Quick Hitters
LeBron on record 12th All-NBA 1st team; Harden also unanimous
NEW YORK — LeBron James was unanimously selected to the All-NBA first team for a record 12th time, while Houston’s James Harden also appeared on all 100 first-team ballots.
They were joined Thursday on the first team by New Orleans’ Anthony Davis, Golden State’s Kevin Durant and Portland’s Damian Lillard.
James passed Kobe Bryant and Karl Malone with the 12th first-team selection of his 15-year career. He also was a second-team selection twice.
The second team was forwards Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee and LaMarcus Aldridge of San Antonio, Philadelphia center Joel Embiid, and guards Russell Westbrook of Oklahoma City and DeMar DeRozan of Toronto.
Injury absences sent Golden State’s Stephen Curry tumbling to the third team, where he was joined in the backcourt by Indiana’s Victor Oladipo. Minnesota teammates Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler, and Oklahoma City’s Paul George rounded out the third team.
Voting was done by a panel of sports writers and broadcasters.
Williams sisters to team up in doubles at French Open
PARIS — Two-time champions Serena and Venus Williams will compete in doubles at the French Open.
The American sisters were handed a wild-card entry on Thursday into the tournament they won together in 1999 and in 2010.
They have not played doubles together at a major since they won Wimbledon two years ago.
Trump pardons late boxer Johnson a century later
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has granted a rare posthumous pardon to boxing’s first black heavyweight champion, clearing Jack Johnson’s name more than 100 years after what many see as his racially charged conviction.
“I am taking this very righteous step, I believe, to correct a wrong that occurred in our history and to honor a truly legendary boxing champion,” Trump said Thursday during an Oval Office ceremony. He was joined by WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, retired heavyweight titleholder Lennox Lewis and actor Sylvester Stallone, whom Trump credited with championing the pardon.
Trump said Johnson had served 10 months in prison “for what many view as a racially-motivated injustice.”
“It’s my honor to do it. It’s about time,” the president said.
Johnson, a prominent athlete who crossed over into popular culture decades ago with biographies, dramas and documentaries, was convicted in 1913 by an all-white jury for violating the Mann Act for traveling with his white girlfriend. That law made it illegal to transport women across state lines for “immoral” purposes.”
Trump had tweeted in late April that Stallone, a longtime friend, had brought Johnson’s story to his attention in a phone call.
“His trials and tribulations were great, his life complex and controversial. Others have looked at this over the years, most thought it would be done, but yes, I am considering a Full Pardon!” Trump wrote then.
The Oval Office ceremony was a celebratory scene, bringing together boxing greats past, present and fictional. The guests brought with them a colorful boxing championship belt, which sat front and center on the president’s Resolute Desk as he spoke. At one point, Trump jokingly asked Lewis whether he could “take Deontay in a fight” if he really started working out.
HOUSTON — Chris Paul’s grit and veteran leadership have pushed the Golden State Warriors to the brink of elimination.
Now the Houston Rockets must wait to see if his injured leg is strong enough to help them take one last step to the NBA Finals.
Eric Gordon came off the bench to score 24 points and his steal on Golden State’s last possession secured a 9894 victory Thursday night that gave the Rockets a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference finals. But the victory came with a cost, as Paul had to leave the game in the final minute with a right hamstring injury that could keep him out of Game 6.
“His spirits aren’t great,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “He wanted to be out there, and for sure he’s worried ... we’ll see tomorrow how it goes.”
Paul was receiving treatment after the game and did not speak to reporters.
The Rockets head to Oakland for Game 6 on Saturday night a win away from knocking off the defending champions and advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time since winning back-toback titles in 1994-95.
Kevin Durant scored 29 points for the Warriors, who lost in Game 5 of a playoff series for just the second time since 2015. Just like Cleveland in the East, a run of three straight trips to the championship round is on