HONG KONG (AP) — Thomas Detry was among eight players from LIV Golf who were stranded in the United Arab Emirates at the start of the week during Israeli and U.S. attacks on Iran. Now he's tied for the lead with Jon Rahm, the player responsible for getting them out.

“If it wasn't for him, I don't think I'd be there,” Detry said Saturday after a 66 in LIV Golf Hong Kong left him in a three-way tie for the lead with Rahm (65) and Harold Varner III (63). “It's in a way a little bit funny that way.”

The attacks entangled more than a dozen nearby countries in the Middle East, leading to flights being canceled. Some players live in Dubai, long the centerpiece of golf in the UAE, and others were there between LIV events in Australia and Hong Kong.

Golf.com reported Rahm and his Legion XIII team arranged a charter flight through the Spaniard's partnership with a private aviation company. That required a 280-mile drive from Dubai to Muscat, Oman, to catch the eight-hour flight, getting into Hong Kong at midday Wednesday.

The other players were Lee Westwood, Sam Horsfield, Adrian Meronk, Tom McKibbin, Caleb Surratt and Anirban Lahiri. Golf.com said Laurie Canter arranged his own transportation with his family.

“That was incredible of Jon to put (us) on that plane,” Detry said.

Detry said he had originally been booked on an Emirates flight from Dubai — and it left Wednesday morning as scheduled and arrived in Hong Kong that night, but “that was very unknown on Tuesday.”

Rahm, whose week began with him refusing to accept a deal from the European tour that would eliminate fines for playing LIV Golf, said he saw the gesture as “simply my duty.”

“I was raised with certain values, that if you have the ability and capability of helping somebody ... especially in a scenario like that where my main focus essentially was getting them out of there, not necessarily playing a tournament,” Rahm said.

“With the ever-changing environment, it looked kind of dark for a second,” he said. “But yeah, here they are. Never thought they would be able to come. It’s amazing that so many of them are safe and that’s the most important thing.”

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

What a perfect time to start a road trip for the Philadelphia 76ers!

The Sixers kick off a quick but tough two-game roadie with a visit to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday evening. There are a number of reasons this matchup that might not sound terribly scary on paper could pose a problem for the Sixers.

The biggest issue is that they will continue to be without Joel Embiid for at least another week after the team told reporters at practice on Friday he is progressing through individualized strength and conditioning work as he continues to recover from the oblique strain and will be re-evaluated in a week.

To make matters worse, rookie VJ Edgecombe is currently listed as doubtful for the Saturday contest as he continues to heal from a back contusion suffered from a hard fall in a game on Tuesday. Edgecombe missed the following game hosting the Utah Jazz on Wednesday and then missed practice on Friday. Paul George also remains unavailable as he continues his suspension.

The Hawks are much healthier right now, with only Jonathan Kuminga listed as questionable with knee inflammation on their injury report at the time of writing.

Atlanta might not seem like this hugely formidable opponent on paper with a 32-31 record so far this season, but don’t forget they are 3-0 against Philadelphia this season so far — and it’s worth noting that Philadelphia was much less shorthanded for some of those losses.

(The Sixers’ opponent on Monday, the Cleveland Cavaliers, also are 3-0 against them this campaign. Again, a short but possibly deadly road trip.)

The Hawks are also enjoying the opposite momentum of the Sixers right now in that they’ve been stringing together more success in the later half of the season. Atlanta is on a five-game win streak, have won six of their last seven and are 12-6 in their last 18.

It’s interesting to look at the Hawks’ roster as an “outsider” also, because you might not see many names that you really recognize from years past, but Atlanta has a number of players performing at the best (in some cases, by far) that they ever have in their multi-season careers. Jalen Johnson is continuing his All-Star season averaging career-highs of 22.7 points, 10.5 rebounds and 8.0 assists per night. Nickeil Alexander-Walker is putting up a career-best 19.8 points per night and shooting 37.5% from long range on a 8.1 attempt per night clip. Six-foot-ten center Onyeka Okongwu is scoring 16.2 points per night and hitting 38.6% of threes on a 5.5 attempt average, all career-highs.

That’s not mentioning the more than a handful of players down the depth of the roster that can put up double-digit points — some with the capability for much bigger scoring bursts — any given night, such as Dyson Daniels, Jock Landale, Zaccharie Risacher, Corey Kispert, Kuminga (if he’s available) and others.

All of this is to say do not let the Hawks’ record or even their roster fool you. Atlanta currently leads the entire NBA in assists per game with 30.5. They are eighth in the league in offensive rating at 117.6 and seventh in three-point efficiency at 36.8%. This is a team that traded Trae Young at the deadline and has only been getting better since. It’s a squad getting the absolute best of each of their players individually, and it’s resulting in more and more success as a unit.

So, a team playing their best, battling to climb up the East coming in on a five-game win streak against a Sixers’ squad that has 2024-25 season vibes at times right now… what could go wrong?

This is also, unfortunately, not the time for a major skid for the Sixers. As of Saturday morning, Philadelphia sit in sixth in the Eastern Conference at 34-28. The problem is that the gap between the Sixers and the next few teams, down to the Charlotte Hornets in 10th place, is just three games at the most. There is a lot of room to fall and it won’t take much for the Sixers to start tumbling fast. Philadelphia did win their last game, just barely beating the tanking Jazz on Wednesday night, but it didn’t inspire a lot of confidence in how the next few games might go.

But, as they say, the show must go on.

The Sixers and Hawks tip off at 6 p.m. ET.

Game Details

When: Saturday, March 7, 6:00 p.m. ET
Where: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow: @LibertyBallers

The Milwaukee Bucks play the Utah Jazz in what should be a relatively simple game for the Bucks. They’ll search for their first win in five games as the gap between the tenth seed and the Bucks continues to widen. With a tanking team like the Jazz offering weak resistance to the Bucks, this game will be a reset for a tense team searching for continuity.

Where We’re At

Four games deep into a contentious losing streak filled with coaching outbursts and moments of frustration, the Bucks are flailing for consistency. Their slide away from the play-in spot has featured moments of incompetence in gameplanning, poor shooting, and defensive struggle. Wednesday’s 131-113 loss to Atlanta showed that. Key players like Cam Thomas (13 points, 3/9 FG), Ryan Rollins (13 points, 4/11 FG), and Bobby Portis (13 points, 4/8 FG) have all lost their rhythm despite Giannis’ return. As they return to Fiserv Forum, the Bucks have more questions to answer about their future than solutions.

They face a Utah Jazz team in the middle of a brutal tank. Resting at 19-44, the Jazz have been fined $500,000 for anti-tanking rules, and their tactical strategies of pulling star players out of close games border on point shaving. They recently notched their first win since February 11 on Thursday night off an Ace Bailey 32-point performance. Led by raw scorer Keyonte George, the Jazz are slogging through a meaningless season as they fight for lottery placement with the Pelicans, Nets, and Kings.

Injury Report

Kevin Porter Jr. (knee) will sit out on Saturday with an injury in the same place he tore his meniscus. Porter’s absence is a big blow to a Bucks team that needed stability and cohesion following an erratic stretch of games.  Taurean Prince (neck) will also miss; he hasn’t played since early November.

The Jazz will miss several players due to injury. Isaiah Collier (personal reasons), Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee), Walker Kessler (shoulder), Lauri Markkanen (hip), Jusuf Nurkic (nose), and Vince Williams Jr. (knee) are all designated as out on the Jazz’s injury report at the time of writing.

Player To Watch

Ryan Rollins will need to be the guard to step up in Porter’s extended absence. Rollins stepped up as a playmaker in Wednesday’s loss to Atlanta, dishing out 12 assists. However, during the Bucks’ four-game losing streak, Rollins has shot .381/.261/.667, averaging 10.5 points and 3.3 turnovers per game. His shift from high-volume shooter to a playmaker and versatile guard hasn’t been without its struggles. He will need to prove his ability to step up as the Bucks’ floor general and shore up his inconsistent shooting going into Saturday’s game against the Jazz, the second-worst team at guarding the three.

How To Watch

Watch at 7:00 p.m. CST on Fanduel Sports Network Wisconsin.

It looked like New York was in for a tough and long one in Denver on Friday…

…until it was not, as the Knicks put on a show and trounced the Nuggets a few miles away from South Park.

Here’s a bunch of quotes from all of our folks.

Mike Brown

On the team still having room to grow:

“We feel like we can still be better. I’ve said this all along, that’s what the season is about. You’re not going to have it all in one week or two months. You got to go through your lumps. Because when you go through your lumps, if you truly have a chance at the end of the day, you’re going to grow from your lumps. That’s what this group is doing — because we’re going to take a couple lumps still. But you hope you don’t [go through more highs and lows]. But this team, it’s deep, it’s really good. These guys are connected. They’re all sacrificing. The competitive spirit is there. They believe in each other. Our bench is up all game. We got delays of games because our bench was up for each other. And we’re holding each other accountable. I’m being held accountable, which is great.”

On OG Anunoby returning to his pre-injury form:

“Before his toe injury, he was playing like this. I felt he was playing high-level basketball. I mean, it’s just powerful. His decisions are quick, you know, he’s touching the paint, and if you don’t get to him, he’s knocking the shot down. And then defensively, he’s just on another level, man. If he keeps that up, that’s Defensive Player of the Year-type stuff for sure. He’s guarding point guards. I don’t know how many times Jokic won MVP, but he’s guarding him, and then he’s guarding everybody in between. And it’s just been phenomenal and fun to watch him because he can do a lot.”

On Anunoby’s all-around impact vs. Denver:

“OG had a whale of a game for us offensively. He was our [Defensive Player of the Game]. He was good.”

On the defensive play trending upward:

“Our guys are trying to be physical without fouling and they’re doing a pretty good job with it. We’re still gonna get better in that area, but it’s been a process. We made a switch defensively several months ago and that was a process, but the guys, they’re pretty comfortable with what we’re doing right now, and they know exactly what they should be doing out there. Again, it didn’t happen with one practice. It didn’t happen because a switch got turned on. It just gradually happened, and I’ve said it before: That’s what the regular season is about. You tinker with this, you tinker with that, you try to get a little bit better here and there and hopefully at the end of the season you’re fairly comfortable and you can start trending upwards.”

On growth happening over time:

“[It happened with] time. Just continuing to watch film, having practice, having shootaround, talking about it, walking through it, drilling it. It wasn’t one thing or one practice or a light being switched on. It’s what should happen over the course of a season. You should get better as you go along as everybody has embraced the process. And with our group, everybody in that locker room has embraced the process, and that’s what makes this team pretty special is they’re in it to try to win it and they know it’s not gonna happen like that. They know at the beginning of the year, they’ll probably [fluctuate between playing good and bad], and they know once the All-Star Break happens, hopefully you get to a point where there’s some comfort with everybody and everything that we’re doing. And we’re able to continue to find [that comfort].”

On Pacome Dadiet’s development and confidence:

“He’s been playing well in the G-League and shooting the mess out of it. And he’s got great size. He’s young. And we want him to keep growing and developing. Anytime young guys like that see the ball go in and do those things on the floor in an NBA game, it helps with the belief. It helps not only in them believing and their confidence level going up, but also their teammates, too.”

Karl-Anthony Towns

On adjusting to Mike Brown:

“New coach. New systems, and just trying to continue to learn how we can maximize our talents in that system. I think these last 20 games has been us really having a good feel and making good calls out there as teammates. Sometimes, we see something out there and we call it out and make the adjustments needed. It’s been great to see our team on the court making adjustments on the fly ourselves, and it’s been working out really well for us on the defensive end. And we’ve been challenging ourselves to be a better defensive team because we know that’s what it’s gonna take to win a playoff series, which it did last year. It wasn’t the offense that won us the game. It was Mikal Bridges’ steal in Boston Game 1 and 2. It was big rebounds in Detroit. Those kinds of things won us the game. The offense gave us a chance to win. The defense won us the game, so we understand the importance, and we’ll continue to be better every day and continue to be more consistent.”

On whether facing Denver still feels different:

“Hell, yeah.”

On competing against Nikola Jokic:

“He’s really damn good. That’s pretty much it, pretty much all there is to it. You just go out there and compete at a high level against one of the best.”

On the league impact of Jayson Tatum’s return:

“You get a superstar back like that back, obviously it’s great for the league from a VP standpoint (Towns is vice president of the players union) and from a league standpoint. It’s great for the business of basketball.”

On focusing on what they can control:

“I mean, it doesn’t matter to me because at the end of the day, if we’re not executing and playing at a high level and being disciplined, it doesn’t matter who’s on the court. We’ll lose. We’ve got to be our best version. You can’t be worrying about anyone else. We need to worry what’s in-house first.”

On the team still being a work in progress:

“We’re still a work in progress, anyone can tell you that, we all will tell you that, but we’re getting closer to that time when we need to be the best version of ourselves, and I see us getting better. And that’s the most important thing right now.”

Jalen Brunson

On the defensive confidence translating to wins:

“It gives us a lot of confidence. It’s put us in a good trend. We’ve got to continue on that way. It’s what we work on, and it’s something we’ve been stressing, and it’s been showing when the lights are on, but obviously behind closed doors, we’re working at it. We’re talking through everything. We’ve just got to help that convert into wins.”

On wishing Jayson Tatum good health:

“You wish good health for everybody. Obviously, you want to beat everybody you play against. But you don’t wish any negative on anybody, no matter the rivalry. Or whoever you like or don’t like. It doesn’t matter. You want everyone healthy and going home in one piece.”

On competing regardless of who plays:

“Obviously, whoever is on the court, you play to win. And it doesn’t matter who is on the court. That’s the mindset. I’m just saying with a player of that magnitude, obviously you wish them a successful return and everything. Like I said, you just want them healthy.”

On welcoming Tatum back before facing Boston:

“Obviously, you want everyone back healthy, right? You want people to be healthy, be 100 percent. [Tatum’s] worked really hard. Obviously, people have seen the clips on social media with the work he’s put in and everything, coming out. It’s great to see. He’s great for his team, great for the league. Just wish him good health.”

On not getting too high in March:

“It’s a good stepping stone for us, but it’s nothing to get too high about. Obviously, the highs and lows of the season, you’ve got to continue to push forward. Short-term memory, even wins and losses.”

Josh Hart

On Anunoby’s play at altitude:

“He likes Denver. He likes altitude. That’s what he can do. You know, defensively guard one through five, and then offensively get the response and knock down shots. Get in the paint and just be a force.”

On the Knicks’ defensive mindset fueling their offense:

“I think a lot of it is we’re playing more physical, being more aggressive defensively and dictating the offense and not letting the offense dictate what they want to do. It’s something that we’ve got to continue to do, something that we’re taking pride in. We know that when we do that, we’re getting stops, we’re able to play fast, play our brand of basketball. It’s a mindset that we all really dug in more defensively, and that’s the benefit of it.”

On his Yankees bobblehead night:

“I can’t wait for it. Obviously I love my Yanks. So being able to do that is super cool. I’m super excited when that opportunity came to us. And we really jumped on it.

“It’s my first bobblehead doll ever. So good vibes.”

Pacome Dadiet

On scoring a career-high in garbage time at Denver:

“It definitely feels good. Every time I go out there, I try to go out with confidence. Because I know I’m not going to get that much time. So I’ve been working with the G-League team to get some reps and it definitely feels good.”

The Jazz came into the nation’s capital with their heart on their sleeve, and were only left with shattered dreams. They had lost the first of a 2-game regular season series against the Wizards with a heart-crushing loss, despite Trae Young making an appearance through two and a half quarters. All they can do now is hold their heads low and trudge through the city of Milwaukee, who are technically a basketball team as long as one of the Antetokounmpos are on the court — it doesn’t matter which one at this point of the season.

The foundation of the 2021 championship squad is still there, but a combination of age, regression and Doc Rivers has reeled them back all the way to the 10th spot on Tankathon. The franchise moved on from Damian Lillard’s remaining functioning leg and Brook Lopez to prioritise younger, more versatile players. Their last blowout loss against Atlanta was pretty much the final dagger at what hope fans had left in the season. They can now cruise through their tanking schedule, despite New Orleans owning the rights to swap picks.

Giannis has very clearly stated, “under no circumstances will I depart from the Milwaukee Bucks, unless I have the chance to leave, which I would obviously never do”. The Bucks have alleviated his concerns by holding a 26-35 record while dangling outside a play-in spot. He’s available tonight — only his third game back from a right calf strain — which could counterintuitively have the Jazz do the funniest thing ever and drop them off on their home floor.

This team serves as a cautionary tale for reigning NBA champions, warning them to beware of how to dismantle a dynasty. Don’t get me wrong, I own a small amount of land ownership on Ryan Rollins and AJ Green Islands. Ousmane Dieng and Pete Nance are starting to sway me. But this team is climbing a near-impossible hill in March. The Jazz are hoping to launch a Kickstarter for their campaign, starting tonight.

Utah’s now 5.5 games in front of the bottom spot after Thursday’s win, but a loss tonight (and maybe a cheeky Nets win over the Pistons) could make up some ground. The Jazz fire back by making Keyonte available to play despite breaking a 44-game losing streak stalemate across the bottom ten teams, but they lose Isaiah Collier due to ‘personal reasons’.

Utah’s bench has been the seventh-highest scoring unit in the league through the last 7 games. I unfortunately cannot explain the science behind Will Hardy’s sorcery and why Blake Hinson, Elijah Harkless, and 10-day contract Mo Bamba just kind of work.

In the game against Washington, four Jazzmen had at least two steals, led by John Konchar, who corralled five. Bamba did the heavy work, posting a total of 20 steals in his two games on the floor during the Jazz road trip. I was the lone spectator to Hinson launching a three from a range that normally isn’t permitted from a two-way contract guy. Yes, I know stats against the Wizards are pretty much up there in la-la land, but it’s becoming scarily credible how the Jazz can pretty much transform any role player into their most capable self.

But this game feels more like a watch before you judge. These teams are at polar ends of the spectrum regarding their current status and future, both of them fighting for completely different things. It can all start with a firm handshake and an agreement on what needs to happen to benefit both franchises.

Injury Report

Jazz:

OUT – Isaiah Collier (personal reasons), Lauri Markkanen (right hip impingement), Jusuf Nurkic (nose surgery), Jaren Jackson Jr. (left knee surgery), Vince Williams Jr. (torn left ACL), Walker Kessler (left shoulder surgery)

Bucks:

OUT – Kevin Porter Jr. (right knee swelling), Taurean Prince (neck surgery)

How to watch:

Who: Utah Jazz (19-44)) at Milwaukee Bucks (26-35)

When: March 7th, 6:00PM Mountain Time

Where: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee

Channel: Peacock, Jazz+, KJZZ

Radio: 97.5/1280 The Zone