Category: Basketball

Huerter's ‘revenge game' vs. Kings spoils DeRozan's historic night originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

A familiar face spoiled DeMar DeRozan’s historic accomplishment. 

On a night the star Kings forward became the 27th player in NBA history to score 25,000 points, Kevin Huerter got revenge on his former team, handing Sacramento a 128-116 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday at Golden 1 Center. 

Huerter, who was traded to Chicago in the same deal that sent De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs in February, made his mark in his return to Sacramento, erupting for 25 points while adding five rebounds, seven assists and four steals.

It was intentional. The former Kings guard was looking for retaliation.

“One-hundred percent revenge game,” Huerter told reporters (h/t ABC 10’s Matt George). “One-hundred percent. So, that felt good [to] come out of here with a dub.” 

Kevin Huerter didn't even try to pretend tonight wasn't about revenge against the Sacramento Kings. 👇 pic.twitter.com/uS7tSFjmB7

— Matt George (@MattGeorgeSAC) March 21, 2025

Malik Monk, who scored an impressive five 3-pointers in the first quarter, led the way for the Kings with 34 points. Kings big man Trey Lyles contributed 22 points and six rebounds for Sacramento off the bench. 

No bucket, however, was as significant as DeRozan’s personalized mid-range bucket in the dying minutes of the third quarter. 

Sixteen NBA seasons in the making, DeRozan recognizes the privilege of accomplishing such historic feat – even if it’s going to take time to process its significance. 

“It hasn’t really hit me,” DeRozan told reporters. “You know, it sucks losing. I think maybe tomorrow, day off it [will] kind of sink in. 

“It’s always an honor. It’s an honor period to still be able to play this game at a high level. My 16th year being able to be recognized wherever it is of scorers in this league. I’ve been a fan of this league since I was a kid. 

“I have nothing but love and respect for all the people that came before the people who built this league. To be able to be niched in any type of history in this league is an honor.”

Deebo is in legendary company 👑 pic.twitter.com/Ghj9WBQymG

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) March 21, 2025

Shooting 9 of 22 from the floor, DeRozan finished with 22 points, four rebounds and five assists. 

Like Huerter and Kings guard Zach LaVine, DeRozan also faced a former team in Chicago on Thursday night. 

No stranger to the scenario, the 35-year-old understands the motivation behind Huerter’s play. 

“ …  He came in here like he had a grudge, and he played like it,” DeRozan said. “He made big shots.

“He came up big and put up 25 for him. That’s how it goes sometimes when you’re playing against your former team.” 

Huerter might have gotten revenge – and spoiled DeRozan’s historic night along the way – but, as Monk recognizes, the star forward is already at the doorstep of league immortality. 

“Man, a lot of people don’t even get to the NBA,” Monk told reporters. “For him to do that, it’s crazy.

“I’m mad we didn’t get the win for him. Hats off to DeMar. That’s why he’s going to be in the Hall of Fame.”

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Kerr provides Steph injury update after Warriors star exits win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Warriors pulled out a 117-114 win over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night at Chase Center, but the bigger story from the game was Steph Curry’s injury exit after a scary fall in the third quarter.

Coach Steve Kerr shared a promising postgame update on the star guard, who was ruled out with a pelvic contusion shortly after heading to the Golden State locker room.

“[Curry] is getting an MRI right now,” Kerr told reporters. “He just kind of fell on his pelvic, tailbone area.

“He was trying to come back. He thought he might be able to come back, and we just decided not to risk anything. Hopefully, it’s not bad, but he’s getting imaging right now.”

After the game, forward Draymond Green reflected on his perspective of Curry’s fall.

“He hit that ground hard,” Green said. “You could hear it. It was crazy. Obviously, a very scary moment for us and for him. Hopefully, he’s good.”

Kerr acknowledged this injury is similar to the one Curry sustained in March 2021. After a 3-point attempt to end the third quarter against the Houston Rockets, Curry landed on a metal step in the bench area.

The Warriors initially stated the diagnosis then was a tailbone contusion, though it later was revealed that Curry actually suffered a hairline fracture. He missed five games following that injury before finishing the season on a tear to earn a third-place finish in NBA MVP voting.

If Curry does miss any time, the Warriors have fared well in the 10 games their star has missed this season — including Tuesday’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks. In total, Golden State entered Thursday with a 7-3 record when Curry sits.

Of course, the Warriors would greatly prefer to have their two-time MVP available than not, especially heading into the final stretch of the regular season in a tightly packed Western Conference playoff picture.

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With or without coach Tyronn Lue patrolling the sideline, the Clippers will play yet another meaningful game against another tough Western Conference foe in the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night at the Intuit Dome.

They are now the seventh seed in the West, which would put them in the play-in tournament. But they are only 3½ games behind the fifth-seeded Grizzlies and entered Thursday one game behind the sixth-seeded Golden State Warriors. The Clippers (39-30) own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Grizzlies (2-0) and Warriors (3-0).

The Clippers also play Oklahoma City at home on Sunday. The Thunder (57-12) have the best record in the NBA. The Clippers are looking to take a stand in these games, knowing how important each win is to their chances of inching up in the uber-tough West and securing a playoff spot.

“All three teams that we have this week are ahead of us as far as with better records, two of them in the Western Conference. They were statement games,” guard Norman Powell said. “You want to go out there and play and show that we can compete and beat these teams. This is playoff time. I think we have 12 games left. …

Read more:No coach, no problem as Clippers rise up to beat NBA-leading Cavaliers

"So it’s all about positioning and playing your best brand of basketball. Down the stretch of games and getting ready for the playoffs, it’s always good to have the top teams that have kind of solidified their one, two, three spots in the postseason, to go and see where we’re at and see where we can improve to go out there and be the team that we need to be going down this last stretch.”

Lue has missed four of the last six games because of back issues, the last against Cleveland on Tuesday night, and assistant Brian Shaw has been at the helm in his place. The Clippers say Lue’s status for the game against the Grizzlies is to be determined Friday.

Shaw, a former coach of the Denver Nuggets, has led the Clippers to a 3-1 record in Lue’s absence. And the wins and losses go on Lue’s ledger, Shaw reminded everyone, laughing.

Clippers assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy, who is in charge of the defense, missed the Cavaliers game because of a family matter. Neither he nor was at practice Thursday.

“As far as JV, we’re just praying for him and his family situation that he can get back to us as soon as possible,” Shaw said. “T. Lue is still experiencing some back issues, and so the same thing with him. We just want him to get back as soon as possible. We also want him to take care of himself for whatever it takes for him to be able to get back.”

The win over the Cavaliers with Shaw in charge was another significant game against the team that had the best record in the NBA, and it was the Clippers' fourth win in a row and seventh in eight games.
They are sticking to the message that it is about what they do and not so much about trying to make a statement against the top teams.

“Yeah, it’s about our group,” Shaw said. “When we’re in a position to be able to control what comes next for us, we have to take control of those situations. That’s how I’ve been approaching it, we’ve been approaching it. Not trying to make it more than what it is.

"The one thing I really saw in the Cleveland game is like the joy that everybody was playing with. So, we want to continue that. We want them to have fun, we want them to compete and I think if we compete and we have fun, we share the ball and everybody feels like they are involved. … We got a lot of contributions in a lot of different ways. So, we just want everybody to star in their role.”

The Clippers have just enough time left to put themselves in the best possible position in the competitive and crowded West. And the talented Grizzlies are next in line for the Clippers.

“Memphis is going to do what they are going to do. They are going to try to impose their will on us. We have to try to do the same thing with them,” Shaw said. “But like I said, it’s just mainly execute what we want to execute and worry about playing the right way and doing the right things.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

How William Chisholm plans to celebrate Celtics' purchase originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

William Chisholm has plenty of reasons to celebrate Thursday night — $6.1 billion reasons, to be exact.

Chisholm is set to become the next majority owner of the Boston Celtics after leading his group to a deal with Wyc Grousbeck, the majority owner and team governor since 2002.

Chisholm, the managing director and co-founder of private equity firm Symphony Technology Group, will take on a majority ownership of a sports franchise for the first time.

The Celtics mark a major start in that regard, as the team has won an NBA-best 18 championships while being in the middle of a potential repeat bid. Chisholm is also a lifelong C’s fan, which is one reason Grousbeck approved the switch.

So, how will a lifelong fan celebrate becoming the newest owner of his team? Chisholm told NBC Sports Boston of his plans, which includes watching the 2025-released documentary “Celtics City” produced by HBO.

“I couldn’t bring myself to watch the documentary because I would’ve just broken my heart, like in part of this process,” Chisholm said. “So the celebration is we’re starting the documentary. Which for me is crazy because I should’ve watched each episode five, 10 times already, but I held back because I wanted to see where this all ended up.

“I would’ve eventually gotten there and watched it, but now I’m all in.”