This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Jalen Brunson not close to return from injury

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets (22-45) had a disappointing road trip that saw them drop games that they could’ve won as they’re trying to have a chance at the Eastern Conference play-in tournament. With the Boston Celtics (49-19) coming to town on the second night of a back-to-back, Brooklyn had an opportunity to get a win over one of the best teams in the NBA.

Unfortunately, the Nets were not able to achieve their desired result as they lost to the Celtics 115-113 in which Brooklyn was able to come back from a 21-point deficit to make the game interesting in the end. Cam Johnson did his part to will his team to victory as he poured in 23 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists while Keon Johnson filled in admirably for Cam Thomas by dropping 21 points and six rebounds.

The reason why Brooklyn had a shot of winning the game is because of them limiting Jayson Tatum to just 20 points on 8-of-19 shooting from the field over the course of the game, giving them some leeway towards the winning the game. Here are the Nets player grades following Saturday’s loss to the Celtics:

D’Angelo Russell: B

Russell had an uneven game for the Nets in this one as he shot the ball decently overall, but his three-point shot was off more than usual. Russell has not been efficient shooting the ball this season, but he has had moments where he found his rhythm and was able to make defenses pay for slacking off of him. Russell did a great job of getting to the free-throw line and setting up his teammates without turning the ball over.

Keon Johnson: A

Johnson had one of his best games of the season in this one as he seemingly had everything working on the offensive end of the floor. Johnson has always been able to drive to the basket, but his three-point shot was falling in this one and that allowed him to keep his defender honest all game long. Johnson has always been able to bring his athleticism and hustle to the floor, but he took that to another level against Boston.

Cam Johnson: A

Johnson struggled shooting the ball overall in this one, especially from three-point line as he couldn’t find his rhythm all game long. Johnson could not get himself going from three-point land, but he did have some success driving to the rim and working in the mid-range against the Celtics’ aggressive defense. Johnson contributed in other ways as he helped out in the rebounding department and he did a good job of setting up his teammates.

Ziaire Williams: A-

Williams did not do too much on the offensive end of the floor, but that was because he was primarily focused on guarding Jayson Tatum throughout the game. Williams was efficient on the offensive end as he was lights-out from three-point land despite not getting many shots over the course of the game. Williams did a decent job of guarding Tatum as he was able to frustrated Tatum at times when the two went against each other.

Day’Ron Sharpe: B+

Sharpe started this game in place of Nic Claxton, who the Nets rested for this matchup against the Celtics, and Sharpe played well in his new role. Sharpe did not get many looks on the offensive end of the floor as players like Keon Johnson and Maxwell Lewis had more success scoring the ball. Sharpe did run into some foul trouble early on in the game, but he found a way to play close to normal minutes for a starter as he showed some discipline on the defensive end.

Jalen Wilson: B

Wilson did a great job of scoring the ball off the bench, especially when the Nets needed him to produce given the amount of players out for this game for various reasons. Wilson had his game working all over the floor and while he shoot the three-pointer well, his work going to the basket was impressive considering that is the part of his game that is matchup-based for the most part.

Maxwell Lewis: A

Lewis came off the bench like a man on a mission as he was nearly perfect scoring the ball, including not missing from three-point land. Lewis does not play much coming off the bench for the Nets, but when he has played, he has shown the ability to make an impact on the offensive end of the floor, especially with his shooting. One thing that stood out was Lewis’ athleticism as he looks to be getting more comfortable coming off his injury.

Tyrese Martin: C+

Martin had a solid game coming off the bench despite the fact that his overall shooting left a lot to be desired given how well he has been playing in March. Martin wasn’t able to get his three-point shot to fall, but what he wasn’t able to do with his scoring, he did with his passing by setting up his teammates. Martin will probably continue to see minutes as the point guard off the bench as this season comes to a close.

Reece Beekman: C

Beekman saw a decent amount of minutes in this one and while his offensive production was disappointing, there were some encouraging signs from him against one of the best teams in the league. Beekman did not shoot the ball well, but he did a good job of making the right pass at the wrong time within the offense and he held his own on the defensive end of the floor.

This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets player grades: Cam Johnson scores 23 in 115-113 loss to Celtics

NEW YORK — The Nets fell to the Boston Celtics, 115-113, on Saturday in the first game of a back-to-back set at Barclays Center. They are now in sole possession of the fifth-best NBA draft lottery odds.

Brooklyn (22-45) has lost 11 of 13 games since the All-Star break and three in a row since upsetting the Los Angeles Lakers at home on Monday. To worsen matters, it was announced on Saturday that Cam Thomas, the team’s leading scorer, will miss the remainder of the 2024-25 season because of a left hamstring strain suffered in Thursday’s loss to the Chicago Bulls.

In addition to Thomas, the Nets played without Nic Claxton (rest), Noah Clowney (right ankle sprain) and Trendon Watford (left hamstring injury management) against Boston.

Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis were available for the Celtics.

The Nets trailed by just three points after one quarter, thanks in large part to Maxwell Lewis and Jalen Wilson, who scored eight and six points off the bench, respectively. Tatum played the entire first quarter for Boston and scored 11 points.

Brooklyn shot just 8 for 23 in the second quarter while the Celtics went 14 for 23, with three of their makes coming from Brown and four from Luke Kornet. The Nets trailed by as many as 21 points in the period and went into halftime facing a 63-51 deficit.

Lewis, who was acquired from the Lakers in the same trade that brought D’Angelo Russell back to Brooklyn in December, went 4 for 5 from the field in the first half and scored 10 points, reaching double figures for the first time in his NBA career. The second-year forward totaled just 10 points in 51 minutes this season with the Nets and Lakers entering the night.

Brooklyn kept fighting out of the break, starting the third quarter on a 7-0 run to cut its deficit to five, but a barrage of 3-pointers from Tatum, Jrue Holiday and Sam Hauser quickly pushed Boston’s lead back up to 13.

The Nets still won the third quarter 30-23, which made it an 86-81 game entering the final frame. Keon Johnson scored eight points in the period and Brooklyn limited the Celtics to 39.1% shooting.

Three 3-pointers on three straight possessions from Lewis, Wilson and Cam Johnson cut it to two with 7:59 left, but Boston pushed its lead back to 11 with 2:44 left. The Nets continued to chip away and found a 9-0 burst late to make it a 112-108 game with 56.9 seconds left. Then Cam Johnson’s second 3-pointer of the night made it a one-point game with 4.5 seconds left.

Payton Pritchard split a pair of free throws with 2.9 seconds left and Brooklyn had a chance to tie or take the lead, but Cam Johnson couldn’t get a final shot off in time.

“There’s no moral victories here, but if that’s going to be our identity, a lot of good things are going to happen,” head coach Jordi Fernandez said.

Lewis finished with a career-high 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting and went 3 for 3 from deep. Cam Johnson and Keon Johnson paced Brooklyn’s starters with 23 and 21 points, respectively.

Porzingis, in his first game back from an eight-game absence, led the Celtics with 24 points and two rebounds in 32 minutes.

While Brooklyn had a 22-2 edge in fast-break points and made 20 3-pointers, Boston shot 52.4% for the game and dominated the paint 52-36.

The Nets will return to action on Sunday against the Atlanta Hawks.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The Super Rugby season is only five rounds old. Yet, with less than a third of the regular season over injuries are already becoming a major factor.

Prior to the weekend’s fifth round, 67 players across the 11 teams were unavailable because of injuries.

The injury toll is particularly high among the five New Zealand teams which had 40 players out of action.

The Blues, who lost 32-31 to the Chiefs on Saturday after missing a late conversion, are particularly hard-hit with 11 players on the injured list. That includes All Blacks Beauden Barrett, Hoskins Sotutu and Sam Darry.

The Chiefs had eight players out of action this round, including All Blacks Wallace Sititi and Josh Lord but were fortunate to have flyhalf Damien McKenzie back from injury. His performance was influential.

The Queensland Reds had eight players out while Hurricanes, Waratahs and Western Force were without seven players. The Fijian Drua are the only team that reported no injuries before the round.

On the cards

Fans’ occasional bafflement at the implementation of rules around head contact was evident in two incidents in Friday’s match between the Highlanders and Hurricanes.

In the first, Hurricanes midfielder Ngatungane Punivai was knocked unconscious attempting to tackle Highlanders winger Timoci Tavatavanawai. As Punivai was led dazed from the field he was also surprised to learn he had been yellow-carded.

The referee was apologetic and technically correct. Punivai hadn’t altered his body position sufficiently in the tackle to mitigate the possibility of head contact.

While Tavatavanawai had also driven his shoulder into Punivai’s face the responsibility to avoid head contact lies with the tackler.

In the second, Hurricanes midfielder Peter Umaga-Jensen made a high tackle on Highlanders wing Caleb Tangitau in the last moments of the game as the Highlanders tried to turn around a 20-18 deficit. A penalty might have changed the outcome.

But the referee didn’t see it and the TMO was unable to bring it to his attention because, he deemed, it didn’t reach the yellow card threshold.

Springer the winger

Winger Macca Springer produced the outstanding individual performance of the fifth round when he scored five tries in the Crusaders’ 55-33 win over the Western Force.

The 21-year old equaled Super Rugby’s single-match try-scoring record set in 2021 by the late Chiefs winger Sean Wainui.

Springer hasn’t been a regular starter for the Crusaders but was given his chance on the left wing Saturday by head coach Rob Penney who said he had been energetic in training.

His fourth try came when he kicked ahead, recovered his own kick and eluded a defender to score. The fifth saw him trapped in a tight pocket near the left touchline. He managed to step infield and drive through tackles to score.

“The last one, I had to have a little bit of a laugh at myself,” Springer said. “I looked at (fellow winger Sevu Reece) and he was laughing at me. It was more a surreal laugh. It wasn’t a laughing matter but I just couldn’t believe it myself.”

Red letter day

The Queensland Reds became the top Australian team when they moved into third place with a 35-15 win over traditional rivals the New South Wales Waratahs.

The Waratahs had been confident ahead of the match after winning home games against the Highlanders, the Fijian Drua and the Force. They also started well against the Reds, scoring the first try of the match through winger Triston Reilly.

The match turned when Waratahs fullback Andrew Kellaway received a yellow card for a dangerous tackle on Harry Wilson. Reds fullback Heremaia Murray took advantage of Kellaway’s absence to score a chip-and-chase try.

The derby match was typically physical and the Reds gradually gained the edge with tries to Wilson, then Richie Asiata who scored from a rolling maul. Fraser McReight dummied Kellaway to score early in the second half and lock Angus Blyth scored to put the game beyond doubt.

“I thought it was a cracker of a match,” Reds head coach Les Kiss said. “They came at us early, scored early and we had to hold the fort.

“We weren’t very tidy early, they were on top of us but we kept hanging in there. I thought it was a cracker.”

___

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

NEW YORK (AP) — Kristaps Porzingis scored 24 points in his return from an eight-game absence with an illness, getting 14 in the fourth quarter to help the Boston Celtics hold off the Brooklyn Nets 115-113 on Saturday night.

Payton Pritchard added 22 points and Jayson Tatum had 20 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Celtics, who seemed headed for an easy night after a 25-7 run to open the second quarter gave them a 21-point lead. The Nets cut it to two in the fourth quarter before Porzingis made some clutch plays in his first game since Feb. 26.

The Celtics rested Derrick White and Al Horford a night after winning in Miami and clinching a playoff spot, then lost Jaylen Brown in the second half after he left with back spasms.

Pritchard, who set the NBA single-season record during the game with his 219th 3-pointer off the bench, made three free throws in the closing seconds.

Cam Johnson scored 23 points and Keon Johnson had 21 for the Nets, who lost for the 10th time in 11 games.

Takeaways

Celtics: Boston relies on the 3-pointer, but having Porzingis man the middle provides a different dimension when the long balls aren’t falling.

Nets: Brooklyn announced Saturday that leading scorer Cam Thomas is expected to miss the rest of the season with a strained left hamstring. Thomas averaged 24 points but was limited to 25 games by the injury he initially sustained in November.

Key moment

Boston’s lead was down to 94-92 with 7:59 to play before Porzingis converted a three-point play and then made his only 3-pointer of the night to push it to 100-92 a minute later.

Key stat

Boston has won eight straight in the regular season in Brooklyn, not losing since April 23, 2021.

Up next

Brooklyn hosts Atlanta on Sunday. The Celtics don’t play again until hosting the Nets on Tuesday night.

Last year, the Padres and Dodgers got the MLB regular season started early with two games in South Korea. This year, it’s the Cubs and Dodgers kicking things off the week before league-wide Opening Day.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, with the first pitch of each game scheduled for 6:10 a.m. ET, the 2025 season begins at the Tokyo Dome. This matchup features a boatload of Japanese stars and is sure to deliver an electric atmosphere. 

Here’s everything you need to know about the Tokyo Series.

[Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league for the 2025 MLB season]

Why is MLB doing this?

It’s no secret that Major League Baseball wants to have a global reach, which is understandable considering the many countries represented in the league. After playing regular-season MLB series in Puerto Rico, Mexico, England, the Dominican Republic and South Korea, the next and biggest frontier in baseball was Japan.

There’s as much Japanese star power in Major League Baseball today as there has ever been in league history. That’s not to mention that the best player in the sport, Shohei Ohtani, not only hails from Japan but also has become a global superstar. And while Ohtani’s fame has reached international levels, the other Japanese stars who will appear in the series — including Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki — represent some of the best talent to come out of Japan in recent years.

For all intents and purposes, these two matchups are spring training games that happen to count. In some ways, it might seem like much ado about nothing, given that Chicago’s and Los Angeles’ rosters might look significantly different two weeks from now. But the importance of showcasing baseball on an international scale is paramount.

Who will be pitching in Tokyo?

The Dodgers will be showcasing two of their Japanese imports during this series, with Yamamoto starting in Game 1 and Sasaki taking the ball for his MLB debut in Game 2. On the other side, the Cubs will have their two best arms on the bump, with Imanaga going in Game 1 and southpaw Justin Steele getting the start for Game 2.

Not pitching, of course, is Shohei Ohtani, who is still rehabbing from elbow and shoulder surgeries. Ohtani was previously expected to be back on the mound come May, but a recent pause to his rehab has put that timeline in doubt.

Who are the new faces on these teams?

While Roki Sasaki gets a lot of the attention as the Dodgers’ biggest acquisition of the past offseason — and for good reason — it’s easy to forget that L.A. also added two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell to the top of its rotation, providing a true ace. And as you might’ve heard, the Dodgers also went several steps further, reinforcing the back of the bullpen with the additions of reliever Kirby Yates and closer Tanner Scott and boosting the lineup by signing outfielder Michael Conforto and second baseman Hyeseong Kim.

For the Cubs, the most notable new face on the roster happens to be the team’s best player in Kyle Tucker, who was acquired over the winter from the Houston Astros. Tucker, who will be penciled in as the team’s right fielder, is entering a contract year, which should make for a storyline to watch all season. Other new faces on Chicago’s roster include infielder Justin Turner, closer Ryan Pressly, left-hander Matthew Boyd and top prospect Matt Shaw, who is expected to make his MLB debut in Tokyo and be the team’s every-day third baseman.

Who will we not see in Tokyo?

Missing for the Cubs during the Tokyo Series will be second baseman Nico Hoerner, who is still recovering from offseason flexor tendon surgery, and right-hander Javier Assad, who suffered a mild oblique strain in February. While Hoerner expects to be ready for domestic Opening Day, Assad is likely to start the season on the injured list.

Two pitchers who will not be on the Dodgers’ roster are left-hander Clayton Kershaw and right-hander Tony Gonsolin. Kershaw isn’t expected to return from offseason surgery until June or July, and Gonsolin was in a spring training battle with Dustin May for the team’s fifth starter spot until he sustained a back injury while lifting weights at the team facility.

Of more consequence for the Dodgers could be Mookie Betts’ status. The superstar, who is making the transition to every-day shortstop this spring, won’t play in the team’s exhibition games over the weekend due to flu-like symptoms. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Saturday that he still hopes Betts will be ready to go Tuesday.

What’s the latest on Shohei Ohtani?

The biggest star during the Tokyo Series also happens to be the world’s best baseball player. Ohtani had a delayed start to the spring due to his recovery from labrum surgery after he dislocated his shoulder during the World Series. Throughout the winter, he was also continuing his rehab from 2023 elbow surgery.

While he appears to be right back in the swing of things at the plate — he homered in the team’s first exhibition game on Saturday, because of course he did — the Dodgers have slowed down the three-time MVP’s ramp-up as a pitcher. Prior to the labrum surgery, Ohtani was projected to be ready for Opening Day 2025. Over the winter, the thought was that he could return to the mound in May, but now that timeline seems likely to be pushed back.