Sun.Star Baguio

Ravena shows fitness by topping PBA draft skills test

- TIP-INS TOO MUCH SHOW TAMPERING?

DALLAS (AP) — Stephen Curry swished a floating one-hander and went to the floor after some contact, looking for a call that wasn’t coming.

This time, the Golden State star smiled and ran the other way.

Curry scored 29 points, Kevin Durant added 25 and the Warriors pulled away from the winless Dallas Mavericks in the second half of a 133-103 victory on Monday night.

Klay Thompson had 21 points as the defending champs got back to .500 four games into the season, two nights after losing their cool late in a loss at Memphis.

Curry was at the center of it, getting fined $50,000 for throwing his mouthpiece on a noncall in the final minute against the Grizzlies. There wasn’t much reason to get worked up this time, even after an 18-point lead early in the second quarter was cut to one before halftime.

Golden State never trailed in its seventh straight win in the series.

“I actually kind of liked that we struggled there for a while because we were making the same mistakes, turnovers, not talking on defense and not boxing out,” coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s good that we responded and turned it around in the second half.”

Curry made all five of his shots inside the 3point line while going 2 of 10 beyond the arc. The most damage was at the line in his third straight game with at least 10 attempts. The two-time MVP was 13 of 13 and has made all 39 free throws this season.

“Been trying to finish at the rim, had people close out real hard on 3-point attempts,” Curry said. “Rest of it’s just being in the right place at the right time and trying to put pressure on the defense, whether it’s with my shooting and spacing ability or driving to the lane.”

Thompson had consecutiv­e 3-pointers to cap a 15-2 run that turned a two-point lead into an 83-68 advantage in the third quarter, sending Dallas to its second straight 0-4 start. The Mavericks lost a franchise-worst five straight to start last season.

Wesley Matthews scored 19 points for the Mavericks. Harrison Barnes had 13 points against his former team, matching J.J. Barea and Yogi Ferrell. Rookie Dennis Smith Jr. had 10 points after missing two games with left knee swelling.

“We can’t put ourselves in the hole,” Smith said. “We bounced back into halftime we almost tied it. That was just effort. We’ve got to come out that way.”

Durant was 9 of 15 from the field and 4 of 6 from beyond the arc as the Warriors shot 56 percent.

The Mavericks trailed 42-24 early in the second quarter before Matthews made all four shots, including a pair of 3-pointers , in a 10point quarter. Dallas was twice within a point but never had a chance to take the lead.

Curry hit two free throws for a three-point halftime lead, then made one before play started in the second half when the Mavericks were called for delay of game.

Warriors: Curry became the eighth player to reach 20,000 career minutes for Golden State in the first quarter . ... The Warriors improved to 34-7 after a loss under Kerr . ... Curry and Draymond Green had eight assists apiece. Green scored 10 points with seven rebounds.

Mavericks: Curry’s younger brother, Mavericks G Seth Curry, has missed all four games with a stress reaction in his lower left leg. Coach Rick Carlisle ruled him out this week . ... G Devin Harris missed his third straight game since his older brother, Bruce Harris, was killed in a car wreck in Dallas last week.

With the game out of hand in the final minutes, Golden State rookie Jordan Bell was free on a breakaway and bounced the ball off the backboard before dunking it. Kerr told Carlisle after the game that he said something to Bell about not showing up an opponent. “That was a bit much, but it was just a rookie being a little excited there I guess. That’s on us,” said 39year-old Dirk Nowitzki, in his 20th season with the Mavericks.

In the spirit of Curry’s fine, Kerr recalled the time he was fined as Phoenix’s general manager when LeBron James was a free agent before going to Miami in 2010. He was asked on a radio show if the Suns would sign James. “I laughed and I said, ‘Yeah, if he’ll take the minimum. We don’t have any cap room.’ Ten grand, wrote a check the next day. They didn’t like humor I guess. Tampering. And LeBron was close too. I really think he might have come there for minimum. It just didn’t work out.” MANILA -- It seems like Kiefer Ravena is already too fit for the PBA Draft.

The former Alab Pilipinas player ruled three of the five skill tests in the first day of the PBA Draft Combine at the Gatorade Hoops Center in Mandaluyon­g on Monday.

The six-foot guard jumped the highest, ran the fastest, and was the most agile player among the 44-man draft pool, in which 43 of the draft applicants were present with only Chris Standhardi­nger the lone and the most notable absentee.

Ravena was measured with a 39.5-inch max vertical leap, higher by just a half-inch than that of Julian Sargent.

Lervin Flores, one of the most notable dunkers in the draft class, was measured with a 38-inch leap, barely a half-inch shy than that of Jett Manuel.

Sargent showed his upper body strength as his medicine ball throw went 9.4 meters long, way longer than that of Andreas Cahilig, who only threw an 8.62-meter throw.

Ravena then showcased his tip-top agility, finishing the agility lane in just 10.72 seconds, way faster than that of Zach Nicholls, who was second at 11.56.

Ravena then sprinted three-fourths of the court in just 2.78 seconds, just 0.03 second faster than that of Nicholls.

Gab Dagangon showed his underrated speed by clocking in at 2.82 seconds in the said skills test.

Nicholls would rule the shuttle run, finishing his turn in just 51.3 seconds, way ahead of Davon Potts, who clocked in at 52.4.

Despite showing how quick he can be in the agility lane, Ravena missed out on the Top 5 in the shuttle run as Jebb Bulawan (52.41 seconds), Renz Palma (52.55), and Felix Apreku (52.66) round out the test's topnotcher­s. (PNA)

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