Category: Basketball

Jaxson Hayes tapped Luka Doncic on the leg. Maxi Kleber walked by and quietly did the same. And Markieff Morris plopped down next to his teammate and put his arm on the back of Doncic’s chair.

The entire time the Lakers' star guard just stared blankly ahead. The joy he brought since getting comfortable in Los Angeles disappeared, a miserable 0 for 7 first shift compounding upon a performance he called “unacceptable” the night before in a loss to the Golden State Warriors.

With the Lakers playing one of the worst teams in the league in the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, Doncic was getting scorched by pesky guard Jose Alvarado and was plainly frustrated.

Read more:Lakers show fight, but Luka Doncic's 'unacceptable' struggles prove costly in loss to Warriors

But when he checked back in during the second quarter, the Lakers had found a little footing and traces of rhythm, and he cut backdoor to score his first basket on an easy layup.

The Lakers weren’t perfect the rest of the way in a 124-108 win in their penultimate home game of the regular season, but they certainly weren’t smothered in the dark cloud that covered Doncic for much of the previous two games.

And as they worked their way through his slump, the Lakers did the kind of things they’ll certainly need in bulk as they prepare for back-to-back games against the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder.

The game came amid discussion surrounding a worrisome stat for the Lakers (47-30) — the team actually had been outscored by 24 points in the 320 minutes Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves had shared the court.

“I don't make a ton of it,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said before the game. “I don't think the expectation, at least internally for us, was we're going to be the 2016-2017 Warriors or this year's Oklahoma City Thunder. We didn't expect that. So the disjointedness of an in-season trade is there.

“Those guys, I think, are committed to making it work with each other when they're on the court. ... They're committed to making it work when there are two of them on the court or one of them is on the court. It's a work in progress. We all knew that was gonna be the case."

In the best moments Friday, the trio looked almost unstoppable. James found Reaves in the corner on a no-look pass for a three-pointer. Doncic hit James underneath the basket for an easy bucket. And in the game’s biggest highlight, Reaves led a fast break in the middle of the court with Doncic running to the right and James to the left, flipping the ball behind his back before connecting with James on a lob for a dunk.

The three have been pretty dominant when playing together in recent games. Against the Warriors, despite Doncic’s struggles, the Lakers were plus-13.9 points per 100 possessions with James, Reaves and Doncic on the court. Against Houston earlier in the week, the Lakers were plus-20.8 when they played.

They all had their moments of dominance against the Pelicans (21-56). Doncic finished with 35 points, looking like a player who recaptured his mojo. Reaves continued his play as one of the league’s top complementary scorers, finishing with 30 points on only 13 attempts. And James, who said he’s feeling his best since injuring his groin, scored 27 and had eight assists.

The win, combined with Denver’s loss to the Warriors, has the Lakers third in the West.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

How Steph, Warriors exorcised Nuggets demons in statement win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – For the first six and half minutes of the second quarter, the two biggest superstars of Friday night’s Warriors game against the Denver Nuggets, Steph Curry and Nikola Jokić, were either sitting on the bench or waiting their turn at the scorer’s table. 

It was up to their teammates to either carry the load or crumble without them. The Warriors hadn’t beat the Nuggets since the 2022 NBA playoffs. These two teams had played nine games since then, including six on Golden State’s home court at Chase Center, and all nine ended in the Nuggets’ favor. 

Behind Curry’s 36 points, the Warriors finally overcame their Denver demons to the roaring tune of a 118-104 win. First, it all began without Curry. 

Having to rally back from a 10-point deficit after the first quarter, the second quarter began without Curry and Jokić on the floor. If the Nuggets took advantage of Curry’s absence, the Warriors could have found themselves in an impossible hole to climb out of on the second night of a back-to-back in which they came home from a six-game road trip that spanned two weeks.

Instead, the Warriors opened with a 7-0 run through the first three-plus minutes of the second quarter, bringing them within three points of the Nuggets, prompting a timeout from Denver coach Michael Malone. 

The Nuggets didn’t score until more than four minutes had passed in the second quarter. Upping the intensity and finding their second wind, the Warriors’ defense held the Nuggets to only 16 second-quarter points. All season long, opponents have crossed their fingers in hopes of slowing down Denver’s offense just enough, knowing fully stopping them almost never was going to happen. 

They shot 35 percent from the field in the second quarter (7 of 20) and went 2 of 10 from 3-point range. What changed?

“Just our physicality,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I thought we got into the ball, were more physical. The first quarter they were just doing anything they wanted. Jokić was incredible. They were hitting everything. Started forcing turnovers. 

“We forced 26 for the game, and it felt like the second quarter is when it changed.” 

Through the first 12 minutes, aside from a short stretch, the Warriors and Nuggets traded buckets. The Warriors scored a respectable 34 points in the opening frame on 54.5-percent shooting (12 of 22) and made half of their threes (4 of 8). But the Nuggets were even better, dropping 44 points on an absurd 70.8-percent clip and also shot 50 percent on 3-pointers (3 of 6). 

Denver’s size advantage saw them score 26 of its 44 first-quarter points in the paint. The Nuggets then only scored eight points in the paint during the second quarter. 

“They started to feel us,” Draymond Green said. “That first quarter was kind of a track meet. You shoot, I shoot. Whoever made the most shots won the quarter. They did, and we gave them 44 points. But we got our defense settled in to start the second quarter, and then when the group came back they continued it for the rest of the quarter. Sixteen-point quarter was huge. 

“Once we got the 44 under control I think we pretty much took care of them the rest of the game.” 

While Curry watched from the sidelines, a group of Green, Brandin Podziemski, Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody and Quinten Post shined. By the time Curry came back, as well as Jokic, the Warriors only trailed by one point with five minutes and 33 seconds left in the first half. 

Everybody was part of the action during that span. No one player went on a major scoring run.

Butler scored four points, Moody had three, Post had three, and both Green and Podziemski each contributed two points. The Warriors had a 14-5 advantage to begin the second quarter once Curry was back. 

“That’s been a really good lineup for us since we got Jimmy,” Kerr said. “That top of the second, top of the fourth lineup. It’s been very effective against everybody.” 

Defense fuels the five-man unit. The spacing Post provides as a 7-footer gives Butler the necessary room to work with. And when Podziemski shoots like he has the last two games, making 12 threes and scoring 54 points, it’s going to be a tough group to beat for any team. 

They played a tad under 10 minutes together overall and were a plus-10, outscoring the Nuggets 22-12.

Green, however, has an even simpler answer than Kerr.

“Jimmy Butler,” Green said. “Got another one in that group. That group has struggled at times because we just – no No. 1 out there. We got a one now. … Yeah, we added Jimmy Butler to that group and he changes everything.” 

But who are we kidding? This team still jumps on the back of Curry and rides him to the finish line. 

Curry in the final five and a half minutes of the second quarter scored 12 points. Jokic scored two. The Warriors as a whole scored 32, putting them ahead by six points going into halftime.

Jokic then exploded for 14 points in the third quarter, five more than Curry’s nine points, only for Steph to outscore him 8-2 in the fourth quarter. 

The Warriors know the back and forth nature of the Western Conference standings. They understand what they must do to avoid the dreaded play-in tournament. And Curry, he was well aware of the Warriors’ losing streak to the Nuggets and what a win over them would mean spiritually for a team to take down three of the conference’s best in a grueling gauntlet of the schedule. 

“We knew about the streak for sure,” he said. “It is a little extra motivation of needing a win to stand pat in the standings. And just the idea that it’s a back-to-back and everybody talks a little about schedule losses and all that type of stuff. We wanted to rise to the level of the challenge of coming off a six-game, 13-day road trip and getting a good night sleep in your bed. 

“But you got to go back to work and perform, and we did that. It’s nice to beat those guys, because it’s been rough.”

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How Steph, Warriors excorcised Nuggets demons in statement win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – For the first six and half minutes of the second quarter, the two biggest superstars of Friday night’s Warriors game against the Denver Nuggets, Steph Curry and Nikola Jokić, were either sitting on the bench or waiting their turn at the scorer’s table. 

It was up to their teammates to either carry the load or crumble without them. The Warriors hadn’t beat the Nuggets since the 2022 NBA playoffs. These two teams had played nine games since then, including six on Golden State’s home court at Chase Center, and all nine ended in the Nuggets’ favor. 

Behind Curry’s 36 points, the Warriors finally overcame their Denver demons to the roaring tune of a 118-104 win. First, it all began without Curry. 

Having to rally back from a 10-point deficit after the first quarter, the second quarter began without Curry and Jokić on the floor. If the Nuggets took advantage of Curry’s absence, the Warriors could have found themselves in an impossible hole to climb out of on the second night of a back-to-back in which they came home from a six-game road trip that spanned two weeks.

Instead, the Warriors opened with a 7-0 run through the first three-plus minutes of the second quarter, bringing them within three points of the Nuggets, prompting a timeout from Denver coach Michael Malone. 

The Nuggets didn’t score until more than four minutes had passed in the second quarter. Upping the intensity and finding their second wind, the Warriors’ defense held the Nuggets to only 16 second-quarter points. All season long, opponents have crossed their fingers in hopes of slowing down Denver’s offense just enough, knowing fully stopping them almost never was going to happen. 

They shot 35 percent from the field in the second quarter (7 of 20) and went 2 of 10 from 3-point range. What changed?

“Just our physicality,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I thought we got into the ball, were more physical. The first quarter they were just doing anything they wanted. Jokić was incredible. They were hitting everything. Started forcing turnovers. 

“We forced 26 for the game, and it felt like the second quarter is when it changed.” 

Through the first 12 minutes, aside from a short stretch, the Warriors and Nuggets traded buckets. The Warriors scored a respectable 34 points in the opening frame on 54.5-percent shooting (12 of 22) and made half of their threes (4 of 8). But the Nuggets were even better, dropping 44 points on an absurd 70.8-percent clip and also shot 50 percent on 3-pointers (3 of 6). 

Denver’s size advantage saw them score 26 of its 44 first-quarter points in the paint. The Nuggets then only scored eight points in the paint during the second quarter. 

“They started to feel us,” Draymond Green said. “That first quarter was kind of a track meet. You shoot, I shoot. Whoever made the most shots won the quarter. They did, and we gave them 44 points. But we got our defense settled in to start the second quarter, and then when the group came back they continued it for the rest of the quarter. Sixteen-point quarter was huge. 

“Once we got the 44 under control I think we pretty much took care of them the rest of the game.” 

While Curry watched from the sidelines, a group of Green, Brandin Podziemski, Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody and Quinten Post shined. By the time Curry came back, as well as Jokic, the Warriors only trailed by one point with five minutes and 33 seconds left in the first half. 

Everybody was part of the action during that span. No one player went on a major scoring run.

Butler scored four points, Moody had three, Post had three, and both Green and Podziemski each contributed two points. The Warriors had a 14-5 advantage to begin the second quarter once Curry was back. 

“That’s been a really good lineup for us since we got Jimmy,” Kerr said. “That top of the second, top of the fourth lineup. It’s been very effective against everybody.” 

Defense fuels the five-man unit. The spacing Post provides as a 7-footer gives Butler the necessary room to work with. And when Podziemski shoots like he has the last two games, making 12 threes and scoring 54 points, it’s going to be a tough group to beat for any team. 

They played a tad under 10 minutes together overall and were a plus-10, outscoring the Nuggets 22-12.

Green, however, has an even simpler answer than Kerr.

“Jimmy Butler,” Green said. “Got another one in that group. That group has struggled at times because we just – no No. 1 out there. We got a one now. … Yeah, we added Jimmy Butler to that group and he changes everything.” 

But who are we kidding? This team still jumps on the back of Curry and rides him to the finish line. 

Curry in the final five and a half minutes of the second quarter scored 12 points. Jokic scored two. The Warriors as a whole scored 32, putting them ahead by six points going into halftime.

Jokic then exploded for 14 points in the third quarter, five more than Curry’s nine points, only for Steph to outscore him 8-2 in the fourth quarter. 

The Warriors know the back and forth nature of the Western Conference standings. They understand what they must do to avoid the dreaded play-in tournament. And Curry, he was well aware of the Warriors’ losing streak to the Nuggets and what a win over them would mean spiritually for a team to take down three of the conference’s best in a grueling gauntlet of the schedule. 

“We knew about the streak for sure,” he said. “It is a little extra motivation of needing a win to stand pat in the standings. And just the idea that it’s a back-to-back and everybody talks a little about schedule losses and all that type of stuff. We wanted to rise to the level of the challenge of coming off a six-game, 13-day road trip and getting a good night sleep in your bed. 

“But you got to go back to work and perform, and we did that. It’s nice to beat those guys, because it’s been rough.”

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Jaylen has jokes for Porzingis after big man's nasty cut on nose originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Kristaps Porzingis quickly diffused a scary moment Friday night at TD Garden.

The Boston Celtics big man took an elbow to the face from Phoenix Suns wing Cody Martin while defending the paint in the fourth quarter of Friday’s matchup and started bleeding from his nose while lying on the hardwood.

Porzingis quickly got to his feet with a big smile, however, and started pumping up the home crowd as he walked toward the locker room with a trainer.

The cut on Porzingis’ nose required stitches, but while he didn’t return to the game– a 123-103 Celtics rout — he seemed to avoid any serious injury. That meant he was open to chiding from his teammates, and good friend Jaylen Brown happily obliged.

“I told KP, ‘The stitches can’t make you uglier than you already are,'” Brown joked in his 1-on-1 with Abby Chin after the game, as seen in the video player above.

Celtics big man Luke Kornet, meanwhile, got a rise out of watching Porzingis channel his inner wrestler by hyping up the crowd as blood streamed from his nose.

“I feel like for anyone to have just blood dripping down the middle of their face — kind of the whole wrestler persona, the UFC-type persona — I feel like KP was perfect for that,” Kornet said in an exclusive interview with Celtics Postgame Live.

Porzingis has always had a great relationship with the Garden crowd, and his ability to feed off their energy even while dealing with a bloody nose will only add to his legend in Boston.

The C’s are back in action Sunday at TD Garden against the Washington Wizards, with tip-off at 6 p.m. ET.

Podz reveals mindset shift behind 3-point shooting revival  originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski saved his best for the most vital stretch of the season. 

Since March 18, the 22-year-old guard leads the NBA in 3-pointers made with 34 (h/t StatMuse) after netting four in Golden State’s 118-104 win over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night at Chase Center.

Battling injuries and struggling to establish a shooting rhythm early on in the season, the second-year Warriors guard revealed the mindset reset behind his recent three-point revival.

“Yeah, I got some great people on my corner that I talk with extensively about it,” Podziemski admitted to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Bob Fitzgerald and Kelenna Azubuike on “Warriors Postgame Live.”

“Really breaking shooting down to the physics of it: How my body moves and things that are going to help me personally. [I’m] just trying to stay consistent and stay in the moment.” 

On Thursday night, Podziemski netted a career-best 8 of 10 from 3-point range in the Warriors’ win over the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Although Podziemski’s 3-point shooting on Friday night fell below his personal record, his overall performance in recent weeks has been remarkable.

Spot the difference 🤷‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/EUHIwv3JT7

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 5, 2025

Teammate Steph Curry, who has been on a run of his own, sits at 32 3-pointers made since March 18 – two behind Podziemski. 

Cognizant of the ups and downs of playing against the best, Podziemski is prioritizing a level-headed approach when it comes to shooting from deep. 

“Sometimes, you make two, three in a row and you get excited and start taking bad ones or rush it,” Podziemski added. “[I’m] just trying to stay in the moment and take one shot at a time, like it’s my last shot. And that’s all I’ve been focused on. 

“Like I said to you guys in November when I was struggling, I always [knew] the percentages were going to even out to where they should be because I know how much time and effort I put into the gym. To see it paying off at the right time of the year, it’s really good for me.” 

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What we learned as Steph Curry ignites Warriors' incredible win over Nuggets originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO – Following a two-week road trip and playing their second game within 24 hours, the Warriors shook off their early lethargy to summon enough energy to drop their own personal colossus Friday night.

With Stephen Curry leading the way, scoring 36 points, the Warriors came together for a 118-104 victory over Denver, snapping a nine-game regular-season losing streak against the Nuggets.

The Warriors (46-31) outscored Denver 84-60 over the final three quarters, delighting the sellout crowd (18,064) and moving within a half-game of the fourth-place Nuggets (47-31) in the Western Conference.

Golden State remains the Western Conference’s No. 5 seed with the win, one game up on the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Brandin Podziemski finished with 26 points and Jimmy Butler added 19 to support Curry’s game-high total. The Warriors forced 26 Denver turnovers, off which they scored 23 points.

Here are three observations from Golden State’s third consecutive win in a four-game stretch against conference competitors:

Steph quickens sluggish pulses

The Warriors played in the first quarter in haze, with countless defensive lapses, more dribbling than passing and giving away eight points off turnovers. They looked like a team on the dark side of a back-to-back set after a two-week road trip.

After his teammates pulled it together enough to shave nine points off a 10-point lead while Jokic was on the bench early in the second quarter, Curry took it upon himself to restore his team’s lagging collective pulse.

Returning simultaneously with Jokic, Curry scored 12 of Golden State’s next 14 points – awakening the snoozing sellout crowd – to give the Warriors a 62-58 lead. After trailing by as much as 12 early, they went into intermission up 66-60.

Of Curry’s 19 first-half points, 12 came during his 5:33 stint in the quarter. His flurry, along with a revived defense (Denver scored 16 points in the quarter), put the Warriors in position to succeed.

Draymond vs. Joker

Given the monumental task of trying to keep Jokic from dominating the game, Draymond Green immediately tried to defend his way into the big man’s head.

It worked, initially. Frustrated with Green’s mongoose energy, Jokic aggressively shoved Draymond to the floor and was whistled for an offensive foul within the first three minutes of the game. Green lobbied for a flagrant, but crew chief Josh Tiven held firm.

It was clear Green, knowing the Nuggets follow the lead of the three-time NBA MVP, wanted to maximize his energy on defense. Jokic scored 15 points in the first quarter, 18 over the final three.

Multiple Warriors took turns defending Jokic, with Jonathan Kuminga the most prominent. Jokic totaled 33 points on 13-of-17 shooting from the field, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. He added 12 rebounds and nine assists.

Butler’s quiet-storm excellence

This was Butler’s introduction to a Warriors-Nuggets clash, and he fit right in with the physicality and the psychological warfare.

While Curry and Podziemski were splashing pretty jump shots, Butler, who was listed as questionable on the injury report with left forearm strain, committed to the dirty buckets that come amid crowds in the paint or under late-shot-clock pressure.

He was the third scorer the Warriors needed, but he also brought more than points, adding five assists, five steals, three rebounds and his usual late-game composure as Golden State held on down the stretch.

Butler’s 19 points came on 6-of-13 shooting from the field, including 1-of-3 from distance, and 6-of-6 from the foul line. He played 34 minutes and finished a team-high plus-21.

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