Clippers overcome 26-point deficit for their 1st victory at Intuit Dome

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Clippers overcome 26-point deficit for their 1st victory at Intuit Dome

2024-11-05 15:29 Last Updated At：15:40

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Clippers have a history of making things hard on themselves.

So why should trying to win for the first time at their new home be any different?

It took five attempts, but the Clippers finally broke Monday night through at Intuit Dome, overcoming a 26-point deficit in a 113-104 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

"That’s the Clippers way. We can't do it the easy way, we always have to fight back and be dramatic but a win is a win," said center Ivica Zubac, who had 17 points and 13 rebounds.

Owner Steve Ballmer joked around with the players before the game that he thought his new $2 billion building was cursed and that he might have to tear it down and start over. While that did help lighten the mood, the Clippers knew that the pressure was building to break through.

“I'm just happy to get that off our chest. Now we can go out there and play free. I think we did it in the second half,” said James Harden, who had 17 points.

The Spurs led 40-14 at the end of the first quarter before the Clippers fought back. It was LA's largest comeback when trailing at the end of the first quarter, surpassing the 23-point deficit it had after 12 minutes at Boston on Feb. 9, 2019.

Amazing comebacks though have become a trademark during Tyronn Lue's five seasons as Clippers coach.

They trailed by 35 in the first half at Washington on Jan. 25, 2022, before winning 116-115. Last season they were also down by 26 to Cleveland in the third quarter before rallying for a 120-118 victory.

Monday's comeback tied the third-largest by the Clippers when trailing by any deficit since 1996, according to Sportradar.

“We've been playing good and hard at home, but just coming up short for four games. We just stuck with it,” Lue said.

The Clippers cut the margin down to eight at halftime and were within four going into the fourth quarter.

LA went on a 33-9 run during a nine-minute span late in the third quarter until the four-minute mark of the fourth to seize control.

It was the largest blown San Antonio lead at the end of the first quarter and the fourth-largest by any deficit in franchise history.

“That’s a very well-coached team with a lot of veterans that have played in a lot of high-level games. There's a lot of runs in games. I think we can learn about the attention to detail and the consistency of simple basketball,” said Spurs interim coach Mitch Johnson, who has taken over head coaching duties with Gregg Popovich sidelined indefinitely due to illness.

The Clippers next home game will also have increased attention. They host Philadelphia on Wednesday night after Paul George made his season debut on Monday night for the 76ers in a loss at Phoenix.

George played five seasons with the Clippers before signing with Philadelphia during the offseason.

“He was a great teammate, great friend. It’s going to be fun playing against him,” Zubac said.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Russian rocket launches Iranian satellites into orbit as Moscow and Tehran expand ties

2024-11-05 15:23 Last Updated At：15:30

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian rocket on Tuesday blasted off successfully to carry a pair of Iranian satellites into orbit, a launch that reflected growing cooperation between Moscow and Tehran.

The Soyuz rocket lifted off as scheduled from Vostochny launchpad in far eastern Russia and put its payload into a designated orbit nine minutes after the launch. It was carrying two Russian Ionosphere-M Earth observation satellites and several dozen smaller satellites, including the two Iranian ones.

Iran’s two satellites, named Kowsar and Hodhod, were the first launched on behalf of the country’s private sector. In 2022, a Russian rocket launched an Iranian Earth observation satellite called Khayyam that was built in Russia on Tehran’s order, and in February Russia put another Iranian satellite named Pars-1 into orbit.

Tuesday's launch comes as Russia and Iran have expanded ties in various spheres. Ukraine and the West have accused Tehran of providing Moscow with hundreds of exploding drones for use on the battlefield in Ukraine and helped launch their production in Russia. The Iranian drone deliveries, which Moscow and Tehran have denied, have allowed for a constant barrage of long-range drone strikes at Ukraine’s infrastructure.

Moscow and Tehran are planning to further bolster their ties with a “comprehensive strategic partnership” that is set to be signed during Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s planned visit to Russia. The date for that visit hasn’t been set yet, but the Kremlin said it could happen soon.

Tuesday’s successful launch of the Iranian satellites atop a Russian rocket follows a series of failed launches suffered by Iran’s civilian space program in recent years. There have been five failed launches in a row for the Simorgh program, a satellite-carrying rocket.

A fire at the Imam Khomeini Spaceport in February 2019 killed three researchers, authorities said at the time. A launchpad rocket explosion later that year drew the attention of then-President Donald Trump, who taunted Iran with a tweet showing what appeared to be a U.S. surveillance photo of the site.

At the same time, a separate Iranian space program run by the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has seen successful launches from a military base outside of Shahroud, some 350 kilometers (215 miles) east of the capital, Tehran. However, satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press show Israel likely bombed the site during its Oct. 26 retaliatory strike on Iran.

The U.S. intelligence community’s worldwide threat assessment this year said Iran’s development of satellite launch vehicles “would shorten the timeline” for Iran to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile because it uses similar technology.

Intercontinental ballistic missiles can be used to deliver nuclear weapons. Iran is now producing uranium close to weapons-grade levels after the collapse of its nuclear deal with world powers. Tehran has enough enriched uranium for “several” nuclear weapons, if it chooses to produce them, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has warned.

Iran has always denied seeking nuclear weapons and says its space program, like its nuclear activities, is for purely civilian purposes. However, U.S. intelligence agencies and the IAEA say Iran had an organized military nuclear program up until 2003.