Shock

Josh Childress is a retired American basketball player who played three years at Stanford University, where he became an AP first-team All-American, consensus second-team All-American, the Pac-10 Conference Player of the Year and Pac-10 Conference Tournament MVP as a junior in 2004.&nbsp;
He was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, becoming the highest Stanford player to be drafted in the NBA. While Childress played in the NBA for the Hawks (2004-2008), Phoenix Suns (2010-2012), Brooklyn Nets (2012) and New Orleans Pelicans (2013), he made a name for himself overseas when he moved to Greece to play for Olympiacos from 2008 to 2010.&nbsp;
Childress had a fruitful career overseas, playing in leagues like the NBL (with the Sydney Kings and Adelaide 36ers) in Australia and the B-League (with the San-en Neo Phoenix) in Japan. Over the course of his 15-year basketball career, Childress averaged 9.1 points and earned a number of honors including All-NBL first team, NBL top scorer, All-Euroleague second team, Greek League top scorer, Greek League best defender and NBA All-Rookie second team.
Now, the 40-year-old Childress is an investor in the East Asian Super League, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/east-asia-super-league-set-to-have-its-biggest-event-yet-in-cebu">a rapidly growing league across East Asia.</a> During the EASL's Final Four in the Philippines, Childress spoke with BasketballNews&rsquo; Mon Anthony L. Valmoria to share what he is up to nowadays, his venture with the EASL, his fond NBA memories, his journey playing overseas and more.
You are an investor in the EASL. When did this happen?&nbsp;
Josh Childress: &ldquo;I started as an investor last year, last summer. I talked about seeing the opportunity [to] kind of &lsquo;bridge&rsquo; the gap between the countries in Asian basketball and it's a fantastic opportunity to do that. So EASL did a great job here in its first year and we hope to build on this moving forward.&rdquo;
Why invest in the EASL? Why do you think it will be a successful league?
Childress: &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s bringing together a bunch of different countries and leagues that have all increasingly gotten better and I think if you can find a way to connect Asian basketball across the board, it will be a fantastic league. A fantastic opportunity for fans, media and the players. So, I&rsquo;m hopeful that when this tournament &ndash; this Final Four &ndash; has more traction, you get more countries involved in the league and have some great basketball.&rdquo;
After your 15-year playing career, what are you up to these days?
Childress: &ldquo;I have an investment company. I run investments; we do real estate, we do sports properties, we do stuff like this (the EASL). We invest in a bunch of different things and I run it full-time &ndash; that&rsquo;s what keeps me busy these days.&rdquo;
Watching the EASL games and seeing how basketball is played over here, how would you describe the brand of basketball that's played on this side of the world?
Childress: &ldquo;It is very physical and very fast-paced. We&rsquo;ve seen really exciting games here and I think players here are playing for pride. There&rsquo;s obviously a nice prize &ndash; a cash prize &ndash; at the end of it. But at this point, it&rsquo;s just pride and making sure that you win and you&rsquo;re the champion of Asia. So I think [basketball here] is really exciting.&rdquo;
Let's talk about your experiences as an NBA player. What are your fondest memories from your playing days?
Childress: &ldquo;Most of your memories are around your teammates, you know? Around the locker room like how fun that was, those plane rides, just the camaraderie you have with your team &ndash; that&rsquo;s the thing that I missed the most about playing. The friendships and the teammates that you have over the years.&rdquo;
Speaking of your teammates, you played with a lot of teams in the NBA &ndash; who was your favorite teammate?&nbsp;
Childress: &ldquo;They were all my favorites (smiles). But I&rsquo;d say between Marvin Williams, Zaza Pachulia, Josh Smith, Joe [Johnson], Tyronn Lue, Mike Bibby &ndash; all those guys were great teammates. I&rsquo;m very thankful that I had the opportunity to play with them.&rdquo;
What is your best NBA memory?
Childress: &ldquo;Getting drafted. I mean, that&rsquo;s a dream come true. It&rsquo;s something that, as a kid, you always see on TV. So, that was an amazing experience.&rdquo;
When it comes to American NBA players deciding to play overseas, you were one of the pioneers. What were the pros and cons?
Childress: &ldquo;It was something that has been done before, but it was a great experience. I loved playing in Greece &ndash; the fans were amazing. I got the chance to experience European basketball, which was different. The pros and the cons are that it sets you up in a situation where you&rsquo;re playing a different style of basketball and having to figure out how to play there. But that was so much fun, you&rsquo;re in very hostile environments playing against teams that you never knew existed and having the chance to compete at a high level. So, I loved my time in Europe. In the EuroLeague, basketball was fantastic; in the Greek league, it was fantastic. So hopefully we can mirror that EuroLeague style format here with the EASL.&rdquo;
Other than monetary considerations, what would you advise fellow Americans about the decision to play overseas? What other factors do you think are crucial in choosing where to play?
Childress: &ldquo;I think the biggest thing is playing style &ndash; you know, going somewhere your style of play fits [in with] where you&rsquo;re going &ndash; or having the opportunity of playing a lot of minutes. I know some guys that are going to certain countries that may pay a little bit less, but they know they&rsquo;re going to play a lot, they&rsquo;re going to play their game. And that will lead them to those opportunities for success with bigger contracts and moving the following year. So, always make sure you go somewhere where you can be the best version of yourself and play at a high level.&rdquo;

Josh Childress shares what he's up to nowadays, his EASL investment, his NBA memories and his journey playing overseas.

Q&A: Josh Childress on NBA journey, EASL investment, overseas hoops

With the 2023-24 NBA season fast approaching, discussions are beginning to ramp up surrounding team expectations. Which teams are the early favorites and contenders? Which teams are just wishful thinkers? These topics are debated often, usually leading to a select number of teams facing win-or-bust expectations.&nbsp;
But, of course, there can only be one team in June that hoists the Larry O&rsquo;Brien.&nbsp;
Entering a season with championship expectations isn&rsquo;t easy, as <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-james-posey-championship-expectations-boston-celtics-doc-rivers-kevin-garnett-paul-pierce-ray-allen-cleveland-cavaliers-lebron-james-tyronn-lue-miami-heat-pat-riley-shaquille-o-neal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Basketball News&rsquo; James Posey highlighted in this recent article</a>. Which teams fall into the win-or-bust category for the 2023-24 season? Let&rsquo;s look at two teams &ndash; one from each conference &ndash; who qualify.&nbsp;
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
The Los Angeles Lakers have dealt with championship aspirations and expectations maybe more than any other team in NBA history. With 17 championships, which is tied with the Boston Celtics for the most all-time, it's clear why. This franchise is used to collecting hardware by season&rsquo;s end, and did so as recently as 2020, defeating the Miami Heat to win the championship in the midst of a global pandemic and in the wake of the passing of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.&nbsp;
So, how can a team that won a title in recent years already be facing pressure to win again?
The Lakers, led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis, are heading into this season fresh off a clean sweep in the Western Conference Finals by the eventual-champion Denver Nuggets. While seemingly negative on paper, the season was largely viewed as a success, as nobody expected this squad to make a Conference-Finals run after starting an abysmal 2-10.&nbsp;
How did they turn their season around? By ending the Russell Westbrook experiment, the Lakers landed D&rsquo;Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt in a trade, in addition to trading for Rui Hachimura. These three, along with a blossoming Austin Reaves and a rejuvenated James and Davis, brought the Lakers to familiar heights &ndash; defeating the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round and taking down the then-defending-champion Golden State Warriors in round two.&nbsp;
It was clear that the Lakers fixed their mistakes and were back on course. Even the naysayers had to tip their cap after the team&rsquo;s surprising Western Conference Finals run.
Now comes the familiar pressure.&nbsp;
This offseason, Lakers were able to keep last year&rsquo;s core together, re-signing Russell, Reaves and Hachimura, while adding quality role players in Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Jaxson Hayes and Cam Reddish. This is really the first time in the LeBron-Lakers era that the team has been given the green light to try again for a second season. Seeing as the team didn&rsquo;t come together until late last season, it would have been very much in the Lakers&rsquo; nature to come into this year with a completely different-looking team. Instead, the front office chose to run it back, aside from some changes on the margins. This decision is what puts them in the win-or-bust category.&nbsp;
With LeBron entering his 21st NBA season, that sentiment is stronger than ever. The Lakers have to take advantage of the fact that James is still playing at such a high level so late in his career. Being a sports team in Hollywood (especially one with 17 championships) you need to not only have the stars, you need to win. If the Lakers have stars but aren&rsquo;t winning, then they are essentially just becoming their neighbors, the Angels. The Lakers have the script ready for them, but we&rsquo;ll have to wait and see if they can top the box office.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
 
With the Philadelphia 76ers coming off their second-round exit in the 2023 NBA Playoffs courtesy of the Boston Celtics in seven games, there&rsquo;s pressure to take the next step and win a championship. This pressure isn&rsquo;t new; they&rsquo;ve been feeling it for several years.&nbsp;
Superstar center Joel Embiid won his first Most Valuable Player award last season, giving the 76ers two MVPs on the team, with James Harden being the other. While the duo has looked good in the short time they&rsquo;ve been together, they haven&rsquo;t looked like two MVPs playing side-by-side. This is especially true in the postseason, with Embiid and Harden both known for sometimes regressing in playoff series compared to the regular season. 
The fact that Doc Rivers was the team&rsquo;s head coach, a man who has coached three teams that all lost a playoff series after being up 3-1 and someone who has a 6-10 record in Game 7s, certainly didn&rsquo;t help. There's no question that he also deserves his fair share of blame for the team&rsquo;s issues. All of this, along with the lingering effects of the Ben Simmons debacle, came to a head last season.&nbsp;
This offseason, the team parted ways with Rivers, and Harden requested a trade. While Harden has yet to be traded and it is possible he remains with the team, the Sixers obviously aren&rsquo;t in an ideal state. It remains to be seen what kind of pieces they can get back for Harden.
In the meantime, the Sixers hired former Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse to replace Rivers. Nurse is a great coach who won a championship in 2019 and the NBA's Coach of the Year award in 2020. But if the team begins to underperform, a new coach &ndash; especially one who&rsquo;s known for previously incorporating a rougher defensive style when it came to guarding Embiid &ndash; could become an easy target for blame for the Philly faithful.&nbsp;
The 76ers might have more pressure on them than any other team this upcoming season. The reigning MVP, a former MVP (or the trade package they can get for him), a former Coach of the Year and a solid supporting cast mean this team is built to win now. This team is no stranger to win-or-bust expectations, but this may be the most pressure they&rsquo;ve faced yet.&nbsp;

Jack Maguire examines two teams facing win-or-bust expectations entering the 2023-24 NBA season.

Which NBA teams are under the most pressure entering 2023-24 season?

Today, the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) announced their continued partnership in hosting the fifth&nbsp;annual Top 50 Basketball Camp. The camp will take place July 27&ndash;29 at Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, GA. &nbsp; The best players from each conference will be featured at the camp in a model like the NBPA's Top 100 Camp. Players at the Top 50 Camp will participate in basketball skill training exercises and attend leadership and life development sessions off the court. &nbsp; "NBPA members have a true appreciation for HBCUs, and the Top 50 Camp is a great way for the NBPA to continue strengthening its connection with the HBCU community," said Purvis Short, the NBPA's Chief of Player Programs. "Our partnership with the SIAC and SWAC has given us a unique opportunity to host a productive learning experience for HBCU athletes to better themselves as men on and off the court." The camp also aims to cultivate and create coaching and talent pipelines for current and retired NBA players exploring the transition into careers in intercollegiate athletics. &nbsp; "The Southwestern Athletic Conference is elated to continue our partnership with the NBPA Top 50 Camp," said SWAC Commissioner Dr. Charles McClelland. "This partnership is an amazing opportunity for our student-athletes to participate in athletic and professional development initiatives that will positively impact them both on and off the court. This event has steadily grown and has quickly become a signature event that our student-athletes look forward to participating in on an annual basis." &nbsp; In addition to skill development and on-court drills, the camp will include a series of highly-competitive scrimmages and games, allowing the players to showcase their talent against the best of their neighboring conference. &nbsp; "I commend the NBPA for its commitment to HBCUs as The Top 50 Camp serves as a basketball combine for our student-athletes to showcase their talents while receiving instruction from current and former NBA players," said SIAC Commissioner Anthony Holloman. &nbsp; Camp participants from the SIAC include:
<table border="0" width="432" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">First Name</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Last Name</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">College or University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Aziel</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Blackwell</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kentucky State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Devin</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Booker</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Tuskegee University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Eleik</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Bowles</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Savannah State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Gregg</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Boyd II</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Tuskegee University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Steven</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Dulley</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Tuskegee University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Ashton</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Hawkins</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Spring Hill College</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Martez</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jones</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Tuskegee University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Robert</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kendrick</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Fort Valley State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kong</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kong</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kentucky State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Myson</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Lowe</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Fort Valley State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Steven</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Lyles</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Spring Hill College</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Chris</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Martin</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Clark Atlanta University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Joemel</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">McNair</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Morehouse College</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jamir</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Moore</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Albany State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Sean</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Paige</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Central State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Ayjay</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Plain</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Savannah State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Antwoin</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Reed Jr</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Central State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kerry</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Richardson</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Morehouse College</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jordan</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Simpson</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Albany State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Raevon</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Thomas</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Central State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Terin</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Wofford</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Albany State University</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div>&nbsp; &nbsp; Camp participants from the SWAC include: &nbsp;</div>
<table border="0" width="432" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">First Name</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Last Name</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">College or University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Chase</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Adams</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jackson State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jaylen</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Bates</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Florida A&amp;M University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Eric</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Coleman</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama State</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Zeke</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Cook</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jackson State university</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Dhashon</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Dyson</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Bethune Cookman University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Ken</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Evans Jr.</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jackson State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jeremiah</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Gambrell</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alcorn State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kolby</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Granger</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Texas Southern University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Zion</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Harmon</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Bethune Cookman University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">P. J.</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Henry</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Texas Southern University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Elijah</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Hulsewe</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Bethune Cookman University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Byron</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Joshua</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alcorn State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jeremiah</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kendall</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alcorn State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">T. J.</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Madlock</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama State</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Romelle</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Mansel</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jackson State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Kylen</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Milton</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">University of Arkansas Pine Bluff</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Zytarious</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Mortle</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Texas Southern University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Festus</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Ndumanya</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Southern University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Omari</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Peek</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama A&amp;M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Dailin</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Smith</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama A&amp;M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">D. K.</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Thorn</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alcorn State University</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Cameron</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Tucker</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama A&amp;M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Ernest (EJ)</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Williams</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Alabama A&amp;M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Rashad</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Williams</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">University of Arkansas Pine Bluff</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Coltie</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Young</td>
<td nowrap="nowrap">Jackson State University</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

The NBPA, SIAC and SWAC will host the fifth annual Top 50 Basketball Camp from July 27-29 in Atlanta.

NBPA, SIAC and SWAC to host 5th annual Top 50 Basketball Camp

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

NBA announces 242 early-entry candidates for 2023 NBA Draft

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; If anyone needed any proof of how confident Paul George and the Los Angeles Clippers are feeling, it came late in the second quarter of their game against the San Antonio Spurs.
George stole the ball from Zach Collins after a bad pass by Stanley Johnson, dribbled down the court and threw down a windmill dunk to give the Clippers a 20-point advantage.
The dunk was part of a 35-point night by George as the Clippers extended their winning streak to a season-high four games with a 138-100 rout on Thursday night.
&ldquo;My body has been feeling pretty good, and I have been working a ton to stay healthy and keep it that way,&rdquo; said George, who is averaging 22.4 points after he missed five games earlier this month due to right hamstring soreness. &ldquo;Everything is kind of falling into place at this point. We&rsquo;re healthy and starting to figure out our rotations.&rdquo;
It was the fifth time this season George has had at least 35 points. He was 14 of 19 from the field, including 5 of 8 from beyond the arc as the Clippers posted their largest winning margin since 2021. It was the 11th time since 2013 they have won a game by at least 38 points.
Kawhi Leonard added 27 points and was 10 of 16 from the field.
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&ldquo;We just have to continue to keep building. We&rsquo;re trending upwards, but we still got a long ways to go, but I like where we&rsquo;re at right now.,&rdquo; Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said.
Keldon Johnson scored 19 points for San Antonio, while Isaiah Roby had 14 and Keita Bates-Diop 13. The Spurs have dropped nine of their last 10 and 12 of their 14.
&ldquo;We played hard. Got our butts kicked. Hopefully learned some things. Go home and start up again,&rdquo; said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, whose postgame remarks went just 15 seconds.
It was the fifth time this season San Antonio has lost a game by 35 or more points.
The Clippers have won seven of their past nine against the Spurs and swept the four-game season series for the first time since 1996-97.
Los Angeles, which shot 58.4% from the field and made 18 3-pointers, led the entire game. It had a double-digit lead for the final 38 minutes and was up 41-25 at the end of the first quarter.
&ldquo;When they&rsquo;re hitting shots like they were tonight and active on defense, that&rsquo;s what makes them special,&rdquo; said Bates-Diop about George and Leonard.
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ROAD WOES
San Antonio lost for the 18th time in 23 road games and has dropped 10 straight away from home. It is the fifth time in franchise history the Spurs have dropped at least 10 straight road games in a season. Their in-season longest road losing streak is 12 set during the 1985-86 season.
The Spurs&rsquo; overall away losing mark is 22 games, which started in the 1988-89 season and extended to the following campaign.
TIP-INS
Spurs: Fell to 1-8 in the second game of a back-to-back. ... Rookie Jeremy Sochan did not play after sustaining a quad injury during the fourth quarter Wednesday.
Clippers: Luke Kennard returned to the lineup and had five points in 17 minutes. Kennard has missed 20 games this season due to a right calf injury. ... Marcus Morris Sr. did not play due to a rib contusion. ... Norman Powell had 15 points off the bench and Robert Covington added 13. ... Leonard made two 3-pointers to reach 900 for his career.
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Paul George scored 35 points as the Clippers extended their winning streak to a season-high four games with a 138-100 rout of the Spurs.

Clippers extend win streak to 4 with 138-100 rout of Spurs

DETROIT (AP) &mdash; Paul George scored 32 points and the Los Angeles Clippers overcame a 14-point deficit in the final 3:34 of regulation to beat the Detroit Pistons 142-131 in overtime on Monday night.
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue pulled his starters when his team fell behind 126-112, but a lineup of Luke Kennard, Terance Mann, Amir Coffey, Nicolas Batum and Moses Brown finished the fourth quarter with a 16-2 run. Mann hit a tying jumper with 5 seconds left in regulation.
&ldquo;You have to give those guys credit for staying ready,&rdquo; Lue said. &ldquo;They came out and played with some urgency. Amir and Moses hadn't played in the game, so for them to come in and produce like the way they did was huge."
Los Angeles then outscored Detroit 14-3 in the extra period.
Ivica Zubac added 12 points and 15 rebounds for Los Angeles, which has beaten Detroit eight straight times. The Clippers had seven players score in double figures.
Bojan Bogdanovic led Detroit with 23 points, including the Pistons' only field goal of the last eight minutes. Isaiah Stewart added 21 points for NBA-worst Detroit.
&ldquo;We were down 15 points in the third quarter, fought our way back, got the lead and had a comfortable lead with three minutes left,&rdquo; Pistons Dwane Casey said. &ldquo;They threw in the towel and we have to learn how to win that game. I'm proud of the way we put ourselves into position to beat one of the best teams in the West, but we didn't get it."
George scored five points in the first minute of overtime, and baskets by Kennard and Mann gave the Clippers a 138-131 lead with 2:45 left.
The Clippers led by five at the half and expanded the margin to 88-73 midway through the third quarter. However, the Pistons answered with a 21-5 run, taking a 92-91 lead on Stewart's dunk.
Stewart&rsquo;s 3-pointer made it 119-112 with 5:23 left. After a Clippers miss, Bogdanovic's short jumper put the Pistons up by nine and forced Lue to call timeout.
Stewart&rsquo;s three-point play with 3:34 left capped off a 53-24 stretch that started with 6:48 left in the third quarter. From there, the Pistons shot 1 of 12 with five turnovers and two missed free throws.
&ldquo;They took their starters out and we thought the game was over,&rdquo; Stewart said. &ldquo;We had the lead and we didn't finish the game. That's completely on us, not the coaches.&rdquo;
Bogdanovic hit a 3-pointer on Detroit's first possession of overtime, but the Pistons missed their last five shots and turned the ball over three times.
&ldquo;I thought our defense is what changed the game,&rdquo; Lue said. &ldquo;We were rebounding the ball and we had deflections and steals.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Clippers: Haven't lost to the Pistons since Jan. 12, 2019, when they fell 109-104 at Detroit. ... Kennard scored 18 points, and Marcus Morris, John Wall and Norman Powell each had 16.
Pistons: Came into the game averaging a league-high 46.7 bench points in December, but were outscored 61-39 by the Los Angeles reserves. ... Had eight players in double figures for the first time since Nov. 22 against the New York Knicks. ... Jalen Duren had 15 points and 12 rebounds.
GETTING EVERYONE INVOLVED
The Clippers used 11 players and all of them scored, with Coffey and Brown the only two who didn't reach five points.
&nbsp;

Paul George scored 32 points and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Detroit Pistons 142-131 in overtime.

George, Clippers rally late, beat Pistons 142-131 in OT

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Mikal Bridges scored 27 points, Chris Paul added 15 points and 13 assists and the Phoenix Suns snapped a five-game losing streak with a 111-95 victory over the depleted Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night.
Devin Booker scored 14 points in his return from a two-game absence with a hamstring injury for the Suns, whose longest skid in three years ended with a blowout of a Clippers lineup missing most of its important players. Phoenix took a 27-point lead in the first half and maintained a comfortable double-digit margin while closing out just its second win in eight games in December.
&ldquo;Ain't no easy nights in this league,&rdquo; said Bridges, who went 11 for 18. &ldquo;I know they were missing some players, but they're still in the league. We came out here and we played hard. Felt good to make some shots early.&rdquo;
Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Norman Powell, Reggie Jackson and Ivica Zubac didn't play, leaving Los Angeles without its top three scorers, four of its starters Wednesday in a victory over Minnesota, and five regular rotation players averaging a combined 74.5 points and 28.4 rebounds per game.
The Suns also were depleted: Deandre Ayton couldn&rsquo;t play after injuring his ankle in the first half of Phoenix&rsquo;s loss at Houston on Tuesday, and Cameron Payne sat out with a foot injury that incurred in the same game.
&ldquo;I'm happy we finally got a win out of this road trip, and we're going to try to keep this train moving," Paul said.
Although Booker struggled with his shot from all ranges, going 6 for 22 and missing eight of his nine 3-point attempts, Bridges rebounded sharply from a 4-for-24 shooting effort against the Rockets.
&ldquo;He's a prideful player,&rdquo; Suns coach Monty Williams said. &ldquo;He needed a forklift to get his lip off the ground the other night, he was so down about his performance. ... When he's shooting the ball like (tonight), we're a pretty good team.&rdquo;
Terance Mann scored a season-high 22 points for the Clippers, whose three-game winning streak ended. John Wall had 12 points and five assists in his second start for LA after sitting out Wednesday&rsquo;s game with knee soreness.
&ldquo;In the second half, we did a better job of attacking the paint and trying to make a play,&rdquo; Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. &ldquo;We didn't do that in the first half. I'm just proud of our guys to keep competing and keep trying to play the right way.&rdquo;
Leonard sat out for the 21st time this season to rest his surgically repaired right knee. George sat for the ninth time this season, citing left knee soreness after playing in the previous six games.
Without their dynamic duo, the Clippers couldn&rsquo;t come close to the standard they set in two home games over the previous three days, beating the NBA-leading Boston Celtics and the Timberwolves.
&ldquo;It's definitely real frustrating when we had a good thing going, had a nice little rhythm, figuring stuff out again, about to start a nice little win streak, I thought, and this happens,&rdquo; Mann said. &ldquo;We've just got to figure it out from here now.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Suns: Bismack Biyombo had five points, five rebounds and five fouls while starting in place of Ayton. ... Cameron Johnson missed his 21st straight game while recovering from knee surgery. ... Jock Landale had 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Clippers: Zubac left Wednesday's game with left knee pain. ... Powell hasn't played since November due to a groin injury. ... Jackson sat out for the second time in four games with a left Achilles injury.
&nbsp;

Mikal Bridges scored 27 points, and the Suns snapped a five-game losing streak with a 111-95 victory over the depleted Clippers.

Suns snap 5-game skid with 111-95 win over depleted Clippers

Over the past few seasons, the talk around the DMV in regards to the Maryland Terrapins has been an abundance of criticism, frustration and disappointment. It seemed as though Maryland basketball as a whole had lost its luster. Even the Xfinity Center wasn't the same &mdash; it was no longer an electric atmosphere.&nbsp;
Many will attempt to attribute the decrease in fan attendance and overall participation to COVID, but those in the know will tell you that that&rsquo;s not 100% accurate. The fact of the matter is: while the Xfinity Center was once one of the BIG 10's most difficult arenas for opposing teams to play in, it had lost its sizzle.&nbsp;
However, Friday night was a return to the good ol' days, as a sold-out Xfinity Center was buzzing with an atmosphere usually seen during March Madness. No. 22 Maryland beat No. 16 Illinois 71-66, bringing their record to 8-0. This was the first big home game of the Kevin Willard era and possibly the biggest home game since the pandemic. The student section was rocking, the band was playing, and there was a sea of fans dressed in gold for the annual &ldquo;gold rush&rdquo; game. This atmosphere was exactly what many Maryland fans had been longing for.
I caught up with Lonny Baxter and Byron Mouton &mdash; two members of the 2001-02 Maryland championship team &mdash; to get their thoughts on their alma mater&rsquo;s red-hot start, which has the entire DMV buzzing.&nbsp;
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Etan Thomas: Your team is looking good. They've started off 8-0 and got a really nice win last night against a good Illinois team. How does it feel, seeing how Maryland is playing right now?&nbsp;
Lonny Baxter: "Oh man, I&rsquo;m super proud. We&rsquo;ve had some up-and-down years over the past few years. And to see this team &mdash; which is technically a 'rebuild team' &mdash; doing as well as they are, I think we are surprising a lot of people who weren&rsquo;t expecting much from us this season. But we are opening a lot of people&rsquo;s eyes. Coach Willard has come in and done a tremendous job right from the jump. We&rsquo;re really looking good right now."
Thomas: You mentioned Coach Willard, and there was initially some skepticism when he was hired &mdash; talk of him not technically being from within the Maryland program, etc. But immediately upon arrival, he made it clear that he was going to have an emphasis on local DMV players, which has been a criticism of Maryland for quite some time now, as you know. He had three high recruits right from the DMV: Jamie Kaiser, DeShawn Harris-Smith and Jahnathan Lamothe. And the point guard from the transfer portal, Jahmir Young, is from the DMV as well. How much has he shifted the narrative locally with this start?&nbsp;
Baxter: "Not only that, he also hired two great assistants from the DMV who are both good friends of mine: David Cox and Tony Skinn. They know the area, they have relationships locally whether it&rsquo;s high schools or AAU programs, and they are doing a great job of changing that very narrative you were talking about. David Cox had me come up to the school and showed me around, introduced me to all the guys, told them the history of this program (which I am blessed to be a part of) and really made an effort to connect everything to the community, and that&rsquo;s what we need."
Thomas: I hear a lot of announcers refer to the culture that Coach Willard has created here from the beginning. You mentioned that there were a couple of down years, but even aside from the 8-0 start, it seems like there is a certain electricity that had been missing for a while.
Baxter: "Coach Willard did a great job at Seton Hall. Then, he comes here and brings that same energy. He reminds me of a Gary Williams Jr. so to speak &mdash; a lot of grit and a lot of fight in him. And you see that energy transfer to the court."
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Thomas: I love that they brought you back to talk to the team. You were on a special team, the championship team of 2001-02. How was your conversation with the guys?&nbsp;
Baxter: "He brought me and a lot of former [Maryland] guys into the locker room and just introduced us to the guys. He wanted them to know who we were and what we were a part of. And like I said, this is a rebuild year for them technically, but they are laser focused. They know the expectations of them, they know the history and legacy of the program that they are now a part of, and they are getting the job done. Hats off to them. They just beat a good Illinois team last night. We are really playing well. Love what I&rsquo;m seeing."
Thomas: You mentioned the Illinois game and I referenced the electricity &mdash; you saw it in the crowd and the announcers kept bringing it up. They said that a year ago, the stands were empty. But last night, it was a sold-out crowd. You saw the energy in the student section. Talk about how special that is, because y&rsquo;all had that when you guys were playing but, like you said, it&rsquo;s been up-and-down for the past few years. That electricity, that crowd support, was definitely present last night.&nbsp;
Baxter: "I wasn&rsquo;t able to go last night, but a lot of people were texting me during the game like, 'Are you here?!' It hasn&rsquo;t been this way in a long time. It&rsquo;s amazing! [People were] sending me videos and screen shots, and I regret not being there. I had already made my plans and cleared my schedule to be at the UCLA game, but I am mad that I missed it last night. But that&rsquo;s what we need. There&rsquo;s been so many up-and-down years, so many disappointments. We&rsquo;ve had some good teams, don&rsquo;t get me wrong, but the support and the energy really dipped for a few years. But [now], everyone is all on social media excited. Like, Maryland basketball is back! It&rsquo;s great for Maryland, great for the DMV. The guys are playing really well and I&rsquo;m looking forward to the rest of the season."&nbsp;
Thomas: Now, let&rsquo;s reminisce for a quick minute about the good ol' days, because y&rsquo;all had such a special team. Yourself, Steve Blake, Juan Dixon, Byron Mouton, Chris Wilcox... y&rsquo;all had a crew. Talk about how special that championship team was.
Baxter: "Our team was definitely special because we weren&rsquo;t a lot of McDonald's All-Americans. We were just a bunch of guys who were hungry, gritty and we loved to play together. Great chemistry. We&rsquo;re even friends to this day, we have a group chat that we all talk on just about every week. We&rsquo;re texting each other, congratulating each other on accomplishments, birthdays, talking about the games, etc. It just shows how close of a unit we were. Even when I spent some time with the Wizards when you were there, me, Juan and Steve Blake, it was like we were inseparable. But like I said, we were just hungry and determined and focused, and we played together as a team. Everyone bought into their roles and played to the best of their ability. That might sound cliche, but that&rsquo;s really what happened! (laughing)"
Thomas: (Laughing) Yeah, it does, but I know what you mean. What advice would you give the team now? It sounds like when they brought you in, it was more to just introduce you to them. But if you could give them all some advice &mdash; coming from a member of the 2001-02 championship team, which is the ultimate goal &mdash; what advice would you give this young, rebuilding team?&nbsp;
Baxter: "Just stay humble and stay hungry. Keep doing what you&rsquo;re doing, and never be satisfied. The hard work, the long hours in the gym, it&rsquo;s all paying off. They&rsquo;re jelling on the court and playing some complete games &mdash; both offensively and defensively. But keep that underdog mentality, keep that chip on your shoulder and stay hungry."
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Thomas: The team is really looking good. What are your thoughts on how everything is going so far?&nbsp;
Byron Mouton: "You know, the first time I met Coach Willard, I had a good feeling about him and this upcoming season. He was direct and to the point, and he doesn&rsquo;t hide his feelings. And I know a lot of the players. Jahmir, I&rsquo;ve known since he was in the fifth grade. He has a high basketball IQ, understands the game and is a team player, and has always been that way. And he plays winning basketball, so I was definitely excited for Maryland to get him."
Thomas: Can you explain a little more about why you had that good feeling about Coach Willard?&nbsp;
Mouton: "Well, from the start, he set the tone. [He] brought a lot of us alumni back and had a meeting with us, and told all of us that he valued us, respected us, appreciated us and wanted us involved with the team moving forward, and that was big. He made the point clear that his goal was to bring us back to a consistent top-10 program, which is what it should be."
Thomas: So, he valued the legacy of Maryland.&nbsp;
Mouton: "Exactly. And he made the point clear also that in order to be amongst the best, we had to compete against the best. He said he didn&rsquo;t believe in hiding from anyone and that was music to my ears. When I played for Gary Williams, we always played the best teams in the non-conference, early schedule. We would go to Maui, preseason NIT... wherever the top competition was, that&rsquo;s where we went. Mark Turgeon didn&rsquo;t want to do that; he wanted to play in these little cupcake tournaments where we&rsquo;re heavy favorites and expected to win, but that&rsquo;s not how you get better. That&rsquo;s not how you prepare for regular-season Big 10 games."
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Thomas: I see. And talk about Coach Willard's passion and energy. He showed a lot of energy on the sidelines last season with Seton Hall, and it seems like he brought that same energy here to Maryland.
Mouton: "I don&rsquo;t want to compare him to Gary Williams, but there are a lot of similarities. Passionate, honest, doesn&rsquo;t hold back his emotions or his feelings. I love coaches like that. I can&rsquo;t play for a guy who just wants to sit on the bench and call out plays, but shows no passion. I wanna know that you&rsquo;re in this battle with me."
Thomas: I hear you. Like, he shares your passion.&nbsp;
Mouton: "Yes. And he holds everyone accountable, the practices are intense, and he has that fire. And he teaches. So, he has all the keys to being successful at this level, and that&rsquo;s exactly the kind of coach I would want to play for."
Thomas: It seems like he&rsquo;s earned the players' trust very early. Sometimes, as you know, it&rsquo;s difficult for a new coach to do that.
Mouton: "Yes, it definitely can be. But at the same time, as you know, in order for any head coach to be really successful, it&rsquo;s crucial to hire great assistants, and he did that with Coach Cox and Coach Tony Skinns. I&rsquo;ve played with them and against them; I know them know them. And they have great ties to the DMV community, so I gotta include them as far as being vital for the overall success of the team."&nbsp;
Thomas: Let&rsquo;s talk about Jahmir Young. He really shined last night and you&rsquo;ve known him for a long time &mdash; you said since he was in the fifth grade?&nbsp;
Mouton: "Yeah, definitely. And like Coach said last night, he came here to do exactly what he did last night. A lot of teams are building their rosters through the transfer portal &mdash; that&rsquo;s just where college basketball is right now. It&rsquo;s not like in the old days when we played; coaches have to win now so they try to get players who are ready immediately. And Jahmir knows the game of basketball. Team player, leader, and was ready day one. He leads by example and also holds himself accountable. That&rsquo;s how a leader should be. And he&rsquo;s always under control, that&rsquo;s one of the things that&rsquo;s most impressive about him. He doesn&rsquo;t let anything that the opponent is doing speed him up or make him panic. He plays at his pace and runs the team. He&rsquo;s special."
Thomas: I asked Lonny Baxter this and I&rsquo;mma ask you the same thing: Y&rsquo;all had a special championship team. What was it that made y&rsquo;all work so well?&nbsp;
Mouton: "Well, in my opinion, it was about how competitive we were every single day. Everyone held everyone else accountable. Nobody allowed anyone else to coast in practice, or not give it their all, or not play at the highest level every single day. People held me accountable, I held them accountable &mdash; about everything. Not running the sprints hard enough in practice, not being where you&rsquo;re supposed to be on the defensive rotation, not giving the effort, whatever it was. And our practices were intense, and that carried over into the game."
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Thomas: What advice would you give to this current team?&nbsp;
Mouton: "Well, as you know, as the entire DMV is buzzing about them now, they have to stay together when that tide changes. They&rsquo;re not going to be buzzing like this all year (laughing) &mdash; that&rsquo;s just not the way it works. I&rsquo;ll give you an example. The year before we won the national championship, we were playing Duke. We were up 10 points with 1:04 left, and we lost. Craziest game I have ever been a part of in my entire college career. All the fans were booing us, the papers were killing us. People on campus were looking at us sideways when we walked by (laughing). Everyone was down on us. And after that, we lost three-straight games. I&rsquo;ll never forget when we lost to Florida State and their little point guard jumped on the scorer&rsquo;s table and was talking noise to our fans, waving bye-bye to them, and our fans started letting us have it. We could&rsquo;ve crumbled as an entire team after that, but we didn&rsquo;t. We pulled together and developed an us-against-the-world mentality. I say that because, there will come a time during this season when all the cheering stops, and maybe even some boos start. And now they have social media, so everyone can tell you that you suck (laughing). I would tell them when that happens, to pull together. Take on the us-against-the-world mentality. Don&rsquo;t splinter and start pointing fingers and playing the blame game because that happens, but stick together, pull together in tough times, and keep that passion and excitement and love for the game they have now, and they will do just fine."

Etan Thomas chats with former Maryland Terrapin greats Lonny Baxter and Byron Mouton about their alma mater’s red-hot start.

Lonny Baxter, Byron Mouton have high praise for Maryland Terps

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Denver coach Michael Malone knew when the schedule came out that his team was going to have to be successful again on the road if it was going to be contend in the Western Conference.
So far, the Nuggets are living up to Malone's goal of being road warriors.
Behind Aaron Gordon's 29 points and an additional 19 from Jamal Murray, the Nuggets beat the short-handed Los Angeles Clippers 114-104 on Friday night for their league-best eighth road win.
Denver has played 13 of its first 19 on the road and gone 8-5 after having a franchise-record 25 wins away from the friendly confines of Ball Arena last season.
&ldquo;If you&rsquo;re winning at that level on the road, you know you&rsquo;re a good team. Our challenge now is to go home and take care of business,&rdquo; Malone said after the Nuggets won their second straight and third in their last four games.
Nikola Jokic added 19 points, 13 rebounds and six assists for the Nuggets, who led by 21 at one point during the fourth quarter with a run of 10 straight points midway through the period.
John Wall had a season-high 23 points for the Clippers, who were down to 10 players with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Luke Kennard out due to injuries. Leonard missed his second straight game after he sprained his right ankle Monday night against Utah. George (right hamstring) missed his third straight game and Kennard (right calf) has been out the last four.
Terance Mann added 16 points and Marcus Morris Sr. had 15.
The Clippers had 11 turnovers in the first half, but only three in the final 24 minutes.
&ldquo;We were being too casual with the basketball in the first half, but addressed that at halftime,&rdquo; coach Tyronn Lue said. &ldquo;In the second half we had our chances, and got it to seven. The margin of error is very slim so we got to take advantage of those opportunities. But I thought we did some good things and we've got some things we&rsquo;ve got to clean up.&rdquo;
Denver was down to 10 players in Wednesday&rsquo;s win over Oklahoma City but was bolstered by the returns of Murray and Ish Smith to the lineup.
&ldquo;It feels like we&rsquo;re starting to put something together. So this is something to build on,&rdquo; said Gordon, who scored 19 points in the second half.
The game was tied at 18 midway through the first quarter before the Nuggets scored nine straight points to lead the rest of the way.
Denver extended its advantage to 64-52 at halftime and led by 17 with 2 minutes remaining in the third after a pair of free throws by Vlatko Cancar made it 85-68. The Clippers made a late run to get it to 87-77
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Michael Porter Jr. (heel), Jeff Green (knee), Bones Hyland (illness) and Payton Watson (illness) did not play. ... Cancar had 13 points coming off the bench. ... Murray also had nine assists. ... Denver had a 21-4 advantage in second-chance points.
Clippers: Robert Covington had 12 points, including a pair of 3-pointers and reached 1,200 for his career. ... Norman Powell had 11 points off the bench. ... Los Angeles was 19 of 34 on free throws, with the 55.9% rate being its second-lowest of the year.
&nbsp;

Behind Aaron Gordon's 29 points, the Nuggets beat the short-handed  Clippers 114-104 for their league-best eighth road win.

Gordon scores 29, Nuggets beat short-handed Clippers 114-104

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Paul George scored 22 points in three quarters to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to 122-106 rout of the Houston Rockets on Monday night.
George, who also had eight rebounds and five assists, spent the fourth quarter on the bench with the game in hand as coach Tyronn Lue didn&rsquo;t play his starters in the final period on the front end of a back-to-back.
&ldquo;It was good being able to finish the game the right way and give our starters some rest with a game tomorrow night,&rdquo; Lue said.
Los Angeles led by 11 to start the fourth and the team&rsquo;s reserves played well enough to not only hold the lead but pad it as the Rockets struggled.
&ldquo;Our bench came in and really did a good job of making the right plays and finishing things,&rdquo; Lue said.
The Clippers had a 13-point lead with about eight minutes remaining when Terance Mann and Norman Powell both converted three-point plays before another basket by Mann made it 108-87 about 90 seconds later.
Rockets coach Stephen Silas called a timeout to try and slow down the Clippers as fans started streaming toward the exits.
Kevin Porter Jr. made a basket out of the timeout for Houston. But then Powell hit a layup seconds later to start a 6-2 mini-run that made it 114-91 with 4 1/2 minutes left.
&ldquo;That is a dangerous young team and anything can happen," Lue said. &ldquo;So we wanted to make sure that we came out professional and played well.&rdquo;
Jalen Green had 25 points and Porter added 20 for the Rockets, who shot 9 of 30 from 3-point range and dropped their third in a row.
Silas said he could sense some frustration from his team, and learning to overcome that is something his young players will need to learn.
&ldquo;When you hit adversity, not letting the frustration get to you is something that young guys have to work on,&rdquo; he said.
Reggie Jackson had 17 points and six assists to help the Clippers win for the third time in four games.
The Clippers led by 15 after a dunk by Ivica Zubac with about 4 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter. Houston then used a 12-6 spurt, with eight points from Green, to cut the lead to 87-78 three minutes later. Kenyon Martin Jr. capped the drive with a dunk but got a technical for yelling at Zubac to celebrate it.
George missed the technical foul shot, but Nicolas Batum added a jumper after that to leave the Clippers up 89-78 entering the fourth.
TIP-INS
Clippers: Kawhi Leonard, who hasn&rsquo;t played since Oct. 23 while dealing with knee soreness, made the trip but Lue said he didn&rsquo;t know if Leonard would play Tuesday night at Dallas. ... Marcus Morris had 15 points. Powell finished with 17, and Mann scored 14.
Rockets: Silas said Jae&rsquo;Sean Tate, out since Oct. 31 with an ankle injury, will be sidelined at least two to three more weeks before he is re-evaluated. &hellip; Alperen Sengun had 16 points. ... The Rockets made 19 of 31 free throws.
STARS OUT
Rapper 50 Cent and Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pe&ntilde;a, fresh off winning the World Series MVP award, sat courtside.

Paul George scored 22 points in three quarters to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 122-106 rout of the Houston Rockets.

George scores 22 to lead Clippers to 122-106 rout of Rockets

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Bam Adebayo scored 30 points, including a pair of free throws to put Miami up for good with 35 seconds left, and the Heat rallied from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Phoenix Suns 113-112 on Monday night.
Phoenix had three shots to win on its final possession &mdash; a missed layup by Cameron Payne, a jumper from Devin Booker that Jimmy Butler blocked, and then a 3-pointer from Booker that fell short.
Butler finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for Miami. Caleb Martin and Kyle Lowry each scored 15 for Miami, which got back to .500 at 7-7.
Booker led Phoenix with 25 points, and Duane Washington Jr. added 21. Deandre Ayton finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Suns, who shot only four free throws compared to 25 for Miami.
CELTICS 126, THUNDER 122
BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Marcus Smart scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half, and Boston beat Oklahoma City for its seventh straight win.
Boston trailed by 15 in the third quarter but outscored Oklahoma City 37-26 in the fourth.
Jayson Tatum had 27 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics. Jaylen Brown scored 26, and Al Horford added 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Smart also had eight assists and five rebounds, and reserve Payton Pritchard added 10 points, leading a key surge late in the third and early in the fourth as the Celtics rallied.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 37 points. Lu Dort scored 21 and Aleksej Pokusevski finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds.
HAWKS 121, BUCKS 106
MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; De&rsquo;Andre Hunter scored 24 points and Trae Young had 21 points and nine assists, leading Atlanta over Milwaukee.
Clint Capela added 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Hawks won for the fifth time in seven games. Dejounte Murray also scored 19, and John Collins had 16 points and nine boards.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, who missed the previous two games and three of the past four with left knee soreness, scored 27 points in 31 minutes. The Bucks have lost three of four after a 9-0 start.
It was the third meeting between the teams in 16 days. MarJon Beauchamp had 20 points for the Bucks, who dropped to 7-1 at home.
WARRIORS 132, SPURS 95
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Back in the starting lineup for a night, Jordan Poole scored a season-best 36 points on the debut of his first bobblehead and led Golden State past San Antonio.
Poole shot 13 for 20 and knocked down five 3-pointers. He exited with 8:04 left following his 13th career game of 30 or more points.
Stephen Curry added 16 points, five rebounds and five assists in 27 minutes. It was the second game of a back-to-back for the Warriors after they lost 122-115 at Sacramento on Sunday to fall to 0-7 on the road.
Keldon Johnson had 15 points for the injury-plagued Spurs.
RAPTORS 115, PISTONS 111
DETROIT (AP) &mdash; Dalano Banton scored 27 points and Chris Boucher added 20 as short-handed Toronto snapped a three-game losing streak with a victory over Detroit.
O.G. Anunoby added 19 points and seven rebounds for the Raptors, who played without Fred VanVleet (non-COVID-19 illness), Pascal Siakam (abdominal strain) and Gary Trent (hip).
Rookie guard Jaden Ivey scored 21 for the Pistons, who lost their fourth straight. Bojan Bogdanovic added 18 points.
HORNETS 112, MAGIC 105
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) &mdash; LaMelo Ball had 17 points and nine assists, and Charlotte stopped an eight-game slide by beating Orlando.
Seven players scored in double figures for the Hornets, including their entire starting lineup. Mason Plumlee had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Terry Rozier scored 17, and Kelly Oubre Jr. had 16.
Franz Wagner scored 23 points and Wendell Carter Jr. added 20 for Orlando, but the Magic committed 22 turnovers.
Ball, who missed the Hornets&rsquo; 113-93 loss at Orlando last month because of a sprained ankle, played in only his second game of the season after missing the first 13.
CLIPPERS 122, ROCKETS 106
HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Paul George scored 22 points in three quarters to lead Los Angeles past Houston.
George, who also had eight rebounds and five assists, spent the fourth quarter on the bench with the game in hand as Clippers coach Tyronn Lue didn&rsquo;t play his starters in the final period on the front end of a back-to-back.
Jalen Green scored 25 points and Kevin Porter Jr. added 20 for the Rockets, who dropped their third in a row.
Reggie Jackson had 17 points and six assists to help the Clippers win for the third time in four games.

Bam Adebayo scored 30 points, and the Heat rallied from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Suns 113-112 on Monday.

Adebayo scores 30 points as Heat rally past Suns 113-112

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; With Kawhi Leonard's return nowhere in sight, Paul George is putting pressure on himself to carry the Los Angeles Clippers and their high expectations.
Despite turnovers down the stretch, George came up with two huge baskets to help the Clippers edge the Houston Rockets 95-93 on Monday night and snap a four-game losing streak.
&ldquo;We're not playing the heavyweights right now,&rdquo; George said. &ldquo;The way we were losing these games, it was embarrassing. We've got to start to play better.&rdquo;
The Clippers (3-4) again were without Leonard and John Wall. Leonard missed his fifth game and Wall sat out his second, both because of knee injury management.
&ldquo;I take full responsibility for us and our record right now,&rdquo; George said. &ldquo;Regardless of who's in the lineup or who's not, I'm more than capable of going out and performing.&rdquo;
George hit a go-ahead jumper with six seconds remaining, finishing with 35 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Ivica Zubac added 16 points and 12 rebounds. He teamed with George to score 14 of the Clippers' 22 points in the fourth quarter, when they played a two-man pick and roll.
&ldquo;That's one of our best plays with me and PG doing pick and rolls together,&rdquo; Zubac said. &ldquo;We couldn't make any shots but we attacked the paint.&rdquo;
K.J. Martin scored 23 points off the bench to lead the Rockets (1-8), who dropped their fourth in a row.
George's 3-pointer tied the game 93-all with 39 seconds remaining. That got fans on their feet for the final seconds.
George stole the ball from former Clipper Eric Gordon. After another timeout, Reggie Jackson inbounded to George, who hit a jumper that gave the Clippers their first lead of the fourth quarter.
Gordon's shot missed at the buzzer and he gestured to indicate he thought he'd been fouled.
&ldquo;We're a group that fights,&rdquo; Houston coach Stephen Silas said. &ldquo;We executed pretty good down the stretch.&rdquo;
George had three costly turnovers in the final minutes after hitting a 3-pointer that drew the Clippers within two earlier in the fourth. His first led to a dunk by Kevin Porter Jr. After George's second turnover, he got called for an offensive foul.
&ldquo;Bad turnovers, bad possessions,&rdquo; George said, ticking off some of the Clippers' issues. &ldquo;We're not shooting the ball well. That's going to come. Tonight, defensively, was a step in the right direction.&rdquo;
George fed Zubac for a dunk that again got the Clippers within two. But Jalen Green answered with a basket to keep Houston ahead.
Martin, who finished four points off his career high, got hot late in the third and early in the fourth. Tari Eason and <a href="https://www.nba.com/watch/video/kenyon-martin-jr-with-the-emphatic-jam?plsrc=nba&amp;game-highlights=0022200102">Martin</a> combined to score 11 points in a row to put Houston back in front, 76-71, late in the third.
Martin had Houston's first five points of the fourth before missing two free throws with the Rockets clinging to a two-point lead.
The teams traded narrow leads in the third, when George scored 12 points.
TIP-INS
Rockets: Jae'Sean Tate reaggravated the ankle injury that forced him to miss the season's first four games. He's day-to-day and will be re-evaluated in Houston.
Clippers: Robert Covington remains in the NBA's health and safety protocols. ... Los Angeles has won seven of its last eight against the Rockets.
STAYING HOME
Leonard won't be joining the Clippers for their quick two-game trip to Texas this week.
&ldquo;He's frustrated. He wants to be out on the floor,&rdquo; coach Tyronn Lue said. &ldquo;Then not being on the floor, now you can't travel. He wants to travel, but the doctor says it's not the right thing to do right now with the stiffness (in his knee) and what he's going through.&rdquo;

Paul George came up with two huge baskets to help the Clippers edge the Rockets 95-93 and snap a four-game losing streak.

Clippers edge Rockets 95-93 on George's clutch jumpers

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; The Thunder have done it again.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points and Oklahoma City earned its second straight win over the Clippers, beating Los Angeles 118-110 on Thursday night.
Lu Dort scored 21 points and Aleksej Pokusevski added 15 for the Thunder, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-clippers-oklahoma-city-thunder-nba-sports-paul-george-610e743d4d1cffb1c4b7d3de66f33e2c">who beat the Clippers 108-94</a> on Tuesday.
It was a breakout game for Dort, who entered shooting 26% from the field for the season. He made 9 of 15 shots, while being the primary defender on Clippers All-Star Paul George.
&ldquo;For him, it&rsquo;s a good confidence blast,&rdquo; Gilgeous-Alexander said. &ldquo;I knew that would happen eventually. Lu works so hard, and when you work hard and you play as hard as he does, good things happen.&rdquo;
The Thunder shot 49.5% from the field.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve just got to be able to guard point of attack,&rdquo; Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re just lining us up one-on-one, and guys are able to get whatever they want.&rdquo;
Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard missed both games against the Thunder while managing his previously injured right knee. George played on Thursday after sitting out on Tuesday with an illness and finished with 10 points on 4-for-12 shooting.
Norman Powell led the Clippers with 21 points. Reggie Jackson scored 18 and John Wall added 17 for Los Angeles, which lost its third straight.
The Thunder scored 31 points off 20 Clippers turnovers two days after scoring 23 points off 19 Los Angeles giveaways.
&ldquo;The live turnovers are killing us,&rdquo; Lue said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to just clean that up.&rdquo;
The Thunder led 30-12 in the first quarter, but the Clippers rallied and led 60-53 at halftime behind 12 points each from Wall and Jackson.
&ldquo;You know, that&rsquo;s a really good team," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "They&rsquo;re not going to lay down. And I thought we really came out with a sense of purpose and obviously threw the first punch. And it&rsquo;s a good lesson for us that a good team is not just going to accept that.&rdquo;
Gilgeous-Alexander committed his fourth foul with 4.6 seconds left in the second quarter, and he started the second half on the bench. The Thunder rallied without him and took a 71-70 lead before he returned midway through the third quarter. The Thunder led 89-87 heading into the fourth.
Wall's driving dunk at the start of the fourth quarter tied the game at 89, but the Thunder pulled away late. Pokusevski hit a 3-pointer, then less than a minute later, Tre Mann walked into a fast break 3-pointer that gave the Thunder a 116-104 with 2:55 remaining.
Oklahoma City did not attempt a free throw until 10:22 remained in the fourth quarter, but the Thunder went 7 for 8 from the line in the final period.
Daigneault didn't like the free throw situation, but he liked the way the game turned out.
&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t particularly pleased with that, but we weathered it," he said. "And at the end of the day, it&rsquo;s not easy one way or the other. There&rsquo;s going to be things you have to deal with, things you have to overcome. And I just thought we played right through it tonight. It didn&rsquo;t distract us. And we just &mdash; we kept on it and obviously emerged. It was good.&rdquo;
GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER'S FREEBIES
Gilgeous-Alexander made both of his free throws on Thursday, leaving him one short of the Thunder record for consecutive made free throws to start a season.
The record holder? Not Russell Westbrook or Kevin Durant. Not even George, a former Thunder star. It&rsquo;s Danilo Gallinari, who opened with 23 straight to start the 2019-20 season.
Gilgeous-Alexander has already passed the likes of Patrick Patterson (17 during the 2017-18 season) and Kevin Martin (16 during the 2012-2013 season). Corey Brewer made his first 17 after being traded to the Thunder in 2018.
TIP-INS
Clippers: F Marcus Morris sat out his second straight game for personal reasons. ... The Clippers shot 53.7%. ... Los Angeles made just 9 of 28 3-pointers.
Thunder: G Josh Giddey sat out with a sprained right ankle. ... Went 6 for 10 from 3-point range in the first quarter to take a 34-24 lead. They finished 17 for 38 on 3-pointers after going 4 for 30 in Tuesday's game.
UP NEXT
Clippers: Host the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday.
Thunder: Visit the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.
___
Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: <a href="twitter.com/CliffBruntAP">twitter.com/CliffBruntAP</a>

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points and Oklahoma City earned its second straight win over the Clippers.

Gilgeous-Alexander scores 24 as Thunder beat Clippers again

It appears as though the New Orleans Pelicans are playing harder and more aggressively, and with a greater sense of urgency and more passion, than the Phoenix Suns are at this point of their playoff series.
Herb Jones is putting on a Superman cape to leap tall buildings in a single bound and block three-point attempts. The scrappy Jose Alvarado forced Chris Paul into an eight-second violation in the backcourt, something that very rarely happens to the veteran point guard. The bench is fired up for the entire game, and the team is playing with a passion that hasn&rsquo;t been seen in New Orleans for quite some time.
Nobody outside of that city could&rsquo;ve imagined that this series would be tied at two games apiece with the highly-favored, 62-win, defending-Western-Conference-champion Suns.&nbsp;
Having said that, there seems to be a feeling of disrespect from the national media for a team that has exceeded the expectations of so many in the sports world.&nbsp;
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I spoke with Pelicans color analyst Antonio Daniels about his assessment of the team and that national media disrespect toward New Orleans.
Etan Thomas: First, how great is it to see the Pelicans prove a lot of people wrong who didn't even give them a chance?
Antonio Daniels: "Oh, man. Well, for me, it's not even about it being great, proving people wrong. The great part is what I've seen this team accomplish. People are going to doubt no matter what. I don't care who you are, or what you've ever done, how good you are. People are always going to doubt. But you can't allow people's doubts to actually affect the way that you think about yourself. I have said this about this team from Day 1, and I actually have it bookmarked in my Twitter feed; Nov. 5, I said at this time, 'This team gets healthy, they're a playoff team. If they get healthy, they're a playoff team.' And I remember I was doing the pregame show and David Wesley, who's a good friend of mine, turned and faced my way and was almost like to say, 'Whatever.' You know what I mean?
Etan: Right.
Daniels: "Here's the thing, Etan. When you're talking about success in this league, it's not going to [happen] if you don't have a culture of overachievement. It doesn't happen. You have to have guys that overachieve, guys that are outplaying the expectation. You can go all the way back to the Golden State Warriors. What they did with Steph Curry and Draymond Green and Klay Thompson and those guys. They all overachieved. Did you think when Steph Curry and Klay Thompson were coming out that they would be the best shooting backcourt in history? Or when Draymond Green was coming out, at this point in his career, he would be a Hall-of-Famer? No. But they created a culture of overachievement.
"What you have here in New Orleans is, a lot was going on early on in the season, new pieces trying to fit in along with head coach Willie Green. And that's a lot to take on early; 1-12, 3-16 is what this team started. And now, at that time, the talk was, 'Let's tank. There's no Zion.' Fans all said they should just tank the season. Even when you acquired CJ McCollum. I remember Stephen A. Smith saying, 'Oh, I don't know what they're doing. Why would CJ McCollum want to go there? New Orlenas ain't going anywhere anyway.'
"The disrespect from the national media is, I think, what guys really pay attention to. And I think they do somewhat use that as motivation. But to be a part of this journey, Etan, from Day 1 of training camp, to Zion being hurt [and] not being available throughout the course of this team's season, being without your best player and seeing what this team has been able to accomplish, climbing out of that 3-16 start, it's been special."
Etan: Talk about the addition you mentioned of CJ McCollum and how much that has helped the entire team.
Daniels: "I'll say this first: What people forget about in that addition is that Larry Nance was in that [trade] as well, and people aren't talking about that. People are talking about CJ, and CJ's been fantastic. But I'll tell you what, I don't think that the Pelicans are at this point without Larry Nance Jr. He was the difference in the Play-In game against the Clippers because what he offers you is versatility at the 5 spot that you didn't have prior to him. Versatility and experience. When teams go small, like you see a lot of the NBA doing now, and they're basically playing five forwards like the Toronto Raptors, it&rsquo;s problematic for opposing teams. You need a big that is experienced, knowledged, but understands strengths and weaknesses [and] also has the skill set to compete. Larry Nance Jr was great. And people don't talk about him enough."
Etan: Great point.
Daniels: "But to get to CJ &mdash; CJ's playing the best basketball of his career. And from his words, he's a servant leader. And I love it because he's not very vocal, but he leads by example. He came in and he said, 'You know what, man? I want Brandon Ingram to be the best version of himself' on Day 1. Because if B.I.'s the best version of himself, that will allow me (meaning CJ McCollum) to be the best version of myself. And I remember asking CJ, when I sat down and I interviewed him, talking about, 'How do you develop chemistry between you and B.I.?' And he said, 'You know what? I'll do the same thing with him that me and Dame [Lillard] did. We sat down and we watched films together. I want to know where he wants to ball. I want him to be vocal with me. I want to know where his hotspot is, what plays he likes, when he needs me to back down and allow him to be the best version of himself.' The communication between those two from Day 1 was at an all-time level.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
𝙋𝙀𝙇𝙎 𝙒𝙄𝙉 ⚜️ Brandon Ingram : 30 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST ⚜️ Jonas Valanciunas : 26 PTS, 15 REB, 4 AST ⚜️ Cj McCollum : 18 PTS, 9 REB Les <a href="https://twitter.com/PelicansNBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PelicansNBA</a> l'emportent 118-103 et reviennent &agrave; 2-2 face &agrave; Phoenix ! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WBD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WBD</a> <a href="https://t.co/zbghiMm2fU">pic.twitter.com/zbghiMm2fU</a>
&mdash; NBA France (@NBAFRANCE) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAFRANCE/status/1518469593290919937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

"But, Etan, what really helped this team was the All-Star break. Because if you look at what this team has done post-All-Star break, that was the chemistry between CJ and B.I. really starting to take off. We opened up in Phoenix. First game at the All-Star break, we opened up in Phoenix. And they talked at length about the dinner that they had in Phoenix the night before, where they just got an opportunity to connect to one another and to communicate with one another. This team has been rolling ever since when those two are on the floor together with a healthy starting five."
Etan: I want you to talk a little bit about Coach Willie Green. I actually posted and tweeted the clip of <a href="https://twitter.com/etanthomas36/status/1515310682945855488?s=20&amp;t=jxzjmwJgR9FJ3SYvF7c53w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">him motivating the guys</a>. It made me feel like I want to go out there and lace them back up and get ready to go play. Talk about how great he has been for this team.
Daniels: "Listen, Etan, I can't put it into words the respect that I have for Willie Green from Day 1. You know it's funny. Because when you're losing, people don't want to hear about it. People don't want to hear about the positives when you're losing. They only want to hear about the positives when you start playing well. And when this team was 1-12, and then, when they were 3-16... I'll tell you, Etan, we've both played on bad teams; you know what a shootaround is like walking into the gym when you're 3-16. This was not it. I have never seen more spirited shootarounds from, at the time, what seemed to be a bad basketball team. And that started with Willie Green. He never blinked. He never allowed this team to lose confidence. His faith in this team never wavered, and he stands on his faith as a whole.
"I'll give you a quick example. You know how many coaches have the open-door policy where you can come in and talk? I meet with Willie Green from time-to-time. We'll go into his office. We'll talk or sit or chat or go out to dinner. Etan, our meetings ended with prayer. How many coaches have you ever gone in to meet with and talk about the team or whatever it may be and, when it's all said and done, you guys are at his desk praying together? That speaks to the man that Willie Green is. He is one of those guys that is so inspiring because he makes you want to be a better version of yourself. I don't hoop no more, Etan. If that's how he makes me feel, I can imagine how he makes players feel. When you have guys like Jose Alvarado and Trey Murphy and Herb Jones, Jaxson Hayes &mdash; all these guys, when their number was called, they were ready to go. Because when they weren't playing, Willie Green was still speaking grace, life and confidence into them. And I had an opportunity to see it up close and personal. I am at every practice, at every shootaround. I've traveled with the team. I eat with the team. To see his communication with them, his ability to relate to them [is incredible].
"And I'm a proud believer, Etan, that the best coaches in this league are role players. You know why? Because they can relate to everybody from 1-to-15. If you're a star player, you can't relate to the guy who hasn't played in six games or the guy who's major inconsistent. Willie Green has started in this league, he's been a sixth man, he's been in situations where his minutes weren't guaranteed and he's also been in a situation where he hadn't played at all. Tell me who on that bench he cannot relate to! And there's nothing more important in today's NBA than a coach's ability to relate to his players. I don't care about your defensive schemes, I don't care about your X's and O's. If the players feel like you can't relate to them, they will not play as hard for you. But the moment that they feel like you care about them as men, as fathers, as husbands &mdash; they will run through a wall for you. And I'm telling you, Willie Green has that locker room so engaged, because of the way that he handles himself throughout adversity."
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Etan: Wow. That's great to hear, and I thought that about him already, just from knowing who he is. But it's great to hear you say that. Let me ask you one more thing. I know you don't worry about the haters and the noise and social media, all that stuff, but they keep bringing up the fact that because Devin Booker isn't there, that's the reason why the Pelicans are in this series. I was like, 'Well, wait a minute. Y'all forget that Zion isn't there either?' I'm like, y'all forgot about that part.
Daniels: "Here's the thing. Has there ever been an NBA champion where there's not a 'What if?' attached to it? Let's just go back to a year ago. Remember when Trae Young got hurt against Milwaukee? Remember when Kyrie Irving got hurt against Milwaukee? Remember James Harden had to come back as a shadow of himself with half of a hamstring versus Milwaukee? Remember a couple years back when Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson got hurt, and then Toronto won the championship? Look, ain't nobody tripping on that. This is the league full of injuries. You get certain things that are out of your control. So If people say, 'Oh man, the only reason that the Pelicans won is because (fill in the blank), well, okay.' But you are not going to find an NBA champion, a NFL champion where breaks don&rsquo;t go somebody's way.
"But I'll tell you this, there are two teams in the NBA who have yet to play with their best player. I'm talking about not even one practice. Not even one practice this year with their best player. It's the L.A. Clippers and the New Orleans Pelicans. Kawhi [Leonard] literally practiced one time. But let me tell you the difference. The difference is, Kawhi Leonard has practiced with Tyronn Lue before. He's practiced with him before, last year. Zion does not have one practice with Coach Willie Green. Not one. The last that Zion has been on the floor is when he was averaging 26 points per game and shooting 61% from the field under Coach Stan Van Gundy.
"So people can sit here and say, 'Oh, well, the only reason is, because...' So what? So what? Your job is to go out and your job is to play. Plain and simple. Look at the playoffs now. Khris Middleton is sidelined. Luka [Doncic] was sidelined. Kyle Lowry is sidelined. You get guys that are injured all the time. What are the Pelicans supposed to say? 'Ah, you know what man? Devin Booker's not there. Let's wait. Let's wait until they have help and then come back to finish this series.' No. Your job is to take advantage of the situation that's given."
Etan: That&rsquo;s absolutely correct.
Daniels: "And I'll tell you this, Etan, it goes along with the national narrative of the lack of respect that's given to the Pelicans. It goes right along with it. It doesn't matter. You know this better than anybody. It doesn't matter what people think about you. 'You ain't never believed in me as long as I believe in myself.' And this is a team, right now, that believes in themselves."
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Etan Thomas speaks with former teammate and Pelicans color analyst Antonio Daniels about NOLA's playoff surge vs. Phoenix.

Antonio Daniels: Pelicans have been disrespected by national media

Featuring four sure-fire Hall-of-Famers, the Los Angeles Lakers flamed out and ended up not living up to the expectations.
Unfortunately, the additions of Karl Malone and Gary Payton just weren&rsquo;t enough to get it done.
Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal joined forces with the legends during the 2003-04 season, and sought to win a fourth title in five years, but the Lakers ultimately fell short against Larry Brown and his Detroit Pistons in what was one of the biggest NBA Finals upsets in history.
You know how they say history always repeats itself? It&rsquo;s true. So it should come as no surprise to recall that the ensuing offseason, the Lakers found themselves looking for a new head coach. The search led to Mike Krzyzewski&rsquo;s living room.
Coach K would famously turn down a five-year, $40 million offer from the Lakers, which would have amounted to an annual salary raise of about 700%.
After a lost season, the Lakers (and Kobe) would eventually patch things up with Phil Jackson, and Bryant would lead the Lakers to two more championships in 2009 and 2010.
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Unfortunately for Frank Vogel, that bit of history doesn&rsquo;t seem likely to repeat itself.
Now, in 2022, the Lakers find themselves on the lookout for a new head coach to lead their locker room. Let's take a look at five candidates who may fit the bill.
Juwan Howard
Before his February <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/ray-jackson-i-was-afraid-juwan-howard-was-going-to-be-fired" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confrontation with Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard</a>, Juwan Howard&rsquo;s name was mostly mentioned in the press for the right reasons.
Since taking over for the Michigan Wolverines in 2019, Howard helped the university maintain its status as one of the premier basketball programs in the country &mdash; his Wolverines have reached the Sweet Sixteen in 2019 and 2022, as well as the Elite Eight in 2021.
Although it would be difficult to pull Howard from his alma mater, especially when he&rsquo;s enjoyed success thus far, the Lakers head coach job wouldn&rsquo;t be an easy one for a toiling coach to turn down. Despite all the Lakers have been through, it remains a dream job for many in the profession. Aside from that, Howard&rsquo;s connections to both Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and LeBron James is hard to ignore.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_7788283_lg.jpg" alt="" width="585" height="413" />
Pelinka and Howard were teammates at Michigan for Howard&rsquo;s three seasons there, and although Howard and James' paths diverged, those two would eventually unite in Miami. They played three years together as teammates before Howard retired and immediately moved into an assistant coach role, the first of which coincided with LeBron&rsquo;s final season in Miami.
Howard spent the next five years alongside Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra before being tapped to assume the helm at Michigan.
Whoever the Lakers entrust with the tall task of getting them back on track, it would make sense that the candidate would need to have exhibited some level of success and also be able to earn the confidence of both Pelinka and James. It should also be noted that, in 2019, Howard was granted an interview for the Lakers&rsquo; head coach opening. The job, obviously, eventually went to Vogel.
Although Howard has been vocal in his love for his alma mater, he would appear to check the boxes. At a minimum, among the sea of potential candidates, he is one who should be watched closely.
Quin Snyder
Now in his eighth season with the Utah Jazz, Quin Snyder has overseen the organization's ascension after the departure of mainstay Jerry Sloan and three less-than-stellar years under Tyrone Corbin.
Although thanks in large part to the presence of Rudy Gobert, under Snyder&rsquo;s leadership, the Jazz have consistently ranked as one of the league&rsquo;s top-five defenses. His staff has also assisted the development and thriving of a number of young players who have found their way in the league.
As it stands, Utah is much closer to contention than the Lakers, but the Jazz themselves haven&rsquo;t exactly been trending upward. There has been consistent speculation as to whether Donovan Mitchell is destined to become the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/expect-the-knicks-to-make-a-real-run-at-donovan-mitchell-this-summer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">next superstar who lands on the trading block</a>, and according to veteran scribe Marc Stein, Snyder and his representatives have rebuffed Utah&rsquo;s attempts to extend his current contract.
If Snyder did sense that &mdash; as often reported &mdash; the marriage between Mitchell and Gobert wasn&rsquo;t one that would continue for the long term, he could be proactive about a fresh start elsewhere.
During the 2011-12 season, Snyder served as an assistant coach in Los Angeles under Mike Brown. At a minimum, he&rsquo;s no stranger to the franchise.
Mark Jackson
To this day, there are many who wonder if the Golden State Warriors could have fulfilled their dynastic potential if Mark Jackson remained coach. That&rsquo;s probably why there&rsquo;s a fair amount of people still hoping that one of the greatest point guards in NBA history gets another shot to lead an NBA team. There is another faction, however, that believes the Warriors may have actually been held back by their former coach.
The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
What can&rsquo;t be argued, however, is that in his three seasons in Golden State, Jackson led the Warriors to a 121-109 record and brought the team to consecutive postseason berths for the first time in over 20 years. He at least helped to lay the foundation of the team&rsquo;s championship trajectory.
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It&rsquo;s also worth noting that LeBron has long been an advocate for Jackson. That may have something to do with the fact that Jackson &mdash; like LeBron and Anthony Davis &mdash; is represented by Klutch Sports, or it could be that LeBron just believes that he can coach.
Back in 2014, James reportedly pushed for Jackson as a candidate before the Cavs opted for Tyronn Lue to replace David Blatt, and according to The Athletic&rsquo;s Sam Amick, James could make a similar appeal on Jackson&rsquo;s behalf this time around. If he did, it could be quite meaningful.
John Calipari
If the Lakers are looking to make a splash, John Calipari would seem to fit the bill.
It&rsquo;s been more than 20 years since Coach Cal was head coach of an NBA team, but for the past 13 years, he&rsquo;s served as head coach for the Kentucky Wildcats &mdash; arguably the bluest of the blue-blood collegiate basketball programs. He led the Wildcats to the National Championship in 2012, and in that season, managed to unlock the potential of a talented freshman in Davis.
In all, Coach Cal has coached his teams to six Final Four appearances and has previously been linked to NBA openings, including with the New York Knicks.
The difficulty with pursuing collegiate coaches at big-time programs is stature. At the collegiate level, coaches are kings of their programs, particularly those with national championships and a track record of helping young players get to the NBA. In that regard, Calipari&rsquo;s record is unmatched.
According to CoachCal.com, Calipari is the only coach to have coached four No. 1 overall selections (Derrick Rose, John Wall, Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns) and the only coach to have five first-round selections in the same NBA Draft (2010).
In 2012, he also became the first coach to have two of his players go first and second in the draft. That year, Davis and teammate Michael Kidd-Gilchrist took that honor.
Cal probably knows that he can coach for as long as he wants to at Kentucky, just like Krzyzewski. But a 2021 report from Yahoo Sports cited Cal&rsquo;s believed ambition and wanting to prove that he can succeed at the NBA level as the thing that could push him back to the NBA.
That, and, of course, the right opportunity.
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Nick Nurse
It&rsquo;s hard to argue with Nick Nurse&rsquo;s success, and it&rsquo;s easy to see why a team like the Lakers could be interested. Nurse has earned a reputation for unorthodox methods and game planning, but it&rsquo;s impossible to argue with the success he&rsquo;s enjoyed as the head coach of the Toronto Raptors.
One of the biggest challenges that the Lakers face is with respect to its roster construction. If Russell Westbrook is to remain with the team, the franchise will need a coach who is capable of thinking outside the box and implementing systems and rotations that can maximize pieces that may not necessarily be an obvious fit.
It could be argued that these have been the hallmarks of his tenure in Toronto. That and, of course, winning. That may end up being the biggest obstacle for the Lakers if Nurse truly is the team&rsquo;s choice.
As the head coach who finally got Toronto over the hump, Nurse is beloved by the franchise, and the Raptors certainly seems to have more going for them than the Lakers do right now. Not the least of which is organizational leadership, which has proven to be competent and capable of developing players who can achieve at the highest level.
Leaving the Raptors for the Lakers in that regard would be a leap of faith for Nurse. Hailing from Iowa, Nurse isn&rsquo;t a natural-born Canadian, but he is currently serving as the head coach of the Canadian Men&rsquo;s National Basketball Team.
While that role wouldn&rsquo;t prevent him from making a jump to Los Angeles, it at least suggests a commitment to something bigger than simply being a coach. In the end, it may be a lot for the Lakers to overcome, especially since the Raptors&rsquo; ownership group has demonstrated it has deep pockets.
Nonetheless, it is possible that Nurse could view an opportunity to coach the Lakers as the one he has spent his entire career working toward. Having led the Raptors to a championship &mdash; similarly to Kawhi Leonard &mdash; he could perhaps be enthused about a new challenge.
----
Unfortunately for the community, we&rsquo;ve seen head coaches in the NBA become increasingly disposable. Just two years after leading the Los Angeles Lakers to its 17th championship in franchise history, Vogel was fired, and rather unceremoniously, at that.
If the Lakers are to win an 18th championship, it will be under new leadership.
Maybe one of the aforementioned five could be the answer.
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Moke Hamilton takes a look at five candidates who could make sense as the Lakers' next head coach.

Five head coaches who could make the most sense for the Lakers

There&rsquo;s not much of a better way to enter a three-point contest at NBA All-Star Weekend than by canning eight triples to put a bow on the first half of your season in winning fashion, and Los Angeles Clippers sharpshooter Luke Kennard did just that.
Better yet, Kennard carried that momentum into a first-round high score of 28 in the competition, making it into the top-three. Unfortunately, Karl-Anthony Towns shocked the world and oddsmakers with a blistering 29 to defeat Kennard and Trae Young&rsquo;s 26 for the shooting crown, but there was a silver lining.&nbsp;
About three hours northeast of his hometown of Middletown, Kennard&rsquo;s family and friends were watching it all happen live at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in downtown Cleveland.
&ldquo;It means everything, man. Just being from Ohio, hearing that the All-Star Game was gonna be back in Ohio, I wanted to be here so getting the invite meant a lot,&rdquo; Kennard told BasketballNews.com at Mountain Dew and Ruffles&rsquo; The Block event prior to All-Star Saturday.
&ldquo;I had a lot of family and friends come in. Just to be around the city, I know a couple that [weren't able] to be there and said ticket [prices] were crazy. Just being around the city and enjoying the experience, it means a lot. The goal is to represent Clipper Nation. Just have fun with it, enjoy the weekend."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Luke Kennard got HOT in the first round, finishing with a score of 28 🔥<a href="https://t.co/79sv97YuVT">pic.twitter.com/79sv97YuVT</a>
&mdash; Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1495223894340300803?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2022</a></blockquote>

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A super standout at Franklin High School from 2011 to 2015, Kennard&rsquo;s claim to fame &mdash; at the time and still to this day &mdash; was <a href="https://www.ohsaa.org/sports/records/bbkrecrd.htm#IPG" target="_blank" rel="noopener">surpassing LeBron James&rsquo; career scoring record</a> at St. Vincent-St. Mary&rsquo;s. In his four seasons with the Wildcats, Kennard recorded a total of 2,977 points to LeBron&rsquo;s 2,646 with the Irish. (He currently sits second in Ohio high school history behind former Ohio State sniper Jon Diebler, and holds the record for the most made free throws in a career with 760.)
So in addition to having familiar faces in the audience cheering him on, sharing the festivities with another Ohio high school legend in LeBron at an All-Star weekend in their home state was &ldquo;awesome&rdquo; for the 25-year-old.
&ldquo;He's done so much for the state of Ohio, especially where he came from and his city [of Akron]. It's really cool,&rdquo; Kennard said of James. &ldquo;He's a Northern Ohio-ish kinda guy, I'm Southern Ohio, so together we've done a lot. Ohio means everything to us. It's where we're from. We never forget where we came from, so it's pretty special. And to be back here together, enjoying this weekend, it's a lot of fun."
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After topping that sort of record held by The King, it&rsquo;s no wonder that Duke University came calling. Kennard spent two years playing for the Blue Devils, finding his footing as a sophomore and serving as the team&rsquo;s top option alongside Jayson Tatum, Grayson Allen and Frank Jackson. He averaged 19.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game that season, playing with more efficiency and comfortability than he did as a freshman.
Having learned under the tutelage of the legendary Mike Krzyzewski in Durham, NC, Kennard believes he owes a debt of gratitude to the soon-to-be retiree, and notes that Coach K stays in contact with him almost daily.
&ldquo;He meant a lot [to my career]. Coach, he gave me an opportunity to play at the best university in the world, play for the best coach to ever coach the game," Kennard said. "It was a lot of fun. I mean without going there, [there's] no way I would be where I am today. He's great. He's such a family guy. Anytime I have a big game, he's always texting me like after the game. He keeps in touch with a lot of his players. I'm happy for him.&nbsp;
&ldquo;He's done everything he's wanted to do while coaching the game. There's no better guy or coach for everything that's happened to him &mdash; he deserved it all. Happy retirement to him. He's gonna enjoy it now, he's gonna enjoy his family and grandkids. I'm happy for him though. I keep in touch with him all the time, and hopefully they can go out with a bang and try to get him a national championship this year. It's been fun to watch."
Nowadays, Kennard is in the midst of his fifth NBA campaign and his second with the Clippers. Year 2 in L.A. has brought on a more significant role for the sniping swingman, as he&rsquo;s producing to the tune of 11.8 points per contest on 61.6% True Shooting in a hair under 28 minutes per night. On the surface, you&rsquo;ll see nearly the exact same perimeter percentage (&sim;45%) in back-to-back seasons. However, Kennard has more freedom to fire off these treys this season.
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To this point in 2021-22, Kennard&rsquo;s three-point rate is at a career-high 67.0%, which is almost 13 percentage points above last season&rsquo;s 54.1%. There&rsquo;s not one zone beyond the arc where he&rsquo;s shooting below 40%, per InStat.
Take a more specific dive into his <a href="https://go.nba.com/xqpn0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">touch-time data</a>, and you&rsquo;ll find that he&rsquo;s launching from distance almost right upon the catch without hesitation. This season, Kennard has taken 263 threes with less than 2 seconds of touch time and he's made 45.6% of those attempts, well on track to double last season&rsquo;s output (177) as a whole. Kennard's also had games where he&rsquo;s gone for it early in the shot clock more often, meaning he&rsquo;s being put in great positions by Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue and his teammates to hoist off of screens and handoffs.&nbsp;
"It's just the people around me. The people around me building that confidence in me and just putting that trust in me to take those shots,&rdquo; Kennard said. &ldquo;I think last year, like in the offseason, I worked on shooting difficult shots, like coming off screens... When you're considered one of the elite shooters in the NBA, you attract a lot of attention. Guys don't like to leave you that much. So credit to T-Lue for putting me in positions to get open and my teammates for finding me when I'm open and when I have that little amount of time and space.
&ldquo;But for me, I feel like I've grown a lot [by] taking those shots. I feel like a couple years ago, even last year some, I wouldn't take some of the shots I'm taking this year. So just credit to [my] teammates for building that confidence and trusting me. I feel like I've learned a lot and I've grown a lot."
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(Chart via InStat)
Kennard didn&rsquo;t stop there with his praise for Lue, who has guided L.A. to a 30-31 record in spite of missing Kawhi Leonard all year and Paul George for over half of the season.
&ldquo;He's great. He's a players' coach, man. He knows how to coach the game. He's one of the best coaches in the NBA. I love playing for him,&rdquo; Kennard said. &ldquo;He really builds a level of confidence in his players. My role's definitely bigger this year than it was last year. We have dealt with some injuries, but at the same time, we've won 30 games this year. We've lost some really close games that we should've won. And with what we did in the playoffs last year, being down 2-0 in a few series, it speaks a lot about what kind of coach he is and how much trust we put into him.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I love being around him, love playing for him. So he's built a lot of confidence in me, and just allows us to play and be free and be who we are. It's been a lot of fun."
Reggie Jackson has had a lot to do with Kennard&rsquo;s shooting successes as well. The veteran point guard has the most passes to Kennard on the team currently, and the quick-trigger man has <a href="https://go.nba.com/0t5pe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nailed a blistering 58.7% of those attempts from downtown</a>. Whether it be looking up in transition, bulleting the ball over after an Ivica Zubac high screen or slinging it to the outside following a drive, they have hooked up 29 times thus far.&nbsp;
Maybe it&rsquo;s the synergy between the two from their time spend together in Detroit, or perhaps it&rsquo;s the lighthearted, supportive nature of Jackson that has everybody not only self-assured, but also loose.
"Reggie, he's one of our vocal leaders. He's always talking to us, always has a smile on his face. He lightens up the room. He's great man. He's one of your biggest hype [men] you can get,&rdquo; Kennard said. &ldquo;You could probably look up a lot of postgame interviews with other guys and Reggie's in the background dancing or doing something crazy.&nbsp;
&ldquo;But we love Reggie. He loves being in L.A. He has a lot of friends there. Him and PG are really good friends. So they enjoy each other. Reggie's great. I played with him in Detroit, I mean, that was my vet. So I've known him for a while now since I've been in the league and just to be back on a team with him is awesome. He gets us going though. He's a great player and he's had a really good year so far, so I'm happy for 'em."
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We&rsquo;ve found out a lot about this particular Clippers group this season. While a ton of the attention this team is getting has to do with the future and what could happen when the roster is at full strength with PG and Kawhi, L.A. is showing an admirable amount of resiliency in the here and now.
&ldquo;We've got a really good team. Obviously when we get guys like PG, Kawhi, Norman Powell &mdash; whenever those guys come back, that's just gonna take us up to an entirely different level, a scary level honestly,&rdquo; Kennard said. "We have a really good group, we've won a lot of games so far, we're in that fight for the playoffs. Right now, we're in the play-in area, but we told each other after our last game before the break: 'We want to hit the ground running when we come back. We want to be ready to go. We want to start winning more games.' And that's our goal.&nbsp;
&ldquo;We want to continue to build what we have going on, just trusting in each other, trusting what the coaches are doing, but have fun with it as well. It's been a good year... It's been up and down. It's been a weird year &mdash; like the COVID situation [where] guys have been out &mdash; but we've fought through it and guys have stepped up big and had big moments for us. So it's exciting to be a part of a team that loves winning and expects to win."
It&rsquo;s fun to think about the future, but the Clippers don&rsquo;t plan on looking ahead anytime soon.
They&rsquo;re gonna make you earn it.
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Spencer Davies catches up with Luke Kennard on his sharpshooting season, the Clippers' year under Ty Lue and more.

Luke Kennard letting it fly with a quicker trigger for game Clippers

With the NBA trade deadline over and done with, the BasketballNews.com staff wants to share our thoughts on the moves that went down. Since Nekias Duncan thoroughly <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/grading-every-move-from-the-2022-nba-trade-deadline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">graded each and every trade from the past week</a>, we asked the rest of our team to react to the results of the ever-so-eventful week.
Here are our staff's thoughts on the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/roundtable-who-are-your-biggest-2022-nba-trade-deadline-losers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">losers of the 2022 NBA trade deadline</a>. Now, in our latest Roundtable, we asked our writers the following question:
Who are the biggest winners of the NBA trade deadline? 
Alex Kennedy: My trade deadline winners are the Philadelphia 76ers and Indiana Pacers. I was someone who believed that Daryl Morey should trade Ben Simmons sooner than later, because I thought Simmons' trade value would only decrease over time. I didn't think the 76ers would actually be able to land a star player for Simmons, but I was clearly wrong. Morey's gamble paid off and now he's reunited with James Harden. As for the Pacers, I love&nbsp;what they did over the last week. We all knew that they were going to make drastic changes, but I was really impressed with how much they were able to get back for Domantas Sabonis, Caris LeVert and Torrey Craig. I love the addition of Tyrese Haliburton, and I truly believe he's going to develop into a star in Indiana. I also liked the buy-low addition of Jalen Smith, who was the No. 10 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Kevin Pritchard and Chad Buchanan deserve credit for pulling off some smart trades and assembling an impressive young core.
Spencer Davies: I&rsquo;m going to be contrarian here, but good for the win-now teams who aren&rsquo;t really in a position to contend this season, yet still went for a swing. I&rsquo;m talking about the New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Clippers. The Pels acquired a 20 point-per-game scorer in CJ McCollum to put next to Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson (defense we&rsquo;ll worry about later; Herb Jones and his 10 arms have it all covered anyway). My thoughts on the Kings acquiring an All-Star such as Domantas Sabonis are well-documented, and now, they&rsquo;ve added an underappreciated two-way guard in Donte DiVincenzo, who&rsquo;s still finding his form since his playoff injury last year. Finally, as for the Clippers, Norm Powell and Robert Covington are championship-caliber veterans who will get acclimated the rest of the season as L.A. stays afloat &mdash; and fit like a glove in Tyronn Lue&rsquo;s rotation next year beside Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Individually, I also have to give big-ups to Daryl Morey for sticking to his guns.
Ethan Fuller: The Celtics and Pacers each made the right moves for their franchise directions. Boston needed to find another ball-handling guard to fit with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and the team did exactly that by adding Derrick White. They also brought back a perfect third center in Daniel Theis while clearing roster space to pursue bench upgrades on the buyout market. Indiana is crushing its rebuild initiation. Tyrese Haliburton is obviously the headliner, but the Pacers also netted a first and second-round pick, plus a noteworthy flier in Jalen Smith and tradeable players like Buddy Hield. They also didn't overextend with any forced moves.
Bryan Fonseca: It would be silly to say Indiana, and as much as I do like Tyrese, I'm not a *full-blown* Haliburton hipster. He can be an All-Star, for sure, but Domantas Sabonis is already that. The deal isn't *that* one-sided. I could say Brooklyn or Philly for getting themselves out of a situation, but both teams might've just traded one set of problems for another. In fact, I'd say that's likely. So, you know what, I really enjoy what New Orleans did. You can't rebuild forever and Zion Williamson's already extension-eligible this summer. We'll have to see him again at some point, and with CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram, you should be competitive, especially next year &mdash; if you have mostly good health. To me, it's a diet version of the Chicago Bulls adding DeMar DeRozan.&nbsp;
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Evan Sidery: Exiting this year&rsquo;s trade deadline, it's rare to list both teams from the biggest transaction as winners. That's exactly what happened in the Sixers and Nets&rsquo; blockbuster when James Harden and Ben Simmons swapped places. Harden joins Joel Embiid forming a lethal, potentially transcendent one-two scoring combination. Philadelphia pushed the chips in as Embiid continues to display rare big man dominance. For Brooklyn, this situation was untenable with Harden&rsquo;s on-court pouting. The Nets&rsquo; Big 3 of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden will be looked back on with so many questions down the road. Both teams shook it up, and in the end it's fair to say both teams made weaknesses a strength. Harden is Daryl Morey&rsquo;s big moment in Philly, but Simmons could finally be fully maximized alongside Durant.
Mat Issa: Of course, the 76ers are &ndash; any time you can end an annoying, eight-month-old saga by securing a top-12 player in the world, you&rsquo;ve won immensely. However, the team that really stands out to me is their counterpart in the deal, the Brooklyn Nets. Despite having their back against the wall with very little leverage (thanks to Harden&rsquo;s displeasure being confirmed the morning of the deadline), the team netted a pretty nice return. Say what you will about him, but Simmons was a solid All-Star in a suboptimal situation in Philadelphia. Next season, he&rsquo;ll be operating with the perimeter gravity that the likes of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Joe Harris, and Seth Curry (another valuable piece from the deal) afford you. Also, adding a solid backup center and some draft capital is always nice, as well.
Justin Lewis: The Brooklyn Nets, because they just became a better team. The Detroit Pistons paid next to nothing for a shot at Marvin Bagley. The Memphis Grizzlies because Dallas got worse and no one in the West really made a move to pull closer or further away from them.
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Who are your biggest NBA trade deadline winners? BasketballNews.com's writers shared their thoughts.

Roundtable: Who are the biggest winners of the NBA trade deadline?

We're flipping our calendar at BasketballNews &mdash; but not before taking one look back at a memorable 2021.
Sports never cease to give us compelling storylines. Last year, they came from all places, from the pros in the U.S. and abroad, to college, to youth levels, and even off the basketball court. Below are some of our staff's best stories, arranged in several categories. Read the Best of BasketballNews 2021:
Best Features
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/gary-payton-ii_lg.jpg" alt="" />
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-g-league-raptors-905-gary-payton-ii-on-growing-up-in-fathers-shadow-we-have-two-different-paths">Gary Payton II on growing up in father's shadow: 'We have two different paths'</a> &mdash; by Kelsea O'Brien
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/high-school-basketball-former-nba-execs-aaron-ryan-brandon-williams-kevin-ollie-overtime-elite-seek-to-revolutionize-amateur-to-pro-preparation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Former NBA execs, Overtime Elite seek to revolutionize amateur-to-pro p</a><a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/high-school-basketball-former-nba-execs-aaron-ryan-brandon-williams-kevin-ollie-overtime-elite-seek-to-revolutionize-amateur-to-pro-preparation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reparation</a> &mdash; by Spencer Davies
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-daniel-gafford-washington-wizards-russell-westbrook-bradley-beal-tony-falce-arkansas-razorbacks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daniel Gafford, Wizards surging since trade: 'When I got here, it clicked automatically'</a> &mdash; by Spencer Davies
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/pj-dozier-took-a-whirlwind-journey-to-the-denver-nuggets-starting-lineup">Two-way threat: PJ Dozier reflects on whirlwind path to Nuggets</a> &mdash; by Ethan Fuller
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/g-league-finals-mvp-devin-cannady-remains-focus-bigger-goals">NBA G League Finals MVP Devin Cannady remains focused on bigger goals</a> &mdash; by Kelsea O'Brien
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/theres-plenty-of-blame-to-go-around-for-frank-ntilikinas-failure">There&rsquo;s plenty of blame to go around for Frank Ntilikina&rsquo;s failure</a> &mdash; by Moke Hamilton
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nikola-vucevic-may-finally-get-credit-he-deserves-with-newlook-bulls">Nikola Vucevic may finally get credit he deserves with new-look Bulls</a> &mdash; by Alex Kennedy
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/meet-juste-jocyte-15-year-old-phenom-and-professional-record-breaker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Meet Justė Jocytė: 15-year-old phenom and professional record-breaker</a> &mdash; by Ethan Fuller
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/kristaps-porzingis-renewed-confidence-leading-to-resurgent-season-with-mavericks">Kristaps Porzingis' renewed confidence leading to resurgent season</a> &mdash; by Evan Sidery
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/scoot-henderson-aspirations-far-exceed-any-hype-we-can-give-him" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBA G League star Scoot Henderson's aspirations far exceed the hype</a> &mdash; by Spencer Davies
Best Interviews and Q&amp;As
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/markelle-fultz_lg.png" alt="" />
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-richaun-holmes-qa-interview-free-agency-all-defensive-team">Richaun Holmes Q&amp;A: 'I definitely feel I&rsquo;m deserving of the All-Defensive Team'</a> &mdash; with Alex Kennedy
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-orlando-magic-rj-hampton-q-and-a-i-dont-think-you-can-put-a-cap-on-our-ceiling">Magic's R.J. Hampton Q&amp;A: 'I don&rsquo;t think you can put a cap on our ceiling'</a> &mdash; with Alex Kennedy
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-rex-chapman-show/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-8-episode-7-stephen-curry">The Rex Chapman Show with Josh Hopkins Episode 7 - Stephen Curry</a>
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-rex-chapman-show/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-10-episode-9-james-jones">The Rex Chapman Show: James Jones on Suns' culture change, player-to-GM leap</a>
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-san-antonio-spurs-derrick-white-dejounte-murray-gregg-popovich-colorado-buffaloes">One-on-One: Derrick White, Spurs' youth trying to make a name for themselves</a> &mdash; with Spencer Davies
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-one-on-one-patrick-patterson-los-angeles-clippers-tyronn-lue-paul-george-kawhi-leonard-demarcus-cousins-kentucky-wildcats-basketball">One-on-One: Patrick Patterson opens up as Clippers begin playoff run</a> &mdash; with Spencer Davies
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/larry-nance-jr-qa-i-did-not-come-out-here-to-halfass-this-thing">Larry Nance Jr. Q&amp;A: 'I did not come out here to half-ass this thing'</a> &mdash; with Alex Kennedy
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/jermaine-oneal-on-reconciling-with-ron-artest-i-didnt-know-about-mental-health">Jermaine O&rsquo;Neal on reconciling with Metta World Peace: 'I didn't know about mental health'</a> &mdash; with Etan Thomas
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/markelle-fultz-reveals-what-really-happened-with-his-shot-shoulder">Markelle Fultz reveals what really happened with his shot, shoulder</a> &mdash; with Etan Thomas
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-alex-kennedy-podcast/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-29-thad-young-on-getting-blindsided-by-trade-to-spurs,-dealing-with-recent-trade-rumors,-the-key-to-nba-longevity,-more-ep-29">Thad Young on being blindsided by Spurs trade, trade rumors, key to longevity</a> &mdash; with Alex Kennedy
Best Player Breakdowns
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/kyle-lowry_lg.jpg" alt="" />
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/on-lock-how-jrue-holiday-became-the-nba-finals-xfactor-">On Lock: How Jrue Holiday became the NBA Finals&rsquo; X-Factor</a> &mdash; by Jannelle Moore
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/enough-no-bag-talk-giannis-antetokounmpo-put-the-nba-on-notice-finals-mvp-champion">Enough 'no bag' talk: Giannis Antetokounmpo put the NBA on notice</a> &mdash; by Nekias Duncan
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/what-kyle-lowry-brings-to-the-miami-heat">Film study: What Kyle Lowry brings to the Miami Heat</a> &mdash; by Nekias Duncan
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/dime-fest-breaking-down-courtney-vandersloot-historic-night-wnba-playoffs">Dime Fest: Breaking down Courtney Vandersloot's historic night</a> &mdash; by Nekias Duncan
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BasketballNews highlights its best stories over the calendar 2021 year.

The Best of BasketballNews: 2021

Believe it or not, in the NBA, the league&rsquo;s Coach of the Year Award has become more like a kiss of death than a badge of honor.
On Tuesday night, by virtue of their 121-109 victory over the San Antonio Spurs, the New York Knicks managed to climb back to the .500 mark at 12-12.
There are worse things than being a .500 team in the NBA, but coming off of their 41-31 campaign last season, with the additions of Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier and the return of Mitchell Robinson, Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks hoped to be better.
Over the past 20 years in the NBA, we&rsquo;ve witnessed the increasing disposability of the head coach. When things go wrong, the finger is usually pointed at the bench boss. Over in Los Angeles, the exact example is happening to head coach Frank Vogel, whose Lakers are having a tough time in the early going of the season.
And while preexisting relationships with the front office in New York are expected to provide Thibodeau with at least some semblance of security, the Knicks' struggles highlight an interesting trend: COY winners' teams struggling almost immediately after winning the award.
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The league began naming a Coach of the Year in 1963 and last season, Thibodeau became just the ninth coach in league history to win the award multiple times. He previously won the award as head coach of the Chicago Bulls following the 2010-11 season, and it was shortly before then that a rather interesting trend became clear.
Since the 1999-2000 season, the award has been given out 22 times to 17 different coaches. The exhaustive list, beginning with that campaign, is as follows: Doc Rivers, Larry Brown, Rick Carlisle, Gregg Popovich, Hubie Brown, Mike D&rsquo;Antoni, Avery Johnson, Sam Mitchell, Byron Scott, Mike Brown, Scott Brooks, Tom Thibodeau, George Karl, Mike Budenholzer, Steve Kerr, Dwane Casey and Nick Nurse.
Popovich, Kerr, Casey and Nurse are still employed by the franchises with which they won the award; Popovich and Kerr are each notable for being the longest and third-longest tenured head coaches in the league. Now in his 26th season, Pop has patrolled the sidelines for the Spurs since 1996. Kerr assumed the helm for the Warriors just prior to the 2014-15 season, making this season his eighth. But they are the exceptions.
On average, since the 1999-00 season, the other winners coached their teams for an average of just 2.36 more years after winning the award. For the Oklahoma City Thunder, Scott Brooks had the longest post-award tenure of five years.
The shortest tenures following their COY award-wins belong to Hubie Brown of the Memphis Grizzlies and George Karl of the Denver Nuggets. Brown won the award in 2004, but resigned from the Grizzlies about six months later. He cited health concerns regarding his resignation, though there was speculation that some of the team&rsquo;s players soured on him.
Karl was a part of a very interesting offseason in Denver. The Nuggets traded Carmelo Anthony away in 2011, but overachieved. Together with Masai Ujiri, Karl led the Nuggets to a 57-25 record in the first full season (post-lockout in '11-12) following Anthony&rsquo;s departure. As a result, Ujiri was named the 2013 NBA Executive of the Year while Karl was named Coach of the Year. Within months, though, neither would be employed by the franchise.
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Ujiri received a lucrative offer to take over the Toronto Raptors' front office &mdash; he obviously accepted. Karl, who had one year left on his then-current deal was unhappy with Nuggets management for not rewarding him with an extension, and the franchise decided to relieve him of his duties.
Karl, unbelievably, was a reigning Coach of the Year who didn&rsquo;t even make it through the offseason.
Although the tales of Brown and Karl are interesting in the modern history of the award, neither&rsquo;s brief tenure &mdash; six months for Brown and 29 days for Karl &mdash; were factored into the earlier reported average of 2.36 years.
Of the aforementioned winners, four coaches lasted one season or less with their club after being named COY: Rick Carlisle (Detroit Pistons, 2002), Sam Mitchell (Toronto Raptors, 2007), Byron Scott (New Orleans Hornets, 2008) and Mike Brown (Cleveland Cavaliers, 2009).
Larry Brown and Avery Johnson each got two seasons (or parts thereof), while Doc Rivers, Mike D&rsquo;Antoni and Mike Budenholzer (with the Atlanta Hawks) each got three seasons. With the Chicago Bulls, Thibodeau got four more years, while Brooks, as previously mentioned, got five from Oklahoma City.
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It&rsquo;s ironic: Coaches usually win the Coach of the Year Award for defying expectations and leading their teams to better-than-expected results. But one can only wonder whether the endeavor is self-defeating.&nbsp;
Both the Atlanta Hawks and Phoenix Suns are considered, by some, to have overachieved last season, but in the NBA, what goes up... must stay up. As a community, we would be quicker to consider the Hawks and Suns as failures if they weren&rsquo;t able to replicate last season&rsquo;s results. The bar has been raised for them, and front offices have shown a propensity to judge their head coaches based on the highest watermark.
In New York, specifically, it is the front office that should carry the cross; neither Walker nor Fournier have translated well for the team, with point guard continuing to be one of the team&rsquo;s biggest areas of need. At this point, one can only wonder what the Knicks could have looked like had they instead managed to sign DeMar DeRozan and Lonzo Ball instead of the duo ending up as teammates in Chicago.
It&rsquo;s too early for the Knicks to panic, and way too early to consider that Thibodeau may not be the man for the job.
But all things considered, it&rsquo;s at least interesting to take note of the fact that the NBA&rsquo;s Coach of the Year Award may be the ultimate embodiment of a tangible irony.
Badge of honor? Or kiss of death?
There&rsquo;s a clear trend that simply can&rsquo;t be ignored.

Moke Hamilton delves into the surprisingly unfortunate history of the NBA Coach of the Year award.

Tom Thibodeau isn’t the only reigning Coach of the Year to struggle

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Jonas Valančiūnas scored 29 of his career-high 39 points in a spectacular first half, and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Los Angeles Clippers for the second time this month, 123-104 on Monday night.
New Orleans rolled to a 21-point lead in the first half with a phenomenal effort from Valančiūnas, the 10-year Lithuanian veteran in his first season with the Pelicans. The 6-foot-11 Valančiūnas hit seven 3-pointers without a miss in the first half to the increasing delight of his teammates and even himself.
&ldquo;The guys were calling him Dirk Valančiūnas,&rdquo; New Orleans coach Willie Green said with a grin.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Jonas Valanciunas is up to a career-high 7 threes...at halftime. 🤯 He hasn't missed. Watch on NBA League Pass: <a href="https://t.co/w2ntIgyLjw">https://t.co/w2ntIgyLjw</a> <a href="https://t.co/uKTYhu6Ays">pic.twitter.com/uKTYhu6Ays</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1465540392384970752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2021</a></blockquote>

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

Valančiūnas isn&rsquo;t quite ready to call himself the next Dirk Nowitzki, even if he resembled the Dallas great at times.
&ldquo;Everybody wants to be him,&rdquo; Valančiūnas said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s one of the greatest big guys in the game, but I&rsquo;ve still got to work a lot to be like him.&rdquo;
Valančiūnas, who surpassed his career high for 3s in the first half alone, had dropped 26 points and 13 rebounds on Los Angeles 10 days earlier in the Pelicans&rsquo; 94-81 win in New Orleans. He added 15 rebounds to his prolific scoring in the rematch.
&ldquo;He changed the game for us tonight,&rdquo; said Brandon Ingram, who scored 27 points for New Orleans. &ldquo;He came out with a lot of energy and looked like he played loose. He was the head of the snake of everything we did.&rdquo;
Green and the Pelicans&rsquo; coaching staff are constantly encouraging more long-range shooting from Valančiūnas, who didn&rsquo;t make a single 3-pointer in the first five years of his NBA career in Toronto. Valančiūnas added the shot to his arsenal through years of hard work, yet he is still reluctant to unleash his jumper even though he knows it improves the Pelicans&rsquo; spacing and ball movement.
A night like this is a boon for his confidence.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m comfortable when I see them going in,&rdquo; Valančiūnas said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not comfortable when they&rsquo;re not going in. It was just a team effort. Working with the guys, getting me open, running the plays for that is five guys&rsquo; effort on the court.&rdquo;
Paul George scored 27 points and Reggie Jackson had 19 for the Clippers, who have lost three of four and six of nine after a seven-game winning streak.
&ldquo;We just couldn&rsquo;t stop them tonight,&rdquo; Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. &ldquo;We were due for a bad defensive game ... but they got anything they wanted, and we couldn&rsquo;t get in any rhythm offensively.&rdquo;
George closed the margin to eight midway through the fourth, but Ingram scored eight points in the quarter and led a 17-8 run to put it away for New Orleans. George lamented the Pelicans&rsquo; 47-35 rebounding advantage.
&ldquo;Every team, they&rsquo;re going to crash (the boards) against us,&rdquo; George said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s honestly our kryptonite. Every team goes toward that, sending guys to the glass. They just think they can do that and there&rsquo;s no penalty to it because we haven&rsquo;t been a great transition team once we get rebounds. We&rsquo;re just going to see that every night.&rdquo;
Herbert Jones added 16 points for the Pelicans, who rebounded from their second-worst loss of the season at Utah last Saturday to finish their three-game road trip with two victories.
The Pelicans have won three of four, doubling their season win total in the past six days after a 3-16 start without injured Zion Williamson. Their star forward has been cleared for a full return to basketball activities, further boosting New Orleans&rsquo; hopes of turning around its season.
The Clippers (11-10) still won&rsquo;t have Kawhi Leonard anytime soon, and they&rsquo;re struggling to keep pace in the competitive Western Conference.
TIP-INS
Pelicans: Josh Hart had 12 rebounds and nine assists, but only four points on 1-for-9 shooting. ... New Orleans committed just eight turnovers.
Clippers: Marcus Morris got a rest after playing Sunday. Amir Coffey had nine points while starting in the veteran&rsquo;s place. ... Nicolas Batum missed his fifth straight game. He is in the NBA&rsquo;s health and safety protocol.
B.I. IN L.A.
Ingram spent his first three seasons with the Lakers before he went to New Orleans in the blockbuster trade for Anthony Davis, and he still knows plenty of Staples Center employees.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s always fun being back here,&rdquo; Ingram said. &ldquo;I definitely felt it tonight with the Clippers fans. I heard my name a lot tonight, and it felt good.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Pelicans: Host the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.
Clippers: Host the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.

Jonas Valančiūnas scored 29 of his career-high 39 points in a spectacular first half, and the Pelicans beat the Clippers for the second time this month.

Kyron