A day after controversially trading away top-scorer Rudy Gay, the Memphis Grizzlies were humbled 106-89 at Oklahoma City on Thursday as the Thunder stayed firmly in the hunt to be best in the west.
In a battle of NBA title contenders from the Western Conference, the second-best Thunder improved to 35-11 with the rout, while questions about whether the fourth-placed Grizzlies can contend without Gay will remain as they fell to 29-16.
Gay was shipped to Toronto as part of a multi-player and team trade on Wednesday to save Memphis money and avoid the payment of luxury taxes, but it could dampen the team’s playoff hopes.
Their cause was further undermined as they were also without trade acquisitions Tayshaun Prince, Austin Daye and Ed Davis, who are yet to arrive and pass physicals.
Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 27 points, while an emotional Russell Westbrook contributed 21 despite spending time in the locker-room cooling off after a disagreement with teammate Thabo Sefolosha.
In Thursday’s other NBA game David Lee finished an assist short of a triple-double and Klay Thompson scored 27 points as the Golden State Warriors beat the Dallas Mavericks 100-97.
Lee had 15 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists, while Jarrett Jack scored 13 points, including two free throws with 2 seconds left to help the Warriors win their third straight. Harrison Barnes also had 15 points.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB