NBA

Pierce and Bosh included in 2021 Hall of Fame class

By Sports Desk May 16, 2021

Paul Pierce and Chris Bosh are among the notable names to be included on the 2021 list of inductees into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Pierce sits 16th on the all-time list for points in the NBA, finishing with 26,397 at the end of a career that included winning a title with the Boston Celtics.

Selected 10th overall in the 1998 draft by Boston, the former Kansas Jayhawk was a 10-time All-Star who also played for the Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Clippers.

Bosh was a two-time champion during his time as part of a Miami Heat roster that also included fellow 'big three' members LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

An 11-time All-Star, Bosh – who was drafted by the Toronto Raptors – helped the United States win gold at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. His career was cut short due to a blood-clotting condition in 2017.

Former players Chris Webber and Ben Wallace are also to be honoured, along with Yolanda Griffith and Lauren Jackson from the WNBA.

The international committee selection goes to Toni Kukoc, a three-time NBA champion with Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls as they dominated between 1996 and 1998.

Bill Russell, meanwhile, is one of the coaches chosen having already been selected as a player. He is joined by Rick Adelman and Jay Wright.

The delayed ceremony for a 2020 class including Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and the late Kobe Bryant was held on Saturday in Connecticut.

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    Nick Nurse, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey all voiced 76ers frustration after the Knicks came back from 101-96 down to win 104-101 on Monday in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference quarter-final series.

    Philadelphia coach Nurse suggested his timeout calls were ignored on two separate occasions in the frantic finale, while Maxey and Embiid were left aggrieved with foul decisions during the same period.

    In its Last Two Minute Report, the league concurred with the 76ers claims after admitting Maxey was fouled in the build-up to Jalen Brunson's 3-pointer that cut Philadelphia's lead to just two.

    The same report also found that Maxey was illegally felled by Josh Hart, turning over for Donte DiVincenzo missing a decisive go-ahead 3-pointer before making the winning shot with 13 seconds remaining.

    "[Maxey] did his job," Embiid said after the game when asked about the turnover in the closing seconds. "That's on the league. That's on the NBA.

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    Maxey blamed himself and refused to dwell on the matter after the 76ers fell 2-0 down in the best-of-seven series, while Nurse was also left disappointed on the sidelines by the officiating.

    Nurse claimed he twice attempted to call timeout, with the league's report acknowledging one of those should have been granted when 76ers point guard Kyle Lowry was inbounding the ball.

    "I guess I got to run out onto the floor or do something to make sure and get his attention, but I needed a timeout there to advance it," Nurse lamented after the game.

    The Last Two Minutes Report reviewed two other errors in officiating, having missed an Embiid foul on DiVincenzo before Brunson's 3-pointer and a defensive violation by Knicks forward OG Anunoby.

    Though the NBA acknowledged the mistakes, no replay will be granted – a decision the Knicks are all too familiar with.

    New York wanted a replay earlier this season after referee Jacyn Goble made an incorrect call for a foul on Houston Rockets guard Aaron Holiday, though that call was labelled as human error.

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    Nick Nurse, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey all voiced 76ers frustration after the Knicks came back from 101-96 down to win 104-101 on Monday in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference quarter-final series.

    Philadelphia coach Nurse suggested his timeout calls were ignored on two separate occasions in the frantic finale, while Maxey and Embiid were left aggrieved with foul decisions during the same period.

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    The same report also found that Maxey was illegally felled by Josh Hart, turning over for Donte DiVincenzo missing a decisive go-ahead 3-pointer before making the winning shot with 13 seconds remaining.

    "[Maxey] did his job," Embiid said after the game when asked about the turnover in the closing seconds. "That's on the league. That's on the NBA.

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    Maxey blamed himself and refused to dwell on the matter after the 76ers fell 2-0 down in the best-of-seven series, while Nurse was also left disappointed on the sidelines by the officiating.

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    "I guess I got to run out onto the floor or do something to make sure and get his attention, but I needed a timeout there to advance it," Nurse lamented after the game.

    The Last Two Minutes Report reviewed two other errors in officiating, having missed an Embiid foul on DiVincenzo before Brunson's 3-pointer and a defensive violation by Knicks forward OG Anunoby.

    Though the NBA acknowledged the mistakes, no replay will be granted – a decision the Knicks are all too familiar with.

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