About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 20, 2018)
2B Tuesday, November 20, 2018 ★ The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com SPORTS NBA | Clippers 121\ Hawks 119 Atlanta falls to LA at home BY GEORGE HENRY Associated Press ATLANTA — Montrezl Harrell had 25 points and 11 rebounds, Lou Williams added 16 points and a season-high 11 assists, and the Los Angeles Clippers rallied past the struggling Atlanta Hawks 127-119 on Mon day night to win their fifth straight game. Tobias Harris scored 24 points and Mike Scott had a season-high 18 on six 3-point- ers for the Clippers, who erased a 15-point deficit in the second half for the second con secutive game. The Clippers, playing without second- leading scorer Danilo Gallinari, improved to 11-5. At this point last season after win ning in Atlanta they were 5-11. Trae Young scored 19 of his 25 points in the first half, and Taurean Prince had 21 points for the rebuilding Hawks, who dropped to 3-14 and have lost eight in a row. Los Angeles trailed 87-72 in the third quarter, but went on a 20-4 run to take a 97-96 lead early in the fourth. Young lost the ball on the Atlanta end, and Williams whipped a pass across the baseline to Scott for a 3 that prompted the Hawks to call a timeout. Atlanta quickly regrouped, taking the lead back when Prince, who missed the previous two games with an Achilles injury, dunked on the ensuing possession. A 3-pointer by Alex Len put the Hawks up by five. It was all Los Angeles from there. Scott hit a 3 off an assist from Williams to give the Clippers the lead for good with 4:08 remaining. Williams fed Harrell for a strong reverse layup and a three-point play, and Harrell followed by knocking away Young’s pass before Scott hit another 3 to make it 117-110. Gallinari was sick and unable to play for the first time this season. Avery Bradley started in his spot after missing the last six games with a left ankle sprain, finishing with five points in 20 minutes. The Clippers have won seven of eight. Atlanta has dropped 12 of 13. Harris scored 12 points in the first period, but the Hawks were ahead by five entering the second. Young gave Atlanta its biggest lead at eight with a fast-break layup. Los Angeles went on a 15-3 run to take a 50-44 lead on Patrick Beverley’s fast-break layup before the Hawks’ 14-3 run put them up by seven on DeAndre’ Bembry’s free throws. Harris ended the first half with a long 3 that made it 64-61. SCORES ■ Continued from 1B Chestatee in the Tiger Tipoff Classic in Dawsonville Monday. Kaylee Sticker, Sophia D’Oliveira and Maddie Anglin each had 10 points on the board for the Tigers (2-0) who outscored the War Eagles 38-15 in the second half for the win. Dawson girls look to claim the championship title at home against South Forsyth tonight. RIVERSIDE BOYS 66, EAST JACKSON 54: Isaac Teasley and Areed Ahmad led Riverside with 18 points each in a win over East Jackson in the East Jackson Tipoff Classic. Also for the Eagles (2-1), Orlando Ste vens drove in 13 points while Khalid Duke and Shad Dab ney both had eight. Riverside plays Oconee County at 8:30 p.m. tonight. High school scores can be reported each night by 10:30 p.m. by calling 770- 718-3415 or email sports@ gainesvilletimes.com. Compiled by Diana Lewis NORTH ■ Continued from 1B The Lady Trojans will continue round-robin play Tuesday, when they face Gainesville for a 1 p.m. tip at White County High in Cleveland. WINDER BARROW BOYS 68, NORTH HALL 57: Brock Cooper scored a team-high 13 points for a Trojans squad that was miss ing many of its key pieces in a loss Monday. With eight rostered players also on North Hall’s football team, and little leeway since last Fri day night’s playoff loss, boys coach Tyler Sanders elected to hold off bringing on those players until after Thanksgiving. Ryland Collins (nine points), Ty Smith (eight points) and Josh Cook (seven points) were others to pro duce for the Trojans (0-1), who trailed Winder-Barrow 36-20 at the half and couldn’t recover. The Bulldoggs had three scorers in double figures. Brandon Barnis led the charge with 20 points, fol lowed by Tyreek Perkins with 12 points and Jay Jack- son with 10. SCOREBOARD Football/NFL AMERICAN CONFERENCE East W L T Pet PF PA New England 7 3 0 .700 280 236 Miami 5 5 0 .500 199 256 Buffalo 3 7 0 .300 137 251 N.Y Jets 3 7 0 South .300 208 254 W L T Pet PF PA Houston 7 3 0 .700 239 205 Indianapolis 5 5 0 .500 298 249 Tennessee 5 5 0 .500 178 189 Jacksonville 3 7 0 North .300 176 219 W L T Pet PF PA Pittsburgh 7 2 1 .750 299 225 Baltimore 5 5 0 .500 237 181 Cincinnati 5 5 0 .500 256 312 Cleveland 3 6 1 West .350 218 263 W L T Pet PF PA Kansas City 9 1 0 .900 353 240 L.A. Chargers 7 3 0 .700 262 209 Denver 4 6 0 .400 228 235 Oakland 2 8 0 .200 170 293 NATIONAL CONFERENCE W East L T Pet PF PA Washington 6 4 0 .600 197 198 Dallas 5 5 0 .500 203 190 Philadelphia 4 6 0 .400 205 231 N.Y. Giants 3 7 0 .300 215 263 W South L T Pet PF PA New Orleans 9 1 0 .900 378 239 Carolina 6 4 0 .600 260 252 Atlanta 4 6 0 .400 263 276 Tampa Bay 3 7 0 .300 267 329 W North L T Pet PF PA Chicago 7 3 0 .700 294 195 Minnesota 5 4 1 .550 241 229 Green Bay 4 5 1 .450 247 243 Detroit 4 6 0 .400 222 263 W West L T Pet PF PA L.A. Rams 9 1 0 .900 335 231 Seattle 5 5 0 .500 246 216 Arizona 2 8 0 .200 145 248 San Francisco 2 8 0 .200 230 266 Thursday’s Game Seattle 27, Green Bay 24 Sunday’s Games Dallas 22, Atlanta 19 Indianapolis 38, Tennessee 10 Detroit 20, Carolina 19 N.Y. Giants 38, Tampa Bay 35 Baltimore 24, Cincinnati 21 Houston 23, Washington 21 Pittsburgh 20, Jacksonville 16 Oakland 23, Arizona 21 Denver 23, L.A. Chargers 22 New Orleans 48, Philadelphia 7 Chicago 25, Minnesota 20 Open: Buffalo, San Francisco, Miami, New England, Cleveland, N.Y. Jets Monday’s Game Kansas City at L.A. Rams, Late Thursday, Nov. 22 Chicago at Detroit, 12:30 p.m. Washington at Dallas, 4:30 p.m. Atlanta at New Orleans, 8:20 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 25 Seattle at Carolina, 1 p.m. New England at N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m. Jacksonville at Buffalo, 1 p.m. San Francisco at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. Oakland at Baltimore, 1 p.m. N.Y. Giants at Philadelphia, 1 p.m. Cleveland at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. Arizona at L.A. Chargers, 4:05 p.m. Pittsburgh at Denver, 4:25 p.m. Miami at Indianapolis, 4:25 p.m. Green Bay at Minnesota, 8:20 p.m. Open: L.A. Rams, Kansas City Monday, Nov. 26 Tennessee at Houston, 8:15 p.m. Basketball/NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L Pet GB Toronto 13 4 .765 — Philadelphia 11 7 .611 2 1 /2 Boston 9 7 .563 3 1 /2 Brooklyn 7 10 .412 6 New York 4 13 .235 9 Southeast Division W L Pet GB Orlando 9 8 .529 — Charlotte 7 8 .467 1 Miami 6 10 .375 2 1 /2 Washington 5 11 .313 3 1 /2 Atlanta 3 13 .188 Central Division 5 1 /2 W L Pet GB Milwaukee 11 4 .733 — Indiana 10 6 .625 1 1 /2 Detroit 7 6 .538 3 Chicago 4 13 .235 8 Cleveland 2 12 .143 8 1 /2 WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Division W L Pet GB Memphis 10 5 .667 — New Orleans 9 7 .563 1 1 / 2 San Antonio 8 7 .533 2 Houston 8 7 .533 2 Dallas 7 8 .467 3 Northwest Division W L Pet GB Portland 11 5 .688 — Oklahoma City 10 5 .667 1 /2 Denver 10 6 .625 1 Utah 8 8 .500 3 Minnesota 7 10 .412 4 1 /2 Pacific Division W L Pet GB Golden State 12 6 .667 — L.A. Clippers 10 5 .667 1 /2 L.A. Lakers 9 7 .563 2 Sacramento 8 8 .500 3 Phoenix 3 12 .200 7Vz Hockey/NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division GP W L 0T Pts GF GA Tampa Bay 20 14 5 1 29 74 58 Toronto 20 14 6 0 28 70 51 Buffalo 20 12 6 2 26 60 56 Montreal 20 11 6 3 25 66 65 Boston 20 11 6 3 25 58 49 Ottawa 20 9 8 3 21 70 81 Detroit 20 9 9 2 20 57 65 Florida 17 7 7 3 17 54 57 Metropolitan Division GP W L 0T Pts GF GA Columbus 20 12 6 2 26 69 63 N.Y. Islanders 19 10 7 2 22 63 55 N.Y. Rangers 20 10 8 2 22 61 64 Washington 19 9 7 3 21 63 63 Carolina 20 9 8 3 21 53 59 Philadelphia 20 9 9 2 20 63 71 New Jersey 19 8 9 2 18 55 61 Pittsburgh 18 7 8 3 17 60 61 WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division GP W L 0T Pts GF GA Nashville 20 14 5 1 29 67 47 Minnesota 21 12 7 2 26 65 57 Winnipeg 18 11 5 2 24 55 45 Dallas 20 11 7 2 24 58 52 Colorado 20 10 6 4 24 71 59 Chicago 21 8 8 5 21 56 70 St. Louis 18 7 8 3 17 56 57 Pacific Division GP W L 0T Pts GF GA San Jose 21 11 7 3 25 68 64 Calgary 20 11 8 1 23 62 61 Vancouver 22 10 102 22 67 78 Anaheim 22 8 9 5 21 48 65 Arizona 19 9 9 1 19 49 48 Edmonton 20 9 101 19 57 66 Vegas 21 9 11 1 19 56 61 Los Angeles 19 6 121 13 39 61 Basketball/College Men’s AP Top 25 Record Pts Prv 1. Duke (53) 3-0 1564 1 2. Kansas (7) 3-0 1510 2 3. Gonzaga 3-0 1437 3 4. Virginia (2) 3-0 1299 4 5. Tennessee (1) 3-0 1281 5 6. Nevada 3-0 1253 6 7. North Carolina 4-0 1246 7 8. Auburn 3-0 1123 9 9. Michigan 5-0 1021 18 10. Kentucky 3-1 980 10 11. Michigan St. 3-1 937 11 12. Kansas St 4-0 889 12 13. Virginia Tech 4-0 849 16 14. Florida St. 2-0 794 14 15. Mississippi St. 3-0 619 17 16. Clemson 3-0 462 19 17. UCLA 3-0 430 20 18. TCU 3-0 388 21 19. LSU 4-0 358 22 20. Iowa 4-0 354 21. Oregon 3-1 325 13 22. Buffalo 3-0 240 25 23. Ohio St. 4-0 222 24. Purdue 4-1 199 23 25. Wisconsin 3-0 150 Others receiving votes: Nebraska 98, Indiana 74, Maryland 56, Villanova 53, Furman 50, Syracuse 29, Washington 29, Texas 23, West Virginia 18, Miami 18, Butler 18, St. John’s 13, Iowa St. 11, Texas Tech 8, Florida 7, Marquette 7, Saint Louis 6, Arizona St 4, Vanderbilt 4, Notre Dame 4, Marshall 4, UConn 3, Loyola of Chicago 2, Temple 2, Loyola Marymount 2, Davidson 1, Arkansas 1. Women’s AP Top 25 Record Pts Prv 1. Notre Dame (31) 3-0 775 1 2. UConn 2-0 736 2 3. Oregon 4-0 705 3 4. Baylor 4-0 677 4 5. Louisville 2-0 656 5 6. Mississippi St. 4-0 604 6 7. Maryland 4-0 563 9 8. Stanford 3-0 562 7 9. Oregon St. 3-0 537 8 10. Texas 3-0 490 11 11.Tennessee 3-0 469 12 12. Iowa 4-0 435 13 13. South Carolina 2-1 365 10 14. Syracuse 3-1 357 18 15. NC State 4-0 355 17 16. DePaul 1-1 279 15 17. South Florida 4-0 243 21 18. California 4-0 219 23 19. Arizona St. 2-1 165 22 20. Texas A&M 2-1 143 20 21. Missouri 2-1 135 16 22. Marquette 3-1 120 19 23. Minnesota 3-0 116 25 24. Miami 4-1 95 24 25. West Virginia 3-0 70 Others receiving votes: Iowa St. 64, Georgia 48, Northwestern 46, Drake 12, UCLA 8, Boise St. 6, Virginia Tech 5, Michigan 5, TCU 3, Green Bay 2, Southern Cal 2, Duke 1, Georgia Tech 1, South Dakota St. 1. Transactions BASEBALL COMMISSIONER’S OFFICE — Suspended Toronto OF Griffin Conine (Vancouver-NWL) 50 games and N.Y. Yankee RHP Daniel Marten (Yankees East-GCL) 25 games for violating the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. American League DETROIT TIGERS — Selected the contract of RHP Franklin Perez from Lakeland (FSL). NEW YORK YANKEES — Acquired LHP James Paxton from Seattle for LHP Justus Sheffield, RHP Erik Swanson and OF Dorn Thompson- Williams. TAMPA BAY RAYS — Traded RHP Chih-Wei Hu to Cleveland INF Gionti Turner. TODAY ON TV FOOTBALL BASKETBALL ■ Northern Illinois at Western Michigan, 7 p.m., ESPNU ■ Colorado at San Diego, 10 p.m., ESPNU ■ Washington vs. Texas A&M, 11:30 p.m., EPSN2 SOCCER HOCKEY ■ International friendly: Italy vs. USA, 2:30 p.m., FS1 ■ NHL: Edmonton Oilers at San Jose Sharks, 10:30 p.m., NBCSN NFL MARK TENALLYI Associated Press Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson warms up prior to a game against the Washington Redskins on Sunday in Landover, Md. Texans heating up Gainesville grad Watson has led Houston to seven straight victories and AFC South lead BY KRISTIE RIEKEN Associated Press HOUSTON — The Texans became the first team since 1925 to win seven straight after starting 0-3 with a victory over Washington on Sunday. Gainesville grad Deshaun Waton has led the way for Hous ton, completing more than 68 percent of his passes over that span and throwing 12 touchdowns to just four interceptions. The team goes for a franchise record for consecutive wins when they host AFC South rival Tennessee next Monday night. Despite their streak, they know that they have plenty more work to do to get to where they want to be. “We’ve done a great job of digging our selves out of a hole, but we don’t want to be known for a record that was set in 1925,” coach Bill O’Brien said. “My point is we haven’t done anything. We’ve got a very, very difficult opponent coming in here on Monday night that beat us earlier in the season. We’ve got to get back to work because in the end, what have you done?” Houston’s 23-21 win over the Redskins on Sunday was its second straight win by two points after the team beat the Denver Broncos 19-17 on Nov. 4 before its bye week. The Texans did some good things in Sunday’s win, but also committed three turnovers to underscore O’Brien’s point they need to continue to improve if they hope to con tinue winning. O’Brien likes to remind his team of the competitive balance in the NFL and how close many of Houston’s games have been this season. “It’s been a slim margin,” he said. “I think guys have improved in their individ ual play, I think that we make more plays now in critical moments than we made ear lier in the season, I think we’re coaching better, but I think ... our guys understand (that) if we don’t continue to work, put the time in, understand the detail of each play, the situation that we’re in, then we’re going to be back where we were. ” Houston has been able to pile up so many wins in part because so many play ers have made big plays. Sure, stars like Watson, J.J. Watt, DeAndre Hopkins and Jadeveon Clowney have had their share of important plays over the last seven games. But the Texans have also gotten key contri butions from their lesser knowns. On Sunday that player was third-round pick Justin Reid, who returned an inter ception 101 yards for a touchdown. It was the second-longest interception return for a touchdown in Texans history and longest since a 102-yarder in 2004. The play also tied for the second-longest interception return for a touchdown by a rookie in NFL history, trailing a 103-yarder by Pete Bar- numin 1926. Watson loves that so many different players have been contributing during the streak. “It’s top-notch,” the quarter back said. “Somebody is going to step up and make a play. It’s what got us to seven wins in a row, so it’s pretty incredible.” Reid’s long return was the talk of the stadium on Monday. “I haven’t been around too many pick-6s for 101 yards or whatever it was, but they’re excit ing plays,” O’Brien said. “You can tell right away that it’s going to go because you can see it kind of open up and it’s com ing toward you. That’s a pretty cool feeling if you’re the coach of that team.” Along with looking for ways to limit their mistakes and improve this week, the Texans will try to give receiver Demary- ius Thomas a bigger role. Sunday was the veteran’s second game with Houston after being traded from Denver on Oct. 30. Thomas had three receptions for 61 yards in his debut, but didn’t have a catch on two targets Sunday. “He did some good things,” O’Brien said. “He ran some good routes. The ball just didn’t go his way. We’ll continue to work with him. I think he’s a great teammate, he understands, he just wants to win, but I think we need to work at really getting him more involved in the offense. No doubt about it.” O’Brien Falcons hope for offensive improvements vs. Saints BY CHARLES ODUM Associated Press Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons can’t afford to lean on Matt Bry ant’s powerful right leg this week. Field goals won’t be enough to keep pace against the high-scoring New Orleans Saints on Thursday night. Bryant’s four field goals provided all of Atlanta’s scoring until Julio Jones caught a 34-yard touch down pass from Ryan with less than two minutes remaining against Dallas on Sunday. That touch down tied the game before the Cowboys won 22-19 on Brett Maher’s 42-yard field goal as time expired. The Saints (9-1) have won nine straight. They led the NFL with their aver age of 37.8 points per game through Sunday’s games. “Field goals against them isn’t going to cut it the way they’re putting points up,” coach Dan Quinn said Monday. The Falcons (4-6) already have lost one shoot out against the Saints, 43-37 in overtime on Sept. 23. “When we get our chances, we have to con vert,” Ryan said Monday. “We’ve been doing a good job of that for the most part of the year. ... We’ve got to be aggressive with our plays when we get our chances.” Quinn said the Falcons can win a high-scoring game, even against the Saints. Falcons at Saints When: Thursday, 8:20 p.m. TV: NBC “We are. We’re equipped,” Quinn said. “Certainly when you’re going against another team that’s high scoring, it was no surprise to see that in the first game, either.” Jones has touchdown catches in three straight games, but the Falcons are in a scoring slump. They rank ninth in the league with their average of 26.3 points, but they’ve been held below 20 points in four games this season, including back-to-back losses to the Cowboys and Cleveland. GEORGIA ■ Continued from 1B Tua Tagovailoa launched a 41-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith on second- and-26. Since the only loss this season, a 36-16 blowout at LSU, Georgia has won four straight games by double digit margins, including impressive wins over rivals Florida and Auburn as well as an SEC East-clinching victory at Kentucky . This past Saturday, in what amounted to little more than a glorified scrim mage, the Bulldogs piled up 701 yards — the second- highest total in school his tory — in a 66-27 rout of UMass. While Georgia opened as a 17-point favorite over the Yellow Jackets, this will surely be a much more challenging game. Geor gia Tech (7-4) also has a four-game winning streak and is coming off a thrill ing 30-27 overtime victory over Virginia that clinched a winning season, quite a turnaround after a 1-3 start. Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart called the Jackets “arguably one of the hot test teams in the country as far as what they’re doing offensively. They’ve put four really good games together back to back, scor ing a lot of points.” As is always the case for any team preparing to face Georgia Tech, there is plenty of attention on coach Paul Johnson’s tri ple-option offense. The Yel low Jackets lead the nation in rushing yards.
