Warriors rally back from 11 down, beat Embiid, 76ers 120-112
SAN FRANCISCO — Jordan Poole emerged as one of Golden State’s most dependable performers during the championship run last season.He resembled that go-to guy once again Friday night when the Warriors needed everything he had, with the ever-reliable Draymond Green doing his thing, too.“Opportunity,” Poole said of his stellar fourth quarter playing all 12 minutes.Poole scored 33 points and swished a key 3-pointer with 1:18 to play off a pretty pass by Green, Stephen Curry added 29 points and eight rebounds, and the Golden State Warriors rallied past Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers 120-112 on Friday night.“Tonight something about it felt like last year in that playoff run when Jordan was just attacking and knocking down shots but also getting to the line just giving us an entirely different dimension offensively,” coach Steve Kerr said. “That’s when he’s at his best. I thought he really competed down the stretch defensively as well. He was magnificent tonight.”Embiid checked back into the game with 8:26 left and scored 13 straight on the way to 46 points, but the Warriors came back from 11 down for their ninth straight home win — and one of the most important yet as they fight for playoff positioning. Green noted: “Nobody wants to be in that play-in, the play-in is dangerous.”Curry dribbled the baseline and around Embiid for a go-ahead jumper with 2:20 to play. Klay Thompson tied it at 104 with 5:05 left, only for Embiid to drive straight down the key for a dunk. He did miss consecutive shots in crunch time, too.Poole’s driving dunk with 8:27 left got Golden State back to 93-91 then Kevon Looney’s putback after Embiid blocked a layup try by Poole cut it to 102-101.Embiid shot 13 for 23, made 19 of 22 free throws and had nine rebounds, eight assists and two steals. He helped Philadelphia take an 88-79 lead going into the fourth. He had his streak of scoring 30 or more points in a franchise-record 10 straight games snapped in Wednesday’s 116-91 win at Chicago but made up for it. Golden State nemesis James Harden sat out with left Achilles soreness for the Sixers, who had won nine of 10 and 10 of 12.Thompson added 21 points and six rebounds and Looney contributed six points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as the Warriors reached 30 home wins for the sixth time since 2014-15 and second in a row. “You want to take care of home court as best as you can,” Poole said.Green had 10 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds for Golden State, which had some momentum from two straight wins on the road following an 11-game skid away from Chase Center.“I feel good. It’s that time of year you’ve got to turn everything up a notch,” Green said. “I love this time of year.”Philadelphia, which had won the last two matchups, made 10 of 17 shots to start the game but missed its first eight 3-point tries before Georges Niang connected at the 8:06 mark of the second quarter.GOLF OUTINGSixers coach Doc Rivers likes to get a round of golf in when visiting the Bay Area. He realizes how lucky he was to get to golf this trip — he played San Francisco Golf Club — given the recent crazy weather. “I hear you guys had a tiny storm come in,” he cracked.TIP-INS76ers: P.J. Tucker shot 0 for 5 and was held scoreless. … Rivers figures Harden might sit out against the Suns in Saturday’s back-to-back but could return at Denver on Monday night after missing his second straight game and third in four. … The Sixers are 18-8 against the Western Conference and 7-5 on the road. … F-C Jalen McDaniels also missed the game dealing with right hip soreness. He has been out the last two games and four of six.Warriors: G Gary Payton II, yet to play for the Warriors since being acquired at the trade deadline Feb. 12 because of right adductor rehabilitation, went through a tough pregame workout: “Another day of choppin’ wood, another day,” he said. He is slated to practice Saturday and then that will determine if he might play during this home stretch. “He’s coming along well and I think there’s a chance he could play on this homestand,” coach Steve Kerr said.UP NEXT76ers: At Phoenix on Saturday night to complete the road-road back-to-back.Warriors: Host the Timberwolves on Sunday night having won the last 12 in the series at home.___AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Creighton ends Princeton's March Madness run with 86-75 win
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Creighton coach Greg McDermott understood what his team needed to do if it wanted to make school history.Ryan Kalkbrenner, the Big East’s two-time defensive player of the year, had to use his 7-foot-1 frame to overwhelm Princeton’s defense. And 3-point specialist Baylor Scheierman needed to show what he could do defensively. Together, they teamed up to end Princeton’s March Madness run.Kalkbrenner scored 22 points, Scheierman had 21 and sixth-seeded Creighton marched on with an 86-75 victory over the 15th-seeded Tigers on Friday night that sent the Bluejays to their first Elite Eight since being part of an eight-team NCAA Tournament in 1941.”It’s been amazing, it’s been a dream come true. This is why I came to Creighton in the first place, to make a run with this group of guys,” Scheierman said after making five 3-pointers and harassing Princeton’s perimeter players. “It’s just been an incredible experience. I’m looking forward to continuing that on Sunday.”Next up for Creighton is No. 5 seed San Diego State in the South Region final, with each team seeking its first Final Four. The surprising matchup could be entertaining because of the teams’ contrasting styles.For Creighton to advance, Friday’s big stars may need to duplicate their performances against the rugged Aztecs, particularly Kalkbrenner, who was 9 of 12 shooting despite a brief first-half benching because McDermott thought his big man’s attitude needed work.“He just basically told me, get that frustrated look off my face and play with a little joy and have fun,” Kalkbrenner said. “I fixed it after that.”Soon after, the Bluejays (24-12) were celebrating.The Tigers (23-9) were led by Ryan Langborg with 26 points and Ivy League player of the year Tosan Evbuomwan with 24 points, six rebounds and nine assists.Princeton shook up brackets everywhere by beating No. 2 seed Arizona in the first round, then blew out seventh-seeded Missouri last weekend in Sacramento, California, to make its first Sweet 16 since 1967.Princeton was seeking become the first Ivy League champ to make the Elite Eight since Penn’s Final Four run in 1979, the first Tigers squad to reach the Final Four since Bill Bradley led them there in 1965, and the second straight No. 15 seed to play in a regional final. Saint Peter’s last year became the first 15 seed to achieve that feat.The Tigers came up short.“We had seen great size and length against Arizona, but we hadn’t seen Kalkbrenner’s agility and the speed, the way they were getting him the ball in different positions,” coach Mitch Henderson said. “I thought he was the key. They just got easy, easy baskets when they needed them.”Princeton’s offense bore no resemblance to the back-cutting, deliberate style that defined the late Pete Carril’s coaching tenure. Instead, the Tigers went toe to toe against fast-paced Creighton until stalling out at the start of the second half.Creighton used a 9-2 run to take 56-45 lead, a four-minute stretch during which Henderson called two timeouts and Evbuomwan drew his third foul.Nothing could stop the Bluejays, though. When Princeton cut the deficit to 61-52, Creighton answered with seven more points and the Tigers couldn’t get closer than seven points again.Now, after beating North Carolina State and third-seeded Baylor in Denver last weekend, drawing confidence from not needing oxygen masks like their opponents, Creighton has a chance at a program-changing victory.“At the end of the day, there’s just eight teams left, and to be one of those eight teams is just crazy,” Kalkbrenner said. “It’s what you work for all year. It’s what you work for since you get here on campus in the summer, and this is all the hard work paying off now.”BIG PICTUREPrinceton: The Tigers didn’t make it to Houston but they were among the many lower-seeded standouts during this delightfully unpredictable tournament.Creighton: The Bluejays’ quick-hitting offense remains their signature. But over McDermott’s 13 seasons, they’ve developed a stronger interior presence — and a defense that makes opponents uncomfortable.CASHING INThe tourney run could prove advantageous to Evbuomwan’s bank account.“There’s been some stuff,” he said when asked if he’d been approached with any NIL deals this month. “It’s a fun part of the game now.”___AP March Madness coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
LaVine scores 33, Bulls rout the Trail Blazers 124-96
PORTLAND, Ore. — Zach LaVine scored 33 points and the Chicago Bulls dominated the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers 124-96 on Friday night.Nikola Vucevic added 23 points and 15 rebounds for the Bulls, who have won six of their last eight games and sit in 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings with nine regular-season games remaining.Chicago finished with 17 3-pointers and 33 assists, just one shy of their season high. They were playing without DeMar DeRozan because of a right quadriceps strain. “I think guys were aggressive. I definitely tried to be aggressive from the beginning, trying to set the tone, and then react from there,” LaVine said. “We settled into the game, the ball is moving around, we’re getting a lot more open shots, and I think that leads to a lot more 3s.” Portland, which has lost seven of its last eight games, was led by rookie Shaedon Sharpe, who matched his career high with 24 points. The Blazers’ lone win during the recent stretch came against the Utah Jazz 127-115 on Wednesday. Portland was at 13th in the Western Conference standings, well out of the playoff picture.Regular Portland starters Damian Lillard (calf tightness), Jusuf Nurkic (sore right knee), Jerami Grant (quad contusion) and Anfernee Simons (sore right foot) did not play against the Bulls. Instead, the Blazers started Ryan Arcidiacono, Matisse Thybulle, Trendon Watford, Drew Eubanks and Sharpe.“I thought offensively he was pretty good, defensively he wasn’t bad, but tough matchup for him,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said about Sharpe. “That’s the reason I wanted to put him on Zach, he needs to see what it’s like in the fire. Zach is a tough matchup for anybody.”DeRozan aggravated his injury in the third quarter of Chicago’s loss to Philadelphia on Wednesday. He missed five games in January and February because of the injury.“It’s not at a point where he can’t do anything, he’s just trying to work through it right now and just manage it,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said.Even without DeRozan, Chicago led by as many as 30 points. The Bulls went on a 9-0 run to start the second quarter to go up 35-26. LaVine capped the first half with a 3-pointer to put Chicago up 61-45.The Bulls pushed the lead to 70-49 in the third quarter. LaVine was pulled at the start of the third quarter and didn’t return. “It was great. A little bit extra rest, those guys were out there playing great, I didn’t have any worries about it,” LaVine said. “So I’m glad that Billy trusts them to go out there and finish the game off, and that’s what we needed.”TIP INSBulls: Chicago won the first game between the two teams, 129-121, last month. … Bulls assistant Maurice Cheeks was Portland’s coach from 2001-05. … Alex Caruso started after missing the last two games with left foot soreness.Trail Blazers: It was the first of a five-game homestand for the Blazers, who also have nine games left in the season. … Billups finds himself in the same position he was last season, juggling lineups and absences as the playoffs appear out of reach. “Unfortunately it is familiar. It’s not the best, it’s not the greatest, but it is what it is. Whoever is available, I’m going to coach them, I’m going to do the best I I can to help them, to help them to help us,” Billups said. UP NEXTBulls: Visit the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. Trail Blazers: Host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.___AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Kevin Huerter scores 29 points, Kings beat Suns 135-127
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Kevin Huerter led all scorers with 29 points and the Sacramento Kings beat the Phoenix Suns 135-127 on Friday night.Huerter added nine rebounds and five assists for the Kings (44-29), who are in third place in the Western Conference behind Denver and Memphis.“That third quarter was huge,” Huerter said. “At the start of it, we got stops and allowed us to get out in transition … we had to pick up the pace, continue to move the ball, and look for better looks.”Domantas Sabonis finished with 27 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for the Kings. Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox exited the game with 7:16 left in the third quarter with right hamstring soreness. Fox finished with 19 points in 21 minutes.“Big win by our guys tonight,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “The energy in this building is off the charts.”Harrison Barnes scored 23 points and Keegan Murray finished with 13 points, including three 3-pointers in the win.Devin Booker finished with 32 points for the Suns (38-36). Terrence Ross scored a season-high 30 points off the bench and hit six 3-pointers.“The bench played well,” Booker said. “They brought us back at the end of the third, too, when me and Chris went to the bench. Shoutout to the bench guys. They played unbelievably tonight. We didn’t have enough to finish it out.”Chris Paul had 15 points and 13 assists. Jock Landale finished with 17 points in the loss.“There’s a number of struggles,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “We got a bit unorganized in the third quarter. We just weren’t that great. … It’s obviously a tough loss when we were playing as well as we did in the first half.”TIP-INSSuns: Deandre Ayton (right hip contusion) and Kevin Durant (left ankle sprain) were ruled out before the game. … Booker received a technical foul with 8:35 left in the third quarter. … Paul received a technical minutes later, with 7:41 left in the third.Kings: Huerter returned after a two-game absence because of a right popliteus strain in his knee. … The attendance on Friday of 18,151 broke a Golden 1 Center record.UP NEXTKings: Host the Utah Jazz on Saturday. Suns: Host the 76ers on Saturday. ___AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Grizzlies clinch playoff berth with 151-114 rout of Rockets
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Luke Kennard made a franchise-record 10 3-pointers to match his career high with 30 points, Desmond Bane added 25 points and the Memphis Grizzlies clinched a playoff spot after building a 31-point halftime lead and coasting to a 151-114 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday night.Kennard, acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers in a trade deadline deal Feb. 9, connected on 10 of 11 shots from outside the arc — only the second player in NBA history to score 30 points all on 3-pointers. Bane was 5 of 7 from 3-point range as Memphis made 25 3-pointers to set a franchise mark.“When you start hitting a couple in a row, usually about three for me, I start feeling it a little bit,” Kennard said. “It’s the kind of thing where once it leaves your hand, you think it’s going in. So, it was pretty fun.”Ja Morant scored 18 points and had eight assists in his second game after serving an eight-game league-imposed suspension after he posted a video in which he is shown waving a gun at a Denver-area strip club. Morant, as he did in his first game back Wednesday night also against the Rockets, again came off the bench. He entered with 5:08 left in the first quarter.Jaren Jackson Jr. also scored 18 points and had seven rebounds and two blocks for Memphis, which had the second-most points in franchise history. The Grizzlies won their 11th straight at home and moved within three games of idle Denver, which holds the top spot in the Western Conference.Memphis clinched the Southwest Division on Wednesday night, but weren’t assured a playoff berth until its victory Friday night since division winners don’t automatically earn playoff spots.Tari Eason had 21 points to lead Houston, while Kevin Porter Jr. and Jabari Smith Jr. each had 20. Porter also had seven assists and six rebounds. Smith grabbed eight boards.Unlike Wednesday night’s game between the teams that was closely played, Memphis put this one out of reach in the first half. The Grizzlies shot 60% overall in the half, connected on 14 of 25 from outside the arc and built the advantage to as many as 31 with an 83-52 lead at the break.“We weren’t physical with them. They were physical with us,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas said. “We were just letting them run around wherever they wanted. Obviously, Kennard got going and we were just late (defending the 3-point line).”While Memphis isn’t normally known for its 3-point shooting, Silas noted that Kennard and Bane combined to make 15 long-range shots. “Kennard was 10 for 11. The guy was going,” Silas said.For Kennard, it was the best game for Memphis since the trade. Soon after he arrived, he was reluctant to take shots as he became more comfortable with his new team. From coaches to players, all have encouraged him to take his shot.“Obviously, he’s coming out talking about how we’ve been on him, his teammates have been on him talking about being more aggressive,” Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said. “You see his confidence building one game at a time.“This is why we made the trade for him.”TIP-INSRockets: Kenyon Martin Jr., who has connected on 59% of his shots since the All-Star break, was 4 of 6 from the field. … Houston has lost five straight in the series, the longest losing streak of either team. … The Rockets are 1-5 in their last six road games.Grizzlies: Dillon Brooks returned and started after serving his second one-game suspension for technical fouls. Brooks has 18 this season. The next threshold for another one-game suspension is his 20th technical. … Memphis went undefeated at home against the Southwest Division. Their only two division losses — to Dallas and New Orleans — both came on the road. … Bane passed Rudy Gay for fifth in franchise history for 3-pointers made. … The previous record for 3s in a game was nine, twice by Mike Miller and once by Jackson Jr.UP NEXTRockets: Continue a five-game road trip in Cleveland on Sunday.Grizzlies: At Atlanta on Sunday to face the Hawks___AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Clark's March Madness marches on, Iowa women beat Colorado
SEATTLE — Caitlin Clark felt it was all happening a little too quick and on the stage of playing in a regional semifinal, Iowa’s star needed to slow down for a change. “I felt like I was playing a little frantic. I felt like I was rushed on offense,” Clark said. In this case, slowing down led to a big second half from Clark and the Hawkeyes. Clark scored 31 points, 18 coming in the second half, and No. 2 seed Iowa shook disappointments the past two seasons and reached the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAA Tournament with an 87-77 win over Colorado in the Seattle 4 Regional semifinals on Friday night. After two straight tournaments where Clark’s season ended in the round of 16 and the round of 32, the Hawkeyes will play for a chance at just the second Final Four berth in school history on Sunday. “Anytime you get to play basketball for this long, it’s really special. None of us want this to end,” Iowa’s Monika Czinano said. Clark was the catalyst for Iowa’s big second half, and the first-team All-American finished 11 of 22 shooting with four 3-pointers and eight assists. It was her 11th game this season scoring at least 30 points. But she had plenty of help, especially after Clark sat a chunk of the first half after picking up two fouls.Czinano added 15 points, including a key basket in the paint with 1:10 remaining. Kate Martin scored 16 and McKenna Warnock scored 10. Iowa shot 54% for the game and 59% in the second half. “We shot the ball very well tonight and I’m proud of that because of Colorado’s defense,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “We scored more points than anybody has all year against their defense. Their defense is very good, but we were still able to shoot over 50% from the field. But you do that when you’re having the balance of four people in double figures.”Iowa (29-6) will face No. 5 seed Louisville in the regional final on Sunday. It’s the fifth Elite Eight appearance for the Hawkeyes, but their only Final Four appearance came in 1993. Frida Formann led Colorado (25-9) with 21 points, but 19 of those came in the first half when her shooting carried the Buffaloes. But Formann was shut down in the second half and fouled out with 6:37 remaining. “I had a lot of space in the first half and my teammates were just finding me. When it’s this stage my job is to shoot the ball so that’s what I’m gonna do,” Formann said. “And then they adjusted defensively and we’re a little tighter.”Colorado pulled within 76-70 on Quay Miller’s 3-pointer with 4:16 remaining and the deficit was down to 78-74 after Jaylyn Sherrod’s steal and layup with 1:40 left. But that was the last push by the Buffaloes as Czinano scored in the paint and Iowa made seven free throws in the final minute. Aaronette Vonleh added 13 points and Miller had 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Buffs. “To be down twice by double digits against Iowa and to be able to fight back and continue to never wilt, never hang our heads and just keep playing, stay the course was awesome,” Colorado coach JR Payne said. DECISIVE RUNColorado lingered far longer than expected, but it was Iowa’s run in the early stages of the third quarter and keyed by Clark that finally gave the Hawkeyes some cushion. Clark started a string of 11 straight points for the Hawkeyes with a driving basket, added a 3-pointer off a loose ball and followed by a steal and layup that gave Iowa a 54-42 lead and forced Payne to burn two timeouts in 2 minutes. Iowa eventually pushed the lead to 62-47 and Colorado could never catch up over the final 15 minutes leaving Clark and her team celebrating before the large Iowa contingent of fans walking off the court.“I guess it was kind of our crowd. It felt like there was a lot of Hawk fans out there. I don’t know if they’ve traveled from the state of Iowa, from the Midwest and if they did, we really appreciate that. And if you’re from out here, we appreciate you coming too,” Clark said. ___AP March Madness coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
Arizona Diamondbacks Season Preview: Can they compete for a playoff spot | Flippin' Bats
Ben Verlander and Alex Curry bring you everything you need to know about the Arizona Diamondbacks heading into the season. They give their pitcher to watch, hitter to watch, breakout player, MVP and so MUCH more!
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