CLEVELAND (AP) — Steve Kerr doesn't like being the bad guy, and empathizes with fans who get upset when NBA teams rest star players.
Golden State's coach has a solution — less games.
Following the Warriors' overtime loss in Boston on Thursday night, Kerr sat superstar Steph Curry along with starters Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins on Friday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
But even without their top players, the Warriors made 23 3-pointers and stunned the Cavs 120-114 to cap a five-game trip at 3-2.
Curry, who recently returned after missing 11 games with a shoulder injury, played 43 minutes and scored 29 points in the Warriors' 121-118 loss to the Celtics in a rematch of last season's NBA Finals won by Golden State.
Kerr's decision meant fans were deprived of maybe seeing Curry put on a shooting clinic like he did at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in last year's All-Star Game. It was Golden State's only visit to Cleveland.
“I feel terrible for fans who buy tickets expecting to see someone play and they don’t get to see that person play,” Kerr said during his pregame news conference. “It’s a brutal part of the business. It’s why I’m going to continue to advocate for 72-game seasons.”
Kerr's rationale is that a shorter season would better protect players' health, balance the schedule and improve the overall quality of play. Most importantly, it would keep players fresh for the playoffs when the games mean more. 
“You take 10 games off the schedule, it always feels like with 10 games left in the year everybody’s sort of had it anyways,” he said. “That creates enough rest where we don’t have to have some of these crazy situations. I think you’d see way fewer games missed from players.”
Jordan Poole was the only starter to face the Cavs and finished with 32 points as the Warriors handed Cleveland its most embarrassing loss.
Kerr has been juggling his rotation lately while trying to balance bringing players back from injuries and getting them adequate rest. Curry was out with his shoulder while Wiggins missed 15 games with a strained leg muscle and a non-COVID illness.
Kerr has also been trying to snap his team out of a season-long funk. The Warriors are 22-23 and just 5-18 on the road.
He said the decision to rest his four players against the Cavs had nothing to do with the loss to the Celtics.
“You can’t operate that way,” he said. "I know it’s a big topic around the league. We have so much more data. So much more awareness of players’ vulnerability. It’s proven that if guys are banged up, back-to-backs, players are much more likely to get injured and miss more games and that’s why you’re seeing it league wide.
“Everybody is being cautious when a guy is banged up. You’re just playing the long game.”
While the Warriors are severely short-handed, the Cavs are sitting star guard Donovan Mitchell for the second straight game with a strained groin.
Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff believes there's a bigger benefit to giving players more rest. It extends careers, therefore giving fans the chance to seem them play longer.
“You look at these guys and they’re playing 15 years to some guys 20 years," he said. “So it’s a trade off of five games a season and you get five more years of these guys playing. So I think in the long run, the fans get their money’s worth because guys do get to extend their career and play more years.
"I know from our standpoint where you only get to see a team once a year. I know that can be frustrating for fans if those guys don’t play but I do think for the greater good of the game, getting these superstars and elite players for multiple years and multiple more seasons, I think is only good for the game.”
Cleveland was also without reserve guard Ricky Rubio, who recently returned after missing a year following knee surgery. The Cavs are just being cautious with Rubio, who played 12 minutes against the Grizzlies.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CLEVELAND (AP) &mdash; Steve Kerr doesn't like being the bad guy, and empathizes with fans who get upset when NBA teams rest star players.
Golden State's coach has a solution &mdash; less games.
Following the Warriors' overtime loss in Boston on Thursday night, Kerr sat superstar Steph Curry along with starters Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins on Friday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
But even without their top players, the Warriors made 23 3-pointers and stunned the Cavs 120-114 to cap a five-game trip at 3-2.
Curry, who recently returned after missing 11 games with a shoulder injury, played 43 minutes and scored 29 points in the Warriors' 121-118 loss to the Celtics in a rematch of last season's NBA Finals won by Golden State.
Kerr's decision meant fans were deprived of maybe seeing Curry put on a shooting clinic like he did at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in last year's All-Star Game. It was Golden State's only visit to Cleveland.
&ldquo;I feel terrible for fans who buy tickets expecting to see someone play and they don&rsquo;t get to see that person play,&rdquo; Kerr said during his pregame news conference. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a brutal part of the business. It&rsquo;s why I&rsquo;m going to continue to advocate for 72-game seasons.&rdquo;
Kerr's rationale is that a shorter season would better protect players' health, balance the schedule and improve the overall quality of play. Most importantly, it would keep players fresh for the playoffs when the games mean more.
&ldquo;You take 10 games off the schedule, it always feels like with 10 games left in the year everybody&rsquo;s sort of had it anyways,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;That creates enough rest where we don&rsquo;t have to have some of these crazy situations. I think you&rsquo;d see way fewer games missed from players.&rdquo;
Jordan Poole was the only starter to face the Cavs and finished with 32 points as the Warriors handed Cleveland its most embarrassing loss.
Kerr has been juggling his rotation lately while trying to balance bringing players back from injuries and getting them adequate rest. Curry was out with his shoulder while Wiggins missed 15 games with a strained leg muscle and a non-COVID illness.
Kerr has also been trying to snap his team out of a season-long funk. The Warriors are 22-23 and just 5-18 on the road.
He said the decision to rest his four players against the Cavs had nothing to do with the loss to the Celtics.
&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t operate that way,&rdquo; he said. "I know it&rsquo;s a big topic around the league. We have so much more data. So much more awareness of players&rsquo; vulnerability. It&rsquo;s proven that if guys are banged up, back-to-backs, players are much more likely to get injured and miss more games and that&rsquo;s why you&rsquo;re seeing it league wide.
&ldquo;Everybody is being cautious when a guy is banged up. You&rsquo;re just playing the long game.&rdquo;
While the Warriors are severely short-handed, the Cavs are sitting star guard Donovan Mitchell for the second straight game with a strained groin.
Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff believes there's a bigger benefit to giving players more rest. It extends careers, therefore giving fans the chance to seem them play longer.
&ldquo;You look at these guys and they&rsquo;re playing 15 years to some guys 20 years," he said. &ldquo;So it&rsquo;s a trade off of five games a season and you get five more years of these guys playing. So I think in the long run, the fans get their money&rsquo;s worth because guys do get to extend their career and play more years.
"I know from our standpoint where you only get to see a team once a year. I know that can be frustrating for fans if those guys don&rsquo;t play but I do think for the greater good of the game, getting these superstars and elite players for multiple years and multiple more seasons, I think is only good for the game.&rdquo;
Cleveland was also without reserve guard Ricky Rubio, who recently returned after missing a year following knee surgery. The Cavs are just being cautious with Rubio, who played 12 minutes against the Grizzlies.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CLEVELAND (AP) &mdash; Steve Kerr doesn't like being the bad guy, and empathizes with fans who get upset when NBA teams rest star players.
Golden State's coach has a solution &mdash; less games.
Following the Warriors' overtime loss in Boston on Thursday night, Kerr sat superstar Steph Curry along with starters Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins on Friday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
But even without their top players, the Warriors made 23 3-pointers and stunned the Cavs 120-114 to cap a five-game trip at 3-2.
Curry, who recently returned after missing 11 games with a shoulder injury, played 43 minutes and scored 29 points in the Warriors' 121-118 loss to the Celtics in a rematch of last season's NBA Finals won by Golden State.
Kerr's decision meant fans were deprived of maybe seeing Curry put on a shooting clinic like he did at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in last year's All-Star Game. It was Golden State's only visit to Cleveland.
&ldquo;I feel terrible for fans who buy tickets expecting to see someone play and they don&rsquo;t get to see that person play,&rdquo; Kerr said during his pregame news conference. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a brutal part of the business. It&rsquo;s why I&rsquo;m going to continue to advocate for 72-game seasons.&rdquo;
Kerr's rationale is that a shorter season would better protect players' health, balance the schedule and improve the overall quality of play. Most importantly, it would keep players fresh for the playoffs when the games mean more.
&ldquo;You take 10 games off the schedule, it always feels like with 10 games left in the year everybody&rsquo;s sort of had it anyways,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;That creates enough rest where we don&rsquo;t have to have some of these crazy situations. I think you&rsquo;d see way fewer games missed from players.&rdquo;
Jordan Poole was the only starter to face the Cavs and finished with 32 points as the Warriors handed Cleveland its most embarrassing loss.
Kerr has been juggling his rotation lately while trying to balance bringing players back from injuries and getting them adequate rest. Curry was out with his shoulder while Wiggins missed 15 games with a strained leg muscle and a non-COVID illness.
Kerr has also been trying to snap his team out of a season-long funk. The Warriors are 22-23 and just 5-18 on the road.
He said the decision to rest his four players against the Cavs had nothing to do with the loss to the Celtics.
&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t operate that way,&rdquo; he said. "I know it&rsquo;s a big topic around the league. We have so much more data. So much more awareness of players&rsquo; vulnerability. It&rsquo;s proven that if guys are banged up, back-to-backs, players are much more likely to get injured and miss more games and that&rsquo;s why you&rsquo;re seeing it league wide.
&ldquo;Everybody is being cautious when a guy is banged up. You&rsquo;re just playing the long game.&rdquo;
While the Warriors are severely short-handed, the Cavs are sitting star guard Donovan Mitchell for the second straight game with a strained groin.
Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff believes there's a bigger benefit to giving players more rest. It extends careers, therefore giving fans the chance to seem them play longer.
&ldquo;You look at these guys and they&rsquo;re playing 15 years to some guys 20 years," he said. &ldquo;So it&rsquo;s a trade off of five games a season and you get five more years of these guys playing. So I think in the long run, the fans get their money&rsquo;s worth because guys do get to extend their career and play more years.
"I know from our standpoint where you only get to see a team once a year. I know that can be frustrating for fans if those guys don&rsquo;t play but I do think for the greater good of the game, getting these superstars and elite players for multiple years and multiple more seasons, I think is only good for the game.&rdquo;
Cleveland was also without reserve guard Ricky Rubio, who recently returned after missing a year following knee surgery. The Cavs are just being cautious with Rubio, who played 12 minutes against the Grizzlies.
&nbsp;

Warriors coach Steve Kerr believes a shorter NBA season would better protect players' health and improve the overall quality of play.

Warriors' Kerr favors shorter season to fix NBA "rest" issue

TORONTO (AP) — Boston guard Marcus Smart and center Robert Williams both missed the second half of the Celtics' game at Toronto on Saturday because of injuries.
Smart injured his right ankle in the final minute of the first half and had to be helped to the locker room.
Williams stayed in the game after teammate Jaylen Brown collided with his left knee in the opening quarter, but Williams did not return for the second half because of a hyperextended knee.
Toronto led 57-50 at the break.
Williams had left knee surgery last March, but returned in the playoffs.
The Celtics, who came in on an eight-game winning streak, were already without leading scorer Jayson Tatum, who sat because of a sore left wrist. Tatum is averaging 31.2 points, the third-highest total in the league, and a career-high 8.5 rebounds.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

TORONTO (AP) &mdash; Boston guard Marcus Smart and center Robert Williams both missed the second half of the Celtics' game at Toronto on Saturday because of injuries.
Smart injured his right ankle in the final minute of the first half and had to be helped to the locker room.
Williams stayed in the game after teammate Jaylen Brown collided with his left knee in the opening quarter, but Williams did not return for the second half because of a hyperextended knee.
Toronto led 57-50 at the break.
Williams had left knee surgery last March, but returned in the playoffs.
The Celtics, who came in on an eight-game winning streak, were already without leading scorer Jayson Tatum, who sat because of a sore left wrist. Tatum is averaging 31.2 points, the third-highest total in the league, and a career-high 8.5 rebounds.
&nbsp;

Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart and center Robert Williams both left Saturday's game against the Toronto Raptors with injuries.

Celtics G Smart, C Williams leave injured against Raptors

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Kihei Clark may never top his biggest highlight in Virginia basketball lore, but having the 5-foot-10 point guard in the No. 10 Cavaliers&rsquo; lineup could certainly give him another chance.
In 2019, during an Elite Eight battle with Purdue, the then-freshman chased down a tapped-out missed free throw well past the midcourt line, wheeled around and fed Mamadi Diakite for a buzzer-beating jumper that sent the game into overtime. The Cavaliers won, then went on to earn the first national championship in program history.
&ldquo;The Shot&rdquo; was only possible because of &ldquo;The Pass.&rdquo;
Now in his fifth season, Clark is taking advantage of an extra year of eligibility to climb several of Virginia&rsquo;s career lists and possibly lead them on another deep tournament run. He&rsquo;ll continue that pursuit on Saturday when the Cavaliers (14-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) play at Wake Forest (14-5, 6-2).
Clark on Wednesday moved to the top of the Cavaliers&rsquo; career victories list for players with 111, one more than Diakite. His 65 ACC wins are also the most in program history.
Those milestones, and others, almost didn&rsquo;t happen. After last season, Clark posted a farewell message to Virginia fans on Twitter, then changed his mind.
With Reece Beekman seemingly poised to take over the lead role in the Cavaliers&rsquo; backcourt, coach Tony Bennett knows Clark&rsquo;s value.
&ldquo;A guy his size doesn&rsquo;t get to where he is without having a fierce side of him, a competitor, and he wants to win. And that&rsquo;s what he&rsquo;s done most of his career but he&rsquo;s still coachable,&rdquo; Bennett said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s good to have him back for sure. I&rsquo;m glad he made that decision.&rdquo;
Bennett often uses bigger guards to play in the high post, though he&rsquo;ll use Clark there, too, and gives him lots of playmaking freedom.
&ldquo;You sometimes want some of your better decision-makers or guards in that high post &hellip; I thought he had a real nice game,&rdquo; Bennett said after winning at Georgia Tech 74-56.
&ldquo;He had command of his game. Sometimes you watch somebody and they have command of their game, and he just had it when he was in the lane, the decisions he was making,&rdquo; Bennett said.
Virginia Tech&rsquo;s Mike Young saw it firsthand in a 78-68 loss on Wednesday night.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s waiting on you,&rdquo; Young said, recalling several passes Clark made in the lane on his way to a season-high 20 points and five assists. &ldquo;He is waiting for somebody to blink.&rdquo;
Young will face Clark one more time when Virginia goes to Blacksburg. Other coaches have used the postgame handshake lines to share their admiration.
&ldquo;I told him last year after we played him in Harrisonburg, I told him he&rsquo;s one of my favorite players to watch in college, and I thought that was the goodbye. And then sure enough, he comes back this year,&rdquo; said James Madison coach Mark Byington after Virginia&rsquo;s win this year in which Clark had 18 points and seven assists. &ldquo;So I told him this time ... &lsquo;Look, I better never see you in college basketball again.&rsquo;&rdquo;
Florida State&rsquo;s Leonard Hamilton said after getting beat 62-57 that Clark is &ldquo;almost flawless as a point guard ... and he&rsquo;s one of those guys that don&rsquo;t come along very often.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I told him as I shook his hand, &lsquo;I&rsquo;ll be glad when you go.&rsquo;&rdquo; Hamilton said. &ldquo;He smiled.&rdquo;
Clark has appreciated the kind words.
&ldquo;Obviously, you&rsquo;re doing something right if they don&rsquo;t want to play against you,&rdquo; he said.

Clark on Wednesday moved to the top of the Cavaliers’ career victories list for players with 111, one more than Mamadi Diakite.

Kihei Clark making history for No. 10 Virginia — again

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) &mdash; When freshman point guard Talana Lepolo went down in the first quarter with an ankle injury, Stanford had to adjust in a hurry against a top conference opponent.
Indya Nivar, another reliable freshman, took over running the offense and the Cardinal&rsquo;s veteran post players did the rest.
Cameron Brink had 25 points, 14 rebounds and three blocked shots, Haley Jones added 25 points, 12 boards and a pair of blocks, and No. 4 Stanford bounced back from a loss at USC by beating eighth-ranked Utah 74-62 on Friday night.
&ldquo;Every disappointment is a blessing,&rdquo; Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer said of seeing Nivar steady the team.
Hannah Jump made her first five shots and scored 13 points. Nivar had four points and three assists in 27 minutes.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s always hard seeing a teammate go down,&rdquo; Nivar said. &ldquo;For me this whole season (it&rsquo;s) just staying ready.&rdquo;
Stanford (18-2, 6-1 Pac-12) earned its 18th straight home win against conference opponents. The Cardinal dropped two spots in this week&rsquo;s AP Top 25 poll after a 55-46 loss at USC on Sunday that snapped a 12-game winning streak, a 39-game unbeaten run against conference foes and a 51-game winning stretch facing unranked teams.
&ldquo;I think our team had something to prove to ourselves and what better opportunity than against a team like Utah,&rdquo; VanDerveer said. &ldquo;We have a lot of teams in the Pac-12 that are tournament teams and they&rsquo;re a tournament team.&rdquo;
Alissa Pili scored 25 points and Gianna Kneepkens had 19 for Utah (15-2, 5-2), which had previously lost at Colorado on Jan. 6. Utah shot 3 for 13 from deep in the first half to fall behind 41-32.
Former 49ers quarterback Alex Smith, the No. 1 draft pick in 2005 out of Utah, was at Maples Pavilion cheering on the Utes.
The Utes have never beaten a top-five opponent and had been scoring 86.8 points per game &mdash; among the best in the nation &mdash; but managed just 10 in the second quarter and 12 over the final 10 minutes.
Stanford hasn&rsquo;t allowed more than 77 points in a game since the end of the 2019-20 season, with its only other loss so far this season a 76-71 overtime defeat to No. 1 South Carolina on Nov. 20.
&ldquo;Until people knock off Stanford they&rsquo;re still at the top and we&rsquo;re all chasing them,&rdquo; Utah coach Lynne Roberts said.
The Utes jumped ahead 10-2 and 12-5 before Stanford&rsquo;s 7-0 run over a 1:15 spurt.
Stanford&rsquo;s players wore No. 3 emblems on their &ldquo;Human Athlete&rdquo; warmup shirts in support of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who is recovering after he went into cardiac arrest on the field in a game at Cincinnati on Jan. 2.
&ldquo;It was something that was really special to our team that I think is important just to cross all athletes worldwide just to show that somebody like Damar Hamlin at this instant it&rsquo;s more than playing your sport &mdash; it&rsquo;s your health, it&rsquo;s your mental well-being, it&rsquo;s everything,&rdquo; Jones said.
LEPOLO HURT
Lepolo fell midway through the first quarter and was able to walk off the court on her own but didn&rsquo;t play again. She returned to the bench late in the period without a shoe on her left foot and a big ice bag on the ankle, then was in a walking boot after halftime.
BIG PICTURE
Utah: The Utes moved up two spots in this week&rsquo;s poll to match the highest ranking in program history and their 10 straight weeks in the poll are their most ever. Utah had been 2-0 against ranked opponents, the team&rsquo;s first time beating multiple ranked teams in the same season since 2005-06. ... The Utes have scored 64 or fewer points in all but two meetings with Stanford since 2007. ... They shot 5 of 26 on 3s.
Stanford: Junior G Agnes Emma-Nnopu moved into the starting lineup in place of Kiki Iriafen. ... Brink reached 66 blocks for the season and she has swatted at least one shot in every game. She had 88 as a freshman and 91 last season. ... Stanford leads the all-time series vs. Utah 31-1 including the last eight in the series all by double digits. The Cardinal have scored at least 68 points in every matchup since 2016. ... Stanford is 11-1 at home.
UP NEXT
Utah: At California on Sunday night.
Stanford: Hosts Colorado on Sunday to continue a four-game homestand.

Cameron Brink had 25 points, 14 rebounds and three blocked shots, and  Haley Jones added 25 points, 12 boards and a pair of blocks.

Brink, Jones lead No. 4 Stanford women past No. 8 Utah 74-62

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hall of Fame football player Shannon Sharpe had a <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1616654541889458178?s=20&amp;t=ll04WkrSC7N8B7OfyYiUaw">heated courtside conversation</a> with Memphis Grizzlies players Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks and Morant’s father at the end of the first half Friday night in a nationally televised game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Fox Sports personality exchanged words with Brooks throughout the first half and then yelled at Morant on the final possession of the second quarter. After the halftime buzzer sounded, Brooks yelled at Sharpe and Sharpe motioned toward Brooks. 
Morant walked toward Sharpe at his courtside seat before center Steven Adams stepped in front of him.
Tee Morant, Ja Morant's father, also got involved in the conversation before security at Crypto.com arena separated everyone.
Sharpe, 54, yelled “I bet you won’t!” at Tee Morant as security guards tried to break things up.
Brooks initially did not want to comment, saying: “You can ask him about that. He’s the blogger or whatever he is,” before addressing it a little later. 
Morant and Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins refused to discuss the incident after the Lakers rallied for a 122-121 victory and snapped Memphis' 11-game winning streak
Sharpe told an ESPN reporter at halftime that he was reacting to the Grizzlies' chatter.
“They do all that talking and jockeying and I ain’t about that jockeying,” Sharpe said. "It started with Dillon Brooks. I said he was too small to guard LeBron.”
The former tight end said Brooks then swore at him, and he swore back. Brooks said that wasn't the case and that he told Sharpe that James missed the shot.
“He started to come at me and I said, ‘You don’t want these problems.’ And then Ja came out of nowhere talking. He definitely didn’t want these problems. Then the dad came and he obviously didn’t want no problems. But I wanted anything they had. Don’t let these fools fool you now.”
Sharpe and Tee Morant talked to security in the tunnels at the arena before returning to their seats when the second half started. <a href="https://twitter.com/espn/status/1616663596565422080?s=20&amp;t=jgrs8DduvPh-w2-VccPYmg">They hugged</a> at the end of the third quarter.
Brooks was asked whether Sharpe or any fans should be allowed to return to their seats after getting into an argument with a player?
“A regular pedestrian like him? No. He should have never come back into the game, but it's LA," Brooks said.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Hall of Fame football player Shannon Sharpe had a <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1616654541889458178?s=20&amp;t=ll04WkrSC7N8B7OfyYiUaw">heated courtside conversation</a> with Memphis Grizzlies players Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks and Morant&rsquo;s father at the end of the first half Friday night in a nationally televised game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Fox Sports personality exchanged words with Brooks throughout the first half and then yelled at Morant on the final possession of the second quarter. After the halftime buzzer sounded, Brooks yelled at Sharpe and Sharpe motioned toward Brooks.
Morant walked toward Sharpe at his courtside seat before center Steven Adams stepped in front of him.
Tee Morant, Ja Morant's father, also got involved in the conversation before security at Crypto.com arena separated everyone.
Sharpe, 54, yelled &ldquo;I bet you won&rsquo;t!&rdquo; at Tee Morant as security guards tried to break things up.
Brooks initially did not want to comment, saying: &ldquo;You can ask him about that. He&rsquo;s the blogger or whatever he is,&rdquo; before addressing it a little later.
Morant and Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins refused to discuss the incident after the Lakers rallied for a 122-121 victory and snapped Memphis' 11-game winning streak
Sharpe told an ESPN reporter at halftime that he was reacting to the Grizzlies' chatter.
&ldquo;They do all that talking and jockeying and I ain&rsquo;t about that jockeying,&rdquo; Sharpe said. "It started with Dillon Brooks. I said he was too small to guard LeBron.&rdquo;
The former tight end said Brooks then swore at him, and he swore back. Brooks said that wasn't the case and that he told Sharpe that James missed the shot.
&ldquo;He started to come at me and I said, &lsquo;You don&rsquo;t want these problems.&rsquo; And then Ja came out of nowhere talking. He definitely didn&rsquo;t want these problems. Then the dad came and he obviously didn&rsquo;t want no problems. But I wanted anything they had. Don&rsquo;t let these fools fool you now.&rdquo;
Sharpe and Tee Morant talked to security in the tunnels at the arena before returning to their seats when the second half started. <a href="https://twitter.com/espn/status/1616663596565422080?s=20&amp;t=jgrs8DduvPh-w2-VccPYmg">They hugged</a> at the end of the third quarter.
Brooks was asked whether Sharpe or any fans should be allowed to return to their seats after getting into an argument with a player?
&ldquo;A regular pedestrian like him? No. He should have never come back into the game, but it's LA," Brooks said.
&nbsp;

Shannon Sharpe had a heated courtside conversation with Grizzlies players just before halftime in their game versus the Lakers.

Shannon Sharpe gets in heated argument with Morant at half

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lakers coach Darvin Ham had seen his squad on the wrong end of close losses for the past week.
On Friday night, Ham saw his team's mettle and resolve pay off.
Dennis Schröder completed a three-point play with 7.6 seconds after a steal, and Los Angeles rallied past Memphis 122-121 to snap the Grizzlies' winning streak at 11 games.
“To get a win like this is a momentum swing,” Ham said. “The guys were kind of down after the Sacramento game, but we addressed areas that we needed to get better. There’s no way we win this game if we didn’t have the type of fight that we had.” 
The Lakers had lost their last three games by a total of 10 points. They trailed 114-107 with 3:04 remaining before outscoring the Grizzlies 15-7 the rest of the way.
Schröder stole the ball from Desmond Bane near halfcourt and made a layup while being fouled by Bane to tie it at 120. Schröder then hit a free throw for the lead.
“We wanted to trap first before we fouled,” said Schröder, who scored 19 points. “I saw Bane catch the ball, he had his back to me and I made a play. I got the steal, pushed the ball, got fouled and finished the play.”
After a timeout, Memphis' Brandon Clarke was fouled with 1.9 seconds remaining. He made the first free throw, but missed the second. Bane got the offensive rebound but lost control of it, giving the Lakers possession with 0.4 seconds left.
Russell Westbrook led the Lakers with 29 points and LeBron James added 23. It was only the second time this season Los Angeles won when trailing after three quarters.
The Lakers were outrebounded 63-47, but had a 20-4 edge in fast-break points. 
“We were resilient the whole game,” James said. “We stuck with the game plan. We've given ourselves a chance to win games.”
Ja Morant led Memphis with 22 points. Clarke and Tyus Jones added 20 apiece, and Steven Adams had 16 points and 17 rebounds. 
One significant reason for the Grizzlies' loss was free throws. They were 26 of 40 from the line, the ninth time this season they shot 65% or worse.
“They outcompeted us for 48 minutes. Plain and simple. Terrible effort,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said.
Morant missed his first five shots and was 2 of 10 with six points in the first half before he had a heated courtside conversation with Shannon Sharpe — the Pro Football Hall of Famer and Fox Sports personality — before halftime.
Morant had 14 points in the third quarter and the Grizzlies held a 13-point lead late in the period.
“We gave up too many second-chance points. Just have to win the 50-50 plays,” Morant said. “We've got a lot of good, but a lot of cleaning up to do.”
TIP-INS
Grizzlies: Memphis pulled down a season-high 24 offensive rebounds. ... Clarke also had 10 rebounds. ... Bane scored 16 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. added 12. ... Adams had seven rebounds in the first quarter, the fifth time this season he has had seven or more in the first.
Lakers: Troy Brown Jr. and Kendrick Nunn scored 11 points apiece and Troy Brown Jr. had 10. ... LA blocked five shots in the first quarter. ... Los Angeles scored 41 points in the fourth quarter and has scored at least 40 in four quarters this season.
UP NEXT
Grizzlies: At Phoenix on Sunday night.
Lakers: At Portland on Sunday night.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Lakers coach Darvin Ham had seen his squad on the wrong end of close losses for the past week.
On Friday night, Ham saw his team's mettle and resolve pay off.
Dennis Schr&ouml;der completed a three-point play with 7.6 seconds after a steal, and Los Angeles rallied past Memphis 122-121 to snap the Grizzlies' winning streak at 11 games.
&ldquo;To get a win like this is a momentum swing,&rdquo; Ham said. &ldquo;The guys were kind of down after the Sacramento game, but we addressed areas that we needed to get better. There&rsquo;s no way we win this game if we didn&rsquo;t have the type of fight that we had.&rdquo;
The Lakers had lost their last three games by a total of 10 points. They trailed 114-107 with 3:04 remaining before outscoring the Grizzlies 15-7 the rest of the way.
Schr&ouml;der stole the ball from Desmond Bane near halfcourt and made a layup while being fouled by Bane to tie it at 120. Schr&ouml;der then hit a free throw for the lead.
&ldquo;We wanted to trap first before we fouled,&rdquo; said Schr&ouml;der, who scored 19 points. &ldquo;I saw Bane catch the ball, he had his back to me and I made a play. I got the steal, pushed the ball, got fouled and finished the play.&rdquo;
After a timeout, Memphis' Brandon Clarke was fouled with 1.9 seconds remaining. He made the first free throw, but missed the second. Bane got the offensive rebound but lost control of it, giving the Lakers possession with 0.4 seconds left.
Russell Westbrook led the Lakers with 29 points and LeBron James added 23. It was only the second time this season Los Angeles won when trailing after three quarters.
The Lakers were outrebounded 63-47, but had a 20-4 edge in fast-break points.
&ldquo;We were resilient the whole game,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;We stuck with the game plan. We've given ourselves a chance to win games.&rdquo;
Ja Morant led Memphis with 22 points. Clarke and Tyus Jones added 20 apiece, and Steven Adams had 16 points and 17 rebounds.
One significant reason for the Grizzlies' loss was free throws. They were 26 of 40 from the line, the ninth time this season they shot 65% or worse.
&ldquo;They outcompeted us for 48 minutes. Plain and simple. Terrible effort,&rdquo; Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said.
Morant missed his first five shots and was 2 of 10 with six points in the first half before he had a heated courtside conversation with Shannon Sharpe &mdash; the Pro Football Hall of Famer and Fox Sports personality &mdash; before halftime.
Morant had 14 points in the third quarter and the Grizzlies held a 13-point lead late in the period.
&ldquo;We gave up too many second-chance points. Just have to win the 50-50 plays,&rdquo; Morant said. &ldquo;We've got a lot of good, but a lot of cleaning up to do.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Grizzlies: Memphis pulled down a season-high 24 offensive rebounds. ... Clarke also had 10 rebounds. ... Bane scored 16 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. added 12. ... Adams had seven rebounds in the first quarter, the fifth time this season he has had seven or more in the first.
Lakers: Troy Brown Jr. and Kendrick Nunn scored 11 points apiece and Troy Brown Jr. had 10. ... LA blocked five shots in the first quarter. ... Los Angeles scored 41 points in the fourth quarter and has scored at least 40 in four quarters this season.
UP NEXT
Grizzlies: At Phoenix on Sunday night.
Lakers: At Portland on Sunday night.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Lakers coach Darvin Ham had seen his squad on the wrong end of close losses for the past week.
On Friday night, Ham saw his team's mettle and resolve pay off.
Dennis Schr&ouml;der completed a three-point play with 7.6 seconds after a steal, and Los Angeles rallied past Memphis 122-121 to snap the Grizzlies' winning streak at 11 games.
&ldquo;To get a win like this is a momentum swing,&rdquo; Ham said. &ldquo;The guys were kind of down after the Sacramento game, but we addressed areas that we needed to get better. There&rsquo;s no way we win this game if we didn&rsquo;t have the type of fight that we had.&rdquo;
The Lakers had lost their last three games by a total of 10 points. They trailed 114-107 with 3:04 remaining before outscoring the Grizzlies 15-7 the rest of the way.
Schr&ouml;der stole the ball from Desmond Bane near halfcourt and made a layup while being fouled by Bane to tie it at 120. Schr&ouml;der then hit a free throw for the lead.
&ldquo;We wanted to trap first before we fouled,&rdquo; said Schr&ouml;der, who scored 19 points. &ldquo;I saw Bane catch the ball, he had his back to me and I made a play. I got the steal, pushed the ball, got fouled and finished the play.&rdquo;
After a timeout, Memphis' Brandon Clarke was fouled with 1.9 seconds remaining. He made the first free throw, but missed the second. Bane got the offensive rebound but lost control of it, giving the Lakers possession with 0.4 seconds left.
Russell Westbrook led the Lakers with 29 points and LeBron James added 23. It was only the second time this season Los Angeles won when trailing after three quarters.
The Lakers were outrebounded 63-47, but had a 20-4 edge in fast-break points.
&ldquo;We were resilient the whole game,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;We stuck with the game plan. We've given ourselves a chance to win games.&rdquo;
Ja Morant led Memphis with 22 points. Clarke and Tyus Jones added 20 apiece, and Steven Adams had 16 points and 17 rebounds.
One significant reason for the Grizzlies' loss was free throws. They were 26 of 40 from the line, the ninth time this season they shot 65% or worse.
&ldquo;They outcompeted us for 48 minutes. Plain and simple. Terrible effort,&rdquo; Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said.
Morant missed his first five shots and was 2 of 10 with six points in the first half before he had a heated courtside conversation with Shannon Sharpe &mdash; the Pro Football Hall of Famer and Fox Sports personality &mdash; before halftime.
Morant had 14 points in the third quarter and the Grizzlies held a 13-point lead late in the period.
&ldquo;We gave up too many second-chance points. Just have to win the 50-50 plays,&rdquo; Morant said. &ldquo;We've got a lot of good, but a lot of cleaning up to do.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Grizzlies: Memphis pulled down a season-high 24 offensive rebounds. ... Clarke also had 10 rebounds. ... Bane scored 16 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. added 12. ... Adams had seven rebounds in the first quarter, the fifth time this season he has had seven or more in the first.
Lakers: Troy Brown Jr. and Kendrick Nunn scored 11 points apiece and Troy Brown Jr. had 10. ... LA blocked five shots in the first quarter. ... Los Angeles scored 41 points in the fourth quarter and has scored at least 40 in four quarters this season.
&nbsp;

Dennis Schröder completed a three-point play with 7.6 seconds after a steal, and the Lakers rallied past the Grizzlies 122-121.

Lakers rally to snap Grizzlies' winning streak at 11 games

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Hawks are gaining momentum in the Eastern Conference and their high-scoring guards are leading the way.
Dejounte Murray had 29 points and 12 assists, Trae Young added 27 points and the streaking Hawks pulled away at the start of the fourth quarter to beat the New York Knicks 139-124 on Friday night.
The Hawks (24-22), eighth in the Eastern Conference, extended their season-best winning streak to five games. 
Julius Randle had 32 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks but was held scoreless in the final period.
Murray has scored 27 or more points in four consecutive games. Young had six assists and has averaged more than nine assists in the winning streak.
“We want to be the best for each other and the best for our teammates,” Murray said. “We’ve got to be consistent. We’ve got to continue to want the best for each other and continue to make our teammates better.”
Hawks coach Nate McMillan said Young "has done a nice job of really initiating the offense” and added that Murray has “been on fire” during the winning streak.
“We've been playing really good, just taking what the defense is giving us,” Young said. “... Guys are knocking down shots, just playing free basketball.”
Atlanta acquired Murray from San Antonio before the season, and the pairing of the two All-Star guards required an adjustment. 
“They're playing at a very high level right now,” said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. “They're sharing the ball and playing well together.”
De’Andre Hunter had 20 points and Okongwu scored 14 off the bench. 
Atlanta led only 102-101 before opening the fourth quarter with a 20-4 run that was capped by back-to-back inside baskets by Onyeka Okongwu. The Hawks outscored the Knicks 37-23 in the period.
RJ Barrett scored 23 points for the seventh-place Knicks (25-22), who have a three-game losing streak. 
Jericho Sims started at center in New York's first game since losing Mitchell Robinson for at least three weeks. Robinson had surgery Thursday to repair his fractured right thumb suffered in Wednesday's 116-105 loss to Washington.
Thibodeau was not happy with the Knicks' defense.
“You give up 139, credit to them, they're playing great basketball right now,” said Thibodeau of the Hawks. “But we're not going to win a game like that. ... We're not playing great defense and we've got to get back to that.”
The Hawks had center Clint Capela return this week after missing 10 consecutive games with a calf injury. McMillan said the return to the starting lineup of Capela, whose playing time has been restricted in his three games back in uniform, was important to Atlanta's defense. 
Even with Capela on the court, the Knicks still drove to the basket with consistency while making 30 of 42 shots from the field (71.4%) in the first half.
The Knicks led 71-68 at halftime, with 38 points in the paint. Atlanta opened the second half with a 13-0 run, including nine points by Young.
A 3-pointer by Young gave the Hawks a big lead of 13 points at 87-74 before the Knicks cut the deficit to 102-101 entering the final period.
MISSING ROBINSON'S REBOUNDS
The 7-foot Robinson is averaging 7.2 points and 8.9 rebounds. Thibodeau said Robinson’s rebounds were missed as the Hawks took a 39-34 advantage on the boards.
“The rebounding was a problem right from the start and that was a concern,” Thibodeau said.
Sims had 12 points and eight rebounds while sharing time with Isaiah Hartenstein, who had two points and six rebounds. 
Thibodeau said he “went back and forth” in deciding whether to start Sims or Hartenstein, who had been Robinson's top backup. “Part of it was to keep some unity to the second unit,” Thibodeau said.
TIP-INS
Knicks: Randle had three 3-pointers in the strong finish to the third period. Overall, New York made 13 of 30 3s, including 3 of 10 by Randle. ... 
Hawks: G Bogdan Bogdanovic (right knee soreness) had 14 points off the bench with his knee wrapped after he was listed as questionable in the first of back-to-back games. “We knew that coming into the season that would be something we would have to monitor,” McMillan said. “We have to look at back-to-back situations.” ... 
UP NEXT
Knicks: At Toronto on Sunday.
Hawks: Host Charlotte on Saturday.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ATLANTA (AP) &mdash; The Atlanta Hawks are gaining momentum in the Eastern Conference and their high-scoring guards are leading the way.
Dejounte Murray had 29 points and 12 assists, Trae Young added 27 points and the streaking Hawks pulled away at the start of the fourth quarter to beat the New York Knicks 139-124 on Friday night.
The Hawks (24-22), eighth in the Eastern Conference, extended their season-best winning streak to five games.
Julius Randle had 32 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks but was held scoreless in the final period.
Murray has scored 27 or more points in four consecutive games. Young had six assists and has averaged more than nine assists in the winning streak.
&ldquo;We want to be the best for each other and the best for our teammates,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to be consistent. We&rsquo;ve got to continue to want the best for each other and continue to make our teammates better.&rdquo;
Hawks coach Nate McMillan said Young "has done a nice job of really initiating the offense&rdquo; and added that Murray has &ldquo;been on fire&rdquo; during the winning streak.
&ldquo;We've been playing really good, just taking what the defense is giving us,&rdquo; Young said. &ldquo;... Guys are knocking down shots, just playing free basketball.&rdquo;
Atlanta acquired Murray from San Antonio before the season, and the pairing of the two All-Star guards required an adjustment.
&ldquo;They're playing at a very high level right now,&rdquo; said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. &ldquo;They're sharing the ball and playing well together.&rdquo;
De&rsquo;Andre Hunter had 20 points and Okongwu scored 14 off the bench.
Atlanta led only 102-101 before opening the fourth quarter with a 20-4 run that was capped by back-to-back inside baskets by Onyeka Okongwu. The Hawks outscored the Knicks 37-23 in the period.
RJ Barrett scored 23 points for the seventh-place Knicks (25-22), who have a three-game losing streak.
Jericho Sims started at center in New York's first game since losing Mitchell Robinson for at least three weeks. Robinson had surgery Thursday to repair his fractured right thumb suffered in Wednesday's 116-105 loss to Washington.
Thibodeau was not happy with the Knicks' defense.
&ldquo;You give up 139, credit to them, they're playing great basketball right now,&rdquo; said Thibodeau of the Hawks. &ldquo;But we're not going to win a game like that. ... We're not playing great defense and we've got to get back to that.&rdquo;
The Hawks had center Clint Capela return this week after missing 10 consecutive games with a calf injury. McMillan said the return to the starting lineup of Capela, whose playing time has been restricted in his three games back in uniform, was important to Atlanta's defense.
Even with Capela on the court, the Knicks still drove to the basket with consistency while making 30 of 42 shots from the field (71.4%) in the first half.
The Knicks led 71-68 at halftime, with 38 points in the paint. Atlanta opened the second half with a 13-0 run, including nine points by Young.
A 3-pointer by Young gave the Hawks a big lead of 13 points at 87-74 before the Knicks cut the deficit to 102-101 entering the final period.
MISSING ROBINSON'S REBOUNDS
The 7-foot Robinson is averaging 7.2 points and 8.9 rebounds. Thibodeau said Robinson&rsquo;s rebounds were missed as the Hawks took a 39-34 advantage on the boards.
&ldquo;The rebounding was a problem right from the start and that was a concern,&rdquo; Thibodeau said.
Sims had 12 points and eight rebounds while sharing time with Isaiah Hartenstein, who had two points and six rebounds.
Thibodeau said he &ldquo;went back and forth&rdquo; in deciding whether to start Sims or Hartenstein, who had been Robinson's top backup. &ldquo;Part of it was to keep some unity to the second unit,&rdquo; Thibodeau said.
TIP-INS
Knicks: Randle had three 3-pointers in the strong finish to the third period. Overall, New York made 13 of 30 3s, including 3 of 10 by Randle. ...
Hawks: G Bogdan Bogdanovic (right knee soreness) had 14 points off the bench with his knee wrapped after he was listed as questionable in the first of back-to-back games. &ldquo;We knew that coming into the season that would be something we would have to monitor,&rdquo; McMillan said. &ldquo;We have to look at back-to-back situations.&rdquo; ...
&nbsp;

Dejounte Murray had 29 points, Trae Young added 27 points and the streaking Atlanta Hawks beat the New York Knicks 139-124.

Murray's 29 help Hawks finish strong, beat Knicks 139-124

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored a season-high 36 points against his former team, and the Los Angeles Clippers snapped a two-game skid by beating the San Antonio Spurs 131-126 on Friday night.
The Clippers had lost nine of 11, but coach Tyronn Lue believed this game could mark the start of a turnaround for his team.
“I felt it this morning,” Lue said. “I think having our guys back and everyone going back to their natural roles helps us out a lot. With Kawhi and PG (Paul George) on the floor, we play at a high level.”
The Clippers had seven players score in double figures, including Norman Powell with 26 points and George had 16 points and 12 assists. 
Los Angeles shot 63% from the field, 54% on 3-pointers and had 31 assists. 
Keldon Johnson had 23 points for San Antonio, which has lost nine of 11. Josh Richardson added 17 points, Zach Collins had a season-high 17 and Jeremy Sochan had 16.
Leonard and George played together for just the third time in January. Leonard put on a show on the court where he won NBA Finals MVP in 2014 with the Spurs. 
After losing 15 pounds, Leonard looked spry and had three thunderous dunks.
“I’m feeling a lot lighter, moving a lot bit better out there,” Leonard said. “I’m feeling pretty good. Played a few games in a row.”
The 6-foot-7 forward was 13 for 18 from the field and 4 for 5 on 3-pointers while adding seven assists, four rebounds and two steals.
“He was great,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. “He’s one of the finest players in the league. We are talking about the very top of the list – he’s with those guys.”
Leonard scored 13 points in just under 3 1/2 minutes starting midway through the third quarter to give the Clippers a 93-90 lead. Leonard had three 3-pointers and a vicious left-handed dunk in the run.
San Antonio did not have an individual answer for Leonard but responded by shooting 57% from the field and 54% on 3-pointers to go along with 34 assists. 
“We won this game tonight because we made shots,” Leonard said. “They shot 57% and we shot 63. We definitely have to get better. We’re not going to shoot 63% every night. We’ve got to make sure their percentages are a lot lower than that. We still need to improve. We’ve got a lot to improve on if we want to be a great team.”
The Clippers set an opponent high with 41 points in the opening quarter, besting the mark they shared with 40 points against the Spurs in the opening quarter on Nov. 19. San Antonio responded by holding Los Angeles to 24 points in the second quarter.
“The team, I thought, was spectacular,” Popovich said. “They never give in. They are playing more physically than they have all year. They are assisting, playing the right way. Those guys made shots down the stretch, and oftentimes, that’s the difference. But I was really proud of our guys. They did a great job.”
TIP-INS
Clippers: PG John Wall sat out with an abdominal strain and G Luke Kennard missed the game with a sore right calf. … F Marcus Morris received a technical foul with 47 seconds remaining in the first half after continually talking to Sochan as the two stood across from each other at the free throw line. Morris’ twin brother, Markieff, got into a skirmish with Sochan on Tuesday. Sochan tumbled to the court and took Morris with him after the Nets forward set a hard screen shortly after Sochan put three fingers in his face following a 3-pointer. 
Spurs: San Antonio assistant coach Brett Brown missed the game due to “personal business,” according to the team. … The Spurs finished a four-game homestand at 1-3. … San Antonio signed veteran center Gorgui Dieng to a second 10-day contract. 
WELCOME BACK
Leonard was cheered by the Spurs fans for the first time since demanding a trade and leaving San Antonio in 2018. 
Leonard was honored before the game with a video highlighting his seven seasons in San Antonio. There was a smattering of boos, but nothing to the level of jeers he received in previous appearances in San Antonio.
“It’s been a long journey,” Leonard said. “The fans are very competitive here. When I’m at the games you might hear boos, but if I’m walking on the street or going to restaurants, people come up to me and still tell me how much they love my game and like me as a person. So, I know it’s just a competition once I’m here. I understand.” 
UP NEXT
Clippers: At Dallas on Sunday. 
Spurs: At Portland on Monday.

Kawhi Leonard scored 36 points, and the Los Angeles Clippers snapped a two-game skid, beating the San Antonio Spurs 131-126.

Leonard has season-high 36 to send Clippers past Spurs

CLEVELAND (AP) — The shots splashed through the net like they almost always do for the Golden State Warriors.
However, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson didn't launch any.
Jordan Poole scored 32 points, Ty Jerome added 22 and the Warriors dropped 23 3-pointers while Curry and three other starters sat on the bench in a 120-114 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.
Poole (5) and Jerome (3) combined for eight 3-pointers as the defending NBA champs ended a five-game trip with an improbable win.
“We kind of hung on for dear life down the stretch, but got it done,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "It was just one of those nights. You play 82 games, so you know you’re going to have a few of these.”
Following Golden State's stinging three-point overtime loss Thursday night in Boston, Kerr rested Curry along with fellow first-teamers Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins.
It didn't matter. Even with their top players on the bench in street clothes, the short-handed Warriors came out firing and barely slowed down.
“The biggest thing is, even without our guys, we expect to win,” said Jerome, who is on a two-way contract with Golden State and Santa Cruz. "Everyone that played was good tonight and that’s awesome for us.”
Darius Garland scored 31 points to lead the Cavs, who were without star Donovan Mitchell because of a strained groin and suffered their most embarrassing loss this season. Caris LeVert added 22 points and Evan Mobley 17 for Cleveland.
Afterward, Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff didn't mince words in describing his team's dismal performance.
“We didn’t respect the game. It’s that simple,” he said. “They’ve got champions over there, and we thought some of those guys were out so we were going to take it lightly and we got what we deserved."
Golden State made a season-high 14 3-pointers in the first half — tying the most ever by a Cavs opponent for a half — to take a 64-59 halftime lead.
Although Bickerstaff stressed limiting Golden State's outside attack at halftime, his team didn't get the message as the Warriors made five 3s in the first five minutes to open a 20-point lead.
The Cavs, who have 11 comeback wins when trailing by double digits, fought back and pulled within 114-110. But Jerome dropped the Warriors' final 3-pointer with 1:39 left. 
“They’re good basketball players, and if you’re going to disrespect them, they’re going to make you pay," Bickerstaff said. "We came out of the gate soft and disrespectful and they were out there shooting warmup shots with no contest, no challenges, nobody in their space and they gave us what we deserved.”
MEMORY LANE
Kerr has an emotional attachment to Cleveland.
He played in the city from 1989-92 and his oldest son was born here. It's also where he won NBA titles as a coach in 2015 and 2018 as the Warriors and Cavs met four straight times in the finals.
“This building will always be special for us,” he said. “Just coming in here, feeling the vibe, feeling the juice from those days. They were incredible games. Just an amazing rivalry, two great teams. The level of play was just so high. I will always think of those Finals when I come in here.”
TIP-INS
Warriors: Donte DiVincenzo added 17 points and Kevin Looney had 17 rebounds. ... Golden State opened 7 of 8 on 3-pointers. ... The 23-year-old Poole reached 500 career 3-pointers, surpassing Thompson as the youngest player in team history to reach the plateau. ... F Jonathan Kuminga (right foot sprain) returned after missing eight games and scored 10. F JaMychal Green (right lower leg infection) saw his first action in 15 games and had 13 points. 
Cavaliers: G Ricky Rubio got the night off as part of the maintenance plan for him after returning from knee surgery. He's averaging 5.3 points and 13.1 minutes in four games back. ... Mobley is one of three players averaging 14.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 blocked shots while shooting better than 50.0% from the field. 76ers C Joel Embiid and Lakers C Anthony Davis are the others. … Cavs assistant coach Luke Walton went 39-4 as Golden State’s acting head coach in 2015-2016 while Kerr recovered from back surgery. 
UP NEXT: 
Warriors: Host Brooklyn on Sunday. 
Cavaliers: Host Milwaukee on Saturday night. 
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CLEVELAND (AP) &mdash; The shots splashed through the net like they almost always do for the Golden State Warriors.
However, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson didn't launch any.
Jordan Poole scored 32 points, Ty Jerome added 22 and the Warriors dropped 23 3-pointers while Curry and three other starters sat on the bench in a 120-114 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.
Poole (5) and Jerome (3) combined for eight 3-pointers as the defending NBA champs ended a five-game trip with an improbable win.
&ldquo;We kind of hung on for dear life down the stretch, but got it done,&rdquo; Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "It was just one of those nights. You play 82 games, so you know you&rsquo;re going to have a few of these.&rdquo;
Following Golden State's stinging three-point overtime loss Thursday night in Boston, Kerr rested Curry along with fellow first-teamers Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins.
It didn't matter. Even with their top players on the bench in street clothes, the short-handed Warriors came out firing and barely slowed down.
&ldquo;The biggest thing is, even without our guys, we expect to win,&rdquo; said Jerome, who is on a two-way contract with Golden State and Santa Cruz. "Everyone that played was good tonight and that&rsquo;s awesome for us.&rdquo;
Darius Garland scored 31 points to lead the Cavs, who were without star Donovan Mitchell because of a strained groin and suffered their most embarrassing loss this season. Caris LeVert added 22 points and Evan Mobley 17 for Cleveland.
Afterward, Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff didn't mince words in describing his team's dismal performance.
&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t respect the game. It&rsquo;s that simple,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve got champions over there, and we thought some of those guys were out so we were going to take it lightly and we got what we deserved."
Golden State made a season-high 14 3-pointers in the first half &mdash; tying the most ever by a Cavs opponent for a half &mdash; to take a 64-59 halftime lead.
Although Bickerstaff stressed limiting Golden State's outside attack at halftime, his team didn't get the message as the Warriors made five 3s in the first five minutes to open a 20-point lead.
The Cavs, who have 11 comeback wins when trailing by double digits, fought back and pulled within 114-110. But Jerome dropped the Warriors' final 3-pointer with 1:39 left.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re good basketball players, and if you&rsquo;re going to disrespect them, they&rsquo;re going to make you pay," Bickerstaff said. "We came out of the gate soft and disrespectful and they were out there shooting warmup shots with no contest, no challenges, nobody in their space and they gave us what we deserved.&rdquo;
MEMORY LANE
Kerr has an emotional attachment to Cleveland.
He played in the city from 1989-92 and his oldest son was born here. It's also where he won NBA titles as a coach in 2015 and 2018 as the Warriors and Cavs met four straight times in the finals.
&ldquo;This building will always be special for us,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Just coming in here, feeling the vibe, feeling the juice from those days. They were incredible games. Just an amazing rivalry, two great teams. The level of play was just so high. I will always think of those Finals when I come in here.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Warriors: Donte DiVincenzo added 17 points and Kevin Looney had 17 rebounds. ... Golden State opened 7 of 8 on 3-pointers. ... The 23-year-old Poole reached 500 career 3-pointers, surpassing Thompson as the youngest player in team history to reach the plateau. ... F Jonathan Kuminga (right foot sprain) returned after missing eight games and scored 10. F JaMychal Green (right lower leg infection) saw his first action in 15 games and had 13 points.
Cavaliers: G Ricky Rubio got the night off as part of the maintenance plan for him after returning from knee surgery. He's averaging 5.3 points and 13.1 minutes in four games back. ... Mobley is one of three players averaging 14.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 blocked shots while shooting better than 50.0% from the field. 76ers C Joel Embiid and Lakers C Anthony Davis are the others. &hellip; Cavs assistant coach Luke Walton went 39-4 as Golden State&rsquo;s acting head coach in 2015-2016 while Kerr recovered from back surgery.
UP NEXT:
Warriors: Host Brooklyn on Sunday.
Cavaliers: Host Milwaukee on Saturday night.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CLEVELAND (AP) &mdash; The shots splashed through the net like they almost always do for the Golden State Warriors.
However, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson didn't launch any.
Jordan Poole scored 32 points, Ty Jerome added 22 and the Warriors dropped 23 3-pointers while Curry and three other starters sat on the bench in a 120-114 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.
Poole (5) and Jerome (3) combined for eight 3-pointers as the defending NBA champs ended a five-game trip with an improbable win.
&ldquo;We kind of hung on for dear life down the stretch, but got it done,&rdquo; Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "It was just one of those nights. You play 82 games, so you know you&rsquo;re going to have a few of these.&rdquo;
Following Golden State's stinging three-point overtime loss Thursday night in Boston, Kerr rested Curry along with fellow first-teamers Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins.
It didn't matter. Even with their top players on the bench in street clothes, the short-handed Warriors came out firing and barely slowed down.
&ldquo;The biggest thing is, even without our guys, we expect to win,&rdquo; said Jerome, who is on a two-way contract with Golden State and Santa Cruz. "Everyone that played was good tonight and that&rsquo;s awesome for us.&rdquo;
Darius Garland scored 31 points to lead the Cavs, who were without star Donovan Mitchell because of a strained groin and suffered their most embarrassing loss this season. Caris LeVert added 22 points and Evan Mobley 17 for Cleveland.
Afterward, Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff didn't mince words in describing his team's dismal performance.
&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t respect the game. It&rsquo;s that simple,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve got champions over there, and we thought some of those guys were out so we were going to take it lightly and we got what we deserved."
Golden State made a season-high 14 3-pointers in the first half &mdash; tying the most ever by a Cavs opponent for a half &mdash; to take a 64-59 halftime lead.
Although Bickerstaff stressed limiting Golden State's outside attack at halftime, his team didn't get the message as the Warriors made five 3s in the first five minutes to open a 20-point lead.
The Cavs, who have 11 comeback wins when trailing by double digits, fought back and pulled within 114-110. But Jerome dropped the Warriors' final 3-pointer with 1:39 left.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re good basketball players, and if you&rsquo;re going to disrespect them, they&rsquo;re going to make you pay," Bickerstaff said. "We came out of the gate soft and disrespectful and they were out there shooting warmup shots with no contest, no challenges, nobody in their space and they gave us what we deserved.&rdquo;
MEMORY LANE
Kerr has an emotional attachment to Cleveland.
He played in the city from 1989-92 and his oldest son was born here. It's also where he won NBA titles as a coach in 2015 and 2018 as the Warriors and Cavs met four straight times in the finals.
&ldquo;This building will always be special for us,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Just coming in here, feeling the vibe, feeling the juice from those days. They were incredible games. Just an amazing rivalry, two great teams. The level of play was just so high. I will always think of those Finals when I come in here.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Warriors: Donte DiVincenzo added 17 points and Kevon Looney had 17 rebounds. ... Golden State opened 7 of 8 on 3-pointers. ... The 23-year-old Poole reached 500 career 3-pointers, surpassing Thompson as the youngest player in team history to reach the plateau. ... F Jonathan Kuminga (right foot sprain) returned after missing eight games and scored 10. F JaMychal Green (right lower leg infection) saw his first action in 15 games and had 13 points.
Cavaliers: G Ricky Rubio got the night off as part of the maintenance plan for him after returning from knee surgery. He's averaging 5.3 points and 13.1 minutes in four games back. ... Mobley is one of three players averaging 14.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 blocked shots while shooting better than 50.0% from the field. 76ers C Joel Embiid and Lakers C Anthony Davis are the others. &hellip; Cavs assistant coach Luke Walton went 39-4 as Golden State&rsquo;s acting head coach in 2015-2016 while Kerr recovered from back surgery.
&nbsp;

Jordan Poole scored 32 points, and the Golden State Warriors earned a 120-114 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Without Curry, Warriors make 23 3-pointers and beat Cavs

DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic had 34 points and 12 rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks turned up the defensive intensity in a 115-90 victory over the Miami Heat on Friday night.
The Mavericks were without No. 2 scorer Christian Wood, who missed the first of what will be multiple games with a broken left thumb. 
They responded two nights after blistering criticism of their defense from coach Jason Kidd by holding the Heat to 33% shooting in the first and third quarters combined while outscoring Miami 63-35. 
Dallas gave up 40 points in the first quarter of a 130-122 loss to Atlanta, a third consecutive defeat in which the Mavs allowed at least 130 points. Miami's total was a season low for a Mavericks opponent.
“It wasn’t me calling them out or saying we had a walkthrough, shootaround during the game against Atlanta,” Kidd said. “I just think you could see they were flying around. So now we’ve got to hold them to that standard.”
Victor Oladipo scored 20 points and Bam Adebayo had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Heat, who came to Dallas on a 4-1 roll that had them a season-high four games over .500.
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 19 for the Mavericks, and Reggie Bullock added 15 on 5-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. Doncic was 5 of 8 from deep as the Mavericks finished at 47% (18 of 38).
Miami cut a 17-point first-half deficit to six early in the third quarter but ended up getting outscored 32-16 in the period while shooting just 32%. Dallas led 92-67 after three.
“I don’t think we brought a great motor and level of detail to our offense,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “And I know that was a big point of emphasis for them to really get after us. They’d been giving up a lot of points, so you knew you were going to get their best defensive effort.”
Doncic capped the solid defensive first quarter for Dallas with a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 31-19 lead. The NBA scoring leader had matching 11-point totals in the first and third. 
TIP-INS
Heat: It was the last road game of the season against a Western Conference team. The Heat dropped to 15-9 against the West, including 7-7 on the road with a victory over San Antonio in Mexico City. ... Tyler Herro had 16 points but a game-high four turnovers. ... Jimmy Butler was limited to seven shots and scored 12 points. 
Mavericks: Dorian Finney-Smith scored 10 points before getting into foul trouble in his second game after missing 14 with a right adductor strain. He picked up his fifth foul late in the third quarter. ... It was also the second game back for Josh Green after missing 20 with a right elbow sprain. He scored 12, including an alley-oop dunk on Doncic's seventh and final assist in the fourth quarter. 
3-POINT SURGE
Bullock is 19 of 29 from 3-point territory (66%) over his past four games to bring his season percentage up from 31%, the lowest since his rookie season in 2013-14, to 36%. The current percentage is almost exactly where he was in 2021-22 in helping Dallas reach the Western Conference finals.
“Just continue to just keep believing in my shot,” Bullock said. “I believe in the work that I continue to keep putting in. It was a very slow start for me, but the organization, the team, every day they're telling me, ‘Shoot the ball, shoot the ball.’" 
UP NEXT
Heat: At home against New Orleans on Sunday for the second meeting in five days. Miami ended the Pelicans' 32-game streak of scoring at least 100 points in a 124-98 victory Wednesday.
Mavericks: The Clippers visit Sunday two weeks after Los Angeles won 113-101 at home in the first meeting of the season.
___
AP NBA: <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/nba">https://apnews.com/hub/nba</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Sports">https://twitter.com/AP_Sports</a>

DALLAS (AP) &mdash; Luka Doncic had 34 points and 12 rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks turned up the defensive intensity in a 115-90 victory over the Miami Heat on Friday night.
The Mavericks were without No. 2 scorer Christian Wood, who missed the first of what will be multiple games with a broken left thumb.
They responded two nights after blistering criticism of their defense from coach Jason Kidd by holding the Heat to 33% shooting in the first and third quarters combined while outscoring Miami 63-35.
Dallas gave up 40 points in the first quarter of a 130-122 loss to Atlanta, a third consecutive defeat in which the Mavs allowed at least 130 points. Miami's total was a season low for a Mavericks opponent.
&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t me calling them out or saying we had a walkthrough, shootaround during the game against Atlanta,&rdquo; Kidd said. &ldquo;I just think you could see they were flying around. So now we&rsquo;ve got to hold them to that standard.&rdquo;
Victor Oladipo scored 20 points and Bam Adebayo had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Heat, who came to Dallas on a 4-1 roll that had them a season-high four games over .500.
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 19 for the Mavericks, and Reggie Bullock added 15 on 5-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. Doncic was 5 of 8 from deep as the Mavericks finished at 47% (18 of 38).
Miami cut a 17-point first-half deficit to six early in the third quarter but ended up getting outscored 32-16 in the period while shooting just 32%. Dallas led 92-67 after three.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we brought a great motor and level of detail to our offense,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;And I know that was a big point of emphasis for them to really get after us. They&rsquo;d been giving up a lot of points, so you knew you were going to get their best defensive effort.&rdquo;
Doncic capped the solid defensive first quarter for Dallas with a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 31-19 lead. The NBA scoring leader had matching 11-point totals in the first and third.
TIP-INS
Heat: It was the last road game of the season against a Western Conference team. The Heat dropped to 15-9 against the West, including 7-7 on the road with a victory over San Antonio in Mexico City. ... Tyler Herro had 16 points but a game-high four turnovers. ... Jimmy Butler was limited to seven shots and scored 12 points.
Mavericks: Dorian Finney-Smith scored 10 points before getting into foul trouble in his second game after missing 14 with a right adductor strain. He picked up his fifth foul late in the third quarter. ... It was also the second game back for Josh Green after missing 20 with a right elbow sprain. He scored 12, including an alley-oop dunk on Doncic's seventh and final assist in the fourth quarter.
3-POINT SURGE
Bullock is 19 of 29 from 3-point territory (66%) over his past four games to bring his season percentage up from 31%, the lowest since his rookie season in 2013-14, to 36%. The current percentage is almost exactly where he was in 2021-22 in helping Dallas reach the Western Conference finals.
&ldquo;Just continue to just keep believing in my shot,&rdquo; Bullock said. &ldquo;I believe in the work that I continue to keep putting in. It was a very slow start for me, but the organization, the team, every day they're telling me, &lsquo;Shoot the ball, shoot the ball.&rsquo;"
&nbsp;

Luka Doncic had 34 points and 12 rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks scored a 115-90 victory over the Miami Heat.

Doncic scores 34, Mavs get defensive in 115-90 win over Heat

DENVER (AP) — The peach-colored coordination between <a href="https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1616624375842897920">Jamal Murray</a> (shoes) and <a href="https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1616630170273861634">Nikola Jokic</a> (suit) was purely by accident.
This wasn't: Murray turning in his best Jokic imitation.
Murray got his first career triple-double and <a href="https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1616667434207043584">the Denver Nuggets</a> extended their winning streak to nine games by routing the Indiana Pacers 134-111 on Friday night without Jokic. 
The two-time reigning NBA MVP sat out due to hamstring tightness.
Murray finished with 17 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds to replicate the kind of production usually seen from Jokic, who leads the league in triple-doubles. Jokic had a courtside seat for the Jamal Murray Show and congratulated his point-guard teammate after the feat. 
“I was just playing our game, playing aggressive,” Murray explained. “We were just having fun out there. The ball was hopping.” 
About their color-coordinated ensemble: “I didn’t know he was going to come in looking like a peach,” Murray cracked.
About emulating Jokic in getting into the triple-double department: “He steals a lot of my triple-doubles,” Murray cracked again. "It was nice to finally get one on the board.”
Aaron Gordon scored 28 points and Michael Porter Jr. added 19 as the Western Conference-leading Nuggets ran their home win streak to 16 games. They haven't lost at Ball Arena since Dec. 6 against Dallas. 
Nuggets acting head coach David Adelman improved to 3-0. Michael Malone remains out after entering the league’s health and safety protocols. 
A stat line Malone will certainly appreciate — a season-high 38 assists. This, too — 16 steals.
“It was really fun to see our guys continue to play the way we play regardless of who’s on the court,” Adelman said. “It was fun because a lot of guys contributed. Those are special nights.” 
Adelman was especially pleased for Murray, who's been working his way back from a torn ACL that kept him out all last season.
“He’s already had such a storied career here as a Nugget and everything he’s been through,” Adelman said. “So it’s very cool to see that.”
Bennedict Mathurin had 19 points and Chris Duarte added 18 for the Pacers, who dropped their sixth straight game. Indiana went 8 of 32 from 3-point range.
“We’re making a lot of mistakes. We’re not taking care of the ball, including me,” Duarte said. “We just have to cut that down. I feel if we cut the turnovers down we’re going to be there with the other teams.” 
Denver had a back-to-back-to-back dunk sequence in the third quarter that drew thunderous applause from the crowd. 
The Nuggets were jamming along all night with 16 dunks. That was tied for their most since 1996-97 (against Washington on March 20, 2009), according to the team. 
“We’re very unselfish,” Murray said. “We don’t really care who scores. We’re just playing free.” 
TIP-INS
Pacers: Indiana has lost six in a row to Denver. ... Indiana center Myles Turner had 15 points. 
Nuggets: F Vlatko Cancar missed the game because of an illness not related to COVID-19. ... F Jeff Green was back after sitting out 14 games with a broken hand. He finished with six points. ... G Bones Hyland didn't play in the second half. He had six points.
INJURY UPDATE, PART I
Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton participated in some shooting contests with his teammates Friday. Haliburton has missed the last five games (sprained knee/elbow).
“I don’t know exactly when he’ll play, but he’s doing well,” coach Rick Carlisle said.
INJURY UPDATE, PART II
Adelman said Jokic sitting out was more of a precaution.
“He just had a little discomfort,” Adelman said. “If he’s not the best player in the world he’s close, so if he’s feeling discomfort, we’re not going to take a chance.”
UP NEXT
Pacers: Finish a four-game trip Saturday at Phoenix.
Nuggets: Close out a five-game homestand Sunday against Oklahoma City.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DENVER (AP) &mdash; The peach-colored coordination between <a href="https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1616624375842897920">Jamal Murray</a> (shoes) and <a href="https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1616630170273861634">Nikola Jokic</a> (suit) was purely by accident.
This wasn't: Murray turning in his best Jokic imitation.
Murray got his first career triple-double and the Denver Nuggets extended their winning streak to nine games by routing the Indiana Pacers 134-111 on Friday night without Jokic.
The two-time reigning NBA MVP sat out due to hamstring tightness.
Murray finished with 17 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds to replicate the kind of production usually seen from Jokic, who leads the league in triple-doubles. Jokic had a courtside seat for the Jamal Murray Show and congratulated his point-guard teammate after the feat.
&ldquo;I was just playing our game, playing aggressive,&rdquo; Murray explained. &ldquo;We were just having fun out there. The ball was hopping.&rdquo;
About their color-coordinated ensemble: &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know he was going to come in looking like a peach,&rdquo; Murray cracked.
About emulating Jokic in getting into the triple-double department: &ldquo;He steals a lot of my triple-doubles,&rdquo; Murray cracked again. "It was nice to finally get one on the board.&rdquo;
Aaron Gordon scored 28 points and Michael Porter Jr. added 19 as the Western Conference-leading Nuggets ran their home win streak to 16 games. They haven't lost at Ball Arena since Dec. 6 against Dallas.
Nuggets acting head coach David Adelman improved to 3-0. Michael Malone remains out after entering the league&rsquo;s health and safety protocols.
A stat line Malone will certainly appreciate &mdash; a season-high 38 assists. This, too &mdash; 16 steals.
&ldquo;It was really fun to see our guys continue to play the way we play regardless of who&rsquo;s on the court,&rdquo; Adelman said. &ldquo;It was fun because a lot of guys contributed. Those are special nights.&rdquo;
Adelman was especially pleased for Murray, who's been working his way back from a torn ACL that kept him out all last season.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s already had such a storied career here as a Nugget and everything he&rsquo;s been through,&rdquo; Adelman said. &ldquo;So it&rsquo;s very cool to see that.&rdquo;
Bennedict Mathurin had 19 points and Chris Duarte added 18 for the Pacers, who dropped their sixth straight game. Indiana went 8 of 32 from 3-point range.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re making a lot of mistakes. We&rsquo;re not taking care of the ball, including me,&rdquo; Duarte said. &ldquo;We just have to cut that down. I feel if we cut the turnovers down we&rsquo;re going to be there with the other teams.&rdquo;
Denver had a back-to-back-to-back dunk sequence in the third quarter that drew thunderous applause from the crowd.
The Nuggets were jamming along all night with 16 dunks. That was tied for their most since 1996-97 (against Washington on March 20, 2009), according to the team.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re very unselfish,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t really care who scores. We&rsquo;re just playing free.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Pacers: Indiana has lost six in a row to Denver. ... Indiana center Myles Turner had 15 points.
Nuggets: F Vlatko Cancar missed the game because of an illness not related to COVID-19. ... F Jeff Green was back after sitting out 14 games with a broken hand. He finished with six points. ... G Bones Hyland didn't play in the second half. He had six points.
INJURY UPDATE, PART I
Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton participated in some shooting contests with his teammates Friday. Haliburton has missed the last five games (sprained knee/elbow).
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know exactly when he&rsquo;ll play, but he&rsquo;s doing well,&rdquo; coach Rick Carlisle said.
INJURY UPDATE, PART II
Adelman said Jokic sitting out was more of a precaution.
&ldquo;He just had a little discomfort,&rdquo; Adelman said. &ldquo;If he&rsquo;s not the best player in the world he&rsquo;s close, so if he&rsquo;s feeling discomfort, we&rsquo;re not going to take a chance.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Pacers: Finish a four-game trip Saturday at Phoenix.
Nuggets: Close out a five-game homestand Sunday against Oklahoma City.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DENVER (AP) &mdash; The peach-colored coordination between <a href="https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1616624375842897920">Jamal Murray</a> (shoes) and <a href="https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1616630170273861634">Nikola Jokic</a> (suit) was purely by accident.
This wasn't: Murray turning in his best Jokic imitation.
Murray got his first career triple-double and the Denver Nuggets extended their winning streak to nine games by routing the Indiana Pacers 134-111 on Friday night without Jokic.
The two-time reigning NBA MVP sat out due to hamstring tightness.
Murray finished with 17 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds to replicate the kind of production usually seen from Jokic, who leads the league in triple-doubles. Jokic had a courtside seat for the Jamal Murray Show and congratulated his point-guard teammate after the feat.
&ldquo;I was just playing our game, playing aggressive,&rdquo; Murray explained. &ldquo;We were just having fun out there. The ball was hopping.&rdquo;
About their color-coordinated ensemble: &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know he was going to come in looking like a peach,&rdquo; Murray cracked.
About emulating Jokic in getting into the triple-double department: &ldquo;He steals a lot of my triple-doubles,&rdquo; Murray cracked again. "It was nice to finally get one on the board.&rdquo;
Aaron Gordon scored 28 points and Michael Porter Jr. added 19 as the Western Conference-leading Nuggets ran their home win streak to 16 games. They haven't lost at Ball Arena since Dec. 6 against Dallas.
Nuggets acting head coach David Adelman improved to 3-0. Michael Malone remains out after entering the league&rsquo;s health and safety protocols.
A stat line Malone will certainly appreciate &mdash; a season-high 38 assists. This, too &mdash; 16 steals.
&ldquo;It was really fun to see our guys continue to play the way we play regardless of who&rsquo;s on the court,&rdquo; Adelman said. &ldquo;It was fun because a lot of guys contributed. Those are special nights.&rdquo;
Adelman was especially pleased for Murray, who's been working his way back from a torn ACL that kept him out all last season.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s already had such a storied career here as a Nugget and everything he&rsquo;s been through,&rdquo; Adelman said. &ldquo;So it&rsquo;s very cool to see that.&rdquo;
Bennedict Mathurin had 19 points and Chris Duarte added 18 for the Pacers, who dropped their sixth straight game. Indiana went 8 of 32 from 3-point range.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re making a lot of mistakes. We&rsquo;re not taking care of the ball, including me,&rdquo; Duarte said. &ldquo;We just have to cut that down. I feel if we cut the turnovers down we&rsquo;re going to be there with the other teams.&rdquo;
Denver had a back-to-back-to-back dunk sequence in the third quarter that drew thunderous applause from the crowd.
The Nuggets were jamming along all night with 16 dunks. That was tied for their most since 1996-97 (against Washington on March 20, 2009), according to the team.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re very unselfish,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t really care who scores. We&rsquo;re just playing free.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Pacers: Indiana has lost six in a row to Denver. ... Indiana center Myles Turner had 15 points.
Nuggets: F Vlatko Cancar missed the game because of an illness not related to COVID-19. ... F Jeff Green was back after sitting out 14 games with a broken hand. He finished with six points. ... G Bones Hyland didn't play in the second half. He had six points.
INJURY UPDATE, PART I
Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton participated in some shooting contests with his teammates Friday. Haliburton has missed the last five games (sprained knee/elbow).
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know exactly when he&rsquo;ll play, but he&rsquo;s doing well,&rdquo; coach Rick Carlisle said.
INJURY UPDATE, PART II
Adelman said Jokic sitting out was more of a precaution.
&ldquo;He just had a little discomfort,&rdquo; Adelman said. &ldquo;If he&rsquo;s not the best player in the world he&rsquo;s close, so if he&rsquo;s feeling discomfort, we&rsquo;re not going to take a chance.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Pacers: Finish a four-game trip Saturday at Phoenix.
Nuggets: Close out a five-game homestand Sunday against Oklahoma City.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DENVER (AP) &mdash; The peach-colored coordination between <a href="https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1616624375842897920">Jamal Murray</a> (shoes) and <a href="https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1616630170273861634">Nikola Jokic</a> (suit) was purely by accident.
This wasn't: Murray turning in his best Jokic imitation.
Murray got his first career triple-double and the Denver Nuggets extended their winning streak to nine games by routing the Indiana Pacers 134-111 on Friday night without Jokic.
The two-time reigning NBA MVP sat out due to hamstring tightness.
Murray finished with 17 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds to replicate the kind of production usually seen from Jokic, who leads the league in triple-doubles. Jokic had a courtside seat for the Jamal Murray Show and congratulated his point-guard teammate after the feat.
&ldquo;I was just playing our game, playing aggressive,&rdquo; Murray explained. &ldquo;We were just having fun out there. The ball was hopping.&rdquo;
About their color-coordinated ensemble: &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know he was going to come in looking like a peach,&rdquo; Murray cracked.
About emulating Jokic in getting into the triple-double department: &ldquo;He steals a lot of my triple-doubles,&rdquo; Murray cracked again. "It was nice to finally get one on the board.&rdquo;
Aaron Gordon scored 28 points and Michael Porter Jr. added 19 as the Western Conference-leading Nuggets ran their home win streak to 16 games. They haven't lost at Ball Arena since Dec. 6 against Dallas.
Nuggets acting head coach David Adelman improved to 3-0. Michael Malone remains out after entering the league&rsquo;s health and safety protocols.
A stat line Malone will certainly appreciate &mdash; a season-high 38 assists. This, too &mdash; 16 steals.
&ldquo;It was really fun to see our guys continue to play the way we play regardless of who&rsquo;s on the court,&rdquo; Adelman said. &ldquo;It was fun because a lot of guys contributed. Those are special nights.&rdquo;
Adelman was especially pleased for Murray, who's been working his way back from a torn ACL that kept him out all last season.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s already had such a storied career here as a Nugget and everything he&rsquo;s been through,&rdquo; Adelman said. &ldquo;So it&rsquo;s very cool to see that.&rdquo;
Bennedict Mathurin had 19 points and Chris Duarte added 18 for the Pacers, who dropped their sixth straight game. Indiana went 8 of 32 from 3-point range.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re making a lot of mistakes. We&rsquo;re not taking care of the ball, including me,&rdquo; Duarte said. &ldquo;We just have to cut that down. I feel if we cut the turnovers down we&rsquo;re going to be there with the other teams.&rdquo;
Denver had a back-to-back-to-back dunk sequence in the third quarter that drew thunderous applause from the crowd.
The Nuggets were jamming along all night with 16 dunks. That was tied for their most since 1996-97 (against Washington on March 20, 2009), according to the team.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re very unselfish,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t really care who scores. We&rsquo;re just playing free.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Pacers: Indiana has lost six in a row to Denver. ... Indiana center Myles Turner had 15 points.
Nuggets: F Vlatko Cancar missed the game because of an illness not related to COVID-19. ... F Jeff Green was back after sitting out 14 games with a broken hand. He finished with six points. ... G Bones Hyland didn't play in the second half. He had six points.
INJURY UPDATE, PART I
Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton participated in some shooting contests with his teammates Friday. Haliburton has missed the last five games (sprained knee/elbow).
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know exactly when he&rsquo;ll play, but he&rsquo;s doing well,&rdquo; coach Rick Carlisle said.
INJURY UPDATE, PART II
Adelman said Jokic sitting out was more of a precaution.
&ldquo;He just had a little discomfort,&rdquo; Adelman said. &ldquo;If he&rsquo;s not the best player in the world he&rsquo;s close, so if he&rsquo;s feeling discomfort, we&rsquo;re not going to take a chance.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

DENVER (AP) &mdash; The peach-colored coordination between Jamal Murray (shoes) and <a href="https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1616630170273861634">Nikola Jokic</a> (suit) was purely by accident.
This wasn't: Murray turning in his best Jokic imitation.
Murray got his first career triple-double and the Denver Nuggets extended their winning streak to nine games by routing the Indiana Pacers 134-111 on Friday night without Jokic.
The two-time reigning NBA MVP sat out due to hamstring tightness.
Murray finished with 17 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds to replicate the kind of production usually seen from Jokic, who leads the league in triple-doubles. Jokic had a courtside seat for the Jamal Murray Show and congratulated his point-guard teammate after the feat.
&ldquo;I was just playing our game, playing aggressive,&rdquo; Murray explained. &ldquo;We were just having fun out there. The ball was hopping.&rdquo;
About their color-coordinated ensemble: &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know he was going to come in looking like a peach,&rdquo; Murray cracked.
About emulating Jokic in getting into the triple-double department: &ldquo;He steals a lot of my triple-doubles,&rdquo; Murray cracked again. "It was nice to finally get one on the board.&rdquo;
Aaron Gordon scored 28 points and Michael Porter Jr. added 19 as the Western Conference-leading Nuggets ran their home win streak to 16 games. They haven't lost at Ball Arena since Dec. 6 against Dallas.
Nuggets acting head coach David Adelman improved to 3-0. Michael Malone remains out after entering the league&rsquo;s health and safety protocols.
A stat line Malone will certainly appreciate &mdash; a season-high 38 assists. This, too &mdash; 16 steals.
&ldquo;It was really fun to see our guys continue to play the way we play regardless of who&rsquo;s on the court,&rdquo; Adelman said. &ldquo;It was fun because a lot of guys contributed. Those are special nights.&rdquo;
Adelman was especially pleased for Murray, who's been working his way back from a torn ACL that kept him out all last season.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s already had such a storied career here as a Nugget and everything he&rsquo;s been through,&rdquo; Adelman said. &ldquo;So it&rsquo;s very cool to see that.&rdquo;
Bennedict Mathurin had 19 points and Chris Duarte added 18 for the Pacers, who dropped their sixth straight game. Indiana went 8 of 32 from 3-point range.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re making a lot of mistakes. We&rsquo;re not taking care of the ball, including me,&rdquo; Duarte said. &ldquo;We just have to cut that down. I feel if we cut the turnovers down we&rsquo;re going to be there with the other teams.&rdquo;
Denver had a back-to-back-to-back dunk sequence in the third quarter that drew thunderous applause from the crowd.
The Nuggets were jamming along all night with 16 dunks. That was tied for their most since 1996-97 (against Washington on March 20, 2009), according to the team.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re very unselfish,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t really care who scores. We&rsquo;re just playing free.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Pacers: Indiana has lost six in a row to Denver. ... Indiana center Myles Turner had 15 points.
Nuggets: F Vlatko Cancar missed the game because of an illness not related to COVID-19. ... F Jeff Green was back after sitting out 14 games with a broken hand. He finished with six points. ... G Bones Hyland didn't play in the second half. He had six points.
INJURY UPDATE, PART I
Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton participated in some shooting contests with his teammates Friday. Haliburton has missed the last five games (sprained knee/elbow).
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know exactly when he&rsquo;ll play, but he&rsquo;s doing well,&rdquo; coach Rick Carlisle said.
INJURY UPDATE, PART II
Adelman said Jokic sitting out was more of a precaution.
&ldquo;He just had a little discomfort,&rdquo; Adelman said. &ldquo;If he&rsquo;s not the best player in the world he&rsquo;s close, so if he&rsquo;s feeling discomfort, we&rsquo;re not going to take a chance.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

DENVER (AP) &mdash; The peach-colored coordination between Jamal Murray (shoes) and Nikola Jokic (suit) was purely by accident.
This wasn't: Murray turning in his best Jokic imitation.
Murray got his first career triple-double and the Denver Nuggets extended their winning streak to nine games by routing the Indiana Pacers 134-111 on Friday night without Jokic.
The two-time reigning NBA MVP sat out due to hamstring tightness.
Murray finished with 17 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds to replicate the kind of production usually seen from Jokic, who leads the league in triple-doubles. Jokic had a courtside seat for the Jamal Murray Show and congratulated his point-guard teammate after the feat.
&ldquo;I was just playing our game, playing aggressive,&rdquo; Murray explained. &ldquo;We were just having fun out there. The ball was hopping.&rdquo;
About their color-coordinated ensemble: &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know he was going to come in looking like a peach,&rdquo; Murray cracked.
About emulating Jokic in getting into the triple-double department: &ldquo;He steals a lot of my triple-doubles,&rdquo; Murray cracked again. "It was nice to finally get one on the board.&rdquo;
Aaron Gordon scored 28 points and Michael Porter Jr. added 19 as the Western Conference-leading Nuggets ran their home win streak to 16 games. They haven't lost at Ball Arena since Dec. 6 against Dallas.
Nuggets acting head coach David Adelman improved to 3-0. Michael Malone remains out after entering the league&rsquo;s health and safety protocols.
A stat line Malone will certainly appreciate &mdash; a season-high 38 assists. This, too &mdash; 16 steals.
&ldquo;It was really fun to see our guys continue to play the way we play regardless of who&rsquo;s on the court,&rdquo; Adelman said. &ldquo;It was fun because a lot of guys contributed. Those are special nights.&rdquo;
Adelman was especially pleased for Murray, who's been working his way back from a torn ACL that kept him out all last season.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s already had such a storied career here as a Nugget and everything he&rsquo;s been through,&rdquo; Adelman said. &ldquo;So it&rsquo;s very cool to see that.&rdquo;
Bennedict Mathurin had 19 points and Chris Duarte added 18 for the Pacers, who dropped their sixth straight game. Indiana went 8 of 32 from 3-point range.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re making a lot of mistakes. We&rsquo;re not taking care of the ball, including me,&rdquo; Duarte said. &ldquo;We just have to cut that down. I feel if we cut the turnovers down we&rsquo;re going to be there with the other teams.&rdquo;
Denver had a back-to-back-to-back dunk sequence in the third quarter that drew thunderous applause from the crowd.
The Nuggets were jamming along all night with 16 dunks. That was tied for their most since 1996-97 (against Washington on March 20, 2009), according to the team.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re very unselfish,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t really care who scores. We&rsquo;re just playing free.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Pacers: Indiana has lost six in a row to Denver. ... Indiana center Myles Turner had 15 points.
Nuggets: F Vlatko Cancar missed the game because of an illness not related to COVID-19. ... F Jeff Green was back after sitting out 14 games with a broken hand. He finished with six points. ... G Bones Hyland didn't play in the second half. He had six points.
INJURY UPDATE, PART I
Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton participated in some shooting contests with his teammates Friday. Haliburton has missed the last five games (sprained knee/elbow).
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know exactly when he&rsquo;ll play, but he&rsquo;s doing well,&rdquo; coach Rick Carlisle said.
INJURY UPDATE, PART II
Adelman said Jokic sitting out was more of a precaution.
&ldquo;He just had a little discomfort,&rdquo; Adelman said. &ldquo;If he&rsquo;s not the best player in the world he&rsquo;s close, so if he&rsquo;s feeling discomfort, we&rsquo;re not going to take a chance.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

The Denver Nuggets extended their winning streak to nine games by routing the Indiana Pacers 134-111

Murray gets 1st career triple-double, Nuggets rout Pacers

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Franz Wagner had 30 points and nine assists, Cole Anthony scored 22 off the bench and the Orlando Magic beat the New Orleans Pelicans 123-110 on Friday night. 
CJ McCollum led New Orleans with 23 points. Jonas Valanciunas had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Trey Murphy III added 18 points for the injury-riddled Pelicans, who lost for the eighth time in 11 games.
Orlando pulled away in the fourth quarter behind Wagner and its backups. Magic starters Paulo Banchero, Wendell Carter Jr. and Markelle Fultz did not play in the final period. 
“In that fourth quarter, as a unit I thought we really locked in,” said Anthony, who played 26 minutes. “I thought we were pretty good with our rotations, and we did a good job of making them take tough shots.”
The Magic shot 52% overall and made 15 of 30 attempts from 3-point range. They were 30 of 34 at the free throw line.
“We just didn’t defend at a high level and we fouled too much. That’s what it boils down to,” Murphy said.
A three-point play by Jalen Suggs with 9:17 remaining broke a 95-all tie and launched a 12-2 run that put Orlando ahead for good. 
“They were the aggressors and that’s why they shot extremely well from the field,” New Orleans coach Willie Green said. “They were going to force the issue, get to the paint. And if they didn’t have it, they kicked out to guys and they made shots.”
Wagner, who was 5 of 7 from 3-point territory, had 21 points and six assists in the first half.
“I got into good rhythm early on, got a couple of open ones,” he said, “and then I think our ball movement all night got really good shots for everybody.”
After falling behind by 14 early, the Magic made their first six shots of the second quarter, including 3-pointers by Wagner, Mo Bamba and Anthony, to get back in it. 
Herbert Jones, who started for New Orleans after missing the previous four games with a lower back bruise, scored the Pelicans' final five points of the half, leaving them with a 60-56 lead.
But the Pelicans were outscored 30-19 in the fourth quarter, with the 6-foot-10 Wagner holding McCollum to one field goal.
“Obviously we scored at a high clip, but I think it was our defense that allowed that to happen,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said.
TIP-INS
Pelicans: Jones fouled out with 4:28 left. He scored 10 points in 19 minutes. ... F Naji Marshall sat out with a sore right big toe after playing at least 31 minutes in eight straight games. ... F Zion Williamson missed his ninth consecutive game with a strained right hamstring.
Magic: Wagner finished with a plus/minus of plus-21, and Anthony was plus-19. ... It was the first of six games in nine days for Orlando — one reason three starters got the fourth quarter off. ... The Magic are 12-8 since a 5-20 start.
INJURY UPDATE
Jonathan Isaac was recalled from the G League after playing three games with the Lakeland Magic, but was not activated.
Isaac has not played in an NBA game since tearing his left ACL in August 2020. There are no specific plans for activating him.
“We’re just taking it day by day, just seeing how his body responds,” Mosley said.
ELITE STUFF
The 7-foot-2 Bol Bol, who had 12 points and five rebounds, got the crowd into the game with an eye-opening play during the Magic's fourth-quarter run, weaving his way through the lane and finishing with a dunk over Murphy.
“Ninety-five percent of the stuff Bol does surprises me,” Anthony said. “It’s on one of those things that you see and it’s like, ‘Wow, that’s elite!' It’s one of those things that doesn’t get old.”
UP NEXT
Pelicans: Play at Miami on Sunday.
Magic: Play at Washington on Saturday night.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Franz Wagner had 30 points and nine assists, Cole Anthony scored 22 off the bench and the Orlando Magic beat the New Orleans Pelicans 123-110 on Friday night.
CJ McCollum led New Orleans with 23 points. Jonas Valanciunas had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Trey Murphy III added 18 points for the injury-riddled Pelicans, who lost for the eighth time in 11 games.
Orlando pulled away in the fourth quarter behind Wagner and its backups. Magic starters Paulo Banchero, Wendell Carter Jr. and Markelle Fultz did not play in the final period.
&ldquo;In that fourth quarter, as a unit I thought we really locked in,&rdquo; said Anthony, who played 26 minutes. &ldquo;I thought we were pretty good with our rotations, and we did a good job of making them take tough shots.&rdquo;
The Magic shot 52% overall and made 15 of 30 attempts from 3-point range. They were 30 of 34 at the free throw line.
&ldquo;We just didn&rsquo;t defend at a high level and we fouled too much. That&rsquo;s what it boils down to,&rdquo; Murphy said.
A three-point play by Jalen Suggs with 9:17 remaining broke a 95-all tie and launched a 12-2 run that put Orlando ahead for good.
&ldquo;They were the aggressors and that&rsquo;s why they shot extremely well from the field,&rdquo; New Orleans coach Willie Green said. &ldquo;They were going to force the issue, get to the paint. And if they didn&rsquo;t have it, they kicked out to guys and they made shots.&rdquo;
Wagner, who was 5 of 7 from 3-point territory, had 21 points and six assists in the first half.
&ldquo;I got into good rhythm early on, got a couple of open ones,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and then I think our ball movement all night got really good shots for everybody.&rdquo;
After falling behind by 14 early, the Magic made their first six shots of the second quarter, including 3-pointers by Wagner, Mo Bamba and Anthony, to get back in it.
Herbert Jones, who started for New Orleans after missing the previous four games with a lower back bruise, scored the Pelicans' final five points of the half, leaving them with a 60-56 lead.
But the Pelicans were outscored 30-19 in the fourth quarter, with the 6-foot-10 Wagner holding McCollum to one field goal.
&ldquo;Obviously we scored at a high clip, but I think it was our defense that allowed that to happen,&rdquo; Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said.
TIP-INS
Pelicans: Jones fouled out with 4:28 left. He scored 10 points in 19 minutes. ... F Naji Marshall sat out with a sore right big toe after playing at least 31 minutes in eight straight games. ... F Zion Williamson missed his ninth consecutive game with a strained right hamstring.
Magic: Wagner finished with a plus/minus of plus-21, and Anthony was plus-19. ... It was the first of six games in nine days for Orlando &mdash; one reason three starters got the fourth quarter off. ... The Magic are 12-8 since a 5-20 start.
INJURY UPDATE
Jonathan Isaac was recalled from the G League after playing three games with the Lakeland Magic, but was not activated.
Isaac has not played in an NBA game since tearing his left ACL in August 2020. There are no specific plans for activating him.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re just taking it day by day, just seeing how his body responds,&rdquo; Mosley said.
ELITE STUFF
The 7-foot-2 Bol Bol, who had 12 points and five rebounds, got the crowd into the game with an eye-opening play during the Magic's fourth-quarter run, weaving his way through the lane and finishing with a dunk over Murphy.
&ldquo;Ninety-five percent of the stuff Bol does surprises me,&rdquo; Anthony said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s on one of those things that you see and it&rsquo;s like, &lsquo;Wow, that&rsquo;s elite!' It&rsquo;s one of those things that doesn&rsquo;t get old.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Pelicans: Play at Miami on Sunday.
Magic: Play at Washington on Saturday night.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Franz Wagner had 30 points and nine assists, Cole Anthony scored 22 off the bench and the Orlando Magic beat the New Orleans Pelicans 123-110 on Friday night.
CJ McCollum led New Orleans with 23 points. Jonas Valanciunas had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Trey Murphy III added 18 points for the injury-riddled Pelicans, who lost for the eighth time in 11 games.
Orlando pulled away in the fourth quarter behind Wagner and its backups. Magic starters Paulo Banchero, Wendell Carter Jr. and Markelle Fultz did not play in the final period.
&ldquo;In that fourth quarter, as a unit I thought we really locked in,&rdquo; said Anthony, who played 26 minutes. &ldquo;I thought we were pretty good with our rotations, and we did a good job of making them take tough shots.&rdquo;
The Magic shot 52% overall and made 15 of 30 attempts from 3-point range. They were 30 of 34 at the free throw line.
&ldquo;We just didn&rsquo;t defend at a high level and we fouled too much. That&rsquo;s what it boils down to,&rdquo; Murphy said.
A three-point play by Jalen Suggs with 9:17 remaining broke a 95-all tie and launched a 12-2 run that put Orlando ahead for good.
&ldquo;They were the aggressors and that&rsquo;s why they shot extremely well from the field,&rdquo; New Orleans coach Willie Green said. &ldquo;They were going to force the issue, get to the paint. And if they didn&rsquo;t have it, they kicked out to guys and they made shots.&rdquo;
Wagner, who was 5 of 7 from 3-point territory, had 21 points and six assists in the first half.
&ldquo;I got into good rhythm early on, got a couple of open ones,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and then I think our ball movement all night got really good shots for everybody.&rdquo;
After falling behind by 14 early, the Magic made their first six shots of the second quarter, including 3-pointers by Wagner, Mo Bamba and Anthony, to get back in it.
Herbert Jones, who started for New Orleans after missing the previous four games with a lower back bruise, scored the Pelicans' final five points of the half, leaving them with a 60-56 lead.
But the Pelicans were outscored 30-19 in the fourth quarter, with the 6-foot-10 Wagner holding McCollum to one field goal.
&ldquo;Obviously we scored at a high clip, but I think it was our defense that allowed that to happen,&rdquo; Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said.
TIP-INS
Pelicans: Jones fouled out with 4:28 left. He scored 10 points in 19 minutes. ... F Naji Marshall sat out with a sore right big toe after playing at least 31 minutes in eight straight games. ... F Zion Williamson missed his ninth consecutive game with a strained right hamstring.
Magic: Wagner finished with a plus/minus of plus-21, and Anthony was plus-19. ... It was the first of six games in nine days for Orlando &mdash; one reason three starters got the fourth quarter off. ... The Magic are 12-8 since a 5-20 start.
INJURY UPDATE
Jonathan Isaac was recalled from the G League after playing three games with the Lakeland Magic, but was not activated.
Isaac has not played in an NBA game since tearing his left ACL in August 2020. There are no specific plans for activating him.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re just taking it day by day, just seeing how his body responds,&rdquo; Mosley said.
ELITE STUFF
The 7-foot-2 Bol Bol, who had 12 points and five rebounds, got the crowd into the game with an eye-opening play during the Magic's fourth-quarter run, weaving his way through the lane and finishing with a dunk over Murphy.
&ldquo;Ninety-five percent of the stuff Bol does surprises me,&rdquo; Anthony said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s on one of those things that you see and it&rsquo;s like, &lsquo;Wow, that&rsquo;s elite!' It&rsquo;s one of those things that doesn&rsquo;t get old.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Pelicans: Play at Miami on Sunday.
Magic: Play at Washington on Saturday night.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Franz Wagner had 30 points and nine assists, Cole Anthony scored 22 off the bench and the Orlando Magic beat the New Orleans Pelicans 123-110 on Friday night.
CJ McCollum led New Orleans with 23 points. Jonas Valanciunas had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Trey Murphy III added 18 points for the injury-riddled Pelicans, who lost for the eighth time in 11 games.
Orlando pulled away in the fourth quarter behind Wagner and its backups. Magic starters Paulo Banchero, Wendell Carter Jr. and Markelle Fultz did not play in the final period.
&ldquo;In that fourth quarter, as a unit I thought we really locked in,&rdquo; said Anthony, who played 26 minutes. &ldquo;I thought we were pretty good with our rotations, and we did a good job of making them take tough shots.&rdquo;
The Magic shot 52% overall and made 15 of 30 attempts from 3-point range. They were 30 of 34 at the free throw line.
&ldquo;We just didn&rsquo;t defend at a high level and we fouled too much. That&rsquo;s what it boils down to,&rdquo; Murphy said.
A three-point play by Jalen Suggs with 9:17 remaining broke a 95-all tie and launched a 12-2 run that put Orlando ahead for good.
&ldquo;They were the aggressors and that&rsquo;s why they shot extremely well from the field,&rdquo; New Orleans coach Willie Green said. &ldquo;They were going to force the issue, get to the paint. And if they didn&rsquo;t have it, they kicked out to guys and they made shots.&rdquo;
Wagner, who was 5 of 7 from 3-point territory, had 21 points and six assists in the first half.
&ldquo;I got into good rhythm early on, got a couple of open ones,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;and then I think our ball movement all night got really good shots for everybody.&rdquo;
After falling behind by 14 early, the Magic made their first six shots of the second quarter, including 3-pointers by Wagner, Mo Bamba and Anthony, to get back in it.
Herbert Jones, who started for New Orleans after missing the previous four games with a lower back bruise, scored the Pelicans' final five points of the half, leaving them with a 60-56 lead.
But the Pelicans were outscored 30-19 in the fourth quarter, with the 6-foot-10 Wagner holding McCollum to one field goal.
&ldquo;Obviously we scored at a high clip, but I think it was our defense that allowed that to happen,&rdquo; Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said.
TIP-INS
Pelicans: Jones fouled out with 4:28 left. He scored 10 points in 19 minutes. ... F Naji Marshall sat out with a sore right big toe after playing at least 31 minutes in eight straight games. ... F Zion Williamson missed his ninth consecutive game with a strained right hamstring.
Magic: Wagner finished with a plus/minus of plus-21, and Anthony was plus-19. ... It was the first of six games in nine days for Orlando &mdash; one reason three starters got the fourth quarter off. ... The Magic are 12-8 since a 5-20 start.
INJURY UPDATE
Jonathan Isaac was recalled from the G League after playing three games with the Lakeland Magic, but was not activated.
Isaac has not played in an NBA game since tearing his left ACL in August 2020. There are no specific plans for activating him.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re just taking it day by day, just seeing how his body responds,&rdquo; Mosley said.
ELITE STUFF
The 7-foot-2 Bol Bol, who had 12 points and five rebounds, got the crowd into the game with an eye-opening play during the Magic's fourth-quarter run, weaving his way through the lane and finishing with a dunk over Murphy.
&ldquo;Ninety-five percent of the stuff Bol does surprises me,&rdquo; Anthony said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s on one of those things that you see and it&rsquo;s like, &lsquo;Wow, that&rsquo;s elite!' It&rsquo;s one of those things that doesn&rsquo;t get old.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

Franz Wagner had 30 points and nine assists, and the Orlando Magic beat the New Orleans Pelicans 123-110.