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Lakers

On Saturday, the Enemies and Triplets will battle for the BIG3 championship at The O2 Arena in London.
The Enemies feature Nick Young (the team's captain), Isaiah Austin (co-captain), Elijah Stewart (co-captain), Quincy Miller and Jordan Crawford, with Gilbert Arenas serving as the team's coach.
The Triplets have many familar faces, including Joe Johnson (the team's captain), Jeremy Pargo (co-captain), Larry Sanders, Jamario Moon, Damien Wilkins and Mo Charlo, with Lisa Leslie as their coach.
The Enemies earned a spot in the championship game by defeating three-time champions Trilogy, 50-37. All-Star standout Jordan Crawford led the way with 27 points. This is the Enemies' first-ever championship appearance.
The Triplets won the BIG3 championship back in 2019 and hope to earn their second title this weekend. They advanced to the title game after beating the Ghost Ballers, 50-45. The driving force behind their deep postseason run is back-to-back MVP Joe Johnson (who has a shot at winning a third-straight MVP award).
Prior to the championship matchup, the BIG3 All-Star game will also take place this weekend at The O2 Arena. The game will feature the following All-Stars: Michael Beasley, Jodie Meeks, Jordan Crawford, Mike Taylor, Donte Green, Glen Rice, Earl Clark, Ryan Carter, Joe Johnson, Jeremy Pargo, Leandro Barbosa, Gerald Green, Elijah Stewart, Royce White, Frank Nitty and Jason Richardson.
Both the All-Star game and championship game will be broadcast live on CBS. The All-Star game tips off at 1 p.m. ET, followed by the championship game at 2 p.m. ET.&nbsp;
This is the sixth season of Ice Cube's three-on-three league, and the BIG3 has experienced significant growth in <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/big3-basketball-viewership-keeps-growing-as-sixth-season-continues" target="_blank" rel="noopener">viewership</a> and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/big3-sees-surge-in-tv-ratings-attendance-to-start-sixth-season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attendance</a> numbers this year.

On Saturday at The O2 Arena in London, the Enemies will battle the Triplets for the BIG3 title.

Enemies to face Triplets in BIG3 championship at London's O2 Arena

The BIG3, Ice Cube's professional three-on-three basketball league, is off to a terrific start in its sixth season, seeing substantial increases in television viewership and live attendance.
The league's games on CBS have seen viewership grow substantially compared to last season, and the audience continues to rapidly increase week to week.
Week 1 (June 25): 483,000 viewers
Week 2 (July 1): 501,000 viewers
Week 3 (July 9): 525,000 viewers
Week 4 (July 15): 600,000 viewers
Week 4 in Memphis earned a 0.31 rating and averaged 600,000 viewers during the league's 3.5-hour broadcast window from 3:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. ET. This represents a 46% increase from 412,000 viewers and a 0.26 rating in the same weekend time slot last year. BIG3 topped tough competition in the time slot, including the NBA Summer League on ESPN (309,000 viewers) and MLB on FS1 (369,000). Also, NASCAR on USA (609,000) and Wimbledon's Women's finals on ABC (762,000) had overlapping broadcast windows.
"We're thrilled to see this continued interest and growth as we start season six," said BIG3 co-founder Ice Cube.&nbsp;"It's a testament to the highly competitive and entertaining product we put on the court each week.&nbsp;This season is the best yet."
Attendance rebounded after two seasons impacted by COVID-19 restrictions. The first three weeks in Chicago, Dallas and New York drew close to 30,000 fans in total, with energetic crowds averaging over 9,000 per event.
"Our fans have been eager to get back to experiencing the BIG3 in person," said league co-founder Jeff Kwatinetz. "Their energy and excitement have been palpable in each city so far."
This season, the BIG3 is paying tribute to the 50th anniversary of rap and hip hop. The first four weeks have included musical performances by artists such as Ja Rule, KRS-One, M.O.P., NLE Choppa, Big Boogie, Twista, Dorrough, Mike Jones, Scar Lip and, of course, Ice Cube. Monster Energy athletes have also been featured, along with dancers, cheerleaders and dunkers.
The league features many of the most popular and skilled three-on-three players worldwide, including Joe Johnson, Leandro Barbosa and Michael Beasley. Hall-of-Fame legends such as Julius "Dr. J" Erving, Rick Barry, Lisa Leslie, Nancy Lieberman and Gary Payton are among the league's coaches.
The BIG3 continues this Sunday at the Kaseya Center in Miami, followed by stops in Boston, Charlotte, Detroit and Washington D.C. for the playoffs. This year's championship and All-Star game will be played at the famous O2 Arena in London. BIG3 games can be found on CBS, Paramount+ and <a href="http://tv.big3.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://TV.BIG3.COM&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1689970311421000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2ao6QRso9oXC-5pMgFtdlc">TV.BIG3.COM.</a>

In its sixth season, the BIG3 has seen substantial increases in television viewership and live attendance.

BIG3 sees surge in TV ratings, attendance to start sixth season

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Although the Los Angeles Lakers&rsquo; late-season transformation is one of this NBA season&rsquo;s best stories, LeBron James and his teammates finally appear to be running out of steam in the Western Conference finals.
They&rsquo;ve also finally run into an opponent capable of making sure this story doesn&rsquo;t have a completely happy ending.
After looking weary and mistake-prone in Denver during their first back-to-back losses in over two months, the Lakers face a must-win Game 3 Saturday.
Los Angeles has been on a prolonged roll ever since the trade deadline, going 27-12 while surging into the playoff picture, winning a play-in game and knocking out two higher-seeded opponents in six games. But that roll has finally been slowed by Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and the respect-hungry Nuggets, whose superior late-game play was the reason they&rsquo;re up 2-0.
&ldquo;This is not the NCAA Tournament,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the first team to four wins. We have an opportunity to go home and play great basketball and hold serve. Until a team beats you four times, you always have an opportunity to come out of it. So that&rsquo;s the confidence that we should have. I know it&rsquo;s going to be a tough hill to climb up, but we still have an opportunity to play the best basketball of the series in Game 3.&rdquo;
The Lakers insist they&rsquo;re not as tired as they looked for stretches of both games in Denver, when they settled for too many jumpers, ran the court less effectively and lost a fraction of their defensive intensity. James and Anthony Davis both say the fatigue of this relentless two-month sprint toward title contention isn&rsquo;t finally too much for a team that altered half of its roster just three months ago.
&ldquo;If you&rsquo;re not tired in the postseason...,&rdquo; James said after LA&rsquo;s 108-103 loss in Game 2. &ldquo;I mean, everybody&rsquo;s tired.&rdquo;
But James&rsquo; weariness appears to be evident in his jump shot &mdash; and in his reliance on that shot instead of the more physically demanding task of driving to the hoop. The top scorer in NBA history went 0 for 6 on 3-pointers in Game 2, making him 0 for 10 in the series. He has also missed 19 consecutive 3-pointers in the fourth quarter over the Lakers&rsquo; last 11 playoff games.
On top of the fatigue from the heavy workload for his 38-year-old body, James also sprained his left ankle in the third quarter of Game 2, although said he would be fine for Game 3.
Davis is prone to offensive inconsistency, and the stress of leading the Lakers&rsquo; defensive effort against mighty Denver may have affected him &mdash; although he insists it didn&rsquo;t. What&rsquo;s clear is that Davis&rsquo; 18-point performance on 4-of-15 shooting in Game 2 isn&rsquo;t enough from the Lakers&rsquo; franchise big man, particularly after his 40-point effort in Game 1, when the Lakers&rsquo; defense was much worse.
The Lakers are hoping for a big boost from their success-hungry home fans when they get back to their downtown arena, where they&rsquo;re 7-0 at home since the regular season ended.
&ldquo;The higher the levels you get to, you&rsquo;re going to face much, much tougher teams,&rdquo; Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. &ldquo;No disrespect to Memphis or Golden State, but (Denver) has been at the top of the food chain for a reason. Not just this year, but the last few years. So we&rsquo;ve definitely got our work cut out for us, but we&rsquo;re going to get better from this, as we always do, and we&rsquo;ll bounce back on our home floor.&rdquo;
The Lakers had lost back-to-back games just once &mdash; in mid-March &mdash; since the trade deadline. Their late-season turnaround is still stunning after the additions of D&rsquo;Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley along with the departures of Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn, opening up playing time for vital supporting players Austin Reaves and Dennis Schr&ouml;der.
But all that quick work might not be enough to overcome the steady togetherness of the Nuggets, who have handled the Lakers much better than their own inferiority complex.
Coach Michael Malone curiously punctuated their gritty Game 2 victory with sarcastic jabs about the basketball world&rsquo;s supposed ignorance of two-time NBA MVP Jokic&rsquo;s talents, along with criticism of a &ldquo;national narrative&rdquo; he believed was too impressed by the Lakers&rsquo; Game 1 rally.
The winningest team in the West is making its fifth consecutive playoff appearance after its sixth straight winning season, yet Malone appears to be paying close attention to television&rsquo;s talking heads while pounding the nobody-believes-in-us narrative that permeates sports, even for professional powerhouses like the Nuggets and the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Perhaps that&rsquo;s because these Nuggets have never been here before: They&rsquo;re as close to the NBA Finals as this franchise has ever been, up 2-0 on a 17-time NBA champion franchise with a global brand and the sport&rsquo;s most accomplished active player.
Eliminating LeBron and the Lakers would be a signature achievement for this Denver group, and it has a chance to all but lock up the achievement with a win in Game 3.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely going to be hostile there,&rdquo; Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. said. &ldquo;They still feel like they&rsquo;re in this series, obviously. It&rsquo;s the first to four. It&rsquo;s not the first to two. They&rsquo;re not going to just roll over, and now they&rsquo;re back in LA.&rdquo;

After looking weary and mistake-prone in Denver during their first back-to-back losses in over two months, the Lakers face a must-win.

Lakers look for boost after falling behind Nuggets in Conference Finals

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; Brandon Miller scored 24 points and Mark Sears made seven of eight free throws over the final 1:04 to help No. 2 Alabama top Arkansas 86-83 on Saturday.
Miller delivered his second straight huge game for the Crimson Tide (25-4, 15-1 Southeastern Conference) since police alleged in courtroom testimony that he brought a gun to former teammate Darius Miles, who is charged with capital murder in a fatal shooting.
The week&rsquo;s details cast a different light on Miller&rsquo;s regular pregame introduction, which is a Tide staffer giving him a pat down. Coach Nate Oats said after the game that intro for Miller is now over.
Fellow freshman Nick Smith Jr. of Arkansas (19-10, 8-8), another potential NBA draft lottery pick who helped keep the Razorbacks in it with a late 3-pointer, scored 24 points. Davonte Davis added 21 points for Arkansas, Council scored 20, and the rest of the team combined for 18 points.
Jahvon Quinerly had 16 points and seven assists for the Tide, and Noah Clowney had 10 points and 13 rebounds.
NO. 1 HOUSTON 76, EAST CAROLINA 57
GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Marcus Sasser scored 22 points to help Houston clinch outright possession of the American Athletic Conference regular-season title.
Tramon Mark added 20 points for the Cougars (27-2, 15-1), while J&rsquo;Wan Roberts had 17 points and 12 rebounds in Houston&rsquo;s ninth straight victory.
East Carolina (14-14, 5-10) had an energetic home crowd for the first-ever visit from a No. 1-ranked team to Minges Coliseum, as well as the program&rsquo;s first game against a top-ranked opponent in more than 31 years. But the Cougars never trailed and led for all but 56 seconds. Ezra Ausar scored 15 points to lead the Pirates.
NO. 3 KANSAS 76, WEST VIRGINIA 74
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Dajuan Harris was one point shy of a career high, scoring 17 points to help lift Kansas over West Virginia.
The Jayhawks&rsquo; stifling defense kept West Virginia from attempting a shot in the final 20 seconds. The Mountaineers&rsquo; Joe Toussaint traveled on their final possession of the game. Baskets by K.J. Adams and Kevin McCullar extended the Jayhawks&rsquo; lead to 75-68 late as they grinded out the victory.
Harris led Kansas (24-5, 12-4 Big 12) with 7-of-9 shooting from the field and had six assists and six steals.
Erik Stevenson led West Virginia (16-13, 5-11) with 23 points. Tre Mitchell scored 20, Kedrian Johnson scored 15 and Emmitt Mathews Jr. had 13.
NO. 17 INDIANA 79, NO. 5 PURDUE 71
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Hood-Schifino scored a career-high 35 points and Trey Galloway added 10 of his 13 in the second half to lead Indiana over Purdue.
The Hoosiers (20-9, 11-7 Big Ten) snapped a seven-game losing streak in West Lafayette and pulled their first season sweep in this bitter rivalry since 2012-13.
Zach Edey led the Boilermakers with 26 points and 16 rebounds and Fletcher Loyer added 14 points. Purdue (24-5, 13-5) has lost three of four and blew a chance to clinch a share of the conference crown in front of its home fans, who stood outside in chilly temperatures and snaking lines for hours before tip-off.
NORTH CAROLINA 71, NO. 6 VIRGINIA 63
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Pete Nance scored 22 points to lead North Carolina past Virginia.
Nance shot 7 of 10 from the floor and was 4 of 4 from behind the arc, the most 3-pointers the fifth-year forward has made in ACC play. He added two assists and four blocks.
R.J. Davis notched the fourth double-double of his career with 16 points and 10 rebounds for North Carolina (18-11, 10-8 Atlantic Coast Conference), which got a much-needed boost to its NCAA Tournament resume with a Quadrant 1 win &mdash; the first of the season for the Tar Heels.
Jayden Gardner had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead Virginia (21-6, 13-5), which lost its second in a row. Armaan Franklin added 14 points.
ARIZONA STATE 89, NO. 7 ARIZONA 88
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) &mdash; Desmond Cambridge Jr. hit a 60-foot shot at the buzzer and Arizona State rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat Arizona.
The Wildcats (24-5, 13-5 Pac-12) built a 10-point lead midway through the second half before going more than six minutes without a field goal as Arizona State pulled ahead by one.
The Sun Devils (20-9, 11-7) went up 86-85 on Warren Washington&rsquo;s layup with just a minute left, but Pelle Larsson put Arizona back up on a layup with 29 seconds left. Arizona State&rsquo;s DJ Horne missed a jumper with 4 seconds left and the Sun Devils had a final shot after Oumar Ballo hit one of two free throws.
Catching the ball with 2.4 seconds left, Cambridge launched a shot from beyond half-court to finish with 19 points and give the Sun Devils a big boost in their bid to make the NCAA Tournament.
NO. 9 BAYLOR 81, NO. 8 TEXAS 72
WACO, Texas (AP) &mdash; Jalen Bridges had 17 points for ninth-ranked Baylor, which overcame a huge deficit with an impressive run right after freshman standout Keyonte George left injured early and beat Big 12 co-leader Texas.
Adam Flagler had 14 points for the Bears (21-8, 10-6). Dale Bonner added 13 points, including seven in an quick spurt after halftime while Flo Thamba had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Dylan Disu had a season-high 24 points for Texas (22-7, 11-5), which twice got even early in the second half but never could regain the lead.
NO. 10 MARQUETTE 90, DEPAUL 84
MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Kam Jones and Tyler Kolek each scored 22 points while helping Marquette clinch a share of its first Big East regular-season championship in a decade.
Kolek also had 14 assists as Marquette (23-6, 15-3) rolled to a 49-28 halftime lead and hung on after DePaul (9-20, 3-15) got close down the stretch. Marquette has won nine of its last 10, while DePaul has lost 10 straight.
This is Marquette&rsquo;s first conference title in 2013, when the Golden Eagles shared the Big East crown with Georgetown and eventual national champion Louisville.
Umoja Gibson led DePaul with 20 points and eight assists. Nick Ongenda added 16 points and 12 rebounds.
NO. 11 TENNESSEE 85, SOUTH CAROLINA 45
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Josiah-Jordan James came back from missing four games with an injury to score 18 points to lead Tennessee to a rout of South Carolina.
James, who suffered an ankle injury against Vanderbilt on Feb. 8, shot 4 of 7 on 3-pointers for the Volunteers (21-8, 10-6 Southeastern Conference). Jahmai Mashack scored 14 points, Zakai Zeigler had 13 points and 11 assists, and Olivier Nkamhoua and Uros Plavsic scored 10 each.
Hayden Brown led the Gamecocks (10-19, 3-13) with 18 points.
NO. 12 GONZAGA 77, NO. 15 SAINT MARY&rsquo;S 68
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) &mdash; Drew Timme scored 19 points and Gonzaga earned a share of the West Coast Conference regular-season title with a win over Saint Mary&rsquo;s.
Anton Watson had 17 points and Malachi Smith added 13 off the bench for the Bulldogs, who have won or shared the conference title in 11 straight seasons. Gonzaga (25-5, 14-2) also reached the 25-win mark for the 16th season in a row &mdash; and avenged a loss to the Gaels earlier this month in Moraga.
Logan Johnson led the Gaels (25-6, 14-2) with 27 points.
Because the teams shared the regular-season title, the WCC will use the NCAA&rsquo;s NET rankings to determine the top seed for the conference tournament.
FLORIDA STATE 85, NO. 13 MIAMI 84
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) &mdash; Matthew Cleveland&rsquo;s 3-pointer as time expired capped Florida State&rsquo;s comeback from a 25-point second-half deficit and a win over Miami.
Jordan Miller had given Miami the lead on a 3-pointer with 4.9 seconds left. But Cleveland let fly from about 25 feet and the ball swished to give the Seminoles (9-20, 7-11 Atlantic Coast Conference) their best moment of the season.
Cleveland and Darin Green Jr. each had 20 points for Florida State, which also got 13 from Caleb Mills and 11 from Jalen Warley.
Miller led Miami (23-6, 14-5) with 21 points. Norchad Omier had 15, Isaiah Wong scored 14 and Bensley Joseph added 12 for the Hurricanes, whose seven-game winning streak and perfect home season were ended.
NO. 18 UCONN 95, ST. JOHN&rsquo;S 86
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Jordan Hawkins scored 20 points, Adama Sanogo added 18 points and nine rebounds, and UConn beat St. John&rsquo;s.
Andre Jackson Jr. had 15 points, Joey Calcaterra also scored 15 to lead a strong effort by Connecticut&rsquo;s bench and the resurgent Huskies (22-7, 11-7 Big East) avenged an 11-point loss to St. John&rsquo;s at home last month.
UConn won for the sixth time in seven games, closing in on a first-round bye in the Big East Tournament.
AJ Storr had 20 points and Posh Alexander added 18 for the Red Storm (17-13, 7-12), who had won three of four.
NO. 14 KANSAS STATE 73, OKLAHOMA STATE 68
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) &mdash; Markquis Nowell had 22 points, eight assists and four steals in Kansas State&rsquo;s third straight win, beating Oklahoma State.
Keyontae Johnson added 17 points for the Wildcats (22-7, 10-6 Big 12), who swept the regular-season series.
Kalib Boone scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half on Senior Day for Oklahoma State. Caleb Asberry scored 13 points and John-Michael Wright added 12 for the Cowboys (16-13, 7-9), who have lost four straight.
VILLANOVA 79, NO. 19 CREIGHTON 67
PHILADELPHIA (AP) &mdash; Eric Dixon scored 18 of his career-high 31 points in the first half, Cam Whitmore added 17 and Villanova defeated Creighton.
Dixon also set a career high with six 3-pointers for Villanova (15-14, 9-9 Big East), which has won five of six.
Arthur Kaluma scored 19 points and Ryan Kalkbrenner had 18 for Creighton (18-11, 12-6). The Bluejays have lost three of four following an eight-game winning streak.
NO. 22 SAN DIEGO STATE 73, NEW MEXICO 71
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) &mdash; Lamont Butler&rsquo;s 3-pointer at the buzzer gave San Diego State a win at New Mexico.
After Jaelen House&rsquo;s steal and end-to-end run for a layup with 5.6 seconds left gave New Mexico a 71-70 lead, Butler unhurriedly brought the ball up court before dropping his shot, giving him 10 points for the Aztecs (23-5, 14-2 Mountain West).
Darrion Trammell scored 18 points to lead the Aztecs. Matt Bradley added 11 as San Diego State won its sixth straight.
Jamal Mashburn Jr. finished with 20 points for New Mexico (20-9, 7-9) and House had 15.
OKLAHOMA 61, NO. 23 IOWA STATE 50
AMES, Iowa (AP) &mdash; Jacob Groves led Oklahoma with 16 points as the Sooners knocked off Iowa State.
The Sooners (14-15, 4-12 Big 12) had lost nine of their previous 11 games but erased an early 11-point deficit and seized control with a 17-2 run in the second half.
Groves shot 4 of 5 from the 3-point line. Tanner Groves added 9 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
The Cyclones (17-11, 8-8) shot just 31%. Gabe Kalscheur led Iowa State with 12 points.
NO. 24 TCU 83, TEXAS TECH 82
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) &mdash; JaKobe Coles made two free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining, and TCU beat Texas Tech despite blowing a 12-point lead in the final eight minutes.
After De&rsquo;Vion Harmon&rsquo;s steal and layup put the Red Raiders in front by one with 12 seconds remaining, Coles caught a pass from Emanuel Miller in the lane and was fouled by Fardaws Aimaq going up for the shot. The Horned Frogs (19-10, 8-8 Big 12) weren&rsquo;t in the bonus.
Harmon&rsquo;s desperation 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded wasn&rsquo;t close, ending a four-game winning streak Texas Tech (16-13, 5-11).
Mike Miles Jr. scored 24 points for the Horned Frogs, who had lost five of six and were coming off a loss to No. 3 Kansas at home. Miller had 14 points and 12 rebounds for TCU.
Aimaq scored 19 points, Harmon had 18 and Kevin Obanor finished with 17 points and nine rebounds for Texas Tech.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 69, NO. 25 TEXAS A&amp;M 62
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) &mdash; Tolu Smith had 17 points and Shakeel Moore had 14 as Mississippi State knocked off Texas A&amp;M.
Cameron Matthews had 11 points for the Bulldogs (19-10, 7-9 Southeastern Conference), who held the Aggies to one field goal in the final 14 minutes and outscored them 34-18 during the same time period.
Wade Taylor IV led Texas A&amp;M (21-9, 13-3) with 21 points, including four 3-pointers, and Henry Coleman III and Andersson Garcia each had 11.

A recap of Saturday's slew of action in top 25 NCAA men's college hoops.

Miller has another big game as No. 2 Alabama tops Arkansas

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; LeBron James took the microphone at center court under a spotlight Thursday night, and all the fans who guessed wrong rose to unleash a mighty roar.
Two days after James became the NBA&rsquo;s scoring king, the achievement was still a thrill to him. In a pregame ceremony, he got to share it with the Lakers faithful who bought tickets one game too late to see it in person.
James paused to gather his thoughts while the three scoreboard ribbons running the circumference of the Lakers&rsquo; downtown arena all rotated the same message: &ldquo;LeBron James &mdash; NBA All-Time Leading Scorer.&rdquo;
&ldquo;As I sit up here and look at this thing going around right now, it&rsquo;s just so surreal to me,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;But the one thing I know for sure is that I&rsquo;ve never cheated the game of basketball. And I would never cheat the game of basketball, because it&rsquo;s given so much to myself. It&rsquo;s given so much to my family.&rdquo;
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Two days after he broke the record, James was still basking in the achievement of a lifetime &mdash; and even the fans who bought tickets for the Lakers&rsquo; meeting with the Milwaukee Bucks instead of their game against Oklahoma City on Tuesday night got a memory for their efforts.
The Lakers held a brief ceremony to recognize James, who was sitting out their first game since the record to rest his sore left foot and ankle.
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Moments before James took the court, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar offered his thoughts on James&rsquo; place in the game&rsquo;s history after breaking Abdul-Jabbar&rsquo;s record of 38,387 points, a mark that had stood for nearly 39 years.
&ldquo;The game has had eras, and LeBron, without a doubt, is the greatest player of his era,&rdquo; Abdul-Jabbar said. &ldquo;And that era is right behind that of Shaquille (O&rsquo;Neal), Michael Jordan. There are people that dominated the game, and then there are people that capture everybody&rsquo;s imagination. I think that&rsquo;s what Michael Jordan did. Everybody wanted to be him, to do what he did.&rdquo;
Abdul-Jabbar noted the folly of the so-called G.O.A.T debates, noting that eras in basketball vary wildly.
&ldquo;How many people in here saw Sweetwater Clifton play? I didn&rsquo;t. Most of us didn&rsquo;t,&rdquo; Abdul-Jabbar said. &ldquo;He was awesome, but that was back in the early &rsquo;50s, without the 24-second clock. ... I think the reason they have sports bars with all those TVs is so people can go in there and argue like this, because we&rsquo;re not going to find out.&rdquo;
James&rsquo; place in the game&rsquo;s history is already secure as he attempts to revive the Lakers&rsquo; playoff chances deep in his 20th NBA season. James&rsquo; left ankle has periodically forced him to miss games this season, including six since November.
On court in a sharp suit, James was in a reflective mood: He recalled the Christmas before his fourth birthday in 1988 in Akron, Ohio, as the moment he fell in love permanently with the game when his mother, Gloria, bought him a kiddie hoop and a small basketball.
&ldquo;From that moment on, I knew that orange sphere was something that I always wanted to be a part of my journey,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;Who would have known? Someone said on social media that that was the biggest investment in the history of mankind. A $20 Little Tikes hoop could turn into what it&rsquo;s turned into today. Mom, thank you so much.&rdquo;
James was also in an appreciative mood with his mother in attendance alongside his three children and his wife, Savannah.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s my starting five right there,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;Savannah ... she&rsquo;s the real MVP, if you want to be completely honest. She&rsquo;s the all-time leading scorer, if you want to be completely honest. My boys would say they are the all-time leading scorers, but I don&rsquo;t think Savannah will allow that tonight.&rdquo;
James then addressed the Lakers&rsquo; fans, who have embraced a longtime rival ever since he arrived in 2018. He assumed an exemplary public leadership role for the franchise in the wake of Kobe Bryant&rsquo;s death in 2020 &mdash; and later in the year, he led Los Angeles to its 17th championship.
&ldquo;My family is everything to me, and you guys over the last five years have become family to me as well, so thank you to the Laker faithful,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;You guys are unbelievable, and every night I step on the floor, I truly understand what it means to represent the Los Angeles Lakers.&rdquo;
James&rsquo; absence and the Lakers&rsquo; flurry of trades over the past two days left them with only nine players in uniform when they faced the powerhouse Bucks.
Los Angeles traded away Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley, Thomas Bryant, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian Jones while acquiring D&rsquo;Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley, Mo Bamba and Davon Reed.
The moves are an attempt to salvage another disappointing year for James and the Lakers, who have foundered at the back of the Western Conference pack all season long with Anthony Davis struggling through his annual injury problems. The 13th-place Lakers fell to 25-30 with their 133-130 loss to Oklahoma City on James&rsquo; historic night.
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Two days after James became the NBA’s scoring king, LeBron James said the achievement was still a thrill to him.

2 days later, LeBron still feels scoring record is ‘surreal’

DENVER (AP) &mdash; A year ago, Mike Conley Jr. was on a team mentioned as a championship contender. This year, the Utah Jazz aren't in that conversation.
That doesn't change Conley's approach.
&ldquo;We're trying to win every day," Conley said.
So far, the Jazz are winning more days than not. And two weeks into the NBA season, there are some surprises &mdash; some good, some bad, with the Jazz finding themselves on the more fun side of that ledger.
Conley and the Jazz are off to a 6-2 start after Monday's win over Memphis. Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs are 5-2, which matches the team's best start since they were 6-1 on the way to winning the NBA title in the 2013-14 season.
If the Jazz and Spurs are tanking, they&rsquo;re definitely doing it wrong.
Not even the lure of landing the winning lottery ticket that will provide 7-foot-3 French teen Victor Wembanyama &mdash; who has skills often compared to Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Dirk Nowitzki &mdash; is enough to get the Jazz and Spurs to try and not win. Quite the contrary. They're playing hard, playing the right way, playing defense and it's working.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re young enough they don&rsquo;t know any better,&rdquo; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlVe8bhr2p4">Popovich said</a> of his squad. &ldquo;They just keep playing hard. ... They&rsquo;re pretty much obeying the basketball gods, doing all the simple things that help win games.&rdquo;
They should be feeling pretty happy in a couple other cities, too. Cleveland was 5-1 entering Monday, as was Portland. On the flip side of the surprise coin &mdash; Brooklyn was 2-5, the Los Angeles Lakers started 0-5 before getting their first win, and Miami is 2-5 entering a game Tuesday against Golden State. The reigning champs aren&rsquo;t exactly setting the world ablaze either, off to a 3-4 start.
It&rsquo;s early. There&rsquo;s almost a whole season left to go. But San Antonio and Utah are surprising just about everybody so far &mdash; well, everybody except themselves.
&ldquo;We just do our job,&rdquo; Conley said. &ldquo;At the end of the day, it doesn&rsquo;t matter what people say.&rdquo;
It wasn't uncommon to think the Jazz and Spurs might be among the teams that vie to be among the odds-on favorites for Wembanyama (the bottom three teams each <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/nba-draft-lottery-explainer">have a 14% probability</a> to land the No 1 pick). The Spurs are extremely young and feature a lineup consisting of hardly household names. The Jazz spent the summer trading away three of their biggest pieces in Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert and Bojan Bogdanovic.
&ldquo;For some reason, the league goes, &lsquo;Oh, Utah is tanking because they got rid of Donovan and Rudy and Bogdanovic,&rsquo;&rdquo; Nuggets coach Michael Malone recently said. &ldquo;Tell Mike Conley that. Tell Jordan Clarkson that. Tell Lauri Markkanen that. Those guys are NBA players and have played in a lot of big games. They&rsquo;re playing hard. They&rsquo;re getting out and running and they&rsquo;re defending.&rdquo;
Credit should go to Utah coach Will Hardy, who was mentored by Popovich. Among the lessons Hardy picked up from Popovich &mdash; his former boss in San Antonio, before Hardy spent last season as an assistant in Boston &mdash; was the art of fostering relationships.
&ldquo;He taps into that human element very, very well,&rdquo; said Hardy, who spent 11 seasons with Popovich and the Spurs, including five as an assistant coach. &ldquo;For all of his greatness from an X's-and-O's standpoint or an in-game coaching standpoint, it&rsquo;s all the stuff he does in-between games, on the human side, that for me separates him.&rdquo;
Hardy's team has quickly picked up on the building cohesion part. An illustration: The Jazz all recently gathered in a room in New Orleans during a trip and &ldquo;just chilled, and had fun,&rdquo; explained Malik Beasley, who was acquired as <a href="https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-timberwolves-utah-jazz-nba-sports-26b3c07948dc5cd6e28b8f7da887517f">part of the massive deal this offseason that sent Gobert to Minnesota</a>. On plane rides, they've been known meet in a group to chat and break down game film.
&ldquo;We have a great vibe," <a href="https://www.nba.com/jazz/videos/malik-beasley-no-matter-what-coach-wants-me-to-do-im-going-to-be-the-best-at-that-role">Beasley added</a>. "It&rsquo;s going to be fun to go to where we want to go to.&rdquo;
Which, so far, is north in the standings, not south.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re tired of people being surprised,&rdquo; Beasley said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re a good team, too."
The Jazz remain a huge longshot to win the NBA title this season, according to <a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/nba?tab=nba-finals">FanDuel Sportsbook</a>. The same applies to Orlando, Oklahoma City, Indiana, Houston, Sacramento, Detroit and San Antonio. All of those clubs are the ones expected to be in the running for the No. 1 pick and the chance at Wembanyama.
Not that the Spurs and Jazz have been paying any attention. Or caring what others believe. Popovich has a bunch of kids playing like seasoned vets.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think they even know what the capital of Texas is,&rdquo; Popovich cracked. &ldquo;But I don&rsquo;t care."
Added Spurs guard/forward <a href="https://twitter.com/spurs/status/1586915869405462528">Keldon Johnson</a>, who was part of the team that won Olympic gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021: &ldquo;We&rsquo;re playing great team basketball. We&rsquo;re making each other better. It&rsquo;s fun playing basketball that way.&rdquo;
___
AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds and AP freelance writer Mike Cranston contributed.

If the Jazz and Spurs are tanking, they’re definitely doing it wrong.

Jazz, Spurs off to surprising fast starts in West

It's admittedly fun to ride the small-sample-sized wave of early NBA seasons.
We've already witnessed 58 individual 30-plus-point performances in eight days of action from dozens of different players. The Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers are tied with the Memphis Grizzlies atop the Western Conference standings. And early breakout games have dotted the league's landscape, making fans of all 30 teams (well...) hopeful for what could be on the horizon.
But while it's encouraged to enjoy success in the moment, as analysts, how do we temper expectations and forecast the future? Some players are bound to return to earth, while for others, this first week might truly be the start of something special.
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Here are five players who have caught fire so far, and whose environments make sustaining these heat waves a plausible reality:
LAURI MARKKANEN, UTAH JAZZ
We start with everyone's favorite "What the heck is happening right now?" team in the Jazz, who are 4-1 despite being a projected basement-dweller/Victor Wembanyama suitor/whatever you'd like to tactfully call a bad basketball team.
Markkanen is leading the charge in the box score with his 22.0-point, 8.8-rebound, 3.0-assist per-game averages. Two of those would be career highs (he averaged 9.0 rebounds per game in 2018-19), and his 64.2% two-point clip would be a career best by far. That's also despite him canning just 24.2% of his threes.
Markkanen turned heads at the end of the summer with his <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/6-players-who-stood-out-from-eurobasket-2022-lauri-markkanen-alperen-sengun-lorenzo-brown-sasha-vezenkov-dzanan-musa-simone-fontecchio" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EuroBasket onslaught for Finland</a>. We saw the 25-year-old in a primary scoring role during the tournament, and that's sort of translated to Utah. Markkanen's usage rate (22.6%) and drives per game (6.0) are his highest figures since 2018-19. He's making a stunning 68.4% of his shots when he drives to the basket &mdash; bound to recede, but definitely a positive sign when you look at the above footage.
And yet! He's also been used creatively without having to be individually creative, as highlighted by Mat Issa:
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Reason #1: Lauri Markkanen (cont.) And while he has made some strides as a self-generated scorer, he's doing a lot of his damage playing off of his teammates as a shooter, roller, and cutter. 71 of his 86 shot attempts (82.6%) have come off 2 dribbles or less. <a href="https://t.co/xrAUBCbGGm">pic.twitter.com/xrAUBCbGGm</a>
&mdash; Mat Issa (@matissa15) <a href="https://twitter.com/matissa15/status/1585651902473068544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Regardless of how the Jazz progress as a team, Markkanen is going to be a featured player barring any sort of trade. He's also an easy bet to return to form as a perimeter shooter. Markkanen currently sports a 29.2% clip on catch-and-shoot threes; he typically hovers around 35%.
There's no one standing in the way of Markkanen leading the Jazz in shot attempts, and he's shown signs that he can take on such a responsibility.
TREY MURPHY III, NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
A literally perfect, 22-point, 8-for-8 shooting effort from Murphy helped the Pelicans win a game against the Dallas Mavericks without Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and Herb Jones. The second-year forward is shooting a lights-out 68.4% from long range and re-establishing himself as a premier young shooting talent in the league.&nbsp;
However, it's been his aggression attacking closeouts that has really helped Murphy propel his offensive game forward.
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We all know Trey Murphy is an amazing shooter. But him attacking closeouts like this is going to make him incredibly deadly <a href="https://t.co/AmJd9RiGfw">pic.twitter.com/AmJd9RiGfw</a>
&mdash; Shamit Dua (@FearTheBrown) <a href="https://twitter.com/FearTheBrown/status/1585139430259855360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 26, 2022</a></blockquote>

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<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/trey-murphy-iii-wants-to-announce-presence-new-orleans-pelicans-zion-williamson-brandon-ingram" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Murphy explained to me this summer</a> that he's really worked on anticipating and absorbing contact. That showed up in NBA Summer League, and it's manifesting so far as you can see in the above clips. Murphy is only 3-for-8 on driving attempts so far, but that's already better than his abysmal 21.4% rate as a rookie. He's also been one of the most frequent transition finishers in the NBA, and is even averaging a league-best 1.92 points per possession in transition.
New Orleans hasn't gotten out and running too much, but they project as a team that can capitalize on fast breaks. Murphy is an improved at-rim finisher and can always leak out for threes. It makes him yet another unique weapon for the Pelicans' offense.
JAYLEN NOWELL, MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
Want to talk about a dark-horse candidate for Sixth Man of the Year? Nowell is putting up 16.2 points in just 21.8 minutes per game for the Timberwolves and has effectively filled Malik Beasley's spot in the rotation. The 23-year-old is knocking down just 32.1% of his threes, but he's a proven threat from distance who I expect to improve.
Mark Schindler has been all over the Jaylen Nowell breakout for practically the entire calendar year, so both deserve their flowers:
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Jaylen Nowell Hooper <a href="https://t.co/kIKFnyToFn">pic.twitter.com/kIKFnyToFn</a>
&mdash; Mark Schindler (@MG_Schindler) <a href="https://twitter.com/MG_Schindler/status/1584985123782811648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 25, 2022</a></blockquote>

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The third-year guard is prolific in the short-mid-range areas like above; this year, he's made a ridiculous (and unsustainable) 62% of his total mid-range looks. But he's been trading some of those shots in and getting even closer to the basket. Per Cleaning the Glass, Nowell's short-mid-range shot frequency has dropped by 12%, while his at-rim rate has climbed by 13%. That's a great sign since he's a capable scorer in both zones.
Nowell's per-game scoring average is fourth among NBA players with multiple games off the bench. The three in front? Christian Wood (a probably eventual starter), Bennedict Mathurin (a rookie and probable eventual starter) and Keegan Murray (same boat as Mathurin). It's entirely plausible that by the end of the year, this three-level bucket-getter emerges as a leading contender for the Sixth Man of the Year award.
NICK RICHARDS, CHARLOTTE HORNETS
A third-year center and former second-round pick, Richards has grinded away as a reserve for a Hornets team desperately in need of stopgaps in the frontcourt. Through four contests, he's averaging 13.0 points and 7.8 rebounds per game on a crisp 71.4% field goal clip (all twos).
According to Second Spectrum, Richards has either grabbed an offensive board or tipped one to a teammate on two-thirds of his offensive rebound chances &mdash; tied for fourth-best in the NBA among high-volume rebounders.
Within that pristine field goal percentage, Richards is 8-for-9 in scoring chances as a roll man. Now, we're really digging into some small samples here. But he's shooting 78% at the rim in total, which lines up with 75% from last year, and some of the plays look promising. Nothing too crazy, but Richards has finished with soft touch and some power over two of the better interior defenders in the league in Clint Capela and Jakob Poeltl:
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Richards' success is the most extreme small-sample-size bet in this notebook. He just has barely seen an NBA floor, so even looking at past seasons gets sketchy. I'm optimistic for two reasons: Charlotte has an obvious hole he is filling at center, and the team has some elite guard playmakers in LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier who he can work off of.
DEVIN VASSELL, SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Like Markkanen and the Jazz, Vassell and the Spurs are unburdened by expectations, which hopefully gives them the freedom to experiement throughout the season. Fans of the 2020 No. 11 pick have waited for Vassell's glimpses of pull-up prowess and overall scoring to coalesce, and 2022-23 might be the year.
Vassell is putting up 19.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game while firing threes at a career-high volume (8.3 per game) and efficiency (39.4%). The long-range marksmanship has come and gone in waves, and yes, it's probably too early to assume Vassell has fully arrived as a pull-up powerhouse.
However, there's still a lot to love about his start &mdash; especially that assist number.
Vassell's 19.6% assist rate more than doubles either of his prior two seasons, while his 5.2% turnover rate is actually a career-low. There are 72 NBA players averaging more than 8 drives per game this season; Vassell's 15.9% assist rate on drives ranks ninth.
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He's not some highlight-reel passer, but Vassell displays some really impressive floor vision. He can enter a drive in attack mode and still have the wherewithal to monitor how the defense shifts and how his own teammates get open.
Vassell is off to a shaky start as a driving scorer &mdash; he's made just 28.6% of said shots &mdash; but he has a past history with better efficiency. I bank on that returning, and, coupled with his improving vision and enticing perimeter scoring, Vassell could really terrify opposing defenses as a young playmaking engine.
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THE OUTLIERS (a.k.a. other random interesting numbers I found in the void):
<ul>
<li>Bennedict Mathurin has been electric as a rookie for the Indiana Pacers, and if you're wondering why his start feels unusually great, that's because it is:</li>
</ul>
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Bennedict Mathurin is only the fifth NBA player since 1980 to score at least 72 points in his first three career games&mdash;and the first since 1995: Isiah Thomas Dominique Wilkins Michael Jordan Jerry Stackhouse Bennedict Mathurin
&mdash; Zach Kram (@zachkram) <a href="https://twitter.com/zachkram/status/1583998848946827265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Synergy's Todd Whitehead has posted a ton of these starting lineup visualizations on his Twitter, and this one in particular caught my eye:</li>
</ul>
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17 teams in the league had 2 or 3 "homegrown" starters in their opening game last week. 6 teams had 4. 3 teams had 0. There are 8 players who made their NBA debut with the Lakers who are starting for somebody else this year, more than any other team. <a href="https://t.co/Kl9Qg0Oa0j">pic.twitter.com/Kl9Qg0Oa0j</a>
&mdash; Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) <a href="https://twitter.com/CrumpledJumper/status/1584621844522729472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 24, 2022</a></blockquote>

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<ul>
<li>This week's check-in on the Los Angeles Lakers (technically missing one game, but they shot 26.7% as a team, so I doubt this visual changes much):</li>
</ul>
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Dorktown: Los Angeles Lakers! <a href="https://t.co/c3JvICgyJm">pic.twitter.com/c3JvICgyJm</a>
&mdash; Secret Base (@secretbase) <a href="https://twitter.com/secretbase/status/1584584367283654662?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 24, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Lauri Markkanen, Devin Vassell and Nick Richards are among the players Ethan Fuller believes can sustain their early success.

NBA Stats Notebook: 5 players who can sustain their early breakouts

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Nobody is expecting much from the Utah Jazz. That&rsquo;s just the way they want it.
&ldquo;We all have chips on our shoulders. Everyone here wants to show people that we&rsquo;re a tough team,&rdquo; Collin Sexton said.
Sexton scored 20 points, Lauri Markkanen added 17 and the new-look Jazz beat the Denver Nuggets 123-102 on Wednesday night in the season opener for both teams.
New Jazz coach Will Hardy, a former assistant with the Boston Celtics, won his first game.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a real camaraderie with this group even at this early stage because I think all of our guys understand that none of them can do it on their own,&rdquo; Hardy said.
His players celebrated the victory with a water bottle bath and presented their coach the game ball as he got emotional.
&ldquo;We were just so happy for him. He deserves it. He&rsquo;s given a lot of guys a lot of confidence to go out there and play the right way,&rdquo; Mike Conley said.
It was a surprising result for a Denver team built for a title run and the Jazz, who are rebuilding after trading cornerstones Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert.
&ldquo;In that first half (the Jazz) outworked us and I think to a man everyone in (our) locker room would agree,&rdquo; Denver coach Mike Malone. &ldquo;We looked like a different team, felt like a different team (in the second half). But in this league you can&rsquo;t pick and choose when you play.&rdquo;
Rudy Gay scored 16 points, Malik Beasley had 15 and Conley, the lone returning starter from last season, had 13 as Utah had seven players in double-figure scoring. Rookie Walker Kessler had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and the Jazz shot 50.6% from the field.
Nikola Jokic scored 27 points and Aaron Gordon had 22 for Denver but they weren&rsquo;t happy with their first game.
&ldquo;Even when we provided open looks, we didn&rsquo;t shoot those. I think the mentality was that we didn&rsquo;t know what to do,&rdquo; Jokic said.
The Jazz, as might be expected with a young team with 10 new additions, nearly unraveled after leading comfortably most of the game. A series of turnovers and missed rotations allowed the Nuggets to claw back from 24 points down.
Jokic, the two-time reigning Most Valuable Player, brought the Nuggets back to 105-98 on a running hook.
But Gay and Beasley made back-to-back 3-pointers while the Nuggets shook their heads and Beasley did an extended shimmy.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to help us down the road to build that confidence that if I&rsquo;m open, I know my teammates are going to get the ball to me,&rdquo; said Sexton, who missed most of last year with a torn meniscus.
&ldquo;The Bull is back,&rdquo; he said, referring to his nickname, &ldquo;Young Bull.&rdquo;
Key players Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. are also back from injuries but the Nuggets looked rusty, especially on defense as they allowed a 14-0 run to start the second quarter and 27-7 overall surge that put the Jazz in command.
When Sexton hit a 3-pointer late in the second quarter, the Jazz led 68-44. Despite Gordon&rsquo;s 16 points and Jokic&rsquo;s 14, the Nuggets trailed 75-53 and the Jazz left for the halftime break to a standing ovation from a stunned, yet energized crowd.
MURRAY&rsquo;S BACK
Murray, who missed all of last season due to knee surgery, scored 12 points on 5-for-13 shooting.
&ldquo;I was shaking off the rust obviously. I got some great looks, rushed into them hoping just to get a little rhythm,&rdquo; Murray said.
He played 25 minutes, the most he has played in a full scrimmage or preseason game since the injury.
&ldquo;Jamal played exactly (how) I expected. ... The guy hasn&rsquo;t played in a long time. This is his first NBA game since April 12th two years ago. &hellip; I&rsquo;m going to stay with him. I know what he&rsquo;s capable of,&rdquo; Malone said.
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Jokic was visibly frustrated, committing an offensive foul and then getting burned by Sexton on consecutive possessions for baskets late in the game. &hellip; The Nuggets outscored the Jazz in the paint, 68-42. &hellip; Denver committed seven turnovers in the fourth quarter.
Jazz: Clarkson welcomed the Jazz fans before the game and reminded them that WNBA star Brittney Griner remains in a Russian prison and needs the fans&rsquo; &ldquo;blessings&rdquo; &hellip; At one point, Vanderbilt was outrebounding all of the Nuggets, 12-9. But he picked up fouls four and five early in the third quarter before he could be substituted. &hellip; Kelly Olynyk got a technical in the fourth quarter.
UP NEXT
Nuggets: At Golden State on Friday night.
Jazz: At Minnesota on Friday night.

Collin Sexton scored 20 points, Lauri Markkanen added 17 and the new-look Jazz beat the Nuggets 123-102.

New-look Jazz beat Nuggets 123-102 in season opener

Nekias Duncan thoroughly breaks down all five teams in the Northwest Division ahead of the 2022-23 season.

2022-23 NBA Season Preview: Northwest Division

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

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

The Lakers had conversations about joining the Jazz and Knicks a few weeks ago in a potential three-team trade, according to <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/nba-rumors-donovan-mitchell-russell-westbrook-myles-turner-houston-rockets/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michael Scotto of HoopsHype</a>.
"The proposed three-team trade scenario included [Russell] Westbrook going to Utah and getting bought out. Utah would send Donovan Mitchell to the Knicks, a combination of two players, including Patrick Beverley&nbsp;and&nbsp;Jordan Clarkson, Bojan Bogdanovic or Malik Beasley to the Lakers, and the Jazz would receive significant draft pick compensation from the Knicks and Lakers. The Knicks also would&rsquo;ve had to part with veteran salary filler(s), such as Derrick Rose to help make the salaries work. The Lakers also have had interest in trading for Knicks forward Cam Reddish, who could also become part of a trade."
Because Beverley and Beasley were included in the Rudy Gobert trade, they can't be traded with any other players until August 30, which may explain why a deal hasn't been completed.

The Lakers, Knicks, and Jazz have discussed a three-way deal involving Donovan Mitchell and Russell Westbrook, among others.

Scotto: Lakers, Knicks, Jazz discussing three-way deal

Bookmark this page and we'll keep you up-to-date on every NBA rumor. We'll continue updating this tracker over the next 24 hours.

NBA Rumor Tracker: Compiling the latest news and intel

Michael Beasley is returning to professional basketball and will sign a seven-figure deal with the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association, <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1533449116876845056" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to Shams Charania of The Athletic</a>.&nbsp;
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Sources: Former NBA No. 2 pick Michael Beasley is returning to professional basketball and will sign a seven-figure deal with the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association.
&mdash; Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1533449116876845056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Beasley was the second pick of the 2008 NBA Draft and has played 11 seasons during his NBA career. He last played in the league during the 2018-19 season with the Los Angeles Lakers and appeared in 26 games, averaging 7.0 points and 2.3 rebounds.&nbsp;
After three season away from playing professional basketball, the 33-year-old Beasley is returning to the game but across the world in China

Michael Beasley will sign a seven-figure deal with the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association.

Michael Beasley signing with Shanghai Sharks

The first round series between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Memphis Grizzlies has been equally riveting and rickety. The energy and intensity of the first five games have been as compelling, if not more, than any of the other seven (well, five now) first-round matchups.
In Game 5 on Tuesday night, the youth of both squads (seventh and second-youngest teams in the league respectively, per <a href="https://basketball.realgm.com/nba/transactions/composition_search" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Real GM</a>) was on full display, as the game was more akin to an NCAA Tournament game. The ebbs and flows, sheer inconsistency and exuberance played out with a myriad of turnovers, missed lobs, jumbled passes and a wealth of fouls (63 combined free throws).
While the series has certainly been messy, it's been equally endearing. Ja Morant has been bottled up by the Wolves, with his efficiency tanking and defensive limitations put on full display. Yet, for all of the struggles that he's endured throughout the series, if the Grizzlies win one more game and advance, few will remember or even care about what his True Shooting percentage was or wasn't, how many turnovers he had or what Patrick Beverley did to him in Game 4. (I, however, will not forget the Pat Bev game, nor will Pat Bev!)
As the clock wound down toward the end of the third quarter during Tuesday night's game, Morant transcended the game and possibly the series.
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This is one of those "Where were you?" moments.
Watching live, my immediate reaction was euphoric:
<ol>
<li>How on earth?</li>
<li>WOW.</li>
<li>This might be the greatest dunk I've seen live when accounting for timing, audacity, implications and shock factor.</li>
</ol>
From Paul George over Chris "Birdman" Andersen, to Michael Jordan on Dikembe Mutombo, to Baron Davis over Andrei Kirilenko, to Scottie Pippen on Patrick Ewing, Ja has cemented himself among the greats. The greatest of all time, I'm not sure &mdash; but upon dunk-hangover research, man, it's right there.
To say Memphis' offense was stuck in the mud prior to Ja's dunk would be an understatement. Minnesota's defense was incredibly active, forcing turnovers, halting drives and mucking up the half-court. The Grizz went on a 39-24 run to close out the game, including the aforementioned slam.
Morant hit the game-winning lefty layup with a second to spare, and scored the final 13 Memphis points in the fourth, as the dunk uncorked his own game as well.
Another angle.
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Dunk of the year! <a href="https://t.co/U1McHfpZHQ">pic.twitter.com/U1McHfpZHQ</a>
&mdash; shot by nie 🔴 (@shotbynie) <a href="https://twitter.com/shotbynie/status/1519265068772380674?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Shout out to Malik Beasley for doing his very best to slide over and prevent the play. Jordan McLaughlin kinda digs at the nail to no avail. What happened on this screen is a wonderful question to ask.
Was Naz Reid <a href="https://youtu.be/ayAu5OkvwGY" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supposed to</a> come all the way to the level at 30 feet? I'm guessing not, but maybe there was some miscommunication between him and Jaden McDaniels. McDaniels pretty clearly denies Morant the screen, which probably means it's unlikely that the Wolves are trying to give Morant a wide-open run to the rim.
Is there anything better than a perfectly ripped off vicious tomahawk slam? I'm going with "No." There are more picturesque or aesthetic dunks, but in terms of actual on-your-head moments, the tomahawk cocked back sits on the throne.
We can get caught up in analyzing everything, picking apart the minutiae of the game, and rightfully so; there's so much to dig into and find understanding with. But sometimes, the vibes and moment just need to reign supreme.
I don't care why the dunk happened or who did or didn't blow that defensive coverage. The dunk is SICK.
He takes his plant step like 2 feet inside of the free-throw line and gets that much air! There are only a handful of players in the NBA who could pull that off.
Part of what makes the game so amazing to me is the individuality, and personality, that shines through. This was another clip in the highlight reel of Morant's personified athleticism. The first time All-Star, former Rookie of the Year and recently-crowned Most Improved Player continues to mesmerize with joyous vibrancy.
What a player, what a game, what a dunk. Remember this moment!
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Ja Morant hammered home one of the all-time great playoff dunks in Game 5, spearheading a Memphis victory to take the series lead.

Ja-Dropping! Morant's tomahawk an unforgettable moment in dunk history

DENVER (AP) &mdash; The Minnesota Timberwolves are still polishing their playoff credentials and Karl-Anthony Towns gave a sneak peek Friday night of just what type of challenge they'd present in the postseason.
Towns scored 32 points and the Timberwolves overcame Nikola Jokic's 38-point, 19-rebound performance in a 136-130 win over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.
D'Angelo Russell added 24 points and Anthony Edwards scored half of his 18 points on a trio of clutch 3-pointers in the closing minutes to help the Wolves fend off Denver's comeback, snap a two-game skid and halt the Nuggets' three-game surge up the standings.
&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;ve shown multiple times we&rsquo;re a playoff team and I think we also shown that we&rsquo;re not a joke,&rdquo; Towns said. "This is the real deal Holyfield. Tonight was just another night with the chips all on the table &mdash; and for both teams. They even played their MVP 44 minutes.
&ldquo;I think both teams showed that we were all into winning this game and we both understood the magnitude of this game and the importance. We just came out and found a way to win in their home.&rdquo;
Aaron Gordon scored 24, including a <a href="https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1510077384757682176?s=20&amp;t=IJilCuwV_V4cHIczzPwdJA">reverse alley-oop dunk</a>, and Monte Morris had 23 for Denver. But what did in the Nuggets were the 36 free throws they allowed and the 30 points they gave up off 18 turnovers.
&ldquo;We had some stupid turnovers,&rdquo; said Jokic, who finished two assists shy of a triple-double.
The Timberwolves (44-34) still are long shots to avoid a play-in scenario but they gave themselves a shot by taking three of four in the season series with Denver (46-32), which fell a half-game behind Utah in the Northwest Division.
Taurean Prince sank a pair of free throws with 19.8 seconds left after the Nuggets, who trailed by as many as 15, had pulled to 133-130 on Will Barton's 3-pointer, and Edwards added a free throw to cap the scoring.
The Timberwolves took a 70-65 lead into the locker room after Edwards blocked Morris, who bypassed open teammates in both corners to take it to the hoop against two defenders, and Prince scored at the other end.
Before tip-off, Nuggets coach Michael Malone was blunt about how his team has been pulling out games in which they played poorly.
They weren't so fortunate against the Wolves.
HOOPS HOPE
The Nuggets have been without stars Jamal Murray (ACL) and Michael Porter Jr. (back surgery) most of the season, but Malone insisted the team hasn't ruled out Murray's return down the stretch.
Asked what he would say to fans pining for Murray, who hasn't played since getting hurt last April 12, Malone said, &ldquo;Keep hope alive.&rdquo;
&ldquo;We're not shutting down Jamal Murray. This is not a black and white issue,&rdquo; Malone said. "We're not running a race with a definitive finish line. Who knows what the season is going to look like after these (last) four games? Are we going to be in the playoffs? Are we going to be in the play-in? Who knows? That's to be determined.
&ldquo;Jamal is getting better every day. Trust me, we all want him back. I want him back. We're a better team with Jamal Murray. And he wants to be back. He's making great progress. But I can't sit here and say that he's going to play in any of the last four games. But I also can't say that he won't.&rdquo;
While Morris said Murray looks ready to return, Jokic said he admonished his star point guard not to rush back.
&ldquo;I told him, &lsquo;If you&rsquo;re not 100% ready then don't come back. It's stupid," Jokic recounted. "'You risk (getting re-injured) if you're not 100% ready to go, especially in the playoffs.'"
What about Porter, who appeared to be ahead of Murray in his rehab until a recent setback in his recovery from back surgery?
&ldquo;Uh, no comment,&rdquo; Malone said.
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: G Malik Beasley returned after missing two games with an ankle injury. ... Minnesota was 20 of 22 from the free throw line in the first half. ... The Timberwolves hit 12 of their first 16 shots. ... Towns (6 for 6) and Russell (4 for 4) were perfect from the field in the first quarter and each swished both of their free throws in the opening quarter as well.
Nuggets: F JaMychal Green returned to action after missing two games with a wrist injury. ... Jeff Green raced through the tunnel and out the arena early in the third quarter because of a personal matter. ... Jokic didn't grab his first rebound until the 3:09 mark of the first quarter. ... DeMarcus Cousins picked up four fouls and a technical in just 2 minutes, 6 seconds spanning the first and second quarters.
UP NEXT
Timberwolves: Wrap up their road schedule at Houston on Sunday night before finishing with three home games.
Nuggets: Visit the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday afternoon before finishing up with three home games.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 32 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves scored a 136-130 win over the Denver Nuggets.

Towns, Edwards lead Timberwolves to 136-130 win over Nuggets

You are now invited into the NBA rabbit hole you didn&rsquo;t know you needed.
Do you remember Deron Williams before he boxed Frank Gore? The Deron Williams before toiling away with his hometown Dallas Mavericks and ring-chasing with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The one before the New Jersey Nets moved to Brooklyn. The one that got you banned on forums because of how vociferously you may have argued that he was better or worse than Chris Paul.
Ten years ago today, on March 4, that dude dropped a franchise-record 57 points. Yeah, you&rsquo;re getting old too, son. (That's still a Nets record, by the way.)
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That game itself, otherwise, wasn&rsquo;t all that memorable. The Nets had about one month left as representatives of New Jersey before relocating to Brooklyn later that year. They, at 12-26, won 104-101 against a Charlotte Bobcats (!) team that dropped to 4-31 on the lockout-shortened season.
Starters in the game included other glorious names like Kris Humphries, who was second on the Nets with 11 points (and 13 rebounds) and played 40 minutes. DeShawn Stevenson finished with an 0-2-1-0-0 line and had one shot attempt in 29 minutes of play. Eduardo N&aacute;jera, DeSagana Diop (who started for Charlotte!) and Shelden Williams got some run, and Tyrus Thomas played about seven minutes.
Kemba Walker was still coming off the bench for D.J. Augustin. Corey Maggette was the game&rsquo;s second-highest scorer, finishing with 24 points on just 4-of-12 shooting, but converted 15-of-16 free-throw attempts.
Current Charlotte (Hornets) star LaMelo Ball was 10 years old.
But it was also one of Williams&rsquo; last awesome NBA moments while still in his prime, a career cut short due to... well, it depends on who you ask, and/or what you believe. It&rsquo;s either related to injuries, which we began seeing take a toll on Williams after the Nets moved to Brooklyn. Or other stuff, like constant clashes with Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett during that infamous 2013-14 season together.
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Say what you want about Stephen A. Smith &mdash; and this was before he essentially became the face of ESPN &mdash; but I vividly recall him here in New York saying things like, &ldquo;Deron Williams has the easiest job a franchise player could ever hope to have!&rdquo; And, &ldquo;All he has to do is ball,&rdquo; as Williams, frankly, didn&rsquo;t.
There was also the story that Pierce once mocked Williams, saying, &ldquo;<a href="https://www.netsdaily.com/2015/7/11/8932649/farewell-to-all-that" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What&rsquo;s the matter now, Deron? Your ____ hurt</a>?&rdquo; (If I&rsquo;m blanking it and not even giving you a letter, just know it was raw.)
The Nets had Williams &mdash; generally hated by their fans to this day &mdash; Pierce, Garnett, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez as a championship-level starting-five (in theory) entering the 2013-14 season. And the head coach was a first-timer in Jason Kidd, who played an integral part on the underappreciated 54-win New York Knicks the season before as a player.
<a href="https://sicovers.com/featured/brooklyns-new-look-nets-who-wants-a-piece-of-them-2013-14-october-28-2013-sports-illustrated-cover.html">Remember that Sports Illustrated cover</a>? Ohhhhhh maaaaaaan.
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You may also recall the famous Jackie MacMullan <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/12690080/washington-wizards-paul-pierce-speaks-truth" target="_blank" rel="noopener">profile on Pierce</a> when he was a Washington Wizard in the early John Wall and Bradley Beal days. As far as we know, this was before Wall and Marcin Gortat <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wizards-insider/wp/2018/02/07/marcin-gortat-responds-to-john-walls-comments-whos-attacking-who/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wanted to box each other&rsquo;s heads off</a>.
&ldquo;Before I got there, I looked at Deron as an MVP candidate,&rdquo; Pierce <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/12690080/washington-wizards-paul-pierce-speaks-truth" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said to MacMullan</a>. &ldquo;But I felt once we got there, that's not what he wanted to be. He just didn't want that.
&ldquo;I think a lot of the pressure got to him sometimes. This was his first time in the national spotlight. The media in Utah is not the same as the media in New York, so that can wear on some people. I think it really affected him.&rdquo;
After noting that Johnson is quiet and doesn&rsquo;t want much attention, Pierce continued.
&ldquo;There's a lot of secondary guys on that team. KG and I went there looking at them as the main guys who would push us, because we were advancing in years. But we ended up doing all the pushing,&rdquo; he said.
(Given what we&rsquo;ve learned, it&rsquo;s mildly surprising that Williams didn&rsquo;t <a href="https://twitter.com/BryanFonsecaNY/status/1472409021189857287" target="_blank" rel="noopener">just fight him</a> after seeing this, but anyway.)
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Williams remains one of the grand "what ifs" of this century. And let&rsquo;s be responsible &mdash; injuries are one of the driving reasons for his sudden downswing from stardom to shell over a... hmm... two-year span? But we do what-ifs with guys who battled injuries all the time: Penny Hardaway, Brandon Roy, Greg Oden, Grant Hill and Derrick Rose, to name a few.
With Williams, just visualize, given how the game was going &mdash; and where he had been trending at one point &mdash; where he would&rsquo;ve evolved to if the talent, health, discipline and mentality all added up. And it doesn&rsquo;t always come together, which is why it&rsquo;s not responsible to purely say &ldquo;talent wins&rdquo; if the implication that talent alone is enough for substantial success.
And he clearly worked hard.
Williams averaged 19.5 points and 10.2 assists from 2007 to 2012 on .460/.346/.827 shooting splits. He attempted four threes a game at a respectable level and nearly six free throws per contest during that span. He consistently was among the league leaders in assists, while simultaneously profiling as one of the NBA&rsquo;s best scoring point guards. His True Shooting percentage was at 56.8% during those five years, hitting 60% in '07-08 and never dropping below 56.6% until the Nets&rsquo; last year in New Jersey. (Understandable when Humphries is your second-best player for most of the season.)
We weren&rsquo;t letting &lsquo;em fly from three the way we are now, and Williams was, like most others, streaky &mdash; but you had to guard him out there. The 35% perimeter clip in his peak reflected the near 36% for his career. The assists came with some high turnover numbers &mdash; Williams averaged 3.5 turnovers per game in those five seasons &mdash; but that still gave him a near 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
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Williams wasn&rsquo;t a usage monster either &mdash; his rating was never higher than 25.8% until a 30.1% usage in 2011-12, but, again, <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NJN/2012.html">look at the roster</a>. Even so, he was eighth in the league in usage; otherwise, he never cracked the league&rsquo;s top-20. You know who did during that span? And on multiple occasions? Corey Maggette, Michael Beasley, Stephen Jackson, his then-teammate Brook Lopez and his former teammate Carlos Boozer. (Rashad McCants, Andrea Bargnani, Charlie Villanueva, Josh Smith, Rodney Stuckey and Jordan Crawford were in the top-20 as well during those days.)
Until the trade from Utah to New Jersey, Williams would be in the top-20 in VORP consistently too. Most hadn&rsquo;t yet cared about some of those metrics though.
And his strength was a big part of his game. Williams was built like Eric Gordon, had powerful crossovers like Baron Davis, a passing fluidity that neared Steve Nash, and an offensive creativity that rivaled CP3&rsquo;s &mdash; which is how all those damn fights started.
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Williams, in a lot of ways, was perfect for where the league was going. Surprisingly, he only made three All-Star teams, which were consecutive from 2010 to 2012; though, <a href="https://www.deseret.com/2009/2/12/20301620/all-star-snubs-continue-for-williams" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he had snub arguments in 2008 and 2009</a>, and <a href="https://nypost.com/2013/01/26/nets-wont-stir-pot-about-all-star-snub/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">again in 2013</a>.
It never came together, and everyone missed out because of it. Imagine if his prime stretched into a couple of those Brooklyn seasons... but don&rsquo;t imagine too hard because logistically, it would be a pain in the ass to lay out. But if he did ball out the way people on microphones, in forums and in his own locker room called for? Man.
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Williams would've been toe-to-toe in the mid-2010s against then-prime-entering stars such as James Harden, Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard. In his own conference, we might&rsquo;ve seen him in the playoffs go crossover-for-crossover with Kyrie Irving, or bump-for-bump with Kyle Lowry, or tough-finish-for-tough-finish with Wall. All of that while still mirroring a stat line of roughly 20 points and 10 assists per game on efficient shooting, further increasing his three-point and free-throw volume in the process.
That said, he did give us multiple All-NBA seasons and, again, a whole-ass fight with Gore. He says he&rsquo;s one-and-done, but that might be because none of you have offered him the Pierce one yet. And as silly as that sounds, you know you&rsquo;d watch.
But seriously, peak Williams was epic. If he continued along the path he had been, we don&rsquo;t know if it would&rsquo;ve brought the Nets a title &mdash; but they would&rsquo;ve been damn close.
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On the March 4 anniversary of Deron Williams' 57-point game, Bryan Fonseca looks back on his career and wonders: "What if?"

Deron Williams dropped 57 a decade ago... what could've been?

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; James Harden had 27 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds in his Philadelphia 76ers debut, Joel Embiid added 34 points and 10 rebounds, and the Sixers routed the Minnesota Timberwolves 133-102 on Friday night.
Philadelphia finally got to see how its star twosome worked together after Harden missed his first two games following the trade from Brooklyn with a hamstring injury. The results were promising, particularly where Embiid and Harden thrive &ndash; at the free-throw line.
Embiid, who had 21 free throws in a double-overtime loss to Minnesota in November, was 11-13 from the line. Harden was 8 of 9 as the 76ers went 30 of 36 overall.
Karl-Anthony Towns led Minnesota with 25 points, and D&rsquo;Angelo Russell had 21. But the Timberwolves couldn&rsquo;t replicate the dramatic win in Philadelphia earlier this season.
The 76ers didn&rsquo;t have Harden &mdash; or Ben Simmons, who was traded to Brooklyn along with Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round draft picks for Harden &mdash; in November.
Harden, the 2018 MVP, hadn&rsquo;t played since Feb. 2 due to the injury, delaying his pairing with Embiid. Philadelphia believes it finally has the top-level duo, and a strong third piece in Tobias Harris, to break through in the Eastern Conference.
The 76ers started the day third in the East. They have won four of five.
In Philadelphia&rsquo;s first game following the All-Star break, Embiid controlled the first quarter from the line. He was 7-of-8 shooting on free throws and had 10 points and six rebounds in the quarter.
The 76ers used a 15-0 run to take a 16-6 lead and never trailed again.
Minnesota, coming off a 119-114 win over Memphis a night earlier, got to 51-48 late in the second quarter. But Philadelphia closed the half on a 15-1 run after Mattisse Thybulle had a putback dunk right before the buzzer off a missed 3-pointer from Harris.
TIP-INS
76ers: Harris had just six points, but his defense on Towns forced an off-night shooting for the Timberwolves All-Star. Tyrese Maxey scored 28. &hellip; Coach Doc Rivers wouldn&rsquo;t reveal his starting lineup before the game, but Harden ended up starting along with Embiid, Harris, Maxey and Thybulle. &hellip; Philadelphia was 19 of 39 from 3.
Timberwolves: G Michael Beasley was out with a non-COVID-19 illness. &hellip; Minnesota had 16 turnovers, 11 in the first half. &hellip; Towns was 3 of 14 from the field through three quarters.
UP NEXT
76ers: At New York on Sunday to open a home-and-home series.
Timberwolves: At Cleveland on Monday night.

James Harden made his Philadelphia 76ers debut and nearly had a triple-double in a big win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

James Harden makes 76ers debut in blowout win over Timberwolves

Looking at the Houston Rockets' 15-43 record, one might think that this season hasn&rsquo;t gone quite as planned.
Houston has by far the worst record in the Western Conference, and the Rockets have the NBA's 30th-ranked defense (allowing 114.3 points per 100 possessions) and 27th-ranked offense (scoring 104.3 points per 100 possessions).&nbsp;
However, the Rockets entered this season with the sixth-youngest roster in the NBA. Eleven of their players are age-24 or younger. Houston knew that this would be a rebuilding year, with a focus on developing their young talent and getting as many reps as possible for Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr., Alperen Sengun, Christian Wood, Josh Christopher, KJ Martin, Armoni Brooks, etc. This is a talented core, as our Mark Schindler and Mat Issa recently pointed out in a terrific <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/rocket-revival-evaluating-houston-rockets-young-core-part-i" target="_blank" rel="noopener">two-part</a> <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/rocket-revival-evaluating-houston-rockets-young-core-part-ii" target="_blank" rel="noopener">series</a>.
The Rockets' decision to prioritize their youth is also why John Wall hasn't played this season. The 31-year-old guard <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/with-no-trade-or-buyout-on-the-horizon-john-wall-remains-in-limbo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> wanted to play a featured role on offense, but the Rockets&rsquo; decision-makers wanted him in a complementary role behind the youngsters, so the offense could run through Green, Porter Jr. and Co. The two sides couldn&rsquo;t figure out a solution, so Wall has been working out in Miami with fellow veterans Michael Beasley and Tyreke Evans among others.
Interestingly, despite their struggles, these young Rockets have pulled off some shocking wins this season, beating the Chicago Bulls, Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Utah Jazz, Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets.
Ryan Hollins, a 10-year NBA veteran who is now the lead television analyst for the Rockets' broadcasts, has been really impressed with this young core and loves what Houston is building.
&ldquo;I think this season has been an absolute success thus far because the whole goal has been for the young guys to get minutes and grow and take their lumps and get better,&rdquo; Hollins told BasketballNews.com. &ldquo;And when I think of every young guy that has been in the lineup, they have improved. The sky's the limit. I&rsquo;m watching Jalen Green, who is only 19 years old, develop and grow; he&rsquo;s getting better at attacking the rim and learning NBA defenses and understanding where strength is a factor in games. Josh Christopher, who just set another career-high [with 23 points against the Spurs], is just playing lights out right now off the bench and I think he&rsquo;s been one of the bigger surprises of the season.&nbsp;
&ldquo;And the steal of the draft, by far &mdash; it&rsquo;s not even close &mdash; is Alperen Sengun; there&rsquo;s no other name that we should be saying. He&rsquo;s made so many plays that it&rsquo;s just crazy and when I talk to NBA executives, coaches and staff, they always ask about Sengun and talk about how good he is when they sit back and watch his film. He&rsquo;s a rookie and he&rsquo;s getting double-teamed on the block. They are double-teaming him to get the ball out of his hands! For a player, that&rsquo;s the ultimate sign of respect. Unfortunately, Usman Garuba broke his wrist and he had to spend some time down [in the G League] with the Vipers, but we saw him improve and get better too.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I give Houston an A++ as far as their development, and that&rsquo;s really what this year is about. And what&rsquo;s really cool is that you also have veterans like Eric Gordon, who&rsquo;s shooting a career-high percentage from the field, and that&rsquo;s something that a lot of people didn&rsquo;t really expect. In the midst of a rebuild, Gordon is having a career-year and really flourishing and, even bigger than that, just staying healthy, which has been the only real question when you think about Eric.&rdquo;
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Speaking of Eric Gordon, the Rockets had the option of moving the 33-year-old prior to last week&rsquo;s trade deadline, but they ultimately decided to hang onto him. While Houston could&rsquo;ve added a draft pick in exchange for the veteran guard, they apparently felt that he&rsquo;s more valuable as a mentor and locker-room presence than as a trade chip. Hollins raved about what he&rsquo;s seen from Gordon &mdash; on and off the court.
&ldquo;His professionalism has really helped teach these young guys how to be successful,&rdquo; Hollins said. &ldquo;And they see Eric Gordon night in and night out scoring a not-so-sexy 20-to-30 points off the bench without having plays drawn up for him. You have to appreciate what Eric brings to the table. He has that type of demeanor and impact here, and he just means so much to this team and this community.&rdquo;
The Rockets will have another top pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, which <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">features some very intriguing talent</a> such as Jabari Smith, Paolo Banchero, Jaden Ivey and Chet Holmgren among others. If they can add another stud to this young core, don't be surprised if Houston is just a few years away from making some serious noise in the Western Conference.

Houston has the West's worst record, but Ryan Hollins says this season has been "an absolute success" as they develop their core.

Why the Houston Rockets' season has been 'an absolute success'

In 2019, Tyreke Evans was &ldquo;dismissed and disqualified&rdquo; from the NBA for violating the league&rsquo;s anti-drug program. The league announced that he could apply for reinstatement after a two-year period.&nbsp;
Now, after three years, the NBA announced that they have reinstated Evans.
Evans, 32, has been training in Miami with John Wall and Michael Beasley, and he's hoping to sign with an NBA team in the near future. The NBA&rsquo;s press release states that Evans will be eligible to sign with a team on Feb. 18, 2022.
The league only suspends players if they test positive for &ldquo;drugs of abuse.&rdquo; According to <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story?id=2309872&amp;src=desktop" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN</a>, those drugs include &ldquo;amphetamine and its analogs, which include methamphetamine; cocaine; LSD; opiates, including heroin, codeine and morphine; and PCP."&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s unclear which of those substances Evans tested positive for; the NBA announcement simply said that he tested positive for "a prohibited substance."
Years ago, Chris Andersen and OJ Mayo faced similar punishments for failing drug tests. Andersen ended up coming back and playing 10 more seasons in the NBA after being banned (and he won a championship with the Miami Heat in 2013). Mayo hasn't played in the NBA since being banned, but he has hooped overseas in Puerto Rico, China, Taiwan and Serbia.
Evans has career averages of 15.7 points, 4.8 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals, while shooting 44.0% from the field, 32.3% from three and 75.7% from the free-throw line. He won the NBA's Rookie of the Year award in 2010, after being selected No. 4 overall in the 2009 NBA Draft.
The last time we saw Evans in 2018-19, he was suiting up for the Indiana Pacers and averaging 10.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 threes in 20.3 minutes on .389/.356/.719 shooting splits.
In 2017-18, Evans had one of the best seasons of his career with the Memphis Grizzlies, putting up 19.4 points, 5.2 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 2.2 threes and 1.1 steals on .452/.399/.785 shooting splits.
It remains to be seen what kind of market there will be for Evans, but he&rsquo;ll be a name to watch in the coming weeks when <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/here-are-10-of-the-nbas-likeliest-contract-buyout-candidates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">buyout season heats up</a>. He&rsquo;s not too old and he may be able to help a team in need of some offensive firepower.

After three years out of the NBA, Tyreke Evans has been reinstated by the league and is eligible to sign with a team as a free agent.

NBA reinstates Tyreke Evans after multi-year ban for drug abuse

Tommy Beer is back with his latest version of BasketballNews.com's NBA Power Rankings. To read last week's version, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-power-rankings-sixers-and-nuggets-on-come-up-nets-sliding" target="_blank" rel="noopener">click here</a>.
The Milwaukee Bucks, Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics (thanks to their dominant defense) are three of the big climbers this week, while the Nets continue to head in the wrong direction.
1. Phoenix Suns (44-10) &harr;️ Last Week: 1
Despite posting the NBA's best record, the Suns are reportedly looking to upgrade their roster. <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/nba-rumors-james-harden-ben-simmons-caris-levert-collin-sexton-malik-beasley-thaddeus-young/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype</a>, Phoenix is one of two teams (the Minnesota Timberwolves being the other) that have expressed interest in trading for San Antonio Spurs veteran Thaddeus Young.
2. Golden State Warriors (41-13) &harr;️ Last Week: 2
It appears Klay Thompson is finding his groove, which is bad news for the rest of the NBA. Klay has scored over 20 points in back-to-back games and is averaging 19.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.6 made treys (while shooting 42.9% from downtown) over his last five contests. &nbsp;
3. Memphis Grizzlies (38-18) &harr;️ Last Week: 3
The Grizz just keep on winning. They've won 6 of their last 7 games and 19 of their previous 23. Memphis has not lost consecutive contests since before Christmas. Over their last 20 games, Ja Morant is averaging 29.9 points (while shooting over 51% from the floor), 6.7 dimes, 6.3 assists, 1.6 made triples and 1.1 steals. Those are jaw-dropping numbers for any player, let alone a 22-year-old kid in just his third pro season.
4. Milwaukee Bucks (35-21) ⬆️ Last Week: 9
Interesting statistical factoid from the Bucks 137-113 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. In that game, Milwaukee became the first team in NBA history to have each member of its starting lineup score at least 15 points, grab at least 5 rebounds and knock down at least 2 three-pointers.
5. Miami Heat (35-20) &harr;️ Last Week: 5
When the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Chicago Bulls on Sunday night, Miami clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference through the end of last week, which means Erik Spoelstra and his staff will head to Cleveland later this month to coach Team Durant in the All-Star Game.
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6. Chicago Bulls (33-21) &harr;️ Last Week: 6
The Bulls, playing without two of their best perimeter defenders in Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso, have lost 3 of their last 4. However, after playing Wednesday in Charlotte, Chicago begins a six-game homestand that wraps around All-Star weekend. Following the matchup with the Hornets, the Bulls don't play on the road again until Feb. 28.&nbsp;
7. Cleveland Cavaliers (33-21) ⬆️ Last Week: 8
The Cavs acquired Caris LeVert from the Indiana Pacers in exchange for injured point guard Ricky Rubio and three draft picks over the weekend. "Very excited to add a dynamic young player of this caliber and experience," Cleveland president Koby Altman told reporters. "LeVert fits uniquely into our culture, and his Ohio roots bring an immediate connection to our community. We look forward to seeing what type of impact he can make on this roster." It's an excellent addition for the Cavs to supply them with the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/reaction-caris-levert-fills-blended-need-for-cavs-as-pacers-reset" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scoring wing they were looking for</a>, making Cleveland that much scarier come playoff time. LeVert is expected to be active for Wednesday's game against the Spurs.
8. Philadelphia 76ers (32-22) ⬇️ Last Week: 4
The Sixers are 10 games over .500 and Joel Embiid is doing much of the heavy lifting. Over his last 10 games, the big man is averaging 36.0 points, 12.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists. In the process, he may have established himself as the odds-on favorite to take home the MVP award entering the All-Star break. &nbsp;
9. Dallas Mavericks (32-23) ⬆️ Last Week: 10
Reggie Bullock tallied 22 points (on 8 of 14 shooting with 6 made three-pointers), 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in a win over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday. He's been a big part of the Mavs success of late. Over Dallas' past seven games, Bullock is averaging 17.9 points (while shooting 50.0% from the floor), 5.4 rebounds, 4.6 treys, 1.3 steals and just 0.6 turnovers.
10. Utah Jazz (33-21) ⬆️ Last Week: 11
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Donovan Mitchell sealed the win for the <a href="https://twitter.com/utahjazz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@utahjazz</a> with 3 fourth-quarter steals, after GOING OFF for 21 points in the first half! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TakeNote?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TakeNote</a> 🕷 <a href="https://twitter.com/spidadmitchell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@spidadmitchell</a>: 32 PTS, 7 REB, 6 AST, 4 STL <a href="https://t.co/IiPsFfYDIu">pic.twitter.com/IiPsFfYDIu</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1490927965319970816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Donovan Mitchell racked up 32 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals in Utah's victory over the Knicks on Monday night. Rudy Gobert (left calf strain) did not play in the win, but the Jazz are hoping he is cleared to return to the action later this week. They also just acquired Nickeil Alexander-Walker <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nickel-alexanderwalker-on-the-move-again-as-blazers-jazz-spurs-complete-threeteam-deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in a three-team deal</a> to add some youth (and depth) to their backcourt.
11. Denver Nuggets (30-24) ⬇️ Last Week: 7
Nikola Jokic was at it again Sunday, registering another triple-double in Denver's 124-104 win over the Brooklyn Nets. The Joker finished with 27 points (on 12 of 15 shooting), 12 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals and just 2 turnovers in only 30 minutes. This one (his NBA-leading 14th triple-double) was notable because it was the second time in Jokic's career he's recorded a 25-point triple-double while also shooting above 80% from the floor. Wilt Chamberlain is the only player in NBA history with more than one such game.
12. Toronto Raptors (29-23) ⬆️ Last Week: 14
The Raptors, who are currently riding a six-game winning streak, have discussed a trade that would send Goran Dragic (and his $18 million expiring contract) to the Hawks in exchange for Danilo Gallinari, <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2953236-nba-trade-intel-cj-mccollum-has-become-best-player-likely-dealt-at-deadline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report</a>.
13. Boston Celtics (31-25)&nbsp;⬆️ Last Week: 15
The Celtics have posted a 13-4 record dating back to New Year's Eve, and it's their defense that has turned Boston's season around. Over this 17-game stretch, the C's are allowing just 101.5 points per 100 possessions. To put that number in context: No team in the NBA other than Boston is allowing fewer than 106.5 points per 100 possessions over the past six weeks. Boston ranks first in Net Rating in 2022 as well. As usual, Marcus Smart has led the charge (pun intended) on the defensive front. He leads his team in pass deflections (64 more than any other Celtic) and charges drawn.
14. Minnesota Timberwolves (29-25) ⬆️ Last Week: 17
In the 18 games this season in which Minnesota has been able to roll out its preferred starting five of D&rsquo;Angelo Russell, Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, Jarred Vanderbilt and Patrick Beverley, the Wolves are 13-5.
15. Brooklyn Nets (29-25) ⬇️ Last Week: 12
The Nets have lost nine straight games. They are 12 games under .500 dating back to late December. Kevin Durant is still weeks away from returning to action after spraining the medial collateral in his left knee last month. James Harden looks puffy and is nursing a hamstring injury. Joe Harris suffered a setback in his recovery from left ankle surgery in late January and reportedly could need a second surgery. Of the 27 games remaining on the Nets schedule, 14 of them are on the road. However, four of those contests are against either the New York Knicks or Raptors, which means Irving will only be able to suit up for (at most) 10 games. But, yeah, other than that, everything is all good in Brooklyn.&nbsp;
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16. Charlotte Hornets (28-27) ⬇️ Last Week: 13
Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2953236-nba-trade-intel-cj-mccollum-has-become-best-player-likely-dealt-at-deadline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> this week that the Hornets are one of several teams that have expressed interest in Spurs big man Jakob Poeltl. The Bulls and Raps have also been rumored to be interested in Poeltl.
17. Atlanta Hawks (26-28) ⬇️ Last Week: 16
The Hawks were just 1-3 in their previous four games prior to Tuesday (although that one win was impressive &mdash; a victory at home over the Suns last Thursday, which snapped their 11-game winning streak). Atlanta took advantage of a reeling Indiana Pacers squad Tuesday night, beating them 133-112.
18. Los Angeles Lakers (26-29) &harr;️ Last Week: 18
Over the Lakers' last four games, Russell Westbrook is shooting a putrid 27.5% from the floor, 15.4% from downtown and 55.0% from the charity stripe. Late in the fourth quarter of Sunday's victory over the Knicks, when Westbrook was alone with the ball in the corner, the home crowd shouted at him not to shoot. When New York forced overtime, head coach Frank Vogel benched Russ for Talen Horton-Tucker. Westbrook was also benched for the final 14 minutes in Tuesday&rsquo;s loss to the Bucks. Will the Lakers admit they made a mistake before the deadline and reroute Russ out of Los Angeles?
19. New Orleans Pelicans (22-32) ⬆️ Last Week: 23
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🔥 Brandon Ingram WENT OFF for 17 points in the 3rd quarter on his way to 33 points and the <a href="https://twitter.com/PelicansNBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PelicansNBA</a> win! <a href="https://twitter.com/B_Ingram13?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@B_Ingram13</a>: 33 PTS, 12 AST, 3 STL <a href="https://t.co/3uT1ocPpgg">pic.twitter.com/3uT1ocPpgg</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1490683017949552641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2022</a></blockquote>

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New Orleans, who won just one of their first 13 games this season, is now riding a four-game winning streak and has jumped up into 10th place in the Western Conference. And on Tuesday, the team <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/why-the-pelicans-pushing-chips-in-on-cj-mccollum-was-a-wise-investment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added a stud scorer to its roster</a>. The Pels acquired CJ McCollum along with Larry Nance and Tony Snell from the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Jason Hart, Tomas Satoransky, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Didi Louzada and draft compensation. I love this deal for New Orleans.&nbsp;
20. Los Angeles Clippers (27-29) ⬇️ Last Week: 19
Last week, the Clippers made a shrewd trade, sending Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson, and a second-round pick to the Blazers for Norman Powell and Robert Covington. It will help not only help them make a playoff push this year, but will also <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/breaking-down-why-the-blazersclippers-deal-works-for-both-sides" target="_blank" rel="noopener">round out their roster next season</a> when they can count on both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George returning to full strength. Powell looked great in his Clippers' debut on Sunday, tallying 28 points on 9 of 16 shooting in just 24 minutes. He followed that up with a 16-point night in a lopsided loss to the Grizz.
21. Washington Wizards (24-29) ⬇️ Last Week: 20
After the 2021-22 season started with plenty of promise, the Wiz have lost 8 of 9 heading into Thursday's matchup with the Nets. They will likely look to <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-trade-destinations-for-spencer-dinwiddie" target="_blank" rel="noopener">trade the struggling Spencer Dinwiddie</a> before the deadline arrives.&nbsp;
22. New York Knicks (24-31) ⬇️ Last Week: 21
New York has lost 10 of its last 12 games, but Mitchell Robinson had been playing some of the best basketball of his career before sitting out Tuesday's loss due to a back injury. Over the last month, Mitch Rob is averaging 11.5 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. During this stretch, the only other players in the NBA also averaging double-digit points and rebounds to go along with at least 1.4 blocks are Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
23. San Antonio Spurs (20-34) ⬆️ Last Week: 24
Spurs fans learned Monday that Dejounte Murray will make his NBA All-Star Game debut after being named an injury replacement by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Murray is averaging 19.6 points, 9.2 assists, 8.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals this season, and has a chance to become just the third player ever to average at least 8 assists, 8 rebounds and 2 steals per game over an entire season.&nbsp;
24. Sacramento Kings (20-36) ⬆️ Last Week: 26
The Kings shook up the league Tuesday afternoon, trading Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson to Indiana for Domantas Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb, Justin Holiday and a 2027 second-round pick. It is stunning that Sacaremto would part ways with Haliburton. The 21-year-old has exceeded all expectations since being drafted in 2020. He is on pace to become just the second player in NBA history to average at least 5 assists and 2 made three-pointers per game while shooting over 40% from downtown in each of his first two pro seasons. (The only player to have accomplished this feat is Stephen Curry.)
25. Portland Trail Blazers (21-34) ⬇️ Last Week: 22
The Blazers made waves on Tuesday, trading away former franchise cornerstone CJ McCollum. It continued on Wednesday afternoon, as Portland rerouted Nickeil Alexander-Walker to Utah for Joe Ingles' expiring $14 million deal in a <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nickel-alexanderwalker-on-the-move-again-as-blazers-jazz-spurs-complete-threeteam-deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">three-team trade</a>. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday that "Portland plans to fully reshape the roster around Damian Lillard now... the plan is to pursue high-end talent now, not retreat." The team's also created a ton of cap space in the process and has a $21 million trade exception at its disposal.
26. Indiana Pacers (19-37) ⬇️ Last Week: 25
The Pacers, who are just 5-18 since Christmas, began breaking down their roster by trading Caris LeVert to the Cavs on Sunday, and then <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/pacers-exit-blockbuster-trade-with-kings-as-huge-winners-thanks-to-tyrese-haliburton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shipped off Domantas Sabonis to Sacramento</a>, as noted above. As our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/bucks-interested-in-trading-for-myles-turner-pacers-may-keep-him" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alex Kennedy reported</a>, Myles Turner is "a big fan of Tyrese Haliburton's game and is excited about the possibility of playing with the young guard." It appears Turner may stay in Indiana.
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27. Oklahoma City Thunder (17-36) &harr;️ Last Week: 27
The Thunder lost to the Warriors on Monday night, but Luguentz Dort had another strong outing, tallying 26 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals. In the three games OKC has played without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dort is averaging 23.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.0 three-balls.
28. Houston Rockets (15-39) ⬆️ Last Week: 29
The Rockets would love to join this week's wheeling and dealing by exchanging veteran shooting guard Eric Gordon for draft capital. We'll see if they find a willing trade partner.&nbsp;
29. Orlando Magic (13-43) ⬆️ Last Week: 30
We know the Magic hope to flip Terrence Ross and Gary Harris in exchange for draft picks before Thursday's deadline. The question is whether they will also look to deal big man Mo Bamba. After struggling over his first three years in the NBA, Bamba is posting career-highs across the board this season. However, Orlando inked center Wendell Carter Jr. to a four-year, $50 million contract extension back in October. The Magic are reportedly willing to listen to offers for Bamba, who has a $10.1 million qualifying offer for 2022-23 and will be a restricted free agent this summer.
30. Detroit Pistons (12-42) ⬇️ Last Week: 28
Killian Hayes has played a bit better of late, but he has failed to live up to expectations since being selected with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. This season, Hayes is one of only two players in the NBA logging more than 20 minutes per game yet shooting below 38% from the floor and averaging fewer than 10 points per contest. For his career, he is just 50-of-179 from downtown (27.9%)... The Pistons have lost 9 of their last 10 contests.
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Tommy Beer checks in with an installment of BasketballNews.com's NBA Power Rankings.