Rahm wins Spanish Open after leaping ahead of Dunne and Elvira
NEW YORK: Forget Lebron James making his eighth consecutive trip to the NBA finals — the Cleveland Cavaliers star might have trouble just getting out of the opening round of the playoffs. Victor Oladipo scored a game-high 32 points to power the Indiana Pacers over the host Cavaliers 98-80 on Sunday in the opening game of their first-round NBA playoff series.
“Stay calm, stay composed, play the game I have all year long,” Oladipo said of the key to his overwhelming day. “This was a great team win.”
James had won 21 first-round playoff games in a row until the rout, having never before lost the opener in a first-round NBA post-season series. James, seeking his ninth career trip to the NBA finals and fourth league title, had not dropped a firstround playoff game since the New York Knicks beat Miami in the fourth game of the 2012 opening round, a minor setback on the Heat’s title run, a career first for James.
James said falling behind in a series just motivates him to step up his game.
“I’m down 0-1 in the first round. I was down 3-1 in the finals. So I’m the last guy to ask about what I’m gonna be like the next couple days,” James said. In the late game, league MVP candidate James Harden exploded for 44 points as the Houston Rockets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 104-101.
The Pacers jumped ahead 33-14 after the first quarter and led by as much as 23 in holding off the Cavs, who came no closer than seven points the rest of the way.
“You can’t ease into the playoffs,” said Cavs coach Tyronn Lue. “I thought (Indiana) came in and they attacked us.”
James had a triple double in a losing cause with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists. The rest of Cleveland’s starters only managed 25 points, Kevin Love with 17 rebounds but only nine points. J R Smith had 15 points off the Cavaliers’ bench while Myles Turner had 16 points and Bojan Bogdanovic added 15 for Indiana.
The Cavaliers had their lowest-scoring first period of the season and only five baskets with six turnovers in the opening quarter, drawing boos as they walked off at half-time trailing 59-38.
CELTICS EDGE BUCKS IN OT The Boston Celtics nearly fell victim to another Eastern Conference opening upset bid before edging visiting Milwaukee 113-107 in overtime. Al Horford scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Boston and Terry Rozier, starting in place of injured Kyrie Irving, added 23 points. Marcus Morris scored 21 off the bench while Jaylen Brown netted 20 and Jayson Tatum contributed 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics.
“We’ve been down a lot, a lot of injuries, and we’ve always found a way,” Horford said. “Morris made some big shots, Tatum down the stretch, Terry — that’s what we’re all about. We just find a way.”
Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 35 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists and gave the Celtics headaches until fouling out in overtime. Khris Middleton added 31 points, hitting five-of-seven three-pointers, with eight rebounds and six assists in a losing cause. MADRID: World number four Jon Rahm won the Spanish Open to claim his third European Tour title on Sunday after holding his nerve against fellow Spaniard Nacho Elvira and Irishman Paul Dunne in a tight finale.
Rahm began the day third on the leaderboard, two shots behind Dunne, who had set the pace in the first three rounds, and one behind Elvira.
He signed off, however, with an impressive five-under 67 to win by two shots, finishing with a 20-under-par total of 268, as Dunne and Elvira both carded final-day 71s.
Basque Country native Rahm returned to Spain less than a week after finishing fourth in the Masters.
He was hunting a first national title as a professional to add to his two previous European Tour wins in Dublin and Dubai last year.
He becomes the sixth Spaniard to win the Spanish Open since it became part of the European Tour in 1972, joining some illustrious company including Seve Ballesteros, Sergio Garcia and Miguel Angel Jimenez.
“When I made the decision to come straight from Augusta it wouldn’t be to just show up and walk around, I wanted to win this tournament,” Rahm told reporters.
“I’ve been blessed to be national champion from 16 to all ages in Spain. To round my amateur and pro career together in this way and win the last one I had to win and join that prestigious list of Spanish winners, it’s hard to explain how good it feels and how satisfying it is.”
The 23-year-old sneaked ahead overall after the fourth hole before Elvira got his nose in front with an eagle on the fifth. Rahm, who had birdied three of the opening seven holes, bogeyed the ninth to open up a three-way tie at the top of the leaderboard.
Rahm and Elvira were both tied at 19 under on the 15th and a playoff beckoned, but Elvira hit the water with his first shot on the penultimate hole, leading to a double bogey.
Rahm narrowly escaped the water on the 17th and made it into the clubhouse in a strong position with a birdie on the final hole, embracing his grandmother after completing the round.