(Basketball news) Denver Nuggets have extended the reigning MVP Nikola Jokic’s contract for five years on a contract which makes the Serbian recipient of the largest and most expensive contract in the history of the NBA. The team signed Nikola Jokic on a five-year extension worth $264 million. His contract begins in the 2023-24 NBA season and will continue through 2027-28 when Jokic has the option where he could earn roughly $60 million. The Serbian star has undergone a meteoric rise in his seven NBA seasons with the Nuggets.

He came into the league in 2012 and became an All-Star in his fourth season and since then he has stayed at that level. He has gone on to win the MVP trophy in each of the last two seasons after averaging 26.4 points in 2020-21 and 27.1 points this past season. This season he won MVP votes that haven't exactly been close; Jokic was atop roughly 75% of the ballots cast for that award over the last two seasons. The 27-year-old is coming off one of his finest seasons and created a new category as he became the first NBA player to eclipse 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 assists in a season. Jokic also averaged 13.8 rebounds and 7.9 assists for a Denver team that was missing two stars in Jamal Murray (ACL recovery) and Michael Porter Jr. (back).

Jokic helped the Nuggets to a 48-34 record and the No. 6 seed in the West, where they eventually lost to the NBA champion Golden State Warriors in the first round. The organization has undergone extensive changes since the end of the season, with the departure of the president of basketball operations, Tim Connelly, to the Timberwolves. Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth, who orchestrated a trade that sent guards Will Barton and Monte Morris to the Wizards for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith. The team also traded away JaMychal Green and a 2027 protected first-round Draft pick to Oklahoma City for Peyton Watson and two future second-round picks. Provided everyone’s healthy, it means a starting five of Murray, Caldwell-Pope, Jokic, Aaron Gordon and Porter could well be on the cards. 

Also read: Kevin Durant requested a trade out of the Brooklyn Nets
 

(Basketball news) Kevin Durant has reportedly requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, according to Shams Charania. It was reported the Phoenix Suns are among Durant's "preferred' landing spots, while the Miami Heat were also mentioned earlier in the week as a potential trade destination. Adrian Wojnarowski also added that despite those teams being mentioned on Durant's list, the Nets "plan to move Durant where they can get the best possible deal."

The decision comes after teammate Kyrie Irving announced he would opt into the final year of his contract with the Nets, which was worth $37 million. Shams Charania also noted Irving wanted to "fulfill his four-year commitment" before being a free agent next year. According to the reports, Durant and Irving had no contact with Sean Marks who is the General manager of the Nets, after the opt-in, and there was a "sense of inevitability" that Durant would eventually ask for a trade. The superstar reportedly requested the trade directly from team governor Joe Tsai. .

Durant's contract runs till 2025-26 season after agreeing to a four-year, $194 million extension last season. Although he signed a contract extension with the Nets, there was still uncertainty about his future this offseason because of the horrendous season they had where they got thumped by the Celtics in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Irving was also potentially looking for a new home after hardly featuring for the Nets last season. Wojnarowski has reported that Irving created a list of teams for a possible sign-and-trade, with the Los Angeles Lakers named as his top destination. Durant on the other hand was monitoring the situation and "considering options with his future,"

The 33-year-old is apparently now ready to move on, which could lead to one of the biggest blockbuster trades in NBA history. Durant has 12 All-Star appearances, four scoring titles, one MVP, two NBA titles and two Finals MVP awards. He is an elite offensive weapon 15 years into his career, averaging 29.9 points per game last season, which was tied for second in the NBA scoring charts. The forward also added 7.4 rebounds and a career-high 6.4 assists per game in 2021-22 NBA season

For any team it would require a significant return to land Kevin Durant, but a trade would legitimately shake up the dynamics of the NBA next season. The former Texas star initially joined the Nets in 2019 alongside Irving, but the duo hasn’t found any success with the Nets as  many anticipated the duo to win numerous Championships. In three years, the team had just one playoff series win, while this playoffs series they were swept out of the first round by the Boston Celtics. Durant and Irving played only 17 games together in 2021-22 and 27 games in 2020-21. Durant had missed all of 2019-20 while recovering from an Achilles injury.

Also read: Kyrie decides to exercise $37 million option to stay with the Nets
 

(Basketball news) Kyrie Irving has decided to exercise his $36.9 million option in his four contract next season and will remain with the Brooklyn Nets for the time being after being linked to join the Los Angeles Lakers in a sign in trade. The seven-time All-Star averaged 27.4 points and 5.8 assists this past season for the Nets, with whom he has already spent the last three seasons. He's about to enter the final season in a four-year of his major $137 million deal with Brooklyn.

Irving had until Wednesday to inform the Nets about his decision but he ultimately opted to stay and take the money. For the time being it closes one element of the ongoing saga regarding his future, which has been one of the biggest stories as the league prepares for Free Agency on Thursday. However, he may not be a free agent but Irving could still have his contract extended before free agency begins. The Nets could still trade him and in fact, many teams might be more interested in a deal now since Irving is on an expiring contract.

He only appeared in 29 regular-season games this past season, largely because of his decision to not be vaccinated. That made him ineligible to play in Brooklyn, until he was allotted an exemption to the New York City's vaccine protocols. Irving, after the Nets were swept by Boston in the first round, said that he planned on remaining in Brooklyn. He even talked about him and Kevin Durant managing the franchise along with general manager Sean Marks and owner Joe Tsai. Marks later made it clear about Irving's future as they would have to involve discussions about being more available to the team, and he also added that he could not come to an agreement on a long-term extension that could have seen Irving paid an additional $185 million over four years.

Last season the Nets looked on track to reach their first Conference Finals before Irving sprained his ankle in Game 4 of the East semifinals against the Milwaukee Bucks, who rallied on and went on to win the series in seven games. The Nets returned this past season thinking that their title core of Irving, Durant and James Harden might go on to win the NBA Championship but it didn't work out anywhere near as planned. Irving wasn't with the team for the majority of the season and Harden ultimately got traded to Philadelphia. The Nets needed to play the play-in tournament just to make the playoffs, and Nets then got humiliated by the eventual Eastern Conference champions, Celtics.

Durant and Irving have always been close friends as they came to the Nets together in July 2019. Durant signed his extension last summer, but Irving did not. Durant is also thinking about his future at Brooklyn but with Irving back in the mix, and with Ben Simmons, who hasn’t played at all this season is now set to team up alongside Irving and Durant this coming season, Brooklyn could quickly return to contender status if these three superstars can figure out a way to play. Or else both Kevin Durnat and Kyrie Irving will hand in trade requests.

Also read: NBA: John Wall is set to join the Los Angeles Clippers

(Basketball news) The Boston Celtics took a 2-0 lead in the playoff series as they beat the Brooklyn Nets 114-107. For the Celtics, Jaylen Brown scored 22 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter as Jayson Tatum added 19 points for Boston, which held Durant without a basket in the second half. Al Horford had 16 points, Daniel Theis scored 15 and Payton Pritchard had eight of his 10 in the final period. For the Nets, Durant finished with 27 points but struggled from the field for the second straight game, shooting 4 of 17 as Irving had just 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting a day after being fined $50,000 for directing obscene gestures and profane language. Bruce Brown finished with 23 points and Seth Curry added 16. With this result the Celtics will travel to Brooklyn to face the Nets twice in the Barclays Arena.

''This was old-fashioned. old-school playoff game,'' Tatum said. ''You just have to grind it out. That's what we did... we just just stuck with it. Proud of the guys and how we kept responding all game.''

“They're doing a good job trying to cut off my scoring, limit my shot making,'' Durant said. ''It's on me to figure it out.''

''They took the lead and they never looked back in that fourth quarter,'' Irving said. ''We don't really have time to be disappointed, to hold our heads. This is part of playoff basketball.''

“I think we did that,'' Udoka said. ''We want to make him work defensively and offensively, have bodies on him the whole time and try to wear him down.''

''I think our intensity dropped a little bit in the second half. We also didn't convert,'' Nets coach Steve Nash said. ''We had opportunities, we didn't convert.''

The Chicago Bulls made a staggering comeback against the third seed Milwaukee Bucks as they beat them 114-110. For the Bulls, DeRozan scored a career playoff-high 41 points as Nikola Vucevic added 24 points and 13 rebounds, while Zach LaVine had 20 points as the sixth-seeded Bulls beat the third-seeded Bucks for just the second time in their last 19 meetings. For the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo led the scoring with 33 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists. Antetokounmpo increased his career postseason point total to 1,715 to overtake Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1,692) for the most in Bucks history as Brook Lopez had 25 points for the Bucks. Middleton scored 18 and Holiday 15. With this result the Bucks travel to Chicago for two games as the series is finally poised at 1-1.

''No matter what you did in the regular season, this is a brand new start and new mindset,'' DeRozan said. ''You could see it in all the guys. It doesn't matter if we've lost 20 times to those guys. This is an opportunity for us to compete. We've got to take advantage of it.''

''He's always been positive and he knows the type of team that we are and how resilient we are,'' Bucks guard Jrue Holiday said. ''We just want him to get back as quickly as possible and be healthy so he can come out here and help us win games.''

''We expected those guys to make a run,'' Vucevic said. ''They're a championship team for a reason. They've been there before, so we expected them to make a run.''

''I do think that playing some of these higher-level teams at the end of the year has maybe kind of hardened us, helped us grow,'' Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. ''It's helped us get better. It's helped us be able to have that kind of mentality that we've got to move on to the next play. I think at times this year when we played against good teams, when it started to go a little bit the other direction, we didn't have enough in us to get it back going in our direction.''

The Philadelphia 76ers have one step in the second round of the playoffs after their overtime 104-101 victory over the Toronto Raptors. For the Sixers, Embiid made a 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds left in overtime to give the 76ers their third straight victory as he scored 33 points and 13 rebounds. James Harden had 19 points and 10 assists before fouling out in the closing seconds of regulation as Tyrese Maxey scored 19 points and Tobias Harris had 11 points and 12 rebounds. For the Raptors, Anunoby scored 26 points, Gary Trent Jr. had a playoff-high 24, and Precious Achiuwa had 20 as Pascal Siakam and VanVleet each had 12 points. VanVleet shot 3 for 13, going 2 for 10 from 3-point range. Now the Sixers have a chance to wrap the series on Saturday in Toronto after taking a 3-0 lead in the series.

“Great play call,'' Embiid said. ''Tobias set an amazing screen, Danny threw a great pass. All I had to do was finish, and I'm glad I did.

''For him, that's a high-percentage shot, especially on that wing,'' Harris said of Embiid's decisive basket. ''We got the ball to our best player, somebody who makes plays, makes shots.''

''We've been watching his skill set all year long and how great he's been,'' Harden said. ''Tonight was no different. He did all the right things, and when it was time for him to finish the game off, he did that.''

''There's no room to look around and feel sorry for ourselves,'' VanVleet said. ''We did a lot of good things tonight, we played a lot of minutes of great basketball and we're going to have to do it again.''

Also read: NBA: Pelicans make a comeback as Heat's win against the Hawks
 

(Basketball news) The Boston Celtics won their first match 115 - 114 against the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the NBA playoffs. For the Celtics, Tatum scored 31 points, the last two on the first buzzer-beater of his career as it was Boston's first buzzer beater in the postseason since Paul Pierce in 2010 against the Heat. Brown added 23 points as Horford had 20 points and 15 rebounds, and Smart finished with 20 points, including four 3-pointers. For the Nets, Kyrie Irving finished with 39 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter as Durant added 23 points but shot just 9 of 24. With this result the Celtics take a 1-0 lead in the series as they play their next match on Wednesday.

''When he took that dribble we just kind of made eye contact. He made a great pass,'' Tatum said. ''It doesn't get any better than that. A buzzer-beater in a playoff game at home.''

I've always been told you have more time than you realise you have,'' Smart said. ''I was about to throw it to Al (Horford) off the dribble and I saw JT cut at the last minute.''

''I think that's kind of a microcosm for our season, guys moving the ball being unselfish,'' coach Ime Udoka said.

“They did a good job of forcing me away, then helping in the paint. I just got to be more fundamental in my moves,'' said Durant . ''I feel like some shots went in and out for me.''

The top seed in the Western Conference, the Phoenix Suns made easy work of the New Orleans Pelicans as they won 110-99. For the Suns, Paul scored 19 of his 30 points during a brilliant fourth-quarter scoring display as Deandre Ayton was particularly dominant on the defensive end with four blocks, and had 21 points and nine rebounds and Booker finished with 25 points. For the Pelicans, CJ McCollum led the scoring with 25 points, but struggled with his shooting much of the night as he finished 9 of 25 from the field. Valanciunas added 18 points and 25 rebounds as Brandon Ingram scored 18 points. With this result the Suns take the lead in the series as they play their second in Phoenix tomorrow.

''Classic Chris,'' Suns coach Monty Williams said.

''It's just reading the game,'' Paul said. ''We watch games all day, every day. We got to watch all the games yesterday. We watched the games today. We know in the playoffs, teams aren't going to lay down.''

''That man's a true competitor, a true winner,'' Suns guard Devin Booker said. ''He wants it that bad. You can see it in his demeanour, you can see it in his walk. It shouldn't surprise anybody. He's built for these moments.''

''We figured out a way to play,'' Pelicans forward Larry Nance Jr. said. ''This is the playoffs and there are going to be ebbs and flows, ups and downs. We are in a chess match now.''
The Milwaukee Bucks started their title defence in emphatic fashion as they won 93-86 against the Chicago Bulls. For the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 27 points and 16 rebounds as Brook Lopez scored 18 points, Holiday had 15, Khris Middleton had 11 and Bobby Portis added 10. Portis also had 12 rebounds. For the Bulls, DeMar DeRozan scored 18 points but shot 6 of 25 as Vucevic had 24 points and 17 rebounds but shot 9 of 27. LaVine had 18 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 6 of 19. With this result the Bucks took a 1-0 lead in the series as they both will face each other on Wednesday in Milwaukee.

''We've got to win the ugly games,'' said Jrue Holiday, whose 3-pointer with 5:03 left put the Bucks ahead for good. ''I feel like today was ugly. It was a battle and it was tough, but it was an ugly one.''

''I thought it was a good shot,'' LaVine said. ''We were down three. I got a really clean look.''

''Every shot I took tonight felt good,'' said DeMar DeRozan, ''I guarantee you that me, Zach and Vooch (Nikola Vucevic) aren't going to miss that many shots again.''

''The whole team was kind of out of rhythm,'' said Antetokounmpo, who didn't score in the fourth quarter while dealing with foul trouble. ''We weren't able to find one another as easy as we usually find one another and make shots. We missed a bunch of open shots today. Usually we make those and we get energy.''

Also read: NBA: Hawks and Pelicans make the final playoff berth
 

(Basketball news) The Brooklyn Nets qualified for the playoffs after they beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the play-in tournament 115-108. For the Nets, Kyrie Irving had 34 points and 12 assists, Kevin Durant added 25 points and 11 assists, and the Nets took the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference. For the Cavs, Darius Garland scored 34 points as Rookie Evan Mobley scored 19 points and Love had 14 points and 13 rebounds.The Cavaliers remained without All-Star center Jarrett Allen because of a broken finger. After this victory the Nets face a monumental task against in form Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA playoffs. The Cavs get one more chance to secure a playoff position when they face the winners of Hawks vs Hornets on 15th April.

''I know that team very well and they know us very well and it'll be a back and forth,'' said Irving, a former Celtics guard, ''and once you throw that ball in the air, you're going to really see some spectacular basketball.''

“You can't give a team like Brooklyn that has championship aspirations and players who have won championships a 22-point lead,'' Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. ''Again, give our guys credit for getting back in it. But that's damn near impossible to overcome.''

''I always say about Kyrie in a March Madness, one-game type of situation, he's a tough guy to bet against,'' former Cavs teammate Kevin Love said. ''Again, seen this movie before but still - I think that there's just times where he comes out and plays out of his mind and that's why he's a future Hall of Famer. So you just kind of have to tip your hat to him. He hit some really tough, contested shots today.''

The Minnesota Timberwolves also secured the 7th spot in the Western conference and qualified for the playoffs after beating the La Clippers 109-104. For the Timberwolves, Edwards and Russell combined for 59 points as both came through with a steady stream of clutch plays. Edwards scored 30 points with five 3-pointers and Russell had 29 points and six assists to send the Wolves to the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference and a first-round matchup with Memphis. For the Clippers, Paul George finished with 34 points after shooting 2 for 10 in the first half as Reggie Jackson scored 17 points and Norman Powell finished with 16 points. The Clippers have a second chance to make the playoffs with a home game on Friday for the No. 8 seed against either New Orleans or San Antonio. 

''The game had to go in a different direction,'' coach Chris Finch said. ''That's why you have a team, because a lot of other people step up.''

''Just utilizing what we have,'' Russell said. ''We've got a lot of pieces that complement each other.''

''I took what the game gave me. That's what they gave me. They were scared to guard me, and I took advantage of that,'' Edwards said.
''I'm one of the best defensive guys on earth, and no one can guard him,'' said Beverley, who was in tears during the spirited celebration afterward as Edwards hopped up on the scorer's table.’’

''They played a lot better without KAT on the floor,'' Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. ''They got into us defensively. They switched on a lot more stuff. I just didn't think we made the right plays.''

Also read: The regular season is over as Bulls secured the last playoff berth

The other matches in the play-in tournament are:

• Hawks vs Hornets
• Spurs vs Pelicans
   

(Basketball news) The Milwaukee Bucks edged out the Brooklyn Nets as they beat them 120-119 in overtime. For the Bucks, Antetokounmpo had 44 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. Jrue Holiday added 19 points and Khris Middleton had 16 before being ejected as Giannis became the all time leading scorer for the Bucks. For the Nets, Kevin Durant had 26 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds but missed a 3-pointer that would have won it. Kyrie Irving scored 25 points and Bruce Brown had 23. With this result the Bucks moved up to 2nd in the Eastern Conference table as they are only one victory away from getting the top spot in the standings, their current record stands at 48-28.

''When I'm done we can talk about it, but now there's no time,'' Antetokoumpo said, looking ahead to Friday's game against the Clippers. ''There's things that have to be done.''

''We just fight, compete, compete and know that obviously it helps to have that big fellow on your team that can literally break a game open for you and make plays,'' Bucks swingman Wesley Matthews said.

''It was just one of those games that got funky at the end, but we've just got to finish it out in regulation,'' Irving said.

''I'm not averse to seeing how they're doing and where they're at, but it's not something that I'm, like I said the other day, refreshing my feed daily,'' Nash said.

''I think it's in a good place,'' Budenholzer said. ''I don't think it's anything that we're concerned about, but there's a daily attention and effort that it takes from the sports performance team and him and what he does to be his best. It's impressive.''

The Los Angeles Lakers lost their fifth straight match and dropped down to 11th in the standings meaning that they are out of the play in positions also as they lost 122-109 against the Utah Jazz. For the Jazz, Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points and Rudy Gobert had 25 points and 17 rebounds as Jordan Clarkson scored 19 points, Mike Conley added 18 and Bojan Bogdanovic 11 in his return from injury. For the Lakers, Russell Westbrook scored 24 points and Dwight Howard had 21 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who were without LeBron James (ankle sprain) and Anthony Davis (foot sprain). With this result the Utah Jazz improved their record to 46-31 and stayed in 5th in the Western Conference standings.

''It was huge to get a win,'' Mitchell said. ''The negativity and the losses and all that pressure was more external, but it was not an ideal time to have a five-game losing streak. So it's nice to celebrate this one tonight.''

''We were finding guys, making the right reads, getting switches, being able to break down the defense, get in the paint and make the extra pass,'' Mitchell said of the Jazz offense returning to its efficient ways with 51 percent shooting and only eight turnovers.
''I know how important these games are down the stretch. I just wanted to get my body and my mind prepared for tonight. Felt really good out there. Just a little bit hurt about not winning the game,'' Howard said.

''For me, personally, it's a big adjustment. You don't know who's playing and who's out. Who's starting and who's not. Something I'm not accustomed to. But like I said, I make no excuses. I own whatever it is, play whoever is playing and try to make the best out of it,'' Westbrook said.

''I really like the way we were able to re-focus together and reconnect. We did a good job closing . and that's big for us,'' Gobert said.

Also read: NBA: Phoenix Suns beat the Warriors and the Heat also win

The other results were:

• Pistons 102 - 94 76ers
• Hawks 131 - 107 Cavs
• Bulls 135 - 130 Clippers

Tomorrow’s fixtures are:

• Wizards vs Mavericks
• Magic vs Raptors
• Celtics vs Pacers
• Thunder vs Pistons
• Rockets vs Kings
• Grizzlies vs Suns
• Bucks vs Clippers
• Spurs vs Trail Blazers
• Nuggets vs Timberwolves
• Lakers vs Pelicans
• 76ers vs Hornets
• Knicks vs Cavs
   

(Basketball news) Brooklyn Nets went back to winning ways after they won 130-123 against the Detroit Pistons. For the Nets, Kevin Durant scored 41 points he connected on 14 of 23 shots, 4 of 6 from 3-point range and all nine of his foul shots while adding 11 rebounds, five assists and three blocks as Kyrie Irving added 24 points in his second home appearance since New York exempted the vaccine rule and Drummond added 14 points and 13 rebounds. For the Pistons, Cade Cunningham led the scoring with 34 points. Isaiah Stewart and Saddiq Bey each had 15. With this result the Nets improved their record to 40-36 and are currently 8th in the Eastern Conference standings.

''I want to get better shots sometimes, but like a couple of them are like, `I'm hot, let me risk it,''' Durant said. ''I was just trying to get the best shots that I could. Sometimes it might be over a guy in the lane, but I feel like that's open and I have to keep knocking them down.''

''We can't hang our hat on the second half, we have to play a complete game,'' Drummond said. ''It's never going to be easy to make that turn against great teams. Not that the Pistons aren't a great team. They played a great game, but we just turned it up in the second half.''

''We're going to have to make our staple as a team on the defensive end, because if we're going back and forth in a shooting contest, obviously we'll still be in the game but can lead to mistakes on our end,'' Irving said.

''I know their record isn't good, but they still have pros over there,'' Durant added. ''They still made shots early and gained confidence as a team. This was a good test for us.''

The Dallas Mavericks are close to securing a playoff place after a 128-110 victory over the struggling Lakers. For the Mavericks, Luka Doncic scored 34 points in a triple-double as he finished with 12 rebounds and 12 assists and Reggie Bullock scored 17 points as he was 5 of 8 from 3. For the Lakers, Malik Monk scored 28 points and Russell Westbrook had 25 which dropped to their third straight defeat for their fifth losing streak this season as they steadily slid away from .500. With this result the Mavericks have virtually secured a place in the NBA playoffs as their current record stands at 47-29 and are just one victory away from overtaking the Warriors in third place in the Western Conference standings.  

''With those guys out, we're at a talent deficit, so the focus and execution has to make up for it,'' Vogel said. ''This is just the latest dose of adversity that this year's team has faced. When you lose 'Bron, OK, you have to adjust yet again throughout a season of setbacks.''

''We respect who they are,'' Dallas coach Jason Kidd. ''They're dangerous. (Monk) played well. Russ played well. We took care of business from the start. I think those guys set the tone. Three great quarters of basketball.''

Also read: NBA: Boston Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies are emerging as dark horse

The other results were:

• Wizards 94 - 107 Bulls
• 76ers 116 - 118 Bucks
• Clippers 121 - 115 Jazz

Tomorrow’s matches are:

• Pacers vs Nuggets
• Cavs vs Mavericks
• Wizards vs Magic
• Raptors vs Timberwolves
• Celtics vs Heat
• Knicks vs Hornets
• Rockets vs Kings
• Thunder vs Hawks
• Spurs vs Grizzlies
• Warriors vs Suns
• Trail Blazers vs Pelicans
   

(Basketball news) The Dallas Mavericks produced a clinical performance to beat the Brooklyn Nets 113-111. For the Mavericks, Doncic finished with 37 points, nine rebounds and nine assists as Dinwiddie scored 22 points, 15 in the fourth quarter, made a 3-pointer at the buzzer against his former team, to lead their eighth win in nine games. For the Nets, Durant had 23 points, 10 assists and six rebounds, but Brooklyn had its four-game winning streak snapped. Goran Dragic scored a season-high 21 points and Bruce Brown had 17. Andre Drummond had 14 points and 17 rebounds.With this result the Mavericks improved their record to  43-26 as they are currently 5th in the Western Conference standings.

''It's like sticking it to your cousin versus, like, being vengeful for an enemy,'' Dinwiddie said

''When you watch that last play, just regret, wondering what the game would have been like if I didn't go jump Luka right there, you know what I'm saying?'' Durant said. ''So in hindsight I wish I would have made a different decision, but it is what it is.''

The Lakers continued their struggles as they lost to the in-form Minnesota Timberwolves 124-104. For the Wolves, Karl-Anthony Towns scored 16 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and Anthony Edwards had 20 of his 27 points in the second quarter to lead the early surge for them. For the Lakers, LeBron James, playing through knee soreness, had just 19 points on 8-for-21 shooting as Carmelo Anthony had 16 points. The Lakers fell a season-worst 11 games under the .500 mark at 29-40. James has not played on a team that far below even since his rookie year, when Cleveland finished the 2003-04 season at 35-47. With this result the Timberwolves improved their record to 41-30 as they are just a win away from overtaking the Nuggets in 6th in the Western Conference table. 

''We need that right now, a check underneath the hood, if you will,'' coach Chris Finch said

''We made the game competitive. We can't do that. We can't play with our food out there,'' said Towns, who had 13 of Minnesota's 51 rebounds.

''It's easy to be comfortable when you're winning. I've never been that guy. It's all about, `How comfortable can you be when things become uncomfortable?' I'm OK with that, too,'' James said. ''It's just testing my patience more than any season in the last few years, just because of the way we're playing.''

''When you're up, everything's going great. When you're down, they'll kick you,'' Lakers guard Wayne Ellington said. ''So right now, we're being kicked.'

'Nobody over there has done anything in this league that makes me put my eyes up like, `Oh, they're talking to me. Let me respond,''' Westbrook said. ''No, that's fine. They're good. They won a game. Happy for them. Move on to the next one.''

Also read: Kyrie drops 60 against the Magic while Suns continue their winning run

The other game results were:

• Cavs 114 - 118 76ers
• Wizards 109 - 127 Nuggets
• Hornets 116 - 106 Hawks
• Knicks 128 - 98 Trail Blazers
• Rockets 112 - 129 Suns
• Spurs 122 - 120 Thunder
• Jazz 125 - 110 Bulls
• Kings 126 - 135 Bucks
• Warriors 88 - 110 Celtics
• Clippers 100 - 103 Raptors
   

(Basketball news) The Brooklyn Nets are back to their winning ways thanks to Kyrie Iriving who dropped 60 points to lead them to a blowout 150-110 victory over the Orlando Magic. For the Nets, Irving scored a career-high 60 points, most in the Nets' NBA history as he shot 20 for 31, including 8 of 12 on 3-pointers, in 35 minutes. He made 12 of 13 free throws in matching the highest-scoring game in the NBA this season. Irving also scored 41 points in the first half which was the most in the first two quarters since Kobe Bryant had 42 against Washington on March 28, 2003 as Durant added 19 points in the Nets' fourth straight win. For the Magic, Cole Anthony had 19 points and seven assists and Wendall Carter finished with 18 points. With this result the Nets improved their record to 36-33 and sit in 8th in the Eastern Conference standings.

''It just shows you we're on our way to history,'' Irving said.

'The night after Karl Towns had an incredible performance, and then to have Kyrie do it the next night, the league is in an amazing place right now,'' teammate Kevin Durant said. ''We're seeing a lot of talent displayed every night, and this was one of the elite ones.''

''It was just about the team really, just getting in the flow,'' Kyrie said. ''That's the true purity of this game, doing it efficiently on both ends of the floor and coming out with a W.''

''A few shots I probably shouldn't have taken. Tough ones, with double-teams and triple-teams coming,'' he added. ''But as long as I can do it with a smile on my face and my teammates weren't too angry with me, it was worthwhile.''

''There's times he's shooting over two people,'' said Magic coach Jamahl Mosley. ''You try to double-team him, he's smart enough to know when to go and when not to go. He's fast in transition so you can't speed up and try to deny him. They're setting backscreens. He's crafty enough and he's seen every coverage and he knows how to play with a pace. That makes it hard.''

The Phoenix Suns continued their golden form as they beat the New Orleans Pelicans 130-115. For the Suns, Booker capped his 27-point performance with six points in a 33-second span at the end of the third quarter which was crucial in the end for the victory, Deandre Ayton added 18 points and Mikal Bridges went 4 of 5 from deep and scored 20 for them. For the Pelicans, Herb Jones scored 22 as CJ McCollum returned from a two-game absence and scored 21 points,  Jonas Valanciunas added 17 points and 12 rebounds. With this result the Suns extended their record to 55-14 and sit comfortably on top of the Western Conference table.

''It's demoralizing because you're right there, you're looking to get over the hump and then he comes down and hits a couple shots like that,'' Pelicans coach Willie Green said.

''More important than making the shot with 33 seconds left was making sure you're taking the shot with 33 seconds, playing the possession game,'' Booker said, alluding to the NBA's 24-second shot clock. ''We've just been stressing on finishing quarters the right way.''

'When they don't miss a shot, it's pretty hard,'' Pelicans forward Jaxson Hayes said. ''They're just hard to match up with.''

We just come together, man. It's fun to be a part of,'' Booker said. ''Just everybody vs. us, just taking that approach to it, just enjoying the road games, just enjoying being the bearer of bad news coming through here. It's something I think that we definitely own.''

Also read: NBA: Lakers lose two in row as the Warriors are back to winning ways

The other results were:

• Pacers 102 - 135 Grizzlies
• Heat 105 - 98 Pistons

Tomorrow’s fixtures are:

• Cavs vs 76ers
• Wizards vs Nuggets
• Hornets vs Hawks
• Nets vs Mavericks
• Knicks vs Trail Blazers
• Timberwolves vs Lakers
• Spurs vs Thunder'
• Jazz vs Bulls
• Kings vs Bucks
• Warriors vs Celtics
• Clippers vs Raptors
   

(Basketball news) The Brooklyn Nets defeated Philadelphia 76ers 129-100 in the first meeting between the two sides since James Harden moved to the 76ers for Seth Curry and Ben Simmons in February. However, Harden didn’t have a particularly enjoyable game as he only managed 11 points against his former team while Kevin Durant scored 25 points and Kyrie Irving added 24.

Despite being unable to guide the 76ers to victory, Harden overtook Reggie Miller into third on the all-time three-pointers list with 2,563. Stephen Curry leads with 3,107. As for the Brooklyn Nets, Seth Curry scored 22 points while three time All-Star Simmons is still recuperating from his injury and is yet to represent the 76ers.

Meanwhile, Stephen Curry reached a milestone of 20,000 career points as Golden State Warriors defeated Denver Nuggets 113-102. Curry scored a game high 34 points and became the 49th player to reach this milestone. "Any accomplishment you do, whether it's individual or a team, is special," said Curry. "You work every day to keep getting better. Hopefully a lot more to come. It's pretty special for sure."

Also read: Why are the Lakers and the Nets struggling this season?

(Basketball News) The Lakers and Nets are both having terrible seasons considering the wealth of talent they have in their team but they have no team chemistry. With LeBron James at the helm and a wealth of experience to rely on, the Lakers still look confident that they won’t fall out of the play-in game even as they slide down the standings.

LeBron’s confidence may be unwavering, but it’s hard to believe that the Lakers will actually qualify for the play off in the tournament, especially after their recent performance of late. It already seems like a long shot by head coach Frank Vogel to play in the play-in game, the Lakers are coming out of the gate by losing four straight games which has opened up the possibility that the team could fall out of the standings and plummet out of the play-in game entirely. 

The main reason for their downfall this season has been the failed trade of Russell Westbrook, who hasn’t gelled into the team at all. Westbrook is a top class player but one thing in his game which goes against him is that all the team's offence must go through him but with LeBron in the team that is not possible. Frank Vogel, who's a good coach, hasn't really figured out how these two legendary players can play together. On top of that Anthony Davis hasn’t really got going this season, the little glimpses he has shown, he's gone down injured. All in all, the Lakers need to figure out something before the end of the season because there are going to be some major changes next season.

For the Nets, the season began with controversy with Kyrie Iriving refusing to get vaccinated as that really impacted their pre-season. Even after the controversy, Kevin Durant was single handedly leading the Nets to the top spot of the Eastern Conference but everything went downhill when Durant suffered an injury and since then they have lost 12 games in a row. To make matters worse their third star James Harden officially requested for a trade as he went to the 76ers and Ben Simmons moved the opposite direction. I would say that the Nets still have a chance to make the playoffs once Kevin Durant comes back from injury and only time will tell us if Ben Simmons is a good fit for the Brooklyn Nets.

Today's results were:

• 76ers 125 - 114 Cavs
• Pistons 111 - 106 Pacers
• Wizards 114 - 117 Hawks
• Raptors 97 - 103 Magic
• Bulls 112 - 118 Bucks
• Thunder 101 - 138 Timberwolves
• Pelicans 124 - 90 Jazz
• Nuggets 116 - 101 Rockets
• Suns 115 - 114 Knicks

Also read: NBA: Lakers continue their losing streak, Mavericks beat the Warriors

Tomorrow’s fixtures are:

• Mavericks vs Kings
• Hornets vs Spurs
• Timberwolves vs Trail Blazers
• Grizzlies vs Magic
• Heat vs 76ers
• Lakers vs Warriors
• Celtics vs Nets
   

(Basketball news) The NBA All Star week is all set to kick off as Team LeBron take on Team Durant in Cleveland. Like every year the NBA All-Star Weekend will bring fun, frolic as well as new and exciting game events that will enthrall every spectator all over the world. There will be some for Indian fans to cheer for as Ranveer Singh will participate in the celebrity All Star game also. 

Team LeBron:

LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Darius Garland, Chris Paul, Jimmy Butler, Donovan Mitchell, Fred VanVleet, James Harden

Team Durant:

Joel Embiid, Ja Morant, Jayson Tatum, Trae Young, Andrew Wiggins, Devin Booker, Karl-Anthony Towns, Zach LaVine, DeJounte Murray, Khris Middleton, LaMelo Ball, Rudy Gobert

The 71st NBA All-Star Game is all set to be the star attraction of the NBA All-Star event will be this iconic encounter between Team Durant vs Team Lebron which will take place on the 20th February. The all star game is unlike a traditional game of basketball as the rules of this game will be a bit different. The winning team will have to hit the target score to achieve as there will be no time limit assigned. The target score is assigned on the basis of the team’s performance and also scoring based on the first three-quarters of the game. This system was brought into play in the 2020 season after a lot of criticism was received for the All Star games not being competitive.

Another star attraction every year in the All Star week is the dunk contest as this year Cole Anthony, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Obi Toppin and Jalen Green will compete in the competition. The Dunk contest consists of four competitors who take part in this Slam Dunk contest. Each individual gets the chance of two dunks for the first round as the top two players in terms of with the most points after two dunks move on. Then in the final two finalists will get two dunk each, and ultimately the player with the highest combined dunk score in the final will be adjudged as the winner but the competition continues even if the scores are levelled as a winner is mandatory.

The NBA three point contest also takes place as this year CJ McCollum, Trae Young, Zach LaVine, Desmond Bane, Karl-Anthony Towns, Fred VanVleet, Luke Kennard and Patty Mills will participate. This special event is an individual event. Each player will get the chance to score a maximum of 40 points. In the allotted 70 seconds, a player will have to shoot that 27 balls. The aggregate highest of the three scorers of the rounds will then move ahead into the championship round. Finally, the highest scorer of this round will be judged as the winner of this competition.

Also read: Fans vote for the 2022 NBA All-Star game starters

(Basketball news) The Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Miluwakee Bucks 131-116 as Ginnias produced a world class performance. For the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 44 points on 17-for-20 shooting and Bobby Portis had 23 points with five 3-pointers as Khris Middleton scored all of his 21 points in the first half. For the Lakers, LeBron James scored 27 points and Anthony Davis had 22 points and nine rebounds, Malik Monk scored 20 points and Stanley Johnson added a season-high 16 for the Lakers in a reserve role. LA lost five of seven to fall back to three games below .500. With this result the Bucks moved up to second in the Eastern Conference table as they improved their record to 35-21.

''He made it look easy, honestly,'' Middleton said. ''That just shows the level of how he's playing. He was knocking down his jump shot. He's got guys going for his pump fake. Just the way he let the game come to him and stay patient, it was pretty fun to watch.''

''Obviously when you make shots, the game is a lot easier, looks a lot better,'' Antetokounmpo said. ''I know I'm going to try to get my teammates involved and look for the best way to help the team, but sometimes when you start making shots, you feel better about yourself, you defend better. Today was one of those games.''

''We played a terrible defensive half,'' Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. ''Disposition, competition, the level of competitive spirit we showed for a big game was very disappointing. Two straight games we started with a terrible defensive half. We've gotta get that right.''

The Nets suffered their ninth successive loss as they lost 126-91 against the Boston Celtics. For the Celtics, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart each scored 22 points, Jayson Tatum scored 19 and Robert Williams had 12 points and 11 rebounds as the Celtics continued their strong stretch and moved past the Nets into seventh place in the Eastern Conference. For the Nets, Jevon Carter scored 21 points on seven 3-pointers and Cam Thomas scored 17 points. The Nets are considered the favorites to win the East, but since Kevin Durant’s injury they have lost 10 of 12 in the middle of January. 

''I don't know how often or if we've ever been so good to start like that before but it felt good,'' Brown said. ''We knew some of those guys were out. We wanted to just take care of business early. We didn't want to play around and give them confidence and let them linger into the game.''

''Frankly, that's a really good starting five that's playing really good basketball playing against a reserve lineup, so we're asking them to match a high, high-quality NBA starting five,'' Nets coach Steve Nash said.

''Honestly, I think we'll be exactly the same. I think the chances of trades or deals happening before the deadline are so slim, especially for our group,'' Nash said. ''So my mind and attention is on this group and putting this thing together as guys become healthy again and trying to build it for the stretch run.''

Also read: Phoenix Suns in unbeatable form while Warriors win 9th straight game

The other results were:

• 76ers 109 - 114 Suns
• Hawks 133 - 112 Pacers
• Grizzlies 135 - 109 Clippers
• Pelicans 110 - 97 Rockets
• Mavericks 116 - 86 Pistons
• Nuggets 132 - 115 Knicks
• Kings 114 - 134 Timberwolves
• Trail Blazers 95 - 113 Magic

Tomorrow’s fixtures are:

• Cavs vs Spurs
• Hornets vs Bulls
• Thunder vs Raptors
• Jazz vs Warriors
• Kings vs Timberwolves
• Trail Blazers vs Lakers
   

(Basketball news) The Golden State Warriors continued their fine form this season as they beat the Houston Rocket 122-108. For the Warriors, Steph Curry scored 21 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Golden State Warriors as Andrew Wiggins added 23 points for the Warriors and Klay Thompson had 14. For the Rockets, Christian Wood had 24 points and 13 rebounds as he had a great first half, piling up 17 points, but cooled down after the break as Kevin Porter Jr had 17 points. With this result the Warriors maintained their second place in the Western Conference table with an improved record of 38-13.

''It's the gift and the curse of the bar that you've set,'' he said. ''You get all the praise when things are going well and obviously it's something to talk about when I don't meet that level. It's not so much the commentary, because when I walk off the court I'm the first one to judge the way that I played,'' he continued. ''And I understand when I don't meet that level and try to deal with the frustration when that happens over a consistent period of time.'' said Curry.

''We've seen Steph do that a million times,'' coach Steve Kerr said. ''It was bound to happen even though it's been a couple of weeks or whatever. Not surprising but fun to see ... him shake free and have a game like he did.''

''I told him after the game that I'm tired of seeing him,'' Rockets coach Stephen Silas said of his postgame chat with Curry. ''I don't want to see him anymore.''

''There's been very, very few times I haven't felt like we played hard and very, very few times where I felt like we haven't had a fight,'' he said. ''Our character and our grit show up pretty much every night.''

The Philadelphia 76ers continued their fine run of form with a 122-119 victory in overtime against the Memphis Grizzlies. For the Sixers, Tyrese Maxey scored 33 points Tobias Harris added 31 points and Andre Drummond had 16 points and 23 rebounds for Philadelphia, which won its fifth game in a row and 15th in the last 18. The 76ers improved to 4-8 without Embiid, who sat out for rest. For the Grizzlies, Ja Morant scored 37 points and Desmond Bane had a career-high 34. Embiid rested after a scintillating streak of 21 straight games played in which he raised his MVP profile. The 76ers big man averaged 33.1 points during the stretch to up his season scoring average to 29.1 points per game, which ranked second in the league behind Kevin Durant's 29.3 points entering Monday. Ja Morant reached 30 points for the seventh straight game. With this game the 76ers leapfrogged the Cavs in the 3rd place in the Eastern Conference table with an improved record of 31-19.

''Just great effort from everybody,'' Harris said. ''We wanted this one.''

''I love big games,'' Bane said. ''They played well. We played well and fought. As long as we're fighting and playing together, I'll live with the result every night.''

'They like to punk teams and they have punked a lot of teams in this league,'' Harris said. ''We weren't going to let that happen tonight.''

''If there's anybody you want to be mad at, it can be me,'' Morant said. ''If I made free throws, we probably wouldn't have even gone into overtime.''

'He's a great athlete, he's able to make spectacular plays, but at the end of the day it's still two points,'' Drummond said. ''You have to take your hat off to him, but we won the game.''

Also read: NBA: Lakers lose back to back games and Warriors win over the Nets

The other results were:

• Cavaliers 93 - 90 Pelicans
• Pacers 122 - 116 Clippers
• Knicks 116 - 96 Kings
• Celtics 122 - 92 Heat
• Hawks 100 - 106 Raptors
• Thunder 98 - 81 Trail Blazers

Tomorrow’s fixtures are:

• Pistons vs Pelicans
• Bucks vs Wizards
• Raptors vs Heat
• Timberwolves vs Nuggets
• Bulls vs Magic
• Spurs vs Warriors
• Suns vs Nets

(Basketball news) Los Angeles suffered their third successive loss and two in two days against the Atlanta Hawks 129-121. For the Hawks, Trae Young had 36 points and 12 assists, and the Hawks earned their seventh straight win, as Onyeka Okongwu scored 12 of his 16 points in the final period and John Collins further added 20 points in the match. For the Lakers, Malik Monk led Los Angeles with 33 points in the Lakers' third consecutive loss without LeBron James in all those fixtures, Davis helped power the Lakers' strong start with 18 first-half points for 27 points. The Lakers scored a season-high 71 points in the first half while making 71.4% of their shots from the field, but they couldn't continue the hot shooting in the second half. With this result the Lakers (24-27), who were ninth in the Western Conference, fell a season-low three games below .500.

''If our mindset is right we get stops on the defensive end ... I think we have a good chance of winning any night,'' Young said.

''We're not in the position we want to be right now but that's OK,'' said Russell Westbrook, who had 20 points and 12 assists. ''We know what we need to do as a team. Just find a way to get over the hump and close games out.''

''He was doing a good job of keeping his body between (Davis) and the basket,'' Hawks coach Nate McMillan said. ''I decided to just stay with him and finish the game.''

''We were close but just have fallen short in the last couple,'' Vogel said. ''We played well in the last two games. We fell short in the end. We've just got to get home and put this trip behind us ... and get ready for the next game, whether LeBron is in or out.''

The Warriors won an exciting encounter 110-106 against the Brooklyn Nets who weren’t quite at full strength as they were missing the likes of Kevin Durant and James Harden. For the Warriors, Thompson finished with 16 points, Steph Curry scored 19 points, Andrew Wiggins contributed 24 points and eight rebounds and Jordan Poole added 17 points and six assists off the bench. For the Nets, Patty Mills finished with 24 points and Kyrie Irving scored 32 points. Thompson hit the biggest shot yet of his 2 1/2-year injury comeback, smoothly sinking a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left to send the Golden State Warriors to a much needed victory at the Chase center. With this result, the Warriors remained second in the Western Conference table with an improved record of 37-13.

''It felt amazing, it really did. I missed that feeling,'' Thompson said. ''It felt absolutely amazing.''

'It's important for Klay to feel those big moments. It's been 2 1/2 years,'' coach Steve Kerr said.

''I think I'm figuring out how to play well with these guys and vice versa,'' Thompson said. ''It's hard to simulate that when you're on the sideline watching.''

''It's great having him back. We've had so many injuries and interruptions this year, availability issues, to add a player of his caliber, even if it's just on the road, has been much needed and has been great for our group,'' Nash said. ''Fortunately, the reality of the last 18 months for us is that we've never had an extended run of health. So to have a player that plays on the road and at home is not that different than what we face week to week anyway.''

Also read: Fans vote for the 2022 NBA All-Star game starters

The other results were:

• Bulls 130 - 116 Trail Blazers
• Pistons 115 - 105 Cavaliers
• Bucks 100 - 136 Nuggets
• Magic 110 - 108 Mavericks
• Timberwolves 126 - 106 Jazz
• Suns 115 - 110 Spurs 

Tomorrow’s fixtures are:

• Cavaliers vs Pelicans
• Pacers vs Clippers
• 76ers vs Grizzlies
• Knicks vs Kings
• Celtics vs Heat
• Hawks vs Raptors 
• Rockets vs Warriors
• Thunder vs Trail Blazers

(Basketball news) The NBA All Star is just around the corner and the fans have voted LeBron James as the captain of the Western Conference and Kevin Durant as the Eastern Conference captain. James and Durant, as the leading vote-getters in each conference, will be the captains who draft players for the rosters for the Feb. 20 game in Cleveland. LeBron James began his NBA career with the Cavaliers in 2003 and led them to the 2016 championship during his second stint there and was subsequently chosen as an All-Star for the 18th straight time. He has also been a captain every year since the league went away from the East vs. West format. As for Durant’s availability for the game is in doubt because of a sprained knee ligament. He was voted a starter for the 10th time.

2022 NBA All-Star: Eastern Conference starters

Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets)
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)
Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers)
Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks)
DeMar DeRozan (Chicago Bulls)

2022 NBA All-Star: Western Conference starters

LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers)
Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets)
Andrew Wiggins (Golden State Warriors)
Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors)
Ja Morant (Memphis Grizzlies)

As for the rest of the players, fan ballots will account for 50% of the vote, with a media panel and current players each accounting for 25%. As for first timers Ja Morant, the No. 2 pick behind Zion Williamson in the 2019 draft, was rewarded for elevating Memphis to a surprising third in the Western Conference. Averaging 25.8 points, 6.9 assists and 5.9 rebounds, he joins Marc Gasol as the only Grizzlies players voted All-Star starters. Wiggins was the most surprising selection. The No. 1 pick of the 2014 draft has blossomed since being traded to Golden State two years ago and is averaging 18.1 points this season for the Warriors who have the league’s second-best record.

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry makes his 8th appearance for the Western Conference, while reigning Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo makes his 6th appearance representing the Milwaukee Bucks’ for the Eastern Conference.Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young returns to the All-Star game in 2022 after making his first appearance in 2020. Chicago Bulls guard DeMar DeRozan has been rewarded for his amazing  season he's having as an All-Star starter, his fifth career appearance and first appearance since 2018. Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid also makes his fifth appearance alongside reigning league MVP Nikola Jokic who will play his fourth All-Star game this year.

Also read: NBA: The MVP race is hotting up as the season heads towards its midpoint

The bench players for both conferences will be revealed next week on February 3 after a vote from all the coaches in the NBA. Five more players from each conference will be named to complete  the team’s out and there will be an additional wild card player for each conference. The game will take place on 20th February 2022 in the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. 

 

(Basketball news) Los Angeles lost against the Miami Heat 113-107 as they moved up to the summit of the Eastern Conference table. For the Heat, Duncan Robinson scored 25 points as Butler finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists for Miami, his 10th regular-season triple-double for the Heat which is one more than James had in his four Miami seasons. Along with Butler’s performance, Caleb Martin scored 15, Bam Adebayo scored 14 and Gabe Vincent had 11 for Miami. For the Lakers, James carried the Lakers yet again, finishing with 33 points - his 17th consecutive game with at least 26 - and 11 rebounds. Russell Westbrook scored 24 for the Lakers, former Heat guard Avery Bradley added 15 and Carmelo Anthony scored 11. With this result the Miami Heat improved their record to 30-17 as the Lakers moved below .500 with a record of 23-24 which has moved them down to 8th in the Western Conference.

''I think those are important experiences to go through together,'' Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

''To have those kinds of pivotal moments down the stretch, you can never have enough of those,'' Robinson said. ''They're invaluable.

''I'm in one of the best zones offensively I've been in in my career,'' James said.

''In the fourth quarter we played the type of basketball we want to play, but we dug ourselves too much of a hole early in the game,'' James said.

The Warriors grinded out a tough 95-92 victory over the Utah Jazz.  For the Warriors, Curry scored 13 points, struggling again with his 3-point stroke as he went 1 for 13 from deep and 5 of 20 overall, Jordan Poole scored 20 points as Curry's brother-in-law Damion Lee did his part, coming off the bench to hit four clutch 3-pointers and score 12 points. For the Jazz,  Bogdanovic, who recently came back from an injured left ring finger, scored 21 points while Rudy Gobert grabbed 18 rebounds to go with 12 points for the Jazz, who lost their fourth straight to the Warriors. It was a total team effort from the Warriors as six players were in double digit scoring. With this result the Warriors improved their record to 34 -13 as they stayed 2nd in the Western Conference standings.

''They're still attached to my body and I'm still getting plenty of attempts,'' the two-time MVP said following another off-night, 

''I'm trying to have fun with this. It's a big-picture perspective on how you approach the game, the work that you put in. It's obviously frustrating. I want to shoot the ball, it's frustrating. I kicked the chair the other day for that reason,'' he said. ''It's not like I don't care and not trying to figure it out but I don't get preoccupied with it.''

''Steph looks great physically. The last few games he's playing some of his basketball in terms of handling the point guard duties,'' Kerr said. ''He's taking care of the basketball, he's playing great defense, shots just aren't going. ... He's seemed inhuman for so long. I think everybody just expects him to be in a groove all season long and it's just not the way it works.''

''That's how you've got to win when you're scuffling a little bit,'' Kerr said. ''Really proud of the team.''

The Brooklyn Nets suffered a shock defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves 136-125. For the Timberwolves, Anthony Edwards scored 25 points, D'Angelo Russell had 23 points and 10 assists as Karl-Anthony Towns overcame a poor shooting night, scoring 15 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter to rally his team to victory, along with that Jaylen Nowell scored 16 points, Taurean Prince had 15, and Jaden McDaniels added 14. The three went 18 for 26 from the floor, including a perfect 6-for-6 night from Prince. For the Nets, Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 30 points while Patty Mills hit five 3-pointers on the way to 21 points. Kessler Edwards added 15 points, and James Harden had 13 points and 13 assists for Brooklyn, which is 2-2 since losing leading scorer Kevin Durant to a sprained ligament in his left knee. With this result the Nets dropped down to second in the Eastern Conference with a record of 29-17.

''It doesn't have to be me every night,'' said Towns, Minnesota's leading scorer and rebounder. ''That's why we have great talents like D'Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards. You've got to be able to lean on them. They can carry the load just as well as myself.''

''Those guys are coming in, bringing their own energy and spice to the game,'' Russell said. ''That takes the pressure off everybody.'

''I don't know that we gave enough resistance, weren't into the body enough,'' Nets coach Steve Nash said. ''Didn't feel like our will, our force, was felt defensively. Whatever it was, we didn't have the juice down there tonight. ... We tried to find a way to hang in and see if we could get on a run defensively. We just never did.''

Also read: NBA: Lakers snap out of their losing streak and Bucks overcome top seed Bulls

The other results were:

• Wizards 86 - 116 Celtics
• Magic 114 - 95 Bulls
• Raptors 105 - 114 Trail Blazers
• Hornets 91 - 113 Hawks
• Spurs 109 - 115 76ers
• Nuggets 117 - 111 Pistons

Tomorrow’s fixtures are:

• Cavaliers vs Knicks
• Pelicans vs Pacers
• Thunder vs Bulls
• Suns vs Jazz
   

(Basketball news) The Los Angeles Lakers snapped out of their three match losing streak as they defeated the Utah Jazz 101-95. For the Lakers, LeBron James scored 25 points and Stanley Johnson had 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a much needed victory. The Lakers got 44 points from their bench which was an integral part in the fourth quarter revival. For the Jazz, Mike Conley had 20 points and Rudy Gobert had a double double with 19 points and 16 rebounds as Jazz star Donavan Mitchell had a quiet night with 13 points only. With this result the Lakers moved to 7th in the Western Conference standings as they improved their record to 22-22.

''I'm just trying to put everyone in position to be successful and read the game while the game was going on and I knew the way we could be successful offensively,'' James said. ''The guys responded well to what I saw and Stanley had a big-time game.''

''Our effort and energy wasn't where it needed to be in the Denver game, second half of the Memphis game and the other game,'' James said. ''We weren't playing to our capabilities. As the leader of this team I was taking onus of that and letting Laker Nation know.''

''It feels good doing what I came here to do,'' Johnson said. ''I came here to bring energy and affect the game in different ways. Today was the day I was able to do it within the scheme and get deflections and be active. It resulted in positive plays. It feels good. We all put a lot into this. It's not just a wake up and do it.''

''I thought we had too many really tough shots,'' Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. ''I think some of the shots are makeable but we made it harder on ourselves than it needed to be as far as making better reads and moving the ball quicker and generating some better shots. I think that showed.''

The Brooklyn Nets suffered their second successive defeat on the roll as they lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers 114-107. This was also their 5th win a row as the Cavs are certainly pushing above their weight this season. For the Cavaliers, Darius Garland strengthened his All-Star case with 22 points and 12 assists as Isaac Okoro added 15 points and Jarrett Allen had 14 and 10 rebounds. For the Nets, Kevin Durant was missing his second game in a row but James Harden added 22 points as Kyrie Irving top scored with 27 points. With this result the Cavs stayed in 4th but have the same number of wins as the third placed Nets in the Eastern Conference.

It's a signature win for us against a high-level team,'' Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. ''Obviously with reasons why and excuses coming back off that long road trip and all those things, playing against two of the most elite players in our league, and our guys figuring out a way.

''I'm not bringing science into it,'' said Irving, who was defensive about his position. ''I'm staying rooted in what I believe in.''

''It's an opportunity for our team to grow,'' Nash said. ''We have to find solutions.''

Also read: NBA: Lakers lose their third successive match in a row as Warriors also lose

The other results were:

• Wizards 117 - 98 76ers
• Grizzlies 119 - 106 Bulls
• Clippers 139 - 133 Pacers
• Hawks 121 - 114 Bucks
• Magic 88 - 98 Trail Blazers
• Heat 104 - 99 Raptors
• Spurs 107 - 121 Suns
• Mavericks 104 - 102 Thunder

Tomorrow’s fixtures are:

• Knicks vs Timberwolves
• Warriors vs Pistons
   

(Basketball news) With the NBA in full flow there have been certain players who are having extraordinary individual seasons. We take a look at those players who are not only in the MVP reckoning but also helping their team grind out results over these past few months. This season has been really tough on the players especially with the Covid situation and protocols, so to be consistent in an inconsistent season really tells about the players mentality and contribution points wise to their respective teams. Lets us a take look at the top three players in the league currently:

3) DeMar DeRozan (Chicago Bulls) 

This season DeRozan has averaged 26.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 4.7 apg. When the Bulls signed DeMar DeRozan on a three-year for a $85 million contract and traded Thaddeus Young plus a future protected first round pick to finish the deal many experts regarded the move as disastrous and doubted his skills but DeRozan had other ideas as he is currently having his best season at the age of 32 and has helped Chicago from being the worst-to-first in the Eastern Conference standings. After finishing last season with the fewest wins in the league over the last four seasons, the Bulls are now a legit contender for the No. 1 seed in the East.

DeRozan has been deadly on the mid-range scoring and hitting clutch shots for the Bulls. He’s leading the league in fourth quarter scoring, which has helped his team capture the top spot in the standings. While DeRozan doesn’t shoot many threes and remains a below average defender but his consistent ability to get to the foul line and score baskets are a crucial part in Billy Donavan’s offence. If DeRozan keeps this up, the Bulls are a legit contender in the East.

2) Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets)

This season Kevin Durant has averaged 29.7 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 5.9 apg. He’s leading the league in scoring at about 30 points per game. If KD can maintain a shooting percentage above 61 percent, it will be the 10th straight year he’s done it. He’s also had a major impact on the Nets’ team success with Kyrie Irving still having not played enough games together, James Harden is having a below par season compared to his standards, and Joe Harris is hurt, but Brooklyn are still in the reckoning to win the Eastern Conference
 
Durant has a strong case both as MVP winner as it is remarkable that he’s still playing so well even after tearing his achilles. Brooklyn’s defense has also been playing at a top-five level most of the year, and Durant is a factor on that end as well despite not putting up huge steal or block rates so far. KD is having an incredible season this year and in all possibilities at the end of the season he might just lead the Nets to their maiden NBA crown

1) Steph Curry (Golden State Warriors)

Curry this season is averaging 27.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 5.9 apg. At the age of 34 he is still playing his prime. He’s once again one of the league’s leading scorers, and he’s doing this making more three-pointers than ever before. Nowadays he’s been surrounded by a reliable veteran supporting cast that helps his team to win matches even when he's not around. Golden State Warriors have become a team that got knocked out in the play-in tournament last year to one having the best record this season.

Also read: The Bucks win big against the Warriors as Grizzlies made it 11 straight victories

Curry all his life has been a bit of an underrated defender, but with time he's becoming an even better defender than before, his defence has played a pivotal role on what’s clearly the best defense in the league in Golden State. He also broke the all time three point record of Ray Allen at the Madison Square Garden this season. As long as he stays healthy, Golden State remains the No. 1 seed in the West and a third MVP title wouldn’t be far.

(Basketball news) Los Angeles lost their second match in a row as they lost to the Sacramento Kings 125-116. For the Kings, De'Aaron Fox scored 29 points, Chimezie Metu made a clutch 3-pointer with 46.7 seconds remaining as Harrison Barnes added 23 points and seven rebounds for the Kings and rookie Tyrese Haliburton had 14 points and 10 assists. For the Lakers, LeBron James had 34 points, seven rebounds and six assists and Malik Monk scored 22 as James has scored 31 or more in 11 of his last 12 games. With this result the Lakers dropped down to 7th in the Western Conference with a record of 21-21 as the Kings improved their record to 17-26.

“It was a much-needed win,'' Kings interim coach Alvin Gentry said. ''We did a good job of attacking the paint - we ended up with 70 points in the paint. That was the difference in the game, we were able to get the ball to the basket.''

''We knew if we didn't put up a stand, put up a fight in the third, we would let this slip away like the previous five,'' Barnes said. ''Tonight from start to finish we did a good job of sticking to the game plan, everyone providing energy, competing. Things that we haven't done consistently.''

''For the second game in a row, our defense let us down,'' Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. ''We have to figure out what we're doing there and be better in that situation.''

The Brooklyn Nets thrashed the Chicago Bulls 138-112 as for the first time this season the big three of Durant, Harden and Irving started a game. For the Nets, Durant scored 27 points, James Harden added 25 points and a season-high 16 assists as Irving had an off night with 9 points but Patty Mills scored 21 and nailed 6 of 8 from beyond the arc, helping Brooklyn come out on top after losing five of seven previous matches. For the Bulls, Zach LaVine scored 22. DeMar DeRozan added 19 points as they lost for the second time in three games after winning nine straight to match their best run since the end of the 2010-11 regular season and Bulls also had their nine-game home win streak snapped. With this result the Nets improved their record to 26-14 but still stayed 2nd in the Eastern Conference standings.

''We're trying to make no statements to the league,'' Durant said. ''I mean, who cares what they think. We know what we bring to the table, and it's all about us. But I'm sure people were watching the game tonight.''

''We're that good,'' Harden said. ''We have a chance to be that good. We just haven't had enough of it.''

''I think you own it,'' coach Billy Donovan said. ''I think our guys have worked hard up to this point to be where we are in the standings, and with that there's a greater responsibility.'

''When that run happened, I think it was just a continuous sort of flow we had from the first half,'' Irving said. ''We just felt like once we break this open, hit a few more 3s, make it tough for them on the defensive end - we felt like we'd have control of the game.''

Also read: NBA: Grizzlies beat the Warriors as the Bulls thump the Pistons

The other results were:

• 76ers 98 - 109 Hornets
• Pacers 100 - 119 Celtics
• Wizards 112 - 106 Magic
• Hawks 91 - 115 Heat
• Knicks 108 - 85 Mavericks
• Spurs 124 - 128 Rockets
• Jazz 91 - 111 Cavaliers

Tomorrow’s fixtures are:

• Bucks vs Warriors
• Grizzlies vs Timberwolves
• Pelicans vs Clippers
• Nets vs Thunder 
• Nuggets vs Trail Blazers
   

(Basketball news) The Milwaukee Bucks lost to the spirited Charlotte Hornets 103-99. For the Hornets, Terry Rozier shined as he scored 27 points, Ball scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half, and Miles Bridges added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Hornets, who have won six of eight games and improved to 12-5 at home. For the Bucks, Khris Middleton had 27 points and 11 assists, and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 26 points, 13 rebounds. With this result the Bucks stayed in 4th in the Eastern Conference standings with a record of 26-17, as the Hornets improved their record to 22-19 as they moved 8th in the standings.

“That is a highly difficult shot, but he makes it look effortless,'' Hornets coach James Borrego said. ''Melo has that uncanny ability to be going 100 mph, get off-balance and still be poised when he raises up. ... That's tough to do for a player who has been in the league 15 years, let alone a guy who has been in the league two years.''

''You are definitely concerned anytime you lose four out of five,'' Middleton said. ''And you never want to lose two in a row. You understand what the circumstances are (with players being out) and you never want to use that as an excuse. We understand what we're going through and everybody is going through. But we still have to go out there and compete.'

The Brooklyn Nets lost to the Portland Trail Blazers 114-108. For the Nets, Kyrie started his second game as he could only manage 22 points as Kevin Durant led all scorers with 28 points and 10 rebounds for them as it was his 19th straight game with 20 or more points, the second-longest streak of 20-point games in Nets history.. For the Trail Blazers, Anfernee Simons had 23 points and 11 assists, as Robert Covington had 21 points, including five 3-pointers and McLemore had 20 points and five 3s. for the Blazers, who saw all five starters score in double figures. The Blazers were again without their star backcourt of Damian Lillard out with lower abdominal tendinopathy and CJ McCollum was out for 14 games after a collapsed lung. With this result the Blazers improved their record to 16-24 as they stayed 10th in the standings on the other hand the Nets stayed 2nd in the Eastern Conference with a record of 25-14.

''I think RoCo did a good job of playing him in the second half,'' Simons said. ''So that was big for us to slow him down and just kind of play team defense. We've been playing very hard, we've been making a lot less mistakes on defense. That's been helping us.''

''Certainly nobody in the world thought that we would win this game with the guys that we have missing, even though they're missing some important players too,'' Portland first-year coach Chauncey Billups said. ''I'm more happy than anything for our team, to be honest. We've suffered a lot of losses in this building, a lot of bad losses.''

''It felt like I made a few good moves, but now it's just getting back in that NBA action of that athleticism and catching up to that speed, that's really what it is at this point, I feel,'' Irving said.

''Second half, they hit 3s in that third quarter, they hit 3s in that fourth quarter. You gotta give them credit for knocking down shots but I thought we were there, intentions were good,'' Durant said. ''We've just got to finish it a little better, finish plays a little better.'

Also read: NBA: Klay Thompson shines on his return as Grizzlies snap Lakers winning streak

The other results were:

• Pistons 126 - 116 Jazz
• Knicks 111- 96 Spurs
• Celtics 101 - 98 Pacers
• Rockets 91 - 111 76ers
• Kings 108 - 109 Cavaliers

Tomorrow’s matches are:

• Wizards vs Thunder
• Raptors vs Suns
• Grizzlies vs Warriors
• Bulls vs Pistons
• Pelicans vs Timberwolves
• Clippers vs Nuggets

(Basketball news) The Brooklyn Nets welcomed back Kyrie Irving as they won 129-121 against the Indiana Pacers. Kyrie Irving was ineligible to play home games because he is not vaccinated which is compulsory in New York City and the Nets had decided against allowing him to just play road games for most of the season but they changed their mind last month as he scored scored 22 points to rally the Nets to a much needed victory. For the Nets, Kevin Durant had 39 as they recovered from a 19 point deficit as LaMarcus Aldridge scored 13 points in 16 minutes. For the Pacers, Domantas Sabonis had 32 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists and  Lance Stephenson, who had previously played for the Pacers scored 30 points in his first home game with the Pacers after signing a 10-day contract. With this result the Nets improved their record to 24-12 as they stayed second in the Eastern Conference standings.

''He looks like himself, not that that's a surprise,'' Nets coach Steve Nash said.''It came down to defense and effort, and the second half was night and day to the first,'' Nash added . ''It took us getting in a deep hole before we showed them the respect the game and them the respect they deserved.''

''He didn't act nervous, he has a nice poker face,'' Durant said. ''He's a quiet guy. He plays with energy and passion.''

Irving said he was nervous, “it was different from any previous debut in his basketball career. This meant a little more, taking eight months off and so much uncertainty,'' he said ''I settled down closer to the second half. Whatever the team (needs), I'll do.''

''Just working out for two years, waiting for this moment,'' Stephenson said. ''I'm so happy to be here, it's home. It's like playing in front of family.''

The Dallas Mavericks stunned the number 1 seed in the west as they won 99-82 on a night when Dallas Mavericks retired Dirk Nowitzki's number. For the Mavericks, Luka Doncic dominated the proceedings as he scored 26 points, the 22-year-old sensation played aggressively and was 10 of 12 on free throws with 8 assists and 7 rebounds.to his name, Dorian Finney-Smith scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half and had nine rebounds and two blocks. For the Warriors, Andrew Wiggins scored 17 points as Steph Curry again had a rough night with 14 points to his name. At 29-8, the Warriors dropped into a tie with the Phoenix Suns for the best record in the NBA. With this result the Mavericks improved their record to 15-16 as they moved to 8th in the Western Conference standings.

''The body of work over the course of this year's been pretty solid,'' said Curry, who scored 14 points and made just five of 24 shots coming off his worst shooting night of the season. ''This stretch has not been great, not up to my standards. So you've just to stick to the program. It'll come around.''
''There are so many things going through your head,'' said Jason Kidd ''You know the Warriors are going to score. Steph is going to make 3s. We just tried to make it as tough as possible and on offense take care of the ball. And our defense did a great job in giving us a chance to win.

“Everyone's throwing everything at him,'' coach Steve Kerr said. ''Their best defender. Their double teams. They're trying to make it as difficult as possible. I thought tonight he pressed a little bit. He's trying hard to get out of it.''

''An icon,'' Curry said when asked about Dirk Nowitzki. ''He did it his way, playing with the same franchise for 21 years. Just what he meant to the city, to this organization. He opened up the gates for international players to believe they could have amazing careers in the NBA and give them confidence.''

Also read: NBA: Lakers win three on the bounce as Warriors extend their lead

The other results were:

• Hornets 140 - 111 Pistons 
• Wizards 111 - 114 Rockets
• Magic 106 - 116 76ers
• Celtics 97 - 99 Spurs
• Timberwolves 98 - 90 Thunder
• Bucks 111 - 117 Raptors
• Nuggets 109 - 115 Jazz
• Trail Blazers 109 - 115 Heat
• Kings 102 - 108 Hawks

Tomorrow's fixtures are:

• Knicks vs Celtics 
• Pelicans vs Warriors
• Grizzlies vs Pistons 
• Suns vs Clippers
   

(Basketball news) Phoenix Suns beat the in-form Washington Wizards 118-98. For the Suns, McGee scored 17 points and Ayton added 15 as the combo dominated the interior, pushing the Suns to 58 points in the paint. All five starters and eight total players scored in double figures. Landry Shamet had 16 points and made four 3-pointers and Paul had 12 points and six assists. They have won 22 of 24 games dating to Oct. 27. For the Wizards, Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting but the rest of the team couldn't muster much offense. With this result the Suns go level with Warriors at the top of the Western Conference with a record of 23-5 as Wizards move to 7th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 15-15.

'We were ready,'' Williams said. ''That was pretty cool. The outcome was the residual of the focus and determination we showed on defense, holding that team to 98 points and having eight guys in double figures.''

''We are in a rut right now,'' Wizards forward Montrezl Harrell said. ''Nobody is going to feel bad for us, brother. We've got to figure it out.”

The Brooklyn Nets continued their good start to the season with a 114-105 over the Philadelphia 76ers. Durant scored 34 points, making a four-point play with the game tied and 1:46 left as that turned to the turning point in the game. The Nets were missing seven players because of coronavirus health and safety protocols. Blake Griffin and Nic Claxton both added a season-high 17 points as Patty Mills scored 14 points for them. For the 76ers, Joel Embiid had 32 points, nine rebounds and six assists in the 76ers' third straight loss as Seth Curry scored 29 points to lead a valiant effort from Doc Rivers' side. With this result the Nets improved their record to 21-8 as they comfortably lead the Eastern Conference

'It's a challenge knowing how you're going to come into the games because a lot of these teams, they scheme for me a little differently,'' Durant said.

'We can all hoop,'' Claxton said of the young players forced into extended action. ''A lot of attention is going to KD so we're just making plays.''.

So is it better to be over the threshold than to not be playing until you have a healthy roster?'' Nash said. ''Or is it better to have enough to play but to be short-handed and the burden and the toll it takes on these guys and knowing that you're going to have guys coming back who haven't been able to practice or play basketball. So it is definitely tricky to navigate.''

The Lakers won dramatically against the Dallas Mavericks as they defeated them 107-104.  Rookie Austin Reaves swished a 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds left in overtime to give the Los Angeles Lakers a much needed victory. For the Lakers, James scored 24 points, Westbrook added 23 and Davis had 20 points and 12 rebounds after missing two games with a sore left knee. For the Mavericks, Jalen Brunson scored 25 points and Kristaps Porzingis had his eighth double-double this season with 23 points and 12 rebounds for the Mavericks, who played their third straight game without All-Star guard Luka Doncic. With this result the Lakers improved their record to 16-13 as they lie 6th in the Western Conference.

“There was about one second left, and I didn't have anything to do but shoot it,'' said Reaves, who played two seasons each at Wichita State and Oklahoma, signing a two-way contract with the Lakers in August that was converted to a regular contract in September. ''Great pass, and I made a shot.''

''We've got a lot of trust in whoever's on the floor, including the rook,'' James said. ''Obviously, it showed on that last possession.''

''We were going to foul within 10 seconds, make them reset and give us a chance to reset, too,'' said Mavericks coach Jason Kidd, who was a Lakers assistant during the past two seasons. ''And we just didn't get to the foul.''

Also read: NBA: Steph Curry breaks Ray Allen’s record as Nets win against Raptors

The other results were:

• Pacers 122 -113 Pistons
• Rockets 103 - 116 Knicks
• Jazz 124 - 103 Clippers

Tomorrow’s fixtures are:

• Magic vs Heat
• Celtics vs Warriors
• Hawks vs Nuggets
• Pelicans vs Bucks
• Jazz vs Spurs
• Timberwolves vs Lakers
• Kings vs Grizzlies
• Trail Blazers vs Hornets
• Pistons vs Rockets

 

(Basketball news) Steph Curry created history as he overtook Ray Allen as the leading 3 pointer shooter in the history of the NBA. Curry hit his 2,974th 3-pointer Tuesday night in the first quarter of the Golden State Warriors’ game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Curry is often considered the league’s greatest shooter, and the numbers back him up. He already has the top three seasons for 3-pointers, including the one season with 400 3s and now has the career record Allen had held since passing Reggie Miller in 2011. Curry is also one of two players in NBA history to have made 1,000 unassisted and 1,000 assisted triples. The fact that makes Steph such a great shooter is his accuracy and the precision he knocks down three pointers, Steph is just 33 years old and he can certainly extend this record further.

The Golden State Warriors beat the New York Knicks 105-96, as Steph Curry top scored with 22 points on his historical night along with Jordan Poole’s 19 points and nine rebounds, going 13 for 13 on free throws, Green added eight points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. For the Knicks, Julius Randle scored 31 points as Derrick Rose scored 15 points and Alec Burks had 14 but shot 4 for 15 from the field. With this result the Warriors continued their magnificent start to the season as they improved their record to 23-5 and sit comfortably on top of the Western Conference standings.

''If you can't do it at home, this is definitely a great Plan B,'' Curry said Tuesday night.

''I thought the night was perfect,'' said Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who called timeout after the record shot to make room for a celebration. ''It just pretty much encapsulated who he is and his reaction to it was perfect.''

''Steph is the best to ever shoot a basketball and we get the opportunity to go to work with him every day and it's a very special thing,'' Green said.

The Brooklyn Nets also continued their good form as they won 131-129 against the Toronto Raptors. Patty Mills made a 3 to force overtime as Kevin Durant had 34 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Toronto Raptors to improve their record to 20-8. For the Nets, Patty Mills added 30 points as Nets also got 17 from Kessler Edwards, 16 from Nic Claxton and 13 from Blake Griffin before he fouled out in overtime. For the Raptors, Fred VanVleet led with 31, Scottie Barnes had 23, Gary Trent Jr. and Pascal Siakam each finished with 25 points. With this result Toronto fell to 11th in the Eastern Conference standings as Nets are sitting comfortably on top of the table.

''I felt like it was something I could play on, so I knew I was going to play this morning,'' Durant said. ''I hate that my teammates are out. I wish everybody was playing.''

''I like how we responded throughout the whole game,'' Durant said. ''Hitting them first and taking their punch - 44-25 in the third - then turning it up in the fourth quarter and overtime, man. ... I'm so proud to just be a part of this group and play with these young dudes.

''We know how good of a team we can be when we are clicking and doing what we are supposed to do,'' Siakam said. ''Every time we haven't done that in season we pay for it.'' 

Also read: NBA: Golden State Warriors extended their winning run to 22 wins while the Phoenix Suns lost to Los Angeles Clippers

Tomorrow’s fixtures are:

• Magic vs Hawks
• Cavaliers vs Rockets
• 76ers vs Heat
• Mavericks vs Lakers
• Bucks vs Pacers
• Thunder vs Pelicans
• Spurs vs Hornets
• Nuggets vs Timberwolves
• Kings vs Wizards
• Trail Blazers vs Grizzlies
• Jazz vs Clippers
   

(Basketball news) Lakers won back to back road games as they defeated 106-94 against the Orlando Magic. James scored 14 of his 30 points during Los Angeles' spectacular third quarter, and he added 11 rebounds and 10 assists while the Lakers rolled past Orlando for their fifth victory in seven games. For the Lakers, Talen Horton-Tucker scored 19 points, Russell Westbrook had 19 points and James secured his 101st career triple-double in the final minutes as the Lakers won their second straight with second-leading scorer Anthony Davis sidelined by left knee soreness. For the Magic, Cole Anthony scored 21 points, Franz Wagner added 20 points and seven rebounds as they suffered their 12th loss in 13 games. With this result the Lakers improved their record to 15-13 and moved up to 6th in Western Conference.

'When he's aggressive and making the right plays and reads, our team is different,'' Westbrook said. ''This was another game where he imposed his will. ... (The blocked shots) are just big for us, and I know it's big for him to show he's still doing what he's been doing year after year. It's great to see.''

''Sleep,'' James said. ''Sleep, and inspiration from my son and his team. ... I slept last night from 12 to 8. I got up, ate breakfast, and then I went back to sleep from 8:30 to 12:30. That's pretty good, right?''

''He's exemplifying finding joy through hustle,'' Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. ''The effort he's playing with is inspiring our whole group.''

The Brooklyn Nets continued their fine start to the season with a 116-104 victory over the Detroit Pistons. Kevin Durant scored an NBA season-high 51 points as he scored at least 10 points in all four quarters. Patty Mills added 18 points for the Nets, who outscored Detroit 30-13 in the fourth quarter. For the Pistons Cade Cunningham had 26 and Frank Jackson added 25 for Detroit, which lost its 12th straight and still haven't won back-to-back games this season. Durant also set the record on Sunday for points scored at the Little Caesars Arena, which opened in 2017. He bested Blake Griffin's 50 in 2018, Kyrie Irving's 45 in 2020 and James Harden's 44 last season. With this result the Nets improved their record to 19-8 and sit comfortably at the top of the Eastern Conference standings.

''I knew I probably needed to pick up a little more of the scoring tonight,'' said Durant, who had his seventh 50-point game of his career. ''We were turning the ball over more than we should, and I was doing as much of that as anyone, so I figured I better just keep shooting.'

''It was fun just to watch K.D. when he's playing like that,'' Mills said. ''Being a part of it is even better. You don't see many games like he had tonight.''

''I saw the look in his eyes and knew he didn't want to come out,'' Nets coach Steve Nash said. ''He was just incredible tonight. Not only did he score 51, but he had (nine) assists and (seven) rebounds. He even had a couple blocks and played incredible defense in the fourth quarter.''

Also read: NBA: Lakers lose to the Grizzlies as they ruined LeBron James’ historic 100th triple double

The other results were:

• Thunder 84 - 103 Mavericks
• Spurs 112 - 97 Pelicans  
• Trail Blazers 111 - 116 Timberwolves

The other matches for tomorrow are:

• Cavaliers vs Heat
• Raptors vs Kings
• Pacers vs Warriors
• Hawks vs Rockets
• Celtics vs Bucks
• Grizzlies vs 76ers 
• Mavericks vs Hornets
• Nuggets vs Wizards
• Clippers vs Suns

(Basketball news) The Golden State Warriors won their 21st match of the season with a 104-94 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. Curry scored 22 points and moved within nine 3s of tying Ray Allen's record, Steph Curry is closing in on Allen's mark of 2,973 regular-season 3s made from 1996-2014. Draymond Green had 10 rebounds, eight assists and five points, and Jordan Poole scored eight of his 20 points in the third quarter as Golden State started to pull away. Otto Porter Jr. contributed 15 points and six rebounds off the bench as the Warriors improved to 21-4. For the Trail Blazers Jusuf Nurkic had 12 points, 13 rebounds and six assists before fouling out late. Nassir Little scored 18 points for the Blazers, Norman Powell scored 26 points but went 1 for 7 from deep, and the Blazers made just 8 of 30 on 3-pointers as the Trail Blazers missed injured allstars Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. With this result Warriors move to the top of the Western Conference.

''To make that many 3s in one game obviously has never been done before, so it was just a routine night,'' coach Steve Kerr said of the 16 Curry needed coming into the game to top Allen. ''He made six, which is nothing for him. I don't think I ever did that in my entire career one time.''

''I feel like it will be special no matter what because I'll make it special and it will be an amazing experience for me and my teammates,'' Curry said this week

The Brooklyn Nets suffered a shock 114-104 loss to the Houston Rockets, who subsequently are showing an uprise in form. Eric Gordon scored 21 points before being ejected in the fourth quarter and Garrison Mathews added 19 as the Houston Rockets extended their winning streak to seven and one of the in form teams in the NBA. Although James Harden had 25 points for the Nets, NBA leading scorer Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge both sat out for this match, Cam Thomas had 18 points for Brooklyn and Mills added 12 points. The loss snapped a six-game road winning streak for the Nets, whose nine road wins are tied with the Suns for most in the NBA. With this result Nets still remained on top of the Eastern Conference with a record of 17-8.

“The adversity that we went through prior to this point has made it even sweeter,'' coach Stephen Silas said. ''We're feeling pretty good about ourselves.'

''When you beat a team like that it means something,'' Mathews said. ''This streak's been a huge boost to our confidence. It's been a huge boost to our morale.''

The Miami Heat finally snapped their losing streak with a 113-104 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. Caleb Martin scored a career-high 28 points, he shot 9 of 12 from the field, including 6 for 8 on 3-pointers, as the Heat tied a franchise record with 22 3s against the defending NBA champions. Kyle Lowry had 22 points and 13 assists, and Max Strus scored all 16 of his points in the fourth quarter for Miami, which snapped a three-game home losing streak. For the Bucks Jrue Holiday scored 27 points and Khris Middleton finished with 20 for the Bucks. Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo had 15 points. With this result the Heat’s improved their record to 15-11 and are currently in 4th position and as for the Bucks their record stands at 16-10.

Also read: NBA: Lakers beat Celtics and Nets extend their winning run against the Dallas Maverick

The other results were:

• Pistons 116 - 119 Wizards
• Hornets 106 - 110 76ers
• Cavaliers 115 - 92 Bulls
• Pacers 122- 102 Knicks
• Raptors 109 - 110 Thunder
• Grizzlies 96 - 104 Mavericks
• Timberwolves 104 - 136 Jazz
• Pelicans 114 - 120 Nuggets
• Kings 142 - 130 Magic
• Clippers 114 - 111 Celtics

The fixtures for tomorrow are;

• 76ers vs Jazz
• Grizzlies vs Lakers
• Spurs vs Nuggets

(Basketball news) Lakers beat the Boston Celtics 117-102 in the latest chapter of the NBA's most heated rivalry. LeBron James scored 30 points, Westbrook added 24 points and 11 assists, Anthony Davis had 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Lakers, who produced one of their best recent performances in their fourth victory in six games overall. Los Angeles made 56.5% of its shots in the first three quarters and shut down Jayson Tatum's with their defense. For the Celtics Jason Tatum scored 34 points as he scored 14 of his 34 points in an incredible early first-quarter blitz for the Celtics, who dropped to 1-2 on their four-game West Coast trip, Jaylen Brown sat out his third straight game with a strained right hamstring, as Robert Williams III's 13 points for Boston was the second most. With this victory the Lakers improved their record to 13-12 as they moved up to 6th in the Western Conference.

''As a player like myself, you want to make sure you approach all games the same while also understanding the significance of this particular game,'' Westbrook said. ''That makes it a good win for us.''

''I just like the way we competed tonight on both sides of the floor,'' James said. ''We had a lot of intensity, a lot of ball movement. Guys were attacking the rim. I think defensively, besides the first 14-point avalanche on Tatum's part, we locked in from that point forward.''

“I think at the beginning of the year, Russ was a little bit passive,'' Davis said. ''He was trying to get guys involved, pass the ball. ... We told him, 'The more you're aggressive, the more it will open up for everyone else.' The last seven to 10 games, he's been very, very aggressive, and when he does that, it opens up the floor for everyone else as far as shooting. He's just been in attack mode. That's why we brought him here, to be Russell Westbrook and not anybody else but that.''

The Brooklyn Nets defeated the Dallas Mavericks 102-99 as they made a 17 point comeback in the second half. Kevin Durant scored 24 points, Harden had 23 points and 12 assists as they handed the Mavericks their fifth consecutive home loss. For the Mavericks, Luka Doncic scored 28 points but had another rough night from 3-point range, Kristaps Porzingis had 17 points and 12 rebounds. In three games since setting a franchise record by shooting 68.7% in a 32-point victory at New Orleans, Dallas is down to 38% shooting from the arc. With this result the Nets improved their record to 17-7 which is subsequently the best in the Eastern Conference. 

''We've been in this league long enough to know it's winning time. It's go time,'' said Harden, who also had nine rebounds. ''Throughout the course of the game, I feel like we got good shots. We just missed them. We just kept sticking with it and kept sticking with it. You've got to just keep shooting, especially if that's what you do.''

''We had a lot of open looks there in the fourth quarter that just didn't go down,'' Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. ''And then Timmy has a wide-open look. You couldn't ask for a better look to tie up the game.''

''It's a character win where you just want to make the right plays to get back in the game and you want to turn the momentum to your side,'' said Durant, who was 10 of 22 from the field and had seven rebounds. ''I think we did that tonight”.

Also read: NBA: Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors became the first teams to win 20 matches this season

The tomorrow's fixtures are:

• Pistons vs Wizards
• Hornets vs 76ers
• Cavaliers vs Bulls
• Pacers vs Knicks
• Heat vs Bucks
• Raptors vs Thunder
• Grizzlies vs Mavericks
• Timberwolves vs Jazz
• Pelicans vs Nuggets
• Rockets vs Nets
• Kings vs Magic
• Warriors vs Trail Blazers
• Clippers vs Celtics
   

(Basketball news) Phoenix Suns have tied a franchise record with 17 wins in a row as they won 104-96 against the Golden State Warriors. Ayton scored 24 points, Chris Paul added 15 points and 11 assists despite losing star guard Devin Booker to a left hamstring injury in the second quarter. He had 10 points and two rebounds in 15 minutes. For the Warriors, Jordan Poole led Golden State with 28 points. Stephen Curry - who came into the game averaging 28.6 points per game - had 12 points on 4 of 21 shooting, including 3 of 14 from 3-point range.The Suns limited the Warriors to just 42 points in the second half. The Warriors also had 22 turnovers.The Suns haven't lost since Oct. 27 when Harrison Barnes hit a game-winning 3 at the buzzer for the Sacramento Kings. With this result the Suns improved their record to 18-3 and took the number 1 spot in the Western Conference.

''It's just a lot of work, a lot of mental toughness, staying with it,'' Bridges said. ''We knew when we first got here that we wanted to turn it around.''

''With all of the mistakes we did have and how terrible I shot the ball, it was a close game down the stretch,'' Curry said. ''I know Booker got hurt, but yes, it was a good learning lesson for us. Understanding the intensity and the focus we need to beat a team like that.''

'To me, this was just will and toughness,'' Williams said.

The Lakers after a long time won two games in a row as they won 117-92 against the Sacramento Kings. The Lakers sent James home early after he was placed in the NBA's health and safety protocol. Davis claimed that James felt good and was asymptomatic but the Lakers will have to play at least a few games without him again this season. For the Lakers, Anthony Davis scored 25 points, Russell Westbrook added 23 as Malik Monk scored 22 points from the bench. The Lakers took over with a dominant third quarter to win back-to-back games for the first time since Nov. 8-10. For the Kings, Richaun Holmes scored 27 points on 12-for-13 shooting in his first game back as De'Aaron Fox added 17 but also had seven turnovers. With this result the Lakers improved their record to 12-11 as they are currently eight in the Western Conference.

“We still have to find ways to win,'' Davis said. ''We can't let that affect us. Obviously, he's a huge part of our team. But we've played a huge amount of games without him. So we kind of know how that is already. We've got to continue to play like we did on the defensive end until he's able to come back.''

''Every now and then, a coach has to light a fire under his team,'' coach Frank Vogel said. ''Today was one of those games. We weren't giving the necessary effort to transition defense and with our pick-and-roll coverages. ... Sometimes you have to let them hear about it.''

The Brooklyn Nets just about edged their city neighbours New York Knicks to 112-110 victory. Harden had 34 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and Durant heated up after a slow start to finish with 27 points and nine assists. For the Knicks, Alec Burks scored a season-high 25 points in his new role as the Knicks' starting point guard, Julius Randle added 24 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Harden made history as he surpassed 2,500 3-pointers, joining Ray Allen, Stephen Curry and Reggie Miller. Kevin Durant scored 11 points with 5 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter as James Johnson hit two clutch free throws in the end to improve their record to 15-6 and reclaim their top spot in the Eastern Conference.

''Being here two years now, it doesn't matter who's on that team or who's on this team, I think the energy's always going to be there,'' Harden said. ''Whether it's here or at MSG, the fans are going to be cheering for their respective teams and it's going to be a good game every time, and tonight we're just happy to come out with the win.''

''It's not ideal to have him have such a burden, but I don't know what options we have other than to play him less and lose more,'' coach Steve Nash said.

Also read: NBA: Utah Jazz moved up to third in the Western Conference as Denver Nuggets breeze past the Miami Heat

The other results were:

• Raptors 91 - 98 Grizzlies
• Trail Blazers 110 - 92 Pistons

The fixtures for tomorrow are:

• Pacers vs Hawks
• Magic vs Nuggets
• Wizards vs Timberwolves
• Celtics vs 76ers
• Heat vs Cavaliers
• Bucks vs Hornets
• Pelicans vs Mavericks
• Thunder vs Rockets
• Clippers vs Kings
   

(Basketball news) James delivered tiebreaking and back-breaking 3-pointers in overtime and finished with 39 points to help the Los Angeles Lakers rally past Indiana 124-116. After drawing his first suspension in his career, LeBron James looked like a man on a mission as the Lakers missed Anthony Davis through fever. Russell Westbrook had 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists while Monk had 17 points. Carmelo Anthony and Ellington each added 14 but James was 13 of 29 from the field and had six assists and five rebounds. For the Pacers,  Brogdon added seven rebounds, Domantas Sabonis had 14 points, 12 rebounds and six assists while Myles Turner had 12 points, six rebounds and two blocks. LeBron James forced overtime by scoring seven straight points to give the Lakers their 10th victory of the season. With this result the Lakers improved their record to 10-10 as they lie 9th place in Western Conference. 

“I know he wanted to get this W,''' coach Frank Vogel said. ''He really wanted to play in that Knicks game, he looks forward to that every year. So to bounce back tonight, to quarterback the defense and carry the offense the way he did, that's just a performance for the ages.”

“I was excited about being in the lineup. Me not playing last night on the second night of a back to back, I knew I could kind of give our guys a boost of energy with me not playing last night'' said James.

The Brooklyn Nets defeated the Boston Celtics 123-103 as Kevin Durant scored 21 points to overtake Allen Iverson in the all time scoring charts to enter the top 25 of the NBA's all-time scoring list. Patty Mills scored 23  and James Harden had 20 points and 11 assists for Brooklyn. LaMarcus Aldridge scored 17 points with nine rebounds for the Nets, who have won four in a row, seven out of eight and 12 of their last 14 games. For the Celtics, Marcus Smart had 20 points and eight assists for Boston, which had won three in a row. Jayson Tatum had 15 points and eight rebounds as they tried their best to cut the massive lead the Nets made up in the first three quarters. Next up on the scoring list for Durant is Ray Allen, who has 24,505 points to become the 24th highest scorer in the league. 

''To pass him on the list, to end up there with some of the greats on that list is incredible,'' said Durant, who entered the night with 24,367 points, one behind Iverson, and passed him on a jumper in the first two minutes. ''I've just gotta keep going,'' he concluded.

“It's a quality road win against a team that's been playing great basketball,'' Nets coach Steve Nash said.

The Golden State Warriors continued their magnificent start to the season with a 116-96 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Stephen Curry and his entire supporting cast in the second-half were defensively very sound to shut down younger brother Seth. Stephen Curry scored 25 points to Seth's 24, and the Golden State Warriors surged back after halftime to beat Philadelphia to make it five straight victories. Juan Toscano-Anderson came off the bench in the second half to score 13 points to go with six rebounds and six assists. Steph Curry shot 9 for 16 with six 3-pointers and added 10 assists as they improved their record to 16-2 which is the best in the league. Steph’s younger brother Seth Curry top scored for the 76ers with 24 points and Tyrese Maxey added 19 points for them.

“We were on our heels most of the entire first 18 minutes. Our identity is our defense. We can score with the best of them but we flipped the switch and got stops and made them take tough shots, especially in the second half and turned that into offense,'' Curry said. ''It was pretty impressive just the energy flip that happened after that first quarter”.

''We got great performances off the bench from Gary and Juan, two of our better defenders, and the defense led to the offense and the ball started to move because we were in transition,'' coach Steve Kerr said. ''It was a beautiful second half.''

Also read: NBA: The New York Knicks defeated the Lakers and Mavericks needed overtime to defeat the Clippers

The other results were:

• Magic 99 - 106 Hornets
• Cavaliers 115 - 120 Suns
• Pelicans 127 - 102 Wizards
• Rockets 118 - 113 Bulls
• Timberwolves 113 - 101 Heat
• Thunder 104 - 110 Jazz
• Bucks 114 - 93 Pistons
• Grizzlies 113 - 126 Raptors
• Kings 125 - 121 Trail Blazers

The Saturday fixtures are:

• Clippers vs Pistons
• Magic vs Bulls
• Knicks vs Suns
• Hornets vs Timberwolves
• Grizzlies vs Hawks
• Thunder vs Wizards
• Pacers vs Raptors
• Spurs vs Celtics
• Nuggets vs Bucks
• Jazz vs Pelicans
• Warriors vs Trail Blazers
• Lakers vs Kings
   

(Basketball news) Suns recorded their 13th straight with a 115-111 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. The Suns matched the third-longest winning streak in franchise history. It's their longest since a franchise-record 17 straight victories from Dec. 28, 2006, to Jan. 29, 2007. Devin Booker scored 23 points, Deandre Ayton had 21 points and 14 rebounds as they had a clutch fourth quarter performance to guide their team to deserved victory. Spurs point guard Dejounte Murray had 18 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his seventh career triple-double as they  (4-12) have lost eight of 10 for its second-worst start in franchise history. Payne added 20 points off the bench for Phoenix, which had six players finish in double figures. Phoenix finished with 25 assists and went 45 for 87 from the field. With this result Suns improve their record to 14-3, they currently are 2nd in the Western Conference. 

''People have to find ways to get (3-pointers),'' Popovich said. ''We have to try to help them. But I would be very disappointed if we weren't getting assists or we were getting murdered on the board or turning it over constantly.''

'I always say the best available shot down every time,'' Booker said. ''I think the dynamic of our team with (Ayton) being a rim threat and he can play out the pocket is also surrounded by a lot of shooters and playmakers. We have the ability to get good shots every time downcourt.We just have to be more sound in just with what works,'' Booker said. ''A team has nothing to lose when they're down 15. They were desperate. They were getting steals and they were getting turnovers. When you're shooting the ball down 15, it's a lot easier.''

The Brooklyn Nets defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-112 as they improved their record to 13-5 which is the best in the Eastern Conference. Kevin Durant returned to the lineup and scored 27 points, James Harden added 14 points and a season-high 14 assists, and Thomas gave Brooklyn a needed second-half lift, scoring eight of his 11 in the third quarter. For the Cavs Darius Garland scored 24 and Jaret Allen had 20 points and 15 rebounds, Lauri Markkanen added 22 points in his first game since Nov. 1 for the still short-handed Cavs. Durant (24,367) moved within one point of tying Allen Iverson (24,368) for 25th on the career scoring list.

'Sometimes, it takes a little while for them to get going. I wish it didn't,'' coach Steve Nash said ''They found themselves in a hole, but they're proud and they responded.''

'What's right is right and I thought there were definitely some calls that were missed and that is wrong,'' a hoarse Bickerstaff said. ''Our guys deserve better than that. People need to change the perceived notion of who the Cavaliers are.

Also read: NBA: Lakers win against Detroit Pistons as Warriors extend their winning run record to 15-2

The other results were:

• Wizards 103 - 109 Hornets
• Hawks 113 - 101 Thunder
• Celtics 108 - 90 Rockets
• Pelicans 96 - 110 Timberwolves
• Bulls 77 - 109 Pacers
• Bucks 123 - 92 Magic
• Jazz 118 - 119 Grizzlies
• 76ers 102 - 94 Kings

Tomorrow's fixtures are:

• Pistons vs Heat
• Knicks vs Lakers
• Trail Blazers vs Nuggets
• Clippers vs Mavericks

 

(Basketball news) Lakers fell under .500 as they lost 130-108 against the Celtics, Jayson Tatum who grew up idolising Kobe Bryant scored 37 points. With LeBron James coming into the line up after missing eight games the Lakers still looked very sloppy. Anthony Davis led Los Angeles with 31 points and James finished with 23 in 32 minutes. They each had six rebounds and two assists.Marcus Smart had 22 points and Dennis Schroder 21 for Boston (8-8), which climbed back to .500. Tatum had 11 rebounds and Al Horford added 18 points. With this result the Lakers record slump to 8-9 as they dropped down to 9th.

It's a surreal moment, obviously, Bill Russell and the impact he had on the Celtics and the NBA,'' Tatum said. ''Having someone like Paul come to the game and someone I have a relationship with.''I remember watching him play,'' Tatum said, breaking into a smile. ''Now he's watching me play, that's crazy

''I felt OK,'' James said. ''Obviously being out 2 1/2 weeks, I felt kind of like a rookie again, just being away from the game. Excited. Felt good enough that I could trust my body.''

'We stress making quick decisions,'' Boston coach Ime Udoka said. ''When he holds it, the crowds get to him. He was extremely aggressive.''

The Golden State Warriors won 105-102 against the Detroit Pistons. Poole scored 22 of his season-high 32 points in the first half and Wiggins had 27, as both made the most of their opportunity to step up as scorers in Stephen Curry's absence.The NBA-leading Warriors sat out Curry with a bruised hip, a night after the two-time MVP and the league's leading scorer had 20 of his 40 points in a fourth-quarter comeback victory at Cleveland. They also also without Draymond Green because of a bruised thigh after he had 14 assists in 29 minutes against the CavaliersDetroit's Cade Cunningham, the No. 1 overall pick, had 19 points, six rebounds and six assists. Jackson scored a season-high 27 points, Grant had 19 and Hamidou Diallo added 10 points.

I'm really proud of Jordan,'' coach Steve Kerr said. ''He struggled the last few games. He was locked in right at the beginning.''

'We competed and fought to get back,'' Casey said. ''Those guys are heartbroken because they put themselves in a position to win and just couldn't get that last shot to go in.'

The Chicago Bulls defeated the Denver Nuggets by 114-108. Zach LaVine took over the night as he scored 36 points,LaVine scored 12 of his 36 points in a pivotal stretch of the fourth quarter, DeRozan hit eight straight late free throws and the Bulls won in Denver for the first time since 2006.DeRozan finished with 26 points, including a 12-for-12 performance at the line. LaVine and DeRozan were sizzling in helping the Bulls win. Aaron Gordon had a season-high 28 points for the Nuggets, who've dropped three straight. He was 10 of 12 from the field and had nine boards as they were without the reigning MVP Nikola Jokic. LaVine has now scored 20-plus points 15 times this season, tied with Kevin Durant of Brooklyn for most in the league

''They've got to pick either me or him,'' LaVine said of the tandem with DeRozan. ''One of us is going to get a good look or create a play.''''I haven't heard that in my tenure here,'' he said. ''Hearing the fans and having them travel and be supportive on the road is incredible.''

'They were making big shots. We were making big shots,'' LaVine said. ''Obviously, if the ball is in me and DeMar's hands, we're going to make the right play, I think, pretty much every time.''

'It's remarkable to watch him,'' Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. ''He's one of the best tough-shot makers in this league.''

Also read: NBA: Curry magic sinks the Cleveland Cavaliers as Miami Heat beat the in-form Washington Wizards

The other results were:

• Hornets 121 - 118 Pacers
• Nets 115 - 113 Magic
• Pelicans 94 - 81 Clippers
• Bucks 96 -  89 Thunder
• Suns 112 - 104 Mavericks
• Kings 89 - 108 Raptors

The fixtures for tomorrow are:

• Knicks vs Rockets
• Wizards vs Heat
• Pacers vs Pelicans
• Celtics vs Thunder
• Hawks vs Hornets
• Bucks vs Magic
• Trail Blazers vs 76ers
• Kings vs Jazz
   

(Basketball news) The Lakers suffered their eight loss of the season as Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 47 to win 109-102. Khris Middleton came back from COVID 19 and broke the franchise record for the most 3 pointers made, Middleton made three consecutive 3 pointers in the fourth quarter to put the Bucks ahead.The second of those 3s was his 1,051st with the Bucks to match Ray Allen for first place on the team's all-time list. For the Lakers, Talen Horton Tucker scored 25 points, Russell Westbrook had 19 points as Anthony Davis also couldn’t impact the match with his 18 points. LeBron James missed an eighth straight game for the Lakers due to an abdominal strain. The Lakers have gone 3-5 during that stretch. Los Angeles also is missing Trevor Ariza and Kendrick Nunn, who haven't yet appeared in a game this season. With this result, the Bucks improve their record to 7-8 and as for Lakers their record stands at 8-8.

'That's a very, very special place to be,'' Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. ''I think we all just admire what Khris does every night, his ability to shoot, the different ways he gets 3's and his kind of consistency and longevity here

It's a part of the game,'' said Anthony Davis, who scored 18 points for the Lakers. ''Same thing with the team we just played. They've been hit with injuries as well. It kind of goes with the league, the business of the game. You go out there and put your body on the line every night, God forbid, something is going to happen in the course of a season. Someone's going to get hurt. We've got to adjust and continue to fight until we get everybody back

'I wanted to be the aggressor out there,'' Antetokounmpo said. ''I wanted to initiate the contact, get in the paint, make the right play and just play with an edge out there.''

Warriors continued their fine start to the season with a comprehensive 117-99 victory over the Nets. Curry showed why he’s leading the MVP charts after scoring 37 points, easily winning the matchup between the NBA’s top scorers when Kevin Durant had his worst nights this season. Andrew Wiggins added 19 points as Draymond produced a defensive masterclass over Kevin Durant, he managed only 19, the first time all season he didn't hit 20. He shot 0 for 8 in the decisive third quarter and finished 6 for 19 after sitting the fourth. James Harden  scored 24 points as it was not enough for the Warriors to go 12-2 in the NBA, which is the best record in the whole of NBA.

''So it's not the playoffs, but there's an intensity that you have to show up to beat a team like that,'' Curry said. ''You thrive off that competitive atmosphere, knowing that there's a lot of talent on the floor.''

'They got long defenders, guys that can help, so seeing bodies all the time when I had the ball, that's what great defenses do. And then some shots I wish I could've had back,'' Durant said. ''I rushed a few once we got down 15, 20. I'm trying to get it back so fast you end up taking bad shots and rushed shots.''

It was the Phoenix Suns’ 10th straight victory after they beat the in-form Dallas Maverick 105-98, a 37 point outburst helped them secure the victory as it was a shooting slog from the Phoenix Suns. Booker scored 24 points, DeAndre Ayton had 19 points and 13 rebounds as last year’s finalist went on their longest winning streak since 2009-10. The Mavericks were playing their first game this season without star guard Luka Doncic, who suffered sprains to his left knee and ankle in the waning moments of a victory over Denver on Monday. Even without their star they almost won the fixture as Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 22 points, Kristaps Porzingis added 21 and Jalen Brunson had 18. With this victory the Suns improved their record to 11-3 as they stand 2nd in the Western Conference. 

We didn't shoot a great number tonight but when we needed it, guys just stepped up,'' coach Monty Williams said. ''We have the mentality of, `Let it fly.'

That wasn't the play,'' Booker said with a grin. ''But we made it work. That's the name of the game, figuring out a way

The guys played hard, gave us a chance to win on the road against the Western Conference champs, who also have won nine in a row,'' Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. ''Everyone in that locker room executed the game plan. We just missed some shots down the stretch and they didn't.''

Also read: Staples Center to be renamed Crypto.com Arena in an estimate $700 million deal for 20 years

The other results were:

• Jazz 120 - 85 76ers
• Clippers 106 - 92 Spurs
• Pistons 97 - 86 Pacers
• Hornets 97 - Wizards
• Hawks 110 - 99 Celtics
• Heat 79 - 70 Pelicans
• Trail Blazers 112 - 107 Bulls

The fixtures for tomorrow are:

• Heat vs Wizards
• Cavaliers vs Warriors
• Timberwolves vs Spurs
• Grizzlies vs Clippers
• Nuggets vs 76ers
• Jazz vs Raptors
   

(Basketball news) The Charlotte Hornets only inflicted the Warriors their second loss of the season as they lost 106-102. Terry Roizer finished with 20 points which he scored all in the second half, Miles Bridges added 22 and LaMelo Ball added 21 in what was a total team performance from the Hornets. For the Warriors, Andrew Wiggins scored 28 points on 12 of 19 shooting and Steph Curry added 24 points and 10 assists in his annual homecoming game, the contest was tense as the lead changed hands 25 times but in the end the effort came up short. With this result Warriors stay on top of the Western Conference with a record of 11-2 and as for the Hornets they improve their record to 8-7.

Rozier said “This says a lot for our team and where we are headed, We are trying to go places and get our organization like theirs. This is a great step to where we think we want to go. I think it is more like the timing of the ball, I definitely wanted it because I had just turned the ball over and it was like everybody in the whole gym was looking at No. 3. I just wanted to try to make a play for our team and it worked out.''

The Lakers rallied back from an embarrassing loss against the Timberwolves to bounce back and win 114-106 against the San Antonio Spurs. Anthony Davis top scored with 34 points and 15 rebounds, Talen Horton Tucker making his season debut scored 17 points as Carmelo Anthony and Wayne Ellington both had 15 points each. The Lakers have improved their record to 3-3 since LeBron James was sidelined on Nov 4 because of an abdominal strain. Dejounte Murray had a triple-double for the Spurs with 22 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Keldon Johnson scored 24 points. Murray's other triple-double came in the previous meeting against the Lakers. San Antonio lost for the fifth time in its last seven games and fell in the opener of consecutive games at Los Angeles.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, “I was really happy with their effort. Too many turnovers tonight against those guys, but we never gave in. They kept playing, they're getting better. They've got to keep their energy up.''

Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said about Horton-Tucker “We have a strong belief in that young man and what he can do on both sides of the ball. Obviously, when we get whole, we have a log of good choices, but he's going to be a big part of it”

Brooklyn Nets beat the Thunders 120-96 as Kevin Durant made himself at home again in Oklahoma City. Kevin Durant top scored with 33 points as the league's scoring leader made 9 out of 17 shots and had 8 rebounds, James Harden also chipped into the act with 16 points and 13 assists but the actual star of the show was Patty Mills scoring 29 points and a career high nine 3 pointers for the Nets. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 23 points for the Thunder, and Lu Dort added 20. Oklahoma City had won four straight before losing today. With this result Nets improve their record to 10-4 in the Eastern Conference and are in second position behind the Wizards. 

Durant enjoyed his return and said, ''You think about the foundation and how you built yourself up as a pro, and this is definitely the spot for me. It taught me all about what it means to be a pro. The people here and the organization really guided me as a young player. That set the foundation for where I am today. There are a lot of great memories coming back, seeing a lot of people. It's good to see folks here and play in front of the crowd . I had a good time”

Durant added by saying, 'It's crazy how stuff happens. “You never thought when James got traded - I didn't know what the future would hold. For us to come back around on the same team as we got older is pretty sweet ... We helped build this thing. It's good to come in here and see what it is today”

The other results were:

• Hawks 120 - 100 Bucks
• Rockets 89 - 115 Suns
• Nuggets 124 - 95 Trail Blazers
• Clippers 90 - 100 Bulls

The fixtures for tomorrow are:

• Wizards vs Pelicans
• Cavaliers vs Celtics
• Knicks vs Pacers
• Hawks vs Magic
• Mavericks vs Nuggets
• Thunder vs Heat
• Lakers vs Bulls
• Trail Blazers vs Raptors
   

(Basketball news) Lakers suffered an embarrassing loss against Timberwolves as Karl Anthony Towns scored 18 of his 29 points during Timberwolves dominant third quarter and they snapped their six match losing streak with a 107- 83 victory at the staples centre. D’Angelo Russell had 22 points against his former team as the Timberwolves outscored the Lakers 40-12 in the third quarter. Anthony Davis had 22 points and eight rebounds as the Lakers dropped to 2-3 with LeBron James sidelined by a strained abdominal muscle, Russell Westbrook scored 20 points on his 33rd birthday but it completely disintegrated after the second half as the Wolves went on 29-4. With this result the Lakers record stands at 7-6 as they move to 7th in the Western Conference

Davis said, “We're not going to win a championship the way we're playing, we have to be better. We've got to decide who we want to be. A championship team? That's not us right now.”

Minnesota coach Chris Finch said, “Desperately needed this one, In this situation, the more desperate team usually wins in the NBA on any given night. We've been playing well. We just haven't been playing well often enough. Felt good to watch some shots go in finally.''

Golden State Warriors beat the in-form Chicago Bulls 119-83 as Steph Curry again lit Chase Centre. The reigning NBA scoring champion piled up 40 points with nine three pointers, Draymond Green delivered an all around performance to guide them to their 7th consecutive win. It was also a historical night for Curry as he passed Ray Allen for the most 3 pointers made in NBA history. Zach LaVine scored 23 points and DeMar DeRozan had 18 to lead the Bulls, who missed star Nikola Vucevic during his absence with COVID-19 as the Bulls had no answer to Curry’s brilliance. With this result Warriors improve their record to 11-1 and sit on top of the Western Conference.

Coach Steve Kerr said, “In general, the high point is establishing our home floor, that this is going to be a tough place to come and win a game. And a lot of that is the way we're playing, a lot of that is our fans, the energy in the building, there's a really good vibe about the team, the fans feel it. Great way to start the year but now we've got to go out on the road and it's going to get a lot tougher. We obviously are very happy to be where we are.''

Curry said of performing for Davidson coach Bob McKillop, “It's special. The schedule gods worked out somewhat in terms of they got to come to the game. Obviously, we're going to Charlotte tomorrow so I'll miss the Davidson-USF game, but to have Coach in the building ... it always gets me going reminding me of the journey to get here and all that went into making me the player and person I am now.''

Brooklyn Nets got back to winning ways after getting 120-112 victory over New Orleans Pelicans. With James Harden and Kevin Durant both hitting clutch shots, the Brooklyn Nets were able to get away with blowing a 21-point second-half lead on the road. Harden highlighted a 39-point, 12-assist performance and also scored a game-sealing 27-foot 3-pointer with 29 seconds left. Durant scored 28 points as Joe Harris heavily contributed with 24 points to get back to winning ways. Valanciunas and Nickeil Alexander Walker added 36 points together but it wasn’t enough for them. With this result Nets move to 2nd in the Eastern Conference with 9-4 record.

Durant said, “We were able to take that nice little haymaker and keep pushing, I think they found something that was working more so than us just playing down to their record.”

Also read: NBA: Clippers beat Miami Heat to win their 6th match on a row as the 76ers lose against the Raptors

The other results were:

• Celtics 122- 113 Bucks
• Hornets 104 - 96 Knicks
• Cavaliers 98 - 78 Pistons
• Rockets 92 - 104 Trail Blazers
• Thunder 105 - 103 Kings
• Grizzlies 94 - 119 Suns
• Spurs 109 - 123 Mavericks
• Nuggets 105 - 96 Hawks

Tomorrow's fixtures are:

• Jazz vs Heat
• Pelicans vs Grizzlies
• Magic vs Wizards
• Pacers vs 76ers
• Raptors vs Pistons
• Cavaliers vs Celtics
• Clippers vs Timberwolves
   

(Basketball news) Lakers snapped out of their two match losing streak as they won 126-123 against a spirited Charlotte Hornets. Anthony Davis scored 32 points, Russell Westbrook had his first triple double with the Lakers but the star of the show was Carmelo Anthony as he came off the bench to score 29 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including 7 of 10 from 3. He is now shooting 52 percent from 3, including 64 percent at home and helping his team get an overtime victory. For the Hornets, Terry Rozier had a season high 29 points after Lamelo Ball had his second triple double of his career with 25 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists. It's the Lakers' first victory in the four games that LeBron James has missed this season; Monday was his third straight sitting due to an abdominal strain. With this result, the Lakers improve their record to 6-5 and stand 8th in the Western Conference.

Curry lit up the chase center in San Francisco as he dropped an NBA season high 50 points with nine 3 pointers, 10 assists and 7 rebounds. He single handedly led the Warriors to a 127-113 victory over the Hawks as the crowd started chanting “MVP! MVP!”. He left the court with 8.48 left on the clock as he was examined for his left shoulder. Trae Young with 28 points  and Bogdanovic 17 points tried their level best to get a result out of it but ultimately their efforts went in vain. With this result Warriors improve their record to 9-1 in the Western Conference.
 
Curry said, “We kind of talked about certain preparations for my shot, just certain mechanics that he called it, even having a little bit more conviction about when it's time to shoot, just a little seed he planted. I took that into warmups and the rest of the game. He was very timely with those words of wisdom.''It's always nice,  You never come out with a certain number in mind. It's just when you get it going, you just keep going

Coach Steve Kerr said, “That was just a stunning performance by Steph,  He was amazing. I want to say I've never seen anything like it but I've been watching it for seven years, so I have seen something like it and still it's just incredible to watch.''  

The Chicago Bulls continued their magnificent start to the season by winning 118-95 against Kevin Durant’s Brooklyn Nets. DeMar DeRozan scored 28 points and Zach LaVine added 24 points as the Bulls rallied in the fourth quarter with 42 points. Kevin Durant’s 38 points went in vain as the Nets five match winning streak came to an end. With this result Bulls improve their record to 7-3 and move up to third in the Eastern Conference,  the Nets slump to sixth in the standings with a 7-4 record.

DeRozan said “We stayed aggressive, We had a couple of stretches, especially in the first half, where we got messy on both ends. Turning the ball over, letting them get out in transition. We stayed resilient, especially going into that fourth quarter. We stayed aggressive and kept attacking, getting out on transition and making everything tough for them.''

Durant said, “They made shots, they were aggressive in everything that they did. They got stops, ran out. They got some high-level shotmakers on that team, so they made tough ones all night. You got to give them credit, they played with a lot of intensity. We're frustrated. We want to win every game.

Also read: NBA: Knicks continued their amazing start to the season as Lakers and Warriors both lose

The other significant results were:

• 76ers 96 - 103 Knicks
• Grizzlies 125 - 118 Timberwolves
• Mavericks 108 - 92 Pelicans
• Nuggets 113 - 96 Heat
• Kings 104 - 109 Suns
• Wizards 101 - 94 Bucks

The fixtures to look out for tomorrow are:

• 76ers vs Bucks
• Jazz vs Hawks
• Clippers vs Trail Blazers

 

(Basketball news) New York Knicks continued their fine start to the NBA season as they beat the unbeaten Chicago Bulls 104-103, Kemba Walker again top scored with 21 points, RJ Barrett also added 20 points to hand Bulls their first loss this season. The victory wasn’t easy for the Knicks, it boiled down to the last possession after the Bulls went on a 12-0 run in the final minutes to nearly tie the score in the end. The Knicks literally had a 104-91 advantage with 3 minutes to play as DeMar DeRozan and Zach Lavine almost inspired a comeback, Zach Lavine top scored for the Bulls with 25 points but the major worry for the fans is that he tore his ligament in his left thumb.

New York coach Tom Thibodeau said, “Right now, we're still getting a feel for each other, every game we're getting better and better. I love the fact that everyone is sacrificing for the team and putting the team first. That's how you win big in his league.''

LaVine said, “It was a good game. It was our first real test and it came down to that last shot. We fought back. I just wish we got into it a little sooner where we could take a lead.''

Golden State Warriors suffered their first loss of the season after they lost to the young and spirited Memphis Grizzlies in overtime 104-101, this was a repeat of the play in game from five months ago that Grizzlies won 117-112 in overtime. Steph Curry scored 36 points but went scoreless in the fourth quarter and in overtime as Ja Morant and co took advantage of this and outscored their opponents. Ja Morant top scored with 30 points with 11-22 shooting, Desmond Bane scored 19 valuable points to snap a two match winless streak for Memphis Grizzlies.

Curry said after the match “The last two shots in regulation, the last one, the game-winner, looked good, those are two shots I'd take every day of the week. Overtime, I think I pressed a little bit, maybe settled a little bit, especially when I didn't have it going from 3, and not getting into the paint and getting my runners off, getting the ball moving. Little critical of myself on those last three shots.''

Miami Heat beat the Brooklyn Nets 106 - 93, Bam Adebayo top scored with 24 points and nine rebounds to better their record to 3 wins and 1 loss. Preseason favourites Nets haven’t had a good start to the season as Kevin Durant did his best with 25 points and 11 rebounds but in the end it was too much for him to do alone, a worrying sign for the Nets fan would be the slow start James Harden is off to as Kyrie Irving still remains unavailable.

Durant said, “I like how we're playing defense the last couple games, I like where our defense is trending. ... I feel like we're generating good shots. We're just (not) knocking them down. If we continue to generate good shots we'll put ourselves in good position”

Los Angeles Lakers suffered their third loss of the season to OKC as Shai Gilgeous Alexander scored 27 points to take them to a 123-115 win. The Oklahoma City Thunder were down by 26 points at one stage as they rallied from behind, this equaled the Thunders biggest comeback in franchise history, to subsequently this was also their first victory of the season.. Early on Westbrook and Anthony Davis dominated the proceedings as they scored 20 and 30 points respectively, Westbrook also managed his first triple double in a Lakers uniform before getting ejected in the final seconds.

Gilgeous-Alexander said Oklahoma City never considered giving up, ''It's a 48-minute game, Crazier things have happened. ... So we knew it was possible. I myself have come back from a deficit almost that big, so I knew it was possible. Just stay the course. Every game, every moment for the whole season.''

Also read: NBA: Lakers win back to back games as Warriors maintain their perfect start to the season

Other significant results were:

• Mavericks 104 - 99 Spurs
• Rockets 91 - 122 Jazz
• 76ers 110 - 102 Pistons
• Wizards 122 - 111 Hawks
• Bucks 108 - 113 Timberwolves

The fixtures to look for tomorrow are:

• Heat vs Hornets
• Nets vs Pacers
• Lakers vs Cavaliers
• Nuggets vs Mavericks
• Raptors vs Magic

 

(Basketball news) Steph Curry lit up the night with his first triple double since January 2016 as he scored 21 points 10 rebounds and 10 assists for Golden State Warriors who came back from 10 points to stun Lebron James and the new Los Angeles Lakers by 121-114 in the season opener.

The Lakers were dominant all throughout the first three quarters as LeBron James and Anthony Davis showed the world why they are the best duo in the league, James scored 34 points and 11 rebounds while Davis had 30 points and 11 rebounds. Ultimately it was the fourth quarter that proved to be decisive as they got out scored 38-29, no other Laker players even scored in double figures as Frank Vogel and his coaching team will try to get the best out of this roster. Newly added star player Russell Westbrook couldn’t make a big impression as he shot 4 of 13 for 8 points in his Lakers debut.

Giannis and the Milwaukee Bucks didn’t let their first title in their history distract them from their title defence as they breezed past the Nets in the opening night. Although Kevin Durant and Patty Mills scored 32 and 21 points respectively, the bucks were too strong in the end as they won 127-104. Although Bucks won the game, it came at a cost as their star player Jrue Holiday got injured with a bruised right heel and subsequently sat out the second half of the game.

Nets were missing star guard Kyrie Irving after his refusal to take the Covid-19 vaccine, James Harden had to step up but couldn’t deliver up to his expectations as he scored 20 points making 6 of 16 shots. On the other hand after Holiday’s injury, Khris Middleton and Pat Connaughton stepped up their game and each scored 20 points to secure a comprehensive victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

“We can’t give a team 20 more shots than us. Imagine coming to a game and saying, here, take the ball 20 times on offense before we get an offensive position. This is one game out of 82 of them. We’ll look at it that way. Every team will look at it that way. The Bucks won today, but they are still trying to fine-tune what they do, too. I think every team in the league is going to look at their first few games, first few weeks and see where their team is going and then make adjustments” said Kevin Durant after the loss to the bucks.

Antetokounmpo said. ''I'm excited. But now it's over with. We've got to focus on building good habits, keep moving forward and keep playing good basketball and hopefully we can repeat this again this year, next year and all the years that we're going to be here down the road.''

Brooklyn coach Steve Nash said. ''We weren't very good, If you're not playing at a high level against the champs, you're not going to win.''

In tomorrow’s matches we will see last year’s finalist Phoenix Sun take on Denver Nuggets as just one of the marquee fixtures tomorrow. The Nuggets will most likely be without last year's MVP Nikola Jokic as he is recovering from an ankle injury as they will have to heavily rely on Aaron Gordon to score the majority of the points to get a win over the rampant Suns who will head into the match with a fully fit squad. The New York Knicks take on the Boston Celtics in their opening fixtures, the Knicks last season were a surprise package making the playoffs after 10 years but this season after the acquisition of Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier they will be hoping to make the conference final at least. As for the Celtics they are going through a transition period as they will heavily rely on their young players Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown to produce the goods.

Also read: Everything to know about the 75th NBA season as Lakers and Nets start as favourites for the Championship

The other fixtures for tomorrow are:

• Hornets vs Pacers
• Pistons vs Bulls
• Raptors vs Wizards
• Timberwolves vs Rockets
• Pelicans vs 76ers
• Grizzlies vs Cavaliers
• Jazz vs Thunder
• Trail Blazers vs Kings
•  Spurs vs Magic   

 

(Basketball news) The 75th NBA season is starting with the new trend of super teams in fashion as the likes of Lakers and Nets just added more superstars to become outright favourites to go all the way to the final. This year, teams will be back to playing a full 82 game season with full capacity stadiums as 30 teams will be participating, divided into the Western and Eastern Conferences.

A lot of historical records can be broken this season as Golden State Warriors star player Stephen Curry is set to become NBA’s all time leading three point shooter, he needs only 143 threes to overtake the legendary Ray Allen. Gregg Popvich, the manager of San Antonio Spurs begins his 26th year as a coach, needing only 26 wins to pass Don Nelson for the most victories in NBA history. LeBron James keeps on breaking records as he is going to start in his 19th season, with a total of 35,367 points as he's on the cusp of breaking Karl Malone (36,928) to become the second highest scorer in NBA history.

The Eastern Conference this season is packed with talent and will be an interesting watch to see how teams will adjust to their relatively new roster. Last season's champions Milwaukee Bucks will again win the Conference as well as the Championship this season but their task won't be easy especially teams like Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat all having improved significantly this season. Some of the dark horses from last year like the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks also added all star calibre players in their roster to make the Eastern Conference even more competitive than last season.

The Western Conference was full of surprises last season as the Phoenix Suns made the NBA playoffs after 11 years and shocked everyone when they reached the finals. This gives an indication on how tough the Eastern Conference is, at least 12 teams are eyeing the 8 spots in the NBA playoffs. This season again Lakers will be favourites to come out of the Western Conference as they probably have the best roster on paper but the likes of LA Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Portland Trailblazers, Dallas Mavericks can cause an upset and go to the NBA final. The unpredictability and the world class players present in the Western Conference tends to be more in the limelight and this season with each roster stacked the competition is going to be tougher.

The race for this year's MVP will be an intriguing watch as last year's winner Nikola Jokic will be looking to make it 4 consecutive MVPs for players from Europe. The likes of Giannis  Antetokounmpo, Steph Curry and LeBron James will all be looking to retain the trophy this season. Some new aged superstars like Luka Doncic, Trae Young and Ja Morant  can also be in the MVP reckoning as they have consistently been their franchise cornerstone in the recent years. 

Also read: Los Angeles Lakers vs Brooklyn Nets: The battle between two superteams

The 75th NBA season tips off tomorrow with two mouthwatering fixtures between Brooklyn Nets vs Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers vs Golden State Warriors at 5 am and 7.30 am respectively. The two championship favourites will battle it out with two former champions is quite a first day matchup for basketball fans. Brooklyn Nets arguably have the best offensive players in Kevin Durant and James Harden in their ranks and will be looking to avenge their loss they had in the Eastern Conference final last season. For the Milwaukee Bucks, their roster remains the same and will be looking to repeat last year's feat by beating the mighty Brooklyn Nets as Ginnas and Khris Middleton will be the key players to look out for if they are to cause an upset.

The LA Lakers are coming off a pretty terrible preseason having lost all their six matches as they will be looking to start the season fresh with their new big three of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook who will be playing for the first time together against the Golden State Warriors. As for GSW all eyes will be on Steph Curry as he will have to wait 2 or more months for his partner in crime Klay Thompson to return to the court after a 2 year long injury. Lakers have mostly got their 2020 winning squad back as LeBron looks to equal Michaell Jordan's six championship rings.

(Basketball news) As the new NBA season draws closer and the majority of the free agents found respective homes, the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets emerged as the strongest teams without a shadow of a doubt. Even though last year's NBA champions Milwaukee Bucks and finalist Phoenix Suns remain relatively unchanged from last season, both teams don’t possess the historical talent that the Lakers and Nets have.

The Lakers last season got eliminated in the 1st round of the playoff series by the Phoenix Suns but this season Rob Pelinka (General Manager) made sure that the same thing isn't repeated. At the end of last season, Lakers managed to pull off a blockbuster trade where they managed to get 9 times NBA all star and 2016-17 MVP Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards. With Lebron James and Anthony Davis already in the team, adding Westbrook makes them the team to beat in the Western Conference. With the Lakers adding former NBA all stars Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard and Rajon Rondo in free agency their roster looks more dangerous than before.

The Brooklyn Nets last season pulled off the trade of the decade by getting James Harden from Houston Rockets, adding to a roster which already contained Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Last season, according to all experts, the Nets should have the NBA Championship but were beaten by the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference final, although injuries hampered the squad which eventually led to their downfall last season. This season Steve Nash (Coach of Nets) will be hoping that his stars remain fit as they have already added former all stars LaMarcus Aldridge and Paul Milsap to an already staked roster.

With both teams' ambition of winning a NBA championship last year not being fulfilled, the teams will be even more hungry to reach the NBA final this season. The Los Angeles Lakers have got back the championship core which won the NBA 2 years ago but the key advantage that the Lakers have over the Nets is the championship experience they have in their roster. On the other hand, the Nets have arguably the best trio in American sports history as on any given day James Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Iriving can beat any team just based on their talent. As the fans eagerly wait for the start of the new season the NBA finals looks destined to be between these two teams unless and until injuries hamper them both. This is a site that not only the basketball fans want to watch but the sports fans in general will also tune in.

Also read: Virtual development program launched by NBA Academy for top female prospects from outside the US

The Los Angeles Roster:

Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Marc Gasol, Trevor Ariza, Rajon Rondo,Dwight Howard, Wayne Ellington, DeAndre Jordan, Russell Westbrook, Kent Bazemore, Anthony Davis, Kendrick Nunn, Malik Monk, Talen Horton-Tucker.

The Brooklyn Nets Roster:

Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Joe Harris, Patty Mills, Blake Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge, Paul Millsap, Nic Claxton , Bruce Brown, Cam Thomas, James Johnson, DeAndre Bembry, Jevon Carter, Day’Ron Sharpe.

The Brooklyn Nets in the absence of their key players Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant managed to upset the NBA Table toppers Philadelphia 76ers with 122-109 on Thursday. The Nets played in their good ol' retro blue tie dye jerseys from the 90-91 season and dominated most of the second half with a double digit lead, ensuring their second consecutive win without Durant. LeVert added 22 points out of which 10 were assisted and 7 were rebounds while Jarret Allen added 15 points and 11 boards for the Nets. Irving was ruled out on Thursday citing personal reasons. The Nets then announced that Irving won't be traveling with the team to Memphis later that night. Durant missed out on the second consecutive game due to the NBA's strict health and safety protocols. However, Coach Steve Nash said that if Durant continues to test negative for the coronavirus, he would be able to return by Sunday. The 76ers were in high spirits with their clinical 141-136 victory over Washington on Wednesday but couldn't carry on their form as they ran into trouble with 20-8. However, they managed to come back with a lead early in the second quarter. Nevertheless, the Nets quickly bounced back and went up by 16 before taking a 65-51 lead in the half-time and were in a commanding position thereafter.