FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots continue to explore possibilities to succeed Tom Brady in the future, as they selected Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham on Saturday in the fourth round of the NFL draft.

Stidham, the 133rd overall selection, was the seventh quarterback picked overall, following Kyler Murray (first overall, Cardinals), Daniel Jones (sixth, Giants), Dwayne Haskins (15th, Redskins), Drew Lock (42nd, Broncos), Will Grier (100th, Panthers) and Ryan Finley (104th, Bengals). That's similar to Brady, the 199th overall pick of the 2000 draft who saw six quarterbacks -- sometimes referred to as the "Brady 6" -- selected before him.

"Tom Brady is obviously a great player and, from what I've heard, a great teammate," Stidham said Saturday on a conference call. "So I'm just looking forward to spending some time with him. You can't play for 20 years and not have so much knowledge of the game, so just being able to sit there and soak up everything that he's gone through and pick his brain here and there about different things."

The 6-foot-2, 218-pound Stidham joins veteran Brian Hoyer and 2018 seventh-round pick Danny Etling on the depth chart behind Brady, and added that he's looking forward to working with them as well. Auburn wide receiver Darius Slayton, a fifth-round pick of the New York Giants on Saturday, said the Patriots are a perfect fit for Stidham.

"I think he can be Tom Brady-esque because Jared's really smart, he throws well from the pocket, he's good at making quick decisions. I think that is a great fit for him. And he loves Tom Brady to death. I'm sure that is like getting drafted by God for him," Slayton said.

Stidham completed 470 of 739 passes for 5,952 yards, with 36 touchdowns and 11 touchdowns over the past two seasons at Auburn after transferring from Baylor. His completion percentage dipped from 66.5 in 2017 to 60.7 in 2018, which has sparked questions.

"I think there's different things that happen throughout the season, and I think myself, Coach [Gus] Malzahn, Coach [Chip] Lindsey, if we were all to kind of look back through the season, I think we'd just open it up a lot more," he said. "When you lose a guy like [running back] Kerryon Johnson, and Braden Smith up front, some of those guys that have a lot of experience, you just have to find out your identity. And I think we found our identity during our bowl game against Purdue.

"It's one of those things, but I wouldn't trade my time at Auburn for anything. I loved it there, and the great thing about Auburn is that it can really help prepare you for the next level. And sure enough, I'm lucky enough to sit here and be a Patriot and further my career a little bit."

How much longer he furthers his career, and how well the 22-year-old Stidham ultimately develops, could help the Patriots transition to life after Brady, who turns 42 in August and has said he hopes to play until he's 45. At the least, Stidham should have the luxury to develop behind the scenes in 2019.

Hoyer, the team's veteran backup, enters the final year of his contract. Meanwhile, Etling will vie for a backup spot after spending his rookie season on the practice squad. When Stidham visited the Patriots' facility in April, he said he shared lunch with Etling.

"I'm extremely excited," Stidham said. "I couldn't think of a better situation."

ESPN's Jordan Raanan contributed to this report.

Leeds United's action-packed 1-1 draw against Aston Villa saw Sheffield United clinch the final automatic promotion to the Premier League after Norwich had clinched their place in the top flight on Saturday.

Despite knowing anything but a victory would end their hopes of automatic promotion, after opening the scoring on 72 minutes when Aston Villa's Jonathan Kodjia was injured, Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa allowed the visitors to equalise.

Leeds' Mateusz Klich had scored despite Villa players calling for the ball to be put out of play, and a mass brawl ensued on the pitch which involved both sets of players, which saw Anwar El Ghazi sent off for the away side.

Meanwhile, a separate row broke out on the benches, with Bielsa going head-to-head with Villa assistant boss John Terry.

When play eventually restarted, Villa were allowed to run unchallenged as Albert Adomah ran the length of the half to equalise, although Leeds' Pontus Jansson did try unsuccessfully to put in a tackle.

Leeds pressed for a winner, which would have taken the race for the final automatic spot to the final deep into the eight minutes of stoppage time but had to settle for a point.

Villa boss Dean Smith said Klich apologised for his goal and also gave credit to Bielsa for allowing Villa to score unimpeded.

"Klich has apologised," Smith told Sky Sports. "Every credit to Leeds and Marcelo Bielsa for putting that right.

"I asked him and he agreed. He said 'yes'. He apologised for what happened. Fair play to them. It was a good game of football until that moment."

Bielsa said he had allowed Villa to score in the spirit of sportsmanship.

"We gave the goal back," Bielsa said. "English football is known for its sportsmanship, so I don't need to comment on this kind of thing, which is common in English football."

Villa defender Tyrone Mings also praised Leeds for allowing them to score the equaliser after failing to put the ball out of play so Kodjia could get treatment.

"We kicked it out for them," Mings said after the game. "But listen each to their own. Fair play to their manager for saying we can go and score a goal, full credit to them for saying we could go and score."

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder told Sky Sports at the team celebration: "First and foremost, Marcelo Bielsa full respect, Patrick Bamford not. He [Bielsa] did the right thing, Bamford didn't.

"At the moment we're the second best team in the division and we're going to try and be the best next Sunday."

The result means Leeds can no longer catch the top two in the Championship and are guaranteed a playoff spot alongside Aston Villa and West Brom.

The final place will be between Derby, in sixth place, and Middlesbrough in seventh, as the two sides are level on points with only one match remaining in the season.

Information from Reuters was used in this report

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Giants general manager Dave Gettleman insists there were at least two teams that intended to select quarterback Daniel Jones if New York had waited until the 17th pick overall in the first round of Thursday night's NFL draft.

The Giants, who had the sixth, 17th and 30th picks in the first round, shockingly selected Jones at No. 6.

"I can say this to you guys right now. When we got in here Thursday night, the question was posed, 'Why didn't you wait until 17?'" Gettleman said after the draft concluded Saturday night. "Well, I know for a fact there were two teams that would have taken him in front of 17. I know that for a fact.

"So it's tough. It really is. It wasn't easy for me to pass up Josh Allen," he added, referring to the Kentucky linebacker who was selected by the Jaguars at No. 7. "For me, my background, that was very, very difficult. But I think that much of Daniel Jones and his future as an NFL quarterback."

Allen, the Kentucky edge rusher, was selected seventh by the Jacksonville Jaguars. The only other quarterback taken in the first round after No. 6 was Ohio State's Dwayne Haskins, who was selected with the 15th pick by the Washington Redskins.

League sources told ESPN that Washington wouldn't have taken Jones if he were available. The Denver Broncos, who drafted Missouri's Drew Lock in the second round, also wouldn't have taken Jones with their first-round pick at No. 10 overall, sources said.

The other teams that may have been in the quarterback market depending on who was available were the Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals. The Dolphins later traded for Josh Rosen. The Bengals took NC State's Ryan Finley in the fourth round.

The Giants got their future franchise quarterback and the eventual successor to Eli Manning, and the intention Thursday was always to take him with the first of their three first-round picks. They selected Clemson defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence 17th and traded into the bottom of the first round to take Georgia cornerback Deandre Baker at No. 30.

"We were going to make the pick at 6 and then go from there," Gettleman said. "I had no intention of moving up [from 17]. None."

Jones threw for 2,674 yards with 22 touchdowns and nine interceptions as a junior last season. He rushed for 319 yards and three touchdowns.

Gettleman admittedly fell in love with Jones' tape. It was at the Senior Bowl that the deal was sealed, as Gettleman was convinced after seeing Jones play three series. He said he saw "a professional," and at that point it was "full-bloom love."

Giants fans were stunned and booed the selection at the team's draft party. Asked later that evening what he would say to fans who booed the pick, Gettleman said, "In time, you'll be very pleased."

And that's a wrap. The 2019 NFL draft is in the books, all 254 picks have been made, and now it's time for some of our annual inarguable, indisputable and incontrovertible draft takeaways. Here are seven -- one for each round of the draft.

This QB class is among the worst in decades

OK, that's a bit harsh. But the usual scramble for the draft's best quarterbacks never materialized. This was only the second draft of the past 16 that did not include at least one trade in the first round to draft a quarterback. The New York Giants might have preempted one by selecting Duke's Daniel Jones at No. 6 overall, more than a little too enthusiastically I might add. And it's true that this year's class fell between the heralded 2018 group and another promising one in 2020. (That group includes Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa, Oregon's Justin Herbert, Georgia's Jake Fromm and Washington's Jacob Eason, among others.)

Regardless, this group inspired a mostly "meh" response from teams. That no one traded back into the first round to draft Missouri's Drew Lock, for the purpose of securing him for a potential fifth-year contract option, spoke volumes. Lock waited until midway through the second round, No. 42 overall, for the Denver Broncos to select him. (Admittedly, the match of the New England Patriots and Jarrett Stidham in the fourth round is awfully intriguing.)

The only other comparable draft over those 16 years was 2015, when Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota went in the first two picks, and then the next quarterback selected was Garrett Grayson in the third round (No. 75 overall). But the 2015 class, comprising only seven total members, was the league's smallest since 1955.

Dolphins are massive winners

The Miami Dolphins have spent 20 years trying to replace Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino. This draft brought them closer than they have ever been.

Had he entered the 2019 draft with the same résumé as he did in 2018, Josh Rosen would have been a top-five pick. He turned 22 in February and has 13 NFL starts. His contract calls for about $6 million in salary over the next three seasons combined, and it cost only a low second- and a 2020 fifth-round pick to acquire him from the Arizona Cardinals. In short, the Dolphins procured a legitimate blue-chip prospect at a steep discount in a way that won't inhibit their ability to move on to a different quarterback at any point.

It's true Rosen led the NFL's worst offense last season, and he is now the first quarterback taken in the first round since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger to move on after one season. But let's attribute an appropriate amount of blame to the Cardinals, who among many sins hired a coaching staff that was so bad that it needed to be fired after one season. They also fielded the league's worst pass-blocking offensive line, as measured by ESPN's Pass Block Win Rate metric.

It might not get better immediately for Rosen; the Dolphins had the league's second-worst pass-blocking line in 2018 by the same ranking. But this is the kind of acquisition we rarely see in the NFL trade market, even if it was driven in part by the Cardinals' ineptitude.

There is more to like about Rosen -- his intelligence, his accuracy, and frankly, his contract -- than any of the other characters they have turned to in the post-Marino era. New coach Brian Flores has a supremely talented quarterback to build around, but without the institutional inertia that often leaves teams waiting too long for progress from players they drafted themselves. (See: Ryan Tannehill.) This was a grand slam for a franchise that usually tries just to keep the ball in play.

The past two drafts have set up the East divisions

The Dolphins' acquisition of Rosen means that three of the quarterbacks taken in the 2018 first round are now with AFC East teams. Rosen, Sam Darnold (New York Jets) and Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills) are now in position to challenge the Patriots' Tom Brady or, more likely, to compete for supremacy when he retires.

Meanwhile, half of the NFC East reshaped itself Thursday night. The Giants targeted Jones and the Washington Redskins grabbed Ohio State's Dwayne Haskins. Now all four division rivals have quarterbacks who are 26 or younger. That doesn't mean they all have 10-year starters. In fact, history tells us they do not. But at the very least, each team can focus its long-term team building around a particular player, a luxury that about only half of NFL franchises possess.

Annual comparisons of Jones to Haskins will inform evaluations of the Giants for a generation. If the next decade features a battle between Haskins, Jones, Carson Wentz (Philadelphia Eagles) and Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys), whom do you take? (I'll take Wentz.)

Trade volume is revealing

The idea that teams don't fixate on certain players but instead take the best available when their pick arrives should be forever smashed by what happened Friday night.

There were 18 separate trades involving picks during the second and third rounds, the second most on a single draft day since the event expanded in 2010. Some teams -- mostly notably the Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings -- were trying to build up Day 3 capital. But their partners were enthused or desperate enough to spend at least two picks to draft one player. That's how well-regarded players such as defensive end Montez Sweat (Redskins), offensive lineman Cody Ford (Bills), cornerback Greedy Williams (Cleveland Browns) and receivers Mecole Hardman (Kansas City Chiefs) and DK Metcalf (Seahawks) all found homes.

The moves can also provide insight into otherwise hidden league thinking. The Broncos, for instance, traded in front of the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers to draft Lock. Did they believe the Lions, or more likely the Packers, were poised to take him? The Chiefs' decision to draft the speedy Hardman could mean the potential release of receiver Tyreek Hill. And the Seahawks-Metcalf union made sense once ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that veteran Doug Baldwin might retire because of an injury. Remember these instances, especially when you hear a team executive say he doesn't focus on individual players or specific needs in the draft. They do.

2020 draft capital builds

In part because of this week's trades, we have some early leaders for 2020 draft capital. Four teams have multiple picks in either or both of the first two rounds:

• Oakland Raiders: Two in the first and two in the third (none in the second)

• Seattle Seahawks: One in the first, two in the second

• Indianapolis Colts: One in the first, two in the second

• Miami Dolphins: One in the first, two in the second

Meanwhile, the Broncos have a pair of third-round picks in addition to their spots in the first and second round.

Mock draft accuracy wasn't much different, but ...

Mock drafts tend to inform the public's perception of team draft performance more than anyone cares to admit. And so it wasn't surprising to see television broadcasts and social media light up early Thursday night when the Raiders selected Clemson pass-rusher Clelin Ferrell, who had been projected as a late-first round pick by many mocks.

Two picks later, the Giants grabbed Jones in another move that few mocks had projected. Combined, the Ferrell and Jones selections created the early impression of a draft off the rails.

That perception, however, was driven largely by the two early "surprises," and another few at the end of the round. According to analysis of more than 2,000 available mock drafts by FiveThirtyEight, the 2019 first round as a whole wasn't much different than what we saw in 2018. The average first-round pick was drafted six spots earlier than expected, as opposed to five earlier in 2018.

So in truth, the 2019 first round wasn't any crazier than the one we had most recently witnessed. That gives me an opportunity to remind the world that mock drafts are a fun part of the pre-draft process, to be viewed as a warm-up for the actual event. They get us thinking about the possibilities. But they shouldn't be used as data with which to judge the actual decisions. Maybe we're too far down the road for such a change in thinking, but pre-draft guessing isn't a reliable guidepost for thoughtful post-draft evaluation.

Quick(er) hitters

• In discussing the decision to draft Greedy Williams on Friday night, Browns coach Freddie Kitchens uttered two simple sentences that shows how much he gets it. "From a team perspective," he said, "this is a pass-oriented league. You need to be able to throw the ball and you need to be able to stop people from throwing the ball." Despite ample evidence, you rarely hear that sentiment expressed directly from coaches and executives, many of whom still claim the opposite: that winning is about running the ball and stopping the run.

• You could argue the Cardinals had a nice draft while also setting back their franchise in the same weekend. Quarterback Kyler Murray could form a potent combination with new receivers Andy Isabella and Hakeem Butler, and cornerback Byron Murphy is talented enough to start in Week 1, but the repercussions of the Rosen trade will be felt for years. The Cardinals used three draft picks to move up and select Rosen last year. Then they traded him at a steep discount and will absorb $16 million in dead money for their efforts. It will take a while to make up for the lost opportunities to acquire talent at other positions.

• Lock wound up in Denver with the team that many thought would draft him in the first round, so the big impact of his fall was on his wallet. There will be about a $7 million difference in the contract slots between the No. 20 overall pick, where the Broncos could have drafted him, and No. 42, where they did. But to his benefit, Lock will avoid a fifth-year option in his deal, putting him in line a year earlier for a second contract.

• The Patriots traded into position to select six of their first seven picks, meaning they envisioned specific lanes of success for each player. What will Bill Belichick do with a 6-foot-4 corner (Joejuan Williams)? How soon will he trust running back Damien Harris, who didn't lose a fumble in four years at Alabama? Instant analysis around the league indicated the Patriots had an intriguing draft that will bring instant and sustained production.

• Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints, who keep bucking conventional wisdom to surround quarterback Drew Brees with talent -- by kicking the asset can down the road. The latest example is the decision to trade a 2020 second-round pick, among others, to move up and draft center Erik McCoy at No. 48 overall. That follows last year's move to ship a 2019 first-round pick to the Green Bay Packers so they could draft pass-rusher Marcus Davenport. And in 2017, they traded a 2018 second-round pick to the San Francisco 49ers to move up and select running back Alvin Kamara. Someday, the bill will come due. But for now, the Saints are doing exactly what they should do -- regardless of tradition -- to maximize a 40-year-old quarterback.

• Consensus at the combine suggested that the defensive line/edge positions were the strongest in the draft, especially at the top. Teams backed up that observation by selecting 15 linemen/linebackers in the first round, most in the common draft era. Seven of them went in the top 10, tied for the most in the same time period.

• On the other hand, there wasn't a receiver or defensive back selected until the Packers took safety Darnell Savage Jr. at No. 21 overall. The run on receivers took place Friday, when 11 were taken off the board.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr publicly lobbied Saturday for the NBA office to reconsider its procedure for suspending players for technical fouls accumulated in the playoffs, a suggestion he has previously made behind the scenes in the offseason.

Players are automatically suspended after receiving seven technical fouls for unsportsmanlike conduct in the playoffs, although the league office has the right to rescind a technical after reviewing it, meaning it would not count toward that total.

"Well, if we go to Finals, I think Draymond (Green) and Kevin (Durant) are each on pace for about 42 technicals and six suspensions, so hopefully we can withstand that," Kerr said, cracking a smile before becoming serious.

"I will never understand the rule that everybody falls under the exact same category, in terms of whether you lose in four games in the first round or you play 25 games and you go to the Finals, that it's the same technical fouls points that lead to a suspension. It seems strange.

"But I do know that Kevin and Draymond have a good feel for when they reach that number. They generally are able to shut that off, shut that emotion off and stay on the floor. That's going to be important."

Green and Durant both officially have two technical fouls counted toward their total after the Warriors eliminated the LA Clippers in six games in the opening round. Durant was called for three technicals during the series -- including two when he was ejected along with Clippers guard Patrick Beverley in Game 1 -- but the one assessed to him in Game 3 was rescinded.

Kerr indicated that the Warriors hope that the technical foul Green received in Friday's Game 6 win over the Clippers will be rescinded. Green was suspended for Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals for reaching the threshold for flagrant foul points in the playoffs.

"I thought it was way too quick," Kerr said of the Game 6 tech. "I think he said, 'Tell me what I have to do to be better.' I think he was called for a foul, I think he had good verticality. It was a questionable call, but that happens all the time. He ran over to [referee David Guthrie] and said, 'Tell me what I have to do to defend that better,' and he got a T. I was surprised. We'll see what happens, but we've got to understand that we've got to be on alert, because the rules are the rules in terms of the suspensions and all that stuff."

Players are automatically suspended after receiving 16 unsportsmanlike technical fouls during the regular season. Durant was tied with Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook for the most technical fouls in the league this regular season with 17, but he avoided suspension because one was rescinded and his last technical came in the final game.

Green had 16, but one was called for hanging on the rim, which is not viewed by the league as unsportsmanlike and does not count toward the total for a potential suspension.

Kerr said he isn't certain how the league should handle suspensions for technical during the playoffs, but he hopes the league office will consider a change.

"I don't know. That's a good question," Kerr said when asked how he would change the policy. "Series by series or maybe every two series. Just the way it is now doesn't make a ton of sense. I'd like to see it revisited, but that's coming from a guy whose team gets a lot of technical fouls and plays deep in the playoffs. So I'm a little biased."

OAKLAND, Calif. -- James Harden, whose Houston Rockets have been eliminated by the Golden State Warriors in three of the past four NBA postseasons, firmly believes the fourth time will be different.

"We're a very confident group of guys," Harden said before the Rockets' practice at Oracle Arena on Saturday, a day before Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. "We're more than capable. We're excited about the opportunity. We know the difficulties and the challenges that are going to come along that way, but we're prepared for them."

The Rockets weren't competitive in the 2015 conference finals or the 2016 first round, getting eliminated by the Warriors in five games in both series.

But Houston pushed Golden State to seven games in last season's Western Conference finals, adding to the anticipation of the rematch this season.

"Of course it feels right," Harden said of facing the Warriors in the playoffs again. "We haven't been successful thus far. We've had plenty of opportunities but haven't come up on the winning side yet. Just another opportunity for us to change that."

Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has made no secret of his "obsession" with chasing the Warriors, which is essentially just an acknowledgment that Houston's path to a title will have to go through Golden State.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr called the Rockets' focus on his team "flattering."

"I admire what Houston's done over the last couple of years -- building their roster, building their style and competing with us," said Kerr, whose team lost three of four regular-season meetings with the Rockets. "Obviously, last year's series was epic and great competition, so I've got great respect for what they've done. They're relentless. They're continuing to come at us, so we've got to be ready."

Last season, the Rockets, as the top seed in the West with an NBA-best 65-17 record, took a 3-2 series lead but lost Chris Paul to a strained hamstring in the final minute of Game 5. The Warriors rallied from double-digit halftime deficits in each of the next two games to eliminate the Rockets en route to their third title in four seasons.

Paul had very little interest in revisiting the disappointment of being forced to watch from the bench as the Rockets' season ended. He scoffed at the suggestion of him getting an opportunity to tend to unfinished business as a storyline this series.

"Man, I'm ready to play Game 1," Paul said. "Know what I mean? I'm sorry, I'm just not that dramatic about things like that. It's just, we're focused on getting ready for Game 1."

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Golden State Warriors All-Stars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are questionable for Game 1 of the team's Western Conference semifinal series against the Houston Rockets due to right ankle injuries, according to coach Steve Kerr.

"He's OK," Kerr said Saturday of Thompson. "He and Steph both came in this morning to get some treatment. And I haven't even spoken with [director of sports medicine and performance] Rick [Celebrini] yet today, so we're upstairs watching film and getting ready. We'll see how they're doing [Sunday]. I'm not going to make a definitive statement on whether they'll both play. Let's just call it questionable. And there's nothing implied there. They both came in today and got some work, and we'll see how they're doing [Sunday]."

Curry turned his right ankle toward the end of the first quarter of Friday's series-clinching victory over the LA Clippers. He went to the Warriors locker room to get it checked out before returning but was limping as he walked into the postgame news conference.

Kerr acknowledged that Thompson's sprain, which came in the third quarter Friday, is more severe than initially thought.

"It was a significant sprain," Kerr said. "He was limping last night. So as I said, we'll see how he's doing [Sunday]."

Thompson admitted after Friday's game that the ankle was "sore" but said he was confident he would be ready for Game 1 against the Rockets.

"I anticipate going fully on Sunday, so it'll be all right," Thompson said immediately after the game.

For his part, Kerr isn't concerned about his team's focus or energy entering the series. The Warriors wish they could have taken care of business sooner in the first round, but Kerr said his team is more prepared for the Rockets series because it had to grind through a tough Clippers squad.

"I think they're more energized that we're here," Kerr said of his team. "I think we are happy to get past the Clippers; they were fantastic. They prepared us well for this series. I'm not worried about the energy because here we are, it's the playoffs, and no matter what we do, at max there's six weeks left in the season. At minimum there's a couple weeks, so we're near the finish line. So our guys are going to have plenty of motivation, plenty of energy.

"I'm more worried about the nagging injuries right now from [Friday] night, so we'll see what happens."

DENVER -- The Nuggets watched a 17-point lead shrink to two with 52 seconds left Saturday night against the Spurs, and suddenly Game 7 and what had been an incredible 54-win season was on the verge of slipping away.

But then Nuggets guard Jamal Murray rose up and sank a beautiful rainbow jumper. Torrey Craig flew in from behind and blocked the Spurs' DeMar DeRozan on a drive to the basket.

And in something not seen often, Denver's deafening home-court advantage paid off as the Pepsi Center crowd drowned out Gregg Popovich's helpless pleas for LaMarcus Aldridge to foul in the final 20 seconds, with San Antonio trailing by four, and the Nuggets held on to win 90-86 in a tense Game 7.

Now the second-seeded Nuggets face Damian Lillard and the third-seeded Portland Trail Blazers with Game 1 on Monday night in Denver. To get to the second round, the Nuggets rode the brilliance of All-Star center Nikola Jokic, who is thriving on the playoff stage.

In Game 1, Jokic became only the fourth player to collect a triple-double in his first playoff game. On Saturday, he finished the series by collecting the first triple-double in a Game 7 since LeBron James in the 2016 Finals with 21 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists.

"And win," Jokic said of his performance while citing the most important statistic for him. "I mean, I think the team expected me to do something, so I'm just going out there and trying to play my best basketball possible. So is it something that I live for? No. It's just really good stats."

After watching Jokic average 23.1 points, 12.1 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game in the series, Popovich was running out of ways to describe Jokic's rising star.

"He's magnificent. Magnificent," Popovich said. "I'll just leave it at that."

Unfortunately for Popovich, his team had an uncharacteristic failure to execute in the final seconds after an inspired comeback. The Spurs opened Game 7 shooting a horrendous 10-for-45 (22.2 percent) in the first half. In the first quarter, the Spurs' starters scored only two of the team's 13 points. That's the fewest combined points by a starting five in the first quarter of a playoff game in the past 20 postseasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

"Tonight was an odd game," said Popovich, who is in the final season of his contract and did not address questions about his future. "I thought both teams set basketball back in the first half. I'm surprised people stayed."

The sellout crowd of 19,725 was filled with anxiety when the Nuggets shot 29.2 percent in the fourth quarter, allowing the Spurs to nearly come all the way back from a 67-50 deficit. Bryn Forbes cut the lead to 88-86 on a dunk with 52.2 seconds left, but then Murray, who has been battling leg and shoulder injuries, drained a jumper off one leg over Aldridge.

After DeRozan -- who had 19 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists -- was blocked, the Spurs did not foul to stop the clock and send the Nuggets to the free throw line to prolong the game. Instead, Aldridge stood in his defensive stance at the top of the key and failed to hear Popovich, who was shouting from the sideline and motioning with his arms in an attempt to call for a foul. Spurs teammates also yelled to foul.

"Obviously he didn't hear anybody, because he didn't foul," Popovich said.

Said Aldridge: "Didn't hear him. The crowd was loud. I missed it. That's it."

Point guard Patty Mills had a brief opportunity to foul but didn't with five personals already. That allowed Denver to milk the clock to 4.9 seconds before Murray (23 points) beat the shot clock with a jumper that missed. By the time the Spurs grabbed the rebound, there were only a few seconds left.

Afterward, Denver coach Michael Malone told team president and governor Josh Kroenke how he remembered when he took the Nuggets job four years ago how empty the Pepsi Center used to be.

"You looked in the stands, it was witness protection night," Malone said of the Nuggets' arena in past years. "There was nobody here. Really ... to see where we've come in four years, to being a team that won a Game 7 at home and advancing to the second round for the first time in a while, is incredible.

"It's almost surreal at times."

Tim Connelly, the Nuggets' president of basketball operations, took guard Gary Harris to the side and had him take a moment to look at the crowd celebrating Denver's first playoff series victory since coach George Karl was roaming the sideline in 2008-09.

"We believe," Harris said. "We believed all summer. We believed all season. We knew we were a special team. It started after Game 82 last year."

"I was here when there was nobody in the stands," Harris added about how far the Nuggets have come. "We could barely get anybody in the first bowl ... but we're not satisfied."

TORONTO -- Kawhi Leonard was subbed out of Saturday's 108-95 Game 1 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers with just more than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Up to that point, he had made 16 of the 23 shots he attempted and 10 of 11 free throws to bring his scoring total to 45 points.

It was a career playoff high for the Toronto Raptors superstar and tied for the most he had scored in any game of his NBA career.

Leonard said he wished he was pulled from the game sooner.

"I was trying to get out of the game before it got to that point," Leonard said after his team took a 1-0 lead in its Eastern Conference semifinals series. "We were up 20 points with probably like five minutes left, and I was already looking at the bench trying to get them to come and take me out of the game."

Another minute or two and Leonard could have steered some more of the best-player-in-the-game conversation away from Kevin Durant, who pumped in 50 points Friday for the Golden State Warriors. A couple more made shots and he could have joined Vince Carter as the only Raptors to score 50 in a postseason game. Instead, Leonard settled for being one of two Raptors to score 40-plus in the playoffs.

The win, he said, was good enough.

"This individual stuff, it's not big for me," Leonard said. "To reach these goals, it's great when you do it and you could win. But our focus is every game trying to win the ballgame. That's why we're playing this game. We're not playing so I could score 50 or get 40 points. We're all on this team trying to say, 'Raptors win,' at the end of the day."

Leonard's offensive onslaught started early, as he scored 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting in the first quarter and Toronto led by as many as 14 in the opening frame. His outburst -- the 17 points tied his personal best for points in a playoff quarter -- helped exorcise the Raptors' Game 1 playoff demons, as the franchise was 2-14 all-time in series openers coming into the night.

Pascal Siakam, who finished with 29 points on 12-for-15 shooting, was right there with Leonard, equaling his first-quarter total of 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting. It was the first time two teammates each scored 15 points or more in the first quarter of a game over the past 15 postseasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

"Obviously, if Kawhi is going off too, you know he's going to get some attention and kind of open up the floor for me too," Siakam said.

At one point, the Raptors hit 13 consecutive field goal attempts in the first quarter, the longest streak in franchise postseason history. Leonard and Siakam combined for 11 of those makes.

"He's a spectacular player, and he had a spectacular night, and he hit some spectacular shots," 76ers guard JJ Redick said when asked about Leonard. "He's a superstar. He's as good as there is in the NBA at generating his own shot and making tough shots. Sometimes you just have to tip your hat to 'em. I'm not going go into what our game plan was, but I think we can execute our game plan a little better. Clearly we need to figure out what we're doing with him and Siakam."

The Raptors were surprised Leonard saw so much single coverage. Jimmy Butler started the game on him, and by the time Ben Simmons got the assignment, Leonard was already rolling.

"Personally, I think I did a pretty good job overall, but he's a tough player, he's Kawhi," Simmons said. "He's a physical guy, a lot of length, can shoot the ball. So he's a tough guy to match up with."

As a team, though?

"I don't think we showed enough help," Simmons said of the Sixers' defense on Leonard.

Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said Simmons could play more on Leonard in Game 2 on Monday, but he still wants to use some combination of Simmons, Butler and Tobias Harris on the Leonard-Siakam pairing.

"Could we see [Simmons] more on Kawhi? Maybe," Brown said. "Maybe some of the others we need to [be] better and give him help with crowds. ... Our intention was multiple defensive players on Kawhi out of that group that I just said."

Meanwhile, the Toronto tandem of Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka was incredibly effective on Joel Embiid, holding the Philadelphia big man to 16 points on 5-of-18 shooting.

"It's extremely important because he can go do a lot of things and he can take over a game. He can go wild on you. It was great," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said of containing Embiid. "He was taking some tougher shots. I thought we had him picking up the ball a little further away than maybe he wanted a few times. ... I thought we were crowding the paint a little bit, making it look a little crowded in there for him so he wasn't comfortable."

And Leonard gave the home team the comfort of a 1-0 lead.

"I guess not maybe surprising but pretty dang good tonight," Nurse said. "That was again a big-time performance at both ends. I just like the force he's playing with at both ends, but especially when he's getting the ball. He's pushing it up the floor, he's punching the gaps with force, he's determined to get to spaces.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but that was pretty cool to watch tonight."

NEW YORK -- The newest member of the Milwaukee Brewers is a familiar face.

Gio Gonzalez is back after finalizing a $2 million, one-year contract, and the veteran left-hander will start Sunday's series finale against the New York Mets. Gonzalez also played for Milwaukee last season, helping the Brewers win the National League Central and make it to the NL Championship Series after he was acquired in an Aug. 31 trade with Washington.

The 33-year-old Gonzalez was a welcome sight for the weary Brewers after their rain-delayed 10-2 victory over the Mets in Friday's series opener.

"He brought some energy today already to the clubhouse," manager Craig Counsell said before Saturday's game against New York. "He's well rested, everybody else isn't."

Milwaukee designated reliever Jake Petricka for assignment to make room for Gonzalez, who is 127-97 with a 3.69 ERA in 313 career big league games. Right-hander Junior Guerra was activated from the bereavement list, and infielder Tyler Saladino was optioned to Triple-A San Antonio.

Gonzalez went 3-0 with a 2.13 ERA in five starts with the Brewers last season. He also started two games in the NLCS against the Dodgers, allowing two runs in three innings.

He signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees in March, but he opted out of the deal after going 2-1 with a 6.00 ERA in three starts covering 15 innings at Triple-A.

Back on the market after a long winter, Gonzalez decided to rejoin the Brewers rather than sign with the Mets.

"The chemistry we built together, the good team and the friendship -- a lot of the guys stayed in touch just to see how I was doing," Gonzalez said. "That means the world to me as a person."

Milwaukee promised an immediate spot in the rotation. The Brewers' starting pitchers have struggled so far.

"It was a tough decision," Gonzalez said. "The Brewers came in and met my expectations, my needs. Either way, it was a win-win for me. Two great teams that are coming at you right now."

Gonzalez can earn an additional $2 million in performance bonuses based on a system of two points for each pitching appearance of three or more innings and one for each outing of less than three innings. He would get $333,333 each for 25, 30, 35 and 40 points, and $333,334 apiece for 45 and 50.

He is 15-6 with a 2.83 ERA in 26 career starts against the Mets. But he likely will be limited Sunday in his first game action since his most recent minor league start, April 14.

"He's thrown up to 90 [pitches], I think 93 pitches, in his last start," Counsell said. "So he's stretched out as much as a Chase Anderson was before his first start for us last week."

Anderson lasted five innings in his first start of the season last Sunday.

"We'll definitely be careful with it, but no concerns about him being ready to start," Counsell said.