NBA: Frustrated Curry, Warriors on brink of biggest choke

Unanimous NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry is feeling the frustration of the Golden State Warriors’ collapse to the brink of the biggest choke in NBA Finals history.

The record-setting 3-point shooter and NBA scoring champion was fined $25,000 Friday by the league for hurling his mouthguard into the crowd after fouling out of Thursday’s 115-101 loss at Cleveland, which left the best-of-seven series deadlocked at 3-3.

“It was obviously frustrating fouling out in the fourth quarter of a clinching game and not being out there with my teammates,” Curry said. “So it got the best of me, but I’ll be all right for next game.”

Sunday’s game seven at Oakland will decide if Curry and the Warriors, who won a record 73 of 82 regular-season games, defend their crown or become the first players in 70 NBA Finals to squander a 3-1 series lead and let the title slip away.

“Nothing about our playoff run has been perfect,” Curry said, citing a 3-1 deficit to Oklahoma City in the Western Conference final. “We were in adversity the last series and had to rattle off three straight wins so things haven’t gone our way despite how the regular season went.

“So, yeah, it’s frustrating, but the work we’ve put in and the opportunity we’ve given ourselves, you’ve got to be excited about that.”

Outbursts prove costly

Warriors coach Steve Kerr also was fined $25,000 for complaining about officiating, defending Curry’s contention that referees were wrong about the last calls that resulted in Curry fouling out for the first time since 2013 and receiving a first-ever ejection.

“I didn’t think I fouled,” Curry said. “That’s just kind of my perception of the plays and I had a reaction to it. I had some stuff I wanted to get off my chest after the way the game went.”

Kerr described the foul calls as “ridiculous” and said officials were fooled by flops, adding, “I’m happy he threw his mouthpiece. He should be upset… three of the six fouls were incredibly inappropriate calls for anybody, much less the MVP of the league.”

In his anger, Curry hurled the mouthpiece into the son of a part-owner of the Cavaliers who was sitting in the front row.

“I definitely didn’t mean to throw it at a fan, but it happened,” Curry said. “I went over and apologized to him because that’s obviously not where I was trying to take my frustration out.”

It’s such lack of discipline that has the Warriors in the mess they find themselves. Draymond Green swung has hand into the groin of Cleveland star LeBron James in game four and was banned from game five for accumulated flagrant fouls, his absence helping Cleveland win and being compounded when Australian center Andrew Bogut suffered a left knee injury that ended his season.

Green had to be restrained by Kerr as he argued a foul call late in game six, his anger and yelling risky given the chance of an incident that could have brought a game seven ban.

“It wasn’t an ideal situation to not have him out there and hopefully he’s not put in that situation again where he’s putting his playing status in jeopardy,” Curry said.

Racial profiling and plots?
Curry can’t even escape the tensions of the finals at home. His wife, Ayesha, tweeted her husband’s ejection was part of a plot to “rig” the outcome to force a game seven “for money or ratings.” She later deleted the message, saying it was a “heat of the moment” missive.

There’s no doubt the drama of the NBA’s two biggest stars, Curry and James, and the thrill of a record-setting comeback or a repeat champion has captivated US sports fans at a profitable pace for telecasters. Some 20.7 million people watched game six in America, 6.5 percent of the population, and TV ratings are the second-best in finals history.

Curry’s father-in-law was nearly arrested ahead of game six in what Ayesha Curry called a case of racial profiling. She said he was detained because in the mistaken belief he was a con artist thought to be trying to attend the game with phony credentials.

“Police racial profiled my father and told him to remove credentials and tried to arrest him. It’s been a long night for me. I apologize,” she tweeted.

“I’m okay we lost… I just can’t take people coming at my family for absolutely no reason. Something I don’t understand or stand for.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Kobe scores 60 points in unbelievable farewell victory

LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant went out with a Hollywood ending to his remarkable career.

He scored 60 points in his final NBA game Wednesday night, wrapping up 20 years in the NBA with an unbelievable offensive showcase in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 101-96 victory over the Utah Jazz.

Bryant scored 23 points in the fourth quarter, posting his first 50-point game since February 2009 and rallying the Lakers from a 15-point deficit to win the final game of the worst season in franchise history.


With the entire Staples Center crowd standing, Bryant drained a 3-pointer with 59 seconds left. He hit another with 31 seconds to play, putting the Lakers ahead 97-96. He finished with an assist before checking out for good with 4.1 seconds left in just the Lakers’ 17th win of the worst season in franchise history.

Bryant took a career-high 50 shots to get there. He posted his highest-scoring performance since getting 61 against New York in 2009. It was the fifth highest-scoring game of his career, and he became the oldest player to score 50 points in an NBA game.

The entire night was a tribute to Bryant, who is retiring after 20 seasons, five championship rings and 18 All-Star selections with the Lakers, who honored him before and after the game. Bryant is just the fifth player in NBA history to play 20 seasons, and the first with just one team.

Between the whistles, Bryant and his teammates conspired for one last omnivorous scoring performance by the third-leading scorer in NBA history.

Bryant surpassed his previous career high of 47 shots, taken in a loss to Boston on Nov. 7, 2002.

It was daylong tribute with thousands of fans thronging the downtown streets around Staples Center and chanting his name from early afternoon. Fans lucky enough to get inside Staples Center greeted him with ovations at every opportunity. Magic Johnson anchored a brief pregame tribute by calling Bryant “the biggest and greatest celebrity we’ve had in this town for 20 years” and “the greatest to wear the purple and gold.”

After blowing kisses and pounding his heart before the game, Bryant got right to work on what the fans wanted to see. But he missed his first five shots before finally pump-faking and finally connecting on a jumper.

Bryant found a rhythm then, finishing the first quarter with 15 points on 13 shots. He kept it up after sitting out the first six minutes of the second, finishing with 22 points despite missing a last-minute shot, his 20th of the first half.

source: sports.inquirer.net

NBA: Golden State Warriors seen to break records this season

LOS ANGELES, United States — AFP looks at trends and topics in the National Basketball Association over the week ending November 22:

Warriors eye season record

They’ve already tied the record for the best start to a season in NBA history.

Now there’s talk that the Golden State Warriors could surpass the record 72-10 season of the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls.

Golden State’s Klay Thompson is on record as saying 73 wins are possible for the defending champions, who moved to 15-0 on Sunday.

Reigning Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry thinks it would be a tall order — but has also indicated it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.

“We know how hard it was to win 67,” Curry told the San Jose Mercury news. “You feel like, what games did you give along the way? But we’re off to a better start than we were last year, and I think we have talked about we’re a better team, so a lot goes into that.

“That would be nice to hit (72 wins) and something that we would be very proud of obviously. It’s still more to the formula of winning a championship. We want to be at the best we can be, and if that’s 72, 73 wins, then so be it.”

Hero to zero?

Luke Walton is officially the least-recognized record-equaling coach in NBA history.

Walton may have overseen Golden State’s remarkable 15-game unbeaten start to the season, but in the eyes of official statisticians, the rookie coach has zero victories in his wins column.

That’s because Walton is merely keeping the seat warm for Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who is currently on a leave of absence as he recovers from multiple back surgeries.

Walton, 35, says he’s unfazed by the fact that the wins don’t count towards his record.

“I’m completely okay with the fact that the wins don’t count on any record book for me,” Walton told SI.com recently. “Our concern here is getting the wins and the team continuing to get better while Steve isn’t able to coach.”

Philadelphia (horror) story

While the Golden State Warriors sweep all before them in the upper echelons of the NBA, at the other end of the scale the Philadelphia 76ers are closing in on an unwanted piece of history.

The 76ers have now lost 24 games in a row after Saturday’s 96-91 defeat to Miami, and on current form look well placed to equal their own record of 26 games for the longest losing streak in NBA history, set in the 2013-2014 season, a record they share with the 2010-2011 Cleveland Cavaliers.

Lieberman to reign at Kings?

With the Sacramento Kings languishing near the foot of the Western Conference standings, the pressure is mounting on head coach George Karl.

That has opened up the intriguing possibility that owner Vivek Ranadive could promote Nancy Lieberman to be the first female head coach in NBA history, according to Bleacher Report.

Lieberman, 57, was hired by the team over the summer and could be in line to replace Karl if Ranadive is unable to lure first choice John Calipari from the University of Kentucky.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Miami Heat back-to-back NBA champs

MANILA, Philippines – The Miami Heat defeated the San Antonio Spurs Thursday night (US time) in game 7 of the NBA finals for their second straight championship.

LeBron James shone on the biggest stage anew, shredding the San Antonio defense for 37 points, including five 3-pointers, and grabbing 12 rebounds, as he led the Heat to a 95-88 win for the third NBA title in franchise history.

Dwyane Wade added 23 points and 10 rebounds and Shane Battier came off the bench to score 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc for the Heat, who became the first team to win back-to-back titles since the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 and 2010.

James made 5 of 10 3-point attempts, all the while hounding Spurs star Tony Parker on defense.

Tim Duncan had 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs, who were trying to become the first road team to win a finals Game 7 since Washington in 1978. Kawhi Leonard added 19 points and 16 rebounds.

Parker had 10 points on 3-for-12 shooting and four assists, and Manu Ginobili scored 18 points for San Antonio, which lost for the first time in five finals appearances.

The Heat led just 72-71 going into the fourth quarter but edged that out to an eight-point lead with 7:30 to play.

The Spurs missed seven of their first 10 shots and turned the ball over five times in the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter.



Duncan’s turnover led to Battier’s sixth 3-pointer, a corner dagger that gave Miami an 88-82 lead with 3:21 to go. The delirious Heat crowd leapt to its feet, and they didn’t sit down for the rest of a thrilling finish.

The Spurs were not done with, and Leonard’s 3 made it 90-88. Tim Duncan had an opportunity to tie the scores but missed a simple putback, and James knocked down a 19-foot jumper with 27.9 seconds to go, effectively sealing the victory.

San Antonio’s Danny Green, for five games the favorite for finals MVP thanks to his record-setting 3-point shooting, missed his first eight shots and finished with five points on 1-for-12 shooting, while Game 6 hero Ray Allen was 0 for 4 with three turnovers for Miami.

The Heat have been to three straight finals, just like they envisioned when Pat Riley brought James, Wade and Bosh together three summers ago. But it’s been anything but easy for the NBA’s latest super team. They lost to Dallas in 2010, suffering the final defeat in Game 6 on their home floor, then rebounded to steamroll the Oklahoma City Thunder last season.

This regular season was shaping up as a coronation more than a competition, with the Heat rattling off 66 victories, including a staggering 27 in a row. They entered the playoffs with an air of invincibility, but were pushed as hard as they’ve ever been.

In the proud Spurs, they faced an aging core that simply wouldn’t give in, which had to make this victory their most satisfying yet.

The Heat were all but eliminated in Game 6, down 13 points at the start of the fourth quarter and five with 21 seconds to play but somehow they managed to force overtime and win it to keep their back-to-back hopes alive.

“It’s like you have a second chance on life,” Bosh said. “You’re not going to waste it. We were revived. We were dead. We brought ourselves back to life.”

The Heat made the most of the kind of second chance that the Spurs have so rarely given over the years. James found the perimeter shooting that had been lacking for most of the series, hitting consecutive 3s in the third quarter to get Miami going after a ragged start.

The reigning MVP also locked down Parker, the focal point of the Spurs offense, forcing him to give the ball up earlier in the shot clock than he wanted.

Had the Heat lost, James would have fallen to 1-3 in the NBA’s championship rounds, and his legion of critics would have been banging on his door with more “He’s no Jordan” vitriol.

Instead, James delivered with the clutch performances that have now become the norm for him.

He rescued the Heat in Game 6, scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter, then he followed that up with a sterling Game 7.

James missed four of his first six shots, but started to find a rhythm late in the second quarter. He converted a three-point play on an acrobatic drive to the rim and hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key for a 33-27 lead, bringing the white-clad home crowd to their feet.

Duncan just wouldn’t let the Spurs fade. The 37-year-old had a three-point play, four free throws and another layup that tied the game at 40 and Ginobili’s two free throws gave the Spurs the lead again at 42-40.

He scored 10 straight point in the third quarter to keep the Heat in it, hitting consecutive 3-pointers.

It was a heart-breaking way to end it for these Spurs, who were 21 seconds from title No. 5 when everything went wrong in Game 6. Now, once again, they will face proclamations of their demise. Only this time, it may be harder to hold those off.

Duncan is 37, but coming off an All-NBA First Team season and a vintage performance in the finals. The 31-year-old Parker is nearing his apex after one of his finest seasons. But Ginobili will turn 36 next month and will be a free agent, perhaps marking the end of the three-person core that helped put the Alamo City on the NBA map, and keep it there for 10 years.

Back in 2007, when the Spurs swept James and the Cleveland Cavaliers for the franchise’s fourth title, Duncan found the young superstar for a quiet moment to tell him that the league would one day be his.

Now James has four MVPs, two Olympic golds and back-to-back titles on his resume. Duncan has been right so many times throughout his career. This time, it’s at his own expense.

It was the first loss for the Spurs in the best-of-seven championship final. With AFP, AP

source: sports.inquirer.net