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From Broderick Turner: The top two sharpshooters in NBA history squared off Monday night — Clippers’ three-point king James Harden and Golden State long-distance wonder Stephen Curry bringing a high level of excitement to the Intuit Dome.
They had one crowd-pleasing moment in the first quarter when Harden drilled a three-pointer only for Curry to follow up with a three on the next possession.
For the Clippers, their focus was on slowing down a potent Warriors offense and stopping Curry, who entered the game with the most three-pointers in NBA history at 3,782.
The Clippers achieved their goals on defense, holding back the Warriors just enough to pull off a thrilling 102-99 win that wasn’t sealed until the final buzzer.
After the Clippers’ 10-point lead was cut to three, a costly turnover in the final seconds nearly sent the game into overtime.
Golden State’s Gary Payton II stole the ball from Norman Powell with 21 seconds left. But Curry, who had 26 points and was six for 15 from three-point range, missed a three-pointer and Payton missed another three-point try with less than two seconds left to secure the Clippers’ second victory over Golden State (10-3) this season.
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LAKERS
From Chuck Schilken: Not much is known about the next statue the Lakers plan to have erected outside Crypto.com Arena.
But it is almost certain that sculpture will be well-dressed and have impeccable hair.
The team announced Monday that Showtime-era coach Pat Riley will be the next Lakers legend to be honored with a statue on Star Plaza outside the arena.
“Pat is a Lakers icon,” Lakers controlling owner Jeanie Buss said in a statement released Monday by the team. “His professionalism, commitment to his craft and game preparation paved the way for the coaching we see across the league today.”
Buss added that her father, Lakers owner Jerry Buss, “recognized Pat’s obsession and ability to take talented players and coalesce them into a championship team. The style of basketball Pat and the Lakers created in the 80s is still the blueprint for the organization today: an entertaining and winning team.”
CHARGERS
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: During a 34-27 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at SoFi Stadium, Chargers players soaked up loud chants of “Let’s go Chargers!” Quarterback Justin Herbert was even serenaded with chants of “M-V-P!”
The crowd for Sunday’s prime-time game wasn’t just the Chargers’ loudest home-field advantage of the season, offensive lineman Rashawn Slater estimated. It was the best home crowd of the 2021 first-round draft pick’s career with the franchise. Slater called the growing enthusiasm around the team “pretty special.”
Coach Jim Harbaugh, who issued a public, unsolicited plea for fan support last week before the game, agreed with the team captain with respect to the team’s direction both on the field and in the stands.
“This week was better than the last week and hopefully next week will be even better,” the coach said of the fan support, looking ahead to a second consecutive prime-time game against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday. “We just want to put the kind of football out there that people get excited about.”
Here are three takeaways from the Chargers’ win:
Hernández: Chargers can say ‘Start the MVP talk’ after Justin Herbert beats Bengals in clutch
DODGERS
From Bill Shaikin: You couldn’t afford to attend the World Series. You couldn’t get tickets to the Dodgers’ championship celebration.
You may have already stocked up on championship merchandise, but you and your family would like to see the Dodgers in person.
The good news: Spring training is three short months away, and tickets for the Dodgers’ exhibition games at Camelback Ranch went on sale Monday. The bad news: Even the cheap seats are not exactly affordable.
The romance of spring training — relaxing on the lawn behind the outfield, with a chance to see your favorite players up close — has given way to the opportunity for major league teams to maximize their revenue.
Pirates ace Paul Skenes and Yankees pitcher Luis Gil win rookie of the year awards
DUCKS
Brett Leason had a goal and two assists for a career-high three points, Lukas Dostal stopped 34 shots and the Ducks held on to beat the Dallas Stars 4-2 on Monday night.
Olen Zellweger, Cutter Gauthier and Jackson LaCombe also scored for the Ducks, who saw a 3-0 lead in the third period shrink to one goal before getting consecutive wins for the first time this season. Dostal won for the first time since Oct. 29, snapping a personal 0-4-1 streak.
Esa Lindell and Matt Duchene scored for the Stars, who lost at home for the first time in eight games this season. Casey DeSmith finished with 24 saves.
SOCCER
Christian Pulisic scored twice in the first half, Tim Weah got a goal in his return to the U.S. national team from a red card and the Americans beat Jamaica 4-2 on Monday night for a 5-2 aggregate win in their CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal.
Playing their first competitive matches under coach Mauricio Pochettino, the United States advanced to a semifinal on March 20 at SoFi Stadium. The Americans won the first three editions of the tournament.
The U.S. also qualified for next year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup, while Jamaica will have to play a qualifier.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1961 — George Blanda of the Houston Oilers passes for 505 yards and seven touchdowns in a 49-13 rout of the New York Titans.
1961 — Cleveland’s Jim Brown rushes for 237 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Browns to a 45-24 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.
1966 — No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 2 Michigan State play to a 10-10 tie. The Irish rally from a 10-0 deficit against a Spartans team that features Bubba Smith and three teammates who were among the top eight picks of the next NFL draft.
1978 — Philadelphia’s Herman Edwards returns a fumble for a touchdown with 31 seconds left to give Philadelphia a 19-17 victory over the New York Giants. Instead of taking a knee to preserve a 17-12 victory, quarterback Joe Pisarcik botches the hand off to fullback Larry Csonka. Edwards picks up the dropped ball and runs 26 yards for the winning touchdown.
1983 — Jari Kurri of the Edmonton Oilers scores five goals and Wayne Gretzky adds three goals and five assists in a 13-4 rout of the New Jersey Devils.
1983 — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar becomes the second player in NBA history to score 30,000 points, joining Wilt Chamberlain, as the Lakers win 117-110 at Portland.
1992 — Oakland reliever Dennis Eckersley is selected the American League’s MVP. Eckersley, who led the majors with 51 saves in 54 chances, becomes the ninth player to win both the Cy Young Award and MVP honors in the same season.
1993 — Oregon and Oregon State play to a 0-0 tie in Eugene. It’s the last scoreless tie in FBS history. Overtime for NCAA games starts in 1994.
1994 — Rashaan Salaam becomes the fourth 2,000-yard rusher in major-college history, running for 259 yards and two touchdowns in Colorado’s 41-20 victory over Iowa State.
1995 — The Baltimore Stallions defeat the Calgary Stampeders 37-20 to become the first U.S. team to win the Grey Cup in the CFL’s 83-year history.
2004 — Indiana’s Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson charge into the stands to fight with Auburn Hills fans in the final minute of their game against the Detroit Pistons. The brawl forces an early end to the Pacers’ 97-82 win.
2006 — Jaromir Jagr becomes the 16th NHL player with 600 goals when he scores in the first period of the New York Rangers’ 4-1 win over Tampa Bay.
2011 — Robert Griffin III of Baylor passes for 479 yards and four TDs, including a 34-yarder to Terrance Williams with 8 seconds left, and the 25th-ranked Bears beat No. 5 Oklahoma for the first time, 45-38. The Bears were 0-20 against the Sooners.
2018— Jared Goff throws a 40-yard touchdown pass to Gerald Everett for the go-ahead score with 1:49 to play, and the Rams outlast the Kansas City Chiefs for a 54-51 victory. Patrick Mahomes has a career-high 478 yards with six touchdown passes for the Chiefs. This is third highest-scoring game ever played.
2018 — Rutgers holds Eastern Michigan to an NCAA-record low four first-half points in a 63-36 rout. The Scarlet Knights tied a men’s NCAA Division I basketball record for points allowed in a half. The halftime score is 31-4.
2019 — LeBron James scores 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists as the Lakers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 112-107 to become the first player in NBA history to record a triple-double against all 30 franchises.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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