Category: Basketball

Derrick White is so back: Celtics star's hot shooting has sparked turnaround originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

If there was any lingering skepticism about whether Derrick White was getting himself back on track after a prolonged, alarm-triggering shooting slump to start the 2025-26 season, White delivered a vintage fourth-quarter performance Sunday in Toronto that seemingly confirmed he’s turned a corner.

White busted out all the familiar hallmarks in the final frame against the Raptors. He threw in some absurdly tough shots. He swatted an offering and took a charge in the final moments. White finished with 27 points on 10-of-21 shooting with six 3-pointers, five assists, four rebounds, and three blocks over 37:17 as the Celtics won their fifth straight game with a gritty 121-113 triumph over the Raptors.

Boston has now won 10 of its last 12 while muscling up to third place in the Eastern Conference. White’s shot regularly defied him as the Celtics limped to a 5-7 start. But part of the reason the team has gotten itself on track has been White getting himself — and his shot — going again. 

Maybe the most striking number in Boston’s recent five-game winning streak is the confidence White is oozing in his pull-up jumper. Over that span, White is averaging 14.8 points per game off pull-up jumpers, well above his season average of 8.1 pull-up points per game. He’s shooting 53.7 percent overall from the field and 46.9 percent from beyond the arc on pull-up attempts.

On Sunday, White didn’t just make pull-up shots; he made ridiculous pull-up shots. Scrambling in front of the Raptors bench early in the fourth quarter, White pirouetted into Boston’s toughest make of the day (the NBA’s stats tracking gave it a 30.1 percent expected make rate). A 32-footer he threw in from just outside the midcourt logo a short time after — which felt like it got launched from nearby Mississauga — was only slightly easier (31.4 expected make rate).

White ranks 17th in the NBA in pull-up shooting at 8.1 points per game this season. Since late November, White has spiked to fifth in the NBA at a team-best 13 pull-up points per game. Only Jamal Murray, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Kawhi Leonard sit ahead of him in that span.

There’s been an obvious difference in White’s confidence lately when he fires away. If he was hesitant at times after his early-season woes, he’s oozing machismo when he pulls up lately.

White scored a team-high 30 points with five 3-pointers when the Celtics rested Jaylen Brown in a 146-101 thumping of the Wizards on Thursday. White made five of 10 triples against the Lakers the next day. He’s made five 3-pointers in four of his last six games and is shooting 41.2 percent beyond the arc overall in that stretch. 

Now the Celtics just need to get him back to his familiar catch-and-shoot ways. That output is still down. But it seems fair to assume that White’s confidence in the pull-up will carry over to catch-and-shoot playtype. 

Even when his shot was fighting him at the start of the season, White was finding ways to make a positive impact. His playmaking has been solid and he’s maintained his “Stocks”-stacking ways on the defensive end. But as White finds his shot, the Celtics have kicked into another gear. The Celtics are putting up video game numbers on the offensive end of the court since mid-November. 

Over their last 12 games, the Celtics have posted an offensive rating of 128.6. The Knicks are the next-closest in the Eastern Conference in that span at 121.8. For the season, the Celtics now rank second in the NBA with an offensive rating of 122.0, trailing only the Nuggets (124.0). For context, the 2023-24 Celtics team that produced the franchise’s 18th championship posted an NBA record offensive rating of 122.2.

So, even while operating without Jayson Tatum; and despite all the offseason changes; and even as White and Payton Pritchard slumped at times to start the 2025-26 season; the Celtics are still tracking to challenge their NBA-record offensive rating. 

In this 12-game stretch where Boston has posted a 10-2 mark, the Celtics are 13.5 points per 100 possessions better with White on the court than off, the best net differential on the team among regulars in that span (Jaylen Brown is second at +9.1). 

White is vital to the Celtics being able to sustain this sort of offensive efficiency. The numbers are so off the charts overall, it feels impossible that Boston could maintain those marks as a team. And yet there’s still room for White to improve his shot-making.

And it’s scary to think where the Celtics could go if that happens.

Jimmy Butler reveals why he has connected well with Bay Area amid Warriors stint originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Jimmy Butler has loved his time in the Golden State after being traded to the Warriors from the Miami Heat at the 2024-25 NBA trade deadline in February.

The six-time NBA All-Star elaborated on his joyous Northern California experience in an exclusive interview for NBC Sports Bay Area’s “Dubs Talk” with Monte Poole and Raj Mathai.

Butler first discussed his strong connection with the Warriors and their fanbase.

“Besides the fact that everybody works so hard and is so humble around here, I think they just want to win — this organization, their fanbase and myself,” Butler told Mathai and Poole. “We all just want to win. We don’t care how we get there; we don’t care [about] what it takes; we just want to win. 

“I’ve always been for that. And I’ll do whatever it takes, if we can just win.”

Golden State has run the league for the majority of Butler’s 15-year NBA career.

So, as someone who craves victory, it makes sense why Butler fits in with the Warriors and their proven winners such as Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Steve Kerr.

But that’s not all Butler has loved about his Bay Area journey. He also admires how grounded the region is in the present, day-to-day.

“Everybody’s like … here … in the present time,” Butler told Mathai and Poole. “You know, you’re in Miami, everybody’s down there for vacation, and then they leave, and then they come back, duh duh duh. Everybody here — [at] the games cheering, getting coffee, walking their dog, talking to everybody — they’re living in the moment. And they won’t let that moment pass them, which is a good thing.

“So when I get to walk around … I get to see people, and I get to talk — and they’re here; they’re in the moment. ‘How are you?’ … love that. I get to go to a coffee shop and sit down and have coffee, and we’re talking about whatever we’re talking about — that’s in the moment. That’s being here.”

Enjoying the Warriors’ passionate basketball atmosphere — and making fun of Buddy Hield — is just the surface for Butler.

At his core, he loves a good cup of coffee and engaging with authentic locals, which really makes the Bay the perfect place for the 36-year-old.

“That’s what it is about the Bay Area — everybody’s here.”

It is unknown whether Butler will one day finish his tenure with Golden State as an NBA champion. But he certainly appreciates the moment, as do his new neighbors.

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Warriors reportedly expected to explore Jonathan Kuminga trade market soon originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Jonathan Kuminga’s tenure with the Warriors soon could come to an end.

Golden State’s young forward, who was a DNP-CD (Did Not Play — Coach’s Decision) in Sunday’s 123-91 win over the Chicago Bulls at United Center, has seen decreased playing time in recent weeks after a hot start to the 2025-26 NBA season, and could be traded soon.

ESPN’s Anthony Slater reported, citing league sources, in a story published Monday that the Warriors are expected to explore Kuminga’s trade market in the coming weeks, with the possibility of a split before the NBA’s Feb. 5 trade deadline remaining “strong.”

Kuminga spoke to reporters in the locker room after Sunday’s game, and was asked about his benching and if it’s something he expects to continue moving forward.

“I’m not really sure [how long it lasts],” Kuminga said. “But as long as things are working out there and we winning, I don’t see the point of switching anything, changing. Whenever my number get called, I’ll be ready.”

“We’ve been doing good,” Kuminga said. “Things are working. So, I don’t see the point of taking certain people out of the rotation when we doing good, and things are going well.”

The 23-year-old also reiterated that he has no issues with coach Steve Kerr.

“We have a good relationship,” Kuminga said when asked about Kerr. “We talk and figure out things. We don’t have any problem. I don’t have any problem. Just didn’t go my way. I’m going to stay happy, stay locked in, stay focused, stay positive.”

“I don’t have any problems. I’m going to work out every day, stay ready, because you never know how these things works. I believe in my game and feel good about my game. I just got to be a professional. Things happen. It has happened before.”

Kuminga’s tumultuous restricted free agency over the summer came to an end when he signed a two-year, $46.8 million contract with Golden State on Sept. 30.

He turned heads in the first two weeks of the season, averaging 17.2 points with 7.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists in the first nine games before suffering bilateral knee tendonitis four games later in the Warriors’ win over the San Antonio Spurs on Nov. 12 that sidelined him seven games.

Since his return to the court on Nov. 29 against the Pelicans, Kuminga is averaging 7.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2 assists per game in just 19 minutes on the court.

It remains to be seen if, or when, Kuminga will be traded, but the odds are appearing increasingly likely by the week.

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Jimmy Butler sets record straight on his lengthy history of NBA bridge-burning originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Considered by some the NBA’s most notorious burner of bridges, Jimmy Butler III says he is delighted to be in a region known for its bridges. And not because he has so many targets to set ablaze.

It’s because Butler senses the Golden State Warriors possess an unrelenting quest for victory that matches his own.

Though Butler did not say his previous stops within the league – Chicago Bulls, Minnesota Timberwolves, Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat – were comfortable with losing, the insinuation is that non-basketball issues and less dedicated circumstances have rubbed him the wrong way.

“I’m always about winning, winning at all costs,” Butler tells NBC Sports Bay Area on the latest episode of the “Dubs Talk” podcast, which debuted Monday. “So, when it doesn’t stay about winning, it can become about many different things. If it ain’t about winning, I’m telling y’all right now, I’m not here for it.

“It’s got to be about winning. Everything we do, it’s got to be about winning.”

Consider that a warning. If things start getting political or subjective within the Warriors, or if they tolerate unseriousness on the roster, Butler might reach for his lighter and start scouting the Golden Gate.

Butler need not worry. All evidence seen and heard during the 15 years that Joe Lacob and Peter Guber have owned the Golden State franchise is that winning is both everything and the only thing. Consider, for example, their early moves, notably bringing in Jerry West and Rick Welts. And their wonderfully executed recruitment of Kevin Durant. And their investment in the cash cow that is Chase Center.

Consider, too, the expensive acquisition of Butler in February.

“We had to get better on the basketball court,” general manager Mike Dunleavy told NBC Sports Bay Area in March. “But we needed to get better, emotionally. We’d lost our way. And to be able to accomplish those two things, there’s not many players out there that can do that. And I felt like Jimmy was one of those guys. It’s tough in this league to make trades because there’s very few really good players that are available. And in this case, Jimmy was.”

Butler was available because, turned off by criticism of Heat shot-caller Pat Riley and the lack of a contract extension, he had burned his bridge in Miami. Butler twice led the Heat to the NBA Finals during his five-plus seasons in Miami. The epilogue to his fourth NBA team was a fourth bridge torching.

“If it’s about winning, if it’s about winning it – the championship – I’m all for it,” Butler says. “If it’s not, and there are any other agendas, y’all won’t like it. Because I don’t care. I’m literally just here to win. That’s it. I don’t care about anything else.”

The Warriors, with a disappointing xx-xx record (PLEASE UPDATE), are not meeting their standard. They also are not meeting Butler’s standard and goal. As it stands, he’s a six-time NBA All-Star and very probable Hall of Famer. What he is not is an NBA champion.

That is, as he says, why he is a Warrior. And, yes, he believes it is possible.

“(It’s) the practice,” Butler says. “The work that everybody’s putting in afterwards, and how they care about doing right. It doesn’t always go our way, and we make mistakes, but that’s just the game. That’s just human nature. Nobody’s perfect.

“But the intent is what really matters. If you’re trying to do right, you’re trying everything that you have to win, it’s going to work out more days than not. And I see that amongst our group. I see that in the coaches. They work relentlessly at trying to figure it out. And then we’ve got to go out there and we got to actually do it. But they’re putting us in all the correct situations.”

If there is anything Butler has more faith in than those in the locker room, it is those in the executive suites upstairs. It’s Dunleavy, Butler’s teammate for three seasons in Chicago, who has shown a willingness to make big moves. And it’s Lacob, whose ambition always operates at the speed of light.

Butler has bought into the ways of the Warriors, starting with those at the top. Andrew Wiggins, who went to Miami in the swap that brought Butler to the Bay, never wanted to leave, partly because he won a championship with Golden State and partly because he marveled at the “top-notch” management of the franchise.

Butler, in his 10th month as a Warrior, is in full agreement.

“They would do anything and everything for you to just make sure that you can compete at a high level – whatever it is,” he says. “When your kids are here, your kids are going to be well taken care of. My daughter got every allergy known to humankind, probably, and just to make sure that when she’s around, all her allergy needs or like taken care of goes a long way for me, goes a long way for anybody.

“. . . They have the most incredible people throughout this organization and it’s just always a good place to come into work. You want to be here. You’re smiling. You’re having fun. And then whenever you leave, you’re like, ‘OK, it’s a good day today at work. Can’t wait to go back tomorrow.’ That’s when I knew. I was like, ‘Yo, this place is legit.’ It’s special.”

A joyful Jimmy means the Bay Area bridges are safe, at least for now. But that winning thing, well, it has a lot of work ahead to start fulfilling the promise in which Butler believes.

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LeBron James and Luka Doncic scored 60 points between them to fire the Los Angeles Lakers to a 112-108 win against the Philadelphia 76ers.

James scored 29 points, along with seven rebounds and six assists, and 12 of his tally came in the fourth quarter.

The 76ers had levelled the match at 105 apiece with one minute and 29 seconds remaining before James scored five consecutive points as the Lakers went on to seal the victory.

Doncic had returned to the Lakers line-up having missed the previous two games in a run of three on the road following the birth of his child.

He registered a triple-double of 31 points - which was a game high - 15 rebounds and 11 assists.

"The end of a road trip, there can be a lot of tired legs," said James, who missed his side's previous game.

"I felt great. I had the opportunity with some pretty good legs to try to assert myself a little offensively."

Tyrese Maxey top scored for the 76ers with 28 points as team-mate Joel Embiid, who made just four of 21 shots, added 16 points.

The Lakers are second in the Western Conference, while the Philadelphia 76ers are seventh in the Eastern Conference.

• NBA results and fixtures

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.”