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Raptors

TORONTO (AP) &mdash; Pascal Siakam scored 20 points, Gary Trent Jr. had 19 and the Toronto Raptors beat the Chicago Bulls 104-98 on Tuesday night for their eighth victory in 10 games.
O.G. Anunoby added 17 points and Jakob Poeltl had 14 to help the Raptors win their fourth straight at home, matching their longest streak of the season.
Nikola Vucevic led the Bulls with 23 points and Zach LaVine had 17. DeMar DeRozan scored 13 points against his former team as Chicago fell to 10-21 on the road.
The Bulls had won back-to-back home games after losing six straight before the All-Star break, holding both Brooklyn and Washington below 90 points, but couldn&rsquo;t keep that streak going north of the border.
Toronto had 94 field goal attempts to Chicago&rsquo;s 71 and outrebounded the Bulls 47-35, including a 19-6 advantage on the offensive glass.
&ldquo;They have size everywhere,&rdquo; Bulls coach Billy Donovan said about the Raptors. &ldquo;We did get hurt, no question, on the glass.&rdquo;
The Bulls shot 37 for 71 overall and went 10 for 25 from 3-point range, but had 20 turnovers that led to 21 points for Toronto.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to put up points in a game like that with what we did,&rdquo; Donovan said. &ldquo;I thought we were trying to play the right way and we were trying do the right things. We just didn&rsquo;t execute as well as we needed to.&rdquo;
Vucevic said the Bulls needed to work harder to battle for rebounds.
&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t do a good enough job tonight of boxing them out and grabbing the ball,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;A few of them were 50-50.&rdquo;
Raptors forward Scottie Barnes struggled through the first three quarters, shooting 1 for 8, but scored eight points and had a season-high four blocks in the final period.
&ldquo;The competitive side of him really starts emerging in the fourth,&rdquo; Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. &ldquo;He just starts playing really physical and really tough.&rdquo;
Anunoby said he appreciated Barnes&rsquo; big finish.
&ldquo;He was amazing,&rdquo; Anunoby said. &ldquo;He was everywhere, making blocks, getting the ball and pushing, passing, finishing. He was doing everything.&rdquo;
Barnes finished with 11 points. He had eight rebounds and four assists.
Chicago led 46-44 at the half. LaVine scored 11 points in the third and the Bulls scored the final five points of the quarter to take a 72-70 lead to the fourth.
TIP-INS
Bulls: Ayo Dosunmu scored 10 points and Andre Drummond had 10 rebounds. &hellip; Chicago waived G Goran Dragic, making him a free agent. The 15-year veteran, 36, has missed the past four games because of a sore left knee. &hellip; G Alex Caruso celebrated his 29th birthday.
Raptors: Barnes had a career-high five blocks against Sacramento on Dec. 13, 2021. &hellip; Toronto signed G Will Barton and waived F Juancho Hernangomez. Barton averaged 7.7 points in 40 games with Washington before he was waived Feb. 21. He played four minutes in his Toronto debut Tuesday. &hellip; G Dalano Banton (left thumb) was not available.
FRED&rsquo;S BACK
Toronto guard Fred VanVleet returned after missing the past three games as he spent time at home for the birth of his third child. VanVleet shot 1 for 11, going 1 for 9 from 3-point range and scoring three points, but still made an impact with nine assists and six rebounds.
&ldquo;It makes a big difference having Fred out there,&rdquo; Anunoby said. &ldquo;It definitely helps our team. He&rsquo;s just a steady presence.&rdquo;
GOOD MONTH
Toronto went 8-3 in February, its most victories in any month this season.
UP NEXT
Bulls: At Detroit on Wednesday night.
Raptors: Begin five-game trip at Washington on Thursday night.

Pascal Siakam scored 20 points, and the Raptors beat the Bulls 104-98 on Tuesday night for their eighth victory in 10 games.

Raptors beat Bulls 104-98 for 8th victory in 10 games

The Toronto Raptors are signing veteran Will Barton who will be playoff eligible, <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1630666747366744065" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski</a>.
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ESPN Sources: Free agent G Will Barton is signing with the Toronto Raptors. After completing buyout with Wizards, Barton will join Toronto and be eligible for a playoff roster. He&rsquo;s played in 29 career postseason games with Nuggets and Blazers.
&mdash; Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1630666747366744065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2023</a></blockquote>

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To make room for him on the roster, the Raptors are waiving Juancho Hernangomez reports <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1630666391194837012" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania of The Athletic</a>.&nbsp;
Barton and the Washington Wizards reached a buyout agreement last week, making him a free agent. He was traded to the Wizards over the summer and had a disappointing season in his hometown, averaging 7.7 points while shooting just 38.7% from the field.&nbsp;
In previous seasons, the 32-year-old was a solid player for the Denver Nuggets and the Raptors are hoping that a change of scenery will help the 32-year-old. Despite his struggles, he still connected on 38% from three-point range, something the Raptors desperately need as they rank 27th in the NBA from deep.

The Toronto Raptors are signing veteran Will Barton who reached a buyout from the Washington Wizards last week.

Raptors signing Will Barton, waive Juancho Hernangomez

TORONTO (AP) &mdash; Ja Morant had a career-high 17 assists and scored 19 points and the Memphis Grizzlies won for the first time in three games, beating the struggling Toronto Raptors 119-106 on Thursday night.
Dillon Brooks scored 25 points, Desmond Bane had 16 before fouling out and Steven Adams had 14 points and 17 rebounds. Memphis recorded a season-high 37 assists and won its third straight north of the border after losing its previous seven trips to Canada.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s super impressive,&rdquo; Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said about Morant&rsquo;s 17 assists. &ldquo;Tons of credit to Ja. It just sets a tone for us. His unselfishness, we talk about that all the time.&rdquo;
Pascal Siakam had 25 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto before fouling out, extending his career-best streak with 25 or more to six. Gary Trent Jr. scored 20 points and O.G. Anunoby had 16 as Toronto&rsquo;s home losing streak reached five. The Raptors have lost eight of 10 overall.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s pretty unacceptable with the effort we gave,&rdquo; Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to get focused and connected and get serious about playing harder.&rdquo;
The Grizzlies came in having lost four of five, but beat Toronto by outscoring the Raptors 70-50 on points in the paint.
&ldquo;If we&rsquo;re clicking like this, a lot of teams can&rsquo;t beat us,&rdquo; Brooks said.
Morant shot 9 for 19 and had a pair of eye-popping dunks in his first career game in Toronto. He missed last season&rsquo;s road game against the Raptors because of a sprained left knee, while the two previous meetings were played outside Canada because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cheered in the pre-game introductions, Morant drew gasps and cheers from the crowd with his only basket of the second quarter, using a pump fake to evade Anunoby at the 3-point line before exploding to the rim for a two-handed slam.
&ldquo;I think they&rsquo;ve been watching what&rsquo;s all over the internet of him flying around, dunking on guys, putting on a show,&rdquo; Brooks said of the welcome Morant received from Toronto fans. &ldquo;They were ready to watch and he didn&rsquo;t disappoint.&rdquo;
Morant reached his assist mark by racking up seven in the third quarter.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s able to get three, four guys on him and find us for 3s, find us for dump offs,&rdquo; Brooks said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a one-in-a-generation talent.&rdquo;
Siakam and Nurse got technical fouls after Siakam shoved Brooks following a defensive foul by Brooks late in the fourth.
Raptors guard Fred VanVleet was not available because of continued soreness in his lower back, the same injury that knocked him out a home loss to the Clippers on Tuesday night.
TIP-INS
Grizzlies: Adams had eight rebounds in the first quarter. &hellip; Brooks was born and raised in nearby Mississauga. &hellip; Morant reached his previous high of 14 assists four times, most recently Nov. 27 at New York.
Raptors: Anunoby, Siakam, Barnes, Juancho Hernangomez and rookie Christian Koloko started, Toronto&rsquo;s 18th different lineup in 35 games. &hellip; Shot 6 for 20 in the second quarter. ... Following the game, Toronto waived F Justin Champagnie.
SHARE MORE, WIN MORE
Memphis is 13-1 this season when recording more assists than its opponent.
BAD START, BETTER FINISH
Toronto&rsquo;s Scottie Barnes missed his first seven shot attempts and didn&rsquo;t score in the first half but made seven of his final 11 attempts. He finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
&ldquo;Just got to be more aggressive from the start,&rdquo; Nurse said.
&nbsp;

Ja Morant had a career-high 17 assists and the Grizzlies won for the first time in three games, beating the Raptors 119-106.

Morant has career-high 17 assists, Grizzlies rout Raptors

TORONTO (AP) &mdash; Kyrie Irving hit a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer and the Brooklyn Nets rallied to beat the Toronto Raptors 119-116 on Friday night, extending their winning streak to a season-high five.
Irving scored 15 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, eluding Toronto&rsquo;s Fred VanVleet to connect on the decisive basket &mdash; the first game-winning buzzer-beater of his NBA career.
&ldquo;Honestly, I was thinking basket,&rdquo; Irving said. &ldquo;I saw Juancho (Hernangomez) come over a little bit earlier so I decided to pull it back and took my time, got my balance underneath me.&rdquo;
Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said he planned to give Kevin Durant the ball for the final shot, but Durant convinced Vaughn to let Irving shoot instead.
&ldquo;He was already cooking so I didn&rsquo;t want to get in his way,&rdquo; Durant said of Irving. &ldquo;I felt like he could get whatever he wanted there. I also felt like they weren&rsquo;t going to run and double him, either. They let him play 1-on-1 and it was a special, special shot.&rdquo;
It was Brooklyn&rsquo;s first game-winning buzzer-beater since Brook Lopez hit one in a home victory over Detroit on March 21, 2017.
Vaughn said Irving has the right personality for such a high-pressure shot.
&ldquo;He definitely has an inner peace and poise that you have to have in that situation to not panic,&rdquo; Vaughn said. &ldquo;And he has an innate ability to get to his spot. He wanted to rise up, he created space with balance."
Irving said competitive desire, not comfort, is his main driver.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not really comfortable, I just want to be great in those situations,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve failed more than I&rsquo;ve succeeded.&rdquo;
A disappointed VanVleet said Irving deserved credit for his cold-blooded basket.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s the best in the world at that right there,&rdquo; VanVleet said. &ldquo;You have to salute him&rdquo;
Durant scored 26 points and Nic Claxton had 15 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high six blocks as the Nets overcame an 18-point deficit to sweep the season series from Toronto for the first time since 2002-03.
VanVleet matched his season high with 39 points. Scottie Barnes had 26 and Pascal Siakam added 17 as the struggling Raptors lost their season-worst fourth straight.
Yuta Watanabe scored 17 points for the Nets against his former team, including a go-ahead 3 with 14 seconds left. Ben Simmons and T.J. Warren each had 10 points for Brooklyn, which has won nine of 10.
Toronto&rsquo;s O.G. Anunoby sat out for the third straight game because of a sore left hip, while guard Gary Trent Jr. was not available because of a sore left quad.
Malachi Flynn scored 13 points as the Raptors lost back-to-back home games for the first time. Toronto is 10-5 north of the border.
The Raptors led 62-44 after a 3-pointer by Siakam with 1:17 left in the first half, but Brooklyn closed the second quarter on an 8-0 run, cutting it to 62-52.
&ldquo;That was a huge little stretch for us to get to 10 at halftime,&rdquo; Vaughn said.
The Nets outscored Toronto 17-8 in the first five minutes of the third to cut the deficit to 70-69, and Durant&rsquo;s basket with 3:25 left in the quarter gave Brooklyn a 77-76 lead, its first of the game.
Toronto went 0 for 5 from 3-point range in the third and the Nets took an 88-84 lead to the fourth.
TIP-INS
Nets: G Patty Mills (non-COVID-19 illness) did not travel to Toronto and is doubtful for Sunday&rsquo;s game at Detroit. &hellip; Won their third straight road game, a season high. Brooklyn is 8-7 on the road. &hellip; Shot a season-best 60.5% (46 for 76), including going 14 for 20 in the fourth.
Raptors: VanVleet scored 25 points before halftime, a season high for any half. &hellip; Hernangomez made his second start of the season as Toronto used its 16th starting lineup in 29 games.
&nbsp;

Kyrie Irving hit a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer and the Brooklyn Nets rallied to beat the Toronto Raptors 119-116.

Irving hits game-winning 3 at buzzer, Nets win 5th straight

TORONTO (AP) &mdash; De&rsquo;Aaron Fox had 27 points and 10 assists, Damontas Sabonis added 21 points and 20 rebounds and the Sacramento Kings held on to beat the Toronto Raptors 124-123 on Wednesday night.
Malik Monk scored 24 points and Terence Davis had 19 against his former team as the Kings overcame a 16-point second-quarter deficit to win for the second time in their past 11 games north of the border.
Fred VanVleet scored a season-high 39 points for Toronto, but missed a 3-pointer that would have tied it with four seconds to go.
Scottie Barnes had 27 points and 10 assists and Pascal Siakam scored 19 points for the Raptors. They dropped to 10-4 at home and have lost three straight for the first time this season. The Raptors were swept at Orlando over the weekend.
Harrison Barnes scored 12 points and Keegan Murray had 10 as all five Sacramento starters reached double figures.
Kings coach Mike Brown was ejected after picking up two technicals with 9:09 left in the third quarter. Brown left the bench and ran onto the court to argue with the officials after guard Fox was called for a technical foul.
Toronto shot 6 for 21 from 3-point range, matching its fewest made 3-pointers of the season.
Raptors forward O.G. Anunoby missed his second straight game because of a sore left hip.
Barnes made two free throws to cut it to 122-119 with 21 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and Monk split a pair at the other end.
VanVleet drove for a layup with seven seconds to play, and the Kings called timeout. Fox was fouled on the inbounds play and missed the first but made the second, putting Sacramento up 124-121.
After a timeout, VanVleet got open but missed a 3-pointer, leading to a layup for Siakam on Toronto&rsquo;s final possession.
VanVleet scored 13 points in the first and the Raptors led 31-23 after one. Toronto scored the first eight points of the second, extending its lead to 39-23. Fox had 12 points in the second as the Kings rallied, cutting it to 62-59 at the half.
VanVleet scored nine of his 16 third-quarter points at the free throw line, including five straight when Brown was ejected. Toronto took a 94-88 lead to the fourth.
TIP-INS
Kings: G-F Kevin Huerter (left ankle) was not available. Huerter had started all 26 games for Sacramento prior to Wednesday. &hellip; Sabonis finished with seven assists.
Raptors: Barnes had seven rebounds. &hellip; F Juancho Hernangomez returned after missing the past four games because of a sprained right ankle. &hellip; Toronto used its 15th different starting lineup in its 28th game of the season. &hellip; The Raptors didn&rsquo;t turn the ball over in the first half, just the second time in franchise history they&rsquo;ve done that. It also happened April 13, 2016 at Brooklyn.
&nbsp;

De’Aaron Fox had 27 points, Damontas Sabonis added 21 points and 20 rebounds and the Kings beat the Raptors 124-123

Fox has 27 points and 10 assists, Kings beat Raptors 124-123

TORONTO (AP) &mdash; Jayson Tatum had 31 points and 12 rebounds, Jaylen Brown scored 22 points and the Boston Celtics won for the seventh time in eight games, beating the Toronto Raptors 116-110 on Monday night.
Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart scored 18 points for Boston after sitting out Sunday&rsquo;s win at Brooklyn because of a bruised left hip.
Blake Griffin scored 13 points and Luke Kornet had 11 for the Celtics, who own the NBA&rsquo;s best record at 20-5. Boston is 16-2 since starting the season 4-3.
Pascal Siakam scored 29 points, Scottie Barnes had 21 and Gary Trent Jr. 20, but Toronto lost for the first time in four home games. The Raptors are 9-3 north of the border this season.
Raptors guard Fred VanVleet shot 3 for 14 and scored eight points. He missed a 3-pointer that would have cut the gap to three points with less than 2 minutes remaining.
Tatum had 17 points in the third as the Celtics outscored Toronto 35-18.
Before the game, Raptors coach Nick Nurse said he wanted to see how his team matched up against the league-leading Celtics, but several costly turnovers in the final period denied Toronto a chance to make it close.
Al Horford sat out the second game of Boston&rsquo;s back-to-back because of a sore lower back, while guard Malcolm Brogdon was unavailable because of a non-COVID illness.
Boston led 27-25 after one quarter but Siakam scored 11 points in the second and the Raptors made 13 of 16 at the free throw line to lead 62-56 at the half.
Boston reclaimed the lead at 71-69 on Tatum&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 7:09 left in the third. Tatum scored 17 points in the third and the Celtics were 4 of 8 from 3-point range to take a 90-81 lead to the fourth.
The Raptors missed all four of their 3-point attempts in the third.
TIP-INS
Celtics: Brown had eight rebounds and eight assists. &hellip; Boston is 4-0 against Atlantic Division opponents and 9-3 on the road.
Raptors: O.G. Anunoby scored 13 points &hellip; F Juancho Hernangomez (sprained right ankle) was not available. Hernangomez left injured in Saturday&rsquo;s win over Orlando. &hellip; F Precious Achiuwa (right ankle) missed his 12th straight game while F Otto Porter Jr. (dislocated toe, left foot) missed his ninth straight.
IN THE CROWD
Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick and former Raptors star Donyell Marshall each attended the game. Kaepernick received a loud ovation when he was introduced after the first quarter.
UP NEXT
Celtics: Visit the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night.
Raptors: Host the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.

Jayson Tatum had 31 points and 12 rebounds, Jaylen Brown scored 22 points and the Celtics won for the seventh time in eight games.

Tatum has 31, Celtics beat Raptors 116-110 for 7th win in 8

TORONTO (AP) &mdash; O.G. Anunoby matched his season high with 32 points, Pascal Siakam had 26 points and 10 rebounds and the Toronto Raptors beat short-handed Orlando 121-108 Saturday, handing the slumping Magic their eighth consecutive loss.
Scottie Barnes scored 17 points and had a season-high 14 rebounds, and Fred VanVleet had 13 points as the Raptors won their third straight home game, improving to 9-2 north of the border.
Toronto shot a season-best .560, making 47 of 84 attempts.
Bol Bol scored 18 points for Orlando, which has the worst record in the NBA at 5-19. The Magic are 1-11 on the road.
Bol was the only Magic starter to reach double figures. Paolo Banchero, who came in as the NBA&rsquo;s leading rookie scorer, shot 2 for 8 and finished with nine points.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a long season, a lot of games,&rdquo; Banchero said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re going to have nights like this. You&rsquo;ve just got to move on to the next one.&rdquo;
Former Raptor Terrence Ross scored 18 points, Admiral Schofield had 13 and Cole Anthony 12.
The banged-up Magic were again without top rebounder Wendell Carter Jr., who missed his ninth straight game because of an injured right foot, and point guard Jalen Suggs, who missed his fifth straight with a sore right ankle.
After being blown out at New Orleans on Wednesday and again at Brooklyn on Friday, the Raptors started better in this one.
&ldquo;We just wanted to regroup, be better,&rdquo; Barnes said. &ldquo;It was a bad feeling in the locker room (Friday).&rdquo;
Toronto had five dunks in the first quarter and scored 26 points in the paint to lead 36-22 after one.
&ldquo;They came out like a team that was determined,&rdquo; Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said. &ldquo;Anunoby set the tone early.&rdquo;
Anunoby shot 12 for 17. Four of his 10 baskets from 2-point range were dunks.
&ldquo;I like it when he goes down there and he&rsquo;s making a move and all of a sudden, he&rsquo;s dunking it,&rdquo; Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s some power to get to that spot and then there&rsquo;s a lot of burst left at the end."
After scoring 13 points and making six of seven shots in the opening quarter, Anunoby connected on all three of his field goal attempts and went 3 for 3 at the line in the second. With 23 points by the intermission, he matched his career high for points in a half.
Toronto led 64-48 at the break and took a 94-73 advantage to the fourth.
POWER MOVE
Bol grabbed the rebound on Siakam&rsquo;s blocked shot late in the second and drove the length of the court for a huge one-handed slam that drew gasps from the crowd.
SAME STARTERS
After using 10 different starting lineups in the past 10 games, Toronto went with the same five starters from Friday&rsquo;s loss to the Nets; Anunoby, Siakam, VanVleet, Barnes, and rookie center Christian Koloko.
TIP-INS
Magic: G Gary Harris (strained right hamstring) sat for the second straight game. Orlando was also without C Mo Bamba (back spasms), C Jonathan Isaac (left knee) and F Chuma Okeke (left knee). &hellip; Missed their first six 3-point attempts.
Raptors: F Juancho Hernangomez left in the first half because of a sprained right ankle and did not return. X-rays did not reveal a fracture. &hellip; F Precious Achiuwa (right ankle) missed his 11th straight game and F Otto Porter Jr. (dislocated toe, left foot) missed his eighth straight. &hellip; With his fourth point of the game, Siakam passed Andrea Bargnani (6,581) for fifth on Toronto&rsquo;s all-time points list&hellip;. Siakam had eight rebounds.
UP NEXT
Magic: Host the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night.
Raptors: Host the Boston Celtics on Monday night.

O.G. Anunoby matched his season high with 32 points, and the Raptors beat the Magic 121-108 on Saturday.

O.G. Anunoby matches season-high 32, Raptors rout Magic 121-108

TORONTO (AP) &mdash; O.G. Anunoby scored 12 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, Fred VanVleet also had 26, and the Toronto Raptors beat Dallas 105-100 Saturday, snapping a four-game losing streak against the Mavericks.
Chris Boucher scored a season-high 22 points and had 13 rebounds as the Raptors improved to 7-2 at home.
Luka Doncic scored 24 points and Dorian Finney-Smith had 16 as the Mavericks lost their third straight. Dallas is 1-6 on the road, with a visit to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks on tap Sunday.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no panic here,&rdquo; Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to start continuing to be consistent on both sides of the ball.&rdquo;
Doncic, the NBA&rsquo;s leading scorer, shot 8 for 15, going 2 of 4 from 3-point range. He had nine assists and seven rebounds.
&ldquo;He did what he was supposed to do,&rdquo; Kidd said. &ldquo;He had two on him. That just shows the maturity. He didn&rsquo;t force anything, he just accepted the double team.&rdquo;
Doncic said the Mavericks need to be more attack-minded when he&rsquo;s being double-teamed.
&ldquo;If they&rsquo;re going to put two or three on the ball, we&rsquo;ve just got to be aggressive," Doncic said, "get to the rim, dunk it, pass out and just keep trusting the shots.&rdquo;
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 15 points for Dallas, Maxi Kleber had 11 and Christian Wood 10.
Anunoby played the entire second half, making 7 of 13 shots and scoring 20 points while also defending Doncic at the other end.
&ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s going to sleep well tonight,&rdquo; Raptors coach Nick Nurse said of Anunoby.
Kleber called Anunoby &rdquo;a threat on all levels.&rdquo;
&ldquo;He can shoot the ball from outside, he&rsquo;s really great on post-ups, he&rsquo;s physical,&rdquo; Kleber said.
Dallas trailed 81-73 to begin the fourth quarter but Finney-Smith tied it 90-all on a 3-pointer with 3:48 left. Juancho Hernangomez scored to restore Toronto&rsquo;s lead, and Anunoby made a pair at the line to make it 95-92 with 2:12 remaining.
Doncic scored with 26 seconds left to cut it to 101-100, but Thad Young answered with a pair of free throws. Dallas used its final timeout to draw up a play, but Finney-Smith turned the ball over and Anunoby was fouled, sealing it at the line.
VanVleet returned for Toronto after sitting out Wednesday&rsquo;s loss to Brooklyn because of a non-COVID illness, but Scottie Barnes missed his second straight game because of a sprained left knee.
The banged-up Raptors were also without Pascal Siakam (straight right adductor), Precious Achiuwa (left ankle), Dalano Banton (left ankle), and Otto Porter Jr. (dislocated left toe).
Dallas led by as many as 15 in the opening quarter, scoring 11 points off six Toronto turnovers to lead 29-24 after one. The Raptors led 54-52 at halftime.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Kleber returned after missing the past four games because of a sore back.
Raptors: Boucher had six rebounds in the first quarter, one more than the entire Mavericks team. &hellip; Hernangomez matched his season high with 10 points. &hellip; Outscored Dallas 25-5 in second-chance points. &hellip; Had 17 offensive rebounds to Dallas&rsquo; four.
FINDING THEIR RANGE
Dallas shot 1 for 9 from 3-point range in the second quarter and went 1 for 7 in the third. The Mavericks finished 11 for 39.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s about making 3s in today&rsquo;s game,&rdquo; Kidd said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re able to get to the paint, we&rsquo;re able to get to the rim and finish but right now we&rsquo;re just not shooting the ball straight."
PICK ME UP
Doncic helped Anunoby to his feet with the ball in play after the two stars got tangled up during a second-half possession.
&ldquo;I think he&rsquo;s probably one of the nicest dudes in the league,&rdquo; Doncic said. &ldquo;He never talks trash, he never does anything. I tripped him, not on purpose, so that&rsquo;s why I helped him up.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Mavericks: Visit Milwaukee on Sunday night.
Raptors: Host Cleveland on Monday night.

O.G. Anunoby scored 12 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, and the Raptors beat the Mavs 105-100 on Saturday.

Anunoby scores 12 of his 26 in 4th, Raptors top Mavs 105-100

EuroBasket 2022 is in the books, and this year's tournament was another reminder that a well-oiled team machine can still outlast the brightest individual stars on the planet.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic instantly made their countries favorites to win gold, and even had some of the best supporting casts in the field. But the final four squads &mdash; France, Germany, Poland and Spain &mdash; had one NBA All-Star on their rosters combined. The bracket stage was a true display of just how much basketball talent is spread around the globe.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
These six particularly stood out with some remarkable performances over three weeks. No former NBA All-Stars were considered; they obviously were among the best of the best. The following players might be less heralded in the United States, but any basketball fan should appreciate the runs they put together at EuroBasket.
Lorenzo Brown, Spain
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/qz6zuv" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
Spain took home the gold medal against France behind 27 points from Juancho Hernangomez. His brother Willy led the team in per-game scoring across the whole tournament. But Spain does not get to gold without Brown, an NBA castoff who has carved his niche in Europe over the past several years.&nbsp;
The 32-year-old guard averaged 15.2 points and 7.6 assists per contest. He dropped 29 points in a massive semifinal win against Germany, then had 14 points and 11 assists in the title bout. His veteran experience is apparent, and Spain creatively used Brown to keep France on its toes by running him off of ball-screens and mixing in pick-and-roll possessions. Brown in turn knew just when and where his teammates would be when France rotated. The above passes are exquisite; the third clip is my personal favorite.
Simone Fontecchio, Italy
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
For one last time in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroBasket?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroBasket</a> 2022: Pasta. Pizza. Fontecchio. 🇮🇹 21 PTS 5 REB 4/7 3FG% SIMONEFONTECCHIO gave a hard fight against France 💪 <a href="https://t.co/qT6FEkdMzm">pic.twitter.com/qT6FEkdMzm</a>
&mdash; FIBA (@FIBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/FIBA/status/1570104678653779968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 14, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Want to talk about an underrated offseason signing? The Utah Jazz added Fontecchio, a 6-foot-8-inch wing, on a multi-year contract this summer, and if Utah fans checked in on Italy, they saw Fontecchio lighting it up beyond the arc. The 26-year-old canned 45.1% of his 7.3 threes attempted per game and averaged 19.4 points across the tournament.
Fontecchio is simply an entertaining scorer. He can pull up from long range with all sorts of dribble and spin moves and still get into his sweet shooting stroke. He's a solid cutter and transition player, and while not a highlight-reel dunker, he has an underrated level of explosion. I really think Fontecchio's going to suprise fans next season if the Jazz give him extended minutes.
Lauri Markkanen, Finland
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Most U.S. fans probably picture Markkanen as your prototypical stretch forward. At EuroBasket, he was&nbsp;so&nbsp;much more. Markkanen was one of the tournament's most dominant players, putting up 27.9 points and 8.1 rebounds while shooting 61.5% from two-point range and 40.5% behind the arc.&nbsp;
Talk about emptying the bag &mdash; Markkanen was posting up, facing up, flying off cuts, initiating with drives, stepping back and finishing. He had a massive 43-point showcase against Croatia where he appeared blatantly unstoppable. Maybe a run like this encourages Utah to experiment more with Markkanen's usage stateside.
Dzanan Musa, Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Once a first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets, Musa fell out of the NBA, but has settled in overseas. He averaged 21.4 points, 4.0 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game with his home country and really applied pressure as a driver. Musa frequently went at bigs in conservative coverages &mdash; including guys like Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valanciunas &mdash; with his combination of quick-twitch handle and finishing touch.&nbsp;
Musa also made a noteworthy 45% of his triples. He's never had much of a three-point stroke up until last season in Liga ACB play, but it seems the swingman is really developing confidence. Musa is still just 23 and definitely has the ability to jump back into the NBA should teams pursue him.
Alperen Sengun, Turkey
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Turkey had a really fun run to the EuroBasket quarterfinals with the 20-year-old fueling the success. Sengun is on the smaller side of NBA centers, but against these opponents, he had more chances to physically dominate and go to work in the post. His speed on some of these spin moves is still incredible &mdash; just look at Hernangomez's reaction after this first bucket.
Sengun stymied teams with his post play and interior passing en route to 16.5 points per game. He's a secure cornerstone for the Houston Rockets at this point. Sure, it's fair to wonder how Sengun's skill set helps Houston once it reaches contender status. But there's no denying Sengun is amazing, regardless of his age, as a post scorer and passing big man.&nbsp;
Aleksandar Vezenkov, Bulgaria
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"Sasha" Vezenkov only played five EuroBasket contests after Bulgaria went 1-4 and missed out on the bracket stage. But he deserves a shoutout because he absolutely dominated his matchups. Vezenkov's box score line is bonkers: 27.0 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting 56.6% on twos and 40.5% on nearly 8 threes per game.
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The perimeter scoring is frankly ridiculous. Vezenkov is more than a stretch forward or a movement shooter. At 6-foot-9, he's got a stable enough handle to threaten teams by putting the ball on the floor. At the same time, he's got this absurd, quick lefty shot, and can contort himself all sorts of ways without compromising his form.&nbsp;
The Sacramento Kings quietly acquired the rights to Vezenkov from the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for the No. 49 pick in this summer's NBA Draft (which became Isaiah Mobley). The 26-year-old reportedly won't come to the U.S. this summer, as he looks to defend a Greek League title with Olympiacos Piraeus and back up his All-EuroLeague First Team selection. But if you're thinking of tuning into some European hoops, Vezenkov should be considered a must-watch talent.

Alperen Sengun, Lauri Markkanen and Dzanan Musa were among the brightest stars at EuroBasket 2022.

EuroBasket 2022: 6 players who stood out in the tournament

BERLIN (AP) &mdash; For Spain, almost all of the names on the national team&rsquo;s roster have changed in recent years.
The expectations didn&rsquo;t. And neither did the results.
Juancho Hernangomez scored 27 points, his brother Willy Hernangomez added 14 and won tournament MVP honors, and Spain topped France 88-76 on Sunday to win the EuroBasket gold medal.
It was Spain&rsquo;s fourth European championship in its last six tries, all those golds coming under coach Sergio Scariolo.
Lorenzo Brown scored 14 points and had 11 assists for Spain, while Jaime Fernandez scored 13.
Evan Fournier led France &mdash; which also dropped the gold-medal game at the Tokyo Olympics to the U.S. last summer &mdash; with 23 points, with Thomas Heurtel scored 16 and Guerschon Yabusele added 13.
Rudy Gobert was held to only six points on just two shots from the field for France.
&ldquo;Spain played better from start to finish,&rdquo; Fournier said. &ldquo;They had a clear game plan and we did not execute ours well enough. ... We never really had control of the game. They just played better, man, period.&rdquo;
This was supposed to be a rebuilding summer for Spain. Pau and Marc Gasol, the longtime leaders of the program, retired from international following a quarterfinal loss to the U.S. at the Tokyo Games. Sergio Gonzalez also decided last summer was the right time to walk away, after 16 years with the national team. Sergio Llull and Ricky Rubio, two more of veterans, couldn&rsquo;t play because of injuries.
The winning tradition simply continued anyway. Spain is now the reigning Basketball World Cup (won in China in 2019) along with EuroBasket champion. It has also medaled in 10 of its last 11 EuroBasket appearances.
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For France, it was another medal &mdash; and another instance of coming up a bit short of the shiniest medal. France&rsquo;s last major crown came in winning EuroBasket in 2013. Since then, the French have won two bronzes at the World Cup (2014, 2019), a bronze at EuroBasket (2015), silver at the Tokyo Olympics, and now, silver again.
The difference was clear: Spain held a massive 35-7 edge in points off turnovers.
&ldquo;Today, obviously, we have lost the gold,&rdquo; France coach Vincent Collet said. &ldquo;They executed their plan perfect.&rdquo;
Juancho Hernangomez was 6-for-6 from 3-point range in a 6-minute span of the second quarter, helping Spain extend what was a 23-14 lead into a 45-26 edge with just about 3 minutes left in the half.
barrage. He had made a total of 12 3&prime;s in his eight previous games in this year&rsquo;s EuroBasket tournament, and his high in any NBA game is six.
An 11-0 run helped France cut what had been a 21-point deficit to just 47-37 at the half &mdash; and the momentum carried into the third quarter.
Yabusele&rsquo;s jumper with 6:52 left in the third got France within 49-46, and everything seemed to be shifting.
But Spain held on. Juancho Hernangomez&rsquo;s seventh 3-pointer with 7:29 left made it a 71-61 game, and the outcome wasn&rsquo;t in doubt again.
BRONZE MEDAL
GERMANY 82, POLAND 69
In the bronze-medal matchup earlier Sunday, Dennis Schroder scored 26 points and host Germany held off Poland.
It was Germany&rsquo;s first EuroBasket medal since winning silver in 2005. Poland matched its best finish in the event since 1971.
&ldquo;They told me it&rsquo;s 17 years since Germany won a medal,&rdquo; Germany coach Gordie Herbert said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s kind of fitting that Dennis Schroder&rsquo;s number is 17. It&rsquo;s been an unbelievable honor to coach these guys from Day 1.&rdquo;
Johannes Voigtmann scored 14 for Germany.
&ldquo;We worked hard for it,&rdquo; Schroder said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s an unbelievable feeling to come out third in the EuroBasket.&rdquo;
Michal Sokolowski led Poland with 18 points, with Jakub Garbacz scoring 12 and A.J. Slaughter finishing with 10 points and 10 assists.

Juancho Hernangomez scored 27 points to lead Spain to the gold medal.

Spain wins EuroBasket title, topping France 88-76 for gold

France sent a message on its way to grabbing a spot in the EuroBasket championship game and a showdown with Spain.
Guerschon Yabusele scored 22 points, and France rolled past Poland 95-54 in the semifinals of the European championships on Friday.
&ldquo;We just played our basketball,&rdquo; Yabusele said. &ldquo;We were really good on defense and we were really aggressive. We made everything hard for them.&rdquo;
The 41-point margin was the largest ever in a EuroBasket medal-round game played under the current tournament format, one more than 40-point wins posted by Croatia over Greece in the 1993 bronze-medal game and by the Soviet Union over Poland in the 1967 semifinals.
Elle Okobo and Evan Fournier each had 10 points in a rare easy one for France, which had outscored opponents by a total of 11 points in its first seven games of the tournament &mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-france-poland-italy-71f01c5c88ed542aa26ad87ce9151f9b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plus won each of its last two contests in overtime,</a>&nbsp;benefitting in both from missed free throws in the final moments by Turkey and Italy.
"We started the game with will and determination,&rdquo; France coach Vincent Collet said. &ldquo;That is what made the difference.&rdquo;
Next up for France: Spain, which defeated host Germany 96-91 in Friday&rsquo;s other semifinal. The gold- and bronze-medal games are Sunday.
It&rsquo;ll mark the fifth time in the last six EuroBaskets that either Spain or France has won gold; the exception was 2017, when Slovenia prevailed. It&rsquo;ll also be a rematch of the 2011 EuroBasket final, where Spain topped France.
&ldquo;We worked really hard to put ourselves in this position,&rdquo; said France center Rudy Gobert, who had six rebounds and three blocks. &ldquo;Now we&rsquo;ve got one more game to go. When we started preparations, the goal was to win the gold medal and now we&rsquo;re in position to make it happen. So, one more game.&rdquo;
Playing for gold represents the latest big chance for France, which captured its last major crown by winning EuroBasket in 2013. Since then, the French have won two bronzes at the World Cup (2014, 2019), a bronze at EuroBasket (2015) and silver at the delayed Tokyo Olympics that were contested in the summer of 2021.
Every stat Friday showed France&rsquo;s dominance. It shot 62%, compared with 32% for Poland. France held a 40-21 edge in rebounding, a 22-9 edge in points off turnovers and a 40-16 advantage from points in the paint.
&ldquo;Like a lot of games in this tournament, it could go south, it could go north,&rdquo; Poland coach Igor Milicic said. &ldquo;This game went south.&rdquo;
A.J. Slaughter and Michal Michalak led Poland &mdash; which made the semifinals by upsetting defending champion Slovenia 90-87 on Wednesday &mdash; with nine points apiece. It was Poland&rsquo;s third loss of the tournament, all coming in blowouts. The others were a 30-point defeat to Finland and a 29-point loss to Serbia in the group stage.
&ldquo;We tip our hats off to France,&rdquo; said Slaughter, a Kentucky-born guard who helped Western Kentucky to upset wins as a No. 12 seed in both the 2008 and 2009 NCAA tournaments. &ldquo;They played a really good game tonight. ... But we still have our heads high. We still have a medal game on Sunday. We&rsquo;ll come back, play with pride and see if we can leave here with a medal.&rdquo;
SPAIN 96, GERMANY 91
Lorenzo Brown scored 29 points, and Spain used a 13-0 run in the fourth quarter to rally past host Germany in the second semifinal.
Germany led by 10 points late in the third quarter, before Spain took over. Juancho Hernangomez scored seven of his 13 points in the game-deciding run, one where Spain turned a 77-70 deficit into an 83-77 lead with 4:04 remaining.
&ldquo;I cannot find the words to congratulate my players,&rdquo; Spain coach Sergio Scariolo said. &ldquo;Probably this medal is the least expected, but to me, the most satisfactory. Built upon hard work, togetherness, team basketball, defensive effort, desire to overcome our limits ... and guts in the fourth quarter.&rdquo;
It was Spain&rsquo;s fifth consecutive win at the tournament, the last four of them coming by 10 points or less.
&ldquo;When you bring intensity to the game, anything can happen,&rdquo; said Usman Garuba, who had a team-high seven assists for Spain.
And it was Brown&rsquo;s highest-scoring game of the tournament, plus more than doubled his per-game average entering Friday; he was averaging 13.4 points in Spain&rsquo;s first seven games.
Dennis Schroder led all scorers with 30 points for Germany, but managed only two points in the fourth quarter. Franz Wagner and Andreas Obst each scored 15 for Germany, while Daniel Theis added 10.
&ldquo;The energy was amazing out there,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think that crowd came to play tonight. Felt amazing from the jump. I felt like our guys felt amazing from the jump as well. Schroder came out, playing unbelievable, finished the game unbelievable as well. But it just took a lot of guts from our end.&rdquo;
Germany coach Gordie Herbert said losing momentum early in the fourth quarter was key.
&ldquo;We had a tough five, six minutes,&rdquo; Herbert said.
EuroBasket ends Sunday, and from there, Schroder is headed to Los Angeles. The agency that represents him, Priority Sports, said Friday that Schroder &mdash; who has averaged 21.6 points and 7.3 assists per game at EuroBasket &mdash; agreed on a $2.6 million contract with the Lakers for the coming season.

France sent a message on its way to grabbing a spot in the EuroBasket championship game and a showdown with Spain.

France tops Poland, Spain beats Germany in EuroBasket semis

BERLIN (AP) &mdash; Giannis Antetokounmpo got ejected, and Greece&rsquo;s hopes of bringing home a European championship ended not long afterward.
Germany, meanwhile, is taking full advantage of its home-court edge.
Dennis Schroder scored 26 points, Daniel Theis had a 13-point, 16-rebound effort and host Germany moved into the EuroBasket semifinals with a 107-96 win over Greece on Tuesday.
Antetokounmpo had a monster game for Greece &mdash; 31 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in 30 minutes. But he also picked up two unsportsmanlike conduct fouls, the last of those leading to his ejection with 4:56 left.
Greece was down by 14 when he committed his second such foul, and Germany maintained full control the rest of the way.
Germany now has a chance at what would be just its second medal in its last 13 appearances at EuroBasket. The Germans won the European title in 1993 and were second in 2005; assured of no worse than fourth now, this tournament will mark their best EuroBasket finish since that silver-medal showing.
&ldquo;I think this is unbelievable for German basketball, the way this team, the way these players have performed on their home soil up to now,&rdquo; Germany coach Gordie Herbert said. &ldquo;I think the way they&rsquo;ve played, the way we&rsquo;ve played, people can relate to. They see an identity.&rdquo;
Greece and Serbia were the only two teams that made it through the group stage of EuroBasket with unbeaten records, both 5-0 and led by a pair of two-time NBA MVPs &mdash; Antetokounmpo for Greece, Nikola Jokic for Serbia.
Then came the knockout stage, and the records no longer mattered. Serbia and Jokic were ousted in the round of 16 by Italy; Antetokounmpo and Greece are now gone as well.
&ldquo;We really enjoyed the ride,&rdquo; Greece coach Dimitrios Itoudis said. &ldquo;We really enjoyed the journey. I think that we made a lot of people proud with the way that this team performs. We wanted to go more, but it didn&rsquo;t happen this time.&rdquo;
Giannoulis Larentzakis scored 18 points on only five shot attempts for Greece; he was 5 for 5 from the field, four of those from 3-point range, and was 4 for 6 from the foul line. Tyler Dorsey added 13 for Greece.
Franz Wagner and Andreas Obst had 19 points apiece for Germany, which plays Spain in Friday&rsquo;s semifinals.
&ldquo;It was a really physical game,&rdquo; Wagner said. &ldquo;A lot of points. We found our rhythm really early and I think we did a way better job collectively guarding them in the second half.&rdquo;
SPAIN 100, FINLAND 90
Most of the names on Spain&rsquo;s national team have changed in the last year, with the roster that headed to EuroBasket significantly different from the one that played in the Tokyo Olympics.
The expectations, however, remain the same.
Willy Hernangomez scored 27 points, Juancho Hernangomez added 15 and Spain &mdash; with just three players who got any significant playing time at the Tokyo Games last summer &mdash; powered into the semifinals by erasing a 15-point deficit and topping Finland in Tuesday&rsquo;s first quarterfinal.
Down 50-35 late in the final half, Spain outscored Finland 65-40 over the game&rsquo;s final 21 minutes.
&ldquo;We showed, one more time, cohesiveness, toughness, generosity, we shared the ball well,&rdquo; Spain coach Sergio Scariolo said. &ldquo;At the end of the day, this is what you can ask to a team which is so inexperienced and so new in this kind of engagement.&rdquo;
Spain reached the EuroBasket semifinals for the 11th consecutive time and will play Germany on Friday for a spot in the final.
Dario Brizuela scored 14 points, Rudy Fernandez added 11 and Lorenzo Brown had 10 for Spain.
&ldquo;It was a hard battle,&rdquo; said Willy Hernangomez, Juancho&rsquo;s older brother. &ldquo;Tough battle for us. ... Our first half was really bad. We started the game not with the right mentality. And then at halftime, (we said) we&rsquo;ve got to be us, we&rsquo;ve got to be us.&rdquo;
Spain opened the third quarter on a 17-5 run, more than setting the tone for its comeback.
Lauri Markkanen scored 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Finland, while Mikael Jantunen scored 13, Alexander Madsen had 13 and Sasu Salin added 11.
Finland was seeking its first trip to the EuroBasket semifinals.
&ldquo;Well, you see why Spain is always so tough,&rdquo; Finland&rsquo;s Shawn Huff said. &ldquo;They never give up. We gave it a good shot.&rdquo;
WEDNESDAY&rsquo;S SCHEDULE
The other two quarterfinal games are on tap: France plays Italy, and defending champion Slovenia takes on Poland.

Dennis Schroder scored 26 points, Daniel Theis had a 13-point, 16-rebound effort and host Germany moved into the semis.

Germany ousts Giannis, Spain rallies to EuroBasket semis

At first glance, the Boston Celtics seem gridlocked in their ability to bring an NBA Finals contender over the top for next season. The Celtics will likely reside as a luxury tax-paying team, meaning they're already out of room to sign players aside from a modest $6.3 million mid-level exception, and their entire main rotation is under contract for next season.
So what can Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens do in his role as lead team-builder? Stevens has a few more cards to play in the form of Traded Player Exceptions, commonly abbreviated as TPEs.
Boston has been a TPE merchant in recent seasons, and the franchise's salary-cap dexterity has allowed it to make impactful moves on the fly without raw cap space. The Celtics are Exhibit A of how these exceptions can keep contenders flexible. With well over two-thirds of the league filled to the salary-cap brim this summer, TPEs are like a secret staircase for teams as they try to ascend to NBA glory.
So how exactly do they work, and which squads can take advantage this summer?
Trades in the NBA don't go down with perfectly balanced salary scales. So if one team sends out more salary, under the collective bargaining agreement, the difference becomes a Traded Player Exception. Teams can then absorb future player salaries from future trades into the exception, bypassing any constraints from the salary cap boundaries.&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.nba.com/news/trade-exceptions-what-they-are-and-why-they-matter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBA.com's Steve Aschburner</a> compares the TPE to a gift card. The simile tracks in that TPEs can sort of "buy" player salaries, but they also expire one year after the trade initally creates them.
Here's a current example: Boston completed a sign-and-trade with the New York Knicks on July 18 of last summer, sending Evan Fournier to New York with a second-round pick in exchange for cash considerations. Because Boston traded Fournier's salary and received only the bag of cash back, it created a TPE that Spotrac values at around $17.1 million. The Celtics can now absorb a player (or multiple players) into that TPE via trade until July 18.
Seems like a smart move, right? Well, it is, but a TPE isn't just hacking the CBA. Rules and consequences exist. Here are some important ones (and check out a larger breakdown from <a href="https://www.sportsbusinessclassroom.com/listing-the-current-nba-trade-exceptions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eric Pincus</a>:
<ul>
<li>Teams cannot stack TPEs. For example, if the Celtics want to trade for LeBron James, they cannot combine all of their various exceptions into one super-TPE to absorb his salary. There is one trade exception per player salary.</li>
<li>TPEs do not supersede the hard cap (tax apron). This will particularly affect the Celtics because they are already approaching the hard cap, and might make the Fournier TPE, for example, less valuable than it's worth.</li>
</ul>
Though not a rule or a certainty, teams seeking to create a trade exception likely have to trade additional pieces to create it. The Knicks weren't going to simply let Boston make a TPE, so they managed to pick up an additional draft pick. Similarly, when Boston dealt Gordon Hayward to the Charlotte Hornets and created a massive, $28.5 million TPE, Charlotte also swiped two second-rounders from the Celtics.
Sometimes, trade exceptions are a natural byproduct of a deal. In other cases, they're the prize. Dozens of trade exceptions are littered around the league, but most are too small to be a realistic sponge for any player contract.
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Here are the teams with exceptions valued at over $5 million (figures provided by Spotrac), which could theoretically net a rotation-caliber player.
BOSTON CELTICS
So we've discussed the Celtics a bit already, but returning to the Fournier TPE, it's unlikely they use up the full $17.1 million (<a href="https://heavy.com/sports/boston-celtics/evan-fournier-trade-exception/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Matt John elaborated on this at Heavy.com</a>). It could still add a rotation player who fulfills needs such as movement shooting, center depth and bench scoring. The Celtics also hold TPEs valued at $6.9 million (from trading Juancho Hernangomez to San Antonio) and $5.9 million (from trading Dennis Schroder to Houston).
Boston pulled this stunt last summer where it traded Tristan Thompson for Kris Dunn in a three-way trade with the Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks. The Celtics used a $5 million TPE to absorb Dunn's salary, thus creating a larger TPE from Thompson, which they then&nbsp;used to absorb Daniel Theis' salary. That's one example of them finessing the system. But again, when you're up against the tax apron, your options become limited.
BROOKLYN NETS
The Nets have two plausible TPEs to use. One is an $11.3 million TPE in the fallout of the James Harden blockbuster. Brooklyn also holds a $6.3 million TPE created when they dealt DeAndre Jordan to the Pistons.
Brooklyn has some time to use the Harden TPE; it expires in February 2023. But the Jordan TPE perishes on Aug. 19.&nbsp;
Obviously, Brooklyn's roster situation is in flux with the rumors flying around <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-destinations-for-brooklyn-nets-kyrie-irving-nba-trade-rumors-offseason-los-angeles-lakers-la-clippers-new-york-knicks-wizards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kyrie Irving</a> and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-trade-kevin-durant-brooklyn-nets-possible-destinations-rumors-phoenix-suns-miami-heat-boston-celtics-new-york-knicks-memphis-grizzlies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kevin Durant</a>. Should the Nets extend Irving, they'll likely be hard-capped out, and won't be able to maximize these exceptions. Sean Marks and the front office cap-crunching team have their work cut out for them.&nbsp;
CHICAGO BULLS
Chicago has one trade exception, valued at $5 million, from when it sent Daniel Theis to the Rockets. It's unlikely this TPE becomes an asset of significance, but if the Bulls want to use it, they must do so by July 7.
DALLAS MAVERICKS
By trading Josh Richardson to Boston last summer, Dallas created a trade exception worth just under $10.9 million. That could be a helpful tool for the Mavericks, but it's literally expiring today! The Mavericks are flirting with being a hard-capped team, so unless something changes within minutes of writing this, the TPE will not yield a player.&nbsp;
DETROIT PISTONS
Detroit is going to, very briefly, hold a $9.2 million TPE by trading Jerami Grant to the Trail Blazers, according to <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/detroit-pistons-acquire-veteran-kemba-walker-york-knicks/story?id=85620180" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN's Bobby Marks.&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;However, Marks reports that Kemba Walker, acquired in the draft-night move that also landed Jalen Duren, will have his salary absorbed into that TPE before being bought out. That's some quick maneuvering by the Pistons to acquire an exciting lottery talent in Duren.
INDIANA PACERS
Here's an interesting case. The Pacers have two notable TPEs in their holster: a $10.5 million exception from trading Jeremy Lamb to Sacramento, and a $7.3 million exception from trading Doug McDermott to San Antonio. Indiana is projected to be a rare team with significant cap space this offseason, and as a will-they-won't-they rebuilding squad, they could take several pathways with these exceptions.
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Perhaps Indiana sees an opportunity to add two rotation players to the roster and make a push for the postseason. The playoffs feel unlikely with the current 2022-23 roster, but you never know, and Indiana does have a reputation for being stubbornly competitive.
Or &mdash; maybe the Pacers have a long-term vision and use these exceptions to take players on undesirable contracts, attached with draft picks or young players. It's a way for Indiana to build its draft chest without sacrificing flexibility. The McDermott exception expires on July 7, while the Lamb TPE poofs away in February 2023. I expect at least one, if not both, to be used.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
The Clippers are another franchise that is essentially hard-capped out. But they do have two TPEs worth monitoring. One is a $9.7 million exception created in the Serge Ibaka deal this past February. The other comes from sending Rajon Rondo to the Memphis Grizzlies and is worth $8.3 million. Again, I'm skeptical of these being used, but they are worth mentioning for a playoff contender that won't be players in free agency for a while.
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
The Pelicans created a $17 million trade exception last offseason when they sent Steven Adams to the Grizzlies. They've already reaped the rewards with their acquisition of Larry Nance Jr. New Orleans absorbed his $10.7 million salary into the TPE when it traded for him this past season. There's still about $6.4 million remaining, though, so the team could use it to add another player.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
In acquiring Jerami Grant on his $20 million salary, Portland maximized its large TPE from the CJ McCollum trade. The Blazers still have one more $6.9 million exception that could be of use. They're projected to have some cap space to work with, so it might be an opportunity to take extra advantage.
TORONTO RAPTORS
The Raptors have a few smaller exceptions, with the most notable being a $5.2 million TPE stemming from the Goran Dragic trade. Toronto is over the salary cap, but might be able to squeeze in a player with these constraints while staying under the luxury tax apron.&nbsp;
UTAH JAZZ
Trading Joe Ingles to Portland gave Utah a $9.7 million trade exception. Given that they need to find a spark after yet another disappointing playoff exit, the Jazz should find a way to use this exception, ideally on a perimeter defender or frontcourt player behind Rudy Gobert.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS
Washington owns three trade exceptions ranging between $3-6 million. While they can't stack them, the Wizards could use the $5.2 million TPE (created in dealing Montrezl Harrell to Charlotte) to add some guard or wing depth. As long as Bradley Beal is around, this franchise is hunting the playoffs, and the TPEs can help them get there.
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Ethan Fuller breaks down which NBA teams hold significant trade exceptions entering the 2022 offseason.

How does a trade exception work, and which NBA teams can use them?

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Donovan Mitchell tries to keep his cool with the officials.
In a tie game against Chicago, Mitchell protested a non-call with an especially vocal and demonstrative outburst in the third quarter. He got a technical foul and the switch was flipped.
&ldquo;I was hot," Mitchell said about his anger.
Mitchell went on to score a Utah-record 25 of his 37 points in the third quarter, Jordan Clarkson added 26 and the Utah Jazz beat the Bulls 125-110 on Wednesday night.
Feeling nostalgic before the game, Mitchell was watching Game 6 of his first playoff series against Oklahoma City his rookie season. He remembered that level of confidence and how big the hoop seemed when he led the Jazz to the win. Then he replicated it against Chicago.
&ldquo;Once I saw the 3 on the wide pin go down, it was on,&rdquo; Mitchell said. &ldquo;From there, I just started getting to my spots and do what I do. Sometimes you just gotta go to that place inside you.&rdquo;
Mitchell made a franchise-record seven 3-pointers in the third period on nine attempts. He broke Karl Malone&rsquo;s team mark of 22 points in a third quarter. Mitchell finished with nine 3-pointers, besting his previous career best of seven.
&ldquo;He just got really hot. That&rsquo;s the type of player he is. We know that. We could have tried to do a better job of trying to take him out of that (rhythm) and get the ball out of his hands,&rdquo; Zach LaVine said.
In the fourth quarter, Bulls coach Billy Donovan said &ldquo;we did trap him some to try to slow him down&rdquo; but that just opened the door for other players like the seldom-used Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who scored 14 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter.
Alexander-Walker, who came to Utah in a Feb. 9 trade from New Orleans, had only nine total points in his first seven games with the Jazz. So what happened?
&ldquo;Don happened! The gravity he pulled to himself because of the shots he was making &hellip; they were so hyper-focused on him,&rdquo; Alexander-Walker said.
LaVine, who has been affected by a sore left knee, made five 3s and had 33 points in tying his highest scoring output in four months. DeMar DeRozan added 25 points. The Bulls have dropped seven of nine.
&ldquo;We had a really hard time controlling the ball. Our guards could not get the ball under control at all from Clarkson and Mitchell and Conley. They kind of really had their way with (us) and they&rsquo;re great off the dribble,&rdquo; Donovan said on the Bulls&rsquo; second-half defensive struggles.
Ayo Dosunmu&rsquo;s layup trimmed Utah&rsquo;s lead to 103-99 before the Jazz responded with a clinching run.
Alexander-Walker had two 3-pointers from the corner in a 14-0 run that featured suffocating defense and floor-spacing offense. Rudy Gobert&rsquo;s free throws capped the run and lifted the Jazz to a 117-99 lead with 4:38 to play.
&ldquo;We raised our level and did a great job defensively, especially with the scorers they have,&rdquo; Gobert said.
Mitchell&rsquo;s huge third quarter pushed the Jazz ahead 89-81 entering the fourth quarter.
Gobert had 14 points, 20 rebounds and three blocks while Mike Conley had in 14 points and seven assists.
The Jazz played without second-leading scorer Bojan Bogdanovic (left calf strain), along with key reserves Trent Forrest (right wrist sprain), Danuel House (left knee bone bruise) and Udoka Azubuike (right ankle sprain).
BREAKFAST CLUB
Alexander-Walker, Juancho Hernangomez (who got his first start with Utah) and other Jazz players who rarely get meaningful time in the games are the first ones to practice on game days.
&ldquo;I was really happy for Nickeil because people don&rsquo;t see that every morning before shootaround those guys are in there at 8 o&rsquo;clock working out and going hard too,&rdquo; Mitchell said.
Sometimes they get on the court again after the starters leave and then come early before the game starts. That makes three sessions whether they get game time or not.
&ldquo;Since being here, I can&rsquo;t even count the number of corner 3s and other stuff we have been working on in practice,&rdquo; Alexander-Walker said. &ldquo;That work with the Breakfast Club is paying off. Gotta trust it.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Bulls: Chicago had 22 fast-break points to seven for the Jazz. &hellip; DeRozan had seven of the Bulls&rsquo; 28 assists. &hellip; Dosunmu had 15 points and six assists.
Jazz: Mitchell picked up a technical in the third quarter. He was especially animated at a non-call and followed the official while shouting. &hellip; The Jazz reserves outscored their Chicago counterparts, 49-22.
UP NEXT
Bulls: At Phoenix on Friday night.
Jazz: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night.

Donovan Mitchell scored a Utah-record 25 of his 37 points in the third quarter as the Utah Jazz beat the Bulls 125-110.

Mitchell scores 25 of 37 points in 3rd, Jazz beat Bulls

Nekias Duncan thoroughly grades every NBA trade from 2022 Deadline Week.

Grading every move from 2022 NBA trade deadline week

The Utah Jazz, Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs are the latest teams in the Western Conference to make deals ahead of Thursday's NBA trade deadline. On Wednesday, a three-team transaction saw a lot of moving parts be shuffled around, per <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1491489079451652100?s=20&amp;t=ob8kvMxJoZSwMngQCMHDPQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski</a>.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker heads to Utah from Portland in exchange for Joe Ingles' expiring contract. San Antonio also received Tomas Satoransky's expiring to make salaries work as Juancho Hernangomez joins Alexander-Walker with the Jazz. Portland continues to open up oodles of cap space for the upcoming summer, or a potential big-time trade within the next 24 hours.
This is an intriguing roll of the dice for Utah, especially with how Alexander-Walker fits within their backcourt depth. NAW could be a reliable bench piece, but how does he mesh alongside Jordan Clarkson? Meanwhile, San Antonio clears some future salary moving off Hernangomez for Satoransky.
What comes next for the Trail Blazers is the most interesting aspect to all of this. Will they make another aggressive move to appease superstar point guard Damian Lillard? Would Jerami Grant check boxes alongside Lillard?
Stay tuned to BasketballNews.com as the deadline dominoes continue to fall as they may.

On Wednesday, a three-team deal between the Pelicans, Spurs and Jazz occurred. Which pieces are moving where?

Nickeil Alexander-Walker on move again in 3-team deal

With 16 days until the NBA trade deadline, the Boston Celtics &ldquo;have been extremely active in trade talks,&rdquo; league sources <a href="https://heavy.com/sports/boston-celtics/nba-trade-deadline-brad-stevens/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Heavy.com&rsquo;s Steve Bulpett.&nbsp;
At 24-24, the Celtics are the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. Boston currently has the NBA's fifth-best defense (allowing 105.1 points per 100 possessions) and 17th-ranked offense (scoring 107.4 points per 100 possessions).
Bulpett <a href="https://heavy.com/sports/boston-celtics/nba-trade-deadline-brad-stevens/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a> that the Celtics are &ldquo;looking to reconfigure the pieces around Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.&rdquo; Boston also wants to &ldquo;clear a path for Payton Pritchard, Aaron Nesmith and Romeo Langford to get more playing time&rdquo; as well as &ldquo;unload some salary cap burden,&rdquo; per Bulpett.&nbsp;
Last week, the Celtics traded Juancho Hernangomez&rsquo;s $6,907,815 contract in a three-time deal with the San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets, bringing in Bol Bol and P.J. Dozier.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;ll be interesting to see if something like [their 116-87 win over Washington] yesterday makes them back off a little or makes them patient,&rdquo; one rival GM <a href="https://heavy.com/sports/boston-celtics/nba-trade-deadline-brad-stevens/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Bulpett</a>. &ldquo;But they&rsquo;ve definitely been looking to get something done.&rdquo;
It'll be interesting to see who the Celtics target (and who they're willing to part with) over the next two-and-a-half weeks.

With 16 days until the NBA trade deadline, the Boston Celtics “have been extremely active in trade talks,” according to Steve Bulpett. 

Celtics have been 'extremely active in trade talks' ahead of deadline

At 27 years old and in his sixth season as a pro, Willy Hernangomez is still searching for a solidified situation in the NBA.&nbsp;
Generally, a consistent role and consistent playing time will lead to consistent production. In his second season with the New Orleans Pelicans, he hasn&rsquo;t often had the opportunity to show what he&rsquo;s capable of, registering eight straight DNPs &mdash; and it&rsquo;s not the first time.
&ldquo;Many times it's hard, it can be frustrating, but for me being able to train every day, even on game days is my way of always being prepared and always wanting to improve,&rdquo; Hernangomez told BasketballNews.com. &ldquo;When you really love what you do, you always find a small way to forget your frustrations and focus on the ultimate goal.
&ldquo;I see it as an extra way of motivation for me, knowing that in small minutes you have to give your best so that the team notices your presence and thus make the most of every minute. My mentality every game is to always be prepared, because for me, every game is an opportunity to show my team, the league and myself that I can be a great player here.&rdquo;
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When Hernangomez has gotten the chance to be NOLA&rsquo;s man in the middle, he has exhibited positive results. According to Basketball-Reference, he is sporting the best PER of his career thus far (23.1), and it&rsquo;s the best on his Pelicans team.&nbsp;
In the five games he&rsquo;s received between 20-29 minutes, Hernangomez is averaging 14.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per contest. If you want to take it further into a career sample size, the Spanish big man has put up 12.5 points and 10.3 rebounds across the 78 total games in which he&rsquo;s played 20 or more minutes. And since he&rsquo;s entered the league, Hernangomez has put together 35 career double-doubles to boot.
&ldquo;The way I understand the game, the experience, and the energy with which I always try to play I think it helps me to be very effective in the minutes I am on the court,&rdquo; Hernangomez said.
And yet, despite that resume, he&rsquo;s had a whopping 86 games where he&rsquo;s played fewer than nine minutes, and those are predominantly scenarios where he hasn&rsquo;t been in teams&rsquo; rotations.&nbsp;
But Hernangomez doesn&rsquo;t wait for the game to come to him when he does hit the floor; he&rsquo;s instant offense and a boardmonger. Positioning is a specialty of his, establishing a low-post presence after setting middle-of-the-floor screens off the ball and sealing to open lanes. He sets quality picks for his teammates on the ball at the elbows as well, and times his roles impeccably, receiving the ball back for slams and easy-glass lay-ins &mdash; or one more feed to a teammate with a better look.
&ldquo;It is one of the favorite actions for me, I feel very comfortable playing pick-and-roll,&rdquo; Hernangomez said. &ldquo;For me, putting a good screen [on], a strong screen is something very important, so that your teammate and your team can have an advantage, or so that you yourself can be free in the roll or in the pop.
&ldquo;I always try to think about the next action before it happens, I try to read the defenders, where they are positioned and make the best possible decision, whether it's shooting, or giving an extra pass to a released teammate.&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Great sequence from Willy Hernangomez. He forces Giannis into a stepback and then runs in transition and gets an early seal on Holiday which opens up the lane for Garrett Temple. If Zion was playing this Pelicans team is in a way better place. <a href="https://t.co/ukEhFzg6Ze">pic.twitter.com/ukEhFzg6Ze</a>
&mdash; Matthew Ho (@matthewkjho) <a href="https://twitter.com/matthewkjho/status/1477445311282827266?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 2, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

In addition, Hernangomez tracks down misses on both ends with proficiency. His rebounding rate of 22.1% is <a href="https://go.nba.com/7z907" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tied with Atlanta&rsquo;s Clint Capela for third in the entire league</a> (min. 10 minutes). Only Andre Drummond and Rudy Gobert top that high of a percentage.
Considering the NBA evolving into positionless basketball with floor-spacing becoming a priority in modern offenses, Hernangomez does relay that he&rsquo;s put a large focus on bettering his outside shot and versatility in general, mentioning his handle in particular.&nbsp;
Lest we forget that the 6-foot-11 center is just now entering his prime years with less tread on the tires than most players at his age and with his experience. There&rsquo;s plenty of road ahead for Hernangomez, who wants to achieve a lot by the time he hangs it up.
&ldquo;I still think I have a lot of things to improve, and that my best version as a player is yet to come,&rdquo; Hernangomez said. &ldquo;I am a very competitive person and I like to win. I want to compete and win a ring, to be able to play and get to the top of the playoffs for my team.&rdquo;
It has been anything but easy for Hernangomez to this point in his NBA life. You could argue that his little brother Juancho has shared the same sentiments and similar experiences in the league. When you&rsquo;ve shared the successes and spotlight that both have as a part of Spain&rsquo;s national team, there&rsquo;s a hunger that stems from it. While neither has been able to satisfy such an appetite in the Association, each has been able to lean on the other.
&ldquo;Having a brother who is also your best friend in the league is something incredible,&rdquo; Willy said. &ldquo;We came to the NBA in the same year and we have been through everything together, very good moments and others not so much; he is a great support [system], a great psychologist too, and I think we can continue to give many joys and medals to our team in the future.&rdquo;
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Willy Hernangomez has learned quite a bit over his stay in the league. One lesson sticks out specifically though: Enjoy the day-to-day.
&ldquo;The NBA is something unique, many kids and players dream of being here, it is my sixth year and I still have the same [vision] as in my rookie year. I love the NBA, and I feel that the best Willy is yet to come.&rdquo;
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Spencer Davies goes one-on-one with Pelicans big man Willy Hernangomez to address his fluctuating role, career and more.

Willy Hernangomez: 'My best version as a player is yet to come'

BOSTON (AP) — LaMelo Ball had a triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Charlotte Hornets to a 111-102 victory over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.
Terry Rozier led Charlotte with 28 points against his former team. Miles Bridges scored 22 and Kelly Oubre Jr. added 18 for the Hornets, who won for the ninth time in 12 games. 
“To come in here and get a win — we want to make a statement,” Rozier said. “We want to get to where they're at as an organization.”
Dennis Schröder paced Boston with 24 points. Jaylen Brown scored 21 and Al Horford had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
“I thought we had a lot of good looks and we moved the ball really well,” Brown said. “They made a lot of tough baskets. They came and outplayed us.”
Boston star Jayson Tatum was hampered by foul trouble and finished with just 12 points on 5-of-19 shooting in 35 minutes. The Celtics had won five of six.
“I thought part of the foul trouble affected him overall as well as some other guys,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka said. “That was my message to the team: Impact the game when the shot's not falling.”
The Celtics were just 14 of 46 on 3-point attempts.
Boston sliced a 12-point deficit to 88-84 early in the final quarter but Charlotte scored 10 of the next 14 points, pulling ahead 98-88 on Oubre’s 3-pointer from the left wing with 4:55 to play. Ball had nailed a 3 from the left corner two minutes earlier.
“The competitiveness and resiliency was there in the fourth quarter,” Hornets coach James Borrego said. 
The Celtics cut it to 102-96 on Horford’s 3 with 2:48 left, but Ball nailed a 3 from in front of Boston’s bench and Rozier followed with one on the Hornets’ next possession.
Boston trimmed the margin to six one more time, but Rozier nailed another 3 to seal it in the final minute. 
Ball grabbed a rebound with 0.2 seconds remaining to complete his triple-double. He said Bridges reminded him how close he was.
“He was like: ‘Box out and you'll get that last rebound,’'' Ball said, pointing to Bridges sitting next to him at the postgame news conference. ”I said, ‘Oh, you’re right!'''
Rozier hit three from beyond the arc in a 62-second span of the third quarter, pushing the Hornets’ lead to 75-61. They were up 86-74 entering the fourth.
“To be the best, you've got to beat the best,” Rozier said. “We just want to keep going. We're not satisfied. We've got to stay humble and keep on having fun and playing out there. That's the main thing.”
TIP-INS
Hornets: Oubre returned from COVID-19 protocol after missing four games and had 10 points by early in the second quarter. … Gordon Hayward took just one shot in the first half and finished with five points. 
Celtics: C Robert Williams missed the game due to the birth of his son, named Hendrix. … G Marcus Smart missed his fifth straight game. He was out of virus protocol but sidelined for conditioning. ... G Aaron Nesmith has a sprained right ankle and also was sidelined. … Tatum picked up his third foul early in the second quarter and stood on the court near Boston’s bench, so the Celtics got a delay-of-game warning. He was whistled for his fifth early in the final quarter.
OH, NO
Mason Plumlee shot a free throw that appeared to miss the rim short by a few feet, bringing a loud reaction from the crowd.
TAKE A SEAT
Ball fell backward into the front row of seats after taking a 3 early in the third quarter, spilling drinks on a pair of fans.
EASY TO SEE
Ball wore bright mismatched sneakers; the left was lime green and the other bright pink.
NEW FACES
The Celtics acquired a pair of injured players from the Denver Nuggets as part of a three-team deal that included San Antonio. Boston received 7-foot-2 center Bol Bol, who is expected to have foot surgery and be sidelined for 8 to 12 weeks, and guard P.J. Dozier, who is out indefinitely after tearing his ACL this season.
Boston sent forward Juancho Hernangomez to the Spurs in a trade that helps the Celtics get under the luxury tax. 
UP NEXT
Hornets: Host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. 
Celtics: Host the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday. 
___
More AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

LaMelo Ball recorded a triple-double, and the Charlotte Hornets beat the Boston Celtics.

Ball's triple-double carries Hornets past Celtics, 111-102

Denver, Boston and San Antonio are making a three-way trade that includes Juancho Hernangomez to Spurs, Bryn Forbes to Denver, Bol Bol and PJ Dozier to Celtics, sources tell ESPN.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1483656286751248386" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adrian Wojnarowski/ESPN</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;Neither player will make an on-court impact for Boston in the short-term. Bol is out 2-3 months with a foot injury, per Wojnarowski, and Dozier is out for the season with a torn ACL.&nbsp;
The Nuggets pickup a veteran sharpshooter in Forbes who can boost the bench rotation. San Antonio adds a stretch forward in Hernangomez, who was unable to break the Celtics' rotation.&nbsp;

Neither player will make an on-court impact for Boston in the short-term due to injuries.