John Havlicek, the player who left a deep mark in Boston Celtics and NBA history, died at age 79, and fellow NBA legends paid tribute to late Hondo, DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge led San Antonio Spurs to a win over Denver Nuggets in Game 6, while Jared Dudley tests his Pop-a-shot skills against fans.
Bill Russell on John Havlicek
Bill Russell, one of the NBA legends and player who won 11 rings during his time with Boston Celtics, was deeply saddened with John Havlicek’s death and said that he was more than a teammate and considered Hondo his family.
It is getting difficult each time I hear about another contemporary that passes! What is harder is when we lose guys like John Havlicek, he was not just a teammate & a great guy, but he was family. That is how our @celtics teams were. #RIP Hondo @NBA #RIPJohnHavlicek @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/VP9MGPjrmZ
— TheBillRussell (@RealBillRussell) April 26, 2019
Abdul-Jabbar paid his respect to late Havlicek
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who scored the most points in the NBA history and was a huge rival of Boston Celtics and John Havlicek, had only warm words to share following Havlicek’s death. He said that Havlicek will always be a class act and that two of them were friends.
I met John Havlicek at the same time & place that I met Red Auerbach & Bill Russell @ my high school gym in Autumn of 1961 – my freshman year. He was still playing when I entered the league & our friendship grew… #17 will always be class act! RIP @NBA
https://t.co/iq9pyuMH7S— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (@kaj33) April 26, 2019
San Antonio forced Game 7
San Antonio Spurs managed to get a win in front of their own crowd and force Game 7 with Denver Nuggets in the first round of the NBA playoffs, mostly thanks to DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge who combined for 51 points.
.@aldridge_12 & @DeMar_DeRozan combine for 51 PTS to help keep @spurs alive & force a Game 7!
🎶: "Live for Other People" by @therealjustace | @unitedmasters
🎧: https://t.co/ZECExCJnVdGame 7: Saturday (4/27), 10pm/et, TNT pic.twitter.com/FOGuXcVqvU
— NBA (@NBA) April 26, 2019
John Collins checks from Paris
Atlanta Hawks’ John Collins is currently at NBA Crossover in Paris, France, and he checks in from French capital.
👋 @jcollins20_ of the @ATLHawks checks in from Paris at NBA Crossover! #TrueToAtlanta pic.twitter.com/ehwQItMsKy
— NBA (@NBA) April 26, 2019
Jared Dudley takes on a young fan
Brooklyn Nets couldn’t make it to Round 2 of the NBA playoffs as Philadelphia 76ers proved to be a better team in five games but the Nets’ veteran Jared Dudley didn’t want to take a break from basketball as he challenged a young fan in testing Pop-a-shot skills. In the following video, you can see that Dudley took this competition seriously and he wasn’t lenient at all.
👀 @JaredDudley619 of the @BrooklynNets tests his Pop-a-shot skills against fans @NBASTORE NYC! pic.twitter.com/Y90djeqiUp
— NBA Store (@NBASTORE) April 26, 2019
