Sports
Rockets Stun Clippers 119-107 to Force Deciding Game 7
Beth Harris, ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES (AP) — With a 19-point lead in the second half, the Los Angeles Clippers were cruising toward clinching the franchise’s first Western Conference finals berth.
Not so fast.
The Houston Rockets would not be denied.
Corey Brewer scored 15 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and Houston stunned Los Angeles 119-107 on Thursday night to force a Game 7.
“We kept saying, ‘We’re not going to quit,'” said Dwight Howard, who had 20 points and 21 rebounds. “We kept believing. We never gave up on each other.”
James Harden scored 23 points — making all 11 of his free throws — while spending most of the fourth quarter on the bench for the Rockets, who have won two straight after trailing the series 3-1. Josh Smith scored 14 of his 19 points in the fourth.
Trailing 87-68, Houston outscored the Clippers 51-20 over the end of the third and in the fourth to shock the sellout crowd of 19,417 into near silence.
“We took our foot off the gas, stopped defending, a lot of things,” said Blake Griffin, who finished with 28 points and missed all five of his shots in the fourth quarter when the Clippers were 4 of 22 from the field.
Game 7 is Sunday in Houston.
“It’s about who wants it more,” Griffin said.
The Clippers led by 19 points in the third quarter, seemingly assured of finishing off the Rockets in six games after beating the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs in seven games in the first round.
Then Rockets started their big run with nine straight points to cut it to 13 heading into the fourth.
“We were trying to run the clock out and we stopped playing,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “We gave this one away.”
Houston hit seven 3-pointers in the fourth and stymied the Clippers offensively.
“That group just went out there and they just scrambled, they fought and they played their tails off on defense,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. “They had a great sense about them that they were going to accomplish something.”
The Rockets went on a 23-2 run to take a 111-102 lead with 1:44 left. Dazed fans began clearing out.
Chris Paul had 31 points and 11 assists for the Clippers and J.J. Redick added 15 points.
Once again in the series, the third quarter belonged to the Clippers, who outscored the Rockets 28-17 while building that 19-point lead.
The Rockets’ frustration boiled over in the third, when Howard was called for a flagrant-1 foul after knocking Griffin to the court on a drive. Harden later got hit with a technical for shoving Griffin.
Griffin ignited the crowd with a fastbreak layup in which he first completed a 360-degree pirouette, extending the lead to 86-68. The franchise’s long-suffering fans stood clapping and cheering as the Clippers got defensive stops that turned into baskets on their own end.
Smith hit consecutive 3-pointers, drawing the Rockets to 102-97. With the suddenly nervous crowd chanting, “Let’s go, Clippers!” Houston didn’t let up.
“We were just riding our momentum,” Smith said.
Neither team led by more than nine points in the first half. The Clippers dominated the first quarter, when Howard picked up two early fouls. Harden revived the Rockets by scoring 17 points in the second, including 11 straight against the Clippers’ reserves. Once the starters returned, Griffin and Redick combined to score nine straight and put the Clippers ahead 64-62 at halftime.
TIP-INS
Rockets: They dominated the boards 60-41. … Harden started the game 0 of 5 from the field.
Clippers: DeAndre Jordan made his first four free throws before missing two. … Former Clippers Corey Maggette (2000-08) and Eric Gordon (2008-11) were on hand, along with Floyd Mayweather Jr., Billy Crystal and “owner emeritus” Shelly Sterling.
REST TIME
After playing every other day, the teams have two days’ rest before Game 7.
“I’m almost 30, so I need two days to get my body right,” Howard said. “It’s going to be a dogfight.”
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Arts and Culture
Gov. Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom Host 2024 Hall of Fame Ceremony
Former Assembly Speaker and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and three other African Americans were among 10 luminaries inducted into the 2024 Class of the California Hall of Fame on Feb. 8. The 17th Annual California Hall of Fame ceremony was held at the California Museum.
By California Black Media
Former Assembly Speaker and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and three other African Americans were among 10 luminaries inducted into the 2024 Class of the California Hall of Fame on Feb. 8.
The 17th Annual California Hall of Fame ceremony was held at the California Museum.
“The California Hall of Fame is one of our families’ favorite traditions as it is a time to come together to celebrate remarkable Californians as well as their loved ones because we know that it is about partnerships,” Siebel Newsom said. “The governor likes to say that California is a dream factory because it doesn’t matter what zip code or background you come from, the California dream is alive and well to everyone who calls this state home.”
The other Black honorees were filmmaker Ava DuVernay; Federal Judge and civil rights leader, the Hon. Thelton Henderson; and basketball Hall of Fame player and broadcaster Cheryl Miller.
“It’s what I’ve been waiting for and to be among a great group of individuals that also deserve the honor,” Brown told California Black Media on the event’s red carpet before the ceremony began. “No, I never thought someone from Texas would be recognized this way. But here I am, and it all happened in the great state of California. It’s a fantastic feeling.”
Other 2024 inductees are: master chef and “mother of fusion cuisine” Helene An; computer scientist and “father of the internet” Vincent A. Cerf; all-female pop punk band The Go-Gos; Chicano Rock band Los Lobos; former U.S. Secretary of Defense and Congressman Leon E. Panetta; and artistic director and choreographer Brenda Way.
This year’s honorees join a history-making club with over 150 inspirational Californians previously inducted for their groundbreaking achievements and personifying the state’s innovative spirit.
“It’s just a humbling experience. I want to thank the Governor and First Partner. Who would have thought 100 years ago (that I would be inducted?) It’s incredible,” Miller said after her induction. “I want to thank the governor and First Partner for an incredible event.”
During his acceptance speech, Henderson said he was deeply honored.
“You know, it really would have been a really big deal to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in the area where I grew up, for example, South Central Hall of Fame, or the Watts Hall of Fame, or the Straight Out of Compton Hall of Fame,” he said. “But being inducted into the California Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame of the greatest state in the country in this great nation is something else.”
Community
El Cerrito High Senior Jayvon Bolds Named to Blue-Grey All-American Bowl
El Cerrito High School senior Jayvon Bolds is set to play in the Blue-Grey All American Bowl game at Cowboy Stadium in Dallas on Jan. 8. Bolds, an 18-year-old scholar athlete whose favorite subject is history, was nominated for the honor by Rodney Alamo Brown, founder of Soulful Softball Sunday who also serves as an announcer for the Texas bowl game.
By the Richmond Standard
El Cerrito High School senior Jayvon Bolds is set to play in the Blue-Grey All American Bowl game at Cowboy Stadium in Dallas on Jan. 8.
Bolds, an 18-year-old scholar athlete whose favorite subject is history, was nominated for the honor by Rodney Alamo Brown, founder of Soulful Softball Sunday who also serves as an announcer for the Texas bowl game.
“It’s a real honor,” Alamo Brown stated about Brown’s selection for the bowl game. “This makes him an All-American.”
Bolds will play three positions for the Eastern team: kr, slot back and special teams—i.e., kickoff and punt return.
“The plan is to line up Bolds all over the field and let him do his thing. He’ll be a weapon for our staff,” said NFL veteran Tampa Bay Buccaneers standout and All-American Bowl Coach Dick Bell. “In a game like this, with the platform being an NFL facility with former professionals as assistants and mentors, he’ll have a chance to shine on one of the biggest stages around.”
Recently, Bolds received a scholarship offer to continue his higher education at Clarke University in Dubuque, Iowa.
Bolds maintains a 3.3 GPA and is heavily involved in leadership as he is the vice president of the Black Student Union.
Blue-Grey Football launched in 1989 by founders Gus and Erik Bell with the aim of helping prospects gain national exposure so that they can improve their chances to secure college scholarships.
Some of the nation’s most talented young football players compete in the annual game, with Fox Sports, CBS Sports and USA Today regularly providing coverage, as well as ESPN.com, Scout.com, Rivals.com and 247Sports.com.
Bolds’ family is planning on traveling to Dallas on Friday and is seeking donations from the community to offset the enormous cost. Those who are willing to donate may do so by sending their donations to this cash app, $Juanita Towns.
Rodney Alamo Brown contributed to this report.
Book Reviews
Book Review: “Who Got Game? Basketball”
A little less than two feet. That’s how far you can get your two feet off the floor if you’re an average kid doing an average vertical jump. Not quite twenty-four inches, but don’t worry: the taller you grow, the higher you could be able to jump. Practice some, dribble a little, shoot more three-pointers, and you might jump right into a book like “Who Got Game? Basketball” by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Jez Tuya.
A little less than two feet.
That’s how far you can get your two feet off the floor if you’re an average kid doing an average vertical jump. Not quite twenty-four inches, but don’t worry: the taller you grow, the higher you could be able to jump. Practice some, dribble a little, shoot more three-pointers, and you might jump right into a book like “Who Got Game? Basketball” by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Jez Tuya.
Here we are, football season’s almost over, and your mind has turned to other things – namely, hoops set high over your head, and a round bouncy basketball. Kids like you who “got game” have had it for more than a century. Yes, the game of basketball was created by Dr. James Naismith in 1891 in Massachusetts.
In the years since, basketball has changed a lot, thanks to what Derrick Barnes calls “pioneers.” Julius “Dr. J” Erving improved the dunk. Before that, in 1950, the NBA first allowed Black basketball players on the teams. There have been super-tall players (Manute Bol and Gheorghe Muregan were both seven feet, seven tall) and smaller b-ballers – five-three Muggsy Bogues had a vertical jump of nearly four feet! – and just two years after the game was invented, America had its first women’s team.
A lot of off-court people poured themselves into the game, too. Barnes writes, for example, about Pat Summitt, hoopster, leader, and “one of the greatest coaches in all of sports history.” Her record of 1,098 wins ranks her at first-place in coaching women’s basketball, and as the coach with the second-most wins overall.
You can probably guess that in a book about buckets, there are bucketfuls of stats. Barnes includes a list of NBA players who jumped to a team right out of high school. He writes about the greatest basketball park ever, he explains why winners cut down the net, how Title IX changed the game, why backboards rarely break into a zillion pieces anymore, high scores, bad injuries, “hoops movies,” and where in the world you can pick up a game today.
So, your 9-to-13-year-old loves basketball so much that they dribble a ball in their sleep? They think their favorite jersey is church wear? Then you’ll be the hero of the day when you bring home “Who Got Game? Basketball.”
But first, there’s one big thing you need to know: this is not a how-to book. There aren’t any instructions inside here, no rules or plays to follow. Instead, author Derrick Barnes makes young b-ballers happy by sharing little-known info about the game they love so much, short lists, great stories about great players, wins and losses, and phrases they should know to talk the talk. All this knowledge is supported by colorful illustrations by Jez Tuya that kids will enjoy alongside the facts.
This book is for die-hard young b-ballers, but don’t be surprised if an adult finds a thing or two to learn here. “Who Got Game? Basketball” is a book any fan will want to jump on.
“Who Got Game? Basketball” by Derrick Barnes, Illustrated by Jez Tuya, c.2023, Workman Publishing, $16.99, 172 pages.
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