Wilder survives pummeling to stop Ortiz in 10th

NEW YORK — Deontay Wilder was out on his feet. Forget defending his WBC heavyweight title, Wilder was lucky to find his corner when the seventh round concluded.

About 10 minutes later, he was strutting around the Barclays Center ring, his belt secure, but his reputation as being untouchable severely tarnished.

Wilder survived a pummeling from Luis Ortiz, then knocked out the challenger in the 10th round Saturday night to retain his crown. Befitting the undefeated champion from Alabama, it was a wild affair for the final few rounds after a dull series of pawing and gesturing by Wilder gave Ortiz a solid lead.

“A true champion always finds a way to come back and that’s what I did tonight,” Wilder said. “Luis Ortiz is definitely a crafty guy. He put up a great fight. We knew we had to wear him down. I showed everyone I can take a punch.”

Well, yeah — Wilder certainly took his share of them.

Even after Wilder knocked down Ortiz in the fifth round, the bout remained in the Cuban’s favor.

Then, in the seventh, Wilder was dazed and confused by Ortiz’s assault. Though he never hit the canvas, he stumbled to his corner when that round ended. The end seemed near.

“I almost had him and I think I would’ve if there were a few more seconds in the round,” Ortiz said. “Wilder was definitely saved by the bell. I thought I had him out on his feet. But you have to give him credit, he weathered the storm.”

Instead of folding, Wilder closed the ninth with two hard rights, and then a series of vicious combinations in the 10th started Ortiz’s downfall.

It was over with 55 seconds to go in the 10th after Ortiz went down for the second time in the round from a right uppercut and referee David Fields stopped it.

“I just had to get my range back and my fundamentals back,” Wilder said. “And I was able to do that. I showed I was a true champion tonight.”

Wilder, 32, is 40-0 with 39 knockouts. This easily was his toughest bout. Somehow, he was ahead on all three judges’ scorecards.

The Associated Press had it 86-83 for Ortiz heading into the 10th.

Ortiz, 38, is 28-1. He couldn’t have come much closer to becoming the first Cuban heavyweight belt holder after finally getting his match with Wilder. Their initially scheduled bout was in November, but Ortiz twice tested positive for a banned substance, a diuretic.

He was ready Saturday, but not quite resourceful enough.

“In this sport, any punch can end a fight,” Ortiz said. “In the ring anything can happen.”

Wilder basically threw away the early rounds with a lack of aggression and much clowning. The left-handed Ortiz was all business.

In the fifth, with boos raining down from the crowd of 14,069 at Barclays Center, Wilder finally landed a solid punch. That invigorated him and two rights to the chin sent down Ortiz.

Wilder couldn’t finish him, and was nearly finished himself two rounds later. Ortiz was so dominant in those three minutes that Wilder looked bewildered at his predicament.

The champ hung on in the eighth, then somehow found the fortitude and punching power to turn it around in the final two rounds.

“Luis Ortiz was one of those fighters that everyone ducked, even champions ducked him,” Wilder said. “I wondered why it took so long for him to get a title shot and now we know.”

What boxing doesn’t know is how this performance will affect the division. Wilder’s sights have been set on Anthony Joshua, who defends his WBA and IBF crowns at the end of the month against WBO champ Joseph Parker.

If nothing else, Wilder’s ring reputation took a hit, although his toughness and ability to take a punch can’t be questioned.

“I’m ready right now,” Wilder said. “I always said that I want to unify. I’m ready whenever those guys are. I am the baddest man on the planet and I proved that tonight. This solidified my position at the top of the food chain tonight.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Masked man: Irving returns as Celtics win 13th straight

NEW YORK—Kyrie Irving really dislikes having to play in a mask.

On the other hand, he loves what comes next: Boston putting its 13-game winning streak on the line against the NBA champions.

“It’s definitely an incredible streak we’re on, and now comes the whole media frenzy of will the streak end, and what’s going to happen on Thursday and the Golden State Warriors coming to Boston,” Irving said. “So I’m looking forward to all that hoopla.”

Irving returned to the lineup and scored 25 points while wearing the mask, and the Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets 109-102 on Tuesday night to remain unbeaten since an 0-2 start.

Marcus Morris added 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Jayson Tatum scored 19 points for the Celtics, who have the NBA’s best record. Golden State is next at 11-3, and Boston got good preparation for the game against a persistent Brooklyn team.

“The way that they converted on us in transition after our mistakes tonight, you can’t have that against Golden State. You just get blown out of the gym,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “We just have to play really solid on both ends and do what we do as well as we can and see where we stand.”

Irving missed one game with a minor facial fracture after he was hit by teammate Aron Baynes on Friday. He fiddled with the mask frequently, but it didn’t seem to affect his play much. He made a jumper with 3:40 left after the Nets had closed within four points and drove for another basket about 35 seconds later.

“Today, just finding his way and doing what he does, making big plays for us, coming through and sealing the game,” said Celtics center Al Horford, who had 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Boston then finally put it away with Jaylen Brown’s alley-oop feed to Tatum before Irving hit two free throws to make it 106-96.

Joe Harris scored 19 points and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Nets, who are without leading scorer D’Angelo Russell because of a bruised left knee. Allen Crabbe and Caris LeVert added 15 points apiece.

Irving has had to play in a mask before, and he’s done it well. He scored a then career-high 41 points in a loss at New York on Dec. 15, 2012, while with Cleveland. But he described it like having foggy blinders, restricting his peripheral vision.

The Celtics started 7 of 9 from the field to lead 17-4, but the Nets jumped ahead in the second quarter and countered every time Boston threated to pull away until the final minutes.

“I thought guys competed,” Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We just have to do it in long stretches.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Irving, Love return as James, Cavs beat Nets 116-108

NEW YORK, New York—Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love were rusty and Kyle Korver is still not a Cavalier, so LeBron James needed to play a heavy role Friday.

As usual, he was up to the task.

James scored 36 points, carrying Cleveland while Irving and Love had slow starts in their return to the lineup in a 116-108 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

Irving added 32 points and Love had 17 points and 13 rebounds, but both shot poorly early as the Nets kept it competitive for 1 1/2 quarters. James helped the Cavs open a comfortable lead by halftime they enjoyed most of the rest of the way in the opener of a six-game trip.

“Ky was a little rusty coming off a couple of games out and obviously Kev as well,” James said, “so I was just trying to see if I could push the tempo, get us into a good flow, get some early buckets in the second quarter and I was able to push the lead to a double-digit lead by halftime. So it worked well for us.”

The Cavs were still working to finalize a trade with Atlanta to acquire Korver, which will add a premier perimeter shooter to their second unit.

“Every shooter that comes here we tell them LeBron’s statement: If a guy’s not in your numbers, then you’re open,” Irving said. “So I know he’ll pretty much enjoy that.”

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 23 points for the Nets, who have lost five straight.

“We just tried to compete the whole game. We dug ourselves a hole,” rookie Caris LeVert said after scoring a season-high 19 points.

Love missed a loss to Chicago on Wednesday and was limited in the previous game after suffering from food poisoning on New Year’s Day. Irving had sat out the last three with right hamstring tightness.

Irving started 1 for 8 and Love was 1 for 7 as the Nets, who trailed by 46 during their loss at Cleveland on Dec. 23, led with under five minutes remaining in the second quarter. But James had 10 points in the final 3:09 as Cleveland took a 50-39 lead.

Love then had 10 points in the Cavs’ 36-point third quarter and Irving heated up late as Cleveland broke it open again after the Nets trimmed a 24-point deficit to six in the fourth quarter.

“I thought they were rusty but we did a good job of working them back in and they were able to finish the game,” Lue said.

Irving finished 10 for 26 from the field with three 3-pointers. Love was 5 for 16.

Tristan Thompson was 0 for 9 from the free throw line in the first half before finally making a pair with 4:27 left in the third quarter after the Nets fouled him intentionally. He finished 4 for 13.

Though the trade with Atlanta wasn’t done yet, the Cavaliers did complete one with Portland. The Cavs re-acquired the 2018 first-round pick they had sent the Trail Blazers along with Anderson Varejao last February, in exchange for their 2017 first-rounder.

Nets coach Kenny Atkinson, who was an assistant in Atlanta, said the Cavaliers are making a great move to get Korver.

“I think we all make a mistake if we just think Kyle’s a shooter,” Atkinson said. “I think he’s a better all-around player than people think. I think he’s a better defender than people think. Better passer. He’s just really great IQ and he’s going to help them in so many ways.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

NBA considering week-long All-Star break

MIAMI - The NBA is considering extending its annual all-star game break from three days to a full week so players have a longer mid-season rest, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Saturday.

Citing an unnamed NBA source, the newspaper reported that the plan would give players seven days off in mid-February but increase the number of back-to-back games played during the rest of the season by one or two per club.

The newspaper said the league is using the week-long gap model when planning its schedule, which will be released next month after a delay so television partners can adjust to changes such as the blockbuster move of LeBron James from Miami to Cleveland and plan accordingly.

Next year's NBA All-Star Game is set for February 13-15 in New York with events split between the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and Madison Square Garden in Manhattan.

It would actually fall about three weeks beyond the point where most teams reach the halfway mark in their 82-game seasons.

Players have sought a longer mid-season rest, notably the elite stars whose participation in the annual all-star events mean they have no extra rest like the rank and file millionaire NBA talent.

Teams generall have five days off booked into their schedules around the break, some teams starting that period later than others to allow for games every night and time to travel to and from the host city and reconnect with club teammates.

The upcoming NBA season is set to begin October 28 and end on April 15, 2015 with the playoffs to start April 18. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com