Haliburton leads comeback as Pacers advance; Pistons stay alive

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton celebrates a made basket during Game 5 of the first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks at Gainbridge Fieldhouse Tuesday. (Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images)
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Updated 30 April 2025
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Haliburton leads comeback as Pacers advance; Pistons stay alive

  • The Pacers advanced to an Eastern Conference semifinal series with top seeds Cleveland after pulling off a remarkable overtime Houdini act
  • The reigning NBA champion Celtics had an easier time of it as they overpowered the Orlando Magic with a series-clinching 120-89 victory at Boston’s TD Garden

LOS ANGELES; The Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics became the latest teams to book their places in the second round of the NBA playoffs on Tuesday as the Detroit Pistons thwarted the New York Knicks to keep their postseason hopes alive.

In Indianapolis, the Pacers battled back from a 20-point deficit and then rallied again in overtime to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 119-118 and seal a 4-1 victory in their NBA Eastern Conference duel.

The reigning NBA champion Celtics had an easier time of it as they overpowered the Orlando Magic with a series-clinching 120-89 victory at Boston’s TD Garden.

The Knicks, leading their series 3-1, missed the chance to join Boston and Indiana in the second round after losing 106-103 to Detroit at Madison Square Garden.

The Pacers advanced to an Eastern Conference semifinal series with top seeds Cleveland after pulling off a remarkable overtime Houdini act.

The Pacers trailed 118-111 with 40 seconds remaining but launched an 8-0 run that culminated with Tyrese Haliburton’s driving layup to clinch victory with 1.3 seconds left on the clock.

A late blunder by Milwaukee’s Gary Trent Jr — who fumbled a wide open pass to turn over possession and set up Haliburton’s winning layup — proved pivotal.

“Both teams literally left every single ounce of everything they had out there, including timeouts — nobody had anything left,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.

“But you know, fortune favors the bold — and our guys were bold in the last three quarters and we’re very grateful and thankful to be moving on.”

Asked what his message to his players had been after they had fallen 20 points behind early on, Carlisle replied: “Hit somebody.”

Haliburton led Indiana’s scoring with 26 points, five rebounds and nine assists while Myles Turner added 21 points. Aaron Nesmith finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

Trent Jr. led the scorers for Milwaukee with 33 points while Giannis Antetokounmpo added 30 in the absence of the injured Damian Lillard, who suffered a torn Achilles tendon in Sunday’s game four loss.

Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers said turnovers and poor execution in the closing stages cost his team victory.

“These games will kill you,” Rivers said. “Execution down the stretch is something you have to have, and we have to own that. We failed in that department tonight. But give them credit — they hung in there.”

In Boston, Jayson Tatum’s 35-point display and 23 points from Jaylen Brown helped the Celtics close out their series against Orlando.

The Celtics trailed 49-47 after a sluggish first-half display but erupted on a 35-9 run in the third quarter to take the game away from the Magic.

“We didn’t really like the way we played in the first half,” Tatum said. “But it’s tough to put a team away. We just stuck with it.

“But we’re champions and we can win in multiple different ways, with multiple different lineups. The Magic forced us to play in a different way, but we adapted and figured it out.”

The Celtics will face the winner of the series between New York and Detroit in the other Eastern Conference semifinal.

The Pistons ensured their postseason campaign will last at least one more game after downing the Knicks in New York. The Knicks lead the best-of-seven series 3-2.

In a game that saw the lead change hands 18 times, the Pistons held on for the win after the Knicks closed to 104-103 with seven seconds remaining.

Cade Cunningham led Detroit’s scoring with 24 points with Ausar Thompson adding 22.


Marsh ton powers Lucknow to IPL upset over Gujarat

Updated 7 sec ago
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Marsh ton powers Lucknow to IPL upset over Gujarat

  • Mitchell Marsh smashed 117 off 64 balls studded with 10 fours and eight sixes to help Lucknow post a formidable 235-2 off 20 overs
  • Gujarat, who have already qualified for the playoffs, could only make 202-9 in reply at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad
AHMEDABAD: Mitchell Marsh struck his first Indian Premier League century as Lucknow Super Giants pulled off an upset 33-run win against table-toppers Gujarat Titans on Thursday.
Marsh smashed 117 off 64 balls studded with 10 fours and eight sixes to help Lucknow post a formidable 235-2 off 20 overs.
Gujarat, who have already qualified for the playoffs, could only make 202-9 in reply at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
“We gave 15-20 runs extra. If we’d stopped them at 210-220 it would’ve been better, that was a huge difference,” said Gujarat skipper Shubman Gill.
“Getting momentum back will be key in the next game.”
Lucknow were playing for pride after being eliminated from the playoffs.
Gujarat lost in-form opener and the tournament’s highest run-getter Sai Sudharsan for 21, caught by Aiden Markram off Will O’Rourke, who ended with figures of 3-27.
Sudharsan’s opening partner Gill looked in good touch before he was caught in the deep by Abdul Samad off Avesh Khan for 35.
Jos Buttler (33) tried to steady the innings but was dismissed by Akash Singh in the 10th over.
Shahrukh Khan (57) and Sherfane Rutherford (38) revived hopes of a comeback but O’Rourke took two wickets in the 17th over to seal Gujarat’s fate.
“We had a lot of fun out there, T20 is fickle,” said O’Rourke.
Earlier, Marsh combined with Markram to give Lucknow a steady start, putting on 91 runs for the opening wicket after Gujarat won the toss and elected to bowl.
Markram (36) hit fellow South African Kagiso Rabada for two sixes in a row before being caught by Shahrukh near the boundary off Sai Kishore.
Marsh continued his onslaught at the other end, hitting Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan for 25 runs in his first over of the game.
The right-hander, who raced to his century off just 56 balls, was finally caught by a diving Rutherford off paceman Arshad Khan for 117.
Nicholas Pooran also impressed, making an unbeaten 56 runs off 27 balls with four fours and five sixes.
Lucknow’s struggling skipper Rishabh Pant made 16 not out.
The IPL resumed last Saturday after being paused due to a deadly conflict between India and Pakistan, forcing overseas players to revisit their season plans.

Pulisic leads list of US absentees for Gold Cup

Updated 42 min 44 sec ago
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Pulisic leads list of US absentees for Gold Cup

  • Pulisic plans to take a break following a demanding season with his Serie A club
  • Fellow Milan midfielder Yunus Musah and Fulham defender Antonee Robinson were also left out of the squad

ROME: AC Milan’s Christian Pulisic will miss next month’s CONCACAF Gold Cup, leading a group of notable absentees from Mauricio Pochettino’s 27-man US squad announced on Thursday.

Pulisic plans to take a break following a demanding season with his Serie A club, where he featured in 49 matches across all competitions, tallying up 17 goals and 12 assists, while dealing with some minor injuries.

“Christian and his team approached the federation and the coaching staff about the possibility of stepping back this summer, given the amount of matches he has played in the past two years at both the club and international level with very little break,” US Soccer Sporting Director Matt Crocker said in a statement.

“We made the collective decision that this is the right moment for him to get the rest he needs. The objective is to ensure he’s fully prepared to perform at the highest level next season.”

Fellow Milan midfielder Yunus Musah and Fulham defender Antonee Robinson were also left out of the squad, while Juventus pair Weston McKennie and Tim Weah, along with Borussia Dortmund’s Gio Reyna, will be unavailable due to their clubs’ participation in the Club World Cup in the US which starts on June 15.

Defenders Alex Freeman and Quinn Sullivan, midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and forward Damion Down have all received their first senior call-ups.

“As we continue preparations for the World Cup, this is a fantastic opportunity to work with this group of players for an extended period and it’s important we take advantage of every moment,” Argentine manager Pochettino said.

“Of course, we want to win and to perform in a very good way. These players have earned the chance to compete for our fans and to show their quality and mentality.”

The US host Turkiye on June 7 before facing Switzerland three days later, with both friendlies serving as warm-ups ahead of the Gold Cup which runs from June 14 to July 6 in the US and Canada.


PSG sporting director Campos extends contract to 2030

Updated 22 May 2025
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PSG sporting director Campos extends contract to 2030

  • Campos “will oversee the sports strategy of the whole QSI group“
  • His existing deal was due to expire at the end of this season

PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Luis Campos has extended his contract with the French giants in a boost to the club ahead of the upcoming Champions League final.

In a statement issued on Thursday, PSG’s owners Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) announced that Campos had renewed his contract “for an additional five years until 2030.”

Campos, who is from Portugal and began working with PSG in an official role of football adviser in 2022, “will oversee the sports strategy of the whole QSI group.”

That includes Braga, who finished fourth in this season’s Portuguese league and in whom QSI holds a minority stake.

Campos’s existing deal was due to expire at the end of this season and the announcement is welcome news for PSG as they prepare for the Champions League final against Inter Milan in Munich on May 31.

Before that they face Reims in the French Cup final on Saturday as they bid to complete a clean sweep of the domestic honors in France for the second season running.

Campos previously worked at Monaco and at Lille and has overseen the successful squad rebuild at PSG following the shift away from the superstar approach that led to the signings of Neymar and Lionel Messi.


The enduring legend of Virat Kohli

Updated 22 May 2025
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The enduring legend of Virat Kohli

  • Kohli’s cricketing persona has been one of aggressiveness and intensity, always eager to join the fray and whip up his team to greater heights, more in the manner of soccer than cricket

Some cricketers possess an unmistakable presence when they walk out to bat. Vivian Richards of the West Indies was one. He swaggered, smiled, oozed confidence and menace, chewed gum and eschewed a helmet in favor of a cap. His style of entrance may have set a precedent for others to build their own individual brands as cricketers in an era of universal television coverage. 

Chris Gayle, another West Indian, the self-styled “Universe Boss,” was one who did that across all formats. An imposing presence as soon as he stepped onto the cricket field, Gayle took to the T20 format very quickly, establishing himself as a free-scoring, aggressive batter to be feared. He also proved himself at Test level, capable of batting at length. In 2010, he batted almost 10 hours in scoring 333 against Sri Lanka, becoming only the fourth batsman to score two Test triples. Both Gayle and Richards now live out of the limelight, their cricketing reputations intact.

In previous eras, the great and charismatic players of the time did not have the media exposure that is available to current players. In the immediate years after 1945, Denis Compton of England and Keith Miller of Australia were two players who excited crowds with their charisma, becoming icons at a time of national recovery from war. Compton was one of the first cricketers to be used in consumer advertising, as the face of Brylcreem, a hair cream. 

It is now commonplace for cricketers to endorse consumer products, other than cricket equipment. A number of them have developed their own brand values. An outstanding example of this is Virat Kohli, who has transcended his ability as a cricketer to become an international icon. His decision to retire from Test cricket, announced on Instagram on May 12 to 271 million followers, has sparked a deluge of tributes. These have focussed on his place in the game and his contribution to it, especially to Test cricket, for which he has been an outspoken champion. 

In this respect, it is a disappointment to many that Kohli will not be a part of the Indian team that will play five Tests in England between June 20 and Aug. 4. Neither will his successor as captain, Rohit Sharma, who also announced his retirement from Test cricket on May 7. Both players retired from international T20 cricket after India won the T20 World Cup in June 2024, under Sharma’s captaincy. The two were different in both batting and leadership styles but have been instrumental in guiding India to recent trophy success.

Sharma retires with 4,301 runs in 67 Test matches, averaging 40.57. His recent form has been poor, having made only one 50 in 15 innings since his last Test hundred against England in Dharamsala in March 2024. Sharma was captain in 2024, when India was surprisingly beaten 3-0 at home by New Zealand and 3-1 away by Australia, where he sat out the decisive fifth Test in Sydney. In the same series, Kohli, although scoring a hundred in the first Test, endured a dip in form. His frustrations at what appeared to be waning abilities surfaced in an unseemly incident during the fourth Test at Melbourne. 

At the end of the tenth over of Australia’s innings, 19-year-old debutant, Sam Konstas, walked toward his opening partner at the non-striker’s end. He was looking at his gloves, when Kohli, who was walking in the opposite direction from his fielding position, made shoulder contact with Konstas. Commentators remarked that Kohli had walked one whole pitch over to his right and appeared to have instigated the confrontation.

Kohli was sanctioned for a breach of conduct and fined 20 percent of his match fees, which he accepted. Perhaps the act was that of an aging lion attempting to curb a rising cub, of whose talent he was envious. Kohli’s cricketing persona has been one of aggressiveness, intensity, always eager to join the fray and whip up his team to greater heights, more in the manner of soccer than cricket.

This has not endeared him to opposition supporters. I have witnessed and heard comments by English supporters that have been uncomplimentary — not that Kohli has been afraid to take on opposition supporters with words and provocative gestures. There has always been a sense that he has escaped censure for transgressions and acts for which others would have received punishment.

On the field, whether fielding, captaining or batting, Kohli’s presence and actions were ones that demanded attention. His passion for Test cricket shone through, as evidenced in his retirement statement in which he said, “I’ve given it everything I had, and it’s given me back so much more than I could’ve hoped for. I’ll always look back at my Test career with a smile.”

In it, Kohli scored 9,230 runs in 123 Tests to stand fourth in India’s all-time list of Test run-scorers after Tendulkar, Dravid and Gavaskar. He also captained India in 68 of his Tests, winning 40 of them, which makes him the country’s most successful leader in the format. Such a record is a reflection not only of his hunger for runs, but his desire to win and for those around him to strive for excellence. His own commitment to physical fitness has become legendary and aspirational for young Indians, who seek to emulate his appearance.

It is not clear if there was any single reason for Kohli’s decision to retire. One consideration is form. The Test hundred in Australia last November was his first in 15 innings in the previous 16 months. In Australia, he scored 190 runs in nine innings, averaging just 23.75, which compares with a final Test average of 46.85. Since January 2020, he has averaged 30.72, scoring only three centuries in 39 Tests. Another consideration was the curbing, by the national board, of the size and composition of the support groups for players while on tour. One factor that does not seem to have been widely discussed is the impact of Sharma’s retirement.

Of course, Kohli has not slipped into the shadows. In IPL 2025, he has scored more than 500 runs and he still wishes to play ODI cricket for India. His retirement appears to be a carefully managed process. Off the field, his brand value and product endorsement strategy has been carefully curated to mirror his fitness-oriented lifestyle, fashion sense, family orientation and appeal across the whole Indian demographic. Kohli has also invested in a number of start-up ventures to ensure exposure outside of mainstream advertising. Unlike other famous cricketers, he will not be living quietly in retirement. 

There is little doubt that Virat Kohli has an aura about him on and off the pitch. He leaves a huge gap in the Test arena and there is a worry that his advocacy of it may not be continued by his successors. Kohli has said that, “There’s something deeply personal about playing in whites. The quiet grind, the long days, the small moments that no-one sees but that stay with you forever.” Self-reflection is not a characteristic that springs immediately to mind about Kohli, who admits that the journey has “tested me, shaped me and taught me lessons I’ll carry for life.” He leaves an indelible mark on both Indian and global cricket in which his stature was invariably imperial, not just when going out to bat.       


How Al-Qadsiah Esports went from underdogs to contenders in Saudi eLeague

Updated 22 May 2025
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How Al-Qadsiah Esports went from underdogs to contenders in Saudi eLeague

  • Newcomers clinched 4 titles across 9 tournaments, challenging established giants Twisted Minds and Team Falcons
  • Al-Qadsiah Esports rose to second place in elite rankings after victories in top titles

RIYADH: Al-Qadsiah Esports has made a powerful entrance into the 2025 Saudi eLeague, the Kingdom’s premier esports league organized by the Saudi Esports Federation and hosted at the SEF Arena. With standout performances across multiple titles, Al-Qadsiah has quickly established itself as one of the strongest teams in the league, announcing loud and clear that they are not just taking part, but aiming to dominate.

In a blistering start to the 2025 Saudi eLeague season, which featured nine tournaments, Al-Qadsiah stormed through the field to seize four championship titles, sending a clear message to every club in the league. Their elite roster dominated Major 1 elite tournaments in EA SPORTS FC 25, Overwatch 2 and Valorant, showcasing talent, strategic depth and multi-genre versatility that few teams could match.

Further cementing their dominance, Al-Qadsiah Corals, the organization’s female team, secured their first title in Overwatch 2 Major 1 Female, defeating Twisted Minds Orchid in a dramatic 4–3 final, marking a milestone moment in the club’s growing legacy.

Abdullah Al-Nasser, head of esports products at the Saudi Esports Federation said: “Al-Qadsiah Esports has delivered the kind of breakout performance that captures exactly what the Saudi eLeagues were built to showcase. Their rise isn’t just a win for the club, it’s a signal of how far local talent has come, and how fiercely it’s beginning to compete. The growth we’re witnessing across the league reflects a deeper ecosystem maturing fast. Our vision is to see more Saudi clubs not just show up, but rise, lead, and make their mark on both regional and global stages.”

Al-Qadsiah’s performance places them second on the Saudi eLeague Clubs Cross Game Leaderboard, positioned between two of the most dominant names in Saudi esports, with Twisted Minds holding the top spot and Team Falcons trailing in third. The breakout momentum from Al-Qadsiah signals a clear shift in the competitive balance of the Saudi eLeague, as a new wave of Saudi teams rise through the ranks, challenging the longstanding hierarchy and reshaping the competitive scene within the Kingdom.

With momentum building and eyes on the top spot, all signs point to Al-Qadsiah pushing for the throne.