VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Cody Glass had two goals and an assist, Lenni Hameenaho scored his first NHL goal and the New Jersey Devils beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-4 on Friday night to extend their Western Canada winning streak to three.
Nico Hischier and Connor Brown also scored for New Jersey. Jacob Markstrom made 21 saves.
Linus Karlsson, Teddy Blueger, Zeev Buium and Brock Boeser scored for Vancouver, and Kevin Lankinen stopped 19 shots.
New Jersey went 2 for 3 on the power play. The Canucks were 0 for 2 and have gone four games without a power-play goal.
Hameenaho scored on a goalmouth tap-in at 1:41 of the first.
In the second, Hischier and Glass made it 3-0 with goals 40 seconds apart. Six minutes later, Karlsson put the Canucks on the board.
Then with Conor Garland serving a double-minor for high-sticking Hischier, Blueger scored short-handed before Brown replied.
With 1:48 left in the second, Buium pulled the puck out of a crowd and found the net to cut it to 4-3.
In the third, Glass added his second of the night. Boeser scored with 1:12 remaining and Lankinen off for an extra attacker.
SEATTLE (AP) — Cutter Gauthier had a goal and an assist, Lukas Dostal made 21 saves and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Seattle Kraken 4-2 on Friday night for their sixth straight victory following a nine-game losing streak.
Ryan Poehling scored short-handed, Chris Kreider added a power-play goal and Pavel Mintyukov banked in a long empty-netter. The Ducks have three games left on a five-game trip they opened with a 2-1 shootout victory at NHL-leading Colorado on Wednesday night.
Jared McCann and Jaden Schwartz scored for Seattle in the third game of a six-game homestand. Philipp Grubauer stopped 27 shots, highlighted by a successful poke-check on Jansen Harkins’ penalty shot midway through the second.
Gauthier and Poehling gave Anaheim a 2-0 lead in the first period, with the Ducks outshooting the Kraken 13-2 in the opening 20 minutes.
Gauthier scored at 1:02. He broke down the right side, cut inside and beat Grubauer with a wrist shot.
Poehling connected with the Ducks a man down with 4:36 left. He raced down the left side and avoided Grubauer's poke-check.
McCann got one back for Seattle at 1:55 of the second. Kreider countered on a power play 2:05 later, scoring off a rebound for his 16th of the season.
Schwartz cut it to 3-2 at 1:54 of the third, getting behind the defense to tip in Shane Wright's feed.
Up next
Ducks: Have an Alberta back-to-back, playing at Calgary on Sunday night and Edmonton on Monday night.
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Hendrix Lapierre ended a 90-game goal drought, Alex Ovechkin had an empty-netter and the Washington Capitals beat the Calgary Flames 3-1 on Friday night to end a four-game losing streak.
Aliaksei Protas also scored and Logan Thompson made 25 saves against his hometown town.
Morgan Frost scored for Calgary, and Devin Cooley stopped 35 shots. In the third, Cooley denied defenseman Jacob Chychrun's lacrosse-style wraparound attempt on a power play.
Protas broke a tie at 7:35 of the third. When Cooley slid to his left to defend against Tom Wilson, a rebound squirted out to the Belarusian, who fired the puck into an open net.
Lapierre tied it at 1 at 6:33 of the second. John Carlson's shot deflected off the leg of Yan Kuznetsov and onto Lapierre’s stick for the 23-year-old’s first goal since March 18, 2024, which also happened to be against Calgary. He has 10 career goals,
Calgary countered a Washington short-handed, odd-man rush with a power-play goal on the Flames’ next trip down the ice. Frost bear Thompson with a wrist shot below the goalie’s outstretched stick at 6:09 of the first.
Antetokounmpo could not finish out Friday night's game against the Denver Nuggets as his team was mounting a frantic comeback that ultimately fell just short.
The injury appeared to occur as Antetokounmpo was heading back up the court in the final minute.
Giannis non contact injury.
He was running down the floor and didn’t seem okay at all, he has been struggling all night 💔 pic.twitter.com/Z4FmoARNWr
He initially headed off to the locker room before returning to watch the finish on the bench. He briefly walked onto the court during a delay in the action but did not play the final 34.2 seconds.
Milwaukee had a chance to win at the buzzer, but Kyle Kuzma's 3-point heave clanked off the rim. The shorthanded Nuggets hung on for a 102-100 win.
Antetokounmpo did not appear to be 100% physically even before he was forced from the game. Earlier in the fourth quarter, Antetokounmpo walked up the court during a possession that ended with a Ryan Rollins 3-pointer. Denver called timeout after the make with 8:06 to go. Antetokounmpo remained in the game, though, when play restarted.
The two-time MVP and 2021 Finals MVP had made an earlier (brief) trip to the locker room during play in the first quarter. And, per Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network, Antetokounmpo played just 6 minutes in the third quarter.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo consoling his brother Giannis while he's injured on the bench ❤️ pic.twitter.com/zkO9TsrJOp
Bucks coach Doc Rivers said Antetokounmpo has a calf injury.
"I thought he was favoring it for most of the second half, personally," Rivers said. "I asked our team five different times ... I didn't like what my eyes were seeing, personally. Giannis was defiant about staying in.
"On that one play, you can see him trying to run down the floor, to me, I had had enough. I didn't ask, I just took him out. He actually wanted to go back in, it just ... that was a no from me."
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Andrew Nembhard had 27 points and 11 rebounds, and Jarace Walker added a career-high 26 for the Indiana Pacers, who withstood a late rally to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 117-114 on Friday night in a rematch of last season’s NBA Finals.
Walker, whose previous high was 21 points, sank four free throws in the final 10 seconds to lift injury-riddled Indiana (11-35), which snapped a three-game skid. Pascal Siakam added 21 points.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 47 points for the NBA-best Thunder, who were also depleted by injuries with Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso among those sidelined. Chet Holmgren added 25 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks.
It was the second and final meeting this season between the Pacers and Thunder, whose fortunes have diverged since Indiana star Tyrese Haliburton tore an Achilles tendon early in Game 7 of last season’s NBA finals. Oklahoma City went on to win its first title and has the league’s best record (37-9), although the Thunder have slowed after a 24-1 start.
Oklahoma City trailed 113-103 with 2:35 remaining but pulled within 115-114 on a pair of free throws by Gilgeous-Alexander with 7.8 seconds left. After two free throws by Walker, the Thunder’s Isaiah Joe missed a 3-pointer with 3 seconds remaining.
Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning MVP, made 17 of 28 field goals and all 12 free throws, and he scored nine points in the final 2 minutes.
ROCKETS 111, PISTONS 104
DETROIT (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 32 points as Houston ended the Detroit's four-game winning streak with a victory.
Durant averages 30.6 points in 32 career games against the Pistons - his highest average against any other team. He added seven rebounds and three assists in 40 minutes without a turnover.
Alperen Sengun scored 19 points and Reed Shepherd added 18 points for the Rockets, who have won four of five. Amen Thompson had 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for Houston, which had lost five straight on the road.
Jalen Duren led Detroit with 18 points and seven rebounds, but Detroit’s other four starters combined for 37 points on 13-of-35 shooting (37.1%).
Houston outscored Detroit 34-20 in the third quarter to turn a tie game into an 86-72 lead. Durant and Sheppard combined for 18 points in the quarter on 7-for-8 shooting.
Detroit got within 87-80 with a four-point possession early in the fourth. Cade Cunningham missed, but Jae’Sean Tate was called for a flagrant foul when he undercut Ron Holland II as he went for the rebound. Holland made both free throws and Duren dunked off a Cunningham lob.
HAWKS 110, PHOENIX 103
ATLANTA (AP) — Jalen Johnson scored 23 points and tied a career high with 18 rebounds for his NBA-leading 30th double-double, and Atlanta rallied to beat Phoenix after the Suns lost Devin Booker to a right ankle injury.
Onyeka Okungwu had 25 points for the Hawks, who trailed 91-84 late in the third quarter but gained momentum after Booker went down. The Suns star scored a team-high 31 points and added four rebounds and three assists before leaving.
CJ McCollum extended his double-digit scoring streak to 34 games, scoring 21 points off the bench and adding four rebounds. McCollum and Corey Kispert were acquired in a trade with Washington in exchange for Trae Young in early January.
The Hawks, who outscored the Suns 26-12 in the fourth quarter, were 43 of 81 from the field overall, including 13 of 26 from 3-point range.
It was the second and final meeting between the teams this season. Atlanta beat Phoenix 124-122 earlier this season in mid-November.
CAVALIERS 123, KINGS 118
CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points, Evan Mobley matched a season high with 29 and Cleveland showed some more encouraging signs in a win over Sacramento.
The Cavs, who have been streaky through much of this season, won for the fourth time in five games. They also improved to 16-5 against teams with losing records.
Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson has been hoping to get more consistency from his team, which can look like title contenders one night and dismal the next. That trend continued against the Kings, who rallied from an 11-point deficit to take a 114-113 lead with four minutes left.
But Mitchell, who has carried the Cavs through several rough patches, dropped a big 3-pointer with 2:29 remaining to put Cleveland up 118-114.
The Kings had several chances to get closer, but they missed three straight 3-pointers in the last minute and Cavs guard Jaylon Tyson put them away by making a floater with 25.6 seconds to go.
Mobley added 13 rebounds and seven assists in one of the defensive-minded forward’s best all-around games.
PELICANS 133, GRIZZLIES 127
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Saddiq Bey scored 19 of his season-high 36 points in the fourth quarter and New Orleans erased a double-digit second-half deficit to defeat Memphis.
Trey Murphy III scored 32 points for New Orleans, while Zion Williamson finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds as the Pelicans snapped a three-game losing streak.
Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 26 points and 12 rebounds, while Jock Landale added 24 points and 11 rebounds. Cam Spencer had 21 for Memphis, shooting 7 of 9, including 4 of 6 from outside the arc.
The Pelicans, who had lost six straight to Memphis, trailed 123-122 after Jackson scored inside. But Williams scored on a three-point play and Bey added a 3-pointer to preserve New Orleans’ victory.
The Pelicans are anchoring last place in the Western Conference, while Memphis — which has lost five of seven — sits just outside 10th place.
Memphis built a 13-point lead with accurate shooting in the third quarter, but New Orleans whittled into the advantage as Williamson used his bulk in getting to the rim against a smaller Grizzlies defender in the fourth. Between Williamson and Bey, the Pelicans overtook the Grizzlies.
CELTICS 130, NETS 126, 2OT
NEW YORK (AP) — Payton Pritchard scored 32 points, Jaylen Brown had 27 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, and Boston outlasted lottery-bound Brooklyn in double overtime.
Hugo González forced the second OT on a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in the first extra period. Baylor Scheierman found the 19-year-old Spanish rookie with a no-look pass and González buried the wide-open shot from the corner.
The Celtics, who have won four of five, never trailed in the second OT. Anfernee Simmons put Boston ahead for good with a three-point play, and Sam Hauser’s 3-pointer made it 128-124 with 1:51 left.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 30 points and Nolan Traore added a career-high 21 for the Nets, who nearly knocked off the second-place team in the Eastern Conference two days after they were beaten 120-66 by the crosstown New York Knicks.
Nic Claxton forced overtime with a putback dunk with 1.9 seconds left and finished with 19 points for the Nets, who have lost nine of 10.
Brooklyn led 117-112 with 7.9 seconds left in the first OT. Pritchard hit a 3-pointer for Boston, then fouled Traore, who made 1 of 2 free throws to set up González’s tying 3.
Brown had three rebounds in the second overtime to complete his fifth career triple-double.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg had 18 points and nine rebounds, Morez Johnson scored 12 points and No. 3 Michigan beat Ohio State 74-62 on Friday night.
The Wolverines (18-1, 8-1 Big Ten) took control with a 21-6 run in the second half after the Buckeyes (13-6, 5-3) tied it for a ninth time midway through the second half.
Ohio State’s John Mobley Jr. scored 14 of his 22 points in the first half when Michigan led 33-30.
NO. 24 SAINT LOUIS 97, ST. BONAVENTURE 62
OLEAN, N.Y. (AP) —Ishan Sharma scored 29 points and Saint Louis routed St. Bonaventure.
The Billikens (19-1, 7-0 Atlantic 10) tied their best start 20-game start in the program’s 110-year history, joining the 1993-94 team. They took control of the game early, dominating from 3-point range, and had a 58-26 lead to end the first half.
Trey Green had 15 points for Saint Louis and Amari McCottry added 12.
DALLAS (AP) — Jason Robertson scored his 30th goal of the season with one minute to play to lift the Dallas Stars to a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Friday night.
Robertson lifted the puck in from the right circle four seconds after Roope Hintz won a faceoff for the Stars, who have won two of their last three games following a three-game losing streak.
Wyatt Johnston and Matt Duchene scored power-play goals for the Stars, and Johnston also had an assist. Jake Oettinger made 20 saves.
Robertson is tied with Edmonton’s Connor McDavid for second in the NHL in goals scored.
Pavel Buchnevich had a goal and an assist and rookie Dalibor Dvorsky also scored for the Blues, who have lost eight consecutive road games, all in regulation, and are a league worst 7-15-3 away from home. Jordan Binnington stopped 16 shots, his record at Dallas dropping to 1-5-3.
Dallas split a back-to-back, shutting out Columbus 1-0 on Thursday night.
The teams traded power-play goals in the first period. Johnston’s rebound score gave the Stars a 1-0 lead 5:41 in. His 17th power-play goal is the most in the NHL this season and one short of Mike Modano’s Dallas record. Dvorsky tied the score at 11:30 on the Blues’ first shot on goal, his team-high fifth power-play goal.
Buchnevich’s one-timer from the slot put St. Louis ahead four minutes into the second period. Duchene answered with Dallas’ second power-play goal 3 1/2 minutes later with Binnington tossing his stick toward the puck.
The Stars finished with five defensemen after Ilya Lyubushkin left during the second period with a lower-body injury.
Up Next
Blues: Will complete a back-to-back at home vs. Los Angeles on Saturday night.
Stars: Will complete a home-and-home at St. Louis on Tuesday night.___
NEW YORK (AP) — Payton Pritchard scored 32 points, Jaylen Brown had 27 points and 12 assists, and the Boston Celtics outlasted the lottery-bound Brooklyn Nets 130-126 in double overtime on Friday night.
Hugo González forced the second OT on a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in the first extra period. Baylor Scheierman found the 19-year-old Spanish rookie with a no-look pass and González buried the wide-open shot from the corner.
The Celtics, who have won four of five, never trailed in the second OT. Anfernee Simmons put Boston ahead for good with a three-point play, and Sam Hauser’s 3-pointer made it 128-124 with 1:51 left.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 30 points and Nolan Traore added a career-high 21 for the Nets, who nearly knocked off the second-place team in the Eastern Conference two days after they were beaten 120-66 by the crosstown New York Knicks.
Nic Claxton forced overtime with a putback dunk with 1.9 seconds left and finished with 19 points for the Nets, who have lost nine of 10.
Brooklyn led 117-112 with 7.9 seconds left in the first OT. Pritchard hit a 3-pointer for Boston, then fouled Traore, who made 1 of 2 free throws to set up González’s tying 3.
The Celtics led 101-91 with 3:06 left in regulation, but the Nets closed the period on a 13-3 run.
Up next
Celtics: At Chicago on Saturday night.
Nets: At the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night.
NEW YORK (AP) — Payton Pritchard scored 32 points, Jaylen Brown had 27 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, and the Boston Celtics outlasted the lottery-bound Brooklyn Nets 130-126 in double overtime on Friday night.
Hugo González forced the second OT on a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in the first extra period. Baylor Scheierman found the 19-year-old Spanish rookie with a no-look pass and González buried the wide-open shot from the corner.
The Celtics, who have won four of five, never trailed in the second OT. Anfernee Simmons put Boston ahead for good with a three-point play, and Sam Hauser's 3-pointer made it 128-124 with 1:51 left.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 30 points and Nolan Traore added a career-high 21 for the Nets, who nearly knocked off the second-place team in the Eastern Conference two days after they were beaten 120-66 by the crosstown New York Knicks.
Nic Claxton forced overtime with a putback dunk with 1.9 seconds left and finished with 19 points for the Nets, who have lost nine of 10.
Brooklyn led 117-112 with 7.9 seconds left in the first OT. Pritchard hit a 3-pointer for Boston, then fouled Traore, who made 1 of 2 free throws to set up González's tying 3.
Brown had three rebounds in the second overtime to complete his fifth career triple-double.
The Celtics led 101-91 with 3:06 left in regulation, but the Nets closed the period on a 13-3 run.
Up next
Celtics: At Chicago on Saturday night.
Nets: At the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night.
The Celtics found themselves in a dog fight at the Barclays Center on Friday night, playing their first overtime and their first double overtime of the season. After not playing all of regulation and only 5 seconds in overtime, Amari Williams played the entire 2nd overtime and made a lot of plays as Boston beat Brooklyn 130-126.
Not before after being left for dead, Hugo Gonzalez hit a game tying three to force double overtime.
Derrick White joined Jayson Tatum and Josh Minott on the inactive list, it was a rest night for him (we don’t see the Celtics mark someone as missing a game for rest really ever so I found that mildly interesting). In his place, Baylor Scheierman got his third start of the season with Payton Pritchard, Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser and Neemias Queta. Haywood Highsmith has yet to play in a game for Brooklyn this season and that did not change on Friday. The Nets started Egor Demin, Drake Powell, Michael Porter Jr., Noah Clowney and Nic Claxton.
The Celtics got off to a fast 8-0 start but that lead vanished quickly as the Nets went on a 14-5 run to take a 14-13 lead in the first quarter. Sam Hauser’s hot streak continued early in the game as he made 2 of his first 3 shots.
We had Ron Harper Jr. first quarter minutes! Entering the game on Friday, Harper, older brother to the number 2 pick Dylan Harper and son to former Bulls guard Ron Harper, had played 28 minutes on the season entering Friday night.
The first quarter ended in a deadlock at 28 points. Jaylen Brown led the team with 7 points, though he went 2/7 in the quarter, while Luka Garza had 5 points off of the bench.
The 2nd quarter was a frustrating one for the Celtics. Boston had too many turnovers, was not sharp enough on defense and were not quick enough getting back in transition, leading to a lot of good Brooklyn looks.
The Celtics closed the quarter well, cutting what was an 11 point lead to 6 as Brooklyn led Boston, 55-49 at the half. Jaylen Brown and Sam Hauser led the team in scoring with 12 points.
The third quarter was back and forth and much like the first half the three point shot kept Boston in it. The Celtics were able to take a lead with 2:32 left in the quarter thanks to Payton Pritchard making shots and a Hugo Gonzalez ‘pick six’ with the steal and layup.
Brooklyn did end up retaking the lead, 81-78 at the end of the third quarter. Pritchard led the team with 19 points to go along with 3 assists. 12 of his 19 points came in the third quarter.
The 4th quarter was much like the rest of the game, back and fourth. However, what the rest of the game didn’t have was a big time Luka Garza rejection.
As the 4th quarter progressed, the Celtics put together an 11-0 run to give them their largest lead of the night at 10 points with 3:05 left in the game capped off by a Payton Pritchard three. Derrick White was a big fan of it.
Payton Pritchard has 22 points and Derrick White, who is resting tonight, loves what he sees pic.twitter.com/Q5r6jQHOal
The Celtics could not put the Nets away as Brooklyn stuck around and had it at a one possession game with under a minute to go after Noah Clowney made a pair of free throws.
Sam Hauser had a chance to put the Nets away with a three but he missed it and a Nic Claxton put back made it a one point game.
Anfernee Simons went to the line with 11 seconds left, he split the pair to make it a 2 point game.
Michael Porter Jr. missed a go ahead three but a Nic Claxton put back tied the game at 104 a side with 1.9 seconds left. Offensive rebounds costed the Celtics again.
Make it six straight points off offensive rebounds for the Nets. Claxton ties the game with a putback dunk.
Celtics will have the ball with 1.9 seconds to get up a potential game-winner. https://t.co/ssF61PnQLD
The Celtics possession was a mess as we had overtime in Brooklyn.
Luka Garza picked up three fouls in the first 2 minutes of overtime and fouled out of the game. That was less than ideal because the Celtics already could not get a rebound. Brooklyn was also in the bonus 2 minutes into the period.
Then, the Celtics took a 4 point lead and had a chance to take it to 7 but then the Nets got a lob dunk and a three and took the lead.
Payton Pritchard had a look to take the lead and Jaylen Brown had a look to tie the game. They both missed as the Nets took a 5 point lead.
Pritchard then hit a three to make it a 2 point game. Nolan Traore went 1/2 from the line so the Celtics had the ball down 3 and a chance to tie with 2.5 seconds left.
Brooklyn had a lapse in their coverage and left Hugo Gonzalez wide open from three and he drilled it to tie the game at 118 as we headed to double overtime.
Double overtime was all over the place. Everyone was tired and Amari Williams, who did not play until the last minute of overtime, played the entire period. He had an and-1 which was fun.
Boston survived and won the game 130-126. Pritchard led the team with 32 points while Brown had 27 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, his 2nd triple-double of the season.
The Celtics shot 45% from the field and 43% from three, hitting 22 threes. The Nets shot 44% from the field and 29% from three. Boston’s next game is Saturday (yes, tomorrow) in Chicago at 8 EST as the Bulls retire Derrick Rose’s jersey.
ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — Britain's Ethan Vernon won the dramatic fourth stage of the Tour Down Under cycle race Saturday which was shortened because of high temperatures and which saw defending champion Jhonatan Narvaez forced to abandon the tour after crashing.
Narvaez's UAE Team Emirates teammate Jay Vine of Australia retains a lead of more than a minute on general classification ahead of the final stage of the tour on Sunday.
Saturday's 176-kilometer (109-mile) stage was supposed to favor climbers, finishing with three grueling ascents of Old Wilunga Hill.
Instead, the stage was reduced to 131 kilometers (81 miles) as temperatures soared over 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) and the final climbs were removed because of the extreme fire risk on the bush-clad hill.
The stage ended in a bunch sprint on a long, slow rise to Wilunga township which Vernon (NSN Cycling Team) won from Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) of Denmark and Laurence Pithie (Bora Hansgrohe) of New Zealand.
“Considering the stage wasn't meant to be (a sprint) 24 hours ago, to turn around and do that ... was outrageous,” Vernon said. "I was sitting there feeling quite comfy with 250 meters to go, so I went and I got a gap and held it to the line.
“Everyone was suffering in the heat but the boys did a really good job of keeping me cool. I saw guys suffering and I kept it calm because I wasn't suffering in the heat.”
Vine and Narvaez were first and second on general classification coming into the fourth stage, 1 minute, 5 seconds ahead of their nearest rival. At the end of the stage, Vine led by 1 minute, 3 seconds from Mauro Schmid (Team Jayco Alula) of Switzerland with Harry Sweeney (EF Education EasyPost) a further nine seconds back.
The final stage Sunday will be an undulating one, covering 169 kilometers (105 miles).
The race suffered a major shock when Narvaez crashed early Saturday and was ruled out of the tour on medical advice. A second crash with 84 kilometers (52 miles) remaining split the peleton and caused the withdrawal of another UAE rider.
After an early break Matthew Greenwood and Luke Plapp of Australia and Remy Cavagna of France stayed away from the peleton for most of the stage, leading by up to 2 minutes, 30 seconds.
Plapp started the stage 1 minute, 57 seconds behind Vine and that advantage made him the overall leader on the road at times. Cavagna dropped off with around 48 kilometers (29 miles) to ride and Greenwood and Plapp finally were caught 23.7 kilometers (14 miles) from the finish.
The Brooklyn Nets had nowhere to go but up on Friday night. Not that it wasn’t obviously, but everyone knew it, and seemed focused on it.
“Just bounce back,” said Michael Porter Jr. at practice this afternoon. “Be ready to play tonight and move on.”
“It’s about how you respond,” Fernández added pregame. “Obviously you don’t like to feel embarrassed. It was a tough feeling, but we were out there together and the best thing you can do is yesterday, watch some film, talk to each other, get some work done this morning, do it again and go out there and respond as a group…Once again, how you respond is how you should be judged.”
Indeed, Brooklyn responded, and went up, but not past the visiting Boston Celtics.
The Nets began the game in a familiar position — down several possessions. Brooklyn started 1-6 from the field, seating us for what seemed like a sequel to the MSG Massacre. But thankfully, the Egor Dëmin x Drake Powell backcourt stepped in to cut the film’s funding. The rookie duo, starting together for the third time this season, put in 12 points in the first to give us our first quarter of competitive Nets basketball since Monday.
By the end of the night, everyone would be talking about Brooklyn’s third rookie guard, but more on that later…
Boston battled Brooklyn’s youth with their ball movement, assisting on seven of 10 made field goals in the first, but also spent much of the period hunting Nolan Traoré switches with Jaylen Brown. Brooklyn did a solid job timing their help to assist the rook, holding Brown to a 2-7 shooting start. However, they couldn’t win every battle against the recently donned All-Star starter, especially with the officials seemingly on his side…
Entire Nets bench and coaching staff went nuts after Jaylen Brown fended off Ziaire Williams here in the first…No call. pic.twitter.com/rjfKkKguEL
That said, the Nets went into the second quarter tied with Boston and eventually leapt out to a 46-39 lead. Traoré had his “get back” with seven points in just under seven minutes during the period. The speedster’s aggression wore off on his teammates as well, as the Nets outscored their rival 8-0 on the break in the first half.
But in the second, all other Brooklyn highlights naturally belonged to the Junior. MPJ looked to respond tonight from a team and individual standpoint following a 4-14 shooting night from the field vs New York. In the subsequent period, he added six points while shooting 2-3 from the field. By halftime, he had already surpassed his scoring output from the Knick game, leading the Nets with 13 points while shooting 4-6 from the field and 2-3 from deep. He also dished three assists, including this magnet to Nic Claxton…
I’m hesitant to call third-year Claxton “prime” with him being just 26 years old, but he looked like that version of himself at the defensive end tonight. Clax showed little-to-no issue keeping up with guards after switching and could often be seen swatting at the ball like a that middle-aged guy at your local pickleball court who takes the game way too seriously. He went into the half with only six points, yet two assists and two blocks. He finished with an 18/9/4 line.
“They kept going at me,” Claxton said postgame. “They kept trying to isolate me, so that’s good. When a team was trying to isolate me, that’s good, and we just forced tough shots for him down the stretch.”
But in true Mazzulla Ball form, Boston shot 38.3% on field goals in the first, but 47.8% from three, and gave Brooklyn a 55-49 lead to start the third. The Nets maintained that advantage almost the entire period, running an offense on fumes such as Claxton iso attacks vs Neemias Queta (which rendered mixed results) and backdoor cuts from Ziaire Williams. The wheels momentarily fell off after Hugo Gonzalez picked Cam Thomas’ pocket and went coast to coast, putting Boston back in front 74-73 with 2:32 to go in the third, but the Nets rebounded to carry an 81-78 lead into the fourth.
There, neither team’s start looked like anything you’d build a highlight reel around, but would fire up a bipartisan crowd. Using that word to describe tonight’s fan attendance tonight is being generous, but that’s neither here nor there. Eight of the fourth period’s first 15 points were second chance, including all five of Brooklyn’s buckets.
Nolan Traore splashes this one from deep. He's shooting 45.5% on 3Ps in his last six games including tonight. pic.twitter.com/d6Lb07uhix
Finding a Boston bunker with that grenade, Traoré finished the night with 21 points while shooting 7-13 from the field and 2-4 from deep, continuing his solid play since coming over from Long Island.
“His ability to touch the paint and how slippery he is, that was the reason why I put him there,” Fernández. “There’s some mistakes and we need him to be the floor general and talk and use his voice, but he’s going to grow that voice and I’m going to trust him.”
Traoré took a seat at the 4:41 mark of the fourth and Boston back ahead, but then reentered the game as the Nets closed with a rather curious lineup featuring him, Williams, Porter Jr., Clowney, and Claxton.
That gamble didn’t get Fernández back up on the Boston house by the end of the fourth, but it did get him even, and able to play another round…
Soon after coming in, Traoré hit another jumper, this one inside the arc, that made it a five point game with about a minute left in the fourth. Two stops and two made free throws from Clowney later, and the Nets had the ball down three with 27 seconds to play. Traoré again finished the next possession, though this time with an assist to Claxton, who made it a 103-102 game with 11 seconds to play.
That kicked off the foul game, and with Anfernee Simons splitting his attempts at the line, the Nets possessed the ball again down two. Porter Jr. clanked the potential game-winner, but once again, Claxton was there, cleaning up the possession and sending the Nets to their second overtime game this month.
The extra period was exactly as you’d expect one to look between two teams who just put in a gritty 48 minutes. Both squads combined to begin it 3-12 from the field. All seemed lost after the Nets missed four shots on one possession while down the same amount, but an ill-timed quick trigger three from Brown reopened the door, and the Nets crawled back through it.
The next two times down the floor, Claxton finished an alley-oop and Clowney splashed his third three of the ball game, miraculously giving the Nets a one point lead with under a minute to go.
Then, it was Brooklyn’s turn to play the foul game. They couldn’t do it cleanly either, and it bit them in the end.
Traoré took care of business first, nailing each of his attempts at the line. Ziaire Williams then appeared to close the client call, hitting both his shots to put the Nets up five with seven seconds to go.
However, next time down, Payton Pritchard hit a quick strike three to keep his team alive. Traoré again found himself at the line with a chance to extend the lead late, but went one of two, giving Boston the ball back, down three, and with 2.5 seconds to play with. Of course, Gonzalez used that final grain of sand in our second hourglass to tie things up again…
“He was just wide open,” a dumbfounded Claxton said postgame. “He was wide open. He hit the shot…I guess I’m confused. I gotta watch it. I’m confused. I don’t know how it got so open. That’s in the corner. I don’t know. I don’t know. I can’t give you an answer for that.”
Porter Jr. seemed to find an extra wind in our next five minutes of free hoops, dropping six in the frame, but Boston controlled it one nonetheless. Timely finishes from Pritchard and Brown, leveraging around an over-helping and understandably tired Net defense, kept Brooklyn apart until the closing seconds (we’re almost done, I promise).
Brooklyn had a shot to apply pressure one last time, with the ball and down four, but ran out of late game fairy dust. A final miss from Porter Jr. at long last introduced us to the end of the game, and perhaps Brooklyn’s best loss of the season. At least in this building, this year, those are of high value.
“I’m proud of the basketball we played, the competitiveness,” Fernández said. “We got better today, and that’s what’s most important.”
Heck, it sure was a fun ride too.
Final: Boston Celtics 130, Brooklyn Nets 126
Injury Report
Despite the extra run time, the Nets got away tonight relatively clean. However, Nic Claxton did sustain a pinky injury.
“It’s sore,” he said. “I really don’t know. I have to get X-rays and MRIs, so I don’t know. It is sore though. It was just locking up, so I just put some tape on it.”
We’ll make sure to update as we find out more.
Milestone Watch
With his second 3-pointer in the first quarter against Boston, Egor Dëmin tied Bojan Bogdanović for the second most games with multiple 3PM by a rookie in franchise history (24). The franchise record is held by Kerry Kittles (50 such games in 1996-97).
Traoré 21 points tonight are a career-high.
This was Brooklyn’s first double-overtime game since January 20. 2021 at Cleveland and their first at Barclays Center since December 26, 2018 vs. Charlotte
Tank Watch
It was a good night for the tank … excuse me, playing the probabilities. Two teams above the Nets in the Tankathon rankings — the Pelicans (who owes their first to the Hawks) and the Pacers — both won as did the two teams below the Nets — the Jazz and the Hornets. The bottom line: Brooklyn is still in fifth and still a game and a half (and three games in the loss column) behind the Kings. They are closer to the third pick but still two and a half games back.
Next Up
No NBA team has a better record than the Los Angeles Clippers since December 23rd. No NBA team needed it more, with Los Angeles among the basement dwellers earlier in the year and in danger of giving the champs a lottery pick. They’ve still got a long way to go, but they’re back in the race at 20-24. Nets vs Clippers tips on Sunday at 9:00 p.m. ET.
The injury bug is swirling throughout the NBA and its latest victims are Phoenix Suns guards Devin Booker and Jalen Green.
Both players left during the Suns' 110-103 loss against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Friday, Jan. 23.
The Hawks were led by Onyeka Okongwu, who tallied 25 points, while Jalen Johnson had a monster game with 23 points, 18 rebounds and was an assist shy of a triple-double.
Booker scored 31 for Phoenix. Collin Gillespie and Grayson Allen had 16 apiece.
Booker went down with 5.4 seconds left in the third quarter as Phoenix led 91-84. He seemingly rolled his right ankle on Okongwu's foot, which left Booker in serious pain.
He grabbed at his ankle and screamed in agony before the Suns medical staff left the bench to tend to Booker.
Booker needed assistance from Gillespie and the medical staff to get off of the floor and he limped back to the locker room and did not return to the game.
Booker finished with 31 points on 12-of-21 shooting, including 5-of-9 (55%) on 3-point field goals, in 28 minutes.
Devin Booker is serious pain after rolling his right ankle on Onyeka Okongwu's foot.
The Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t put their best foot forward, but they still found a way to win 123-118 over the Sacramento Kings. Pretty or not, the Cavs have now won nine of their last 13 games.
All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.
Donovan Mitchell
33 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds
Mitchell still isn’t playing his most efficient basketball. Some of that is to be expected with Darius Garland out. And while I could nitpick the way he got his 33 points on 25 shots tonight — he only had 1 turnover — and the Cavs won the game in large part because of his threat as a scorer.
Though I can’t give him higher than a B+ because of his defense. It wasn’t great.
Grade: B+
Evan Mobley
29 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 blocks
This was the type of performance that allows you to let out a deep breath. You aren’t crazy for thinking Mobley is a star, after all. He’s capable of dominating every facet of the game, and the Kings had no answers for him tonight.
Grade: A+
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Opponents are daring Tyson to prove he can handle more offensive responsibility. Blitzing the ball out of Mitchell and challenging Tyson to make them pay. He’s continued to win this bet, making great decisions in the short-roll or attacking closeouts.
Grade: A-
Craig Porter Jr.
5 points, 3 assists, 5 rebounds
The Cavalier offense is begging for a three-point shooter. The lack of Sam Merrill, Darius Garland, and Max Strus has exacerbated Porter’s limitations. He shot 1-3 from deep tonight and had a difficult time generating openings as the Kings simply didn’t care to defend him outside of 20 feet.
Grade: D+
De’Andre Hunter
9 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists
I don’t think anyone knows what to do with Hunter right now. He has to find his footing and stop this downward spiral at some point.
Props to Allen for taking the physicality of this game head-on and earning 10 trips to the free-throw line. He had a near double-double and helped Cleveland win the rebounding battle.
Grade: A-
Nae’Qwan Tomlin
4 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 block
A commenter recently asked me to stop grading Tomlin on a curve. I won’t be doing that — but I will give him his lowest grade in quite some time. Tomlin was ignored on offense and totally lost on defense tonight. This wasn’t a good performance, even for a player on a two-way contract.
He avoids the F for his inbounds steal and block on Russell Westbrook’s three-point attempt in the second half.
Grade: D-
Larry Nance Jr.
2 points, 3 rebounds
Junior is back and playing better basketball than before the calf injury. Nothing special, but a servicable 14 minutes off the bench is something this team hasn’t always had in their frontcourt rotation.
Grade: C+
Dean Wade
6 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Wade did his job tonight. He’s getting back to himself defensively and shot 2-4 from three. He was a team-high +21.
CHICAGO - The Chicago Blackhawks came home after a quick one-game trip to play the Carolina Hurricanes. Down in Raleigh, they took down one of the best teams in the NHL in a shootout. It is better known as "The Oliver Moore birthday game".
On Friday night, they returned to the United Center for a match against another top NHL team, the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa came in on a 14-game point streak, even with all of the injuries that they have been dealing with.
Despite mostly being outplayed by the Lightning in the first period, Ryan Greene found a lane to the net and made it 1-0 with a beautiful move and shot. It isn't easy to beat Andre Vasilevskiy clean like that, but Greene made it happen. The dynamic duo of Oliver Moore and Nick Lardis collected the assists on the play.
The Blackhawks weren't much better in the second period. Arvid Soderblom was able to keep them in the game, but Nikita Kucherov did tie it up late with a nifty backhand after receiving a neat pass from Brandon Hagel.
In the middle frame as a whole, the Blackhawks were outshot 13-2. In the game overall up to that point, Tampa led 21-6 in shots. Chicago came into the third knowing they needed a much better effort if they were going to escape with one point, let alone two.
The play was much more even in the third period. Tampa and Chicago exchanged chances, but both Vasilevskiy and Soderblom warmed to the task. Bonus hockey was required for the second night in a row.
In overtime, the Blackhawks had their one stretch of dominance. They had multiple grade-A chances, but Vasilevskiy stood tall as he always does.
A shootout was required in consecutive games as well. Like the one on Thursday, it went to extra frames. Frank Nazar and Louis Crevier scored for Chicago, but Tampa scored just one extra goal and took the second point.
Arvid Soderblom, despite taking the tough loss, was excellent. He was the only reason that the Blackhawks had a chance to win in the first place.
“We owe a lot of credit to [Soderblom]," Ryan Greene said of his goalie. "I thought he was unbelievable. I don't think that game goes overtime without him playing the way he did.”
Soderblom made 31 saves on 30 shots during regulation and overtime. Playing in place of Spencer Knight once every few games isn't the easiest role in the world of hockey, but he has done it with class and respect for the game.
Although they don't want to keep taking penalties, their kill continues to be excellent. Add another 3/3 performance in this one, moving their NHL lead up to 85.4 percent. Again, Soderblom played a key role in that success, along with some of the young defenders.
That's three points out of four against two top teams for the Blackhawks. It wasn't perfect at times, but they continue to battle hard and find ways to collect points.
Chicago, however, must clean up their play if it is going to keep getting these aforementioned points. Being outchanced 72-40 is not the way, but their goalie and some luck allowed them to nearly win.
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