NBA Finals moment isn’t too big for the Celtics

First Round Last Tuesday

(1-1) Bishop Shanahan 13, (2-2) Wyoming Area 5

(3-2) York Catholic 16, (4-1) Danville 8

22, (2-1) Crestwood 9

(1-3) Mount St Joe’s (12-1) Archbishop Carroll 22, (1-4) Gwynedd Mercy Academy 3

(12-2) Cardinal O’Hara 17, (11-1) Southern Lehigh 7

(3-1) Twin Valley 23, (7-2) Mars 2 (1-2) Strath Haven 12, (3-3) Susquehannock 7

(7-1) Chartiers Valley 17, (10-1) Conneaut 4

Quarterfinals Last Saturday

(1-1) Bishop Catholic 10

(12-1) Archbishop Carroll 19, (1-3) Mount St. Joe’s 8

(3-1) Twin

O’Hara 9

(1-2) Strath Haven 15, (7-1) Chartiers Valley 9

Shanahan 4

(3-1) Twin Valley 13, (1-2) Strath Haven 9

Final Saturday, West Chester East (12-1) Archbishop Carroll

(1-1) Neshaminy 3, (12-2) George Washington 0

(11-1) Northampton 3, (3-1) Warwick 2 (11-2) Parkland 3, (2-1) Abington Heights 0

(3-1) Central Dauphin 3,

0

(10-1) McDowell 3, (7-2) Seneca Valley 1

(1-2) Pennridge 3, (12-1) La Salle 0

(11-1) Northampton 3, (1-1) Neshaminy 2 (3-1) Central Dauphin 3, (11-2) Parkland 1

3, (10-1) McDowell 2 (7-1) North Allegheny 3, (7-3) Shaler 0

Semifinals Tuesday

(3-1) Central Dauphin 3, (11-1) Northampton 0

(7-1) North Allegheny, 3, (3-1) Central Dauphin vs. (7-1) North Allegheny, 1:30 p.m.

First Round Last Tuesday

13, (3-1) Lower Dauphin def. (12-4) Frankford (2-3) Blue Ridge 3, (12-1) Palumbo 0 (3-3) Manheim Central 3,

0

Catholic (1-1) Dock 3, (12-3) Archbishop Wood 0

(3-2) York Suburban 3, (12-2)

Semifinals Tuesday (12-1) Archbishop Carroll

Valley, 4:30 p.m. Boys Volleyball

First Round Last Tuesday

Valley

8 (1-1) Bishop

(1-3) Upper Dublin

(7-1) North Allegheny 3, (3-4) Palmyra 0 (7-3) Shaler 3, (3-2) Cumberland Valley 2

Quarterfinals Last Saturday (1-2) Pennridge Final Saturday, State

Shanahan

Recreation

11,

(3-2)

Building,

York

Cardinal

vs. (3-1) Twin

(1-2) Pennridge 0 Penn (12-2) Lansdale

(11-2) Southern

Lehigh 0

(10-2) Cochranton 3, (7-1) Montour 0 (7-2) Our Lady of Sacred Heart 3, (6-1) West Shamokin 0

(10-1) Meadville 3, (7-3) Ambridge 0

Quarterfinals Last Saturday

(3-1) Lower Dauphin 3, (2-3) Blue Ridge 0

(3-3) Manheim Central 0 (10-2) Cochranton 3, (3-2) York Suburban 1

(10-1) Meadville 3, (7-2) Our Lady of Good Heart 0

(1-1) Dock 3, Semifinals Tuesday

(3-1) Lower Dauphin 3, 1 (10-1) Meadville 3, (10-2) Cochranton 0

Final Saturday, State

(3-1) Lower Dauphin vs. (10-1) Meadville, 11 a.m.

Baseball

First Round Monday

(11-2) Emmaus 1, (1-2) Owen J. Roberts 0 (2-1) Hazleton 1, (1-3) Coatesville 0 (11-1) Liberty 1, (3-2) Manheim Township 0

(12-1) La Salle 9, (1-5) Hatboro-Horsham 7

(3-1) Warwick 8,

(7-2) Upper St. Clair 2, (6-1) Altoona 0 (1-2) WC Henderson 12, (12-2) Olney Charter 2

(3-3) Cumberland Valley Lebanon 0

Quarterfinals Thursday

(1-4) Pennsbury 6 (11-2) Emmaus vs. p.m. at Pine Grove

(11-1) Liberty vs. p.m. at Boyertown

(3-1) Warwick vs. (7-2) Upper St. noon at Mt. Aloysius

(1-2) WC Henderson vs. (3-3) Cumberland Valley. 6:30 p.m. at Muhlenberg HS (3-5) Exeter 7 (4-1) Selinsgrove 1, Susquehannock 0 5, (1-2) Strath

Haven 4

(3-1) Manheim Centra1 9, (1-3) MarpleNewtown 8

(3-4) Donegal 11, (11-1) Southern Lehigh 7 (3-2) Ephrata 9. (7-2) Peters Township 7 (7-1) West Allegheny 7, (7-4) Thomas Jefferson 0

(7-3) Bethel Park 4, (6-1) Central Mountain 3

Quarterfinals Thursday (1-1) Upper Dublin

(2-1) Hazleton, 6:30

(12-1) La Salle College, First Round Monday (1-1) Upper Dublin 8, (12-1) Archbishop Wood

vs. (4-1) Selinsgrove, 6:30 p.m. at Wenger Field

(12-1) Archbishop Wood

vs. (3-1) Manheim Central, 4 p.m. at Muhlenberg HS (3-4) Donegal vs. (3-2) Ephrata, 4 p.m. at Red Lion HS

(7-1) West Allegheny vs. (7-3) Bethel Park, 2 p.m. at Washington and Jefferson

First Round Monday Recreation (1-1) Dock Building,

7, (7-1) Mount (3-1) Delone Catholic 9,

(11-1) Schuylkill Haven 5, (12-1) Masterman 4

(4-1) South Williamsport 13,

(1-1) Dock 3 Penn

7

Clair, (2-1) Holy

Stephen Curry tried one of his patented floaters from the left side of the rim. Klay Thompson tried a layup from nearly the same spot a few minutes later.

Slightly different shots from the Golden State Warriors in the fourth quarter of Game 3 of the NBA Finals, with exact same result: They were spiked out of bounds by the Boston Celtics.

Robert Williams III had the block on Curry, Jaylen Brown had the block on Thompson, and if there were any lingering questions about whether this stage — the biggest one the NBA has — is too big for the Celtics, they were answered in those sequences.

Thing is, the Celtics might be too big for the Warriors.

Boston has half the job done in these NBA Finals, now up 2-1 over Golden State after running out to a huge lead, wasting every bit of it and then closing strong to win 116-100 on Wednesday night. The Celtics, trailing late in the third quarter, faced pressure and stared it down. The Warriors now must do the same in Game 4 on Friday night, or else.

RICHMOND, VA. » The General Assembly is tabling for the year legislation intended to lure the Washington Commanders to Virginia, a top state lawmaker said Thursday.

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw said in a brief interview that there were too many issues to be resolved and controversies surrounding the NFL team for the legislation

Cross 1

(5-1) Everett 4, (6-2) Portage 3

(9-2) Redbank 2, (7-2) Serra 1

(7-4) Burgettstown 6, (9-1) Johnsonburg 5

(7-3) Riverside 5, (6-1) Mount Union 3 (7-2) Neshannock 4, (10-1) Middlesex 3

Quarterfinals Thursday

(3-1) Delone Catholic vs. (11-1) Schuylkill haven’

(4-1) Williamsport vs. (5-1) Everett (9-2) Redbank vs. (7-4) Burgettstown (7-3) Riverside vs. (7-2) Neshannock

First round Monday

(3-2) Halifax 3, (4-1) Benton 0

(2-1) MMI Prep 11,

(11-1) Tri-Valley 6, (3-1) Greenwood 2 (6-1) Bishop McCort 4, (5-2) Rockwood 0 (9-2) Clarion-Limestone 8, (7-1) Union 5 (5-1) Southern Fulton 12, (6-2) Williamsburg 4

(10-1) Saegertown 9, (7-2) Eden Christian 2

(9-1) Dubois Central Rochester 5

(1-1) Jenkintown 9

Catholic 15, (7-3)

“I don’t think at this point there’s any anxiety from the players,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka said. “It is what it is. We’ve been battle tested throughout the playoffs, and this far into a series, it should be on to the next. I think we’ve seen what makes us successful.” Everybody has now. Boston looks every bit the part of an NBA champion: The Celtics were bigger, stronger, faster and tougher in Game 3, and if all that wasn’t damning enough, the Warriors will wait to find out if Curry was simply shaken up after getting slammed into by Boston’s Al Horford in the final minutes while a bunch of players were diving for a loose ball, or if he’s re-sprained his left foot — the same injury he had late in the regular season, suffered, ironically, against the Celtics.

“I’ll be all right,” Curry insisted.

The Warriors know what the alternative would mean.

“We need him,” Thompson said, “if we want to win this thing.”

It’s more than just needing Curry. At this point, they might need him to be at his very best.

All, to be certain, is not lost. The Warriors have to proceed. It could be reintroduced next year, he said.

The team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The development came a day after an assistant coach for the team issued an apology after initially doubling down on a comparison he made on social media between the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and the protests in the wake of the police killing of George

Quarterfinals Thursday

(3-2) Halifax vs. (2-1) MMI Prep (11-1) Tri-Valley vs. (6-1) Bishop McCort (9-2) Clairon-Limestone vs. (5-1) Southern Fulton

(10-1) Saegertown vs. (9-1) Dubois Central Catholic

Softball

First Round Monday (1-1) North Penn 5,

(11-2) Whitehall 0 (4-1) Williamsport 7, (1-3) Haverford 1 (1-4) Spring-Ford 11, (12-1) St. Hubert 0 (3-1) Penn Manor 9, (1-6) Garnet Valley 0 (1-2) Pennsbury 10, (3-2) Manheim Township 2

(6-1) Mifflin County (11-9) vs. (7-2) North Allegheny (13-10) , 4 p.m. at Mifflin County

(1-5) Quakertown 2, (11-1) Northampton 0

(7-1) Seneca Valley 8, (3-3) Central Dauphin 2

Quarterfinals Thursday

won six consecutive games after a loss. They’ve been here before. They’ve answered. The core of Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green were down 2-1 in the 2015 finals before rallying to win their first title together. They know how to turn things around.

They need to do it again Friday, or else a Celtics team that was 25-25 after 50 games this season is going to be on the brink of hanging an 18th championship banner.

“We’ll be better,” Green said after finishing with two points, four rebounds, three assists and six fouls, plus after hearing an untold number of loud, profane chants from many in the Boston crowd. “I’ll be better. Come out, win Game 4. Go back 2-2.”

The confidence is still there.

It’s not shaken on the Boston side, either.

Celtic Pride was on full display in Game 3. An 18-point first-half lead got completely erased in the third quarter, another disaster third for Boston, and the Warriors went up 8382. This is where a team that has exactly zero players who had been in the NBA Finals before last week could have panicked and folded. Instead, the Celtics recovered on the fly

Floyd.

The remarks from Jack Del Rio, a former linebacker who now runs Washington’s defense, prompted a quick backlash. Several key lawmakers from northern Virginia who had previously supported the measure said publicly that they no longer backed the deal.

Legislation that would have offered the team lucrative tax incentives to help finance the stadium cleared both chambers this

(1-1) North Penn

10, (4-1) Williamsport 0 (1-4) Spring-Ford 11, (3-1) Penn Manor 4 (1-2) Pennsbury 10, (6-1) Mifflin County 2 (1-5) Quakertown vs. (7-1) Seneca Valley, 2 p.m. at Messiah University

First Round Monday

(11-1) Bethlehem Catholic 10, (12-3) Archbishop Ryan 5

(1-1) Villa Joseph Marie 11, (12-2) Science Leadership 0

(12-1)

Spring 2

(2-1) Tunkhannock 2, (4-1) Shamokin 1 (3-1) Hamburg 5, (7-2) Elizabeth Forward 4

(9-1) Clearfield 4, (10-2) Franklin 3 (7-1) Beaver Area 3, (3-3) Fleetwood 2 (7-3) Burrell 6, (10-1) Villa Maria 0

Quarterfinals Thursday

(11-1) Bethlehem Catholic vs. (1-1) Villa Joseph Marie, 1 p.m. at Spring-Ford

vs. (2-1) Tunkhannock, 4 p.m. at Patriots Park (3-1) Hamburg vs. (9-1) Clearfield, 6 p.m. at Central Columbia

(12-1) Archbishop Wood Archbishop 5, Wood

(3-2)

Big and outscored Golden State 34-17 the rest of the way.

“We found a way,” the Celtics’ Marcus Smart said. “That’s what makes us such a great team, because we still found a way to counterbalance that and come out with a victory or put ourselves in a good position to win at the end of the game.”

Now, it’s Golden State’s turn.

If Boston had let Game 3 slip away, it would have been incredibly tough for the Celtics to hoist the trophy. Along the same lines, the Warriors know what Game 4 means. It’s not an elimination game, and a 3-1 deficit doesn’t assure defeat — they learned that the hard way in 2016 against Cleveland — but it’s basically a must win.

“We let one slip away,” Thompson said. “We have a beautiful opportunity Friday to even a series and do what we were supposed to do, and that was get one on the road.”

Tim Reynolds is a national basketball writer for The Associated Press. Write to him at treynolds(at)ap.org

More AP NBA: https:// apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/ APSports year, drawing an usual bipartisan mix of supporters. But other defectors had raised concerns even before Del Rio’s remarks, worrying about ongoing investigations into the team by attorneys general and Congress, plus transportation concerns.

“You’ve got the attorney general’s thing, you’ve got all the congressional stuff, other issues to be answered. We decided that it will just remain in conference,” Saslaw said. (7-1) Beaver Area vs. (7-3) Burrell, 3 p.m. at Mars

First Round Monday

(4-1) Montgomery 1, (11-1) Tri-Valley 0 (9) 2, (3-1) Halifax 1 2, (4-2) Cowanesque Valley

(1-1) Faith Christian

(2-1) Old Forge 1

(6-2) Glendale 6, (5-1) Meyersdale 5 (7-1) Union 4, (5-2) Shade 3 (10-1) Saegertown 6, (9-2) Catholic 0

(7-2) West Greene

Valley 8

(9-1) DuBois Central Catholic Greensburg Central Catholic 2

Quarterfinals Thursday

(4-1) Montgomery vs.

4 p.m., Central Columbia HS (2-1) Old Forge vs. (6-2) Glendale, 4 p.m., Elm Park, Williamsport

(7-1) Union vs. (10-1) Saegertown, 1 p.m., Slippery Rock University

(7-2) West Greene vs. (9-1) DuBois Central Catholic, 3 p.m., Slippery Rock University 9,

Elk County (6-1) Conemaugh 4, (7-3)

(1-1) Faith Christian,