Austin Reaves admits he had always been the underdog on his way to the NBA, but for one night at least he was the hero for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The 23-year-old rookie earned a spot in the Lakers set-up after impressing in the Summer League, and now he is showing up as a big-league prospect, hitting the winning three-pointer against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night with 0.9 seconds left in overtime.
Reaves posted an NBA career-best 15 points and seven rebounds, making five of six three-point shots, earning high praise from superstar team-mate Anthony Davis after the Lakers' 107-104 win.
Davis said: "It's testament to the hard work he's putting in. He's a sponge. He's soaking up all the information that we give him. He wants to learn, he wants to get better.
"He's not afraid of the moment. He's a hard worker. He plays hard, does the right things. Even when we get on him during a game, he's right here accepting the criticism, accepting the help, and applying it on the floor."
LeBron James scored a team-high 24 points, adding three rebounds and five assists, but missed a last-gasp three-point attempt in normal time. The Mavs fumbled the rebound and Wayne Ellington swooped to hit a triple to send the game overtime.
Russell Westbrook (23 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists) came up with a clutch three-pointer in overtime, while Davis had 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Both sides traded triples in overtime, but shooting guard Reaves stepped up for the game-winning basket after being found by Westbrook wide open, lifting the Lakers to a 16-13 record with their third straight win.
"Great pass by Russ, great shot by Austin," Davis said. "Didn't even hit the net, it was a huge, huge shot for him."
It was described as "a hell of a shot" by coach Frank Vogel.
Reaves, roared into the locker room by team-mates and drenched in water as a prank, reflected on a tough journey to this moment in his career.
He said: "It's been the story of my life, I've always been under-rated. But at the end of the day you've got to produce on the basketball court
"For me to hit that shot and for my team-mates to have the trust in me to take that shot is very, very special."
The Lakers had players sidelined by COVID-19 protocols, in a sign of the times for the NBA.
James said the team were "kind of living in the moment right now" in that regard.
"There's been a lot going on," he said. "We have a lot of injuries, a lot of mixed line-ups, a lot of guys in protocols, false protocols, things of that nature, so we are what we are as a team right now, and we like where we’re at."
Westbrook joins Denver Nuggets on two-year contract
Russell Westbrook has joined the Denver Nuggets on a two-year contract containing a player option for 2025-26.
Earlier this month, Westbrook was traded from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Utah Jazz, who reached a contract buyout agreement with the point guard.
Westbrook had long been expected to move on to Denver, with Utah receiving a series of second-round draft picks from the Clippers to facilitate the move.
On Friday, Westbrook was in Denver to put pen to paper on his deal, with his agent Jeff Schwartz confirming the length and terms of his contract to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The team subsequently announced the arrival of the 35-year-old on social media, with the Nuggets becoming his sixth team in the last seven years.
Westbrook will earn an estimated $6.8million with the Nuggets, who lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in last season's Western Conference semifinals.
In 2023-24 for the Clippers, he averaged career lows of 11.1 points and 4.5 assists with 5 boards.
He came off the bench in 57 of the 68 games he played, shooting 27.3 per cent from 3-point range – the second-lowest mark among the 226 players with at least 150 attempts from beyond the arc.
However, Denver believe the 2016-17 NBA MVP can still provide depth and ease the load on reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, who was named the league's best player for a third time in 2023-24.
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."
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