LeBron James puts 'MAGA' twist on NBA protests
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers co-opted one of US President Donald Trump’s signature clothing items to continue their fight against police brutality.
Led by James, the entire Lakers team arrived for their first round playoff series against the Portland Trailblazers wearing read ‘make America great again’ caps - but with the phrase altered to read ‘Make America arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor’.
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Breonna Taylor was a medical worker who was shot dead by police in Kentucky when officers executed a ‘no-knock’ search warrant on her home at night, breaking down the door with a battering ram..
Officers did not identify themselves as police when they entered her home, waking her and her parter, who fired shots at who he believed were intruders. Police fired back at the pair in response, killing Ms Taylor.
James has been vocal about Taylor’s case since arriving in the bubble, one of several NBA players determined not to let the issue fall out of the spotlight.
One of three officers involved has been fired by the Louisville Metro Police Department, however calls have been ongoing for all three officers to face murder charges.
“The same energy that we have on the floor is the same energy that we have towards having justice for Breonna Taylor and her family," James said when asked about Taylor in July.
“That's the energy that we bring to the game. That's just who we are.”
NBA world stunned by Milwaukee Bucks upset loss
Nikola Vucevic scored a playoff career-high 35 points and had 14 rebounds as the Orlando Magic stunned the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks 122-110 in the opener of their seven-game NBA series.
Terrence Ross scored 18 points, Gary Clark added 15 and DJ Augustin had 11 points and 11 assists for the eighth-seeded Magic.
Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 31 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists for Milwaukee, but was held without a field goal over the final 11 minutes.
The Bucks came into the post-season as the favourites to win their first NBA title since 1971 despite finishing 3-5 in seeding games.
Milwaukee swept the season series against Orlando, winning four games by an average of 17 points, but struggled with the Magic's stingy defence, which repeatedly clogged the lane and forced Antetokounmpo to settle for jump shots.
The Bucks' frustration was evident when centre Brook Lopez stomped on a chair - and then kicked it - in the bench area during a timeout.
The Magic led most of the game.
Orlando used an early 15-2 run to build a 51-33 lead midway through the second quarter behind 16 points from Vucevic.
The Bucks bounced back to close the gap to 10 at halftime and made several runs in the second half but the Magic had an answer every time.
Milwaukee trimmed the lead to six in the fourth but Evan Fournier, who went scoreless for three quarters, buried the Bucks with three 3-pointers in the final five minutes.
With AAP
