Davis’ 3 at buzzer puts Lakers up 2-0
Anthony Davis made a three-pointer as time expired to give the Lakers a 105-103 victory Sunday against the Nuggets and a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals in the NBA bubble in Orlando, Florida. Game 3 is scheduled for Tuesday.
Davis scored the Lakers’ last 10 points and finished with 31 overall, 22 in the second half. His winning shot rescued the Lakers, who had led by 16 points late in the second quarter, only to watch the Nuggets rally.
The game featured four lead changes in the last 32 seconds, with the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic and Davis trading baskets until the game-winner. On the final play, Davis took an inbounds pass from Rajon Rondo and swished the shot over Jokic.
LeBron James added 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers. Jokic had 30 points and nine assists and Jamal Murray 25 points for the Nuggets, who rallied from 3-1 series deficits against the Jazz and Clippers in the first two rounds and will have to come from behind again against the Lakers.
COVID testing postpones playoff game
The opening game of the playoff series between the Storm and Lynx in the WNBA bubble in Bradenton, Florida, was postponed because of inconclusive COVID-19 test results for Storm players.
The WNBA said the players with inconclusive results have undergone additional testing and are in isolation.
‘‘We needed more testing and data,’’ WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a TV interview. ‘‘As soon as I talked to them, they were concerned about health and safety, and it wasn’t about basketball at that point.’’
The Lynx already had arrived at the arena and some of the players had been warming up when they were told the game was postponed. The league didn’t immediately say when Game 1 would be played.
Slovenian cyclist makes history
In a performance for the ages, Tour de France rookie Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia won the showpiece race on the eve of his 22nd birthday, becoming the second-youngest winner of the 117-year-old event. Only Henri Cornet of France, who was just shy of 20 when he was crowned in 1904, was younger.
Pogacar, 21, snatched the yellow jersey from countryman Primoz Roglic by beating him in the time trial by nearly two minutes Saturday, then coasted to victory in the largely ceremonial final stage up the Champs Elysees in Paris.
The 1-2 finish by Pogacar and Roglic was the first for one country since British riders Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome took the top spots in the Tour in 2012.
Djokovic reaches Italian Open final
Top-seeded Novak Djokovic overcame an obscenity warning to defeat Casper Ruud 7-5, 6-3 in the semifinals of the Italian Open in Rome. He will face eighth-seeded Diego Schwartzman, who outlasted 12th-seeded Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (7-4) in the other semifinal, for the title Monday.