Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle gushed over his two top players after Myles Turner and Tyrese Haliburton helped extend their winning streak to three games.
The Pacers ended the year on a high as they beat the Los Angeles Clippers 131-130 on the road in the opening game on New Year's Eve.
It continued an impressive run of scoring form, putting up 129 points in a victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday, before notching 135 points to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday.
Against the Clippers, Turner proved nearly unstoppable. The man who has led the league in blocks per game on three separate occasions was an offensive force, scoring a team-high 34 points on 11-of-17 shooting, hitting all 10 of his free throws.
He also hit a pair of three-pointers, dished three assists and snatched two steals, and while it was all Turner for the first three quarters, it was the Haliburton show late.
Haliburton reached the fourth quarter with just six points to his name, before exploding for 18 in the final period alone, finishing with 24 points (eight-of-13 shooting), 10 assists, seven rebounds and four steals.
In his postgame media appearance, Carlisle spoke about how exciting it is to watch his young stars excel in a playoff type of atmosphere.
"Myles Turner was spectacular in this game," he said. "He didn't get many rebounds, but he neutralised the boards – he kept their big guy off the boards.
"He was clutch all night, he punished them on the inside when they went small, he made big free throws, big and-ones – he played huge in this game.
"Tyrese’s fourth quarter was a monster. 18 [points] in the fourth, made just about every play you could imagine. Really just breathtaking stuff to watch.
"The building was absolutely alive. Today was another opportunity to play a playoff-caliber game during the regular season. [The Clippers] were loaded up, they had all their guys, and they really came to play. We had to put together a monster game to beat them – and we did."
When asked about Haliburton and his growth into a true team leader since arriving in a trade from the Sacramento Kings, Carlisle compared him to another young playmaker he has coached – Luka Doncic.
"[Haliburton] is a basketball savant-type guy," he said. "People like him, people like Doncic, people like Reggie Miller, they sense when their time is coming.
"He's resourceful, and he finds ways to help our team get the ball in the basket. Sometimes it's not him – sometimes he makes the play that leads to the bucket, or the pass that leads to the pass.
"But his will to win is spectacular for a young player, and he really is grasping everything that there is to grasp about the opportunity that he has here, and the responsibility that he has here.
"It's amazing to watch him continue to grow, grow and grow every single game."
Haliburton himself spoke of the challenge of facing a team that dominated the interior last time they met, and pointed out why Turner is such a mismatch problem for teams who like to play small.
"Last time we played these guys [Ivica] Zubac had a great game – almost 30 and 30," he said. "So as a competitor, and as a competitive team, we wanted to respond the right way.
"We attacked him early, we felt like we were getting after him… he's a tough guy to keep off the glass, but we were able to do that successfully.
"We made them play small, which is to our advantage, because we still feel we can run with a big on the floor because 'MT' runs so well.
"We felt like we dictated pace tonight, and usually when we dictate pace, we win games."
It is the fifth win from the Pacers' past six outings, improving their record to 20-17 to occupy the six seed in the Eastern Conference, while the Clippers (21-17) are sixth in the West.
Kerr demands improvements from Team USA as Olympic opener looms
United States coach Steve Kerr wants to see higher levels of intensity from his team as their Olympics campaign approaches.
Kerr was unhappy with the lacklustre displays from his side in their warm-ups against Germany and South Sudan.
Germany led 71-68 at the end of the third quarter before LeBron James conjured up 11 points in the final four minutes to give the USA a 92-88 win, while South Sudan were 20 seconds away from pulling off one of the biggest shocks in basketball history, before eventually falling to a 101-100 loss.
The USA face a dangerous Serbia side featuring reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic on Sunday, and Kerr is adamant that improvements are required if they are to win a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal.
He said: "It's got to be 40 minutes of force and attention and focus, and we can't let teams outplay us effort and energy-wise like we did the other night against Germany, like we did against South Sudan.
“We have another level. I think we have another two levels that we can get to, but it's a collaboration, always.
"We can show them, 'Let's do this, let's do that. Let's learn personnel.'
"We got to know the shooters, know the non-shooters, all that stuff. So that's where we can help them. Where they can help themselves is just effort and energy play after play, after play. This is different."
Kerr is a four-time NBA champion as a coach, and was part of the triumphant Olympics team in Tokyo in 2021, but the Golden State Warriors boss knows the experience of the Games will only be enhanced if the USA were to come out on top again.
"This should be one of the great experiences of our lives. But the best way to make it an incredible experience is to win a gold medal," he said.
After facing Serbia, the USA will once again go up against South Sudan, this time in a competitive format, before ending the group stage with a match against Puerto Rico.
Durant warns Team USA 'everybody is a contender' in Olympic basketball tournament
Kevin Durant has warned Team USA they will not have an easy ride through the basketball tournament at the Paris Olympic Games, declaring: "Everybody is a contender".
The United States will go in search of a fifth straight men's basketball gold in the French capital, where they open their Group C campaign against Serbia on Sunday.
After that meeting with Nikola Jokic and company, the star-studded USA team featuring Durant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid and a host of other NBA stars take on South Sudan and Puerto Rico.
With Steve Kerr having so much talent at his disposal, the roster has been compared to that of the 1992 'Dream Team', who took gold in Barcelona behind the efforts of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen and other great names.
However, at a press conference ahead of Team USA's 2024 opener, Curry reminded reporters that the class of 1992 only faced nine other active NBA players.
Durant is expecting a much tougher assignment this year, responding to Curry by saying: "Everybody is a contender. Everyone is here for a reason.
"We're playing against 65 or 64 NBA players in Paris. So you know they're the best in the world."
Asked to identify the main players to watch from other nations, the Phoenix Suns forward said: "Giannis [Antetokounmpo] or Jokic."
While Durant adopted a cautious tone, Golden State Warriors star Curry was more bullish regarding the USA's gold medal hopes.
Quizzed on who he was most excited about facing, Curry simply said: "Whoever's in the gold medal game."
Knicks, head coach Thibodeau agree to three-year contract extension
The New York Knicks and head coach Tom Thibodeau have agreed to a three-year contract extension through the 2027-28 season.
New York went 50-32 last season to earn the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference before losing to the Indiana Pacers in the semi-finals of the play-offs.
The Knicks were also ousted in the East semis in 2022-23 and reached the play-offs during Thibodeau’s first season in 2021-22, when he won his second NBA Coach of the Year award.
Prior to 2021-22, New York’s previous post-season appearance came in 2013.
The Knicks have gone 175-143 over the last four seasons under Thibodeau, who earned his first NBA Coach of the Year award in 2011 as a rookie head coach with the Chicago Bulls.
The 66-year-old Thibodeau owns a 527-389 record in 12 seasons as a head coach with Chicago, the Minnesota Timberwolves and New York.
His teams have gone 38-47 in the post-season, and Thibodeau’s only appearance in the conference finals came in his rookie head coach season.
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