Simons scores 30 points as Trail Blazers beat last-place Wizards 112-97

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Anfernee Simons scored 30 points and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Washington Wizards 112-97 on Monday night for their second consecutive victory following a five-game slide.

Shaedon Sharpe added 16 points, and rookie center Donovan Clingan had 11 points and 13 rebounds in 25 minutes. Deni Avdija and Duop Reath both scored 15.

Simons shot 10 for 17, including 5 of 11 from 3-point range, and made all five of his free throws.

Alex Sarr led the Wizards with 20 points. Tristan Vukcevic had 17 points and eight rebounds.

Simons scored 16 points in the first half to help put the Blazers (30-39) up 59-49 at the break.

Wizards: Last in the Eastern Conference, the Wizards (15-52) dropped to 3-3 on a seven-game trip. They had won two in a row and four of six. Washington was coming off a 126-123 victory Saturday night in Denver.

Trail Blazers: Improved to 18-16 at home and moved within three games of Dallas for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference, with Phoenix in between.

Portland took the lead for good at 46-43 on a 3-pointer by Simons with 3:13 remaining in the second quarter. Those were the first of his 10 straight points in a 13-0 run capped by a 3 from Avdija.

The Wizards committed 16 turnovers, eight more than the Trail Blazers. Portland finished with 15 steals, including five by Matisse Thybulle in 22 minutes off the bench.

Wizards: Wrap up a long road swing Wednesday night at Utah in a matchup between the two worst teams in the NBA.

Trail Blazers: Continue a seven-game homestand Wednesday when they host the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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

Washington Wizards guard Jordan Poole, left, brings the ball upcourt next to Portland Trail Blazers forward Kris Murray, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer)

Washington Wizards guard AJ Johnson (5) shoots over Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer)

Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan, right, looks to pass the ball away from Washington Wizards forward Alex Sarr, left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer)

Washington Wizards guard AJ Johnson (5) dribbles toward Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija (8) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer)

Washington Wizards guard Colby Jones, right, is fouled by Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan, top, during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer)

Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, left, looks to pass the ball over Washington Wizards guard Colby Jones (1) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer)

Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija (8) shoots over Washington Wizards guard Colby Jones, bottom right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer)

Portland Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson, left, passes the ball around Washington Wizards guard AJ Johnson, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer)

Portland Trail Blazers guard Matisse Thybulle (4) dunks over Washington Wizards forward Tristan Vukcevic during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer)

Portland Trail Blazers center Duop Reath, left, dunks over Washington Wizards forward Tristan Vukcevic during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer)

Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons, right, shoots over Washington Wizards guard Colby Jones, top left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer)

Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons dunks against the Washington Wizards during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer)

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Calling the groups in charge of professional tennis “a cartel,” the players' association co-founded by Novak Djokovic filed an antitrust lawsuit against the women's and men's tours, the International Tennis Federation and the sport's integrity agency on Tuesday in federal court in New York.

The suit by the Professional Tennis Players' Association says the organizations that run the sport hold “complete control over the players’ pay and working conditions” and their setup constitutes “textbook violations of state and federal law” that “immunize professional tennis from ordinary market forces and deny professional tennis players and other industry participants their right to fair competition.”

The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and wants players to gain access to more earnings, arguing that the governing bodies that oversee the four Grand Slam tournaments — Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, the French Open and the Australian Open — and other professional events “cap the prize money tournaments award and limit players’ ability to earn money off the court.”

The WTA Tour and ATP Tour issued separate statements Tuesday saying they would “vigorously” defend themselves.

The WTA said it has “committed to a $400 million increase in player compensation” in recent years and labeled the PTPA action a “baseless legal case” that is “regrettable and misguided.” The ATP touted a “major increase in player compensation” that created a jump of “$70 million in the past five years,” and called the PTPA's case “entirely without merit.”

“The PTPA has consistently chosen division and distraction through misinformation over progress,” the ATP's statement said. “Five years on from its inception in 2020, the PTPA has struggled to establish a meaningful role in tennis, making its decision to pursue legal action at this juncture unsurprising.”

The ITF and the International Tennis Integrity Agency — which investigates and adjudicates doping and corruption cases — declined to comment.

The PTPA was founded by 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil in August 2020, aiming to offer representation for players who are independent contractors in a largely individual sport. One of the goals made clear along the way was to become a sort of full-fledged union that negotiates collective bargaining agreements like those that exist in team sports.

“For the past few years, the PTPA, an organization I’ve worked on tirelessly since its inception, has made countless efforts to collaborate with the tours in hopes of achieving positive change for players. Despite these efforts and attempts to engage in constructive dialogue, we were met with resistance and a lack of meaningful action. It is because of this ongoing disregard for players that we were left with no alternative but to take action of our own,” Pospisil posted on social media. “For too long, players have been forced to accept a broken system that ignores our well-being, undervalues our contributions, and leaves us without real representation.”

Djokovic is not one of the players listed as a plaintiff.

“His support for this is already explicit. It’s redundant since PTPA (is) named as plaintiff, and he is on (the executive committee),” PTPA spokesman David Cooper wrote in an email. “He wanted to allow others to step up since this is not just Novak’s (organization).”

The PTPA said it met with more than 250 players — women and men, and a majority of the top 20 in the WTA and ATP rankings — before going to court.

“Tennis is broken,” PTPA executive director Ahmad Nassar said in a news release. “Behind the glamorous veneer that the defendants promote, players are trapped in an unfair system that exploits their talent, suppresses their earnings, and jeopardizes their health and safety. We have exhausted all options for reform through dialogue, and the governing bodies have left us no choice but to seek accountability through the courts. Fixing these systemic failures isn’t about disrupting tennis — it’s about saving it for the generations of players and fans to come.”

FILE - Canada's Vasek Pospisil and Serbia's Novak Djokovic talk tactics during their double match against during their Round of 32 match at the Adelaide International Tennis tournament in Adelaide, Australia, Jan. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Kelly Barnes, File)