NBA: Hawks pull level with Bucks as Giannis Antetokounmpo exits injured

Lou Williams contributed 21 points and eight assists while starting in place of injured star Trae Young to help the Atlanta Hawks post a 110-88 victory over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday and tie the Eastern Conference finals at two games apiece.

Bogdan Bogdanovic made six 3-pointers while adding 20 points for the fifth-seeded Hawks, who never trailed and led by as many as 25 points.

While Young sat out Game 4 with a bone bruise in his right foot, the third-seeded Bucks lost their own star when two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo hyperextended his left knee in the third quarter and didn't return.

Antetokounmpo had 14 points and eight rebounds in 24 minutes before exiting with 7:14 left in the third period.

Game 5 is Thursday night in Milwaukee.

Clint Capela added 15 points for the Hawks before leaving with 3:28 left in the fourth after taking an elbow to his nose from Milwaukee's Sam Merrill. Kevin Huerter also scored 15 points for Atlanta.

Jrue Holiday recorded 19 points and nine assists and Khris Middleton had 16 points and eight rebounds for the Bucks, who were a woeful 8 of 39 (20.5 percent) from 3-point range while shooting 39.3 percent overall.

Antetokounmpo was helped off the floor by his brother Thanasis after getting hurt.

Antetokounmpo got injured when he leaped to defend an alley-oop pass to Capela. Antetokounmpo hyperextended his knee as he landed. He fell to the court in intense pain, grabbing the knee, and Capela fell on top of him after scoring the basket.

Young was injured in Game 3 on Sunday night when he inadvertently stepped on an official's foot.

Cam Reddish added 12 points and Danilo Gallinari tallied 10 for Atlanta, which shot 50 percent from the field and was 13 of 38 (34.2 percent) from behind the arc.

Capela's basket on the play in which Antetokounmpo was hurt ignited a 17-2 burst that saw the Hawks open up a 77-54 lead with 3:18 left in the third. Bogdanovic knocked down three 3-pointers during the run.

Reddish's 3-pointer with 29.7 seconds left elevated Atlanta's lead to 87-62 entering the fourth quarter.

Reddish and Huerter buried baskets 13 seconds apart in the final stanza to make it 104-80 with 4:20 left, prompting Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer to pull Holiday and Middleton and look toward Game 5.

Williams hit all four of his first-half field-goal attempts -- including one 3-pointer -- while scoring 13 points to help the Hawks hold a 51-38 halftime lead.

-reuters-

NBA: Leonard scores 30 as Clippers handle Lakers in season opener

Kawhi Leonard scored 30 points, leading the host Los Angeles Clippers to a 112-102 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in the season-opener on Tuesday night at the Staples Center.

Lou Williams added 21 points and Montrezl Harrell delivered 17 points and seven rebounds off the bench for the Clippers. They helped the Clippers' bench outscore the Lakers' reserves, 60-19.

Danny Green led the Lakers with 28 points by hitting 10 of his 14 field-goal attempts, including 7 of 9 on 3-pointers. Anthony Davis scored 25 points and 10 pulled down boards, while LeBron James had 18 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

A 19-7 run to open the fourth helped the Clippers clinch the win and hold off the Lakers down the stretch.

The Clippers, sparked by an 11-1 run midway through the second quarter, led 62-54 at the break behind Leonard's 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Williams added 13 first-half points as the Clippers outscored the Lakers, 40-29, in the second quarter.

Davis scored 18 points and James had 14 in the first half. The Clippers converted 56.1 percent of their shots from the floor compared to 47.4 percent for the Lakers. Overall, the Clippers outshot the Lakers 51.9 percent to 43.5 percent.

In the third, the Clippers increased the lead to 70-56 after a 3-pointer by Patrick Patterson at 9:56. But the Lakers answered with a 10-2 surge to pull to within six after a dunk by James less than three minutes later.

A 15-0 run gave the Lakers an 85-82 advantage after a 3-pointer by Danny Green, who scored 18 points in the third. JaMychal Green's trey tied the score heading into the fourth.

The Lakers roared to a 13-2 lead after a bucket by Davis less than four minutes into the game. However, the Clippers rallied, cutting the deficit to 25-22 at the end of the quarter.

Lakers point guard Rajon Rondo missed the contest with a sore calf.

The two clubs won't meet again until Christmas Day.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Williams scores 40 off bench as Clips snip Thunder

Lou Williams scored 40 points off the bench and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder 118-110 on Friday night to move into sole possession of seventh place in the Western Conference.

Danilo Gallinari scored a season-high 34 points and Ivica Zubac added 14 points and 7 rebounds for the Clippers, who have won 7 of 9.

Russell Westbrook had 32 points, eight rebounds and seven assists before fouling out with 54 seconds left and the Thunder trailing by 3 points. Paul George scored 15 points on 5-for-16 shooting before fouling out with 3:49 left and the Thunder down a point.

Dennis Schroder also scored 15 on just 5-for-20 shooting for Oklahoma City, which fell into sole possession of fourth in the West with its sixth loss in the past 8 games.

Westbrook gave the Thunder their last lead at 104-103 when he converted a 3-point play with 2:30 remaining, but Williams scored 9 points the rest of the way.

Westbrook picked up his fifth foul with 7:37 to go in the third quarter and left the game with the Thunder trailing by 5 points. The Clippers extended their lead to 14 with Westbrook out of the game, but the Thunder managed to get back within four by the end of the third.

George sank a 3-pointer to give Oklahoma City a 99-98 lead with 4:20 left, the Thunder's first lead since 7-6.

Gallinari scored the first 9 points for Clippers, who took their first double-digit lead at 28-18 with 5:38 left in the first quarter and eventually took a 36-32 advantage into the second.

The Thunder pulled even with the Clippers early in the second quarter, but Los Angeles put together another surge and a 12-2 run gave the Clippers their biggest lead of the first half at 62-48 with 2:35 remaining.

Los Angeles maintained a 12-point lead at the half.

Despite their recent success, the Clippers hadn't beaten a team currently in a playoff spot since a 123-112 win at the Boston Celtics on Feb. 9.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Clippers put 9 in double figures, rout Wizards

Tobias Harris had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Lou Williams scored 17 off the bench, and the Los Angeles Clippers routed the visiting Washington Wizards 136-104 on Sunday night.

Avery Bradley chipped 15 points, and Montrezl Harrell and Boban Marjanovic contributed 13 each for the Clippers, who had nine men in double figures and never trailed.

Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 20 points, and John Wall had 18.

The Clippers led by 15 at halftime and by 17 early in the third quarter before Beal capped a mini-Wizards run with a 3-pointer that got Washington within 81-71.

Los Angeles responded with 16-0 run led by three 3-pointers from Patrick Beverly and five points from Danilo Gallinari. The Clippers led by 20 points after three quarters.

Washington converted just 5 of 27 (18.5 percent) from 3-point range while the Clippers made 16 of 29 (55.2 percent).

The Clippers have won four of their past five, while the Wizards fell to 1-3 on a five-game road trip that ends Tuesday at Memphis.

Los Angeles was without forward Luc Mbah a Moute (sore left knee) while Washington center Dwight Howard (lower back soreness) has yet to play this season.

Wizards forward Markieff Morris left the game after taking an elbow to the face in the second quarter and did not return due to concussion symptoms.

The game marked the return to Los Angeles of guard Austin Rivers -- son of Clippers coach Doc Rivers -- who was dealt to Washington on June 26 in exchange for center Marcin Gortat. Rivers finished with nine points and three assists in 22 minutes. Gortat had four points and eight rebounds in 19 minutes.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander swished a running half-court 3-pointer as the first quarter ended, and Harrell's layup capped a 17-4 run and gave the Clippers their largest lead of the first half, 42-24, with 9:24 left in the second quarter.

The Clippers led 69-54 at intermission.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

76ers' Simmons named Rookie of the Year

Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons has been named the NBA's Rookie of the Year after the former No. 1 overall pick helped the team break its five-year playoff drought.

Simmons beat out Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum. The award was presented at Monday night's NBA Awards show in Santa Monica, Calif.

"I'd like to thank my family, to start off with," Simmons said. "My family, friends, you know I wouldn't be here without them, and my teammates of course and my great coach (Brett Brown), and the city of Philadelphia for really embracing me."


Simmons was taken with the top pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, but a broken foot sidelined him for the 2016-17 season.

The 6-foot-10 guard averaged 15.8 points, 8.2 assists, 8.1 rebounds and 1.7 steals over 81 games last season.

Simmons, who turns 22 next month, helped the 76ers advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals, where they lost to the Boston Celtics in a five-game series. He averaged 16.3 points, 9.4 boards, 7.7 assists and 1.7 steals in the playoffs.

Pacers guard Victor Oladipo is the NBA's Most Improved Player after a stellar first season in Indiana that ended in a playoff showdown with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

He beat out fellow finalists Clint Capela of the Houston Rockets and Spencer Dinwiddie of the Brooklyn Nets.

"Shout out to the Pacers organization for believing in me," said Oladipo, who was dealt to Indiana last offseason in the deal that sent Paul George to the Oklahoma City Thunder. "It's only the beginning for us."

Oladipo, 26, averaged a career-high 23.1 points with 5.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.4 steals to earn his first career All-Star selection, as well as a spot on the All-NBA third team and the All-Defensive first team.

In the playoffs, Oladipo averaged 22.7 points, 8.3 boards, 6.0 assists and 2.4 steals, but it wasn't enough to send the Pacers onto the conference semifinals, as they lost to the Cavaliers in seven games.

Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert won the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award, beating out Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers.

Gobert, who turns 26 on Tuesday, missed 26 games during the regular season with multiple injuries, but still anchored a Jazz defense that posted the second-best defensive rating (101.6) in the NBA last season.

The Frenchman averaged 13.5 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in 56 games to earn his second straight NBA All-Defensive first-team selection. Gobert led the league in blocks in 2016-17 with 2.6 per game.

Los Angeles Clippers guard Lou Williams is now a two-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award winner after being named the league's best bench player for the 2017-18 campaign.

Williams, who also won the award with the Toronto Raptors in 2014-15, averaged career highs of 22.6 points and 5.3 assists, along with 1.1 steals in 79 games (19 starts) last season with the Clippers.

"I want to thank the Clippers organization for giving me an opportunity to be myself," Williams said.

He beat out finalists Eric Gordon of the Houston Rockets and Fred VanVleet of the Raptors. Gordon won the award last season.

Dwane Casey earned Coach of the Year honors after guiding the Raptors to a first-place finish in the Eastern Conference.

Casey beat out Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens and Jazz coach Quin Snyder for the honor.

Under Casey, the Raptors won a franchise-record 59 games opposite 23 losses to claim the No. 1 seed in the East. However, Casey was fired after the Raptors' second consecutive second-round loss to James and the Cavaliers. He was hired as the new coach of the Detroit Pistons, replacing Stan Van Gundy.

Casey also coached the Eastern Conference in this year's All-Star Game.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Lou Williams, Clippers shoot past Grizzlies

Lou Williams put together another big game, scoring 33 points to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 113-105 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday in Los Angeles.

Williams connected on all 15 of his free-throw attempts as the Clippers won their fourth consecutive game and their sixth in the past seven. Williams topped 30 points in four of the past six contests and is averaging 30.8 points during the stretch.

Blake Griffin added 21 points and eight assists, and C.J. Williams scored 18 points for Los Angeles (17-19).

Tyreke Evans scored 18 points and Mario Chalmers added 15 for Memphis (12-26). The Grizzlies shot just 36.6 percent from the field in the second half to finish at 48.7 percent.

   
The Clippers, who shot 54.9 percent from the field, led by two points entering the fourth quarter but started strong and took a 101-90 edge on Lou Williams' three-point play with 6:37 to play. Memphis responded with an 11-2 run to pull within two on Wayne Selden's driving hoop with 2:04 left.

Griffin drained a 3-pointer 17 seconds later to halt the Grizzlies' momentum, and Los Angeles closed it out.

A 3-pointer by C.J. Williams gave the Clippers a 75-68 lead with 8:13 left in the third quarter. Memphis responded with 14 consecutive points to take a seven-point lead on two free throws from Marc Gasol with 4:16 remaining.

Los Angeles answered with an 11-2 burst to enter the final quarter with an 86-84 edge.

Both teams shot superbly in a first half that saw the Clippers leading 67-62 at the break.

Los Angeles connected on 61.9 percent of its shots with Griffin and Lou Williams each scoring 15 points. The Grizzlies shot 60.5 percent -- hitting 7 of 10 from 3-point range -- with Evans putting up a team-best 10 points.

Memphis held a 53-47 advantage after Selden's basket with five minutes left in the half before the Clippers rolled off nine straight, capped by Griffin's basket with 3:37 left.

Los Angeles later ended the half with a 9-2 spurt to take the five-point lead.

source: nLou Williams put together another big game, scoring 33 points to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 113-105 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday in Los Angeles.

Williams connected on all 15 of his free-throw attempts as the Clippers won their fourth consecutive game and their sixth in the past seven. Williams topped 30 points in four of the past six contests and is averaging 30.8 points during the stretch.

Blake Griffin added 21 points and eight assists, and C.J. Williams scored 18 points for Los Angeles (17-19).

Tyreke Evans scored 18 points and Mario Chalmers added 15 for Memphis (12-26). The Grizzlies shot just 36.6 percent from the field in the second half to finish at 48.7 percent.

   
The Clippers, who shot 54.9 percent from the field, led by two points entering the fourth quarter but started strong and took a 101-90 edge on Lou Williams' three-point play with 6:37 to play. Memphis responded with an 11-2 run to pull within two on Wayne Selden's driving hoop with 2:04 left.

Griffin drained a 3-pointer 17 seconds later to halt the Grizzlies' momentum, and Los Angeles closed it out.

A 3-pointer by C.J. Williams gave the Clippers a 75-68 lead with 8:13 left in the third quarter. Memphis responded with 14 consecutive points to take a seven-point lead on two free throws from Marc Gasol with 4:16 remaining.

Los Angeles answered with an 11-2 burst to enter the final quarter with an 86-84 edge.

Both teams shot superbly in a first half that saw the Clippers leading 67-62 at the break.

Los Angeles connected on 61.9 percent of its shots with Griffin and Lou Williams each scoring 15 points. The Grizzlies shot 60.5 percent -- hitting 7 of 10 from 3-point range -- with Evans putting up a team-best 10 points.

Memphis held a 53-47 advantage after Selden's basket with five minutes left in the half before the Clippers rolled off nine straight, capped by Griffin's basket with 3:37 left.

Los Angeles later ended the half with a 9-2 spurt to take the five-point lead.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Bryant inspires Lakers to first victory in 7 games

Forward Kobe Bryant scored 22 points in three quarters, allowing the Los Angeles Lakers to snap a six-game losing streak by defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 113-95 at Staples Center on Tuesday.

Rookie point guard D'Angelo Russell came off the bench to score 19 points and record seven assists as seven Lakers reached double figures in scoring.

Guard Lou Williams scored 16 points, forward Julius Randle finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds and center Roy Hibbert added 12 points and a season-high 11 rebounds for Los Angeles (4-21), which won for only the second time at home this season.

Reserve guard Michael Carter-Williams had 19 points and guard Khris Middleton chipped in 16 to lead Milwaukee (10-16), which has dropped three of its last four games.

Forward Giannis Antetokounmpo contributed 15 points, six rebounds and five assists.


The Bucks did not play anything close to their performance in Saturday's 108-95 win over Golden State that ended the Warriors' perfect 24-0 start to the season. Against the Lakers, the Bucks fell into an early hole and never recovered.

Milwaukee also was hurt playing without center Greg Monroe, who was a late scratch with a sore left knee. Monroe apparently bumped knees with a team mate during the team's shoot-around on Tuesday morning. He will be re-evaluated on Wednesday.

The Lakers dictated the first half en route to a 55-46 lead at the break and continued their dominance in the second half.

Los Angeles opened the third quarter with a 10-2 surge, including a crowd-pleasing dunk by forward Larry Nance Jr over Bucks center John Henson, for a 17-point advantage after a Bryant fadeaway at 8:47.

Another Lakers run that featured a four-point play by Bryant pushed the lead to 75-53 after a reverse layup by Russell on an assist from Bryant. Los Angeles led 86-66 heading into the final quarter.

With the victory, the Lakers also ended a run of 14 straight opponents scoring at least 100 points.

The Bucks outshot the Lakers 47.1 percent to 46.1 percent but Los Angeles had an edge in three-pointers, making 10-of-27 (37 percent) to only 4-of-13 (30.8 percent) for Milwaukee.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Raptors rout Magic for 3rd straight win

Raptors 95, Magic 82

Lou Williams came off the bench to score 18 points as the Toronto Raptors continued their domination of the Orlando Magic with a comfortable victory on Monday.

The win was the third in a row for the Raptors (19-6), who defeated the Magic for a 10th consecutive time to remain top of the Eastern Conference standings.

Tobias Harris led the Magic with 18 points.

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Cavaliers 97, Hornets 88

After racing to a 21-0 lead over the stumbling Charlotte Hornets, the Cavaliers held on for a ninth consecutive win in contests against Eastern Conference rivals.

Cleveland (14-9) forward LeBron James had 27 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds, and forward Kevin Love had 22 points and a season-high 18 rebounds.

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Hawks 93, Bulls 86
Al Horford did a little bit of everything -- scoring, rebounding and even leading fast breaks -- to lift Atlanta to an exciting win over the Bulls.

Horford finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and point guard Jeff Teague made two free throws with 10.8 seconds remaining to seal the Hawks' (17-7) 10th win in 11 games.

Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 22 points, and Derrick Rose added 14 points and eight assists as Chicago (15-9) saw its three-game winning streak snapped.

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Celtics 105, 76ers 87

Kelly Olynyk scored a career-high 30 points off the bench as the Boston Celtics blasted the Philadelphia 76ers.

Avery Bradley added 15 points for Boston, who snapped a three-game losing streak and dropped Philadelphia to 2-22.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com