Red Raiders

Portland didn't call time. Josh Hart called game.
Hart&rsquo;s 3-pointer as time expired off a pass from Damian Lillard gave the Trail Blazers a 110-107 victory over the Miami Heat on Monday night, capping a perfect offensive finish from Portland.
The Blazers trailed for most of the final three quarters, then went 8 for 8 from the floor in the game's last 6:07.
&ldquo;It's good to have games like this, especially early in the season, that are close games that come down to the wire and force you to execute," Hart said.
Execution was no issue for the Blazers. They shot 13 for 17 in the fourth quarter, the second-best final 12 minutes by any NBA team so far this season. Only New Orleans &mdash; 14 for 18 against the Los Angeles Clippers on Oct. 30 &mdash; had a better fourth quarter.
Anfernee Simons scored 25 for Portland, Jerami Grant added 23 and Lillard finished with 19 points in his first game back after a four-game absence with a right calf strain. Hart and Justice Winslow each scored 12.
Hart's buzzer-beater capped a wild final few moments. Max Strus made a 3-pointer for Miami with 6.2 seconds remaining to tie the game. The Trail Blazers opted not to call timeout and Lillard dribbled most of the way downcourt before finding Hart in the left corner near the Heat bench.
Hart hit the shot, and the Blazers ran off their bench to chase him in celebration.
&ldquo;I saw Josh waving his hands," said Lillard, who was thinking he'd take the shot before seeing Hart. &ldquo;Easy play."
At 7-3, Portland is off to its best start since 2018-19.
&ldquo;Dame made a great pass and Josh made a great shot,&rdquo; Miami guard Kyle Lowry said.
Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Strus all had 16 for Miami. The Heat (4-7) got 15 from Lowry and Gabe Vincent, and 10 apiece from Caleb Martin and Dewayne Dedmon.
Simons was called for fouling Adebayo with 10.2 seconds left, but the Blazers argued that the Heat center actually was guilty of using his arm to hook Simons on the play. After review, the referees agreed and gave Portland the ball.
Simons made two free throws with 8.5 seconds left to push the lead to three before Strus tied it. And then Hart ended it.
&ldquo;Lillard and Simons were terrific in creating those triggers," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;They made a ton of timely plays in that fourth quarter. It felt like we could not get a stop."
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Portland snapped a four-game losing streak to Miami and hasn&rsquo;t lost consecutive games yet this season. ... The Blazers lost the lead with 10:39 left in the first half on a 3-pointer by Duncan Robinson, and trailed for the next 32:17 until Lillard tied the game with 2:20 left.
Heat: It was the 2,999th game in Heat history, including playoffs. ... Tyler Herro (sprained left ankle) and Udonis Haslem (personal reasons) were out, joining the still-sidelined Victor Oladipo (left knee) and Omer Yurtseven (left ankle). ... It was the start of a four-game homestand for Miami. The Heat won&rsquo;t have another one of those until late December.
SHOOT IT
Robinson&rsquo;s first 3-pointer on Monday was the 400th of his career, including playoffs, at FTX Arena. Mario Chalmers has the arena record with 418. Robinson now has 402.
SCHEDULE QUIRK
The Heat and Blazers played four times in 2022; last season&rsquo;s two meetings were in January. The only other time Miami and Portland had four games in the same calendar year was 1989.
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: Visit Charlotte on Wednesday.
Heat: Host Charlotte on Thursday.

The Blazers trailed for most of the final three quarters, then went 8 for 8 from the floor in the game's last 6:07.

Hart hits three at buzzer to give Blazers 110-107 win over Heat

Nikola Jokic is about to start his chase toward something that hasn&rsquo;t been done in nearly 40 years.
A player winning back-to-back NBA MVP awards is rare, something that&rsquo;s happened only 13 times in league history. And having done that last season, Jokic &mdash; the cornerstone of the Denver Nuggets &mdash; is now trying for something even more unusual: winning it three years in a row.
The only players who have pulled off that feat are Bill Russell (1961, 1962, 1963), Wilt Chamberlain (1966, 1967, 1968) and Larry Bird (1984, 1985, 1986).
The Nuggets aren't keeping that fact a secret from Jokic.
&ldquo;No, I challenged him,&rdquo; said Nuggets coach Michael Malone, who flew to Serbia last summer to surprise Jokic with his second straight award.
Jokic is obviously among the favorites. Until this past season, there had never been a stretch of four consecutive international MVPs in the NBA. Jokic changed that, winning each of the last two awards after Milwaukee&rsquo;s Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) won in 2019 and 2020.
And right now, it would seem almost likely that the MVP streak for non-U.S.-born players goes to five in a row, with Jokic, Antetokounmpo, Dallas&rsquo; Luka Doncic (Slovenia) and Philadelphia's Joel Embiid among the favorites. Embiid was born in Cameroon and holds French and now U.S. citizenship.
<a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nba?tab=player-awards">FanDuel Sportsbook</a> says Doncic is the favorite, just ahead of Embiid and Antetokounmpo. Jokic is fourth in terms of lowest odds, tied with Brooklyn&rsquo;s Kevin Durant and just ahead of Memphis&rsquo; Ja Morant, Boston&rsquo;s Jayson Tatum and Golden State&rsquo;s Stephen Curry.
POP STUFF
San Antonio&rsquo;s Gregg Popovich has faced 163 different coaches so far in his legendary career. That list should reach at least 166 this season, with him slated to oppose Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham, interim Boston coach Joe Mazzulla and former Spurs assistant Will Hardy &mdash; now the coach in Utah &mdash; all for the first time.
There have been 322 coaches in NBA history, not including Popovich, who have coached at least 10 games. Popovich, the NBA&rsquo;s all-time wins leader, has faced more than half of them &mdash; 50.3%, or 162.
Popovich turns 74 on Jan. 28, and he's the oldest active head coach in the NBA.
It's no secret that Popovich enjoys talking about and, of course, sipping fine wine. But six of the players on San Antonio's season-opening roster probably won't have much to say about that topic; Jordan Hall is 20 and the Spurs have five other players &mdash; Joshua Primo, Blake Wesley, Dominick Barlow, Malaki Branham and Jeremy Sochan &mdash; who are still 19 as this season begins.
The Spurs' group of 19-year-olds, incidentally, are five of the NBA's 17 youngest players who made rosters or got two-way deals to start the season.
SPO WATCH
Miami&rsquo;s Erik Spoelstra &mdash; whose tenure with the Heat is the second-longest of any current coach in his current job, behind only San Antonio&rsquo;s Gregg Popovich &mdash; should move into the top 20 on the NBA&rsquo;s all-time wins list this season.
Spoelstra starts the season with 660 wins, behind No. 22 Mike Fratello (667), No. 21 Mike D&rsquo;Antoni (672) and No. 20 Red Holzman (696). No. 19 John MacLeod (707) is within legitimate reach for Spoelstra this season as well.
Philadelphia&rsquo;s Doc Rivers enters the year No. 9 on the list with 1,043 wins, which is 55 behind No. 8 Larry Brown. Indiana&rsquo;s Rick Carlisle has 861 wins, three back of No. 14 Jack Ramsay.
FIT TO BE TIED
For only the second time in the last 23 seasons, the Western Conference didn&rsquo;t win the season-long series against teams from the Eastern Conference.
In the regular season, the East went 226-224 against the West &mdash; bolstered by a 3-0 record on the final day with Chicago topping Minnesota, Boston rolling past Memphis and Atlanta defeating Houston.
Throw in Golden State&rsquo;s 4-2 mark against Boston in the NBA Finals, and the final games-won tally for the full season was West 228, East 228.
The only other time since 1998-99 that the East won the regular season series vs. the West was 2008-09, going 231-219. In the other 21 regular seasons over that span, before last year, the West had gone 5,149-3,910 vs. the East &mdash; a .568 winning percentage.
AGE GAME
The youngest player in the league entering this season is Detroit&rsquo;s Jalen Duren, who was born Nov. 18, 2003.
Yes, that means he wasn&rsquo;t born yet when some current players were already in the league. LeBron James and Udonis Haslem both played their 11th career games on the day Duren was born.
That isn&rsquo;t the only age quirk this season.
The 42-year-old Haslem is older than five current head coaches &mdash; New Orleans&rsquo; Willie Green, Memphis&rsquo; Taylor Jenkins, Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Mark Daigneault, Utah&rsquo;s Will Hardy and Boston interim coach Joe Mazzulla. Golden State&rsquo;s Andre Iguodala is older than than the last four names on that list; James is older than the last three.
There are 19 players currently on rosters who are older than Hardy (including Jazz players Rudy Gay and Mike Conley) and 23 players older than Mazzulla (including Boston forward Al Horford).
ODDS ARE
Oklahoma City has been favored in five games over the last two seasons. That&rsquo;s the fewest games in a two-year span by any team over the last decade; Philadelphia was favored in a combined six games over the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons.
That said, the Thunder were a great bet last season. They covered in 63% of their games, just behind Memphis (64%) for the best such rate in the NBA. The worst was Portland, which covered 38% of the time.
This much is certain: The team that was favored in more games than anyone else last season won&rsquo;t have that same distinction this year.
Last year, the Utah Jazz were favored in 73 of the 82 regular-season games, ahead of Phoenix (70), Milwaukee (66), Golden State (62), Boston (61) and Miami (59). With Donovan Mitchell now in Cleveland and Rudy Gobert now in Minnesota, the Jazz won&rsquo;t be favored anywhere near that often this season.
LEBRON CLIMBING
LeBron James isn&rsquo;t just on target to become the NBA&rsquo;s all-time scoring leader this season; he&rsquo;s 1,325 points behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and at his average career scoring pace would need about 49 games to move into the No. 1 spot.
He&rsquo;s also set to keep moving up a bunch of other lists, including:
&mdash; Assists: James is seventh right now with 10,045, behind No. 6 Magic Johnson (10,141), No. 5 Mark Jackson (10,334) and No. 4 Steve Nash (10,335). That would put him behind only John Stockton (15,806), Jason Kidd (12,091) and Chris Paul (10,977 entering this season).
&mdash; Games: James has been in 1,366, currently 14th-most all-time. He needs to appear in 27 games to pass Tim Duncan (1,392) for 10th on the NBA career list, and could potentially catch Kevin Willis (1,424) for eighth.
&mdash; 3-pointers: James is 11th in NBA history with 2,140, three behind Portland&rsquo;s Damian Lillard and the retired Paul Pierce, who enter this year tied for ninth.
&mdash; Seasons: James is entering Year 20. He&rsquo;ll be the ninth player to appear in 20 seasons.
SPEAKING OF 20
Miami&rsquo;s Udonis Haslem will be the 10th player to appear in 20 seasons, assuming that LeBron James gets into a game before Haslem does.
Haslem is one of only three players to spend 20 years with one team, joining Dallas&rsquo; Dirk Nowitzki (21) and the Lakers&rsquo; Kobe Bryant (20).
If Carmelo Anthony, who is unsigned, gets into a game this season, that'll mark Year 20 for the former Syracuse great as well.
REMEMBERING RUSSELL
All players will wear Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Russell's No. 6 on the right shoulder of their jerseys this season, commemorating the life of the 11-time NBA champion with the Boston Celtics and civil rights activist who died this summer.
Also, all courts in the NBA will have a &ldquo;6" on the sideline near the scorer's table. And no player who isn't already wearing No. 6 will be allowed to wear it ever again; Russell is the first to have his number retired across the entire league.
Among those still wearing the No. 6 jersey because they were wearing them previously: LeBron James, Washington's Kristaps Porzingis and Chicago's Alex Caruso &mdash; who wanted to change numbers as a tribute to Russell this season, but said he had his request denied.
POINTS MARK
The NBA is 26,324 points away from reaching 14 million all-time.
A record 291,912 points were scored last season, including playoffs. There have been years where more points were scored on average per game &mdash; 16 of them, actually. NBA games saw an average of 220.6 points last season, 16 points per game less than the record of 236.6 set in 1961-62.
At last year's pace, the 14 millionth point would be scored roughly 120 games into this season. or sometime in early November.

The AP highlights important milestones, numbers and records in the NBA that could be achieved in the 2022-23 season.

NBA 2022-23: 10 things to know about the upcoming season

After 11 jam-packed days, another NBA Summer League in Las Vegas has come to a close.
The Portland Trail Blazers emerged as champions with an 85-77 win over the Knicks on Sunday afternoon. But we also had five more games where players made their last attempts to earn roster spots and training camp invites.
With so many top prospects resting, undrafted players took the spotlight. All six of Monday's "studs" went undrafted, but that hasn't stopped them from chasing their NBA dreams.
Here are the final standouts from Las Vegas:
STUDS
Brandon Williams, Portland Trail Blazers
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
How did Brandon Williams make this pass?!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBA2K23SummerLeague?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBA2K23SummerLeague</a> Championship Game Live Now on ESPN <a href="https://t.co/3kt9n9dM9d">pic.twitter.com/3kt9n9dM9d</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1548769309471694850?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2022</a></blockquote>
Box score stats: 22 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 5/9 FG, 2/5 3PT
Williams needed this performance badly. After breaking into the starting lineup of an injury-riddled Portland team last spring, his future seemed murky with Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons both returning. Williams hadn't really stood out in Las Vegas yet, but he led the Blazers to a Summer League title on Sunday.
The 22-year-old was a heads-up playmaker and punctuated his passing with the above play. He also knocked down several self-created shots against tough defense from Deuce McBride and made all 10 of his free throw attempts. While it's unclear what Williams' role will look like in Portland next season, he at least heads into summer break on a positive swing.
Gabe Brown, Oklahoma City Thunder
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Yo this pass from Abdul Gaddy to Gabe Brown in the corner... <a href="https://t.co/2jEAvz0mRz">pic.twitter.com/2jEAvz0mRz</a>
&mdash; Aram Cannuscio (@AC__Hoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/AC__Hoops/status/1548800134141689862?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2022</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

Box score stats: 23 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 8/15 FG, 5/12 3PT
OKC's playmakers were dazzling, and Brown helped them out by finishing off plays. He drilled 5 three-pointers as a floor-spacer and also finished off an alley-oop in transition. Brown also teased a bit of self-creation with a long step-back two and a fast break score he took all the way to the basket by himself. Brown projects as mostly a 3-and-D player in the NBA, but it's a good sign that he can be aggressive in the right moments.
John Butler, New Orleans Pelicans
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
John Butler Jr. finished a PERFECT 9-for-9 from the field in the <a href="https://twitter.com/PelicansNBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PelicansNBA</a> win to close out their <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBA2K23SummerLeague?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBA2K23SummerLeague</a> schedule!<a href="https://twitter.com/john_e_butler?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@john_e_butler</a>: 25 PTS (9/9 FGM), 7 REB, 6 3PM <a href="https://t.co/0j2Hz1OFn7">pic.twitter.com/0j2Hz1OFn7</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1548819744224165888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2022</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

Box score stats: 25 points, 7 rebounds, 9/9 FG, 6/6 3PT
Butler is one of the more bizarre rookies in his class as a 7-foot-1, floor-spacing wing. He had been relatively quiet for most of Summer League, but exploded in a perfect performance from the field. Butler's triples were all of the catch-and-shoot variety, but he did knock down two mid-range pull-ups and finish off a cut with a dun. Butler is too skinny and stiff to be a rotation player at this stage. However, he is one of the more unique long-term bets in the entire league.
Elijah Stewart, New Orleans Pelicans
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Elijah Stewart. Relentless. +1 📺 NBATV <a href="https://t.co/7R4iTOjniE">pic.twitter.com/7R4iTOjniE</a>
&mdash; New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/PelicansNBA/status/1548811452655366145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Box score stats: 20 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, 7/14 FG, 4/7 3PT
At age-26, Stewart is one of the older players in Las Vegas. He showed his experience and poise on drives, where he powered to the basket for strong finishes through contact. Stewart also made high-level passing reads to shooters and cutters off of those drives. He made 245 three-pointers when he played at USC, so the success from distance comes as no surprise. Stewart has never played in the NBA, suited up for three G League teams in 2018-19 and has spent the last three seasons overseas. This game could be a breakthrough moment for him.
Jaime Echenique, Washington Wizards
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Jaime Echenique flies to the rack! Live Now on ESPN 2 <a href="https://t.co/Fl3V6i4Mde">pic.twitter.com/Fl3V6i4Mde</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1548837133711974401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2022</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

Box score stats: 19 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks, 5/8 FG, 9/10 FT
Echenique played all of three minutes for Washington last season but averaged 17.4 points and 10.4 rebounds with the G League affiliate Capital City Go-Go. The center was a bully inside against the Warriors, but he also showed solid touch with floaters and hook shots. He's a sturdy interior presence at 6-foot-11 and 258 pounds. This showed up on the defensive end with Echenique stonewalling driving threats.
Adonis Arms, Denver Nuggets
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Adonis from deeeeeep <a href="https://twitter.com/adonis_arms_25?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@adonis_arms_25</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SummerNuggs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SummerNuggs</a> <a href="https://t.co/fkkdMJQCas">pic.twitter.com/fkkdMJQCas</a>
&mdash; Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) <a href="https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1548837620280528896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2022</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

Box score stats: 20 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 8/12 FG, 4/4 3PT
Arms' recent basketball career has seen him rise from Mesa Community College, to Northwest Nazarene and Winthrop, to Texas Tech. Now, he's maximizing his chances at the league with Denver. Arms displayed impressive body control on his layup attempts and confidence from beyond the arc. He used some active hands to generate steals and picked up two phenomenal blocks defending around the basket. After going undrafted this June, the 6-foot-6 Arms has a serious shot at sticking around with Denver.
Other notable performers: Trendon Watford (Trail Blazers), Jabari Walker (Trail Blazers), Deuce McBride (Knicks), Abu Kigab (Raptors), Louis King (Suns), Dereon Seabron (Pelicans), Quenton Jackson (Wizards)
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
DUDS
Sandro Mamukelashvili, Milwaukee Bucks
Box score stats: 3 points, 9 rebounds, 1/6 FG, 0/1 3PT
One of the top performers in Las Vegas ended his run on a quiet note. Mamukelashvili was less of a presence as a scorer on offense, though he did try to be a bit more creative. He took the ball coast-to-coast twice and went 1-for-2 on the ensuing layups. Mamukelashvili only played 19:43, so he scaled back in general during this contest. Overall, though, he played an excellent Summer League and is in the conversation for MVP honors.
Aaron Nesmith, Indiana Pacers
Box score stats: 5 points, 5 rebounds, 5 turnovers, 1/9 FG, 1/6 3PT
Nesmith played three Summer League games with his new team after being dealt from Boston in the Malcolm Brogdon trade. The wing ended at 5-for-20 from distance in those contests, but this one was his most underwhelming. And unlike last year's dominant summer showing, Nesmith floundered when he attacked off the dribble, coughing up turnovers with a loose handle and missing shots at the basket.
The 2020 No. 14 pick can absolutely still turn things around, but the concerns with Nesmith on both ends are very real at this point.
Isaiah Todd, Washington Wizards
Box score stats: 8 points, 3/13 FG, 2/8 3PT
Todd's summer showings have wildly oscillated. Unfortunately, this was another valley for last year's No. 31 pick. Todd just doesn't have consistency yet from beyond the arc, where most of his shots came in this environment. He can handle the ball well but does not appreciate contact. He's most successful as a cutter right now. Todd likely needs another season of G League reps, where he admittedly struggled last season.
Peyton Watson, Denver Nuggets
Box score stats: 4 points, 4 rebounds, 2/11 FG, 0/2 3PT
Like Todd, Watson posted good and bad outings, but ended on a sour note. He displayed flashes of creativity on drives, but didn't show the burst necessary to give himself a quality look. His pull-up game was also shaky and he finished Summer League shooting 2-for-17 from deep. The defensive tools are there, but Watson has a long way to go to take his scoring in particular to the NBA level.

Brandon Williams, John Butler and Adonis Arms finished out the last day of Summer League on a high note.

10 studs and duds from Day 11 of NBA Summer League in Las Vegas

Keep track of where the top 2022 undrafted free agents are headed after draft night.

2022 NBA UDFA Tracker: Latest news on undrafted free agents

There are many paths to get to the pinnacle of basketball. There are many outstanding players who went undrafted and had to fight for a roster spot. Some of these players would eventually exceed all expectations.
On the latest episode of "The Goods," Bryan Fonseca looks back at the top-10 undrafted players throughout NBA history (in no particular order):
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Who are the best undrafted players in NBA history? Bryan Fonseca lists his top-10 players who didn't hear their name called in the draft.

The Goods: Who are the 10 best undrafted players in NBA history?

Zach LaVine has an Olympic gold medal. What he doesn&rsquo;t have is NBA playoff experience.
At last, that part is about to change.
No active NBA player has been in more regular-season games without making his playoff debut than LaVine, who has appeared in 478 games with the Chicago Bulls. He&rsquo;s expected to play in his first playoff game Sunday night when the Bulls visit Milwaukee.
Once LaVine makes his playoff debut, the title nobody wants &mdash; active player with most games and no playoff appearances &mdash; will fall to Buddy Hield. He&rsquo;s been in 468 games with Sacramento, New Orleans and Indiana.
If Hield appears in at least 32 games next season, he will become the eighth player with at least 500 regular-season appearances but zero playoff contests. He&rsquo;ll join Tom Van Arsdale (929), Otto Moore (682), Nate Williams (642), Omri Casspi (588), Sebastian Telfair (564), Popeye Jones (535) and Eddy Curry (527) in that club.
Curry has a ring from his time with the Miami Heat in the 2011-12 season, but didn&rsquo;t play in a game during that postseason run.
EIGHT IS (USUALLY) ENOUGH
Phoenix won eight games more than any other team this season. That usually means a championship.
Not always, though.
The last four teams to have at least eight more wins than any other team in the regular season have gone on to win a title. Those clubs are the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000, the Chicago Bulls in 1992 and 1996, and the Boston Celtics in 1984.
The 1971 Milwaukee Bucks, 1967 Philadelphia 76ers, and both the 1960 and 1965 Celtics also ended seasons with such huge regular-season margins with championships. But the Celtics in both 1958 and 1973 did not, nor did the Washington Capitols in 1947 &mdash; the inaugural season of the BAA, which was the precursor to the NBA. The Capitols (49-11) won 10 more regular-season games than anyone else in 1946-47, but the Philadelphia Warriors (35-25) won that first season&rsquo;s championship.
PLAYOFF MONEY
The NBA has set this season&rsquo;s playoff pool at $17,317,334. All 16 playoff teams are guaranteed $258,449 just for making the field; most teams will make more, and the deeper teams go in the playoffs, they&rsquo;ll make much more.
Phoenix is already assured at least $1,194,952. The Suns would claim $5,077,456 if they win the NBA title.
Miami has secured $695,527 already. The Heat would get $4,578,031 if they win the championship.
Any team that makes the NBA Finals is guaranteed $3,106,286; any team other than the Suns or Heat that wins the championship would receive at least $4,140,953.
BEST EVERYWHERE
Phoenix had the NBA&rsquo;s best home record and the NBA&rsquo;s best road record this season &mdash; 32-9 in both instances.
Only four of the last nine teams to pull off that feat, including ties in the standings, went on to win the NBA title. Those clubs were Golden State in 2015 and 2017, the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000 and the Chicago Bulls in 1996.
The most recent teams to be best at home, best on the road and still not win a title: Houston in 2018, Dallas in 2007, Seattle in 1994, Portland in 1991 and the Lakers in 1990.
MILESTONE WATCH
Philadelphia&rsquo;s Doc Rivers is on the cusp of becoming the fifth coach in NBA history to win 100 postseason games. The 76ers need just two wins in their first-round series against Toronto to get Rivers to the milestone.
The other coaches with 100 wins: Phil Jackson (229), Pat Riley (171), Gregg Popovich (170) and Larry Brown (100).
Miami&rsquo;s Erik Spoelstra can also get to 100 playoff wins this year &mdash; but the Heat would have to get to the NBA Finals, then win three games in the title round to get him there. Spoelstra enters these playoffs with 85 postseason victories.
Among players, Brooklyn&rsquo;s Kevin Durant is three points shy of matching Jerry West (4,457) for eighth on the all-time playoff list. Durant needs 307 points to tie No. 7 Karl Malone (4,761) on that list, meaning the Nets would likely have to get to at least the second round for that to occur this year.
FAVORED TEAMS
Utah was favored in more games than any other team this season, picked by oddsmakers 73 times in the 82-game regular season. The Jazz were followed by Phoenix (70), Milwaukee (66), Golden State (62), Boston (61) and Miami (59) on the most-favored list.
The team that covered a spread with the most regularity this season: Memphis, which rewarded its backers 64.6% of the time. Utah was tied for next-to-last in that department, covering at a 40.2% rate.
Oklahoma City was favored the fewest times in the league, just on three occasions. Portland was the worst at covering, doing so 37.8% of the time.
BACK TO BACK
If Milwaukee&rsquo;s Giannis Antetokounmpo wins his second consecutive NBA Finals MVP award &mdash; now named for Bill Russell &mdash; he would join select company.
Only six players have won that award in consecutive years. Chicago&rsquo;s Michael Jordan won it back-to-back-to-back on two separate occasions, 1991 through 1993 and then 1996 through 1998. Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal won three in a row for the Los Angeles Lakers from 2000 through 2002. Hakeem Olajuwon won for Houston in 1994 and 1995, Kobe Bryant did for the Lakers in 2009 and 2010, LeBron James did for Miami in 2012 and 2013, and Kevin Durant did it for Golden State in 2017 and 2018.
Jerry West was the award&rsquo;s first winner in 1969. It has been named for Russell since 2009.
THREE&rsquo;S WIN
As one might guess, it&rsquo;s difficult to make up a significant disparity in 3-pointers made.
Teams that were outscored by 15 or more points from 3-point range this season won only 20.8% of the time &mdash; going 94-348 in those contests.
IGUODALA&rsquo;S FAREWELL
Golden State&rsquo;s Andre Iguodala has said he is retiring when this season ends. He wanted to go back to the Warriors for a farewell, and the Warriors welcomed him back for many reasons &mdash; what he brings at this time of year among them.
No player in this year&rsquo;s playoffs has played, counting actual appearances only, in more postseason wins than Iguodala. He has appeared in 103 playoff wins, five more than Philadelphia&rsquo;s Danny Green, eight more than Brooklyn&rsquo;s Kevin Durant, 16 more than Miami&rsquo;s Udonis Haslem and 17 more than Warriors teammates Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
THE REFEREES
Tom Washington is working the NBA playoffs for the 24th time and Scott Foster was selected as part of the postseason referee corps for the 22nd time. They&rsquo;re the senior members of a 36-person group that will work games in Round 1.
There are three playoff newcomers: Eric Dalen, Mitchell Ervin and Justin Van Duyne.
Foster has worked 201 playoff games, while Washington has worked 172. Other veterans in this year&rsquo;s playoffs include Tony Brothers and James Capers (163 games apiece), Marc Davis (161), Ed Malloy (121), Bill Kennedy (120), Zach Zarba (117) and John Goble (100).
The rest of the first-round officials are: Brent Barnaky, Curtis Blair, Nick Buchert, Kevin Cutler, JB DeRosa, Kane Fitzgerald, Tyler Ford, Brian Forte, Pat Fraher, Jacyn Goble, David Guthrie, Courtney Kirkland, Karl Lane, Eric Lewis, Mark Lindsay, Tre Maddox, Rodney Mott, Gediminas Petraitis, Michael Smith, Ben Taylor, Josh Tiven, Scott Twardoski, James Williams and Sean Wright.
The NBA also selected eight alternates &mdash; including Lauren Holtkamp, the only woman to make this season&rsquo;s list. If picked for a game, Holtkamp would join Violet Palmer as the only female referees to work a postseason contest.

The AP's Tim Reynolds ties a bow on the 2021-22 NBA regular season and prepares us for the playoffs.

Playoff time: 10 things to know about the NBA's postseason

In perhaps one of my favorite matchups of this basketball season and scouting cycle, Duke ousted Texas Tech 78-73 in the Sweet 16. It was quite literally a &ldquo;tale of two halves&rdquo; as Tech and Duke exchanged jabs and pot shots for the opening 20, with the Blue Devils struggling to consistently find a weak spot in Tech&rsquo;s no-middle leviathan. 
According to KenPom, Texas Tech&rsquo;s first-ranked defense, allowing just 85 points/100 (adjusted for schedule), was the best defense in DI basketball since&hellip; Tech in 2018-19 (84.1 pts/100), Virginia in 2017-18 (85.6 pts/100, 31-3 record) and Kentucky in 2014-15 (84.4 pts/100, 38-1 record).
In the second half, Duke scored 49 points. That's the most Tech allowed in a half this season &mdash; in fact, Tech held its opponent below 49 points in the entirety of a game multiple times this season. They allowed 45 in a half to Oklahoma earlier this season, and held them to 42 points the next game. Duke&rsquo;s 78 final points was the second-most allowed by the Red Raiders all year, and most in regulation.
This Texas Tech defense was a juggernaut all season, which puts into context the performance Paolo Banchero put together in the second half.
The first time you watch a no-middle defense (what Tech thrives upon), it's vexing. It's odd to watch a team welcome baseline drives, but it makes sense when an unsuspecting guard takes the open lane and runs into well-timed help and back-line rotations in the paint. The communication required to fully execute a scheme so reliant on switching, timeliness and aggression cannot be undersold.&nbsp;
Just watch this possession.
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Duke opts into a high-aligned horns set to draw out the defense. Look at how much space is presented along the baseline.
Now, watch how Tech slowly shows you that the space just doesn't actually exist!
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Terence Shannon Jr. shades Wendell Moore, presenting the baseline drive, denying the potential of a middle pick-and-roll with Paolo Banchero.
Bryson Williams helps down off of Mark Williams, preparing to time his slide with a Roach drive.
Kevin Obanor pre-rotates off of AJ Griffin to help at the rim.
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Williams rotates and the ball is stopped.&nbsp;
Kevin McCullar fronts Mark Williams, preventing any quick lobs or interior passes opened up by Bryson helping off his man.
Adonis Arms (great name) is glued to Banchero to take away any immediate outlet.
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Moore tries to split the double and passes out to Roach in the slot as he stumbles.
Obanor closes hard and forces the pass to Griffin who takes an initially open, but at least late-contested shot from deep, as Williams screams to the corner.
This possession wasn't even a perfect showcase of the difficulty of trying to break down a defense this in-sync &mdash; with length, court awareness and athleticism throughout the 5-man unit.
Throughout the first half, Duke attempted to get Paolo open in different ways, but Tech made it near-impossible to get him downhill. If a dribble hand-off was called, Tech switched, but the defender who just switched off would keep a hand on Paolo, sticking to him as the next defender took him on, giving a more open look from deep &mdash; but also not affording Paolo a slip or quick post mismatch. Also, it should be said that there just isn't really anyone you can post-up against and take advantage of on the Tech team. If he did catch the ball outside the arc, the Red Raiders would soft-close, refusing to give him a lane to the rim and forcing him to either drive and post into help on his pivot, or take a pull-up two.
These are the three baskets Paolo made in the first half:
<ul>
<li>And-one layup on the break</li>
<li>Catch-and-shoot three in early offense</li>
<li>Wide-open two-handed slam on blown switch with 15 seconds before the half</li>
</ul>
Tech's defense clung to Paolo like an overblown life jacket. Duke started to use him as a screener for pin-downs from the low/mid-post to try and get him more to the middle of the floor away from action, and able to attack off the catch &mdash; attempting to get his vision in the heart of the defense (precisely where Tech did not want him).
That last basket in the first from Paolo felt like a bit of a parting of the Red Sea, the "we-need-this-more" moment for Duke.
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Griffin is by and large one of the best shooters in college basketball this season, so Tech sells hard on his cut to the arc off an elevator screen. However, the quick dive from Mark Williams frees up Paolo due to Tech's overplay and miscommunication on the switch. To be fair, that is a hard play to cover when factoring in the gravity in-play. You have one of the best shooters (Griffin), a great roll-man and lob threat (Williams) and then maybe the most dynamic scorer in Division I (Banchero).
It's sort of like guarding a Spain pick-and-roll without the actual pick-and-roll.
While this isn't an action you can just spam over and over against a great defense, it showed the key for Duke &mdash; the team needed to set up more interior screening actions to force the defense to think more and get them into more precarious situations.
To open the second, they started to look for high-lows to find Williams off dummy actions. After Duke caught Tech the first time, they started selling out harder to front. Duke also slipped in more off-ball lifting from the corners to make it harder on the taggers.&nbsp;
Even then, Tech's defense was so stout, and was able to flounder most of those actions. However, it freed up Paolo Banchero to find cracks in the defense. The man who was glued to him at all times earlier... well, the early actions and off-ball movement were enough of a solvent to pry him loose.
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Shannon is ball-watching a bit and prepared to help on Williams, but Moore lifts, gets the kick, is stifled himself, and then... Paolo.
The ability to jut into space, and tight space at that, shimmy through unbothered, and then place a perfectly timed lob... that's special. It seems basic watching, but make no mistake, this sort of play is backbreaking.
Then, a few minutes later, a play breaks down. Duke starts swinging and trying to find an answer, and the ball reaches Paolo's hands with 10 seconds on the shot clock.
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He looks to Theo John, fakes a chest pass to Trevor Keels, then jabs and rips left as soon as Kevin Obanor plants his foot, but then spins back on the pivot.
This is really solid defense from Obanor, but the body control and composure from Paolo beats solid defense.&nbsp;
Paolo's drive commands Shannon's attention, but so does Griffin lifting to the slot. Paolo keeps his eyes on the rim as he jumps for a fleeting moment, keeping Shannon's eyes on him in the process, adding a sliver of time and space for Griffin to plant and fire.&nbsp;
This possession and this pass are far from perfect, but in a game like this against this level of opposition, the ability to make imperfect plays work in your favor is part of what sets apart good and great players.
Remember that elevator play from earlier? Well, it's back!
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Tech remembers what happened last time that play went down, switching everything, keeping the screeners from getting open, but now with the Arms rotation, Keels is wide open in the weak corner. The shot doesn't fall, but attacking the middle is opening up plays on the perimeter.
Here comes another variation.
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What else is Texas Tech supposed to do? The action from Paolo is too quick to front, you can't really just give him a baseline shade when you're that close to the rim. Williams honestly helps about as well as he can given positioning and how the play develops. Paolo just hits a ridiculous baseline floater/push shot that's been setup by his utilization as the game's gone on.
Again, the offense looks late to Paolo off-ball as the clock winds down off multiple stuffed actions.
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Williams can't finish inside, but again, they get a great look. Paolo catches, dips left, and rips to his right &mdash; drawing two while also freezing Arms in the middle of the floor, opening Williams for the lightning quick pass to the dunker spot (<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dunker-spot/id1547857052" target="_blank" rel="noopener">listen and subscribe!</a>).
Getting to the middle of a no-middle defense is, as the name implies, the way to best defeat it.
Next play down, Roach kicks the ball to Banchero early in the clock and he attacks immediately, driving baseline.
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Here's the fun wrinkle. He spins as soon as help comes, essentially rendering it useless as he fires the ball out to the top of the key. He draws two to where the ball no longer is!
Griffin attacks the paint and kicks to the corner as Paolo relocates and gets the wide-open three, because of the attack he set in motion seconds earlier.
Again, Paolo stirs the drink later down the floor, attacking off the close, getting deep in the paint and forcing rotations and a wild close-out as Moore attacks off his pass for the bucket at the rim.
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Duke has the pace pushing now.
Tech's on their heels and it's palpable through pixels.
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It's hard to find players who can spin with regularity, but also with control.&nbsp;
Paolo's drive game has entered 'the deal zone' and there's not an offer that Tech can put forth to stop it. Sell out for the drive, and a dump-off or lob is headed to the dunker.
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Mark Williams throws down an emphatic exclamation point on a dominant offensive half from Duke.
I could go on and on about their play as the minutes wound down &mdash; a methodic and metronomic bucket precipitated by an attack on the middle of the floor. Paolo Banchero wasn't the primary ball-handler for the Blue Devils, but he was certainly the primary difference maker.
Credit to Duke's coaching staff for putting their players in the right positions to succeed, but Banchero's decisiveness, awareness and gravity put Duke over the top and into the Elite Eight. Just an absolutely electric offensive showing and one of the best games I've seen from a collegiate player this year. Remember this game, as it highlights a great deal of what makes him so intriguing at the next level.
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After Texas Tech stifled Duke's offense in the first half, they were unleashed in the second, spurred by freshman Paolo Banchero.

How Duke's Paolo Banchero picked apart the best defense in basketball

The Miami Heat are one of several teams that can legitimately win an NBA championship this season, full stop.
If you&rsquo;ve watched them at all through objective eyes, you&rsquo;d likely conclude that they&rsquo;re somewhere between fringe Eastern-Conference-championship contenders and potential NBA champions if certain things break right.
The Brooklyn Nets, with Kevin Durant, Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving, might have the most talented trio of the Eastern contenders, but they probably won&rsquo;t have enough time to establish their chemistry this season &mdash; even if Irving could play home games starting now. (Talent is cool, but talent and chemistry wins.)
The Philadelphia Sixers will have Joel Embiid and James Harden, but that will either really work or really won't. The Milwaukee Bucks have championship equity and the best combination of talent, chemistry and two-way basketball between Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton, but have just been &hellip; weird.
The Boston Celtics have Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown without an awesome build around them, but they have an indisputably better team today than this time last week (and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-celtics-are-coming" target="_blank" rel="noopener">they've been excellent over the last month-and-a-half</a>). And the Chicago Bulls, if healthy by the spring, have one of the most balanced starting fives in the league, but have as many ifs as DeMar DeRozan&rsquo;s had points these last five games. (Okay, not quite.)
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Where that lands the Heat is simple &mdash; they can get to the NBA Finals, but like their many peers, will need plenty to break right in their favor for reasons that have grown increasingly evident in watching a healthier version of them in recent games. (Having Erik Spoelstra, arguably the best coach in the NBA, also helps.)
The Heat are, again, the workhorse team that could probably get to the highest level defensively among the teams we&rsquo;re discussing, but have questions relating to their late-game offense. That could ultimately decide their fate.
Jimmy Butler is an elite two-way player, and still one of the most underrated stars in the league in a culture that is increasingly highlight-driven &mdash; and Butler isn't known for his highlights. He&rsquo;s also engineering a Heat offense that really pops for most of the game, but grows stagnant toward the end of close encounters. It&rsquo;s like a regression to where the team was in the latter portion of Dwyane Wade&rsquo;s pre-retirement run with the Heat, as Ethan Skolnick noted on last night&rsquo;s <a href="https://fivereasons.podbean.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Five On The Floor podcast</a>.
Bam Adebayo would be garnering Defensive Player of the Year attention if not for a thumb injury that sidelined him for several weeks. His offensive aggression or lack thereof (less so as of late) is a never-ending talking point on Heat Twitter, largely because it impacts the team&rsquo;s championship aspirations in either direction. Tyler Herro is currently the team&rsquo;s best shot-creator other than Butler, and &hellip; well &hellip; as well as they do everything else, that component is what&rsquo;s holding them back from being slam-dunk championship contenders, according to some.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-theme="dark">
I'm assuming this is the aggressive Bam Adebayo some are looking for. <a href="https://t.co/7ukBX5wceG">pic.twitter.com/7ukBX5wceG</a>
&mdash; Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) <a href="https://twitter.com/stevejones20/status/1493758857159479300?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Enter Victor Oladipo, who is progressing toward a return from surgery, and is practicing with the G League Sioux Falls Skyforce 5-on-5, giving the impression it won&rsquo;t be long until he makes his 2021-22 season debut. Klay Thompson returned <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/warriors-provide-klay-thompson-injury-update-after-g-league-stint" target="_blank" rel="noopener">three weeks after his G League stint</a>, for what it&rsquo;s worth.
Oladipo is immediately walking into a high-pressure situation, and the Heat won&rsquo;t peg him as their savior, nor should they &mdash; but there will come a time when he&rsquo;ll need to be, for better or worse. We last saw Oladipo play way back on April 8, 2021, around 40 days before the start of the playoffs. What we saw of him last season is hard to gauge because he played 33 games with three separate teams in his first full season back from quad surgery (not including games in the bubble).
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The offensive creation wasn&rsquo;t at an All-Star level, but it was still there. Between stints with the Indiana Pacers, Houston Rockets and four games with the Heat, Oladipo averaged about 20-5-5 and 1.4 steals per game on 41/33/75 shooting splits through 32.7 minutes per contest. The lion's share of minutes came from his stints with the Pacers and rebuilding Rockets, only logging four appearances with the Heat&nbsp;before being sidelined.
With the Heat, he saw 27.8 minutes per contest, averaging 12.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.8 steals per contest on just 37/24/67 shooting. Even though this is the definition of small sample-size theater, you still saw glimpses of how he could impact Miami on both ends.
The Miami Herald&rsquo;s Anthony Chiang reported earlier today that Udonis Haslem &ndash; <a href="https://twitter.com/AIR305/status/1488698167579262977" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who guarded Oladipo in a viral clip earlier this month</a> &ndash; says he looks way better than last year. Usually, people would file that under bullsh*t, but you can call Haslem a liar to his face if you want. I won&rsquo;t.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen enough to know he&rsquo;s definitely better than he was last year,&rdquo; <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nba/miami-heat/article258423468.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Haslem told the Herald</a>. &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t seen any limping. I haven&rsquo;t seen a lack of confidence. I haven&rsquo;t seen everything so I can&rsquo;t make a fair assessment. He looks pretty [good] about where he&rsquo;s headed.&rdquo;
Chiang noted that Oladipo &ldquo;has been doing more behind the scenes in recent weeks. He traveled with the Heat on recent trips to continue his workouts around the team and has been taking part in rigorous pregame two-on-two sessions with teammates.&rdquo;
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Now, so this doesn&rsquo;t go on forever, we&rsquo;ll use Miami&rsquo;s last two games as examples to show where Oladipo could help solve problems during some worrisome fourth quarters.
Against the Brooklyn Nets, the Heat led 89-68 at one point. The Nets, who were held to 18 points in the third, erupted for 35 in the fourth, coming within one possession of Miami, largely due to [redacted] erupting for 20 of his 29 points late.
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1:32 &ndash; Irving&rsquo;s first field goal of note came as a pull-up three at the top of the key with over eight minutes left. Anticipating a screen, Gabe Vincent was slow to contest, and Duncan Robinson was late to cover.
1:45 &ndash; He pulled another one. Vincent again drops too far, awarding enough space, and Robinson gets caught behind Patty Mills setting a screen on Vincent.
1:53 &ndash; Irving takes Vincent one-on-one, and help is late coming over. Vincent, a high-level on-the-ball defender, just gets beat. It happens.
2:03 &ndash; Robinson gets beat one-on-one, and because Butler and Adebayo are worried about each dunker spot being occupied, and PJ Tucker can&rsquo;t overcommit, otherwise Mills would be nekkid for three, Irving gets to the cup.
2:12 &ndash; He gets the angle around a Butler-Robinson double team, beats Robinson with his speed, gathers over Bam&rsquo;s arm, and floats it over Kyle Lowry. A lot of other 6-foot-3 guards probably don&rsquo;t make it to Lowry there. &nbsp;
2:23 &ndash; He gets a step on Tucker guarding him at the top of the key, and drills a mid-range fadeaway.
Is Oladipo the&nbsp;answer in this setting? That would be unfair so long removed from game action, but you can throw him on Irving here for a couple of different possessions to help give the Heat defense a shot in the arm. At his peak, Dipo was a soul-sangin&rsquo; All-Defensive guard, who should at least be a quality defender again, even if he won&rsquo;t reclaim all-world status soon (if ever).
Now, let's look at the fourth-quarter breakdown, symbolized by the Heat&rsquo;s loss to the Mavericks last night, in which Miami again squandered a double-digit lead.
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For this, it&rsquo;s simple: 40 second-half points typically won&rsquo;t get it done, especially when your opposition is wildin&rsquo; from three. This could be as simplistic as the Mavs shooting 18-for-41 from three (43.9%) to the Heat&rsquo;s 7-for-27 (25.9%). But Vincent, who played all 12 fourth-quarter minutes despite having one of his worst outings in recent weeks, probably had minutes last night that would&rsquo;ve gone to Oladipo or Tyler Herro who was out with an injury (along with Caleb Martin, Markieff Morris and Dewayne Dedmon). Vincent went 0-for-2 in the quarter, both from deep, and had two fouls. Outside of a rebound, he did nothing else offensively. The team in general reverted to a simplistic offense.
Vincent is the guy whom Oladipo will primarily compete with for minutes &mdash; last night notwithstanding, he&rsquo;s been quite a revelation this season considering that he didn&rsquo;t appear NBA-ready in the two seasons prior.
The path to Oladipo getting minutes is through being a competent shot-creator on offense, and an adequate point-of-attack defender on the other end. The high-end of this would have him finishing games, even over Herro, in a lineup of Lowry-Oladipo-Butler-Tucker-Adebayo &mdash; which is attainable, but unrealistic to expect right out the gate. It&rsquo;s, for now, a dream scenario.
If Dipo&rsquo;s great, it&rsquo;ll be a good problem to have for Miami, and it&rsquo;ll raise their floor, giving them someone who&rsquo;ll be a top-three shot-creator on the team. So, the Heat don&rsquo;t need Oladipo to contend, but it&rsquo;ll sure as hell make a lot of things easier &mdash; even as Spo will have to stay up late figuring out these rotations. It&rsquo;ll also help cover up some of the team's shortcomings otherwise, on both ends of the floor, and that could be Miami&rsquo;s missing ingredient.
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Bryan Fonseca looks at the impending return of Victor Oladipo and how he'll positively impact the Miami Heat.

Victor Oladipo is coming: How he can help raise the Heat’s ceiling

Texas Tech ended No. 1 Baylor&rsquo;s nation-best winning streak at 21 games, getting 12 points and a key 3-pointer from Kevin McCullar in a 65-62 win over the Bears on Tuesday night.
The 19th-ranked Red Raiders (12-3, 2-1 Big 12) had their biggest lead at 59-52 when McCullar hit the 3 from the left corner in front of their bench with 2:39 left, and they held on for their second consecutive victory over a top-10 team.
Adam Flagler and James Akinjo each had 17 points for Baylor (15-1, 3-1), which fell two short of matching its own Big 12 record of 23 consecutive wins set two seasons ago.
Baylor was the last Division I team to lose this season. Fifth-ranked Southern California (13-1) was also undefeated before a 75-69 loss at Stanford earlier Tuesday.
Davion Warren hit two free throws for the Red Raiders with 22 seconds left before a timeout. Baylor then moved the ball around with Flagler passing to Akinjo, who bobbled the ball at the top top of the key before gathering it and taking a 3-pointer that hit off the front of the rim as time expired.
Texas Tech beat then-No. 6 Kansas at home on Saturday without McCullar and leading scorer Terrence Shannon, who also missed the game against the defending national champions.
Adonis Arms had 14 points for the Red Raiders, while Kevin Obanor and Bryson Williams had 13 each. Clarence Nadolny had 11 points.
McCullar had missed the previous two games after hurting his ankle in practice last week and having his foot in a walking boot. Shannon has missed six games in a row because of lingering back spasms.
The Bears scored the game&rsquo;s first nine points, including two 3-pointers by Flagler. They had a 31-16 lead when Flagler hit his fourth 3-pointer with 6:13 left in the first half, but they didn&rsquo;t score again before the break, with six missed shots and four turnovers.
Obanor had a dunk for Texas Tech only 10 seconds into the second half that started a quick 7-1 run. The Red Raiders tied it for the first time at 33-33 when Bryson Williams converted a three-point play with 18:28 left.
BIG PICTURE
Texas Tech: The Red Raiders wrapped up a three-game stretch of games against top-11 teams, falling 51-47 at No. 11 Iowa State without McCullar and Shannon before the consecutive wins.
Baylor: The Bears had also won 22 consecutive home games, winning those by an average margin of more than 26 points. They had had won 34 of 35, the only loss in that span by three points to Kansas on Feb. 22, 2020.
UP NEXT
Texas Tech: The Red Raiders host Oklahoma State on Thursday in the makeup of a scheduled Big 12 opener postponed from Jan. 1 because of COVID-19 protocols.
Baylor: The Bears host Oklahoma State on Saturday.&nbsp;

Texas Tech ended No. 1 Baylor’s nation-best winning streak at 21 games, getting 12 points and a key three from Kevin McCullar.

No. 19 Texas Tech ends No. 1 Baylor’s 21-game streak, 65-62

As the league continues to morph into an inferior product of what we saw last month, primarily due to COVID, we can&rsquo;t ignore the impact of injuries as well. Without rehashing that brutally long inactive list, if you&rsquo;ve been paying attention, you just know it&rsquo;s rough out here.&nbsp;
While the Miami Heat, sans Caleb Martin, have luckily evaded COVID thus far (knock on wood, everyone), they&rsquo;ve missed Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro with injuries, often playing without all three of them this month. P.J. Tucker is now out as well, and Markieff Morris still hasn&rsquo;t played since Nikola Jokić tried to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNMh2MRQIs4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marcus Cor Von his ass</a>.
But even before all that, the Heat entered the season with 12 healthy, fully-contracted players. That's excluding their pair of two-way slots, Victor Oladipo, who is recovering from <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31433979/miami-heat-victor-oladipo-season-ending-surgery-right-quadriceps-tendon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quad surgery</a> (again) and the O.G. Udonis Haslem, who obviously won&rsquo;t be playing a ton.
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Good news, Miami: Victor Oladipo traveled with the Heat to Cleveland. Here's some footage of some shootaround stuff he did. <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@basketbllnews</a> <a href="https://t.co/Z0cmExXOsd">pic.twitter.com/Z0cmExXOsd</a>
&mdash; Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpinDavies/status/1470430451982548999?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 13, 2021</a></blockquote>

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The open roster spot? Well, their CEO Micky Arison, chairman of Carnival Cruise Line, wants no parts of that luxury tax during this pandemic. Rightfully so, since it isn't exactly cruise season right now.
This is admittedly a long-winded way to get to my point, but it still needed to be laid bare so we can&nbsp; understand and appreciate what the Heat have done this season despite all this wear and tear (which really goes back to the 2019-20 season, that&rsquo;s for another piece). And not only the team, <a href="https://twitter.com/BradyHawk305/status/1473490041603346435">specifically the guy helping pull the strings</a>, a man who is affectionately <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=QB1%20%40MiamiHEAT&amp;src=typed_query">referred to as QB1</a>.&nbsp;
There&rsquo;s no need to overcomplicate this any further: Kyle Lowry makes your team better.&nbsp;
Morris hasn&rsquo;t played since Nov. 8; Butler since Nov. 27 (save for a 25-minute cameo on Dec. 6); Adebayo since Nov. 29, and Herro missed three games in mid-December on top of Nov. 27 and 29.&nbsp;
Even with Erik Spoelstra as your conductor, playing musical chairs could feel like trying to beat Allyson Felix in a 100-meter sprint. And the Heat just experienced this last season, which is why they went through that 7-14 start before going 33-18 until the playoffs.&nbsp;
The difference? It starts with Lowry; it has to.&nbsp;
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First of all, producing without much of your playoff rotation is a pain in the ass for anyone.
Secondly, while Lowry&rsquo;s 13.7 points and 8.3 assists &ndash; along with 4.7 rebounds per game &ndash; have come on just 42/33/83 shooting splits, it's upticked to 16.0 points and 9.4 assists on 44/35/78 splits (3.8 free throw attempts per game instead of 1.9 previously) since Nov. 27, a 13-game stretch.&nbsp;
As much as some people would like more 20-point games out of him, that&rsquo;s not where Lowry needs to be at his best. The definition of point guard is convoluted in the modern-day, but old-school floor generals were taught to make their teammates better, first and foremost. As the game has grown more perimeter-centric and positionless, and with smaller guards being more ball-dominant, it&rsquo;s more common to see guys accumulating 22 points and 5 assists at the position instead of what Lowry&rsquo;s box scores look like.&nbsp;
Go look at the <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2022_per_game.html#per_game_stats::pts_per_g" target="_blank" rel="noopener">top-25 NBA scorers from this season</a> &mdash; more than half of them are guards, and almost 10 of them play point guard. <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2012_per_game.html#per_game_stats::pts_per_g" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ten years ago</a> was much more forward-heavy, and only five of the top-25 (top-30, actually) ran the point. <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2002_per_game.html#per_game_stats::pts_per_g" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twenty years ago</a>? Just three point guards were in the top-25 in scoring, and two of them averaged at least 8 assists per game. This isn&rsquo;t to say this is good or bad for the position, but it&rsquo;s changed, and it&rsquo;s probably why Lowry&rsquo;s contributions have been underappreciated.&nbsp;
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Now, that whole thing about making your teammates better...
Firstly, Lowry&rsquo;s had 10 or more assists 10 times just this season, a feat previous Heat starter Goran Dragić didn&rsquo;t achieve with the Heat until Jan. 27, 2017, nearly two years after being traded there. Dragić more closely resembles what we refer to as the modern-day point guard by comparison. But the need for a Lowry-type in the starting lineup for Miami's roster construction is probably why Dragić came off the bench in his last two years; Butler was the de facto floor general next to Adebayo, one of the best passing bigs in the league.&nbsp;
Secondly, and more importantly, the role players people were scared about suddenly look like competent guys who Spo might occasionally plug in to distort a specific foe or playoff series.
<ul>
<li>Max Strus, who our Spencer Davies <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/qa-max-strus-on-heats-nextman-up-mentality-building-confidence" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spoke with last week</a>, is up to 10.3 points per game on 46/40/73 shooting this season, and 13.8 points on 48/41/83 shooting since Nov. 27.</li>
<li>Gabe Vincent a.k.a. Fred VanVleet Lite (mad lite, though) &mdash; he&rsquo;s at 12.8 points and 3.9 assists while shooting 46/40/74 since Nov. 27.</li>
<li>Before COVID sidelined him after a Dec. 8 breakout game, Caleb Martin was in a six-game stretch averaging 14.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while shooting 57/52/71.</li>
<li>Veteran big man Dewayne Dedmon&rsquo;s up to 11.5 points and 8.3 rebounds over his last six while going 65% from the field and 5 of 8 from three.</li>
</ul>
And even the mainstays like Adebayo, Butle and Tucker &ndash; and Herro, in particular &ndash; have seen offensive advancements with Lowry on the floor. With Butler and Adebayo missing games, Herro has an outside shot at All-Star Weekend if he remains around 20.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists on 44/39/86 shooting. (The backcourt will be tough to crack in the Eastern Conference, but with all these variants and variables, who knows?)
Heading into Thursday night, Lowry is behind Butler and tied with Tucker for second in team VORP (0.7), second in Win Shares at 2.6, first in Defensive Win Shares at 1.2 and is just sixth in usage rating at 19.9%.&nbsp;
But forget that. Just watch, and you&rsquo;ll know. This isn&rsquo;t to say Lowry&rsquo;s an All-Star, that he&rsquo;s "Chris Paul whatever.0," or that he&rsquo;s Steve Nash reincarnated or Rod Strickland's illegitimate son.
Just watch the games. He&rsquo;s been an impactful floor general so far, and he hasn&rsquo;t even hit that many of his shots yet. They&rsquo;re starting to fall now, and presumably, it'll get easier when reinforcements arrive.
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Bryan Fonseca writes on how Kyle Lowry has been the Heat's floor general since major injuries hit the team.

Kyle Lowry's overlooked, old-school ways leading undermanned Heat

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Udonis Haslem finally played, and made an immediate impact for the Miami Heat.
He scored twice, making both his shots.
He took a charge.
And then he got ejected.
Haslem can finally say that he has played in 18 NBA seasons &mdash; and it was a memorable, albeit brief, appearance. He got two technical fouls and was ejected with 10:19 remaining in the first half, less than three minutes after getting into a game for the first time all season.
&ldquo;If this is the last one, I finished it the only way Udonis Haslem could &mdash; with an ejection," Haslem said.
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The Haslem ejection made Pat Riley sooooo happy <a href="https://t.co/7FovKTTuU4">pic.twitter.com/7FovKTTuU4</a>
&mdash; Brendan Tobin (@Brendan_Tobin) <a href="https://twitter.com/Brendan_Tobin/status/1392999607043600388?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2021</a></blockquote>

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He took offense to getting pulled down by Philadelphia's Dwight Howard, then had words with the 76ers' veteran as they went nose-to-nose. Haslem and Howard both got technicals, then Haslem got a second one and was sent off.
His final line: 2 for 2 from the field, four points, one rebound, two technicals, one ejection, in about 2-1/2 minutes.
Haslem, who turns 41 on June 9, became the oldest player to appear in a game for the Heat and the oldest to get on an NBA floor for any team this season. Cleveland&rsquo;s Anderson Varejao, 38, was the oldest to play in the NBA so far in 2020-21; the next-oldest to play this season was Miami&rsquo;s Andre Iguodala, 37.
Haslem got a layup with 2.3 seconds left in the quarter, putting Miami up 38-20 in the early going. It was his first basket at home since Nov. 12, 2019. His second basket was a baseline jumper early in the second quarter, and the ejection happened 48 seconds later.
At 40 years, 338 days, Haslem was 269 days older than Juwan Howard was when he made his final appearance with the Heat on April 17, 2013. Haslem has not said if he will consider retiring this summer; the Heat have told him that he would be welcomed back in his unique role &mdash; as a captain and behind-the-scenes leader who doesn&rsquo;t play &mdash; if he&rsquo;d like to remain on the active roster for at least another year.
&ldquo;I just take it one day at a time, and we&rsquo;ll figure it out,&rdquo; Haslem said earlier this month. &ldquo;The goal now is to win a championship. And then, you know, we&rsquo;ll go from there. I can&rsquo;t really think past today. I&rsquo;ve been told just take it one day at a time and you know when I get to the summer, that&rsquo;s when I think about that.&rdquo;
His on-court role has diminished greatly in recent seasons. Thursday marked only his 15th appearance in the last three seasons, just his fifth in the past two seasons.
But the Heat continue signing him to contracts, mostly of the one-year variety &mdash; the one-year deal he signed for this season was his ninth contract with Miami in those 18 years &mdash; because they greatly value his leadership and voice in the locker room. Haslem is often referring to as a keeper of the culture that team president Pat Riley, managing general partner Micky Arison and coach Erik Spoelstra have instilled over the years.
&ldquo;Everybody in this building, and most importantly in that locker room, knows the level of impact that he has," Spoelstra said.
Now that he&rsquo;s officially an 18-year member of the Heat, and only the Heat, Haslem becomes the sixth name on the list of players who have spent that much time with one franchise. Dirk Nowitzki spent 21 years with Dallas, Kobe Bryant 20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers, Tim Duncan spent 19 with San Antonio, John Stockton spent 19 with Utah and Reggie Miller spent 18 with Indiana.
Before Thursday, Haslem last played for Miami on Aug. 14, 2020, during a game inside the restart bubble at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Thursday marked his first appearance in a game at Miami&rsquo;s home arena since Feb. 22, 2020.
Haslem is one of only two players &mdash; Dwyane Wade being the other &mdash; to appear on all three of Miami&rsquo;s NBA championship teams. Haslem is the only player to be with the Heat for all six of their Eastern Conference championships and is the franchise&rsquo;s all-time leading rebounder.
In addition to holding the team rebounding record, Haslem &mdash; a Miami native who is a lock to have his No. 40 jersey retired one day by the franchise &mdash; ranks second behind only Wade on the Heat lists for games played and minutes played, plus is seventh on the team all-time scoring list.
Haslem was undrafted after his college career at Florida. He played professionally in France for one season before getting a tryout with the Heat in 2003, remaining with his hometown NBA club ever since.
A sign of his longevity: He's had 150 teammates in Miami during his 18-year career.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Udonis Haslem's first appearance of the season resulted in four points, one rebound, two technicals and an ejection.

The captain: Haslem makes season debut, scores, gets ejected

BasketballNews.com asked each of our staff members to predict who will win the 2020 NBA Finals: the Los Angeles Lakers or Miami Heat? Here&rsquo;s what they had to say:
James Posey: &ldquo;I never want to go against a LeBron-James-led team, but I think it will be a very challenging series for him. The reason? Miami has the bodies to guard LeBron and they have a few players who can wear him down. And I think the matchup between Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis is going to be big. In Bam, you got a young bull who isn&rsquo;t afraid and he&rsquo;s really talented. That&rsquo;s a scary combination. With the Heat&rsquo;s system and culture, nobody is afraid of this Lakers team, they&rsquo;re going to play hard and they&rsquo;re going to put pressure on this Lakers team. To win this series, LeBron will have to play at his maximum level every game, especially if AD doesn&rsquo;t step up. I&rsquo;m taking the Heat and I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;ll go to 7. -- Heat in 6
Etan Thomas: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard not to root for the Miami Heat and they shouldn&rsquo;t be counted out, even though they are being labeled as tremendous underdogs to win the Finals against the red-hot Los Angeles Lakers. But defying odds is exactly what the Heat have been doing the entire playoffs. Nobody outside of the Heat&rsquo;s locker room picked them to beat two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks. In fact, many pointed to that series as Exhibit A of the NBA not possessing the &lsquo;competitive balance&rsquo; of the NHL - basically saying that you know who is going to win most of the series in advance. However, nobody told the Heat this. They were also underdogs going into the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics before scratching them off the list in a 4-2 series. 
"Jimmy Butler, who previous teams labeled a 'cancer to the locker room,' has emerged as a leader with a will to win and will take on the task of going head-to-head with LeBron James. Bam Adebayo has been a budding star, whose absence from the All-NBA team left many scratching their head, has been nothing short of spectacular the entire playoffs - from recording arguably one of the greatest blocks in NBA history against Jayson Tatum, to playing point center for extended stretches, to his brilliant 32-point performance in the closing game against the Celtics. His head-to-head matchup with Anthony Davis will be much anticipated. Finally, Tyler Herro has wowed the NBA world with his scoring arsenal, showing why he earned the nickname &ldquo;Bucket&rdquo; (regardless of what Paul Pierce thinks). Throw in Goran Dragic and Duncan Robinson and the Heat&rsquo;s ability to feed the hot hand (no matter who it is) - even if it means the usual top scorers aren&rsquo;t the ones getting the shots - coupled with their relentless defense and excellent conditioning, they are a dangerous opponent for the Lakers. Still, if I were a betting man (which I am not), I would have to say Lakers in 7, but don&rsquo;t be surprised if the Heat (David) gives the Lakers (Goliath) quite a few stones to the face throughout this NBA Finals.&rdquo; -- Lakers in 7
Alex Kennedy: &ldquo;This should be a very close series, which is why I&rsquo;m predicting that it will go to seven games. This series will likely be closer than many fans would expect; the Lakers are favorites, but the Heat are playing their best basketball at the perfect time and absolutely expect to take home the Larry O&rsquo;Brien trophy. Miami is the deeper team, but Los Angeles has more star power. At the end of the day, this comes down to championship experience, in my opinion. The Lakers have six players who have won a championship (including three players who have multiple rings), so this NBA Finals stage is nothing new to them. For the Heat, Andre Iguodala and Udonis Haslem are the only champions on their team (and Haslem is out of the rotation). Even several Heat players have admitted in interviews this week that this is all new to them. I could absolutely see this series going either way; I&rsquo;m going with Los Angeles (but I don't feel very good about it).&rdquo; -- Lakers in 7
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Chris Sheridan: &ldquo;I am picking the Heat in six games because although the two best players belong to the Lakers, the Heat remind me a whole lot of the Golden State Warriors two years ago (minus the playoff experience), and that team that swept LeBron James and the Cavaliers before he left Cleveland. They have seven or eight terrific players, including two All-Stars and a point guard, Goran Dragic, who has been waiting his whole life for this opportunity. I expect coach Erik Spoelstra to try to get into LeBron's head in some way, perhaps Hack-a-Bron. The bubble will be a factor because the Heat's young players do not have to face a hostile crowd. And Miami has three players, Jimmy Butler, Andre Iguodala and Jae Crowder, who are good defenders and who have had success against LeBron in the past." -- Heat in 6
Kelsea O&rsquo;Brien: &ldquo;The Heat may be the only team to face the Lakers without feeling even slightly intimidated. They are the perfect size matchup, a factor that the Lakers haven&rsquo;t encountered&nbsp; yet. Miami&rsquo;s impenetrable zone defence will work for everyone not named LeBron James, but trying to double-team the #WashedKing very rarely proves successful. Though the Heat possess the speed and youth, and have a slight advantage when it comes to the depth of their bench, the Lakers have the experience, the veteranship, and two of the greatest players in the world on their side.&rdquo; -- Lakers in 6
Spencer Davies: &ldquo;The hype around the 2020 NBA Finals is kind of a double-edged sword if you think about it. On one hand, we&rsquo;ll never know whether &ldquo;the nightlife&rdquo; of Los Angeles or Miami is more detrimental to the road team. On the other hand, nobody is going to be traveling from East Coast to West Coast, or vice-versa, meaning we should get each player&rsquo;s best basketball. Miami has been one of the most fun bunches to watch all season. In the bubble, Erik Spoelstra and Co. have turned it up to 11. It&rsquo;s been a treat to see Bam Adebayo emerge as an elite modern big man on both ends of the floor, just as it has been to witness Tyler Herro accomplish feats that no Heat rookie has achieved since Dwyane Wade. We can&rsquo;t forget about the consistency of Jae Crowder, the sharp-shooting of Duncan Robinson and the veteran savvy of Andre Iguodala, who will appear in his sixth-straight Finals. Oh yeah, then there&rsquo;s Jimmy Butler: the head of the snake, the aggressor, the defensive pest and, of course, the closer. But to me, this L.A. squad is a team of destiny. If you look at everything that has gone down in this horrific year, LeBron James has held every one of his teammates together and is speaking this championship run into existence as a leader. If there was an MVP award for specifically the postseason, Anthony Davis would have it in the bag. Somehow this late into the playoffs, the Lakers&rsquo; chemistry is still growing -- look at the impact Rajon Rondo and Alex Caruso have made off the bench and in closing minutes. 
"The battle of the bigs between Davis and Adebayo should be a treat and live up to the hype. After years and years of missing out on the spectacle, I&rsquo;m itching to see Butler in his Finals debut, especially against LeBron. The Lakers have been as sound as ever in their defensive rotations. Miami loves to run the dribble hand-offs through Adebayo to Robinson and Herro as its primary action, but the quick decision-making of both makes it tough to guard when you don&rsquo;t know whether they&rsquo;re shooting off the rip or pump-faking and going to the basket. If the Heat can play the long game and stick around, they&rsquo;re a danger to deal with in clutch situations. That&rsquo;s a big if, though, especially if they&rsquo;re not hitting threes at a high clip. Being back in the Finals for the first time in a decade, the Heat will be hard-pressed to get in LeBron and the Lakers&rsquo; way of achieving their goal, but that won&rsquo;t come easily.&rdquo; -- Lakers in 6
Nekias Duncan: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to ignore the 'team of destiny'-type cliche talk that would be easy to fall into. The Heat are just a darned good team with weapons that can give the Lakers fits. The Heat just eliminated the Bucks and Celtics in back-to-back rounds, two elite defenses that could throw off the timing of Miami&rsquo;s halfcourt goodness. The Lakers have an elite defense in their own right, but it&rsquo;s fair to argue that they don&rsquo;t have the perimeter defenders the Bucks or Celtics had.&rdquo; -- Heat in 6

Who will win the 2020 NBA Finals: the Miami Heat or Los Angeles Lakers? BasketballNews.com's staff shares their predictions.