Month: June 2023

The Denver Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat 104-93 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals at Ball Arena on Thursday night.

Nikola Jokić finished with 27 points 14 assists and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, including a triple-double in his NBA Finals debut. Jokić became the second player in the last 25 years (the other being LeBron James in 2017) to have 10 assists by half-time of a finals game. Jamal Murray scored 26 points. Aaron Gordon added 16 points and Michael Porter Jr scored 14 for the Nuggets.

For the Heat, Bam Adebayo scored 26 points and 13 rebounds, while Gabe Vincent added 19 points, Haywood Highsmith had 18 and Jimmy Butler shot 13 for the Heat.

Game 2 between the Heat and Nuggets will be held in Denver on Monday, June 5th.

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Paris Saint-Germain coach Christophe Galtier announced Thursday that Lionel Messi is leaving the club after two years. The former Barcelona forward and PSG had the option of extending his two-year deal another year, but the clause could only be activated if both parties wished to continue their relationship.

Galtier said at a news conference: “I had the privilege of coaching the best player in the history of football. This will be his last match at the Parc des Princes, and I hope that he will receive the warmest of welcomes. This year, he has been an important part of the team, always available. I don’t think any of the comments or criticisms are justified. He’s always been there for the team. It’s been a great privilege to accompany him throughout the season.”

The announcement comes after rumors surfaced that Messi was considering a move to Saudi Arabian Pro League’s Al Hilal. Messi was suspended for two weeks last month following an unsanctioned weekend trip to Saudi Arabia. It was reported in May that a potential move to Al Hilal would pay Messi as much as $400 million annually (Messi’s longtime rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, made a similar multimillion dollar move to the Saudi Pro League this past winter to play for club Al-Nassr, where he reportedly pockets $213 million per season).

This weekend’s Paris Saint-Germain game will be Messi’s last for the club. Messi has tallied 21 goals and 20 assists for PSG in all competitions this season; the Ligue 1 champions secured an 11th league title last weekend. Their 2022-23 campaign will conclude against Clermont Foot on Saturday night.

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Sources told ESPN that the New York Knicks and their general manager Scott Perry will part ways this off-season, as the franchise is not planing to extend Perry’s expiring contract. Perry was hired for the role of GM in 2017.

The 59-year-old Perry and the Knicks hired current coach Tom Thibodeau in 2020, who has a 125-111 record over three seasons. Jeff Hornacek and David Fizdale also served as full-time head coaches under Perry.  Under Perry, the Knicks made two playoff appearances over the last three years, and went 47-35 in 2022-23, earning their most wins in a season since 2012. This year’s campaign also marked just the second time the Knicks won at least 43 games in a second since 2000-01. The 2022-23 Knicks also beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs to earn their first postseason series victory since 2012; however, they went on to lose to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Knicks went 41-31 in 2020-21 before losing to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round that postseason.

Perry previously served as coach at the University of Detroit Mercy and Eastern Kentucky, and worked as an assistant at Michigan. He was a front office executive for the Detroit Pistons and served as the assistant general manager of the Seattle SuperSonics in 2007.  Perry returned to the Pistons in 2008 to become their vice president of basketball operations, and later became Orlando Magic assistant general manager in 2012. In April of 2017, he became vice president of basketball operations for the  Sacramento Kings, but moved onto to take the Knicks general manager spot just three months later.

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Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters Wednesday that guard Tyler Herro will not play in Game 1 of the 2023 NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday, June 1st because of a lingering hand injury. Spoelstra said of Herro, “He’s not there yet.” Herro suffered a fractured hand during the Heat’s first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks on April 16th; he has only played two play-in tournament games fully, against the Hawks and Bulls. Miami went on to defeat the Bucks, Knicks and Celtics without Herro, reaching the Finals.

No formal timetable has been given, but Herro is expected to return to the court at some point during the NBA Finals, per ESPN’s Marc J. Spears.  TNT’s Chris Haynes reported on Monday night that Herro could be expected back by Game 3 of the Finals, which will take place on Wednesday, June 7.

Herro – the 2022 NBA Sixth Man of the Year — averaged 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game in the 2022–23 regular season to go with a league-leading .934 free-throw percentage.

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