Paul George scored 22 points on Wednesday, while Nicolas Batum added 21 as the injury-ravaged Los Angeles Clippers had their whole roster available in a 126-105 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
George, Ivica Zubac, Reggie Jackson and Norman Powell returned to the lineup, with Powell making his first appearance since Nov. 29 after missing 10 games because of a groin injury.
After the entire roster practiced together for the first time on Tuesday, the Clippers shot 50.6 percent from the field and held the Hornets to 40.2 percent.
Photo: AP
“It was a sigh of relief at the start of shootaround,” George said about learning that the entire roster would be available. “I think everybody was happy to have everybody healthy and we were definitely talking about it in the locker room that we haven’t had this since the first game.”
All was not rosy with Clippers coach Tyronn Lue lamenting his team’s 27 turnovers that led to 33 Hornets points.
Los Angeles offset that with a season-high in points and three-point baskets (23).
Photo: Brad Penner-USA TODAY
“It was just good to see everybody back on the floor,” Lue said. “That’s the biggest thing, seeing everybody healthy. Now we have to continue building something. First game under our belt, but we have a long way to go. We have to figure out rotations and the minute restrictions and the flow of games.”
Charlotte star LaMelo Ball, from nearby Chino Hills, had his first triple-double of the season. Ball had 25 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists.
There was little else to celebrate for Charlotte, who trailed by 20 at 33-13 less than 11 minutes into the game. The Clippers led 37-19 after one quarter and were up 71-40 at halftime.
Photo: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY
“When you don’t get your defense set against them, they have so much skill on the floor, and you’re always a step behind,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “When we get our defense set we’re good and when we don’t, like tonight, we’re in trouble.”
Mason Plumlee scored 18 points for the Hornets, while Jalen McDaniels added 16.
In New York, Kevin Durant scored 23 points, all but two in a 91-point first half that was the third-biggest in NBA history, as the Brooklyn Nets routed the Golden State Warriors 143-113 to send the reigning champions staggering home with their second blowout loss in two nights.
With Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins sidelined, the Warriors fell behind by 44 points in this game and finished 1-5 from their games in the trip to the East.
The Nets matched a franchise record with nine players in double figures and won their seventh straight, even with Kyrie Irving out with calf tightness.
James Wiseman scored a career-high 30 points on 12-of-14 shooting for the Warriors, who lost by 38 points to the Knicks on Tuesday.
In other games, it was:
‧ 76ers 113, Pistons 93
‧ Cavaliers 114, Bucks 106
‧ Celtics 112, Pacers 117
‧ Hawks 108, Bulls 110
‧ Kings 134, Lakers 120
‧ Knicks 106, Raptors 113
‧ Rockets 110, Magic 116
‧ Thunder 101, Trail Blazers 98
‧ T’wolves 99, Mavericks 104
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
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite