2024

The Biden campaign will stay on TikTok, even after President Biden signed a bill into law that would force its China-based parent company to sell the video sharing social media platform or face a ban in the United States, Fox News has learned.

Biden campaign officials told Fox News on Wednesday that the Biden-Harris campaign ‘will stay on TikTok.’

President Biden, on Wednesday morning, signed a Senate-passed bill to force TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, which is based in China, to sell the app or be banned in the United States, as lawmakers accuse the platform of being a risk to U.S. national security, collecting user data, and spreading propaganda.

The TikTok legislation was part of a set of bills providing $95 billion in foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

House Republicans’ decision last week to attach the TikTok bill to the foreign aid package helped expedite its passage, after an earlier version of the bill had stalled in the Senate. The Senate version would have given ByteDance six months to divest its stake in the platform, which some lawmakers believed was too short of a window for a complex deal potentially worth tens of billions of dollars.

The new measure gives ByteDance nine months to sell TikTok, as well as a possible three-month extension if a sale is in progress. The bill would also prohibit the company from controlling the algorithm that shows users videos based on their interests.

The passage of the legislation comes amid bipartisan fears in Congress over Chinese threats, which includes the ownership of TikTok. Lawmakers and administration officials have expressed concerns for years that Chinese officials could force ByteDance to provide U.S. user data and influence Americans by promoting certain content on the platform.

China has previously said it would oppose forcing the sale of TikTok, and has signaled it would oppose the latest legislation. TikTok has long denied it is a security threat, and is preparing a lawsuit to block the legislation.

‘At the stage that the bill is signed, we will move to the courts for a legal challenge,’ TikTok’s head of public policy for the Americas, Michael Beckerman, wrote in a memo sent to employees on Saturday.

‘This is the beginning, not the end of this long process,’ Beckerman wrote.

The platform has had some success with court challenges in the past, but it has never attempted to prevent federal legislation from going into effect.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, TikTok blasted the law as ‘unconstitutional.’

‘This unconstitutional law is a TikTok ban, and we will challenge it in court,’ TikTok said in a statement. ‘We believe the facts and the law are clearly on our side, and we will ultimately prevail.’

The company said it has ‘invested billions of dollars to keep U.S. data safe and our platform free from outside influence and manipulation.’

‘This ban would devastate seven million businesses and silence 170 million Americans,’ the company continued. ‘As we continue to challenge this unconstitutional ban, we will continue investing and innovating to ensure TikTok remains a space where Americans of all walks of life can safely come to share their experiences, find joy, and be inspired.’

Fox News’ Mark Merideth, Landon Mion and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

Politics

Trump says NY Judge Merchan ‘thinks he is above the Supreme Court’ after barring him from immunity arguments

Former President Trump said New York Judge Juan Merchan ‘thinks he is above the Supreme Court,’ after ‘prohibiting’ him from attending arguments Thursday on presidential immunity, telling Fox News Digital it is ‘the most important case in many years’ before the high court.

The former president and presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee spoke exclusively to Fox News Digital on Wednesday after spending the last two days in a Manhattan courtroom for opening arguments and witness testimony in his unprecedented criminal trial.

Trump had requested to attend arguments at the Supreme Court when it holds oral arguments about the former president’s immunity on Thursday, but Judge Merchan, who is presiding over the trial, rejected that request.

‘Because he thinks he is above the Supreme Court, he is prohibiting me from going to the presidential immunity hearing where some of the great legal scholars will be arguing the case — the most important case in many years on the Supreme Court,’ Trump told Fox News Digital.

The Supreme Court is expected to rule in June on whether Trump is immune from prosecution by Special Counsel Jack Smith out of his investigation into 2020 election interference.

‘Without presidential immunity, the presidency becomes a ceremonial position only, it will be decimated,’ he continued. ‘He’s prohibiting me from going. He is a radical left Democrat.’

When Trump requested to attend the Supreme Court arguments last week, Merchan told his attorney: ‘Arguing before the Supreme Court is a big deal, and I can certainly appreciate why your client would want to be there.’

‘But a trial in New York Supreme Court… is also a big deal,’ Merchan said last week, requiring the former president to be in his Manhattan courtroom on Thursday, instead of at the high court in Washington, D.C.

A ruling from the Supreme Court on the issue of presidential immunity is expected by late June.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

‘Virtually every legal scholar and expert in the country said that this case should not have been brought, that there was no crime, that everything was done properly and that this is a case that should be dropped immediately,’ Trump told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

‘It’s an embarrassment to Crooked Joe Biden and the Democrat Party who are duly standing behind it and the judge is totally conflicted — totally conflicted,’ he said.

‘If falsifying a business record is because a bookkeeper wrote down ‘legal expense’ in paying a legal fee, that’s not falsifying,’ Trump told Fox News Digital. ‘They call it a legal expense — and that’s what it was. It was a legal expense.’

He added: ‘It was legal fees paid to a lawyer — that’s called a legal expense.’

Trump’s criminal trial stemming from Smith’s investigation has been put on hold pending a Supreme Court decision on whether Trump is immune from prosecution.

Smith charged the former president with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights. Those charges stemmed from Smith’s investigation into whether Trump was involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and any alleged interference in the 2020 election result.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges in August.

Meanwhile, Trump also requested to skip court on May 17 to attend the high school graduation of his youngest son, Barron.

‘The other thing is, the judge is prohibiting me from going to my son’s graduation from high school — my son Barron, who has worked very hard and he’s a great student,’ Trump told Fox News Digital. ‘He can’t have his father at his graduation because of a vicious judge that’s totally conflicted.’

Trump added: ‘He should never be allowed to do this case.’

Trump and his attorneys had sought Merchan to recuse himself from the case due to his daughter’s Democrat-affiliated political work.

Merchan’s daughter, Loren, has a leadership role and ownership stake at Authentic Campaigns Inc., which Trump lawyers say ‘services exclusively Democrat clients’ and is ‘the #21 ranked vendor in the country in connection with the 2024 election.’

Some of Authentic’s top ‘featured clients’ on its website include campaigns associated with Trump opponents — including ‘President Biden, Vice President Harris, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, Congressman [Adam] Schiff, Congressman [Hakeem] Jeffries, Congressman [Dan] Goldman, Congresswoman [Lauren] Underwood, and Congresswoman [Summer] Lee.’ The website also features its work for the Democrat-backed ‘Senate Majority PAC,’ and the Democrat-backed ‘House Majority PAC.’

Merchan said he saw no basis for recusal.

As for Barron’s graduation, Merchan has yet to formally grant or deny Trump’s request, and instead has said he will make his decision based on how the trial is going.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

Politics

New poll shows Biden’s 2024 lead vanishing with Trump on trial

A new Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday shows President Biden’s slight lead over former President Trump vanishing despite Trump’s ongoing criminal trial in New York City.

Trump’s trial, related to the 34 counts of falsifying business records he’s charged with, began last week with jury selection and moved into opening arguments this week. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The poll also found the presidential race to be in a dead heat with Biden and Trump tied at 46% support.

The two remain tied at 37% with the inclusion of independent presidential candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (16%) and Dr. Cornel West (3%) and the Green Party’s Jill Stein (3%).

Those numbers mark a significant closing of the gap for Trump, who trailed Biden 48%-45% in Quinnipiac’s March poll. However, with the inclusion of Kennedy, West and Stein, Trump held a one-point lead over Biden 39%-38%.

Biden’s job approval remained dismally low at 35% support, down from 37% in March, while 61% said they disapprove of his job performance, up from 59%.

Regarding the charges Trump faces in his ongoing New York trial, a plurality of 46% said they believe the former president did something illegal, while 45% said he didn’t. However, 27% believe he did something unethical but not illegal, and 18% believe he did nothing wrong.

If Trump were to be convicted on the charges, 21% said they would be less likely to vote for him, 62% said it would not affect their vote and 15% said they would be more likely to vote for him.

Trump has argued the trial is pure politics, a ‘political persecution,’ and he maintains his innocence. The former president, the first ever to be a defendant in a criminal trial, vowed to ‘tell the truth’ if he takes the stand.

He has also argued the trial is unfairly keeping him from the campaign trail, giving Biden an advantage.

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

Stocks

What’s Really Driving Tesla’s Surprising Stock Surge?

Click here for a live chart.

Tesla’s (TSLA) first-quarter earnings reported after Tuesday’s market close was lackluster, bordering on disastrous. Yet the stock jumped 16% Wednesday morning, ripping open a wide breakaway gap from the previous day’s close.

What happened? Well, Elon Musk framed the dismal numbers with a compelling narrative that elevated its underperformance into a story about future growth. But does the story have enough fundamental fuel to break above the FOMO?

From Sinking Ship to Skyrocket

Here’s a brief account of what happened on Tuesday: TSLA’s revenue in the quarter fell by 9%, its vehicle production and deliveries were also down 2% and 9%, respectively, its operating income and adjusted EPS plunged by 56% and 47%, and its operating cash flow cratered by 90%.

These figures alone would have tanked TSLA’s stock price. So, what happened? Musk got TSLA prices flying with two sentences that essentially said the company is expediting the building of cheaper EVs based on the current models. Cheaper Tesla EVs mean a surge in demand and, by extension, growth.

TSLA Stock: A Macro Look

In the weekly chart of TSLA below, the stock has been trading lower since peaking in October 2021 (even considering its attempt at recovery in early 2003). TSLA’s stock price is close to its 2023 low.

CHART 1. WEEKLY CHART OF TSLA. Despite the recovery attempt in early 2023, the longer-term trend has been down since 2021.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

Currently, TSLA holds one of the worst StockCharts Technical Rank (SCTR) scores at 2.2, a few steps from zero. While the leading EV maker’s performance was in sync with its industry ($DJUSAU), it badly underperformed the S&P 500 by more than -45%.

Flying High on FOMO?

Click here for a live chart.

Now, take a look at the near-term price action in the daily chart of TSLA (see below). The stock exhibited a sudden burst of escape velocity to the upside after hitting a 52-week low.

CHART 2. DAILY CHART OF TSLA. Breakaway gaps are bullish, TSLA’s narrative is also bullish, but the rest of the technicals are iffy.Chart source: StockCharts.com. For educational purposes.

Breakaway gaps toward the upside are characterized by a powerful shift driven by intense sentiment. They rarely get filled right away.

TSLA’s 16% post-earnings gap is a strong bullish gesture, but notice the strong rejection in the current candle. This indicates, if anything, that the volume driving the gap may not be enough to give it a follow-through in the coming sessions (it’s a wait-and-see moment). While the Money Flow Index (MFI) and Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) (the latter dipping back below the zero line) show an ever-so-slight divergence which might be interpreted as bullish, any surge from this point on will face a few technical headwinds above.

TSLA is trading below its 50-day simple moving average, but if it crosses above it, note the critical resistance areas at the $180 and $205 range.

Bullish or Bearish?

One day’s surge, no matter how impressive, doesn’t define a trend. Likewise, a strong twist in the fundamental narrative doesn’t mark a change in the story. As far as price targets are concerned, a survey of 30 analysts shows a wide range from a shocking $23 on the low end, a median target of $185, and a high range upwards of $310 to cap it off.

Right now, everything is riding on the promises of production. As seasoned traders know, holding out for confirmation is usually the smart play. The technical indicators map out key short-term and long-term levels, giving you a clearer view of the battleground where all this drama will play out.

Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own personal and financial situation, or without consulting a financial professional.

Stocks

Three Sectors are Showing Strength, Three are Not

In this edition of StockCharts TV‘s The Final Bar, Dave welcomes Ryan Redfern, ChFC CMT of Shadowridge Asset Management. David highlights companies reporting earnings this week, including TSLA, V, ENPH, STLD, STX, ODLF, and GD. Ryan shares key levels to watch on the S&P 500, along with a breakdown of three sectors showing strength plus three sectors suggesting more weakness ahead.

This video originally premiered on April 24, 2024. Watch on our dedicated Final Bar page on StockCharts TV!

New episodes of The Final Bar premiere every weekday afternoon. You can view all previously recorded episodes at this link.

Stocks

10% Downside Risk For Stocks as Value Takes The Lead

Value taking the lead from growth

The weekly RRG above shows the rotation for Growth vs Value stocks. The benchmark is the DJ US index. The recent rotation clearly shows the rotation out of growth into value, taking shape and picking up steam. For now, Growth is still positioned on the right-hand side of the RRG, but the $DJUSGR tail is rapidly heading toward the lagging quadrant at a negative RRG-Heading.

The daily version of this RRG underscores the preference for Value stocks.

The $DJUSVA tail dropped into the weakening quadrant after a rotation through leading since mid-March and sharply hooked back up after one day inside the lagging quadrant and is now returning into the leading quadrant, supporting a further strengthening for the Value tail on the weekly time-frame.

$SPX usually tracks the Growth/Value ratio pretty good

Plotting the Growth/Value ratio on top of the price chart for $SPX shows that they have tracked each other quite well over time. This is a monthly chart, so we’re discussing long-term trends here.

The main takeaway here is that the S&P usually does well when the growth/value ratio goes up and less well when the ratio moves lower.

With the RRG currently showing a strong preference for Value stocks, caution is warranted as this might be the precursor for a further decline in the S&P 500 itself.

The preference for value over growth shows up across all size segments

When we break down the Growth and Value segments into their respective size buckets, we get the RRG above. This shows that value beats growth across all size segments. Large-, Mid-, and Small-cap Value tails are all inside the improving quadrant and moving at a positive RRG-Heading.

The growth tails are slightly more divided, but all three are on a negative RRG-Heading, with large-cap growth showing the fastest deterioration. Mid-Cap is the most stable, with its short tail just inside the weakening quadrant. While small-cap growth stocks have rolled over inside the leading quadrant and are starting to head lower on both scales.

All in all, this underscores the need for caution regarding price developments for the S&P 500 in the coming weeks.

5%-10% downside risk within long-term uptrend

On the weekly chart, SPY found support at the level of the former rising resistance line at around 494. More important support is found at the level of the January-2022 peak at 480, and in case that breaks, the area around 460 will provide another solid support area. With the current longer-term trend of higher highs and higher lows still firmly in place, we have to conclude that the uptrend is still in play.

But at the same time, we have to realize that within that uptrend, a 5-10% decline is perfectly possible.

The more detailed daily chart of SPY shows that the decline from the recent peak at 524 back to the low near 495, which is one move lower on the weekly chart, is already showing lower highs and lower lows, which means that rallies now have to be seen as up-ticks within a downtrend until this structure changes again.

The green-shaded areas represent the support levels mentioned on the weekly chart. New buying opportunities within the long-term uptrend should start to arise in these ranges.

Rotation into defensive sectors confirms risk-off

Finally, the daily RRG for defensive sectors shows a rapid rotation into Health care, Consumer Staples, and Utilities in the last two weeks of trading, which confirms the need for caution in the coming weeks.

#StayAlert, –Julius

Stocks

Pinpoint the Next Buying Opportunity in SPY

On this week’s edition of Stock Talk with Joe Rabil, Joe uses the MACD to analyze SPY and shares what to look for to find the next buy point. Joe then analyzes stocks including ADBE, XOM, and CRM.

This video was originally published on April 24, 2024. Click this link to watch on StockCharts TV.

Archived episodes of the show are available at this link. Send symbol requests to stocktalk@stockcharts.com; you can also submit a request in the comments section below the video on YouTube. Symbol Requests can be sent in throughout the week prior to the next show.

Business

Tesla’s affordability push eases growing doubts about its performance and Musk’s focus

Tesla’s stock jumped about 8% in after-hours trading Tuesday after the electric vehicle giant reported its steepest annual revenue drop in over a decade.

Despite softer sales and a growing chorus of skeptics about CEO Elon Musk’s focus on the company, investors cheered its vow to ‘accelerate the launch of new models,’ likely including more affordable ones like the long-awaited low-cost Model 2.

‘They need to adjust to a new environment,’ Dan Ives, managing director at Wedbush Securities financial group, said on the heels of the company’s earnings report. Potentially speeding up the Model 2’s rollout ‘shows they’re listening,’ he said.

Tesla’s first-quarter revenues slid 9%, its steepest year-over-year decline since 2012. While the financial results were short of Wall Street’s expectations, investors are breathing a sigh of relief that the company appears to be prioritizing new vehicles.

Tesla has been facing more uncertainty on Wall Street than at any point since its near-bankruptcy several years ago. Its share price has plunged by nearly two-thirds — from about $407 at its November 2021 peak to about $145 as of Tuesday’s market close. The stock has held the title of the S&P 500’s worst performer this year.

Tesla remains the largest electric vehicle seller in the U.S., where overall EV sales growth has slowed after a booming 2023. According to industry website InsideEVs, 19 Tesla competitors’ combined sales growth over the past 12 months climbed 18% in the first quarter — the group’s slowest rate in years as they sold just 102,000 all-electric vehicles altogether. Tesla, for its part, delivered 386,810 vehicles alone in that period, down 9% from the same quarter last year and falling well short of analyst expectations.

‘Pessimism on the entire EV marketplace has reached very high levels,’ Mark Newton, head of technical strategy at the financial services group Fundstrat Global Advisors, LLC, said in an email before Tesla reported its earnings.

For the average Tesla investor, the falloff has meant significant financial losses over the past couple of years. The company’s declines have been in China, whose most successful EV automaker, BYD — which does not sell in the U.S. — has emerged as a key Tesla rival. Today, they are neck and neck for title of world’s largest EV maker.

‘They’re going through a brutal demand situation in China, and Musk is now trying to turn this ship around, which went from a Cinderella ride to a Category 5 storm,’ Ives said.

Facing greater competition, Tesla has been slashing prices to buoy sales, announcing over the weekend that it would discount Models Y, X and S by $2,000 each. It also said this month it would cut 14,000 employees, or 10% of its workforce.

In the last quarter, Tesla ramped up sales of the much-anticipated Cybertruck, but it recalled nearly 4,000 of them last week over a dangerous accelerator pedal defect.

Some Tesla investors attribute the company’s troubles not only to broader EV sales trends but also to Musk’s split focus across the other companies he oversees, especially the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

‘There have been a lot of black-eye moments for Musk and Tesla,’ Ives said.

The tech guru’s net worth has shrunk by billions, though only enough to push him from No. 1 to No. 3 as the world’s richest person. His role in the company will be more formally examined in June, when Tesla investors will vote on whether to reinstate his $56 billion pay package after a Delaware judge struck it down earlier this year.

‘A lot of shareholders are using it as vote of confidence for the CEO,’ said Fred Lambert, a journalist who covers Tesla at EV website Electrek. But “in the grand scheme of things, Tesla is not in any danger,” he added.

Musk has been working to shift the narrative around Tesla. He now says the company is an ‘AI/robotics” company, even though cars still drive the bulk of its revenues. He recently posted on X that Tesla was now ‘going balls to the wall for autonomy,’ and has placed a new emphasis on rolling out fully automated robotaxis.

Lambert said he recently drove a new version of Tesla’s automated driving technology, which is officially called Full Self-Driving (Supervised), since it still requires a driver to remain attentive to what the vehicle is doing. He said the new software marks a leap forward and will further benefit from explosive gains in artificial intelligence in the broader tech world.

Increasingly, Tesla’s investments are going toward autonomous vehicle technology. While it’s not yet clear what the current consumer demand is for self-driving cars, Tesla is positioning itself to have an enormous head start, said Tyson Jominy, vice president for data and analytics at J.D. Power.

‘Given the number of cars they’ve sold, they’ve got a potential fleet of sleeper AVs ready to be activated by executive order … when and if that time comes,’ Jominy said.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

Business

Biden administration bans noncompete agreements, setting up legal showdown with business groups

The Biden administration has issued a nationwide ban on the ability of employers to make their workers sign noncompete agreements, a move regulators said would help boost employee pay but which is set to be challenged in court by business groups.

In a ruling Tuesday afternoon, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said noncompete clauses would henceforth be illegal. The measure was necessary, it said, for ‘protecting the fundamental freedom of workers to change jobs, increasing innovation, and fostering new business formation.’

“Noncompete clauses keep wages low, suppress new ideas, and rob the American economy of dynamism,” said FTC chair Lina M. Khan in a statement. “The FTC’s final rule to ban noncompetes will ensure Americans have the freedom to pursue a new job, start a new business, or bring a new idea to market.”

The FTC estimates nearly one in five Americans are subject to noncompetes. They have grown increasingly common in lower wage or hourly work industries like fast food franchises, restaurants, and security firms, where some employers have sought to limit the ability of workers to effectively raise their pay by looking for work at competing establishments.

In addition to banning all new noncompetes, the FTC’s rule applies to all existing noncompete agreements. Employers will now have to provide notice to workers bound to a current noncompete that it will not be enforced against them.

The rule was hailed by labor groups and left-leaning policy experts.

‘Noncompetes are about reducing competition, full stop. It’s in their name,’ said Heidi Shierholz, president of the progressive nonprofit Economic Policy Institute. ‘Noncompetes are bad for workers, bad for consumers, and bad for the broader economy. This rule is an important step in creating an economy that is not only strong but also works for working people.’

The AFL-CIO, America’s largest labor group, praised the new rule in a post on X Tuesday, saying noncompete agreements ‘trap workers from finding better jobs, drive down wages, and stifle competition.’

But business groups are already hitting out at the ban, saying noncompetes are essential to protecting trade secrets and proprietary information. The groups also say noncompetes ultimately help workers by engendering a more collaborative firm environment and limiting so-called ‘free riders,’ or employees who seek to capitalize on a specific company’s methods and taking that knowledge elsewhere.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the country’s largest business lobby, said it plans to sue the FTC over the ruling. In a statement, it called the ban an ‘unlawful power grab.’

“This decision sets a dangerous precedent for government micromanagement of business and can harm employers, workers, and our economy,’ it said.

Separately. a Dallas-based tax services firm filed a lawsuit in Texas federal court — which has proven hostile to Biden administration rulings — challenging not only the ban but the very structure of the FTC itself.

‘We stand firm in our commitment to serve the rightful interest of every company to retain its proprietary formulas for success taught in good faith to its own employees,” said chairman and CEO G. Brint Ryan said in a statement.

The FTC’s rule is set to go into effect in August, but is unlikely to be enforced until the court challenges are resolved, something that could take years.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

Sports

NBA playoffs Tuesday: Siakam’s 37 helps Pacers get back in series

Pascal Siakam recorded 37 points, 11 rebounds and six assists and the Indiana Pacers evened their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series with an impressive 125-108 victory over the host Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night in Game 2.

Myles Turner added 22 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots for the sixth-seeded Pacers, who snapped a 10-game postseason losing streak dating back to 2018.

Andrew Nembhard scored 20 points, Tyrese Haliburton registered 12 points and 12 assists and Aaron Nesmith had 11 points and seven assists for Indiana, which had 38 assists on 50 made baskets.

Damian Lillard scored 34 points and Brook Lopez added 22 for the third-seeded Bucks. Both players made six 3-pointers.

Milwaukee was again without star Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf).

Game 3 of the best-of-seven series is Friday at Indianapolis.

Timberwolves 105, Suns 93: Minnesota takes 2-0 lead

Jaden McDaniels scored 25 points on 10-for-17 shooting and the Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away for a 105-93 win over the Phoenix Suns in Game 2 of their Western Conference quarterfinals series on Tuesday in Minneapolis.

Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert finished with 18 points apiece for Minnesota, which seized a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

The Timberwolves won by double digits despite a subpar night from Anthony Edwards, who shot 3 of 12 from the field but finished with 15 points thanks in part to 7-of-8 success at the free-throw line.

Devin Booker led the Suns with 20 points on 6-for-13 shooting, though he was 1-for-6 from 3-point range. Kevin Durant finished with 18 points and Bradley Beal scored 14, but the pair combined to shoot 12 of 32 from the field.

Minnesota outscored Phoenix 55-42 in the second half to secure the victory.

Mavericks 96, Clippers 93: Series tied 1-1

Luka Doncic had 32 points and nine assists, and Kyrie Irving added 23 points as the Dallas Mavericks got the best of the Los Angeles Clippers 96-93 in Game 2 on Tuesday to even their first-round playoff series.

P.J. Washington scored 18 points and Derrick Jones Jr. had 10 as the Mavericks recovered from a double-digit defeat in Game 1 on Sunday when they trailed by as many as 29 points and scored just 30 in the first half.

Doncic and Irving combined to go 19 of 44 (43.2%) in the game after they struggled in the decisive first half of Game 1 when they combined to shoot 5 of 19 (26.3%). The Mavericks shot 42.1% in Game 2 after shooting 30.3% in Game 1.

The series moves to Dallas for Game 3 on Friday.

James Harden and Paul George each scored 22 points as the Clippers were unable to take advantage of Kawhi Leonard’s return. Leonard, who had not played since March 31 because of right knee inflammation, scored 15 points in 35 minutes.

Ivica Zubac finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers, who led by as many as six points early in the fourth quarter before the Mavericks rallied.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY