ANATOL RODGERS TIMBERWOLVES AND DW DAVIS ROYALS
EMERGE AS SENIOR AND JUNIOR BOYS CHAMPIONS
FROM PAGE E1
went very well. We shot the ball very well and we defended well.”
Bowles commended Bullard and his team from Noble Preparatory for hosting a very successful tournament. He said he hopes it would be a consistent trend in other tournaments in the future.
Rattlers’ coach Kevin ‘KJ’ Johnson said it was all about preparing his team for next season, having completed this season as runners-up at the GSSSA Championships and Hugh Campbell Tournament, while winning every other tournament they participated in.
“The tournament was good. I was preparing my boys for next year and pushing them,” he said. “I have some guys leaving and some guys coming back, so I wanted to get those coming back better prepared for next year.”
Although they didn’t succeed in winning another title, Johnson said it was good to get a chance to play in a well-structured and organised event hosted by Bullard and Noble Preparatory Academy.
Royals 69, Clement Howell 53
Jaevardo Wright poured in a game high 32 points to power DW Davis to victory.
Ashawn Parker scored 12 in a losing effort for Clement Howell.
One of the most successful junior high school programmes added their eighth title to their collection this year as DW Davis and coach Mark Hanna prevailed over their visiting rivals. Despite being under-sized, Hanna said they displayed the heart of a champion.
“We were undersized in the championship game so we had to control the tempo of the game by playing with poise on offence,” Hanna said. “And we controlled the full court pressure on defence.”
JUNIOR boys’ champions DW Davis Royals.
SENIOR boys’ champions Anatol Rodgers Timberwolves.
SENIOR boys’ runners-up C I Gibson Rattlers.
JUNIOR boys’ runners-up Clement Howell.
Intriguing Colorado Duo Nuggets advance with 120-101 Game 7 blowout over Los Angeles Clippers
By ARNIE STAPLETON AP Sports Writer
DENVER (AP) — Not this time.
Nikola Jokic got plenty of help from his teammates and Denver’s scoring surge held up in a 120-101 blowout of the shellshocked Los Angeles Clippers in a Game 7 laugher on Saturday night.
The Nuggets led by as many as 35 and while the franchise’s biggest blowout in a win-or-go-home scenario won’t make up for last year when Denver blew a 20-point fourth-quarter lead over Minnesota at home in Game 7 of their Round 2 series, it certainly exorcised some of those demons.
“It feels good,” interim Nuggets coach David Adelman said, “but I also know we’re flying to O-K-C tomorrow.”
The No. 4 seed Nuggets advanced to take on the No. 1 seeded and well-rested Oklahoma City Thunder, which swept Memphis in the first round and has had a week off heading into the second-round series that begins Monday night.
When Adelman reminded a friend recently that the reward for surviving this gritty series with the Clippers was a date with the team that went an NBA-best 68-14, his buddy retored that what actually awaited the winner was a 72-14 team.
“OK, that’s right,” Adelman replied. “Appreciate that, bro.”
The Nuggets and Thunder split their season series 2-2 and if Denver can reproduce its effort from Saturday night, the next series could be a tight one, too.
Jokic had 16 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in 33 minutes but for a change he was overshadowed by his teammates. Aaron Gordon led Denver with 22 points, Christian Braun had
21, Jamal Murray and Russell Westbrook chipped in 16 each and Michael Porter Jr. scored 15.
“In playoffs we know that everybody needs to step up, offensively, defensively, whatever, energy-wise. And everybody who plays needs to contribute something,” Jokic said.
“It was special today the guys did that.” Braun also played terrific defense on James Harden, who was held to 7 points on 2-of-8 shooting.
“Everybody behind me allowed me to guard him. But I think maybe the biggest part was Russ,” Braun said.
“He’s played against James, he’s played with James, so he knows his game. ... The coaches trusted me tonight. We didn’t want to switch. They kept me on him all night. So, credit goes to those guys and the coaches.”
Kawhi Leonard led Los Angeles with 22 points and Ivica Zubac had his quietest game of the series with 10 points.
“I don’t think this team was 30 points better than us,” Leonard said.
“We saw that throughout the first six games of this series, but you’ve got to give them credit. They
came out, ran hard in transition, got easy points and they made shots.”
Hanging over the Nuggets all season, one that included the firings of their head coach and their general manaer, was their Game 7 fiasco in Round 2 last year just when it looked like they were primed to defend the franchise’s first NBA championship.
And after frittering away a 22-point fourth-quarter advantage in Game 4 of this series — only to be saved by the first buzzer-beating dunk in NBA playoff history, courtesy of Gordon — the Nuggets and Ball Arena crowd only grew
more energised instead of anxious as the lead kept growing and the Clippers kept missing.
The Nuggets outscored LA 72-40 over the second and third quarters and blew this one open with a 17-0 run in the third quarter after Leonard started the second half with a 3-pointer to cut LA’s deficit to 58-50.
“The rebounding and defense was amazing,” Jokic said.
“We had a lot of opportunities to run and a lot of guys stepped up and a lot of guys made baskets.”
After picking up his third, fourth and fifth fouls over a 48-second span late
in the third, Jokic went to the bench.
The Nuggets began celebrating early in the fourth quarter when Westbrook willingly took a technical for swinging on the rim after a steal and a breakaway dunk put Denver up 107-76. Courtesy of team owner Steve Ballmer, more than 100 Clippers fans were flown to Denver and assembled behind one of the baskets to provide extra noise. They were rowdy when the Clippers took a 26-21 lead after one quarter but were as bewildered as the Los Angeles bench as the Nuggets ran away with it.
By KYLE HIGHTOWER
Sports Writer
BOSTON (AP) — Celtics guard Jrue Holiday is expected to return from a strained right hamstring when Boston opens its Eastern Conference finals series against the Knicks tonight.
No Celtics players were listed on the injury report yesterday, meaning they could be at full strength when Game 1 tips off. It’s the first time Holiday hasn’t
been on the injury report since he missed the final three games of Boston’s first-round series win over Orlando in five games.
Coach Joe Mazzulla said Holiday was able to “work on everything he wanted to work on” during Boston’s practice session Saturday.
One of the Celtics’ top defenders and facilitators on offence, Holiday averaged 10 points, 5.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds in the opening two games of the Magic series.
Also not listed on Boston’s latest report is Jaylen Brown, who has been dealing with a right knee injury that sidelined him for the Celtics’ final three regularseason games.
ORLANDO Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) drives to the basket against Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (4) during the first half in game 2 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
‘JAZZ’ CHISHOLM JR SURPRISED MRI OF OBLIQUE SHOWED HE WILL
By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Jasrado “Jazz” Chisholm Jr went into the MRI room expecting to be cleared to keep playing second base for the New York Yankees.
One hour later, he was told he would be sidelined for four to six weeks because of a strained right oblique.
“It’s super frustrating,” he said after Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
“I didn’t think that was going to happen.”
Chisholm Jr was placed on the 10-day injured list Friday, three days after getting hurt during a swing in a game at the Baltimore Orioles.
He is limited to strengthening and core work.
Chisholm Jr’s scan Thursday showed strains in three different spots.
“That’s why I’m really surprised in what it said, because it doesn’t feel like three, doesn’t even feel like as bad as the first time I tore my oblique two years ago,” he said.
Chisholm Jr grabbed at his side after fouling off a first pitch from Kyle Gibson during the first inning, took a ball and then stepped out of the batter’s box to stretch the side, prompting Boone and an athletic trainer to come out and speak with him.
Chisholm Jr doubled into the right-field corner on the next pitch and when the ball was bobbled, he headed to third base and slid in headfirst. He appeared in discomfort
BE OUT FOR FOUR TO SIX WEEKS
and immediately left the game for a pinch runner. He didn’t think the extra pitch worsened the injury.
“If I would have swung and missed, probably,” he said. “But since I didn’t swing and miss, probably not.”
Acquired from Miami on July 27, Chisholm Jr is hitting .181 with seven homers and 17 RBIs in 30 games. He was sidelined between August 12 and 23 last year because of a sprained left elbow sustained on a headfirst slide.
Chisholm Jr strained his left oblique on a swing while playing for Miami against Atlanta on July 2, 2023. He returned on July 31. “This feels completely different from the first one. So for me, I was super surprised when I saw the results,” he said.
NEW York Yankees’ Jasrado “Jazz” Chisholm Jr reacts after an injury during the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)