Category: Basketball

Basketball News

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Clayton scores 22 as No. 4 Florida beats No. 5 Alabama 104-82 in SEC semis

Walter Clayton Jr. scored 22 points, and No. 4 Florida pulled away from No. 5 Alabama for a 104-82 victory in the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals on Saturday. Alijah Martin and Will Richard each had 16 points for the Gators (29-4) in their fifth consecutive win. Next up for Florida is Sunday's SEC championship game against No. 8 Tennessee, which beat No. 3 Auburn 70-65 in the first semifinal.

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Dallas down to eight healthy players with few two-way games left, could it have to forfeit a game?

Could Dallas have to forfeit a game because it doesn't have enough healthy players?

It's possible. It's not likely, but it's not out of the question. It's something Bobby Marks first got into at ESPN.

NBA rules require a team to dress at least eight healthy players for a game, or it must forfeit. Dallas has been so ravaged by injuries that it is down to eight healthy players: Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall, Caleb Martin, Max Christie, Spencer Dinwiddie, Brandon Williams, Dwight Powell, and Kessler Edwards.

That's because all these players are injured:

• Kyrie Irving (torn ACL)
• Anthony Davis (adductor strain)
• Dereck Lively II (ankle stress fracture)
• Daniel Gafford (knee sprain)
• P.J. Washington (ankle sprain)
• Dante Exum (fractured hand, announced Saturday)
• Olivier Maxence-Prosper (right wrist injury)
• Jaden Hardy (ankle sprain)
• Kai Jones (quad strain)

The concern in Dallas is that two of their healthy players are two-way players nearing their limit of 50 games up with the main club. Kessler Edwards has been with Dallas for 47 games, while Bradon Williams is at 44. Once they reach 50, they can no longer play with the Mavericks and must return to the G-League.

Why don't the Mavericks convert one or both of Edwards or Williams to regular contracts or sign another player on a 10-day contract? Because they can't afford to. Dallas is hard-capped at the first apron of the luxury tax and currently sits just $51,000 below that number, and a standard 10-day contract is double that. The Mavericks have no financial flexibility.

On the bright side, big men Jones and Washington didn't play on Friday but were listed as questionable for the game, suggesting they are close to returning. A week ago, coach Jason Kidd said that the three centers — Davis, Lively, and Gafford — were improving, although no timeline was given.

It's likely by the time Edwards and Williams max out the games they can play in Dallas Jones, Edwards and maybe one or two of the centers can return to the rotation. Dallas will almost certainly field eight players for all the rest of their games.

But the fact this is a conversation shows just how decimated the Mavericks have been by injuries.

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Payton Pritchard makes NBA history in Celtics' win over Nets

Payton Pritchard makes NBA history in Celtics' win over Nets originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

On Saturday, Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard set an NBA record that will make it difficult to vote against him for the Sixth Man of the Year award.

Pritchard notched 22 points on five 3-pointers in the C’s 115-113 win over the Brooklyn Nets. With his fourth make from deep, he surpassed Wayne Ellington for the most 3s off the bench in a single NBA season (219).

With 14 regular-season games still left to play, Pritchard has a chance to own the single-season record by a significant margin. It’s a remarkable feat for the 27-year-old, but it was business as usual for him after the historic performance.

“It just means I did my job off the bench at a high level, and hopefully I can continue to do that,” Pritchard said.

Pritchard isn’t focused on his 3-point record or the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award, which he currently is favored to win. He simply wants to continue his development into one of the game’s best.

“There’s no records, there’s no awards that I ever look at,” he said. “It’s all about self-improvement, looking at every game, what I can do to keep growing and keep bettering myself. Ultimately, that’s all that matters to me is trying to take another step. So hopefully I can keep that going.”

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla is proud of how far Pritchard has come since being drafted out of Oregon in 2020.

“If you count the the amount of timely shots that he’s hitting and the timely offensive rebounds that he’s gotten — he had one tonight coming out of the timeout when they went zone, in the corner, which just has an ability to impact the game in so many ways,” Mazzulla said.

“Just continues to get better and better. His competitive nature and work ethic’s unreal. So that’s an awesome thing and it takes a special person to fulfill that role, and he takes pride and does it every day.”

Pritchard is now averaging 14.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game this season with a 41.8 shooting percentage from 3-point range. He’ll look to repeat Saturday’s performance when the Celtics host the Nets for a rematch on Tuesday.

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Boogie Fland expected to return for NCAA Tournament

Arkansas freshman guard Boogie Fland, who had thumb surgery in January and missed the last 15 games of the regular season, is expected to return to the court for the Razorbacks in the NCAA Tournament, per a release from the program. According to the release, Fland has been medically cleared to resume basketball activities and will begin practicing with the team immediately. Barring any setbacks, he is anticipated to be available to play in the NCAA Tournament.

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Draymond drops epic ‘night night' on Knicks to seal Warriors' win

Draymond drops epic ‘night night' on Knicks to seal Warriors' win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Draymond Green sent the New York Knicks back to the city that never sleeps with an epic “night night” celebration on Saturday night.

Green’s driving layup with 25.8 seconds remaining gave the Warriors a six-point lead in a game they eventually won 97.94 at Chase Center.

Green, after jawing with Karl-Anthony Towns all night, beat the Knicks’ big man to the basket and got the last laugh.

When Green got to the Warriors’ bench, he did the “night night” gesture with injured guard Brandin Podziemski.

Green finished with nine points on 3-of-9 shooting from the field to go along with four rebounds, three assists and one block.

While Steph Curry made the “night night” celebration a global sensation, the Warriors have another term for the action when Green does it.

“We say in the locker room, Draymond do the ‘nightmare,’ ” guard Moses Moody told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke after the Warriors’ win. “Nah, bit it’s cool. That’s something obviously started with Steph, but he passed it on, moved it around and the whole team is sending them home.”

Green and the Warriors have won seven consecutive games and improved to 39-28 with the win over the Knicks, who head back to New York after going 2-3 on a five-game West Coast road trip.

After Saturday’s loss, the Knicks might not sleep well on the cross-country flight.

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