PARIS -- Unable to sleep the night before her first-round match at the French Open against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, the Grand Slam tournament's No. 2 seed, Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine, checked her phone at 5 a.m. Sunday and saw disturbing news back home in Kyiv.

At least one person was killed when Kyiv was subjected to the largest drone attack by Russia since the start of its war, launched with an invasion assisted by Belarus in February 2022.

"It's something I cannot describe, probably. I try to put my emotions aside any time I go out on court. I think I'm better than before, and I don't think it affects me as much on a daily basis, but yeah, it's just -- I don't know," Kostyuk said, shaking her head. "There is not much to say, really. It's just part of my life."

That, then, is why Kostyuk has decided she will not exchange the usual postmatch pleasantries with opponents from Russia or Belarus. And that is why she avoided a handshake -- avoided any eye contact, even -- after losing to Australian Open champion Sabalenka 6-3, 6-2 on Day 1 at Roland Garros.

What surprised the 20-year-old, 39th-ranked Kostyuk on Sunday was the reaction she received from the spectators in Court Philippe Chatrier: They loudly booed and derisively whistled at her as she walked directly over to acknowledge the chair umpire instead of congratulating the winner after the lopsided result. The negative response grew louder as she gathered her belongings and walked off the court toward the locker room.

"I have to say," Kostyuk said, "I didn't expect it. ... People should be, honestly, embarrassed."

Kostyuk is based now in Monaco, and her mother and sister are there, too, but her father and grandfather are still in Kyiv. Perhaps the fans on hand at the clay-court event's main stadium were unaware of the backstory and figured Kostyuk simply failed to follow usual tennis etiquette.

Initially, Sabalenka -- who had approached the net as if anticipating some sort of exchange with Kostyuk -- thought all of that noise was directed at her.

"At first, I thought they were booing me," Sabalenka said. "I was a little confused, and I was, like, 'OK, what should I do?'"

Sabalenka tried to ask the chair umpire what was going on. She looked up at her entourage in the stands, too. Then she realized that while she is aware Kostyuk and other Ukrainian tennis players have been declining to greet foes from Russia or Belarus after a match, the spectators might not have known -- and so responded in a way Sabalenka didn't think was deserved.

"They saw it," she surmised, "as disrespect [for] me."

All in all, if the tennis itself was not particularly memorable, the whole scene, including the lack of the customary prematch photo of the players following the coin toss, became the most noteworthy development on Day 1 in Paris.

The first seeded player to go home left within an hour of the start of play: No. 29 Zhang Shuai lost to Magdalena Frech 6-1, 6-1 in all of 47 minutes. The first seeded man to bow out was No. 20 Dan Evans, eliminated 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 by wild-card entry Thanasi Kokkinakis. No. 11 Karen Khachanov, a semifinalist at the past two majors, came all the way back after dropping the opening two sets to beat Constant Lestienne, a French player once banned for gambling, by a 3-6, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 score in front of a boisterous crowd at Court Suzanne Lenglen. Two-time Slam finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas came within a point of being forced to a fifth set, too, but got past Jiri Vesely 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7).

Sabalenka called the whole experience "emotionally tough" -- because of mundane, tennis-related reasons, such as the nerves that come with any first-round match, but more significantly because of the unusual circumstances involving the war.

"You're playing against [a] Ukrainian and you never know what's going to happen. You never know how people will -- will they support you or not?" explained Sabalenka, who went down an early break and trailed 3-2 before reeling off six consecutive games with powerful first-strike hitting. "I was worried, like, people will be against me, and I don't like to play when people [are] so much against me."

A journalist from Ukraine asked Sabalenka what her message to the world is with regard to the war, particularly in this context: She can overtake Iga Swiatek at No. 1 in the rankings based on results over the next two weeks and, therefore, serves as a role model.

"Nobody in this world, Russian athletes or Belarusian athletes, support the war. Nobody. How can we support the war? Nobody -- normal people -- will never support it. Why [do] we have to go loud and say that things? This is like: 'One plus one [is] two.' Of course we don't support war," Sabalenka said. "If it could affect anyhow the war, if it could like stop it, we would do it. But unfortunately, it's not in our hands."

When a portion of those comments was read to Kostyuk by a reporter, she responded in calm, measured tones that she doesn't get why Sabalenka does not come out and say that "she personally doesn't support this war."

Kostyuk also rejected the notion that players from Russia or Belarus could be in a tough spot upon returning to those countries if they were to speak out about what is happening in Ukraine.

"I don't know why it's a difficult situation," Kostyuk said with a chuckle.

"I don't know what other players are afraid of," she said. "I go back to Ukraine, where I can die any second from drones or missiles or whatever it is."

Los Angeles sees greatest shot series of all time on a day that also sees impressive wins for Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, Marileidy Paulino and Diribe Welteji

Ryan Crouser threw 23.56m to add 19cm to his own world shot put record at the USATF Los Angeles Invitational on Saturday (May 27). Such was his effort, he almost threw the shot beyond the official throws area.

The event at Drake Stadium was part of the Continental Tour Gold and the biggest athletics event in LA for more than a decade as it gears up to stage the 2028 Olympics.

Crouser’s throw came in the fourth round and his series also included 23.23m in the first round, 23.31m in the third, plus 22.94m, 22.86m and 22.80m.

“I’m really excited because it didn’t feel polished,” Crouser explained. “It felt like I had a tonne of power and I caught a big one.” 

The 30-year-old American finished ahead of Tom Walsh of New Zealand, runner-up with 22.12m.

Elsewhere there were a number of high-quality contests although the crowd was firstly let down by the pre-event withdrawal of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Athing Mu and then, on the night, sprint stars Sha’Carri Richardson and Marie-Josee Ta Lou did not take part in the women’s 100m final after earlier running the heats.

The women in the 100m hurdles had no qualms about facing each other and Jasmine Camacho-Quinn emerged as No.1 from a super-strong line-up with the Puerto Rico athlete clocking a world lead of 12.31 (-0.2) ahead of Keni Harrison’s 12.35 and Tia Jones’ 12.50. World record-holder Tobi Amusan wound up last in 12.69.

Marileidy Paulino won the women’s 400m in a Dominican Republic record and world lead of 48.98 although a few metres behind the 2019 world champion Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain, who is returning from an anti-doping ban, improved to 50.27 from a modest season opener of 52.24 in Chile the previous weekend. Naser ran 48.14 to win the world title in Doha four years ago but was given a ban for breaking whereabouts rules.

Another world champion from Doha, Timothy Cheruiyot won the men’s 1500m in a world lead of 3:31.47 from his namesake Reynold Kipkorir Cheruiyot with Hobbs Kessler delighting the home crowd with a 3:32.61 PB as he sprinted past US champion Cooper Teare in the home straight. Such was the quality, 2016 Olympic champion Matt Centrowitz clocked 3:36.64 but was only eighth.

The women’s 1500m also saw a world lead as Ethiopian Diribe Welteji ran 3:57.84 ahead of Britain’s Kate Snowden, whose 4:00.04 lifted her from 22nd to sixth on the UK all-time rankings.

In the absence of Richardson and Ta Lou, the women’s 100m was won by Morolake Akinosun of the United States  in 10.97 (0.2), while Sean Bailey of Jamaica clocked 44.43 to overtake Kirani James in the closing metres of the men’s 400m. 

In the men’s 100m, Ackeem Blake of Jamaica ran a PB of 9.89 (1.0) as he held off Americans Cravont Charleston and Christian Coleman.

The women’s shot also saw quality throwing as Maggie Ewen threw 20.45m to go No.3 on the US all-time rankings as she beat world champion Chase Ealey.

Finally, as the meeting drew to a close, Mondo Duplantis claimed pole vault victory with a 5.91m first attempt clearance ahead of Sam Kendricks.

The two-day meeting began the previous night (May 26) where one of the highlights saw Abdi Nur win the men’s 5000m in 13:05.17 despite falling over early in the race.

“I just stayed calm, respected the competition and let it come to me,” Nur said. “I went out at two and a half laps because that’s where I feel confident. And when I knew to strike.”

Brits Neil Gourley and Jack Rowe ran PBs in the same race with 13:11.44 and 13:20 respectively.

Shilo Sanders' long-anticipated transfer to Colorado is set, as the Jackson State safety will join his father and brother with the Buffaloes.

Sanders, the son of Colorado coach Deion Sanders and younger brother of Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders, announced that Colorado will be his transfer destination Saturday night. Although Shilo Sanders entered the transfer portal Dec. 17, the same day as his brother, he remained at Jackson State to finish his undergraduate degree this spring.

A video posted to Shilo Sanders' social media platforms ended with him in a Colorado uniform wearing No. 21, the same number he wore at both Jackson State and South Carolina, and Deion Sanders' number during a Hall of Fame NFL career.

Committed #Headachegang™️ #BIG21 pic.twitter.com/ExwmbY22vm

— Shilo Sanders (@ShiloSanders) May 28, 2023

Shilo Sanders earned second-team all-conference honors for Jackson State in 2021, when he recorded 4 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, 7 pass breakups and 39 tackles. His interceptions total tied for second in the SWAC. Last season, Sanders recorded one interception, five passes defended and 20 tackles.

The 6-foot, 195-pound Sanders appeared in 13 games for South Carolina in a two-year career, recording 32 tackles.

He's the eighth Jackson State player to follow Deion Sanders to Colorado, joining notables like Shedeur Sanders, Colorado's expected starter at quarterback, and two-way star Travis Hunter. Cornerback Tayvion Beasley, who initially transferred in from Jackson State, re-entered the transfer portal after spring practice.

LAS VEGAS -- A healthy scratch to start the series, Ty Dellandrea scored two pivotal, third-period goals in the Dallas Stars' 4-2 victory on Saturday against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals.

The win kept the Stars' season alive for at least two more days. Game 6 is Monday night in Dallas.

Dellandrea's winning and insurance goals also came with another accomplishment in that it guaranteed Stars captain Jamie Benn will return for Game 6 after being suspended for the past two games for a cross-check on Golden Knights captain Mark Stone in Game 3.

"It's a lot of desperation, we have a lot to play for here," Dellandrea said. "Our group's really come together and leaned on one another. Guys have stepped up. ... We've really been leaning on one another and playing for a lot here. It's been a group effort for sure."

Stars defenseman Thomas Harley set up Dellandrea's goal by breaking up a Golden Knights' entry with his stick, passing it to Joel Kiviranta, who then played a diagonal cross-ice pass to Dellandrea for what was a 1-on-3 rush.

Creating time and space was a challenge, yet Dellandrea temporarily had both right when he launched a wrist shot from the top of the right faceoff circle. Even then? His window started to close when Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo tried closing down on the shot only to have the puck deflect off his stick and sneak just underneath Adin Hill's glove to give the Stars a 3-2 lead with 9:27 remaining in the third period.

Barely 90 seconds later, Dellandrea scored again to practically guarantee Game 6.

Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud was behind the net when he tried playing the puck off the boards that led to Stars forward Max Domi scooping a loose puck that he tried throwing on net as he was being pushed from behind. Dellandrea recovered the rebound and lifted a shot over Hill to double the lead with 7:58 remaining.

Dellandrea said after Game 4 that he's been more mindful about utilizing his shot which led to him referencing a scoring chance he felt he should have converted in Game 5.

"It shows how special you are when you get taken out and it's he didn't make it about him," Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger said of Dellandrea, who is one of his closest friends on the team. "It's all about the team. He wanted us to win. When you get your opportunity to step up and that's what he did. I'm so proud of him. I tell him to shoot it all the time. He's got a great shot, so, I'm happy it was him."

Finding secondary and tertiary scoring became a priority for the Stars considering Benn was suspended and that Evgenii Dadonov suffered a lower-body injury early in Game 3 that has led to him missing the last two games.

Dellandrea's goals helped fill that void. So did the second-period goal by Luke Glendening, who has now scored two goals in 16 playoff games after scoring three goals in 70 regular-season games.

Now add what Jason Robertson has achieved to this point for the Stars in the conference final. A 100-point scorer in the regular season, he didn't score in the second round. But in the conference final, he's become one of the Stars' most consistent players. He scored the first game-tying goal, which means he's accounted for five of the 12 goals the Stars have scored against the Golden Knights in this round.

Those contributions add to the composite of how the Stars are among the deepest teams in the playoffs. They've had 16 players score at least one goal in the postseason -- the same number as the Golden Knights.

It's another reason why Benn's return has a chance to be crucial. It gives the Stars a forward who scored 33 goals in the regular season and has added to those totals with 11 points in 16 playoff games before his suspension.

"Our whole thought process was we win two games, and we get him back," Glendening said of Benn. "[We] didn't want his season to end that way and wanted to give him the opportunity to play again."

Benn's return for Game 6 on Monday could also lead to one of two outcomes.

Either the Golden Knights will win the series and advance to the Stanley Cup Final to face the Florida Panthers.

Or the Stars will tie the series and return for Game 7 with a chance to advance to their second Stanley Cup Final in four seasons.

Yet what makes the Stars' recent accomplishments even more intriguing is the context that comes with teams that have trailed in a series. The Panthers rallied from a 3-1 hole in the first round to upset the Boston Bruins before they eventually punched their ticket to what is just the second Cup final appearance in franchise history.

And there's also a bit of the personal experience Stars coach Pete DeBoer has when it comes to mounting a comeback. DeBoer was in charge of the San Jose Sharks when they fell into a 3-1 hole in the 2018-19 playoffs before they won the series in seven games.

The opponent? It was the Golden Knights.

"I don't think you can compare any series to any other series," DeBoer said. "But I know our group and we weren't happy about being in the hole we were in, and they've decided to do something about it. Now, we're rolling."

MIAMI -- Less than a second away from their second trip to the NBA Finals in four seasons, Miami Heat players and fans stood in collective shock after Boston Celtics guard Derrick White tipped in the go-ahead bucket at the buzzer in a stunning 104-103 loss Saturday night in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals.

The shot forced Game 7 on Monday and pushed the Celtics to within one victory of becoming the first NBA team to come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series.

Despite the emotions of the loss, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and star forward Jimmy Butler were defiant in the belief that they could still find a way to win the biggest game of the season on Monday night.

Spoelstra called the final sequence a "shame" but said he has "no regrets."

"This is the way this season has been," he said. "This is one hell of a series. At this time right now, I don't know how we are going to get this done, but we are going up there and get it done. And that's what the next 48 hours is about."

Butler, who hit three clutch free throws with three seconds left to give the Heat a 103-102 lead, said he remains confident the Heat will find a way to win Game 7, despite the fact that they've now dropped three straight, including being on the wrong end of one of the wildest finishes on Saturday night.

"[That's] basketball for you, basketball at its finest -- very, very, very entertaining," Butler said. "But that's good basketball. I think, I believe, as we all do, like you're going to get the same test until you pass it, I swear. We were in this same position last year. We can do it. I know that we will do it. We've got to go on the road and win in a very, very, very tough environment."

It's the same tone Butler tried to set heading into Games 5 and 6, exuding belief that the Heat would find a way to close out the series. He acknowledged frustration, though, over his 5-for-21 shooting night, saying the Heat wouldn't have been in position to lose on a buzzer-beater if he had been "better from jump street."

"Everything that happened tonight, if I don't go 5-for-21 and turn the ball over and all of this good stuff, it's a different story," he said. "I've got on a different hat up here and we're getting ready to go to the Finals."

The Heat's postgame locker room Saturday night was the quietest it has been in recent memory until guard Gabe Vincent turned on a song from his phone -- "Life Goes On" by Ed Sheeran. The Heat are trying to hold the same mantra as they face a Celtics team that has found its confidence again over the past week and appears even stronger now, given how the final seconds played out in Game 6.

"It's almost storybook," Vincent said. "It's almost like it's supposed to be this way. But you know, go to Boston and get a win."

The Heat are buoyed by the fact that they've played in several close games all season and have withstood every challenge that brought them to this point. Heat center Bam Adebayo, who struggled through a 4 for 16 shooting performance on Saturday, was quick with a response when asked how the Heat can emotionally recover from the loss.

"You go in to Boston and you get you one," he said.

The Heat also are trying to generate hope from the idea that they've always played better when they've made things more difficult on themselves throughout the campaign. Trying to get over this type of letdown, however, would be one of the biggest accomplishments of Spoelstra's Hall of Fame-worthy career.

He set the tenor for his group while sitting behind the postgame podium late Saturday night.

"There's been nothing easy about this season for our group," Spoelstra said. "And so we just have to do it the hard way. That's just the way it's got to be for our group.

"We wish we would tip this thing off right now. Right now, let's tip this thing off, and let's play another 48 minutes. But we'll wait 48 hours and do this thing in Boston."

MIAMI -- The Heat were less than a second away from the NBA Finals.

But with a precious two-tenths of a second remaining, Derrick White -- who had served as the inbounds passer on the final possession for the Boston Celtics -- managed to release a putback of a Marcus Smart missed jumper that fell through the net just as the buzzer sounded, giving the Celtics a heart-stopping 104-103 victory in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals.

It sends this series back to Boston for Game 7 on Memorial Day night and moves the Celtics one win away from becoming the first NBA team to come back from a 3-0 series deficit

"Derrick White, like a flash of lightning, just came out of nowhere and saved the day, man," teammate Jaylen Brown said.

"It was just an incredible play."

It was an incredible series of moments -- all of which were eerily similar to the way Game 7 of this same matchup on this same court played out almost exactly one year earlier.

Like in that 2022 game, Boston controlled the proceedings throughout. And like in that game, the Celtics had a sizable lead -- nine points, to be exact -- when Jayson Tatum hit a couple of free throws to make it 100-91 with 3 minutes, 4 seconds to go.

And like in that game, Boston gave it all back.

"I don't know if poise is a great word to use with those last four minutes," White would say later with a smile, "but we found a way to win."

But only just. On a night when the Celtics made fewer 3s (7) and shot a worse percentage (20%) than they had in any regular-season or playoff game this campaign, it also had been a truly horrendous night for Butler. But then he scored the final 10 points of the contest for the Heat over a two-minute stretch: hitting a 3-pointer, followed by going 1-for-2 at the line, converting an and-1 bucket and, with three seconds to go, drawing a foul on Al Horford in the corner on a 3 and -- after a long review -- knocking down all three free throws.

There was a long review because Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla chose to challenge the foul on Horford. But while the call wasn't reversed, the challenge was crucial in another respect: It bought Boston time.

An extra nine-tenths of a second, to be exact.

Originally, referee Josh Tiven had called a foul with 2.1 seconds remaining. But while the officials would have reviewed whether the shot was a 2-pointer or a 3, they could only review the time on a challenge.

And because they did, the Celtics had some extra time to work with.

As it turned out, they needed every last bit of it.

"I'm still in disbelief," Tatum said. "That s--- was crazy."

That, specifically, was White's putback, which came after he inbounded the ball to Smart on a scramble. After Boston had failed to get a shot up in the final seconds of a loss in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at the Philadelphia 76ers, Smart said he was determined to make sure he got a shot up on the rim in that moment.

But when Smart's attempt rolled around the rim and fell off, it landed in White's waiting hands for the game winner.

"It don't do no good to stand in the corner there, whether he makes it or not," White said, "so I just was crashing the glass, and it came right to me."

Saturday's victory continued Boston's remarkable ascent back into this series. The Celtics became the fourth NBA team to force a Game 7 after falling behind 3-0 in a best-of-7 series, joining the Portland Trail Blazers against the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the 2003 playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks; the Denver Nuggets against the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference semifinals in 1994; and the New York Knicks against the Rochester Royals in the 1951 NBA Finals.

The Celtics, however, will be the first of those teams to host Game 7 after falling behind 3-0.

Mazzulla has now won five elimination games in these playoffs, tying him with the late Paul Westphal for the most such victories by a first-time head coach in the postseason, after Westphal led the Phoenix Suns to the 1993 NBA Finals.

The eight wins Boston now has in elimination games over the past two postseasons are tied with the Houston Rockets in 1994 and 1995 for the most such victories in consecutive years.

Boston's fifth straight triumph in a road elimination game also tied the Celtics for most consecutive wins in those situations. What makes it all the more remarkable is that while the two previous record holders -- the Celtics from 1968 to 1974 and the Suns from the 1981 to 1990 -- did so over a several-year stretch, all five of Boston's consecutive away wins with its season on the line have come in the past two postseasons:

The Celtics won Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at the Milwaukee Bucks last year, followed by Game 7 of the conference finals here in Miami. This season, the Celtics won Game 6 of the conference semifinals in Philadelphia, followed by Games 4 and 6 at the Heat in this series.

Meanwhile, the victory improved Boston's overall road record during the past two postseasons to 14-7, with those 14 away wins now tied for the second most by any team over consecutive years.

The Los Angeles Lakers across the 2001 and 2002 playoffs hold the record with 15 victories, while the Cleveland Cavaliers won a combined 14 during the 2016 and 2017 postseasons, as did the Golden State Warriors over the 2018 and 2019 playoffs and those mid-1990s Rockets teams.

All four of those teams have something in common: They won championships. With yet another victory on Monday in Game 7, Boston will have a chance to do the same in the NBA Finals against the Nuggets.

And thanks to White's heroics, the Celtics will get a chance to make history.

"I've never been so excited," Tatum said, "to go back to Boston in my life."

MIAMI -- Payton Pritchard let out a yelp as he watched Blake Griffin's phone, seeing the replay for the first time.

"Oh my God, it was so close!" Griffin exclaimed and then rushed across the room to Derrick White's locker.

"Let me see," White said, looking closely at the replay of one of the top moments of his career for the first time, trailing the millions across the globe who were already gawking at it.

A few minutes earlier, White etched his name into the NBA's annals, tipping in teammate Marcus Smart's miss to beat the horn for the difference in a 104-103 Boston Celtics' Game 6 victory over the Miami Heat to improbably even the Eastern Conference finals at 3-3.

It was the split second that might eventually get its own wall in the Hall of Fame. This was a motherlode of history-type moment.

And it denied the Heat a trip to the Finals. For now, of course.

White's shot opened the chance for the Celtics to become the first NBA team to rally back from an 0-3 deficit to win a series.

It was just the second time in league history a buzzer-beater happened with a team facing elimination at the moment after Michael Jordan's legendary "The Shot" in 1989 to lift the Chicago Bulls over the Cleveland Cavaliers in their first-round series.

With Boston's victory Saturday night, the Celtics won their fifth road elimination game in the past two postseasons, not quite the iconic Bill Russell's 10-0 record in Game 7s, but this is Page 1 Celtics history material here.

"I thought it was short," White said as he watched the replay again, standing at his locker with teammates gathering around him.

"Thank God we challenged it," Smart said to him, noting that Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla not using his challenge on Al Horford's foul on Jimmy Butler made all the difference.

That Horford foul seemed crushing; it led to three free throws and the clock showed 2.1 seconds. Butler made all three of them and it gave the Heat the lead. But referees wouldn't have been able to add the 0.9 seconds back unless Boston had requested the review under league rules.

Before all the buzz in the locker room, Mazzulla brought them into a huddle after they returned from the floor. The point about not having won anything yet was made.

Focus must be kept. Game 6 heroics fade if there's a Game 7 letdown.

OK, but what about what they had all just experienced? This was one of those locker room moments players yearn for, sometimes wait years for and it never comes. But on this night in South Florida, these Celtics players were enjoying their moment.

White watched the replay again on a phone and looked at the ground he'd covered. He'd inbounded the ball to Smart and then sprinted down the sideline. When Smart launched it, White was 20 feet away, standing near the corner around the 3-point line.

By the time the ball spun out, White had somehow gotten himself to the rim.

"That's because he's the fastest guy in the league," teammate Grant Williams declared after watching how the play unfolded. "And the best looking. With the best hair!"

The last comment -- White has one of the most commented-on hair situations in the NBA -- drew a smile from White.

"I mean, it don't do no good to stand in the corner there," White said later in the Celtics' postgame news conference. "Whether he makes it or not, so I just was crashing the glass, and it came right to me."

"I'm still, like, in disbelief. That s--- was crazy," said Jayson Tatum, who scored 25 of his 31 points in the first half to give the Celtics a chance with their 3-point shooting failing them (7-for-35 for a 20% clip).

"That felt like the longest 10 seconds ever waiting for confirmation if he made it or not," Tatum said.

There were enough slices in time over the game's frenetic last few minutes that a documentary could be made about the plays, moments and misses -- and perhaps someday there will be one.

Just to recap:

-- Butler had one of the most clutch two minutes of his career, scoring 10 points to lead what was so close to a comeback for the ages. When he made a preposterous 3-pointer with 2:04 left, he was 3-of-19 shooting for the game. He made another basket and five vital free throws, and all but had the Larry Bird Trophy for conference finals MVP with his name already etched on it.

-- The Celtics, who had their worst 3-point shooting game of the season, seized on offense down the stretch. Frozen by the Heat's zone and with Mazzulla refusing to call timeouts -- an extremely fortuitous decision in the end because he used two vital ones in the last three seconds -- they had repeated awful possessions in what could have been a horrific collapse. Boston had led by nine with three minutes to play.

-- Horford's foul on Butler had an ironic twist in that last season, in Game 7 of the East finals, Horford got his hand up to defend Butler's would-be winner at the same basket. This time Butler got the better of him, drawing the foul but the outcome ended up the same.

-- Heat forward Max Strus might be getting some blame for not boxing out White at the buzzer, but he'd helped the Heat deny both Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the first two options on the play, to force the ball to Smart, who missed.

-- Smart might have seemed like he shot the ball too quickly with three seconds left in the game. But in the last round against the Philadelphia 76ers, he made a potential buzzer-beater to win, only to have it fall in a split second late. With that in his mind, he said, he rushed to get the shot up ... and thereby saved time for White to get to the rim for the putback.

-- The referees adding 0.9 seconds to the clock might have seemed a bit generous, especially to Heat fans, though replays do indicate Horford first made contact with Butler with exactly 3.0 seconds left. But for the conspiracy theorists, Butler might've committed a violation in getting space to take the shot, which will be one of the many things that will be interesting on the last two-minute report.

Having seen all that, Mazzulla was asked what went through his mind in the end.

"Game 7."

KAMLOOPS, British Columbia -- Kyle Crnkovic had a hat trick and the Western Hockey League champion Seattle Thunderbirds opened Memorial Cup play Saturday with a 6-3 victory over the Ontario Hockey League champion Peterborough Petes.

Lucas Ciona, Nolan Allan and Jordan Gustafson also scored for Seattle, and Thomas Milic made 23 saves.

Seattle will return to action Monday night against the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League champion Quebec Remparts, an 8-3 winner over the host Kamloops Blazers on Friday night in the tournament opener.

J.R. Avon, Owen Beck and Avery Hayes scored for the Petes. They will face Quebec on Sunday night.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – As a golfer growing up in Morton, Illinois, just an hour outside of the University of Illinois’ main campus in Champaign, Tommy Kuhl always dreamed of playing for Illini head coach Mike Small.

“What he’s built here,” said Kuhl, now a fifth-year senior. “He turns kids into men.”

For Kuhl, though, that progression was slow. An accomplished prep player, Kuhl stepped on campus as an immature freshman, and he bounced in and out of the lineup his first two years with the program. As a junior, he played in every event, but he still ranked fifth on the team in scoring average.

“But I started listening,” said Kuhl, a first-team All-Big Ten selection each of the past two years, and a likely first-team All-American this season. “It’s weird, you start to see the results get a lot better when you buy into what Coach Small preaches.”

That’s the magic of Mike Small.

In Small’s 23 years at the helm, he’s guided Illinois to 12 of the past 13 Big Ten titles, 14 of the past 15 NCAA Championships and seven trips to NCAA match play, including a national runner-up finish in 2013.

“You look at the history of college golf, and we’ve done a lot of things that a lot of places haven’t done,” Small said. “We just haven’t won the big one yet.”

This year marks one of Small’s best opportunities to lead Illinois to the program’s first NCAA Championship title.

The Illini entered the week as the third-ranked team in the country, according to Golfstat, and through 36 holes, they lead the 30-team field at Grayhawk as the only team under par, at 2 under. Illinois’ 7-under 273 in Saturday’s second round was the second-lowest team score ever recorded in an NCAA Championship at Grayhawk, just two shots shy of the 271 that Pepperdine posted in the final round in 2021. The Waves, of course, went on to win the national title that week.

“We’re all playing solid right now,” Kuhl said. “We have a really good driving team, and Coach would say the same. We’re not making it too hard on ourselves out there.”

Illinois’ four counters on Saturday combined for just seven bogeys. Kuhl shot 1-under 69 to move to 1 over while the Illini got a trio of 68s, shot by fifth-year seniors Adrien Dumont de Chassart (4 under) and Matthis Besard (4 over), and sophomore Jackson Buchanan (1 under).

Part of that is precision off the tee on a course that usually takes driver out of players’ hands. Another part is this squad’s toughness.

Small occasionally hears from naysayers that players can’t develop into PGA Tour-level talent in cold weather. “That’s always been something I’ve fought,” Small said. “Illinois, there’s a stigma, and I don’t know why that is.” Because Small sees things differently; in his mind, he’s teaching players to be uncomfortable, and when players are out of their comfort zone, that’s when they truly make strides, both on and off the golf course.

It's Small jobs to identify what recruits can handle his style. Take Buchanan for example; a solid high-school player from Dacula, Georgia, but who didn’t have the credentials to catch serious looks from in-state powers Georgia and Georgia Tech. Yet, Small saw something and plucked Buchanan from the South and brought him north.

“He's the kind of kid who when he gets immersed in our culture, he gets really good,” Small said of Buchanan. “I like kids who are coachable yet that have enough strength and confidence and ego that they can take what they’re coached and then own it themselves and not always have to be coached. A lot of kids are over-engineered, over-coached, they need to keep getting instruction. I want kids who can receive instruction, receive the tutelage, receive the experience that we have, and mix it up in a pot and then have the courage to take it themselves.”

Players such as Thomas Pieters, Thomas Detry and Nick Hardy all fit that mold, and that’s why each of them made it to the Tour. Dumont de Chassart and Kuhl could be the next ones to follow, as they are ranked Nos. 2 and 19 in PGA Tour University, Dumont de Chassart in position for full Korn Ferry Tour status and Kuhl eyeing his PGA Tour Canada card.

“Coach Small could’ve said anything and I would’ve come,” said Dumont de Chassart, who followed the long Belgian pipeline to Champaign. “The weather is not always perfect, but you learn how to play in anything. That’s why we’re pretty good in every kind of conditions, because we’ve really learned how to grind.”

With rock-hard greens that have been baked out by the 100-degree temps in the Arizona desert, players’ greens-in-regulation numbers aren’t particularly high so far, which is why it’s imperative that teams bring, along with multiple other skills, the ability to scramble.

Kuhl says one of the most uncomfortable environments that Small creates back home are these “short-game gauntlets” that can take days, sometimes weeks to complete. One such test is a five-hole short course that requires players, using certain shots and clubs, to complete the circuit.

“You’re out there grinding it out for a long time, and that just goes along with the mindset of this program,” Kuhl said. “It’s difficult, it’s not made to be easy, you get pissed out there, but you have to stay patient and just believe in yourself.”

The players certainly believe in Small, which is why one could argue that they want to win this NCAA trophy more for Small than they do themselves.

“100%,” Kuhl said of that notion. “The legacy coach has built around Illini golf, and the teams he’s had, he’s come so close, I think he deserves one. It’s obviously very hard to do, but we want to play hard for coach.”

Small, though, downplays his importance.

“It’s not like I’m 70 years old where it’s never going to happen again if we don’t win this year,” said the 57-year-old Small, before adding: “I’ve said this before, college athletics has evolved into a coaches’ game in a lot of sports. And I like to keep it a players’ game. I know I get a lot of attention because of the uniqueness of my background, and the uniqueness of what Illinois has done, and I appreciate that.

“But the way I coach the guys is it’s their game; I’m doing it for them.”