Mighty Oaks

Blake Stern previews the NBA's Central Division, breaking down each team's projected lineup and burning question entering the year.

NBA Central Division Preview: Burning questions, rotation projections

Entering the 2022-23 NBA season, the Golden State Warriors were determined to defend their title.
However, after a season full of ups and downs, the Warriors ultimately earned the sixth seed in the Western Conference and were eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the playoffs.
This has been a busy offseason for the Warriors, and the franchise will look different (on and off the court) next year. General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. took over the front office after the departure of Bob Myers, and he didn't wait long to start putting his fingerprints all over the roster.
While the core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green will be back, the Warriors added veterans Chris Paul, Cory Joseph and Dario Saric as well as rookies Brandin Podziemski (No. 19 overall) and Trayce Jackson-Davis (No. 57 overall). Jordan Poole was dealt to the Washington Wizards (along with Ryan Rollins and Patrick Baldwin Jr.), and Donte DiVincenzo signed with the New York Knicks.
The Warriors made it clear that their top priority this summer was retaining Green, and they gave him a four-year, $100 million contract. While the Warriors could have gone younger, they instead decided to add veterans and chase their fifth championship in 10 years.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr recently opened up about what went wrong last season, taking some of the blame for the team's struggles.
&ldquo;I will say that I feel like I failed last year in connecting the group,&rdquo; Kerr told <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/07/20/steve-kerr-shares-thoughts-on-mike-dunleavy-jr-s-offseason-chris-paul-and-personal-goals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shayna Rubin of the San Jose Mercury-News</a>. &ldquo;I have taken a lot of time this summer to think about last year, things I could have and should have done differently. I really believe that sometimes losing sort of forces you to reassess and reevaluate and I&rsquo;m excited about coming back next year with a renewed focus and energy and spirit from the entire group. And that starts with me, and I can&rsquo;t wait.&rdquo;
Green punching Poole during training camp likely had a significant impact behind the scenes. Kerr's comment also lines up with a recent report from Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area that Green and Jonathan Kuminga don't have a relationship, but the Warriors hope that can be resolved.
"[Green and Kuminga not having a relationship] is a problem and it can only be fixed by Draymond," Monte Poole <a href="https://twitter.com/957thegame/status/1682129190450253825?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said on 95.7 The Game</a>. "The new contract implies the Warriors believe he can fix it, but around the league there are a lot of people saying, 'I don't know.'"
Kerr also opened up about Golden State's recent additions. When asked if Paul will start (as he's done throughout his whole career), Kerr said that the decision will come later.
&ldquo;All of that will happen in training camp,&rdquo; Kerr <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/07/20/steve-kerr-shares-thoughts-on-mike-dunleavy-jr-s-offseason-chris-paul-and-personal-goals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Rubin</a>. &ldquo;Until we get everyone on the floor, we won&rsquo;t be able to assess what&rsquo;s best for our team and how everything is going to look. But I&rsquo;m very confident that it&rsquo;s going to work out. We got great guys and we got champions, great competitors. There&rsquo;s one goal next year, and that&rsquo;s to win at the highest possible level. Everything else will unfold as the season does.&rdquo;
Kerr seems excited about the additions of Joseph and Saric as well.
&ldquo;We needed guys like Saric and Cory Joseph who have been through the NBA rigors and understand what it means to be a leader from the middle of the roster and how important that is,&rdquo; Kerr <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/07/20/steve-kerr-shares-thoughts-on-mike-dunleavy-jr-s-offseason-chris-paul-and-personal-goals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Rubin</a>, later adding, &ldquo;Mike really recognized that was an area we needed help, so he went out without many resources and fortified our roster and put us in position moving forward...
&ldquo;He understands that we have a window that&rsquo;s still open. I think he&rsquo;s fortified our roster with some really good veteran players and veteran leaders and balanced out the roster to where we have a better ratio of vets to young guys.&rdquo;
The Warriors can never be counted out as contenders, and it's certainly possible that their dynastic run will continue.

Steve Kerr recently took some of the blame for the Warriors' recent struggles, saying that he failed "in connecting the group."

Steve Kerr opens up about new-look Warriors, what went wrong last year

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Victor Wembanyama walked into his&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/wembanyama-nba-draft-arrival-de71c2d77d3776e548ee8bae44054a87">first NBA news conference</a>&nbsp;Wednesday morning, took his seat and looked out at a maze of cameras and microphones that have been awaiting him for years.
And then he smiled.
&ldquo;What&rsquo;s up, everyone?&rdquo; the French teen said.
Seeming poised and completely ready for what awaits him, Wembanyama&rsquo;s NBA chapter is now underway. The NBA draft &mdash; one that&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/wembanyama-finals-roland-garros-nba-spurs-e0f36616523d9fb601cfaaad7217967c">Wembanyama&rsquo;s</a>&nbsp;towering shadow has hung over for months, blocking much of what is usually part of the process &mdash; is Thursday night, and he&rsquo;ll be selected No. 1 overall by the San Antonio Spurs.
&ldquo;Ever since I knew about the draft, exactly how it worked, I wanted to be first,&rdquo; Wembanyama said Wednesday. &ldquo;I think I started to realize I could be a professional basketball player at the age of 12. Tomorrow, something&rsquo;s going to happen, something that I&rsquo;ve been thinking (about) for years and years, I can&rsquo;t really describe how I feel right now. I just know I&rsquo;m going to have trouble sleeping tonight, for sure.&rdquo;
There has been no debate about&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/san-antonio-spurs-wembanyama-nba-draft-da32970a5781abdb0a65daa46203de7a">who the Spurs should take</a>&nbsp;with the No. 1 pick, no discussion of which player might be a better fit, no real attempts to raise any red flags about the presumed selection.
When a player like Wembanyama comes along &mdash; and maybe none ever has &mdash; there&rsquo;s no real reason to drum up any drama. The Spurs are not going to pass up someone who is listed at 7-foot-4 but has the skills of a player much smaller.
The decision is certain, but not official until Commissioner Adam Silver says Wembanyama&rsquo;s name Thursday night. And Wembanyama playfully corrected a reporter in New York on Wednesday who welcomed him to San Antonio.
&ldquo;Not there yet,&rdquo; Wembanyama said. &ldquo;But thank you.&rdquo;
The 19-year-old from France has been called the best prospect since LeBron James came out of high school 20 years ago, perhaps with some physical gifts that even the NBA&rsquo;s career scoring leader didn&rsquo;t possess.
Expectations from the outside world are sky-high. Wembanyama insists that won&rsquo;t bother him.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t let all this stuff get into my head,&rdquo; Wembanyama said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got such high expectations for myself that I&rsquo;m immune to all this stuff. I really don&rsquo;t care.&rdquo;
He arrived Monday in the New York area, surprised that some fans were waiting for him when he landed at Newark Liberty International Airport.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1671294515506733056?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">On Tuesday, there was his first subway ride</a> &mdash; even hopping a turnstile as he exited, though the police who were flanking him didn&rsquo;t complain &mdash; and a trip to Yankee Stadium to throw out the ceremonial first pitch; it was well out of the strike zone. And on Wednesday morning, before his NBA duties began, he had a weightlifting workout with a coach.
He has been a big kid in a grown-up world. He signs autographs with a smile, pokes fun at himself, doesn&rsquo;t mind that everyone tends to stare at someone of his height.
&ldquo;Crazy,&rdquo; he said of that first subway ride, with New Yorkers all around him.
Let the craziness begin. Silver will call his name Thursday night, shake his hand, and before too long Wembanyama will be on a plane for San Antonio to start the first chapter of his NBA life. Wembanyama said he will play in Summer League that starts in early July, though it remains unclear if he&rsquo;ll be participating with the Spurs in the Sacramento summer league, the primary NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, or both.
&ldquo;Wembanyama is built for the modern game,&rdquo; said analyst Jay Bilas, who has been part of ESPN&rsquo;s coverage for every draft since James topped the 2003 one. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve never seen anything quite like him on a basketball floor.&rdquo;
The modern NBA game requires big men to be comfortable playing away from the basket, able to handle the ball and defend opponents on the perimeter. It&rsquo;s a league where 7-footer Nikola Jokic&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nuggets-heat-nba-finals-jokic-99c0f25e6e468a97f8c86330f988933d">just guided the Denver Nuggets</a>&nbsp;to their first championship by becoming the first player to lead the postseason in total points, rebounds and assists, where first-team All-Defense centers Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brook Lopez block shots on one end and shoot 3-pointers on the other.
Wembanyama can seemingly do all that. He was the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the French league, leading the league in scoring, rebounding and blocks. The almost-unbelievable highlights of some of those plays, a slam or a swat when he seemed too far away to pull it off even with his enormous wingspan, had basketball fans and even future opponents on both sides of the Atlantic buzzing throughout the season.
He will go to a San Antonio team that won five titles after selecting Tim Duncan the last time it had the No. 1 pick in 1997. Duncan is a Hall of Famer and one of the best power forwards in NBA history, and maybe it&rsquo;s too much to ask Wembanyama to become quite like that.
But he&rsquo;s the best of the bunch this year, and maybe of the last 20 years.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m trying to be the best,&rdquo; Wembanyama said. &ldquo;Being the best, it&rsquo;s not only on the court. There&rsquo;s whole dimensions in the job of basketball player, an NBA player. I want to be the best also at the media, the press conference, all this stuff. I don&rsquo;t like to do things halfway.&rdquo;
Charlotte is expected to decide between Alabama forward Brandon Miller and G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson with No. 2, with Portland perhaps taking the other at No. 3. The Rockets and Pistons round out the top five.
Those teams have been recent regulars near the top of the draft and should add another good young player for new coaches Ime Udoka in Houston and Monty Williams in Detroit. But those clubs shared the best odds with the Spurs of winning the No. 1 pick in last month&rsquo;s draft lottery, so there was disappointment to wipe away before thinking ahead.
That&rsquo;s because, while every draft has good players, very few will ever offer the chance to draft one like Wembanyama.
Just ask someone who would know.
&ldquo;Everybody&rsquo;s been a unicorn over the last few years, but he&rsquo;s more like an alien,&rdquo; James said last fall. &ldquo;No one has ever seen anyone as tall as he is but as fluid and as graceful as he is out on the floor.&rdquo;
James will get an up-close view this coming season when he plays against the Spurs. So will the rest of the league. Wembanyama&rsquo;s time starts now, and he sounds as ready as can be.
&ldquo;I just feel really, really lucky to be able just to live this life,&rdquo; Wembanyama said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just so lucky.&rdquo;

The 19-year-old from France is widely regarded as the best prospect since LeBron James, and we've never seen a player quite like him.

Victor Wembanyama's upside leaves no debate over top pick in NBA Draft

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

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

Nuggets celebrate NBA title with parade through downtown Denver

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry has been named the 2022-23 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion, the NBA announced today.
Curry was selected from a group of <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/2023-kareem-abdul-jabbar-finalists-revealed" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nba.com/news/2023-kareem-abdul-jabbar-finalists-revealed&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1684950559417000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0yR7wPqL_AlyY9Kx217W6h">five finalists</a>&nbsp;for his dedication to pursuing social justice and advancing Abdul-Jabbar&rsquo;s life mission to engage, empower and drive equality for individuals and groups who have been historically marginalized or systemically disadvantaged.
Curry prioritizes uplifting communities by fostering equity and creating access to opportunity. As a co-chair of former First Lady Michelle Obama&rsquo;s &ldquo;When We All Vote&rdquo; initiative, Curry uses his platform to drive voter registration, education and turnout, most recently during the 2022 election season. His role encouraged millions of new voters to participate in the political process and make their voices heard through civic engagement. As part of his ongoing voting-related efforts, Curry participated in the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition&rsquo;s &ldquo;Freedom to Vote&rdquo; <a href="https://twitter.com/representus/status/1470182428547244034?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/representus/status/1470182428547244034?s%3D20&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1684950559417000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2xr1diKYJYDyNGBlgPRMQb">social-media campaign</a>&nbsp;to help advocate for the passage of the&nbsp;Freedom to Vote Act in the U.S. Senate. Curry is also committed to raising awareness around issues of community safety, utilizing the Warriors&rsquo; 2023 White House visit to engage directly with President Biden and participate in a White House press briefing with head coach Steve Kerr to publicly address the matter.
Much of Curry&rsquo;s work also focuses on supporting underrepresented groups and reducing barriers to opportunity. In 2022, he graduated from Davidson College and wrote his final thesis on gender equity in sports, an issue that anchors his progressive and innovative ventures across the consumer, entertainment and non-profit spaces. Through UNDERRATED, Curry&rsquo;s lifestyle brand that empowers underrated and underrepresented individuals by opening doors for often-overlooked student-athletes, he creates equity, access and opportunity for basketball and golf athletes around the world to be seen by college recruiters, sports agents and other industry leaders. UNDERRATED has also enabled female athletes to access the same opportunities as their male counterparts, provided scholarships for athletes and offered personal development programming for young people. Among these efforts, Curry committed $6 million in funding to the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s golf team at Howard University, which hadn&rsquo;t been active for 50 years.
Unanimous Media, Curry&rsquo;s multimedia company rooted in the mission to inspire audiences through authentic storytelling, is dedicated to collaborating with underrepresented filmmakers, creators and writers across the entertainment industry.
Through Eat. Learn. Play., Curry&rsquo;s nonprofit co-founded with his wife Ayesha, Curry works to ensure every child in Oakland has access to nutritious food they need to be healthy and thrive, resources to foster a love for learning and reading, and safe places with equitable opportunities to play. With a mission to address and overcome the systemic socio-economic barriers facing underserved communities, Eat. Learn. Play. and its partners continue making a positive impact in the lives of children and families in need. Over the last year, Eat. Learn. Play. has provided over two million meals and 500,000 books to Oakland students, funded over 1,500 teacher-led classroom literacy projects, remodeled four new playspaces complete with multi-sport courts, playgrounds, gardens and murals, and more.
Curry has selected University of San Francisco Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice, which investigates, illuminates, and advances the theory and practice of transformational nonviolence to confront and overcome injustice and systemic violence and contribute to the just resolution of communal conflict, to receive a $100,000 contribution from the NBA on his behalf.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m passionate about the work of the University of San Francisco Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice and its commitment to overcoming injustice and systemic violence through peace,&rdquo; said Curry.&nbsp; &ldquo;As an athlete, I consistently leverage my platform to amplify advocacy and address the pervasive issue of systemic racism. I firmly believe that we must be vocal both on social media and in real life, taking tangible actions to effect real change in our society and for generations to come. Together, with the organization's co-founder and director, Dr. Clarence B. Jones, we have initiated meaningful conversations around social justice with the school's student body, doubled the charity&rsquo;s donations through my foundation Eat. Learn. Play.'s gift matching initiatives, and continued building on its mission in my personal and professional life by holding people accountable and promoting the principles of justice, fairness and equality today, tomorrow and in the future.&rdquo;
The four other finalists &ndash; Memphis Grizzlies forward-center Jaren Jackson Jr., San Antonio Spurs guard Tre Jones, Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul and Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams &ndash; will each receive $25,000 donations from the NBA to the following social justice organizations of their choosing: VisionC (Williams), The Girls Opportunity Alliance/The Obama Foundation (Jackson), Children's Bereavement Center of South Texas (Jones) and the Social Change Fund United (Paul).
The winner of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award was determined by a selection committee comprised of Abdul-Jabbar and notable social justice leaders Director of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport Dr. Richard Lapchick, National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial, UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murgu&iacute;a, Rise Founder and CEO Amanda Nguyen and NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum. This year&rsquo;s youth representative and Jr. NBA Court of Leaders member was Leah Harmon.&nbsp;

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry has been named the 2022-23 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion.

Stephen Curry named Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Desmond Bane had 33 points and 10 rebounds, Ja Morant added 31 points and 10 boards, and the Memphis Grizzlies staved off elimination Wednesday night, beating the Lakers 116-99 to force their&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/nba">first-round Western Conference series</a>&nbsp;back to Los Angeles.
Jaren Jackson Jr., the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/jackson-grizzlies-dpoy-nba-defensive-player-award-25780ba4e0e48bdc7bd9ba2707cbaf97">NBA Defensive Player of the Year</a>, had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who improved to 5-0 in Game 5s played in Memphis and cut the seventh-seeded Lakers&rsquo; series lead to 3-2. Memphis earned a second straight No. 2 seed by posting the NBA&rsquo;s best home record at 35-6.
Game 6 is Friday night in Los Angeles.
LeBron James started 1 of 7 from the field but finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, a modest follow-up after the 38-year-old played 45 minutes in&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/grizzlies-lakers-lebron-morant-9e8a719125079093104db8145d90ac43">Monday night&rsquo;s overtime win in Los Angeles</a>&nbsp;and became the oldest player in NBA history to post at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in his 270th playoff game.
Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 31 points and 19 rebounds. Austin Reaves had 17 points and D&rsquo;Angelo Russell scored 11. Davis stayed on the court for a few seconds after a layup with 6:01 left that pulled the Lakers within 106-91. When he got up, Davis grabbed at his back as he walked down the court.
The Lakers tried to rally, going on a 20-7 run in the fourth. They couldn&rsquo;t get closer than 12, the last on a putback by Davis with 2:52 left. Memphis answered with eight straight to get fans chanting &ldquo;Whoop That Trick&rdquo; with about 90 seconds left.
Memphis led only 23-20 when coach Taylor Jenkins took out Dillon Brooks,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-dillon-brooks-lebron-lakers-grizzlies-2023-c8a4ec836df1b0c8a6c5172cf5fe4981">known more for calling James old and missing shots than his defense in this series</a>. The Grizzlies seized control, finishing on a 15-4 run capped by Bane&rsquo;s 3 just before the quarter expired for a 38-24 lead.
The Grizzlies led by as much as 17 in the second with Morant scoring 10, including&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/GrizzOnBally/status/1651381764131045376" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">drawing a foul on James for a three-point play</a>. Memphis led 61-52 at halftime.
Russell scored the first eight of the third for the Lakers to quickly turn it into a tight game. James, who had nine in the third, hit a pair of free throws that pulled Los Angeles within 75-74 with 4:36 left.
Memphis took control with a 26-2 run that lasted until the start of the fourth. Morant had 11 in the third and finished the quarter with back-to-back buckets. His final drive put the Grizzlies up 94-76 going into the fourth.
Bane capped the spurt with a three-point play for a 101-74 lead.
TIP-INS
Lakers: They lost for just the fourth time in their past 17 games. ... They came in having outscored Memphis&rsquo; bench 119-79 thanks to 72 points from Rui Hachimura. But the forward picked up two quick fouls early and played only five minutes of the first half. He finished with nine points, and the benches matched each other with 18 apiece.
Grizzlies: They will have to prove they can win in Los Angeles to force the third Game 7 in franchise history and first since 2014. They lost their lone game in the regular season at Los Angeles before dropping both Games 3 and 4, though the Grizzlies lost by six in overtime Monday night. ... Jackson had two blocks.

Ja Morant had 31 points and 10 boards, and the Grizzlies staved off elimination Wednesday night, beating the Lakers 116-99.

Ja Morant, Grizzlies stave off elimination, beat Lakers 116-99

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; LeBron James made the tying layup with 0.8 seconds left in regulation before scoring four of his 22 points in overtime, and the Los Angeles Lakers surged to a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series with a 117-111 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night.
The 38-year-old James also grabbed a career playoff-high 20 rebounds and added seven assists and two blocked shots while committing just one turnover in his 270th playoff game, extending his own NBA record. He became the first Lakers player to put up 20 points and 20 rebounds in a playoff game since Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal in 2004.
Austin Reaves scored 23 points and Anthony Davis had five of his 17 in overtime for the seventh-seeded Lakers, who have won two straight home games to move to the brink of their first playoff series victory outside the Florida bubble since 2012.
Los Angeles surged back from a seven-point deficit with five minutes left in regulation with a rally that abruptly began when D&rsquo;Angelo Russell hit three consecutive 3-pointers, and the Lakers never trailed in OT.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m so proud of our guys, the way we fought,&rdquo; Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. &ldquo;We found a way.&rdquo;
Game 5 is Wednesday night in Memphis.
Desmond Bane scored 36 points and hit a tiebreaking layup with 6.7 seconds left in regulation for the second-seeded Grizzlies, who will have to rally from a 3-1 series deficit and win a Game 7 for the first time in franchise history to advance.
Ja Morant scored 19 points with his injured right hand, but Davis blocked his jumper at the regulation buzzer. The Grizzlies then missed six of their first eight shots in overtime while committing two key turnovers.
Dillon Brooks, who dismissed James as &ldquo;old&rdquo; after Game 2, had 11 points for Memphis after getting ejected from Game 3 for striking James in the groin.
James coolly scored the basket that forced overtime over heavy defensive pressure, and he hit a huge layup while getting fouled to put the Lakers up by five with 29.1 seconds to play in OT. Dennis Schr&ouml;der and Austin Reaves buried two free throws apiece to seal the Lakers&rsquo; 12th win in 15 games dating to the regular season.
The Lakers trailed for much of the second half, and Davis didn&rsquo;t look sharp for much of Game 4 while struggling with an apparent hip injury that required a heating pad on the bench. But Davis blocked four shots, and the Lakers excelled whenever the big man was protecting the rim.
Morant&rsquo;s 45-point performance in Game 3 wasn&rsquo;t enough to dig the Grizzlies out of an early 29-point hole in his first game back from an injury absence with a sore right hand. He then reacted with obvious pain after he jammed the hand into the ground again during the second half of Game 4, but kept playing and even dunked on Rui Hachimura an instant before the third-quarter buzzer.
The Grizzlies fell behind by an NBA record-tying 26 points after a historically bad first quarter in Game 3, but they dramatically improved their start in Game 4. The Lakers still jumped out to a 15-point lead in the first half before Memphis got back in it with a big surge to close the first half.
TIP-INS
Grizzlies: Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe watched the game from courtside. Sharpe, a Fox Sports commentator and a huge LeBron fan, got into a shouting match with several Grizzlies and Morant&rsquo;s father during their visit to face the Lakers in January, requiring security to intervene. There was no apparent drama this time out. ... Jaren Jackson Jr. kneed Schr&ouml;der very near the groin while setting a screen in the fourth quarter, but assessed only a common foul after video review.
Lakers: The celebrity-studded sellout crowd included Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who watched from a luxury box. Edward Norton, Adam Sandler, USC coach Lincoln Riley and Diddy also attended. ... Jarred Vanderbilt scored 15 points and even hit his first 3-pointer in 20 days during the first quarter. His impressive defense has been more valuable than his balky offensive game for the Lakers, who quickly put him in the starting lineup after his arrival at the trade deadline.

LeBron James and the Lakers surged to a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series with a 117-111 victory over the Grizzlies on Monday.

LeBron James leads Lakers past Grizzlies 117-111 in OT for 3-1 lead

Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen is the winner of the NBA's Most Improved Player award and the recipient of the George Mikan Trophy.&nbsp;
Markkanen received 69 first-place votes and 430 total voting points, while runner-up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander received 24 first-place votes and 289 total voting points. Jalen Brunson (91 total voting points), Mikal Bridges (33 total voting points) and Nic Claxton (22 total voting points) rounded out the top-5.
The following players also received at least one vote: Tyrese Haliburton, Trey Murphy III, Kevon Looney, De'Aaron Fox, Austin Reaves, Jaren Jackson Jr., Aaron Gordon and Malik Monk.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/voting2.png" alt="" width="698" height="264" />
This season, Markkanen averaged 25.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.0 threes and 1.9 assists while shooting 49.9% from the field, 39.1% from three-point range and 87.5% from the free-throw line. It was easily the best season of his NBA career, and the 25-year-old became a first-time All-Star.
Markkanen raised his scoring average by 10.87 points from last season, which was the biggest jump in the NBA. He set career-highs in points per game, field goal percentage and three-pointers made. Also, Markkanen posted 16 games with 30+ points this year after having just 15 such games in his first five NBA seasons.
The annual award, which was first presented in the 1985-86 season, is designed to honor an up-and-coming player who has made a dramatic improvement from the previous season or seasons.
The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm Ernst &amp; Young LLP. Complete ballots for each voter will be released by the NBA after the announcement of all end-of-season awards.

Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen is the winner of the NBA's Most Improved Player award.

Jazz's Lauri Markkanen wins NBA's Most Improved Player award

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Xavier Tillman scored a career-high 22 points and had 13 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies tied their&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/nba">first-round Western Conference series</a>&nbsp;at 1-1 Wednesday night by beating the Los Angeles Lakers 103-93 with&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-ja-morant-grizzlies-lakers-2023-eacbc8e1614e6fcfd6bebfa30e610b69">All-Star guard Ja Morant sidelined by an injured hand</a>.
No. 2 seed Memphis sat Morant after he tested the right hand originally hurt April 7 in a win at Milwaukee and aggravated driving to the basket in the opening loss to the Lakers. He had more exams on the hand before being declared inactive and watched from the bench with his hand bandaged.
Morant&rsquo;s teammates more than made up for his absence. The Grizzlies led by as much as 20 and had fans waving their towels chanting &ldquo;Whoop That Trick&rdquo; with 30 seconds left with this series guaranteed a return to Memphis for Game 5. The Grizzlies were able to dribble out the final seconds for the win.
Jaren Jackson Jr., the NBA&rsquo;s Defensive Player of the Year, scored 18 points for Memphis. Desmond Bane had 17, while Tyus Jones had 10 points and eight assists filling in for Morant. Dillon Brooks added 12 points and Luke Kennard had 13.
LeBron James led the Lakers with 28 points and 12 rebounds. Reserve Rui Hachimura had another strong performance with 20 points. Anthony Davis struggled mightily after posting a double-double in the opener, going 4 of 14 and finishing with 13 points and eight rebounds.
The Lakers, winners of 11 of their previous 13, had a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-nba-playoffs-b97a64fd11814378da7a37883e9997fa">four-game winning streak</a>&nbsp;snapped. Now they head home for Game 3 on Saturday night after never leading by more than three, and that came on the first points of the game.
Memphis took control in the first quarter with a 22-8 run, with&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1648837906000228352" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">back to-back 3s in the span of 10 seconds</a>&nbsp;from rookie David Roddy, then Kennard, who also drew a foul for a four-point play.
With&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1648840182341287941" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bane scoring 10 points,</a>&nbsp;Memphis led 30-19 after the first. Jackson made his first 3 with 58 seconds left, and the Grizzlies went into the half up 59-44 after outscoring the Lakers 29-25 in the second.
Hachimura scored 11 in the third and helped the Lakers trim a Memphis lead that reached 66-46 to 73-67. The Grizzlies finished the quarter on a 10-4 run to push the lead to 83-71 going into the fourth.
The Lakers never got closer than 94-88 in the final quarter on a James&rsquo; layup with 3:10 remaining. Memphis scored five straight to push it back to double digits.
TIP-INS
Lakers: They wound up outrebounded 49-47, though they matched Memphis&rsquo; scoring in the paint at 50 apiece despite being outscored there 38-20 in the first half. ... Austin Reaves had 12 points after having 23 in the opener. He was 5 of 12 in this game. ... D&rsquo;Angelo Russell had five points, shooting 5 of 11 after having 19 in Game 1.
Grizzlies: Jackson was presented his trophy as the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/jackson-grizzlies-dpoy-nba-defensive-player-award-25780ba4e0e48bdc7bd9ba2707cbaf97">NBA Defensive Player of the Year before</a>&nbsp;tipoff. ... Injuries now have kept Morant out of four of the Grizzlies&rsquo; last five playoff games, dating back to last year&rsquo;s conference semifinals.
X FACTOR
Tillman had more points in the first quarter than he managed in all of the opening loss. He made his first six shots before missing his seventh, a 3 trying to beat the buzzer that hit off the right rim. He finished with a season high in rebounds.
Reserve John Konchar had his moment too,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/GrizzOnBally/status/1648844835682414594" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">going way up to block all ball on a shot by Davis</a>&nbsp;in the second quarter.
&nbsp;

The Grizzlies tied their first-round Western Conference series at 1-1 Wednesday night by beating the Lakers 103-93.

No Ja Morant, no problem as Grizzlies tie up Lakers at 1-1

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Rui Hachimura had a career-best playoff scoring performance with 29 points, including 21 in the second half, and LeBron James added 21 points and 11 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Memphis Grizzlies 128-112 on Sunday in the opening game of their Western Conference playoff series.
Austin Reaves added 23 points, including nine straight in the closing minutes as the Lakers pulled away. Anthony Davis had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and D&rsquo;Angelo Russell, who scored only two points in the Lakers&rsquo; play-in win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, finished with 19 points.
Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 31 points, while Desmond Bane scored 22. Ja Morant had 18 points before leaving in the fourth quarter with an injured right hand.
Los Angeles wrested home-court advantage from the Grizzlies, who had the NBA&rsquo;s best home record at 35-6. Game 2 is Wednesday at FedExForum.
It was Hachimura from Japan who provided Los Angeles some breathing room in the third quarter, connecting on all four of his 3-point attempts. Hachimura&rsquo;s only previous playoff experience was in 2021 with Washington, which lost a first-round series to Philadelphia. The Lakers acquired him from the Wizards in a midseason trade.
The Lakers earned the seventh seed in the West by beating Minnesota in the play-in tournament. Los Angeles missed the playoffs in 2022 and was eliminated in the first round by the Phoenix Suns a year earlier.
Memphis finished with 51 wins, its second straight 50-victory season, to earn the No. 2 seed.
The Lakers led by as much as 10 in the first half as Memphis faced some early ballhandling woes. Jarred Vanderbilt&rsquo;s defense kept Morant out of the paint for a while. But Memphis outscored the Lakers 38-27 in the second quarter to carry a 65-59 lead into the break.
TIP-INS
Lakers: This is the first time Los Angeles has faced Memphis in the postseason. ... Davis left the court late in the second quarter with an injury to his right arm. He returned to start the second half. ... The first Los Angeles turnover came with 8:41 left in the second quarter. Its second came a minute later. ... James passed Robert Horry for 24th on the Los Angeles all-time playoff scoring list in the second quarter.
Grizzlies: C Steven Adams (right knee PCL sprain) and C/F Brandon Clarke (left Achilles tendon tear) were out and are expected to miss the playoffs. ... Morant played with his right hand wrapped from what coach Taylor Jenkins described as a contusion in his pregame availability. Morant hurt the hand again in the fourth quarter when he landed awkwardly on the hand, called for a charge against Davis.

The Lakers beat the Grizzlies 128-112 on Sunday in the opening game of their Western Conference playoff series.

Hachimura’s big 2nd half leads Lakers past Grizzlies in Game 1

<div>
MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Jaren Jackson had 36 points, Luke Kennard added 19 and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks 137-114 on Friday night to wrap up the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference for the second consecutive season.
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<div>
Memphis entered the game with a two-game lead over Sacramento for second place in the West, but the Kings owned the tiebreaker. Denver took the No. 1 seed in the West on Wednesday night.
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<div>
"It's very important," Grizzlies guard Ja Morant said about the second seed. "We're a very good team at home, so we obviously want that home-court advantage. Definitely big time for us."
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<div>
Morant, who finished with 12 points and eight assists, went to the locker room early in the game after sustaining a right wrist and hand injury in a collision with Milwaukee's Jae Crowder. Morant, who later returned to the game, had a large wrap on his right arm in the locker room afterward.
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When asked about his condition, Morant said: "I'm good."
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After trailing by one point at the half, Memphis took command with a 24-7 run to start the third. The Grizzlies led by 24 in the quarter and held the Bucks at bay throughout the remainder of the game.
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"Our communication wasn't great in the first half," Kennard said. "We didn't play up to how we have been playing, especially on the defensive end. We weren't very physical and we kind of laid back a little bit."
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Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said he challenged the team at halftime to be more physical and communicate better.
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"We raised our level in that third quarter," Jenkins said.
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The Grizzlies held the Bucks to 15 points in the third after surrendering 41 points in the second.
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<div>
"Better discipline, a little bit more effort," Jackson said. "We figured it out and I'm glad we did."
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<div>
The increased intensity on defensive after halftime gave a boost to the Grizzlies offense, Kennard said.
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<div>
"We didn't give them many second chance opportunities and we were able to get out in transition and get some easy looks," he said.
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<div>
Lindell Wigginton had 25 points and Crowder a season-high 24 to lead Milwaukee. Wigginton had a total of eight points in limited action this season prior to Friday's output. He also had 11 assists.
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"It was a great opportunity for Lindell," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "He brings a toughness, a competitiveness. He makes shots. He gets to the paint."
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The Bucks, who clinched the NBA's best record and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference with a victory over Chicago on Wednesday, sat six players, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez.
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Antetokounmpo, who also sat out Wednesday, was listed on the injury report with a sore right knee. Holiday and Lopez rested, while Middleton was held out with a right knee issue. Grayson Allen and Pat Connaughton also sat out with ankle injuries.
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Bobby Portis and Joe Ingles were active but didn't play.
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The Bucks' makeshift lineup got off to a hot start and led by nine in the first quarter before the Grizzlies pulled ahead and led 36-31 after the period.
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After the Grizzlies charged to an 11-point lead in the second, the Bucks rallied to take a 72-71 lead at the half, paced by 18 points from Crowder, who made all seven of his shots from the field, including four from 3-point range. Milwaukee shot 15 of 30 from deep over the first two quarters, which allowed them to hold the lead despite Memphis shooting 65% overall in half.
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TIP-INS
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Grizzlies: Kennard, who came in averaging 9.1 points per game, had 11 in the first quarter. &hellip; Jackson had 22 first-half points. &hellip; Outscored the Bucks 62-34 in the paint. &hellip; Finished 16-24 on the road.
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Bucks: Antetokounmpo was honored in a pregame ceremony for his accomplishments this season, including becoming the franchise leader in points, assists and games played. He was joined on the court by Middleton, former Bucks star Paul Pressey and one-time general manager John Hammond, who selected Antetokounmpo with the 15th pick in the 2013 draft.
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UP NEXT
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Grizzlies: At Oklahoma City on Sunday.
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Bucks: At Toronto on Sunday.
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The Memphis Grizzlies beat the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks 137-114 on Friday night to wrap up the No. 2 seed in the West.

Grizzlies beat Bucks 137-114, secure No. 2 seed in West

The Milwaukee Bucks clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs Wednesday, but they had to do so without Giannis Antetokounmpo on the second night of a back-to-back.
No problem &mdash; Bobby Portis exploded for 27 points and 13 rebounds, Jrue Holiday racked up 20 points and 15 assists, and Brook Lopez tossed in 26 points to handle the Chicago Bulls. One neat postgame statistic from ESPN's Kane Pitman caught my eye:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Brook Lopez now has 26 games with 20+ points this season. He had 26 games with 20+ points across his first four regular seasons in Milwaukee. He will be a DPOY finalist but his scoring has wound back the clock during his age 35 season.
&mdash; Kane Pitman (@KanePitman) <a href="https://twitter.com/KanePitman/status/1643788843479621635?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Lopez is putting up 15.9 points per game, his highest since his All-Star days with the Brooklyn Nets, at the most efficient scoring clip of his career. He's helped the Bucks retake the top of the conference while remaining square in the middle of the Defensive Player of the Year race.
The award's front-runner, Jaren Jackson Jr., has also quietly ascended on the offensive end. Jackson is averaging a career-high 18.3 points per game (20.9 since the All-Star break) with a career-best 58.5% two-point shooting clip. He dropped 40 in Wednesday's overtime loss to the Pelicans and has helped the Grizzlies go 12-4 since March 9.&nbsp;
While the two bigs are duking it out for DPOY, their steps forward as scorers have put each team in the championship conversation.
Starting with Lopez, his output this season hasn't come with increased touches. A cursory glance through PBP Stats' tracking data shows the 35-year-old is hovering at similar rates in touches and volume touch time relative to his entire Milwaukee tenure. His low 16.7% usage rate follows the same trend. But Lopez has received a significant green light; his mark of 11.5 field goal attempts per game is the most in the last six years.
Those extra shots have been distributed relatively evenly across different spots on the floor, but Lopez's paint presence is perhaps the most notable change. Here's a look at his impact of scoring inside since joining the Bucks in 2018, using data from PBP Stats (scroll right to view full table on mobile):
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%; height: 154px;" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 44px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 44px;">Year</td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 44px;">Touches/100 poss.</td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 44px;">Paint touches/100 poss.</td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 44px;">Paint touches FG% </td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 44px;">At-Rim FGA/game</td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 44px;">At-Rim FG%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 22px;">2018-19</td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 22px;">59.6</td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 22px;">2.8</td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 22px;">65.3%</td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 22px;">1.8</td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 22px;">75.5%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 22px;">2019-20</td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 22px;">57.5</td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 22px;">5.2</td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 22px;">61.7%</td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 22px;">2.5</td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 22px;">66.9%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 22px;">2020-21</td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 22px;">49.4</td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 22px;">7.0</td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 22px;">70.3%</td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 22px;">2.7</td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 22px;">74.4%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 22px;">2021-22*</td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 22px;">51.3</td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 22px;">9.7</td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 22px;">62.8%</td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 22px;">3.4</td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 22px;">77.3%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22px;">
<td style="width: 10.2766%; height: 22px;">2022-23</td>
<td style="width: 15.2376%; height: 22px;">54.2</td>
<td style="width: 18.501%; height: 22px;">9.1</td>
<td style="width: 16.4124%; height: 22px;">71.2%</td>
<td style="width: 15.1069%; height: 22px;">3.6</td>
<td style="width: 13.5403%; height: 22px;">74.7%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
*Note that Lopez played just 13 games in 2021-22 due to injury.
Lopez's current paint diet builds off of his abbreviated 2021-22 campaign, and this time, he's consistently converting on his greatest volume as a Buck. In addition to the strong marks at the rim, Lopez is also hitting a blistering 56% of his short-mid-range shots, per Cleaning the Glass.
The 35-year-old scored his 26 points on Wednesday despite a quiet 0-for-2 night from distance. He made 10 of 17 attempts inside the arc. Some were confident driving layups where he powered through Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond. But this play highlights how his roll (heyo!) is changing:
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/1z89r7" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
With the amount of drop coverage in today's NBA, plus the different downhill playmakers Milwaukee employs, Lopez has windows available as a roller. Here he stays in the passing lane during Joe Ingles' drive, seals off Derrick Jones Jr. and finishes the layup.&nbsp;
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/2nevnr" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
This earlier bucket was the second of two near-identical makes in a row. Chicago sets its drop early in the action, but Vucevic is tighter on Holiday given the guard's threat to pull up. The window is open quicker for a short-roll pass that Holiday easily makes. Lopez then knocks down the soft-touch floater that the smaller DeMar DeRozan can't really contest.
According to play-type data from Synergy, Lopez is spending 21.2% of his possessions this season as a roll man. That's the highest frequency of his Bucks career, and it's steadily increased in each subsequent year from 14.1% in 2018-19. "Roll man" in Synergy terms can also include pick-and-pop plays, where Lopez often thrives, but he's also adding more classic rolls.
Tack on a career-high 37.4% clip from beyond the arc, and Lopez has found the pockets for him to excel within Milwaukee's offense without taking on a significantly larger workload.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Lopez is making teams pay for how they defend guys like Holiday and Antetokounmpo. His buckets still mostly come via assists. Jackson, meanwhile, is stepping up as a self-creator.&nbsp;
The 23-year-old has cleared the 60% True Shooting mark for the first time in his five-year career. Yet, he's not shooting threes particularly well (34.4%) and his volume of attempts is down (4.5 per game). Jackson has instead boosted his two-point percentage to a career-best 58.5%. He can attribute that spike to a consistent assertion of getting to the basket.&nbsp;
According to PBP Stats, more than 40% of Jackson's total shots this year have been self-created twos within 10 feet of the basket. His 53.2% conversion rate on those looks is a whopping nine percentage points better than last season. Jackson's overall 67% clip at the rim is a serious bounce-back from a dreadful 2021-22, and his 47% mark in the short-mid-range area is another career high.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/2nevnr" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
In his monster 40-point outing, Jackson showed off how he's leveraging his length and strength with confidence. He posted up Larry Nance Jr. twice for scores, and was unfazed even when plowing into Nance on the above drive. Jackson still had the balance to turn the moment into a floater. There are also these Giannis-esque moments with Jackson where he uses his long strides and length to glide past defenders. The overall quick decision-making has elevated his attacks.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/a44idt" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
The lanky forward has traded in some perimeter looks for more aggressive attacks. In fact, Jackson ranks third in points per drive (0.94) among 180 high-volume drivers this season. He's scoring at a decent 50.5% clip and drawing fouls on 18% of his drives, which also ranks third.
Jackson didn't shoot particularly well (13-for-28) en route to his 40-burger on Wednesday, but did draw nine fouls and made 11 of 12 free throws.
Perhaps the most surprising stat: Jackson is one of 100 NBA players who have logged 50 or more isolation possessions this season, per Synergy. He's drawn shooting fouls on a whopping 32.1% of those possessions; that is the highest in the eight-year history of Synergy's play-type tracking.
With his foul-drawing and reliable free-throw shooting, Jackson has created a floor-raiser with his length and athleticism against opposing bigs. As his scoring efficiency comes along, he's looking more and more like a matchup nightmare.
THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>Two extremely important concepts in today's NBA: Creating and preventing advantages. From SIS Hoops:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
In the stretch run of the MVP race, Joel Embiid has stepped up his advantage creation to separate himself as the favorite for the award. <a href="https://t.co/6lThkqTKVC">pic.twitter.com/6lThkqTKVC</a>
&mdash; SIS Hoops (@SIS_Hoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/SIS_Hoops/status/1644003730205843458?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2023</a></blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Post-NCAA men's tournament reflection. FAU baby!
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</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Take good shots ✅ Force tough shots ✅ Win more games ✅ <a href="https://t.co/xHczgYjpfo">pic.twitter.com/xHczgYjpfo</a>
&mdash; Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrumpledJumper/status/1643379899129040897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2023</a></blockquote>

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<ul>
<li>A few league-wide notes I saw as this season is wrapping up:</li>
</ul>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Some NBA leaguewide trends as we approach the end of the season 🧵 - The NBA is shooting a base 47.5% from the field, which is its highest since 1989-90 - eFG% is 54.5%, which is the highest ever - 114.8 offensive rating is a massive all-time high, 2nd place is 112.3 (2020-21)
&mdash; Ethan Fuller (@ethman43) <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1644020710753333249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2023</a></blockquote>

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Brandon Miller scored 24 points and Mark Sears made seven of eight free throws over the final 1:04 to help No. 2 Alabama top Arkansas 86-83 on Saturday.
Miller delivered his second straight huge game for the Crimson Tide (25-4, 15-1 Southeastern Conference) since police alleged in courtroom testimony that he brought a gun to former teammate Darius Miles, who is charged with capital murder in a fatal shooting.
The week&rsquo;s details cast a different light on Miller&rsquo;s regular pregame introduction, which is a Tide staffer giving him a pat down. Coach Nate Oats said after the game that intro for Miller is now over.
Fellow freshman Nick Smith Jr. of Arkansas (19-10, 8-8), another potential NBA draft lottery pick who helped keep the Razorbacks in it with a late 3-pointer, scored 24 points. Davonte Davis added 21 points for Arkansas, Council scored 20, and the rest of the team combined for 18 points.
Jahvon Quinerly had 16 points and seven assists for the Tide, and Noah Clowney had 10 points and 13 rebounds.
NO. 1 HOUSTON 76, EAST CAROLINA 57
GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Marcus Sasser scored 22 points to help Houston clinch outright possession of the American Athletic Conference regular-season title.
Tramon Mark added 20 points for the Cougars (27-2, 15-1), while J&rsquo;Wan Roberts had 17 points and 12 rebounds in Houston&rsquo;s ninth straight victory.
East Carolina (14-14, 5-10) had an energetic home crowd for the first-ever visit from a No. 1-ranked team to Minges Coliseum, as well as the program&rsquo;s first game against a top-ranked opponent in more than 31 years. But the Cougars never trailed and led for all but 56 seconds. Ezra Ausar scored 15 points to lead the Pirates.
NO. 3 KANSAS 76, WEST VIRGINIA 74
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Dajuan Harris was one point shy of a career high, scoring 17 points to help lift Kansas over West Virginia.
The Jayhawks&rsquo; stifling defense kept West Virginia from attempting a shot in the final 20 seconds. The Mountaineers&rsquo; Joe Toussaint traveled on their final possession of the game. Baskets by K.J. Adams and Kevin McCullar extended the Jayhawks&rsquo; lead to 75-68 late as they grinded out the victory.
Harris led Kansas (24-5, 12-4 Big 12) with 7-of-9 shooting from the field and had six assists and six steals.
Erik Stevenson led West Virginia (16-13, 5-11) with 23 points. Tre Mitchell scored 20, Kedrian Johnson scored 15 and Emmitt Mathews Jr. had 13.
NO. 17 INDIANA 79, NO. 5 PURDUE 71
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Hood-Schifino scored a career-high 35 points and Trey Galloway added 10 of his 13 in the second half to lead Indiana over Purdue.
The Hoosiers (20-9, 11-7 Big Ten) snapped a seven-game losing streak in West Lafayette and pulled their first season sweep in this bitter rivalry since 2012-13.
Zach Edey led the Boilermakers with 26 points and 16 rebounds and Fletcher Loyer added 14 points. Purdue (24-5, 13-5) has lost three of four and blew a chance to clinch a share of the conference crown in front of its home fans, who stood outside in chilly temperatures and snaking lines for hours before tip-off.
NORTH CAROLINA 71, NO. 6 VIRGINIA 63
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Pete Nance scored 22 points to lead North Carolina past Virginia.
Nance shot 7 of 10 from the floor and was 4 of 4 from behind the arc, the most 3-pointers the fifth-year forward has made in ACC play. He added two assists and four blocks.
R.J. Davis notched the fourth double-double of his career with 16 points and 10 rebounds for North Carolina (18-11, 10-8 Atlantic Coast Conference), which got a much-needed boost to its NCAA Tournament resume with a Quadrant 1 win &mdash; the first of the season for the Tar Heels.
Jayden Gardner had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead Virginia (21-6, 13-5), which lost its second in a row. Armaan Franklin added 14 points.
ARIZONA STATE 89, NO. 7 ARIZONA 88
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Desmond Cambridge Jr. hit a 60-foot shot at the buzzer and Arizona State rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat Arizona.
The Wildcats (24-5, 13-5 Pac-12) built a 10-point lead midway through the second half before going more than six minutes without a field goal as Arizona State pulled ahead by one.
The Sun Devils (20-9, 11-7) went up 86-85 on Warren Washington&rsquo;s layup with just a minute left, but Pelle Larsson put Arizona back up on a layup with 29 seconds left. Arizona State&rsquo;s DJ Horne missed a jumper with 4 seconds left and the Sun Devils had a final shot after Oumar Ballo hit one of two free throws.
Catching the ball with 2.4 seconds left, Cambridge launched a shot from beyond half-court to finish with 19 points and give the Sun Devils a big boost in their bid to make the NCAA Tournament.
NO. 9 BAYLOR 81, NO. 8 TEXAS 72
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Jalen Bridges had 17 points for ninth-ranked Baylor, which overcame a huge deficit with an impressive run right after freshman standout Keyonte George left injured early and beat Big 12 co-leader Texas.
Adam Flagler had 14 points for the Bears (21-8, 10-6). Dale Bonner added 13 points, including seven in an quick spurt after halftime while Flo Thamba had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Dylan Disu had a season-high 24 points for Texas (22-7, 11-5), which twice got even early in the second half but never could regain the lead.
NO. 10 MARQUETTE 90, DEPAUL 84
MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Kam Jones and Tyler Kolek each scored 22 points while helping Marquette clinch a share of its first Big East regular-season championship in a decade.
Kolek also had 14 assists as Marquette (23-6, 15-3) rolled to a 49-28 halftime lead and hung on after DePaul (9-20, 3-15) got close down the stretch. Marquette has won nine of its last 10, while DePaul has lost 10 straight.
This is Marquette&rsquo;s first conference title in 2013, when the Golden Eagles shared the Big East crown with Georgetown and eventual national champion Louisville.
Umoja Gibson led DePaul with 20 points and eight assists. Nick Ongenda added 16 points and 12 rebounds.
NO. 11 TENNESSEE 85, SOUTH CAROLINA 45
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Josiah-Jordan James came back from missing four games with an injury to score 18 points to lead Tennessee to a rout of South Carolina.
James, who suffered an ankle injury against Vanderbilt on Feb. 8, shot 4 of 7 on 3-pointers for the Volunteers (21-8, 10-6 Southeastern Conference). Jahmai Mashack scored 14 points, Zakai Zeigler had 13 points and 11 assists, and Olivier Nkamhoua and Uros Plavsic scored 10 each.
Hayden Brown led the Gamecocks (10-19, 3-13) with 18 points.
NO. 12 GONZAGA 77, NO. 15 SAINT MARY&rsquo;S 68
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored 19 points and Gonzaga earned a share of the West Coast Conference regular-season title with a win over Saint Mary&rsquo;s.
Anton Watson had 17 points and Malachi Smith added 13 off the bench for the Bulldogs, who have won or shared the conference title in 11 straight seasons. Gonzaga (25-5, 14-2) also reached the 25-win mark for the 16th season in a row &mdash; and avenged a loss to the Gaels earlier this month in Moraga.
Logan Johnson led the Gaels (25-6, 14-2) with 27 points.
Because the teams shared the regular-season title, the WCC will use the NCAA&rsquo;s NET rankings to determine the top seed for the conference tournament.
FLORIDA STATE 85, NO. 13 MIAMI 84
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Matthew Cleveland&rsquo;s 3-pointer as time expired capped Florida State&rsquo;s comeback from a 25-point second-half deficit and a win over Miami.
Jordan Miller had given Miami the lead on a 3-pointer with 4.9 seconds left. But Cleveland let fly from about 25 feet and the ball swished to give the Seminoles (9-20, 7-11 Atlantic Coast Conference) their best moment of the season.
Cleveland and Darin Green Jr. each had 20 points for Florida State, which also got 13 from Caleb Mills and 11 from Jalen Warley.
Miller led Miami (23-6, 14-5) with 21 points. Norchad Omier had 15, Isaiah Wong scored 14 and Bensley Joseph added 12 for the Hurricanes, whose seven-game winning streak and perfect home season were ended.
NO. 18 UCONN 95, ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 86
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Jordan Hawkins scored 20 points, Adama Sanogo added 18 points and nine rebounds, and UConn beat St. John&rsquo;s.
Andre Jackson Jr. had 15 points, Joey Calcaterra also scored 15 to lead a strong effort by Connecticut&rsquo;s bench and the resurgent Huskies (22-7, 11-7 Big East) avenged an 11-point loss to St. John&rsquo;s at home last month.
UConn won for the sixth time in seven games, closing in on a first-round bye in the Big East Tournament.
AJ Storr had 20 points and Posh Alexander added 18 for the Red Storm (17-13, 7-12), who had won three of four.
NO. 14 KANSAS STATE 73, OKLAHOMA STATE 68
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Markquis Nowell had 22 points, eight assists and four steals in Kansas State&rsquo;s third straight win, beating Oklahoma State.
Keyontae Johnson added 17 points for the Wildcats (22-7, 10-6 Big 12), who swept the regular-season series.
Kalib Boone scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half on Senior Day for Oklahoma State. Caleb Asberry scored 13 points and John-Michael Wright added 12 for the Cowboys (16-13, 7-9), who have lost four straight.
VILLANOVA 79, NO. 19 CREIGHTON 67
PHILADELPHIA (AP) &mdash; Eric Dixon scored 18 of his career-high 31 points in the first half, Cam Whitmore added 17 and Villanova defeated Creighton.
Dixon also set a career high with six 3-pointers for Villanova (15-14, 9-9 Big East), which has won five of six.
Arthur Kaluma scored 19 points and Ryan Kalkbrenner had 18 for Creighton (18-11, 12-6). The Bluejays have lost three of four following an eight-game winning streak.
NO. 22 SAN DIEGO STATE 73, NEW MEXICO 71
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) &mdash; Lamont Butler&rsquo;s 3-pointer at the buzzer gave San Diego State a win at New Mexico.
After Jaelen House&rsquo;s steal and end-to-end run for a layup with 5.6 seconds left gave New Mexico a 71-70 lead, Butler unhurriedly brought the ball up court before dropping his shot, giving him 10 points for the Aztecs (23-5, 14-2 Mountain West).
Darrion Trammell scored 18 points to lead the Aztecs. Matt Bradley added 11 as San Diego State won its sixth straight.
Jamal Mashburn Jr. finished with 20 points for New Mexico (20-9, 7-9) and House had 15.
OKLAHOMA 61, NO. 23 IOWA STATE 50
AMES, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Jacob Groves led Oklahoma with 16 points as the Sooners knocked off Iowa State.
The Sooners (14-15, 4-12 Big 12) had lost nine of their previous 11 games but erased an early 11-point deficit and seized control with a 17-2 run in the second half.
Groves shot 4 of 5 from the 3-point line. Tanner Groves added 9 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
The Cyclones (17-11, 8-8) shot just 31%. Gabe Kalscheur led Iowa State with 12 points.
NO. 24 TCU 83, TEXAS TECH 82
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) &mdash; JaKobe Coles made two free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining, and TCU beat Texas Tech despite blowing a 12-point lead in the final eight minutes.
After De&rsquo;Vion Harmon&rsquo;s steal and layup put the Red Raiders in front by one with 12 seconds remaining, Coles caught a pass from Emanuel Miller in the lane and was fouled by Fardaws Aimaq going up for the shot. The Horned Frogs (19-10, 8-8 Big 12) weren&rsquo;t in the bonus.
Harmon&rsquo;s desperation 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded wasn&rsquo;t close, ending a four-game winning streak Texas Tech (16-13, 5-11).
Mike Miles Jr. scored 24 points for the Horned Frogs, who had lost five of six and were coming off a loss to No. 3 Kansas at home. Miller had 14 points and 12 rebounds for TCU.
Aimaq scored 19 points, Harmon had 18 and Kevin Obanor finished with 17 points and nine rebounds for Texas Tech.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 69, NO. 25 TEXAS A&amp;M 62
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) &mdash; Tolu Smith had 17 points and Shakeel Moore had 14 as Mississippi State knocked off Texas A&amp;M.
Cameron Matthews had 11 points for the Bulldogs (19-10, 7-9 Southeastern Conference), who held the Aggies to one field goal in the final 14 minutes and outscored them 34-18 during the same time period.
Wade Taylor IV led Texas A&amp;M (21-9, 13-3) with 21 points, including four 3-pointers, and Henry Coleman III and Andersson Garcia each had 11.

A recap of Saturday's slew of action in top 25 NCAA men's college hoops.

Miller has another big game as No. 2 Alabama tops Arkansas

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

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

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

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; LeBron James will soon be the NBA&rsquo;s top scorer, though that was never his focus.
He&rsquo;s also one of the game&rsquo;s leading passers, and combining the two &mdash; possibly better than anyone ever &mdash; is what really makes him proud.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t get to this point in my career by thinking about records or how many points I have, whatever the case might be,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;I just play the game the right way. I approach the game every night only trying to be a triple threat by scoring, rebounding, assisting, defending, and may the chips fall where they may.&rdquo;
James moved within 89 points of breaking the career scoring record and climbed into fourth place on the assists list, finishing with his first triple-double of the season in his return to Madison Square Garden as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the New York Knicks 129-123 in overtime Tuesday night.
James had 28 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, with the points giving him 38,299 for his career. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the leader with 38,387.
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_1" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">But James&rsquo; game has always been about more than scoring, as he proved again Tuesday. He fed Dennis Schroder for a 3-pointer that snapped a 118-all tie with 3:13 remaining, grabbed his 10th rebound later in the extra period and then powered to the basket for a 127-121 lead with 19 seconds to go.</div>
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_1" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle"> &ldquo;He&rsquo;s just doing it all,&rdquo; Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what great players do. That&rsquo;s what all-time greats do, and he&rsquo;s right up there at the top of the list with all of them.&rdquo;</div>
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_1" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">
James had earlier moved ahead of Mark Jackson and then Steve Nash into fourth place on the assists list during his first game at Madison Square Garden in three years.
Anthony Davis added 27 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, who had dropped two straight to open their trip. Both James and Davis had sat out their loss Monday in Brooklyn.
Jalen Brunson scored 37 points and Julius Randle had 23 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks, who were 7 for 34 from 3-point range and dropped their second straight.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re scoring plenty, that&rsquo;s not our issue,&rdquo; Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. &ldquo;So we&rsquo;ve got to shore up our defense.&rdquo;
James was fuming following his last game, the&rsquo; Lakers loss in overtime in Boston on Saturday, after which referees said they missed a foul on his drive to the basket to end regulation.
He then sat out Monday with what Ham said was left foot soreness, though the Lakers had listed the injury as an ankle. They listed him as questionable to play in the morning, then upgraded James to available after he moved well during a pregame workout.
He certainly didn&rsquo;t want to miss this one after being hurt two years ago and suspended last season for striking Detroit&rsquo;s Isaiah Stewart in the face. His last game here was Jan. 22, 2000, when he was days away from passing Kobe Bryant into third place on the career scoring list.
Now the only one left to catch is Abdul-Jabbar, which could happen in the next 10 days. James said getting closer doesn&rsquo;t make it feel any heavier.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going anywhere, I&rsquo;m going to be in this league for at least a few more years,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;So I&rsquo;m going to do it, so it&rsquo;s not heavy at all.&rdquo;
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_3" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">
The game was tied at 90 before James fed Troy Brown Jr. for a 3-pointer with his eighth assist, then set up Thomas Bryant for a dunk that moved him ahead of Jackson and then Nash into fourth place for assists. He has 10,338 assists.
James has always called MSG one of his favorite places to play and this visit draw a sellout crowd that included celebrities such as Michael J. Fox, Michael B. Jordan, Emma Stone and Chris Rock. Fans filled seats in the lower sections of the arena just to watch James warm up, but he struggled to give them one of his vintage performances once the game began.
He threw up an airball in the second quarter as part of his 2-for-8 start, but made his final two shots of the half, then threw a pass that Schroder heaved in from halfcourt to beat the buzzer and cut it to 53-52 at halftime.
Recently acquired Rui Hachimura had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, while Russell Westbrook added 17 points and eight assists, with three of them in OT.
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TIP-INS
Lakers: Patrick Beverley was out with left knee soreness. Ham said the guard has had some tough defensive matchups lately and they were just being careful in giving him a rest.
Knicks: Second-year G Quentin Grimes was chosen Tuesday to take part in the Rising Stars at All-Star weekend. ... The Knicks missed 13 or their first 15 shots as the Lakers took a 15-5 lead.
</div>
</div>
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LeBron James put up his first triple-double of the season as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the New York Knicks 129-123 in overtime.

James has triple-double, leads Lakers past Knicks in OT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Stephen Curry threw his mouthpiece into the seats in frustration and got tossed himself for the surprising episode late in the game.
And the Golden State Warriors still pulled off a wild one against the nemesis Memphis Grizzlies.
Jordan Poole made the winning layup with a second remaining to cap a crazy, back-and-forth final minute, and the Warriors fought back to beat Ja Morant and Memphis 122-120 on Wednesday night.
&ldquo;Incredible, heady play by Jordan,&rdquo; Klay Thompson said.
Curry outdueled Morant and scored 34 points before being ejected with 1:14 remaining in another thrilling game between the rivals who played last year in the Western Conference semifinals won by the Warriors in six games.
Curry hit a tying jumper with 2:18 left and made three free throws at the 1:55 mark. He wasn&rsquo;t around for the finish after firing the mouthpiece into the stands. Crew chief Sean Wright confirmed the reasoning to a pool reporter: &ldquo;Stephen Curry takes his mouth piece and throws into the stands with force, as per rule, that is an automatic ejection.&rdquo;
&ldquo;He knows he can&rsquo;t make that mistake,&rdquo; coach Steve Kerr said. &ldquo;To win the game after the Steph ejection was great. I liked the execution down the stretch.&rdquo;
Afterward, Curry was in the hallway eager to greet Poole with a celebratory hug. Poole had launched a 30-footer with nearly a full shot clock and Curry open, and Curry didn&rsquo;t like it.
Curry said the way the season has gone there&rsquo;s a &ldquo;heightened sense of urgency of how every detail matters.&rdquo;
&ldquo;The way that we responded after that shows just how much it matters to us,&rdquo; Curry said.
Brandon Clarke had a tying dunk with 6.3 seconds left for Memphis on a pass from Morant after Thompson&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 14.6 remaining put the Warriors ahead. Thompson then missed a rushed baseline jumper with five seconds to play, but Golden State got the ball out of bounds.
Morant wound up with 29 points and 12 assists after missing a game with an ankle injury. He converted a pair of free throws with 26.6 seconds left to put Memphis ahead before Thompson&rsquo;s big 3.
Desmond Bane added 20 points for the Grizzlies in a balanced effort to help lessen the sting of losing durable big man Steven Adams for the foreseeable future with a knee injury.
Morant, who missed a loss Monday night at Sacramento with soreness in his left ankle, found Clarke for an alley-oop layup and three-point play with 4:10 remaining then Curry and Poole scored consecutive layups.
Thompson added 24 points and his 3 with 3:38 left in the third pulled the Warriors to 81-79. Then Curry converted a tying four-point play with 2:27 to go in the period after falling into the courtside seats.
The Warriors had lost four straight home games after beginning the season 17-2 at Chase Center.
Jonathan Kuminga moved into the Golden State starting lineup with Andrew Wiggins ill. Late in the first half, Kuminga drove through the lane for a highlight-reel left-handed slam then knocked down a 3-pointer a few possessions later. He wound up with 13 points.
Poole finished with 21 points and seven assists as the Warriors beat the Grizzlies again following a 123-109 win on Christmas Day. The Grizzlies have lost a season-high four straight to begin this season-long five-game West Coast trip.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a long season. I don&rsquo;t think too many people are too flustered,&rdquo; Bane said.
Draymond Green &mdash; who called that final out-of-bounds play for Poole&rsquo;s winner &mdash; was whistled for his 14th technical foul of the season, moving him within two of an automatic one-game suspension.
MISSING ADAMS
Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins will mix and match lineups and substitution patterns without Adams, who is expected to miss three to five weeks with a sprained ligament in his right knee that he injured Sunday in Phoenix.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re definitely going to miss Stevo, he does so much for us, all the little things, to impact winning,&rdquo; Jenkins said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re just going to need other guys to raise their level in those departments. Obviously, we&rsquo;re struggling right now on both ends of the floor, we just got to find our groove, it&rsquo;s next-man up mentality.&rdquo;
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TIP-INS
Grizzlies: F Danny Green is set to make his season debut Feb. 1 at home against Portland as he returns from left knee surgery. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the plan as of now,&rdquo; Jenkins said. Green will get some scrimmaging and work with the G League Memphis Hustle this week. ... Jaren Jackson Jr. fouled out with 2:33 to go. ... Memphis will host the defending champions for the last two meetings: March 9 and 18.
Warriors: Kerr found out Wednesday morning Wiggins was sick and Kuminga earned his sixth start. ... Curry reached 21,000 career points. He committed two fouls just 59 seconds into the game.
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Jordan Poole made the winning layup with a second remaining and the Golden State Warriors beat the Memphis Grizzlies 122-120.

Poole beats buzzer with layup, lifts Warriors past Grizzlies

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; LeBron James hit a career-high nine 3-pointers while scoring 46 points, but the Los Angeles Clippers hit 19 3-pointers of their own on the way to a comfortable 133-115 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.
James scored at least 40 points against the Clippers for the first time in his 20-year career, giving him a 40-point game against all 30 teams in the NBA. James hit his record ninth 3-pointer with 6:45 to play, setting a career high from distance in his 1,404th game.
&ldquo;I was able to make a few shots tonight and try to help us stay in the game,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;But the Clippers, they are really good. Exceptionally good when they&rsquo;re shooting the 3-ball, and tonight they did that.&rdquo;
Indeed, James&rsquo; brilliance wasn&rsquo;t nearly enough: The Lakers never caught up after falling behind by 23 points, and James spent the final minutes on the bench after the Clippers pulled away for their 10th consecutive victory over their arena co-tenants in downtown Los Angeles since former Lakers guard Tyronn Lue became the Clippers&rsquo; coach.
James also ramped up his chase of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar&rsquo;s career scoring record with his 101st 40-point game, including the postseason. He trails Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points) by just 177 points, putting him in position to potentially break the record at the end of the Lakers&rsquo; upcoming five-game road swing instead of back home in Los Angeles.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got to this place by not even thinking about it,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;Just being in the moment, trying to play the game the right way. Even tonight, as well as I shot the ball, I was still trying to distribute to my guys, to make sure they felt some type of rhythm. That&rsquo;s just always how I&rsquo;ve played the game.&rdquo;
Paul George had 27 points and nine rebounds, and Kawhi Leonard added 25 points in the Clippers&rsquo; third straight win overall. The Clippers never trailed largely because they hit a season-high 15 3-pointers in the first half while scoring a season-high 77 points in the first half.
&ldquo;(James) had a great shooting game, but we weathered the storm,&rdquo; Lue said. &ldquo;When they cut (the lead) to 10 and LeBron is on fire like that ... we just tried to take everyone else out and make him go one-on-one.&rdquo;
Norman Powell had 22 points and Reggie Jackson added 19 for the Clippers.
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&ldquo;We were forcing them into really tough shots, and they were just making them,&rdquo; Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. &ldquo;Against a great team like that, you&rsquo;ve got to play damn near perfect to overcome that deficit.&rdquo;
Russell Westbrook scored 17 points and Thomas Bryant added 15 for the Lakers, who could get Anthony Davis back Wednesday from his 20-game absence with a right foot injury.
&ldquo;The possibilities are limitless,&rdquo; Ham said with a grin.
HACHIMURA ARRIVES
Rui Hachimura sat on the Lakers&rsquo; bench in street clothes one day after they acquired him from Washington in a trade for Kendrick Nunn. The Japanese big man will in uniform Wednesday, Ham said.
TIP-INS
Clippers: Marcus Morris left the game with bruised ribs. Lue had no postgame update. ... John Wall missed his sixth straight game with an abdominal injury. ... Luke Kennard missed his ninth straight game with a calf injury.
Lakers: Guards Lonnie Walker and Austin Reaves also are both close to returns from injury, Ham said. Reaves hasn&rsquo;t played since Jan. 4, and Walker has been out since Dec. 28. ... Westbrook scored his 24,000th point in the first quarter, becoming the 28th player in NBA history to hit the mark.
</div>

LeBron James hit a career-high nine 3-pointers but the Clippers hit 19 3-pointers on the way to a 133-115 victory over the Lakers.

LeBron scores 46 points with 9 3s, but Clippers rout Lakers

Springfield, Massachusetts has been offering glimpses into the future of basketball since James Naismith put some peach baskets on a YMCA wall in 1891. Every MLK weekend, the town gives us another in the form of the HoopHall Classic, where dozens of the best high-school players in the country descend on Blake Arena.
The HoopHall Classic is also one of three high-school showcases this season that was given the green light for NBA scouts to attend. It's a prime opportunity for the elite talents to separate themselves from the pack &mdash; or for less heralded names to put themselves on the map.
I checked into the arena at 10 a.m. and caught all eight contests. These standouts, among many others, caught my eye:
DeMatha Catholic (MD) 66, Bishop Loughlin (NY) 55
Mason So, Bishop Loughlin &mdash;&nbsp;So wasn't the leading scorer of the game or the team MVP, but he really impressed with the little things he did to help the Stags keep control. The UNC Greensboro commit finished with 14 points and operated as a secondary ball-handler and spaced the floor well.
So hit 2-of-5 three-point attempts, but his best play came when he initiated the offense, passed the ball away, snuck behind the Bishop Loughlin zone to the low block and got it back for an easy layup. The senior also hustled on the glass impressively for a 6-foot-2 guard and grabbed 7 total boards.
Mount St. Joseph's (MD) 54, North Laurel (KY) 48
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Mount St. Joseph wins by 6 over North Laurel! 😤 🏀 Mount St. Joseph - 54 North Laurel - 48 🏆 MVP - Tyonne Farrell 19 PTS - 4 REB - 5 AST - 🏟️ - Hoophall Classic 2023 cc: <a href="https://twitter.com/HoophallClassic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HoophallClassic</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Spalding?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Spalding</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MSJ_Basketball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MSJ_Basketball</a> <a href="https://t.co/943lF8n6bW">pic.twitter.com/943lF8n6bW</a>
&mdash; Legit Sport Stats (@LegitSportStats) <a href="https://twitter.com/LegitSportStats/status/1614685273568288768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Tyonne Farrell, Mt. St. Joseph's &mdash;&nbsp;Farrell logged an awesome statement game in front of the college recruiters and NBA scouts: 19 points, 5 assists, 4 blocks and 4 rebounds. The forward (listed at 6-foot-6, though he seems taller) was a monster protecting the rim. Both squads talked trash back-and-forth throughout and Farrell's rejections made quite the statement.
"Scrappy game; they were talking a lot of smack," Farrell told Basketball News. "It was good to block shots and talk back."
He also nearly brought the hoop down with an emphatic designed alley-oop slam. But Farrell, a junior, was more than a rim-runner and cutter. He made 1-of-2 triples and was not afraid to power-drive from the perimeter. Farrell grew up playing guard but has grown and built out his frame. He lists Paul George and Jayson Tatum among his favorite pros to watch because of the way they can handle the ball and use their strength fluidly.
Farrell and Illinois-bound senior teammate Amani Hansberry teamed up for 5 assists apiece; each took turns dissecting North Laurel's zone from the middle of the half-court. Hansberry had a strong afternoon of his own with 14 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.&nbsp;
"Me and Amani, we go well together because we both can pass," Farrell said. "So he'll catch the ball, I'll backdoor slip and he'll find me. And then, we'll set screens for each other, [and] we both can handle the ball pretty well for bigger people. So it's lovely playing with Amani. He's a great player."
Farrell didn't dive into his college situation, but he has publicly posted an offer from Rhode Island and said he's confident in the direction of his recruitment. He didn't even know NBA personnel could attend this year's Classic &mdash; but it added another boost of confidence when he learned afterwards.
"That makes me feel great; I didn't know that," he said with a laugh. "That's amazing... gotta get my name out there."
Reed Sheppard, North Laurel &mdash;&nbsp;Sheppard, a four-star senior bound for Kentucky, simply didn't have his shot falling (5-for-21 from the field, 3-for-14 from three-point range). But he still ended up with 13 points, 13 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals by impacting the game just about everywhere else. He played at a rapid pace that really worked in transition, but even his drive-and-kick passes occurred at blazing speeds. Sheppard follows in the footsteps on his father, Kentucky legend Jeff Sheppard, but the younger ballplayer looks more than capable of carving out his own path.
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Ss. John Neumann-Maria Goretti (PA) 55, Vashon (MO) 45
Robert Wright III, Neumann-Goretti &mdash;&nbsp;Alright, another smaller guard with a big day! Wright, a 6-foot junior, has already committed to Baylor and he posted 17 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals for Neumann-Goretti in the victory. He displayed some impressive passing reads and decision-making in the open floor. Wright didn't shoot all that well and did struggle in the half-court with some of the opposing size. But he's crafty and creative, and his 5-foot-10 teammate Khaafiq Myers helps form one of the most fun backcourts seen this weekend.
Simeon Career Academy (IL) 52, Archbishop Stepinac (NY) 39
Miles Rubin, Simeon &mdash;&nbsp;Rubin is a 6-foot-9, 3-star big man en route to Loyola Chicago. He finished with an efficient 17 points (8-for-10 from the field) plus 7 rebounds and 2 blocks, and was the beneficiary of some timely interior passing. His frontcourt partner and twin brother Wesley (7 assists) frequently caught the basketball around the elbow and threw it inside as Rubin cut to the basket.
The senior also added two blocks, one being an impressive help-defense rejection on 5-star guard Boogie Fland. Simeon tasked Rubin early with showing hard in pick-and-roll defense and it led to two fouls, so there's room to improve with his mobility on the perimeter. Still, Rubin was rock-solid inside and a safe bet as a decision-maker.
Also, I have to shout out Simeon guards Michael Ratliff and Rashard McKinnie. They took turns tracking Fland and neutralized his downhill speed and strength. Fland can get low and slide right by most defenders, but not these two.
AZ Compass Prep (AZ) 55, Oak Hill Academy (VA) 35
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Zayden High shot 100% from the field in AZ Compass&rsquo;s win over Oak Hill 55-35 🐉 <a href="https://t.co/oEPuA4L7hC">pic.twitter.com/oEPuA4L7hC</a>
&mdash; NIBC (@NIBCOfficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/NIBCOfficial/status/1614756786053218304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Zayden High, Compass Prep &mdash; &nbsp;Most of this high-caliber clash was pretty ugly, but High helped Compass Prep pull away late with some timely two-way moments. The 6-foot-10 power forward went a perfect 5-for-5 with 15 points, including a three, a one-dribble pull-up two and some interior scores. His one block was a monster rejection at the rim on Oak Hill big man Drayton Jones.
"I like to think of myself as a shot-blocker," High said postgame. "I'm really good at timing the ball before it goes to the rim. It's all about timing for me &mdash; timed it, blocked it, right point at the right time."
High took instruction from his coaches late in the game regarding screening angles on both sides of the ball. In his first year at AZ Compass Prep, the UNC-bound big man says he's learning a lot about the ins-and-outs of screening.
"Coming to AZ Compass, I've learned a lot about setting screens, shifting my hips and being able to re-screen," he said. "It's helped me out because I'm a pick-and-pop guy; I'm a pick-and-roll guy. So it's lethal to the defense."
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Paul VI Catholic (VA) 72, Roselle Catholic (NJ) 59
DeShawn Harris-Smith, Paul VI &mdash;&nbsp;The Maryland-bound senior absolutely rocked in a huge win for the Panthers. Harris-Smith compiled 23 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals. He's quite strong for a wing listed at 6-foot-4 and used that strength to surge past defenders on his drives. Harris-Smith also showed some foresight as a vertical cutter and held his own defensively. He seems physically prepared and experienced enough to make the leap to college ball as a dynamic 4-star talent.
Simeon Wilcher, Roselle &mdash;&nbsp;Wilcher, with 21 points and 5 assists, was Roselle Catholic's scoring spark to keep this game competitive. The senior guard has all sorts of tricks in his bag, including one crab-dribble-type move that split two defenders and ended in a layup. Wilcher had a lot on his plate with 5-star teammate Mackenzie Mgbako struggling, so the 6 turnovers are understandable with the load he had to carry as a creator. He'll be the next top-notch guard to watch at North Carolina next season.&nbsp;
Prolific Prep (CA) 71, Westtown (PA) 33
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Top freshman Tyran Stokes and <a href="https://twitter.com/ProlificPrep?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ProlificPrep</a> lead Westtown 29-16 at halftime of their <a href="https://twitter.com/HoophallClassic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HoophallClassic</a> matchup ✅<a href="https://twitter.com/tyran_stokes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@tyran_stokes</a> <a href="https://t.co/Wds1Plac2V">pic.twitter.com/Wds1Plac2V</a>
&mdash; SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) <a href="https://twitter.com/SCNext/status/1614787207159504899?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Tyran Stokes, Prolific Prep &mdash;&nbsp;There was one moment late in the second half of Prolific Prep's blowout victory where Stokes caught his breath during a pause in action. A young fan exclaimed, "He's just a freshman!" from the bleachers and Stokes tossed a sly wink back.
"My game, I just come with a swag," Stokes told Basketball News. "My teammates come with it [too], so it's just a group thing."
Stokes will assuredly be among the top freshmen in the country whenever 2026 rankings drop, and he backed up his confidence with an easy 10 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists. The 6-foot-7 wing threw down two alley-oop dunks from senior Aden Holloway and lobbed up one of his own to Zion Sensley.&nbsp;
Prolific Prep has several more experienced playmakers, so Stokes can get comfortable spacing the floor and cutting for the most part. He says his coaches and teammates have helped advance his overall processing speed as a cutter.
"[In] middle school it was a lot slower, but once I got to high school, it just became way faster. The game was faster, so I had to step my game up," he said.
Stokes already has swarms of colleges after him (just check his <a href="https://twitter.com/tyran_stokes/media" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a>), and HoopHall was a big test for his maturity under the eyes of college and pro scouts. He says his mother, Kee, is his biggest source of support and helps relieve some of the stress of his impending rise.
"Me and my mom, we just work as a team to block all the noise out," Stokes said. "People come at me, people come at her, and we just stick together and don't let nobody get to us."
Zion Sensley, Prolific Prep &mdash;&nbsp;Beyond throwing down that alley-oop from Stokes, Sensley earned his game's Most Valuable Player robe with with 18 points, canning 7-of-10 shots. He knocked down threes from the corner, ran the floor for layups and even added in some mid-range self-creation. Sensley has more game off the dribble than he got the chance to show in a dominant win, and his offensive versatility at 6-foot-8 is intriguing. He's a 4-star junior worth keeping an eye on.
Imhotep (PA) 62, Cardinal Hayes (NY) 59
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Justin Edwards puts the first points on the board for Imhotep. <a href="https://t.co/z6dhGBzqYJ">pic.twitter.com/z6dhGBzqYJ</a>
&mdash; Bella DiAmore (@belladiamore) <a href="https://twitter.com/belladiamore/status/1614805998539100160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Justin Edwards, Imhotep &mdash; Edwards made his case for the top billing in the 2023 high-school class with a dominant effort in a thrilling Sunday nightcap. The 6-foot-7 wing amassed 25 points, 12 rebounds, 6 steals and 4 assists.&nbsp;
The defense particularly impressed me. Edwards took on Ian Jackson (11 points, 4-of-10 from the field, 5 assists), one of the best juniors in the country, and stuck with him throughout the matchup. He sprawled out on the floor for one steal and used some quick-twitch hands to poach other passes and get running. Edwards includes a defensive emphasis whenever he tries to cultivate a well-rounded performance.
"When I have an all-around game, it's me locking in defensively and getting my teammates going, so that was just the main thing," he said postgame.
Of course, the scoring was pretty remarkable too &mdash; a combination of emphatic driving slams and lefty mid-range pull-ups. He even snuck in an impressive entry bounce pass that turned into a layup assist. If you want to call Edwards the best senior in the country, you'll get no complaints from me.
Steven Solano, Cardinal Hayes &mdash;&nbsp;Solano's final stat line (4 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks) might not pop off the page, but his impact far transcended the box score. The lanky 6-foot-11 center was an impactful rim protector even beyond his swats and consistently thwarted Imhotep with his length and timely rotations. He only got on the scoreboard twice, but one bucket was a nifty layup spinning out of the post, suggesting he has a bit more of a bag than we saw. Solano's a 3-star center with a host of high-major offers and he could be an underrated find wherever he ends up.

Ethan Fuller recaps his standout stars from Sunday's HoopHall Classic games in Springfield, MA.

HoopHall Highlights: Top performances from Sunday's action

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Terance Mann slipped the gold-chained championship belt proclaiming &ldquo;Big Moment Fella Performance&rdquo; over his head.
He clearly earned it, scoring a career-high 31 points in the Los Angeles Clippers' 121-100 win over the Houston Rockets on Sunday.
After Houston tore through their defense early, the Clippers settled down and dominated the fourth quarter to extend the Rockets' season-worst skid to 10 straight games.
<a href="https://www.nba.com/watch/video/kawhi-with-the-steal-and-slam?plsrc=nba&amp;game-highlights=0022200649">Kawhi Leonard</a> added 30 for the Clippers, who had dropped eight of nine. He scored 13 points, including nine straight, in 11 minutes of the opening quarter.
Both teams were shorthanded. Houston starters Jalen Green and Jae&rsquo;Sean Tate served one-game suspensions for leaving the bench area during an on-court altercation in Friday&rsquo;s loss at Sacramento. The Clippers were missing starters Paul George (right hamstring soreness) and Marcus Morris (left knee contusion).
The Clippers broke open a close game and outscored the Rockets 30-10 in the fourth.
&ldquo;Nobody could get stops. Everybody was moving slow and that might have been because it was an early game,&rdquo; Mann said. &ldquo;Whichever team was going to play defense first was going to win.&rdquo;
With Leonard on the bench to start the fourth, the second unit gave the Clippers their first double-digit lead of the game. Robert Covington opened an <a href="https://www.nba.com/watch/video/la-clippers-with-a-11-0-run-vs-houston-rockets-5?plsrc=nba&amp;game-highlights=0022200649">11-0 run</a> with a 3-pointer and scored inside before Moses Brown&rsquo;s tip-in closed it for a 103-92 lead. Norman Powell led the bench with 18 points.
At the other end, the Rockets came up empty on consecutive possessions.
&ldquo;Keep the pressure on the defensive end, that's really what I like to bring to the table,&rdquo; Mann said.
Eric Gordon led the Rockets with 24 points. Kenyon Martin Jr. had 22 points and nine rebounds and Alperen Sengun had 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
The Rockets stretched their lead to eight early in the third. Leonard returned to score 12 points and Mann added five in a 25-16 run that gave the Clippers a 91-90 lead going into the fourth.
The Rockets didn't play like a team mired in last place in the West. They hammered the Clippers' defense for eight dunks in the first half, including four in the game's opening minutes. Martin accounted for six one-handed jams, one of the most vicious coming with a second left before halftime.
The crowd had barely finished reacting to it when <a href="https://www.nba.com/watch/video/top-plays-from-la-clippers-vs-houston-rockets?plsrc=nba&amp;game-highlights=0022200649">Mann tossed up a high-arcing 3-pointer</a> from midcourt that dropped in at the buzzer, drawing roars and leaving the Clippers trailing 63-62 at the break. Mann raised both arms as if to say, &ldquo;How 'bout that?&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Rockets: Green and Tate also were docked a game's pay. &ldquo;Our guys got to stay on the bench,&rdquo; coach Stephen Silas said. ... Garrison Mathews and Tari Eason were both fined for their roles in the incident. ... They got swept in the season series, 4-0. ... Daishen Nix got his first start of the season. ... Kevin Porter Jr. (left foot contusion) sat out.
Clippers: Luke Kennard (right calf soreness) and John Wall (abdominal soreness) were out. ... Wall will be re-evaluated in two weeks. Wall said he hurt himself dunking in Friday's loss to Denver but finished the game. &ldquo;Can't really run,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It's definitely frustrating.&rdquo; ... Amir Coffey started after being a DNP in two of his last three games and playing only a minute in the other. ... Reggie Jackson got a flagrant-1 foul midway through the second for not allowing Mathews to land on his shot attempt. ... Morris said he would be back to play Tuesday.
UP NEXT
Rockets: Stay in Los Angeles to play the Lakers on Monday.
Clippers: Host Philadelphia on Tuesday to wrap a five-game homestand.&nbsp;

Terance Mann scored a career-high 31 points in the Los Angeles Clippers' 121-100 win over the Houston Rockets.