Category: NBA

Gary Payton II's invaluable impact returns in Warriors' win over Spurs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN ANTONIO – The invaluable impact Gary Payton II has provided the Warriors for years returned Wednesday night in their best win of the 2025-26 NBA season, beating the San Antonio Spurs 125-120 at Paycom Center on the second night of a back-to-back. 

Payton’s role at the start of the season has been as small as it ever has with the Warriors. A second-draft pick, Will Richard, quickly leapt him in the pecking order, keeping Payton’s view of games mostly from the bench. The defensive ace had looked a step slow and was prone to fouls, two things that can’t happen for someone who isn’t much of a threat offensively. 

He played 15 minutes of garbage time Tuesday night when the Warriors were blown out in Oklahoma City against the Thunder, and it looked like his services weren’t going to be needed much the next night in San Antonio. Payton replaced Steph Curry for the final 23 seconds of the first half, his only run of the game up to that point. 

The second half was a completely different story, for Payton and the Warriors collectively as a team. 

Payton played 14-plus minutes in the second half and was a plus-9 as the Warriors outscored the Spurs by 12. Darting for the ball and being a nuisance defensively, Payton in that span had four points, six rebounds – four offensive – two assists and one steal. The stars were the show, and Payton was the special sauce behind the scenes that helped them thrive. 

“I thought Gary was fantastic in the second half. And what a pro,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “The guy hasn’t been in the rotation for two weeks, and you never hear anything from him. He stays upbeat, positive. Everybody loves him, and then he always stays ready.”

His game-changing ways began with seven and a half minutes left in the third quarter and the Warriors down by five. Payton’s first offensive rebound led to a Victor Wembanyama foul and two free throws for Curry. The next time down the floor, Payton grabbed a miss from Wemby, gave the ball up to Draymond Green, ran alongside Curry and set a good enough screen on his man that Devin Vassell fouled Steph for three more free throws. Payton on the Warriors’ next offensive possession assisted Moses Moody for a three. 

Later in the third, he snuck behind the Spurs defense for a spinning layup, and his fourth and final rebound of the quarter became a foul on San Antonio and two free throws for Jimmy Butler. 

Those who have been around Payton since he stuck with the Warriors in the 2021-22 championship season are used to this. Al Horford was on the other side of that as a member of the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals and poured praise on Payton while answering a question about Curry. 

“Gary Payton just completely changed the game for us in the second half,” Horford said. “His offensive rebounding, defensively – just his impact. I was just very impressed with him, because you know, to be able to be called out like that and he just kept making winning play after winning play. 

“There was a sequence there in the third quarter where he right away instinctively went to Steph on a screen to get him open, and Steph gets fouled for three shots. It’s one of those things that the guy, he just understands how to play. He knows how to play. He’s a winner. I was just impressed with Gary tonight.” 

Payton played the final six and a half minutes of the fourth quarter and came down with two more offensive rebounds in one sequence. First, he found the angle from a missed three from Green and sprinted past Luke Kornet for his third offensive rebound of the game. In the same possession, Payton went from the right corner to the free-throw line to secure a short 3-point attempt by Curry, took one dribble and gave the ball back to a relocated Curry in the corner. 

This time, Curry’s three went down and the Warriors’ lead increased from seven points to 10 with four and a half minutes left in the game. 

The Warriors entered the day ranked 26th in offensive rebounds, a number that highlighted larger issues. All 6-foot-2 of Payton (on a good day) reminded everybody the importance of crashing the offensive glass and keeping possessions alive. 

Look at all four of Gary Payton II's 4 offensive rebounds last night

His nose for the ball was huge in the Warriors' win pic.twitter.com/Cl1ZHktU1c

— Dalton Johnson (@DaltonJ_Johnson) November 13, 2025

“Just crash,” he said. “The league’s been changing a lot, so everybody’s crashing. Look at the ball and see where it might end up. Might be short, might be long. Run through the nail and just be in the right area where the ball usually comes from on threes. So, just crash.” 

If you know how to play with Curry, finding him for open shots or freeing him with timely screens, you’re going to get minutes. Payton understands how to get the best out of the Warriors’ superstar as well as anybody. 

He isn’t seen as a star. He isn’t part of the Warriors’ Big Three. But Curry appreciates Payton as much as any of his teammates. 

“It’s huge. He’s a professional. He’s been through this where you got to stay ready,” Curry said. “Whether it’s been him being injured, coming in and out of the lineup or coach’s decision on who he’s putting out there. The way that he impacts the game defensively, we all know that, but he just seems to find himself in the right place at the right time offensively. He knows how to set screens, keep the ball moving and if he’s open shoot it. 

“It’s simple, boring basketball, but it’s winning basketball. And he does a great job of being ready whenever he’s called to go out there and hoop.”

At the end of last season, it looked like Payton’s days with the Warriors could be numbered. Payton wanted otherwise, as did Curry. Payton had to wait and wait and wait like everybody else for Jonathan Kuminga’s restricted free agency, eventually agreeing to terms before Kuminga did. 

There was only one team Payton wanted to keep playing with, and his value that outnumbers stats turned to major impact once again in the biggest win thus far for the Warriors that they had to have.

“It’s the story of my career,” Payton said. “Don’t play, I play. Might not play, then I get thrown back into the fire. It’s another day at work. Staying ready, being ready, that’s it. 

“Whatever I can do to help out the team. Just go in and make plays. Try to get the ball to certain guys, and just do the little things.”  

Patience and perseverance paid off for Payton. Respect the game, and it rewards you in return.

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Stephen Curry scored 46 points as the Golden State Warriors inflicted a first home NBA defeat of the season on the San Antonio Spurs.

The two-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) helped the Warriors end a six-game losing streak on the road with a 125-120 victory at Frost Bank Center in Texas.

Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle became the first Spurs players to record triple-doubles in the same game, but Curry scored 29 points in the second half as the Warriors outscored the Spurs 76-64.

"That third quarter is what we do - getting stops, pushing, creating easy offence. Thankfully I was able to knock a couple down," Curry said.

Jimmy Butler contributed 28 points and eight assists for the Warriors, while Moses Moody scored 19 points.

Thunder thrash Lakers

Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recorded 30 points, five rebounds and nine assists as defending champions the Oklahoma City Thunder thrashed the Los Angeles Lakers 121-92.

The Thunder led by 37 points at one stage, allowing Gilgeous-Alexander and other starters to sit out the fourth quarter at Paycom Center.

Five-time All-Star pick Luka Doncic managed 19 points and seven assists for the Lakers, before being subbed when the result was all but confirmed by the final quarter.

Thunder are top of the Western Conference with a 12-1 record.

"We definitely got better the last two days and that's the main goal," said Gilgeous-Alexander.

Jokic downs Clippers

Nikola Jokic scored 55 points, including 25 in the first quarter, as the Denver Nuggets extended their winning run to six games with a 130-116 victory at the Los Angeles Clippers.

The three-time MVP also claimed 12 rebounds and six assists at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.

It is the fourth time that Jokic has scored at least 50 points in a regular season game.

NBA results in full

Mike Brown thought the Knicks got their "a—es" kicked by the Magic on Wednesday. But that wasn’t the worst thing to happen to Brown’s team.  

Late Wednesday, Jalen Brunson was leaving the locker room in a protective boot and on crutches. A reporter from The Athletic saw Brunson leaving the locker room in the boot and crutches. A league source confirmed that Brunson did indeed leave The Garden on crutches with his right foot in a boot.  

Brunson rolled his ankle with 1:52 to go in the game. We don’t know the specific injury or the severity of the injury, but the Knicks left MSG knowing that Brunson had suffered a legitimate injury. 

Oftentimes, you don’t know the true severity of an injury until the player wakes up the next morning. Maybe Brunson wakes up on Thursday feeling great. But he left Wednesday’s game like a player who knew he was hurt. Shortly after Brunson turned his ankle, he intentionally fouled Jalen Suggs to stop the game. (The Knicks trailed Orlando by 15 at the time.) Rather than going back to the Knicks bench, Brunson went directly to the Knicks locker room. 

KNICKS WITHOUT BRUNSON

If Brunson is out – and it’s safe to assume that he’ll miss Friday’s game against Miami, at a minimum – what do the Knicks do?

I assume they’d go with Miles McBride at point guard. Brown has been creative with his lineups/rotations early in the season. So maybe he goes in a different direction. 

Regardless of who is in or out of the starting lineup, the Knicks have a lot to clean up ahead of their matchup with the Heat. 

TOO MUCH TALKING TO REFS

Orlando neutralized the Knicks on the boards. They were the aggressor for much of the night, shooting ten more free throws than the Knicks. Brown didn’t seem to have an issue with how the game was called. He was instead disappointed in how his team engaged with the refs. 

“In the first half, everything that happened on the court we blamed on the officials. And that was disappointing to see because we were the culprits of a lot of stuff that happened out on the floor,” Brown said. “Six of their first eight points came from the free throw line and we fouled them. I couldn’t even use a challenge because we were fouling. If one of our keys is to play physical without fouling, but our first six points, first three or four possessions that they had, start at the free throw line, then we’re not giving ourselves a chance and we’re letting them get comfortable with the way that they play.”

The Magic took 33 free throws; the Knicks had 23 attempts from the line. Brown felt the Knicks didn’t crash the offensive glass as well as they should have. Usually, if you don’t crash the offensive glass, you can get back and defend well in transition. That wasn’t the case for the Knicks on Wednesday. 

“Shot went up and everybody just watched and then jogged back,” Brown said. “…. The way we chart it, they still scored 33 fast break points against us for the game.”

Brown obviously didn’t like his team’s approach on the board. But he was more bothered by the Knicks’ reaction to the refs. 

“I personally think that it doesn’t matter how the game is being called. If we’re locked in and we’re playing like we’re capable of, we don’t need to rely not eh officials making this call or that call,” Brown said. “Our focus in that area was not where it should have been.”

Mikal Bridges agreed with Brown’s assessment. 

“Got to leave the refs alone. Even if there’s fouls or something, everybody makes mistakes,” Bridges said. “Just got to, let it go and bring energy to the other end.”

BIG MINUTES FOR LANDRY

Landry Shamet was the first sub off the bench on Wednesday. He was also on the floor to close the game. In all, Shamet played 27 minutes – the most of any Knick reserve. Josh Hart played 18 minutes.

Brown went with Mitchell Robinson in the starting lineup on Wednesday and had Miles McBride in over Bridges to close the game.

“Yeah, I was just trying to spark something defensively, offensively. Deuce hit a couple threes. I thought he was pretty good defensively. Same with Landry; I thought he was pretty good defensively; he hit a couple of shots,” Brown said. “So I was just trying to go with, find the combination that I thought could possibly get it done on both ends. Just searching.”

Brown clearly isn’t afraid to try different combinations of players as he feels things out with his team.

NO EXCUSES

Brown was asked after the game if the Knicks were tired on Wednesday because it was the second game of a back-to-back.

“Nah, we're a no-excuse team and if we're a no-excuse team, we've gotta go play the right way as best we can and not lay the blame any place else except square on us,” the coach said. “So it doesn't matter if we play three games in a row, we've gotta go figure it out, and if we can't, maybe I need to go deeper into the bench and play guys lesser minutes. Maybe that's where I can help them, but we can't sit here and say. ‘We played last night and they did this.’ No, go win the game, play the right way, leave it on the floor, and if you leave it on the floor the right way, you're not gonna win them all, then you'll take an L and move onto the next one. I just didn't think we did a great job doing what we're supposed to do to set the tone, especially at the beginning of the game.”

The coach also felt the Knicks didn’t handle the Magic’s attempts to get a bigger player matched up with a Knicks guard on their offensive possessions.

“When that happened, our smaller guys did not do their work early. What I mean by that is that they let the bigger guy walk them – or run them – all the way down to the charge line (near the basket) and then we tried to start fighting,” Brown said. “And one of our main rules is if you’re guarding a bigger guy, you’ve gotta stand him up; at least at the top of the key. We didn’t do that.”

The coach also felt the Knicks didn’t do enough to combat the mismatches when guarding Orlando’s pick-and-roll.

“We were getting cracked on the pick and roll – or the DHO (dribble hand off) because we weren’t up into the ball,” the coach said. “So our big ended up taking the ball and they ended up rolling us to the post and we didn’t do a good job recognizing it and trying to switch as they rolled a small down to the post.”

BRUNSON OFF THE BALL 

Before the game, Brown was asked if he uses Steph Curry as a model in any way for how Brunson plays off the ball.

Brown, who coached Curry as an assistant in Golden State, said that he has used Curry as a template for his own point guards.

“I always felt that if I every had a team, I don’t care what my point guard is like, I’m going to try to get him off the ball so that he’s comfortable with it during the regular season and then come playoff time, teams can’t sit on it and say, he’s dominant in the pick-and-roll so let’s keeping it out of his hands,” the coach said. “Now you got to defend him in a lot of different ways. Not only that, it’ll be hard to just get up and deny him,  bully him, because he’s not just going back to get the ball every time. If the defense wants to play you this way, go to the corner. The ball will find you if we’re moving and spacing the right way. That’s what I did with (De’Aaron Fox in Sacramento). He’s a pick-and-roll dominant guy, ball in his hands. And that’s what I’m trying to do with Jalen.”

Dalton Knecht soared through the air for an emphatic two-handed dunk. Luka Doncic, who fired the full-court assist on the basket, looked at the Lakers bench and clapped twice in encouragement. But nothing was going to help the Lakers crawl out of this.

Unlike the blowout loss in Atlanta last Saturday, it appeared the Lakers were at least mentally prepared to compete against the league-leading Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday. The problem in the 121-92 loss was that they simply could not keep up.

Reigning most valuable player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 30 points on 10 for 18 shooting with nine assists. The Lakers’ own MVP hopeful Doncic had 19 points, making just seven of 20 shots with seven assists and four turnovers.

“We got our ass kicked,” said guard Marcus Smart, who was held to nine points with two turnovers. “And we got to bounce back.” 

Crossing into the homestretch of their first extended road trip of the season, the Lakers (8-4) have two games remaining, playing in New Orleans and Milwaukee on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The five-game stretch, which started with a rout by Atlanta and a win in Charlotte, has provided mixed results. The team celebrated its connection and chemistry off the court, but is still trying to find solid footing after major offseason changes and early season injuries. 

“I don't think it's been a great road trip for us, just in terms of how we played,” coach JJ Redick said. “Second half against Charlotte, I liked everything that I saw. But the Atlanta game [and] tonight, I don't think are reflective of who the group is going to be, but it clearly is who the group is right now."

Read more:How one aspect of Rui Hachimura's game reminds JJ Redick of Michael Jordan

The group could change again soon after LeBron James practiced with the G League South Bay Lakers on Wednesday. The 40-year-old working his way back from right sciatica participated in five-on-five in the halfcourt. Redick estimated that James got from 12 to 15 possessions of live contact during the workout.

“I think it was also an incredible opportunity for Zach [Guthrie, South Bay Lakers head coach] and his staff and all the guys that are with South Bay right now to have that experience,” Redick said before the game. “But the reports are that he looked good and was moving well.”

When Austin Reaves heard James would be assigned to South Bay, the guard joked the NBA’s all-time leading scorer should play in a game with the G League team.

Next week, when the Lakers have just one game against the Utah Jazz at home on Tuesday, could provide a window of opportunity for James to return at least to the practice court. But when asked if James would practice with the Lakers on Monday when the team returned to L.A., Redick deflected.

“That’s four days away,” Redick said. “So I have no idea on that.”

Read more:How the Lakers use Japanese slideshow presentations to build chemistry

Even shorthanded themselves and playing their second game in as many nights, the Thunder (12-1) showed the desperation and intensity fitting of a champion. 

Without top defender Luguentz Dort (right upper trap strain) and All-NBA guard Jalen Williams (right wrist), Oklahoma City still held the Lakers to just 37.5% from the field through three quarters while extending the lead to 36 points. The Lakers entered the game with the NBA’s highest shooting percentage at 51.2%.

The Thunder held the Lakers without a made field goal for almost eight minutes to start the second quarter. The lead ballooned to 32 as Oklahoma City doubled up the Lakers 64-32 with a three-pointer from Isaiah Joe with 2:10 remaining in the first half. The Lakers scored just 38 points in the first half.

“They're champions for a reason,” Doncic said. “So they showed that today."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Jalen Brunson appeared to sustain a right ankle injury in Wednesday night's loss to the Orlando Magic and was later seen leaving Madison Square Garden in a walking boot.

Brunson, who turned his right ankle driving the lane late in the fourth quarter, was seen by SNY NBA Insider Ian Begley leaving the arena with a boot and using crutches.

After the 124-107 loss to Orlando, head coach MikeBrown said that the guard "turned his right ankle, but that's all I know."

Brunson, who led the Knicks with 31 points on 10-for-23 shooting, sustained the injury when he stepped on Magic big man Wendell Carter Jr.'s foot as he was driving the lane with 1:54 to play in the game.

He hobbled to the free-throw line and made one of two attempts, but then gingerly walked up to an Orlando player for an intentional foul to get himself out of the game. Brunson then immediately turned and walked to the Knicks locker room, having fouled out moments after Brown emptied the bench.

There was no further word on the possible severity of the injury.

Brunson up a little gimpy pic.twitter.com/5wKZBfjLCv

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) November 13, 2025

The Knicks, playing on the second night of a home back-to-back, looked like a team playing on a quick turnaround as they struggled out of the gate and had a horrendous second quarter that put them in a hole they couldn’t climb out of in a 124-107 loss to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 31 points on 10-for-23 shooting, but left the game hobbling after turning his ankle while being fouled with two minutes to play. He was a minus-20 in 37 minutes, adding three rebounds, six assists, three turnovers, and six fouls. Karl-Anthony Towns really struggled for offense, as did the rest of the team. He had just 15 points on 6-for-15 shooting with 12 rebounds, four assists, and was a minus-2 in 35 minutes. The three other starters for he home team – OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and MitchellRobinson – combined for 16 points on 6-for-15 shooting. 

The loss snapped New York's five-game winning streak and seven-game home win streak to start the campaign.

The Magic, who lost All-Star Paolo Banchero after the first quarter, got 28 points from Franz Wagner (10-for-22 from the floor) with nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals for a plus-21 in 37 minutes. And 22 points from Desmond Bane (7-for-15) with eight assists and six rebounds and was a plus-13 in 34 minutes. Anthony Black, coming off the bench, helped withstand a little fourth-quarter surge by the Knicks, scoring 17 on 7-for-11 shooting in 24 minutes.

Here are the takeaways...

- Brunson was the Knicks’ offense in the game’s early goings with all four points, but he also had a turnover and a shot blocked that led to Orlando runouts for a Magic lead and an early Mike Brown timeout at the 9:44 mark in the first.

And transition defense was something Brown didn’t like from the Knicks’ second-half performance the night before against the Grizzlies: “We watched [the film], we talked about it, we didn’t do a good job of following our rules. And then we got a little lazy on the things we do in the half-court, too, defensively,” the head coach said pregame. The poor second half the night before had clearly carried over.

A Brunson three gave him 11 in the first, but New York sputtered thanks to six turnovers, including three from Josh Hart off the bench and two from Anunoby. However, Orlando, despite getting plenty of open looks from behind the arc early, but entered as just about the least proficient outside shooting team in the league, and missed seven of 10 in the opening quarter, and New York was down 30-23 after 12 minutes. The Magic were 10-for-24 (41.7 percent) from the floor, besting the Knicks' 7-for-19 (36.8 percent).

Brunson led the Knicks with 16 points, but was 4-for-10 shooting and was a minus-17 in 19 first-half minutes.

- Towns, who entered the night shooting 43.2 percent from the floor (a career low) and 33.3 percent from three (also a career low), got very frustrated with the referees early in the second after he thought he was fouled on a shot attempt and didn't get the call. In a rough first half he had six points on 3-for-7 from the floor (missing two three-point attempts) with seven rebounds, an assist, a steal, a turnover, and two fouls, one of which came out of his frustration over the no-call, and was a minus-16.

In the fourth, Towns finally hit double-digits and put in five quick ones to force a Magic timeout, cutting the lead to 12 with just under 10 to play. And he made it 11 straight games to start the season with 10+ rebounds, but the lead was still 11 with 6:28 to play when he picked up his fifth personal with two fouls in under 15 seconds, the first on a silly reach-in 30 feet from the basket and a loose ball foul fighting for a defensive rebound.

Brunson cut the lead to nine, but after Jalen Suggs drained a deep three and the Knicks guard grabbed his fifth foul on Wagner, who knocked down a pair at the line, with 5:21 to go. But he stayed in the game and hit two shots, but both were answered by Black, scoring five of his nine fourth-quarterpoints to force a timeout with the lead back at 15 at the 4:23 mark.

Brunson drew a pair of offensive fouls, sticking his nose in there, but after Bane knocked down a spot-up three to make it 16 with two to play, Brown emptied the bench as Brunson appeared to roll his ankle in his final act of the night.

- The second quarter was ugly at the start with the home side connecting on just 3 of their first nine (1-for-5 from deep), and an 11-2 Magic run pushed it to a 13-point deficit. A Hart old-fashioned three-point play put a stop to the bleeding, but his next attempt missed, and that sandwiched two more Orlando buckets, and it was 46-31 to the visitors. The Magic lead topped out at 21 before the game hit the half with Orlando ahead 62-42.

The Knicks scored just 19 points in the second, shooting 6-for-20 (30 percent) from the floor in the quarter (1-for-10 from three). And the 42 points and six assists in the first 24 minutes were both season lows for a first half.

- Robinson opened the third quarter by flushing an alley-oop from Brunson (his first bucket), and that began a 9-2 run, but the Knicks’ big man picked up two quick ones to give him four in the game. And he would hit the bench, a tough one to see sit as he had eight boards (five offensive) to that point.

Anunoby knocked down his first field goal of the game (a three at the 7:26 mark of the third), and the Knicks had clearly picked up the intensity on both ends, knocking down 10 of their first 15 and forcing a few turnovers, but five quick points by the Magic pushed their lead back to 16 with four minutes left in the period. And after all that good workgetting the lead down to 11, the Knicks missed their next seven field goal attempts, and the deficit was 18 at the end of the third.

Robinson finished with two points, eight rebounds, and four fouls and was a minus-11 in 17 minutes. Anunoby finished with eight points (2-for-4 shooting) with four rebounds, two blocks, an assist, a steal, and was a plus-1 in 34 minutes. Bridges had a very quiet six points (3-for-9 shooting) with two rebounds, two assists, two steals, and was a minus-19 in 28 minutes.

- Off the bench, Landry Shamet was the first man in for Robinson, who didn’t play Tuesday, just four minutes into the game and knocked down his first attempt (a corner three) a few moments later. He finished with 11 points and was a minus-3 in 27 minutes. 

Guerschon Yabusele knocked down a much-needed three in his first moments on the court to start the second as the Knicks' bench was looking to provide some kind of spark amid a rather listless first half. But didn’t spark anything as the bench had just 14 points in the first half (4-for-15 from the floor and 3-for-12 from deep) with five turnovers and four fouls. He finished with six points and was a minus-4 in just 5 minutes, seeing action again only in garbage time.

Miles McBride had nine points (3-for-8) and was a minus-9 in 21 minutes. Hart finished with 10 points (4-for-10), three rebounds, two assists, and was a minus-16 in 18 minutes.

Game MVP: Franz Wagner

The fifth-year player was the clear bright spot for an Orlando team that appears to have some pieces, but not a complete squad. He stood in stark contrast to a Knicks team that has shown they are a complete squad, but had no pieces on Wednesday night.

What's next

The Knicks conclude the seven-game homestand on Friday night when the Miami Heat come to town. Tip is set for 7:00 p.m.

Impassioned Doug Christie sends stern warning to Kings stars as skid continues originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SACRAMENTO – In a 30-hour span, Doug Christie has spoken to the media with more fire and passion than the Kings have played with all season.

One night after calling out haters and critics during his pregame media availability before Tuesday’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Christie approached the podium Wednesday after another blowout loss, his team’s fourth in a row.

Before a reporter could even get a question off, the coach muttered three words as he took a seat.

“Shameful compete level,” he said after Sacramento’s 133-100 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

A ticked-off and emotional Christie went on to address the media in a fiery 13-minute dialogue that included a couple of F-bombs and the word “unacceptable” a handful of times.

“I’ve taken butt whoopings, that’s part of the game,” Christie said. “But you know what I’m going to do? I’m going to come back. You are not going to represent the Sacramento Kings — it just ain’t happening, man. Put on a jersey – represent it properly. 

“These people need to come into the turnstiles, and they need to be proud when they leave here about the product that they see, not f–king embarrassed. It’s unacceptable. Period.”

The Kings got off to a sluggish start, scoring just 10 points in nearly the first seven minutes of the game. But a couple of substitutions and a spark off the bench helped Sacramento pull within three to close out the quarter.

Then Sacramento turned the ball over eight times in the second frame and scored just 12 points in the entire quarter. Twelve points.

The Kings shot 4 of 22 (18.2 percent) from the field and 2 of 14 (14.2 percent) from 3-point range in the second quarter.

Atlanta outscored Sacramento 39-22 in the third quarter, and Christie had had enough at that point. He benched his veteran starters and thrust Precious Achiuwa, who joined the team last week, Daeqwon Plowden, who played his first game of the season and first with Sacramento, and rookies Maxime Raynaud and Nique Clifford onto the floor. They replaced DeMar DeRozan, Domantas Sabonis, Dennis Schroder and Russell Westbrook. Keon Ellis, who already was on the floor, remained in the game.

Christie admitted postgame that the substitution was intended to send a message to the team – particularly its leaders.

“I was embarrassed,” Christie said. “I wish I could have put on the Jersey at 55 [years old], I would have showed you better than that. At least I’m going to use all six fouls. I can’t move, but I’m going to foul the s–t out of somebody.”

DeRozan finished with four points in 19 minutes. It was just the third time he’s scored four points or less since joining the Kings during the 2024 offseason.

Schroder appeared to have been on the right track toward snapping out of a shooting slump, but finished with just nine points. Sabonis had 12 points and four turnovers. Westbrook and Achiuwa each had 10.

Two Hawks bench players outscored every Kings starter on Wednesday.

The leading scorer for Sacramento? Keon Ellis, who during this homestand, has been in and out of Christie’s rotation and experienced back-to-back games where he didn’t see the floor until the fourth quarter.

Ellis finished with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field and 6 of 11 from downtown, with six rebounds, three assists and one steal in 30 minutes off the bench.

Sacramento’s bench outscored Sacramento’s starters 55-45.

Christie kept it straightforward when he was asked if the bench’s production could lead him to shake up some things with his lineups moving forward.

“You got to,” he said. “Those guys [the starters] are minus-31, minus-38, minus-34, minus-20. I mean, you got to.”

Sacramento’s locker room is filled with established veterans, multi-All-NBA and All-Star players and likely future Hall of Famers.

They’ve each experienced their fair share of ebbs and flows that come throughout an NBA season, and one would think, should know how to respond when adversity hits like it has for Sacramento.

Christie hopes — and encourages — his leaders will be leaders.

“I would like them to lead,” Christie said. “You said veterans, so they need to lead, because we got young players in there watching this, and I’m going to text every one of them young players [saying] that’s not acceptable. Do not even think about even trying to equate that that is OK. Do not do it. I will not let you do that, because that s–t, it ain’t cool, no. So they need to lead.

“What do you want for your team? What do you want for this city? If you want something more than what that was — because that was trash — then lead them. Talk to them. Demonstrate for them. Go out there and show them. … Play the game. The game is to be respected. There’s a way to play this game and that ain’t it.”

While Christie didn’t seem to take a breath during his press conference, there was one lengthy pause that was noteworthy.

Christie, a former Kings player and now lead coach for the organization he loves and admires with every fiber in his being, was asked how he gets his players to care as much as he does.

A 44-second pause ensued. Silence.

Alas, a well-thought-out response.

“You know this one has passed me. This is about you. I know what I feel. I know what time I get up. I know what time I put into this. I know how serious I am about my job. I know what I want for them. And I even take it a step further and say, I know what the organization wants. But you got to want that as an individual — individually — when you look in the mirror. Then after that, you go collective. And right now, that’s where we run into the problem is the individual and the collective. Individually, you got to bring it, and then collectively, you got to love on each other. You got to love your brother enough to help him, to talk, to be there, to have extra efforts.

“I’m here to tell you it’s hard. Defense is not for the faint of heart. That’s why everybody don’t do it. But if it’s the last thing that I do, we will put a product out there that they’re like, ‘Damn. He did that. They doing that.’ It just is how it’s going to be. We’re not going to accept none of this. I don’t want our fans to accept. Nah, don’t. You don’t have to. It’s people that actually will do things the right way. [They] might not be as talented, but guess what? That’s when the hockey shift came in. We got some young kids, but you know what they’re going to try to do? They’re going to try to compete. Now, Max is not as talented as [Kristaps] Porzingis yet, and he got into trouble. And Nique gets back cut and OK, but it ain’t from a lack of effort. It ain’t from a lack of want.”

While Kings players have said, at least publicly, that Christie’s stern messaging has resonated well with them thus far, Christie isn’t so convinced by his players’ words.

“They’re saying they want to compete. One thing that I know is you could talk about it all you want, but we not going to be verbally competing,” Christie said. “This ain’t a debate show. This is physical. This is basketball. So you can tell me all day, and you can tell yourself all day, and you can tell your teammates all day, but one thing that I do know is the ball is thrown up, that’s when you need to step up and show that. Period. Every night, 48 minutes, 24 f–king seconds at a time.”

If words won basketball games, Christie’s Kings might be the top seed in the West right now.

But as the coach passionately explained, words don’t get you anywhere.

And now it’s on his team to respond with action.

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Steph Curry gets best of fellow alien Victor Wembanyama as Warriors beat Spurs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN ANTONIO – We’re being duped and deceived more and more every day. 

The internet feels less real every time we take out our phones and wonder if what we’re mindlessly scrolling past is AI or the latest trend that will fade away and get lost in the shuffle. Deep down, we want to believe. The belief fuels us and makes us fools all at the same time.

Thousands of UFO sightings already have been recorded this year with 50 days still remaining in 2025. Thousands. They create stories and eye rolls. Fuel, and fools. Aliens are among us. 

Ask the 18,578 fans in the building to watch the Warriors and San Antonio Spurs for four quarters on Wednesday night and you yourself can become a believer, if you somehow aren’t already.

There were 21 players who ran up and down the court at Frost Bank Center in the Warriors’ 125-120 win, with two aliens taking center stage. A basketball fanatic and a baby who can barely open its eyes could point out which person was taken from a French hovercraft and dropped down on San Antonio to reign supreme on the basketball world. 

Squint hard enough and you can see it. Watch him for more than a decade like Steve Kerr has and you know it by now. Oh yeah, the second alien is the one whose head is at the waist of Alien No. 1, Victor Wembanyama, when he’s flying in the air at him, but the ball sails over his outstretched left arm and through the net without touching a single part of the rim from the right corner. 

“All it takes is that one shot, and in that third quarter I feel like he hit that 3-pointer that finally went down. And when that went down, the corner one, it was like, ‘Here we go,’ ” Al Horford said. “Then it was just … they were in trouble.” 

Steph Curry threw both his hands up as a thank you to the heavens. Maybe to the overlords who graced his right hand at birth, too. It was a gesture of finally. They, being the Spurs, were in trouble. 

Steph had to thank the basketball gods after making this 3 😂 pic.twitter.com/YuZILjJhgm

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 13, 2025

“Thankfully, I made one,” Curry said. “Got a rhythm going and felt like I could make a couple more. It was a good second half.” 

Indeed. 

Curry scored 46 points one night after he and his Warriors teammates were embarrassed in Oklahoma City by the defending NBA champions in his first game back from an illness, scoring only 11 points against the Thunder’s machine-like defense. He admitted he still was battling a cold, which was clear when he spoke, hoping to play 24 hours later against the Spurs. 

“Looks like he’s almost fully healthy,” Gary Payton II said. “Almost fully healthy. He probably would have gotten 50 if he was fully healthy. I’ll take the 46. Just to see him in a good rhythm is encouraging for everybody.”

Getting one game back under his belt helped Curry. His congestion still is there, but his lungs felt way different. Night and day, like the product Steph and the Warriors displayed against Wembanyama and the rising Spurs. 

That three over Wembanyama actually was Curry’s second of the game, with his first being a circus shot from the left corner in the first quarter while trying to draw a foul on former Warriors teammate Harrison Barnes. The third quarter, however, is when flames started firing from his fingers. 

Even after missing his first 3-point attempt of the second half. 

Once he sneakily ran behind Wembanyama from the left side of the court and found his way to the right corner where Jimmy Butler found him in mid-air, it was game on. Curry in the third quarter alone scored 22 points, six fewer than the Spurs did as a team. In nine minutes. 

He made three 3-pointers in three different ways during his third-quarter flurry, banked two 2-pointers – first from the right side and then the left – and forced his way to nine free throws. Yes, he made all nine. 

Kerr jokingly used the word “routine” to describe Curry’s night in totality that also included five rebounds, five assists, five threes, two steals and 15 made free throws with just one miss. 

“I’ve seen this,” Kerr continued. “How many times has he scored 40 in his career?”

The answer: 73. 

“I’m kidding, obviously,” Kerr continued. “That was not routine. When you have the privilege with Steph for 11-plus years like I have, you get used to this. He’s the reason this whole thing has happened. He’s our Tim Duncan. He’s the sun in our solar system.” 

Starring alongside Curry were the two who round out a Big Three on the other side of 35 years old. Jimmy Butler was Batman’s Robin with 28 points, six rebounds, eight assists and three steals. Draymond Green was their enforcer, making one of his 10 shot attempts but still finishing as a game-high plus-15 as he made Wembanyama fight as hard as he could for 31 points, throwing him out of whack for a season-high eight turnovers – the second-most in the Spurs star’s career. 

It still all starts with Curry. It’s timeless. It’s art. It’s a Broadway show.

It’s an alien lifeform in a 6-foot-2 body that has outgrown his previous Baby-Faced Assassin nickname. 

“You always have a chance when he’s on the floor, especially when he’s making incredible shots like he was,” Butler said. “That’s what we need, that’s what he’s going to give us. He’s going to do what he does. It’s our job, everybody else, to do what we’re supposed to do. The role players are the ones that are really going to win, and I’m one of those as well. The star is going to do what he does.” 

Butler continued, sharing what he calls The Art of Getting Out The Way: “Give the ball to 30, and get out the way. The talent will create the disadvantage, and I think that’s what we focused on tonight. Give the ball to Steph, get out the way, and let Steph do what he’s been doing for so many years in this league and good things happen.” 

Aliens are among us. One is known as Wemby. The other is named Wardell. You might know him as Steph.

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Steph Curry recalls lonely ‘pep talk' before huge third quarter in Warriors' win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Lock in, Dub Nation.

That’s Steph Curry’s mantra, and the Warriors star put it to good use with a 46-point performance in Golden State’s 125-120 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday at Frost Bank Center.

Curry scored 22 of those points in a red-hot third quarter — but things didn’t start out that way for the point guard. The 37-year-old shot 6 of 12 from the field and 1 of 6 from 3-point range in the first two quarters, but after he stayed out on the bench while the rest of the Warriors went in the locker room at halftime, everything changed.

“As a shooter, any time you’re missing short, you get in your head a little bit,” Curry told Bob Fitzgerald and Kelenna Azubuike about the moment on “Warriors Postgame Live” after the win. “That’s like the worst miss ever and I had about three or four of them, so I was just trying to talk to myself, you know, a little pep talk over there, get your mind right.

“But sometimes it’s nice to feel it in the arena versus in the locker room because you know you got to come back out here and do work.”

Steph just needed a little extra time on the court during halftime to get his mind right 🧠 pic.twitter.com/RG67AoEv68

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 13, 2025

Curry’s halftime pep talk worked, and he came out firing in the second half. He scored 31 of his 46 total points across the final two frames on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, 4 of 10 from deep and a perfect 13 of 13 from the free-throw line.

That offensive explosion included a go-ahead 3-pointer in the third quarter that had Curry yelling, “Boom!” as he celebrated.

This go-ahead 3 had Steph HYPED 😤 pic.twitter.com/YDo2wNI1lM

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 13, 2025

There’s no doubt the Warriors’ messaging in the locker room was exactly what the team needed to come back out and erase a 16-point deficit against the Spurs.

But sometimes, the best shooter in the world just needs to hear from himself first.

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What we learned as Kings' bad basketball continues in blowout home loss to Hawks originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

SACRAMENTO — The Kings’ bad basketball continued in their final contest of a five-game homestand, falling to the Atlanta Hawks by a final score of 133-100 on Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center.

Boos poured into G1C throughout the game — and they weren’t for Atlanta.

Just one night ago, Kings coach Doug Christie called out the haters and critics of his team, vowing his team would turn things around and warned that “The Kings Show” was coming. A few hours later, the Kings lost 122-108 to the Denver Nuggets. This is after consecutive blowout losses to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Christie said his passionate pregame comments weren’t targeted at a specific individual, but rather any fans, media members or players disrespecting his squad.

The boos, which have sprinkled in here and there at times during the Kings’ early NBA season, reached a new level of loudness Wednesday.

With so many questions regarding this team now and in the immediate future, at least one thing is crystal clear: Fans are fed up.

Here are the takeaways from another deflating loss:

Dennis struggles

Schroder’s start with Sacramento hasn’t gone as anyone anticipated, to say the least.

He entered Wednesday’s game in a shooting funk, making just one of his last 19 field-goal attempts over the past three games.

He had combined for five points in those contests. On Wednesday night, he appeared to have turned things around, scoring eight points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field in nine first-quarter minutes.

But, of course, one quarter doesn’t tell the whole story.

Schroder wound up adding just one more point after that first quarter, finishing with nine points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field and 2 of 3 from long range. He was a minus-20 in 26 minutes.

Hawks let it fly from 3

Atlanta entered Wednesday’s game shooting 34.5 percent from 3-point range, good for 20th in the league.

The Hawks knocked down six treys in the first quarter alone against the Kings, with four of their five starters sinking one apiece.

Atlanta finished the game with 17 3s, and shot 42.5 percent from long range against Sacramento’s defense, which continues to struggle.

That percentage could have been much higher, too, as Hawks players tried to take advantage of a snoozing Kings defense but just missed several wide-open shots.

It’s not the first time a team that’s not known for its 3-point shooting comes into G1C and lets it rain.

And if something doesn’t change for Sacramento, it likely won’t be the last.

Offense?!?!

Christie almost is offended if any media member asks him about Sacramento’s offense.

He has made it perfectly clear that the team is focused on its defense, and knows it must improve in that area if the Kings want to win games.

But with multiple starting lineup changes, mostly because of injuries and also due to personnel, the Kings’ offense has yet to find a consistent rhythm.

Still, it was the least of Christie’s concerns after Tuesday’s loss.

“Offense? Yeah, nobody’s talking about offense,” Christie told reporters postgame. “I mean, tonight was only 108 [points] but on most nights, we’re scoring enough points. It ain’t about the offense. Guys can score the ball. There’s a lot of people that can score the basketball.

“If we want to win, we need to focus on the defense, period. … I don’t want to hear about no offense.”

Well, the Kings are 24th in the league in offensive rating and 27th — or, fourth-worst — in defensive rating so far this season.

They scored 12 points in the second quarter against the Hawks on Wednesday.

Just three seasons ago, the Kings ran a historically great offense. Now, we’re here.

It might be time to worry about the offense.

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Clippers guard Bradley Beal is done for the season. He has a hip fracture and will undergo surgery, the team announced Wednesday.

The three-time All-Star, who is expected to make a full recovery in six to nine months, played in only six games this season, averaging 8.2 points and 1.7 assists. He signed an $11-million, two-year deal with the Clippers in July after the final two years of his contract were bought out by the Phoenix Suns.

The 32-year-old was listed as out for Wednesday night's game against the Denver Nuggets because of left hip soreness. Beal previously missed games because of a left knee injury and lower back soreness.

Beal's two seasons in Phoenix were riddled by injury as well. The 14-year veteran hasn't played at least 60 games in a season since 2020-21 when he was with the Washington Wizards.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.