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From Broderick Turner: In a game that became testy in the fourth quarter, the health of Kawhi Leonard was paramount for the Clippers.
Leonard was listed as questionable with right knee inflammation for Game 3, and though he started Friday night, he rarely looked sharp during the Clippers’ 101-90 loss to the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center.
Leonard, who was in and out of the game, departed for the final time with 4:09 left and the Clippers down by 15 points.
He played 25 minutes and produced nine points, nine rebounds and four turnovers in a game the Clippers once trailed by 21 points in the fourth quarter.
“It (the inflammation) was pretty good the first game,” Leonard said. “Like I said, it didn’t respond the way we wanted it to. Tonight it was either play limited minutes or not play. And I wanted to be on the floor to help the team. And, that’s what the results are. Frustrating that it happened to me this late in the season. But, yeah, we’re going to keep going. We’re going to get it right.”
Paul George, who was in foul trouble all game, had just seven points, going three for 11 from the field, one for six from three-point range.
The game grew tense in the fourth quarter when Russell Westbrook, who missed all seven of his shots and all four of his three-pointers to finish with one point, got into it with Luka Doncic, the two of them pushing each other. Westbrook and P.J. Washington then shoved each other. Eventually, Westbrook and Washington, who got into a trash-talking situation with Terance Mann, were given technical fouls and ejected .
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LAKERS
From Bill Plaschke: The chant began in the final minutes of another lost season, the blame thundering down from furious Laker fans in four sharp syllables.
“Fi-re Dar-vin … Fi-re Dar-vin … Fi-re Dar-vin.”
The Lakers are on the precipice of a second consecutive playoff disaster, and it’s becoming clear who could take the fall.
In the wake of Thursday’s 112-105 loss to the splendidly coached Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena, the smoking wreckage has seemingly trapped one man.
Darvin Ham, just one season after being the toast of the town, is in danger of being toast.
Lakers believe they ‘have the talent’ to beat the Nuggets
Lakers takeaways: Another bad shooting night, Darvin Ham hears it from the fans
FIRE DARVIN HAM? POLL
Should the Lakers fire Darvin Ham? Vote in our informal poll here and let us know.
NBA PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE
All times Pacific
FIRST ROUND
Western Conference
No. 1 Oklahoma City vs. No. 8 New Orleans
at Oklahoma City 94, New Orleans 92 (box score)
at Oklahoma City 124, New Orleans 92 (box score)
Saturday at New Orleans, 12:30 p.m., TNT
Monday at New Orleans, TBD
*Wednesday at Oklahoma City, TBD
*Friday at New Orleans, TBD
*Sunday, May 5 at Oklahoma City, TBD
No. 2 Denver vs. No. 7 Lakers
at Denver 114, Lakers 103 (box score)
at Denver 101, Lakers 99 (box score)
Denver 112, at Lakers 105 (box score)
Saturday at Lakers, 5:30 p.m., ABC
*Monday at Denver, 7 p.m., TNT
*Thursday at Lakers, TBD
*Saturday, May 4 at Denver, TBD
No. 3 Minnesota vs. No. 6 Phoenix
at Minnesota 120, Phoenix 95 (box score)
at Minnesota 105, Phoenix 93 (box score)
Minnesota 126, at Phoenix 109 (box score)
Sunday at Phoenix, 6:30 p.m., TNT
*Tuesday at Minnesota, TBD
*Thursday at Phoenix, TBD
*Saturday, May 4 at Minnesota, TBD
No. 4 Clippers vs. No. 5 Dallas
at Clippers 109, Dallas 97 (box score)
Dallas 96, at Clippers 93 (box score)
at Dallas 101, Clippers 90 (box score)
Sunday at Dallas, 12:30 p.m., ABC
Wednesday at Clippers, TBD
*Friday at Dallas, TBD
*Sunday, May 5 at Clippers, TBD
Eastern Conference
No. 1 Boston vs. No. 8 Miami
at Boston 114, Miami 94 (box score)
Miami 111, at Boston 101 (box score)
Saturday at Miami, 3 p.m., TNT
Monday at Miami, TBD
Wednesday at Boston, TBD
*Friday at Miami, TBD
*Sunday, May 5 at Boston, TBD
No. 2 New York vs. No. 7 Philadelphia
at New York 111, Philadelphia 104 (box score)
at New York 104, Philadelphia 101 (box score)
at Philadelphia 125, New York 114 (box score)
Sunday at Philadelphia, 10 a.m., ABC
Tuesday at New York, TBD
*Thursday at Philadelphia, TBD
*Saturday, May 4 at New York, TBD
No. 3 Milwaukee vs. No. 6 Indiana
at Milwaukee 109, Indiana 94 (box score)
Indiana 125, Milwaukee 108 (box score)
at Indiana 121, Milwaukee 118 (OT) (box score)
Sunday at Indiana, 4 p.m., TNT
Tuesday at Milwaukee, TBD
*Thursday at Indiana, TBD
*Saturday, May 4 at Milwaukee, TBD
No. 4 Cleveland vs. No. 5 Orlando
at Cleveland 97, Orlando 83 (box score)
at Cleveland 96, Orlando 86 (box score)
at Orlando 121, Cleveland 83 (box score)
Saturday at Orlando, 10 a.m., TNT
Tuesday at Cleveland, TBD
*Friday at Orlando, TBD
*Sunday, May 5 at Cleveland, TBD
*-if necessary
DODGERS
From Jack Harris: The boos rained down before Shohei Ohtani’s name even was announced.
They only got louder as he trotted around the bases.
Back in December, Blue Jays fans thought they were about to win Ohtani’s free-agent sweepstakes — teased by online reports that the two-way star was flying to Toronto and likely to sign with the Canadian club.
Instead, the social media rumors ultimately were debunked. The internet sleuths tracking his supposed private jet turned out to be wrong. And a day after his infamous fake flight to Toronto, he announced he was signing with the Dodgers on a record-breaking $700-million deal.
Five months later, the frustration in Toronto still hasn’t dissipated.
In Ohtani’s first trip back to Rogers Centre, he was welcomed Friday by boos. Then, with his first swing, he responded with a towering home run to spark the Dodgers to a 12-2 win.
‘He’s gonna be a Blue Jay.’ Inside the day Shohei Ohtani did not fly to Toronto
ANGELS
Bailey Ober took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, Carlos Santana homered and the Minnesota Twins extended their winning streak to five games, beating the Angels 5-3 on Friday night.
Santana drove in two runs, while Byron Buxton, Ryan Jeffers and Willi Castro each had an RBI to help the Twins win the opener of a three-game series and a six-game trip.
Ober (2-1) was charged with two runs on three hits over 7 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts to continue his recent domination after he gave up eight runs on nine hits over 1 1/3 innings of his season debut against Kansas City. In his four starts since, Ober has a 1.47 ERA over 24 1/3 innings, while allowing a combined 11 hits.
Patrick Sandoval (1-4) gave up four runs (three earned) over 5 2/3 innings for the Angels, who lost for the seventh time in their last eight games. Nolan Schanuel drove in a pair of runs for Los Angeles and Zach Neto had an RBI.
NFL DRAFT
Round-by-round picks for Day 2
RAMS
From Gary Klein: The Rams started Day 2 of the NFL draft Friday by addressing their defensive line, selecting Florida State tackle Braden Fiske with the seventh pick of the second round, the 39th pick overall. The Rams, who had the 52nd pick, traded with Carolina to make the selection.
The Rams sought a player who could help them make up for the loss of the recently retired Aaron Donald. Fiske, who played at Western Michigan before transferring to Florida State for his final season, joins a front that includes second-year pros Kobie Turner, edge rushers Byron Young and Michael Hoecht and nose tackle Bobby Brown III.
Top pick Jared Verse thrilled Rams also picked his Florida State linemate
CHARGERS
From Jeff Miller: The Chargers started Day 2 of the NFL draft Friday by getting receiving help, selecting Georgia’s Ladd McConkney with the second pick of the second round, the 34th selection overall. The Chargers made a deal with New England to swap their fifth pick for the Patriots’ second pick of the round to make the selection.
After trading Keenan Allen and releasing Mike Williams in March because of salary-cap issues, the Chargers had a significant need at wide receiver. Somewhat undersized, McConkey is known for his quickness off the line of scrimmage and open-field speed. He ran a 4.39-second 40 at the combine. His potential was enough that the Chargers traded with New England to move up three spots in the second round to draft him.
Chargers draft pick Joe Alt following in his father’s NFL footsteps
USC BASKETBALL
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: She coached USC to its first Elite Eight since 1994, won the program’s first conference tournament title in a decade and drew the largest crowd for women’s basketball in Galen Center history. It was just the beginning for Lindsay Gottlieb.
The third-year coach and USC agreed to a contract extension through the 2029-30 season, the university announced Friday, as the Trojans try to continue their success with Gottlieb, national freshman of the year JuJu Watkins and the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class set to join.
“We set out to restore USC to the highest echelon of women’s basketball,” Gottlieb said in a statement, “and the magic we experienced this season was a byproduct of the vision, belief and efforts of so many — our administration, fans, players past and present, and our entire coaching staff. But this is just the beginning. We have much more to accomplish. I’m thrilled to be here for a long time.”
KINGS
From Kevin Baxter: Zach Hyman, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid were three of the most dangerous scorers during the NHL regular season, combining for 127 goals and 315 points for the Edmonton Oilers. Stopping one of them is a challenge, stopping all three is pretty much impossible.
The Kings certainly haven’t found a way to do it, with Hyman, Draisaitl and McDavid combining for five goals and three assists Friday in a 6-1 Oilers win that gave Edmonton a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven first-round playoff series the trio have dominated.
The loss was just the fifth in the Kings’ last 19 games at Crypto.com Arena, but it might prove to be the most costly since it swung the momentum of the series back to Edmonton and neutralized home-ice advantage should the series go seven games.
The way Hyman, Draisaitl and McDavid have been playing, that seems unlikely.
The trio has combined for 10 goals and 13 assists in the series. Three of the goals came in the first period Friday, burying the Kings in a hole they could never climb out of.
NHL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE
First round
All times Pacific
Western Conference
C1 Dallas vs. WC2 Vegas
Vegas 4, at Dallas 3 (box score)
Vegas 3, at Dallas 1 (box score)
Saturday at Vegas, 7:30 p.m., TBS, truTV
Monday at Vegas, TBD
*Wednesday at Dallas, TBD
*Friday at Vegas, TBD
*Sunday, May 5 at Dallas, TBD
C2 Winnipeg vs. C3 Colorado
at Winnipeg 7, Colorado 6 (box score)
Colorado 5, at Winnipeg 2 (box score)
at Colorado 6, Winnipeg 2 (box score)
Sunday at Colorado, 11:30 a.m., TNT, truTV
Tuesday at Winnipeg, TBD
*Thursday at Colorado, TBD
*Saturday, May 4 at Winnipeg, TBD
P1 Vancouver vs. WC1 Nashville
at Vancouver 4, Nashville 2 (box score)
Nashville 4, at Vancouver 1 (box score)
Vancouver 2, at Nashville 1 (box score)
Sunday at Nashville, 2 p.m., TBS, truTV
Tuesday at Vancouver, 7 p.m., TBA
*Friday at Nashville, TBD
*Sunday, May 5 at Vancouver, TBD
P2 Edmonton vs. P3 Kings
at Edmonton 7, Kings 4 (box score)
Kings 5, at Edmonton 4 (OT) (box score)
Edmonton 6, at Kings 1 (box score)
Sunday at Kings, 7:30 p.m., TBS
Wednesday at Edmonton, TBD
*Friday at Kings, TBD
*Sunday, May 5 at Edmonton, TBD
Eastern Conference
A1 Florida vs. WC1 Tampa Bay
at Florida 3, Tampa Bay 2 (box score)
at Florida 3, Tampa Bay 2 (OT) (box score)
Florida 5, at Tampa Bay 3 (box score)
Saturday at Tampa Bay, 2 p.m., TBS, truTV
*Monday at Florida, 4 p.m., ESPN
*Wednesday at Tampa Bay, TBD
*Saturday, May 4 at Florida, TBD
A2 Boston vs. A3 Toronto
at Boston 5, Toronto 1 (box score)
Toronto 3, at Boston 2 (box score)
Boston 4, at Toronto 2 (box score)
Saturday at Toronto, 5 p.m., TBS, truTV
Tuesday at Boston, 4 p.m., ESPN
*Thursday at Toronto, TBD
*Saturday, May 4 at Boston, TBD
M1 New York Rangers vs. WC2 Washington
at New York 4, Washington 1 (box score)
at New York 4, Washington 3 (box score)
New York 3, at Washington 1 (box score)
Sunday at Washington, 5 p.m., TBS, truTV
*Wednesday at New York, TBD
*Friday at Washington, TBD
*Sunday, May 5 at New York, TBD
M2 Carolina vs. M3 New York Islanders
at Carolina 3, New York 1 (box score)
at Carolina 5, New York 3 (box score)
Carolina 3, at New York 2 (box score)
Saturday at New York, 11 a.m., TBS, truTV
*Tuesday at Carolina, 4:30 p.m., TBS
*Thursday at New York, TBD
*Saturday, May 4 at Carolina, TBD
*-if necessary
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1956 — Rocky Marciano retires as the undefeated heavyweight boxing champion. He finished with a 49-0 record, including six title defenses and 43 knockouts.
1960 — The Minneapolis Lakers announce they will relocate to Los Angeles.
1961 — NFL officially recognizes Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
1968 — Jimmy Ellis wins the heavyweight boxing title with a 15-round decision over Jerry Quarry in Oakland, Calif. This is the final bout of an eight-man elimination tournament to fill Muhammad Ali’s vacated title.
1982 — NFL Draft: University of Texas defensive end Kenneth Sims first pick by New England Patriots.
1983 — Walter Johnson’s record of 3,508 strikeouts was eclipsed by Houston’s Nolan Ryan — a record that stood for 56 years. Ryan fanned Montreal pinch-hitter Brad Mills in the eighth inning as the Astros beat the Expos 4-2.
1994 — Scott Erickson, who allowed the most hits in the majors the previous season, pitches Minnesota’s first no-hitter in 27 years and the Twins beat Milwaukee 6-0.
1996 — Barry Bonds became the fourth major leaguer with 300 homers and 300 steals when he homered in the third inning of the San Francisco Giants’ 6-3 victory over the Florida Marlins. His father, Bobby Bonds, godfather Willie Mays, and Andre Dawson are the only other players to reach 300-300.
1994 — Dave Hannan scores 5:43 into the fourth overtime to keep the Buffalo Sabres going in the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils, the sixth-longest game in NHL history.
2002 — Derek Lowe pitches a no-hitter against Tampa Bay. Brent Abernathy is the only baserunner Lowe allows in Boston’s 10-0 victory.
2003 — Kevin Millwood pitches his first career no-hitter to lead the Philadelphia Phillies over the San Francisco Giants 1-0.
2008 — Ashley Force becomes the first woman to win a national Funny Car race. The 25-year-old beats her father, drag racing icon John Force, in the final round of the 28th annual Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals to deny him his 1,000th winning round in his 500th NHRA tour event.
2009 — The Denver Nuggets match the biggest victory in playoff history with their 121-63 rout of New Orleans in Game 4 of their first-round series. The Minneapolis Lakers had the other 58-point postseason victory, beating the St. Louis Hawks 133-75 in 1956.
2014 — Three-time Olympic champion Kerri Walsh wins her record 47th FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour title, teaming with April Ross to beat Brazil’s Juliana Felisberta Silva and Maria Antonelli in the Fuzhou Open final.
2014 — Lydia Ko, three days after her 17th birthday, birdies the final hole for her third LPGA Tour victory and first as a professional, holding off Stacy Lewis and Jenny Shin in the inaugural Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic.
2017 — Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett is picked first overall by the Cleveland Browns in the NFL draft. Chicago sends a third-round pick, a fourth and a 2018 third to San Francisco to switch and selects quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who started only 13 games for North Carolina.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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