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Bulls

MACAU, CHINA &ndash; Dillon Brooks isn&rsquo;t known for backing down. But when he was traded to the Phoenix Suns this summer, the veteran forward didn&rsquo;t waste time trying to find his footing &ndash; he went straight to the source.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been easy,&rdquo; Brooks told BasketballNews.com during the NBA China Games in Macau. &ldquo;My first call when I got traded was to (Book), trying to get acquainted. It&rsquo;s better for me.&rdquo;
The trade that brought Brooks to Phoenix was part of one of the offseason&rsquo;s biggest shakeups. The Suns sent Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets, acquiring Brooks, Jalen Green, and draft capital in return. For a team that missed the 2025 Play-In Tournament and entered the summer with more questions than answers, the move signaled a shift toward youth, defense, and a reset in culture.
Brooks, 29, arrives with a reputation that precedes him &ndash; a fiery competitor, a relentless defender, and a player unafraid to toe the line between confidence and chaos. But for all the noise that often surrounds him, Brooks&rsquo; arrival in Phoenix feels different. He&rsquo;s not being asked to be the agitator. He&rsquo;s being asked to be a tone-setter alongside one of the league&rsquo;s most consistent stars in Devin Booker.
And from the sound of it, the two have already formed a connection.
After stints in Memphis and Houston, Brooks lands in Phoenix at an interesting time. The Suns have transitioned from championship contention to identity building. Gone are Durant and Bradley Beal, replaced by a roster built around Booker, Green, and Brooks &ndash; a trio that blends scoring, youth, and toughness.
In Houston, Brooks averaged 14.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists last season while shooting a career-high 39.7% from deep. But what Phoenix values most is his edge &ndash; the defensive intensity and accountability that helped stabilize a young Rockets team under Ime Udoka.
For the Suns, who ranked in the bottom third of the league defensively last season, Brooks&rsquo; arrival represents more than just numbers. It&rsquo;s about attitude.
That&rsquo;s exactly what Booker has been asking for. As the longest-tenured Sun, Booker has become both the voice and heartbeat of the organization. Having a player like Brooks beside him &ndash; one who&rsquo;s both vocal and battle-tested &ndash; could give Phoenix the emotional jolt it&rsquo;s been missing.
Book and Brooks: A new chapter in the valley and building chemistry
Brooks&rsquo; comment about calling Booker first may seem small, but it speaks volumes about intent as this is the first time they&rsquo;ll share an NBA locker room. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been like a big brother to me, taking me under his wing,&rdquo; Brooks shared. (We&rsquo;re) always talking every single day, (and it&rsquo;s good) being able to play beside him and not being able to guard him,&rdquo; Brooks said in jest.
Booker, now entering his tenth season, has quietly evolved into the kind of leader who balances accountability with mentorship. For Brooks, that relationship could help smooth his transition and reshape his image from &ldquo;villain&rdquo; to veteran leader.
Their synergy will be key for Phoenix, especially as head coach Jordan Ott experiments with defensive combinations and lineups around his new core. Brooks&rsquo; ability to guard the opposing team&rsquo;s best wing should free Booker to focus more on offense &ndash; a shift that could benefit both players and the team overall.
Phoenix enters the 2025-26 season with measured expectations but renewed energy. With Booker leading the way, Green bringing athleticism and upside, and Brooks infusing defensive bite, the Suns have the makings of a team that can compete nightly &ndash; even without a superstar trio.
For Brooks, the goal is simple: embrace the city, connect with his teammates, and prove that his fire can fuel winning.
He&rsquo;s already made one thing clear &ndash; he&rsquo;s found comfort in the Valley.
&ldquo;Getting acquainted with Phoenix is easy &ndash; love the city, love the fans, and I can&rsquo;t wait for the season.&rdquo;

Dillon Brooks says Devin Booker has been like a “big brother” as he settles into Phoenix as he embraces a new role with the Suns.

Dillon Brooks finds a fresh start in Phoenix beside Devin Booker

MACAU, CHINA &ndash; Devin Booker has seen every version of the Phoenix Suns since he was drafted in 2015. He&rsquo;s lived through the lottery years, guided the franchise back to playoff relevance, reached the NBA Finals, and helped redefine the Suns&rsquo; identity as an enticing star player destination. Now, entering the 2025-26 NBA season, Booker stands at the center of yet another chapter &ndash; but one that&rsquo;s less about contention and more about construction.
&ldquo;I always say we&rsquo;re all blessed to be in a position that we are &mdash; to play the sport that we love,&rdquo; Booker told BasketballNews.com in a postgame interview after their game vs the Brooklyn Nets during the 2025 NBA China Games in Macau. &ldquo;I just take it day by day, try to improve, try to learn, and give advice and lead at the same time. So, whatever situation that has been thrown at me, I just take it for what it is. I love the situation that we&rsquo;re in now, and we&rsquo;re building. We&rsquo;re building for the start of the season, and today was a good step forward.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s a fitting perspective for a player who&rsquo;s evolved as much as the franchise itself. Booker entered the league as a 18-year-old microwave scorer and has since become the longest-tenured Sun, the team&rsquo;s all-time leading scorer, and its emotional anchor. His growth mirrors the Suns&rsquo; decade-long climb &ndash; from rebuilding project to Finals contender to, once again, a team recalibrating its future.
From contender to transition
The Suns&rsquo; transformation over the past few months has been striking. After some seasons built around a star-heavy core of Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, Phoenix decided to reset. Durant was traded in a major offseason move, while Beal&rsquo;s contract was bought out. The organization also brought in new leadership, hiring Brian Gregory as general manager and Jordan Ott as head coach.
Phoenix retooled its roster with an eye toward the future &ndash; adding dynamic young talents like Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks, while drafting rookie center Khaman Maluach. The changes signal a somewhat long-term vision rather than an all-in championship chase, but one thing remains constant: this is still Booker&rsquo;s team.
This summer, that commitment became official. The Suns signed Booker to a two-year, $145 million extension, keeping him in Phoenix through 2030 &ndash; a statement of belief in his leadership and loyalty.
Embracing the responsibility
Booker&rsquo;s tone in Macau wasn&rsquo;t that of a superstar frustrated by change, but of someone embracing it. His focus, he said, is on growth &ndash; both his own and that of the group around him.
That attitude could define the Suns&rsquo; season. With a new system under Ott and a younger supporting cast, Phoenix will rely heavily on Booker&rsquo;s leadership, consistency, and voice. He&rsquo;s been through the highs and lows, from the grind of early rebuilds to the heartbreak of losing on the game&rsquo;s biggest stage.
Now, his mission shifts: guiding the next wave of Suns through their own learning curve.
&ldquo;I just take it day by day,&rdquo; he repeated. &ldquo;Try to improve, try to learn, and lead at the same time.&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Latest words for <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@basketbllnews</a>: Devin Booker has seen it all in Phoenix -- from rebuilding to Finals runs and now a new era. In Macau for the NBA China Games, he shares how he&rsquo;s embracing leadership and the challenges ahead. Read more here:<a href="https://t.co/py55gbaa5o">https://t.co/py55gbaa5o</a> <a href="https://t.co/RyRqsO37QJ">https://t.co/RyRqsO37QJ</a>
&mdash; Mon Anthony Valmoria (@MorvalNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MorvalNBA/status/1976894437914820907?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 11, 2025</a></blockquote>

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&ndash; &ndash; &ndash;
The 2025 NBA China Games &ndash; the league&rsquo;s first trip back to China in six years &ndash; provided the perfect stage for this new-look Suns team to show early signs of progress. Against the Brooklyn Nets, Phoenix displayed flashes of renewed energy and cohesion, with Booker setting the tone both on and off the floor.
For a franchise seeking to rebuild its foundation, the preseason trip offered something: a reminder that new beginnings often come with opportunity.
The regular season begins later this month, and expectations around the Suns are tempered. But for Booker, the focus isn&rsquo;t on predicting where Phoenix will finish &ndash; it&rsquo;s on building the right habits, fostering growth, and setting a standard for what&rsquo;s next.
Through all the changes from front offices, teammates, and coaching staffs, Devin Booker has remained the constant. He&rsquo;s carried the Suns from obscurity to contention, and now he&rsquo;s steering them into a new era with patience and purpose.
If the Suns&rsquo; future depends on leadership and belief, they have both in their cornerstone. &ldquo;Whatever situation that&rsquo;s been thrown at me, I just take it for what it is,&rdquo; Booker said. &ldquo;I love the situation that we&rsquo;re in now, and we&rsquo;re building.&rdquo;
In a time of transition, that&rsquo;s exactly the kind of message Phoenix needs from their bonafide franchise star.

Devin Booker reflects on his Suns journey, and embraces the challenge of leading Phoenix through a transition season.

Devin Booker embraces leadership role as Suns transition to new era

With the Western Conference All-Star starters set, let&rsquo;s look at the players who deserve a reserve slot for the West All-Star team this season. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/picking-the-nbas-eastern-conference-allstar-reserves" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Check out our Eastern Conference All-Star reserve picks here</a>.
Guard: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Curry is a lock to make the team and the only question is: why isn&rsquo;t he starting? It took historic individual seasons from Dallas&rsquo; Luka Doncic and OKC&rsquo;s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to dislodge Curry from his usual starter spot at the All-Star game (the first time that's happened since 2014). As one of the legends of this generation and a face of the league for years running, Curry is still playing at a high level this season, averaging 27.5 points, 5 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 41 games played.&nbsp;
Guard: Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
Like Jayson Tatum out East, Edwards is the best player on the best team in the West, which absolutely strengthens his All-Star case. Blossoming into a full-blown superstar this season, Edwards is averaging 26 points, 5.3 assists and 5.2 rebounds. Even at only 22 years of age, Edwards has been leading his team to wins and the top seed in the Western Conference, earning a ton of respect from fans and the media. Those efforts won't go unnoticed as he earns his second All-Star nod.
Forward: Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers have had the league&rsquo;s best record over the last 10 weeks and the reason is pretty simple: Kawhi Leonard is performing like his usual self. Leonard has played 41 of the Clippers' 45 games, which is huge considering the 6-foot-7 forward&rsquo;s injury history and past load management. In the past, Leonard has missed a lot of games in the regular season and playoffs, but that hasn't been the case this season. Leonard has been the Clippers' best player, averaging 23.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals a night. Whenever Leonard is playing well, the Clippers look like an elite squad.&nbsp;
Forward: Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
Arguably the Lakers&rsquo; best player this year, Anthony Davis has taken it upon himself to lead Los Angeles both on offense and defense. Despite playing out of his normal position, Davis is averaging 25 points, 12.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.2 steals as a center. There is a direct correlation between Davis&rsquo; play and the Lakers' success this year. The Lakers would probably be even deeper down the standings if not for Davis and he's likely done enough to join Lakers teammate and All-Star captain LeBron James on the team.
Center: Rudy Gobert, Minnesota Timberwolves
Perhaps a controversial pick, Rudy Gobert is a worthy All-Star due to his production and the fact that he's helped lead the Wolves to the No. 1 seed in the West. Gobert is the anchor of the best defense in the entire league and is the main reason why Minnesota can effectively deploy a two-center lineup. Even though his 13.3 points per game don't jump off the page, Gobert is also averaging 12.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocks. The 7-foot-1 center is once again a Defensive Player of the Year candidate and leading his team to a ton of wins, which he has been doing since his Utah Jazz days. That is a testament to his value.
Wildcard: De&rsquo;Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings
Last year, Fox made his first All-Star appearance. This year, he&rsquo;s been even better, upping his averages to 27.5 points, 5.6 assists and 4.1 rebounds for the fifth-place Sacramento Kings. This is Fox&rsquo;s best scoring campaign of his career, just a season removed from winning the NBA&rsquo;s inaugural Clutch Player of the Year award. A lot of the 6-foot-3 guard&rsquo;s success this season can be attributed to him shooting better from three (increasing his three-point percentage from 32.4% to 38.6%), which has allowed him to become a true three-level scoring threat. Using a lethal arsenal of mid-range jumpers and floaters, he has raised his game to the next level.
Wildcard: Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns
Devin Booker takes the West's last slot after some recent explosive performances. Booker has been on a stunning scoring tear as of late, which might help him secure a place on the team. Over the past week, the 6-foot-6 guard is averaging mind-boggling numbers of 42 points on 64% shooting from the field, including a 62-point outing and 52-point performance. This season, Booker has taken on more on-ball duties than ever before since Chris Paul is out of the picture and he's trying to fit alongside All-Star starter Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. This recent explosion reminded everyone that he can light up teams when he gets hot and look the part of an All-Star.
Snubs: Domantas Sabonis (Center, Sacramento Kings); Paul George (Forward, Los Angeles Clippers); Brandon Ingram (Forward, New Orleans Pelicans); Zion Williamson (Forward, New Orleans Pelicans); Alperen Sengun (Center, Houston Rockets); Lauri Markkanen&nbsp;(Forward, Utah Jazz)
The West is too deep. Even with Sabonis and George having stellar seasons and their teams in the upper half of the standings (the Clippers are fourth and the Kings are fifth), both still fail to crack the West&rsquo;s top 12. One can argue Sabonis and/or George over Gobert, but it's hard to give just one All-Star spot to the best team in the conference and two slots to teams below them. Both Sabonis and George could also get in through the wildcards, but Booker has been on another level recently and Fox and Sabonis are likely competing over the same spot.
The Pelicans&rsquo; Ingram and Williamson didn't get in as they don't have the stats compared to others on this list, with the Pelicans being one of the deepest teams in the league.&nbsp;
Sengun and Markkanen each have a case as a leading mnn on the next tier of West playoff teams, but the conference is filled with so much talent that even a career-best season may not warrant a spot.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/picking-the-nbas-eastern-conference-allstar-reserves" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Check out our Eastern Conference All-Star reserve picks here</a>.

With the Western Conference All-Star starters set, let’s look at the players who deserve a reserve slot for the West All-Star team.

Picking the NBA's Western Conference All-Star reserves

The article was initially published on BasketballNews on April 6, 2022.
Anyone else love going back and looking at old box scores and falling down afternoon-long rabbit holes, or am I the weirdo?
You might&rsquo;ve read the headline and either recalled this event actually happening, or are befuddled at how such a thing could take place, even in that NBA.
This article, published on April 6, 2022, marks 25 years since the Del Harris-led Los Angeles Lakers held Jim Cleamons and his Dallas Mavericks to 2 points in the third quarter of a regular-season game.
The contest was held at the LA Forum, where a 50-24 Laker team met a 22-53 Mavs squad with two weeks remaining before the playoffs started. Staples wasn&rsquo;t that big yet, and Crypto didn&rsquo;t exist. (Some might say it still doesn&rsquo;t, but you can fight about that amongst yourselves.)
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A large-ass, Biggie verse-having, All-Star center named Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal had been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/14/sports/injury-to-o-neal-is-a-blow-to-lakers.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">out with a knee injury</a> suffered that February, which he returned from five days later. Something tells me, if you made it here, you&rsquo;ve heard of him. Also on the Lakers, quite famously, was a talented rookie named Kobe Bryant, who had been playing regular rotation minutes at 18 years old, but wasn&rsquo;t yet Kobe.
The Mavericks had traded a controversial-but-talented point guard in Jason Kidd earlier in the season &mdash; along with Tony Dumas and Loren Meyer &mdash; to the Phoenix Suns for a package highlighted by Michael Finley, Sam Cassell and A.C. Green. They also dealt Jamal Mashburn to the Miami Heat several weeks later for Kurt Thomas, Sasa Danilović and Martin M&uuml;&uuml;rsepp.
And right before the deadline, Dallas rerouted Cassell as part of a five-man package including Jim Jackson, George McCloud (who wound up on the Lakers retroactively), Eric Montross and Chris Gatling for Shawn Bradley, Khalid Reeves, Robert Pack and Ed O&rsquo;Bannon &mdash; famously the Most Outstanding Player of the 1995 Final Four, and <a href="https://www.primerus.com/business-law-articles/ed-obannon-shines-a-light-upon-student-athletes-right-of-publicity-624201.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">killer of EA's NCAA Football and NCAA Basketball video game franchises</a>. This move not only cemented Dallas&rsquo; rebuild, but it officially made way for a <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/mavericks/2018/06/06/flashback-jamal-mashburn-on-what-really-happened-between-jason-kidd-jim-jackson-and-toni-braxton/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Toni Braxton-less future in Texas</a>.
The Mavericks, <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DAL/1997_games.html">who came in as losers of 10 straight heading into this game</a> &mdash; a lengthy skid that never saw the team score more than 92 points &mdash; went into Hollywood and started Pack, Finley, Green, Bradley and Derek Harper. Without Shaq, the Lakers began with Derek Fisher, Eddie Jones, Jerome Kersey, Corie Blount and Sean Rooks, who played a game-high 43 minutes (33 over his season average).
<a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199704060LAL.html">The Mavericks led 30-17 after the first quarter and 51-37 at halftime</a>. The teams combined to attempt 12 threes in the first half, which most teams would typically combine to do in a quarter today. The Mavericks shot 21 of 44 from the field and outrebounded the Lakers 24-16 while holding L.A. to 12 of 32 shooting.
Bryant and Robert Horry went a combined 2 of 9 off the bench, and Rooks had logged 10 points and 7 boards to that point. Harper and Finley combined for 25 points on 9 of 15 shooting, while Bradley had 9 points and 9 rebounds.
Okay, now let's get to why you&rsquo;re here.
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Not only did the Mavericks score 2 points in the entire third quarter, but the points came from a pair of Harper free throws with 1:51 left in the quarter. So it took over 10 minutes to even get on the board in this period.
Anyway, the Mavericks shot 0 of 15 from the field for the quarter and missed all 4 of their three-balls. They also had 9 turnovers and only made one substitution over the entire 12 minutes, removing Pack for Sa&scaron;a Danilović about halfway through the third. That meant Green, Harper, Finley and Bradley were each a minus-25 for the quarter, and Pack was a minus-20.
For good measure, the Mavericks third quarter could be summed up like this:
<ul>
<li>Points: 2</li>
<li>Fouls: 3</li>
</ul>
The Lakers outscored the Mavericks 27-2 and still just led 64-53 after three. L.A. shot 10 of 17 in the quarter, made 5 of 7 triples, only needed to pull down 8 rebounds and turned the ball over just twice.
The Mavs outdid their horrific third quarter only 48 seconds into the fourth with two layups. They even cut their deficit to as close as 7 points in garbage time before the Lakers pulled away with a 87-80 win.
Fisher scored 21 points &mdash; not even close to a career-high for him &mdash; but to that point, his highest point tally had been just 14. In fact, the 21 points would remain a career-best mark for Fisher until he netted 26 points on March 13, 2001 in a win over the Boston Celtics four years later.
Sean &ldquo;2019 Bam Adebayo&rdquo; Rooks ended the night with 15 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. Bryant logged about 22 minutes off the bench, netting 13 points on 3 of 9 shooting, also finishing with 3 steals and going a perfect 5 of 5 at the free-throw line.
Harper led the Mavs with 18 points on 6 of 15 shooting. Finley only put up 9 shots in over 34 minutes of play. The next time he put up just 9 shots in that many minutes? <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200203310WAS.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">March 31, 2002</a>.
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So, what ended up happening to these two teams? Glad you asked!
The Lakers finished 56-26 and fourth in the Western Conference, sweeping the Kenny Anderson, Isaiah Rider, and Rasheed Wallace-led Portland Trail Blazers in Round 1. Then, in the West semifinals, L.A. fell to the No. 1 seed Utah Jazz, who eventually lost to the Chicago Bulls in the 1997 NBA Finals. The Lakers still had a few more years of Harris before Phil Jackson eventually came to clean things up prior to the 1999-2002 three-peat era.
The Mavericks finished 24-58 and were actually still fourth in the Midwest Division among seven teams, completing 1996-97 with only the sixth-worst record in the league. Unfortunately, they didn&rsquo;t own their own draft pick, but fortunately, the Celtics &mdash; who had it at No. 6 &mdash; used it on Ron Mercer, so it wasn&rsquo;t an egregious miss.
Tracy McGrady did go No. 9 overall, and the Mavs did settle on Kelvin Cato at No. 15, but they landed with a kid named Dirk Nowitzki in the 1998 NBA Draft after another 20-win season.
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Bryan Fonseca revisits when the Mavericks only mustered a measly 2 points in the third quarter against the Lakers.

Revisiting the time the Mavericks scored just 2 points in a quarter

Since Halloween is just two-and-a-half weeks away, BasketballNews compiled a list of the best costumes worn by NBA players.

Which NBA players have rocked the best Halloween costumes?

With the NBA&rsquo;s 2023 free-agency period pretty much wrapped up, why not take a look at how projecting next year's free-agent market? Obviously, a lot can change between now and then, but let&rsquo;s examine each team&rsquo;s cap situation and how much cap room they project to have next summer.&nbsp;
Next year&rsquo;s free-agency class could feature some big names, including Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam, Tyrese Maxey (restricted), Paul George, LeBron James, James Harden, Jrue Holiday, OG Anunoby and DeMar DeRozan.&nbsp;
For the purposes of this exercise, I&rsquo;m going to separate teams into four spending-power tiers: Cap Space Teams, Non-Tax MLE Teams, Luxury Tax Teams and Second Apron Teams. Also, let's assume that the salary cap will be set at $149,623,000 and the luxury tax will come in at $181,823,000, the maximum 10% jump from this upcoming season set under the new CBA.
CAP SPACE TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to have cap space next summer. They have spending access to their cap space, Bird Rights, the Room Exception (projected at $8,495,000) and the Veteran Minimum Exception.
San Antonio Spurs ($77,195,776 under the cap) If Victor Wembanyama is 70% as good as he&rsquo;s hyped up to be entering this season, one would figure that the Spurs will spend big or at least make a meaningful impact on the free-agent market next summer. They project to have an enormous amount of cap space, so it&rsquo;s very possible we&rsquo;ll see San Antonio take on some more bad contracts in trades to give them even more draft capital. Also, they&rsquo;ll want to retain Devin Vassell, who will be a restricted free agent next offseason once the Spurs extend his qualifying offer.
Philadelphia 76ers ($73,034,842 under the cap) The Sixers are perhaps the most interesting team in terms of their 2024 offseason outlook. By letting Tyrese Maxey hit restricted free agency next summer rather than extending him this year, Philadelphia gave themselves serious cap flexibility. Tobias Harris and James Harden both have expiring contracts, so the Sixers will have to use their cap space to replace their production. A Harden trade would obviously change their projected cap room, but it remains to be seen what they&rsquo;ll get back for the former MVP and how much it&rsquo;ll impact their books.
Toronto Raptors ($60,339,034 under the cap) After losing Fred VanVleet, the Raptors are walking a tightrope when it comes to whether they&rsquo;ll compete or rebuild. They face some tough decisions. Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby are both set to hit free agency next summer, so Toronto needs to decide whether they want to extend or trade their best players. Not to mention, Precious Achiuwa and Gary Trent Jr. also need new contracts.
Orlando Magic ($58,010,944 under the cap) Orlando has a lot of options for next summer, but the Magic may start with retaining many of their own players. Franz Wagner will likely receive a big contract extension, while Markelle Fultz and Cole Anthony will be up for new contracts. Given that Orlando has a logjam in their backcourt &ndash; with Fultz, Anthony, Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black &ndash; it&rsquo;ll be interesting to see what they do with Fultz and Anthony. The Magic will still have plenty of room to add quality talent for yearly average values over the NTMLE.
Detroit Pistons ($57,781,166 under the cap) Detroit may approach the 2024 offseason similar to how Houston approached this summer, as a young team hoping to use its massive cap space on good veterans in order to take bigger steps toward playoff contention. With that said, the first priority for the team will be agreeing to a contract extension with Cade Cunningham.
Utah Jazz ($50,315,319 under the cap) The Jazz find themselves in a unique position where they could go in two directions. After committing a three-year deal to Jordan Clarkson, they can use their cap space to give 2023 Most Improved Player Lauri Markkanen a contract extension. If they want to have significant cap space for next summer instead, they can hold off on giving Markkanen an extension until free agency is settled.
Washington Wizards ($47,123,801 under the cap) Despite their cap space next year, don&rsquo;t expect Washington to be a big player in 2024 free agency. In the beginning stages of a rebuild, the Wizards will probably keep their sights on collecting more draft capital. They do have an interesting decision coming up with recent trade acquisition Tyus Jones, whom they&rsquo;ll likely want to keep long-term.&nbsp;
Charlotte Hornets ($41,300,515 under the cap)&nbsp; They may lose some 2024 cap space if they eventually re-sign PJ Washington this offseason, but watch out for Charlotte to be one of the many small-market teams with money to spend next summer. With LaMelo Ball in the first year of his max contract extension, Charlotte may cash in on a marquee player to keep their young star happy.
Brooklyn Nets ($33,048,185 under the cap) The Nets do have the potential to have significant cap space next summer if they choose not to re-sign most of their own free agents. However, the Nets will more than likely focus on exploring the trade market and retaining big man Nic Claxton before reaching next year&rsquo;s free agency. Spencer Dinwiddie and Royce O&rsquo;Neale will also hit free agency next offseason.
Indiana Pacers ($20,488,005 under the cap) Indiana could get to an even higher number in cap space if they decline Bruce Brown&rsquo;s $23 million team option next season. If Brown has a good year, the Pacers would likely keep him on a long-term deal that would consume a good chunk of their space. Other impending free agents they might like to keep include Obi Toppin, Aaron Nesmith and Jalen Smith.
Oklahoma City Thunder ($10,264,814 under the cap) The Thunder will likely continue to utilize the strategy of taking on short-term, bad-money contracts in exchange for draft capital. As they inch closer to contention, they will be looking at some big-money extensions for many of their young pieces, including one for Josh Giddey next year.&nbsp;
NON-TAX MLE TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to be over the salary cap but under the luxury tax. They have spending access to Bird Rights, the Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (projected at $13,644,000), the Bi-Annual Exception (projected at $4,968,000) unless used in 2023-24, and the Veteran Minimum Exception.
Chicago Bulls ($19,465,689 under the cap) The Bulls could potentially operate as a cap-space team if they elect to let DeMar DeRozan and Patrick Williams walk in free agency, but that seems unlikely. In addition, the Bulls could potentially create more space if Lonzo Ball&rsquo;s knee injury is considered career-ending by an NBA/NBPA-appointed physician. (Ball would still be paid, it just wouldn&rsquo;t count against the cap).&nbsp;
Sacramento Kings ($210,669 under the cap) The Kings used up most of their cap space by signing Domantas Sabonis to a big four-year extension that ties him with the team through 2028. As long as they are competitive, they will likely pursue quality pieces with their Non-Tax MLE to support Sabonis and De&rsquo;Aaron Fox. They will also likely try to keep Malik Monk and look at extension options for Davion Mitchell.
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New Orleans Pelicans ($487,911 over the cap) The Pelicans are fairly set with their core of CJ McCollum, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram under contract through 2025. Ingram and McCollum are both extension-eligible this offseason, but the Pelicans may wait on dishing out extensions to maintain flexibility under the tax. New Orleans must also monitor Jonas Valanciunas&rsquo; free agency and a possible extension for Trey Murphy III.&nbsp;
Atlanta Hawks ($1,658,172 over the cap) Similar to the Kings, the Hawks wiped away their cap space when they signed Dejounte Murray and De&rsquo;Andre Hunter to four-year, $120 million and four-year, $90 million extensions, respectively. Already pushing past the salary cap, the Hawks may face a money crunch as they broach the luxury tax line. Retaining restricted free agents Onyeka Okongwu and Saddiq Bey next offseason may be tricky.
Los Angeles Clippers ($5,018,261 over the cap) The Clippers are in an interesting spot with George and Leonard both needing new deals, which they will likely get despite their inability to stay on the floor. Many veterans with big salaries will come off the books next year, like Marcus Morris, Nic Batum and Robert Covington. The question is whether the Clippers will continue to commit significant capital to a roster that hasn&rsquo;t met its lofty expectations.
Miami Heat ($7,751,630 over the cap) The Miami Heat are in a holding pattern with their roster as they engage in a Mexican standoff with the Blazers on a Damian Lillard trade, which could see them skyrocket into the deep tax. Outside of the Dame situation, Jimmy Butler will likely look for another big extension this offseason, which will pay him max money deep into his late 30s. They will also have to contend with potentially losing Caleb Martin, who has a player option for 2024-25.
Houston Rockets ($8,734,919 over the cap) The biggest spenders of this past offseason, the Rockets made big moves for Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks. Houston could get back into the cap-space tier again if they choose to part ways with Kevin Porter Jr. and his non-guaranteed $15.9 million salary. Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun will also be up for extensions.&nbsp;
Cleveland Cavaliers ($11,399,749 over the cap) The Cavs are pretty set going into the 2023-24 season and beyond with two max guys (Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell) and key guys on fairly big deals (Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert and Max Strus). They will likely give Evan Mobley a big extension next offseason, which could push them into the luxury tax in the near future. For next offseason, their only notable free agent is Isaac Okoro.
New York Knicks ($11,400,861 over the cap) This morning, the Knicks inked Josh Hart to a four-year contract extension that pushed them over the cap for 2024-25. Their main concerns for next summer are Immanuel Quickley and Isaiah Hartenstein, who are both up for new contracts. They will likely be able to avoid the tax by declining their team option on Evan Fournier or trading his expiring contract for another expiring deal.
Dallas Mavericks ($13,566,153 over the cap) The Mavericks are not likely to seek pathways to cap space next summer after doubling down on their trade for Kyrie Irving by re-signing him to a three-year, $120 million deal. They should look to retain Josh Green, who will be a restricted free agent. Luka Doncic&rsquo;s happiness looms over all of the Mavs&rsquo; moves, as ESPN&rsquo;s Tim McMahon <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/mavs-fear-luka-doncic-may-request-trade-unless-they-build-contender">reported in April</a> that the Mavericks are worried about Doncic potentially seeking a trade elsewhere as soon as next year.
Los Angeles Lakers ($15,380,636 over the cap) The Lakers had a pathway to almost two max slots in the unlikely scenario that they decided to pivot from the LeBron-AD era. However, that option is out the window with them inking Davis to a three-year supermax extension that will keep him with the team through 2028. LeBron James&rsquo; decision to stay with the team or leave will ultimately dictate how the Lakers approach spending next offseason.
Portland Trail Blazers ($20,567,876 over the cap) Portland is in the midst of turning the page to a new era as they look to accommodate franchise cornerstone Damian Lillard&rsquo;s trade request. If they do end up trading Lillard, expect their cap numbers to come down slightly, but not enough to get any meaningful space. Whether Lillard is traded for the Miami package or something else, Portland shouldn&rsquo;t be a major player in free agency for a while.&nbsp;
LUXURY TAX TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to be over the salary cap and luxury tax. They have spending access to Bird Rights, the Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (projected at $5,500,000), and the Veteran Minimum Exception.
Minnesota Timberwolves ($14,474,085 under the tax) The Timberwolves have paid the luxury tax only once since 2007. They should be a tax team once again, with Karl-Anthony Towns' supermax extension and Anthony Edwards' max extension kicking in. In addition, Minnesota will need to use significant capital to keep players like Jaden McDaniels, Mike Conley and Kyle Anderson, all of whom will be free agents in 2024.
Golden State Warriors ($9,696,462 under the tax) While the Warriors are currently under the tax, they are likely going to re-sign 2024 free agent Klay Thompson to a long-term deal at a lower number or at least use his Bird Rights to acquire another piece at a similar number. Golden State can cut some costs by releasing Chris Paul after the season, as his $30 million salary for 2024-25 is non-guaranteed.
Milwaukee Bucks ($6,142,529 under the tax) The Bucks re-signed Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez to big-money deals, committing to the players who won them the 2021 title. Another one of those players, Jrue Holiday, is set to reach free agency and will likely demand max money. In addition, Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes eligible for a supermax extension of up to three years in October and can sign a four-year supermax extension next offseason.
Denver Nuggets ($6,732,627 over the tax) The defending champs have their core of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon locked in through the 2025 offseason. They&rsquo;ve already lost Bruce Brown and Jeff Green this summer and will be forced to work around the edges with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope potentially heading for free agency next summer.
Boston Celtics ($7,306,800 over the tax) The trade for Kristaps Porzingis pushed the Celtics into the luxury tax for the first time since 2018, and that was before they signed Jaylen Brown to a five-year supermax extension. With Jayson Tatum&rsquo;s own supermax extension on the horizon next year, the Celtics figure to be a tax team, and potentially a second apron team, for the foreseeable future.
SECOND APRON TEAMS
Teams in this tier are currently projected to be over the salary cap, luxury tax and second luxury tax apron ($17.5 million over the tax). They have spending access to just Bird Rights and the Veteran Minimum Exception. The second apron was introduced in the new CBA and prevents teams from using the Taxpayer MLE, trading first-round picks seven years away, signing buyout free agents and taking back more salary than they send out in trades among other restrictions.
Memphis Grizzlies ($13,829,477 over the tax) For the first time under owner Robert Pera, the Grizzlies will be paying the luxury tax. While Memphis probably won&rsquo;t reach the second apron, they are not likely to have enough spare capital to use their Tax MLE and be able to fill out their roster without going over it. Their core of Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. are locked up to big money, long-term deals that will keep Memphis among the league's biggest spenders for likely the next decade-plus.
Phoenix Suns ($27,039,607 over the tax) Phoenix is by far the most limited team when it comes to spending, and they will be for the next few seasons after trading for Bradley Beal&rsquo;s behemoth contract. With four max contracts, including two supermax contracts, the Suns have blown through the second apron. Like this past offseason, the supporting cast around their core four will be mostly minimum-salary contracts.

How much cap room is your favorite NBA team projected to have next summer? Blake Stern breaks down where all 30 teams stand.

Which NBA teams project to have the most cap space in 2024?

PHOENIX (AP) &mdash; Mat Ishbia&rsquo;s five-month tenure as the new owner of the Phoenix Suns has produced a whirlwind of change.
Nobody seems completely safe &mdash; not even 12-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul &mdash; as the Michigan native continues his quest to deliver Phoenix its first NBA title.
The aggressive owner oversaw his latest big move Sunday, when the Suns&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/wizards-suns-trade-bradley-beal-55adab5fa31d5dfbc35b83223743d9c6">put together the framework for a trade</a>&nbsp;that would send Paul, Landry Shamet and other compensation to the Washington Wizards in exchange for three-time All-Star Bradley Beal.
Paul &mdash; making&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1670789719184089092" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">an appearance on ABC&rsquo;s &lsquo;Good Morning America&rsquo; on Monday</a>&nbsp;morning to promote his new book &mdash; seemed just as shocked by the development as everyone else.
&ldquo;I was surprised, too,&rdquo; Paul said. &ldquo;I found out on the plane, yesterday, flying here for this. In this league, anything can happen, so you just figure out what&rsquo;s next.&rdquo;
Paul came to the desert in 2020, bringing instant credibility to the Suns, who had languished near the bottom of the standings for the better part of a decade. The point guard formed a formidable backcourt with Devin Booker, and the Suns came agonizingly close to a championship, winning the first two games of the NBA Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021 before losing the next four.
The Suns were also good in the past two regular seasons, but suffered back-to-back embarrassing playoff exits on their home floor.
That was apparently enough for Ishbia to decide that wholesale changes needed to be made.
Ishbia &mdash; who took over control of the team&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/milwaukee-bucks-brooklyn-nets-phoenix-suns-new-york-knicks-houston-rockets-3f59feda34360905962e1f9ff0bf6cc5">from the embattled Robert Sarver in February</a>&nbsp;&mdash; hasn&rsquo;t been shy about making big moves, even before their latest playoff exit. The Suns added 13-time All-Star Kevin Durant in a blockbuster trade deadline deal that sent Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and a bevy of first-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets.
The bold move failed to produce a championship, so Ishbia continued his overhaul.
The Suns&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/suns-monty-williams-fired-53f33c2c3c8d69af7449cbfbf931bc0a">recently fired coach Monty Williams</a>, who was the NBA&rsquo;s Coach of the Year in 2022,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/phoenix-suns-new-coach-frank-vogel-993576f1cc1daf71ac0adbaf76cc8e9b">and brought in Frank Vogel</a>, who led the Lakers to a title in the Florida bubble in 2020. Now the team is moving on from the 38-year-old Paul and bringing in Beal, who has averaged more than 22 points per game over his 11-year career.
More changes could be on the horizon.
The Suns now have a stellar nucleus of Booker, Durant, Beal and Deandre Ayton, but not much help around them. The foursome will make about $150 million next season and the Suns will have to be creative as they try to add quality role players.
Another option would be trading Ayton, a former No. 1 overall pick in 2018 who has had five up-and-down seasons with the franchise.
There doesn&rsquo;t seem to be a ton of obvious suitors for an Ayton deal, particularly after the 6-foot-11 center had an underwhelming performance in this year&rsquo;s playoffs.
But with Ishbia helping pull the strings these days, nothing seems impossible. The former Michigan State walk-on basketball player &mdash; who was part of the Spartans&rsquo; championship team in 2000 &mdash; has made it clear no one in the organization is sacred as he pushes for a title.
&ldquo;I want to think big,&rdquo; Ishbia said back in February.

Mat Ishbia’s five-month tenure as the new owner of the Phoenix Suns has produced a whirlwind of change.

Suns continue whirlwind of change under new owner Mat Ishbia

When a generational talent like&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/wemby-victor-wembanyama-nba-draft-f5be654cce544c675559bad526220a9e">Victor Wembanyama</a>&nbsp;comes along, it&rsquo;s clear that he would make any team that he&rsquo;s with better in a multitude of ways.
And the team that wins Tuesday&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/wembanyama-nba-draft-spurs-ee1a9bd2232173666d3302bb491c7c5c">NBA draft lottery</a>&nbsp;in Chicago &mdash; and the right to draft Wembanyama next month &mdash; will be immediately improved. Here&rsquo;s a look at the 14 hopefuls in the lottery, and their odds of landing the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-sports-basketball-las-vegas-6f4ac3d44f624ef36ddb00e314cf0401">7-foot-3 French teen phenom.</a>
DETROIT
Odds: 14%, or about 7-1
Outlook: A new coach is coming, and if Wembanyama goes to the Pistons he&rsquo;d be teaming up with Killian Hayes &mdash; whose mother is French, so there would be some comforts of home at least.
Jalen Duren and Jaden Ivey were&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-all-rookie-team-e70909b25b2ae3fabd26d3c380e4f07c">All-Rookie picks</a>&nbsp;this season. Cade Cunningham was one last season, after he was the No. 1 pick in 2021. It&rsquo;s hard to envision how exactly Wembanyama and Cunningham would play together, since there&rsquo;s still so much mystery about Cunningham&rsquo;s game, especially after he missed much of this season. But two great young talents surely would figure it out.
HOUSTON
Odds: 14%, or about 7-1
Outlook:&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/rockets-udoka-e24d2a5ccedef68bf86faee4ba2b5917">Ime Udoka is in place as the new coach</a>, there&rsquo;s a belief around the league that the Rockets will change their roster considerably in free agency &mdash; bringing James Harden back, perhaps &mdash; and Wembanyama would energize the fan base in many of the same ways Yao Ming&rsquo;s arrival did.
It would take some shots away from Houston&rsquo;s young players and adjustments would have to be made. And the pairing of Wembanyama with Alperen Sengun would be so interesting on defense.
SAN ANTONIO
Odds: 14%, or about 7-1
Outlook: Gregg Popovich would get another incredibly talented big to build around, just as was the case with David Robinson and Tim Duncan.
The Spurs have flourished with international players, such as Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. The Spurs haven&rsquo;t won a playoff series since 2017 and haven&rsquo;t played in one since 2019. But all the losing, all the drafting, all the player development has built them for this &mdash; and Wembanyama would be the springboard to make San Antonio a playoff town again right away.
CHARLOTTE
Odds: 12.5%, or 8-1
Outlook: Maybe this would convince Michael Jordan to not sell the majority stake of the Hornets after all. (Or maybe it&rsquo;ll just raise his price.) Imagine &mdash; the most recognizable player maybe ever, with an iconic brand, getting to draft a kid who is surely going to be a global marketing dream.
As often is the case with top draft picks, much of the attention goes to Wembanyama&rsquo;s offensive game. But Charlotte is desperately in need of more defense, and Wembanyama will make an immediate impact on that end &mdash; which would only further endear him to Hornets coach Steve Clifford. And Wembanyama and LaMelo Ball together would be instantly something to watch.
PORTLAND
Odds: 10.5%, or about 10-1
Outlook: Damian Lillard is tired of waiting and wants the Trail Blazers to become a contender. This would be a great start to that plan.
There is a ton of talent in Portland, led by the all-world guard, and the Blazers packed it in early this season with an eye on the draft. And the ping-pong balls don&rsquo;t care about fairness, but after Sam Bowie and Greg Oden, it surely could be argued that Portland deserves a draft break.
ORLANDO
Odds: 9%, or about 11-1
Outlook: Now this would be spicy. If the Magic win the lottery again, the pairing of Paolo Banchero with Wembanyama would give Orlando an immediate shot in the arm.
The Magic were 5-20 and refused to tank. They went 29-28 the rest of the way, and the young core &mdash; Banchero, Franz Wagner, Markelle Fultz, etc. &mdash; seems like it&rsquo;s poised for bigger things in the Eastern Conference already. Fultz, like Banchero, was a No. 1 pick as well.
INDIANA
Odds: 6.8%, or about 15-1
Outlook: With Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers want to play fast. And he would benefit greatly from an athletic big to play pick-and-roll with (as would plenty of other people in the NBA, of course).
There&rsquo;s a lot to like about Indiana as a landing spot. Championship coach in Rick Carlisle. One of the league&rsquo;s best atmospheres. Basketball is a religion in Indiana. Make no mistake, they&rsquo;d be good right away.
WASHINGTON
Odds: 6.7%, or about 15-1
Outlook: Two things immediately jump off the page with the Wizards. One, Bradley Beal would probably become an even better version with Wembanyama. And two, with Kristaps Porzingis, this might be the rare spot for Wembanyama to not be the tallest player on his own roster.
UTAH
Odds: 4.5%, or about 22-1
Outlook: Wembanyama is obviously familiar with the Jazz, given his relationship with former Utah center Rudy Gobert. It would be a unique parallel; the Jazz trade Gobert in 2022, fall into the lottery a year later, get Wembanyama to add to a good young cast led by Lauri Markkanen.
DALLAS
Odds: 3%, or about 33-1
Outlook: Dallas raised the NBA&rsquo;s ire by tanking at the end to protect its lottery odds. If the Mavericks win the lottery and can pair Wembanyama with Luka Doncic &mdash; and perhaps Kyrie Irving &mdash; the $750,000 tanking fine might end up as the best money Mark Cuban ever spent.
CHICAGO
Odds: 1.8%, or about 55-1
Outlook: DeMar DeRozan would be a great first vet for Wembanyama to open his NBA career with and learn from.
OKLAHOMA CITY
Odds: 1.7%, or about 60-1
Outlook: The Thunder were one of the best stories in the league this season with a budding star like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and last year&rsquo;s No. 2 pick &mdash; Chet Holmgren &mdash; set to make his NBA debut this fall. Put Wembanyama on the Thunder, and it&rsquo;ll be scary.
TORONTO
Odds: 1%, or 100-1
Outlook: The Raptors will have a new coach and nobody knows what direction they&rsquo;re going yet this summer. Wembanyama would surely change some of their plans.
NEW ORLEANS
Odds: 0.5%, or 200-1
Outlook: Everyone can see the Pelicans&rsquo; potential, even with the annual mystery of how durable Zion Williamson will (or won&rsquo;t) be. To overcome 200-1 odds would be just amazing luck, and as the city&rsquo;s motto goes, it would truly mean that the good times will roll in New Orleans.

Victor Wembanyama is one of the most hyped-up prospects in years. Tim Reynolds examines how he would impact each lottery team.

Wemby watch: How Victor Wembanyama may help each draft lottery team

ATLANTA (AP) &mdash; Trae Young returned after missing one game with the flu and scored 25 points and had 16 assists to help the travel-weary Atlanta Hawks overwhelm shorthanded Washington 134-116 on Wednesday night.
With the win, the Hawks achieved a modest milestone as they prepare for the postseason. The Hawks (41-39) ended a streak of 33 games being within 1 game of .500.
The Nets defeated the Pistons and guaranteed that the Hawks cannot finish as the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference and will be in the conference play-in tournament for the second straight season. Atlanta holds the No. 8 seed and has a one-game lead over No. 9 Toronto.
The Hawks overcame travel issues that forced the team to fly from Chicago on Wednesday morning after plane difficulties caused the team to stay in Chicago on Tuesday night. Arriving in Atlanta at 2 p.m., the Hawks hit the court five and half hours later.
&ldquo;It was definitely an unusual schedule,&rdquo; AJ Griffin said. &ldquo;Coach (Quin Snyder) handled it well. He set the tone. We knew we just had to play hard and get through the day.&rdquo;
John Collins had 23 points and put the Hawks in control with a stellar sequence in the third quarter. Collins scooped up a loose ball before throwing down a reverse jam, then buried a 3-pointer on the next possession that gave the Hawks an 85-71 lead.
The Hawks did not trail for the game&rsquo;s final 29 minutes and shot 43.3 percent from 3-point range.
Wizards center Daniel Gafford had a career-high 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Hawks reserve Jalen Johnson continued his recent string of strong play, matching his career high of 16 points, set the previous night in a win over the Bulls. Johnson also had 8 rebounds.
The Wizards played without out six of their top eight rotation players, including 20-plus point scorers Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma as they play out the string following their elimination from playoff contention.
&ldquo;I thought offensively, we did some good things,&rdquo; said Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. &ldquo;We moved the ball with pretty good pace. We were sharing the ball as best we can. We had some good looks that didn&rsquo;t go down, but I&rsquo;m more concerned with the defensive stuff.&rdquo;
BENCH BOOST
Snyder talked about his &ldquo;deep&rdquo; bench prior to Wednesday&rsquo;s game, and the group backed up his assessment right away. Led by Johnson, Atlanta had 15 points from its bench in the first quarter after the Hawks got off to a sluggish start in the opening minutes. Johnson and Griffin finished with 16 points apiece.
&ldquo;We have a lot of guys who are prepared,&rdquo; Snyder said. &ldquo;There are limited minutes and some tough decisions have to be made. One of the tings about our bench is the acceptance of a role. To put the team first is not something you take for granted.&rdquo;
Snyder inserted guard Aaron Holiday for Young just six minutes into the game. The Hawks responded with a quick burst.
Holiday, who played just two minutes on Tuesday, had eight points and four assists in 21 minutes.
TIP-INS
Wizards: First-round pick Johnny Davis started his third straight game and has averaged 18.7 points in his three starts. Davis scored 20 points each of his past two games. The rookie from Wisconsin averaged 11.6 points in 19 G League games and has played 26 games with the Wizards.
Hawks: De&rsquo;Andre Hunter missed his fourth straight game with a knee injury. Hunter has started 65 games this season. ... Bogdan Bogdanovic did not play due to right knee injury management. He led the Hawks with 26 points in Tuesday night&rsquo;s win at Chicago. ... The Hawks scored over 100 points for the 55th straight game, extending their team record.
UP NEXT
Wizards: Host Miami on Friday night.
Hawks: Host Philadelphia on Friday night.

The Hawks ended a streak of 33 games being within a game of .500. They hold the eighth seed with a one-game lead over No. 9 Toronto.

Young has 25 as Hawks gain momentum, beat Wizards 134-116

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; A magical journey put San Diego State in its first Final Four.
A thrilling buzzer-beater by Lamont Butler landed the Aztecs one win away from a national title.
Hot early shooting Monday night helped them race to an early lead against the mighty UConn Huskies.
Then things fell apart.
For more than 11 tortured minutes in the title game, no matter what they tried, the Aztecs could not make a field goal in their 76-59 loss.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s difficult to play like that,&rdquo; Butler said.
Fighting against a stifling defense, they missed hook shots, had layups blocked, badly missed wide-open 3s and saw easy jump shots fall short.
The Aztecs (32-7) took shot after shot after shot &mdash; 14 in all as the clock ticked, ticked and ticked &mdash; but no matter what they tried nothing would fall.
&ldquo;We were talking about it for sure,&rdquo; Butler said. &ldquo;And we were trying to figure out what we can do to stop the scoring drought and create advantages for ourselves. We tried but things weren&rsquo;t working.&rdquo;
By the time Darrion Trammell mercifully made a jump shot with about 5 &frac12; minutes left in the first half, the Aztecs had seen a four-point lead turn into a 26-17 hole.
A team that got here on the strength of its vaunted defense was in the end done in by an offense that went cold at the worst possible moment.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the national championship game, a lot of things had to go right on our end in order to win,&rdquo; guard Matt Bradley said. &ldquo;And when you&rsquo;re missing shots and turning the ball over and even when you&rsquo;re playing hard on defense, it&rsquo;s not going to be enough. So we learned that tonight for sure.&rdquo;
The Aztecs rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat Florida Atlantic in the national semifinal, with Butler&rsquo;s game-winner at the buzzer marking the first time in Final Four history that a buzzer-beater took a team from trailing to a victory.
This time there would be no such heroics. They did go on a second half run to make it interesting, though.
San Diego State used a 14-4 spurt, with the first four points from Jaedon LeDee, to get within 60-55 with about five minutes to go.
But Jordan Hawkins made a 3-pointer seconds after that to start a 9-0 run that shut the door on any designs the Aztecs had on another remarkable comeback.
Though their defense had been the star of this Cinderella&rsquo;s tournament run entering Monday night, their offense had done plenty to complement it.
Through their first five games in the tournament, the Aztecs shot an average of 42.48%. In the biggest game in school history Monday night, they shot a tournament-low 32% &mdash; a number significantly lowered by a 28.6% first half.
It was their second-lowest shooting percentage of the season, behind the 31.7% they shot in a 62-57 win over Utah State in the Mountain West Conference Tournament title game. Their 24 first-half points was the second-fewest they&rsquo;d managed all season.
There were no tears in San Diego State&rsquo;s locker room after the loss that snapped a nine-game winning streak, but rather a bunch of guys who were proud of how far they got, even if they came up short.
&ldquo;We were the only ones who believed we could get here,&rdquo; Trammell said. &ldquo;We surpassed our expectations honestly.&rdquo;
Added Keshad Johnson, who led the team with 14 points Monday night.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure we put our school&rsquo;s name on the map and I&rsquo;m proud of that,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;

Hot early shooting Monday night helped the Aztecs race to an early lead against the mighty Huskies. Then, things fell apart.

Long drought seals SDSU’s fate in title game against UConn

ATLANTA (AP) &mdash; Dejounte Murray sank three free throws with 2:14 remaining to give Atlanta the lead and added a fall-away jumper with less than a minute left to lead the Hawks to a 120-118 win over the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night.
Murray led Atlanta with 29 points and Onyeka Okongwu added a season-high 21. The Hawks remained tied with Toronto, which beat Miami 106-92 on Tuesday night, for the eighth-best record in the Eastern Conference.
The Cavaliers held out starting forward Isaac Okoro (left knee soreness) and center Jarrett Allen (strained right groin) and were led by Donovan Mitchell&rsquo;s 44 points. Mitchell, who surpassed 10,000 career points, tied LeBron James&rsquo; Cavaliers record of10 games of 40-or-more points in a season.
With Atlanta&rsquo;s win, NBA- and Eastern Conference-leading Milwaukee clinched the Central Division title.
WARRIORS 120, PELICANS 109
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &mdash; Stephen Curry had 39 points with eight 3-pointers, eight rebounds and eight assists, Jordan Poole added 21 points and Golden State rallied past New Orleans.
Klay Thompson scored 17 and hit five 3s to set a single-season career high of 278, which leads the NBA. Draymond Green was whistled for a double technical for tussling with Brandon Ingram late in the second quarter &mdash; and Green&rsquo;s foul was upgraded to a Flagrant 1. He already served a one-game suspension March 17 at Atlanta for his 16th technical.
The Warriors moved up a spot into sixth place in the crowded Western Conference standings, a half-game up on Minnesota and 1 1/2 games ahead of New Orleans. The top six teams are guaranteed playoff berths.
Ingram had 26 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, Trey Murphy III scored 21 points and CJ McCollum added 15 for the Pelicans, who came in riding a five-game winning streak.
GRIZZLIES 113, MAGIC 108
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Desmond Bane scored 31 points and made 8 of 10 free throws down the stretch, leading Memphis past Orlando.
Bane&rsquo;s free throws thwarted a last-minute rush by the Magic, led by Franz Wagner, who ended up with 25 points, including nine in the final 1:10.
Xavier Tillman had 20 points for Memphis, while Luke Kennard and Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with 16 points apiece. Jackson added 10 rebounds and three blocks.
Ja Morant, the Grizzlies&rsquo; leading scorer, sat out the first night of a back-to-back with right thigh soreness.
Paolo Banchero finished with 24 points and Wendell Carter Jr. added 14 for the Magic.
HORNETS 137, THUNDER 134
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) &mdash; P.J. Washington scored 22 of his career-high 43 points in the fourth quarter, and Charlotte rallied to beat Oklahoma City for its third straight win.
Three Thunder players scored career highs &mdash; Isaiah Joe with 33 points and Josh Giddey and Jalen Williams with 31 each. But Williams and Giddey each missed one of two free throws in the final 16 seconds, and Williams missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have forced overtime.
It was a potentially costly loss for Oklahoma City. The Thunder were looking to strengthen their position in the Western Conference play-in race despite being short-handed. Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who entered the day fourth in the league averaging 31.3 points per game, sat out with a sprained left ankle.
Charlotte was short-handed, too. Terry Rozier (right foot discomfort) and Kelly Oubre (strained right shoulder) sat out for the third straight game and Dennis Smith (sprained right toe) also did not play.
RAPTORS 106, HEAT 92
TORONTO (AP) &mdash; Pascal Siakam scored 26 points, Scottie Barnes had 22 points and a career-high 12 assists and Toronto beat Miami.
O.G. Anunoby scored 22 points, and Precious Achiuwa and Fred VanVleet each had 12 as Toronto won for the 10th time in 11 home games.
Tyler Herro scored 33 points and Bam Adebayo had 21 points and 12 rebounds as Miami lost its second straight. The Heat are 15-22 on the road.
Miami played without leading scorer Jimmy Butler, who sat because of a sore neck.
WIZARDS 130, CELTICS 111
WASHINGTON (AP) &mdash; Kristaps Porzingis had 32 points and 13 rebounds, and Washington boosted its flickering postseason hopes with a victory over Boston.
The Wizards, playing without Bradley Beal (left knee soreness) and Kyle Kuzma (right ankle sprain), pulled within 2 1/2 games of Chicago for the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference. Washington has six games remaining in the regular season.
The Celtics had their three-game winning streak snapped. Jayson Tatum led Boston with 28 points, and Jaylen Brown contributed 18 points.
Deni Avdija matched a career high with 25 points and added 10 rebounds for Washington. Monte Morris scored 19 points.

A recap of Monday's slate of NBA games includes a down-to-the-wire battle in Atlanta.

Hawks beat Cavaliers 120-118, help Bucks clinch Central Division

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) &mdash; San Diego State had little trouble ending the run of March Madness darling Furman, getting 16 points from Micah Parrish to pace a balanced scoring attack and pulling away for a 75-52 win on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Darrion Trammell had 13 points, Lamont Butler added 12 and leading scorer Matt Bradley finished with 10 for San Diego State (29-6), which is heading to its first Sweet 16 since 2004.
The fifth-seeded Aztecs have won 11 of their past 13 games and will play top overall seed Alabama next week in the South Region semifinals in Louisville, Kentucky.
&ldquo;You should play your best at the end of the season, and we&rsquo;re playing our best basketball as the end of the season,&rdquo; coach Brian Dutcher said.
&ldquo;Obviously we hang our hat on defense. That&rsquo;s the one thing that we do every game,&rdquo; Dutcher added. &ldquo;Then when we get the opportunity, we start making shots and play good offensively, then we&rsquo;re very good.&rdquo;
San Diego State is the first Mountain West Conference team to reach the Sweet 16 since Nevada in 2018. It&rsquo;ll be the third regional semifinal appearance for the Aztecs and the seventh for the Mountain West overall.
Two days after shrugging off cold shooting and overcoming a 12-point, second-half deficit&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/furman-virginia-march-madness-upset-1b4e3c5c8b1ce5896eea85ba9fd42761" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to shock No. 4 seed Virginia 68-67</a>&nbsp;on JP Pegues&rsquo; bracket-busting 3-pointer, Furman was outmuscled and gradually worn down by the much more physical Aztecs.
The Paladins feel they still showed they belong in March Madness.
&ldquo;We wish we would have played better. Wish we would have shot the ball a little bit better. But some of that you have to give credit to (San Diego State). But there&rsquo;s nothing that can take away what this group has done,&rdquo; coach Bob Richey said.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an unbelievable story, and I couldn&rsquo;t be more proud of our team, at a time where I&rsquo;m extremely disappointed that we didn&rsquo;t advance,&rdquo; Richey added. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s really hard to not pull the lens back a little bit and still see what that group was able to accomplish.&rdquo;
San Diego State led 39-25 at the half, getting 14 points off the bench from Parrish and limiting Furman to one field goal over the final 11 minutes leading into the break.
The Aztecs took control during a 15-0 run that turned a two-point deficit into a 30-17 lead. Furman missed seven straight shots and turned the ball over four times during a 9:56 field goal drought that dumped the Paladins into the big halftime hole.
Southern Conference player and the year Jalen Slawson picked up his fourth foul with 16:27 remaining and fouled out shortly after returning midway through the second half. The super senior stomped the floor in frustration, drawing a technical foul that gave San Diego State a pair of free throws that put the Aztecs up 60-37.
Mike Bothwell led the 13th-seeded Paladins (28-8) with 15 points. Alex Williams had 11 and Pegues finished with 11 as Furman shot 32%, including 6 of 26 from 3-point range.
Like Slawson, Bothwell is a super senior who returned to Furman for a fifth season after the Paladins were denied the Southern Conference&rsquo;s automatic NCAA Tournament berth by a buzzer-beater in their league championship game.
Making this year&rsquo;s field, then getting Furman&rsquo;s first win in the tournament in 49 years, created memories that&rsquo;ll last a lifetime.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s something no one can take away from this team,&rdquo; Bothwell said. &ldquo;Greatest team in the school&rsquo;s history. No one has won more games than us, and we enjoyed it. That&rsquo;s the best part about it.&rdquo;
BIG PICTURE
Furman: The Paladins lose Slawson and Bothwell, but feel they&rsquo;ve set the tone for continued success.
&ldquo;Sometimes what success can do is make you complacent, and I think the challenge going forward for us is to understand this has to make us hungrier,&rdquo; Richey said. &ldquo;This has to push us every day to want to get back here and continue to show that we belong in the NCAA Tournament.&rdquo;
San Diego State: The Aztecs are 0-2 in Sweet 16 games. Dutcher feels this team is capable of going further.
&ldquo;Now that we&rsquo;ve settled into the rhythm, and we know what this is about, I think we&rsquo;ll play better moving forward,&rdquo; the coach said. &ldquo;And that&rsquo;s really encouraging moving into the Sweet 16.&rdquo;

Darrion Trammell had 13 points for San Diego State (29-6), which is heading to its first Sweet 16 since 2004.

San Diego State dominates Furman 75-52 to reach Sweet 16

Arizona and Virginia rightfully lay claim to proud college basketball traditions, whether you&rsquo;re talking about the Wildcats winning the national championship in 1997, the Cavaliers doing it 22 years later or the many stars the programs have sent to the NBA and overseas.
They also have developing reputations for NCAA Tournament&nbsp;disappointments.
The&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/princeton-stuns-arizona-5955-in-march-madness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stunning loss by second-seeded Arizona</a>&nbsp;to No. 15 seed Princeton on Thursday, and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/pegues-three-gives-no-13-seed-furman-6867-win-over-virginia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fourth-seeded Virginia&rsquo;s collapse</a>&nbsp;in the closing seconds against Furman, were merely the latest examples of their humiliating March heartbreaks.
The Wildcats have been bounced by teams seeded worse than them in five consecutive NCAA tourney trips, while the Cavaliers were bumped by a No. 13 seed for the second straight year and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ncaa-tournament-umbc-no-1-seeds-march-madness-df6c353dc4ff76ec99278efd69a8b454" target="_blank" rel="noopener">five years to the day since becoming the only No. 1 seed to lose to a 16-seed.</a>
&ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t take away from what these guys have done and what we&rsquo;ve experienced over the years, but you wanted it when you felt like you had it, and that was a tough one,&rdquo; Cavs coach Tony Bennett acknowledged after the 68-67 loss to the Paladins, who essentially won by cashing in a turnover with a deep 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left on the clock.
Bennett knows as well as anyone that agonizing notoriety is easy to earn and brutally difficult to overcome.
Doesn&rsquo;t matter that the names and faces change from year to year.
The Cavaliers were Final Four favorites when they arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina, for their&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/umbcs-legacy-no-1-can-mean-oneanddone-in-march-madness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first-round game against UMBC in 2018</a>. Forty painful minutes later, they were saddled with&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/umbcs-legacy-no-1-can-mean-oneanddone-in-march-madness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a lopsided 74-54 loss</a>&nbsp;and the ignominity of becoming the first men&rsquo;s team &mdash; after 135 wins by a No. 1 seed &mdash; to lose to one of the four lowest-seeded teams in the tournament.
Most hoops fans remember the upset vividly, perhaps more than the national title the Cavs won a year later.
&ldquo;I would just say everybody at this level is good,&rdquo; Virginia guard Isaac McKneely offered by way of explanation. &ldquo;I know there&rsquo;s the seeding and all that, but everybody can beat everybody, as obviously you&rsquo;ve seen.&rdquo;
If misery loves company, the Wildcats can relate.
Since losing in the regional final to Wisconsin in 2015, Arizona has been knocked out of the opening round three times despite being seeded sixth or better each time &mdash; the first two with Sean Miller on the sideline and the most recent, a 59-55 defeat on Thursday in which No. 15 seed Princeton scored the final nine points, with Tommy Lloyd running the show.
The run of disappointments began with a loss to No. 11 seed Wichita State in 2016. It continued against No. 11 seed Xavier in a regional semifinal the next year. The fourth-seeded Wildcats lost to No. 13 seed Buffalo in 2018 and, as a trendy title pick as a No. 1 seed last year, fell to fifth-seeded Houston in another regional semifinal.
Just how easy can the stink of an upset loss settle on even the bluest of bluebloods?&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-bracket-kansas-alabama-12476411b0da681b21df9281a8332196" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Just ask Kansas.</a>
Two years after playing for the 2003 national championship, the Jayhawks were dumped by No. 14 seed Bucknell and No. 13 seed Bradley in consecutive years. Their still-new coach, Bill Self, came to rue the &ldquo;Killer B&rsquo;s,&rdquo; and not even a run to the Elite Eight could shake the questions about whether he could get it done in Lawrence.
He could, of course. The Jayhawks won the 2008 title and are&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-north-carolina-tar-heels-mens-basketball-kansas-jayhawks-mens-basketball-sports-kansas-40ab6459e3d3ee23ad12c649db44f78e" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the defending national champions</a>.
Winning a national title is about the only thing missing from the resume of Gonzaga coach Mark Few, but it might take one for the Bulldogs to shake an uneasy March reputation for underachievement. They have been a No. 1 seed on five occassions, and twice reached the title game, but have become known as much for their losses as their wins.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been in enough of those 1-16 games and you&rsquo;re like, &lsquo;Holy smokes,&rsquo;&rdquo; said Few, whose team plays Grand Canyon on Friday night. &ldquo;Last year, I walked out for the tip and Georgia State, I think they were bigger than us at dang-near every position. And I&rsquo;m like, &lsquo;This is a 16-seed?&rsquo; I think that&rsquo;s kind of where we are right now.&rdquo;
Plenty of schools have positive reputations come March.
Princeton has been known as a giant killer ever since its backdoor-cutting, first-round upset of UCLA&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/sacramento-kings-nba-sports-march-madness-mens-e32cb5ff7350f08c976ccc96f0a78dca" target="_blank" rel="noopener">under Pete Carril</a>&nbsp;in 1996, when current coach Mitch Henderson was playing for the Tigers. And while they beat UNLV as a No. 5 seed two years later, the Tigers had failed to reach the second round for another 25 years &mdash; until Thursday&rsquo;s win over Arizona.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s going to be some comparisons from some of you, I&rsquo;m sure, to Coach Carril. I want to be really clear that this group did this,&rdquo; Henderson said. &ldquo;That was a really long time ago. This group did something special for its university, for the fans, for the former players and for one another. Very similar way that you see in the tournament, they just came together and did it.&rdquo;

Arizona and Virginia were eliminated by underdogs on Thursday, the latest examples of their humiliating March Madness heartbreaks.

Arizona, Virginia add to reputations for March sadness

WASHINGTON (AP) &mdash; De&rsquo;Andre Hunter&rsquo;s three-point play with 1:07 remaining put Atlanta ahead to stay, and the Hawks held off the Washington Wizards 122-120 on Wednesday night despite a career-high 43 points by Kristaps Porzingis.
The teams will finish the two-game set in Washington on Friday night.
After Hunter put the Hawks up 117-114, Bradley Beal made just one of two free throws with 52.7 seconds left for Washington. Beal then stole the ball from Trae Young but couldn&rsquo;t convert on the break, and Hunter&rsquo;s two free throws pushed the lead to four.
Then Beal was called for traveling, one of several mistakes he made in the fourth quarter as the focus of the offense shifted toward him and away from Porzingis.
&ldquo;Happy with the effort and proud of, really as much as anything tonight, in my mind for our team, was about just competing,&rdquo; Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. &ldquo;I thought we really competed.&rdquo;
Porzingis made all five of his shot attempts in the fourth &mdash; including four 3-pointers &mdash; but his last-second 3 only cut the final deficit to two. He finished 17 of 22 from the field, 7 of 10 beyond the arc.
&ldquo;He was unstoppable tonight,&rdquo; Snyder said. &ldquo;When he&rsquo;s that big and he&rsquo;s making contested 2s. I thought we gave him a few 3s.&rdquo;
Young led Atlanta with 28 points and 10 assists. He shot 11 of 14 from the field.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad my offensive game matched my defense tonight,&rdquo; Young said.
Beal finished with 24 points on 8-of-19 shooting &mdash; he was 1 of 6 in the final quarter &mdash; and Kyle Kuzma had 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Wizards.
Atlanta remained in sole possession of eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Washington had a chance to tie the Hawks with a win &mdash; and if Atlanta had lost, Toronto would have had a chance to take over the No. 8 spot later Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Hawks trailed by as many as 15 points, but after a 14-0 run spanning the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth, they were up 100-94. Washington responded with 11 straight points of its own, and it was tight the rest of the way.
The Wizards were on the second night of a back-to-back after winning at Detroit on Tuesday.
&ldquo;I would like us to be a little bit tougher honestly,&rdquo; Porzingis said. &ldquo;We give ourselves some discounts somewhere. Yes it&rsquo;s true. Of course we have four games in five days and it&rsquo;s hard and we were on the road yesterday, but we cannot put that in our minds. It&rsquo;s not going to help us.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Hawks: Atlanta had seven players score in double figures. Dejounte Murray had 17 points and Hunter added 15.
Wizards: Washington had 19 turnovers to Atlanta&rsquo;s 11. ... Monte Morris (back) returned for the Wizards but did not start. He scored five points in 16:29.

The Hawks held off the Wizards 122-120 on Wednesday night despite a career-high 43 points by Kristaps Porzingis.

Hawks edge Wizards 122-120 despite Kristaps Porzingis’ 43 points

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Tyler Kolek had 21 points and 10 assists, and No. 6 Marquette clinched its first outright Big East championship by beating Butler 72-56 on Tuesday night.
The victory was the fifth in a row and 10th in 11 games for the surprising Golden Eagles (24-6, 16-3), picked ninth by the league&rsquo;s coaches in the preseason poll.
Marquette, which had already secured a share of its first Big East title since 2013, had not won an outright regular-season crown since doing so in Conference USA in 2003.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper added 14 points and Oso Ighodaro had 12 for the Golden Eagles, who will be the top seed in the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden &mdash; an event Marquette has never won.
Jayden Taylor scored 13 and Jalen Thomas had 10 for Butler (14-16, 6-13), which finished 4-6 in Big East home games.
NO. 3 KANSAS 67, TEXAS TECH 63
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Jalen Wilson scored 21 points in his Allen Fieldhouse farewell, fellow senior Kevin McCullar Jr. added 14 points and nine rebounds, and Kansas clinched a share of the Big 12 regular-season championship.
Dajuan Harris had 16 points for the Jayhawks (25-5, 13-4), who would capture the outright crown if ninth-ranked Texas loses to No. 22 TCU on Wednesday night. Otherwise, the Jayhawks &mdash; now with an NCAA-leading 64 conference championships &mdash; would need to beat the Longhorns in a head-to-head showdown Saturday in Austin.
De&rsquo;Vion Harmon had 15 points to lead Texas Tech (16-14, 5-12), which was just 3 of 16 from the 3-point line. Kevin Obanor added 14 points, Fardaws Aimaq had 13 points and 18 rebounds, and Pop Isaacs finished with 11 points.
NO. 12 TENNESSEE 75, ARKANSAS 57
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Olivier Nkamhoua scored 16 points and Tennessee earned its second consecutive win.
Despite the victory, the Volunteers (22-8, 11-6 Southeastern Conference) may have sustained a significant loss. Three minutes into the game, sophomore point guard Zakai Zeigler, who brings energy on offense and defense, went down with an injury to his left knee. The extent of the injury wasn&rsquo;t immediately known, but he did not return.
Santiago Vescovi, who took over the role of point guard for Zeigler, added 14 points and Josiah-Jordan James scored 11.
Anthony Black and Davonte Davis each scored 13 for the Razorbacks (19-11, 8-9). Nick Smith Jr. scored 14 and Ricky Council 11.
NO. 13 VIRGINIA 64, CLEMSON 57
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) &mdash; Jayden Gardner had 12 points and nine rebounds, Armaan Franklin and Isaac McKneely each scored 12, and Virginia stopped a two-game skid.
The Cavaliers (22-6, 14-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) moved into a tie for second place in the league with No. 16 Miami with one game remaining.
PJ Hall led the Tigers (21-9, 13-6) with 19 points and Hunter Tyson had 17. Clemson got within 59-55 with 33 seconds left, but Virginia made five free throws and had a steal, sending the Tigers to their fifth loss in eight games.
IOWA 90, NO. 15 INDIANA 68
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Kris Murray scored 26 points, Tony Perkins flirted with the first triple-double in Iowa history and the Hawkeyes defeated Indiana.
Perkins had 23 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high eight assists for Iowa (19-11, 11-8 Big Ten).
Trayce Jackson-Davis led the Hoosiers (20-10, 11-8) with 26 points and 13 rebounds. He became the school&rsquo;s career rebounding leader with 1,096 &mdash; on a night the Hoosiers lost their fourth in a row in the series.
BOISE STATE 66, NO. 18 SAN DIEGO STATE 60
BOISE, Idaho (AP) &mdash; Max Rice scored 26 points and reeled off 12 straight points in a 14-0 run to close out the game and Boise State remained perfect at home in conference play.
The Broncos (23-7, 13-4 Mountain West Conference) avenged a 20-point loss to San Diego State on Feb. 3. It was the Broncos&rsquo; first win over a ranked team this season. Tyson Degenhart scored 14 for Boise State, while Naje Smith added 10.
San Diego State (23-6, 14-3), which had already claimed a share of the conference crown with its buzzer-beating win over New Mexico on Saturday, failed to hold onto a late nine-point lead. Matt Bradley paced San Diego State with 16 points, and Micah Parrish chipped in 11.
NO. 24 TEXAS A&amp;M 69, MISSISSIPPI 61
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) &mdash; Tyrece Radford scored 13 points as Texas A&amp;M erased an early 12-point deficit to beat Mississippi.
Wade Taylor IV added 12 points and seven assists and Julius Marble scored 10 for the Aggies, who went 13 of 16 from the free-throw line in the second half to stave off the Rebels&rsquo; attempt at a late rally.
Texas A&amp;M (22-8, 14-3 Southeastern Conference) trailed 20-8 after seven minutes but took a 29-26 lead on Taylor&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 4:06 left in the first half. The Aggies never trailed again.
Matthew Murrell made 8 of 11 from 3-point range and scored 26 points to lead Ole Miss (11-19, 3-13).

The Golden Eagles had not won an outright regular-season crown since doing so in Conference USA in 2003.

No. 6 Marquette clinches first outright Big East title

ATLANTA (AP) &mdash; Returning to the bench for the first time in 10 months, Quin Snyder quickly got an idea of the challenge he faces with the Atlanta Hawks.
The enigmatic team flopped down the stretch in Snyder&rsquo;s Atlanta coaching debut, losing 119-116 to the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.
Bradley Beal scored 37 points and Kyle Kuzma added 28 as the short-handed Wizards stifled Trae Young and the Hawks when it mattered most.
Three drives by the Atlanta star in the final 2 1/2 minutes were swatted away by Delon Wright, Daniel Gafford and&nbsp;Kuzma.
Young made only 1 of 8 shots in the fourth quarter.
Kuzma also had a steal and dunk&nbsp;off an errant pass from Young, giving the Wizards their first lead since the second quarter.
&ldquo;Down the stretch, I put my hard hat on,&rdquo; Gafford said. &ldquo;We really just focused on getting stops at the end.&rdquo;
Beal hit a pull-up jumper&nbsp;with 35.3 seconds left that pushed the Wizards to a 117-113 lead.
Young, who paced Atlanta with 31 points, finally got one to go with a contested 3-pointer that pulled the Hawks within a single point with 30.6 remaining.
But Beal went to work again. With the shot clock running down, he drove on Dejounte Murray, deking left before cutting right to bank in his final points of the night.
&ldquo;A thing of art,&rdquo; Gafford marveled.
It was just enough. Young had a couple of chances to send the game to overtime, getting the ball back after a long rebound off a missed 3-pointer, but his second attempt beyond the arc also rimmed out.
&ldquo;We did a good job of staying resilient,&rdquo; Beal said. &ldquo;We just find a way to win.&rdquo;
The Hawks hope Snyder can provide a spark for an underachieving squad that seems headed for a second straight appearance in the play-in tournament.
For his first night, at least, it was just another exasperating loss.
&ldquo;I still getting to know the team,&rdquo; said Snyder, who was officially hired 48 hours earlier. &ldquo;You saw some of that tonight.&rdquo;
With injured Kristaps Porzingis watching from bench, the Wizards knocked off the Hawks with essentially a two-man team at the offensive end.
Gafford scored 13 points and was the only other Washington player in double figures.
Snyder spent eight seasons as Utah&rsquo;s coach before resigning last June after the Jazz were eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs.
The 56-year-old Snyder says he left coaching to spend more time with his family, but&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/utah-jazz-atlanta-hawks-nba-sports-playoffs-264bcc009ce664a640b5c903e35f1656" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the chance to lead the Hawks</a>&nbsp;lured him back to the sideline sooner than expected.
He&rsquo;s got his work cut out for him.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll continue to build on it, work on it,&rdquo; he said.
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/indiana-pacers-atlanta-hawks-portland-trail-blazers-nba-sports-fdb995cad88d7a509b49ca747008f96c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Atlanta fired Nate McMillan</a>&nbsp;after limping into the All-Star break with a 29-30 record &mdash; far below what was expected from a team that reached the Eastern Conference final just two seasons ago.
Joe Prunty guided the Hawks to a pair of victories as interim coach before Snyder reached agreement on a five-year deal. Prunty remains with the team as Snyder&rsquo;s top assistant.
STANDINGS CHECK
Atlanta is eighth in the East, remaining 3 1/2 games behind Brooklyn for a top-six finish that would avoid the play-in tournament.
Washington moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the Bulls for the final play-in berth.
TIP-INS
Wizards: Beal made 17 of 30 shots and also&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/i/status/1630748789534228480" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">had seven assists</a>, while Kuzma was 10 of 26 from the field. ... Washington snapped a two-game losing streak. ... Porzingis (sore left knee) and Monte Morris (lower back soreness) were both out for the second game in a row. ... Gafford had 12 rebounds and Deni Avdija pulled down 13 as the Wizards controlled the boards 48-42.
Hawks: Young committed a silly blunder at the end of the first half, needlessly fouling Wright as he threw up a desperation heave from half-court just ahead of the buzzer. After reviewing the replay, the officials ruled the foul occurred 0.9 seconds ahead of the buzzer. Wright knocked down all three free throws to cut Atlanta&rsquo;s lead to 56-52 at the break. ... Atlanta briefly had a 10-point lead midway through the third quarter &mdash; the largest margin for either team. ... Seven Hawks scored in double figures, including Clint Capela with 13 points to go along with 15 rebounds.
UP NEXT
Wizards: Return to D.C. for the start of a three-game homestand against the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night. Those same teams will meet again Saturday.
Hawks: Wrap up a five-game homestand wrapped around the All-Star break when they host the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night. Atlanta hasn&rsquo;t played a road game since Feb. 13.

The Wizards spoiled Quin Snyder’s coaching debut with the Hawks, beating Atlanta 119-116 on Tuesday night.

Beal, Wizards spoil Snyder’s Hawks debut with 119-116 win

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) &mdash; Keyontae Johnson scored 25 points, Markquis Nowell added 14 points and 10 assists, and No. 14 Kansas State followed a long first-half slump with a big second-half run to beat ninth-ranked Baylor 75-65 on Tuesday night.
Cam Carter added 10 points for the Wildcats (21-7, 9-6 Big 12), who trailed 34-31 at the break before their 18-4 charge gave them control. They coasted from there to a school record-tying seventh win over a ranked team this season.
Keyonte George hit six 3-pointers and scored 23 points for Baylor (20-8, 9-6), which had won seven of its last eight against the Wildcats and three straight in Manhattan. LJ Cryer added four 3s and finished with 16 points.
The game was a rematch for Bears coach Scott Drew and Kansas State counterpart Jerome Tang, who spent 19 years on Drew&rsquo;s bench. And it was every bit as wild as the Wildcats&rsquo; 97-95 overtime win in early January.
NO. 8 TEXAS 72, NO. 23 IOWA STATE 54
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Sir&rsquo;Jabari Rice and Tyrese Hunter each scored 15 points and Texas raced away from Iowa State with a big first half to keep the Longhorns at the top of the Big 12.
Texas (22-6, 11-4) is tied with No. 3 Kansas for first place with three games left in the regular season. The Longhorns haven&rsquo;t won even a share of the league crown since 2008.
Osun Ossunniyi scored 12 points to lead the Cyclones (17-10, 8-7), who beat Texas in their first matchup.
NO. 10 MARQUETTE 73, NO. 19 CREIGHTON 71
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) &mdash; Tyler Kolek&rsquo;s short jump shot gave Marquette the lead with 29 seconds left, and the Golden Eagles took a huge step toward the Big East regular-season title with a win over Creighton.
The Golden Eagles (22-6, 14-3) saw a 10-point lead with eight minutes left evaporate before Kolek came up big during a wild finish before a sellout crowd at CHI Health Center.
Kam Jones led Marquette with 19 points and Kolek and Oso Ighodaro added 18 apiece.
Baylor Scheierman had 18 points to lead the Bluejays (18-10, 12-5). Ryan Nembhard added 16.
NO. 25 TEXAS A&amp;M 68, NO. 11 TENNESSEE 63
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) &mdash; Wade Taylor IV scored 25 points, including four free throws down the stretch, and Texas A&amp;M extended its winning streak to six games.
Julius Marble added 21 points and nine rebounds for the Aggies (21-7, 13-2 Southeastern Conference), who haven&rsquo;t lost since Jan. 21.
It&rsquo;s the fourth loss in five games for the Volunteers (20-8, 9-6), with their only win in this stretch coming in a 68-59 victory over then-No. 1 Alabama on Wednesday.
Santiago Vescovi and Zakai Zeigler had 14 points each for Tennessee.
NO. 13 MIAMI 76, VIRGINIA TECH 70
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) &mdash; Norchad Omier had 17 points and 14 rebounds as Miami won its seventh straight.
Nigel Pack added 16 points for the Hurricanes (23-5, 14-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who placed five players in double figures. Isaiah Wong finished with 13 points and Jordan Miller had 11 for Miami, which shot just 42.2% (27 of 64) after leading the ACC at 48.7 percent coming into the game. The Hurricanes helped themselves with 14 offensive rebounds.
Sean Pedulla led Virginia Tech (16-12, 6-11) with 17 points. Hunter Cattoor finished with 15 points for the Hokies, who shot 46.7% (28 of 60).
VILLANOVA 64, NO. 16 XAVIER 63
CINCINNATI (AP) &mdash; Justin Moore scored 25 points to give Villanova its biggest victory under first-year head coach Kyle Neptune.
Cam Whitmore added 11 points for the Wildcats (14-14, 8-9 Big East) who dealt a big blow to the Musketeers&rsquo; Big East title hopes.
Souley Boum led Xavier (20-8, 12-5) with 17 points. Jerome Hunter added 14 and Jack Nunge scored 12.
MICHIGAN STATE 80, NO. 17 INDIANA 65
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) &mdash; Tyson Walker shook off a slow start to score 23 points and lifted Michigan State in its first home game since last week&rsquo;s shootings on campus that killed three students and hospitalized five students.
The Hoosiers (19-9, 10-7) relied heavily on Trayce Jackson-Davis, as usual, and he had 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Michigan State&rsquo;s A.J. Hoggard had three turnovers early in the game, then didn&rsquo;t have another turnover and finished with 22 points and five assists. Joey Hauser and Malik Hall each scored 10 points for the Spartans (17-10, 9-7 Big Ten), who have won three of their last four games.
Jalen Hood-Schifino scored 16 and Trey Galloway had 11 points for the Hoosiers.
NO. 22 SAN DIEGO STATE 77, COLORADO STATE 58
SAN DIEGO (AP) &mdash; Jaedon LeDee scored 14 points and Matt Bradley scored 10 of his 13 in the first four minutes of the second half for San Diego State, which overwhelmed Colorado State for its fifth straight win.
Bradley, SDSU&rsquo;s leading scorer, appeared to hurt a finger on his left hand and was subbed out during a timeout with 7:47 left and the Aztecs leading 69-48. He returned with 4:55 to go but didn&rsquo;t play the final two minutes.
Micah Parrish added 12 and Lamont Butler and Darrion Trammell had 11 each for SDSU (22-5, 13-2 Mountain West), which solidified its lead in the conference race. The Aztecs have won nine of their last 10 games dating to an 82-76 overtime win at Colorado State on Jan. 18.
John Tonje scored 18 and Isaiah Rivera 15 for the Rams (12-16, 4-11), who have lost seven of nine.&nbsp;

A recap of Tuesday night's action in men's college hoops a battle of top-15 squads in a crucial Big 12 matchup.

No. 14 Kansas State beats No. 9 Baylor with big second half

Award talk is always fun &mdash; or annoying, depending on where you land with The Discourse&trade;. The NBA is filled with talent, giving us plenty to enjoy on a night-to-night basis. It also makes it incredibly tough to parse out awards.
Listing a top-five MVP ballot means "disrespecting" the sixth guy who didn't make it. There are at least five centers &mdash; Brook Lopez, Bam Adebayo, Jarrett Allen, Nic Claxton and Joel Embiid &mdash; fighting for two All-Defensive center spots, and that's ignoring Anthony Davis. This stuff is&nbsp;tough,&nbsp;man.&nbsp;
If there's one award that may wind up being a landslide, it's the newly announced Clutch Player of the Year award.&nbsp;
We don't have an official guideline; the award's description is simply the "player who best comes through for his teammates in the clutch." It's vague, yet simple &mdash; reward the guy that makes big plays when it matters.
(My hope is that it doesn't become the late-game version of Sixth Man of the Year, where the scoring leader wins regardless of any other area of the game. In short: Scoring should matter, as should playmaking and making big stops defensively.)
Let's put it out there now: This should be De'Aaron Fox's award to lose.
He feels like an award casualty candidate in other discussions. His career year &mdash; 24.0 points on 59.3% True Shooting, 6.1 assists (2.6 turnovers), 4.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game &mdash; just happens to coincide with Luka Doncic, Stephen Curry, Ja Morant, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Damian Lillard and Devin Booker losing their minds individually. That's just in the Western Conference, which could complicate Fox's All-Star candidacy.
Add in Eastern Conference guards like Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, and the All-NBA conversation is going to be tough for Fox too.&nbsp;
Clutch Player of the Year, though? Fox has been inevitable.
In clutch time &mdash; which NBA.com defines as the last 5 minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime, with the score within 5 points either way &mdash; <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/clutch-traditional?CF=FGA*GE*30&amp;PerMode=Totals&amp;dir=D&amp;sort=FGM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">leads the NBA</a> in made baskets (44) while converting a ridiculous 60.3% of his shots. Among 59 players to attempt at least 30 clutch shots, Fox trails only Bradley Beal (65.6% on 32 attempts) in efficiency.&nbsp;
(As a brief aside, have we forgotten how good Beal is? He's missed games, and has taken a bit of a step back with Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis taking more ownership of the offense, but Beal is still slapping up 22-3-5 on 61.0% True Shooting. He's converting over 57.0% of his twos!)
Anyway, it starts with the drive for Fox, as it always does. He has a special ability to generate paint touches on a whim. He's one of the five fastest players in the NBA; he knows that, his opponents know that and he knows his opponents know that. What makes Fox dangerous is how he leverages that speed by decelerating &mdash; it's like he's realm shifting out there when he puts on the brakes.
That dichotomy makes him nearly impossible to stay in front of. At this point, it feels like we only see full-speed Fox in doses. Just the&nbsp;fear of him turning on the jets can throw defenders off-balance. Because he's able to create fruitful advantages, he's a dominant paint scorer&nbsp;and&nbsp;someone who can involve others when opponents toss too much attention his way.
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On the season, the Kings are generating a robust 1.16 points per possession (PPP) on trips featuring a Fox drive, per Second Spectrum &mdash; sixth among 77 players with at least 300 drives under their belts this season. When filtering for clutch time, that number rises to 1.2 PPP.
Fox doesn't do it on his own, of course. The two-man game between him and Domantas Sabonis is tough to deal with. Sabonis' utility as a handoff hub, post hub and screening partner helps attract attention and pry Fox open.
Kevin Huerter, one of the NBA's most dangerous off-ball weapons, makes life easier for Fox. Keeping him one pass from Fox keeps help defenders away. And using Huerter as a (ghost) screener adds another layer for defenses to deal with. Huerter can feed favorable matchups to Fox for exploiting, or the Kings can flow out of HORNS Flare &mdash; with Huerter setting or ghosting a screen for Fox before flying off a screen for Sabonis &mdash; to induce further strain on the defense.&nbsp;
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Fox has also had some&nbsp;moments&nbsp;defensively late in games. His effort overall has improved this season. He's always been able to ramp things up on the ball when needed, but I've been impressed with how he's toggled his help assignments late, especially when you factor in the load he's carrying on the other end.
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Overall, the Kings are 13-10 in "clutch" games with Fox this season, much better than last season's 11-19 mark. It's fueled by their offense, <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/clutch-advanced?dir=A&amp;sort=OFF_RATING" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lapping the field</a> in clutch offensive rating (130.4) by nearly&nbsp;six points.&nbsp;You can primarily thank Fox for that.
OTHER CANDIDATES
<ul>
<li>Hey, that Luka guy is pretty good. He's tied for fourth in clutch scoring (99) and leads the NBA in assists (23) and steals (8), oddly enough. The Mavs have gone 16-10 in clutch games featuring Doncic. They've also won the Doncic clutch minutes by 41 points, the fifth-best mark in the NBA.</li>
<li>While we're on bigs, Jokic is tied for 10th in scoring (70 points) and second in assists (22) while only turning the ball over five times. The Nuggets have outscored opponents by 69 points in Jokic's 83 clutch minutes &mdash; easily the best mark in the league. He just had a game-winning floater on Tuesday against the New Orleans Pelicans.</li>
<li>Jalen Brunson's third in crunch-time scoring (101), has canned nearly 46% of his threes, has gotten to the line a ton (36 free-throw attempts, tied for eighth) and is the biggest reason why the New York Knicks have a winning record (13-10) in clutch games.</li>
<li>Fox has made more clutch buckets than anyone, but DeMar DeRozan slightly edges him out in total scoring (113 to 108). No player has gotten to the line more than DeRozan, where he's drilled 42-of-45 foul shots (93.3%) during money time. He remains a terrifying mid-range scorer, with a filthy pump fake to bait you into easier points. The Bulls being 8-14 (and a minus-5 point differential) in clutch games isn't his fault, but that'll hurt him in the race.</li>
<li>Speaking of mid-range mastery and elite foul drawing, it's hard to ignore the production of Gilgeous-Alexander. He's tied for fourth with Doncic in clutch scoring (99) and slightly trails DeRozan in total free-throw attempts (41). Subpar efficiency (40.6% FG) and the Oklahoma City Thunder's bleh record (9-17, minus-16 differential) in SGA's minutes hurt him.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

Nekias Duncan takes his first glance at the NBA Clutch Player of the Year award and why De'Aaron Fox leads the pack of candidates.

De'Aaron Fox early front-runner in NBA Clutch Player of the Year race

WASHINGTON (AP) &mdash; Rui Hachimura equaled a career high with 30 points and Kyle Kuzma added 25 to lift the Washington Wizards to a 138-118 victory over the Orlando Magic on Saturday night.
Bradley Beal scored 17 points in his second game back from a hamstring injury, although Kristaps Porzingis left the game in the third quarter with a left ankle sprain.
&ldquo;He'll be evaluated tomorrow. We'll see where it is,&rdquo; Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. &ldquo;I don't think it's too bad, but fingers crossed.&rdquo;
Porzingis scored 17 points.
Washington has won seven straight against the Magic. The Wizards never trailed in this one. A dunk by Daniel Gafford capped a 10-0 run that gave Washington a 37-23 advantage near the end of the first quarter.
&ldquo;We just didn't have the physicality tonight that we needed. There was just a different level of energy." Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said. &ldquo;We didn't have our presence and our physicality early, with the ball pressure that we needed, and so they were comfortable stepping into each one of their shots.&rdquo;
Hachimura went to work in the second, scoring 10 points in a span of under 2 1/2 minutes. His second of two quick 3-pointers gave Washington a 52-32 lead.
&ldquo;He was terrific. I loved his aggression off the bench," Unseld said. &ldquo;I think once he sees one or two go in, it kind of gets him going.&rdquo;
Unseld took Hachimura out with 2:14 remaining, needing one more point for a new career high.
&ldquo;I just was worried," Unseld said. "Last thing we need is for someone else to go down.&rdquo;
The Wizards won their second straight game with Beal back &mdash; and he had eight assists on the night &mdash; but now they have another injury to deal with. Porzingis hobbled down the tunnel after hurting his ankle and didn't return.
Markelle Fultz led the Magic with 23 points. Franz Wagner contributed 20 and Paolo Banchero scored 15.
Delon Wright scored 15 points with eight assists and shot 5 of 5 from the field for Washington.
TIP-INS
Magic: Orlando fell to 1-8 this season in the second game of a back-to-back. The Magic were coming off <a href="https://apnews.com/article/new-orleans-pelicans-orlando-magic-nba-sports-jalen-suggs-bd9c6f4cc14296f6949daf8623ba4af4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a 123-110 win</a> over New Orleans on Friday night.
Wizards: Kuzma reached 20 points for the 30th time this season, a career high. He did it 29 times in 2018-19 with the Los Angeles Lakers. ... The Wizards went 18 for 34 from 3-point range. ... Washington shot 54% from the field and had seven players in double figures. Gafford scored 14 points. ... The Wizards had 34 assists and eight turnovers.
UP NEXT
Magic: Host Boston on Monday night.
Wizards: Visit Dallas on Tuesday night.

Rui Hachimura equaled a career high with 30 points and Kyle Kuzma added 25 to lift the Wizards to a 138-118 victory over the Magic.

Hachimura scores 30 to lead Wizards over Magic 138-118

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Bradley Beal made his first shot to give Washington a lead it never gave up.
With their leading scorer back, the Wizards finally got their starting lineup together again and couldn't have asked for a better reunion.
&ldquo;We get to see what we&rsquo;re like as a whole,&rdquo; Beal said, &ldquo;and if we continue to compete like that we&rsquo;ll be pretty good.&rdquo;
Kyle Kuzma scored 27 points, Beal had 18 in his return from a five-game absence and the Wizards never trailed in a 116-105 victory over the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.
Kristaps Porzingis had 22 points, 11 rebounds and five assists against his former team, helping the Wizards get off a fast start and play from ahead all night. Kuzma, who scored a season-high 40 points in a loss to the Knicks last Friday, had 13 rebounds and seven assists.
Kuzma didn't need to score as much this time thanks to the return of Beal, Washington's leading scorer who shot 7 for 11 after being sidelined by a strained left hamstring. The Wizards went 1-4 without him and had dropped two in a row.
Beal made his first shot to send Washington to a 7-0 lead that quickly grew to 14-3 and later 19-5. Porzingis hit two 3-pointers and scored eight points in the early flurry.
&ldquo;It was a good sign those guys could kind of put it together,&rdquo; Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. &ldquo;It seemed like the chemistry hasn&rsquo;t changed at all in Brad&rsquo;s absence.&rdquo;
Jalen Brunson scored 32 points and RJ Barrett 21 had for the Knicks, who have lost two straight home games to teams behind them in the standings this week after a stretch of seven wins in eight games.
&ldquo;They had guys coming back into the lineup tonight, so they were amped up to play and they played great,&rdquo; Barrett said.
Immanuel Quickley added 18 points and Julius Randle had 14 points and 15 rebounds, but he shot 6 for 17 and most of his makes came with the game out of reach.
Starting center Mitchell Robinson played just nine minutes before leaving with a sprained right thumb.
&ldquo;You miss who he is obviously, but that&rsquo;s part of it,&rdquo; coach Tom Thibodeau said. &ldquo;But overall we didn&rsquo;t play well.&rdquo;
It was 43-28 in the second quarter after eight straight points from Deni Avdija before the Knicks trimmed it to 56-48 at halftime.
The Knicks got it down to 95-88 on Quickley's 3-pointer with 9:04 remaining, but Washington answered with 10 in a row, with Kuzma scoring four straight before Beal's basket made it 105-88 as the Wizards matched their biggest lead.
Brunson scored 16 points in the third quarter, but the rest of the Knicks shot 5 for 15 as Washington nudged its lead up to 88-78.
TIP-INS
Wizards: Beal played 29 minutes. Unseld said before the game the Wizards would be careful not to tax their leading scorer too much right away, given his previous hamstring problems this season. ... Avdija scored 14 points.
Knicks: Thibodeau didn't disagree with the NBA's determination that Barrett wasn't fouled on his tying dunk with 0.6 seconds left in regulation of the Knicks' loss to Toronto on Monday. The league, in its Last 2 Minutes report, said Scottie Barnes made contact with Barrett's non-shooting arm, but not enough to affect the shot. Thibodeau said it's a play where a foul is called perhaps half the time.
DONATION DAY
Kuzma announced Wednesday on ABC's &ldquo;GMA3&rdquo; that he was <a href="https://twitter.com/nbacares/status/1615804324340289536?s=20&amp;t=j0x1z13lP_GF8umT6uSJLA">donating $1 million to the YMCA</a> in his home of Flint, Michigan.
The Knicks and JPMorgan Chase said they were making a second $100,000 donation to the Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School in New York. The school, named after the Hall of Famer who played for the Knicks and Washington organizations, is the first public high school with an academic curriculum designed around basketball.
&nbsp;

Kyle Kuzma scored 27 points, Beal had 18 in his return and the Wizards never trailed in a 116-105 victory over the Knicks.