Winners and losers: Winning and losing faces beside each other: Horizon's Bobby Gray (l), MVP celebrates on Sunday at the National Arena while Storm's Da'Rell Dominek grimaces in defeat after his team was beaten 113-89 in the final at the National Arena in Kingston.
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Bobby Gray scored 45 points as Horizon successfully defended its title after thrashing Storm by 113-89 in the final of the Elite 1 Caribbean Basketball Winter League on Sunday at the National Arena in Kingston.
Meanwhile, Waves copped third place by delivering a similar thrashing to the Rivers who ended the competition without a victory from their eight games.
The final was competitive right up to two minutes before the end of the first quarter when Horizon went on a 10-2 run to open up a 12-point lead.
After that, it was basically one-way traffic as Horizon increased their lead in each subsequent quarter leading 59-47 and 83-68, before emphatically retaining their title.
Gray was named MVP but he was supported by Asaad Woods and Rasheed Maynard Woods who scored 18 and 17 points, respectively.
Da'Rell Dominek scored 30 points and Jayrn Johnson 22 for the Storm, but could have done with a big game from their best player Brandon BDot Armstrong, who scored only six points in what was his worst game of the tournament.
"(I) feel pretty elated tonight. We had done it in the summer and this is the winter league and we are able to pull off another championship again,” said Horizon head coach Cleon Morgan.
“We came out tonight looked a little bit smoother even though we started off a little sloppy but regardless of that we picked up back the pace and we maintained the lead all the way till the end of the game."
Storm’s head coach, Oneil Brown, said his team did not play to win.
"Actually, a lot of us struggled. I think the guard play; Horizon had better guard play than us tonight,” he said.
“Their guards outscored us and you can see the score at the end. I am disappointed in my team. If it wasn't for Da'Rell we'd by down by 40 and the game would be long over but it has been a good season, ups and down and we looking forward for next year."
In the playoff for third, Waves came prepared to close out the championship with a win after narrowly missing out on a place in the final.
They dominated Rivers in every quarter and category - three-pointers, blocks, free throws and defense. They led 30-12, 52-33, 82-67 before closing out the victory 110-86.
Lushane Wilson scored 27 points and Cameron Burhannon 26 points for Waves while Ricky Shuford had a game-high 35 points and the dependable Anthony Ottleym 14, for Rivers.
"It was a good game but it was one of the toughest games of the season for us mentally. I am really proud of the guys because I was worried,” said Waves coach Rohan Robinson afterwards.
“They said they wanted to finish it off strong, they’re not going out like losers. They are looking forward again to the next tournament in the summer."
After leading Rivers to yet another disappointing loss, Ludlow Barker hopes to get another chance at coaching in the league.
"I think if we going to have the rosters and we can select some more of the players then. If we can choose the kind of team we need then we will get a chance but if you have to play with those you are given then you have to work with it," he said.
League owner Wayne Dawkins was pleased with the tournament stating that the league was here to stay.
"The level of talent we were able to attract down here was extremely high,” he said.
“Our coaching staff did a phenomenal job, our table staff and everybody else, because we really have to get that down in order to be able to scale and grow this thing and so that I was very pleased with."
Suns tab former NBA champion coach Vogel to replace Williams
The Phoenix Suns are finalising an agreement with former NBA champion coach Frank Vogel to become their next head coach, according to multiple reports.
Vogel, who guided the Los Angeles Lakers to an NBA title during the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season, takes over a talent-laden Suns team that has compiled a 160-76 record over the last three regular seasons - the highest winning percentage in the league over that period - but still seeks the first championship of the franchise's 55-year existence.
The 49-year-old replaces Monty Williams, who was fired shortly after the Suns were ousted by the Denver Nuggets in six games in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Williams was hired as the Detroit Pistons' head coach earlier this week. The 2021-22 NBA Coach of the Year went 194-115 over four seasons in Phoenix and led the Suns to the 2021 NBA Finals.
Vogel owns a 431-389 overall record over 11 seasons with three different teams along with a career 49-39 playoff record. His greatest success came during his first season in Los Angeles, where a Lakers team led by superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis went 52-19 before winning four playoff series in the Orlando bubble to earn the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
The Lakers failed to follow up on that success, however, losing to the Suns in the first round the following season. Vogel was then fired after the 2021-22 campaign in which Los Angeles went a disappointing 33-49 and missed the playoffs.
Regarded as a defensive specialist, Vogel previously directed the Indiana Pacers to five playoff appearances - including two trips to the Eastern Conference finals - over a six-year stretch from 2010-16. He also served as the Orlando Magic's head coach from 2016-18.
Vogel will again be taking over a team with two bona fide stars in Phoenix with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker locked into long-term deals, though the Suns do have offseason decisions to make on two other key players. Veteran point guard Chris Paul turned 38 in May and has a partially guaranteed contract for next season, while center Deandre Ayton struggled in the playoff series against the Nuggets and sat out Denver's clinching victory with a rib injury.
Nikola Jokic triple-double propels Denver Nuggets past Miami Heat 104-93
The Denver Nuggets cruised to an 11-point win over a lacklustre Miami Heat in the first game of the NBA finals.
Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic was pivotal in the 104-93 victory, picking up a seamless triple-double in his finals debut.
Miami had no defensive answers for the 28-year-old Serbian, who orchestrated Denver’s offence before finishing with 27 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds.
Outside of the first few minutes, Denver never looked like losing – much to the appreciation of a raucous home crowd.
Bam Adebayo had a strong showing for the Heat as he picked up a team-high 26 points, but he had little help from an inconsistent offence.
On the other hand, Jokic was ably assisted by a 26-point effort from Jamal Murray, while fellow starters Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr added 16 and 14 points respectively.
The seven-game series is Denver’s first trip back to the finals in 47 years, while Miami are on the hunt for their fourth championship.
Nikola Jokic has triple-double to lead Nuggets past Heat in Game 1 of NBA Finals
The Denver Nuggets didn’t show much rust despite a lengthy layoff and Nikola Jokic stepped up down the stretch in his NBA Finals debut, helping his team hold off the Miami Heat for a 104-93 victory in Game 1 on Thursday.
Jokic scored 12 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter – including eight in the final four minutes after the Heat stormed back to cut a 24-point deficit to just nine points.
The two-time league MVP also assisted on 14 baskets and grabbed 10 rebounds to notch his ninth triple-double of this year’s playoffs.
Jokic had plenty of help with Jamal Murray finishing with 26 points and 10 assists, Aaron Gordon adding 16 points and six rebounds and Michael Porter Jr. chipping in 14 points and 12 boards for a Nuggets team that improved to 9-0 at home in the playoffs.
The Heat were led by Bam Adebayo’s 26 points and 13 rebounds, while Gabe Vincent scored 19 and Haywood Highsmith had 18 points off the bench.
Jimmy Butler, the MVP of the Eastern Conference finals, had 13 points – his fewest of the playoffs – along with seven rebounds and seven assists.
With nine days off between games after sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals, there was concern that the Nuggets would be a bit rusty, but that wasn’t the case.
Playing in its first Finals in the franchise's 47-year history, Denver came out firing on all cylinders early in front of a raucous crowd, shooting 59.5 per cent in the opening two quarters to jump out to a 59-42 half-time lead.
The Nuggets pulled away in the third quarter to build an 84-60 advantage but the battle-tested Heat responded.
Highsmith scored 12 points in the fourth quarter and his 3 with 2 ½ minutes to play pulled the Heat within nine points, but that is as close as they would get.
Game 2 will be Sunday in Denver, and it’s possible Tyler Herro will be cleared to play.
Herro has been sidelined since fracturing his right hand in Miami’s playoff opener on April 16, and has been increasing his basketball activities in the last week.
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