Tag: LA Clippers

NBA Power Rankings – Luka Doncic snaps the Brooklyn Nets’ streak; the Miami Heat stay hot
1Mar By adminNo Comments
NBA, NORTH AMERICA SPORTS

NBA Power Rankings – Luka Doncic snaps the Brooklyn Nets’ streak; the Miami Heat stay hot

If the season ended today, the New York Knicks would be hosting a first-round playoff series.Backed by three straight wins, the Knicks are one of only four Eastern Conference teams -- the Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks are the others -- with records greater than .500. But the Miami Heat are on their way to joining that group.Jimmy Butler & Co. have won six straight, are getting healthier and are starting to look like the team that went to the NBA Finals last season.Where do all 30 teams stand as we close in on the All-Star break? Let's dive into our Week 11 rankings.Note: Throughout the regular season, our panel (ESPN's Tim Bontemps, Nick Friedell, Andrew Lopez, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin, Eric Woodyard, Royce Young and Ohm Youngmisuk) is ranking all 30 team...
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Giannis Antetokounmpo’s huge fourth quarter too much for Kawhi Leonard, Paul George
1Mar By adminNo Comments
NBA, NORTH AMERICA SPORTS

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s huge fourth quarter too much for Kawhi Leonard, Paul George

With 24 seconds left in a one-point game, the Milwaukee Bucks came out of a timeout and passed the ball five times, moving it around until it returned to Giannis Antetokounmpo's hands.With the LA Clippers' defense in full scramble mode and leaving the paint as wide open as a runway, Antetokounmpo was cleared for takeoff, and the two-time reigning MVP threw down a massive slam that sent him galloping for joy with a smile as big as Lake Michigan.Antetokounmpo's thunderous dunk was the exclamation point at the end of a brilliant performance that saw the Bucks star drop 36 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocks on the Clippers to lead the Bucks to a 105-100 win on Sunday at Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum.Even more impressive than that elite stat line was the way Antetokounmpo put the Clipper...
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LA Clippers’ Paul George held out late due to minutes restriction as Brooklyn Nets come away with win
22Feb By adminNo Comments
NBA, NORTH AMERICA SPORTS

LA Clippers’ Paul George held out late due to minutes restriction as Brooklyn Nets come away with win

LOS ANGELES -- Despite scoring 12 points in under five minutes during the fourth quarter to help spark a late comeback, LA Clippers guard Paul George found himself cheering his team from the sideline as he was held out of the final 2:50 of a close game against the Brooklyn Nets due to a minutes restriction.With George on the sideline, the Nets were able to escape Staples Center with a 112-108 win on Sunday.Afterward, George acknowledged it was frustrating to not be able to close out the game after logging more than 32 minutes and posting 34 points, seven assists and six rebounds in his second outing since returning from a seven-game absence due to a swollen toe."Man, I think you know the answer to that," George said when asked how tough it was to sit out the end.George had said on Frida...
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LA Clippers, back at full strength, stop NBA-best Utah Jazz’s winning streak
20Feb By adminNo Comments
NBA, NORTH AMERICA SPORTS

LA Clippers, back at full strength, stop NBA-best Utah Jazz’s winning streak

LOS ANGELES -- The LA Clippers had Kawhi Leonard and Paul George back in the lineup Friday, and the timing could not have been any better.The surging Utah Jazz, winners of 20 of their previous 21 games, including an 18-point win over the Clippers on Wednesday, were back in Staples Center for a second straight game. And the Clippers wanted to show where they stood against the top team in the West standings.Leonard scored 29 points and came up with two big offensive rebounds in the final minute to help the Clippers hold off the Jazz, 116-112, and snap Utah's nine-game winning streak."They are the best team in the NBA right now recordwise," Clippers coach Ty Lue said. "We knew that they won 20 of 21 coming into tonight. We got our guys back, and we wanted to win this game."The Clippers (22...
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NBA Power Rankings – Utah Jazz top the charts, Kevin Durant wins in the Bay Area
15Feb By adminNo Comments
NBA, NORTH AMERICA SPORTS

NBA Power Rankings – Utah Jazz top the charts, Kevin Durant wins in the Bay Area

Not much can stop the Utah Jazz right now. The owners of the best record in the NBA have won 18 of their past 19 games heading into Monday's heavyweight showdown with the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia 76ers.Speaking of the East, the Boston Celtics continue to slide both in the standings and on our list. A 1-3 week -- and seven losses in the past 10 games -- drops Boston to .500 and fifth in the conference.Where do all 30 teams stand now? Let's dive into our Week 9 rankings.Note: Throughout the regular season, our panel (ESPN's Tim Bontemps, Nick Friedell, Andrew Lopez, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin, Eric Woodyard, Royce Young and Ohm Youngmisuk) is ranking all 30 teams from top to bottom, taking stock of which teams are playing the best basketball now and which teams are lookin...
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NBA Power Rankings – Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks are figuring things out
8Feb By adminNo Comments
NBA, NORTH AMERICA SPORTS

NBA Power Rankings – Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks are figuring things out

The Milwaukee Bucks have won four straight games and are back within striking distance of the Eastern Conference's best record -- a mark they've owned in each of the past two seasons. Meanwhile, the top two teams in the Western Conference, the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers, are on four-game win streaks of their own.Let's see where the league's streaking teams -- including the red-hot Sacramento Kings -- check in ahead of Week 8 in the NBA.Note: Throughout the regular season, our panel (ESPN's Tim Bontemps, Nick Friedell, Andrew Lopez, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin, Eric Woodyard, Royce Young and Ohm Youngmisuk) is ranking all 30 teams from top to bottom, taking stock of which teams are playing the best basketball now and which teams are looking most like title contenders.ESPNPrevious:...
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Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo – ‘Don’t care about the All-Star Game’
7Feb By adminNo Comments
NBA, NORTH AMERICA SPORTS

Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo – ‘Don’t care about the All-Star Game’

Feb 5, 2021Eric WoodyardESPN LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo might be competitors in rival conferences, but they share the same sentiments regarding the league's plans to hold an All-Star Game in March in Atlanta.Fresh off a 33-point, 12-rebound performance in Milwaukee's 123-105 win at Cleveland on Friday night, Antetokounmpo backed James' position on the game happening in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic."I think every player was looking forward to those five days, seven days, whatever the days are. We've got to all follow the big dog," Antetokounmpo said, referring to James. "The big dog says he has zero excitement and zero energy for the All-Star Game, and I'm the same way. I really right now don't care about the All-Star Game. We cannot see our families.2 Related"Like, I c...
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Jared Dudley says Los Angeles Lakers were motivated by ‘disrespectful’ comments from the LA Clippers’ Paul George
4Feb By adminNo Comments
NBA, NORTH AMERICA SPORTS

Jared Dudley says Los Angeles Lakers were motivated by ‘disrespectful’ comments from the LA Clippers’ Paul George

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers might have missed each other in the playoffs last year, but Lakers reserve Jared Dudley revealed in a new book that his team was primed for the "Battle for L.A." because of Paul George."We hear some of those guys talking about how they're the team to beat in L.A.," Dudley and co-author Carvell Wallace wrote in their 42-page book "Inside the NBA Bubble: A Championship Season under Quarantine," released this week. "It's fine if Kawhi [Leonard] says stuff like that. He's defending a championship. We don't trip if someone like Patrick Beverley is talking trash; that's how he feeds his family. We get it. We respect the hustle."But we think it's disrespectful for Paul George, who hasn't won, to put himself on the level of [LeBron James] an...
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Los Angeles Clippers coach Tyronn Lue searches for closure one year after Kobe Bryant’s death
24Jan By adminNo Comments
NBA, NORTH AMERICA SPORTS

Los Angeles Clippers coach Tyronn Lue searches for closure one year after Kobe Bryant’s death

LOS ANGELES -- Tyronn Lue put away all the framed photos he had of himself and Kobe Bryant in his home and the LA Clippers' coach still is unable to get himself to decorate his office with cherished moments he shared with his old friend.Nearly a year after Bryant died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, 2020, Lue still is coping with the death of his former Los Angeles Lakers teammate. Seeing highlights of Bryant on TV or even fielding questions from Kawhi Leonard and Paul George about what Bryant was like is still painful.Talking to a small group of reporters on Saturday, Lue opened up about Bryant's death and revealed that he has tried coping by blocking out as much as he can. But Lue said he wants to try to start moving forward by doing things like putting up pictures of him and Bryant...
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LA Clippers hail much-improved chemistry
18Jan By adminNo Comments
NBA, NORTH AMERICA SPORTS

LA Clippers hail much-improved chemistry

LOS ANGELES -- The LA Clippers have blown big leads, have had key players in and out of the lineup and have even suffered a 51-point loss this season.But unlike during last season's collapse in the playoffs, the Clippers said their chemistry and energy is vastly improved.Without Serge Ibaka and Lou Williams, the Clippers won a season-high fourth straight game on Sunday, a 129-96 rout of the Indiana Pacers -- and some veterans are crediting a new attitude."I feel like our energy is way better this season," Clippers forward Marcus Morris Sr. said after scoring 20 points off the bench. "Think guys are buying in.""We kind of felt let down last year," Morris later added. "And the first thing we did before we got together was we let that s--- go. It's a new season; it's a new team."1 RelatedL...
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