Category: Basketball

Basketball News

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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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What we learned as Warriors' defense fuels gritty win over Knicks

What we learned as Warriors' defense fuels gritty win over Knicks  originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors on Saturday night at Chase Center extended their win streak to seven consecutive games, beating the New York Knicks, 97-94, making more history along the way. 

Steve Kerr now has 558 career regular-season wins as the Warriors’ head coach, giving him one more than Hall of Famer and franchise icon Al Attles. 

Steph Curry scored a game-high 28 points, and added seven rebounds and five assists. The spotlight always belongs to Curry. Moses Moody in this win deserves an equal amount of praise. 

Moody was a plus-12, scoring 18 huge points and draining four 3-pointers, each one feeling more timely than the other. 

The Warriors’ largest lead was nine points. The Knicks’ largest lead was five points. This came down to the last man standing as the Warriors outlasted every punch the Knicks threw their way.

Here are three takeaways from yet another impressive Warriors win.

Draymond, KAT Claw All Game

The matchup to watch was between a Swiss Army Knife who plays point-center and a 7-footer who lives behind the 3-point line. Basketball wasn’t the main reason everybody was locked into watching Draymond Green and Karl-Anthony Towns. Controversy was. 

Towns missed the Knicks’ game against the Warriors at Madison Square Garden on March 4, to which Green on his podcast joked the All-Star center was ducking Butler, his former teammate in Minnesota. The real reason Towns didn’t play was to attend the funeral of a longtime family friend. 

Trash talk began shortly after the opening tip. Towns got Green to jump on pump fake, drove past him and threw down a dunk. When Green one minute later went through Towns for a contested layup, the volume was turned up. The same can be said about Green’s reaction to his first three of the night.

Green’s defensive genius was on display in the second quarter while guarding Towns behind the 3-point line. Towns, dribbling between his legs, tried to lull Green. But right when Towns gathered to get in a shooting motion, Green got right up on him, knocking the ball off Towns and out of bounds. 

All four quarters felt like a heavyweight fight, especially between two big men who are polar opposites. Towns dropped 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, but Green hit him with Curry’s signature Night Night celebration after driving past him for a layup with 25 seconds remaining in the game.

Another New Starting Lineup

Quinten Post as a rookie already has given Golden State more than the Warriors ever could have asked for this season. The fact is, despite all the winning, the Warriors’ starting lineup hasn’t been working as Brandin Podziemski continues to nurse his lower back soreness. 

The five-man lineup of Curry, Butler, Green, Post and Moses Moody had played four games together going into Saturday night for a total of 32 minutes. They produced a minus-21.9 net rating with a 95.8 offensive rating and a 117.6 defensive rating. Steve Kerr had seen enough, at least for one game, so he opted to use his 36th different starting lineup this season. 

In came Gui Santos for Post. Even with Santos’ first 3-point attempt getting blocked, he showed why he’s the perfect glue guy and fits multiple lineups. 

Kerr’s newest starting five played the first four-plus minutes of the game together, spending five minutes and 25 seconds on the floor as a group in the first half. Through two quarters, they outscored the Knicks 12-11. Santos in 25 minutes had five points and seven rebounds. As a group, the starting five played 12 minutes and 19 seconds together, outscoring the Knicks by one point, 25-24.

Every Detail Matters

Both the Warriors and Knicks have star powers. Big names on the court, and fan bases full of celebrities. A game between two contenders came down to every small detail mattering. 

The Warriors in their previous five games averaged more than 16 turnovers, which resulted in an average of nearly 20 points for the opposition. In their win against the Knicks, the Warriors are two fewer turnovers. As the Warriors totaled 11 turnovers that resulted in eight points for the Knicks, Golden State turned New York’s 13 turnovers into 19 points. 

Though the Knicks had four more rebounds, 10 more points in the paint and eight more second-chance points, the Warriors won the battle of assists, 3-pointers, free throws, steals and fastbreak points. 

Their bench also outscored the Knicks 26-4.

Strong screens. Better box outs. Crisp passes and disrupting the lanes defensively. That’s how the Warriors will beat teams chasing a title like the Knicks, as well as their next two opponents in the Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks.

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Kerr becomes winningest head coach in Warriors history

Kerr becomes winningest head coach in Warriors history originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Steve Kerr stands on top in the Warriors’ record book.

The Golden State coach now has the most wins in franchise history, earning his 558th victory with the team’s 97-94 triumph over the New York Knicks on Saturday night at Chase Center.

Kerr came into the game tied with Warriors legend Al Attles at 557 franchise wins.

Immediately after the record-setting win, Kerr spoke to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke on the Chase Center court, and in typical fashion, he had a tongue-in-cheek beginning to his answer about the accomplishment.

“It’s amazing to do this without any talent at all. I’ve just had to coach up these guys,” Kerr said jokingly. “Are you kidding me? To be able to coach Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala, I mean, we’ve been blessed with such incredible rosters the entire 11 years. And more than anything, this is a reflection of the entire organizational strength, stability, the collaboration we all share, the players, coaches, management, ownership. We have an incredible collection of people and the record is just a reflection of that.”

Kerr’s 558 career wins place him 29th all-time among NBA coaches. His mentor, Gregg Popovich, holds the record with 1,415 wins.

Appointed by Warriors CEO Joe Lacob, Kerr’s head coaching career began with Golden State in May 2014, succeeding Mark Jackson. 

In the 2014-15 NBA season, Kerr and the Warriors won 67 games, becoming NBA champions after defeating superstar LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

Kerr, a five-time NBA champion as a player, brought a winning culture to the Warriors from the moment he arrived in the Bay. Along with a franchise-record 558 franchise victories, the 59-year-old has won 91 playoff games and four NBA titles at the helm.

Outside of the 2019-2020 season, the Warriors have finished every season above .500 under Kerr, who also led Golden State to an NBA-record 73 wins during the 2015-16 season.

As it stands, Golden State can benefit from all of Kerr’s coaching expertise as it looks to punch a playoff ticket.

The Warriors currently sit at xx-xx and are the No. x seed, x games back of the Houston Rockets for the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference with x regular-season contests remaining.

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Pacers vs. Bucks Predictions: Odds, expert picks, recent stats, trends and best bets for March 15

It’s Saturday, March 15, and the Indiana Pacers (37-28) and Milwaukee Bucks (37-28) are all set to square off from Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

The Pacers are currently 16-18 on the road with a point differential of 1, while the Bucks have a 6-4 record in their last ten games at home. Milwaukee is 2-1 in the season series but Indiana won the most recent matchup on Tuesday thanks to Tyrese Haliburton's game-winning four-point play.

Milwaukee is 8-4 since the All-Star break but 1-3 over the past four games. Indiana has won two straight but is 2-3 over the past five games.

We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.

Listen to the Rotoworld Basketball Show for the latest fantasy player news, waiver claims, roster advice and more from our experts all season long. Click here or download it wherever you get your podcasts.

Game details & how to watch Pacers vs. Bucks live today

  • Date: Saturday, March 15, 2025
  • Time: 8:00PM EST
  • Site: Fiserv Forum
  • City: Milwaukee, WI
  • Network/Streaming:

Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day NBA schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game.

Game odds for Pacers vs. Bucks

The latest odds as of Saturday:

  • Odds: Pacers (+154), Bucks (-185)
  • Spread:  Bucks -4.5
  • Over/Under: 236 points

That gives the Pacers an implied team point total of 117.11, and the Bucks 119.46.

Want to know which sportsbook is offering the best lines for every game on the NBA calendar? Check out the NBC Sports’ Live Odds tool to get all the latest updated info from DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM & more!

Expert picks & predictions for Saturday’s Pacers vs. Bucks game

NBC Sports Bet Best Bet

Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) likes the Bucks to cover:

"These teams just met on Tuesday and the Pacers won on a miracle four-point play. This is an easy handicap. It's Bucks or pass for me. The loser of the previous meeting during the same week often covers or wins the second matchup and the Bucks have plenty of motivation."

Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.

Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NBA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.

Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.

Here are the best bets our model is projecting for today’s Pacers & Bucks game:

  • Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Milwaukee Bucks on the Moneyline.
  • Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Indiana Pacers at +4.
  • Total: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play on the under on the Game Total of 236.

Want even more NBA best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert NBA Predictions pagefrom NBC Sports for money line, spread and over/under picks for every game on today’s calendar!

Important stats, trends & insights to know ahead of Pacers vs. Bucks on Saturday

  • The Bucks have won four of their last five home games against teams with winning records
  • The under is 4-1 in the Bucks' last five matchups against divisional opponents
  • The Bucks have covered the spread in four of their last five games against teams with winning records
  • The Bucks have won and covered the handicap in four of their last five home games against teams with winning records and they can make the most of a scheduling advantage here, with the Pacers having played a tough game against the 76ers last night.

If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NBA Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!

Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:

- Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)

- Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)

- Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)

- Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)

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Nets’ Cam Thomas expected to miss rest of season with hamstring strain

Nets star Cam Thomas suffered a left hamstring strain during Thursday night’s loss to the Chicago Bulls. 

The team announced Saturday that given the number of days left in the schedule and the time it would take to work his way back to full health, the 23-year-old is expected to be out the remainder of the season. 

This is Thomas’ third hamstring ailment this year -- limiting him to just 25 games.

He has, however, remained a scoring machine when healthy -- averaging a career-high 24 points over that span while putting together a team-leading six 30+ point showings, including a season-high 43 points on Nov. 15 against the Knicks. 

He notched his first career double-double in his final game of the year (24 points, 10 assists). 

It’ll be interesting to see how the rebuilding Nets handle things with Thomas this offseason, as he is currently in the final year of his rookie deal and is set to be a restricted free agent at season's end. 

He appeared to be headed for a big payday coming into this year, but we’ll see if the injury-plagued season affects that.

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Evans, Timberlake power Bryant to 77-59 win over Maine for America East Tournament championship

Barry Evans scored 19 points, Earl Timberlake added 17 and top-seeded Bryant cruised to the America East championship, defeating No. 3-seed Maine 77-59 on Saturday. The Bulldogs advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second time, having made their other trip when they won the Northeast Conference in 2022. Bryant led by 11 points at halftime and maintained control through the first 11 minutes of the second half, outscoring Maine 23-13.

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NBA reportedly investigating Thunder, 76ers for Player Participation Policy violations

With a month to go in the NBA season, there are eight teams (conservatively, you could argue 10) more focused as an organization on lottery odds than winning games. Or, to put it bluntly, they are tanking with their eyes on Cooper Flagg. That means a lot of good players are missing games for dodgy reasons.

The NBA is pushing those teams to keep their best players on the court. The league already fined the Utah Jazz $100,000 for not playing Lauri Markkanen against the Wizards and in other games — and, shockingly, he was suddenly available for the next game after the fine. Now, Shams Charania of ESPN reports that both the Thunder and 76ers are being investigated for violating the league's Player Participation Policy.

The Thunder are not tanking — they have run away with the West at 54-12 — but on March 7 they sat six key players (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Luguentz Dort, Isaiah Hartenstein and Cason Wallace) in what was still a home win over the Portland Trail Blazers. Only two of those players, Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams, meet the NBA's qualifications for a star player under the league's Player Participation Policy (an All-Star the last three years), but sitting that many players raised eyebrows. Still, this was a home game that was not nationally televised, so it's a little difficult to get worked up over OKC's decision.

The league is investigating Philadelphia "for the recent absences of players such as Paul George (knee, back, finger) and Tyrese Maxey (back, finger)," according to the ESPN report. George has admitted he is playing through pain and, with the 76ers season all but over, he will be meeting with doctors about treatment for his knee and groin/back issues. It seems challenging to blame him for not playing through pain. Don't expect to see a lot of Maxey, either.

Philadelphia has real motivation to tank. Its first-round pick this year belongs to Oklahoma City but is top-six protected. Philly is trying to tank its way into keeping that pick, the 76ers are currently tied with the Nets for the 5th/6th worst record in the NBA. If the Sixers can hold on to the fifth-worst spot, they have a 62.1% chance of retaining that top-six pick after the lottery. It would be shocking if we see George again this season, Embiid is already out for the season to get treatment on his knee (although no definitive plan has been released) and expect Maxey to be limited.

Again, is that worth the league's fine? Where is that line?

The first fine for violating the league's Player Participation Policy is $100,000 — enough to get a team's attention, but this is the cost of a 10-day contract to teams, so it will not break them. However, a second violation is $250,000 and the third $1 million — teams can live with the first fine but want to avoid climbing that ladder.

Which will make the final month of the season interesting for teams such as Toronto (Scottie Barnes qualifies for the Player Participation Policy) and others trying to tank but avoid a fine. It's a fine line everyone is trying to walk.