Gareth Thomas looked straight down the lens of the camera, his voice wavering slightly.

Just after 10pm on 14 September 2019, the video went live on Thomas's Twitter page.

The whole clip lasted less than 90 seconds, but sent ripples around the sporting world. Messages of support poured in, as the video racked up nearly five million views.

For LGBT+ History Month, Thomas spoke to BBC Sport about life since his announcement, and how he's using his platform to help dispel some of the myths that still surround HIV.

'I knew nothing about HIV'

For Thomas, being strong has always been important.

"It was, and still is, a big representation of what I am," he says. "Physically, I like to stay in shape - because it also helps me to believe I can overcome certain things."

That strength served him well during a glittering dual-code rugby career.

He started in rugby union, winning 100 caps for Wales and captaining the British and Irish Lions during their 2005 tour to New Zealand, before switching to rugby league and leading his country to a dramatic victory over France in the European Cup.

In 2009, Thomas showed strength of a different kind by revealing he was gay at a time when few male sports stars spoke about their sexuality.

But none of that prepared Thomas for the day he was diagnosed with HIV.

"It was one of the most petrifying experiences of my life," Thomas remembers.

"I knew nothing about HIV - and the reality is there's a version of self-stigma as well, where the person themselves doesn't understand the subject.

"I thought all the strength would drain away from me slowly, without me being able to control it or get it back.

"I thought I was going to live a very lonely life after that, a very sad existence, where I would just gradually get weaker and weaker, paler and paler, until I died."

'Living with HIV in 2021 is not like it was in the 1980s'

Thomas's views had been heavily influenced by the legacy of media coverage from the 1980s and early 1990s, where many of those with HIV were eventually diagnosed with Aids.

"As a society, we feel as if we 'know' what HIV is," he says.

"So to try to say to me or other people, 'forget what you thought it was, this is what it is', is a very difficult proposition. I still thought I was going to die."

But the development of new treatments, including anti-retroviral drugs, mean relatively few people in the UK now develop serious HIV-related illnesses.

The same treatments can also reduce the level of HIV in someone's blood to undetectable levels - and if the levels stay undetectable for six months or more, it's not possible to pass the virus on.

"Living with HIV in 2021 is not like it was in the 1980s," Thomas says.

"I take one tablet a day, and am undetectable - which means you can't trace the virus in my blood.

"That means through no activities, whether sporting or otherwise, would I put anyone at harm of contracting HIV through me."

So why hasn't the public perception of what it's like to live with HIV evolved as quickly as its medical treatments?

Thomas says he doesn't have an answer.

"For any other illness, if medicine had moved so far, it'd be celebrated," he says.

"It'd be something people would want to know about. But now, it's only when people get a diagnosis - or a friend or a relative tells them that they're living with HIV - that they start to unravel what it's like."

'You can educate people in front of your eyes'

True to his word on that original video, Thomas is working hard to dispel the stigma that still exists around living with the virus.

His 'Tackle HIV' campaign has attracted the support of former players such as Matt Dawson, while the success of Channel 4 drama It's A Sin, broadcast in January and February, means more of us are having open conversations about the subject.

But there's still work to be done.

Research by 'Tackle HIV' last year indicated more than a third of people wouldn't play a contact sport against an opponent they knew had HIV - while Thomas himself concedes that, if he'd been diagnosed with the virus during his playing days, he wouldn't have felt comfortable telling his team-mates.

"I wouldn't want to create a situation on the field where people would judge me for my HIV status rather than anything else," he says, "or an environment where I could give fans ammunition by making the one thing I loved every week a terrible experience by being able to discriminate against me from the stands."

Even so, Thomas firmly believes using his platform to start conversations about HIV is an important way to help normalise the public's view about what it's like to live with the virus.

"It's difficult to give a generic message, as this is a topic that's very personal," he says.

"But I believe the conversation around living with HIV - and the education that surrounds it - has to be had.

"And if you feel like you have the strength to ignite conversations and find really good allies, you can educate people in front of your eyes - and that's really important."

HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Keegan Leahy crushed the field to win the second race of the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series season Tuesday night at the virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Leahy started from the pole and only gave up the lead during his two green-flag pit stops. He retook command for good from Bob Bryant – who attempted a one-stop strategy – on lap 97 of 134.

In all, Leahy led three times for a race-high 105 laps at the 1.5-mile oval en route to his first win of the season and the ninth of his career.

The race went from green to checkered without a caution flag.

“With the aerodynamics on the sim, when you get behind somebody, you lose a lot of (lap) time,” Leahy noted after the race. “I just tried to play the pit strategy to give myself as much clean air as possible. With a long green flag race, 134 laps green, losing a hundredth of a second per lap adds up over the course of the night.

“The little decisions I made, like when to pit and when to pass in traffic, are what made the difference tonight,” Leahy added. “I only won by a couple seconds, but it was enough to put us in victory lane.”

With the victory, Leahy joins Daytona winner Michael Conti in this year’s championship playoffs. It was also the first win for 23XI Racing as an eSports team since its rebranding.

“I’m definitely happy about this one tonight,” Leahy tipped. “I was not expecting (to win) at this race. This was the last race that I expected to win. We were not the fastest car this week. We had the best qualifying setup; that’s what got us up front, and luckily there weren’t any cautions to shuffle me back, because I wouldn’t have won this if I had started to attempt or something.

Ryan Luza, the 2017 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series champion, tried to track down Leahy on the final run but had to settle for runner-up honors. He crossed the finish line 2.293 seconds back in the end.

“We were really close, speed-wise,” Luza noted. “I think it just came down to who had the clean air. The first pit stop I came out right on (Leahy’s) bumper. If I could have cleared him, maybe I could have taken off with clean air. But that’s really what the race boiled down to, is who got on pit road in front of the other.

“It kind of sucks to come away with second because of the win-and-you’re-in (playoff format) now,” Luza continued. “Getting P2 just feels … like I got robbed in a way, because I could have won and been locked in (to the playoffs) for the rest of the regular season. But this was a lot better than I expected to run.”

Defending Homestead winner Chris Shearburn was third, followed by Garrett Lowe and Taylor Hurst.

Corey Vincent, Nick Ottinger, Bob Bryant, Zack Novak and Conti filled out the top 10 at the finish.

Seven drivers – Bobby Zalenski, Garrett Manes, Ray Alfalla, Derek Justis, Graham Bowlin, Blake Reynolds and Caine Cook – experienced connectivity issues several times during the race, starting at lap five.

As such, all seven competitors finished 33rd or worse, at least 10 laps down. Race officials and iRacing officials were investigating the incident as of press time, with more information expected in the coming days.

The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series season continues March 2 at the virtual Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway.

The results:

1. 32-Keegan Leahy [1], 2. 4-Ryan Luza [7], 3. 36-Chris Shearburn [4], 4. 21-Garrett Lowe [8], 5. 33-Taylor Hurst [12], 6. 3-Corey Vincent [10], 7. 25-Nick Ottinger [20], 8. 77-Bob Bryant [25], 9. 90-Zack Novak [14], 10. 8-Michael Conti [29], 11. 23-Mitchell deJong [3], 12. 46-Jimmy Mullis [15], 13. 38-Casey Kirwan [17], 14. 24-Jake Nichols [11], 15. 97-Logan Clampitt [24], 16. 44-Isaac Gann [23], 17. 41-Dylan Duval [16], 18. 17-Steven Wilson [27], 19. 18-Femi Olat [36], 20. 9-Michael Guest [32], 21. 75-Matt Bussa [40], 22. 6-Nathan Lyon [26], 23. 67-Allen Boes [28], 24. 79-Ryan Doucette [39], 25. 11-Malik Ray [33], 26. 52-Jake Matheson [35], 27. 16-John Gorlinsky [13], 28. 29-Zack Nichols [19], 29. 1-Ashton Crowder [6], 30. 55-Vicente Salas [22], 31. 47-Brian Schoenburg [37], 32. 88-Brad Davies [31], 33. 83-Bobby Zalenski [2], 34. 2-Garrett Manes [30], 35. 51-Ray Alfalla [5], 36. 37-Derek Justis [21], 37. 10-Graham Bowlin [9], 38. 66-Blake Reynolds [34], 39. 14-Blade Whitt [18], 40. 15-Caine Cook [38].

Lead Changes: Nine among six drivers

Lap Leader(s): Keegan Leahy 1-43, Corey Vincent 44, Zack Novak 45, Bob Bryant 46-62, Keegan Leahy 63-86, Ryan Luza 87, Zack Novak 88-89, Allen Boes 90, Bob Bryant 91-96, Keegan Leahy 97-134.

Laps Led: Keegan Leahy 105, Bob Bryant 23, Zack Novak 3, Corey Vincent 1, Ryan Luza 1, Allen Boes 1.

Hard Charger: 8-Michael Conti [+19]

Cautions: None

Margin of Victory: 2.293 seconds

Time of Race: One hour, 14 minutes, 33.557 seconds

Average Speed: 161.750 mph

Pole Winner: 32-Keegan Leahy, 30.022 seconds (179.868 mph)

Big Picture

Australia will need to rebound quickly in the second match of the series having been played off the park at Hagley Oval. It looked good at the start when they claimed three wickets inside the powerplay, but Devon Conway's masterful 99 lifted New Zealand to a hefty total and then they claimed four wickets inside the fielding restrictions.

The fact this fixture, which marks Dunedin's first T20I, is a day game is likely to mean less of a fluctuation in conditions as the match plays out although if there is a chance of swing Tim Southee and Trent Boult are as good as anyone at finding it.

The Australians refused to use their two weeks of managed isolation as any excuse for the opening performance - they had been able to train to a high level in that period - but will hope that a proper match has allowed them to get into gear. The advantage of this being a five-game series is that there is a chance to bounce back.

Jhye Richardson's return to international cricket was promising and Mitchell Marsh looked in decent form with the bat, but other than it was slim pickings from Christchurch. New Zealand will hope for a batter output from their top three, but the form of their middle order - led by Conway - means they have the depth and confidence to rebuild.

Form guide

New Zealand WLWWW
Australia LWLLW

In the spotlight

Aaron Finch and Martin Guptill came into this series with question marks over their form and neither of them survived the first over of their respective innings. Both also fell in very similar style, driving catches to point, although for Finch placement was more the issue as he had struck the ball cleanly. They each have strong T20I records (Finch averages 37.06 and Guptill 31.20 with two centuries apiece) but with others pressing for a chance in the top order, or key players to return, a few runs would come in handy.

The swinging ball has long been an Achilles heel of Australian batting orders and while the day-time conditions in Dunedin may make it less of a factor it will be interesting to watch how they combat it should there be movement. T20 doesn't give much time to show circumspection to the bowlers but there may need to be a little more watchfulness against Southee and Boult before catching up against the rest.

Team news

Mark Chapman and Hamish Bennett were the two unused squad members in the first game, but unless there are any niggles, or a desire to rotate, there wouldn't seem a need to make changes.

New Zealand (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Tim Seifert, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Devon Conway, 5 Glenn Phillips, 6 Jimmy Neesham, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Kyle Jamieson, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Ish Sodhi, 11 Trent Boult

Australia went with the extra allrounder (Daniel Sams) on Monday and may need to consider if it's worth a specialist quick - perhaps left-arm Jason Behrendorff - instead. Despite the poor batting display changes, there are unlikely early in the series.

Australia (possible) 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Josh Philippe, 3 Matthew Wade (wk), 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Ashton Agar, 8 Jhye Richardson, 9 Kane Richardson, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Jason Behrendorff

Pitch and conditions

With this being University Oval's first T20I there is no history to go on, but the recent Super Smash gives an indication it could be high-scoring. Central Districts made 223 while in another match Northern Districts hit 191. The forecast is for a dry but cool day.

Stats and trivia

• Devon Conway could become the first male player to hit six consecutive 50+ scores in T20s
• University Oval will become the ninth ground in New Zealand to host a men's T20I

Quotes

Mitchell Starc and Steven Smith have withdrawn from the New South Wales squad to face Victoria in the Sheffield Shield at Bankstown Oval starting on Thursday.

Starc will miss the game following the passing of his father Paul on Tuesday after a battle with cancer. Starc's wife Alyssa Healy also withdrew from New South Wales' next two WNCL fixtures.

Earlier in the season Starc left Australia's hub during the limited-overs matches against India to spend time with his family but returned to feature in all four Tests.

"All our thoughts and prayers are going out to Mitch and his family," said team-mate Nathn Lyon said. "It's a tough time for Mitch but he knows he has all our love and support from, just not me, but from everyone here at New South Wales Cricket and the cricket community as well."

Smith will miss the clash, which was relocated from Melbourne to Sydney, due to an elbow issue that has flared up.

"I have had some pain in my elbow that's gradually worsened since the Test against India at the SCG and it requires some rest and rehab," Smith said. "I am hoping I will be right to travel with the Blues to Adelaide for our games down there next week but we will have to see how it responds to treatment."

Lyon said Smith had been struggling to hold the bat at training. "He tried to have a hit yesterday. He was just in discomfort, pain. All I know is it mustn't be great if he's missing a game of cricket, especially for New South Wales."

David Warner is still unavailable due to his groin injury but he stated on Tuesday that he was aiming to return for the Blues Marsh Cup clash with South Australia on March 4 in Adelaide.

Pat Cummins will make his first Shield appearance of the season after missing the game against Victoria last week. Josh Hazlewood is being rested. Liam Hatcher and Jason Sangha have been included in the 13-man squad as replacements for Smith and Starc.

New South Wales Shield squad: Peter Nevill (capt), Sean Abbott, Harry Conway, Trent Copeland, Pat Cummins, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Nick Larkin, Nathan Lyon, Kurtis Patterson, Jason Sangha, Daniel Solway, Liam Hatcher

There aren't many firsts left in professional cricket for Nathan Lyon.

But after bringing up 100 Tests against India he faces the prospect of a full five-month pre-season in Australia ahead of next year's Ashes for the first time in his professional career.

Lyon had the opportunity to head to Hampshire for the 2021 County Championship season after his contract was cancelled for 2020 but he turned down the offer due to uncertainty over the pandemic.

If Australia miss out on the World Test Championship final in June, then they won't play Test cricket again until late in the year with the Ashes or possibily a match against Afghanistan. Australia have a limited-overs tour of the West Indies and the T20 World Cup in India later in the year, but Lyon hasn't played an ODI since the 2019 World Cup and a T20I since 2018, although he was part of the squad that travelled to England for the limited-overs tour last year.

Lyon does still aspire to be part of Australia's limited-overs teams but should he not be selected for any tour he could spend the entire winter at home for the first time since his professional debut in 2011.

"I've actually never done a full pre-season in my professional career," Lyon said. "It's probably a really good opportunity for me to recharge, refresh, do all the work with New South Wales cricket but also go out and do my stuff that I do with Tom Carter, my personal trainer as well. So it would be a really good opportunity to try and reset some goals and look to where we can get to."

Lyon does have the opportunity to press his claims for a return to the ODI side with a the Marsh Cup campaign for New South Wales and he still has one eye on the India-England Test series where a drawn series, among other specific results, would see Australia through to the WTC final.

"My plans will simply be with NSW cricket and put my hand up for further selection with Australia on any white-ball tours that may be up," Lyon said. "It's a good opportunity with the one-day competition here domestically running through to the end of the season to put some really good performances in there and put my hand up for selection.

"But also quite hopeful that England and India have an amazing drawn Test series over there in India."

For now, Lyon's priorities are with New South Wales' Sheffield Shield side following the postponement of the Test tour to South Africa. He bowled magnificently in the loss to Victoria last week where he claimed 10 wickets for the match for the first time in Shield cricket and took his 600th first-class wicket.

"It's been a massive achievement that I didn't know was around the corner until the ground announcer announced that last week and that even surprised, not just me, but Steve Smith and he started calling me an old fella now," Lyon said. "It's a massive milestone. Hopefully, a few more to go, though."

Lyon revealed that he and his Blues and Australia team-mates, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood had debriefed the series loss to India over a couple of rounds of golf.

The frustration still lingers over missed opportunities but the experienced foursome are keen to improve ahead of next year's Ashes.

"I've had a lot of time to debrief and have played a couple of rounds of golf with the big quicks, and we've had some really good conversations about where we can get better and what we've learnt throughout that Test series," he said. "If we're being honest I just don't think we took our opportunities in the field or with the bat or with the ball, unfortunately.

"But also some days you just need to take your hat off and say to the opposition well played. I think India came out and were really well planned.

"There's a bit of learning. I just really wish if I could rewind time, would just take those opportunities when we were on top to really drive the game and not let the opposition have a sniff of getting back into the competition. That's one big learning for us."

Queensland and Australia legspinner Mitchell Swepson looks set to miss the remainder of Australia's domestic summer after being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his neck.

Swepson missed Queensland's Sheffield Shield and Marsh Cup matches against Tasmania after developing neck pain in the back end of the BBL season. Scans revealed he had stress fracture in the C6 vertebrae.

Martin Love, former Australia Test batsman and now Queensland's Sport Science and Medicine Manager, said the injury was extremely rare and would require a very cautious approach in terms of treatment and recovery.

"It is certainly not a common injury with spinners for instance, and so while Australian Cricket has a great deal of information about managing stress fractures in fast bowlers, it is not quite as clear cut in Mitch's case,'' Love said.

"We will work closely with Mitch and Cricket Australia to manage his recovery. We are encouraged by the successful returns of many bowlers who have had to deal with back stress fractures during their careers so hopefully, this case proves relatively straightforward."

Fast bowlers have their bowling loads carefully monitored within the Cricket Australia system due to a high prevalence of stress fractures but spinners aren't monitored as vigilantly.

Swepson has delivered over 260 overs in games for Queensland, Brisbane Heat, and Australia this season, which was 30 more than the previous season but nowhere near the 340 he bowled across all three formats in 2018-19.

However, he will have bowled a large amount of overs in the nets that went uncounted while with the Australian Test squad for the four-match series against India. He was due to go to South Africa with the Test squad before the tour was postponed.

Swepson was shattered to be sidelined, particularly after playing such a huge part in their early-season wins where he took 23 wickets in three games, including three five-wicket hauls to put Queensland on top of the table.

"I'm obviously extremely disappointed that I can't be out there playing for Queensland right now but I'm trying to remain positive and will be doing everything that I can to get some games in towards the end of the season," he said.

Queensland are also set to be without pace bowler Michael Neser for their Sheffield Shield match against Western Australia next week. Neser is still recovering from a hamstring strain but the Bulls are confident he will be ready to face Victoria on March 15.

The NBA All-Star reserves are set, and to no one's surprise, not everyone agrees with the selections.

In the East, Jaylen Brown, James Harden, Zach LaVine, Julius Randle, Ben Simmons, Jayson Tatum and Nikola Vucevic made the cut, while in the West, the roster was rounded out by Anthony Davis, Paul George, Rudy Gobert, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, Chris Paul and Zion Williamson.

As always, plenty of deserving players were left off the list, and some in the reserves had a good argument for being bumped up to a starting spot. LeBron James found at least one player who fit each description in the list of nominations and snubs.

Devin Booker is the most disrespected player in our league!!! Simple as that.

— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 24, 2021

Followed by Dame Dolla.

— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 24, 2021

Devin Booker's omission was particularly galling to a number of NBA players. Booker is 16th in the league in scoring, averaging 24.7 points per game and leading the Suns to a 20-10 record, good for third in the Western Conference.

Damn @DevinBook really didn't make it ? That's craxy . Bruh really cold too smh. Sick world

— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) February 24, 2021

Even we know that Devin Booker is an All-Star...

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) February 24, 2021

How the Hell is @DevinBook not an ALL STAR?!!!!
Come on bruh!!!!! Stop with the politics!!! We all see it!!!!

— Jared Dudley (@JaredDudley619) February 24, 2021

D-Book not on the list ... pic.twitter.com/y888Of1Qs9

— Jusuf Nurkić (@bosnianbeast27) February 23, 2021

Nah D Book is really him ya crazy.

— Saquon Barkley (@saquon) February 24, 2021

Hold up got Damn it!!! You mean to tell me Booker and Sabonis didn't make the All-Star team?! That's just ridiculous. Real Talk!

— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) February 23, 2021

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Booker's next chance to show that his omission was a mistake will be Wednesday against the Hornets at home.

Golden State Warriors star guard Stephen Curry dropped 37 points in a 114-106 win over the New York Knicks on Tuesday night, delivering a scoring performance that has become commonplace in a career defined by big nights. But this particular performance was even more impressive given that it came just days after being a last-minute scratch in Saturday's 102-100 loss to the Charlotte Hornets as Curry battled an illness that left him "disoriented" and out of sorts.

"Steph was tremendous," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after the game. "Just amazing. He was moving beautifully, obviously there were no ill effects from his illness the other night. Moving really well right from the start. New York is a great defensive team. They're big and physical, so they make it tough, but Steph found a way to score. It was not easy, but he found a way and hit some huge shots and created a lot of offense for us."

Curry, who went 7-for-14 from beyond the arc in 37 minutes, went into a little more detail as to why he missed Saturday's game. It was a game the Charlotte native had been looking forward to all season.

"I was trying to give myself a chance to play up until the last second," Curry said. "I was just disoriented, and the room was spinning a little bit, so at the end of the day it wasn't smart to go out there and put myself in jeopardy of doing some more harm. We were communicating all pregame, making sure I was thinking straight about the decision to play. That was a tough call, but the right one."

Aside from Curry's return to the lineup, the Warriors also got a big lift from big men James Wiseman and Kevon Looney, both of whom returned to the floor after missing time because of respective injuries. Wiseman, the 19-year-old rookie center who has been out since injuring his left wrist on Jan. 30, scored 14 points in 16 minutes against the Knicks, providing a jolt of energy down low that had been missing from the lineup.

"James was great," Kerr said. "It was really fun to watch him play out there. It was so great to have him back. He brings a lot of energy to the floor, obviously he's immensely talented. And so to have him out there to really impact the game, and at the same time learn, he's getting a lot thrown at him ... everything's moving pretty fast for him, but he is just an incredible athlete and an incredible young, mature guy. He's going to have such a great career. It was so fun to see him out there, and we're just trying to bring him along at the right pace to help him develop, to make sure he's learning properly as well."

Wiseman came to the postgame podium with a big ice pack on his wrist but said his wrist was feeling "great," after returning for the first time in almost a month. Veteran Looney, who hadn't played since turning his left ankle on Feb. 2, also contributed to the win with two points, six rebounds and four assists in 20 minutes. Looney said his conditioning felt "good," and Kerr was pleased to see his trusted veteran come in and make an impact.

"Loon just ties things together," Kerr said. "There are certain guys who just sort of fit with any lineup. ... You just put him in, and he makes the right play over and over again. So while his contributions may not show up in the box score, it just makes the game easier for everybody else."

Speaking of making things easier, Warriors swingman Kelly Oubre Jr., who made several big plays on both ends of the floor while scoring 19 points of his own, explained the difference that Curry's presence on the floor creates for everybody else.

"It's night and day, man," Oubre said. "That's the best shooter in the history of the game. That's my opinion, but I feel like if you look at the numbers, if you look at the facts and the stats, everything, it adds up to him being the best shooter in the history of the game. The energy that he brings and the force that he brings when he comes off screens, especially late in games when teams have to just play and switch, it's a lot of slips, it's a lot of opportunities for everybody else to find their spots. So I think that's just a blessing to be able to play with, man."

For his part, Curry was just happy to have fans at Madison Square Garden to listen to after several months of playing in mostly empty arenas. Tuesday marked the first game the Knicks were allowed to have fans inside the famous arena.

"It was awesome," Curry said. "I don't know how many fans there were, but you could definitely feel a different energy in there. There were some fans heckling, which was awesome. Me and Draymond were talking about it. There's no better feeling -- I don't care if it's 19,000 or 2,500 or whatever it is, you love silencing a road crowd. So that is a cool experience considering not many arenas have had fans this year. It does make a huge difference, so we love playing in front of the fans that bring energy like that, especially here."

After missing Saturday's game, Curry was glad to be able to help his team across the finish line Tuesday night.

"It was hopefully just kind of a fluke instance where it just wasn't right, [for] a lot of different reasons," Curry said. "It was the right thing to do. The last two days just kind of get my bearings back. Thankfully I had time to practice yesterday, which gave me a little bit of confidence to come into today and get back to playing at a high level. It sucked missing the game, and especially in that fashion where I thought I could go and then in the last second just didn't have it in me. A good bounce-back for us overall as a team, so it was nice to have Loon and Big Fella [Wiseman] back."

DALLAS -- The Dallas Mavericks had lost an 11-point lead and all the momentum, having gone almost three minutes without scoring, before Luka Doncic delivered one of the most spectacular clutch shooting displays in recent NBA memory.

Doncic twice drained tightly contested, step-back 3-pointers to give the Mavs the lead on their final two possessions, the second a 27-footer that swished with a tenth of a second remaining Tuesday night to seal the 110-107 win over the Boston Celtics.

"We made a few mistakes, but I loved the way we kept our poise, hung in and made sure we got the ball in the right guy's hands at the end," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said.

According to ESPN Stats & Information research, only one other player has hit a pair of go-ahead 3s in the final 30 seconds of a game over the past 25 seasons. Doncic joined the exclusive company of journeyman guard Dan Dickau, who accomplished the feat for the New Orleans Hornets in a Jan. 22, 2005, win over the LA Clippers.

Doncic's clutch heroics to beat Boston inspired Carlisle to utter the 21-year-old All-Star's name in the same sentence as some NBA legends, too.

"The wiring of people like Luka Doncic, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Larry Bird, Kobe Bryant -- guys that have this laser-like focus in these situations -- it's difficult to explain how their mind and how their brain works," Carlisle said. "He's a very rare breed of player. Not only does he have the laser-like focus, but he has the desire and he has all the tools to deliver."

Doncic, who finished with 31 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, had to reach deep in his tool kit to hit the shot that put the Mavs up with 15.8 seconds remaining. After finding no room when he attempted to drive, Doncic gave the ball up to Jalen Brunson and got it back a few steps beyond the 3-point line with 11 seconds remaining on the shot clock. He got a screen from forward Dorian Finney-Smith that led the Celtics to switch defenders, allowing Doncic to isolate against center Daniel Theis on the right wing. Doncic changed directions three times with between-the-legs dribbles before swishing the step-back with Theis' hand in his face.

"It felt good out of my hands," Doncic said. "I was kind of tired just running around the whole possession, but it got in, and that's all that matters."

Brown, who led the Celtics with 29 points, responded by hitting his second go-ahead shot of the final minute, driving for a layup with 9.5 seconds remaining. Dallas didn't have a timeout and didn't need one, knowing the plan was simply to get Doncic the ball and let him create. Doncic maneuvered to the left wing and knocked down a step-back over two Celtics defenders, reminiscent of the buzzer-beater he made to beat the Clippers in Game 4 of last season's first-round playoff series, the signature moment of the superstar's career so far.

"The last one was ridiculous," said Celtics coach Brad Stevens, who second-guessed not sending a second defender at Doncic when he was isolated on Theis the previous possession. "Kemba [Walker] was right there, Aaron [Nesmith] was right there. I'm not gonna be too hard on our guys for those last two shots that Luka Doncic just made."

According to ESPN Stats & Information research, Doncic entered the night 2-of-7 on potential go-ahead 3s in the final 30 seconds of regulation or overtime, including his playoff dagger against the Clippers. He went 2-of-2 on Tuesday, allowing the 15-15 Mavs to get to .500 for the first time in a month.

"Sometimes you're going to miss it -- like the last game against Portland," Doncic said, referring to his wide-open 3 that rimmed out on Dallas' final possession of a 121-118 Valentine's Day loss to the Trail Blazers. "And sometimes you're going to make it."

The Mavs, whose season seemed on the brink of crumbling when they had a six-game losing streak that stretched into early February, have won six of their past seven games. Doncic has led the NBA in scoring during that stretch with 34.0 points per game, shooting 51.9% from the floor and 48.3% from 3-point range, while also averaging 8.1 rebounds and 8.6 assists.

"He's bringing us together," said Brunson, who had 22 points off the bench. "We're on the right track right now. We've got to keep it going."

Carlos Gonzalez calls the stretch of Hawthorne Blvd. where Tiger Woods suffered serious injuries in a roll-over car accident Tuesday morning “one of our trouble spots.”

The speed limit on the Rolling Hills Estates-area road is listed at 45 mph, but Gonzalez, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy who was first on the scene of Woods’ crash, said he’s clocked drivers traveling the downhill, sweeping road at speeds excess of 80 mph. He’s also seen “many collisions” there, including fatal ones.

“It’s very fortunate that Mr. Woods was able to come out of this alive,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said that Woods was wearing a seatbelt in the driver’s side of the Genesis SUV when he arrived at the crash site, adding that the restraint “greatly increased the likelihood that it saved his life.” Woods seemed “calm and lucid” and was able to speak, according to Gonzalez, who decided to wait for firefighters to extract Woods from the wreckage.

“I did not want to risk further injuring him by trying to remove him myself,” Gonzalez said.

When Woods was out of the vehicle, Gonzalez said the golfer was “not able to stand under his own power” and was put on a backboard.

“He didn't seem concerned of his injuries at the time, which is not uncommon in traffic collisions – many times people tend to be in shock,” Gonzalez said. “It's a traumatic experience, so it's not uncommon for people to be focused on unimportant things, or even if they are in pain they might not feel it until much later.”