Analysis: Do Nuggets have habits to improve vs. Miami Heat’s zone defense in NBA Finals Game 2?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:35:54 GMT

Analysis: Do Nuggets have habits to improve vs. Miami Heat’s zone defense in NBA Finals Game 2? If there’s a path to the championship for Miami after Denver’s convincing Game 1 win in the NBA Finals, it will involve smacking the immaculately synchronized Nuggets out of their rhythm.Zone defense briefly did the trick in the series-opener.The underdogs from South Beach narrowed a 24-point deficit to nine late in the fourth quarter Thursday night. That comeback amounted to nothing, but it did offer a glimpse of the version of the Heat that hasn’t folded during this playoff gauntlet.The Nuggets missed 10 of their first 13 shots in the fourth quarter as Miami went back to a zone defense, which Eric Spoelstra had also deployed earlier in the game. The acclaimed coach relishes the opportunity to mix up defensive looks.What happened during that drought, and how does it pertain to Game 2 on Sunday (6 p.m. MT)? After watching film, Michael Malone and players generally felt content with their shot selection.“We got the looks we needed,” Jamal Murray said. &#...

Kickin’ It with Kiz: Only cure for Nuggets Nation’s inferiority complex? A championship.

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:35:54 GMT

Kickin’ It with Kiz: Only cure for Nuggets Nation’s inferiority complex? A championship. Uncle Kiz, you are familiar with the idea of Nugglyfe, no? With the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder we have in Nuggets Nation, while you guarantee a championship after Game 1 of the NBA Finals, we desperately don’t want to jinx things or count our chickens before they hatch. Because, you know, a sandbag from the ceiling might fall on center Nikola Jokic.Rob, Nuggets for lifeKiz: Could I be wrong about the Nuggets winning the Finals? Yes, I suppose, if an asteroid hits the earth before Denver registers four victories against Miami. But then we’d have a bigger problems than basketball, eh? I’ve got no problem with fans bashing me for declaring this series against the Heat over after a single game. But hand-wringing about me jinxing the Nuggets, while understandable, is also emblematic of a fan base with an inferiority complex. After decades of playoff frustration, Nuggets Nation has almost as much trouble believing our local NBA team is legitimately great as national ...

Speeding motorcyclist in Aurora crash dies days later at hospital

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:35:54 GMT

Speeding motorcyclist in Aurora crash dies days later at hospital A 21-year-old Aurora man died Saturday from injuries suffered when the motorcycle he was riding crashed with a van.The incident happened about 10 a.m. Tuesday near the intersection of Chambers Road and East Moncrieff Place, according to an Aurora Police Department news release.The driver of a Toyota van was turning north onto Chambers Road from Moncrieff when the van was struck by a Kawasaki motorcycle that was south on Chambers, police said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Driver dies after truck drives off roadway and onto Middle Fork of South Platte River in Park County Crime and Public Safety | Driver struck and killed child in “terrible, terrible accident” in Commerce City parking lot, police say Crime and Public Safety | Two dead, another injured in Sunday night crash on Interstate 25 Crime and Public Safety | 22-year-old man dies in Aurora rollover crash Sunday night, police say Crime and Pub...

India train crash kills over 280, injures 900 in one of nation's worst rail disasters

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:35:54 GMT

India train crash kills over 280, injures 900 in one of nation's worst rail disasters Rescuers found no more survivors in the overturned and mangled wreckage of two passenger trains that derailed in eastern India, killing more than 280 people and injuring hundreds in one of the country's deadliest rail crashes in decades, officials said Saturday.Chaotic scenes erupted on Friday night as rescuers climbed atop the wrecked trains to break open doors and windows using cutting torches. The death toll rose steadily throughout the night. Scores of bodies, covered by white sheets, lay on the ground near the tracks while locals and rescuers raced to free the hundreds of people trapped in the rail cars under the twisted metal and broken glass. Army soldiers and air force helicopters joined the effort in Odisha state. An Associated Press photographer saw bodies still entangled in a badly mangled coach, as rescuers struggled to retrieve them working under the oppressive heat with temperatures reaching up to 35 degree Celsius (96 degrees Fahrenheit). “By 10 p.m. (on Friday) we we...

New details, arrest information released in knife altercation on San Mateo High School campus

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:35:54 GMT

New details, arrest information released in knife altercation on San Mateo High School campus (KRON) -- Police are releasing new details in the knife altercation at San Mateo High School on Friday. As officers responded to the knife incident, an attack nearby led them on a chase through San Mateo. Fight ends in shooting in front of SoMa nightclub, police say The San Mateo Police Department responded to a report of a fight that involved a knife at the SMHS campus on Delaware Street. Officers secured the scene before medics arrived to treat a boy who suffered a concussion and a "knife wound," police said. Police and school officials worked together to initiate the "secure campus" protocol at the school. This is an action response that requires all students and staff to head inside, lock the doors and stay put until given an all clear, SMPD said. As officers investigated what happened, they learned that two students in the summer school program at SMHS had a verbal argument on campus, which then turned physical. The students exchanged blows, and one began to experience blurr...

BART sees 'major delays' systemwide due to power outage

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:35:54 GMT

BART sees 'major delays' systemwide due to power outage (KRON) -- A power outage slowed service on some parts of the Bay Area Rapid Transportation Saturday afternoon, BART announced. Details released in knife altercation at San Mateo High School In a 2 p.m. update, BART said that a power outage on the San Francisco line impacted routes. However, normal service has now been restored to the Orange, Yellow, Blue and Green lines. There was no service on the Red Line Millbrae and Richmond due to the outage as of 1:30 p.m.

Blanchard, Pracht drive in 10 runs, George Mason tops Northeastern 11-3 at Winston-Salem Regional

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:35:54 GMT

Blanchard, Pracht drive in 10 runs, George Mason tops Northeastern 11-3 at Winston-Salem Regional WINSTON-SALEM, N. C. (AP) — Chad Gartland went the distance and Evan Blanchard and Carson Pracht each drove in five runs to carry George Mason past Northeastern 11-3 in an elimination game at the Winston-Salem Regional on Saturday. The Patriots (35-26) advance to face the loser of Saturday’s late game between top-seeded Wake Forest and second-seeded Maryland on Sunday. Gartland (7-2) scattered seven hits over nine innings and all three Northeastern runs came on solo home runs by Spenser Smith, Harrison Feinberg and Alex Lane.Blanchard hit a pair of two-run singles and added a fifth RBI on a bases-loaded walk in the ninth inning. Pracht doubled to drive in two runs in the sixth, hit an RBI single in the eighth and singled home two more in the ninth.George Mason amassed a dozen hits and drew six walks off five Huskies pitchers.Aivan Cabral (9-4)started for Northeastern (44-16) and allowed four runs on four hits and a pair of walks over four innings to take the loss. ___AP colleg...

Twins place Joey Gallo on IL with hamstring strain

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:35:54 GMT

Twins place Joey Gallo on IL with hamstring strain MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Twins slugger Joey Gallo was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain before Saturday’s game against Cleveland.Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said Gallo has been dealing with the injury for “a little while now.” The team recalled outfielder Kyle Garlick from Triple-A St. Paul.Gallo is batting .188 with 11 homers and 23 RBIs in 46 games this season. He leads the Twins in home runs and OPS (.799).It’s the second time on the injured list for Gallo this season after he missed 10 games in April with an intercostal strain.Garlick, in his third stint with the Twins this season, is hitting .235 with two homers and four RBIs in eight games.Baldelli is not with the team on Saturday as he deals with an illness. Bench coach Jayce Tingler will be the acting manager in his placeOutfielder Byron Buxton and shortstop Carlos Correa are also out of the starting lineup for the second straight game. Buxton has sore ribs after being hit by a p...

Bosacker’s 4-hit shutout, Walker’s 4 RBIs help Xavier eliminate E. Illinois at Nashville Regional

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:35:54 GMT

Bosacker’s 4-hit shutout, Walker’s 4 RBIs help Xavier eliminate E. Illinois at Nashville Regional NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Ethan Bosacker allowed four hits with six strikeouts in a complete game shutout, Andrew Walker went 2 for 4 with a home run and four RBIs to help Xavier beat Eastern Illinois 7-0 Saturday in an elimination game at the Nashville Regional. No. 3 seed Xavier (38-24) plays the winner between Oregon — which beat the Musketeers 5-4 in the regional’s opener — and No. 6 national seed Vanderbilt in a loser-out game Sunday. Jared Cushing scored on an RBI groundout by Grant Stephenson to make it 1-0 in the bottom of the second inning and Walker hit a three-run shot in the fifth to make it 5-0. McCormick added a two-RBI single in the seventh inning and Jack Housinger scored on a groundout by Walker to cap the scoring in the eights. No. 4 seed Eastern Illinois (38-21), which set a program record for single-season wins, never moved a runner beyond first base. ___AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25Source

Oklahoma tops Tennessee 9-0 to win 50th straight, advance to Women’s College World Series semifinals

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:35:54 GMT

Oklahoma tops Tennessee 9-0 to win 50th straight, advance to Women’s College World Series semifinals OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Tiare Jennings and Kinzie Hansen homered, and No. 1 seed Oklahoma rolled past No. 4 Tennessee 9-0 in five innings on Saturday to win its 50th straight game and advance to the Women’s College World Series semifinals.The Sooners (58-1) extended their Division I record for consecutive wins and inched closer to a possible third consecutive national title.Oklahoma starter Jordy Bahl allowed one hit — a double to Kiki Milloy, the game’s first batter. Bahl went 3 2/3 innings, walked one and struck out three to earn the win. Relievers Alex Storako, Kierston Deal and Nicole May did not allow a hit.Tennessee (50-9) will play No. 6 Oklahoma State in an elimination game Sunday.Tennessee chose not to throw Ashley Rogers, a National Fastpitch Coaches Association first-team All American. She and No. 2 pitcher Payton Gottschall watched as hard-throwing freshman Karlyn Pickens got the nod.The decision paid off early. Pickens escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first and didn...