Email
print

LOS ANGELES — If 2022 goes anything for the Los Angeles Lakers like LeBron James‘ first game since turning 37, L.A. could have big things in store.

James scored a season-high 43 points in just 29 minutes in the Lakers’ 139-106 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, dominating the action from the start as he scored the game’s first five points in the first 46 seconds and kept pouring it on from there.

James shot 16-for-26 from the floor (5-for-10 from 3-point range) and added 14 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks as he became the oldest player since Michael Jordan in 2003 to put up a 40-point, 10-rebound stat line.

2dNBA Insiders

20hZach Lowe

16hKevin Pelton

2 Related

According to ESPN Stats & Information research, James became the oldest player with 40 points in under 30 minutes of play as well as the oldest to have at least 40 points and 14 rebounds.

“I literally try to prepare my mind and my body and my soul on how I can stay young in a young man’s game,” said James, who said his birthday celebration Thursday centered around watching movies on the couch with his family, having some wine and tequila and being in bed by 10:30 p.m.

“Sometimes you do have to remind people that you can still do what you do at a high level, and I’ve just been blessed, very blessed and continue to put the work in,” he said. “Because that’s what it all boils down to. It boils down to putting the work in and everything else will take care of itself.”

James took to Instagram afterward to revel in his first game as a 37-year-old.

The Lakers, now 18-19 and No. 7 in the Western Conference, have their work cut out for them in the second half of the season. After squandering a friendly schedule full of home games and lesser opponents over the last couple of months, things are set to become much tougher.

But if James can continue the tear he’s on, you can’t count L.A. out.

Friday was his seventh straight game scoring 30 points or more, his longest such streak since 2013, and his 28.0 points per game average this season is his best since playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2009-10. James is the oldest player in NBA history with seven straight 30-point games, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

While L.A. slipped in the standings in December, going 6-8, it was an incredible month for James. He became the oldest player in league history to average 30 points per game in a month, surpassing Jordan, who was 34 when he put up 30.7 points per game in January 1998. It was the third time in his career that he had 10 30-point games in a calendar month, but the first time he’s done it since 2006.

And Friday was an incredible capper, as he did all his damage in just 29 minutes of playing time, marking the first time in his career that he has scored 40 or more while playing under 30 minutes. It was just the second time in his career that he scored 40 while also having zero turnovers. He did it for the Miami Heat on March 18, 2014, while playing against Cleveland.

James is averaging 36 points on 58% shooting overall and 42% from 3-point range over the past seven games, adding 11 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game while picking up the slack in Anthony Davis‘ absence since he went down with a sprained MCL in his left knee. He’s just the sixth player in league history to hit that stat line over a seven-game stretch, joining Jordan, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor as the only others to do so.

“I’m not a guy that just goes out and just sees if I can jack a bunch of shots,” said James. “I want to be efficient every single night or anytime I’m playing. So as long as the streak I’ve been on, as far as my scoring, I’ve been extremely efficient as well. I take way more pride in that than the scoring. That’s just who I am as a basketball player.”

Lakers coach Frank Vogel said James continues to give L.A. hope even though the season has been difficult so far.

“He exemplifies going out and playing until exhaustion,” said Vogel, adding that James called for a sub because he had exuded so much energy at one point. “That’s how we want our group to play, that’s how we should play the game, so play the game to exhaustion and he’s showing that.

“And then his energy in film sessions and all of our work away from the game is like a mental energy. He brings [that to] our team, and the positivity… There’s so much noise around our team and negativity and he doesn’t let that, allow that to filter into our group.”

Read More

Chicagoans eager to welcome in 2022 — or maybe just happy to bid goodbye to 2021 — gathered downtown and in front of their televisions to enjoy a massive fireworks show that kicked off at midnight.

The massive fireworks display was launched from five bridges and two other points along the Chicago River. The show spread along a mile-and-a-half stretch of the river and lakefront allowing people to space out to watch it outside, though it also was broadcast on several local TV stations.

Others gathered at Navy Pier to enjoy the view of the fireworks from there and to attend other New Year’s festivities at the pier.

Some streets and bridges were closed due to the fireworks, as were parts of the Downtown Riverwalk.

Read More

Read More

Read More

SUPERIOR, Colo. — One couple returned home Friday to find the mailbox about the only thing left standing. Charred cars and a burned trampoline lay outside smoldering houses. On some blocks, homes reduced to smoking ruins stood next to ones practically unscathed by the flames.

Colorado residents driven from their neighborhoods by a terrifying, wind-whipped wildfire got their first, heartbreaking look at the damage the morning after, while others could only wait and wonder whether their homes were among the more than 500 feared destroyed.

At least seven people were injured, but remarkably there were no immediate reports of any deaths or anyone missing in the aftermath of the blaze outside Denver.

Cathy Glaab found her home in the town of Superior where she lives with her husband had been turned into a pile of charred and twisted debris. It was one of seven houses in a row that burned to the ground.

“The mailbox is standing,” Glaab said, trying to crack a smile through tears. She added sadly, “So many memories.”

Despite the devastation, she said they intend to rebuild the house they had since 1998. They love that the land backs up to a natural space, and they have a view of the mountains from the back.

Rick Dixon feared there would be nothing to return to after he saw firefighters try to save his burning home on the news. On Friday, Dixon, his wife and 21-year-old son found it mostly gutted, with a gaping hole in the roof — but still standing. Only smoldering rubble remained where several neighboring homes once stood in a row immediately next to theirs.

“We thought we lost everything,” he said, as he held his mother-in-law’s china in padded containers. They also retrieved sculptures that belonged to Dixon’s father and piles of clothes still on hangers.

A fire still burns in a home destroyed by the Marshall Wildfire in Louisville, Colo. on Friday.Jack Dempsey/Associated Press

The wildfire erupted Thursday in and around Louisville and Superior, neighboring towns about 20 miles northwest of Denver with a combined population of 34,000.

Tens of thousands were ordered to flee as the flames swept over drought-stricken neighborhoods with alarming speed, propelled by guests up to 105 mph (169 kph).

At a Costco in Superior, two store employees came running toward the checkout lines, one of them shouting, “Everyone evacuate, evacuate, evacuate!” said Katrina Peterson, who was inside.

A video she made showed dark skies and whirling debris outside. The falling ash filled her ears, and she had to squint to keep it from getting in her eyes. The store was left standing.

The cause of the blaze was under investigation. Emergency authorities said utility officials found no downed power lines around where the fire broke out.

With some roads still closed Friday, people walked back to their homes to get clothes or medicine, turn the water off to prevent the pipes from freezing, or see if they still had a house. They left carrying backpacks and pulling suitcases or wagons down the sidewalk.

The mains of homes burned by wildfires that ripped through a development in Superior, Colo. on Friday.Associated Press

David Marks stood on a hillside overlooking Superior with others, using a pair of binoculars and a long-range camera lens to see if his house, and those of his neighbors, were still there, but he couldn’t tell for sure whether his place was OK. He said at least three friends lost their homes.

He had watched from the hillside as the neighborhood burned.

“By the time I got up here, the houses were completely engulfed,” he said. “I mean, it happened so quickly. I’ve never seen anything like that. … Just house after house, fences, just stuff flying through the air, just caught on fire.”

By first light Friday, the towering flames that had lit up the night sky had subsided and the winds had died down. Light snow soon began to fall, and the blaze, which burned at least 9.4 square miles, was no longer considered an immediate threat.

“We might have our very own New Year’s miracle on our hands if it holds up that there was no loss of life,” Gov. Jared Polis said, noting that many people had just minutes to evacuate.

The wildfire broke out unusually late in the year, following an extremely dry fall and amid a winter nearly devoid of snow so far.

Renato D’Amario hugs neighbor Lori Peer on Friday after finding their homes destroyed in Louisville, Colo.Associated Press

Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said more than 500 homes were probably destroyed. He and the governor said as many as 1,000 homes might have been lost, though that won’t be known until crews can assess the damage.

“It’s unbelievable when you look at the devastation that we don’t have a list of 100 missing persons,” the sheriff said.

The sheriff said some communities were reduced to just “smoking holes in the ground.” He urged residents to wait for the all-clear to go back because of the danger of fire and fallen power lines.

Sarah Owens, her husband, adult son and their dog got out of their Superior home within 10 minutes of learning about the evacuation from a Facebook post. But as everyone tried leaving by way of the winding streets of the well-to-do Rock Creek neighborhood, it took them an hour and a half to go 2 miles.

“The good news is I think our house may be OK,” Owens said.

But from now on, she said, she plans to have a bag packed in case of another fire.

“I never thought a brush fire could cause this kind of destruction,” Owens said. “I want to stay here. No matter where you live, there are always going to be natural disasters.”

Todd Lovrien looks over the fire damage from the Marshall Wildfire at his sister’s home in Louisville, Colo., on Friday.Associated Press

Superior and Louisville are filled with middle- and upper-middle-class subdivisions with shopping centers, parks and schools. The area is between Denver and Boulder, home to the University of Colorado.

Scientists say climate change is making weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.

Ninety percent of Boulder County is in severe or extreme drought, and it hasn’t seen substantial rainfall since mid-summer. Denver set a record for consecutive days without snow before it got a small storm on Dec. 10, its last snowfall before the wildfires broke out.

Bruce and Mary Janda faced the loss of their Louisville home of 25 years in person Friday after learning it had been destroyed through a neighbor’s photos.

“We knew that the house was totaled, but I felt the need to see it, see what the rest of the neighborhood looked like,” Bruce Janda said. “We’re a very close knit community on this street. We all know each other and we all love each other. It’s hard to see this happen to all of us.”

Contributing: Associated Press writer Thomas Peipert in Louisville, Colorado; Associated Press writer Brady McCombs in Salt Lake City; and Thalia Beaty in New York. Patty Nieberg is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues. Associated Press writer Brady McCombs contributed to this story from Salt Lake City.

Read More

Read More

Read More

Email
print

After Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan knocked down a 3-pointer at the buzzer, a one-legged heave as the clock expired to lead the Bulls to a 108-106 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday afternoon, he stood several steps behind the 3-point line and raised both arms in the air.

While his teammates charged toward him on the court to celebrate, DeRozan was feeling just one emotion: relief.

“For that shot to go in, we were battling that whole fourth quarter, feeling like nothing was going our way on both ends,” DeRozan said after clinching the Bulls’ sixth straight win. “We couldn’t get a rebound. We couldn’t get going offensively. It felt like we were getting beat up here and there. So it was a big-time relief for me.”

After Coby White dove on the floor to secure a rebound on defense, DeRozan received the ball to dribble up the court with about nine seconds remaining in the game. Bulls acting head coach Chris Fleming said he considered using a timeout, but he saw DeRozan had some space to operate. DeRozan locked eyes with Zach LaVine, got a screen from Nikola Vucevic and said he considered passing the ball before he looked up and noticed only a few seconds were remaining.

“By the time I looked up at the clock, I said, ‘All right, I got to make something happen,'” DeRozan said. “I just tried to get enough space, get it up, get it over and as soon as it left my hand it felt good.”

It was only the second game-winning buzzer-beater of DeRozan’s career, and his first since January 2013, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information. No Bulls player had hit a game-winning basket at the buzzer since Jimmy Butler in December 2016.

DeRozan, who finished with 28 points, has been perhaps the league’s most prolific scorer in the final period this season. He leads the NBA in total points and points per game in the fourth quarter. He has been the steadying hand for the Bulls in clutch moments this season, but hadn’t had a chance to deliver a victory like this during his first season in Chicago.

Not until Friday, when DeRozan led the Bulls to victory with what LaVine tabbed the “New Year’s Eve Heave” on Twitter after the game.

“I’m a firm believer in, as long as I got time I got a chance,” DeRozan said. “I always take that approach into a game. Understanding everything is not going to be perfect … sometimes it’s going to be rough nights, and you got to understand, as long as there’s time on that clock you can figure out something to do to pull out a victory. That’s what we did tonight.”

The Bulls’ six-game winning streak is their longest since December 2017. Their 23-10 record matches the Brooklyn Nets for the best in the Eastern Conference, but they sit atop the standings because they own the tiebreaker.

The Bulls have managed to continue their winning streak despite enduring a teamwide COVID-19 outbreak during the month of December. They had as many as 10 players sidelined at one point this month, leading to the NBA’s first two postponed games of the season. Currently both Lonzo Ball and head coach Billy Donovan are still sidelined in health and safety protocols, and Alex Caruso is out with a foot injury.

“We’ve been battling COVID protocols, with our coach, our players, for the last, it felt like two months,” DeRozan said. “For the team to be able to hold on, sustain like we’re doing and end the year top of our conference, it speaks volumes to the type of team we are. And the type of team we can be once we get back to full strength.”

Read More

Email
print

After Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan knocked down a 3-pointer at the buzzer, a one-legged heave as the clock expired to lead the Bulls to a 108-106 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday afternoon, he stood several steps behind the 3-point line and raised both arms in the air.

While his teammates charged toward him on the court to celebrate, DeRozan was feeling just one emotion: relief.

“For that shot to go in, we were battling that whole fourth quarter, feeling like nothing was going our way on both ends,” DeRozan said after clinching the Bulls’ sixth straight win. “We couldn’t get a rebound. We couldn’t get going offensively. It felt like we were getting beat up here and there. So it was a big-time relief for me.”

After Coby White dove on the floor to secure a rebound on defense, DeRozan received the ball to dribble up the court with about nine seconds remaining in the game. Bulls acting head coach Chris Fleming said he considered using a timeout, but he saw DeRozan had some space to operate. DeRozan locked eyes with Zach LaVine, got a screen from Nikola Vucevic and said he considered passing the ball before he looked up and noticed only a few seconds were remaining.

“By the time I looked up at the clock, I said, ‘All right, I got to make something happen,'” DeRozan said. “I just tried to get enough space, get it up, get it over and as soon as it left my hand it felt good.”

It was only the second game-winning buzzer-beater of DeRozan’s career, and his first since January 2013, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information. No Bulls player had hit a game-winning basket at the buzzer since Jimmy Butler in December 2016.

DeRozan, who finished with 28 points, has been perhaps the league’s most prolific scorer in the final period this season. He leads the NBA in total points and points per game in the fourth quarter. He has been the steadying hand for the Bulls in clutch moments this season, but hadn’t had a chance to deliver a victory like this during his first season in Chicago.

Not until Friday, when DeRozan led the Bulls to victory with what LaVine tabbed the “New Year’s Eve Heave” on Twitter after the game.

“I’m a firm believer in, as long as I got time I got a chance,” DeRozan said. “I always take that approach into a game. Understanding everything is not going to be perfect … sometimes it’s going to be rough nights, and you got to understand, as long as there’s time on that clock you can figure out something to do to pull out a victory. That’s what we did tonight.”

The Bulls’ six-game winning streak is their longest since December 2017. Their 23-10 record matches the Brooklyn Nets for the best in the Eastern Conference, but they sit atop the standings because they own the tiebreaker.

The Bulls have managed to continue their winning streak despite enduring a teamwide COVID-19 outbreak during the month of December. They had as many as 10 players sidelined at one point this month, leading to the NBA’s first two postponed games of the season. Currently both Lonzo Ball and head coach Billy Donovan are still sidelined in health and safety protocols, and Alex Caruso is out with a foot injury.

“We’ve been battling COVID protocols, with our coach, our players, for the last, it felt like two months,” DeRozan said. “For the team to be able to hold on, sustain like we’re doing and end the year top of our conference, it speaks volumes to the type of team we are. And the type of team we can be once we get back to full strength.”

Read More

Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan calls the late moments of games ”championship rounds.”

It’s the time in a tight game when great players and teams separate themselves from one another.

DeRozan delivered his latest knockout punch Friday. After the Pacers’ Caris LeVert missed a shot with 9.6 seconds left, DeRozan sank an improbable running three-pointer off one leg at the final horn to give the Bulls a 108-106 victory in Indianapolis.

”A relief,” DeRozan said of the shot and his celebration after making it. ”It was one of those hard-fought games, an aggressive game. Kind of reminded me of a playoff-physicality game. For that shot to go in when we were battling that entire fourth quarter, feeling like nothing was going our way on both ends . . . like we were getting beat up, [it was] a big-time relief for me.”

It was more than that.

DeRozan’s ”New Year’s Eve Heave,” as guard Zach LaVine called it on Twitter, gave the Bulls their sixth consecutive victory and put them in a tie atop the Eastern Conference with the Nets at 23-10.

DeRozan had been 7-for-23 from the field and 0-for-2 from three-point range before that shot. That’s why his feeling of relief afterward was appropriate. He knew he and the Bulls stole a victory after playing flat for most of the game and trailing by six with 2:17 left.

”I’m a firm believer that as long as I’ve got time, I’ve got a chance,” said DeRozan, who led the Bulls with 28 points. ”I always take that approach into a game, knowing everything is not going to be perfect.

”You want to play a perfect game, but that’s just not going to happen. Sometimes there’s going to be rough nights. You’ve just got to understand that as long as there’s time on that clock, you can figure out something to pull out a victory.”

The Pacers (14-22) have been one of the worst teams in the league in the final minutes of games, so they stayed in character.

After a free throw by Justin Holiday gave the Pacers a 104-98 lead with 2:17 left, Coby White continued his recent stellar play by making his sixth three-pointer of the game to pull the Bulls to 104-101 with 2:06 to play. LaVine then made a dunk with 1:40 left to make it a one-point game before both defenses dug in.

LeVert made two free throws to give the Pacers a 106-103 lead with 56.5 seconds left and set the stage for DeRozan’s heroics.

First DeRozan grabbed an offensive rebound of a miss by LaVine and made a 14-footer to pull the Bulls to 106-105 with 36.4 seconds left. Then he delivered the ultimate dagger with his buzzer-beating finish.

”Obviously, he made an unbelievable shot,” acting head coach Chris Fleming said of DeRozan. ”I think our guys deserve a lot of credit for somehow staying around in that game. A lot of credit to those guys to find a way to win on a night we didn’t have our best stuff.”

Well, White did. Not only did he score 24 points, but he dived on the floor to help the Bulls secure the rebound that led to DeRozan’s winning shot.

”Without Coby, we don’t win this game,” DeRozan said.

Even better news for the Bulls is that they should get back to full strength after their game Saturday against the Wizards in Washington. Not many teams in the league can say that right now.

Read More