Category: Basketball

Jonathan Kuminga ruled out vs. Magic, will miss third straight game with injury originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga has been ruled out for Tuesday’s game against the Orlando Magic at Kia Center due to bilateral patellar tendonitis.  

It will be Kuminga’s third consecutive missed game due to the injury. 

Kuminga, 23, missed the second half of Golden State’s win over the San Antonio Spurs last Wednesday due to knee soreness. The Warriors don’t expect Kuminga to miss an extended period of time, but the team is being cautious. 

Golden State is 3-1 on its current road trip with a back-to-back remaining against the Magic on Tuesday and ending against the Miami Heat on Wednesday. 

The fifth-year forward is averaging 13.8 points per game, the third-highest average on the team. 

Kuminga started in 12 of his 13 games played during the 2025-26 NBA season. He was moved to the bench as coach Steve Kerr made a lineup change amid a 2-5 skid. 

The Warriors look to keep a three-game winning streak alive against the Magic while Kuminga sits out. 

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The first 12 games of a new season have been eventful for the Knicks. 

A new head coach, a high octane offense, and some strategic tweaks have taken up headlines so far. 

An increase in three-point attempts and a test of the team’s depth are just a couple of the topics whirling around the team. 

Let’s analyze four early-season trends...

Three-ball threat

NBA games have become a math equation. Three is better than two. And as the three-pointer has become more valuable to teams, finding ways to generate clean looks is paramount to building a quality offense. 

One of the largest transformations for the Knicks under Mike Brown has been the team’s shot profile. Last season, the Knicks ranked 28th in three-point attempt rate. Through 12 games, the Knicks are fifth in the same category. After a cold start, New York has found the range, shooting 40.8 percent from three during its seven-game homestand. 

Transforming the team’s shot profile was a priority. New York has greatly reduced midrange attempts in exchange for the bevy of trifectas, which includes clean catch-and-shoot corner three-pointers, which is a result of Brown’s focus on ball and man movement. Jalen Brunson’s catch-and-shoot attempts from long distance have increased, giving him easier opportunities to score. It should help in the long run.

Depth producing mixed results

One of New York’s priorities in the offseason was addressing a thin bench. After adding Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele in free agency, the hope was that the Knicks had enough depth to keep the starters fresh throughout the regular season. 

So far, the bench has produced. The Knicks are tied for 16th in reserve scoring, up from last in 2024-25. And as we saw in Friday night’s 140-132 win against the Miami Heat, the bench can be potent. New York’s reserves notched 75 points in that one.

But under the hood is a concern. A large share of the bench points are coming from Clarkson, Josh Hart, Miles McBride and Landry Shamet. Those four players are all listed at 6-foot-4 or under. Can the Knicks survive relying on smaller players to eat up many of the reserve minutes?

The 6-foot-8 Yabusele is off to a disappointing start. A cold preseason and early-season shooting stretch from the Frenchman has forced Brown to use him less. It was notable that with OG Anunoby leaving Friday's game due to a hamstring injury, Yabusele was still an afterthought, seeing the floor for only six minutes.

Injuries to both Brunson and Anunoby in the past week should test the Knicks’ depth over the next several games, and may open up minutes for Yabusele and some of New York’s younger players like Ariel Hukporti or Tyler Kolek.

Defense plus and minus

Overall, the defense has been uneven, ranking 16th in the league. Keeping opponents out of the paint has been a priority. New York is fifth in opponent points in the paint allowed per 100 possessions. The Knicks have also limited teams when it comes to second chance and transition scoring opportunities.

The defense has been aggressive on the perimeter, playing in the gaps to prevent opponent drives. But one concern from the strategy is that it is conceding too many three-point attempts.

It’s a lot to ask New York’s perimeter defenders to have to smother drives and then retreat back to open three-point shooters. New York is 25th in three-point attempts per 100 possessions allowed and clubs are shooting a crisp 39.3 percent against them.

Possession game

The Knicks’ offense has been elite, ranked third in offensive efficiency. Great outside shooting is a factor, but another piece of the puzzle is getting up more shots. New York has attempted 105 more field goals than its opponents. Offensive rebounding and a low turnover rate are the reasons for the chasm.

The Knicks are sixth in offensive rebound rate, rebounding 34.1 percent of their errant shots. They will be in the top 10 on the offensive glass for the fifth consecutive season if the stat holds. At the center of New York’s effort on the boards is Mitchell Robinson. The center would lead the NBA in offensive rebounds per game and offensive rebound rate if he played enough games.

Under Brown, New York’s perimeter players are also contributing. Clarkson had four offensive rebounds on Friday. Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns collected four apiece in a Tuesday night victory against the Memphis Grizzlies. On the turnover front, the Knicks have the fourth-lowest turnover rate in the league. This is happening despite rising to 12th in assist rate.

Neemias Queta is a lean, mean screening machine for Celtics originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics produced one their most efficient 3-point shooting nights of the season Sunday against the Los Angeles Clippers. And a lot of the credit should go to … 7-foot center Neemias Queta?

Queta didn’t hoist a single triple, but he used his large frame to generate quality looks for his teammates. Queta was credited with eight screen assists leading to 21 points as the Celtics built a big cushion then held on for a 121-118 triumph over the Clippers at TD Garden.

A screen assist is defined as any screen that directly leads to a basket by the player who received the screen. The NBA has been tracking screen assists as part of its hustle stats package for about a decade, and Queta’s numbers in Sunday’s game were off the charts.

Queta ranks fourth in the NBA while averaging 3.9 screen assists per game. He sits fifth in the league while generating 9.2 screen assist points per game. His totals on Sunday more than doubled his average output.

After Queta’s big screening game — and Luka Garza’s relentless screening off the bench — the Celtics now lead the NBA in screen assist points per game (23.7). Boston is tied with Utah atop the league while generating 9.9 screen assists per game. 

Queta set a tone early Sunday when he slowed James Harden just enough for Payton Pritchard to knock down the first of his eight 3-pointers from the right wing. Queta also freed up Derrick White for a pair of straightaway triples midway through the first frame as Boston built its lead to as many as 24 points in the first half.

Queta chipped in 14 points on 7-of-16 shooting while grabbing nine rebounds (six on the offensive glass) and finished +16 in 33 minutes, 28 seconds of floor time.

Elevating to a starting role this season, Queta has been a monster positive for the Celtics each time he touches the floor. He is second on the team among regulars with a net rating of +18.2 in 344 minutes of floor time. That number plummets to minus-7.9 in Queta’s 328 minutes on the bench. 

Since the NBA started hustle stats tracking, Daniel Theis owns the Celtics’ single-season record for most screen assists per game, at 4.3 back in 2019-20. Queta could challenge that mark this season if the Celtics’ shooters find their groove.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michael Porter Jr. scored 34 points and Tyrese Martin scored seven straight points late in the third quarter and finished with 20 as the Nets sent the Washington Wizards to their 11th straight loss, winning 129-106 Sunday night in a matchup of one-win teams.

The Nets snapped a four-game skid and won for the first time since beating Indiana 112-103 in the first week of November, a victory that ended a run of seven straight losses to open the season. Both of Brooklyn’s victories have come on the road, where they are 2-5.

Nic Claxton scored 17 points, Ziaire Williams added 13, Noah Clowney finished with 12 and Terance Mann 10 for Brooklyn.

Kyshawn George led the Wizards in scoring with 29 points. CJ McCollum added 17 points and Khris Middleton 14 for Washington, which shot 35 percent (12 for 34) from three-point range and 44 percent (37 for 84) overall.

Washington fell to 0-6 at home and lost for the 12th time in 13 games this season. The Wizards last won on Oct. 24, at Dallas (117-107), in the second game of the season.

The Nets overcame 11 turnovers in the first half and used a 35-25 scoring edge in the second quarter for a 63-53 lead at the break.

The Wizards battled back in the third quarter and outscored Brooklyn 31-22 over the first 10 minutes of the period to close within 85-84.

But after Williams hit a pair of free throws to increase the Nets’ lead to three, Martin sandwiched a pair of field goals around a three-pointer that stretched the lead back 10 points at 94-84 heading into the final period.

The Nets opened the fourth quarter on a 14-4 run and increased their lead to 20 points at 108-88 with just under eight minutes left and were never threatened the rest of the way.

Up next

Nets: Host the Boston Celtics on Tuesday.

Wizards: At Minnesota on Wednesday in the opener of a three-game trip.

Why Moses Moody and Co. leading win vs. Pels is important to Warriors' success originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Steph Curry needed to score 95 points, make 29 shots, including 14 3-pointers, and swish 23 free throws in a two-game stretch for the Warriors to leave San Antonio with two consecutive wins against the Spurs. 

He didn’t even reach double-digit scoring Sunday in New Orleans, yet the Warriors didn’t need him to in a 124-106 win against the Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. That’s two wins in one for a team that far too often has needed Curry to have all his superpowers and already had two frustrating letdown losses with him earlier this season. 

Sunday night in the Big Easy wasn’t about Curry, Jimmy Butler or Draymond Green. The shining star was Moses Moody, who scored a career-high 32 points on 10-of-16 shooting and went 8 of 12 on 3-pointers. His sizzling start was beyond being on fire. Moody made seven threes in the first quarter, joining Curry and Klay Thompson as the only Warriors ever to make at least seven threes in one quarter. 

The proud product of Little Rock, Ark., was fueled by Southern comfort on his career night. 

“I’m from the South, so whenever I’m down here, my joints feel better,” Moody joked on “Warriors Postgame Live.”

Moody made his first two threes, missed one and then made his next five to finish. The first quarter alone was a new career high in threes by Moody for an entire game. But what happened before his first two was a bigger-picture moment for the Warriors to learn from. 

A wild sequence ahead of Moody’s first three went as follows: Green missed layup, Green offensive rebound; Green missed tip shot, Green offensive rebound; Green missed tip shot, Green offensive rebound; Green missed tip shot, Green offensive rebound; Green missed tip shot, Butler offensive rebound. 

Butler grabbed Green’s fifth miss in five tries and finally got the ball out of the paint, passing it to Curry at the top of the arc. Curry took one dribble to his left and dumped the ball off to a wide-open Moody for a catch-and-shoot three. 

His second three also came off an offensive rebound. Rookie Will Richard came flying high from the corner to tip out a missed three from Curry, which Butler tracked down, finding Moody for another open catch-and-shoot three from the left corner. 

The effort prior those two threes were reminiscent of Gary Payton II keeping a key possession alive with two offensive rebounds against the Spurs on Wednesday night, where the result was a huge three from Curry. The Warriors as a team in New Orleans came down with 16 offensive rebounds, highlighted by five from Richard and four from Green. 

“Those two games [in San Antonio], they were intense. They felt like playoff games,” Green said to Warriors Radio’s Tim Roye. “We knew the energy wouldn’t quite be there for this one. But we were able to find our own energy, create our own energy. We built a comfortable lead, they fought back. We closed the half strong and then were able to kind of handle the second half.

“A lot tougher, for different circumstances, than San Antonio.” 

While Curry was held to three points – all free throws – in the first quarter, the rest of the Warriors scored 41 on 15-of-26 shooting (57.7 percent) and went 10 of 15 beyond the arc (66.7 percent). The Warriors then only scored 17 points in the second quarter, but did close the second quarter on an 8-0 run. They opened the third on a 12-4 run and outscored the Pelicans by six in the second half. 

Of course, Moody’s 32 points and eight threes are the stats that stood out in front of others. The most important stats, however, were minutes played. 

Curry didn’t have to play 30 minutes, and neither did Green. The Warriors needed 34 and 36 minutes from Curry in his monstrous nights in San Antonio to get two wins. Butler (31) and Moody (33) were the only two Warriors to play at least 30 minutes in an 18-point win against the Pelicans. 

And on top of Moody’s game, the Warriors also received scoring off the bench from Brandin Podziemski (19 points) and Buddy Hield (11 points). Each made three 3-pointers. 

There are parts of the game that will need cleaning, like Curry (four), Green (five) and Butler (six) combining for 15 turnovers. When role players like Moody, Podziemski and Hield are picking up the pieces, the Warriors can survive those kinds of miscues from their top three players. 

Performances like the shows Curry put on in San Antonio certainly could happen again. Anything is possible when No. 30 is on the court. Just nine points and one three were required of him for the Warriors to get past the Pelicans.

Getting through an undermanned and undertalented team where the Warriors’ top talent doesn’t need to be worn down are the kind of wins that can produce heroics from Curry and his star teammates later in the most important times of the season.

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