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Lakers Cruise to “In-Season” Cup Final

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LAS VEGAS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – LeBron James recorded 30 points and eight assists to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 133-89 semifinal victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night in Las Vegas to reach the championship game of the NBA’s in-season tournament.

The Lakers will face the Indiana Pacers in Saturday’s title game. The Pacers defeated theMilwaukee Bucks 128-119 in Thursday’s other semifinal.

Austin Reaves had 17 points and seven assists, and Anthony Davis added 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Lakers, who won for the 11th time in their past 15 games.

James made all four of his attempts from beyond the arc while finishing 9 of 12 overall. He played just 23 minutes and sat out the final quarter.

Trey Murphy III scored 14 points and Zion Williamson added 13 for the Pelicans. Herbert Jones added 10 points and seven rebounds as New Orleans lost for the fourth time in its past seven games.

Brandon Ingram had just nine points on 4-of-13 shooting for the Pelicans. New Orleans hit 35.8 percent of its shots and was 7-of-31 from behind the arc.

Taurean Prince scored 15 points, D’Angelo Russell had 14 and Rui Hachimura added 12 for the Lakers, who made 54.7 percent of their shots and 17 of 35 from 3-point range.

James scored 21 points in the first half as Los Angeles led 67-54 at the break.

James scored only three points in the first quarter before scoring 18 in the second.

Lakers Advance Over Suns

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LOS ANGELES – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – LeBron James scored 31 points with 11 assists, Anthony Davis scored 27 points with 15 rebounds and the Los Angeles Lakers advanced to the semifinals of the NBA in-season tournament with a 106-103 victory Tuesday over the visiting Phoenix.

Austin Reaves scored 20 points for the Lakers, who will face the New Orleans Pelicans in one semifinal game Thursday at Las Vegas. The Milwaukee Bucks will face the Indiana Pacers in the other semifinal, also on Thursday at Las Vegas, with the final set for Saturday there.

Los Angeles improved to 5-0 during in-season tournament games.

Kevin Durant scored 31 points for the Suns, who lost for the third time in their past four games after a seven-game winning streak. Phoenix lost two of its five games in the in-season tournament, both against Los Angeles.

Devin Booker and Grayson Allen each scored 21 points for the Suns, with Booker grabbing 11 rebounds. Phoenix head coach Frank Vogel, who was the Lakers’ coach when they won the 2020 NBA title, is 0-3 this season against his former team.

The Suns took a 95-94 lead on a 3-pointer from Durant with 5:45 remaining, but then they went more than four minutes without a field goal as the Lakers took a 102-97 lead with 2:20 remaining after six consecutive points from James.

Durant ended the field-goal drought with a short jumper to bring Phoenix within 102-99 with 1:02 remaining, and Booker brought the Suns within a point at 102-101 on a layup with 30 seconds left.

After missing his first five shots of the fourth quarter, Reaves buried a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left for a 105-101 lead. Durant made a quick layup to get the Suns within 105-103, with Davis making a free throw with 6.6 seconds remaining. Durant missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer.

The Lakers stormed out to a 33-23 lead after one quarter, assisted by nine Suns turnovers. Los Angeles led 59-47 at halftime after Davis scored 20 points with six rebounds.

After the Suns opened the second half on a 14-0 run, the Lakers’ lead was trimmed to 83-82 through three quarters.

–Field Level Media

Celtics Lose; Bow Out of Tourney

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INDIANAPOLIS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Indiana’s multi-talented PG Tyrese Haliburton turned a three-pointer into a tiebreaking, four-point play with 1:33 remaining as part of a triple-double and the Indiana Pacers outfinished the Boston Celtics for a 122-112 victory in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament on Monday in Indianapolis.

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The result vaults Indiana into the Eastern finals of the event, which will be played Thursday night in Las Vegas. The winner of Tuesday’s other Eastern semifinal between the New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks will join the Pacers in Las Vegas.

The Celtics will drop back into NBA regular-season action on Friday.

After a Jayson Tatum jumper produced the sixth and final tie of the fourth period with 1:57 remaining, Haliburton buried his game-changing shot at the shot-clock buzzer as he was being fouled by Jaylen Brown. Haliburton’s subsequent free throw put the Pacers up 109-105.

Indiana then put the game away by scoring the game’s next five points on a Buddy Hield 3-pointer and an Aaron Nesmith dunk, both assisted by Haliburton. Boston, meanwhile, missed three consecutive shots, including 3-point attempts by Tatum and Brown.

The Celtics held the upper hand for much of the first half before the Pacers, the NBA’s highest-scoring team, exploded for 37 points in the third period to go up 85-78. Haliburton had 12 of his team-high 26 points in the quarter, including two of Indiana’s six 3-pointers.

Boston drew even by the 6:07 mark of the fourth quarter on a 3-pointer by Brown.

Overall, Haliburton shot 5-for-11 from 3-point range to account for a majority of his scoring for Indiana, which connected on 19 treys and outscored the visitors 57-36 from beyond the arc.

The star guard also found time for a game-high 13 assists and a team-high-tying 10 rebounds.

Myles Turner compiled 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers, who earned the home court in the Eastern semifinals by virtue of having gone 4-0 in group play. Hield finished with 21 points, while Bennedict Mathurin had 16, Nesmith 14, Bruce Brown 13 and Obi Toppin 12.

The Celtics, who had walloped the Pacers 155-104 at home on Nov. 1 and came into the Monday contest on a three-game winning streak, were led by Tatum with a game-high 32 points and Brown with 30. Tatum completed a double-double with a game-high 12 rebounds.

Derrick White had 18 points and a team-high eight assists for Boston, which was missing injured Kristaps Porzingis (calf). Sam Hauser came off the bench for 15 points.

–Field Level Media

Ingram, Pelicans Knock-Out Kings

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SACRAMENTO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Pelicans’ forward Brandon Ingram recorded 30 points, eight rebounds and six assists and New Orleans advanced to the semifinals of the NBA’s in-season tournament with a 127-117 knockout-round victory over the host Sacramento Kings on Monday night.

Herbert Jones scored 23 points and Jonas Valanciunas added 18 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out for the third-seeded Pelicans. CJ McCollum had 17 points and Trey Murphy III added 16 points off the bench for New Orleans, which beat Sacramento for the third time this season.

The Pelicans will face either the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers or fourth-seeded Phoenix Suns in Thursday’s semifinals in Las Vegas. The Lakers and Suns play their quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.

De’Aaron Fox scored 30 points and Domantas Sabonis recorded 26 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for the second-seeded Kings.

Malik Monk tallied 21 points off the bench, Keegan Murray scored 14 points and Kevin Huerter added 12 for Sacramento.

The Kings went 4-0 while winning West Group C before succumbing to the Pelicans. New Orleans won West Group B with a 3-1 mark.

The Pelicans shot 54 percent from the field and made 14 of 31 (45.2 percent) from 3-point range. Zion Williamson had 10 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals for New Orleans.

Sacramento made 44.7 percent of its shots, including 14 of 41 (34.1 percent) from behind the arc.

Valanciunas scored in the interior, Murphy buried a 3-pointer and Ingram and Jones each made two free throws during a 9-0 burst as New Orleans took a 120-105 lead with 3:33 left in the game.

The Kings were unable to get closer than nine in the final minutes.

New Orleans opened the third quarter with a 10-3 run to take a 79-64 on Jones’ 3-pointer with 10:03 left.

The advantage was still 15 after McCollum’s floater with 7:21 remaining before Sacramento scored nine of the next 11 points to move within 89-81 on Sabonis’ basket with 4:56 remaining.

Sacramento later scored eight straight points to cut its deficit to 95-91 with 1:25 left. The Pelicans scored the next five to take a 100-91 lead into the final stanza.

Ingram and Murphy had 13 points apiece as the Pelicans led 69-61 at the break. Sabonis topped Sacramento with 16 first-half points.

–Field Level Media

NBA: Celtics Crush Hawks

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Celtics 113, Hawks 103

A 34-point, nine-rebound performance from Jayson Tatum helped Boston improve its home record to 7-0 by beating visiting Atlanta.

Tatum didn’t score in the third quarter before dropping 13 points in the fourth. The Celtics led by at least eight throughout the final 12 minutes. Al Horford had 15 rebounds for Boston, which received 15 points and 11 assists from Derrick White. Jaylen Brown added 21 points, and Neemias Queta grabbed 10 rebounds.

The Celtics had to overcome a 33-point effort from Trae Young, who also had five rebounds and seven assists. Atlanta’s De’Andre Hunter tossed in 24 points, and Bogdan Bogdanovic finished with 23. Bogdanovic made 7 of his 10 3-point attempts.

NBA Round Up: Dame Beats Blazers

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MILWAUKEE – Bucks all-star Giannis Antetokounmpo tipped in Bobby Portis’ missed shot with 18.1 seconds remaining for the game-winning points, and the Milwaukee Bucks rallied past the visiting Portland Trail Blazers 108-102 Sunday in Damian Lillard‘s first game against his old team.

Lillard totaled 31 points and capped his big game with four clinching free throws for his sixth 30-point game of the season.

The meeting was the first since Portland ended an 11-year relationship with Lillard, dealing him to the Bucks in the offseason in a three-team deal that brought Jrue Holiday, Deandre Ayton and Toumani Camara to the Trail Blazers along with a 2029 first-round pick.

The win Sunday was Milwaukee’s seventh in its last eight games, while Portland lost for ninth time in its last 10 outings.

Nets 118, Bulls 109

Spencer Dinwiddie scored 24 points as host Brooklyn hit an NBA season-high 25 3-pointers and stormed back from a 21-point deficit for a victory over skidding Chicago.

The Nets gave up the game’s first 13 points and trailed 30-9 with 4:37 left in the first quarter. Brooklyn outscored the Bulls 109-79 the rest of the way and 99-73 over the final three quarters. Brooklyn finished two shy of the team record set Feb. 15, 2021, in Sacramento and set a record for 3s in a home game. The Nets also finished four shy of the NBA record set by Milwaukee on Dec. 29, 2020.

Royce O’Neale and Lonnie Walker IV added 20 apiece. The duo combined to shoot 12-of-20 from 3-point range as the Nets hit 20 of their 3s after the opening quarter. DeMar DeRozan led all scorers with 27 but the Bulls lost their fourth in a row and seventh time in eight games. Coby White added 23 while Patrick Williams and Zach LaVine contributed 20 apiece as the Bulls made 13 of their first 21 shots and eight 3s in the opening quarter and finished at 48.2 percent overall.

Suns 116, Knicks 113

Devin Booker sank the tie-breaking 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds left for visiting Phoenix, which squandered a 15-point lead before edging New York.

Booker scored 20 points in the second half and finished with a double-double (28 points, 11 assists) for the Suns, who have won seven straight, including the last two games without Kevin Durant. The 13-time All-Star warmed up beforehand but sat out his second straight game with a sore right foot. Eric Gordon scored 25 points while Jordan Goodwin (14) and Nassir Little (11) got into double figures off the bench.

Jalen Brunson had 35 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Knicks, who have lost two of their past three games. Julius Randle scored 28 points and reserve Immanuel Quickley added 18.

Magic 130, Hornets 117

Franz Wagner and Cole Anthony scored 30 points apiece as Orlando extended their winning streak to seven games, beating visiting Charlotte.

Paolo Banchero had 23 points, Jalen Suggs scored 12 and Goga Bitadze contributed 11 points and seven rebounds for Orlando, which has won seven consecutive games for the first time since the 2010-11 season. Moritz Wagner added 11 points and seven rebounds. Franz Wagner and Anthony recorded season-high point totals for Orlando, which shot 54 percent from the field and 37 percent (10 of 27) from 3-point range.

Miles Bridges paced Charlotte with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Terry Rozier collected 22 points and nine assists, Brandon Miller had 20 points, P.J. Washington 13 and Mark Williams added 12. Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball had seven points before exiting midway through the second quarter with a right ankle strain. Ball had to be helped to the locker room after colliding with Banchero near the basket.

Timberwolves 119, Grizzlies 97

Anthony Edwards scored 24 points and Minnesota held host Memphis to just 38.6 percent shooting from the floor in sending the Grizzlies to their fourth consecutive loss.

Every Minnesota player who saw action scored, with five reaching double-figures. Mike Conley shot 6-of-9 from 3-point range, leading to the Wolves’ 15-of-34 shooting (44.1 percent) from the beyond arc, and finished with 18 points. Conley also dished a game-high 10 assists.

Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 18 points and three blocks, Desmond Bane scored 13 and Santi Aldama had 14 points with a team-high seven rebounds.

Nuggets 132, Spurs 120

Nikola Jokic had a season-high 39 points along with 11 rebounds and nine assists, Michael Porter Jr. scored 25 points and host Denver beat San Antonio.

Reggie Jackson had 20 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope contributed 16 points and Julian Strawther added 10 points for Denver. The Nuggets played without forward Aaron Gordon, who sat with a right heel strain. With Jamal Murray sidelined since early November, Denver was without two starters.

Victor Wembanyama had 22 points, 11 rebounds, six steals and four blocks, Devin Vassell scored 19 points, Malaki Branham added 15 points, Julian Champagnie finished with 13 points and Keldon Johnson and Tre Jones scored 10 each for the Spurs, who dropped their 12th straight.

Cavaliers 105, Raptors 102

Darius Garland scored 24 points and Cleveland defeated visiting Toronto.

Max Strus scored all 20 of his points in the third quarter for the Cavaliers, who had lost their two previous games. Donovan Mitchell added 10 points for Clevland. Evan Mobley had 12 points and 14 rebounds, while Jarrett Allen chipped in with 18 points.

Pascal Siakam and Jakob Poeltl each scored 18 points for Toronto. Poeltl added 13 rebounds. Scottie Barnes had 15 points for the Raptors, who had won their two previous games. Dennis Schroder scored 15 points, Gary Trent Jr. had 13 points and OG Anunoby added 11.

-Field Level Media

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NBA: Friday Round-Up

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ORLANDO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – There was a healthy slate of games – including key In-Season Tounament contests across the landscape of the NBA as team returned from a Thursday, Thanksgiving holiday break.

Magic 113, Celtics 96

Orlando turned in a dominant second half and extended its winning streak to six games by beating visiting Boston in an NBA in-season tournament game.

Orlando outscored Boston 65-40 in the final two quarters and improved its record to 3-1 in East Group C. Boston’s tournament record in the group stage fell to 2-1.

Mo Wagner came off the bench to score a game-high 27 points for the Magic, who have won their past four home games. Paolo Banchero added 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Magic. Jayson Tatum scored 26 points for the Celtics, who shot 24.1 percent from 3-point range (7 of 29).

[Read more…] about NBA: Friday Round-Up

Celtics Face Magic in Friday Matinee

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ORLANDO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said his team is starting to believe it can compete with – and defeat – the best teams in the NBA, and that showed when his squad knocked off the Denver Nuggets 124-119 Wednesday night.

The victory extended the Magic’s winning streak to five games.

Orlando has another big challenge ahead when it meets the visiting Boston Celtics in an NBA in-season tournament game Friday afternoon. Boston improved its record to an NBA-best 12-3 by beating the Milwaukee Bucks 119-116 on Wednesday.

“That’s what the growth of this team is turning into — the belief system of knowing what we’re capable of doing in big games,” Mosley said. “I can’t say enough how proud I am of this group. How hard they worked and how they continue to believe in what they’re capable of doing on a regular basis.

“The trust and belief these guys have in one another. … Our identity is that we’re a defensive team that strives for pushing each other to be better every night.”

Franz Wagner scored 24 of his team-high 27 points in the second half of the victory over the defending champion Nuggets. Paolo Banchero added 23 points in the win.

“I think (Wagner’s) ability to see, and communicate the things that he sees … that’s not easy for a lot of people to do, because he sees the game a little bit differently because of his IQ,” Mosley said. “In the way he’s able to communicate it with his teammates is very special, and then at the end he had 24 points in the second half. They challenged him and he stepped up. He made big play after big play.”

The Magic broke a 115-115 tie on a Banchero 3-pointer with 1:49 to play. Banchero, last season’s NBA Rookie of the Year, shot 4 of 5 from behind the 3-point arc. He’s shooting 45.5 percent on 3-point attempts this season after finishing at 29.8 percent last season.

“A lot of teams try to stop me from getting to the rim so my whole thing is just making ’em pay,” Banchero said. “I’ve always been a good shooter so it’s just believing in it and taking the right ones, the ones that are in rhythm, the ones that feel good. And when I take ‘em, I’m shooting with confidence.”

The Celtics received 26 points and eight assists from Jaylen Brown, and 23 points and 11 rebounds from Jayson Tatum in their triumph over Milwaukee.

Boston led throughout the game, but had to fend off a late run by the Bucks. Kristaps Porzingis added 21 points.

“Obviously, the fans and everyone in the building knew this was No. 1 and No. 2 seed (in the Eastern Conference) playing against each other, and that just adds more fuel to the atmosphere,” Porzingis said. “The energy was there. We played hard and they made a good push at the end and almost made a comeback, but we held strong.”

The Celtics are 2-0 in in-season tournament games, and are the only unbeaten team in the East’s Group C. Boston’s victories came against Brooklyn and Toronto.

Orlando has won two of its three in-season tournament games. The Magic beat Chicago and Toronto after opening with a loss to Brooklyn.

– Field Level Media

Celtics Gift a Game in Charlotte

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CHARLOTTE – Hornets forward Miles Bridges, recently reinstated from an NBA suspension, drilled a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds left in overtime as Charlotte pulled off a 121-118 upset victory against the visiting Boston Celtics on Monday.

Charlotte delivered a startling fourth-quarter comeback, scoring the last nine points in regulation over a span of the final two minutes, en route to snapping a four-game losing streak.

LaMelo Ball contributed 36 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Hornets. Ex-Celtic Gordon Hayward had 20 points, Mark Williams posted 18 points and 16 rebounds, Bridges finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds and P.J. Washington had 15 points off the bench.

Jayson Tatum scored 31 of his 45 points in the first half for the Celtics, whose six-game winning streak ended. He also had team-high totals in rebounds (13) and assists (six).

Boston’s Payton Pritchard produced 21 points off the bench, while teammates Kristaps Porzingis (17 points), Jaylen Brown (13) and Jrue Holiday (11) were also in double figures.

After Bridges’ basket, Tatum made two free throws and Hayward matched that to account for the final score.

Until the final minutes Monday, the Celtics had a wildly successful four-game road trip — and they were greeted by many of their adoring fans on this final stop.

Bridges played in his third game since serving a suspension stemming from a domestic violence case, but he was in the starting lineup for the first time. Bridges replaced Washington.

Charlotte, which was down 11 points with six minutes left, trailed 108-99 with two minutes to go before rallying.

Williams’ putback of an offensive rebound made it a two-point game with 33 seconds left.

Holiday missed a pair of free throws with 10.1 seconds to play in regulation, and Ball’s driving, double-clutch layup tied the score with seven seconds left. Boston’s Sam Hauser missed a potential winning shot at the regulation buzzer.

The Celtics led 65-54 at halftime. Charlotte was within 90-87 on Washington’s jumper with about 9 1/2 minutes to play.

Ball had 17 first-half points, but that seemed pedestrian compared to Tatum, who shot 10-for-15 from the floor and sank five 3-pointers in the half.

–Field Level Media

Celtics Skip Past Grizzlies, 102-100; Tonight, It’s On to Charlotte

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CHARLOTTE – The Boston Celtics have been among the best teams in the NBA for the first month of the season.

That’s not the case for the Charlotte Hornets, who need something good to happen.

The teams with opposite types of streaks will meet tonight in North Carolina where the Celtics will conclude a four-game road stretch.

Kristaps Porzingis scored 26 points to lift Boston to its sixth straight victory on Sunday with a 102-100 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. Even that wasn’t totally satisfying for the Celtics, however.

“We got lucky enough to win that game,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. “You can learn from losses. You can learn from wins. I didn’t think we deserved to win the game because a lot of the stuff that we did.”

With that in mind, Mazzulla will have a motivational angle to use for the game in Charlotte. He said the Grizzlies played harder than the Celtics in Sunday night’s game. It’s all part of the heightened expectations for the Celtics, who are led by Jayson Tatum’s averages of 26.9 points and 8.7 rebounds a game.

“Guys in the locker room set a high standard for themselves,” Mazzulla said.

The Hornets probably are in a totally different state of mind as they try to break a four-game losing streak. In home games, Charlotte has dropped six straight since winning the season opener.

Charlotte’s offense has been regularly sparked by guard LaMelo Ball, who has reached the 30-point mark in five of the last seven games. He’s averaging 24.4 points per game. With 25 or more points in each of those seven games, that’s the second-longest Hornets streak in that category in franchise history.

Rookie Brandon Miller is coming off a career-high 29 points against the New York Knicks on Saturday night. Yet Miller is receiving hard lessons on the pro level about the necessity for focused defensive intensity.

“I think we kind of struggled maintaining our man in transition,” Miller said. “I think that’s just an effort thing with us, something we’ve got to clean up going into the game against Boston. Our focus is just individual defense. I think if we shut down a few players, we will have a great outcome in any game.”

Miller’s offensive skills have translated well in the early part of his NBA career.

“He does it the right way. He works in practice,” Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said.

Clifford said the defense must be addressed across the roster with the team. The Hornets shot 49 percent from the field Saturday night against the Knicks, a rate that should be good enough to at least keep the team in tighter games.

The Hornets have lost by 14 or more points in three of the four games in their skid.

Ex-Celtics forward Gordon Hayward has scored a total of 12 points in 90 minutes across the last three games combined for the Hornets. He has shot 6-for-25 from the field in those games, missing all six of his 3-point attempts.

“That’s something we have to work on,” Clifford said of getting Hayward and P.J. Washington to pick up the pace offensively.

The Hornets were missing backup center Nick Richards, who was in the concussion protocol, on Saturday night.

–Field Level Media