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LeBron James on Nikola Jokic’s basketball IQ after Nuggets sweep Lakers: “He sees plays before they happen”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:05:25 GMT

LOS ANGELES — Add LeBron James to the list of generational players to praise Nikola Jokic in defeat this postseason.James credited Jokic’s series after the Nuggets completed a Western Conference Finals sweep of the Lakers on Monday, and the 38-year-old implored people to appreciate Jokic’s game beyond merely the statistics.“I know how great he is. I know how great Jokic is,” James said. “There are certain guys in this league that play the game a certain way, a certain way that I like to play the game as well, and he’s one of them where you are always off balance when you are guarding a player like that because of his ability to score, rebound, shoot. He sees plays before they happen. There’s not many guys in our league like that.”Jokic was named MVP of the Western Conference Finals after averaging 27.8 points, 14.5 rebounds and 11.8 assists. He ended the series with his eighth triple-double of the playoffs, breaking Wilt Chamberl...

Kiszla: On night Nuggets earn first-ever trip to the NBA Finals, franchise owner Stan Kroenke salutes center Nikola Jokic: “We’ve got a chance to do something nice.”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:05:25 GMT

LOS ANGELES — On the glorious night when the Nuggets ended a tortuous 47-year wait to earn their first invitation to the NBA Finals, team owner Stan Kroenke admired the 17 championship banners hanging in the rafters of the arena where the Lakers have long ruled.“We’ve got work to do. But this is a nice start,” Kroenke told me Monday, dreaming of a time when the Nuggets are basketball royalty that bow to nobody, not even King LeBron James.Nikola Jokic, once a pudgy kid from Serbia who felt “off-balance my whole life” and never dreamed he had a shot of playing in the NBA, has grown into the man capable of turning a long-suffering franchise, maybe best known for its funky old rainbow skyline uniforms, into undisputed champs.With a driving layup, Jokic hit the winning basket in a 113-111 victory to eliminate James and the Lakers, then was serenaded on L.A.’s home floor with fans loudly chanting: “Let’s go Nuggets!”A NuggetsR...

Keeler: “I haven’t had this good a day in three months.” Nuggets’ sweep of LeBron James, Lakers rocked Ball Arena, brought longtime fans to tears.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:05:25 GMT

Rick Driscoll kept the angels up late Monday. Even from a mile high, you could just about hear him dancing on Cloud 9, rocking a Carmelo Anthony jersey and waving his harp at Chick Hearn and Wilt Chamberlain.“He was a huge sports fan,” Denee Driscoll said as she watched her late husband’s beloved Nuggets clinch their first-ever NBA Finals berth from 1,000 miles away at a Ball Arena watch party. “And he would be thrilled right now.”Rick Alan Driscoll, lifelong Nuggets fan, passed away this past February. He went to eight or 10 games a year, blue and gold through thick and thin. As a member of Iron Workers Local 24, he gave the skyline his hands and Chauncey Billups his heart.“You know, it’s bittersweet,” Denee said softly before Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals. “But it’s awesome.”Nuggets 113, Lakers 111? Awesome. A 4-0 sweep? Awesome. ESPN’s talking heads left completely, hopelessly speechless? Awesome.“I’m so excited,” Denee beamed. “I haven’t had this good a day in three mo...

Jokic leads Nuggets past LeBron’s Lakers 113-111, into their first NBA Finals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:05:25 GMT

By GREG BEACHAMLOS ANGELES (AP) — Nikola Jokic is a player unlike almost anything the NBA has ever seen, and now he’s taking his Denver Nuggets somewhere they’ve never been.Jokic had 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists, and the Nuggets advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in team history Monday night, sweeping the Western Conference finals with a 113-111 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.Jamal Murray scored 25 points for the top-seeded Nuggets, who overcame LeBron James’ 31-point first half and a 15-point halftime deficit with a tenacious finish in Game 4 to earn their first conference title in their 47 NBA seasons.“It’s incredible,” Murray said. “It’s a lot of fun. It’s surreal. We’re going to keep making history, that’s the thing. We’re going to keep that mindset.”Jokic earned his eighth triple-double of the playoffs by the third quarter, breaking Wilt Chamberlain’s 1967 NBA record for triple-doubles in a single postseason. The bulky Serbian center with a point guard’...

A’s suffer 11-2 rout at hands of Mariners in series opener

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:05:25 GMT

By DAIMON EKLUND (Associated Press)SEATTLE (AP) — The A’s lost their fifth straight game and eighth out of nine Monday night as the Mariners blew them out in Seattle.Mariners outfielder Jarred Kelenic hit his 10th homer of the season in the first inning off starter Kyle Muller (1-4), giving Seattle a 2-0 lead it never gave up.Kelenic also singled twice and had three RBIs. Jose Caballero launched a three-run homer and Julio Rodríguez had three hits, including two doubles, and scored three times as the Mariners matched a season high for runs.Luis Castillo pitched six scoreless innings for the Mariners.Castillo (3-2) snapped a two-start losing streak and surpassed 1,000 strikeouts for his career. The right-hander had eight strikeouts and two walks against Oakland (10-39), which has lost five in a row and eight of nine.Caballero followed Kelenic’s first-inning home run with a three-run shot in the second to give the Mariners a quick 5-0 lead.Kelenic drove in another run with...

Child attacked and robbed at San Francisco park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:05:25 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – A child was robbed and violently beaten by a group of people at Alta Plaza in San Francisco over the weekend. KRON4 spoke with a man walking his dog who believes he saw the group involved before it happened on Friday night."It almost never happens in this neighborhood,” said the parkgoer, who wanted to remain anonymous. “I've been in this area walking dogs since 2001." Two victims identified in fatal morning crash on Hwy-101 in Sunnyvale The man believes he saw the group of people involved in the robbery and attack of a child Friday night."I was walking my dogs Friday,” he said. “I saw a couple of kids by the playground in a rowdy way greeting each other. Later when I left there was 15-20 of them in the semi-circle sitting there drinking stuff vigorously."San Francisco police say around 9:30 p.m. officers responded to a robbery at Alta Plaza on Clay Street. A girl told police that she was with a boy when they were approached by several people who pushed...

LeBron posts historic first half, questions future after Lakers eliminated

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:05:25 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James began the final game of his 20th NBA season with the highest-scoring postseason half of his matchless NBA career.He ended the night by questioning how much longer he plans to chase history after his Los Angeles Lakers were swept out of the Western Conference finals.James set a personal record with 31 points in the first half of Game 4 on Monday night, but he missed two potential tying shots in the final minute as the Denver Nuggets ended the Lakers’ season with a 113-111 victory.The 38-year-old James finished with 40 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and immense frustration after Los Angeles’ remarkable late-season surge ended with four consecutive defeats. Although the top scorer in NBA history spoke about himself as part of the Lakers next season, James also said he hasn’t made up his mind.“We’ll see what happens going forward,” James said in the final answer of his postgame news conference. “I don’t know. I don’t know. I’ve got a ...

Moniak’s homer in 8th inning propels Angels to 2-1 victory over Red Sox

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:05:25 GMT

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Mickey Moniak continues to make his case for being an every day outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels.Moniak had two hits, including a home run in the eighth inning, as the Angels won for the fourth time in five games, beating the Boston Red Sox 2-1 on Monday night.Moniak, the top pick by Philadelphia in the 2016 draft, was acquired from the Phillies at the trade deadline last year. He is batting .429 (12 for 28) with three home runs and six RBIs since being called up on May 12.“It’s been special. I’ve always believed that it was in there, but you never know in this game,” Moniak said. “I’m just grateful to have the opportunity to be able to go out here every day, and I’m enjoying it. We’re winning baseball games and no complaints.”Moniak drove a changeup from Kutter Crawford (1-2) over the wall in right field to lead off the eighth. A changeup is a pitch that Moniak has had problems with in the past. He had a .229 average against the off-speed pitch from 2020...

Fiscalía de México recibe orden de aprehensión contra Genaro García Luna y 60 personas más por peculado

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:05:25 GMT

(CNN) — La Fiscalía General de la República de México (FGR), informó este lunes a través de un comunicado que obtuvo de un juez de control federal, órdenes de aprehensión contra Genaro García Luna y 60 personas más, vinculados con delitos de peculado, operaciones con recursos de procedencia ilícita y delincuencia organizada.La Fiscalía agregó que, según las investigaciones, estas personas se coludieron con el entonces titular de la Secretaría de Seguridad Pública Federal, Genaro García Luna y sus socios para robar recursos públicos del órgano que maneja las cárceles federales, que son dependientes de dicha Secretaría.Con esta acción, añadió la Fiscalía, se busca poder canalizar los recursos ilícitos que García Luna junto con sus socios y cómplices captaron del sector publico que se estima serian por la suma de 1,112 millones de pesos mexicanos.Juez aplaza por tres meses la sentencia contra Genaro García Luna en EE.UU.: ahora se dictará el 27 de septiembreEl comunicado agrega q...

The cyber gulag: How Russia tracks, censors and controls its citizens

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:05:25 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — When Yekaterina Maksimova can’t afford to be late, the journalist and activist avoids taking the Moscow subway, even though it’s probably the most efficient route.That’s because she’s been detained five times in the past year, thanks to the system’s pervasive security cameras with facial recognition. She says police would tell her the cameras “reacted” to her — although they often seemed not to understand why, and would let her go after a few hours.“It seems like I’m in some kind of a database,” says Maksimova, who was previously arrested twice: in 2019 after taking part in a demonstration in Moscow and in 2020 over her environmental activism. For many Russians like her, it has become increasingly hard to evade the scrutiny of the authorities, with the government actively monitoring social media accounts and using surveillance cameras against activists.Even an online platform once praised by users for easily navigating bureaucrat...