Bears

As the Phoenix Suns fell into a 0-2 hole against the Minnesota Timberwolves, star guard Devin Booker remains steadfast as their team faces an uphill climb from here on out.
Booker only scored 20 points on 6-13 shooting and ended up fouling out of the game as the Wolves put up the finishing touches of their 105-93 Game 2 win.
The 6-foot-6 guard has struggled over his last four meetings with the Wolves dating back to the regular season and these past two playoff games, scoring just 13, 23, 18, and 20. He never scored more than 23, and just shot only 35 percent from the floor and 20-57 overall.&nbsp;
"It's obviously something I need to be better with," Booker said as he finished Game 2 with six turnovers and fouled out with 20 points.&nbsp;
The Suns, despite some good stretches here and there, kind of have been caught up with the Timberwolves&rsquo; runs in the third quarter of both games, getting buried amidst the adversity of playing on the road.
&ldquo;(This) is when you have to be as close as ever,&rdquo; Booker said. &ldquo;In a hostile environment. On the road. Just talk your way through it. Hold each other accountable. Have honest conversations and understand it&rsquo;s for the best of the team.&rdquo;
Among the issues the Suns faced in both games, apart from the usual takes from naysayers about the need to have a real point guard around their big three &ndash; are them only taking 18 three-point shot attempts all game. In the year 2024, that just cannot happen.&nbsp;
Teams have to keep the defenses honest, and against this stifling Wolves defense which can adapt to any situation, being predictable with most of their shots taken in the midrange and inside the paint is giving Minnesota the unlikely advantage of knowing what&rsquo;s coming and being able to prepare for it defensively. The Suns have to incorporate additional offensive sets, particularly to take more threes, stretch out the defense, and in turn open up the paint more and give space for their three creators to make plays.
"My frustration is just within the team. We need to execute. We play well when we're playing and then we need to stick together once things turn bad. We've done that throughout the season. Something that has to be corrected."
It does not help with the NBA&rsquo;s best three-point shooter Grayson Allen being out with an ankle injury, but that does make the Suns all the more to have to shoot those threes to compensate for Allen&rsquo;s production. For a player of Booker&rsquo;s caliber &ndash; All-Star, All-NBA, a top 10 scorer in the league, having that kind of performance is just unacceptable. The Suns won&rsquo;t be able to win with that kind of production from him, and he needs to step up and provide more.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re all trying to fight out there, and so far in this series, once it&rsquo;s turned to s&mdash;, we&rsquo;ve kind of separated instead of being together,&rsquo;&rsquo; Booker said. &ldquo;And that&rsquo;s everybody, top to bottom. It&rsquo;s something we got to figure out.&rdquo;
A huge chunk of the credit should be given to the Timberwolves&rsquo; defense as well, which is as good as anybody has seen in 20 years. Tenacious, swarming &ndash; it just comes right at you all at once. Booker alongside his co-stars Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal have struggled against it for two games but now they have to make the adjustments as the series shifts to Phoenix.
Minnesota took care of their home court. Now it&rsquo;s up to Booker and the Suns to do the same in theirs.
&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t count us out. It&rsquo;s a series for a reason.&rdquo;

As the Suns fell into a 0-2 hole against the Timberwolves, Devin Booker remains steadfast as they face an upcoming uphill climb.

2024 NBA Playoffs: Suns’ Devin Booker remains optimistic despite struggles vs Timberwolves

Watching from the hallway,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/DoingItDodson/status/1717370045167198267" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/DoingItDodson/status/1717370045167198267&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1698516889209000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3jZoBngDtk4kH95MIfVfP8">&ldquo;Happy with it, not satisfied with it&rdquo;,</a>&nbsp;was overheard as the New Orleans Pelicans marched away from the FedEx Forum with a victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
The divisional rivals were both missing key pieces but Zion Williamson finished off the hosts with 12-straight points to close out the Game 1 win. New Orleans head coach Willie Green admitted there were some frustrating moments but &ldquo;it is easier to teach off of a win than a loss.&rdquo;
The postgame locker room message ended with Coach&rsquo;s understated, &ldquo;81 more to go.&rdquo; Everything wasn't going to come together all at once for a team trying to shed unflattering narratives from the last few seasons.
&ldquo;The biggest discussion that we'll have is it&rsquo;s going to be hard," Green said. "We should expect that night-in and night-out. The NBA is going to be hard, and teams aren't going to let us just come down and execute. We have to be the team that's more forceful, and we did that tonight.&rdquo;
Memphis might have been missing Stephen Adams and Ja Morant, but New Orleans has dealt with those issues for years. No one shows mercy in the NBA and the Pelicans' Big Three did their job. C.J. McCollum poured in 24 points, Zion added 23, and Brandon Ingram&rsquo;s 19 points made 66 points from the team&rsquo;s stars. It took Williamson a while to get going, scoring only 7 first-half points on two made shots, but the highlight dunk at the end of the second quarter might&rsquo;ve awakened a monster season.
&ldquo;It helped,&rdquo; Williamson admitted, &ldquo;For me, I think it's going to be a few games, just getting that in-game flow back. No matter how much I train, workout, play pickup, it&rsquo;s nothing like a real NBA game. [I] give Jaren [Jackson Jr.] his respect. I think it actually worked out for me, just playing against the Defensive Player of the Year in the first game and just kind of feeling out how he&rsquo;s going to jump for shots, how certain teams will try to guard me. The second half was more so just kind of feeling the game.&rdquo;
Ingram needed 18 shots to notch 19 points but McCollum was &ldquo;elite,&rdquo; according to Green. McCollum felt Williamson &ldquo;settled in and got more comfortable as the game went on. Kind of felt out the defense and obviously how they were, how they were calling the game, and you got to get more aggressive. We did a better job of getting the ball in spots where he&rsquo;d be successful, and he finished plays and did what he does.&rdquo;
&ldquo;A couple of times we got ahead of ourselves to turn the ball over and things of that nature," added McCollum. "I just have to make sure I keep us settled, but I can score the ball. I can get to certain spots, and I'll continue to develop and get better as we play together more. I think that'll be helpful for all of us, the spacing, play calling, when to make the pass and when to cut. All of those things we'll continue to get better at, but I like the steps that we made from Sept. 28 to now."
There are still a lot of wrinkles to work out with this roster. Overlooked addition turned Twitter-trending star enjoying his first postgame podium Matt Ryan shared, &ldquo;There really hasn't been much time to get acclimated with everybody off the court. I flew in Monday morning to New Orleans and tonight is Wednesday, so I've been with the team for... this is like the third day I've been with the team. They kind of knew who I was. Everybody at this point knows what I'm looking to do out there, and again I just got to thank the front office and coaches for giving me this chance.&rdquo;
I asked Coach Green if there was anything they could take away from Opening Night that had long-term value. He replied, &ldquo;The biggest clarity that we have is that we want to be a mentally tough team. We did that tonight. Coming on their floor and carving out a win with different lineups. Throwing zones at them, switching one through five... all the things that we've been working on in practice. It was great to see us come to somebody's home floor and have toughness, execution and communication and to do it with joy.&rdquo;
There are always frustrations during the NBA's first 10-game feeling-out process. Next up is Josh Hart&rsquo;s return with the New York Knicks. A 2-0 start while showing the same resiliency would go a long way in the effort to win back skeptical fans.
&ldquo;Look at the teams that win the championship; they&rsquo;re consistent with the small things on a day-to-day basis," Williamson said, echoing Green. "So, if we can get to a championship level, with the small things, I think we got a good chance.&rdquo;

The New Orleans Pelicans marched away from the FedEx Forum with a victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Pelicans play through frustrations in opening-night win vs. Grizzlies

All of the great one-name classical artists that share names with the Ninja Turtles had apprentices they held in high regard. Willie Green, now going into his third season as one of the NBA&rsquo;s youngest head coaches, has been shaping a vision with the New Orleans Pelicans but there was an obvious need for a reshaping of the assistant coaching staff this summer. The franchise&rsquo;s scaffolding was in place, but the young coach was working with old hands from previous artists; he needed to bring in a trusted apprentice.
New assistant James Borrego is no apprentice outside of this analogy. He is a well-traveled former head coach with a proven track record of building top-10 offenses, which Green admitted during media day will alleviate some burdens on the offensive end. The new assistant will also have plenty of freedom to have some experiments fail.&nbsp;
&nbsp;One of Bob Ross' most famous sayings is, "We don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents." He encouraged artists to embrace unexpected turns and use them to their advantage. Like Ross cashing in on &ldquo;happy accidents,&rdquo; the Pelicans are betting on Borrego's schemes to raise their long-term offensive ceiling this season, and the missteps along the way are just learned experiences to be blended into the mosaic.
Green&rsquo;s focus on defense and deep personal connections took priority over offensive nuances the last few seasons, but there was an obvious need for some changes to the playbook and how the lessons learned are implemented. So, Green brought in Borrego.
Ross, with his trademark permed hair, paint brushes and soothing voice, often emphasized the importance of mastering the basics. Build creations from simple brushstrokes, with sound structures. Likewise, Borrego's offense is built on a foundation of fundamentals. He emphasizes ball movement, spacing and player movement to create scoring opportunities. Just as Ross began his paintings with a few basic elements, Borrego starts his offense with simple, well-executed plays.
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Last season&rsquo;s formula was too simple. And basics? The Pelicans had problems just inbounding the ball in critical situations and often would not begin an action until there were under 10 seconds left on the shot clock. Then, it was predictable: Brandon Ingram methodical in the midrange. Zion Williamson rumbles to the rim off of actions with very little space or off-ball movement. CJ McCollum was mostly stationary and waiting on the perimeter when not having to bail out a short-handed team late in the shot clock. Jonas Valanciunas was frustrated with his role, while Herb Jones was still growing into his on offense.
Trey Murphy III continued developing but everything was a reset of the same few actions, and it all fell apart once the injury report started filling up. Still, the sketches of a championship contender are already on the canvas in New Orleans. Borrego just has to bring out the best features. It should be a welcomed change for a not-so-young-anymore roster looking to show they are serious about winning a championship. With structure, the team will have a better ability to adapt on the fly. This hallmark of Borrego's coaching style is also reminiscent of Ross turning mistakes into opportunities on his canvas.
While Ross often started his paintings with a simple sky and landscape, he gradually added layers of detail and complexity to create stunning compositions. Similarly, Borrego's offense is designed to be layered. It begins with basic actions but can evolve into intricate plays with multiple options. Just as Ross patiently added trees, mountains, and rivers to his paintings, Borrego's teams gradually added complexity to their offense as the players became more comfortable with the system.
Alvin Gentry was an abstract artist with not a lot of museum showcase pieces, constructing a portfolio that was an interesting smorgasbord of ill-fitting talents and philosophies. Sure, it sometimes produced good-looking, free-flowing hoops but not often was the end product something worthy of the NBA Playoff platform. Stan Van Gundy tried to implement structure but just wound up erasing almost all of the goodwill between the locker room and front office.
Willie Green has mended those fences, taped together the tapestry if you will, and has a team on the verge of a breakout season. They just need an offense that is a bit more unpredictably efficient and some injury luck. Just get repetitions and a spot in the playoffs, then see what happens. An accidental, out-of-nowhere championship is still a banner raised. Some teams have to take smaller steps to a title, but why not dream of a historical breakout season? Even eighth seeds have made runs to the NBA Finals.
It all starts with Ingram. He needs to step into a bigger No. 2 role more than CJ McCollum, who would be perhaps the best fourth option in the NBA should Murphy III make a jump. Borrego should be able to get Ingram into easier-to-read actions and the former All-Star's assists numbers should take a jump. The team said Ingram is expected to be more of a ball-in-hand offensive initiator this season. This draws attention away from Williamson, instead of the Point Zion experiment that sometimes induces ball-watching.
That&rsquo;s not to say Point Zion does not have artistic merits. Williamson is a great passer, draws the attention of all 20,000 in attendance, and can be a one-man wrecking ball when the rest of the offense is just not working. It&rsquo;s just that Williamson cannot be the only attraction, dominating the canvas at the detriment of the rest of the bigger picture. It puts too much pressure on internal relationships and makes the team too predictable.
No worries. The Charlotte Hornets finished in the top-10 in three-point attempts in three of four seasons under Borrego. Charlotte was a top-10 team in points (fourth), three-pointers made (fifth), three-pointers attempted (sixth) and three-point percentage (sixth) that season. They were 11th in field goal percentage and snatched the ninth-most offensive rebounds. Charlotte led the NBA with 28.1 team assists per game and had the 10th-fewest turnovers.
Work hard, keep moving to provide options, don&rsquo;t get caught looking and fight for extra opportunities. Build greatness on the back of the basics, just like Bob Ross taught. Borrego&rsquo;s clear directions during training camp should have everyone on the same page to start the regular season in a few weeks. They also understand a few messy mistakes early will not have much of an effect on how this season is eventually framed. It&rsquo;s how they adapt to those moments that matter most.
New Orleans was near the bottom in offensive rating, assist-to-turnover ratio and true shooting percentage last season. Borrego had a rebuilding franchise&rsquo;s mismatched roster eighth in offensive rating, third in assist percentage, second in assist-to-turnover ratio, second in assist ratio and ninth-best in turnover percentage. Those Hornets played with the sixth-quickest pace, were third in shots at the rim, and second in corner three-pointers.
&ldquo;For the first three-quarters of the game, I&rsquo;m drawing stuff up based on concepts that we already know. I&rsquo;m just adding a little tweak here to maybe a few sets to disguise it," <a href="https://www.theringer.com/2020/3/5/21166585/conversation-with-hornets-head-coach-james-borrego" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.theringer.com/2020/3/5/21166585/conversation-with-hornets-head-coach-james-borrego&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1696693000595000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2zQ3C-l7Klu8y6hMOUbdD6">Borrego has explained</a>. "I think that&rsquo;s one of the things that we do as coaches. You&rsquo;re just trying to disguise a concept. You&rsquo;re running your sets, your flow, throughout a game. Your ATOs, you&rsquo;ve got to try to come up with something a little bit trickier. But the concepts are the same, you&rsquo;re just trying to disguise it. The tough ones, and they&rsquo;re getting tougher now, are the fourth quarter/end-of-game situations because these timeouts are so quick. I don&rsquo;t even have time to think. I&rsquo;ve already got to know what play I have in mind.&rdquo;
When things start shaping up where everyone can see the bigger picture, the tougher moments start to become easier. That philosophy and Borrego&rsquo;s style will help hide the flaws and accentuate the strengths of role players like Jose Alvarado, Larry Nance Jr., Jones, Valanciunas, Dyson Daniels and Kira Lewis Jr.
Borrego was Green&rsquo;s NBA coach just over a decade ago. Now, the roles are reversed but cultural expectations and goals are the same. The Pelicans hope everything comes together in a way that looks like the Larry O&rsquo;Brien trophy.
Other news from around the web: <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/dress-to-impress-why-barbie-and-ken-are-the-hottest-couples-costume-this-halloween/ar-AA1iaTEh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barbie and Ken are the hottest couples costume this Halloween</a>

Can James Borrego's new offense bring out the best of Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram for the Pelicans?

How James Borrego's offense could take Pelicans to next level

BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Having silenced the TD Garden crowd and put the defending Eastern Conference champion Celtics on the brink of a second-round exit, 76ers players barely cracked a smile as they walked off the court.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not over. We have to get one more,&rdquo; Joel Embiid said. &ldquo;All of us. We have to show up.&rdquo;
They&rsquo;ll soon get that chance.
Embiid scored 33 points and Philadelphia easily took a 3-2 lead in the East semifinals, beating Boston 115-103 on Tuesday night.
The 76ers led by as many as 21 points in the fourth quarter as home fans booed the Celtics, and can close out the series and advance to the conference finals when they host Game 6 on Thursday night. Philadelphia hasn&rsquo;t reached that stage of the playoffs since 2001.
&ldquo;What we did tonight, it&rsquo;s easier said than done. But we have to do it again,&rdquo; Embiid said.
It was the third straight 30-point game in the series for the reigning MVP, who used his full array offensive weapons to pick apart the Celtics defense. He also had seven rebounds, four blocks and three 3-pointers.
Tyrese Maxey&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/sixers/status/1656124397478895617?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">added 30 points and six 3-pointers</a>. James Harden finished with 17 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.
Coach Doc Rivers likened Harden&rsquo;s play to that of a catcher in baseball calling the perfect game, putting his teammates in optimal position while also scoring big buckets in key moments.
Rivers said it helped his team endure each of Boston&rsquo;s attempts to get back into the game.
&ldquo;You just have breathe through it and our guys did that,&rdquo; Rivers said.
Jayson Tatum led Boston with 36 points but was just 11 of 27 from the field. Jaylen Brown finished with 24 points. The Celtics went 12 of 38 from the 3-point line.
&ldquo;I think we just didn&rsquo;t have it today,&rdquo; Tatum said.
If there&rsquo;s any solace for Boston, it&rsquo;s that the Celtics survived this exact scenario last year in this round, overcoming a 3-2 deficit to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks.
&ldquo;If you&rsquo;re not willing to get dirty, if you&rsquo;re not willing to pretty much bleed, if you&rsquo;re not willing to break something...then you shouldn&rsquo;t be on that court,&rdquo; Celtics guard Marcus Smart said. &ldquo;Because that&rsquo;s what it is. That&rsquo;s what the playoffs are about.&rdquo;
The previous two occasions the 76ers were in a second-round series that was tied 2-2, they were blown out in Game 5 &mdash; a 36-point loss to Toronto in 2019 and 35-point loss to Miami last season.
Not this time.
The 76ers led by as many as 19 points in the third quarter and took an 88-72 lead into the fourth.
A quick flurry by the Celtics cut the deficit to 11, but Philadelphia responded with a 10-2 run to push it back up to 102-83.
It was 105-89 when Brown got free on a fast break and attempted to drop in a layup. But Embiid, who stayed in pursuit, was there to&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1656113533015273474?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">swat it away</a>.
Philadelphia made a concerted effort to get the ball to Embiid in the post from the outset. He was able to knock down midrange jumpers, helping to open the floor for his teammates as Boston&rsquo;s big men were pulled out of the paint.
Meanwhile, the Celtics struggled to find their shot throughout.
The 76ers enjoyed an early rebounding advantage and had success with Embiid running pick-and-roll sets at Al Horford. It led to scoring opportunities for Embiid and contributed to Philadelphia building a 15-point lead in the first half.
Tatum missed his first six attempts before hitting a runner with 5:48 left in the second quarter. He finished the first half with 15 points but was just 3 of 11 from the field (1 of 6 from 3-point range).
Boston eventually cobbled together a 10-0 run to cut into the deficit, but Philadelphia settled down and went into halftime with a 58-49 lead.
Harden said the Sixers&rsquo; mindset heading back home with a chance to closeout the series is clear.
&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t think too much of it, just go out there and play our brand of basketball,&rdquo; he said.
TIP-INS
76ers: Embiid had 21 first-half points, going 9 for 9 from the free throw line.
Celtics: Their 103 points were their fewest of this postseason. &hellip; Boston shot 5 of 19 from beyond the arc in the opening 24 minutes.
STREAKING
Embiid&rsquo;s three consecutive 30-point games is tied for his longest streak within a postseason in his career. The only other players in franchise history with longer streaks are Allen Iverson (five in 2001) and Wilt Chamberlain (four in 1965).

Embiid scored 33 points and Philadelphia easily took a 3-2 lead in the East semifinals, beating Boston 115-103 on Tuesday night.

Embiid scores 33, 76ers beat Celtics 115-103 for 3-2 lead

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; A magical journey put San Diego State in its first Final Four.
A thrilling buzzer-beater by Lamont Butler landed the Aztecs one win away from a national title.
Hot early shooting Monday night helped them race to an early lead against the mighty UConn Huskies.
Then things fell apart.
For more than 11 tortured minutes in the title game, no matter what they tried, the Aztecs could not make a field goal in their 76-59 loss.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s difficult to play like that,&rdquo; Butler said.
Fighting against a stifling defense, they missed hook shots, had layups blocked, badly missed wide-open 3s and saw easy jump shots fall short.
The Aztecs (32-7) took shot after shot after shot &mdash; 14 in all as the clock ticked, ticked and ticked &mdash; but no matter what they tried nothing would fall.
&ldquo;We were talking about it for sure,&rdquo; Butler said. &ldquo;And we were trying to figure out what we can do to stop the scoring drought and create advantages for ourselves. We tried but things weren&rsquo;t working.&rdquo;
By the time Darrion Trammell mercifully made a jump shot with about 5 &frac12; minutes left in the first half, the Aztecs had seen a four-point lead turn into a 26-17 hole.
A team that got here on the strength of its vaunted defense was in the end done in by an offense that went cold at the worst possible moment.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the national championship game, a lot of things had to go right on our end in order to win,&rdquo; guard Matt Bradley said. &ldquo;And when you&rsquo;re missing shots and turning the ball over and even when you&rsquo;re playing hard on defense, it&rsquo;s not going to be enough. So we learned that tonight for sure.&rdquo;
The Aztecs rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat Florida Atlantic in the national semifinal, with Butler&rsquo;s game-winner at the buzzer marking the first time in Final Four history that a buzzer-beater took a team from trailing to a victory.
This time there would be no such heroics. They did go on a second half run to make it interesting, though.
San Diego State used a 14-4 spurt, with the first four points from Jaedon LeDee, to get within 60-55 with about five minutes to go.
But Jordan Hawkins made a 3-pointer seconds after that to start a 9-0 run that shut the door on any designs the Aztecs had on another remarkable comeback.
Though their defense had been the star of this Cinderella&rsquo;s tournament run entering Monday night, their offense had done plenty to complement it.
Through their first five games in the tournament, the Aztecs shot an average of 42.48%. In the biggest game in school history Monday night, they shot a tournament-low 32% &mdash; a number significantly lowered by a 28.6% first half.
It was their second-lowest shooting percentage of the season, behind the 31.7% they shot in a 62-57 win over Utah State in the Mountain West Conference Tournament title game. Their 24 first-half points was the second-fewest they&rsquo;d managed all season.
There were no tears in San Diego State&rsquo;s locker room after the loss that snapped a nine-game winning streak, but rather a bunch of guys who were proud of how far they got, even if they came up short.
&ldquo;We were the only ones who believed we could get here,&rdquo; Trammell said. &ldquo;We surpassed our expectations honestly.&rdquo;
Added Keshad Johnson, who led the team with 14 points Monday night.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure we put our school&rsquo;s name on the map and I&rsquo;m proud of that,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;

Hot early shooting Monday night helped the Aztecs race to an early lead against the mighty Huskies. Then, things fell apart.

Long drought seals SDSU’s fate in title game against UConn

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Lamont Butler made a jumper at the buzzer, sending San Diego State to its first national championship game with a 72-71 win over fellow mid-major Florida Atlantic in the Final Four on Saturday night.
The Aztecs (32-6) appeared to be in trouble as the free-flowing Owls (35-4) picked them apart while building a 14-point lead.
San Diego State got back in it, as it always does, with defense.
The Aztecs shut down FAU and pulled within one when Jaedon LeDee hit a short jumper with 36 seconds left. After FAU&rsquo;s Johnell Davis missed a contested layup, the Aztecs didn&rsquo;t call timeout and got the ball to Butler.
With the clock ticking down, Butler dribbled to the baseline, found that cut off and circled back. He stepped back to create a little room and hit a jumper that sent the Aztecs racing out onto the floor &mdash; and into Monday&rsquo;s championship game against UConn or Miami.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
SAN DIEGO STATE BUZZER BEATER TO GO TO THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME 😱😱😱 <a href="https://t.co/y3UjsSWf9L">pic.twitter.com/y3UjsSWf9L</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1642324164471128066?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2023</a></blockquote>

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&ldquo;The plan was just to get downhill,&rdquo; Butler said. &ldquo;They cut me off a little bit. I looked up, there was two seconds left, so I got to a shot that I&rsquo;m comfortable with. And I hit it.&rdquo;
San Diego State&rsquo;s defense has played a key role in its run to the final. It clamped down on four straight opponents to open the NCAA Tournament.
The Aztecs had no answer for the swaggy Owls in the first half, allowing them to hit 5-of-11 from 3-point range to build a 40-33 halftime lead. FAU stretched the lead to 14 midway through the second half.
Then, the Aztecs got gritty.
Contesting nearly every shot and pass while pulling down a string of offensive rebounds, San Diego State rallied into a tie at 65.
Matt Bradley led the offense in the second half and finished with 21 points after struggling with his shot in the previous three games.
Alijah Martin kept FAU in it, scoring 19 of his 26 points in the second half, seeming to have an answer for every Aztecs move.
He didn&rsquo;t get a chance for a final one.

San Diego State's Lamont Butler hit a buzzer-beater to defeat Florida Atlantic ___ and advance to the national championship game.

San Diego State beats FAU at the buzzer, advancing to title game

BOSTON (AP) &mdash; The collective sentiment among the Celtics following their 41-point win at Eastern Conference-leading Milwaukee was it would be meaningless if they lost Friday&rsquo;s follow-up at home against Utah.
Despite some unexpected hiccups just getting home, Boston successfully avoided a letdown.
Jayson Tatum had 39 points and 11 assists and the Celtics pushed past the Jazz 122-114 to continue to gain ground in the race for the East&rsquo;s top playoff seed.
Boston had its normal travel routine altered following Thursday&rsquo;s win at Milwaukee when an issue pushed its return flight back from postgame to early Friday afternoon. The Celtics landed six hours before the game.
&ldquo;We kind of looked at it as a challenge,&rdquo; Tatum said. &ldquo;It was fun figuring it out regardless of how the last 24 hours was. It was rewarding. ... It kind of brought us closer together.&rdquo; Malcolm Brogdon added 19 points and Derrick White finished with 17. Boston had 17 3-pointers, including five by Tatum.
The Celtics (54-24) are 1 1/2 games behind Milwaukee (55-22) and were coming off a 41-point win over the Bucks. Milwaukee is off until Sunday, when it hosts the 76ers. The Celtics have four games remaining.
&ldquo;I trusted our guys,&rdquo; Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. &ldquo;I knew we were going to be really competitive. I knew we were going to put ourselves in position to win the game. I could just sense it from our guys.&rdquo;
Talen Horton-Tucker led Utah with 28 points and eight assists. Walker Kessler added 20 points and 10 rebounds.
The Jazz (36-41) came in holding the 12th spot in the West and trailing 10th-place Oklahoma City by 1 1/2 games and 11th place Dallas by a half-game. The Mavericks were idle, but the Thunder lost at Indiana.
The Celtics took control in the second and third quarters, outscoring the Jazz 66-49.
Boston also took advantage of a huge free throw discrepancy for most of the night. The Celtics connected on 21 of 22 attempts, compared to 13 of 14 for the Jazz. But 12 of Utah&rsquo;s attempts were in the fourth quarter.
It was Boston&rsquo;s players who took issue with the officiating with just over four minutes to play when Blake Griffin and Tatum were whistled for technical fouls 10 seconds apart.
A minute after that, Griffin and Kris Dunn got tangled up after a foul by Dunn, leading to a technical on Dunn. Tatum made the subsequent free throw, but Dunn had words for the officials, was assessed a second technical and ejected.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m all for the fight, I&rsquo;m not for fighting,&rdquo; Jazz coach Will Hardy said. &ldquo;Both teams were a little bit chippy. Nobody was dirty in any way.&rdquo;
The exchange ultimately put the Celtics in front 117-101 with just over three minutes left.
With Al Horford (back stiffness) and Robert Williams (left knee) both out, the Celtics went small for the second straight game against the Jazz starting Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Griffin, White and Smart.
Horford and Williams also missed the first meeting between the teams earlier this month along with Smart &mdash; a win by Utah.
This time, it was the Jazz missing several contributors, with three of their top four scorers &mdash; Lauri Markkanen (bruised left hand), Jordan Clarkson (sprained finger) and Collin Sexton (strained left hamstring) &mdash; all out.
TIP-INS
Jazz: Outscored the Celtics 68-46 in the paint. ... Didn&rsquo;t take their first free throw until the 5:40 mark of the third quarter. Boston had attempted 16 to that point. ... Utah had six turnovers in the first quarter.
Celtics: Scored 19 points off 18 Jazz turnovers. ... Former Red Sox star David Ortiz, current manager Alex Cora both sat courtside, as did rapper Jack Harlow and actor Casey Affleck.
NOT SHUT DOWN
Hardy disputed a recent report that Clarkson and Sexton will be essentially shut down for the rest of the season.
&ldquo;I watched Jordan and Collin do a rehab 3-on-3 this morning in hopes of getting back to playing. So, I have not shut them down for the season,&rdquo; Hardy said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re still preparing as if they&rsquo;re coming back.&rdquo;
Clarkson has been sidelined since March 7 (12 games). Sexton has been out since Feb. 23 (17 games).
UP NEXT
Jazz: At Nets on Sunday.
Celtics: At 76ers on Tuesday.

Jayson Tatum had 39 points and 11 assists and the Celtics pushed past the Jazz 122-114 on Friday night.

Jayson Tatum’s 39 lifts Celtics over short-handed Jazz 122-114

LAS VEGAS (AP) &mdash; The critique of UConn under coach Dan Hurley had been the program&rsquo;s inability to win in March.
Consecutive first-round NCAA Tournament exits meant the Huskies were good, not great &mdash; certainly not anywhere in league with the UConn women&rsquo;s program.
In perhaps the maddest March of all, Huskies proved they are elite again, putting in another dominating performance a few hours after the UConn women had a rare misstep.
Jordan Hawkins scored 20 points and UConn overwhelmed its fourth straight NCAA Tournament opponent, earning its first trip to the Final Four in nine years with an 82-54 blowout of Gonzaga on Saturday night.
&ldquo;I think it becomes a little bit of a mental hurdle, especially like early rounds of the NCAA Tournament where you feel like maybe the burden of the history and tradition and first-round games, maybe even second-round games,&rdquo; Hurley said. &ldquo;The climb to get to this point has been real and it&rsquo;s been more challenging than I thought.&rdquo;
The Huskies (29-8) have felt right at home in their first extended March Madness run since winning the 2014 national championship, playing their best basketball of what had been an up-and-down season.
UConn controlled the usually efficient Bulldogs at both ends in the West Region final, building a 23-point lead early in the second half to waltz right into the final section of the bracket.
Those first-round exits are now well in the rearview mirror. So is that midseason funk.
These elite Huskies did what the UConn women couldn&rsquo;t for once and are headed to Houston, where they will play Texas or Miami.
UConn has a pretty good track record once it gets this far, too: The Huskies are 8-1 all-time in Final Four games.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a lot to prove,&rdquo; said Andre Jackson Jr., who had eight points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. &ldquo;We still have a chip on our shoulder.&rdquo;
The Bulldogs (31-6) didn&rsquo;t have the same second-half magic they had in a last-second win over UCLA in the Elite Eight.
Gonzaga allowed UConn to go on a late run to lead by seven at halftime and fell completely apart after All-American Drew Timme went to the bench with his fourth foul early in the second half.
The Zags shot 33% from the field &mdash; 7 of 29 in the second half &mdash; and went 2 for 20 from 3 to stumble in their bid for a third Final Four since 2017.
&ldquo;UConn was just terrific tonight and we didn&rsquo;t have any answers, especially when kind of everything really didn&rsquo;t bounce our way,&rdquo; Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. &ldquo;And we can&rsquo;t absorb a game like that when our offense is as bad as it was tonight.&rdquo;
Alex Karaban scored 12 points and Adama Sanogo had 10 points and 10 rebounds for UConn.
Timme had 12 points and 10 rebounds, receiving a warm ovation after being taken out of his final collegiate game with 1:50 left.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just so thankful that the program and the place took me for who I was,&rdquo; said Timme, who shared a long embrace with Few when he exited. &ldquo;They didn&rsquo;t ask me to be anybody but myself.&rdquo;
The Zags started off like they had a Vegas hangover, firing off two air-balled 3-pointers and a wild runner by Timme. Once Gonzaga shook out the cobwebs, the Bulldogs kept the Huskies bridled with defense, with hard hedges on screens and Timme sagging off Jackson to protect the lane.
UConn countered by getting the ball into the strong hands of Sanogo, the facilitator. The UConn big man picked apart Gonzaga&rsquo;s double-teams for five first-half assists, including two for layups.
&ldquo;We figured that out,&rdquo; Hurley said. &ldquo;That doesn&rsquo;t work anymore.&rdquo;
Karaban hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to put the Huskies up 39-32 at halftime, and it got worse for Gonzaga to start the second half.
UConn pushed the lead to 12 and Timme picked up his third and fourth fouls in the opening 2 1/2 minutes &mdash; one on a charge, another on a box-out under the rim.
&ldquo;We brought the team together and tried to keep positive thoughts and try to keep chipping away at that lead,&rdquo; Gonzaga forward Anton Watson said. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s hard when Drew goes out.&rdquo;
The Huskies really got rolling when Timme took a seat, using their defense to get out in transition and set up 3-pointers. A 14-3 run put UConn up 60-37 and Few took the calculated gamble of bringing Timme back in.
It made little difference.
UConn kept up the pressure and kept making shots, looking an awful lot like the favorite to win it all.&nbsp;

Jordan Hawkins scored 20 points and UConn overwhelmed its fourth straight NCAA Tournament opponent.

UConn routs Gonzaga 82-54 for first Final Four in 9 years

LAS VEGAS (AP) &mdash; March has gone from madness to unprecedented.
With Miami&rsquo;s win over Houston and San Diego State&rsquo;s takedown of Alabama on Friday night, the men&rsquo;s NCAA Tournament will not have a No. 1 seed in the Elite Eight for the first time since seeding began in 1979.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s not a lot of difference between the best team in the country and the worst team in the country,&rdquo; San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re seeing that on this stage.&rdquo;
Purdue, Kansas, Houston and Alabama are all gone, ensuring the Final Four will not have a No. 1 team for the first time since 2011 and the third overall. The four teams deemed by the NCAA to be the best in the country combined to win five tournament games this year, the fewest by three among No. 1 seeds since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
Texas is the lone No. 2 seed remaining after bouncing Xavier out of the bracket 83-71 Friday night under interim coach Rodney Terry. The fewest combined No. 1-2 seeds in the Elite Eight before this year was two (three times).
How crazy has it been? The national title game is guaranteed to have at least one of these teams: San Diego State, Creighton, Florida Atlantic or Kansas State. The Aztecs, Bluejays and Owls have never been to the Elite Eight. The Wildcats were picked to finish last in the Big 12.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s also a lock the winning coach will be a first-time champion.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a lot of really good programs in the country that have lost &mdash; I mean, we could go down the list of them,&rdquo; Alabama coach Nate Oats said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what makes the NCAA Tournament the NCAA Tournament. They&rsquo;re all good teams.&rdquo;
The madness started in the opening round of the East Region, when fairytale Fairleigh Dickinson wrecked brackets around the world by becoming the second No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1.
Goodbye, Purdue.
Arkansas was the next giant killer, taking down reigning national champion and West Region No. 1 seed Kansas in the second round.
The Sweet 16 turned sour on Friday for Alabama, the bracket&rsquo;s No. 1 overall seed. The Crimson Tide were no match for Dutcher&rsquo;s ball-and-body-hawking San Diego State Aztecs in a 71-64 South Region loss in Louisville, Kentucky. San Diego State is the first Mountain West Conference school to reach the Elite Eight.
Miami capped the No. 1 carnage in the Midwest Region by taking apart one of the nation&rsquo;s stingiest defenses in a 89-75 win over Houston in Kansas City, Missouri that had Hurricanes coach Jim Larranaga dancing in the locker room.
&ldquo;Unfortunately, one off-night and you go home in this tournament,&rdquo; Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson said.
On to an Elite Eight unlike any other.
___
AP Sports Writer Josh Dubow contributed to this report.

The Men’s NCAA Tournament will not have a No. 1 seed in the Elite Eight for the first time since seeding began in 1979.

Crazy Eight: No top seeds among last 8 in March Madness

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) &mdash; The best story in this NCAA Tournament is a fairly ridiculous one.
For years, outsiders and even some of Fairleigh Dickinson&rsquo;s proud alumni have called the private, commuter school in Teaneck, New Jersey, by another name &mdash; an inside joke and pet moniker suggesting a reputation for partying.
Fairly Ridiculous. You bet.
That would certainly describe what the Knights, college basketball&rsquo;s smallest squad which includes some Division II players brought to FDU by Tobin Anderson, the team&rsquo;s fast-talking, first-year vagabond coach, have accomplished in a few days.
From underdogs to overnight sensations. March madmen.
Only in the NCAA field due to a technicality, Fairleigh Dickinson, which went 4-22 last season, won a First Four game in Dayton before the Friday night stunning 63-58 win over top-seeded Purdue. It was just the second No. 16 seed win over a No. 1 seed in men&rsquo;s tourney history.
The Knights awakened Saturday to a new world.
&ldquo;Life changing,&rdquo; said FDU forward Sean Moore, who scored 19 points and blocked a layup in the final seconds to help seal the win over Purdue. &ldquo;That whole game has changed everybody on our team, staff, students, everybody who goes to Fairleigh Dickinson University.
&ldquo;Everything is different now. Phone has been going crazy, still is.&rdquo;
Same for Anderson, who spent much of his morning doing national TV interviews following an upset that reverberated across the sports world.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got, like, 1,200 unanswered texts right now,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The problem each time I look at my phone it&rsquo;s more and more. My message, if anybody&rsquo;s listening, stop texting right now. Give me a chance to catch up.&rdquo;
Using their superior speed and quickness at both ends of the floor to fluster the Big Ten champion Boilermakers, FDU&rsquo;s players brought Purdue 7-foot-4 star center Zach Edey down to their level and advanced in the East Region.
On Sunday, the Knights (21-15) will face No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic (32-3), which nipped Memphis 66-65 in the final seconds late Friday night, for a spot in next week&rsquo;s Sweet 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
That possibility is almost too much for the 51-year-old Anderson to fathom.
&ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t have to fly back to Jersey,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I could jog back, take off running, be like Forrest Gump or something. That would be incredible.&rdquo;
Incredible may have already happened. FDU&rsquo;s feel-good story seems to have been pulled from a Hollywood movie script.
Over the past few days, Anderson, who was born in Iowa, played college ball in Connecticut and started his coaching career bouncing from one small college to another in upstate New York, has referenced &ldquo;Hoosiers&rdquo; several times. There are indeed parallels to the famous Indiana high school hoops miracle and what FDU is doing.
In May, Anderson took over a program in need of a massive renovation. Just hours after he was hired at Fairleigh Dickinson, he held his first practice and quickly realized the job would require patience along with an influx of talent.
He knew just where to find some, convincing four players on his team at St. Thomas Aquinas College, a Division-II power about 15 miles from New York, to join him at FDU.
One of them to make the leap was 5-foot-8 guard Demetre Roberts.
&ldquo;Coming out of high school, not having no D-I looks, I didn&rsquo;t pout,&rdquo; said Roberts, who had 12 points, four rebounds and four assists against Purdue. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t sit around and mope all day. I trusted coach. I trusted him all the way and I&rsquo;m still with him. And five years later, I&rsquo;m still here.&rdquo;
Not only did Anderson&rsquo;s sales pitch to enroll at FDU work, so did his proposal to the Knights on how to beat Purdue. They took the floor fully confident they could contain Edey despite being outsized, a 23 1/2 point underdog and a statistically deficient team.
&ldquo;We felt we could beat them ever since we were watching film, trying to prepare for them,&rdquo; said 6-foot-6 center Ansley Almonor, FDU&rsquo;s tallest player. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re all close. We&rsquo;re like brothers. That was just a regular game for us.
&ldquo;We felt we could go out there and beat them, and that&rsquo;s what we did.&rdquo;
The fact that the Knights are even in the tournament is another twist in their captivating tale. By all rights, they&rsquo;re a No 17 seed.
FDU lost the Northeast Conference tournament title game 67-66, but still received the league&rsquo;s automatic bid because champion Merrimack remains ineligible for postseason play after moving up from Division II to Division I.
Now, the Knights, who opened the tourney with an easy win over Texas Southern in Dayton, are 40 minutes and one win from being one of the last 16 teams standing.
Beating FAU, a team with a similar playing style and swagger to FDU&rsquo;s, will be tall task. But after taking out one of the nation&rsquo;s top players &mdash; a literal giant &mdash; nothing seems too big for this group.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re not huge,&rdquo; Anderson said of the Owls. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re still bigger than us. Who is not bigger? There&rsquo;s five guys in the hallway bigger than us. But we&rsquo;ve got to box out, rebound, be tough, be scrappy.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll have to play really, really well, compete our tails off and hope they&rsquo;re maybe not quite as sharp. That&rsquo;s just the way it is. And it worked last night. We&rsquo;re hoping that it will help us tomorrow.&rdquo;

Only in the NCAA Tournament due to a technicality, Fairleigh Dickinson, which went 4-22 last season, has shocked the world.

FDU goes from underdog to overnight sensation with NCAA wins

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic had 18 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists for his 25th triple-double this season to lead the Denver Nuggets over the Memphis Grizzlies 113-97 Friday night in a showdown of the top two teams in the Western Conference.
Denver won the season series 2-1 and holds a six-game lead &mdash; five in the loss column &mdash; over Memphis for the top seed in the Western Conference. Sacramento is seven games back.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 26 points and Jamal Murray scored half of his 22 points in the fourth quarter for the Nuggets, who are 25-0 this season when Jokic has a triple-double.
&ldquo;Since the All-Star break, it feels like every night&rsquo;s a playoff-type game,&rdquo; Denver coach Michael Malone said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve played Memphis twice, Cleveland, the Clippers, and our guys showed up.&rdquo;
Ja Morant had 27 points and 10 assists for the Grizzlies despite wearing a face mask due to a nasal fracture suffered at Houston on Wednesday night. Desmond Bane had 19 points, Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 15 and Xavier Tillman Sr. had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
&ldquo;We did a lot of great things for three quarters and then just kind of fell apart,&rdquo; Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said.
The game was tied at 80 after three quarters, but the Nuggets outscored the Grizzlies 33-17 in the fourth. Murray had two layups, made a pair of free throws and fed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for a corner 3-pointer to give the Nuggets a 96-86 lead.
Murray&rsquo;s 3-pointer and Porter&rsquo;s four-point play &mdash; which secured Jokic&rsquo;s 101st career triple-double &mdash; made it 105-86.
&ldquo;Anybody can make a shot, but we&rsquo;re getting stops, we were getting out and running, the team was flowing. Everyone was being unselfish,&rdquo; Murray said of the fourth quarter.
Memphis shot just 7 of 20 in the final 12 minutes.
&ldquo;In the fourth, we got some good shots and they just weren&rsquo;t falling, and they started hitting more shots,&rdquo; Luke Kennard said.
Denver missed its first 11 shots from 3-point range and didn&rsquo;t get its first make until late in the second quarter.
MAN BEHIND THE MASK
Morant won&rsquo;t have this particular mask for long. The guard will have one fitted to his face by the time the team arrives in Los Angeles for Sunday&rsquo;s game.
&ldquo;This one will be a temporary one that is kind of a standard operating one,&rdquo; Jenkins said. &ldquo;Luckily we&rsquo;ll get one that fits him a little bit more, to the mold of his face and gives him a little more comfort out there.&rdquo;
TAKE A SEAT
Memphis forward Dillon Brooks was hit with his 16th technical foul of the season with 5:45 left in the game. Brooks earned a $5,000 fine and a one-game suspension.
CLARKE INJURED
Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke left in the final seconds of the first quarter with a lower left leg injury. Clarke missed a free throw and started limping as he went up the court and fell at half-court. He was helped to the locker room without putting weight on his left leg.
TIP-INS
Grizzlies: Have held Denver to 42 and 50 points in the first half of their last two games. ... C Steven Adams missed his 16th straight game with a right knee sprain.
Nuggets: C Thomas Bryant was helped to the bench after suffering an injury under Memphis&rsquo; basket in the third quarter. Malone said after the game Bryant could have returned if needed.
UP NEXT
Grizzlies: At the Clippers on Sunday night.
Nuggets: Host the Toronto Raptors on Monday night.

Nikola Jokic had 18 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Denver Nuggets over the Memphis Grizzlies 113-97 Friday night.

Nikola Jokic’s triple-double lifts Nuggets over Grizzlies 113-97

The NBA schedule naturally lends itself to several checkpoints throughout the season that serve as frames of reference to check a team's pulse. The trade deadline and All-Star break are typically viewed as the midseason opportunities to evaluate performance.
However, for some teams, there's a specific date when their season drastically changed. For this year's New York Knicks, that date is December 4, 2022.
That night, in a 92-81 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tom Thibodeau trimmed New York's rotation to nine players. Since making the tweak, the Knicks are 27-14 and one of three squads with top-10 offensive and defensive ratings, per Cleaning the Glass.&nbsp;
New York has bounced up to the fifth seed in a strong Eastern Conference and only gotten better since acquiring Josh Hart prior to the trade deadline. His addition, marking another important season benchmark, has coincided with a seven-game winning streak that has given this young squad a glow in the national spotlight.
The Knicks are fun because they don't have one cure-all player responsible for the surge. Sure, Jalen Brunson's off-dribble juice has changed the game, and Hart has been a seamless fit so far, but this squad really jells because of collective improvement and synergy across the rotation.
New York owns the second-best offensive rating in non-garbage-time minutes since Dec. 4, and they are No. 1 since the win streak began. But interestingly, their scoring distribution looks nothing like the pass-heavy green flags we associate with "good" offense. Look at some of these ball-movement numbers from the league's stats database since Dec. 4:
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 154px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">Stat</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">Value (since Dec. 4)</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">NBA Rank</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">Offensive Rating</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">116.2</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">5th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">Passes per game</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">265.5</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">25th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">Assists per game</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">21.6</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">30th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">Potential assists per game</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">38.9</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">30th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">Assist-to-pass ratio</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">9.6%</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">29th</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">% of makes that were assisted</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">52.3%</td>
<td style="width: 31.490698%; height: 22px;">30th</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
So the Knicks are running an elite offense, yet their buckets aren't resulting from quality passes that make the box score. And without throwing another table at you, I'll add that these numbers rank similarly even when paring things down to the last seven games.
However, less passing does not necessarily indicate bad, or even unsustainable, offensive process. The Knicks might be iso-heavy, but they choose to be with purpose.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Clipped together the first 8 offensive possessions for the Knicks to start the 4th Q. Knicks are actively seeking out Hauser in matchups for both RJ and IQ to attack. There's a stark contrast in the quality of possessions initiated by both. <a href="https://t.co/TnDPTLpaRk">pic.twitter.com/TnDPTLpaRk</a>
&mdash; Ariel (@APachecoNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/APachecoNBA/status/1630603912536367106?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2023</a></blockquote>

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New York aggressively hunts mismatches so they can overpower defenses with drives. They're second in the NBA with 56.2 drives per game since Dec. 4 because they know they have several players &mdash; led by Brunson, Julius Randle, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley &mdash; who can score and pass out of attacks. Notably, despite logging low assist numbers in general as shown above, New York's 6.0 assists per game via drives actually rank second in the NBA, and the team's 5.5% turnover rate is tied for second-lowest.
There is so much chess that occurs on these perceived isolation plays that involve opening up other opportunities, even if it's not directly from a pass at first. Ben Ritholz encapsulated this in the below video thread that strings together some Knicks possessions against the Miami Heat:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
🎥🏀Knicks Film Session🏀🎥 Today&rsquo;s Lesson: Herro Hunting How the Knicks used the RJ/Herro mismatch to their advantage to create looks down the stretch. Sound up 🔊 Featuring analysis by <a href="https://twitter.com/BenRitholtzNBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BenRitholtzNBA</a>. <a href="https://t.co/zfhn4CYato">pic.twitter.com/zfhn4CYato</a>
&mdash; Knicks Film School (@KnickFilmSkool) <a href="https://twitter.com/KnickFilmSkool/status/1621525534336327680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Barrett is the focal point of the video, but similar approaches apply for Randle and Quickley. Brunson, meanwhile, is in his own stratosphere as the self-creating engine for the franchise. The marquee summer signing ranks third in the league with 21.1 drives per game since Dec. 4, and second in the league with 8.6 passes per game out of drives.
Brunson has been one of the league's premier driving threats over the course of his career; I wrote a whole <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-stats-notebook-jalen-brunson-is-in-the-drivers-seat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stats Notebook about his attacks with the Dallas Mavericks last spring</a>. He doesn't need to get all the way to the rim to bend defenses because he has the strength and shake to control the mid-range areas. As SDPN's Esfandiar Baraheni notes in this well-timed breakdown, Brunson has also spiked his drawn-shooting-foul rate, up to 13.0% from 7.9% a year ago.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4diTEr5VdkE" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
With Brunson as the head of the snake, Barrett, Randle and Quickley (who is converting 56% of his driving field goal attempts!) each bring a different layer of difficulty off the dribble. And though he's only averaging 4.4 drives so far, Hart has done the same early on with the Knicks.
The 27-year-old is putting up 12.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game in his seven appearances so far. Hart's immediate impact is helped by a ludicrous 60.0% three-point clip that will surely cool off. But he'll be a force off the bench for the Knicks either way with his straight-line drives and unique production on the boards.
Hart has made 14 of his 19 shots at the rim in this tiny sample size and nine of those buckets were unassisted. The success tracks. Take a look at what he's done on "self-created" shots (attempts taken after at least two seconds with the ball) over his career, via PBP Stats:
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 176px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 44px;">
<td style="width: 27.415144%; height: 44px;">Season</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 44px;">FGM</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 44px;">FGM</td>
<td style="width: 21.671018%; height: 44px;">FG%</td>
<td style="width: 20.365535%; height: 44px;">Freq. (% of total shots within 10 ft.)</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 27.415144%; height: 22px;">2017-18</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 22px;">47</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 22px;">70</td>
<td style="width: 21.671018%; height: 22px;">67.1%</td>
<td style="width: 20.365535%; height: 22px;">19.8%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 27.415144%; height: 22px;">2018-19</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 22px;">39</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 22px;">77</td>
<td style="width: 21.671018%; height: 22px;">50.7%</td>
<td style="width: 20.365535%; height: 22px;">16.6%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 27.415144%; height: 22px;">2019-20</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 22px;">74</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 22px;">113</td>
<td style="width: 21.671018%; height: 22px;">65.5%</td>
<td style="width: 20.365535%; height: 22px;">21.6%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 27.415144%; height: 22px;">2020-21</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 22px;">46</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 22px;">84</td>
<td style="width: 21.671018%; height: 22px;">54.8%</td>
<td style="width: 20.365535%; height: 22px;">24.5%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 27.415144%; height: 22px;">2021-22</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 22px;">139</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 22px;">215</td>
<td style="width: 21.671018%; height: 22px;">64.7%</td>
<td style="width: 20.365535%; height: 22px;">38.5%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 27.415144%; height: 22px;">2022-23</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 22px;">101</td>
<td style="width: 15.274151%; height: 22px;">167</td>
<td style="width: 21.671018%; height: 22px;">60.5%</td>
<td style="width: 20.365535%; height: 22px;">40.2%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Hart has consistently been a high-level interior creator even as he takes on more volume. But so far, he's different from other Knicks players in his unabashed confidence to score in transition.
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Nothing schematic to break down here &mdash; Hart just takes the ball the length of the floor, puts his shoulder into one of the league's strongest players and finishes through Jonas Valanciunas for the and-one layup. He's already had several coast-to-coast scores with New York, and that's new for a team ranking 25th in transition frequency on the season.&nbsp;
Hart also fortifies one of the best rebounding units in the league. His 6.0% offensive rebounding rate and 18.8% rebounding rate with Portland this season are both top-2-percentile numbers among wings, per Cleaning the Glass. New York already has Mitchell Robinson, Isaiah Hartenstein and Jericho Sims as a trio with top-15-percentile splits among bigs, and Randle is top-20-percentile in these categories as a forward.&nbsp;
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New York's offense operates with the vibes of a heavyweight boxer. The mismatch-hunting and on-court positioning are all setting up for the big punches, or drives orchestrated by the Knicks' leading scorers. Controlling the glass, plus a top-10 defense worthy of a separate article, help build out the chiseled frame of the team.
The numbers might not make the offense seem impressive at first, but when you piece them together and pair them with tape, the Knicks look a lot more imposing as a playoff contender.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>Antoine Davis is the man! The second note here blew my mind:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Incredible career for Antoine Davis <a href="https://t.co/rIwf0qu4Xc">pic.twitter.com/rIwf0qu4Xc</a>
&mdash; Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamZagoria/status/1631649663735455756?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 3, 2023</a></blockquote>
<ul>
<li class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">Lauri Markkanen has been one of the best scorers in the NBA this year, full stop:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Lauri Markkanen has been nothing short of special this year. He&rsquo;s now averaging 25.3 PPG, up from 14.8 last season, and while at an incredible level of efficiency. He&rsquo;s finishing WELL above league averages at the rim, in the midrange, and from 3. (53% on corner 3s 🔥) <a href="https://t.co/AmQwcSLodN">pic.twitter.com/AmQwcSLodN</a>
&mdash; Dom Samangy (@DSamangy) <a href="https://twitter.com/DSamangy/status/1631345431455178769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 2, 2023</a></blockquote>
<ul>
<li class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">Not quite like a full season triple-double average, but Nikola Jokic is making the case for his <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/sportsbooks-view-nikola-jokic-as-a-lock-to-win-his-3rdstraight-mvp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">third-straight MVP</a> look stronger every game:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Nikola Jokic has averaged a triple-double in December, January and February. He is the 3rd player in NBA history to average a triple-double in at least 3 straight calendar months, joining Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook. <a href="https://t.co/3pQ0kAeNHY">pic.twitter.com/3pQ0kAeNHY</a>
&mdash; ESPN Stats &amp; Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/1630762306253496321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Ethan Fuller shows that there's more to the New York Knicks' low-passing offense than the numbers initially suggest.

NBA Stats Notebook: Why the Knicks' low-passing offense works so well

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Damian Lillard set franchise- and career-highs with 71 points &mdash; tied for the most in the NBA this season &mdash; and 13 three-pointers and the Portland Trail Blazers snapped a two-game skid with a 131-114 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night.
Lillard tied Cleveland&rsquo;s Donovan Mitchell for the most points in a game this season after Mitchell also scored 71 in a win over Chicago on Jan. 2. Lillard broke his own franchise mark of 61 points, which he&rsquo;d done twice, on a three-pointer with 4:42 left that also topped his career record for threes in a game with 11.
Lillard&rsquo;s 13 three-pointers were one shy of the NBA record set by Golden State&rsquo;s Klay Thompson in 2018. Thompson&rsquo;s Warriors teammate Stephen Curry (2016) and Chicago&rsquo;s Zach LaVine (2019) also made 13 threes.
In the final minutes, the crowd at the Moda Center was on its feet, phones recording the moment, while chanting &ldquo;MVP! MVP!&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
71 points 13 threes 6 assists 6 boards 2 TOs 39 minutes 57.9 FG% 59 3PT% 100 FT% <a href="https://twitter.com/Dame_Lillard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Dame_Lillard</a> is the first player in NBA history with 70+ points, 10+ threes, 5+ assists, 5+ rebounds in a game. He was one 3 shy of tying the record for most 3s in a game. <a href="https://t.co/49UPnvpit8">pic.twitter.com/49UPnvpit8</a>
&mdash; Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexKennedyNBA/status/1630072531016089601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Lillard left the game with 44 seconds left, tied with Mitchell, Elgin Baylor (1960) and David Robinson (1994) for the eighth-most points scored in a game in NBA history. Wilt Chamberlain owns the league record with 100 for Philadelphia against New York on March 2, 1962, at Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Lillard had 41 points and eight three-pointers by halftime. It was a career-high in a half for Lillard and the most points in a half for any player in the league this season. He had 50 by the start of the fourth quarter.
Jerami Grant added 13 points for the Blazers, who led by as many as 23. Portland is part of a cluster of eight Western Conference just four wins apart that are vying for playoff spots.
Alperen Sengun had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets, sitting in last place in the Western Conference with just 13 overall wins and nine-straight losses.
Houston trailed 102-88 heading into the final quarter, but scored the first six points of the period to close the gap to 102-94. Grant&rsquo;s three-pointer for Portland extended the margin to 108-98.
Lillard&rsquo;s three, his 11th of the night to tie his career high, made it 113-103 with 6:43 left. He added a driving layup and a free throw. Houston could not catch up.
Lillard started after resting for Thursday night&rsquo;s 133-116 loss to Sacramento. He participated in the NBA All-Star Game and won the three-point contest the previous weekend.
But Portland remained without center Jusuf Nurkic (left calf) and guard Anfernee Simons (right ankle).
The Blazers had a 31-30 lead after one quarter, led by Lillard&rsquo;s 16. Portland extended the lead to 50-39 after Lillard went on a personal 9-2 run against the Rockets, capped by a three-pointer from 35 feet out.
The Blazers led 73-58 at the break with Lillard the 10th player since the 1996-97 season with 40-plus points in a half.
Lillard has 15 games with 50 or more points, sixth-most in NBA history.
SIDELINED
Guards Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. did not play, although Rockets coach Stephen Silas said both should be available for the team&rsquo;s short upcoming homestand. Green missed his second game with a strained left groin. Porter has been out 19 games because of a left foot contusion.
TIP-INS
Rockets: It was the third and final meeting between the teams this season. The Blazers won the previous two. Last season, the series ended 2-2. ... Jae&rsquo;Sean Tate had four fouls in the first half, but finished with 17 points.
Trail Blazers: Following reports that Lillard was rallying his teammates for the final 23 games of the season, Blazers coach Chauncey Billups was asked how he&rsquo;s motivating his team for the stretch run. &ldquo;What I&rsquo;m mostly always talking about is `Here&rsquo;s where we are. Here&rsquo;s how we got there. This is how we&rsquo;ve got to climb out of it,&rsquo;&rdquo; Billups said.
UP NEXT
Rockets: Return home to face the Denver Nugget on Tuesday.
Trail Blazers: Visit the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.

Damian Lillard had a franchise-high and career-high 71 points and 13 threes as the Blazers beat the Rockets 131-114 on Sunday night.

Damian Lillard has 71 points and 13 threes; Blazers beat Rockets

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; In the 1990s, Dallas Mavericks point guard Derek Harper famously shot down an offer to be traded to the Jazz, quipping to ESPN: &ldquo;You go live in Utah.&rdquo;
Two decades later, members of the Golden State Warriors squad&nbsp;mocked Salt Lake&nbsp;as a nightlife-free city that could &ldquo;lull you to sleep.&rdquo;
And two months ago, former Jazz star Donovan Mitchell,&nbsp;reflecting on his time in Utah, said it was &ldquo;draining&rdquo; being a Black man in the mostly white, deeply religious state.
As the spotlight turns toward Salt Lake City and Utah during&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/107533176444f092fed0c7996a8e328f">this weekend&rsquo;s NBA All-Star Game</a>, business and political leaders are seeking to chip away at long-held notions &mdash; in basketball circles and elsewhere &mdash; of the state as a peculiar, boring and homogenous place that lags behind on LGBTQ- and race-related issues.
Their push to showcase the city and state as increasingly diverse and vibrant has been complicated by Utah&rsquo;s enduring legacy as a religious conservative stronghold, coupled with recent political developments at the intersection of race, gender and sports.
Just a year ago, a statewide ban implemented on transgender kids playing girls&rsquo; sports raised&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/utah-jazz-nba-sports-adam-silver-north-carolina-64a3f0f2d3b33bf9ccc806bcd6293997">worries</a>&nbsp;that organizers of some events like the All-Star Game would think twice about coming to Utah.
Still, political leaders see efforts to make businesses and tourists feel welcome as key to Utah&rsquo;s continued growth and ability to attract profitable trade shows and the&nbsp;Winter Olympics, which it is seen as likely to bid to host again in 2034.
&ldquo;What happens with those oddities that people think is, they&rsquo;re very quickly dispelled when people actually come to Utah,&rdquo; said Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican and avid Jazz fan.
Downtown, a pop-up liquor store has been erected to serve fans this weekend between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints&rsquo; flagship temple and the Jazz&rsquo;s home arena. Team owner Ryan Smith is&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/utah-jazz-nba-sports-salt-lake-city-f458ade6c498f9d9e729b25f9e5a7ebb">telling</a>&nbsp;anyone who will listen about the state&rsquo;s robust tech sector and progressive thinking. And the NBA is heavily advertising a pregame performance featuring&nbsp;Post Malone, a Utah-based, heavily face-tattooed rap star popular among residents.
Salt Lake City has long been more liberal and religiously diverse than the rest of Utah, a blue island in a sea of red. A majority of members on the current left-leaning city council&nbsp;identify as LGBTQ and are people of color.
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In the three decades since 1993, the last time the All-Star Game last was here, the population has diversified and almost doubled, transforming it into a thriving metropolis complete with the politics and problems that plague many midsize cities including pollution, housing shortages and&nbsp;homelessness.
A skyline dense with apartments, office buildings and two downtown malls has sprung up between Temple Square and the nearby mountains. The 2002 Olympics brought an influx of funding that helped build a light rail system many visitors will use during All-Star festivities.
Mayor Erin Mendenhall said The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the counterculture that rose up in response and continues to thrive both contribute to the city&rsquo;s social fabric.
&ldquo;We may still be peculiar, but we&rsquo;re&nbsp;minority Mormon&nbsp;now,&rdquo; she said.
The extensive influence of the faith known widely as the Mormon church will still be apparent, yet changes within its culture and the influx of thousands of secular residents may complicate how the expected 150,000 All-Star visitors perceive Salt Lake City, said Patrick Mason, a professor of religious studies at Utah State University.
&ldquo;Anybody who visits &mdash; especially for the first time &mdash; is going to be immediately struck by the Salt Lake Temple and the church&rsquo;s holdings right downtown very close to the arena. This is, as a lot of people say, &rsquo;Mormonism&rsquo;s Vatican,&rdquo; he said.
High-profile church members also demonstrate how the image the faith projects has remained distinct while also becoming more assimilated into the mainstream, he said.
&ldquo;That really gets reflected in the younger generation of entrepreneurs and politicians,&rdquo; Mason added. &ldquo;People like Cox and Smith are Latter-day Saints who are committed to their faith but also are savvy people who grow up with the internet, plugged in to a global culture.&rdquo;
Hosting All-Star Weekend is a major opportunity in particular for Smith, who purchased the Jazz in 2020 after selling the survey-software provider company that he founded, Qualtrics, for $8 billion.
&ldquo;This is just a chance to really have a moment together. People definitely know that there&rsquo;s something here,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s absolutely unique in all the positive ways. I think the one thing that is beautiful about Utah, that the people keep telling me from a wellness standpoint, &lsquo;Utah is like where I&rsquo;m at my best.&rsquo;&rdquo;
Since Smith attended part of 1993&prime;s All-Star Weekend as a member of the Jazz&rsquo;s youth basketball program, the NBA has cultivated a reputation for embracing progressive politics and social justice to a greater extent than most other professional sports leagues.
The ban on transgender athletes in girls&rsquo; sports didn&rsquo;t end up costing Utah the All-Star Game. But some fear marketing efforts could face challenges as the state doubles down on socially conservative stances on matters of race, gender and sports. Last month lawmakers&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-health-children-utah-surgery-9d8b304aef5060a1e033416558c9d6f8">banned</a>&nbsp;gender-affirming care for transgender youth, a policy being considered by lawmakers in a number of states across the country.
Utah has among the highest white populations of any state at 78% of its 3.3 million residents, and less than 2% are Black. That lack of racial diversity is long believed to have hurt efforts by the Jazz to lure free agents and retain players.
Mitchell, after being&nbsp;traded&nbsp;to the Cavaliers last offseason, said it took a lot of energy to confront a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/north-america-nhl-ut-state-wire-utah-nfl-758cb7968d564893b57ca6d0a19777ce">series</a>&nbsp;of highly public race-related experiences and the pushback he received in response. They included incidents of bullying against Black students in Utah schools that he&nbsp;called&nbsp;&ldquo;demoralizing&rdquo;; a&nbsp;dustup&nbsp;between him and the state Senate president over new restrictions on how race and history could be taught; and the time Mitchell said he was pulled over and &ldquo;got an attitude from the cop&rdquo; until the officer saw Mitchell&rsquo;s ID and realized he was the Jazz player.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s no secret there&rsquo;s a lot of stuff that I dealt with being in Utah, off the floor. ... I took on a lot because I felt like I could do it. But at some point, it became a lot to have to deal with,&rdquo; he&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://andscape.com/features/donovan-mitchell-thinks-the-cavaliers-can-be-a-pretty-scary-group/">told</a>&nbsp;the ESPN publication Andscape in December.
Some see All-Star weekend as a means of elevating social justice initiatives and changing Salt Lake City&rsquo;s image through showcasing oft-overlooked pockets of diversity. Sheena Meade, CEO of the Clean Slate Initiative, helped organize a expungement clinic with the NBA&rsquo;s social justice arm in the lead-up to the game, a year after Cox signed legislation to clear low-level convictions from people&rsquo;s criminal records. She said the NBA&rsquo;s presence in places regardless of the prevailing local politics has had&nbsp;tangible&nbsp;impacts.
&ldquo;They are doing more than lip service. They&rsquo;re putting out a host of events,&rdquo; Meade said. &ldquo;What it means for the All-Star Game to come to a state like Utah is it brings an immersion of culture and diversity and lifts up what&rsquo;s happening on some social issues.&rdquo;
</div>

With the spotlight on Salt Lake City for the NBA All-Star Game, local leaders are looking to chip away at long-held notions of the state.

In NBA All-Star spotlight, Utah looks to change perceptions

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; D&rsquo;Andre Gholston hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Missouri a stunning 86-85 victory over No. 6 Tennessee on Saturday night.
With 4.2 seconds left in the game and the Volunteers (19-6, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) leading 85-83, Santiago Vescovi missed a free throw. His second attempt was waived off when Tobe Awaka committed a lane violation, setting up a final chance for the Tigers (19-6, 7-5).
Gholston took the inbounds and dribbled up the court before taking an off-balance contested 3-pointer from about 30 feet that swished through the net at the buzzer for the win. He was mobbed by his teammates after hitting the shot.
Tennessee came back from a 17-point deficit early in the second half and led the last 7:11 of the game.
NO. 3 ALABAMA 77, AUBURN 69
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Rylan Griffen scored 16 points, Mark Sears added 15 and Alabama held off a big challenge from its in-state rival Auburn.
The Crimson Tide (22-3, 12-0 Southeastern Conference) remained the only Power 5 team without a league loss. Sears and Griffen helped Alabama overcome an off shooting performance from star Brandon Miller, who had 13 points but missed all seven 3-point attempts.
Wendell Green Jr. had 16 of his 24 points in the second half for Auburn (17-8, 7-5).
STANFORD 88, NO. 4 ARIZONA 79
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Spencer Jones scored all 18 of his points in the second half for Stanford and played a key role in neutralizing Pac-12 leading scorer Azuolas Tubelis, as the Cardinal stunned Arizona.
Stanford (11-14, 5-9 Pac-12) beat a ranked team for the first time this year and a top-five team for the second time in two seasons. Arizona (22-4, 11-4), hoping to stay a half-game behind UCLA for the conference lead, had a seven-game win snapped.
Courtney Ramey scored a season- and game-high 26 points for Arizona. Tubelis was held to four points and did not have any rebounds.
Stanford&rsquo;s Michael O&rsquo;Connell scored a team-high 22 points, helping the Cardinal outshoot the Wildcats 61% to 46% from the field.
NO. 5 TEXAS 94, WEST VIRGINIA 60
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Sir&rsquo;Jabri Rice scored 24 points in just 17 minutes in Texas&rsquo; win over West Virginia.
Texas (20-5) remained in first place in the Big 12 at 9-3, while West Virginia (15-10, 4-8) lost for the sixth time in its last seven games against the Longhorns.
Rice, a guard who transferred this season from New Mexico State, was nearly perfect. He converted 5 of 6 field-goal attempts, including 4 of 5 3-pointers and all 10 free throws.
Emmitt Matthews led West Virginia with 13 points.
NO. 8 VIRGINIA 69, DUKE 62, OT
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Armaan Franklin scored 23 points, including a 3-pointer with 39 seconds left, to lift Virginia over Duke in overtime.
Kihie Clark added 16 points and Ben Vander Plas 13 for the Cavaliers (19-4, 11-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won despite a 9 for 22 performance from the free-throw line.
Duke (17-8, 8-6) seemed poised to win when Kyle Filipowski drove on the final play of regulation and two defenders contested his shot. The officials initially whistled a foul, but waved it off after a lengthy review. Jeremy Roach led the Blue Devils with 16 points.
NO. 9 KANSAS 78, OKLAHOMA 55
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Wilson scored 18 points, and Kansas rolled past Oklahoma.
Wilson, who entered the day leading the Big 12 with nearly 21 points per game, bounced back from a two-point outing against Texas on Monday.
Dajuan Harris scored 16 points and Kevin McCullar added 13 for the Jayhawks (20-5, 8-4 Big 12).
Jalen Hill scored 14 points and Otega Oweh added 11 for the Oklahoma (12-13, 2-10). Grant Sherfield, who leads the Sooners with nearly 17 points per game, was held to 10 on 4-for-14 shooting.
NO. 10 MARQUETTE 89, GEORGETOWN 75
WASHINGTON (AP) &mdash; Kam Jones, Oso Ighodaro and Tyler Kolek each scored 14 points to lead a balanced scoring attack for Marquette in its win over Georgetown.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper had 11 points and Chase Ross added 10 for Marquette (20-6, 12-3 Big East), which moved into first place in the conference.
Jay Heath scored 18 points to lead last-place Georgetown (6-20, 1-14), which has lost five straight after ending their league record 29-game conference losing streak on Jan. 24.
OKLAHOMA ST 64, NO. 11 IOWA ST 56
AMES, Iowa (AP) &mdash; John-Michael Wright scored 19 points and Oklahoma State rallied past Iowa State.
The loss was the Cyclones&rsquo; fourth in five games.
Bryce Thompson added 12 points for the Cowboys (16-9, 7-5 Big 12) in their fifth straight win.
Aljaz Kunc scored 13 for Iowa State (16-8, 7-5).
TEXAS TECH 71, NO. 12 KANSAS STATE 63
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) &mdash;De&rsquo;Vion Harmon scored 20 points, including a crucial driving basket in the final minute, as Texas Tech upended Kansas State.
The Red Raiders (13-12, 2-10 Big 12) held the Wildcats to two field goals in the game&rsquo;s final four minutes.
Kansas State (19-6, 7-5) edged as close as one point throughout the second half, but Tech answered with key baskets to maintain the lead. The Wildcats were led by Markquis Nowell&rsquo;s 18 points. Desi Sills added 12 points.
NO. 14 BAYLOR 72, NO. 17 TCU 68
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) &mdash; Adam Flagler scored 28 points, with 16 in a row for Baylor during the stretch when the Bears overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half and then held on to beat TCU.
LJ Cryer had 23 points for the Bears (19-6, 8-4 Big 12), who on Jan. 4 at home against TCU blew a 17-point lead in an 88-87 loss. They have won nine of their last 10 games.
Damion Baugh had 16 points and 10 assist for TCU (17-8, 6-6).
NO. 15 SAINT MARY&rsquo;S 81, PORTLAND 64
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Logan Johnson had 34 points, six rebounds and six assists as Saint Mary&rsquo;s handled Portland on the road.
Alex Ducas added 18 points and six rebounds for the Gaels (22-5, 11-1 West Coast Conference) and Aidan Mahaney contributed 10 points and five assists.
Kristian Sjolund led the Pilots (13-15, 5-8) with 12 points, and Juan Gorosito and Tyler Robinson each added 10 points.
NO. 18 INDIANA 62, MICHIGAN 61
Trayce Jackson-Davis had 28 points and 11 rebounds, Jalen Hood-Schifino scored 21 points and Indiana held on for a win over Michigan.
Freshman Jett Howard was short on a 3-pointer just before the buzzer, leaving the Wolverines without a point for the final 5:12.
The Hoosiers (18-7, 9-5 Big Ten) trailed by 11 in the first half and for much of the second, but went ahead for good with 2:58 left when Hood-Schifino made two free throws for their last points.
Michigan (14-11, 8-6) fell to 0-4 against teams in the AP Top 25, losing each game by five or fewer points.
Hunter Dickinson scored 16 points, Kobe Bufkin had 14 points and Howard added 12 for the Wolverines.
NO. 19 MIAMI 93, LOUISVILLE 85
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Nijel Pack scored 22 points in Miami&rsquo;s win over Louisville.
Five days following its dominant 22-point home win over Duke, Miami (20-5, 11-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) could not shake off the conference&rsquo;s last-place team until Pack&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 2:44 remaining made it 82-72. Pack shot 8 of 14, including 4 of 9 on 3-pointers.
Isaiah Wong and Norchad Omier finished with 21 points each and Jordan Miller added 10 for the Hurricanes, who are 14-0 at home.
El Ellis scored a career-high 33 points and had five assists while Jae&rsquo;Lyn Withers finished with 18 for the Cardinals (3-22, 1-13).
ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 73, NO. 20 PROVIDENCE 68
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; David Jones scored 16 points and AJ Storr added 15 for St. John&rsquo;s, which beat Providence.
Joel Soriano had 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Red Storm (15-11, 5-10 Big East).
Bryce Hopkins equaled a career best with 29 points for the Friars (18-7, 10-4).
NO. 22 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 92, BOSTON COLLEGE 62
BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Jarkel Joiner scored 26 points and D.J. Burns Jr. added 18 with 10 rebounds to lead North Carolina State over Boston College.
Terquavion Smith scored 17 points for the Wolfpack (20-6, 10-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), giving him 1,000 points for his career.
Quinten Post scored 20 points for Boston College (12-14, 6-9).
NO. 23 CREIGHTON 56, NO. 21 UCONN 53
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Trey Alexander scored 17 points to lead Creighton past UConn after the Huskies had what would have been a tying 3-pointer erased on video review in the final seconds.
Creighton (17-8, 11-3) is a half-game behind Big East-leading Marquette with its eighth straight win. The Huskies (19-7, 8-7) lost for the first time in four games.
Adama Sanogo had 17 points and 10 rebounds for UConn.
ILLINOIS 69, NO. 24 RUTGERS 60
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) &mdash; Coleman Hawkins scored 18 points and Illinois held Rutgers scoreless for more than 10 minutes in the second half to rally for the win.
Illinois (17-7, 8-5 Big Ten) trailed 47-41 with 14 1/2 minutes left before Hawkins&rsquo; 3-pointer started a 19-0 run. Hawkins hit four consecutive shots &mdash; including a 3 &mdash; and gave the Illini the lead for good at 48-47.
Rutgers (16-9, 8-6) missed 15 straight shots during its drought.
NO. 25 SAN DIEGO STATE 82, UNLV 71
SAN DIEGO (AP) &mdash; Adam Seiko scored all 18 points on 3-pointers and Matt Bradley added 17 points for San Diego, the Mountain West Conference front-runner that beat UNLV for its third straight win and seventh in eight games.
The Aztecs (20-5, 11-2 MWC) buried the Runnin&rsquo; Rebels in a blizzard of 3-pointers and slam dunks, including during a 14-0 run midway through the first half, to sweep the season series and top UNLV the fifth straight time. Keshad Johnson scored 11 of his 14 points in the game&rsquo;s first 6 1/2 minutes and Nathan Mensah had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Elijah Harkless scored 24 for UNLV (16-9, 5-8) before fouling out with 2:05 to go. Keshon Gilbert added 19 for the Runnin&rsquo; Rebels, who didn&rsquo;t get their first assist until two minutes into the second half.

A recap of Saturday's action in men's college hoops includes numerous upsets in the top-15.

Three-pointer at buzzer lifts Missouri over No. 6 Tennessee

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Emanuel Sharp came off the bench to score 18 points and No. 3 Houston bounced back from a loss that knocked it from the top spot in the rankings, beating UCF 82-71 on Wednesday night.
Jarace Walker added 17 points, Jamal Shead had 14 points and 10 assists, and Marcus Sasser also scored 14 for the Cougars (19-2, 7-1 American Athletic Conference), who lost 56-55 at home to Temple on Sunday.
Ithiel Horton scored 18 points and Taylor Hendricks had 17 for UCF (13-7, 4-4). Hendricks&rsquo; three-point play capped a 6-0 run that pulled the Knights within 67-62 with 7:02 remaining.
NO. 2 ALABAMA 66, MISSISSIPPI STATE 63
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Jahvon Quinerly scored 14 points and Alabama rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half to beat Mississippi State.
The Crimson Tide (18-2, 8-0 Southeastern Conference) had to climb out of a hole and then hold on two days after reaching the program&rsquo;s highest ranking since rising to No. 1 in the 2002-03 season. The result was a ninth straight win and the first real scare during that stretch.
Quinerly had four assists for the Tide and scored nine in the second half. Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney both scored 13, and Clowney had eight rebounds.
Tolu Smith led Mississippi State (12-8, 1-7) with 15 points and seven rebounds. Dashawn Davis added 14.
NO. 4 TENNESSEE 70, GEORGIA 41
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Zakai Zeigler had 11 points and seven assists and Tennessee held its 10th opponent to 50 or fewer points.
Tobe Awaka came off the bench to score 10 points. Santiago Vescovi had six rebounds, four assists and six steals to go with his eight points as Tennessee (17-3, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) got its first win at home since having its 25-game home winning streak snapped by Kentucky more than a week ago.
The Bulldogs (13-7, 3-4), who managed just 29% shooting from the field, were led by Terry Roberts with 11 points.
NO. 13 XAVIER 82, NO. 19 UCONN 79
STORRS, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Souley Boum scored 21 points, Colby Jones added 20 and Xavier won its 13th in 14 games.
Jack Nunge had 12 points and Jerome Hunter added 11 for Xavier (17-4, 9-1 Big East), which led by 17 in the first half and 39-24 at halftime.
Jordan Hawkins scored 26 of his 28 points in the second half for UConn (16-6, 5-6), leading a comeback that fell just short. Tristen Newton added 23 points for the Huskies.
TEXAS A&amp;M 79, NO. 15 AUBURN 63
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Tyrece Radford had 30 points and nine rebounds and Texas A&amp;M ended the nation&rsquo;s longest active home winning streak at 28 games.
The Aggies (14-6, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) used a strong offensive start to hand Auburn its first loss at Neville Arena since Feb. 23, 2021.
Wade Taylor IV finished with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting for the Aggies.
Johni Broome and Wendell Green Jr. each scored 16 points for the Tigers (16-4, 6-2), who had won five straight games overall.
NO. 23 PROVIDENCE 79, BUTLER 58
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Bryce Hopkins had 16 points and seven rebounds as Providence dominated Butler inside.
Devin Carter added 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Friars (16-5, 8-2 Big East), who have won two straight since back-to-back losses at Creighton and Marquette. Providence had a 42-24 rebounding edge and outscored the Bulldogs 48-20 in the paint.
Eric Hunter Jr. had 12 points and Jayden Taylor scored 10 with a team-high five rebounds for Butler (11-11, 3-8).&nbsp;

A recap of Tuesday night's action in men's college hoops includes a bounce-back victory for the Cougars and an upset at Auburn.

Sharp scores 18 off the bench, leads No. 3 Houston over UCF

Following Sunday&rsquo;s loss to the Miami Heat, the New Orleans Pelicans have now dropped nine of their last 12 games &ndash; including four-straight losses.&nbsp;
In defense of the short-handed Pelicans, this is a brutal stretch of their schedule and many of the losses have been to contenders &ndash; such as the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Memphis Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets. However, they also had a 13-point loss against the Orlando Magic on Friday.&nbsp;
&ldquo;We have to find our defensive identity," Pelicans head coach Willie Green said after the loss in Orlando. "Right now, we&rsquo;re not guarding the way we&rsquo;re capable of. Those are things that we can control; we can make a decision as a team that we want to guard better, and we just haven&rsquo;t been doing it...
"We just didn&rsquo;t get into the ball. I didn&rsquo;t feel like they felt us much in terms of guarding the ball. Then, when we did have opportunities to stop them, our discipline has to be better. We&rsquo;re fouling guys, putting guys at the free throw line.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Trey Murphy III agreed with Green's assessment that the defensive intensity has been lacking.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Teams have to feel us,&rdquo; Murphy said. &ldquo;They have to feel our defensive pressure because that is what we are built on: pressuring the ball, forcing turnovers and just being a good team defense.&rdquo;
On the season, the Pelicans have the NBA's eighth-ranked defense (allowing 109.5 points per 100 possessions). However, during this recent 12-game stretch, New Orleans' defense is allowing 116.5 points per 100 possessions, which ranks 17th league-wide over that span.
However, the Pelicans&rsquo; offense has fallen off in recent weeks too. Prior to this slump, they had the NBA's fourth-ranked offense &ndash; scoring 116.8 points per 100 possessions. But since Dec. 31, New Orleans&rsquo; has the NBA&rsquo;s 28th-ranked offense, scoring just 109.2 points per 100 possessions.
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It must be noted that the Pelicans aren't at full strength, as Brandon Ingram (toe) and Zion Williamson (hamstring) have been sidelined in recent weeks and Herb Jones (lower back bruise) just returned to the lineup after missing several games.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not an excuse, but obviously it is. Having your full roster makes it a little bit easier,&rdquo; Murphy said. &ldquo;You are playing your rotations. There are a lot of guys that are stepping up. We have a next-man-is-up mentality, but it is always nice to have two All-Stars in your rotation. You are missing about 40 points on a very low night.&rdquo;
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s part of the journey,&rdquo; Green said of the injuries. &ldquo;You dig down and go back once again, you watch some film, you try to figure out what are the things we&rsquo;re doing well&hellip; and where are some areas where we can improve on. Guys being in and out of the rotation is part of the NBA. There are many teams dealing with it, not just us. We&rsquo;ll continue to search and figure it out.&rdquo;
Despite their recent struggles, the Pelicans aren&rsquo;t panicking.
&ldquo;No, not even a little bit. There is no panic at all,&rdquo; Murphy said. &ldquo;It is a long season. There&rsquo;s ups-and-downs that you have to deal with during an 82-game season, playing for five or six months. You can&rsquo;t panic over a month&rsquo;s stretch.&rdquo;
&ldquo;No concerns&hellip; It&rsquo;s part of the NBA season,&rdquo; Green added. &ldquo;We understand where we are. We&rsquo;ll keep working, keep getting better. Nobody&rsquo;s going to come save us. We have to continue to play and trust each other, which our guys do for the most part. Continue to compete and believe in our capabilities.&rdquo;
The Pelicans should get Ingram and Williamson back relatively soon. In the meantime, they know that they can't let the losses pull them apart.
&ldquo;[We need to] stay together&hellip; I think that is the main thing,&rdquo; Murphy said. &ldquo;We went through this a lot last year where we lost a lot of games in a row and we just stayed together. I think that is what really helped us and propelled us to the postseason, because we never went our separate ways and started blaming each other and pointing fingers.&rdquo;
After playing seven of their last eight games on the road, the Pelicans will start a three-game homestand on Tuesday against the Denver Nuggets.&nbsp;

Despite dropping nine of their last 12 games – including four-straight losses – the New Orleans Pelicans aren't panicking.

Pelicans aren't panicking despite losing 9 of their last 12

Springfield, Massachusetts has been offering glimpses into the future of basketball since James Naismith put some peach baskets on a YMCA wall in 1891. Every MLK weekend, the town gives us another in the form of the HoopHall Classic, where dozens of the best high-school players in the country descend on Blake Arena.
The HoopHall Classic is also one of three high-school showcases this season that was given the green light for NBA scouts to attend. It's a prime opportunity for the elite talents to separate themselves from the pack &mdash; or for less heralded names to put themselves on the map.
I checked into the arena at noon and spent 11 hours inside, sticking around until the penultimate contest. These standouts, among many others, caught my eye:
Boys &mdash; IMG Academy (FL) 61, Newton (GA) 52
Khani Rooths, IMG Academy &mdash;&nbsp;A 2024 wing, Rooths' impact on IMG's win far outshone his box score (11 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists). The 6-foot-6 wing kept the ball moving with some savvy passing versatility, making the right skip reads and interior decisions. He went 2-for-3 beyond the arc and seemed more comfortable spotting up and passing from a standstill versus attacking off the dribble.
Rooths also defended Newton star Stephon Castle for large portions of the game and made the 5-star guard's life pretty challenging. He can slide with relative success and deal with physicality without fouling. Rooths, a 4-star guard who is uncommitted, fits in all sorts of contexts and is a player who can thrive with today's direction of basketball.
Marcus Whitlock, Newton &mdash;&nbsp;Whitlock was one of the early head-turners of the weekend. He's a 6-foot-2 guard who plays with relentless confidence. The senior only made 4-of-12 threes but looked poised shooting off movement and spot-up attempts, finishing with 22 points.
He's not a half-court creator, but Whitlock did get chances to run and finish at the rim in transition. He also dove for loose balls on defense and wound up with three steals. Whitlock isn't ranked by most sites and hasn't chosen a school yet, so this effort might have put him on some college radars.
Girls &mdash; Sierra Canyon (CA) 67, Sidwell Friends (DC) 55
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The legend of Juju Watkins at Sierra Canyon continues to grow, as well. She missed a big stretch of the first half after tweaking her ankle, went down for a few moments again late on, and still put up 29/14/5/3/3 in 26 mins. Her physicality never wavered either. Generational. <a href="https://t.co/VGuq1TuqcT">https://t.co/VGuq1TuqcT</a> <a href="https://t.co/wVUIgv0fHd">pic.twitter.com/wVUIgv0fHd</a>
&mdash; Wilko (@wilkomcv) <a href="https://twitter.com/wilkomcv/status/1614365704995868673?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Juju Watkins, Sierra Canyon &mdash; The No. 1 senior in the country had the performance of the day. Watkins missed time twice with injuries to both ankles, but you wouldn't notice from her final stat line: 29 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks and 3 steals. (She said postgame that she's feeling alright).
Watkins relished the chance to beat another nationally-ranked opponent and the challenge of matching up against 6-foot-1 junior Kendall Dudley.
"It's definitely an adjustment playing against other players my size, learning how and when to get to my spots," Watkins told Basketball News in her postgame presser. "I just had to make that adjustment mentally, but when I made it, it was easier."
Though Watkins battled for rebounds and showed off limitless range, she also demonstrated a unique blend of speeds and gears, often warping time around her defenders and finishing with a teardrop floater. That's one of the young star's newest weapons.
"I worked on it a lot this summer &mdash; just learning how to change pace better and get my defender on their heels. I've been working on that a lot, and I went out there and showed it today," Watkins said.
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Mackenly Randolph, Sierra Canyon &mdash;&nbsp;The 5-star junior finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds and was critical in helping Sierra Canyon close out a 67-55 win. Randolph dominated on the glass against a physically imposing Sidwell Friends squad; it's no surprise that her dad is Zach Randolph. She also slashed through the lane for some impressive interior buckets.&nbsp;
Kendall Dudley, Sidwell Friends &mdash;&nbsp;Dudley is the No. 13 player in ESPN's 2024 rankings and she showed off the versatility that earned her the billing. The 5-star talent was cool and collected driving the basketball and kicking out. She can play physically at 6-foot-1, but doesn't need to, and her comfort off the bounce was apparent. She also led the defensive attack and did about as well guarding Watkins as her team could ask.
Dudley hasn't chosen a college yet and should be one of the most highly-anticipated commits in the coming year. She finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals in the loss.
Boys &mdash; Long Island Lutheran (NY) 64, Oak Hill Academy (VA) 56
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FLOOR GENERAL 👏 Jayden Reid always in control as LuHi beats Oak Hill 64-56 <a href="https://twitter.com/LuHiBasketball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LuHiBasketball</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/jaydenreid0?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jaydenreid0</a> <a href="https://t.co/PzVFy12thm">pic.twitter.com/PzVFy12thm</a>
&mdash; NIBC (@NIBCOfficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/NIBCOfficial/status/1614391132728836097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Jayden Reid, Long Island Lutheran &mdash;&nbsp;A 5-foot-10 playmaker who shined is going to land on this list all day. Reid, a 3-star senior point guard, showed total command of the offense with wraparound dimes and pocket passes in the pick-and-roll. He knocked down a pair of threes and finished off one fast break with an impressive double-clutch layup. The guard play from both squads was really excellent, but Reid stood out with 16 points, 7 assists and 4 steals.
Kaden Magwood, Oak Hill &mdash; Magwood caught fire off the bench, going for 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting. He made both of his threes and finished <a href="https://twitter.com/NIBCOfficial/status/1614385220500725760" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a stunning layup on the fast break</a> to help keep Oak Hill in the game. Magwood is only a sophomore and not in the early class frontrunners yet; I expect that to change pretty soon. He plays with a ton of fight for a guard listed at 6-foot-2 and 160 pounds.
Boys &mdash; Montverde Academy (FL) 85, La Lumiere (IN) 63
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Cooper Flagg is that guy 😎 (No. 2 ESPN 25) put on a show in Montverde&rsquo;s 85-63 win over La Lu <a href="https://twitter.com/MVABasketball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MVABasketball</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CooperFlagg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CooperFlagg</a> <a href="https://t.co/VGOxQpkMy7">pic.twitter.com/VGOxQpkMy7</a>
&mdash; NIBC (@NIBCOfficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/NIBCOfficial/status/1614417408323723265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Cooper Flagg, Montverde &mdash;&nbsp;It's remarkable how polished Flagg plays despite being just a sophomore and in his first year with one of the most successful programs in the country. Flagg had 21 points in 25 minutes on 8-for-10 shooting (3-4 3PT). The shots came in all types: cutting via baseline out-of-bounds plays, spacing the floor in the corner and initiating the attack himself.&nbsp;
Then you add the defense, which included five steals and a few ticky-tack fouls that could have been blocks. Flagg is aware and active on both sides of the ball, and it's easy for him to string productive plays together regardless of whether he's getting buckets.&nbsp;
Flagg certainly matched the hype as one of the top players in the 2025 class. After leaving his hometown Nokomis High in Maine and transferring all the way to Florida, he's fit right in with the Eagles. He said approximately 100 friends and family made the four-hour drive down to western Massachusetts.
"I think it's kind of similar to my team back in Maine. We all trust each other. I think that's helped to elevate me too, is playing at the highest level and having a team [where] everybody trusts each other," Flagg said after his performance. "We know that every night it's gonna be someone else [stepping up]."
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KJ Evans, Montverde &mdash;&nbsp;The Oregon-bound senior quietly worked his way to 19 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, but punctuated his effort with a powerful putback slam. Evans found most of his success around the basket and demonstrated syngergy with Flagg and other playmakers when cutting. The 5-star forward thrived in his role as Montverde tore apart La Lumiere with its decisive passing.
Boys &mdash; Centennial (CA) 66, Camden (NJ) 62
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Off the screen. A little head fake frees up Jared McCain for a deep 3ball. It&rsquo;s his fifth 3 of the night. Corona Centennial leads Camden (NJ) 50-45 after three quarters. <a href="https://t.co/me3L1dEpYo">pic.twitter.com/me3L1dEpYo</a>
&mdash; Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) <a href="https://twitter.com/Tarek_Fattal/status/1614435225085304838?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2023</a></blockquote>

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DJ Wagner, Camden &mdash;&nbsp;It is all-but impossible to stop Wagner at this level when he bombards the basket. The 5-star senior slithered his way through space and sliced open double-teams with jump-stop attacks, finishing with 27 points. Though he struggled to shoot it from outside, his craft and touch around the rim are superb, and his functional strength is light-years from when I first got the chance to watch him at HoopHall as a freshman.&nbsp;
Wagner will team up with fellow 5-star classmate Aaron Bradshaw (15 points, 8 rebounds) at Kentucky, and he's excited to keep the momentum rolling with his 7-foot teammate.
"It's great. We've been playing together for a long time now," Wagner told reporters postgame. "Off the court, that's like my brother, so it's just fun to be able to go to the next level and play on the same floor with him in college."
Jared McCain, Centennial &mdash;&nbsp;McCain was money as a shooter and finished with 27 points, including six made threes. Centennial used him off of creative screening actions and as a spot-up threat, but the Duke commit also pulled up for a couple of self-created makes. He added an impressive driving layup and a fadeaway make from the free-throw line. A 4-star guard, McCain brought a really positive energy to Centennial's win with his confidence.
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Boys &mdash; Christopher Columbus (FL) 74, San Ysidro (CA) 67
Cameron Boozer, Christopher Columbus &mdash;&nbsp;Boozer was the second top sophomore to look far beyond his years on Saturday. The son of Carlos Boozer, Cameron finished with an effortless 33 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks &mdash; and still showed displeasure with his squad's defense &mdash; as Christopher Columbus led wire-to-wire. His twin brother Cayden, a guard, also had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists.
Boozer is listed at 6-foot-9, 215 pounds online. He seems even more physically imposing in person. Yet he's not a bowling ball; Boozer calmly settled into three-pointers (3-for-5) and comitted just one foul while still battling around the basket.&nbsp;
"When I was younger, I got in foul trouble a lot swiping down," Boozer told Basketball News in his postgame scrum. "It's something I've learned: just stay vertical and contest guys so it's kind of tough to finish over me &mdash; using my size and my length to my advantage."
Boozer mentioned in the scrum that his favorite player is Anthony Davis, and he admires the Brow's full arsenal of two-way weapons.
"I feel like he can do it all," Boozer said. "He can rebound, he can pass, he can shoot it, he finishes well... When he's healthy, he's one of the best players in the league."

Ethan Fuller shares his scouting report from Saturday's action at the HoopHall Classic.

HoopHall Highlights: Top performances from Saturday's action

Basketball News highlights the reporting, analysis and podcasts that defined a year of basketball in 2022.

Best of Basketball News: Spotlighting our top content from 2022

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Jordan Poole is far from a finished product, and the fourth-year guard showed both signs of brilliance and struggles controlling his emotions on the big Christmas Day basketball stage.
Poole scored 32 points &mdash; highlighted by emphatic one-handed slam off a pass from Draymond Green in the third &mdash; to outduel Ja Morant before being ejected early in the fourth, and the Warriors beat the Memphis Grizzlies 123-109 on Sunday night in a rematch of the Western Conference semifinals won by Golden State.
&ldquo;When we&rsquo;re locked in and we&rsquo;re playing for each other we&rsquo;re a damn good team,&rdquo; guard Donte DiVincenzo said. &ldquo;The big thing for us is when we&rsquo;re tested with adversity.&rdquo;
Coach Steve Kerr wasn't thrilled with the technicals, though he got one, too.
Morant scored 36 points while <a href="https://twitter.com/JanieMcCAP/status/1607168220993314816" target="_blank" rel="noopener">debuting his first Nike signature &ldquo;Ja 1&rdquo; shoe</a> for the Grizzlies&rsquo; first Christmas Day game.
Klay Thompson added 24 points and nine rebounds, DiVincenzo had 19 points and Ty Jerome came up big off the bench in the third for 14 points as the Warriors played their 10th straight Christmas game.
Kerr credits Jerome for settling the team down when he's on the floor, especially important after a tough 1-5 trip with the team trying to build something during an eight-game stay at Chase Center.
&ldquo;We need wins, on the road, at home,&rdquo; Jerome said. &ldquo;Every game is huge for us right now.&rdquo;
Facing a Grizzlies team that is healthy at last and using its regular lineup, tensions were high just like that playoff round seven months ago. Poole was tossed for the first time in his career with 9:20 left and Golden State had six technicals.
&ldquo;He knows that he can&rsquo;t get a second one. He&rsquo;s still a young player,&rdquo; Kerr said. &ldquo;Jordan was fantastic tonight and we needed his offensive firepower.&rdquo;
Poole hit back-to-back 3-pointers 22 seconds apart in the first as the Warriors played without injured reigning NBA Finals MVP Stephen Curry for a fifth straight game because of a shoulder injury. Poole had 17 points in the opening quarter on 5-of-9 shooting with three 3s.
The Warriors used a 19-8 burst to begin the second quarter to lead 52-37. But Memphis roared back, getting to 59-54 on three free throws by Tyus Jones just before halftime following a technical on Poole.
Steven Adams grabbed 14 rebounds for Memphis, coming off a 125-100 victory at Phoenix on Friday night in its seventh wire-to-wire win this season. Desmond Bane played his second game back from a 17-game absence with a sprained right big toe.
Green had been questionable with right foot soreness but tested it during a walk-through and was fine to go, contributing 13 rebounds and 13 assists.
TIP-INS
Grizzlies: Morant missed 8 of 10 3s, Bane was 0 for 7 as the Grizzlies went 9 of 39 from deep. ... Memphis had won the last two against the Warriors, who have won eight of 10 overall in the rivalry. ... The Grizzlies held the Suns to 43.7% from the floor Friday and Golden State shot 47.3%.
Warriors: All-Star Andrew Wiggins missed his 10th straight game and 12th overall with a strained muscle in his right thigh area. ... Green was hit with a technical at the 3:08 mark of the first, his 10th of the season. ... Curry will miss at least two more weeks for Golden State as he recovers from a partial dislocation of the left shoulder he suffered Dec. 14 in a game at Indiana. ... Golden State played on Christmas Day as defending champion for the fifth time and is 4-1 in those games. The Warriors are 15-17 overall on Christmas and 8-5 at home.
UP NEXT
Grizzlies: Host Phoenix on Tuesday night.
Warriors: Host Charlotte on Tuesday night.

The Golden State Warriors beat the Memphis Grizzlies 123-109 on Sunday night in a rematch of the Western Conference semifinals.

Bora