Jrue Holiday still day-to-day as Celtics prepare for playoff matchup with Knicks

BOSTON (AP) — Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said guard Jrue Holiday remains day-to-day with a strained hamstring and gave no indication whether he would be available for Game 1 of the second-round playoff series on Monday against the New York Knicks.

“He’s just getting better every day, doing whatever he can to make sure he puts himself in position to come back as fast as he can,” Mazzulla told reporters. “He’s working hard.”

The Celtics advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals on Tuesday night by eliminating the Orlando Magic in five games. It was a physical series that saw All-Star Jayson Tatum bruise his wrist when he was knocked to the floor on a hard foul by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in Game 1.

Tatum missed Game 2 but returned strong, scoring 36, 37 and 35 points in the next three to close out the Magic. Fellow All-Star Jaylen Brown could also use the time to heal a right knee impingement that kept him out of the final three games of the regular season.

Guard Derrick White said the team knows how to use the time off wisely. When the Celtics won it all last year, they had five days off twice, six days once and nine days off before the start of the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks.

“You want to take care of your body, but you also don’t want to get rusty,” he said on Friday. “So just try to find that balance of pushing yourself in your workouts so you’re ready to go when the game happens, but also getting your recovery, getting your rest.

“I think each gap is a little different, depending on how I feel, how my body’s feeling,” he said. “I’ll take a couple of days off, and then I’ll just try to prepare for, for New York and, and what we expect to see."

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) drives past Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley in the second half during Game 5 in an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

President of the New York Knicks Leon Rose, left, hugs guard Jalen Brunson (11) as they leave the court following a Game 6 win in an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Detroit Pistons, Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla watches his players during the first half in game 5 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series against the Boston Celtics, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) drives to the basket against the Orlando Magic during the second half in Game 5 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown is congratulated by fans after eliminating the Orlando Magic following the second half in game 5 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) celebrates with teammate Derrick White while leading the Orlando Magic during the second half in Game 5 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) drives to the basket against Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (4) during the first half in game 2 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics' Jrue Holiday (4) looses control of the ball against Orlando Magic's Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (3) during the first half in game 1 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.

Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.

U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.

"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”

Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.

Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.

“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”

Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.

U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.

Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.

Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.

Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.

"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.

The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.

The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.

“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.

“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”

The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)