By the Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — Dwight Powell and the Dallas Mavericks had little time to relish another impressive win against the Warriors on the road.

It’s off to the next stop on a back-to-back in Northern California — a meeting with the Kings in Sacramento on Wednesday.

Powell scored 21 points and was perfect from the floor in his return to the Bay Area after starring at Stanford, and the Mavericks beat the Golden State Warriors 124-97 on Tuesday night.

“The win is great but it’s a quick, jam-packed road trip so we’re on the bus ready to go for another one tomorrow,” Powell said.

Luka Doncic added 20 points and eight rebounds as the Mavericks won their fourth straight against the Warriors — three in a row on their home floor. Powell shot 9 for 9 and grabbed six rebounds.

Jordan Poole came off the bench to score 17 points for Golden State. Fellow reserve Eric Paschall added 16, while D’Angelo Russell and Glenn Robinson III had 13 apiece. The Warriors lost their eighth consecutive game and fourth straight at Chase Center.

And injury-plagued Golden State lost another player when guard Jacob Evans III was taken to a hospital to be evaluated for a head injury. He was helped off the court with 4:38 left in the first half after getting hit with an elbow by Powell as they fought for a rebound.

The Warriors trailed by as many as 28, then used a 13-0 run in the third quarter to make things interesting.

“I liked our concentration, effort and focus defensively,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “We made enough plays on offense to get a lead and get out of here alive.”

Dallas star Kristaps Porzingis, who had been listed as questionable, sat out an eighth straight game. He has been feeling ill and is still dealing with soreness in his right knee.

Porzingis could be ready in time to face the Kings on Wednesday.

“With him being under the weather and the rehab of the knee, it’s just the stars didn’t align for tonight,” Carlisle said before the game. “Tomorrow night might be a possibility, but he’s going to work out before and we will see where we are tomorrow.”

Dallas made six of its first 12 shots from 3-point range — three by Maxi Kleber — and built a 28-18 lead while hitting 11 of its initial 20 shots overall. The Warriors started 8 for 20, with four baskets by Russell.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Kawhi Leonard scored a season-high 43 points in three quarters as the Los Angeles Clippers routed the Cleveland Cavaliers 128-103 on Tuesday night.

According to Sportradar, it was only the second time since 1996 a Clippers player scored at least 40 points in the first three quarters. Lou Williams had 40 against Golden State in a 2018 game.

Leonard had 14 points in the second quarter and set a career high for 3s in one period with four as the Clippers broke open the game. The All-Star forward played 29 minutes and was 14 of 22 from the floor and 6 of 10 from beyond the arc. He was two points from tying his regular-season career high.

Williams added 24 points for the Clippers, who played again without injured star Paul George. They have won five of six and had six scorers in double figures.

Collin Sexton led Cleveland with 25 points and Cedi Osman added 21. Rookie guard Darius Garland, the fifth overall pick in last June’s draft, had 14 points and a career-high 10 assists for his first double-double.

Osman’s 3-pointer gave the Cavs a 34-33 lead with 9:58 remaining in the second quarter before Los Angeles outscored them 33-16 the remainder of the half.

The Clippers scored the final 13 points of the first half, including nine from Leonard. He closed the half by intercepting Osman’s pass and going down the floor for a dunk while drawing a foul from Garland. Leonard’s free throw completed the three-point play to put Los Angels up 66-50 at halftime.

The Clippers’ largest lead was 36 early in the fourth.

Throwback night

In a matchup of two franchises celebrating their 50th year, the Clippers wore their Buffalo Braves uniforms.

The franchise started in Buffalo before moving to San Diego in 1978 and changing their name to the Clippers. They relocated to Los Angeles in 1984.

The Cavaliers donned the uniforms they wore from 1994-2002, which was fitting since it was 1990s Night at Staples Center.

Another LA reunion

Cleveland forward Tristan Thompson gave former coach Tyronn Lue a bearhug on the Clippers sideline before the game. Lue is in his first season as an assistant on Doc Rivers’ Clippers staff after he was fired by the Cavaliers six games into last season.

The Cavaliers faced LeBron James on Monday night for the third time since he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2018 offseason.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo wasn’t looking at the scoreboard.

Even though the Milwaukee Bucks led by 25 points at halftime Tuesday night, the reigning MVP maintained his focus in the third quarter and put the finishing touches on a 128-102 victory over the New York Knicks.

Antetokounmpo had 17 points in just more than six minutes as Milwaukee scored 43 in the period and romped past the Knicks, sweeping the three-game season series and improving to a league-best 36-6.

“I’m just trying to be aggressive and trying to make plays,” Antetokounmpo said. “When you come out with the mindset to make the lead go 20 or 30 or 40, that’s when you mess up the lead.

“You’ve just got to keep doing your job, and then you look up and see you lead by 30. Then you’re like, ‘OK, we did our job so now we can sit.’”

Antetokounmpo did all his work in just 21 minutes, sinking 12 of 17 field goal attempts and 10 of 12 free throws while adding nine rebounds and four assists.

The highlight of his night was getting fouled on a 3-pointer in the third quarter, the first time that had happened to him since he was playing in the second division in Greece.

Antetokounmpo made all three free throws after being fouled by Mitchell Robinson, and Khris Middleton added two more on the play when Elfrid Payton was issued two quick technical fouls and ejected from the game.

“It feels good,” Antetokounmpo said. “It’s the first time it ever happened in the NBA. It was in Greece seven years ago. That made my day. But I definitely don’t have that in my game yet. Let’s just stay humble here.”

Middleton added 17 points and Ersan Ilyasova had 14 points and seven rebounds for Milwaukee, which led by as many as 35.

Julius Randle had 25 points and 15 rebounds to pace the Knicks (11-30), and rookie R.J. Barrett added 22 points. Bobby Portis had 20 off the bench.

Barrett was impressed by Antetokounmpo.

“He’s ridiculous,” Barrett said. “He’s strong. He’s fast. He’s a tough cover, for sure. He’s the Greek Freak. The things he can do are incredible. As a rookie, I’m just trying to figure out a way to beat him.”

It was only the third time since 1985-86 that an NBA player scored 37 points or more in less than 22 minutes — Paul George did it earlier this season for the Los Angeles Clippers and Quintin Dailey did it in 1986 for the Chicago Bulls.

Antetokounmpo scored on a nifty drive and followed with a 3-pointer as part of a 10-0 run that gave the Bucks a 39-23 advantage early in the second quarter.

Milwaukee outscored New York 36-17 in the period to grab a 65-40 halftime lead. Antetokounmpo finished the half with 20 points and eight rebounds.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Early this season, the young Memphis Grizzlies were still learning how to close out games — a shortfall the team has overcome during its longest winning streak in more than three years.

The Grizzlies outscored the Houston Rockets 36-27 in the fourth quarter Tuesday night as Memphis pulled away for a 121-110 victory, stretching the Grizzlies’ winning streak to six games — their longest since December 2016.

Rookie guard Ja Morant had 26 points and eight assists, and Dillon Brooks scored 24 to lead Memphis. Jonas Valanciunas added 19 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 15 despite going 6 of 16 from the floor.

Morant missed only one of his 11 shots, becoming the first rookie in NBA history to score at least 25 points while handing out eight or more assists and shooting 90% or better from the field.

“Early on, we would get stagnant, and we would run the same thing over and over,” Brooks said of the team’s fourth-quarter problems earlier in the season. “Now, we’re getting more diversity with Ja getting to the middle and making great plays and great decisions.”

Brooks also was responsible for guarding Rockets star James Harden, the NBA’s leading scorer. Harden perhaps had more scoring duties against Memphis as backcourt mate Russell Westbrook sat out to rest on the opening night of a back-to-back. Harden scored 41 points, his fifth straight game against the Grizzlies surpassing 40. But he shot 13 of 37, including 5 of 19 from 3-point range.

That included missing all seven shots in the fourth quarter as Memphis pulled away in the final eight minutes.

“There were little things,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said. “Most importantly, we couldn’t keep the Grizzlies in front of us. They finished very well at the rim on a lot of fast-break possessions. … We didn’t do enough to stop them.”

Eric Gordon finished with 23 points for Houston, and Clint Capela had 16 points and 16 rebounds.

Capela said in games the Rockets have lost “finishing defensively, we weren’t good enough. Our goal is always to keep the team under 100 points, which didn’t happen.”

The teams were tied at 95 with about eight minutes left when the Grizzlies went on an 11-1 run fueled by 3-pointers from Solomon Hill, Brooks and Morant. That gave Memphis a 106-96 lead with five minutes remaining.

The win left the Grizzlies clinging to eighth place in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of the idle San Antonio Spurs.

“Every game is a statement game at this point,” Jackson said, “because you are playing for seeding, playing for the playoffs. Everybody is trying to work towards that, but definitely, when you’re on a winning streak, it gives you a bit more energy.”

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

NEW YORK — Rudy Gobert is a two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, as good a stopper as there is in the league.

Even he wouldn’t want to mess with the Utah Jazz right now.

“I wouldn’t like to guard ourselves,” he said.

The Brooklyn Nets didn’t enjoy it, either.

Joe Ingles matched his career high with 27 points, Gobert had 22 points and 18 rebounds, and the Jazz ran their winning streak to 10 games by beating the Nets 118-107 on Tuesday night.

Donovan Mitchell returned from a one-game absence with an illness to score 25 points — 14 in the fourth quarter — and Bojan Bogdanovic had 18 for the Jazz, who opened a 20-point lead and impressively turned back every attempt by the Nets to make it close.

“We’re in a groove,” Mitchell said.

Kyrie Irving had 32 points and a season-high 11 assists in his second game back from a shoulder injury, but it mostly seemed he was trying to shoot the Nets back into a game the Jazz weren’t going to let go of in what became their 15th win in 16 games.

“You look at them on film and watch a few of their games and there’s a reason why they’re 15-1 in their last 16,” Irving said.

The Nets were coming off their best defensive performance of the season, allowing season lows in points and field goal percentage (33%) in a 108-86 rout of Atlanta. But they could never get comfortable against a Jazz team that had Gobert rolling inside and plenty of good shooters on the outside. Ingles was 6 of 8 behind the arc and finished 10 of 14 overall, capitalizing on the space created by defenders worrying about Gobert near the rim or Mitchell attacking it.

“The bigs were so far back tonight it was kind of just like practice shots,” Ingles said. “Rudy was hitting great screens and we were able to kind of walk into it and shoot open 3s.”

Spencer Dinwiddie scored 17 points for the Nets, who had won two in a row.

Both teams started quickly, the Jazz opening 8 of 12 from the field and the Nets 7 of 10. But eventually Utah’s defense began to assert itself.

Dinwiddie was 0 for 4 from the free throw line in the first half, though the Nets scored on his first attempts when the Jazz accidentally batted the ball into the basket. Rodions Kurucs, as the closest Nets player, was given credit for the field goal.

Brooklyn could have tied it when Dinwiddie went to the line the second time. His two misses left Utah leading 45-43, and Ingles then hit three 3-pointers in a 14-2 burst to end the half and give the Jazz a 59-45 advantage.

The Jazz made four 3s in about four minutes to start the second half, with the last one by Ingles pushing the lead to 76-56. Brooklyn cut it to eight midway through the fourth after six straight points, but Gobert converted a three-point play and Mitchell nailed a 3 to extend it to 105-91.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

ATLANTA — Kevin Huerter says he has no idea when Trae Young is about to go on one of his hot streaks.

The latest scoring spree for the Atlanta point guard was especially well-timed.

Young scored 21 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter and the Hawks pulled away late to beat the Phoenix Suns 123-110 on Tuesday night.

“Any shot Trae takes looks good to us,” Huerter said. “He hit probably two 30-footers. When he’s making those, he’s tough to guard.”

Devin Booker led the Suns with 39 points before he was ejected for his second technical foul following his dunk with less than two minutes remaining.

Young had only 15 points before more than doubling his total in the final period for his 20th game with at least 30 points this season. He is averaging 29.1 points per game.

“You have to have a closer in this league and you have to be able to execute in the fourth quarter,” Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce said.

For Atlanta, saddled with the NBA’s worst record, there has been far too little fourth-quarter execution this season.

That changed against the Suns, when the Hawks made 12 of 19 shots, including five of eight 3-pointers, in the final period. Young hit four of seven 3s in the final 12 minutes.

“He’s been doing that since high school,” said Suns center Deandre Ayton, who had 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Young got help from Huerter, his backcourt partner. Huerter scored 23 points and set career highs with 15 rebounds and eight assists.

“I was trying to be aggressive,” he said.

John Collins added 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks, who snapped a four-game losing streak.

Led by Young, the Hawks pulled away in the final period after briefly losing their lead in the third. Young’s 3-pointer gave Atlanta a 95-92 lead it did not relinquish.

Each team made lineup adjustments.

Suns guard Ricky Rubio did not accompany the team to Atlanta for personal reasons.

Phoenix coach Monty Williams, unhappy with his team’s play, ripped off his tie following the game.

“I thought our offense just sputtered tonight,” he said. “Certainly not having Ricky on the floor hurt. … But we had chances. The ball movement certainly wasn’t there.”

The Hawks had few options inside as centers Alex Len (lower back pain) and Bruno Fernando did not play. Atlanta was boosted by Young’s return after missing one game with a sore left hamstring.

After leading 56-51 at halftime, Atlanta opened the second half with a 12-4 run. Collins sank a 3-pointer for a 68-55 lead. The Hawks stretched the lead to 75-61 on another 3 from Collins.

Phoenix rallied late in the third to take its first lead of the second half, 81-80, on Cameron Johnson’s three-point play.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

Game Tuesday
(Bangkok, Thailand)
8 p.m. — Port vs Ceres

Ceres-Negros secured a place in the second round of the AFC Champions League preliminaries after defeating Myanmar’s Shan United 3-2 Tuesday at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Senegalese striker Robert Lopez Mendy and Spaniard Bienvenido Maranon gave the Busmen a 2-0 lead in the first half before OJ Porteria scored an insurance goal late to hold off the Myanmar domestic league champions.

The Philippines Football League and Copa Paulino Alcantara winners will face Thailand’s Port FC next week in Bangkok with the winner advancing to the playoff round opposite Japan’s Tokyo FC.

It was Ceres’ sixth win in as many matches against Shan United in all continental competitions.

Lopez Mendy put the Busmen in front five minutes after the opening whistle, scoring off a cross by Pika Minegishi into the middle of the box.

Maranon, who scored 40 goals in all competitions last year, doubled the lead before halftime with help from a Porteria cross in the 41st for Ceres.

Shan United pulled one back in the 73rd as Zin Min Tun struck a diving header, but Porteria responded six minutes later by finishing Mike Ott’s deflected attempt for a 3-1 Ceres lead.

Djedje Maximin Djawa made things a bit interesting for Shan United with a goal three minutes before stoppage time but Ceres was able to hold on for the victory.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

Game Wednesday
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
7 p.m. — Meralco vs Ginebra
(Ginebra leads series 2-1)

Series Summary
Game 1: Ginebra 91, Meralco 87
Game 2: Meralco 104, Ginebra 102
Game 3: Ginebra 92, Meralco 84

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel hopes to cash in on Raymond Almazan’s injury and gain a commanding 3-1 lead over Meralco in the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Kings look to put a stranglehold on the best-of-seven title affair and once again capitalize on the absence of Almazan, who suffered a lateral meniscal tear on his left knee in Game 3.

Tipoff is set after the 7 p.m. announcement of the Best Player of the Conference and Best Import awardees.

While LA Tenorio had said that Ginebra must capitalize on Meralco missing its major inside presence, his teammates believe the Bolts have the capability to play better even without Almazan.

“Definitely missing Raymond hurt them a bit,” said Ginebra guard Stanley Pringle. “But they’re used to playing with Cliff (Hodge) coming in there and we expect them to just be as good.”

Hodge and Bryan Faundo are likely to fill in for Almazan as his absence could either make or break the Bolts’ chance of being competitive in the best-of-seven title affair.

Meralco used Hodge for most of Meralco’s semifinal series win over TNT KaTropa side that had its bigs play the perimeter while Faundo gave quality minutes during the last two games of the Finals.

“Anytime you lose a player the caliber of Raymond, it definitely gotta be hard on the team but the next man gotta be ready to play,” said Meralco import Allen Durham.

Almazan has proven to be the difference maker Meralco hoped would enable them to beat Ginebra after two failed tries in the Finals, averaging 17.5 points, 12.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in the first two games.

He had made things tough for counterparts Japeth Aguilar and Greg Slaughter in the paint and for perimeter players like Justin Brownlee and Stanley Pringle before going down with the injury.

His absence played a major part in Ginebra’s pullaway in the second half of Game 3, though Meralco made a failed attempt at making a rally late in the contest.

“I think Meralco did a good job. Nung nawala siya nag-step up the rest of the guys,” said Aguilar. “Mahirap talaga kalaban Meralco kaya kailangan di kami magpapahinga, every play kailangan maging aggressive kami.”

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

The Best Player of the Conference could go to either a first-timer or a repeat winner Wednesday when the award is handed out before Game 4 of the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

San Miguel Beer’s June Mar Fajardo and TNT KaTropa’s Jayson Castro could add another BPC to their collection while NorthPort’s Christian Standhardinger may end up winning the first major award of his career during the simple ceremonies.

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s Justin Brownlee and Meralco’s Allen Durham are also favored in the Best Import award which will also be announced during the pre-game rites.

Fajardo is seeking an unprecedented ninth BPC award but his chances are gloomy owing to San Miguel’s quarterfinal exit while Castro could break his tie with PBA great Danny Ildefonso and claim the honor for a sixth time.

Getting the BPC may also enhance Castro’s chance of claiming a first-ever Most Valuable Player award, having won the same award in the Commissioner’s Cup.

Standhardinger seems to have the strongest chance of getting the plum after placing third in the Statistical Points race with 35.1, trailing only Fajardo (38.8) and Columbian rookie CJ Perez (37.2).

Like Fajardo, Perez’s chances are slim after the Dyip failed to make the playoffs.

NLEX guard Kiefer Ravena is also a candidate after finishing fourth in the SP race at 34.5, with Castro in fifth at 31.6.

Meanwhile, Durham and Brownlee are once again competing for the Best Import award in the season-ending conference.

Durham had edged Brownlee twice in 2016 and 2017, but the Meralco import is more concerned now on finally leading his team to the championship.

Brownlee won Best Import once during Ginebra’s title run in the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup.

Both players trailed TNT KaTropa’s KJ McDaniels, who topped the derby at the end of the semis with 58.9 Statistical Points.

Brownlee was second at 57.2 followed by Durham with 56.9.

Source: Manila Bulletin

 

By NICK GIONGCO

The Philippines is willing to take over the staging of the Olympic boxing qualifying tournament in case the Chinese city of Wuhan is deemed unfit to play as host owing to the medical situation there.

The Wuhan qualifiers is scheduled Feb. 3-14 and Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (Abap) said during the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at the Amelie Hotel that Manila can be a replacement venue if the situation worsens.

A pneumonia scare is currently gripping Wuhan but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has assured the national federations of Asia-Oceania, including the Abap, that the situation is under control and that the slugfest will proceed as scheduled based on statements from the World Health Organization which is closely monitoring the situation.

Still, Abap secretary-general Ed Picson maintains that Manila can assume the hosting if the situation in Wuhan deteriorates as he has already raised the issue with the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).

The Abap is sending about eight bets to the Wuhan qualifiers, everyone of them solid bets to earn Olympic berths, noted Picson.

“We won’t be sending somebody who we don’t believe doesn’t have a chance of qualifying,” he said.

Making the Olympic grade appears more attainable since the top six finishers in every weight class automatically gets a slot.

The other continental qualifiers will take place in Dakar, Senegal (Africa), Buenos Aires (Americas) and London (Europe).

Those who don’t make it in the continental will have their last chance when Paris holds the World Qualifying in May.

Picson said those who stood out during the 30th Southeast Asian Games are practically the same guys who will campaign in Wuhan.

The men’s team is training in Thailand until Jan. 24 while the women’s team is in Baguio City.

Meanwhile, two-time Olympic swimmer Jessie Khing Lacuna guaranteed fellow athletes that his election in the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) will serve as a link with the country’s high-ranking officials.

“This will serve as the bridge, the link. We can directly reach out in relation to their needs,” said the 26-year-old Lacuna, who retired after competing in the 30th Southeast Asian Games.

The other members of the POC Athletes Commission also include Cheska Altamonte of softball, Nikko Huelgas of triathlon and Jake Letts of rugby, a group Lacuna believes will ensure that athletes get to air their grievances to the POC.

 

 

Source: Manila Bulletin