Category: Basketball

To no one's surprise, Steph bounces back in Warriors' rout of Suns originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Unpredictability is one of the beauties of sports. There’s no telling what’s going to happen next, despite what the data suggests. Isn’t that what makes Warriors star Steph Curry so special, too? 

Even though his father, Dell, played 16 years in the NBA, there wasn’t a script written for Steph’s Hollywood story. His father’s alma mater Virginia Tech didn’t want him. Neither did any big college. Or five other teams in the 2009 NBA Draft, including the Minnesota Timberwolves in both their chances. 

An undersized guard who joined the Warriors looking closer to a freshman in high school than an NBA rookie beat what the data said long ago. But his play in the Warriors’ blowout 133-95 win over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday at PHX Arena was oh so predictable. 

History said so, as did knowing how Curry the creature operates. 

Curry has been held to single digits twice during the 2024-25 NBA season. Rookie Jaylen Wells and the Memphis Grizzlies smothered him on Dec. 19 when Curry only scored two points in a 41-point loss, where he missed all six of his 3-point attempts and seven shots overall. Curry’s response was scorching the Minnesota Timberwolves for 31 points, going 10 of 21 from the field and 7 of 16 on threes. 

In the fourth quarter of that 10-point win, Curry tapped into pure savage mode. Stopping him wasn’t an option on the menu. Curry scored 13 points for the quarter, but 11 in a flurry that lasted one minute and 29 seconds of game time. 

The second time was Sunday when a combination of Amen Thompson, Dillon Brooks, Fred VanVleet and the Houston Rockets’ bully-ball defensive game plan held Curry to three points, making one of his eight 3-point attempts and missing both 2-pointers he tried. 

Within the first five minutes Tuesday, Curry had surpassed the total points he scored the previous game. The bounce-back is real. Curry didn’t take a shot in the first six-plus minutes of the game and then scored 13 points in the next four minutes and 40 seconds. At halftime he was up to 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting. At the 3:30 mark of the third quarter, his night was done with the Warriors up by 32 points. 

Curry in 26 minutes scored 25 points. He was a plus-31 with nine rebounds and six assists, and shot 9 of 17 overall, as well as 3 of 9 on threes.

“I loved how Draymond [Green], Steph [Curry] and Jimmy [Butler] and our vets really established the tone,” coach Steve Kerr said. “Even before the game started at shootaround, they were locked in and it showed right from the onset.”

There wasn’t a Thompson twin or Dillon The Villain or a VanVleet on the floor. Not a Tari Eason, too. 

The Warriors picked on any defender they wanted from Phoenix’s 27th-ranked defensive rating, 23 slots below Houston. All Bradley Beal could do was laugh when Curry hit him with his famed look-away 3-pointer in the first quarter. 

Beal's reaction to this Steph look-away 3 😅 pic.twitter.com/o1Z5rEkeRO

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 9, 2025

But this is what Curry does. 

When the Warriors got crushed by the Cleveland Cavaliers one game after a big win over the Celtics in Boston, Curry responded with 36 points in a statement win against the Oklahoma City Thunder. After scoring just 10 points on 2-of-13 shooting in a loss to the Indiana Pacers on Dec. 23, he dropped 38 points and made eight threes against the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas. He closed 2024 with a clunker of 11 points in another loss to the Cavs, and then opened 2025 with 30 points and eight threes to smack the Philadelphia 76ers. 

The game prior to him making 56 points appear in front of the Orlando Magic, Curry only scored 15. One week ago he gave the Grizzlies 52 points, a game after scoring 13 while the Warriors had zero problems playing the San Antonio Spurs. 

Every all-time great has something special the eye can’t see. It lives inside, not only in heart and head but as the central nervous system to the soul. A game that doesn’t live up to Curry’s standards fuels that invisible super power. 

Enjoying the party from the bench, Curry was filled with laughs, cheers and maybe even a yawn or two as he earned the extra rest a 38-point victory rewards him with. The way he moved – slicing, dicing, draining shots and dishing alley-oops – told the real story of Steph before the barrage was on.

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What we learned as Steph Curry scores 25 points to fuel Warriors' win over Suns originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

Nothing cures a one-game hangover quite like a compliant opponent.

Taking full advantage of the mostly indifferent Phoenix Suns, without star forward Kevin Durant, the Warriors rolled to a 133-95 rout Tuesday night and remain in sixth place in the gridlocked Western Conference playoff race.

Golden State (47-32) still is looking up at the No. 4-seeded Los Angeles Clippers (47-32), who beat the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday and hold the tiebreaker over the Warriors. The Denver Nuggets, who fired coach Michael Malone on Tuesday, are the No. 5 seed also with a 47-32 record.

The Memphis Grizzlies, also 47-32, are the No. 7 seed, as the Warriors hold the tiebreaker. The Minnesota Timberwolves (46-33) lost on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks and trail Golden State by one game.

Seven Warriors scored in double figures, led by 25 points from Stephen Curry and 22 from Brandin Podziemski. Golden State took the lead three minutes into the game and never were threatened over the final 45 minutes.

So decisive was this one that Jimmy Butler III and Draymond Green played each played only 20 minutes.

The Suns (35-44) lost their seventh consecutive game and look, for all intents and purposes, like a team playing only by request of the schedule.

Here are three takeaways as Golden State follows a frustrating loss to Houston with a demolition of the Suns in the desert:

Steph bounces back

After the results of Curry’s last game, scoring three points on 1-of-10 shooting in a loss to the Rockets, the Suns surely knew a storm was coming.

And they got it. All of it.

Freed from the 7-foot wingspan and grappling defense of Houston’s Amen Thompson, Curry blistered anyone the Suns threw at him. He wasted no time, making his first three shots – two triples and a free throw – in 71 seconds and dropping 13 points in nine first-quarter minutes. Golden State’s 37-24 lead after one quarter set a tone that never wavered.

Curry’s 25 points came on 9-of-17 shooting from the field, including 3-of-9 from distance. He added nine rebounds and six assists, finishing plus-31 over 25 minutes.

Perhaps best of all for Golden State was that Curry took a seat on the bench with 3:30 left in the third quarter and sat for the rest of the game.

He had done enough to put a bounce-back game in the books, to the delight of the Warriors.

Steph’s running mate keeps cooking

No member of the Warriors, decorated vets or surging youths, has delivered a more pleasantly surprising stretch of offense than Podziemski. He brought it again on this night.

The second-year NBA guard was productive and efficient, scoring his 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, including 4-of-6 beyond the arc. This was his fourth consecutive game with at least four triples.

Podziemski, over his previous five games, averaged 21.6 points, with 55.6-percent shooting from the field, including an astonishing 57.5 percent from distance. He also averaged 6.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists in the five games.

Podziemski is the seventh player to share the backcourt with Curry this season, following Andrew Wiggins, Moses Moody, De’Anthony Melton, Lindy Waters III, Buddy Hield and Dennis Schröeder. Golden State was 0-3 with the Curry-Podziemski backcourt before Butler arrived, but has since won 15 of 16 together.

Crashing the glass

After losing the rebounding battle in each of their last two games, the Warriors recovered to post their most decisive advantage on the glass in three weeks.

Golden State outrebounded Phoenix 57-41, with Gui Santos grabbing nine rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench, joining Curry as a co-leader in that category. Center Trayce Jackson-Davis, getting playing time in the absence of Quinten Post (illness), grabbed eight rebounds in 19 minutes.

The last time the Warriors dominated the glass to such an extent was on March 18 in Milwaukee, where they managed a 52-34 advantage in a 104-93 victory over the Bucks.

And, yes, rebounds tend to come easier when the opponent is reluctant to do the dirty work that comes with going to war in the paint.

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Kings clinch NBA play-in tournament berth after Warriors' win vs. Suns originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Kings are headed back to the NBA play-in tournament.

For the second consecutive season, Sacramento clinched a play-in berth Tuesday night thanks to the Golden State Warriors’ 133-95 win over the Phoenix Suns at PHX Arena.

The Kings are 39-40 after their 127-117 win over the Detroit Pistons on Monday night at Little Caesars Arena, and currently hold the Western Conference’s No. 9 seed. That likely sets up an NBA play-in game between Sacramento and the current No. 10-seeded Mavericks (38-41), unless Phoenix (35-44) can catch up to Dallas in the final three regular-season games.

The Western Conference play-in game between the No. 9 seed and No. 10 seed is scheduled for Wednesday, April 16, with the higher seed hosting the elimination contest.

The winner of the No. 9 vs. No. 10 game will play the loser of next Tuesday’s contest between the No. 7 seed and No. 8 seed.

Last season, the Kings also made the play-in tournament as the No. 9 seed and defeated the No. 10-seeded Warriors in their first game, 118-94, at Golden 1 Center. They then fell to the No. 7-seeded New Orleans Pelicans, 105-98, to end their hopes of reaching the NBA playoffs for the second time since 2006.

Sacramento certainly hopes this play-in tournament will be different, now led by a Big Three of Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine after acquiring the latter at the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline and dealing former franchise point guard De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs.

The Kings have a different coach now, too, following the December dismissal of Mike Brown, who was replaced by Doug Christie on an interim basis.

It has been a roller-coaster campaign for Sacramento, preparing the new-look Kings for whatever — and whoever — awaits them in the play-in.

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Where does Michael Malone firing rank among most shocking 2025 NBA moments? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

What could possibly happen next?

The 2024-2025 NBA season has had its fair share of shocking moments on and off the court. There have been stunning superstar trades, disappointing All-Star laden teams, oddly timed coach firings, and much more.

The latest bombshell came Tuesday when the Denver Nuggets fired head coach Michael Malone with three games remaining in the regular season. The Nuggets, who in 2023 under Malone won their first championship in franchise history, currently hold the fourth seed in the Western Conference with a 47-32 record.

Malone’s success, and the timing of his dismissal with the playoffs set to begin, was a shocker. But it wasn’t the most shocking moment of the season, trailing only a stunning midseason trade.

Here’s a look back at some other shocking moments from the season.

The Luka Doncic trade

Everyone assumed Shams Charania was hacked. ESPN’s NBA Insider made a social media post saying the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick. The deal was executed without any rumors of either Doncic and Davis even being available on the market, creating what was arguably the most shocking trade in NBA history.     

Grizzlies fire Taylor Jenkins

Before Michael Malone was fired, the most stunning termination of the season had been when Taylor Jenkins was let go by the Memphis Grizzlies on March 29 with nine games left in the regular season. The Grizzlies at the time held the No. 5 seed in the West at 44-29 under Jenkins, the franchise’s all-time leader in coaching victories. 

Suns disappoint

Playoff teams are firing coaches, while Mike Budenholzer is still roaming the sidelines in the desert. Budenholzer’s Phoenix Suns — with its All-Star trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal — are unlikely to make the play-in tournament. The team entered Tuesday at 35-43 under Budenholzer, a two-time Coach of the Year who is in the first year of a five-year deal with the Suns. 

Cavs surprise

The NBA season was more than a month old before the Cleveland Cavaliers lost their first game. The Cavs won their first 15 games, matching the second-best start in league history behind the 2015-2016 Golden State Warriors who started 24-0. The Cavs’ first loss came on Nov. 19 against the Boston Celtics.

Celtics sell for $6 billion

Buying the defending champions isn’t cheap. The Celtics, just months after winning their 18th title, were sold to a group led by William Chisholm, a private equity executive, for $6.1 billion in March. It was the largest total paid for a sports team in the United States.

All-Star Game debacle

The NBA All-Star Game needs fixing, but this was not the solution. The new format included a four-team, single-elimination tournament with a target score of 40 points for each round. It did not go over well with many players and fans. The league quickly announced it will not be keeping the tournament format.

Tracy Morgan gets sick at Knicks game

A courtside cleanup was needed after comedian and New York Knicks superfan Tracy Morgan got ill during the third quarter of the team’s game against the Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden. The game was delayed for more than 10 minutes. Morgan made a social media post the following day saying it was due to food poisoning.

The Jimmy Butler saga

It was a messy ending to the Jimmy Butler era in Miami. Seeking a contract extension, Butler was suspended by the Heat three times during the season, twice for conduct detrimental to the team and one for missing a team flight. The six-time All-Star, who led the Heat to the Finals twice, was traded to the Warriors in February for Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson and a protected 2025 first-round pick.

Games postponed due to California wildfires

The Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers each postponed games in January following the devastation caused by the Southern California wildfires. The Lakers, whose head coach J.J. Redick lost his house in the fires, rescheduled home games against the Charlotte Hornets and San Antonio Spurs. The Clippers’ home game against the Hornets was also postponed.

Atlanta Hawks game postponed due to winter storm

A winter storm postponement might be expected in certain parts of the country, but Atlanta? The Hawks’ game against the Houston Rockets that was scheduled for Jan. 11 was postponed after snow and ice in the area led to dangerous conditions and power outages.

LeBron James vs. Stephen A. Smith

LeBron James confronted ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith courtside during the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ win over the New York Knicks in March. Smith had been critical of James’ son and teammate Bronny James earlier this season, saying in late January that he belonged in the developmental G-League and not the NBA. James, appearing on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” after the confrontation, criticized Smith for making personal attacks as opposed to discussing on-court play when talking about the NBA.

The rise of the Pistons

The most shocking team of the season? The Detroit Pistons. After finishing the 2023-2024 season with the league’s worst record at 14-68, the Pistons became the first NBA team to triple their win total from their previous 82-game season when they captured their 42nd victory.

Half-court game winner

In what was one of the most shocking finishes to an NBA game, the Chicago Bulls won on a…

Just watch…

Where does Michael Malone firing rank among most shocking 2025 NBA moments? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

What could possibly happen next?

The 2024-2025 NBA season has had its fair share of shocking moments on and off the court. There have been stunning superstar trades, disappointing All-Star laden teams, oddly timed coach firings, and much more.

The latest bombshell came Tuesday when the Denver Nuggets fired head coach Michael Malone with three games remaining in the regular season. The Nuggets, who in 2023 under Malone won their first championship in franchise history, currently hold the fourth seed in the Western Conference with a 47-32 record.

Malone’s success, and the timing of his dismissal with the playoffs set to begin, was a shocker. But it wasn’t the most shocking moment of the season, trailing only a stunning midseason trade.

Here’s a look back at some other shocking moments from the season.

The Luka Doncic trade

Everyone assumed Shams Charania was hacked. ESPN’s NBA Insider made a social media post saying the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick. The deal was executed without any rumors of either Doncic and Davis even being available on the market, creating what was arguably the most shocking trade in NBA history.     

Grizzlies fire Taylor Jenkins

Before Michael Malone was fired, the most stunning termination of the season had been when Taylor Jenkins was let go by the Memphis Grizzlies on March 29 with nine games left in the regular season. The Grizzlies at the time held the No. 5 seed in the West at 44-29 under Jenkins, the franchise’s all-time leader in coaching victories. 

Suns disappoint

Playoff teams are firing coaches, while Mike Budenholzer is still roaming the sidelines in the desert. Budenholzer’s Phoenix Suns — with its All-Star trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal — are unlikely to make the play-in tournament. The team entered Tuesday at 35-43 under Budenholzer, a two-time Coach of the Year who is in the first year of a five-year deal with the Suns. 

Cavs surprise

The NBA season was more than a month old before the Cleveland Cavaliers lost their first game. The Cavs won their first 15 games, matching the second-best start in league history behind the 2015-2016 Golden State Warriors who started 24-0. The Cavs’ first loss came on Nov. 19 against the Boston Celtics.

Celtics sell for $6 billion

Buying the defending champions isn’t cheap. The Celtics, just months after winning their 18th title, were sold to a group led by William Chisholm, a private equity executive, for $6.1 billion in March. It was the largest total paid for a sports team in the United States.

All-Star Game debacle

The NBA All-Star Game needs fixing, but this was not the solution. The new format included a four-team, single-elimination tournament with a target score of 40 points for each round. It did not go over well with many players and fans. The league quickly announced it will not be keeping the tournament format.

Tracy Morgan gets sick at Knicks game

A courtside cleanup was needed after comedian and New York Knicks superfan Tracy Morgan got ill during the third quarter of the team’s game against the Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden. The game was delayed for more than 10 minutes. Morgan made a social media post the following day saying it was due to food poisoning.

The Jimmy Butler saga

It was a messy ending to the Jimmy Butler era in Miami. Seeking a contract extension, Butler was suspended by the Heat three times during the season, twice for conduct detrimental to the team and one for missing a team flight. The six-time All-Star, who led the Heat to the Finals twice, was traded to the Warriors in February for Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson and a protected 2025 first-round pick.

Games postponed due to California wildfires

The Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers each postponed games in January following the devastation caused by the Southern California wildfires. The Lakers, whose head coach J.J. Redick lost his house in the fires, rescheduled home games against the Charlotte Hornets and San Antonio Spurs. The Clippers’ home game against the Hornets was also postponed.

Atlanta Hawks game postponed due to winter storm

A winter storm postponement might be expected in certain parts of the country, but Atlanta? The Hawks’ game against the Houston Rockets that was scheduled for Jan. 11 was postponed after snow and ice in the area led to dangerous conditions and power outages.

LeBron James vs. Stephen A. Smith

LeBron James confronted ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith courtside during the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ win over the New York Knicks in March. Smith had been critical of James’ son and teammate Bronny James earlier this season, saying in late January that he belonged in the developmental G-League and not the NBA. James, appearing on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” after the confrontation, criticized Smith for making personal attacks as opposed to discussing on-court play when talking about the NBA.

The rise of the Pistons

The most shocking team of the season? The Detroit Pistons. After finishing the 2023-2024 season with the league’s worst record at 14-68, the Pistons became the first NBA team to triple their win total from their previous 82-game season when they captured their 42nd victory.

Half-court game winner

In what was one of the most shocking finishes to an NBA game, the Chicago Bulls won on a…

Just watch…

Joe Mazzulla reacts to Nuggets' shocking Michael Malone firing originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Another shocking firing of a successful head coach rocked the NBA world on Tuesday.

Just over a week after the Memphis Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins, the Denver Nuggets parted ways with their longtime head coach Michael Malone. The timing of both firings was bizarre, with Memphis as the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference and Denver holding the No. 4 seed.

The cruel nature of coaching in professional sports isn’t lost on Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, who once stated, ‘We all get hired to get fired.” Reacting to Malone’s surprise departure, he shared a similar sentiment before Tuesday’s game against the New York Knicks.

“Coaching. It’s just coaching,” Mazzulla said. “You sign up knowing that. And again, I mean he was 10 years there? Yeah, that’s a lot. You hope for stuff like that. You hope for a situation of stability to be somewhere for as long as you have, and when it’s your time, it’s your time.

“But I think you focus more on the fact that he was able to be there for 10 years. Not many coaches get to do that. I think there’s only two left, three left now that have done it beyond that? Pop (Gregg Popovich), Spo (Erik Spoelstra), and (Steve) Kerr. So you hope for that, but you know that not everybody gets that opportunity.”

Malone is the winningest head coach in Nuggets history with a 471-327 record over 10 seasons. He led Denver to an NBA title in 2023.

That success still wasn’t enough to earn Malone job security. For Mazzulla, that harsh reality serves as an important reminder.

“It’s part of what motivates me, but I wake up every day saying, ‘This could be my last day.’ You have to have that type of perspective because it gives you gratitude and it also keeps you hungry,” Mazzulla said. “You have to have a healthy balance so if you want this for as long as you can, at the same time, you’re very much replaceable because that’s just how it works.

“So every day, I remind myself of my own mortality, and I think that’s what kind of keeps me in a perspective and a gratitude of the opportunity that you have.”

The Nuggets also fired their general manager Calvin Booth. Asked how he would react to being fired with his team primed for a playoff run, Mazzulla stayed diplomatic.

“I don’t know, I wasn’t there,” Mazzulla answered. “I just know that you do the best you can for as long as you can, and then there’s always a bunch of circumstances that you’re not aware of. You know?”

Mazzulla, the Golden State Warriors’ Steve Kerr, and longtime Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra are the only NBA coaches still with the teams they led to NBA titles. Malone joins Tyronn Lue, Nick Nurse, Frank Vogel, and Mike Budenholzer as NBA champions to lose their jobs in recent years.

While the NBA remains chaotic, the reigning champion Celtics are cruising toward the end of another successful campaign. They have a 58-20 record with four regular-season games remaining, setting themselves up to be the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Nuggets firing coach Michael Malone ‘doesn't seem right' to Warriors' Steve Kerr originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Warriors coach Steve Kerr reacted like every NBA fan regarding the Denver Nuggets’ firing of coach Michael Malone on Tuesday.

“Shocked, like everyone,” Kerr told reporters 90 minutes before the Warriors tipped off with the Phoenix Suns at PHX Arena. “Mike has obviously been a great, great coach, championship coach, and fantastic record, and again, like with [former Memphis Grizzlies coach] Taylor [Jenkins], you don’t expect anything like this, this late in the season.

“And then as I said with Taylor, organizations have to do their own business and we aren’t privy to any of that, so I have no idea what was happening. So I can’t really comment on anything other than wishing Mike well because he’s done an amazing job. Doesn’t seem right but this is the business we’re in and … we’re all gonna suffer a similar fate at some point. That’s kind of the way it is.”

Malone, the winningest coach in Nuggets franchise history, stunningly was fired Tuesday, along with general manager Calvin Booth, with three regular-season games remaining.

Denver entered Tuesday in fourth place in the Western Conference with a 47-32 record. But they have struggled recently, losing four consecutive contests, including one to Kerr and the Warriors.

Malone’s dismissal comes 10 days after the Grizzlies fired Jenkins. Both Denver and Memphis will qualify for the postseason in some fashion, making the timing of the moves surprising.

“I think one thing that’s happened is, most teams are now owned by billionaires, big corporations,” Kerr told reporters. “So we’re all more expendable. There’s so much money in the business now, and there’s pluses and minuses to that. We’re all making bigger salaries than we were five years ago, but we’re all much more vulnerable because, I don’t think a lot of the owners are that concerned with firing a guy and paying them off to go away. Again, this is a business we chose and we all love it. But it’s not the most stable profession, that’s for sure.”

Kerr signed a two-year contract extension with the Warriors in February 2024, keeping him on Golden State’s sideline through the 2025-26 NBA season.

In light of the Malone news, Kerr was asked how much longer he wants to coach.

“I don’t know,” Kerr said. “I love what I do. I’m in an amazing position with great support from my ownership and management and obviously have talented players and the idea of continuing on with this group is very appealing because I love every single day.

“But who knows how long that lasts and I don’t spend a whole lot of time worrying about it. I just enjoy it and we’ll see where it all goes.”

It’s safe to assume that as long as Steph Curry and Draymond Green are on the Warriors’ roster, Kerr will be their coach.

But if we’ve learned anything from the firings of Jenkins and Malone, it’s that things can change quickly.

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