Draymond Green revealed a fan said "threatening stuff to my life" leading to him asking officials to have him thrown out of the Fiserv Forum during Tuesday's 128-111 Milwaukee Bucks win over the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors power forward was involved in a heated exchange with a fan who had heckled him courtside while Giannis Antetokounmpo shot free-throws with 6:30 remaining in the third quarter of the game with the Bucks up 81-59.
The situation threatened to boil over, but Green walked away before asking the referees to get security staff to eject the fan amid boos from the home crowd.
"Some threatening stuff to my life," Green told reporters when asked what was said to set him off from the exchange, having been fined $25,000 last week after a verbal altercation with a Dallas Mavericks fan.
"I was this close to really going back and diving on him. I just went back and told the official. When I told the official, he said, 'he's gotta get out of here'. You gotta get out of here."
Green added that he feels there needs to be consequences for fans who step over the line with such comments.
"There are no real consequences," Green said. "Yeah, you can't come back to the game, or even if you get arrested, nothing really happens.
"You just hope it gets to a point where these leagues can work with legislators to implement laws, because that's the only thing that's really going to correct the issue."
Home team Milwaukee said in a statement that the fan's ejection was "under the referee's digression" and that they would investigate the situation alongside the NBA.
Jayson Tatum says he feels like "the best player" in the NBA when he steps out for games after firing the Boston Celtics to a dramatic 122-118 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
The small forward drained 44 points in a breathtaking performance as the visitors surrendered a 20-point lead before fighting back to force an overtime victory at Crypto.com Arena.
Tatum, a three-time All-Star, is hunting a first NBA championship this term, having won gold with the United States at Tokyo 2020 last year, and has seen his game push him into MVP consideration.
The 24-year-old acknowledged the noise around the accolade and suggested he feels a cut above when he hits his stride.
"I feel like I'm the best player when I step onto the court," he said. "But there are some great players in this league, and I know I've got my work cut out.
"I just try to go one game at a time.We were down 12 with three minutes left, but we found a way. We needed that [after] losing two in a row.
"We haven't been playing the best, individually or as a team, but we've found a way to get back on track. That feels good. It showed the true character of our team."
Victory for the Celtics moved them to 22-7 for the season, furthering their lead atop the Western Conference and strengthening their best-in-show record in the NBA.
They next return to Boston for a seven-game home-stand through the rest of the year, wrapping up 2022 against the Los Angeles Clippers before a new year trip to the Denver Nuggets.
The Boston Celtics survived an almighty fourth-quarter collapse to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 122-118 in overtime on Tuesday.
Boston controlled the first half on the road, building a 65-50 advantage at the long break, but after reaching an 88-74 lead with two minutes remaining in the third quarter, everything began to fall apart for the visitors.
From that point on, the Lakers launched a 32-5 run to take a 106-93 lead with four minutes to play, but then it was the home side's turn to go into their shell, allowing the Celtics to storm back with a 17-4 run.
Anthony Davis had two free throws with 28 seconds on the clock, leading by two, but missed both. Jayson Tatum capitalised and tied the game with a contested mid-range jumper over LeBron James, before the four-time NBA MVP's potential game-winner was way off.
The Lakers had nothing to offer in overtime, scoring only four points in the first four minutes to allow the Celtics to build a game-winning lead.
It was a crucial win for the Celtics to snap a two-game losing skid, improving their league-best record to 22-7 and retaining bragging rights over their long-time rivals.
Tatum was the deciding factor, scoring a game-high 44 points on 15-of-29 shooting with nine rebounds and six assists, while running-mate Jaylen Brown chipped in 25 points (10-of-21) and 15 rebounds.
Both Lakers stars delivered, with Davis' 37 points and 12 rebounds continuing his MVP-calibre season, while James had 33 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
Portis pulverises the Warriors
All-NBA Milwaukee Bucks duo Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton combined for 50 points, but it was Bobby Portis off the bench producing the best performance in his side's 128-111 win over the Golden State Warriors.
Portis had his best game of the season with 25 points on 11-of-15 shooting and 11 rebounds, while two-time MVP Antetokounmpo had 30 points on poor efficiency (nine-of-26 shooting), 12 rebounds and five assists.
Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 20 points (six-of-17), but it was not nearly enough to stop his side from taking their third loss from their past four outings, and dropping their road record to 2-12.
The Bucks have now won eight of their past 10 to improve their record to 20-7, and they are 13-3 at home.
Giant-killing Rockets take another scalp
After knocking off the Bucks in their last game, the Houston Rockets collected another big scalp with a 111-97 triumph over the Phoenix Suns.
The Rockets were led by second-year scoring sensation Jalen Green, who had 26 points on seven-of-17 shooting – hitting 11-of-12 free throws – to raise his team-high average to 21.8 per game.
Third overall draft pick Jabari Smith Jr continued to impress, only attempting five total shots, but finishing with 14 points and eight rebounds, hitting all three of his three-pointers. The six-foot-11 wing is hitting a respectable 36.8 per cent of his threes on a healthy 5.8 attempts per game.
Future Hall-of-Famer Chris Paul believes the Phoenix Suns will remain a contender this season if they remain positive, despite dropping their fifth straight game in Tuesday's 111-97 loss to the Houston Rockets.
The Suns dropped to a 16-12 record, having now lost six of their past seven games, with their injury troubles getting worse as Deandre Ayton (ankle) and Cameron Payne (foot) both exited and did not return after half-time.
Phoenix were without All-Star guard Devin Booker for a third straight game due to a hamstring injury, while Cameron Johnson has not played since meniscus surgery in early November.
The Suns' injury issues mean their five-game losing streak may potentially snowball, but 37-year-old Paul remained bullish that they can turn it around.
"Not really," Paul told reporters when asked if he was worried about the losing run snowballing out of control. "As long as the locker room stays positive and understands that it’s a long season.
"We went on an 18-game winning streak [last season] and lost in the second round. You know what I mean? In this league you can't get too high or too low."
The Suns' five-game losing streak is their longest since the 2019-20 season. All five losses have occurred since Chris Paul returned after a 14-game absence due to a heel injury.
In a touching moment after the game, Suns head coach Monty Williams embraced Rockets head coach Stephen Silas, who was back on the sidelines for the first time since his father, three-time NBA champion Paul Silas, passed away on the weekend.
"Everybody knows he's one of the best people in the world," Silas said about Williams. "It means a lot from him.
"He's been through so much and has so many little tidbits and so many experiences that he draws from that he has a great way of communicating.
"Tonight his way of communicating was through a hug, which I needed. I love him for that, he's a good man."
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr says his side needs to correct their defensive issues on the road after slumping to a 2-12 record away from home with Tuesday's 128-111 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
The reigning champions, playing in the first leg of a six-game road trip, were brushed aside by the Bucks, who were led by Giannis Antetokounmpo with 30 points, 12 rebounds and five assists at the Fiserv Forum.
The defeat means the Warriors are ranked 29th in the NBA on the road this season and have an 0-8 record on the road to teams with plus-.500 records.
Golden State has also given up at least 114 points in every road game this season, which Kerr was quick to point out.
"In the road losses, our defense has been bad," Kerr told reporters. "For whatever reason, the splits are pretty dramatic. Our defense is pretty good at home and bad on the road. We've got to turn that around."
Kerr also pointed to the free-throws as an issue, with the Bucks scoring 26-of-32 from the stripe compared to Golden State's 15-of-19.
"It's basically the difference in the game when we lose," he said. "It usually feels like that's the difference.
"At half-time it's a 10-point game and they had 10 more free-throws than us, despite the fact that we weren’t shooting the ball very well, we weren’t playing very well, it was a six-point game with a minute and half left in the second quarter. We were right there but the free-throws are a killer."
Kerr along with Stephen Curry both received technical fouls in the first quarter, after a play where last season's Finals MVP appeared to be fouled by Wes Matthews as he shot a three-pointer, yet no call was forthcoming as Bobby Portis scored down the other end, leaving the pair incensed.
"There were several non-calls in the paint," Kerr said. "I felt like we were on the bad end of things to start the game. Steph Curry gets hit on the head on a three-point shot, that needs to be called. That's what he does. That's Steph Curry. You can't miss that.
"We were getting frustrated with some no-calls and it led to a pretty choppy night."
Kerr and Curry's technical fouls were two of five for the game, including Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer.
"I have no comment about my technical," Budenholzer said. "The game just had a really poor flow for a while. Lots of free-throws, delays of game, technicals, everything, the flow tonight was poor."
The Philadelphia 76ers are beginning to figure things out on the offensive end, scoring at least 123 points for the fourth consecutive game to defeat the Sacramento Kings 123-103 on Tuesday.
Joel Embiid top-scored with 31 points on 10-of-16 shooting, while James Harden set the table with 15 assists to go with his 21 points (seven-of-13 shooting), seven rebounds and five steals.
In fact, all five 76ers starters finished better than 50 per cent from the field, combining to shoot 33-of-56 (58.9 per cent) from the field for 94 points.
For the season, the 76ers own the 13th-best offense at 112.4 points per 100 possessions, but in these past four games they have raised that to 118.6 – the fourth-best figure over that span.
The key factor in the return of their offensive firepower is the return of James Harden – who returned from a five-week absence exactly four games ago, and has averaged 11.7 assists per contest since.
Embiid pointed to Harden's ability to generate open looks for his teammates when he spoke to reporters after the game.
"We're playing pretty well offensively," Embiid said. "James is doing a great job getting everyone easy shots.
"My teammates are doing a fantastic job moving the ball and being in the right spots. That's what we've got to do.
"All we have to do is stay healthy – but we're not there yet. We have a long way to go."
Philadelphia head coach Doc Rivers agreed that the offense has found its groove.
"Really the last two games," he said. "We're in the 120s, shooting over 50 per cent, the ball’s moving, the floor is wide open – that’s exactly what we’re talking about.
"Tobias had nine assists tonight, James had 15. It just says that they’re moving the ball, they’re playing together, our spacing is correct, and it’s good to see."
Harden, who is averaging over 10 assists per game for the fourth consecutive season, expanded on exactly what constitutes an efficient offense.
"I think offensively, it’s just knowing what we’re trying to accomplish possession by possession," he said. "That’s the most important thing.
"If we’re out here and everybody’s on different pages and have their own individual agendas, and that goes for any team, the offense isn’t gonna be successful.
"It doesn’t matter how many great guys you have on the team, so I think just knowing what we’re trying to accomplish and just going out there and doing our best job to accomplish it on both ends of the ball.
“For me, individually, I just try to pick up the pace, get the ball up as fast as we can before Joel gets down there, and once he gets down there, we know what to do.
"Guys are doing a great job of just moving their bodies, finding open spots, and then I’m just trying to hit them on target."
The 76ers have now won three in a row to improve their record to 15-12, and sit fifth in the Eastern Conference.
New Orleans Pelicans All-Star Brandon Ingram suffered a setback during his recovery from a toe injury and has been ruled out for at least one more week.
The initial injury occurred on November 25 against the Memphis Grizzlies, and he has missed the eight games since.
Ingram, 25, was named the NBA's Most Improved Player for the 2019-20 season, earning his only All-Star selection in the process.
While his scoring this season is at its lowest since his last campaign with the Los Angeles Lakers (2018-19), his efficiency has reached a new career-high.
He is currently boasting a true shooting percentage – which accounts for and weights three-pointers and free throws – of 59 per cent, which has been buoyed by a scorching start to the season from beyond the arc.
Having never shot better than 39.1 per cent from three-point range, Ingram has hit 28 of his 60 attempts this season for a 46.7 per cent mark, albeit on a limited sample size.
Despite his effectiveness, the Western Conference-leading Pelicans (18-8) have actually had a worse record in games he has played this season (9-6) than in the games he has missed (9-2).
This is more an indication of the dominance of Zion Williamson when he has to assume a larger usage rate in Ingram's absence, as he is averaging exactly 30 points per game with 9.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists in seven consecutive wins since the injury.
Williamson is shooting 79/118 over those seven games for a field goal percentage of 66.9 – only Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton, averaging 11.7 points per game, has a higher field goal percentage for the season (73.3 per cent).
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