Subscribe to Updates
Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.
- AEW Womenâ€s Tag Team title tournament bracket revealed
- The Young Bucks Teaming With Heated Rivals In Big Money AEW Collision Match
- LeBron James helps Lakers dissect opening loss to Warriors
- Former AEW World Champion Aiming For “Winter Return” From Injury
- Why Mohammad Rizwan was not out despite hitting the stumps on the last ball – Explained | Cricket News
- Darby Allin Addresses The Possibility Of Turning Heel In AEW
- AEW Dynamite live results: Two title matches
- Kurt Suzuki thrilled to be Angels’ manager, ‘born to do this’
Browsing: helps
Dave McMenaminOct 22, 2025, 06:49 PM ET
- Lakers and NBA reporter for ESPN.
- Covered the Lakers and NBA for ESPNLosAngeles.com from 2009-14, the Cavaliers from 2014-18 for ESPN.com and the NBA for NBA.com from 2005-09.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — When the Los Angeles Lakers reviewed the tape of their disappointing 119-109 opening-night loss to the Golden State Warriors, coach JJ Redick said there was an important voice in the room as they sifted through the wreckage: LeBron James.
“LeBron was really helpful,” Redick said after practice Wednesday.
James, dressed in a suit and glasses, appeared stoic in his padded seat at the end of the bench Tuesday as he missed his first regular-season opener of his 23-year career because of sciatica affecting his lower back and right leg.
Although James won’t be reevaluated for another one to two weeks and sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania he isn’t expected to make his season debut until mid-November, he was active in the film session when the coaching staff pointed out how L.A. allowed Stephen Curry and Buddy Hield to shoot too many open 3s.
“We did a poor job of locating the lasers in transition, which was a point of emphasis of our defense,” Redick said. “Buddy Hield got two [3-pointers] off in the second half. Steph got one right in front of our bench in the first half. That was literally the second priority of the game, was locating those guys in transition. So, clean that up and again talk through that. … All of us kind of talked about that in film.”
Editor’s Picks
2 Related
Redick said he encourages the discourse that the 40-year-old James can stir for the team.
“I told them him asking questions, him giving his input, us having a back-and-forth is so healthy,” Redick said. “I would like to have dialogue and back-and-forth and questions every single time we do film and teach. You got a question, speak up. If you want to make a point, speak up. It was good.”
Hield and Curry combining to shoot 8-for-19 from 3, while the Lakers shot 8-for-32 as a team, was just one of several problems for L.A. in the opener.
The Lakers also were outscored 33-18 in bench points and 35-25 in the third quarter, missed 11 free throws, and committed 20 turnovers, leading to 22 points for the Warriors.
However, members of the team said the film review allowed for clear-eyed perspective as the Lakers look to improve on that initial showing when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.
“I think there were some glaring things that we can work on, which in some ways is encouraging,” Lakers guard Gabe Vincent said. “You find things that end up being 12, 14 points, and it’s like, ‘Oh, if we can clean that up, it’s a different conversation. That game looks a lot different.'”
Added Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt: “It wasn’t as bad as we thought it was. It’s a couple things that we can clean up on that could easily change the way the game went. And it’s things that are controllable. … So just locking in, focusing on those.”
Another thing that doesn’t appear to be as bad as it seemed is Luka Doncic’s health.
The Lakers star required more than an hour of treatment on the inside of his right leg after appearing to pull his groin late in the fourth quarter on the way to scoring 43 points in 41 minutes against Golden State. But Redick did not sound too concerned Wednesday.
“He seems to be fine,” Redick said. “I don’t think it’s anything major. He got some treatment this morning, and we didn’t practice long, but he was a participant in practice.”
Doncic’s availability will be paramount, especially with James out, as L.A. tries to build some continuity to start the season.
“Our team, by the end of last season, had a connective brain tissue,” Redick said. “We functioned really well as a unit whatever group was out there. We just don’t have that yet. We don’t have that connectivity where we all kind of trust and know each other on both ends of the floor and we know exactly what we’re doing.
“We’re going to get there. I’m very confident we’re going to get there.”
Sei Young Kim led the BMW Ladies Championship at the end of first, second and third rounds this week at Pine Beach Golf Links in South Korea, but in the final round the nerves set in.
The 32-year-old South Korean pro hadn’t won a tournament since 2020, but she was in position to end the drought on Sunday — and then she missed a makable birdie putt on the first hole and three-putted for bogey on the third.
“I was very nervous from the very beginning, since it has been a while since I played in the last group, I wasn’t sure whether this was real. So I really was questioning myself,” Kim said. “… My father always told me when I’m nervous, ‘Don’t back off’ and I tried to remember that mindset.”
Kim didn’t make another bogey and made birdies on 5, 6, 7 and 9. She added two more on 14 and 15 to sign for a five-under 67 and cruised to the finish line. At 24 under, she beat runner-up Nasa Hataoka by four. Celine Boutier and A Lim Kim tied for third at 18 under.
It’s Kim’s 13th career victory, and she’s now a record 27th different winner on the LPGA Tour this season.
“I think it shows how strong the LPGA Tour is at the moment,” Kim said.
Back in 2019, Kim won three times, including the CME Group Tour Championship. She won twice more in 2020, highlighted by her only major title at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in October 2020 (which pushed her to No. 2 in the world). A month later she won the Annika but hasn’t lifted another trophy since.
As the drought continued, her confidence dwindled.
“There wasn’t any victory for the past five years. I was worried that this was going to get longer,” she said. “I just wanted to try hard, whether it takes five years or 10 years. I think it’s very important that you find the momentum and keep on that track, and keeping on the right track is I think one of the biggest lessons that I have learned. I want to take this momentum to have more wins in my career going forward.”
Kim started the day with a four-shot lead over Yealimi Noh and Hataoka, but Noh played the final 14 holes in even par after she was two under in the first four. Hataoka was one under after 11 and then birdied four of her last five, and while that late surge was good enough for runner-up honors, it wasn’t near enough to scare Kim.
“I think it took me more than 10 years to win in front of my family and friends,” Kim said. “It means so much to me. It is a tournament that I really wanted to win, and I find that I can’t express my words to all of it. I really had good energy from all the fans.”
Darby Allin defeated Jon Moxley in an “I Quit” match at AEW WrestleDream on Saturday with some help from an old friend, Sting.
The match was simply brutal, with both wrestlers dishing out a ton of pain.
Moxley gained the advantage, thanks in part to the Death Riders.
However, Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis then went dark.
Sting emerged with his patented bat, choked Moxley and attacked the Death Riders. He then literally passed the bat to his old partner-in-crime, who used it to his advantage.
Allin eventually won with the Scorpion Deathlock, forcing Moxley to quit.
The rivalry between Moxley and Allin dates back almost exactly a year, as Allin attempted to prevent The Death Riders’ brutal attack of Bryan Danielson last October at WrestleDream.
Allin ended up paying the price for his intervention, as The Death Riders threw him down a stairwell in December, knocking him out of action for nearly seven months.
That decision came back to haunt Mox and The Death Riders, though, as Allin resurfaced at All In back in July, helping “Hangman” Adam Page beat Moxley for the AEW World Championship in the main event.
That set the stage for a showdown between Allin and Moxley last month at All Out, and they met in a coffin match, which has become something of a signature stipulation for Darby over the years.
Allin took the fight to Moxley and seemed to be trending toward victory, but Pac made a surprise return from injury by attacking Allin and helping Mox put him inside the coffin.
While Moxley came out on top, Allin got some retribution later in the night by emerging from the coffin and a body bag, putting Moxley inside of it and shooting him with a flamethrower.
At the conclusion of the Sept. 24 episode of Dynamite, Allin confronted Moxley with the flamethrower once again, and he challenged him to a match at WrestleDream in the process.
Allin vs. Moxley was made official for WrestleDream shortly thereafter with the added “I Quit” stipulation.
Given Allin’s penchant for absorbing punishment without giving up, it wasn’t particularly surprising that he showed his grit and finally got the better of Moxley at WrestleDream.
AEW WrestleDream 2025 was main evented by the match that had everyone worried about what they were about to witness, the “I Quit” match between Jon Moxley and Darby Allin. After a war that saw the two men stab each other with skewers, drown each other in aquariums, and strangle each other with flags, Darby forced Moxley to say the words “I Quit.”
Darby kicked things off by laying the AEW flag he waved at the top of Mount Everest in the middle of the ring, which Moxley wiped his feet on. This angered Darby who kicked Moxley out of the ring and hit a Tope Suicida immediately. Moxley responded with a dropkick of his own, kicked the ring ropes into Darby’s teeth, and landed a series of strikes with a chain wrapped around his fist. Moxley continued to use the ropes, guardrail, and the ring steps as a weapon while the blood flowed from Darby’s mouth and ear. Marina Shafir pulled wooden skewers from under the ring, but instead of all them, Moxley pulled one from the bunch and stabbed it under Darby’s fingernail, before continuing to work over Darby’s arm, hands and fingers.
Moxley whipped Darby into the ring steps, but Darby leaped over them and countered with a big dropkick, leading to a strike exchange in the ring which ended with Darby landing a Code Red. Darby then wrapped the flag around Moxley’s neck and tried to hang him in the same way Hangman Page did at All In Texas, but Moxley escaped by jamming his thumb into Darby’s eye. Darby went high risk once more but missed the Coffin Drop on the apron, and after rolling back in the ring, Moxley started whipping Darby with his own belt before landing a staling Piledriver.Â
Darby decided to embrace the whipping and mounted a brief comeback before being cut off with a German Suplex. However, Darby went into the backpack he brought the ring and covered Moxley in lighter fluid, before brandishing a lighter. The Death Riders tried to cut Darby off, but they were sprayed as well. With that said, Moxley recovered in time and landed a cutter.
It was then Moxley’s turn to go in the backpack and he put Darby down with a taser, before hitting Darby with a Paradigm Shift on a steel chair. Claudio Castagnoli then got involved and launched Darby from the ring and on to the announce table, with PAC dragging Darby back to the ring where Moxley was waiting to deliver a Paradigm Shift off the apron through two tables. Moxley tried to tell referee Bryce Remsburg that Darby is out of his mind and won’t quit, meaning that there is nothing he can do to stop him. However, Moxley had an idea.
Alyssa Healy’s brilliant 142 helped Australia complete a record women’s one-day international chase as they beat India by three wickets in the World Cup.
On a featherbed pitch in Visakhapatnam, India posted a commanding 330 from 48.5 overs – the highest total Australia had ever conceded in an ODI.
The platform for India had been laid by a 155-run opening stand between Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal, who accelerated quickly once they got themselves in.
Mandhana was the chief aggressor, top scoring with 80 off 66 balls, while a string of cameos from India’s middle order continued the assault.
All-rounder Annabel Sutherland swung some of the momentum back Australia’s way in the second half of India’s innings as she finished with impressive figures of 5-40.
Lesser teams might have been daunted by the chase, but Australia captain Healy produced a stoic knock to put her side on course for victory.
Healy’s innings off 107 balls featured 21 fours and three sixes and was chanceless until she sliced Shree Charani, who claimed 3-41, to Sneh Rana, who grasped a diving catch with her fingernails at point.
With 66 required off 67 deliveries, Ash Gardner, who made 45, steered Australia close before Kim Garth and Ellyse Perry got the World Cup holders within striking distance.
Perry had retired earlier in her innings with cramp but came back to finish the job and whacked a six off Rana to get Australia over the line with six balls to spare.
Australia’s record-breaking ODI chase eclipsed the 302 made by Sri Lanka to beat South Africa at Potchefstroom in April 2024.
Trai Humeâ€s first Northern Ireland goal helped them to a 2-0 win over Slovakia to keep their World Cup qualifying campaign on track. Patrik Hrosovskyâ€s 18th-minute own goal rewarded Northern Ireland for a strong start but, after wasting two outstanding chances to double their lead either side of the break, they endured some nervy moments before Hume lifted the ball over the stranded Martin Dubravka with 10 minutes to go.
“The keeper has come to clear it, and I just had to guide it towards the goal and thankfully I did,†Hume told BBC Northern Ireland. “It was a great night, good performance and the most important thing is the three points. I think we deserved it.â€
The victory was reward for a strong performance, particularly in the first half, but the man at heart of it, captain Conor Bradley, picked up a cheap late yellow card that rules him out of Mondayâ€s visit of Germany.
Bradley had looked like a man on a mission from the start as Northern Ireland played with energy and desire and it was the Liverpool man who sparked the move for the opening goal. He picked out Ethan Galbraith in space inside the box, and the Swansea midfielder pulled back a low cross which the hapless Hrosovsky turned into his own net.
The second came on 80 minutes when Dubravka, unconvincing in commanding his area for much of the night, punched the ball weakly and it landed for Hume to lift it back over him and into an unguarded net.
Michael Oâ€Neill had refused to call this a must-win, but the reality was they needed all three points to keep pace in European Group A, in which Northern Ireland, Slovakia and Germany now all have six points from three games.
Joshua Kimmich netted twice to power Germany to a 4-0 home win over Luxembourg after the visitors went down to 10 men in the first half. The opening two goals came from dead-ball situations. David Raum curled in a free kick after 12 minutes and Kimmich converted a penalty nine minutes later after Luxembourgâ€s Dirk Carlson was sent off for handball in the area.
Joshua Kimmich scores from the spot in Germanyâ€s 4-0 victory. Photograph: Michael Probst/AP
Serge Gnabry scored the third three minutes after the break and Kimmich got his double two minutes later. The win puts the Germans top of Group A on goal difference.
North Macedonia put on a defensive masterclass to hold Belgium to a 0-0 draw away and keep a one-point lead in Group J, which also includes Wales.
The visitors kept out everything Belgium could throw at them in a near 90-minute siege. Belgium attacked almost from the start, with Jérémy Doku continually trying to open up the defence from the left flank and Kevin De Bruyne probing from the edge of the area. But their efforts were thwarted by a committed defence and when it was breached, goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski came up with some key saves.
North Macedonia lead Group J with 12 points from six games, one ahead of Belgium and two ahead of Wales. Belgium and Wales, who face each other on Monday, both have a game in hand over North Macedonia.
Kylian Mbappé was the saviour as France closed in on qualification with a lacklustre 3-0 home win over Azerbaijan in Group D. The Real Madrid forward opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time and set up Adrien Rabiot for the second, with substitute Florian Thauvin adding the third to put Les Bleus on nine points from three games and give Didier Deschamps†side a chance to secure qualification on Monday when they travel to Iceland.
Kylian Mbappé celebrates opening the scoring for France against Azerbaijan. Photograph: Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images
“We got the result we wanted but not the performance – especially in the first half,†said Deschamps. “Our ball circulation was too slow, it was all a bit too flat. I canâ€t stop players from thinking the goal will come eventually, but we didnâ€t do enough to unsettle them.â€
Ukraine scored twice in the last five minutes through Ivan Kalyuzhnyi and Oleh Ocheretko to beat Iceland 5-3 in an extraordinary game in Reykjavik. Iceland had fought back from 3-1 down to level things before Ukraineâ€s late strikes. The win moves Ukraine into second place in Group D. Azerbaijan, who next play Ukraine, remain bottom of the table with one point.
Switzerland captain, Granit Xhaka, scored from the spot as his side beat Sweden 2-0 in their Group B clash, leaving the Swedes†hopes of qualifying for next yearâ€s finals hanging by a thread after another dismal display.
Switzerland top the group with a perfect nine points from their opening three games, with Kosovo second on four points and Slovenia third on two after they played out a scoreless draw in Pristina. Sweden, who started with their star strikers Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyökeres up front, are bottom with a point.
Isak struck the foot of the post for the hosts in the 26th minute before teeing up Lucas Bergvall for their best chance of the game, but the 19-year-old somehow managed to get the ball caught under his feet with the goal at his mercy. That miss proved costly when Switzeland took the lead in the 65th minute after Alexander Bernhardsson sent Djibril Sow sprawling in the box with a push in the back. Xhaka blasted the resulting penalty straight down the middle.
A frustrating night for Sweden was finished off when Swiss substitute Johan Manzabiâ€s tame effort was deflected past keeper Viktor Johansson in second-half stoppage time, condemning them to a second defeat in three games that leaves their qualifying chances in tatters.
A massive comeback fueled by home runs from Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr. helped the Yankees avoid elimination and force a Game 4 with a 9-6 win over the Toronto Blue Jays at home Tuesday.
Judge led the charge with a dominant Game 3 performance, going 3-of-4 with four RBI and one home run. Chisholm Jr. added a home run of his own, going 1-of-3 at the plate with one RBI.Â
Eight of the 12 batters in the lineup recorded hits as the Yankees’ offense caught fire. Ben Rice contributed a RBI, Giancarlo Stanton drove in two RBI and Adam Wells went 2-of-4 with one RBI.
Fans praised Judge and Chisholm Jr. for their clutch, game-changing home runs that kept the Yankees’ postseason hopes alive and forced a Game 4 in the ALDS.
The Blue Jays appeared to have run away with the series sweep early, quickly getting out to a 6-1 lead at the middle of the third inning with no signs of slowing.Â
That is until Judge stepped in, notching an RBI in the third and a three-run home run off the foul pole in the bottom of the fourth to tie it up at six a piece.Â
Chisholm Jr. followed Judge in the bottom of the fifth with another home run, a 409 foot bomb to take the lead and open the door for the Yankees the rest of the way as Toronto’s defensive woes kept building.
The Blue Jays’ pitching staff struggled Tuesday as ace Shane Bieber lasted just 2 2/3 innings, giving up five hits and two earned runs.Â
Relievers Mason Fluharty surrendered one earned run on 19 pitches, Louis Varland allowed two, Braydon Fisher gave up one, and Brendon Little added another as Toronto’s bullpen faltered.
The winner of the ALDS between the No. 4 New York Yankees and No. 1 Toronto Blue Jays will advance to face the winner of the series between the No. 2 Mariners and No. 6 Tigers in the American League Championship Series.
The Yankees and Blue Jays will stay in New York for Game 4 on Wednesday.
Benjamin Brunelle’s goal 5:23 into the third period proved to be the winner as the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies edged the visiting Victoriaville Tigres 4-2 in Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League action on Saturday at Arena Glencore.
Eliot Ogonowski scored twice and Lars Steiner added a single for the Huskies (4-1-2-0), who were tied 1-1 after the first period but led 2-1 heading into the third.
Korney Korneyev and Alexis Bourque scored for the Tigres (2-3-0-0), who were outshot 42-32. Tigres’ netminder Gabriel D’Aigle stopped 38 of the 42 shots directed at him, while Samuel Meloche stopped 30 of 32 shots for the Huskies.
The Huskies went 1-for-1 on the power play, while the Tigres were 1-for-3 with the man advantage.
Elsewhere in the QMJHL on Saturday:
RIMOUSKI, Que. — Nathan Quinn had two goals an assist, Etienne Desjardins had three assists and the visiting Quebec Remparts rolled over the Rimouski Oceanic 8-3.
Nikita Ovcharov, Cal Uens, Nathan Birch, Eliott Simard, Andreas Straka and Maddox Dagenais also scored for the Remparts (4-3-0-0), who led 4-2 after the first period and 6-3 heading into the third.
Mathys Dube scored twice for the Oceanic (3-2-0-1), who were outshot 44-25. Logan Roop netted a single.
The Remparts went 2-for-8 on the power play, while the Oceanic were 1-for-4.
ST. JOHN’S, Nfld. — Louis-Francois Belanger scored twice, Justin Larose had a goal and four assists, and the Newfoundland Regiment beat the visiting Baie-Comeau Drakkar 6-2.
Dawson Sharkey, Maddex Marmulak and Tyson Goguen also scored for the Regiment (3-2-0-0), who outshot the visitors 33-29.
Gleb Semenov and Louis-Charles Plourde scored for the winless Drakkar (0-5-0-1), who were tied 2-2 after the first period, but trailed 4-2 heading into the third.
The Regiment went 4-for-9 on the power play, while the Drakkar were 1-for-4.
MONCTON, N.B. — Dylan Rozzi scored at 9:41 of the third period to snap a 5-5 tie and lift the visiting Saint John Sea Dogs to a 7-5 win over the Moncton Wildcats.
Nathan Ethier scored twice for the Sea Dogs (3-2-0-0), while Alexander Donovan, Alexis Joseph, Olivier Groulx and Zachary Morin (empty-netter) added singles. Olivers Murnieks and Morin each had two assists.
Preston Lounsbury, Eerik Wallenius, Kuzma Voronin, Niko Tournas and Carl-Otto Magnusson scored for the Wildcats (2-2-1-0), who were outshot 38-30. Voronin and Tournas each chipped in with two assists.
The Sea Dogs went 1-for-3 on the power play, while the Wildcats were 0-for-4.
The win in Guwahati was set up by left-arm spinner Linsey Smith, who only made her ODI debut against West Indies this year after a couple of stints in and out of the T20 set-up.
An immediate impact saw opposing captain Laura Wolvaardt caught and bowled in the second over before Tazmin Brits and Marizanne Kapp were bowled by beautiful drifting deliveries – making Smith the first player to remove the powerful top three in the format.
The 30-year-old found 2.2 degrees of drift on average, the most of any match in her England career, and was metronomic in her pursuit of targeting the stumps – which was also the case for the bowlers generally. They bowled 38 balls which would have gone on to hit the stumps, took six wickets with them and conceded just four runs.
When discussing what made Smith so unique and successful, fellow slow left-armer Hartley said: “She’s an in-swing bowler, really. She can spin it and she will spin a few, but in her action, she’s got a really low arm so the trajectory of the ball is constantly following you as a right-hander.
“You see her start wider, and the ball swings into the pads. We saw a couple of occasions with the South Africa batters prodding forward and the ball going between the bat and pad so with somebody like Smith, the inside edge is the threat rather than the outside.
“She gets way more drift and movement through the air than most other spinners, it is the dream as a left-arm spinner. She is an incredibly tough bowler to face because you don’t have many options – you can’t sweep her either, because she’s skiddy and that will challenge the lbw.”
South Africa could have presented England with a difficult opener, one in which they could not really afford to slip up.
But now, with Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to come, they are in a fantastic position to head into their games against favourites India and Australia unbeaten.
“Nothing went wrong for England today, everything was in their favour, but one thing that everyone needs to do is stay grounded and not get too ahead of ourselves about where they’re at,” Hartley added.
“It’s very easy to say, oh they’ll go on and win the World Cup if they keep playing like that but the reality is, not every game will be like that. Yes, enjoy the moment and enjoy the game and the day, because you don’t have many days like that, but the back-end of the tournament is very tough for them.”
Toby Roland-Jones claimed four wickets to round off Middlesex’s County Championship campaign in winning fashion as they ground down Gloucestershire on the final day at Lord’s.
The 37-year-old seamer finished with 4-57, ending the campaign as Division Two’s second highest wicket-taker behind Derbyshire’s Luis Reece to dismiss the visitors for 281 in their second innings, despite Ollie Price’s knock of 61.
Former Gloucestershire duo Zafar Gohar and Ryan Higgins backed up Roland-Jones with three and two wickets apiece as the Seaxes sealed an innings victory with 22 overs unused.
The result meant Middlesex finished fourth in the final table, 11 points short of the promotion places, with Gloucestershire in sixth.
Gloucestershire began the final day with nine wickets standing and rarely looked in danger of losing any more during the opening hour and a half where the ball swung, but not enough to cause genuine problems for Price and Joe Phillips.
Having dispatched Roland-Jones for two early boundaries and survived Noah Cornwell’s appeal for a catch down the leg-side, Price settled into the groove, advancing to his half-century from 91 balls.
It was teenage seamer Sebastian Morgan who eventually made the breakthrough, sending down three tight overs before switching to the Pavilion End and gaining immediate reward as he tempted Phillips to drive to gully.
Morgan might also have removed Miles Hammond, who edged just short of second slip, but the left-hander quickly gained rhythm with a series of fours as he and Price guided their side through to lunch.
However, Price’s return to the crease after the interval lasted one ball – a Roland-Jones delivery that kept low, nipped back and clattered into his off stump and, when James Bracey glanced Higgins behind without scoring, Gloucestershire were suddenly on the back foot again.
Having escaped when Morgan, leaping to his right at gully, could not cling onto a difficult chance, Hammond eventually perished to a similar stroke off Higgins to leave the visitors five down.
Graeme van Buuren, having taken 17 balls to get off the mark, sprang to life with a trio of boundaries off Roland-Jones and pounced on anything wide outside off stump as he and Jack Taylor added 49.
Gohar came on to dismiss his former county captain for 46, with Ben Geddes plunging forward at short leg to take a bat-pad catch, but the Taylor brothers steered their side into the final session.
Middlesex’s hopes were lifted again by the new ball, which brought Roland-Jones the wickets of Matt Taylor – and then his elder brother, one short of his half-century – both snapped up at second slip.
With Ajeet Singh Dale falling to Gohar, there was still time for Marchant de Lange to launch a brief, defiant counter-attack against the spinner, hitting 14 from three deliveries before he was caught behind.