Minnesota Timberwolves

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Anthony Davis scored 17 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter and had 17 rebounds to lift the Los Angeles Lakers past Minnesota 123-111 and leapfrog the Timberwolves on Friday night in the crowded Western Conference playoff race.
&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to have that one pivotal force that&rsquo;s leading the charge, and in our case with this particular team here in the moment it&rsquo;s AD,&rdquo; Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. &ldquo;When he comes out and he&rsquo;s aggressive and we&rsquo;re feeding him and he&rsquo;s not settling and he&rsquo;s putting pressure on the paint, putting pressure on the rim, we find ourselves having a lot of success.&rdquo;
LeBron James added 18 points and 10 rebounds and D&rsquo;Angelo Russell had 12 points and 10 assists against his former team as the Lakers (39-38) won for the fifth time in six games to move into seventh place. They&rsquo;re even with New Orleans, owning the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Pelicans.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve made some huge climbs, but we&rsquo;re not finished,&rdquo; said Davis, who also had 38 points Wednesday in the win at Chicago. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re hungry to not only make the playoffs but make some noise.&rdquo;
The Lakers improved to 9-4 since losing at home to the Wolves on March 3.
&ldquo;We jumped on AD&rsquo;s back, and he brought us home,&rdquo; James said.
Mike Conley had 25 points on 7-for-11 shooting with seven assists before fouling out, and Karl-Anthony Towns scored 23 points for the Timberwolves (39-39), who tumbled into ninth place. They entered the evening one game behind Golden State and the cut to avoid the play-in tournament, with the Warriors tipping off later at home against San Antonio.
Davis scored 12 straight points for the Lakers over a 3:52 span late in the fourth quarter to seal the steely comeback from a deficit that hit 13 points shortly after halftime. He made five baskets in a row with Wolves center Rudy Gobert on the bench, dominating on the glass, in the post and at the rim.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s playing at a super high level right now,&rdquo; Wolves coach Chris Finch said.
The Lakers took charge earlier with a 24-2 spurt over a 6:49 stretch of the third quarter with their defense on lockdown mode. Conley&rsquo;s turn to rest on the bench during that run was ill-timed. Davis rolled his left ankle around the start of the Lakers surge, a breath-holding sequence that only seemed to energize the visitors.
&ldquo;We started to turn the ball over, and the ball started to stick much more,&rdquo; Gobert said. &ldquo;We kind of lost our flow offensively, and it really affected our defense.&rdquo;
The Wolves, whose bench was shortened without center Naz Reid and his&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/Reid%20injured%20https://apnews.com/article/timberwolves-naz-reid-injury-bd6a7eaa1077434f088eadc549874d42" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">broken wrist</a>, went 2 for 14 from 3-point range in the third quarter and were outscored 35-18 in a discouraging stretch for a fired-up crowd that included local sports superstars Justin Jefferson and Kirill Kaprizov in floor seats.
FEELING BETTER
James has been rebuilding his stamina from the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-lebron-james-return-injury-109c58929fb947c7ebd81540121a44f3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">month-long absence</a>&nbsp;to a torn tendon in his right foot, and the second time with this new starting lineup with Davis, Russell, Austin Reaves and Jarred Vanderbilt produced a second win to start this five-game road trip.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be in the lineup on Sunday, so that&rsquo;s the best response I can have,&rdquo; James said.
Davis, for his part, said he finished the game on adrenaline and would be fine to play on Sunday, too.
WHISTLE STOP
Gobert ($25,000) and Finch ($15,000) were&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/timberwolves-rudy-gobert-chris-finch-fined-for-criticizing-refs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fined by the NBA</a> for criticizing the officiating Wednesday after their loss at Phoenix when the Suns had 27 free-throw attempts and the Wolves had 12.
In tonight's game, the Wolves went to the line 19 times &mdash; making 16 &mdash; and the Lakers had 30 tries.
TIP-INS
Lakers: Vanderbilt had 12 points. ... Another former Wolves player, Malik Beasley, had three first-quarter 3-pointers.
Timberwolves: Anthony Edwards had 11 points on just 4-for-16 shooting. ... Gobert had 14 points and 11 rebounds.
UP NEXT
Lakers: At Houston on Sunday night.
Timberwolves: Host Portland on Sunday.

Anthony Davis had 38 points and 17 rebounds to lift the Lakers past the Timberwolves 123-111 on Friday night.

Lakers overtake Timberwolves in standings with 123-111 win

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; It wasn&rsquo;t so much that social media was criticizing his son. That happens sometimes &mdash; especially after a loss like THAT.
But when a post came up suggesting Terrance Williams II, a junior forward for Michigan, be left for dead in a ditch, his dad decided enough was enough. Terrance Williams Sr.&rsquo;s profanity-laced response to all the haters was, in many ways, an expected byproduct of social media vitriol that bubbled up after the Wolverines blew an eight-point lead in a one-point loss to Vanderbilt earlier this month &mdash; not in the NCAA Tournament but in the NIT.
&ldquo;You actually root for them when they&rsquo;re good,&rdquo; Williams Sr. said of the Michigan fans in an interview with The Associated Press two days after the season-ending loss. &ldquo;But then they make a mistake, and a game doesn&rsquo;t go your way and you turn to hate. That&rsquo;s unacceptable.&rdquo;
The episode was just one of countless examples of the toxic minefield that athletes, coaches, friends and family face all too often on social media, all of it amplified for college basketball players when the calendar flips to March and the madness begins.
College administrators and coaches alike have warned for several years that students and athletes are facing increasing mental-health challenges exacerbated by the pandemic. And never have there been more outside voices that not only scrutinize every move players make on the court, but impact their emotional well-being away from it.
&ldquo;The feedback right now, it can be so harsh and it&rsquo;s so immediate, and I think that&rsquo;s the hardest part,&rdquo; said Melissa Streno, a Denver-based mental health consultant for high-level athletes. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the immediacy of the feedback from people they don&rsquo;t even know. And it can be so impactful on their identity and how they see themselves as a player on the court.&rdquo;
Turning off social media is one option, but it&rsquo;s not really practical, not with the way society interacts in the 21st century. And many athletes use social media to open the door to cash. It comes with a toll.
A survey conducted by the NCAA in the fall of 2021 found spikes among athletes who experienced mental exhaustion, anxiety and depression compared with a similar survey two years earlier &mdash; before the pandemic, and also before name-image-likeness deals became an everyday reality of college sports. The survey also found that despite a growing recognition of mental health as something to be addressed, fewer than half the respondents felt comfortable seeking support from a counselor on campus.
Even so, those counselors have been busy; a growing number of questions they field from the players involve how to manage social media.
&ldquo;For some of them, social media brings pressure to put out information, to create content, build their brand and that can cause anxiety,&rdquo; said Charron Sumler, a former college basketball player who is now an athletic counselor at Ohio State. &ldquo;On the flip side, there&rsquo;s the input where they&rsquo;re receiving messages. And with phones in the locker room, sometimes they&rsquo;re receiving that negative feedback and content before they&rsquo;ve even had a chance to debrief with their coaches or with themselves.&rdquo;
Just this month, Virginia&rsquo;s Kihei Clark started trending for the wrong reasons when his ill-advised pass at the end of a first-round March Madness game against Furman allowed the Paladins to make the game-winning 3-pointer that sent the Cavaliers home.
After the game, Clark sat in the locker room and patiently answered every question. Predictably, social media was destroying him before the final buzzer even sounded.&nbsp;
Among those who knew the feeling was Matthew Fisher-Davis. He was the Vanderbilt guard who, thinking the Commodores were trailing, fouled a Northwestern player in the waning seconds of a first-round game in 2017. In fact, Vanderbilt was ahead by one; Northwestern made both free throws after the foul and won by a point.
Before the next season, Fisher-Davis released a slickly produced video showing him working out, the main theme of which was: &ldquo;Everybody&rsquo;s got something to say.&rdquo;
&ldquo;It gets to the point where, the stuff coming from outside the locker room doesn&rsquo;t make anything easier,&rdquo; Fisher-Davis told the AP in an interview this month.
Stanford&rsquo;s Haley Jones was named most outstanding player at the women&rsquo;s Final Four after helping the Cardinal win the national title in 2021. Two weeks ago, when Stanford made an early exit from this year&rsquo;s March Madness, Jones&rsquo; performance &mdash; and her prospects for the upcoming WNBA draft &mdash; were being dissected, sometimes cruelly, on social media.
&ldquo;Right after every game. I know what I did well, and I know what I didn&rsquo;t do well,&rdquo; said Jones, who is part of a program called Game 4 Good that focuses on mental wellness for athletes. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t need to go and listen to thousands of people who don&rsquo;t know me tell me these same things, and probably say it in a lot meaner way.&rdquo;
On rare occasions, players get ripped for doing something good.
In an episode that illustrates the parallel explosive growth of both social media and online sports wagering, TCU&rsquo;s Damion Baugh was the object of scorn in the second round this month when he launched a shot at the buzzer from near the halfcourt logo in a game that had already been sealed by Gonzaga.
Baugh&rsquo;s 3 went in. It trimmed TCU&rsquo;s final deficit to three, which allowed the Horned Frogs to cover the 4.5-point spread. That shot did nothing to change the brackets, but it did flip millions of dollars across the country and Baugh was roundly ripped on Twitter.
Baugh barked back: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t get how y&rsquo;all mad because I played until the last buzzer.&rdquo;
Former Ohio State guard E.J. Liddell also felt compelled to defend himself after he missed a late free throw that was key to an upset loss to Oral Roberts two years ago.
&ldquo;Honestly, what did I do to deserve this? I&rsquo;m human,&rdquo; he said in a post in which he posted screenshots of some of the insults directed at him, including a death threat.
Even one of social media&rsquo;s biggest stars, Oregon&rsquo;s Sedona Prince, who became famous after her video outlining the disparity between men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s weight rooms at the 2021 NCAA Tournaments went viral, had to take a brief break last year from TikTok.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not any different because I&rsquo;m on TikTok. I&rsquo;m still a person,&rdquo; Prince said in a tearful video since taken down, while acknowledging her mental health had been declining.
Streno, the mental health consultant, said social media can exacerbate depression and anxiety.
During a three-month stretch last spring, at least five college athletes died by suicide. Among the reasons given by friends and family were the constant pressure of performing at a high level, the pressure to maintain a certain weight or physique, the fear of being perceived as weak because of injuries and the limited social opportunities because of the demands of a sports schedule.
Given the amount of daily interaction athletes have with friends and family on social media apps, Streno said it&rsquo;s more realistic to coach players on how to deal with feedback than simply advising them to shut down everything.
&ldquo;If it were as simple as &lsquo;don&rsquo;t look at your phone,&rsquo; then this wouldn&rsquo;t be an issue,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;But there&rsquo;s such a quick, immediate, &lsquo;Oh, this must mean this about me. I&rsquo;m not good enough, or I&rsquo;m not living up to this level.&rsquo; And then your mind can kind of start going down into this spiral.&rdquo;
Williams, the father of the Michigan forward, said his son does a good job of shutting out social media during the season. After the events of this month, the dad planned on going dark for a while, too.
&ldquo;People said he didn&rsquo;t play well, and I get that,&rdquo; Williams said. &ldquo;But when you say my son, who I&rsquo;ve raised and who I love tremendously, that you wish him to be dead in a ditch, that&rsquo;s when I&rsquo;ve got to turn the switch.&rdquo;

There is a toxic minefield that athletes, coaches, friends and family face all too often on social media when the calendar flips to March.

A different March Madness: Online hate for the athletes

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Ochai Agbaji scored a career-high 27 points, including six 3-pointers, to lead the Utah Jazz to a 128-120 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night.
Kelly Olynyk had 19 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Jazz. Kris Dunn added 18 points and a season-high 10 assists. Udoka Azubuike chipped in with a career-high 13 points and a season-best eight rebounds.
Eight players scored in double figures for the Jazz, who shot 52% from the field.
Agbaji&rsquo;s offensive outburst underscored the progress he&rsquo;s made from earlier in his rookie season when he had stints in the G League.
&ldquo;I kind of saw that as my own race, starting there,&rdquo; Agbaji said. &ldquo;My expectations were a little bit different coming in, but starting there, I had to be fine with it, had to go with it, had to give it my all and have a positive attitude while I was doing it.&rdquo;
De&rsquo;Aaron Fox had 37 points and seven assists to lead Sacramento. Keegan Murray added 22 points for the Kings. Fox and Murray combined to make 12 3-pointers.
Harrison Barnes scored 16 for Sacramento, and Malik Monk added 15.
Olynyk put the Jazz ahead for good on a 3-pointer with 1:34 left to break a 118-all tie. Dunn, Agbaji, Walker Kessler and Olynyk combined to make seven free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.
Sacramento trailed by double digits throughout the first half before erasing the deficit during the third quarter. Fox and Murray led the charge, combining for 33 points in the period.
Fox scored five baskets to fuel a 19-5 run that cut Utah&rsquo;s lead to 76-74 midway through the quarter. The Kings tied it three times on 3-pointers from Monk, Murray and Fox but did not go in front until early in the fourth quarter.
Chimezie Metu completed a 3-point play to give Sacramento its first lead at 100-98 with 9:15 remaining.
&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t trick a trick defense,&rdquo; Kings coach Mike Brown said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve just got to just run your stuff. If you run your stuff, somebody&rsquo;s going to get an open shot.&rdquo;
Playing without the team&rsquo;s top three scorers &mdash; Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton &mdash; did not slow down Utah&rsquo;s offense in the first quarter.
The Jazz shot 60% from the field and made five 3-pointers to build a 40-19 lead by the end of the period. Utah showed offensive balance while coasting to a double-digit advantage. Five players scored two or more baskets in the quarter. Olynyk and Agbaji led the way with three apiece.
&ldquo;We lost this game in the first quarter,&rdquo; Fox said. &ldquo;We shot ourselves in the foot. Obviously we fought back, but you don&rsquo;t want to be in that type of position.&rdquo;
Utah did not cool down much through the second quarter. The Jazz extended their lead to 24 before halftime, going up 59-35 when Olynyk capped a 7-0 run with a corner 3.
&ldquo;We were able to use our pace. It&rsquo;s been a huge emphasis for us since the trade deadline to try to play faster,&rdquo; Jazz coach Will Hardy said. &ldquo;We fed off our defense. We did a good job of getting stops and it allowed us to get out and run.&rdquo;
BLOCK PARTY
Kessler blocked five shots for the 10th time this season. None were more clutch than his final swat on a layup attempt by Domantas Sabonis with 1:20 remaining that would have cut the deficit to one. Kessler secured the rebound, and the Kings never got a chance to draw closer.
&ldquo;A lot of teams want to attack inside in the last moments just because you&rsquo;re trying to foul,&rdquo; Kessler said. &ldquo;I happened to be there. I liked my chances to block the shot.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Kings: Sabonis led the Kings in rebounds (12) and assists (nine) and finished with 11 points. &hellip; Sacramento scored zero fast-break points in the first half.
Jazz: Simone Fontecchio made his second career start in place of Markkanen, who sat out with back soreness. Fontecchio finished with 12 points. &hellip; Utah allowed a season-high 43 points in the third quarter.
UP NEXT
Kings: Host Boston on Tuesday night.
Jazz: Host Portland on Wednesday night.

Eight players scored in double figures for the Jazz, who shot 52% from the field.

Agbaji scores 27, Jazz hold off Kings for 128-120 victory

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Julius Randle scored 33 points in a bounce-back performance, RJ Barrett got 20 of his 30 in the second half, and the New York Knicks snapped their three-game losing streak with a 112-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.
Immanuel Quickley had 15 points as the Knicks survived a ferocious late rally by the Lakers to salvage a weekend split in Los Angeles without second-leading scorer Jalen Brunson, who has a bruised left foot.
Los Angeles scored eight straight points down the stretch to make it close, trimming New York&rsquo;s lead to 110-108 on Dennis Schr&ouml;der&rsquo;s layup with 19.3 seconds left. After Los Angeles needed 14 seconds to commit a foul to stop the clock, former Lakers guard Josh Hart hit two free throws to seal it.
New York hadn&rsquo;t won since its impressive nine-game winning streak ended a week ago, but Randle added eight rebounds and five assists one day after struggling through a 5-for-24 shooting effort in a loss to the Clippers.
D&rsquo;Angelo Russell had a season-high 33 points and eight assists despite managing just two points in the fourth quarter for the Lakers, whose three-game winning streak ended with only their fourth loss in 12 games since the trade deadline.
Randle and Russell spent two seasons together as teammates with the Lakers. Russell got off to a scorching start in his highest-scoring performance since rejoining LA, but went 1 for 5 and missed three 3-point attempts in the fourth quarter.
Anthony Davis had 17 points and 16 rebounds, but the Lakers fell behind during an erratic shooting performance by three starters: Malik Beasley, Troy Brown Jr. and Jarred Vanderbilt were a combined 5 for 23, missing 14 of their 16 3-point attempts.
Los Angeles dropped to 4-3 during the latest injury absence for LeBron James, who missed his seventh straight game with a sore right foot.
Randle scored 18 points in the first quarter with help from seven free throws after he complained publicly about the officiating in Saturday&rsquo;s loss to the Clippers. Russell kept the Lakers close with 23 points in the first half, but Randle&rsquo;s 3-pointer shortly before halftime put the Knicks up at the break.
TIP-INS
Knicks: Coach Tom Thibodeau gave no timetable for his return, saying Brunson will &ldquo;continue to do treatments and see where he is.&rdquo; Brunson has missed four of New York&rsquo;s last five games. ... New York beat the Lakers in Los Angeles for the first time in four meetings since 2019.
Lakers: James wasn&rsquo;t wearing a walking boot when he returned to watch from the Lakers&rsquo; bench. He missed their previous two games while apparently taking some time away with his family. Coach Darvin Ham said James&rsquo; rehab is &ldquo;going according to plan,&rdquo; but it was good for the NBA&rsquo;s career scoring leader to &ldquo;unplug a little bit.&rdquo; ... Los Angeles got 43 combined points from the only four bench players used by Ham.
UP NEXT
Knicks: Host Portland on Tuesday.
Lakers: At New Orleans on Tuesday.

Julius Randle scored 33 points, and the Knicks snapped their three-game losing streak with a 112-108 win over the Lakers on Sunday,

Julius Randle, Knicks hold off Lakers 112-108 to snap 3-game skid

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; LaMelo Ball had 28 points, 10 assists and a season-high 12 rebounds and the Charlotte Hornets beat San Antonio 120-110 on Wednesday night to send the Spurs into the NBA All-Star break with a franchise-record 14-game losing streak.
The 21-year-old Ball became the second-youngest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists in his career.
&ldquo;He is an ultra-talented player for sure,&rdquo; Hornets swingman Gordon Hayward said. &ldquo;Great vision for sure and he&rsquo;s all over the court. (With rebounding) he has an special ability to be in the right place at the right time. ... He&rsquo;s obviously a great player already and I think he will continue to grow into an even better one.&rdquo;
When told about the accomplishment Ball immediately correctly guessed that LeBron James was the only player younger than him to reach that pinnacle.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t like to trip to up with that stuff,&rdquo; Ball said of being on the same list as James. &ldquo;I just go out and try to get win after win.&rdquo;
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For Ball, it was his third triple-double of the season and franchise-leading ninth overall.
The Hornets got another solid contribution from P.J. Washington, who had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and rookie Mark Williams added 12 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots as Charlotte won its second straight game.
The Hornets had 12 blocks in all, including five by backup center Nick Richards.
For years the Panthers have sought a rim protector &mdash; and now it appears they have two young and capable shot blockers in 7-footers Williams and Richards.
&ldquo;What they both do is make exceptional plays because of their size and athleticism,&rdquo; Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. &ldquo;What they need to do now on top of that is less mistakes and not giving possessions away. If they do that we will be in good shape and they will be too.&rdquo;
Malaki Branham had 23 points and Keldon Johnson added 21 points for the Spurs, who have not won on the road since beating Houston on Dec. 19. Doug McDermott added 17 points on five 3s.
The Hornets led 60-57 at halftime behind Ball, who nearly had a triple-double before the break with 10 points, nine rebounds and eight assists while seeing extra minutes with backcourt mate Terry Rozier out with knee soreness.
Charlotte looked like it might pull away in the fourth quarter, but McDermott led the Spurs back with back-to-back 3-pointers and short jumper to cut the lead to one.
But newly acquired guard Svi Mykhailiuk, playing in his first game with the Hornets, sparked a Charlotte run by burying a jumper from the corner to help push the lead back to six with five minutes remaining.
Ball&rsquo;s fifth 3-pointer of the game with two minutes remaining pushed the lead back to nine and Washington&rsquo;s offensive rebound and resounding dunk with 59 seconds left sealed the win.
&ldquo;At some point, you have to take pride in what you&rsquo;re doing execution wise and competitively,&rdquo; Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. &ldquo;That starts with defense and we really sucked. That&rsquo;s on me when I think we&rsquo;re starting to improve on it, and we go back two steps, so that&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;m going to have to think about, figure out how I&rsquo;m going to be able to motivate them better.&rdquo;
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_3" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">
TIP INS
Spurs: Shot 38.3% from the field.
Hornets: Dennis Smith Jr. got the start for Rozier, who was held out with knee soreness. ... Svi Mykhailiuk saw his first action since being acquired in a trade. He scored his first basket on an alley-oop from Ball after a backdoor cut.
</div>
</div>

LaMelo Ball had 28 points, 10 assists and a season-high 12 rebounds and the Charlotte Hornets beat San Antonio 120-110.

Ball has triple-double, Hornets hand Spurs 14th loss in row

SAN ANTONIO (AP) &mdash; Joel Embiid had 33 points and 10 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers beat San Antonio 137-125 on Friday night, sending the scuffling Spurs to their eighth straight loss.
Tyrese Maxey had 25 points and James Harden added 16 for Philadelphia, which has the third-best record in the Eastern Conference.
&ldquo;Tonight was one of those games where it was difficult to get up,&rdquo; Harden said. &ldquo;But you&rsquo;ve got to still be professional. You&rsquo;ve got to be an elite team. That&rsquo;s where we are trying to get to consistently. We weren&rsquo;t consistent enough tonight.
&ldquo;We got a win, but we&rsquo;ve got to try to be better overall.&rdquo;
San Antonio rookie Malaki Branham set a season high for the second straight game with 26 points, eclipsing his 22-point outing Wednesday in a loss to Sacramento.
Keldon Johnson added 18 points and Jakob Poeltl had 16 points and 10 rebounds in San Antonio&rsquo;s final home game before embarking on a nine-game road trip that ends Feb. 28.
The Spurs are 9-37 since opening the season 5-2.
Embiid, Harden and Tobias Harris returned to the court with five minutes remaining after San Antonio trimmed Philadelphia&rsquo;s 22-point lead to just 10 at 122-112. Embiid and Harden combined for eight points and three rebounds in 3 1/2 minutes to seal the victory.
&ldquo;A couple of us older guys on the bench were happy for them when they brought it back all the way to like 10 or nine points,&rdquo; Poeltl said. &ldquo;Made them bring their starters back in. It was fun to watch them out there just playing free, playing aggressive.&rdquo;
Embiid, who was listed as questionable with a sore left foot, was 10 for 18 from the field, 2 for 3 on 3-pointers and 11 for 13 on free throws in an efficient 29 minutes. Named an All-Star reserve Thursday, Embiid added four assists and two steals.
The Spurs were without injured starters Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan and Tre Jones, as well as Romeo Langford, who has started 19 games.
Their absence contributed to San Antonio committing 18 turnovers that led to 26 points for Philadelphia.
&ldquo;Giving up 26 points off turnovers makes it impossible (to win),&rdquo; Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. &ldquo;That was the most disappointing part of the game. Their grunt and their ability to just play the game is super, but taking care of the basketball is pretty important and we didn&rsquo;t do that tonight. That was the bad part of the game.&rdquo;
Philadelphia started the game with three straight turnovers in falling behind 8-1. The 76ers rallied to end the first quarter tied at 26 and then outscored the Spurs 47-35 in the second quarter.
The run included a one-handed alley-oop dunk by Embiid on a pass from Harden followed by a fastbreak dunk by Harris in building a 66-49 lead.
The second unit then began a charge that ended in Philadelphia&rsquo;s bench outscoring San Antonio&rsquo;s 67-42.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what we&rsquo;re going to need from them,&rdquo; Harden said. &ldquo;Consistently they run their sets. With that unit, it&rsquo;s about just getting stops. We get stops, we give ourselves a chance to get out in transition.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
76ers: Harden said he was fine after exiting for the locker room with a second remaining in the first half after falling on his elbow late in the first half. Harden returned early for warmups and started the second half. ... Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers was honored before the game as part of the Spurs&rsquo; 50th anniversary celebration. Rivers played his final two seasons in the NBA with the Spurs, beginning in 1994. ... Play was stopped midway through the first quarter so the 76ers could tend to a minor cut near Embiid&rsquo;s right thumb that was bleeding. Embiid drained a 3-pointer on the next play.
Spurs: San Antonio&rsquo;s next home game is March 2 against Houston. ... San Antonio has the league&rsquo;s second-longest active losing streak, trailing New Orleans&rsquo; 10-game skid. ... Popovich received a technical foul with 5 minutes remaining in the first quarter after stomping down the sideline and screaming at official Mousa Dagher. Popovich was upset no foul was called on a reverse layup attempted by Keldon Johnson.
UP NEXT
76ers: At Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.
Spurs: At Chicago on Tuesday.

Joel Embiid had 33 points and 10 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the San Antonio Spurs 137-125 on Friday night.

Embiid’s double-double leads 76ers past Spurs, losers of 8 straight

LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; At least most of the fans went home happy. UCLA was anything but.
The 10th-ranked Bruins blew an 18-point lead in the second half before rallying to beat crosstown rival Southern California 60-58 on Thursday night for their 11th straight victory.
&ldquo;Do I look happy?&rdquo; groused Bruins coach Mick Cronin.
Jaylen Clark added, &ldquo;You&rsquo;re not supposed to let them come back, especially at home.&rdquo;
Clark scored 15 points to lead the Bruins (14-2, 5-0 Pac-12). He missed a 3-pointer, but David Singleton grabbed the offensive rebound and fed Clark again. This time, he nailed it, putting the Bruins back in front, 59-58, with 14 seconds to go.
&ldquo;At least we grabbed rebounds,&rdquo; Clark said, noting a 36-30 edge on the boards. &ldquo;We lucked out but it&rsquo;s not a performance we&rsquo;re really proud of.&rdquo;
Boogie Ellis missed missed a potential tying jumper that would have forced overtime and Adem Bona grabbed the rebound to seal the win and keep UCLA undefeated at Pauley Pavilion in front of 13,659 with a 9-0 mark.
The Bruins are on their longest winning streak since 2016-17.
Reese Dixon-Waters scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half to lead the Trojans (11-5, 3-2). He made all seven of his shots and both of his free throws.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Our defense was really bad the entire second half,&rdquo; Cronin said. &ldquo;We couldn&rsquo;t guard Reese Dixon. He looked like an NBA iso machine.&rdquo;
USC&rsquo;s leading scorers, Ellis and Drew Peterson, had off-nights, with Peterson in foul trouble. Ellis finished with 10 points; Peterson had nine.
&ldquo;We planned for Ellis and Peterson to go off,&rdquo; Clark said. &ldquo;Once they realized we weren&rsquo;t giving them nothing they started moving the ball.&rdquo;
Trailing by 18, the Trojans outscored the Bruins 19-6 to open the second half. Kobe Johnson had a steal and a score and Harrison Hornery came off the bench to hit a 3-pointer that drew the Trojans within five.
Bona and Tyger Campbell picked up their third fouls in under a minute of each other. Bona had the defensive play of the second half, blocking Malik Thomas on a dunk.
The Bruins missed 5 of 6 free throws while Dixon-Waters carried the Trojans. He scored eight of their 10 points to get USC to 56-53.
Hornery scored and got fouled on USC&rsquo;s next possession. He missed the first free throw but made the second for a 56-all tie.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. missed a layup and Ellis scrambled and came up with the rebound in the clogged paint. Dixon-Waters scored to give the Trojans a 58-56 lead, their first since the start of the game.
Ellis got called for an offensive foul that gave UCLA the ball back with seven seconds to go. The Trojans fouled Singleton, whose first free throw hit the iron, drawing agonized groans from the crowd. He made the second for a 60-58 lead.
&ldquo;Obviously that was not a performance we&rsquo;re proud of,&rdquo; said Jaquez, who finished with 12 points. &ldquo;We came out in the second half flat and there&rsquo;s really no excuse for it. I put that on myself.&rdquo;
The Bruins raced to an 18-4 lead to start the game, hitting four 3-pointers in the spurt that included 13 straight points. In one sequence, Clark got blocked by Peterson, grabbed the offensive rebound and made a layup. UCLA had a 9-0 run later in the half and went into the break leading 44-26.
BIG PICTURE
USC: The Trojans have dropped back-to-back games for just the second time this season. Before the skid, they won seven in a row, including a 6-0 mark in December that included a pair of Pac-12 road wins. They&rsquo;ll face the Bruins again in three weeks.
UCLA: The Bruins continue on a winning streak that began after losses to ranked Illinois and Baylor at Las Vegas in November. They have seemingly bought into coach Mick Cronin&rsquo;s hard-nosed defensive style, which helped them scrap to a one-point road win at Washington State last weekend. Later in January, the Bruins travel to No. 5 Arizona for a pivotal showdown in the desert in their lone remaining game against a ranked opponent.
SEEING STARS
The rivalry game brought out former Bruins Russell Westbrook and wife Nina, who played for UCLA&rsquo;s women&rsquo;s team, Baron Davis, and Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who played baseball in Westwood. Dwyane Wade sat next to Utah Jazz executive Danny Ainge. Also in the crowd was Henry Winkler and Jessica Alba, whose father-in-law Michael Warren starred for UCLA in the John Wooden era.
UP NEXT
USC: Hosts Colorado on Jan. 12 in the first of a two-game homestand.
UCLA: Hosts Utah on Jan. 12 in the second of three straight home games.

The Bruins are on their longest winning streak since 2016-17.

No. 10 UCLA blows 18-point lead, hangs on to beat USC 60-58

The NBA went into Christmas with a night like none other.
For the first time in NBA history, five players scored at least 43 points on the same day. It happened Friday, with Dallas&rsquo; Luka Doncic leading the way with 50 points against Houston.
The others: Philadelphia&rsquo;s Joel Embiid scored 44 against the Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a career-high 44 against New Orleans, New York&rsquo;s RJ Barrett had 44 against Chicago and Indiana&rsquo;s Tyrese Haliburton scored a career-best 43 against Miami.
&ldquo;Luka is Luka," Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the best player in the world and he showed that tonight, carrying the load offensively again."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
THAT'S A 50-PIECE FOR THE DON 🔥🔥🔥 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MFFL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MFFL</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/dallasmavs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dallasmavs</a> on <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsSW?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BallySportsSW</a> 📺 <a href="https://t.co/1deZTcSzwv">pic.twitter.com/1deZTcSzwv</a>
&mdash; Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsSW/status/1606492306965659650?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2022</a></blockquote>

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As he usually does, Doncic deferred the credit.
&ldquo;My teammates trusted me," he said after his 17-for-30 night that also included 10 rebounds and eight assists.
The biggest shot of the night in <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/doncic-scores-50-mavericks-edge-rockets-112106" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dallas' 112-106 win over Houston</a> might have been Doncic hitting a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left to give the Mavericks a five-point lead.
And that wasn't even the most dramatic 3 that the night's big scorers had.
That honor went to Haliburton, who made 10 3-pointers &mdash; the last of them with 4.3 seconds left to give the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/haliburton-hits-winning-3-scores-43-as-pacers-beat-heat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pacers a 111-108 win over the Heat</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Haliburton seals the deal with a clutch game-winner from downtown 🔥. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Pacers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Pacers</a> TV: Bally Sports Indiana Stream: <a href="https://t.co/dJ7DfL7kr9">https://t.co/dJ7DfL7kr9</a> <a href="https://t.co/1hfDgmDm20">pic.twitter.com/1hfDgmDm20</a>
&mdash; Bally Sports Indiana (@BallySportsIN) <a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsIN/status/1606492549950197760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2022</a></blockquote>

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&ldquo;Tyrese Haliburton is an artist," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said when asked about Haliburton's different-than-most shooting stroke. &ldquo;And you know, some people that have unconventional ways to be successful in this game, you have to just leave them alone and allow them to do what they do. His artistry is the way he gets the ball in the basket, the way he sees the game, the way he connects teammates and the special person that he is."
Embiid's big night came in <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/embiid-harden-help-76ers-beat-clippers-for-homestand-sweep" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Philadelphia's seventh consecutive win</a>. Barrett and the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/derozans-jumper-gives-bulls-118117-victory-over-knicks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Knicks wound up falling to the Bulls</a>, and Gilgeous-Alexander's 44&nbsp;came in an <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/breakingnews/murphy-scores-23-pelicans-beat-thunder-in-ot-without-zion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">overtime loss to New Orleans</a> &mdash; which he nearly extended into double overtime, with a 40-foot desperation shot at the end hitting the front rim at the buzzer of a 128-125 final.
&ldquo;It was close. Not close enough," said Gilgeous-Alexander, whose great start to this season has cemented himself as an early front-runner for NBA's Most Improved Player honors &mdash; not to mention other postseason accolades, and likely a trip to the All-Star Game as well.
There now have been just over 4,400 instances of a player scoring 40 or more points in a regular-season game. Friday was only the fifth time that five of those happened on the same day &mdash; and the second time it happened in 2022.
On April 10, the final day of the 2021-22 regular season, Obi Toppin had 42 for New York, Jalen Green had 41 for Houston, Malik Monk scored 41 for the Los Angeles Lakers, Klay Thompson had 41 for Golden State and Victor Oladipo scored 40 for Miami.
The other three instances of five 40-point scorers:
&mdash; Feb. 21, 2003:&nbsp;Tracy McGrady scored 52 for Orlando, Jamal Mashburn 50 for the New Orleans Hornets, Michael Jordan 43 for Washington, Allen Iverson 41 for Philadelphia and Kobe Bryant 40 for the Lakers.
&mdash; Feb. 2, 2001:&nbsp;Allen Iverson scored 47 for Philadelphia, Bryant 44 for the Lakers, Chris Webber 41 for Sacramento, Paul Pierce 40 for Boston and Jerry Stackhouse 40 for Detroit.
&mdash; Dec. 25, 1961:&nbsp;Wilt Chamberlain scored 59 for the Philadelphia Warriors, Tom Heinsohn 45 for Boston, Elgin Baylor 40 for the Lakers, Richie Guerin 40 for New York and Oscar Robertson 40 for Cincinnati.

The NBA went into Christmas with a night like none other. For the first time ever, five players scored at least 43 points on the same day.

A record NBA outburst: 5 players score 43 or more points on same day

PHILADELPHIA (AP) &mdash; Joel Embiid scored a career-high 59 points, had 11 rebounds and eight assists to carry the Philadelphia 76ers to a 105-98 victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday night.
Embiid also blocked seven shots and has clearly rounded back into form over the last week after recovering from an illness. The reigning NBA scoring champion dropped 42 points a night earlier in a win against Atlanta.
Malik Beasley scored 18 points for the Jazz.
With the Sixers up 101-98 and 1:19 left, Embiid blocked Collin Sexton's driving layup and then the All-Center came right down and hit a little jumper that sealed the victory.
Embiid shook off nagging injuries to post his breakthrough game of the season on the second night of a home back-to-back. He made 19 of 28 shots from the floor, 20 of 24 free throws and kept the Sixers from folding against the upstart Jazz.
Tyrese Maxey chipped in 18 points for the Sixers but they had only 10 points from their other three starters. Embiid scored 13 points in the first quarter, 11 in the second and nine more in the third.
Embiid sank two free throws with 4:56 left in the fourth for a 96-94 lead and he matched his career high with 50 points. Embiid had twice before scored 50 points. The 7-footer hit two more free throws at the 4:17 mark for a 98-96 lead.
He had Sixers fans chanting &ldquo;MVP! MVP! and one yelled &ldquo;He&rsquo;s gonna get 60!&rdquo;
So close.
The Jazz gave him every opportunity with a string of fouls down the stretch and the big man kept knocking 'em down from the line. He missed just his fourth free throw attempt late in the game that made it 101-98.
TIP-INS
Utah: Went 4-3 on a stretch of six of seven games on the road. ... Missed 8 of 13 free throws in the first half.
76ers: Embiid scored 24 points in the first half, the 30th time since the start of last season he has scored 20-plus points in a half. ... Matisse Thybulle had five steals.
AINGE TRIBUTE
Doc Rivers was in the midst of an 18-game losing streak as coach of the Boston Celtics during the 2006-07 season and wondered if perhaps a coaching change was on the horizon. Instead, team President Danny Ainge often apologized for his role in putting together the roster. Rivers said Ainge would tell him, be patient, hang in there. Patience paid off, Ainge and Rivers would win the NBA championship with Boston in 2008.
Ainge is now Utah&rsquo;s CEO and has preached similar patience as he was set to undergo a rebuild this season. He&rsquo;s also put his faith in rookie coach Will Hardy.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s never very emotional with his reaction,&rdquo; Hardy said. &ldquo;As a young coach, as a first-time head coach, that&rsquo;s very calming. He&rsquo;s never too riled up. He&rsquo;s been unbelievably supportive and I definitely feel like I have his trust.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Jazz: Host the New York Knicks on Tuesday.
76ers: Have the next four days off until another back-to-back home set against Milwaukee on Friday and Minnesota on Saturday.

Joel Embiid had a career-high 59 points along with 11 rebounds, 8 assists and 7 blocks to lift the 76ers to a 105-98 win over the Jazz.

Joel Embiid scores career-high 59, leads 76ers past Jazz 105-98

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Kevin Huerter scored 27 points, hitting seven 3-pointers, to help the Sacramento Kings win for the first time this season with a 119-113 victory over the Miami Heat on Saturday.
It&rsquo;s the first victory for Kings coach Mike Brown, who was hired this past offseason. The Los Angles Lakers are the last winless team in the NBA.
&ldquo;It was (about) trying to get a win,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;Doesn&rsquo;t matter when it comes. ... hopefully we can have some carryover going on this road trip.&rdquo;
Kings rookie Keegan Murray scored a career-best 22 points.
&ldquo;I think we played well,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;We expect to win games.&rdquo;
With the Kings up four points, Huerter was fouled with 14.2 seconds left. He made both free throws to extend Sacramento&rsquo;s lead to six and seal the win.
De&rsquo;Aaron Fox had scored 27 points or more during the Kings&rsquo; first four games of the season. He finished with 17 points and added 13 rebounds, a career-high.
Domantas Sabonis picked up two early fouls in the third quarter and sat with five fouls until the early fourth. Sabonis finished with 18 points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes. He fouled out with 5:52 left.
Harrison Barnes scored 11 points. All five Sacramento starters scored in double-figures.
&ldquo;Nobody knows how hard those guys work,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;Watching these guys work every day and seeing their togetherness, you feel that we&rsquo;re going to have a real shot at this thing.&rdquo;
Tyler Herro led the Heat (2-5) with 34 points and knocked down five 3-pointers. Bam Adebayo added 23 points and Kyle Lowry had 15.
Jimmy Butler scored 13 points, his lowest scoring output of the season.
After Sacramento went up 42-33 with 7:28 in the second quarter, they ended the first half on a 29-13 run to stretch the lead to 22 at the break.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s been a little bit of a trend, our starts defensively,&rdquo; Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;They came in with desperation. They wanted to get that first win.&rdquo;
The Heat outscored Sacramento 33-19 in the third, which cut the Sacramento lead to six. Miami cut the lead to as close as one after a Herro And-1.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not rocket science to us,&rdquo; Spoelstra said. &ldquo;... we are going to improve. We are not that far away.&rdquo;
KENTUCKY REUNION
For the first time in an NBA regular season game, Malik Monk, Fox and Adebayo shared the court together The trio played together during the 2016-17 season at Kentucky. The Wildcats reached the regional final that year.
TIP-INS
Heat: F/C Dewayne Dedmon missed Saturday&rsquo;s game with a non-COVID illness. Dedmon played 34 games with Sacramento during the 2019-20 season&hellip; Miami coming in had won three of four against Sacramento.
Kings: Brown successfully won a challenge in the first quarter when a foul was called on Sabonis. It was changed to an offensive foul on Adebayo&hellip; Sacramento coming in had committed the 5th most fouls in the NBA, averaging 23.8 per game. They had BLANK against Miami&hellip; Kings shot a season-low BLANK 3-pointers.
UP NEXT
Heat: Hosts Golden State on Tuesday.
Kings: Start a four-game road trip and play the Hornets Monday.

Kevin Huerter scored 27 points to help the Sacramento Kings get their first win of the season, beating the Miami Heat 119-113.

Kings outlast Heat 119-113, win first game of Mike Brown era

Kevin Huerter scored 27 points, to help the Kings win for the first time this season with a 119-113 victory over the Miami Heat.

This marks the first time that NBA opening-night rosters have at least 120 international players in consecutive seasons

NBA features 120 international players from 40 countries, 6 continents

Tre Mann had 15 points and seven assists to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to an 86-80 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night in the NBA Summer League.
Oklahoma City's three first-round picks draft all contributed to the victory.
No. 2 overall pick Chet Holmgren had eight points, five rebounds, five steals and three assists before fouling out. No. 12 pick Jalen Williams added 12 points, while No. 11 pick Ousmane Dieng &mdash; acquired in a draft-day trade with the Knicks &mdash; had 12 points and seven rebounds.
Sacramento's Keegan Murray &mdash; the fourth overall choice &mdash; had 29 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Jared Rhoden added 16 points and eight rebounds. Keon Ellis had 14 points and five assists.
BUCKS 87, TIMBERWOLVES 75
Sandro Mamukelashvili had 18 points and 15 rebounds to lead Milwaukee Bucks past Minnesota.
Mamukelashvili, who was coming off a 28-point game Monday, also had four of Milwaukee's 25 assists on 30 field goals.
MarJon Beauchamp made four of Milwaukee's 15 3-pointers and finished with 15 points. Rayjon Tucker, Lindell Wigginton and Zylan Cheatham each scored 14 points.
Kevon Harris scored 16 points for Minnesota. Terrell Brown Jr. added 14 points, Wendell Moore Jr. had 13 and Marial Shayok 11.
HORNETS 91, CAVALIERS 80
Bryce McGowens made five 3-pointers and scored 24 points as Charlotte beat Cleveland.
Mark Williams, Brady Manek and LiAngelo Ball each scored 12 points, and Kai Jones added 11 for Charlotte (2-1).
Ochai Agbaji scored 24 points, with four 3-pointers, for Cleveland (1-2). Cameron Young added 11, Amauri Hardy had 10 and Isaiah Mobley grabbed 11 rebounds. The Cavaliers were 5 of 25 from distance.
PELICANS 106, WIZARDS 88
Deividas Sirvydis scored 25 points, going 6 of 10 from 3-point range, to help New Orleans beat Washington.
New Orleans trailed at halftime, but outscored Washington 28-15 in the third quarter to take the lead for good.
Jared Harper made 10 of 14 free throws and had 18 points and six assists for New Orleans (2-1). Daeqwon Plowden added 16 points and Dereon Seabron had 13.
Vernon Carey Jr. made his first five shots and scored 11 points for Washington (1-2). Tyler Hall also scored 11 points and Tahjere McCall added 10.
RAPTORS 80, JAZZ 74
D.J. Wilson had 22 points and nine rebounds, Jeff Dowtin added 19 points and Toronto handed Utah its first loss.
<a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1547380055629877248">Dowtin made a contested layup with 45.6 seconds left</a> for a four-point lead. Utah missed 3-pointers on its next two possessions and Dowtin sealed it with two free throws.
Jared Butler scored 12 points, Leandro Bolmaro added 11 and Darryl Morsell had 10 for Utah (2-1).
76ERS 75, HEAT 71
Trevelin Queen scored 16 points, Tyler Bey added 14 and Philadelphia held off Miami.
Malik Ellison had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Philadelphia.
Javonte Smart topped Miami with 20 points, and Haywood Highsmith had 17 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
NUGGETS 80, CLIPPERS 75
Matt Mitchell had 17 points and six rebounds to help power Denver past Los Angeles.
Nuggets first-rounder Christian Braun &mdash; 21st overall &mdash; had eight points to go along with 12 rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
Jay Scrubb led the Clippers with 18 points.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Tre Mann had 15 points and seven assists to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to an 86-80 victory over the Kings on Wednesday night.

Mann leads Thunder past Kings 86-80 in Summer League play

We have even&nbsp;more fireworks, folks!
The Utah Jazz, following a disjointed and disappointing 2021-22 campaign, ripped off the proverbial band-aid in regards to their star duo. Donovan Mitchell is still in Utah; Rudy Gobert is on the move.
Gobert has been shipped to the Minnesota Timberwolves for quite the haul: Jarred Vanderbilt, Patrick Beverley, Malik Beasley, Leandro Balmaro, 2022 draftee Walker Kessler, three unprotected first-round picks (2023, 2025, 2027), a first-round pick swap in 2026 and a top-five protected first-round pick in 2029.
Whew. Got all that?
It was part two of the Pick Acquisition Plan for the Jazz, following Royce O'Neale being sent to the Brooklyn Nets for a 2023 first-rounder. The Jazz are equipped with all kinds of pick flexibility to go trade shopping in an effort to build around Mitchell. Or, if they really want to tear the sucker down, they can push the big red button with Mitchell too. We know teams like Miami would be interested in that.
For the Wolves, this represents their first player swing of the offseason. They made waves earlier in the offseason cycle, hiring Tim Connelly away from the Denver Nuggets for a hefty bag&nbsp;and&nbsp;equity. Adding Gobert to the roster comes with the forfeiture of draft control for the forseeable future, but it's a trade-off the Wolves were willing to make for one of the NBA's best centers &mdash; and to acquire him without giving up any of their core pieces aside from Vanderbilt.
WHAT HE BRINGS
It starts on the non-glamour end of the floor.&nbsp;
To be frank, there isn't an interior defender in the league like Rudy Gobert. He's a three-time Defensive Player of the Year winner, and he put together a campaign worthy of consideration for a fourth award last season. The blocks are nice; he's averaged at least 2.0 blocks per game in every season of his career aside from his rookie campaign. He's able to swat shots without getting himself into foul trouble; including the playoffs, Gobert has fouled out just four times in the last three seasons.
Beyond the blocks and strong contests, Gobert's presence alone shifts an opponent's shot profile. Per Cleaning The Glass, enemy offenses have seen their rim frequency drop by at least five percentage points with Gobert on the floor in five of the last six seasons. It's been especially absurd over the last two seasons: a 7.6% dip in 2021, and a 7.8% dip last season.
In other words: teams are typically afraid of challenging Gobert in the paint.
(Anthony Edwards looms as a pretty loud example, as he claimed Gobert doesn't put fear in his heart last season. Now, he doesn't have to! They're teammates!)
Gobert's ability to protect the paint should make life easier on everyone else. If the Wolves continue to dial it up with Karl-Anthony Towns showing high in ball screens, they'll have Gobert behind the action to clean things up. Vanderbilt was a borderline All-Defensive team candidate in my eyes, in part because of his work as a weakside rim protector. Swapping him out for Gobert is quite the enhancement.&nbsp;
On the other end, Gobert is a prolific screener and lob threat. Only Nikola Vucevic set more on-ball screens (3,429) than Gobert did last season (3,165), and his partnership with Mike Conley was one of the NBA's best, per Second Spectrum.
D'Angelo Russell, provided <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-destinations-for-dangelo-russell" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he isn't moved</a>, could create a similar partnership. Remember, he hasn't played with a roller like this since his time with Jarrett Allen. Edwards simply hasn't had this kind of target. Spread pick-and-rolls with Gobert as the screener and Towns spaced at the wing should put defenses in a bind.
When he isn't directly involved in action, Gobert doesn't just bide his time. He's a willing pin-in screener off the ball, effective for occupying help defenders and giving his ball-handler an extra kick-out option when necessary. If nothing else, Gobert will make himself available at the dunker spot for dump-offs.&nbsp;
The Jazz averaged a little over one point per possession when running a ball screen while having a player occupy the dunker spot, a top-three mark in the NBA, per Second Spectrum. The Wolves were in the middle of the pack (0.94 PPP, 16th). Swapping out Vanderbilt for Gobert could provide a bump in that area &mdash; if not for the buckets, then for the foul drawing when rising up. How many non-Jazz fans knew that Gobert ranked just outside the top 10 in free throw attempts per game (6.7) last season?
Even zooming out from the particulars, having Gobert and Towns means having an elite big on the floor at all times with some staggering. They will have some sense of stability up front versus the variance of Naz Reid (still a fan!) trying to hold down the fort with Towns on the bench.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_15363790_690w.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="433" />
QUESTION MARKS
The big question surrounding this trade concerns the amount of picks that Minnesota sent to Utah, but we're going to keep this one on the basketball court.
Gobert still has to prove himself as a self-creator. He's seen his on-ball picks switched at a higher rate in each of the past three seasons: from 5.2 per 100 possessions in 2019-20, to 8.5 in 2020-21, to 8.7 last season, per Second Spectrum. A lot of that is due to the lack of respect Gobert garners as a post-up threat.
There's room for a "he-didn't-get-the-ball-enough-on-deep-seals" argument; but, as my <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dunker-spot/id1547857052" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Dunker Spot</a> cohost Steve Jones Jr. has pointed out, Gobert doesn't always seal mismatches with oomph. He's shown that he can abuse smaller players on the glass, but he's gotta put the ball in the hoop.&nbsp;
Defensively, it's fair to question what it's going to look like in crunch time. While I'd respect Chris Finch for closing games with Kyle Anderson and Gobert up front for maximum aptitude, Towns is going to be on the floor. That could get a little dicey if teams decide to go small.
The hope is that the Towns-Gobert pairing becomes a juiced version of the Al Horford-Robert Williams III duo in Boston. But with all due respect, Towns isn't Horford as a switch defender &mdash; or an in-space defender at that.
And what helps that particular pairing work is the personnel around them. Marcus Smart and/or Derrick White at the point of attack; Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are stout on-ball defenders. We've seen what a guy like Grant Williams can do. Looking at what the Wolves have on the perimeter... it ain't that, either.
Vanderbilt and Beverley are gone. Jaden McDaniels has stud potential on the defensive end, but it's fair to question everyone else. Russell is a more reliable off-ball defender and half-court direction-giver than he is at the point of attack. There's a lot of variance to what Edwards provides on defense right now; he'll have to grow up fast, but it's encouraging that he seems to want to.
But even with those question marks, it's hard to argue against the Wolves making themselves a better team with this deal. Gobert is a defense unto himself, and his screening prowess should pry some things open on the other end.
There's plenty of time for the Wolves to make free-agent or trade moves to solidify the rotation. They'll need to in order to make this work.

Nekias Duncan breaks down Rudy Gobert's fit with the Minnesota Timberwolves following Friday's blockbuster trade.

Examining how Rudy Gobert fits with the Minnesota Timberwolves

SAN ANTONIO (AP) &mdash; Gregg Popovich is the winningest coach in NBA regular-season history, getting his 1,336th victory when the San Antonio Spurs rallied to beat the Utah Jazz 104-102 on Friday night.
Popovich broke a tie with Don Nelson, the friend and mentor he served as an assistant under while with Golden State for two seasons beginning in 1992.
The milestone came in Popovich&rsquo;s 2,030th game and 26th season with the Spurs, the only franchise he has served as head coach for.
Unsurprisingly, the evening was met with zero fanfare.
Praise or celebration of any achievement is brusquely deflected or simply ignored by Popovich. To hear Popovich explain it, he simply shows up to work and rolls the ball onto the court.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Popovich has won five NBA championships, 13 division titles and was recently named one of the 15 greatest coaches in league history. He has coached NBA 75th Anniversary Team members David Robinson and Tim Duncan, future Hall of Fame members Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker as well as journeymen who found careers in San Antonio such as Danny Green and current NBA coaches Steve Kerr, Monty Williams, Ime Udoka and Doc Rivers.
&ldquo;Gregg Popovich&rsquo;s success with the Spurs is unprecedented in our league so it&rsquo;s only fitting that he now holds the record for most career wins," NBA Commissioner Adam Siler said in a statement.
"His leadership and unwavering commitment to the game are widely admired by generations of players and coaches alike. Congratulations to Coach Pop on this latest achievement in his legendary career.&rdquo;
San Antonio won 50 games for a league record 18 straight seasons from 2000-2017 under Popovich.
The Spurs matched a league record with 22 straight playoff appearances but have missed two straight postseasons since their streak ended in 2017.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
While the glory days seem distant, the 73-year-old Popovich continues plugging along.
Popovich joked that coaching Duncan, Parker and Ginobili had grown &ldquo;boring&rdquo; because they knew everything. The current roster is the antithesis of that.
This year&rsquo;s team is the youngest of Popovich&rsquo;s career. The Spurs have fully embraced a rebuild expedited by Kawhi Leonard&rsquo;s forced departure from San Antonio along with the retirement of the Big Three.
Dejounte Murray, who has emerged as the team's newest star, had 27 points and nine rebounds to lead the Spurs past the Jazz. Murray made two free throws with 4.8 seconds and 1 of 2 with a second remaining to seal the victory.
Murray&rsquo;s 17-footer tied the it at 84 with 5:28 remaining to close an 18-3 run by the Spurs. Lonnie Walker IV made two of three free throws to put San Antonio up 96-95 for its first lead since Josh Richardson&rsquo;s 15-footer put them ahead 5-3 1:31 into the game.
Donovan Mitchell had 24 points for Utah, and and Rudy Gobert added 13 points and 16 rebounds.
Former Spurs forward Rudy Gay pulled Utah to 103-102 on a 3-pointer with 1.0 seconds left.

Gregg Popovich is the winningest coach in NBA regular-season history, getting his 1,336th victory on Friday night.

Spurs' Gregg Popovich becomes NBA regular-season wins leader

March Madness is underway!
Across the country, teams are competing in conference tournaments and trying to punch their ticket for the NCAA Tournament. Selection Sunday is almost here, and then the tourney starts next Tuesday.
If you missed any of the Day 2 action, here's a recap of what went down on Thursday.
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Games of the Day
Indiana def. Michigan 74-69 &mdash; B1G Second Round
With 11:03 remaining, Michigan led 60-43 and appeared to be in complete control. The Hoosiers would go on a 20-2 run and took the life right out of the Wolverines, completing the comeback by winning 74-69. Trayce Jackson-Davis led all players with 24 points and 4 blocks in a stunner. Indiana faces No. 1 Illinois next.
Texas A&amp;M def. Florida 83-80 in OT &mdash; SEC Second Round
This one was wild. The Aggies dominated all afternoon and held a 9-point lead with 1:07 to play, but the Gators went on a 12-3 run of the next 50 seconds to tie it at 70-70, forcing the game into overtime. They stayed deadlocked at 78-78 with 1:10 left in overtime when Hassan Diarra hit a triple with one second on the clock to win 83-80. A huge win for a true Bubble Team in A&amp;M.
Arizona def. Stanford 84-80 &mdash; Pac-12 Quarterfinals
The largest lead either way today was 7 points &mdash; in a game where Stanford was given a whopping 5% chance of victory. The Cardinal took a 75-74 lead with just over three minutes to go, but the Wildcats had answers. Kerr Kriisa exiting with injury is important to monitor, but Christian Koloko led the team with 24 points as Arizona survives and advances.
Miami (FL) def. Boston College 71-69 in OT &mdash; ACC Quarterfinals
Kam McGusty led the Canes with 16 points in the nail-biter, as they avoided the upset in overtime. Only one basket was scored in the final 2:30 of the contest &mdash; a Jordan Miller layup that sealed the deal. A big save by Miami.&nbsp;
Villanova def. St. John&rsquo;s 66-65 &mdash; Big East Quarterfinals
The Red Storm let a 17-point second half lead slip away to end their season. Villanova was carried by its starting five, with only 7 points coming from the bench unit. Caleb Daniels led the way with 19 points and 7 rebounds. Justin Moore added 15 points of his own.&nbsp;
Toledo def. Central Michigan 72-71 &mdash; MAC Quarterfinals
In a game where the largest lead was 7 points for each team, Toledo held on for the 1-point win. Harrison Henderson scored with 20 seconds remaining to make it 71-70 Central Michigan, but a RayJ Dennis layup with 10 seconds left would seal the deal. Setric Milner Jr. led the way with 22 points for the Rockets. It's a big win for Toledo who currently projects a No. 13 seed.
Providence def. Butler 65-61 &mdash; Big East Quarterfinals
This one was back-and-forth from the tip, as the teams traded leads the entire contest. Tied at 55 with 3:06 remaining, Simas Lukosius hit a big pair of free throws for Butler to take the lead, but Al Durham hit a huge triple with 43 seconds to go for the Friars to take a 61-59 lead. Durham would follow with a dunk at the end of the game to seal the deal at 65-61. Despite the loss, it was a hard-fought game by the Bulldogs.&nbsp;
Wyoming def. UNLV 59-56 &mdash; Mountain West Quarterfinals
The Cowboys held a 9-point lead in the second half, but allowed the Rebels to fight their way back into it. Xavier DuSell hit a huge three with 30 seconds, and then, Brendan Wenzel iced the game with a pair of free throws. A great game from UNLV&rsquo;s Bryce Hamilton comes up just short.&nbsp;
Akron def. Buffalo 70-68 &mdash; MAC Quarterfinals
This was a fight from start to finish. Led by Ali Ali&rsquo;s 19-point effort and a pair of Greg Tribble free throws with four seconds remaining, the Zips survive and advance. They will face No. 1 seed Toledo on Friday afternoon in the MAC semis.
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The Upsets, the Madness
Oklahoma def. Baylor 72-67 &mdash; Big 12 Quarterfinals
The Sooners took the lead with 11:51 to play and never gave it back. With a balanced offensive attack of five players in double-digits, Oklahoma shocked the Bears. Jacob Groves led the way with 15 points, while Marvin Johnson provided 12 off the bench.&nbsp;
Vanderbilt def. Alabama 82-76 &mdash; SEC Second Round
Bama led by 10 points at the break but Scotty Pippen Jr. and Co. had other plans. Vandy roared back to take a 68-67 lead with 4:26 to play, and was able to hold the Crimson Tide off the rest of the way. Jordan Wright hit a pair of free throws late to ice the game, and the Commodores advance. Pippen Jr. ended with 26 points and 7 assists.
TCU def. Texas 65-60 &mdash; Big 12 Quarterfinals
The Horned Frogs had a win probability of 29.3% entering this one, and that&rsquo;s all they needed. After being down 40-20 in the first half, TCU did a complete 180 and outscored the Longhorns 45-20 the rest of the way. Mike Miles and Co. are setting themselves up well, and will take on the Kansas Jayhawks in the Big 12 semis.
Penn State def. Ohio State 71-68 &mdash; Big Ten Second Round
The Nittany Lions were given a 24.2% chance of winning today, and they did just that behind Sam Sessoms' 18 points off the bench. Jalen Pickett also had a huge game with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Penn State moves on to play No. 3 Purdue.&nbsp;
Grambling def. Southern 60-58 &mdash; SWAC Quarterfinals
Led by Tra&rsquo;Michael Moton&rsquo;s 12 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists, Grambling took the lead with 10 minutes left in the game and never gave it back. The Tigers will face Texas Southern next.&nbsp;
Tulsa def. Wichita State 73-67 &mdash; American First Round
The Golden Hurricane had four players with 10 or more points, including two with at least 20. After an 11-19 season, this was a nice win for Tulsa as it tries to make a late push in the conference. Tulsa will move on to face No. 2 SMU.&nbsp;
Portland State def. Southern Utah 77-65 &mdash; Big Sky Quarterfinals
The Vikings entered this game under .500 on the season, but put up 77 points on 51.9% shooting from the floor. They held Southern Utah to a lowly 36.8% from the floor and are able to advance.
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Standout Performers
Noah Fernandes (UMass): 29 points, 7 assists
Spencer Jones (Stanford): 28 points, 8 rebounds
Jimmy Boeheim (Syracuse): 28 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists
Keegan Murray (Iowa): 26 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Grant Sherfield (Nevada): 25 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds
Joel Murray (Long Beach State): 25 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds
Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana): 24 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks, 10-17 FG
Wendell Moore Jr. (Duke): 26 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal
Nate Watson (Providence): 26 points, 7 rebounds, 9-14 FG
Scotty Pippen Jr. (Vanderbilt): 26 points, 7 assists
Tristen Newton (East Carolina): 26 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists
Jordan Walker (UAB): 26 points, 5 steals, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
EJ Liddell (Ohio State): 25 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks
Orlando Robinson (Fresno State):&nbsp;25 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists
Christian Koloko (Arizona): 24 points, 9 rebounds, 10-12 FG
Dillon Jones (Weber State): 23 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals
Julian Champagnie (St. John&rsquo;s): 23 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA): 23 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Prentiss Hubb (Notre Dame): 23 points, 5 assists
Zyon Pullin (UC Riverside):&nbsp;23 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds
Amadou Sow (UC Santa Barbara): 21 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Bryce Hamilton (UNLV): 22 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
Mahki Morris (Abilene Christian): 22 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds
Chuba Ohams (Fordham): 20 points, 16 rebounds, 2 steals
Darien Jackson (Tulsa): 20 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Brady Manek (UNC): 21 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
Malique Jacobs (Kent State): 21 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists
Kowacie Reeves (Florida): 21 points, 6 rebounds
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2022 NBA Draft: Prospect Watch&nbsp;
Keegan Murray (Iowa): 26 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Wendell Moore Jr. (Duke): 26 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal
EJ Liddell (Ohio State): 25 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks
Orlando Robinson (Fresno State):&nbsp;25 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists
Christian Koloko (Arizona): 24 points, 9 rebounds, 10-12 FG
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA): 23 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Tari Eason (LSU): 19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks
Justin Lewis (Marquette): 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals
Ochai Agbaji (Kansas): 18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
Trevor Keels (Duke): 14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
Jabari Walker (Colorado): 18 points, 16 rebounds
Iverson Molinar (Miss. State): 19 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
Julian Champagnie (St. John&rsquo;s): 23 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists
Collin Gillespie (Villanova): 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
David Roddy (Colorado State): 13 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
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March Madness is underway! If you missed any of the Day 2 action, here's a recap of what went down during Thursday's games.

March Madness: Conference tournament Thursday recap

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Rookie Jalen Green scored a career-high 32 points, including 10 in overtime, and the Houston Rockets outlasted the slumping Los Angeles Lakers for a 139-130 win Wednesday night.
&ldquo;That was so much fun and exciting and great for a packed house to see us play like that,&rdquo; coach Stephen Silas said. &ldquo;And also great for our team to respond to the adversity, get down and come back out fighting."
The Rockets, who have the worst record in the Western Conference, withstood a triple-double from LeBron James and 30 points from Russell Westbrook to get just their second win in 15 games.
&ldquo;We have a really small margin of error this season and teams are making us pay," James said.
The loss is the ninth straight on the road for the Lakers, who have dropped six of their last seven games and are running out of time to get things together before the playoffs begin.
&ldquo;It is hard losing when you&rsquo;re pouring everything you have into it and trying to get traction for this group," coach Frank Vogel said. &ldquo;But we&rsquo;ve got resolve and this is a tough stretch we have to fight through."
Green, the second overall pick in the draft, opened overtime with a layup before adding a 3-pointer and then swishing a hook shot soon after that to make it 127-120. Eric Gordon added a 3-pointer to push the lead to 10 before the Lakers finally scored in the extra period on a basket by Westbrook with 2 1/2 minutes to go.
But the Rockets used a 6-3 run with 3s from Kenyon Martin Jr. and Green around a 3 from James to extend the lead to 136-125 with a minute left in OT and seal the victory.
&ldquo;We had too many defensive breakdowns throughout the game," Vogel said. &ldquo;Our guys fought but it just wasn&rsquo;t enough."
Green was asked about his big night.
&ldquo;It felt good," he said. &ldquo;They kept feeding me. Told me to keep attacking until they stop me. So that&rsquo;s what I did. The basket felt super big tonight.&rdquo;
James had 23 points, 14 rebounds and a season-high 12 assists for his fifth triple-double of the season. But his career-long streak of consecutive games with 25 points ended at 23 games on a night he was 9 of 26 overall and made just 1 of 9 3-pointers.
&ldquo;I missed a lot of shots that I know I&rsquo;m capable of making, have made throughout the course of the season and my career," he said. &ldquo;Shots just weren&rsquo;t falling for me tonight."
It was his first game since scoring a season-high 56 points Saturday night after he sat out Monday at San Antonio with a sore left knee.
Rookie Alperen Sengun set career-highs with 21 points and 15 rebounds and fellow rookie Josh Christopher added 21 points off the bench to help the Rockets to the win.
Silas spoke of growth of Green and Christopher, who are 20 years old, and the 19-year-old Sengun after their performances Wednesday night.
&ldquo;It means a lot," he said. &ldquo;It means that they&rsquo;re learning the importance of the work and sticking with it and fighting through the hard times and finding success at the end of the rainbow when the lights are the brightest."
A jump shot by Westbrook tied it at 120-all with a minute to go but he missed a shot a few seconds later to give Houston the ball back.
Green missed a layup under heavy pressure from James to give the Lakers another shot to take the lead.
James missed an off-balance shot in the lane with 17 seconds left but officials ruled that Houston knocked the ball out of bounds while vying for the rebound. The Rockets challenged the call, but it was upheld.
James drove into the lane and dished to Carmelo Anthony in the corner for the final shot of regulation, but his 3-point attempt was off to send it to OT.
A 5-2 spurt by the Rockets in the fourth tied it up, but James drove into the lane and finished with a monster, one-handed dunk to put the Lakers up 113-111 with 5 &frac12; minutes to go.
Los Angeles trailed by 1 with about three minutes left when James made 1 of 2 free throws to make it 118-116.
Green scored four quick points to give the Rockets a 120-118 lead with about two minutes left. He made two free throws and then grabbed a rebound on the other end and finished with a jumper to put Houston on top.
TIP-INS
Lakers: Malik Monk had 20 points. ... L.A. made 18 of 47 3s. ... Austin Reaves added 17 points.
Rockets: Jae&rsquo;Sean Tate sat out with a sore left ankle. ... Dennis Schroder returned after missing four games with a sprained right ankle and had 12 points.
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THEY SAID IT
Anthony on how well the Rockets played Wednesday night: &ldquo;It is surprising that we were in a game that close and that tight. But that says something about the Rockets. They don&rsquo;t quit coming at you."
UP NEXT
Lakers: Host Washington Friday night.
Rockets: Host Dallas Friday night.

Rookie Jalen Green scored a career-high 32, including 10 in overtime, and Houston outlasted the slumping Lakers 139-130.

Rookie Jalen Green has 32 as Rockets down Lakers in OT, 139-130

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
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
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
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
🔥 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.

NBA Power Rankings: Bucks back into top tier, Mavs vault into top-10

Lubbock, TX&nbsp; &mdash;&nbsp; In Chris Beard&rsquo;s return to Lubbock, the Red Raiders make a statement with a 77-64 win, defeating the Longhorns. Kevin McCullar led all players with 19 points, and Marcus Carr scored 16 for the visitors.
The&nbsp; Red Raiders (17-5, 6-3 Big 12) entered ranked No. 3 in the conference behind the strong season of Bryson Williams. The senior UTEP transfer is averaging 13.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.&nbsp;
The Longhorns (16-6, 5-4 Big 12) are also led by a transfer in scoring. Timmy Allen (Utah) is averaging 11.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game alongside the experienced backcourt of Marcus Carr (Minnesota), Courtney Ramey and Andrew Jones.
The students camped out for days for a chance to heckle former Red Raider head coach and now Longhorn head coach, Beard. The environment was unlike the building had seen in years as they entered this contest 13-0 at home on the season.&nbsp;
The Red Raiders jumped out to a 19-7 lead and the place was going bonkers. Kevin Obanor and Kevin McCullar would lead the way in the first half with 11 points and 10 points respectively, as the home team took a 43-29 lead into the break. Williams added 9 points while Ramey was trying to shoulder the load for the visitors by scoring 12 points.&nbsp;
Allen and Carr would get going early in the second period as Texas cut the lead to 49-42. Obanor would soon respond with a pair of triples to re-extend the lead to 62-50. With the power of the crowd behind them, Tech continued to get the necessary stops to seal the deal.&nbsp;
Mylik Wilson threw down a ferocious dunk with 0:54 to play to send a message, and Mark Adams and company sealed the 77-64 win for the Red Raiders to stay undefeated at home.&nbsp;
Kevin Obanor had a great game with 17 points of 5 of 7 from deep. Bryson Williams scored 16 points on 7 of 11 from the field. Ramey ends with 12 points. Christian Bishop provided 9 points, 8 rebounds, and 1 steal for the Longhorns.
UPCOMING
Texas hosts No. 20 Iowa State on Saturday afternoon.
Texas Tech visits West Virginia on Saturday.
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In Chris Beard’s return to Lubbock, the Red Raiders made a statement with a 77-64 win, defeating the Longhorns.

No. 14 Texas Tech beats No. 23 Texas 77-64 in statement win

Champaign, IL&nbsp; &mdash;&nbsp; In a game that went down the to wire, the Illinois Fighting Illini (14-5, 7-2 Big Ten) held on to a narrow, last-second victory over the Michigan State Spartans (15-4, 6-2 Big Ten) without star center Kofi Cockburn, 56-55. Holding onto the win, No. 24 Illinois moved into first place in the Big Ten.
Illinois&rsquo; Trent Frazier led all players with 16 points in the contest, while Marcus Bingham Jr. led the way for the 10th-ranked Spartans with 13 points.&nbsp;
In a fairly lopsided first half, Illinois took a 34-20 lead into the break. Frazier displayed his tough shot-making ability early on and posted 10 points in the first period on 4 of 7 shooting. Freshman Luke Goode had a good first half as well with 6 points. Gabe Brown and Bingham led the Spartans in scoring at half with 5 points each.
Illinois extended its lead in the second half to 15 points, and up until roughly the 5:30 mark, looked completely in control to close it out. During the final five minutes of play, the Spartans&rsquo; defense was up to the task and made the necessary stops. On the other end, Malik Hall and Joey Hauser brought Michigan State back within two points at 56-54. Hall then missed the front end of a pair of free throws, which all but sealed the deal.&nbsp;
Brown finished with 10 points and 3 rebounds. Hall scored 7 points and secured 7 rebounds. Alfonso Plummer played a key role in the win, posting 11 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds for the home team.
No. 24 Illinois held onto the win, and as a result, moved into first place in the Big Ten.
Coming into Tuesday's game, the No. 10 Spartans&nbsp; had won 10 of their last 11 games, including a statement last weekend at Wisconsin. Senior forward Gabe Brown leads Michigan State in scoring at 13.6 points per game. Freshman Spartan wing Max Christie is averaging 10.5 points per contest and is a potential lottery pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.&nbsp;
Cockburn, a junior big man, leads the No. 24 Fighting Illini in points and rebounds, but without him, they lack a physical force on the inside. Neither he nor point guard Andre Curbelo played in this one; however, the Illini were still able to sneak out with the victory.
UPCOMING
Illinois will visit Northwestern on Saturday afternoon.&nbsp;
Michigan State will host Michigan in a rivalry matchup on Saturday.&nbsp;
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In a game that went down the to wire, the Fighting Illini held on to a last-second victory over MSU without star center Kofi Cockburn.