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Time of India
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Nikola Jokic drops 42-22-6 in Game 1 against Oklahoma City Thunder, then celebrates at local OKC bar
(Image Source - Getty Images) Jokic's historic night propels Nuggets to comeback victory over Thunder On a night that was both impressive and fun, Nikola Jokic , the star center for the Denver Nuggets , had a record-breaking game in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder . He tallied 42 points, 22 rebounds, and six assists—joining the ranks of just three other players in NBA playoff history to do so. Following the exciting 121-119 win, he celebrated by relaxing at a bar in Oklahoma City, much to the joy of fans and the Nuggets pulled off an incredible comeback against the top-seeded Thunder, who were ahead by 14 points in the third quarter. Jokic really stepped up, especially in the second half, helping Denver outscore Oklahoma City 71-59. Even after getting a Flagrant 1 foul and racking up five personal fouls, Jokic kept his cool and scored 16 points down the stretch. Analysts were impressed, with Charles Barkley noting Jokic's lively attitude and crucial impact on boosting his team's game hit its peak when Aaron Gordon nailed a crucial three-pointer with just 2.8 seconds left, clinching the victory for Denver. This marked Gordon's second game-winning shot of the playoffs, solidifying his reputation for coming through in the after the game, fans caught Jokic at the Basin Bar located in the Omni Hotel in Oklahoma City. A video taken by a local fan showed the three-time MVP relaxing and enjoying his night, still wearing his game arm sleeve. The video went viral fast, with fans excited to see Jokic unwinding after his incredible a few fans laughed at Jokic's laid-back attitude, others appreciated how he manages to stay calm off the court while bringing the heat on the court. One fan mentioned, "Thunder got cooked by him and celebrating in OKC bar is insane," while another added, "He's practicing for the championship parade."The Nuggets are up 1-0 in the series after this win, snatching home-court advantage from the Thunder. They'll meet again for Game 2 on Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET on TNT. Everyone's watching Jokic to see if he can keep up his Game 1 Read: Draymond Green slams Dillon Brooks for leaving the court early and losing respect among NBA peers During a night that mixed incredible skills on the court with a charming personality off it, Nikola Jokic reminded everyone why he's a standout in the NBA.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Celtics begin title defense with statement win over Magic: 'We're just getting started'
BOSTON — For the first time since they won the NBA championship on their home floor, the Celtics hosted a playoff game at TD Garden, and the Orlando Magic paid for it in Game 1 of their first-round series. Here is how difficult the math is for the Magic: Their two best players, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, combined for 59 points (24-of-51 FG), outperforming Boston's two best players, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown (33 points combined on 14-of-36 FG), and still they were fighting an uphill battle all Easter afternoon. Banchero and Co. played hard, as they do, even taking a 49-48 advantage into the locker room at halftime, only for the Celtics to unleash their inner defending champion in a dominant third quarter. Led by Derrick White's 30 points, Boston took care of business in the series opener with a 103-86 victory. The Celtics are too deep for the Magic. Payton Pritchard, a Sixth Man of the Year finalist, and the fourth man off Boston's bench on Sunday, embodied that. He scored 11 points in his first five minutes and 19 on eight shots. Celtics staffers rave about the 27-year-old. On the jumbotron, the Celtics asked players about their biggest pet peeves. Pritchard's? "When people don't give a full effort." Effort. That is the player he is. "That's another dog," Brown said of Pritchard. "He's been showing that all year with his mentality and his mindset, and it's going to be more of that than it is about being skillful or strategy. It's going to be more about fighting. That's the other side of the game that we've got to win. That's the in-between. We've got to focus on that, and Payton, that's been his mentality all season long. So when he gets in the game, it's no different." It took fight for the Celtics to manage these Magic. Orlando out-rebounded Boston in the opening half, grabbing 10 offensive boards, and it looked for a moment like we might see the Celtics of old — the ones who do not take their opponent as seriously as they should. And then Boston owned the second half. It mattered little to Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, who spoke afterward as if his team had lost its way. "We have to be better," Mazzulla said. "There are better shift opportunities there. We can be better at rebounding, better at boxing out. We have to own our space better on the offensive end. At the end of the day, it's one game, and there's a whole litany of possessions that we need to get better on." It took some fight from Tatum, especially. He landed awkwardly on his shooting wrist after hard fouls from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Wendell Carter Jr. Caldwell-Pope received a Flagrant 1 foul. Tatum said his wrist throbbed. Though the sensation subsided, he received an X-ray after the game. "It's clean," said Tatum, whose wrist was neither iced nor wrapped in the game's aftermath. "It's good." It will take more fight from Brown, who rested the bone bruise in his right knee for the final three games of the regular season. The Celtics do not seem too concerned about it. Nor does Brown, though he will openly discuss how he has had to adjust his game to the pain. Even that somewhat subsided with rest. Mazzulla said not to make much of Brown's 31 minutes; the coach was tinkering with a nine-man rotation. "We're just getting started," said Brown, whose two-handed dunk late in the third quarter was proof of his health. "Today was my first game back after a while. It's the playoffs, and it's the best time of the year, so I'm excited. This is what I live for. I'm feeling a lot better, moving a lot better, so I think that's great." It had to be a welcome sign for the Celtics to see such quality play from Jrue Holiday, too. He played his usual stout defense and added three 3-pointers, including one off a steal that broke the game open in the third quarter. He has also been banged up, dealing with mallet finger on the pinky of his shooting hand. "That's the Jrue I love," Brown added. "That's the Jrue I remember competing against. Regular season is different from the playoffs. I know sometimes y'all forget that. The intensity level is a lot different. The physicality is a lot different. Jrue loves the environment as much as I do. You can see him picking up guys, blowing through screens and just making plays, and when we get that Jrue, it's a good sign for us." Everything was working for Boston, save for the very best of Tatum and Brown. And Kristaps Porziņģis, too. The 7-foot-2 center (5 points on 1-of-8 FG) was hardly his usually impactful self. They are presumably coming in this series, too — and beyond — which is a bad sign for the Magic, and for the rest of the NBA.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NBA playoffs: Rockets even series vs. Warriors after Jimmy Butler injury; Celtics and Cavaliers take 2-0 leads
The NBA playoffs continued Wednesday with three Game 2s, including the Celtics taking on the Magic without Jayson Tatum, and the Warriors trying to take a 2-0 lead against the Houston Rockets. Boston Celtics 109, Orlando Magic 100 Cleveland Cavaliers 121, Miami Heat 112 Houston Rockets 109, Golden State Warriors 94 Check out Yahoo Sports' predictions for each first-round series, in addition to Kevin O'Connor's ranking of the top 40 players in the NBA postseason. Here are the results and key takeaways from Wednesday's games: The Warriors entered Game 2 with an advantage, but losing Jimmy Butler and Brandin Podziemski left them shorthanded throughout the night. The Rockets had no trouble taking advantage. Houston maintained a double-digit lead for the entire second half, powered by Jalen Green on one of his best nights. The Rockets' leading scorer tied a Rockets playoff record with 38 points on 13-of-25 shooting, plus one of the best dunks of the playoffs. The Warriors found some footing as the game went on, including a wild sequence in which the two teams exchanged six straight 3-pointers. 6 POSSESSIONS, 6 STRAIGHT 3PM IN WARRIORS/ROCKETS 🤯SENGUN. BUDDY. FVV. STEPH. JALEN GREEN. STEPH AGAIN. Houston leading at the break in Game 2 on TNT! — NBA (@NBA) April 24, 2025 Game 3 is scheduled for Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET in San Francisco (ABC). Warriors head coach Steve Kerr probably wasn't expecting to lose two starters in the first quarter, but that was the reality facing him after Butler and Podziemski left the floor. Podziemski later came back in the third quarter, but Butler was ruled out for the rest of the game after suffering a pelvis contusion and is slated to undergo an MRI on Thursday. With those two unavailable in the second quarter, Kerr had inserted 12 different players into the game by the time Butler's status was announced in the second quarter. That included Jonathan Kuminga, who was benched from the rotation in Game 1. The deep bench was a mixed bag, especially with Gui Santos logging two points, two turnovers and four fouls in nine minutes. There really is no player in today's game like Draymond Green, who delivered a vintage performance when it comes to, um, physicality. Draymond is NOT backing down vs. Rockets 💪 — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 24, 2025 Tell me how you can watch this clip and come to the concluding that Draymond 'PUSHED' Amen here — Ramon ⚔️⚡️ (@RamonIsHim) April 24, 2025 Jalen Green got hit with a Flagrant 1 after altercation with Draymond. — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 24, 2025 Draymond receives a tech after complaining to the ref 😅 (via @NBCSWarriors) — Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) April 24, 2025 All of that culminated in Green and Fred VanVleet exchanging words face to face during a break in play and triggering a clearing of the benches. Green would have been ejected had he received another technical foul, but the officials only gave one to Tari Eason, who threw a towel that landed in Warriors guard Pat Spencer's face. The Toyota Center crowd responded with "F*** you, Draymond!" chants. Fred VanVleet & Draymond Green getting face to face👀Warriors vs Rockets getting chippy 🍿 — LakeShow Highlights (@LSH_lakeshow) April 24, 2025 Now we have a series. More FU Draymond chants — Lachard Binkley (@BinkleyHoops) April 24, 2025 Kerr thought Rockets fans could have been a little more subtle. Steve Kerr says he will always ride with a competitor like Draymond Green. Kerr would prefer the fans use a little more discretion than chanting, 'F—- you Draymond!' Kerr says Green is a father with kids watching. — Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) April 24, 2025 — Jack Baer The Celtics ruled Tatum out for Game 2 hours before tip-off, and their backup plan was a big night for Jaylen Brown. As Tatum watched from the bench in a golf shirt and wrist brace, his longtime co-star led Boston to another runaway win to move up 2-0 in their series against the Magic. Brown finished with 36 points on 12-of-19 shooting, with 10 rebounds and five assists. JAYLEN BROWN TAKING OVER 😤 — NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 24, 2025 It wasn't the Celtics' most dominant night, but it certainly showed they can push teams around without Tatum in the first missed playoff game of his career. Game 3 is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. ET in Orlando (ESPN). Goga Bitadze made Porziņģis bleed his own blood, to put it mildly. A wild elbow from the Magic center in the third quarter left the Celtics big man with a massive, bloody gash on his forehead. Porziņģis immediately ran for the locker room and soon returned with an enormous bandage on his head — and a smile. Kristaps Porzingis is a bloody mess but has a big smile — Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) April 24, 2025 The play was reviewed and deemed a Flagrant 1 on Bitadze. Porziņģis had to shoot the free throws or miss the rest of the game, so he rushed back to attempt them and was immediately subbed out after. Porziņģis went back to the locker room after that and returned in the fourth with a smaller bandage to big cheers from the crowd. He finished the game with 20 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. Magic wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope entered the court to a chorus of boos from the TD Garden crowd after his foul in Game 1 knocked Tatum out for Wednesday. He didn't bother trying to endear himself to the masses over the next 48 minutes. Caldwell-Pope further antagonized the crowd early in the game and later sparked a confrontation when he ran into Al Horford in transition. Brown had some words for him in the aftermath. Al Horford is heated after getting tripped by KCP — Danielle Hobeika (@DanielleHobeika) April 23, 2025 Of course, KCP didn't do much to endear himself to Magic fans either. He finished with three points on 1-of-9 shooting. We're just checking, but when a player reaches over an opponent with enough weight that the opponent bends over at the waist, then gets the ball and throws up a shot with one of his arms tangled with said opponent, is it a foul on that player or the opponent? In the case of Porziņģis and Wendell Carter, it was a foul on Carter, a.k.a. the player who didn't obviously go over the back. We're not sure what the officials saw here and neither was Carter. Kristaps Porzingis rides on Wendell Carter Jr. for the offensive board, and Carter is get called for his 3rd personal cannot believe it. — MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) April 24, 2025 That foul wound up being rather significant. It was Carter's third of the game, when the Magic were behind only two right before halftime. Carter was back out there to open the second half, but recorded only two rebounds and a turnover in the entire third quarter. The Celtics expanded their lead to double digits during that period. — Jack Baer Cleveland's offense is scary good. When it's shooting like this, good luck. The Cavaliers went on a 3-point shooting spree in the second quarter Wednesday night to spark a Game 2 win over the Miami Heat. The barrage built a 17-point Cavaliers lead that they needed every bit of to fend off a late Heat rally. The top-seeded Cavaliers now have a 2-0 series lead after two wins at home. Miami kept things close early as Cleveland took a 25-24 lead into the second quarter before the floodgates opened. Cleveland scored 25 points in the first 5:54 of the second quarter en route to a 68-51 halftime lead. Cleveland connected on 11 3s during the second quarter, which is the most in a playoff game in a single quarter since the NBA started keeping track of play-by-play in the 1997-98 season. For fun — unless you're a Heat fan — here's a look at all 11. EVERY TRIPLE FROM CLEVELAND'S RECORD-BREAKING QUARTER 🔥🔥The first team since 1997-98 with 11+ 3PM in a single playoff quarter!!!!#NBAPlayoffs presented by Google — NBA (@NBA) April 24, 2025 In total, the Cavaliers connected on 14-of-23 (60.9%) first half 3-pointers. It was a team effort. Eight different Cavaliers hit at least one 3-pointer in the first half. Four of them hit two or more, led by Max Strus' 4-for-6 effort. Cleveland didn't keep up the pace after halftime. It didn't have to. A 17-point halftime cushion was enough to fend off the Heat, who cut things as close as 103-101 in the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers are an offensive powerhouse that posted the NBA's best offensive rating during the regular season. They finished the night shooting 22-of-45 (48.9%) from 3. Donovan Mitchell led the Cavs with 30 points, including 20 after halftime, while shooting 7-of-10 from 3. When the Cavs are shooting like this, they're going to be very difficult to beat. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra adjusted the starting lineup after a 121-100 Game 1 loss. Out was Alec Burks, who didn't see the court in Game 2. In was play-in hero and 3-and-D spark Davion Mitchell. The move made sense. And it almost paid off. Mitchell's a lockdown perimeter defender, and Cleveland's guards torched Miami in Game 1. Mitchell made an impact Wednesday night. He finished with 18 points, six assists and a steal. He helped spark a 13-2 run in the fourth quarter that cut Cleveland's lead to 101-99 with a pair of 3-pointers and that steal. Davion's triple cuts it to a 6-point game 👀Tune in on FanDuel Sports Network & NBA TV 📺 — Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) April 24, 2025 In the end, Cleveland found another offensive surge to counter the Miami rally and secure the win. But expect Mitchell to continue to play a significant role for the Heat as the series shifts to Miami. Game 3 is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. ET on TNT. - Jason Owens
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NBA playoffs: Rockets even series vs. Warriors after Jimmy Butler injury; Celtics and Cavaliers take 2-0 leads
The NBA playoffs continued Wednesday with three Game 2s, including the Celtics taking on the Magic without Jayson Tatum, and the Warriors trying to take a 2-0 lead against the Houston Rockets. Boston Celtics 109, Orlando Magic 100 Cleveland Cavaliers 121, Miami Heat 112 Houston Rockets 109, Golden State Warriors 94 Check out Yahoo Sports' predictions for each first-round series, in addition to Kevin O'Connor's ranking of the top 40 players in the NBA postseason. Here are the results and key takeaways from Wednesday's games: The Warriors entered Game 2 with an advantage, but losing Jimmy Butler and Brandin Podziemski left them shorthanded throughout the night. The Rockets had no trouble taking advantage. Houston maintained a double-digit lead for the entire second half, powered by Jalen Green on one of his best nights. The Rockets' leading scorer tied a Rockets playoff record with 38 points on 13-of-25 shooting, plus one of the best dunks of the playoffs. The Warriors found some footing as the game went on, including a wild sequence in which the two teams exchanged six straight 3-pointers. 6 POSSESSIONS, 6 STRAIGHT 3PM IN WARRIORS/ROCKETS 🤯SENGUN. BUDDY. FVV. STEPH. JALEN GREEN. STEPH AGAIN. Houston leading at the break in Game 2 on TNT! — NBA (@NBA) April 24, 2025 Game 3 is scheduled for Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET in San Francisco (ABC). Warriors head coach Steve Kerr probably wasn't expecting to lose two starters in the first quarter, but that was the reality facing him after Butler and Podziemski left the floor. Podziemski later came back in the third quarter, but Butler was ruled out for the rest of the game after suffering a pelvis contusion and is slated to undergo an MRI on Thursday. With those two unavailable in the second quarter, Kerr had inserted 12 different players into the game by the time Butler's status was announced in the second quarter. That included Jonathan Kuminga, who was benched from the rotation in Game 1. The deep bench was a mixed bag, especially with Gui Santos logging two points, two turnovers and four fouls in nine minutes. There really is no player in today's game like Draymond Green, who delivered a vintage performance when it comes to, um, physicality. Draymond is NOT backing down vs. Rockets 💪 — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 24, 2025 Tell me how you can watch this clip and come to the concluding that Draymond 'PUSHED' Amen here — Ramon ⚔️⚡️ (@RamonIsHim) April 24, 2025 Jalen Green got hit with a Flagrant 1 after altercation with Draymond. — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 24, 2025 Draymond receives a tech after complaining to the ref 😅 (via @NBCSWarriors) — Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) April 24, 2025 All of that culminated in Green and Fred VanVleet exchanging words face to face during a break in play and triggering a clearing of the benches. Green would have been ejected had he received another technical foul, but the officials only gave one to Tari Eason, who threw a towel that landed in Warriors guard Pat Spencer's face. The Toyota Center crowd responded with "F*** you, Draymond!" chants. Fred VanVleet & Draymond Green getting face to face👀Warriors vs Rockets getting chippy 🍿 — LakeShow Highlights (@LSH_lakeshow) April 24, 2025 Now we have a series. More FU Draymond chants — Lachard Binkley (@BinkleyHoops) April 24, 2025 Kerr thought Rockets fans could have been a little more subtle. Steve Kerr says he will always ride with a competitor like Draymond Green. Kerr would prefer the fans use a little more discretion than chanting, 'F—- you Draymond!' Kerr says Green is a father with kids watching. — Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) April 24, 2025 — Jack Baer The Celtics ruled Tatum out for Game 2 hours before tip-off, and their backup plan was a big night for Jaylen Brown. As Tatum watched from the bench in a golf shirt and wrist brace, his longtime co-star led Boston to another runaway win to move up 2-0 in their series against the Magic. Brown finished with 36 points on 12-of-19 shooting, with 10 rebounds and five assists. JAYLEN BROWN TAKING OVER 😤 — NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 24, 2025 It wasn't the Celtics' most dominant night, but it certainly showed they can push teams around without Tatum in the first missed playoff game of his career. Game 3 is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. ET in Orlando (ESPN). Goga Bitadze made Porziņģis bleed his own blood, to put it mildly. A wild elbow from the Magic center in the third quarter left the Celtics big man with a massive, bloody gash on his forehead. Porziņģis immediately ran for the locker room and soon returned with an enormous bandage on his head — and a smile. Kristaps Porzingis is a bloody mess but has a big smile — Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) April 24, 2025 The play was reviewed and deemed a Flagrant 1 on Bitadze. Porziņģis had to shoot the free throws or miss the rest of the game, so he rushed back to attempt them and was immediately subbed out after. Porziņģis went back to the locker room after that and returned in the fourth with a smaller bandage to big cheers from the crowd. He finished the game with 20 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. Magic wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope entered the court to a chorus of boos from the TD Garden crowd after his foul in Game 1 knocked Tatum out for Wednesday. He didn't bother trying to endear himself to the masses over the next 48 minutes. Caldwell-Pope further antagonized the crowd early in the game and later sparked a confrontation when he ran into Al Horford in transition. Brown had some words for him in the aftermath. Al Horford is heated after getting tripped by KCP — Danielle Hobeika (@DanielleHobeika) April 23, 2025 Of course, KCP didn't do much to endear himself to Magic fans either. He finished with three points on 1-of-9 shooting. We're just checking, but when a player reaches over an opponent with enough weight that the opponent bends over at the waist, then gets the ball and throws up a shot with one of his arms tangled with said opponent, is it a foul on that player or the opponent? In the case of Porziņģis and Wendell Carter, it was a foul on Carter, a.k.a. the player who didn't obviously go over the back. We're not sure what the officials saw here and neither was Carter. Kristaps Porzingis rides on Wendell Carter Jr. for the offensive board, and Carter is get called for his 3rd personal cannot believe it. — MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) April 24, 2025 That foul wound up being rather significant. It was Carter's third of the game, when the Magic were behind only two right before halftime. Carter was back out there to open the second half, but recorded only two rebounds and a turnover in the entire third quarter. The Celtics expanded their lead to double digits during that period. — Jack Baer Cleveland's offense is scary good. When it's shooting like this, good luck. The Cavaliers went on a 3-point shooting spree in the second quarter Wednesday night to spark a Game 2 win over the Miami Heat. The barrage built a 17-point Cavaliers lead that they needed every bit of to fend off a late Heat rally. The top-seeded Cavaliers now have a 2-0 series lead after two wins at home. Miami kept things close early as Cleveland took a 25-24 lead into the second quarter before the floodgates opened. Cleveland scored 25 points in the first 5:54 of the second quarter en route to a 68-51 halftime lead. Cleveland connected on 11 3s during the second quarter, which is the most in a playoff game in a single quarter since the NBA started keeping track of play-by-play in the 1997-98 season. For fun — unless you're a Heat fan — here's a look at all 11. EVERY TRIPLE FROM CLEVELAND'S RECORD-BREAKING QUARTER 🔥🔥The first team since 1997-98 with 11+ 3PM in a single playoff quarter!!!!#NBAPlayoffs presented by Google — NBA (@NBA) April 24, 2025 In total, the Cavaliers connected on 14-of-23 (60.9%) first half 3-pointers. It was a team effort. Eight different Cavaliers hit at least one 3-pointer in the first half. Four of them hit two or more, led by Max Strus' 4-for-6 effort. Cleveland didn't keep up the pace after halftime. It didn't have to. A 17-point halftime cushion was enough to fend off the Heat, who cut things as close as 103-101 in the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers are an offensive powerhouse that posted the NBA's best offensive rating during the regular season. They finished the night shooting 22-of-45 (48.9%) from 3. Donovan Mitchell led the Cavs with 30 points, including 20 after halftime, while shooting 7-of-10 from 3. When the Cavs are shooting like this, they're going to be very difficult to beat. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra adjusted the starting lineup after a 121-100 Game 1 loss. Out was Alec Burks, who didn't see the court in Game 2. In was play-in hero and 3-and-D spark Davion Mitchell. The move made sense. And it almost paid off. Mitchell's a lockdown perimeter defender, and Cleveland's guards torched Miami in Game 1. Mitchell made an impact Wednesday night. He finished with 18 points, six assists and a steal. He helped spark a 13-2 run in the fourth quarter that cut Cleveland's lead to 101-99 with a pair of 3-pointers and that steal. Davion's triple cuts it to a 6-point game 👀Tune in on FanDuel Sports Network & NBA TV 📺 — Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) April 24, 2025 In the end, Cleveland found another offensive surge to counter the Miami rally and secure the win. But expect Mitchell to continue to play a significant role for the Heat as the series shifts to Miami. Game 3 is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. ET on TNT. - Jason Owens
Fox News
04-05-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
Fever, Mystics players get into heated incidents during preseason game
The heat was turned up a notch as the Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics squared off in the first preseason game of the year on Saturday. At one point, Cunningham went up for a defensive rebound over Mystics rookie Kiki Iriafen. The veteran guard was tossed to the ground and got into the face of the former USC standout. Fever guard Lexie Hull had to step in between the two players. Mystics guard Morgan Jones put her arm around Iriafen as the 6-foot-3 turned her back away from Cunningham and smiled. Iriafen was hit with a Flagrant 1 foul. It wasn't the only incident during the game. Cunningham was also getting held by Brittney Sykes as she tried to make herself available for a DeWanna Bonner pass. Sykes pushed Cunningham to the ground and was met with Bonner's intensity. "Sophie's a dawg," Fever head coach Stephanie White said, via Indy Star. "She's a competitor. She's versatile. She allows us to do different things. She plays with such toughness. She's huge, and she's going to be for us all season long. "What she brings, from an energy standpoint, she raises the level of play of everybody around her as soon as she steps foot on the floor, hell, even on the sideline. I mean, her communication, everything, she's definitely an X factor." Indiana won the game 79-74 in overtime. The Mystics made have had one of the worst records in the WNBA last season but made clear in the preseason that they weren't going to be pushed around by any team. Washington's season begins May 16 against the Atlanta Dream. Indiana's season begins May 17 against the Chicago Sky. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
