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Sports 1B Friday June 24, 2011 Warriors take WSU’s Klay Thompson; Kings get Fredette OAKLAND (AP) — The Golden State Warriors drafted Washington State shooting guard Klay Thompson with the 11th pick in the NBA draft Thursday night, adding another potent shooter to an already crowded backcourt. Thompson led the Pac-10 with 21.6 points per game to go with 4.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists last season. The 6-foot-7 guard gives some size to the smaller Stephen Curry-Monta Ellis duo, although he’s also another perimeter player not known for defense. Golden State’s revamped front office insisted the biggest need this summer was defense and rebounding, and Thompson will do little to improve those areas. General manager Larry Riley also said he would take the most talented player no matter the position, and he followed through with that approach. Riley believes Thompson will be a rotation player and strong contributor off the bench. He also said Thompson could see more time at small forward behind Dorell Wright, who is coming off a breakout year. ‘‘When we talked about defense and rebounding, we also said that we had several areas to solve,’’ Riley said. ‘‘One was depth, one was defense and one was rebounding. So we’ve solved a little bit of the depth issue. Basically, we have an inside pres- ence issue that we have yet to solve.’’ The selection will do little to quiet the growing trade talk surrounding Golden State’s star player. Ellis, the Warriors’ leading scoring last season at 24.1 points per game, is part of a tal- ented tandem with Curry that is among the most prolific in scoring in the league. But the duo is easily one of the worst defensi v ely because both are undersized point guards who essentially play the same posi- tion. At the very least, Thompson gives a shoot-first team even more punch. ‘‘This is no way effects the potential for us to trade any Lincecum lifts Giants, Wilson hangs on SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Tim Lincecum needed a psychological boost. When he got it, his fastball com- mand returned. Lincecum struck out 12 in seven superb innings, helping the San Fran- cisco Giants beat the Minnesota Twins 2-1 Thursday. ‘‘I wasn’t worried about what would happen when I threw pitches,’’ said the two-time Cy Young Award winner. ‘‘It was just confidence. Early in the game, when I was commanding the zone, I just opened my mind to be that much more confident.’’ Miguel Tejada and Cody Ross drove in runs for the Giants, who won their second straight following a sea- son-long five-game skid. Michael Cuddyer extended his hit- ting streak to 12 games with three hits and RBI for Minnesota, which lost its second in a row after a season-best eight-game win streak. The Twins are 15-4 since their last losing rut. Lincecum (6-6) rebounded from a rash of poor starts. He gave up three hits, walked two and never allowed a runner past second base. ‘‘Even when I threw a bullpen I wanted to have belief in myself,’’ Lincecum said. ‘‘I wanted that to carry over into games. I was executing my pitches and believing in what I threw at the moment.’’ Javier Lopez pitched the eighth and Brian Wilson got three outs, despite allowing his first run in 15 1-3 innings, for his 21st save in 23 chances. Brian Duensing (4-7) allowed just his sixth earned run in his last 22 2-3 innings. He yielded six hits, walked two and struck out five. ‘‘A very good pitching matchup,’’ Twins’ manager Ron Gardenhire said. ‘‘They just pitched a little better. That’s the Duensing we were looking for. He was consistent and has good stuff.’’ Lincecum entered the game with the worst NL ERA (7.59) in June. He threw 72 of his 109 pitches for strikes in one of his most effective starts. He won for the first time since May 27. ‘‘Timmy was outstanding,’’ Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy said. ‘‘It was good to see him back on track. He was comfortable throwing any pitch and he had good rhythm.’’ The Giants opened the scoring in the second inning. Pablo Sandoval sin- gled with one out and Pat Burrell fol- lowed with a double. Sandoval scored on Tejada’s infield groundout. Duensing and reliever Alex Burnett MCT photo Giants closer Brian Wilson, right, reacts to getting the final out in the ninth inning against the Minnesota Twins at AT&T Park Thursday. got the Twins out of a tight spot in the seventh. The Giants had runners on first and third with no outs and failed to score after pinch-runner Emmanuel Burriss was caught trying to score on a safety squeeze and pinch-hitter Nate Schierholtz grounded sharply to sec- ond with the infield in. ‘‘That guy was filthy,’’ Duensing said of Lincecum. ‘‘That’s how you win Cy Young awards. He has really good stuff, gets ahead in the count a lot and made us chase a lot.’’ Burnett hit Aaron Rowand with a pitch but then got Bill Hall to fly out. Ross added an RBI single in the eighth against Glen Perkins. NOTES: Bochy said there would ‘‘be a little bias’’ when it came to All- Star roster additions when asked about RHP Ryan Vogelsong. ... Giants OF Andres Torres and SS Brandon Craw- ford were given the day off and both are likely to start Friday. ... Giants INF Mike Fontenot (right groin strain) could start a rehab assignment this weekend. player, as far as that goes,’’ Riley said about trading Ellis. ‘‘I shouldn’t say poten- tial. I should say motivation to trade any player. That may be a little stronger state- ment for you.’’ Some believe Thompson might be the best pure shooter in the draft. He was in con- sideration for con- ference player of the year See DRAFT, page 2B First try bumpy for A’s new 1B NEW YORK (AP) — The first try for the new first baseman of the Oakland Athletics went a little awry. Mark Ellis and Chris Carter each had trouble with balls hit by Jose Reyes, and the mistakes helped the New York Mets beat the A’s 4-1 on a dreary Thursday. A day after full-time first baseman Daric Barton was demoted to the minors because of a slump, Ellis started at the spot for the first time in his nine-season career. ‘‘A little nervous before the game and it took me a little while to get used to it,’’ the longtime second base- man admitted. The Mets led 2-0 when the speedy Reyes opened the fifth with a grounder and Ellis ranged much too far to his right, missing the ball and leaving the bag uncov- ered. Second baseman Jemile Weeks made a clean pickup, but zipped a throw past scrambling pitcher Gra- ham Godfrey (1-1) for an error. A sacrifice set up Daniel Murphy’s RBI single with two outs. ‘‘Obviously, one ball just took over. After a stab, I knew I made a mistake,’’ Ellis said. ‘‘Just one of those things where the more you’re out there, the better you’re going to be.’’ The last time Ellis played first base was in 2006, for only one game. A’s manager Bob Melvin appreciated Ellis’ effort. ‘‘Well, here’s a second baseman with a terrific amount of range. You want him to err on the side of aggressiveness,’’ Melvin said. ‘‘I thought he was fine. The first time you have to do that on a major league field, I don’t know how long it’s been for him.’’ In the sixth, the A’s made a double-switch and insert- ed Chris Carter at first base — a highly touted minor leaguer, he was promoted from Triple-A Sacramento and arrived at the ballpark in midmorning after an all- night flight from the West. Carter’s first play was a foul popup by Reyes with two outs that he dropped near the stands for an error as Weeks brushed against him. Reyes, the NL’s top hitter, slapped the next pitch from Craig Breslow for an RBI single. ‘‘Yeah, he jostled me. It hit off my glove,’’ Carter said. Said Reyes: ‘‘You don’t have too many opportunities like that in the big leagues.’’ After the start of the game was delayed by rain for 2 hours, 15 minutes, the Mets won their second in a row. They beat the A’s on Wednesday night in a rain-inter- rupted game that took 13 innings and ended after mid- night. Chris Capuano (6-7) shut out the A’s on five hits for six innings, walking none and striking out seven. He left with discomfort in his abdomen and Pedro Beato relieved to begin the seventh. Francisco Rodriguez closed for his 20th save in 23 chances, a day after blow- ing a ninth-inning lead. Reyes hit a pair of RBI singles and also scored a run. Coco Crisp had a sacrifice fly in the Oakland eighth. The Mets took a 2-0 lead in the second. Capuano grounded into a double play with the bases loaded and Reyes hit an RBI single. French Open champ Li upset by Lisicki at Wimbledon WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — After playing so well, so often, at this year’s first two major tournaments, Li Na’s run at Wimbledon came to an early end. Only 2 1/2 weeks after giving China its first Grand Slam sin- gles championship at the French Open, and five months after being the runner-up at the Aus- tralian Open, Li was knocked out in the second round at the All England Club on Thursday, the grass-court tournament’s biggest upset so far. The third-seeded Li wasted two match points and suc- cumbed to the speedy serving of wild-card entry Sabine Lisicki of Germany in a 3-6, 6-4, 8-6 loss. Lisicki hit 17 aces, including one at 124 mph, which the WTA said is the fastest serve by a woman all season. ‘‘I mean, (from) the first point ’til the end of the match, every serve was, like, around 117 miles (per hour),’’ said Li, 14-1 in Grand Slam play in 2011 before Thursday. ‘‘I mean, this is impossible for the women.’’ Elsewhere, Serena Williams again was pushed to three sets before winning, then com- plained a bit about having to play on Court 2 instead of Cen- tre Court or Court 1; Roger Fed- erer overwhelmed his opponent in straight sets, then basked in a standing ovation after playing under the retractable roof at the main stadium for the first time; and two-time French Open run- ner-up Robin Soderling came back after losing the first two sets to beat 2002 Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt 6-7 (5), 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4. Li appeared headed to the third round, too. Leading 5-3 in the third set, she was a point away from victory while Lisicki served at 15-40. But Lisicki got out of that jam this way: 122 mph service winner, 123 mph service winner, 124 mph ace, 122 mph ace. ‘‘Obviously, a good serve is important, but also, you have to use it well,’’ the 62nd-ranked Lisicki said. ‘‘And I think I’m serving quite smart, as well. So it definitely helped me today.’’ Talk about an understate- ment. Thanks to that serve, Lisicki is no stranger to success on grass, reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2009 and win- ning a tuneup tournament this month at Birmingham, England; she’s won 12 of her last 13 matches on the slick surface. But she missed five months last year because of a left ankle injury, temporarily dropping out of the top 200 in the rankings. ‘‘Oh, it’s been terrible. I mean, I really, literally, had no muscles in my left calf after seven weeks on crutches. So I had to start to learn how to walk again,’’ the 21-year-old Lisicki said. ‘‘It’s been a very, very long road back, and tough road back. But that makes those moments right now sweeter.’’ Lisicki’s return game was good, too, and she broke twice when Li served for the match, at 5-4 and 6-5. Li became an instant star in China with her French Open title; more than 100 million peo- ple in the nation of 1 billion watched that final on TV. Li may not have been kidding when she asked reporters at Wimbledon not to write that she’d be flying home now, so there might be a chance to have some private time with her husband. Even though her Grand Slam triumph came so recently, Li already could sense a change on court — not in herself, but in other players. ‘‘I didn’t feel different. I did- n’t feel, like, pressure. I mean, (the) only change is, right now, opponents see you different,’’ she said. ‘‘Everyone (who plays) against you, they feeling nothing to lose. So they can play (their) best tennis.’’ By the looks of things so far, Williams is going to face a true test every time she takes the court this year at Wimbledon, which she has won four times. She was forced to a third set for the fourth consecutive match since returning to the tour after nearly a year away because of a series of health scares. And while she eventually seized con- trol to beat Simona Halep of Romania 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, it’s clear that Williams is still working her way into shape. ‘‘I definitely feel like I started slow,’’ said Williams, who won- dered aloud afterward why she and her sister Venus each had to play on Court 2, while top men like Federer, Djokovic, Nadal and Andy Murray have been on one of the two principal courts for all of their matches this week. ‘‘I got a little tight out there,’’ Williams added, ‘‘and I just need to relax.’’ Tournament spokesman Johnny Perkins said there was no intentional snub, noting that several factors go into schedul- ing decisions, including TV See LI, page 2B