Tag: NBA
Blue Coats to battle Spurs in G League playoffs on Monday night
It’s onto the playoffs for the Delaware Blue Coats (10-5), who lost their regular-season finale to the Memphis Hustle, 106-95, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Florida.
Paul Reed posted his league-leading 12th double-double of the season with a game-high 27 points and season-high-tying 16 rebounds. Reed added a rookie career-high six assists, three steals, and two blocks. 76ers assignment player Isaiah Joe scored 12 points, including a pair of three-pointers for the Blue Coats.
Delaware, the No. 4 seed in the NBA G League playoffs, will play the first playoff game in franchise history on Monday at 8:15 p.m. ET(ESPNews) against the No. 5 seed, the Austin Spurs (10-5). It is a single-elimination format, so it’s win or go home.
These two teams met in the regular season on February 21 when the Blue Coats defeated the Spurs, 122-107, in the only regular-season meeting between them.
In that contest, Reed delivered his seventh straight double-double to begin the season with 15 points (7-14 FG), a game-high 14 rebounds (six offensive), and a pair of steals in 31 minutes of action. Rayjon Tucker posted 23 points (7-13 FG, 5-6 FT), five rebounds, and a game-high three steals in a game-high 35 minutes.
In a single-elimination game, anything can happen. Both of these teams have identical records, so even though Delaware defeated San Antonio in the regular season, these teams appear to be evenly matched on paper.
Conley replaces injured Booker in 2021 NBA All-Star Game
Utah Jazz guard Mike Conley has been named by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to replace injured Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker on Team Durant in the 2021 NBA All-Star Game, the league announced on Friday.
In addition, Conley will replace Booker in the 2021 MTN DEW® 3-Point Contest, which will be held on March 7 before the NBA All-Star Game.
This is the first NBA All-Star selection for Conley, who is in his 14th season. He is averaging 16.1 points and 5.7 assists and shooting a career-high 42.2 percent from three-point range in 29 games this season. The 33-year-old Conley has helped the Jazz post an NBA-best 27-9 record. He joins two Utah teammates, Team LeBron center Rudy Gobert and Team Durant guard Donovan Mitchell, in the NBA All-Star Game.
Booker is unable to play in the NBA All-Star Game or participate in the MTN DEW® 3-Point Contest because of a left knee sprain. He was named to the NBA All-Star Game by the Commissioner as an injury replacement for Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis. Booker is averaging 24.9 points and 4.4 assists in 31 games this season.
The NBA All-Star Game and MTN DEW® 3-Point Contest are part of NBA All-Star 2021, which will take place on one night. TNT’s NBA All-Star coverage on March 7 will begin at 5 p.m. ET with TNT NBA Tip-Off presented by CarMax, followed by the Taco Bell® Skills Challenge and MTN DEW® 3-Point Contest starting at 6:30 p.m. ET. NBA All-Star Game coverage will begin at 8 p.m. ET, with AT&T Slam Dunk taking place at halftime.
Mavs’ Porzingis, Richardson happy with team’s direction as they head into All-Star break
The Mavericks(18-16) go into the All-Star break playing some decent basketball. Dallas has won three straight and 10 of their last 13, including Wednesday night’s 87-78 home victory over the Thunder(14-21).
Dallas was without their star Luka Doncic, who missed Wednesday’s game due to lower back tightness.
The Mavericks struggled with their shot against OKC and shot only 39% from the field, including 8-40 from three-point range. In the first half, Dallas was 1-19 from three-point range, but it was all about what Dallas did on defense. They held OKC to a season-low of 78 points.
After the game, Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle talked about the rough shooting night and the great defense.
“What a tough game,” Carlisle said. “It was going to be difficult, it was going to be physical, it was going to be tight,” Carlisle said. “The shooting wasn’t there, particularly in the first half. When I looked at halftime, it was hard to believe we were 1-for-19 from 3. But we just kept with the process, stepped into some shots in the second half. The defense was tremendous — maybe our second-best game other than one early on—three sub-20-point quarters. The defensive belt tonight went to the entire team, which is a bit of a departure but appropriate for the circumstance.”
Now, the focus is getting rest during All-Star weekend. The Mavericks had a lot of issues with COVID-19 in the first half of the season. Guys like Josh Richardson, Jalen Brunson, Maxi Kleiber, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Dwight Powell all missed time due to health and safety protocols, but now those guys are healthy.
According to Kristaps Porzingis, who had 19 points and 13 rebounds against OKC, Dallas is starting to get a rhythm.
“I started the season late. Maxi [Kleber] and Dwight [Powell] and everyone was catching the virus,” Porzingis said. “We didn’t have the whole team playing for a while. It just took time, and also the schedule was really tough. It was a combination of things. The good thing is that we are getting in a rhythm lately and want to keep it going after the break.”
Richardson, who had 16 points on Wednesday night, added: “We have had a lot of guys in and out of the lineup. We have had six-game skids, three-game skids and have just been all over the place. But I think we are starting to find good form, and hopefully, it carries over after the break.”
Dallas is playing good basketball right now, and you wonder if the break is coming at the wrong time because this team seems to have found a rhythm. The rest should be good for this team as they prepare to make a playoff push in the final 36 games of the regular season.
Photo: @dallasmavs/twitter
Blue Coats clinch playoff berth behind Paul Reed’s 10th double-double
The Delaware Blue Coats (9-4), the NBA G League affiliate of the Philadelphia 76ers, defeated the Canton Charge (4-9), 103-97, on Wednesday afternoon at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Florida. With the win and NBA G League Ignite’s loss to the Agua Caliente Clippers, the Blue Coats clinched a playoff berth for the first time in Delaware franchise history.
76ers two-way contract player Paul Reed scored 14 of his 26 points (10-17 FG, 2-4 3FG, 3-3 FT) in the fourth quarter, the most for any Blue Coat in a single quarter this season. He added 12 rebounds, including a season-high nine boards on the offensive glass. It was Reed’s 10th double-double in 13 games.
Delaware’s Justin Robinson tallied 17 points (7-16 FG 2-6 3FG, 1-4 FT), seven rebounds and a game-high eight assists in a game-high 35 minutes of action. Michael Frazier II scored 18 points (7-14 FG, 1-4 3FG, 3-4 FT) off the bench, while Jemerrio Jones posted a game-high plus-24 rating with five points, eight rebounds and four assists.
The Blue Coats overcame a 16-point deficit in the game. They won the rebounding battle, 52-49, and scored 20 more points in the paint (54-34). Delaware swiped at least 10 steals (11) for the ninth time in 13 games.
The NBA G League playoffs begin March 8. The Blue Coats will play two more games this week to complete their 15-game regular season schedule.
UP NEXT: Delaware will take on the Salt Lake City Stars on Friday at 7 p.m. ET.
Williamson, Morant, Ball headline NBA Rising Stars rosters
NBA All-Star Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans and 2019-20 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies lead the list of 20 players selected by NBA assistant coaches for the 2021 NBA Rising Stars rosters.
NBA Rising Stars, the league’s annual showcase of premier young talent during NBA All-Star, will not be played this year due to the limitation of having All-Star events all on one night. To recognize deserving players, the NBA kept the custom of having the league’s assistant coaches vote for Rising Stars rosters, which comprise 10 first- and second-year NBA players from the United States (U.S. Team) and 10 first- and second-year NBA players from outside the United States (World Team).
Williamson and Morant lead a U.S. Team roster with 10 players from 10 different teams. Joining Williamson and Morant are Charlotte Hornets guard and two-time reigning Kia NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month LaMelo Ball; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards; Sacramento Kings guard and two-time reigning Kia NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month Tyrese Haliburton; Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro; Atlanta Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter; San Antonio Spurs guard/forward Keldon Johnson; Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr.; and Golden State Warriors center James Wiseman.
Six countries are represented on the World Team roster, including five players from Canada. The World Team is composed of Heat forward Precious Achiuwa (Nigeria); Pelicans guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Canada); Washington Wizards forwards Deni Avdija (Israel) and Rui Hachimura (Japan); New York Knicks guard/forward RJ Barrett (Canada); Nuggets guard Facundo Campazzo (Argentina); Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke (Canada); Oklahoma City Thunder guards Luguentz Dort (Canada) and Théo Maledon (France); and Warriors guard Mychal Mulder (Canada).
The World Team includes five players who participated as campers in Basketball Without Borders (BWB), the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball and development community outreach program: Avdija (BWB Europe 2018; BWB Global 2019), Barrett (BWB Global 2017), Campazzo (BWB Americas 2009), Dort (BWB Global 2017) and Hachimura (BWB Global 2016).
NBA opening-night rosters for the 2020-21 season featured 107 international players from 41 countries, marking the seventh consecutive season that opening-night rosters had at least 100 international players. A record nine international players have been named NBA All-Stars this season, including a record five international players voted to start the All-Star Game and a record six All-Star selections from Europe.
Spurs’ Keldon Johnson selected to 2021 Rising Stars roster
The NBA today announced that San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson has been selected to the 2021 Rising Stars Roster. Johnson is the first Spurs player to be selected for the Rising Stars Challenge since Jonathon Simmons in 2017 and the first player to be selected in his second season after appearing in less than 20 games as a rookie since Clint Capela in 2016.
In his sophomore campaign this season, Johnson is averaging career highs of 14.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 29.4 minutes over 28 games. He is on track to become the first Spur in his second season to average at least 14.0 points and 6.0 rebounds since Tim Duncan in 1998-99.
Johnson, 21, is one of three Spurs in history (Duncan and David Robinson) to record multiple games with 25-plus points and 10-or-more rebounds in their first 50 career games. The former Kentucky Wildcat has posted five double-doubles on the season and has scored double figures in 21 games, including five games with 20-or-more. Among rookies and sophomores in the NBA this season, Johnson joins Zion Williamson and Michael Porter Jr. as the only three players averaging better than 14.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
Johnson becomes the ninth player in San Antonio franchise history to be selected to the Rising Stars since the event’s inception in 1994.
Doncic, Paul headline Skills Challenge
NBA All-Stars Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks and Chris Paul of the Phoenix Suns will display their vast array of talents in the 2021 Taco Bell® Skills Challenge on Sunday, March 7 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. The Taco Bell® Skills Challenge will take place before the 2021 NBA All-Star Game, airing on TNT.
Joining Doncic and Paul as 2021 NBA All-Stars in the field are New York Knicks forward Julius Randle, Indiana Pacers forward Domantas Sabonis and Orlando Magic center Nikola Vučević. The six-player competition also features Portland Trail Blazers forward Robert Covington.
The 19th Taco Bell® Skills Challenge is an obstacle-course competition that tests players’ dribbling, passing, agility and 3-point shooting skills. The event is part of NBA All-Star 2021, which will take place on one night. TNT’s NBA All-Star coverage on March 7 will begin at 5 p.m. ET with TNT NBA Tip-Off presented by CarMax, followed by the Taco Bell® Skills Challenge and MTN DEW® 3-Point Contest starting at 6:30 p.m. ET. NBA All-Star Game coverage will begin at 8 p.m. ET, with AT&T Slam Dunk taking place at halftime.
Doncic, who was named an NBA All-Star Game starter for the second year in a row, joins Sabonis (the 2020 runner-up) and Vučević as second-time participants in the Taco Bell® Skills Challenge. Paul, an NBA All-Star selection for the 11th time, will make his record fifth appearance in the Taco Bell® Skills Challenge and his first since 2011. Randle and Covington will make their event debuts.
The Taco Bell® Skills Challenge is a three-round competition with a single-elimination tournament format. Two players will compete simultaneously on an identical course and the winner of each head-to-head matchup will advance to the next round. Two of the six participants, as chosen by the NBA, will receive a bye in the first round and automatically advance to the second round. First-round matchups will be announced at a later date.
Cavs’ McGee: ‘We’re not a team that just gives up”
It appears that the Cleveland Cavaliers(14-21) may have figured out their issues and have turned things around. Cleveland got their second straight road win and their fourth straight victory overall after defeating Houston(11-22) 101-90 on Monday night.
Collin Sexton was very dynamic against the Rockets. He was 12-20 from the field, including 4-8 from three-point range for 39 points. Sexton also added eight assists.
“He was not going to let us lose,” Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said about Sexton after the game. “And again, they do make it tough on you because they have some very good individual defenders, and they can switch with length. It turns into where you have to beat your man, and Collin has the ability to beat his man. He was awesome for us tonight.”
During the Cavs’ four-game winning streak, Sexton is averaging 29.8 ppg, and according to Sexton, he felt he needed to do more for his team.
“I put many hours in the gym each and every day,” Sexton said. “I knew I had to be better for my teammates.”
Two weeks ago, during their 10-game losing streak, it appeared the Cavs had lost their way and would struggle the rest of the season, but to the credit of the players and coaching staff, Cleveland has has not quit.
“We’re not a team that just gives up,” JaVale McGee said after scoring 10 points off the bench against Houston. “We are in the East right now, so maybe we’re three or four games out of the playoffs(2.5 games), which is crazy when you think about it after losing ten in a row.”
Cleveland plays their final game before the All-Star break at home against the Pacers on Wednesday night with a chance to make it five straight.
