Manchester City's defensive crisis has worsened with news John Stones will be out for up to five weeks after picking up a muscle injury in training on Tuesday.

City boss Pep Guardiola confirmed the news at a prematch news conference ahead of their Champions League opener against Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday.

- Champions League group stage: All you need to know
- ESPN Champions League fantasy: Sign up now!

The Premier League champions are already without Aymeric Laporte ruled out for four or five months.

City lost to Norwich 3-2 on Saturday, leaving them five points behind Liverpool at the top of the Premier League.

During the World Cup earlier this year, Quinton de Kock created a mild furore by saying the atmosphere during his IPL 2019 win with Mumbai Indians was more emotionally intense than the one during South Africa's semi-final defeat in the World Cup in 2015. Blasphemy, cried those who support international cricket over leagues, national flags over similar-looking jerseys. Blown out of proportion, said those who had heard the question, which related to emotional atmosphere at a ground and not the value of a tournament or a match.

A couple of months later, on the eve of South Africa's T20I against India in Mohali, de Kock was given an opportunity to clarify what he meant.

"What must I say?" It is the biggest thing I have won so far. I haven't won a World Cup," de Kock said as a matter of fact. "So obviously once I win a World Cup, if I do, that will be the biggest ever thing I have done in my career. So far it is an IPL. I had played for a couple of teams but had never made the play-offs before. I played for Mumbai, we made the final and we won. So obviously it is a big achievement for any cricketer. There are so many things that cricketers these days want to be part of. They want to win IPL finals. They want to be part of World Cup finals and win them. Personally it's different for everyone. Everyone has their opinions. My opinion is mine. Their opinion is theirs. For me that's the biggest thing I have achieved so far."

The IPL final could not be accused of being dull. Played in front of a raucous crowd, the match involved a successful defence of eight runs in the final over. De Kock was in the thick of him: taking a catch, effecting a run-out, but also conceding four byes off a Jasprit Bumrah hand grenade. The World Cup semi-final was a similarly close affair, but New Zealand beat South Africa in that heart-breaking finish. As a wicketkeeper, de Kock was in the thick of it again, taking a superlative catch to send back Ross Taylor but missing the run-out of Grant Elliott, who eventually took New Zealand home.

Berkshire 164 (Morris 89, Hemmings 4-21) and 97 for 9 (Maxfield 7-48) beat Staffordshire 150 and 110 (Nugent 5-40, Rishton 4-42) by one wicket.

Berkshire held their nerve to win the Minor Counties Championship for a record-equalling fourth successive season after they scrambled a one-wicket victory over Staffordshire on the third day of the final at Banbury.

Berkshire were set just 97 to win but that modest target looked like being beyond them when they slipped to 87 for 9 with Staffordshire seamer Tim Maxfield taking seven of the wickets.

But Staffordshire could not dislodge Berkshire opener Jack Davies who batted throughout the innings for 42 not out.

With the support of last man Mungo Russell, Davies managed to whittle down the runs, striking Rob Hemmings for an important boundary, taking a single off the same bowler to level the scores and then clinching victory in a remarkable low-scoring final by taking the winning single off Maxfield.

Berkshire's win equalled Devon's record of four successive Championships under the captaincy of Peter Roebuck between 1994 and 1997 and gave them their seventh national title in four season to go with four Western Division crowns.

Defeat was hard on Maxfield who finished with career-best figures of 7 for 48 in a brave effort from Staffordshire, the Eastern Division champions.

Ball dominated bat throughout the match on a pitch that helped the seamers and only one batsman, Berkshire's Richard Morris in the first innings, made 50. Davies was the only other batsman to top 30.

There were 13 LBWs in the match, ten of them against Berkshire with five in each innings.

Berkshire began the day needing 73 more runs for victory and Staffordshire requiring seven more wickets.

The equation became 73 runs with six wickets in hand after Manraj Johal bowled Middlesex T20 batsman Dan Lincoln without addition to the overnight total.

Maxfield then bowled Berkshire captain James Morris and Johal trapped Andy Rishton LBW to make it 40 for 6.

But the experienced Chris Peploe (15) and Tom Nugent (13) supplied valuable lower-order runs in important partnerships with Davies for the seventh and eighth wickets which got Berkshire to within 16 of their target.

Maxfield then had Nugent and Luke Beaven LBW but Davies, who is on Middlesex's books, and Russell held firm for 23 balls while they scraped together the last ten runs.

Big picture

India's home season was supposed to begin in Dharamsala, but rain ensured it did not. Our preview for the first T20I, therefore, could serve just as well as a preview to the second one in Mohali.

If you're looking for the TL;DR version, here goes.

In the spotlight

Hardik Pandya has batted 61 times in 66 matches for Mumbai Indians, but only 24 times in 38 T20Is. How have India underutilised his hitting skills to this extent? The answer, perhaps, is that they have for far too long batted too conservatively at the start of their innings, and as a result not allowed him enough time in the middle. Will their new emphasis on batting depth also free up the top order to take more risks?

He didn't have the greatest of World Cups, and he's slipped away from the spotlight in the months since while the world has raved about Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer. It might surprise you to learn that Kagiso Rabada is younger than both of them. He'll want to begin this new international season, and this new era in South African cricket, with a bang, and remind the world that this other incredibly gifted young fast bowler exists.

Team news

Who will partner Rohit Sharma at the top of the order for India - Shikhar Dhawan or KL Rahul? From their practice session on Tuesday, it appeared that Dhawan might win that race.

India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan/KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Manish Pandey/Shreyas Iyer, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Washington Sundar/Rahul Chahar, 10 Deepak Chahar, 11 Navdeep Saini

Temba Bavuma, Anrich Nortje, and the two spin-bowling allrounders, Bjorn Fortuin and George Linde, are yet to make their T20I debut. At least two of them might do so on Wednesday.

South Africa (probable): 1 Quinton de Kock (capt & wk), 2 Reeza Hendricks, 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 Temba Bavuma, 5 David Miller, 6 Andile Phehlukwayo, 7 Dwaine Pretorius, 8 Bjorn Fortuin/George Linde, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Junior Dala/Anrich Nortje, 11 Tabraiz Shamsi

Pitch and conditions

Mohali is expected to be warm and dry on Wednesday, with no rain forecast. The pitch usually produces evenly balanced T20 contests, with seven matches in the 2019 IPL season producing an average first-innings total of 171, with the chasing team winning five times.

Stats and trivia

• Virat Kohli's average of 28.83 against South Africa is his second-worst against any T20I opponent. He's done worse only against Ireland, against whom he's scored nine runs in two innings at 4.50.

• David Miller has scored 730 runs in 29 T20 matches in Mohali, at an average of 45.62 and a strike rate of 150.51. Only Shaun Marsh has scored more T20 runs at the venue.

Quotes

"They're both good players in their own right. It's always going to be a good competition. They like being very positive in the way they play their cricket, and it could a great thing to watch."
Quinton de Kock on the prospect of Kagiso Rabada vs Virat Kohli

Soumya Sarkar and Mehidy Hasan Miraz have been picked among 13 capped players in the 16-member Bangladesh A side for their tour of Sri Lanka. Mehidy couldn't find a place in the senior T20I side for the ongoing tri-series, while Soumya was dropped after two matches after scores of 4 and 0.

They will now play two four-day matches and three one-dayers against Sri Lanka A from September 23 to October 12. Mominul Haque will lead the side that also includes Mohammad Mithun, Shadman Islam and Abu Jayed.

The national selectors also named the Bangladesh Under-23 side that will play five one-day matches in India from September 19 to 27 at Lucknow's Ekana Cricket Stadium. This is a similar squad to the one that played for the Bangladesh Emerging side against Sri Lanka at home last month. Saif Hassan will lead the side, although he was also named in the A squad, which means he will fly from India to Sri Lanka once the Under-23 matches are over on September 27.

Among the changes, there was no place for Mohammad Mithun, Nazmul Islam, Raqibul Hasan and Tanbir Hayder while Yeasin Hasan is out with injury.

Shafiqul Islam, Sumon Khan, Tanvir Islam and Zakir Hasan were transferred from the A side to the Under-23 team, which included Ariful Haque among capped players, as well as Zakir Hasan and Mahedi Hasan, who was dropped from the Bangladesh side from the T20I tri-series earlier this week.

A squad: Mominul Haque (capt), Shadman Islam, Jahurul Islam, Mohammad Mithun, Nurul Hasan, Anamul Haque, Soumya Sarkar, Abu Jayed, Ebadot Hossain, Sunzamul Islam, Rishad Hossain, Salauddin Sakil, Mehedi Hasan Rana, Najmul Hossain, Saif Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz

U-23 squad: Saif Hassan (capt), Fardeen Hasan, Mahidul Islam, Yasir Ali, Al Amin, Zakir Hasan, Jaker Ali, Ariful Haque, Tanvir Islam, Mahedi Hasan, Manik Khan, Shafiqul Islam, Sumon Khan, Robiul Haque, Sabbir Hossain

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- New York Giants coach Pat Shurmur cracked open the door to make the switch from quarterback Eli Manning to Daniel Jones. He might as well have let in a tsunami. There's no turning back now.

The Giants decided to begin the transition, naming Jones their starting quarterback for Week 3 on Tuesday. Throwing the rookie Jones into the mix on the road without Golden Tate (suspension), Sterling Shepard and Cody Latimer (both in the concussion protocol) is not be ideal. They are their top three wide receivers.

But, there will never be a perfect time and this is the right move. Jones will get his first regular-season action on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4:05 p.m. ET, Fox).

The Giants (0-2) can now spend the rest of 2019 rebuilding like they should have two years ago when they were coming off a 3-13 season. Giving Jones in-game experience is the best way for this organization to become a contender as quickly as possible because it's not happening with the 38-year-old Manning.

"There is no way you can learn how to play this game without playing this game," Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner said during the summer. "You can learn mentally and you can grow, but you can't become the player you're going to be by sitting down and watching. You have to get experience, and you have to face things."

Moving on from Manning should have happened two seasons ago when coach Ben McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese -- both since exiled -- started the ball rolling by benching Manning in favor of Geno Smith in November. The Giants have gone 6-16 since backtracking on that decision, including losing their first two games this season. They're also 0-2 for the sixth time in seven seasons.

Manning is not fully to blame. His supporting cast isn't enough to carry a quarterback who is merely a passenger rather than a conductor at this point in his career. But Manning hasn't done much to make the pain stop. And to keep trotting him out there on a bad team with a porous defense makes no sense -- especially with the future of the franchise, Jones, who proved in the preseason he wouldn't be completely overwhelmed, sitting on the bench.

The Giants are going nowhere this season. Fast. Give them credit for finally realizing it.

It's really a shame the Giants reached this point when just about everyone outside their facility understood where they were headed. Manning shouldn't have returned for his 16th season once the Giants drafted Jones with the No. 6 overall pick.

The real mistake was living in a fantasy world and believing this roster put together by GM Dave Gettleman, with Manning as the starter, could be a playoff team. They conjured visions of the Kansas City Chiefs with Alex Smith and Patrick Mahomes and the Green Bay Packers with Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.

Except the Chiefs were 12-4 the season before they drafted Mahomes and a contender in his rookie year. The Packers were 10-6 before selecting Rodgers.

The Giants were 5-11 prior to taking Jones and got rid of several of their best players this offseason. To put themselves in the same category as those Chiefs or Packers teams, as Gettleman did, was delusional. Owner John Mara should have realized the ideal world in which Manning finished the season and Jones never played a snap wasn't realistic.

The Giants basically gave Manning an ultimatum to win or else. Guess how that went?

The reality is it took all of two weeks for Shurmur to realize the rookie out of Duke might give the Giants as good a chance -- or better -- to win than Manning. If not, at least the experience will benefit Jones and the Giants long-term.

"We're always trying to do what we can to win this next game. And then we're always behind the scenes having those long-term discussions. I think that is the challenge each week is doing what you can to win each game," Shurmur said Monday as the Giants pondered the possibility of Jones becoming the starter. "That's really my focus as the coach and certainly that is what the players' focus is."

The focus shouldn't be on whether the Giants are built for instant success or whether Jones will experience tough times playing with the supporting cast around him. Spoiler: They're not, and he will struggle.

Manning took over an even better team 10 games into 2004 and had his struggles. Look no further than when he threw for 27 yards and was pulled mid-game against the Baltimore Ravens. But Manning bounced back. He learned from that experience and was able to have a legendary career winning two Super Bowls against Tom Brady and the Patriots.

The great ones always do rebound. If Jones isn't able to handle early failures such as Manning did during his rookie season, the likelihood is his career probably would have never amounted to much anyway. The great ones need to be resilient with a short memory. It's part of the job description.

The time has come to see if Jones has what it takes so the Giants can figure out sooner rather than later if he's the quarterback who will make them contenders again.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Eli Manning's run as the starting quarterback for the New York Giants appears to be over after almost 15 years. Rookie Daniel Jones is taking over, beginning Sunday on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team announced Tuesday.

"Eli and I spoke this morning," coach Pat Shurmur said in a release by the team. "I told him that we are making a change and going with Daniel as the starter. I also talked to Daniel.

"Eli was obviously disappointed, as you would expect, but he said he would be what he has always been, a good teammate, and continue to prepare to help this team win games. Daniel understands the challenge at hand, and he will be ready to play on Sunday."

Jones was the No. 6 overall pick in this year's draft out of Duke. He had a strong spring and summer, completing 85.3 percent of his passes in the preseason with two touchdown passes and no interceptions.

Manning, 38, has made a franchise record 232 starts since replacing Kurt Warner in November 2004, during Manning's rookie season. He has collected a pair of Super Bowl MVPs and rewritten the franchise record book during a 16-season run.

"Ultimately, this is a move that I felt was best for this team at this time," Shurmur said. "I have said it since I got here, I am very fond of Eli. His work ethic, his preparation, his football intelligence. All those attributes are as good as I have ever seen in a player. And Eli worked as hard as you could ask of anybody to get ready for this season. This move is more about Daniel moving forward than about Eli."

Manning knew coming into this year that Jones was breathing down his neck. General manager Dave Gettleman and Shurmur told Manning during the draft that it would be his starting job as long as he won games.

The Giants have lost their first two games by a combined 32 points. They are 0-2 for the sixth time in seven seasons.

"Hey, we're 0-2 and looking for answers," Manning said Monday after Shurmur left open the possibility that Jones could take his starting job. "I get it when you draft a guy early and [are] not winning games, things are going to come up. So I just need to keep working and do whatever my job is."

Manning has completed 63 percent of his passes this season for 556 yards with two touchdowns, two interceptions and a lost fumble. He's 22nd out of 32 quarterbacks with a total QBR of 37.5 this season.

The Giants' problems go well beyond their quarterback. They're short on wide receivers and their defense has struggled. It has created a situation where the Giants appear to be in a rebuild rather than serious playoff contention.

It's not what they were envisioning. Co-owner John Mara said this summer that in an ideal world Jones wouldn't play a snap this season because it would mean that Manning and the Giants were enjoying success.

This isn't an ideal world. Jones will be inserted into the lineup in Week 3 after having served as the backup each of the first two games. He has taken backup reps (about 10 percent) at practice while also splitting time with Alex Tanney running the scout team. Jones told ESPN late last week that he spent a chunk of his time since the start of the regular season researching old game film of that current week's opponent to support Manning's preparation.

Jones now has a full week to prepare for Tampa Bay's defense, which has started the season well under new coordinator Todd Bowles.

The Giants have continuously had discussions behind the scenes about how to handle Jones and their quarterback situation. Among the topics of conversation have been how to balance trying to win now with doing what is best for the future of the franchise.

"We're always trying to do what we can to win this next game. And then we're always behind the scenes having those long-term discussions," Shurmur said. "I think that is the challenge each week is doing what you can to win each game. That's really my focus as the coach and certainly that is what the players' focus is."

This isn't the first time Manning has found himself on the bench. He benched himself in the 2017 season when former coach Ben McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese asked him to start a Week 13 game in Oakland before giving way in the second half to Geno Smith. McAdoo and Reese were fired and Manning was reinserted as the starter before the following week.

Manning kept the job for another 21 months that produced a total of six wins. His career record as a starter could now end at 116-116.

But his résumé will at least warrant consideration for the Hall of Fame when his career comes to a close. Manning has completed 60.3 percent of his passes for 56,537 yards with 362 touchdowns and 241 interceptions. He has also engineered two legendary playoff runs that ended with the Giants hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.

Manning is seventh all time in NFL history in passing yards, eighth in touchdown passes and sixth in completions and attempts.

What were the best NBA games of the past 10 seasons?

With a new NBA decade beginning this fall, ESPN's panel of experts is breaking down the very best moments of the 2010s. On Monday, Kirk Goldsberry ranked the 10 best shooters. Now, it's time for our list of the greatest games.

For this ranking, our panel gave their top three picks for the best games from the 2009-2010 season through 2018-19. The list features career-defining playoff moments and a couple of the most entertaining regular season games of all time.

Let's dive in.

8. Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics | 2012 Eastern Conference finals, Game 6

Score: Heat 98, Celtics 79

Date: June 7, 2012

Full highlights

Miami's 19-point margin of victory underrates why this was such a good game. This one was all about LeBron James' dominant 45-point, 15-rebound performance in a must-win matchup, helping the Heat force a Game 7 at home.

Remember, this was the same Heat team that lost in the NBA Finals the previous year and was one loss away from having nothing to show for its splashy Big 3. James' legacy was on the line, and he delivered.

The dominoes from this game also are intriguing. Ray Allen left for Miami that summer, then Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett were traded to the Brooklyn Nets in 2013, breaking up Boston's own Big 3. James won his first championship against the Thunder in 2012, and Miami repeated the following season. And OKC? Months after losing to LeBron in the Finals, the Thunder traded James Harden to the Rockets.

Would that trade have happened if OKC faced a less formidable Boston team in the Finals? We will never know. - Bobby Marks

7. Dallas Mavericks vs. Portland Trail Blazers | 2011 playoffs Round 1, Game 4

Score: Trail Blazers 84, Mavericks 82

Date: April 23, 2011

Full highlights

Brandon Roy knows they weren't all good shots, but he took them anyway. He had nothing to lose.

The three-time Blazers All-Star had been demoted to a bench role in the middle of the season after returning from double knee surgery. His career was on the brink. Just a few days before this iconic Game 4 performance, he had to keep himself from crying after logging sparse minutes in Game 2.

Portland was down 21 points before Roy sank a 3 at the end of the third quarter, trying to keep the 2-1 series from slipping away entirely.

"I just went into that game like, 'Who cares?'" Roy told J.A. Adande in 2013. "I was loose. I just played."

Then Roy scored or assisted on 12 of the Blazers' 15 field goals as they erased the Mavs' impossible lead in the fourth quarter. The last two were the very best.

He drilled a bold, and-one 3-pointer over Shawn Marion before swan-diving to the floor, injecting Andre Miller with maybe the NBA's most endearing high step. Roy's free throw tied the game. On the next possession, Roy came down and did what he always had done best: Create just enough space. His pull-up banked in over Marion and Portland held on for the win.

The Blazers lost that series a few nights later, but who cares? - Austin Tedesco

6. Golden State Warriors vs. Oklahoma City Thunder | 2016 regular season

Score: Warriors 121, Thunder 118

Date: Feb. 27, 2016

For a game on a sleepy, cold Saturday night in late February, the stakes were cranked to unusual levels. The Warriors were the burgeoning juggernaut, winners of 52 of their first 57 games. The Thunder were maybe their greatest threat to immortality, a springy, rangy, athletic team with top-shelf talent. In front of a juiced crowd producing decibels normally reserved for mid-May, the ample amount of starpower was on full display.

With 14.5 seconds to go, Kevin Durant hit a wing 3 to put the Thunder up four, and it appeared -- appeared! -- Oklahoma City was about to notch a signature win. Klay Thompson answered with a quick layup, and then 47 minutes and 49 seconds of exceptional basketball was undone for OKC. Russell Westbrook inbounded to Durant, who was trapped in the corner. Like a quarterback in duress, he flung up a pass off his back foot, hoping for an answered prayer. After a scramble, Andre Iguodala drew a foul and made both free throws to force overtime.

But the game hadn't even really gotten good yet.

The extra five minutes were back-and-forth; the dueling brilliance of Durant and Westbrook versus the Splash Brothers -- the pure, archetypical version of it. Westbrook missed a jumper with nine seconds left in a tie game, Iguodala rebounded and sent an outlet pass to Stephen Curry. The way Curry took his time coming up the court was disconcerting to some, but in reality, he was just timing his steps to launch one of the most iconic shots in NBA history. Never expecting a 40-footer with time on the clock, Andre Roberson briefly turned his back, giving Curry the cue. Thunder assistant coach Darko Rajakovic was the only man in the building who could see what was coming, screaming for Roberson to get a hand up the moment Curry crossed the half-court line. But with an arena roaring at full throat, Rajakovic's pleading went unheard.

"Bang! Baaaaaang! Oh, what a shot from Curry!" announcer Mike Breen howled.

The roar went dull; the Thunder slumped in complete shock. Curry strutted, screamed and shimmied. It was his 12th 3-pointer of the game, tying an NBA record. It was the kind of shot that felt more fable than real, the magnum opus moment in a relentlessly mesmerizing season of 73-win dominance. - Royce Young

5. Utah Jazz vs. Los Angeles Lakers | 2016 regular season

Score: Lakers 101, Jazz 96

Date: April 13, 2016

Mamba Out (Kobe Bryant, 2016)

What were the details behind Kevin Garnett's final game? Tim Duncan's? Ray Allen's? When stars retire sans injury, the game itself often is a blank canvas of messy moments and nostalgia that the mind fills -- a picture with a clear outline from afar but a lack of detail or form when investigated up close.

Kobe Bryant's final game, though, is indelibly clear at any distance.

The Lakers trailing by 10 points with 3:04 to play? Bryant scoring 17 of the final 19 to seal a win? The contest was brimming with a variety of hallmarks that brand it as a "Kobe game" (50 shot attempts?). And that doesn't even delve into the edges of the night -- how Shaquille O'Neal sat courtside and challenged the retiring Laker to score 50; how the Lakers issued 336 credentials for media from 40 countries; how a finale between two teams eliminated from contention drew as much attention as a historic Golden State squad seeking its 73rd win of the regular season. (The Warriors issued approximately 350 credentials that night.)

Retirement parties in the NBA, in the best of circumstances, are Monets. Yet in the case of Bryant, the send-off wasn't simply a final image, but a tour through the exhibit of Kobe, capturing an entire oeuvre in a single night. - Andrew Han

4. Dallas Mavericks vs. Miami Heat | 2011 NBA Finals, Game 2

Score: Mavericks 95, Heat 93

Date: June 2, 2011

Full highlights

This seesaw Finals battle ranks among the greats, not only because of the starpower -- LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion -- but also the impact it had on the legacy of an all-time great.

After splashing a corner 3 with 7:14 left in the fourth quarter to put the Heat up 15, Wade held his follow-through in front of the Mavs bench, with James joining him in celebration shortly after. In the first season of the Big 3 era, Miami's master plan was working to perfection. The Heat looked far too dynamic for the aging Mavericks and appeared well on their way to a 2-0 Finals lead.

But behind Jason Terry, Kidd, Marion and Nowitzki, the Mavs went on a 20-2 run to take a 3-point lead with 26 seconds remaining. The Heat's Mario Chalmers drilled an open corner 3 shortly after with 24.5 on the clock. Then Nowitzki scored his ninth consecutive point with Bosh checking him, spinning past the agile big man for a left-handed finish, even more impressive given the torn ligament in his left middle finger. Wade's buzzer heave misfired, and the Mavericks stayed alive, ultimately going on to knock off the Heat in 6 games.

If the Mavs didn't go on that run -- holding the Heat to just one field goal after that Wade 3 -- would Nowitzki be seen as one of the greatest of all time never to win a ring? - Mike Schmitz

3. Golden State Warriors vs. Oklahoma City Thunder | 2016 Western Conference finals, Game 6

Score: Warriors 108, Thunder 101

Date: May 28, 2016

As Klay Thompson took the court for the fourth quarter of Game 6, Stephen Curry had a message for him.

"This is your time," Curry said. "Put on a show out there, and have some fun."

Everything was lining up for the Thunder until this moment. After years of heartbreak, OKC had unleashed length and athleticism around Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in overwhelming fashion. They had an eight-point lead and were only 12 minutes away from making it back to the Finals for the first time since the James Harden trade.

Then Thompson erupted for 19 fourth-quarter points, leading Golden State to a stunning 108-101 victory. At one point in his shooting spree, Thompson let one go from a few steps in front of the half-court line, barely squaring up and Westbrook in his face. It was just one of the many times he looked automatic and unstoppable.

For the Thunder, the joyful mood throughout the arena became their most devastating moment of all. This ended up being Durant's last game in OKC as a member of the Thunder. The loss, combined with the Warriors falling in the Finals, helped pave the way for KD's move to Golden State, shifting the entire balance of power in the NBA.

At the time, it felt as if Thompson had saved the Warriors' season, putting them back on the path to finish off their 73-win campaign as champions and the greatest team of all time. Even though that didn't wind up happening, it remains one of the most important (and fun) games in NBA history. The ramifications still are reverberating today. - Tim Bontemps

2. Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Golden State Warriors | 2016 NBA Finals, Game 7

Score: Cavaliers 93, Warriors 89

Date: June 19, 2016

The 2016 Finals, pitting LeBron James against a Warriors team that had won a record 73 games during the regular season, was a great series without a great game -- until Game 7.

Klay Thompson's layup with 4:39 left tied the score at 89, and with defensive intensity at its highest, neither team scored for more than 3½ minutes -- a stretch highlighted by James' iconic chase-down block of an Andre Iguodala fast-break layup attempt. Kyrie Irving broke the deadlock in the final minute with a pull-up 3, followed by Stephen Curry missing a tying attempt isolated against Kevin Love. After a hard fall on a dunk attempt, James sealed the victory on the final possession by making his second free throw attempt.

The win gave Cleveland its first major professional sports championship since 1964, with Akron, Ohio, native James winning Finals MVP to cap his return to the Cavaliers. The outcome of Game 7 also shook the league's foundation. Shortly after the loss, Warriors forward Draymond Green famously called Kevin Durant from the Oracle Arena parking lot, and barely two weeks later, Durant would sign with Golden State as a free agent. - Kevin Pelton

1. San Antonio Spurs vs. Miami Heat | 2013 NBA Finals, Game 6

Score: Heat 103, Spurs 100

Date: June 18, 2013

We'll let the 2013 oral history of this game take it from here:

Spurs 95, Heat 92 | 9.0 seconds

Chris Bosh, not blocked out, is perfectly positioned to grab LeBron James' miss and wrests the rebound away from the shorter Manu Ginobili. As he does, his body twists toward the right corner of the court, and his line of sight lands directly on Ray Allen, the most prolific 3-point shooter in the history of the NBA.

Allen: When I saw Bosh get the ball, I just backpedaled right to the 3-point line. I was hoping I was where I needed to be. Whether CB threw me the ball or not, I had to get myself in a position where I was ready. We needed a 3. Two points wasn't going to cut it. My mental checklist was to have my legs ready and underneath me so when the ball came, if it came, I was ready to go in the air.

Erik Spoelstra: In practice, Ray does this routine. He lies on his back in the middle of the paint with a coach at the top of the key. He pops up and backpedals without looking down at the 3-point line or the out-of-bounds line. And hits the 3. And does it over and over and over again. Just instinctually does it.

Shane Battier: The devil is in the details, and it's in his routine. If you know Ray, he lives very military-like, discipline-like. Everything has a purpose, and everything is succinct. Anyone who's had success in the corners understands the footwork, understands the spacing of the box that is the corner 3 shot. Ray's maybe the best corner 3-point shooter of all time.

Allen: I try to put my body in precarious situations coming from different parts of the floor, different angles to try to get my momentum going moving forward. I honestly can say I gave myself a great opportunity, a great chance to make that shot. And it wasn't unfamiliar to me, positionally.

James: I've been on the other end of seeing him get them feet down, putting them stupid two fingers up after he makes the shot.

Bosh: You can't put it into words. He's the best 3-point shooter of all time. And the fact that he was open is just unbelievable. In my head, I told myself to wait for Ray to get back, but I know it still happened pretty fast.

Allen: Once I got my legs there, I just let the ball go.

James: I saw it in the air, and I was like, "It's going in. It's got a chance."

Dwyane Wade: When he shot it, I was looking at the ball and I said, "Oh, my god ... that's going in." It was kind of like I couldn't believe it in a sense. But also, "Oh, my god ... it's going in."

Spoelstra: Ray did what he's done for so many years.

Ginobili: Bad, very bad.

Tony Parker: We all have scars in our careers. That one is pretty deep.

Tim Duncan: It was painful.

Gregg Popovich: I've thought about it every day. I'm anxious for it to go away. It hasn't happened yet.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Lucas Giolito's breakout season is over.

The All-Star right-hander will miss the rest of the season with a mild lat strain. He was slated to pitch for the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday at Minnesota, but the team announced the injury after its 5-3 loss to the Twins in the series opener.

"If we were in the playoff hunt at this point, I'd be arguing as much as I could to go out there and pitch and compete,'' Giolito said Monday. "I feel like with how I felt yesterday, I probably would have been able to get through it, but just understanding the situation, it's probably for the best to shut it down.''

The 25-year-old Giolito went 14-9 with a 3.41 ERA in 29 starts this year. He also recorded the first three complete games of his career.

Even with Giolito's performance, the White Sox are a distant third in the AL Central, with a 65-85 record.

"Certainly an incredible season for Lucas, even though it's a couple starts short of a full season,'' White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said. "Still one that, in my opinion, certainly merits Cy Young consideration, and I suspect he'll receive some votes here once the votes are ultimately tabulated and something that he can obviously go into the offseason feeling proud about.''

Hahn said Giolito felt something Sunday when he went to throw a side session. An MRI on Monday revealed the lat strain, which Hahn said would typically require several weeks of recovery.

Ross Detwiler will start Tuesday in Giolito's place.

Giolito was acquired in the December 2016 trade that sent Adam Eaton to Washington. He was selected by the Nationals in the first round of the 2012 draft.

"He's doing ace-type stuff, and we'll let time tell us as we continue to throw him out there and compete, what you guys will ultimately want to label him,'' manager Rick Renteria said. "I see him as an ace-type guy.''

MILWAUKEE -- Christian Yelich said he had a "pity party" for himself after fracturing his right kneecap.

Hurt when he fouled off a pitch last week, the reigning NL MVP will miss the rest of the season as the Milwaukee Brewers try to make the playoffs. The projected recovery time for the two-time All-Star outfielder is eight to 10 weeks, and doctors say surgery is not necessary.

"I think the hardest part of the whole thing was the unknown for about 24 hours," Yelich said Monday in his first public comments since the injury. "It was a broad spectrum of outcomes and recovery times, depending on what the MRI showed. We got the good news of no surgery. Once I knew that, it was just about getting better and trying to make a full recovery."

Yelich said it will be difficult to miss playing in the postseason.

"It's the first time I've broken anything in my life or had a real injury,'' Yelich said. "It seems to be one of those things that's not fair at the moment. Trust me, I had my pity party that night at the stadium and I felt terrible. ... Trust me, I wish I could have an impact on this race, or if we make the playoffs, participate in that. But it's not going to happen. So there's no point in dwelling on it or letting it get you down.''

Yelich hit .329 with 44 homers, 97 RBIs and 30 stolen bases for the Brewers, who reached Game 7 of last year's National League Championship Series before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"For whatever reason, we seem to pull it together in September, and when everything is on the line, we find a way to win," he said.