The Phoenix Suns have signed free agent center Bismack Biyombo to a 10-day contract, the team announced Saturday.
Currently, Phoenix is without Deandre Ayton, Jae Crowder, Abdel Nader, and JaVale McGee due to health and safety protocols.
Biyombo (6-8, 255 pounds) is a 10-year NBA veteran who appeared in 66 games (36 starts) with the Charlotte Hornets last season, averaging 5.0 points on 58.7% shooting, 5.3 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, and 20.4 minutes.
The 29-year-old was originally the seventh overall selection in the 2011 NBA Draft by Sacramento before being traded to Charlotte on draft night.
Phoenix continues their three-game road trip Sunday against the Hornets.
The Cavaliers began life without backup point guard Ricky Rubio against the Wizards Thursday night. Rubio will miss the rest of the season after tearing his left ACL Tuesday against the Pelicans.
Cleveland was still without Darius Garland and Cedi Osman due to health and safety protocols, and they were without Jarrett Allen(Return To Competition Reconditioning). However, they did get Lamar Stevens and Dylan Windler back after being away from the team because of health and safety protocols.
Washington had some health and safety protocols issues themselves, including starting point guard Spencer Dinwiddie.
The Cavaliers trailed 31-30 after the first quarter, but things fell apart at the end of the second quarter and the third as Washington routed Cleveland 110-93 at Capital One Arena.
Cleveland(20-15) has lost two straight, while Washington(18-17) snapped their two-game losing streak.
Here is the Great, Not So Great, and the Bottom Line of the Cavs’ loss to Washington:
The Great for the Cavaliers:
-Rookie Evan Mobley scored 14(highest scoring first quarter of his career) of his 21 points in the first quarter to go along with five rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Mobley had his second straight 20-plus point game.
-Kevin Love returned to the starting lineup and had his third straight 20-plus point game. He had 11 of his season-high tying 24 points in the first quarter, including three threes(finished 4/10 3PT FG). Love also added 11 rebounds to record his fifth double-double of the season. Love and Mobley scored 25 of Cleveland’s 30 first-quarter points.
The Not So Great for the Cavaliers:
Three-point Shooting: Cleveland was 4/9 from downtown in the first quarter, but they were 4/19 the rest of the way from three-point range Thursday night. In the last two games, both losses, the Cavaliers shot a combined 9/48(19%) from three after the first quarter.
Defense: The Cavaliers struggled on the defensive end. Washington shot 50% from the floor, including 68 points in the paint.
End of the Second Quarter: With just under four minutes left in the first half, the game was tied at 46, but Washington finished the half on a 12-5 run to take a 58-51 lead at the break, and the Wizards took that momentum into the third.
Third Quarter: Washington dominated the third as they shot (14/22)64% from the floor. The Wizards led by as many as 2o points in the quarter, and Cleveland never threatened from there as the Wizards outscored the Cavaliers 33-21 in the third.
-Kevin Pangos got his first NBA start Thursday, and he wasn’t very good. Pangos had two points as he shot 1/8 from the field, including 0/3 from downtown. He did have six assists, but he struggled against the Wizards.
Bottom Line:
Without Garland and Rubio, Cleveland did not get much from the point guard position and did not get much out of any player not named Love or Mobley, but help could be on the way for the Cavs. According to reports, Cleveland is close to acquiring two-time NBA champion and four-time All-Star Rajon Rondo from the Lakers. While Rondo is not Rubio at this point, the 35-year-old is better than what they have at the backup point guard spot.
What’s Next:
Cleveland begins a three-game homestand Friday night against the Atlanta Hawks.
Best of the Rest:
-After missing three games due to health and safety protocols, Bradley Beal returned and led the Wizards with a game-high 29 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds; Kyle Kuzma had 25 points and 10 rebounds.
-Lauri Markkanen had 11 points, eight rebounds, and four assists; Isaac Okoro added 11 points for the Cavs.
Isaiah Thomas is back again in the NBA after signing a 10-day contract and making his debut with the Dallas Mavericks Wednesday night in the place where all started for him in Sacramento against the Kings.
The 32-year-old Thomas, who was drafted by the Kings in 2011, scored six points and dished out four assists off the Mavericks’ bench in the team’s 95-94 loss to Sacramento. Thomas recently signed a 10-day contract with the Lakers on December 17 and averaged 9.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists in four games.
The Seattle native was back home when he got the call Wednesday from the Mavericks and quickly caught got on a flight to join the team in Sacramento.
“They told me to be ready,” Thomas said. “J-Kidd and Nico(Harrison) had told me to just be myself. With every sense of the word, just be who I am and bring that to the team. I’m always ready. I didn’t know if I was going to play a lot or a little bit, but me being a professional for 11 years, I’m just accustomed to staying ready, and that’s all I did tonight.”
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd was pleased with Thomas’ performance.
“I thought he did great,” Kidd said. “To come from home, to come and help us, put us in position to win, I thought he was really good.”
Even if he is with Dallas for a short time, the two-time All-Star thinks his experiences can help the younger players on the Mavericks.
“I’ve been in every situation possible in the NBA,” Thomas said. “I don’t know how many players in the NBA can honestly say they’ve been in every situation, whether that’s the franchise player, whether that’s the sixth-man role, whether that’s a role player off the bench or a guy that doesn’t even play. I’ve seen it all, so I’m able to give that experience back to the younger guys.”
However, Thomas entered health and safety protocols Thursday, so who knows what happens going forward, but with everything going on with COVID in the NBA, Thomas will continue to get a shot with either the Mavericks or elsewhere.
Let’s hope IT can con continue to stick around in the NBA.
The Suns(27-7) ended their four-game homestand with a victory as they knocked off the Oklahoma City Thunder(12-22) 115-97 to snap their two game losing streak Wednesday night at Footprint Center.
Phoenix took an 85-81 lead into the fourth. With just under ten minutes left, Phoenix led 92-87, and they would go on a 16-6 run to go up by 15 and take complete control of the game.
Devin Booker tied a season-high with 38 points(23 in the first half), including six threes to go along with seven rebounds, five assists, and two block shots. JaVale McGee added 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Cameron Payne chipped in with 16 points and seven assists off the bench.
Booker also made a little history in the first quarter. He became the seventh youngest player in NBA history to reach 10,ooo points(25 years, 60 days today), trailing only LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Tracy McGrady, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“Honestly, this one means a lot,” Booker said. “I think 10k is better than five, six, seven(thousand). I feel like it’s a real milestone that I hit. If (Jeff) Hornacek(former coach) would have put me in a little more, I should be at 12(thousand) right now. I’m messing around…
“I got to be thrown into the fire, and even my vets, my teammates, just passing the ball to an 18-year-old. That’s not easy to do; that’s not common in the NBA.”
Suns associate head coach Kevin Young, who coached his second game in place of Williams, added this about Booker: “Every shot he shoots, he thinks it’s going in, and he’s still able to do it within the confines of the team. He made some huge shots tonight, and to be able make some big shots and hit that milestone; it’s just what he does.”
As a 19-year-old rookie, Booker averaged 13.8 points per game. Since then, Booker has averaged over 20 points in every season, including a career-best tying 26.6 per contest in 2020.
In 27 games this season, the two-time All-Star is averaging 23.7 points and has put up 30 or more points in three out of the last four games.
The Dallas Mavericks have signed guard Isaiah Thomas to a 10-day contract under the COVID-related hardship allowance, the team announced Wednesday.
The 32-year-old Thomas is expected to join the team in Sacramento, where he began his NBA career, for the Mavericks’ game against the Kings tonight. He recently signed a 10-day contract with the Lakers on Dec. 17 and averaged 9.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 25.3 minutes in four games (one start) in his second stint with the franchise.
Thomas (5-9, 185) is an 11-year veteran with career averages of 18.0 points (.435 FG, .362 3FG, .872 F.T.), 2.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 28.8 minutes in 532 games (362 starts) with Sacramento, Phoenix, Boston, Cleveland, the L.A. Lakers, Denver, Washington, and New Orleans.
He enjoyed his best statistical seasons as a member of the Boston Celtics, where he was a two-time All-Star (2016, 2017) and averaged 24.7 points, 6.0 assists, 1.0 steals, and 32.2 minutes in 179 games (155 starts) with the franchise. He averaged a career-best 28.9 points for Boston in 2016-17, ranking third in the league in scoring.
Thomas will wear No. 2 for the Mavericks – the same number he donned at Washington and had retired by the school in 2018.
Cavaliers point guard Ricky Rubio with miss the rest of the 2021-22 NBA season after tearing his ACL, the team announced Wednesday.
According to the Cavs, an MRI administered Wednesday revealed the injury.
The 31-year-old Rubio left Tuesday night’s road loss to the Pelicans late in the fourth quarter and did not return.
This is a massive loss for the Cavaliers. Rubio, who Cleveland acquired from Minnesota in the offseason, was averaging a career-high 13.1 points, 6.6 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per contest off Cleveland’s bench. The 10-year veteran gave the Cavaliers great minutes this season.
The Cavaliers will need another point guard on this roster. At this point, Kevin Pangos would be the backup point guard, but that probably won’t be enough, and with Darius Garland out due to health and safety protocols, Pangos could be the starter going forward.
Cleveland returns to action Thursday night against the Washington Wizards.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed guard Malik Newman to a 10-day contract via the NBA’s hardship exception, the team announced Wednesday.
Newman (6-3, 190), 24, has appeared in 13 games (4 starts) this season for the Cleveland Charge, the Cavaliers’ exclusively owned and operated NBA G League affiliate, averaging 17.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 27.3 minutes per contest.
Newman has appeared in 77 total games for the Charge during his career, appearing in 25 games in 2018-19 and 39 games (31 starts) during 2019-20 in addition to this season. Newman has played in one career NBA game for the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2019-20 season after receiving a 10-day contract.
Currently, Cleveland has five players in health and safety protocols: Jarrett Allen, Ed Davis, Darius Garland, Lamar Stevens, Dylan Windler.
Cleveland should have beaten the Pelicans Tuesday night at Smoothie King Center, but after a great start, which included a 23-point first-quarter lead, the Cavaliers went cold and fell to New Orleans 108-104.
The Pelicans were without their leading scorer Brandon Ingram(Achilles soreness), Nickeil Alexander-Walker(health and safety protocols), and Josh Hart(ankle).
Cleveland got back Evan Mobley and Isaac Okoro(health and safety protocols). However, their leading scorer Darius Garland missed Tuesday’s game due to health and safety protocols, and Cleveland was still without their starting center Jarrett Allen(health and safety protocols).
After winning six straight, Cleveland(20-14) has lost two of three, while New Orleans(13-22) has won three of four.
Here is the Great, the Not So Great, and the Bottom Line of the Cavs’ tough loss to New Orleans:
The Great for the Cavaliers:
-Ricky Rubio got the start in place of Garland, and he did it all. He had a game-high 27 points and a game-high 13 assists to go along with nine rebounds. Sadly, he could not finish the game as he left late with what appeared to be a nasty left leg injury.
-Kevin Love, who got his first start of the season against the Raptors, went back to the bench after Mobley’s return. In the first quarter, Love scored 12 of his 24 points and four of his game-high seven threes. He got Cleveland off to a great start, and he also had a solid ending as he scored 10 points, including three threes in the fourth. This is the tenth straight game that Love has been in double figures.
-Evan Mobley is back and it was like he never left. The rookie, who missed four games due to health and safety protocols, was efficient as he went 9/12 from the field to score 22 points to go along with seven rebounds. This was the first time Mobley has been over 20 points since November 7th.
First Quarter Cavs: Coming into this contest, the Cavs led the league in first-quarter scoring margin, and Cleveland got the start they wanted against the Pelicans. They shot 56% from the field, including 9/12 from downtown(75%). Love and Rubio combined for 22 of the team’s 39 points, and the Cavaliers had their largest lead of 23 points in the first. Cleveland would take a 39-20 lead into the second quarter.
The Not So Great for the Cavaliers:
Three-Point shooting after the first quarter: The Cavaliers were 9/12 from three-point range in the first quarter. After that, they were 5/29 the rest of the way, including 0/10 in the second quarter.
“I thought we got a little stagnant offensively and settled little bit too much for too many threes,” Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said postgame.
2nd-4th quarters: Cleveland had a 19-point lead(39-20) after the first quarter. However, after that, they were outscored in every quarter and were outscored 88-65 the rest of the way, including by 11 in the fourth.
Fourth Quarter: Cleveland led 83-76 heading into the fourth, but things unraveled in the final quarter. The Cavaliers were outscored 32-21 in the fourth as they went cold. Cleveland shot 30% from the field, including 3/12 from downtown. The Cavs took a 95-83 lead at the 07:59 mark of the fourth, but the Pelicans went on a 16-2 run to take the lead for good at 99-97.
Ricky Rubio’s injury: Rubio’s injury did not look good, and he did not put any pressure on the leg. Unfortunately, it seems like he could be gone for an extended period of time, if not the rest of the season.
Bottom Line:
This was a devastating loss in more ways than one. First, you blow a 23-point lead to a depleted team, and next, you lose one of the MVPs of your squad in Rubio. If the season derails, we will look back at this game. The team was clearly dejected after the game, including Love, who spent time with Rubio in Minnesota:
“I really care for him,” Love said. “I’m just praying that he’s going to be OK. We don’t know what the near future is going to hold for him. We’re just completely gutted. He was having such a great season.”
Rubio is expected to get an MRI Wednesday.
What’s Next:
Cleveland concludes their two-game road trip in Washington against the Wizards Thursday night.
Best of the Rest:
-Herbert Jones led the Pelicans with 26 points; Devonte’ Graham added 18 points, five rebounds, and five assists, and Jonas Valanciunas had 15 points and 10 rebounds as all five starters scored in double figures.
-Lauri Markkanen added 14 points and five rebounds, and Isaac Okoro, who made his return after missing three games due to health and safety protocols, had six points.
It’s next man up around the NBA, including the Dallas Mavericks. Due to health and safety protocols, Dallas was without Luka Doncic, Tim Hardaway Jr., Maxi Kleber, Trey Burke, and Reggie Bullock.
The man that led the way for the Mavericks Monday night against the Portland Trailblazers(13-20) was Kristaps Porzingis. He scored 24 of his season-high 34 points in the first half to go along with nine rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks as the Mavericks(16-17) defeated the Blazers 132-117 at Moda Center.
Porzingis’ 34 points was the highest-scoring game by a Maverick this season, and Dallas improved to 3-0 this season when he scores 30-plus points.
“After I missed the first three, I don’t know why, but I was like, ‘I know I’m going to make shots,'” Porzingis said. “It was straight on, a little bit short. The third one, I was already like, okay, ‘This is going in,’ and it was like in and out. End of the quarter, I was like, ‘I have to keep shooting. I know it’s going in…
“I just had that feeling that I’m going to make some shots, and now consistency is what I’m looking for.”
Mavs head coach Jason Kidd added on Porzingis: ‘”I thought (Porzingis) let the ball come to him tonight, he didn’t force anything. If they didn’t double, he went to score, and if they did, he found the open guy. I thought his rhythm was great from start to finish.”
Next man up was not just Porzingis. Brandon Knight, who appeared in his third game with the Mavericks, had 18 points (6-12 FG), five assists, three rebounds, and one steal; Josh Green had nine points to go along with a career-high 10 assists and a season-high-tying two steals, and Dwight Powell recorded a season-best 22 points.
Dallas continues their five-game road trip with a two-game set in Sacramento against the Kings starting Wednesday.
Watch below as Porzingis reacts to Dallas’ win over Blazers:
The Cleveland Cavaliers returned to action Sunday night against the Toronto Raptors, and both teams were depleted due to health and safety protocols.
Toronto(14-16) had ten players in health and safety protocols, including Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Fred VanVleet, and Gary Trent Jr. Cleveland had six players in health and safety protocols, including Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, and Cedi Osman. In addition, they were without Isaac Okoro((return to competition reconditioning).
Cleveland(20-13) had six players in double figures and led by as many as 47 points against the Raptors. Ultimately, Cleveland would defeat Toronto 144-99. The Cavaliers had 118 points through the first three quarters, the most points after three quarters in team history.
Furthermore, the Cavaliers’ 45-point victory is their largest win in 30 years.
The Great for the Cavaliers:
Cavs’ Frontcourt: Cleveland got big-time contributions from their frontcourt. In his first start of the season, Kevin Love had 22 points, including a season-high six threes to go along with nine rebounds. Lauri Markkanen added 20 points and seven rebounds, and Dean Wade had 17 points and seven rebounds. The Cavs’ frontcourt scored a combined 59 points and grabbed 23 rebounds.
Cavs’ Backcourt: Darius Garland scored 11 of his 22 points in the third to go along with eight assists, and four rebounds. He scored 20-plus points for the third straight game, and Ricky Rubio added 16 points and six assists. The backcourt combined for 38 points and 14 assists.
With the Cavs being depleted due to health and safety protocols, Denzel Valentine got an extended run Sunday night, and he took full advantage of it. Valentine had season-highs in points(17) and threes(5) in 26 minutes of action.
Third Quarter: Cleveland had a 17-point lead at halftime but busted it wide open in the third by scoring 46 points, which tied their franchise record for most points in a quarter. The Cavaliers shot 62% from the floor, including nine threes. Cleveland went on a 15-0 run in the third to go up by 34 points. They led by as many as 40 points in the quarter as Cleveland took a 118-78 lead into the fourth.
The Not So Great for the Cavaliers:
You score 144 points and win by 45 points, yeah, it’s all great for the Cavaliers.
Bottom Line:
This game came down to the Cavaliers having more healthy bodies. You could argue that Cleveland was playing the Toronto’s G League affiliate, Raptors 905. However, you play who’s on your schedule, and in reality, every team is dealing with COVID issues right now.
For any team, it’s just good to get a win.
“We’ve got a good thing going, and I’m having a lot of fun,” Love said. “It’s going to be great watching this young team develop.”
What’s Next:
The Cavaliers return to action on the road against the Pelicans Tuesday night.
Best of the Rest:
-Yuta Watanabe led the Raptors with 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Chris Boucher added 20 points and five rebounds.
Watch below as Markkanen and Garland talk win over Raptors:
