El Segundo, California
AP
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Luka Dončić has stepped up to pay the entire expected cost of restoring a vandalized mural depicting Kobe and Gigi Bryant in downtown Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ new guard made a $5,000 donation Tuesday to cover the entire goal of a GoFundMe page created by artist Louie Palsino. He wants to restore the mural, titled “Mambas Forever,” at 14th and Main streets.

“It was always important to give back to the community,” Dončić said after practice at the Lakers’ training complex. “They gave me so much, so I just want to give back.”

The Slovenian superstar joined the Lakers less than three months ago in a blockbuster trade with the Dallas Mavericks.

He teamed with LeBron James to lead the Lakers to the Pacific Division title and the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, but Los Angeles is on the brink of elimination Wednesday night when the Minnesota Timberwolves visit for Game 5 with a 3-1 series lead.

Bryant spent his entire 20-year career with the Lakers, winning five championships and becoming the top scorer in franchise history. After Kobe and Gigi Bryant died in a helicopter crash in January 2020, hundreds of murals and public art projects honoring them sprung up around Southern California.

CNN
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Former world No. 1 Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the Italian Open amid a three-match losing streak and months of struggling with his form.

The withdrawal means the 24-time grand slam singles champion will go into the French Open at the end of May without a win on clay this season. He’s won at Roland Garros three times previously – the last of which came in 2023.

The tournaments in Madrid and Rome are often used as warmup events for Roland Garros – a time for players like Djokovic to get into a rhythm on the clay before the second major of the season.

No reason was given for his withdrawal, something that concerns former French Open champion Jim Courier.

“It’s worrying because that’s the best place to get ready for Roland Garros,” Courier said on TCLive. “The conditions are very similar. You’re back at sea level. If you’re going to play one between Madrid and Rome, Rome would be the one you’d would want to play to get ready for Roland Garros.

“It’s a very strange thing to announce a pull-out now, well in advance of it. And we’ll see what it all means when we get to Roland Garros,” Courier added.

It will be Djokovic’s first time since making his main draw debut in 2007 that he won’t be at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

His decision to withdraw comes amid a string of losses. The Serbian most recently fell to world no. 44 Matteo Arnaldi in his opening match of the Madrid Open. Before that, a loss in the Round of 32 to Alejandro Tabilo at the Monte-Carlo Masters in early April.

Djokovic’s best performance this year came in March and gave some hope for a return-to-form. He made it to the final of the Miami Open where he eventually lost to Jakub Menšík. Now, that performance seems more of a blip.

The current world No. 5 was also forced to retire in the semifinal of the Australian Open – the first slam of the season – in January with a leg injury.

It’s a new experience for Djokovic. At a press conference after his defeat to Arnaldi in the Spanish capital, he said, “Kind of a new reality for me, I have to say.

“Trying to win a match or two, you know, not really thinking about getting far in the tournament. It’s a completely different feeling from what I had 20-plus years of professional tennis.

“A challenge for me mentally to face these kind of sensations on the court … but, you know, that’s I guess the circle of life of the career. Eventually, it was going to happen.”

CNN
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Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo said the confrontation between him and the father of Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton at the end of Game 5 of their first-round playoff series was sparked by “disrespectful” behavior.

Haliburton had hit what would be a game-winning shot with 1.3 seconds remaining in overtime to clinch a 119-118 win and a 4-1 playoff series victory over the Bucks on Tuesday, sending them to the Eastern Conference semifinals to play the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In the moments after the game, Antetokounmpo said he was approached by John Haliburton during the celebrations. Video shows the elder Haliburton approaching the two-time NBA MVP with a towel held up. The pair then later came face-to-face with one another as tensions ran high, before eventually being separated by players and other security personnel.

“Losing the game, emotions run high,” Antetokounmpo told reporters afterwards. “Having a fan, which at the moment I thought it was a fan, but then I realized it was Tyrese’s (dad) – which I love Tyrese, I think he’s a great competitor – showing me his son’s towel with his face on (it), (saying): ‘This is what we do. This is what we effin’ do. This what the eff we do.’ I feel like that’s very, very disrespectful.”

It was the second confrontation Antetokounmpo was involved in at the end of Game 5 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse; the forward had to be pulled away from Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin after the pair shared an embrace following the result, with Antetokounmpo putting his hand on Mathurin’s neck, which the guard pushed away, causing a ruckus.

Afterwards, Antetokounmpo spoke about how he believes players should behave after victory, citing his NBA title victory in 2021.

“I believe in being humble in victory,” the 30-year-old said. “A lot of people out there that are like: ‘No, when you win the game, you talk sh*t and it’s a green light for you to be disrespectful towards somebody else.’ I disagree. I’ve won a championship, they haven’t.”

Haliburton, who provided a dramatic ending to Tuesday’s game with his layup to seal the victory, said he didn’t agree with what his dad did at the end of the contest.

“Basketball is basketball and let’s keep it on the court. I think he just got excited, saw his son make a game winner and came on the court,” the 25-year-old told reporters.

“But we had a conversation and I think he needs to just allow me to play basketball and stay over there and I’ll come to him to celebrate. But the emotions of the game got excited there. I talked with him. I’ll talk with Giannis. I don’t think my pops was in the right at all there.”

A few hours later, John Haliburton apologized on social media.

“I sincerely apologize to Giannis, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Pacers organization for my actions following tonight’s game,” he wrote on X. “This was not a good reflection on our sport or my son and I will not make that mistake again.”

The confrontation between Antetokounmpo and Haliburton’s dad overshadowed what was a thrilling game on Tuesday.

The encounter – with the Bucks needing a victory to keep their season alive – was played with the ferocity of a do-or-die game, with nothing to separate the two after 48 minutes.

Antetokounmpo was on fire, finishing with 30 points, 20 rebounds, 13 assists, two steals and two blocks as he attempted to fill in for the injured Damian Lillard, missing with a torn Achilles tendon.

In overtime, Bucks guard Gary Trent Jr. hit four three pointers as Milwaukee looked to be forcing a Game 6 in the best-of-seven series.

But Trent Jr. had two costly turnovers in the final few seconds of overtime as the Pacers were able to close the game on an 8-0 run, capped with Haliburton’s late layup, to clinch a famous victory and a spot in the next round of the postseason.

“This one will go down as one of the all-time great Pacers wins because of the circumstances, because of what was on the line,” Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle said afterwards. “Ty, obviously, authored a big part of this ending. So congratulations to him.”