‘It has been an emotional week and I was very nervous today’
By ELLIE MAWSON in Manchester

England’s former World No.1 Laura Massaro got her 2019 Manchester Open campaign off to a winning start after she overcame compatriot Millie Tomlinson in round two at the National Squash Centre.

The 2013 world champion announced earlier this week that she will retire at the end of the season and she ensured that she put on a strong showing in front of her home crowd as she powered past World No.22 Tomlinson by an 11-8, 11-4, 11-8 margin at the PSA World Tour Silver event.

“I had to adapt as I was on there,” said Massaro following her win. “I went with it, sticking with the bits that were working, and trying to work out the bits that weren’t. I felt pretty focussed on there more than anything, despite it being such a tough week.

“It has been an emotional week, and I was really nervous today, just because I have got so many amazing people and I didn’t want to let them down on what could have been my last performance.”

She will now face top seed and Egypt’s World No.3 Nour El Tayeb in tomorrow’s quarter finals after she conquered France’s World No.35 Coline Aumard in straight-games to advance.

PSA World Championship runner-up El Tayeb was forced to utilise her experience as she battled back from going behind in the third to send out the Frenchwoman by an 11-9, 11-5, 11-8 scoreline.

“I thought we were going to a fourth,” said the 25-year-old Egyptian. “She has improved so much from the last time we played and I could see that because I’ve been following her results recently. She can attack anything that was short and would attack it very well. It was a very hard game and I’m pleased with how I played.

“I’m in the state of mind where the seeding is just a number. I’m just happy to be in the quarter-final of another tournament and hopefully, whoever I play I can play well.”

They will be joined in the quarter finals by English No.1 Sarah-Jane Perry after she toppled eight-time World Champion Nicol David, who like Massaro will also retire at the end of the season, in four-games.

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The tall Englishwoman started strongly, before losing her concentration in the third as David mounted a comeback. The Malaysian continued that momentum into the fourth, but Perry was able to reign her back in to close out in four games.

“When I saw the draw, Nicol had announced she was going to retire and there was that bit of dread in your mind that will the occasion get into my head a bit,” said 28-year-old Perry. “But on the other side I was actually really happy because she is such a fantastic player and I wanted that thrill of competing against Nicol one last time.

“It’s fantastic to have such a big women’s event in England. We haven’t had many of them and so I would like to thank the support of Manchester City Council and the PSA and everyone else who has made it possible.”

Perry will take on Wales’ World No.9 Tesni Evans in the next round after she put in an immaculate display against Dutch No.1 Milou van der Heijden to advance in Manchester.

The Welshwoman, who won her first British Nationals title at the National Squash Centre, proved that she was a contender for the PSA World Tour Silver title after she sent van der Heijden out by an 11-7, 11-9, 11-3 margin.

“Any time I play Milou and come out with a 3-0 win then I’m really happy,” said 26-year-old Evans. “She is playing some really good squash at the moment and it definitely won’t be long until she is moving up more than she already is.

“I think the court suits me and I just love playing here. It’s so close to home and I’ve had good wins here and good memories, so I hope that will have a part this week.

“The women’s tour is amazing at the moment and for us to have standalone events and show what we can do is really important.”

Number two seed Joelle King ensured a safe passage through to the last eight as she overcame a resilient Nele Gilis of Belgium.

The World No.5 started strongly to take the first two games, before Gilis made life difficult for the New Zealander by taking the third. In the end, King’s experience proved to be too much for the Belgian to handle, as her class shone through to take an 11-5, 12-10, 8-11, 11-1 victory.

“I felt like in the first I had my game plan pretty spot on,” said 30-year-old King. “She has had some good results of late and has been pushing the top players so her resilience doesn’t go away. She has improved as a squash player a lot and I know it was going to be tough today and it was.

“It’s like any court, when you are playing well then you enjoy it and when you’re not then it’s not the best day. I felt like I got some good game time today and I found areas on the court that worked well and hopefully it can continue tomorrow.”

Next up for King is England’s former World No.3 Alison Waters after she fought off a comeback from Egypt’s World No.14 Salma Hany.

Waters claimed the brighter start as she opened up a two-game lead, before Hany boldly battled back to claim the next two and push the match to a tense fifth.

It looked as though the tie was going to go in the way of the Egyptian as she raced into a 9-5 lead, however, Waters soon fought back and eventually was able to see out the victory and book herself a place in the last eight.

“I just thought if I’m going to lose this then I need to go out trying something,” said the Englishwoman. “My shots came off and I just tried to be relaxed and I think that was my whole thing for the game.

“Sometimes you just need to not put so much pressure on yourself and let it flow and I did that and luckily I came out the winner.

“We were here each year for the Nationals and so I have some good memories. It feels a bit like a second home and I’m pleased to be back here in Manchester.”

The other quarter final tie will see Egypt’s World No.7 Nouran Gohar face United States No.1 Amanda Sobhy after they secured respective wins over England’s Emily Whitlock and Julianne Courtice.

Gohar was forced to fightback from one-game down against Whitlock as the Englishwoman started strongly to nullify the attacking intent of the hard-hitting Egyptian. However, the World No.7 was able to maintain her composure to come back and secure a quarter final berth.

“Her length was immaculate today,” said 21-year-old Gohar. “Usually I’m the one who plays it in the backside and hit the ball in the right positions, but she did that today and I had to try and find another solution.

“The last two months have been good and I’m trying to play well on court and the results will come for sure.”

Meanwhile, Sobhy took out home favourite and Manchester-based Courtice in a tough battle to move into the next round.

“Last time we played it was on home soil for me, we played in Chicago,” said the 25-year-old from Boston. “I had the home crowd which helps a lot and the home court advantage, it was the reverse this time and she has been playing really well. She has improved a ton since we last played in February, so hats off to her for really making me push this round and I’m really happy to be through.

“I played Nouran a couple of years ago when I came back on tour after being injured. She had a really good week in El Gouna and I had a pretty decent week as well. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and it should be good.”

The quarter-finals take place today (Saturday May 11) at 17:00 local time (UTC+1) and the action will be broadcast live on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour (excluding Europe and Japan). 

PSA $76,000 Women’s Manchester Open 2019, National Squash Centre, Manchester, England.

Second Round:
[1] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt Coline Aumard (FRA) 11-9, 11-5, 11-8 (35m)
[5] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt Millie Tomlinson (ENG) 11-8, 11-4, 11-8 (38m)
[6] Tesni Evans (WAL) bt Milou van der Heijden (NED) 11-7, 11-9, 11-3 (30m)
[3] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt Nicol David (MAS) 11-7, 11-9, 6-11, 11-6 (42m)
[4] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bt Emily Whitlock (ENG) 7-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 (37m)
[8] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt Julianne Courtice (ENG) 4-11, 11-2, 11-6, 11-9 (33m)
[7] Alison Waters (ENG) bt Salma Hany (EGY) 11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9 (49m)
[2] Joelle King (NZL) bt Nele Gilis (BEL) 11-5, 12-10, 8-11, 11-1 (42m)
Quarter Finals:
[1] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) v [5] Laura Massaro (ENG)
[3] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) v [6] Tesni Evans (WAL)
[4] Nouran Gohar (EGY) v [8] Amanda Sobhy (USA)
[2] Joelle King (NZL) v [7] Alison Waters (ENG)

Pictures courtesy of PSA 

BELLEVILLE, Ill. – Leading from start-to-finish, Austin Brown of nearby Millstadt, Ill., was the hometown hero on Friday night, dominating Belle-Clair Speedway to win the 28th annual Knepper Memorial.

The wire-to-wire score aboard the BOSS Chassis/Toyota Racing No. 17 marked the fifth-career POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League victory for Brown.

Earning the pole position via a strong sixth-to-first heat race win, Brown took the green flag for the 30-lapper with 16-year old Cannon McIntosh of Bixby, Okla., to his outside in the Dave Mac Motorsports/Spike-Toyota No. 08.

Brown immediately shot to the lead as McIntosh fell back and three-time POWRi champion Zach Daum moved into second aboard his Daum Motorsports/Eagle-Toyota No. 5d.

With lap traffic looming, Daum and defending Knepper Memorial winner Tucker Klaasmeyer were hot on Brown’s heels and ready to challenge. However, a lap 11 caution bunched the field back up and allowed Brown to sneak away, while a frenzy ensued behind him.

That frenzy saw Daum, Klaasmeyer, McIntosh and Tanner Carrick all squaring off, while Brown continued to pace the field.

The battle raged for second, with multiple position swaps between Daum and McIntosh. A red flag for top-10 running Tyler Thomas on lap 24, followed by a three-car tangle on the final lap between Klaasmeyer, Logan Seavey and Carrick shuffled the lineup late.

On the final green-white-checkered restart, Brown quickly pulled away, while Daum and McIntosh’s battle reached the boiling point.

As Brown came out of turn four to take the double checkered flags, Daum and McIntosh collided and tangled at the apex, both coming to a stop and ending a chaotic feature event.

Nonetheless, it was Brown’s night, as he climbed atop the BOSS/Toyota No. 17 following his wire-to-wire run and received both a standing ovation and roaring applause.

Escaping the wreckage of the final corner and leaving with a career-best second-place finish was California’s Jesse Colwell, while rounding out the podium with another career-best finish was Oklahoma’s Ace McCarthy, who hauled from 17th-to-third.

Finishing fourth was Oklahoma’s Kaylee Bryson and taking fifth was Jake Neuman.

Dirt modified ace Nick Hoffman crossed sixth in his POWRi debut, with rookie Daison Pursley, Nick Knepper, Presley Truedson and Chance Morton completing the top 10.

The finish:

1. 17-Austin Brown (1); 2. 71-Jesse Colwell (6); 3. 28-Ace McCarthy (17); 4. 11B-Kaylee Bryson (16); 5. 3N-Jake Neuman (21); 6. 21KS-Nick Hoffman (7); 7. 9-Daison Pursley (8); 8. 55-Nick Knepper (15); 9. 5T-Presley Truedson (19); 10. 7M-Chance Morton (23); 11. 67K-Holley Hollan (18); 12. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer (4); 13. 71K-Tanner Carrick (5); 14. 67-Logan Seavey (9); 15. 5D-Zach Daum (3); 16. 08-Cannon McIntosh (2); 17. 91T-Tyler Thomas (10); 18. 3B-Shelby Bosie (14); 19. 97K-Jesse Love (11); 20. 11-Daniel Robinson (13); 21. 22-Andy Malpocker (12); 22. 30T-Tyler Vantoll (20); 23. 20G-Noah Gass (22).

Lap Leader(s): Brown 1-30.

Hard Charger(s): Neuman (+16)

ROSSBURG, Ohio – There was no one even close to Tyler Courtney’s zip code during Friday night’s AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Car Series feature at Eldora Speedway.

Courtney, the defending USAC national sprint car champion, threw a massive turn-one slide job on early leader Kevin Thomas Jr. to take command of the race on the seventh round and never looked back.

Following a lap-10 yellow for a slowing Robert Ballou, the Indiana native drove out to a whopping 8.704-second lead over the final 20 green-flag laps, cruising to the checkered flag over C.J. Leary in the end.

Courtney’s victory was his first series win of the year, and he becomes the fifth different winner in five completed USAC national sprint car features so far.

“Any time you can win here (at Eldora), it’s special,” said Courtney in victory lane. “We got behind the 8-ball a bit there with starting seventh, but I knew I just had to get to the front as early as I could, and I was fortunate to have a really good piece that I could do that with.

Rizzy (crew chief Tyler Ransbottom) gave me one spot-on race car and made my job pretty easy.”

Though Justin Grant started on the pole, he never led a lap all night, as both Thomas and Carson Short overhauled Grant on the initial start, dropping Grant back to third in a hurry before a red flag with two laps scored for a violent flip by Dave Darland in the fourth turn.

Darland climbed from his car uninjured and acknowledged the crowd, but his night was over.

On the restart, Courtney – who started seventh but had climbed to fourth before the stoppage – made a quick move to go to third and then wrestled his way to second by lap four, quickly setting his sights on Thomas for the top spot.

Courtney’s winning move came just three laps later, with a feverish pitch to the inside of the first turn as Thomas tried to keep his own momentum up around the outside groove of the half-mile dirt track.

Once he was clear, Courtney kept his foot on the gas pedal and never looked back, navigating traffic effortlessly and expanding his lead consistently throughout the remaining 24 laps.

A wild exchange for the runner-up spot ensued past the halfway point, with Leary eventually coming out on top of a frenetic scramble with Thomas, Brady Bacon and Chris Windom to secure runner-up honors.

Leary grabbed second from Thomas with 12 to go and held the position to the finish, but by that juncture, Courtney was long gone out front – and Leary admitted as much afterward.

“I’m frustrated. I really felt like we had a car that could have won this deal, but Courtney got us early when we were messing with Brady (Bacon) and Carson Short, and after I finally got to second he was just gone,” lamented Leary. “KT (Kevin Thomas Jr.) blocked every move I made for about 10 laps, and it just let Courtney run away from us.”

Bacon completed the podium in the first USAC race since the passing of his car owner, Richard Hoffman.

“This means a lot,” noted Bacon. “Eldora’s a hard place to run well at. I’ve won here and I’ve come back (the next time) and run 10th) here. You have a lot of pressure on you here, because it’s a high-risk place, but it was one of Richard’s favorite places and it feels good to get a strong result tonight for this group.”

Windom and Short crossed fourth and fifth, respectively, with Thomas fading to sixth in the final results.

Grant was never a factor and finished eighth, the first car one lap down at the checkered flag.

To view complete race results, advance to the next page.

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. – Lance Dewease assailed the field on Friday night at Williams Grove Speedway to win the World of Outlaws Tune Up event for 410 sprint cars, worth $4,180.

It was the first race at the track since late March thanks to continuous rainouts.

The 358 sprints made their season debut at the track on Friday night and Glenndon Forsythe picked up a $1,500 victory.

A rain delay of more than an hour hampered the event, but it also made for scorching speeds as the night wore on.

Dewease started fourth in the 25-lap sprint car field, but fell back a spot on the first lap thanks to Robbie Kendall. Meanwhile, polesitter Chad Trout streaked away with the lead over Anthony Macri and Freddie Rahmer.

However Rahmer was racing wounded, thanks to a missing inside front wing panel stemming from an opening lap mishap on the initial start that also ended up claiming Danny Dietrich.

The only caution flag of the race unfurled for Dietrich on the third lap, thanks to a collapsed front end, likely due to the initial start mishap.

Rahmer began slipping as the laps strung together and Dewease was able to get around him for fourth on the seventh tour, before taking third with nine away.

But the pace was quick on the soft, moistened clay and it took all that Dewease had to run down the front duo of Macri and Trout.

Steadily, he honed in on Macri for the second spot and using surges of speed at the end of the backstretch to blast across turns three and four, he overtook Macri with seven to go before going to work on Trout.

Upon taking second spot, Dewease trailed the leader by 1.5 seconds and it would take him another five laps to catch Trout and get command before then pulling out to a 1.2 second victory.

Track conditions forced Dewease to use all the muscle in his car and in the cockpit to get the victory as he stated in victory lane, seemingly worn thin from the grueling speed.

The win was the 94th of Dewease’s illustrious career at the Williams Grove oval.

Trout rode home second, followed by Macri, Kendall and Rahmer.

Sixth through 10th went to Lucas Wolfe, Brian Montieth, Cory Haas, Rick Lafferty and TJ Stutts.

Heats went to Dewease and Dietrich, with the dash win going to Trout. Dewease set fast time with a lap of 16.634 seconds.

Forsythe wired the field for the 20-lap win in the 358 sprint feature.

He raced ahead of Matt Findley the entire way, but while holding a healthy lead most of the race, his advantage slipped away during the final five laps as his mount struggled to get off of the corners with speed.

Troy Wagaman Jr. rode home third followed by Doug Hammaker and Kevin Nouse.

Sixth through 10th went to Rodney Westhafer, Jeff Halligan, Rich Eichelberger, Kyle Denmyer and Todd Rittenhouse Jr.

Heats went to Denmyer and Westhafer.

The finishes:

410 sprints (25 laps): 1. Lance Dewease, 2. Chad Trout, 3. Anthony Macri, 4. Robbie Kendall, 5. Freddie Rahmer, 6. Lucas Wolfe, 7. Brian Montieth, 8. Cory Haas, 9. Rick Lafferty, 10. TJ Stutts, 11. Kyle Moody, 12. Steve Buckwalter, 13. Adrian Shaffer, 14. Dylan Cisney, 15. Troy Fraker, 16. Ryan Smith, 17. Danny Dietrich, 18. Mark Smith

358 sprints (25 laps): 1. Glenndon Forsythe, 2. Matt Findley, 3. Troy Wagaman Jr., 4. Doug Hammaker, 5. Kevin Nouse, 6. Rodney Westhafer, 7. Jeff Halligan, 8. Rich Eichelberger, 9. Kyle Denmyer, 10. Todd Rittenhouse Jr., 11. Chris Frank, 12. Dwight Leppo, 13. Gregg Foster, 14. Jacob Galloway, 15. Troy Rhome, 16. Scott Fisher, 17. Brett Wanner

ROSSBURG, Ohio – Donny Schatz led from start to finish in a caution-free rout Friday night at Eldora Speedway, winning the opening round of #LetsRaceTwo weekend at the half-mile dirt oval.

Schatz started on the pole and never faltered, holding Carson Macedo at bay early and then pulling away from Logan Schuchart late to take his second World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series win of the season.

With his Friday victory, the 285th of his World of Outlaws career, Schatz also assumed the lead in the series point standings as well.

The driver of the No. 15 Toco Warranty Centers/Ford Performance sprinter won the first of two DIRTvision Fast Pass Dashes to set himself up on the front row of the 30-lap main event, and when the green flag waved Schatz bolted to the early lead with Macedo in hot pursuit.

Macedo had one chance at Schatz in the opening laps, with a turn-one slider on the second revolution giving him momentary command over the field, but Schatz crossed back underneath him down the backstretch and never gave up the top spot again after that.

Friday’s win was Schatz’s third-straight score during Eldora’s #LetsRaceTwo weekend, but his first win at the track with new crew chief Steve Swenson.

“We’ve got a pretty good play book we’ve had over the years, but things change,” Schatz said. “Tires change. Cars change. The ways guys race change, so you’ve got to stay on the front side of it. That’s what we’ve been working on the past couple of months. I feel like we’ve figure out what we need to do to get things right for us.

“I’m happy about that and hopefully we can keep that to ourselves and not have to race against it.”

While Schatz dominated the box score by leading all 30 laps, it wasn’t without some competition in the second half of the race, as he had a hard-charging Logan Schuchart on his tail down the stretch.

Schuchart, who started fifth, grabbed the second spot on lap 13 and carved a lead of more than two seconds down under half a second with less than six laps to go as Schatz navigated through traffic.

However, the 10-time series champion got back away in the final moments as slower cars killed Schuchart’s momentum, leaving the Shark Racing driver to settle for second in the end.

“I was following a car on the top … and he hit the wall and I had to check up pretty good there,” said Schuchart. “All and all, I thought it was a good race. I think we actually fell to sixth at the beginning and had to work our way back up there. I think we had the car to beat and the fastest race car.

“I hope we can come back tomorrow and get another shot at it.”

Macedo completed the podium after his front row start, followed by David Gravel and Jacob Allen.

Christopher Bell crossed sixth, followed by Tim Kaeding, Parker Price-Miller, Gio Scelzi and Ian Madsen.

To view complete race results, advance to the next page.

Ander Herrera has confirmed he will leave Manchester United at the end of the season when his contract expires.

Spain international Herrera, 29, made the announcement in a farewell message posted on the club's Twitter account.

A goodbye message from @AnderHerrera. ? #MUFC pic.twitter.com/z56bmBwXa9

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) May 11, 2019

Sources have told ESPN FC that Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Juventus, Inter Milan and Barcelona are among the clubs interested in signing the midfielder as a free agent in the summer, with Ligue 1 club PSG the most strongly linked.

Herrera spent five years at Old Trafford after signing from Athletic Bilbao in 2014. He helped the club win the Europa League, FA Cup and League Cup in the 2016-17 and claimed the club's Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award that season.

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"There is red in my heart, I knew it from the first time I played here and in the moment I started to wear it," he said.

"A club with thousands of fans who respect and remember all the players who give everything. I felt special when I heard my name chanted. I felt proud when the fans decided I was part of this incredible history.

"Every time I represented this club, in every game, in wins and losses, even when I couldn't help from the grass, I understood what this club means.

"I am going to remember each of the almost 200 matches that I have played with this jersey. Because playing for the greatest club in England, has been a true honour. Thanks for these five amazing years."

Herrera's fellow Spanish midfielder Juan Mata is also out of contract at Manchester united at the end of the season, and talks are ongoing with the 30-year-old over a new deal.

United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed last month that Antonio Valencia will also leave the club this summer.

Toss Ireland chose to bat v West Indies

Ireland captain William Porterfield won the toss and chose to bat first against West Indies on a day that has no rain in the forecast. It is partly cloudy, but after Ireland's last game, against Bangladesh, was washed out, they will welcome the chance to have a full match with the opportunity to get off the bottom of the points table.

West Indies brought in Fabian Allen for Shane Dowrich, with Dowrich having endured a poor day in the field in their loss against Bangladesh. Boyd Rankin and James McCollum have come in for Ireland, with Barry McCarthy and Lorcan Tucker missing out.

This is a rematch of the first game of this tri-series. In that match, the West Indies opening duo of John Campbell and Shai Hope shattered records with a 365-run stand, and West Indies romped to victory by 196 runs. That loss left Ireland with a heavily negative net run-rate, and the washout against Bangladesh meant they stayed at the bottom of the points table. However, victory here can lift them above West Indies.

Campbell didn't play West Indies' next game, against Bangladesh, due to a sore back, and looks to have not yet recovered for this game either.

Playing XIs:

Ireland: 1 William Porterfield (capt), 2 Paul Stirling, 3 Andy Balbirnie, 4 James McCollum, 5 Kevin O'Brien, 6 Gary Wilson (wk), 7 George Dockrell, 8 Mark Adair, 9 Boyd Rankin, 10 Tim Murtagh, 11 Josh Little

West Indies: 1 Sunil Ambris, 2 Shai Hope (wk), 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Roston Chase, 5 Jonathan Carter, 6 Fabian Allen, 7 Ashley Nurse, 8 Jason Holder (capt), 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Sheldon Cotterell, 11 Shannon Gabriel

TossPakistan chose to bowl v England

Pakistan have won the toss and chosen to bowl in the second ODI against England at the Ageas Bowl.

The pitch appears to be a belter and play is set to begin in bright conditions.

Both teams are starting from scratch after the opener to the five-match series was a wash-out at The Oval on Wednesday. There have been some personnel changes on both sides with Jason Roy returning to the top of England's batting order at the expense of James Vince after recovering from back spasms. Moeen Ali returns from a rib injury, replacing Joe Denly, and Jofra Archer is being rested, making way for David Willey.

Pakistan are without Mohammad Amir, who is suffering from viral infection, meaning Yasir Shah comes into the side.

Teams: England: 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Adil Rashid, 9 David Willey, 10 Chris Woakes, 11 Liam Plunkett.

Pakistan: 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Haris Sohail, 5 Sarfaraz Ahmed (capt/wk), 6 Asif Ali, 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Hasan Ali, 10 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 11 Yasir Shah

HOUSTON -- Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob wants Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to stay with the organization "forever."

Lacob happily made that declaration in the wake of Friday night's 118-113, series-clinching Game 6 victory over the Houston Rockets after watching the pair combine for 60 points and lead the Warriors to their fifth straight Western Conference finals appearance.

"Obviously, my intention is to keep them as part of our organization forever," Lacob told ESPN. "That's our goal. We'll see what happens."

Lacob's words are notable, given the amount of speculation regarding Thompson's future with the team heading into this summer. While much of the focus has surrounded Kevin Durant and whether he will stay with the Warriors, Thompson will also be a free agent at season's end and is expected to earn a maximum contract. The Warriors are the only team that has the ability to offer Thompson a five-year deal worth $188 million or a supermax deal worth $221 million if Thompson makes an All-NBA team.

NBA protocol does not allow Lacob to publicly state he will give Thompson a full max extension, but his words were the clearest sign yet that Thompson's professional marriage with the Warriors will continue for years to come.

Thompson had said repeatedly throughout the season that he wanted to spend his entire career with the Warriors, a feeling shared throughout the organization and echoed recently by Warriors coach Steve Kerr.

Lacob and Thompson shared a joyous moment together late in Friday's game, after Thompson iced it with a 3-pointer with 36.1 seconds left that gave the Warriors a six-point lead. Thompson turned around after hitting the shot and pointed right at Lacob, who was sitting courtside and pointed back at Thompson.

Many inside the Toyota Center and on social media believed that Thompson was sending his boss a clear message of "pay me my money," but Thompson brushed that idea aside after the game.

"Nah," Thompson told ESPN. "It was just living in the moment. That's all it was."

Lacob said he loved having that connection with Thompson, whom he has grown fond of since buying the team in 2010.

"We've had a few of those," Lacob said. "I have a special bond with him. I always have. He's the first player, since I bought the team, that we drafted. The very first one. And I just have always felt an incredible attachment. People make fun of me a little bit -- I always say I love Klay. I love Klay. I just do. He's so real. He's so real. There's no BS. And there's something about him, I have a very special relationship with him.

"That was so great when he came over. I almost did what I did in Oklahoma City, but that'd be too much. They'd kill me in Houston."

Lacob was referring to Game 6 of 2016 Western Conference finals, when Thompson drained a playoff-record 11 3-pointers to lift the Warriors past the Oklahoma City Thunder. Afterward, an overjoyed Lacob dropped to his knees and bowed before Thompson.

On Friday night, Thompson made sure that Lacob and the rest of the Warriors headed back to Oakland beaming as the ensuing victory set off a raucous celebration inside the visitors locker room a few moments later. Thompson said he was appreciative Lacob has always been in his corner.

"I can feel his passion," Thompson said. "We've been here before. And s---, he's more into it than most fans. You got to respect someone's passion like that, man. Especially ownership. You hear a lot of stories [around the league] about people not caring, but Joe's cared since day one, so it felt good to just have that moment with him because I know how much he cares for us to win and how much he wants to be successful."

Thompson's ability to raise his level of play in the biggest of games doesn't surprise his teammates such as Curry, who says he always believes Thompson will play at a high level when they need him most.

"It's like he's in the park," Curry said of Thompson. "Just putting up shots in a little chain-link net or something. Just enjoying playing basketball, and his personality and his perspective on life really makes him different in these moments, because I don't know if he really even feels pressure. He's just out there hooping. The shots he was taking in the first half, understanding the situation, confidence to knock them down, was huge for us. Yeah, we don't win this game tonight without everybody on the court, but especially Klay that first half, to give us life and give us a reason to be in it in the second half."

For Lacob, the ability to watch Curry and Thompson take over one more time on the game's playoff stage left him beaming as he headed out of the arena.

"So much fun," Lacob said. "You kind of expect it. That's who they are. They've done it now so many times. Mark Jackson, of all people ... he called them the greatest backcourt of all time, or greatest shooting backcourt of all time, and they've lived up to that. And they're clutch. They're amazing individuals. They're both great guys. They're just terrific people."

HOUSTON -- After tipping his cap to the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta defiantly guaranteed that James Harden will lead his franchise to championships.

"They kicked our ass on our home court," Fertitta said after the Warriors eliminated the Rockets for the fourth time in five seasons, ending Houston's season with a 118-113 win in Friday's Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals. "They beat us by 10 points in the fourth quarter. It's unacceptable, OK? We just have to be better.

"I know that we're going to rise to the occasion and our time is going to come. James is 30 years old [in August]. ... Hakeem [Olajuwon] didn't win his first championship until [31]. I can promise you, we're going to win some championships with James Harden, because we are not going to sit here. We will go to battle every year. We're going to have a strong offseason, and we're going to do whatever we need to do to be a better team. We are not going to sit on our hands, I can promise you that."

The Rockets' attempts to upgrade their roster after last season fizzled. Houston, coming off an NBA-best 65-win season and pushing the Warriors to seven games in the West finals, made budget-conscious moves, allowing starting small forward Trevor Ariza to leave in free agency and filling out the rotation by signing veterans Carmelo Anthony, James Ennis III and Michael Carter-Williams to minimum contracts. All three of the veteran additions fell out of the rotation and were eventually traded in transactions that helped Houston avoid paying the luxury tax.

The Rockets remodeled their roster on the fly and righted the ship, led by Harden's historically elite offensive season. Houston headed into the playoffs with momentum, winning the most games in the league after the All-Star break but failed again to finally get past Golden State. The Warriors closed out Game 5 after All-NBA forward Kevin Durant strained his calf late in the third quarter and rallied to win Game 6 while he watched from home.

"They showed why they're the champions," Fertitta said. "We're gonna learn from it, and we're gonna come back next year, and we're gonna kick their ass at some point. I can promise you that."

Several of the Rockets seemed shell-shocked after the season-ending loss. Chris Paul, who played by far his best game of the series with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists, muttered that Houston had "to go to the drawing board" to search for solutions.

"This one's going to leave a mark," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said. "This is not something you just get over with. Definitely not going to get over it in this press conference or tomorrow or the next day. This one hurts. We didn't play our best, and to beat these guys, you've got to play your best. It's almost like, in a boxing match, you've got to knock the champion out. We didn't knock them out."

Harden lamented that the Rockets "let a lot of opportunities slip away" in each loss of the series. However, like Fertitta, Harden expressed extreme confidence that Houston would contend again next season and find a way to win against the Warriors.

"I know what we need to do," Harden said. "I know exactly what we need to do. We'll figure it out this summer."

Asked for specifics, Harden declined to elaborate.

Fertitta indicated that the Rockets needed to improve intangibles such as killer instinct.

"I'm a fighter," said Fertitta, who has owned the franchise for two seasons. "That's my culture, and I think the longer that I own this team, they're going to pick up more of my culture. We had [the Warriors]. We should have stepped on their throat the other night and cut their throat. It's not, 'Let's make a few shots and win.' It's step on their throat and let's take it back to Houston and end it in six. We'll pick up a few Tilman-isms along the way in the next few years."

With Paul and Harden locked into long-term maximum contracts, the Rockets have limited avenues to make upgrades to a roster that features four starters who will be in their 30s next season. Houston will have available the $5.7 million midlevel exception, which the Rockets did not use this season. Fertitta also strongly hinted the Rockets will aggressively explore their options in the trade market.

"I'm very fortunate to have the starting five that I have, but if we can make this team better, we're going to make this team better," Fertitta said. "That's just a fact. I have a great team. I love all five of my starting five, but it's my job to make sure that we put the best team that we can put on the court next year."