NBA: Celtics down Magic for third straight win, Spurs shock Sixers

LOS ANGELES -- Boston forward Jayson Tatum poured in 40 points as the Celtics beat the Orlando Magic 126-120 on Saturday to improve to 3-0 in the fledgling NBA season while the Philadelphia 76ers fell to 0-3.

The rebuilding San Antonio Spurs stunned the Sixers 114-105 in Philadelphia, where frustrated 76ers coach Doc Rivers said after the game his team was "not ready" to win yet.

In Orlando, Tatum's exploits and a 27-point contribution from guard Derrick White helped the Celtics notch another win in a game that featured 21 lead changes with neither team able to build a double-digit advantage.

Orlando big man Wendell Carter knotted the score at 111-111 with a put-back dunk with 4:23 to play.

Carter then fouled Tatum and Tatum's two free throws ignited a 10-2 scoring run that put Boston up for good.

Terrence Ross led the Magic with 29 points and top draft pick Paolo Banchero added 23, but Orlando fell to 0-3.

That's also where the 76ers found themselves after the inexperienced Spurs -- whose championship chances were downplayed by none other than coach Gregg Popovich before the season -- drained 16 three-pointers on the way to their second straight win.

Devin Vassell scored 22 points, Keldon Johnson added 21 and Tre Jones chipped in 17 for San Antonio while Doug McDermott made four three-pointers on the way to 14 points.

San Antonio's top-scoring trio all have less than three years experience in the league, and Popovich said he was impressed with the young team's performance on the second night of a road back-to-back.

"What it showed me was they are serious about getting better and knowing what the league is like," Popovich said.

The Spurs withstood a 40-point performance from Philadelphia's star big man Joel Embiid but held James Harden to 12.

"We're not ready yet," Rivers said. "Honestly, we're just not. We're not ready to win yet. You can feel that and so we've got a lot of work to do.

"It's almost like we played these first two games hard, competed, and then felt like 'OK, now we can win some games' -- you've still got to go out and earn the game."

- Mavs rout Grizzlies -

In Dallas, Luka Doncic scored 21 of his 32 points in the first quarter and the Mavericks steamrolled the Memphis Grizzlies 137-96 in their home opener.

Ja Morant, coming off a 49-point display against the Houston Rockets, finished with 20 points for the Grizzlies, who were on the back foot from the opening tip-off.

Dallas led by as many as 25 points in the first period and, with the game well in hand, Doncic sat out the fourth quarter.

In Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 44 points as the Bucks launched a six-game homestand with a dominant 125-105 victory over the Houston Rockets.

The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player was frighteningly efficient in less than 28 minutes on the court, connecting on 17 of his 21 shots from the field, including two of three from three-point range.

The Greek superstar also pulled down 12 rebounds and made eight of 13 free throw attempts, and with 3,508 career free throws overtook Sidney Moncrief (3,505) as the Bucks' all-time leader from the foul line.

Milwaukee opened the game on an 11-0 run and never trailed against a flat Rockets team that fell to 0-3.

In Miami, Jimmy Butler scored 24 points and Max Strus added 20 off the bench as the Heat held off the Toronto Raptors 112-109 in a game that saw a player from each team ejected.

The Heat led by 19 when Toronto's Christian Koloko and Miami's Caleb Martin were ejected with 7:46 left in the third quarter.

They tangled after fighting for a rebound and ended up scuffling in the courtside seats.

The fired-up Raptors then went on a 17-2 scoring run, but Miami held on down the stretch.

Agence France-Presse

Popovich sets coaching wins record, as Spurs clip Jazz

Gregg Popovich became the NBA's all-time leader in regular-season coaching wins after his San Antonio Spurs rallied from 15 points down in the fourth quarter to beat the visiting Utah Jazz 104-102 on Friday.

The victory lifted Popovich to 1,336 wins, breaking a tie with Don Nelson. Popovich, in his 26th NBA season, all with the Spurs, tied the record on March 7 via a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, but lost their next game.

The Spurs trailed by 10 entering the 4th quarter and by 15 with 10:02 left in the game, but they rallied and were up 98-95 after Jakob Poeltl made a floater with 31.3 seconds remaining. Utah's Donovan Mitchell canned a jumper with 17.6 seconds left to cut the lead to a point.

Josh Richardson then made 1 free throw with 14.2 seconds to play but missed the 2nd. The Spurs' Keldon Johnson swooped in for the offensive rebound, was fouled, and made both of the free throws with 12.5 seconds remaining to make it a 4-point game.Mitchell's bucket with 5.9 seconds to play cut the lead back to 2, before Dejounte Murray made a pair of free throws with 4.8 seconds left.

Utah's Rudy Gay hit a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left, but Murray added another free throw and the Jazz could not get off another shot.

San Antonio had been 0 for 33 in games it was trailing entering the fourth quarter.

Murray led the Spurs with 27 points, with Poeltl adding 15 points and 11 rebounds. Zach Collins also scored 15 points, Johnson finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Richardson and Lonnie Walker IV scored 11 points each.

Mitchell scored 24 points to lead the Jazz. Jordan Clarkson had 17, and Rudy Gobert (13 points, 16 rebounds) and Hassan Whiteside (13 points and 10 rebounds) recorded double-doubles for Utah.

Mitchell scored 10 points in a stretch of the second period when the Jazz turned a two-point deficit into a 57-45 lead with 2:22 to play in the half.

Utah took a 59-50 advantage into the break behind Mitchell's 18 points in the first half. The Jazz hit 9 of its 22 shots from beyond the arc in the half, with Mitchell making 4 of 8.

Collins paced the Spurs with 13 points in the half and Murray added 12. San Antonio shot only 39.5 percent in the half.

-reuters

NBA: Dejounte Murray hits for 32 to lead Spurs past Hawks

Murray tied his career high with 32 points on 11-for-18 shooting, tied his career high with 15 assists and added 10 rebounds. He now has 15 career triple-doubles, surpassing David Robinson for the all-time franchise lead.

Keldon Johnson added 26 points and Devin Vassell scored 20 points. The Spurs shot 55.6 percent from the field, just shy of their season-best of 57.4 percent, and were 18-for-32 (56.3 percent) on 3-pointers.

The Spurs were able to keep Atlanta's Trae Young under wraps. Young, who averages 25.9 points in 7 career games against San Antonio, scored only 6 in the first half and finished with 18 points and 11 assists.

Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 23 and Danilo Gallinari scored 16, allowing him to surpass the 11,000-point career mark. Atlanta's John Collins left the game after 21 minutes with right heel pain and did not return.

The teams split their 2-game season series.

The Spurs dominated the 1st quarter and set a season high for most points in a quarter, taking a 43-27 lead. San Antonio was 8-for-10 on 3s — Atlanta had only two — and shot 65.2 percent from the floor.

The Hawks got as close as 6 points in the 2nd quarter, but the Spurs regained control with an 8-0 run and led 73-56 at the half. Jakob Poeltl threw in a 3-pointer from halfcourt as the horn sounded to stretch the lead to 17.

The Spurs started the 3rd quarter on a 9-2 streak to extend the lead to 24 points and were able to withstand a late run that allowed the Hawks to trim the margin to 12. San Antonio scored the final 4 points and took a 103-87 advantage into the 4th quarter.

-reuters

NBA: Clippers complete 5-1 home run with win over Spurs

Paul George scored 34 points and Reggie Jackson added 21 as the Los Angeles Clippers finished off a 5-1 homestand on Tuesday with a 106-92 victory over the visiting San Antonio Spurs.

Rookie Brandon Boston Jr. scored a career-high 13 points as the Clippers rebounded from their only loss of the month, 100-90 to the Chicago Bulls on Sunday.

Ivica Zubac had 13 rebounds for the Clippers on Tuesday as Los Angeles had a 52-40 overall rebounding advantage over the smaller Spurs. San Antonio shot just 5 of 22 (22.7 percent) from 3-point range.  

Dejounte Murray tallied 26 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists as the Spurs lost their third consecutive game and fell for the sixth time in their last eight. Murray was coming off a 22-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist triple-double in a loss at the L.A. Lakers on Sunday.

Derrick White added 19 points for San Antonio on Tuesday, while Thaddeus Young and Keldon Johnson added 10 points each.

With the game tied 69-all and 5:49 remaining in the third quarter, the Clippers went on a 14-2 run to take an 83-71 advantage into the final period. Jackson scored seven of Los Angeles' final nine points in the run.

The Clippers pushed the advantage to 91-73 with 8:55 remaining after a basket by Bledsoe. The Spurs got as close as nine points twice in the final 5:15, including 99-90 with 2:01 remaining, before the Clippers put the game away.

Drew Eubanks had 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who fell to 2-6 on the road. Devin Vassell scored just two points for San Antonio after he had averaged 18 over the three previous games.

George delivered his fifth game of at least 30 points this season.

The Clippers were playing without Terance Mann, who tweaked his left ankle Sunday against the Bulls.

-reuters

Gregg Popovich ties Pat Riley for road wins as Spurs beat Wolves

MINNEAPOLIS — Under coach Gregg Popovich, the San Antonio Spurs have been consistent winners. That includes when they go on the road — and anywhere they play the Minnesota Timberwolves.

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 25 points, Rudy Gay added 22 and the Spurs held on to give Popovich another milestone victory in a 116-113 win against the Timberwolves on Friday night.


Popovich earned his 520th career win on the road, tying Pat Riley for the most in NBA history.

“We got through some stuff and it’s always good to win on the road,” Popovich said. “It’s always difficult to do, but when you do it feels pretty good.”



The win also continued San Antonio’s mastery of Minnesota. The Spurs have won 16 of the past 18 games between the teams. San Antonio is 59-25 in the series since Popovich took over as coach for the 1996-97 season.

Marco Belinelli added 19 points off the bench for San Antonio, which played without leading scorer DeMar DeRozan because of left ankle soreness.

“Coach Pop said don’t think about it and play basketball, and we’ve got to win the game no matter what,” forward Davis Bertans said.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 points for the Timberwolves but fouled out after only 21 minutes. Derrick Rose chipped in 23 points and Taj Gibson added 14 points and 11 rebounds for Minnesota.

Another matchup between the familiar foes was tight throughout, with 27 lead changes and 17 ties. It also featured a heavy dose of fouls on both sides. The teams combined for 53 personal fouls and 67 free throws.

“We’re a no-excuse team,” Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders said. “We made our own mistakes at times. We had opportunities to win. So, there’s nothing on the officials.”

Towns picked up his fourth foul less than two minutes into the second half, and again went to the bench. Josh Okogie had six points and Jeff Teague added five as Minnesota used a 14-1 run to take a 77-67 lead.

The Spurs responded with a 13-2 spurt of their own as Bertans hit a pair of 3-pointers.

“We had a 10-point lead. We didn’t close out the show,” Towns said. “We didn’t do what we needed to do to come out with a win. That’s the disappointing thing about tonight. That’s our next step in maturation of our team.”



The Wolves led 90-88 to start the fourth, but Bertans opened the quarter with another 3. San Antonio led by seven in the fourth, but Minnesota clawed back within one with 30.3 seconds left on Rose’s layup.

Belinelli hit two free throws and Rose’s 3 at the buzzer was off the mark.

TIP-INS

Spurs: Popovich is third in NBA history with 1,224 wins overall. He passed Jerry Sloan for third place on Jan. 10. … San Antonio entered 4-17 this season when trailing after three quarters.

Timberwolves: Tyus Jones missed the game with a left ankle sprain sustained Tuesday at Philadelphia. Robert Covington missed his eighth straight game with a right knee bone bruise. … Andrew Wiggins passed Sam Mitchell for second place on the franchise’s career scoring list. Wiggins has 7,174 points. Kevin Garnett is first with 19,201 points in a Wolves uniform. … After scoring his 10,000th career point on Tuesday, Rose got his 3,000th assist on Friday. … Minnesota announced that Jerry Sichting was hired as an assistant coach. It is Sichting’s third stint with the Wolves. He spent 10 years with the team from 1995-2005 and two seasons from 2007-09.

ON THE MEND

DeRozan said he expects to play Sunday “without a doubt” even though he’s “a little banged up.”

“I pride myself in not missing a practice, not missing a game,” he said. “When you play a lot of minutes, a lot of things accumulate that you’ve got to deal with, so it was kind of good just to get a rest. Don’t play until Sunday, get some treatment. So, a couple days for me is going to be big.”


DeRozan began the day 20th in the league in points per game (21.7) and 13th in assists (6.4).

TOWNS FOULS

It was the sixth time Towns has fouled out this season, and the second time against San Antonio. He entered tied for first in the NBA in fouls per game at 3.8

“I’m going to save my money because whatever I say won’t change anything,” Towns said.

UP NEXT

Spurs: Return home against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

Timberwolves: Host the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Paul, Rockets roll past Spurs for 12th straight win

HOUSTON — Chris Paul had 28 points, eight assists and seven steals to lead the Houston Rockets to their 12th straight victory, a 124-109 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night.

Paul became the first player in NBA history to post 28 points, eight assists and seven steals in a game against the Spurs. In the past 10 years, that stat line has been achieved just 10 times — Paul has done it six of those times. The Rockets are unbeaten when he plays this season.

Paul’s dazzling performance came on a night James Harden had one of his worst 3-point shooting nights of the season, making 6 of 18 from the field, including 2 of 11 from 3. Harden had 28 points, seven rebounds and six assists, scoring half his points on 14-of-16 shooting from the free-throw line.

The Rockets are on the fourth-longest win streak in franchise history and the longest since a franchise-best 22 straight in the 2007-08 season.

All Rockets starters and reserve Eric Gordon had scored in double figures by the end of the third quarter. Clint Capela had 18 points and 10 rebounds, Gordon scored 14 points, Ryan Anderson had 12, and Trevor Ariza added 11.

The Rockets beat the Spurs for just the third time in their last 12 meetings.

LaMarcus Aldridge led the Spurs with 16 points. Joffrey Lauvergne had 14, Patty Mills had 13 and Davis Bertans scored 12, all off the bench for San Antonio.

The Rockets jumped to a 31-16 lead at the end of the first quarter and led 60-43 at the half. The Rockets entered the fourth quarter with a 92-72 lead.

Kawhi Leonard played in his second game back after making his season debut on Tuesday night in Dallas after missing the first 27 games of the season with a right quadriceps injury. Leonard, who has been recovering from a quadriceps condition that causes pain and weakness in the knee, started and had 12 points in 17 minutes, all in the first half.

Before the game, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich hinted before the game that Leonard and Tony Parker were unlikely to play Saturday night in Dallas in the second half of San Antonio’s back-to-back.

TIP-INS

Spurs: SF Kyle Anderson missed his sixth straight game with a sprained left MCL, but he is progressing well and could return after San Antonio’s back-to-back in Houston and Dallas, possibly as early as Monday when the Spurs host the Clippers. … Danny Green started and played through left groin tightness, scoring two points in 19 minutes.

Rockets: Houston played its first game without Luc Mbah a Moute, who suffered a dislocated right shoulder on Wednesday night against Charlotte. Mbah a Moute could be out 2-3 weeks with the injury. … The Rockets improved to 19-1 when leading after the third quarter, winning by double digits for the 17th time in 27 games.

UP NEXT

Spurs: Host Dallas on Saturday night.

Rockets: Host Milwaukee on Saturday night.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Aldridge, Ginobili rescue Spurs against Celtics

SAN ANTONIO — Manu Ginobili hit a 3-pointer with 5 seconds remaining and the San Antonio Spurs overcame Kyrie Irving’s 36-point effort to beat Boston 105-102 on Friday night, snapping the Celtics’ four-game winning streak.

Ginobili set up the winning basket by sneaking into the paint for an offensive rebound with 25 seconds left.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 27 points and 10 rebounds for San Antonio.

Irving, who scored a career-high 57 points against San Antonio in 2015 while with Cleveland, created havoc again at the AT&T Center. Irving finished 13 for 21, including 6 for 10 on 3-pointers, but missed his final two 3s. His final 3-pointer rattled in and out as the buzzer sounded.

The Spurs, already without Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Anderson, lost Danny Green in the first half. Green left with tightness in his left groin. There was no update on the severity of the injury.

Pau Gasol had 14 points and 11 rebounds, Rudy Gay had 15 points, and Tony Parker added 11 for the Spurs. The Spurs are undefeated with Parker in the lineup through six games.

San Antonio held Boston to one field goal in the opening four minutes of the final quarter to erase a five-point deficit to set up the last-second dramatics.

Jayson Tatum had 20 points, and Jaylen Brown added 15 for the Celtics.

Boston scored the game’s first 11 points, prompting San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich to call a timeout and make mass substitutions during the run. Irving hit two more 3-pointers after the initial run, and Popovich drew a technical foul.

The Spurs’ first lead on a fallaway 3-pointer by Ginobili at the close of the first half for a 56-55 advantage.

Brown had 10 points in the third, including two monstrous dunks late in the quarter that awed the crowd.

TIP-INS

Celtics: Forward Marcus Morris was listed as questionable while rehabilitating his left knee, but felt comfortable enough during pre-game warmups to play. Morris finished with five points in 25 minutes after being listed. … Boston suffered its first loss to a Western Conference after winning eight straight. … The Celtics are 10-3 on the road, trailing only Houston (11-1) and Golden State (11-3) for the league’s best road record.

Spurs: Popovich would not confirm a report by the San Antonio Express-News that Leonard will make his season debut Saturday in Phoenix. “Sooner rather than later,” Popovich said, repeating the answer he has given all season about the All-Star forward’s return. … Parker has played 36,000 career minutes as a starter, 24th in league history. … Ginobili has played 26,000 minutes in his career, all with the Spurs, the fourth most in franchise history behind Tim Duncan, Parker and David Robinson. … Green has 500 steals and 401 blocks in his career. Green, LeBron James and Kevin Durant are the only players since 2009 with 500 steals, 400 blocks and 800 3-pointers.

UP NEXT

Celtics: Visit Detroit on Sunday night in a battle between two of the top four records in the Eastern Conference.

Spurs: Visit Phoenix on Saturday night in what could be Leonard’s season debut.

source: sports.inquirer.net

NBA: Aldridge spurs San Antonio past Raptors

LOS ANGELES—LaMarcus Aldridge scored 21 points as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Toronto Raptors 108-106 on Tuesday (Wednesday, Manila) to stay on the heels of the Golden State Warriors at the top of the Western Conference.

Aldridge, who also grabbed seven rebounds and two assists, led the scoring as the Spurs notched their fifth win on the trot to improve to 36-9, two games behind the Warriors (38-7).

Toronto’s defeat was their fourth straight loss however, and their challenge was hampered by the absence of DeMar DeRozan, who sprained an ankle at the weekend.

The Spurs, who sat Kawhi Leonard, had surged into a 13-point lead at one stage in the first half but Toronto drew level in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter at the Air Canada Centre.

Dejounte Murray gave San Antonio a two-point lead with a jump shot before Toronto’s Terrence Ross missed a 25-foot effort with 1:17 to play.

The Raptors meanwhile were unable to punish a Spurs turnover with 45 seconds left before Aldridge scored two key free throws to help get San Antonio over the line.

Patty Mills was the other main scorer for San Antonio with 18 points while Dave Bertans (12) and David Lee (11) also made key contributions.

Kyle Lowry topped Toronto’s scoring with 30 points while Ross added 21 points off the bench.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Leonard scores 31 as Spurs thrash slumping Lakers

Kawhi Leonard poured in 31 points in just three quarters as the San Antonio Spurs dominated in every facet of play Thursday with a emphatic 134-94 blowout of the Los Angeles Lakers.

San Antonio’s 134 points were a season high, as were the 72 points scored by the Spurs in the first half and the overall margin of victory of 40 points.

Pau Gasol added 22 points for San Antonio, while LaMarcus Aldridge and Tony Parker added 13 each, all in just three quarters of the lopsided game.


The Spurs also got 12 points from Jonathan Simmons and 10 from Dejounte Murray and a game-high 12 rebounds from Dewayne Dedmon.

San Antonio was in a bad mood heading into Thursday’s home game after losing by three points to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday.

The Spurs took out their frustrations on a meek Laker team as four of San Antonio’s starters finished in double figures at AT&T Center.

“I respect the way the Spurs played tonight — granted we didn’t put up a ton of fight — but it’s beautiful to see championship teams and the way they came out after one loss,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said.

“How (that loss) made them play and how sharp they were — there’s a lot to learn from being in this game, from watching them. I didn’t think we showed up to meet the challenge.”

All 13 players who took the floor for San Antonio scored, and the Spurs (31-8) outshot Los Angeles 60 percent to 41 percent.

“You always want to handle a loss by bouncing back the next night,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

The lowly Lakers dropped to 15-28 on the season. They were once the “Showtime” darlings of the NBA but have been on a steady downward spiral ever since the passing of club owner and team architect Jerry Buss in 2013.

The Lakers were led Thursday by Julius Randle’s 22 points, but the rest of Los Angeles’ starters managed just 20 total points.

In New York, Tyreke Evans scored 14 of his season-high 29 points in the fourth quarter and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame the absence of Anthony Davis with a 104-95 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

Evans made 10 of 15 shots in a season-high 27 minutes. He missed the first 26 games of the season while recovering from knee surgery.

Season-high total

It was the first time he scored more than 25 points since January 10 against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Davis missed his second game of the season because of a left hip injury.

The Pelicans received little help from centers Omer Asik and Donatas Motiejunas, who combined for one point on zero-of-seven shooting.

Elsewhere, Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala connected on a pair of three-pointers apiece during a long-range shooting exhibition that powered the Golden State Warriors to a 127-107 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Riding double-figure scoring from four starters, the Pistons were down 68-65 in the fourth minute of the third period before the Warriors stepped up their play to earn a season-series sweep.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Spurs keep winning, Heat lose but clinch playoff spot

Kawhi Leonard had a career-high 33 points, while LaMarcus Aldrige had 31 points and 15 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Toronto Raptors 102-95 Saturday (Sunday Manila time) for their franchise-record 64th victory.

San Antonio never trailed and topped its 63-win season in 2005-06. The Spurs also extended their NBA-record home winning streak to start a season to 39 games.

The Spurs closed it out at the free-throw line, capturing their 48th straight home victory dating to March 2015.

Norman Powell had 17 points, Jonas Valanciunas and Cory Joseph added 16 points and Patrick Patterson had 12 points for the Raptors.

In Portland, C.J. McCollum had 24 points and made all six of his 3-point attempts to help the Trail Blazers beat Miami 110-93 for their seventh straight home win.

Despite the loss, the Heat still clinched a playoff spot after the Chicago Bulls lost to Detroit earlier in the evening. However, having come into the game tied for the third seed in the East, Miami dropped to sixth with the loss.

The Blazers made 10 3-pointers to break a franchise record for 3-pointers in a season with 808. They are in sixth place in the Western Conference and have not clinched a playoff spot yet.

Damian Lillard did not play in the fourth quarter and finished with 18 points for the Blazers. Gerald Henderson came off the bench to score 17 points.

Hassan Whiteside led the Heat with 21 points and 13 assists.

In Chicago, Reggie Jackson scored 22 points and Tobias Harris added 21 as Detroit overcame Jimmy Butler’s first career triple-double to beat the Bulls 94-90.

Marcus Morris had 16 points and Andre Drummond had 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Pistons, who remain on track for a playoff spot.

Butler had 28 points and career highs of 17 rebounds and 12 assists. Pau Gasol had 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Detroit is a half-game ahead of Indiana for seventh in the Eastern Conference and 2 1/2 games up on ninth-place Chicago.

C.J. Miles scored 25 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:39 left as Indiana rallied to beat short-handed Philadelphia, 115-102.

Paul George added 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Indiana, the eighth seed in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. Rodney Stuckey scored 17 points.

Isaiah Canaan had 24 points for Philadelphia (9-68), which needs one victory in its remaining five games to avoid matching the 1972-73 Sixers for the worst full-season record in NBA history.

Rudy Gay had 25 points and nine rebounds and Seth Curry scored 17 points to help Sacramento beat Denver 115-106 to sweep the three-game season series.

Darren Collison had 14 points and eight assists and Willie Cauley-Stein and Ben McLemore scored 14 points each for Sacramento, which played without DeMarcus Cousins and Rajon Rondo.

Gary Harris led Denver with 19 points and Emmanuel Mudiay and Joffrey Lauvergne had 15 apiece.

source: sports.inquirer.net

NBA: Spurs stretch home win streak with Warriors up next

LOS ANGELES—Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge each scored 22 points and the San Antonio Spurs beat Portland 118-110 Thursday, boosting their home record this season to 34-0 and stretching their overall NBA home win streak to 43 games.

French guard Tony Parker added 18 points and 16 assists, his most since 2012, while Australia’s Patty Mills came off the bench to contribute 17 points in the triumph, which improved the Spurs to 58-10 this season.

Not since falling to the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 12 of last year have the Spurs been defeated in San Antonio.

But that streak will receive a major test Saturday when the Spurs host the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors, the first of three meetings between the Western Conference powerhouses over the final month of the season.

The Warriors have lost 32 games in a row in San Antonio. Golden State has not beaten the Spurs in San Antonio since February 14, 1997, when Warriors star Stephen Curry was eight years old.

The Spurs’ streak is the third-longest in NBA history behind a 44-game Chicago run in 1995-96 and the ongoing streak of Golden State, which has won 50 home games in a row over two seasons.

San Antonio’s 34-0 home start is the second best home run to open an NBA season, trailing only the 37 in a row by Chicago in 1995-96.

Golden State, which is 61-6 and chasing Chicago’s 1995-96 team’s 72-10 mark for the all-time best season in NBA history, could move past both those home marks this season but have not yet played enough home games.

The Spurs led 56-54 at half-time then scored the first 10 points of the third quarter and surged ahead by as much as 19 in the period. Leonard scored 11 points in the third quarter to spark the run and San Antonio never looked back to the finish.

Hornets get rare Miami win



At Miami, Kemba Walker had 21 points, seven assists and seven rebounds as the Charlotte Hornets rallied from a 15-point deficit to beat the host Heat 109-106. Al Jefferson added 21 points and 10 rebounds as the Hornets broke a 12-game losing streak in games at Miami.

Britain’s Luol Deng led the Heat with 22 points and nine rebounds, but left the game with a bloody mouth after colliding in the final seconds with Jeremy Lin, who made four late free throws to secure victory for the Hornets.

Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan each scored 28 points to lift the Toronto Raptors over host Indiana 101-94 in overtime. The Raptors improved to 46-21, while the Pacers fell to 1-7 in overtime games and slid to 36-32 overall.

John Wall had 16 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds — his seventh career NBA “triple-double” — while Marcus Thornton scored 18 points to spark the Washington Wizards past host Philadelphia 99-94. The Wizards improved to 33-35, 1 1/2 games behind Chicago for the last Eastern Conference playoff berth.

At Chicago, Doug McDermott came off the Bulls bench to score 25 points and lead the hosts over Brooklyn 118-102. Jimmy Butler scored 22 points and passed out seven assists for the Bulls.

Tim Hardaway produced 21 points in his first Atlanta start to lead eight double-figure scorers for the Hawks in a 116-98 victory over visiting Denver.

At Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 15 points and added 11 assists, six rebounds and three blocks as the Milwaukee Bucks beat Memphis 96-86, handing the Grizzlies their fourth loss in a row.

Trey Lyles came off the bench to score 17 points and lead a balanced scoring attack that powered Utah over Phoenix 103-69.

source: sports.inquirer.net

How bullies paved the way for Spurs draft pick to play basketball

SAN ANTONIO— Eighteen years to the day after selecting Tim Duncan, the San Antonio Spurs chose another former swimmer in the first round of the NBA draft by taking Serbia’s Nikola Milutinov with selection 26 on Thursday.

Milutinov was a promising swimmer with Olympic aspirations when he said he was literally run out of the pool. Two bullies pushed a 12-year-old Milutinov off the side of pool, nearly breaking his jaw. He began playing basketball two days later and has since become one of the top European centers.

The 20-year-old averaged 10.1 points and 7.7 rebounds last season while playing for Partizan in the EuroCup and Adriatic and Serbian leagues.

The Spurs used the No. 1 selection in 1997 to select Duncan, who also held Olympic aspirations as a swimmer before turning to basketball.

As a youth in the Virgin Islands, Duncan was a standout in the 50-, 100- and 400-meter freestyle with hopes of qualifying for the 1992 Olympics.

Those dreams were dashed in 1989 when Hurricane Hugo destroyed the Virgin Island’s lone Olympic-sized swimming pool. Duncan trained briefly in the ocean, but has said a fear of sharks drove him from the water and ended his swimming career.

The rest is history. Duncan is perhaps the greatest power forward in NBA history after leading the Spurs to five championships and 18 straight postseason appearances.

While Duncan had an immediate impact with the Spurs, Milutinov is expected to spend at least a few seasons overseas before joining San Antonio.

The Spurs have found great success with international players, winning five titles since 1999 while selecting Tony Parker from France and Argentina’s Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter out of the EuroLeague. San Antonio has also signed France’s Boris Diaw, Australia’s Patty Mills and Italy’s Marco Belinelli to shore up the roster and play in the Spurs’ vaunted system under coach Gregg Popovich.

Spurs general manager R.C. Buford has only tinkered with the roster instead of overhauling it over the past two decades but that will likely change this season as the team only has five players currently under contract.

Duncan and Ginobili have not announced whether they will retire or return. NBA Defensive Player of the Year and 2014 NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard is a restricted free agent. Stalwart role players Danny Green and Belinelli are unrestricted free agents.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Parker’s 28 helps Spurs carve up Wolves 121-92

MINNEAPOLIS, United States— Tony Parker scored 28 points in 25 minutes and the San Antonio Spurs cruised past the short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves, 121-92, in the National Basketball League on Friday night.

Parker made 12 of 18 shots, including all three of his 3-pointers, and Danny Green scored 18 points for the Spurs, which pulled away with a dominant third quarter.

Anthony Bennett scored a career-high 20 points for the Timberwolves, who had just 10 healthy players after announcing earlier in the day that Kevin Martin will be out indefinitely with a fractured right wrist. The Wolves were also missing starters Ricky Rubio, Nikola Pekovic and Thaddeus Young and backup big man Ronny Turiaf.

Against overmatched point guards Mo Williams and Zach LaVine, Parker sliced and diced the Timberwolves’ defense to death with dribble penetration. When he wasn’t scoring on crafty floaters or nifty little finishes at the rim, he was collapsing the Wolves’ inexperienced defense and finding open shooters for 3s.

The Wolves stayed in it thanks to 15 first-half points from Williams and San Antonio’s sloppy ball-handling. The Spurs committed 20 turnovers in the game.

Tim Duncan had nine points and 10 rebounds in 23 minutes and Austin Daye had 13 points and 11 boards for the Spurs.

At Washington, John Wall took over in the third quarter and finished with 28 points, seven assists and six rebounds, and the hustling Washington Wizards clamped down for a 91-78 win over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Resuming a rivalry that peaked last decade when the Wizards and James’ Cavaliers met three consecutive years in the playoffs, the Wizards grabbed a majority of the 50-50 rebounds and capitalized on the defensive woes that have hurt Cleveland.

James scored 22 points on 8-for-21 shooting, but Cleveland committed 19 turnovers, shot 36 percent and scored a season-low in points.

At Toronto, Lou Williams scored a season-high 22 points, Jonas Valanciunas added 18 points and 12 rebounds, and the Toronto Raptors beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 124-83.

The Raptors narrowly missed matching its largest margin of victory in franchise history, set in a 96-54 victory over Miami on March 19, 2008.

Kyle Lowry scored 20 points and Terrence Ross had 13 as the Raptors wrapped up a franchise-record seven-game homestand at 6-1 and became the first Eastern Conference team to reach 10 wins.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 points in yet another efficient shooting effort and the Dallas Mavericks used the NBA’s highest-scoring offense to roll to a 140-106 victory against the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Mavericks won their sixth straight game as Nowitzki, Monta Ellis and Chandler Parsons combined for 23 of 33 from the field. Parsons had 21 points and Ellis scored 20.

Kobe Bryant missed his first eight shots and was 6 of 22 for 17 points. Jeremy Lin had 18 to lead the Lakers.

In other games Friday, the Orlando Magic downed the Charlotte Hornets 105-100, the Atlanta Hawks recovered after blowing a 19-point lead to beat the Detroit Pistons 99-89, the Memphis Grizzlies topped the Boston Celtics 117-100 and the Phoenix Suns eased past the winless Philadelphia 76ers 122-96.

Also, the Brooklyn Nets edged the Oklahoma City Thunder 94-92, the Denver Nuggets routed the New Orleans Pelicans 117-97, the Portland Trailblazers thrashed the Chicago Bulls 105-87 and the Golden State Warriors beat the Utah Jazz 101-88.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Spurs open title defense with win; Rockets spoil Bryant return

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Tony Parker scored 23 points, including a big 3-pointer late in the game as the San Antonio Spurs opened their title defense with a thrilling 101-100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday (Wednesday, Manila time).

Manu Ginobili added 20 points for San Antonio, which shot 53 percent from the field. Tim Duncan had 14 points and 13 rebounds for his 14th double-double in a season opener, the most by any player in NBA history, according to Elias Sports.

Monta Ellis scored 26 points for Dallas, and Dirk Nowitzki had 18. Devin Harris finished with 17 points.

Following a video recap of the 2014 season narrated by actor and Spurs fan Samuel L. Jackson, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver presented San Antonio’s staff and players with their championship rings. The inscription inside the ring was “Good to Great,” which was coach Gregg Popovich’s mantra last season.

After Nowitzki gave Dallas a 100-98 lead with a fadeaway jumper over Boris Diaw with 1:37 remaining, Parker drained a 3 in front of the Mavericks’ bench off a feed from Diaw. Parker was 4 for 4 from long range, matching a career high for 3s in a game.

Houston’s James Harden scored 32 points, and Dwight Howard added 13 points and 11 rebounds before getting into a shouting match with Kobe Bryant as the Rockets spoiled Bryant’s return to the Lakers with a 108-90 victory.

Bryant’s comeback game got even worse when Lakers rookie forward Julius Randle seriously injured his right leg in the fourth quarter, leaving his NBA debut on a wheeled stretcher. The seventh overall pick out of Kentucky collided with two Rockets under the basket and landed awkwardly.

Bryant scored 19 points in his first game back at Staples Center after missing most of the Lakers’ worst season in a half-century with two major injuries.

Trevor Ariza and Terrence Jones scored 16 points each for Houston.

At New Orleans, Anthony Davis had 26 points, 17 rebounds and nine blocks to lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 101-84 season-opening win over the Orlando Magic.

Ryan Anderson, coming back from surgery on a herniated disk that cost him more than half of last season, scored 22 points. The Pelicans’ new 7-foot (2.13-meter) center, Omer Asik, had a double-double with 14 points and 17 rebounds.

Tobias Harris scored 25 points for Orlando, while Nikola Vucevic added 15 points and 23 rebounds.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Spurs celebrate 5th NBA championship

SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs celebrated their fifth title in franchise history by climbing onto barges that floated down the river walk followed by a triumphant rally at the Alamodome arena.

The National Basketball Association champions were greeted by about 100,000 people on the river walk parade and about 75,000 at the downtown Alamodome on Wednesday.

The celebration began at the Arneson River Theater and moved through the River Center extension before finally concluding at the Convent Street Bridge. Players and coaches then addressed fans inside the Alamodome during a special ceremony.

“It is soaking in, but I’m still going to live it up for about the whole summer,” said Kawhi Leonard, who was named MVP of the NBA finals. “I’ve been trying to live the moment. It’s been hard to sleep. Thought I would get some sleep after we won the finals, but I’m still celebrating.”

Some fans began lining up outside the Alamodome in 90 degree Fahrenheit heat five hours before the celebrations began.

The Spurs completed their five game demolition of the Miami Heat with a 104-87 win Sunday night in San Antonio.

They have five championships since 1999 and Tim Duncan has been part of all of those.

Asked if he would be back for an 18th season, Duncan declined to answer on Wednesday.

Duncan has a $10 million player option for next season.

“It’s been too long. Seven years since the last one,” Duncan said of the 2007 championship. “Toward the end of my career, it’s been sweet. It’s a great team, a great bunch of guys, a lot of fun.”

Once inside the Alamodome, Australian point guard Patty Mills introduced coaches and players. Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker received standing ovations after being introduced to the crowd.

“What I think we enjoyed the most is that we’re all friends before we’re teammates,” Mills said.

Duncan thanked former Spur and Hall of Famer David Robinson, who sat in the crowd wearing a championship T-shirt. The two played for San Antonio from 1997-2003.

“I give a lot of credit to David,” Duncan said.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Spurs exact revenge, claim fifth NBA crown

MANILA, Philippines—Revenge was sweet and it was served cold.

With the air-conditioning running fine, and the San Antonio Spurs firing on all cylinders, the 2014 National Basketball Association Finals challengers exacted revenge against the defending champions Miami Heat 104-87 at the AT&T Center Monday.

Kawhi Leonard bagged the 2014 Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP trophy and paced the Spurs with 22 points and 10 boards.

San Antonio lit up in the second quarter after an arctic first period erasing a 16-point lead courtesy of a stop-and-pop three from Leonard that put the Spurs up, 37-35.

Manu Ginobili went on a personal 9-2 run with a step-back three capping the scoring spectacle to put the boards at 45-37.

LeBron James, who bagged the previous two Finals MVP, led all scorers with 31 points, and adding 10 rebounds and six assists while 2006 Finals MVP Dwyane Wade had 11.

Tim Duncan, a three-time Finals MVP, finished off with 14 points and eight boards


Ginobili came off the bench scorching the Heat with 19 points.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Spurs clobber Heat in Miami for 2-1 lead in NBA Finals

MANILA, Philippines—The San Antonio Spurs outclassed the Miami Heat, 111-92, at the reigning champions’ home court to gain a 2-1 advantage in the 2014 NBA finals.

The Spurs waxed hot in the first half with brilliant 75.8 percent shooting from the field and led the Heat by as many as 25 points.

Kawhi Leonard finished with 29 points off-the-bench on 10-of-13 shooting. Danny Green and Tony Parker added 15 points each.

Sparked by Dwyane Wade, Miami trimmed the deficit down to seven, 74-81, in the third period, but San Antonio found ways to keep the Heat at bay the rest of the way.

It was the Heat’s first loss at home in the entire 2014 NBA playoffs.

Game 4 of the best-of-seven series is on Friday (Manila time), still at the American Airlines Arena in Miami.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Hot NBA Finals game 1 takes toll on coaches, players

MANILA, Philippines – When the first game of the National Basketball Association Finals commenced Friday at the AT&T Center, neither the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat thought that they would go up against the heat.

During the game, the air-conditioning system of the Spurs home arena malfunctioned causing temperatures to rise to 32o Celsius.

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said that the malfunctioned air conditioning system was “tough” on the players, who play inside an arena with cool air blowing from the rafters.

“It was tough on both teams,” Popovich said. “They were pretty dead. We tried to get guys in and out…It was really hot out there.”

LeBron James, who suffered cramps in the Finals of 2012, was one of the casualties of the hot temperature and asked to get replaced with under four minutes remaining for which the Spurs took advantage of with a 16-3 run to close the game.

Spurs shooter Danny Green benefitted from the rising temperatures, getting hot on his own with back-to-back three-pointers and a poster dunk on a fastbreak.

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra prevented any damage to James as the two-time Final Most Valuable Player tried to get back into the game.

“James on one point, stood up, and tried to go [to the game],” Spoelstra said during the post-game press conference. “I told him ‘don’t ever think about it, you can’t move.’”

Spoelstra said that they were not making the heat as an excuse for the loss of the game saying that both teams suffered from the temperatures.

“We’re not making excuses, it’s unfortunate, both teams tried to manage through it,” Spoelstra said. “It felt like a punch in the gut when you see your leader limping to the bench like that. But we still had a chance after that.”

Spurs management said that an electrical failure was the cause of the aircondition malfunction, for which they immediately apologized, but at the same time poked fun at by playing songs with “hot” in the lyrics.

Right after Game 1, the malfunctioned air-conditioning system generated an unofficial Twitter account with the handle @ACspurs__which, as of posting time, has a total of 355 followers.

source: sports.inquirer.net

5 things to know about the NBA Finals

MIAMI — Here are five things to know as anticipation builds for the NBA Finals rematch between the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat. The series starts in San Antonio on Thursday night:

GAME 1 FACTS: The Spurs have never lost Game 1 of an NBA Finals. And Miami star LeBron James has never been part of a Game 1 road victory, in any round.

San Antonio — which has never played an NBA Finals game while facing a deficit in the series — has won each of its five Game 1′s in the title round, doing so by an average of 10.4 points per game.

Including his time in Cleveland, James has been on teams that opened playoff series on the road seven times. They’re 0-7, losing by an average of 12.3 points.

But in four of those seven occurrences, including all three times it’s happened with Miami, James and his team eventually won the series.

ALL THEY DO IS WIN: Over the last decade, no one has come close to matching the playoff win totals of the Spurs and Heat.

Since the start of the 2005 playoffs, including the first three rounds this year, San Antonio has a league-best 92 playoff victories, while Miami has won 89 playoff games.

No other franchise is even close: The Celtics and Lakers have both won 59 playoff games during that span.

Miami has the best playoff winning percentage in the last 10 postseasons, its mark there of .654 just edging San Antonio’s mark of .626.

There are six teams who don’t even have 10 wins in the last 10 years — the Knicks (7), Raptors (6), Bucks (4), Kings (3), Bobcats-now-Hornets (0) and Timberwolves (not just zero wins, but also zero playoff games played).

A LAST BIT OF REST: Apparently, two days without practice is a standard perk for winning a conference title in the NBA these days.

The Heat ousted Indiana on Friday night, then took Saturday and Sunday off to refresh and recharge. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra summoned his team for practice on Monday morning.

The Spurs aren’t planning to do anything officially basketball-related until Tuesday. They eliminated Oklahoma City on Saturday night, and had no practices scheduled on either Sunday or Monday — which, if nothing else, figures to give Tony Parker plenty of time to work on improving the condition of his sprained left ankle.

Parker sat out the second half of the Spurs’ West-clinching win at Oklahoma City because of the ankle problem.

RESPECT LEVEL: Oh, there will be a high level of physicality in this series, for certain.

But something like, say, blowing into an opponent’s ear, we can safely dismiss that as a realistic possibility during these NBA Finals.

There is genuine respect between the franchises, perhaps best proven by how Spurs coach Gregg Popovich warmly embraced any Heat player or coach he could reach after Game 7 ended a year ago.

Frankly, the Heat won’t miss the Lance Stephenson-antics — like blowing into LeBron James’ ear — and the endless questions about those moves.

“It’s an annoyance,” Heat forward Shane Battier said. “It’s nice we don’t have to deal with that anymore. … It’s about basketball and not all of the chicanery that went on.”

MONEY AT STAKE: There’s $14 million in the league’s playoff pool this season, and as if the Heat and Spurs weren’t motivated enough by the chance to hold another Larry O’Brien Trophy, there’s also some cash at stake.

The Spurs are already assured of taking home a total of $3,268,347 from that pool, a figure that would rise to $4,104,811 by winning the NBA championship.

Miami will get a payout of $2,795,220 if it does not win the finals, and $3,631,684 if it wins the championship for the third straight year.

The pool pays out based on where teams finished in their conference in the regular season, which explains the discrepancy in what the Spurs and Heat have earned so far. There’s also a difference of $836,464 in what teams receive for winning or losing the finals.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Thunder routed again in San Antonio, trail series 3-2

SAN ANTONIO — Russell Westbrook was ordinary. Serge Ibaka was ineffective.

Everything that worked so well in Oklahoma City was missing Thursday night in San Antonio, and now the Thunder need to win at home to give themselves one more shot at the Spurs on the road.

“We’ve just got to worry about the next game. We’re guaranteed 48 more minutes,” Kevin Durant said. “It’s been an up-and-down series, but we’ve got to find a way to come with it in Game 6. If we want to get to where we want to get to, we’ve got to win in San Antonio, but we’ve got to get to the next game.”

Tim Duncan had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Manu Ginobili scored 19 points and the Spurs rolled to a 117-89 victory on Thursday night to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference finals.

Now they can clinch their return to the NBA Finals on the road, where they are the ones taking the beatings in these wacky Western Conference finals.

The Jekyll-and-Hyde series continued between the past two Western Conference champions, as the road team has been thumped in every game of the best-of-seven series.

“This is the craziest series I’ve ever been involved in,” veteran Tim Duncan said.

Game 6 is Saturday in Oklahoma City.

Durant scored 25 points, but Westbrook had only 21 points and seven assists after finishing with 40 points and 10 assists in Game 4.

Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green each had 14 points and Boris Diaw added 13 for the Spurs, who are a win away from returning to the NBA Finals after losing in seven games to Miami last year.

The Spurs returned to the style of play that enabled them to win the series’ first two games by a combined 52 points.

“We gave them everything they wanted,” Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. “They got the dribble drive, they got the 3-point line, and they got to the free-throw line.”

The Spurs were also 13 for 26 on 3-pointers and outrebounded the Thunder 48-35. San Antonio also limited Oklahoma City to four fast-break points after giving up 21 in Game 4.

After losing twice in Oklahoma City by an average of 11 points, San Antonio upped its winning margin in San Antonio to 26.7 points.

Oklahoma City had just 34 points in the second half after scoring 32 in the first quarter.

“Our shots weren’t falling for us,” Durant said. “We’ve got to stay aggressive and we’ve got to get stops. When we can’t make a shot, we’ve got to play defense, and we didn’t tonight.”

San Antonio outscored Oklahoma City by 10 points in both the second and third quarters, allowing both teams to sit their starters for much of the fourth.

Ibaka, who dominated the interior in Oklahoma City, was held to six points and two rebounds.

The Spurs started Matt Bonner in place of Tiago Splitter to draw Ibaka out of the paint and it worked early. It also helped defensively, as Ibaka attacked Bonner but missed his first five shots on a series of running hooks. Duncan was also able to help defensively, rolling over to block a layup attempt by Ibaka.

“He didn’t have the games that he had the last two games, that’s pretty clear,” Brooks said. “I thought his energy was good. He competed. He missed some shots that he normally makes. (But) it was everybody. It was everybody.”

San Antonio’s crowd was raucous from the start, booing Westbrook heavily during pregame introductions and erupting joyously when Green scored the team’s first points on a 3-pointer 1 ½ minutes into the game

Oklahoma City withstood the early barrage, going on an 11-2 run for its largest lead of the game.

San Antonio kept Westbrook out of the paint early, but that only opened up the lanes for Jackson, who made his first five shots. He had four straight layups and then drained a 3-pointer with Parker closely defending.

When asked if San Antonio had done anything differently to keep him out of the paint, Westbrook said, “nothing.”

Three-point shooting got San Antonio back into the game, as Patty Mills and Green closed the first with consecutive 3s to tie the game at 32-all.

Diaw’s 3 gave San Antonio a 42-37 lead with 6:12 left in the first half and resulted in an Oklahoma City timeout.

Ginobili’s 3 gave a 65-52 lead with 6.9 seconds left in the first half.

Ginobili’s third 3 gave San Antonio an 87-70 lead with 3 minutes remaining in the third.

NOTES: Durant was sent back to the sideline after attempting to substitute with 10:29 remaining in the second quarter. A timekeeper told official Tony Brothers that Durant was not at the table in time to enter prior to an inbounds. “I was there,” Durant said. “That’s (wrong). You know that.” Durant was able to enter about 10 seconds later, however. . Ibaka wore a heating pad on his injured calf when he was not in the game.

source: sports.inquirer.net