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With overtime victories over the Atlanta Hawks, the Miami Heat defeated the Atlanta Hawks to become the first 10th-seeded team to reach the NBA play-offs.

The Heat needed to win consecutive road games to advance to the first four-team Eastern Conference qualification competition.

After defeating the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, they moved on to a 123-114 overtime win over the Hawks to prepare for a first-round meeting with the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, who are conference top seeds.

The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Dallas Mavericks 120-106 in the Western Conference playoff game, which will feature games against the Oklahoma City Thunder in round one.

The Mavericks’ defeat sees the conclusion of a terrible campaign that included Kyrie Irving’s season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury and Luka Doncic’s trade to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Anthony Davis, who moved to Dallas as part of the Doncic trade, remained in the lead line with 40 points and nine rebounds throughout the game.

After falling behind to the Hawks for ten games last month, the Heat resurrected and won the post-season tournament. They led the Heat in the opening half, scoring 17 points at one point, before extending their lead to 62-53 heading into the break.

With five minutes and six seconds left, the Hawks fought back and were up 98-92.

With 12 seconds left, the Heat was beaten by a free throw from Tyler Herro, but Trae Young was able to put the game to overtime thanks to a late layup.

In the extra period, Davion Mitchell sank three three-pointers and Herro added two more as the Heat found their range from the perimeter.

Ja Morant scored 22 points, nine assists, seven rebounds, and three steals for the Grizzlies in Memphis after recovering from a sprained right ankle.

The 25-year-old two-time All-Star only received medical clearance before the game’s start on Friday because he injured himself in his team’s opening play-in loss to the Golden State Warriors.

“I had an MRI, an ultrasound, met with different doctors, I got a shot, I slept, I woke up, I went to the gym about 5:30,” Morant said.

“Sat for about 30 minutes until I needed to see a different doctor, get an injection, and get my pre-game stuff started.”

He laughed back when asked how the ankle felt after the game, “I couldn’t feel it, that’s why I was out there.”

The Grizzlies had 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Scotty Pippen Jr. had 13.

After the season, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd praised his players.

According to Kidd, “We had an incredible season when you look at the injuries we’ve had, the Doncic trade, and for us to even be here playing in this game is incredible.”

Conference in the West:

Memphis Grizzlies (8) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (1)

Golden State Warriors (7) versus Houston Rockets (2)

Los Angeles Lakers (3) and Minnesota Timberwolves (Six)

Los Angeles Clippers vs. Denver Nuggets (4)

Eastern Conference :

Cleveland Cavaliers versus Miami Heat ten games

Orlando Magic versus Boston Celtics (7)

Detroit Pistons (6) vs. New York Knicks (3)

Milwaukee Bucks (4) vs. the Indian Pacers (4)

Seeding is indicated by brackets.

Mark Allen, a native of Northern Ireland, says he is inspired by Rory McIlroy’s dramatic Masters victory in a bid to win the first World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

Allen has previously won the highly regarded Triple Crown, the Masters and the UK Championship, but he has yet to receive the biggest prize in the sport.

The 39-year-old says he wants to emulate McIlroy, who won at Augusta last weekend and won his first of four major championships.

“There are a lot of comparisons. This is my 19th Crucible, and that was Rory’s [16th] Masters. One more tournament away from winning the Triple Crown and the Grand Slam, Allen said.

I was glued to the ups, downs, drama, and every shot of the Masters final round that I watched on Sunday. He has won it, he has lost it, he has lost it once more, and he has lost it. You can see what it meant to him to win in a play-off.

I’ll try to draw as much inspiration from him as I can. If not this year, I’ll return the following year for more. I’ll just keep working hard, hoping that Rory’s door will open for me like it did for Rory.

Allen says he will approach snooker’s biggest stage with a similar positive mindset to McIlroy’s.

He claimed in his interviews that he always believed he had the edge to win in that area. He continued to make that claim in his interviews.

Allen joins the Crucible after a largely disappointing season that saw him fall from first place in the world rankings after the previous year’s event to eighth in the standings.

The Antrim cueman made his first five semi-final appearances in December, including the UK Championship and the Masters, despite frequently finding himself in trouble for his best form. He did, however, win the lucrative Riyadh Season Championship invitational tournament.

“The season hasn’t been good,” he said. I can’t explain why I’ve been working as hard as I always do; simply put, I’ve not played well enough, he said.

“I know I won out in Saudi, but I don’t feel like my game is as good as I would like it to be,” says the author, “but this isn’t a bad place to try to rectify that.”

You can see how bad Kyren [Wilson] had last year; he had a better year than I did, but he won the world championship after 17 days at Sheffield.

Allen has already accumulated two World Championship titles, but he now believes he has more of the ingredients for potential success to add to his already impressive career resume.

“You need to get the most out of your bad sessions, be mentally strong, pot a few balls at the right times, and have some luck along the way to win.”

In 17 days, you don’t need to play phenomenal snooker. You’ll never do that, ever. Just compete, be patient, and you’ll find some form soon.

“All you can do is prepare as well as you can prepare, which I always do. Working with the sports psychologist and working hard at the practice table help me a little bit get in shape.

Not that I’m not attempting to improve, I’m just trying. I don’t know what will happen, just that it hasn’t yet.

On Sunday, Allen will face Fan Zhengyi, the world number 46 player who is one of the top 10 Chinese players in the 32-player field.

When they met in 2023 at the same time, the county Antrim player defeated the 24-year-old 10-5.

“Fan is a very good player,” the saying goes. I’ll need to try and compete very well because he won the European Masters a few years ago and has since become a little quieter.

Mark Allen, a native of Northern Ireland, says he is inspired by Rory McIlroy’s dramatic Masters victory in a bid to win the first World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

Allen has previously won the highly regarded Triple Crown, the Masters and the UK Championship, but he has yet to receive the biggest prize in the sport.

The 39-year-old says he wants to emulate McIlroy, who won at Augusta last weekend and won his first of four major championships.

“There are a lot of comparisons. This is my 19th Crucible, and that was Rory’s [16th] Masters. One more tournament away from winning the Triple Crown and the Grand Slam, Allen said.

I was glued to the ups, downs, drama, and every shot of the Masters final round that I watched on Sunday. He has won it, he has lost it, he has lost it once more, and he has lost it. You can see what it meant to him to win in a play-off.

I’ll try to draw as much inspiration from him as I can. If not this year, I’ll return the following year for more. I’ll just keep working hard, hoping that Rory’s door will open for me like it did for Rory.

Allen says he will approach snooker’s biggest stage with a similar positive mindset to McIlroy’s.

He claimed in his interviews that he always believed he had the edge to win in that area. He continued to make that claim in his interviews.

Allen joins the Crucible after a largely disappointing season that saw him fall from first place in the world rankings after the previous year’s event to eighth in the standings.

The Antrim cueman made his first five semi-final appearances in December, including the UK Championship and the Masters, despite frequently finding himself in trouble for his best form. He did, however, win the lucrative Riyadh Season Championship invitational tournament.

“The season hasn’t been good,” he said. I can’t explain why I’ve been working as hard as I always do; simply put, I’ve not played well enough, he said.

“I know I won out in Saudi, but I don’t feel like my game is as good as I would like it to be,” says the author, “but this isn’t a bad place to try to rectify that.”

You can see how bad Kyren [Wilson] had last year; he had a better year than I did, but he won the world championship after 17 days at Sheffield.

Allen has already accumulated two World Championship titles, but he now believes he has more of the ingredients for potential success to add to his already impressive career resume.

“You need to get the most out of your bad sessions, be mentally strong, pot a few balls at the right times, and have some luck along the way to win.”

In 17 days, you don’t need to play phenomenal snooker. You’ll never do that, ever. Just compete, be patient, and you’ll find some form soon.

“All you can do is prepare as well as you can prepare, which I always do. Working with the sports psychologist and working hard at the practice table help me a little bit get in shape.

Not that I’m not attempting to improve, I’m just trying. I don’t know what will happen, just that it hasn’t yet.

On Sunday, Allen will face Fan Zhengyi, the world number 46 player who is one of the top 10 Chinese players in the 32-player field.

When they met in 2023 at the same time, the county Antrim player defeated the 24-year-old 10-5.

“Fan is a very good player,” the saying goes. I’ll need to try and compete very well because he won the European Masters a few years ago and has since become a little quieter.