Michael Malone quipped that Nikola Jokic was purely out to defend him after the Denver Nuggets pair were ejected from Monday's game against the Detroit Pistons.
Two-time NBA MVP Jokic and Nuggets head coach Malone were both ejected in the first quarter of Denver's 107-103 win over the struggling Pistons, who have now lost 12 straight games.
Jokic was called for a technical foul for arguing with the officials, before he was tossed for arguing another call in the final two minutes of the quarter.
Malone, meanwhile, was ejected because he went onto the court to dispute a decision.
"I think Nikola was worried about my welfare," Malone joked.
"It is tough to watch a game on TV – we were hugging on good plays and I was cursing in Serbian on the bad ones."
Denver are second in the Western Conference with a 10-4 record for the season.
Doncic surpasses Bird with 'special' triple-double as Mavs crush 'horrendous' Jazz
Luka Doncic hailed an "amazing" night after surpassing Larry Bird with the 60th triple-double of his NBA career, helping the Dallas Mavericks crush the Utah Jazz 147-97 on Wednesday.
Doncic recorded the first first-half triple-double of his career at American Airlines Center, finishing with 40 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in just three periods as the Mavs dominated from the off.
The four-time All-Star brought up his 60th triple-double with just under a minute remaining in the second quarter, moving past Bird to go ninth outright in the league's all-time rankings.
Asked what it meant to surpass the Boston Celtics icon, Doncic said: "It's pretty amazing. I don't know what to say, honestly. We all know who Larry Bird is, so it's pretty special."
Kyrie Irving added 26 points for Dallas, who had their highest-scoring game of this season and came up two points shy of the highest-scoring game ever in regulation.
Dallas guard Tim Hardaway Jr., who added 17 points in 22 minutes on the court, said after the win: "Luka set the tone with that, knocking down shot after shot after shot… after shot after shot after shot! I thought he was going to go 50-20-20!"
While Dallas snapped a two-game losing streak to improve to 12-8, putting them fourth in the Western Conference standings, the Jazz sit 12th at 7-14 after a performance which left coach Will Hardy furious.
"That was an absolutely horrendous performance," Hardy fumed.
"It seemed like the Mavericks were moving at a different pace than we were from start to finish."
'That's why he's MVP!' – Embiid's 50-point night powers 76ers
Joel Embiid was praised for an "effortless" shooting performance after he led the Philadelphia 76ers to a 131-126 victory over the Washington Wizards with a season-high 50 points.
The reigning NBA MVP, who also grabbed 13 rebounds, hit the 50-point mark for the sixth time in his career on Wednesday.
Washington (3-17) was in with a chance of an upset as they led in the fourth quarter but the 76ers prevailed to improve to 13-7 on the season with a key road win.
Embiid was 19 of 24 from the floor and 11 of 13 from the foul line. He also had seven assists and six turnovers in just over 38 minutes.
Tyrese Maxey added 26 points and De'Anthony Melton chipped in with 19 as Philadelphia averted a third straight loss.
"I felt like it was one of those nights where I had to be aggressive and get it going," Embiid said after the game.
"Sometimes your team needs you to be a playmaker, but sometimes they need you to score.
"But they made passes, they made the right plays every single time and I just finished them."
Melton felt it was a game that showed how important Embiid is to the team, with the 76ers now set to play three of their next four games at home, including another clash with the Wizards on Monday.
"That's why he's the MVP," Melton said. "He's our safety valve – offensively and defensively.
"He covers up for a lot of our mistakes defensively and then offensively he can bail us out late and make some shots.
"He was just going out there effortlessly shooting the ball and scoring."
Philadelphia is fourth in the Eastern Conference standings and are next in action at home to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.
Doncic has triple-double in 1st half in Mavericks' rout
Luka Dončić notched a triple-double by halftime and finished with 40 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in three quarters in the Dallas Mavericks’ 147-97 rout of the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.
Doncic grabbed a rebound with 71 seconds left in the first half and assisted on Dereck Lively II’s dunk 12 seconds later to complete the 60th triple-double of his career. That moved him past Larry Bird into sole possession of ninth on the career list.
The Dallas superstar had the first 25-point first-half triple-double in NBA history. Doncic shot 14 of 25 from the field and was 6 of 12 from long range.
Kyrie Irving added 26 points for Dallas, which had its highest-scoring game of this season and came up two points shy of the highest-scoring game ever in regulation.
Ochai Agbaji scored 21 points for the Jazz, who played without top scorers Lauri Markkanen (hamstring) and Jordan Clarkson (thigh).
Grizzlies’ Bane goes off as Pistons lose again
Desmond Bane poured in 32 of his career-high 49 points in the second half and the Memphis Grizzlies sent the Detroit Pistons to their 18th straight loss, 116-102.
Detroit’s streak is the longest single-season run in franchise history and the longest in the NBA since the Houston Rockets’ 20-game slide in 2020-21. The Philadelphia 76ers hold the NBA record with a 26-game drought in 2013-14.
Bane shot 19 of 31 from the field and 4-of-8 from 3-point range while sinking all seven free-throw attempts. He added eight assists and six rebounds.
The Pistons held a 69-61 lead midway through the third quarter, but Bane scored the next seven points.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 22 points for Detroit, which was outscored 34-18 in the fourth quarter.
Embiid drops 50 in 76ers’ win
Joel Embiid scored a season-high 50 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 131-126 victory over the Washington Wizards.
Embiid hit the 50-point mark for the sixth time in his career, falling nine points short of his career best set on Nov. 13, 2022, against Utah.
He was 19 of 24 from the floor with a 3-pointer on two attempts and 11 of 13 from the foul line. He also had seven assists and six turnovers in just over 38 minutes.
Tyrese Maxey added 26 points as the 76ers averted a third straight loss.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
