The Greek star, Giannis Antetokounmpo, led his new team, the Miami Heat, to its first victory this season in the NBA, at the expense of its host Atlanta Hawks, 129-117, on Wednesday.
Heat fans expected that Antetokounmpo, who won the league's Most Valuable Player award twice, would push the Heat, who joined him at the beginning of this season after 13 years in a Milwaukee Bucks jersey, immediately into the ranks of competitors in the Eastern Conference, but his first victory under Freeh's new jersey was not achieved until the fifth attempt.
Antetokounmpo, who achieved a “Triple Double” (3 double statistical categories) in the loss to the Dallas Mavericks two days ago, recorded distinguished numbers again with 24 points and 18 rebounds.
He starred alongside the 31-year-old Greek giant, Bam Adebayo, who scored 24 points and 9 rebounds, and Andrew Wiggins, who contributed 18 points.
Antetokounmpo reached the 1,000-steal mark in his career, while Adebayo recorded his name as the player with the most rebounds in Heat history with 5,794, surpassing the previous record of 5,791 rebounds, which was held by Yudonis Haslem during his career, which spanned 20 seasons.
“I have no words to describe my feeling,” Adebayo said in the State Farm Arena in Atlanta. “I only wish I had been able to achieve this on our home soil and among our fans.”
The star-studded Philadelphia 76ers recovered from their disappointing loss on Sunday against the Detroit Pistons, by defeating the Indiana Pacers 114-109 in a match characterized by competition and the exchange of advantages.
The 76ers faced great difficulty in overcoming Indiana, which announced this week the absence of its star, Tyrese Haliburton, for nearly two weeks. Due to a hamstring injury.
The 76ers trailed in the score during the third quarter, which witnessed a clear advantage in favor of the hosts, but they succeeded in coming back strongly in the decisive moments to snatch the victory.
Tyrese Maxey scored 17 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, providing an amazing performance that saved his team from loss.
LeBron James, who came from the Los Angeles Lakers, only scored 13 points, but he excelled in passing with 10 assists, while Joel Embiid scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Jaylen Brown added 20 points.
Maxey said: “Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid and LeBron James urged me to be more aggressive offensively, after I lacked that in the first three quarters. When Brown returned to the field in the fourth quarter, he said to me: “You owe us, lead us to victory.”
He added: “I just have to do what the veteran players ask of me.”
Inter Miami, led by its Argentine star Lionel Messi, fell into a 2-2 draw with Cincinnati in the thirty-second stage of the American Football League (MLS), in a match that witnessed a strong uprising after the break with four wonderful goals.
The draw was a setback for Miami in its quest to occupy second place in the Eastern Conference and ensure its qualification for the CONCACAF Champions Cup next year, falling to third place behind the New England Revolution, which defeated the New York Red Bulls 3-2.
Miami took the lead with a goal from Uruguayan Luis Suarez (60), but conceded two goals within 6 minutes via Frenchman Kenji Mboma Demme and Slovakian Samuel Guidi (80 and 86), before tying the score with a fatal goal in the 90th minute through Brazilian substitute Riquelme Felipe, thus securing a valuable point.
Miami was unable to penetrate its guest's defense in the first half, but it succeeded in scoring in the 61st minute, when Argentine Rodrigo De Paul received the ball in the middle of the field and passed it to Brazilian Casemiro, who sent it to Soares stationed inside the penalty area. The 39-year-old took it with one touch, then turned and shot it brilliantly into the far upper corner, where it hit the crossbar and entered the goal.
Cincinnati rose up in the 80th minute thanks to Frenchman Mboma Deem, who scored a wonderful goal with a curved shot at the far post, after an individual effort on the right side.
After only 6 minutes, Cincinnati silenced the New Stadium fans by scoring the lead goal after defender Guidi received a pass on the edge of the penalty area and shot it past Canadian goalkeeper Dane St. Clair.
De Paul excelled again in passing by sending a cross to the young substitute striker Felipe (20 years old), who penetrated to the corner of the penalty area and shot it arcing between two defenders to land in the far corner of the goal.
Inter Miami faces its rival New England (Sunday), trailing it by two points (58 to 56), and needs either a win or a draw to maintain its hopes of second place.
Nashville leads the Eastern Conference standings by a large margin (71 points) and won the Fans' Shield, which is awarded to the first-place finisher, last weekend for the first time in its history.
Ciarka Tarnobzej, competing in the Polish fourth division, caused a huge surprise, after ousting Lech Poznań, the defending Polish football league champion, from the cup competition, after defeating them with a goal without a response, on Wednesday, to reserve their place in the round of 16.
This surprise came one day after the achievement achieved by Fleetwood Town, one of the English fourth-tier clubs, by eliminating Arsenal from the English League Cup, in a week that witnessed a remarkable defeat for major teams against competitors from the lower divisions.
Arkadiusz Casilla scored the only goal of the match in the second half, after he rose to the ball from a corner kick and headed it into the net, giving his team a historic victory over the league champions.
The importance of this achievement increases in view of the recent results of Lech Poznan, who tied six days ago with England's Sunderland, 1-1, in the European League, before defeating Legia Warsaw on Sunday, topping the Polish league standings, but was unable to continue its victories against a competitor playing in the fourth division.
Although the match was held at 12:30 noon on a working day, the stands of Ciarca Stadium were filled with fans who were keen to support their team.
The fans raised a funny sign that read: “Vacation, absence from school, sick leave... Attending Polish Cup matches is mandatory.”
This victory was not the first surprise for Ciarca in the tournament, as it had previously eliminated Zaguimbe Lubin, one of the first division clubs, in the previous round.
Ciarka has a modest history in Polish football, as he spent three seasons in the first division during the 1990s, before moving between the third, fourth and fifth divisions, which makes his current campaign in the cup an opportunity to revive his fans’ dreams of restoring past glories.
After the match, Siarka's goalkeeper, Tomas Petlak, said in statements to the TVB Sport channel: “I cannot know what was going through the minds of the Lech players, but I imagine that most of them arrived here without even knowing the nature of the atmosphere in Tarnopejez.”
He added: “I think they underestimated us a little, and they did not expect us to have this level of quality.”
With this victory, Siarka continues his exceptional adventure in the Polish Cup, after defeating two first-class teams, confirming that surprises are still part of the magic of cup competitions.
