Hashim Amla has pulled out of the Cape Cobras squad for the remainder of the CSA T20 Challenge.

"I have opted not to make myself available for selection for the Cape Cobras for the remainder of the CSA T20 Challenge," read a statement released by Amla. "I express my sincere gratitude to the Cobras coaching staff and team for the game time over the last three weeks, given the circumstances."

Cobras have one remaining round-robin game against Dolphins at Kingsmead on Sunday. They are currently placed second after having lead the pack for much of the competition, with a home semi-final at stake in their final game.

Amla opted to play in the competition instead of seeking a short-term opportunity with a county side, as Aiden Markram has, in order to be closer to his father, who has been seriously ill for some time, while also securing vital game time as he works through a spell of poor form.

Amla briefly left the Cobras squad to return to Durban to be at his father's side last week. The game he missed - against Knights in Bloemfontein - was in any case abandoned without a ball bowled due to inclement weather. Amla subsequently returned to the team for their matches against Titans and Lions, scoring 3 and 10.

While Cobras have enjoyed significant success - winning five matches - Amla's own returns from the eight games he has played in have been modest. He has scored 92 runs at a strike rate of 83.63 with a top score of 32, showing only brief flashes of the sort of batting that has built his formidable reputation over the years.

Despite his struggle for form over the last year, Amla was named in South Africa's World Cup squad. In just over two weeks, the South African squad will assemble for a pre-tournament team camp before departing for the World Cup, and Amla wants to "use the remaining time before the World Cup to fine-tune my batting."

Houston Texans tight end Ryan Griffin has been arrested in Nashville, Tennessee, on charges of vandalism and public intoxication, according to online court records.

According to multiple reports, Griffin allegedly punched a hotel window on Friday night in Nashville, where the NFL draft is being held this weekend. Police said Griffin was "disorderly" and that his left hand was bleeding.

A friend of Griffin's said the tight end had been overserved, according to the reports.

Griffin was booked at 12:43 a.m. and released on $1,750 bond at 7:14 a.m.

A court date in the case has been set for May 31.

This series is about trust -- how much you believe the Boston Celtics have finally come together, and how much weight you place on the Milwaukee Bucks' 86-game track record of championship-level dominance.

In the macro sense, this is a Bucks cakewalk. Milwaukee won 11 more games, with a point differential double Boston's. The Bucks hold home court. They have the best player, and they can play him as many minutes as they need.

But postseason series do not play out on the macro level. They are seven games between two teams, not 82 games against 29 rivals. Boston brings advantages that could make this a much more competitive series than big-picture numbers suggest. The Celtics can win.

Malcolm Brogdon will miss at least the first two games. Who knows how he might look upon returning. He matters a lot. (So does the injured Marcus Smart, Boston's go-to defender against Khris Middleton -- who turned into Michael Jordan in last season's playoffs.)

With Sterling Brown starting in place of Brogdon, Boston will have an easier time hiding Kyrie Irving in a series in which Milwaukee might go Kyrie hunting -- treating Irving the way Irving's Cavaliers famously treated Stephen Curry. Without Brogdon, Milwaukee has one fewer quality wing for small-ball lineups featuring Giannis Antetokounmpo (or one of Ersan Ilyasova/Nikola Mirotic/D.J. Wilson, depending on your positional taste) at center -- groups Milwaukee will need more now.

They need them because of Al Horford. He has always defended Antetokounmpo well. No one can stop Antetokounmpo -- not this souped-up version with more sneering confidence, and an emerging jump shot. But Horford makes him work. He is one of the only defenders alive capable of playing off Antetokounmpo, girding himself for the coming assault, and staying in front of the likely MVP without conceding a parade of dunks.

Scoff if you like. Antetokounmpo averaged 25.7 points, 9.6 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game on 57 percent shooting against Boston in last season's first round. Horford clearly did not stop him.

But Boston has a history of outscoring Milwaukee with Horford and Antetokounmpo on the floor, and that extended into this season. (The sample size is tiny, obviously.) Something about that matchup troubles the Bucks.

Boston is probably not much worried about anyone beyond Antetokounmpo. Even without Smart, they have enough rangy wings to throw at Middleton, Eric Bledsoe, and the rest -- and to switch a lot. This series might come down to Horford and Antetokounmpo -- at both ends.

If Boston starts Horford and Aron Baynes, Horford and Antetokounmpo will be positional matches as nominal power forwards. Most coaches would keep with the Baynes-Horford duo. Boston outscored opponents by almost 20 points per 100 possessions with those two on the floor in 163 regular-season minutes, per NBA.com. They stabilized Boston's slumping defense. The Celtics just swept Indiana. Why change?

Baynes is also smart walling off the paint in transition -- a must against Antetokounmpo. He provides one more big help defender behind Horford.

But the Celtics could not score with Baynes and Horford against Indiana. Boston was minus-5 in 43 such minutes with a scoring mark -- 90 points per 100 possessions -- that looks like a typo.

Baynes also gives Brook Lopez a resting place on defense. That end of the floor will determine Boston's chances. Boston's defense is very good, but it can hold Milwaukee's offense -- third-best overall -- down only so much. Milwaukee should score at something like a league-average rate (at least). Boston's offense is the shakiest of the four units; can it hit league average against the NBA's stingiest defense?

Dragging Lopez into streams of Irving pick-and-rolls is the obvious soft spot. The Bucks prefer to have Lopez hang near the rim. That setup concedes open midrange jumpers. The guys defending Irving -- mostly Bledsoe and George Hill -- have to stay on Irving's hip:

But if the screen for Irving hits flush -- and if the Celtics set them higher on the floor, well above the 3-point arc -- Irving will walk into some open 3-pointers.

Boston can produce those shots with Baynes screening for Irving. Baynes sets cement-wall picks. But Lopez will not worry about Baynes popping for 3s; he can sell out containing Irving. Baynes will hit a few wide-open 3s. Boston can station Horford in the corner as a floor spacer, have Baynes roll to the rim, and pray he can make plays against a scrambled defense.

But more Baynes is a win for Milwaukee. Boston takes this series only by weaponizing the Irving-Horford pick-and-roll to a degree they never have -- and aiming it at Lopez.

Horford will hit enough of those open 3s to be a problem:

(Attacking Lopez early, in semi-transition, helps. Ditto for screen-the-screener actions, in which a third Celtic smashes Lopez as he lumbers from the paint.)

Flash a third defender at Horford, and he'll whip the ball to that guy's man -- setting off a chain of passes that usually ends in a good shot.

One way to (maybe) guarantee a lot of Lopez-on-Horford is to start Gordon Hayward in place of Baynes. That would restore the starting five Boston intended to use in each of the past two seasons -- a lineup that looked renewed against the Pacers.

(Boston could in theory start Semi Ojeleye, their "break in case of Giannis" deep-bench guy. That would allow them to play Horford at center while sloughing some of the Antetokounmpo assignment onto someone else -- Ojeleye. Defending Antetokounmpo is brutal work. Horford might wilt doing it 30-ish minutes per game. Ojeleye will play in this series, but starting him feels like overthinking. Play your best guys.)

Boston is going to play Horford at center a lot regardless of who starts. The Celtics can play that way and keep Horford on Antetokounmpo. That would require Hayward, Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown defend Brook Lopez, but that isn't a problem with Lopez mostly standing around the arc.

Boston has already gone this route some against the Bucks. Lopez could post those guys up, but Milwaukee has rarely veered from its core offense to do that. Boston would welcome any Lopez bully ball -- and adjust accordingly -- if it meant more of Lopez guarding Horford.

Boston ran about 30 Irving-Horford pick-and-rolls per 100 possessions in the first round -- about seven more than their regular-season average, per Second Spectrum. The Celtics should probably push that toward 40, and instruct both guys to jack a lot of 3s.

Lopez is nimbler than you might think after having watched Milwaukee plant him in the paint all season. He has shown occasional ability to step out on Irving, and recover to contest Horford's shot:

But Horford will digest that, unleash some mean pump-fakery, and blow by Lopez for more profitable stuff. Creeping out also exposes Lopez to Irving turning the corner into the same 5-on-3.

Boston varying its Irving-Horford attack is important. Milwaukee is probably fine with Horford shooting 10 semi-open 3s per game from above the break. The Bucks have let better shooters chuck. Few big men want to shoot over and over -- especially if they miss two or three straight. Guilt sets in. They hesitate. Hesitation kills. The Bucks also know opponents will never generate layups or free throws that way.

That's what makes this matchup so interesting: Milwaukee is hell-bent on taking away shots at the rim and free throws, but Boston is already terrible at producing either. The Celtics ranked dead last in free throw rate and 27th in the share of shots that came at the basket. Most teams lose something against Milwaukee. Boston is already playing how Milwaukee wants its opponents to play.

That should help the Celtics. They are designed to take the sorts of shots Milwaukee concedes. The trends turned even more extreme in three regular-season matchups; Boston's attempts near the basket plummeted, and the Celtics redistributed almost all of them into non-corner 3s, per Cleaning The Glass.

Almost every team needs to shoot well to beat another good team four times in seven tries. Duh. But that is especially so for Boston here. If the Celtics can manipulate rotations and schemes to produce the right jump shots, and make a lot of them, they can pull the upset.

They should get a ton of shots up, too. Milwaukee ranked 25th in forcing turnovers, and Boston takes care of the ball. In three regular-season games, Boston coughed the ball up on just 8.2 percent of its possessions -- miles below the league's best turnover rate. A total failure to get to the rim and the line doesn't hurt as much if you shoot on every trip.

Of course, Milwaukee does not have to just accept the Lopez-on-Horford matchup. The Bucks could hide Lopez on Brown or Hayward, and have Antetokounmpo chase Horford off open 3s. (When things get tight, I suspect Antetokounmpo will defend Horford more than ever.) Boston could counter by using those guys in screening actions -- shoving Lopez right back onto center stage.

Milwaukee could slice Lopez's minutes, and play Antetokounmpo more at center. Those lineups can switch a lot, and vaporize Boston's open jumpers. Horford can post up most of Milwaukee's perimeter guys on those switches. But can anyone else? Does Milwaukee fear Tatum -- Boston's best one-on-one wing -- against anyone in a Bledsoe/Middleton/Sterling Brown/Antetokounmpo/Mirotic lineup? (Side note: Mirotic could be huge in this series.)

That is one of the overarching questions in these playoffs: Is Mike Budenholzer willing to scrap the foundation that got Milwaukee this far and play an entirely different style if the situation calls for it? His playoff record does not suggest instant wholesale adaptability. Only Orlando switched screens more rarely than the Bucks, per Second Spectrum. At some point -- maybe now -- Milwaukee will need to diversify.

It's not even clear who benefits if Boston goes small and plays Lopez off the floor. It could mean Boston's small-ball lineups have devastated Milwaukee. It could mean Milwaukee has adjusted preemptively -- and removed Boston's one mismatch advantage. How do the Celtics balance playing their best lineups while keeping the Lopez/Horford matchup on the board?

But as long as Brogdon is out, moving away from Lopez could be a raw talent downgrade for the Bucks. Someone among Brown, Hill, Pat Connaughton and maybe even Tony Snell will work as the extra perimeter guy in those non-Lopez lineups. The collective performance of that group will be a swing factor.

Lopez is better than all of those guys. Any upgrade in fit might not be enough to compensate for the talent drop-off. (This is why we might see Budenholzer dabble with a super-big trio of Mirotic, Antetokounmpo and Lopez against Boston's bigger lineups -- at least while Brogdon is out. Play your best guys.)

If Boston hides Irving on defense, it will be on the Brown/Hill/Connaughton/Snell group. Maybe Boston won't hide him at all. The Celtics have not feared the Irving-Bledsoe matchup, and Bledsoe disintegrated against them last season. (Where you at, Scary Terry?) But with Milwaukee starting Brown, the option is there.

The Bucks will target Irving anyway. That is Milwaukee's easiest counter if Horford bothers Antetokounmpo's one-on-one game. The Bucks can slide Irving's guy into either side of a pick-and-roll with Antetokounmpo. Switch, and Irving is toast. Do anything else -- stay home, go under, help-and-recover -- and you'd better do it without leaving a sliver of airspace for Antetokounmpo.

(Yes, that play involves Smart. That's the point: Milwaukee should -- and probably will -- go more at Irving.)

Using Antetokounmpo as a screener is the best antidote (if Milwaukee needs one) to Horford lying in wait for his drives. It can catch Boston off guard. It triggers the rotations Boston wants to avoid. The Celtics can dip below screens when Antetokounmpo is running pick-and-roll, but not when he's the one setting picks:

The Bucks can transfer that same concept off the ball -- and direct it at Irving:

I keep coming back to this: The Bucks can play Antetokounmpo 42 (or more) of 48 minutes if they have to. He can overpower any Celtic other than Horford. Antetokounmpo has reached LeBron territory: Guys who look like they should be able to "make Antetokounmpo earn it" are really just roadkill.

Brown, Tatum, Hayward, Smart, Ojeleye and Morris each has the vague outlines of someone who "can guard" Antetokounmpo. They will all get chances. On some possessions, when circumstances are right, they will stand him up: when the Bucks get Antetokounmpo the ball too late in the shot clock, or in poor position, or when Boston can send the requisite help.

But leave any of them alone against Antetokounmpo over and over, and he's going to eat them alive. Send urgent help -- more urgent than Horford requires -- and someone is getting an open 3-pointer.

I'm also wary of declaring the mercurial, bickering Celtics have turned a corner. They scored 103.7 points per 100 possessions against Indiana -- 12th among playoff teams, and a mark that would have ranked last in the regular season. Hayward has looked bouncier and more confident, but these things don't always unfold along a continuous upward trajectory. Tatum and Brown could slump again.

Against elite defenses, you need some threshold of free throws and rim attacks to subsist. Will Boston get enough?

Every time these Celtics slumped -- every time they faced real adversity -- they teetered on the edge. It took them time to find their bearings.

They don't have time anymore. They don't have the best player, or home court in a theoretical Game 7. They have some real matchup advantages -- enough that I came close to calling Celtics in six or seven.

But in the end, I trust Milwaukee's consistent body of work more than Boston's recent good vibes and edge in postseason experience.

Bucks in seven.

WATSONVILLE, Calif. — For the second week in a row it was Bud Kaeding doing victory celebration donuts on the front stretch at Ocean Speedway.

Kaeding was once again aboard the Al’s Roofing Supply black No. 69. After starting from the pole position, the San Jose, Calif., veteran driver survived threats from both Justin Sanders and Brad Furr.

Sanders brought the familiar yellow No. 17 home in the runner up spot while Furr’s red No. 2 took a third-place finsh.

The finish:

Bud Kaeding, Justin Sanders, Brad Furr, Cole Macedo, Blake Carrick, Jeremy Chisum, Jason Chisum, Kyle Shaw, Koen Shaw, Kurt Nelson, Jake Andreotti, Jayson Bright. Bradley Dillard, Eli Deshaies, Ryon Nelson, James Ringo, John Clark, Richard Fajerdo

MARYVILLE, Tenn. — Johnny Bridges romped to his second USCS presented by K&N Filters Outlaw Thunder Tour sprint car victory of the season Friday night at Smoky Mountain Speedway.

Bridges started on the pole for the 25-lap feature and held off six-time series winner Mark Smith for the checkered flag. Smith started sixth on the night.

Terry Gray was third, followed by Brad Bowden and Danny Smith.

The finish:

Johnny Bridges, Mark Smith, Terry Gray, Brad Bowden, Danny Smith, Morgan Turpen, Justin Barger, Lance Moss, Brandon Taylor, Geoff Styner, Jeff Willingham, Bob Auld, Tony AGin, Joe Larkin, Bo Barber.

MUSKOGEE, Okla. – An unplanned visit to the Thunderbird Speedway paid off on Friday night for Earl Pearson Jr. as he captured the $3,000 Lucas Oil MLRA main event presented by Bravado Wireless.

Following an early cancellation of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event scheduled for Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Ill., Pearson and his Black Diamond race team made the haul to the half-mile track located in Muskogee, Okla., and led then entire distance en route to the win.

Coming into the weekend second in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series standings, Pearson would line up on the outside front row for the 25 lapper alongside pole award winner Will Vaught. Pearson jumped to an early advantage as the duo crossed the stripe and was able to clear the XR1 Rocket of Vaught exiting turn two.

In a race that would go the distance caution free, Pearson easily cruised to the win, with his biggest competition coming from lapped traffic as the race progressed. Vaught crossed the line in the runner-up position, coming in 3.025 seconds behind Pearson, who collected his fourth win with the MLRA series.

“That was going to be the race (turn one) there ain’t no doubt about it,” Pearson said of the start. “He (Vaught) slipped up there and the track took a little bit of rubber right around the bottom, so once we got out in front I just had to stay on the bottom and run my own race.

“Any time we’re not on the Lucas Series we enjoy coming over and running the MLRA.”

Payton Looney methodically made his way through traffic to finish third. Mitch McGrath and Logan Martin completed the top-five.

The finish:

Earl Pearson Jr., Will Vaught, Payton Looney, Mitch McGrath, Logan Martin, Billy Moyer Jr., Joseph Gorby, Jake Neal, Blair Nothdurft, Jeremy Grady, Jesse Stovall, Richard Shepler III.

OSBORN, Mo. — Making it two-for-two on the weekend with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network, Thomas Kennedy was unstoppable on the cushion on the high-banked U.S. 36 Raceway on Friday night.

“Big kudos to my dad. We’ve been busting our butts every year, all year. I really appreciate all the support we get to be out here from people like my mom, my brother, my wife especially, and my grandparents. It really means a lot,” stated Kennedy.

Taking the green fourth, Kennedy chased the opening laps as Wade Nygaard took command for four laps before surrendering the top spot to Roger Crockett with the Rt. 66 Chevrolet No. 11 working the low side of the speedway.

Followed by Scott Bogucki, who worked quickly from seventh, the pair began battling for the top spot as lapped traffic came into play. Working the hub at both ends of the one-third mile oval, the top was wide open for attack and as the laps clicked to 10, that attack was coming in the form of Kennedy.

Railing the cushion off the second turn on lap 11, Kennedy’s powder blue No. 21k followed slower cars into the third turn with the leaders racing middle to bottom. With the lane clearing, for Kennedy, the move for second turned into a two-for-one sale for all the marbles with Kennedy rocketing to the lead off the fourth turn.

On coming up with the move for the lead, Thomas explained, “Everybody was everywhere, and I knew I just had to be patient up top. My car was great so I figured if I tried down low, I might screw myself up and lose some time. It’s all about momentum, and this track you have to keep your momentum up to keep moving forward.”

Putting several slower cars between himself and the race for second, the field came under caution on lap 13. Giving Kennedy a three-car buffer on the restart, no one would be able the keep pace with the Canadian shoe crossing under the checkered flag with a 2.902-second advantage.

Roger Crockett held on for second with Blake Hahn charging through the field from 10th to grab the final podium step. In a drag race off the final turn for the fourth position, the advantage was to Seth Bergman, who edged Scott Bogucki by .014 seconds.

The finish:

Feature (30 Laps): 1. 21K-Thomas Kennedy, [4]; 2. 11-Roger Crockett, [2]; 3. 52-Blake Hahn, [10]; 4. 23-Seth Bergman, [1]; 5. 28-Scott Bogucki, [7]; 6. 47X-Dylan Westbrook, [14]; 7. J2-John Carney II, [8]; 8. 5J-Jamie Ball, [12]; 9. 2C-Wayne Johnson, [17]; 10. 1-Travis Rilat, [13]; 11. 82-Jason Martin, [18]; 12. 84-Brandon Hanks, [20]; 13. 9N-Wade Nygaard, [3]; 14. 9X-Jake Bubak, [15]; 15. 21P-Robbie Price, [21]; 16. 21-Miles Paulus, [19]; 17. 77X-Alex Hill, [16]; 18. 17W-Harli White, [11]; 19. 44-Chris Martin, [9]; 20. (DNF) 9M-Chad Goff, [5]; 21. (DNF) 95-Matt Covington, [22]; 22. (DNF) 17-Josh Baughman, [6]

ELDON, Mo. — Brad Sweet was in his own timeline Friday night for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series race at Lake Ozark Speedway.

Laps clicked off when he wanted them too. Slower cars were placed where he wanted them. But that was until a red flag with 10 laps remaining in the 40-lap event at the third-mile track.

The lead was his. Only his.

Sweet’s straightaway lead on second-place David Gravel vanished with the snap of a finger. Time was no longer his to freely play with. He had to defend it.

When the green flag waved again and the thunder of the cars struck the facility, Sweet – looking for his second win of the season – tried to jolt his way back to a commanding lead. But Gravel struck just as hard.

Determined to win in his Jason Johnson Racing team’s backyard, Gravel became the mad titan of the high side. He used every inch of it to find the grip he needed to conquer his quest for the lead.

A lap after the restart, he took the lead in search of his third victory of the season.

Sweet was not going to live with second. Determined to leave hoisting the trophy, the Grass Valley, Calif., native used his years of experience to find the right line and reel Gravel back in.

With four laps to go, Sweet found his advantage. He slid under Gravel in turns one and two, clearing him on the backstretch and then changing course to the high side of the track for the final few laps.

Sweet still wasn’t invulnerable, though. Gravel tried every line he could to stay on Sweet’s bumper with Donny Schatz close behind in third.

With the checkered flag flying, Sweet saw a potential victory and defeat at the same time. One turn away from victory, a lap car blocked Sweet’s run off turn four, allowing Gravel to close through the middle of the track and Schatz to close on Gravel on the bottom.

But they were in Sweet’s endgame. He hammered the throttle off of turn four and found enough grip worthy of a strong run off the corner to claim his 36th World of Outlaws victory.

“I almost gave it away in the last corner,” Sweet said. “All that matters is we hung on to the checkers and got the win.”

While the battle with Gravel was nerve-racking, he said, the most challenging part of the night was trying to find the best line.

“The top got tricky, then I had to get the bottom going, and the bottom got slow and tricky, as well,” Sweet said. “Just trying to maneuver through lap cars, that’s key to winning these races. We’re getting better and better at managing our tires and getting through lap cars. Tonight, I thought we did a really good job and did everything perfectly until that caution.”

Gravel knew if Sweet stuck to the bottom on the restart he could get by him on the high side. But he said, with five to go, the high side just didn’t work for him anymore.

“The top got extremely tricky at the end,” Gravel said. “Our right rear tire was going low, and that doesn’t help on the cushion. A couple of little things that hurt us a little bit. Just those last three-four laps were not good laps, and paid for it.”

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