Warriors' Draymond Green tells reporters he's tired of portrayal as an ‘angry Black man'
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) reacts toward referee Tyler Ford during the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
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Winnipeg Free Press
5 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Pistons, Mavericks to play regular-season game in Mexico City on Nov. 1
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The NBA is going back to Mexico City next season, with the Dallas Mavericks and Detroit Pistons set to play a regular-season game there on Nov. 1. The Mavericks currently have the No. 1 pick in this month's draft and are expected to select Duke's Cooper Flagg. The Pistons made a huge improvement this season and reached the Eastern Conference playoffs. It will be the NBA's 34th game in Mexico since 1992. 'We take significant pride in the fact that the Mavericks organization and our supporters reflect the increased globalization of basketball and the NBA,' Mavericks CEO Rick Welts said. 'The vibrancy of Mexico City and the passion of its fans make it the perfect place to host these Global Games.' The full NBA schedule for next season isn't likely to be released until late summer. The league typically announces some international games ahead of that. 'Playing a regular-season game in Mexico City will be a great experience for our players and coaches,' Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon said. 'And we look forward to showcasing Detroit basketball to an international audience and a passionate, growing NBA fanbase.' Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. ___ AP NBA:
Globe and Mail
5 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Deadlocked NBA finals move to Indianapolis for Game 3
The Oklahoma City Thunder showed their bounce-back capability in Game 2. The Indiana Pacers know they better do the same in Game 3. The NBA finals resume Wednesday night with the series tied at a game apiece, the matchup shifting to Indianapolis for Game 3 and what will be the first finals game in that city in 25 years. And the Pacers know it's on them to respond after Game 2 wasn't much of a contest. It's obviously possible: The Pacers haven't lost back-to-back games in three months, going 9-0 after losses in that span. This would be a good time for them to extend that run. 'Biggest game of the year,' Pacers forward Pascal Siakam said. That's technically accurate when said before any finals game, but it does ring especially true in this case. Indiana did what it had to do in Oklahoma City; it got a win and stole home-court advantage. Win three games at home over the next week or so, and the Pacers will be NBA champions. Lose any game at home, and the Thunder get the edge right back. But the Pacers have shown a penchant for resiliency. It's much like how Oklahoma City is 17-2 after losses this season (or 18-2, if counting the NBA Cup final); the latest bounce-back effort for the Thunder came in Game 2 after Indiana won Game 1 of the finals. 'I think that we try not to dwell on things,' Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said. 'As NBA players, just as basketball players in general, it's easy to make a mistake and dwell on it, give up a bucket or whatever. I feel like we do a great job of getting to the next play.' When the finals are tied 1-1, the Game 3 winner eventually wins the title 80.5 per cent of the time. It's a big, big game and everybody knows the stakes. 'I think we just have to keep finding ways to get better as a group,' Thunder guard and NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. 'If we continue to do that, we'll be just fine. If we've struggled in an area, that's an area we can get better at. We have to attack that opportunity. I think Game 3 is a perfect example of that.' Haliburton's status Haliburton was limping after Game 2 and acknowledged there's an issue with his lower leg. He didn't offer much in the way of details, and it doesn't matter. He's playing. 'He practised. He went through everything,' Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. 'I know he has some discomfort. He feels it. But each day it's getting better. I don't think you're going to hear him making a big deal out of it. This is the time of year where it just doesn't get any better than this.' Pacers at home The Thunder have a big home-court edge thanks to their crowd at Paycom Center. The Pacers are hoping for just as much energy – if not more – from their crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for Games 3 and 4. And the Thunder know what's coming. 'That's one thing we have to be ready for coming in here, is understand they're going to be playing with a lot of energy,' Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. 'They play very well here. They play very comfortable here. We've got to level up to that if we want to give ourselves a chance to compete.' Long time coming Indiana's Myles Turner has played in 346 games at home with the Pacers, including playoffs – by far more than anyone else on the team. No. 347 will be his first there in the NBA Finals. 'I think the city's been waiting for an opportunity like this. I expect a hell of an environment [Wednesday],' Turner said. 'I know it's going to be. It's exciting times for everybody, just to experience the finals in Indianapolis.' Thunder in the first half The Thunder won the first and second quarters in Games 1 and 2, taking a 12-point halftime lead in Game 1 and an 18-point halftime lead in Game 2. Indiana knows that can't keep happening. Oklahoma City is 63-9 with halftime leads this season. 'Obviously it's going to be a different challenge coming on the road,' Thunder guard Alex Caruso said. 'This place will be rowdy. They'll be excited to cheer on their team. For us, I think just sticking with the details of the stuff that we've talked about as a team that are important to win the game.' Winning on the road Road teams are still winning at about a 44-per-cent clip in these playoffs, which is on pace to be the best record in 30 years. Entering Wednesday, road teams are 35-44 in this postseason. Teams won road games at a 45 per cent clip in 1995. That doesn't count the 2020 COVID-19 'bubble' playoffs, where everybody was in one spot at Lake Buena Vista, Florida and the 'road' winning percentage was .518 – 43-40. Oklahoma City is 4-3 on the road in these playoffs. Indiana is 7-3. The best league-wide road record for a playoff season was in 1966 – 14-13, a .519 winning percentage.
Globe and Mail
6 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Now with Panthers, Brad Marchand embraces team's rat-throwing tradition
There's a giant, gold-outlined rat emblazoned on the hat that dangles in Brad Marchand's locker. The scrappy NHL veteran has been likened to the tiny rodent for much of his career, notoriously known as 'The Rat' among hockey fans for his brash play. So when Marchand was traded from Boston to Florida back in March, it didn't take long for him to embrace Panthers fans' long-standing tradition of tossing plastic rats onto the ice after wins. 'I hope we get some rats thrown at us,' Marchand quipped at his locker on Sunday, before Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. 'I just hope it's on the ice and not outside.' Marchand got his wish. After the Panthers routed the Edmonton Oilers 6-1 on Monday, those unmistakable grey pests rained down on the ice in a tradition that has lasted three decades. As they've done after most games this postseason, Marchand's teammates fired the rats at his legs before exiting the ice. For Marchand, getting the rats thrown at him is like a badge of honour – a tiny, symbolic moment that represents how the Panthers have been able to keep things lighthearted while going for their second straight championship. 'This group has a ton of fun,' Marchand said. 'It's an incredible environment to be a part of. In the room, on the ice, even just in the city, there's a lot of excitement around right now.' Rat-throwing tradition goes back 30 years Before their 1995-96 season opener, Panthers players were waiting to take the ice in a cramped, makeshift dressing room at the now-demolished Miami Arena when a large rat scampered in. 'Players were jumping on top of their stalls … big, tough hockey players,' said Billy Lindsay, Panthers left wing from their expansion season in 1993 to 1999, 'most of us were pretty scared of this big rat running around. We were ducking for cover everywhere.' Right wing Scott Mellanby then grabbed his stick and one-timed the rat into the wall. The rodent went flying across the dressing room. It died as soon as it hit the wall. Players later memorialized it by circling the small dent in the blood-stained wall and placing a rat statue there for the year. The Panthers went out and beat the Calgary Flames 4-3 that night. Mellanby scored a pair of goals with that same stick. 'Scott Mellanby didn't even have time to really tape his stick,' Lindsay said. 'So he's got a little rat and blood there on his stick and went out there and scored a couple of goals.' In his postgame news conference, goalie John Vanbiesbrouck noted that Mellanby had the NHL's first 'rat trick.' The incident was in the local paper the next day. About a week or so later, a toy rat hit the ice after a home game. The next game, there were a couple more. By the end of that season, which included Lindsay scoring the game-winning goal that clinched Florida's first-ever playoff series win, the rat throwing had become such a phenomenon that the team earned a sponsorship from the pest control company Orkin. 'And funny enough, it's still around today,' Lindsay said, 'which is quite strange.' 'It's a feeling you can't replicate' Sports traditions are ubiquitous. Some are sacred. Many are quirky. And they can include just about anything. There's the Lambeau Leap at Green Bay Packers games. The 'Gatorade Bath' after a win in the NFL. LeBron James' patented pregame chalk toss. Detroit Red Wings fans occasionally celebrate wins by throwing octopuses on the ice. The Nashville Predators have their catfish toss. For the Panthers, who at the time were in just their third season as an NHL franchise, the rat throwing – buoyed by the fact that Florida made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final that year – became the first real way they got the South Florida fans in a non-traditional hockey market to embrace their team. Colin Fox, 32, a Panthers fan from Boca Raton, Fla., said it's 'a thrill' to be a part of the rat throwing at the end of games. 'Even when they weren't very good, when they weren't on these hot streaks, there were still rats on the ice,' said Fox, who wore a throwback Mellanby jersey to Game 3 of the final. 'It's something that has persevered through the years.' For opposing teams, the rats are often a nuisance, Lindsay said, recalling how some goalies would hide in their net between goals to try and escape them. So many hit the ice after that initial season the NHL changed its rules to say such in-game celebrations could lead to penalties, though the league still allowed rats to be thrown after games. There's plenty of rat-themed memorabilia for sale at Panthers games, and the plastic rodents themselves can be purchased all over Miami. At gas stations. Party stores. Some fans order them online. The rats that Panthers fan JP Kirkpatrick, 23, tossed onto the ice after a game this season came from a fan sitting next to him who brought plenty of extras. 'It's a feeling you can't replicate,' said Kirkpatrick, an Orlando, Fla., native. 'It's something you can't get [anywhere else]. You've got to be there to get it. You can't watch it on TV. You can't get it in the parking lot. You've got to be out there, be in the seat. The fans, everybody there, it's electric.' No one from that 1995 Panthers group thought they'd be a part of creating a lasting, iconic symbol for the team, but as they look back on that moment amid all the Panthers' recent success, they're proud of what it's become. 'There's been enough people from back then to hang on to the tradition and pass it along,' Lindsay said. 'And now you get this unparalleled success where you get three Stanley Cup appearances in a row, you win a Stanley Cup championship, you're looking for a second. And that rat is just [still] going. 'It just makes me proud of what we started.'
