Page 15 - Florida Sentinel 1-23-18

Sports
Errol Spence, Jr. Dominates Lamont Peterson; Fight Stopped Before Eighth
Cavaliers Pursuing Deals For DeAndre Jordan, George Hill
DEANDRE JORDAN AND GEORGE HILL
The Cleveland Cavaliers re- portedly want to make some big moves ahead of the NBA trade deadline.
The Cavaliers are reportedly hoping to make deals for both Clippers center DeAndre Jor- dan and Kings guard George Hill, though it is unclear if they would have the assets to acquire both. The Clippers’ Lou Williams is another potential trade target.
Cleveland’s interest in Jor- dan is not new. We also heard about their pursuit of Hill ear- lier in the day.
Cleveland sits at 27-17, a disappointing third in the East. With LeBron James’s free agency coming up, they proba- bly want to show that they re- main serious about maintaining their stranglehold on the East and dethroning the Golden State Warriors. All the same, this sounds like it will be easier said than done.
Kemba Walker ‘Legitimately Hurt’ He Could Be Traded, Found Out Via Media
KEMBA WALKER
Kemba Walker is not tak- ing his surprising inclusion in trade talks all that well, and it is definitely hard to blame him.
The Charlotte Hornets All- Star point guard is “legitimately hurt” that he could be traded by the team before the Feb. 8 deadline and found out the news through media coverage.
The 27-year-old Walker, who is averaging 21.7 points and 5.8 assists per game this season, appeared to be the one untouchable on the Hornets roster. But the team is just 18- 25 on the year and has never made it past the first round of the playoffs since Walker ar- rived as a rookie back in 2011. The rumors about where he may end up next likely won’t make Kemba feel much better either.
LeBron James Unsure About Ty Lue’s Job Security
BEAUTY UNLIMITED
MIA
It is indeed a pleasure to reveal to you this week’s Beauty Un- limited feature, Mia. Mia absolutely loves posing in front of the camera, and understand the sacrifice and strength it takes to be successful. She loves to have fun, and she says she’s very easy to work with. Congratulations to Mia for appearing as this week’s Spotlight feature.
LeBron James did not exactly give Tyronn Lue the strongest endorsement after the Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Oklahoma City Thun- der on Saturday.
Following the loss, James was asked what the Cavs need to do differently and did not identify one thing. He also was asked about the possibility of Lue being fired and said he hoped that wouldn’t happen.
Well, that’s not exactly comforting if you’re Lue. You’d rather have someone completely defending you and dismissing talks of a fir- ing as crazy. He didn’t exactly get that.
Including Saturday’s 148- 124 loss to OKC, the Cava- liers have now lost five of
TYRONN LUE
their last six games. Their de- fense in particular was hor- rendous (as it’s been lately), as they allowed the Thunder to make 58 percent of their shots. Maybe it’s as simple as figuring out how to play with Isaiah Thomas in the lineup, as they’re 3-4 in games he’s played. Lue bet- ter hope he’s not next to get the David Blatt treatment.
Tony Parker Graceful After Losing
Starting Point Guard Job
It’s the end of an era in San Antonio.
Tony Parker confirmed to reporters after the Spurs’ 94-86 home loss to the Indi- ana Pacers on Sunday that he is no longer the team’s start- ing point guard. Parker took the news in an incredibly graceful way.
Dejounte Murray started in Parker’s place. He had eight points, seven re- bounds and four assists in 28 minutes, while Parker scored 12 with five assists in 20 minutes.
A first- round pick by the Spurs in 2016, Murray is averaging 17.9 minutes per game this season and will be seeing a 35, has been with the Spurs since 2001 and is playing his fewest min- utes since his rookie season, though he had started every game he played until Sunday.
TONY PARKER
bump. Parker,
Errol Spence, Jr. could not be stopped.
Already regarded by many as one of the best fighters in the world, Spence put on a sensational performance in a one-sided destruction of La- mont Peterson, stopping him in the eighth round to re- tain his welterweight world title for the first time Saturday night before 12,107 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
It was a Spence house, and they saw him brutalize Peterson, a highly regarded former two-division world ti- tleholder. But he was no match for the Spence freight train many believe will someday ride to the top of the pound- for-pound list.
Spence (23-0, 20 KOs) was making the first defense of the 147-pound world title he won so impressively last May. That's when Spence, the 2012 U. S. Olympian and 2015 ESPN.com prospect of the year, traveled to Kell Brook's hometown of Sheffield, Eng- land, and stopped him in the
Errol Spence Jr., left, punches Lamont Peterson dur- ing the third round.
11th round.
Although Spence inexpli-
cably did not fight the rest of the 2017, the layoff did not ap- pear to impact him in the least.
"I want to thank Lamont. A lot guys turned down the fight, and he took like a real warrior, and I commend him for that," Spence said. "My coach [Derrick James] came with a great game plan, and I just followed through with it. Keep my range, keep my composure.
"I still can improve a lot on my defense. I just have to keep perfecting my skills and keep progressing. You're going to see a better Errol Spence next time I get in the ring."
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