INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton completed a three-point play with 1.6 seconds left, capping his first postseason triple-double in his first home playoff game to give the Indiana Pacers a 121-118 overtime victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.
Indiana leads the best-of-seven series 2-1, with Game 4 on Sunday in Indianapolis. Two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo again sat out for Milwaukee because of a strained left calf.
Haliburton had 18 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds. Myles Turner added 29 points and nine rebounds, both playoff career highs, to help give Indiana its first back-to-back postseason wins since taking three straight in the 2014 Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Pacers also have their first lead in the playoffs since Game 3 of a first-round matchup against Cleveland in 2018. Indiana hasn’t won a series since reaching the 2014 Eastern Conference finals.
MAVERICKS 101, CLIPPERS 90
DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic had 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, and suddenly defensive-minded Dallas took a chippy victory over the Los Angeles Clippers for a 2-1 lead in the first-round series.
The Mavs rode the same defense that gave them home-court advantage with a Game 2 victory in LA, and won in Dallas three years after losing all three first-round games on their floor in a seven-game s loss to the Clippers. Game 4 is Sunday in Dallas.
Rookie Dereck Lively II scored all 13 of his points in the first half and Daniel Gafford, his tag-team partner as a dunker and rim protector, had an emphatic block of a dunk attempt by Paul George early in the fourth quarter while Dallas was taking control for good in a game with five technical fouls, a flagrant foul and two ejections.
James Harden scored 21 points for the Clippers, but just seven after halftime, while fellow stars George and Kawhi Leonard had little impact. Normal Powell also had 21.
TIMBERWOLVES 126, SUNS 109
PHOENIX (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 36 points, Rudy Gobert added 19 points and 14 rebounds and Minnesota used a hot-shooting third quarter to beat Phoenix and take a 3-0 lead in the first-round series.
Minnesota goes for the sweep in Game 4 on Sunday in Phoenix.
It was the third straight game the Wolves used a big third to turn a tight game into a comfortable victory. Minnesota hit 7 of 11 3-pointers during the surge, including four from Nickeil Alexander-Walker, to take a 22-point lead into the fourth.
Bradley Beal led the Suns with 28 points while Kevin Durant had 25 and Devin Booker 23.
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) drives between Milwaukee Bucks guard Andre Jackson Jr. (44) and guard Pat Connaughton (24) during the second half in Game 2 in an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Friday, April 26, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping met Wednesday with the Serbian president, with both sides expressing optimism that the visit will further boost the “ironclad” friendly relations between China and the Balkan country.
Xi arrived in Serbia to a warm welcome on Tuesday evening from France, where he had a high-stakes state visit dominated by trade disputes and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Thousands of people chanting “China-Serbia” and waving flags were bused in from across Serbia to attend a welcoming ceremony for Xi on Wednesday in front of the Serbia Palace, in the new part of Belgrade where the talks are being held.
Serbia's populist President Aleksandar Vucic addressed the crowd from a balcony, calling Xi an “ironclad” friend. He said hs visit to Serbia is “historic” because it opens the path for even closer ties.
“We are writing history today although it doesn’t seem so to many (people,)” Vucic said. “We thank President Xi. He hasn’t come to Europe in five years and he has again chosen our little Serbia."
At the start of the official meeting on Wednesday, Xi said “we are first-hand witnesses that the Serbian people view Chinese people as ironclad best friends.”
“This is truly two-sided and truthful friendship ... I truly hail this and it really made an extremely deep impression on me,” Xi said, according to the state RTS television.
Xi will proceed to Hungary later on Wednesday. Like Serbia, Hungary is seen as one of China's more friendly partners in Europe.
Signs of pro-China sentiments were clearly visible throughout the Serbian capital. A huge Chinese flag was placed on a skyscraper along a roadway leading into the city from the airport. Smaller Chinese and Serbian flags could be seen downtown and along a highway.
China has poured billions of dollars into Serbia in investment and loans, particularly in mining and infrastructure. The two countries signed an agreement on a strategic partnership in 2016 and a free trade agreement last year.
Serbia, a landlocked nation in the heart of the Balkans, has been a key country in China's Belt and Road initiative designed to increase Beijing's influence in Europe through economic investment. Critics say it could serve as a Chinese Trojan horse and gateway to Europe.
Xi also arrived in Serbia on a symbolic date — the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade by U.S. jets during NATO’s air war over Kosovo, when three Chinese citizens were killed.
The incident has helped forge close political ties between China and Serbia.
Chinese companies run Serbia’s biggest copper mine and a steel mill, and are also building scores of roads and highways across the country, along with a railway toward northern neighbor Hungary.
“Our bilateral relationship has stood the test of changing international environment and become a fine example of state-to-state relations,” Xi said in a statement published by China's Foreign Ministry.
“Standing at a new historical starting point, China will work with Serbia to jointly stay committed to the original aspiration and forge ahead together to open up a new vista in China-Serbia cooperation," added Xi. “I am confident that this visit will be a fruitful one and will open up a new chapter in China-Serbia relations.”
In 2014, Hungary and Serbia concluded an agreement with Beijing to modernize the railway between their capitals of Budapest and Belgrade, part of a Belt and Road plan to link up with the Chinese-controlled port of Piraeus in Greece to the south, an entry point for Chinese goods to Central and Eastern Europe.
The more than $2 billion project is expected to be completed in 2026, after numerous delays.
In 2022, shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Serbia took semi-secret delivery of a sophisticated Chinese anti-aircraft system flown in on Chinese Air Force Y-20 transport planes.
The arms delivery over the territory of at least two NATO member states, Turkey and Bulgaria, was seen by experts as a demonstration of China’s growing global reach.
A woman holds the Chinese and Serbian flags as she waits for the arrival of Chinese President Xi Jinping with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic at the Serbia Palace in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
People hold Chinese and Serbian flags as they wait for arrival Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic outside the Serbia Palace in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
Chinese President Xi Jinping, centre left, and his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic, center right, greet the crowd as they arrive at the Serbia Palace in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
A man waves Chinese and Serbian flags as he waits for the arrival of Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic outside the Serbia Palace in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic greets the crowd at the Serbia Palace in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, shakes hands with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic greet the crowd at the Serbia Palace in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
In this photo provided by the Serbian Presidential Press Service, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, center right, welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping, center left, and his wife Peng Liyuan during a welcome ceremony upon his arrival at the Nikola Tesla airport in Belgrade, Serbia, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (Serbian Presidential Press Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Serbian Presidential Press Service, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, right, welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, and his wife Peng Liyuan during a welcome ceremony upon his arrival at the Nikola Tesla airport in Belgrade, Serbia, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (Serbian Presidential Press Service via AP)
In this image provided by the Serbian Presidential Press Service, Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, reviews the honor guard with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic during a welcome ceremony upon his arrival at the Nikola Tesla airport in Belgrade, Serbia, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (Serbian Presidential Press Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Serbian Presidential Press Service, Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and his wife Peng Liyuan wave during a welcome ceremony upon arrival at the Nikola Tesla airport in Belgrade, Serbia, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (Serbian Presidential Press Service via AP)
Cleaners walk in front of a Chinese national flag placed on the building in Belgrade, Serbia, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to European ally Serbia on Tuesday falls on a symbolic date: the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during NATO's air war over Kosovo. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
People walk in front of a Chinese national flag in Belgrade, Serbia, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to European ally Serbia on Tuesday falls on a symbolic date: the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during NATO's air war over Kosovo. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
A man walks in front of a Chinese national flag in Belgrade, Serbia, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to European ally Serbia on Tuesday falls on a symbolic date: the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during NATO's air war over Kosovo. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
