Category: Basketball

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.”

Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson has taken a big step toward his potential return.

Brunson is out of the walking boot and has been doing some light shooting, Tom Thibodeau revealed Thursday ahead of the team's game against the Hornets in Charlotte.

While the 26-year-old captain likely still has a ways to go before getting back out there with the team in practice and then game action, this is certainly an encouraging step forward.

Brunson, of course, injured his ankle late in overtime during the Knicks' loss to the Los Angeles Lakers back on March 6.

Heading into Thursday night's game, New York has gone 3-3 without him, and his absence has been felt heavily on both ends of the court.

He is expected to be evaluated again around the two-week mark from the injury, though, ESPN's Shams Charania reported last week that the two-time All-Star could be sidelined through March or early April.

Following Thursday's contest, the Knicks have five more games this month and then eight in April before kicking off the playoffs.

What we learned as Steph's injury casts shadow on Warriors' win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO – While the Warriors outlasted the undermanned Toronto Raptors for a 117-114 win Thursday night at Chase Center, the final score was secondary. 

Steph Curry in the third quarter took a hard fall and later was ruled out with a pelvic contusion. 

Curry before leaving the game scored 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting and made two 3-pointers. The Raptors did everything they could to make anybody else on the Warriors beat them.

Challenge accepted. Most of all by Draymond Green, who scored a team-high 21 points, which is his second-most this season. The combination of Green and Jimmy Butler carried the Warriors to victory down the stretch. 

Butler recorded his second triple-double since joining the Warriors with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists. His best play of the night, however, came on defense. Jamal Shead had a chance to make it a one-point game with 20 seconds remaining, but Butler had other plans.

JIMMY BUTLER CLUTCH BLOCK 🚫pic.twitter.com/YFGOJKlSlz

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 21, 2025

Not to be forgotten, rookie center Quinten Post scored 18 points off the bench, going 6 of 9 from 3-point range. Jonathan Kuminga also was a major scoring punch off the bench, scoring 18 points. Plus, Brandin Podziemski had 15 points in his second game returning from a back injury.

The Warriors will take the results of a win, but now the real news awaits.

Here are three takeaways from the Warriors completing a 6-1 seven-game homestand.

Draymond Lets It Fly

The way Green completely shut down Giannis Antetokounmpo in the Warriors’ win Tuesday night gave coach Steve Kerr every reason to call him “the best defender I’ve ever seen.” Two nights later, Green began the win as an offensive threat. 

As it always has, though, everything starts with Curry. The Raptors heavily top-locked Curry from the jump for all 94 feet, and Green quickly adjusted. First, because of the way nobody wants to leave Curry, the Warriors used an inverted pick-and-roll for a wide-open lane to let Green throw down a dunk. Later in the first quarter, the two used their synergy to execute their pick-and-roll closer to the basket, making Green’s man leave him and leading to a layup.

Watch out, Draymond comin' through 🚂pic.twitter.com/q7MvHaNuJl

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 21, 2025

In the second quarter, four seconds after checking back into the game, Green found Curry cutting behind Toronto’s defense with a perfect bounce pass for two points. How did Curry make his first three of the second half? By rubbing off a strong screen set by Green. He wound up assisting Curry on three of his six made shots.

The Raptors paid no attention to Green as a scorer, and he made them pay for it. He had 10 points in the first quarter and 18 going into halftime, including four 3-pointers. Green’s 18 points were his third-most ever for a half, and the five threes he wound up with tied a season-high.

Draymond already has FOUR 3s 🥵pic.twitter.com/dHsMV71Zxv

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 21, 2025

Raptors’ Anybody-But-Steph Strategy

Though the Warriors only held a six-point lead through the first half, four of their players already had scored in double figures. Green’s 18 points led all scorers. He wasn’t alone. 

Kuminga gave Golden State 14 first-half points off the bench. Podziemski was right behind with 13, and Post drained four threes off the bench for 12 points going into the second half. 

Curry, however, was held to seven points. So in a sense, the Raptors’ strategy somewhat worked. 

But Curry then scored 10 of the Warriors’ first 16 points in the third quarter before exiting to an injury. The Warriors responded by going on a 10-4 run to close the quarter to hold a 93-92 lead going into the fourth.

A total of six Warriors scored in double figures. From the time of Curry’s injury to the end of the game, the Warriors outscored the Raptors by eight points, 34-26.

Steph’s Scary Injury

All of Chase Center fell silent with a little more than three minutes left in the third quarter. A pin drop could be heard echoing off the court. That’s what happens when Curry goes down.

Curry drove to the basket and was hammered by two Raptors as he delivered a pass across his body from the paint to the left corner. He bounced off the court, immediately lifted his back and began grabbing at his tailbone area. For what felt like an eternity, Curry stayed down on the ground and was tended to by assistant athletic trainer Drew Yoder. 

On his own power, Curry walked to the Warriors’ bench before being joined by director of sports medicine and performance Rick Celebrini down the tunnel and back to the locker room.

Steph Curry goes down and all of Chase Center holds their breath in the third quarter

Curry walked down the tunnel and back to the locker room with Rick Celebrini @NBCSWarriorspic.twitter.com/IDPKpxUYFG

— Dalton Johnson (@DaltonJ_Johnson) March 21, 2025

Early into the fourth quarter, the Warriors ruled Curry out because of a pelvic contusion. He was listed as questionable two games ago with lower back soreness, which first occurred during pregame warmups one week ago against the Sacramento Kings. Curry then was given rest last game, the first one he didn’t suit up for in nearly two months. 

The Warriors on Saturday begin a six-game road trip starting in Atlanta against the Hawks. They’re 5-3 in eight games without Curry this season.

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