Category: Basketball

The Toronto Raptors continue their homestand when they welcome the skidding Indiana Pacers to Scotiabank Arena this afternoon.

Scottie Barnes continues to pile up the points and rebounds, and I’ll explain why he’s due for another double-double in my Pacers vs. Raptors predictions and NBA picks below. 

Pacers vs Raptors prediction

Pacers vs Raptors best bet: Scottie Barnes to record a double-double (+130)

Scottie Barnes had a quiet game in Thursday’s win against the Bulls with just 13 points and six rebounds, but that was an outlier in what’s been a strong season for the Toronto Raptors forward.

Barnes has been a jack of all trades for the Raptors with 23 double-doubles this season — 11th most in the NBA and the fifth most among forwards.

The 24-year-old has claimed three double-doubles in his last six contests and should be able to add another to his total this afternoon vs. a struggling Indiana Pacers team.

Not only do the Pacers rank 24th in points allowed per game (118.4), but they’re also 27th in opponent rebounds per contest (46.9).

Barnes, who leads the Raptors with 8.3 rpg this year, will be even more integral on the glass with center Jakob Poeltl listed as questionable with a back issue. Look for him to dominate the Pacers on the scoreboard and on the glass.

Pacers vs Raptors same-game parlay

Brandon Ingram is fresh off a 33-point outing on Thursday and has gone Over 23.5 points in four of his last five contests. The Raps forward is poised for a big game vs. a weak Pacers defense.

Toronto is a big favorite this afternoon, and for good reason. The Pacers are in the midst of a three-game skid and lost by 14 points to the Raptors three weeks ago.

Pacers vs Raptors SGP

• Scottie Barnes to record a double-double
• Brandon Ingram Over 23.5 points
• Raptors moneyline

Our "from downtown" SGP: Barnes & Noble

If the Raps are going to win big today, they’ll need help from all around the lineup. Sandro Mamukelashvili has provided plenty of scoring off the bench, averaging 11.4 ppg this season while dropping Over 10.5 points in three straight and eight of his last 11. 

Pacers vs Raptors SGP

• Scottie Barnes to record a double-double
• Brandon Ingram Over 23.5 points
• Sandro Mamukelashvili Over 10.5 points
• Raptors -8.5

Pacers vs Raptors odds

• Spread: Pacers +8.5 | Raptors -8.5
• Moneyline: Pacers +270 | Raptors -340
• Over/Under: Over 225 | Under 225

Pacers vs Raptors betting trend to know

The Raptors are 7-3 ATS in the last 10 head-to-head meetings. Find more NBA betting trends for Pacers vs. Raptors.

How to watch Pacers vs Raptors

Pacers vs Raptors latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here

The struggling Miami Heat try to shake a recent funk when they visit the capital city on Super Bowl Sunday to take on the Washington Wizards.

The Wiz are clearly happy to tank, but is Miami able to take that win? My Heat vs. Wizards predictions and NBA picks expect what the books expect: a comfortable Heat win.

Heat vs Wizards prediction

Heat vs Wizards best bet: Heat -11 (-110)

The Washington Wizards played last night and got ripped 127-113 by the Nets. They're just 3-5 against the spread playing on the second night of a back-to-back.

Defense continues to be a problem for the Wizards, who rank second-last in the NBA in points allowed at 122 per contest.

This roster is a little in shambles, too. Most notably, leading scorer Alex Sarr (ankle) and leading set-up man Kyshawn George (knee) missed yesterday's game and are a game-time decision. They are two of nine players who currently occupy the injured list, with seven sitting out against the Nets.

The Miami Heat are a cool 4-2 ATS as a road favorite, but leading scorer Norman Powell (hand) and Bam Adebayo (hip) are on the injured list and listed as game-time decisions.

The Heat are a Top-10 scoring defense, but they haven’t looked it lately. They’ve lost four of their last six, and have surrendered at least 125 points in three of those losses.

Miami has won four of the last five head-to-head matchups, and all of them have been blowouts, winning by 12+ points in each. The Wiz won the last game they played, though, surviving a 1-point win.

Normally, I’d lean on the home team and the points, but this Washington team feels like a compilation of promising talent that can’t be woven together by injured stars Anthony Davis and Trae Young.

Heat vs Wizards same-game parlay

The good news is that the books have Powell listed in the props, which means he must be close to returning. He’s coming off a 24-point game against New Orleans, and Powell has gone for 20+ in three straight games.

Alex Sarr will do damage for the Wiz against this struggling Miami defense that could be without Adebayo.

Heat vs Wizards SGP

• Heat -11
• Norman Powell Over 22.5 points
• Alex Sarr Over 16.5 points

Our "from downtown" SGP: Sarr strikes on Super Bowl Sunday!

Keyonte George has lost his jumper in February, shooting just 1-for-5 from 3-point range over three games. Miami isn’t the exact get-right team, as they’re sixth in the league in 3-point shooting defense.

Miami guard Davion Mitchell has had 7+ assists just four times in the last 11 games, and while he’s had 8+ assists in back-to-back games against the Wizards, that’s too small a sample size to put some money on.

Heat vs Wizards SGP

• Heat -11
• Norman Powell Over 22.5 points
• Alex Sarr Over 16.5 points
• Keyonte George Under 1.5 threes
• Davion Mitchell Under 6.5 assists

Heat vs Wizards odds

• Spread: Heat -11 | Wizards +11
• Moneyline: Heat -474 | Wizards +380
• Over/Under: Over 235.5 | Under 235.5

Heat vs Wizards betting trend to know

The Wizards have lost 40 of their last 41 games on the second night of a back-to-back. Find more NBA betting trends for Heat vs. Wizards.

How to watch Heat vs Wizards

Heat vs Wizards latest injuries

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here

Couldn’t he have just started a podcast? “The Internet is full of opinions. I decided it was time to make some of my own,” Giannis Antetokounmpo, one of the four best basketball players in the world, posted in a statement announcing that he was joining the prediction market Kalshi as a shareholder. “We all on Kalshi now.”

We are not, but doesn’t the tone sum it up? The universe’s ineffable forces have clearly decided that the ubiquity of sports betting companies is insufficient. There must be new companies, with which you can bet on any outcome – Kalshi competitor Polymarket has hosted markets tied to geopolitical outcomes, including scenarios related to Israel and Gaza, for instance – that incentivize people to treat life’s most important avenues as trivially as a sports game. Kalshi and Polymarket are prediction platforms rather than traditional betting companies. Users effectively bet (or “trade”) against others on the platform about the outcome of events, from familiar wagers such as the result of a sporting event, to the obscure, such as the color of a politician’s suit at an election appearance. Kalshi has enjoyed plenty of freedom under the second Donald Trump administration, and Donald Trump Jr is a “strategic advisor” for them and Polymarket. A Kalshi outcome taking bets until recently was “Giannis Antetokounmpo’s next team?” as rumors swirled that the two-time NBA MVP was about to leave the Milwaukee Bucks. Antetokounmpo will be involved in marketing and publicity for Kalshi, and is forbidden from trading on markets related to the NBA. The move is also in step with the NBA’s rules – players are allowed to endorse betting companies as long as they don’t gamble on the league itself. But that hasn’t prevented scores of fans across Instagram and Reddit, and media members on Twitter, from expressing their displeasure at the move and insisting there is a conflict of interest.

Related: The NBA jumped into bed with gambling. Now the league is getting its due

Antetokounmpo seems to be fine with the deal though, and would have you know that jumping in bed with Kalshi is no more complicated than holding some opinions. For Antetokounmpo, a multimillionaire inking a deal with thiscompany, whose CEO recently said, “the long-term vision is to financialize everything and create a trading asset out of any difference of opinion,” rather than just about any other company, is apparently no big deal. Nor is the fact that a significant part of Kalshi’s trades are on sports outcomes, and Antetokounmpo is a professional athlete. “We all on Kalshi now.” We are apparently also all in hell.

Antetokounmpo has done a fine job ruining what had been a stellar approval rating. He spurred the Milwaukee Bucks to the NBA title in 2021, emerging as a new face of the league. The next year, the Bucks made a respectable run at a title defense by losing to the Boston Celtics in the conference semi-finals in seven games. Game 7 was an unfortunate blowout, but Antetokounmpo put up more staggering numbers across the series. The Bucks were in a good place.

Since, though, they can’t stop exiting the playoffs in the first round. The Bucks are 21-29 so far this season; they’ll be lucky to even make the playoffs. Antetokounmpo has played some brilliant basketball but also suffered two non-contact calf injuries, keeping him out of games and making him the latest NBA star on Achilles Watch. Giannis is 31, and barring LeBron James-esque longevity, closer to the end of his career than the beginning. It is obvious to everybody that any winning he does from here on out will have to come on a team besides the Bucks.

The past several weeks have seen Antetokounmpo waffle between acknowledging this, which in conjunction with his agent shopping him around to other teams suggested he was on his way out, and acting insulted at the idea that he would leave. It was all very confusing and suggested that Antetokounmpo knew he had to go but didn’t want to be the bad guy.

The uncertainty behind Antetokounmpo’s future was almost certainly down to legitimate basketball reasons: teams’ willingness to trade or how much the Bucks wanted to keep their superstar. And, in any case, Antetokounmpo is forbidden from trading on the NBA with Kalshi. But perception trumps reality among NBA fans. And now it is impossible for many of them to reflect on Antetokounmpo’s future without his Kalshi stock front of mind. Every time Giannis turns in a performance, or even a play, that deviates from expectations, it may raise suspicion over whether he was trying to move Kalshi’s prediction lines. Or others could speculate he whipped up rumors of a trade so that gamblers would flock to Kelshi to bet on his future.

But perhaps what’s perhaps most depressing is that Antetokounmpo isn’t a remarkable case here. This news comes at a time when James is a DraftKings ambassador and Kevin Durant cashes checks from FanDuel. When watching a big game, regardless of league, odds are you won’t be able to avoid a deluge of over-under lines and parlays from commentators and social media accounts. Prior to joining ESPN, the NBA’s foremost news-breaker Shams Charania unintentionally moved a betting line with a misleading tweet while co-hosting a show for FanDuel. Many NBA-focused outlets – notably The Ringer and its large fleet of podcasts – are sponsored by a betting company, which could create a conflict of interest even in the coverage of gambling scandals. League commissioner Adam Silver has given tepid quotes in favor of more regulation but has largely welcomed sports gambling since arguing for its legalization in the New York Times in 2014. Then there are even more serious incidents. At the start of the season, the Miami Heat’s Terry Rozier was arrested for allegedly using inside information about NBA players to manipulate prop bets.The NBA is infested with betting companies and ripe for yet another scandal.

Wagering away your life savings has never been easier: just reach into your back pocket, open a fiercely addictive app striving for your attention, and click away. But gambling has become so ubiquitous that we decided somewhere along the way that this problem doesn’t matter, or is better ignored. The secondary problem with rampantly available gambling is the incentivization of rigging outcomes, and the constant suspicion even in absence of a scandal. Sports are meaningful enough to define the lives of players and fans alike, but all that love and time rests on the strength of the idea that what we are watching is real. It’s never been so easy to lose the faith, and Antetokounmpo’s latest deal has only made the whole mess worse.

Per a Spurs press release:

The San Antonio Spurs announced that the organization will return to Paris, France this month to host “Spurs Week Paris,” a special weeklong activation across the city that brings key elements of their fan experience directly to their French supporters. From Thursday, Feb. 26 through Sunday, March 1, Spurs Week Paris will consist of community impact programming, exclusive retail and fan engagement opportunities and more activations designed to enhance the cross-cultural exchange between Texas and France, as part of the organization’s long-term commitment to growing the game of basketball globally.

The weeks events include:

Thurs. Feb. 26-Sun. March 1
Exclusive Pop-Up Shop
The limited time “Les Spurs Pop Up Fan Shop” in the 1^st arrondisement will feature an exclusive Spurs “Bexar Goods x Paris” retail line designed to introduce French fans to the South Texan style and materials through the lens of the team’s private label “Bexar Goods.” Classic Spurs team merchandise such as jerseys and hats will be available as well. Store hours are as follows: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. CET daily, closing early at 2 p.m. CET on Sunday, March 1.
 
Thurs., Feb. 26
Spurs Basketball Clinics in Le Chesnay, presented by Ledger
The organization will return to the court they renovated in Victor Wembanyama’s hometown of Le Chesnay-Rocquencourt with the 2025 launch of the Play Paris initiative. Spurs Sports Academy coaches will lead skills clinics, open to athletes ages 8-16 years old, with sign-ups open now at SpursSportsAcademy.com/Paris.
 
Sat., Feb. 28
Play Paris Court Design Unveiling, presented by Ledger
In partnership with Ledger, the Spurs will surprise the community of Nanterre with the announcement of a renovated court. This court will be the second in the Spurs Play Paris program, which was built to inspire the next generation and create a lasting legacy in the community. The announcement will be followed by a Spurs skills challenge, which is open to local youth athletes with sign-ups open now at SpursSportsAcademy.com/Paris.
 
Sun., March 1
Official Spurs Watch Party, presented by Ledger
The Spurs and Ledger will host a free watch party, open to the public with required RSVP while supplies last, to cheer the team on as they face the Knicks in New York. The party will feature all the classic Spurs game day elements like Coyote, giveaways and more. To RSVP in order to receive official event invitation, visit Spurs.com/Paris.
 

RC Buford, CEO of Spurs Sports & Entertainment, stated,

“Spurs Week Paris was thoughtfully designed with French Spurs fans in mind, building upon the decades-long relationships the team has established in France and throughout Europe. Our longstanding international history has given us the privilege of connecting with fans worldwide and we’re honored to be embraced and welcomed by communities across the globe.”

Spurs Week Paris is a continuation of the Spurs commitment to making basketball a global game and connecting with fans across the world.

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The Suns welcomed the Philadelphia 76ers to the Mortgage Matchup Center on Saturday night, and the building buzzed for one reason. Devin Booker was back. Jalen Green was back. The cavalry had arrived.

What they did not bring with them was a shooting touch.

Phoenix opened the night by going 1-of-13 from deep in the first quarter and never really escaped the fog. By the end of it, they were 11-of-46 from beyond the arc. Brutal. So brutal it started to seep into their decision-making. For stretches in the second, the open looks were there. Clean looks. Rhythm shots. And instead of letting them fly, the Suns pump-faked themselves right out of confidence. Dribble. Reset. Force something worse.

That is the part that sticks with you. The offense was doing its job. The ball moved. The actions worked. The looks were real. Execution from three never showed up.

When the dust settled, both teams finished with 11 made threes. The difference was how they got there. The Suns needed 17 more attempts to reach the same number. That math catches up with you every time.

And yet, weirdly enough, this still felt like a step forward.

That sounds insane after a loss, but context matters. Getting Booker and Green back before the All-Star break matters. Roles have been stretched thin for weeks. Guys have been asked to do more than they are built for. That does not reset overnight.

It is still a work in progress. Green is coming off the bench. That will change. Booker is finding his legs again. That will come. The rotation has not fully settled yet, and that part is important.

Losing at home never feels good. But this is part of a larger process playing out in real time. Sometimes progress looks clean. Sometimes it looks clunky and uncomfortable and frustrating as hell. You do not have to like it. But you do have to respect it.

Bright Side Baller Season Standings

Grayson gets the nod against the Warriors, and he was a casualty of that game. He gave it his all, tweaked his knee, and is once again sidelined. At least he has his 7th BSB to keep him company.

Bright Side Baller Nominees

Game 53 against the Sixers. Here are your nominees:

Dillon Brooks
28 points (11-of-23, 2-of-10 3PT), 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 4 fouls, +10 +/-

Devin Booker
21 points (5-of-12, 1-of-7 3PT), 2 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 turnovers, +10 +/-

Royce O’Neale
14 points (5-of-10, 4-of-9 3PT), 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers, +6 +/-

Mark Williams
11 points (4-of-7), 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 3 fouls, +0 +/-

Jalen Green
8 points (2-of-6, 0-of-3 3PT), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 turnover, +7 +/-

Jordan Goodwin
7 points (2-of-7, 1-of-4 3PT), 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 4 fouls, -6 +/-

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Who was your star of Saturday night?

The last time the Seattle Seahawks came within a yard of defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 49, the Toronto Raptors were riding a six-game winning streak. Months later, the Raptors were swept in the playoffs by the Washington Wizards, signalling the first red flags of the ‘We The North’ movement. 

Over a decade later, the Raptors are ushering in a new era, and things are equally hopeful and uncertain. 

Next up is their penultimate game before the unofficial halfway point of the season, which involves a matchup against the Indiana Pacers on a super Sunday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. EST on Sportsnet. 

While the Pacers sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, the Raptors are in the midst of protecting their tenuous hold on a playoff spot. 

The Philadelphia 76ers and the four teams currently in the play-in all have a legitimate chance at catching the Raptors during the second half of the season. Not including the Cleveland Cavaliers, who recently leapfrogged into fourth place, the Raptors are 1-9 against the top four teams in the East and West. 

The Raptors must figure out their issues with contenders, but it’s also equally important to dispatch the teams they should beat. 

Here are three additional storylines to consider. 

Poeltl is key to the Raptors ‘run-game’

The Toronto Raptors are nearing full-strength and a glimpse into the team’s future may be possible ahead of All-Star Weekend. 

The most significant update is Jakob Poeltl being listed as questionable on the injury report. While it’s likely he won’t suit up until after the break, the mere thought of Poeltl’s return offers reprieve from the team’s struggles against opposing centres. 

It seems like the plan is to eventually roll out the Austrian for as many games as possible to close out the season. A load management approach will likely be used, meaning Toronto must continue to rely on Scottie Barnes, Collin Murray-Boyles and Sandro Mamukelashvili to moonlight as centres when needed. 

To help with the physical toll that takes on the their bodies, General Manager Bobby Webster also acquired Trayce Jackson-Davis from the Warriors at the trade deadline. After an encouraging rookie season during which Jackson-Davis averaged 7.9 points and 5.0 rebounds in 16.6 minutes, the six-foot-nine tweener ultimately fell out of Golden State’s rotation.

Jackson-Davis will have every opportunity to rediscover his confidence on a Raptors team desperate for any kind of interior presence.  

The classic ‘redshirt’ season

The Pacers arguably paid a steep price to acquire Ivica Zubac from the Los Angeles Clippers at the deadline, but the move suggests the front office is ready to fight for their spot in the Eastern Conference once Tyrese Haliburton returns. 

Indiana dealt Canadian Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, two first-round picks and a second-rounder in exchange for Zubac and Kobe Brown. Zubac will wear a new jersey for the first time in over seven years, but his debut may have to wait due to a lingering ankle injury. The seven-footer also recently welcomed a newborn into the world. 

Since Myles Turner’s departure, the Pacers have worked tirelessly to find a replacement at the five spot. Zubac should confidently outperform the mixed results produced by the tandem of Jackson and Jay Huff. For the second consecutive season, Zubac is averaging a double-double with 14.4 points and 11.0 rebounds. 

Increased routes and targets for Walter

With Ochai Agbaji now a member of the Brooklyn Nets, that’s one less component of the bench carousel of wings the Raptors have deployed this season. There’s a fun combination of reduced pressure and increased expectations that now fall on Ja’Kobe Walter. Drafted with the 19th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Walter has a straightforward opportunity in front of him.

Walter finished with 12 points, five rebounds and two steals in 30 minutes against the Chicago Bulls on Feb. 5. The Raptors are 3-1 when Walter plays at least 30 minutes this year. The six-foot-four guard flashes a scoring punch and defensive intensity Toronto desperately needs from the wing position. If RJ Barrett is moved in the off-season, Walter’s play during the remainder of the season will factor into that decision.  

The New England Patriots will play in the Super Bowl tonight. Stop me if you’ve heard that before.

I genuinely can’t imagine how my friends that aren’t Boston sports fans do it. How do you deal with someone who cheers for teams that seemingly don’t rebuild, don’t take gap years, and whose version of disappointment usually involves falling short on the biggest stages? That disappointment itself is a luxury. Most fanbases would kill just to be relevant long enough to be crushed that way.

And yet, here we are again.

The Patriots are playing in Super Bowl LX in Mike Vrabel’s first season as head coach. The Celtics are near the top of the East despite reshuffling roles, missing stars, and redefining themselves in real time. None of the success feels frantic or accidental. Like clockwork, Boston simply continues to win.

That’s the part worth paying attention to. Because this isn’t about luck, or magic, or Boston mystique. It’s about something much more repeatable: identity, clarity, and leadership that knows how to survive discomfort.

Joe Mazzulla noticed it immediately with Mike Vrabel.

“I think when you just take a look at it, they’re a team that’s developed an identity over the course of the season,” Mazzulla said of the Patriots after they clinched their Super Bowl berth. “Every coach, regardless of the sport, is looking for that — creating that type of identity and consistency, and playing to that throughout an entire season.”

He could have been talking about his own team. When you strip them down to their nuts and bolts, the Celtics and Patriots are largely building the same thing. They’re just doing it in their own ways.

Identity shows up before the results do

The Patriots didn’t make Super Bowl LX by reinventing themselves between Week 1 and now. They just figured out who they were early on and leaned harder into that week after week.

Close games. Defensive discipline. Playing ugly without apologizing for it.

The Celtics have followed a similar blueprint. Lineups have been changing nightly. Roles expanding and contracting like a living organism. Yet the structure has held. Decisions are still clean. That kind of consistency doesn’t come from talent alone, but rather a coach who cares more about how five guys function together than who gets credit for it.

Mazzulla has been open about what he values when things get uncomfortable.

“The togetherness stood out,” he said after a recent upset win over the Houston Rockets. “That s*** matters. The ability for us to stick together whether it’s perfect or not, is important.”

That soundbite does more than just describe how the Patriots and Celtics are operating. It says something about how Boston itself operates.

As a Boston fan, there’s no expectation of approval from the outside. At least there hasn’t been in my lifetime. When the Patriots make the Super Bowl, the path was soft. If you ask a Lakers fan, they’ll tell you the Celtics benefitted from an injury-plagued playoff run en route to Banner 18 — which is funny, because if Boston doesn’t beat Dallas in 2024, Nico Harrison probably never starts staring at Luka’s midsection long enough to pick up the phone and call Rob Pelinka. So really, you’re welcome, Lakers fans.

What the Celtics and Patriots have done instead is lean inward. Trust the locker room. Trust the structure. I almost walked into “Trust the Process,” but caught myself.

Trust has been explicit from both coaches all season. Mazzulla has said it out loud, and the Patriots turned it into a slogan: We all we got. We all we need.

WE ALL WE GOT. WE ALL WE NEED. pic.twitter.com/0AYeuot1WF

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) February 7, 2026

Neither group has been perfect. Both have had to adjust on the fly. But the through line has been belief in each other and a refusal to fracture when things get uncomfortable. In Boston, that mindset isn’t new. And it travels just as well from the locker room to the fanbase.

Vrabel and Mazzulla aren’t similar, but they’re aligned

Mike Vrabel and Joe Mazzulla are….different. If they were to sit next to each other on a long flight, I think Joe would be headphones in with The Town on before takeoff.

But listen to how they talk about leadership, and the similarities between them becomes obvious.

“Joe is fantastic,” Vrabel said last summer. “He’s always trying to learn and gain knowledge different ways — about building a team, about strategy, about scheme, about inspiring players to do their job well. So I always love my conversations with him.”

That curiosity matters. So does the emphasis on responsibility.

Mazzulla echoed that sentiment when Vrabel attended a Celtics practice earlier this season.

“There’s got to be communication and understanding,” Mazzulla said. “We’re all carrying a responsibility to compete at a high level and bring championships to this city. So you’ve got to learn from each other and have that perspective.”

Neither coach talks first about stars. They talk about standards, roles, and people knowing exactly why they’re there.

That’s how you survive a season in Boston when nothing goes according to plan.

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Vrabel and Mazzulla don’t talk about winning as something you chase. They talk about it as something you arrive at together.

That shared language explains why this all feels so familiar in Boston. Coaches arrive, systems settle, expectations snap back into place. The Patriots went from irrelevance (and the occasional Lunatic Lateral) to the Super Bowl in one year. The Celtics are contending while redefining themselves in real time.

I think I always knew it deep down, but I’m starting to accept why this all feels unbearable from the outside — and like just another February in Boston for those of us on the inside.

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and James Harden came through when it mattered most. They combined for 32 fourth-quarter points to lead Cleveland to the 132-126 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

All is well that ends well. The Mitchell and Harden pairing struggled at the start of the game. They seemingly didn’t want to step on each other’s toes, which resulted in a stagnant half-court offense that mostly involved aimlessly swinging the ball around the perimeter with little off-ball movement.

The starting lineup featuring four guards with Tyson and Sam Merrill, with Allen as the only forward, didn’t do anyone any favors. I understand why you’d want to go small to simplify things for Harden, but this led to getting beaten on the defensive glass and giving up 27 second-chance points.

The Cavs were able to get back into the game thanks to their bench lineups, and closed with Mitchell and Harden playing their best.

Cleveland took the lead late with back-to-back Harden triples, the last coming from a nice Mitchell swing from the corner to a wide-open Harden.

Both are such talented offensive pieces that bring so much attention to the ball. It’s easy to see what made pulling the trigger on this deal so alluring. The question will be how often we get to see the level of synergy we saw in the fourth quarter.

In the meantime, we know that Harden is going to make Jarrett Allen’s life easier.

There are few guards better at feeding their forwards than Harden. His size, strength, vision, and ball placement allow him to set up his big man in the perfect spot to score.

Great players make what they do well look easy. Harden did that as he repeatedly found Allen on the block and in the short roll, to set up high-percentage looks.

“In the pick-and-roll, I feel like he found every opportunity to exploit it,” Allen said postgame. “Even if it wasn’t a pass to me, we were just creating action, creating gravity for players to bring it to us.”

Once Allen gets going, he can be difficult to handle. As we’ve seen throughout this season, Allen needs to be fed early if he’s going to have a major impact. Harden and the Cavs made it a priority to get Allen involved. He rewarded them for doing so with 29 points on 11-12 shooting with 10 rebounds.

This road trip has been a great reminder of how impactful Allen can be. He’s an incredibly good finisher in the paint (and even converted a post fadeaway) and is an underrated playmaker when he has the ball in his hands with room to operate.

Allen’s proficiency in the short roll is going to pair nicely with Harden, who once again showed how good he is when the defense doubles him.

This is one of the areas he’s going to help the offense out most. Harden requires the opposing defense to shift over to him. That will be useful when he’s sharing the floor with Mitchell and anchoring bench lineups.

Harden’s patience when the double team comes and skill to make the correct, on time, and on target pass give screeners like Allen, Tyson, and Craig Porter Jr. the ability to beat them in the short roll.

Overall, this was a great debut from Harden, even if it wasn’t perfect.

He — understandably — looked like someone who was trying to find his place on the floor. He wasn’t assertive in the first half and struggled to find his defensive rotations.

Even when Harden got going in the fourth quarter, he seemed hesitant to drive to the paint, which resulted in his only two free-throw attempts coming once Sacramento had to foul in the final minute and no shot attempts at the rim. It’s not going to be an outstanding scoring night for Harden if he isn’t getting to the basket and the line early and often.

Still, it speaks to how talented Harden is that even when he isn’t at his best, he’s still incredibly valuable. The Cavs don’t come close to winning this game if it’s not for his scoring in the fourth and the playmaking he showed throughout.

This performance should make everyone excited about how things look when Harden gets more acclimated with his new teammates. He finished with 23 points on 7-13 shooting with eight assists and two rebounds.

Keon Ellis was everywhere defensively. He has the rare combination of being both a great individual defender, while also being able to get his hand on the ball anytime someone comes near him with it. Ellis provided three steals and a block in just 17 minutes.

That defensive effort was useful on a night when only a few of their players decided to show up on that end. It allowed Mitchell and Harden’s fourth-quarter scoring to matter as it did. This led to him being in the closing lineup and finishing the game with a plus/minus of +20.

Dennis Schroder’s production is much needed. His energy and ability to get into the paint have been sorely missed from the backup point guard position. That was on display on Saturday as he picked up seven points and four assists, while being a +22 in just 17 minutes.

The minute distribution is out of balance. Ellis and Schroder were phenomenal and fit exactly what the team needed, but neither played over 17 and a half minutes. Meanwhile, Porter saw just under 23. This isn’t a shot at Porter, but it’s difficult to see him as the superior option over either, especially on a night Mitchell and Harden are both playing.

The rotations are a work in progress. Head coach Kenny Atkinson likely wants to see as many different lineups as possible with the new additions, and it makes sense to reward Porter for how well he’s been playing recently. That said, it’s fair to point out that the lineup combinations — including the four-guard starting unit — left a lot to be desired.

This is still Mitchell’s team. Even though he was hesitant to step on toes at the start of the game, he wasn’t afraid to take over late. Mitchell scored 29 in the second half on 11-16 shooting, while being confident in taking over in crunch time.

Afterward, Harden praised Mitchell for doing so. He told sideline reporter Serena Winters that Mitchell is “the leader of the team” and that he’s just there to “support him and do whatever it takes to help.”

If this experiment is going to work, it will be because Mitchell and Harden elevate each other on the court as they did down the stretch in Sacramento.

PERTH, Australia (AP) — South Africa won the Australian stopover in the sevens world series for the first time in nine years after topping Fiji 21-19 in the Perth final on Sunday.

It took a phenomenal second try by Ryan Oosthuizen, who crashed past four Fijians, to tie the score at 19 that was then converted from the sideline by Ricardo Duarttee.

“I'm not the fastest guy so sometimes I need to run over people,” Oosthuizen said.

New Zealand women won their third leg of four in the series, beating defending Perth champion Australia 29-7 in the 31-degree (C) heat and ending Australia's 10-match home win streak.

South Africa pounced on two Fiji errors to blast off 14-0 in four minutes. Duarttee converted tries by Oosthuizen and Sebastiaan Jobb.

But Fiji has been the comeback king lately. It rallied from 12-0 down to beat France in the Singapore final last weekend, and beat South Africa from 14-0 down in pool play on Saturday.

Terio Veilawa was at the center of Fiji's rally, setting up tries for Viwa Naduvalo and captain Jeremaia Matana to trail only 14-12 at halftime. Veilawa then claimed the second-half restart and broke two tackles on his own 22 line to score the go-ahead try, converted by Iowane Teba for 19-14.

But South Africa regained the lead when Oosthuizen high-stepped to his second try and Duarttee slotted his second big sideline conversion.

The last five minutes were all defense. Nacani Boginisoko made a try-saving tackle near the right corner flag on South Africa’s Donovan Don, and Luan Giliomee pulled off a try-saver on Boginisoko on the halfway line.

South Africa last won in Australia in 2017 and is the first two-time men’s winner in the ongoing series.

In the season's fourth women's final of four between the neighbors, the Australians, after being smashed by New Zealand 36-7 in the Singapore final, scored first through Heidi Dennis, their youngest player at 20.

But Jorja Miller, on her 22nd birthday, kickstarted New Zealand with a brilliant run. She slipped out of a double tackle near the right touchline in her half, tore away and threw off a third defender, and offloaded to send captain Risi Pouri-Lane over.

Kelsey Teneti then scored on both sides of halftime for a Perth-leading eight tries. Katelyn Vaha'akolo finished off another overlap, and New Zealand, which missed one tackle in the final, capped it in typical style: Stacey Waaka forced a desperation spill by Australia's Maddison Levi near her tryline and Alena Saili snapped up the gift.

“After back-to-back tournaments, for the girls to show consistency and connection and still turn up even when it's hot and you're hurting, I'm really proud,” Pouri-Lane said.

The series resumes in Vancouver on March 7-8.

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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

Growing up in Massachusetts, Super Bowl Sunday felt like a national holiday in the 2000s and 2010s. Normally the New England Patriots would be playing in the big game at night but to set the stage for the evening, the Boston Celtics would play a game on the same day, most of the time in TD Garden. With the Patriots once again making the Super Bowl this season against the Seattle Seahawks and the Celtics scheduled to face off against the New York Knick at 12:30pm a holiday that sat dormant for years is making its triumphed return. I thought it would be a fun exercise to take a look at the history of the Celtics playing on a Patriots Super Bowl and what I found were some iconic memories in Boston history.

There were only three instances in the twelve Super Bowl appearances for the Patriots in their history where the Celtics did not play a game on the same day. The first coming on January 26th, 1997 when New England lost to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl 31. The second was on February 1st, 2004 when New England beat the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 38. The last occurrence came on February 3rd, 2008 when New England lost to the New York Giants in Super Bowl 42.

1/26/1986: Celtics 105, 76ers 103

On January 26th, 1986, the 1985 New England Patriots played in their first ever championship game in Super Bowl 20 against the Chicago Bears. Kickoff started at exactly 3:21 Eastern Standard Time and they got crushed 46-10. Fans in the city of Boston didn’t have to wait long to find a distraction because the Boston Celtics tipped off against the Philadelphia 76ers at 8pm that same night in the Boston Garden.

In a matchup where Charles Barkley and Maurice Cheeks combined for 48 points and Kevin McHale was out, Larry Bird dropped 28 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals on the 76ers but on an off shooting night of 9-25. He was 3-5 from three point range and he had some help along side him with 19 points and 13 rebounds from Bill Walton, 17 points from Dennis Johnson, and 16 points from Scott Wedman who replaced McHale in the starting lineup.

Philadelphia was up 99-98 with two minutes to go, and threatening on the fast break before Dennis Johnson made an incredible block on Moses Malone to keep it a one score game. After some more great defense, Danny Ainge found Larry Bird streaking to the basket for an And-1 on a reverse layup to give Boston a 101-99 lead with a minute to go. The rest of the game ended in both teams taking turns at the free throw line. Boston hit all of theirs while Philadelphia went 3-5 including Charles Barkley missing a free throw at the end of the game to give the Celtics a 105-103 win. The 76ers fell to 29-15 on the season while the Celtics moved to 33-8 on their road to winning the 1986 NBA Championship.

2/3/2002: Celtics 104, Clippers 91

The Celtics and Patriots would not cross paths again until Super Bowl 36 on February 3rd, 2002. Where the underdog 2001 New England Patriots were going up against the St. Louis Rams who were known as “The Greatest Show on Turf” for how explosive their offense was. The Patriots were led by head coach 2nd year head coach Bill Belichick and 2nd year quarterback Tom Brady. But before the Super Bowl was played that night at 6:40, the Boston Celtics had a 3pm matinee matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Unlike the thriller the Celtics played in back in 1986, this game was more subdued with the Celtics taking care of business 104-91. It was a close game going into the fourth quarter with the Celtics holding a slim 81-78 lead. However, the Clippers offense was held to only 13 points on 3-17 shooting in the quarter while Boston rattled of a 19-7 run that was sealed by an Antonie Walker three with 5 minutes to go give Boston the victory. Walker (27 points) and Paul Pierce (24 points) combined for 51 points Boston’s win while Michael Olowokandi led LA with 27 in the loss. The Clippers record moved to 24-25 while the Celtics moved up to 27-20 however neither of these teams would make the playoffs in the 2001-02 season.

Back to the Super Bowl, after the Rams tied the game up at 17-17 with 1:37 left in the game, the Patriots quickly moved down the field to get into field goal range with 7 seconds left in the game. Future Hall of Fame kicker Adam Vinatieri drilled a game winning field goal and for the first time in their franchise’s history, the New England Patriots were Super Bowl champions.

2/6/2005: Celtics 103, Timberwolves 100

We fast forward three seasons into the future for our next double feature and the Patriots are turning themselves into a dynasty. After missing the playoffs in 2002, they came back and won Super Bowl 38 again in the 2003 season and are going for their fourth in three years in 2004 in Super Bowl 39. The Boston Celtics were on the road for this game, playing a 1pm matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

This was a back and forth game throughout and the Celtics took a 101-96 lead on 2 made free throws by Paul Pierce with 1:26 left in the game. Minnesota answered with 2 free throws of their own and Kevin Garnett hit a midrange jumper with 10 seconds left to get the Timberwolves within 1 point. Pierce was fouled on the inbounds and hit two more clutch free throws to give Boston a 103-100 lead with 8.9 seconds left. Out of the Timberwolves timeout, future Celtics assistant coach Sam Cassell went up for a game-tying three but it was blocked by Gary Payton to secure the Celtics victory.

Paul Pierce was the leading scorer for Boston in this game with 32 points on 8-16 shooting while Gary Payton also had a big game, with 22 points on 10-18 shooting. Minnesota was led by Kevin Garnett and Michael Olowokandi who both scored 21 points. Both teams records went to 24-24 on the season but Boston would be the only team to make the playoffs from this matchup, losing in the first round to the Indiana Pacers in 7 games.

After that thrilling Celtics victory, the Patriots took on the Eagles for the Super Bowl. Philadelphia had 46 seconds to try and go down the field and win the game but Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb threw an interception to Patriots safety Rodney Harrison 17 seconds , sealing a New England victory. Tom Brady kneeled out the clock and the New England Patriots won their their third Super Bowl in four seasons, cementing themselves as a dynasty.

2/5/2012: Celtics 98, Grizzlies 80

Seven years passed in between the next time the Celtics played on a Patriots Super Bowl Sunday. The Celtics won a championship in the 2008 season with their big 3 of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett but lost in the 2010 NBA Finals and haven’t made it back since. New England had previously lost Super Bowl 42 to the New York Giants in the 2007 season and were looking for revenge in their rematch in Super Bowl 46 in the 2011 season. The Celtics were scheduled to play 12pm game at TD Garden before the very hyped up Super Bowl matchup and took care of the Memphis Grizzlies handedly, 98-80.

After a close three quarters, Memphis ran out of gas in the fourth quarter, scoring only 19 points on 8-26 shooting. Boston was able to capitalize on this by going on a 15-3 run to open up a 23 point lead and give the Celtics the win. Kevin Garnett led the way for the Celtics with 24 points and 9 rebounds on 9-12 shooting with Paul Pierce contributing 21 points of his own. Rudy Gay had 21 points but it was not enough. Memphis would fall to 12-12 on the season on the road to losing in the first round against the Los Angeles Clippers. Boston moved to 13-10 on the season and would make the Eastern Conference Finals before losing to the Miami Heat.

After the Celtics win, the stage had been set for another successful New England double header. The Patriots had a 17-15 lead with 3:46 left in the game. However, Giants quarterback Eli Manning drove New York down the field and into the end zone to give them the lead. The Patriots had 57 seconds left to try and exact their revenge on the New York Giants but failed Hail Mary attempt at the end of regulation led to New England losing the Super Bowl 21-17.

2/1/2015: Celtics 75, Heat 83

Three years later, the 2014 Patriots were once again a power house and back in Super Bowl 49, looking for their first trophy since the 2004 season against the Seattle Seahawks and their “Legion of Doom” defense. The Celtics on the other hand were in the process of a rebuild. The Big 3 were gone and the team was led by Avery Bradley and a bunch of yound players like Marcus Smart, Jared Sullinger, and Tyler Zeller. Before the Patriots game, Boston played a 1pm tipoff against the Miami Heat in TD Garden.

The Heat were up by 13 at halftime of this game before the Celtics started to get hot in the third quarter. They chipped away at the deficit and ended up tying the game at one point before going into the fourth quarter down 61-59. Sadly, Miami responded with a run of their own in the fourth quarter and Norris Cole hit the dagger with a midrange jumper at the 1:07 mark to lead the Heat to a 83-75.

Hassan Whiteside was the leading scorer for Miami with 20 points and Chris Bosh added of his own to increase their record to 21-26. Avery Bradly and Tyler Zeller were tied for the most points for Boston with 17 and the Celtics fell to a record of 16-30. Somehow Boston would make a miraculous turnaround and make the playoffs in 2014-15 season but were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

This was the only time the Celtics lost a game on a Patriots Super Bowl but luckily fans in Boston had something to look forward to that night. In another close game, the Patriots took the lead on a Tom Brady touchdown to Julian Edelman with 2:06 left in the game to make the score 28-24. Seattle moved down the field in response and were 1 yard away from winning the game. However, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson decided to the ball and it was intercepted at the goal line by Malcolm Butler to secure the Patriots win in one of the most improbable ways possible.

2/5/2017: Celtics 107, Clippers 102

If I had to choose my favorite day on this list, it would have to be February 5th, 2017. The 2016 Patriots were scheduled to play the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl 51 at night but the city of Boston was set to honor one man: Paul Pierce. The Celtics were facing off against the Los Angeles Clippers at 2pm and this was going to be the final game Pierce played in TD Garden in his NBA career. Pierce was in the starting lineup for the Clippers and played the first five minutes of the game before being subbed out. In this game, Boston was able to run out with a lead early and never really give it up despite the best efforts from Los Angeles.

Although there was a very entertaining basketball game going on, you couldn’t help but just wonder when former Celtics head coach and at the time Clippers head coach Doc Rivers would put Pierce back in. It was a close game in the fourth quarter so there wasn’t a guarantee that he got a final send off. Luckily, the Celtics were able to expand upon their lead and make it so with 19.8 seconds to go, Paul Pierce checked in at the scorer’s table for the final time to a standing ovation from the TD Garden crowd. Pierce was able to hit one last three pointer as time was expiring for one of the most beautiful endings we have seen for a Celtics legend in Boston.

Blake Griffin and Jamal Crawford were the leading scorers for the Clippers with 23 points and Los Angeles fell to 31-20 on the season on the road to eventually being a first round exit to the Utah Jazz in the playoffs. Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics in scoring with 28 points and 8 assists and Boston had six other players in double digit scoring as well. Boston moved to 33-18 on the season and would end up making the Eastern Conference Finals before falling to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 5 games.

You could argue there is nothing that could possibly top this incredible game from the Celtics but little did anyone know what the Patriots had in store that night. New England started the Super Bowl awful, going down 28-3 at the 8:31 mark of the third quarter. However, something snapped in the Patriots and they started slowly chipping away at the deficit until suddenly, they somehow tie the game with under a minute to go at 28-28 and are going into overtime. The Patriots won the coin toss, drove down the field, and James White ran it into the end zone for the game winning touchdown. This is the second Super Bowl win in the last three years for the Patriots and it capped off maybe the greatest day in Boston sports history.

2/4/2018: Celtics 97, Trail Blazers 96

For the second season in a row, the Patriots were playing in the Super Bowl and the Celtics played in an instant classic. This time the 2017 Patriots were heavy favorites against the Philadelphia Eagles who were starting a backup quarterback named Nick Foles ijn Super Bowl 52. Before that game could start, the Celtics played a 12pm game in TD Garden against the Portland Trail Blazers.

This game was a slugfest all night long and came down to the final seconds of the fourth quarter. With 13.6 seconds left on the clock, Terry Rozier knocked down a tough midrange jumper to give the Celtics a 95-93 lead. However, Damian Lillard responded quickly, finishing a layup and getting the foul. Lillard made the free throw and made it a 96-95 game with 7.2 seconds to go. Out of the Celtics timeout, Jaylen Brown was inbounding and found Al Horford who got it and hit a fadeaway mid range jumper as time expired to give the Celtics a 97-96 win.

CJ McCollum led the Trail Blazers with 22 points and Damian Lillard finished with 21 points in the loss, falling to a 29-24 record that would lead them to getting swept in the first round of the playoffs by the New Orleans Pelicans. Al Horford was fittingly the Celtics leading scorer with 22 points and 10 rebounds on 8-12 shooting. Boston would up their record to 39-15 on the road to an unlikely Eastern Conference Finals appearance where they lost to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 7 games.

If both teams are following the script from last season, the Patriots would find a way to win the Super Bowl that night. Sadly, that did not happen as in a shootout for the ages, Tom Brady’s failed Hail Mary attempt at the end of the game gave the Philadelphia Eagles a 41-33 victory over New England.

2/3/2019: Celtics 134, Thunder 129

For the final Super Bowl matchup prior to this season, the Celtics and Patriots decided to end the trilogy on a high note. The 2018 New England Patriots were in the Super Bowl for the fourth time in their last five seasons and were looking to avenge their loss from the season before against the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 53. The Celtics would start the days festivities with a 2pm matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder in a game that could have been a Finals preview.

It felt like the Celtics were in control of this game for the most part but the Thunder were not going away. At the 23.3 mark of the fourth quarter it felt like Kyrie Irving hit the dagger in this game with a beautiful lefty floater to give the Celtics a 129-125 lead. However, Oklahoma City was not done yet as Jerami Grant hit a huge three to make it a one point game. Jayson Tatum was fouled on the next possession where he made the first and missed the second free throw to give the Thunder a chance to win it down by two. Russell Westbrook brought the ball down the court with a full head of steam but lost the handle, turning it over and Tatum hit both free throws on the next possession to end the game in a Celtics win 134-129.

Paul George led the way for the Thunder with 37 points while Russell Westbrook has a 22 point triple-double in the loss. Oklahoma City fell to 33-19 on the season but lost in the first round of the playoffs against the Portland Trail Blazers when Damian Lillard hit his iconic buzzer beater in Game 5. Kyrie Irving led the way for the Celtics with 30 points and 11 assists on 14-19 shooting. Boston improved to 34-19 but would lose in disappointing fashion in the second round of the playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks in 5 games.

After a thrilling victory, the Patriots decided to play in a very different way in the Super Bowl. Unlike the season prior where it was an offensive slugfest, this year both offenses were kept at bay by some elite defenses. The Patriots broke a 3-3 tie with 7 minutes to go in the fourth quarter when running back Sony Michel ran it in for a touchdown. The Patriots would be leading 13-3 with 1:16 left to go and that would be the final score as the Rams offense was dominated by New England’s defense. With a kneel down by Tom Brady, the Patriots had tied an NFL record with their 6th Super Bowl victory and cemented themselves as the greatest 20 Year Dynasty in NFL history.

When the NBA made the schedule, they probably had a much different game in mind than the one that played out on Saturday.

On one side, Luka Dončić was out after a recent hamstring injury while, on the other side, Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler both were out. That left Austin Reaves, who was still on a minutes restriction, and LeBron James against Draymond Green and…Pat Spencer?

It wasn’t exactly the star-studded showdown everyone had hoped for.

The Lakers weren’t great for much of the game but did enough to hold off the Warriors and come away with the win. Perhaps this should serve as another reminder to cherish every LeBron and Steph meeting we have left.

So, let’s dive into the win. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance for that player.

LeBron James

35 minutes, 20 points, 7 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 7 turnovers, 1 foul, 6-17 FG, 2-7 3PT, 6-7 FT, +7

While we should cherish the games, we should also probably forget this one. A really bizarre LeBron game where he was bad in the first half, fantastic for the first 90 seconds of the third quarter, then faded away again.

Grade: D+

Rui Hachimura

28 minutes, 18 points, 1 rebound, 1 block, 1 turnover, 7-10 FG, 4-5 3PT, -6

This has been a gradual process, but we’re now at the point where, when Rui gets the ball swung to him for an open three, everyone just expects it to go in.

Grade: A-

Jaxson Hayes

20 minutes, 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 foul, 3-4 FG, 0-1 FT, -6

It wasn’t an awful return for Hayes, but I still haven’t forgiven him for a dumb decision to tackle the Wizards mascot. And his explanation was pretty awful, too.

Jaxson Hayes apologized to his teammates and the Wizards mascot for the incident leading to a one-game suspension. However, he explained that the shove was prompted by his foot being stepped on by the mascot. pic.twitter.com/vXHPsxG4RY

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 8, 2026

Grade: B

Jake LaRavia

27 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 4 turnovers, 1 foul, 1-5 FG, 0-3 3PT, +2

It’s pretty clear at this point that LaRavia is going to mix in some stinkers like this with his scoring outbursts. Reaves will likely move into the starting lineup soon and it seems pretty clear LaRavia will be the one going to the bench.

Grade: D

Marcus Smart

33 minutes, 15 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 3-7 FG, 1-2 3PT, 8-9 FT, +7

The Lakers had a hole for a lead ballhandler who went to the foul line a bunch. Smart stepped into the void and got to the line often.

Grade: B+

Austin Reaves

24 minutes, 16 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 5 turnovers, 2 fouls, 5-10 FG, 0-2 3PT, 6-7 FT, -1

It wasn’t quite as big of a scoring night as Thursday, but it also felt like he made more than five field goals, too. I guess every one of his field goals was a highlight play on Saturday. The Lakers looked significantly better with him on the floor.

Grade: A-

Jarred Vanderbilt

19 minutes, 13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 4-6 FG, 2-3 3PT, 3-4 FT, +11

If Vando makes multiple threes, you almost certainly got a great game from him, which was the case on Saturday. He went toe-to-toe with Draymond Green at times and held his own. It was a really good rebounding night from him, too.

Grade: A

Luke Kennard

26 minutes, 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 4-7 FG, 2-4 3PT, +4

A very encouraging debut for Kennard, who immediately showed his value to the team with his first touch as a Laker. As his comfort level and knowledge of the Lakers system grows, I expect his production will, too.

Maxi Kleber

28 minutes, 5 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover, 4 fouls, 2-3 FG, 0-1 3PT, 1-2 FT, +12

After a standout game against the Sixers, Kleber parlayed it into another strong showing against the Warriors. The stats show a bit more of what he did in this contest, the biggest being him again leading the team in plus-minus.

Grade: A+

JJ Redick

Redick is really trying all he can defensively to get something out of this group. But even then, the Warriors were “breaking down” the zone defense with one pass leading to an open look from three. I also have to imagine that there was plenty of discussion about the Warriors and their offensive system, but just about every player on the court allowed a backdoor cut leading to a basket.

This team is just really, really bad defensively and I’m not sure how much blame I can place on Redick for that.

Also, he gets credit for not playing Gabe Vincent.

Grade: B+

Saturday’s DNPs: Bronny James, Dalton Knecht, Drew Timme, Nick Smith Jr.

Saturday’s inactives: Luka Dončić, Adou Thiero, Chris Mañon, Deandre Ayton

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

Houston Rockets centre Alperen Sengun says he has apologised to the female official he aimed a sexist remark at during a defeat by the Boston Celtics.

The Turkish player was ejected in the fourth quarter of his side's defeat on Wednesday after angrily making the derogatory comment multiple times to Jenna Reneau, who is in her first season as an NBA staff official.

"That was immature by me," said the 23-year-old Sengun, who was frustrated at no foul being called on him on a drive to the basket.

"That was just in the moment, and I said some stuff I shouldn't say, but I felt bad about it."

The incident involving Sengun occurred on National Girls and Women in Sports Day, with the Rockets posting a message from Kevin Durant to mark the occasion.

"Sometimes, you can't control yourself, but I should have known better," added Sengun, who was speaking after registering a triple double of 17 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in a 112-106 win against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.

"But I fixed it, and then I went to the locker room and I apologised. I shake [her] hand and said that would never happen again.

"It just happened in the heat of the moment. Then, she understood, and it was good on both ends."

HONOLULU (AP) — Isaac Johnson scored 20 points to help Hawaii hold on for a 72-67 victory over UC San Diego on Saturday night.

Johnson made 8 of 14 shots with two 3-pointers for the Rainbow Warriors (17-5, 9-3 Big West Conference). He added nine rebounds. Isaac Finlinson had 15 points and reserve Gytis Nemeiksa added 11 points, five rebounds and three blocks.

Tom Beattie scored 14 and Hudson Mayes totaled 12 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Tritons (16-9, 6-7). Alex Chaikin and Bol Dengdit both scored 11.

Johnson had 17 points and Hawaii led 34-32 at halftime despite scoring the first 11 points of the game. The Rainbow Warriors sank 3 of 4 foul shots in the final 13 seconds to clinch it.

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LOS ANGELES — Just hours after Rob Pelinka, the Lakers president of basketball operations and general manager, said the team would likely fill their vacant 15th roster spot, the team brought back a familiar face.

The Lakers are signing Kobe Bufkin to a two-year deal with a player option for 2026-27, a source confirmed to the California Post on Saturday evening.

Bufkin starred for the Lakers’ South Bay G League affiliate, averaging 26.7 points on 51.3% shooting (43.1% on 3-pointers) to go with 4.3 assists and 4.1 rebounds. 

He tied a season-high 41 points, to go with eight assists, in South Bay’s Wednesday win over Capital City Go-Go. 

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Bufkin signed a 10-day contract with the Lakers in early January. He played four games for the Lakers before returning to South Bay. Bufkin also signed a 10-day hardship deal with the Grizzlies in November. 

The No. 15 pick out of Michigan in the 2023 draft, Bufkin played two seasons for the Atlanta Hawks before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets last September before being waived in October and traded to South Bay in November.