Stephen Curry, true to form, was ready with a counter. “[Dillon Brooks] said a lot of crazy things,” Curry told The Athletic with a smile while glancing at nearby cameras from NBA TV. “He called himself a dynasty already, so you’ve got to figure. On to the next round. Western Conference finals, we’re back. Let’s goooo!” Source: Sam Amick @ The Athletic
What’s the buzz on Twitter?
Brad Botkin @bradbotkincbs Dillon brooks is a flat out winning player. Would help so many teams so much, as he does memphis. – 1:44 PM
Ian Begley @IanBegley Here’s Eddy Curry on his new Players Tribune podcast with his wife Patrice & his relationship with NYK’s William Wesley & Leon Rose (an aside: Curry’s Players Tribune essay is worth reading for any NYK fan of his era): sny.tv/articles/eddy-… – 1:08 PM
Roland Lazenby @lazenby As Tex Winter often told me, “You can hurry to a butt whipping,” which is what we see from so many teams today with sloppy, rushed play and bad shots galore. Bravo to those teams who can play like Steph Curry and the Warriors. Most can’t. Not efficiently. – 8:57 AM
Marcus Thompson @ThompsonScribe Curry said after his 3 with 5:43 left, the first thing he did when the Grizzlies timeout was go to Wiggins on the bench and scream at him that it was his 3 that got them going – 2:20 AM
Damichael Cole @DamichaelC Jaren Jackson Jr., Taylor Jenkins and Dillon Brooks have all said some form of this Grizzlies team being the most fun they have ever had in a basketball season. JJJ: “You’re playing with your friends out there. We really rock with each other.” – 1:20 AM
Damichael Cole @DamichaelC Dillon Brooks on playing the Warriors and gaining their respect. “We’re young, they’re getting old. They know we are coming every single year.” – 1:15 AM
Drew Hill @DrewHill_DM Dillon Brooks: “100% (there’s mutual respect between the Warriors and Grizzlies). They know we are coming every single year. We are young, they are getting old.” – 1:14 AM
Drew Hill @DrewHill_DM Dillon Brooks pats his hand on the table: “Every year we are going to contend.” – 1:13 AM
Kendra Andrews @kendra__andrews Mike Brown said it was Draymond Green and Stephen Curry’s final decision to start Kevon Looney. “They looked us all in the eye and said that’s where we are going to get our confidence.” – 1:08 AM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina Mike Brown said that Steph Curry and Draymond Green called for Kevon Looney to start tonight – 1:07 AM
Rob Perez @WorldWideWob Radio Roulette is LIVE @UnderdogFantasy – Jayson Tatum’s historic performance – Fighting Giannis’ fire with fire – Warriors/Steph Curry inevitable – Game 6 Klay – And that is why u need Ja – Dillon Brooks – Game 7s – $100 giveaway to a viewer Join us ⬇️ youtube.com/watch?v=A_-zDd… – 12:46 AM
Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU Desmond Bane came out of first timeout of 4th quarter and hit that 3 to give Grizzlies 89-87 lead… Warriors closed last 6.5 minutes of game on 23-7 run. Curry closed them out again, outscoring Grizzlies with 11 of those points in that stretch. – 12:43 AM
Mark Followill @MFollowill One half of the Western Conference Finals is Golden State. Game 6 winners vs Memphis 110-96. Series winners 4 games to 2. Tonight – Klay Thompson 30 pts, Steph Curry 29 pts, Kevon Looney 22 rebs. – 12:41 AM
Drew Shiller @DrewShiller The year is 2022. Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and the Warriors are back in the Western Conference Finals. Dubs fans — don’t ever, ever, ever take this for granted – 12:39 AM
Sean Cunningham @SeanCunningham Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in true Game 6 form, mega hyped as they come up with big buckets in this 4th, pushing the Warriors lead to the largest of the night – up 13 on Memphis with 2:57 to go – 12:32 AM
Nate Duncan @NateDuncanNBA Warriors dodged a huge bullet as Curry helped onto a Jones FT J and left Brooks wide open for a 3. – 12:29 AM
Marcus Thompson @ThompsonScribe Curry, Thompson, Wiggins, Green and Looney huddle up near halfcourt. Looks like they’re closing with their starters. They are desperate for a couple stops – 12:27 AM
Sam Vecenie @Sam_Vecenie That may have been the best 90-second stretch of Andrew Wiggins career. Killer catch-and-shoot 3, steal for a pick-six on Brooks, then a killer contest on Brooks the next time down at the rim leads to a run-out 3 for Curry. Second half from him has been enormous. – 12:25 AM
Tony Jones @Tjonesonthenba Dillon Brooks just gave the warriors an 8-0 run in 20 seconds. Amazing how destructive a guy he is to his own team on a night that he’s absolutely cooking – 12:24 AM
Anthony Slater @anthonyVslater Andrew Wiggins made 3, Andrew Wiggins steal and dunk, Andrew Wiggins stop on Dillon Brooks in isolation leads to a Steph Curry transition 3. At the center of the biggest 7-0 run of the game. – 12:24 AM
Damichael Cole @DamichaelC Nah dawg I ain’t ever seen Dillon Brooks pull that crossover stepback out his bag on a corner triple lol this is wild. – 12:18 AM
Sean Cunningham @SeanCunningham Warriors lead 78-77 heading to the 4th in Game 6 as the Grizzlies win the 3rd quarter 26-25. Warriors plagued by turnovers now have a 16-5 differential with Memphis. Dillon Brooks 23, Desmond Bane 20 for the Grizzlies. Warriors led by Klay Thompson’s 27. – 12:10 AM
Sam Amick @sam_amick The Warriors have 16 giveaways to Memphis’ four, yet are somehow still up by four. Oh, and that Steph Curry guy has missed 13 of 17 shots. Much-improved defense from Game 5 their saving grace so far. – 12:01 AM
Nate Duncan @NateDuncanNBA 4-17 for Curry tonight. Since the first month of the season, he just hasn’t made the same 3s he has throughout his career. And if he’s not a 40% shooter on those shots, he’s not capable of leading a team to a championship. – 12:01 AM
Meghan Triplett @Meghan_Triplett halftime came at the right time for me emotionally. That was intense. Grizzlies down 53-51. Dillon Brooks with the hot hand w/ 18pts. Klay Thompson has it on the other end w/ 17pts. Warriors sure can turn the ball over (12) and the Grizzlies sure can score off of them (12pts). – 11:28 PM
Peter Vecsey @PeterVecsey1 Ja showed am appreciative smile to Curry for the slick move he made to the halo at the end of the half but could not convert. I luv that stuff!! – 11:27 PM
Damichael Cole @DamichaelC Halftime: Warriors 53 Grizzlies 51 This has been some fun baksetball. The Grizzlies took a haymaker with GS making 11 of its first 20 threes. Memphis weathered the storm and even took the lead. Back and forth. Dillon Brooks has 18 points. Klay Thompson has 17. – 11:26 PM
Anthony Slater @anthonyVslater Frantic half from Steph Curry. Scattered dribble, a few bad turnovers, couldn’t find his shot. But he is aggressive and feel like the Warriors are getting him the looks/matchups they want. Feels like it’s on him to bring Warriors home in second half. – 11:25 PM
Tim Bontemps @TimBontemps Could easily wind up being a situation where the worst thing that happened for Memphis was Dillon Brooks hitting some early shots. He went 6-for-16 in the first half, and 1-for-6 on 2s. – 11:25 PM
Drew Shiller @DrewShiller Well folks. It’s simple. In the second half, Steph Curry needs to be ………………….. … better – 11:25 PM
Bobby Marks @BobbyMarks42 That is now 3 flagrant points for Dillon Brooks. 1 more point and he will face a suspension. – 11:18 PM
Mark Giannotto @mgiannotto A heat check that went well, a heat check that went poorly, a technical foul and now a flagrant foul. We’ve hit for the Dillon Brooks cycle and it’s not even halftime. – 11:18 PM
Dan Favale @danfavale “dillon brooks is playing too well and i can’t let that stand” -dillon brooks – 11:18 PM
Damichael Cole @DamichaelC Flagrant 1 on Dillon Brooks. His face is shown on the video board and the Chase Center fans are booing. – 11:18 PM
Damichael Cole @DamichaelC Double technical fouls on Dillon Brooks and Klay Thompson. Last play by Brooks is under review to determine if it meets the criteria of a flagrant foul – 11:16 PM
John Hollinger @johnhollinger Wiggins and Curry both would have had layups last trip … but for the fact that Memphis has two guys under the rim on every play because they aren’t guarding Looney or Green. – 11:10 PM
Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU Dillon Brooks 3-point shooting in this series! First 5 games: 5/22 First 1.5 quarters of Game 6: 5/10 – 11:07 PM
Peter Edmiston @peteredmiston Dillon Brooks. What a damn response to his awful game the last time he was in this building. You can criticize Dillon for a lot of things but the guy has balls of steel. – 11:07 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina Besides booing Dillon Brooks for his Flagrant on Gary Payton II in Game 2, Warriors fans are also booing Dillion Brooks for turning his bricks into makes – 11:07 PM
Anthony Slater @anthonyVslater Dillon Brooks in 11 minutes: 18 points on 6/13 FG, 5/10 from 3. Entered shooting 22% overall, 18% from 3 in series. – 11:06 PM
Connor Letourneau @Con_Chron Dillon Brooks getting such heavy boos, and it only seems to be emboldening him. He’s up to 18 points in 12 minutes. Warriors’ nine-point lead down to one midway through the second quarter. – 11:06 PM
CJ Holmes @CjHolmes22 Dillon Brooks has scored 18 of the Grizzlies’ 43 points so far. He’s Memphis’ only player in double-figures. – 11:06 PM
Sean Cunningham @SeanCunningham Dillon Brooks making up for lost time. 15 points now through a quarter and a half here in Game 6 for Memphis 5/11, 4/8 from 3). – 11:05 PM
Monte Poole @MontePooleNBCS Aaaand here come the turnovers. Warriors’ 8-pt lead is gone, Dillon Brooks’ 3 ties it 16-16, 4:46 Q2 – 10:35 PM
Connor Letourneau @Con_Chron Back-to-back made 3-pointers from Dillon Brooks ties the game at 16-16 midway through the first quarter. Boos emanating from the crowd. – 10:35 PM
Marcus Thompson @ThompsonScribe Dillon Brooks with 10 huge points — back-to-back 3s after back-to-back Warriors turnovers. They have 4 in the first – 10:35 PM
CJ Holmes @CjHolmes22 Stephen Curry picks up his second foul with 5:26 left in the first quarter. Something to monitor. – 10:34 PM
Drew Shiller @DrewShiller The Warriors involve Steven Adams out on the perimeter (which they should do 5,000 times tonight) and Curry drills the wide open 3 off the dribble hand off. Simple – 10:25 PM
CJ Holmes @CjHolmes22 Stephen Curry breaks the Warriors’ two-minute scoring drought with a 3-pointer, then Curry finds Green slicing to the rim for a layup. 5-4 Dubs early. – 10:24 PM
Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU For Grizzlies — What’s Dillon Brooks going to do, frfr For Warriors — Y’all serious or nah – 10:22 PM
Kendra Andrews @kendra__andrews Kevon Looney will start for the Warriors, I’m told. He’ll join Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green. – 9:25 PM
Damichael Cole @DamichaelC The Grizzlies will be going against one of the great NBA folk heroes today. Game 6 Klay Thompson 2019 vs. Houston (21 in first half) while Curry was held scoreless 2019 vs. Toronto 30 in 3 quarters before injury 2018 vs. Houston 35 points, 9 3s 2016 vs. OKC 41 points, 11 3s pic.twitter.com/x16fY4NFwh – 7:46 PM
BOSTON (AP) — Houston Astros right-hander Jake Odorizzi collapsed running to cover first base in the fifth inning Monday night against the Boston Red Sox and was taken off the Fenway Park field on a stretcher.
Odorizzi, who entered the game with a 15 2/3 inning shutout streak, appeared to twist his left leg awkwardly on the delivery to Kiké Hernandez. When he turned to cover first base, he took a step and then sprawled out, face down, on the grass.
He remained there after the out was recorded, and Astros staff rushed to tend to him. He was loaded onto a stretcher and wheeled off.
Odorizzi was 3-2 with a 3.13 ERA this season. The Red Sox led 2-1 when he left the game.
As a former No. 1 overall draft pick whose career has been defined as a mixed bag of expectations vs. reality, Wiggins has done nothing but open eyes through the first two rounds of the playoffs. He has invited challenges, shown a new side of swagger with poster dunks and let his hustle and athleticism do all the talking as a defensive menace and rebounding machine.
How would he assess his first 11 games of these playoffs? About how you would expect the always even-keel small forward.
“I feel like I’ve been pretty solid,” Wiggins said Monday at Chase Center following Warriors practice. “Can still do more, still help the team more.”
He has been more than solid, and the Warriors are going to need him now more than ever against Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference finals, starting Wednesday night in Game 1.
Wiggins is averaging 14.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game in the playoffs, while shooting 40 percent on 3-pointers. He averaged 17.2 points in the regular season and shot 39.3 percent from deep. But his rebounding averages were at 4.5 and he also averaged 0.7 blocks per game.
The first-time All-Star has been engaged, diving for loose balls and showcasing a catch radius of Calvin Johnson with his ability to snag rebounds. He has grabbed at least five offensive rebounds three times in the playoffs, and his regular-season high was four offensive rebounds in a single game. In the Warriors’ Game 6 win over the Grizzlies, Wiggins came away with six offensive rebounds, 11 total and was a game-high plus-20 in plus-minus.
His rebounding will be needed against Dallas. But his main assignment will be using his length, strength and quickness to disrupt Doncic any way he can.
“It’s gonna be a tough matchup, for sure,” Wiggins said when asked about guarding Doncic. “You’ve seen what he’s been doing these whole playoffs. It’s gonna be a team effort. All of us, the whole team are going to have to do it collectively.
“He’s a handful.”
Doncic, 23, has put on a show, carrying the No. 4-seeded Mavs to the conference finals after missing the first three games of the first round to a strained calf. He put up 30 points and 10 rebounds his first game back, and followed that up with 33 and 13 two days later. Over 10 games this postseason, Doncic is averaging 31.5 points, 10.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game.
Dallas won three of its four games against Golden State in the regular season, and Doncic averaged 31.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists while shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 38.2 percent on 3-pointers. Yes, the Warriors have their work cut out for them.
That work becomes slightly easier and less taxing if Playoff Wiggins shows up. After watching Grizzlies backup point guard Tyus Jones torch the Warriors for two straight games with Ja Morant shelved, Wiggins told coach Mike Brown that he wanted to pick up Jones from the start in Game 6. Not when he crosses halfcourt — the full length of the floor, the moment he steps in-bounds.
Jones scored seven points, and went 2-for-12 from the field. He scored 21 points in Game 5 and 19 in Game 4. Wiggins might be quiet, but his competitive fire is mighty loud on the inside, just like so many of his other mislabeled teammates.
The reality is, Doncic is going to get his. He’s going to put up points, he’s going to fill up the box score. It’s about making him work in doing so, just as Draymond Green did to Nikola Jokic in the first round. Wiggins’ inner competitive spirit is going to need to show up. So is another key aspect of the Warriors as a whole.
Joy.
His teammates revel in the chance of making Wiggins smile. Whether it’s showing him pictures and videos of him throwing it down on someone or a different motivational tactic, they’ve been there to have everybody else see a different side of himself. Nobody enjoys it more than Steph Curry.
“We understand what he’s capable of in this league,” Curry said Monday when asked about the importance of making his teammate smile. “All the things he’s gone through in his career from being the No. 1 pick to having some amazing statistical years in Minnesota but not having much to show for it to coming here. We understand that he can impact winning basketball.
“For him, it’s just a matter of if he’s locked in and engaged, in terms of what that actually means with what he’s focused on on the court. That’s being physical on defense, taking those matchups seriously, taking on the challenge of it, rebounding the basketball and then just being aggressive on offense — attacking the paint or taking open shots.
“When all that happens, he has a different impact on the game, and we all appreciate and know it makes us better.”
The second Wiggins was asked about Curry making him smile, his grin grew exponentially. He was beaming at the podium. Since Wiggins came into the league in 2014, all he has associated with the Warriors is winning.
Well, the keys players to those wins — Curry, Green, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala and others — know what a vital part he now is to their championship goals and culture.
It’s simple: The more wins, the more smiles. Knocking Doncic off his path in the slightest certainly should bring the Warriors win, and have Wiggins with his teeth sparkling and his mouth wide open from ear to ear.
“Usually I’m just cool all the way,” Wiggins said with a hand gesture imitating a long straight line. “But it’s good to show emotions sometimes, and I feel like last game deserved it. I’ve never been here before, so it’s a special opportunity.
“And you’ll see a lot more smiles the further we go.”
Disturbing allegations surrounding former Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo have begun to percolate through the NBA media sphere after a TMZ report describing the former Boston point guard as having verbally abused and threatened his onetime partner Ashley Bachelor and their child with a gun came to light.
Bachelor reportedly was granted a protective order against Rondo granting custody of the children to Bachelor per TMZ, who note “the court’s granting of the Emergency Protective Order isn’t an indication of the ferocity of the claims within it” adding that it is “simply a temporary order until the parties can get before a judge and argue the merits of a protective order.”
ESPN’s Malika Andrews relates that the NBA is aware of the allegations and “are in the process of gathering more information.” An unrestricted free agent this offseason near the twilight of his career at age 36, it remains unclear how the league will respond to the allegations.
As of this writing, Rondo has not been charged with any crime and has not publicly addressed them since they broke on Monday morning.