Phildelpia 76ers Win Lottery Pick

The Philadelphia 76ers landed their first No1 overall draft pick in 20 years on Tuesday at the NBA’s draft lottery, putting Australia’s Ben Simmons in line to head to the team that finished the season as the worst in the league.

Philadelphia have endured a dreadful three-year stretch that was a part of a rebuilding plan to restock the franchise with top picks. Their record of 10-72 this past season gave them the best chance at getting the No1 selection for the 23 June draft and it paid off as they came out ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, who will draft second and third.

“My immediate thought goes straight to the city of Philadelphia,” 76ers coach Brett Brown said. “They have been amazing in allowing us to go through the process we have. We’re excited about the news we have tonight.”

Louisiana State University standout Simmons and Duke’s Brandon Ingram are expected to be the first two choices. Should Simmons go first he would team-up with one of the NBA’s brightest young cores in Brown, who coached Australia at the 2012 Olympics.

Brown’s connections to Australia could open the way for the Melbourne-born teenager to join the Australian Olympic team this year, despite Simmons having already indicated he was unavailable to go to Rio.

The 76ers have given little away about who they will choose with their top pick. Simmons’ biggest threat is Ingram, with some draft analysts suggesting Ingram could be a better fit for the 76ers.

The last time Philadelphia were in this position they chose Hall of Famer Allen Iverson first overall in 1996.

Their recent results have been mixed as they drafted Jahlil Okafor and Joel Embiid in the top three of the past two drafts. Embiid has yet to make his debut due to foot surgeries, while Okafor is coming off a solid rookie season.

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MVP Curry Wins for Warriors in Over time

Steph Curry - Getty Images

Stephen Curry nailed a three-pointer in overtime and gestured to the crowd, exclaiming over and over: “I’m back! I’m back!”

Curry returned from a sprained right knee to score an NBA-record 17 points in overtime, finishing with 40 as the Warriors rallied to take a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference semi-finals with a 132-125 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.

And then on Tuesday, to no one’s great surprise, he was named the NBA MVP for a second year running. Curry swept all 131 first-place votes, including 130 from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters and one from the fan vote. Curry is the 11th player to win back-to-back MVP awards.

“I love this game, I love playing and love competing. And really, really missed being out there with my team-mates,” Curry said. “To help our team get a win tonight and in that fashion, that was a good feeling in that moment to be back on the floor and playing.”

Playing for the first time since he was injured in Game 4 of the first-round series against Houston, Curry was rusty for three quarters and sensational down the stretch after the Warriors trailed by as much as 16 points.

Originally expected to play about 25 minutes off the bench, Curry picked up a heavier workload in the second half after Shaun Livingston, who had been starting in his absence, was ejected in the second quarter after arguing a call and picking up two technical fouls.

The Warriors can win the series Wednesday night at home in Game 5. A news conference announcing Curry’s award is scheduled for 5pm ET in Oakland on Tuesday.

Canada is mad as hell at Dwyane Wade, America, and we might not take it anymore

Curry was followed in the vote by Kawhi Leonard of San Antonio, LeBron James of Cleveland and Oklahoma City pair Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. Curry’s Warriors team-mate Draymond Green was seventh.

Damian Lillard finished with 36 points and 10 assists for Portland.

Curry’s fast-break lay-up gave the defending NBA champions a 120-118 lead with 2:21 left in the extra period. He followed with a three-pointer, strutting and pumping his fist in celebration.

“You knew he’d catch his rhythm eventually,” Klay Thompson said. “He’s probably the best player in the world, the best shooter of all-time. He was getting good looks. We’ll take those all day.”

Harrison Barnes’ layup extended the lead to 125-118 and Portland couldn’t catch up. Thompson finished with 23 for the Warriors.

Curry finally made his first three of the game to give the Warriors a 103-100 lead with 4:35 left in regulation, but Portland was ahead in the final minute before Barnes tied it at 111-all with a three-pointer with 51 seconds left. Both Lillard and Curry missed to force the OT.

Curry led the Warriors to an NBA-record 73 wins in the regular season, a year after leading the team to its first NBA championship in 40 years. He averaged just over 30 points per game this season.

“Remarkable,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. “I mean, he looked fresh. He had his rhythm. He made tough shots, he made nice passes, he fought through screens. Obviously 17 points in overtime. It was a hell of a performance.”

The Trail Blazers narrowed the series to 2-1 on Saturday night when Lillard scored 40 points in a 120-108 Portland victory while Golden State was still without its star guard. The Blazers became the only team to defeat the Warriors twice this season.

Curry came off the bench with 5:56 left in the first quarter and Portland up 16-2. His only points in the quarter came off a pair of jumpers before he went back to the bench.

Livingston felt he was fouled just before halftime and was thrown out after arguing with referee Scott Foster. The 12-year veteran guard was averaging 12.1 points and 5.5 assists in the playoffs. He had started six of the eight playoff games while Curry nursed his knee injury.

Portland led 67-57 at the half, scoring a franchise playoff-record 41 points in the second quarter alone. Lillard led all scorers with 17 points.

Curry said his legs were sore after the game.

“To be expected,” he said. “I pride myself in the work I put in in the offseason to get through the 82-game schedule and be fresh for the playoffs. I was off my feet for a week and some change. You obviously lose a little bit but deep down when I got the work the last four days and broke a sweat and put the time in, that helped me get through these 38 minutes.”

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Portand Blaze Trail Over Warriors

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Damian Lillard had a playoff-best 40 points and the Portland Trail Blazers avoided a fourth-quarter slump to beat Golden State 120-108 on Saturday night, cutting the Warriors’ advantage in the Western Conference semifinal to 2-1.

The defending NBA champion Warriors were still without reigning MVP Steph Curry, who sprained his right knee in Game 4 of the team’s first-round series against Houston.

Al-Farouq Aminu had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and CJ McCollum added 22 points for Portland. The Trail Blazers led 58-46 at the half and stretched the lead to as many as 20 points in the fourth quarter.

Draymond Green had 37 points, and Klay Thompson added 35 for the Warriors, They had had won four straight against the Blazers. Game 4 is Monday night in Portland.

Harrison Barnes’ three-pointer and Leandro Barbosa’s long jumper closed the gap to 105-92 for the Warriors with six minutes left. Lillard’s three-pointer with 2:47 made it 114-97, but Green answered with his own three. McCollum’s three-pointer pushed Portland’s lead to 120-106 with 1:22 left and the Warriors couldn’t catch up.

Avoiding a fourth quarter letdown was key for Portland. The Blazers led 87-76 going into the fourth quarter of Game 2, but were outscored 34-12 in the fourth quarter by the Warriors. Portland managed just six points in the final 5:21. Lillard, who finished with 25 points including 17 in the third quarter, was held scoreless in the fourth.

Lillard battled a chest cold in the first game of the series then was held scoreless in the final quarter of the second. But Lillard tends to respond to adversity: After he was snubbed for an All-Star bid this season he scored 51 points, including nine three-pointers, in a 137-105 victory over the Warriors in February. It was one of just nine losses for the Warriors in a record-setting 73-win season.

The Blazers came back from a 2-0 deficit in the opening round against the Los Angeles Clippers, who were hurt when both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin went down with injuries.

Thompson, who averaged 32 points in the first two games, had three three-pointers as Golden State built an early 16-9 lead despite four turnovers. Another three pushed the lead to 22-16 and Thompson led all scorers after the first quarter with 18 points. He also had 18 points in the first quarter of Game 1 against the Blazers.

Al-Farouq Aminu and Lillard each made three-pointers in the final minute and Portland went up 58-46 at the break. Lillard finished off the half with 25 and Thompson had 24 for Golden State.

The Blazers stretched the lead to 63-48 early in the second half, and Golden State’s Andrew Bogut got into foul trouble with five. Draymond Green hit consecutive three-pointers to close the gap to 63-56. Gerald Henderson’s wide open corner three-pointer put Portland up 75-60.

Curry returned to practice on Friday with a brace on his knee. The team did not scrimmage, but Curry ran through an extensive post-practice shooting routine.

Curry, who averaged over 30 points per game in the regular season, worked in a 2-on-2 drill on Saturday before Game 3. Coach Steve Kerr said he expected him to go 3-on-3 on Sunday, but would not speculate on his availability for Game 4.

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Curry Questionable for Rockets Return

The Warriors made an impressive start to their postseason quest for a second straight NBA championship, but Steph Curry is “questionable” for Monday night’s match-up against the Rockets, according to coach Steve Kerr.

Curry scored 24 points and dazzled from long range as Golden State beat Houston 104-78 on Saturday, but rolled his ankle just before half-time and Kerr said Curry is a doubt for game two.

“As far as Monday, I’d say Steph is questionable,” Kerr said. “We’ll see how he responds the next couple of days and go from there.”

Curry tweaked the ankle after missing a shot with 2:12 remaining in the second quarter, and left the game for treatment. He returned to the court after half-time but then went back to the locker room to get the ankle re-taped.

He came back in the third quarter only to be substituted out by Kerr, but Curry played down fears that he’d be missing on Monday.

“Right now, don’t see a scenario where I’ll be out,” Curry said at the postgame podium.

“Obviously, if it’s not right and I’m at risk of further injury or whatnot, that’s the only thing that we’ll have to worry about,” he said. “Pain tolerance and all that stuff, I kind of know what I can deal with on the court. But you don’t want anything more serious to happen, favoring an ankle or whatnot. So that’s what we’ll kind of pay attention to the next two days.”

Draymond Green added 12 points and 10 rebounds as the top seeds continued their momentum from setting the NBA’s all-time wins record in a testy playoff opener.

“I didn’t like the way [Curry] was moving when he went back out in the third quarter,” Kerr said. “He wanted to stay in, but he wasn’t moving well, so we weren’t going to play him, regardless of what happened.”

Curry lobbied Golden State assistants to appeal to Kerr, but his case fell on deaf ears.

“We all swung and missed,” Curry said.

Curry found himself in a few physical exchanges. Most notably, Curry shoved Patrick Beverley after the Rockets point guard committed a reach-in foul and got tangled on Curry’s arm.

“It set the tone. We didn’t want to come out here and start fights, of course not,” Beverley said. “That’s not what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to go out here and play basketball. We’re not backing down from anybody, and we’re trying to win a basketball series.”

Curry pushed back when asked whether Beverley is a “dirty player.”

“Nah, he’s an aggressive player,” Curry said. “He plays hard. He tries to get under your skin with certain things that he does, but that’s kind of his MO. I wouldn’t call it dirty at all.”

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MVP Curry Strikes Again with Thunder

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Stephen Curry’s 3-pointer from beyond 30 feet with 0.6 seconds left in overtime gave the Golden State Warriors a 121-118 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night.

Curry finished with 46 points as his winning shot was his 12th 3-pointer, tying the NBA single-game record. He also broke his own NBA record for 3s in a season, leaving the new mark at 288.

Curry, the league’s scoring leader and reigning MVP, missed about six minutes of the third quarter with a left ankle injury. He drove to the basket and rolled the ankle before Thunder guard Russell Westbrook stepped on it.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 37 points, but he fouled out in the first minute of overtime.

The Warriors won the previous meeting with the Thunder 116-108 at home on 6 February. The teams play again Thursday at Golden State.

Oklahoma City led by 12 in the fourth quarter, but the Warriors rallied. Klay Thompson made a 3 from the left corner to cut Oklahoma City’s lead to 100-99. It was the first 3 of the game for any Warriors player other than Curry.

Durant responded with a 3-pointer with 14.5 seconds left to put the Thunder up 103-99.

Thompson quickly scored a layup, then the Thunder turned the ball over, and Andre Iguodala was fouled with 0.7 seconds left. Iguodala made both free throws to tie the score at 103 and force the extra period.

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Curry Ties NBA Point Record

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Stephen Curry tied an NBA record Wednesday by making a three-pointer in his 127th consecutive regular-season game.

The reigning NBA MVP and three-point leader tied the record just 78 seconds into the Warriors’ win over Miami, on his first shot of the evening. He shares the mark with Atlanta’s Kyle Korver and has a chance to take the record outright when Golden State play at Orlando on Thursday.

“That’s a pretty outrageous number,” Curry said before Wednesday’s game. “When I was talking about it last year, I knew where he was. I was at 40 or 45. And I remember hearing what his number was. That’s crazy — every night you’re hitting a three. Whether you’re shooting well or not, you’re still finding a way to knock down at least one. The longevity of that record is pretty remarkable.”

Curry’s last game without a three-pointer was on 11 November 2014. He has made at least one in 202 of his past 203 games, and is on pace to smash the single-season record for three-pointers he established a year ago. “Steph is a lot better,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Which is scary, because he was the MVP last season.”

Curry entered Wednesday with 260 three-pointers this season, 88 more than anyone in the league. His teammate Klay Thompson came into the night No2 this season in threees, with 172.

Curry said he finds significance in the mark. “There’s no trophy for that,” Curry said. “But it’s a really cool situation to be in. That’s a big part of my game.”

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Bryant Bids Farewell to All Star Game

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Kobe Bryant had his NBA All-Star game farewell and the next generation of the West’s best sent him off a winner, rolling to a record-setting 196-173 victory over the East on Sunday night.

The first All-Star Game outside the US was the highest-scoring ever, with both teams piling up more than any team had ever managed. Bryant didn’t provide much of the offense but many of the memories. He finished with just 10 points, so few that he lost his career lead in All-Star Game scoring to LeBron James, even though James also had a quiet night.

But Russell Westbrook scored 31 points in his second straight All-Star MVP performance, Stephen Curry added 26, Anthony Davis 24, and Kevin Durant 23. Paul George finished with 41 for the East, tying Westbrook’s total from last year in New York that was one off Wilt Chamberlain’s record. John Wall added 22 points.

James finished with 13 points, just enough to move ahead of Bryant for most ever in the All-Star Game. He has 291, while Bryant, who is retiring after this season, leaves with 290. He checked out with 1:06 left to cheers and hugs from his fellow All-Stars who now put up points in bunches the way Bryant did for so long.

Bryant had seven assists and six rebounds, but shot just 4 for 11 in a game where there isn’t really much defense and had never been less. The 369 combined points were 48 more than last year’s record, and both clubs blew away the previous individual team record of 163. But people just wanted to see Bryant play, not necessarily play well.

The pregame was a celebration first of Canada, then of Bryant. Player introductions came from two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash and Grammy winner Drake. Canadian Nelly Furtado sang her country’s national anthem.

Then it was time for two video tributes for Bryant, whose 18 All-Star selections are second only to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Bryant thanked fans who have given him more than 30m votes in his career, and as he finished speaking all the All-Stars lined up in the background to salute him. He took the opening jump ball against James — neither team had a true centre voted to the starting lineup — and each East starter took a turn early covering Bryant.

Toronto hosted the very first NBA game in 1946. No one who saw that game would recognise the way it looked Sunday.

Curry and Durant launched shots from spots where only buzzer-beating heaves were once attempted, and Westbrook put together another combination of speed and force that turned it into a rare All-Star blowout in the second half. The West has won five of the last six even without longtime mainstay Bryant, who hadn’t played since 2013 because of injuries. But players like Westbrook, Durant and Curry are more than ready to shoulder the load.

At 37, Bryant has trouble keeping up with the youngsters — especially the really young ones. Chris Paul’s son stole the ball from him as Bryant warmed up for the second half. But he was the star without playing a starring a role. He had said he didn’t want players forcing him the ball in an effort to make him the MVP — he’s already got four of them in this game — but he was never far from the centre of attention.

James crouched in his defensive stance and pounded the floor when he found himself covering Bryant out on the wing in the second quarter. But come on, nobody is really here to play defence, at least that early. The West led 92-90 at the break, both teams surpassing the previous record of 89 points in a half.

The game goes back to the US next year, and for the first time since 1997 won’t have Bryant. 

He made his All-Star début in New York in 1998, a game also remembered for Michael Jordan’s last with the Chicago Bulls. Jordan, now chairman of the Hornets, was on hand Sunday for a ceremonial passing of the All-Star torch from Toronto to Charlotte, the 2017 host.

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Queens Make Way for Anthony Mason

The Queens street where Anthony Mason grew up will be named after the late New York Knicks power forward, who died last year of a heart attack aged 48.

The portion of 147th Street between 123rd Avenue and Rockaway Boulevard will be named Anthony Mason Way as part of last week’s approved City Council proposal to rename 42 streets throughout New York City.

Mason, was a South Jamaica native who played for the Knicks from 1991 through 1996, helping them to within one win of a championship in a seven-game NBA Finals loss to the Houston Rockets in 1994.

Mason, who earned Sixth Man of the Year honours with New York in 1995, also played for the Charlotte Hornets, Denver Nuggers, Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks during a 13-year NBA career.

The 6ft 7in bruiser made his lone All-Star appearance in 2001 after reuniting with his former Knicks coach Pat Riley in Miami.

#RIP

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