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Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun combined for 65 points and the Houston Rockets rode a scorching second quarter to a 125-111 victory over visiting Oklahoma City on Friday, ending the Thunder's 11-game winning streak.
Green scored 34 points, Sengun added 31 and the Rockets (51-27) won for the 14th time in 16 games. Houston posted a 48-33 rebounding margin to maintain control after building a 23-point lead late in the second quarter.
Houston's Amen Thompson posted 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Jalen Williams paced the Thunder with 33 points on 13-for-21 shooting. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander notched 22 points and eight assists.
Celtics 123, Suns 103
Jaylen Brown tossed in 31 points and Boston broke the NBA record for made 3-pointers in a season during a victory over visiting Phoenix.
The Celtics set the record on their eighth trey of the game, a 26-footer by Payton Pritchard with 8:19 remaining in the second quarter. It gave Boston a 44-26 lead. The 2022-23 Golden State Warriors set the previous record (1,363).
The Celtics made 14 of 39 shots from behind the 3-point arc, and they ended the night with 1,370 treys on the campaign. Boston's Jayson Tatum added 23 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Devin Booker scored a game-high 37 points for the Suns, who have lost five in a row.
Lakers 124, Pelicans 108
Luka Doncic scored 35 points and Austin Reaves added 30 as Los Angeles helped its prospects for a top-four finish in the Western Conference with a victory over New Orleans.
LeBron James produced 27 points and eight assists and Jaxson Hayes had 12 rebounds with six points as the Lakers won in advance of a back-to-back road set against the first-place Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday and Tuesday. The Lakers pulled a half-game ahead of the fourth-place Denver Nuggets.
Jose Alvarado scored 27 points and Karlo Matkovic added 15 for the Pelicans, who have just three wins in the past 11 games. Yves Missi contributed 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Pistons 117, Raptors 105
Jalen Duren had 21 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks and visiting Detroit clinched a playoff berth by completing a four-game season sweep over Toronto.
Tim Hardaway Jr. added 23 points and Malik Beasley scored 21 for the Pistons. Detroit's Cade Cunningham (calf), Tobias Harris (heel) and Isaiah Stewart (suspension) did not play.
Ja'Kobe Walter scored 22 points for the Raptors. Jakob Poeltl had 10 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.
Kings 125, Hornets 102
Zach LaVine poured in 25 points to go with 10 rebounds and Domantas Sabonis racked up 24 points and 11 rebounds to help Sacramento snap a three-game losing streak with a win at Charlotte.
DeMar DeRozan put up 22 points for the Kings. Ex-Hornets guard Malik Monk had 17 points off the bench as Sacramento won for the second time in nine games.
The Hornets lost for the seventh time in their last eight games despite 22 points from Miles Bridges. Moussa Diabate finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Pacers 140, Jazz 112
Myles Turner scored 26 points and Pascal Siakam added 22 to lead Indiana past Utah in Indianapolis for its third straight win.
The Pacers have won nine of 11 while keeping a solid hold on the No. 4 spot of the Eastern Conference standings. Turner also grabbed seven rebounds and swatted six shots, while Siakam contributed five boards, five assists, four blocks and three steals.
Utah dropped an eighth consecutive game for the third time this season. The Jazz, who have the worst record in the NBA, have lost 18 of their past 19 contests. Collin Sexton led all scorers with 27 points.
Bulls 118, Trail Blazers 113
Coby White and Nikola Vucevic each scored 31 points and Josh Giddey notched his sixth triple-double of the season as Chicago beat visiting Portland.
Giddey racked up 15 points, a career-best 19 rebounds and 12 assists as the Bulls pulled level with the Miami Heat for ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Deni Avdija posted 37 points and 11 rebounds and Dalano Banton contributed 21 points for the Blazers, who finished a 2-3 road trip.
Warriors 118, Nuggets 104
Stephen Curry bombed in a game-high 36 points, Brandin Podziemski and Jimmy Butler III combined for 45 more and Golden State dumped Denver in San Francisco.
The Warriors earned their fifth straight win to climb within a half-game of the fourth-place Nuggets in the Western Conference playoff chase. Podziemski had 26 points to complement Curry's third straight game with 36 or more.
A third straight loss dropped Denver four games behind the second-place Houston Rockets with just four games remaining. Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 33 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists.
Cavaliers 114, Spurs 113
Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points and Evan Mobley added 25 points and 12 rebounds as Cleveland did just enough to beat host San Antonio.
The Cavaliers won their third straight contest and reduced their magic number to clinch the best record in the Eastern Conference to one. Devin Vassell led the Spurs with 24 points. Harrison Barnes added 23.
Cleveland was up by 23 points late in the second quarter and by 17 at halftime before the Spurs cut it to 88-82 in the third. In the fourth, Barnes poured in back-to-back 3-pointers to bring San Antonio within a point with 28.6 seconds to play, but Barnes missed a contested, driving layup at the buzzer.
Clippers 114, Mavericks 91
Kawhi Leonard had 20 points and sparked a key early run as Los Angeles sailed past Dallas in Inglewood, Calif.
The Clippers have won 10 of their past 12 games. Ivica Zubac and Norman Powell each had 14 points for Los Angeles, and Zubac grabbed 13 rebounds. The Mavericks produced their lowest point total of the season.
Dallas played without Anthony Davis, who was a late scratch due to an adductor strain, and Klay Thompson and Jaden Hardy exited because of injuries. Naji Marshall led the Mavericks with 22 points.
More must-reads:
- Thunder’s Nikola Topic undergoing treatment for testicular cancer
- Victor Wembanyama leads Spurs to best start in franchise history
- The 'Most 2,000-point NBA seasons' quiz
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Richard Jefferson criticises Anthony Davis’ fitness after latest injury setback
The Dallas Mavericks picked up a win over the Indiana Pacers, but it came with more injury concerns for Anthony Davis. Dallas managed to get past the Pacers, but any relief was overshadowed by fresh worries about Davis’s fitness after he left the game early. Davis, who had already been battling Achilles tendinopathy before tipoff, lasted just seven minutes before being ruled out with what the team called left lower leg soreness. And Dallas ended up having to play without their big man for nearly the entire game. Not that it made much of a difference on this occasion as Kyrie Irving scored 28 points, while Dereck Lively II added 24 points and 16 boards in a win over the Indiana Pacers. However, given how thin their roster is becoming with all these injuries, there may be trouble ahead for Jason Kidd and his players. The Dallas Mavericks have now won three games in a row after losing five straight before that run. Yet Davis’s status is once again uncertain for an important stretch of games coming up next week against Milwaukee and Boston. Richard Jefferson criticises Anthony Davis Losing Davis would make things even harder for the Mavericks, who are already having trouble getting into a rhythm without Kyrie Irving. And Richard Jefferson didn’t hold back. The former NBA player said that Davis has no one else to blame for the way things have gone this season. “It’s not Anthony Davis, it’s not him, we saw it with Zion [Williamson]. You’ve seen it with players if they don’t come in in elite shape, it’s calf injuries,” Jefferson said on the Road Trippin’ Show. He added: “it’s hamstring injuries, and that’s not the only way to get those injuries, but the probability of those go up. Not conditioned, those probabilities go up.” Since joining Dallas, Davis hasn’t looked like the player he once was. He even showed up to training camp overweight, which raised some eyebrows at the time. Richard Jefferson doubles down on Davis criticism For much of his career, Davis has been in the conversation as the best power forward in the league. But this season, the former top pick has looked like a shadow of that player. This year, he’s averaging 20.8 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game— all numbers below his career marks. Jefferson believes a lack of conditioning is to blame for Davis’ drop in production. “Not conditioned, and overweight, and you’re about to go play against the best, most elite athletes in the world, and you’re going to show up overweight or out of shape.” He added: “You are begging for something to not go the way you want.” The question now is whether Davis can turn things around before it’s too late. If he can’t, we may be seeing a decline from one of this era’s great power forwards.
Blue Jays' Trey Yesavage is already making the rest of MLB look foolish for passing on him
The Toronto Blue Jays and their fans witnessed something special on Wednesday night. It doesn’t get much better than a convincing 6-1 Game 5 win to take a 3-2 lead over the superteam Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. Heading back home with the chance to win a championship at the Rogers Centre was what truly mattered for the Blue Jays; however, the way it all played out in such a pivotal game at Dodger Stadium will go down in history. Starting pitcher Trey Yesavage was untouchable, throwing seven dominant innings where he allowed just one run on three hits while striking out 12. Those 12 punchouts set the rookie record for the most ever in a World Series game. Seven of them came against the heart of the order in Shohei Ohtani, Will Smith, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. His one-of-a-kind splitter had them fooled from start to finish. Yesavage’s ridiculous rise from starting the year in Class-A Dunedin to carving up the best lineups in baseball in the postseason is unheard of. It makes you wonder how he fell all the way to the Blue Jays at pick No. 20 in the 2024 MLB Draft to begin with. Trey Yesavage has 18 teams regretting their decision While it’s still extremely early to be looking back on his draft class, what Yesavage has done these last few months can’t be replicated. A 22-year-old jumping onto a moving train with just three career MLB starts under his belt goes on to start five playoff games, posting a 3-1 record with a 3.46 ERA and a whopping 39 strikeouts. Those are the kinds of numbers you expect to see from Tarik Skubal or Yoshinobu Yamamoto, not a rookie with almost no big league experience. Nineteen different organizations let Yesavage slide down the draft board last July. At this point, the Athletics are the only ones who should feel alright about their decision, given that first baseman Nick Kurtz already looks like one of the best hitters in baseball. The 18 others look silly. While some of these prospects will certainly turn out to be good players, it’s safe to say that none of them will make this type of impact on the world’s biggest stage. If the Blue Jays can pull this off and win their third World Series title in franchise history, Yesavage will never have to buy another meal in Toronto again. Quite frankly, he’s been so good that he may not have to even if they don’t find a way to finish the job. No matter how this all ends, Yesavage has not only turned himself into a Toronto sports legend, but a Canadian sports legend. The city and country can't wait to see what else he has in store because if this postseason was any indication, then they are in for many more historic performances in the years to come.
Three teams that should pursue a trade for Titans WR Calvin Ridley
As the Tennessee Titans are free falling towards another season as one of the NFL's worst teams, they will likely sell off some of their higher priced players before the NFL's Nov. 4 trade deadline. Wide receiver Calvin Ridley tops the list of available players on the trade block even as he deals with a hamstring injury. Ridley's big play ability makes him an attractive option for teams looking to add another wide receiver. Even though he's been experiencing an up and down season so far - Ridley has only 16 receptions for 290 yards, he surpassed 1,000 yards in each of the past two seasons following sitting out 2022 due to being suspended for betting. So assuming Ridley is healthy enough to remain a trade target, here are the teams that should take a chance on the controversial wide out. Pittsburgh Steelers Aaron Rodgers may have stabilized the Steelers' quarterback position, but that doesn't mean the offense is as consistent as it needs to be for Pittsburgh to truly contend in the AFC. Pittsburgh has only exceeded 30 points twice through seven games. Desperate to increase their offensive output, especially with the defense struggling, the Steelers could use more receiver depth behind DK Metcalf. Acquiring Ridley would provide Rodgers another weapon and make the decision to place double coverage on Metcalf more of a risk for opponents. If Ridley can get back to form, he would unlock an extra dimension for a Steelers team that still holds a comfortable lead in the AFC North. New England Patriots One of the surprising results of the season so far, the Patriots are 6-2 and in first place in the AFC East. But if New England truly hopes to make a playoff push, second-year quarterback Drake Maye may need more at his disposal. To this point, Maye has been forced to work without a true deep threat. And while he's been able to methodically move the ball, Ridley would make his life much easier and stretch the field even more. Seattle Seahawks Another first place team who could use another playmaker, the Seattle Seahawks' offense has started to show signs of weakness in recent weeks. Much like the Steelers, the Seahawks have a legitimate No. 1 wide receiver in Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Month for October. He's been brilliant with three-straight 100 plus-yard games. However, Seattle has only scored 30 points once in its last four games. Pairing Smith-Njigba with Ridley would make the Seahawks more potent as they approach a stretch of the schedule with pivotal divisional matchups coming up.
Three wild quotes from Louisiana governor Jeff Landry that could wreck LSU head-coaching search
'TNF' takeaways: Lamar Jackson dazzles in return as Ravens humiliate Dolphins
The Baltimore Ravens dominated the Miami Dolphins in a 28-6 rout on "Thursday Night Football" as quarterback Lamar Jackson shined in his return from injury. Here are four takeaways from the first NFL game of Week 9: Lamar Jackson returns in style You would never know that Jackson had not played since Week 4 judging by his incredible performance on Thursday night. He wasted no time getting started with this fourth-down strike to tight end Mark Andrews in the opening quarter and capped his four-TD night with a nine-yard connection to wide receiver Rashod Bateman late in the third quarter. His 18 total TD passes against the Dolphins are the second-most all-time in five games vs. one opponent, only behind George Blanda's 21 against the New York Titans. After going 18-of-23 for 204 yards and four TDs, Jackson now has 14 passing TDs and only one interception in five games. If he stays healthy, this Ravens team will be difficult to slow down in the second half of the season. Mike McDaniel's seat keeps getting hotter It keeps getting worse for the Dolphins head coach after Thursday's latest dud. Miami had 332 yards of offense, but went 0-for-3 in the red zone and committed three turnovers, including a brutal one in their own territory in the first quarter. During a pregame segment on Prime Video, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport was asked what McDaniel's future looks like in Miami and said his job status is "firmly up in the air." While he said he did not "see anything imminent" from owner Stephen Ross, it will come down to how the players respond going forward. Although he signed an extension prior to last season and is under contract through 2028, a 2-7 record and another blowout loss is doing nothing to help McDaniel's case at the moment. Kyle Hamilton spearheads strong defensive performance from Ravens The Ravens entered the night allowing the third-most points per game (30 PPG), but Thursday night was a much different story. The All-Pro safety Hamilton may have not had the most tackles on the team, but his impact was certainly felt with six total tackles and one tackle for loss. He was more impressive than the stats show, especially at creating pressure on Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa and keeping Miami from having any success between the tackles. In the first quarter alone, Hamilton did not even line up as a safety in his first 15 snaps and still only gave up one yard rushing on four carries, opposed to 31 yards on three carries away from him, per Next Gen Stats. For a team that has struggled defensively, they need more of what they got on Thursday night if they are going to claw their way back into the AFC North conversation. Don't count the Ravens out yet It was not that long ago that Baltimore was 1-5 and staring at a wasted season. After back-to-back wins, an improving 3-5 record and a sloppy AFC North in which the Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3) are the only team above .500, the Ravens are firmly in the hunt. In fact, FanDuel currently lists them as the favorites (-145) to win the division as of Thursday night. The defense still needs to prove itself against stiffer competition, but if Jackson continues to ball out, the Ravens could complete a remarkable turnaround and mix up the AFC playoff picture.
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