Eagles

<div>The Indiana Pacers medical team decided to clear Tyrese Haliburton to play in Game 7 of the NBA Finals despite an existing calf strain and that blunder resulted in a torn Achilles tendon. While understandable given the gravity of the situation, that decision proved to be very costly for not only the organization as a whole but more importantly to Tyrese Haliburton as it was just announced that he would miss the entire 2025/2026 season due to a torn achilles.&nbsp;</div>
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/3-etan-thomas-1_690w.jpeg" alt="" />
<div>In contrast, this past summer, my daughter Imani Thomas class of 2026 was faced with a very difficult decision to play through an injury at Nationals and risk further more severe injury.&nbsp;</div>
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<div>Here&rsquo;s the story: &nbsp;</div>
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<div>Imani had played through shin splints for the entire travel season with her team Maryland Juniors. These shin splints actually developed during her junior year high school season with Bishop McNamara, but she is a soldier and she pushed through like all athletes do.&nbsp;</div>
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<div>However, toward the end of her travel season, the shin splints continued to get worse. She did constant treatment and even started over compensating to protect her shin splints until one practice she could barely move. The assistant coach (Coach Ashley Williams) came up to me and said,&nbsp;</div>
<div>&ldquo;Imani is a beast, and she is not going to stop playing no matter what I tell her. But you need to get this checked out because it&rsquo;s visibly getting worse&rdquo;&nbsp;</div>
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<div>So me and my wife Nichole took her to get X Rays and a MRI and it was discovered that her shin splints had turned into a stress fracture.&nbsp;</div>
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<div>She was devastated. Nationals were coming up and like any athlete she contemplated just sucking it up and playing through the pain.&nbsp;</div>
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<div>The doctor was honest with us. He explained to us that if Imani was playing soccer, he would definitely not clear her to play because the likelihood of her getting kicked in her stress fracture was relatively high. If she played football or rugby or any contact sport, he would also not clear her. But she plays volleyball, and the likelihood of her getting kicked in her stress fracture was very low.&nbsp;</div>
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<div><img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/3-etan-thomas-6_690w.jpeg" alt="" /></div>
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<div>However, if she landed wrong, the impact could be just as severe as if she got kicked. Then he asked how her mechanics were and I told him that she had been over compensating for quite some time. She&rsquo;s been pushing through and getting a lot of treatment but she has been in pain for a long time. And the doctor said honestly, it&rsquo;s a decision you have to make for her. She is going to want to risk it all and play. That&rsquo;s how athletes are.&nbsp;</div>
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<div>So we talked to Imani, explained the risks, and together we came to the decision that it would be best to sit out.&nbsp;</div>
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<div>And it was a very difficult process for her as it would be for any athlete but long term over short term was what was important.&nbsp;</div>
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<div>Now, back to Tyrese Haliburton.</div>
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<div>NBA fans across the world witnessed what would have been a story of triumph. One for the archives of NBA history. The storyline would&rsquo;ve been.... Facing elimination in the NBA playoffs in a pivotal Game 7, Tyrese Haliburton battles through injury with superhuman perseverance and in heroic fashion to save the Pacers and propel them into victory solidifying this as one of the greatest finals performances in the history of the NBA. They probably would&rsquo;ve had a picture of Haliburton with a Superman emblem on his chest and a cape under his Warriors uniform. Would&rsquo;ve had his dad holding the same Pacers towel he waved in front of Giannis next to his son with the trophy. Would&rsquo;ve been a sportswriters dream as so many angles could&rsquo;ve been covered and explored.</div>
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People love stories of heroics. Isiah Thomas hobbling around on one foot in game 6 of the 1988 NBA Finals against the Lakers and scoring 25 points in the 3rd quarter. Or Willis Reed walking out of the tunnel for the New York Knicks on his bum ankle in Game 7 of the 1970 Finals. Everything was set up for Haliburton to be added to that list.
High school, college and professional coaches across the country were just salivating to be able to use this as an example to their players to enforce the philosophy that &ldquo;pain is weakness leaving your body&rdquo;. They would&rsquo;ve used Haliburton as an example to young athletes that the game (not your health) is what matters most. And a real &ldquo;team player&rdquo; would sacrifice a &ldquo;little discomfort&rdquo; for their team.
I have seen this all before. During my tenure with the Washington Wizards, I witnessed team trainer Eric Waters misdiagnose player after player because what was best for the Wizards organization was for that player to play.
I saw Richard Hamilton go off on the entire training staff after he learned that&nbsp;he had been playing through a torn groin, only disclosed to him after the team was out of playoff contention. He had been complaining about his groin for weeks and the trainers were giving him treatment two and three times a day all the while knowing his groin was torn, but they wanted to push for the playoffs so they didn&rsquo;t tell him.&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/3-etan-thomas-3_690w.jpeg" alt="" />
I saw them tell Jarvis Hayes that he simply had a case of &ldquo;tendinitis&rdquo; in his knee and had him playing through the pain. Turned out he had a broken knee cap and ruined his entire career.&nbsp;
I saw them tell Kwame Brown that he was just experiencing a &ldquo;little discomfort&rdquo; in his leg and that he needed to play through the pain to show everyone that he was worthy of being the number 1 pick. Turned out later, he actually had a torn hamstring.&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/3-etan-thomas-4_690w.jpeg" alt="" />
I saw Eric Waters tell Deshawn Stevenson there was nothing seriously wrong with his back and had him getting ice and stem and playing through the pain. After the season, upon further review by an outside doctor it was discovered that he actually had an Inflamed L5 Nerve that was stuck underneath a disc that required not one but two back surgeries to repair.&nbsp;
My point in saying all of this is not to simply blast Eric Waters, I am showing that this happens all the time in professional sports. With team doctors and trainers, there is a conflict of interest and the sworn medical oath becomes blurred and effects their diagnoses. They are hired by the teams and are in essence employees of the organization not employees of the players. So they don&rsquo;t have the players best interest in mind, typically, they only have the organization&rsquo;s.
The Indiana Pacers medical staff basically RG3&rsquo;d Haliburton. They &ldquo;Any Given Sunday&rsquo;d&rdquo; him. They Eric Waters&rsquo;d him.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/3-etan-thomas-5_690w.jpeg" alt="" />
He shouldn&rsquo;t have been playing period.
The risks outweighed the rewards. Even from a team standpoint. This is your franchise player. This is a player who has the capability of single handedly turning an entire NBA championship finals series around. This is a player that you should&rsquo;ve done everything in your power to convey to him how important he is long term for them and how much they value his health and are looking out for his best interest etc etc. However, what they showed was the exact opposite.&nbsp;
It doesn&rsquo;t matter if Haliburton insisted on playing in Game 7, just like it didn&rsquo;t matter if Imani insisted on playing in Nationals.&nbsp;Sometimes, when it comes to their health, athletes need people to make the decision for them. That&rsquo;s our job as parents and we did that. That was also the job of the Pacers medical team, and they did not have the medical integrity to do that.&nbsp;
Imani had her boot off now and is starting rehab and will be back full strength in a few weeks. Haliburton&rsquo;s calf strain turned into a ruptured Achilles and he will have to sit out the entire 2025/2026 season.&nbsp;
In explaining the difference in how me and my wife Nichole handled her injury vs how the Pacers medical staff handled his, I started singing, &ldquo;They Not Like Us&rdquo; A Dad joke that fell flat with Imani but I don&rsquo;t care it was a good joke.&nbsp;
But in all seriousness, I hope all young players see this and learn that no matter what the circumstances or how big the game is, your health always comes first, and you ALWAYS get a 2nd opinion from your own doctors that have nothing to do with the organization like Kawhi Leonard did in San Antonio his last season there.&nbsp;
Let me refresh everyone&rsquo;s memory.
Everyone with a microphone dogged Kawhi that season. Skip Bayless was still going on his hateful rants and baseless criticisms of Kawhi even after the Raptors beat the 76ers in the playoffs.
Skip Bayless tweeted out
&ldquo;Well, I guess it worked for No. 2 to quit on the Spurs last season complaining of what Spurs doctors decided was no more than a thigh bruise. He wound up in the East, playing against a hobbled, sick Embiid and an overrated Giannis. "Crime" pays.&rdquo;
Kawhi delt with Coach Popovich taking shots at him, his teammates taking shots at him, the team questioning his injury because their &ldquo;team doctors&rdquo; said he was fine. But he got a 2nd opinion and was told otherwise and did what was in his best interest. Danny Green was reportedly playing through a torn groin after being misdiagnosed by the same team doctors that misdiagnosed Kawhi.
And the Spurs are one of the most respected organizations in the NBA with one of the most respected coaches in the NBA. But, the bottom line is, any organization will throw you out there in a heartbeat injured if they feel it is best for the organization. They will publicly criticize you if you don&rsquo;t play and if you play and re-injure yourself worst or just don&rsquo;t play up to their expectations (as if they don&rsquo;t know your playing injured) they will get rid of you in a New York minute just like The Washington Commanders did RG3 and just like the Washington Wizards did with Jarvis Hayes.
I remember watching Grant Hill. He was about to literally take over the league.
People were calling him out for not playing hurt. Said he was soft, overrated etc etc just like they were saying about Haliburton before he shut them all up this playoff series.
The Orlando medical staff derailed Grant&rsquo;s entire career.&nbsp;
Another example is the young Isiah Thomas. He shouldn&rsquo;t have been playing in Boston in the playoffs but he played, ended up hurting himself more, ended up needing surgery, cost himself 100 million dollars came back and played after losing his sister and they traded him that summer because they knew about his injury and knew that he needed surgery.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/3-etan-thomas-8_690w.jpeg" alt="" />
Kyrie Irving goes and gets a 2nd opinion and they say you need surgery, the Celtics doctors didn&rsquo;t tell him he needed surgery, so he had his surgery and came back the next year strong. There is a reoccurring theme here.
I immediately called my son Malcolm who is working hard at The University Of Dayton right now as I write this article I hope he learned the lesson in what just happened to Haliburton. Told my daughter Baby Sierra and Imani the entire way to school yesterday, like literally the whole entire way I was going on an endless rant.
Told them stories of Eric Waters and Ernie Grunfeld trying to get me to take a cortisone shot in my pubic bone and go out an play when I was suffering an abdominal strain that kept me sidelined for an extended period of time. But also how the 2nd opinion I received from my doctor was that if I did that, I would almost certainly hurt myself worse because the Cortisone show wouldn&rsquo;t exceed the healing process, it was just make it so I didn't feel the pain.&nbsp;
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But just think of it logically, your body sends pain signals to you when something is hurting to let you know to stop doing that. If you block that signal, you won&rsquo;t feel the warning you&rsquo;re supposed to feel. Made perfect sense to me so I told them no. And sure they tried to put pressure on me and have a beat writer pressure me through the power of the pin in a few articles (no I didn&rsquo;t have any actual proof of this but the timing and coincidence was way too convenient so I&rsquo;ll say &ldquo;allegedly&rdquo; had a beat writer pressure me through the media). But the end result was me standing firm and telling them no, I can&rsquo;t go.
However, the onus shouldn&rsquo;t be placed on the athlete&rsquo;s shoulders. Of course athletes are going to want to play but it shouldn&rsquo;t be up to them. A solution to this league wide issue was suggested to me by a lawyer by the name of Marlon Amprey. He explained that the Players Association should assemble a group of outside doctors/specialists (or specific doctors/specialists the player suggests) that have no connection to the team whatsoever.
That will provide 2nd &amp; 3rd opinions and give players detailed reports on their health and risk of injury. All doctors&rsquo; reports given by teams that drastically differ should go under review and there should be repercussions for team doctors and trainers who medically clear players who shouldn&rsquo;t be medically cleared to play.
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The Indiana Pacers medical team decided to clear Tyrese Haliburton to play in Game 7 of the NBA Finals despite an existing calf strain.

The Indiana Pacers RG3’d Tyrese Haliburton

The USA Men&rsquo;s National Basketball Team continued to rack up wins in their Olympic journey, this time beating South Sudan, to go up 2-0 in pool play and secure their quarterfinal spot at the Pierre de Mauroy Stadium in Lille, France.&nbsp;
After a near scare in their USA Basketball Showcase Game in London where they just won by just a point, Team USA did not let up against this South Sudan team armed with length and shooting. The Americans used every bit of advantage that they have, including all the talent in the world to create separation from the rising South Sudanese. The win essentially made Team USA the top seeded team in Group C with one game to go against Puerto Rico.&nbsp;
The big storyline of this game however went to the benching of superstar center Joel Embiid, who did not see any minutes at all. When asked post-game what went to the decision, Team USA head coach Steve Kerr iterated the need to match up to South Sudan&rsquo;s quickness and length on the wings. Kerr started Anthony Davis in this game in place of Embiid then he put Jayson Tatum in the starting lineup after not playing him at all against Serbia. Tatum started the game in place of Jrue Holiday to go along with Steph Curry, Devin Booker, and LeBron James.&nbsp;
The move went so well as Team USA started off strong with its transition offense as well as an all-switching lineup on defense prevented South Sudan from creating any noteworthy advantages all game long. Team USA also hounded South Sudan&rsquo;s lead guard Carlik Jones who had a triple-double in the exhibition game they played in London.
Bam Adebayo top scored for the Americans with 18 points off the bench while also grabbing 7 rebounds. Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards, and LeBron James backed him up with 14, 13, and 12 points respectively.&nbsp;
According to ESPN&rsquo;s Brian Windhorst, this will not be the last time Steve Kerr is going to change his starting lineup as Team USA will continue to experiment and treat it as matchup-basis in determining the starters. Moreover, Windhorst says Embiid should be back in the starting lineup in Team USA&rsquo;s last game vs Puerto Rico.

The USA Men’s National Basketball Team continued to rack up wins in their Olympic journey, this time beating South Sudan.

Team USA goes up 2-0 in Group C after defeating South Sudan

Day 2 of the Paris 2024 Olympics playdate for its basketball tournament saw teams having contrast results in their pursuit of a quarter finals berth. Here&rsquo;s how the games went:
Spain 84, Greece 77
Spain shocked Greece and the whole world with their huge win despite being huge underdogs. The Spaniards stole the game despite the heroics of NBA and Greece superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had 27 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists. Spain had a collective team effort led by Memphis Grizzly Santi Aldama with 19 points while veteran duo Sergio Llull and Rudy Fernandez gave Spain a boost off the bench, scoring 23 points amongst themselves. The win by Spain was crucial in Group A as they now strengthen their claim to earn a quarterfinal spot.&nbsp;
France 94, Japan 90
France narrowly escaped Japan, 94-90, following a huge scare throughout the second half. Riding on the momentum brought by pint-sized point guard Yuki Kawamura, the Japanese stormed to a second half lead over the hosts. Lakers forward Rui Hachimura also played well for Japan, scoring 24 points, however was ejected on a controversial unsportsmanlike foul call. Japan led by 4 with under a minute to go before Matthew Strazel saved Les Bleus on a huge 4-point play (albeit being controversial) to send the game into overtime. From then on, French phenom Victor Wembanyama took over the game on both ends to save France from embarrassment and lead them to the victory.
Germany 86, Brazil 73
Germany made quick work of Brazil, never wasting time in defeating them. The reigning FIBA World Cup champions led from start to finish and dominated the game on both ends. Although Brazil took the lead briefly in the 2nd quarter, that was as close as they could get as Germany displayed the poise and consistency they have been playing for the past year to take back the lead and never looked back again. 4 players scored in double figures for the Germans in a team effort, led by Dennis Schroder&rsquo;s 20 followed by Franz Wagner&rsquo;s 17.
Canada 93, Australia 83
Canada disposed of Australia after trailing at halftime, taking over the game and in effect taking the top spot in Group A, the group of death in this year&rsquo;s Olympic Games. Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was ultra-efficient for the Canadians, scoring 16 points on 8/10 shooting while RJ Barrett led Canada in scoring with 24 points. SGA&rsquo;s former teammate Josh Giddey starred for the Boomers with 19 points but was not able to sustain the lead all game long as they succumbed to Canada&rsquo;s pesky perimeter defense in the second half. Australia is now in danger of missing the quarterfinals all along with Spain&rsquo;s huge win over Greece.&nbsp;
Serbia 107, Puerto Rico 66
After suffering a blowout defeat to tournament favorites USA the other day, Serbia vented its ire on Puerto Rico and handed them a blowout of their own, 107-66. Serbia took care of business from start to finish, never letting up for a single moment. NBA MVP Nikola Jokic was splendid for the Serbians after he posted a near triple-double statline of 14 points, 15 rebounds, and 9 assists. Serbia will now go into their match against Puerto Rico with Group C&rsquo;s second place at stake while Puerto Rico drops out of the competition ahead of its game against Team USA.

Day 2 of the Paris 2024 Olympics playdate for its basketball tournament saw teams having contrast results.

Paris 2024 Olympics Day 2: Spain, France escape; Canada, Germany, Serbia run away

The Paris 2024 Olympics Basketball Tournament is now underway and each of these teams has registered opening day victories after taking care of their scheduled matches. Here are the results thus far:
Australia 92, Spain 80
Australia beat Spain after a close game in the third quarter after Patty Mills made a clutch bucket in the 4th quarter to keep them at bay. NBA guards Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels were splendid for the Boomers to get their first win in the &lsquo;Group of Death&rsquo;.
Germany 97, Japan 77
The Germans showed once again why they are the World Champions of Basketball as they displayed stellar continuity to take care of business against Japan. Dennis Schroder with the Wagner brothers led the way for Germany in their first win of the Olympics.
France 78, Brazil 66
France survived a challenge from Brazil early on with phenom Victor Wembanyama leading the way to claim the hosts&rsquo; first win.
Canada 86, Greece 79
All-NBAers Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Giannis Antetokounmpo went on an insane duel in their Olympic debuts with SGA and Canada coming out on top over Greece in a hard-fought game.
South Sudan 90, Puerto Rico 79
Youngest country in the world South Sudan made history as they tallied their first-ever Olympic win in their first-ever Olympics, beating Puerto Rico which also happens to be searching for their first-ever Olympic win.

The Paris 2024 Olympics is now underway and each team of these teams has registered opening day victories.

Australia, Germany, France, Canada, South Sudan register opening day Olympic wins

After five grueling days of intense, do-or-die games, four teams have emerged as winners of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament and booked a trip to the Olympics.&nbsp;
Among the teams making their way to Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games are Brazil, Greece, Puerto Rico, and Spain after winning their respective tournaments in 4 various locations around the world. Brazil won in Riga, Latvia while Greece, Puerto Rico, and Spain each defended their home courts in Piraeus, San Juan, and Valencia respectively.&nbsp;
<a href="https://fiba.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7033084a6897e1c399b667eb5&amp;id=89fd1b8297&amp;e=2fb0566584">Brazil is celebrating being crowned winners of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 in Latvia</a> and securing a coveted place in Paris 2024. They will line up at the Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament for the 16th time after they spoiled the party in Riga for the home fans. A stunning opening quarter, which included 8 of 8 from downtown and a half-court buzzer beater, gave Brazil a commanding 34-11 advantage over Latvia, and they never looked back.
Sailing to a memorable 94-69 success, they were powered by forward Leo Meindl with a near double-double of 21 points and 9 rebounds. His teammate Bruno Caboclo also impressed with 21 points, which sealed the deal for him to be deservedly <a href="https://fiba.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7033084a6897e1c399b667eb5&amp;id=6024459c3d&amp;e=2fb0566584">crowned the TISSOT MVP of the competition</a>. When Brazil line up at Paris 2024, they will do so in Group B, where they will face host nation France, reigning FIBA Basketball World Cup champions Germany, and Japan.
Greece will compete in the Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament for the first time since 2008, after their victory at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 Greece. <a href="https://fiba.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7033084a6897e1c399b667eb5&amp;id=6f9cccd2c1&amp;e=2fb0566584">They clinched their fourth win, 80-69 over Croatia</a>, on Sunday in front of 11,810 fans at home in the final of the event.
Greece jumped into the lead soon after the start and led for most of the encounter, although they were only able to truly shake off the resilient Croatia late in the final frame, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nick Calathes, and Giorgos Papagiannis.
<a href="https://fiba.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7033084a6897e1c399b667eb5&amp;id=8d44cbbee0&amp;e=2fb0566584">Antetokounmpo, the Greek superstar of the Milwaukee Bucks, was named TISSOT MVP</a> of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 in Greece. He led the way for his team in the final with 23 points and 8 rebounds, while averaging 22.5 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists in the tournament. Greece will be placed in Group A and will face Australia, Canada, and Spain.
<a href="https://fiba.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7033084a6897e1c399b667eb5&amp;id=8f7204be13&amp;e=2fb0566584">Puerto Rico triumphed at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 at home</a> in San Juan to clinch a spot in the Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament for the first time since 2004.&nbsp;
Nelson Colon's men were helped by 13,504 passionate supporters who showed up in numbers to will the home side to a 79-68 victory against Lithuania in Sunday's Final. The one-two punch of Jose Alvarado and Tremont Waters proved unstoppable for the Europeans, as Alvarado led the way with a game-high 23 points and Waters chipped in with 18.
<a href="https://fiba.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7033084a6897e1c399b667eb5&amp;id=fe2ec4cb22&amp;e=2fb0566584">Alvarado was named the TISSOT MVP</a> of the tournament after averaging 16.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.3 steals, as the hosts went a perfect four-of-four in San Juan.
In the Olympics, Puerto Rico will slot into Group C alongside defending Olympic champions USA, Nikola Jokic-led Serbia, and South Sudan, who will be making their first-ever appearance at the Games.
Spain ensured they were victorious in front of their home crowd to celebrate booking their spot at another Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament. Spain, who were Olympic medalists in 1984, 2008, 2012, and 2016, <a href="https://fiba.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7033084a6897e1c399b667eb5&amp;id=fb071af6ca&amp;e=2fb0566584">defeated the Bahamas 86-78</a> in Sunday's final in Valencia in front of over 7,000 supporters.
Lorenzo Brown played an important role in the victory with 18 points, including four three-pointers, helping to spark a pivotal run late in the first half. Deandre Ayton posted 17 points and 14 rebounds, while Buddy Hield contributed 19 points and 6 rebounds to lead the Bahamas. However, their efforts were not enough to overcome Spain's experience in such elimination games.
<a href="https://fiba.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7033084a6897e1c399b667eb5&amp;id=e6ad446b5f&amp;e=2fb0566584">Santi Aldama collected TISSOT MVP honors</a> with 17.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 in Spain as the hosts won all four games for a perfect week. Rudy Fernandez, 39, is set to become the first male basketball player to compete in six Olympic basketball tournaments.
Spain's return to another Olympics sees them land in Group A alongside Australia, Canada, and Greece.
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The Men's Olympic Basketball Tournament will commence on July 27 in Lille, concluding with the Final and Third-Place Game at the Bercy Arena in Paris on August 10.

After five grueling days of do-or-die games, four teams have won the FIBA OQT and booked a trip to the Olympics.

2024 FIBA OQT: Brazil, Greece, Puerto Rico, Spain book a ticket to Paris

The FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament has been underway with national teams from all over the world vying for the last spot in each playing location to book a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics this July-August. The group stage play has ended and the competition will now move to the semis and the final phase. Only the champion from the 4 playing locations (Latvia, Greece, Puerto Rico, Spain) will qualify to the Olympics. See the results here:
The Philippines have booked a spot in the semifinals after upsetting hosts Latvia, 89-80, in a stunning finish after Latvia manhandled Georgia in their first game. Needing to not lose by more than 19 points against Georgia, the so-called Gilas Pilipinas stepped up against Georgia to come back and lose by just two, 96-94, to punch a surprise ticket to the semifinals.&nbsp;
On the other side of the bracket, Brazil, Montenegro, and Cameroon all won against the other (Brazil over Montenegro, Montenegro over Cameroon, and Cameroon over Brazil). However due to a superior quotient based on the points for and away rule, Brazil and Cameroon will advance to the semis.
That will set up the matchup between Brazil and the Philippines on one side and hosts Latvia and Cameroon on the other.
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🚨 Stage is set 🚨 Who will qualify for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Paris2024?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Paris2024</a>? 🤔<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FIBAOQT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FIBAOQT</a> <a href="https://t.co/H0p7Jdavy1">pic.twitter.com/H0p7Jdavy1</a>
&mdash; FIBA (@FIBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/FIBA/status/1808925640445382936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2024</a>
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Hosts Puerto Rico lit up the crowd on their home floor after finishing atop their group by winning against Italy and Bahrain. Lithuania on the other side of the bracket, took care of business against Mexico and Cote D Ivoire and finished on top of the group as well. They will enter the semis as the top seeds, facing Mexico and Italy, respectively.
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The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FIBAOQT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FIBAOQT</a> Semi-Finals in San Juan are set! Find the schedule here: <a href="https://t.co/HfGjXQ3M7C">https://t.co/HfGjXQ3M7C</a> Who you got? 👀 <a href="https://t.co/a7ED3qkpfp">pic.twitter.com/a7ED3qkpfp</a>
&mdash; FIBA (@FIBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/FIBA/status/1809062987166044510?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Over in Spain, the Bahamas continue their stellar run behind NBA players DeAndre Ayton, Buddy Hield, and Eric Gordon to zoom out to the top of their group, beating Poland and Finland. Hosts Spain made quick work of Lebanon and Angola, to finish first in their group as well. They will battle against Lebanon and Finland respectively in the crossover semis.
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And then there were four. Who's grabbing the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Paris2024?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Paris2024</a> ticket in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FIBAOQT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FIBAOQT</a> Spain? 🎟️ <a href="https://t.co/pDgRkqnzWP">pic.twitter.com/pDgRkqnzWP</a>
&mdash; FIBA (@FIBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/FIBA/status/1808968788618137870?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Finally, NBA superstars Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo have set up a duel against each other in the group of death of the 2024 FIBA OQT in Piraeus, Greece. Doncic and Slovenia split their matches against Croatia and New Zealand to finish second in their group while Giannis and Greece blew out both the Dominican Republic and Egypt to finish as the 1-seed. Only one of Luka and Giannis will go to the Olympics this year, setting the stage for an epic finish between the two heavyweights and their teams.
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Check out the schedule here ⬇️<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FIBAOQT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FIBAOQT</a> <a href="https://t.co/YbmHaIyYsj">https://t.co/YbmHaIyYsj</a>
&mdash; FIBA (@FIBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/FIBA/status/1808956400720101799?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2024</a></blockquote>
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The FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament has been underway with teams from over the world vying for the last spot in #Paris2024.

2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament: Last chance to go to Paris

Views are the author&rsquo;s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the website.
The 2023-2024 NBA season has wrapped up and the race for the league&rsquo;s annual awards has officially ended. Here&rsquo;s a look at my picks of the NBA's award winners.
Most Improved Player: Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers
(Runner-ups: Coby White, Jalen Johnson)
Notes: In the end, Tyrese Maxey takes the award with the amount of burden and responsibility in a Philadelphia team reeling from the loss of James Harden to become a true No. 2 option behind reigning MVP Joel Embiid. White improved a lot this year, increasing his averages both numbers and his shooting percentages. Johnson, like White, has also increased his usage and averages by a lot, featuring as the third option behind DeJounte Murray and Trae Young, or even as the second option without one of those two. A jumbo playmaking forward, Johnson showed improvements in his playmaking as well as his ability to score and had increased numbers in shooting as well. Ultimately, Maxey wins this award out because he was a guy who increased his usage and his role while playing most of the season without Embiid.
Sixth Man of the Year: Naz Reid, Minnesota Timberwolves
(Runner-ups: Malik Monk, Bobby Portis)
Notes: Naz Reid has been the best player off the bench this season with the way he has been an offensive spark plug for the Timberwolves this season. He&rsquo;s had a phenomenal season, and he had to start and fill in for Karl-Anthony Towns when he went down while still being an efficient scorer as he is. If you factor in all the stuff for these awards, you could actually make a case for Monk, for Portis, maybe even guys like Norman Powell for the Clippers and Bogdan Bogdanovic for the Hawks. But with Minnesota going 56-26 and having the second most wins in franchise history &ndash; ultimately ending up atop the three best teams in the West, this gives a little bit of boost to Naz Reid due to his importance to the team.
Defensive Player of the Year: Rudy Gobert, Minnesota Timberwolves
(Runner-ups: Victor Wembanyama, Anthony Davis; Honorable mention: Bam Adebayo)
Notes: One of the hardest awards to figure out. Minnesota had the best defense in the league for a reason, and based on that Rudy Gobert would be a deserving winner of the award. When he&rsquo;s off the floor, the team does not perform defensively the way it does when Gobert is on the floor. This was hard because Wembanyama had a legitimate case, being the generational defender that he was. Davis also had a strong case with how he carried single-handedly the Lakers&rsquo; defense, while Adebayo had the immense burden of playing all the defensive schemes in Miami. Ultimately, it ended up with Gobert with the way he lifted a good defensive team to the best in the league, manning that paint and being that anchor that holds all of the pieces together.
All-Defensive Team:
1st Team - Rudy Gobert, Victor Wembanyama, Anthony Davis, Bam Adebayo, Herb Jones
2nd Team - Derrick White, Jalen Suggs, Jaden McDaniels, Alex Caruso, Jonathan Isaac
Notes: Starting this year, the NBA&rsquo;s All-NBA teams and defensive teams were positionless so I had to cheat a little bit here, putting 4 bigs in the 1st team. Gobert, Wembanyama, Davis, and Adebayo are no-brainers considering their defensive impact for each of their teams, while Jones takes the last spot in the 1st team for his ability to disrupt offenses as well as guarding each team&rsquo;s best player night in and night out for the Pelicans.&nbsp;
The second team features White (most blocks for a guard), Suggs and Isaac (best defensive players for the 4th best defense in the league, helping to lead the Magic back to the playoffs), McDaniels (best wing defender for the best defense in the league), and the perennial all-defense player Caruso who brings it in defensively every game.
Rookie of the Year: Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
(Runner-up: Chet Holmgren)
Notes: Despite Holmgren having far and away the better team success, there&rsquo;s no denying Wembanyama&rsquo;s greatness in his rookie year. The French phenom has transcended the game both figuratively and on the eye test &ndash; he is simply a generational talent who is going to take over the league soon. Holmgren got off to a hot start in the first two months of the season but since January, Wembanyama has locked up the award for himself with out-of-the-world numbers for a rookie. He was dubbed as the best prospect since LeBron James and now he is well on his way to being one of the greatest of all time if he remains healthy after a historic rookie season.
All-Rookie Team:
1st Team - Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren, Brandon Miller, Jaime Jaquez Jr., GG Jackson
2nd Team - Ausar Thompson, Amen Thompson, Keyonte George, Brandin Podziemski, Trayce Jackson-Davis
Notes: There were several names to choose from here, and it felt hard to cut some of them here. Jordan Hawkins of the Pelicans has had a good start to the year when the team had all those injuries paving the way for him to play early into the season but has seen the bench since as NOLA got healthier and players came back; Cason Wallace had such a good shooting year off the bench for the No.1 seeded Thunder despite shooting being labeled by scouts as his biggest weakness coming into the NBA; Dereck Lively II being center that Luka Doncic needed and fit well with by catching all those lobs and helping the Mavs&rsquo; defense this season big time; No.2 overall pick Scoot Henderson had a good close to his rookie year.
All in all, these 10 rookies have felt like the best rookies in terms of production, opportunity, and narratives surrounding them. Of course, Wembanyama and Holmgren are automatic locks; Miller has been the best player in Charlotte without LaMelo Ball and Mark Williams; Jaquez is a vital piece off the bench for Erik Spoelstra&rsquo;s playoff-bound Heat team; and GG Jackson becoming a legit NBA scorer despite being the youngest player in the league to round out the first team.
The Thompson twins have just been defensive monsters ever since stepping foot in the league; George playing point guard at Utah has turned some heads and he has stepped up with the opportunity given to him; while Podziemski and Jackson-Davis have arguably been rotational pieces to the Warriors despite being rookies and has contributed a lot to them finding a way to fit in a complex team.
Coach of the Year: Mark Daigneault, Oklahoma City Thunder
(Runner-ups: Chris Finch, Jamahl Mosley)
Notes: There have been so many good coaches this season that have elevated their teams to good records, say Ime Udoka of the Houston Rockets and Tom Thibodeau from the New York Knicks. But my Coach of the Year pick goes to Mark Daigneault of the OKC Thunder because this award tends to favor the expectations set for a team before the start of the season. The Thunder weren&rsquo;t supposed to be this good this season, but Daigneault catapulted them into one of the best teams not just in the West but the entire NBA. The evidence is written on the wall: No.1 in the West despite being the second youngest team in the league; having a top 5 ranking on both offense and defense and no.2 overall net rating. Finch and Mosley take the runner-up spots with the work they had to lift both the Timberwolves and the Magic to being top 4 seeds in their conferences as well as having top-rated defenses in the league.
Clutch Player of the Year: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
(Runner-ups: DeMar DeRozan, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander)
Notes: Another tough and close race, but ultimately it goes to Curry. Despite the Warriors&rsquo; so-so record, Curry had the most clutch time points, shot 50% from the field, and 46% from three in clutch time. Curry had the most threes than anyone in crunch time &ndash; being just the incredible clutch-time performer that he is &ndash; and always been.
All-NBA Team:
1st Team - Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum
2nd Team - Jalen Brunson, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Anthony Edwards, LeBron James
3rd Team - Stephen Curry, Domantas Sabonis, Kawhi Leonard, Devin Booker, Tyrese Haliburton
Notes: With Jalen Brunson carrying the Knicks to a second seed in the East playing without Julius Randle since January, it was incredibly hard to leave him off the 1st team. However, by the slightest of margins, I gave the nod to Tatum for being the best player on the best team in the league by a wide margin.
All the other picks were pretty explanatory, with the top 4 in the MVP race in Jokic, Doncic, SGA, and Giannis all expected to be first-teamers. The second team kind of got tougher besides Brunson, with legends Durant and James making the list because of the seasons they had leading their team as well as playing their most regular season game in years. Rounding out the second team were Edwards and Davis, two stars with the biggest impacts on their teams in the tough Western Conference.
The third team is actually a toss-up with a lot of good cases from the league all around, but ultimately I went with Curry, Sabonis, Leonard, Booker, and Haliburton.
Most Valuable Player: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander&nbsp;
(Runners-up: Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic; Honorable mention: Giannis Antetokounmpo)
Perhaps the closest race out of all the awards, all three players here are each deserving with their narratives and the numbers that support each of their cases. You can never go wrong picking one over the other, so it came down to personal opinion on who I thought had the strongest case this season. His case?
-Leading the second youngest team in the league to No.1 in the West
-3-1 series vs Denver
-3-1 series vs Dallas
-First player since Steph and MJ to average 30/5/5 in a season with 2+ steals
-Second in defensive net rating for guards
One could make the argument for Nikola Jokic being the best player in the world having better numbers than his two MVP seasons while Luka Doncic had one of the best seasons statistically in all facets of the game, but there&rsquo;s no denying SGA&rsquo;s strong case as well given the expectations for this young Thunder team.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is my MVP.

The 2023-2024 NBA season has wrapped up and the race for the league’s annual awards has officially ended.

OPINION: Picking the 2023-2024 NBA Awards winners

USA Basketball announced today a 41-athlete player pool for the 2024 USA Basketball Men&rsquo;s National Team. The players were selected by USA Basketball Men&rsquo;s National Team managing director&nbsp;Grant Hill&nbsp;and is subject to change. The 12-member 2024 USA Men&rsquo;s National Team, which will represent the United States at the 2024 Olympic Summer Games in Paris, will be announced at a later date.
Featuring 28 players who have represented the USA in Olympics and/or FIBA Men&rsquo;s World Cup and who together have collected 23 Olympic or World Cup gold medals, the 2024 USA Men&rsquo;s National Team finalists are&nbsp;Bam Adebayo,&nbsp;Jarrett Allen,&nbsp;Paolo Banchero,&nbsp;Desmond Bane,&nbsp;Scottie Barnes,&nbsp;Devin Booker,&nbsp;Mikal Bridges,&nbsp;Jaylen Brown,&nbsp;Jalen Brunson,&nbsp;Jimmy Butler,&nbsp;Alex Caruso,&nbsp;Stephen Curry,&nbsp;Anthony Davis,&nbsp;Kevin Durant,&nbsp;Anthony Edwards,&nbsp;Joel Embiid,&nbsp;De&rsquo;Aaron Fox,&nbsp;Paul George,&nbsp;Aaron Gordon,&nbsp;Tyrese Haliburton,&nbsp;James Harden,&nbsp;Josh Hart,&nbsp;Tyler Herro,&nbsp;Jrue Holiday,&nbsp;Chet Holmgren,&nbsp;Brandon Ingram,&nbsp;Kyrie Irving,&nbsp;Jaren Jackson Jr.,&nbsp;LeBron James,&nbsp;Cam Johnson,&nbsp;Walker Kessler,&nbsp;Kawhi Leonard,&nbsp;Damian Lillard,&nbsp;Donovan Mitchell,&nbsp;Chris Paul,&nbsp;Bobby Portis,&nbsp;Austin Reaves,&nbsp;Duncan Robinson,&nbsp;Jayson Tatum,&nbsp;Derrick White&nbsp;and&nbsp;Trae Young.
&ldquo;The United States boasts unbelievable basketball talent and I am thrilled that many of the game&rsquo;s superstars have expressed interest in representing our country at the 2024 Olympic Summer Games,&rdquo; Hill said. &ldquo;It is a privilege to select the team that will help us toward the goal of once again standing atop the Olympic podium. This challenging process will unfold over the next several months as we eagerly anticipate the start of national team activity."&nbsp;
The 2024 USA Men&rsquo;s National Team will be led by head coach&nbsp;Steve Kerr&nbsp;(Golden State Warriors), who is assisted by&nbsp;Mark Few&nbsp;(Gonzaga University),&nbsp;Tyronn Lue&nbsp;(L.A. Clippers) and&nbsp;Erik Spoelstra&nbsp;(Miami Heat). Last summer, the quartet coached the 2023 USA Basketball Men&rsquo;s National Team to a fourth-place finish at the 2023 FIBA Men&rsquo;s World Cup in Manila. Kerr is a 2020 Olympic gold medalist after serving as an assistant coach to&nbsp;Gregg Popovich&nbsp;in Tokyo.
In related news, USA Basketball also announced that the 2024 USA Men&rsquo;s National Team will host Canada at Las Vegas&rsquo; T-Mobile Arena as part of the USA Basketball Showcase. The exhibition contest is set for July 10 at 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET live on FS1.
The USA Basketball Showcase features a series of games that help the USA Basketball National Teams prepare for major competitions, including the Olympic Summer Games and FIBA World Cup.
Following Las Vegas, the Americans will embark on an international training window that features exhibition games against the national teams of South Sudan on July 20 and Germany on July 22 at the O2 Arena in London.
Tickets for all three contests are on sale now at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.usab.com/tickets">www.usab.com/tickets</a>.
"USA Basketball is excited to return to Las Vegas as our men's national team program looks forward to tipping off the journey to the 2024 Olympic Games there in July," said&nbsp;Jim Tooley, USA Basketball CEO. "The game at T-Mobile Arena against Canada is an important opportunity in our preparations and a great opportunity for our fans to support the U.S. national team before heading overseas."&nbsp;
Prior to the Canada game, the USA will hold training camp in Las Vegas, its longtime training hub. Additional information will be announced at a later date.
The USA officially qualified for the 2024 Olympics as one of the top two nations from the FIBA Americas zone at the 2023 FIBA World Cup in September. The American men will compete for their fifth straight &ndash; and 17th&nbsp;overall &ndash; Olympic gold medal.
In total, USA Basketball will be represented by four teams at the 2024 Olympic Summer Games, including 5-on-5 men and women and 3x3 men and women. The USA are reigning Olympic champions in 5-on-5 men and women and 3x3 women, with 3x3 men set to make their Olympic debut next summer. &nbsp;More information about all four USA Basketball teams will be announced at a later date.

USA Basketball announced today a 41-athlete player pool for the 2024 USA Basketball Men’s National Team.

USA Basketball announces player pool for 2024 Men’s National Team

When San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich chose to rest four starters during a nationally televised game back in 2012, he likely didn't think much of it.
Little did he know, this decision to sit Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green would go on to create a massive ripple effect, with the NBA creating rules about resting players and terms like "load management" entering the lexicon.
At the time, NBA commissioner David Stern fined Popovich and the Spurs $250,000 and said this decision was "a disservice to the league and our fans."
Nearly 12 years later, the NBA is still trying to combat this issue, implementing a new Player Participation Policy in order to prevent teams from resting their best players.
This new policy could conceivably be named the Coach Popovich Rule, but it&rsquo;s not. The NBA&rsquo;s Player Participation Policy specifically governs how teams are allowed to rest their stars. Current NBA commissioner Adam Silver put a very fan-friendly spin on the new rule.
&ldquo;This is ultimately about the fans,&rdquo; Silver recently told reporters following two days of Board of Governors meetings in New York. &ldquo;And that we&rsquo;ve taken this [load management] too far. This is an acknowledgement that it has gotten away from us a bit.&rdquo;
The league&rsquo;s perceived intention seems fair: reverse the load-management trend, which has seen a rise in star players voluntarily missing games &ndash; an admittedly bigger problem now than in the recent past. During the 2022-23 season, the average games played by the league's top-10 scorers was 65 games per player. Comparatively, the average games played by the top-10 scorers in 2012-13 was 75 games!
Ultimately, this move will benefit the fans, but was this really done with the fans&rsquo; interests in mind? By limiting how often stars rest, the NBA&rsquo;s on-court product will inevitably be more compelling. While that's good for fans, it's also good for the NBA itself (but more on that in a moment). Stars sitting out nationally televised games was never a good look, so putting an end to that trend is important.
But digging a bit deeper, I believe it becomes clear that this move is more about business than fan satisfaction. Let's consider, for a moment, that the league&rsquo;s current broadcast rights deal expires following the 2024-25 season. The current TV deal is worth a total of $24 billion over 10 years. The NBA hopes to double &ndash; or even triple &ndash; that number in its next deal, according to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/22/nba-is-next-up-for-a-big-rights-increase-and-75-billion-is-the-price.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jabari Young of CNBC</a>. It is entirely possible that the league is looking to demonstrate increased value for its bidders, which will likely include the usual suspects like Turner Sports and ESPN as well as streamers like Amazon and Apple.
For what it&rsquo;s worth, Apple recently inked a deal with Major League Baseball, paying $85 million annually to air Friday Night Baseball games over the next seven years. Meanwhile, Amazon reached an agreement with the NFL to pay $1 billion annually for 10 years for exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football games. The NBA is trying to entice these same companies to bid for their broadcast rights.
It's important to note that the Player Participation Policy isn't the league&rsquo;s first attempt to improve its televised product. The NBA also recently announced its <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-announces-details-for-inaugural-inseason-tournament-&amp;sa=D&amp;source=docs&amp;ust=1695515248097037&amp;usg=AOvVaw0mEzpohBfg-49Qyl7iKxR6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">inaugural in-season tournament</a>, conveniently beginning this season, which is likely to be marketed differently and, therefore, viewed more regularly. Furthermore, the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, which was ratified in April 2023, dictates that players must participate in at least 65 games to qualify for in-season awards. In total, these are major changes in order to ensure that the NBA's best players are suiting up more often than not.
This could ultimately be a win-win for the league and its fans. Players will probably need more convincing. But if the league plans to continue with an 82-game season &ndash; which it should &ndash; star players must lead the way, meaning they need to be front and center as often as possible. Rest is, of course, an important part of the process, which is likely to be an area of frustration for star players. But the medical advancements, health-oriented amenities and teams of on-staff trainers should ultimately translate to more games played for modern players &ndash; not fewer.
And considering how aggressively maximum salaries have increased, stars will understand. In 2012-13, the highest salary in the NBA was $30.5 million (Kobe Bryant). In 2022-23, it was up more than 50% to $48 million (Stephen Curry). By 2026-27, the highest salary will be at least $63 million (Damian Lillard). Of course, a big reason for these monster salaries is the NBA's TV money. This was never more apparent than during the summer of 2016, when the NBA's new broadcasting deal caused the salary cap to spike and teams went on a spending spree (handing out massive contracts that some would quickly regret).
But for the league&rsquo;s TV partners to also benefit monetarily, star players must be available as often as possible as a means of driving interest &ndash; especially since more and more fans are pledging their allegiance to stars rather than teams. The league clearly understands this fact. Just look at how the NBA structures its Christmas Day games, which are normally among the most-viewed games of the season. Last year, we saw LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Devin Booker and Ja Morant, who represent seven of the top-10 players in jersey sales.&nbsp;We also saw Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic, the two finalists for 2022-23 NBA MVP award.
Like most major changes, the new Player Participation Policy will inevitably ruffle feathers, especially among some players. But it should also improve the NBA&rsquo;s viewership numbers and result in more competitive games. There will probably be some bumps along the way, but fans will benefit as much as anyone. I only wish the league would have referenced the TV deal in announcing the rule as a means of transparency. But regardless of whether the league, owners and players get richer, it&rsquo;ll be refreshing to see stars more frequently &ndash; and that&rsquo;s probably the point.

The NBA introduced rules to combat load management just as their TV deal is set to expire. That's no coincidence, writes Drew Maresca.

NBA’s new Player Participation Policy may lead to even larger TV deal

Today, the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) announced their continued partnership in hosting the fifth&nbsp;annual Top 50 Basketball Camp. The camp will take place July 27&ndash;29 at Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, GA. &nbsp; The best players from each conference will be featured at the camp in a model like the NBPA's Top 100 Camp. Players at the Top 50 Camp will participate in basketball skill training exercises and attend leadership and life development sessions off the court. &nbsp; "NBPA members have a true appreciation for HBCUs, and the Top 50 Camp is a great way for the NBPA to continue strengthening its connection with the HBCU community," said Purvis Short, the NBPA's Chief of Player Programs. "Our partnership with the SIAC and SWAC has given us a unique opportunity to host a productive learning experience for HBCU athletes to better themselves as men on and off the court." The camp also aims to cultivate and create coaching and talent pipelines for current and retired NBA players exploring the transition into careers in intercollegiate athletics. &nbsp; "The Southwestern Athletic Conference is elated to continue our partnership with the NBPA Top 50 Camp," said SWAC Commissioner Dr. Charles McClelland. "This partnership is an amazing opportunity for our student-athletes to participate in athletic and professional development initiatives that will positively impact them both on and off the court. This event has steadily grown and has quickly become a signature event that our student-athletes look forward to participating in on an annual basis." &nbsp; In addition to skill development and on-court drills, the camp will include a series of highly-competitive scrimmages and games, allowing the players to showcase their talent against the best of their neighboring conference. &nbsp; "I commend the NBPA for its commitment to HBCUs as The Top 50 Camp serves as a basketball combine for our student-athletes to showcase their talents while receiving instruction from current and former NBA players," said SIAC Commissioner Anthony Holloman. &nbsp; Camp participants from the SIAC include:
<table border="0" width="432" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">First Name</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Last Name</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">College or University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Aziel</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Blackwell</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kentucky State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Devin</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Booker</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Tuskegee University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Eleik</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Bowles</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Savannah State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Gregg</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Boyd II</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Tuskegee University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Steven</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Dulley</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Tuskegee University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Ashton</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Hawkins</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Spring Hill College</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Martez</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jones</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Tuskegee University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Robert</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kendrick</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Fort Valley State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kong</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kong</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kentucky State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Myson</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Lowe</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Fort Valley State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Steven</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Lyles</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Spring Hill College</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Chris</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Martin</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Clark Atlanta University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Joemel</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">McNair</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Morehouse College</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jamir</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Moore</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Albany State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Sean</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Paige</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Central State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Ayjay</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Plain</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Savannah State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Antwoin</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Reed Jr</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Central State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kerry</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Richardson</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Morehouse College</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jordan</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Simpson</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Albany State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Raevon</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Thomas</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Central State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Terin</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Wofford</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Albany State University</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div>&nbsp; &nbsp; Camp participants from the SWAC include: &nbsp;</div>
<table border="0" width="432" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">First Name</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Last Name</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">College or University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Chase</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Adams</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jackson State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jaylen</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Bates</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Florida A&amp;M University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Eric</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Coleman</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama State</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Zeke</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Cook</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jackson State university</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Dhashon</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Dyson</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Bethune Cookman University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Ken</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Evans Jr.</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jackson State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jeremiah</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Gambrell</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alcorn State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kolby</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Granger</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Texas Southern University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Zion</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Harmon</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Bethune Cookman University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">P. J.</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Henry</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Texas Southern University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Elijah</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Hulsewe</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Bethune Cookman University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Byron</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Joshua</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alcorn State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jeremiah</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kendall</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alcorn State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">T. J.</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Madlock</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama State</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Romelle</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Mansel</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jackson State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kylen</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Milton</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">University of Arkansas Pine Bluff</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Zytarious</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Mortle</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Texas Southern University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Festus</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Ndumanya</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Southern University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Omari</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Peek</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama A&amp;M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Dailin</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Smith</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama A&amp;M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">D. K.</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Thorn</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alcorn State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Cameron</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Tucker</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama A&amp;M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Ernest (EJ)</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Williams</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama A&amp;M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Rashad</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Williams</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">University of Arkansas Pine Bluff</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Coltie</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Young</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jackson State University</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

The NBPA, SIAC and SWAC will host the fifth annual Top 50 Basketball Camp from July 27-29 in Atlanta.

NBPA, SIAC and SWAC to host 5th annual Top 50 Basketball Camp

The 2023 NBA Draft could go down as a special class, with talented prospects such as Victor Wembanyama, Scoot Henderson, Brandon Miller and the Thompson twins as well as some interesting depth pieces.
But will it ever be considered one of the best draft classes in NBA history? That remains to be seen.
Today, we're going to identify the cr&egrave;me de la cr&egrave;me of NBA draft classes.
The 2003 NBA Draft
The 2003 NBA Draft featured multiple generational talents that would come to define the NBA for the next two decades. Led by LeBron James, this class also included household names such as Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Not only did this draft have star power, it was also very deep. Twenty-seven players from the 2003 class played at least 10 seasons in the NBA: James, Wade, Anthony, Bosh, Kyle Korver, David West, Zaza Pachulia, Nick Collison, Boris Diaw, Kendrick Perkins, Leandro Barbosa, James Jones, Chris Kaman, Kirk Hinrich, Dahntay Jones, Steve Blake, Mo Williams, Luke Ridnour, Willie Green, Matt Bonner, Travis Outlaw, Keith Bogans, Darko Milicic, Mickael Pietrus, Sasha Pavlovic, Josh Howard and Luke Walton. This class featured nine All-Stars and plenty of quality role players.
The 1984 NBA Draft
The 1984 NBA Draft stands as a legendary class, and some might argue that it's the greatest draft of all-time. Two of the top three picks &mdash; Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon &mdash; would ultimately etch their names in the annals of basketball history and redefine greatness. In addition to Jordan and Olajuwon, players like Charles Barkley, John Stockton and Alvin Robertson showcased their immense talent as well. This class produced five Hall-of-Famers and seven All-Stars.
The 1996 NBA Draft
The 1996 NBA Draft changed the landscape of the league, heralding the arrival of future Hall-of-Famers and icons. Led by the legendary Kobe Bryant and the enigmatic Allen Iverson, this class boasted an array of talent that reinvigorated the game. This class also featured Ray Allen, Steve Nash, Jermaine O'Neal, Ben Wallace, Stephon Marbury, Peja Stojakovic, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Antoine Walker, Marcus Camby, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Derek Fisher. The 1996 NBA Draft was deep, producing 10 All-Stars and five Hall-of-Famers. Jon Finkel recently revisited this star-studded class in his book "1996," and he <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/revisiting-the-starstudded-1996-nba-draft-kobe-bryant-ray-allen-steve-nash-allen-iverson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ran a terrific excerpt on Basketball News</a>.
The 1985 NBA Draft
The 1985 NBA Draft was certainly special. This class featured 10 All-Stars including Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin, Joe Dumars, Detlef Schrempf, Xavier McDaniel, Charles Oakley, &nbsp;AC Green, Terry Porter and Michael Adams. The class also featured Arvydas Sabonis, an overseas legend and terrific Portland Trail Blazer. Like the 1996 NBA Draft, this class has the star power and depth to be considered one of the best drafts in NBA history.
The 2009 NBA Draft
While not as immediately illustrious as some of the other classes on this list, the 2009 NBA Draft proved to be a treasure trove of talent. This class exemplified the importance of patience and player development, as Stephen Curry, James Harden, Blake Griffin, DeMar DeRozan, Jrue Holiday and Jeff Teague would all go on to become All-Stars. Griffin missed his rookie year with an injury, but dominated as soon as he stepped on an NBA court. Curry battled injuries early in his career, but would become a four-time champion and two-time MVP. Harden went from being an elite sixth man to an MVP once he got the opportunity in Houston. This class also featured Brandon Jennings, Ricky Rubio, Tyreke Evans, Darren Collison, Ty Lawson, Patty Mills, Danny Green, Taj Gibson and Patrick Beverley among others.
Which class is the greatest in NBA history? <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tweet us your thoughts</a>!&nbsp;

Basketball News examines the crème de la crème of draft classes throughout NBA history.

Exploring the 5 best draft classes in NBA history

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Everything from the history books to the way they&rsquo;ve played through most of the postseason suggests the Denver Nuggets are on the verge of capturing their first NBA title in 47 years in the league.
The goal now for Denver is to not let up against the Miami Heat on Monday in what will be the first title-clinching opportunity in franchise history.
&ldquo;My biggest concern going into any close-out game is human nature and fighting against that,&rdquo; coach Michael Malone said Sunday after practice. &ldquo;Most teams, when you&rsquo;re up 3-1, they come up for air.&rdquo;
Malone&rsquo;s mission to keep the Nuggets thinking about hoops, not that trophy, could be helped by the fact that Miami&rsquo;s only win in this series came a week ago in Denver. Also, the Heat have won seven road games during the postseason and are 2-0 when they&rsquo;ve faced elimination &mdash; against Chicago in the play-in tournament and at Boston in Game 7 of the conference finals.
When the teams left Denver a week ago, the series was tied at 1 and Malone was grilling the Nuggets over effort after a 111-108 loss. Now that it&rsquo;s 3-1, after two double-digit wins in Miami, it&rsquo;s clear Nikola Jokic and Co., received the message.
On Sunday, the coach tapped into his own team&rsquo;s recent history &mdash; the Nuggets overcame 3-1 deficits twice to win two series in the bubble in 2020 &mdash; to emphasize that this series isn&rsquo;t over yet.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been down 3-1. We&rsquo;ve come back and won. We know anything is possible,&rdquo; Malone said.
Nobody needed to convince the Heat of that.
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-75 apnews_article_midarticle_2" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">
Coach Erik Spoelstra called his team &ldquo;a very stubborn and defiant group.&rdquo; And when asked about the confidence the Heat players had in each other, even after putting themselves in what has historically been a near-impossible situation, Jimmy Butler said: &ldquo;At an all-time high.&rdquo;
Only one of 36 teams that have fallen behind 3-1 in the history of the finals has come back to hoist the Larry O&rsquo;Brien Trophy. That was the 2016 Cavaliers, led by LeBron James, who trailed Golden State 3-1 before running off three straight, including the finale in Oakland in a game that goes down as one of the best in finals history.
The 1993 Suns and 1998 Jazz were down 3-1 and both managed to win Game 5 in Chicago. In both instances, Michael Jordan and the Bulls wrapped up the series in Game 6s on the road.
Among the few hints revealed about Xs and Os during these day-before news conferences was the effectiveness of Denver&rsquo;s improving D around the 3-point line. Malone tore into his team after Miami made 17 3-pointers in Game 2, many of them unguarded after the Heat exploited confusion in the Nuggets&rsquo; switching defense.
Miami made 11 3s in&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-finals-2023-heat-nuggets-f15a5273ea2e05117142ee65953284c2">Game 3</a>&nbsp;(when the Nuggets got triple-doubles from both Jokic and Jamal Murray) then only eight in&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-finals-2023-heat-nuggets-b0f83f7baccd425dbf8aba440e3e210c">Game 4</a>&nbsp;(when Aaron Gordon showed off the team&rsquo;s depth by leading the team with 27 points).
&ldquo;You have to have an aggressive mindset to be an effective defensive team,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;But if you don&rsquo;t have communication and discipline to go along with that, I think you&rsquo;re going to be missing some really key components.&rdquo;
Spoelstra said Denver&rsquo;s shift in defense &mdash; having players fight through picks instead of switching on the perimeter &mdash; did, in fact, make a difference. Still, he insisted, it&rsquo;s nothing Miami hasn&rsquo;t seen a hundred times by now.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what the deal is,&rdquo; Spoelstra said. &ldquo;They are trying to take away certain things. We are trying to get to certain things. (It&rsquo;s about) how can you get to it and how can you get to it on your terms.&rdquo;
Spoelstra offered no clues regarding the recurring mystery in this series &mdash; whether 20-point-a-game scorer Tyler Herro might be returning from a broken hand.
&ldquo;No new update,&rdquo; Spoelstra said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s doing another contact workout today. I probably won&rsquo;t have anything for you tomorrow morning.&rdquo;
Even with all their focus on unfinished business on the court, the Nuggets front office spent the weekend looking toward the future. ESPN reported&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/37826075/sources-nuggets-get-package-picks-deal-thunder" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">an under-the-radar trade</a>&nbsp;involving draft picks, in which Denver gave up a protected 2029 first-rounder in exchange for one of Oklahoma City&rsquo;s first-rounders in 2024.
It was a subtle acknowledgment that the Nuggets, with Jokic, Murray, Gordon and Michael Porter Jr., all signed to big contracts, are looking at adding affordable talent sooner rather than later in an effort to keep their current championship window open.
Never in their history &mdash; which dates back to the founding of the ABA in 1967, then their move to the NBA nine years after that &mdash; has anyone on the Nuggets been caught thinking about multiple titles, let alone one.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just nice to see us be a big family and understand what it takes to win,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;But yeah, it&rsquo;s been a journey, a lot of fun. We have got more work to do.&rdquo;
</div>

The Denver Nuggets are on the verge of capturing their first NBA title in 47 years in the league. They just need to win one more game.

One win away from first title, Nuggets try to avoid letdown

The Phoenix Suns fired Monty Williams on Saturday, two years after reaching the NBA Finals and a year after he was the overwhelming choice as the coach of the year.
Williams had great success in his four regular seasons in Phoenix, winning 63% of his games. But three consecutive years of playoff frustration was likely too much for the Suns to overlook &mdash; especially after two straight years of Phoenix trailing by 30 points at halftime of elimination games at home.
ESPN and The Athletic first reported the decision.
&ldquo;Monty has been foundational to our success over the past four seasons,&rdquo; said James Jones, the Suns&rsquo; president of basketball operations and general manager. &ldquo;We are filled with gratitude for everything Monty has contributed to the Suns and to the Valley community.&rdquo;
Jones also said he made the decision to fire Williams.
The Suns had a 2-0 lead in the 2021 NBA Finals, only to lose in six games. They lost in the second round in each of the last two seasons, both times in an embarrassing home finale &mdash; last year to Dallas, this year to Denver.
&ldquo;Neither day feels good,&rdquo; Williams said after the loss earlier this week to Denver, when asked to compare last season&rsquo;s debacle to this year&rsquo;s season-ending loss.
Saturday likely didn&rsquo;t feel good, either.
The Suns now become yet another high-profile coaching opening, after Toronto fired Nick Nurse and Milwaukee fired Mike Budenholzer. Nurse won the 2019 NBA title with the Raptors, while Budenholzer was the coach who overcame Phoenix&rsquo;s 2-0 lead in the 2021 finals.
It&rsquo;s the second major move made by the Suns in the three months or so since new owner Mat Ishbia closed the sale that gave him control of the club. In February, Ishbia green-lighted a blockbuster trade that brought Kevin Durant to Phoenix and gave the Suns a core &mdash; him, Devin Booker, former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton and Chris Paul &mdash; that the team hoped would be enough to deliver a title.
It just didn&rsquo;t work, at least, not this year. Paul got hurt in the playoffs to continue his run of bad luck on the health front in the postseason, Ayton sat out the finale and Booker and Durant simply looked gassed by the time it was over.
Williams, after the season ended, blamed himself.
&ldquo;I take that personally, not having our team ready to play in the biggest game of the year,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s something that I pride myself on and it just didn&rsquo;t happen. ... That&rsquo;s something I have to take a deep look at, everything I&rsquo;m doing.&rdquo;
Williams had been the coach with the fifth-longest tenure with his current team entering Saturday &mdash; just four years. Gregg Popovich has been coach in San Antonio since 1996, Erik Spoelstra in Miami since 2008, Steve Kerr in Golden State since 2014 and Michael Malone in Denver since 2015.
Phoenix becomes the fourth team to currently have an opening, along with the Raptors, Bucks and Detroit Pistons.
Of the last nine coaches to take a team to the NBA Finals, only Kerr and Spoelstra are still with the franchise they got to the title series.
The others &mdash; Boston&rsquo;s Ime Udoka, the Los Angeles Lakers&rsquo; Frank Vogel, Cleveland&rsquo;s David Blatt and Tyronn Lue, along with Budenholzer, Nurse and now Williams -- have all been fired by the team that they brought to the finals.
&ldquo;When you look at really good coaches who have lost their jobs shortly after winning a championship, that&rsquo;s something that is just different about our business,&rdquo; Williams said Friday, adding that &ldquo;it&rsquo;s just a part of our NBA economy.&rdquo;
The Suns started 16-7 this season, looking every bit like a contender again. They were only 29-30 the rest of the way.
They used 26 starting lineup combinations, and had Durant for only eight regular-season games after the trade. They had to wait about a month after acquiring him for a January knee injury to heal, and then as he warmed up for what was supposed to be his home opener with the Suns on March 8 he slipped on the court during warm-ups, hurt an ankle and missed three more weeks.
The Suns were 12-1 in Durant&rsquo;s first 13 appearances, five of those in the playoffs. And then they went 2-4 against the Nuggets, all four losses by double figures.
And Williams took the fall.
Williams was second in the official NBA coach of the year balloting in 2021, behind New York&rsquo;s Tom Thibodeau. He was the coach of the year that season as chosen by his peers in the National Basketball Coaches Association.
A year later, Williams was the NBA&rsquo;s winner &mdash; and the NBCA one yet again.
Now, he&rsquo;s out, and the Suns will start anew.
This was Williams&rsquo; ninth season as a head coach, after a five-season run with New Orleans from 2010 through 2015. He was 194-115 with the Suns &mdash; an NBA-best 168-76 since the start of the restart bubble near Orlando to end the 2020 season.
Phoenix became one of the feel-good stories of the bubble, going 8-0 to narrowly miss out on what would have been a most improbable playoff appearance. Williams got elected as coach of the bubble &mdash; &ldquo;coach of the seeding games&rdquo; was the official NBA award &mdash; and was a four-time Coach of the Month in his tenure with the Suns as well.
That started the run of success. Paul got traded to the Suns in November 2020, the franchise&rsquo;s first finals trip since 1993 was how that season ended, and last season&rsquo;s 64-18 mark was the best in Suns history.
In his nine seasons overall, he&rsquo;s 367-336 in the regular season, plus 29-27 in the playoffs.

The Phoenix Suns fired Monty Williams on Saturday, two years after reaching the NBA Finals and a year after he was Coach of the Year.

Suns fire coach Monty Williams after 4 seasons with the club

PHILADELPHIA (AP) &mdash; James Harden&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/76ers-celtics-nba-playoffs-0f96443546f1fdbeae8aeaa4ce146c76">showed in Game 1</a>&nbsp;he could still be as great once as he ever was in his prime. The Beard just overall these days isn&rsquo;t as great as he once was in his halcyon days with Houston.
Harden&rsquo;s occasional big postseason games for the 76ers &mdash; like the 45 points he dropped against Boston in a Game 1 win &mdash; now come with immediate fallout.
Like&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/76ers-celtics-nba-playoffs-2023-2b0c931791b7d48b403ead0c9c7e1813">Game 2</a>, when Harden shot 2 of 14 in a loss.
Or&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/celtics-76ers-embiid-mvp-tatum-brown-e5b065453c1bd57287e6655e0ffa351f">Game 3</a>, when Harden had 3-for-14 shooting for 16 points in, yes, another loss.
For those keeping score at home, Harden&rsquo;s 5-for-28 shooting the last two games is the worst for him over any two-game span in his career &mdash; that includes regular season or playoffs &mdash; in which he&rsquo;s attempted at least 20 shots.
Yikes.
It&rsquo;s no wonder the Celtics hold a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals ahead of Sunday&rsquo;s Game 4 in Philadelphia. It&rsquo;s also no wonder why the whispers have grown louder that Harden wants to finish his career with the Rockets. Lose Game 4, and it could be the last one in Philly for Harden &mdash; and with more games like the last two, would the Sixers really be that crushed to see him go?
Harden brushed off concerns about his play, especially his odd Game 3 tendency of passing on open looks.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m pretty good on basketball instincts,&rdquo; Harden said. &ldquo;I know when to score. I know when to pass, so I&rsquo;m pretty sure a lot of it was the right play.&rdquo;
Harden took a so-called discount (opting out of a $47.4 million deal this season to sign a more team-friendly extension) to chase a championship with reigning MVP Joel Embiid and the Sixers. The 10-time All-Star has a $35.6 million player option for the 2023-24 season and he will likely decline it and chase more riches in another market.
Maybe circumstances change if the 76ers get past Boston and make a deep run.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s up to him to figure out how to best help us,&rdquo; Embiid said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s fine. Sometimes you make them and sometimes you miss them. He made a lot of shots in Game 1. The last few games they haven&rsquo;t been going in. I have the trust in him to keep telling him to be aggressive and keep shooting.&rdquo;
But history is against Philly. Not just NBA history &mdash; teams that win Game 3 when a playoff series is tied 1-1 go on to win the series 73% of the time &mdash; but rivalry history. The Celtics eliminated the 76ers in the playoffs in 2020, 2018, 2012, 2002 and 1985. The Sixers haven&rsquo;t beat the Celtics in the playoffs since 1982 &mdash; a year before the Sixers won their last NBA championship.
Kevin Durant, Harden&rsquo;s former teammate during an ill-fated run in Brooklyn,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nuggets-suns-booker-durant-jokic-0469ef36ee77fe2eddb4dad8bce202b">scored 39 points</a>&nbsp;and the Phoenix Suns beat the Denver Nuggets 121-114 to cut Denver&rsquo;s lead to 2-1 in their Western Conference semifinal series. Devin Booker scored 47 points, shooting 20 of 25 from the field, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range, to keep the Suns alive headed into Sunday&rsquo;s Game 4 in Phoenix.
CELTICS AT 76ERS
Celtics lead 2-1. Game 4, 3:30 p.m. EDT, Sunday, ESPN
-- NEED TO KNOW: The 76ers are in trouble. Embiid is still achy, Harden is struggling and the Celtics clearly have Philly&rsquo;s number. The Celtics went 3-1 against the 76ers in the regular season and seem poised to repeat the feat in the playoffs. Not even the emotional carryover from Embiid&rsquo;s MVP ceremony helped the Sixers, as they quickly fell behind by 10 and never had the juice to fully recover.
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: Jayson Tatum. He watched Embiid&rsquo;s ceremony from the locker room and said it &ldquo;kind of got me really ready to play.&rdquo; He scored a team-high 27 points after he was held to just seven points in Game 2. Tatum scored eight points only 4 minutes into Game 3. If he continues to play like he did in Game 3 &mdash; while teammate Jaylen Brown continues to harangue Harden &mdash; it could be another big day for Boston.
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: Grant Williams said he still hurt from taking an accidental boot from Embiid to the back of his head. Embiid isn&rsquo;t 100% yet as he plays through a sprained right knee.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: 76ERS. The 76ers grabbed the early edge with a Game 1 win in Boston that earned them home-court advantage. They gave it right back in two straight losses where they&rsquo;ve mostly looked out of sorts against the Celtics.
NUGGETS AT SUNS
Nuggets lead 2-1. Game 4, 8 p.m. EDT, Sunday, ESPN
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: The Suns won their first game of the series in Game 3 thanks to another huge effort from Devin Booker, who scored 47 points on 20 of 25 shooting. Kevin Durant added 39. They&rsquo;ll probably need a similar effort to win Game 4 considering 12-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul is expected to be out once again with a strained groin.
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: The Jokic-Ayton matchup. Denver star Nikola Jokic had another huge game in Game 3 with 30 points, 17 assists and 17 rebounds. On the other hand, Ayton had arguably the worst game of his playoff career with just four points and nine rebounds in 26 minutes. Ayton was so ineffective that the former No. 1 overall pick was benched in favor of Jock Landale in the fourth quarter. The Suns still won but that&rsquo;s a trend that probably can&rsquo;t continue if Phoenix is going to win the series.
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: Outside of Phoenix&rsquo;s Paul, both teams are relatively healthy.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: Booker. The three-time All-Star is averaging more than 36 points per game in these playoffs and its fairly clear that he has to continue his Hercules-style production if the Suns hope to advance.

The Celtics and Nuggets enter Sunday with 2-1 series leads over the 76ers and Suns.

Celtics, Nuggets seek 3-1 series leads over 76ers, Phoenix

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Miami and New York are&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/jimmy-butler-heat-nba-playoffs-f2f75023171cd047bb8cae29d791c9c1">wondering who will be able to play.</a>&nbsp;Golden State and the Los Angeles Lakers are wondering which team will land the next punch.
A pair of Game 3s await as the NBA&rsquo;s conference semifinals continue Saturday &mdash; the fifth-seeded Knicks visit the eighth-seeded Heat in the East, while the sixth-seeded Warriors visit the seventh-seeded Lakers in the West. Both series are tied 1-1.
Both have followed the same script: The road teams won Game 1, those victories going&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-knicks-butler-nba-playoffs-2023-f4474b8a32678b93fef1c3c90da8d449">to Miami</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-warriors-lebron-curry-davis-playoffs-69d7ad92747c3a86640d06dbbf5fe517">the Lakers,</a>&nbsp;while the home teams won Game 2 to even the series. The&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/knicks-heat-brunson-butler-randle-playoffs-25c2da5fef30890bfae60fcd309ed7b7">Knicks squeaked theirs out 111-105;</a>&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-warriors-playoffs-591ee82b1104266a28d7d47a9914ae16">Warriors rolled 127-100.</a>
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll be better,&rdquo; Lakers big man Anthony Davis said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be better.&rdquo;
In Miami, all eyes are on Jimmy Butler and his sprained right ankle. It kept him out of Game 2 on Tuesday, and there is some optimism he can play Saturday. Butler took to social media to show that he was putting himself through a shooting workout Thursday night.
&ldquo;Our guys love to compete, any place, anywhere, against any team,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;We have the three days off in between. It definitely helps, or at least in theory helps us gear up. But if we could have played this game (Thursday), our guys would have loved that as well.&rdquo;
The Knicks have enjoyed road success all season. Including playoffs, they&rsquo;re 26-18 away from Madison Square Garden this season &mdash; only Philadelphia (28-17), Boston (27-17) and Milwaukee (26-17) have been better. Sacramento was also 26-18 away from home.
It&rsquo;s New York&rsquo;s best road record since 1996-97, the fourth-best road mark in franchise history and a huge jump from their .306 road winning percentage over the last eight seasons before this one.
&ldquo;When you go on the road, there&rsquo;s less distractions,&rdquo; Knicks guard Josh Hart said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re not worried about family, tickets, where you&rsquo;re going to eat after the game, you have nothing, only basketball.&rdquo;
Golden State has struggled on the road all season; the Warriors&rsquo; 13-32 record away from home is better than that of only three teams&rsquo; &mdash; Detroit, Houston and San Antonio, the franchises that finished at the bottom of the NBA and have the best chance at winning the lottery and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/wembanyama-nba-draft-spurs-ee1a9bd2232173666d3302bb491c7c5c">right to draft French phenom Victor Wembanyama.</a>
But the Warriors won two road playoff games against the Kings in Round 1 and now will try to win another in Los Angeles.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be a whole lot tougher, Game 3 in LA,&rdquo; Warriors guard Stephen Curry said after Game 2. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a big morale boost to give ourselves life and belief that our game can carry on the road. So, I&rsquo;m excited about the opportunity and the challenge ahead.&rdquo;
This will be the fifth time the Lakers go into Game 3 of a series tied at 1-1 since LeBron James went to Los Angeles.
In those previous Game 3s, they&rsquo;re 4-0.
&ldquo;Give credit where credit&rsquo;s due. They played exceptionally well and we didn&rsquo;t,&rdquo; James said after Game 2. &ldquo;The series is tied 1-1, so that&rsquo;s where we&rsquo;re at.&rdquo;
KNICKS AT HEAT
Series tied 1-1. Game 3, 3:30 p.m. EDT, Saturday, ABC
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: A three-day break with no games is likely what the doctors (and athletic trainers, massage therapists and everyone else involved in player health for both teams) ordered. Miami got Game 1, New York got Game 2 and the crowd in Miami tends to not be overwhelmingly pro-Heat when the Knicks are in town. There are many transplants from New York in South Florida, and they&rsquo;ll let their presence be known Saturday.
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: Bam Adebayo. Miami&rsquo;s center blamed himself for the Game 2 loss, has struggled from the field by shooting only 43% over his last five games and knows that the Heat need more. If he gets going early, everything else tends to open up for Miami&rsquo;s shooters and slashers.
&mdash; INJURY WATCH:&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/oladipo-injury-heat-nba-playoffs-d5d7cec8f9a875de139be68e9bb3a538">Victor Oladipo&rsquo;s season is over</a>&nbsp;and Tyler Herro is still weeks away from any hope of a return for Miami, which is waiting to see if Butler (ankle) can play and Max Strus has any ill effects from his bruised back in Game 2. For the Knicks, Jalen Brunson was playing on a bad ankle in Game 2, and Julius Randle came back from an ankle sprain.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: Miami. The Heat did what they were supposed to do at MSG, getting a split and taking home-court advantage. If they let it go in Game 3, it&rsquo;ll be quite an emotional boost for the Knicks.
WARRIORS AT LAKERS
Series tied 1-1. Game 3, 8:30 p.m. EDT, Saturday, ABC
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: The Warriors have won at least one road game in each of their last 28 playoff series, the longest streak in NBA history. They know they&rsquo;ve got to win at least one in Los Angeles during this series to keep alive their hopes of a fifth title in nine years.
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: The foul line, especially the one that the Lakers happen to be shooting from in each half. Game 2 was the 225th time in their four seasons together that the Lakers got more than 37:00 of action from James and/or Davis, and the first such game where they combined to shoot no more than one free throw. They shot one in a combined 61:02 of Game 2.
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: Golden State&rsquo;s Kevon Looney was dealing with an illness in Game 2, but other than all the aches and pains that accompany basketball this late in a season, the Warriors and Lakers both seem OK on the health front.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: The Lakers. Golden State outscored LA 84-47 in the middle two quarters of Game 2. The defending champs are still powderkeg-level explosive, and if they get a second straight win in this series, they&rsquo;ll become even more dangerous.

A pair of Game 3s await as the NBA’s conference semifinals continue Saturday, with Heat-Knicks and Lakers-Warriors both tied at 1-1.

Heat, Lakers head home, seek 2-1 leads over Knicks, Warriors

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Anthony Davis had 30 points, 23 rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots, LeBron James added 22 points and 11 rebounds dueling with Stephen Curry in their latest postseason showdown, and the Los Angeles Lakers held off a late flurry by the Golden State Warriors to win an entertaining Game 1 in the Western Conference semifinals 117-112 on Tuesday night.
Jordan Poole missed a 3-pointer to tie it with 9.7 seconds left as the Warriors&rsquo; rally in the closing minutes fell short. Curry&rsquo;s 3 with 1:38 left tied the game, then D&rsquo;Angelo Russell answered right back before Davis blocked a shot by Curry moments later. James missed the first of two free throws with 1:05 to go.
Poole&rsquo;s 3 with 2:48 remaining cut the Lakers&rsquo; lead to 112-109, and James was called for traveling with 1:53 left
For all-time scoring leader James and Curry &mdash; who has the most 3-pointers ever &mdash; this is a new chapter in the long rivalry between the superstars after they faced off in four straight NBA Finals from 2015-2018 while James played for Cleveland.
Curry scored 27 points, Splash Brother Klay Thompson had 25, and Kevon Looney grabbed a career-high 23 rebounds for his fourth game of this postseason with 20 or more. He also had 10 points and five assists. Thompson made a 3 with 5:19 to go that cut the Lakers&rsquo; lead to 112-104.
The defending champion Warriors will try to even the series in Game 2 on Thursday night back on their home floor at Chase Center, where LA fans could be heard chanting &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s go Lakers!&rdquo; after the final buzzer.
Curry&rsquo;s 3 with 9:38 left got Golden State within 99-95, but the Lakers responded with two straight scoring possessions, including James&rsquo; layup with 8:38 remaining.
Davis dominated from the opening tip, making 9 of his first 10 shots, while Russell scored 19 points and dished out six assists against his former team.
James&rsquo; 3-pointer with 5:23 left in the third put the Lakers ahead by 10, 86-76. Then Thompson&rsquo;s snazzy behind-the-back pass led to a dunk by Gary Payton II over James with 3:48 to go as Golden State cut it to 86-80 and forced a Lakers timeout.
The Lakers finished off Memphis in six games Friday night and had a couple of extra recovery days to get ready as Golden State was pushed to the distance by the young Sacramento Kings and won Game 7 on Sunday. The Warriors were the first reigning champion to come back from behind 2-0 and win a playoff series.
Curry went off for a playoff career-high 50 points, an NBA record for a Game 7. Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he thought his team had an advantage having just played two days earlier.
But the revamped Lakers took it to Golden State just as they did winning the final three regular-season matchups &mdash; and Los Angeles is a far different team than the one that lost 123-109 here on Oct. 18 to start the season.
The franchises&rsquo; first playoff matchup since 1991 didn&rsquo;t disappoint. They hadn&rsquo;t played on the postseason stage since &ldquo;Run TMC&rdquo; Warriors led by Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin lost in the Western Conference semifinals to Magic Johnson and James Worthy.
Thompson was determined to come out hot in Game 1 after calling his 4-for-19 day in Game 7 on Sunday at Sacramento &ldquo;disgusting.&rdquo; He&rsquo;s been waiting his whole life to play the Lakers on the big stage, too, and scored 18 by halftime with four 3s.
He, Curry and Poole each made six 3-pointers after a season in which all three reached 200 3s and Thompson 301.
Golden State is the sixth seed and the Lakers No. 7, marking the first time a No. 6 seed has home court in the second round since the sixth-seeded Houston Rockets against the No. 7 Seattle SuperSonics in 1987.
Curry dropped to 15-8 against James in the playoffs.
LOONEY ON THE BOARDS
Looney is leading the NBA in rebounds this postseason. He had seven rebounds by the 4:31 mark of the first and 13 by halftime on the way to double-digit rebounds in his sixth straight playoff game &mdash; with four 20-plus rebound performances.
He grabbed 106 rebounds in seven games against Sacramento, including 90 with 34 on the offensive end and 27 assists in the final five games of that series.
TIP-INS
Lakers: Thanks to Davis, the Lakers had 32 points in the paint in the first half to Golden State&rsquo;s 12. The Lakers also were 16 of 17 from the free throw line in the first half and 25 for 29 overall &mdash; Davis making all eight of his attempts.
Warriors: Golden State didn&rsquo;t shoot a free throw until Poole converted a three-point play 38 seconds before halftime. ... The Warriors trailed 65-64 at intermission after a first half with 11 lead changes.

The Lakers held off a late flurry by the Warriors to win an entertaining Game 1 in the Western Conference semifinals 117-112 on Tuesday.

Anthony Davis, James deliver as Lakers top Curry, Warriors in Game 1

The NBA announced that 242 players have filed as early-entry candidates for the 2023 NBA Draft. Here is the complete list.

NBA announces 242 early-entry candidates for 2023 NBA Draft

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; First, Draymond Green suggested to Warriors coach Steve Kerr that he come off the bench for Game 4 against the Sacramento Kings after Golden State had played so brilliantly without him.
Then at halftime Sunday, a couple of assistant coaches offered up the idea to Kerr that Green should defend De&rsquo;Aaron Fox for the final two quarters.
Those collaborative, spot-on moves helped overshadow a late blunder, and now the defending champions are all tied up in their first-round playoff series at two games apiece.
Stephen Curry scored 32 points but gave Sacramento a late chance when he called a timeout Golden State didn&rsquo;t have, then the Warriors held on to beat the Kings 126-125 on Sunday when Harrison Barnes missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
&ldquo;These games are coming down to the wire, and you&rsquo;ve just got to really finish possessions and try to give yourself the best chance, and then sometimes, it&rsquo;s just, does the ball go in or not,&rdquo; Kerr said.
Fox had 38 points, nine rebounds and five assists for Sacramento. His 3 with 28.7 seconds left pulled the Kings within one, then Curry missed a 16-foot jumper on the other end and Keegan Murray corralled the rebound. With Curry and Green defending, Fox dished to former Warrior Barnes for the potential game-winning 3, which hit the back of the rim.
&ldquo;Wide open,&rdquo; Barnes said. &ldquo;Fox trusted me to take that shot. Back rim. On to the next but I feel confident in where we are.&rdquo;
Golden State led 126-121 with 42.4 seconds left when Curry called the excessive timeout, and Malik Monk made the technical free throw for Sacramento.
Klay Thompson made a baseline 3-pointer to beat the third-quarter buzzer and another with 3:24 left, finishing with 26 points for the Warriors.
Game 5 in the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night at Sacramento&rsquo;s Golden 1 Center, where the Kings went ahead 2-0. The Warriors struggled on the road all year.
&ldquo;As good as this feels, it&rsquo;s got to be quickly forgotten about,&rdquo; Thompson said.
Curry&rsquo;s 3 with 4:10 remaining gave Golden State a 121-117 lead and he finished 11 for 22 with five 3s while dueling all afternoon with Fox.
After Monk&rsquo;s layup made it 107-106 Kings with 9:03 to play, Curry responded with a driving layup and a 3 in a 14-second span.
Green came off the bench after serving a one-game suspension while the Warriors dominated Thursday&rsquo;s Game 3 without him. Given the momentum and success, Kerr stuck with Jordan Poole in the starting five Sunday.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a firm believer if something isn&rsquo;t broke you don&rsquo;t fix it,&rdquo; Green said.
He made a nifty behind-the-back pass for a Curry 3 midway through the fourth, then swatted a shot by Domantas Sabonis with 1:37 left.
Green, disciplined for stepping on Sabonis&rsquo; chest in the fourth quarter of Game 2, checked in to a rousing ovation with 6:38 left in the opening quarter and wound up with 12 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. He and Fox picked up double technicals at the 5:43 mark of the first.
Sabonis added 14 points, seven rebounds and eight assists and now heads home determined to get the Kings closer to winning their first playoff series since eliminating Dallas in the 2004 first round.
&ldquo;We made some timely mistakes, especially in the fourth quarter,&rdquo; coach Mike Brown said. &ldquo;This is where our playoff inexperience comes into play because you can&rsquo;t rest out there, or you can&rsquo;t think that you can play something a certain way and the champions are not going to make you pay the price.&rdquo;
Poole scored 22 points, Andrew Wiggins added 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots, and Kevon Looney pulled down 14 rebounds to go with eight points and six assists.
Murray&rsquo;s 3 with 10:43 left pulled the Kings within 102-99 after a 7-0 burst to begin the fourth after the 3 by Thompson to end the third put the Warriors ahead 102-92. Brown instructed his young star to &ldquo;let it fly&rdquo; and Murray shined under the matinee lights, scoring 23 points.
Thompson&rsquo;s driving and dishing is something Kerr pointed to as a success opening up the floor in Game 3 and Thompson penetrated and found Moses Moody for a baseline 3 late in the first. Golden State moved the ball with snappy passes that created open looks.
MURRAY&rsquo;S GROWTH
Murray shot 9 for 13 with five 3s after he went a combined 1 for 8 on 3s and 3 of 13 in the first three games.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve just tried to be more aggressive throughout the playoffs and I knew eventually I&rsquo;d catch my stride on the offensive end, so it&rsquo;s just a matter of time and I came in confident,&rdquo; Murray said.
TIP-INS
Kings: Sacramento scored 18 points off Golden State&rsquo;s 12 turnovers while committing just 10 of its own. ... The Kings shot 14 of 35 from deep, 3 for 11 by Fox and 1 of 6 by Barnes.
Warriors: Gary Payton II returned to play seven minutes after missing Game 3 with an illness. ... Green had started the last 132 postseason games he played, last coming off the bench in Game 3 against the Clippers in 2014. ... Golden State shot 52.2% in the first.
LEADING LATE
The Warriors improved to 75-3 since Kerr became coach when leading a playoff game by 10 or more at any point in the fourth quarter.
&nbsp;

Stephen Curry scored 32 points and the Warriors held on to beat the Kings 126-125 on Sunday.

Curry, Warriors hold off Kings 126-125 to even series 2-all

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; With Kevin Durant drawing defenders, Devin Booker&nbsp;found his way to the basket again and again.
Booker scored 45 points, Durant added 28 and the Phoenix Suns beat the Kawhi Leonard-less Los Angeles Clippers 129-124 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference playoff series.
&ldquo;He set the tone, got to the rim, making plays for others, just controlling the whole game,&rdquo; Durant said of Booker. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to need him to do that going forward.&rdquo;
Leonard sat out because of a sprained right knee, the same injury that has sidelined fellow star Paul George since March 21. Leonard was hurt in Game 1, and played through it in Game 2, but afterward his condition didn&rsquo;t improve.
&ldquo;Those are those trick games, where you think somebody is missing one of their top players and you let off the gas a little bit,&rdquo; Booker said. &ldquo;They played their (rear ends) off tonight. The whole team was prepared for that so we didn&rsquo;t take a step back.&rdquo;
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.nba.com/watch/video/norman-powell-with-42-points-vs-phoenix-suns?plsrc=nba&amp;game-highlights=0042200173" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Norman Powell</a>&nbsp;led the Clippers, scoring a career playoff-high 42 points on 15-of-23 shooting.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.nba.com/watch/video/russell-westbrook-posts-30-points-11-assists-vs-phoenix-suns?plsrc=nba&amp;game-highlights=0042200173" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Russell Westbrook</a>&nbsp;added 30 points and 11 assists.
Game 4 is Saturday in Los Angeles.
Booker shot 18 for 29 and had seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks while playing a game-high 44 minutes. He scored 38 points in Game 2.
&ldquo;If it was up to me, I wouldn&rsquo;t have been out those 12 minutes. My body feels good,&rdquo; Booker said. &ldquo;I dedicate my whole entire life to this sport and this game. When you have it going like that on the big stage, there&rsquo;s nothing else you can ask for.&rdquo;
With Leonard watching from the bench, the Clippers kept it close through the first half, when neither team led by more than six.
The Clippers got within three on two free throws by Westbrook with 1:44 remaining. After a 6-0 run by the Suns, Powell hit a 3-pointer, got fouled and made the free throw to pull the Clippers to 125-120.
Despite the heroics of former UCLA stars Powell and Westbrook, the Clippers sorely missed Leonard&rsquo;s offense. He had 38 points in a Game 1 win at Phoenix and 31 in a loss in Game 2.
The Suns pulled away in the third behind Booker. He scored eight points in a 17-8 run to open the period and give Phoenix its first double-digit lead of the game, 71-59.
Booker credited Durant on the court for his ability to get to the basket.
&ldquo;A lot of the buckets I scored, I went to him right after and said, &lsquo;You opened that up for me,&rsquo;&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I expect the Clippers to make adjustments and it&rsquo;ll be his turn to play.&rdquo;
Suns coach Monty Williams said, &ldquo;I feel bad for Kev sometimes because he&rsquo;s an expensive decoy out there. He&rsquo;s standing at the 28-foot hash and the defender is right in his face and that gives Book a number of opportunities to attack the basket.&rdquo;
Westbrook scored seven in a row to cut the Clippers&rsquo; deficit to 71-66. The Suns answered with eight straight, capped by Durant&rsquo;s vicious one-handed slam, to lead 79-66. They were ahead by seven going into the fourth.
Without Leonard, the Clippers counted on Westbrook and he made his presence known from the opening tip, keying a 6-0 run to start the game.
The Suns answered with 12 straight points before the Clippers answered with a 14-2 spurt that gave them a 20-14 lead.
The Clippers led by one when Durant, Chris Paul and Booker hit consecutive 3-pointers to go up by eight in the second, Phoenix&rsquo;s largest lead of the half.
Powell ran off eight straight points to send the Clippers into halftime trailing 54-51.
TIP-INS
Suns: Booker had his fifth career 40-plus-point postseason game. ... Paul finished with 11 points and seven assists.
Clippers: Their reserves outscored the Suns&rsquo; bench, 37-18, with Bones Hyland scoring 20 points. ... Fell to 3-10 this season without Leonard and George in the lineup. ... Nicolas Batum was the only starter who didn&rsquo;t score.
TORREY CRAIG
Craig scored 15 points for the Suns, while hitting four 3-pointers. He&rsquo;s 10 of 16 from long-range in the series.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s three games in a row that he&rsquo;s doing it,&rdquo; Booker said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m encouraging him to do it.&rdquo;

The Suns beat the Kawhi Leonard-less Clippers 129-124 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in the West playoff series.

Booker has 45 points, Suns top Leonard-less Clippers 129-124

PHOENIX (AP) &mdash; Kawhi Leonard scored 38 points, including a pair of late 3-pointers, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Phoenix Suns 115-110 in the opener of their Western Conference playoff series on Sunday.
Eric Gordon added 19 points and hit a late 3 that kept the Clippers ahead. Russell Westbrook shot just 3 of 19 from the floor for Los Angeles but made a pair of free throws with 17.7 seconds left for a three-point lead, then blocked Devin Booker&rsquo;s layup attempt at the other end and swatted the ball off Booker to give the Clippers the ball with 10.1 seconds remaining.
Kevin Durant scored 27 points for the Suns, who lost for the first time with him on the floor. Phoenix acquired the two-time NBA Finals MVP from Brooklyn in February and injuries limited him to eight games &mdash; all Suns wins.
Devin Booker added 26 points for Phoenix, which will try to avoid falling into a 2-0 hole at home on Tuesday.
The Suns trailed 109-103 with 1:33 remaining but scored the next five points. The Clippers grabbed multiple offensive rebounds on the ensuing possession before Westbrook made his critical free throws. He finished with nine points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, three blocks and two steals.
Los Angeles led for much of the evening until midway through the third quarter. Torrey Craig made back-to-back buckets, including one on a powerful fast-break dunk, to push Phoenix ahead 70-68.
It was part of a 15-0 run that put the Suns up 77-68. The Clippers, led by Leonard&rsquo;s 12 points in the third, recovered to tie the game at 81-all heading into the fourth.
Leonard &mdash; a two-time Finals MVP playing his first playoff game since June 14, 2021 &mdash; did much of his damage from the mid-range, but moved behind the 3-point arc in the game&rsquo;s late moments. He hit a 3 with 2:36 left and another at the 2-minute mark, finishing 13 of 24 shooting from the field.
The Clippers were missing one of their best players in eight-time All-Star Paul George. He sprained his right knee last month and it&rsquo;s unclear if he&rsquo;ll be able to play in this series.
Gordon scored 12 points as the Clippers jumped to a 30-18 lead after one quarter. The Suns shot just 31.8% from the field in the first quarter and Durant was held scoreless.
Durant missed his first five shots from the field before finally connecting on a mid-range jumper early in the second quarter. That seemed to shake the nerves and the 34-year-old poured in 17 points before the break, helping cut the Clippers&rsquo; lead to 59-54.
TIP-INS
Clippers: George hasn&rsquo;t played since March 21. ... Ivica Zubac had 10 points and 11 rebounds in the first half.
Suns: G Cam Payne (low back soreness) was not available. He was hurt in the next-to-last game of the regular season. ... Were playing their first home playoff game since a 33-point loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 7 of last year&rsquo;s Western Conference semifinals.

Kawhi Leonard scored 38 points, and the Clippers beat the Suns 115-110 in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series on Sunday.