top notch and deserved women’s team college coaches while Tamika Catchings (NCAA: Tennessee, WNBA: Indiana Fever, USA: Multiple Gold) represents the very best the sport has to offer, both on and off-court.

Just as you would expect with such a glorious cast, the coaches on the men’s side are among the very best with the late Eddie Sutton memorialized for his work via the college game and the great Rudy “Rudy T” Tomjanovich honored for his work with the Houston Rockets. Credited for his longtime, loyal assistant coaching efforts for Bill Fitch and as the two-time NBA championship head coach of the Rockets, Rudy T knew the game from the inside out. He was also an NBA All-Star forward (San Diego/Houston Rockets), never mind his impressive work for USA Basketball as head coach at the 1998 Worlds (Bronze during NBA labor dispute) and 2000 Sydney Olympics (Gold medal). … Remember: “Don’t EVER underestimate the heart of a champion.”

Even the media awards pay tribute to the best of the best with ABC/ESPN/MSG Network’s Mike Breen being honored for his play-by-play work and Mike Wilbon honored for print journalism. Wilbon, the Washington Post sports columnist for decades, turned Pardon the Interruption television personality extraordinaire and Breen, the voice of the NBA on ABC and ESPN, are both being honored as the Curt Gowdy Media Award winners for 2020.

Yes, with the 2020 honors, the Basketball Hall of Fame took a page from its counterpart in Cooperstown and “touched all bases” with a class for the ages. But the BHofF enshrinement for 2020 and this week’s announcement for 2021 are merely the dessert being served before the main course of hoops mania over the next few months. How? Let us count the ways:

  1. The 25th Anniversary season for the WNBA tipped-off Friday night with four exciting games, including the return of 2020 No. 1 overall draft pick Sabrina Ionescu, who had her rookie season cut short with a season-ending ankle injury in just her third pro game. Ionescu put an exclamation point on her return, hitting the game-winning three-pointer from the wing with less than a second remaining to give the New York Liberty a 90-87 victory over the Indiana Fever in the WNBA’s season opener. … As part of the WNBA’s 25th season and its focus on innovation, the league will launch the inaugural Commissioner’s Cup in-season competition during the 2021 season. Conference rivalry bragging rights, a new WNBA Commissioner’s Cup trophy and a prize pool of $500,000 will all be at stake when the inaugural WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Championship Game is played on Thursday, Aug. 12, at Phoenix Suns Arena. … Regular season WNBA action will take on an added level of importance as 60 select, intra-conference “Cup games” will determine the Eastern Conference and Western Conference teams that will advance to the first ever Commissioner’s Cup Championship Game. … The “Cup Games” will be the first home game and first road game each team plays against its five conference rivals, all set to take place in the first half of the season between May 14 and July 11, prior to the in-season scheduling break due to the Olympic Games.
  2. The Basketball Africa League, a newly formed but one-year delayed organized pro league spanning the continent of Africa, will debut May 16. Both the International Basketball Federation and the NBA are providing full support to the endeavor which features 12 pro teams.
  3. Not to be forgotten, the BAL’s and WNBA’s big brother, the National Basketball Association, will begin its 2021 NBA Playoffs with a “Play-In” tournament, a new and unproven concept to field the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds in each of the two NBA conferences. Gone is the NBA Bubble in Orlando and the 2021 playoffs will take place with a limited number of fans in each home arena, depending mostly on State and local government rules and authorities.
  4. A couple weeks down the road, the European “EuroLeague” Basketball Final Four will be staged in Cologne, Germany on Friday, May 28 and Sunday, May 30. The competing four teams include CSKA Moscow vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul, and AX Armani Exchange Milano vs. FC Barcelona
  5. As summer approaches, the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments for Men and Women will be staged to determine the final national teams to compete in Tokyo. Those qualifiers will be played from June 29 to July 4th, a few weeks before the Tokyo Olympics begin (July 25th) with Iran facing a qualifier to be determined later. The delayed Olympic tournament will run through the gold medal game scheduled for Saturday, August 7 at the Saitama Super Arena, the “Brooklyn” to Tokyo’s “NYC.”