River Hawks

SINGAPORE INDOOR STADIUM, SINGAPORE &ndash; The NBA G League United wasted no time in establishing their caliber after beating Quimsa, 78-65, on the first day of the FIBA Intercontinental Cup 2024 Thursday night here.
The Americans, mostly made up of former NBA players, G League mainstays, and bright young, upcoming stars took advantage of their height and athletic advantage against Argentinian side Quimsa.
&ldquo;We knew we&rsquo;re the most athletic team out here, so we tried to take advantage of that &ndash; and we did,&rdquo; Brodric Thomas said.
Former NBA player from the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers Juan Toscano-Anderson led the way for the United with an all-around game of 13 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals while Deonte Burton, a former OKC Thunder player, top scored for the team with 17 points.
Thomas added 12 markers, while Rob Baker II and Charlie Brown Jr. chipped in with 11 apiece as the Americans had five players in double digits for their first win of the tournament.
The FIBA Intercontinental Cup is a tournament featuring the six champion teams from each continent, and the NBA G League United is representing the USA for North America. Quimsa, a club from Argentina, represents South America.
&ldquo;We wanted to be aggressive and make a statement. I believe the G League is the 2nd-best league in the world [after the NBA] and we wanna come and show that,&rdquo; Toscano-Anderson said post-game.
In the second match of the day, Spanish side Unicaja representing Europe dominated the Angolan squad Petro de Luanda representing Africa, 95-75. Tyler Kalinoski was phenomenal for Unicaja with 16 points on an efficient 6/9 shooting night in just 15 minutes.
The FIBA Intercontinental Cup 2024 continues tomorrow with Australian squad Tasmania JackJumpers battling against Quimsa in the first match then Lebanese side Al Riyadi going up against Unicaja still here at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

The NBA G League United established their caliber after beating Quimsa, 78-65, on the first day of the FIBA Intercontinental Cup.

FIBA Intercontinental Cup 2024 Day 1: NBA G League United scores first win over Quimsa

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

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

NBA App to stream the SLAM Summer Classic Vol. 5

Longtime pro Jordan Crawford opens up to Spencer Davies about his unpleasant NBA experience, his Detroit connection and more.

Ex-NBA pro Jordan Crawford has a story to tell — and a whole lot more

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) &mdash; &ldquo;The Freshies&rdquo; have had a winning impact on South Carolina, one coach Dawn Staley believes will last long after they leave campus.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had leaders leave a legacy of leadership,&rdquo; Staley said Sunday after her top-ranked team&rsquo;s 73-63 victory over Georgia. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s still intact.&rdquo;
And has more yet to accomplish.
The group of five led by reigning AP national player of the year Aliyah Boston and high-scoring Zia Cooke (they&rsquo;ve called themselves &ldquo;The Freshies&rdquo; since arriving as the country&rsquo;s No. 1 recruiting class) has helped the Gamecocks win three Southeastern Conference titles, two league tournament crowns and last year&rsquo;s NCAA championship.
Boston had her 78th career double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Cooke had 10 of her 12 points in the first half as the Gamecocks (29-0) completed a perfect, 16-0 SEC season.
The quintet, which also includes Brea Beal, Laeticia Amihere and Olivia Thompson, has a 122-8 record the past four years and has won 35 straight games since its last loss to Kentucky at the SEC Tournament a year ago.
Boston and her teammates hope to avenge that and add to their trophy collection this coming week.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s definitely no relief&rdquo; after their flawless regular season, she said. &ldquo;Now, were into the season where winning is the only option.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Kamilla Cardoso, the Gamecocks&rsquo; 6-foot-7 reserve, also had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Georgia (20-10, 9-7) kept things uncomfortably close into the second quarter before the Gamecocks pulled away for their 17th straight victory in the series.
Georgia frustrated South Carolina nearly two months ago, holding Boston to four points and five boards in a 68-51 loss on Jan. 2.
The Bulldogs defense was at it again, this time limiting just about every other Gamecock besides Boston to stay within arms length of the defending national champions. Diamond Battles&rsquo; basket with 5:58 to go before the half tied things at 25.
South Carolina dialed up its own defense for a 10-2 run the rest of the half to take control. The Gamecocks forced three turnovers and Georgia missed its five attempts during the four-minute span.
Cooke opened the surge with a driving bucket and closed it with a three as the Gamecocks lead 35-27 at the break.
South Carolina used its dominating height advantage &mdash; Cardoso scored all her points the final 20 minutes &mdash; to maintain a double-figure lead for much of the second half.
Georgia came in with a five-game win streak, but fell to 0-4 this season against ranked opponents. Battles led the Bulldogs with 20 points.
Bulldogs first-year coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson was proud of her team&rsquo;s fight and said this doesn&rsquo;t diminish in how they&rsquo;ve gelled the past month.
&ldquo;Their personality is now becoming my personality,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Which I love that. They&rsquo;ve got to be fighters and they&rsquo;ve got to be tough.&rdquo;
BIG PICTURE
Georgia: The Bulldogs had no offensive rebounds in the first 20 minutes against South Carolina, which is second nationally in grabbing its opponents misses with more than 31 a game this season. Georgia entered this game fifth in SEC offensive rebounding per game at 13.3.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks were stunned by Kentucky in last year&rsquo;s SEC Tournament finals. But it&rsquo;s hard to imagine South Carolina&rsquo;s versatile, talented roster letting up after the way they&rsquo;ve handled the challenges of being No. 1 and remaining undefeated.
SENIOR TEARS
Aliyah Boston had her emotions on display as South Carolina&rsquo;s seven seniors were celebrated at Senior Day. Boston cried several times, including on video as she discussed her time at school in a taped message to fans. When Boston cried in the tunnel before the ceremony, she got a bit of coaching from Staley, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s too early,&rdquo; Boston recalled.
UP NEXT
Georgia starts SEC Tournament play on Thursday.
South Carolina, the top seed, begins play in Friday&rsquo;s quarterfinals.

“We’ve had leaders leave a legacy of leadership,” Dawn Staley said Sunday after her team’s 73-63 victory over Georgia. “It’s still intact.”

Boston, No 1 Gamecocks take SEC title, top Georgia 73-63

Aliyah Boston scored 23 of her 26 points in the second half, including 14 in the fourth quarter, to help No. 1 South Carolina beat fifth-ranked UConn 81-77 on Sunday.
The Gamecocks (23-0) have won 29 consecutive games since losing to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament title game last year. They&rsquo;ve also won four of the past five meetings with the Huskies, including a victory in the NCAA championship game last season.
South Carolina used its size again to top the Huskies. The 6-foot-7 Kamilla Cardoso and Boston, the reigning AP Player of the Year helped the Gamecocks have a 42-30 advantage on the boards, including grabbing 25 offensive rebounds.
Boston finished with 11 rebounds for the 76th double-double of her career.
Aaliyah Edwards led UConn (21-3) with 25 points.
WASHINGTON 72, NO. 2 STANFORD 67
SEATTLE (AP) &mdash; Elle Ladine scored 21 points and Dalayah Daniels made two key free throws with 8 seconds left, helping Washington knock off Stanford.
Washington (13-9, 5-7 Pac-12) closed the game with a 9-2 run. Lauren Schwartz made two foul shots before Ladine put the Huskies in front with a layup with 1:41 left.
Daniels had 15 points in Washington&rsquo;s first victory over a ranked opponent this season. Haley Van Dyke scored 14.&nbsp;
Haley Jones scored 18 points for Stanford (22-3, 10-2), and reserve Brooke Demetre had 15. Cameron Brink finished with 14 points and six rebounds.
NO. 3 LSU 72, TEXAS A&amp;M 66
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) &mdash; Angel Reese had 26 points and 22 rebounds to help LSU outlast Texas A&amp;M.
Alexis Morris added 22 points before fouling out late to help LSU (23-0, 11-0 Southeastern Conference) remain undefeated ahead of next week&rsquo;s showdown with top-ranked and undefeated South Carolina. It was Reese&rsquo;s 23rd consecutive double-double.
An 8-0 run by Texas A&amp;M (6-15, 1-10) cut the lead to 66-62 with less than two minutes to go. Reese made two free throws before Kay Kay Green made 1 of 2 free throws on the other end to leave LSU up 68-63 with less than a minute left.
Last-Tear Poa added two free throws for the Tigers to push it to 70-63 seconds later. LSU forced a turnover and Reese added a basket to make it 72-63 with 17 seconds left to secure the victory.
Sahara Jones had 14 points for the Aggies, who lost their third straight.
NO. 4 INDIANA 69, PURDUE 46
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Sydney Parrish and Mackenzie Holmes each scored 15 points and Indiana won its 10th straight game, pulling away from Purdue in front of a record Boilermakers crowd.
The announced attendance of 14,876 was the largest for a Purdue women&rsquo;s home game. It marked the first sellout for a women&rsquo;s matchup at Mackey Arena since 2000 and third in program history.
Sara Scalia had 14 points and Chloe Moore-McNeil had 13 points and nine rebounds for the Hoosiers (22-1, 12-1 Big Ten).
Lasha Petree scored 13 points and Abbey Ellis had 10 to lead the Boilermakers (15-7, 6-6).
NO. 6 IOWA 95, PENN STATE 51
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) &mdash; Caitlin Clark had 23 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds to lead Iowa over Penn State.
Monika Czinano scored 14 points and Kate Martin added 11 for the Hawkeyes (19-4, 11-1 Big Ten), who took the lead midway through the first quarter and pulled away in a lopsided second half to win their eighth straight game.
Taniyah Thompson led Penn State (13-11, 4-9) with 11 points while Leilani Kapinus had 10. Kapinus, Makenna Marisa and Shay Ciezki, all averaging double figures this season, combined to go 2 for 15 from the floor in the first quarter.
NO. 7 UTAH 100, OREGON 92
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Alissa Pili scored a season-high 30 points, and Utah moved into a tie for first place in the Pac-12 Conference.
Jenna Johnson added 19 points and Kennady McQueen scored 16 as the Utes (20-2) shot 62.3% from the field. Utah improved to 10-2 in the conference to tie for the top spot with Stanford, which lost 72-67 at Washington earlier in the day.
Endyia Rogers scored 35 points to lead Oregon (14-9, 5-7). Chance Gray added 18 points and fellow freshman Grace VanSlooten had 16 for the Ducks, who shot 50% from the field and made nine 3-pointers two days after going 0-for-16 beyond the arc in a loss to Colorado.
NO. 8 MARYLAND 90, NO. 10 OHIO STATE 54
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) &mdash; Diamond Miller scored 16 of her 29 points in the third quarter, and Maryland earned its most lopsided win over a top-10 opponent.
Abby Meyers added 22 points and Shyanne Sellers contributed 19 for the Terrapins (19-5, 10-3), who rebounded emphatically from their loss at No. 6 Iowa on Thursday night with a 36-point win.
Taylor Thierry scored 21 for Ohio State. The Buckeyes (20-4, 9-4 Big Ten) have dropped four of five since starting the season 19-0.
NO. 16 DUKE 57, NO. 9 NOTRE DAME 52
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Celeste Taylor scored 14 points in Duke&rsquo;s come-from-behind victory at Notre Dame.
Trailing for most of the game&rsquo;s first 28 minutes, the Blue Devils (20-3, 10-2 ACC) took the lead for good in the final two minutes of the third.
Maddy Westbeld led Notre Dame (18-4, 9-3) with 15 points and Sonia Citron scored 14.
LOUISVILLE 62, NO. 11 NORTH CAROLINA 55
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) &mdash; Chrislyn Carr scored 11 of her 17 points in the third quarter and Louisville ended North Carolina&rsquo;s eight-game winning streak.
Hailey Van Lith also had 17 points for the Cardinals (17-8, 8-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who made 9 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter of a game that was mostly a defensive struggle.
Deja Kelly scored 13 points but was just 3-of-16 shooting for the Tar Heels (17-6, 8-4), Paulina Paris added 12 points and Anya Poole had 10.
NO. 14 UCLA 82, ARIZONA STATE 63
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Charisma Osborne had 23 points, Londynn Jones added 20 off the bench, and UCLA pulled away in the second half to snap a three-game losing skid.
Gabriela Jaquez added 14 points off the bench for the Bruins (18-6, 7-5 Pac-12), who had a 42-6 advantage in bench scoring.
Tyi Skinner scored 28 points, Treasure Hunt 18 and Jaddan Simmons 10 for the Sun Devils (7-14, 0-12), who have lost 12 straight &mdash; the fifth-longest active streak in the nation.
NO. 18 MICHIGAN 77, MICHIGAN STATE 67
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Leigha Brown scored 19 of her 29 points in the second half and finished two assists shy of a triple-double to lead Michigan over rival Michigan State.
Brown scored 10 in the fourth quarter, eight from the foul line, and Maddie Nolan had two big 3-pointers in the fourth and scored 22 points for the Wolverines (19-5, 9-4 Big Ten Conference). Michigan pulled out a second-straight win without leading scored Laila Phelia, who has a lower leg injury.
Matilda Ekh and Moira Joiner both had 12 for the Spartans (11-12, 3-9), who lost their third straight since coach Susy Merchant had a medical issue and a minor car accident on Jan. 28. Dean Lockwood is the interim head coach. DeeDee Hagemann added 11 points and a season-high nine assists.
NO. 22 ARIZONA 81, SOUTHERN CAL 75, 2 OT
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Cate Reese scored a career-high 33 points, including four free throws in the last 7.5 seconds of the second overtime, to give Arizona the win over Southern Cal.
Shay Pellington and Jade Loville both had 17 points for the Wildcats (18-5, 8-4 Pac-12 Conference), who picked up a critical sweep in Los Angeles after beating No. 14 UCLA 71-66 in overtime on Friday.
Helena Pueyo had her only two points from the foul line with 15 seconds to go for a 77-73 Arizona lead, the first time it became a two possession game in the second overtime.
Destiny Littleton had 21 points for the Trojans (17-6, 7-5), playing all 50 minutes, as did Kadi Sissoko, who scored 15 points. Rayah Marshall had 17 points, 20 rebounds and six blocks in 48 minutes. Doumbia, a senior transfer from Purdue, had a career-high 17 in 28 minutes off the bench before fouling out in the first OT.

A recap of Sunday's action in women's college hoops includes a star-studded meeting between the Gamecocks and UConn Huskies.

South Carolina wins rematch of NCAA final to stay undefeated

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; KJ Adams scored a career-high 22 points and No. 2 Kansas closed the game on an 18-4 run to beat Oklahoma 79-75 on Tuesday night.
Kansas (14-1, 3-0 Big 12) got 17 points from Jalen Wilson, 11 from Dajuan Harris and 10 from Zach Clemence. The Jayhawks have won 22 straight games against Oklahoma in Allen Fieldhouse, including 16 straight under coach Bill Self.
Oklahoma (10-5, 1-2 Big 12) was led by Grant Sherfield&rsquo;s season-high 25 points. Sam Godwin added 12 points, Milos Uzan had 11 and Tanner Groves had 10.
Kansas went more than 12 minutes without a field goal in the second half, but Adams ended that streak with a thunderous dunk at the 5:06 mark.
NO. 5 TENNESSEE 77, VANDERBILT 68
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Santiago Vescovi and Julian Phillips each scored 15 points as Tennessee recovered from a halftime deficit to pull out a win over Vanderbilt.
Vescovi scored 12 of his points in the second half to lead the recovery for the Volunteers (14-2, 4-0 Southeastern Conference), who won their 25th straight game at Thompson-Boling Arena. Uros Plavsic contributed 11 points.
Vandy&rsquo;s 7-foot Liam Robbins won the battle of the big men with 18 points off the bench. Noah Shelby had 12 points and Jordan Wright added 13 for Vanderbilt (8-8, 1-2).
NO. 11 KANSAS STATE 65, OKLAHOMA STATE 57
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Markquis Nowell scored 20 points and found Keyontae Johnson for an alley-oop dunk with 38 seconds left as Kansas State held off Oklahoma State.
Johnson added 12 points and Desi Sills had 11 for the Wildcats (15-1, 4-0 Big 12), who won their ninth straight and matched their victory total from last season. Predicted to finish last in the Big 12, Kansas State went from unranked last week to just outside the top 10 in the AP poll.
Kalib Boone scored 23 points and Caleb Asberry had 15 for the Cowboys (9-7, 1-3), who have lost three of four, all by 10 points or fewer.
NO. 13 VIRGINIA 65, NORTH CAROLINA 58
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Ben Vander Plas had 17 points and eight rebounds and Virginia used a 17-2 second-half run to beat North Carolina, which lost leading scorer and rebounder Armando Bacot to a left ankle injury.
Reece Beekman scored 13 points and Armaan Franklin had 12 points and nine rebounds as the Cavaliers (12-3, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) won their eighth straight meeting with the Tar Heels at John Paul Jones Arena.
Bacot rolled his ankle 1:18 into the game and did not return. RJ Davis led the Tar Heels (11-6, 3-3) with 16 points and Caleb Love and Jalen Washington added 13 each. Washington, a freshman, played 27 minutes in Bacot&rsquo;s absence.
NO. 14 IOWA STATE 84, TEXAS TECH 50
AMES, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Gabe Kalscheur scored a season-high 25 points to help Iowa State roll past Texas Tech.
Kalscheur made five of six shots from 3-point range and was 10 of 14 overall as the Cyclones (13-2, 4-0 Big 12) coasted to their sixth straight win.
Jaren Holmes added 15 points. Caleb Grill finished with 14 after hitting four of his first six 3-pointers. Iowa State finished 12 of 22 from behind the arc.
De&rsquo;Vion Harmon led Tech (10-6, 0-4) with 14 points.
MICHIGAN STATE 69, NO. 18 WISCONSIN 65
MADISON, Wis. (AP) &mdash; A.J. Hoggard made a tiebreaking layup with 41 seconds left and Michigan State rallied past Wisconsin for its seventh consecutive victory in a game that had 14 lead changes.
Wisconsin (11-4, 3-2 Big Ten) was playing its second straight game without leading scorer and three-year starter Tyler Wahl, who averages 13.2 points per game.
Joey Hauser had 20 points for Michigan State (12-4, 4-1), which won its first road game since Dec. 7. Tyson Walker added 13 points, Jaden Akins 12 and Hoggard 10.
Steven Crowl scored 19 points, Chucky Hepburn 14 and Connor Essegian 13 for Wisconsin.
NO. 21 AUBURN 82, OLE MISS 73
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) &mdash; Wendell Green Jr. scored 23 points, including 18 in the second half, and Auburn dominated after halftime to beat Mississippi.
Auburn (13-3, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) trailed 35-34 at the break but put together runs of 6-0, 10-2 and 9-4 in the opening 10 minutes of the second half.
Johni Broome had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Allen Flanigan added 15 points and Jaylin Williams scored 11 for the Tigers, who shot 17 of 28 (60.7%) in the second half.
Matthew Murrell led Ole Miss (8-8, 0-4) with 24 points, adding six rebounds and four assists. Tye Fagan scored 13 points and Jaemyn Brakefield added 12 for the Rebels, who lost their fifth straight.
NO. 23 SAN DIEGO STATE 74, NEVADA 65
SAN DIEGO (AP) &mdash; Matt Bradley scored 17 points and Lamont Butler added 15 and San Diego State took sole possession of first place in the Mountain West Conference.
The Aztecs (13-3, 4-0 MWC) dominated on both ends of Steve Fisher Court in a showdown between the last two undefeated teams in the conference to extend their winning streak to six games. Keshad Johnson added 11 points for SDSU, which has beaten Nevada nine straight times.
Nick Davidson scored 17, Kenan Blackshear 12 and Jarod Lucas 11 for Nevada (14-4, 4-1), whose six-game winning streak was snapped.

A recap of Tuesday's men's top-25 action includes a career night from Jayhawks forward KJ Adams.

No. 2 Kansas extends home win streak against Oklahoma to 22

MILAN (AP) &mdash; The stars showed up at EuroBasket on Tuesday in a big way.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 41 points in 27 minutes for Greece, Luka Doncic had 36 points for Slovenia and two-time reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic scored 29 points for Serbia &mdash; three of the world&rsquo;s best players all leading their teams to big group-stage wins at the European championships.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Ain&rsquo;t nothing but a little Luka Magic 🪄 36 PTS 10 REB 4 AST<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroBasket?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroBasket</a><a href="https://t.co/hIo3xZOABm">pic.twitter.com/hIo3xZOABm</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1567255650132004865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

There&rsquo;s one more group-stage game left for each to play, and then a trip to Berlin awaits since Greece, Slovenia and Serbia have all clinched spots in the 16-team knockout round that begins Saturday.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Nikola Jokic had himself a night at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroBasket?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroBasket</a>. 🃏👀 29 PTS, 11 REB, 5 AST<a href="https://t.co/yqgLLMI2AS">pic.twitter.com/yqgLLMI2AS</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1567261660729032706?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Antetokounmpo&rsquo;s point total was the most in a EuroBasket game since Dirk Nowitzki had 43 for Germany in 2001. And when he heard that stat, all Antetokounmpo did was nod.
&ldquo;I try not to rate my performance,&rdquo; Antetokounmpo said. &ldquo;I just try to go out there and have fun as much as possible, try to focus as much as I can on what I can control, try to bring energy any way possible. ... But I&rsquo;ll say this: I think this is one of the years where I feel very, very excited to go out there on the court and play with my teammates.&rdquo;
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Giannis went OFF today in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroBasket?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroBasket</a>. 41 PTS 9 REB 72% FGM On fire. 🔥<a href="https://t.co/XRF620yKBK">pic.twitter.com/XRF620yKBK</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1567208097826963458?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2022</a></blockquote>

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As Antetokounmpo did, Doncic also deflected credit after the game. Told that Germany&rsquo;s postgame reaction was &ldquo;Luka Doncic happened,&rdquo; Doncic replied by saying &ldquo;Slovenia happened.&rdquo;
&ldquo;The whole team was ready,&rdquo; Doncic said. &ldquo;Everybody who stepped on the court was fighting, whether they played one minute or 30. I&rsquo;m really proud of this team.&rdquo;
Doncic was asked after the game if he or Antetokounmpo was in a better position to break the EuroBasket single-game scoring record.
Doncic didn&rsquo;t hesitate with his answer: He picked Antetokounmpo.
&ldquo;I would bet on Giannis,&rdquo; Doncic said. &ldquo;Why? Because he&rsquo;s Giannis Antetokounmpo.&rdquo;
GROUP C
GREECE 99, UKRAINE 79
At Milan, Antetokounmpo simply overpowered Ukraine and ensured that Greece would finish atop its group.
Antetokounmpo &mdash; who got Monday off to rest &mdash; had his 41 points and nine rebounds in just 27 minutes to lead Greece (4-0).
He was 13 for 18 from the floor, 15 for 18 from the foul line.
&ldquo;It was very easy to prepare the team because it is absolutely clear what Greece does when Giannis is out there,&rdquo; Ukraine coach Ainars Bagatskis said. &ldquo;They play really aggressive basketball. And if you don&rsquo;t put against them the same aggressiveness, even higher aggressiveness, then you have big problems.&rdquo;
Nick Calathes and Tyler Dorsey had 13 apiece for Greece.
Issuf Sanon and Svi Mykhailiuk each scored 16 for Ukraine (3-1), while Alex Len and Illya Sydorov added 10 apiece. Ukraine led by seven at the half, before Greece won the third quarter 32-11.
ESTONIA 94, GREAT BRITAIN 62
Henri Drell scored 20 points, Siim-Sander Vene added 18 and Estonia had no trouble on the way to its first win of the tournament.
Maik-Kalev Kotsar scored 15, Kristjan Kitsing added 14 and Janari Joesaar finished with 11 for Estonia (1-3).
Myles Hesson scored 14 for Great Britain (0-4), with Carl Wheatie and Patrick Whelan each scoring 12.
ITALY 81, CROATIA 76
Simone Fontecchio and Nicolo Melli each scored 19 points to lead Italy (2-2).
Bojan Bogdanovic led Croatia (2-2) with 27 points, while Ivica Zubac scored 13 and Dario Saric added 10.
Both teams are headed to the knockout round.
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GROUP B
SLOVENIA 88, GERMANY 80
At Cologne, Germany, Doncic&rsquo;s 36 points came with him making 14 of 25 shots. He also had 10 rebounds for Slovenia (3-1).
Goran Dragic scored 18 points and Mike Tobey added 10 for Slovenia.
&ldquo;We showed what we are made of,&rdquo; Dragic said.
Dennis Schroder scored 19 points, Andreas Obst had 14 and Maodo Lo added 13 for Germany (3-1).
LITHUANIA 87, HUNGARY 64
Lithuanian basketball is known for a lot of things, including passionate fans.
They go everywhere to cheer for their national team. And Tuesday, they even cheered for France &mdash; for good reason.
Lithuania topped Hungary and that, combined with France&rsquo;s win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, means the last qualifying spot out of Group B is still unclaimed. It&rsquo;ll be decided Wednesday when Lithuania plays Bosnia and Herzegovina, the winner moving on to Berlin and a round-of-16 game, the loser heading home eliminated.
&ldquo;Lithuanian fans are the best,&rdquo; France guard Evan Fournier said.
If France had lost Tuesday, Lithuania would have been eliminated. Instead, those Lithuanian fans serenaded the French with cries of &ldquo;Merci!&rdquo; for keeping their national team&rsquo;s hopes alive.
&ldquo;It feels amazing,&rdquo; Lithuania forward Domatas Sabonis said. &ldquo;They travel to every championship to support us. It&rsquo;s sad we couldn&rsquo;t give them a win over the weekend, but we&rsquo;re glad we could give them one today and the goal is to give them another one tomorrow.&rdquo;
Jonas Valanciunas scored 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting and Sabonis added 19 for Lithuania (1-3).
Marius Grigonis had 15 points and Rokas Jokubaitis added 10 for Lithuania. Zoltan Perl scored 16 for Hungary (0-4), while David Vojvoda and Rosco Allen each finished with 10.
FRANCE 81, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 68
Thomas Heurtel&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 5:49 left put France ahead to stay and started a game-ending 22-7 run for the winners, who were already assured of a spot in the round of 16.
Guerschon Yabusele scored 15 for France (3-1), while Heurtel and Fournier each had 14 and Rudy Gobert posted an 11-point, 12-rebound performance.
Jusuf Nurkic, Miralem Halilovic and Dzanan Musa all had 14 for Bosnia and Herzegovina (2-2), while John Roberson had 13 and Edin Atic finished with 10.
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GROUP A
TURKEY 78, BELGIUM 63
At Tbilisi, Georgia, Alperen Sengun scored 24 points, Furkan Korkmaz had 16 and Turkey (3-1) remained tied atop Group A.
Ercan Osmani added 12 for Turkey.
Haris Bratanovic scored 15 for Belgium (2-2) and Hans Vanwijn scored 11.
SPAIN 82, MONTENEGRO 65
Spain (3-1) clinched its berth in the round of 16, with Dario Brizuela leading the way with 18 points.
Willy Hernangomez scored 14 for Spain, while Jaime Pradilla and Lorenzo Brown added 12 apiece.
Vladimir Mihailovic scored 18 for Montenegro (2-2), which got 11 from Marko Simonovic and 10 from Kendrick Perry.
BULGARIA 92, GEORGIA 80
Dee Bost had 33 points and 12 assists, Aleksandar Vezenkov finished with 28 points and 14 rebounds, and Bulgaria kept its hopes alive.
Pavlin Ivanov scored 17 for Bulgaria (1-3).
Goga Bitadze scored 21 for Georgia (1-3), while Thaddus McFadden had 19, Alexander Mamukelashvili scored 13, and Giorgi Shermadini and Duda Sanadze scored 10 apiece.
GROUP D
SERBIA 89, ISRAEL 78
At Prague, Jokic was 11 of 13 from the floor and also grabbed 11 rebounds for Serbia (4-0), while Vasilije Micic added 19.
Nikola Kalinic and Ognjen Jaramaz each scored 10 for Serbia.
Yam Madar scored 20 for Israel (2-2), while Deni Avdija had 14 and Roman Sorkin added 11.
POLAND 75, NETHERLANDS 69
Poland was down by 13 in the third quarter before closing the game on a 39-20 run to tune up for its knockout-stage appearance.
Michal Sokolowski scored 24 for Poland (3-1), which got 16 from Aleksander Balcerowski and 10 from Jakub Garbacz.
Charlon Kloof led the Netherlands (0-4) with 26, and Yannick Franke scored 13.
FINLAND 98, CZECH REPUBLIC 88
Lauri Markkanen continued his strong tournament with 34 points and 10 rebounds, and Finland clinched its berth in the round of 16.
Sasu Salin scored 23 and Petteri Koponen added 14 for Finland, with Elias Valtonen finishing with 11.
Vojtech Hruban scored 22 for the Czech Republic, with Jan Vesely adding 15 and Patrik Auda and Jaromir Bohacik scoring 13 apiece. The Czechs play Israel on Thursday and, according to FIBA, could reach the knockout stage with a win.
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WEDNESDAY&rsquo;S SCHEDULE
First-round play in Groups A and B concludes, with Groups C and D getting the day off before they finish their round-robins on Thursday. Friday is an off day and the knockout round in Berlin starts Saturday.
Group A: Turkey (3-1) vs. Spain (3-1), Bulgaria (1-3) vs. Belgium (2-2), Georgia (1-3) vs. Montenegro (2-2). The Turkey-Spain winner will win the group. Bulgaria and Georgia are in must-win scenarios.
Group B: Lithuania (1-3) vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina (2-2), France (3-1) vs. Slovenia (3-1), Hungary (0-4) vs. Germany (3-1). France, Slovenia (which wins the group with a victory) and Germany have already qualified, Hungary is eliminated and the Lithuania-Bosnia game is the one that matters most.

Antetokounmpo scored 41 points in 27 minutes for Greece, Doncic had 36 points for Slovenia and reigning MVP Nikola Jokic scored 29 points for Serbia.

Stars shine bright: Giannis, Luka, Jokic lead at EuroBasket

Right before officially clinching their seventh Final Four berth this past weekend, the Villanova Wildcats lost junior guard Justin Moore, who had to be helped off the floor after a freak injury while dribbling to kill the clock with less than 45 seconds to go.
'Nova beat Houston 50-44 in the Elite Eight to become one of the last four standing teams in the Big Dance for the first time since 2018. However, it was announced days later that Moore &mdash; Villanova&rsquo;s second-leading scorer at 14.8 points per game on .397/.356/.750 shooting splits &mdash; ruptured his right Achilles tendon, prematurely ending his season.
Much of the basketball world united in comforting Moore during an excruciatingly awful time to receive such news, including Kevin Durant, who ruptured his own Achilles during the 2019 NBA Finals.
&ldquo;I texted Kevin; he called me,&rdquo; Wright recalled <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/college-sports/villanova/justin-moore-achilles-kevin-durant-villanova-20220331.html">to the Philadelphia Inquirer</a>. &ldquo;And Kevin said, &lsquo;I was watching that, and it looked just like &mdash; I knew it when he went down; it looked just like mine.&rsquo; So we talked for a while about it.
&ldquo;What was so impressive to me was, Durant said, &lsquo;I&rsquo;d like to talk to [Justin], talk to the parents about the process. I want to tell him that.&rsquo; He listed himself, Klay Thompson, a couple other guys I can&rsquo;t remember &mdash; he goes, 'Look, these guys had it in the NBA.' And people in the NBA know now that you can come back from that.&rdquo;
Moore wasn&rsquo;t just 'Nova&rsquo;s second-best scorer throughout the 2021-22 season, but the 6-foot-4 guard earned Second Team All-Big East honors and All-Big East Tournament honors earlier this month. Moore&rsquo;s been a starter in all three of his seasons at Villanova, and has seen his scoring averages jump from 11.3 to 12.9 to 14.8 points per game. This season, he netted a career-best 17.1 points per 40 minutes while also being the Wildcats&rsquo; best rebounding guard, pulling down 4.8 boards per contest.
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According to FiveThirtyEight, there have been six major injuries to Final Four bound teams in the Men&rsquo;s NCAA Tournament since 2010. Using the qualifier of players logging at least 20 minutes in an NCAA Tournament, these players include Kalin Lucas of Michigan State in 2010, Darryl Bryant of West Virginia that same year, Louisville&rsquo;s Kevin Ware (do not Google it if you&rsquo;re reading this during lunch) in 2013, Willie Cauley-Stein of Kentucky in 2014, Auburn&rsquo;s Chuma Okeke in 2019, and now Moore.
Lucas <a href="https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/tournament/2010/news/story?id=5017721" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ruptured his Achilles against Maryland</a> in Round 2, and the Spartans subsequently lost in the Final Four. Oddly enough, <a href="https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/tournament/2010/news/story?id=5022928" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bryant broke his foot in the same round</a>, and his Mountaineers were also eliminated in the Final Four. Ware had a gruesome injury against Duke in the Elite Eight, and his Cardinals are the only team of this specific group that became national champions so far. Cauley-Stein <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/2014/3/28/5559920/willie-cauley-stein-injury-kentucky-vs-louisville" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suffered a left ankle injury in Round 1</a>, and his Wildcats lost in the title game. And Okeke <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/2019/3/29/18287843/chuma-okeke-injury-bruce-pearl-crying-auburn-sweet-16-ncaa-tournament-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tore his ACL in the Sweet 16</a>; Auburn reached the Final Four round before having its season end.
So, how does 'Nova piece together the production and minutes to replace Moore? He&rsquo;s logged 35.9 minutes per game since the beginning of the Big East Tournament, and has led the Wildcats with 34.6 minutes per contest this season.
Collin Gillespie &mdash; the 2022 Big East Player of the Year, Big East Tournament MVP and Third-Team All-American &mdash; will likely be keyed in on that much harder against Kansas this weekend. (I mean, that&rsquo;s what you&rsquo;d all do if you were in charge of the Jayhawks' defense, right?)
Gillespie&rsquo;s dropping a team-best 15.6 points and 3.3 assists per game on .431/.409/.905 shooting splits. Team sixth-man Caleb Daniels, a 6-foot-4 guard like Moore, has averaged 10.2 points on .427/.377/.851 in 27.3 minutes per contest this season.
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Though the Villanova-Houston offense resembled the (lack of) effectiveness of the Brock Lesnar-Goldberg match at WrestleMania 20, Daniels came up big with 12 points in 35 minutes, even as it came on 4 of 16 shooting. Every point matters against Houston, who had become a tournament favorite with sportsbooks due to its defensive run to the Elite Eight.
Jermaine Samuels, who led the game with 16 points, is 'Nova&rsquo;s leading non-guard scorer at 11.1 points per contest. The 6-foot-7 big also pulls down a team-high 6.5 boards per contest while shooting 47.4% from the field and 77.3% on free throws. Eric Dixon and Brandon Slater are the other two starting forwards, and there, you have 'Nova&rsquo;s main minute-eaters.
Moore, Gillespie, Slater, Samuels, Daniels and Dixon are the only Wildcats averaging at least 10 minutes per game this season, ranging from 34.6 to 25.1 in the order they&rsquo;re listed.
At least one of the following two guys will have to step up going forward to really alleviate the non-Moore minutes. The first would be Bryan Antoine, a junior who has come off the bench for three seasons with the Wildcats and wasn&rsquo;t one of the seven players to log minutes against Houston. Antoine hasn&rsquo;t played more than 11 minutes in a game since Jan. 25 and has scored 2 points since Feb. 12 (seven games, 35 minutes), but has battled injuries of his own, which is why he didn&rsquo;t appear until December.
He <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/03/29/march-madness-justin-moore-injury-gives-bryan-antoine-big-chance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently told the New York Post</a> that &ldquo;I&rsquo;d say I&rsquo;m pretty confident. I&rsquo;ve had the same mindset from Day 1. It hasn&rsquo;t really changed for me. Obviously with the injuries, I have been set back, but I&rsquo;m still the same player from high school.&rdquo;
Three years ago, Antoine was a five-star, top-20 recruit and McDonald&rsquo;s All-American who <a href="https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/24575439/bryan-antoine-commits-villanova-wildcats" target="_blank" rel="noopener">chose Villanova over Duke, Florida, Kentucky, and Kansas</a>. The 6-foot-5 guard should have a chance to prove he can still resemble that as the Wildcat rotation now has to expand beyond six.
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The other guard in waiting is fellow 6-foot-5 junior Chris Arcidiacono, the brother of the Ryan. The younger Arcidiacono did log two minutes against Houston but hasn&rsquo;t cracked 10 since March 5, which is the only other time he&rsquo;s scored in a game since Feb. 22. <a href="https://villanovan.com/20381/sports/with-moore-out-its-time-for-arch-madness/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Per the Villanovan</a>, Arcidiacono downplayed his potentially increased role with a boring quote.
&ldquo;Really, nothing changes,&rdquo; Arcidiacono said. &ldquo;My role is I come off the bench, bring energy, and just make sure we&rsquo;re playing Villanova basketball for 40 minutes. So whenever I&rsquo;m in, I&rsquo;m going to help our team play Villanova basketball.&rdquo;
He&rsquo;s downplaying it here, but no doubt that it&rsquo;s possible both Antoine and Arcidiacono receive increased roles against Kansas this Saturday.
Villanova will need to squeeze everything they can out of their non-regulars in hopes of finding something unexpected to help their championship quest.
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Villanova played one game this season without Justin Moore --- an 85-74 win over UConn on February 5th in South Philadelphia. Chris Arcidiacono had nine points in 26 minutes off the bench. The Wildcats don't have what they had, but they still have enough. <a href="https://t.co/DckgK3BJyi">https://t.co/DckgK3BJyi</a>
&mdash; Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) <a href="https://twitter.com/JonRothstein/status/1508236981083553793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Bryan Fonseca looks at who 'Nova can turn to with Justin Moore sidelined for the rest of the NCAA Tournament.

Villanova will have to survive without Justin Moore in the Final Four

The Chicago Sky defeated the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday night, snagging Game 1 of their semifinal playoff series, 101-95.
With the win, the Sky were able to both steal home-court and snap the Sun's 17-game winning streak dating back to early July (!!!), while stressing out everybody who watched in the process. This sucker went to double&nbsp;overtime!
(As an aside: while the game was genuinely fun to watch, the Las Vegas Aces enthusiast in me was a bit annoyed that by the time the game ended, the Aces-Phoenix Mercury game had roughly two minutes left in the first half. Can ESPN do us a solid and build in a 30-minute window to space out these WNBA playoff games? Sky-Sun at 7:30 p.m. ET, Aces-Mercury at 10 p.m. ET would've alleviated the issue, if not eliminated it altogether.)
It was a night of balance for the Sky: four of the five starters scored in double figures, while three bench pieces (the overqualified-for-this-role Diamond DeShields, Stefanie Dolson and Astou Ndour-Fall) scored 9 points apiece.
Though Candace Parker had a headliner game &mdash; leading Chicago with 22 points, while adding 6 assists, 5 boards and a pair of steals &mdash; the star of this one was point guard Courtney Vandersloot. By logging 12 points, 10 rebounds and a ridiculous 18 assists, Vandersloot became the second player in WNBA history to log a triple-double in a playoff game.
Vandersloot is the W's assist maven, the #PointGawdess if you will, through that specific lens. She's everything you want in a passer: instinctive, creative, accurate, protective when necessary. Logging 18 assists while only tallying four turnovers (and only one of those came on an actual bad pass) is pretty nutty.&nbsp;
There's a reason she led the WNBA in assists this year (8.6). And last year (10.0). And the year before that (9.1). And the season prior to that one (8.6). Also, the year before that one (8.1). You'd have to go back to 2016 to find a year that Vandersloot didn't lead the league in dimes, and she finished fourth (4.7) that year.
I think you get my point.
What I want to do is highlight the different ways Vandersloot gets it done as a table-setter, using Tuesday night's historic outing as the template.
FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT
Every assist isn't SportsCenter worthy.
(Sadly, even most of the good times from the W don't make SportsCenter, but that's a rant for another day.)
Go through any high-volume assister's film, and it'll be littered with clips of entry passes, transition kick-aheads and swing-swing sequences that are pretty mundane. When you rack up as many dimes as Vandersloot does, that theory holds more than true.
But even in the simple stuff, I find myself impressed with Vandersloot's pass placement, velocity and sense of timing. Take her first dime of the night, for example.
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There's nothing particularly fancy about the design; it's a drag screen from wifey Allie Quigley being followed by a flare screen above the break. But peep when and where the pass comes: the ball hits Quigley in the hands at the moment Kaila Charles (No. 3) smacks into the screen. The placement of the pass allows Quigley, a career 39.9% three-point shooter, to flow into a triple smoothly and immediately.
Head coach James Wade draws up some funky stuff after dead balls. The playbook is completely open for him in part because Vandersloot can execute just about anything he can imagine. Imagine my glee when the Sky pulled out a Spain pick-and-roll from the dern sideline.
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The design is great in my unbiased opinion. Both Parker and Dolson have shooting equity; that spreads the Sun a bit thin as Vandersloot comes off the screen. The moment Vandersloot recognizes she has two to the ball, she fires a jump-pass to Dolson for the bucket.
MINOR MANIPULATION
If easy openings aren't there, Vandersloot has the mind to create them. Subtle movements, random pauses and the occasional fingerpoint are all weapons at her disposal to make defenders wrong. I love this third-quarter dime from her.
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Sun guard Jasmine Thomas is one of the W's best on-ball defenders, and has been for nearly a decade. She's aggressive and slithery across screens. There's a do-your-homework-early element to her game that makes life incredibly difficult for enemy guards.
Vandersloot uses all of that against her on this possession.
Instead of taking the handoff from Azura Stevens, Vandersloot reverses course. Thomas flies out of the play in anticipation of the handoff, forcing Brionna Jones to step out on the perimeter.
Due to the earlier cut from Kahleah Copper, and the general spacing on the weakside of the floor, Stevens is able to roll into a pocket of space with no real help in sight. The short jumper couldn't have been made easier.
THREADING THE NEEDLE
The fun passes are the ones that make you audibly gasp, yell profanity if that's your thing (it's not mine) or just yell in general.&nbsp;
There's a badge that's been around NBA 2K for a few seasons now called "Needle Threader." It's exactly what it sounds like: when equipped, it helps a player complete tight-window passes that would normally be deflected and/or stolen if attempted by mere mortals.
Vandersloot has that baby on "Gold" in 2K22, and for good reason.
Look at this nonsense.
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The Sky go with "Chicago" action &mdash; a pindown that flows into a dribble handoff &mdash; to jump-start the possession. Vandersloot gets shut down going downhill, then fires a freakin' dart&nbsp;to a cutting Parker for the layup. I would be&nbsp;pissed&nbsp;if I was Jonquel Jones on this play. What more could you even do there?
That wouldn't be the last time Vandersloot would find Parker in an overtime period. How about this Golden State Warriors-esque sequence from the second OT?
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It's the "how do you defend this super elite movement shooter when coming off a screen from a skilled big" question that wrecked the NBA in the late 2010s. The initial action doesn't generate anything, so Quigley hightails it to the left side of the floor.
Parker sets a screen for Quigley. DeWanna Bonner gets caught flat-footed for a literal half-second while tracking the action; that's all it takes for Parker to slip behind her, and for Vandersloot to make a pass any quarterback would be proud of.
The jury is out on if the Sky can rack up two more wins to advance to the Finals. There's some low-hanging fruit for the top-seeded Sun to grab for Game 2, like, I don't know, involving your MVP down the stretch of the game.
For however long the Sky will be available for viewership, treat yourself to the musical stylings of Courtney Vandersloot. You won't be disappointed.

Nekias Duncan breaks down the passing excellence of Chicago Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot.

Dime Fest: Breaking down Courtney Vandersloot's historic night

NEW YORK (AP) — Julius Randle and the New York Knicks will open the NBA playoffs at home.
Randle capped his All-Star season with 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and the Knicks beat the Boston Celtics 96-92 on Sunday to clinch the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.
RJ Barrett scored 22 points for the Knicks, who won their third straight to finish 41-31 and set up a first-round series with the Atlanta Hawks. The Knicks are headed to the playoffs for the first time since winning the Atlantic Division title in 2012-13.
They needed a win Sunday to assure themselves of playing at Madison Square Garden next weekend and got plenty of help from the Celtics, who were already locked into the play-in tournament at the No. 7 spot and rested all their top players.
Boston cut a 21-point deficit to three in the final minutes, but Nerlens Noel had two big blocked shots before Randle hit a free throw to close the scoring.
The Knicks entered the day tied with the Hawks, who played later Sunday against Houston, but own the tiebreaker if they finish with the same record after sweeping the three-game season series.
The Knicks were one of the NBA's biggest surprises in Tom Thibodeau's first season after having little to no playoff expectations outside the organization. But they play the rugged defense characteristic of his teams and got much-improved play from Randle and Barrett to strengthen the offense as the season went on.
Boston was a disappointment, finishing 36-36, but can still make the postseason with a win in the play-in tournament. The Celtics will host No. 8 Washington on Tuesday.
They sat Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker, Evan Fournier, Marcus Smart, Tristan Thompson and Robert Williams to rest for that game. Jaylen Brown was already lost for the season after wrist surgery.
Jabari Parker scored 18 points for Boston, which led 24-23 after one quarter but then shot 4 for 20 in the second.
The game was tied at 35 before the Knicks closed the first half with a 19-4 kick, including a pair of 3-pointers from Alec Burks. The second triggered a 12-0 surge to finish it, extending the lead to 54-39.
TIP-INS
Celtics: Coach Brad Stevens said the team will find out more about the status of the players who sat out Sunday when they practice Monday. He said some are potentially available but others not.
Knicks: Burks scored 17 points. ... The Knicks honored television announcer Mike Breen on his Hall of Fame induction during a first-quarter timeout.
MORE HALL OF FAMERS
Mike Gorman and George Kalinsky will be honored with the 2021 Hall of Fame's Curt Gowdy media awards that Breen earned for 2020. Gorman is celebrating 40 years broadcasting Celtics games. Kalinsky has been the official photographer of Madison Square Garden since 1966.
RANDLE'S RECOGNITION
Randle became just the sixth player to average 24 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in a season, joining Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird, along with Russell Westbrook and Nikola Jokic.
“As I’ve said all along, he’s our engine. He’s had a terrific season and for me personally I’m glad that he’s being recognized," Thibodeau said. "But the most important thing is the impact he’s had on winning and that’s where I want our focus to be. There’s a lot of people who can get stats in this league and it doesn’t impact winning.”
UP NEXT
Celtics: Host Washington in a play-in game Tuesday.
Knicks: Host Atlanta next weekend.
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Julius Randle and the New York Knicks will open the NBA playoffs at home as the fourth seed.

Kalil