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Clippers vow to take better care of the basketball after Game 1 loss to Nuggets

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Clippers vow to take better care of the basketball after Game 1 loss to Nuggets

A day later, the Clippers didn’t hide from the primary cause of their demise in Game 1 of their Western Conference playoff series against the Denver Nuggets.

Twenty turnovers doomed the Clippers and put them in a 0-1 hole in the best-of-seven series Saturday. Four turnovers in the extra five minutes during overtime left the Clippers proclaiming they must do a better job taking care of the basketball in Game 2 on Monday night at Ball Arena.

“It’s a little frustrating, just because it’s self-inflicted and it’s that we have been really good at this the last few weeks,” Clippers guard James Harden said late Saturday night after Game 1. “But [we’re] even-keeled, you know what I mean? Come back in Game 2 ready to go even better.”

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said they watched film and his staff showed the group how some of the turnovers transpired. Lue said 11 of their turnovers were “unforced errors that were “uncharacteristic” of his team.

Kawhi Leonard had seven turnovers, including one with 33.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the Clippers ahead 96-95 and another during overtime.

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It was the turnovers in the overtime that spelled the difference.

Norman Powell turned the ball over with 3:36 left and the score tied at 100.

Harden turned the ball over with 2:08 left and the Clippers down 105-102.

Leonard turned the ball over with 49.3 seconds left and the Clippers down 108-104.

Nicolas Batum gave up his turnover after he took the ball out of bounds and had his pass intended for Harden tipped by Russell Westbrook off Harden’s hand with 9.1 seconds left and the Clippers down 110-107.

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“The biggest thing for us was our turnovers and it was the careless turnovers,” Lue said Sunday. “Like, Denver is playing, they are blitzing, they are aggressive, their physicality — so you are going to have 10 turnovers because of that. But you can’t have 20, especially on the road. So a lot of those turnovers were careless. We just got to do a better job of cleaning that up.”

The players owned their mistakes and vowed to be better in the second game.

“There’s not much to say,” Clippers center Ivica Zubac said Sunday. “We all know where we made mistakes. There was a lot of unforced turnovers. I mean, a lot of them were forced by them. They played really well after that first quarter. So, we all know we got to be better. We can’t turn the ball over that much, so there’s not much we can say to each other. We all know what’s at stake. We all know where we messed up, so I’m sure everyone will be better next game.”

Another problem for the Clippers was the Nuggets’ offensive rebounding — especially in the overtime.

The Nuggets had four offensive rebounds during the extra period, two apiece by Aaron Gordon and Westbrook.

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The Nuggets had 12 offensive rebounds during the game, five by Gordon and four by Westbrook.

Mentally, Lue said, his group is still in a good space. They have room for improvement and they have seen the error of their ways and how they can clean up those issues.

“Yesterday is behind us already,” Lue said. “We got to move on. It was one game and we got to be better in the second game if we want to go home with the series tied up at 1-1 and we understand that. So, just being better all around the board. We know we can do some things better defensively. Offensively, we have the blueprint and we just have to execute it time and time again.”

Harden’s foul problems

To a degree, Lue said, Harden was affected by his foul trouble.

Harden played 42:48. He scored 32 points and was 11 for 22 from the field, four for nine from three-point range and six for six from the free-throw line. He had seven points in the overtime, making all three of his shots.

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But Harden finished the game with five fouls, picking up two in the first quarter, three by halftime and four by the middle of the third quarter.

Harden, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound point guard, was assigned to defend 6-foot-8, 235-pound power forward Gordon, and Lue thinks that may have been part of the reason for all the fouls.

“You could see a few possessions where he wasn’t as aggressive,” Lue said. “He kind of opened the door, opened the gate a little bit not wanting to get that foul. But we needed him on the floor. So, when he’s down under the basket wrestling with Gordon the whole game, that’s going to happen. We just got to be smart about it. Maybe mix those matchups a little bit more so he’s not on him for the whole game. But I thought he got a lot of them just trying to wrestle around with Gordon and Joker [Nikola Jokic] down on the block.”

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‘Demon’ Finn Balor settles score with Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 42

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‘Demon’ Finn Balor settles score with Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 42

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Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio were once brothers in arms in the Judgment Day. The two helped the faction run “Monday Night Raw” for several years.

As championships and opportunities came and went, the rift between Balor and Mysterio grew. It came to a head when Balor caused Mysterio to lose the Intercontinental Championship to Penta. Balor leaving the Judgment Day left Mysterio and Liv Morgan as the leaders with JD McDonagh, Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez sticking around.

Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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The latter four chose to ride with Mysterio and attacked Balor on one episode of Raw.

The bitter war led to a match Sunday night at WrestleMania 42. To make matters more interesting, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce made the match a street fight hours before the show was set to begin.

Balor had vowed to bring the “Demon” out and he certainly did.

JACOB FATU PUTS DREW MCINTYRE IN THE ‘REAR VIEW’ IN UNSANCTIONED MATCH AT WRESTLEMANIA 42

Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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Balor made his way to the ring in his “Demon” gear, dripping with red and black paint. Mysterio was in a mask with other Mysterio supporters.

The two then proceeded to beat the crud out of each other.

Mysterio wrapped Balor’s head in between a chair and hit a 619 on him. He tried to pin Balor, but to no avail. At another point, Mysterio tossed Balor through a table set up in the corner.

As many have learned, it’s hard to keep your demons down. Mysterio learned the hard way.

Balor would not give up. Balor clotheslined Mysterio, hit him with a chair multiple times before wrapping his head in between the chair and drop-kicking him into the corner. Balor put Mysterio onto a table and hit the Coup de Grâce for the win.

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Dominik Mysterio is introduced before his match against Finn Balor during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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Balor excised his own demons, while Mysterio is still haunted.

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Ryan Ward has a solid debut, but bullpen blows it again as Dodgers lose to Rockies

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Ryan Ward has a solid debut, but bullpen blows it again as Dodgers lose to Rockies

What do you know? The once-stampeding Dodgers have been caged by the Colorado Rockies.

With a 9-6 loss Sunday at Coors Field, the two-time defending World Series champions lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Dodgers again couldn’t hold a lead, letting the Rockies tee off for 15 hits.

Nor could the Dodgers keep up offensively at the hitter-friendly park — though they put some pressure on in the ninth inning, when Shohei Ohtani led off with a ground-rule double and the Dodgers scored twice to cut the lead to three runs. Then the new guy, Ryan Ward, made the final out in his big league debut, robbed of a hit and a chance to keep chipping away by a diving Troy Johnston in right field.

Before that, the Rockies — who beat the Dodgers twice in 13 meetings all of last season — chased starter Roki Sasaki from the game in the fifth inning and then ruffled the Dodgers’ relievers. That included closer Edwin Díaz, who came on in the eighth and promptly gave up three singles, a walk and two runs before being pulled with the Dodgers trailing 8-4.

Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki gave up three runs on seven hits in 4-2/3 innings Sunday against the Rockies in Denver.

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(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)

He and Blake Treinen combined to face eight batters without getting an out.

“They both weren’t sharp,” said manager Dave Roberts, who had theories but not many answers — though he did have real concern, especially about Díaz, who recently had his right knee checked out by the medical staff.

Roberts said the closer wanted to pitch after nine days off, even though it wasn’t a save situation. But his velocity was slightly down (95.4 mph vs. 95.8) and so, “today was a tough evaluation,” the manager said.

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“It really was,” Roberts said. “Because, you know, I know what it’s supposed to look like, and when it doesn’t look like that, it gets a little concerning, really.”

And losing for the second time to the Rockies, who are now 9-13? Being in danger of losing their four-game series, after arriving in Denver without having lost to a National League opponent, against a club that hasn’t made the postseason since 2018?

It’s well below the bar the Dodgers have set, and it added a bitter note to Ward’s otherwise sweet debut.

Ward punched a big league clock for the first time wearing No. 67 and cranked his first hit off Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen in the fourth inning, lining a changeup to right field for a single that scored Andy Pages, made it 3-0 and got the 20-some members of Ward’s party up, jumping in place, hugging and high-fiving.

“When I was on first base, I got to see them all jumping around up there,” Ward said. “That was a pretty special moment.”

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He also singled in the sixth and swung on the first pitch in his first at-bat, a fly out in the third inning.

The Dodgers gave Sasaki a 2-0 lead in the third. Alex Freeland drove in Hyeseong Kim, and Shohei Ohtani doubled in Freeland — and extended his career-best on-base streak to 51 games, moving past Willie Keeler into third place in Dodgers history.

Sasaki went 4-2/3 innings, threw 78 pitches and gave up three runs on seven hits, striking out two and walking two. His ERA after his fourth start: 6.11, worst in the six-man rotation.

The Dodgers fell behind 6-5 in the seventh when Treinen — who was cleared Friday after he was struck in the head by a batted ball during batting practice — gave up four consecutive hits, including a two-run home run by Mickey Moniak.

The result likely will be a minor detail when Ward tells the story years from now about getting the call after first baseman Freddie Freeman was placed on the paternity list.

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The Dodgers’ No. 19 prospect and reigning Pacific Coast League MVP spent the last seven years in the minors. Last season, he hit 36 home runs and drove in 122 runs with a .937 on-base-plus-slugging percentage for triple-A Oklahoma City, and he has a 1.020 OPS and four homers this year.

Ward made it a point to improve his chase rate, draw more walks and get on base more frequently, everything the Dodgers asked of him. He also passed the broadest patience test.

“The plate discipline, being a better hitter … he’s done all that,” Roberts said. “He’s improved his defense. But honestly, for me, just not to let his lack of opportunity in the big leagues deter him. That’s easy when you get frustrated and let it affect performance, and he hasn’t done that.”

If anything, Ward said, the waiting made him better.

“I used it to keep going. ‘OK, if I’m not there yet, what do I have to do to get there?’” he said. “‘What part of my game do I need to work on to keep getting better?’

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“I used it as fire to keep working.”

That will be the Dodgers’ assignment too.

In the finale of the four-game series Monday, the Dodgers are expected to start left-hander Justin Wrobleski (2-0, 2.12) against Colorado left-hander Jose Quintana (0-1, 5.63).

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ESPN’s Stephen A Smith hears boos from WrestleMania 42 crowd

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ESPN’s Stephen A Smith hears boos from WrestleMania 42 crowd

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Danhausen’s curse may be real after all – just ask Stephen A. Smith and the New York Mets.

While the latter dropped their 10th game in a row, Smith got his share of the curse on Saturday night during Night 1 of WrestleMania 42. Smith was in attendance for WWE’s premier event of the year and heard massive boos from the crowd.

Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)

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Smith was sitting ringside to watch the action. The ESPN star appeared on the videoboard above the ring at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. He appeared to embrace the reaction and smiled through it.

The boos came after Danhausen appeared on “First Take” on Friday – much to the chagrin of the sports pundit. Smith appeared perplexed by Danhausen’s appearance. Smith said he heard about Danhausen and called him a “bad luck charm.”

Danhausen said Smith had been “rude” to him and put the dreaded “curse” on the commentator.

WWE STAR DANHAUSEN SAYS METS ‘CURSE’ ISN’T EXACTLY LIFTED AS TEAM DROPS NINTH STRAIGHT GAME

Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)

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Smith is far from the only one dealing with the effects of the “curse.”

Danhausen agreed to “un-curse” the Mets during their losing streak. However, he told Fox News Digital earlier this week that there was a reason why the curse’s removal didn’t take full effect.

“I did un-curse the Mets. But it didn’t work because, I believe it was Brian Gewirtz who did not pay Danhausen. He did not send me my money so it did not take full effect,” Danhausen said. “Once I have the money, perhaps it will actually work because right now it’s probably about a half of an un-cursing. It’s like a layaway situation.”

Danhausen enters the arena before his match against Kit Wilson during SmackDown at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on April 10, 2026. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

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On “Friday Night SmackDown,” WWE stars like The Miz and Kit Wilson were also targets of Danhausen’s curse.

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