The Sacramento Kings can be "dangerous" after ensuring their first winning season since 2005-06 with a 101-96 triumph over the Brooklyn Nets, believes coach Mike Brown.
Domantas Sabonis starred with 24 points, 21 rebounds, five assists and four blocks as the Kings took control of the Western Conference's second seed with Thursday's win.
No team in the NBA has a better record over their last 10 games than the Kings' 8-2 mark, and their 42nd win of the campaign ensures they will snap a 17-year run without a winning season – an NBA record.
"It means a lot for the fans and the organisation," Brown said after the game. "Sacramento, it's a proud fan base and they don't get a lot of love around the nation or even in the state of California.
"So to be able to pound their chest and be able to walk with their heads high and talk with their friends to have a little bit of bragging rights, it's great."
With the 42-27 Kings now 4.5 games behind the Denver Nuggets and 5.5 clear of the play-in tournament placings, Brown believes they should be aiming high.
"It's been pretty easy. The guys understand what my messaging has been all along, and they understand how passionate I am about it," Brown said.
"I do feel that this group believes in themselves. Not just because I'm telling them they're good, but because they've gone out and proven it time after time after time, whether it's individually in certain situations, or collectively as a team.
"When you have a team that believes, they can be dangerous. When you've got a collected team that believes, that can be a very dangerous team. That's what our group is right now."
The Kings continue their road stretch against the Washington Wizards on Saturday and the Utah Jazz on Monday, before returning home to face the Boston Celtics.
Lonzo Ball will be out "indefinitely" as he prepares to undergo a third surgery on his left knee in 14 months, with the Chicago Bulls reportedly concerned about his chances of resuming his career.
Ball has not played since January 2022, having suffered a knee injury that has already required two operations.
The guard – who is almost two seasons into a four-year, $80million deal in Chicago – was ruled out for the remainder of the 2022-23 campaign last month, stunting hopes of a return this term.
On Thursday, a report from ESPN suggested his upcoming cartilage transplant could rule him out for the entirety of next season, while his team simply said he would be sidelined "indefinitely".
The report added there is growing pressure for Ball's next surgery to offer him a clear pathway towards an eventual return to the court, which may not be assured.
Speaking to the Bulls' website, Ball said: "My main focus has been on returning to the court and getting to a place where I can re-join my team-mates.
"This has been a frustrating process, but I'm confident these next steps are the best path forward.
"The support of my family, friends, fans and medical staff throughout my recovery is what keeps me moving forward. I can't wait to get back to what I love doing most – playing basketball."
Ball averaged 13 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists across 35 games in his first season with the Bulls, who have struggled to a 31-37 record in his absence this campaign, leaving them 12th in the Eastern Conference.
Reigning back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic prioritised his scoring to help the Denver Nuggets snap their four-game losing streak on Thursday.
Jokic posted a game-high 30 points to go with 10 rebounds and nine assists as his Nuggets came back from an early deficit to defeat the Detroit Pistons 119-100 on the road.
Denver trailed by six at half-time, but went on to outscore the Pistons 61-36 the rest of the way, and Jokic was leaving nothing to chance.
Between December 30 and March 10, Jokic had only one game where he made at least 14 field goals. He has now reached that figure in three of his past four outings, and over that span he has put up averages of 32.5 points, 12.3 rebounds and 9.5 assists to try and shake the Nuggets out of their mini-slump.
A big reason for their recent dip in form has been the play of second-star Jamal Murray, who came into the contest after shooting 19-of-58 (32.8 per cent) over his past three. He was not at his scoring best against the Pistons, but he was a worthy contributor, chipping in 19 points (seven-of-15 shooting) with 10 assists and six rebounds.
On the other side, it was an eye-opening performance off the bench from rookie Jalen Duren, piling up 15 points (seven-of-10 shooting), 13 rebounds, four assists and three steals in his 27 minutes.
The victory improves Denver's Western Conference-leading record to 47-23, while the 16-55 Pistons own the league's worst record and the best odds at landing the number one draft pick.
Sabonis shines as Kings remain one of the league's hottest teams
Domantas Sabonis was the star of the show as his Sacramento Kings fought off the gritty Brooklyn Nets for a 101-96 road win.
No team in the NBA has a better record over their past 10 games than the Kings' 8-2 mark, and they were propelled Thursday by Sabonis' 24 points (eight-of-14 shooting), 21 rebounds, five assists and four blocks. In doing so, Sabonis broke Otis Thorpe's franchise record (1987-88 season) for the most rebounds in a single regular season (837).
Sacramento will be anxiously awaiting further news on starting wing Kevin Huerter after he left in the first quarter with a hamstring injury, but they have plenty of wiggle room after taking sole possession of the West's second seed.
At 42-27, the Kings are 4.5 games behind the Nuggets, and 5.5 games clear of the play-in tournament placings.
Bucks defense goes missing in Pacers upset
One of the best defenses in the league had no answers for the Indiana Pacers as the Milwaukee Bucks fell in a surprising 139-123 upset.
The Bucks looked on course to add to their league-best 50 wins after piling on 40 points in the first quarter, but they undid all their good work by allowing the Pacers to score 84 in the second half.
Eight Pacers scored double-figures, led by Andrew Nembhard's 24 points on 10-of-21 shooting, while the highlight of the game came from Myles Turner's posterising dunk over Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Milwaukee (50-20) sit two games clear atop the East, with the Boston Celtics (48-22) their closest competitor in the race for the league's best record.
The Atlanta Hawks and swingman Bogdan Bogdanovic have agreed to a four-year, $68million contract extension.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Thursday that Bogdanovic declined his $18m player option for next season and replaced it with the long-term deal that pays him through the 2026-27 season.
Playing primarily as a sixth man, Bogdanovic is averaging 14.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 43 games this season while shooting 40.1 per cent from three-point range.
Bogdanovic missed the first 22 games of this season while recovering from a right knee injury but has since resumed his role as the top scoring option off the bench for the 34-35 Hawks.
The 30-year-old Serbia native played his first three NBA seasons with the Sacramento Kings before joining the Hawks as a restricted free agent in 2020.
Over 359 career NBA games (156 starts), Bogdanovic has scored 14.2 points per game while shooting 43.9 per cent from the field and 38.6 per cent from beyond the arc.
Cleveland Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff was not happy with the decision to allow Joel Embiid to stay on the court as the man widely tipped to win this season's NBA MVP award led the Philadelphia 76ers to their sixth-straight victory.
Embiid ended the night with 36 points and 18 rebounds as the Sixers won 118-109, but the controversy arrived in the fourth-quarter when he appeared to have committed his sixth foul of the game.
With just over four minutes remaining, Embiid was called for charging Evan Mobley, but Sixers coach Doc Rivers challenged the call, seeing it successfully overturned on review.
"It's clear as day that's a charge," Bickerstaff said after the game. "There's no doubt about it. The call was made on the floor.
"He stands between him and the basket. Evan laid it all out on the line. Guys ought to be rewarded for that. If you stick your nose in there and sacrifice your body, you should be rewarded for the correct play."
He added: "They said there wasn't enough contact to be a charge. I mean, there's a 300-pound man who bowls through your chest, it's a charge. It's that simple."
Rivers still believed the overturn was the right call after his team secured the win, saying he thought Mobley had gone down too easily.
"I thought he flopped," Rivers said of Mobley. "I called that one right away. I didn't even look at my [replay] guy. I thought there was a good chance they would overturn it. I didn't think they would foul Joel out on that."
Embiid agreed, saying: "I thought it was a good call [to overturn]. I never extended my arm. Right before the hit, you could see he was already starting to flop.
"I watch basketball every day and I was pretty confident they would call it the other way."
The Sixers (46-22) remain third in the Eastern Conference, one spot ahead of the Cavs (44-28).
Steve Kerr praised Stephen Curry's ability to "put on a great show every night" as he recorded 50 points despite the Golden State Warriors losing on the road again at the Los Angeles Clippers.
Kawhi Leonard top-scored for the hosts with 30, but had far more help from his teammates as they ran out 134-126 victors at the Crypto.com Arena.
Curry did his best as he sank 20 of 28 field-goal attempts and eight of 14 three-point shots, but no other Golden State player was able to score more than the 19 managed by Jordan Poole.
While disappointed with yet another road defeat, coach Kerr was left in awe at Curry's performance.
"It's like when a guy's throwing a no-hitter, just leave him alone," Kerr said after the loss. "Let him sit in the dugout in between innings and don't say anything to him.
"It was stunning watching that show. Watching some of the shot-making, the playmaking. We're so lucky on so many levels to coach Steph, to play with Steph.
"Our fans, being able to watch Steph, he puts on a great show every night. But this ranks right up there with some of the greatest individual performances that I've ever seen from him."
It meant that Curry became the first player in NBA history to score 50+ points, make eight or more threes and shoot 70 per cent from the field while being on the losing team in regulation.
Draymond Green, who scored eight points with eight rebounds and five assists, was left frustrated that he and his teammates could not provide Curry with more assistance.
The Warriors suffered their 27th defeat on the road out of 34 games for the season, the most by a defending champion in the league's history.
"It sucks," Green said. "You just sit and think about what more could I have done to help him?
"When you get a guy going off like that, you need to find a way to capitalise on it. We didn't do that.
"There is always frustration after a loss. Yeah, I think we did play better, but at the end of the day, you've got to come out with a win. You've got to figure out a way to win."
Golden State (36-34) are sixth in the Western Conference, one place behind the Clippers (37-33), who have won four games in a row.
Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham was not happy with the application of his team in their 114-110 defeat at the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
Going up against the team bottom of the Western Conference and on a run of four wins from their previous five, the Lakers had been hoping to give their playoff hunt another boost in Houston.
However, with a depleted side, they were unable to do so, allowing seven Rockets players to end the game with double figures at Toyota Center.
"We've talked about it and I've said it before games, after games, non-game days: energy, effort and urgency," Ham said after the loss. "And I thought coming out of the gates that kind of was non-existent.
"It's a product of us not being good on the ball. That individual pride it takes to keep the ball in front and guys behind you knowing that the paint is the priority. This team lives in the paint. The Houston Rockets live in the paint... And we preached that to them before the game."
The Lakers were without LeBron James (foot), Anthony Davis (foot) and Mo Bamba (ankle), with recent recruit from the Washington Wizards Rui Hachimura starting.
Ham was mostly critical of his defense, saying: "When you struggle defensively and you're playing against a set defense, the offense is going to struggle. You're not going to be able to be in a good rhythm."
He added: "I mean, it's the NBA. If you're not cut out for this, you're in the wrong business. I love it, personally. Would I rather have a sound and secure spot in the postseason? Yeah. Who wouldn't? But our circumstances are what they are."
The Lakers sit 10th in the Western Conference, just inside the play-in places on 34-36.
D'Angelo Russell, who scored 18 points with seven assists, pointed to the lack of star power available to them, recalling the days of Kobe Bryant.
"I mean, I'm not going to go against [the] coach. He obviously sees that as well. I agree," Russell said. "But when LeBron is playing, we're a different offensive team. When [Davis] is playing, we're a different offensive team. I compare it to with Kobe [Bryant].
"He was on his way out and he didn't practice a lot and we had a practice group in there at practice and ran the plays and did all that. But when Kobe would play, everything we practiced on kind of went down the drain. We kind of had to adjust. So, it's similar to that."
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