Lynx

The Denver Nuggets have spent most of the season chasing something that once felt routine. Not wins, not rhythm, not momentum. What they have been chasing is availability.
For months, Denver has navigated injuries, absences, and constant lineup changes that disrupted continuity and delayed any chance of building sustained chemistry. The last time the Nuggets were truly complete dates back to November 14, a moment that now feels distant considering everything that followed. Key pieces missed time, rotations shifted, and roles expanded and contracted out of necessity. There were nights when Denver simply had to find enough bodies to compete, let alone execute at a championship level.
And yet, through all of that instability, the Nuggets never lost sight of the bigger picture. Now, for the first time in months, they are whole again.
With Peyton Watson returning to action, Denver finally has its full complement of talent available. It is a development that arrives at the most critical point of the season. With the playoffs approaching, the Nuggets are no longer trying to survive. They are preparing to contend. There is a difference between those two mindsets, and for much of the season, Denver has been forced into the former.
This is a roster that has already proven it can reach the summit. The blueprint exists, and the belief never left: the only thing missing was health. Now that it is back, so are expectations.
<h3>Nikola Jokic remains the center of everything</h3>
At the heart of it all is Nikola Jokic, who continues to perform at a level that has almost become normalized despite its historic nature.
Jokic is once again playing at an MVP level, quietly putting together another season that demands attention. He is averaging a triple-double, leading the entire league in that category, and dictating every aspect of Denver&rsquo;s offense with precision and control. What once felt extraordinary now feels routine, which says more about the standard he has set than any statistic ever could.
There is a tendency to overlook sustained greatness when it becomes expected. Jokic has reached that point. His ability to control tempo, create advantages, and elevate everyone around him has become the foundation of the Nuggets&rsquo; identity. Every possession runs through his decision-making. Every read he makes has a ripple effect on the entire floor. Everything begins with him, and everything ends with him.
He is the system, the engine, and the safety net all in one. His presence ensures that Denver will always have a functional offense, regardless of circumstance. Even during the most injury-riddled stretches of the season, Jokic kept the Nuggets afloat when he was on the floor. He simplified the game for his teammates, created high-percentage opportunities, and absorbed defensive attention without forcing the issue.
When surrounded by a fully healthy roster, that functionality turns into something far more dangerous and the ultimate weapon in the league.
Opposing teams absolutely cannot load up on Jokic without consequences. The return of multiple scoring threats forces defenses into difficult decisions. Help too much, and shooters are open. Stay home, and Jokic will methodically dismantle single coverage. It is a dilemma that few teams have consistently solved, especially over the course of a seven-game series.
As long as Jokic maintains this level of dominance, the Nuggets remain firmly in the championship conversation. In a playoff environment where adjustments determine outcomes, his ability to adapt on the fly gives Denver a strategic advantage that cannot be overstated.
<h3>Jamal Murray&rsquo;s long-awaited leap</h3>
Alongside Jokic, Jamal Murray is putting together what can be described as the best season of his career.
For years, Murray&rsquo;s postseason performances have defined his reputation. He has built a reputation as a player who rises when the stakes are highest. This season, however, he has brought that same level of impact into the regular season. The result is his first All-Star selection, a recognition that reflects both his production and his consistency over a larger sample size.
Murray is scoring at a career-high level while posting some of the most efficient shooting numbers of his career. His shot selection has improved, his decision-making has sharpened, and his ability to control the pace of the game has taken another step forward. He is no longer just a secondary creator. He is a co-engine of Denver&rsquo;s offense.
More importantly, he has found a rhythm that complements Jokic without overlapping responsibilities. Their two-man game remains one of the most effective partnerships in the league, built on timing, trust, and an intuitive understanding of each other&rsquo;s tendencies. They do not just run plays, they read defenses together and they have been lethal in doing so.
When Murray is operating at this level, the Nuggets become significantly more difficult to defend. Jokic no longer has to shoulder every offensive burden, and defenses cannot key in on a single option. Instead, they are forced to navigate a dynamic that punishes overcommitment and hesitation alike.
This version of Murray elevates Denver from contender to legitimate threat. It also provides a level of offensive security that becomes critical in late-game situations, where execution often determines outcomes.
<h3>Role players finding their rhythm and rounding into form</h3>
Health has not only restored the Nuggets&rsquo; core, it has also allowed their supporting cast to rediscover form and purpose.
Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun have both worked their way back from injuries that interrupted their seasons. Their return stabilizes Denver&rsquo;s defense, bringing back two of the team&rsquo;s most versatile and physical contributors on that end of the floor. Both players are capable of guarding multiple positions, switching across matchups, and providing the kind of physical presence that becomes essential in playoff basketball.
Gordon continues to expand his offensive range, adding more confidence to his perimeter shooting while maintaining his effectiveness as a cutter and interior finisher. His chemistry with Jokic remains one of Denver&rsquo;s most reliable sources of easy offense. Braun, meanwhile, has embraced a more aggressive approach, actively seeking scoring opportunities and applying pressure in transition. His willingness to attack has added another layer to Denver&rsquo;s offensive versatility.
The addition of Cam Johnson has been a story of patience. There were stretches where his shot was not falling, raising questions about his purpose after trading away Michael Porter Jr. Recently, he has begun to find his rhythm, knocking down perimeter shots with greater consistency. If that trend continues, his floor spacing will become a crucial element in Denver&rsquo;s playoff offense. His ability to stretch defenses opens driving lanes and creates cleaner looks for others.
The return of Bruce Brown adds another layer of familiarity and versatility. Brown understands the system, the expectations, and the details that matter in high-stakes moments. He can screen, cut, handle the ball, defend multiple positions, and connect lineups that might otherwise struggle to function cohesively. Players like him often determine the margins in playoff games, where a single possession can shift momentum.
Off the bench, Tim Hardaway Jr. provides instant offense. His ability to heat up quickly from beyond the arc gives Denver a scoring option that can swing momentum in short bursts. In a playoff setting, that kind of scoring punch off the bench can be the difference between maintaining a lead and surrendering it.
Then there is Spencer Jones, whose emergence has been one of the quieter developments of the season. Stepping into a larger role during periods of injury, he has earned the trust of head coach David Adelman by replicating aspects of Gordon&rsquo;s role. His energy, defensive activity, and willingness to do the small things have secured him a place in the rotation. Those contributions often go unnoticed, but they are essential in a playoff environment where depth is tested.
Beyond the primary rotation, the Nuggets have depth they can rely on when needed. Veterans like Jonas Valanciunas and Tyus Jones offer stability and experience, while younger players such as Jalen Pickett, Julian Strawther, Zeke Nnaji, and DaRon Holmes provide energy and situational impact.
For the first time in months, all of these pieces are available at the same time. That alone changes the equation, and their continuity allows roles to settle. It allows chemistry to build and allows the Nuggets to play the way they were designed to play.
<h3>Peyton Watson&rsquo;s emergence adds a new dimension</h3>
While health has restored the Nuggets&rsquo; structure, the emergence of Peyton Watson has expanded it.
Watson&rsquo;s development has been one of the most compelling subplots of Denver&rsquo;s season. During stretches when the roster was depleted, he was forced into a larger role. Instead of merely filling minutes, he produced. Instead of deferring, he attacked. That stretch of responsibility accelerated his growth in ways that might not have been possible under normal circumstances.
There were moments when Watson operated as a primary option, and he delivered with confidence. That experience has translated into a more complete offensive game. He has shown the ability to score at all three levels, knocking down perimeter shots, attacking the rim off the dribble, and creating space for midrange attempts. His willingness to take those shots has changed how defenses approach him.
What makes his emergence particularly significant is how it fits within Denver&rsquo;s existing structure. The Nuggets have always relied on movement, cutting, and unselfish play. Watson enhances all of those elements. He remains an active cutter, a vertical threat, and a willing participant in the flow of the offense. He does not need to dominate the ball to be effective, which makes his integration seamless.
Defensively, his impact has not diminished. He continues to apply pressure on the ball, rotate effectively off it, and provide secondary rim protection. That combination of offense and defense gives Denver a player who can influence the game in multiple ways without disrupting its balance.
The Nuggets have not had a player with this exact profile in previous seasons. Watson introduces a new layer, one that raises the team&rsquo;s ceiling and gives them another option when primary actions are taken away.
His contractual situation, with restricted free agency on the horizon, will be a storyline for another time. For now, his focus is clear. He is part of a team with championship aspirations, and his role within that pursuit continues to grow.
<h3>The emotional weight of being whole again</h3>
There is also an emotional component to Denver&rsquo;s current position that cannot be ignored.
Championship teams are not just built on talent. They are built on continuity, trust, and shared experience, and injuries disrupt all of those elements. They force players into unfamiliar roles and prevent the team from establishing a consistent identity. For months, the Nuggets had to operate without that sense of stability.
Being healthy again restores confidence in rotations, and it will be crucial for the Nuggets moving forward. Players know where they belong. They understand their roles. They can anticipate each other&rsquo;s movements. That level of familiarity allows teams to execute at a higher level, especially in high-pressure situations where hesitation can be costly.
For a team that has already experienced the highest level of success, that familiarity carries even more weight. The Nuggets know what a championship run requires. They know the adjustments, the physicality, and the mental resilience needed to navigate four playoff rounds.
Now, they have the opportunity to tap into that experience once again.
<h3>Health remains the ultimate variable</h3>
For all the talent, depth, and momentum the Nuggets now possess, one question still defines their season.
Can they stay healthy?
It is a simple question with a complicated history. Injuries have already shaped their journey, forcing adjustments and testing their resilience. The front office has assembled a roster capable of competing with the best teams in the league. The coaching staff has managed rotations under less than ideal circumstances. The players have adapted to changing roles.
Now, the final requirement is continuity.
If the Nuggets can maintain their health, they have everything needed to make another deep playoff run. They have the best player in the world in Jokic. They have a proven second option playing at an All-Star level. They have defensive versatility, shooting, experience, and depth. More importantly, they have a shared understanding of what it takes to win at the highest level.
The memory of their 2023 championship run is a reference point. It is proof that this group, when whole, can navigate the demands of the postseason and emerge on top. The Nuggets are finally healthy again, and that is what makes this moment significant. In a league where margins are thin and timing is everything, that might be the most important development of all.

The Nuggets are finally healthy, with Nikola Jokic leading an intact roster into the playoffs as they aim for another deep title run.

Healthy at last, Nuggets ready to chase another NBA title run

The NBA has officially unveiled the full rosters for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game, marking another milestone in this season&rsquo;s midseason showcase.&nbsp;
With the league&rsquo;s annual celebration of its stars set for Feb. 15 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, fans now know exactly who will take part in the new USA vs. World round-robin format &ndash; featuring two U.S. teams and one international squad competing in 12-minute games before a championship finale.
The roster are set as follows:
<h4>Team USA Stripes</h4>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Stephen Curry &ndash; Golden State Warriors</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">LeBron James &ndash; Los Angeles Lakers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Kevin Durant &ndash; Houston Rockets</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Kawhi Leonard &ndash; Los Angeles Clippers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Jaylen Brown &ndash; Boston Celtics</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Jalen Brunson &ndash; New York Knicks</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Donovan Mitchell &ndash; Cleveland Cavaliers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Norman Powell &ndash; Miami Heat&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<h4>Team USA Stars</h4>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Anthony Edwards &ndash; Minnesota Timberwolves</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Devin Booker &ndash; Phoenix Suns</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Cade Cunningham &ndash; Detroit Pistons</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Tyrese Maxey &ndash; Philadelphia 76ers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Scottie Barnes &ndash; Toronto Raptors</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Jalen Duren &ndash; Detroit Pistons</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Chet Holmgren &ndash; Oklahoma City Thunder</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Jalen Johnson &ndash; Atlanta Hawks&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<h4>Team World</h4>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Luka Doncic &ndash; Los Angeles Lakers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Giannis Antetokounmpo &ndash; Milwaukee Bucks</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander &ndash; Oklahoma City Thunder</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Nikola Jokic &ndash; Denver Nuggets</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Victor Wembanyama &ndash; San Antonio Spurs</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Pascal Siakam &ndash; Indiana Pacers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Jamal Murray &ndash; Denver Nuggets</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Deni Avdija &ndash; Portland Trail Blazers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Karl-Anthony Towns &ndash; New York Knicks&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
The starters were voted in by a combination of fans (50 %), NBA players (25 %), and media (25 %) while the reserves were selected by NBA head coaches.
Commissioner Adam Silver and the league office added Kawhi Leonard to the U.S. roster pool after strong midseason play and fan-driven support.&nbsp;
This year&rsquo;s format diverges significantly from traditional East vs. West competition by introducing three distinct All-Star teams &ndash; highlighting both U.S. talent and the international flavor of today&rsquo;s NBA.
With rosters now set, All-Star Weekend will also feature the Castrol Rising Stars Game, Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, and a slate of skills competitions and performances leading up to the main event. The round-robin USA vs. World tournament is designed to add competitive intrigue and showcase global NBA stars on the league&rsquo;s biggest midseason stage.

The NBA has officially unveiled the full rosters for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game.

2026 NBA All-Star Game rosters revealed ahead of USA vs World showcase

The NBA has unveiled the full list of reserves for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game, complementing the previously announced starters and completing the league&rsquo;s midseason showcase rosters. With the All-Star Game set for Feb. 15 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., the 14 reserves were selected by votes from NBA head coaches and join the 10 fan and media-selected starters for this year&rsquo;s event.&nbsp;
Western Conference Reserves:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Anthony Edwards &ndash; Minnesota Timberwolves</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Kevin Durant &ndash; Houston Rockets</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Devin Booker &ndash; Phoenix Suns</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Deni Avdija &ndash; Portland Trail Blazers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Chet Holmgren &ndash; Oklahoma City Thunder</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">LeBron James &ndash; Los Angeles Lakers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Jamal Murray &ndash; Denver Nuggets</li>
</ul>
Eastern Conference Reserves:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Donovan Mitchell &ndash; Cleveland Cavaliers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Karl-Anthony Towns &ndash; New York Knicks</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Pascal Siakam &ndash; Indiana Pacers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Scottie Barnes &ndash; Toronto Raptors</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Jalen Duren &ndash; Detroit Pistons</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Jalen Johnson &ndash; Atlanta Hawks</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Norman Powell &ndash; Miami Heat&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
The reserves round out the 24-player All-Star pool, joining the 10 starters including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić and Victor Wembanyama from the West, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jaylen Brown, Cade Cunningham, Tyrese Maxey, and Jalen Brunson from the East.
<h3>Some notable storylines for this year include:</h3>
LeBron James Extends Historic Streak: Despite not being voted a starter this year, James was still selected as a reserve, giving him a record-extending 22nd All-Star Game appearance &ndash; a remarkable testament to his longevity and sustained performance deep into his 20th-plus NBA season.&nbsp;
Fresh Faces &amp; First-Time Selections: Six players &ndash; Avdija, Holmgren, Johnson, Murray, Powell and Duren &ndash; are earning their first career All-Star selections as reserves, highlighting a wave of ascending talent across the league.&nbsp;
<h3>&ndash; &ndash; &ndash;</h3>
This season&rsquo;s All-Star Game will feature a new &ldquo;USA vs. World&rdquo; format &ndash; a three-team round-robin tournament with two U.S. rosters and one international squad &ndash; making this year&rsquo;s festivities one of the most innovative in All-Star history.&nbsp;
With starters and reserves now set, fans can look forward to the full slate of All-Star Weekend events, including the Rising Stars Game and the Draft, before the 2026 All-Star Game tips off on Feb. 15.

The NBA has unveiled the full list of reserves for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game.

2026 NBA All-Star Game reserves announced

Former NBA guard Jeff Teague believes the Denver Nuggets remain the team to beat in the Western Conference &ndash; and he didn&rsquo;t hesitate to put a prediction on it.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to be honest, if Jokic and them are fully healthy, they are going to 4-2 OKC,&rdquo; Teague said in a recent podcast. &ldquo;They already took them to seven games last year and they were not healthy with some injuries here and there. I really like this Denver team this year.&rdquo;
Teague&rsquo;s confidence isn&rsquo;t coming out of nowhere. There&rsquo;s real substance behind his take, especially considering how Denver has looked this season and how much continuity remains from its championship core.
Nikola Jokic is once again playing at an MVP level, averaging a near triple-double while putting up historically efficient numbers. His command of the offense continues to be the foundation of everything Denver does, and when he&rsquo;s healthy, the Nuggets&rsquo; ceiling rises to championship level.
Jamal Murray, meanwhile, may finally earn his long-awaited All-Star selection. He&rsquo;s averaging career highs across the board and remains the ideal No. 2 option next to Jokic, perfectly complementing Denver&rsquo;s read-and-react style with his shot-making and playmaking.
Around them, Denver&rsquo;s supporting cast has quietly taken meaningful steps forward. Aaron Gordon has improved as a three-point shooter while continuing to provide physicality, toughness, and elite off-ball movement. Christian Braun, fresh off a contract extension, has developed strong chemistry with Jokic. Cam Johnson, brought in to replace Michael Porter Jr., has seamlessly filled his role as a spacer and cutter, maximizing his impact without disrupting the offense.
Off the bench, free-agent additions Tim Hardaway Jr., Bruce Brown, and Jonas Valanciunas have given Denver reliable depth, shoring up areas that were tested during last year&rsquo;s postseason run.
Perhaps the biggest revelation this season has been Peyton Watson. His growth on both ends of the floor has been noticeable, and with Jokic missing time, Watson has stepped up offensively, giving Denver another viable option and further stabilizing the rotation.
When you combine roster depth, continuity, and elite chemistry, it&rsquo;s easy to see why Teague views the Nuggets as Oklahoma City&rsquo;s biggest obstacle. If Denver stays healthy, they may very well be the Thunder&rsquo;s toughest challenge in the race to return to the Western Conference Finals &ndash; and possibly punch another ticket to the NBA Finals.

Jeff Teague believes the Denver Nuggets are the best team in the West.

Jeff Teague thinks the Nuggets are the best in the West: “They going to 4-2 OKC”

After becoming a champion in Denver, Michael Porter Jr. moves on to Brooklyn for career growth &ndash; and the Nets are letting him become who he was projected to be coming out of high school: a full-fledged star in the NBA
Michael Porter Jr. has never lacked talent. That was never the question &ndash; not in high school, not in college, not at the NBA level. The questions, instead, hovered around everything else: the injuries, the fit, the role, the contract, the playstyle, and the frustrating nights where the ball barely moved. Fair or not, the narrative around Porter Jr. has followed him for years.
But in Brooklyn, something is changing.
Porter Jr. has erupted for three straight 30-point games, playing perhaps his best basketball over the past three games and becoming the first player in Nets franchise history to record 30+ points, 5+ rebounds and 5+ threes in three consecutive outings. In a season that has felt like another learning experience and a transitioning year for the franchise, he has emerged as one of the bright spots in a tough season record-wise: a reminder of the player many once believed he would become.
It&rsquo;s easy to forget now, but before back surgeries derailed his trajectory, Porter Jr. was the top prospect in the 2018 class &ndash; ranked above Deandre Ayton, Marvin Bagley III, and even Luka Doncic on several boards. He was the long, fluid, three-level scorer every team coveted. He was billed as a franchise centerpiece, not a complementary piece.
That version of MPJ rarely had space to breathe in Denver. Playing alongside Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon meant living as a third or fourth option, functioning more as a floor spacer than a fully realized scorer. His job was to hit shots, run the floor, defend, rebound &ndash; not to dominate possessions or shape the offense.
The Nuggets needed role players around Jokic. And true enough, Denver traded Porter Jr. to Brooklyn this offseason in exchange for Cam Johnson. The move was framed more as a financial relief and role concerns. Porter Jr.'s contract was massive, and his perceived fit issues &ndash; amplified by statements around the league and online about him being &ldquo;Michael never swinging the rock Porter Jr.&rdquo; &ndash; made it somewhat with sense and drawn from something.
This was a change of scenery for Porter Jr., and a chance to show that he is skillful enough to be a first option in this league. The Nets saw something different in him: a big wing scorer just entering his prime age years, fully capable of putting pressure on defenses in ways few players his size can.
Now that they&rsquo;ve given him the keys, Porter Jr. is showing why it was worth the bet.
His scoring bursts aren&rsquo;t coming from chaotic, ball-stopping sequences. Instead, they&rsquo;re flowing inside a structure tailored to his strengths &ndash; quick-hitting pindowns, ghost screens, high flares, and mid-post touches where his high release point becomes unguardable. He looks confident. He looks free. He looks like someone playing without the weight of expectation for the first time in years.
A major piece of this resurgence is Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez, whose steady grip within the organization amid all the losing has turned into one of Brooklyn&rsquo;s most important stories.
Porter Jr. called Fernandez a &ldquo;genius,&rdquo; indicating the head coach for putting him in a position to succeed as a scorer, and not just a catch and shooter. The tape supports it: Fernandez has built an offensive ecosystem that bends toward Porter Jr.&rsquo;s natural tendencies instead of demanding he mold himself into something else.
Brooklyn is putting him in spots Denver seldom did: early-clock actions where he gets a head start, mismatches in the mid-post, and movement threes that let him catch without thinking. For the first time in a long time, Porter Jr. isn&rsquo;t being told to adapt &ndash; and he has Fernandez to thank for that.
Perhaps there is a deeper significance to all of this. Porter Jr. has spent years hearing the critiques: doesn&rsquo;t pass enough, doesn&rsquo;t defend consistently enough, benefits too much from Jokić&rsquo;s brilliance, can&rsquo;t lead a team in scoring, can&rsquo;t justify the huge contract given to him.
This current stretch won&rsquo;t silence every doubter &ndash; and it shouldn&rsquo;t be expected to. But it does something just as important: it proves that when the opportunity is there, he can be a first option. He can generate efficient offense, and he can carry the load. He&rsquo;s no longer just the guy who fits around stars. He&rsquo;s capable of being the star.
And with Brooklyn in search of identity, direction, and hope, Porter Jr. has unexpectedly become a key asset for the franchise &ndash; a player proving he can be the version of himself the basketball world once saw early in his career.

The Nets are letting Michael Porter Jr. become who he was projected to be coming out of high school: a full-fledged star in the NBA.

Michael Porter Jr. discovers star path with Nets in a career resurgence

There was a time when every Nikola Jokic triple-double was a headline. Now, it&rsquo;s just another night in the NBA.
Through the first seven games of the season, Jokic has recorded a triple-double in five of them &ndash; a feat that, for almost any other player, would be hailed as an early-season masterpiece. For Jokic nowadays though, it barely makes noise &ndash; or so we thought.&nbsp;
His latest line &ndash; 33 points, 15 rebounds, and 16 assists in a win over the Miami Heat &ndash; came and went without much fanfare. No major debates, no viral clips, just another Nikola Jokic game.
It raises a sobering question: Have we started taking Nikola Jokic for granted?
When greatness becomes routine
In a league dominated by storylines, Jokic has somehow become background noise. There&rsquo;s the buzz surrounding Oklahoma City&rsquo;s rise to their dynasty aspirations, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander&rsquo;s another MVP-level play. There&rsquo;s Victor Wembanyama&rsquo;s historic two-way surge, Luka Doncic torching defenses nightly, and Giannis Antetokounmpo reclaiming his MVP momentum as the Bucks return back into contention. Amid all this, Jokic continues to produce at a level that would define other players&rsquo; careers &ndash; and yet, it&rsquo;s treated as business as usual.
Maybe that&rsquo;s the curse of consistency. Jokic has been performing at an MVP standard for six straight years, making extraordinary basketball look almost effortless. His greatness has lost its novelty, not its effectiveness. The NBA world seems to have reached the point where a 25-12-12 stat line is expected out of him night in and night out, and anything less is considered an off night.
That kind of expectation can only mean one thing: we might have grown numb to the brilliance of the Joker.
Jokic&rsquo;s game defies conventional flash. He doesn&rsquo;t soar above defenders, doesn&rsquo;t scream after dunks, and rarely demands attention. Instead, he dissects opponents with surgical precision &ndash; manipulating angles, finding shooters, and bending defenses until they break.&nbsp;
He makes the hardest parts of basketball look like second nature. And perhaps because of that, his dominance no longer shocks us.
Watch him closely, though, and it&rsquo;s clear this is not normal. No one in NBA history has combined this kind of scoring efficiency, playmaking creativity, and rebounding control in one body. Jokic&rsquo;s blend of power and patience, vision and touch, feels like something out of a different era &ndash; or maybe a different dimension.
Yet, somehow, it doesn&rsquo;t dominate the discourse anymore the way it once did.
The cost of familiarity
It&rsquo;s possible that &lsquo;voter fatigue&rsquo; has caught up with Jokic &ndash; not just in award voting, but in the public consciousness. When a player sustains greatness for this long, the conversation naturally shifts elsewhere. The media and fans often chase new narratives, new stars, new sensations. Jokic, who&rsquo;s been doing this for years, no longer fits the mold of &ldquo;breaking news.&rdquo;
But it&rsquo;s worth remembering: he&rsquo;s still the best player in basketball.
Since 2019, Jokic has averaged roughly 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists per game while leading the Denver Nuggets to sustained success, including the 2023 NBA Championship &ndash; a run that stamped his legacy as one of the all-time greats. And yet, even as he keeps doing it, his name often fades into the background of louder storylines.
The truth is, we&rsquo;ve normalized his greatness to the point where we no longer fully appreciate it. It&rsquo;s not that Jokic has gotten worse &ndash; it&rsquo;s that everyone else has gotten louder.
Led by Jokic, Nuggets quietly creep up atop the West
Part of the reason Jokic&rsquo;s brilliance flies under the radar is the Nuggets&rsquo; quiet offseason. While other teams made splashy moves &ndash; like Kevin Durant&rsquo;s shocking arrival in Houston &ndash; Denver operated with surgical precision rather than spectacle.
They brought back a familiar face in Bruce Brown, a key piece of their 2023 title run. Brown&rsquo;s return instantly reestablishes the defensive edge and chemistry that made Denver so complete during their championship push. His connection with Jokic is instinctive; he knows exactly when and where to cut, and Jokic always finds him.
The Nuggets also made a subtle but meaningful trade &ndash; flipping Michael Porter Jr. for Cameron Johnson. At first glance, it might seem like a downgrade in talent, but in practice, it could be an upgrade in fit. Johnson&rsquo;s spacing, unselfishness, and commitment to role-playing perfectly complement Jokic&rsquo;s system. He won&rsquo;t hijack possessions or hunt shots; he&rsquo;ll move, shoot, and defend &ndash; the exact formula that maximizes Jokic&rsquo;s playmaking brilliance.
Denver also finally addressed one of their lingering issues: the lack of a dependable backup center. The addition of Jonas Valanciunas gives them that stability. A bruising interior presence and elite screener, Valanciunas allows Denver to stay afloat when Jokic sits &ndash; a problem that&rsquo;s haunted them for years. He&rsquo;s also a sneaky-good passer, keeping Denver&rsquo;s dribble-handoff flow alive in bench units.
And perhaps the most underrated move of all is not a move at all: the return of a healthy Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon. Both have battled injuries during previous playoff runs, but when on the floor, they complete Denver&rsquo;s identity. Murray&rsquo;s two-man game with Jokic remains one of the most unstoppable actions in basketball, while Gordon&rsquo;s cutting, defense, and athleticism balance the Nuggets on both ends.
Another quiet storyline is their head coach David Adelman. After taking over midseason last year, Adelman has done an exceptional job keeping the Nuggets grounded and disciplined. His defensive tweaks and trust in player development have kept Denver sharp despite roster transitions. He doesn&rsquo;t seek the spotlight &ndash; much like Jokic &ndash; but his influence is felt in the team&rsquo;s structure, chemistry, and accountability.
Adelman has embraced what makes Jokic special: freedom within a framework. Denver plays through Jokic at all times, but it never feels forced. The rhythm of the offense &ndash; cuts, screens, spacing &ndash; is organic, built on years of familiarity and trust.
While the Thunder, Lakers, Spurs, and Rockets dominate headlines, the Nuggets are quietly creeping back into the Western Conference&rsquo;s top tier. It&rsquo;s easy to forget that Denver was one win away from eliminating the eventual champion Oklahoma City Thunder last postseason.
Now, with a more balanced roster, better depth, and a refreshed core, they&rsquo;re poised to make another deep run. And at the center of it all &ndash; both literally and figuratively &ndash; is Nikola Jokic, still orchestrating everything with unmatched control.
He&rsquo;s still the engine, still the mind, still the heartbeat of Denver basketball. And yet, somehow, we&rsquo;ve stopped talking about him.
The normalization of the extraordinary
Maybe that&rsquo;s the price of sustained brilliance &ndash; to be so consistently excellent that the world stops noticing.&nbsp;
But history will remember what the present often overlooks. Jokic isn&rsquo;t just putting up big numbers; he&rsquo;s reshaping what we thought possible for a big man.
One day, when we look back, we&rsquo;ll realize these seasons weren&rsquo;t normal. They were masterpieces hiding in plain sight.
Nikola Jokic hasn&rsquo;t fallen off &ndash; if anything, he&rsquo;s still climbing. It&rsquo;s the rest of us who&rsquo;ve forgotten to look up.

Nikola Jokic’s brilliance has become so routine that fans may be taking it for granted. Read why, here:

Has Nikola Jokic become underrated?

Maybe it wasn&rsquo;t supposed to happen this fast.
When the Spurs selected Victor Wembanyama with the No. 1 pick just over two years ago, even the most optimistic observers believed this would be a process &ndash; a slow, steady climb back to contention. A rebuild, even one with a generational talent at the center, usually takes time.
But time seems irrelevant when the player redefining the game is 7-foot-5 with the coordination of a guard, the mindset of a superstar, and the work ethic of someone who refuses to lose.
The Spurs are 4-0 &ndash; their best start in years &ndash; and there&rsquo;s nothing accidental about it.
They&rsquo;re organized, confident, and locked in. More than anything, they&rsquo;re hungry.
&ldquo;I was confronted with the possibility of more losing,&rdquo; Wembanyama said recently after a win. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want it anymore, and I&rsquo;m not taking this for granted.&rdquo;
That declaration feels like the pulse of San Antonio&rsquo;s resurgence. A team that was once patient with its rebuild has flipped a switch &ndash; and it&rsquo;s largely because its centerpiece refuses to accept mediocrity.
The arrival of an Alien
It&rsquo;s hard to describe what Wembanyama is doing without running out of adjectives.
After a transformative offseason &ndash; one that saw him train with Shaolin monks in China to improve his balance and discipline, and later with Jamal Crawford, Kevin Garnett, and Hakeem Olajuwon to refine his offensive arsenal &ndash; the 21-year-old phenom has returned with a skillset that borders on surreal.
He&rsquo;s no longer just blocking shots, shooting threes, and dunking over smaller defenders. Now he&rsquo;s hitting fadeaway jumpers from the elbow, using up-fakes to draw fouls, bumping shoulders into defenders before finishing with thunderous dunks, and even stepping back for threes with the confidence of a seasoned perimeter scorer.
The dribbling exhibitions have become routine &ndash; behind-the-back escapes, crossovers into pull-ups &ndash; sequences that leave crowds in awe and opponents shaking their heads.
It&rsquo;s one thing for a 6-foot-6 guard to play that way. It&rsquo;s another for a 7-foot-5 unicorn to move like one.
This is why his nickname, The Alien, has never felt more appropriate. There is simply no one else on Earth doing what he does, at his size, with this level of fluidity and command.
And yet, what separates Wembanyama from mere spectacle is that he&rsquo;s winning. He&rsquo;s not just filling highlight reels &ndash; he&rsquo;s dictating outcomes, and he&rsquo;s doing it with ease and efficiency.
The Spurs are done waiting
For years, the Spurs were content to play the long game &ndash; drafting, developing, and letting the process unfold naturally. But this season, the tone has shifted.
The front office has built a roster that complements Wembanyama&rsquo;s strengths, not one that simply incubates his growth. The message is clear: San Antonio wants to win around Wemby as soon as possible.
The additions reflect that intent. Veteran big man Luke Kornet was one of the most underrated offseason signings &mdash; a versatile, high-IQ center who provides stability off the bench and, in certain matchups, can even share the floor with Wembanyama. His screening, rim protection, and feel for spacing have given the Spurs another layer of tactical flexibility.
Meanwhile, Stephon Castle has continued his rise after a Rookie of the Year campaign last season. His confidence and composure have carried over seamlessly, giving the Spurs another defensive-minded guard who thrives alongside Wembanyama in the pick-and-roll on offense.
Then there&rsquo;s Dylan Harper, the No. 2 overall pick &ndash; a rookie who already looks like he belongs. Harper plays with veteran poise, attacking downhill, creating paint touches at will, and finding teammates for open looks. His chemistry with Wembanyama is growing fast, their connection already producing a steady stream of lobs, pick-and-pop plays, and two-man sequences that feel unstoppable when in rhythm.
Around them, the Spurs have surrounded their star with players who fit perfectly within his ecosystem.
Devin Vassell continues to blossom into a three-level scorer, equally capable of spacing the floor or creating his own shot. Harrison Barnes, Julian Champagnie, and Keldon Johnson fill the wing rotation with ideal 3-and-D versatility &ndash; long, disciplined defenders who can hit shots, cut at the right times, and have enough on-ball offensive chops for stretches when needed.
And the Spurs aren&rsquo;t even at full strength yet. Both De&rsquo;Aaron Fox and Jeremy Sochan are set to return soon &ndash; the former adding All-Star explosiveness to the backcourt, the latter bringing defensive fire and playmaking to the front line. Once they&rsquo;re reintegrated, the Spurs could ascend even higher.
This is the Wembanyama Way
But make no mistake: this is Victor Wembanyama&rsquo;s team.&nbsp;
Everything &ndash; from the pace they play at to the way they defend &ndash; starts and ends with him.
He&rsquo;s become a one-man ecosystem, dictating both ends of the floor in ways few players can. On defense, he erases shots that shouldn&rsquo;t be blockable and alters possessions before they even begin. Offensively, he&rsquo;s evolved into a complete offensive engine, capable of creating advantages from anywhere on the floor.
There&rsquo;s a maturity in his approach now &ndash; a deeper understanding of timing, positioning, and patience. His body language, once cautious and learning, now carries the quiet assurance of a superstar who knows he belongs.
In many ways, it mirrors the Spurs&rsquo; transformation. The organization that once defined patience is now moving with urgency. The team that once hoped for competitiveness is now demanding it.
And it all stems from Wembanyama&rsquo;s mindset. When he said he didn&rsquo;t want to lose anymore, it wasn&rsquo;t just a soundbite, but it was a cultural shift.
The Spurs&rsquo; 4-0 start is the evidence of a young team discovering itself faster than anyone expected, and it is more than just a hot streak to start the season.
They&rsquo;re not chasing moral victories anymore. They&rsquo;re playing with the swagger of a group that knows it belongs among the elite. There will still be growing pains, that&rsquo;s inevitable for any young roster. But for the first time since the end of the glory days of their two-decade dynasty, San Antonio basketball feels alive again.
And it&rsquo;s because they have something no one else does.
A 7-foot-5 alien who moves like a guard, thinks like a veteran, and leads like a champion.
Victor Wembanyama has arrived, and this is only the beginning. The rest of the league should take notice, because Wemby and the Spurs have arrived ahead of schedule

The Spurs’ 4-0 start signals a culture shift in San Antonio — and it all begins with Victor Wembanyama, the 7-foot-5 phenom leading it all.

The Wemby Effect: Spurs’ early season rise signals shift in San Antonio

The first round of the 2024 NBA Draft is done and dusted, and the second round will start today at 4 PM Eastern at ESPN&rsquo;s Seaport District Studios in New York. This will be the first time in NBA history that the draft will be separated into two days, with the first round being at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.&nbsp;
Here are all the first-round selections courtesy of the NBA: (article to be updated with the second-round picks)
<ol>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/zaccharie-risacher">Zaccharie Risacher</a> (JL Bourg-en-Bresse) to the Atlanta Hawks</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/alexandre-sarr">Alex Sarr</a> (Perth) to the Washington Wizards</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/reed-sheppard">Reed Sheppard</a> (Kentucky) to the Houston Rockets</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/stephon-castle">Stephon Castle</a> (Connecticut) to the San Antonio Spurs</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/ron-holland">Ron Holland II</a> (G League Ignite) to the Detroit Pistons</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/tidjane-salaun">Tidjane Salaun</a> (Cholet Basket) to the Charlotte Hornets</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/donovan-clingan">Donovan Clingan</a> (Connecticut) to the Portland Trail Blazers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/rob-dillingham">Rob Dillingham</a> (Kentucky) to the San Antonio Spurs &mdash; traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/zach-edey">Zach Edey</a> (Purdue) to the Memphis Grizzlies</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/cody-williams">Cody Williams</a> (Colorado) to the Utah Jazz</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/matas-buzelis">Matas Buzelis</a> (G League Ignite) to the Chicago Bulls</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/nikola-topic">Nikola Topic</a> (KK Crvena Zvezda) to the Oklahoma City Thunder</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/devin-carter">Devin Carter</a> (Providence) to the Sacramento Kings</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/carlton-carrington">Bub Carrington</a> (Pittsburgh) to the Portland Trail Blazers &mdash; traded to Washington Wizards</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/kelel-ware">Kel&rsquo;el Ware</a> (Indiana) to the Miami Heat</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/jared-mccain">Jared McCain</a> (Duke) to the Philadelphia 76ers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/dalton-knecht">Dalton Knecht</a> (Tennessee) to the Los Angeles Lakers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/tristan-da-silva">Tristan da Silva</a> (Colorado) to the Orlando Magic</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/jakobe-walter">Ja&rsquo;Kobe Walter</a> (Baylor) to the Toronto Raptors&nbsp;</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/jaylon-tyson">Jaylon Tyson</a> (Cal) to the Cleveland Cavaliers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/yves-missi">Yves Missi</a> (Baylor) to the New Orleans Pelicans</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/daron-holmes-ii">DaRon Holmes II</a> (Dayton) to the Phoenix Suns &mdash; traded to the Denver Nuggets</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/aj-johnson">AJ Johnson</a> (Illawarra) to the Milwaukee Bucks</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/kyshawn-george">Kyshawn George</a> (Miami) to the New York Knicks &mdash; traded to Washington Wizards</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/pacome-dadiet">Pacome Dadiet</a> (Ratiopharm Ulm) to the New York Knicks</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/dillon-jones">Dillon Jones</a> (Weber State) to the Washington Wizards &mdash; traded to Oklahoma City Thunder (via Knicks)</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/terrence-shannon-jr">Terrence Shannon Jr.</a> (Illinois) to the Minnesota Timberwolves</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/ryan-dunn">Ryan Dunn</a> (Virginia) to the Denver Nuggets &mdash; traded to the Phoenix Suns</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/isaiah-collier">Isaiah Collier</a> (USC) to the Utah Jazz</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/baylor-scheierman-2">Baylor Scheierman</a> (Creighton) to the Boston Celtics</li>
</ol>
&nbsp;
<ol start="31">
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/jonathan-mogbo">Jonathan Mogbo</a> (San Francisco) to the Toronto Raptors</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/kyle-filipowski">Kyle Filipowski</a> (Duke) to the Utah Jazz</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/tyler-smith">Tyler Smith</a> (G League Ignite) to the Milwaukee Bucks</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/tyler-kolek">Tyler Kolek</a> (Marquette) to the Portland Trail Blazers &mdash; traded to the New York Knicks</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/johnny-furphy">Johnny Furphy</a> (Kansas) to the San Antonio Spurs &mdash; traded to the Indiana Pacers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/juan-nunez">Juan Nunez</a> (Ratiopharm Ulm) to the Indiana Pacers &mdash; traded to San Antonio Spurs</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/bobi-klintman">Bobi Klintman</a> (Cairns) to the Minnesota Timberwolves &mdash; traded to the Detroit Pistons</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/ajay-mitchell">Ajay Mitchell</a> (UC Santa Barbara) to the New York Knicks &mdash; traded to Oklahoma City Thunder</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/jaylen-wells">Jaylen Wells</a> (Washington State) to the Memphis Grizzlies</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/oso-ighodaro">Oso Ighodaro</a> (Marquette) to the Portland Trail Blazers &mdash; traded to the Phoenix Suns (via Knicks)</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/adem-bona">Adem Bona</a> (UCLA) to the Philadelphia 76ers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/kj-simpson">KJ Simpson</a> (Colorado) to the Charlotte Hornets</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/nikola-djurisic">Nikola Djurisic</a> (KK Mega Basket) to the Miami Heat &mdash; traded to the Atlanta Hawks (via Heat)</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/pelle-larsson">Pelle Larsson</a> (Arizona) to the Houston Rockets &mdash; traded to the Miami Heat (via Rockets)</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/jamal-shead">Jamal Shead</a> (Houston) to the Sacramento Kings &mdash; traded to the Toronto Raptors</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/cam-christie">Cam Christie</a> (Minnesota) to the Los Angeles Clippers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/antonio-reeves">Antonio Reeves</a> (Kentucky) to the Orlando Magic &mdash; traded to the New Orleans Pelicans</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/harrison-ingram">Harrison Ingram</a> (North Carolina) to the San Antonio Spurs</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/tristen-newton">Tristen Newton</a> (Connecticut) to the Indiana Pacers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/enrique-freeman">Enrique Freeman</a> (Akron) to the Indiana Pacers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/melvin-ajinca">Melvin Ajinca</a> (Saint-Quentin Basketball) to the New York Knicks &mdash; traded to the Dallas Mavericks</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/quinten-post">Quinten Post</a> (Boston College) to the Golden State Warriors &mdash; traded to Thunder, then to Blazers, then to Warriors</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/cam-spencer">Cam Spencer</a> (Connecticut) to the Detroit Pistons &mdash; traded to the Memphis Grizzlies (via Timberwolves)</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/anton-watson">Anton Watson</a> (Gonzaga) to the Boston Celtics</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/bronny-james">Bronny James</a> (USC) to the Los Angeles Lakers</li>
<li> <a href="https://www.nba.com/draft/2024/prospects/kevin-mccullar-jr">Kevin McCullar Jr.</a> (Kansas) to the Phoenix Suns &mdash; traded to the New York Knicks</li>
</ol>
&nbsp;

The first round of the 2024 NBA Draft is done and dusted, and the second round will start today at 4 PM Eastern at ESPN’s Seaport District Studios in New York.

2024 NBA Draft: Full results

The NBA App will stream the SLAM Summer Classic Vol. 5 on Saturday, Aug. 19, adding to the growing list of elite basketball programming available year-round on the new platform.&nbsp; 
The fifth annual basketball showcase at Rucker Park in New York City will feature 28 of the top high-school-age players in the U.S. Headlined by Jaloni Cambridge, Aaliyah Chavez and Kennedy Smith, the girls game tips off at 5 p.m. ET followed by the boys &ndash; featuring top high-school prospects Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper and Tre Johnson &ndash; streaming at 7 p.m. ET.&nbsp; Additionally, several members of the <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/jr-nba-court-of-leaders-mentorship-program-provides-youth-with-voice" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nba.com/news/jr-nba-court-of-leaders-mentorship-program-provides-youth-with-voice&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1692371005985000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1FeYuKToXVUf2-KpS_2bVH">Jr. NBA Court of Leaders</a>&nbsp;will participate in the event.
The addition of the SLAM Summer Classic is part of the NBA&rsquo;s larger commitment to make the NBA App an all-in-one destination for global basketball programming. Over the past year, premier basketball content available on the app has included select WNBA, Basketball Africa League and NBA G League Ignite games, as well as Nike Elite Youth Basketball League&rsquo;s (EYBL) Peach Jam, Jr. NBA Showcase, LNB Betclic ELITE, top pro-am leagues such as the Drew League, Miami Pro League and AEBL, and more.
The NBA will produce and distribute the SLAM Summer Classic games on the free-to-download&nbsp;<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/global.nba.com/nba-apps/index.html?_branch_match_id=811567537499273278&amp;_branch_referrer=H4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXTywo0MvJzMvWy0tK1EvOz9UH0kAxAF91y5sfAAAA__;!!KLCbKzk!n3wSjvNMSkYR4lKoKVgXircttWOLy-0rXgpTSo-D1MmKcmHzay-SwIoaQ0lokaPc1PDUxBHGW6sN$" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/global.nba.com/nba-apps/index.html?_branch_match_id%3D811567537499273278%26_branch_referrer%3DH4sIAAAAAAAAA8soKSkottLXTywo0MvJzMvWy0tK1EvOz9UH0kAxAF91y5sfAAAA__;!!KLCbKzk!n3wSjvNMSkYR4lKoKVgXircttWOLy-0rXgpTSo-D1MmKcmHzay-SwIoaQ0lokaPc1PDUxBHGW6sN$&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1692371005985000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2emDiwi7_0lf1Yxd60aUby">NBA App</a>&nbsp;and on NBA.com. Below are the full team rosters.&nbsp;
BOYS ROSTER
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Name
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Ace Bailey (Powder Springs, Ga.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Jalil Bethea (Philadelphia, Pa.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
*AJ Dybantsa (Brockton, Mass.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
VJ Edgecombe (Brookville, N.Y.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
*Isaiah Evans (Huntersville, N.C.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Cooper Flagg (Newport, Maine)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Dylan Harper (Ramsey, N.J.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Jahki Howard (Atlanta, Ga.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Ian Jackson (Bronx, N.Y.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Tre Johnson (Dallas, Texas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Tahaad Pettiford (Jersey City, N.J.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
*Jase Richardson (Las Vegas, Nev.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Meleek Thomas (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Robert Wright III&nbsp;(Philadelphia, Pa.)
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
* Member of the Jr. NBA Court of Leaders
&nbsp;
&nbsp;GIRLS ROSTER
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Name
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Izela Arenas (Chatsworth, Calif.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Mikayla Blakes (Somerset, N.J.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
*Jaloni Cambridge (Nashville, Tenn.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Aaliyah Chavez (Lubbock, Texas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
*Kendall Dudley (Centreville, Va.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
*Leah Harmon (Washington D.C.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Ariel Little (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Maddy McDaniel (Upper Marlboro, Md.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Me'arah O'Neal (Houston, Texas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Mackenly Randolph (Chatsworth, Calif.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Kennedy Smith (Etiwanda, Calif.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Chloe Spreen (Bedford, Ind.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Kennedy Umeh (Owings Mills, Md.)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="354">
Allie Ziebell (Neenah, Wis.)
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
* Member of the Jr. NBA Court of Leaders

The NBA App will stream the SLAM Summer Classic Vol. 5 on Saturday, Aug. 19.

NBA App to stream the SLAM Summer Classic Vol. 5

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Denver Nuggets rookie Christian Braun is showing that the NBA Finals is not too big of a stage for him.
The 21st pick in the draft last summer, Braun has made the most of his minutes off the bench, sinking 10 of 12 shots, grabbing a half dozen rebounds and collecting four steals against the Miami Heat while giving teammates an extended breather.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a rare rookie right here,&rdquo; Aaron Gordon said. &ldquo;From Day 1 he&rsquo;s been on top of it. This is a real winner right here. I say that because he&rsquo;s always in the right spot. He&rsquo;s in the right place at the right time, and he&rsquo;s been doing that all year.&rdquo;
Braun has a chance to become just the fifth player in NBA history to win an NBA title a year after winning the NCAA championship, joining Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, Henry Bibby and Billy Thompson.
Braun gave the Nuggets a much-needed lift in&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-finals-miami-heat-denver-nuggets-6410e66b0dc6f50f2bbed3b6b7a178b4">Denver&rsquo;s Game 3 rout of the Heat</a>. With Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray making history with the first dual triple-double in the NBA Finals, Braun scored 15 points in 19 minutes on a night starters Michael Porter Jr. and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope struggled again.
Braun&rsquo;s remarkable resume includes three state championships at Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park, Kansas, and a national title with the Jayhawks last year.
Most rookies who cap their college careers with championships have to bide their time in the pros until it&rsquo;s, well, their time. Braun is two wins away from an incredible fifth championship in seven years.
And one of those years without a title came in 2020, when the pandemic shuttered sports and society at a time the Jayhawks were entering the NCAA tournament as the nation&rsquo;s No. 1 team.
&ldquo;Getting shut down, we feel like we were definitely held back from something,&rdquo; said Braun, who helped Kansas win the national title two years later when he had 12 points and 12 rebounds in the Jayhawks&rsquo; 72-69 win over North Carolina in the national championship.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m definitely blessed,&rdquo; Braun said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not necessarily an individual accomplishment. I&rsquo;ve been a part of some really good teams with really good coaches and really good players.&rdquo;
Like on the court, he&rsquo;s been in the right place at the right time his whole life.
&ldquo;All year long the one thing I&rsquo;ve talked about with Christian is that he&rsquo;s a winner,&rdquo; Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. &ldquo;The guy has won at every level, and here he is in the NBA Finals. It&rsquo;s kind of staying true to form for Christian Brawn.&rdquo;
Malone said he knew Braun&rsquo;s addition was going to be big when the 6-7 shooting guard whose last name is pronounced &ldquo;Brown,&rdquo; helped Denver to a 128-123 win at Golden State in the second game of the season with Murray in street clothes as he worked his way back from a torn ACL.
&ldquo;For a young player playing against the defending world champions on the road, he wasn&rsquo;t afraid,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;That really stuck out to me. Most young kids, they get in a situation or environment like that, they&rsquo;re going to be a little bit over their head, and he wasn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;
Braun&rsquo;s attitude is that if he&rsquo;s only going to get minutes here and there, then he&rsquo;s going to hustle from the second he checks in to the moment he&rsquo;s summoned back to the bench.
&ldquo;The last two months of the year he was a rotational player for the No. 1 team in the West,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s done his job in the playoffs. He&rsquo;s gone out there and defended, rebounded, ran the floor, moved without it. He&rsquo;s never afraid of the moment, which you have to appreciate for such a young kid.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Obviously, the Final Four kind of helped me with that,&rdquo; Braun said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve kind of been here before.&rdquo;
Several times even.

Denver Nuggets rookie Christian Braun is showing that the NBA Finals is not too big of a stage for him.

Nuggets’ Braun seeking NBA title a year after winning NCAA championship

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Never had two players from the same team had 30-point triple-doubles in the same game. Never in the regular season. Never in the playoffs. Certainly never in the NBA Finals.
Until now.
Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray made history Wednesday night &mdash; and have the Denver Nuggets two wins away from making some real history as well.
Jokic and Murray became the first teammates in NBA Finals history to both record triple-doubles, and the Nuggets reclaimed the lead in the series by beating the Miami Heat 109-94 in Game 3.
&ldquo;By far, their greatest performance as a duo in their seven years together,&rdquo; Nuggets coach Michael Malone said, after his team moved two wins away from Denver&rsquo;s first title.
Jokic finished with 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists &mdash; the first such game in NBA Finals history, or at least the first since assists were tracked. Murray had 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, getting the rebound he needed with 9 seconds remaining.
The Nuggets outrebounded the Heat 58-33, and took a 2-1 lead. Game 4 is Friday in Miami.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just glad that we won the game,&rdquo; Jokic said. &ldquo;It was a big one for us because they won in our arena. We just didn&rsquo;t want to go down 2-1.&rdquo;
Jimmy Butler scored 28 points for Miami, and Bam Adebayo finished with 22 points and 17 rebounds. Caleb Martin added 10 points.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to come out with more energy and effort and that&rsquo;s correctable,&rdquo; Butler said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s on us as a group.&rdquo;
Jokic and Murray combined for 24 field goals; Miami had 34. Jokic and Murray combined for 31 rebounds; Miami had 33. Jokic and Murray combined for 20 assists; Miami had exactly that many.
Somehow, some way, the Heat know they need to find an answer before Friday.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not an easy task to do,&rdquo; Butler said. &ldquo;But if we want to win, we&rsquo;re going to have to figure it out.&rdquo;
Miami has been the comeback kings of these playoffs &mdash; seven rallies in games after trailing by at least 12 points. The Heat were down by 14 going into the fourth, and Malone reminded his club of Miami&rsquo;s penchant for comebacks.
&ldquo;First two games, they won the fourth quarter,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;Tonight, we win the fourth quarter, we win the game.&rdquo;
His team listened.
The lead eventually reached 21, the outcome never seriously in doubt, and Jokic looking very much like he&rsquo;s back in cruise control. The Heat got within nine on a 3-pointer by Duncan Robinson with 1:22 left, but there was no epic finish for Miami. Murray and Jokic had the Nuggets too far ahead to get caught.
&ldquo;You have to expect there to be elite talent in the finals,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;And both those guys are elite-level talent.&rdquo;
Officially, Jokic is now the seventh player to have two triple-doubles in the same finals. Magic Johnson and LeBron James each did it in three different finals. Draymond Green, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird and Butler all had one title series with two triple-doubles.
It was Jokic&rsquo;s 10th triple-double of these playoffs, extending his single-season record, and he was unbothered by whatever Miami threw his way. He finished 12 for 21 from the floor, 7 for 8 from the line, playing 44 minutes.
&ldquo;We were more locked in, more focused,&rdquo; Jokic said.
Christian Braun was tremendous off the bench for the Nuggets, scoring 15 points on 7-for-8 shooting in 19 minutes. Aaron Gordon added 11 for Denver.
And afterward, they both marveled at what their stars did in Game 3.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s greatness, man. It&rsquo;s greatness,&rdquo; Gordon said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s a dynamic duo right there.&rdquo;
Added Braun: &ldquo;I would say that it&rsquo;s what they do every game.&rdquo;
Miami never led in the second half. A dunk by Adebayo put the Heat up 44-42 with 3:18 left in the half, before a 3-pointer by Murray represented the seventh and final lead change of the night. It was 53-48 at halftime, before Denver pushed the lead to double digits for the first time early in the third and wound up leading by as many as 19 later in that period.
The Heat stole home court by winning Game 2 in Denver, a game where Murray had a chance to force overtime with a 3-point try that missed at the end. The Nuggets now have the lead again, and there was no Game 2 hangover on Wednesday.
&ldquo;Not just me,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;Everybody bounced back.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Denver used Reggie Jackson in the first quarter, going nine deep in the opening 12 minutes for the first time since Game 2 of the West finals. ... Denver hadn&rsquo;t lost two consecutive games to Miami since March 14 and Nov. 30, 2016. Jokic played in both of those games, Murray in the second one early in his rookie season.
Heat: It was the first finals game in Miami since 2014. The Heat didn&rsquo;t have any &ldquo;home&rdquo; games in the 2020 finals, which were held in the NBA&rsquo;s restart bubble near Orlando. ... Wednesday was the 11th anniversary of LeBron James&rsquo; 45-point, 15-rebound, five-assist game at Boston in Game 6 of the East finals &mdash; staving off elimination. The Heat won Game 7 and went on to beat Oklahoma City for James&rsquo; first title.
HASLEM RECORD
Miami&rsquo;s Udonis Haslem &mdash; in his 20th and final season &mdash; set a record. He became the oldest player to appear in the NBA Finals, breaking the mark of 42 years, 58 days set by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on June 13, 1989.
Haslem turns 43 on Friday. He played the final 29.8 seconds.
RARE COMPANY
Jokic had 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the first quarter. The only other players in the last 25 years to have that in any quarter of a finals game were Stephen Curry (12-7-5) for Golden State in the third quarter against Cleveland on June 4, 2017, and Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal (12-7-3) for the Los Angeles Lakers in the second quarter against Philadelphia on June 8, 2001.
CELEB WATCH
Former Heat player and NBA champion Mike Miller &mdash; now an agent &mdash; was at the game, along with one of his clients, Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/Pp_doesit/status/1666599282634260482?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Banchero tweeted</a>&nbsp;&ldquo;game ain&rsquo;t even started yet i&rsquo;m in here star struck.&rdquo;
DJ Khaled was in attendance, along with soccer greats Neymar and Paul Pogba (on the day Lionel Messi committed to play for Inter Miami), Shakira, Magic Johnson, J. Cole (who played a role in getting Caleb Martin to the Heat) and Dwyane Wade &mdash; who starred for Miami&rsquo;s title teams in 2006, 2012 and 2013.
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-206 apnews_article_midarticle_2" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">&nbsp;</div>

Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray made history Wednesday night — and have the Nuggets two wins away from making history as well.

Jokic, Murray have triple-doubles, Nuggets beat Heat 109-94 for 2-1 lead

DENVER (AP) &mdash; For the Miami Heat, shooting at Denver&rsquo;s 5,280 feet of mile-high altitude during Game 1 of the NBA Finals wasn&rsquo;t a problem.
Not shooting from 15 feet &mdash; the distance from the basket to the foul line &mdash; was.
The Heat made NBA history, and not the good kind, by shooting only two free throws in Game 1 as Denver struck first in the title series with a 104-93 win. It was the fewest free throw attempts ever by a team in a playoff game and makes one of the adjustments for Game 2 on Sunday simple to forecast: Expect Miami to go into attack mode.
&ldquo;The attacks, we didn&rsquo;t have enough of them,&rdquo; said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, whose team sent Denver to the line for 20 free throws in Game 1. &ldquo;I thought the free throw disparity was appropriate. Maybe we could have got two, four, six more based on a call here or a call there. But overall our attack numbers were lower, and that usually translates into lower free throw attempts.&rdquo;
Adjustments at playoff time are considered some mystical thing, as if a team is going to completely reinvent itself during the day or two between games. They&rsquo;re usually nothing more than minor tweaks, maybe a lineup change, a slight shift in how a pick-and-roll is defended.
The Nuggets are used to this by now. They are 4-0 in Game 1s in these playoffs &mdash; having led them by 32, 25, 21 and 24 points, respectively. And the teams that lost those games, obviously, had the infamous adjustments to make going into Game 2.
They worked. Sort of. Denver&rsquo;s biggest leads in the three Game 2s it has played so far are 21, 12 and 12 points. That&rsquo;s less than the Game 1 margins, but not enough to affect the outcome. The Nuggets are 3-0 in those games, too.
And if you think that has Nuggets coach Michael Malone at ease, well, think again.
&ldquo;I told our players today, don&rsquo;t read the paper, don&rsquo;t listen to the folks on the radio and TV saying that this series is over and that we&rsquo;ve done something, because we haven&rsquo;t done a damn thing,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;We won Game 1. The reason I told our players I was excited this morning is because we won Game 1 and we didn&rsquo;t play well, and there&rsquo;s so many things we can do better. If we do those things at a better level, we&rsquo;ll have a chance to win Game 2.&rdquo;
There&rsquo;s always things to do better. Even for Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, believe it or not.
They joined Magic Johnson and James Worthy, in 1987, as the only teammates to have at least 25 points and 10 assists in the same finals game &mdash; and the Nuggets&rsquo; duo did it in their finals debut. Jokic had a 27-point triple-double, Murray finished with 26, and the stage was clearly not too big for Denver&rsquo;s two best players.
Denver is also trying to be the first team to start a postseason 10-0 at home since Boston in 2018.
&ldquo;You just try to win every game. It&rsquo;s first to four, no matter how you get it done,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;Obviously, you want to take advantage of being at home. Love playing at home. But any game you can win, you take. So, yeah, we&rsquo;re looking forward to just winning every single game that we play.&rdquo;
This is Miami&rsquo;s first 1-0 deficit of the postseason. The Heat won Game 1s on the road in Milwaukee, New York and Boston on their way to the finals; no team had ever won four Game 1s away from home in the same postseason.
And while the Nuggets are saying &mdash; correctly, too &mdash; that they missed plenty of open shots, the Heat can absolutely point to that as a way they&rsquo;ll improve in Game 2. Max Strus (0 for 10), Caleb Martin (1 for 7) and Duncan Robinson (1 for 6) were a combined 2 for 23 from the floor in Game 1, 2 for 16 from 3-point range.
That would be the simplest and most effective adjustment Miami could make for Sunday &mdash; make shots.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to continue play the right way. I&rsquo;m going to pass the ball to my shooters the way I have been playing the entire playoffs, the entire year,&rdquo; said Heat forward Jimmy Butler, who scored 13 in Game 1, his lowest-scoring game so far in these playoffs.
&ldquo;But I think I&rsquo;ve got to be more aggressive putting pressure on the rim,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I think that makes everybody&rsquo;s job a lot easier. They definitely follow suit whenever I&rsquo;m aggressive on both sides of the ball. So, I have to be the one to come out and kick that off the right way &mdash; which I will &mdash; and we&rsquo;ll see where we end up.&rdquo;

The Heat made NBA history, and not the good kind, by shooting only two free throws in Game 1 as Denver struck first in the title series.

Heat want to get to line more, while Nuggets vow to be better in Game 2

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra practically snickered when asked about neutralizing the effective two-man game played by Denver Nuggets teammates Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.
&ldquo;Yeah, where do you start? You have two guys that can score 50 in a playoff game. One guy is a triple-double machine that loves to get guys involved,&rdquo; Spoelstra said.
&ldquo;You go down the list of myriad of things you can do defensively, you have to check off some things that you don&rsquo;t really want to do because of both their ability to score and Jokic&rsquo;s ability to create something off-script.&rdquo;
Spoelstra knows what the Heat are up against; it&rsquo;s nothing new for Denver. The Nuggets&rsquo; potent duo has been nearly unstoppable in powering Denver&rsquo;s 13-3 run through the playoffs, including a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-finals-2023-heat-nuggets-jokic-278674ca5c096db5880b812c7cc348dc">104-93 win in Game 1</a>.
A win Sunday night would make them just the second team this century to win its first 10 home games in a single postseason. The Nuggets&rsquo; run to what they hope is their first NBA championship is being fueled by Jokic and Murray.
They&rsquo;re entering the pantheon of pick-and-roll royalty of standard-bearers John Stockton and Karl Malone. But the Nuggets do it with a different twist.
Whereas Malone set up almost all of the screens for Stockton when they were Utah Jazz teammates, Denver&rsquo;s version is ambidextrous, doubling the difficulty of deciphering much less defusing it.
&ldquo;Three, four years ago, the No. 1 pick-and-roll combo in the entire NBA was Nikola and Jamal,&rdquo; Nuggets coach Michael Malone recalled. &ldquo;And most people would just assume that it was Nikola setting for Jamal. It was actually the opposite. It was Nikola handling and Jamal setting.
&ldquo;The reason it was so effective, aside from the obvious &mdash; two really talented players &mdash; is that Jamal is big, strong, physical and not afraid of contact. Some guys like to slip out of every screen because they don&rsquo;t want to make that contact, they don&rsquo;t want to give themselves up,&rdquo; the coach added. &ldquo;Jamal from early in his career here, he&rsquo;s shown that he&rsquo;s willing to go and set a screen on a big guy, small guy, doesn&rsquo;t matter, because he&rsquo;s tough.
&ldquo;The second part of that is he also knows that if Nikola has the ball and he screens, his man has to help, which will give him separation. If you want to simplify the game of basketball, it comes down to separation.&rdquo;
Both Murray and Jokic are three-level scorers who can shoot 3-pointers, make midrange jump shots and drive to the basket. Their Game 1 performance put them in some elite company.
Heading into the series opener, only Michael Jordan in 1991 and Russell Westbrook in 2012 had at least 25 points, 10 assists and five rebounds in an NBA Finals debut. Jokic and Murray added their names to that list Thursday night &mdash; Murray had 26 points, 10 assists and six rebounds and Jokic extended his NBA record with his ninth triple-double in these playoffs, getting 27 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds.
The only other pair of teammates to have 25 points and 10 assists in an NBA Finals game was Magic Johnson and James Worthy, who did it for the Los Angeles Lakers against Boston in Game 1 in 1987.
Murray and Jokic have been refining their on-court relationship since Murray&rsquo;s rookie season in 2016, a year after Jokic joined the Nuggets as the now-hard-to-fathom 41st overall draft pick. Murray was backing up Gary Harris and Jokic was coming off the bench behind Jusuf Nurkic.
&ldquo;We would actually come into the game together, and we would run post-ups or just simple give-and-goes ... and I&rsquo;d say then we kind of developed a chemistry,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;Soon we both started, we started playing off each other. We started to figure out where we like the ball, when we liked the ball, when I&rsquo;m going to pass, when he&rsquo;s going to pass, when he&rsquo;s driving, when to relocate, where to relocate.&rdquo;
Heat guard Kyle Lowry, who is in his 16th NBA season, is hard-pressed to come up with a better point guard/big man combo.
&ldquo;Jamal and Jokic, they&rsquo;re deadly because they both can score and pass the ball,&rdquo; said Lowry, noting he played against the San Antonio Spurs&rsquo; &ldquo;great combination&rdquo; of Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re big targets, and they have a great feel for each other.&rdquo;
Nuggets guard Ish Smith has been on a record 13 teams in 13 NBA seasons and said he has never seen anything quite like Denver&rsquo;s duo. Smith said what makes Jokic and Murray so effective is both players are the antithesis of superstars who&rsquo;d rather go 1-on-1 in isolation.
&ldquo;It wouldn&rsquo;t work if Nikola was selfish and, &lsquo;I need the ball,&rsquo; and Jamal was a guy that was like, &lsquo;I need the ball all the time,&rsquo;&rdquo; Smith said.
The Heat know they have to at least slow down the Nuggets.
&ldquo;We have proven that we can win and overcome regardless of how the game is going,&rdquo; Spoelstra said. &ldquo;Ideal situation would be if it&rsquo;s on our terms and we are controlling the tenor of the game, but we have also won games where we haven&rsquo;t been able to do that for the entire game.&rdquo;

The Nuggets’ potent duo has been nearly unstoppable in powering Denver’s 13-3 run through the playoffs.

Nuggets’ 2-man game of Jokic, Murray setting new pick-and-roll standard

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

NBA announces 242 early-entry candidates for 2023 NBA Draft

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic had 31 points and 11 assists, Jamal Murray finished with 26 points and nine assists, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Milwaukee Bucks 129-106 on Saturday night in a late-season showdown of the NBA&rsquo;s conference leaders.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 19 points for West-leading Denver (50-24), which outscored East-leading Milwaukee 68-40 in the second half.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 31 points -- just seven in the second half -- and grabbed nine rebounds for the Bucks (53-20).
The battle of the top teams in each conference -- and two strong MVP candidates -- was more competitive than the teams&rsquo; first meeting, won by the Bucks 107-99.
SUNS 125, 76ERS 105
PHOENIX (AP) &mdash; Devin Booker scored 29 points, Bismack Biyombo added 17 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks, and the Phoenix Suns snapped a three-game losing streak.
Phoenix got good minutes from most of their bench players, particularly Terrence Ross and T.J. Warren. Warren finished with 16 points, while Ross had 15. Booker shot 9 of 18 from the field and hit all nine of his free throws.
The Suns won despite a huge game from Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey, who finished with 37 points on 14-of-19 shooting, including 7 of 11 from 3-point range. Joel Embiid added 28 points and 10 rebounds.
KINGS 121, JAZZ 113
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Kevin Huerter scored 27 points, had seven rebounds and four assists and Sacramento beat Utah.
Domantas Sabonis finished with 16 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists for his NBA-leading 60th double-double of the season. Harrison Barnes added 18 points. Keegan Murray scored 14 of his 22 total points in the first quarter and knocked down six three-pointers for the Kings.
Jazz rookie Walker Kessler scored a career-high 31 points for the Jazz. Kessler added 11 rebounds and finished 14 of 16 from the floor. Kelly Olynyk finished with 17 points and 10 assists, Ochai Agbaji scored 20 and Jarrell Brantley added 13 off the bench for Utah.
NETS 129, HEAT 100
MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Mikal Bridges scored 27 points, and the Brooklyn Nets opened the third quarter on a 31-6 run on the way to rolling past Miami and leapfrogging the Heat back into the No. 6 spot in the Eastern Conference.
Cam Johnson added 23 points and Spencer Dinwiddie scored 15 for the Nets (40-34), who snapped a five-game slide. They&rsquo;re only a half-game up on Miami (40-35) in the race for the sixth and final guaranteed playoff berth, but swept the Heat 3-0 this season and would also own a head-to-head tiebreaker.
Max Strus scored 23 for the Heat, all of them in the first half. Tyler Herro scored 23, Jimmy Butler had 18 and Bam Adebayo finished with 16 for the Heat. Miami was outscored 64-31 after halftime.
HAWKS 143, PACERS 130
ATLANTA (AP) &mdash; John Collins led eight Atlanta scorers in double figures with 21 points and the Hawks overcame Jordan Nwora&rsquo;s season-high 33 points and protected their shaky hold on the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference playoff standings
Trae Young was ejected in the third quarter after firing an unusually hard pass to referee Scott Wall during a timeout. Wall caught the ball. Young was immediately called for a technical foul and ejected. Young had 14 points and five assists. Dejounte Murray had 20 points in his return after missing two games with a non-COVID illness. Saddiq Bey led Atlanta&rsquo;s bench with 18 points.
Tyrese Haliburton scored 19 points and Buddy Hield had 16 for Indiana.
PELICANS 131, CLIPPERS 110
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Trey Murphy III scored 32 points, Brandon Ingram had 32 points and 13 assists, and the New Orleans Pelicans never trailed against the Los Angeles Clippers.
C.J. McCollum had 21 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Pelicans, who have won four in a row.
Bones Hyland scored 18 points and Kawhi Leonard added 12 points and six rebounds for the Clippers, who have lost three of four.
At risk of falling out of the play-in tournament with a loss, the energized Pelicans started out hot, scoring the first eight points, and never let up.

A recap of Saturday's slate of NBA hoops includes the East and West's best going head-to-head.

Conference leaders clash as Nuggets top Bucks 129-106

SAN ANTONIO (AP) &mdash; Keldon Johnson scored 23 points and the San Antonio Spurs overcame 37 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists by Nikola Jokic to stun the Denver Nuggets 128-120 on Friday night.
Doug McDermott added 20 points and Jeremy Sochan had 19 points for San Antonio, which shot 54% in a balanced effort with their entire roster available for one of only a few times in an injury-riddled season.
It was Jokic&rsquo;s 26th triple-double in what could be his third straight MVP season.
Jamal Murray added 24 points for Denver, which lost its second straight following a four-game winning streak. The Nuggets maintained the Western Conference&rsquo;s best record at 46-21, but fell 2 1/2 games behind the Milwaukee Bucks for the league&rsquo;s best record.
Denver hoped to rebound from an uncharacteristically sloppy outing in a 117-96 loss at home to Chicago on Wednesday, but instead had one of the season&rsquo;s most deflating losses.
San Antonio entered having lost two straight and 18 of 20.
&ldquo;When you get blown out at home, I think that&rsquo;s an eye-opening experience,&rdquo; Nuggets coach Michael Malone said before the game. &ldquo;If you&rsquo;re man enough, not that everybody is in this business, but if you&rsquo;re man enough to look yourself in the mirror and be honest with yourself, I think we all realized, starting with me from all the way down 1 through 17, we did not do our jobs against Chicago.
&ldquo;So, you hope the message is delivered.&rdquo;
The message was lost, even as the Nuggets responded to a second-half altercation.
Spurs center Zach Collins and Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. were ejected with 6:57 remaining in the third quarter after having to be separated by teammates, officials, and the coaching staffs.
After Collins and Jokic had a series of hard bumps and shoves, Porter threw down a monstrous one-handed dunk on Collins. Porter glared and said something to Collins, who responded by charging at and bumping him from behind. The two were nose-to-nose before Porter pushed Collins in the throat.
Denver responded with a 5-0 run to trail 85-84, but San Antonio never lost its lead in the second half.
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Denver has 15 games remaining, including 12 against teams that currently qualify for the playoffs. ... C DeAndre Jordan has played in just 35 games this season, which is on pace to be the fewest in his 15-year career. His lowest total is 48 games, which he had last season while playing with the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers. ... Porter had seven points, one rebound and one assist in 20 minutes when he was ejected.
Spurs: San Antonio is 3-46 this season when trailing by double figures during a game. The Spurs have trailed by double figures in 74% of their games this season. San Antonio is 1-35 when trailing by 15 points. ... Romeo Langford was eligible for his second straight game after missing 17 consecutive games with left abductor tightness. ... Collins had 10 points, nine rebounds and three assists in 21 minutes when he was ejected.
UP NEXT
Nuggets: Host Brooklyn on Sunday.
Spurs: Host Oklahoma City on Sunday.&nbsp;

Keldon Johnson scored 23 points and the Spurs overcame Nikola Jokic's 37-11-11 stat line to stun the Nuggets 128-120 on Friday.

Spurs overcome Nikola Jokic’s triple-double to top Nuggets 128-120

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

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Grant Sherfield scored a season-high 30 points, and Oklahoma beat No. 2 Alabama 93-69 on Saturday in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge to end the Crimson Tide&rsquo;s nine-win streak.
Jalen Hill added a career-high 26 points, helping second-year Oklahoma coach Porter Moser to his biggest win with the program. Tanner Groves had 14 points and 12 rebounds.
The Sooners (12-9) had lost three straight, but against the Crimson Tide shot 58% from the field.
Rylan Griffen led Alabama (18-3) with 15 points and seven rebounds. Freshman Brandon Miller, who came in averaging 19.5 points per game, finished with 11.
NO. 3 HOUSTON 75, CINCINNATI 69
HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Jarace Walker had a career-high 25 points and seven rebounds, and Houston rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to defeat Cincinnati.
Walker, who scored 13 points in the second half, was 10 of 14 from the field. J&rsquo;Wan Roberts added 14 points and six rebounds, and Jamal Shead scored 13 points for Houston (20-2, 8-1 American Athletic Conference).
Houston has won at least 20 games in eight straight seasons under coach Kelvin Sampson.
Landers Nolley II had 24 points, including 6 3-pointers. Vicktor Lakhin added 15 points, and David DeJulius had 14 points and nine assists for Cincinnati (14-8, 5-4).&nbsp;
NO. 4 TENNESSEE 82, NO. 10 TEXAS 71
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Olivier Nkamhoua scored 27 points and Zakai Zeigler had 22 points and 10 assists to lead Tennessee over Texas in an SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Josiah-Jordan James added 14 and Santiago Vescovi had 12 for Tennessee (18-3), which led by as many as 22 midway through the second half.
Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice scored 21 to lead Texas (17-4). Marcus Carr and Brock Cunningham finished with 11 each.
NO. 5 KANSAS STATE 64, FLORIDA 50
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Keyontae Johnson had 13 points and 11 rebounds against his former team, Markquis Nowell flirted with the first triple-double in Kanas State history, and the Wildcats beat Florida in an SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Nowell finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and Nae&rsquo;Qwan Tomlin also had 11 points. The Wildcats improved to 18-3 to match the 1972-73 team for the best start through 21 games in school history.
Johnson struggled from the field, going just 5 of 16 and even getting stuffed by the front of the rim during a windmill dunk on a second-half fast break. But it was nevertheless a special night for the senior forward, who collapsed on the Gators&rsquo; sideline due to a heart condition during a game against Florida State just over two years ago.
Colin Castleton scored 13 points for the Gators (12-9). Myreon Jones and Will Richard had 11 apiece.
NO. 6 ARIZONA 95, WASHINGTON 72
SEATTLE (AP) &mdash; Azuolas Tubelis had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Oumar Ballo added 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Arizona used a big second-half run to pull away to win its fourth straight.
Tubelis topped 20 points for the first time in five games and his rebound putback while being fouled with 4:29 remaining gave the Wildcats a 78-63 lead and sent Washington fans headed for the exits.
Kerr Kriisa added 18 points, hitting six 3-pointers, and Courtney Ramey scored 14 for the Wildcats (19-3, 8-3 Pac-12).
Keion Brooks Jr. led Washington with 25 points and Keyon Menifield added 21. But the Huskies (13-10, 5-7) suffered from too many scoring droughts and didn&rsquo;t have an answer for Arizona&rsquo;s 19-1 run in the early stages of the second half.
NO. 7 VIRGINIA 76, BOSTON COLLEGE 57
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Armaan Franklin and Jayden Gardner scored 18 points each and Virginia used a big first-half run to take control over Boston College for its sixth straight victory.
The Cavaliers (16-3, 8-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) trailed 18-15 before starting an 18-4 run over the next 11 minutes. Virginia put the game away with a 16-4 second-half spurt.
Quinten Post scored 24 to lead the Eagles (10-12, 4-7) and Makai Ashton-Langford added 12 points.
Virginia&rsquo;s Isaac McKneely finished with 12 points and Reece Beekman had 11 and eight assists.
NO. 9 KANSAS 77, KENTUCKY 68
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Wilson scored 22 points, including one in a series of huge 3-pointers down the stretch, and Kansas avoided its first four-game losing streak under coach Bill Self.
Wilson made 9 of 18 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds for Kansas (17-4), which finished even with Kentucky at 49% shooting. K.J. Adams Jr. added 17 points, Dick had 13 and McCullar 11 with 12 rebounds as the Jayhawks edged Kentucky 34-29 on the glass.
Oscar Tshiebwe had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Jacob Toppin and Cason Wallace each added 14 for Kentucky (14-7), which had won its previous four.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 81, NO. 11 TCU 74, OT
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) &mdash; Tolu Smith had 27 points, 13 rebounds and five assists to lead Mississippi State to an overtime victory.
Dashawn Davis added 16 points to help Mississippi State (13-8) snap a five-game losing streak. Shakeel Moore had 11, including six in overtime, while Cameron Matthews had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs. Tyler Stevenson also added 10 points off the Bulldogs&rsquo; bench.
Damion Baugh led TCU (16-5) with 19 points and Emanuel Miller had 13. Shahada Wells and Jakobe Coles each had 12 for the Horned Frogs and Chuck O&rsquo;Bannon had 10.
Davis&rsquo; 3 pointer with 55 seconds left in the second half gave the Bulldogs a 66-64 advantage. Emanuel Miller scored with 32 seconds remaining and then both teams missed chances to win in regulation.
MISSOURI 78, NO. 12 IOWA STATE 61
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) &mdash; Kobe Brown scored 20 points, and D&rsquo;Moi Hodge scored 17 points to help Missouri take down Iowa State in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Brown scored 14 of his points in the first half and led Missouri (16-5) with 12 rebounds. Nick Honor added 12 points and DeAndre Gholston scored 10.
Jaren Holmes led Iowa State (15-5) with 19 points, and Gabe Kalscheur added 14.
The Tigers&rsquo; 78 points were a season-high for an Iowa State opponent in regulation; the Cyclones are 0-3 this season when allowing at least 70 points in regulation.
CREIGHTON 84, NO. 13 XAVIER 67
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Arthur Kamula scored 20 points, Creighton&rsquo;s four other starters finished in double-figures and the Bluejays earned their fourth straight Big East win.
Creighton (13-8, 7-3) steadily built a double-digit lead throughout the game and made 34 of its 60 field goal attempts (56.7%) before a sold-out crowd.
Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 17 points, Baylor Scheierman had 14, Trey Alexander finished with 13 and Ryan Nembhard added 11 for the Bluejays, who avenged a 90-87 loss at Xavier on Jan. 11.
Zach Freemantle led Xavier (17-5, 9-2) with 18 points, followed by Colby Jones and Adam Kunkel with 13.
NO. 14 GONZAGA 82, PORTLAND 67
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Julian Strawther had a career-high 40 points, including eight 3-pointers, and Gonzaga pulled away down the stretch for its 16th consecutive victory over Portland.
Anton Watson added 17 points for Gonzaga (18-4, 7-1 West Coast Conference).
Strawther is the first player to reach 40 points for the Zags since Kyle Wiltjer had 45 against Pacific in 2016.
Portland (11-13, 3-5) was led by Moses Wood with 19 points. Juan Sebastian Gorosito, a freshman, finished with a career-high 17 points.
WEST VIRGINIA 80, NO. 15 AUBURN 77
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) &mdash; Erik Stevenson scored a career-high 31 points and West Virginia withstood a furious late rally from Auburn to win an SEC/Big 12 Challenge matchup.
The Mountaineers (13-8) have won two straight for the first time in a month. Jimmy Bell Jr. added 15 points for the Mountaineers.
Charles Barkley cheered on his alma mater from a courtside seat, but Auburn (16-5) couldn&rsquo;t overcome another slow start. The Tigers have lost two straight for the first time in two years.
Jaylin Williams led Auburn with 18 points. Johni Broome added 15 and Allen Flanigan scored 13.
NO. 16 MARQUETTE 89, DEPAUL 69
CHICAGO (AP) &mdash; David Joplin went 8 for 11 from 3-point range for a career-high 28 points, Tyler Kolek had 24 points, 10 assists and 9 rebounds, and Marquette defeated DePaul.
Marquette has won eight of its last nine games, and moved into a tie with No. 13 Xavier atop the Big East.
Marquette (17-5, 9-2) pulled away in the second half. Oso Ighodaro had 10 points, making all five of his shots, and Olivier-Maxence Prosper scored 13 and had 8 rebounds.
Umoja Gibson scored 25 points for DePaul (9-13, 3-8) on 8-of-12 shooting.
NO. 17 BAYLOR 67, ARKANSAS 64
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Keyonte George scored 24 points, including seven in a row down the stretch, and Baylor beat Arkansas in an SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Baylor (16-5) fell behind by as many as eight points in the second half after an early 11-point lead. But the Bears closed it out after Flo Thamba made two free throws for a 55-53 lead with 3:37 left.
LJ Cryer added 20 points and Jalen Bridges had 10 for the Bears, who won their sixth game in a row despite shooting a 34% (20 of 59) from the field. They offset the season-worst shooting from the field by making 21 of 24 free throws, including two by Cryer with 10 seconds left and two by George with 4.3 seconds remaining.
Ricky Council IV scored 25 points for Arkansas (14-7). Davonte Davis had 16 points, but missed the front end of a 1-plus-1 with 2.3 seconds left, though Joseph Pinion got the ball in the right corner only to miss wildly on a 3-pointer as time ran out.
HOFSTRA 85, NO. 18 COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 81
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Aaron Estrada scored 25 points and Darlinstone Dubar added 18 as Hofstra ended College of Charleston&rsquo;s 20-game winning streak.
The Pride (15-8, 8-2 Colonial Athletic Association) were down 28-20 early before rallying past the Cougars (21-2, 9-1), who had not lost since falling to then-No. 1 North Carolina on Nov. 11.
Tyler Thomas had 17 points and eight rebounds for Hofstra.
Ante Brzovic finished with 18 points to lead Charleston.
PITTSBURGH 71, NO. 20 MIAMI 68
PITTSBURGH (AP) &mdash; Blake Hinson tipped in a Jamarius Burton miss with 31 seconds remaining and Pittsburgh rallied past Miami.
The Panthers (15-7, 8-3 ACC) held the Hurricanes (16-5, 7-4) scoreless over the final 2:26 while closing on an 11-0 run to beat a ranked team for the third time this season to bolster its increasingly impressive NCAA tournament resume.
Hinson finished with 21 points for Pitt. Burton had 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as the Panthers stunned Miami in front of a rare sell-out crowd at the Petersen Events Center.
Jordan Miller led the Hurricanes with 18 points. Isaiah Wong added 14 but Miami committed three of its 12 turnovers in the final 35 seconds as the Panthers stormed back.
NO. 21 FAU 70, W. KENTUCKY 63
BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Brandon Weatherspoon scored 14 points and Florida Atlantic remained undefeated at home.
The victory extended FAU&rsquo;s winning streak to a program-record 20 games, which is now the nation&rsquo;s longest. The Owls&rsquo; 21 victories on the season ties their Division I record set in 2010-11. Western Kentucky (11-11, 3-8 Conference USA) has lost five straight.
Alijah Martin scored eight while grabbing seven rebounds for the Owls (21-1, 11-0).
Jordan Rawls led all scorers with 17 for W. Kentucky. Dayvion McKnight and Emmanuel Akot each had 16.
NO. 22 SAINT MARY&rsquo;S (CAL) 57, BYU 56
PROVO, Utah (AP) &mdash; Logan Johnson had 14 points and freshman Aidan Mahaney scored all 10 of his points, including a fade-away jumper just before the buzzer, in the second half and Saint Mary&rsquo;s (Cal) won its 10th in a row.
Mitchell Saxen had 11 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks for Saint Mary&rsquo;s (19-4, 8-0 West Coast Conference). Alex Ducas scored 12 points and Augustas Marciulionis added 10.
Dallin Hall was fouled on a driving lay-up attempt with 10.2 seconds left and made 1-of-2 free throws to give BYU a 56-55 lead but Mahaney took the inbounds pass, probed the defense before he drove the lane, stopped near the right block and pivoted away from the basket before hitting the winning jumper over the out-stretched arm of defender Fousseyni Traore.
Hall scored a career-high 23 points on 9 of 14 shooting but made just 3 of 6 from the free-throw line for BYU (14-10, 4-5). Fousseyni Traore added 11 points and eight rebounds.
NO. 24 CLEMSON 82, FLORIDA STATE 81
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Chase Hunter drove the lane and drew a foul, sinking the free throw, to help Clemson escape with a win over Florida State.
Hunter Tyson scored 27 points on 10 of 17 shooting for Clemson (18-4, 10-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), which halted an eight-game road losing streak to Florida State. Hunter finished with 25.
Matthew Cleveland scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half for Florida State (7-15, 5-6), which made a season-high 13 3-pointers. Caleb Mills and Darin Green Jr. each hit four 3-pointers for the Seminoles. Freshman forward Baba Miller had his best game, scoring 11 points and pulling down four rebounds in 20 minutes.

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

Oklahoma's rout of No. 2 Alabama one of many top-15 upsets on Saturday

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic had 21 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists before sitting out the fourth quarter and the Denver Nuggets won their 12th straight home game, routing the weary and short-handed Phoenix Suns 126-97 on Wednesday night.
Bones Hyland added 21 points and Jamal Murray had 16 to help the Nuggets win for the 14th time in 17 games. They reached the halfway point of the season tied with Memphis for the Western Conference lead.
&ldquo;But we're not satisfied,&rdquo; said Hyland, who hit five of Denver's 15 3-pointers.
A night after winning at Golden State despite missing four starters and six rotation players, the Suns ran out of gas playing a back-to-back at altitude while dressing 10 players.
Torrey Craig scored 16 points and Josh Okogie added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Suns. They have dropped 10 of 12.
&ldquo;They posted up Jokic early and just flattened us out (defensively)," Suns coach Monty Williams said. &ldquo;And he does a really good job of finding the open man or scoring.&rdquo;
Phoenix started the second quarter with an 8-second violation and things only got worse. Hyland hit <a href="https://twitter.com/JoelRushNBA/status/1613384764421177345">all four of his 3s</a> in the period, Jokic had a rebound and put-back using only one hand and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit his fourth <a href="https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1613390426358046722">3 in the half without a miss</a> as Denver built a 23-point lead.
&ldquo;I feel like whoever gets the ball and they're open, it's a made shot,&rdquo; Hyland said. &ldquo;I feel like we're so connected right now.&rdquo;
Jokic had nine points and nine rebounds in the third quarter as the lead stretched to 31 points. The two-time reigning MVP rested in the fourth instead of pursuing his 12th triple-double of the season against the overwhelmed Suns.
Phoenix remained without Devin Booker (groin), Chris Paul (hip), Deandre Ayton (ankle), Cameron Johnson (knee), Landry Shamet (hip) and Cameron Payne (foot), and also is without Jae Crowder.
Guard Saben Lee, a Phoenix area product, signed a 10-day contract before the game and scored eight points.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s good to have another body down there,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;When I look down there and see more coaches than players, I&rsquo;m like ... this is ... yeah, I&rsquo;ll stop there.&rdquo;
The absences soured the rematch of the Christmas night overtime thriller won by the Nuggets behind Jokic's 41-point triple-double and Aaron Gordon's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8Ka-SBYJfg">power dunk</a> over Shamet.
The Nuggets have faced depleted teams in their last three games. Cleveland rested Donovan Mitchell on Friday and the LeBron James didn't play for the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.
BACK-TO-BACK BLUES
Williams was unhappy playing consecutive nights in San Francisco and Denver. It involved moving ahead one time zone, dealing with the lengthy drive from Denver's airport to downtown and adjusting to the mile-high altitude.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone called it &ldquo;the toughest back-to-back in the business.&rdquo;
At least ESPN picked up the game and moved the tipoff back an hour.
&ldquo;When you fly two hours and have to drive 30-40 minutes, that's a lot on any team,&rdquo; Williams said.
TIP-INS
Suns: Their 22 losses are four more than all of last season. ... Williams had no update on Paul's injury. Williams said Johnson has begun playing &ldquo;a little bit of 1-on-1."
Nuggets: Murray rolled his ankle in the second half, but Malone doesn't expect him to miss time. ... Jokic made 10 of 15 shots, marking the 31st straight game he's shot 50% or better from the field. ... Denver scored at least 120 points for the fourth straight game and is 19-1 when scoring that many this season. ... Denver, which is 18-3 at home, last won 12 straight at Ball Arena in the 2018-19 season.
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Nikola Jokic had 21 points and the Denver Nuggets won their 12th straight home game, beating the Phoenix Suns 126-97.

Jokic, Nuggets rout Suns 126-97 for 12th straight home win

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic had another monster triple-double, Aaron Gordon threw down a pivotal dunk that stood up after a review in overtime and the Denver Nuggets rallied for a 128-125 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night.
Jokic had 41 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists for his 83rd career triple-double. The two-time reigning NBA MVP had a 40-point, 27-rebound, 10-assist outing a week ago.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
AARON GORDON WON'T STOP DUNKING 💥 <a href="https://t.co/7qcCvHJAOe">pic.twitter.com/7qcCvHJAOe</a>
&mdash; ESPN (@espn) <a href="https://twitter.com/espn/status/1607264661485006848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 26, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

Phoenix star Devin Booker lasted only 4:20 in his return from a groin injury, scoring two points after getting 58 against New Orleans in his previous start.
Jamal Murray tied it in regulation for Denver on a dunk with 10.7 seconds left. But it was Gordon's OT dunk that propelled the Nuggets to the victory. At first, he was called for an offensive foul, but a review determined that Landry Shamet was moving, awarding Gordon the basket and a free throw.
Phoenix had a chance to tie it in the closing seconds of OT, only to throw away a pass.
The Suns, who led by 12 in the third quarter, set up for a winning play in regulation but Mikal Bridges was called for an offensive foul after accidentally running into a Denver player. Bridges atoned by blocking Murray's shot just before the buzzer.
The Nuggets improved to 2-6 in games held on Christmas. The other win was in 1994 against Seattle.
Shamet came off the bench to score 31 points &mdash; matching his career high &mdash; on a night the Suns lost Booker again to the groin injury. Booker was just returning to the court after missing the last three games because of groin soreness.
Deandre Ayton added 22 points and 16 rebounds as Phoenix had six players in double figures. Chris Paul had 17 point and 16 assists, but missed five free throws.
Gordon finished with 28 points and Murray 26.
The Nuggets led by 15 points early in the game. Shamet scored 15 points in the second quarter to help Phoenix work its way back into the game.
Gordon wound up 11 of 18 from the field and Jokic 16 of 25. Both extended their streaks to 23 games of shooting .500 or better from the field, which broke the franchise record set by Nene in 2010-11.
This was the first of four meetings between the two teams. The Suns went 2-1 against Denver last season.
TIP-INS
Suns: Phoenix guard Cameron Payne (sprained right foot) and forward Cam Johnson (torn meniscus) went through a stepped-up workout Christmas morning. Payne hasn&rsquo;t played since Dec. 13 and Johnson since Nov. 4. &ldquo;Right now, we&rsquo;re excited,&rdquo; Suns coach Monty Williams said. &ldquo;But we also know we have to wait.&rdquo;
Nuggets: Forward Jeff Green fractured his hand against Portland on Friday. The team said he will be reevaluated in four weeks. ... Forward Michael Porter Jr. had seven points on 3 of 11 shooting in his second game back from a heel injury. ... Jokic picked up a technical foul in the third quarter after arguing a call.
UP NEXT
Suns: At Memphis on Tuesday night.
Nuggets: At Sacramento on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

The Denver Nuggets rallied for a 128-125 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night.

Jalal