By the Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS — The Toronto Raptors tried to balance celebrating an impressive performance by Pascal Siakam and concern over injuries to two of their top players.

Siakam matched a career high with 44 points in the Raptors’ 122-104 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night.

As Siakam drained shots, Toronto’s medical staff was evaluating injuries to starting point guard Kyle Lowry and sixth-man Serge Ibaka.

Lowry suffered a fractured left thumb and Ibaka has a severely sprained ankle. That means the defending NBA Champions will likely be depleted — at least in the immediate future.

But, Siakam showed again Friday he can lead the Raptors to victories as his 44 points matched the career high from a game against the Washington Wizards on Feb. 13. The NBA’s Most Improved Player last season scored 16 in the first quarter Friday, and finished 17 of 28 from the floor. He also had 10 rebounds.

Siakam attempted a career-high 10 3-pointers, making five. The confident deep shooting is just another sign of his continued growth.

“He’s got the green light to make any move he wants at this point,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “No, I’m serious man. We’re just trying to get him to see how far he can go here. Drive it, post it, shoot the three, drive it in transition, play pick and roll; we want him to get as many reps as he can.”

The 6-foot-9 Siakam briefly ran the Toronto offense to start the fourth quarter with Lowry out and Fred VanVleet resting. Siakam said a rare opportunity to play point guard was an opportunity to work on his ball-handling and overall game.

“I’m just trying to continue to improve, continue to get better and just do what I do— just be myself,” he said.

Toronto used a 45-point second quarter to take control of the game and improved to 6-2. The Pelicans slipped to 1-7.
Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans with 27 points. He made just 10 of 25 field goals. Jrue Holiday added 16 points, six rebounds and six assists for New Orleans.

The Pelicans kept pace early and the first quarter ended in a 30-30 tie. But the Raptors scored the first 15 points of the second quarter. Toronto parlayed the hot start into a 45-point quarter and a 75-53 halftime lead.

In the lopsided first half, the Raptors made 13 of 23 3-pointers (57 and outscored the Pelicans 31-9 on fast-break points. In the game, Toronto shot better from behind the arc (19 of 43, 44.2 than on two pointers (22 of 50, 44%).

Even with Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard leaving in free agency, the Raptors have so far looked like a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference, and Siakam’s continued emergence is a key reason for Toronto’s impressive start.

“He’s evolving into a superstar,” Lowry said of Siakam.

Injury

Lowry said he suffered his thumb injury in the first quarter when he tried to swipe the ball away from Pelicans center Derrick Favors on an offensive rebound.

“It felt weird from the rip,” Lowry said. “I kept playing through it and kept playing through it. Originally, we thought it was something in the nail bed because the nail bed turned black and blue. We got some X-rays and we sent the X-rays off to the doctors, and there was a small fracture in the thumb.”

Lowry said Friday’s injury is unrelated to the surgery he had in July to repair ligaments in the same thumb.

Lowry went to the bench after the initial injury, but he returned a couple minutes later. He even made two 3-pointers in the second quarter before subbing out midway through the quarter and retreating to the locker room.

Ibaka, who was in a walking boot after the game, suffered his ankle sprain when he contested an Ingram layup with about 1 minute remaining in the second quarter. Ibaka lay on the floor, writhing in pain as play continued, before a Toronto foul allowed two teammates to help him limp off the floor.

Defensive woes

Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry bemoaned his team’s defense again after the game. Through eight games, New Orleans has allowed a 40-point quarter and a 70-point half three times.

“Those are hard to survive in this league,” Gentry said. “That’s where they got the separation, and then once again you’re playing uphill the rest of the game and it doesn’t matter what kind of run you make.”

New Orleans entered Friday allowing a league-worst 124.3 points per game, and after another ugly defensive performance, he hinted there could soon be lineup changes.

“The people we have out there, if they can’t do what we’re expecting them to do, then the next thing for us to do is that we’ve got to try to find somebody else,” he said.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Anthony Davis had 26 points and nine rebounds, and LeBron James scored 12 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers’ seventh consecutive victory, 95-80 over the Miami Heat on Friday night.

James hit a pair of clutch 3-pointers in the waning minutes to seal another victory for the NBA-leading Lakers, who haven’t lost since their season opener against the Clippers.

Los Angeles’ superstar duo teamed up impressively again, but the Lakers held off Jimmy Butler and the Heat with solid team defense.

The Lakers held Miami to one field goal and six points in the final 8:54, limiting the Heat to 6-of-35 shooting on 3-pointers and outrebounding them 48-37 to win a meeting of division leaders off to outstanding starts to the new season.

Butler scored 22 points and Goran Dragic added 19 for the Heat, who still lead the Southeast Division despite losing twice on their three-game Western road trip.

The Lakers returned home looking good after a 3-0 road trip with tough victories at Dallas and San Antonio. Davis and James have already formed a fluid partnership, and their complementary players are growing into their roles while the Lakers play already solid defense.

Miami led for only one possession despite employing a zone defense that bothered the Lakers’ offense early on. Los Angeles swiftly adjusted to the scheme and moved the ball effectively, getting 25 assists on its 33 baskets in the first three quarters.

Butler scored nine points in the third quarter to keep Miami in striking distance despite its 3-for-24 start on 3-pointers, including 11 consecutive misses spanning halftime.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

DENVER — Nikola Jokic lofted the winning shot and then pleaded for it to fall as he tumbled to the floor.

“I was hoping,” he said. “I mean, you’re happy that you didn’t miss, because then everybody will be mad at you. The whole arena is going to be disappointed.”

Instead, the Denver Nuggets big man sent the fans home with a game they won’t soon forget.

Jokic hit a 20-foot jumper on a broken play with 1.2 seconds remaining, helping the Nuggets rally from a 21-point, fourth-quarter deficit to stun the Philadelphia 76ers 100-97 on Friday night.

It’s the largest fourth-quarter comeback in the team’s NBA history.

Jokic scored 16 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, none bigger than his jumper from the left side of the court that he saw go in from the floor.

Before his shot, Jokic was trying to get the ball to Paul Millsap, who couldn’t get off an attempt. He passed it back to Jokic.

On the next possession, Jokic drew an offensive foul on Joel Embiid by fronting him near the basket. It was the sixth foul on a frustrated Embiid.

“I’m kind of heavy. He needs to push a lot just to push me out,” Jokic cracked. “I felt he pushed me too strong.”
Embiid saw things different after watching the replay.

“If you want to call that foul, especially at that time of the game, it’s kind of (expletive), especially because he was hooking me before that foul actually happened,” Embiid said.

A similar feeling for Sixers coach Brett Brown.

“I’ve just seen the foul that was called on Joel and I have no words,” Brown said. “When you see that particular play, I have no words. We give them credit. We weren’t able to find a way to win on the road.”

Denver hung in there with defense until the offense picked up. Will Barton hit two free throws to seal the win.
“Says a lot about this team, the heart,” Paul Millsap said. “We want to have the heart of a champion. That’s what champions do, they continue to fight. We were able to get some stops.”

Jamal Murray, bloody nose and all, had 22 points for the Nuggets, who’ve won three straight games since coach Michael Malone called out his team for their energy level.

No questioning their energy in this one. Philly hit the first shot of the final quarter to go up 21 and then it was all Denver. The Nuggets didn’t take their first lead of the fourth until Jokic’s jumper. His 16 points in the final period outscored the Sixers’ 13 total points.

The matchup in the middle between two of the top centers in the NBA proved highly entertaining. For once, Jokic got the better of Embiid in the stat that mattered most — wins. Jokic is 1-3 against Embiid when they both play, according to Basketball-Reference. Jokic was first team All-NBA last season, and Embiid second team.

A breakdown of the numbers: Jokic had 11 rebounds and six assists. Embiid finished with 19 points, 15 rebounds and two assists.

Tobias Harris and Raul Neto each had 13 points for the Sixers, who finished 1-3 on their four-game Western swing.

They were without Ben Simmons after he sprained the AC joint in his right shoulder Wednesday in Utah. Neto started in his place.

The 7-foot Jokic lost his cool late in the first quarter after not getting a call when he was grabbed while going up for a shot. Jokic held out his hands in exasperation toward official Scott Wall, who ignored him at first and then issued a technical.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY — Bojan Bogdanovic hit a 3-pointer as time expired for the last of his 33 points in the Utah Jazz’s 103-100 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.

The shot from the corner capped a remarkable sequence of twists and turns in the final few seconds.

Utah’s Donovan Mitchell was driving for a possible winner in regulation when George Hill stripped the ball and called timeout with 2.3 seconds on the clock.

Milwaukee inbounded to Khris Middleton, but he traveled as Rudy Gobert flew at him. The clock was reset to 1.3 seconds, giving the Jazz one last chance.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had 28 points in the second half, hit a 3 and made a follow shot to give the Bucks their first and only lead, 89-88, but later fouled out and wasn’t on the court for the dizzying finish.

Bogdanovic made five 3-pointers and all 10 free throws on a night when nothing seemed to come easy. Mike Conley had 20 points, and Mitchell finished with 20.

Middleton scored 26 points and Eric Bledsoe had 22 for Milwaukee. The Bucks had won four in a row.

Mitchell’s step-back jumper put Utah up 100-92, but Bledsoe made a couple quick hoops and Middleton made two free throws with 8.0 seconds remaining to knot it at 100.

The Jazz led by as many as 25 in the first half, but Antetokounmpo sparked a 21-5 run to start the third quarter and it was tight from there.

The Bucks have lost 18 consecutive games since their last road win over the Utah Jazz on Oct. 30, 2001.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

DALLAS— Marcus Morris scored a season-high 29 points and the New York Knicks beat Kristaps Porzingis in their first game against the former cornerstone of the franchise, holding off the Dallas Mavericks 106-102 on Friday night.

Porzingis scored 28 points and Luka Doncic added a career-high 38 in already his fourth triple-double, but the Mavericks didn’t get much help from anyone besides their new European pair as the Knicks won for just the second time in nine games this season.

After matching his highest-scoring half in Dallas with 18 points before halftime, Porzingis hit a driving finger-roll layup to get the Mavericks even early in the fourth quarter after they trailed by 12 late in the third.

But the Knicks broke a 92-all tie with a 9-0 run. Morris started it with three free throws after Porzingis committed his fifth foul on a 3-pointer. Julius Randle, who grew up in the Dallas area and finished with 21 points, capped it with a jumper.

Dallas was still within four when rookie R.J. Barrett missed two free throws, but Randle easily beat Porzingis to the rebound and made both free throws after drawing the sixth foul on the 7-foot-3 Latvian who was the centerpiece of a blockbuster deal last January.

Doncic had 14 rebounds and 10 assists but also eight turnovers, one shy of the most of the reigning rookie of the year’s career. He had a chance to tie on a long 3-pointer after Taj Gibson missed two free throws with 25 seconds left, but it bounced off the rim.

Porzingis injured his left knee in his last game with the Knicks on Feb. 6, 2018. He didn’t play again until making his Dallas debut this season when the Mavericks decided he wouldn’t play the rest of last season following the trade involving seven players and two draft picks.

Almost exactly 21 months since that game, Porzingis played with a purpose early, hitting his first 3-pointer while finishing 4 of 8 from long range.

It was also Dallas guard Tim Hardaway Jr.’s first game against his former team, and while he had two late 3-pointers to keep Dallas close, the bevy of misses before that didn’t help the Mavericks.

Barrett, the third overall pick in 2019 after Doncic went with the same choice last year, scored a season-low three points on 1-of-9 shooting. He also missed five of six free throws.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By the Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS — Andrew Wiggins scored 40 points, hitting the tying basket late in regulation, and the Minnesota Timberwolves overcame D’Angelo Russell’s career-high 52 points to beat the Golden State Warriors 125-119 in overtime Friday night.

Russell and the Warriors led 110-106 with 29 seconds left in regulation. But after two free throws by Karl-Anthony Towns and a forced jump ball by Robert Covington, Wiggins tied it on a drive with 5.6 seconds left. Russell’s 3-pointer at the buzzer missed.

In overtime, Wiggins hit a clinching 3 with 23 seconds to help the Timberwolves snap a two-game losing streak.
Towns battled through foul trouble to score 20 points and grab 14 rebounds. Covington had 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Alec Burks scored 18 points off the bench for the Warriors. They have lost five of six.

Russell had missed the previous three games for injury-depleted Golden State with a sprained right ankle. His return gave the Warriors their seventh different starting lineup in 10 games. His previous career high was 44 points.

Three fouls limited Towns to seven points on five shots in 10 first-half minutes. That, along with 17 points from Russell, helped the Warriors to a 61-60 lead at halftime.

Golden State was 20 for 20 from the free-throw line in the first half. The Warriors finished the game 23 for 24.

Source: Manila Bulletin

Lucio ‘Bong’ Tan Jr., eldest son of taipan Lucio Tan of Philippine Airlines (PAL), was reportedly rushed to an undisclosed hospital after collapsing while playing basketball against Exile at Gatorade Hoops Center in Mandaluyong Saturday morning.

A source said the younger Tan was unconscious when brought in for emergency medical attention and still is as of this time.

Unconfirmed report named the hospital as Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan.

PAL was ahead 35-28 with 2:56 left in the second quarter when the game was halted as Bong Tan collapsed on the bench.

Tan Jr., only recently, was appointed president of PAL Holdings, parent firm of PAL, replacing Gilbert Santa Maria, who remains PAL president.

Calls and text messages made to Lawrence Chongson, who, along with Bong Tan, handled the University of the East Red Warriors in this season’s UAAP, were unanswered.

(Note: This is a developing story. Refresh for updates)

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Field Level Media-Reuters

Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry is “unlikely” to return this season, according to a story Friday from Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report.

Curry underwent surgery on his broken left hand last Friday. At that time, the team announced it would update his status in three months, which could have put Curry back on the court around the All-Star Game.

“A team source says the fracture was worse than originally thought, and it’s unlikely that he plays again this season,” Bucher wrote.

This season was already a hard slide for the Warriors, who have appeared in the NBA Finals in five consecutive seasons — winning in 2015, 2017 and 2018 — but are off to a 2-6 start. Among other issues, they lost Kevin Durant to free agency and Klay Thompson is out for the season due to a torn ACL suffered in the Finals.

Curry, a two-time MVP, suffered the injury against the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 30 after landing hard on his hand on a drive into the lane that ended with a collision with Suns center Aron Baynes.

Curry, 31, averaged 20.3 points in the first four games of the season and has a career average of 23.5 points per game.

Golden State plays Friday night at Minnesota.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

The NBA fined Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart $15,000 on Friday for publicly criticizing the officiating in Boston’s 108-87 victory over the Hornets in Charlotte.

Even after the win, Smart was disgruntled, saying he didn’t understand the calls the referees were making.

“Really, just, I wish they would call the game the right way,” Smart said after scoring six points off the bench for the Celtics with two rebounds and five assists. “A lot of calls that they called, I didn’t understand where the fouls were. And it just seems like whenever I get the ball and I’m on offense, I can’t get a call.”

Smart knew he was likely to be fined even as he made the comments.

“You’ve got to protect yourself,” he said. “So if that means I’ve got to lose a little bit of money, then I’ve got to lose a bit.”

 

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

Standings W L

X-NLEX 7 1
X-TNT KaTropa* 7 1
X-Meralco* 6 2
X-San Miguel 6 3
Ginebra* 5 3
Magnolia 5 4
Columbian* 4 5
NorthPort 3 5
Alaska 3 6
Phoenix Pulse 2 7
Rain or Shine 2 7
Blackwater 2 8

X-clinched quarterfinals berth
*-playing at presstime

Game Saturday

(Hoops Dome, Lapu-Lapu City)

5 p.m. — San Miguel vs Rain or Shine

John Holland hopes to make an immediate impact Saturday and keep San Miguel Beer inside the top four against Rain or Shine in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.

The Beermen, who carry a record of six victories and three defeats, are banking on the former NBA player to deliver the goods in the Petron Saturday Special affair set at 5 p.m.

SMB tapped the services of Holland after Dez Wells suffered an ankle injury, forcing the Beermen to parade an all-local lineup in Wednesday’s 99-96 overtime victory over Blackwater at the Cuneta Astrodome.

While the team said it has placed Wells on the injured reserve list, Holland may end up playing the same role as Commissioner’s Cup import Chris McCullough if SMB goes all the way to win the coveted Grand Slam.

It would be recalled that McCullough replaced Charles Rhodes after a 2-5 record in the midseason tournament and powered the Beermen to 12 victories in the last 16 games to claim the crown.

The conference’s first game outside of Luzon will mark the return of June Mar Fajardo to his home province.

Fajardo will play in Cebu for the first time since Jan. 21, 2017 when the Beermen defeated the GlobalPort Batang Pier 106-100 at the same venue.

Terrence Romeo also played in that game as an opponent, but will be alongside Fajardo as the Beermen try to improve their 6-3 record.

With a 2-7 mark, Rain or Shine needs to win its final two games in order to stay in the hunt for at least the last quarterfinals berth.

Rain or Shine is 1 1/2-game behind eighth-placer NorthPort, which holds a 3-5 record.

It will be the second straight conference that SMB and Rain or Shine will play in an out-of-town match.

San Miguel slipped past Rain or Shine 89-87 in the Commissioner’s Cup last July 13 in Cagayan de Oro City.

Source: Manila Bulletin