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Archives for March 12, 2024

Celtics Beat Jazz in Get-Away Game

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SALT LAKE CITY – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Jayson Tatum tossed in a game-high 38 points and Derrick White made 7 of 11 3-point attempts and scored 24 points as the Boston Celtics wrapped up a five-game road trip by beating the Utah Jazz 123-107 on Tuesday night.

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It was the third straight victory for Boston, which lost the first two games of the trip.

Jrue Holiday added 16 points, eight assists and five rebounds for the Celtics, who made 20 of 49 3-pointers (40.8 percent).

Boston led by seven entering the final quarter and seized control by scoring the first 15 points of the fourth. Utah’s first points of the period came on a Jordan Clarkson layup that made it 113-93 with 5:34 to play.

Keyonte George scored 26 points to lead the Jazz. Utah received 21 points from Clarkson and 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists from Collin Sexton.

The Celtics were missing Jaylen Brown (sacroiliac strain), Al Horford (toe sprain) and Kristaps Porzingis (hamstring strain).

Utah played without Lauri Markkanen, who missed his fourth consecutive game with a right quad contusion.

Boston made nine 3-pointers in the opening quarter and led 44-33 after 12 minutes. The Celtics later had a 52-35 lead, but Utah went on a 15-2 run and trailed 54-50 with 6:07 left in the first half. An 8-0 spurt helped Boston build a 16-point lead late in the second quarter, and the Celtics owned a 72-57 advantage at halftime.

The Celtics made 14 of 25 3-pointers in the first half. White and Sam Hauser each had four treys by halftime. It was the 15th time Boston has scored at least 70 points in the first half of a game this season.

Utah was within two points when a Clarkson basket cut Boston’s lead to 93-91 with 36.2 seconds remaining in the third quarter, but the Celtics scored the final five points of the frame and had a 98-91 edge entering the fourth.

–Field Level Media

BIG EAST Names Award Winners

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NEW YORK – (March 11, 2024) The BIG EAST Conference announced the winners for four individual awards for its 2023-24 men’s basketball season.

For the third season in a row, Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner has been named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year. Desmond Claude of Xavier was chosen BIG EAST Most Improved Player. Hassan Diarra of Connecticut has been selected for the BIG EAST Sixth Man Award. Creighton’s Steven Ashworth has been tabbed the winner of the BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award.

The league’s head coaches make the selections and they are not permitted to vote for their own players. The BIG EAST will announce the remaining individual awards: BIG EAST Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete on Wednesday, March 13, at 1:30 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden. The BIG EAST Media Award will also be presented.

Kalkbrenner, a 7-1 senior center from Florissant, Mo., is the third player in BIG EAST history to win Defensive Player of the Year honors three times. Georgetown’s Alonzo Mourning won three times (1989, ’90, ’92) and former Hoya Patrick Ewing won four times (1982, ’83, ’84, 85). This season, Kalkbrenner is the BIG EAST’s blocked shot leader in league games with a 3.4 mark. His 2.97 blocked shot average in all games ranks third nationally. Kalkbrenner is an All-BIG EAST Second Team selection.

Xavier’s Claude, a 6-6 sophomore guard, has improved across the board for the Musketeers. As a freshman, he was used in a sixth-man role and averaged 4.7 points and 2.5 rebounds. This year, Claude brought his scoring mark up to 16.0, his rebound average up to 4.1. His assist/turnover ratio improved from 1.24 to 1.50 and his free throw shooting went from 57.1 percent to 79.2 percent. This season, he has scored in double figures in 28 of 31 games compared to five in 35 games last year.

UConn’s Diarra has been a most effective sixth man for the regular-season champions. A 6-2 senior guard, he is playing 19.1 minutes per game and is averaging 6.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists. He is shooting 77.8 percent from foul line and 36.7 percent from 3-point range. Diarra has 72 assists while committing only 33 turnovers. In addition to his offensive contributions, he often draws a top defensive assignment.

Creighton’s Ashworth has made an immediate impact with his sportsmanlike play and his steady production. A 6-1 guard transfer from Utah State, he took over the starting point guard on a team that enters this week’s BIG EAST Tournament as the No. 2 seed. The Bluejays are 23-8 overall and 14-6 in league play. Ashworth is averaging 10.5 points and 4.1 assists. His assist average ranks ninth in the conference. 

BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year

Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton

BIG EAST Most Improved Player

Desmond Claude, Xavier

BIG EAST Sixth Man Award

Hassan Diarra, Connecticut

BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award

Steven Ashworth, Creighton

Celtics Look to Extend Road Streak

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SALT LAKE CITY – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Celtics will be looking to extend their road winning streak to three games when they face the slumping Utah Jazz on Tuesday night.

After beating Phoenix 117-107 on Saturday, the Celtics earned a 121-99 victory at Portland on Monday. Jaylen Brown led Boston with 27 points and Jayson Tatum added 26. Sam Hauser came off the bench to make 6 of 10 3-pointers and finished with a season-high 22 points.

“We just played hard, made the right reads on offense, knew our personnel on defense and made a lot of shots,” Hauser said. “I had a rough first half but turned it around in the second half. Once you see a couple (shots) go, the rim gets bigger and you get more confidence.”

Jrue Holiday (knee) and Kristaps Porzingis (hamstring) sat out Boston’s win over Portland. Al Horford scored 11 points against the Trail Blazers but may not be available against Utah since he typically does not play on back-to-back nights.

Tuesday’s contest will be the final game of Boston’s five-game road trip. The Celtics opened the trip with losses to Cleveland (105-104) last Tuesday and Denver (115-109) on Thursday.

Utah has lost two in a row, five of its last six and 10 of its last 12. The Jazz trailed by 39 points in the first half of Saturday’s 142-121 loss at Denver. Utah outscored the Nuggets 44-24 in the third quarter to pull within 14 but failed to get any closer. Denver made 19 of its 32 3-point attempts in the game.

“Obviously when you’re down 39 points at one point it’s a long road back to win the game, but I do think the second half is something we can build on,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said.

Utah’s Lauri Markkanen has missed the last three games with a right quadriceps contusion. Markkanen is averaging 23.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 51 games this season.

Utah’s Walker Kessler returned to the lineup against Denver after missing four games with a right foot sprain. Rookie Keyonte George scored 29 points against the Nuggets, and fellow rookie Brice Sensabaugh made 7 of 11 field-goal attempts for 16 points.

“I think both of those guys (George and Sensabaugh) … the best thing is they show a tremendous amount of confidence in themselves,” Hardy said. “They have a tremendous amount of confidence in each other — the way they speak to each other during the game and encourage each other. The way they feed off each other I think is a positive. They both know there’s a lot of work to be done, though. To get to the level they want to get to, to be a team that’s competing for a championship, those guys are really going to have to up their level.”

The matchup will be the second game between the Celtics and Jazz this season. Utah shot 36.2 percent from the field (34 of 94) and 17.6 percent from behind the 3-point line in a 126-97 loss at Boston on Jan. 5. The Celtics never trailed and led by as many as 36 points in the first half.

Tatum led Boston with 30 points in the win. Utah, which turned the ball over 18 times in the game, received 17 points, five rebounds and five assists from Markkanen.

–Field Level Media

Celtics Drill Blazers, Brown 27 Points

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PORTLAND – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Jaylen Brown recorded 27 points, six rebounds and five assists and the Boston Celtics became the first NBA team to reach the 50-win mark this season with a 121-99 victory over the host Portland Trail Blazers.

Jayson Tatum added 26 points and eight assists and Sam Hauser scored a season-best 22 points off the bench for Boston.

Payton Pritchard added 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, Al Horford had 11 points and three blocked shots and Derrick White contributed 11 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots for the Celtics.

Deandre Ayton had 22 points and 15 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who lost for the 10th time in their past 11 home games.

Anfernee Simons scored 17 points, Jerami Grant added 14 and Scoot Henderson had 13 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Portland.

Boston won for the 13th time in its past 15 games despite playing without Kristaps Porzingis (hamstring) and Jrue Holiday (knee).

The Celtics shot 49 percent from the field, including 15 of 40 (37.5 percent) from 3-point range.

Portland connected on 44.8 percent of its shots and was 10 of 28 (35.7 percent) from behind the arc.

Boston led 79-60 with 7:44 left in the third quarter after a 7-0 run.

The Trail Blazers answered with a 15-5 charge, and Grant’s three-point play pulled Portland within 84-75 with 1:36 remaining in the third. The Celtics scored the final four points of the stanza for a 13-point lead.

Tatum and Hauser connected on back-to-back treys to boost Boston’s advantage to 101-83 with 8:40 left in the contest.

Hauser later buried a trey to push the lead to 115-95 with two minutes remaining as the Celtics closed out their seventh win in the past nine meetings with the Trail Blazers.

Brown scored 17 first-half points to help the Celtics hold a 66-52 lead at the break. Ayton scored 14 in the half for Portland.

Boston made six treys in the first quarter en route to a 37-28 lead. A dunk by Luke Kornet made it 50-33 with 7:47 left in the half.

Simons hit two 3-pointers during an 11-0 surge that allowed the Trail Blazers to move within 56-50 with 3:37 to play. The Celtics answered with a 10-2 run to make it a 14-point halftime margin.

–Field Level Media

PGA Tour: Next Up -> The PLAYERS

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The 2024 PGA Tour season gets serious this week as the Tournament Players Club hosts the annual PLAYERS Championship, otherwise known as “The Fifth Major.”

LAST TOURNAMENT: Arnold Palmer Invitational (Scottie Scheffler); Puerto Rico Open (Brice Garnett)

THIS WEEK: The Players Championship, Ponte Vedra Beach, March 14-17
Course: TPC Sawgrass (Par 72, 7,275 yards)
Purse: $25M (Winner: $4.5M)
Defending Champion: Scheffler
FedEx Cup Leader: Scheffler

HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday, 2-7 p.m. (NBC); Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (NBC)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. ET; Saturday, 8 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday, 7:30 a.m.- 6 p.m.
X: @ThePlayers

NOTES: This is the 50th playing of the event, which began in 1974, and the 42nd edition at TPC Sawgrass, which became the venue in 1982. … Scottie Scheffler is the first defending champion to arrive at The Players ranked No. 1 in the world since Rory McIlroy in 2020. McIlroy won in 2019 and the event was ultimately cancelled the following year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. … There are 22 players in the field making their event debuts this week, including Sweden’s 10th-ranked Ludvig Aberg and Nick Dunlap, who turned pro after winning the American Express in January. … Tiger Woods, the 2001 and 2013 champion, is not in the field. … Each of the past four winners of The Players entered the week ranked in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking. … The three hole-in-ones at the signature 17th hole last year marked the first time there were multiple aces on that hole. … LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman holds the tournament scoring record of 24-under 264 set in 1994.

BEST BETS: Scottie Scheffler (+650 at BetMGM) is coming off a five-shot victory at Bay Hill, and also won The Players by five shots last year. His seven PGA Tour wins since 2021-22 are the most of anyone during that span. … Rory McIlroy (+1500) missed the cut last year and has an average finish of 34th over his past four appearances. However, he did win in 2019 and was in contention last week until a 76 on Sunday. … Justin Thomas (+2300) finished T12 at Bay Hill after going 72-73 over the weekend. The 2021 Players champion has only one finish worse than T12 in his past nine worldwide starts. … Wyndham Clark (+3400) is a career-best fifth in the world rankings following his runner-up last week. The defending U.S. Open champion also won at Pebble Beach last month. … Shane Lowry (+3400) has finished T4 and third the past two weeks. … Tom Hoge (+7100) set the course record with a third-round 62 en route to finishing T3 last year.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: Valspar Championship, Palm Harbor, Fla., March 21-24