Category: Basketball

The Miami Heat eliminated the Chicago Bulls to progress in the NBA play-in tournament - beating the six-time Championship winners 109-90.

Tyler Herro scored 38 points as the Heat set up a game against the Atlanta Hawks, with the winner earning the right to take on top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the Eastern Conference play-offs.

The Heat's victory came after three regular season defeats by the Bulls.

"Chicago humbled us this year," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said.

"They have a unique style of play, the way they play with that pace, and they score.

"They had two games where we felt like we were in control of the game both times in the fourth quarter and they came storming back and had some impressive scoring quarters. Our guys really respected how much they could score."

Should Miami beat the Hawks, they would achieve a franchise record of reaching the play-offs for a sixth consecutive season.

Mavs to face Grizzlies

In the Western Conference, the Dallas Mavericks beat the Sacramento Kings 120-106 to set-up a play-in tie against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Klay Thompson scored 23 points - 16 of which came in the second quarter alone - to advance against the Grizzlies.

The winner of that tie will take on top-seeded Oklahoma City in the opening play-off game.

NBA acknowledge officiating errors

The play-in tournament features the teams who finished in seventh to 10th in both Conferences.

They face off to determine who fills the final two spots in their Conference play-offs.

Under the play-in format, seventh play eighth - with the winners going straight into the play-offs. The loser gets a second chance against the winners of an eliminator between ninth and 10th.

The Grizzlies, who finished eighth in the Western Conference, go into the 'second chance' game against the Mavericks having lost their first play-in tie, to the seventh-placed Golden State Warriors, in controversial circumstances.

The Warriors secured their play-off spot following a late flurry against the Grizzlies.

However, the NBA has since acknowledged officiating errors in the final moments of the match.

With the Warriors leading 117-116, the NBA's Last Two Minute Report said the Grizzlies should have been awarded the ball with 7.6 seconds left after Stephen Curry got the last contact on an out-of-bounds play.

It was Curry that then sank two free throws to give the Mavericks a 119-116 lead.

• Warriors and Magic seal NBA play-off spots
• Doncic and Lakers top NBA most popular jersey lists

Kings' season-ending loss exposes roster flaws heading into crucial offseason originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SACRAMENTO – The Dallas Mavericks outscoring the Kings 44-19 on Wednesday night led to the end of Sacramento’s turbulent 2024-25 NBA season.

But digging deeper, the Mavericks also exposed some of the Kings’ biggest concerns entering the offseason.

The Kings’ roster is flawed. Terribly.

Sacramento led Dallas 29-27 after the first quarter in Wednesday’s Western Conference play-in game, but a lack of offensive rhythm mixed with careless turnovers was the perfect recipe for disaster to strike in Sacramento. Add that to the failure of getting consistent defensive stops on the other end of the floor.

The Kings shot 7 of 19 (36.8 percent) in the second quarter and turned the ball over 10 times in those 12 minutes, something interim coach Doug Christie called “unacceptable” after the 120-106 loss. 

Most of those giveaways came from miscommunication and bad passes while running – or attempting to run – the offense. Five of them came from star center Domantas Sabonis, while Zach LaVine added two, and then three more the rest of the game.

“No one tries to turn the ball over, obviously,” LaVine said postgame. “It’s just guys trying to make the right play or trying to get to the ball and get fouled. I think there were a couple times where passes didn’t go the right way. I know I had a couple where I was trying to in there and get fouled or create something that got tipped or whatever. 

“So, you know, you wish you could have them all back. You wish you could play a perfect game, but we just didn’t have enough to win tonight.”

Didn’t have enough. Bingo.

That is when having a true point guard, someone the team can trust handling the ball, would have come in handy for the Kings. Since trading De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs in early February, the Kings have experimented with different options such as Malik Monk, who missed the season’s final four games due to a left calf strain, and Keon Ellis.

But neither Monk nor Ellis is listed as a point guard.

While LaVine agreed that a point guard-less offense threw off some of their offensive flow Wednesday, he didn’t want to make excuses for the ugly loss. 

“Yeah, but everybody has stuff they’re dealing with at this time of the year,” LaVine said postgame. “It’s just figuring out how to overcome it. No team is really fully healthy at the end of the year. There’s been trades and people hurt, people fired. Everybody’s dealing with something. 

“Obviously, those guys are big, key parts of our system. So it hurts, but we just need to find a way to win just like they did.”

Sacramento signed former No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz in mid-February to add needed depth at the point guard position, but he averaged just over eight minutes in 21 games and recorded seven DNPs (Did Not Play). He was benched all but two minutes of garbage time in Wednesday’s game.

Kings rookie Devin Carter ran the point at times Wednesday, stringing together a promising performance in nearly 22 minutes off the bench. He finished with 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field and 1 of 2 from downtown, with four rebounds, two assists, one steal and zero turnovers. Outside of the players substituted in during garbage time, he was the only Sacramento player to finish with a positive plus/minus rating.

Those lineups might have worked at times for Sacramento this season, but Wednesday’s loss was the perfect indication that it is not sustainable.

Of course, however, the players make do with what they have.

“I think you go into each game and you think you can win what you have,” LaVine said postgame of what the team might be missing. “That’s for people above our pay grade. The five guys starting and the other guys coming off the bench is the team we always think we have enough to go out there and compete with. That’s our mentality.”

This offseason has plenty in store for the people whose pay grade it is.

That change appeared to have begun roughly 30 minutes after the loss, with reports circulating late Wednesday night that the Kings and general manager Monte McNair mutually agreed to part ways.

And after former assistant general manager Wes Wilcox announced his departure from the organization late last month, the Kings’ full offseason makeover officially has begun.

The Kings made one of their biggest offseason moves in franchise history by acquiring DeMar DeRozan last summer. They then traded Fox for LaVine, while opening a new opportunity for Monk. Then there’s the guy who is – or was – the engine of the offense in the previous two seasons, Sabonis.

On paper, that’s 11 NBA All-Star appearances between the four of them and plenty of individual success along their respective NBA resumes. Together, though, it just didn’t gel as the team had hoped.

It’s like having salmon, a juicy homemade cheeseburger, pasta and French toast on the same plate. All great individually, but raise a lot of questions combined.

Those questions need answers, and fast.

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After a hellacious first round against the Detroit Pistons, and an impressive performance against the defending champion Boston Celtics, the Knicks are on to the Eastern Conference Finals to take on the Indiana Pacers.

New York, the higher seed, will start the best-of-seven series with home-court advantage. Here are the full dates and times for the upcoming series...

Eastern Conference Finals

Wednesday, May 21

Game 1: Pacers at Knicks, 8 p.m. (TNT)

Friday, May 23

Game 2: Pacers at Knicks, 8 p.m. (TNT)

Sunday, May 25

Game 3: Knicks at Pacers, 8 p.m. (TNT)

Tuesday, May 27

Game 4: Knicks at Pacers, 8 p.m. (TNT)

Thursday, May 29 *if necessary

Game 5: Pacers at Knicks, 8 p.m. (TNT)

Saturday, May 31 *if necessary

Game 6: Knicks at Pacers, 8 p.m. (TNT)

Tuesday, June 2 *if necessary

Game 7: Pacers at Knicks, 8 p.m. (TNT)

Eastern Conference Semifinals

Monday, May 5

Game 1: Knicks defeated Celtics, 108-105 (OT)

Wednesday, May 7

Game 2: Knicks defeated Celtics, 91-90

Saturday, May 10

Game 3: Celtics defeated Knicks, 115-93

Monday, May 12

Game 4: Knicks defeated Celtics, 121-113

Wednesday, May 14

Game 5: Celtics defeated Knicks, 127-102

Friday, May 16

Game 6: Knicks defeated Celtics, 119-81

FIRST ROUND

Saturday, April 19

Game 1: Knicks defeated Pistons, 123-112

Monday, April 21

Game 2: Pistons defeated Knicks, 100-94

Thursday, April 24

Game 3: Knicks defeated Pistons, 118-116

Sunday, April 27

Game 4: Knicks defeated Pistons, 94-93

Tuesday, April 29

Game 5: Pistons defeated Knicks, 106-103

Thursday, May 1

Game 6: Knicks defeated Pistons, 116-113

Christie wants to remain Kings coach, continue building team culture originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SACRAMENTO – In the hours after the Kings’ season ended with a thud in their 120-106 NBA play-in loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday while he was still wrestling with his emotions, Doug Christie made it clear he wants to keep the head coaching job in Sacramento.

“This is where I want to be,” said Christie, who said there have not been any discussions with management yet about his future with the team. “I need to finish what I started, and that’s the only reason I ever stepped onto the sideline from where I was at initially. I had to exorcise some demons for myself.”

Christie guided the Kings to a 27-24 record after taking over the reigns when the Kings fired 2022-23 NBA Coach of the Year Mike Brown after 31 games.

Under Christie’s guidance the Kings took off, winning 10 of 12 games while nudging themselves back into the NBA playoff picture.

The good times didn’t last much longer than that. Sacramento fell into a funk down the stretch of the regular season, losing nine of the final 13 games heading into Wednesday’s play-in game at Golden 1 Center.

That the Kings lost the way that they did didn’t help Christie’s cause much, although he still has overwhelming support from the players.

Zach LaVine, who was obtained in a midseason trade, praised Christie for keeping the team together despite a ton of distractions.

“Doug did an incredible job of stepping in with the circumstances that he had and trying to rally the guys,” LaVine said. “And with me coming here a little bit later, with us going through some ups and downs … he definitely helped keep this group together on and off the court. You have to take your hat off to him in those situations. Anything above that as a player is above my pay grade.

“I’ve been a player that’s had eight head coaches in my career. I go out there, I try to play my heart out for whoever’s there. Obviously we love Doug, but players like us don’t make those decisions.”

The Christie situation took on a new twist late Wednesday when reports surfaced that the Kings and general manager Monte McNair have mutually agreed to part ways, although no official statement was released.

Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé might want to keep Christie around because of the player support he received, and because it would mean less change in the offseason.

Conversely, it’s common practice in all professional sports for a new GM to come in and make sweeping changes to the roster and, more specifically, the coaching staff.

Christie has multiple reasons for wanting to keep the job. Primary atop the list is to quiet the critics.

“More than anything is when you hear the narratives that are written by people who are not here and just have random stuff to say,” Christie said. “It irks me because they don’t know this incredible fan base. It’s an incredible organization. When it’s right and you’re going around beating the hell out of people, not a lot of people got a lot to say. But when you’re getting your butt beat, they got a lot to say. I feel you, but when that tide turns and the rabbit’s got the gun, then we’ll see.

“We have to create a culture that is highly competitive but highly positive at the same time because that’s who I am. It’s a tough thing, but you just keep going until we get to where we’re going.”

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Ranadivé, Kings face critical offseason after NBA play-in loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SACRAMENTO – Beyond sitting in his courtside seats for every home game at Golden 1 Center, Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé has preferred to mostly stay out of the spotlight since he purchased the team from the Maloof brothers in 2013.

That is almost certain to change in the coming months.

With his organization facing a litany of critical decisions, Ranadivé holds all the cards and will have to step up front and lead the way in whichever direction he sees fit for the Kings.

First and foremost, Ranadivé had to figure out whether to keep general manager Monte McNair around — and the decision came immediately after Sacramento’s 120-106 NBA play-in loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night, when the Kings and McNair mutually agreed to part ways, The Athletic’s Sam Amick reported, citing league sources.

The 2022-23 NBA Executive of the Year, McNair publicly accepted responsibility for firing coach Mike Brown early in the 2024-25 season and watched as the Kings responded with spirited play, only to see them wilt during the homestretch of the regular season before they melted under the pressure of the Mavericks in the No. 9 vs. No. 10 seed play-in game at G1C.

The Kings have yet to release an official statement on McNair’s reported departure.

Ranadivé also has to decide whether he plans to keep Doug Christie around and remove the interim from his title. The Kings responded very positively to the coaching change, and Christie has had a great relationship with Sacramento’s players.

Yet as good as things felt shortly after Christie inherited the reins from Brown, they turned equally sour toward the end of the season when it counted most.

There’s also the situation with Domantas Sabonis, the Kings’ three-time NBA All-Star center who is set to earn $95 million in base salary over the next two seasons.

Will Ranadivé stick with Sabonis and try to build up the pieces around him, or will the Kings owner try to swing a trade to send Sabonis and possibly another player to a team in exchange for a number of draft picks that will be vital to Sacramento moving forward?

Two years ago, the thought of a rebuild in the state capital seemed absurd.

The Kings had ended the longest playoff drought in NBA history at 16 years, had the unanimous Coach of the Year with Brown and a nucleus of players that seemed on the verge of taking Sacramento to the next level.

Firing Brown after only 31 games provided a little jolt of energy and enthusiasm that have long since dissipated.

Now it’s on Ranadivé to get the ship back on track.

He avoided speaking with the media following Brown’s firing, but the situation with his team is a lot more dire now than it was then.

And now that McNair reportedly has been let go, Ranadivé won’t have a buffer between himself and the media anymore — and he’ll have to answer the questions that undoubtedly will surface this offseason.

Hearing the boos rain down on the crowd at G1C on Tuesday, there almost certainly will be a lot of questions, too.

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(This article was written with the assistance of Castmagic, an AI tool, and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy. Please reach out to us if you notice any mistakes.)

As the NBA playoffs approach, one of the more surprising storylines has been the betting odds favoring the seventh-seeded Golden State Warriors over the second-seeded Houston Rockets.

On the most recent episode of "The Kevin O’Connor Show," guest Esfandiar Baraheni and host Kevin O'Connor examined the playoff matchup and why oddsmakers are favoring Golden State — and whether the Warriors deserve that status.

Ezra Shaw via Getty Images

Oddmakers believe in the Warriors, but should they?

While playoff intensity and game-planning do tend to favor experienced teams, and that might explain why Golden State is a -190 favorite to win the series at BetMGM, Barahini suggests that Houston’s defensive versatility and depth might give it more than a puncher’s chance — especially when it comes to slowing Steph Curry.

“I'm a little surprised that Golden State's so heavily favored as a 7 over 2," Baraheni says. "I feel like Houston has played Golden State very well this season.” 

But a number of reasons for the Warriors’ favored status are laid out: their reputation for playoff poise, the clutch brilliance of Curry and, now, Jimmy Butler, and their much-improved defense since acquiring Butler midseason.

“You have a guy [Curry] who you can rely on every single time," O'Connor says. "I think this will be one of those series where every game is going to go down to the wire. Every game is going to be very close.”

There’s a certain comfort in betting on established champions, especially in late-game situations.

The Rockets’ case: Defense, depth and matchups

The discussion didn't shy from the reasons to be bullish on the Rockets, either. Houston finished the year as one of the NBA’s best defenses, with plenty of size in Alperen Şengün and Steven Adams and disruptive perimeter players in Amen Thompson, Dillon Brooks and Fred VanVleet. In fact, Baraheni specifically mentions Thompson as someone who has "shut the water off" on Steph in previous matchups and Houston’s team defense as capable of supporting its big men on the perimeter — unlike some of Golden State’s previous opponents.

O’Connor also highlights Houston's rebounding advantage.

“If you look at the way those Şengün/Adams [lineups] perform, the reason that thing works offensively is because they generate so many offensive rebounds," O’Connor says. "They crash the glass.”

With Golden State’s relative lack of size on the interior, this presents a crucial potential swing factor.

Is experience everything?

What tips the scale for those picking the Warriors? According to O’Connor and Baraheni, it’s the question of late-game offense and experience. 

Golden State has thrived in the clutch this season, while Houston, for all its defensive prowess, has struggled to create clean looks and score consistently in fourth quarters.

“I just trust Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler more than I do Jalen Green or Şengün or Fred VanVleet,” O’Connor says.

Prediction: It's closer than the odds suggest

While O’Connor picks the Warriors in seven and Baraheni slightly favors Houston in six, it's going to be a closer matchup than many believe. “I think people are discrediting the Rockets a little bit too much,” O’Connor says.

Both agree that Houston might be underrated, not just for its defense and rebounding but also for its potential to disrupt Golden State’s offensive flow with its physical style.

To hear the full discussion, tune into "The Kevin O'Connor Show" on Apple, Spotify or YouTube.

The joy for the game of basketball remains strong for Kawhi Leonard.

The injuries that have robbed him from playing time have not taken away Leonard’s passion for the game. The inability to play this season because of a right knee injury he had to manage has not lessened Leonard’s happiness for basketball.

He’s 33 and has spent the last five of his 13-year NBA career with the Clippers, and his “love” for the game has only grown.

That is what has motivated Leonard through it all and it’s what he will lean on when the Clippers face the Nuggets in Game 1 of the Western Conference playoffs starting Saturday afternoon in Denver.

“I love the game. I love the game and I have a passion for it still. I love to compete out there. So, that's pretty much what drives me back,” Leonard said after practice Wednesday. “You know, everything has its ups and downs. You got to go through those in life and you just keep going, really.”

This was yet another up-and-down season for Leonard.

Read more:How do the Clippers match up against the Nuggets entering their playoff series?

He missed the first 34 games and played in just 37, including only one set of back-to-back games.

Yet Leonard never wavered.

That didn't surprise teammate Norman Powell. The two were teammates on the Toronto Raptors team that won the NBA championship in 2019.

Powell saw how Leonard handled things then and now.

“I think we all have love for it,” Powell said. “I think everybody’s journey and path is different and what they face and what they see and how they feel about it. It’s not just him. I feel like it happens a lot with different guys.

“But with him, I know he’s a very level-headed person and he understands things that aren’t under his control and he just controls the controllable. That’s the best attribute about him. He’s a gifted basketball player, but his mental fortitude and toughness, on and off the floor, all the things he’s been through in his life, everything that he’s been through on the floor, makes him who he is. So, I don’t think it takes away from his love or enjoyment of the game. I think he sees it as another obstacle he’s going to get through and figure it out and that’s what I like best about him. He’s always figuring it out.”

Leonard averaged 21.5 points, 5.9 assists and 3.1 assists per game this season. He shot 49.6% from the field, 41.1% from three-point range.

Read more:'We are here': Tyronn Lue knew the Clippers could exceed expectations

In the Clippers’ two must-win games to close the regular season, Leonard was a force. He averaged 30.5 points and played 44.5 minutes in wins at Sacramento and Golden State.

In the eyes of Clippers coach Tyronn Lue, that was just another sign of the competitor Leonard is and how much the game means to his star forward.

“Yeah, I mean, it just says a lot about him, about his dedication to the game,” Lue said. “I said he’s a hard worker. But like I said, we'll continue to keep giving our medical staff a lot of credit. They put him through a lot of stuff and didn't let him shortcut, checked every box before he came back and he's been feeling good. So, I'm happy about that as well.”

Leonard missed the final eight regular-season games last season and played in just two of the Clippers' six playoff games against the Mavericks because of right knee inflammation.

He didn’t play in his first game with the Clippers this season until Jan. 4 and it has been a slow build-up to get Leonard to this point.

But he’s back in the playoffs and ready to play the game he loves.

“I'm just happy that I was able to get here, and my teammates did a great job down that last stretch,” Leonard said. “And yeah, just like I said, just don't take the opportunity for granted and try to play my best and that's it. I’m just having fun.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

What we learned as Kings' season ends with brutal play-in loss to Mavs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

SACRAMENTO – There were cheers. There were boos. But at the end of the night, there was no beam shining above Golden 1 Center on Wednesday night.

The Kings’ 2024-25 NBA season came to an end after a 120-106 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA play-in tournament.

Dallas led by as many as 26 points, and while Sacramento made a predictable third-quarter run, the game never really was close beyond the first quarter.

It was a matchup between two teams with franchise-altering changes this season, including trading away their stars midseason. But even after the turbulent season Dallas endured, it managed to outperform Sacramento in a do-or-die game.

No Luka Dončić. No Kyrie Irving. No problem for Dallas.

In just his 10th game with the Mavericks, Anthony Davis led the way for his new squad with 27 points, nine rebounds, one assist, one steal and three blocks in 35 minutes. Klay Thompson added 23 in a sweet, sweet revenge game. P.J. Washington contributed 17, and Brandon Williams added 17 off the bench.

For the Kings, DeMar DeRozan led all scorers with 33 points. Zach LaVine added 20.

It’s all over, but here are three takeaways from the season-ending loss:

Rollercoaster Season Ends

After a coaching change, trading their franchise player and all the ups and downs in between, the Kings’ 2024-25 season officially is over.

It is their earliest postseason exit in three years.

Just two seasons ago, the Kings snapped their 16-season NBA playoff drought as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. Just one season later, they won two fewer games and dropped to the No. 9 seed. They defeated the Golden State Warriors in the first of a win-or-go-home play-in game but fell to the New Orleans Pelicans in the second play-in game.

They’ve now made a playoff appearance just twice in the last 20 seasons.

The season ending had less to do with Wednesday’s game specifically and much more on the larger picture of the team’s roster flaws that must be addressed this offseason.

Which, for Sacramento, now begins Thursday morning.

Klay’s Revenge 

The last time Thompson stepped foot into Golden 1 Center for a play-in game, he went scoreless as the Kings ended the Golden State Warriors’ 2023-24 season.

The sharpshooter had an unusual performance through 32 minutes last year, shooting 0 of 10 from the field and 0 of 6 from beyond the arc.

A large part of his unforgettable night, which wound up being his final game in a Warriors uniform, was the defense from Keon Ellis. Ellis said before Wednesday’s game that he anticipated Thompson would want to bounce back from last year’s showing. 

So did Mavericks coach Jason Kidd. 

Both were correct. Thompson had 16 points at the half and finished the game with 23 points and five 3-pointers.

BUILT DIFFERENT 👀 pic.twitter.com/NhCMmmKgwS

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) April 17, 2025

A much more memorable game for the four-time NBA champion.

Keegan’s (Very) Tall Task 

The Kings have faced Davis plenty while he was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. But Wednesday was their first meeting with the 6-foot-10 star big man since he was shipped to the Mavericks at the Feb. 6 trade deadline.

Davis played just nine regular-season games with the Mavericks due to a left adductor strain he suffered in his first game with the team. Over the last five games with Dallas, the 32-year-old averaged 21.8 points on 50.6-percent shooting with 11.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.8 blocks in 29.6 minutes.

And his presence was impactful as ever Wednesday night.

The Mavericks wisely utilized their two-big lineup, with Davis playing the forward position alongside 7-foot-1 Derek Lively at the 5. This meant 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward Keegan Murray had the large task of defending the 6-foot-10, 253-pound Davis for a vast majority of the game.

Murray has done a decent job guarding up this season and is one of the Kings’ better defenders, but there’s only so much one can do to limit someone of Davis’ stature.

Davis finished with 27 points on 9-of-23 shooting from the field and 3 of 6 from beyond the arc, with nine rebounds, one assist, one steal and three blocks in 35 minutes.

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Kings' tumultuous 2024-25 NBA season ends with play-in game loss to Mavericks originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Kings’ rollercoaster 2024-25 NBA season came to a screeching halt.

Sacramento was blown out by the Dallas Mavericks 120-106 in the Western Conference play-in game on Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center, capping a season that saw the Kings fire their coach and trade their franchise star.

Forward DeMar DeRozan led the Kings with 33 points, while guard Zach LaVine finished with 20 points and center Domantas Sabonis added 11 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.

Five Mavericks finished in double figures, led by 27 points from center Anthony Davis and 23 points from guard Klay Thompson.

The Kings head into the offseason with questions regarding who will coach the team next season and which stars want to stay and which want to leave.

The Mavericks head to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies on Friday at FedExForum in the 8-seed game. The winner faces the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in a best-of-seven first-round West playoff series.

Sacramento entered the season with high hopes of returning to the NBA playoffs, but a slow start dampened those expectations.

By mid-December, coach Mike Brown was on the hot seat and a five-game home losing streak resulted in his dismissal on Dec. 27.

Doug Christie was elevated to interim head coach and the Kings received an initial boost, winning seven consecutive games.

But the good vibes didn’t last.

NBA All-Star De’Aaron Fox grew frustrated with the situation and eventually was traded to the San Antonio Spurs in a deal that brought Zach LaVine to Sacramento.

But all the changes weren’t enough for the Kings to secure a playoff spot. Instead, they secured the No. 9 seed and needed to win two games to earn the No. 8 seed.

But Sacramento couldn’t get the job done Wednesday night, and now a pivotal offseason begins.

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The Knicks find themselves back in the playoffs for the third straight season as they get ready to face off against the Detroit Pistons in the first round starting on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

Facing one of the league's youngest teams, spearheaded by superstar Cade Cunningham, will pose a unique challenge as New York will have to match or even exceed the physicality the upstart Pistons have established as their identity this season.

However, the Knicks have been in this position before and have the experience and toughness of their own to match up against Detroit.

"We all know what the playoffs takes and we’re picking up the preparation mentally and physically," said Josh Hart after practice on Wednesday.

Hart, now in his third season in New York, which coincides with his team's current playoff appearance streak, is no stranger to physicality as the Knicks' do-it-all guard of sorts.

In fact, head coach Tom Thibodeau referred to Hart as a "unique" player because of his rebounding and playmaking prowess.

"I think he’s unique because he rebounds the ball at really an elite level and he’ll go get them when it matters the most, in traffic," Thibodeau said. "And then it’s what he does after he gets it – his ability to push the ball, play with pace and he can out-quick most guys that are guarding him."

In 77 regular season games, Hart set career-highs in rebounds per game (9.6), assists per game (5.9) and steals per game (1.5) while averaging 13.6 points in 37.6 minutes per game, another career-high. Only Jalen Brunson (7.3 assists, also a career-high) was better on the Knicks at getting his teammates involved.

"I take that onus of getting guys involved pretty seriously," Hart said.

In regards to the Pistons' physicality with players such as Cunningham, Jalen Duren, Isaiah Stewart and others, Hart knows New York will need to go above and beyond to be able to outwork them.

"We have to not just match that physicality, but exceed it," he said. "I think there are times when you can use that to your advantage and to be able to get to the free throw line and draw fouls and do those kind of things.

"We know what kind of game it’s gonna be, we know what we have to be prepared for physically and mentally and obviously that physicality for the series is gonna be, you know probably one of the more physical series in the playoffs."

OG Anunoby also chimed in, saying, "We’re a physical team as well, I think we just have to show it."

But it's not just Detroit.

According to Thibodeau, he's noticed that the league is trending back towards allowing more physical play which is only heightened during the playoffs.

"I think that’s where the league is right now, there’s been a lot more physicality and so I think you have to embrace that and I think most teams have," he said. "And then you step it up into a playoff [series] where you’re playing the same opponent over and over again, the intensity does get high and the physicality will be ramped up."

One advantage that the Knicks will definitely have is home-court advantage. And it's not just any home court, it's Madison Square Garden where New York went 27-14 this year. For what it's worth, the Pistons went 22-19 at home and on the road this season.

While Hart has experienced playoff atmosphere inside MSG in recent years, some of the Knicks players like starters Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges have yet to discover what it's like playing inside The Mecca during the postseason. They will soon enough.

"They’ll get a feel for The Garden and how electric it is in the playoffs," Hart said. "... [I'm] excited to see how they are with that Garden, because that Garden come playoff time is one of the best arenas in the world."

"I think you don’t know until you experience it," added Anunoby who got his first taste of it last postseason.

Wright writes off Warriors in series vs. Rockets with suggestive post originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Fox Sports 1 host Nick Wright on Tuesday made a bold declaration about the Warriors’ upcoming first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets.

“After watching this Warriors performance the past week, I’d like to be the first person to congratulate the Los Angeles Lakers on beating the Houston Rockets to advance to the Western Conference Finals,” Write wrote on X after Golden State’s 121-116 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA play-in tournament on Tuesday.

Interesting. 

Wright indirectly is saying that Golden State will lose to Houston and that Los Angeles will win their first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, ultimately giving fans a Western Conference finals between the Rockets and Lakers that the LeBron James gang would triumph in. 

As if the Warriors, featuring leaders such as Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler, needed any more motivation.

Wright, who Dub Nation probably hopes will be wrong, appears confident in his take. However, the Warriors objectively shape up well against the Rockets.

Golden State won three of its five matchups with Houston during the 2024-25 NBA season and enters the series riding a 24-8 record in the 32 games since six-time All-Star Butler made his Warriors debut.

The Rockets went 20-12 in the same span but might be rusty after losing their final three regular-season games while resting key players.

And for what it’s worth, the Warriors are 4-0 against the Rockets in all-time playoff series matchups and own a 16-7 record against them in 23 postseason games.

Wright could end up being extremely wrong.

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