Tigers

The 2025 Western Conference Semifinals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets have lived up to the hype, with the series knotted at 2-2. As the teams prepare for a crucial Game 5 in Oklahoma City, both squads face pressing questions and necessary adjustments to gain the upper hand. With a trip to the Western Conference Finals on the line, every possession, coaching decision, and hustle play will matter more than ever.
-- -- --
Thunder's path to regaining control
Assert themselves on the boards
The Thunder&rsquo;s lack of consistent rebounding has emerged as one of their most glaring weaknesses in this series. Despite boasting athletic bigs and switchable wings, they&rsquo;ve repeatedly been outmuscled on the glass by Denver&rsquo;s physical frontcourt led by Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon. The Nuggets have often out-rebounded the Thunder, securing offensive boards that led to multiple second-chance scoring opportunities. Those extra possessions have proven costly for OKC in close games.
Part of the issue stems from the Thunder often playing smaller lineups, which prioritize speed and switchability over size and physicality. While that identity served them well in the regular season, playoff basketball demands toughness in the paint. Oklahoma City will need to play more of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein to go up against Jokic and Gordon, and commit more to boxing out and crashing the boards. Their guards must also help secure long rebounds and quickly push the ball in transition, turning defensive stops into offensive chances.
To win Game 5 and take control of the series, the Thunder cannot afford to give the Nuggets repeated second opportunities. Rebounding isn&rsquo;t just about size, it&rsquo;s about desire, positioning, and timing. If OKC can neutralize Denver&rsquo;s rebounding edge and limit their putback chances, it could be a decisive swing factor on their home floor.
Rediscover offensive fluidity
Oklahoma City has struggled to find its usual offensive rhythm over the past two games. The Thunder's offense is built on movement, ball-sharing, and improvisation &ndash; playing freely with joy and confidence. But as the series has worn on and the physicality has ramped up, OKC has looked more rigid and hesitant, settling for tough isolation plays instead of generating quality looks through movement.
In Games 3 and 4, Denver&rsquo;s defense disrupted OKC&rsquo;s pace by pressing up on ball-handlers and switching effectively on screens. The Thunder have sometimes become overly reliant on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to bail them out in late-clock situations. While SGA is an elite shot-creator, Oklahoma City&rsquo;s offense thrives most when all five players are involved. Getting back to their roots &ndash; cutting off the ball, pushing in transition, and trusting each other&rsquo;s instincts &ndash; can unlock the offensive flow that&rsquo;s been missing.
Reclaiming that offensive identity also means trusting players like Cason Wallace and Isaiah Joe to take open shots and make quick decisions. Jalen Williams, who has flashed brilliance at times, must stay aggressive and attack mismatches. If the Thunder return to playing free and fearless, as they did in their Game 2 blowout win, they&rsquo;ll be much harder to guard and far more dangerous heading into a pivotal Game 5.
MVP-caliber performance from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
While SGA has delivered solid numbers throughout the series, Oklahoma City needs a transcendent Game 5 performance from their MVP candidate. Through four games, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 28.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.8 assists &ndash; but his impact hasn&rsquo;t always translated to late-game success. Denver has thrown multiple defenders at him, forcing tough midrange shots and limiting his trips to the free-throw line. For OKC to thrive, SGA must assert himself early and often, controlling the tempo and creating high-quality looks for both himself and his teammates.
This is the kind of moment where MVPs rise above the game plan. Whether it's hunting mismatches, collapsing the defense to kick out to shooters, or making timely defensive plays, SGA has the tools to take over. In Game 2, his 33-point performance was a reminder of what he&rsquo;s capable of when he&rsquo;s in attack mode and dictating the pace. The Thunder need that version of Shai to show up again in Game 5.
It&rsquo;s also about leadership. This young Thunder team looks to SGA not just for scoring, but for composure and direction in critical moments. With the home crowd behind him and the series on the line, this is his opportunity to put a stamp on his MVP-caliber season and carry his team one step closer to a conference finals berth.
Nuggets' strategies to steal Game 5
Elevate Nikola Jokic&rsquo;s impact
Nikola Jokic has not been his usual dominant self across all four games. While he&rsquo;s still managed to put up triple-doubles and impact the game in subtle ways, the Thunder have made him work harder than usual with their quick double teams and constant help defense. In Game 4, Jokic finished with 22 points on just 9-of-22 shooting&mdash;a rare inefficient night for the two-time MVP. For the Nuggets to win on the road, Jokic must return to the ultra-efficient playmaker and scorer who lifts everyone around him.
One adjustment could be to get Jokic more touches at the elbow and the top of the key, where he can orchestrate Denver&rsquo;s offense without dealing with immediate post pressure. From those areas, he can see the floor better and exploit mismatches or cutters. Additionally, running more two-man actions with Jamal Murray or Aaron Gordon could help relieve pressure and force OKC to defend multiple threats simultaneously.
Jokic&rsquo;s presence alone bends defenses, but when he&rsquo;s assertive and efficient, it unlocks the Nuggets&rsquo; full offensive potential. Denver will need their franchise cornerstone to set the tone with physicality, precision, and poise in the hostile OKC environment of Game 5.
Improved Three-Point shooting
The Nuggets&rsquo; offensive success often correlates with their outside shooting. In the games where they&rsquo;ve played, Denver pulled away with convincing wins. But when the shots haven&rsquo;t fallen, their offense has looked sluggish and overly reliant on Jokic or Murray to create something late in the shot clock. Getting back to crisp ball movement and creating open looks from the perimeter is a priority heading into Game 5.
Michael Porter Jr. and Christian Braun must convert the clean looks they&rsquo;re getting. Porter, in particular, has the shooting gravity to stretch OKC&rsquo;s defense and create spacing for Jokic&rsquo;s interior play. Even Aaron Gordon&rsquo;s willingness to take open threes can help Denver keep defenders honest. Making threes forces OKC to chase and rotate, which opens up driving lanes and cutting opportunities that Denver thrives on.
Expect head coach David Adelman to emphasize early ball reversals and inside-out play to generate quality three-point chances. If Denver shoots well from deep, it could swing momentum and silence the Paycom Center crowd in what promises to be a raucous Game 5 environment.
Boost bench production
In tight playoff matchups, bench production often makes the difference. For Denver, the second unit has been a mixed bag this series. They have a particularly shallow bench led by Russell Westbrook and Peyton Watson, and the Nuggets need consistent contributions from both of them to keep pace with OKC&rsquo;s energetic rotations.
The key is maintaining offensive rhythm and defensive intensity when Jokic sits. Braun&rsquo;s ability to defend, rebound, and finish in transition adds a valuable spark. Westbrook&rsquo;s experience and steady playmaking can provide structure when Murray rests. And Watson&rsquo;s length and athleticism make him a disruptive presence on both ends. Each of them must be ready to seize the moment in what could be the turning point of the series.
Adelman might also consider tightening his rotation or staggering starters more effectively to ensure a balance of scoring and defense. With so much on the line, every possession from the bench unit carries weight. If Denver&rsquo;s reserves can sustain leads &ndash; or even swing momentum &ndash; it could give them the edge they need to take Game 5 on the road.
-- -- --
As Game 5 approaches, the series hangs in the balance. Both teams have demonstrated resilience and adaptability, but only one can emerge with a crucial win to take control. The adjustments made and executed in this game will likely determine who advances and who faces an offseason of questions. In a battle between the Thunder and the Nuggets, Game 5 promises to be a war of wills, strategy, and superstar moments.

With the 2025 NBA Playoffs series tied 2-2, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets prepare for a pivotal Game 5.

2025 NBA Playoffs: Key adjustments as Thunder, Nuggets look to seize series

The 2025 NBA Playoffs delivered high-stakes drama as both the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors emerged victorious in their respective Game 7s, advancing to the Western Conference Semifinals.&nbsp;
Nuggets survive Clippers
The Denver Nuggets showcased their championship pedigree by defeating the Los Angeles Clippers 120&ndash;101 in Game 7 of their first-round series. All the Nuggets&rsquo; five starters scored in double figures, with Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun leading the way with 22 points and 21 points, respectively. Nikola Jokić had 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists, narrowly missing a triple-double, for another superb performance.
Denver's depth was on full display, with six players scoring in double figures. The Nuggets dominated the second and third quarters, outscoring the Clippers 37&ndash;21 and 35&ndash;19, respectively, building a lead that proved insurmountable. Russell Westbrook contributed significantly off the bench, adding 5 steals to the team's defensive efforts.
The victory marks Denver's sixth trip to the Western Conference Semifinals in the past seven seasons, underscoring their consistent excellence in the postseason. They now prepare to face the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in a highly anticipated matchup featuring MVP contenders Nikola Jokić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Warriors prevail over Rockets
The Golden State Warriors demonstrated their playoff experience by defeating the Houston Rockets 103&ndash;89 in Game 7. Buddy Hield led the scoring with 33 points, shooting an impressive 9-of-11 from three-point range, setting a Game 7 NBA record. Stephen Curry added 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists, with 19 of his points coming in the second half.
The Warriors' defense played a crucial role, limiting the Rockets to 40.5% shooting from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc. Draymond Green contributed 16 points and two blocks, while Jimmy Butler III added 20 points. Golden State's strategic adjustments, including a disruptive matchup zone defense, effectively stifled Houston&rsquo;s offense.
This victory marks the Warriors' fifth playoff series win over Houston since 2015 and propels them into a second-round matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The series is notable as it's only the third time in NBA history that a sixth seed faces a seventh seed in the second round, highlighting the unpredictable nature of this year's playoffs.
&ndash; &ndash; &ndash;&nbsp;
As the Western Conference Semifinals approach, both the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors carry momentum from their Game 7 victories. Their upcoming series promises to deliver high-quality basketball, with seasoned veterans and emerging stars vying for a spot in the Conference Finals.

The 2025 NBA Playoffs delivered as both the Nuggets and the Warriors emerged victorious in their respective Game 7s.

Denver, Golden State eke Game 7 wins over LA, Houston

Many people were pleasantly surprised to hear the news that Michael Jordan opened his fourth free health clinic in his home state of North Carolina. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/in-this-trump-era-michael-jordans-free-health-clinics-are-very-much-needed-">This new clinic, established in collaboration with Novant Health, focuses on providing care to uninsured and underinsured patients.</a>&nbsp;
This is a stark contrast to the overall perception of Michael Jordan as the athlete who doesn&rsquo;t care about his community or anything outside of himself.&nbsp;
I figured it was a good time to revisit an interview i conducted with Athlete Activist Legend Craig Hodges for <a href="https://www.akashicbooks.com/catalog/police-brutality-and-white-supremacy-the-fight-against-american-traditions/">my book Police Brutality And White Supremacy &ldquo;The Fight Against American Traditions."</a>
Here is an excerpt of our interview in which Craig Hodges goes back to 1991 when the Rodney King beating happened and he was frustrated that Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson in particular were reluctant to make a public statement during the NBA Finals.&nbsp;
During the interview, I made the correlation to the movie &ldquo;One Night In Miami&rdquo; in which Malcolm X was frustrated with Sam Cooke, but was proud to see the eventual maturation and realization of the power of his voice. This was really a powerful discussion. I condensed the interview for the purposes of this article.
Etan: What were your thoughts after you first saw the Rodney King beating ?&nbsp;
Craig Hodges: The biggest part was just the shock. Seeing four or five policemen pummeling the brother mercilessly with their night sticks. And the manner in which they did it was just left me speechless. It was beyond brutality. I looked at it and said regardless to what the Brotha did, no human being deserves to be beaten like that. You had 4 or 5 cops surrounding him, he was on the ground, there are measures you can take to subdue him without beating him like that. But unfortunately, this has been the mentality of policing in America for generations and nothing has changed but with Rodney King that was one of the first times everyone could see it happening in real time. And the fact that someone was smart enough to tape it brought it to America.
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Etan: I remember being in middle school and the first thing I thought was they wouldn&rsquo;t treat a dog like this.
Craig Hodges: Exactly, and this happened right at the beginning of the NBA Finals and some athletes were speaking about it others weren&rsquo;t but I was like, any and everybody should be able to speak to this because this could be your brother this could be your father or your uncle. And it was just too obvious and blatant what was going on as far as the racism and the evil of police brutality right there for all of America to see&nbsp;
Etan: It was really horrifying like traumatizing for me seeing that as a kid.
Craig Hodges: It was traumatizing for me as an adult. Things like this is what made me feel the need to have to be vocal while I was playing in the league. I was an athlete but this goes for everyone no matter what your occupation is, you have to be able to stand on truth and for what is right and to call out what&rsquo;s wrong. We as a society have been collectively letting so much slide and we just can&rsquo;t allow it anymore. And we have left a lot on the table for the next generation to fight for, and they are fighting for now. &nbsp;
Etan: The frustrating part is the bar is set so low. We&rsquo;re starting the discussion just fighting for our humanity.
Craig Hodges: We get caught up so much of our differences whether we&rsquo;re Republican, Democrat, Christian, Muslim, all of these different labels that divides us. Yes we are all humans and that&rsquo;s the basis that we should be unified on. Kwame Ture told us it&rsquo;s all about organization and we have to all bring what we can to the table and we all have different strengths and attributes and we have to use all of them for this fight.
Etan Thomas: It&rsquo;s interesting you say that, there is this movie One night in Miami, fantastic movie, that depicts a night in Miami with Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke. There is a part where Malcolm X and Sam Cooke are having a back and forth and Malcolm X is challenging him, and you&rsquo;re the first person I thought of when I saw this, he&rsquo;s telling Sam Cooke listen, you&rsquo;re the most talented Brotha on earth, your voice can captivate audiences both Black and white, you have all this power, you can play in white venues and be accepted, other musicians can&rsquo;t do that. And then he told him, you&rsquo;re not using the power for good. You&rsquo;re not challenging what is happening to us in society. Malcolm X said to him Black People are dying in the streets and we cannot afford to straddle the fence anymore. We have to pick a side, either you&rsquo;re on the side with us or you&rsquo;re on the side with them. And it was this intense discussion with them. And you know where I&rsquo;m going with this. Did you ever feel that level or frustration in relation to what we&rsquo;re talking about now with Rodney King and everything that was happening to us at that time. And you want to do that recruiting that Kwame Toure was talking about and that unification and strength in numbers but you see some people just not on board with it and thus the frustration.
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Craig Hodges: Yes I know exactly where you&rsquo;re going with this and to answer your question yes I did. And trying to get someone to see it is one hurdle, but to get someone to feel it is a whole nother mountain to climb. I feel blessed that i was raised the way I was raised so a lot of things, I didn&rsquo;t have to figure out. We&rsquo;re at that point now where there is enough information out for people to be able to easily educate themselves as to what&rsquo;s going on. There&rsquo;s really no excuse right now. You can&rsquo;t say, I didn&rsquo;t know about this anymore because it&rsquo;s everywhere. During the 90s when Rodney King happened, we had great athletes who were similar to Sam Cooke as far as their leverage in white communities and not nation wide but world wide, and the option was, do I make a stand or do I get paid ? And that&rsquo;s what it boiled down to and people were hesitant because they were afraid that it would hamper their ability to earn. And that has been the common denominator in us coming up short. Those who have been in position to really make a difference don&rsquo;t. And what I saw from a lot of athletes was I&rsquo;ll play my career and then come back after and revisit Black people and Black Issues after. And from my standpoint, during the time where you are making the wealth and you have the bully pulpit to speak from, utilize that. You may not be able to be all out Malcolm X with it, but you can definitely have impact. The Rodney King incident really brought to life what Black People have been facing for centuries and that&rsquo;s something that not just athletes, but everyone should be able to speak on.&nbsp;
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Etan Thomas: And one thing that was great about the movie One Night In Miami was at the end it showed Malcolm&rsquo;s impact on Sam Cooke. He was on this program, and was singing the songs that they liked, and then he said he wanted to sing a song that hadn&rsquo;t been released yet and it was A Change Is Gonna Come. And it was passionate and moving and Sam Cooke dropped a tear at the end and they showed Malcolm X looking and he was smiling and it was beautiful to see because even though they were arguing and they were really arguing like almost came to blows arguing, but you saw that he heard Malcolm X. Now, I want to make this correlation to you and Michael Jordan because people still write it now and say Craig Hodges was talking bad about Michael Jordan and no it wasn&rsquo;t that and it wasn&rsquo;t personal but you saw MJ and the impact he could have had the same way Malcolm X saw the impact Sam Cooke could have had in particular after Rodney King happened.
Craig Hodges: When Rodney King happened it was a galvanizing time. Right before the 91 NBA Finals with Michael and Magic and we can have an impact, we have the whole world watching, all eyes are on us.&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/2-etan-thomas-5_690w.jpeg" alt="" width="729" height="926" />
And to think about how my Mom was organizing in the early 60&rsquo;s, she was having this tremendous impact with no resources, and here we are with all of the resources of the NBA Finals with the two biggest athletes in the game and the impact you can make just from your voice would be amazing. And that&rsquo;s what I was trying to talk to Magic and MJ about especially after Rodney King. And here&rsquo;s the thing, in private, we all were having discussions about what was going on, but then in public, we went quiet and we simply can&rsquo;t be private anymore. And now we&rsquo;re at the point where people outside of our community are feeling our pain. And that&rsquo;s what Malcolm was telling Sam Cooke, hey to talk to them white folks at their clubs and that was my position with MJ on a lot of things. I would say hey, you have the ear of a lot of people that I can&rsquo;t reach. So yea that&rsquo;s a very good comparison.
Etan Thomas: Now I&rsquo;mma make one last correlation, I said how Malcolm X watched Sam Cooke on the program singing A Change Is Gonna Come and he was smiling, did you ever feel that after watching Michael Jordan in the last 10 years or so as MJ has become more vocal, spoken out against police brutality on numerous occasions, he even put together a whole fundraiser for Obama and brought 50 different NBA athletes to join him. That&rsquo;s a long way from &ldquo;Republicans Buy Shoes Too."
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/2-etan-thomas-6_690w.jpeg" alt="" width="730" height="1291" />
Craig Hodges: Oh yes. I love it. People have to understand that everyone grows at different points in their lives and I definitely feel like that (proud) every time I see not only MJ and Magic but all the young athletes like Lebron and this current generation of athletes, it&rsquo;s great to see.

I figured it was a good time to revisit an interview i conducted with Athlete Activist Legend Craig Hodges for my book Police Brutality And White Supremacy “The Fight Against American Traditions."

Craig Hodges discusses the  maturation of Michael Jordan

With the 2024-25 NBA season just days away, the Western Conference is locked, loaded, and ready for battle. The offseason drama has settled, rosters are finalized, and every team is gearing up for what promises to be a fierce and competitive race. From reigning contenders to rising underdogs, the West is stacked with talent and ambition. Let&rsquo;s break down the top 15 teams in the West as we head into this thrilling new season&mdash;no frills, just what you need to know.
<ol>
<li> Minnesota Timberwolves The Timberwolves are turning a new page after trading away longtime cornerstone Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo and are now fully embracing Anthony Edwards as the franchise cornerstone. The T-Wolves&rsquo; mix of young talent and veteran leadership gives them a balanced roster around Edwards. Rudy Gobert remains a defensive anchor as a 4-time DPOY, Edwards is primed for a superstar leap, and if the supporting cast, including Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid, steps up, the Wolves could be ready to take the top spot in the West.</li>
<li> Oklahoma City Thunder The Thunder&rsquo;s rebuild is no longer a long-term project; they&rsquo;re ready to compete now. However, due to Isaiah Hartenstein&rsquo;s injury to start the season, we&rsquo;re placing the Thunder at no.2 for now. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is already an All-NBA guard and arguably a top 5 player in the league. Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams figure out to be the dynamic inside-out duo around SGA. Add in Hartenstein and Alex Caruso, the two new acquisitions this offseason with their capable role players Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, Aaron Wiggins, and Isaiah Joe, this young core is as versatile as it is exciting. OKC&rsquo;s depth and versatility on both ends of the floor could propel them into serious title contention.</li>
<li> Phoenix Suns The Suns have loaded up for a title run, and with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal leading the charge, Phoenix has one of the most dangerous offensive trios in the league. They have added their most significant hole which is the PG spot with a solid pick up in Tyus Jones, and they have one of the best offensive coaches in the league in Mike Budenholzer. The Suns&rsquo; questions lie in their depth and health, but if they can manage those concerns, they&rsquo;re built for a championship push. Their offensive firepower is unmatched, and if they click, the Suns will be a team no one wants to face.</li>
<li> Memphis Grizzlies Memphis has weathered their offseason storms and enters the season with a gritty identity intact. Ja Morant is back after his injury and suspension last year and he will now play with last season&rsquo;s addition Marcus Smart. Together with the continued growth of Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane, the Grizzlies are primed to be competitive and come back from their prime two seasons ago where they won 50+ games. Memphis&rsquo; defensive dominance paired with offensive firepower ensures they can be one of the top teams in the West with a deep bench with solid role players.</li>
<li> Denver Nuggets After falling short to Minnesota in 7 games last playoffs, the Nuggets will enter the season with their core mostly intact. Nikola Jokić remains the most dominant center and the best player in the game. With Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. healthy, the Nuggets are poised for another deep run. But perhaps their biggest loss this season was losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to free agency and that might be a hit so they&rsquo;re currently ranked at no.5 to start the year. It could be a lot to ask for young players like Christian Braun or Julian Strawther to fill the void left by KCP, so it will be interesting to see how Denver handles his loss this season.</li>
<li> Dallas Mavericks Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving experiment is back after a successful season last year, where Dallas entered the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011 &ndash; when they won the title. The two stars can mesh to create one of the league&rsquo;s most potent offenses and with the continued internal development of young players like Dereck Lively, the Mavs can build on that Finals appearance. With newcomer Klay Thompson set to provide historic spacing for their dynamic duo, Dallas has the talent to climb the standings and challenge the top teams in the West.</li>
<li> New Orleans Pelicans The Pelicans&rsquo; fate will always hinge on Zion Williamson&rsquo;s health. When Zion plays, New Orleans is a force to be reckoned with. Now paired with newly-acquired point guard Dejounte Murray, they have a balanced attack capable of competing with any team in the conference with Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum still on the fold. If Zion stays on the floor, the Pelicans could find themselves rising up the ranks, but his availability remains the biggest X-factor.</li>
<li> Golden State Warriors The Warriors are clinging to their championship window with Stephen Curry still playing at an elite level. The addition of capable veterans in Kyle Anderson, Buddy Hield, and DeAnthony Melton gives them depth and personnel that can play in their offense to surround the core of Curry and Draymond Green for their foundation. Health and age are concerns, but if their veterans stay intact, Golden State can&rsquo;t be counted out.</li>
<li> Sacramento Kings The Kings struggled a bit last season after making their long-awaited playoff return two seasons ago, and they&rsquo;re looking to build on that momentum. They have signed DeMar DeRozan and he should bring a new wrinkle to their motion and three-hunting offense. DeRozan&rsquo;s mid range ability should be a welcome addition to Sacramento&rsquo;s offense. De&rsquo;Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis still lead an explosive offense, but defense remains a question mark. Sacramento&rsquo;s high-flying, fast-paced style makes them a regular-season juggernaut, but they&rsquo;ll need to tighten up defensively if they want to make a deep playoff run.</li>
<li> Los Angeles Lakers The Lakers are counting on LeBron James and Anthony Davis staying healthy for a full season. With the front office standing pat on making moves this offseason, the Lakers&rsquo; success will hinge on their superstar duo. If LeBron and AD can avoid injury, Los Angeles will be a formidable playoff team, but health is always a looming concern with this group.</li>
<li> Houston Rockets The Rockets added veterans Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks to guide their young core last season and this season could be the time for them to step up. They finished strong last year behind defensive minded coach Ime Udoka and the result could be a team that surprises many. Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun have star potential, and younger players Jabari Smith Jr. and Amen Thompson add even more excitement. The Rockets also drafted Reed Sheppard with the 3rd pick and Houston is hoping to lay the foundation for success and could push for a Play-In spot this season.</li>
<li> San Antonio Spurs Victor Wembanyama enters his second season, and the Spurs are fully embracing their rebuild around the budding star. While Wembanyama showed flashes of brilliance as a rookie, San Antonio is still in the development phase. But with the addition of Chris Paul, the Spurs now have a capable PG to feed Wemby and the other guys, possibly unlocking a new level to their games. With their young core, the Spurs may not be a playoff team yet, but their future looks incredibly bright with Wembanyama leading the way.</li>
<li> Los Angeles Clippers The Clippers&rsquo; fortunes rest on the health of Kawhi Leonard&mdash;again. After losing Paul George for nothing, Leonard is left to fend LA off by himself in their new arena at Intuit Dome. Gone are the days when LA has the talent to compete with anyone as they&rsquo;re just but a shell of themselves. Leading the way for the injured Leonard will be a 34-year-old James Harden and that might be too much to ask of the aging superstar. However, if Kawhi can return healthy and he can avoid the injury bug, the Clippers will be in the playoff mix, but that&rsquo;s a big &ldquo;if&rdquo; for this squad.</li>
<li> Portland Trail Blazers With Damian Lillard long gone, the Blazers will fully commit another season to their rebuild. Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons, and Shaedon Sharpe form a promising young core, but Portland will likely spend this season focusing on player development. While they won&rsquo;t be in playoff contention, the Blazers are positioning themselves well for the future, with an eye on growth and improvement.</li>
<li> Utah Jazz The Jazz are continuing their rebuild, with Lauri Markkanen emerging as a cornerstone player. While they have some intriguing young pieces like Taylor Hendricks and Keyonte George, Utah isn&rsquo;t ready to compete just yet. This season will be about development and finding which young players can be part of their long-term plans. The Jazz may not win many games this year, but they&rsquo;re building toward a brighter future.</li>
</ol>

Let’s break down the top 15 teams in the West as we head into this thrilling new season.

2024-2025 NBA Western Conference Power Rankings: A race at the top to start the year

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic rode atop a firetruck with people who mean&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/lionelbienvenu/status/1669395480961495040" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the world to him</a>&nbsp;&mdash; his teammate Jamal Murray, his family &mdash; and the NBA trophy.
Jokic and the Denver Nuggets soaked in the moment and were soaked, too, by champagne spray on Thursday during a parade through downtown Denver to celebrate their first NBA title.
His young daughter, Ognjena, stole the show as she sat in front of him on the firetruck, at times wearing Jokic&rsquo;s championship hat. Jokic turned in some big assists, too, shielding her from champagne showers.
This celebration has been a long time in the making and swarms of fans showed up. It took 47 seasons&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-finals-aba-nuggets-9294860355b4db51adfb86ec3bce674e">in the NBA</a>&nbsp;for the franchise&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/DenverChannel/status/1669401885998997506" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">to finally make</a>&nbsp;Denver the home of the Larry O&rsquo;Brien Trophy.
And to think, Jokic was more concerned about when he could return home to Sombor, Serbia, than attending the parade. The player known as &ldquo;Joker&rdquo; changed his tune following the festivities.
&ldquo;This is amazing,&rdquo; Jokic said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re all going to remember this our whole lives.&rdquo;
Near the end of the parade route, an officer was struck by a firetruck and suffered a serious leg injury,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/DenverPolice/status/1669443565330595845" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Denver Chief of Police Ron Thomas said</a>&nbsp;at a news conference. The officer was in serious and stable condition. Later in the day and after the parade, a shooting took place in the downtown area that injured two people. Thomas said the police didn&rsquo;t believe the incident was associated with the celebration. It follows&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/denver-shooting-nuggets-suspect-ee4869abf1afee855565f1c517bfae1f">a mass shooting in downtown</a>&nbsp;Denver after the Nuggets clinched the title Monday night. The shooting was likely sparked by a drug deal gone wrong, according to police.
The Nuggets capped off an impressive postseason by beating the Miami Heat in the Finals in Game 5. The Nuggets finished 16-4 in the playoffs, which was tied for the second-best mark by an NBA champion since the first round was expanded to best-of-seven in 2003. San Antonio also was 16-4 in 2007, and Golden State went 16-1 in 2017.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hitting me right now,&rdquo; said coach Michael Malone, who was choking up as he was interviewed shortly after climbing off his firetruck for the parade. &ldquo;This is an amazing experience.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got a crazy idea,&rdquo; added Malone, who was wearing a shirt that read &ldquo;Put this in your pipe and smoke it&rdquo; with a picture of the NBA trophy under it. &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s do this again. I want to be on another float. I want to be at another parade and do this thing again.&rdquo;
This title and this parade is a tip of the cap to the team&rsquo;s ABA roots. It&rsquo;s also a tribute to all the players who ever wore the Nuggets&rsquo; iconic rainbow uniforms or any other version of the jersey.
There were so many scenes to absorb. There was rookie Christian Braun tossing his shirt into the crowd. Veteran DeAndre Jordan mingling with the fans, giving them high-fives. Murray signing a painting of himself. And Kentavious Caldwell-Pope playing the role of TV broadcaster when he interviewed teammate Aaron Gordon.
&ldquo;KCP, reporting live,&rdquo; he said, turning to Gordon on the Denver 7 broadcast. &ldquo;How does it feel to be a champion?&rdquo;
&ldquo;You would know, champ,&rdquo; Gordon responded to Caldwell-Pope.
Caldwell-Pope was the lone Nuggets player to have earned a championship, courtesy of his title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.
That is, until now.
&ldquo;We really did this,&rdquo; said Murray, who returned to elite form this season after missing all of 2021-22 as he recovered from a torn ACL. &ldquo;We champs for life &mdash; champions for life.&rdquo;
Twenty miles away from the party downtown, the Broncos wrapped up their offseason program Thursday in relative isolation. Veteran safety Kareem Jackson said the Nuggets&rsquo; championship inspires them.
&ldquo;Yeah, definitely seeing another team in the same city win it all, and those guys had a great year. It&rsquo;s definitely encouraging for us. We definitely want to do the same thing,&rdquo; Jackson said.
Jokic is coming off an historic playoff performance, where he became the first player to lead the league in total points (600), rebounds (269) and assists (190) in a single postseason. The two-time NBA MVP added more hardware to his resume, too, capturing the Finals MVP.
He had that trophy next to him, too. Jokic momentarily&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1669171648136724482" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">misplaced it Monday night in the chaos of winning</a>&nbsp;a title.
Jokic was called up to the microphone to speak and serenaded with thunderous chants of &ldquo;MVP,&rdquo; &ldquo;MVP&rdquo; from the crowd.
&ldquo;Ok, ok, ok, ok,&rdquo; he said to quiet them down. &ldquo;Thank you. Thank you, though.&rdquo;
With the season now officially closed, Jokic will soon head home to spend time with his family and return to his other passion &mdash; horse racing. He&rsquo;s hoping to make it back in time to attend a harness race on Sunday.
This is the second straight June the city has held a parade. The Colorado Avalanche were the guests of honor last year after hoisting the Stanley Cup.

The Nuggets celebrated their first NBA championship on Thursday with a parade through downtown Denver.

Nuggets celebrate NBA title with parade through downtown Denver

The 2023 NBA Finals start Thursday in Denver. Here's a preview of the series:
8TH SEED MIAMI HEAT (44-38, 12-6) vs. 1ST SEED DENVER NUGGETS (53-29, 12-3)
How they got here: Heat &mdash; beat No. 1 Milwaukee 4-1, beat No. 5 New York 4-2, beat No. 2 Boston 4-3. Nuggets &mdash; beat No. 8 Minnesota 4-1; beat No. 4 Phoenix 4-2; beat No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers 4-0.
Season series: Nuggets, 2-0. Denver&rsquo;s two victories came by a combined nine points, with a 124-119 home win on Dec. 30 and a 112-108 victory in Miami on Feb. 13.
Schedule: Thursday and Sunday at Denver, June 7 and 9 at Miami, June 12 at Denver if necessary, June 15 at Miami if necessary, June 18 at Denver if necessary.
Starters: Heat &mdash; F Jimmy Butler, F Caleb Martin, C Bam Adebayo, G Max Strus, G Gabe Vincent. Nuggets &mdash; F Michael Porter Jr., F Aaron Gordon, C Nikola Jokic, G Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, G Jamal Murray.
Key reserves: Heat &mdash; F Kevin Love, F Haywood Highsmith, F Duncan Robinson, C Cody Zeller, G Kyle Lowry. Nuggets &mdash; F Bruce Brown, F Jeff Green, F Christian Braun.
Storyline: The Nuggets have cruised to the first NBA Finals appearance in franchise history behind Jokic, the two-time NBA MVP who is averaging 29.9 points, 13.3 rebounds and 10.3 assists in the postseason. The Heat are here for the seventh time, though this is their most surprising trip. Minutes away from missing the playoffs entirely, they went on to become the second No. 8 seed to reach the finals, joining the New York Knicks in 1999.
Injury watch: Miami&rsquo;s Tyler Herro, out since breaking his hand in the postseason opener against Milwaukee, has been working out in hopes of playing in this series.
Numbers of note: The Heat haven&rsquo;t won in Denver since Nov. 30, 2016. ... Denver is 8-0 at home in the postseason and has won six straight overall since being tied 2-2 with the Suns. ... The Heat have won Game 1 on the road in all three series thus far. ... In Jokic and Murray (27.7 ppg), the Nuggets have two of the top nine scorers in this postseason. Butler (28.5) is seventh. ... Miami&rsquo;s bench has outscored its opponents by 213 points in the postseason. ... The Heat lost their past two home games after winning their first six of the postseason.
Prediction: Denver is a nine-point favorite in Game 1,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/basketball/nba/miami-heat-@-denver-nuggets-32391896" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according to FanDuel Sportsbook.</a>&nbsp;But with the Nuggets perhaps rusty since finishing off the Lakers on May 22, the Heat may have another chance to open with a road win. Even if they do, this time it won&rsquo;t matter. Jokic and Murray are on too much of a roll to be stopped now. It took Denver a long time to get to the NBA Finals, but it will be worth the wait. Nuggets in 6.

The 2023 NBA Finals start Thursday in Denver. Here's a preview of the series.

NBA Finals preview capsule: Breaking down Nuggets vs. Heat

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Gabe Vincent scored a career-high 29 points, Duncan Robinson added 22 and the eighth-seeded Miami Heat moved one win from the NBA Finals after rolling past the Boston Celtics 128-102 on Sunday night in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference title series.
Caleb Martin scored 18, Jimmy Butler finished with 16, Bam Adebayo had 13 and Max Strus added 10 for Miami, which leads the series 3-0. Every team in NBA history that has won the first three games of a best-of-seven has ultimately prevailed; the Heat are 8-0 in that situation.
Jayson Tatum scored 14 and Jaylen Brown added 12 for the Celtics, who won three times on Miami&rsquo;s floor on the way to winning last season&rsquo;s Eastern Conference finals &mdash; but simply never had a chance in this one and basically emptied the bench for the fourth quarter.
Grant Williams and Payton Pritchard each had 12 for Boston. Game 4 is Tuesday in Miami.
The NBA Finals start June 1, and the way things are going, that might mean the league is about to go a few days without games. The Western Conference finals could end Monday; Denver leads that series against the Los Angeles Lakers 3-0. And now, the East finals could end Tuesday.
There&rsquo;s never been a season where both conference finals ended in sweeps; it happened in 1957 in the division finals immediately preceding the title series, when Boston beat Syracuse 3-0 and St. Louis beat Minneapolis 3-0.
Of all the 3-0 series leads in NBA history, this one might be the most unexpected &mdash; a No. 8 seed in the Heat, a team that struggled just to get into the playoffs, a team that was less than 3 minutes away from being eliminated in the play-in tournament, getting past top-seeded Milwaukee in five games, then fifth-seeded New York in six, and now on the brink of denying the No. 2-seeded Celtics a second consecutive East crown.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Gabe Vincent TOOK OVER Game 3! 🔥 29 points (playoff career high) 🔥 6 threes (playoff career high) 🔥 11-14 shooting MIA can clinch Finals berth Tuesday on TNT <a href="https://t.co/iBylN4kBlf">pic.twitter.com/iBylN4kBlf</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1660480494578835456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/naveenganglani/status/1660465686827917312?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">And the Heat let Boston know</a>&nbsp;how much they were enjoying this one.
Mindful that Boston&rsquo;s Al Horford directed a timeout signal toward the Miami bench during Game 1 when the Celtics were on a second-quarter spurt to build a comfortable lead, Butler did the same to Horford as the Heat were running away in the third quarter of Game 3.
Besides, the Heat rallied to win Game 1 anyway. There was no rally required in Game 3 by the Heat. There was barely one attempted by the Celtics, for that matter.
Boston got within 61-49 when Marcus Smart had a three-point play on the opening possession of the second half. The rest was all Miami, which immediately answered with a 28-7 run to open a 33-point lead at 89-56, which had the building rolling. The lead was so big, and there was so much time left, that the sellout crowd of 20,088 actually was subdued a bit by the time it was over.
They might have been yelled-out. Or maybe they were saving it for hockey on Monday night, when the Florida Panthers &mdash; another No. 8 seed on a magical playoff run in South Florida &mdash; will try to take a 3-0 lead in their East finals series against the Carolina Hurricanes.
TIP-INS
Celtics: Robert Williams made his first shot, meaning he made 12 straight to start the series. He missed his second attempt. &hellip; The Heat encourage fans to wear white to playoff games, and Tatum also arrived in an all-white suit. &hellip; Smart appeared to throw a punch in the third quarter, but missed and after review referees determined he did not deserve a flagrant foul or a technical (which would have been his second of the night).
Heat: Robinson made five 3-pointers and now has 124 in his Heat postseason career, passing LeBron James (123) for the most in Miami history. ... Butler&rsquo;s steal with 7:17 left in the first quarter was the 2,000th in Heat postseason history. &hellip; Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal, at the game as part of the TNT broadcast crew, greeted former teammate (and now Heat executive) Alonzo Mourning and got a long ovation when introduced during a second-quarter time out. ... Vincent&rsquo;s previous career best was 28, set in a Jan. 12 win over Milwaukee.
CONFUSED DOLPHINS?
Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, a regular at Heat games this season, tried to get the pregame crowd going by waving one of the giveaway towels. Dolphins defensive lineman Christian Wilkins was at the game &mdash; wearing green shoes on a night Miami was playing the Celtics, though it should be noted he was born in Massachusetts.
LOVE HURT
Miami&rsquo;s Kevin Love checked out 4:47 into the game after what the Heat said was an undisclosed ankle injury. He went to the Heat locker room for evaluation, returned to the bench area later in the first half, and started the second half.
QUOTABLE
&ldquo;The lack of mental toughness. It&rsquo;s embarrassing &hellip; that was an embarrassment for the Celtics.&rdquo; &mdash; TNT&rsquo;s Charles Barkley at halftime, with Boston trailing 61-46 and after being down by as many as 22 points.

The Miami Heat moved one win from the NBA Finals after rolling past the Boston Celtics 128-102 on Sunday night.

Heat roll past Celtics 128-102, take 3-0 lead in Conference Finals

ATLANTA (AP) &mdash; Trae Young made two free throws with 1.8 seconds remaining in overtime to give Atlanta the lead and the Hawks beat the Dallas Mavericks 132-130 on Sunday night to keep pace in the Eastern Conference play-in race.
Young was fouled by Kyrie Irving, who scored 41 points, with the game tied at 130. Following Young&rsquo;s free throws, Luke Doncic, who scored 22 points, missed a last-second 3-pointer.
The Hawks (39-39) moved back into eighth place in the play-in race. Toronto and Chicago put pressure on the Hawks with wins before Atlanta&rsquo;s game. The Hawks have the tiebreaker advantage over Toronto.
The Hawks entered the game only a half-game ahead of the 10th-place Bulls for the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference.
Dallas (37-42) remained 11th in the Western Conference, one spot out of the play-in.
Irving&rsquo;s mid-range jumper with 37 seconds remaining in regulation tied the game at 121. Saddiq Bey&rsquo;s layup gave the lead back to Atlanta.
Christian Wood was fouled by John Collins and made one free throw before missing the second with 1.2 seconds remaining. With 0.4 seconds remaining, Atlanta&rsquo;s Clint Capela fouled JaVale McGee near the basket as McGee reached for Doncic&rsquo;s inbound pass. McGee missed the first free throw and made the second to tie the game at 123 and force overtime.
John Collins&rsquo; 3-pointer, followed by Clint Capela&rsquo;s jam, gave Atlanta an 84-74 lead midway through the third period. The Hawks stretched the advantage to 15 points at 91-76, but Dallas used a 15-3 run to close the deficit to 94-91 entering the final period.
Hawks small forward De&rsquo;Andre Hunter missed his second consecutive game after an MRI on Saturday revealed a bone bruise and muscle strain in his left knee.
Hawks coach Quin Snyder said Hunter is &ldquo;a unique player and very important ... for his ability to take a defensive matchup.&rdquo; Snyder said before the game Hunter would have been valuable in the matchups against the Mavericks, where the presence of small forward Tim Hardaway Jr. makes it more difficult to devote extra defensive attention to Doncic and Irving.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Coach Jason Kidd made a pregame plea for improved contributions from his bench &ldquo;on both ends.&rdquo; It was part of his emphasis on improved overall defensive play. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s effort. It&rsquo;s grit,&rdquo; Kidd said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s what you want to do as much as energy.&rdquo; Kidd complained the Mavs&rsquo; defense was &ldquo;nonexistent&rdquo; in a 129-122 loss at Miami on Saturday night. ... Christian Wood had 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Hawks: Saddiq Bey had 13 points as the fill-in starter for Hunter. ... Capela had 14 points and 11 rebounds.
UP NEXT
Mavericks: Begin streak of three straight home games to finish regular season when they host Sacramento on Wednesday night.
Hawks: At Chicago on Tuesday night.

The Atlanta Hawks beat the Dallas Mavericks 132-130 on Sunday night to keep pace in the Eastern Conference play-in race.

Trae Young lifts Hawks past Mavericks in overtime, 132-130

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) &mdash; Rodney Terry stopped on the way to the Texas locker room after his team knocked out Xavier for a spot in the Elite Eight, the interim coach fulfilling a fan&rsquo;s wish for a photograph by flashing that all-too-familiar &ldquo;Hook &rsquo;em Horns&rdquo; sign.
&ldquo;Go get that job, coach!&rdquo; the grateful fan hollered after him.
A couple more wins and the folks at Texas might not have a choice.
The longtime assistant made his boldest statement yet for the full-time gig, guiding the Longhorns without ailing big man Dylan Disu to an 83-71 win over the Musketeers on Friday night. Tyrese Hunter scored 19 points, and Marcus Carr and Christian Bishop added 18 apiece, to move second-seeded Texas within a game of the Final Four for the first time in 15 years.
&ldquo;I thought we played one of our better defensive games tonight that we played all year,&rdquo; said Terry, who stepped into the top job in December, when Chris Beard was suspended and ultimately fired following allegations of domestic violence.
&ldquo;Proud of my guys and the way they put their will on this game from the start to finish.&rdquo;
Disu, who had been dominant through the first two games of the tournament, hurt his foot in a second-round win over Penn State. He got treatment on it all week, and the Longhorns successfully kept it secret until tipoff, when the big man played just a couple of minutes and then limped off the floor and straight to the locker room.
When he returned to the bench, he was wearing a big walking boot, a black hoodie and a grim expression.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;ll be day-to-day right now at the moment,&rdquo; Terry said. &ldquo;We got the best in the business working with us.&rdquo;
Still, the Longhorns already had a tough task ahead in No. 5 seed Miami on Sunday night, especially given the way the Hurricanes roared to an 89-75 win over Houston. The possibility of playing without Disu, who led the Longhorns to a Big 12 Tournament title and earned MVP honors on the same floor just two weeks ago, only makes it harder.
&ldquo;We knew before the game that we wouldn&rsquo;t have Dylan for the whole game,&rdquo; Carr said. &ldquo;We just wanted to really play for him. We knew how much this would mean to him. We got emotional in there knowing he wouldn&rsquo;t be out there.&rdquo;
Relegated to a 6-foot-9 cheerleader Friday night, Disu at least had plenty to celebrate.
Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice scored 16 points and Timmy Allen added 11 for the Longhorns (29-8). The best-seeded team left in the tournament kept Souley Boum and Xavier&rsquo;s perimeter threats in check while making life miserable for Jack Nunge down low.
Adam Kunkel hit five 3-pointers and led the third-seeded Musketeers (27-10) with 21 points. Nunge scored 15 but needed 19 shots to get there, while Colby Jones also had 15 points. Boum didn&rsquo;t hit a field goal until early in the second half and finished with 12.
&ldquo;They were better than us,&rdquo; Xavier coach Sean Miller said. &ldquo;We had a very difficult time running our offense and that&rsquo;s a testament to their defense, because we&rsquo;ve been able to score virtually every game we&rsquo;ve played this year.&rdquo;
It was Texas that scored at will, though, and Carr that got them going. He spun through the lane like a Tilt-A-Whirl for tough buckets at the rim, and even knocked down a spinning, desperation 3 as the shot clock expired. And when Miller traded out a man-to-man defense for a zone, the Longhorns began to pound the ball to Bishop in the paint.
With dozens of family and friends on hand, the Creighton transfer from the Kansas City suburb of Lee&rsquo;s Summit, Missouri, went to work. Bishop threw down one dunk on Carr&rsquo;s alley-oop lob, then slammed down another a few minutes later.
By the time Allen banked in a half-court heave, the Longhorns had established a 42-25 halftime advantage &mdash; and had to be redirected from the Xavier tunnel, where they were busy celebrating, toward their own locker room.
&ldquo;Their pressure is something you can&rsquo;t really simulate until you&rsquo;re in the game against them. Their toughness, their experience,&rdquo; Miller said. &ldquo;And then offensively they have great guard play, and you feel that as well.&rdquo;
Xavier tried to creep back a couple of times, but the Longhorns never let their lead sniff single digits. And that gave Terry, who returned to Texas after head jobs at Fresno State and UTEP, a chance to breathe deeply and enjoy the moment.
The 54-year-old from the small Texas town of Angleton was on Rick Barnes&rsquo; staff the last time the Longhorns reached the Elite Eight, back in 2008. He was on the 2003 staff that guided them all the way to the Final Four, too.
Now, he&rsquo;s one step away from taking Texas on a most improbable trip to college basketball&rsquo;s biggest stage.
&ldquo;Continue to want more. I mean, each round &mdash; don&rsquo;t be satisfied,&rdquo; Terry said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to enjoy this victory for one night, like we have all year long, and we&rsquo;ll be on to the next challenge and very quickly against a really good Miami team.&rdquo;

Tyrese Hunter scored 19, and Marcus Carr and Christian Bishop added 18 apiece, to move Texas within a game of the Final Four.

Texas blows out Xavier 83-71 for spot in NCAA Elite Eight

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) &mdash; The horn sounded and Miami coach Katie Meier turned to start jumping and hugging her staff as players and cheerleaders sprinted past for a meet-at-midcourt celebration. She soon made her way into the crowd to embrace players hollering with delight.
Soon she emerged through the other side to trade hugs and high-fives with a front-row section of Hurricanes fans.
An improbable and emotional ride to the program&rsquo;s first Elite Eight appearance in the women&rsquo;s NCAA Tournament was worth sharing with as many people as she could.
&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t believe it,&rdquo; Meier said afterward. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to act cool. This is awesome.&rdquo;
Jasmyne Roberts scored a career-high 26 points &mdash; including a stick-back for the go-ahead, three-point play with 38.8 seconds left &mdash; to help Miami overcome blowing a 21-point lead and beat Villanova 70-65 on Friday, pulling the program to within a win of the Final Four.
Miami had reached the Sweet 16 only once before, in 1992. Now the Hurricanes will play Sunday for the Greenville Region 2 title against third-seeded LSU.
The ninth-seeded Hurricanes (22-12) looked dominant in building a huge lead, wobbly in blowing it. But they hung on down the stretch after Villanova made its push back behind the latest big-scoring effort from Associated Press first-team All-American Maddy Siegrist.
&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t even explain the feeling really,&rdquo; guard Haley Cavinder said.
The celebration said plenty. While Meier made her way to the fans, Roberts stayed locked in a firm and emotional embrace with teammate Ja&rsquo;Leah Williams. The sophomore guard picked a perfect time to come through with a huge performance by making 10 of 16 shots and all six of her free throws while pulling down nine rebounds.
&ldquo;Cool Hand Luke is her new nickname. She doesn&rsquo;t even know that movie,&rdquo; Meier said, referencing the Paul Newman movie released more than three decades before Roberts&rsquo; birth.
Siegrist, the nation&rsquo;s scoring leader, had 31 points, 13 rebounds and five steals for fourth-seeded Villanova (30-7). It marked her third 30-point outing in as many tournament games, pushing her to the No. 2 single-season scoring total in Division I history.
Yet it wasn&rsquo;t enough down the stretch, with Siegrist coming up empty in a couple of key moments late. The first came when she posted up Destiny Harden inside, but a quality look on a turnaround hit the backboard before coming off the rim with her team down just 67-65.
Moments later, after a Miami free throw, Siegrist missed from the other side of the lane as Villanova had a chance to extend the game. Instead, Miami secured the rebound, and Roberts hit clinching free throws with 11.1 seconds left for a two-possession lead.
Miami originally appeared to be headed for a much easier finish.
The Hurricanes spent much of the first half using their athleticism and aggressiveness to take control, both in scoring off the dribble and attacking the glass. The Hurricanes led 46-33 by halftime then used a stunning 8-0 burst in the opening minute of the second half, ending when Harden scored on a drive through contact from Siegrist for a three-point play that pushed Miami to a 54-33 lead.
Villanova responded by throwing fullcourt pressure to get back into the game. The Wildcats scored 14 straight points to end the third quarter then took a 60-59 lead on Siegrist&rsquo;s free throws with 5:31 left to cap a 23-2 run, a stretch that had Roberts saying the Hurricanes &ldquo;did kind of lose our composure for a little bit.&rdquo;
That set up a tense finish with neither team leading by more than two until the final 30 seconds. Villanova took its last lead at 65-64 when Lucy Olsen banked in a drive with 49 seconds left before Roberts answered with the and-1.
&ldquo;My mistake,&rdquo; Villanova coach Denise Dillon said. &ldquo;We should have in the first half shown some more of the pressure, the press, but you think just a team that&rsquo;s quick like that can take advantage. But again, just waited a little too late to make that run.&rdquo;
Consider it the latest entry in a wild NCAA novel for the Hurricanes. They first rallied from 17 down to beat Oklahoma State. Then Harden hit the late shot to win at 1-seed Indiana and get them back to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 31 years.
Now they have a chance to play for &mdash; and celebrate &mdash; a whole lot more.
SIEGRIST&rsquo;S FUTURE
An emotional Siegrist fought back tears during her postgame news conference, and offered a hint of finality when asked about plans that could include returning to school or pursuing the WNBA.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got to talk to my parents and stuff like that after,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;But I couldn&rsquo;t be more grateful for the opportunity to have played here. So many good people, and it&rsquo;s really about the people. Take the basketball part out of it, like the memories and the people are something that I&rsquo;m going to cherish forever.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Siegrist closed with 37 straight 20-point games, which the NCAA said is the longest streak by any men&rsquo;s or women&rsquo;s Division I player this century. ... Christina Dalce had 13 points, eight rebounds and five blocks to help Villanova do a better job of battling Miami inside after halftime. ... Harden had 15 points and nine rebounds for Miami, which took a 43-32 rebounding advantage. ... The Wildcats made just 2 of 16 3-pointers.&nbsp;

Miami had reached the Sweet 16 only once before, in 1992. Now the Hurricanes will play Sunday for the Greenville Region 2 title vs. LSU.

Miami women hold on, beat Villanova for first trip to Elite 8

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 28 points, including a key layup with 17 seconds left as the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Dallas Mavericks 112-108 on Monday night in Ja Morant&rsquo;s first game back with the team after an eight-game league suspension.
Santi Aldama added 22 for Memphis and Desmond Bane finished with 17 as Memphis won its sixth in the last seven.
Kyrie Irving led the Mavericks with 28 points, but missed all eight of his shots in the fourth quarter as Memphis outscored Dallas 29-12 in the period.
Morant did not dress for the game but was on the Memphis bench, coming out to a hearty ovation from the fans just before tipoff. The NBA assessed the suspension after a video from a Denver-area strip club earlier this month showed Morant brandishing a gun.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks were again without leading-scorer Luka Doncic, who missed his fifth game with left thigh soreness.
That left the Dallas offensive surge to Irving, picked up in a trade deadline deal, along with Christian Wood, who scored 20.
Dallas built its lead to 16 points in the third quarter, but Memphis crafted a 24-7 run in the fourth, and the game settled into an exchange of leads for both teams.
The game was tight through the first half with seven ties and three lead changes before the Mavericks carried a 60-57 lead into halftime, led by 20 points from Irving. The third quarter belonged to Dallas, stretching lead to 96-83 as Hardy scored 10 in the stanza, while the Mavericks shot 62%.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: While Doncic missed his fifth game with a left thigh strain, it marked the eighth time in 17 games since acquiring Irving at the trade deadline that one or both of the All-Stars has been out. ... Davis Bertans&rsquo; 3-pointer in the second quarter was the 800th of his career.
Grizzlies: Dillon Brooks picked up a technical foul for taunting after a dunk. It was his 18th of the season, and per league rules, he will be suspended for Wednesday&rsquo;s game against Houston. ... Memphis is 11-2 against the Southwest Division, with the only losses coming to Dallas and the New Orleans Pelicans.
UP NEXT
Mavericks: Host Golden State on Wednesday night.
Grizzlies: Play the first of consecutive home games against Houston on Wednesday night.

Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 28 points, including a key layup with 17 seconds left as the Grizzlies defeated the Mavericks.

Jackson scores 28 as Grizzlies rally late to defeat Mavs

SAN ANTONIO (AP) &mdash; Christian Wood had 27 points and 13 rebounds and the Dallas Mavericks overcame a series of blunders at the end regulation to beat the San Antonio Spurs 137-128 in overtime Wednesday night without injured All-Stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
Dallas&rsquo; Maxi Kleber threw an inbounds pass out of bounds on a full-length heave with 1.8 seconds remaining in regulation. Keldon Johnson, who missed a pair of free throws with 1.8 seconds, tied it 121 on an alley-oop dunk off an inbounds pass from Malaki Branham.
Wood had five points in overtime as Dallas fights to remain in the top 10 in the Western Conference. The Mavericks entered the game in ninth place with the same record as the 10th-place Los Angeles Lakers and a game ahead of the Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans.
Dwight Powell and Jaden Hardy had 22 points each and Josh Green added 21 points for Dallas, which snapped a three-game skid.
Johnson had 27 points to lead the short-handed Spurs.
Playing the second game of a back-to-back, the Spurs were without starters Devin Vassell Jeremy Sochan and Zach Collins along with Keita Bates-Diop and Charles Bassey. But as they did in setting a franchise record with 22 3-pointers in a rousing victory over Orlando on Tuesday night, San Antonio responded with a balanced scoring effort.
Branham had 20 points, Romeo Langford had 17 points and four others scored in double figures.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Dallas has won six straight against San Antonio. The Mavericks&rsquo; previous loss to the Spurs was April 11, 2021, in San Antonio. &hellip; Doncic and Irving were both in attendance, sitting at the end of the Mavericks bench. &hellip; Jaden Hardy has scored 20 points in all three of his career starts for the Mavericks. In a back-to-back set against Memphis, Hardy had 22 points on March 11 and 28 points on March 13.
Spurs: San Antonio confirmed that C Charles Bassey suffered a non-displace fracture in his left patella. The injury occurred at the close of the first quarter of Tuesday&rsquo;s victory over Orlando. Bassey will miss the remainder of the season. &hellip;. San Antonio is 2-1 during its six-game homestand. &hellip; Of the 13 games the Spurs have remaining, 10 are against a team in the playoffs or play-in tournament if the season ended today. &hellip; Johnson made his 200th career start in 219 career games with the Spurs. Only Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Tony Parker, Willie Anderson and Sean Elliott have 200 starts in fewer games for the Spurs.
UP NEXT
Mavericks: At Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.
Spurs: Host Memphis on Friday night.

Christian Wood had 27 points and 13 rebounds as the Mavericks beat the Spurs 137-128 in overtime on Wednesday night.

Christian Wood has 27 points, 13 rebounds in Mavs’ OT win over Spurs

The madness of March: It&rsquo;s as exhilarating as it is exhausting, as mesmerizing as it is memorable. The abrupt ending of an entire career, a legacy defined in two to three seconds. It almost seems unfair, but that&rsquo;s the beauty of the win-or-go-home tournament.&nbsp;
Every game is a Game 7. The unpredictability, the passion, the tears, the celebration. The NCAA Tournament is one of the few sporting events that&rsquo;s more defined by the incomparable upsets than the eventual champion.
Even non-basketball fans get in on the fun each year, with office pools and bracket challenges. While college sports and amateurism are under a drastic transformation, &ldquo;The Tournament&rdquo; still has a nostalgic feel to it. The incredible buzzer-beaters are one of the many reasons why.
Narrowing this list down was a tall task, so before we get started, it&rsquo;s important that we establish the criteria:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">It has to be a game-winning or game-tying shot in the final seconds.&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1">It has to be in the &ldquo;modern era&rdquo; (i.e. since the three-point line and shot clock).&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1">The later in the tournament, the higher the stakes, the more the shot means.</li>
</ul>
With that being said, here are the 11 most memorable buzzer-beaters in modern men's NCAA Tournament history.
11. Michigan State vs. Maryland, Korie Lucious (2010 Second Round)
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In one of the rare times Tom Izzo didn&rsquo;t call timeout in the waning seconds of a game, it paid off for him big time. You might recognize that big fella bringing the ball up the court; that&rsquo;s a slightly heavier Draymond Green, doing what he&rsquo;s been doing for the last decade in the Bay, pushing the tempo, drawing attention and then getting the ball to a knockdown shooter.&nbsp;
Maryland never properly matched up, and Korie Lucious only needed one rhythm dribble to send the Spartans to the Sweet Sixteen.
10. Wisconsin vs. Xavier, Bronson Koenig (2016 Second Round)
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The Musketeers had the ball in a tie game but turned it over, which led to one of the smoothest walk-off game-winners you will ever see.&nbsp;
Looking like he was in the gym shooting all by himself, All-Big-Ten guard Bronson Koenig caught the ball on the sideline, smartly took an escape dribble and hit the corner three that sent the Badgers to the Sweet Sixteen.
9. Connecticut vs. Washington, Richard Hamilton (1998 Sweet Sixteen)
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This entire sequence was amazing. I love how the refs swallowed their whistle on the first two attempts. Those may have been foul calls earlier in the game, but not with the championship on the line. Washington had a huge frontline that year, but ultimately ended up one rebound short.&nbsp;
Also, this is good coaching by Hall-of-Famer Jim Calhoun. In college, you have to go early because the opposing team cannot advance the ball to halfcourt with a timeout, so there&rsquo;s no point in waiting too long and eliminating the chance of getting an offensive rebound.&nbsp;
Rip Hamilton would go on to win both an NCAA championship and NBA championship with the Detroit Pistons.&nbsp;
&nbsp;8.Valparaiso vs. Ole Miss, Bryce Drew (1998 First Round)
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This is definitely the most schematic of any buzzer-beaters on this list. The son of the coach coming through in the clutch seems perfectly scripted for a Disney movie.
As with most of these incredible shots, it involves missed free throws and an underrated pass. The defense on this play was phenomenal (which can&rsquo;t be said for another historic shot that we&rsquo;ll get to in a bit).
7. Michigan vs. Houston, Jordan Poole (2018 Second Round)
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Long before he was a spark plug off the bench for the world-champion Golden State Warriors, Jordan Poole was hitting big shots in Ann Arbor. He drove Coach John Beilein crazy with his shot selection, but one of the reasons he earned such a long leash was his uncanny ability to hit shots from anywhere and at any angle.&nbsp;
6. UCLA vs. Mizzou, Tyus Edney (1995 Second Round)
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Every national champion has one of &ldquo;those&rdquo; games where despite having the superior roster, they probably should have lost. The Bruins were loaded! This roster featured eight guys who eventually played in the NBA. But the longer the game stays close, the more the pressure shifts to the No. 1 seed.&nbsp;&nbsp;
5. Michigan vs. Kansas, Trey Burke (2013 Sweet Sixteen)
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In 2013, Trey Burke was named the National Player of the Year and he carried the Wolverines all season long. The debate of whether to foul when up three points is for another column, but this was a Damian-Lillard-range three, and no one wants to risk a foul that far from the basket.&nbsp;
4. Kansas vs. Memphis, Mario Chalmers (2008 NCAA Championship Game)
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Mario Chalmers is a legend in Lawrence for as long as he lives. The Memphis Tigers were led by soon-to-be-first-overall-pick Derrick Rose and the silky smooth Chris Douglas-Roberts, and they had the game won until &ndash; and stop me if you have read this before &ndash; crucial free-throw misses opened the door for Kansas. This allowed Chalmers to force overtime, and the rest is history.&nbsp;
Coach Cal has gone on to win a national championship at Kentucky, but I bet if you caught him in a hotel bar on a recruiting trip, he would admit that he should have fouled Kansas before Chalmers even had the opportunity to hoist up this miracle three-point attempt.&nbsp;
3. Gonzaga vs. UCLA, Jalen Suggs (2021 Final Four)
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Gonzaga truly seemed like a team of destiny after Jalen Suggs hit the running bank shot against UCLA to remain undefeated and advance to the national championship game. While they would ultimately fall to Baylor two days later, the shot was ridiculous.&nbsp;
And unlike many of the plays on this list, UCLA didn&rsquo;t really do anything wrong. They didn&rsquo;t miss a free throw or look confused on defense. They lost on a straight-in bank from half-court, which even seemed to cause Gonzaga head coach Mark Few to feel a bit guilty.
2. Duke vs. Kentucky, Christian Laettner (1992 Elite Eight)
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Kentucky fans, look away. Hate him or really hate him, Christian Laettner was one of the greatest college players of all-time.&nbsp;
This game was one for the ages. Duke was the defending national champion. They were led by the aforementioned Laettner, All-American pest/point guard Bobby Hurley and budding superstar/future Hall-of-Famer Grant HIll.&nbsp;
Somewhat lost in the dramatic ending is the fact that Laettner was literally perfect on the night. He shot 10-of-10 from the field and 10-of-10 from the free-throw line, and he finished with a state line of 31 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
1. Villanova vs. UNC, Kris Jenkins (2016 NCAA Championship Game)
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The dream of all dreams. This is the scenario that every boy or girl who has ever played basketball at any level has imagined hundreds of times. A few seconds left. The ball in your hands. A title on the line. Three, two, one&hellip; You drill the game-winner and become a champion.&nbsp;
On April 4, 2016, Kris Jenkins turned this dream into reality. The timing is an underrated aspect of this play. The pass was right on time, and right on target &ndash; soft and chest-high. This let Jenkins shoot in rhythm &ndash; a shot that he had made thousands of times before. You gotta love how Jay Wright showed the emotion of John Wick as he walked to shake Roy Williams&rsquo; hand.&nbsp;
HONORABLE MENTION
Connecticut vs. Clemson, Tate George (1990 Sweet Sixteen)
Duke vs. Connecticut, Christian Laettner (1990 Elite Eight)

With March Madness upon us, Basketball News revisits 11 of the most memorable buzzer-beaters in NCAA Tournament history.

March Madness: Ranking the top-11 men's NCAA Tournament buzzer-beaters

NEW ORLEANS (AP) &mdash; CJ McCollum scored 13 of his 32 points in the final four minutes and the New Orleans Pelicans held off the Dallas Mavericks 113-106 on Wednesday night.
McCollum&rsquo;s compelling finish came after each team lost a top player. The Pelicans&rsquo; Brandon Ingram left late in the second quarter with a sprained right ankle after scoring 12 points. Dallas star guard Luka Doncic left in the third with a strained left thigh after scoring 15 points.
The Mavericks were down by as many as 19 in the third quarter and by double digits well into the fourth. But the Mavs suddenly surged within striking distance with a 12-0 run that began with Davis Bertans 3, Kyrie Irving&rsquo;s 4-point play on a 3 as he was fouled, and Christian Wood&rsquo;s 3-point play on a layup as he was fouled.
Irving capped the spurt with driving layup along the baseline that made it 97-94 with 4:12 left.
That&rsquo;s when McCollum snapped the run with two clutch baskets &mdash; a 14-foot pull-up and a 3. He added two more 3s and a floating bank shot to make it 110-103 in the final minute, and New Orleans held on from there.
Trey Murphy III scored 16 for New Orleans. Herb Jones and Jaxson Hayes each added 14 points for the Pelicans.
Irving scored 27 points and Tim Hardaway Jr added 17 points for Dallas.
Coming off a four-point victory over Utah on Tuesday night, Dallas faded quickly after a promising first few minutes. After hitting two of their first four 3s and going up 14-6 on Powell&rsquo;s alley-oop dunk of Doncic&rsquo;s lob, the Mavs missed 13 of their next 14 shots from deep.
By the end of the first quarter, the Pelicans had tied it at 24 on rookie Dyson Daniels&rsquo; 3-pointer.
New Orleans then opened the second quarter with eight straight points on McCollum&rsquo;s 3, Hayes&rsquo; alley-oop dunk and Naji Marshall&rsquo;s banked 3, and went on to lead by as many as 18 before taking a 59-43 lead into halftime.
Despite Ingram&rsquo;s inability to return after the second quarter, New Orleans maintained a comfortable lead for most of the second half.
Jones scored eight of his points in the third quarter, when Murphy hit two 3s, and New Orleans led 90-74 after Murphy&rsquo;s third 3 of the half early in the fourth.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Wood finished with 15 points and Jaden Hardy 11. ... Finished 16 of 46 (34.8%) from 3-point range. Doncic was assessed a technical foul in the first quarter while staring down official Natalie Sago after making a driving shot on which he apparently thought he&rsquo;d also been fouled. ... Reggie Bullock missed the game with a bruised right quadriceps, Maxi Kleber was out with a right hamstring injury and center JaVale McGee was sidelined by a sprained right ankle.
Pelicans: The club announced before tip-off that All-Star forward Zion Williamson will be out at least two more weeks while he recovers from a Jan. 2 right hamstring injury. ... Shot 50.6% (42 of 83) overall and 48.1% (13 of 27) from deep. ... Outrebounded Dallas 49-34.
UP NEXT
Mavericks: At Memphis on Saturday.
Pelicans: Host Oklahoma City on Saturday.

CJ McCollum scored 13 of his 32 points in the final four minutes and the Pelicans held off the Mavericks 113-106 on Wednesday.

CJ McCollum scores 32, Pelicans hold off Mavericks 113-106

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Sorry, Giannis, the NBA wanted back that rebound. Your fourth triple-double of the season, too.
Some might say nice try, others have an issue with what is known as stat padding.
When Milwaukee MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo tried to orchestrate his 10th rebound Sunday night in the final seconds of the Bucks&rsquo; win against Washington, it sent the world of social media into overdrive.
Along with it, dredged up conversations about the touchy topic of stat padding, which insinuates that someone, whether it be on the basketball court or even in the world of online video games, compiles results oblivious to what&rsquo;s going on around them.
A rebound shy of the triple-double mark, Antetokounmpo was running out the clock when he stopped near the basket. He hesitated for a moment before lightly tossing the ball at the bottom of the rim and grabbing it for what appeared to be his 10th board.
Even the announcer was like, &ldquo;Does that count?&rdquo;
It did &mdash; until it didn&rsquo;t. On Monday, and following a review by the league, his official line read: 23 points, 13 assists and nine boards.
While wiping away Antetokounmpo&rsquo;s last rebound was probably an easy call for the league, it sometimes can be a fine line between padding one&rsquo;s stats and just playing the game hard. Russell Westbrook no doubt heard the innuendos when he was a triple-double machine. Two-time reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic recently heard aspersions, too.
Antetokounmpo&rsquo;s rebound was on the blatant side (his name got added to a Wikipedia entry on &ldquo;stat padding &rdquo;).
&ldquo;I just try to play the game smart and kind of stole one,&rdquo; Antetokounmpo said in a postgame interview following a 117-111 win over Washington.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone doesn&rsquo;t believe Jokic would ever try to steal one. Still, Jokic heard the noise directed his way after recording his 100th career triple-double on Feb. 28. The Denver big man sarcastically addressed comments made by ESPN NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins, who intimated Jokic was guilty of stat padding.
&ldquo;I mean, when you&rsquo;re stat padding it&rsquo;s easy, you know,&rdquo; Jokic told the Nuggets&rsquo; TV network Altitude Sports of notching the milestone.
Asked if he heard the chatter, Jokic amusingly responded: &ldquo;Yes, of course. I mean, it&rsquo;s true.&rdquo;
Concerning the late-game actions of Antetokounmpo, Perkins commented on Twitter: &ldquo;Every player has padded their stats at some point during their career.&rdquo;
Players in triple-double territory do often know when they&rsquo;re closing in on the usually impressive stat line. Some even know exactly what&rsquo;s required. They know when they need one rebound or one assist, and so do their teammates. They almost always defer in those moments for the benefit of someone else&rsquo;s stats.
Teams get stat sheets delivered in every time-out. Scoreboards in the the arenas show every number imaginable. Everybody knows the deal in those moments.
There have been memorable, and strange, examples of the lengths players will go to get there. Cleveland&rsquo;s Ricky Davis shot at the wrong basket in 2003 to try and get the one rebound he needed; it wasn&rsquo;t awarded by the stat crew and Utah was highly annoyed at Davis&rsquo; antics with 6 seconds left in what was a 25-point game.
&ldquo;He was trying to embarrass somebody. ... I&rsquo;d have knocked him on his&rdquo; butt, the late Jerry Sloan, then the Utah coach, said that night.
When the obvious doesn&rsquo;t happen, stat padding tends to become hilarious.
Take the game in 2017, when Dwyane Wade was with the Chicago Bulls and needed one rebound for a triple-double. Kay Felder took the game&rsquo;s final shot for Cleveland, it missed and the ball was magically coming right to where Wade was standing with 1 second remaining &mdash; that is, until Bulls teammate Cristiano Felicio knocked the ball away.
Wade fell back in disbelief, then gave Felicio a look as if to ask, &ldquo;Why?&rdquo;
&ldquo;My teammate didn&rsquo;t want me to be great,&rdquo; Wade said that night, smiling, though mildly bothered.
Wade did just fine without that triple-double; he&rsquo;s almost certainly going into the Basketball Hall of Fame later this year. Andray Blatche, however, is not going to be enshrined in Springfield. He never got a triple-double. He almost did, once.
April 4, 2010, was the night of Blatche infamy. He finished with 20 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds for Washington, and thought he had rebound No. 10 with 22.1 seconds left. Small complication: He fouled New Jersey&rsquo;s Brook Lopez on the play, and didn&rsquo;t have another chance to get the board he needed.
In the case of Jokic, Malone doesn&rsquo;t believe his center would ever chase individual glory &mdash; though the Nuggets&rsquo; coach has a theory why someone might.
&ldquo;Maybe they&rsquo;re just tired of this player, non-athletic player from Sombor, Serbia, continuing to kick everybody&rsquo;s&rdquo; butt, Malone told reporters after a recent practice. &ldquo;Maybe people have a hard time with that. I don&rsquo;t know. But for (Jokic) to say that, &lsquo;Yeah, you know what, I&rsquo;m padding my stats.&rsquo; Yeah, it probably signals that maybe something touched a nerve.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s not doing anything to pump his own numbers up,&rdquo; Malone added. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just not in his nature. It&rsquo;s silly to think otherwise.&rdquo;

it sometimes can be a fine line between padding one’s stats and just playing the game hard.

NBA denies Giannis fourth triple-double, stirs talks about stat padding

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Ja Morant had 23 points and seven rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies raced to an early lead and coasted to a 112-94 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night in a matchup of the Western Conference&rsquo;s top teams.
Tyus Jones finished with 17 points, and Luke Kennard, Xavier Tillman and Dillon Brooks scored 12 apiece for Memphis, which trails Denver by six games in the conference race.
Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Jeff Green added 12 points. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Christian Braun each scored 11 points as Denver&rsquo;s four-game winning streak came to an end. Denver was hampered by a 40% shooting game. The Nuggets&rsquo; starters were 17 of 47 from the field in the game.
Denver&rsquo;s 94 total points was a season low.
&ldquo;One of the biggest priorities was transition defense,&rdquo; Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said. &ldquo;I thought our urgency was phenomenal.&rdquo;
The matchup of the West leaders had Denver entering while playing well and Memphis struggling, dropping six of its last 10 games and losing its grip on the second spot as the Sacramento Kings rose to third.
But Memphis came out with more intensity and defensive pressure, a continuation of the Grizzlies first post-All-Star break game &mdash; a last-minute loss at Philadelphia.
&ldquo;They just played more physical than us,&rdquo; Green said. &ldquo;They treated it like a playoff game. We didn&rsquo;t. We came out lackadaisical. They got a good lead, and we couldn&rsquo;t bounce back.&rdquo;
Nuggets coach Michael Malone added: &ldquo;I felt like going into this game that (the Grizzlies) were going to approach this as a playoff game. We approached it as a game 61 or 62.&rdquo;
The Grizzlies finished with 19 fast-break points and 60 points in the paint.
&ldquo;They ran off misses. They ran off makes. They were sprinting. We just didn&rsquo;t match that,&rdquo; Malone said.
Memphis converted 56% of its shots in the first half and was 9 of 21 form outside the arc. Meanwhile, the Nuggets offense struggled, shooting 38% from the field and making only 3 of 16 3-pointers. Ten turnovers added to the Nuggets&rsquo; misery.
Memphis led by as many as 29 points in the first half and carried a 66-42 advantage at the break.
Memphis opened the second half with eight straight points, pushing the lead to 32 points. That catapulted the Grizzlies to a 94-62 advantage through three quarters. At that point, Memphis was still shooting better than 53%.
With Denver facing the second half of a back-to-back Sunday, Malone sat his starters in the fourth quarter.
The win gave Memphis a two-game cushion over third-place Sacramento after the Kings&rsquo; 176-175 win over the Clippers in double-overtime Friday night. But despite the rout of the Nuggets, Memphis didn&rsquo;t consider the win a statement game.
&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s too early to say,&rdquo; Jones said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a good win. They&rsquo;re a good team, but it&rsquo;s also one game. Don&rsquo;t try to look too much into it.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Denver&rsquo;s 42 points were a season low for the first half. The previous low was 43 against Minnesota on Feb. 5 ... The Nuggets defeated the Grizzlies 105-91 on Dec. 20 in Denver. The three-game season series wraps up March 3 in Denver.
Grizzlies: Tillman made all six of his shots in the game. ... C Steven Adams missed his 13th straight game with a right knee sprain. ...Desmond Bane had 10 points but was 4 of 13 from the field.
TAKES YOUR BREATH AWAY
Morant had one of his highlight layups after a scramble for the ball at midcourt,. After he scored, he expressed his excitement. &ldquo;I kind of yelled,&rdquo; Morant said, &ldquo;and got light-headed. So I probably won&rsquo;t do that again.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Nuggets: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
Grizzlies: Entertain the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.

Ja Morant had 23 points as the Grizzlies raced to an early lead and coasted to a 112-94 victory over the Nuggets on Saturday night.

Ja Morant, Grizzlies beat Nuggets in matchup of West leaders

"We're a championship team."
That's what Nuggets guard Jamal Murray said, as <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2023/02/03/nuggets-jamal-murray-championship-team/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">part of a larger answer</a> about the team's prospects after Thursday night's 134-117 win over the Golden State Warriors. Murray was a big part of the win, scoring 33 points (9-of-12 from two, 3-of-11 from three), dishing out 8 assists and grabbing 5 rebounds in a little over 30 minutes.
"All that stuff, not being happy, has gotta go out the window or else we&rsquo;re not going to win," Murray said. "It&rsquo;s nice to have a coach that knows that and knows what we&rsquo;re trying to accomplish.&rdquo;
There are a couple of ways to decipher the rest of Murray's words. You can take the "duh" approach and leave it there. Any team with title aspirations &mdash; and the Nuggets, headlined by MVP frontrunner Nikola Jokic while boasting the West's best record, certainly fit the bill &mdash; needs buy-in. Beyond the Xs and Os and rotation decisions, a head coach's primary responsibility is to get buy-in from its players.&nbsp;
Michael Malone has appeared to get that for the most part. You can see that most blatantly with the Nuggets' defensive performance. Per Cleaning The Glass, they're up to 16th in defensive rating on the year, excluding garbage time. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-examining-the-denver-nuggets-poor-defense-nikola-jokic-michael-malone-bruce-brown-michael-porter-jr" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In early December</a>, I wrote about how pourous their then-ranked 27th defense was; Coach Malone seemingly lamented it every other game.
If you read a little deeper into Murray's reminder for connectivity, you could interpret it as a message to second-year guard Bones Hyland.
Hyland didn't appear in Thursday night's game. He only played four minutes in Tuesday's win over (what's left of) the New Orleans Pelicans. In fact, here is Hyland's minute count over the Nuggets' past 10 games: 8, 15, 18, 8, 11, 0 (inactive), 24, 21, 4, 0 (DNP).
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
There have been reports of Hyland and Malone not seeing eye-to-eye. It would make sense; young players &mdash; especially young guards &mdash; have to do a lot to earn Malone's trust on both ends of the floor.
Hyland is a microwave scorer, unafraid to pull from 30 feet if he's feeling it. He's drained nearly 38% of his threes on high volume (5.7 attempts in 19.5 minutes) this season. He's also, at this stage of his career, a harmful defender due to his off-ball awareness and shaky screen navigation. Those are hard sells for Malone fundamentally, even while acknowledging how talented Hyland is.
But with the relationship appearing to deteriorate, trade rumors have <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/report-bones-hyland-is-one-of-the-most-likely-players-to-be-dealt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">continued to swirl</a>. Most recently, ESPN's Tim MacMahon essentially called a Hyland trade an inevitability. Brian Windhorst didn't go that far, but it seems the writing is on the wall in Denver.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
&ldquo;Bones Hyland is getting traded. It&rsquo;s a matter of where and for what.&rdquo; (via <a href="https://twitter.com/espn_macmahon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@espn_macmahon</a>) <a href="https://t.co/JlUJQI7YnW">pic.twitter.com/JlUJQI7YnW</a>
&mdash; The Trade Deadline (@_TradeDeadline) <a href="https://twitter.com/_TradeDeadline/status/1621550941500473348?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

Beyond the intrigue of the Nuggets potentially moving Hyland this early, figuring out who they'd actually pursue is also challenging.
It's easy to look at the roster and pinpoint&nbsp;what&nbsp;they should pursue. Finding a bigger, more reliable two-way presence on the perimeter would be at the top of the list. As it stands, rookies Christian Braun and Peyton Watson are the only "3s" between 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-8 on the roster. Braun has been in and out of the rotation this season despite his positive flashes, and we've seen virtually nothing from Watson.
If they land on another guard to directly replace Hyland, that player would need to hold their own defensively &mdash; and likely be capable of punching above their weight &mdash; while being able to toggle between on and off-ball duties. Murray has been commanding the second unit when staggered away from Jokic; ideally, you'd want to take some of that creation burden off of him.
The "who" of it is what makes this tough. Hyland isn't just a young trade chip &mdash; he might be the&nbsp;trade chip for the Nuggets considering their first-round pick situation. <a href="https://www.prosportstransactions.com/basketball/DraftTrades/Future/Nuggets.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Due to prior trades</a>, the earliest available first-rounder they can move <a href="https://www.denverstiffs.com/2023/1/10/23547887/the-denver-nuggets-trade-deadline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">is their 2029 first</a>. Cashing in Hyland for a veteran could still be the move, but it'd be beneficial to add a vet who could move the needle this year and&nbsp;next year, at the very least.
No team wants to "lose" a deal obviously, but there's heightened importance in nailing a trade involving Hyland because of it.
For that reason, I'd imagine the first call would be to the Chicago Bulls. Alex Caruso doesn't fit the wing-with-size archetype, but he doubles as one of the NBA's stingiest and most versatile perimeter defenders. He is one of the best screen navigators in the sport, possesses quick hands that allow him to pester ball-handlers and restrict passing lanes and has the strength and guile to defend bigger wings or forwards when called upon.
A fun stat, per Second Spectrum: Over the past two seasons, possessions featuring a post-up defended by Caruso have garnered just 0.82 points per possession (PPP). Among the 114 players who have defended at least 75 post-ups in that time frame, that mark ranks 11th. Players ahead of him include Pascal Siakam (0.74 PPP), Draymond Green (0.75 PPP), PJ Tucker (0.76 PPP), Onyeka Okongwu (0.78 PPP) and Jayson Tatum (0.8 PPP).
Any questions concerning Caruso come on the offensive end of the floor. He's currently shooting 40.2% from deep, but is only attempting 4.3 threes per 100 possessions, the second-lowest clip of his career. Because of his infrequent trigger &mdash; with more infuriating catch-and-holds sprinkled in this season &mdash; defenses are okay defending him conservatively on the perimeter.&nbsp;
Caruso remains a smart cutter and a tough-as-nails screener, making him an ideal partner for Nikola Jokic whenever they play together. His cross screens consistently help Nikola Vucevic establish deep post position; it's easy to see him doing the same for Jokic. There's also room for him to act as a brush screener whenever the Nuggets want to utilize Jokic as the pick-and-roll ball handler.
Per <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/the-latest-nba-trade-winds?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=99187151&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;utm_medium=email" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marc Stein of Substack ($)</a>, the Bulls reportedly want two first-round picks in a deal for Caruso. Would the Bulls consider Hyland as a first-rounder, and would the 2029 first the Nuggets could actually offer be enough to entice them? If so, Hyland, Jeff Green, Ish Smith and the 2029 first is a package that could get the ball rolling.
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(There would be haggling, of course. The Nuggets would rather add second-rounders &mdash; they have six, including two this year. If they do include the first-rounder, I'm sure they'd ask for protections &mdash; or explore what it would take to get the Bulls to include Andre Drummond in the deal as well. In short, there are conversations to be had here.)
If not the Bulls, the Nuggets should check in with the Washington Wizards again. They just did business over the summer with the wing room; why not see if they could pry Delon Wright out of there? It would take one of Green or Smith along with Hyland for salary-matching purposes. Because of the age gap and team control aspect, the Nuggets may be able to ask for minor draft compensation.
Among available forwards, I wonder if they'd call the Phoenix Suns and check in on Jae Crowder. Because of Crowder's contract status &mdash; he's set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer &mdash; the Nuggets likely wouldn't have to think about including a future first. The Hyland-Green-Smith triumvirate would work salary-wise for Crowder and a minimum piece (maybe Jock Landale or Josh Okogie).
STRAY THOUGHTS
<ul>
<li>If the San Antonio Spurs didn't already have multiple guards they're somewhat invested in, a Hyland-led package for Josh Richardson would be something worth exploring.</li>
<li>Same guard-heavy issue with the Utah Jazz, otherwise a Jarrod Vanderbilt deal would be at the top of the list for me.</li>
<li>The Sacramento Kings and Warriors have reportedly been linked to Matisse Thybulle. The Nuggets have the offensive infrastructure to slot Thybulle in as a cutter and occasional screener. How would we feel about a Hyland/Green for Thybulle/Shake Milton swap? Feels like a third team would be needed to balance things further for the Sixers, but I'd be intrigued.</li>
<li>Hyland for Cam Reddish is the "Man, everybody would hate this" trade that I can't push in good faith.</li>
</ul>

The Denver Nuggets may be on the verge of trading Bones Hyland. Nekias Duncan explores which landing spots make sense for Hyland.

Exploring possible trade destinations for Nuggets' Bones Hyland

On January 15, after a 112-102 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving was asked about Kevin Durant's absence. More specifically, he was asked how the circumstances (and the locker room) differ from last year. This is what he had to say.
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Kyrie on why KD's absence is different this year: "Well I'm consistently in the lineup, that helps. We also don't have anyone who is halfway in in the locker room."
&mdash; Alec Sturm (@Alec_Sturm) <a href="https://twitter.com/Alec_Sturm/status/1614805186589110277?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2023</a></blockquote>

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There was a hint of irony to the response in light of his&nbsp;absence for large portions of last season due to New York's vaccine mandate, as well as the suspension he served this season due to sharing antisemitic content. Secondarily, it felt like a clear shot at former Nets guard James Harden, who ultimately requested a trade before last year's deadline.&nbsp;
On January 15, Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10063026-ball-is-in-the-nets-court-as-kyrie-irving-seeks-long-term-extension" target="_blank" rel="noopener">relayed word from Irving's agent</a>, expressing their desire to reach an agreement on a long-term extension in Brooklyn. From the piece:
<blockquote>
"Around Kyrie and staying with the Nets? I have reached out to the Nets regarding this," his agent Shetellia Irving told Bleacher Report. "We have had no significant conversations to date. The desire is to make Brooklyn home, with the right type of extension, which means the ball is in the Nets' court to communicate now if their desire is the same."
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It would appear the desire isn't mutual. With no extension agreed to, Irving has reportedly requested a trade from the Nets ahead of the February 9 trade deadline.
Zooming out, that's three separate trade requests the Nets have received from stars over the past calendar year. And before digging into potential destinations from Irving, it's worth taking the step back to acknowledge how wild things have been in Brooklyn during the 7/11 Era.&nbsp;
(Also, the clock is going to start back ticking on Durant, no? Irving requesting the trade now is unfortunate timing. Depending on what they could get back, this deal could take the Nets out of the contention conversation through absolutely no fault of Durant's. Considering Irving's role in Durant's trade request in the summer &mdash; he wants, or wanted, his guy there with him long-term &mdash; it would be understandable if he got antsy again.)
Irving has been tremendous on the court this season, averaging 27.1 points (career-high 56.9% on 2s, 37.4% on 3s), 5.3 assists and 5.1 rebounds. His blend of ball-handling, pull-up shooting and finishing is almost unrivaled in the league &mdash; and in league history. And to Irving's credit, his buy-in on the defensive end is as consistently high as it's ever been in his career.
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Irving's availability and contract status &mdash; he'll be an unrestricted free agent this summer &mdash; will complicate his trade value. The receiving team, if he's moved, will have to be confident in retaining Irving long term. And from there, they'd have to be confident that Irving, who hasn't appeared in 70 games since the 2016-17 season, will be consistently available. His injury history and off-the-court controversies in back-to-back seasons make that a tough bet on the surface.
Of course, the bet being tough &mdash; and likely untenable for some franchises &mdash; doesn't mean it won't be made at all. There will be teams that check in on Irving and push their chips to the middle of the table.
We have to start the conversation with the Los Angeles Lakers. They were linked to Irving in the summer, when it felt like both Durant and Irving could be moved. There's an obvious link between Irving and LeBron James. The two played in Cleveland together for three years, winning a title in 2016. LeBron also stood up for Irving during his suspension earlier this season.
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💭 I told you guys that I don&rsquo;t believe in sharing hurtful information. And I&rsquo;ll continue to be that way but Kyrie apologized and he should be able to play. That&rsquo;s what I think. It&rsquo;s that simple. Help him learn- but he should be playing. What he&rsquo;s asked to do to get back on
&mdash; LeBron James (@KingJames) <a href="https://twitter.com/KingJames/status/1590781218790211584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2022</a></blockquote>

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We don't have to spend much time here. The Lakers would build a package headlined by Russell Westbrook and one or both of their future first-round picks (2027, 2029) for Irving. That doesn't mean the Nets would get Westbrook; three-team frameworks would likely be discussed, and it's worth noting that Haynes reported earlier on Friday that the Lakers and Utah Jazz <a href="https://syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/10064005-nba-insider-buzz-lakers-know-they-need-another-trade-jazz-enter-westbrook-chat.amp.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">re-engaged in talks surrounding Westbrook</a>.
Beyond the Lakers, there are a few teams that come to mind that make on-court &mdash; and I stress on-court &mdash; sense for the star guard.
Priority number one for the Dallas Mavericks, for example, is finding a legitimate co-star to pair with Luka Doncic. He's clearly good enough to handle a gargantuan offensive load; he leads the NBA in points (second in scoring average, 33.4) and ranks fifth in assists (8.2). Only the Cavs play at a slower pace than the Mavericks this season, mostly due to Doncic's surgical cadence in the half-court.&nbsp;
Spencer Dinwiddie and Christian Wood (when healthy) have filled in well as secondary scorers. Dinwiddie is averaging nearly 18 points a game while bombing away from three (40.3% on a career-high 6.4 attempts). Wood's inside-out dynamic has helped him become the second half of the NBA's most prolific pick-and-roll duo, per Second Spectrum tracking.
Neither of them garner the same defensive attention that Irving does, nor can they take over games in the way that Irving can. A framework built around former-Net Dinwiddie and currently-in-the-rumor-mill Dorian Finney-Smith could intrigue the Nets.
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The Miami Heat were reportedly on Irving's summer list of teams he'd be okay getting signed-and-traded to, per ESPN's Adrain Wojnarowski. A certified third star alongside Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo could lift their ceiling, especially one as dynamic offensively as Irving. As of writing, the Heat rank 25th in overall offensive rating, excluding garbage time, and 22nd in half-court offense.
While Tyler Herro has taken steps as a creator and first-time starter &mdash; 20.3 points (49.9% on 2s, 37.3% on 3s) and a career-high 4.4 assists is nothing to sneeze at &mdash; his ability to generate traction downhill and deal with in-your-jersey defenders on an island pale in comparison to Irving. Among teams that may show interest in Irving, Herro may be the best young piece that could be offered in a deal &mdash; though his inclusion would be complicated due to the <a href="https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2018/10/hoops-rumors-glossary-poison-pill-provision.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"poison pill" element</a> of his current contract status.
Because Herro's rookie extension (4/120) hasn't kicked in yet, the Heat and Nets would be dealing with different cap numbers in a potential trade. For the Heat, they'd be sending out Herro's current-year salary ($5.7 million). The Nets (or a third team receiving Herro) would be accounting for $25.1 million &mdash; the average of Herro's total salary owed.
Without Herro, Miami would likely try to use Kyle Lowry as the headliner to a package. With <a href="https://www.prosportstransactions.com/basketball/DraftTrades/Future/Heat.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">somewhat limited pick ammo</a> and young prospects -- how much would Nikola Jovic appeal to this version of Brooklyn? -- the Heat feel more like a long shot compared to Los Angeles and Dallas.
STRAY THOUGHTS
<ul>
<li>The Suns and Nets were linked during the Durant Sweepstakes, but I wonder if they'd check in on Irving. This would be a deal centered around Chris Paul, which begs the question: how much more would Brooklyn want? Would a Paul + Cam Johnson package appeal to both parties, in light of Phoenix's need for half-court scoring?</li>
<li>The Clippers will always &mdash; or at least should &mdash; be mentioned in these kind of conversations. Their roster is littered with quality players on mid-level salaries, making them an appealing keep-us-competitive option for the Nets.</li>
<li>I'm sure the Knicks are content with Jalen Brunson, but hey. Just ... hey, I'm sure they'll think about it. Even if the answer is ultimately, "Nah, we're good", I find it hard to believe they wouldn't think about it.</li>
<li>Normally there's a "won't happen, but these pieces make sense" team to choose from in trade discussions like this, but I'm struggling with this one. Would the closest be something surrounding an Irving-Zach LaVine swap? Like, sure?</li>
</ul>

Kyrie Irving has requested a trade from the Nets. Nekias Duncan looks at which teams make sense as a possible landing spot.

Exploring possible trade destinations for Nets' Kyrie Irving

PHOENIX (AP) &mdash; Luka Doncic&rsquo;s early injury on Thursday night gave the Dallas Mavericks a very valid reason to lose on the road.
Instead, Spencer Dinwiddie responded to the adversity with a season-high 36 points, Dorian Finney-Smith added 18 points and 12 rebounds, and the Mavs held on for a 99-95 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just an all-around great team effort,&rdquo; Finney-Smith said. &ldquo;Once we found out (Luka) was out, we just stepped up.&rdquo;
Dinwiddie&rsquo;s hot shooting helped the Mavs thrive without Doncic, who limped to the locker room early in the first quarter with a sprained left ankle and didn&rsquo;t return. The veteran guard shot 10 of 18 from the field, including 5 of 6 on 3-pointers. He also made 11 free throws.
The 29-year-old didn&rsquo;t shy from taking the lead scoring role after Doncic went down. It was the first game the Mavs won this season when Doncic was injured.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just a shift in mindset in understanding the volume&rsquo;s going to come and I&rsquo;ve got to be more aggressive,&rdquo; Dinwiddie said.
The Mavs led the entire second half but Suns guard Chris Paul made a layup with 19.7 seconds left to cut the deficit to 96-95. The Mavs were able to close it out when Dwight Powell got fouled after grabbing an offensive rebound and sank his two free throws.
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&ldquo;It was the whole group defensively,&rdquo; Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. &ldquo;To hold a team like Phoenix under 100 points is a big deal. The guys in that locker room should be proud.&rdquo;
Dinwiddie made tough shots all night, including a long 3-pointer with a few seconds left in the third quarter to give the Mavs a 76-69 lead going into the fourth. He banked in another 3 with 3:32 left that put them up 95-86.
Cam Johnson and Paul led the Suns with 22 points apiece. Deandre Ayton scored 19 points and grabbed 20 rebounds, but made just 6 of 20 shots. Paul added 10 assists.
&ldquo;I thought we were a bit happy on the farm to be honest with you,&rdquo; Suns coach Monty Williams said. &ldquo;We did not bring the same juice, energy and focus we had been bringing.&rdquo;
The Mavs pushed to a 54-48 halftime lead. Dinwiddie led all scorers with 20 points before the break while Johnson had 13 for the Suns.
The Mavericks snapped a six-game losing streak against the Suns in the regular season, though they beat Phoenix in the Western Conference semifinals in seven games in last year&rsquo;s playoffs.
Phoenix had its four-game winning streak snapped.
&ldquo;Tonight was a battle even though Luka went out,&rdquo; Ayton said. &ldquo;I hope he is OK, but those dudes put up a fight man. We were supposed to take advantage of this.&rdquo;
DONCIC HURT
Doncic played just three minutes before limping to the locker room during a timeout. The 23-year-old, who was voted an All-Star for the fourth straight season earlier Thursday, came into the game averaging 33.8 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.6 assists.
He was trying to make a move close to the basket against Johnson, but stepped on Mikal Bridges&rsquo; foot before passing the ball and limping away. Kidd called for a timeout and the 6-foot-7 guard slowly made his way to the locker room.
Kidd said Doncic was in &ldquo;good spirits&rdquo; after the game.
&ldquo;He looked good, he looked fine,&rdquo; Kidd said. &ldquo;But we&rsquo;ll see how he feels as we go forward.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Mavericks: F Maxi Kleber (hamstring) and F Christian Wood (thumb) were out.
Suns: Guards Devin Booker (groin), Cameron Payne (foot) and Landry Shamet (foot) were out. ... Hosted their 52nd straight sellout. ... Williams used 13 players.
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Spencer Dinwiddie scored a season-high 36 points and the Dallas Mavericks held on for a 99-95 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

Dinwiddie scores 36, Mavs top Suns 99-95 after Doncic hurt

MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Giannis Antetokounmpo&rsquo;s ability to keep getting to the free-throw line assured the Milwaukee Bucks would outlast the short-handed Denver Nuggets.
Antetokounmpo had 33 points and 14 rebounds Wednesday night as the Bucks won 107-99 over the Nuggets, who were playing without two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic and three other usual starters.
Antetokounmpo went 15 of 22 from the line and was two off his career high in free-throw attempts. All but one of those free-throw tries came in the second half.
&ldquo;Just tried to get to the rim, tried to be aggressive as much as I can, get downhill, play within my strength,&rdquo; Antetokounmpo said. &ldquo;I tried to enjoy the game. I feel I sometimes get too locked in. I think I&rsquo;ve got to enjoy the game more. Usually when I enjoy the game more, I get to the free-throw line more, I get downhill more, I&rsquo;m able to find my teammates more and just make better plays.&rdquo;
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Jokic had returned after missing two games and recorded his fourth straight triple-double Tuesday in a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-pelicans-denver-nuggets-sports-basketball-automotive-accidents-0df908c45fd083bbdfaa1042db53cbcf">99-98 victory at New Orleans.</a>&nbsp;He rested the hamstring Wednesday rather than playing on back-to-back nights.
His absence spoiled a potential matchup between the winners of the four last MVPs. Antetokoumpo won the award in 2019 and 2020.
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The Western Conference-leading Nuggets also were missing Jamal Murray (left knee/injury management), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (sprained right wrist) and Michael Porter Jr. (personal reasons). Porter missed a third straight game.
&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t get the outcome that we wanted, but I saw a lot of great things from our group tonight that will help us moving forward,&rdquo; Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.
Jrue Holiday had 20 points for the Bucks, who won despite committing 22 turnovers. Pat Connaughton scored a season-high 19 points, matched a career high with 12 rebounds and shot 7 of 8 overall and 5 of 6 on 3-point attempts.
Aaron Gordon had 26 points and 13 rebounds for the Nuggets. Bones Hyland added 15 points.
While the Nuggets were missing most of their top players, the Bucks also weren&rsquo;t at full strength.
Milwaukee&rsquo;s Bobby Portis missed a game for the first time this season after&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/milwaukee-bucks-denver-nuggets-nba-sports-detroit-pistons-375e484b5bd6b2dbe68685b9a47cbcd1">spraining his right medial collateral ligament and right wrist</a>&nbsp;Monday in a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/milwaukee-bucks-nba-sports-detroit-pistons-jalen-duren-8313522e4425d0002caffd8d92256f62">150-130 triumph at Detroit.</a>&nbsp;The Bucks said Portis will be re-evaluated in two weeks. Bucks rookie MarJon Beauchamp was out due to patella tendinitis in his right knee.
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After trailing by 14 early in the fourth quarter, the Nuggets cut the Bucks&rsquo; lead to 94-89 on Christian Braun&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 5:01 left. The Bucks answered with five straight points and stayed ahead by at least seven the rest of the way, with Antetokounmpo going 9 of 15 from the line in the fourth quarter.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a challenge,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;The guy is great in transition. He&rsquo;s great in the paint. And he&rsquo;s by far the best in the NBA in terms of drawing fouls and living at the free-throw line.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Nuggets: With injuries leaving the Nuggets at far below full strength, Vlatko Cancar made his first start of the season and third of his career, Braun made his second career start and Zeke Nnaji made his fifth start of the season and seventh of his career.
Bucks: Coach Mike Budenholzer said Portis&rsquo; injury hasn&rsquo;t impacted the status of reserve center Serge Ibaka, who isn&rsquo;t with the team and hasn&rsquo;t played since Jan. 1. The Bucks and Ibaka mutually agreed that the team would try to explore a trade involving the 6-11 veteran. ... Khris Middleton came off the bench for the second straight time as he works his way back gradually from a sore right knee. Middleton, who has played just nine games this season, scored 10 points in 15 minutes.
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Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points and 14 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks won 107-99 over the Denver Nuggets.