Sports

Irving, James Help Cavaliers Hold off Clippers

Published

10 years ago

January 17, 2015

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James, right, smiles at Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant after missing a dunk during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cleveland closed out its road trip with a sweep of Los Angeles’ teams in a hint of a turnaround for a team coming out of a six-game skid.

Kyrie Irving scored 37 points and LeBron James added 32 in the Cavaliers’ 126-121 victory over the Clippers on Friday night.

Tristan Thompson had a season-high 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds starting in place of Kevin Love, who sat out after hurting his back in Thursday’s win over the Lakers. James had 11 rebounds, all on the defensive glass.

“Last night Kevin playing the way what he played through, and then tonight Double-T stepping up in his absence, you need those moments in an NBA season,” James said.

At 30, James became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 24,000 points, totaling 24,002.

“It means I’ve been healthy for the most part throughout my career and that I’ve had some great teammates around me,” he said.

The Cavaliers shot 55% and were 10-of-23 from three-point range, with Irving hitting five to help blunt their 19 turnovers, including nine by James.

“It’s been a while since we shot it well from 3,” Cavs coach David Blatt said. “That gave us some breathing room and took a little bit of pressure off a lot of the other things that we have to do to score.”

Blake Griffin had 34 points and 19 rebounds to lead six players in double figures for the Clippers, who had won six of their previous eight. DeAndre Jordan had 19 points and 12 rebounds, Matt Barnes added 17 points and Chris Paul had 15 points and 14 assists.

“It’s hard to run when you’re taking the ball out of bounds and we took the ball out of bounds the entire game,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “We couldn’t get a stop. Everybody was making shots for them. They made you pay for everything.”

James tied the game at 97-all early in the fourth on a three-pointer over Austin Rivers, who became the first player in NBA history to play for his father after being signed by the Clippers.

Jamal Crawford’s three-point play gave the Clippers their last lead of the game, 100-97.

James and Irving teamed to power the Cavs on a 20-7 run that put them back in front, 117-107. James had nine points and Irving seven as they bookended the spurt with three-pointers; James slapped his chest after hitting his.

“Communication between us and the coaches is getting a lot better,” Irving said. “Just being out there and the coaches calling plays and me and LeBron seeing something out there and calling plays, and then we just got to go execute.”

Paul’s jumper got the Clippers within four before Thompson’s three-point play extended the Cavs’ lead to 122-115 with 46 seconds to go.

Mike Miller turned the ball over and Paul scored inside to leave the Clippers down two with nine seconds left after they had trailed by seven with 40 seconds left. But the Cavs hit 3-of-4 free throws, including one by James, to preserve the win.

“We had a couple good looks,” Paul said. “We just missed shots.”

Irving scored five of Cleveland’s first 11 points of the third, giving the Cavs a 72-71 lead on his three-pointer.

The Clippers responded with a 22-10 run to go up 91-82. Jordan scored seven points, making six trips to the line, where he was just 5-of-12. Paul fed Griffin on a dunk for his 6,500th career assist before the Cavs used a 10-4 spurt to trail 95-92 going into the fourth.

The Cavs shot 58% in the first half, when they trailed 64-61.

TIP-INS: Cavaliers — Love was ruled out after warmups. “He played through a lot of pain last night and some pretty serious stiffness,” Blatt said. … They went 2-3 on their West Coast swing. … The Cavs have won six of their last eight against the Clippers at Staples Center.

Clippers — The 126 points given up by the Clippers were a season-worst. … Paul became the second-fastest to reach 6,500 assists after John Stockton in 1985-86. … The Clippers waived G Jordan Farmar to make room on the roster for Austin Rivers. Farmar averaged 4.6 points, 1.9 assists and 1.2 rebounds in 36 games as the backup to Paul. … Jay-Z and Beyonce attended the game.

TALKING TRASH: Barnes and boxer Floyd Mayweather exchanged some heated words late in the game. Barnes refused to discuss the incident afterward.

UP NEXT: Cavaliers host Chicago on Monday. Clippers at Sacramento on Saturday.

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Bay Area

Love Life Organization Shows Love

As part of Love Life Week, the Love Life Foundation was honored to produce the 1974-75 World Champion Golden State Warrior Day. It’s a shame that our first Bay Area World Championship team’s unique accolades had been lost in the pre social media era and the cultural revolution of the 1970s.

Published

5 days ago

October 28, 2024

Oakland Post

Members of the 1975 NBA championship team, Charles Dudley (left) and Clifford Ray (right) embrace Love Life Foundation leader Donald Lacy for his antiviolence mission. Courtesy photo.

City of Oakland Celebrates 1975 NBA World Championship Team

By Donald Lacy

Special to The Post

As part of Love Life Week, the Love Life Foundation was honored to produce the 1974-75 World Champion Golden State Warrior Day.

It’s a shame that our first Bay Area World Championship team’s unique accolades had been lost in the pre social media era and the cultural revolution of the 1970s.

The 1975 NBA World Championship team were invited back to the City of Oakland last Friday, to be properly celebrated for their ground-breaking performance in 1975.

The heartwarming ceremony highlighted the recent passing of the legendary coach of that team, Al Attlles, and his former players Clifford Ray and Charles Dudley were on hand to represent the “Cardiac Kids” as they were called back then for their ability to make great comeback victories during their run for the title.

Warriors great Chris Mullin and former spiritual advisor Gary Reeves gave heartfelt testimonies of their experiences under Attles’ leadership and their relationship with the inspiration they received from the NBA 1975 World Champion Golden State Warriors.

The City of Oakland provided proclamations to all parties with speeches made by city leadership including Mayor Sheng Thao and Deputy Mayor Dr. Kimberly Mayfield and activity host Love Life non-profit founder and Executive Director Donald E. Lacy Jr..

There will be a celebration of life event Nov. 9 honoring Attles’ legacy at Alameda College.

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California Black Media

Several Black Californians Are Playing Key Roles in LA 28 Olympics Planning

From politicians and businesspeople to athletes and community leaders, a number of Black Californians are contributing to the thought leadership that is shaping the planning of LA28, the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. At the forefront is Los Angeles’ first Black woman mayor, Karen Bass, who has, in many ways, become the face of the Games in the City of Angels.

Published

2 weeks ago

October 22, 2024

Oakland Post

From left to right: IOC Member Hong Zhang, IOC Vice President Nicole Hoevertsz, Rex Richardson, Mayor of Long Beach, LA28 President Casey Wasserman, James T. Butts, Mayor of Inglewood, IOC President Thomas Bach, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, the President of the Los Angeles City Council (IOC/Greg Martin)

By Lila Brown, California Black Media

At the forefront is Los Angeles’ first Black woman mayor, Karen Bass, who has, in many ways, become the face of the Games in the City of Angels.

“The 2028 Games present an incredible opportunity to unite our city and lift up every corner of Los Angeles,” said Bass during a historic event at Los Angeles City Hall on Sept. 13, when the Olympic and Paralympic flags were unveiled and installed.

The event marked the return of the Olympic flag to L.A. since 1984, when the city hosted the Olympics for the second time. It was the first time the Paralympic flag was raised in California’s largest city.

“From creating jobs to supporting small businesses, we are committed to ensuring that these Games benefit all Angelenos — not just for the summer of 2028, but for decades to come,” Bass added.

Nearly two months after the Olympic flag handover from Paris to Los Angeles, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach visited Los Angeles.

Bach toured several of the city’s newest world-class sporting venues, including the SoFi Stadium and the recently opened Intuit Dome, both located in Inglewood. At the stadiums, he was joined by two other Los Angeles County Black mayors, whose cities will be key to hosting LA28 events: Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts and Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson.

SoFi Stadium, known as the home of NFL teams the LA Rams and LA Chargers, will host swimming competitions during the LA28 Games, with a temporary pool set to make it the largest swimming venue in Olympic history, boasting 38,000 seats. Intuit Dome, Inglewood’s newest state-of-the-art venue and home to the LA Clippers, will host the Olympic basketball tournament in the 18,000-seat arena.

In an interview with California Black Media ( CBM), Butts highlighted Inglewood’s central role in the upcoming Games, stating, “Inglewood will host the Opening and Closing ceremonies, basketball, and swimming competitions of the 2028 Olympic Games. This will be our second hosting of Olympic Basketball, the first in 1984.”

Marqueece Harris-Dawson, President of the Los Angeles City Council, also attended the tour.

Harris-Dawson is one of the leading backers of PlayLA, a parks development program that promises to provide sports programming to “young Angelenos of all abilities.” The initiative is funded by a $160 million investment from the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the International Olympic Committee.

Black Californians serving on the LA28 Board include Businesswoman Mellody Hobson; decorated Paralympian Lex Gillette; former Netflix Executive Dana Smith; President of the LA County Federation of Labor AFL-CIO Yvonne Wheeler; and television host, retired sprinter and four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson.

Rosalyn Brant Clark, a 1976 Olympic silver medalist and mother of three-time Paralympian Breanna Clark, said while the “Games for All” theme is promising, she is looking for more concrete action that impacts the lives of ordinary people, including Black Californians.

“They are going to need to show me more on that one before it gets my stamp of approval,” she added, challenging organizers to ensure genuine inclusivity.

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Bay Area

Ohemaa Nyanin Named GM of Valkyries WNBA Team

The Bay Area is filled with excitement, and much of the conversation is about the Bay Area’s newest WNBA team — the VALKYRIES! The Golden State Warriors were awarded the 13th team in the WNBA last October, and just four months ago, the team’s General Manager was announced — Ohemaa Nyanin.

Published

2 weeks ago

October 22, 2024

Oakland Post

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By Y’Anad Burrell

Nyanin’s parents are from Ghana, and she was born in Maryland. Nyanin’s experience in this industry precedes her both as a former college player and on the business side. Nyanin is an American University alumna who played on the Eagles’ women’s basketball team. In 2019, Nyanain joined the WNBA team, The New York Liberty, initially serving as the director of basketball operations before she became assistant general manager.

“No excuses,” Nyanin said. “We are here, first and foremost, as humans, and secondly to win basketball games. So how do we do that, and how do we do that in the most inclusive way?”

From viewing interviews that Nyanin has done since her arrival in the Bay Area, a constant theme in her conversations is talking about taking a “people first” approach. Nyanin talks about how she will be focused on the players, staff, and fans as she navigates and executes her role as general manager. Health, both mentally and physically, is important to Nyanin, as I’ve seen in her many interviews.

Just days ago, The Golden State Warriors announced the head coach for the Valkyries — Natalie Nakase.

Nakase has been the assistant coach for the Las Vegas Aces for the past three seasons, where she was a part of the Aces’ back-to-back championship run in 2022 and 2023. Before joining the Aces’ coaching staff, Nakase spent ten seasons with her hometown team, the Los Angeles Clippers, and their G League.

The Valkyries will practice at downtown Oakland’s Golden State Warrior space and play games at Chase Center in San Francisco. This is an excellent opportunity to experience both sides of the water.

The Valkyries WNBA season opens May 2025 at Chase Center in San Francisco, and the Valkyries website shows over 18,000 season-ticket deposits. For clarity, if someone is ‘interested’ in purchasing season tickets, a $25 deposit is required. The Chase Center’s capacity is a little over 18,000, so you can imagine how electrifying the stadium will be during all home games.

Ohemaa, welcome to the Bay and The Town!