Category: Basketball

Injuries are making things interesting in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Let’s start with the Knicks.

New York played the second half of Wednesday’s loss with two healthy lead guards: Tyler Kolek and Delon Wright. The Clippers dominated the Knicks for much of the second half and walked out of The Garden with a win.

The Knicks will wake up Thursday morning in third place in the East, three games up on the Pacers with 10 games to play.

Can they maintain that three-game lead while dealing with injuries to their top three guards? Do they want to maintain the third seed – or is it better to drop to four?

These are all questions to ask over the next two weeks.

On the injury front, the Knicks will be without Jalen Brunson (ankle) for at least the next two games. (As an aside: if his rehab continues to go well, I think Brunson will be able to play in several regular season games before the postseason. This is important for New York because it gives Brunson some time to regain his rhythm/conditioning ahead of the postseason).

In addition to Brunson, the Knicks will probably be without Cam Payne for Friday’s game against Milwaukee. Payne sprained his ankle in the first half on Wednesday (while scoring 15 points). He wasn’t available in the second half.

Tom Thibodeau said it’s possible that Miles McBride returns on Friday, but he also said McBride has been limited in his court work as he rehabs a groin strain.

So it seems like the Knicks will be significantly short-handed on Friday in Milwaukee.  

They’ll face a Bucks team dealing with a serious injury to Damian Lillard. Lillard has a blood clot in his right calf and is out indefinitely.

You hate to see Lillard hurt; his injury will have a significant impact on the Eastern Conference playoff race and the postseason.

The Pacers, Pistons and Bucks are separated by two games in the standings. If the season finished today, the Knicks would play Milwaukee in the first round and, presumably, Boston in the second round.

If the Knicks fell to fourth place they would be lined up to play the Cavaliers in the second round. Is Cleveland a better matchup than Boston? That’s a matter of opinion. But you can make an argument that the Knicks have a better chance to advance in the second round if they finish fourth in the East than they would if they finish third.

They also have the seventh toughest remaining schedule in the NBA, per Tankathon.

ROBINSON BACK-TO-BACK

Mitchell Robinson has not yet been cleared by the Knicks medical staff to play in back-to-back games. He sat out of Tuesday’s win over Dallas and played 13 minutes on Wednesday against the Clippers.

The Knicks have three back-to-backs in their final eight games. Robinson told SNY that he’ll "probably" be cleared to play in back-to-backs before the end of the regular season.

“We’ll just see how it goes. Kind of still following doctors orders, making sure everything goes smoothly,” he said.

The Knicks’ final back-to-back is April 10-11.

Robinson doesn’t stay idle when he misses a game on a back-to-back. He said that he lifts, does conditioning work and does some game simulation while he’s out. If he can do that, it seems like he should be able to play in both games of a back-to-back soon.

HART ATTACK

Josh Hart had four assists in the first quarter on Wednesday but had to sit at the start of the second quarter due to foul trouble. Hart at times was being guarded by the Clippers’ big man. New York was able to take advantage of the scenario.

“We got good shots off of that, a stagger, back cut, those kind of things, dribble handoff, stuff like that,” Hart said.  Playing faster, that’s something that we want to do, especially with a five on me. I feel like we started to do that and the foul trouble threw us off.”

Hart’s play while guarded by a big is something to keep an eye on moving forward.

The Knicks had a tough night Wednesday, and it wasn't just their loss to the Clippers.

Despite dropping yet another game to a team with a record above .500 -- they sit at 11-18 this season against such teams -- Cam Payne missed the entire second half after spraining his ankle Wednesday night.

It's the latest injury to befell a Knicks point guard after Jalen Brunson's ankle sprain has knocked him out for weeks, and Miles McBride missing his third straight game due to a groin contusion. As was the case in Tuesday's win against the Mavericks, rookie Tyler Kolek was the backup point guard and played well. But the same could not be said against the Clippers.

"He’s capable. Just get in there and get it done," coach Tom Thibodeau said of Kolek's game. "Each game you learn. It tells you what you have to work on. It’s not just individual it’s collective how do we function as a team? We talked about not replacing Jalen individually we have to do it collectively."

Tuesday night, Kolek had one of his best professional performances, dishing nine assists in 19 minutes and change. But against the top-rated Clippers defense, the rookie had a bit more trouble.

In nearly 19 minutes on the court, Kolek did not score a point on 0-for-3 shooting and missed his two free-throw attempts. He did dish seven assists and came down with a rebound but made a turnover and was an overall minus-14 while on the floor. The Marquette product is still learning, and Wednesday's loss was eye-opening for him.

"My mindset is that I’m out there with four other guys who have asserted themselves in the NBA. They’re professionals. I’m just a rookie," Kolek explained. "I can’t come out there and have a mindset of just 'here, let these guys,' I’m the point guard, I still have to be assertive in leading the guys and getting them to where we want to get to. And following what coach needs me to do."

Thibodeau teams are built on defense, something Kolek struggled with in the third quarter when the Clippers turned the game around in their favor. Kolek was on the floor for 12 minutes and was a minus-11 in the frame, unable to defend the three-pointer.

"I have to be more organized. They kept coming out with that two-man game. I got to be better defending that," Kolek said. "Got split a couple of times, and they were getting loose for threes. I got to definitely be better on that end."

Kolek and the Knicks know those lessons are learned quicker while on the court, something the 24-year-old may see more of as the team waits for word on Payne's condition.

If Payne is unable to go in the team's next game, Friday at Milwaukee, Thibodeau feels the Knicks have "more than enough" with Kolek and veteran Delon Wright -- who played 12 minutes Wednesday -- playing the point. As the Knicks coach points out, with the injuries the team has to play cleaner and do things the right way.

"The points we gave up off the turnovers were [high]. When you’re shorthanded, that’s probably the difference in the game," Thibodeau said. "Our margin of error is small. We have to play extremely hard and smart but those hustle points are huge."

"It’s tough. Injuries are always tough and for some reason, they are smacking us in the same position," Josh Hart said after the game. "We just have to piece it together… It’s going to be tough but we just have to figure out ways to scratch out wins and hopefully, we get those guys back."

Until they do get their guards back, Kolek will be asked to do more something he wanted but wished happened under better circumstances. But he knows he has to stay ready, whether he's starting or sitting on the bench cheering. That's the mindset he's learning from Payne, who Kolek credits for getting him ready.

Payne has thrived in the league for so long being a capable bench guard and Kolek says he's constantly picking Payne's brain on how to prepare and make an impact when his number is called.

"I have to be more aggressive," Kolek reiterated. "I’m out there learning. Just have to lean on the other guys helping out 110 percent every time I'm out there." 

"[I'm seeing] Steady improvement. He’ll get better," Thibodeau assessed. "Like most rookies, you go through a learning curve as he understands players better, schemes better, it’s a different game. I like Tyler a lot."

All it took was 70 seconds to lose focus, to stop playing with the right intention, the right mindset, the right spirit.

All it took was 70 seconds for the Lakers to see a six-point lead turn all the way to a one-point deficit, a stretch coming in the final moments of the fourth quarter that it seemed likely, if not certain, that they’d lose for the fourth consecutive time.

Yet all it took was one-tenth of one second, a blink, for LeBron James to tip in a missed Luka Doncic floater to give the Lakers a dramatic 120-119 win against the Pacers.

James struggled to score, failing to make a field goal through three quarters for the first time in his career, not counting a game in which he didn’t play the entire second half because of an injury.

Early in the fourth quarter, James got hot and extended his streak of games with at least 10 points to 1,283 games thanks to quick work in transition and some deft shot-making, but it was far from his night. James finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.

He had help, Doncic and Austin Reaves each carrying the offense for long stretches until James got right. Late in the game, both Doncic and Reaves struggled as the Pacers pushed — Reaves missing a pair of open threes and committing a key turnover and Doncic getting attacked on three consecutive possessions to turn into those seven huge Pacers points and a one-point lead.

But the Lakers got the stop they needed and gave themselves a chance, creating a great look for Doncic’s potential first game-winner as a Laker. The ball bounced softly off the rim only for James to finish the play just as the horn sounded.

After a video review, the basket was confirmed, the Lakers’ three-game losing streak over.

Doncic finished with 34 points, seven rebounds and seven assists while Reaves had 24 points and five assists.

The Lakers' recent struggles have been significant enough that the team took what’s become a seemingly drastic step — holding a pregame shoot-around. It’s something the Lakers haven’t done in an official sense since Jan. 30 in Washington.

“First time in a long time we've been on the court together, so it was great," coach JJ Redick said before the game. "Cleaned up some stuff offensively. Got our defensive breakdowns in, got some offensive breakdowns in, did some script. It was wonderful.

"Spent yesterday talking about our [switching] offense. We, it's funny, we put together an edit. Had a couple [after timeout] stuff. We wanted to clean up and put together an edit of 11 plays of our [switching] attacks. And if you just watch those plays, you're like, 'Oh man, they're really good. That's good basketball.' Unfortunately, it was the only 11 plays from the Orlando game, so … We'll be better.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

NEW YORK (AP) — Orlando Robinson had 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and added 12 rebounds to help the Toronto Raptors rout the Brooklyn Nets 116-86 on Wednesday night.

Eleventh in the Eastern Conference, the Raptors won their second straight game and handed the 12th-place Nets their fifth straight loss.

Jonathan Mogbo added 15 points and RJ Barrett and Scottie Barnes each had 15. The Raptors won at Washington on Monday night to snap a four-game losing streak.

Nic Claxton led Brooklyn with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Ziaire Williams added 13 points.

Takeaways

Raptors: Toronto is 18-16 in its last 34 games.

Nets: Brooklyn is 1-8 in its last nine and 2-15 in its last 17.

Key moment

Toronto took control early, leading 32-18 after the first quarter.

Key stat

Robinson had 10 first-quarter points, making four attempts from the field and two free throws without a miss.

Up next

Both teams play Friday night. The Raptors host Charlotte, and the Nets host the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Knicks missed their first chance to clinch a postseason berth, falling to the Los Angeles Clippers 126-113 on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

New York started well, but Los Angeles – the NBA's second-best defensive team in the league – tightened the screws holding the home team to 18 of 40 (45 percent) from the floor in the second half. On the other end, the Knicks’ poor three-point defense got torched, coceeding 11 threes on 18 attempts (61 percent) in the second half.

Los Angeles grabbed control of the game with a monster third quarter – outscoring New York 40-29 in the period with eight made threes – led by James Harden, who scored 16 of his 29 points. Kawhi Leonard (6-for-9 in the second half) added 27 points on the night.

"They got going, and it was a problem," head coach Tom Thibodeau said after the game.

Karl-Anthony Towns was the lone Knick with any firepower on the night. He finished with 34 points on 11-for-20 shooting (4-for-7 from three) with 13 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and was a plus-2 in 39 minutes.

The Knicks (45-27), playing the second night of a back-to-back against a rested opponent, dropped another game to a team with a winning record and are now 11-18 on the year against such foes. The Clippers improved to 41-31.

Here are some takeaways...

- The Knicks opened up the first quarter playing unselfish basketball, tallying 12 assists on 14 made baskets in the quarter. Josh Hart dished out four assists and Mikal Bridges – adding this to his game in Jalen Brunson’s absence –  had five.

New York opened up a 33-20 lead while knocking down 56 percent in the opening period with Cam Payne – in the starting lineup with Miles McBride still sidelined due to a groin injury – connecting on 4 of 6 shots and two from downtown for 10 points. Towns added 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting with six rebounds.

And that was the extent of the good news. Hart led the Knicks with a plus-7 in 34 minutes but had just seven points, six assists, and six rebounds on the night.

Bridges made just one bucket after the half to finish with 17 points on 7-for-16 shooting with nine assists and four rebounds for a plus-2 in 40 minutes. OG Anunoby went 8-for-11 in the second half to finish with 28 points but was a minus-8 in 37 minutes.

- The Clippers' 19-9 edge in second chance points and 14-2 edge on the fastbreak were a big difference in the game.

“We had good movement, we had 35 assists and the turnovers weren’t high, but the points we gave up off the turnovers were,” Thibodeau said after a 10 turnover game for his side. “I think we gave up 18 there and 19 on second chance points. And that’s a lot, particularly when you’re shorthanded. That’s probably the difference in the game.

“Our margin of error is small. We gotta play extremely hard and smart, and those hustle points are huge.”

- Nine seconds into the second quarter, Hart picked up his third foul of the first half, forcing him to the bench and his impact on the game was rather limited from then on. That brought out a lineup of Bridges, Landry Shamet, Precious Achiuwa, Mitchell Robinson, and Tyler Kolek. Despite that, the home side held the visitors to a 12-9 five-minute stretch with Bridges scoring seven. Of course, the Knicks – with KAT, Anunoby, and Payne back in – allowed an 11-2 LA run as they went 1-for-4 and committed a pair of turnovers.

The bench unit was hit hard in the game; Shamet was a minus-29 in 19 minutes and Robinson a minus-22 in 13 minutes.

The Knicks shot 10-for-19 in the second, but the lead was down to one as the Clippers connected on 15 of 28 attempts as they were out-bounded 15-6 with LA grabbing seven offensive boards. The warning signs of a game slipping away were loud.

- Payne, who landed funny and appeared to twist an ankle in the first quarter, was ruled out at halftime due to a right ankle sprain. He came out at the interval to test the ankle before returning to the locker room. 

As a starter, he was effective despite the injury, scoring 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting (3-for-6 from three) with two rebounds for a plus-2  in 18 first-half minutes.

- Five minutes into the second half, the Clippers had their first lead of the game, capping an 8-0 run with a Kris Dunn wide-open corner three. Towns, scoring 10 in the period, got the Knicks back into the game, but Harden had the Clippers up 10 to enter the fourth using a 16-3 run in the quarter’s final three minutes.

- Delon Wright replaced Kolek at the point to start the fourth, and he was called for a technical foul for a flop while trying to set a screen in the quarter’s early minutes. The visitors remained in control, outsourcing New York 15-7 in the first four minutes, and the air had totally left the arena.

- With five assists in the second period, Kolek now has 22 assists and 0 turnovers in his last three games played. That stretch – over 50 minutes of action – was snapped by an errant pass in the third. He has 48 assists on the year to just 10 turnovers in 36 games this year.

Kolek failed to register a point (0-for-3 from the floor and 0-for-2 from the line) with seven assists and was a minus-14 in 19 minutes.

Highlights

Hot start tonight at MSG ♨️ pic.twitter.com/ux7OG4whrB

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) March 26, 2025

KAT 💪 pic.twitter.com/2f9VXFZcCL

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) March 27, 2025

Whats next

New York heads off to Milwaukee for a single-game road trip, facing the Bucks on Friday for an 8 p.m. tip.

Celtics-Suns takeaways: Porzingis leads 132-102 rout without Tatum originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics outscorched the Suns in Phoenix to make it seven straight wins after a 132-102 result Wednesday night.

Without Jayson Tatum (ankle), the Celtics jumped off to a hot start, leading 21-9 before taking a 42-38 lead after one. Boston drilled its triples early on, nailing 10 of 17 with seven of the eight players who played making at least one. Kristaps Porzingis went 3-for-3 from deep while Jrue Holiday also added nine points, but not all via distance.

Keeping Phoenix in it was Kevin Durant, who led all scorers after one with 16 points on 6 of 8 shooting. No other Sun recorded more than five points (Devin Booker, Collin Gillespie).

Boston then turned it up multiple notches in the second, leading by as much as 25 points with the 3-point disparity continuing to show. The Celtics increased its made triples to 14, while the Suns went a cold 0-for-9 from beyond the arc in the period. Four Boston starters eclipsed double-digit points, led by Porzingis’ 17. Durant pushed his point total to 20, but no other Sun had more than nine (Booker) as Boston led 73-54.

A few notches later in the third, Boston bumped its largest lead to 34 as its stellar shooting continued. Porzingis moved to 30 points while Jaylen Brown followed with 24. Durant still carried Phoenix with 30, but Booker’s 13 remained the second most as the side’s 3-point woes persisted.

The final quarter was just about getting through unscathed without injuries, and Boston did just that as Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard got to add to their stats, as did Neemias Queta.

With the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, here are three takeaways from the Celtics’ blowout win over the Suns:

Kristaps Porzingis exhibits his best version

Porzingis’ health has been a frequent question mark, but tonight was one of those games where he exhibited his best version. The 29-year-old finished tied for a game-high 30 points on a hot 10 of 15 clip overall, including making 4 of 5 triples.

He added eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks to his stat line in 29 minutes, not playing in the fourth quarter with the game wrapped up. If Joe Mazzulla can continue to manage Porzingis’ minutes properly, he can win the team some playoff games singlehandedly.

Jaylen Brown bounces back

After a quiet game against the Sacramento Kings on Monday despite 4 of 5 shooting, Brown made sure to step up in Tatum’s absence.

The 28-year-old recorded 24 points, second on the team, with a 7 of 15 clip from the field (4 of 9 from deep) while converting all six free-throw attempts. He added five assists, three rebounds and a steal to his stat sheet in 28 minutes, also not needing to play in the fourth.

C’s outscorch Phoenix from distance

Sometimes the modern NBA is simple: Just make more 3-pointers than your opponent. Boston found a rhythm early with 10 first-quarter triples made. Phoenix kept within distance with four, but missed nine attempts in the second quarter without a make and fell behind permanently.

Boston finished the game making 22 of 52 3-point attempts, a clip good for 42.3% on extremely high volume. Phoenix, on the other hand, ended up 13 of 41 from distance, only 31.7%. While Durant went 3 of 4, Booker went 1 of 6 and Cody Martin went 1 of 7, to name a few.

It was a stark difference to the Celtics, with Al Horford being the worst starter from distance (2 of 7). Porzingis, Brown and Derrick White all made at least four triples, with Sam Hauser going 3 of 4 off the bench. Pritchard struggled, however, mustering just a 1 of 8 clip on the night. Still, he totaled seven points, six rebounds, four assists and a steal to help see off the game in the fourth.

Boston’s second and final regular-season matchup vs. Phoenix will be at home on Friday, April 4. Tip-off time is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET.

The LeBron James-Stephen A. Smith feud doesn't look like it will be ending anytime soon, as the Lakers superstar trashed Smith on the network that employs the "First Take" host.

Appearing on Wednesday's episode of ESPN's "The Pat McAfee Show," James talked about his confrontation with Smith during a timeout at a Lakers game this month and how Smith has addressed the incident multiple times.

“He’s like on a Taylor Swift tour run right now," James said. "It started off with [Smith saying], ‘I didn’t want to address it. I didn’t want to address it. I wasn’t going to address it, but since the video came out, I feel the need to address it.’ Mother— are you kidding me? If there’s one person that couldn’t wait until the video had dropped so you could address it, it was your a—. Like, seriously?"

Smith has characterized the interaction as James "making sure I mind what I say about his son,” a reference to James' oldest son and Lakers teammate Bronny James. Smith previously said on air that Bronny should play in the G League this year rather than split time with the NBA.

“I am pleading with LeBron James as a father: Stop this,” Smith said on the Jan. 29 episode of "First Take." “Stop this. We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad.”

Read more:Lakers' Bronny James scores career-high 39 points in G League game: ‘I belong out there'

Smith walked back his criticism a bit after Bronny had a good game. But James told McAfee that Smith had "completely missed the whole point."

"Never would I ever not allow people to talk about the sport, criticize players about what they do on the court," James said. "That is your job to criticize or be in a position where if a guy’s not performing, that’s all part of the game."

But, James added, “when you take it and you get personal with it, it’s my job to not only protect my damn household but protect the players. ... And I know he’s gonna be happy as hell. He’s gonna be smiling from ear to ear when he hears me talking about him again. Oh my God. He’s gonna get home and get some ice cream out of his f— freezer and sit in his chair in his tighty whities on the couch.”

Oddly enough, Smith already responded to a different part of the James interview before the show even aired. A clip from the prerecorded interview was released ahead of the full show. In it, James proclaimed Milwaukee Bucks star "Giannis Antetokounmpo would have 250 points in a game in the ‘70s."

Read more:Stephen A. Smith says LeBron James confronting him was 'weak': 'I was talking about you,' not Bronny

Smith addressed the comment Wednesday on "First Take" before the entire James interview aired.

"Here’s the problem with what LeBron James did. It's still disrespectful to the previous eras. And there's no call for it," Smith said. "And so when he does what he does on that level, that's him passive-aggressively, yet again, finding a way to take shots because inherently he has a problem with himself being compared to dudes from previous eras.”

Even though he had no way of knowing Smith would say any of that, James told McAfee after making his comment about Antetokounmpo: "I would be able to play in any era."

Smith has yet to publicly respond to anything else from the James interview.

Read more:Stephen A. Smith: 'I might have been wrong' about Bronny James' NBA readiness

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.