Harris, Gallinari help Clippers edge Blazers

PORTLAND, Ore. — Tobias Harris had 34 points and 11 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 104-100 on Sunday night.

Danilo Gallinari made the tiebreaking jumper with 47 seconds left and added 17 points for the Clippers.


Damian Lillard scored 30 points for Portland, which led by 13 at halftime but then had to play the second half without starting center Jusuf Nurkic because of a bruised shoulder.

With Portland missing its defensive anchor, the Clippers began the half on a 20-4 run. The Clippers kept the momentum going, outscoring the Blazers 38-16 in the third quarter.

With the game slipping away, Blazers coach Terry Stotts left Lillard in the game to start the fourth quarter, and the star guard’s personal 7-0 run in a span of 12 seconds tied it at 100 with 1:53 left.

But Gallinari made a short pull-up jumper, Portland missed a couple jumpers on the next possession and Patrick Beverley clinched it with a pair of free throws.

The loss ruined Maurice Harkless’ first start of the season. He had returned Wednesday from a knee injury that kept him out since Oct. 29.

TIP-INS

Clippers: Los Angeles improved to 13-6, the best record in the Western Conference. The Clippers have done it with a roster absent of household names, but depth is the reason they are where they are.

“You have seven or eight guys that can start and they do,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “We move it around. But as long as your group is good with that and the changes and we have good group.”

Trail Blazers: After a strong start to the season, the Blazers sputtered in the last two games of their road trip, losing by a combined 71 points. The defense, which was at one point in the top five in the league, has fallen to 16th in defensive efficiency.


“We’ve had three relatively poor defensive games, two of them against very good offensive teams,” coach Terry Stotts said before the game. “I am concerned. It’s not a trend I want to continue. Milwaukee was a train wreck.”

UP NEXT

Clippers: Host Phoenix on Wednesday.

Trail Blazers: Host Orlando on Wednesday.

source: sports.inquirer.net

McCollum’s 40 lifts Trail Blazers past Bucks

PORTLAND, Oregon — CJ McCollum scored 40 points and the Portland Trail Blazers beat Milwaukee 118-103 on Tuesday night, handing the Bucks their second loss in 10 games this season.

McCollum, who entered shooting well below his career averages, went 17 for 26 from the field and added six assists. Evan Turner had 16 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for the Blazers (8-3).

Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 23 points and nine rebounds. Brook Lopez shot 6 for 10 from 3-point range and finished with 22 points.

In the third quarter, McCollum put on a show. He scored 19 points and made Bucks rookie guard Donte DiVincenzo fall down on a crossover move before hitting a basket, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

Portland led by 14 after three.

The game began with a fast pace that carried on throughout in a meeting between two of the top five offenses in the NBA.

Portland outscored the Bucks 33-31 in the first quarter as both teams shot better than 50 percent from the floor and the 3-point line.

TIP-INS

Bucks: With new coach Mike Budenholzer in charge, Milwaukee is playing a much different style this season. After being a bottom-five team in 3-point attempts last season, the Bucks came in second in the NBA in 3-point tries with 41 per game. That included their 117-113 loss at Boston in which they put up 55 3-pointers. “Yeah, it’s a lot,” Budenholzer said. “The game is always evolving with teams, coaches and players trying to figure out what gives them the best chance. The skill of players now today is special, so trying to push that envelope.”

Trail Blazers: One of the biggest changes for the Trail Blazers this season has been utilizing Turner as the primary ball-handler on their second unit. The results have led to one of the best bench units in the NBA so far, ranking ninth in scoring. “The second unit comes in, their ball movement, their execution — they’re playing with each other,” Budenholzer said. “They take advantage if the defense overcommits or over-rotates. They’re playing really well together. Evan Turner is kind of a great setup guy with that group. It’s interesting to see how they’ve changed a little bit and how it’s working for them.”

UP NEXT

Bucks: At the Golden State Warriors on Thursday.

Trail Blazers: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Portland wins 12th straight with win over Detroit

PORTLAND, Ore. — Damian Lillard says Portland’s current streak is more about the Blazers than their opponents.

Lillard had 24 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and the Blazers beat the Detroit Pistons 100-87 on Saturday night for their 12th straight victory.

“During this entire run a lot of the things we’ve done have been about us,” Lillard said. “Us communicating, being on the string defensively, locking into the scouting report and knowing what hurt us the last time we played these teams, and also trusting each other on offense, and making other teams have to work to stop us instead of being easy to guard.”

CJ McCollum added 16 points for the Blazers, who have the longest current winning streak in the league. It’s the longest streak for the franchise since it won 13 in a row in December 2007.

Portland (43-26) also earned its season-best ninth straight home win — a timely streak as it tries to hold on to third place in the Western Conference standings.

While the Blazers are soaring, the Pistons are struggling.

Andre Drummond had 18 points and 22 rebounds in Detroit’s 12th consecutive road loss. Blake Griffin had 15 points.

The Pistons (30-39) have dropped eight of 10 overall, and currently sit in ninth place in the East.

Coach Stan Van Gundy was fuming after the game about the officiating.

“They held and grabbed on every play and they got away with fouls all over the place. We got absolutely screwed all night,” Van Gundy said. “Luke (Kennard) makes a back cut to the basket on an out-of-bounds play, gets knocked down, they end up with two points on the other end. Blake has two straight drives in the fourth that he gets hammered on. He gets screwed twice.”

While Van Gundy said he didn’t want to take anything away from the Blazers, he said the officiating made their defense look good. He called the game embarrassing for the league.

“I’ve been here for four years and many more years before that and I’ve never come in after a game, never, never come in after a game and talked like this. That was embarrassing,” he said.

The Pistons trailed by as many as 19 points in the third quarter, but they closed to 84-74 on Stanley Johnson’s dunk with 8:18 left. Evan Turner responded with a jumper for the Blazers.

After Kennard was whistled for a technical foul, Lillard made a foul shot and McCollum converted a layup to make it 89-74 with 6:19 remaining.

Kennard was a game-time decision with a tight hamstring, but he finished with 12 points.

Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic got two quick fouls within the first four minutes of the game, so he was replaced by Meyers Leonard. Portland went up 20-9 early.

The Blazers led 60-45 at the break. Lillard led all scorers with 12 points.

After extending the lead in the third quarter, Lillard went to the bench to start the fourth and it looked as if he might be done for the night. But he returned when Detroit got within 10 points.

“We’re grown men,” Johnson said. “We grab and hold just like they grab and hold. At the end of the day it is what it is. You can’t go back and change stuff. You can’t do nothing about it. If that’s the way they want to officiate the game, we gotta deal with it and try to maneuver the best we can.”

TIP-INS

Pistons: It was the third of a six-game road trip. … Forward/Center Eric Moreland played at Oregon State. … Reggie Jackson, who has missed 35 games with a right ankle sprain, participated in a 3-on-3 optional practice earlier this week.

Trail Blazers: Terry Stotts tied Nate McMillan for third-most victories as a Blazers coach. Stotts is 266-213. … The Blazers had lost five straight to the Pistons. … All five of Portland’s starters scored in double figures.

UP NEXT

Pistons: Visit the Sacramento Kings on Monday.

Trail Blazers: Visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Paul’s season-high 37 leads Rockets over Blazers

HOUSTON — With James Harden injured, the Houston Rockets are figuring out different ways to make up for the offense the league’s leading scorer normally provides.


On Wednesday night, that meant Chris Paul took 29 shots and finished with a season-high 37 points to help the Rockets to a 121-112 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Paul tied his career high for field-goal attempts in a regulation game. He took 33 shots and scored 42 points in a double-overtime game with New Orleans in 2008.

His 37 points were the most by a Rocket besides Harden since Jeremy Lin had 38 against San Antonio on Dec. 10, 2012.

Paul, who made 13 field goals, was asked if he realized he’d come close to taking the most shots in his career.

“I don’t know,” he said. “It kind of felt like it. Like goodness. I missed a lot, too. That’s what I’m mad about.”

Portland coach Terry Stotts said Paul was tough to stop.

“He was exceptional,” Stotts said. “He really controlled the game, like he can do. His shot-making was as good as I’ve seen.”

Eric Gordon added 30 points as the Rockets withstood a late run to win their second straight.

The Blazers used a big run to cut a 14-point deficit to three with about three minutes left. Houston responded with a 6-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Paul, to make it 111-104 about a minute later.

Damian Lillard made a layup on the other end, but Paul cut through three defenders to make an off-balance layup to push the lead to 113-106.

The Blazers couldn’t get the ball in after a timeout, Houston got the ball back and Clint Capela added two free throws to secure the victory.

The Rockets won their second straight and improved to 3-2 in five games without Harden, who is out for at least two weeks with a hamstring injury.

Lillard scored 29 after missing the last two games with a strained right calf, and C.J. McCollum added 24 points as the Blazers saw a three-game winning streak snapped.

Paul had 11 assists, seven rebounds and three steals, and Capela added 13 points with eight rebounds.

Gerald Green scored all of Houston’s points in a 5-2 run that extended the lead to 103-89 midway through the fourth period. He finished with 12 points and has scored in double digits in seven straight games for the first time since 2015.

“We’re having to manufacture points in different ways,” Paul said. “Gerald continues to be great and be aggressive. … James averages 30 and we’re just doing it by committee.”

Lillard scored the first seven points of an 11-0 spurt that got the Trail Blazers within 103-100 with about 3 1/2 minutes left.

Paul received a technical in that span for arguing about a foul called on P.J. Tucker.

The Rockets led by nine entering the fourth quarter and were up by 11 with about 7 1/2 minutes remaining after Gordon scored four points. He made a layup before missing a shot on the next possession, only to grab it with one hand and finish with a dunk that made it 98-87.

Portland’s Ed Davis was called for a flagrant foul late in the third when he hit Tarik Black in the right eye as Black dunked. Black remained on the court for a couple of minutes before being helped to his feet and escorted to the locker room, holding a towel over his right eye. The team said he had an abrasion to his right eye and he’ll miss Friday’s game.

Paul made the free throw on that play, and Tucker added a layup after that to extend the lead to 84-74.

The Rockets led 55-45 at halftime.

TIP-INS

Trail Blazers: Lillard had eight assists and five rebounds and made 10 of 12 free throws. … Portland had six blocks, led by Jusuf Nurkic’s three.

Rockets: Black tied a season high with 13 points. … Nene missed his fourth straight game with a bruised right knee. … Gordon has scored 20 or more points in 21 games this season after doing so in only 19 games last season.

NICE PUTBACK

Gordon’s teammates were impressed with his dunk in the fourth quarter. Paul called it “sick.”

“I surprise myself sometimes,” Gordon said with a laugh. “When I saw it floating in the air, I just went after it.”

HE SAID IT

Lillard on being unable to combat Houston’s runs: “When you’re dealing with a team that shoots 3s as much as them and as well, you can’t give them extra possessions and I thought we did that on too many occasions.”

UP NEXT

Trail Blazers: Visit New Orleans on Friday.

Rockets: Visit Phoenix on Friday.

source: sports.inquirer.net

LOOK: Blazers’ guard C.J. McCollum enters Harvard Business School

The term “student athlete” usually applies to varsity players who received scholarships to play sports in high school or college.

Rarely do we see a successful professional athlete find the time to juggle his career and studies.

The Portland Trailblazers combo-guard C.J. McCollum is looking to break that mold, as he recently revealed that he got into one of the most prestigious learning institutions in the world.

Through his Instagram account, the 25-year-old guard said he’d be attending the Harvard Business School for a summer course.

“A kid from Canton, Ohio made it into a Harvard Business classroom. Locked in thinking of a master plan,” last year’s NBA Most Improved Player captioned a photo of himself.

Prior to being drafted in 2013, McCollum graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from Lehigh University.

During the off-season, McCollum dabbles in writing for various basketball websites. He was even a part-time sideline reporter for the NBA All-Star Weekend.  Khristian Ibarrola /ra

source: sports.inquirer.net

Curry, Durant lead Warriors past Trail Blazers

OAKLAND, Calif. — Stephen Curry marvels at Kevin Durant’s efficiency: 30 points on 16 shots in his latest outing.

KD finds plenty of things in the MVP’s game to praise, too. And when these two get clicking together, the Golden State Warriors are oh so good.

It just took a while Wednesday night.

Curry had 35 points with five 3-pointers, Durant added three more blocked shots and the Warriors held off the Portland Trail Blazers 125-117.

“It’s pretty special, I didn’t realize it at first,” Curry said of KD’s ability to light up a stat line on minimal shot attempts. “He’s a super-efficient player and he takes pride in that.”

Zaza Pachulia scored 13 points to hit double figures in consecutive games for the first time this season, just his fourth time reaching double digits for Golden State. He also matched his career high with three blocks in the Warriors’ ninth straight home win.

CJ McCollum scored 35 points to lead a Portland team still without Damian Lillard, and the Trail Blazers certainly had to feel better about hanging tough in this one after their forgettable 45-point defeat here 2 1/2 weeks earlier.

Curry shot 12 for 25 on a night Splash Brother Klay Thompson struggled to find his stroke from long range, going 1 of 7 and scoring 14 points.

Coming off a triple-double, Draymond Green had 11 assists, nine points, seven rebounds, three steals and a late block with five fouls.

Durant was dominant on both ends, especially during one spectacular sequence late in the first.

He made a pretty driving lay-in and converted a three-point play at the 2:50 mark, blocked two shots in succession moments later – one against McCollum then on Noah Vonleh’s putback try. KD drained a 3-pointer the next time down, and he also had a four-point play in the final minute of the first half.

“He’s been amazing, and it’s not just rim protection,” said Green, who challenged Durant “to fly around” on defense.

McCollum made three of his first six 3s then missed four of five in the second half, when he shot 3 for 12.

“I just missed some shots. It happens,” he said. “I had a lot of good looks from 3 that I didn’t make and I missed a couple layups. Credit to them, they did a good job defensively.”

Four Golden State starters hit 3-pointers among the Warriors’ first four baskets before the game was even three minutes old.

The Warriors’ five straight wins against the Trail Blazers mark their first five-game winning streak versus Portland since winning seven in a row from Feb. 20, 2005 to Nov. 3, 2006.

Golden State also has won six straight in the series at home. That includes the blowout victory Dec. 17 – 135-90 – for the biggest margin by Golden State in the series and matching the largest point disparity in any game played between the rivals with Portland’s 136-91 win on Dec. 22, 1987.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Warriors dominate Blazers, Heat crush Hornets to advance

LOS ANGELES—Klay Thompson scored 37 points and Draymond Green posted his first post-season triple-double as the Golden State Warriors opened the second round of the NBA playoffs on Sunday with a convincing 118-106 victory over Portland.

The absence of injured superstar Stephen Curry made no difference for the reigning champion Warriors, who connected on 47.3 percent of their shots against a Trail Blazers team that had wrapped up their first-round series against the injury depleted Los Angeles Clippers less than 48 hours earlier.

Thompson drained a three-pointer 17 seconds into the contest and the Warriors rolled from there in front of their home fans in Oakland, California.

Thompson scored 18 of his 37 points in the first quarter — when Portland scored just 17 points total.

The Warriors led 37-17 after the first frame, and the Trail Blazers never got the gap under nine points from there.

Australian big man Andrew Bogut delivered a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds, as did Harrison Barnes. Shaun Livingston, starting in place of Curry, chipped in 12 points and six assists.

“The way we got it done on the defensive end, we made it tough on them,” said Green, who scored 23 points with 13 rebounds and 11 assists in 38 minutes.

“Listen, we know they’re not going to have games like this every night,” he added of a Blazers team whose five starters made just 23 of 75 attempts. “But if we can make them take tough shots … we think they’ll wear down throughout the course of the series.”



Heat sting Hornets



While the Warriors were opening the second round with a rout, the Miami Heat were closing out the first round with a 106-73 drubbing of the Charlotte Hornets.

The Heat, who had trailed 3-2 in the series, rode an outstanding performance from Slovenian point guard Goran Dragic, who scored a game-high 25 points.

“I just had more room to operate. My teammates trust me even when I miss a shot and they keep supporting me,” Dragic said.

Luol Deng tallied 15 points, Dwyane Wade finished with 12 and Hassan Whiteside had 10 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks for the Heat, who never trailed.

“I’m not a prophet, but I knew we were winning this game,” Wade said.

“This team has had opportunities all season to cave and every time when we have been in that situation we have somehow prevailed.”

Hornets guard Kemba Walker scored just nine points on three-of-16 shooting and had three turnovers.

But Hornets coach Steve Clifford said the Heat’s 58-36 rebounding advantage was the real key.

“We had a bad start because of the rebounding game,” Clifford said. “At halftime, I thought we were fine. But in the third quarter, things got away from us.”

The Heat next face the winner of Sunday’s game seven between the Toronto Raptors and Indiana Pacers.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Curry, Thompson combine for 15 3-points in rout of Blazers

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Splash Brothers had no plans of letting Damian Lillard steal the 3-point spotlight this time.

That embarrassing defeat in Portland less than a month ago was still fresh in their memory.

Stephen Curry scored 34 points, Klay Thompson had 37 and the Golden State Warriors avenged their worst defeat of the season by beating the Trail Blazers 128-112 on Friday night, extending their record regular-season home winning streak to 47 games.

“I don’t think there was revenge,” coach Steve Kerr said of the Blazers, “I think there was respect.”

Curry and Thompson combined to shoot 15 for 25 on 3-pointers and went 26 of 45 overall, with Thompson joining Curry as the only players with 200 3s in four straight seasons. They scored 30 or more points in the same game for the sixth time in their careers.

“Klay came out blazing. Me, not so much,” Curry said. “It took me a while to get into it. He brought a lot of energy on both ends of the floor. We kind of fed off of that. It was a huge pick up considering how poorly we played against them last time.”

Draymond Green added 17 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists while making all nine of his free throws.

CJ McCollum scored 18 points and Portland topped the defending champions with 19 3s to Golden State’s 18 as the teams combined for the most 3s in NBA history – on 37-for-76 shooting.

From the tip, the defending champion Warriors were out to bury the Blazers after an embarrassing 32-point defeat in Portland last month coming out of the All-Star break. Golden State lost 137-105 at Portland on Feb. 19 – its largest margin of defeat since a 39-point setback to Denver in 2012 – before an impressive seven-game winning streak.

Curry scored 18 of his points in the opening period after going scoreless in the first two nights earlier against Utah, helping the Warriors improve to 29-0 at Oracle Arena this season.

On Monday, Curry became the first player in NBA history with 300 3s in a season and his seven against the Trail Blazers pushed his total to 311.

Damian Lillard returned to his Oakland roots to score 17 points on 5-of-19 shooting for Portland after missing 15 of his first 17 shots. Lillard made four 3-pointers and has the most 3s of any player in his first four seasons, topping Thompson’s 784.

Playing in his hometown, it was a far cry from how he lit up the Warriors for a career-high 51 points in that February rout.

“He just had a great game last time we played them,” Thompson said. “I just try to take away that 3 ball. He’s got range like Steph.”

He was averaging 45.5 points on 54.5-percent shooting and 8.5 assists in the first two meetings and missed scoring 20 or more points in a fifth consecutive game against Golden State.

The first half was a quite an offensive display by both teams. Portland scored 61 points and still trailed by 20 at intermission.

“The final boxscore doesn’t tell the story of the game. It’s an interesting boxscore,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said.

Andre Iguodala hit two quick 3-pointers midway through the second quarter as the Warriors connected on 10 of their first 16 3-pointers and 14 of 25 by halftime.

STEPH COMPARISONS

Kerr stopped Lillard after the game with kudos.

“I just told him how much I respect him and how proud Oakland is of him,” Kerr said.

Lillard was so good against Golden State the last time it prompted Kerr to say, “He looked like Steph Curry out there.”

“Honestly, I really appreciate it,” Lillard said before the game. “I forget who I said it to earlier this week, I loved Steve Kerr growing up with Bulls and with the Spurs. My second All-Star game in New York, he was the coach. I really appreciated his speech to the team before the game, how he took the time to learn about each player.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Hall of Fame coach Jack Ramsay passes away - ESPN

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame enshrined coach Dr. Jack Ramsay has passed away at the age of 89, ESPN reported, Monday.



Last week, sports columnist Peter Vescey tweeted out that Ramsey had been moved into a hospice.

SB Nation reported that Ramsey had been "battling various forms of cancer on and off for the past 15 years."

Ramsay began his coaching career at his alma Mater Saint Joseph’s College, before becoming the general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers. He later moved down to become their head coach.

After four seasons as coach of the 76ers, he had a four season stint with the Buffalo Graves. He is most well-known though for giving the Portland Trail Blazers their first and only NBA title during the 1976-77 season. He closed out his coaching career with the Indiana Pacers.

In all, he had an 864-783 win-loss record over 21 NBA seasons.

Ramsay later went on to do broadcasting work for the Indiana Pacers and the Miami Heat, plus ESPN.

Ramsay was enshrined in the basketball Hall of Fame in 1992. The NBA named him one of the Top 10 Coaches in NBA History in 1996. In 2010, he was awarded the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award by the NBA, along with Tex Winter.   - AMD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com