Crimson Tide

The New York Knicks have made their second move in the offseason in an attempt to challenge and match up side by side with the NBA Champions Boston Celtics.
According to ESPN&rsquo;s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Knicks have reached an agreement with free agent forward OG Anunoby to resign with the team on a five-year, $212.5 million deal.
This ends the speculation that Anunoby might be leaving New York with the sides reaching a deal worth up to $40 million annually.&nbsp;
Anunoby was acquired by the Knicks last season in a mid-season trade with the Toronto Raptors in exchange for RJ Barrett. New York has played immensely better with Anunoby, massively improving their defense. In turn, the Knicks earned the no.2 seed in the East en route to an Eastern Conference semifinals appearance before falling to the Indiana Pacers in seven games.
Locking Anunoby up with a five-year deal will now put the Knicks into prime contention in the East for the foreseeable future, and this allows them to match up with the NBA-champion Boston Celtics. With the recent acquisition of Mikal Bridges, the Knicks now have two high-level two-way wings to pair up with star point guard Jalen Brunson.

The Knicks have reached an agreement with free agent forward OG Anunoby to resign with the team on a five-year, $212.5 million deal.

Anunoby resigns with Knicks on a 5-year, USD 212.5 million deal

With the NBA&rsquo;s 2023 free-agency period pretty much wrapped up, why not take a look at how projecting next year's free-agent market? Obviously, a lot can change between now and then, but let&rsquo;s examine each team&rsquo;s cap situation and how much cap room they project to have next summer.&nbsp;
Next year&rsquo;s free-agency class could feature some big names, including Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam, Tyrese Maxey (restricted), Paul George, LeBron James, James Harden, Jrue Holiday, OG Anunoby and DeMar DeRozan.&nbsp;
For the purposes of this exercise, I&rsquo;m going to separate teams into four spending-power tiers: Cap Space Teams, Non-Tax MLE Teams, Luxury Tax Teams and Second Apron Teams. Also, let's assume that the salary cap will be set at $149,623,000 and the luxury tax will come in at $181,823,000, the maximum 10% jump from this upcoming season set under the new CBA.
CAP SPACE TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to have cap space next summer. They have spending access to their cap space, Bird Rights, the Room Exception (projected at $8,495,000) and the Veteran Minimum Exception.
San Antonio Spurs ($77,195,776 under the cap) If Victor Wembanyama is 70% as good as he&rsquo;s hyped up to be entering this season, one would figure that the Spurs will spend big or at least make a meaningful impact on the free-agent market next summer. They project to have an enormous amount of cap space, so it&rsquo;s very possible we&rsquo;ll see San Antonio take on some more bad contracts in trades to give them even more draft capital. Also, they&rsquo;ll want to retain Devin Vassell, who will be a restricted free agent next offseason once the Spurs extend his qualifying offer.
Philadelphia 76ers ($73,034,842 under the cap) The Sixers are perhaps the most interesting team in terms of their 2024 offseason outlook. By letting Tyrese Maxey hit restricted free agency next summer rather than extending him this year, Philadelphia gave themselves serious cap flexibility. Tobias Harris and James Harden both have expiring contracts, so the Sixers will have to use their cap space to replace their production. A Harden trade would obviously change their projected cap room, but it remains to be seen what they&rsquo;ll get back for the former MVP and how much it&rsquo;ll impact their books.
Toronto Raptors ($60,339,034 under the cap) After losing Fred VanVleet, the Raptors are walking a tightrope when it comes to whether they&rsquo;ll compete or rebuild. They face some tough decisions. Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby are both set to hit free agency next summer, so Toronto needs to decide whether they want to extend or trade their best players. Not to mention, Precious Achiuwa and Gary Trent Jr. also need new contracts.
Orlando Magic ($58,010,944 under the cap) Orlando has a lot of options for next summer, but the Magic may start with retaining many of their own players. Franz Wagner will likely receive a big contract extension, while Markelle Fultz and Cole Anthony will be up for new contracts. Given that Orlando has a logjam in their backcourt &ndash; with Fultz, Anthony, Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black &ndash; it&rsquo;ll be interesting to see what they do with Fultz and Anthony. The Magic will still have plenty of room to add quality talent for yearly average values over the NTMLE.
Detroit Pistons ($57,781,166 under the cap) Detroit may approach the 2024 offseason similar to how Houston approached this summer, as a young team hoping to use its massive cap space on good veterans in order to take bigger steps toward playoff contention. With that said, the first priority for the team will be agreeing to a contract extension with Cade Cunningham.
Utah Jazz ($50,315,319 under the cap) The Jazz find themselves in a unique position where they could go in two directions. After committing a three-year deal to Jordan Clarkson, they can use their cap space to give 2023 Most Improved Player Lauri Markkanen a contract extension. If they want to have significant cap space for next summer instead, they can hold off on giving Markkanen an extension until free agency is settled.
Washington Wizards ($47,123,801 under the cap) Despite their cap space next year, don&rsquo;t expect Washington to be a big player in 2024 free agency. In the beginning stages of a rebuild, the Wizards will probably keep their sights on collecting more draft capital. They do have an interesting decision coming up with recent trade acquisition Tyus Jones, whom they&rsquo;ll likely want to keep long-term.&nbsp;
Charlotte Hornets ($41,300,515 under the cap)&nbsp; They may lose some 2024 cap space if they eventually re-sign PJ Washington this offseason, but watch out for Charlotte to be one of the many small-market teams with money to spend next summer. With LaMelo Ball in the first year of his max contract extension, Charlotte may cash in on a marquee player to keep their young star happy.
Brooklyn Nets ($33,048,185 under the cap) The Nets do have the potential to have significant cap space next summer if they choose not to re-sign most of their own free agents. However, the Nets will more than likely focus on exploring the trade market and retaining big man Nic Claxton before reaching next year&rsquo;s free agency. Spencer Dinwiddie and Royce O&rsquo;Neale will also hit free agency next offseason.
Indiana Pacers ($20,488,005 under the cap) Indiana could get to an even higher number in cap space if they decline Bruce Brown&rsquo;s $23 million team option next season. If Brown has a good year, the Pacers would likely keep him on a long-term deal that would consume a good chunk of their space. Other impending free agents they might like to keep include Obi Toppin, Aaron Nesmith and Jalen Smith.
Oklahoma City Thunder ($10,264,814 under the cap) The Thunder will likely continue to utilize the strategy of taking on short-term, bad-money contracts in exchange for draft capital. As they inch closer to contention, they will be looking at some big-money extensions for many of their young pieces, including one for Josh Giddey next year.&nbsp;
NON-TAX MLE TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to be over the salary cap but under the luxury tax. They have spending access to Bird Rights, the Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (projected at $13,644,000), the Bi-Annual Exception (projected at $4,968,000) unless used in 2023-24, and the Veteran Minimum Exception.
Chicago Bulls ($19,465,689 under the cap) The Bulls could potentially operate as a cap-space team if they elect to let DeMar DeRozan and Patrick Williams walk in free agency, but that seems unlikely. In addition, the Bulls could potentially create more space if Lonzo Ball&rsquo;s knee injury is considered career-ending by an NBA/NBPA-appointed physician. (Ball would still be paid, it just wouldn&rsquo;t count against the cap).&nbsp;
Sacramento Kings ($210,669 under the cap) The Kings used up most of their cap space by signing Domantas Sabonis to a big four-year extension that ties him with the team through 2028. As long as they are competitive, they will likely pursue quality pieces with their Non-Tax MLE to support Sabonis and De&rsquo;Aaron Fox. They will also likely try to keep Malik Monk and look at extension options for Davion Mitchell.
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New Orleans Pelicans ($487,911 over the cap) The Pelicans are fairly set with their core of CJ McCollum, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram under contract through 2025. Ingram and McCollum are both extension-eligible this offseason, but the Pelicans may wait on dishing out extensions to maintain flexibility under the tax. New Orleans must also monitor Jonas Valanciunas&rsquo; free agency and a possible extension for Trey Murphy III.&nbsp;
Atlanta Hawks ($1,658,172 over the cap) Similar to the Kings, the Hawks wiped away their cap space when they signed Dejounte Murray and De&rsquo;Andre Hunter to four-year, $120 million and four-year, $90 million extensions, respectively. Already pushing past the salary cap, the Hawks may face a money crunch as they broach the luxury tax line. Retaining restricted free agents Onyeka Okongwu and Saddiq Bey next offseason may be tricky.
Los Angeles Clippers ($5,018,261 over the cap) The Clippers are in an interesting spot with George and Leonard both needing new deals, which they will likely get despite their inability to stay on the floor. Many veterans with big salaries will come off the books next year, like Marcus Morris, Nic Batum and Robert Covington. The question is whether the Clippers will continue to commit significant capital to a roster that hasn&rsquo;t met its lofty expectations.
Miami Heat ($7,751,630 over the cap) The Miami Heat are in a holding pattern with their roster as they engage in a Mexican standoff with the Blazers on a Damian Lillard trade, which could see them skyrocket into the deep tax. Outside of the Dame situation, Jimmy Butler will likely look for another big extension this offseason, which will pay him max money deep into his late 30s. They will also have to contend with potentially losing Caleb Martin, who has a player option for 2024-25.
Houston Rockets ($8,734,919 over the cap) The biggest spenders of this past offseason, the Rockets made big moves for Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks. Houston could get back into the cap-space tier again if they choose to part ways with Kevin Porter Jr. and his non-guaranteed $15.9 million salary. Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun will also be up for extensions.&nbsp;
Cleveland Cavaliers ($11,399,749 over the cap) The Cavs are pretty set going into the 2023-24 season and beyond with two max guys (Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell) and key guys on fairly big deals (Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert and Max Strus). They will likely give Evan Mobley a big extension next offseason, which could push them into the luxury tax in the near future. For next offseason, their only notable free agent is Isaac Okoro.
New York Knicks ($11,400,861 over the cap) This morning, the Knicks inked Josh Hart to a four-year contract extension that pushed them over the cap for 2024-25. Their main concerns for next summer are Immanuel Quickley and Isaiah Hartenstein, who are both up for new contracts. They will likely be able to avoid the tax by declining their team option on Evan Fournier or trading his expiring contract for another expiring deal.
Dallas Mavericks ($13,566,153 over the cap) The Mavericks are not likely to seek pathways to cap space next summer after doubling down on their trade for Kyrie Irving by re-signing him to a three-year, $120 million deal. They should look to retain Josh Green, who will be a restricted free agent. Luka Doncic&rsquo;s happiness looms over all of the Mavs&rsquo; moves, as ESPN&rsquo;s Tim McMahon <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/mavs-fear-luka-doncic-may-request-trade-unless-they-build-contender">reported in April</a> that the Mavericks are worried about Doncic potentially seeking a trade elsewhere as soon as next year.
Los Angeles Lakers ($15,380,636 over the cap) The Lakers had a pathway to almost two max slots in the unlikely scenario that they decided to pivot from the LeBron-AD era. However, that option is out the window with them inking Davis to a three-year supermax extension that will keep him with the team through 2028. LeBron James&rsquo; decision to stay with the team or leave will ultimately dictate how the Lakers approach spending next offseason.
Portland Trail Blazers ($20,567,876 over the cap) Portland is in the midst of turning the page to a new era as they look to accommodate franchise cornerstone Damian Lillard&rsquo;s trade request. If they do end up trading Lillard, expect their cap numbers to come down slightly, but not enough to get any meaningful space. Whether Lillard is traded for the Miami package or something else, Portland shouldn&rsquo;t be a major player in free agency for a while.&nbsp;
LUXURY TAX TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to be over the salary cap and luxury tax. They have spending access to Bird Rights, the Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (projected at $5,500,000), and the Veteran Minimum Exception.
Minnesota Timberwolves ($14,474,085 under the tax) The Timberwolves have paid the luxury tax only once since 2007. They should be a tax team once again, with Karl-Anthony Towns' supermax extension and Anthony Edwards' max extension kicking in. In addition, Minnesota will need to use significant capital to keep players like Jaden McDaniels, Mike Conley and Kyle Anderson, all of whom will be free agents in 2024.
Golden State Warriors ($9,696,462 under the tax) While the Warriors are currently under the tax, they are likely going to re-sign 2024 free agent Klay Thompson to a long-term deal at a lower number or at least use his Bird Rights to acquire another piece at a similar number. Golden State can cut some costs by releasing Chris Paul after the season, as his $30 million salary for 2024-25 is non-guaranteed.
Milwaukee Bucks ($6,142,529 under the tax) The Bucks re-signed Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez to big-money deals, committing to the players who won them the 2021 title. Another one of those players, Jrue Holiday, is set to reach free agency and will likely demand max money. In addition, Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes eligible for a supermax extension of up to three years in October and can sign a four-year supermax extension next offseason.
Denver Nuggets ($6,732,627 over the tax) The defending champs have their core of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon locked in through the 2025 offseason. They&rsquo;ve already lost Bruce Brown and Jeff Green this summer and will be forced to work around the edges with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope potentially heading for free agency next summer.
Boston Celtics ($7,306,800 over the tax) The trade for Kristaps Porzingis pushed the Celtics into the luxury tax for the first time since 2018, and that was before they signed Jaylen Brown to a five-year supermax extension. With Jayson Tatum&rsquo;s own supermax extension on the horizon next year, the Celtics figure to be a tax team, and potentially a second apron team, for the foreseeable future.
SECOND APRON TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to be over the salary cap, luxury tax and second luxury tax apron ($17.5 million over the tax). They have spending access to just Bird Rights and the Veteran Minimum Exception. The second apron was introduced in the new CBA and prevents teams from using the Taxpayer MLE, trading first-round picks seven years away, signing buyout free agents and taking back more salary than they send out in trades among other restrictions.
Memphis Grizzlies ($13,829,477 over the tax) For the first time under owner Robert Pera, the Grizzlies will be paying the luxury tax. While Memphis probably won&rsquo;t reach the second apron, they are not likely to have enough spare capital to use their Tax MLE and be able to fill out their roster without going over it. Their core of Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. are locked up to big money, long-term deals that will keep Memphis among the league's biggest spenders for likely the next decade-plus.
Phoenix Suns ($27,039,607 over the tax) Phoenix is by far the most limited team when it comes to spending, and they will be for the next few seasons after trading for Bradley Beal&rsquo;s behemoth contract. With four max contracts, including two supermax contracts, the Suns have blown through the second apron. Like this past offseason, the supporting cast around their core four will be mostly minimum-salary contracts.

How much cap room is your favorite NBA team projected to have next summer? Blake Stern breaks down where all 30 teams stand.

Which NBA teams project to have the most cap space in 2024?

On Tuesday afternoon, the NBA announced the 78 players who are expected to attend the 2023 NBA Draft Combine, which will take place at the Wintrust Arena and Marriott Marquis in Chicago from May 15-21.
Players will have interviews with NBA teams and participate in five-on-five games as well as shooting and strength-and-agility drills. Coverage of the 2023 NBA Draft Combine will begin May 17 on ESPN2 from 2-6 p.m. ET and continues May 18 from 4-8 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
The NBA Draft Combine will also be available on the ESPN App. Strength-and-agility drills and shooting drills will be broadcast live on the NBA App on May 15 from 3-5 p.m. ET.
Additionally, a select number of standout players from the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-g-league-announces-45-draft-prospects-competing-in-g-league-elite-camp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2023 NBA G League Elite Camp</a>, which takes place May 13-14 at Wintrust Arena, will be invited to participate in the NBA Draft Combine.
Unfortunately, projected No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama won't be in attendance at the 2023 NBA Draft Combine as he has yet to finish his season overseas with Metropolitans 92.
Below is a list of expected attendees for the 2023 NBA Draft Combine:
<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Trey Alexander (Creighton)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Seth Lundy (Penn State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Amari Bailey (UCLA)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Kevin McCullar (Kansas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Emoni Bates (Eastern Michigan)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Mike Miles Jr. (TCU)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Reece Beekman (Virginia)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Brandon Miller (Alabama)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Anthony Black (Arkansas)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jordan Miller (Miami)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Adem Bona (UCLA)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Leonard Miller (G League Ignite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Kobe Brown (Missouri)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Judah Mintz (Syracuse)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Kobe Bufkin (Michigan)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Dillon Mitchell (Texas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Toumani Camara (Dayton)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Omari Moore (San Jose State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Sidy Cissoko (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Kris Murray (Iowa)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Jaylen Clark (UCLA)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Grant Nelson (North Dakota State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Noah Clowney (Alabama)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
James Nnaji (Barcelona [Spain] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Ricky Council IV (Arkansas)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Julian Phillips (Tennessee)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Gradey Dick (Kansas)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jalen Pickett (Penn State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Nikola Djurisic (Mega [Serbia] )
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Brandin Podziemski (Santa Clara)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Zach Edey (Purdue)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Olivier-Maxence Prosper (Marquette)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Adam Flagler (Baylor)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Rayan Rupert (New Zealand Breakers [Oceania] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Keyonte George (Baylor)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Adama Sanogo (Connecticut)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Mouhamed Gueye (Washington State)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Marcus Sasser (Houston)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Coleman Hawkins (Illinois)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Brice Sensabaugh (Ohio State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Jordan Hawkins (Connecticut)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Terrence Shannon Jr. (Illinois)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Scoot Henderson (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Ben Sheppard (Belmont)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Taylor Hendricks (UCF)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jalen Slawson (Furman)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
DaRon Holmes II (Dayton)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Nick Smith Jr. (Arkansas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Jalen Hood-Schifino (Indiana)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Terquavion Smith (North Carolina State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Jett Howard (Michigan)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Julian Strawther (Gonzaga)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Andre Jackson Jr. (Connecticut)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Amen Thompson (Overtime Elite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
GG Jackson II (South Carolina)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Ausar Thompson (Overtime Elite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Drew Timme (Gonzaga)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Keyontae Johnson (Kansas State)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Azuolas Tubelis (Arizona)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Colby Jones (Xavier)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Tristan Vukcevic (Partizan [Serbia] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jarace Walker (Houston)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Arthur Kaluma (Creighton)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Cason Wallace (Kentucky)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Mojave King (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jordan Walsh (Arkansas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Bobi Klintman (Wake Forest)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Dariq Whitehead (Duke)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Maxwell Lewis (Pepperdine)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Cam Whitmore (Villanova)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Dereck Lively II (Duke)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Jalen Wilson (Kansas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="312">
Chris Livingston (Kentucky)
</td>
<td valign="top" width="354">
Isaiah Wong (Miami)
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

The NBA announced the 78 players who are expected to attend the 2023 NBA Draft Combine.

NBA announces 78 Draft Combine participants, but no Victor Wembanyama

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

NBA announces 242 early-entry candidates for 2023 NBA Draft

Jerome Randle's first season in the Basketball Africa League will coincide with his last as a professional basketball player.
Shortly after his BAL debut with U.S. Monastir of Tunisia in a winning effort over Stade Malien of Mali, Randle announced the news over the phone.
"I'm retiring after this year," Randle revealed to Basketball News. "There's so many things that I'm into right now as far as building my brand to help kids and training and developing and things like that. I had an opportunity to go to Spain and play in the [LIGA] ACB. I mean, I've played there before. But it's like, okay, I've never been to Africa. I wanted to (go). Why not experience something like this, to play in Africa?
"And the BAL is a respectful situation and I'm enjoying myself. I'm shaking a lot of hands and creating a lot of relationships for the things that I want to do as well, so it's also a business decision as well. I'm excited about it, man. I'm talking to a lot of people that are making sure I'm involved in this because it's a lot of potential. I know the talent is only gonna get better. We're just gonna see what happens."
The Chicago native is a former California Golden Bears standout who won the then-Pac-10 Player of the Year award in 2010 and built an outstanding career from that point on. Aside from brief stints in summer league, the then-D League and exhibition games, Randle did not step foot on an NBA court in the regular season. What he did do, however, was carve his own successful career path.
From 2011 to now, Randle has played in Ukraine, Israel, Russia, Belgium, Turkey, Australia, Lithuania, France, Germany, Spain and, now, Africa. He's been a Turkish League All-Star, an LKL Champion and an NBL MVP and two-time scoring champion (and an assist leader) to name a few of his accolades.
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With his final season as a pro underway, Randle spoke to Basketball News about his decision to join the BAL, the talent in Africa, his <a href="https://www.unlmtedbrand.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UNLMTED</a> brand, the current state of Cal basketball and more.
You just made your BAL debut with U.S. Monastir on Sunday, dropping 18 points and 8 assists in 34 minutes. Was it what you expected?
Jerome Randle: "It was cool, man. The old man still can move. I'm 35. These young guys, they run up and down this court. They've got me really putting in work two days before just to prepare for a game. But I take care of my body, so I Iove it. I'm loving what they're doing with it. This is the third year, third season. Just imagine what's gonna happen the next two years or three years. Man, it's gonna be something that's bigger than anything people could ever imagine, especially just being in Africa. So, I'm excited for what's to come."
The game of basketball is global, and the BAL is helping African talent get discovered. The last three years has given these players another level of exposure. How do you feel about that? 
Randle: "We just had a meeting about something like that. You have so many countries out here with talent (and those players) just don't get the opportunity to go to college or even go to high school. So for me, that's my vision. My vision is to create a program where kids are able to showcase their talent, have the exposure that they need just to be seen, and put them in the position where they can go to high school or prep school and be a collegiate athlete.
"So me being over here, seeing a 16-year-old, 7-foot-2 kid who has so much potential [Khaman Maluach], it's like, only guys like that are being seen when you have so many other talented players that will probably be a lot more successful had they gotten their opportunity, and not because they're 7-2. The reason why I'm so passionate about it's because the odds was stacked up against me at 5-foot-9. So, I want to look out for the younger, smaller guys that people don't look at as being the potential NBA player and things like that. Because there's so many opportunities outside of the NBA that we have to find a way to utilize."
What are your goals with U.S. Monastir and individually since it's your last season?
 Randle: "I want to win the BAL. That's my goal. I signed with the team just so I can have a day-to-day 'cause I could've just signed with them only for the BAL, but it was like, 'Okay, let me just go in and just play,' just have that everyday regimen just to workout, play a couple games with Tunisia [in February's Intercontinental Cup].
"Obviously, I would never sign in Tunisia, but it was because they were affiliated with the BAL (that I did). So I took a chance, and I'm enjoying my time. The guys are cool. It's good to just meet new people, man. It's always good to be on another side of the world and meet great people, and I have met them."
Who on your team stands out to you?
 Randle: "One that I like more so for his energy and positivity is this guy Lassaad (Chouaya). He's just always working hard, man, no matter what. We connected the first time I stepped foot in Tunisia just because he was a positive guy, he wanted to work hard. I'm going to the gym two, three hours before practice (and) he's right there just putting in the work. I can only relate to guys who work hard."
You are one of eight ex-G League talents and 18 former Division I college athletes playing in the Sahara Conference currently. Is there anybody you've competed against or previously played with that you have crossed paths with?
Randle: "No. I can't say I have seen anyone that I've actually played with or against in the BAL from the G League. I was only in the G League for a small, small time. It wasn't that long, but I went over to Ukraine right after that. My experience in the G League, the D-League at that time, it was okay. That's when I left the [Dallas] Mavericks [affiliate Texas Legends] and I went over to the Maine Red Claws.
"The experience was... I guess my thought process was (it's) them developing you to make it to the NBA, and it just wasn't like that at that particular time. So, I decided to go overseas and play. I probably should've stayed, probably would've gave myself a better opportunity to make it to the NBA had I stayed there. But there were other things that I needed to do."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Too hot to Randle 🔥 18 points for the <a href="https://twitter.com/visitrwanda_now?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@visitrwanda_now</a> Player of the Game <a href="https://twitter.com/jerome_randle?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jerome_randle</a>, leading <a href="https://twitter.com/USMonastirBB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USMonastirBB</a> to their first WIN ✅ <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheBAL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheBAL</a> <a href="https://t.co/YmcA02Vj4o">pic.twitter.com/YmcA02Vj4o</a>
&mdash; Basketball Africa League (@theBAL) <a href="https://twitter.com/theBAL/status/1635030446923976704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2023</a></blockquote>

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

You mentioned there are things you want to do after your career is finished this year. Could you go into detail about what you're aiming for?
Randle: "Well, I have a brand called <a href="https://www.unlmtedbrand.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UNLMTED</a>. What it means is: Uniquely Navigating Life Molds Tenacity Endurance and Determination. Basically, that's my life story. My story's coming out, just about my career and the things that I've been through over 13, 14 years of just being a professional athlete &mdash; all the ups and downs and everything that I had to go through.
"People ask me all the time, 'Man, why are you not in the NBA?' I just feel like now it's time to just break my silence on a lot of things that's happened, a lot of things that I experienced. And those experiences is gonna help a lot of kids that's coming up that want to be a professional athlete. It's developing and doing clinics, camps all over the world, man. It's just teaching kids a different type of way and understanding what discipline and that mentality, that Mamba Mentality. All of that stuff plays a part in what they want to do, if they follow a code."
Does this time of year take you back to your college days in Berkeley?
Randle: "Yeah, but it'll only bring back memories when Cal is back on the map. I'm a little bit irritated with this whole college March Madness thing because I need to get my school back to where it needs to be."
What do you think that's going to take?
Randle: "I just think times have changed now. Times have definitely changed. The whole dynamic of what college basketball used to be, it's not what it is right now. You have the NIL, you have all sorts of things that play against Cal being one of those places where people want to go. Because we go by a certain type of standard.
"And I feel like once Cuonzo (Martin) left &mdash; we had Jaylen Brown, we had a lot of those guys &mdash; I just feel like (after that) was just a rough patch. I feel like Mark Fox did a good job with what he had, and now we have to figure out a way to get someone in there that understands what the culture is right now, what's going on, how to play this game to get players in there."
Do you keep up with your old Cal teammates and talk about it?
 Randle: "We speak. I think everybody is more involved now because just that Cal pride is something that we all want. It's like, when you hear about Cal, it's like we don't have nothing to talk about right now 'cause they're not even competing to the point where we really can just say, 'Okay, (there's) that Cal pride (where) we're gonna be in the [NCAA] tournament.' It's just not like that no more right now. We're gonna get back. We're all gonna be positive about the situation 'cause I'm sure it's gonna change."
Final question: What was the most important and beneficial experience of your career and why?
Randle: "The struggles, man. The struggles and dealing with everything that comes with being a professional basketball player. I mean, basketball is the easy thing. Either you're gonna make or you're gonna miss a shot. You're gonna be a defensive player or you're not. You know what I'm saying? It's white and black. It's nothing too complicated. From the obstacles and everything that you deal with, the problems that you deal with, (they) make you appreciate so much more in life.
"I go by that. I go by that whole thing about just appreciating the process... I try my best to help as many kids as I possibly can. I can talk about as many countries as I want to, what I like best about 'em, but I only appreciate the things that's happened that I can learn from and help kids that's growing up."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
More infomation regarding the BAL:
<ul>
<li>Sahara Conference teams include: US Monastir (Tunisia), AS Douanes (Senegal), Abidjan Basketball Club (C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire), Kwara Falcons (Nigeria), Rwanda Energy Group (Rwanda) and Stade Malien (Mali)</li>
<li>The 2023 BAL season will reach fans in 214 countries and territories in 17 languages through free-to-air and paid TV broadcast partnerships with the African Union of Broadcasting, American Forces Network (AFN), Canal+, ESPN (sub-Saharan Africa), NBA TV, Tencent, TV5 Monde, Visionary TV and Voice of America (VOA), and livestreaming on the NBA App, NBA.com and BAL.NBA.com.</li>
<li>The Basketball Africa League (BAL), a partnership between FIBA and the NBA, is a professional league featuring the top 12 club teams from 12 African countries.</li>
<li>Headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, the BAL builds on the foundation of club competitions FIBA Africa has organized in Africa and marks the NBA&rsquo;s first collaboration to operate a league outside North America.</li>
<li>The third BAL season tipped off on Saturday, March 11, 2023, and will once again feature the top 12 club teams from 12 African countries playing a total of 38 games in Dakar, Senegal; Cairo, Egypt and Kigali, Rwanda over three months in 2023.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<ul>
<li>The 12 teams include defending BAL champion US Monastir (Tunisia) and five other teams returning from the 2022 season.&nbsp; Five teams will compete in the BAL for the first time, including the first BAL teams from C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire and Uganda: Abidjan Basket Club (C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire), Al Ahly (Egypt), City Oilers (Uganda), Kwara Falcons (Nigeria) and Stade Malien (Mali).&nbsp; AS Douanes (Senegal) returns to the BAL after participating in the inaugural season in 2021.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Champions from the national leagues in Angola, Egypt, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia earned their participation in the 2023 BAL season by winning their respective national leagues.&nbsp;</li>
<li>The remaining six teams, which come from C&ocirc;te d&rsquo;Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Mozambique, South Africa, and Uganda, secured their participation through the Road to the BAL qualifying tournaments conducted by FIBA Africa across the continent from October to November 2022.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>During the 2023 BAL season, the 12 club champions will be divided into two conferences.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<ul>
<li>The Sahara Conference will play a 15-game group phase at the Dakar Arena in Dakar from March 11-21, and the Nile Conference will play a 15-game group phase at the Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex in Cairo from April 26 - May 6.&nbsp;</li>
<li>The top four teams from each conference will advance to an eight-game, single elimination Playoffs and Finals at BK Arena in Kigali from May 21-27.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Each BAL team will have up to 13 players, at least eight of whom are citizens of their respective team&rsquo;s home country and up to four of whom are from other countries, with no more than two players per team from outside of Africa.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<ul>
<li>12 NBA Academy Africa prospects from seven African countries who will join the&nbsp;12 BAL teams&nbsp;for the league&rsquo;s 2023 season as part of the second edition of the &ldquo;BAL Elevate&rdquo; program.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
</ul>

Spencer Davies speaks with longtime international pro Jerome Randle about his decision to retire, joining the BAL and more.

Jerome Randle Q&A: Retirement, BAL, UNLMTED, Cal U, post-career vision

BOSTON (AP) &mdash; With Boston College clutching a double-digit lead over No. 6 Virginia late in the second half, the Conte Forum security staff huddled in a tunnel just off the court to prepare for the onslaught of fans that was all but inevitable.
The crowd knew. The Virginia players knew. Everyone in the building knew the Eagles were on the verge of the biggest win of coach Earl Grant&rsquo;s tenure.
&ldquo;I think they sensed, &lsquo;Boy, I think we&rsquo;re going to get these guys,&rsquo;&rdquo; Virginia coach Tony Bennett said after BC beat the cold-shooting Cavaliers 63-48 on Wednesday night to send the sellout crowd streaming onto the court in celebration.
&ldquo;As this thing wore on, you could feel the crowd get into it,&rdquo; said Bennett, whose team shot a season-low 32% from the field against the BC defense. &ldquo;They put us on our heels. It was a lot for some of our guys. We&rsquo;ve got to learn from that, because of what we&rsquo;ve got coming up.&rdquo;
Makai Ashton-Langford scored 16 points and Jaeden Zackery had all 12 of his points in the second half for BC (14-15, 8-10 Atlantic Coast Conference). It was the Eagles&rsquo; third win over a ranked team this season, but the first over one in the top 10 since beating top-ranked Duke in 2017.
&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re moving in the right direction,&rdquo; said Grant, who is in his second year since moving to Chestnut Hill from the College of Charleston. &ldquo;I thought the night was a great test. We were excited about the challenge; we were excited going into it. We knew it would be hard, but we wanted to see what we were.&rdquo;
Jayden Gardner scored 16 points for Virginia (21-5, 13-4), which fell into a second-place tie with Pittsburgh in the ACC, one-half game behind Miami. The Cavaliers, who had been as high as No. 2 in the AP Top 25, had won four in a row and 11 of their previous 12 games.
Armaan Franklin, the Cavaliers&rsquo; leading scorer, and fellow guard Reece Beekman combined to go 4 of 18 from the field and miss all six of their 3-point tries. Virginia finished 4 of 21 (19%) from beyond the arc.
The Cavaliers also shot 67% from the free-throw line, including back-to-back misses by Ryan Dunn that earned all 7,000 in attendance a free order of cheesy bacon fries.
That was all the encouragement the crowd needed.
And the players fed off it, too.
&ldquo;The program is going up,&rdquo; Zackery said. &ldquo;Coming in against ranked teams, we feel like that motivates us more because, honestly, at that point, we don&rsquo;t have anything to lose. They&rsquo;re the ones that are ranked. We just come in, play our best.&rdquo;
Virginia led early before BC took the lead for good midway through the first half, using an 11-2 run to open a 26-17 advantage. The Eagles made it a 13-point game early in the second.
Gardner hit back-to-back baskets midway through the second to make it 44-37, but Isaac McKneely missed a 3-pointer that could have made it a four-point game. Zackery responded by driving the lane, bouncing off a defender and rolling it in off the rim before giving a double-armed flex in celebration.
Then, after Kihei Clark missed a layup, Zackery hit a 3-pointer to give BC a 49-37 lead, earning a congratulatory shoulder-squeeze from big man Quinten Post. Bennett called timeout, but the Cavaliers never again got within single digits.
BIG PICTURE
Virginia had beaten Boston College four times in a row and needed only to keep moving up to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The setback against a sub-.500 team will be damaging.
Boston College had already beaten Virginia Tech and Clemson this season when they were ranked. The Eagles haven&rsquo;t beaten three ranked teams in a season since 2008-09.
UP NEXT
Virginia: At North Carolina on Saturday.
Boston College: At Wake Forest on Tuesday.

Makai Ashton-Langford scored 16 points and Jaeden Zackery had all 12 of his points in the second half for the Golden Eagles in the upset.

No. 6 Virginia goes cold, Boston College wins 63-48

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice scored 20 of his game-high 24 points in the second half and overtime, and No. 6 Texas held off Oklahoma 85-83 on Saturday.
Rice&rsquo;s fourth 3-pointer of the game gave Texas an 84-77 lead with 2:26 left in overtime.
Oklahoma, however, had a chance to tie or win when Texas&rsquo; Tyrese Hunter missed one of two free throws with 6.8 seconds left. But Sam Godwin missed a shot from near the rim, and Texas extended its winning streak against Oklahoma to five games.
Marcus Carr added 17 points for Texas (21-6, 10-4 Big 12), and Timmy Allen had 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Grant Sherfield led Oklahoma (13-14, 3-11) with 18 points, including a 3-pointer that sent the game to overtime. Milos Uzan scored 15 for the Sooners.
NO. 1 ALABAMA 108, GEORGIA 59
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Brandon Miller scored 21 points, Nick Pringle had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Mark Sears made five 3-pointers in the first half to lead Alabama.
The Crimson Tide (23-4, 13-1 Southeastern Conference) rebounded from their first SEC loss by racing to a 54-25 halftime lead and a season scoring high. Alabama was coming off a 68-59 loss at No. 10 Tennessee on Wednesday night after rising to No. 1 for only the second time in program history and first in 20 years.&nbsp;
ustin Hill led Georgia (16-11, 6-8) with 17 points. Terry Roberts scored 11 and Braelen Bridges 10.
NO. 4 UCLA 78, CALIFORNIA 43
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 20 points and UCLA routed last-place California to improve to 15-0 at Pauley Pavilion this season and extend the nation&rsquo;s longest home winning streak to 23 games.
Amari Bailey added 16 points and nine rebounds for the first-place Bruins (23-4, 14-2 Pac-12), who clinched a first-round bye in next month&rsquo;s Pac-12 Tournament with their 11th win in a row over last-place Cal.
Kuany Kuany scored 14 points to lead the Golden Bears (3-24, 2-14), who dropped their 11th in a row. They fell to 0-3 against top-5 teams this season, having also lost a pair against No. 8 Arizona.
NO. 5 KANSAS 87, NO. 9 BAYLOR 71
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; DaJuan Harris scored all 14 of his points in the second half as Kansas stormed back from a double-digit halftime deficit.
The Jayhawks (22-5, 10-4 Big 12) outscored the Bears 55-26 in the second half. Jalen Wilson led Kansas with 21 points and 13 rebounds. KJ Adams added 17 points and Gradey Dick had 16.
The Jayhawks are tied with Texas for the top spot in the Big 12 Conference.
Baylor (20-7, 9-5) got nearly all of its scoring from its three-guard combo of Adam Flagler (22 points) Keyonte George (20 points) and LJ Cryer (15 points).
NO. 7 VIRGINIA 57, NOTRE DAME 55
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Kihei Clark scored 15 points, including a pair of critical free throws with 22.6 seconds left, and became Virginia&rsquo;s career assist leader in the narrow win over Notre Dame.
With Notre Dame closing to 55-54, Clark converted both ends of a one-and-one. Trey Wertz made the front end of a one-and-one with 3.9 seconds left for the Fighting Irish, but missed the second after a timeout. The ball was tipped out to Dane Goodwin for a potential game-winning 3-pointer, but his shot bounced off the rim.
Armaan Franklin added 12 points and Reece Beekman had 11 for Virginia (21-4, 13-3 Atlantic Coast Conference). Nate Laszewski led Notre Dame (10-17, 2-14) with 18 points and Goodwin had 12.
NO. 8 ARIZONA 78, COLORADO 68
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Oumar Ballo had 18 points and 16 rebounds, Cedric Henderson Jr. added 15 points and Arizona dominated inside to beat Colorado.
The Wildcats (24-4, 13-4 Pac-12) opened with a rash of turnovers, falling into an early 12-point hole. Arizona righted itself quickly with a big run and slogged through a slowed-down second half by shutting down the Buffaloes.
Tristan da Silva had 18 points the Buffaloes (15-13, 7-10), who shot 38%.
KENTUCKY 66, NO. 10 TENNESSEE 54
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Cason Wallace and Oscar Tshiebwe each scored 16 points and Kentucky rushed to a big lead and beat Tennessee.
The Volunteers (20-7, 9-5 SEC) trailed by 20 points at halftime and lost in their first game since toppling No. 1 Alabama.
The Wildcats (18-9, 9-5) earned their first regular-season sweep of Tennessee since the 2011-12 season. Kentucky defeated the Volunteers 63-56 on Jan. 14 in Knoxville.
Wallace had totaled nine points in the Wildcats&rsquo; previous two games. Chris Livingston added 12 points and Jacob Toppin had 11.
NO. 12 KANSAS STATE 61, NO. 19 IOWA STATE 55
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Markquis Nowell hit a 3-pointer from near midcourt with 2:42 remaining to help Kansas State over Iowa State.
Nowell finished with 20 points. Keyontae Johnson had 15 points for the Wildcats (20-7, 8-6 Big 12).
Aljaž Kunc led Iowa State (17-9, 8-6) with 15 points. Without their 3-point leader Caleb Grill in the lineup, the Cyclones worked inside the paint. They had 24 points inside and relied on a balanced scoring line led by Kunc.
NO. 13 GONZAGA 97, PEPPERDINE 88
MALIBU, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored 22 of his 34 points in the second half and Julian Strawther added 28 points to help Gonzaga extend its winning streak over the Waves to 45 games.
The Bulldogs (23-5, 12-2 West Coast Conference), who haven&rsquo;t lost to Pepperdine (9-10, 2-12) since Jan. 18, 2002 and have won 20 straight on the road against the Waves.
Timme moved past Bill Cartwright, who scored 2,116 points for San Francisco (1975-79), into eighth on the West Coast Conference&rsquo;s career scoring list with 2,117.
Houston Mallette led the Waves with 22 points. Jevon Porter and Maxwell Lewis added 20 points apiece.
NO. 14 INDIANA 71, ILLINOIS 68
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Trayce Jackson-Davis finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds, Jalen Hood Schifino made two free throws with 30.7 seconds left, and Indiana rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit to beat Illinois.
Hood-Schifino had 13 points for the Hoosiers (19-8, 10-6 Big Ten), who have won nine of 11 overall and 15 straight on their homecourt.
Matthew Mayer scored 24 to lead the Fighting Illini (17-9, 8-7), who were without injured leading scorer Terrence Shannon.
NO. 15 MIAMI 96, WAKE FOREST 87
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Isaiah Wong scored 27 points and Nijel Pack finished with 24 in Miami&rsquo;s win over Wake Forest.
Norchard Omier had 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting while Jordan Miller added 14 points for the Hurricanes (22-5, 13-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won their sixth straight and improved to 15-0 at home.
Tyree Appleby scored 15 points and Damari Monsanto and Cameron Hildreth had 14 each for the Demon Deacons (17-10, 9-7). Andrew Carr and Mathew Marsh finished with 12 points each.
NO. 16 XAVIER 82, DEPAUL 68
CINCINNATI (AP) &mdash; Jack Nunge had 18 points and 10 rebounds as Xavier bounced back from a pair of narrow losses to beat DePaul.
The Musketeers (20-7, 12-4 Big East) reached the 20-win mark for the 34th time in school history, 32 of which have come since the 1982-83 season. It was the 17th career double-double for Nunge, eighth this season. Adam Kunkel scored 16 points and tied a career-high with eight assists for Xavier.
Umoja Gibson had 17 points and De&rsquo;Sean Nelson 16 for DePaul (9-18, 3-13), which lost its eighth in a row.
NO. 17 ST. MARY&rsquo;S 71, BYU 65
MORAGA, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Logan Johnson scored 27 points and Aidan Mahaney delivered once again in the second half to lead Saint Mary&rsquo;s to its 15th win in 16 games.
Mahaney scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and Mitchell Saxen added 13. The Gaels (24-5, 13-1 West Coast Conference) won their 16th straight conference home game to maintain a one-game lead over Gonzaga in the standings.
Fousseyni Traore scored 16 points to lead the Cougars (16-14, 6-9). BYU has lost four straight and was swept in the season series by the Gaels.
NO. 18 CREIGHTON 77, ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 67
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Arthur Kaluma hit three straight 3-pointers down the stretch and Creighton overcame a second-half scoring drought to pull away from St. John&rsquo;s.
Creighton (18-9, 12-4) remained in a three-way tie for second place in the Big East after Providence and Xavier won earlier in the day. Marquette holds a one-game lead in the conference standings.
Ryan Nembhard scored 16 points for the Bluejays. Kaluma finished with 13 points and Ryan Kalkbrenner added 12 as Creighton won for the ninth time in 10 games.
Joel Soriano led St. John&rsquo;s with 15 points and eight rebounds. David Jones added 14 points off the bench but the Red Storm (16-12, 6-11) were unable to get their third straight win.
NO. 20 UCONN 64, SETON HALL 55
STORRS, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Jordan Hawkins scored 20 points and UConn used a big second-half run to beat Seton Hall.
Andre Jackson had a career high 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for UConn (20-7, 9-7 Big East).
Al-Amir Dawes and Tyrese Samuel each had 16 points for Seton Hall (16-12, 9-8), which trailed by 16 points with six minutes to play before a late run that fell short.
NO. 22 TCU 100, OKLAHOMA STATE 75
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) &mdash; Mike Miles Jr. had 15 points in his first game in three weeks, five other TCU players also scored in double figures, and the Horned Frogs snapped a four-game losing streak by beating Oklahoma State.
Emanuel Miller had 18 points to lead TCU (18-9, 7-7 Big 12), which shot a staggering season-high 68.4% (39 of 57) from the field. Damion Baugh had 16 points with 11 assists. Shahada Wells had 15 points, Chuck O&rsquo;Bannon 12 and Micah Peavy 10.
Bryce Thompson had 18 points and John-Michael White 15 for the Cowboys (16-11, 7-7).
NO. 24 PROVIDENCE 85, VILLANOVA 72
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Ed Croswell scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Providence earned its 20th victory of the season.
Bryce Hopkins added 19 points and 12 rebounds. Noah Locked finished with 16 points. Croswell connected on two late free throws to notch the 1,000th point of his career.
The Friars (20-7, 12-4 Big East) have recorded 20 or more wins in seven of coach Ed Cooley&rsquo;s 12 seasons. They improved to 15-0 at home, including 8-0 in conference play.
Eric Dixon had 18 points and eight rebounds and Justin Moore added 17 points for the Wildcats (13-14, 7-9)&nbsp;

A recap of Saturday's action in men's college basketball includes a full slate of top-25 teams in heavy competition.

No. 6 Texas needs OT at home to hold off Oklahoma 85-83

Sometimes, you just know it's good.
A well-timed joke in the middle of conversation. That screen pass you've been saving for the fourth quarter in Madden because your buddy's been spamming a run blitz on early downs. A perfectly placed bass run in the midst of a groove, for my musician friends reading this.&nbsp;
There's something about sensing an opening, taking advantage of said-opening and&nbsp;immediately&nbsp;knowing you made the right decision. Said the right thing, chose the right thing. It just feels&nbsp;good.
That had to be the Derrick White trade for the Boston Celtics last season.
For a team that wants to lock you down defensively &mdash; by erasing gaps with well-timed switching, or siccing its in-your-jersey defenders on unsuspecting ball-handlers while the big hangs back in a drop &mdash; White served as a perfect target.&nbsp;
There were a handful of players in the league that could navigate screens like White; close down on ball-handlers with pesky rearview contests; switch onto bigger players and swipe the ball away, or beat them to spots to draw timely charges. The Celtics were tough enough with Marcus Smart; to add another guy like that into the fold felt unfair.
And for a team trying to fully commit to moving the ball, as elementary as that sounds, White also served as the perfect target. The Celtics were just hitting their stride as an offense that could create and&nbsp;maintain advantages in the half-court without halting the show. White's ability to fit in &mdash; heck, his willingness to fit in &mdash; made him an easy fit.
He could initiate ball-screens, come off handoffs, set pin-in screens on the weak side, set pindowns for the stars to come off of, and act as an on-ball screener to force defenses into tough decisions. The shooting would serve as a bellwether of sorts, but White fit into just about everything the Celtics wanted to do on both ends.
White integrated well last season, though inconsistent three-point shooting &mdash; and waning aggressiveness &mdash; reared its ugly head during the playoff run.&nbsp;
This season, he's been even better. More comfortable, more aggressive. More efficient. For nearly a month now, he's just been more, period.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
The Celtics have been without Smart since Jan. 21, when he turned his ankle pretty badly towards the end of the first half of their matchup against the Toronto Raptors. White was already starting, but he's had to assume lead ball-handling duties since then.
To say White has been phenomenal in this recent run would be an understatement.
Over the past 11 games, White has averaged 20.1 points while converting 54.3% of his twos and 43.6% of his threes on high volume (7.1 attempts). He's dishing out 5.8 dimes (9.2 <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/passing?DateFrom=01/23/2023&amp;TeamID=1610612738&amp;dir=D&amp;sort=POTENTIAL_AST" target="_blank" rel="noopener">potential assists</a>) per game while rarely turning the ball over (1.5 turnovers). He's helped on the glass (4.6 boards), and has continued to be a menace on the defensive end.
You can really have some fun with filtering White's run too.&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Last eight games (6-2 record): 21.5 points, 6.3 assists (1.4 turnovers), 5.1 rebounds</li>
<li>Last five games (4-1): 25.0 points, 8.4 assists (1.8 turnovers), 4.2 rebounds, 1.0 blocks</li>
</ul>
White has racked up at least 25 points and 10 assists in each of his past three games &mdash; a streak he's never had in his career. He just won <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/shai-gilgeousalexander-derrick-white-named-nba-players-of-the-week" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eastern Conference Player of the Week</a>, another feat he had yet to accomplish until this year.
What stands out about White's play is, again, how easy it feels. That isn't meant to diminish what he's doing, but to highlight how well he fits the Celtics' ethos. He's not pounding the ball to get assists or boogying against defenders to get his buckets. He's taking what the defense gives him, and doing so without hesitation.&nbsp;
Take this possession for example:
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The Celtics flow out of HORNS and look to hit either Jayson Tatum or White with a cut. Both players are defended well, with Jaren Jackson Jr.'s ball pressure on Robert Williams III also hindering things. The second option &mdash; two-man game with Williams III and Sam Hauser, testing the screen navigation of Ja Morant &mdash; doesn't hit either. The ball swings to White, and the fun begins.
White receives a screen but doesn't take it; he just waits it out, and gets Xavier Tillman switched onto him. After swinging it to the corner, the ball finds him again with Tillman out of position after attempting a steal.
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White immediately attacks the basket, driving right at Jackson. Because Tatum is on the left wing, the left corner is empty &mdash; meaning Dillon Brooks can't help without giving up an open shot on the perimeter. And with Williams III rolling to the basket, Jackson now has to choose between halting White's drive or taking away the roll &mdash; with no help behind him. He chooses the former, opening up the easy lob.
Quietly, White has been one of the most productive drivers in the NBA over this stretch. He's been able to finish through contact, avoid it altogether with a funky floater he can get to at weird times and angles, and feed open teammates if the defense overreacts to him.&nbsp;
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During this 11-game run, possessions featuring a drive by White have generated 1.17 points per possession (PPP), per Second Spectrum. That ranks seventh among 45 players with at least 100 drives in that time frame, putting him in a virtual tie with James Harden and ahead of All-Stars like Morant (1.15 PPP), De'Aaron Fox (1.15 PPP), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (1.09 PPP) and DeMar DeRozan (1.05 PPP).
White's work as a screener continues to be important for the Celtics. Because he naturally draws smaller matchups than Tatum or Jaylen Brown, his inclusion as a lead blocker forces defenses into tough situations.&nbsp;
Anything less than pristine screen navigation means giving one of the stars an opening to attack. Switching a smaller guy onto either of them is asking for trouble. Trapping or hedging simply opens up short-roll opportunities for White. You can get away with daring bigs to make quick decisions in space; you can't really do that with someone as smart as White is.
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And the defense. Whew, buddy, the defense.&nbsp;
You could make the case that White has been Boston's best defender this season &mdash; a massive feat on a roster featuring last year's Defensive Player of the Year in Smart. Brown remains a strong on-ball defender; Tatum, when locked in, can provide near-elite value on and off the ball. Williams III is still rounding into form, but remains a terrifying rim protector. Horford has been sturdy in drop, and still showcases comfort venturing out in space.&nbsp;
But yet it's White pestering folks and causing the most havoc on a nightly basis.
Among the 161 players to defend at least 300 pick-and-rolls, only Desmond Bane (0.22%) has been washed out by a screen at a lower rate than White has (0.26%), per Second Spectrum.
Put another way: Of the 760 screens that have been set on White, only 20 (!) of them have taken him out of the play.&nbsp;
That, my friends, is absurd.&nbsp;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Because of White's ability to avoid being completely taken out of the action, he's almost always in position to affect the play. He'll fight to get back in front, mirroring ball-handlers before forcing them into tough looks &mdash; or passing the ball altogether.&nbsp;He'll get rearview contests if necessary, throwing off the rhythm of pull-ups and floaters.
Then, there are the action plays. He leads the team with 11 charges taken, tied with Kyle Lowry and Herb Jones (he's back, y'all) for 10th in the league.
No guard in the East has more blocks than White (53); only Gilgeous-Alexander (55) has more in the league (and has a two-inch height advantage). That White can get on-ball blocks and&nbsp;serve as a secondary rim protector is a rarity worth celebrating.&nbsp;
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The combination of productivity and availability &mdash; he's the lone Celtic to appear in all 58 games this season &mdash; should tilt the "Boston's best defender" argument in his favor this season. And for what it's worth, White leads all Celtics in Defensive Estimated Plus Minus (DEPM) this season (+1.5), edging out Smart (+1.3), Tatum (+1.2) and Horford (+1.2).
White has been everything the Celtics have needed him to be, on both ends of the floor. A quality role piece and a quality roll piece. A willing spacer. An All-Defensive level contributor &mdash; he and Jrue Holiday would be my First Team guards if I had a ballot.&nbsp;
And when more has been required, like this Smart-less stretch, White has stepped up in the equation. More buckets, more decision-making and roughly the same level of defense.
He's further proven to be one of the most valuable role players in the NBA. Not only can he slot into the Celtics' system on both ends, he can also scale up or down depending on who's available. That portion isn't true for most role players &mdash; even the good ones. He deserves his flowers for that.

Nekias Duncan puts the recent incredible performances of Celtics guard Derrick White in perspective.

Appreciating the scale of Derrick White's play for the Celtics

BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Jaylen Brown scored 37 points, completing a tying three-point play with 4.1 seconds left in regulation and adding 11 more in overtime as the NBA-leading Boston Celtics snapped a three-game losing streak by beating the archrival Los Angeles Lakers 125-121 on Saturday night.
Brown added nine rebounds, Jayson Tatum had 30 points and 11 rebounds, and Malcom Brogdon scored 15 of his 26 points in the second half of a see-saw game that had 19 lead changes &mdash; six in the fourth quarter &mdash; and 15 ties.
LeBron James had 41 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for Los Angeles. Anthony Davis scored 16 points with 10 rebounds, coming off the bench for the second game in a row after missing 20 with a foot injury.
Patrick Beverley had 15 points, twice giving the Lakers the lead in the final minute of the fourth. But he also missed a foul shot that might have clinched it and was called for a technical foul on the contentious last play of regulation. Tatum made the free throw, and Boston never trailed in the extra period.
With Celtics Hall of Famer Paul Pierce cheering his former team on from the sideline and the team&rsquo;s broadcasters &mdash; Boston&rsquo;s Cedric Maxwell and L.A.&rsquo;s Mychal Thompson &mdash; talking trash on press row, the Celtics swept their longtime rivals in the two-game season series.
Beverley hit a 3-pointer to give the Lakers the lead with 52 seconds left and then, after Boston tied it, scored on a putback dunk that made it 104-102 with 19 seconds to play. But after Brown missed a 3, Beverley missed one of two free throws; Al Horford missed a 3, and Brown scored on the putback and picked up a delayed foul call.
One game after missing a pair of free throws in the final seconds of a one-point game, Brown hit this one to tie it 105-all with 4.1 seconds to play.
The Lakers had a chance to win it in regulation, and James drove to the basket. He missed the layup &ndash; and the referees missed Tatum swiping his arm on the shot. An enraged James gesticulated wildly, and Beverley picked up a technical foul in the ensuing hubbub.
The Celtics (36-15) have the NBA&rsquo;s best record despite losing their previous three games, including an overtime loss to the Knicks on Thursday night when Brown missed two free throws trailing by one with 8 seconds left.
There was a vocal contingent of Lakers fans making noise when the visitors opened an 11-point lead in the third quarter. But they were out-shouted by the locals when Tatum, who scored 15 in the third, including three 3-pointers, helped erase an 11-point deficit.
TIP-INS
Pierce was wearing what appeared to be shamrock pajama pants. &hellip; Westbrook missed his first six shots, as the crowd taunted him to shoot, before finishing with 12 points on 4 of 14 shooting. &hellip; Brown picked up his fifth foul on the first possession of the fourth quarter. &hellip; The Celtics beat the Lakers 122-118 in L.A. on Dec. 13. Tatum scored 44 points. Davis had 37 points and 12 rebounds. James scored 33 with nine boards and nine assists. &hellip; The Celtics were without point guard Marcus Smart and big man Robert Williams III, who both have sprained ankles.
UP NEXT
Lakers: At Brooklyn on Monday night.
Celtics: At Brooklyn on Wednesday night.

The NBA-leading Boston Celtics snapped a three-game losing streak by beating the archrival Los Angeles Lakers 125-121 on Saturday.

Jaylen Brown forces OT, Celtics snap skid by beating Lakers 125-121

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Shahada Wells scored 17 points as No. 14 TCU beat No. 2 Kansas 83-60 on Saturday in one of the worst losses in Bill Self&rsquo;s 20-year coaching career with the Jayhawks.
The loss snapped a 16-game winning streak at home for Kansas and was the second-largest home loss under Self. The Jayhawks (15-3, 5-2 Big 12), who lost 83-82 in overtime at Kansas State on Tuesday, had not lost consecutive games in the state since 1989 &mdash; against K-State and Missouri.
Kansas trailed by 10 at halftime and never closed the gap within single digits. TCU extended the lead to as many as 24 points. The Jayhawks shot only 32.1% in the second half.
TCU (15-4, 4-3 Big 12), which shot 54.4% (31 of 57) from the field, got 15 points from Mike Miles Jr. and 11 from Damion Baugh.
NO. 4 ALABAMA 85, MISSOURI 64
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) &mdash; Noah Clowney and Mark Sears each scored 17 points, and Alabama remained undefeated against unranked teams this season.
Freshman Brandon Miller added 15 points and eight rebounds for Alabama (17-2, 7-0 Southeastern Conference), and reserve Jahvon Quinterly scored 13 points. Clowney also had 14 rebounds, and Sears finished with eight rebounds and three steals.
Isiaih Mosley led Missouri (14-5, 3-4) with 19 points. Mohamed Diarra had eight points and 12 rebounds.
NO. 11 ARIZONA 58, NO. 5 UCLA 52
TUSCON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Oumar Ballo scored 16 points, Azuolas Tubelis had a double-double and Arizona withstood a late rally to end UCLA&rsquo;s 14-game winning streak.
The Wildcats (17-3, 5-3 Pac-12) took a 56-44 lead on Ballo&rsquo;s alley-oop dunk with 2:07 left. But the Bruins (17-3, 8-1) fought back, creating four straight turnovers to pull within 56-52. UCLA then blocked consecutive shots but couldn&rsquo;t convert on two shots of its own. Arizona&rsquo;s Pelle Larsson hit two free throws with 0.9 seconds to close it out.
Tyger Campbell led the Bruins with 13 points and Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 12 with 11 rebounds.
NO. 6 GONZAGA 99, PACIFIC 90
STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored 24 of his career-high 38 points in the second half, including 18 straight points during one stretch, and Gonzaga pulled away in the closing minutes.
Timme made 17 of 23 shots and almost all of them within a couple feet of the rim. Anton Watson added 16 points and 13 rebounds for Gonzaga (17-4, 6-1 WCC). Rasir Bolton added 16 points for the Bulldogs, who had won their previous three road games in conference play by a combined eight points, and Julian Strawther had 15.
Jordan Ivy-Curry led five Pacific players in double figures with 17 points. Nick Blake scored 16 before fouling out. Keylan Boone finished with 15, Luke Avdalovic added 13 and Judson Martindale finished with 12. Pacific (10-12, 3-4) made eight 3-pointers in the first half and was tied at 47 at halftime, but the Tigers were just 1 of 8 from deep in the second half.
NO. 7 TEXAS 69, WEST VIRGINIA 61
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -- Marcus Carr scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half to lead Texas.
Dylan Disu added 13 points before fouling out, and Christian Bishop and Tyrese Hunter scored 11 apiece for the Longhorns (16-3, 5-2 Big 12), who bounced back from a double-digit loss at No. 12 Iowa State on Wednesday.
The Mountaineers (11-8, 1-6) had several players in early foul trouble. Kedrian Johnson had a career-high 22 points, but his teammates fell flat in the second half against the Longhorns.
NO. 8 XAVIER 95, GEORGETOWN 82
CINCINNATI (AP) &mdash; Zach Freemantle tied a career-high with 30 points and Colby Jones had 20 as Xavier handed Georgetown its 29th straight Big East loss.
Adam Kunkel scored 14 points to help the Musketeers (16-4, 8-1 Big East) bounce back from a 73-72 loss at DePaul on Wednesday.
Primo Spears scored a career-high 37 points and Akok Akok had 14 for the Hoyas (5-15, 0-9 Big East), who have lost 10 straight. Spears&rsquo; previous high was 34 against LaSalle on March 5, 2022.
NO. 9 TENNESSEE 77, LSU 56
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) &mdash; Josiah-Jordan James scored a season-high 22 points and Tennessee defeated LSU, which has lost six straight.
James, who missed eight games in November and December due to injury, made his second straight start for the Volunteers (16-3, 6-1 Southeastern Conference). Playing 31 minutes, James was 9-of-16 from the field and matched his career-high with four 3-pointers.
Tennessee point guard Zakai Zeigler had 12 points and 10 assists, which tied his career high. Julian Phillips and Tyreke Key each had 10 points.
KJ Williams led LSU (12-7, 1-6) with 16 points. Trae Hannibal added 10 points. The Tigers committed 19 turnovers which resulted in 33 Volunteers points.
NO. 10 VIRGINIA 76, WAKE FOREST 67
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Armaan Franklin scored 18 of his 25 points during the first half and Virginia survived blowing nearly all of a 19-point lead to beat Wake Forest.
Kihei Clark added 12 points despite getting into foul trouble for the Cavaliers (15-3, 7-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). But it was a day of wild swings for Virginia, who went from missing its first eight shots to suddenly being unable to miss to go up 34-15 &mdash; only to see the Demon Deacons push back to within a single point with 8 1/2 minutes left.
Damari Monsanto had a career-high 25 points for the Demon Deacons (14-6, 6-3), highlighted by making 7 of 15 3-pointers.
OKLAHOMA STATE 61, NO. 12 IOWA STATE 59
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Avery Anderson scored 18 points, including the go-ahead free throws, and Oklahoma State defeated Iowa State for its first win over a ranked team this season.
Kalib Boone added 13 points for the Cowboys (11-8, 3-4 Big 12), who won their second straight game.
Osun Osunniyi scored 15 points and Gabe Kalscheur added 14 for Iowa State (14-4, 5-2), which had won seven of its last eight games. Cyclones sharpshooter Caleb Grill spent most of the second half on the bench wearing a back brace and wasn&rsquo;t in the game in the closing minutes.
NO. 13 KANSAS STATE 68, TEXAS TECH 58
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Markquis Nowell had 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists in Kansas State&rsquo;s win over Texas Tech.
Keyontae Johnson had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats (17-2, 6-1 Big 12), who won for the 11th time in 12 games. Ismael Massoud scored 12 points.
Pop Isaacs and De&rsquo;Vion Harmon each scored 13 points for Texas Tech (10-9, 0-7), which shot 32.4% (23 for 71) from the field.
NO. 16 AUBURN 81, SOUTH CAROLINA 66
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Johni Broome had a season-high 27 points and 11 rebounds as Auburn took control late in the opening half to run past struggling South Carolina.
Broome&rsquo;s performance helped the Tigers to their fifth straight win and offset a career-best 30 points from Gamecocks&rsquo; freshman Gregory &ldquo;GG&rdquo; Jackson II.
The 6-foot-10 Broome took full advantage of South Carolina&rsquo;s undersized interior for the Tigers (16-3, 6-1 Southeastern Conference). He hit 12 of his 17 shots in 30 minutes for his sixth double-double this season and fifth against an SEC opponent.
Meechie Johnson was the only other player for South Carolina (8-11, 1-5) in double figures with 11 points.
DUKE 68, NO. 17 MIAMI
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Kyle Filipowski had 17 points and 14 rebounds and Jeremy Roach scored 14 points in his first game in more than two weeks to lift Duke over Miami.
Tyrese Proctor had 11 points and Dariq Whitehead added 10 points for the Blue Devils (15-4, 5-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who played their first game of the season without a national ranking.
Jordan Miller&rsquo;s 19 points and Nijel Pack&rsquo;s 18 were tops for Miami (15-4, 6-3), which has lost three of its last five games.
NO. 18 CHARLESTON 87, NORTHEASTERN 61
BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Ben Burnham scored 15 points, Pat Robinson III added 14 and Ryan Larson had 12 to lead Charleston to its 20th win in a row.
The Cougars (21-1, 9-0 Colonial Athletic Association) scored 13 straight points in the first half to pull away and extend the longest active winning streak in the nation. They have not lost since the second game of the season, to then-No. 1 North Carolina on Nov. 11, climbing to their highest ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 since 1999.
Chris Doherty had 11 points and 13 rebounds and Jared Turner also scored 11 for Northeastern (8-11, 4-4). The Huskies haven&rsquo;t beat a Top 25 team since 2015.
NO. 19 CLEMSON 51, VIRGINIA TECH 50
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Hunter Tyson&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 12 seconds left lifted Clemson to a dramatic victory over Virginia Tech.
Tyson caught a pass just left of the key, took a look at at the basket and let it fly. The crowd exploded as the ball went through and the Tigers (16-4, 8-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) continued their unexpected run atop the ACC.
PJ Hall led Clemson with 20 points and eight rebounds.
Grant Basile led the Hokies (11-8, 1-7) with 13 points.
NO. 20 MARQUETTE 74, SETON HALL 53
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) &mdash; Kam Jones scored 22 points, Oso Ighodaro had 18 on 7-for-7 shooting and Marquette beat Seton Hall.
Marquette (16-5, 8-2 Big East) shot 54% (29 for 54) from the field in its second straight win since an 80-76 loss to Xavier last weekend.
Kadary Richmond led Seton Hall (12-9, 5-5) with 10 points and five assists. The Pirates committed a season-high 26 turnovers.
NO. 21 BAYLOR 62, OKLAHOMA 60
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Bridges scored 11 points and hit a trio of game-turning 3-pointers in the final five minutes as Baylor rallied to hold off Oklahoma.
Adam Flagler had 16 points and five assists, and Keyonte George added 11 points as Baylor (14-5, 4-3 Big 12) won its fourth straight game after opening conference play with three straight losses and briefly dropping out of The Associated Press Top 25.
Jalen Hill had 17 points and nine rebounds, while Tanner Groves added 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots for the Sooners (12-7, 2-5).
NO. 22 PROVIDENCE 75, DEPAUL 64
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Noah Locke had a career-high 29 points, including seven 3-pointers, to help Providence fend off DePaul.
Bryce Hopkins added 20 points and 11 rebounds as the Friars (15-5, 7-2 Big East) snapped a two-game losing skid and improved to 11-0 at home. They are 2-2 without point guard Jared Bynum, who missed his fourth consecutive game with a torso injury.
The Blue Demons (9-11, 3-6) came in fresh off a home victory over eighth-ranked Xavier. But they dropped their sixth straight road game and are now 0-4 in conference games away from home. Umjoja Gibson had 16 points and five assists for DePaul and Da&rsquo;Sean Nelson added 13 points.
NO. 24 FLORIDA ATLANTIC 67, UTEP 59
EL PASO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Johnell Davis scored 20 points on 6-for-9 shooting and Florida Atlantic extended its program record for consecutive wins to 18.
Davis hit 2 of 3 attempts from 3-point distance and was perfect on six shots from the line for FAU (19-1, 9-0 Conference USA). Vladislav Goldin finished with 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks for the Owls.
Calvin Solomon finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Tae Hardy also scored 16 points for UTEP (11-9, 4-5). Mario McKinney Jr. added 11 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
NO. 25 ARKANSAS 69, OLE MISS 57
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) &mdash; Anthony Black scored 17 points, reserve Joseph Pinion had 13 and Arkansas snapped a four-game losing streak by topping Mississippi.
Only nine teams in Division I had made fewer 3-pointers than Arkansas (13-6, 2-5 Southeastern Conference) this season, but the Razorbacks tied a season high by making eight from beyond the arc. They led by as many as 21 points.
Pinion and Devo Davis each made three 3s. Davis had 16 points and Jordan Walsh finished with 13.
Ole Miss (9-10, 1-6) committed 17 turnovers. The Rebels had six giveaways in the first six minutes of the second half, helping Arkansas extend its three-point halftime lead to 11 at the first media timeout after the break.

A roundup of Saturday's top-25 action in men's college basketball includes a TCU rout of the second-ranked Jayhawks on the road.

No. 14 TCU blows out No. 2 Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Destiny Littleton scored 18 points with six assists as Southern California pulled off a program-defining victory Sunday with a 55-46 upset victory over No. 2 Stanford.
Okako Adika scored 11 points with 11 rebounds, while Taylor Bigby and Kayla Williams added nine points each as the Trojans set the tone with their defense and held on late to end a 14-game losing streak against the Cardinal, who had won 51 straight against unranked opponents.
It was USC&rsquo;s first victory over Stanford (17-2, 5-1 Pac-12) since the 2014 conference tournament. Cameron Brink scored 11 points with 14 rebounds for Stanford, which saw its 12-game winning streak come to an end.
USC (13-4, 3-3) held Stanford to four points in the first quarter, its low for any period this season.
NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 81, MISSOURI 50
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Aliyah Boston had 20 points and 10 rebounds for her 71st career double-double and South Carolina won its 24th straight by beating Missouri.
Boston&rsquo;s 11th game with double-figure points and rebounds moved her with one of program-record holder Sheila Foster &mdash; and kept the Gamecocks perfect at 18-0 and 6-0 in the Southeastern Conference.
Zia Cooke added 16 points and Ashlyn Watkins 13 for the Gamecocks.&nbsp;
Missouri (14-5, 3-3) lost its third straight after opening SEC play with three consecutive victories. Lauren Hansen finished with 14 points to lead the Tigers.
NO. 4 UCONN 65, GEORGETOWN 50
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Aaliyah Edwards scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as UConn opened up a close game against Georgetown in the second half.
Huskies leading scorer Azzi Fudd left the game in the first half when she appeared to reinjure her right knee. Fudd was playing in just her second game back after missing the previous eight after hurting that knee in December.
Dorka Juhasz had 13 points for the UConn (15-2, 8-0 Big East), and Nika Muhl and Lou Lopez Senechal each added 12.
Brianna Scott led Georgetown (8-9, 1-7) with 11 points.
NO. 5 LSU 84, AUBURN 54
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) &mdash; Angel Reese had 23 points and 15 rebounds to maintain her streak of double-doubles in every game this season, and LSU improved its program-record best start to 18-0 with a win over Auburn.
Jasmine Carson scored 18 points, and Alexis Morris had 12 points and 10 assists for LSU, which led the entire way to end up 6-0 in Southeastern Conference play &mdash; winning each of those by 19 or more points.
Precious Johnson scored 13 points and Kharyssa Richardson added 10 for Auburn (10-7, 0-5), which lost its fifth straight since opening SEC play.
NO. 6 INDIANA 93, WISCONSIN 56
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Mackenzie Holmes scored 29 points and Yarden Garzon added 19 to help Indiana run to a 93-56 win over Wisconsin.
Indiana (16-1, 5-1 Big Ten) shot 55% from the field, including 8-for-20 from beyond the arc, while its defense held Wisconsin (6-12, 2-5) to 35% shooting.
The Badgers had no answers for Holmes, who shot 11-for-15 from the field in her 26 minutes.
Wisconsin was led by Brooke Schramek&rsquo;s 13 points and Serah Williams&rsquo; 10.
NO. 7 NOTRE DAME 72, SYRACUSE 56
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) &mdash; Olivia Miles scored 13 of her game-high 23 points during the second half of Notre Dame&rsquo;s win over Syracuse.
Dara Mabrey chipped in 15 points for the Irish (14-2, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who were coming off a dominant 86-47 victory over Wake Forest on Thursday. Miles also had seven boards and seven assists.
Dyaisha Fair&rsquo;s 14 points led the way for the Orange (13-5, 4-3), who entered Sunday on a three-game winning streak.
NO. 8 UCLA 87, CALIFORNIA 70
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Freshman Londynn Jones had 18 points and Charisma Osborne added 17 to lead UCLA past Cal.
UCLA star freshman Kiki Rice had a double double with 15 points and a career-high 12 assists.
The Bruins (15-3, 4-2 Pac-12) trailed by as many as 12 points in the first quarter but came back. Cal played well on the road and kept it close until the fourth, when UCLA, trailing by two points, went on a 12-2 run.
Kemery Martin had a game-high 23 points for the Bears ((10-7, 1-5).
NO. 9 MARYLAND 80, RUTGERS 56
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) &mdash; Diamond Miller had 17 points, six rebounds and five steals, and Maryland forced 17 first-half turnovers in a victory over Rutgers.
The Terrapins (14-4, 5-2 Big Ten) rebounded from a loss at No. 6 Indiana earlier in the week. Brinae Alexander led Maryland with 20 points, surpassing 1,000 for her career, and Abby Meyers added 14 with three steals.
The Terps beat Rutgers (8-11, 2-5) for the second time in 14 days. The Scarlet Knights turned the ball over 22 times in the first meeting, and they had 23 on Sunday against Maryland&rsquo;s pressing defense.
Kaylene Smikle scored 21 points for Rutgers and Chyna Cornwell contributed 15.
NO. 10 UTAH 80, NO. 14 ARIZONA 79
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Alissa Pili scored 27 points, including the winning free throws with 0.3 seconds left, to lead Utah past Arizona.
Pili went 11 of 16 from the field, while Gianna Kneepkens finished with 20 points and seven rebounds for the Utes (15-1, 5-1 Pac-12). Issy Palmer added 10 points.
Cate Reese tallied 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead Arizona (14-4, 4-3). Jade Loville finished with 17 points and Esmery Martinez and Shaina Pellington chipped in 10 apiece for the Wildcats, who lost their second straight game.
NO. 22 NORTH CAROLINA 56, NO. 11 N.C. STATE 47
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Kennedy Todd-Williams scored eight of her 15 points in the fourth quarter, Destiny Adams scored all of her eight points in the final 4 minutes and North Carolina beat rival N.C. State.
Alyssa Ustby added nine points and a career-high 18 rebounds for North Carolina (12-5, 3-3 ACC).
Jakia Brown-Turner led N.C. State (13-4, 3-3) with 14 points and Camille Hobby scored 13 in a game that saw 10 lead changes and six ties through the first three quarters.
TEXAS 68, NO. 15 IOWA STATE 53
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; DeYona Gaston scored 17 points and Shaylee Gonzales had five of her 11 in a game-breaking 13-0 run in the fourth quarter and Texas defeated Iowa State.
Izzi Zingaro&rsquo;s layup to open the fourth quarter pulled the Cyclones within 52-49 but they went scoreless for the next 6:17, missing five shots with five turnovers as the Longhorns increased the defensive pressure.
Sonya Morris added 11 points for the Longhorns (13-5, 4-1 Big 12 Conference), who have won 10 of 11 since a 5-4 start knocked them out of the rankings.
Ashley Joens scored 21 points for Iowa State (11-4, 3-2) and grabbed six rebounds to become the Cyclones&rsquo; all-team leading rebounder.
NO. 16 DUKE 65, GEORGIA TECH 47
ATLANTA (AP) &mdash; Celeste Taylor scored 13 points, Elizabeth Balogun added 12 and Duke overcame a halftime deficit to defeat Georgia Tech for its 11th straight win.
The Yellow Jackets managed only six of their 19 second-half points in the fourth quarter and Duke (16-1, 6-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) did not allow a point in the final 5:45 of the game, outscoring Georgia Tech 9-0 down the stretch.
Kayla Blackshear led Georgia Tech (9-9, 0-7 ACC) with 14 points. She made 7 of 10 shots and grabbed eight rebounds. Tonie Morgan added 10 points, five rebounds and three assists.
WEST VIRGINIA 74, NO. 18 BAYLOR 65
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) &mdash; Madisen Smith and Ja&rsquo;Naiya Quinerly scored 17 points apiece, Jayla Hemingway added 15 points and 14 rebounds and West Virginia&rsquo;s defense forced seven fourth-quarter turnovers in its win over Baylor.
West Virginia (12-4, 3-2 Big 12) has won three consecutive games and improved to 4-22 all-time against Baylor.
Sarah Andrews hit four 3-pointers and finished with 24 points, Darianna Littlepage-Buggs added 14 points and 15 rebounds, and Caitlin Bickle scored 10 points for Baylor (12-4, 3-1).
WASHINGTON STATE 85, NO. 21 OREGON 84, OT
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Bella Murekatete scored 20 points, Jessica Clark scored six of her career-high 14 in overtime and Washington State defeated Oregon for its first win over a ranked team since 1998.
Washington State won despite giving up a 14-point lead in the final four minutes, allowing the tying free throws with 0.1 left in regulation and surviving an Oregon shot in the closing seconds of overtime. The Cougars never trailed in the extra session, which started with a Clark layup for a 78-76 lead.
Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 17 points for Washington State (13-3, 3-3 Pac-12 Conference), Johanna Teder had 15 and Ula Motuga had 14 with 10 rebounds.
Endyia Rogers scored 33 points, making 6 of 8 3-point attempts, for Oregon (13-5, 4-3), Chance Gray added 22, Te-Hina Paopao 11 and Grace VanSlooten 10.
NO. 24 ILLINOIS 70, MINNESOTA 57
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Makira Cook scored 20 points, Genesis Bryant added 18 and Illinois celebrated its first game as a ranked team in 23 years with a win over Minnesota.
Brynn Shoup-Hill and Adalia McKenzie both added 13 points for the Illini (15-3, 5-2 Big Ten Conference), who haven&rsquo;t had a winning season since 2012-13, haven&rsquo;t made the NCAA Tournament since 2003 and were last ranked on Nov. 27, 2000.
Alanna Micheaux scored 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Golden Gophers (8-10, 1-6), who have lost five straight. Micheaux was 11-of-16 shooting, her teammates 12 of 46 (26%).

A recap of Sunday's top-25 action in women's college basketball includes the Trojans' first victory over the Cardinal in nine years.

USC topples No. 2 Stanford, its first vs Cardinal since 2014

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

STORRS, Conn. (AP) &mdash; Joey Calcaterra scored all of his 14 points in the second half to help second-ranked UConn rally from its first second-half deficit of the season for an 84-73 victory over Georgetown on Tuesday night.
Tristan Newton had 17 points and seven assists, while Adama Sanogo added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Huskies (13-0, 2-0 Big East). Jordan Hawkins scored 15 points and Andre Jackson finished with seven points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Primo Spears had 19 points and Qudus Wahab 16 points and nine rebounds for Georgetown (5-8, 0-2).
UConn led by seven at halftime, but a dunk by former UConn forward/center Akok Akok gave Georgetown a 51-49 lead with 16:35 left to play. It was the first time this season that the Huskies have trailed in the second half this season.
NO. 5 ARIZONA 85, MONTANA STATE 64
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Kerr Kriisa scored 18 points, Cedric Henderson Jr. added 16 and Arizona pulled away in the second half to beat Montana State.
Arizona (11-1) pulled it out by wearing down Montana State and hitting 10 of 25 3-pointers for its 26th straight home win. Oumar Ballo had 11 points and 10 rebounds, and the Wildcats scored 20 points off Montana State&rsquo;s 20 turnovers. Kriisa went 6 of 9 from 3.
Jubrile Belo had 18 points and RaeQuan Battle added 17 for the Bobcats (7-6), who shot 3 for 24 from the 3-point arc.
NO. 22 MIAMI 66, NO. 6 VIRGINIA 64
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Isaiah Wong scored 24 points and Miami held on during a frantic finish to beat Virginia.
Jordan Miller finished with 11 points while Norchad Omier had 10 for the Hurricanes (12-1, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who snapped a six-game losing streak against the Cavaliers.
Miami led 61-51 on a free throw by Wong with 1:56 to play. Virginia (8-2, 1-1) went on an 8-0 run from there. Kihei Clark&rsquo;s layup with 26 seconds left made it 61-59, and Clark made three free throws with 5 seconds remaining to get the Cavaliers within 65-64, but Virginia couldn&rsquo;t finish it off and lost its second straight.
Ohio University transfer Ben Vander Plas scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half, his highest-scoring game for the Cavaliers. Clark had 13 points and Beekman finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
NO. 9 ALABAMA 84, JACKSON STATE 64
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Noah Gurley scored a season-high 16 points and Mark Sears had 15, all in the second half, to Alabama past Jackson State.
The Crimson Tide (10-2), coming off a 100-90 loss to No. 11 Gonzaga, struggled much of the way and even trailed a minute into the second half against the Tigers (1-11).
Nick Pringle had 14 points and nine rebounds for Alabama after coming into the game scoring less than one per game.
Ken Evans led Jackson State with 18 points.
NO. 11 GONZAGA 85, MONTANA 75
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored a season-high 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Gonzaga won its 72nd straight home game.
Gonzaga&rsquo;s home win streak is tied with UNLV (1974-78) for the ninth-longest in NCAA history. It&rsquo;s the longest streak since Lamar&rsquo;s 80-game run from 1978-84.
Timme started 4 for 9 from the free throw line but went 4 for 4 down the stretch to seal the game for the Bulldogs (10-3) after a late Montana rally. The Grizzlies (6-6) cut a 17-point, second-half deficit to five with 3:06 to play on Josh Bannan&rsquo;s jumper but couldn&rsquo;t get any closer.
Bannan scored 19 points for Montana.
NO. 12 BAYLOR 58, NORTHWESTERN STATE 48
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Jalen Bridges scored 12 of his 13 points in the second half, and Baylor pulled away from Northwestern State.
LJ Cryer and Dale Bonner added 11 points apiece for the Bears (9-2), who have won four in a row.
Baylor went on a 14-0 run to take control for good after Northwestern State&rsquo;s DeMarcus Sharp made a jumper to open the second-half scoring and tie the game at 24.
Sharp had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead Northwestern State (8-4).
WAKE FOREST 81, NO. 14 DUKE 70
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Tyree Appleby had 18 points and eight assists as Wake Forest ended Duke&rsquo;s eight-game road winning streak.
Cameron Hildreth added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Demon Deacons (9-4, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who led nearly the entire game. Wake Forest led 39-30 at halftime, then pushed that margin to as many as 15 points. Wake Forest shot 49.1% and had five double-figure scorers.
Jaylen Blakes scored a career-high 17 points to lead Duke (10-3, 1-1), which never got closer than seven after the break.
DRAKE 58, NO. 15 MISSISSIPPI STATE 52
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Roman Penn scored 19 points, Sardaar Calhoun made four of his career-high five 3-pointers in the second half, and Drake handed Mississippi State its first loss.
Calhoun finished with 17 points and Tucker DeVries added 15 for Drake (9-3), which beat a ranked opponent for the first time since 2013.
Eric Reed Jr. scored all of his team-high 11 points in the first half for Mississippi State (11-1).
DeVries&rsquo; floater in the lane put Drake up 52-50 with 1:51 left in the neutral-site game, and Penn hit a jumper for a four-point lead with just over a minute left. Penn made four free throws in the last 10 seconds to secure Drake&rsquo;s first win over a Power Five opponent since it beat Kansas State in the 2020-21 season opener.
NO. 18 INDIANA 96, ELON 72
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Race Thompson had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and short-handed Indiana beat Elon.
The Hoosiers were missing their two leading scorers. Center Trayce Jackson-Davis (16.4 points per game) sat for precautionary reasons with nagging back and hand injuries, and point guard Xavier Johnson (9.9 points) was sidelined by a foot injury.
But the Hoosiers (9-3) had too much depth against the visitors from the Colonial Athletic Association as they ended a two-game skid. Freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino had 17 points and seven assists for the Hoosiers.
Max Mackinnon led Elon (2-11) with 19 points and Sean Halloran added 15.
PROVIDENCE 103, NO. 24 MARQUETTE 98, 2OT
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) &mdash; Bryce Hopkins had 29 points and 23 rebounds &mdash; both career highs &mdash; and grabbed the offensive board on a missed free throw with 15 seconds left in the second overtime to help Providence run out the clock and beat Marquette.
The Friars (10-3, 2-0 Big East) won their fourth straight game and improved to 4-0 in overtime this season. Devin Carter and Ed Croswell scored 20 points apiece for Providence, which beat a ranked team for the fourth straight season.
Native Rhode Islander Tyler Kolek scored a career-high 29 points before fouling out in the second overtime, and Kam Jones added 24 points for the Golden Eagles (9-4, 1-1).
Marquette blew a nine-point lead in the final minutes of regulation and rallied from an eight-point deficit in the first overtime.

A recap of Tuesday night's men's college basketball slate features a handful of top-15 upsets and a close one for the Huskies.

Calcaterra, No. 2 UConn pull away in second half to beat Hoyas

I don't think Bam Adebayo is having the surge he's having right now without that Milwaukee Bucks series.
Not&nbsp;that&nbsp;Bucks series that resulted in a second-round Miami Heat upset over the Milwaukee Bucks during the Orlando Bubble. (A series where Adebayo more than held his own against Giannis Antetokounmpo &mdash; in addition to The Wall &mdash; while Jimmy Butler continued his Clutch Tour on the other end of the floor.)
I mean the ugly one. The rematch in 2021. It was a nasty 4-0 sweep in favor of the Bucks, a result achieved <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/advanced?LastNGames=0&amp;Season=2020-21&amp;dir=A&amp;sort=OREB_PCT&amp;SeasonType=Playoffs&amp;OpponentTeamID=1610612748" target="_blank" rel="noopener">behind a stout defense</a> that made the Heat uncomfortable in the half-court.
Butler (rightfully) got most of the attention. After leading the team to the NBA Finals the year before, he averaged 14.5 points while converting 30.6% of his twos and 26.7% of his threes. The Bucks famously placed Giannis on Butler to neutralize his drives, and Butler infamously averaged fewer points than Bryn Forbes in the series.
But Adebayo wasn't much better, averaging 15.5 points while only making 45.6% of his twos. Two things stand out to me from that series. At the top of the list was how uncomfortable Adebayo was against Brook Lopez. Lopez hung back in a drop, and essentially dared Adebayo to beat him in the intermediate area.&nbsp;
Only 28% of Adebayo's shots came at the rim in the series, a wild departure from where he was in the regular season (35.3%). And while Butler struggled to generate clean looks, Adebayo looked tentative with the looks he was given. Heat fans can probably still recount specific possessions where Adebayo either pump-faked ghosts or passed out of scoring windows altogether.
The quiet part &mdash; he hit the shots at a solid clip when he did&nbsp;take them. Per Second Spectrum, Adebayo drained nearly 46% of his shots between 6-12 feet. Push shots, floaters, short pull-ups and leaning fades were all part of the Adebayo package, even if it felt like he could've doubled his volume in the series.
It was instructive, though, because it once again highlighted how Adebayo would have to win to take the next step as a scorer.
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Adebayo is an active driver with a high free-throw rate to boot, a lurking threat as an offensive rebounder and a high-flying lob threat when those pathways are available. As a full-time 5, he's also at a size disadvantage most of the time. Against top-tier matchups &mdash; Boston (Al Horford, Robert Williams III), Milwaukee (Giannis, Lopez), healthy Philly (Joel Embiid) &mdash; he's going to have to win against size.&nbsp;
Adebayo's counter of choice has been to live in that aforementioned 6-12 feet area, becoming more comfortable, more deadly. It's the meat and potatoes behind a career-year scoring season (21.2 points), and it's certainly the main course behind his most recent run of play.
Since Thanksgiving (seven games), Adebayo is averaging 27-and-9 while converting an absurd 59% of his twos. Of his 125 two-point attempts, 66 of them (52.8%) have been shots between 6-12 feet &mdash; easily the highest mark in the NBA. In fact, I'll pause so you can laugh at the leaderboard.
<ul>
<li>Bam Adebayo: 66 attempts (50.0% FG)</li>
<li>Jalen Brunson: 41 attempts (34.2% FG)</li>
<li>Luka Doncic: 33 attempts (51.5% FG)</li>
<li>Keldon Johnson: 32 attempts (31.5% FG)</li>
<li>Devin Booker: 30 attempts (56.7% FG)</li>
<li>Kevin Durant: 29 attempts (58.6% FG)</li>
<li>Nikola Jokic: 26 attempts (69.2% FG)</li>
</ul>
Nobody has come close to the volume Adebayo has showcased. A 50% clip is wild considering the volume, and the fact that the league average on shots in that range is roughly 42% this season, per Second Spectrum.
From there, it's worth parsing out how real this is. Here are his numbers on shots between 6-12 feet since becoming a full-time starter.
<ul>
<li>2019-20: 32.2% FG on 274 attempts (101 games, 2.7 per game)</li>
<li>2020-21: 42.8% FG on 243 attempts (68 games, 3.6 per game)</li>
<li>2021-22: 41.2% FG on 294 attempts (74 games, 4.0 per game)</li>
<li>2022-23: 43.9% FG on 139 attempts (24 games, 5.8 per game)
<ul>
<li>Before Thanksgiving: 38.4% FG on 73 attempts (17 games, 4.3 per game)</li>
<li>Since Thanksgiving: 50% FG on 66 attempts (7 games, 9.4 per game)</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
The pre-Thanksgiving number is low, but you may be able to shoot some bail based on Adebayo's offensive context and some poor luck. Per Second Spectrum, Adebayo underperformed&nbsp;his expected efficiency in that range by nearly six percentage points (expected 44.1%) before the holiday. He may not be a 50% guy either, but it looks like we're witnessing some positive regression right now.
More important than the numbers is how Adebayo is being treated. He's still largely getting single coverage right now. The degree of difficulty with some of his shots are firmly in tip-your-cap territory for defenses.
It is worth noting that defenses have started sending a little more help towards him when he works toward that area of the floor. Subtle digs, some late contests, more pre-rotating when he gets an elbow catch. Here are some Adebayo possessions (makes and&nbsp;misses) during this stretch:
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That added attention matters, as subtle as it may appear right now. It's also worth noting he's seen seven full-blown double teams on post-ups or isolations since Thanksgiving after only having three beforehand, per Second Spectrum. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra was <a href="https://twitter.com/BradyHawk305/status/1601065087749406720?s=20&amp;t=ydcxpctmytSWZvvJy-DAUQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently asked about it</a> by wunderkind <a href="https://twitter.com/BradyHawk305" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brady Hawk</a> of Five Reasons Sports.
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"When he's operated in the middle of the paint for so many games, and has been so efficient &mdash; with his shooting, attacking, getting to the free-throw line in his sweet spots &mdash;&nbsp;of course&nbsp;teams are going to bring a second defender," Spoelstra said.&nbsp;
"That'll be part of his evolution now. He's already a great passer, so that should help us once he starts to get comfortable. Right now, what we're seeing is [help coming] after he makes the move. That's when the second defender is coming. It's not initially on the catch; it's when he goes into his move. That's when he can expect another defender, and now he can go back to his playmaking mode without taking a step back in terms of his assertiveness and aggressiveness."
Spoelstra considers it a compliment that Adebayo is getting this sort of attention. It should also serve as a much-needed complement to the star power of Butler, provided they get an extended run of games together now.
Zooming out, this is what a lot of people were clamoring for with Adebayo &mdash; being more aggressive, putting his imprint on the game. It isn't a three-ball, nor are they analytically-fruitful shots at the rim. There's still room for him to generate more efficient offense for himself and others.
Slowly but surely, though, he's looking for his own more often. And that volume is starting to make defenses think more. That's the first step to opening up a new world for him.

Nekias Duncan breaks down Bam Adebayo's recent scoring explosion with the Heat.

Man In The Middle: Exploring Bam Adebayo's recent scoring surge

BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Bam Adebayo scored 28 points, Tyler Herro had 26 and the Miami Heat completed a split of two games in Boston, beating the Celtics 120-116 on Friday night after Jaylen Brown <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCSCeltics/status/1598874916891279361?s=20&amp;t=-a1Cuc0HajPSwODYxrvV8A" target="_blank" rel="noopener">banked in a long 3-pointer to force overtime</a>.
Heat leading scorer Jimmy Butler returned to the lineup and had 25 points in 36 minutes after missing the previous seven games with a sore right knee. He added 15 rebounds.
&ldquo;Obviously having JB back is big time for us,&rdquo; Herro said. &ldquo;He helps us in so many different ways.&rdquo;
Kyle Lowry chipped in with 20 points before fouling out in OT for the Heat, who sent Boston to just its second loss in 16 games.
&ldquo;My team welcomed me back and let me do what I do,&rdquo; Butler said. &ldquo;It was a big &lsquo;W&rsquo; for the team.&rdquo;
Brown sent the game to overtime by banking in his long 3 with 1.7 seconds to play in regulation. He finished with 37 points.
&ldquo;It felt good coming off my hand,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;I know we wanted to get a shot up off the rim as fast as possible, just in case we missed we could get a rebound, a tip out.&rdquo;
The Celtics had won 10 straight at TD Garden.
Boston star Jayson Tatum scored just 14 points on a cold shooting night, going 5 of 18 from the floor, including 0 of 7 on 3-point attempts. He had 49 points in the Celtics&rsquo; 134-121 victory on Wednesday night.
&ldquo;That's the biggest thing about the league; you're not going to stop anybody from just scoring,&rdquo; Adebayo said. &ldquo;I feel like (we're) making him take tough shots every time we play him and living with the result.&rdquo;
Butler hit a clutch jumper over Al Horford, making it 110-107 with 5.1 seconds left in regulation before Brown took a pass near midcourt, dribbled to his right and nailed his shot.
In OT, the teams were tied twice before Butler nailed a foul-line jumper over Horford with 1:45 left, but Brown hit two free throws to tie it.
Adebayo nailed two free throws and, after Tatum misfired on a 3, Butler hit a jumper to seal it.
&ldquo;Jimmy made two tough, tough baskets,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s just a credit to his work and his skill and his development. He gets going in games like this; on the road in a hostile environment. ... Tonight, two shots that in our defensive scheme we could live with, but Jimmy a big-time player made both of them.&rdquo;
Unlike Wednesday, when shots were open more and both teams were making them effectively (each shot over 50%), defense was tighter and it resembled more of the postseason matchup last season between the pair that went seven games before Boston captured the Eastern Conference title.
SIMPLE, BUT HIGHLY EFFECTIVE
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was asked before the game about the increased scoring in the league and the challenges it presents defensively.
&ldquo;The playbook has totally shrunk. I remember in the 90s, they were a 100-pages long,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I know that because I&rsquo;d be on the road and had to put those things together. Now, you&rsquo;re putting together like six to eight plays. It&rsquo;s all the same but it&rsquo;s the manipulation, it&rsquo;s the skill-level and the shooting and all that that makes it a challenge to defend in this league.&rdquo;
WHAT A MONTH
Tatum averaged 31.6 points and won the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s player of the month for November, and interim coach Joe Mazzulla was chosen the conference&rsquo;s coach of the month earlier this week.
TIP-INS
Heat: Used a 19-6 spree to pull in front 102-97 with just under 4 minutes left.
Celtics: Missed 10 of its initial 12 on 3-point attempts before making seven straight to turn a seven-point second-quarter deficit to a 62-59 edge at halftime. &hellip; Singer Donnie Wahlberg sat courtside. &hellip; Luke Kornet landed awkwardly on his left leg and walked gingerly before heading to the locker room. He returned the bench later.
UP NEXT
Heat: At the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night.
Celtics: At the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday evening.

The Miami Heat defeated the Boston Celtics 120-116 on Friday night after Jaylen Brown banked in a long three-pointer to force overtime.

Adebayo, Herro lead Heat over Celtics after Jaylen Brown forces OT

The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers opened the NBA season Tuesday night with a classic showdown of Eastern Conference strongholds.
Though the Celtics defended home court with a 126-117 win, most of the contest was a back-and-forth chess match led by dynamic duos. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scored 35 points in the victory, while James Harden also dropped 35 and Joel Embiid finished with 26.&nbsp;
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Opening night always sets a baseline for teams to build from, and yesterday's matchup gave us several answers &mdash; and some more questions &mdash; about these title contenders going forward. Here are five key takeaways from the clash:
1. The Celtics' bench made a statement.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Tired: Malcolm Brogdon is gonna be nice for the C's this season Wired: Malcolm Brogdon might be sixth man of the year Inspired: Malcolm Brogdon is the greatest two-guard Boston has ever traded for <a href="https://t.co/gBvNRLTB0L">pic.twitter.com/gBvNRLTB0L</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MG_Schindler) <a href="https://twitter.com/MG_Schindler/status/1582788958316285952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Boston's move to get the franchise over the championship hump was <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-malcolm-brogdon-qa-fit-boston-celtics-basketball-without-borders-africa-camp-egypt-jayson-tatum-jaylen-brown-danilo-gallinari-ime-udoka" target="_blank" rel="noopener">trading for dynamic driver Malcolm Brogdon</a>. When <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-trade-offseason-news-boston-celtics-malcolm-brogdon-fit-brad-stevens-jayson-tatum-jaylen-brown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I reacted to the addition this summer</a>, I stressed that an actualized Brogdon can change the topography of this offense from a unit that sometimes trudged upward into a downhill, attacking team.
After one game, Brogdon is achieving that mission. The combo guard was almost a guaranteed paint touch whenever he started with the ball. He finished with 16 points and shot 7-for-11 from the floor. Brogdon had a straight-line drive from the corner that stymied Harden and ended with an easy layup. He blew by De'Anthony Melton for another score, and also dug into his bag a bit against Tyrese Maxey (shown above). Brogdon shined in his role and inspired some tremendous optimism.
He wasn't alone. After not reaching an agreement on a contract extension in the offseason, Grant Williams balled out to the tune of 15 points on 5-for-5 shooting last night. He drilled three triples, including some difficult makes, and <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1582755647078412288?s=20&amp;t=lYDew8R1c8uVL2leZPeEfQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">continues to improve off the bounce</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Noah Vonleh had six screen assists in just over 20 minutes last night &mdash; one less than Joel Embiid, who played over 37 minutes. 6.0 per game won&rsquo;t last, but for context, that would have ranked 2nd in the NBA last season.
&mdash; Ethan Fuller (@ethman43) <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1582808107973214210?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Noah Vonleh might have been the biggest eyebrow-raiser for his screening prowess and physicality against Joel Embiid. The Massachusetts native helped free up Boston's playmakers, and on defense, put in an admirable effort against one of the best players in the world. Vonleh outplayed Blake Griffin in the contest, and appears to have locked down the backup center spot behind Al Horford. He wasn't perfect, but he played a valiant game that sets a solid foundation for the second unit.
2. James Harden is still a pick-and-roll maestro.
Amidst the rising crop of young guards and Harden's rocky road over the last two seasons, we (myself included) might have forgotten just how dominant he is as an orchestrator. The 33-year-old was in full control during the first half last night, and even as the game slipped away, he still showed just how hard it is to defend a player with his set of tools.&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
This is a miss but here was a big challenge moment for Boston. They're going over on ball screens for Harden and playing the big in drop. But they can't give Harden or Embiid that type of space in front of them, so it takes a third guy (Smart) to help, opening up the weak corner <a href="https://t.co/VNvaV4Qx4d">pic.twitter.com/VNvaV4Qx4d</a>
&mdash; Ethan Fuller (@ethman43) <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1582748404899532800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2022</a></blockquote>
When Harden used a ball-screen, the Celtics would send their guards over to cover a pull-up jumper and keep their screener defender in drop coverage. The challenge, particularly against Harden and Embiid, is that both of them have the touch to hit mid-range jumpers and floaters. It forces a third defender to "tag" Embiid emphatically so that the defending big man can keep them both in range. But as the above clip shows, that leaves a shooter open &mdash; and the Beard sees all.
Harden had a couple of passes like these that went unrewarded. He also hit Embiid for rolling baskets and knocked down a lefty floater with the space he received. It's still a mind-bending puzzle to solve a Harden pick-and-roll.

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3. Boston has a defensive game plan for Joel Embiid.
It took some work for Embiid to get his 26 points. The all-world center shot 8-for-12 inside the arc, but it was some of the shots he didn't take, plus his six turnovers, that told more of the story.
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Boston sent a double-team at Embiid whenever he was posting up in an empty corner. It began with the opening play (more on that later) but also included more tactical moments. Here, Tatum is the man to come double. Brogdon gets to stay guarding the outlet pass &mdash; an easy job because Harden barely moves off the ball. Tatum also waits until Embiid turns into a move on the baseline; that makes life easier for Brown and Marcus Smart, because those passes to the weak side become incredibly difficult.
Vonleh wears the first bump from Embiid and he has nowhere to go, leading to a turnover. The Celtics definitely built their game plan around Embiid's isolations, but they didn't let him frazzle their own spacing. That discipline over a full game is something interim head coach Joe Mazzulla can hang his hat on.
4. Philadelphia has to fix its offensive flow &mdash; and its transition defense.
However, these plays weren't just about Boston's defense. The Sixers had several seriously concerning moments with their offensive tempo. I'll defer to Nekias Duncan, who dissected two plays in detail that summed up the frustrations:
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🚨OPENING NIGHT 4x4🚨 We&rsquo;re digging into Sixers-Celtics, folks. -Philly&rsquo;s process -I don&rsquo;t &ldquo;Get&rdquo; it -A fun Boston progression -Noah Vonleh: Super Screener 🗣️SOUND ON <a href="https://t.co/ScBChP0eQP">pic.twitter.com/ScBChP0eQP</a>
&mdash; Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NekiasNBA/status/1582767859444613120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Meanwhile, the most cringeworthy team stat for Philly was their 24-2 deficit on fast break points. I mean, they hemorrhaged transition buckets. Boston averaged 169.2 points per 100 transition plays; per Cleaning the Glass, that would have&nbsp;led the NBA by 35 points&nbsp;last season.
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Here are three Tatum transition scores that were a product of low effort from Harden specifically. I understand that transition play is naturally tilted toward offenses, and that the take foul is gone from the NBA. Still, there has to be a better fight in some of these instances.
5. Jayson Tatum may have fully arrived.
Speaking of Tatum, we have to highlight the best performance of the night. The 24-year-old superstar was a monster last night on both sides of the floor. He made 13 of 20 field goals, ranging from pushing the pace in transition to some unreal, contested makes &mdash; all while seeming perfectly in control. He was one of the most successful individual defenders against Harden and also made timely off-ball adjustments within Boston's scheme.&nbsp;
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So the game starts to turn here. Jayson Tatum recognizes that Tucker wants to stay with him and Embiid is playing super conservative, so he screens both. That effectively makes this a PnR with no Philly big defender. Harden helps off the strong side and Horford makes the 3 <a href="https://t.co/hZIirZNak0">pic.twitter.com/hZIirZNak0</a>
&mdash; Ethan Fuller (@ethman43) <a href="https://twitter.com/ethman43/status/1582771740413161473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Even plays like this that won't show up on the box score were driven by Tatum. He showed such a full command of the offense, yet this didn't feel like a game where he was overly ball-dominant. Tatum has typically started seasons slowly, so this type of first-game outburst already has Celtics fans elated.

The Celtics were clicking on both sides of the basketball in their 126-117 win against the 76ers on opening night.

5 things we learned from Celtics vs. 76ers on NBA opening night

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Jayden Gardner heard the criticisms of the strength of the Atlantic Coast Conference last year, then felt the effect when his Virginia team joined league-mate Wake Forest on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble.
He figures there won&rsquo;t be a repeat this year, not after the way the league teams that did make it ensured the ACC outperformed its power-conference peers in March Madness.
&ldquo;It showed itself in the tournament,&rdquo; the forward said Wednesday of the league&rsquo;s strength, adding: &ldquo;They&rsquo;ll be expecting a lot because of most of the people are back.&rdquo;
It was a common vibe among league teams during the ACC&rsquo;s preseason men&rsquo;s basketball media day, a validation after landing three teams in the Elite Eight, rivals Duke and North Carolina in the Final Four and the Tar Heels coming within minutes of winning the national championship.
&ldquo;We were better than we got credit for,&rdquo; first-year Duke coach Jon Scheyer said.
Yet there&rsquo;s also the reality that the league is coming off its lowest haul of tournament bids since expanding to become a 15-team league for the 2013-14 season. And it&rsquo;s up to the rest of the teams to restore the league&rsquo;s strong middle tier that has typically gobbled up bids every Selection Sunday.
&ldquo;I do believe the league is at its best when the depth is greater,&rdquo; commissioner Jim Phillips said in an interview with The Associated Press. &ldquo;And you can move around who&rsquo;s in what positions, but the strength of this league functions at its highest level when, 1 through 15, you don&rsquo;t have nearly the gaps that maybe we saw last year.&rdquo;
At minimum, it was an unusual year for the league.
The ACC had been on a strong run in the five seasons before the COVID-19 pandemic, with Duke (2015), North Carolina (2017) and Virginia (2019) all winning national titles while the Tar Heels played for another title in 2016. The league also twice set its high of nine bids in 2017 and 2018, approaching a long-stated and still-unfulfilled expansion goal of becoming a regular a 10-bid league.
Yet the ACC never quite looked on par with its tradition-rich history last year.
Rosters reshaped by the transfer portal and players who had only competed during the no-crowd days of the pandemic needed time to develop. League teams didn&rsquo;t perform particularly well in marquee nonconference games.
The league had just one team &mdash; Duke in the final season of retiring Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski &ndash; ranked in the AP Top 25 for much of the season while also finishing fifth in KenPom&rsquo;s conference rankings last season with its lowest-ever efficiency rating as a 15-team league.
&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to perform,&rdquo; Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. &ldquo;One thing we didn&rsquo;t do was perform in November and December. We made our bed.&rdquo;
And that set the stage for what came on Selection Sunday, which included Wake Forest missing the NCAAs despite 13 ACC wins, followed by Virginia with 12.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re going to tell you that the narrative doesn&rsquo;t matter, but we&rsquo;re all human,&rdquo; Demon Deacons coach Steve Forbes said. &ldquo;So you can&rsquo;t help it when you hear that over and over and over. That&rsquo;s what we heard in November. And you know what? Probably we didn&rsquo;t win the right games in November.&rdquo;
&ldquo;The hard part for me was not getting the bump in the league,&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;The narrative, once it got going, there was no way to change it &mdash; until all of a sudden we went 14-5 in the tournament. ... And you&rsquo;re like, &lsquo;What are you going to say now?&rsquo;&rdquo;
Those 14 wins &mdash; most of any conference &mdash; came largely on UNC and Duke pushing all the way to New Orleans for the rivalry&rsquo;s epic first-ever NCAA Tournament matchup, as well as Miami reaching a regional final before falling to eventual champion Kansas.
Now the Tar Heels return four starters from the team that reached the final Monday night of the season in coach Hubert Davis&rsquo; first season as Hall of Famer Roy Williams&rsquo; successor. The Blue Devils are stacked with the nation&rsquo;s top-ranked recruiting class as Scheyer replaces Coach K.
And looking at ESPN&rsquo;s &ldquo;Bracketology&rdquo; preseason mock NCAA bracket, the league has five other expected tournament teams: Miami, reigning first-time ACC Tournament champion Virginia Tech, Virginia, Notre Dame and Florida State.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always felt like the ACC is the best college basketball conference in the country,&rdquo; Davis said. &ldquo;I felt that way last year and I felt that way this year. ... I feel like we&rsquo;re at a really good point this year with our strength. And again, we&rsquo;ll prove it out there on the floor how strong our conference is.&rdquo;

The ACC never quite looked on par with its tradition-rich history last year.

ACC aims to build on ‘down’ year’s final NCAA flourish

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Anthony Davis scored 28 points in his return to the Lakers lineup after missing two games due to injury, and Los Angeles defeated Golden State 124-121 Sunday night in the Warriors' first game since the practice altercation between Draymond Green and Jordan Poole.
Matt Ryan made a pair of free throws with 5.4 seconds remaining to seal the win. Davis, who sat out two games with lower back tightness, shot 9 for 18 for the Lakers, who won without LeBron James, Patrick Beverley and Russell Westbrook in the lineup.
Davis, who scored 24 points before halftime, played the opening shift of the second half before taking a seat after 21 total minutes. Kendrick Nunn scored 21 points and Ryan added 20 on 6-for-9 shooting from outside the arc.
Poole led the Warriors with 25 points on 10-for-19 shooting, and added six assists. Green fought with Poole during practice Wednesday. Green apologized to the team a day later and general manager Bob Myers said any potential discipline would be handled internally. Meanwhile, Green was unavailable, saying he will take some time away from the team.
Stephen Curry scored 24 points and Andrew Wiggins added 15 for the Warriors. Jonathan Kuminga (12 points) started in Green&rsquo;s place, while Poole replaced Klay Thompson, who is still building up for the regular season.
In the first half, Davis performed at the level the Lakers will need him if they are to improve on last season&rsquo;s 33-49 regular-season record that left them out of the postseason. Davis shot 7 of 13 before the break, making all eight of his free throws.
The game became close in the second half, and neither team led by more than six points in the fourth quarter.
BULLS 115, RAPTORS 98
DeMar DeRozan had 21 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and Chicago used a second-half rally to beat host Toronto.
DeRozan converted 7 of 12 shots and all seven of his free throws. Javonte Green scored 17 points and Ayo Dosunmu added 14. Nikola Vucevic finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.
Paschal Siakam led the Raptors with 18 points and nine rebounds. The starting Toronto backcourt of Gary Trent Jr. and Fred VanVleet carried the Raptors to a lead in the first half. Trent finished with 17 points and VanVleet had 13.
Both teams played their regular starters, except for missing Bulls guard Lonzo Ball, who is recovering from a meniscus tear suffered in January.
The Raptors built a 10-point halftime lead behind Trent and VanVleet. The tandem combined for 25 points before the break, including Trent connecting on all five of his shots. Defensively, they had six steals in the half, including four by VanVleet. The Bulls had 16 turnovers in the first half.
The Bulls erased the lead in the third and pulled away in the fourth. Chicago outscored Toronto 68-41 in the second half.
TIMBERWOLVES 119, CLIPPERS 117
Karl-Anthony Towns had 19 points, six assists and six rebounds in his preseason debut to lead visiting Minnesota.
Naz Reid had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves, while Bryn Forbes added 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting on 3-pointers. Anthony Edwards had 14 points.
John Wall led the Clippers with 20 points. Paul George scored 14 and Marcus Morris Sr. added 13 points.
The Clippers saw a vision of their regular rotation as Kawhi Leonard, George, Wall and Reggie Jackson all played. Meanwhile, Towns saw his first action of the preseason for the Timberwolves after missing games due to a hospitalization. Still, there was not a glimpse of the potential twin towers in Minnesota as Rudy Gobert, acquired from Utah over the summer, sat out.
The teams were tied at 115 with under two minutes to play when Austin Rivers scored on a layup and Luka Garza hit a 6-foot hook to create enough of a buffer for Minnesota to remain undefeated in its three preseason games.
PELICANS 111, SPURS 97
In San Antonio, Trey Murphy III had 27 points and eight rebounds, Zion Williamson finished with eight points, nine rebounds and five assists in 24 minutes to lead New Orleans over the Spurs.
Naji Marshall scored 15 points for the Pelicans, and Jonas Valanciunas added 14 as New Orleans continued to play with stars resting or recovering from injury. Among those not active were CJ McCollum, Brandon Ingram and Jaxson Hayes, who suffered a left elbow injury earlier in the week.
Murphy was 10 of 15 from the field, including 7 for 10 from beyond the arc.
Devonte Graham and Willy Hernangomez each scored 11 points. Graham added six assists and Hernangomez grabbed 10 rebounds.
Doug McDermott led the Spurs with 14 points, and Josh Richardson finished with 12. Veteran Gorgui Dieng had 10 points and nine rebounds for San Antonio.
KINGS 126, TRAIL BLAZERS 94
In Sacramento, Keegan Murray, the fourth overall pick in the draft from Iowa, scored 16 points and eight players reached double figures in leading the Kings past Portland.
Terence Davis and De&rsquo;Aaron Fox scored 14 points apiece for the Kings, while Domantas Sabonis added 13 points, four assists and seven rebounds.
Jerami Grant led Portland with 17 points. Anfernee Simons scored 16 and Jusuf Nurkic had 14 points and nine rebounds.
Damian Lillard was held to eight points, making only two of his 10 shots, including missing all four of his 3-points attempts. He did hand out six assists.
THUNDER 144, MACCABI RA&rsquo;ANANA 97
Eugene Omoruyi scored 25 points on 9-for-14 shooting in Oklahoma City's win over visiting Maccabi Ra&rsquo;anana.
Luguentz Dort had 23 for Oklahoma City, while Ousmane Dieng, the 11th pick in last summer&rsquo;s draft, had 16 points for the Thunder. Aleksej Pokusevski and Jalen Williams, the 12th overall pick from Santa Clara, scored 15 points apiece.
Jason Suggs led Maccabi with 40 points on 15-for-26 shooting, including 5 of 9 from long distance. Terrence Jones had 15 points and Norris Cole contributed 12.
Willy Workman finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for Maccabi.
Oklahoma City sat a number of key players, including Josh Giddey, Tre Mann and Darius Bazley. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, dealing with a left MCL sprain, remained unavailable.

Davis, who scored 24 points before halftime, played the opening shift of the second half before taking a seat after 21 total minutes.

Anthony Davis scores 28 in return, Lakers defeat Warriors 124-121

CHICAGO (AP) &mdash; Zion Williamson scored 13 points and grabbed four rebounds over 15 minutes in his return after a lost season with a broken foot, and the New Orleans Pelicans held on to beat the Chicago Bulls 129-125 on Tuesday night.
Devonte&rsquo; Graham led the Pelicans with 21 points and five assists. Willy Hernangomez and rookie Dyson Daniels, the eighth overall pick in last summer&rsquo;s draft, had 15 points apiece. Dyson had 12 points in the fourth quarter as New Orleans won with a late push.
DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 21 points, and Javonte Green had 18. Nikola Vucevic finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Rookie Dalen Terry scored 11 points.
The Pelicans built a 73-50 lead at halftime with a significant portion of the scoring coming from the bench, a testament to New Orleans&rsquo; depth. And the Pelicans were without Brandon Ingram, who sat out with a sore toe.
Williamson was the only New Orleans starter to reach double figures. Jaxson Hayes added 14 points off the bench.
KNICKS 117, PISTONS 96
RJ Barrett scored 21 points, Jalen Brunson had 16 points and five assists in his debut as the Knicks point guard, and New York used a third-quarter push to beat Detroit.
Julius Randle added 15 points for the Knicks, shooting 6 for 10 and contributing six rebounds and four assists. Immanuel Quickley finished with 13 points and Miles McBride had six steals as the Knicks forced 22 turnovers, leading to 26 points.
Rookie Jaden Ivey from Purdue, the fifth overall pick in the draft, started at guard and scored 16 points in 22 minutes for Detroit. Ivey connected on 6 of 9 shots in his preseason debut. Isaiah Livers scored 13 points, while Bojan Bogdanovic, who came over from Utah, and Killian Hayes added 11 apiece.
Brunson, who played for Dallas last season, signed a four-year contract in the offseason as the Knicks continue their search for a point guard. Brunson got off to a nice start with six points and three assists in the first quarter.
A 33-21 third quarter put the Knicks in control as both teams moved to their reserves in the second half.
Jalen Duren, the 13th overall pick, grabbed 14 rebounds for the Pistons.
TIMBERWOLVES 121, HEAT 111
Anthony Edwards scored 24 points, connecting on 9 of 15 shots in 23 minutes, to lead Minnesota over Miami.
Taurean Prince added 19 points, while Bryn Forbes scored 15 for the Timberwolves, who played without frontline players Karl-Anthony Towns and newly acquired Rudy Gobert.
Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro led the Heat with 22 points apiece, while Caleb Martin scored 12. Omer Yurtseven finished with 11 points and nine rebounds after starting at center for Miami.
Towns is still recovering from a throat illness that eventually required hospitalization. Gobert is resting after playing for France last month.
Meanwhile, Miami played without Jimmy Butler, last year&rsquo;s leading scorer at 21.4 points per game, and Victor Oladipo.
The Timberwolves benefitted from 51% shooting, including 13 of 33 from outside the arc. Miami was limited to 43% and 9 of 34 from 3-point range. Fifteen Heat turnovers led to 25 Minnesota points.
JAZZ 118, TRAIL BLAZERS 101
Jordan Clarkson scored 19 points, Mike Conley finished with 16 on 6-of-9 shooting, and Utah beat Portland.
Both Conley and Clarkson were 3 of 5 from outside the arc, with the Jazz shooting 46% from 3-point range. Collin Sexton scored 13 points and Kelly Olynyk finished with 12 points and six rebounds.
Damian Lillard led Portland with 21 points. Anfernee Simons and Jerami Grant scored 13 points apiece, while Jusuf Nurkic finished with 12 points as the Trail Blazers lost for the second time in as many nights.

Zion Williamson returned to the court after missing a season as the Pelicans beat the Bulls in their pre-season opener.

Zion Williamson scores 13 points in return after missing season

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; RJ Barrett scored 21 points, Jalen Brunson had 16 points and five assists in his debut as the Knicks point guard, and New York used a third-quarter push to beat the Detroit Pistons 117-96 on Tuesday night.
Julius Randle added 15 points for the Knicks, shooting 6 for 10 and contributing six rebounds and four assists. Immanuel Quickley finished with 13 points and Miles McBride had six steals as the Knicks forced 22 turnovers, leading to 26 points.
Rookie Jaden Ivey from Purdue, the fifth overall pick in the draft, started at guard and scored 16 points in 22 minutes for Detroit. Ivey connected on 6 of 9 shots in his preseason debut. Isaiah Livers scored 13 points, while Bojan Bogdanovic, who came over from Utah, and Killian Hayes added 11 apiece.
Brunson, who played for Dallas last season, signed a four-year contract in the offseason as the Knicks continue their search for a point guard. Brunson got off to a nice start with six points and three assists in the first quarter.
A 33-21 third quarter put the Knicks in control as both teams moved to their reserves in the second half.
Jalen Duren, the 13th overall pick, grabbed 14 rebounds for the Pistons.
TIMBERWOLVES 121, HEAT 111
Anthony Edwards scored 24 points, connecting on 9 of 15 shots in 23 minutes, to lead Minnesota over Miami.
Taurean Prince added 19 points, while Bryn Forbes scored 15 for the Timberwolves, who played without frontline players Karl-Anthony Towns and newly acquired Rudy Gobert.
Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro led the Heat with 22 points apiece, while Caleb Martin scored 12. Omer Yurtseven finished with 11 points and nine rebounds after starting at center for Miami.
Towns is still recovering from a throat illness that eventually required hospitalization. Gobert is resting after playing for France last month.
Meanwhile, Miami played without Jimmy Butler, last year&rsquo;s leading scorer at 21.4 points per game, and Victor Oladipo.
The Timberwolves benefitted from 51% shooting, including 13 of 33 from outside the arc. Miami was limited to 43% and 9 of 34 from 3-point range. Fifteen Heat turnovers led to 25 Minnesota points.

RJ Barrett scored 21 points, Jalen Brunson had 16 points and 5 assists in his Knicks debut, and New York beat the Pistons 117-96.