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SPORTSTuesday 9 February 2016
NBA Capsules
Celts hold off Kings for ninth win in 10
BOSTON (AP) — Avery Brad-
ley scored 25 points, Isiah
Thomas had 22 and the
Boston Celtics held off the
Sacramento Kings 128-119
on Sunday for their ninth
win in 10 games.
Jared Sullinger matched his
season high with 21 points
and reserve Tyler Zeller had
a season high 17 with seven
rebounds for Boston, which
committed a season high
24 turnovers but shot 56
percent.
DeMarcus Cousins led Sac-
ramento with 31 points.
Marco Belinelli and Dar-
ren Collison each had 16
points. The Kings have lost
seven of eight.
NUGGETS 101, KNICKS 96
NEW YORK (AP) — Rookie
Emmanuel Mudiay scored
nine of his 15 points during
a decisive fourth-quarter
run, and Denver beat the
fading Knicks.
Former Knicks forward Dani-
lo Gallinari and Will Barton
each had 19 points to lead
the Nuggets, who won for
the third time in four games.
Knickd
Continued from page 17
The Knicks have fallen to
23-31, dropping Fisher’s
overall record to 40-96.
Jackson hired Fisher in June
2014, just weeks after Fisher
was done playing.
‘’It’s a huge transition from
being a player to a coach
at any point in time, let
alone the season after
you retire from playing. So
it was a very difficult situ-
ation, regardless of where
he coached,’’ Rambis
said.
‘’This is a historic franchise cided we need to have re-
and this is a franchise and
a fan base that’s used to
winning and he started the
process, and it won’t be
finished and it may not be
finished with the next two
coaches that are coming
in, but I think he was lay-
ing the foundation of do-
ing things the right way
and turning this franchise
around.’’
But Fisher wasn’t winning
Boston Celtics guard Evan Turner (11) tries to drive past Sacra-
mento Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein (00) in the second quar-
ter of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016, in Boston. game was tied at 86-all.
But it was Mudiay, who was quarters, who delivered
just 2 for 12 through three nearly all the points during
lately, and though Jack-
son praised his work ethic,
he had seen enough of
the Knicks’ slow starts and
faulty finishes.
Jackson also questioned
whether Fisher took advan-
tage of the experienced
assistants Jackson hired
to work with him, such as
Rambis and Jim Cleamons.
Jackson, who won an
NBA-record 11 champion-
ships as a coach, also told
Fisher he may not have
mentored him as well as he
could have.
‘’There wasn’t really a con-
sensus in our staff. We de-
ally good consensus in the
working staff, interchang-
ing of ideas and communi-
cation,’’ Jackson said.
The Knicks went 17-65 last
season but upgraded their
roster during the summer
with the drafting of Kristaps
Porzingis and the signing
of veterans Arron Affla-
lo and Robin Lopez.
Fisher then got off to an
embarrassing start this sea-
an 11-2 spurt that put the
Nuggets in control after the
Kristaps Porzingis had 21
Associated Press points and 13 rebounds for
the Knicks, who have lost
five in a row and nine of 10
since they were 22-22 and
looking like a realistic play- ings.
off team.
Carmelo Anthony returned
to face his former team af-
ter missing a game to rest
his sore left knee, finishing
with 21 points, seven assists
and six rebounds.
CLIPPERS 100, HEAT 93
MIAMI (AP) — Chris Paul
had a game-high 22 points,
Jamal Crawford added 20
off the bench and the Clip-
pers beat the Heat.
J.J. Redick scored 14 points,
Wesley Johnson had 10
and DeAndre Jordan and
Cole Aldrich grabbed 11
rebounds each for the Clip-
pers, who won despite miss-
ing 14 consecutive shots in
the first quarter and swept
the two-game season se-
ries with Miami.
Paul started 0 for 9, but
made two 3-pointers late
New York Knicks President Phil Jackson takes questions from re-
porters, Monday, Feb. 8, 2016 at the team’s practice facility in
Elmsford, N.Y. dent they will succeed,’’
Associated Press
son during training camp. happened here today.’’
He was involved in a fight The Knicks had the look of
with Memphis Grizzlies for- a playoff team most of the
ward and former team- season but are stumbling
mate Matt Barnes when he into the All-Star break. Fans
was at the home of Barnes’ loudly booed when they
estranged wife in Califor- fell behind by 19 points
nia. ’No one’s happy about Sunday during a 101-96 loss
how that happened and to Denver. Fisher became
what came out of that,’’ the fifth coach to be fired
Jackson said. ‘’That was this season and the sec-
embarrassing for us and ond in New York. Brooklyn
for Derek, but that had no had already dumped Lio-
nothing to do with what’s nel Hollins. ‘’This is a very
to help seal it for the Clip-
pers.
Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade
and Goran Dragic all
scored 17 points for Miami,
which missed a chance to
finish the day fourth in the
Eastern Conference stand-
MAGIC 96, HAWKS 94
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Nik
Vucevic hit an 18-footer at
the buzzer and the Magic
beat the Hawks.
Elfrid Payton, who set up
Vucevic’s winning shot with
an inbounds pass, scored
or assisted the Magic’s fi-
nal six baskets as they won
for only the third time in 18
games in 2016.
The Magic had gone score-
less since Payton’s jump
shot with 3:41 left, squan-
dering a 94-86 lead.
Vucevic led Orlando with
22 points and nine re-
bounds and Evan Fournier,
starting in place of the in-
jured Tobias Harris, added
21 points. Payton had 12
points and 12 assists.
Jeff Teague scored 24 for
the Hawks.q
talented team with strong
character and I am confi-
Fisher said in a statement.
‘’Obviously, I’m disap-
pointed, but have learned
an immense amount from
this experience and hope
to grow from it.’’
Fisher was a five-time
champion playing under
Jackson with the Lakers
and known as one of the
league’s smartest play-
ers. Jackson turned to him
after Steve Kerr chose to
take the Golden State
Warriors’ job after he was
on the verge of accepting
the Knicks’ offer.
Former head coaches Tom
Thibodeau, Mark Jack-
son and Brian Shaw all
are available. Or Jackson
could wait and perhaps
make at a run at another
of his former players - Luke
Walton, who led Golden
State to the best start in
NBA history while Kerr was
recovering from back
surgery.q