Sporting Alert

College Football, NCAAB, NBA, NFL

Kawhi Leonard

Golden State Warriors At Toronto Raptors on TNT Overtime Network

by Leave a Comment

TORONTO, Canada — Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors will battle in a live televised NBA game on TNT network and TNT Overtime at the Scotiabank Arena in Canada.

This is the first of the two meetings between these two teams before the end of the year and it gives fans an early look at what could very well be the championship matchup next summer.

“They’re going to be a great test for us,” Warriors guard Klay Thompson said. “Who knows? It might be a preview of June.

Embed from Getty Images

“They got something really special up there in Canada right now.”

The Raptors (18-4) are 9-2 at home so far this season and have won six straight games since ending a three-game skid with a 122-83 victory in Chicago on Nov. 17.

Golden State (15-7), meanwhile enters this contest with a 4-5 away record thus far but has won three in succession, including a 116-110 victory over the Orlando Magic at home Monday night.

Steve Kerr’s team was recovering from a dismal four-game losing streak, including three on the road against Texas-based teams Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs.

According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, the Raptors hold a 61.2 percent chance to beat the Warriors, who will be without the likes of Stephen Curry (left groin), Draymond Green (right toe sprain) and DeMarcus Cousins (left Achilles rehab) for this contest.

Alfonzo McKinnie (sore left foot) and Damion Lee (stomach virus) could also miss the game for Golden State.

Meanwhile, the Toronto are expected to be without Norman Powell (left shoulder subluxation) who remains out, while Greg Monroe is still questionable with back spasms that forced him to miss the game Tuesday.

The Raptors have named Kyle Lowry, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam and Serge Ibaka as the starters to face Golden State tonight.

Curry Scores 29 pts, Warriors Rout Spurs 136-100 For 2-0 Series Lead

by Leave a Comment

OAKLAND, Calif., Sporting Alert — Stephen Curry had a game-high 29 points and four Golden State starters scored in double figures in the Warriors’ run-away 136-100 win over the San Antonio Spurs Tuesday night in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.

The All-Star point guard who shot 8-of-13 from the field, buried six 3-pointers and scored 15 of his total points in a 33-16 first-quarter breakaway, as Golden State took full advantage of the absence of Kawhi Leonard, who missed the game with an ankle injury.

Kawhi Leonard of the Spurs
Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs did not play in Game 2

Curry also collected seven rebounds and seven assists in the comfortable victory as the Western Conference No. 1 seeded side took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven game series.

Golden State reserve guard Patrick McCaw added 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting with three 3-pointers, Kevin Durant scored 16 points.

Draymond Green had 13 points, nine rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocked shots for the Warriors, who got a season-best 63 points from the bench.

“They came out with a sense of urgency from the beginning and they played that way for 48 minutes,” acting Warriors head coach Mike Brown told reporters.

Klay Thompson finished with 11 points, but was 4-of-10 from shooting with six rebounds, while Shaun Livingston and Ian Clark each had 10 points for Golden State to secure its 10th consecutive playoffs win this season.

Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors
Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors in the NBA

“That’s just been the message all year, just play with urgency and start the game off with some energy and throw the first punch,” Durant said.

“Unlike Game 1 we did that tonight. We know they’re a little undermanned but they still play extremely hard, so we knew we couldn’t come out here and relax and think they were just going to give us the game. We had to go take it.”

Meanwhile, Jonathon Simmons, who started in place of Leonard, led the Spurs with 22 points and shot 8-of-17 from the floor.

Gregg Popovich and Manu Ginobili NBA Playoffs
Gregg Popovich and Manu Ginobili talk during NBA playoffs series v Houston

San Antonio, which never led in the game, trailed by as many as 41 points and was outperformed 46-44 in points in the paint and 20-13 fast break points.

The visitors shot 37-percent, well below the Warriors’ 56.2 percent, while making just 8 of their 23 shots from 3-pointers compared to Golden State’s 18-for-37 from long distance.

The defeat on Tuesday night saw the Spurs going behind 2-0 in a playoff series for the first time since being swept by the Phoenix Suns in the Western semifinals in 2010 and San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich warns that the series could be over if the men from Texas doesn’t get it together.

A disappointed Popovich deems that as a group, his players never believed they could have won the game.

“I don’t think we believed,” the veteran coach said. “I’m disappointed.

“The only way I can process this is I think it’s not about the O’s and X’s or rebounds or turnovers or anything like that.

“You have to believe. I don’t think as a group they really did, which means probably a little bit feeling sorry for themselves psychologically.

“It showed in the lack of edge, intensity … That was disappointing.”

Davis Bertans finished with 13 points for the Spurs in the defeat.

Game 3 is on Saturday in San Antonio.

Leonard Grabs Double-Double, Spurs Beat Grizzlies For 2-0 Lead

by Leave a Comment

SPURS 96, GRIZZLIES 82

SAN ANTONIO, Sporting Alert — Kawhi Leonard scored a playoff career-high 37 points and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Memphis Grizzlies to move to 2-0 in the first-round series on Monday night.

ESPN Stats and Videos

Leonard, who shot 9-of-14 from the floor and made all 19 of his free throws, also collected 11 rebounds and became the first Spurs player with 35 points and 10 rebounds in the playoffs since Tim Duncan did it against the Phoenix Suns in 2008.

Tony Parker added 15 points and Danny Green made four 3-pointers to finish with 12, while LaMarcus Aldridge scored 11 in the victory.

Pau Gasol ended with 10 points and five rebounds for San Antonio, which secured its 10th consecutive postseason win over Memphis.

“This team has character, besides the talent and the desire to win,” Gasol said.

“We have to keep that up every single night. We responded well when they made their run, and that’s the mindset we have to have every night.”

Mike Conley led the Grizzlies (0-2) with 24 points and added eight assists in the defeat.

Conley shot 8-of-18 from the field and made four of five 3-pointers.

Zach Randolph added 18 points (9-of-18), 10 rebounds and three steals and Marc Gasol finished with 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Grizzlies.

Also scoring in double figures for the travelers was veteran Vince Carter, who had 12 points.

As a team, the Spurs, who led for most of the contest, shot 45.9 percent and had 14 assists on 24 made baskets.

Memphis had 19 assists and 31 made buckets, but was held to just 37.8 percent from the floor.

Officials Never Game Us A Chance: Fizdale

After the defeat, Grizzlies coach David Fizdale blasted the officials of Monday night’s game — claiming they never gave his team a chance.

“It’s unfortunate that I’ve got a guy like [point guard] Mike Conley that in his whole career has got zero technical fouls and just cannot seem to get the proper respect from the officials that he deserves,” Fizdale said.

“It was a very poorly officiated basketball game.”

He added: “Zach Randolph, the most rugged guy in the game, had zero free throws. But somehow, Kawhi Leonard had 19 free throws.

“First half, we shot 19 shots in the paint, and we had six free throws. They shot 11 times in the paint, and they had 23 free throws.

“I’m not a numbers guy, but that doesn’t seem to add up. Overall, 35 times we shot the ball in the paint. We had 15 free throws for the game.

“They shot 18 times in the paint and had 32 free throws. Kawhi shot more free throws than our whole team. Explain it to me.”

Game 3 of this Western Conference playoff first round series is Thursday night in Memphis.

San Antonio is 27-2 in playoff series when leading 2-0.

NBA Scores on Dec. 22; Wins For Clippers, Warriors

by Leave a Comment

MIAMI, FL, Sporting Alert – NBA scores and recaps from the games that took place around the league on Thursday night, 22 December.

LA CLIPPERS 106, SPURS 101

LOS ANGELES — Chris Paul had 19 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals before hurting his hamstring and the Los Angeles Clippers picked up a 106-101 win over the San Antonio Spurs at STAPLES Center.

The Clippers (22-8), who were already without star forward Blake Griffin, added star point guard Paul to the injury list after he tweaked his left hamstring late in the third quarter.

Paul left the game with 4:33 remaining in the third quarter and didn’t return but he said he did not believe the injury was very serious.

He hopes to play Friday night against the Dallas Mavericks.

“I’m OK,” Paul said. “I think I just tweaked my hamstring. I’m glad I caught it when I did.

“It’s probably going to come back, but hopefully I’ll be ready for Dallas.”

Reserves Marreese Speights had 14 points and seven rebounds, Raymond Felton scored 13 and Jamal Crawford ended with 11 for LA.

J.J. Redick scored 11 points and made three 3-pointers and DeAndre Jordan ended with 11 points, nine rebounds and two blocks for Los Angeles, which won two straight and six in the last seven overall.

Kawhi Leonard led San Antonio with 27 points and nine rebounds, while Pau Gasol added 21 points and nine rebounds.

Danny Green and LaMarcus Aldridge each scored 10 points in the defeat for the Spurs (23-6), who were losing for only the second time on the road this season.

Los Angeles Clippers’ bench outscored the Spurs’ subs 58-33.

WARRIORS 117, NETS 101

NEW YORK — Kevin Durant collected 26 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to help the Golden State Warriors recovered from a slow start to secure a 117-101 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

Klay Thompson added 23 points for the Warriors, Zaza Pachulia ended with a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds and Stephen Curry finished with 15 points, seven assists and five steals for the Warriors (26-4).

Brook Lopez led the way for the Nets with 28 points and eight rebounds.

Sean Kilpatrick added 14 points and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored 13 points and grabbed six boards in the defeat.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 12 points and Jeremy Lin chipped in with 10 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks for Brooklyn (7-21).

The Nets led 65-49 at the break but were outscored by 32 points over the final 24 minutes after failing to reach 20 points in each of the last two-quarters of the game.

It was the sixth win in a row for the Warriors, while defeat was the fourth straight for Brooklyn.

MORE NBA SCORES

In other NBA scores on the night, the Miami Heat beat the Los Angeles Lakers 115-107 on Thursday night to snap a three-game skid, while the Boston Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers 109-102.

Justise Winslow and Hassan Whiteside each collected 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Heat (10-20) who were winning for only the fifth time at home this season.

Goran Dragic added 21 points and seven assists, James Johnson ended with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists and Tyler Johnson had 14 points and six assists for Miami, which shot 53.6 percent overall and went 11-for-22 from 3-point range.

Lou Williams paced the Lakers with 27 points. Nick Young added 20 points and D’Angelo Russell finished with 17 for the Lakers, who fell to 5-14 on the road and 11-21 overall.

Los Angeles opened the game with an 11-0 run and led by as many as 19 points, but the Heat managed to pull themselves back into the game and take the win.

Meanwhile, Isaiah Thomas had 28 points and nine assists, and the Boston Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers 109-102.

Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder both finished with 15 points, while Marcus Smart finished with 12 points, and Amir Johnson and Kelly Olnyk finished with 11 each in the win for the Celtics (17-12).

Jeff Teague led the Pacers (15-16) with 31 points and eight assists and Paul George and CJ Miles each scored 19 points in the defeat.

Thaddeus Young had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds for Indiana, which trailed 51-40 at halftime, but pulled within four points late in the game.

In another NBA score on Thursday night, Derrick Rose scored 19 points, Kyle O’Quinn had 14 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds, and the New York Knicks beat the Orlando Magic 106-95.

NBA Scores on December 22
Complete NBA Box Scores

LA CLIPPERS 106, SPURS 101
WARRIORS 117, NETS 101
HEAT 115, LAKER 107
CELTICS 109, PACERS 102
KNICKS 106, MAGIC 95

NBA Schedule and Games Tonight On TV: Nov. 1

by Leave a Comment

MIAMI, FL, Sporting Alert – The NBA schedule for Tuesday, November 1, with Cleveland, San Antonio and Golden State all in action.

The Cavaliers, who are the ESPN Basketball Power Rankings top side, according to the latest release on Monday, go in search of their fourth win of the season against the Houston Rockets at Quicken Loans Arena.

CAVS LOOK TO KEEP ROLLING

LeBron James heads into this game averaging 21 points, 10 assists and 8.3 rebounds per game and shooting 50-percent from the floor, and he and his Cleveland teammates are listed as 9-point favourites against the Rockets.

The Cavaliers are scoring 105.3 points per game, which is 12th in the league and allowing 92.7, which is 3rd in the NBA.

Houston (2-1) will look to guard James Harden, who is averaging 29.3 points and 10.3 assists per game to provide the main power on offense, with Clint Capela, the team leader in the rebounds and blocks column, directing the team on the defensive side.

SAN ANTONIO LOOKS TO GO 5-0

Kawhi Leonard and the San Antonio Spurs (4-0) head into tonight’s NBA schedule against the Utah Jazz in search of their fifth straight victory in the young season.

Leonard, who has been given the freedom of leading the team, following the retirement of Tim Duncan after last year’s playoffs, is averaging 28 points per game and has 30+ performances so far from four appearances this campaign.

San Antonio has already defeated the Warriors, Kings, Pelicans and Heat this season.

Meanwhile, George Hill is tallying 20 points, 4.0 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game this season for the Jazz, who were beaten 88-75 by the Clippers in their last outing.

WARRIORS V TRAIL BLAZERS A MUST SEE

The highlighted NBA game to watch live on Tuesday night in the Western Conference battle between the Golden State Warriors and the Portland Trail Blazers.

Both teams are much improved since they last met in the playoffs last season, while the fixture will include two of the top five early leading scorers in the lead at the time of this report.

For Portland, Damian Lillard, who is expected to be in the MVP discussions again this season, is averaging 35 points per game, which is fourth in the league, while Kevin Durant of the Warriors is putting up 31 points per contest for his new team.

Lillard is also pulling down 8.0 rebounds and dishing out 5.3 assists for the Trail Blazers, with Durant also contributing 10.3 boards and 4.7 assists for Golden State.

With the likes of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green also in the line-up, the Warriors are being back as 5-point favourites to win Tuesday night’s game.

NBA Schedule
Tuesday, November 1
Match Time (ET)

Houston at Cleveland 6:00 PM NBATV
Orlando at Philadelphia 7:00 PM
Los Angeles  Lakers at Indiana 7:00 PM
Sacramento at Miami 7:30 PM
New York at Detroit 7:30 PM
Milwaukee at New Orleans 8:00 PM
Memphis at Minnesota 8:00 PM 7
Utah at San Antonio 8:30 PM 318
Golden State at Portland 10:00 PM NBATV

Latest NBA Scores, Wrap-ups And Scorers: Oct. 30

by Leave a Comment

OKLAHOMA CITY, Sporting Alert – The latest and updated NBA scores and results from the scheduled games that were played on Sunday, October 30.

Despite coach Greg Popovich sticking with his theory of resting older and key players during the regular season, the San Antonio Spurs, as they always do, found a way to win.

On Sunday, without LaMarcus Aldridge, who was given the night off to rest and Danny Green, who continues to recover from a left quad strain – Kawhi Leonard took over late in the fourth quarter to guide the Spurs to a 106-99 victory over the Miami Heat.

Leonard, who suffered a cut under his right eye during the game, ignored that to score 14 of his 27 points in the final six minutes of the contest and dished out six assists.

Pau Gasol added 20 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks for San Antonio (4-0) to hold off Miami and stayed unbeaten this season.

Patty Mills ended with 18 points off the bench and David Lee pulled down 11 rebounds for San Antonio, which is the team with the most wins so far in the early stage of the NBA season.

Hassan Whiteside tied a career-high with 27 points and grabbed 15 rebounds and four blocks for Miami (1-2), which was suffering back-to-back defeats at home.

Goran Dragic scored 25 points and had five assists, Justise Winslow finished with 18 points and Tyler Johnson ended with 12 points for the Heat, who trailed by as many as 16 points.

In Oklahoma City, athletic and energetic point guard Russell Westbrook collected his second triple-double to lead the OKC Thunder to a 112-96 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Westbrook, who is coming off a 51-point triple-double performance in the win over the Phoenix Suns on Friday, tallied 33 points, 16 assists and 12 rebounds against the LA Lakers.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, Westbrook, who has registered 116 points, 37 rebounds and 35 assists in the first three games of the season, has become the first player to reach 100 points, 30 rebounds and 30 assists in three games to start a year.

Reports from the OKC Thunder also revealed that he joined Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas as the only players with two triple-doubles in the opening three contests of a term in NBA history.

Victor Oladipo added 20 points, Enes Kanter finished with 16 points and six rebounds and Steven Adams contributed 14 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and two blocks for the Thunder (3-0).

D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle scored 20 points apiece for the Los Angeles Lakers (1-2), while Randle also had nine boards in the defeat.

In Phoenix, Kevin Durant scored 37 points and the Golden State Warriors held off the determined Suns 106-100.

Durant shot 10-of-16 and played 38 minutes, while Stephen Curry added 28 points and made five of his eight 3-point attempts for the Warriors (2-1), who have won back-to-back games on the road since losing to the Spurs on opening night.

T.J. Warren scored 26 points, Eric Bledsoe finished 21 and Tyson Chandler grabbed 18 rebounds for Phoenix, which remained without a win this season.

The home side led by as many as 13 points in the first half, but was unable to make it count and dropped its third in a row this year.

Latest NBA Scores
Sunday, October 30

SPURS 106, HEAT 99
THUNDER 112, LAKERS 96
WARRIORS 106, SUNS 100
ROCKETS 93, MAVERICKS 92
CLIPPERS 88, JAZZ 75
GRIZZLIES 112, WIZARDS 103, OT
PISTONS 98, BUCKS 83

Westbrook, Durant Help Thunder Stun Spurs, 95-91

by Leave a Comment

SAN ANTONIO — Oklahoma City Thunder moved within one win of securing a place in the Western Conference finals after Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant combined to help the visitors take a 3-2 lead in the series with a 95-91 win Tuesday night. Box Score Completes

The ever energetic Russell flirted with a triple-double after he finished with 35 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, while Durant added 23 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Thunder, who can close out the series in Game 6 with a win at home on Thursday.

”I was overthinking the first half, overpassing trying to find ways to get my guys involved, making some bad mistakes,” Westbrook said.

”In the second half I was trying to do a better job of taking care of the basketball, especially with the game on the line.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPEJ1P9iy1Y

Oklahoma City trailed by as many as 13 points in the third quarter, after Danny Green made a 3-pointer to give the home side a 62-49 lead with 7:50 left in the period.

However, Westbrook and Durant began to make big shots to slowly trim the deficit, before the Thunder took a 92-90 lead with 54 seconds remaining with a pair of free throws from Durant.

”We got stops and Russ was a maniac tonight, keeping us in it,” Durant said.

”He dictated how we wanted to play,” he added. ”He was getting to the rim, knocking down the jump shot, knocking down the 3. So he had all levels working tonight.

“Once he does that, he’s too dangerous because they play back on him not wanting him to get to the rim and he’s knocking the jump shot down.”

Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with 26 points, six rebounds and five steals, with Danny Green adding 20 points and made 6-for-9 on 3-pointers in the defeat.

LaMarcus Aldridge also had 20 points and nine rebounds, but struggled shooting the ball after going just 6-for-21 from the floor.

San Antonio was losing at home for the second time in this year’s playoffs, after dropping just one game in the regular season.

”I hope we respond a little angry with a chip on our shoulder,” Green said. ”If you want to be a championship team you have to win on the road. Simple as that.”

It was a bad night for Spurs guard Tony Parker, who scored just nine points and was 4-for-12 from the floor.

Parker, a usually very good free throw converter, missed the second of attempts from the charity line late in the game, while failing to connect on a 12-foot jumper late in the contest.

San Antonio Routs Oklahoma City 124-92 In 2nd Round Game 1

by Leave a Comment

SAN ANTONIO, Sporting Alert – San Antonio Spurs used a stunning first quarter to rout the Oklahoma City Thunder 124-92 and take a 1-0 lead in their Western Conference semi-final on Saturday night. Box Scores

The Spurs scored a remarkable 43 points in the opening quarter to set a record for most points scored in a quarter during the playoffs en route to taking a 73-40 lead at half time.

The Texas-based club jumped all over OKC from the opening whistle and outscored the Thunder 43-20 in the first quarter, with LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard, who made all six of his shots from the field in the opening minutes, leading the way with double digit scores.

“Obviously, it kind of got away from them,” San Antonio veteran forward Tim Duncan, who played 22-minutes and went 4-for-7 from the field, said.

“We didn’t expect that, but we’ll take it at the start of a series.”

At the end of the game, Aldridge finished with 38 points on 18-for-23 shooting while Leonard shot 10-for-13 to collect 25 points, five rebounds and five assists for the home side.

“It was just one of those nights,” Aldridge said. “I can’t take credit for it.

“I was just trying to play confident and ended up making some plays that I probably won’t make the next game. It was enough for me tonight.”

Danny Green, putting together his best performance in the playoffs thus far, made five 3-pointers to end with 18 points and three blocks for San Antonio, which shot 60-percent from 3-point range after going 9-for-15 from long distance.

Serge Ibaka led the way for Oklahoma City with 19 points, with Kevin Durant adding 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists and Russell Westbrook, who missed his opening five shots, chipping in with 14 points and nine assists for the Thunder, who made just 6 of their 23 attempts from 3-pointers.

“They do a good job of helping,” Westbrook said. “Most of the time it’s help-side defender. Me personally, I never look at the guy in front of me.

“I look at the help see what’s the next move. Not a big problem, just got to find ways to read the help a little bit better, and make better decisions.”

During his press conference, Durant was asked about the feeling in the camp after the blowout loss, but the All-Star forward wanted to move on.

“It’s over with,” Durant said. “Move on. We’ll just move past it and figure out what we need to do better.

“No crazy emotions. It’s not like we’re upset, screaming at each other in the locker room after the game. That’s not going to make things better.”

San Antonio made 51 shots and 39 of those were assisted.

Spurs Dominate Grizzlies 116-95, Sweeping Their Way Into Semis

by Leave a Comment

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Sporting Alert – San Antonio Spurs became the first team to advance from the first-round after sweeping the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday (24). Box Score

The 116-95 victory on the day handed the Spurs an early passage into the Western Conference semifinals, with the players also giving themselves a nice little break while they wait on their other opponent.

It was the third time San Antonio was cleaning house against the Grizzlies, after it swept Memphis in the 2004 first round and the 2013 Western Conference finals.

Kawhi Leonard was the chief contributor for San Antonio (4-0) with 21 points, on 6-for-10 shooting to go with seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks, with Tony Parker adding 16 points.

LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while David West chipped in with 11 points, four rebounds and three steals in the win.

Lance Stephenson scored a game-high 26 points off the bench on 11-for-19 shooting to lead Memphis, with Tony Allern and Zach Randolph and Matt Barnes each scoring 15 points and grabbing seven rebounds apiece.

Vince Carter made all four of his 3-point attempts and went 4-for-7 from the field overall to finish with 14 points.

Parker and Aldridge both shot 6-for-11 from the floor with San Antonio taking 80 shots and connecting on 40 as a team.

The Western Conference No. 2 seeded team made 10 3-pointers on Sunday and shot 45.5 percent from long-range.

Chris Andersen pulled down 13 rebounds for the Grizzlies (0-4) in the defeat.

As a team, Memphis shot 44.9 percent from the floor.

The game was delayed for about 20 minutes in the second quarter because of a power surge.

San Antonio will play the winner of the clash between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks.

Spurs, Hawks Go Up 2-0: Playoffs Scores on April 19

by Leave a Comment

SAN ANTONIO, Sporting Alert – The San Antonio Spurs took a 2-0 lead in their playoff series with the Memphis Grizzlies and they did it very comfortably at AT&T Center.

After beating the short-handed Grizzlies 104-74 in the first game, the Western Conference powerhouses put away Memphis 94-68 in Game 2 on Tuesday night, despite the starters scoring just 38 points combined.

Reserved guard Patty Mills scored 16 points and made four 3-pointers on 5-for-8 shooting overall from the floor to lead the way for the Spurs, who held Memphis to just 33-percent shooting.

Kawhi Leonard, who was presented with his second successive Defensive Player of the Year award before the game, added 13 points and LaMarcus Aldridge and Kevin Martin each scored 10 points, with Aldridge also adding eight rebounds in the win for San Antonio, which shot 47 percent from the floor and went 53 percent from long-range.

Tony Allen led the Grizzlies (0-2) with 12 points, while Zach Randolph staggered his way to 11 points and 12 rebounds, but shot just 5-for-17 from the field for Memphis, which shot 14 percent from 3-point range and scored a playoffs franchise-low 11 points in the first quarter.

The Grizzlies will host Game 3 on Friday night, but Matt Barnes doesn’t think that gives them an advantage.

“It doesn’t matter where we play, we’ve just got to play better,” Barnes said. “We can play here, we can play at the YMCA, we can play in Memphis; it doesn’t matter where we play at if we play the way we’ve been playing the court doesn’t matter.

“It’s on the players we’ve got to do a better job executing.”

In the midst of the defeat, Barnes, who scored nine points and shot 3-for-11, also talked about his 29:58 of playing time.

“I don’t want to play 20 minutes getting beat so bad,” he said. “I want to play 40-45 minutes and swing every second we can.

“I don’t want to save nothing, nothing should be in the tank. I’m not even tired right now, it’s frustrating.

“Hopefully next game we get out there and get more minutes and we’ll see what happens.”

HAWKS STIFLED CELTICS TO GO 2-0

The Hawks defeated the Celtics at Philips Arena to take full control of their series.

Kyle Korver and Al Horford each scored 17 points to lead Atlanta to an 89-72 victory over Boston on Tuesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round series.

The Hawks got off to a quick start, outscoring the Celtics 24-3 inside the opening six and a half minutes of the game and took a 24-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Korver finished the game connecting on 5 of his 7 three-point attempts and shot 6-for-9 from the floor overall, while adding seven rebounds in the win.

Horford knocked down three 3-pointers and went 6-for-11 from the floor, with Jeff Teague adding 13 points and six assists and Thabo Sefolosha ended with 12 points and six rebounds for the Hawks.

Isaiah Thomas led Boston with 16 points, while Amir Johnson added 14 points and eight rebounds in the defeat for the Celtics, who will host the next two games of the series.

Evan Turner scored 12 points and five boards and Terry Rozier finished with 10 points for Boston, who shot just 18 percent from 3-point range.

The Celtics, who shot 32-percent from the floor, trailed by as many as 23 points in the opening quarter, but managed to trim the deficit to 10 points in the second quarter.

However, the Hawks got going again in the second to build another sizable to finish off the contest and prevented Boston from coming back like they did in Game 1 at the weekend.

Atlanta led 43-28 at half time and set a playoffs franchise record 15 blocks in the win.

Game 3 of this series is Friday night in Boston.

Chris Paul Helps Clippers Beat Spurs On Emotional Night

by Leave a Comment

LOS ANGELES, Sporting Alert – Chris Paul poured in 28 points and 12 assists to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 105-86 victory over the San Antonio Spurs 105-86 in an NBA game on Thursday night.

Paul, who is averaging 19.5 points and 9.4 assists per game this season, shot 9-of-18 from the field while pulling down five rebounds for the LA Clippers (36-18), who never trailed in the game and led by as many as 20 points after using a 20-8 run to start the third quarter.

Reserve guard Jamal Crawford added 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting and dished out six assists, and J.J. Redick, who went 7-of-13 from the floor, including 2-for-2 from 3-pointers, finished with 17 points for the Clippers, who were beating the Spurs for the first time since their Game 7 win in the Western Conference first round of the 2015 playoffs.

Tony Parker scored 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting for San Antonio, with David West adding 12 four rebounds and four steals for the Spurs (45-9), who had their six-game winning streak snapped.

LaMarcus Aldridge shot just 3-of-12 from the floor for 10 points while Tim Duncan scored only two points on 1-of-6 shooting in 20 minutes.

The experienced center also grabbed six rebounds for San Antonio, which managed to cut the LA Clippers big lead to five in the fourth quarter before the hosts took over again.

San Antonio shot 42 percent from the floor, but was only 4-for-17 from 3-point range and was outrebounded 45-33 in the defeat.

The men from Texas were unable to recover from a slow start in the first half where they shot 15-of-43 from the floor.

Los Angeles led 42-34 at halftime and shot 63 percent from long-range.

“The group did not play at a high enough level to win a road game,” West admitted. “We were not solid enough, and obviously we shot the ball like crap in the first half.

“We just could not execute enough to keep pace with them.”

The game capped off an emotional day for both group of players and coaches who traveled to Oklahoma City to attend the funeral for the wife of Oklahoma City Thunder assistant coach Monty Williams earlier in the day.

She was killed in a car accident.

Meanwhile, the Spurs played without star forward Kawhi Leonard because of tightness in his left calf, while the Clippers were again without forward Blake Griffin, who continues to nurse a broken hand.

Guard Austin Rivers was also out for Los Angeles due to a hairline fracture in his left hand but says he should be able to return in two weeks.

DeAndre Jordan collected 17 rebounds for the Clippers, who play hosts to the defending champions Golden State Warriors on Saturday.

NBA SCORES ON THURSDAY NIGHT

CAVALIERS 106, BULLS 95 – RECAP, SCORES
CLIPPERS 105, SPURS 86 – Box Score
WIZARDS 103, JAZZ 89 – Box Score

Wins For Cavalier, Spurs: Latest NBA Scores On Jan 21

by Leave a Comment

CLEVELAND, Sporting Alert – The latest NBA scores and results from Thursday, January 21. There were wins for the Cavaliers and Spurs in the NBA, while the Suns continue to struggle.

SPURS 117, SUNS 89

PHOENIX — Kawhi Leonard scored 21 points, and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Phoenix Suns 117-89 in the NBA on Thursday night to stretch their winning streak to 12 games.

Leonard, who had three assists and three rebounds, shot 6-of-15 from the field, while going 8-of-8 from the free throw line and hit his lone 3-point attempt.

Boban Marjanovic added 17 points and 13 rebounds in a reserve role, Jonathon Simmons finished with 13 points and Ray McCallum chipped in with 11 for the Spurs (37-6) who played without starting point guard Tony Parker and forward Tim Duncan.

Parker missed his second successive game with right hip soreness, while Duncan was given the night off to rest by coach Greg Popovich, whose team had 66 bench points at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

“The bench guys got it done for us,” coach Popovich said. “The starters weren’t all that enthused.”

San Antonio moved to 13-6 on the road this season, while Phoenix fell to 9-13 at home.

Devin Booker led the Suns ((13-31) with 24 points and five assists, while Archie Goodwin added 20 points and T.J. Warren finished with 18 off the bench for Phoenix, which lost its sixth straight.

Alex Len had 13 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks in the defeat for the Suns, who have now lost 15 of their last 16 games overall.

CAVALIERS 115, CLIPPERS 102

CLEVELAND — LeBron James recovered from a slow start to collect 22 points, 12 assists and five rebounds, while finishing the game without a turnover, and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA at home Thursday night.

Shooting guard J.R. Smith made six 3-pointers on his way to scoring 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting overall for the Cavaliers (30-11), who shot 50.6 percent from the field and 46.4 percent from 3-point range.

Kyrie Irving added 21 points, Kevin Love collected 18 points and 16 rebounds and Timofey Mozgov ended with 11 points, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks for the Cavaliers, who were playing at home for the first home time since the embarrassing 34-point loss to the Golden State Warriors on Monday.

Chris Paul started hot — scoring 12 points and four assists in the first quarter, and the All-Star point guard went on to finish the game with 30 points, nine assists and three steals for the Clippers, who were again without All-Star forward Blake Griffin, as he remains out with torn quadriceps.

J.J. Redick scored 17 points and Jamal Crawford ended with 16 in the defeat for the LA Clippers (27-15).

NBA SCORES AND BOX SCORES
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21

SPURS 117, SUNS 89
CAVALIERS 115, CLIPPERS 102
GRIZZLIES 102, NUGGETS 101
KINGS 91, HAWKS 88
PELICANS 115, PISTONS 99