REPORTS: DENVER NUGGETS 1ST-ROUND PICK DARON HOLMES II TEARS ACHILLES IN NBA SUMMER LEAGUE OPENER
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Denver first-round pick DaRon Holmes II is expected to miss the season after tearing his right Achilles on Friday night in the Nuggets’ NBA Summer League opener, The Athletic and multiple other media outlets reported.
Traded to Denver after being selected No. 22 overall by Phoenix, the 6-foot-10 former Dayton center-forward had 11 points and seven rebounds in 26 minutes in the Nuggets’ 88-78 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Athletic was the first to report the injury.
Holmes was the Atlantic 10 Conference’s co-player of the year last season as a junior, averaging 20.4 points and 8.5 rebounds.
KEVIN DURANT (CALF) MISSES TEAM USA PRACTICE AGAIN
The USA men’s Olympic basketball team took to the practice court Saturday without Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant, who continues to nurse a calf injury.
Now training in Abu Dhabi in advance of exhibition games against Australia (Monday) and Serbia (Wednesday), Team USA isn’t in panic mode over Durant being sidelined.
Coach Steve Kerr told reporters Saturday that Durant would do individual work during the practice.
This week, the U.S. squad replaced Kawhi Leonard with Derrick White because of injury, with White on standby for such a move. Kerr said there is no similar Plan B for Durant.
“I know there’s still a couple of weeks before we have to make a decision roster-wise, so we’re just taking it day by day,” he said.
“It’s not something we’ve even discussed at this point,” Kerr said of a contingency plan for Durant. “Because we feel good that he’s going to be OK. It’s just day to day.”
Durant, 35, has won three gold medals and is one of the greats in U.S. Olympic basketball history.
He leads Americans all-time in points (435), points per game (19.8), field goals (146), 3-point field goals (74) and free throws (69). He also ranks third in rebounds (118) and blocks (16) and fourth in games played (24) and assists (71).
In the past three Olympics, he has led the tournament in points averaged per game: 20.7 (2020, Tokyo), 19.5 (2012, London) and 19.4 (2016, Rio de Janeiro).
WNBA NEWS
DEARICA HAMBY SCORES 27 TO HELP SPARKS HOLD OFF WINGS
Dearica Hamby racked up 27 points, including two late layups, that helped the visiting Los Angeles Sparks hold off the Dallas Wings 87-81 on Saturday afternoon in Arlington, Texas, in a contest between the bottom two teams in the WNBA Western Conference standings.
The Sparks (6-17) led by 11 points midway through the third quarter before Dallas rallied to carry a two-point lead into the fourth. Down 72-69, Los Angeles took charge with an 11-1 run capped by Hamby’s drive and layup with 3:19 to play.
The Wings cut the deficit to 80-77 on a basket by Kalani Brown and two free throws by Arike Ogunbowale. Hamby went to basket again for a layup with 1 minute to play, and Los Angeles held on for the win.
Rickea Jackson added 23 points, Azura Stevens scored 16 and Aari McDonald had 12 for the Sparks, who snapped a two-game losing streak.
Odyssey Sims led Dallas (5-19) with 23 points, with Natasha Howard scoring 14, Brown tallying 13, Ogunbowale contributing 12 and Teaira McCowan hitting for 10. The Wings have dropped three straight and six of their past seven games.
Dallas controlled things early in the opening period, taking an 18-11 lead after Jacy Sheldon’s running layup at the 3:08 mark. The Sparks answered by scoring the final 11 points of the period in a run capped by Jackson’s layup with 13 seconds remaining to go up 22-18.
Los Angeles stretched its advantage to eight points when Hamby scored on a layup with 8:46 to play in the second quarter. The Wings rallied to move back in front at 42-41 as Howard canned a pair of free throws and then a layup, the latter with 57 seconds to play before halftime. Los Angeles led 45-44 at the break.
Hamby led all scorers with 17 points in the first half, while Jackson had 12 for the Sparks. Ogunbowale and Howard had 10 points apiece to pace Dallas.
Los Angeles ran its lead to 59-48 when Jackson hit a pair of free throws with 5:40 left in the third quarter. The Wings swung back, tying the game at 59 on Sheldon’s bucket with 1:56 remaining before taking a 63-61 lead into the final period.
STORM HAMMER LYNX, AVERT SEASON SWEEP
Nneka Ogwumike tied her season high with 26 points on 10-for-14 shooting Friday night, giving the host Seattle Storm a dominating 91-63 victory over the Minnesota Lynx.
Ogwumike responded in a big way after scoring only nine points, a season low, on Wednesday against the visiting Las Vegas Aces.
Skylar Diggins-Smith had 10 points and 12 assists. Jewell Loyd added 14 points, and Ezi Magbegor chipped in 10 points with eight rebounds for Seattle (15-8), which was playing its eighth straight home game.
With Napheesa Collier out with injury for Minnesota (16-7), Kayla McBride led the way with 27 points. No other player scored more than seven. Dorka Juhasz, Collier’s replacement, scored four points and grabbed seven rebounds.
Seattle carried a 13-point lead into the second half, but McBride got Minnesota going in the third quarter. She scored 11 of the Lynx’s first 15 points of the half, the last nine on a trio of 3-pointers. The Storm’s lead was down to 10 points with about five remaining in the period.
The Storm took a timeout to regroup and went on a seven-point run, slowing down any Minnesota momentum. It was a trend on the night for Seattle.
Minnesota started the night strong, jumping ahead 9-2 lead and forcing three turnovers in the first two minutes.
However, Seattle scoring 32 of the next 45 points. The led 34-22 after Ogwumike’s jumper with 7:42 left in the second quarter. The Lynx didn’t score for the first 5:02 of the quarter and trailed by as many as 18 before halftime. Ogwumike scored 12 straight points in the burst.
Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve played the fourth quarter without McBride. Seattle capitalized further, scoring the first nine points of the period behind three straight treys by Sami Whitcomb.
The Storm averted a season sweep, having lost to the Lynx three times. Seattle also won by at least 20 points for the fourth time this season.