Kyrie Irving has his eyes on the prize after starring for the Brooklyn Nets in a Thursday's 121-109 victory over his former team the Boston Celtics.
Irving put up 40 points in the Nets' first game back since the NBA All-Star break, reminding the Celtics what they have been missing out on since he left in 2019.
His efforts laid the foundations for a 12th win in 13 games for the Nets, who were without Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin as former MVP James Harden posted 22 points and 10 rebounds.
While Irving clearly enjoyed his night's work, he is looking ahead to the playoffs after snapping the Celtics' four-game winning run.
"I'm just waiting for the main stage," he said. "Playing in front of millions of people and it actually mattering in terms of win or lose or go home.
"I'm looking forward to that, but games like this in the middle of the season against guys that you know well, that's always a blessing."
Irving hugged his old team-mates at the end of the contest, apparently making a mockery of the notion he has a frosty relationship with his erstwhile colleagues.
"Big surprise to a lot of people," he joked. "All that s*** talking about me and all the relationships I have with every former team-mate of mine."
Harden was full of praise for Irving, suggesting it was the 28-year-old's mental toughness that elevated him above the crowd.
"He's a different breed," Harden said. "He has that killer mentality in a sense of, no matter who we play or where we're playing, he is going to go out there and try to destroy the opponent, and that's something that you'd want on your team at all times.
"That mentality is what sets him apart from a lot of guys in this league."
Kyrie Irving posted 40 points to lead the Brooklyn Nets past former team the Boston Celtics 121-109.
In the team's first game back since the NBA All-Star break, Irving – who left the Celtics in 2019 – starred as the Nets recorded their 12th win in 13 outings.
Former MVP James Harden had 22 points and 10 rebounds on Thursday, in the absence of star team-mate Kevin Durant (hamstring) and recruit Blake Griffin.
The Celtics were fuelled by Jayson Tatum's 31 points, but still had their four-game winning streak snapped.
Two-time reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo guided the Milwaukee Bucks to a comprehensive 134-101 victory over the New York Knicks.
Antetokounmpo – named All-Star Game MVP after starring for Team LeBron in Atlanta on Sunday – continued where he left off for the Bucks.
He had 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in 29 minutes for his fifth triple-double of the season.
Bucks team-mate Bryn Forbes (21 points) nailed the most threes without missing in Bucks history after going seven of seven from beyond the arc.
Young stars as Hawks soar
Trae Young put up 37 points as the Atlanta Hawks topped the Toronto Raptors 121-120. Atlanta trailed by 15-plus points in the fourth quarter in each of their last two games but came back to win both. According to Stats Perform, they are the only team in the past 15 years to overcome a 15-plus point fourth-quarter deficit to win back-to-back games. Norman Powell's 33 points and double-doubles from Kyle Lowry (17 points and 12 assists) and Aron Baynes (11 points and 15 rebounds) were not enough for the Raptors.
The Miami Heat defeated the Orlando Magic 111-103 behind Jimmy Butler's 27 points and 11 assists. All-Star Nikola Vucevic's double-double of 24 points and 17 rebounds was not enough for the Magic.
No Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons? No worries for the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia 76ers. Tobias Harris scored 24 points to lift the 76ers to a third consecutive win – a 127-105 success against the Chicago Bulls.
Devin Booker's 35 points inspired the Phoenix Suns to a 127-121 victory against the Portland Trail Blazers, who had 30 points from All-Star Damian Lillard.
All of the Sacramento Kings' starters were in double figures for points) as they took down the Houston Rockets 125-105 – De'Aaron Fox (30), Richaun Holmes (20 and 11 rebounds), Harrison Barnes (20 and 11 rebounds), Buddy Hield (20) and Marvin Bagley III (11).
Ball struggles
The Charlotte Hornets beat the Detroit Pistons 105-102, but it was a rough night for rookie LaMelo Ball. In 29 minutes, Ball made just three of 11 from the field and nailed only one of five three-point attempts for seven points.
After his All-Star appearance, Knicks forward Julius Randle finished three-of-12 shooting for seven points.
Stephen Curry won the All-Star Three-Point Contest, but he was far from convincing in the Golden State Warriors' 130-104 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. He made just one of eight three-pointers, finishing with 14 points on six-of-16 shooting.
Snell with the buzzer-beating three
With the Hawks trailing 120-118, Tony Snell called game after sinking a three as time expired.
Thursday's results
Brooklyn Nets 121-109 Boston Celtics
Atlanta Hawks 121-120 Toronto Raptors
Miami Heat 111-103 Orlando Magic
Philadelphia 76ers 127-105 Chicago Bulls
Milwaukee Bucks 134-101 New York Knicks
Minnesota Timberwolves 135-105 New Orleans Pelicans
Oklahoma City Thunder 116-108 Dallas Mavericks
Charlotte Hornets 105-102 Detroit Pistons
Los Angeles Clippers 130-104 Golden State Warriors
Phoenix Suns 127-121 Portland Trail Blazers
Sacramento Kings 125-105 Houston Rockets
Pacers at Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers (24-13) will return to action following the All-Star break, hosting the Indiana Pacers (16-19) on Friday. LeBron James' Lakers have lost back-to-back games.
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James said he is rested and ready to lead the team's title defence in the second half of the NBA season.
James and defending champions the Lakers will return to action against the Indiana Pacers on Friday following the All-Star break.
Lakers veteran James was in Atlanta for the All-Star Game, playing 13 minutes as Team LeBron beat Team Durant 170-150.
But after sitting out the final game before the break – a 123-120 loss to the Sacramento Kings on March 3 – James is feeling refreshed in the Lakers' pursuit of back-to-back championships.
"It's go time," James told reporters on Thursday. "It's time to get prepared and making that turnaround, that last lap going into the postseason.
"… I'm not into looking ahead saying, 'OK, let's take this off, take that off'. Nah, it's go time for me."
The Lakers (24-13) head into the Pacers clash on the back of consecutive defeats, leaving James and his team-mates third in the Western Conference behind NBA leaders the Utah Jazz (27-9) and Phoenix Suns (24-11).
In his 18th season, James has been averaging 25.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game for the Lakers.
James added: "I kind of use the first half of the season as being in gear one, two and three, and then in the second half being in more like four, five, six, and then when the playoffs start you're in seven.
"And that's kind of the way I've always kind of adjusted over the last few years of my career, really just ramping up more, more and more as the months go on as the games go on going into the playoffs."
The Lakers will welcome the Pacers to Staples Center in Los Angeles without star Anthony Davis.
Davis remains sidelined with tendinosis and a calf strain in his right leg, having not played since February 14.
Lakers head coach Frank Vogel said Davis will be re-evaluated by team doctors on Friday.
There were 124 years of All-Star experience at last weekend's showcase game between Team LeBron and Team Durant in Atlanta.
The Chicago Bulls' Zach LaVine was responsible for one of those years.
And of all the exceptional players at last weekend's event, the first-time All-Star from the Bulls is one of the more intriguing.
While several All-Stars are future Hall of Famers – the Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James, Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry and Phoenix Suns' Chris Paul just to name a few – and others are young and established stars – the Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic, Utah Jazz's Donovan Mitchell, Philadelphia 76ers' Ben Simmons – LaVine is a veteran who is suddenly developing into a superstar.
In fact, over the past five weeks, no one is scoring more than LaVine, who is averaging a league-best 32.3 points since February 6, while making exactly half of his 104 three-point attempts.
He's been so spectacular he's played himself into max contract talk, although other discussions have had his name in various trade rumours if the rebuilding Bulls do not plan to sign him to an extension before his contract expires in 2022.
Now in his fourth season in Chicago after spending his first three with the Minnesota Timberwolves, LaVine has the Bulls in position to participate in the Play-In Tournament and possibly earn their first postseason berth since 2016-17.
He has the Bulls on the cusp of the playoffs behind a breakout season in which he is averaging career highs in every major category – 28.7 points per game, 5.2 rebounds per game, 5.1 assists per game and 3.5 made three-pointers per game, while shooting 52.5 per cent on all field goals and 43.5 per cent on threes.
If those numbers look impressive, that is because they have only been reached once before in a single season in NBA history.
LaVine joins Stephen Curry from 2015-16 as the only players ever to average 25-plus points, five-plus rebounds, five-plus assists and three-plus made three-pointers per game, while shooting 50 per cent on field goals and 40 per cent on threes. Curry won his second MVP that season while leading the Warriors to a record 73 wins.
While Curry was already an established star at that point after winning league MVP honours and an NBA title the season prior, LaVine is unexpectedly proving that he also belongs among the upper echelon of players in the league.
He has transformed himself into one of the league's most dangerous scorers, capable of knocking down a three-pointer, pulling up and hitting a mid-range jumper or beating his man off the dribble and finishing at the rim.
Coming out of the All-Star break, his 167 dunks and layups are seventh-most in the NBA – and the most by any guard. And while the six-foot-six LaVine was also among the league leaders in dunks and layups last season (11th with 287), he is finishing at higher rate.
He is converting 64.2 per cent of his dunk and layup attempts this season after making 57.4 per cent of his attempts last season, and that increase in field goal percentage of 6.8 is the eighth largest by any player six-foot-six or shorter.
While many of the leaders among dunks and layups are big men – New Orleans Pelicans power forward Zion Williamson, Milwaukee Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jazz centre Rudy Gobert – who live in the paint, the dynamic LaVine is just as much of a threat to knock down a three-pointer.
His 120 made three-pointers rank fifth in the league and he is the league's only player with more than 120 dunks and layups and 90 threes.
It is one thing to have made a lot of threes but another to actually be an efficient shooter – the Sacramento Kings' Buddy Hield has made 20 more three-pointers than LaVine but has hoisted up 94 more attempts – and LaVine has refined his shooting touch and is deadly from beyond the arc.
He is hitting 43.8 per cent of his three-point attempts from the wing and his 53.8 per cent shooting from the corner ranks sixth in the league among the 103 players with at least 30 attempts.
Overall, LaVine is shooting 43.5 per cent on three-pointers, an increase of 0.55 per cent from the perimeter from last season – the eighth-largest improvement in the NBA among players with at least 150 three-point attempts this season and last.
The mid-range shot is somewhat of a lost art in the current game with the added weight given to a shot from a few feet further back beyond the arc, but it still has a place and if a shooter can connect from mid-range with regularity he becomes all the more threatening to score.
LaVine has found his touch from mid-range, making 44.6 per cent of those shots this season after hitting at a 31.9 per cent clip last season. That increase of 12.7 per cent is the sixth-largest in the NBA among 73 shooters who have attempted at least 50 mid-range shots this season and last.
Shooters shoot, and LaVine is thriving. His effective field goal percentage of 61.5 ranks second in the NBA among all guards.
His all-round offensive game is one of the most complete in the league, and opposing defences are tasked with game planning against him, giving him similar treatment as they would give Curry or James, as he is a threat to score from anywhere on the court.
Curry and James, however, have won multiple MVPs and titles. LaVine is certainly putting up MVP-type numbers, but the Bulls are not in the championship conversation.
At the moment, at least.
Chicago are only two games back of the Boston Celtics for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference and are viewed as a team on the rise under first-year Bulls coach Billy Donovan. Instead of trading LaVine as was being speculated weeks ago, it is possible Chicago will be buyers at the March 25 trade deadline in their pursuit of a playoff berth.
And if LaVine continues to excel and Chicago continue to improve over the next few seasons, MVP awards and NBA titles might not be out of the question for LaVine and the Bulls.
Luka Doncic was happy to indulge in the feel-good factor after his stunning display in the Dallas Mavericks' win over the San Antonio Spurs.
Doncic put up his his eighth triple-double of the NBA season as the Mavericks were victorious for the fourth match running, downing the Spurs 115-104.
In a contest pitting seventh versus eighth in the West, the Slovenian posted 22 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists to complete his 33rd career triple-double.
The 22-year-old is now level with Bob Cousy in 11th on the all-time triple-doubles list.
He had defender Dejounte Murray tied up in knots at times and enjoyed getting the better of a quality opponent.
"It's a great feeling but I think he was doing an amazing job on me," said Doncic.
"I think he's a really good defender but when you do a move, you feel good about it."
With Kristaps Porzingis regaining full fitness after knee surgery and top-scoring on 28 points, Doncic feels the best is yet to come from his Latvian team-mate.
"We are all progressing as a team," he said.
"KP has been way better, he's getting the confidence after his injury. I think he's still going to build on his confidence and is going to be way better."
Those were sentiments echoed by the man himself, with Porzingis feeling good about his recovery.
"I feel like I'm getting there. I still have to keep working," he said.
"After surgery, the leg is not feeling the same, so you have to keep working on that strength and make sure it's strong and stable and you feel confident.
"It's non-stop work, but I'm feeling better with each game and looking forward to the second part of the season."
San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has revealed the club and veteran LaMarcus Aldridge have mutually agreed to part ways.
The 35-year-old power forward/center will explore his trade options before the March 25 deadline.
"We've mutually agreed for him to work out some opportunities for him, and that'll be elsewhere," Popovich told reporters before Wednesday's 115-104 loss to Dallas.
"He's been a great team-mate. There was no problem there. We just think this is a win-win for LaMarcus and the club.
"When an opportunity arises, that'll be up to management, his agent, that sort of thing. We'll all move forward.
"He's done everything we've asked, and at this point we'd just like to do something that will work for him as much for our club because he deserves that."
Seven-time All-Star Aldridge had missed eight of San Antonio's final 11 matches prior to the All-Star break with a combination of hip and quadriceps injuries.
This season, Aldridge has averaged 13.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in 25.9 minutes per game.
Kevin Durant's return to play from a hamstring injury remains uncertain with Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash revealing he will undergo further scans.
Durant has not played for Brooklyn since the February 13 game against former team the Golden State Warriors due to the left hamstring injury.
Thursday's game with the Boston Celtics is set to be the 10th straight he has missed due to the injury.
Nash said Durant will undergo further scans which will dictate the next steps in his recovery.
"He hasn't played in a month," Nash said on Wednesday. "No matter what the scan says, there will still be an appropriate ramp-up time to make sure we put him in a position to finish the season strong.
"He's doing really well right now, and we all feel really positive about the direction he is going but we just need to be very cautious because he's a really important player for us."
Durant did not head to Atlanta for the All-Star break, instead remaining in Brooklyn to work with his physiotherapist.
The 32-year-old forward has participated in light on-court workouts but not high-speed running or drills with his team-mates.
Nash denied that the Achilles injury that Durant suffered in 2019 was related to his current problem.
"Through his history, through medical history and assessment, we don't feel like these two are related at all," Nash said.
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