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Draymond reveals Steph gave him ‘night night' tips before Bucks game originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Draymond Green always takes notes, even when it comes to perfecting Warriors superstar Steph Curry’s iconic “night night” celebration.

Green took his first shot at mimicking his teammate’s celly after a game-sealing dunk against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Dec. 8. The Warriors forward hit the pose from baseline to baseline in true Draymond Green fashion.

Draymond hit the “night night” on Rudy Gobert and the Wolves 😅

pic.twitter.com/qiMW47egGG

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) December 9, 2024

While it certainly was iconic in its own right, the master of the celly, Curry himself, couldn’t help but share some pointers with his teammate.

And that eventually carried over into the second and latest “night night” celebration from Green, who whipped it out with 25 seconds remaining in the Warriors’ 97-94 win over the New York Knicks last Saturday.

“Here’s what I will say: everything I do I do aggressively,” Green said on “The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis.”
“My shoulders come up. If you watch Steph, Steph shoots the ball and it goes through, he’s just going to do it like this. When I do anything, my shoulders do this, I’m tense. The first time I did the ‘night night,’ which was after the Rudy Gobert play when I dunked, I hit the ‘night night’ and it was way up here. It was aggressive as hell.

“Now, Steph gave me notes after that one, and he said it was a little aggressive, you were too high up, you got to come down a little. So I took notes. What I will say is on that one, I think my hands were a little lower, I learned to drop that down a little more.”

DRAYMOND DROPPED A "NIGHT NIGHT" ON THE KNICKS 😴pic.twitter.com/UDPgczUAUu

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 16, 2025

You be the judge, Dub Nation. Did Green correct his flaws the second time around?

Curry seems to think so.

“[Green] has evolved his version of it since the Minnesota game earlier in the year,” Curry told reporters. “He’s softened it a little bit. He’s brought it down to where a pillow is supposed to really be. I realized he does everything aggressive and with his whole body.

“I’m giving that a solid A-minus effort on the “night night” tonight. That was beautiful.”

While Green is well on his way to perfecting the “night night,” or what his teammates have twisted into something more fitting for Green, “The Nightmare,” he also figures it might be time to craft his own celebration given how well he’s been playing as of late.

“I’ve had a couple ‘night night’ moments over the last week and a half, so maybe I need to come up with my own celebration,” Green said. “But I love paying homage to the GOAT, Steph.”

At least we know if Green plans to do the “night night” — or some variation of it — again this season, third time will be the charm.

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Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla reacts to change in team ownership originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics will have a new owner soon.

An investment group led by Massachusetts native Bill Chisholm — the managing director and co-founder of private equity firm Symphony Technology Group — has agreed to purchase a majority of the team at a $6.1 billion valuation.

Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck will stay on as CEO and governor of the team through the 2027-28 season.

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla reacted to the news in an interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Zolak & Bertrand show Friday morning.

“I just spoke to (Chisholm) yesterday, briefly, but that was a good conversation,” Mazzula said.

“I think it’s two-fold, right? I think you’re grateful for what our ownership has done up until this point, and it kind of goes back to what we’ve always talked about is, the Celtics have always been in great hands. And the people who have either coached, played, owned it and been a part of it have left it in a better place.

“I think Wyc and (Steve Pagliuca) have done that, and now we transition into Bill and his group and Wyc still being there, but it’s great that we have someone that is from the area and has a passion and commitment to just keep pushing the Celtics forward and trying to make it the best it can be. He shares that, and I’m looking forward to growing our relationship with him.”

The Celtics have won two championships since the Grousbeck family bought the team in 2002, including last year’s league record 18th title in franchise history.

The C’s are in a good position to win another one this season. They entered Friday with a 50-19 record, good enough for second place in the Eastern Conference standings.

They start a six-game road trip Friday against the Utah Jazz.

How Warriors tied franchise history with successful homestand originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

There is nothing quite like home.

The Warriors proved that to be true during their recent impressive homestand, in which they went 6-1 and improved to 41-29 on the season.

Golden State’s six wins and one loss over that seven-game stretch tied its franchise record.

Chasing franchise records at Chase 🙌 pic.twitter.com/3ZmO2x8zfl

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 21, 2025

The victories came over the Detroit Pistons, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks and, most recently, the Toronto Raptors.

Golden State’s lone loss at Chase Center during that near two-week stretch came at the hands of the Denver Nuggets, who pulled off a stunning victory playing without Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray.

The momentum came at the perfect time for the Warriors battling to stay in the top-six seed in the wild Western Conference. They currently hold a 1.5-game advantage over the No. 7 Los Angeles Clippers, and they are creeping two games behind the fifth-place Memphis Grizzlies with 12 games remaining in the regular season.

After they wrapped up a successful homestand, the Warriors now will embark on a six-game road trip as the playoff race continues to tighten.

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Warriors share positive Steph injury update before six-game road trip originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Take a sigh of relief, Dub Nation.

An MRI on Warriors superstar Steph Curry confirmed he sustained a pelvic contusion but no structural damage, the team shared in a release Friday morning.

Curry won’t travel with the team as it begins a six-game road trip Saturday against the Atlanta Hawks, and he has been ruled out of the game.

He will be re-evaluated Monday.

Stephen Curry injury update: pic.twitter.com/avgVUxPpVU

— Warriors PR (@WarriorsPR) March 21, 2025

Curry sustained the injury during the third quarter of Golden State’s win over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night after he had a scary fall under the basket. The star guard immediately grabbed his lower back in pain and went to Golden State’s locker room shortly after.

The Warriors later ruled Curry out of the game with a pelvic contusion. He finished the game with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting and 2 of 4 from 3-point range.

In Year 16, Curry is averaging 24.2 points on 44.7-percent shooting from the field and 39.4 percent from long-range, with 4.4 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.1 steals in 32.2 minutes through 60 games this season.

After the Hawks, the Warriors will face the Miami Heat, New Orleans Pelicans, San Antonio Spurs, Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers before returning home on April 4 to face the Denver Nuggets.

Entering the road trip, Golden State is 41-29 and sixth in the Western Conference after an impressive 6-1 homestand.

The Heat are 11 games under .500 and on a nine-game losing streak. The Pelicans have a 19-51 record, and the Spurs are just above them in the Western Conference standings.

Golden State has the fourth-easiest remaining schedule in the West, per Tankathon, so the Warriors likely will be extra cautious with their superstar while banking on their other leaders, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green, and key role players, to step up in Curry’s indefinite absence to ensure he’s fresh and ready to go come playoff time.

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The sixth game in eight nights for the Lakers meant they were going to have to pay for all the energy they used fighting short handed over the last week.

It meant Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic needed to sit out because of sore ankles, Jarred Vanderbilt had to rest an injured groin and Dorian Finney-Smith was out because of nagging ankle issues. LeBron James also missed his seventh consecutive game because of a groin strain.

So who was in?

“The healthy players are gonna play tonight,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.

Read more:Luka Doncic's hot first quarter sparks Lakers to win over shorthanded Nuggets

That Bronny James is one of the healthy ones, again, is a reminder of how much of his journey is already house money, the Lakers rookie surviving a cardiac arrest less than two years ago.

With the Lakers down to 10 available players against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks in a 118-89 lopsided loss, Bronny James got his longest runway yet to show the steps he’s taken largely in the shadows of the G League.

James scored a career-high 17 points, sparking the Lakers’ only positive quarter, the second, when the team outscored the Bucks 27-23.

James made seven of 10 from the field along with three rebounds, five assists and three turnovers. He played a season-high 30 minutes for the Lakers (43-26).

Bronny James on his best game as a pro and how he’s stayed level-headed amidst all the scrutiny and praise pic.twitter.com/Wyt7rljdED

— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) March 21, 2025

The performance caps a stretch where he has been much more comfortable on NBA courts. He has made 15 of his last 26 shots over an eight-game stretch that’s included real rotation minutes twice, including Thursday. Dalton Knecht also scored 17 points.

Antetokounmpo led the Bucks (39-30) with 28 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Wednesday night's loss to the Spurs was one thing, but to look lifeless against a 17-win Hornets team is another.

That's what the Knicks have to come to terms with after their 115-98 loss to Charlotte on Thursday night. Sure, it was the second of a back-to-back on the road, and New York is trying to find wins without Jalen Brunson on the floor, but how the Knicks played in Charlotte was nothing fans have seen or expected from this team all season.

The Knicks were outworked and outplayed for most of Thursday's game. And Josh Hart has one big concern for his team right now.

"Mental toughness. I think that’s my main concern right now," Hart said after the game. "We can make all the excuses in the world, but there’s highs and lows in the season and no one's 82-0. But the way that we're losing games is embarrassing.

"So, we have to find a way to right the ship. We have to come out next game with more intensity, more desperation. Starts with myself. As someone who's supposed to bring energy. I've been atrocious the last several weeks. So, we have to get our minds prepared for the end of the season."

Hart, who came in averaging 9.7 rebounds a game, came down with just four against the Hornets. That's indicative of how much more the Hornets wanted this game as they outrebounded the Knicks 52-38.

But it wasn't just on the glass, the Knicks shot poorly too. They shot only 40 percent from the field and 10-of-39 from three (25 percent). The Knicks' bench was also outscored 37-11.

The Knicks knew it would be difficult to generate offense without Brunson, and they are now just 3-4 without him, but they have to find ways to stay afloat and can't get down on themselves when shots aren't falling.

"Shots are gonna fall, not fall, whatever that is. In that case, we got to clean up on the defensive end," Miles McBride said. "Make sure we're doing everything we can for them to miss shots and us to rebound because we're a talented team. We're going to end up making shots. It's just got to be on the other end." 

"The defense and the rebounding have to be the constant, so the nights that you're not shooting well you still have a good chance to win," head coach Tom Thibodeau said of his team's performance. "I thought for the most part, there was a lot of unselfish play. We didn't shoot well, but we had 26 assists. Right. And there was low turnover, but I think sometimes when you're missing those types of shots it tends to … you can't allow that to take away from your intensity, or your concentration. The frustration, you have to eliminate."

The team talked about fatigue and how the Knicks' recent brutal schedule has attributed to their slow starts of late, but this group would tell you that it's not something they can accept.

"Like I said, we can make the excuses. We've had a terrible two, two and a half weeks of travel. But all teams go through terrible travel periods during the season. And it's not an excuse," Hart said of the schedule. "If we're right mentally. We win some of these games but we're not doing what it takes.

"We’re not doing the extra effort. We're not giving energy, not giving the right output. We're crying to refs. We got to pick it up."

"It's very uncharacteristic of us to come out the way we did," McBride said. "And we just got to come together and find it. Whatever you have to do. We have to do it."

For the Knicks, they have a few nights to rest in their own beds before their next game. They host the Washington Wizards on Saturday night, looking to put this embarrassing stretch behind them.

New York's loss Thursday coupled with the Pacers' win against the Nets has put the gap between them at only three games. If the Knicks want to hold onto their No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, they'll need to figure things out and fast.

NDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Bennedict Mathurin scored six of his 28 points in overtime and the Indiana Pacers defeated the Brooklyn Nets 105-99 on Thursday night.

Mathurin added a career-high 16 rebounds for the Pacers. Myles Turner added 23 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks.

Ziaire Williams and D’Angelo Russell each scored 22 points for Brooklyn.

Indiana trailed 52-42 at halftime and outscored the Nets by four points in the third quarter and six in the fourth to force overtime tied at 91.

In overtime, Mathurin shot 2 for 3 from the field and 2 for 3 from the line.

Takeaways

Nets: Brooklyn’s free-fall continued with the team’s 12th loss in 14 games. Brooklyn led 52-42 at halftime but scored just 39 points in the second half and was outscored 14-8 in overtime.

Pacers: Indiana came through in the clutch without its star point guard and now has won five of six. Tyrese Haliburton missed the game with lower back soreness. It was his third straight missed game, and the Pacers have won them all.

Key moment

Mathurin made three free throws with 14 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 91, leading to overtime.

Key stat

The Pacers outscored the Nets by 14 points at the free throw line, making 27. The Nets hits 13.

Up next

The teams meet again on Saturday, in Indianapolis.

A lot has been made of the Knicks' schedule, and their fatigue, and it showed Thursday as they dropped the second of their back-to-back, 115-98 to the Hornets in Charlotte.

New York could not feed off of the large contingent of Knicks fans in attendance, as they were outplayed and outworked by the Hornets (18-51). The Knicks' offense was once again flat without Jalen Brunson, and the team is now 3-4 without its captain.

Here are the takeaways...

-The Knicks got off to another slow start, missing their first three shots and allowing the Hornets to get out to a 9-2 lead in the opening minutes. But the Knicks would clamp down on defense and get their offense going through OG Anunoby, as they went on a 15-4 run to take the lead for the first time with six minutes to go in the first.

However, the Knicks' offense would go ice cold in the final minutes. The combination of misses and turnovers allowed the Hornets to go on a 12-0 run and end the first on top, 27-19. The Knicks would not score a point over the last five minutes. Anunoby led the Knicks with 10 points, but the offense as a whole was not good. They shot 7-for-20 in the opening frame.

Mark Williams and Jusuf Nurkic took advantage of the Knicks' lack of size, with Mitchell Robinson not playing due to injury management. Both centers scored six points each and grabbed seven combined rebounds, three offensive.

-The second quarter went a lot like the first, with cold shooting from the Knicks. In the middle of the quarter, the Knicks went without a field goal for four minutes, while the Hornets continued to beat New York on the glass.

Karl-Anthony Towns would hit back-to-back threes to break the Knicks' drought and give the team some life, but New York could not cut more into Charlotte's lead, as they went into halftime down, 54-44.

Only four Knicks scored in the first half, with Miles McBride being the only starter to go scoreless on 0-for-3 shooting. The guard was questionable heading into the game with a groin contusion, but he simply could not find his range. The Knicks bench went a combined 0-for-5 and didn't score a point.

New York was also outrebounded, 27-17, at halftime.

-McBride would find his game early in the third, making his first shots and finding his teammates for early scores. On the defensive end, the Knicks found their intensity just like in Wednesday's game. New York would cut Charlotte's lead to five, but whenever the Knicks made a run, the Hornets would make a timely three or get to the free-throw line.

The Knicks' frustration bubbled over in the waning minutes of the third, when Towns went hard to the basket and thought he had an and-one. The Knicks' center was demonstrative toward the official and was assessed a technical foul. Towns wouldn't shoot his first free throw of the game until 18 seconds left in the third quarter.

-The Knicks' bench was being outscored 32-0 until Cam Payne hit a three with 10:55 left in the game for the bench's first points. It didn't amount to much, as every Knicks run would be extinguished by a Hornets' three or run. With two minutes left in the game and down 18 points, Tom Thibodeau emptied his bench.

-The Hornets outrebounded the Knicks, 52-38, and were better offensively. Charlotte collectively shot 49 percent, including 15-of-32 from three, while the Knicks shot just 40 percent and 10-of-39 from downtown.

Charlotte's bench outscored New York's, 37-11.

Anunoby (25) and Towns (24) led the way for the Knicks, but it was not nearly enough. Josh Hart scored 13 points -- after scoring just two on Wednesday -- but came down with only four rebounds. MIkal Bridges (16 points on 5-of-11 shooting) and McBride (9) rounded out the scoring for the starters. LaMelo Ball had a team-high 25 points for the Hornetts, and went 5-of-10 from three. Williams also finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds (seven offensive).

Highlights

B2B triples for KAT!

(via @nyknicks) pic.twitter.com/SDBEfC1qSp

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) March 21, 2025

What's next

The Knicks get some much-needed days off before returning to The Garden on Saturday to take on the Washington Wizards. Tip is set for 8 p.m.

What Butler yelled at Draymond after clutch block in Warriors' win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

While Draymond Green typically authors the Warriors’ defensive heroics, Jimmy Butler couldn’t pass up an opportunity to remind his Golden State teammate he can do it too.

Butler delivered the play of the game with a clutch block in the final minute of the Warriors’ 117-114 win over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday, racing over to Green where the two shared a brief exchange before joining in celebration.

So what exactly did Butler tell the former NBA Defensive Player of the Year?

“I can do that too,” Butler told reporters when asked what he told Green following the block. “Like I always say, I respect Draymond so much. I definitely respect him because he took 14 [3-pointers] tonight. I love that. He’ll do anything to make sure this squad gets a dub. Whatever you ask him to do, he’s willing to do that. So, I’m glad I can follow suit in that sometimes.”

DID WE JUST BECOME BEST FRIENDS!? pic.twitter.com/00qEcbxtwG

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 21, 2025

Butler’s heroics helped stave off a gritty effort from a scrappy Raptors team, propelling the Warriors to a 6-1 homestand as Golden State continues to rack up wins after the addition of its new star wing.

JIMMY BUTLER CLUTCH BLOCK 🚫pic.twitter.com/YFGOJKlSlz

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 21, 2025

Butler and Green form a dynamic defensive duo that inspires plenty of confidence moving forward as Golden State seeks to make a deep NBA playoff run.

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Steph's injury puts Warriors in tough spot even as schedule eases up originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – No matter how hard the Warriors practice, how carefully they study video or who they acquire in trade, their fate rests, until further notice, in the same hands that have carried them for 12 seasons.

So, when Stephen Curry landed hard on his backside with 3:24 left in the third quarter, the sellout crowd at Chase Center went library quiet. The Warriors were being pushed around by the lottery-bound Toronto Raptors, and now Curry was face-down on the floor in obvious pain, never to return.

Curry’s departure left the Warriors on their own, lurching through the final 15 minutes before finally massaging their way to a 117-114 victory that was in doubt until the final seconds.

“We decided to be physical, be the more physical team later on in the game,” Jimmy Butler III said. “It’s never too late for that. Then just putting bodies on bodies and going up and getting the loose balls, and getting every rebound, getting some steals, getting some blocks. Then it turns into good things for us offensively.”

The Warriors (41-29) escaped a close call, but Curry’s condition was on everyone’s mind. The initial diagnosis was a “pelvic contusion,” which ended his night and leaves his immediate future subject to closer examination and prognosis.

“He was trying to come back,” coach Steve Kerr said, adding that Curry would undergo an MRI test. “He thought he might be able to come back, and we just decided not to risk anything.”

Draymond Green and Butler covered for Curry. Neither shot well, but they dived into their team leader roles and did the two things that will be absolute requirements to maintain momentum without the team’s offensive engine.

They got crucial stops on defense and valued the ball on offense. Golden State committed two turnovers in the final 15 minutes while forcing seven Toronto giveaways.

“The mentality is just, when Steph’s out of the game, then it’s vitally important that we get stops,” Green said. “So, you just kind of emphasize that. Guys stepped up to the challenge. The offense is never going to be as smooth when he’s not out there.”

The positive single-game outcome notwithstanding, the Warriors are entering the final 12 games of the regular season uncertain about the availability of their most indispensable player.

Regardless how long Curry is out, any chance of the Warriors continuing their stellar play depends on how wide Green and Butler can spread their veteran wings – and how much crisper their younger teammates can perform.

“The message is going to be, whether he’s with us or whether he’s not – hopefully he is,” Butler said of Curry. “But if he isn’t, that’s just more perfect basketball that we’re going to have to play. We can’t afford to turn the ball over. We can’t afford to foul because we don’t have the one individual that can, like, automatically get us back into the game.”

If there is a silver lining, it is this: Golden State will spend another 11 days tucked into the most exploitable portion of their remaining schedule. Having disposed of the 24-46 Raptors to close a 6-1 homestand, the Warriors go on the road this weekend knowing their next four opponents are reeling.

They’re at Atlanta (33-36) on Saturday, at Miami (29-40, nine consecutive losses) in Butler’s return next Tuesday, at New Orleans (19-51) on March 28 and at San Antonio (29-39) on March 30. The Warriors won’t see another winning team until April 1 at Memphis.

Which isn’t to suggest this will be as easy it would seem – with or without Curry.

Six Warriors scored in double figures against Toronto, with Green leading with 21 points. Quinten Post 18, Curry 17, Jonathan Kuminga and Butler 16 apiece and Brandin Podziemski 15. With the Warriors shooting 42.2 percent from field for the game – and only 25 percent in the fourth quarter – every bucket seemed to be small victory.

“The margin for error goes way down when he’s not out there,” Green said of Curry. “We’ve got to understand that and act accordingly.”

The Warriors found a way on this night. It was ugly and the win came with an at least a modicum of negative emotional vibes. The road awaits, and it’s up to Butler and Green to set the tone for a team that can’t prosper without playing focused and productive basketball no matter who is on the court.

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