Luka Doncic says the defensive mishap that led to the Utah Jazz's winning dunk was a "misunderstanding" and shouldered the blame for the Dallas Mavericks' loss on Thursday.
The Jazz recorded their first home win of the season with their 115-113 victory, but it looked like they might have thrown it away after blowing a third-quarter lead.
However, with just 6.4 seconds remaining, Doncic left John Collins wide open to give him an easy dunk that settled the game in Utah's favour.
The Slovenian had 37 points, seven rebounds and nine assists for Dallas in an otherwise impressive showing, especially without Kyrie Irving, who missed the game with a shoulder injury.
"It was a misunderstanding," Doncic said.
"I thought I was going to go hit, and [Quentin] Grimes thought he was going to go hit. And it was a lob, so we misunderstood the bench. That's on me."
Collins scored 28 points for the Jazz in their win, also getting nine rebounds, while Jordan Clarkson added 20 points to end a five-game losing streak at home.
They rallied back after letting a 12-point lead slip, something which particularly impressed head coach Will Hardy.
"Tonight isn't about the Xs & Os piece, it was about the mental and physical toughness that the team showed," Hardy said.
"It felt really, really good to battle through a tough moment and pull out a win here at home."
Collins echoed his coach's praise: "Man, I wanted this one so bad. We knew it was going to be a battle in the second half, it's all about staying mentally strong."
LeBron James accepts he may only have a maximum of two more years left in him before calling time on his glittering NBA career.
The 39-year-old, playing in his 22nd NBA campaign, helped the Los Angeles Lakers to a 128-123 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.
James finished with 35 points, 12 rebounds, 14 assists and one steal as the Lakers improved to 7-4 across their first 11 games, making it three wins on the bounce since their defeat to the Grizzlies last week.
With his latest dazzling display, he became the oldest player to record three straight triple-doubles at 39 years and 319 years old.
That surpassed his own record of 34 years and 310 days, but James knows he will not be able to continue at an elite level forever.
"I'm not going to play that much longer, to be completely honest," he told reporters.
"I don't know how many years that is, whether it's one year or two years."
"I'm not playing until the wheels fall off. I'm not going to be the guy that's disrespecting the game because I just want to be out on the floor."
Proving that age is just a number, James is averaging 24.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 9.4 assists per game this season.
Further probed on what will determine when he calls time on his playing career, the 20-time NBA All-Star said: "It's not me.
"It's wherever my mind is, it's however my body's going to go. Whatever the case may be."
The Lakers are sixth in the Western Conference and return to action in the NBA Cup against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday.
Giannis Antekounmpo says he realized as a leader, he had to adapt his mindset against the Detroit Pistons, leading to his 59-point game.
The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Pistons 127-120 in overtime on Wednesday, with Antetokounmpo the driving force as they bounced back from their last NBA defeat to the Boston Celtics.
His total was five back on his career-high points total in a single game, but was his ninth 50-point, 10-rebound game in his career, which puts him third on the NBA all-time list.
Antetokounmpo made 21 of 34 shots from the field and 16 of 17 free throws, while he also had 14 rebounds and seven assists.
He was one of three players alongside Victor Wembanyama and Karl-Anthony Towns to score at least 45 points on Wednesday, which is a tie for the most on a single day in NBA history.
"Coming into this game, I realized I have to be aggressive," Antetokounmpo said. "While I was doing that, it was not working. We were down by 15, 18.
"In the second half, I had to keep my aggressiveness but keep on moving the ball. Now, as a leader, you keep on going with that energy and mentality. Sometimes you've got to be able to do both."
Antetokounmpo had scored 22 of his team's first 24 points in the first quarter, with Bucks coach Doc Rivers unsure whether his point-scoring dominance was a good thing or not.
"It's funny how a coach thinks, though. We called a timeout and Giannis has 22 of our 24," said Rivers.
"This ain't good. I'm thinking the exact opposite. We've got to get somebody else involved in this.
"After the game, you realize how special this is. But during the game you're in a panic," he said.
Victor Wembanyama is proud after scoring career-highs with 50 points and eight 3-pointers, but says his main focus is to keep helping the San Antonio Spurs improve.
The Spurs registered a 139-130 win over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, with the Frenchman leading the charge as they improved their home record to 5-2.
At 20 years and 314 days, Wembanyama is the fourth-youngest player to score 50 points, behind only Brandon Jennings, LeBron James and Devin Booker.
His previous best was 40 points in an overtime victory over the New York Knicks on March 29.
Having become the eighth player in franchise history to score 50 points and making at least six 3-pointers for the third straight game, Wembanyama is in strong form so early in the season.
Though he likes to celebrate the milestones, he is already considering how he can overshadow them in the future.
"I love to celebrate the small wins and the big wins for a certain amount of time," he said. "But we're already locked in on the Lakers.
"I'm going to give myself a little bit of time to reflect. It's definitely a big milestone. It's kind of a private club, it's certainly something I'm proud of.
"My first thought is, eventually, I want the rest of our performances, the rest of our games, to overshadow this one. I want to make it where in the future, [this is] just another one."
Wembanyama was influential throughout his time on the court but inflicted the most damage in the third quarter. He shot a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor and 4-of-4 from long range for 19 points with four rebounds, one assist and a block.
"The big fella, man, when he comes out with that mindset, it's a hard opportunity to deal with," Spurs forward Julian Champagnie said of his team-mate.
"Big praise to him, big shoutout to him. He's working on his game. I don't know what it was that he took personal, but he took something personal, went out there and hooped."
Donovan Mitchell scored 11 of his 23 points in the final three minutes and the Cleveland Cavaliers became the sixth team in NBA history to start a season 13-0 with a 114-106 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.
Mitchell also grabbed 13 rebounds and added nine assists as Cleveland became the first team since the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors to win 13 straight to begin a season. That Warriors team holds the record for most wins to begin a campaign at 24 straight.
Darius Garland scored 25 points for the Cavs, while Evan Mobley had 14 points with seven rebounds.
Jared McCain had a career-high 34 for the 76ers, who played without Paul George and Joel Embiid on the second night of a back-to-back as part of left knee injury maintenance. Kelly Oubre Jr. had 20 points while Caleb Martin added 18 for the Sixers.
Mitchell hit three 3-pointers with less than three minutes to play to extend Cleveland's lead to seven, seemingly taking the starch out of the Sixers' final push.
The Cavaliers have won 13 in a row for the fourth time in franchise history. The other three times - in 2009, 2010 and 2017 - were when they had LeBron James on the roster.
Antetokounmpo has 59 as Bucks outlast Pistons
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 59 points to pace the Milwaukee Bucks to a 127-120 overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons.
It was a league-high for points by an NBA player this season and the second-highest single-game total for Antetokounmpo, who had 64 against Indiana last season.
Antetokounmpo hit 21 of 34 shots and 16 of 17 free throws and added 14 rebounds and seven assists as the Bucks rallied from an 18-point second-half deficit.
Brook Lopez added 29 points for the Bucks. Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 35 points and Malik Beasley scored 26 against his former team.
Detroit's Ron Holland II was fouled by Antetokounmpo with one second left in regulation and the score tied at 111, but Holland missed both free throws.
Milwaukee played without Damian Lillard (concussion protocol), Ryan Rollins (left shoulder instability) and Bobby Portis (right elbow contusion).
Antetokounmpo made every basket for Milwaukee in the first quarter, hitting 7 of 10 field-goal attempts and all eight of his free throws for 22 of the team’s 24 points.
The Bucks improved to 22-1 against Detroit since the 2018-19 season and won their 10th straight in the series.
Wembanyama drops 50 in Spurs’ win
Victor Wembanyama set career highs with 50 points and eight 3-pointers to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 139-130 victory over the Washington Wizards.
At 20 years 314 days, Wembanyama is the fourth-youngest player to score 50 points, trailing only Brandon Jennings, LeBron James and Devin Booker.
Wembanyama's previous high was 40 points in a 130-126 overtime victory over New York on March 29.
He made at least six 3-pointers for the third straight game and is 20 for 37 from deep during that span.
Jordan Poole had 42 points – one shy of his career high - for Washington, which lost its sixth straight.
Devin Vassell had 17 points in his third game for the Spurs since returning from offseason surgery to repair a fractured right foot.
Washington’s Alexandre Sarr blocked Wembanyama's shot in the second quarter and dunked on his fellow Frenchman in the third quarter. Sarr finished with 12 points, two rebounds, two assists and a block in 25 minutes.
Wembanyama is the eighth player in franchise history to score 50 points. David Robinson holds the franchise record with 71 points against the Los Angeles Clippers on April 24, 1994.
The San Antonio Spurs announced on Wednesday that Gregg Popovich has been away from the team due to a mild stroke the Hall of Fame head coach suffered earlier this month.
The 75-year-old Popovich suffered the stroke on November 2 at San Antonio’s arena before the Spurs faced the Minnesota Timberwolves.
San Antonio initially said Popovich would not coach that night because of an undisclosed illness.
Popovich has started a rehabilitation program and is expected to make a full recovery, the Spurs said Wednesday.
“During this time, the organisation is grateful to the extended community for providing privacy and space to the Popovich family,” the team said in a release.
Mike Johnson has taken over as head coach and led San Antonio to a 3-3 record after the Spurs opened 2-3 under Popovich.
Popovich is the NBA's all-time leader with 1,393 victories and has won five NBA titles while coaching San Antonio since the 1996-97 season.
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