Lakers guard Bronny James, right, controls the ball in front of Milwaukee guard AJ Green during the Lakers' 118-89 loss Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The sixth game in eight nights for the Lakers meant they were going to have to pay for all the energy they used fighting short handed over the last week.
That Bronny James is one of the healthy ones, again, is a reminder of how much of his journey is already house money, the Lakers rookie surviving a cardiac arrest less than two years ago.
With the Lakers down to 10 available players against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks in a 118-89 lopsided loss, Bronny James got his longest runway yet to show the steps he’s taken largely in the shadows of the G League.
James scored a career-high 17 points, sparking the Lakers’ only positive quarter, the second, when the team outscored the Bucks 27-23.
James made seven of 10 from the field along with three rebounds, five assists and three turnovers. He played a season-high 30 minutes for the Lakers (43-26).
Bronny James on his best game as a pro and how he’s stayed level-headed amidst all the scrutiny and praise pic.twitter.com/Wyt7rljdED
The performance caps a stretch where he has been much more comfortable on NBA courts. He has made 15 of his last 26 shots over an eight-game stretch that’s included real rotation minutes twice, including Thursday. Dalton Knecht also scored 17 points.
Antetokounmpo led the Bucks (39-30) with 28 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Wednesday night's loss to the Spurs was one thing, but to look lifeless against a 17-win Hornets team is another.
That's what the Knicks have to come to terms with after their 115-98 loss to Charlotte on Thursday night. Sure, it was the second of a back-to-back on the road, and New York is trying to find wins without Jalen Brunson on the floor, but how the Knicks played in Charlotte was nothing fans have seen or expected from this team all season.
The Knicks were outworked and outplayed for most of Thursday's game. And Josh Hart has one big concern for his team right now.
"Mental toughness. I think that’s my main concern right now," Hart said after the game. "We can make all the excuses in the world, but there’s highs and lows in the season and no one's 82-0. But the way that we're losing games is embarrassing.
"So, we have to find a way to right the ship. We have to come out next game with more intensity, more desperation. Starts with myself. As someone who's supposed to bring energy. I've been atrocious the last several weeks. So, we have to get our minds prepared for the end of the season."
Hart, who came in averaging 9.7 rebounds a game, came down with just four against the Hornets. That's indicative of how much more the Hornets wanted this game as they outrebounded the Knicks 52-38.
But it wasn't just on the glass, the Knicks shot poorly too. They shot only 40 percent from the field and 10-of-39 from three (25 percent). The Knicks' bench was also outscored 37-11.
The Knicks knew it would be difficult to generate offense without Brunson, and they are now just 3-4 without him, but they have to find ways to stay afloat and can't get down on themselves when shots aren't falling.
"Shots are gonna fall, not fall, whatever that is. In that case, we got to clean up on the defensive end," Miles McBride said. "Make sure we're doing everything we can for them to miss shots and us to rebound because we're a talented team. We're going to end up making shots. It's just got to be on the other end."
"The defense and the rebounding have to be the constant, so the nights that you're not shooting well you still have a good chance to win," head coach Tom Thibodeau said of his team's performance. "I thought for the most part, there was a lot of unselfish play. We didn't shoot well, but we had 26 assists. Right. And there was low turnover, but I think sometimes when you're missing those types of shots it tends to … you can't allow that to take away from your intensity, or your concentration. The frustration, you have to eliminate."
The team talked about fatigue and how the Knicks' recent brutal schedule has attributed to their slow starts of late, but this group would tell you that it's not something they can accept.
"Like I said, we can make the excuses. We've had a terrible two, two and a half weeks of travel. But all teams go through terrible travel periods during the season. And it's not an excuse," Hart said of the schedule. "If we're right mentally. We win some of these games but we're not doing what it takes.
"We’re not doing the extra effort. We're not giving energy, not giving the right output. We're crying to refs. We got to pick it up."
"It's very uncharacteristic of us to come out the way we did," McBride said. "And we just got to come together and find it. Whatever you have to do. We have to do it."
For the Knicks, they have a few nights to rest in their own beds before their next game. They host the Washington Wizards on Saturday night, looking to put this embarrassing stretch behind them.
New York's loss Thursday coupled with the Pacers' win against the Nets has put the gap between them at only three games. If the Knicks want to hold onto their No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, they'll need to figure things out and fast.
NDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Bennedict Mathurin scored six of his 28 points in overtime and the Indiana Pacers defeated the Brooklyn Nets 105-99 on Thursday night.
Mathurin added a career-high 16 rebounds for the Pacers. Myles Turner added 23 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks.
Ziaire Williams and D’Angelo Russell each scored 22 points for Brooklyn.
Indiana trailed 52-42 at halftime and outscored the Nets by four points in the third quarter and six in the fourth to force overtime tied at 91.
In overtime, Mathurin shot 2 for 3 from the field and 2 for 3 from the line.
Takeaways
Nets: Brooklyn’s free-fall continued with the team’s 12th loss in 14 games. Brooklyn led 52-42 at halftime but scored just 39 points in the second half and was outscored 14-8 in overtime.
Pacers: Indiana came through in the clutch without its star point guard and now has won five of six. Tyrese Haliburton missed the game with lower back soreness. It was his third straight missed game, and the Pacers have won them all.
Key moment
Mathurin made three free throws with 14 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 91, leading to overtime.
Key stat
The Pacers outscored the Nets by 14 points at the free throw line, making 27. The Nets hits 13.
Up next
The teams meet again on Saturday, in Indianapolis.
A lot has been made of the Knicks' schedule, and their fatigue, and it showed Thursday as they dropped the second of their back-to-back, 115-98 to the Hornets in Charlotte.
New York could not feed off of the large contingent of Knicks fans in attendance, as they were outplayed and outworked by the Hornets (18-51). The Knicks' offense was once again flat without Jalen Brunson, and the team is now 3-4 without its captain.
Here are the takeaways...
-The Knicks got off to another slow start, missing their first three shots and allowing the Hornets to get out to a 9-2 lead in the opening minutes. But the Knicks would clamp down on defense and get their offense going through OG Anunoby, as they went on a 15-4 run to take the lead for the first time with six minutes to go in the first.
However, the Knicks' offense would go ice cold in the final minutes. The combination of misses and turnovers allowed the Hornets to go on a 12-0 run and end the first on top, 27-19. The Knicks would not score a point over the last five minutes. Anunoby led the Knicks with 10 points, but the offense as a whole was not good. They shot 7-for-20 in the opening frame.
Mark Williams and Jusuf Nurkic took advantage of the Knicks' lack of size, with Mitchell Robinson not playing due to injury management. Both centers scored six points each and grabbed seven combined rebounds, three offensive.
-The second quarter went a lot like the first, with cold shooting from the Knicks. In the middle of the quarter, the Knicks went without a field goal for four minutes, while the Hornets continued to beat New York on the glass.
Karl-Anthony Towns would hit back-to-back threes to break the Knicks' drought and give the team some life, but New York could not cut more into Charlotte's lead, as they went into halftime down, 54-44.
Only four Knicks scored in the first half, with Miles McBride being the only starter to go scoreless on 0-for-3 shooting. The guard was questionable heading into the game with a groin contusion, but he simply could not find his range. The Knicks bench went a combined 0-for-5 and didn't score a point.
New York was also outrebounded, 27-17, at halftime.
-McBride would find his game early in the third, making his first shots and finding his teammates for early scores. On the defensive end, the Knicks found their intensity just like in Wednesday's game. New York would cut Charlotte's lead to five, but whenever the Knicks made a run, the Hornets would make a timely three or get to the free-throw line.
The Knicks' frustration bubbled over in the waning minutes of the third, when Towns went hard to the basket and thought he had an and-one. The Knicks' center was demonstrative toward the official and was assessed a technical foul. Towns wouldn't shoot his first free throw of the game until 18 seconds left in the third quarter.
-The Knicks' bench was being outscored 32-0 until Cam Payne hit a three with 10:55 left in the game for the bench's first points. It didn't amount to much, as every Knicks run would be extinguished by a Hornets' three or run. With two minutes left in the game and down 18 points, Tom Thibodeau emptied his bench.
-The Hornets outrebounded the Knicks, 52-38, and were better offensively. Charlotte collectively shot 49 percent, including 15-of-32 from three, while the Knicks shot just 40 percent and 10-of-39 from downtown.
Charlotte's bench outscored New York's, 37-11.
Anunoby (25) and Towns (24) led the way for the Knicks, but it was not nearly enough. Josh Hart scored 13 points -- after scoring just two on Wednesday -- but came down with only four rebounds. MIkal Bridges (16 points on 5-of-11 shooting) and McBride (9) rounded out the scoring for the starters. LaMelo Ball had a team-high 25 points for the Hornetts, and went 5-of-10 from three. Williams also finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds (seven offensive).
While Draymond Green typically authors the Warriors’ defensive heroics, Jimmy Butler couldn’t pass up an opportunity to remind his Golden State teammate he can do it too.
Butler delivered the play of the game with a clutch block in the final minute of the Warriors’ 117-114 win over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday, racing over to Green where the two shared a brief exchange before joining in celebration.
So what exactly did Butler tell the former NBA Defensive Player of the Year?
“I can do that too,” Butler told reporters when asked what he told Green following the block. “Like I always say, I respect Draymond so much. I definitely respect him because he took 14 [3-pointers] tonight. I love that. He’ll do anything to make sure this squad gets a dub. Whatever you ask him to do, he’s willing to do that. So, I’m glad I can follow suit in that sometimes.”
Butler’s heroics helped stave off a gritty effort from a scrappy Raptors team, propelling the Warriors to a 6-1 homestand as Golden State continues to rack up wins after the addition of its new star wing.
SAN FRANCISCO – No matter how hard the Warriors practice, how carefully they study video or who they acquire in trade, their fate rests, until further notice, in the same hands that have carried them for 12 seasons.
So, when Stephen Curry landed hard on his backside with 3:24 left in the third quarter, the sellout crowd at Chase Center went library quiet. The Warriors were being pushed around by the lottery-bound Toronto Raptors, and now Curry was face-down on the floor in obvious pain, never to return.
Curry’s departure left the Warriors on their own, lurching through the final 15 minutes before finally massaging their way to a 117-114 victory that was in doubt until the final seconds.
“We decided to be physical, be the more physical team later on in the game,” Jimmy Butler III said. “It’s never too late for that. Then just putting bodies on bodies and going up and getting the loose balls, and getting every rebound, getting some steals, getting some blocks. Then it turns into good things for us offensively.”
The Warriors (41-29) escaped a close call, but Curry’s condition was on everyone’s mind. The initial diagnosis was a “pelvic contusion,” which ended his night and leaves his immediate future subject to closer examination and prognosis.
“He was trying to come back,” coach Steve Kerr said, adding that Curry would undergo an MRI test. “He thought he might be able to come back, and we just decided not to risk anything.”
Draymond Green and Butler covered for Curry. Neither shot well, but they dived into their team leader roles and did the two things that will be absolute requirements to maintain momentum without the team’s offensive engine.
They got crucial stops on defense and valued the ball on offense. Golden State committed two turnovers in the final 15 minutes while forcing seven Toronto giveaways.
“The mentality is just, when Steph’s out of the game, then it’s vitally important that we get stops,” Green said. “So, you just kind of emphasize that. Guys stepped up to the challenge. The offense is never going to be as smooth when he’s not out there.”
The positive single-game outcome notwithstanding, the Warriors are entering the final 12 games of the regular season uncertain about the availability of their most indispensable player.
Regardless how long Curry is out, any chance of the Warriors continuing their stellar play depends on how wide Green and Butler can spread their veteran wings – and how much crisper their younger teammates can perform.
“The message is going to be, whether he’s with us or whether he’s not – hopefully he is,” Butler said of Curry. “But if he isn’t, that’s just more perfect basketball that we’re going to have to play. We can’t afford to turn the ball over. We can’t afford to foul because we don’t have the one individual that can, like, automatically get us back into the game.”
If there is a silver lining, it is this: Golden State will spend another 11 days tucked into the most exploitable portion of their remaining schedule. Having disposed of the 24-46 Raptors to close a 6-1 homestand, the Warriors go on the road this weekend knowing their next four opponents are reeling.
They’re at Atlanta (33-36) on Saturday, at Miami (29-40, nine consecutive losses) in Butler’s return next Tuesday, at New Orleans (19-51) on March 28 and at San Antonio (29-39) on March 30. The Warriors won’t see another winning team until April 1 at Memphis.
Which isn’t to suggest this will be as easy it would seem – with or without Curry.
Six Warriors scored in double figures against Toronto, with Green leading with 21 points. Quinten Post 18, Curry 17, Jonathan Kuminga and Butler 16 apiece and Brandin Podziemski 15. With the Warriors shooting 42.2 percent from field for the game – and only 25 percent in the fourth quarter – every bucket seemed to be small victory.
“The margin for error goes way down when he’s not out there,” Green said of Curry. “We’ve got to understand that and act accordingly.”
The Warriors found a way on this night. It was ugly and the win came with an at least a modicum of negative emotional vibes. The road awaits, and it’s up to Butler and Green to set the tone for a team that can’t prosper without playing focused and productive basketball no matter who is on the court.
On a night the star Kings forward became the 27th player in NBA history to score 25,000 points, Kevin Huerter got revenge on his former team, handing Sacramento a 128-116 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday at Golden 1 Center.
Huerter, who was traded to Chicago in the same deal that sent De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs in February, made his mark in his return to Sacramento, erupting for 25 points while adding five rebounds, seven assists and four steals.
It was intentional. The former Kings guard was looking for retaliation.
“One-hundred percent revenge game,” Huerter told reporters (h/t ABC 10’s Matt George). “One-hundred percent. So, that felt good [to] come out of here with a dub.”
Kevin Huerter didn't even try to pretend tonight wasn't about revenge against the Sacramento Kings. 👇 pic.twitter.com/uS7tSFjmB7
Malik Monk, who scored an impressive five 3-pointers in the first quarter, led the way for the Kings with 34 points. Kings big man Trey Lyles contributed 22 points and six rebounds for Sacramento off the bench.
No bucket, however, was as significant as DeRozan’s personalized mid-range bucket in the dying minutes of the third quarter.
Sixteen NBA seasons in the making, DeRozan recognizes the privilege of accomplishing such historic feat – even if it’s going to take time to process its significance.
“It hasn’t really hit me,” DeRozan told reporters. “You know, it sucks losing. I think maybe tomorrow, day off it [will] kind of sink in.
“It’s always an honor. It’s an honor period to still be able to play this game at a high level. My 16th year being able to be recognized wherever it is of scorers in this league. I’ve been a fan of this league since I was a kid.
“I have nothing but love and respect for all the people that came before the people who built this league. To be able to be niched in any type of history in this league is an honor.”
Shooting 9 of 22 from the floor, DeRozan finished with 22 points, four rebounds and five assists.
Like Huerter and Kings guard Zach LaVine, DeRozan also faced a former team in Chicago on Thursday night.
No stranger to the scenario, the 35-year-old understands the motivation behind Huerter’s play.
“ … He came in here like he had a grudge, and he played like it,” DeRozan said. “He made big shots.
“He came up big and put up 25 for him. That’s how it goes sometimes when you’re playing against your former team.”
Huerter might have gotten revenge – and spoiled DeRozan’s historic night along the way – but, as Monk recognizes, the star forward is already at the doorstep of league immortality.
“Man, a lot of people don’t even get to the NBA,” Monk told reporters. “For him to do that, it’s crazy.
“I’m mad we didn’t get the win for him. Hats off to DeMar. That’s why he’s going to be in the Hall of Fame.”
Coach Steve Kerr shared a promising postgame update on the star guard, who was ruled out with a pelvic contusion shortly after heading to the Golden State locker room.
“[Curry] is getting an MRI right now,” Kerr told reporters. “He just kind of fell on his pelvic, tailbone area.
“He was trying to come back. He thought he might be able to come back, and we just decided not to risk anything. Hopefully, it’s not bad, but he’s getting imaging right now.”
“He hit that ground hard,” Green said. “You could hear it. It was crazy. Obviously, a very scary moment for us and for him. Hopefully, he’s good.”
Kerr acknowledged this injury is similar to the one Curry sustained in March 2021. After a 3-point attempt to end the third quarter against the Houston Rockets, Curry landed on a metal step in the bench area.
The Warriors initially stated the diagnosis then was a tailbone contusion, though it later was revealed that Curry actually suffered a hairline fracture. He missed five games following that injury before finishing the season on a tear to earn a third-place finish in NBA MVP voting.
If Curry does miss any time, the Warriors have fared well in the 10 games their star has missed this season — including Tuesday’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks. In total, Golden State entered Thursday with a 7-3 record when Curry sits.
Of course, the Warriors would greatly prefer to have their two-time MVP available than not, especially heading into the final stretch of the regular season in a tightly packed Western Conference playoff picture.
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue has missed four of the last six games because of back issues. It's unclear if he'll return for the game against Memphis on Friday night. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
With or without coach Tyronn Lue patrolling the sideline, the Clippers will play yet another meaningful game against another tough Western Conference foe in the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night at the Intuit Dome.
They are now the seventh seed in the West, which would put them in the play-in tournament. But they are only 3½ games behind the fifth-seeded Grizzlies and entered Thursday one game behind the sixth-seeded Golden State Warriors. The Clippers (39-30) own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Grizzlies (2-0) and Warriors (3-0).
The Clippers also play Oklahoma City at home on Sunday. The Thunder (57-12) have the best record in the NBA. The Clippers are looking to take a stand in these games, knowing how important each win is to their chances of inching up in the uber-tough West and securing a playoff spot.
“All three teams that we have this week are ahead of us as far as with better records, two of them in the Western Conference. They were statement games,” guard Norman Powell said. “You want to go out there and play and show that we can compete and beat these teams. This is playoff time. I think we have 12 games left. …
"So it’s all about positioning and playing your best brand of basketball. Down the stretch of games and getting ready for the playoffs, it’s always good to have the top teams that have kind of solidified their one, two, three spots in the postseason, to go and see where we’re at and see where we can improve to go out there and be the team that we need to be going down this last stretch.”
Lue has missed four of the last six games because of back issues, the last against Cleveland on Tuesday night, and assistant Brian Shaw has been at the helm in his place. The Clippers say Lue’s status for the game against the Grizzlies is to be determined Friday.
Shaw, a former coach of the Denver Nuggets, has led the Clippers to a 3-1 record in Lue’s absence. And the wins and losses go on Lue’s ledger, Shaw reminded everyone, laughing.
Clippers assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy, who is in charge of the defense, missed the Cavaliers game because of a family matter. Neither he nor was at practice Thursday.
“As far as JV, we’re just praying for him and his family situation that he can get back to us as soon as possible,” Shaw said. “T. Lue is still experiencing some back issues, and so the same thing with him. We just want him to get back as soon as possible. We also want him to take care of himself for whatever it takes for him to be able to get back.”
The win over the Cavaliers with Shaw in charge was another significant game against the team that had the best record in the NBA, and it was the Clippers' fourth win in a row and seventh in eight games. They are sticking to the message that it is about what they do and not so much about trying to make a statement against the top teams.
“Yeah, it’s about our group,” Shaw said. “When we’re in a position to be able to control what comes next for us, we have to take control of those situations. That’s how I’ve been approaching it, we’ve been approaching it. Not trying to make it more than what it is.
"The one thing I really saw in the Cleveland game is like the joy that everybody was playing with. So, we want to continue that. We want them to have fun, we want them to compete and I think if we compete and we have fun, we share the ball and everybody feels like they are involved. … We got a lot of contributions in a lot of different ways. So, we just want everybody to star in their role.”
The Clippers have just enough time left to put themselves in the best possible position in the competitive and crowded West. And the talented Grizzlies are next in line for the Clippers.
“Memphis is going to do what they are going to do. They are going to try to impose their will on us. We have to try to do the same thing with them,” Shaw said. “But like I said, it’s just mainly execute what we want to execute and worry about playing the right way and doing the right things.”
William Chisholm has plenty of reasons to celebrate Thursday night — $6.1 billion reasons, to be exact.
Chisholm is set to become the next majority owner of the Boston Celtics after leading his group to a deal with Wyc Grousbeck, the majority owner and team governor since 2002.
Chisholm, the managing director and co-founder of private equity firm Symphony Technology Group, will take on a majority ownership of a sports franchise for the first time.
The Celtics mark a major start in that regard, as the team has won an NBA-best 18 championships while being in the middle of a potential repeat bid. Chisholm is also a lifelong C’s fan, which is one reason Grousbeck approved the switch.
So, how will a lifelong fan celebrate becoming the newest owner of his team? Chisholm told NBC Sports Boston of his plans, which includes watching the 2025-released documentary “Celtics City” produced by HBO.
“I couldn’t bring myself to watch the documentary because I would’ve just broken my heart, like in part of this process,” Chisholm said. “So the celebration is we’re starting the documentary. Which for me is crazy because I should’ve watched each episode five, 10 times already, but I held back because I wanted to see where this all ended up.
“I would’ve eventually gotten there and watched it, but now I’m all in.”
Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson has taken a big step toward his potential return.
Brunson is out of the walking boot and has been doing some light shooting, Tom Thibodeau revealed Thursday ahead of the team's game against the Hornets in Charlotte.
While the 26-year-old captain likely still has a ways to go before getting back out there with the team in practice and then game action, this is certainly an encouraging step forward.
Brunson, of course, injured his ankle late in overtime during the Knicks' loss to the Los Angeles Lakers back on March 6.
Heading into Thursday night's game, New York has gone 3-3 without him, and his absence has been felt heavily on both ends of the court.
He is expected to be evaluated again around the two-week mark from the injury, though, ESPN's Shams Charania reported last week that the two-time All-Star could be sidelined through March or early April.
Following Thursday's contest, the Knicks have five more games this month and then eight in April before kicking off the playoffs.
SAN FRANCISCO – While the Warriors outlasted the undermanned Toronto Raptors for a 117-114 win Thursday night at Chase Center, the final score was secondary.
Steph Curry in the third quarter took a hard fall and later was ruled out with a pelvic contusion.
Curry before leaving the game scored 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting and made two 3-pointers. The Raptors did everything they could to make anybody else on the Warriors beat them.
Challenge accepted. Most of all by Draymond Green, who scored a team-high 21 points, which is his second-most this season. The combination of Green and Jimmy Butler carried the Warriors to victory down the stretch.
Butler recorded his second triple-double since joining the Warriors with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists. His best play of the night, however, came on defense. Jamal Shead had a chance to make it a one-point game with 20 seconds remaining, but Butler had other plans.
Not to be forgotten, rookie center Quinten Post scored 18 points off the bench, going 6 of 9 from 3-point range. Jonathan Kuminga also was a major scoring punch off the bench, scoring 18 points. Plus, Brandin Podziemski had 15 points in his second game returning from a back injury.
The Warriors will take the results of a win, but now the real news awaits.
Here are three takeaways from the Warriors completing a 6-1 seven-game homestand.
As it always has, though, everything starts with Curry. The Raptors heavily top-locked Curry from the jump for all 94 feet, and Green quickly adjusted. First, because of the way nobody wants to leave Curry, the Warriors used an inverted pick-and-roll for a wide-open lane to let Green throw down a dunk. Later in the first quarter, the two used their synergy to execute their pick-and-roll closer to the basket, making Green’s man leave him and leading to a layup.
In the second quarter, four seconds after checking back into the game, Green found Curry cutting behind Toronto’s defense with a perfect bounce pass for two points. How did Curry make his first three of the second half? By rubbing off a strong screen set by Green. He wound up assisting Curry on three of his six made shots.
The Raptors paid no attention to Green as a scorer, and he made them pay for it. He had 10 points in the first quarter and 18 going into halftime, including four 3-pointers. Green’s 18 points were his third-most ever for a half, and the five threes he wound up with tied a season-high.
Though the Warriors only held a six-point lead through the first half, four of their players already had scored in double figures. Green’s 18 points led all scorers. He wasn’t alone.
Kuminga gave Golden State 14 first-half points off the bench. Podziemski was right behind with 13, and Post drained four threes off the bench for 12 points going into the second half.
Curry, however, was held to seven points. So in a sense, the Raptors’ strategy somewhat worked.
But Curry then scored 10 of the Warriors’ first 16 points in the third quarter before exiting to an injury. The Warriors responded by going on a 10-4 run to close the quarter to hold a 93-92 lead going into the fourth.
A total of six Warriors scored in double figures. From the time of Curry’s injury to the end of the game, the Warriors outscored the Raptors by eight points, 34-26.
Steph’s Scary Injury
All of Chase Center fell silent with a little more than three minutes left in the third quarter. A pin drop could be heard echoing off the court. That’s what happens when Curry goes down.
Curry drove to the basket and was hammered by two Raptors as he delivered a pass across his body from the paint to the left corner. He bounced off the court, immediately lifted his back and began grabbing at his tailbone area. For what felt like an eternity, Curry stayed down on the ground and was tended to by assistant athletic trainer Drew Yoder.
On his own power, Curry walked to the Warriors’ bench before being joined by director of sports medicine and performance Rick Celebrini down the tunnel and back to the locker room.
Steph Curry goes down and all of Chase Center holds their breath in the third quarter
Early into the fourth quarter, the Warriors ruled Curry out because of a pelvic contusion. He was listed as questionable two games ago with lower back soreness, which first occurred during pregame warmups one week ago against the Sacramento Kings. Curry then was given rest last game, the first one he didn’t suit up for in nearly two months.
The Warriors on Saturday begin a six-game road trip starting in Atlanta against the Hawks. They’re 5-3 in eight games without Curry this season.
DeMar DeRozan reached yet another incredible milestone amidst his 16th NBA season.
The star Kings forward eclipsed 25,000 career points with one of his patented mid-range buckets in the third quarter of Sacramento’s game against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night at Golden 1 Center.
DeRozan entered Thursday’s game with 24,983 career points, needing 17 to reach the milestone.
He now becomes the 27th player in league history to reach the rare feat, just behind Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry, who reached the career mark earlier this month.
DeRozan is the sixth active player with at least 25,000 points, joining LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Curry.
The 35-year-old has been one of the purest scorers in the league, still showcasing his efficiency nearly two decades in.
Entering Thursday’s game, DeRozan was averaging 22.2 points on 48.6-percent shooting from the field and 35.6 percent from 3-point range, with 4.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 35.8 minutes across 62 games (62 starts) with Sacramento this season.
Warriors star Steph Curry left Thursday’s game against the Toronto Raptors after a scary fall beneath the basket.
A hush fell over the Chase Center crowd in the third quarter after Curry was knocked to the ground. The point guard immediately grabbed his lower back in pain and went to Golden State’s locker room shortly after, and there was no foul called on the play.
The Warriors later ruled Curry out of the game with a pelvic contusion.
Up to that point, Curry had scored 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting and 2 of 4 from deep. Dub Nation rained down “MVP” chants as the training staff tended to Curry on the court.
Earlier in the week, Curry admitted his back had been hurting him, too, before sitting out of Tuesday’s win against the Milwaukee Bucks.
While it’s unclear just how serious Curry’s injury is, the fall was frightening and clearly sent the two-time NBA MVP into distress.
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — New Orleans Pelicans assistant Dan Geriot was named coach at Iona on Thursday, three days after Tobin Anderson was fired following two years in the job as the replacement for Rick Pitino.
The 36-year-old Geriot was in his 10th season as an NBA assistant, nine years with the Cleveland Cavaliers and one with the Pelicans.
He played at Richmond from 2006-11 and began his coaching career as an assistant at Princeton and Campbell.
The Gaels finished this season 17-17 and reached the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship game. They were 16-17 in Anderson’s first season.
