Category: NBA

Jalen Brunson continues working his way toward a late-season return. 

The Knicks’ All-Star point guard has missed the last 10 games with a sprained right ankle suffered after landing awkwardly on a shot attempt in the closing minutes of an overtime loss to the Los Angles Lakers earlier this month. 

New York has gone an even 5-5 over that span, and his absence has certainly been felt.  

While Brunson hasn’t been cleared to return to practice just yet, head coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters earlier this week that he’s “feeling a lot better” and has been able to do "more and more each day."  

Brunson himself said he’s excited about the progress he’s made during the latest episode of the Roomates Show podcast. 

“I’ve been back East since the LA game,” he said. “I’m feeling better, walking without the boot. Thibs said I’ve impressed recently. I’m just doing everything I can to get back to 100 percent. Doing things two, three times a day. Just working my way back.

"For the most part, I’m happy to see the progress with where I’m at, so I think that’s promising."

SNY NBA Insider Ian Begley reported earlier this week that the 28-year-old captain has actually been progressing faster than initially anticipated -- though the team will continue taking things day-by-day to ensure that they don’t rush him back.

While Brunson is currently without a timeline for a return, he is expected to be reevaluated later this week, and Begley reports that there is no thought of him remaining sidelined for the rest of the regular season. 

Following Friday night's meeting with the Milwaukee Bucks, New York has just nine games left. 

They face a brutally tough schedule the rest of the way, but have already guaranteed themselves a top-six seed in the Eastern Conference after clinching a playoff spot with the Hawks’ loss to the Heat on Thursday night.

As much as injuries hurt a team, they can also open up opportunities for otherwise bench-relegated players to step up. The Knicks witnessed this firsthand with Quentin Grimes’ rookie emergence and Isaiah Hartenstein’s breakout last year.

Now they appear to have found another diamond in the rough, their 34th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Tyler Kolek.

The 6-foot-1 guard dazzled at Marquette but up until recently, most of his professional playing time with has come with Westchester, only sporadically being subbed in during garbage time minutes with the Knicks.

This isn’t surprising, given head coach Tom Thibodeau’s commitment to winning over long-term goals and New York’s established depth at the guard spot in Jalen Brunson, Miles McBride and Cameron Payne.

However, Kolek’s played close to 20 minutes in each of the last three games due to two of those guards being out -- and now all three will be absent for Friday's matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks -- setting the stage for Kolek to continue shining in increased minutes.

If he plays as well as he has, Kolek could earn himself a permanent rotation spot. 

In the 56 minutes he’s played over the last three games, Kolek’s recorded 24 assists and just one turnover -- a stellar playmaking performance for the first prolonged stretch of playing time of an NBA career. That equates to a 15.4 assists per-36 minutes pace, and an assist percentage of 46.2 percent, which would rank him first on the season, just above Trae Young. 

He’s made NBA history in his brief chance, becoming the first player to record eight assists and zero turnovers in less than 20 minutes off the bench in consecutive games, per Basketball-Reference.

Kolek is as pure a point guard as they come -- constantly looking to push the pace for easy chances, utilizing every available teammate to their strengths, pressuring the paint to open up perimeter looks, and passing absolute dots in every way you dream of. Pocket passes that zip between defenders in the pick-and-roll, quick touch passes as the defense is rotating, and cross-court bullets to the weak-side corner this Knicks offense is built to create but only realizes through Kolek. 

This makes him a natural fit with the starters, who are tremendous scorers off movement and assists but can get sluggish and entranced by hero ball. Kolek directs the traffic, keeps everybody engaged, rewards cuts and hits marksmen in their shooting pockets. 

The Knicks can use more of this play-style in general, currently ranking 18th in the league in assist percentage. New York boasting multiple high-level pass-dribble-shoot weapons means little if they over-emphasize the latter two.

While Kolek’s playmaking looks the part, it’ll take developments in the rest of his game to secure minutes once his teammates return to health. His scoring and defense haven’t come around yet, and will need to with the Knicks now relying on him as a part-time starter.

Kolek shot 2-of-10 from the field in these three games, and is sub-36 percent from the field and from three on the season. These aren’t big sample sizes, but teams will start going under and switching on his screens, forcing him to beat them without his passing.

In eight G-League games, Kolek put up underwhelming shooting stats as well -- except from the free throw line, where he eclipsed 90 percent. He was a solid shooter in college and had good touch around the rim, but the pros can be a tough leap for less athletic scorers like Kolek. 

Things should start turning around as Kolek gets more comfortable. He’s already able to get to the paint at will, and just needs to make the open ones from deep.

But, defensively, there are some things experience can’t make up for. Kolek’s stature does little to impede bigger inside finishers, though the Knicks have similar struggles with their other guards.

He’s otherwise shown good effort and balance on that end, but Thibodeau isn’t handing out participation trophies. He can easily be supplanted by Delon Wright, the Knicks’ next guard up, as he was late in Wednesday's loss to the Clippers. 

That’s all in Kolek’s hands. If he can remain an offensive engine and stand his ground defensively, he has the chance to lift this Knicks team at their most dire moment of the season health-wise, and cement himself as a rotation option for the playoffs.

Grizzlies fire head coach Taylor Jenkins with 9 games left in regular season originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Memphis Grizzlies announced they have parted ways with head coach Taylor Jenkins.

Jenkins, 40, became Grizzlies head coach in 2019 after spending five seasons as an assistant coach with the Atlanta Hawks and one season as an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks.

He went 250-214 in the regular season with Memphis, making him the winningest head coach in franchise history, and guided the team to three playoff berths. He also finished second in NBA Coach of the Year voting in 2021-22.

Memphis is poised to make the playoffs once again in 2024-25. The team sits at 44-29, putting them in a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the fourth spot in the Western Conference standings despite the team battling injuries across the roster. The team has lost four of its last five games and is 8-11 since the All-Star break.

With just nine games remaining in the regular season, the Grizzlies will now look to different leadership.

“I’m genuinely appreciative of Taylor’s contributions to this team and this city over the past six seasons,” Grizzlies president and GM of basketball operations Zach Kleiman said in a statement. “This was a difficult decision given the consistent and tangible development of our players and overall success under Taylor’s leadership. I wish Taylor the very best going forward.”

This is a developing story. Please refresh for updates.

Grizzlies fire head coach Taylor Jenkins with 9 games left in regular season originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Memphis Grizzlies announced they have parted ways with head coach Taylor Jenkins.

Jenkins, 40, became Grizzlies head coach in 2019 after spending five seasons as an assistant coach with the Atlanta Hawks and one season as an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks.

He went 250-214 in the regular season with Memphis, making him the winningest head coach in franchise history, and guided the team to three playoff berths. He also finished second in NBA Coach of the Year voting in 2021-22.

Memphis is poised to make the playoffs once again in 2024-25. The team sits at 44-29, putting them in a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the fourth spot in the Western Conference standings despite the team battling injuries across the roster. The team has lost four of its last five games and is 8-11 since the All-Star break.

With just nine games remaining in the regular season, the Grizzlies will now look to different leadership.

“I’m genuinely appreciative of Taylor’s contributions to this team and this city over the past six seasons,” Grizzlies president and GM of basketball operations Zach Kleiman said in a statement. “This was a difficult decision given the consistent and tangible development of our players and overall success under Taylor’s leadership. I wish Taylor the very best going forward.”

This is a developing story. Please refresh for updates.

Why Warriors' 2022 title was ‘sweetest' moment of Draymond's career originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Warriors star Draymond Green has experienced the highest of highs during his 13-year NBA career, but one moment stands apart from the rest.

Golden State shocked the NBA world when it defeated the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals, and Green recently explained on “Dubs Talk” why it was the most rewarding moment from his time in the league.

“I think the sweetest moment for me was winning the championship in 2022,” Green told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole and Kerith Burke. “And the reason that was the sweetest moment for me was [that] I caught so much flak when [Kevin Durant] left. ‘You ran KD off, you’re an idiot.’ Like, it’s crazy that I caught flak for KD coming [to the Warriors]. ‘You cried to KD to get him to come here. You cried in the car. Go cry again.’ And then I caught flak for him leaving.

“And so with that, it was so deeply embedded in me that I wanted to prove that I can win again, because y’all are telling me I ruined this franchise because KD decided that he wanted to do something else with his life, that he wanted to live in a different city. He wanted a different challenge … and I catch flak for that, that [I] ruined the franchise. And so in saying that, I’m a competitor, so how do I shut all of those people up? You go win another championship. And so I think that was one of the biggest moments. Also, everybody saying, ‘Oh man, they’re done. They can’t do it again. It’s over.’

“To do that again, I’d say that’s one of the biggest moments.”

The Warriors built a dynasty thanks in part to Durant, winning two of their three NBA championships from 2015 to 2018 with Slim Reaper in the Bay. While many criticized Golden State for building a “super team” by signing Durant after their 2016 Finals loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Green also shouldered plenty of blame for Durant’s eventual departure in the summer of 2019 after a series of disagreements, culminating with a heated in-game exchange on Nov. 12, 2018.

There was plenty of disappointment — and losses — in the years after Durant, with NBA pundits and fans alike wondering if the Warriors ever would win again without him.

But in 2022 came another Larry O’Brien Trophy, and Steph Curry’s now-famous retort: “What they gonna say now?”

And for Green, that was the sweetest feeling.

Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast

Draymond's faith in Warriors' title chances grows daily despite decreasing odds originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Two. That’s the number of opportunities Draymond Green believes the Warriors will have to win a fifth NBA Finals under coach Steve Kerr.

And the second chance, Green believes, has better odds.

“I think this year we have a good chance of winning,” Green said during a guest appearance on NBC Sports Bay Area’s “Dubs Talk” podcast.

“I think next year we’ll have an even better chance of winning.”

Ahem. Green turned 35 this month. Jimmy Butler III is six months older than Green. Stephen Curry is two years older than Green. The NBA is a young man’s league. The aging process is a relentless stalker, and undefeated. The Warriors have the oldest core in the NBA – and it will be relatively ancient in the spring of 2026.

Green’s rationale is that Golden State took an immediate leap when general manager Mike Dunleavy acquired Butler in February from the Miami Heat in a trade that sent Andrew Wiggins the other way. With very little time to get acclimated, the Warriors won seven of their first eight games with Butler. Even after consecutive losses at the Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat this week, they’re 16-5 since Butler laced up his sneakers with them.

Next year? Well, a lot can happen between now and opening night in October.

“That’s more time together,” Green said. “That’s knowing each other. That’s having a training camp with Jimmy. And as we all know, an NBA roster is never the same from year to year. There’s going to be some tweaks, some changes. That’s just the business that we’re in. Those tweaks and changes, whatever they are as you proceed forward, will be built around, ‘How does this fit around Steph and Jimmy, right?’”

No matter how long Golden State’s postseason lasts, there will be changes. Curry, Butler and Green are under contract through next season. Buddy Hield, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski also are on the books. The Warriors plan to exercise team options for Quinten Post and Gui Santos.

Kevon Looney and Gary Payton II will be unrestricted free agents, and the Warriors are edging closer to a decision on the future of Jonathan Kuminga, who will become a restricted free agent this summer.

Green is placing his trust in Dunleavy to use the coming months to reshape the roster to better accommodate not only Curry, but also Butler.

“It allows Mike Dunleavy – who has been an incredible, incredible general manager – to go into the summer saying, ‘All right, I got Steph and Jimmy. I need to surround guys. Bring in some guys to surround [Curry], which we already have. I need to bring in some guys that also surround [Butler] well.’ So, the thinking process changes.

“I must say, I don’t think within the next eight months there’s going to be an extreme decline of either one of us three. And so, in saying that … I love our team. I don’t want anyone to be like, ‘Yo, Draymond don’t think this team got enough.’ That’s not that’s not what I’m saying.”

Exhibit A of Green’s belief in the current team is, he said, the guarantee made during the All-Star break, when he said the Warriors “will win the championship” this season. It was outrageous considering they were ninth in the Western Conference.

This was, went the general reaction, Draymond being Draymond.

Within two weeks, though, the Warriors climbed from ninth to sixth in the West. Moreover, they have since the break posted the second-best record in the West and the fourth-best record in the league. Their odds of reaching the Finals have taken a steep ascent.

But. Still.

Green’s faith comes from the postseason experience possessed by Butler, Curry and himself. The trio has played a combined 423 games, with 15 conference finals and 14 NBA Finals.

But NBA history is not in Green’s favor. No team with a three-man core averaging 35 years old or more has won it all. The 2011 Dallas Mavericks came closest, with Jason Kidd (38), Jason Terry (33) and Dirk Nowitzki (33) sliding just under the average.

To put this into context, the 2022 Warriors – with Klay Thompson, Curry and Green averaging just under 33 years of age – probably could not have beaten the Celtics without Wiggins, who was 27 and was as effective as anyone not named Curry.

These Warriors could hope to get such postseason impact from any one of the 20-somethings on the roster, but they can’t expect it. Maybe that will change in 2026.

“It’s always hard to win championships when you have midseason trades because it’s a hard adjustment,” Green said. “I think we’re doing as great a job as we can. I also think we’re going to win a championship.

“But in saying that, I still think our best year, our best chance to win a championship with this group will be next year. I don’t mean we’re not doing it this year.”

The Warriors have a lot of ground to cover beginning next month, even more after the ball tips off for next season.

Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast

Draymond reflects ‘rock bottom' of Warriors career, strolls down hallway of mind originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Draymond Green is a villain. A mentor. A bully. A charmer. He’s a basketball genius, a restless soul, a four-time NBA champion, a four-time NBA All-Star and a two-time Olympic gold medalist whose unruly conduct last season kept him off the court for 21 games.

His spasms of disorder did more than that. The vehement events of the 2023-24 NBA season hurt Draymond, his family and, lastly, the Golden State Warriors. It forced him to check himself. To seek rehabilitation for the emotions behind his on-court violence.

And now, 14 months after returning from his last suspension, words are coming off Draymond’s tongue with the same passion and conviction with which he has played basketball for 13 seasons with the Warriors. The conversation is about life, and he is the tour guide for a reflective journey down the long and sometimes dark hallways of his mind.

“The bottom? Man. Oh man. How do you find the bottom?” Green says on NBC Sports Bay Area’s “Dubs Talk” podcast, which debuted Friday. “There’s been some moments where … Wow. Wow.

“The bottom, I would have to say, for me personally, the bottom was last year. And the reason that was the bottom is basketball is one thing. You can talk about basketball all you want. I really don’t care. I know what I bring to the basketball game. I know what I’m capable of. I know what’s going on. So that don’t really bother me.

“But last year, my character was under attack. Who I am as a human being was under attack.”

The tipping point came on Dec. 12, 2023, when Green whacked Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkić in the face in the third quarter of a Warriors-Suns game in Phoenix. That led to a suspension deemed “indefinite” because one month earlier, Green jumped Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert – whose arms were around Golden State’s Klay Thompson – from behind and put him in a modified chokehold. The Green-Gobert incident was a five-gamer, so the NBA felt it necessary to increase the suspension for Green’s strike on Nurkić.

Public reaction was swift and heavy with presumptions, with opinions undoubtedly prejudiced by Draymond’s shocking punch to the face of then-teammate Jordan Poole in October 2022. NBA head of basketball operations Joe Dumars, a longtime friend of Green, delivered the indefinite suspension, explaining that he wanted to see Draymond get himself mentally and emotionally “right” before coming back to the game.

As Green attended to his business, speculation and allegations were rampant. He heard and saw it. His wife, Hazel Renee, coped with it. His children, his extended family and friends all were in the uncomfortable position of trying to answer for the man they knew and care for or even love.

“I take pride in who I am as a human being,” Green says. “I take pride in being a stand-up guy. If I see you and walk past you, I’m going to say, ‘Hi.’ I take pride in just being a great person. For my character to be under attack, that bothered me to my core because the things that were being said isn’t an accurate depiction of me and who I am.

“So, I would say that was the bottom. I couldn’t play the game that I love. I couldn’t play the game the way that I love. And by the way, ‘He’s beating his wife at home. He’s beating his kids because look what he does on a basketball court.’ That’s crazy … to have to live through that.”

“But then, for my family to also have to live through that,” he adds, “that was kind of rock bottom for me. Like my wife opening her Instagram and [seeing] ‘I’m so sorry’ [comments]. ‘I know you’re getting beaten at home.’ Beaten?

“I’m the guy that when my wife is on one, I walk into the other room. I don’t even want to go back and forth like that. It’s not even in my demeanor. I think it’s because people watch me on the basketball court and my intensity. I am probably as non-confrontational as you going to find. I’m going the opposite way.”

How does this not touch the heart of anyone who has one? How does this not force anyone to face their worst characteristics and try to seek peace within?

Green 35, says, he “hates” confrontation off the court. On the court, he lives for it. His willingness to engage in competition, usually with bigger players, is part of the equation that makes him great. At 6-foot-6, he’s the best small big man in the NBA and probably has considered having that description tattooed on his chest.

There is no question that this season has revealed a less combustible Draymond than the player he was the previous two seasons. He recorded a league- and career-high 21 technical fouls in 2022-23 and served a one-game suspension for planting his foot on the chest of Sacramento center Domantas Sabonis in the first round of the 2023 NBA playoffs against the Kings. Green this season has been assessed 12 technical fouls, but there have been no suspensions. The Warriors are 35-23 when he plays, 6-8 when he does not.

“With help, I worked my way out of it,” Green says. “And I’m back from it. But that was rock bottom for me.”

The noise related to Green’s antics has quieted because they are fewer. The Warriors are happier. And Draymond, among the leaders in the Defensive Player of the Year race, is performing better with his emotions on simmer than when they boil over.

Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast

Draymond details ‘rock bottom' of Warriors career, strolls down hallway of mind originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Draymond Green is a villain. A mentor. A bully. A charmer. He’s a basketball genius, a restless soul, a four-time NBA champion, a four-time NBA All-Star and a two-time Olympic gold medalist whose unruly conduct last season kept him off the court for 21 games.

His spasms of disorder did more than that. The vehement events of the 2023-24 NBA season hurt Draymond, his family and, lastly, the Golden State Warriors. It forced him to check himself. To seek rehabilitation for the emotions behind his on-court violence.

And now, 14 months after returning from his last suspension, words are coming off Draymond’s tongue with the same passion and conviction with which he has played basketball for 13 seasons with the Warriors. The conversation is about life, and he is the tour guide for a reflective journey down the long and sometimes dark hallways of his mind.

“The bottom? Man. Oh man. How do you find the bottom?” Green says on NBC Sports Bay Area’s “Dubs Talk” podcast, which debuted Friday. “There’s been some moments where … Wow. Wow.

“The bottom, I would have to say, for me personally, the bottom was last year. And the reason that was the bottom is basketball is one thing. You can talk about basketball all you want. I really don’t care. I know what I bring to the basketball game. I know what I’m capable of. I know what’s going on. So that don’t really bother me.

“But last year, my character was under attack. Who I am as a human being was under attack.”

The tipping point came on Dec. 12, 2023, when Green whacked Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkić in the face in the third quarter of a Warriors-Suns game in Phoenix. That led to a suspension deemed “indefinite” because one month earlier, Green jumped Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert – whose arms were around Golden State’s Klay Thompson – from behind and put him in a modified chokehold. The Green-Gobert incident was a five-gamer, so the NBA felt it necessary to increase the suspension for Green’s strike on Nurkić.

Public reaction was swift and heavy with presumptions, with opinions undoubtedly prejudiced by Draymond’s shocking punch to the face of then-teammate Jordan Poole in October 2022. NBA head of basketball operations Joe Dumars, a longtime friend of Green, delivered the indefinite suspension, explaining that he wanted to see Draymond get himself mentally and emotionally “right” before coming back to the game.

As Green attended to his business, speculation and allegations were rampant. He heard and saw it. His wife, Hazel Renee, coped with it. His children, his extended family and friends all were in the uncomfortable position of trying to answer for the man they knew and care for or even love.

“I take pride in who I am as a human being,” Green says. “I take pride in being a stand-up guy. If I see you and walk past you, I’m going to say, ‘Hi.’ I take pride in just being a great person. For my character to be under attack, that bothered me to my core because the things that were being said isn’t an accurate depiction of me and who I am.

“So, I would say that was the bottom. I couldn’t play the game that I love. I couldn’t play the game the way that I love. And by the way, ‘He’s beating his wife at home. He’s beating his kids because look what he does on a basketball court.’ That’s crazy … to have to live through that.”

“But then, for my family to also have to live through that,” he adds, “that was kind of rock bottom for me. Like my wife opening her Instagram and [seeing] ‘I’m so sorry’ [comments]. ‘I know you’re getting beaten at home.’ Beaten?

“I’m the guy that when my wife is on one, I walk into the other room. I don’t even want to go back and forth like that. It’s not even in my demeanor. I think it’s because people watch me on the basketball court and my intensity. I am probably as non-confrontational as you going to find. I’m going the opposite way.”

How does this not touch the heart of anyone who has one? How does this not force anyone to face their worst characteristics and try to seek peace within?

Green 35, says, he “hates” confrontation off the court. On the court, he lives for it. His willingness to engage in competition, usually with bigger players, is part of the equation that makes him great. At 6-foot-6, he’s the best small big man in the NBA and probably has considered having that description tattooed on his chest.

There is no question that this season has revealed a less combustible Draymond than the player he was the previous two seasons. He recorded a league- and career-high 21 technical fouls in 2022-23 and served a one-game suspension for planting his foot on the chest of Sacramento center Domantas Sabonis in the first round of the 2023 NBA playoffs against the Kings. Green this season has been assessed 12 technical fouls, but there have been no suspensions. The Warriors are 35-23 when he plays, 6-8 when he does not.

“With help, I worked my way out of it,” Green says. “And I’m back from it. But that was rock bottom for me.”

The noise related to Green’s antics has quieted because they are fewer. The Warriors are happier. And Draymond, among the leaders in the Defensive Player of the Year race, is performing better with his emotions on simmer than when they boil over.

Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast

One night after he tipped in a winning shot to beat the Indiana Pacers, LeBron James sat at his locker and tried his best to say the Lakers needed to put what happened Thursday behind them.

The joy he felt in Indiana, walking off the court beating his chest in triumph and shooting his wristbands into the crowd, violently swung toward disappointment after the Lakers' 119-117 loss on Josh Giddey’s half-court buzzer-beater in Chicago.

“This is the NBA,” he said.

No way. Not this. This isn’t normal. A win like that followed by a loss like this? Never happens.

James’ postgame words were mostly unimportant, save for taking responsibility for a defensive miscommunication that led to a three and a disastrous inbounds pass he threw after that led to another. It was his actions that said the most.

He pieced together a stat sheet that had been torn right down the middle, studying how the Bulls had made 19 threes, including 11 of 14 in the fourth quarter when they scored 44 points. Then he took the two pieces of paper and shuffled them like a stack of playing cards, one on top of the other over and over again as he tried to explain how the Lakers squandered this chance.

“We put ourselves in position to win,” James repeated.

As he finished his interview, he balled the paper up and tossed it in the garbage.

While overreacting to any loss, particularly one that ends with a player swishing a shot from 47 feet, is risky, this one punctured the Lakers’ locker room because of the hope Wednesday’s win had given them.

Read more:Lakers sign Jordan Goodwin, waive Cam Reddish

After losing three in a row, including two with their roster intact, the win against the Pacers seemed like a moment when the team could get some of its swagger back, an attitude built over the season’s middle months before injuries to James, Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes and others happened in the most compact portion of their schedule.

Worn down emotionally and worn out physically, the Lakers felt the win was like a double shot of espresso, the energy instantly flipping.

“Sometimes your group just needs a win," coach JJ Redick said before the loss to the Bulls.

“Devastation. It's a hell of a way to lose a basketball game,” Redick said after the game.

The 48 minutes of basketball in between showed the wild variance the Lakers have played with recently, the team struggling to contain Chicago in the first quarter before finding its footing in the second and third, pushing the game to the edges of a blowout.

The Lakers held the Bulls to 43 points in the middle quarters before giving up 44 in the fourth, blowing an 18-point lead.

And still they had chances to win. And it sure seemed like they would.

With the Bulls within one, Austin Reaves scored on a one-footed bank shot to put the Lakers up 113-110 with 26.5 seconds left. The Lakers forced Giddey into airballing a floater on the baseline, grabbed the rebound and Reaves hit a pair of free throws to give the Lakers a five-point lead with 12.6 seconds left.

But James left Patrick Williams on the Bulls’ sideline out-of-bounds play to chase the ball, and Nikola Vucevic quickly pushed it to the corner where Williams made a three. James then badly botched the inbounds pass, softly trying to guide the ball to Reaves and leaving it for Giddey to grab. The Bulls then swung it to Coby White, who hit his fourth three of the quarter to put the Bulls up one, Chicago scoring six points in 6.5 seconds.

“Horrible turnover by myself,” James said. “Bad miscommunication play before that.”

Giddey told reporters he almost was shocked at how simple it was to cause the turnover.

“He kinda just bounced it,” Giddey said of the inbound pass. “I was surprised at how easy I was able to grab it.”

Reaves said he was trying to seal his defender, Williams, more than he was moving to the ball, allowing Giddey to go from guarding the passer to getting the steal and the assist.

However, the Lakers perfectly executed a play for Reaves to score on a layup, retaking the lead with 3.3 seconds left.

The Bulls, though, got the ball to Giddey with a little bit of a running start, and while James tried to contest the shot, it never looked off, the 47-foot dagger swishing through the basket. According to Basketball Reference, it’s the ninth-longest buzzer-beater in NBA history.

“It sucks,” Reaves said, his 30 points and potential winner not enough.

Luka Doncic had 25 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Hayes had 19 points and eight rebounds and James finished with 17 points, 12 assists and five rebounds.

Giddey had a triple-double with 25 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists as the Bulls (33-40) beat the Lakers for the second time in a week. White had 26 points and nine assists.

Instead of building momentum after the Pacers win, the Lakers (44-29) again seem headed for serious reflection. They play Saturday in Memphis, a possible first-round playoff matchup, before heading into the final two weeks of the season.

“At this point of the year, you just got to forget about it, honestly,” Reaves said. “There's so little basketball left.”

The NBA, like James said, demands you move on. But if this loss doesn’t leave a permanent scar on the Lakers, a bruise seems certain.

“You can't go into a game on Saturday thinking about what happened on Thursday,” James said.

But how do you forget this?

Sign up for our weekly newsletter on all things Lakers.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.