Category: Basketball

Warriors molding identity, building momentum after eye-opening road trip originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Returning from a six-game road trip where they dropped two straight games before coming back to San Francisco, the Warriors laid an egg and wasted 38 points from Steph Curry to open a five-game homestand with a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Nov. 21. 

Those five games where it felt like the Warriors needed to win four, ended with more losses (three) than wins (two). But there were plenty of signs of life in the finale, which wound up being a 12-point loss to the nearly unbeatable Oklahoma City Thunder. The Warriors found a new gear and scored 44 points in the third quarter against the Thunder. They even took the lead three and a half minutes into the fourth quarter. 

The opening scenes to the Pat Spencer movie that is playing in front of our eyes began rolling in the second half of that loss to the Thunder when he scored 15 of his then new career-high 17 points. There was a bigger story to that loss, too. 

Jimmy Butler did not play the entire second half, making the Warriors’ comeback attempt that much more impressive. An injured Butler also is a bigger deal than two positive quarters playing the best team in basketball. The Warriors already didn’t have Curry, who sustained a quad contusion two games prior in a bad loss to the Kevin Durant-less Houston Rockets. 

Then it was Draymond Green’s turn to limp down the tunnel and back to the Warriors’ locker room in Philadelphia when his right foot/ankle was rolled on in the second quarter against the 76ers. Doomsday looked right around the corner for a team that went on the road with an 11-11 record and could have come home three games under .500 if a depleted Warriors squad dropped three straight.

That isn’t the story as the Warriors now have four days between their next game. The Warriors again responded to adversity by picking themselves up and fighting even harder, winning two of their three games on the road, and losing the other by one point in the final second.

“You can feel the energy,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Sunday night in Chicago. “We’re playing with a different level of energy the last few nights.” 

Golden State’s battery pack has been on the back of the Wayne Gretzky of college lacrosse. 

Spencer followed his huge game against the Thunder by scoring 16 points – 12 in the fourth quarter – with four rebounds and four assists in a 99-98 loss against the 76ers while letting the whole world know he is that motherf–ker. Kerr rewarded Spencer by giving him his first career start and he was even better, finishing with a new career-high 19 points – and another 12 in the fourth quarter – in a huge upset win against the Cleveland Cavaliers where the Warriors were without Curry, Butler and Green, and only had 10 healthy players. 

That kind of performance brought Kerr and Gui Santos into the Pat “That Motherf–ker” Spencer lore at the postgame podium. Spencer started again Sunday in the Warriors’ 123-91 win against the Chicago Bulls where they never trailed and was a plus-30 in 27 minutes. 

Everything about Spencer is what Kerr wants from his team regardless of status as a star, as a former top draft pick or as someone who has earned it all like his 29-year-old point guard on a two-way contract: Tough, fearless and ready to attack the moment. 

The Warriors averaged 340 passes per game during their three-game road trip, increasing the number each game. Their goal always is at least 300. Spencer led the Warriors with total passes in all three games, averaging 58. Those kinds of numbers indicate the kind of offensive flow Kerr dreams of. 

Same with the defensive stats the Warriors strung together in that span. 

Defensively, the Warriors held their opponent to under 100 points in all three games on the road and have done so in four of their past five games in total. The 76ers, Cavs and Bulls averaged 94.7 points per game. Playing on a string, the Warriors’ defense held them 38.4-percent shooting and 25.8 percent from 3-point range. 

“All in all, I think we’re finally starting to figure out who we are,” Butler said Sunday night. “It’s never too early to do that. It’s never too late either. So we just need to keep stringing these things together.” 

Just like that, the Warriors have the third-best defensive rating in the NBA (110.7) after producing a 99.0 defensive rating on their 2-1 road trip. 

They’re becoming healthier at the right time, and a handful of secondary players have newfound life. Butler returned Sunday from knee soreness after missing the last two games and was as good as always. He was a plus-29 in 29 minutes with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists, taking over and putting the game out of reach in the fourth quarter.

Resting Green and Horford on Sunday was considered precautionary. Both are expected to play Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves. So is Curry. De’Anthony Melton made his season debut from ACL surgery on Thursday in Philadelphia and needed two more hands to wipe the smile off his face after playing 21 minutes off the bench and scoring 14 points. 

The Warriors are taking Monday and Tuesday off. They will then practice Wednesday and Thursday ahead of Friday’s game, and play six games over the next 20 days, as well as nine the rest of the calendar year. 

Instead of dropping below .500, the Warriors now are one game above. At 13-12, the Warriors are the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference, making them four games back of the No. 4 seed and three back of the No. 6 seed.

Going on the road could have turned to catastrophe for the Warriors. The outcome was an identity being molded and momentum mounting with the hardest part of their schedule behind them. 

“We’re starting to feel like the team we’re supposed to be,” Kerr said. “But we have to back that up and follow the momentum we have right now with a good stretch.”

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LeBron James needed to send this message.

He still sits on his throne.

The Lakers superstar scored 10 consecutive points late in the fourth quarter to seal a 112-108 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, helping the Lakers (17-6) nab two wins out of their difficult three-game road trip.

After knocking down a 20-foot fadeaway over Quentin Grimes, James held both hands low to the ground, signaling “too small,” before placing an imaginary crown on his head and punctuating it with his signature silencer celebration. James, who sat out of the Lakers’ last game in Boston because of sciatica and left-foot joint arthritis, finished with 29 points, seven rebounds and six assists, including 12 points in the fourth quarter to hold off the 76ers. Philadelphia (16-7) came back from a 10-point deficit in the third quarter and tied the score with 1:28 remaining on a shot by Joel Embiid.

Luka Doncic returned from a two-game absence to record a 31-point, 15-rebound, 11-assist triple-double. Now a father of two daughters, Doncic rejoined the team in Philadelphia on Saturday after he and his fiancee welcomed their second child, Olivia.

Despite traveling from Slovenia, Doncic didn’t miss a beat Sunday. He scored five of the Lakers’ first seven points and took the most shot attempts of anyone on the Lakers. With 10 points, five rebounds and four assists in the first quarter, Doncic was already flirting with a triple-double after 12 minutes.

The Lakers erased a 10-point deficit in the first quarter only to find themselves down by 10 again in the second. After Austin Reaves hit a corner three — just his second basket after he missed his first eight attempts from the field — to bring the Lakers to within two points, the 76ers answered with a 10-2 run that pushed their lead back to 10 with 38.9 seconds remaining in the half.

Reaves, who was averaging 41 points a game without Doncic, had just 11 points. Deandre Ayton had 14 points and 12 rebounds.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Knicks will find out the extend of Miles McBride’s  ankle sprain on Monday. McBride underwent an X-ray on Sunday after hurting his ankle. It came back negative. He will get an MRI on Monday, which will give the Knicks and McBride a more definitive timeline on a potential return to the court.

It would be surprising if McBride plays on Tuesday against Toronto. After that game, the Knicks will either play on Saturday or on Sunday. So McBride will have some time to heal.

Any stretch without McBride will be tough for the Knicks.

The 25-year-old is averaging a career-high 12 points per game and is shooting better than 45 percent from beyond the arc.

The Knicks could lean more on Tyler Kolek during McBride’s absence. Maybe they go more point-guard-by-committee off the bench.

New York has had some experience in navigating injuries this season. Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby have missed multiple games due to injury. Same goes for Landry Shamet.

Mitchell Robinson has been held out the lineup for precautionary reasons. Karl-Anthony Towns missed Sunday’s win over Orlando with calf tightness.

Through it all, the Knicks have held up pretty well.

They’ve won 13 of 14 at home and are 16-7 overall. On Sunday, New York went to Ariel Hukporti and the second-year center delivered.

Hukporti had seven rebounds, three blocks, two assists and hit all four of his free throw attempts.

Mikal Bridges was impressed by Hukporti on Sunday, but he wasn’t surprised.

“It’s tough,” Bridges said. “We’ve got a lot of talent out there, a lot guys who can play, and one of those situations where we’ve got KAT, Mitch, Yabu (Geurschon Yabusele) can go small, so sometimes he might not get out there, but he’s definitely talented and smart enough to play, so every time he gets his opportunity he’s gonna do really well. Definitely a big game from him tonight.”

Hukporti earned Mike Brown’s Defensive Player of the Game after the win.

“He was really good with his vertically, he came up with four 50/50 balls,” Brown said. “And then he had a play in transition where he showed one of his superpowers, which is his speed. He raced down the end and got a block when he was completely out of the play.”

New York also got big performances from Anunoby and Bridges on Sunday. Anunoby hit five of his seven triple attempts and had seven rebounds and four steals. Bridges had seven assists and led a strong effort by New York’s defense.

Brown was asked after the game about All-Star candidacies for Bridges and Anunoby.

“I think both of those guys are deserving. OG probably hadn’t played enough games yet but Mikal’s numbers are out of the roof here,” Brown said. “Obviously, KAT, in my opinion, is a no-brainer. Jalen is a no-brainer. But for us, the way that we’ve been playing, especially with the record that we have, I think have to start looking at other guys on the team; this is not a two-man band here.

“We have other guys who have stepped up and are having career numbers in certain areas. So hopefully this year, everybody will see that it’s Kat, it’s Jalen, it’s Mikal, if OG gets enough games it could possibly be OG. But trying to get those guys in when they quote unquote may not look sexy all the time, is the right thing to do because they impact winning and their numbers speak for themselves.”  

They may not be looking at the right numbers, though. Anunoby’s advanced stats and shooting are strong. But it’s difficult to fully quantify his impact on defense with a number.  

“I think when people look at like a box score, they look at points, more usage, more points you score, and they think those guys are the All-Star players, but I don’t know,” Anunoby said. “Winning is what matters, so I think maybe one day it’ll come, hopefully.”

Observations after Sixers lose back-and-forth battle to Lakers, James takes over late  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers came out on the wrong end of a back-and-forth tussle with the Lakers on Sunday night. 

They fell to a 112-108 loss at Xfinity Mobile Arena, dropping to 13-10 on the season. Los Angeles improved to 17-6. 

Tyrese Maxey had 28 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.

Luka Doncic posted a triple-double with 31 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists. LeBron James tallied 29 points on 12-for-17 shooting, seven rebounds and six assists.

The Sixers remained without Kelly Oubre Jr. (left knee LCL sprain) and Trendon Watford (left adductor strain). Marcus Smart (left lumbar muscle strain) was the one player sidelined for the Lakers. 

The Sixers won’t play again until they host the Pacers on Friday night. Here are observations on their loss to the Lakers:

Plenty of juice in the building

The Eastern and Western Conference’s top scorers needed very little time to get rolling. 

Doncic drained a mid-range jumper for the game’s first basket and Maxey replied with a catch-and-shoot three-pointer. Maxey made his first four field goals and scored 10 first-quarter points. 

He was quite comfortable with a quick pace in the early going. As a team, the Sixers had the sharper start. Paul George scored a transition layup, Maxey hit a pull-up three and the Sixers went up 19-9 on a pair of Dominick Barlow free throws. 

Everyone on the floor seemed to begin the night with more intensity than they’d have for an average regular-season game. That included Maxey, who had a brief courtside chat with Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Owens, the ceremonial pregame bell ringer. Maxey was assessed a technical foul late in the first quarter for his animated disagreement with an official’s no-call. 

The Sixers had a cold patch to close the first quarter and the Lakers made a run that featured James hammering in a powerful dunk. His slam caused a big pop of noise from the many Lakers fans on hand. Rui Hachimura’s corner three on the Lakers’ last play of the first tied the game at 30-all. 

Nightmare Embiid shooting

Embiid was 2 for 15 from the floor through three quarters. That was initially 1 for 14, but he was retroactively credited for a tip-in late in the second quarter. His final numbers were 4 for 21.

For the most part, he took reasonable shots early in the game and got tough bounces on mid-range looks he often makes. Embiid did force up a couple of awkward leaners when he appeared to expect a foul call. He also settled for some jumpers early in the shot clock instead of putting greater pressure on the Lakers’ defense. Whatever he tried, his shooting touch was absent. 

As the misses piled up, Embiid was exasperated. He stared at the ceiling and raised his arms in dismay after failing to hit a shot from just inside the foul line on the Sixers’ final possession of the second quarter. 

Lakers guard Austin Reaves had similar struggles. Reaves, who entered the game averaging 29.2 points and shooting 52.5 percent from the field, opened 0 for 8. Maxey and the Sixers guarded him well.

Though Doncic didn’t have a great jump shooting start, he frustrated the Sixers with his typical foul drawing trickery. The five-time All-Star finished the evening 11 for 14 at the foul line. 

James still clutch

The Sixers’ bench decisively outplayed the Lakers’ in the first half. At halftime, the Sixers’ second unit had an 18-2 scoring advantage. 

Jabari Walker picked up where he left off Friday in the Sixers’ win over the Bucks, swishing a three on his first touch. Jared McCain made two long-range jumpers and a driving layup early in the second quarter. 

To begin the second half, the Lakers’ starters were much stronger than the Sixers’. James drilled three jumpers early in the third quarter. Deandre Ayton’s alley-oop dunk gave L.A. a 68-67 lead.

The Sixers fell behind as many as 10 points late in the third quarter, but they eventually pushed back. VJ Edgecombe and Maxey sunk threes and the Sixers cut their deficit to 87-84 entering the fourth quarter.

The Lakers maintained a slim lead through much of the fourth and benefited from several Sixers defensive breakdowns. The Sixers defended gamely against the Lakers’ stars, but they had issues both communicating and fighting through screens.

James nailed two important jumpers to put the Lakers up 105-100. Embiid subbed in for his final stint with 3:23 to play.

The Sixers blitzed Doncic down the stretch and had success with that strategy. After he tossed a pass out of bounds, Embiid hit a mid-range jumper to even the game at 105 apiece.

James had more heroics left in the tank.

The 40-year-old superstar continued his late-game takeover by canning a contested three and a fadeaway mid-range bucket.

None of the jumpers the Sixers flung up in the last minute dropped until a desperate Maxey three with seven seconds left that cut the Lakers’ lead to 110-108. However, Doncic iced the game with a pair of free throws.