Leicestershire 340 (Taylor 98*, Ackermann 74, Dearden 69) beat Warwickshire 304 (Yates 66, Taylor 3-58) by 36 runs

All-rounder Tom Taylor made a career-best unbeaten 98, took three wickets, effected a run-out and held on to two fine catches as Leicestershire ended their Royal London Cup campaign with victory over Warwickshire.

Foxes' skipper Colin Ackermann chose to bat after winning the toss, and although triallist George Munsey went quickly, bowled off the inside edge by Oliver Hannon-Dalby, fellow opener Harry Dearden took full advantage of a series of wide and over-pitched deliveries, hitting eleven boundaries, almost all through the off side, in going to a half-century off just 34 balls.

Warwickshire captain Jeetan Patel turned to spin to slow the scoring rate, and was rewarded when Alex Thomson deceived Mark Cosgrove with an arm-ball that hurried inside a defensive push to hit the left-hander's leg stump.

Patel himself then produced the delivery of the day, straightening the ball past Dearden's outside edge to remove the left-hander's off stump, and Warwickshire continued to make inroads, first when Lewis Hill lifted a short ball from Craig Miles high into the hands of third man, and then when Ateeq Javid was run out by Miles at the non-striker's end after being sent back by a late call from Ackermann.

Ackermann himself looked set to register what would have been his third century in the competition this season, but on 74 skied an attempt to hit Patel through the off-side, and was caught by Will Rhodes at backward point.

At 222 for 6 the Foxes' innings was in danger of petering out, but with spinners Thomson and Patel having bowled their allotted spells, Taylor ensured the momentum did not falter, launching into the seamers and hitting eight fours in going to a half-century off 34 balls.

The 24-year-old received good support from Ben Mike and then Callum Parkinson as he passed his previous List A best of 59, and then charged towards three figures. With Taylor on 98 however, Hannon-Dalby deflected his straight drive on to the stumps at the non-striker's end, running out Parkinson, and in the following over Mohammad Abbas could not get his bat on a full, straight delivery from George Panayi, leaving Taylor stranded.

Warwickshire's response began promisingly, openers Ed Pollock and Dom Sibley hitting 70 off the first ten overs before Sibley, back on his stumps, was leg before to a full, in-swinging delivery from left arm seamer Klein.

Pollock hit seven fours and a six in going to his first half-century of the season in 47 balls before being bowled by left-arm spinner Parkinson, pushing forward to a nicely flighted delivery that went on to hit off stump, and Will Rhodes holed out to Taylor at long-off off the part-time off-spin of Javid.

The key dismissal, however, was that of Rob Yates, who was batting with impressive maturity and assurance on debut for Warwickshire, and had gone to 66 when he turned for a tight second run and found his path inadvertently blocked by bowler Ben Mike. Dodging around Mike cost the 19-year-old Yates a vital moment and his dive to beat Taylor's throw was unsuccessful.

Thereafter there was a good effort from Liam Banks, and Craig Miles and Patel hit out bravely in the final overs, but scoreboard pressure told, and an excellent catch above his head on the midwicket boundary to dismiss Miles completed Taylor's outstanding day.

Nottinghamshire 328 for 9 (Patel 136*, Moores 69) beat Northamptonshire (Vasconcelos 74. Keogh, Cobb 63, Wakely 53) by one wicket

Samit Patel's masterful century saw Nottinghamshire chase 326 to beat Northamptonshire by just one wicket at Wantage Road. In so doing, they sealed top spot in the North Group and secured a home semi-final in the Royal London One-Day Cup.

At 116 for 5 in the 25th over, Notts were slipping to defeat but Patel made a career-best unbeaten 136 to bring the Outlaws home with three balls to spare in front of a bumper Bank Holiday crowd.

Fifty-nine more runs were needed from 30 balls when Patel stepped down the pitch to punch Josh Cobb over his head for four, before cutting Nathan Buck past point for his 10th boundary to go to his eighth List A century.

He cut Ben Sanderson just past the wicketkeeper for another boundary and punched the same bowler over his head. Another edge, trying to cut Buck, flew over the wicketkeeper again to leave 12 needed from the final over. Patel then heaved Sanderson over square leg for six, drove a boundary past point and lifted the winning runs over the same fielder.

Tom Moores also played an important part in the comeback, sharing 111 with Patel for the sixth wicket. With 139 needed in 15 overs, Moores heaved Ian Holland for consecutive sixes over long-on in making 69 from 55 balls before swinging Sanderson to deep midwicket.

Before that partnership, Notts looked destined for the play-offs as the top-order all failed. Alex Hales, on his comeback after his suspension for a second failed drugs test, crashed several cuts either side of point but in attempting to guide Luke Procter to third man, chopped into his own stumps for 36 and left Notts 74 for 4 in the 15th over.

That was after Sanderson had nipped a delivery through Joe Clarke to take out his off stump for 7 in the second over. Chris Nash then clipped Buck to short midwicket before, next ball, Ben Duckett - back at his former home, having made his England comeback in Cardiff on Sunday - tried to turn his first ball to leg and got a leading edge that looped to midwicket.

But Patel's tremendous innings ensured Notts are now just one win away from a return to Lord's, earning a home semi-final back at Trent Bridge on Sunday.

For most of the day, Northants looked like claiming an impressive consolation victory. Four players went past fifty after they won the toss but none converted their position into an innings of real damage and they were left short of power in the final overs.

Patel claimed two of the half-centurions as Cobb lifted him to long-off for 63 - his third fifty in the competition. He and Ricardo Vasconcelos made steady progress for the second wicket in a stand of 117 in 19.5 overs.

Vasconcelos pulled James Pattinson and swept Patel among his four boundaries in his 60-ball fifty and generally worked the bowling around with good purpose. But, trying to reverse-sweep Patel, he was lbw for 74 and walked off with several meaty slaps of bat on pad, all too aware of his error.

From 160 for 3 in the 31st over, Rob Keogh and Alex Wakely picked the innings up, injecting urgency in adding 96 in 12.2 overs.

Wakely was first to his fifty - his third of the tournament - in 38 balls with four fours and a lofted drive for six against Matt Carter's off-spin. But he chipped a Pattinson slower ball to deep-midwicket for 53. And Keogh made a run-a-ball fifty before carving Jake Ball to deep cover to fall for 71.

Afterwards, Wakely was phlegmatic about another performance that proved not quite good enough in the final analysis.

"This has been the theme all year really, playing some good cricket but not quite being good enough to win enough games," he said. "We weren't at our best with the ball but that was one of the best knocks you'll see from Samit.

"For a long time I thought, 'take one wicket and we've won' but one batsman can win you a game and Samit just played beautifully."

Patel said: "I was due for a score and needed a score really, just to put to rest a few people who might have been thinking I was past it - but I'm back.

"I think in this day and age you can score 100 from the last 10 overs and all through that was my target, ideally with wickets in hand.

"I thought Tom [Moores] took it to them and there was a shift in momentum when he was going. His was a great knock and he'll learn a lot from that.

"I always had faith and every one of us in that dressing room had the belief that we can knock those runs off, regardless of what situation we were in and we did it and can look forward to Sunday now."

Durham 182 for 2 (Steel 68, Lees 51*) v Yorkshire - match abandoned

Durham were knocked out of the Royal London One-day Cup as rain ruined their final group clash with Yorkshire at Emerald Headingley.

Durham had reached 182 for 2 in 34.2 overs when the weather intervened for a second time shortly after 3.30pm, with Scott Steel hitting 68 and Alex Lees 51 not out against the county he left late last summer.

Unfortunately for the visitors, however, they were unable to get back onto the field and had to settle for a No Result and a point, which wasn't enough to secure a top three finish in the North Group.

It means that Lancashire have qualified for the knockout rounds later this week in third place behind Worcestershire and Nottinghamshire.

There was also frustration for England fast bowler Mark Wood, who failed to get onto the field during his first scheduled appearance of the summer as his fitness continues to be managed ahead of the World Cup.

Yorkshire were already out of contention for qualification and missed out for the first time in six years.

Durham were going nicely and on course for a total in excess of 300 against an inexperienced Vikings side including List A debutants Tom Loten and Ben Birkhead - both Academy players - and young seamer Jared Warner.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore was captaining Yorkshire for the first time in a competitive match and elected to bowl upon winning the toss.

In posting an unbeaten 51, left-handed Lees reached 50 for the fifth successive 50-over innings, including a century.

Ben Raine, who hit a leg-side six in 32, and Steel shared 55 inside seven overs for the first wicket before the former edged Tim Bresnan behind down the leg-side.

Bresnan returned the pick of the home figures, conceding only 36 in 10 overs, and added the second wicket of Steel when he pulled to deep square-leg in the 28th over (159 for two).

Lees launched Jack Leaning's off-spin for six over long-on early in his innings and was particularly strong on the drive as he reminded his former employers of his capabilities.

Steel reached his fifty off 70 balls and Lees off 63 as they shared 109 inside 21 overs for the second wicket. Cameron Bancroft later pulled a six off Josh Poysden in 18 not out.

Following a near two-and-a-half-hour rain delay from 1.05pm, with the score at 179 for 2 from 33.1 overs, Durham innings was cut short to 36 overs. But there was only time for seven more balls before rain returned to end the innings.

Yorkshire rested Adam Lyth, Gary Ballance, Jonny Tattersall, captain Steve Patterson and South African fast bowler Duanne Olivier having had their qualification hopes dashed with defeat at Worcestershire on Saturday.

Added to the trio of List A debutants, Will Fraine was also making his Yorkshire senior debut.

The game was abandoned just after 5.30pm.

Trailblazers 140 for 5 (Mandhana 90, Deol 36, Radha 2-28) beat Supernovas 138 for 6 (Harmanpreet 46*, Devine 32, Ecclestone 2-11, Gayakwad 2-17) by two runs

Two big stars of Indian women's cricket took centrestage in Jaipur as the multi-team Women's T20 Challenge kicked off with a final-ball thriller, much like how the one-off exhibition game had ended in Mumbai last year. Trailblazers captain Smriti Mandhana's enterprising 90 trumped her opposite number Harmanpreet Kaur's unbeaten 46 as Supernovas fell short by an agonising two runs.

Chasing 19 off the last over, Harmanpreet nearly pulled off an encore of her performance on her Lancashire Thunder debut at last year's Kia Super League, when she struck a last-ball six in a chase, carting Jhulan Goswami for four fours off the first five balls, the last one landing only inches inside the rope. Needing three off the last ball, Harmanpreet slashed hard but couldn't connect with the length ball outside off, and the attempted bye ended with wicketkeeper R Kalpana catching non-striker Lea Tahuhu short of her ground at her end.

The near-perfect Harman-Devine show

When Harmanpreet walked in at No. 4 after eight overs, Supernovas' asking rate (7.16) was only a shade above their run rate 6.87. With Trailblazers shelling several chances, little suggested Mandhana's side won't have to pay for the drops. Keeping to her scratchy-at-first-sublime-thereafter template, Harmanpreet scored six off her first 10 balls. An unforgiving punch off Harleen Deol in the 12th over fetched Harmanpreet the first of her eight fours, the same number collected by the six other Supernovas batsmen.

During her 48-run stand with No. 6 Sophie Devine, Harmanpreet was off the strike for the major part as Devine herself, with her 22-ball 32, looked set to hand Trailblazers the finality. Having taken Supernovas to 122, Devine was trapped in front by Sophie Ecclestone. Devine used the review, the first of the tournament, but it wasn't overturned. The dismissal, eventually, proved a match-winning one as Ecclestone rounded out her 20th birthday with 2 for 11 that played a key role in victory for her side.

Below-par fielding a worry for Trailblazers

A misfield in the third over from Deepti Sharma handed Jemimah Rodrigues her first four. In the sixth, Deepti dropped the same batsman on 16, the ball popping out of her hands over her head at mid-on after she got both hands to it, and it was just the start of more telling shoddiness that was to follow.

Chamari Atapattu got two lives in the eighth over, bowled by Shakera Selman. Stafanie Taylor first put down a straightforward chance at deep square leg on the first ball before D Hemalatha ran in hard from sweeper cover two balls later, but couldn't hold on despite getting her hands under the ball.

The first drop had Mandhana clutch her knees, the second brought out a huge sigh (of disbelief) from Selman. But then came a moment of brilliance, courtesy Selman herself. Anticipating the striker Atapattu's call for a quick single on the leg side, Selman swooped in while carrying on from her follow-through, and put in a full-length forward-stretch to fire a direct hit at the wicketkeeper's end to catch Rodrigues well short of her ground, for a 19-ball 24.

The drop that nearly cost them the game came in the 17th over. Harmanpreet, on 25, launched Taylor down the ground, where Hemalatha went to her left from long-on and shelled her second catch of the night. Four drops, yet ending on the winning side? Trailblazers should be thanking their stars.

Mandhana magic: sedate and scintillating

Mandhana lived up to her reputation with an uncharacteristic 67-ball 90, her second-highest T20 score.

If her maiden T20 ton, for Western Storm in KSL 2018, against Harmanpreet's Lancashire Thunder was all menace, the magic took time to unfold on Monday. It wasn't until the 35th ball of her innings that Mandhana's strike rate touched 100. That was largely down to Harmanpreet persisting with spin for the major part of that period, and Mandhana's early struggle was borne out in the seven runs she scored off her Maharashtra team-mate Anuja Patil, the offspinner. Her first two fours - in a combined tally of 10 fours and three sixes - came 23 balls apart.

As she loves pace on the ball, the four she broke her shackles with came off the first delivery bowled by Tahuhu. Thereafter, her willow oozed the class the 22-year-old is famed for. The highlight of her 119-run second-wicket stand with Deol (36 off 44) was the six - the first of the match - off wristpinner Poonam Yadav that floated over the extra cover boundary. Dragging her side to a respectable total has become second-nature to Mandhana in the recent past, thanks to India's middle-order woes. But on Monday, her knock also cushioned her side amid an otherwise deplorable fielding performance.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

The owners of Maximum Security plan to file an appeal with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, contending that their horse should be declared the rightful winner of the 2019 Kentucky Derby, owner Gary West told the "Today" show on Monday.

Maximum Security will also skip the Preakness, West said.

"We are going to file an appeal today with the state racing commission," West said. "Right after the race, I had the trainer call the stewards and very nicely ask them if they would be willing to visit with us after the races were over. I said, 'We'll stay here until 11, 12 o'clock at night, whatever you want,' and they said, 'Absolutely not, we won't be showing the films until Thursday.' We didn't really have any alternative legally ... the appeal has to be filed within 48 hours."

Maximum Security was disqualified from first by the racing stewards and placed 17th in the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. It was the first disqualification due to race riding in the history of the event. The stewards took 22 minutes to declare runner-up Country House the winner after deciding that Maximum Security interfered with several horses when he drifted out from the rail on the final turn.

"It was literally like the old TV show, 'the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat,' all within a 22-minute period of time," West said. "Winning it was the most euphoric thing I have probably ever had in our lives, and disappointment when they took the horse down for the first time in history, we were stunned, shocked and in total disbelief. It had never been done before."

KHRC does not actually allow for an appeal, so West is likely fighting an uphill battle. According to the rules, stewards are responsible for "all findings of fact as to all matters occurring during and incident to the running of a race," and "findings of fact and determination shall be final and not subject to appeal."

"We understand that the Wests are disappointed that the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission stewards disqualified Maximum Security," Kevin Flanery, President of Churchill Downs Racetrack, said via statement. "However, the stewards are responsible for regulating and enforcing the rules of racing in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and we respect and support their decision. The infraction committed by Maximum Security has nothing to do with the number of horses in the race, which has been a consistent number for many years, and there is no evidence to the contrary."

Marc Guilfoil, executive director of the KHRC, also backed the stewards on Sunday in an interview with Blood Horse magazine. West said this is a particularly unique circumstance.

"I think this is something that's big enough that the entire racing world is looking at this, and I think they deserve an opportunity to really know what was going on," West said. "I was a bit shocked and surprised that the stewards wrote a statement that was probably prepared by their lawyers and refused, literally refused, to take questions from the media. So they've been about as nontransparent about this whole thing as anything I've ever seen in my life."

West said he understood that his horse came over in front of another horse, but he said that's going to happen in such a big field of horses. The Kentucky Derby allows 20 entrants, the biggest field in North American thoroughbred racing.

"You shouldn't have 20 horses in the Kentucky Derby. Churchill Downs, because they're a greedy organization, has [20 horses] rather than 14 like you have in the Kentucky Oaks, the Breeders' Cup, every other race in America. Just because they can make more money, they're willing to risk horses' lives and people's lives to do that. I'm not a fan of that. I think you should have 14 like every other race ...

"Yes, I saw the horse move out, but every Kentucky Derby, you could set down two or three or four horses if you wanted to, because it's like a rodeo out there."

West also said he found it strange that the stewards did not file a stewards' inquiry. While stewards can file their own inquiry after the race if they see fit, in this situation, the jockeys of Country House and 16th-place finisher Long Range Toddy both filed objections against Maximum Security.

"They looked at exactly what the rest of the world looked at, and they didn't file a stewards' inquiry. So I can't imagine it was very obvious to them at the time, either."

The only other Kentucky Derby disqualification came in 1968, when Dancer's Image won and was disqualified several days later after trace amounts of a then-banned drug was found in his system.

The owners of Dancer's Image went to court to contend that he should be the rightful winner. The legal battle dragged out several years, and while they initially won their case, it was overturned on appeal.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Buccaneers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy took to Instagram on Sunday to fire back at those questioning his commitment after he missed the first five weeks of the Bucs' offseason program.

"Cinco de Mayo. Everybody out, probably getting ready to go drink, probably drinking right now. Don't matter. They want to question me? This is what I do on Cinco de Mayo. I work. I work," said McCoy, covered in sweat inside a gymnasium.

McCoy then panned the camera to show his young twins playing basketball in the background.

"Oh and I've got my kids with me. How many people doing that?" McCoy said. "All-Pro on and off the field. Wanna question me? The heck? Is he gonna be ready? Do he love football? What?! Y'all crazy. Lost y'all mind. I work. Don't you ever question me!"

McCoy, who is typically a fixture at the Bucs' facility in the offseason, has not been in the building since head coach Bruce Arians was somewhat critical of him at the NFL owners meetings.

"He's not as disruptive as he was four years ago, but he's still a good player," Arians said.

Arians also said he needed to further evaluate him.

The feeling of some in the organization is that while the six-time Pro Bowler and one of the longest-tenured players on their current roster is still a very effective player at 31, his production does not currently warrant the $13 million-per-year price tag.

McCoy is under contract through the 2021 season.

While McCoy has still been active on social media during his absence, this is the first time he's spoken at-length about his activities. He's spent much of this time working out with longtime trainer Todd Durkin in San Diego.

"He's been an absolute beast," Durkin told ESPN. "He's as focused, hungry and determined as I've ever seen him. Seriously, [he] has a fire inside of him that I haven't seen in a long time."

The Tampa Bay Times reported that the Bucs instructed McCoy to stay home from the offseason program, although Arians refuted that claim during the team's optional veteran minicamp two weeks ago.

"I don't know who the hell said that," Arians said. "It's up to him. We have open arms. If he wants to be here, practicing with us, that's great. He's under contract and part of the team, so yeah, I mean, that's the player's decision. That's all I can [say]."

There had been reports that the Bucs were attempting to trade McCoy during the draft. The Bucs currently have under $2 million in cap space prior to signing any members of their 2019 rookie draft class and need more than $10.3 million to do so.

This led some to speculate that if no trade partners were found, McCoy would be released, although he remains on the roster.

Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles said last week that while he did speak to McCoy after his hiring, he has not spoken to him since the offseason program began.

"It's voluntary," Bowles said. "For the people that are here, we coach. For the people that aren't here, we wait until they get here."

Attendance for the offseason program is voluntary until the team's mandatory three-day minicamp June 4-6. While McCoy doesn't have any language in his contract tied to participation in the offseason program, the NFL's Collective Bargaining Agreement does allow a team to fine a player up to $60,000 for unexcused absences during mandatory minicamp.

BOSTON -- Celtics guard Marcus Smart will make his return in Game 4 of Boston's Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Milwaukee Bucks Monday night at TD Garden.

Smart, who suffered a torn left oblique four weeks and a day ago after running into Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic's left hip, had said Sunday he was "hopeful" he would return after going through practice for the first time since the injury occurred.

He's back pic.twitter.com/DHAog0TS1w

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 6, 2019

"Feeling good today," Smart said after taking part in Boston's practice. "Today was a good day. I was able to participate with the team. ...The boxes are being checked.

"We're taking it one day at a time but we're definitely in the right position, right time, progressive phase to where I'm getting really close to coming back here."

Smart's timeline shifted from "really close" to "arrived" late Monday afternoon, when the Celtics announced shortly before Celtics coach Brad Stevens' pregame presser that Smart had been upgraded from questionable to available for Monday's game.

Stevens had previously said Smart would play in short bursts, likely 4 to 5 minutes long, and added that it wasn't expected he would immediately go back into the starting lineup.

Getting Smart back is a massive boost for Boston, which enters Monday's game trailing 2-1 in the best-of-seven series after losing both Game 2 in Milwaukee and Game 3 in Boston Friday night. Smart, the team's emotional leader, also was arguably the best defensive guard in the league this season -- something the Celtics could use against Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo's two-headed attack.

It was Smart's return from a thumb injury in Game 5 of Boston's first-round series with Milwaukee last year that helped swing that series in Boston's favor. The Celtics will be hoping Smart can provide them a similar boost this time around.

HOUSTON -- Golden State Warriors injured center DeMarcus Cousins said he expects to play again this season after suffering a partially torn quadriceps muscle and envisions a "very nice ending" to the 2018-19 campaign.

"For me, my goal is I ain't planning on sitting," Cousins told The Undefeated after the Warriors' shootaround in preparation for Monday's Game 4 against the Houston Rockets in a second-round playoff series. "I don't know the reality of it. But for me, that is not what I'm planning on doing...It's definitely some type of bad movie. But I think it will have a very nice ending. Just wait for it."

Cousins suffered the quad injury with 8:09 left in the first quarter of Game 2 of a first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers on April 15. The Warriors announced the next day that an MRI exam revealed that the 6-foot-10, 265-pounder had suffered a torn left quadriceps muscle. Though the Warriors said the injury would sideline Cousins indefinitely and he would begin rehabilitation immediately, he was not ruled out for the rest of the playoffs.

Cousins suffered a season-ending torn left Achilles tendon in January 2018 with the New Orleans Pelicans. The first-year Warriors center returned to action on Jan. 18, 2019, against the Clippers. Cousins was ecstatic to learn that this injury did not require surgery and was not as serious as his torn Achilles.

"I was confident from the beginning once they told me the severity of it," Cousins said. "Talking to the doctors helped me understand the injury a little more. I started analyzing things and playing it out in my head. I'm going to take it day by day and work my ass off like I always do...

"Obviously, I was little more relieved that it wasn't anything catastrophic like I've dealt with before. It sucks to be injured anyway on top of that. The timing of it really f---ed me up the most. It's a part of this game, man. I'm not the first. I won't be the last."

Though the Warriors have said that it's unlikely that Cousins will return this season, head coach Steve Kerr offered some hope Sunday, telling the media: "He's coming along pretty well. We'll just have to wait and see."

Kerr added that Cousins' recovery was following a "normal progression."

Cousins said he temporarily "shut the world out" following the injury due to all the skepticism he heard, but he feels much better mentally now. He moved well when he took part in a jump-shooting routine following the Warriors' shootaround on Tuesday at the Toyota Center. The athletic trainers and coaches joked with a sweat-drenched Cousins afterward that he moved well but shot poorly.

When asked about potentially returning in the Rockets series or at a future time, Cousins answered, "We will see."

"I'm taking it day by day," Cousins said. "I'm in better spirits, for sure. I kind of shut the world out. There are a lot of opinions out there. I shut the world out, went to my little zone and I'm taking it a day at a time.

"There were too many opinions. Everybody thought they knew what was going on. Everybody is a doctor. Just sit back and watch. I will do the rest."

Cousins averaged 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game on 48.0 percent shooting in 30 regular-season games for Golden State. The four-time All-Star's two career playoff appearances came with the Warriors before he got injured. Cousins will miss his eighth playoff game Monday when the Warriors visit the Rockets.

"It's hard," Cousins said. "I wish I could be out there helping. But things happen for any reason. I'm not questioning any of it. I got something down the line that has me patient and working."

Cousins added that his family and his Warriors teammates "have been there for me" through his latest injury. The 29-year-old, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, was also surprised to learn that he has been an inspiration as well.

"I have had so many young players say I'm an inspiration for them," Cousins said. "I've never heard that from a player. For me to hear, that was pretty dope. And just some of the messages, they were saying I'm built for this and if anyone can do it, it's me. I think guys know my heart, my desire and my drive. I've overcome this before...

"My family and my team are the people I've leaned on the most. But I feel I've been through the worst. I know how to work. I know what it takes to overcome these things. I am going to do my part."

IT WAS 3½ HOURS before tipoff at Barclays Center and the Philadelphia 76ers already had claimed a piece of the court.

As the Brooklyn Nets' drum line and dancers practiced nearby, the Sixers' training staff went through its own prep before a first-round playoff game. The makeshift on-court training area featured:

• Two black EarthLite folding massage tables

• A green exercise ball borrowed from the Nets

• A red, plastic Tri-Stretch balance pad placed by the basket

• Three black, cylindrical ViPR tubes weighing 16, 24 and 32 pounds

• Two dumbbells borrowed from the Nets (JJ Redick prefers them to the tubes)

• Two black roller bags stuffed with assorted tension bands, jump ropes and other tools of the trade.

While other teams use cramped visitors training rooms to stretch and work on their players before games, Todd Wright, the 76ers' assistant coach and head of strength and conditioning, brought his on-court method with him from the University of Texas in 2015. Wright takes advantage of the extra space on the court while allowing players to enjoy the atmosphere of the arena.

A similar scene will play out along a baseline at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto prior to Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Tuesday. Only the exercise ball borrowed from the Toronto Raptors will be gray and the on-court entertainment will be limited to the dance team and a performer's dry run of "O Canada."

"IT'S DIFFERENT," Greg Monroe said, breaking into a hearty laugh before Game 3 of the Sixers' first-round series in Brooklyn. And Monroe has plenty to compare it to. The 6-foot-11 center has played for five franchises in his nine-year career, including three teams this season alone.

"But it is easier," Monroe said. "Get your stretch in, get your warm-up and [you're already on] the court. So, that actually makes sense."

One by one, Sixers players ambled out to the Barclays court before Game 3 and plopped onto a massage table to start a sequence of stretches required before they're allowed to hoist up a shot.

Wright manned one of the tables, while Todor Pandov, the assistant strength and conditioning coach, manned the other. They worked on the players like mechanics under a hood -- stretching, pushing, pulling and kneading the players' limbs to get them ready for the game.

Wright has a shaved head, dark, pronounced eyebrows and intense blue eyes. His thick frame "looks like a bag of meat," said one Sixers staffer. Philly's players rave about Wright's subtle sense of humor, expertise and personal touch. He is the type of guy who offers up a, "Thanks, brother," to a total stranger, as he did before Game 1 in Toronto when a Raptors locker room attendant delivered the exercise ball to the court.

A Bulgaria native who played forward for Western Kentucky University in the early 2000s, the 6-foot-9 Pandov offers a visual contrast to Wright, with his full head of hair, gray, speckled beard and lanky limbs.

"They're just good people," guard T.J. McConnell said. "You want to be surrounded by good people. But obviously, when you're great at your job, it makes it that much better."

After the massage, the players worked their way down an assembly line.

Guard Furkan Korkmaz performed a set of calf raises, trying to gain access to the next level of the Sixers' required pregame prep: Lifting those, um, big rubber things that look like empty paper towel rolls.

"What do you call them? Dang, I forgot the name," Tobias Harris said. "I forgot. I guess we call them 'the bar.' Yeah, 'the bar.'"

"The bar" is the ViPR weighted cylinder that allows Philly players to turn their little corner of the court into a weight room

"We obviously can't bring [full] weights onto the floor, but it simulates lifting weights and movement," McConnell explained. "Kind of kills two birds with one stone."

NBA PLAYERS ARE large human beings, and the room required to have those bodies stretch out and move around is considerable.

While changes in ownership and a flood of new revenue in the past several decades have led to modernized NBA arenas -- 18 of the league's 29 arenas were opened in 1999 or later -- the visitors training rooms didn't get the same priority in the blueprints as, say, luxury boxes and club lounges.

"The visiting training rooms are usually super small," Nets guard Joe Harris said. "If you went in and saw a lot of the training rooms, we have to stagger our treatment times because you can't have more than like three people in the training room at a time. There's not enough space."

Measuring 7-foot-3 and weighing 291 pounds, Sixers backup center Boban Marjanovic might benefit the most from the change in settings.

"Sometimes, we don't have space for ourselves," Marjanovic said. "I think it's a good idea. To be very honest, it's a good idea."

The space might be the biggest perk to the trainers -- Wright appreciates the consistent training environment the court provides on the road -- but the players have their own reasons why they enjoy the unusual setup.

"For me, it's more about feeling the atmosphere of the arena, breathing the air, just being around it and being on the court and hearing the sound of the basketballs. It just helps me better prepare." Joel Embiid

"For me, it's more about feeling the atmosphere of the arena, breathing the air, just being around it and being on the court and hearing the sound of the basketballs," Joel Embiid said. "It just helps me better prepare."

Other players agree.

"I do like the way it feels. I do like the way it kind of gets me going," Monroe said.

As Tobias Harris added; "You get the energy, for sure. That's always cool."

Embiid missed the entire 2014-15 season with a broken navicular bone in his right foot. The following season, his rookie year, he played in just 31 out of 82 games because of a rest plan, combined with a torn meniscus in his left knee that wiped out what was left of his season in late February.

If the byproduct of having more room to operate means keeping Embiid more connected and engaged in the periods he is out, it makes sense that Wright and Pandov don't mind lugging all that equipment -- each cumbersome massage table weigh 38 pounds -- to 41 road games a year. And in a league in which teams go to great lengths to keep their star players happy by shuffling practice times and accommodating travel plans, it's a small concession to make.

"It's all for Joel," a team source said.

Just a massage and some anime to get hype for Game 1. ?

Never change, @JoelEmbiid. pic.twitter.com/LMhav2Qy62

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 30, 2018

TAKING A NORMALLY private activity and making it public can have its drawbacks.

While Embiid was getting his shoulders worked on prior to the opening game of the Eastern Conference semifinals at the Boston Celtics in 2018, TNT cameras showed the big man watching the Japanese anime "Dragon Ball Z" on his phone.

Earlier in the 2018 playoff run, before a first-round game at the Miami Heat, Embiid was seen eating a chicken sandwich on the massage table out on the court while his back was being poked and prodded.

But Embiid isn't concerned.

"I don't care," Embiid said. "I'm a chill guy. I don't care. I'm a human being at the end of the day. I don't want to be different than anybody else walking on the streets. If they can do it, I can do it too."

A lack of privacy isn't the only challenge the Sixers face.

As Wright contorted the large frame of Marjanovic, who was spilling over the massage table before Game 3 in Brooklyn, Pandov was attending to James Ennis III while simultaneously protecting his turf. Television reporters and camera crews were setting up a couple of feet from the training tables for live shots to preview the game. The extra space the 76ers coveted had been shrunk to a few feet.

Pandov did his best to secure his space.

"We all got to work together," Pandov pleaded with the encroaching media. "We got players to get going."

BALTIMORE -- Boston Red Sox left-hander David Price has been placed on the 10-day injured list because of tendinitis in his pitching elbow.

Boston announced the move Monday, a day ahead of Price's scheduled start at Baltimore.

Price told reporters that his arm is "bothering" him, but hopes to miss only one or two starts.

The 33-year-old Price is 1-2 with a 3.75 ERA in six starts and has allowed three runs or fewer in his last four appearances.

The 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner with Tampa Bay, Price was slowed by elbow problems throughout 2017. He did not make his first start for Boston until May 29 due to a strained elbow and did not pitch for the Red Sox between July 22 and Sept. 17 because of elbow inflammation.

He was 6-3 with a 3.38 ERA in 11 starts and five relief appearances, then rebounded to go 16-7 with a 3.58 ERA in 30 starts last year as Boston won the World Series.

Boston made the roster move retroactive to Friday. The Red Sox selected the contract of 28-year-old right-hander Ryan Weber from Triple-A Pawtucket.