The Brooklyn Nets continued their hot run of form on Monday as they defeated the Washington Wizards 112-100 on the road for the eighth win from their past nine outings.
Kevin Durant's under-the-radar MVP campaign took another step in the right direction with a game-high 30 points on 11-of-17 shooting, adding nine rebounds, six assists, a steal and a block.
For the season, he is averaging exactly 30.0 points per game – the sixth-highest figure in the league – while his 55.9 per cent field goal shooting is a new career-high in his 15th campaign, and he is eighth in the league for blocks at 1.7 per game.
Durant was supported well by Kyrie Irving with 24 points (seven-of-17 shooting), six rebounds and five assists, while Ben Simmons contributed 10 points (five-of-nine), eight rebounds and five assists in 23 productive minutes.
After beginning the season with five losses from their first six games, the Nets are now fourth in the Eastern Conference with a record of 17-12, and they can make it nine wins from 10 when they travel to take on the Toronto Raptors on Friday.
Jackson sets new career-high
Jaren Jackson Jr had six blocks in his first nine minutes of action against the Atlanta Hawks, going on to finish with a career-high eight in a 128-103 win.
The former fourth overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft showed exactly the kind of defensive upside that, when coupled with his sweet shooting stroke, makes him one of the sport's most versatile big men.
He added 15 points and seven rebounds to go with his eight blocks, and he is also hitting 1.9 three-pointers per game at a 37.3 per cent clip.
The Grizzlies are now 18-9 and occupy the second seed in the Western Conference.
Luka outduels Shai to move the Mavs above .500
Luka Doncic raised his league-leading points per game figure to 33.1 as he dropped 38 in the Dallas Mavericks' 121-114 home win against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
With his 38 points on 13-of-27 shooting, Doncic has now eclipsed 30 points in 19 of his 25 games this season, while his 8.8 assists per game has him fourth in the league, chipping in another eight with his 11 rebounds against the Thunder.
It was also a terrific display from the Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored a game-high 42 points on 14-of-23 shooting to raise his average to 31.2 per game – now second in the league.
Dallas are now 14-13, and are tied for the eighth seed in the West.
Westbrook joins Denver Nuggets on two-year contract
Russell Westbrook has joined the Denver Nuggets on a two-year contract containing a player option for 2025-26.
Earlier this month, Westbrook was traded from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Utah Jazz, who reached a contract buyout agreement with the point guard.
Westbrook had long been expected to move on to Denver, with Utah receiving a series of second-round draft picks from the Clippers to facilitate the move.
On Friday, Westbrook was in Denver to put pen to paper on his deal, with his agent Jeff Schwartz confirming the length and terms of his contract to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The team subsequently announced the arrival of the 35-year-old on social media, with the Nuggets becoming his sixth team in the last seven years.
Westbrook will earn an estimated $6.8million with the Nuggets, who lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in last season's Western Conference semifinals.
In 2023-24 for the Clippers, he averaged career lows of 11.1 points and 4.5 assists with 5 boards.
He came off the bench in 57 of the 68 games he played, shooting 27.3 per cent from 3-point range – the second-lowest mark among the 226 players with at least 150 attempts from beyond the arc.
However, Denver believe the 2016-17 NBA MVP can still provide depth and ease the load on reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, who was named the league's best player for a third time in 2023-24.
Kerr demands improvements from Team USA as Olympic opener looms
United States coach Steve Kerr wants to see higher levels of intensity from his team as their Olympics campaign approaches.
Kerr was unhappy with the lacklustre displays from his side in their warm-ups against Germany and South Sudan.
Germany led 71-68 at the end of the third quarter before LeBron James conjured up 11 points in the final four minutes to give the USA a 92-88 win, while South Sudan were 20 seconds away from pulling off one of the biggest shocks in basketball history, before eventually falling to a 101-100 loss.
The USA face a dangerous Serbia side featuring reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic on Sunday, and Kerr is adamant that improvements are required if they are to win a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal.
He said: "It's got to be 40 minutes of force and attention and focus, and we can't let teams outplay us effort and energy-wise like we did the other night against Germany, like we did against South Sudan.
“We have another level. I think we have another two levels that we can get to, but it's a collaboration, always.
"We can show them, 'Let's do this, let's do that. Let's learn personnel.'
"We got to know the shooters, know the non-shooters, all that stuff. So that's where we can help them. Where they can help themselves is just effort and energy play after play, after play. This is different."
Kerr is a four-time NBA champion as a coach, and was part of the triumphant Olympics team in Tokyo in 2021, but the Golden State Warriors boss knows the experience of the Games will only be enhanced if the USA were to come out on top again.
"This should be one of the great experiences of our lives. But the best way to make it an incredible experience is to win a gold medal," he said.
After facing Serbia, the USA will once again go up against South Sudan, this time in a competitive format, before ending the group stage with a match against Puerto Rico.
Durant warns Team USA 'everybody is a contender' in Olympic basketball tournament
Kevin Durant has warned Team USA they will not have an easy ride through the basketball tournament at the Paris Olympic Games, declaring: "Everybody is a contender".
The United States will go in search of a fifth straight men's basketball gold in the French capital, where they open their Group C campaign against Serbia on Sunday.
After that meeting with Nikola Jokic and company, the star-studded USA team featuring Durant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid and a host of other NBA stars take on South Sudan and Puerto Rico.
With Steve Kerr having so much talent at his disposal, the roster has been compared to that of the 1992 'Dream Team', who took gold in Barcelona behind the efforts of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen and other great names.
However, at a press conference ahead of Team USA's 2024 opener, Curry reminded reporters that the class of 1992 only faced nine other active NBA players.
Durant is expecting a much tougher assignment this year, responding to Curry by saying: "Everybody is a contender. Everyone is here for a reason.
"We're playing against 65 or 64 NBA players in Paris. So you know they're the best in the world."
Asked to identify the main players to watch from other nations, the Phoenix Suns forward said: "Giannis [Antetokounmpo] or Jokic."
While Durant adopted a cautious tone, Golden State Warriors star Curry was more bullish regarding the USA's gold medal hopes.
Quizzed on who he was most excited about facing, Curry simply said: "Whoever's in the gold medal game."
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