Clippers coach Tyronn Lue (back pain) misses game vs. Kings
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue missed his team’s game against the Sacramento Kings because of back pain.
Lue attended his pre-game session with media on Sunday night and gave no indication he was having any issue. The team provided no further details on the 47-year-old’s condition.
He was replaced on the bench by assistant Brian Shaw. He has been with the Clippers since 2021. Shaw previously was head coach of the Denver Nuggets and served as an assistant twice with the Lakers, where he won three NBA championships as a player.
NEW YORK — The NBA fined Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam $25,000 on Sunday for how he confronted and used profane language to game officials.
NBA head of basketball operations Joe Dumars announced the fine Sunday night for the incident Saturday in Indiana’s 120-118 loss to Atlanta.
Siakam confronted game officials after the game. With the Pacers trailing 119-116 and needing a 3 to force overtime, Siakam instead dunked with a second left on the clock in the loss. Siakam said after the game he didn’t think and called it a stupid play.
“We got to get a 3 off at that point, so probably my bad,” Siakam said.
Indiana ranks fifth in the Eastern Conference.
SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry became the 26th player in NBA history to score 25,000 career points, reaching the milestone during the third quarter of the Golden State Warriors’ 115-110 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night.
“BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!” Curry yelled while running through the hallway to the locker room after a quick return to the court postgame.
And that was a tribute to teammate Draymond Green, who loves to yell “boom” after making a 3-pointer. Green, who hit the go-ahead 3 with 35 seconds left, secured the game ball for Curry.
“He’s going to keep it for me. I heard he has a little bit of KD’s memorabilia,” Curry said about former teammate Kevin Durant.
Curry, who turns 37 next Friday, surpassed 25,000 with a 3-pointer at 8:32 of the third quarter, then received a warm ovation when he was recognized during a timeout with 5:42 to go.
He finished with 32 points — pushing his total to 25,017 — on 8-for-22 shooting and converted all 12 of his free throws as the Warriors moved to 11-1 with Jimmy Butler in the lineup this season.
Curry, who hit the mark in his 1,011th game, said he wasn’t keeping track of his totals.
“It was a surprise, actually. I knew I was coming up on it but I didn’t think about it until I heard it in game,” he said. “There’s a list, [broadcaster] Tim Roye told me after the game only 10 guys I think or now 10 guys that have done it with one franchise, so that’s pretty special. And the names that are on that list are synonymous with basketball history, so that’s pretty cool.”
His next remarkable task is becoming the first NBA player to make 4,000 3-pointers. Curry made four Saturday and needs seven more.
“It’s crazy, crazy,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “It feels like 25,000 3s, actually. It’s dynamite. Just night after night, and tonight was obviously not a great shooting night for him. But I loved that he played through fatigue and a physical defense and got to the line 12 times. He was brilliant on a night when his shot really wasn’t there, he was still brilliant. That’s the mark of a great player.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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LA Clippers Coach Leaves Game vs Kings Due to Injury
The LA Clippers are hosting the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night for a huge Pacific Division matchup with significant playoff implications on the line. The Clippers are 34-29 in eighth place, while the Kings are 33-29 in ninth place and only half of a game separates the two talented teams.
Unfortunately for the Clippers, they will have to play Sunday’s game without head coach Ty Lue on the sideline.
Lue reportedly left Sunday’s game due to back pain. Assistant Brian Shaw will be acting head coach for the game in Lue’s absence, but it is certainly a rare scenario to see a coach leave a game due to injury.
Lue is in his fifth season as the Clippers head coach, but this will be the first game he has had to miss since being hired. The 47-year-old coach has led the Clippers to 40+ wins in each of his four complete seasons with three playoff appearances, including two first-round exits and one Western Conference Finals run.
It is always an extra challenge when a team has to compete without their head coach on the sideline, but should have some success with Shaw running the show. Shaw has been an assistant under Lue for the past four seasons and was a long-tenured assistant for the Los Angeles Lakers before.
The Clippers’ health concerns have been real, but nobody expected Lue to be impacted as well.
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Logan Struck is a writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated’s On SI since 2023
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