Sporting Alert

College Football, NCAAB, NBA, NFL

staples center

Game 2: LA Clippers v Golden State Warriors: Live on TNT Overtime

by Leave a Comment

LOS ANGELES (Sporting Alert) — Golden State Warriors take a 1-0 lead into tonight’s Western Conference first round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers at STAPLES Center.

Live Coverage is on TNT, with Live on Streaming on TNT Overtime Player @ 10:30 PM EST

The Warriors won Game 1 of the series on Saturday, but Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and company will be eager to get back on the court in a push to level the series at 1-1 before heading on the road.

Los Angeles Clippers jumped out to a fast start, but a series of turnovers late in the game cost them a possible victory.

“There’s a lot of things we can do better,” Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said ahead of Game 2.

“We had a lot of opportunities; we just didn’t capitalize on them.

“They did. They made all the big ones.”

Golden State will be without point guard Nemanja Nedovic and centers Festus Ezeli and Andrew Bogut, while the Clippers’ forward Danny Granger has been ruled out.

Steven Adams for OKC: Watch LA Clippers v Oklahoma City Thunder Live

by Leave a Comment

LOS ANGELES (Sporting Alert) — The following are the starting lineups for tonight’s NBA clash between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Oklahoma City Thunder at STAPLES Center.

Watch LA Clippers v Oklahoma City Thunder Live on ESPN and WatchESPN

Steven Adams will start at center instead of Kendrick Perkins for the Thunder, who are coming off an over 106-105 victory over the Washington Wizards three nights ago.

Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, labeled as the best 1-2 combination around the league start as well for the visitors who have won their last four contests.

The Clippers have made no adjustments to the team that started in the win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, so Jared Dudley continues to start at small forward.

LA Clippers: Chris Paul (PG) J.J. Redick (SG) Jared Dudley (SF) Blake Griffin (PF) DeAndre Jordan (C)

OKC Lineup: Russell Westbrook (PG) Thabo Sefolosha (SG) Kevin Durant (SF) Serge Ibaka (PF) Steven Adams (C)

Los Angeles Clippers v Minnesota Timberwolves Live

by Leave a Comment

(Sporting Alert) — The following are the starting line-ups for the NBA clash between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Minnesota Timberwolves at STAPLES Center.

Follow Los Angeles Clippers v Minnesota Timberwolves Live Audio, GameCast and Boxscore

The Timberwolves (5-2) are coming off a 113-90 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in their last out on Sunday at STAPLES Center and will be gunning to take down another star-studded Los Angeles team in back-to-back fixtures.

Los Angeles Clippers (4-3), meanwhile come into the contest on the back of an impressive 107-94 win at the Houston Rockets on Saturday and the likes of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and J.J. Redick will be looking to keep the winning form going after breaking a two-game losing streak.

LA Clippers Lineup – Chris Paul (PG) J.J. Redick (SG) Jared Dudley (SF) Blake Griffin (PF) DeAndre Jordan (C)

Minnesota Timberwolves Lineup – Ricky Rubio (PG) Kevin Martin (SG) Corey Brewer (SF) Kevin Love (PF) Nikola Pekovic (C)

Game 4: Memphis Grizzlies vs LA Clippers Live and Starting Teams

by Leave a Comment

Memphis, Tennessee (Sporting Alert) — The following are the confirmed starters for the Memphis Grizzlies and the Los Angeles Clippers in tonight’s NBA first round playoff Game 4 contest at FedExForum.

Watch Memphis Grizzlies vs LA Clippers Game 4 Live on TNT Overtime

When: 4:30 PM ET, Saturday, April 27, 2013
Where: FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
TV: 4:30 p.m. ET, TNT

The LA Clippers lead the seven game series 2-1.

Chauncey Billups, who has been bothered by a groin injury seems to have shaken off the problem and will join Chris Paul in the starting lineup at shooting guard for the Clippers.

Blake Griffin is also good to go, despite concerns over his injury, while Caron Butler and DeAndre Jordan complete the starters for the traveling Clippers, who won both the opening games at Staples Center.

The strong bench includes Jamal Crawford, Eric Bledsoe, Lamar Odom and Matt Barnes.

Paul admitted to making careless mistakes that led to easy points for Memphis in Game 3 said: “I mean especially me.

“I had five turnovers and our turnovers led to 17 of their points.

“I just got to be more aggressive you know what I mean?” he said ahead of the game. “I’ve just got to be more aggressive.

“I played 30 some minutes and didn’t shoot one free throw. Something ain’t right.”

Meanwhile, Memphis has confirmed that injured guard Kenyon Dooling will not feature in tonight’s game.

However, Zach Randolph, who led the Grizzlies with a team high 27 points and 11 rebounds in the last game, Mike Conley, Tony Allen and Marc Gasol, the new NBA Defensive Player of the Year are all good to go from the start.

“We got to be ready ourselves,” Randolph said. “We got to play defense and match the energy.”

LA Lakers Hammered 120-89 by San Antonio; Results, Box Score

by Leave a Comment

LOS ANGELES (Sporting Alert, BOX SCORE) — San Antonio Spurs punished an injured hit Los Angeles Lakers on their way to taking a 3-0 lead in their Western Conference first round playoff series with a 120-89 victory at STAPLES Center on Friday night.

The defeat margin was Lakers’ worst ever home defeat.

“I think we’re playing fairly well,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

“Whether the team you’re playing is whole or banged-up like the Lakers are … we have to bring the energy and the professionalism to play.”

Star forward Tim Duncan scored 26 points and nine rebounds and All-Star point guard Tony Parker added 20 points and seven assists in the win for San Antonio, which had starting center Tiago Splitter injured.

The Spurs shot 61-percent on 52-for-85 shooting from the floor and were very aggressive on the night to secure the win.

“We respect these guys, and we’re not trying to give them any momentum whatsoever,” Duncan told reporters after the game.

The Lakers, which were without Steve Nash and Steve Blake, who were both suffering from hamstring injury, were led by Dwight Howard, who collected a double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds.

Darius Morris scored 24 points and six assists, while Andrew Goudelock recorded a career-high 20 points in starting roles for the Lakers in the Game 3 defeat.

Pau Gasol added triple-double of 13 rebounds, 11 points and 10 assists for the Lakers who are now one defeat away from being eliminated from the playoffs. Gasol, who admitted “We’ve been murdered by injuries,” became the seventh player to collect a playoff triple-double in LA Lakers history.

Lakers, Knicks, Thunder win: NBA Scores, Results – April 5

by Leave a Comment

LOS ANGELES (Sporting Alert) — Pau Gasol scored a layup with 1:36 left and the Los Angeles Lakers then held on to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 86-84 at STAPLES Center on Friday night.

Trailing 84-83 with less than two-minutes left in the game, Gasol got the go-ahead basket for the one point lead and then Dwight Howard scored one of two of his free throws with 0:04 seconds to go and then Los Angeles played solid defense on the last attempt to secure their third straight win.

Kobe Bryant paced the Lakers (40-36) with 24 points and nine rebounds, while Gasol ended with 19 points and nine boards in the important victory.

Antawn Jamison and Earl Clark both scored 13 points off the bench, with Howard held to just nine points and 10 rebounds.

“This is the big push for us,” a delighted Bryant said. “We’ve got a very tough stretch, and we’re excited.

“You want to be going into the playoffs feeling like you’re playing good ball against tough opposition. It’s been a lot of figuring out we had to do, but it’s better late than never.”

Mike Conley led the Grizzlies (51-25) with 21 points and six assists, Zach Randolph added 15 points and seven rebounds and Marc Gasol, 11 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in the defeat.

Also on Friday night, Carmelo Anthony scored 41 points to guide the New York Knicks (49-26) to a comfortable 101-83 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks (36-39).

Anthony, who scored 50 and 40 points in his previous two games, also pulled down 14 rebounds for New York, which picked up its 11th straight victory.

The star forward was supported by J.R. Smith, who finished with 30 points and 10 assists.

“You know Carmelo’s been on a tear and obviously continued again tonight,” Bucks coach Jim Boylan said. “So it’s tough.

“We were battling down there but he started making some shots, they got out in transition a few times and we just couldn’t seem to slow them down.”

Brandon Jennings scored 25 points and J.J. Redick added 18 off the bench for the Bucks.

In another highlighted game on Friday night, Oklahoma City Thunder (56-20) dominated the Indiana Pacers (48-28) on their way to a 97-75 win on the road.

The NBA leading scorer Kevin Durant led the way with 34 points for the Thunder with point guard Russell Westbrook adding 24.

Roy Hibbert paced the Pacers with 22 points in the defeat.

NBA RESULTS – Friday, April 5
RESULT
Cleveland 97, Boston 91
New York 101, Milwaukee 83
Philadelphia 101, Atlanta 90
Miami 89, Charlotte 79
Oklahoma City 97, Indiana 75
Chicago 87, Orlando 86
Toronto 95, Minnesota 93
Utah 95, New Orleans 83
Golden State 111, Phoenix 107
Dallas 117, Sacramento 108
Houston 116, Portland 98
LA Lakers 86, Memphis 84

LaQuinton Ross nails late 3-pointer, Ohio State beat Arizona 73-70

by Leave a Comment

LOS ANGELES (Sporting Alert, Box Score) — LaQuinton Ross knocked down a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left to give Ohio State a 73-70 victory over Arizona in an exciting sweet 16 game at Staples Center on Thursday night.

With the game tied at 70-70 and 21.8 seconds left, all eyes were on Aaron Craft, but he passed it off to Ross to nail the long range three-pointer, much to the delight of his teammates and the supporting fans, who went wild after the shot.

Ross, who finished with 17 points in the game, scored 14 of the Buckeyes’ last 20 points, while star forward Deshaun Thomas, who kept his team in the contest when things weren’t going according to plan, top scored with 20 points in the win.

Trailing 38-34 at half-time after going behind early, Ohio State (29-7) came out firing in the second half and scored the first 10 points of the half to take the lead.

Craft had 13 points and five assists and in the end, the Buckeyes scored 15 points in the final 7:59 minutes to seal the win and move into the elite eight with the West Regional semifinals positive result.

Mark Lyons scored a game high 23 points to lead Arizona (27-8), while Solomon Hill finished with 17 points in the defeat for the Wildcats.

Milwaukee v LA Lakers Starting Line-ups

by Leave a Comment

Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Sporting Alert) — The following are the starting line-ups for tonight’s NBA game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Pau Gasol starts for the Lakers, with Steve Nash, Jodie Meeks, Kobe Bryant, who averaging 27.2 points per game and Howard, Dwight, who is at 16.5, also confirmed as the starters tonight for the travelers.

The LA Lakers are 37-35 on the season, but 14-23 away from Staples Center.

Los Angeles are without forward Metta World Peace (averaging 12.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game), who is out injured.

Point guard Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis are among the starters tonight for the Bucks (34-36).

Marquis Daniels, Ersan Ilyasova and Larry Sanders are all in the starting line-up for the hosts Milwaukee tonight.

The Bucks are 18-17 at home.

Milwaukee v LA Lakers Starting Line-ups

Milwaukee: Brandon Jennings, Monta Ellis, Marquis Daniels, Ersan Ilyasova, Larry Sanders

LA Lakers: Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Jodie Meeks, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard.

LA Lakers 105 beat Oklahoma City 96 at Staples Center

by Leave a Comment

LOS ANGELES, CA (Sporting Alert) — The Los Angeles Lakers held off the challenges of the Oklahoma City Thunder down the stretch to secure a battling 105-96 win at Staples Center on Sunday.

Watch LA Lakers Beat Thunder Video Highlights


Kobe Bryant paced the Lakers with 21 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds in the victory after both team entered the fourth quarter locked at 75-75.

Kevin Durant led the Oklahoma City Thunder with a game high 34 points, while Russell Westbrook, who only shot 6-for-22 from the field contributed 17 points and 13 assists and nine boards in the defeat.

It was an all round team performance by the Lakers, with Steve Nash scoring 17 points, Pau Gasol adding 16 and Metta World Peace, 15 points and 10 rebounds in the victory.

After a close contest down the stretch, Earl Clark hit the go ahead basket to give the Lakers a 90-87 lead with five and half minutes left, before Bryant knocked down two key buckets late in the game to keep the surging Thunder away from their total.

“I think this win is good for us,” a delighted Bryant said after the win.

“We showed that we can come up with a good plan and we can stick to it and we execute it.

“It also showed that down the stretch we can make big plays.”

Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins both ended with 10 points apiece.

LA Lakers 105, Oklahoma City 96
When: 3:30 PM ET, Sunday, January 27, 2013
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Officials: #16 David Guthrie, #13 Monty McCutchen, #60 James Williams
Attendance: 18997

Miami Heat vs LA Lakers: Free Live Score Updates, Blogging

by Leave a Comment

LOS ANGELES (Sporting Alert) – It’s LeBron James v Kobe Bryant, as the Los Angeles Lakers host the defending champion Miami Heat at Staples Center.

Don’t forget to check out live online streaming coverage on TNT online Player

FOLLOW LIVE BLOGGING AND SCORE UPDATES HERE

All eyes though, will be on Dwight Howard to see if the star center will be able keeping his impressive showing since returning from injury.

Los Angeles has won six of its last seven matchups against teams in the East.

Pau Gasol will come off the bench tonight, despite Lakers (17-21) coach Mike D’Antoni saying the star forward would go straight back into the starting line-up when he returned.

In fact, D’Antoni said “Gasol’s minutes will likely be limited, but will judge how it looks on the floor,” according the team’s game report.

Gasol doesn’t care about starting he just wants to be back playing.

He said he feels better and is looking forward to playing again.

“I feel better – a lot better, actually,” he said on Lakers.com after a workout session on Wednesday. “I feel 100 percent now.

“Got a good workout in today and everything felt good. Tomorrow will be a go.”

Lakers have won three in a row and Bryant is ready to see how much the team has improved in the last few weeks.

He said facing the defending champions at home is a big test.

“It’s a good measuring stick for us to see how much we’ve improved since last week, when we played against several top teams and they all beat us,” he said.

“This is a big test with the defending champs coming to town.”

Miami Heat (25-12) head into the contest in high spirit, following a 92-75 win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.

James comes into the game on the back of becoming the youngest player in NBA history to reach 20,000 career points during the win over the Warriors.

Los Angeles Lakers unchanged v Oklahoma City: Starting Teams, Live on ESPN

by Leave a Comment

LOS ANGELES (Sporting Alert) — The Los Angeles Lakers will start with the same team that suffered defeat to the San Antonio Spurs in the last outing for Friday night’s clash with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The NBA contest will take place at Staples Center.

Date: 10:30 PM ET, Friday, January 11, 2013
Place: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Officials: #33 Sean Corbin, #75 Eric Dalen, #48 Scott Foster
Live TV Channel: ESPN, WatchESPN.com

With Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol both still out injured, the Los Angeles Lakers have decided to continue with forward Earl Clark, who was very impressive when collecting a double/double against the Spurs and rookie center Robert Sacre in the first five.

The Lakers starting team is completed by Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash at guard and Metta World Peace at the forward.

Star point guard Russell Westbrook and leading forward Kevin Durant are amongst the starters for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Los Angeles Lakers Team: Kobe Bryant – G; Steve Nash – G; Metta World Peace – F; Earl Clark – F; Robert Sacre – C

Oklahoma City Thunder Team: Thabo Sefolosha – G; Russell Westbrook – G; Kevin Durant – F; Serge Ibaka – F; Kendrick Perkins – C

Nash To Make Lakers Return From Injury Soon

by Leave a Comment

LOS ANGELES (Sporting Alert) — Steve Nash is showing signs of improvement from his injury and Los Angeles Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni believes his leading point guard is on track to make a return soon.

Nash certainly will not play when the Lakers host the Utah Jazz at Staples Center on Sunday, but D’Antoni admits that there’s a chance the veteran ball handler could return to the action during the upcoming four-game road trip.

“I think it’s possible,” D’Antoni said of the possibility of Nash returning soon. “I wouldn’t put my reputation on it, but, it’s possible.”

The ex-Phoenix player has been out since injuring his left leg almost two months ago in Portland, but looks good in his rehab sessions and the team’s strength and conditioning coach Tim DiFrancesco believes there are signs of real progress.

“I’m really excited with the progress that he’s feeling and I’m seeing at this point, in certain lower body based exercises that even a week ago were not possible,” DiFrancesco said on the Lakers official website at www.lakers.com.

“I finally feel like we’re seeing some beams of light at the end of this tunnel, and that’s exciting. Nobody has been more frustrated or wanted to be back on that court than him.”

The Lakers (9-11) are coming off a disappoint defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder and will take on a Jazz side that is 11-10 on the season.