Warriors’ big third quarter not enough in Opening Night loss to Kevin Durant’s Phoenix Suns

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:15:31 GMT

Warriors’ big third quarter not enough in Opening Night loss to Kevin Durant’s Phoenix Suns SAN FRANCISCO — Steve Kerr warned that the Warriors wouldn’t perform on Opening Night up to their own expectations. If a few easy layups and bunnies go through, the Warriors might’ve looked sharper and made their 108-104 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night at Chase Center more of a contest.They found themselves down 15 at the end of the first half with cold scoring from the starers. Chris Paul didn’t have the scoring touch in his Suns revenge game, going 0-for-6, Klay Thompson went 3-for-10 and Andrew Wiggins was missing easy looks constantly, going 2-for-8 from the field in the first half.In a reversal from last season, the second unit managed to get them back in the game. Paul, alongside Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Gary Payton II and Dario Saric, infused the Warriors’ energy.  Moody was active on both ends, collecting 11 points, three steals, one block and three rebounds in 12 first-half minutes, leading the Warriors on a 14-4 run to close th...

Homeless man ignited 3 arson fires in Bay Area, police say

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:15:31 GMT

Homeless man ignited 3 arson fires in Bay Area, police say (KRON) -- A 34-year-old homeless man was arrested and accused of igniting at least three separate arson fires in South San Francisco and Colma. One of the blazes sparked on October 20 along EL Camino Real and Hickey Boulevard in South San Francisco. Flames spread from brush to a nearby residence on Duvall Drive before firefighters doused the fire. Later that day, Colma police said they received a 911 call from a witness who saw a man intentionally lighting a fire. Investigators wrote, "Colma police officers contacted and detained a 34-year-old unhoused male while he was walking away from the scene of the fire."The man was in possession of a lighter and witnesses identified him as the arsonist. Through the investigation, the man was connected to a third arson fire, according to police. The man, whose name was not released by law enforcement, was arrested. "Our detectives are conducting follow-up investigation to determine this male’s connection to additional unsolved/unreported incid...

Di Giuseppe and Hoglander’s second period goals lead Canucks to 3-2 defeat of the Predators

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:15:31 GMT

Di Giuseppe and Hoglander’s second period goals lead Canucks to 3-2 defeat of the Predators NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Phillip Di Giuseppe and Nils Hoglander scored goals early in the second period to lead the Vancouver Canucks to a 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night.Ilya Mikheyev also scored, and Thatcher Demko made 15 saves for Vancouver, winners of two straight.Colton Sissons and Kiefer Sherwood scored and Juuse Saros made 21 saves for Nashville, which had its two-game winning streak snapped.Mikheyev scored the game’s first goal at 4:29 of the opening period with a wrist shot from the high slot that deflected off the stick of Predators defenseman Roman Josi and over Saros’ left shoulder.Sissons answered for Nashville with a wrist shot from the right circle underneath the crossbar on the far side at 15:38 of the first.Vancouver came out strong in the second period with Di Giuseppe scoring 22 seconds in and Hoglander following at 3:11.Sherwood drew Nashville to within a goal at 9:18 of the second, converting on a one-timer from the top of the left circ...

Tyler Toffoli’s hat trick powers Devils to a 5-2 victory over the Canadiens

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:15:31 GMT

Tyler Toffoli’s hat trick powers Devils to a 5-2 victory over the Canadiens MONTREAL (AP) — Tyler Toffoli had a hat trick against his former team, leading the New Jersey Devils to a 5-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.“It was nice to get the first one, having not scored since coming (back),” said Toffoli, who failed to score in his first game against his former team. “Once that happened, it felt like I was just getting a ton of opportunities and very fortunate for sure.”Alexander Holtz and Nico Hischier also scored for New Jersey, and Jack Hughes continued his hot start to the season with four assists. Vitek Vanecek stopped 27 shots.Hughes, who entered the contest tied for third in the league in scoring, has 14 points in five games.Justin Barron and Mike Matheson scored for Montreal, which was coming off a 3-1 win at Buffalo on Monday.Canadiens goaltender Cayden Primeau made 29 saves in his first start of the season. Montreal was one of five teams to open the season with three netminders on the roster.The 24-year-old Primeau has played 22 g...

Rangers back in World Series, 12 years after twice being 1 strike from title

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:15:31 GMT

Rangers back in World Series, 12 years after twice being 1 strike from title ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Texas Rangers are back in the World Series for the first time since twice being within one strike of winning the title in 2011. “We’ve had some hard times recently. Those are over,” general manager Chris Young declared soon after Texas won its third AL pennant. After entering this season with a franchise-long streak of six consecutive losing seasons, including 102 losses just two years ago, the wild-card Rangers are AL champions. They’re led by three-time World Series-winning manager Bruce Bochy, a half-billion dollar middle infield of Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, slugging AL Championship Series MVP Adolis García, homegrown rookies Josh Jung and 21-year-old Evan Carter, and an influx of veteran pitchers. “This team has played with so much heart and determination as any club I’ve had,” said Bochy, the first manager since LCS play began in 1969 to take three different teams to the World Series. “It’s just amazing how they kept getting up.”For long-...

Avalanche top Islanders 7-4 for 6th straight victory, set NHL record with 15th consecutive road win

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:15:31 GMT

Avalanche top Islanders 7-4 for 6th straight victory, set NHL record with 15th consecutive road win NEW YORK (AP) — Mikko Rantanen scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period and had three assists as the Colorado Avalanche beat the New York Islanders 7-4 on Tuesday night for their NHL-record 15th straight road win.Ryan Johansen scored twice, Cale Makar had a goal and an assist, and Bowen Byram, Nathan MacKinnon and Ross Colton also scored for Colorado, which won its sixth straight to open the season. Valeri Nichushkin had two assists, and Alexandar Georgiev stopped 27 shots to also improve to 6-0-0 this season.The Avalanche’s winning streak, which includes the last 11 road games of last season, topped the previous mark of 14 set by Buffalo bridging the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. They also matched the 2013-14 team for the best start (6-0-0) since moving to Colorado before the 1995-96 season — one win behind the 1985-86 Quebec Nordiques for tops in franchise history.Cal Clutterbuck had a goal and an assist, Kyle Palmieri and Simon Holmstron also scored, and Noah Dobson and Jea...

Nuggets celebrate first NBA championship with banner, rings and 119-107 win over the Lakers

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:15:31 GMT

Nuggets celebrate first NBA championship with banner, rings and 119-107 win over the Lakers The bling and the banner were nice. What the Denver Nuggets really relished, though, was opening defense of the franchise’s first NBA title with a 119-107 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.“We can’t think about last year too much,” Jamal Murray said after the Nuggets followed the raising of their championship banner by dropping the hammer on the Lakers in the NBA’s season opener, which featured Nikola Jokic’s triple-double and LeBron James taking a few more breathers than normal.Jokic said the Nuggets fed off the emotion from the pregame ceremony to jump out to an early 18-point lead, which held up even after the Lakers got within three points in the fourth quarter.“I think we controlled the game the whole time,” said Jokic, who had 29 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists.Murray added 21 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 20, Aaron Gordon had 15 and Michael Porter Jr. had 12.All of LA’s starters also scored in double figures, led by Ja...

Vatrano scores on a breakaway in OT, Ducks snap 3-game skid with 3-2 win over Blue Jackets 3-2

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:15:31 GMT

Vatrano scores on a breakaway in OT, Ducks snap 3-game skid with 3-2 win over Blue Jackets 3-2 COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Frank Vatrano scored on a breakaway 2:40 into overtime and Lukas Dostal stopped 34 shots as the Anaheim Ducks snapped a three-game skid with their first road win of the season, rallying to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 on Tuesday night.The Ducks twice erased one-goal deficits and pulled even with goals by Ryan Strome and Brett Leason on the way to their fifth straight win over Columbus.In the overtime, Benoit-Olivier Groulx picked up a loose puck in his own zone and sent a pass to a streaking Vatrano near center ice, and the 29-year-old winger beat Columbus goaltender Elvis Merzlikins on the stick side.Adam Fantilli had a goal and an assist, his first multi-point NHL game, and Emil Bemstrom scored for the Blue Jackets, who had a two-game wins streak halted. Merzlikins stopped 24 shots.After squandering a pair of power-play chances in the first period, the Blue Jackets capitalized on a third when Bemstrom scored his first of the season from the left circle ...

Thomas Harley and Wyatt Johnston’s 3rd-period goals help Stars defeat Penguins 4-1

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:15:31 GMT

Thomas Harley and Wyatt Johnston’s 3rd-period goals help Stars defeat Penguins 4-1 PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jason Robertson’s hard work in the crease gave the star forward his first goal of the season. His diving effort on a loose puck in the offensive zone helped put the game away.Robertson set up Thomas Harley’s third-period goal and Wyatt Johnston scored later in the period to help the Dallas Stars beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 on Tuesday night.“He was excellent tonight,” Stars coach Peter DeBoer said. “He’s a game-breaking guy. When he’s feeling it like he was, you can tell that he was in one of those zones where he was going to be a difference-maker.”Bryan Rust scored the first goal for Pittsburgh, but Dallas had the next four. The Stars haven’t lost in regulation yet this season.Robertson, who scored 46 goals last season, scored his first on Tuesday, as did Evgenii Dadonov before third-period goals from Harley and Johnston.“I haven’t gotten many scoring chances lately, so hopefully I can keep that confidence going and get rolling and start to feel it,” Robertson...

Hurricane Otis now a catastrophic Category 5 storm off Mexico’s Pacific coast nearing Acapulco

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:15:31 GMT

Hurricane Otis now a catastrophic Category 5 storm off Mexico’s Pacific coast nearing Acapulco ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Otis strengthened from a tropical storm to a dangerous Category 5 hurricane in a matter of hours Tuesday as it approached Mexico’s southern Pacific coast, where it was forecast to make landfall near the resort of Acapulco early Wednesday causing catastrophic damage.The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Otis has maximum sustained winds of 160 mph (260 kph) late Tuesday evening. It was centered about 55 miles (90 kilometers) south-southeast of Acapulco and moving north-northwest at 9 mph (15 kph).A hurricane warning was in effect from Punta Maldonado to Zihuatanejo. A hurricane watch was is in effect from Lagunas de Chacahua to Punta MaldonadoOtis is forecast to remain a Category 5 hurricane through landfall but rapid weakening is then forecast due to the higher terrain of Mexico. Otis will likely dissipate over southern Mexico on Wednesday night.In Acapulco, people hurried home as rain began to pelt the resort and winds picked up, driving tourists ...