Lions

The article was initially published on BasketballNews on April 6, 2022.
Anyone else love going back and looking at old box scores and falling down afternoon-long rabbit holes, or am I the weirdo?
You might&rsquo;ve read the headline and either recalled this event actually happening, or are befuddled at how such a thing could take place, even in that NBA.
This article, published on April 6, 2022, marks 25 years since the Del Harris-led Los Angeles Lakers held Jim Cleamons and his Dallas Mavericks to 2 points in the third quarter of a regular-season game.
The contest was held at the LA Forum, where a 50-24 Laker team met a 22-53 Mavs squad with two weeks remaining before the playoffs started. Staples wasn&rsquo;t that big yet, and Crypto didn&rsquo;t exist. (Some might say it still doesn&rsquo;t, but you can fight about that amongst yourselves.)
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A large-ass, Biggie verse-having, All-Star center named Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal had been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/14/sports/injury-to-o-neal-is-a-blow-to-lakers.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">out with a knee injury</a> suffered that February, which he returned from five days later. Something tells me, if you made it here, you&rsquo;ve heard of him. Also on the Lakers, quite famously, was a talented rookie named Kobe Bryant, who had been playing regular rotation minutes at 18 years old, but wasn&rsquo;t yet Kobe.
The Mavericks had traded a controversial-but-talented point guard in Jason Kidd earlier in the season &mdash; along with Tony Dumas and Loren Meyer &mdash; to the Phoenix Suns for a package highlighted by Michael Finley, Sam Cassell and A.C. Green. They also dealt Jamal Mashburn to the Miami Heat several weeks later for Kurt Thomas, Sasa Danilović and Martin M&uuml;&uuml;rsepp.
And right before the deadline, Dallas rerouted Cassell as part of a five-man package including Jim Jackson, George McCloud (who wound up on the Lakers retroactively), Eric Montross and Chris Gatling for Shawn Bradley, Khalid Reeves, Robert Pack and Ed O&rsquo;Bannon &mdash; famously the Most Outstanding Player of the 1995 Final Four, and <a href="https://www.primerus.com/business-law-articles/ed-obannon-shines-a-light-upon-student-athletes-right-of-publicity-624201.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">killer of EA's NCAA Football and NCAA Basketball video game franchises</a>. This move not only cemented Dallas&rsquo; rebuild, but it officially made way for a <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/mavericks/2018/06/06/flashback-jamal-mashburn-on-what-really-happened-between-jason-kidd-jim-jackson-and-toni-braxton/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Toni Braxton-less future in Texas</a>.
The Mavericks, <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DAL/1997_games.html">who came in as losers of 10 straight heading into this game</a> &mdash; a lengthy skid that never saw the team score more than 92 points &mdash; went into Hollywood and started Pack, Finley, Green, Bradley and Derek Harper. Without Shaq, the Lakers began with Derek Fisher, Eddie Jones, Jerome Kersey, Corie Blount and Sean Rooks, who played a game-high 43 minutes (33 over his season average).
<a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199704060LAL.html">The Mavericks led 30-17 after the first quarter and 51-37 at halftime</a>. The teams combined to attempt 12 threes in the first half, which most teams would typically combine to do in a quarter today. The Mavericks shot 21 of 44 from the field and outrebounded the Lakers 24-16 while holding L.A. to 12 of 32 shooting.
Bryant and Robert Horry went a combined 2 of 9 off the bench, and Rooks had logged 10 points and 7 boards to that point. Harper and Finley combined for 25 points on 9 of 15 shooting, while Bradley had 9 points and 9 rebounds.
Okay, now let's get to why you&rsquo;re here.
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Not only did the Mavericks score 2 points in the entire third quarter, but the points came from a pair of Harper free throws with 1:51 left in the quarter. So it took over 10 minutes to even get on the board in this period.
Anyway, the Mavericks shot 0 of 15 from the field for the quarter and missed all 4 of their three-balls. They also had 9 turnovers and only made one substitution over the entire 12 minutes, removing Pack for Sa&scaron;a Danilović about halfway through the third. That meant Green, Harper, Finley and Bradley were each a minus-25 for the quarter, and Pack was a minus-20.
For good measure, the Mavericks third quarter could be summed up like this:
<ul>
<li>Points: 2</li>
<li>Fouls: 3</li>
</ul>
The Lakers outscored the Mavericks 27-2 and still just led 64-53 after three. L.A. shot 10 of 17 in the quarter, made 5 of 7 triples, only needed to pull down 8 rebounds and turned the ball over just twice.
The Mavs outdid their horrific third quarter only 48 seconds into the fourth with two layups. They even cut their deficit to as close as 7 points in garbage time before the Lakers pulled away with a 87-80 win.
Fisher scored 21 points &mdash; not even close to a career-high for him &mdash; but to that point, his highest point tally had been just 14. In fact, the 21 points would remain a career-best mark for Fisher until he netted 26 points on March 13, 2001 in a win over the Boston Celtics four years later.
Sean &ldquo;2019 Bam Adebayo&rdquo; Rooks ended the night with 15 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. Bryant logged about 22 minutes off the bench, netting 13 points on 3 of 9 shooting, also finishing with 3 steals and going a perfect 5 of 5 at the free-throw line.
Harper led the Mavs with 18 points on 6 of 15 shooting. Finley only put up 9 shots in over 34 minutes of play. The next time he put up just 9 shots in that many minutes? <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200203310WAS.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">March 31, 2002</a>.
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So, what ended up happening to these two teams? Glad you asked!
The Lakers finished 56-26 and fourth in the Western Conference, sweeping the Kenny Anderson, Isaiah Rider, and Rasheed Wallace-led Portland Trail Blazers in Round 1. Then, in the West semifinals, L.A. fell to the No. 1 seed Utah Jazz, who eventually lost to the Chicago Bulls in the 1997 NBA Finals. The Lakers still had a few more years of Harris before Phil Jackson eventually came to clean things up prior to the 1999-2002 three-peat era.
The Mavericks finished 24-58 and were actually still fourth in the Midwest Division among seven teams, completing 1996-97 with only the sixth-worst record in the league. Unfortunately, they didn&rsquo;t own their own draft pick, but fortunately, the Celtics &mdash; who had it at No. 6 &mdash; used it on Ron Mercer, so it wasn&rsquo;t an egregious miss.
Tracy McGrady did go No. 9 overall, and the Mavs did settle on Kelvin Cato at No. 15, but they landed with a kid named Dirk Nowitzki in the 1998 NBA Draft after another 20-win season.
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Bryan Fonseca revisits when the Mavericks only mustered a measly 2 points in the third quarter against the Lakers.

Revisiting the time the Mavericks scored just 2 points in a quarter

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray continue to turn in jaw-dropping performances during these playoffs, raising expectations along the way.
They took Round 1 of their Western Conference Finals showdown against LeBron James and Anthony Davis, a game in which Jockic was dazzled by the fortitude of of his Denver Nuggets teammate, who played through a painful ear infection.
&ldquo;Of course maybe he&rsquo;s just faking it,&rdquo; the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1658693620621541378" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nuggets big man</a>&nbsp;interjected after the Nuggets staved off the Los Angeles Lakers 132-126. &ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t want to practice.&rdquo;
A little comedy to go with their chemistry.
Opponents have found nothing funny about the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1658666245548544001" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Murray-Jokic combo</a>&nbsp;in the playoffs. They are playing their best basketball since the 2020 NBA bubble. Seven months after that run, Murray tore his left ACL and had to sit out the last two postseasons.
Now, Murray and Jokic are back to showcasing a brand of two-player hoops reminiscent of the John Stockton-Karl Malone era in Utah. But they seek what eluded Stockton and Malone.
They&rsquo;re chasing a championship ring to cement their place in NBA lore alongside Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal and, yes, LeBron and AD, who combined for 66 points in Game 1 Tuesday night.
The Nuggets are one of six teams never to reach the NBA Finals and they&rsquo;re 0-7 against the Lakers in playoff series. Behind Murray and Jokic, they feel they finally have the championship chops to bring the Larry O&rsquo;Brien Trophy to the Mile High City.
&ldquo;It seems like for years now, we&rsquo;re some dusty old cowtown in the Rocky Mountains, with so little respect that we get,&rdquo; said coach Michael Malone, whose team will try to improve to 8-0 at home in the playoffs Thursday night. &ldquo;You can sit there, you can fight it and complain about it. Or you can just embrace who we are and what we have.&rdquo;
That disrespect didn&rsquo;t wane even with the Nuggets earning the top seed for the first time as commentators alternately anointed everyone but Denver as the favorite to win the West.
For all those who tuned in Tuesday and really watched Jokic and Murray for the first time they saw what players and coaches around the league say: That was no fluke, they&rsquo;re just about always that good.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;d rather not waste time with the pundits that count us out and don&rsquo;t give us the respect we deserve as a team, with everything we&rsquo;ve done,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;But there&rsquo;s one thing we haven&rsquo;t done. And until we win a championship, people are going to keep saying that about us. So that&rsquo;s what drives us.&rdquo;
Denver may have already won a championship by now were it not for Murray&rsquo;s devastating knee injury at Golden State on April 12, 2021.
He could only watch as the Nuggets were routed by Phoenix in the second round of the playoffs that year and again by the Warriors in the first round last year when their other max player, Michael Porter Jr., also was sidelined.
But this could be their best opportunity to date.
With Murray back healthy and Jokic a matchup nightmare for anyone, they&rsquo;re rolling along, winning nine of 12 playoff games so far.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re a dynamic duo, great symmetry, know each other well,&rdquo; Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. &ldquo;Great rhythm, regardless of who&rsquo;s initiating, who&rsquo;s screening. ... We have to be ready to really defend that at a high level.&rdquo;
That&rsquo;s a difficult ask.
&ldquo;We just have to make it tough for him, switching up matchups and schemes on him,&rdquo; Davis said of Jokic.
Murray was questionable for Game 1 due to an ear infection that made for a miserable weekend. But there he was at his best, knocking down a dozen shots, including four 3-pointers and dishing out five assists.
&ldquo;The whole playoffs, I think he&rsquo;s playing amazing,&rdquo; Jokic said. &ldquo;We all know what he brings, the toughness.&rdquo;
Jokic, too, filled up the stat sheet. He finished with 34 points, 21 rebounds and 14 assists, giving him 12 career playoff triple-doubles, most by a center in NBA history.
The Nuggets will need more performances like this to fend off the Lakers, who beat them in the Western Conference Finals in 1985, 2009 and 2020.
Denver has more firepower this time around, too, with a solid supporting cast. It also includes Porter, Aaron Gordon, Bruce Brown, rookie Christian Braun, Jeff Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who brings a championship pedigree to a roster known mostly for its two-time MVP.
All of that was on display in the Nuggets&rsquo; series clincher against Phoenix in Round 2 when Denver bounced the Suns with a 25-point blowout.
&ldquo;We looked like a championship team,&rdquo; Jokic said afterward. &ldquo;We were so focused. ... Well, I guess I don&rsquo;t know how a championship team looks. But I think that was how it&rsquo;s supposed to look.&rdquo;
That view will become clearer if Jokic and Murray can keep playing like this.

Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray continue to turn in jaw-dropping performances during these playoffs.

Jokic, Murray know they need title to get recognition of other duos

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

After gaining a dominant lead over the Western Conference over the past couple of months, the Denver Nuggets have come back down to earth.
They've lost five of their last seven games, including a four-game skid featuring the Chicago Bulls at home, an 8-point loss to the San Antonio Spurs on the road, a tightly contested home loss to the Brooklyn Nets and a road loss to the Toronto Raptors, who dropped 49 first-quarter points on the Nuggets' head.
That four-game losing streak was their longest of the season, and only the second time they've lost three straight.
The big problem has been their defense. The Nuggets logged a defensive rating of 125.2 during the losing streak, with that dropping to 120.5 when accounting for the entire seven-game run. Either mark would easily be the worst in the league if extrapolated across the entire season.
The defense has almost always been the reason they've lost games this year; their defensive rating is nearly 13 points worse in losses (122.4) than wins (109.5), representing the sixth-largest gap in the NBA.
(Brief aside: Cleveland &mdash; at 16.6 points worse in losses &mdash; is kinda lapping the field in that stat. When the defense gets hit, it gets hit.&nbsp;Worth keeping an eye on, at least.)
WHAT'S UP WITH THE DEFENSE?
Before digging in, let's set the appropriate framing for the struggles of the Denver Nuggets: they may be recent, but they're not new.
Naturally, we have to start with Nikola Jokic here. I hate most of the conversations around his defense because I feel it devolves into &ldquo;HE SUCKS!&rdquo; a little too quickly. But I don&rsquo;t think his defense can be at the level it was in the Bulls game, and it especially can&rsquo;t be at the level it was in the Spurs game.
Jokic doesn't offer much scheme versatility; at the very least, he isn't&nbsp;effective&nbsp;at multiple coverages. He's at his best &mdash; and, in turn, the Nuggets are at their&nbsp;best &mdash; when he's operating at the level of the screen or higher.&nbsp;
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Because of that, they absolutely can't afford slippage within that coverage.
Heading into this stretch, the Nuggets were allowing 0.916 points per possession (PPP) on trips featuring a ball screen defended by Jokic at the level or higher, per Second Spectrum. That was in the vicinity of guys like Jarrett Allen (0.898 PPP) and Draymond Green (0.905 PPP), and better than Joel Embiid (0.927 PPP) on much higher volume.
During this stretch, that number has risen to 1.018 PPP &mdash; a below-average mark.&nbsp;
It's inherently a higher-risk style of defense, which was covered <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-examining-the-denver-nuggets-poor-defense-nikola-jokic-michael-malone-bruce-brown-michael-porter-jr" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earlier this year</a>. The margin for error is smaller because of the rotations required. It's even harder to pull off if Jokic doesn't do&nbsp;his&nbsp;job by getting to the level on time and serving as a deterrent to the ball-handler, or if he takes his sweet time recovering.
Possessions like this can't happen:
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On top of the timing and rotations being off, teams have also attempted to mess with Denver's rotations by sprinkling in cuts and relocations as the ball screen occurs.
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The slippage at the level feels worse because of how vulnerable they've been with Jokic in a drop this season. He's shown growth within that coverage over the past two seasons, but still remains a negative overall. His contests don't bother attackers all that much &mdash; and that's if he's actually contesting shots versus swiping down in hopes of getting a strip.
It's worth noting that, surprisingly enough, the drop with Jokic has been much better statistically (0.887 PPP) during this stretch of games. I'd attribute that more to the point-of-attack defense perking up over the past three games than anything Jokic is doing. That's not to say he's made no adjustment &mdash; it feels like he's picking up ball-handlers a little higher within the drop, for example &mdash; but he's getting real help up top.
Bruce Brown, in particular, has stepped up.
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It's unlikely that Denver's drop is as good as the numbers reflect during this stretch &mdash; one littered with teams without elite&nbsp;pull-up chops. But it's at least encouraging that the point-of-attack defense has looked a little better.
There also seems to be more intention with insolating Jokic.&nbsp;
The Nuggets have seen their "ICE" or "weak" calls &mdash; forcing the ball-handler down the sideline (ICE) or shading them towards their off-hand (weak) &mdash; increase from 12.3 picks per 100 possessions (18th) before this run, to 15.5 per 100 over the past seven, a mark that would rank fifth in the NBA if extrapolated across the entire season.
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Keeping things 2-on-2, with Jokic picking up the ball-handler around eight feet or so, is Denver's way of trying to limit the amount of shots they give up from the corners and directly at the rim. It's worth keeping tabs on.&nbsp;
WHAT'S UP WITH THE OFFENSE?
It's&nbsp;mostly&nbsp;been business as usual here. They've logged a 116 offensive rating over the past seven games &mdash; off their world-beater path, but a mark that would still rank seventh in the league.&nbsp;&nbsp;
The largest issue doesn't involve Jokic. Literally: this team is scary (derogatory) without Jokic on the floor.&nbsp;
They've gotten very little from their midseason additions, Reggie Jackson and Thomas Bryant. Jackson hasn't been able to knock down shots, while Bryant's defense has been harmful enough for head coach Michael Malone to call on Jeff Green's number more consistently.&nbsp;
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Jamal Murray has been tasked with spearheading non-Jokic lineups, but it's a lot of pressure on him. And as my Dunker Spot cohost Steve Jones has noted, the Nuggets don't have pressure points aside from Murray in those lineups to truly bend&nbsp;defenses. It turns into "Murray save us" too frequently for my sensibilities.
There are adjustments to be made, like flanking Murray with another starter whenever Jokic gets rest. They're already doing that by keeping Murray and Aaron Gordon together &mdash; I'm a little intrigued with Gordon-at-5 minutes. Maybe keeping Murray and Michael Porter Jr. together would work. It could have the secondary benefit of unlocking Brown as a screener again.
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Ultimately, the goal should be to take some pressure off Murray. The Nuggets need his shotmaking once playoff time comes; they can't afford for wear-and-tear to get to his knee while trying to carry second units during the regular season. It's concerning that he's only made 39.7% of his shots over the past seven games, with only 23% of those coming at the rim.
If there's a Jokic-related thing to poke at, I'd keep an eye on who&nbsp;gets the Jokic assignment moving forward. It's something that really popped for me during the Sixers-Nuggets showcase game late in January, but PJ Tucker drew the Jokic assignment, allowing Joel Embiid to lurk around the rim and muck things up.&nbsp;
Other teams have tried it. The Wolves have given Kyle Anderson that assignment. The Raptors, as they tend to do, tossed OG Anunoby on Jokic with Jakob Poeltl nearby. The Nets threw forwards at Jokic in their first meeting, with Nic Claxton roaming around.&nbsp;
There's no way to&nbsp;stop&nbsp;Jokic, really, but using mobility to stifle some of the juicy stuff he creates on the perimeter is worth trying. Per Second Spectrum, the Nuggets have seen a dip in efficiency with dribble handoffs and ball screens when Jokic is defended by a forward instead of a center.
<ul>
<li class="p1">Jokic handoffs (center defender): 541 handoffs, 1.073 PPP</li>
<li>Jokic handoffs (forward defender): 241 handoffs, 1.058 PPP</li>
<li>Jokic PnR screener (center defender): 722 picks, 1.12 PPP</li>
<li class="p1">Jokic PnR screener (forward defender): 354 picks, 1.026 PPP</li>
</ul>
Not everyone has the personnel to pull it off, but the Nuggets may want to find counters regardless. It may be as simple as&nbsp;Gordon knocking down enough shots, or creating enough openings as a handoff hub or screener, to render the crossmatch obsolete. We'll have to see.

Nekias Duncan breaks down the Denver Nuggets' recent struggles and how Nikola Jokic and Co. can get back on track.

What's up with the Denver Nuggets, and should we be concerned?

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Kawhi Leonard scored 30 points, Paul George had 24 and the Los Angeles Clippers overcame Stephen Curry&rsquo;s 50-point night to beat the Golden State Warriors 134-126 on Wednesday night.
The Clippers have won four straight to move into fifth place in the Western Conference.
The defending NBA champion Warriors are a game back as the teams split the four-game season series.
Leonard was 10-of-19 from the field for his fourth 30-point effort in the last eight games. He also had eight rebounds and five assists.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Only 6 players in NBA history have recorded a 50+ point game at age 35 or older. LeBron James (twice) Jamal Crawford Kobe Bryant Michael Jordan Alex English Stephen Curry <a href="https://t.co/joDTrAwTOy">pic.twitter.com/joDTrAwTOy</a>
&mdash; NBA History (@NBAHistory) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAHistory/status/1636229680436051970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

Curry tied a season high in points with the 12th 50-point game of his career. He was 20-of-28 from the field and had eight 3-pointers. The Warriors have lost nine straight road games.

Kawhi Leonard scored 30 points, and the Clippers overcame Stephen Curry’s 50-point night to beat the Warriors 134-126.

Clippers overcome Curry's 50-point night to beat Warriors 134-126

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

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

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

A list of 12 of the top talents in modern NBA history to have never appeared in an All-Star Game.

The 12 best modern-history players to never make an NBA All-Star team

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Reserve Jeff Green scored a season-high 24 points, Nikola Jokic notched his 21st triple-double of the season and the Denver Nuggets headed into the All-Star break with a 118-109 victory over the short-handed Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.
Nikola Jokic finished with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for the Western Conference-leading Nuggets, who moved to an NBA-best 27-4 at home this season. Michael Porter Jr. hit five 3-pointers and finished with 22 points.
&ldquo;For us to continue to find ways to win and have different guys step up every night, I think it speaks to our chemistry, our depth,&rdquo; Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a really good team in there.&rdquo;
Luka Doncic had 37 points in leading a banged-up Dallas team that was missing guard Kyrie Irving due to lower-back tightness. Doncic and Irving have played alongside each other in two games since Irving was acquired as part of a deal with Brooklyn on Feb. 6.
The Nuggets led by 21 in the fourth quarter, only to see the Mavericks cut it to 105-95 with 5:50 remaining on Christian Wood&rsquo;s layup. Soon after, Porter blocked a shot on one end, raced back and hit a 3-pointer on the other to gain some breathing room.
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Where it really got away from the Mavs, coach Jason Kidd conceded, was in the second, when the Nuggets broke open a one-point game with a 35-19 quarter.
&ldquo;You&rsquo;re sitting in a good place against the best team in the West and so we have to look at doing a better job,&rdquo; Kidd said.
The two teams split their four-game season series.
View Denver as a favorite?
&ldquo;When you have a guy like Jokic on your team, you&rsquo;re the favorite,&rdquo; Doncic said.
Jokic joined some exclusive company by going over 500 assists and 500 rebounds before the All-Star break. The other NBA players to accomplish the feat were Russell Westbrook (three times, &rsquo;16-17, &rsquo;17-18, &rsquo;18-19) and Oscar Robertson (&rsquo;61-62).
Jokic, the two-time reigning MVP, remains on pace to average a triple-double this season.
&ldquo;He makes it look like a walk in the park,&rdquo; recently acquired backup center Thomas Bryant said of Jokic&rsquo;s ease with triple-doubles. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not easy at all.&rdquo;
Doncic&rsquo;s big night was his 65th career game with 35 or more points. Only LeBron James had more (87) before his 24th birthday. Doncic turns 24 on Feb. 28.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: F Justin Holiday was signed Wednesday. He played in 28 games for Atlanta this season and averaged 4.5 points. ... F Davis Bertans (calf), G Tim Hardaway Jr. (hamstring) and F/C Maxi Kleber (hamstring) were inactive.
Nuggets: Denver was without guard Jamal Murray (right knee inflammation) along with forward Aaron Gordon (bruised ribs).
FRIENDLY REMINDER
Malone made sure to remind his team the All-Star break didn&rsquo;t begin until 11 p.m. &mdash; well after their game. They listened.
&ldquo;Times have changed, guys get their private jets running, waiting to go somewhere,&rdquo; cracked Malone, who will coach Team LeBron at the All-Star Game.
COLORADO KID
Backup guard Reggie Jackson jumped at the chance to sign with the Nuggets and play close to home. Jackson, who grew up down the road in Colorado Springs, agreed to a deal with Denver on Tuesday. He wasn&rsquo;t in uniform against Dallas.
The 32-year-old Jackson&rsquo;s favorite player as a kid was Chauncey Billups, the Denver native who went to the University of Colorado before embarking on a long NBA career.
Jackson will wear No. 7 with Denver &mdash; a number Billups wore in 2009 while with the Nuggets.
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Reserve Jeff Green scored a season-high 24 points, and the Denver Nuggets beat the short-handed Dallas Mavericks 118-109.

Green helps Nuggets go into break with 118-109 win over Mavs

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic had 30 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for his league-leading 20th triple-double and the short-handed Denver Nuggets handed the Charlotte Hornets their seventh straight defeat, 119-105 on Saturday night.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 15 points and Bruce Brown and Michael Porter Jr. each had 14 for the Nuggets.
Denver played without Aaron Gordon (rib contusion) and Jamaal Murray (knee inflammation), but outscored the Hornets 62-45 in the second half.
Jokic now has twice as many triple-doubles as Dallas&rsquo; Luka Doncic, who was second in the league with 10 entering the weekend.
But the two-time NBA MVP said that doesn&rsquo;t mean a thing to him, adding, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s just how I play, and I don&rsquo;t even think about it.&rdquo;
He was more excited about the Nuggets snapping a four-game losing streak on the road.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really important just to get back to winning after our loss (Thursday night) to Orlando,&rdquo; Jokic said. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t start well, but in the second half our defense won the game.&rdquo;
Jokic made light work of Hornets rookie Mark Williams and third-year player Nick Richards, using his big body to post up on the low block to seemingly score at will with overpowering moves in the lane.
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When the Hornets doubled him, Jokic found open teammates.
Williams and Richards are seeing more extensive playing time after the Hornets traded Mason Plumlee to the Los Angeles Clippers.
&ldquo;Knowing that Mason Plumlee is not here and they have younger guys, yeah you want to try to go out there and test them,&rdquo; Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. &ldquo;Mark Williams is only going to get better playing through his mistakes. Nick Richards getting to play meaningful minutes off the bench will get better against guys like Nikola.
&ldquo;We always say in the NBA, you have to get baptized. Young guys have to go through the fires and get their (butts) kicked once in a while. That&rsquo;s how you learn, that&rsquo;s how you improve and how you get better.&rdquo;
This was Jokic&rsquo;s second big game this season against Charlotte.
Jokic had 40 points, 27 rebounds and 10 assists in Denver&rsquo;s 119-115 win in December.
&ldquo;They went to him every play,&rdquo; Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. &ldquo;We needed to have ways to keep him off balance, which we didn&rsquo;t. He showed you why he&rsquo;s been an MVP, and he may be again.&rdquo;
P.J. Washington had 22 points and Gordon Hayward added 21 for Charlotte. LaMelo Ball finished with 18 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds.
The Hornets endured another rough night from the foul line, converting just 17 of 29 attempts. Charlotte is 28 of 52 from the stripe in its last two home games.
The Hornets jumped out to a 26-12 first-quarter lead behind 13 points from Hayward, who was 6 of 7 from the field. But the Nuggets would trim the lead to three at halftime as the Hornets faltered from the free throw line, going 2 of 11 before the break.
Denver (39-18) pulled away in the third quarter behind Jokic, Caldwell-Pope and Porter, who combined for 26 points.
BRYANT SITS OUT
Malone said he didn&rsquo;t feel right playing center Thomas Bryant, who was acquired Thursday in a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers. Malone said he loves Bryant&rsquo;s work ethic and he will soon figure into the Nuggets rotation.
Jokic said is eager to see what Bryant can do after averaging 12.2 points and 6.8 rebounds with the Lakers.
&ldquo;We have to learn about him and see how he can help us and he needs to see if he can help us, too,&rdquo; Jokic said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited to have another player who can contribute and help us win.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Outrebounded the Hornets 51-37. ... Shot 5 of 23 from 3-point range.
Hornets: Shot just 8 of 32 from beyond the 3-point arc.
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Nikola Jokic had 30 points and the Denver Nuggets handed the Charlotte Hornets their seventh straight defeat, 119-105.

Jokic carries short-handed Nuggets past Hornets 119-105

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Nikola Jokic needed only five shots on his way to a league-leading 11th triple-double of the season. How's that for efficient.
&ldquo;A truly selfless superstar,&rdquo; Denver coach Michael Malone said.
Jokic finished with 14 points &mdash; a perfect 5 of 5 from the floor, 3 of 3 from the line &mdash; grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out 16 assists as the Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 122-109 on Monday night in a game where LeBron James sat out due to a sore left ankle.
&ldquo;I know a lot of players that if they took five shots in 35 minutes would be (mad) right now,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;Nikola doesn&rsquo;t care whether he takes five or 25. There&rsquo;s not many guys like him that I&rsquo;ve ever been around."
Count Lakers coach Darvin Ham as impressed. It marked the 12th triple-double in league history with five or fewer shots, according to the Nuggets.
"The way (Jokic) puts his fingerprints all over the game, that&rsquo;s a rarity, especially at his size,&rdquo; Ham said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s only a few of those guys in the league that&rsquo;s able to do that.&rdquo;
Jamal Murray added a season-high 34 points to help the Nuggets win their 11th straight home game. It&rsquo;s their longest home streak since capturing 12 in a row in 2018.
Denver remains tied with Memphis for the top spot in the Western Conference.
&ldquo;We did what we were supposed to do,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;The guys came to work with a work mindset. Everybody stepped up and did their job.&rdquo;
Russell Westbrook finished with 25 points despite dislocating his pinky finger &mdash; &ldquo;I put it back in, twice,&rdquo; he explained &mdash; and Thomas Bryant added 17 along with 10 boards for the Lakers, who saw their five-game winning streak halted.
James was ruled out hours before tipoff, joining injured forward Anthony Davis (right foot) on the bench. Patrick Beverley didn't play after halftime due to a hip injury.
The Lakers entered the game without Troy Brown Jr. (strained left quadriceps), Austin Reaves (strained hamstring strain) and Lonnie Walker IV (knee tendinitis).
&ldquo;Kudos to our guys &mdash; they kept fighting and just had a couple bad turnovers, couple balls that didn&rsquo;t go our way, couple shots didn't go down,&rdquo; Ham said. &ldquo;The group that was out there, they were competitive, then gave it their all until we couldn&rsquo;t give anymore.&rdquo;
Leading by as many as 20 points in the fourth quarter, the Nuggets saw the Lakers make a mini-run. But Murray calmed things down with a 3-pointer.
Murray's scoring spree was another big step as the point guard rounds back into form from a torn ACL that caused him to miss all of last season.
&ldquo;I was just playing my game,&rdquo; Murray said of his performance that included five of the team's 15 3-pointers.
TIP-INS
Lakers: G Kendrick Nunn had 15 points. ... G Dennis Schroder was called for a technical in the third quarter.
Nuggets: F Zeke Nnaji turned 22 on Monday. ... The Nuggets were called for two delay of game technical fouls. ... Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 16 points and Bruce Brown 15. ... It was Jokic's 87th career triple-double.
DAVIS UPDATE
The Lakers are starting the ramp-up process for Davis when they return home.
&ldquo;There are different benchmarks built within the process of the upcoming weeks and if he meets those marks and checks off those boxes, then he&rsquo;ll be back on the court,&rdquo; Ham said. &ldquo;Am I willing to put a timetable on it? No.&rdquo;
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
James was named Western Conference player of the week Monday. He averaged 35 points, 8.7 rebounds and 7.7 assists over his last three games.
The 38-year-old James is 35 points away from joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as members of the NBA&rsquo;s 38,000-point club.
&nbsp;

Nikola Jokic finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and dished out 16 assists as the Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 122-109.

Murray, Jokic lead charge as Nuggets beat Lakers 122-109

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

Best of Basketball News: Spotlighting our top content from 2022

The NBA went into Christmas with a night like none other.
For the first time in NBA history, five players scored at least 43 points on the same day. It happened Friday, with Dallas&rsquo; Luka Doncic leading the way with 50 points against Houston.
The others: Philadelphia&rsquo;s Joel Embiid scored 44 against the Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a career-high 44 against New Orleans, New York&rsquo;s RJ Barrett had 44 against Chicago and Indiana&rsquo;s Tyrese Haliburton scored a career-best 43 against Miami.
&ldquo;Luka is Luka," Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the best player in the world and he showed that tonight, carrying the load offensively again."
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THAT'S A 50-PIECE FOR THE DON 🔥🔥🔥 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MFFL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MFFL</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/dallasmavs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dallasmavs</a> on <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsSW?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BallySportsSW</a> 📺 <a href="https://t.co/1deZTcSzwv">pic.twitter.com/1deZTcSzwv</a>
&mdash; Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsSW/status/1606492306965659650?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2022</a></blockquote>

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As he usually does, Doncic deferred the credit.
&ldquo;My teammates trusted me," he said after his 17-for-30 night that also included 10 rebounds and eight assists.
The biggest shot of the night in <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/doncic-scores-50-mavericks-edge-rockets-112106" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dallas' 112-106 win over Houston</a> might have been Doncic hitting a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left to give the Mavericks a five-point lead.
And that wasn't even the most dramatic 3 that the night's big scorers had.
That honor went to Haliburton, who made 10 3-pointers &mdash; the last of them with 4.3 seconds left to give the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/haliburton-hits-winning-3-scores-43-as-pacers-beat-heat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pacers a 111-108 win over the Heat</a>.
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Haliburton seals the deal with a clutch game-winner from downtown 🔥. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Pacers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Pacers</a> TV: Bally Sports Indiana Stream: <a href="https://t.co/dJ7DfL7kr9">https://t.co/dJ7DfL7kr9</a> <a href="https://t.co/1hfDgmDm20">pic.twitter.com/1hfDgmDm20</a>
&mdash; Bally Sports Indiana (@BallySportsIN) <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsIN/status/1606492549950197760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2022</a></blockquote>

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&ldquo;Tyrese Haliburton is an artist," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said when asked about Haliburton's different-than-most shooting stroke. &ldquo;And you know, some people that have unconventional ways to be successful in this game, you have to just leave them alone and allow them to do what they do. His artistry is the way he gets the ball in the basket, the way he sees the game, the way he connects teammates and the special person that he is."
Embiid's big night came in <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/embiid-harden-help-76ers-beat-clippers-for-homestand-sweep" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Philadelphia's seventh consecutive win</a>. Barrett and the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/derozans-jumper-gives-bulls-118117-victory-over-knicks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Knicks wound up falling to the Bulls</a>, and Gilgeous-Alexander's 44&nbsp;came in an <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/murphy-scores-23-pelicans-beat-thunder-in-ot-without-zion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">overtime loss to New Orleans</a> &mdash; which he nearly extended into double overtime, with a 40-foot desperation shot at the end hitting the front rim at the buzzer of a 128-125 final.
&ldquo;It was close. Not close enough," said Gilgeous-Alexander, whose great start to this season has cemented himself as an early front-runner for NBA's Most Improved Player honors &mdash; not to mention other postseason accolades, and likely a trip to the All-Star Game as well.
There now have been just over 4,400 instances of a player scoring 40 or more points in a regular-season game. Friday was only the fifth time that five of those happened on the same day &mdash; and the second time it happened in 2022.
On April 10, the final day of the 2021-22 regular season, Obi Toppin had 42 for New York, Jalen Green had 41 for Houston, Malik Monk scored 41 for the Los Angeles Lakers, Klay Thompson had 41 for Golden State and Victor Oladipo scored 40 for Miami.
The other three instances of five 40-point scorers:
&mdash; Feb. 21, 2003:&nbsp;Tracy McGrady scored 52 for Orlando, Jamal Mashburn 50 for the New Orleans Hornets, Michael Jordan 43 for Washington, Allen Iverson 41 for Philadelphia and Kobe Bryant 40 for the Lakers.
&mdash; Feb. 2, 2001:&nbsp;Allen Iverson scored 47 for Philadelphia, Bryant 44 for the Lakers, Chris Webber 41 for Sacramento, Paul Pierce 40 for Boston and Jerry Stackhouse 40 for Detroit.
&mdash; Dec. 25, 1961:&nbsp;Wilt Chamberlain scored 59 for the Philadelphia Warriors, Tom Heinsohn 45 for Boston, Elgin Baylor 40 for the Lakers, Richie Guerin 40 for New York and Oscar Robertson 40 for Cincinnati.

The NBA went into Christmas with a night like none other. For the first time ever, five players scored at least 43 points on the same day.

A record NBA outburst: 5 players score 43 or more points on same day

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; LeBron James scored 30 points, Russell Westbrook had 15 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds and the Los Angeles Lakers smoothly overcame Anthony Davis' latest injury in a 126-108 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.
Davis missed the second half with a right foot injury, but the Lakers still produced some of their prettiest team basketball of the season down the stretch of their second win in six games. Westbrook had his second triple-double off the bench this season, while Thomas Bryant scored 21 points, Austin Reaves 16 and Dennis Schr&ouml;der 15.
&ldquo;The pace changed, and the game changed,&rdquo; Westbrook said. &ldquo;You could see it. When we play that way, it's hard to beat us.&rdquo;
The victory was particularly satisfying after the Lakers blew a late lead in regulation and lost to the Celtics in overtime on Tuesday night.
&ldquo;It's huge, especially after the heartbreak loss we had last time against Boston,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;We started to get defensive stops, and we were able to get out and execute offensively.&rdquo;
Nikola Jokic had 25 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for the Nuggets, whose three-game winning streak ended. Jamal Murray scored 23 points and Aaron Gordon had 17, but Denver couldn't keep up with the Lakers' second-half surge.
Coach Michael Malone lamented the Nuggets' lack of &ldquo;urgency to get back, effort to get back, toughness, resiliency, whatever you want to call it&rdquo; in the second half of their second loss in three meetings with the Lakers this season.
Davis apparently got hurt when the star big man landed awkwardly after a layup attempt under the basket in the first quarter, although he kept playing until halftime. Davis had X-rays at the arena, and coach Darvin Ham said Davis will be evaluated again Saturday before the Lakers determine the severity of the injury.
&ldquo;(When) we know something, then we go from there,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;Wish the best of news for sure, especially for AD.&rdquo;
James took over at center in Davis' absence, sometimes guarding the 6-foot-11 Jokic and grabbing nine rebounds. He catalyzed LA's offense along with Westbrook, who revved up to produce one of his best halves of basketball since joining his hometown team last season.
Davis scored 10 points in the first quarter, but went scoreless in the second while playing eight minutes. He didn&rsquo;t return from the locker room with his teammates for the second half.
The injury creates a new wave of uncertainty about Davis' perpetually problematic health. He is averaging 28.8 points and 12.4 rebounds per game this season despite managing lower back stiffness for several weeks.
After leading the Lakers to a 2020 championship in his first season alongside James, Davis played in about 50% of the Lakers&rsquo; games over the past two years while bedeviled by numerous injuries. The eight-time All-Star has missed only four games this season while enjoying a return to his dominant form from his best seasons in New Orleans and Los Angeles.
Denver and Los Angeles have already met three times this season, and they'll conclude their series Jan. 9 in Denver. Lakers coach Darvin Ham got his first career victory when his team beat the Nuggets on Oct. 30.
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Michael Porter Jr. missed his 11th straight game with a heel injury, but he participated in Denver's shootaround. ... Denver got just 23 points off the bench.
Lakers: Wenyen Gabriel missed his sixth straight game with a sprained left shoulder. ... Juan Toscano-Anderson sat out with a sprained right ankle. ... James passed Hakeem Olajuwon for ninth place on the NBA's career steals list.
&nbsp;

LeBron James scored 30 points, and the Lakers overcame Anthony Davis' latest injury in a 126-108 victory over the Nuggets.

Davis injured, but LeBron leads Lakers past Denver 126-108

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; LeBron James scored 26 points and Anthony Davis added 23 to help the Los Angeles Lakers to their first win of the season with a 121-110 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night.
Russell Westbrook had 18 points for the Lakers (1-5), who had lost their first five games of the season under first-year head coach Darvin Ham. Los Angeles was the last winless team in the NBA.
Ham celebrated in the locker room with his team and received a celebratory dousing of water.
&ldquo;We needed to prove something to ourselves,&rdquo; Ham said. &ldquo;Not to the world, not the media. We had to prove it to ourselves. I feel great about how we responded throughout the game.&rdquo;
Westbrook, who came off the bench again and has been accepting of that role, drove the lane and scored on a layup to extend the Lakers lead to 117-106 in the final minutes as the Lakers closed out the win.
In the third quarter, he raised his arms to get fans on their feet and he obliged.
&ldquo;Like I&rsquo;ve mentioned since Day One, whatever is needed from me to help the team win, that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;ll do,&rdquo; Westbrook said.
Nikola Jokic scored 23 points and Jamal Murray added a season-high 21 for the Nuggets (4-3), who had four of their last five and two straight games before Sunday&rsquo;s loss.
Austin Reaves made a 3-pointer from the top of the arc and Lonnie Walker IV drove the baseline for a dunk to give the Lakers a 113-100 advantage. That 13-point lead was their largest of the season.
The Lakers made 13 3-pointers on 13-for-30 shooting after struggling with long-range shots this season in their previous five games. The Nuggets made 15 3-pointers.
Davis was aggressive early after missing one game with lower back tightness and was questionable Sunday but played. He tweaked his back in the game against Denver on Wednesday when the Nuggets beat the Lakers 110-99 in Denver.
Davis, who called Sunday&rsquo;s game a must-win, said he&rsquo;ll have to manage the pain.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s day by day,&rdquo; Davis said. &ldquo;One day, I feel great. The next day (it&rsquo;s hard). Just try to manage it and keep getting treatment.&rdquo;
The Lakers led 55-51 at halftime. They trailed by as many as 10 points in the first quarter but overcame that deficit by halftime.
&ldquo;They were playing with desperation and I felt like we had them and let it slip away,&rdquo; Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon said.
JOYFUL RUSS
Charles Barkley recently said that the Lakers are &ldquo;taking Russell Westbrook&rsquo;s joy out of basketball. When asked about the joy factor, Westbrook said: &ldquo;One thing I&rsquo;ll never let happen is people outside of my family and people that support me, take my joy. I always have fun and embrace this game and embrace the gift I&rsquo;ve been given. Losing is not as much fun. I love seeing my teammates flourish, honestly. I get joy by seeing others do great.&rdquo;
UP IN THE RAFTERS
Hall of Famer George Mikan had his jersey retired. His family was there to celebrate the honor and watch No. 99 be unveiled. He&rsquo;s the 11th player to have his jersey retired, along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain, Gail Goodrich, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal, Jerry West, Jamaal Wilkes and James Worthy. Worthy was there Sunday and spoke about Mikan.
TIP-INS
Nuggets: G Bones Hyland missed the game with a left hip strain &hellip; G Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (sprained ankle) returned Sunday and had nine points &hellip; C DeAndre Jordan ran out of bounds on one play, leaned over a fan to stop his momentum and ate some of his popcorn.
Lakers: Pau Gasol, who won two championships with the Lakers, attended the Mikan Jersey unveiling and game on Sunday. His jersey will be retired by the Lakers in March

LeBron James scored 26 points and Anthony Davis added 23 to help the Lakers to their first win with a 121-110 victory over the Nuggets.

James, Davis help Lakers win for first time this season

There are many one-word answers that could be given about the state of the NBA&rsquo;s Western Conference. Loaded, deep, stacked, daunting: They all certainly apply.
Minnesota coach Chris Finch has another word: &ldquo;Brutal,&rdquo; he said.
That one works, too.
The defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors rightly expect to contend again, and there will be no shortage of teams entering this season believing they&rsquo;re good enough to compete for a title as well. The Los Angeles Clippers get Kawhi Leonard back, the Phoenix Suns have won more games than any team in the NBA over the last two regular seasons, the Denver Nuggets have the two-time reigning MVP in Nikola Jokic, the Dallas Mavericks have a presumed future MVP in Luka Doncic, and the Memphis Grizzlies can say the same about Ja Morant.
Oh, and there&rsquo;s LeBron James of Los Angeles Lakers, entering Year 20, somehow still not slowing down and maybe 50 or so games away from catching Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the all-time scoring record.
&ldquo;When you put in the work,&rdquo; James said, &ldquo;you see the results.&rdquo;
Lakers first-year coach Darvin Ham knows a great offseason, or a great lineup on paper to start a season, doesn&rsquo;t guarantee anything. He was an assistant coach for the Lakers in 2012-13, when the team entered the year with a lineup of Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace, Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard.
That group had two Hall of Famers in Nash and Bryant, and two likely future ones in Gasol and Howard. They started seven games together that season &mdash; and went 0-7.
The Lakers went through three coaches that injury-plagued year, won 45 games and got swept in the first round by San Antonio.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of work that goes into it, remaining healthy being at the top of the list,&rdquo; Ham said. &ldquo;And most important, also coming together as a team.&rdquo;
Finch&rsquo;s Timberwolves are another team that made big offseason moves, landing Rudy Gobert from Utah. But even with that acquisition, Finch knows nothing will be easy in the West. He noted the conference has so much quality that even some good teams &mdash; New Orleans was an example he cited &mdash; just aren&rsquo;t getting talked about.
&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s open,&rdquo; Finch said. &ldquo;And I think it&rsquo;s deep. ... There&rsquo;s certainly stratas of teams, but I think there&rsquo;s no clear-cut, dominant team, as there has been. But yeah, it&rsquo;s going to be a brutal one.&rdquo;
A look at the West, in predicted order of regular-season finish:
PLAYOFF BOUND
1. Los Angeles Clippers. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-clippers-nba-sports-basketball-kawhi-leonard-399804492d9323118257a912c784c50e">Leonard</a> should quickly remind the league he&rsquo;s still elite. If Paul George can stay healthy, and if John Wall has anything left &mdash; the Clippers would be smart to watch his minutes &mdash; then this is a team that could win the whole thing.
2. Golden State Warriors. Doubt the champs at your own peril. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-lakers-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-basketball-4462bbe7e27fa3d91290a8d94641d2a2">The Draymond Green mess</a> is exactly that &mdash; &ldquo;a crisis,&rdquo; coach Steve Kerr called it &mdash; but the Warriors seem like a group that can handle such a situation. Oh, and they have Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. And a super-talented young core.
3. Phoenix Suns. The Game 7 embarrassment at home last season isn&rsquo;t something that will be easily forgotten and it wasn&rsquo;t exactly a smooth offseason amid the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/phoenix-suns-nba-sports-mercury-basketball-5d41fac4d946eaa106cb8bdfd567c37e">scandal surrounding owner Robert Sarver.</a> Devin Booker is entering his prime, and Chris Paul is running out of opportunities to finally get his championship. Still an enormously talented team.
4. Denver Nuggets. All they have is <a href="https://apnews.com/article/denver-nuggets-nba-sports-jamal-murray-nikola-jokic-d092a1736eaa4f5f986bf6464b636fca">a two-time reigning MVP in Jokic</a>, and the returns of Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. There is a lot to like.
5. Memphis Grizzlies. It may be unrealistic to expect another 56-win regular season, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-9133154cdb4253d6dfebf0e68279b4c7">but Morant is an MVP-caliber star,</a> and the team has tons of swagger.
6. Minnesota Timberwolves. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-timberwolves-utah-jazz-nba-entertainment-sports-30765f1caacff7e3e99aa0674dee7ffb">Yes, they emptied the safe to acquire Gobert</a>. Pairing him with Karl-Anthony Towns gives Minnesota a 1-2 punch like almost none other. And with D&rsquo;Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards continuing to get better, the Wolves should be in the mix.
INTO THE PLAY-IN
7. Dallas Mavericks. Doncic looks to be in better shape, will be an MVP frontrunner and is coming off a great summer at EuroBasket for Slovenia. The Mavs need to find ways to not have Doncic carrying more than his share of the load.
8. Los Angeles Lakers. The biggest mystery in the West and maybe the league. James is on pace to become the scoring king, Anthony Davis can still be a major problem for opponents &mdash; when he&rsquo;s healthy &mdash; and Russell Westbrook is looking to silence critics. But will it work?
9. Sacramento Kings. New coach Mike Brown will install a new culture, the acquisition of Kevin Huerter was super-smart and the Kings are going to score a ton of points. It&rsquo;s going to be hard to take big leaps forward in the loaded West, but the Kings will try.
10. New Orleans Pelicans. They got hot at the right time last year, got playoff experience and now they get Zion Williamson back after he couldn&rsquo;t play last season. Not many teams embrace a coach the way New Orleans embraces Willie Green, either. But, again, the West is just so tough ...
FACING LONG ODDS
11. Portland Trail Blazers. Damian Lillard is going to be a player on a mission this season and the Blazers will be improved over a year ago. But, again, the West is just so tough ...
12. Utah Jazz. Even after trading away Donovan Mitchell and Gobert, there&rsquo;s still talent there. Not enough talent, but coach Will Hardy will have Utah playing defense. That&rsquo;s a certainty.
13. Houston Rockets. We&rsquo;ve now entered the lottery-watch portion of the list. Houston has young talent and a really good coach in Stephen Silas, but a team needs more in the West these days.
14. Oklahoma City Thunder. No Chet Holmgren this season means the Thunder return to the lottery. It&rsquo;s a development year for a team with tons of draft assets.
15. San Antonio Spurs. Gregg Popovich won&rsquo;t add many wins to the NBA all-time record this season, but he&rsquo;ll be teaching the players he has how to win in the future. He&rsquo;ll also be brushing up on French wine, with hopes of having something to talk about with <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-sports-basketball-draft-c99e5e378f68d962e5843963e7cb8602">Victor Wembanyama</a> for years to come.
FANDUEL SAYS ...
<a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nba">FanDuel Sportsbook</a> lists the Warriors as the pick to come out of the West, by the slimmest of margins over the Clippers with the Suns not far behind.
Denver, Memphis, the Lakers, Dallas, Minnesota and New Orleans are the second tier of FanDuel&rsquo;s West favorites. From there, it&rsquo;s a wide gap to the rest of the West -- Portland, then Sacramento, Utah, Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Houston.
STEPH WATCH
Curry, already the leading 3-point shooter, scored 1,630 points last season.
If he does that again this year, he&rsquo;ll have climbed into the top 40 scorers in NBA history.
Curry starts this season 47th on the scoring list with 20,064 points. He needs 831 to pass Pau Gasol for the No. 40 spot, and if he matches his scoring mark from last year, Curry could end the season 37th &mdash; just behind No. 36 Larry Bird (21,791) and just ahead of Hal Greer (21,591).
LEBRON&rsquo;S LIST
James has had a lot of teammates. A whole lot.
Counting players who have gotten into regular-season games during James&rsquo; stints in Cleveland, Miami and with the Lakers, he&rsquo;s up to 226 teammates over his first 19 seasons. That number will rise on opening night, probably into the 230s.
NEW COACHES
There are three new coaches in the West. Ham got his long-awaited chance to coach when he was hired by the Lakers, and Utah's Hardy is making his head coaching debut.
Sacramento&rsquo;s Brown went 347-216 coaching Cleveland and the Lakers, and spent the last six seasons as an assistant in Golden State.
DENVER TO .500?
Denver beat Cleveland on Jan. 12, 1996, and that victory raised the Nuggets&rsquo; all-time record in NBA games to 797-796.
They lost to Portland the next night. They haven&rsquo;t been over .500 as a franchise since.
But that could change this year. The Nuggets enter this season 1,844-1,861, and if they get to 18 games over .500 they&rsquo;ll have a winning all-time record for the first time in about 27 years.
It seems quite possible: The Nuggets have been an average of 20 games over .500 in each of the last four seasons.

There will be no shortage of teams in the West entering this season believing they’re good enough to compete for a title.

NBA's Western Conference is loaded with title hopefuls

Golden State coach Steve Kerr went into last season uncertain if his club would be good enough to contend for another NBA championship.
He got his answer. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/chicago-bulls-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-draymond-green-0ee4bc1ceae824068efa885dea756e2a">He&rsquo;s getting another ring.</a>
And now, the Warriors will try to do it all again.
The NBA&rsquo;s 77th season starts Tuesday night, the opening doubleheader &mdash; Philadelphia at Eastern Conference champion Boston, then the Los Angeles Lakers at the Warriors &mdash; wasting no time in putting title contenders on display. Commissioner Adam Silver will be in San Francisco for Golden State&rsquo;s ring night as the Warriors begin their quest for what would be a fifth championship in nine seasons.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re back in it,&rdquo; Kerr said. &ldquo;But there&rsquo;s a lot of teams that are right in it, and the league is super competitive. I think the West has gotten even stronger. There&rsquo;s a lot of competition out there. And so, we&rsquo;re one of the teams that is in the mix and that&rsquo;s exciting. But we have to start over. It doesn&rsquo;t just automatically happen from one year to the next, so we&rsquo;ve got a lot of work.&rdquo;
There is no shortage of contenders for the Warriors to fend off and no shortage of teams that made big moves with hopes of being the last team standing this season. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-timberwolves-utah-jazz-nba-entertainment-sports-30765f1caacff7e3e99aa0674dee7ffb">Minnesota traded with Utah for Rudy Gobert</a> and Cleveland traded with Utah for Donovan Mitchell; the Timberwolves and Cavaliers are trying to reach the league&rsquo;s upper echelon, and the Jazz are starting on a new path after a few years of being good but nowhere near good enough.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a very high level of competition this year,&rdquo; Gobert said. &ldquo;I think a lot of teams got better.&rdquo;
Some teams might have gotten better by not doing something. Kevin Durant asked for a trade out of Brooklyn; cooler heads prevailed, and Durant remained with the Nets, who also should have Kyrie Irving &mdash; whose decision not to get vaccinated against COVID-19 means he&rsquo;ll be tested often but won&rsquo;t keep him off the floor &mdash; for many more games this season than the 29 he was limited to last season. And Ben Simmons, who didn&rsquo;t play at all last season, will be out there with Durant and Irving as well.
Durant&rsquo;s reason for asking for a trade was simple: &ldquo;I was more so worried about how we&rsquo;re approaching every day as a basketball team,&rdquo; he said. Those concerns were addressed, and in Brooklyn he stayed, with the Nets expected to joust with Boston, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Miami and probably others in a very deep Eastern Conference.
&ldquo;A lot of teams have a legitimate shot," said Hall of Famer Chris Mullin, now a television analyst for the Warriors. &ldquo;I think that's really good for the league. A lot of teams have two and three stars, and if they get their chemistry right, they stay healthy, they figure out the right kind of basketball to complement their talent, then there are a lot of teams with legitimate aspirations."
<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kobe-bryant-los-angeles-lakers-nba-sports-basketball-629ff8ed250c8bd969461db178c91e85">LeBron James enters this season 1,325 points behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar</a> for the NBA&rsquo;s all-time scoring lead, and the Lakers &mdash; if they can stay healthy &mdash; figure to be much better than the 33-49 record they posted last year. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-clippers-nba-sports-basketball-kawhi-leonard-399804492d9323118257a912c784c50e">The Los Angeles Clippers have Kawhi Leonard back</a> after a year off with a knee injury, just as the Denver Nuggets get Jamal Murray back from knee rehabilitation to join forces again with two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic. Phoenix has a core that has won more games than any team in the NBA over the last two regular seasons, though it enters this season with its franchise for sale as a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/phoenix-suns-nba-sports-mercury-basketball-5d41fac4d946eaa106cb8bdfd567c37e">result of owner Robert Sarver's conduct.</a>
All those clubs, and a few others, plan on contending.
&ldquo;Hopefully, we can take another step,&rdquo; Leonard said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s all I can hope for.&rdquo;
The Celtics and Warriors took more steps than anyone last season, getting to the finals.
And then, they took steps back.
Golden State&rsquo;s preseason was turned on its head when Warriors forward Draymond Green punched guard <a href="https://apnews.com/article/golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-basketball-stephen-curry-63faa6d89a67f0a12fe7529d67e1eb1d">Jordan Poole</a> during a practice session, a story that got immeasurably worse when video of the incident was leaked to TMZ. Green was fined by the Warriors, took a few days away from the team, then returned last week.
That all came a few weeks after the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/boston-celtics-nba-sports-basketball-ime-udoka-0f04a614b82c497346a423d9da036521">Celtics suspended coach Ime Udoka</a> until June 30 after an investigation found he broke multiple team rules and was involved in an improper relationship with a female member of the organization.
Udoka, a feel-good story after going to the finals in his first year as a head coach, is being replaced by 34-year-old Joe Mazzulla for this season as the Celtics chase an 18th championship, one that would break a tie with the Lakers for the most in NBA history.
&ldquo;The great thing about this organization, the players that we have, and the season last year is we have a formula for what we know we need to do in order to get better every single day and get back to where we want to get to,&rdquo; Mazzulla said. &ldquo;As much as we can focus on that, we&rsquo;ll be in good shape.&rdquo;
There will be surprises. There will be injuries, probably some trades, maybe some firings along the way and presumably even some tanking &mdash; whether teams call it that or not &mdash; with hopes of enhancing their odds of winning the lottery and being able to draft <a href="https://apnews.com/article/san-antonio-spurs-nba-sports-635ed991a777e6ce48e1fb594d66c753">French teenage phenom Victor Wembanyama</a> next June.
Other teams, like the Warriors, also are thinking about June. Not for the draft, but because that&rsquo;s when a champion will be crowned.
&ldquo;We are on hopefully another nine-month journey,&rdquo; said Warriors guard Stephen Curry, the reigning NBA Finals MVP. &ldquo;And it&rsquo;s exciting. We&rsquo;re blessed to play this game at the highest level and understand that we still have an opportunity to win a couple more championships.&rdquo;

The NBA’s 77th season starts Tuesday night, and plenty of fresh-faced and upgraded teams are poised to make noise.

NBA 2022-23: Warriors out to defend, amid tons of contenders

By mid-January, LeBron James could be the NBA&rsquo;s scoring king.
The NBA schedule was released Wednesday, all 1,230 games that are set between Oct. 18 and April 9 taking place in four countries with Mexico and France playing host to regular-season contests along with the U.S. and Canada.
There are the usual highlights &mdash; <a href="https://apnews.com/article/golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-stephen-curry-klay-thompson-ae5dda0cafbdf59296bdb45001e47c4d">Stephen Curry and Golden State</a> will raise another title banner on opening night, as is the NBA's customary perk for champions; <a href="https://apnews.com/article/kobe-bryant-memphis-grizzlies-brooklyn-nets-los-angeles-lakers-charlotte-hornets-847e28d4335e726bfa869cd1d6c91b85">a five-game slate of games on Christmas</a> yet again; the traditional games in Atlanta and Memphis as part of the leaguewide commemoration of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This year brought a twist, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-nba-sports-voter-registration-827945d5b94f984baa992d71809a1c6b">with Election Day now a newly created off day in the NBA.</a>
And now that the list of games is out, the numbers show that James could catch Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the final two weeks of January &mdash; assuming James doesn&rsquo;t have to miss games and scores at his usual pace. James enters this season No. 2 on the all-time list, 1,325 points behind Abdul-Jabbar.
&ldquo;We have obviously a very large ecosystem of league office staff, team staff, players, arena staff that are truly driving to this process,&rdquo; said Evan Wasch, who, along with Gene Li and Tom Carelli, is on the NBA team of executives who build the schedule. &ldquo;So, we are just one small piece.&rdquo;
Wasch, Li and Carelli spent weeks putting a 1,230-piece jigsaw puzzle together, mindful of things like team wishes to have games on certain dates, total miles traveled, even carbon footprint.
The big headline from their work: Teams will travel a bit less, about 5% fewer miles in the air on average over last season.
The NBA made that happen by adding to the instances of teams having no travel between road games, something that&rsquo;ll happen 88 times this season &mdash; up 66% from last season. There are 55 instances of teams playing consecutive road games against the same opponent, and 33 instances of teams playing two games in a row against the two teams from Los Angeles or New York.
Add it all up, and NBA teams will combine to fly about 50,000 fewer miles this season.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a player health component, and there&rsquo;s also a sustainability component there,&rdquo; Wasch said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s a 5% decrease from where we&rsquo;ve been. We&rsquo;ll take it.&rdquo;
Among the countless storylines entering the season is James, and his pursuit of more NBA history.
If he continues scoring at his typical pace &mdash; 27 points per game for his career, 30 points per game last season for the Los Angeles Lakers &mdash; he would need between 44 and 49 games to pass Abdul-Jabbar.
Games 44 through 49 for the Lakers fall in the second half of January. They happen to be at home for most of that stretch, a coincidence since it precedes the annual spot in the calendar where the Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers need to vacate their home arena while it gets ready to play host to the Grammy Awards.
Other revelations from the schedule:
BACK-TO-BACKS
Minimizing the instances of having games on back-to-back days is still a point of emphasis for the NBA, and the average number of them dipped another 1.5% this season &mdash; the average going from 13.5 per team last season to 13.3 per team this season.
Since 2014, the average is down 31.1%. Teams faced an average of 19.3 of them per season then.
No team has fewer than 12 back-to-backs this season. No team has more than 15.
ATTENDANCE RECORD
The San Antonio Spurs&rsquo; magic number on Jan. 13 &mdash; 62,047.
If the Spurs&rsquo; game against Golden State that night draws at least that many fans, it&rsquo;ll set an NBA regular-season record. The Spurs will play that game in San Antonio&rsquo;s Alamodome, not their typical arena, and it&rsquo;ll be set up to accommodate at least 65,000 fans.
The biggest crowd at an NBA regular-season game is 62,046, who gathered to watch Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls meet the Atlanta Hawks at the Georgia Dome on March 27, 1998.
The biggest crowd in league history was 108,713, that group gathering for the 2010 All-Star Game at the home of the NFL&rsquo;s Dallas Cowboys in North Texas.
The Alamodome record for an NBA game is 39,554 on June 18, 1999, when New York visited San Antonio for Game 2 of that year&rsquo;s NBA Finals.
INTERNATIONAL REACH
The NBA has scheduled 45 games that will be shown live in prime time across Europe, the Middle East and Africa on Saturdays and Sundays.
Many of those games feature at least one prominent international player, including two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic of Denver, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee, reigning scoring champion Joel Embiid of Philadelphia and All-NBA first-teamer Luka Doncic of Dallas.
INTERNATIONAL GAMES
San Antonio has a &ldquo;home" game against Miami in Mexico City on Dec. 17. Detroit has a &ldquo;home" game with Chicago in Paris on Jan. 19.
WELCOME BACK
Some prominent NBA names missed the entirety of last season for a variety of reasons. Among those who were in that group and are expected back this year, assuming they&rsquo;re ready to go when their teams play Game 1:
Kawhi Leonard and John Wall, now teammates with the Clippers, would open their season Oct. 20 &mdash; a &ldquo;road&rdquo; game against the Lakers.
Denver&rsquo;s Jamal Murray would return Oct. 19 at Utah. Brooklyn&rsquo;s Ben Simmons and New Orleans&rsquo; Zion Williamson also would be in line to come back Oct. 19 when the Nets host the Pelicans.

The NBA schedule was released Wednesday, all 1,230 games that are set between Oct. 18 and April 9.

2022-23 NBA schedule has less miles, and LeBron chasing more history

Is the NBA ready to add an expansion team? Evan Sidery explores what kind of team you could build in a present-day expansion draft.

NBA Expansion Mock Draft: What would a new expansion team look like?

Although some top-tier players who were expected to hit free agency this coming summer have already signed extensions, the 2022 NBA free-agent class will feature quite a few stars.
After <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-free-agency-preview-ranking-the-top-10-guards">ranking the best guards</a> and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-free-agency-preview-ranking-the-top10-forwards">forwards set to hit the open market</a>, let's complete this series by highlighting the top-10 big men up for grabs this summer. &nbsp;
1. Deandre Ayton &mdash; Phoenix Suns &mdash; Restricted
Deandre Ayton is the crown jewel of this year's free-agent center crop. Although the Suns surprisingly chose not to offer him a max extension last offseason (worth approximately $173 million over five years), Phoenix is still in the driver's seat, as the franchise can match any offer the former No. 1 overall pick receives this summer. Expect them to do just that for a young, improving player who is a foundational cornerstone of a team with championship aspirations.&nbsp;
2. Jusuf Nurkic &mdash; Portland Trail Blazers &mdash; Unrestricted
After a disappointing 2020-21 campaign, Jusuf Nurkic bounced back impressively this season, averaging 15.0 points, a career-high 11.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.1 steals while shooting 53.5% from the floor. Nurkic has been sidelined by plantar fasciitis for the past month, and will likely miss the rest of the season. However, he'll likely be ready to rock by the start of training camp next September. Due to Nurk's tight bond with Blazers point guard Damian Lillard, many pundits expect Portland to re-sign the big man to a multi-year deal.&nbsp;
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3. Mitchell Robinson &mdash; New York Knicks &mdash; Unrestricted
The Knicks technically have until June 30 to ink Mitchell Robinson to an extension worth up to $48 million over four years. However, the two sides have not yet reached an agreement, so it appears Mitch Rob will be able to test the market for his services. While he has flashed All-NBA Defense upside in short spurts throughout his four-year career, Robinson has battled numerous injuries and baffling inconsistency. His regression at the free-throw line (he's shooting below 50% in each of the past two seasons) is obviously worrisome as well. Nevertheless, few big men can supply the type of high-flying athleticism and rim-protection he brings to the table.
4. Bobby Portis &mdash; Milwaukee Bucks &mdash; Player Option 
With Brook Lopez sidelined for most of the 2021-22 season, Bobby Portis stepped in and stepped up for the Bucks, starting 57 of the team's last 58 games. He is averaging career-highs in scoring (15.1 points), boards (9.1), steals (0.8), blocks (0.8) and made three-pointers (2.0). Portis is currently one of only two players in the NBA averaging at least 9 rebounds and 2 made treys per game. (Luka Doncic and Karl-Anthony Towns are the other two members of this club.) Portis' player option for 2022-23 is only worth $4.6 million, so he is expected to opt-out and search for a significant raise.
5. Ivica Zubac &mdash; Los Angeles Clippers &mdash; Team Option 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Zubac is a bonafide firefighter for LAC. In one possession he 1) traps Trae 28 ft out 2) sprints towards Capela hands up to dissuade the pass to the roller 3) checks Capela and stops the Collins drive 4) gets in front of Capela as the shot goes up and wins the glass battle <a href="https://t.co/OjS3dxuz4P">pic.twitter.com/OjS3dxuz4P</a>
&mdash; Justin W. (@LAClippersFilm) <a href="https://twitter.com/LAClippersFilm/status/1503470104041861120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

Ivica Zubac's team option for next season is $7.5 million, so it's an easy decision for the Clippers to pick it up. He just turned 25 years old last week and continues to improve steadily. Zubac is posting career-highs in just about every statistical category this season.
6. Montrezl Harrell &mdash; Charlotte Hornets &mdash; Unrestricted
Montrezl Harrell has had another productive and efficient season off the bench, averaging 13.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists, while shooting 63.9% across 62 games for both the Wizards and Charlotte Hornets (following a midseason trade).&nbsp;
7. Mo Bamba &mdash; Orlando Magic &mdash; Restricted
After struggling mightily over his first three years in the NBA, Mo Bamba, the sixth overall pick in the 2018 draft, is enjoying the best year of his pro career. He is on pace to become the first player in Magic franchise history to average more than 1.5 blocks and 1.0 made three-pointers per game over an entire season. However, the Magic inked center Wendell Carter Jr. to a four-year, $50 million contract extension back in October and have Mo Wagner (brother of their prized rookie, Franz) under contract next season as well. In addition, lineups with both WCJ and Bamba have not performed well. Thus, Orlando will likely let the former lottery pick walk if another team offers a contract the team is uncomfortable matching.&nbsp;
8. Nic Claxton &mdash; Brooklyn Nets &mdash; Restricted
Nic Claxton continues to impress in limited playing time off the bench for Brooklyn. His per-36 minute averages this season are outstanding: 15.2 points (on 65.1% shooting), 9.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. The Nets have limited depth due to the high salaries of their top players, and billionaire owner Joe Tsai is unafraid of paying the luxury tax, so Brooklyn is expected to match any reasonable offer Claxton receives.&nbsp;
9. Andre Drummond &mdash; Brooklyn Nets &mdash; Unrestricted
Andre Drummond has increased his value following the trade that sent him from Philadelphia to Brooklyn. He has started all 14 games he's played as a Net, and is averaging 11.4 points (on 62.5% shooting), 9.6 rebounds and 0.9 blocks for Brooklyn. Drummond can boost his value significantly with a strong showing in the playoffs.&nbsp;
10. Thomas Bryant &mdash; Washington Wizards &mdash; Unrestricted:
Thomas Bryant inked a three-year, $25 million deal back in 2019 and played very well for the Wiz during the first year of that pact, averaging 13.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in under 25 minutes a night. He also started the following season impressively before tearing his ACL in early 2021. Bryant returned to action in January, but has seen his minutes reduced following Washington's acquisition of Kristaps Porzingis. Still just 24 years old, Bryant could be a worthwhile investment for a team in the market for a young big.&nbsp;
Best of the Rest:
LaMarcus Aldridge, JaVale McGee, Dwight Howard, Isaiah Hartenstein, Hassan Whiteside, Derrick Favors (player option), Tristan Thompson, Kevon Looney, JaMychal Green, Frank Kaminsky, Mike Muscala (team option), Bismack Biyombo
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We made it through the first day of March Madness! Sixteen teams saw their dreams shatter while the other 16 teams advanced to the Round of 32. Let&rsquo;s see who remains&hellip;
UPSET ALERT&nbsp;
East Region: 15-seed Saint Peter&rsquo;s defeats 2-seed Kentucky 85-79 in overtime
Starting with the true bracket buster of day 1, the Saint Peter&rsquo;s Peacocks upset the Kentucky Wildcats. Oscar Tshiebwe gave everything he had (as expected) with a 30-point, 16-rebound performance, but Kentucky&rsquo;s perimeter players (TyTy Washington, Kellen Grady and Sahvir Wheeler) had trouble generating offense. The Peacocks shined behind Daryl Banks III&rsquo;s 27 points and Doug Edert&rsquo;s 20 points off the bench. The game remained tight the whole way through, staying within six points, and the game was tied at the end of regulation. The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion pulled away with clutch plays and defensive stops that showed they weren&rsquo;t afraid of the highly decorated program. Saint Peter&rsquo;s will be taking on the 7-seed Murray State on Saturday. (For more on this upset, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/putting-saint-peters-shocker-over-kentucky-in-historical-context" target="_blank" rel="noopener">check out Bryan Fonseca's article</a>).
Midwest Region: 12-seed Richmond defeats 5-seed Iowa 67-63
The annual bracket experts are well aware that the 12-5 matchup is always on upset watch, but since Iowa had a strong run for a Big Ten Tournament championship and one of the top NBA Draft prospects in the tournament in Keegan Murray, they felt like the pick here. But Richmond reminded the country that they too won a conference tournament championship last week and the Atlantic 10 knows them very well. Senior guard Jacob Gilyard played all 40 minutes and gave the Spiders 24 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Junior forward Tyler Burton and senior forward Nathan Cayo added 18 points and 15 points, respectively. Iowa&rsquo;s projected lottery pick Murray finished the game with 21 points and 9 rebounds, but there was a lull in his offense in the second half that could&rsquo;ve been the difference-maker. Richmond will face 4-seed Providence in the second round.
South Region: 11-seed Michigan defeats 6-seed Colorado State 75-63
In a matchup that many thought had upset potential, the Wolverines came away as victors over the Rams after a slow start. Colorado State jumped on Michigan in the first half and led by as many as 15 points, but Michigan proved their Power 5 experience had tested them enough to overcome the deficit. Hunter Dickinson ended as the game&rsquo;s leading scorer with 21 points and added 5 rebounds and 4 blocks. Frankie Collins filled in at point guard for the injured Devante&rsquo; Jones and finished with a respectable 14 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists. Michigan finds 3-seed Tennessee waiting for them in the next round.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
West Region: 12-seed New Mexico State defeats 5-seed UConn 70-63
New Mexico State grabbed another win for the 12 seeds today as they knocked out UConn in the first round. This game was owned by Aggie guard Teddy Allen, who was locked in after starting the game 0-for-6 and finished with 37 points. New Mexico State as a team shot nearly 65% from three, which proved to be the difference-maker, with the Huskies only hitting 30% from deep. Allen looks to add another hot performance to his March Madness resum&eacute; on Saturday against Arkansas.
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GAMES OF THE DAY
West Region: 9-seed Memphis defeats 8-seed Boise State 64-53
The Memphis Tigers continued their strong play in the latter portion of the season and finished with a big win against Boise State. Memphis went into halftime with a 19-point lead, but a slow start by the Tigers led to the Broncos clawing themselves back into the game. DeAndre Williams ended the game with 14 points while projected NBA Draft lottery pick Jalen Duren had a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double. NBA executives and March Madness fans are getting the Duren-Chet Holmgren matchup they&rsquo;ve been clamoring for since Sunday night, as Memphis takes on Gonzaga this weekend. (This game also featured a surprise cameo from Emoni Bates, who finished with just 3 points in three minutes).
East Region: 7-seed Murray State defeats 10-seed San Francisco 92-87 in overtime
If you stayed up to watch one of the nightcap games of day 1, you probably watched Murray State and San Francisco battle it out. This game saw San Francisco guard Jamaree Bouyea score a career-high 36 points including some big shots to extend the game. However, it wasn&rsquo;t enough for the balanced attack of&nbsp; Murray State&rsquo;s KJ Williams, Trae Hannibal, Tevin Brown and Justice Hill with scoring totals of 18, 18, 17, and 15 (with Hannibal&rsquo;s 18 coming from the bench). The Racers' next test comes from the &ldquo;bracket busters&rdquo; themselves, the Saint Peter&rsquo;s Peacocks this weekend.
OTHER FIRST-ROUND RESULTS
Midwest Region
1-seed Kansas defeats 16-seed Texas Southern
4-seed Providence defeats 13-seed South Dakota State 66-57
9-seed Creighton defeats 8-seed San Diego State 72-69
East Region
1-seed Baylor defeats 16-seed Norfolk State 85-49
4-seed UCLA defeats 13-seed Akron 57- 53
South Region
3-seed Tennessee defeats 14-seed Longwood 88-56
West Region
1-seed Gonzaga defeats 16-seed Georgia State 93-72
4-seed Arkansas defeats 13-seed Vermont 75-71
East Region
8-seed North Carolina defeats 9-seed Marquette 95-63
5-seed Saint Mary&rsquo;s defeats 12-seed Indiana 82-53
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Sixteen teams saw their dreams shatter while 16 teams advanced to the Round of 32. Blake Hairston recaps day one of March Madness.