Both head coaches made sure to point out the superb play of C.J. McCollum after the New Orleans Pelicans' 126-117 win against the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday.
McCollum scored a season-high 40 points on 14-of-27 shooting, adding nine assists, eight rebounds and two blocks in the absence of his max-contract teammates Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.
It's the latest strong outing in McCollum's recent hot-streak, now averaging 31.5 points, 7.5 assists and six rebounds in his past four games.
It is in stark contrast to McCollum's early-season production, with the 31-year-old initially showing the warning signs of a decline. He is averaging 19.4 points – his lowest figure since the 2014-15 season – while his 42.0 field goal percentage is the lowest since his rookie year.
His renaissance has come at the perfect time, according to head coach Willie Green, who called his guard's performance "beautiful".
"It was great to see C.J. have a night like he did tonight," he said. "40 points, the nine assists were impressive, he rebounded the ball.
"We needed that type of production from him with the guys being out. It’s beautiful to watch when he’s on the floor and he’s scoring like he does.
"When guys are out, I think the beauty in what we're able to see is that all of our guys step up, and enjoy these moments, these opportunities. I've said it before, some people look at it as obstacles, but our guys relish these moments."
Pelicans backup center Willy Hernangomez said it is fun to see his teammate begin to find his groove.
"McCollum dominated the game from the very beginning," he said. "I'm happy for C.J. – he’s been really getting his rhythm back.
"Today was a big game for him. I'm happy to see him making shots and making the right decision over and over."
Future Hall of Fame Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was also complimentary of McCollum, saying his team does not have the luxury of a player who can take over a game in that fashion.
"We’ll get down, figure it out, and then start playing," he said. "We don’t have somebody like a McCollum that’s going to come in and do what he did to us.
"We made it a decent game at that point, and then he took over. He was great."
Having snapped a four-game losing streak, the Pelicans are now 19-12 and only a half-game behind the Phoenix Suns (19-11) and the Memphis Grizzlies (19-11) in the race for the top seed in the Western Conference.
The New Orleans Pelicans snapped a four-game losing streak on Thursday by defeating the visiting San Antonio Spurs 126-117.
Playing without top offensive options Zion Williamson (health and safety protocols) and Brandon Ingram (toe injury), it was C.J. McCollum's time to shine. Averaging 18.7 points per game entering the contest – McCollum's lowest figure since his second season back in 2014-15 – the 31-year-old showed he still has plenty in the tank.
He scored a season-high 40 points on 14-of-27 shooting, adding nine assists, eight rebounds and two blocks in a spectacular showing.
It continues a strong run of scoring form for McCollum, who totalled 28 points, 27 points and 31 points in the three preceding games, while also averaging a career-high 5.9 assists for the season.
No other Pelican had more than Jonas Valanciunas' 16 points, while the Spurs received a standout performance from their lottery pick.
Selected ninth overall in this year's draft, Jeremy Sochan enjoyed his best game as a professional with 23 points (seven-of-14), nine rebounds and six assists.
With the win, the Pelicans are back on track at 19-12 – only a half-game behind the Western Conference leaders – while the Spurs are only one game away from the bottom of the conference at 10-21.
Beal brilliance not enough for Wizards
A well-rounded performance from the Utah Jazz saw them defeat the Washington Wizards 120-112 to improve their record to 19-16.
Nothing is going right at the moment for the Wizards, who have now lost 11 of their past 12, but it was no fault of Bradley Beal as he top-scored with 30 points on an efficient 13-of-20 shooting performance.
Meanwhile, the Jazz had four players score at least 18 points each, led by Malik Beasley off the bench with 25 on nine-of-17 shooting.
It was an impressive start at center for Jazz rookie Walker Kessler, scoring 12 points while controlling the paint for 14 rebounds and two blocks.
Jacque Vaughn was unaware his Brooklyn Nets side had achieved a franchise record in their blowout of the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.
The Nets routed the undermanned Warriors 143-113 at Barclays Center, putting up a whopping 91 points in the first half alone.
That tally was a record for the Nets and represented the third-best effort ever in the NBA.
Having had to come back from slow first-quarter performances in wins over the Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons in their prior two games, it was a welcome change for head coach Vaughn.
"I did not [know it was a record], wow, nicely done huh?" Vaughn said.
"That's what happens when you come to work and you're ready to work from the beginning.
"I definitely consider it progress, it was definitely the message in our walk through."
Kyrie Irving was absent for the Nets due to tightness in his right calf. Vaughn was unsure if he would return on Friday to face the Milwaukee Bucks.
Vaughn said: "No update, he'll come in tomorrow [Thursday] and get assessed again, hopefully looking forward to him playing again on Friday."
Kevin Durant was in fine form against his former team, putting up 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
The Warriors were still without Steph Curry, while Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins did not feature, but Durant said Steve Kerr's side still had to be taken seriously.
"It's the Warriors - you always respect them whoever is on the floor," he said.
"They have a championship system, championship players. Steph, Klay, Wiggins out – they [still] have that next up mentality. You can't count them out, so we did a good job staying focused to start."
Boston Celtics interim head coach Joe Mazzulla insists he is not concerned about his side's form despite slumping to their fifth loss from six games in Wednesday's 117-112 loss to the Indiana Pacers.
The Celtics were blown away 71-43 in the first half against the Pacers, eventually falling to their third straight loss despite a second-half rally led by Jayson Tatum with 41 points.
"I'm really not concerned about that, in the sense that I think it's the first half that we really got outplayed from an effort standpoint," Mazzulla told reporters.
"It would be more concerning if we didn’t play a completely different style in the second half. We just have a choice to make, what team do we want to be? The team from the first half or the team from the second half?"
The result means Boston slip to a 22-10 record overall, sitting second in the Eastern Conference behind the Milwaukee Bucks (22-9), who also lost on Wednesday to the third-placed Cleveland Cavaliers (22-11).
"I don't really get concerned," Mazzulla said. "We are where we are. You have to rely on who our guys as people and the process of what we're trying to build.
"We're not playing well. Up until this point we have competed defensively and it was an offensive issue. In moments like this it's important to trust your guys. Because they've been through a lot, they've had moments like this, they've had bounce back.
"We're going through a hard stage but that's part of the NBA. It's also hard when you play the way you did at the beginning of the year and at such a high standard. We need to learn to set that standard as a habit."
The Celtics closed several times in the final quarter but Mazzulla rued their start, particularly the first quarter where the Pacers piled on 42 points.
"We just didn't play with a great sense of urgency, didn't play with awareness and didn't play with a sense of details," Mazzulla said.
The Brooklyn Nets scored the third most first-half points in NBA history on their way to a 143-113 rout of the short-handed Golden State Warriors at the Barclays Center on Wednesday.
The Nets led 91-51 at half-time, which was also a franchise record first half, led by Kevin Durant who scored 21 of his 23 points before the main break as they claimed their seventh straight win.
The result compelled the Warriors to back-to-back 30-point losses for the first time since 2001 and extended their poor road record to 3-16, leaving them 15-18 overall.
Brooklyn's 46-17 quarter-time lead, which equated to a 29-point differential, was the largest in any period this NBA season.
The Nets were ruthless in the first half, capitalizing on turnovers from the Warriors, who were without Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins and playing the second game in a back-to-back after losing 132-94 to the New York Knicks on Tuesday.
Brooklyn, who were without Kyrie Irving due to calf tightness, also matched a franchise record with nine players reaching double-figure scoring, including Edmond Sumner (16), Royce O'Neale (14) and Ben Simmons (10).
James Wiseman offered some positivity for Golden State, with 30 points from 28 minutes off the bench, while Jordan Poole struggled on four-of-17 shooting with seven turnovers.
The Nets, who have won 11 of their past 12 games, improved to 20-12, while the Warriors end their six-game road trip with a 1-5 record but can look forward to an eight-game home stand.
Knicks win streak over after Siakam domination
The New York Knicks' eight-game winning streak was ended by the struggling Toronto Raptors as Pascal Siakam scored a career-high 52 points in a 113-106 win.
Siakam scored 34 through the second and third quarters, shooting 17-of-25 from the field along with 16-of-18 from the free-throw line as the Raptors halted their own six-game losing run.
Fred VanVleet added 28 points for Toronto, while Julius Randle scored 30 with 13 rebounds for the Knicks, with R.J. Barrett draining four triples in his 30-point haul.
Mitchell's Cavs down Giannis' Bucks
Not even a trademark Herculean Giannis Antetokounmpo performance was enough for the Milwaukee Bucks, who went down 114-106 to Donovan Mitchell's Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Greek forward scored a season-high 45 points with 14 rebounds, four assists and two blocks as the Bucks rallied in the fourth quarter but fell short.
Mitchell was key for the Cavs with 36 points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals, while Darius Garland added 23 points and Jarrett Allen had 19 points with eight rebounds.
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr concedes his side have hit "rock bottom" after conceding a massive 91 first-half points in their 143-113 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday.
The Nets' first-half haul was the third largest in NBA history, while the result condemned Golden State to back-to-back 30-point losses for the first time since 2001, having lost to the New York Knicks 132-94 on Tuesday.
The reigning champions were without Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins for the defeat, which leaves the Warriors at 15-18, with an abysmal 3-16 road record, ending their six-game road trip with just one win.
"Our spirit is fine," Kerr told reporters. "Our energy is good. The guys are committed.
"We're just right now at that point that pretty much everybody goes during in an 82-game season, most teams anyway, [where] you hit rock bottom with injuries, schedule, fatigued, whatever it is.
"You take it on the chin, the whole key is how you respond to that. I have no doubt our guys will respond but we've got to clean up the execution. Turnovers are a killer."
The Warriors trailed by as much as 44 points at the Barclays Center, with the Nets leading 91-51 at half-time.
Golden State gave up 21 turnovers for the game, with shooting guard Jordan Poole responsible for seven of those, finishing the game with 13 points on four-of-17 shooting.
"You can't play defense recovering from a turnover so that was the biggest issue to start the game," Kerr said.
"We were just trying too hard to make plays and getting out of control and then they made everything. They were phenomenal in the first half. I think they were 13 from 19 from three."
On Poole, Kerr added: "He forced it tonight. He got in a rush. We're going to live with Jordan's mistakes. He's a young player, he's still learning a ton. He's a great talent.
"Really proud of his development, but the development continues. Part of that development is having the best guy on him with Steph Curry out."
James Wiseman, who was second overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, offered a bright point for the Warriors with 30 points from 28 minutes off the bench, having had an indifferent season to date.
"James did a great job tonight," Kerr said. "It was fun to see him let loose and get some minutes and make the most of it. He did a lot of good things offensively… But when you lose by 30, it's small consolation."
Kevin Durant top scored for the Nets with 23 points with seven rebounds, five assists and four steals, while Kyrie Irving was absent with calf tightness. Ben Simmons contributed 10 points with four rebounds and eight assists.
Gregg Popovich and Dirk Nowitzki have been named among the eligible candidates for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2023.
Legendary coach Popovich has won five NBA titles with the San Antonio Spurs, and is one of a number of people named as a contender in their first year of eligibility.
Popovich is a perhaps surprise inclusion, with it previously unknown when he would qualify to be recommended for the honour.
Other potential inductees include Pau Gasol, Tony Parker and Dwyane Wade, while the 1976 U.S. Olympic women's basketball team also made the list.
The finalists for the class of 2023 will be announced on February 17 during All-Star weekend, before the final nominees are named on April 1 during the NCAA Final Four.
The players will then be enshrined on August 11 in historic Springfield, Massachusetts, where the sport of basketball was invented.
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