鈥?The Latest on the NFL draft (all times local):10:25 p.m.South Carolina State linebacker Darius Leonard was the first of six lower-division players taken on the second day of the draft after an all-FBS first round.Leonard went to Indianapolis with the fourth pick of the second round T. J. Carrie Jersey , the 36th overall. South Carolina State is an FCS school.Philadelphia traded up to get the next FCS pick, tight end Dallas Goedert of South Dakota State at 49th overall.The Eagles ended up a spot ahead of the Dallas Cowboys, who are waiting for word from Jason Witten on whether the 15-year tight end will retire to join ESPN’s crew for “Monday Night Football.” The network reported that Witten planned to retire, but Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said the 10-time Pro Bowler hadn’t made a decision.The other second-round pick for lower-division teams was nose tackle P.J. Hall from Sam Houston State of FCS. Hall went to Oakland, as did the first pick in the third round, Brandon Parker of FCS North Carolina A&T. Parker was taken 65th overall.The last two choices were both from Division II schools: defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd from Fort Hays State to the New York Jets at No. 72 overall, and offensive lineman Alex Cappa of Humboldt State to Tampa Bay with the 94th pick. Shepherd is Canadian.10 p.m.The last pick of the second day of the draft was the first player taken from Clemson.The Kansas Chiefs selected Clemson linebacker Dorian O’Daniel with pick No. 100 overall. The Tigers are coming off their third straight College Football Playoff appearance and have been pouring players into the NFL in recent years.The dearth of Tigers in this year’s draft is good news for Clemson. The Tigers have three defensive linemen, including tackle Christian Wilkins, who are possible first- and second-round draft picks and all decided to return to school for another season.Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State all have had five players taken through three rounds.9:45 p.m.LSU outside linebacker and pass rusher Arden Key was considered a possibly top-10 pick after his sophomore season.But last year was a dud, derailed by a shoulder injury and a long time away from the program during the spring because of a marijuana issue.Key slid all the way to the third round and was taken with pick No. 87 by the Oakland Raiders.A second UCF player was taken in the draft when receiver Tre’quan Smith was taken by the New Orleans Saints at 91. Deep into the third round, UCF star Shaquem Griffin, the linebacker missing his left hand Devontae Booker Jersey , was still waiting to be selected.9:30 p.m.Orlando Brown Jr. is following his late father into the NFL 鈥?with the same franchise, no less.The former Oklahoma standout was taken in the middle of the third round by the Baltimore Ravens with the 83rd overall pick of the NFL draft.Brown Jr. was projected as a first or second-round pick before a poor showing at the combine. His 14 reps at 225 pounds on the bench press were the fewest of any lineman who lifted at the draft. He also had a slow time in the 40-yard dash.The younger Brown grew up around NFL teams after his dad played more than a decade in the league, starting with the Cleveland Browns before the franchise moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens.Known as “Zeus” at 6-foot-7 and 360 pounds, the elder Brown died of a diabetic condition in 2011 at the age of 40. He returned to Cleveland with the Browns in 1999 before three years out of the game after being partially blinded when hit in the eye by a penalty flag.The elder Brown sued the NFL for $200 million, saying the flag incident prematurely ended his career. He settled the lawsuit, came back with Baltimore in 2003 and played three more seasons.Brown Jr. certainly has his dad’s size. He’s one of the biggest players in the draft at 6-8, 360 pounds.9:20 p.m.With a flurry of trades, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick accomplished what may have been one of his prime objectives in the NFL draft: Making it impossible for his critics to judge the trade that sent Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers.Garoppolo had been the heir apparent to five-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady at quarterback. But with Brady playing at MVP level again last season at the age of 40, Belichick shipped Garoppolo off to San Francisco midseason for a second-round draft pick, which turned out to be No. 43 overall.Belichick wheeled that pick to Detroit for Nos. 51 and 117. Then he sent the No. 51 pick to Chicago for No. 105 and a second-rounder next year. And he sent the Patriots’ own pick in the second round this year, No. 63, along with the No. 117 to Tampa Bay for the 56th overall pick, which they used to select Florida cornerback Duke Dawson.Asked if the dealing had the added advantage of making it difficult to pin any one player as the guy they got for Garoppolo Demarcus Walker Jersey , director of player personnel Nick Caserio said, “You guys will parse that tomorrow. That’s not our job.”9:15 p.m.New Redskins running back Derrius Guice denied reports of being involved in an altercation during his visit with the Eagles and says he doesn’t know about an NFL Network report that there might be another story coming out about him that could be “embarrassing” to him and the organization.After his slide down the draft ended when Washington selected the LSU product 59th overall, late in the second round, Guice expressed confusion about why he didn’t go as high as projected.“It did surprise me because a lot of the things came out of nowhere and weren’t true,” Guice said Friday night on a conference call with local reporters. “I just didn’t understand why me out of all people because I’m great to everybody, I have a great personality and I just didn’t understand why everything just hit so hard with me out of everybody.”Asked specifically about reports that he was involved in an altercation on his visit to Phi
LOS ANGELES — The Denver Nuggets can not only improve their playoff chances Saturday at Staples Center, they can also end the Los Angeles Clippers‘ hopes of extending their season.

The Nuggets will take a four-game winning streak into Los Angeles, as the recent run of success has put them on the doorstep of playoff eligibility. They have a 44-35 record, leaving them a half-game behind eighth-place Minnesota, which beat the Lakers Friday night and holds the final playoff spot in the Western Conference at the moment.

Denver does not hold the tie-breaker against the Timberwolves, but the ninth-place Nuggets are only one game behind three teams tied for fifth.

Denver and Minnesota will meet once more, in Minnesota on Wednesday, to conclude the regular season Kevin Johnson Jersey , with the Timberwolves holding a 2-1 advantage in head-to-head games this season if it comes down to that tiebreaker.

A Denver victory Saturday over a Clippers team that has lost three of its last four games would put significant pressure on a Minnesota squad that lost to the Nuggets on Thursday, 100-96.

The Nuggets essentially have been in payoff mode for a week now and have responded with clutch victories. All four victories in their win streak have been by four points or less, with two of them coming in overtime. All have come since March 30.

“We’re not folding,” Nuggets forward/guard Will Barton told the Denver Post. “Good play. Bad play. Guys just come together and we stand in it together. There’s just a lot of togetherness right now, and I love it.”

For the Clippers, they know that a loss Saturday will end their playoff chase. Their hopes were pushed to the brink on Friday night without even playing, as the Pelicans defeated the Suns, while the Timberwolves also won.

The Clippers’ chances were put on high alert after they were trounced at Utah on Thursday. Los Angeles is in 10th place in the Western Conference, 2 1/2 games behind Minnesota, with three games to play.

Against Utah on Thursday, the Clippers were never in the game and lost by 22 points. And that was a game in which players knew that a defeat would virtually crush any playoff hopes.

“It was the first game I thought we let go of the rope,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “Like Joel Heath Jersey , you could see it early. It was disappointing. It happens. It’s life. We have to get over it. I have to watch the film. That was disappointing tonight.”

During a season in which the Clippers were devastated by injuries and watched All-Star Blake Griffin get traded to the Detroit Pistons, Rivers should get credit for even getting his team this far.

The Clippers are expected to finish the season with four point guards on injured reserve: Patrick Beverley (knee), Avery Bradley (groin), Milos Teodosic (foot) and Jawun Evans (sports hernia). Forward Danilo Gallinari (hand) is day-to-day. Rivers has used 35 different starting lineups.

“It’s been tough,” Rivers said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “Game to game, because of the injuries, because of the guys we have left, you don’t have the luxury of saying, ‘This is your lineup every night.'”

The Nuggets’ recent success has come despite second-leading scorer Gary Harris (knee) missing the last 10 games. He remains day-to-day. Forward Tyler Lydon (ankle) has been out since January.

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