LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers held off a furious late rally to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 110-106 on Tuesday and book a first-round NBA playoff clash with the defending champion Denver Nuggets.Four-time NBA champion James scored 23 points with nine rebounds, nine assists and three steals to lead the Lakers in the play-in game victory that secured the seventh seed in the Western Conference.
Atalanta have a chance to make history on Thursday as they welcome Liverpool to Bergamo with one foot in the Europa League semi-finals thanks to a stunning first-leg win at Anfield.Last week's win in England was probably the greatest European night in Atalanta's history as their run to 2020 Champions League quarter-finals -- where they were desperately unlucky to lose to Paris Saint-Germain -- came at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic which devastated Bergamo.
Hours after sealing Bayer Leverkusen's maiden Bundesliga title win, coach Xabi Alonso told thousands of delirious fans "we want more", laying down a marker in pursuit of a remarkable treble.This season, Alonso has repeatedly said the club needed to be patient, even as the Bundesliga title grew more and more likely.