Sports
Siakam compliments Gilgeous-Alexander’s ‘impressive’ triple-double for Thunder – The Globe and Mail
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drives against Jarrett Culver during a game on Jan. 13, 2020, in Minneapolis.
Jim Mone/The Associated Press
Pascal Siakam knows how tough it is to grab 20 rebounds in a game.
And so, the Toronto Raptors forward has a ton of respect for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who recorded his first triple-double of his career on Monday with 20 points, 20 boards and 10 assists.
Siakam hauled down 18 boards against New Orleans in Toronto’s regular-season opener in November. And so, his confidence surging, he bet teammate Norman Powell that he could get 15 a game after that.
“I was feeling myself,” Siakam said with a laugh. “I don’t even know if I got close to that. I stopped the bet, because I was getting two rebounds a game and it was bad.”
Siakam didn’t record double-digit rebounds until six games later, and still hasn’t got 15.
“I just know how hard it is to grab that many rebounds,” Siakam said. “It’s really impressive to be able to do that.”
The Raptors face Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder on Wednesday in Oklahoma City. The 21-year-old from Hamilton was the best player on the floor when the two teams met two weeks ago in Toronto, scoring 32 points in the Thunder’s 98-97 victory. It was the most points ever scored by a Canadian against the Raptors.
The 6-foot-5 guard wrote more history in his team’s 117-104 win over Minnesota on Monday. He became the youngest player in league history to record a 20-rebound triple double. He’s the second Canadian to record a triple-double (Steve Nash did it three times) and second Canadian to record a 20-point/20-rebound game behind Jamaal Magloire.
The only other guard to have a 20/20 triple-double in the past 30 seasons is former Thunder star Russell Westbrook. Only three other players registered 20/20 triple-doubles in their sophomore season: Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Oscar Robertson.
His Thunder teammates celebrated his big game. During his live TV postgame interview, teammate Dennis Schroder dumped two bottles of water over his head.
Gilgeous-Alexander will be a handful for the Raptors on Wednesday, Adrian Griffin said. The young guard is fast, and plays with the versatility and savvy of a veteran.
“It’s very rare, a lot of times for younger guys coming into the NBA, that’s something that you learn [over time]. That’s the Kyle Lowry stuff, 10 to 15 years, and they know all the nuances,” Toronto’s lead assistant said. “He has great ball control, you really can’t speed him up. He plays at his pace and he knows how to slow-to-fast, fast-to-slow, how to use his size and his strength. He has great command of his game for such a young guy.”
The Raptors are expected to have Marc Gasol back on Wednesday. The Spanish big man has missed 12 games with a hamstring injury.
The 34-year-old also had kind words for the Thunder’s Canadian star, saying his growth between his first and second seasons has been remarkable. Part of it comes with greater responsibility. He’s averaging nine more minutes a night than his rookie season with the Los Angeles Clippers.
“You see it in his body language, his poise. You see his defensive presence. Now you’re seeing his shooting a little bit, too. You get to see the growth,” Gasol said. “Because the player that he was last year, you saw flashes, you saw the potential.
“Now, they increased his usage by quite a lot and the responsibility, and you really see what kind of person you also have. Is he a worker? Does he continue to get better? Does he take it for granted? You start to see all those things being answered when you’re put in the position of responsibility like he is now.”
Gilgeous-Alexander is one of a number of NBA players who are committed to playing for Canada in its last-chance Olympic qualifying tournament this summer in Victoria.
Gasol was a key member of the Spanish team that won gold at the World Cup last summer in China, and said at the time that he was surprised to see that Canada had just two NBAers – Cory Joseph and Khem Birch – in China.
“Hopefully you guys get them all to play on the international team,” Gasol said after practice on Tuesday. “That’s going to be the key. Because it’s one of the teams with the most potential worldwide. Outside of the U.S., as far as potential goes, I think Canada is right up there with anybody else. So, you’ve just got to get them to play.”
The Raptors are back home to play host to Washington on Friday.
KAMLOOPS – For the third time in franchise history, the Quebec Ramparts have won the Memorial Cup, beating the Seattle Thunderbirds 5-0 on Sunday.
The win likely caps off the junior hockey coaching career of Patrick Roy, who is set to leave the Ramparts. It’s his second Memorial Cup title after winning it back in 2006.
Columbus Blue Jackets prospect James Malatesta was named MVP of the tournament.
As the first period started, both teams were buzzing with energy in front of a packed Kamloops crowd. Seattle goaltender Thomas Millic came up big early on in the game with a save on a slap shot from Charle Truchon, followed a minute later by a stop on a Nathan Gaucher breakaway.
Not long after that, the Remparts found themselves on a 2-on-1 with Kassim Gaudet and Vsevolod Komarov. Komarov buried the feed from Gaudet to open the scoring six minutes into the game. A big stop by Remparts goalie William Rousseau on a Kyle Crnkovic backhander kept the Remparts in the lead as the period winded down.
The Remparts and Thunderbirds started the second period at 4-on-4 following a cross-checking call to Malatesta near the end of the first. Early on in the frame, Malatesta found the back of the net for his fifth goal of the tournament, making it 2-0.
Throughout the start of the third, the Remparts were all over the Thunderbirds with a multitude of scoring chances. Zachary Bolduc had an ample opportunity to stretch the lead on a pickpocket, but couldn’t find the back of the net.
While on the penalty kill, Quebec’s Justin Robidas and Gaudet found themselves on a 2-on-1, with Gaudet burying the puck into the back of the net on a cross-crease from Robidas. Dylan Guenther would then take a penalty for cross-checking following an altercation with Remparts defenseman Evan Nause. It didn’t take long for Bolduc to notch a goal as he buried a one-timer from the point to make it 4-0.
Not long after that, Remparts Charles Savoie notched his first tournament goal to make it 5-0 Remparts, finishing off the evening.
Staring down a 2-0 deficit in the NBA Finals, as the visitors in a hostile arena where no road team had prevailed in more than two months, the Miami Heat decided to do what they’ve done throughout the post-season.
They found a way. Against all odds. Again.
“Our guys are competitors,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “They love these kind of moments.”
Evidently.
They were down by as many as 15 points, down eight going into the fourth, and those numbers signified they were going to lose. Denver was 11-0 in these playoffs when leading by double digits at any point in a game, and 37-1 this season overall when leading by at least eight going into the fourth.
The Heat didn’t care. They outscored Denver 17-5 in the first 3:17 of the fourth to take the lead for good, eventually went up by 12, then frittered most of it away and had to survive a 3-point try by Jamal Murray as time expired.
Keep leaving Nnamdi open. <a href=”https://t.co/S2qAWtVNg5″>pic.twitter.com/S2qAWtVNg5</a>
—@MiamiHEAT
“This is the finals,” Adebayo said. “We gutted one out.”
Max Strus scored 14 and Duncan Robinson had 10 — all of them in the fourth — for the Heat, who had a big early lead, then got down by as many as 15. They had no answers for Jokic, who was 16 of 28 from the floor, the last of those shots a 4-footer with 36 seconds left to get the Nuggets within three.
Denver elected not to foul on the ensuing Miami possession and it paid off. Butler missed a 3, and with a chance to tie, Murray missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
“I just contested it,” Butler said. “Pretty glad that he missed it.”
‘Let’s talk about effort’
Denver lost at home for the first time since March 30, and for the first time in 10 home playoff games this year. And just as he did after a Game 1 win, Nuggets coach Michael Malone sounded the alarm after a Game 2 loss.
The Kitchener, Ont., native Murray had 18 points and 10 assists for Denver, while Aaron Gordon had 12 points and Bruce Brown scored 11.
“They just played hard, and like I said, it was more discipline,” Murray said. “It’s defeating when you’re giving up mistake after mistake, and it’s not them beating you, you’re giving them open dunks or open shots. That’s tough to come back from.”
WATCH | Kitchener, Ont., cheering on Murray:
Fans in Canadian basketball star Jamal Murray’s hometown of Kitchener, Ont., are ecstatic as he and the Denver Nuggets drive for a historic NBA championship victory over the Miami Heat.
Strus, who was 0 for 10 in Game 1, had four 3-pointers in the first quarter of Game 2. Butler made a jumper with 4:56 left in the opening quarter to put Miami up 21-10, tying the second-biggest lead any opponent had built in Denver so far in these playoffs.
In a flash, it was gone — and then some.
The Nuggets outscored Miami 32-11 over the next 9 minutes, turning the double-digit deficit into a double-digit lead thanks to an absolute 3-point barrage.
Boom, boom, boom, and boom. Murray had five straight points to end the flurry, and Denver led 44-32 when it was over. It looked like everything was going Denver’s way.
Miami insisted otherwise. And for the 44th time this season, the Heat won a game by five points or less. None of them was bigger than this one.
“When it comes down to the wire,” Vincent said, “we’re strangely comfortable.”
Sports
Montreal Canadiens sign Cole Caufield to eight-year contract extension – Habs Eyes on the Prize
The forward re-signs with the team for the maximum length.
The Montreal Canadiens have signed forward Cole Caufield to an eight-year contract extension, the team announced on Monday.
The Canadiens have agreed to terms on an eight-year contract extension (2023-24 to 2030-31) with forward Cole Caufield.#GoHabsGohttps://t.co/BZ1gBIzndL
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) June 5, 2023
The contract will have an average cap hit of $7.85 million per season, just under the AAV for the same length of contract signed by team captain Nick Suzuki last year. The contract will last until the end of the 2030-31 season.
Caufield finished last season with 26 goals, and held the team lead in that category for most of the season despite playing only 46 games before undergoing shoulder surgery. He also had 10 assists.
The contract now locks in the two franchise cornerstones Caufield and Suzuki for the maximum length and cap hits under $8 million. It’s a good bit of business for Kent Hughes to get this done before free agency, and has the potential for great cap management as the years go by.
In the sixth year of the contract, per CapFriendly, there is a 15 team no-trade clause that drops to 10 teams in year seven and five in year eight.
Patrik Bexell, Matt Drake, and Jared Book discuss the contract in a special Habsent Minded Extra.
Jolene Arcand on her art for 'Mother. Sister. Daughter.' – CBC.ca
Quebec Remparts dominate Seattle Thunderbirds to win 2023 Memorial Cup – Daily Faceoff
Chinese warship nearly hits U.S. destroyer in Taiwan Strait during joint Canada-U.S. mission – Global News
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