Beavers

NBA players LeBron James, Dennis Schroder, and Giannis Antetokounmpo have made history as their nation&rsquo;s official flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
The Lakers&rsquo; James, Nets&rsquo; Schroder, and Bucks&rsquo; Antetokounmpo were the standard bearers for the USA, Germany, and Greece respectively. Among all the athletes representing their countries, these NBA players were selected and given the honor to raise their flags while the opening ceremony went on at the River Seine.
It was the first time in each country&rsquo;s history that basketball players were selected as flag bearers, and it was a huge honor for James, Schroder, and Antetokounmpo.
Giannis and Greece are situated in Group A in the Olympics&rsquo; Basketball Tournament alongside Canada, Australia, and Spain in what figures out to be the &lsquo;Group of Death&rsquo;.
Schroder and reigning World Champions Germany is in Group B with hosts France, Brazil, and Japan while James&rsquo; Team USA is in Group C with Serbia, South Sudan, and Puerto Rico.
All three will see action starting July 27 when the Paris 2024 Olympics Basketball Tournament gets underway at the Pierre de Mauroy Stadium in Lille, France for the qualification rounds and the quarterfinals to the medal rounds at Bercy Arena in Paris.

NBA players James, Schroder, and Antetokounmpo have made history as their nation’s official flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.

LeBron James, Dennis Schroder, Giannis Antetokounmpo make history as flag bearers

DENVER (AP) &mdash; Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra practically snickered when asked about neutralizing the effective two-man game played by Denver Nuggets teammates Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.
&ldquo;Yeah, where do you start? You have two guys that can score 50 in a playoff game. One guy is a triple-double machine that loves to get guys involved,&rdquo; Spoelstra said.
&ldquo;You go down the list of myriad of things you can do defensively, you have to check off some things that you don&rsquo;t really want to do because of both their ability to score and Jokic&rsquo;s ability to create something off-script.&rdquo;
Spoelstra knows what the Heat are up against; it&rsquo;s nothing new for Denver. The Nuggets&rsquo; potent duo has been nearly unstoppable in powering Denver&rsquo;s 13-3 run through the playoffs, including a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-finals-2023-heat-nuggets-jokic-278674ca5c096db5880b812c7cc348dc">104-93 win in Game 1</a>.
A win Sunday night would make them just the second team this century to win its first 10 home games in a single postseason. The Nuggets&rsquo; run to what they hope is their first NBA championship is being fueled by Jokic and Murray.
They&rsquo;re entering the pantheon of pick-and-roll royalty of standard-bearers John Stockton and Karl Malone. But the Nuggets do it with a different twist.
Whereas Malone set up almost all of the screens for Stockton when they were Utah Jazz teammates, Denver&rsquo;s version is ambidextrous, doubling the difficulty of deciphering much less defusing it.
&ldquo;Three, four years ago, the No. 1 pick-and-roll combo in the entire NBA was Nikola and Jamal,&rdquo; Nuggets coach Michael Malone recalled. &ldquo;And most people would just assume that it was Nikola setting for Jamal. It was actually the opposite. It was Nikola handling and Jamal setting.
&ldquo;The reason it was so effective, aside from the obvious &mdash; two really talented players &mdash; is that Jamal is big, strong, physical and not afraid of contact. Some guys like to slip out of every screen because they don&rsquo;t want to make that contact, they don&rsquo;t want to give themselves up,&rdquo; the coach added. &ldquo;Jamal from early in his career here, he&rsquo;s shown that he&rsquo;s willing to go and set a screen on a big guy, small guy, doesn&rsquo;t matter, because he&rsquo;s tough.
&ldquo;The second part of that is he also knows that if Nikola has the ball and he screens, his man has to help, which will give him separation. If you want to simplify the game of basketball, it comes down to separation.&rdquo;
Both Murray and Jokic are three-level scorers who can shoot 3-pointers, make midrange jump shots and drive to the basket. Their Game 1 performance put them in some elite company.
Heading into the series opener, only Michael Jordan in 1991 and Russell Westbrook in 2012 had at least 25 points, 10 assists and five rebounds in an NBA Finals debut. Jokic and Murray added their names to that list Thursday night &mdash; Murray had 26 points, 10 assists and six rebounds and Jokic extended his NBA record with his ninth triple-double in these playoffs, getting 27 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds.
The only other pair of teammates to have 25 points and 10 assists in an NBA Finals game was Magic Johnson and James Worthy, who did it for the Los Angeles Lakers against Boston in Game 1 in 1987.
Murray and Jokic have been refining their on-court relationship since Murray&rsquo;s rookie season in 2016, a year after Jokic joined the Nuggets as the now-hard-to-fathom 41st overall draft pick. Murray was backing up Gary Harris and Jokic was coming off the bench behind Jusuf Nurkic.
&ldquo;We would actually come into the game together, and we would run post-ups or just simple give-and-goes ... and I&rsquo;d say then we kind of developed a chemistry,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;Soon we both started, we started playing off each other. We started to figure out where we like the ball, when we liked the ball, when I&rsquo;m going to pass, when he&rsquo;s going to pass, when he&rsquo;s driving, when to relocate, where to relocate.&rdquo;
Heat guard Kyle Lowry, who is in his 16th NBA season, is hard-pressed to come up with a better point guard/big man combo.
&ldquo;Jamal and Jokic, they&rsquo;re deadly because they both can score and pass the ball,&rdquo; said Lowry, noting he played against the San Antonio Spurs&rsquo; &ldquo;great combination&rdquo; of Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re big targets, and they have a great feel for each other.&rdquo;
Nuggets guard Ish Smith has been on a record 13 teams in 13 NBA seasons and said he has never seen anything quite like Denver&rsquo;s duo. Smith said what makes Jokic and Murray so effective is both players are the antithesis of superstars who&rsquo;d rather go 1-on-1 in isolation.
&ldquo;It wouldn&rsquo;t work if Nikola was selfish and, &lsquo;I need the ball,&rsquo; and Jamal was a guy that was like, &lsquo;I need the ball all the time,&rsquo;&rdquo; Smith said.
The Heat know they have to at least slow down the Nuggets.
&ldquo;We have proven that we can win and overcome regardless of how the game is going,&rdquo; Spoelstra said. &ldquo;Ideal situation would be if it&rsquo;s on our terms and we are controlling the tenor of the game, but we have also won games where we haven&rsquo;t been able to do that for the entire game.&rdquo;

The Nuggets’ potent duo has been nearly unstoppable in powering Denver’s 13-3 run through the playoffs.

Nuggets’ 2-man game of Jokic, Murray setting new pick-and-roll standard

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; The Boston Celtics were a tenth of a second away from elimination. The Miami Heat were a tenth of a second from the NBA Finals.
Derrick White owned that final moment.
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1662660685023657984?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">White scored on a putback as time expired</a>&nbsp;and the Boston Celtics moved to the brink of the greatest comeback in NBA playoffs history, holding off the Miami Heat 104-103 on Saturday night to force a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference finals.
&ldquo;Derrick White, like a flash of lightning, just came out of nowhere and saved the day, man,&rdquo; Boston&rsquo;s Jaylen Brown said. &ldquo;An incredible play.&rdquo;
White knew it was good. Referees reviewed it, but it didn&rsquo;t take long to give the official word.
Elation for Boston. Devastation for Miami.
&ldquo;Ball came to me,&rdquo; White said. &ldquo;I made the shot.&rdquo;
Perhaps Boston will call it The Shot.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
DERRICK WHITE JUST SENT THE CELTICS TO GAME SEVEN ARE YOU KIDDING ME 😱😱😱 <a href="https://t.co/CwWBN9FcKM">pic.twitter.com/CwWBN9FcKM</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1662658954256687104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 28, 2023</a></blockquote>

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White became the second player in NBA history to hit a buzzer-beater with his team trailing and facing elimination &mdash; Michael Jordan&rsquo;s &ldquo;The Shot&rdquo; for Chicago against Cleveland in 1989 being the other.
&ldquo;I was just happy,&rdquo; White said. &ldquo;Season was on the line. We don&rsquo;t want to go home.&rdquo;
Jayson Tatum scored 31 points, Brown scored 26 and Marcus Smart added 21 for the Celtics, who became only the fourth NBA team to erase a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series and force a deciding game. The others in that club &mdash; the 1951 New York Knicks in the NBA Finals, the 1994 Denver Nuggets in the second round and the 2003 Portland Trail Blazers in the first round &mdash; all lost Game 7, all on the road.
Boston, however, is going home for its shot at history. Game 7 is Monday night on the Celtics&rsquo; floor, a matchup that&rsquo;ll decide who meets the Western Conference champion Denver Nuggets in a title series that will start Thursday.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a seven-game series,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s nothing better than Game 7s.&rdquo;
Jimmy Butler made three free throws with 3.0 seconds left &mdash; the foul was originally called with 2.1 seconds left; referees put 0.9 seconds back on after reviewing the play to see if it was a 3-point try that Al Horford fouled him on &mdash; for a one-point Heat lead. It capped a Miami rally from 10 points down with less than 4 minutes remaining.
The Celtics had White inbound the ball on the game&rsquo;s final possession, and he passed to Smart &mdash; who missed a 3-pointer. But White sprinted from the inbound spot to the rim, the ball fell into his hands and he got the lay-in away just before time ran out to extend Boston&rsquo;s season.
There had been other buzzer-beaters from players whose teams were facing an elimination game, but before Saturday, only Jordan&rsquo;s came with his team trailing.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was asked what went through his mind at that moment.
&ldquo;Nothing,&rdquo; Mazzulla said. &ldquo;Game 7.&rdquo;
Butler scored 24 points and Caleb Martin had 21 for the Heat, who are trying to pull off their own improbable trek to the title series by being only the second No. 8 seed to make the NBA Finals. They&rsquo;ve now lost as many games this week &mdash; three &mdash; as they had in their first 14 playoff games this spring combined on the way to ousting No. 1 Milwaukee, then No. 5 New York and taking what was supposed to be an insurmountable 3-0 lead over the second-seeded Celtics.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to go on the road and do something special,&rdquo; Butler said. &ldquo;But we&rsquo;ve got a special group.&rdquo;
The Celtics have now won five of their last six East finals games in Miami &mdash; a stretch that includes a Game 7 over the Heat last season to reach the NBA Finals.
That one, obviously, ended the Heat season. At least this time, Miami still has a chance.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know how we&rsquo;re going to get this done, but we&rsquo;re going to go out there and get it done,&rdquo; Spoelstra said. &ldquo;And that&rsquo;s what the next 48 hours is about. There&rsquo;s been nothing easy about this season for our group, and so we just have to do it the hard way.&rdquo;
The Heat are the 151st team to grab a 3-0 series lead in a best-of-seven. All 150 of the previous clubs finished the job. But the Celtics have made very clear that they have other ideas, and Mazzulla listed a lot of reasons why.
&ldquo;Faith. Love. Togetherness. Physicality. Belief. Hope.&rdquo; Mazzulla said. &ldquo;All those things combined. It starts with the locker room. Those guys had a choice to make and they chose to believe in each other.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Celtics: The Celtics are 5-0 when facing elimination this season, 3-0 on the road. They beat Philadelphia twice on their way to erasing a 3-2 lead in the East finals, and now have tied this series. &hellip; Malcolm Brogdon (right forearm strain) was downgraded to out about an hour before game time. ... White scored 11 for the Celtics, and Robert Williams III had 10.
Heat: Gabe Vincent scored 15, Duncan Robinson scored 13 and Bam Adebayo added 11 for Miami. ... Diddy was at the game, as was former Heat guard Goran Dragic and Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk. &hellip; Unless Miami wins Game 7 at Boston, it may have been the final home game of Heat forward Udonis Haslem&rsquo;s 20-year career. The Heat are 613-297 in the 910 games in their home arena with Haslem on the roster; that doesn&rsquo;t include the restart bubble&rsquo;s home games in 2020.
GAME 7 HISTORY
The Celtics are 27-9 in Game 7s, winners of their last four &mdash; including one in Miami last season and one earlier this season, against Philadelphia in the East semifinals. They&rsquo;re 1-1 against the Heat all-time in such games (losing the 2012 East finals deciding game in Miami), and 22-5 at home in Game 7.
The Heat are 6-5 all-time in Game 7s, losing their last two (home vs. Boston in 2022, at Toronto in 2016), and are 0-2 when facing such a game on the road. Besides the Raptors game seven years ago, they lost a Game 7 at Atlanta in 2009.

The Celtics moved to the brink of the greatest comeback in NBA history, holding off the Heat 104-103 on Saturday to force a Game 7

White’s putback as time expires lifts Celtics past Heat, forces Game 7

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Certainly, Jim Nantz could fill an evening weaving tales of the great games and buzzer-beaters he&rsquo;s had the privilege to see, and call, over a storytelling career that made his the voice of March Madness for nearly four decades.
But when asked about his favorite moments as he prepared for the 354th and final game of that journey &mdash; Monday&rsquo;s title game &mdash; he brought up Delaware State.
The Hornets were a 16 seed when they made what is still their only NCAA appearance back in 2005. They were going against Duke in a first-round game hardly anyone remembers now. Nantz was certain he&rsquo;d see those Duke players again.
&ldquo;But those Delaware State kids, they&rsquo;re on CBS, and I envisioned that someday, they&rsquo;re going to have the VHS tape to be able to show their grandchildren and say &lsquo;I played in the NCAA Tournament,&lsquo;&rdquo; Nantz said during a courtside conversation with The Associated Press the day before the start of his last Final Four. &ldquo;This tournament is their &lsquo;forever.&rsquo; I always wanted to make sure that I do justice to their story.&rdquo;
The 63-year-old traces his own path to the announcer&rsquo;s table to when he was 9 and living in New Orleans. His dad took him to his first college basketball game.&nbsp;
Working the sideline was a bear of a coach who had a red, polka-dotted towel draped across his shoulder. About 10 years later, that coach, Guy Lewis of the Houston Cougars, would give Nantz, who played golf at the school, a job as the public-address guy for home games at Hofheinz Pavillion. A year after that, Nantz was still living in the dorms at UH when Lewis asked him to host his coach&rsquo;s show.
Nantz&rsquo;s might very well be the voice American sports fans know best. He has guided them through six Super Bowls on CBS and walked with them among the towering pines at the Masters since 1986, when Jack Nicklaus won his sixth green jacket. He&rsquo;ll continue on those assignments for the foreseeable future, but this 37th run through March Madness will be his last.
Some said it might have been perfect if his alma mater, which came into the tournament as a No. 1 seed, was playing in its hometown in the final game of Nantz&rsquo;s basketball journey. That didn&rsquo;t happen, but Nantz believes there&rsquo;s something fitting about a Final Four that came out of the blue like this, with three schools that had never been this far before, and no team seeded better than No. 4 UConn.
He has always loved the underdog tales.
&ldquo;Storytelling paradise,&rdquo; Nantz called it.
It&rsquo;s been wild, emotional and a little awkward for a man who concedes he likes to tell the stories, not be part of them.
He got a key to the city Friday. Two streets on an intersection outside the stadium were renamed &ldquo;Jim Nantz Way&rdquo; and &ldquo;Hello Friends Boulevard.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Hello Friends&rdquo; is the comfy-as-a-slipper welcome he coined about 20 years ago. It gives Nantz a moment to connect with the audience and think of his dad, who passed away in 2008 after a long bout with Alzheimer&rsquo;s. The Nantz National Alzheimer&rsquo;s Center is based in Houston.
Nantz&rsquo;s welcome-in message to the telecasts might be planned. Other things aren&rsquo;t.
His call of Saturday&rsquo;s buzzer-beating shot by San Diego State&rsquo;s Lamont Butler in the semifinals &mdash; Nantz estimates he&rsquo;s had 20-something such last-second winners over his years in the tournament &mdash; plays back like a master class in what his job should be: simple, urgent, much more about the moment than the person talking about it.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s Butler. With two seconds. He&rsquo;s gotta put it up. Aaand. He wins it! He wins it! With the jumper!&rdquo; Then, five seconds of silence, followed by, &ldquo;A San Diego State miracle!&rdquo;
Speaking of miracles, there&rsquo;s another announcer who made a name for himself by talking about one. Shortly after this interview was over and Nantz had started talking to some well-wishers, he lifted up his phone and smiled as he showed it to a few folks standing nearby: Al Michaels was calling.
Though many might consider Nantz and the 78-year-old Michaels as contemporaries, there was a sense of the unfiltered excitement Nantz felt about receiving that call. And it gave a glimpse as to why, even after all this time, he has such a strong bond with the millions of people who tune in. In some ways, he&rsquo;s just like us.
Moments earlier, Nantz had recalled hosting the Final Four studio show from the Kingdome in Seattle in 1989 when Magic Johnson popped by for a visit on the set. As Magic and Nantz, both 30 at the time, sat in the corner of the arena, watching the final seconds of the Michigan-Seton Hall title game tick down, the announcer asked Johnson if he ever stopped to soak in everything and reflect on the wonder of all he&rsquo;d been part of.
&ldquo;He nods and just says, &lsquo;All the time,&rsquo;&rdquo; Nantz said. &ldquo;And today, I think about that. I&rsquo;ve had the best seat in the house at the Super Bowl or the Masters or here for my whole career. And I&rsquo;ve never gotten over the fact that I&rsquo;m the one who&rsquo;s blessed with the chance to lend a voice to it, and to tell the story.&rdquo;

It’s been wild, emotional and a little awkward for Jim Nantz, who concedes he likes to tell the stories, not be part of them.

Jim Nantz bids a fond farewell to March Madness

College basketball is full of excitement and drama. While winning a national championship is the ultimate goal for every team, there have been many loaded squads that came up short.&nbsp;
While the teams on this list didn&rsquo;t win a title, they are still often mentioned among the best teams in the history of college basketball. Here are the best college-basketball teams that failed to win it all.&nbsp;
11. 1965-66 Kentucky Wildcats
The 1965-66 Kentucky Wildcats were coached by Adolph Rupp and their talented roster included future NBA stars Pat Riley and Louie Dampier. The Wildcats finished the season with a record of 27-2 and advanced to the national championship game, where they faced the Texas Western Miners. In a game that would later be immortalized in the movie "Glory Road," the Miners upset the Wildcats, 72-65.
10. 2006-07 Ohio State Buckeyes
Led by future No. 1 overall draft pick Greg Oden and longtime NBA point guard Mike Conley, the Buckeyes were hoping to win their second national championship in program history. Ohio State, traditionally a football school, finished the season 35-4 and ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. The Buckeyes advanced to the national championship game, where they faced a loaded Florida Gators squad that was led by future NBA All-Stars Joakim Noah and Al Horford.&nbsp;
In the national championship game, Oden avoided the foul trouble that had plagued him earlier in the tournament and put up a dominant 25 points and 12 rebounds. However, it wasn&rsquo;t enough, as the Gators defeated the Buckeyes 84-75 behind Horford's 18 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Four players from the Buckeyes' roster would go on to play in the NBA: Conley, Oden, Daequan Cook and Othello Hunter.
9. 2004-05 Illinois Fighting Illini
The 2004-05 Illinois Fighting Illini were a dominant force in college basketball. Coached by Bruce Weber and led by Dee Brown and Deron Williams, the Illini won their first 29 games of the season and finished with a 37-2 record.&nbsp;
Illinois advanced to the national championship game, where they faced the North Carolina Tar Heels (who were led by Raymond Felton, Sean May, Rashad McCants and Marvin Williams). Despite a valiant effort, the Illini fell just short, losing 75-70. Five of their players would go on to play in the NBA: Williams, Brown, Luther Head, Roger Powell and James Augustine.
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8. 2007-08 Memphis Tigers
Yes, John Calipari has back-to-back teams on this list. Coach Cal&rsquo;s 2007-08 Memphis Tigers were absolutely loaded and they were led by Derrick Rose, who would go on to be the No. 1 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft and the youngest MVP in NBA history in 2011. Chris Douglas-Roberts, Joey Dorsey and Antonio Anderson were also key contributors who eventually had stints in the NBA.
The Tigers finished the season with a record of 38-2 and they advanced to the national championship game, where they faced the Kansas Jayhawks. Despite a strong effort, the Tigers were unable to overcome the Jayhawks. Memphis missed a number of late free throws, which opened the door for Mario Chalmers to hit <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/march-madness-ranking-the-top11-ncaa-tournament-buzzerbeaters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one of the most memorable buzzer-beaters in modern NCAA Tournament history</a> and force overtime. Kansas would go on to win, 75-68.
7. 1974-75 Indiana Hoosiers
Led by head coach Bob Knight, the 1974-75 Indiana Hoosiers finished the season with a record of 31-1 and advanced to the Final Four, where they faced the Kentucky Wildcats. Despite a strong effort, the Hoosiers were upset by the Wildcats, 92-90.&nbsp;
The Hoosiers would have eight players who would go on to play in the NBA: Scott May, Steve Green, Kent Benson, Quinn Buckner, John Laskowski, Bob Wilkerson, Tom Abernethy and Wayne Radford.
6. 1996-97 Kansas Jayhawks
The 1996-97 Kansas Jayhawks featured a pair of future NBA stars (Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz) and one of the best coaches in college-basketball history (Roy Williams). The Jayhawks finished the season with a record of 34-2 and advanced to the Final Four, where they faced the&nbsp; Arizona Wildcats.&nbsp;
Pierce put together a monster performance &mdash; 27 points, 11 rebounds, 3 threes, 2 blocks and 2 steals on 69.2/60/100 shooting splits &mdash; but it wasn't enough to defeat Mike Bibby&rsquo;s Wildcats. The Jayhawks lost 85-82 in overtime. In addition to Pierce and LaFrentz, Kansas had four other players go on to the NBA: Scot Pollard, Billy Thomas, Jacque Vaughn and Ryan Robertson.
5. 2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats
The 2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats, coached by John Calipari, featured quite the collection of young, high-upside talent. Led by future NBA superstars Karl-Anthony Towns and Devin Booker, the Wildcats finished the season with a perfect record of 38-0.
Kentucky advanced to the Final Four, where they faced the Wisconsin Badgers and were ultimately upset 71-64. In total, a whopping nine Wildcats would go on to play in the NBA: Towns, Booker, Trey Lyles, Willie Cauley-Stein, Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Tyler Ulis, Dakari Johnson and Alex Poythress.
4. 1984-85 Georgetown Hoyas
The 1984-85 Georgetown Hoyas, coached by John Thompson, were a powerhouse team that featured future NBA star Patrick Ewing. The Hoyas finished the season with a record of 35-3 and advanced to the national championship game, where they faced the Villanova Wildcats.&nbsp;
In one of the biggest upsets in college-basketball history, the Wildcats defeated the Hoyas 66-64. In addition to Ewing, Georgetown had four other players who went on to play in the NBA: Reggie Williams, Bill Martin, David Wingate and Michael Jackson.
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3. 1992-93 Michigan Wolverines
The prior season, the Fab Five took college basketball by storm, with bald heads and baggy shorts. They started five true freshmen and had a great season, making it all the way to the national championship game, where they were handled by a veteran Duke squad that was led by Christian Laettner, Grant Hill and Bobby Hurley, losing 71-51.
In the 1992-93 season, the Wolverines were widely regarded as the most talented team in the country and they were the favorites to win it all. Unfortunately, they fell short to North Carolina in the national championship game in one of the most memorable endings in sports history. Future No. 1 pick Chris Webber called a timeout that Michigan didn&rsquo;t have, as they lost 77-71. Michigan had five players who would later play in the NBA: Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Eric Riley (plus Rob Pelinka would go on to run the Los Angeles Lakers' front office).
2. 1982-83 Houston Cougars
Led by future Hall-of-Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, the 1982-83 Houston Cougars were known as "Phi Slama Jama" for their high-flying style of play. The Cougars were a dominant force on both ends of the court. They advanced to the Final Four, where they faced the N.C. State Wolfpack. Despite a 20-point lead in the second half, the Cougars were upset by the Wolfpack, 54-52. In addition to the superstar pairing of Olajuwon and Drexler, Houston also had two other players who would go on to play in the NBA: Michael Young and Larry Micheaux.
1. 1990-91 UNLV Runnin' Rebels
The 1990-91 UNLV Runnin' Rebels are one of the greatest college basketball teams of all-time, despite not winning the national championship. Coached by Jerry Tarkanian, the Rebels had an incredible season, finishing with a record of 34-1.&nbsp;
Led by Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon and Greg Anthony, the Rebels played an up-tempo style of basketball that was both thrilling and effective. In the Final Four, they lost a close game to the Duke Blue Devils, who would go on to win the national championship. Johnson, Augmon and Anthony would go on to thrive in the NBA, and two other Rebels would also make it to the league (Elmore Spencer and Eyric Gray).
Would you rank these teams differently? Who is missing from this list? <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tweet us your thoughts now</a>!

Jamal Shakespeare looks back on 11 all-time great college basketball teams that failed to win a championship.

Revisiting 11 loaded NCAA-basketball teams that failed to win it all

The madness of March: It&rsquo;s as exhilarating as it is exhausting, as mesmerizing as it is memorable. The abrupt ending of an entire career, a legacy defined in two to three seconds. It almost seems unfair, but that&rsquo;s the beauty of the win-or-go-home tournament.&nbsp;
Every game is a Game 7. The unpredictability, the passion, the tears, the celebration. The NCAA Tournament is one of the few sporting events that&rsquo;s more defined by the incomparable upsets than the eventual champion.
Even non-basketball fans get in on the fun each year, with office pools and bracket challenges. While college sports and amateurism are under a drastic transformation, &ldquo;The Tournament&rdquo; still has a nostalgic feel to it. The incredible buzzer-beaters are one of the many reasons why.
Narrowing this list down was a tall task, so before we get started, it&rsquo;s important that we establish the criteria:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">It has to be a game-winning or game-tying shot in the final seconds.&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1">It has to be in the &ldquo;modern era&rdquo; (i.e. since the three-point line and shot clock).&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1">The later in the tournament, the higher the stakes, the more the shot means.</li>
</ul>
With that being said, here are the 11 most memorable buzzer-beaters in modern men's NCAA Tournament history.
11. Michigan State vs. Maryland, Korie Lucious (2010 Second Round)
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In one of the rare times Tom Izzo didn&rsquo;t call timeout in the waning seconds of a game, it paid off for him big time. You might recognize that big fella bringing the ball up the court; that&rsquo;s a slightly heavier Draymond Green, doing what he&rsquo;s been doing for the last decade in the Bay, pushing the tempo, drawing attention and then getting the ball to a knockdown shooter.&nbsp;
Maryland never properly matched up, and Korie Lucious only needed one rhythm dribble to send the Spartans to the Sweet Sixteen.
10. Wisconsin vs. Xavier, Bronson Koenig (2016 Second Round)
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The Musketeers had the ball in a tie game but turned it over, which led to one of the smoothest walk-off game-winners you will ever see.&nbsp;
Looking like he was in the gym shooting all by himself, All-Big-Ten guard Bronson Koenig caught the ball on the sideline, smartly took an escape dribble and hit the corner three that sent the Badgers to the Sweet Sixteen.
9. Connecticut vs. Washington, Richard Hamilton (1998 Sweet Sixteen)
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This entire sequence was amazing. I love how the refs swallowed their whistle on the first two attempts. Those may have been foul calls earlier in the game, but not with the championship on the line. Washington had a huge frontline that year, but ultimately ended up one rebound short.&nbsp;
Also, this is good coaching by Hall-of-Famer Jim Calhoun. In college, you have to go early because the opposing team cannot advance the ball to halfcourt with a timeout, so there&rsquo;s no point in waiting too long and eliminating the chance of getting an offensive rebound.&nbsp;
Rip Hamilton would go on to win both an NCAA championship and NBA championship with the Detroit Pistons.&nbsp;
&nbsp;8.Valparaiso vs. Ole Miss, Bryce Drew (1998 First Round)
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This is definitely the most schematic of any buzzer-beaters on this list. The son of the coach coming through in the clutch seems perfectly scripted for a Disney movie.
As with most of these incredible shots, it involves missed free throws and an underrated pass. The defense on this play was phenomenal (which can&rsquo;t be said for another historic shot that we&rsquo;ll get to in a bit).
7. Michigan vs. Houston, Jordan Poole (2018 Second Round)
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Long before he was a spark plug off the bench for the world-champion Golden State Warriors, Jordan Poole was hitting big shots in Ann Arbor. He drove Coach John Beilein crazy with his shot selection, but one of the reasons he earned such a long leash was his uncanny ability to hit shots from anywhere and at any angle.&nbsp;
6. UCLA vs. Mizzou, Tyus Edney (1995 Second Round)
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Every national champion has one of &ldquo;those&rdquo; games where despite having the superior roster, they probably should have lost. The Bruins were loaded! This roster featured eight guys who eventually played in the NBA. But the longer the game stays close, the more the pressure shifts to the No. 1 seed.&nbsp;&nbsp;
5. Michigan vs. Kansas, Trey Burke (2013 Sweet Sixteen)
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In 2013, Trey Burke was named the National Player of the Year and he carried the Wolverines all season long. The debate of whether to foul when up three points is for another column, but this was a Damian-Lillard-range three, and no one wants to risk a foul that far from the basket.&nbsp;
4. Kansas vs. Memphis, Mario Chalmers (2008 NCAA Championship Game)
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Mario Chalmers is a legend in Lawrence for as long as he lives. The Memphis Tigers were led by soon-to-be-first-overall-pick Derrick Rose and the silky smooth Chris Douglas-Roberts, and they had the game won until &ndash; and stop me if you have read this before &ndash; crucial free-throw misses opened the door for Kansas. This allowed Chalmers to force overtime, and the rest is history.&nbsp;
Coach Cal has gone on to win a national championship at Kentucky, but I bet if you caught him in a hotel bar on a recruiting trip, he would admit that he should have fouled Kansas before Chalmers even had the opportunity to hoist up this miracle three-point attempt.&nbsp;
3. Gonzaga vs. UCLA, Jalen Suggs (2021 Final Four)
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Gonzaga truly seemed like a team of destiny after Jalen Suggs hit the running bank shot against UCLA to remain undefeated and advance to the national championship game. While they would ultimately fall to Baylor two days later, the shot was ridiculous.&nbsp;
And unlike many of the plays on this list, UCLA didn&rsquo;t really do anything wrong. They didn&rsquo;t miss a free throw or look confused on defense. They lost on a straight-in bank from half-court, which even seemed to cause Gonzaga head coach Mark Few to feel a bit guilty.
2. Duke vs. Kentucky, Christian Laettner (1992 Elite Eight)
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Kentucky fans, look away. Hate him or really hate him, Christian Laettner was one of the greatest college players of all-time.&nbsp;
This game was one for the ages. Duke was the defending national champion. They were led by the aforementioned Laettner, All-American pest/point guard Bobby Hurley and budding superstar/future Hall-of-Famer Grant HIll.&nbsp;
Somewhat lost in the dramatic ending is the fact that Laettner was literally perfect on the night. He shot 10-of-10 from the field and 10-of-10 from the free-throw line, and he finished with a state line of 31 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
1. Villanova vs. UNC, Kris Jenkins (2016 NCAA Championship Game)
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The dream of all dreams. This is the scenario that every boy or girl who has ever played basketball at any level has imagined hundreds of times. A few seconds left. The ball in your hands. A title on the line. Three, two, one&hellip; You drill the game-winner and become a champion.&nbsp;
On April 4, 2016, Kris Jenkins turned this dream into reality. The timing is an underrated aspect of this play. The pass was right on time, and right on target &ndash; soft and chest-high. This let Jenkins shoot in rhythm &ndash; a shot that he had made thousands of times before. You gotta love how Jay Wright showed the emotion of John Wick as he walked to shake Roy Williams&rsquo; hand.&nbsp;
HONORABLE MENTION
Connecticut vs. Clemson, Tate George (1990 Sweet Sixteen)
Duke vs. Connecticut, Christian Laettner (1990 Elite Eight)

With March Madness upon us, Basketball News revisits 11 of the most memorable buzzer-beaters in NCAA Tournament history.

March Madness: Ranking the top-11 men's NCAA Tournament buzzer-beaters

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) &mdash; Braden Smith scored a career-high 24 points to lead No. 1 Purdue to an 87-73 victory over Iowa on Thursday night.
Smith, a freshman guard, shot 8 of 10 &mdash; including 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Zach Edey scored 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Edey, who was averaging 22.4 points entering the game, had just four points until the final 8 1/2 minutes. Edey grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds, and Caleb Furst added 10 rebounds as Purdue held a 43-23 edge.
Fletcher Loyer scored 17 points, Furst 11 and Mason Gillis 10 for the Boilermakers (23-2, 12-2 Big Ten).
Kris Murray led Iowa with 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting, and Filip Rebraca had 17 for the Hawkeyes (15-9, 7-6).
NO. 4 ARIZONA 85, CALIFORNIA 62
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Azuolas Tubelis had 23 points, 14 rebounds and four steals for his 11th double-double of the season to lead Arizona.
Pelle Larsson added 16 points to help the Wildcats (22-3, 11-3 Pac-12) to their seventh win in a row and 13th straight over Cal. Oumar Ballo had 14 points and nine rebounds, and Cedric Henderson Jr. chipped in 11 and eight boards.
Sam Alajiki scored 12 points to lead the Bears (3-21, 2-11), who dropped their eighth in a row. Lars Thiemann added 10 points and eight rebounds.
NO. 7 UCLA 62, OREGON STATE 47
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Amari Bailey scored a career-high 24 points to lead UCLA past Oregon State.
Bailey, a freshman guard, was 10 of 16 from the field and scored 18 points in the second half.
Jaylen Clark added 16 points and three steals for the Bruins (20-4, 11-2 Pac-12), who lead the conference in scoring defense.
Jordan Pope led the Beavers (9-16, 3-11) with 17 points.
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT 78, NO. 15 ST. MARY&rsquo;S 74
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Cam Shelton scored all of his career-high 31 points after halftime, enough to overcome him mistakenly taking a timeout late in overtime and lead Loyola Marymount.
Loyola Marymount (17-9, 7-5 West Coast Conference) had lost 21 straight to Saint Mary&rsquo;s and trailed 16-0 less than six minutes into this game.
Shelton scored 24 of the Lions&rsquo; final 31 points, including a tying layup with two seconds left in regulation. Alex Merkviladze added 15 points for Loyola Marymount, three weeks after it won at then-No. 6 Gonzaga.
Logan Johnson scored a career-high 31 points and Aidan Mahaney had 24 for Saint Mary&rsquo;s (21-4, 10-1), which had won 12 in a row. The Gaels were coming off a win over then-No. 12 Gonzaga on Saturday.
NO 16 GONZAGA 99, SAN FRANCISCO 81
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) &mdash; Rasir Bolton had 23 points and six assists, Drew Timme scored 21 and Gonzaga beat San Francisco.
Gonzaga (20-5, 9-2 West Coast Conference) extended its streak of seasons with at least 20 wins to 26, bouncing back from last weekend&rsquo;s overtime loss at No. 15 Saint Mary&rsquo;s.
Khalil Shabazz led San Francisco (15-12, 4-8) with 25 points and Tyrell Roberts added 16. The Dons have lost 26 straight to Gonzaga.

A recap of Thursday night's action in men's college hoops includes the Boilermakers holding their ground at the top of the standings.

No. 1 Purdue has five players in double figures, tops Iowa 87-73

PROVO, Utah (AP) &mdash; Julian Strawther hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 9.8 seconds left to lift No. 8 Gonzaga to a 75-74 victory over BYU on Thursday night.
Drew Timme had 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs. Anton Watson added 18 points and Strawther finished with 11 &mdash; including the game-winner.
Gonzaga (15-3, 4-0 WCC) overcame 34.5% shooting in the second half to rally for the win.
Spencer Johnson scored 18 points to lead BYU. Gideon George and Jaxon Robinson chipped in 17 points apiece for the Cougars. Johnson, George, and Robinson combined to make 12 3-pointers.
BYU (13-7, 3-2 WCC) lost to Gonzaga for the sixth straight time.
No. 7 UCLA 68, UTAH 49
LOS ANGELES (AP) &mdash; Tyger Campbell scored 17 points, Adem Bona added 15, and UCLA rolled past Utah for the Bruins&rsquo; 12th consecutive victory.
UCLA (15-2, 6-0 Pac-12) is on its longest winning streak since opening the 2016-17 season with 13 straight wins. The Bruins are 10-0 at home this season.
Bona scored five points in the second half when the Bruins ran away. They opened with a 15-6 run to extend their lead to 46-28. Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored his first points of the game in that span. He tied his season high with 12 rebounds.
Campbell contributed during an 8-0 spurt that produced a 62-38 lead.&nbsp;
Rollie Worster led the Utes (12-5, 5-2) with 12 points off the bench.
No. 9 ARIZONA 86, OREGON STATE 74
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Pac-12 scoring leader Azuolas Tubelis had 25 points to help Arizona beat Oregon State.
The Wildcats (15-2, 4-2 Pac-12) were coming off a 74-61 loss to Washington State that snapped Arizona&rsquo;s 28-game home winning streak. Tubelis got the team back in the win column.
He made 11 of 15 from the field and had 10 rebounds. Oumar Ballo scored 15 points with 14 rebounds and two blocks.
Oregon State (7-10, 1-5 Pac-12) struggled against Arizona&rsquo;s aggressive man-to-man defense. The Beavers shot just 25% in the first half and trailed 44-26 at the break. Tubelis scored 15 points in the first half.
Tyler Bilodeau and Michael Rataj scored 18 points apiece to pace the Beavers.

A recap of Thursday's top-25 men's college hoops includes Julian Strwather's clutch triple to help the Bulldogs win on the road.

No. 8 Gonzaga rallies past BYU on Strawther’s game-winner

Nekias Duncan takes an early look at this year's NBA award races with an in-depth look at who leads the pack through mid-December.

Nekias Duncan's 2022-23 NBA award front-runners: MVP, DPOY, ROY, more

Kyrie Irving&rsquo;s relationship with Nike is officially over, the shoe and athletic apparel maker said Monday, a move that came a month <a href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-nba-sports-kyrie-irving-racial-injustice-972e41eed3debbd9a548433c78227f05">after the company suspended the Brooklyn Nets guard</a> as part of the fallout from him tweeting a link to a film containing antisemitic material.
It was not a surprise breakup, especially after Nike co-founder Phil Knight said in the days after the company suspended Irving that he had doubts there would be any reconciliation.
&ldquo;Kyrie Irving is no longer a Nike athlete,&rdquo; the company said in a statement.
Irving&rsquo;s agent and stepmother, Shetellia Riley Irving, told The New York Times that the sides &ldquo;mutually decided to part ways and we just wish Nike all the best.&rdquo; Irving, without mentioning Nike by name, <a href="https://twitter.com/KyrieIrving/status/1599835738576605184?s=20&amp;t=ZQ2R9nmk2xV4IDOfKpN-EQ">appeared to address the matter Monday on his Twitter account.</a>
&ldquo;Anyone who has even spent their hard earned money on anything I have ever released, I consider you FAMILY and we are forever connected,&rdquo; the Nets guard wrote. &ldquo;it&rsquo;s time to show how powerful we are as a community.&rdquo;
Irving has been wearing his signature line of Nike in recent games. It&rsquo;s unknown if the formal ending of his relationship with Nike will affect that, at least in the short term. He had been a Nike athlete for the entirety of his NBA career, starting in 2011, and got his first signature shoe with the company in 2014.
When Nike suspended Irving in early November, the company was just days away from releasing the Kyrie 8, what would have been the latest in his signature line.
&ldquo;At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antisemitism,&rdquo; the Beaverton, Oregon-based company said at the time.
Irving missed eight games before being reinstated by the Nets on Nov. 20. He apologized that day to those who felt threatened or hurt when he posted a link to the documentary, and acknowledged that he should have handled earlier chances to clarify whether he has antisemitic beliefs differently.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t stand for anything close to hate speech or antisemitism or anything that is going against the human race,&rdquo; Irving said on the day the Nets reinstated him.
Irving has expressed no shortage of controversial opinions during his career. He repeatedly questioned whether the Earth was round before eventually apologizing to science teachers. Last year, his refusal to get a COVID-19 vaccine led to him being banned from playing in most of the Nets&rsquo; home games.

Shetellia Riley Irving told The New York Times that the sides “mutually decided to part ways and we just wish Nike all the best.”

Nike says Nets' Kyrie Irving no longer one of its athletes

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) &mdash; Bobby Pettiford Jr. made a twisting reverse layup off a loose rebound with 0.2 seconds left in overtime to give No. 3 Kansas a 69-68 win over Wisconsin in a Battle 4 Atlantis semifinal on Thursday.
Pettiford&rsquo;s layup marked his only points of the game, capping a thriller that saw Wisconsin rally from 15 down early in the second half.
Jalen Wilson scored 29 points and had 14 rebounds for the reigning national champion Jayhawks (6-0), and Kevin McCullar Jr. had 18 points and nine rebounds &mdash; and a 3 to force overtime.
Tyler Wahl led the Badgers (4-1) with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Most of his points came after half in what was at times a one-man comeback, including a spinning drive against a falling Wilson for a layup and a 68-67 lead with 21 seconds left.
Kansas will take on No. 22 Tennessee in the tournament title game on Friday.
NO. 1 NORTH CAROLINA 89, PORTLAND 81
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Pete Nance scored 28 points, Caleb Love added 23 and North Carolina survived an unexpected test from Portland in the opening round of the Phil Knight Invitational.
The Tar Heels (5-0) needed a late 14-3 run to finally pull away from one of the tournament&rsquo;s host schools. Love carried them in the first half with 16 points and reached the 1,000-point mark in his career, becoming the 80th North Carolina player to reach that mark.&nbsp;
Nance picked up the slack after halftime with 20 points and matched his career high in scoring set last season when he was playing for Northwestern.
Moses Wood led Portland (4-3) with 21 points.
The Tar Heels will face Iowa State in a semifinal game Friday. Portland will play Villanova in a consolation game.
NO. 8 DUKE 54, OREGON STATE 51
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Kyle Filipowski had 19 points and 14 rebounds as Duke held off a challenge from Oregon State in the opening game of the Phil Knight Legacy tournament.
Ryan Young added 11 points and 15 rebounds off the bench and was the only other Blue Devils (5-1) player to score in double figures.
Jordan Pope led the Beavers (3-2) with 14 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Dexter Akanno hit two 3-pointers and scored 11 points.
The Blue Devils will face Xavier in a PKL semifinal on Friday, while the Beavers will take on Florida.
NO. 6 GONZAGA 102, PORTLAND STATE 78
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Malachi Smith led six players in double figures with a season-high 23 points and No. 6 Gonzaga used a big first half to beat Portland State in the opening round of the Phil Knight Legacy tournament.
The Bulldogs (4-1) led by 27 in the first half, led 55-31 at halftime and withstood a sloppy second half.
Drew Timme scored 18 points and the only shot he missed was a dunk attempt midway through the second half. Rasir Bolton had 14 points and a career-high eight assists, while Julian Strawther, Anton Watson and Hunter Sallis all finished with 10. Gonzaga shot 60% for the game.
Jorell Saterfield led Portland State (2-3) with 21 points.
Gonzaga will face No. 24 Purdue in the semifinals Friday.
NO. 18 ALABAMA 81, NO. 12 MICHIGAN STATE 70
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Freshman Brandon Miller scored 17 of his 24 points in the first half and Alabama pulled away to beat Michigan State in the opening round of the Phil Knight Invitational.
After a rather light schedule for the first couple of weeks, Alabama (5-0) passed its first test of the season against the short-handed Spartans (3-2).
Tyson Walker led Michigan State with 21 points and A.J. Hoggard added 18.
Alabama will face No. 20 UConn in the semifinals Friday. Michigan State will play face Oregon in&nbsp;
NO. 20 UCONN 83, OREGON 59
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Tristen Newton scored 23 points, leading UConn to a win over Oregon at the Phil Knight Legacy tournament.
Jordan Hawkins scored 18 points, Adama Sanogo added 12 and Joey Calcaterra came off the bench to score 11 for the unbeaten Huskies (6-0).
Kel&rsquo;el Ware led the Ducks (2-3) with 18 points and nine rebounds off the bench. N&rsquo;faly Dante contributed 15 points.
NO. 22 TENNESSEE 73, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 66, OT
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) &mdash; Julian Phillips scored a season-high 25 points to help Tennessee hold off Southern California in overtime at the Battle 4 Atlantis.
The first-year forward made 7 of 13 shots and 10 of 12 free throws to go with eight rebounds for the Volunteers (4-1), with four of those free throws coming in overtime.
Santiago Vescovi overcame a rough shooting game to hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:45 left in the extra period, while Zakai Zeigler went 4 for 4 at the line in the final 23.7 seconds left of overtime to seal the win.
Boogie Ellis scored 21 points in his second big output in as many days to lead the Trojans (4-2).
The Vols advanced to Friday&rsquo;s championship game to face No. 3 Kansas, which edged Wisconsin in overtime.
NO. 24 PURDUE 80, WEST VIRGINIA 68
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) &mdash; Zach Edey had 24 points and 12 rebounds to lead Purdue past West Virginia in the opening round of the Phil Knight Legacy tournament.
Mason Gillis added 14 points for the Boilermakers (4-0), and Brandon Newman came off the bench to score eight points.
Erik Stevenson scored 17 points as the Mountaineers (3-1) lost for the first time this season. Joe Toussaint added 16 points off the bench.
The Boilermakers will face the No. 6 Gonzaga on Friday in the semifinals.

A recap of the standout games on Thanksgiving Thursday was highlighted by a thriller in the Bahamas.

Pettiford’s last-second layup saves No. 3 Kansas in Bahamas

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; The Portland Trail Blazers didn't need a buzzer-beater this time.
Damian Lillard overcame a slow start to finish with 26 points on six 3-pointers and the Blazers pulled away to beat Charlotte 105-95 Wednesday night, handing the Hornets their sixth straight loss.
Anfernee Simons scored 19 points and Shaedon Sharpe chipped in with 17 points off the bench for Portland. The Trail Blazers shot 53.3% and rallied from a 12-point deficit in the third quarter to improve to 3-1 on their six-game road trip.
Drew Eubanks added 14 points and eight rebounds for Portland, which had won two games in the previous four nights on buzzer-beaters.
Terry Rozier led the Hornets with 18 points while Mason Plumlee had 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Lillard, who came in averaging 29 points per game in his six previous starts this season, failed to score in the first quarter before erupting for 14 points in the second quarter.
Lillard said he was getting mad in the first half and thought to himself &ldquo;what are we doing tonight?&rdquo; after the Trail Blazers were getting hurt on the boards and turning the ball over.
Then he realized the impact of not having Jerami Grant (ankle) and Jusuf Nurkic (adductor) on the floor. Both sat out.
&ldquo;Not having them out there makes us pretty small,&rdquo; Lillard said. &ldquo;That puts us in a position where we might be vulnerable against a team that is always crashing the boards. So they hurt us with that. But we never stopped competing."
The Trail Blazers led by five at the break, but the Hornets opened the second half with a 19-2 run helped by two 3-pointers from Rozier. At least for a moment, the home crowd was on its feet, hoping the team's losing ways might be over.
But the momentum didn't last long.
Lillard started to heat up and the Blazers stormed back with a 16-2 burst of their own. He had seven points during that stretch and finished the game 6 of 12 from 3-point range as Portland regained the lead and control of the game.
&ldquo;They went small and started switching everything and slowed us down, and then they played the zone a little bit more,&rdquo; Hornets coach Steve Clifford said of Portland's strategy. &ldquo;I thought in the first half against the zone we actually got really good shots. In the second half, not as good.&rdquo;
In what has been a major issue of late, the Hornets faded in the the fourth quarter and the Blazers capitalized by building a 13-point lead with 6:23 left on a drive and score by Josh Hart.
LILLARD VS. McCOLLUM
With the win behind him, Lillard began looking ahead to Thursday night's matchup with former backcourt mate C.J. McCollum, whom he spent 8 1/2 seasons with in Portland before he was traded to New Orleans.
&ldquo;It's weird because I have never played against C.J. unless it was practice,&rdquo; Lillard said. &ldquo;Just seeing him in a different uniform is weird enough. Playing against him is going to be even more different."
Lillard said he last spoke with McCollum on Tuesday, but said they didn't discuss the upcoming game.
"I'm sure he is still going to take it personal to play against us and want to win this one,&rdquo; Lillard said.
LaMELO's RETURN
Clifford said LaMelo Ball (ankle), Gordon Hayward (shoulder) and Cody Martin (quad) are still working back considered day to day. He said none of them will play at Miami on Thursday night.
&ldquo;All three of them, they&rsquo;re all doing everything they can. I get people who stop me on the street (and ask me)," Clifford said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re in there, they come back (in the gym) at night, they&rsquo;re doing double. They&rsquo;re closer. They&rsquo;re doing everything they can do.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Blazers: Along with Grant and Nurkic, Keon Johnson (hip pointer) also sat out. ... Simons and Lillard had four-point plays on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter. ... Josh Hart had 11 rebounds.
Hornets: Kelly Oubre finished with 16 points but was just 1 of 11 from beyond the arc. ... Bench was outscored 35-22.
UP NEXT
Blazers: At New Orleans on Thursday.
Hornets: At Miami on Thursday and Saturday.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Damian Lillard overcame a slow start to finish with 26 points on 6 three-pointers and the Blazers pulled away to beat Charlotte 105-95.

Lillard scores 26, Blazers hand Hornets sixth straight loss

Nike has parted ways with Kyrie Irving.
The shoe giant announced Friday night that it will halt its relationship with the Brooklyn guard, who has been suspended by the Nets for what the team called a repeated failure to &ldquo;unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs.&rdquo;
The Nets made that move Thursday, and a day later, Nike made its decision as well.
&ldquo;At Nike, we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antisemitism," the Beaverton, Oregon-based company said. &ldquo;To that end, we&rsquo;ve made the decision to suspend our relationship with Kyrie Irving effective immediately and will no longer launch the Kyrie 8."
Irving has had a signature line with Nike since 2014.
&ldquo;We are deeply saddened and disappointed by the situation and its impact on everyone," Nike said.
Irving signed with Nike in 2011, shortly after becoming the No. 1 pick in that year&rsquo;s NBA draft. Irving&rsquo;s first signature shoe was released three years later, and the popularity of the Kyrie line led to him making a reported $11 million annually just from the Nike endorsement.
The Kyrie 8 was expected to be released in the next week. Previous models of his shoes were still for sale on the Nike website Friday night.
Nike's decision came a day after the Nets handed down their suspension, which will last at least five games, and after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he wanted an apology from Irving over his decision to post a link to the documentary &ldquo;Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America&rdquo; &mdash; a film that contains antisemitic material.
Irving defended his right to post what he wants, then refused to give a direct answer when asked Thursday if he has antisemitic beliefs. Later, hours after the Nets issued their suspension, Irving posted an apology on Instagram for not explaining the specific beliefs he agreed and disagreed with when he posted the documentary.
&ldquo;To All Jewish families and Communities that are hurt and affected from my post, I am deeply sorry to have caused you pain, and I apologize,&rdquo; Irving wrote. &ldquo;I initially reacted out of emotion to being unjustly labeled Anti-Semitic, instead of focusing on the healing process of my Jewish Brothers and Sisters that were hurt from the hateful remarks made in the Documentary.&rdquo;
Irving becomes the second prominent celebrity in less than two weeks to lose a major shoe deal over antisemitism. Adidas was forced to part ways with Ye &mdash; the artist formerly known as Kanye West &mdash; late last month, a move the German company said would result in about $250 million in losses this year after stopping production of its line of Yeezy products as well as halting payments to Ye and his companies.
For weeks, Ye made antisemitic comments in interviews and on social media, including a Twitter post that he would soon go &ldquo;death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,&rdquo; an apparent reference to the U.S. defense readiness condition scale known as DEFCON.
&nbsp;

Nike suspends its relationship with Kyrie Irving and will no longer launch the Kyrie 8.

Nike splits with Kyrie Irving amid antisemitism fallout

NEW YORK &ndash; The NBA debuted its new 2022-23 season tip-off spots, &ldquo;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1bcZhEytR8&amp;ab_channel=NBA">The Nonstop NBA</a>&rdquo; for its brand campaign and &ldquo;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6Z0gm8K1uI">This is HAPPENING</a>&rdquo; for the new NBA App. Both are now streaming across all <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA">@NBA</a> social platforms and on the <a href="https://pr.nba.com/nba-launches-reimagined-app-the-all-in-one-destination-for-nba-fans-of-every-team/">new reimagined NBA App</a>.
2022-23 Brand Campaign &ndash; &ldquo;The Nonstop NBA&rdquo;:
Told through the lens of the ultimate NBA superfan, nicknamed &ldquo;Non-Stop&rdquo;, and featuring an All-Star lineup of NBA players, coaches and legends, the spot celebrates the return of the NBA, showcasing how the game and its culture is constantly evolving.
&ldquo;We got sneaks-on-the-ground on four coasts&hellip;
From a Serbian Serpent moving like Mamba&hellip;
To A Greek-Nigerian-Milwaukeean changing the face of the game&hellip;
to an ice-cold Trae in the heart of Hotlanta&hellip;
To a couple brothers in the Bay with wet jays splashing their way back to try to go back-to-back&hellip;&rdquo;
Reigning NBA Champion Stephen Curry headlines an illustrious cast of NBA talent starring Jayson Tatum, Tyler Herro, Paul George and Joel Embiid, who remind fans about all the exciting on-court elements that they can look forward to this season. From a potential Warriors repeat for Curry to another shot at the Celtics claiming a league record 18th title orchestrated by Tatum, the drama known as the NBA is about to begin its next act.
&ldquo;The Nonstop NBA&rdquo; also features a fan debate at an outdoor basketball court on whose team will be this year&rsquo;s champ, with Embiid proclaiming that it&rsquo;s the 76ers&rsquo; year.&nbsp; From exciting matchups and captivating crossovers to breathtaking buzzer beaters, the nonstop energy of the league extends far beyond the baseline to culture, fashion, music, the metaverse and more &ndash; whether it&rsquo;s Damian Lillard recording in the studio, DeMar DeRozan showing off his impressive sneaker collection or Luka Dončić coming to life in NBA 2K23.
Finally, &ldquo;Non-Stop&rdquo; makes one thing clear &ndash; the NBA has something for everyone, and fans better keep up because &ldquo;in the NBA, what&rsquo;s happening next is happening now.&rdquo;
Click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1bcZhEytR8&amp;ab_channel=NBA">HERE</a> to view the full campaign video, &ldquo;The Nonstop NBA&rdquo; 
Full cast includes:
<ul>
<li>NBA Players: Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), DeMar DeRozan (Chicago Bulls), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers), Paul George (LA Clippers), Tyler Herro (Miami Heat), Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers), Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics)</li>
<li>NBA Legends: Tim Hardaway Sr., Bill Walton</li>
<li>Coaches: Tyronn Lue (LA Clippers)</li>
<li>Influencers: Crissa Jackson</li>
<li>Non-Stop: Actor Keyon Bowman</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;Created in conjunction with independent creative agency <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.translationllc.com/__;!!PMETyfE!OjCxd7kYYWMkE8rEg5x37IScA9s0eCuMCphhqiO_2s6vv2xXlqzc9MuGTeKdwcXvc35DQRP8iUZZ33Ew1KYRjrg$">Translation</a>, the spot was directed by Calmatic (&ldquo;House Party&rdquo;, &ldquo;Entrepreneur&rdquo; by Pharrell Williams ft. Jay-Z and &ldquo;Old Town Road&rdquo; by Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus).&nbsp; &ldquo;The Nonstop NBA&rdquo; is currently airing on television networks, with additional :30, :15 and :10-second versions running on social and digital channels.&nbsp; The spot will also be translated in 14 additional languages to reach fans globally.
Check out action from behind-the-scenes <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwBjdHqXRcs&amp;ab_channel=NBA">HERE</a>, detailing the making of &ldquo;The Nonstop NBA&rdquo;, featuring soundbites from DeMar DeRozan, Paul George, Tyler Herro, Damian Lillard, Tyronn Lue, Jayson Tatum, Bill Walton and &ldquo;The Nonstop NBA&rdquo; director Calmatic.
&nbsp;2022-23 NBA App Campaign: &ldquo;This is HAPPENING&rdquo;:
Ahead of the 2022-23 season, the league launched the new reimagined <a href="https://global.nba.com/nba-apps/index.html?showNav=false&amp;showFooter=false&amp;adobe_mc=TS%3D1602716228447%7CMCMID%3D02995697633469209167976945683217902546%7CMCORGID%3D248F210755B762187F000101%40AdobeOrg">NBA App</a> to be an all-in-one destination for fans of every team. To celebrate the new app, the league released its campaign, &ldquo;This is HAPPENING,&rdquo; to get fans excited about all the NBA App has to offer.
In the spot, LaMelo Ball and Jordan Poole take fans on a journey through the NBA App, showcasing its capabilities and all it has to offer, from every play on the court with real-time highlights, behind-the-scenes access, press conferences, and all-access shows, because &ldquo;If it&rsquo;s HAPPENING, it&rsquo;s HAPPENING in the NBA App.&rdquo;
Click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6Z0gm8K1uI">HERE</a> to view the full spot, &ldquo;This is HAPPENING&rdquo; 
Full cast includes:
<ul>
<li>NBA Players: LaMelo Ball (Charlotte Hornets), Jordan Poole (Golden State Warriors)</li>
</ul>
Created in conjunction with full-service creative agency, Mekanism, the spot will air across TV networks and stream on NBA social and digital platforms throughout the season. Download the <a href="https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/nba-live-games-scores/id484672289">NBA App</a> and Sign Up for NBA ID today.
The 2022-23 NBA season tips off on Tuesday, Oct. 18 with a doubleheader on TNT.&nbsp; The Philadelphia 76ers will visit the reigning Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics (7:30 p.m. ET) before the NBA champion Golden State Warriors receive their championship rings and host the Los Angeles Lakers (10 p.m. ET).&nbsp; A full schedule of the season&rsquo;s game is available on <a href="https://www.nba.com/schedule">NBA.com</a> and the NBA App.

Both are now streaming across all @NBA social platforms and on the new reimagined NBA App.

NBA debuts tip-off spots: 'The Nonstop NBA' & 'This is HAPPENING'

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

2022-23 NBA Season Preview: Central Division

A little more than six years ago, guard Gary Payton II and forward Drew Eubanks were teammates at Oregon State, leading the Beavers to an NCAA Tournament appearance after a 26-year drought.
Now they're teammates once more &mdash; and back in Oregon &mdash; with the Portland Trail Blazers.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really cool, especially coming back to Portland, being in Oregon and everything. I saw him yesterday and it was like we never even left," Eubanks said. &ldquo;We did something special in Corvallis, we went back to the tournament for the first time in a long time, and trying to do something special here too.&rdquo;
Payton, son of former Oregon State and Seattle SuperSonics star Gary Payton, won an NBA title with the Warriors last month before signing a three-year, $28 million deal with the Blazers as a free agent.
He emerged last season as a defensive stopper for Golden State, returning from a broken elbow to contribute in the NBA Finals against Boston. He averaged 7.1 points and 3.5 rebounds over a career-high 71 games, his first season playing regularly.
&ldquo;That was just an incredible run, just from the beginning of the season, finding my way on that team everything that came out of that. It&rsquo;s been a great, great learning experience," Payton said. &ldquo;Just to bring everything I&rsquo;ve learned over there and try to apply it here and build this team chemistry, I think that&rsquo;s gonna be probably one of the biggest pieces."
Eubanks signed four 10-day contracts with the Blazers last season, stepping into a key role when big man Jusuf Nurkic was injured. Eventually, Portland signed him for the rest of the season and awarded him with a one-year contract going into this season.
&ldquo;I thought Drew came here and earned it," Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said Thursday.
When the Beavers went to the NCAA Tournament to cap the 2015-16 season, Eubanks was a freshman from Troutdale, Oregon. He later signed with San Antonio in 2018 as an undrafted free agent and spent time with both the Spurs and their G-League affiliate in Austin.
Payton played two seasons for the Beavers. After going undrafted, he had stints with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers and Washington Wizards, while also spending time in the G-League. He was even on Portland's training camp roster in 2018, but eventually waived. He landed with the Warriors in 2021.
Billups praised Payton as the kind of player he can put anywhere.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s just my kind of guy,&rdquo; Billups said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s just a Swiss Army knife, proved his value and his worth all year long. He&rsquo;s done something that a lot of people never do in this league &mdash; and I&rsquo;m not just talking about winning a championship. He grinded all the way up, a guy that was on the minimum for a long time and fighting for himself, fighting to get into the league, he&rsquo;s proven to be a very, very valuable asset.&rdquo;

Gary Payton II and Drew Eubanks were teammates at Oregon State six years ago, leading the Beavers to an NCAA Tournament appearance.

Former Beavers Payton, Eubanks reunited with Trail Blazers

There haven't been many displays of two-way excellence in Summer League quite like Chet Holmgren's outing on Tuesday night. Add in the fact that it was his NBA debut, and the intrigue grows.&nbsp;
Before going further, let's get the boring caveats out of the way. The Utah Jazz Youth Contingent isn't a group of world-beaters. And of course, iT's JuSt SuMmEr LeAgUe. The games don't count yet, and Holmgren will face more talented teams over the next few days. He'll especially face tougher challenges once the regular season begins. We get it.
With that said,&nbsp;whew.
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The stat line doesn't do the performance justice, but it was still nice: 23 points (3-of-3 from two, 4-of-6 from three), 7 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal, and 6 blocked shots. The Oklahoma City Thunder outscored the Jazz by 26 points in Holmgren's near-24 minutes, if you care about that sort of thing.
Even with the "Summer League is for flashes" understanding, it's hard not to be impressed with what Holmgren was able to accomplish. He was a showstopper on defense, and showed enough versatility offensively as a screener, handoff hub, spacer and clear-a-side attacker to inspire confidence moving forward. There were so many flashes.
On the defensive end, Holmgren's mere presence altered things for the Jazz. The blocks were loud &mdash; and we'll get to those shortly &mdash; but more important than the blocks were the possessions like this.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/iostfn" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
The Thunder botch a guard-guard pick-and-roll between Jared Butler and Xavier Sneed, opening up a drive for Butler. A stop-and-go gives Butler an edge against Ousmane Dieng, but the rotation from Holmgren &mdash; note that he doesn't even jump and just rotates over &mdash; forces a kick-out.
From there, the Thunder can rotate to the corner and force another swing. Josh Giddey is admittedly late to close after that swing, but the possession ends with Sneed &mdash; a guy who's made roughly 32% of his threes in his college and G-League career combined &mdash; taking a triple instead of a rim attempt from Butler.
There were multiple quiet possessions like that, where a guard would find a pocket of space and quickly realize it was a fool's errand. The rotational goodness was palpable. And when Holmgren was in drop coverage, his sense for playing the gap &mdash; not playing too high and opening up a lob, but not playing too low and giving a ball-handler easy pull-up looks &mdash; shined through.
With Holmgren being such a presence in drop coverage, his teammates had simpler jobs. A simple dig from the wing or the nail was enough to throw off a ball-handler's rhythm; Holmgren's length and poise would do the rest of the work. If there's one thing I feel comfortable projecting already, it's that the shot profile of OKC opponents will look different with Holmgren on the floor versus when he's off.
But also,&nbsp;those blocks.
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It's one thing to have insane length &mdash; Holmgren's 7-foot-6 wingspan passes the test there. It's another thing to know how to use that length well. What's tough for rookie big men is the hidden third item: Knowing when&nbsp;to use that length.&nbsp;
Six blocks in a debut is an absurd number, and he racked up those rejections in a multitude of ways &mdash; help-side, off late switches and operating in space, 1-on-1 swats against Tacko Fall. But swatting 6 shots while only committing 3 fouls is almost unheard of for a debut. He has a feel for rim-protection well beyond his years. Here are 4 of the 6 blocks:
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/zse51c" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
That is&nbsp;nonsense.
Offensively, it was fun to watch Holmgren grow more comfortable as the game went on. He's going to need the shot to pop for him early to open up the floor. It was encouraging, then, to see Holmgren fire up 6 threes in his debut against varying degrees of coverage. Also, how about the self-creation? The behind-the-back dribble into a stop-and-pop was a favorite of his on Tuesday night. Guys his size aren't supposed to be able to do this.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/y30ubg" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
The load-up is a little&nbsp;slow, but the release point is high enough to where he shouldn't be bothered a ton. The main deterrent from a volume standpoint will be himself, at least early on.&nbsp;If he's going to shoot like this, though, coverage will get tighter.&nbsp;
That would be a good thing, of course. Not only will that open the floor for his teammates, but garnering closeouts will also create driving opportunities for him. We got a few flashes of Holmgren attacking off the bounce in this one. The handle is high &mdash; a concern for when the level of competition improves &mdash; but him being comfortable enough to take already is a big deal.
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 0px; overflow: hidden;" src="https://streamable.com/e/c4gaeb" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
It was a great debut for Holmgren, though not a perfect one. There were still possessions where the lack of strength popped up. He was an inconsistent screener throughout the night. Physicality and ball pressure led to pair of turnovers, a few more "whoa what's happening?" instances in the half-court.
But, man, it's hard not to feel good about Holmgren after the debut. It would be irresponsible to say he's&nbsp;answered&nbsp;the pre-draft questions he received &mdash; again, it was night one of Summer League action &mdash; but it's certainly fair to say his pathway to answering those questions may be cleaner than some anticipated.

Nekias Duncan breaks down Chet Holmgren's debut for the Thunder at the Salt Lake City Classic.

Bringing the Thunder: Chet Holmgren's summer league debut was a gem

Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson each scored 20 points to help the San Antonio Spurs beat the Denver Nuggets 116-97 on Tuesday night, securing a spot in the play-in tournament.
Since the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Phoenix Suns tonight, the Spurs locked up at least the 10th seed in the Western Conference.
Not that they're really thinking about it. Or at least Spurs coach Gregg Popovich wasn't.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a game on Thursday and we&rsquo;re going to play that,&rdquo; Popovich said. &ldquo;Not worry about anything else. It&rsquo;s not like we&rsquo;re world beaters.&rdquo;
Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic had 41 points and 17 rebounds for the Nuggets, who squandered a chance to clinch a playoff spot with a win after Minnesota lost to Washington.
"We wasted a golden opportunity,&rdquo; Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. &ldquo;I just didn&rsquo;t think we had the requisite focus, determination, urgency, desperation &mdash; whatever adjective you want to use. I just didn&rsquo;t think we had it tonight.&rdquo;
The Spurs had six players score in double figures as they won a regular-season game in Denver for the first time since Jan. 5, 2017. But it wasn't easy even after San Antonio built a lead that stretched to 21 late in the second quarter.
The Nuggets cut it to four early in the fourth, only to see the Spurs go on a 14-2 surge to regain momentum. One of the key plays was when Davon Reed tried to make a behind-the-back pass that was stolen by Tre Jones, who went in for a layup. Jones finished with 14 points and 10 assists.
&ldquo;Every team has nights like that and I think this was one of those for the Nuggets,&rdquo; Popovich said. "Nothing went right for those guys, even to start the game. ... We took advantage of it.
&ldquo;So I think for them it was one of those nights, but I was really happy with our aggressiveness the whole game.&rdquo;
The Nuggets fell to sixth in the Western Conference, a half-game behind Utah and two games in front of the seventh-place Timberwolves. Denver can wrap up a top-six seed and avoid the play-in tournament with a Minnesota loss or by winning one of its final two remaining home games.
Teams seeded Nos. 7-10 compete in the play-in tournament.
Malone was given a technical in the second quarter for arguing a call with official Tony Brothers.
It came almost a week after Austin Rivers was ejected by Brothers when the guard faked throwing an elbow on Indiana's Lance Stephenson. Malone said Brothers told him it was a malicious act by Rivers.
Jokic later picked up a technical in the second half as well &mdash; not from Brothers.
TIP-INS
Spurs: G Dejounte Murray didn't play due to a respiratory illness. ... It was San Antonio's fifth straight road win. ... Josh Richardson had 18 points and four 3-pointers. Vassell and Richardson were a combined 8 of 11 from 3-point range.
Nuggets: G Jeff Green (personal reasons) was a late scratch. ... Rivers had a basket overturned when officials later determined he stepped out of bounds. ... F Aaron Gordon had 18 points and 13 boards.
STOPPING JOKIC
Asked the best way to contain Jokic, Popovich responded: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think anybody has figured that out. He&rsquo;s a great one.&rdquo;
OFF NIGHT
Jokic finished 18 of 35 from the floor, including 1 for 5 from 3-point range.
Malone had a simple explanation: "That he is fatigued. He&rsquo;s been carrying a team for 80 games, and I can&rsquo;t take him out of the game.&rdquo;
HOME SWEET HOME?
At 22-17, the Nuggets haven&rsquo;t been as dominant at home this season. On the road, though, they&rsquo;ve won a franchise-best 25 games.
&ldquo;Can&rsquo;t explain it. I really can&rsquo;t,&rdquo; Malone said of the struggles at Ball Arena.
MPJ &amp; MURRAY UPDATE
Malone didn&rsquo;t rule out a possible return of forward Michael Porter Jr. (back) and point guard Jamal Murray (knee) at some point.
&ldquo;Yes, you have that in the back of your mind. We could get reinforcements,&rdquo; Malone said. &ldquo;But you also have to help the guys that are ready and available to play.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Spurs: At Minnesota on Thursday.
Nuggets: Host Memphis on Thursday.

The San Antonio Spurs secured a spot in the play-in tournament by beating the Denver Nuggets 116-97 on Tuesday night.

Spurs beat Nuggets, secure a spot in West Play-In Tournament

It wasn&rsquo;t all that long ago that the Chicago Bulls were considered a true contender in the NBA&rsquo;s Eastern Conference.
How the mighty have fallen.
By virtue of the team&rsquo;s 126-98 road loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday, the Bulls fell to 42-30 on the season and &mdash; with just 10 games remaining in the regular season &mdash; are now a combined 0-16 against the top three teams in each conference.
Suddenly, after a miserable stretch that has seen the team go just 3-9 in its last 12 games, entering play on March 23, the Bulls finds themselves sitting in fifth in the East.
Even worse is the fact that the schedule won&rsquo;t be very forgiving as the team faces a tough stretch to end the season.
How tough?
Perhaps tough enough that Chicago could improbably find itself in the East's Play-In Tournament.
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According to <a href="http://www.tankathon.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tankathon.com</a>, the Bulls have the ninth-toughest schedule remaining, but with the New Orleans Pelicans and New York Knicks counted among the &ldquo;easiest&rdquo; games in that stretch, it&rsquo;s worth remembering that the Bulls haven&rsquo;t exactly been world-beaters over the past few weeks.
This exact scenario &mdash; a team faltering down the stretch in a competitive conference &mdash; is part of the reason why the league&rsquo;s decision to implement the Play-In was <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/how-the-nba-playin-tournament-has-already-made-winners-of-us-all" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a stroke of genius</a>, at least from a viewership standpoint.
Entering play on March 23, the fifth, sixth and seventh seeds in the East are separated by just two games in the loss column. And although the eighth-seeded Brooklyn Nets are four games behind the fifth-seeded Bulls, at least mathematically, nothing has been decided yet. Chicago can&rsquo;t finish any lower than 10th, but a finish as low as ninth is still on the table, though unlikely.
What is likely, however, is that the Bulls will have to fight until the very end. That&rsquo;s the situation the team now finds itself in.
With just 10 games remaining, Chicago is almost closer to the eighth seed in the conference (four games) than it is to the team directly above them in the standings &mdash; that would be the Boston Celtics, who the Bulls trail by two-and-a-half games.
If the Bulls continue to struggle and win only 4 of their final 10 games, it&rsquo;s quite possible, perhaps even likely, that they would end up in the Play-In Tournament.
Of Chicago's final 10 games, the team will play five each at home and on the road. The dash toward the finish line begins on March 24, when the Bulls continue their current five-game road trip in New Orleans before playing games in Cleveland, New York and Washington, respectively.
They will then play host to the Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, Bucks, Celtics and Charlotte Hornets before finishing their season at the Minnesota Timberwolves on April 10.
The problem for Chicago is that all but two of those teams &mdash; the Knicks and Wizards &mdash; are involved in playoff races, and will be either trying to hold onto their playoff seeds and home-court advantage (Heat, Bucks, Celtics) or jockeying for position to either avoid being a Play-In team or hold onto their position as one (pretty much everyone else).
In short, anything less than a 6-4 stretch in those final 10 games could have severe consequences for Chicago, and it&rsquo;s difficult to imagine the team being under that kind of pressure after spending a great part of the season being one of this year&rsquo;s more pleasant surprises. It&rsquo;s also difficult to imagine that coming easily for the Bulls.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Here&rsquo;s DeMar DeRozan&rsquo;s answer when asked if enough Bulls in the locker room have received the message of what it takes to compete in high-level games like the ones the playoffs will bring. <a href="https://t.co/f9racrUsb7">pic.twitter.com/f9racrUsb7</a>
&mdash; K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) <a href="https://twitter.com/KCJHoop/status/1506466822396207109?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2022</a></blockquote>

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

Injuries have certainly played a part in the team&rsquo;s struggles, but neither DeMar DeRozan nor Alex Caruso could hide their frustration after the team&rsquo;s loss to the Bucks on Tuesday night.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s happened too many times. You gotta learn from it,&rdquo; Caruso was quoted as saying by <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bulls/bulls-are-running-out-time-prove-they-belong-among-elite">NBC Sports Chicago</a> after the loss.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s frustrating because I think we know how good we can be when he play at our best, at a high level and to go out there so many times and not do it, in a row, it&rsquo;s just frustrating.&rdquo;
Caruso, however, doesn&rsquo;t think that the team lacks for talent, even with its injury woes.
&ldquo;We have plenty of talent on our team. It&rsquo;s not about a talent issue. It&rsquo;s about executing,&rdquo; he said. "Basketball at any level, middle school, high school, college, pro, winning basketball is winning basketball. It doesn&rsquo;t change no matter what level you&rsquo;re at...
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not doing our stuff good enough right now.&rdquo;
DeRozan shared those sentiments.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely not a talent issue, at all, because we&rsquo;ve proven that we&rsquo;re a great team,&rdquo; DeRozan said.
&ldquo;Just execution, especially when you&rsquo;re playing against top notch teams that understand the value of executing at both ends&hellip; Those teams are always on a string, and we show it through spurts of a game, but the good teams that go far do it as close to 48 minutes as possible.&rdquo;
For Chicago, that will be the team&rsquo;s challenge in its final 10 contests.
Quite surprisingly, thanks to a deep conference, for the Bulls, a lot is at stake.
And of course, certainly, a lot is still to be decided.
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With a difficult 10 games to close the season, Moke Hamilton posits that the Bulls may find themselves in the Play-In.

With tough games remaining, Bulls could wind up in Play-In Tournament

It was all good just a year ago.
Last season, by the time the calendar turned to March, at 18-17, the New York Knicks had spent a better part of the season meandering around the .500 mark. They were far from world-beaters, but caught fire late and managed to reel of an impressive stretch that saw them end the season at 41-31.
Improbably, they&rsquo;d risen to fourth in the Eastern Conference.
This year, they haven&rsquo;t exactly looked like a club ready to launch a takeover. Far from it, in fact.
While DeMar DeRozan and Lonzo Ball signed with the Chicago Bulls, and Kyle Lowry and Russell Westbrook changed addresses last summer, the Knicks instead opted for Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier. Neither have helped the team&rsquo;s cause.
And with Sunday&rsquo;s 125-109 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden, the team fell to 11 games below the .500 mark &mdash; bad news considering the club will now embark on its longest road trip of the season.
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Starting Wednesday &mdash; the second anniversary of Leon Rose being named team president &mdash; the Knicks will play seven consecutive games away from the comfy confines of Madison Square Garden. They won&rsquo;t be the home team again until March 16, when they host the Portland Trail Blazers.
Realistically speaking, in order for the Knicks to make a run to the eighth seed, they&rsquo;ll probably have to go 15-6 over their final 21 games.
Even with the Brooklyn Nets&rsquo; loss to the Toronto Raptors on Monday night, New York will have to make up six games in the loss column. The Charlotte Hornets, who currently hold the 10th seed, have three fewer losses than New York. That&rsquo;s a more manageable deficit to make up, but considering what lies ahead, it won&rsquo;t be easy.
For New York, 12 of the remaining 21 games are on the road, and 5 of the 9 home contests are against the Bulls, Nets, Raptors, Utah Jazz and Cleveland Cavaliers. There aren&rsquo;t many "gimmes" in that stretch.
In fact, according to <a href="http://tankathon.com">Tankathon.com</a>, the Knicks have the fifth-toughest schedule remaining, with only the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics and Bulls having tougher opponents.
Conversely, the Nets&rsquo; schedule ranks as the 19th-most difficult (or 11th-easiest). Unlike the Knicks, though, things are looking up for Brooklyn. It would appear that Kyrie Irving could soon be permitted to play at Barclays Center (although <a href="https://twitter.com/malika_andrews/status/1498324410041655308?s=20&amp;t=DZL71Kaap1UvPvRmHm9kjA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not a guarantee</a>), while Kevin Durant and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/lest-we-forget-ben-simmons-is-a-great-basketball-player" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ben Simmons figure to return to the floor</a> within the next few weeks.
Unless something crazy happens, assuming the Knicks don&rsquo;t pull off the improbable, after two years on the job, the challenge for Leon Rose will be to admit mistakes and learn some lessons. Ditto for Tom Thibodeau.
Walker was not the answer at point guard, and upgrading that position has to be the team&rsquo;s No. 1 priority moving forward.
RJ Barrett probably <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-rj-barretts-recent-scoring-surge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deserves more repetitions</a>. 
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RJ picking up where he left off. <a href="https://t.co/RqQQKdmB5P">pic.twitter.com/RqQQKdmB5P</a>
&mdash; NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) <a href="https://twitter.com/nyknicks/status/1497394685748391936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Julius Randle <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/as-a-franchise-player-julius-randle-has-left-a-lot-to-be-desired" target="_blank" rel="noopener">probably doesn&rsquo;t</a>.
Truth be told, no player should be considered untouchable if the likes of Bradley Beal, Damian Lillard or Donovan Mitchell happened to find themselves on the market &mdash; because as currently constituted, the Knicks simply can&rsquo;t compete with the conference&rsquo;s playoff contenders, much less its upper-echelon. They need to be honest about that truth and confront it.
New York is nowhere near the likes of a Sixers team that has one player who won MVP and another who might win it this season, and it showed on Sunday.
Sixers head coach Doc Rivers might even have a theory.
Rivers coached the Boston Celtics to a 66-16 record in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen&rsquo;s first season there and won the 2008 NBA Finals. That team had it.&nbsp;
His Los Angeles Clippers teams that couldn&rsquo;t get over the hump? Not so much.
After his Sixers beat the Knicks on the front end of their home-and-home series on Sunday, when asked what changed for the Knicks since last season, that was the first thing Rivers brought up.
&ldquo;When you make changes, sometimes that goes well for you and sometimes it doesn&rsquo;t,&rsquo;&rsquo; the coach said <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/02/27/doc-rivers-gets-to-heart-of-knicks-struggles/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to the New York Post</a>.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Chemistry is a very fickle thing, as we all know. When you have it, you want it. Sometimes you don&rsquo;t even know why you have it, but you know you want to try to protect it. And when you lose it, you don&rsquo;t know why you&rsquo;re losing it sometimes.&rdquo;
In other words: Doc can&rsquo;t help but to look at this year&rsquo;s Knicks and wonder what happened.
At 11 games below .500 and with the odds of qualifying for the postseason seeming quite remote, in that regard, he certainly isn&rsquo;t alone.&nbsp;
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Moke Hamilton looks at the difference a year has made for the Knicks, and what the team needs to pull off to reach the Play-In.

Knicks' playoff hopes hang by a thread as club begins 7-game road trip

Through all the triple-doubles, buzzer-beaters and three All-Star Game trips in four seasons, Luka Doncic never averaged 40 points over a four-game stretch until the final quartet before the break.
Those games also happened to be the first ones since a trade ended Doncic's European pairing with Kristaps Porzingis that never developed the way the Dallas Mavericks had hoped.
Not that the focus wasn't already on the Slovenian superstar who turns 23 on Monday, but the timing of the 41.5-point-per-game outburst that included Doncic's first 50-point effort made it perfectly clear.
If the Mavericks are going to get past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since winning the franchise's only championship 11 years ago, their point guard will have to dominate.
Nobody knows it better than the point guard from 2011: Jason Kidd, who helped guide a club led by another European star in Dirk Nowitzki.
&ldquo;Luka&rsquo;s that type of player that can carry the load, for not just four games but for most of the season,&rdquo; said Kidd, the first-year Dallas coach. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s playing not just at an All-Star but at an MVP level right now, and that&rsquo;s what we need going into the second half.&rdquo;
The Mavericks return from the break Friday night at Utah, which is one spot ahead of Dallas as the fourth seed in the Western Conference. Denver is the third team in the current mix for the final spot with home-court advantage in the first round, something else the Mavericks haven't had since winning the title.
A few hours after Porzingis was dealt to Washington in a deal that brought Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans, Doncic scored 28 points in the first quarter of a 112-105 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. He finished with a career-high 51.
In a rematch two nights later, Doncic scored 23 of his 45 points in the fourth quarter of a 99-97 loss, the only defeat in the four-game stretch. He had 49 in a victory over New Orleans after missing two late free throws.
&ldquo;It was just games,&rdquo; said Doncic, who was busy from 3-point range during the four games, going 22 of 48. &ldquo;I know everybody talks it was after the trade, after something. It was just games. Sometimes you feel good, sometimes you don't. I just felt good.&rdquo;
The Clippers and coach Tyronn Lue prefer to focus on making Doncic a scorer because they think he's more dangerous when he's distributing as well.
Indeed, just before the scoring burst started, the franchise leader in triple-doubles had four in a six-game stretch. The 51-point night ended a career-best run of seven consecutive games with double-digit assists because the game was close and Doncic had to keep scoring.
Doncic is sixth in the NBA in scoring (27.5 points per game) and fifth in assists (9.0).
&ldquo;He showed his ability to go get a bucket when he needs to, day in and day out, while keeping everybody involved,&rdquo; said Marquese Chriss, a one-time Doncic antagonist in Golden State who became his teammate this season when the Dallas roster was decimated by a COVID-19 outbreak.
&ldquo;Some people can score but get away from the offense and get away from having their teammates be themselves as well,&rdquo; Chriss said. &ldquo;I feel like everybody was able to contribute in the games.&rdquo;
Since Doncic returned from a career-long 10-game absence because of knee and ankle injuries and a positive COVID-19 test, the Mavericks are 18-6. Defense is a big part of the surge, as is the star guard.
Before the time away, Doncic was criticized over his conditioning and weight, and acknowledged he relaxed too much after helping Slovenia qualify for its first Olympics and reach the semifinals before losing twice at the Tokyo Games last summer. While he made his third consecutive All-Star team, Doncic wasn't voted a starter for the first time.
&ldquo;I think he was humbled a little bit,&rdquo; owner Mark Cuban said in an appearance on a local radio station this week. &ldquo;I think he didn&rsquo;t like being called out for his weight and other things, and it finally clicked that there&rsquo;s a level of discipline that&rsquo;s required.&rdquo;
The latest scoring flurry from Doncic tops his run in the 2020 playoffs, when his buzzer-beater to even the series in Game 4 against the Los Angeles Clippers was the talk of the playoff bubble. Doncic had two 40-point games and just missed a third in a six-game loss in his postseason debut.
Doncic doesn't figure to keep the 40-point pace going as the Mavericks figure out the new pecking order among scorers without Porzingis. It's worth noting that shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. should return for the playoffs after missing at least two months with a broken left foot.
&ldquo;When you&rsquo;ve got a guy that&rsquo;s able to break down the defense so efficiently, you&rsquo;ve got to be ready to knock down shots, you&rsquo;ve got to be ready to cut, you&rsquo;ve got to be ready to balance the floor in different situations offensively,&rdquo; forward-center Dwight Powell said. &ldquo;At the end of the day, we&rsquo;re trying to find ways to support each other regardless of who has it going and the find ways to contribute to win.&rdquo;
The Mavericks know who's likely to have it going on most nights.

The Mavs return from the break Friday night at Utah, which is one spot ahead of Dallas as the fourth seed in the Western Conference.

Doncic's scoring flurry sets Mavs on course toward playoffs

The NBA announced that Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant and Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan have been named the NBA Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week for Dec. 27-Jan. 2.
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Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant and Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan have been named the NBA Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for Week 11 of the 2021-22 season (Dec. 27 - Jan. 2). <a href="https://t.co/sQqeSrmdOV">pic.twitter.com/sQqeSrmdOV</a>
&mdash; NBA Communications (@NBAPR) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAPR/status/1478101450265960452?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2022</a></blockquote>

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Morant has helped the Grizzlies skyrocket to fourth in the Western Conference since his return. The third-year guard averaged 34.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game this past week, helping Memphis go 3-0.
For Chicago, DeRozan continues a dominant 2021-22 campaign. He averaged 27.8 points, 7.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds as the Bulls went 3-0. DeRozan also became the first player in NBA history to hit game-winning buzzer-beaters on back-to-back days.
&nbsp;

DeRozan and Morant each led their teams through undefeated weeks to close out 2021.

Ja Morant, DeMar DeRozan named NBA Players of the Week

WASHINGTON (AP) &mdash; DeMar DeRozan hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the second straight game to give the Chicago Bulls a 120-119 win over the Washington Wizards on Saturday night.
Kyle Kuzma&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 3.3 seconds to play gave Washington a 119-117 lead, until DeRozan beat the Wizards in the same way he beat Indiana on Friday night.
DeRozan finished with 28 points and Zach LaVine had 35 points to help the Bulls to their seventh straight win, which is their longest streak since Dec. 18-29, 2014.
According to BasketballReference.com, DeRozan became the first player in NBA history to hit buzzer-beaters on consecutive days.
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&ldquo;It&rsquo;s amazing, especially doing it on the road,&rdquo; DeRozan said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if I&rsquo;m dreaming or if it&rsquo;s real right now.
&ldquo;You work your butt off and you understand that if you&rsquo;re in those positions, try to capitalize on them the best way you can because you&rsquo;re going to have games where you miss some.&rdquo;
The Wizards led nearly the whole game, outscoring Chicago 72-30 in points in the paint.
&ldquo;He just made a heck of a play. He was defended pretty well,&rdquo; Washington coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just tough. It&rsquo;s tough to lose a game like that.&rdquo;
Kuzma scored 29 points and had 12 rebounds, while Bradley Beal had 27 points and a career-high 16 assists in his first start at point guard. Beal also passed the 14,000 point mark.
Midway through the second quarter, the Wizards were called for a technical foul for too many players. Alize Johnson, one of five players on 10-day contracts, was the sixth player on the court.
TIP-INS
Bulls: F Tyler Cook suffered a sprained left ankle early in the second quarter and did not return. &hellip; F Javonte Green was out with a right adductor strain. &hellip; Interim coach Chris Fleming said that he hopes G Lonzo Ball and F Alonzo McKinnie, who were in health and safety protocols, could return to action early next week. &hellip; Coach Billy Donovan addressed the team over Zoom on Saturday and told them how proud he was with Friday night&rsquo;s win. Donovan could return from health and safety protocols on Monday.
Wizards: Signed G Tremont Waters to a 10-day contract. &hellip; G Brad Wanamaker, who started on Thursday, entered the health and safety protocols. &hellip; Rotation players G Spencer Dinwiddie, F Rui Hachimura, F Montrezl Harrell, G Aaron Holiday and G Raul Neto are still in COVID-19 protocols
DEROZAN&rsquo;S BIG SHOT: DeRozan said he concentrated on the fundamentals before he shot the game-winner.
&ldquo;I wanted to make sure my feet were behind the line,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I wanted to give it a chance to go in.
&ldquo;My shots all night were short. It&rsquo;s tough to play on back-to-backs. I kind of felt it throughout the game.&rdquo;
LaVine shook his head when asked to describe DeRozan.
&ldquo;The dude&rsquo;s incredible,&rdquo; LaVine said. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t say much more than that&hellip;Thank God we&rsquo;ve got DeMar DeRozan on our team.&rdquo;
BEAL IMPRESSED WITH DEROZAN: Throughout Beal&rsquo;s NBA career, he has marveled at DeRozan.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what he does,&rdquo; Beal said. &ldquo;He takes tough shots and he makes tough shots.&rdquo;
Beal believes the short-handed Wizards simply came up short against a marvelous opponent.
&ldquo;We did everything we possibly could to win, but DeRo just made a crazy shot at the end of the game,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;In a way, the shot is demoralizing and takes the energy out of you, but to know that we competed and played hard, we set ourselves up to win, and you feel great about that.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Bulls: Host Orlando on Monday.
Wizards: Host Charlotte on Monday.
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DeMar DeRozan hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the second straight game to give the Bulls a 120-119 win over the Wizards on Saturday.

DeRozan beats the buzzer again, giving Bulls 7 straight wins

The&nbsp;<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/top-5-longest-game-winning-buzzer-beaters-in-nba-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-stringify-link="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/giannis-antetokounmpo-shares-why-he-doesnt-associate-or-practice-with-other-nba-players-in-the-offseason/" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">following article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="http://basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="http://BasketballNetwork.net" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">BasketballNetwork.net</a>:
Devonte' Graham&rsquo;s 61-footer that beat the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday is the longest game-winning buzzer-beater in NBA history, but the shots that preceded it are equally impressive. Here are the top-five longest game-winners we&rsquo;ve ever seen.
5. Belus Smawley vs. Providence Steamrollers (1948)
Unfortunately, there&rsquo;s no footage of Belus Smawley hitting a long-range prayer to lead the St. Louis Bombers to an 84-82 victory over the Providence Steamrollers back in 1948. But <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/buzzer-beaters.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to Basketball-Reference</a>, his 50-footer ranks fifth on the NBA&rsquo;s list of longest game-winning shots.
The best part is that Smawley&rsquo;s chuck only counted for two, as the league obviously still hadn&rsquo;t introduced the three-point line, and made it the longest game-winning two-pointer in history.
4. Tyreke Evans vs. Memphis Grizzlies (2010)
Tyreke Evans&rsquo; three-point heave from mid-court secured the Sacramento Kings a 100-98 win over Memphis on Dec. 29, 2010, snapping the team&rsquo;s eight-game losing streak. The shot was later reviewed by the refs before it, at the time, had officially become the longest-game winner in the NBA since 1992.
&ldquo;I think I&rsquo;m the best on the team at doing it,&rdquo; Evans <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/recap/_/gameId/301229023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said after hitting a 50-footer</a>. &ldquo;We practice that at the shootaround in the morning sometimes and I&rsquo;m glad we do that. It looked good but when it went in, that&rsquo;s when I knew it was good.&rdquo;
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3. Julius Erving vs. Dallas Mavericks (1986)
On Feb. 28, 1986, Julius Erving stunned the Mavericks&rsquo; crowd after hitting a 53-footer to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 123-120 victory. He finished the game with 20 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists, and a single play worthy of NBA history books.
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2. Chris Wayne Jackson a.k.a. Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf vs. Los Angeles Clippers (1992)
Dr. J held the record for the longest game-winner until 1992, but then Chris Wayne Jackson happened. After a block by Dikembe Mutombo on one end, with just under 3 seconds left on the game clock, the 6-1 point guard took a couple of dribbles and hoisted one up from 55 feet.
The ball went in, nothing but net, securing the Nuggets a 123-120 win over the Clippers. Jackson finished the game with 19 points on 2-for-3 from behind the arc.
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1. Devonte' Graham vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (2021)
&ldquo;I just wanted to get one up, honestly,&rdquo; Devonte' Graham said after hitting the longest game-winning buzzer-beater in NBA history. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t want to take the ball out. I waited. Then J-Hart (Josh Hart) passed it to me and I just let it fly.&rdquo;
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had just hit a crazy 30-footer to tie the game with 1.4 seconds left on the clock. Hart inbounded the ball to Graham, who launched one from 61 feet to secure the New Orleans Pelicans a 113-110 victory, rewriting the history books with the longest "Hail Mary" the NBA has ever seen.
Check out more articles from BasketballNetwork.net&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Basketball Network lists the five longest game-winners we’ve ever seen in NBA history.

The 5 longest game-winning buzzer-beaters in NBA history

The&nbsp;<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/d-wade-looks-back-on-kobes-buzzer-beater-over-him-luckiest-shot-ever/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-stringify-link="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/giannis-antetokounmpo-shares-why-he-doesnt-associate-or-practice-with-other-nba-players-in-the-offseason/" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">following article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="http://basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="http://BasketballNetwork.net" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">BasketballNetwork.net</a>:
Artest looking, gets it to Bryant. 
Bryant dribbling, has to put it up at the buzzer... 
BANKS IT IN! HE BANKS IN THE THREE, AND THE LAKERS WIN THE GAME!
To this day, Kobe Bryant's buzzer-beater over Dwyane Wade is one of the most epic clutch moments in recent NBA history. And even though the stakes weren&rsquo;t high &mdash; it was an early December game, just over a month into the season &mdash; Kobe&rsquo;s off-balance three-pointer is one of the most incredible highlights of his all-time great NBA run.
Now, 11 years later, Wade looked back on that moment and remembered what it felt like to lose what seemed like a sure-fire win with 3.2 seconds left on the clock. Instead, Bryant pulled off a miracle, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 108-107 victory over the Miami Heat, extending L.A.'s win streak to eight games.
"Luckiest shot ever, Kobe Bryant hitting a game-winner on me," Wade <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xqMsz-fZJg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. "It was such a Kobe moment. I actually couldn&rsquo;t be that mad because I looked down and said, &lsquo;That&rsquo;s Kobe.&rsquo;"
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&ldquo;Luckiest shot I&rsquo;ve ever taken&rdquo;
Wade&rsquo;s comments over a decade later are in line with what he said right after the game 11 years ago.
&ldquo;If you told me before the game that it would be decided by Kobe shooting a one-legged backboard three, I&rsquo;d have taken that,&rdquo; Wade said. &ldquo;The basketball gods were with him on that one, but we did a great job and did what we&rsquo;re supposed to do on the road &mdash; give ourselves a chance to win. But a great player hit an unbelievable shot.&ldquo;
Kobe, however, refused to take much credit for it. Despite it being his 35th point of the night &mdash; plus, the fact that Bryant was without a doubt the best tough-shot maker in the NBA and the only one capable of pulling something like that off &mdash; the Lakers superstar kept it real.
&ldquo;It was the luckiest shot I&rsquo;ve ever taken, by far,&rdquo; Bryant said. &ldquo;It felt good, [but] I just couldn&rsquo;t believe this ball might go in on this shot.&rdquo;
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Dwyane Wade wasn&rsquo;t surprised by Kobe&rsquo;s game-winner over him on this day in 2009. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBA75?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBA75</a> <a href="https://t.co/5y2CW1BmLE">pic.twitter.com/5y2CW1BmLE</a>
&mdash; NBA History (@NBAHistory) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAHistory/status/1467175669998235654?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2021</a></blockquote>

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It&rsquo;s been over a decade, and we&rsquo;ve witnessed many jaw-dropping buzzer beaters since. But a few are as impressive as Kobe&rsquo;s one-legged three-pointer over the outstretched hand of D-Wade, even with the two Hall-of-Famers calling it lucky.
But the fact of the matter is that we were the lucky ones having witnessed it.
Check out more articles from BasketballNetwork.net&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Dwyane Wade reflects on one of the most improbable game-winners that Kobe Bryant ever hit in the NBA.

Wade looks back on Kobe’s buzzer-beater over him: 'Luckiest shot ever'

The Grizzlies were in a weird place on November 26.
They were reeling, fresh off a double-digit loss to the Toronto Raptors, and not even a week removed from a 43-point loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Staring them in the face was a matchup with the surging Atlanta Hawks. A Trae Young-Ja Morant point guard duel seemed like appointment television.
And then, Morant hurt his knee.
The Hawks would win by 32, dropping the Grizzlies to 10-10. Honestly, it was a surprise they were .500 at that point; Memphis' offense was solid (109.6 Offensive Rating, 10th), but its defense (114.8 Defensive Rating, 30th) was easily the worst in the league. Now, the team had to find a way to keep the offense afloat without their best player.
Since the Hawks game, the Grizzlies have found answers. They're 6-1 since the Morant injury behind an even stronger offense; their 113 ORTG ranks 13th over this span. You can mostly thank Jaren Jackson Jr. (21.0 points in his last seven) and Desmond Bane (18.6 points) for taking on larger creation roles.
Even more shocking has been the defense. The Grizzlies haven't just improved &mdash; they've completely flipped the script. Their 93.9 DRTG &mdash; and an absurd 80 points allowed per 100 half-court plays, per Cleaning The Glass &mdash; leads the NBA by a wide margin.
There's something to be said about the sample &mdash; seven games is less than 20, though I'll wait for Woj to confirm &mdash; but you almost never see a team literally go from worst-to-first on a whim. There is a little context to add.
Chief among them, the Grizzlies haven't faced world-beaters offensively. Here are their last seven opponents' ranks in ORTG:
<ul>
<li>Sacramento: 11th (in half-court offense: 22nd)</li>
<li>Toronto: 16th (in half-court offense: 25th)</li>
<li>Oklahoma City: 30th (in half-court offense: 27th)</li>
<li>Dallas (twice): 22nd (in half-court offense: 10th)</li>
<li>Miami: 10th (in half-court offense: 16th)</li>
<li>Los Angeles Lakers: 23rd (in half-court offense: 18th)</li>
</ul>
Miami is the best offense the Grizzlies have faced, and the Heat were without Bam Adebayo and&nbsp;lost Jimmy Butler early in that game. The OKC Thunder were a bad offense as-is; facing the Grizzlies without any of their top shot-creators led to [checks notes] the worst loss in NBA history.
So there, the Grizzlies aren't the best defense in basketball even if the seven-game numbers suggest it. Boom. We're all very smart. Right?
Right.
But there's a gap between "the Grizzlies look much better" and "the Grizzlies are 4-to-6 points stingier than the Golden State Warriors on defense" worth exploring.&nbsp;
Let's dig into that.
STRAIGHT TO THE POINT
As exciting and flat-out good Morant is at basketball, he leaves a bit to be desired defensively. It's rare for someone with his offensive workload to be a strong positive, but he's far from that. Though his effort has improved, his film is still littered with failed attempts to navigate screens and off-ball bloopers.
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Even before he went down, the Grizzlies were a different defense when Morant was on the floor. By different, I mean they were <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612763&amp;Season=2021-22&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;PlayerIds=1629630&amp;OnlyCommonGames=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">five points better</a> with Morant on the pine.
The on-off split makes sense on two levels; not only is Morant not a good defender, but his replacement in the starting lineup &mdash; Tyus Jones &mdash; is pretty sturdy at the point of attack. The other guy who's seen more rotational minutes as of late &mdash; De'Anthony Melton &mdash; is one of the best guard defenders in the league, period.
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Screen navigation is important to what the Grizzlies do defensively. While their bigs can play aggressively when needed (more on that later), they prefer to drop them back. That puts strain on whoever is defending the ball-handler to fight over picks and stay attached.
Jones and Melton do that better than Morant does. Bane has held his own against guards, having most recently taken on the Russell Westbrook assignment on a handful of ball-screens.
Dillon Brooks, a feisty wing who isn't afraid of anything or anybody, has been a godsend to the defense since returning. Peep <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1628415/head-to-head/?sort=PARTIAL_POSS&amp;dir=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">his matchup data</a>, and assigments are littered with All-Stars or hopefuls: Fred VanVleet (roughly 49 possessions), Luka Doncic (34), Paul George (34) and Butler (31) top the list.
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KEEP 'EM CORNERED
The stronger your point-of-attack defense is, the less likely you are to wind up in rotation. You don't have to send extra help, which means you box up the areas of the court that matter most.
For the Grizzlies, that means taking away the paint &mdash; they're allowing the ninth-lowest percentage of shots coming at the rim over their last seven contests &mdash; and taking away the corners. An absurd 5.5% of enemy shots have come from the corners, the second-lowest share in the league during this stretch.&nbsp;
They're able to do this by having a helper at the nail when necessary. In most cases, the Grizzlies have done a good job of keeping ball screens a 2-on-2 affair. But if their guard gets caught on a screen while in drop or "ICE" coverage, a player stationed at the wing will shade inside to cut off the lane, giving the guard defender time to recover.&nbsp;
Peep Bane on the play below when Melton gets hung up on the Dwight Howard screen:
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The same principles apply when they play more aggressively in pick-and-roll, though they can get help from lower on the floor when called upon.
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The Grizzlies send two to the ball against Doncic, but look at Jones and Killian Tillie (No. 35) on the weak side. Instead of Jones tagging Moses Brown on the roll, he plays between Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dorian Finney-Smith, while Tillie pinches in from the corner. That's likely due to the size advantage, but even in this clip, you can see how the Grizzlies prioritize shutting down the rim and the corner.
GO BIG OR GO HOME
The point of attack has strengthened. The help is active and precise. What's left are the men in the middle, holding down the fort in a multitude of ways.
Steven Adams has long been a reliable defender. His Hulk-like strength makes him a booger to post-up against, but his size and understanding of angles allows him to be an effective drop defender. What goes underdiscusssed, however, are his nimble feet.
He isn't a switch big &mdash; his lateral mobility only goes so far &mdash; but he's able to slide fast enough and flip his hips quickly enough to execute more aggressive coverages when called to come higher.
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The real treasure has been Jackson, someone whose defensive development has been something I was curious about <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/something-to-prove-jaren-jackson-jr-at-center" target="_blank" rel="noopener">heading into the season</a>.
He's the poster boy of the Grizzlies' scheme versatility. He has the length and gap feel necessary to operate in drop coverage. His feet are quick enough to cut off quicker guards by playing at the level of the screen. When locked in, Jackson can hold his own against different archetypes when asked to switch out.&nbsp;
In short: this is what people were excited about coming out of college.
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Opponents have had next to no luck scoring with Jackson involved. Per Second Spectrum, opponents are generating 0.61 points per possession on trips featuring a ball-screen targeting him over the last seven games.
That number&nbsp;probably&nbsp;won't last as the sample and competition grows &mdash; that's a "facing two Rudy Goberts at once" number &mdash; but the process has looked so much smoother for Jackson.
It's looked smoother for the Grizzlies, period. There's been more buy-in, more activity. If they can stay locked in on the little things, there's no reason they can't truly take off when Morant is back in the fold.

Nekias Duncan looks at the surging Grizzlies defense, and why they've been so successful as of late.

The Grindhouse: How the Grizzlies are winning with defense

The <a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/sam-cassell-shares-why-hakeem-never-took-preseason-games-seriously-son-preseason-dont-count-the-popcorn-is-popping-now/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-stringify-link="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/giannis-antetokounmpo-shares-why-he-doesnt-associate-or-practice-with-other-nba-players-in-the-offseason/" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">following article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="http://basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="http://BasketballNetwork.net" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">BasketballNetwork.net</a>:
&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t a point guard. I was a killer.&rdquo;
Allen Iverson spoke those words on the day he was inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame over five years ago. Now, we don&rsquo;t usually acknowledge those who self-assign a certain title to their name. After all, as said by Tywin Lannister in Game of Thrones: "Any man who must say, 'I am the king' is no true king."
But this is "The Answer" we're talking about. AI wasn&rsquo;t just a point guard. He was, in fact, the ultimate killer.
Come to think of it... is he the last of his kind? Because other than the late, great Kobe Bryant, between Iverson&rsquo;s contemporaries, as well as his successors, there isn&rsquo;t an obvious standout worthy of carrying that title.
According to the Hall-of-Famer himself, however, there&rsquo;s nothing to worry about. On the contrary, with everyone complaining about the lack of true killers in today&rsquo;s NBA, Iverson believes there are many to choose from. And during <a href="https://youtu.be/C5-2LQwwJ38" target="_blank" rel="noopener">his interview with Bleacher Report's Taylor Rooks</a>, he listed his top five.
"Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, James Harden and Bradley Beal," Iverson told B/R.
After naming the first four, Iverson seemingly had trouble coming up with one last name to put on the list. Then, he smiled and remembered the guy most people would agree should top that list. And it seems AI feels the same way.
"Dame! Certified! He&rsquo;s a monster with it," Iverson <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5-2LQwwJ38" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. "Steph is bad as hell, but Dame is just a rude motherf****r. He&rsquo;s just rude, he&rsquo;s just disrespectful. He does anything. He passes half-court and let it fly, buzzer-beaters. No fear."
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That&rsquo;s what it means to be a killer &mdash; having a fearless mentality on the basketball court and always being locked in on doing whatever it takes to come out victorious. And there&rsquo;s no doubt Lillard is one guy from today&rsquo;s NBA who best epitomizes all of that. But the rest of the guys from Iverson&rsquo;s list have had their fair share of "killer" moments as well.
There&rsquo;s a reason <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/curryst01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one of Curry&rsquo;s nicknames</a> is Baby-Faced Assassin. KD and Harden are some of the greatest offensive weapons in the history of the game. And Beal, as great and clutch as he is individually, still hasn&rsquo;t requested a trade from the Wizards. (It doesn&rsquo;t get more fearless than that, right?)
But more importantly, they are all recognized by the ultimate killer. That&rsquo;s all the validation every basketball player striving to become a killer on the court needs.
Check out more articles from BasketballNetwork.net <a href="https://www.basketballnetwork.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

With some complaining about the lack of true killers in today’s NBA, Allen Iverson believes there are many to choose from.

Allen Iverson names his top-5 killers in today's NBA

The 2021 NBA Draft class was the story of NBA Summer League Day 3.
The headlining matchup of top-pick Cade Cunningham vs. second-overall-selection Jalen Green certainly garnered enough conversation. But even from the first game, rookies painted tantalizing pictures of their NBA potential. Four of tonight's five "studs" were awarded to first-year prospects.
Does this mean the 2021 NBA Draft will be <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/jalen-suggs-thinks-2021-class-definitely-has-a-chance-to-rival-2003" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the best draft class ever</a>? Of course not. As always, it's important to remember not to draw definitive conclusions from games in a unique setting that will never be replicated in the actual NBA season. But for fans, it's okay to get hyped when the future looks bright.&nbsp;
Here were some of my Day 3 observations:
STUDS
Chris Duarte, guard, Indiana Pacers
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Chris Duarte is a sniper <a href="https://t.co/YtPSllgdti">pic.twitter.com/YtPSllgdti</a>
&mdash; NBA Summer League (@NBASummerLeague) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBASummerLeague/status/1425220298455064580?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 10, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Box Score Stats: 21 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 8-for-19 FG, 5-for-10 3PT
It was pure joy to watch the Pacers creatively use their lottery pick on offense. On one early play, Duarte bolted on a nice Iverson cut to get a quality look at the rim, though he missed the finish. Later in the first quarter, Indiana drew up a baseline out-of-bounds play that saw Duarte skirt through screens for a catch-and-shoot three.&nbsp;
The 24-year-old was communicative and aware on the defensive end. Though he had a couple of "heat-check" possessions, Duarte made five three-pointers, including two sensational buzzer-beaters. His assist numbers would have also been much higher if teammates finished off more of his nice passes.
Sharife Cooper, guard, Atlanta Hawks
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SHARIFE COOPER HITS A GAME-WINNER 😱 <a href="https://twitter.com/brhoops?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@brhoops</a> <a href="https://t.co/BSH3SkZc2U">pic.twitter.com/BSH3SkZc2U</a>
&mdash; Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1425242755756822529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 10, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Box Score Stats: 21 points, 9 assists, 1 steal, 8-for-14 FG, 5-for-8 3PT
Man oh man... I had to remind myself multiple times not to overreact to one summer league game. Cooper was scary&nbsp;on offense. He threw ridiculous, NBA-lead-guard-caliber dimes all over the court. Cooper also tallied six turnovers, but the mistakes are forgivable when he's creating these unique chances for his teammates.
More importantly: the perimeter shooting. Cooper made 13 threes in college; he canned five on Tuesday, including step-backs and quick shots off the catch. Defenders were content to let Cooper fire away given his track record. He made them pay right up to the buzzer-beating end of Atlanta's 84-83 win. Seeing this type of performance from Cooper should make opposing teams sweat.
Aaron Nesmith, guard/forward, Boston Celtics
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Aaron Nesmith tonight 🔥 33 PTS in 21 MINS 13/18 FG 7/9 3PT 7 REB<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BleedGreen?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BleedGreen</a> <a href="https://t.co/rgVd2LgQRI">pic.twitter.com/rgVd2LgQRI</a>
&mdash; Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1425276061630279684?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 11, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Box Score Stats: 33 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 13-for-18 FG, 7-for-9 3PT
Nesmith went on an absolute heater in Boston's lopsided 107-82 win over the Nuggets. He was lethal off screens, maintaining balance and consistency to splash triple after triple. But he also attacked off the dribble, driving to the rim or pulling up in the mid-range with equal success.
This performance is the missing piece for the Celtics' bench. Obviously, Nesmith won't be this hot, and is probably somewhere in between Tuesday's dominance and Sunday's frigid effort. But games like these tease the type of weapon the second-year wing can be without commanding a ton of usage. He still has to work on keeping players in front of him when defending.
Jalen Green, guard, Houston Rockets
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Jalen Green showed out tonight 👀 - 23 PTS - 5 REB - 9/18 FG - 4/9 3PT <a href="https://t.co/a7rtLFERCE">pic.twitter.com/a7rtLFERCE</a>
&mdash; Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1424540461335605250?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Box Score Stats: 25 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 6-for-11 FG, 3-for-5 3PT
Tuesday's matchup against Cade Cunningham was an amazing example of growth from Green. He flailed in the early going as the Pistons blitzed, and threw some wild turnovers. But after the first quarter, Green started to settle in and pick his spots in effective fashion. He made shots off the catch, cut well and only turned the ball over once in the latter three quarters. It wasn't a pretty night, and yet Green still finished with quality numbers.
Cade Cunningham, guard, Detroit Pistons
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Cade Cunningham catches Jalen Green reaching, hits him with the behind the back dribble and makes the 3!! <a href="https://t.co/xkEBiQDZQS">pic.twitter.com/xkEBiQDZQS</a>
&mdash; Aram Cannuscio (@AC__Hoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/AC__Hoops/status/1425272704874188802?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 11, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Box Score Stats: 20 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 8-for-18 FG, 4-for-9 3PT
On the other end, Cunningham exuded the poise and cerebal vision that helped make him the first overall pick. The two assists woefully underrepresent how electric Cunningham was as a passer in transition, in the half-court and while attacking the basket. His four three-pointers came from all over the court, including one moment when he caught Jalen Green slipping. Defensively, Cunningham picked off a bunch of long passes and led the early-system pressure that caught Green off guard.
Other notable performers: Bol Bol (Nuggets), Alperen Sengun (Rockets), Payton Pritchard (Celtics), Patrick Williams (Bulls)
DUDS
Zeke Nnaji, forward, Denver Nuggets
Box Score Stats: 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 0-for-9 FG, 0-for-6 3PT
Nnaji was pretty invisible for most of the afternoon. When he did show up, it was with some brutal misses on three-pointers. That's a notable area of development for the 2020 first-round pick; he made 40% of his threes as a rookie after hitting just 29% of them in college. The 6-foot-9 forward was also somewhat concerning when he put the ball on the floor. Nnaji just doesn't have tight handle at this stage, and blew one fast break by flying into traffic out of control.&nbsp;
Jerome Robinson, guard, Chicago Bulls
Box Score Stats: 2 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1-for-4 FG, 0-for-1 3PT
Robinson enters his fourth season since the Clippers selected him with the No. 13 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. Summer league is becoming a potential make-or-break opportunity for Robinson's NBA future, and the young guard just isn't showing enough. He had some nice moments as a pick-and-roll operator, but needs to be the perimeter threat he was at Boston College. That hasn't happened yet.&nbsp;
Yam Madar, guard, Boston Celtics
Box Score Stats: 0 points, 1 assist, 0-for-3 FG, 0-for-1 3PT
I am a massive fan of Madar's game and buy his NBA future. But this was a sobering reminder that the 20-year-old still has a ways to go in his development. With Payton Pritchard running the offense, Madar was much less effective off the ball, and when he had it, he made some questionable decisions.
On one occasion, Madar had a sensible 12-foot floater chance, but pulled up for a jumper only to get blocked from behind. He also dished out a nice underhand pass... that should have been a lob on a two-on-one fast break. He has to know when to incorporate other moves besides the fadeaway in the mid-range, and make some smarter passing decisions.
Kenneth Faried, forward, Portland Trail Blazers
Box Score Stats: 3 points, 12 rebounds, 1 block, 1-for-4 FG&nbsp;
We've known for a decade that Faried can rebound the ball at a high level. But the veteran forward has to show something else as he fights to get back into the league, and he didn't do that on Tuesday. Faried was clumsy as a screener and poor as a finisher. His range still does not extend past the elbows, and he went just 1-for-4 on free throws. Fellow vets Emmanuel Mudiay and Michael Beasley both had nice games, making Faried's lackluster outing more incriminating.
Jay Scrubb, guard/forward, Los Angeles Clippers
Box Score Stats: 15 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 4-for-19 FG, 2-for-8 3PT
Scrubb opened up his summer-league stint with a stellar game on Monday. Tuesday night, however, the score-first forward just didn't have the touch. Scrubb missed a bunch of attempts at the rim and struggled to finish through contact despite his frame. His struggled with the three-ball as well and got caught ball-watching on defense. The 2020 second-round pick did make good decisions as a passer, though, and should inspire plenty of optimism on offense.

Several rookies logged standout performances on the third day of NBA Summer League.

5 Studs and duds from the third day of NBA Summer League

San Antonio Spurs guard Patty Mills and swimmer Cate Campbell were named Wednesday as flag bearers for the Australian Olympic team at the opening ceremony for the Tokyo Games.
Mills will become the first Indigenous Australian to carry the flag at an opening ceremony. He is also the third basketball player to be an Australian flag bearer, joining Lauren Jackson at London in 2012 and Andrew Gaze at Sydney in 2000.
&ldquo;As a proud Kokatha, Naghiralgal and Dauareb-Meriam man it&rsquo;s incredible,&rdquo; Mills said. &ldquo;A very passionate moment I can feel in my bones. As the first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flag bearer my connection between our country &mdash; the land, the sky, the sea, our culture, our history and this particular moment runs extremely deep.&rdquo;
Basketball Australia added: &ldquo;Always honoured to have you representing our country, congratulations.&rdquo;
The Tokyo Olympics begin on July 23.

“As a proud Kokatha, Naghiralgal and Dauareb-Meriam man it’s incredible,” Patty Mills said. "A very passionate moment I can feel in my bones."

Patty Mills to be first Indigenous Australian flag bearer for Olympic team

In San Antonio, iron is sharpening iron. It might not be coming in the usual form of an unprecedented playoff streak or championship gold, but it is instead manifesting itself through the development of its highly-touted young talent, as the Spurs transition from the old era to a new one.
Spearheading the evolution is a crop of late first-round draft picks from the past five years, all learning from the guiding hand of the legendary Gregg Popovich. One of those first-rounders is Derrick White, who had taken a significant jump in team responsibility before suffering a season-ending ankle injury on April 26 in Washington, D.C.&nbsp;
"I'm just staying with them. I told 'em when I got hurt that I was with 'em 'til the end,&rdquo; White told BasketballNews.com in a phone interview. &ldquo;We've still got a lot of talent on our roster, so I'm excited for these last couple games and hopefully, we finish strong and playing the right way for the play-in."
The Spurs are currently the 10th seed in the Western Conference at 31-34 with seven games left in the season and the New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings on their heels.
Prior to another untimely setback, White posted career-high averages in points (15.4), field goal attempts (12.6) and minutes (29.6) over his 36 games of action. Alongside Dejounte Murray, Lonnie Walker IV and Keldon Johnson, White is a part of a core with the onus of keeping up with an ever-progressing sport, yet upholding the tradition of a first-class franchise with a stellar reputation.
"I wouldn't say [there&rsquo;s] pressure. You just want to go out there and compete,&rdquo; White said. &ldquo;You're aware of the history and all that, but just going out there, competing, playing the game you love. San Antonio fans are great, so you want to do well for them... I mean, basketball as a whole is changing, so you kinda have to change with the times, and we're no different. So it's just exciting that this is the way that basketball is going. It's been entertaining and it's fun to play.
&ldquo;I'm just blessed to be a part of this organization. You kinda see the day-to-day, what goes into it. Just their great history, going back from '99 to where we are now. So I'm thankful to be a part of this organization and learning from Coach Pop, probably the greatest coach of all-time. So, it's been great.&rdquo;
Murray and White have a unique perspective that the others do not. They were taken under the sure-to-be Hall-of-Fame wings of Manu Ginoboli and Tony Parker, getting a firsthand look at the standard-bearers of professionalism and what it meant to be a Spur.
&ldquo;It was cool to be a part of that team and see them and just be around them and all they've done for San Antonio," White said. "And then now we've kinda got a lot of young guys and we're all trying to make a name for ourselves, so it's been a cool transition.&rdquo;
White, Murray and Johnson were all selected in the same exact draft position: No. 29 overall.
&ldquo;We're all, like, the &lsquo;29 Boys,&rsquo;&rdquo; White said with a laugh. Murray was the first to receive a contract extension. White said that once his backcourt partner signed his contract extension, Murray told him, &ldquo;You&rsquo;re next.&rdquo;
Sure enough, White inked a four-year, $73 million extension with the Spurs in December.&nbsp;
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That&rsquo;s back-to-back late first-round picks who earned deals past their rookie-scales, and their chemistry together is a big reason why. This season, according to NBA.com, the Spurs have scored 114.2 points per 100 possessions <a href="https://go.nba.com/3s26" target="_blank" rel="noopener">with White and Murray on the floor together</a>, just behind White and DeMar DeRozan as the Spurs&rsquo; top offensive duo (min. 650 minutes).&nbsp;
In the 266 minutes without either Murray or White on the floor (in games they&rsquo;ve played), San Antonio has a <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612759&amp;Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;PlayerIds=1628401,1627749&amp;OnlyCommonGames=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">net rating of negative-25.7</a>, per PBP Stats. Needless to say, they&rsquo;re kind of important to the team&rsquo;s success, which is why White feels so grateful to be considered a cornerstone with Murray.
&ldquo;He's special. He's able to do a lot of different things on the court and he's gotten better each and every year that he's played,&rdquo; White said of Murray. &ldquo;That hard work and just wanting to be great. We just get along well off the court, and it makes it easy on the court.&rdquo;
Walker and Johnson have been added to the mix over the last three seasons, and are following a similar pattern. White sees that Walker is &ldquo;uber-talented and uber-athletic,&rdquo; while observing that Johnson &ldquo;plays his tail off every two seconds.&rdquo; The drive to improve and be great makes each of these four push one another in order to become the best they can.
There&rsquo;s also another aspect of White&rsquo;s approach that's undergoing maturation: vocalizing and teaching what he's soaked in from those before him.
White appreciated how productive Ginobili was at 40 years old. When he retired and Parker exited to the Charlotte Hornets, LaMarcus Aldridge played a pivotal role in helping White&rsquo;s development and keeping his head up during his second season. Similarly, then and now, he says that DeRozan will answer any question that gets asked.
&ldquo;All the vets that we've had here have been amazing. That's kinda the thing, is there's always great people around,&rdquo; White stated.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
The way leadership works is that you instill values into the people you&rsquo;re in charge of, so that when they grow older and wiser, they can impart the wisdom onto the next generation. White learned the proper lessons; being a fourth-year pro, it&rsquo;s his turn to move up the ladder.&nbsp;
&ldquo;The front office and Pop have been on me [about] trying to be more of a leader,&rdquo; White said. &ldquo;It's something that I'm continuing to develop in. The more confidence you have, the more you're doing the right things, the more you can hold other people accountable. So it's a constant thing that I'm developing, and hopefully I just keep getting better and better at it."
White, an avowed introvert, admits it is an adjustment: "I'm pretty quiet at the start. But once I get to know people, I start talking more. (laughs)"
As White tries to blossom into a more vocal figure, his skill set can do the talking for now. Defensively, he is a thorn in everybody&rsquo;s side, sticking to his assignments, closing out hard on shooters and standing pat when the opposition tries to drive on him.
Get this: Among those playing at least 25 minutes and defending a minimum of three field goal attempts at the rim per game, there are only 14 NBA players holding opponents under 55% on those tries. White is <a href="https://go.nba.com/dxmv" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a part of that group</a>, and all but Miles Bridges and White are big men.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s not every day you see a 6-foot-4 guard averaging more rejections (1.0) than steals (0.7), either.
&ldquo;I always tell people I'm a shot-blocker,&rdquo; White quipped. &ldquo;I don't know. I'm just trying to get a stop. It's something that I've always kind of done is just be able to block shots. I just kinda have a knack for it, and I'm just trying to do whatever it takes to get some stops and get us the ball back.
&ldquo;[Strategically, my approach] depends on the matchup. There's a lot of talented guards and wing players that I've been guarding. Try to limit their touches, try to push them out of their spot. There's so many talented people in the league that they're gonna get their points. Just try to make it difficult for them."
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White&rsquo;s offensive burden has ramped up more this season, sporting a career-high 22.7% usage rate, in addition to doubling his three-point attempts to nearly seven per game.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Coach [Pop] said if I was open or anything just to let it fly and, hopefully, I can continue to get in the gym, continue to get shots and reps up, and my percentage and everything will just continue to grow as my game grows,&rdquo; White said. &ldquo;I'm pretty confident [in my shot]. I mean, it was kinda a rough offseason and then getting hurt and then COVID and everything, so it was kinda inconsistent, I feel like, 'cause I just didn't really get a lot of reps in during the offseason stuff. But just staying in and staying confident, and I think good things are starting to happen."
Though the traditional statistics don&rsquo;t jump out and he&rsquo;s missed more shots than he&rsquo;s accustomed to making, White&rsquo;s advanced numbers indicate his effect on the game. As specified by Cleaning the Glass, San Antonio&rsquo;s offensive rating dips by 4.7 with White off the floor. He&rsquo;s also incredibly careful with the basketball, as the team has a <a href="https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/4304/onoff#tab-team_efficiency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mere 11% turnover rate when he&rsquo;s on the court</a>.
Last week, Popovich expressed that White&rsquo;s season is over. It&rsquo;s been an unfortunate series of events that will hold back the 26-year-old guard from having the chance to be a part of the Spurs&rsquo; chase in the postseason play-in.
It&rsquo;s times like these when White leans on a support system that&rsquo;s been with him from the start. His mother, Colleen; his father, Richard; his sister, Brianna; his fiancee, Hannah; even his friends that he hooped with growing up -- all of these people cheer him on and keep him level-headed. White is grateful that he has them in his corner, keeping him &ldquo;boosted&rdquo; when he needs it.
Besides Russell Westbrook welcoming him to the NBA early his rookie year ("guarding Russ for the first time was pretty eye-opening. He didn't take it easy, that's for sure"), one of the favorite moments of White&rsquo;s embryonic career is when he burst onto the scene in the 2019 playoffs vs. his hometown Denver Nuggets, a series his parents witnessed up close and personal.
&ldquo;I grew up watching the Nuggets and everything, so to play them my first playoff round while really playing, it was crazy,&rdquo; said White, whose Spurs ultimately fell by four points in Game 7. &ldquo;It did a lot for my confidence, but it also showed that I had a lot of room to grow. So I was happy that I played well, but still wanted more out of it.
&ldquo;My mom and my dad went to every game in Denver, and then they were in San Antonio for Games 3 and 4. So they saw pretty much all of 'em. They were in San Antonio when I kinda blew up and scored 36, so it was cool to hang out with them after the game and just get dinner and get food with them after. It was nice to see and it was good to have them there."
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White&rsquo;s family saw his growth -- physically, mentally and professionally -- from when he was generously listed at 6-feet tall in high school, to catching eyes at Division II Colorado-Colorado Springs and, ultimately, landing at the University of Colorado for one year and being drafted by the Spurs in 2017.
&ldquo;It's kinda crazy,&rdquo; White said of his journey. &ldquo;UCCS kinda gave me a preferred walk-on, basically, and I just thought it was cool 'cause it had my major [sports management], but it actually worked out perfectly. I was able to start right away, and they kinda just gave me the keys to the whole program from like Game 5 on, so that did a lot for my development, confidence, everything. Three years there, and it was amazing. But Marcus Mason, my trainer, was like, 'I think it's time for you to go on.'&nbsp;
&ldquo;And so, I have an opportunity to transfer to CU, to the PAC-12, and compete at that level; I couldn't turn it down. So I transfer in there, redshirting and just working out for a whole year trying to get better and then, just competing that one year there, trying to make a name for myself as quickly as I could. So it was all pretty crazy. But I mean, I think everything happens for a reason, so it all works out for me."
When asked what he&rsquo;s most appreciative about regarding his unusual path to the greatest basketball league in the world, White pondered before responding.
&ldquo;I mean, just sticking with it, not giving up,&rdquo; White said. &ldquo;I could've just called it quits [and said], 'It is what it is.' But I just continued to work. Obviously, growing helped, but I worked harder than I had before and good things started happening for me."
If White's path is any indication, it&rsquo;ll take a lot more than a few bumps in the road to keep him from achieving whatever he puts his mind to.

Spencer Davies chats with Spurs guard Derrick White about the franchise's new era, what his coaches are asking of him and more.

One-on-One: Derrick White, Spurs' youth trying to make a name for themselves

The Dominican Republic is a place that is mostly known as a hotbed for talent on the baseball diamond, and not the hardwood. However, its basketball talent pedigree, although not as credible as some of the other countries in the Caribbean and Latin America, and lineage of players is still impressive.
Current NBA players such as Al Horford and Karl-Anthony Towns (whose mother was Dominican) -- and former NBA players like Francisco Garcia, Felipe Lopez and Charlie Villanueva, along with others -- are among the top talents the nation has produced. As we head into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, I recently took a deep dive into Chris Duarte of the Oregon Ducks, who will likely be the next player of Dominican descent to play in the NBA.
Hailing from Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, then attending high school in Troy, New York and junior college in Niceville, Fla., and now the University of Oregon, in Eugene, Ore., Chris Duarte has not had the typical path of most NBA prospects.
To start, Duarte originally played baseball, and more specifically was a pitcher who threw 90-mile-per-hour fastballs. Of course, being a baseball player by trade is not atypical where he's from. Duarte didn&rsquo;t actually start taking basketball seriously until he was 13 years old, as he sought to emulate his older brother, Michael, whom he noticed had taken a liking to the sport. Despite a late introduction to the game, Chris's talent was apparent even in the early stages of his development.
Once he turned his focus exclusively to hoops, Duarte spent his adolescence dominating his peers in local tournaments, eventually progressing to larger and larger stages. Fortunately for all of the basketball world, Duarte&rsquo;s family moved to New York, in large part because they sought to help cultivate his basketball skills and abilities.&nbsp;
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Duarte attended Redemption Christian Academy in Troy for his junior and senior years of high school. He helped lead Redemption to an 8-8 record his junior year and 5-7 record his senior year, while playing a fairly rigorous national schedule featuring teams like Brewster Academy and Victory Rock Prep. On the grassroots scene, Duarte competed in the Nike EYBL (Elite Youth Basketball League) with the NY Lightning. He played a feature role in his lone AAU season with the club, playing alongside mid-to-high major talents like Aundre Hyatt (LSU), Nathan Mensah (San Diego State) and Isaac Kante (Hofstra). Over 18 games, Duarte posted 9.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game in just under 23 minutes per contest.&nbsp;
Upon his graduation from Redemption Christian Academy, Duarte was selected to play in the Jordan Brand&rsquo;s New York Regional Game. Separate from the more well-known and more prestigious All-American games that most people are familiar with, the regional game still featured a bounty of high-major talents, with guys like Jordan Nwora (Louisville), Collin Gillespie (Villanova), Darryl Morsell (Maryland), and Jose Alvarado (Georgia Tech). Duarte registered 18 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists for the &ldquo;City&rdquo; team in a 170-162 loss to the &ldquo;Suburban&rdquo; team.&nbsp;
A month after the Jordan Brand game, Duarte committed to Western Kentucky and joined Rick Stansbury&rsquo;s inaugural recruiting class. He enrolled there in June 2017, but never played a minute for the Hilltoppers. (The crown jewel of that recruiting class, Mitchell Robinson, also did not suit up for WKU).
Duarte failed to qualify academically and was faced with two options: sit out a full-year and try to gain eligibility for the 2018-2019 season, or play at the junior college level, where he could hit the floor right away. Duarte opted for the latter, joining well-known JUCO powerhouse Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Fla.
At Northwest Florida, Duarte played a crucial role for head coach Steve DeMeo&rsquo;s Raiders in the 2017-18 season. Coming off the bench for all but one game, Duarte registered 12.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per contest, playing next to future Illinois Illini guard Andres Feliz. The NWF Raiders made it to the Elite Eight of the NJCAA National Championship, where they were upset by the No. 10 seed College of Southern Idaho Golden Eagles, 107-93. For his efforts on the season, Duarte was named First-Team All-Panhandle Conference.
Six games into his sophomore season, Duarte signed his letter of intent to play for the Oregon Ducks under Dana Altman. That year, Duarte was the unquestioned leader of the NWF team, starting all 33 games and leading the team in scoring at 19.3 points per game. With the help of fellow March Madness star Javion Hamlet (North Texas), the Raiders registered a 28-5 regular-season record and a No. 1 overall seed in the 2018-19 edition of the NJCAA National Championship bracket. Northwest Florida State again fell in the Elite Eight, to Ranger College (TX), 66-63. Duarte was named the NJCAA National Player of the Year and a First-Team All-American. 
&ldquo;Chris is everything a coach wants in a student-athlete," DeMeo, now an assistant coach at St. John&rsquo;s, said of Duarte on the team website. "He is a great student, great person and a very special basketball player. Chris has really set the bar high here at Northwest Florida for all of our future Raiders, and I look forward to watching him grow and develop at Oregon and even beyond college.&rdquo;
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In his first season with Oregon, Duarte immediately settled into a role as the wingman to four-year starter and All-American Payton Pritchard, who is now with the Boston Celtics. Duarte was the second leading scorer, averaging 12.9 points per game while starting all the games he appeared in for the Ducks. He registered three 20-point games on the season, including a 30-point, 11-rebound, and 8-steal eruption in a home win v.s USC.
For most of the final month of that regular season, Duarte battled through a right hand injury, and it was apparent, as his effectiveness dwindled. His points average dipped to 6.2, his field goal percentage plummeted to 30.2% and his three-point percentage slipped to 13.6%. However, his toughness and resilience remained evident consistently. He finally succumbed to his injury, undergoing surgery to repair a broken finger on his shooting hand on Feb. 27, 2020. Altman ruled him out for the Pac-12 Tournament before COVID wiped out the entirety of the NCAA postseason. The pandemic cancellation was especially hard on the Ducks, as they finished 24-7, were the regular-season conference champions and seemed poised to be a potential threat in the big dance.&nbsp;
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Duarte entered this current season with the spotlight more firmly on him, as he was the Ducks leading returning scorer. He was tasked with being the nucleus of a team, featuring four transfers in Eugene Omoruyi (Rutgers), LJ Figueroa (St. John&rsquo;s), Eric Williams Jr. (Duquesne), and Amauri Hardy (UNLV). To further complicate team chemistry, Will Richardson -- the longest-tenured Duck in the rotation -- underwent thumb surgery prior to Oregon&rsquo;s first game in December against Missouri.
Despite the challenges, Duarte was nothing short of sensational coming out of the gates, as he shouldered a massive scoring load while still excelling on the defensive end. He posted averages of 18.4 points, 2.5 steals and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 45.6% from three-point range. Oregon started the season with a 9-2 record, peaking at No. 17 in the polls in that time frame. The Duarte-led Ducks stormed through Pac-12 conference play, finishing 14-4 and narrowly capturing the regular-season conference title over USC.
Duarte finished the regular season with a strong average of 19.2 points per game, while shooting 52% from three-point range over his last five games.
&ldquo;The first time that I saw Chris Duarte was his junior year at Oregon. I thought he was a solid player. I noted that he had good size for a wing, played hard, was super competitive, and he could really shoot the ball," added Matt Babcock, BasketballNews.com's Lead NBA Draft Analyst. "My evaluation of him was certainly positive, but I can&rsquo;t say that I was overly confident that he was going to be a sure-fire NBA player.
"However, fast-forward to this season, and Duarte has played on such a high level all season long and has subsequently changed the narrative for me. I watched him play in person in early January this year, and he was incredible. From there, I watched film on him keenly, and I must say that I was left thoroughly impressed with him as a player. I expect some to be critical of his age, as he is older for a draft prospect, but I think he&rsquo;s worthy of being a first-round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, regardless of his age.&rdquo;
Granted a first-round bye in the Pac-12 Tournament for their regular season performance, the Ducks demolished Arizona State in the quarterfinals by 18 points. In the semifinal game against Oregon State, the team got a nightmarish wake-up call, as the Beavers won by 11 in a wire-to-wire victory that was never in doubt. But this would not be the last we saw of Duarte and the Ducks.
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Altman&rsquo;s squad entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 7 seed, slated to play the No. 10 seed VCU Rams in the first round. Last weekend, over a year after he missed out on his first opportunity at a March Madness debut, Duarte was set to take the biggest stage in a matchup against another NBA prospect in Na&rsquo;Shon &ldquo;Bones&rdquo; Highland. His debut, however, would be delayed another 48 hours, as the Ducks&rsquo; first-round matchup was deemed a "no contest," as a COVID breakout ensued within the Rams&rsquo; locker room. The Ducks automatically advanced to the next round of the tournament.
In the second round, the Ducks headed towards a clash with Iowa and consensus All-American Luka Garza. In that game, Duarte wasted no time in making his presence felt, as he scored 23 points and dished out 7 assists against the Hawkeyes. Oregon ultimately ran away with the game, as the team ended the first half strongly and dominated Iowa in the second half.&nbsp;
Sunday night, Chris Duarte and the Oregon Ducks face the USC Trojans, a conference foe they are very familiar with -- and the team they barely edged out for the Pac-12 regular-season title. Another interesting element of this matchup is USC's star freshman, Evan Mobley, a likely top draft pick this summer. This should be a star-studded matchup, and we'll see if Chris Duarte can continue to elevate his stock and perhaps convince the general public to join Matt Babcock in considering him as a worthy first-round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.

Grant Aqui details the unique journey of Chris Duarte to college basketball's biggest stage and blossoming into an NBA Draft prospect.

From the Dominican Republic to The Big Dance, Chris Duarte continues to climb

Kyrie Irving is missing, for lack of a better word. Players keep disappearing at random times because of COVID-19 -- the latest being Memphis Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas, who had to leave the team&rsquo;s game vs. the Brooklyn Nets during the second quarter due to the league&rsquo;s protocols.
The Philadelphia 76ers will only have eight guys available this afternoon vs. the Denver Nuggets, and other teams such as the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics are missing multiple players for COVID-related reasons as well.
There are 16 teams who are at (or within one game of) .500. The Los Angeles Lakers are clearly the best team out there, but what on Earth has happened to last season&rsquo;s top teams (like the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks)?
This is a strange NBA season. It&rsquo;s been more than a month since training camps opened, and each day there&rsquo;s a new head-scratching story.
Irving&rsquo;s whereabouts and motives remain unclear two days after he no-showed for Brooklyn&rsquo;s game against Philadelphia. The Nets are not saying much, and Irving&rsquo;s publicist, Ashley Blackwood, is not returning phone calls. After looking like world-beaters to open the season, the Nets now sit at .500 following last night&rsquo;s loss in Memphis.
Normally, beat writers would meet with players and coaches after the game to get an explanation. Then, the next day, they&rsquo;d show up at practice and get even more information. Not this season. COVID-19 protocols are keeping everyone away from one another and leading to more questions than answers. Almost every arena is empty, every journalist is communicating with players and coaches via Zoom, and basketball fans are squirreled away in their homes hoping that some sense of normalcy returns soon.
The Sixers looked excellent until they ran into the Irving-and-Durant-less Nets at Barclays Center on Thursday and laid an egg, causing Charles Barkley to ridicule them for their lack of defense. The Clippers have looked with notable exceptions: Last night vs. the Golden State Warriors and their Dec. 27 game against the Mavericks when they trailed by 50 points at halftime (setting a new NBA record).
The Lakers have been the Lakers: a 117-115 victory over the Chicago Bulls last night put them atop the Western Conference at 7-3, and if there is a legitimate threat in the West to keep them out of the NBA Finals, that team has yet to emerge. This despite Anthony Davis and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope being injured.
The guy running away with the scoring title, Bradley Beal (35.0 PPG), plays for a 2-7 team that is tied with the Detroit Pistons for the worst record in the East. This isn&rsquo;t how the Wizards envisioned their season going when they added Russell Westbrook, but the team is incredibly inconsistent and it&rsquo;s a mystery what you&rsquo;re going to get from them on any given night.
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James Harden remains in Houston, where he is tied for the league lead in assists with 11.3 per game (taking the spot from Nikola Jokic). In the assists race, Harden is tied with Westbrook, whose assist-to-turnover ratio was 8-to-7 last night against the Celtics.
Stephen Curry is making 4.6 three-pointers per night, but C.J. McCollum is outdoing him with 4.8 per night for a Portland Trail Blazers team that is third-worst in the West defensively, allowing 118 points per night. They should be better than 4-4, but Jusuf Nurkic has been ordinary after his All-Bubble performance last summer.
Jokic&rsquo;s Nuggets are 3-5, trolling the depths of the West along with the Memphis Grizzlies (who had the misfortune of losing Ja Morant) and the Minnesota Timberwolves (who are without Karl-Anthony Towns).
The Bucks are 5-4, which makes them every bit as good as the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers. The defending champions in the East, the Miami Heat, are 3-4, but at least that puts them light years ahead of the Toronto (Tampa) Raptors, who are 2-6 after dropping 144 points on the Sacramento Kings last night despite being without Kyle Lowry (personal reasons, which is the euphemism of the year).
The longest winning streak in the league belongs to the Boston Celtics, who have won four in a row and will try to make it five tonight against Miami, which will be on the second night-of a back-to-back in D.C. in which they may or may not have to face Westbrook (who has sat out back-to-backs). Westbrook has played in seven of nine games for the Wizards, who are dead last in the NBA in defense (allowing 122.9 points per game). &ldquo;We can&rsquo;t guard a parked car," Beal said, summing up Washington's rough start.
The flavor of the week from a week ago, the Atlanta Hawks, are enduring <a href="https://theathletic.com/2307304/2021/01/08/atlanta-hawks-john-collins-trae-young/">a feud</a> between Trae Young and John Collins that contributed to three-straight losses after a 4-1 start. They are a mess, as are the Clippers, who blew a 22-point second half lead last night to remind us all of what happened in last year&rsquo;s playoffs. Golden State scored 52 of the game&rsquo;s final 70 points, and Kawhi Leonard and Paul George combined for just four fourth-quarter points. Yes, you read that previous sentence correctly.
At least we have the Indiana Pacers as a feel-good story, with Myles Turner blocking shots at a crazy pace, Malcolm Brogdon emerging as the most astute social-justice voice (and playing the best basketball of his career) and Domantas Sabonis dropping a double-double every single night. Remember this name: Nate Bjorkgren. If he keeps this up, he could emerge as the favorite for the Coach of the Year award.
The season is 10 games old in many cases, so we are just getting started. Remember: The new normal is not normal. It is abnormal.
And what we are seeing in the NBA thus far this season is a reflection of that fact.

If the first 10 games are any indication, this is going to be a strange NBA season. Chris Sheridan recaps the first few weeks of action.

Babson Beavers