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James Harden and Clippers dominate Hornets for third straight win

Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden controls the ball during the first half.
Clippers guard James Harden controls the ball during a 123-88 win over the Charlotte Hornets at the Intuit Dome on Sunday. (William Liang / Associated Press)

The Clippers are trending in the right direction, and on top of it, they are becoming whole with leading scorer Norman Powell back and with James Harden sustaining his high level of play.

They've won six of their last seven games, with the Clippers’ 123-88 blowout win over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday at the Intuit Dome pushing their winning streak to three.

“This was a good professional win,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said.

For Lue, the shift began with the Clippers playing defense at a higher level while not forcing the action.

Read more:Clippers' strong third quarter leads to blowout of the Hawks

Before the game, Lue talked about how Harden has been a consistent force, something the All-Star proved against Charlotte with 31 points on nine-for-15 shooting. He also made four of seven three-point attempts, 10 rebounds and seven assists in just 31 minutes.

"We pretty much need to win these games,” Kawhi Leonard said after finishing with 21 points, five rebounds and five assists in 27 minutes. “Obviously James has been playing at a great level. ... It’s just been a collective group [effort].”

Lue said the Clippers are comfortable playing through Leonard and Ivica Zubac more frequently. Zubac finished with 17 points, 14 rebounds and a career-high eight assists in 28 minutes.

“It’s been great,” Leonard said about Zubac’s play, especially the center’s passing ability. “Like I said, if the other team is switching or if we need a basket, he’s able to relieve us and with his efficiency. The other team is seeing that and bringing two guys to him and he’s making the right play.”

In addition, Lue has integrated Bogdan Bogdanovic (seven points, four rebounds) and Ben Simmons (three assists, zero points) more into the fold. It has all added up to the Clippers playing with greater purpose.

“Just trying to fit all these pieces together,” Lue said. “We have [14] games to do it, which is more than enough time if we just lock in and understand what we’re trying to do. So I’m excited about that challenge.”

One player who struggled to put the pieces together Sunday was Powell. After missing 12 of the last 13 games because of knee issues and a right hamstring strain, he scored just seven points on three-for-13 shooting.

The next seven days will provide the Clippers with tougher challenges.

They face Cleveland, Memphis and Oklahoma City next. The Cavaliers have the best record in the NBA, the Thunder the second best and the Grizzlies are fourth in the Western Conference.

Read more:Kawhi Leonard's spectacular buzzer-beater lifts Clippers to OT win over Kings

But because the Clippers have found their groove — like when they built a 38-point lead against Charlotte — they are more prepared for the task ahead as they try to climb out of the No. 8 spot in the West.

“Getting guys back healthy, playing together, trusting each other, playing better defense than when we played in a stretch before that,” Zubac said about the Clippers' improved play. “And, that’s it. We’re kind of figuring it out. Defensively we’re better and we’re slowly getting guys back. ... We got a good squad when we’re healthy. So, just keep building, keep building. We’re in a final stretch of the season and we got to get as many wins as we can and everyone [has] got to be locked in.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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West Region will feature 3 Hall of Fame coaches, another with consecutive national titles

Rick Pitino's latest rebuilding project will take him to Providence, where he pulled off one of the biggest surprises in March Madness history by leading the Friars to the 1987 Final Four. Pitino will be joined in Rhode Island by Kansas' Bill Self and Arkansas' John Calipari, putting three Hall of Fame coaches together in one site at the bottom of the West Region bracket. Add in UConn's Dan Hurley, who has led the Huskies to consecutive national championships, and that's quite a coaching roster in the West.

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Mets Spring Breakout Notebook: Ryan Clifford's power, Bohan Adderley's Jazz Chisholm connection headline notes on top prospects

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Clifford knows that power is “probably going to be the carrying tool” as he works his way through the Mets’ farm system. But, he also says, “I want to try to do my best to make sure it’s not my only tool.”

For now, though, Clifford’s power is the eye candy of his career, especially in light of the gargantuan home run he hit in Sunday’s Spring Breakout, a ball that was estimated to travel nearly 450 feet. It was easily the one shining moment of the Mets’ 5-1 victory over the Nationals at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches.

Clifford, who was part of the return the Mets snagged in the Justin Verlander trade, slugged a drive well over the 406-foot sign in dead center off Nationals lefty Jackson Kent. It hit halfway or so up a grass rise beyond the fence.

“Felt good,” Clifford said. “Always feels good to put a good swing on one like that.”

Clips of his mighty swing were making the rounds on social media, and he acknowledged that he gets a charge from it.

“There have been a lot of great clips from Breakout games,” Clifford said. “It’s cool to be a part of it.”

Asked if he knew what his longest career home run was, he said, “I don’t know. That would probably be up there, though.”

Clifford -- the Mets’ fourth-best prospect, according to SNY’s Joe DeMayo -- is only 21 and was told that he would start the season at Double-A this year, he said. He hit 18 home runs at Double-A Binghamton last year and seems poised to move if his power continues to play.

He looms as a significant Mets commodity right now -- as a slugger who plays first base, as well as some outfield, he’s a potential ready replacement in case Pete Alonso ends up opting out after this season.

That’s for another day, though. Clifford has more work to do till he puts himself in that kind of position. And he seems to know it -- hence what he said about making sure power isn’t his only tool.

“I just try to be a complete player and just put together some competitive at bats and look to be a tough out and someone that pitchers don't want to face,” Clifford said.

Clifford, who was playing in his second Spring Breakout, said that he and other Mets were talking about how it is an honor to be considered for the game, but there’s something else at play, too.

“I’m sure you don’t want to be a part of too many of them,” he said. “We were joking about that on the way over here.”

More notes from Spring Breakout day:

All that Jazz

Bohan Adderley, an 18-year-old infield prospect who was on the roster for Sunday’s Spring Breakout, is a regular texter with another Bahamian infielder, one who’s already got five years in the Major Leagues -- Jazz Chisholm of the Yankees.

“I try to talk to him every day,” said Adderley, who had a .676 OPS and stole 27 bases in 28 tries in 47 games in the Dominican Summer League last year. “Pick his brain. Get anything I can from him and learn from him and it’s a helping tool.”

The two met “through baseball a long time ago,” Adderley said. Adderley’s brother played with Chisholm in their native Bahamas.

“So he would always be at my house,” Adderley said. “He would always chill. Me and Jazz, we’re close.

“He’s a great guy, a great player. He just puts on for our country, because baseball isn’t big there. I feel like he’s doing a great job at showcasing and putting on for the Bahamas.”

Chisholm is among nine players born in the Bahamas to make MLB, according to Baseball Reference’s database. Chisholm has played in 449 games, second-most among players born in the Bahamas, behind only Andre Rodgers (854), who played from 1957-67 for the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates.

Adderley had a .356 on-base percentage in his brief pro debut season. But he wants to be better at controlling the strike zone when he likely starts the season in the Florida Complex League.

“I’m just trying to be more disciplined,” Adderley said. “Go up there with a game plan and really just show what I can do, because I feel like last year I didn’t do as much as I wanted to. So I just want to show what I’m capable of.”

Adderley was 0-for-1 in the game, but showed his powerful arm from shortstop.

Benge press

Carson Benge, the Mets’ highest draft pick last year (19th overall) said that he put on 15 pounds of muscle since giving up pitching and concentrating on the outfield.

Benge, 22, was a two-way player in college at Oklahoma State. He and the Mets “came to an understanding” that he would get off the mound, he said.

“Pitching is definitely fun, but I feel like the future for me is probably with the bat, so I’m going to stick there,” Benge said. “Obviously, putting down pitching was tough because I liked it. But getting to just focus on hitting was definitely exciting and motivating for me.”

Benge said that the added strength has meant “balls are coming off (the bat) a little bit harder and I’m getting more comfortable in the box.”

Benge -- the Mets’ fifth-best prospect, according to SNY -- played 15 games at Low-A Port St. Lucie last year and batted .273 with a .420 on-base percentage and a .436 slugging. He hit three doubles and two home runs. He was 1-for-2 with a walk Sunday.

From rivals to teammates

Jonathan Santucci, a lefty pitcher the Mets took in the second round last year, and Eli Serrano, a fourth-round outfielder in the same draft, faced each other in college in the ACC.

Santucci, who attended Duke, was impressive, said Serrano.

“I think last year I was like 0-for-2 against him,” Serrano said. “That fastball at 96 (miles per hour), up in the zone, it’ll beat you for sure.”

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Mets beat Nationals in Spring Breakout game behind home runs from top prospects Ryan Clifford, Boston Baro

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Clifford hit a mammoth home run, Boston Baro added an opposite-field blast and Jonah Tong threw two scoreless innings Sunday evening as the Mets beat the Nationals, 5-1, in their Spring Breakout game at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches.

Nick Morabito added a two-run single for the Mets.

The Spring Breakout is a chance for teams to show off some of their top prospects and an opportunity for the players to showcase their skills against other highly-touted players. It went very well for the Mets.

Here are the main takeaways:

  • Tong, one of the Mets’ top pitching prospects, started the game and was mostly sharp, allowing no runs and one hit in two innings. He struck out three and walked two. Tong, who has the best fastball in the organization, according to Baseball America, pitched at three levels last season, reaching Double-A.
  • The Mets also got scoreless work from Jonathan Pintaro (two innings). Dylan Ross, who showcased nifty breaking stuff, and Jonathan Santucci threw one scoreless frame each. Ryan Lambert, who can hit triple digits, allowed a run in the seventh inning.
  • In the third inning, Baro, a 20-year-old infielder drafted in the eighth round in 2023, smacked a solo home run on a 3-0 pitch. It was an opposite-field shot for Baro, a left-handed hitter. Baro also singled and scored in the fourth. The homer came off Washington’s sixth-ranked prospect, Alex Clemmey, a lefty who struck out six over three innings in the game. Last year, Baro slugged four homers at St. Lucie before being promoted to High-A Brooklyn and had a .748 OPS over the two stops.
  • The Mets added two more runs in the fourth inning after loading the bases with two out. Morabito got ahead in the count, 3-0, and then believed the next pitch was ball four. He was so sure that he even tossed his bat away. But the umpire called it a strike. Morabito fouled off a pitch and then hit a single into short right-center field that plated two runs. Morabito, a second-round pick in the 2022 draft, batted .312 last season with 59 steals over two Class A stops and was named the organization’s minor-league player of the year.
  • One of the more impressive facets of Jett Williams’ skill set was on display in the first inning after he reached base on a fielder’s choice when his popup dropped untouched. Williams, the Mets’ top position-player prospect, took off for second with Clifford at the plate and was easily safe. Get used to seeing stolen bases from Williams, who has 56 steals in 66 tries (84.8%) in his minor-league career.
  • Kevin Parada, the 11th overall pick in the 2022 draft, was 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Parada batted .214 with 13 home runs in 115 games at Binghamton last year.

GAME MVP

Clifford, mostly because his fifth-inning home run was the most impressive moment of the game. Clifford, whose prospect calling card is power, smashed a 2-2 pitch over the center-field wall, which is 406 feet from home plate. The ball landed at least halfway up a grass berm well beyond the wall. Clifford, a 21-year-old first baseman/outfielder, hit 19 homers last season over two stops, including 18 at Double-A Binghamton

Highlights