FIBA: MVP Rubio says World Cup winners Spain 'had biggest heart'

BEIJING -- Basketball World Cup MVP Ricky Rubio paid emotional tribute to his late mother and his "family" of team-mates after a ruthless Spain saw off Argentina to win the title on Sunday.

The 28-year-old Phoenix Suns point guard was once more instrumental for the Spaniards who brushed aside Argentina 95-75 in the final in Beijing.

He had a team-best 20 points and was named Most Valuable Player of the competition.

It is Spain's second World Cup title.

"We made history and we are really proud of that. We had a great tournament," said Rubio, who averaged 16.4 points, six assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.

"Just amazing how the tournament has been us as a team. You can tell -- we were the team with the biggest heart and we showed it tonight and during the tournament.

"We feel like this will go down as a memory for us as a family, and that is bigger than the World Cup.

"It's a family for life.

"This tournament is going to follow me for life."

Rubio said that his mother, who died three years ago, had inspired him.

"I know nobody loved me more. Even now she drives me every day, even though she's not here," he said.

Spain's victorious coach Sergio Scariolo, an assistant at NBA champions the Toronto Raptors, said that Rubio had made a "triple A improvement" in recent years.

"A couple of steps more and he'll be a Hall of Fame player," said the Italian.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

FIBA World Cup: Spain brushes aside Serbia, as Nikola Jokic tossed

BEIJING—Spain secured a fifth successive win in the FIBA World Cup with an impressive 81-69 defeat of Serbia and Argentina matched that with a 91-65 rout of Poland on Sunday.

All four sides had booked their quarterfinal spots with a match to spare and the results mean that Spain will face Poland and Serbia lock horns with Argentina for places in the semifinals.

France plays Australia on Monday for top spot in their pool with both teams already through to the last eight.

Also on Monday, holders the United States meets Brazil and the Czech Republic plays Greece with all four sides in that group still in contention to reach the knockout rounds.

Serbia, which won its opening four games by an average margin of 41 points, looked set to continue the streak after racing into a 20-11 lead late in the first quarter.

An energetic Spanish roster then ground Serbia's offense to a halt and hit a barrage of 3-pointers at the other end to carve out a 42-37 advantage at halftime.

Serbia's Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic was ejected early in the second half for a double technical foul after loud dissent and Spain capitalized on his absence as their lead soared to 63-42.

A late Serbian fightback fell short as a smaller but more agile Spanish team kept collecting offensive rebounds and restricted its rivals to three successful shots from 3-point range from 19 attempts.

"The Spaniards rocked us with their tough defense and ripped our game plan to shreds," Serbia captain Miroslav Raduljica told the Balkan nation's RTS television.

"Their scouts did a great job and we couldn't find a way to turn things around."

Sacramento Kings forward Nemanja Bjelica added: "It was an exceptionally poor performance and we need to regroup quickly."

Ricky Rubio led Spain with 19 points, forward Victor Claver added 14 and Marc Gasol chipped in with 11, cancelling out a valiant solo effort by Serbia guard Bogdan Bogdanovic who had 26 points and 10 rebounds.

The Argentines, meanwhile, ripped into Poland with a flurry of fastbreaks and clinical long-range shooting as forward Marcos Delia nailed 10 of his 12 points in the first quarter.

Their 39-year old forward Luis Scola again rolled back the years as he finished with a game-high 21 points, while Delia scored 12 and Nicolas Brussino added 10. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Westbrook's 19th triple-double not enough for Thunder

LOS ANGELES - Oklahoma City star Russell Westbrook's 19th triple-double of the season wasn't enough on Friday as the Thunder fell 96-86 to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis.

Westbrook, the NBA's leading scorer and top candidate for Most Valuable Player honors as the season approaches the halfway stage, scored 21 points with 11 rebounds and 12 assists in 36 minutes on the court.

His 19 triple-doubles already this season are the most in one campaign in almost 50 years, since Wilt Chamberlain posted 31 in the 1967-68 season.

He moved past Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson, who notched 18 triple-doubles in the 1981-82 season and inched closer to Oscar Robertson's single-season record of 41 set in 1961-62.

With 56 career triple-doubles Westbrook is closing in on Larry Bird (59) for fifth on the all-time list.

But on Friday, he also had 10 of the Thunder's 19 turnovers, which led to 33 points for Minnesota.

Karl-Anthony Towns notched his 10th straight double-double with 29 points and 17 rebounds and Minnesota's Spanish guard Ricky Rubio added 14 points and 14 assists.

Andrew Wiggins added 10 points for the Timberwolves, who won their third straight.

The Timberwolves led by as many as nine in the fourth quarter but were down by five at halftime.

But they rallied in the third quarter, and pushed their advantage to as many as 14 points early in the fourth period.

Oklahoma City narrowed the gap to 92-83 on Westbrook's steal and dunk with 1:46 remaining, but Wiggins and Towns scored the next four points.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Clippers drop Timberwolves, spoil Rubio return

LOS ANGELES -- Blake Griffin scored 20 points and pulled down 11 rebounds on Saturday in a 119-105 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis that spoiled the return of guard Ricky Rubio.

Point guard Chris Paul had 19 points and eight assists for the Clippers. J.J. Redick added 18 points and Luc Mbah a Moute contributed a season-high 15 as half a dozen players scored in double figures for the Clippers, who improved to a league-best 9-1.

"That was good," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said of his team's quick start a night after their hard-fought victory over the Thunder in Oklahoma City. The Clippers made 15 of their first 22 shots and led 34-21 after the first quarter.

"I thought our starters came out and performed great. The defensive energy was great," Rivers said. "Luc -- there's nobody in the league right now (who is) a better defensive player than Luc."

He was especially pleased with how the Cameroonian forward teamed defensively with DeAndre Jordan, saying that with both of them on the floor "it makes our defense special."

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 24 points for Minnesota who welcomed Spanish guard Rubio back after he missed five games with a sprained right elbow.

Rubio produced seven points with six assists and six rebounds but the Timberwolves never led after the first quarter.

Griffin surpassed 9,000 career points in the game, the 420th of his NBA career.

Griffin became the fastest player to reach 9,000 points, 4,000 rebounds and 1,500 assists since Larry Bird accomplished the feat in 398 matches.

"He's a great scorer," Rivers said. "But he's such an unselfish scorer it makes our team better."

The Timberwolves face another Los Angeles test on Sunday when they host the Lakers, who powered past the Pelicans in New Orleans, 126-99, on Saturday.

Jordan Clarkson scored 23 points, D'Angelo Russell added 22 and Lou Williams contributed 21 as the Lakers won for the fifth time in six games.

Spurs shoot down Rockets

In Houston, scoring bursts from Kawhi Leonard and Manu Ginobili helped the Spurs to a 106-100 victory over the Rockets, who were playing just their second home game of the season after opening with seven of eight on the road.

Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge notched a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds, point guard Tony Parker added 16 points and center Pau Gasol contributed 15.

Leonard started strong en route to 20 points total, keying an 18-4 scoring run in the first quarter that rattled the Rockets.

Ginobili finished with 12 points, eight of them in a vital third-quarter stretch after the Rockets had trimmed a 15-point deficit to 69-63 and the Spurs withstood James Harden's triple-double of 25 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists.

The Boston Celtics handed the Indiana Pacers their first home defeat of the season, 105-99 in Indianapolis.

Isaiah Thomas made just four of 13 shots from the field, but he came through when the Celtics really needed him, scoring 12 of his 23 points in the final five minutes.

"This is what the game is all about -- the fourth quarter," Celtics guard Avery Bradley said. "Isaiah did a lot for our team tonight, even though he was not shooting well. He created shots for other players and helped out by just penetrating and collapsing the defense."

The Pacers were without star Paul George, who sprained his left ankle in an overtime loss at Philadelphia on Friday.

"It was frustrating, especially at home against a good team," George said of having to watch the Pacers' home win streak end from the sideline. "I just thought we were real stagnant on offense."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Rubio rescues Timberwolves, sinks Thunder

The last time the Minnesota Timberwolves visited Oklahoma City, they were ran out of the gym. In the 20-point loss, coach Sam Mitchell left his young stars on the floor till the final buzzer so they would learn to hate the feeling of losing.

The lesson must have been learned well.

Ricky Rubio buried a 3-pointer with 00.2 left in the game to give the Timberwolves a 99-96 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.

"This was a big win for us," Andrew Wiggins said. "It's the first time we've beat them in a long time. It's huge. It'll do a lot for our confidence going into the next game."

Gorgui Dieng scored 25 points to lead the Timberwolves. He was seven of 12 from the field and 11 of 11 from the free-throw line. Wiggins scored 20 points and Ricky Rubio posted 12 assists and 13 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer as the Timberwolves improved to 21-45.

"We just talked about it. We have got to start competing better against some of the better teams in the Western Conference," Mitchell said. "I'm proud of our guys."

Kevin Durant scored 28 points on 11 of 20 shooting for the Thunder. Russell Westbrook added 26 points and eight assists. Enes Kanter came off the bench to pour in 17 points and 14 rebounds. But it was not enough as the Thunder fell to 44-21.


Oklahoma City racked up 24 turnovers on the night that led to 26 points. Durant, who had six turnovers himself, took the brunt of the blame.

"That's all on me," Durant said. "It's contagious. I'm the leader. Everyone expects me to be on my game every night. So I take full responsibility. I have to better at every part of the game."

With 5:26 left in the game, Wiggins hit 1 of 2 from the free-throw line to cut Oklahoma City's lead to 85-80. Westbrook then missed a long 3-pointer and Dieng made them pay with a layup.

Zach LaVine drained a 3-pointer to give the Timberwolves its first lead of the fourth. But Westbrook drove the lane for an easy layup to give Oklahoma City the lead back at 87-86. After the T-Wolves hit a pair of free throws, Durant knocked down a 3-pointer.

The Thunder came up with consecutive defensive stops. The second one led to Westbrook throwing a no-look back pass to Durant for a fast-break dunk. It put the home team up 92-88 with 2:28 on the clock.

Dieng hit a pair of free throws to get the Timberwolves to within two. Durant missed a short jumper and Minnesota had a chance to tie the game. But Dieng and Towns both missed their opportunities and it led to a reverse dunk from Durant with 1:00 left in the game.

After Dieng hit two more from the free-throw line, Oklahoma City held a 94-92 advantage. A moving screen was called on Steven Adams, giving Minnesota the ball. Karl-Anthony Towns then tied the game with a short jumper in the lane and 41.9 seconds left.

After Anthony Morrow missed a 3-point attempt, Towns hit a clutch fade-away jumper with 16 seconds left.

Durant got the ball and drove the baseline. He missed, but Adams came up with the put back with 10 seconds on left in the game.

That was enough time for Wiggins to find Rubio alone at the 3-point line and he buried the game-winning shot to close out the night.

"It felt pretty good," Rubio said. "I felt it was going in. I've been working a lot so it feels good to see the results."

When the night started, Minnesota looked like the team that was supposed to getting itself in playoff mode while the Thunder looked like it was playing out the season.

Led by the scoring of Wiggins and the defense of Gorgui Dieng, the Timberwolves raced out to a 21-9 lead.

However, Durant and the Thunder bench went on a 12-3 run to close out the quarter and only trailed 24-21.

Oklahoma City's offense was still off kilter in the second quarter. Every shot was a struggle and the turnovers didn't help the situation.

However, the one constant for the Thunder has been its work on the glass. Kanter came off the bench and controlled the offensive rebounds and kept Minnesota from getting out and running.

"I think this team has got it," Kanter said. "We just have to stick together and forget about this loss. It is a tough loss, but I think the most important thing right now is to forget about this loss and start thinking about tomorrow because the Spurs are going to come to."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Timberwolves limits OKC's Durant to 13 points

Playing team defense and getting scoring up and down the lineup, the Minnesota Timberwolves beat up Oklahoma City 100-81 at Target Center.

Kevin Love, who scored 31 points on Wednesday, had 24 points and 12 rebounds against the Thunder. Point guard Ricky Rubio (14 points, 10 assists) also had a double-double, as did center Nikola Pekovic (15 points, 10 rebounds).

The Wolves built a 20-point halftime lead and then used an 11-3 run to end the third quarter to push the lead to 28 entering the fourth quarter.

Minnesota's defense was more impressive as Corey Brewer led a team effort against Kevin Durant, who was held to 13 points.

It was the fewest points he has scored in a regular-season game since December 31, 2011, against Phoenix.

He was four of 11 with four turnovers before sitting out the fourth quarter.

Clippers 110, Kings 101

Chris Paul had 24 points and 10 assists, and Blake Griffin added 18 points and 16 assists, as the Los Angeles Clippers held off a furious rally for a 110-101 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

The Clippers, playing for the second straight night and third time in four nights, were able to win their second consecutive despite blowing a 15-point third-quarter lead.

Paul's 27-footer for a three-pointer vaulted Los Angeles ahead to stay after the Kings erased a 66-51 deficit and inched in front 92-90 with 6:43 to go in the final quarter. He then hit two free throws on his next possession.

Jamal Crawford finished with 18 points for the Clippers and made three three-pointers, moving past Tim Hardaway into 15th place on the NBA's all-time list.

Isaiah Thomas single-handedly kept the Kings (1-1) in the game, scoring 29 points on nine-for-13 shooting and making all three of his three-pointers.

DeMarcus Cousins finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds for Sacramento, his second double-double in as many contests.

Suns 87, Jazz 84

Eric Bledsoe landed 17 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and drilled the winning three-pointer from 25 feet with 0.7 of a second left as the Phoenix Suns shook off the loss of Goran Dragic and scored a 87-84 win over the Utah Jazz.

Miles Plumlee posted his second consecutive double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

The Suns improved to 2-0 for the 11th time in team history but the first time since the 2009-10 season. All previous 10 Phoenix teams that started the season 2-0 made the playoffs.

The Suns lost Dragic to a right facial contusion when he collided with Tucker late in the first half. He tried to play in the third quarter but lasted just three minutes as facial swelling continued.

Enes Kanter had 20 points and 12 rebounds and Gordon Hayward added 18 points, but Bledsoe, who was none of six from the field and none of three from three-point range after three quarters, drilled the winner.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com