Sports
Jayson Tatum, Celtics top Hornets for 2nd time in as many nights
Nov 2, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) controls the ball against Charlotte Hornets forward Cody Martin (11) during the first quarter at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Nell Redmond-Imagn Images Jayson Tatum pumped in 29 points and Payton Pritchard hit six 3-pointers on the way to 22 points off the bench as the Boston Celtics defeated the host Charlotte Hornets 113-103 on Sunday night.
It marked Boston’s second win over Charlotte in less than 24 hours.
Luke Kornet’s 19 points and Derrick White’s 18 helped the Celtics to their sixth win in seven games to open the season, and Jrue Holiday’s triple with 3:44 to go polished off his 13-point evening.
LaMelo Ball racked up 36 points for the Hornets, who went 1-3 during a four-game homestand.
Brandon Miller, who hadn’t played since the Hornets’ season opener on Oct. 23 because of a glute injury, logged 31 minutes as a starter and provided 16 points. Josh Green added 12 points, Cody Martin supplied 11 and Tre Mann had 10.
The Celtics carved through Charlotte’s defense in the first half on the way to a 68-50 lead at the break.
But Boston couldn’t shake the Hornets until late in the fourth quarter. Charlotte was within 93-87 after Green canned a trey with 6:49 left in the game.
However, Holiday’s late 3-pointer later sparked a 7-0 run that pushed the Celtics’ lead to 108-93 with just 2:05 remaining.
For the second night in a row, the Celtics had a big advantage in free-throw scoring while the Hornets relied heavily on long-range shooting. Boston was 25-for-28 at the line compared to Charlotte’s 6-for-9 mark.
Still, the Celtics managed to finish with 16 triples to the Hornets’ 17 for the game, with Boston hitting four in the first seven-plus minutes of the contest to race out to a 26-12 lead with 4:42 left in the first quarter.
Boston attempted 52 shots from 3-point land on the night. Tatum was just 1-for-9 on threes, but he went 14-for-17 from the charity stripe.
Charlotte center Grant Williams, who was ejected from the game on Friday after committing a flagrant foul against Tatum, was in the Hornets’ starting lineup on Saturday, but he managed only five points in 34 minutes.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Two ex-Fordham players banned after betting probe
Mar 11, 2023; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Fordham Rams guard Will Richardson (1) looks to drive past Dayton Flyers guard Koby Brea (4) in the second half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Two former Fordham men’s basketball players received permanent bans from the NCAA on Tuesday after a lengthy gambling investigation.
The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions found that Elijah Gray and Will Richardson participated in potential game manipulation for sports betting reasons.
According to the investigation, a $10,000 bet was placed on a February 2024 game involving Fordham in which the bettor wagered that the other team would win. NCAA enforcement staff identified three members of the roster with connections to the bettor, including Gray and Richardson.
Another member of the team told investigators he overheard Gray, Richardson and another student-athlete discussing the idea of throwing a game for money.
Gray admitted to agreeing to participate in the scheme in exchange for a payment of $10,000 to $15,000, but said he reconsidered and played with his normal effort and Fordham won the game. Richardson has denied involvement and he declined to cooperate with the investigation, which itself is an NCAA violation.
Gray, a 6-foot-8 forward, played two seasons at Fordham (2022-24) before transferring to Temple for the 2024-25 season. He transferred again to Wisconsin but was dismissed from the program last October amid the investigation. Gray averaged 5.7 points in 61 games (nine starts) for the Rams.
Richardson, a 6-foot-3 guard, played three seasons at Fordham (2022-25) before transferring to Albany, where he was dismissed from the program in December without appearing in a game. He averaged 7.9 points in 73 games (41 starts) for the Rams.
The bettors involved in the plot were indicted in January by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on wire fraud and bribery charges related to sports contests.
–Field Level Media
Sports
PWHL officially passes 1M attendance mark for first time
Nov 30, 2024; Toronto, ON, CANADA; Toronto Sceptres forward Jesse Compher (18) joins team mates and fans as they celebrate a goal scored by forward Hannah Miller (34) against the Boston Fleet in the third period at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images The Professional Women’s Hockey League surpassed one million fans in the regular season for the first time in its three-season history, the league announced Tuesday.
In all, 120 games were played, with slightly more than 1.1 million people filling the seats for an average of 9,304 per game.
That total is an increase of 28 percent over last season, including the playoffs, and 71% over the first season of 2023-24. The average total of fans in the stands was 5,448 per game in the first season, 7,230 in the second.
On April 17, the PWHL surpassed one million fans in a single season for the first time in league history, reaching the milestone in 109 regular season games, 30% fewer than the PWHL needed to reach its first million fans.
The attendance mark was helped by the addition of the expansion Seattle Torrent and Vancouver Goldeneyes, which The Athletic reported had the largest average attendance of all franchises at home this season. Seattle averaged 12,875 fans, with Vancouver bringing in 11,234 per game.
The league is expected to announce further expansion soon.
Before that, the league will hold the Walker Cup Playoffs beginning Thursday. The top-seeded Montreal Victoire and reigning champion Minnesota Frost will meet in one semifinal, with the Boston Fleet and Ottawa Charge in the other pairing. The winners of the two best-of-five series will play for the Walker Cup.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Celtics' Brad Stevens named NBA Executive of Year
Feb 28, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens before their game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens was named the NBA Basketball Executive of the Year for the second time in three seasons on Tuesday.
Stevens’ Celtics finished with the second-best record (56-26) in the Eastern Conference in 2025-26 and secured a top-two playoff seed for the fifth time in his five seasons in his current role.
Boston accomplished that despite parting ways with Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday before the season and only having All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum for 16 games after he recovered from an Achilles injury.
Stevens, who also won the award in 2023-24, is the 12th executive to receive the honor multiple times since it was first presented in 1972-73.
Stevens, 49, received 11 first-place votes and 69 total points in voting by his fellow executives. Atlanta Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh was second with 41 points, one more than Detroit Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon.
Before joining Boston’s front office, Stevens served as the team’s head coach for eight seasons and tallied a 354-282 record. During his 13-year tenure with the franchise, the Celtics have made 12 playoff appearances.
The Celtics currently have a 3-1 lead in their first-round series with the Philadelphia 76ers. Game 5 is on Tuesday night in Boston.
–Field Level Media
Two ex-Fordham players banned after betting probe
PWHL officially passes 1M attendance mark for first time
