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Archives for April 12, 2024

Celtics Sit Six, But Rout Hornets

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston guard Payton Pritchard scored a career-high 31 points and had 11 assists to help the Celtics end a two-game losing streak with a 131-98 rout of the visiting Charlotte Hornets on Friday.

Neither team was near full strength.

Boston (63-18) was without the top six players in its rotation, as Jaylen Brown (hand), Jayson Tatum (knee), Jrue Holiday (knee), Al Horford (toe), Kristaps Porzingis (hamstring) and Derrick White (ankle) were downgraded from questionable to out.

Nick Richards (foot) and Grant Williams (ankle) didn’t play for the Hornets, who received 19 points and eight assists from Tre Mann plus 15 points from Nick Smith Jr.

Pritchard made 14 of his 22 field-goal attempts. He didn’t play in the fourth quarter.

Luke Kornet added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who are locked into the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and will have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. Boston will wrap up the regular season Sunday with a home game against the Washington Wizards.

Charlotte (20-61) will end its season on Sunday at Cleveland.

Sam Hauser (16), Neemias Queta (career-high 16) and Jaden Springer (season-high 11) were the other Celtics who scored in double figures.

Charlotte committed 20 turnovers and was out-rebounded 53-33. Boston had a 32-2 advantage in points off turnovers.

The Celtics led 30-24 after the first quarter and pulled away in the second. Boston led by three early in the quarter, but went on a 31-6 run and had a 69-41 lead after a Hauser 3-pointer with 34.1 seconds remaining in the half.

Charlotte committed a total of 12 turnovers in the first two quarters and trailed 69-43 at the break.

Pritchard had 23 points and nine assists in the opening half.

The Hornets outscored the Celtics 33-25 in the third, but Boston had a comfortable 94-76 lead entering the fourth. Charlotte never drew closer than 18 points in the final quarter.

–Field Level Media

The Masters: Half-Way Point

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AUGUSTA – Max Homa’s impressive performance in windy conditions Friday marks his fourth career 36-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR and first-ever in a major championship. On Tour, he’s one-for-three converting to victory (Won/2022 Fortinet Championship, 2nd/2023 Genesis Invitational, T5/2023 BMW Championship). Both Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler share the lead.

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For Scheffler, this is his 13th career 36-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR, the most of any player since he joined the TOUR at the start of the 2019-20 season. (The second-most is eight by Patrick Cantlay).

Scheffler is three-for-12 to date converting to victory with wins at the 2022 Masters Tournament, 2023 WM Phoenix Open, 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. … It’s his third career 36-hole lead/co-lead in majors; one-for-two to date converting to victory (Won/2022 Masters Tournament, T2/2023 PGA Championship).

With a win, Scheffler can become the fourth-youngest player to win the Masters multiple times, behind Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Seve Ballesteros.

For Homa, as noted, this is his fourth career 36-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR but first in a major championship. His previous-best 36-hole position in a major: T11, 2023 Open Championship when he finished T10.

Tiger Woods stole the headlines for the day, extending his streak of consecutive made cuts at The Masters to 24, and breaking a tie with Gary Player and Fred Couples for the longest streak in tournament history.

For Woods, the streak began with his win in 1997, but note, he did not play in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2021.

Woods is an 82-time PGA TOUR winner and five-time Masters Tournament champion.

The conditions took the field average in the second round to 75.079, the highest in a single round at the Masters since the third round in 2016 (75.719). The 6-over is the highest 36-hole cut relative to par on TOUR since the 2020 U.S. Open (+6) and highest at the Masters since 2017 (+6).

Notables who missed the cut include, Justin Thomas, Sungai Im, rookie Nick Dunlap, Sergio Garcia (who was playing well on the LIV Tour), Wyndham Clark, Viktor Hovland, Jordan Spieth, Sam Burns, Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson.

Feds Throw the Book at Mizuhara

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LOS ANGELES – Former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara surrendered to federal authorities in Los Angeles on Friday to face a charge of bank fraud for allegedly stealing more than $16 million from Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani.

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Mizuhara, 39, is scheduled to appear in court at 1 p.m. PT, after which he is expected to be released on bond, according to multiple reports.

Prosecutors filed an affidavit Thursday alleging that Mizuhara siphoned funds from Ohtani’s bank accounts to cover his gambling debts with an illegal sportsbook.

The federal bank fraud charge is a felony offense that carries a maximum penalty of up to 30 years in prison and/or a $1 million fine.

The Dodgers fired Mizuhara last month after the allegations surfaced. He had been working with Ohtani since the Japanese two-way star debuted with the Los Angeles Angels in 2017.

From December 2021 through January 2024, authorities allege Mizuhara placed about 19,000 bets with an average wager of $12,800 and total net losses of nearly $40.7 million.

Records seized during the investigation showed no betting on baseball games, however, and authorities said Ohtani was not aware of the alleged theft.

The New York Times reported earlier this week that Mizuhara’s attorney is negotiating a plea deal with prosecutors.

Ohtani, 29, signed a record-setting 10-year, $700 million with the Dodgers in December after batting .304 with an American League-leading 44 homers and 95 RBIs in 2023, when he earned his second unanimous AL MVP.

–Field Level Media

Knicks Put Celtics in Place

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BOSTON – (Wire Service and Staff Report) – Jalen Brunson tossed in a game-high 39 points to help the visiting New York Knicks extend their winning streak to three games by beating the Boston Celtics 118-109 Thursday.

Brunson scored six points in the first quarter, 12 in the second and had 21 in the third. He made 15 of his 23 field goal attempts, including 6-of-11 3-point shots from behind the 3-point arc.

New York (48-32) remained in third place in the Eastern Conference standings, one game behind the Milwaukee Bucks (49-31). The Celtics (62-18), who have lost two straight, had previously secured the No. 1 seed in the East.

Donte DiVincenzo added 17 for the Knicks, who got 16 points and 16 rebounds from Josh Hart. Isaiah Hartenstein finished with 11 points, 13 rebounds and six assists.

Jayson Tatum led Boston with 18 points and seven assists. Boston received 15 points from Jaylen Brown and 14 points and eight rebounds from Kristaps Porzingis.

It was the fifth and final regular-season meeting this season. Boston won the first four.

The Knicks led 32-29 after one quarter and outscored the Celtics 37-19 in the second to take a 69-48 halftime lead. Boston trailed 47-45, but New York took control with a 17-0 run and was up 64-45 following a Brunson 3-pointer with 2:18 remaining in the half. The Knicks scored 25 of the final 30 points in the first half.

New York had a 32-17 rebounding advantage through the first two quarters, including a 12-3 edge at the offensive end. Brunson, who has scored at least 30 points in each of his last six games, led all scorers with 18 points in the half.

The Knicks were up 90-71 after the third quarter and had a 31-point lead in the fourth. Boston rested its starters in the final quarter.

New York held a 52-36 edge in rebounds.

–Field Level Media