Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul on Saturday was fined US$25,000 by the NBA for public criticism of officiating, two days after he voiced displeasure about referee Lauren Holtkamp’s performance after a loss at Cleveland.
Paul said on Friday that his remarks were simply anger at a bad call in the moments after a 105-94 defeat and not a jibe at the gender of one of the two women working as referees in the league.
“Last night was about a bad call, that’s all,” Paul said after social media decried his comments as sexist.
Paul’s anger stemmed from a technical foul he received from Holtkamp in Thursday’s game that he dubbed “ridiculous.”
The disgruntled Clippers were slapped with five technical fouls in the third quarter of the game.
Holtkamp, in her first full NBA season, assessed Paul a technical foul when he questioned her decision to stop play after the Clippers tried to inbound the ball quickly following a Cleveland free throw.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma City center Kendrick Perkins was suspended for one game without pay after head-butting New Orleans point guard Tyreke Evans in a loss on Friday, the league announced.
The incident took place 7 minutes, 43 seconds into the opening quarter of the Thunder’s 116-113 home loss to the Pelicans.
As a result of the punishment, Perkins was to miss yesterday’s game against the Clippers.
In Saturday’s games, Pelicans All-Star Anthony Davis hurt his right shoulder on a hard, awkward fall on an alley-oop dunk, while Pau Gasol and the Chicago Bulls pulled away for a 107-72 victory over New Orleans in Atlanta, Georgia.
Gasol had 20 points and 15 rebounds for Chicago, who snapped a three-game skid. Derrick Rose added 20 points for the Bulls, who went on a 40-11 run after Davis left.
The dunk that drove Davis from the game was a two-handed jam of Tyreke Evans’ lob. Davis’ body swung like a pendulum as he held the rim, then the 2.08m, 108kg forward fell horizontally as he lost his grip.
MAVERICKS 111, BLAZERS 101, OT
In Dallas, Texas, Dirk Nowitzki capped a late rally with a three-pointer, which forced overtime, and finished with 25 points, while Chandler Parsons scored 10 of his 20 in the extra period for the home team.
The Trail Blazers lost their seventh straight road game by blowing an 11-point lead in the last 2 minutes of regulation. Nowitzki’s high-arching swish from the top of the key with 20 seconds left finished a 7-0 run for a 96-all tie.
The Mavericks scored the first nine points of overtime as part of a 22-2 run. Parsons started overtime with two free throws and pumped his fist after a fadeaway jumper that put Dallas ahead by 10.
Damian Lillard scored 26 points, while LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 for the Blazers.
WARRIORS 106, KNICKS 92
Draymond Green had 20 points and 13 rebounds as traveling Golden State beat New York to give Steve Kerr a win in his first game coaching in the arena he nearly called home.
Kerr picked the Warriors over the Knicks during the off-season and the difference is 30 victories as the teams near the All-Star break.
Stephen Curry scored 22 points, while Klay Thompson had 16 on a night when neither of them had great shooting.
Golden State improved to 40-9, top of the Western Conference, while the Knicks fell to 10-41.
WIZARDS 114, NETS 77
John Wall scored 17 points and Rasual Butler had 15 as Washington at home beat Brooklyn to break a five-game skid.
Playing without starting guard Bradley Beal, who sat out with an injured right big toe, Washington led throughout.
The 37-point margin of victory was their largest of the season.
Brook Lopez led the Nets with 19 points.
JAZZ 102, KINGS 90
Gordon Hayward scored 30 points in Utah’s victory in Salt Lake City over Sacramento.
Derrick Favors finished with 20 points for the Jazz, while Enes Kanter had 17 points and 13 rebounds. The Jazz had lost five of six and were playing their fourth game in five days.
DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings with 27 points and 10 rebounds.
BUCKS 96, CELTICS 93
Brandon Knight scored 26 points, while Giannis Antetokounmpo added 14 points and 11 rebounds to help Milwaukee beat Boston for their sixth win in seven games.
Jared Sullinger had 17 points and Marcus Smart added 13 for Boston.
76ERS 89, HORNETS 81
Robert Covington scored 11 of his 22 points in a pivotal third quarter, leading Philadelphia past Charlotte.
It was Philadelphia’s fourth straight home victory after opening the season 3-18 at home.
Hollis Thompson added 18 points for Philadelphia, while Al Jefferson had 18 points for Charlotte.
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