Richardson
Out of Olympics after USA relay snub
PHOENIX: Chris Paul made sure his long-awaited NBA Finals debut would be one to remember, scoring 32 points and adding nine assists to spark the Phoenix Suns over the Milwaukee Bucks 118105 in Tuesday’s opening game of the championship series.
The 36-year-old backcourt maestro, in his 16th season, delivered clutch scoring and added nine assists while Devin Booker added 27 points and 22-year-old Bahamas big man Deandre Ayton had 22 points and 19 rebounds in dominating the Bucks.
“I just kept trying to be aggressive and my guys got going,” Paul said. “It’s trust. We’ve played like this all season. We just have to stay locked in.”
Phoenix will try to grab a 2-0 edge when the best-of-seven showdown continues on Thursday. “There was a lot of energy coming into this game,” Paul said. “We got one. We’ve got to get another one.”
The Suns, in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1993, seek their first league title while the Bucks, in their first finals since 1974, won their only crown 50 years ago.
“We’ll look at the film,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “We’ll get smarter. We’ll get better for game two.”
Milwaukee started Greek star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had missed two games with a hyperextended left knee, and he contributed 20 points and 17 rebounds in 35 minutes.
“It was tough. Had to do my best to get back,” Antetokounmpo said. “Did the right treatment. Took care of my body. Supported my team-mates. Now I’m back.
“Felt great. I had my balance. Felt my knee was stable. I did not feel pain. I felt good.”
But even with 29 points from Khris Middleton, it wasn’t enough against Paul and a swifter, more defensively aggressive Suns squad.
“I just think Chris Paul got a little too comfortable,” Bucks standout Jrue Holiday said.
Paul, with the second-most games of any NBA player making his finals debut, went 12-of-19 from the floor, 4-of-7 from 3-point range, and 4-of4 from the free throw line.
“I’m just so locked into the game,” Paul said. “I’m staying in the moment. I’m just focused on the task at hand.”
Paul went 6-of-7 for 16 points in the third quarter, when the Suns stretched the lead as large as 20 points.
Antetokounmpo scored off a rebound to pull Milwaukee within 101-94 in the fourth quarter, but a steal and hoop by Paul helped keep the Bucks at bay.
ENERGY AND JUICE
“To win the first game, it gives you a level of confidence,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “It was just having the energy and the juice that we typically play with. It’s important. Our guys understand that.”
Ayton became the first player with 15 points and 15 rebounds in his NBA Finals debut since Tim Duncan in 1999.
The Suns went 25-of-26 from the free throw line, missing only the last to keep them from an NBA Finals record.
LOS ANGELES: Sha’carri Richardson will play no part in the Olympics after being left out of the United States’ 4x100m relay squad, USA Track and Field (USATF) confirmed on Tuesday. Richardson had been ruled out of competing in the individual 100m in Tokyo after receiving a 30-day ban for testing positive for marijuana following her victory at the US trials last month. But the prospect of competing as a member of the relay team had been left open, with Richardson’s suspension ending before the opening rounds of the discipline get under way in Tokyo. USATF rules allowed for the 21-yearold to be selected as one of two coach’s picks alongside the top four finishers from the women’s 100m final at the US trials. However, that door was slammed shut by USATF on Tuesday after 2016 Olympic 4x100m relay gold medalist English Gardner and Aleia Hobbs were named as the two discretionary picks to complete the six-strong relay pool. In a statement, USATF expressed sympathy for Richardson’s case but said it had a responsibility to “maintain fairness” for all athletes. “First and foremost, we are incredibly sympathetic toward Sha’carri Richardson’s extenuating circumstances and strongly applaud her accountability — and will offer her our continued support both on and off the track,” USATF said. “While
USATF fully agrees that the merit of the World Anti-doping Agency rules related to THC (marijuana) should be reevaluated, it would be detrimental to the integrity of the US Olympic Team Trials for Track & Field if USATF amended its policies following competition, only weeks before the Olympic Games,” it added.
“All USATF athletes are equally aware of and must adhere to the current antidoping code, and our credibility as the National Governing Body would be lost if rules were only enforced under certain circumstances.”
‘EMOTIONAL PAIN’
Newspaper USA Today reported Gardner and Hobbs were told of their selection in the US team before Richardson accepted a reduced one-month suspension for her doping case.
That meant that adding Richardson to the squad with one of the discretionary places would have required either Gardner or Hobbs to be bumped from the team.
Richardson’s failed drugs test shocked the world of athletics after it was confirmed by the United States Anti-doping Agency last Friday.
Richardson is one of the rising stars of track and field and had been regarded as a potential gold medalist at the Olympics.
The charismatic Texan later told NBC television that she had taken marijuana to cope with a “state of emotional pain” after learning of the death of her biological mother during the US trials last month in Eugene, Oregon.
“I would like to say to my fans, my family and my sponsors I apologise,” Richardson said. “I apologise for the fact that I didn’t know how to control my emotions or deal with my emotions during that time.”