Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel says LeBron James' absence is preventative with the number one goal being that he is "healthy for the long haul".
James is listed as doubtful for the Lakers' clash with the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday due to knee swelling, having missed their past three games.
The four-time MVP had returned to Los Angeles prior to Sunday's 129-121 loss to the Atlanta Hawks after undergoing an MRI on his left knee.
"We're still working on trying to get the swelling down," Vogel told reporters on Tuesday.
"He's listed as doubtful for tomorrow. He's not here today. He got treatment outside of our facility today."
The 37-year-old had been in excellent offensive form prior to the knee problem, having scored 25 points or more in 18 straight games.
Despite that, the Lakers are battling with a 24-27 record but Vogel said they would not rush James back.
“The number one goal is that he’s healthy for the long haul," Vogel said. "Everything is else less important than that. We have to win games when he’s out.”
Vogel also confirmed that the Lakers had left James out for the past three games for preventative reasons, with the swelling offering concern for a potential injury.
Two-time MVP Stephen Curry will join a long list of players on the sidelines and miss the Golden State Warriors' clash with the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday due to left toe soreness.
Curry, along with Andrew Wiggins (knee soreness), Klay Thompson (rest), Otto Porter Jr. (foot), and Nemanja Bjelica (back spasms) will all be unavailable for the game, leaving the 38-13 Warriors short-handed.
Andre Iguodala (hip) and Draymond Green (back) are also unavailable at the moment for Golden State.
Curry dropped 40 points with five rebounds and nine assists in Monday's 122-108 win over the Houston Rockets.
The Warriors listed Curry as out for Tuesday's game, amid a busy season having played 47 games with 34.8 minutes per game, averaging 26.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists.
Golden State provided a positive injury update on All-Star Green who has not played since January 10.
"Draymond Green, who has been sidelined for the last 12 games due to a lower back/disc injury, was recently re-examined," the Warriors said. "This indicated that Green is making steps in a positive direction and the injury is improving. He will be re-evaluated again prior to the All-Star break."
Joel Embiid took to Twitter to revel in the Philadelphia 76ers' overtime victory against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The team's leading scorer was rested for Monday's clash and watched on as Doc Rivers' men made it five wins in a row.
In Embiid's absence, Andre Drummond, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris stepped up to get the job done despite a fine showing from Memphis' All-Star Ja Morant, who put up 37 points.
It was Maxey who snatched a 122-119 triumph in overtime with a driving layup.
And Embiid tweeted: "They hate the process but we will keep thriving. Great Dub!! Hell Yeaa."
Speaking about Embiid, man of the moment Maxey told reporters: "He's a great team-mate; he's our MVP."
Despite leading the way for the Grizzlies, Morant shouldered the blame for the team's loss.
"If there's anybody you want to be mad at, it can be me," he said. "If I made free throws, we probably wouldn't have even gone into overtime."
Drummond offered consolation to his beaten opponent with some warm words of praise for Morant.
He said: "He’s a great athlete, he's able to make spectacular plays, but at the end of the day it's still two points.
"You have to take your hat off to him, but we won the game."
Stephen Curry insists he is the first person to judge how well he played after he put a frustrating January behind him in style on Monday.
Curry had 40 points, five rebounds and nine assists as the Golden State Warriors beat the Houston Rockets 122-108 to claim a sixth straight victory.
Of Curry's points haul, which included seven three-pointers, 21 came in the fourth quarter, the highest total of his career in the final period of a game.
He has now scored 20+ points in a quarter on 37 occasions across his NBA career, surpassing a milestone set by Kobe Bryant for the most of any player in the league since the 1996-97 season.
Curry has now scored 40 points or more six times this season. However, his display in Houston bucked the trend of what had been a poor month.
Prior to Monday's game, Curry had managed to score 30 points just once since the turn of the year.
While Curry acknowledged he has not been at his best, he suggested he also comes in for more criticism due to the high standards he has previously set.
"It's the gift and the curse of the bar that you've set," he told reporters.
"You get all the praise when things are going well and obviously it's something to talk about when I don't meet that level.
"It's not so much the commentary, because when I walk off the court I'm the first one to judge the way that I played.
"I understand when I don't meet that level and try to deal with the frustration when that happens over a consistent period of time."
Yet Curry showed no signs of frustration against the Rockets, turning in a scintillating display as the Warriors clocked up a 38th win of the season.
"You always feel like the next shot is going to start that vibe," he said.
"It's no secret how I've been shooting the ball recently, but the confidence is always there and it only takes one to ignite a night like that."
Curry reeled off five points in quick succession in the fourth quarter to nudge the Warriors clear of Houston, who had moved to within four points.
"We've seen Steph do that a million times," said Warriors coach Steve Kerr.
"It was bound to happen even though it's been a couple of weeks or whatever. Not surprising but fun to see him shake free and have a game like he did."
The Golden State Warriors won a sixth straight game as Stephen Curry returned to form with a 40-point haul in Texas.
Golden State saw off the Houston Rockets 122-108 on Monday, with Curry finishing with 40 points, 21 of which came in the final quarter.
It marked the end of a below-par month for Curry, who had previously had over 30 points on just one occasion since the turn of the year.
Curry has now scored 40 points or more in six games this season. He made seven three-pointers to go along with nine assists and five rebounds.
He has scored 20 points or more in a quarter 37 times in his career, surpassing the late Kobe Bryant for the most by any NBA player since at least 1996-97.
Andrew Wiggins added 23 points for Golden State, while Kevon Looney had 14 rebounds.
Christian Wood offered some resistance for the Rockets with a double-double, but Houston are without a win at home in 11 games.
Sixers do the businesses without Embiid
With Joel Embiid rested, the Philadelphia 76ers nevertheless clinched a fifth straight win as Andre Drummond, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris stepped up against the Memphis Grizzlies.
All-Star Ja Morant had 37 points for Memphis, but it was Maxey (33 points) who snatched a 122-119 victory in overtime with a driving layup.
Drummond had 16 points but amassed a huge 23 rebounds, while Harris also had 31 points, with Desmond Bane's career-high 34 in vain for the Grizzlies.
Heat lose their flame
The Miami Heat lost a second straight game and gave up their place at the top of the Eastern Conference after a 122-92 defeat to the Boston Celtics.
Jaylen Brown led Boston with 29 points, as the Celtics moved to 27-25 for the season after a fourth successive win.
The Cleveland Cavaliers posted a fifth straight home win as they overcame the New Orleans Pelicans 93-90, while Isaiah Jackson had a double-double for the Indiana Pacers in a 122-116 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
On paper, a contest between the Phoenix Suns and the Brooklyn Nets is a mouthwatering prospect.
However, the Nets are still missing star player Kevin Durant and while their form is on the floor as a result of that and other recent injury issues, the Suns are on fire, pardon the pun, and the assumption heading into Tuesday's clash is that Monty Williams' team should ease to yet another win.
Phoenix beat the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday to record their 10th win in a row. They have only been beaten once in 14 games in 2022, and sit on a record of 40-9 to comfortably lead the Western Conference.
The Nets, meanwhile, are down in sixth place in the Eastern Conference on 29-20 having lost four in a row following their 110-106 defeat to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.
Durant remains out with a knee injury, while James Harden has also missed recent games as a result of a hamstring problem and a hand strain, though he could be back for this encounter.
LaMarcus Aldridge will also be absent after leaving the arena on crutches after Saturday's game with an apparent ankle sprain.
Kyrie Irving will be able to play with the game being on the road, and looks to be rediscovering some form after missing so much basketball in the first few months of the season, hitting 32 points against the Warriors, with seven rebounds and seven assists.
For the Suns, Jae Crowder could be in line for a return after a wrist injury that has kept him out of their last four games, while Deandre Ayton, who has missed seven games, will likely be a late call following an ankle issue.
With stronger form and a deeper roster heading into Tuesday's game, Phoenix will certainly be the favourites at Footprint Center, but the visitors will be determined to arrest their recent slide.
PIVOTAL PERFORMERS
Phoenix Suns - Devin Booker
The Suns main point-getter, Booker is the only man to have broken 1,000 points for Phoenix this season (1,056) at an average of 25.1 points per game, the 13th best record in the league.
Booker enjoyed himself when the Suns beat the Nets in November, hitting 30 points and making four out of six three-point attempts.
Brooklyn Nets - Patty Mills
While a lot of the attention will undoubtedly be on Irving, Mills must continue to step up in the absence of Durant and with Harden struggling to find form and fitness.
Steve Nash's Mr. Consistent has played the most games of anyone for Brooklyn this season (48) and is the only Net to have hit three figures for three-pointers made (158). His 24 points against the Warriors on Saturday was his highest score since he managed 34 on Christmas Day against the Los Angeles Lakers, so it appears he could be returning to form.
KEY BATTLE - Can Brooklyn keep pace?
This encounter sees two of the top five teams for average points per game go head-to-head, so in theory, it should be an exciting high-scoring affair.
You might assume that the Nets' average of 111.9 points per game - the fifth-best in the league - is heavily influenced by the absent Durant, but they have actually bettered that average in four of the last six games he has missed.
Phoenix will be confident of living up to their third-best average in the league of 112.9 having also been outperforming that average in recent games, having scored 113 or more in six of their last eight outings.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Overall, the record between the Suns and the Nets could barely be closer, with the Suns edging their 93 regular-season meetings 47-46. However, the Nets have enjoyed more success in recent years, prevailing in 10 of the last 13 meetings, although Phoenix did win 113-107 in Brooklyn earlier this season.
Monty Williams is thrilled to be at the helm of the NBA's best team after a 40th win of the season for the Phoenix Suns saw him rewarded with a coaching role for the upcoming All-Star Game.
The Suns became the first team this season to hit 40 wins as they overturned a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit to clinch their 10th straight win, beating the San Antonio Spurs 115-110.
Devin Booker top scored with 28 points including four three-pointers, while Mikal Bridges hit 26 and Chris Paul added 20 points, eight rebounds and a season-high 19 assists.
With his team the best in the Western Conference – and the league – Williams will now coach Team LeBron in next month's All-Star game.
"It's a huge blessing, to be in this position where you can be the caretaker of an organisation, represent an organisation, the city, the team, your family," Williams told a news conference.
"I'm mindful of that. I'm also mindful of all the sacrifices people make so I can be in this position. This is a team effort for sure. The players, what they do every day, our staff. The medical people.
"There's so many people that contribute to this. You get to coach the game but I'm thinking about everybody that has contributed. Our place is a special place, with a special group.
"I'm so grateful for the blessings that I have. God has blessed me beyond measure, in so many ways, to do what I do, get paid for it, live in Phoenix, drive the car I drive, have filtered water at home.
"I have so many things that I didn't have as a kid that I don't take for granted and this is another one."
Barring a surprising omission, Paul will join his coach in the 2022 All-Star Game.
Paul, an 11-time All-Star, has averaged 14.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 10.2 assists across 48 games so far in 2021-22, with his tally in the latter category leading the NBA.
"I'm just happy for Monty, happy for our staff," he told reporters.
"Everybody contributes to it, that's just the way our staff is, everybody plays a role in it. It may seem like something small to a lot of people but that's big.
"Some coaches coach in this league for a long time and never get that opportunity. I'm glad that more people around the world get a chance to see him celebrate."
Asked about his players saying they were determined to win in order to secure his place as an All-Star coach, Williams said: "It blew me away.
"I wasn't almost in tears about it but when I sat and thought about those guys thinking about me in that way I was quite emotional because it's really my job to put them in a position to be successful.
"To have them want me, our staff, to be in that position, says a lot about them. It's a special group and I'm grateful to be part of this resurgence of basketball here."
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