James Harden insisted he intends to stay with the Philadelphia 76ers next season after delivering a flat performance in the defeat that killed off the team's playoffs dream.
After posting just 11 points on four-of-nine shooting, NBA veteran Harden said he hoped the 76ers could realise their ambition to win a championship, and stressed he wanted to be a part of that.
Harden did not put any points on the board in the second half on a 99-90 defeat at home to the Miami Heat, who advanced 4-2 to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The 32-year-old guard spoke about his lack of impact, saying: "I feel like the ball moved, it just didn't get back to me."
The Heat dominated the third quarter 25-15 to open up an 11-point lead, including a 16-2 run, and Harden said: "We didn't score. They got some easy buckets in transition, and hit some big shots, and kind of broke the game open."
Acquired from the Brooklyn Nets in a February trade, Harden was asked whether he saw his future in Philadelphia.
"I'll be here," he said. "Whatever allows this team to continue to grow and get better, and do the things necessary to win and compete at the highest level."
He explained: "For me, it's been a long year, but since I've been here it's been great. We tried to build something so fast – tried to build a championship-contending team so fast – which I still think we are, but we're just missing a few pieces. Other than that, we tried to go for it right away, and we just came up a little short. It doesn't stop, we've still got to put work in and keep going.
"We're trying to win a championship, man. That's the goal. We'll continue to build, us individually, and continue to get better, us as a unit, and continue to get to know each other. We'll find out what works, what doesn't work, and things like that."
Harden has battled hamstring trouble in recent times, and he believes there is a pathway back to full fitness, where he would not feel impeded at all next season.
"I'm finally starting to feel okay again, so it will be a great summer for me to get my body right and get ready to go for next year. This last two years have been a whirlwind though," he said.
"I've been trying to get right throughout the course of a basketball season for two years straight, and that's not it. All last summer I was rehabbing, and it was a little frustrating because I'm not used to going through something like that. It is what it is, and I'm just happy to be healthy now, and I have a full summer to be straight and do the things necessary to come back even better next year."
Spurs head coach Popovich out indefinitely
The San Antonio Spurs will be without head coach Gregg Popovich indefinitely after he reportedly suffered a health issue prior to the team’s last game.
The 75-year-old Popovich didn’t coach the Spurs (3-3) during Saturday’s 113-103 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves due to what the team said was an undisclosed illness.
Mike Johnson took over as head coach against Minnesota and will remain in the role while Popovich is sidelined.
“He's not feeling well,” Johnson said prior to Saturday’s game. “This has happened before.
“I think everybody's just always got to be ready for the next man up. We've had it with injuries and sometimes people get sick or don't feel well or things come up in life.
“He's just not feeling well.”
Popovich is the NBA's all-time leader with 1,391 victories and has won five NBA titles while coaching San Antonio since the 1996-97 season.
Bickerstaff: Pistons are 'getting better at everything' after big Nets win
J.B. Bickerstaff believes the Detroit Pistons are "getting better at everything" after bouncing back to beat the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.
The Pistons suffered a heavy defeat to the New York Knicks on Friday but made it two wins from three with their 106-92 victory over the Nets after they lost their opening four games of the NBA season.
Detroit finished with six players on double figures, with Cade Cunningham leading the charge with 19 points. It was the second time this season they have had that many players score 13 points or more in a single game, after doing it just once last term.
And while their attack was impressive, they also held the Nets to just 15 points in the fourth quarter, showing a vast improvement to their defense.
Bickerstaff was impressed with how his team have grown already since the start of the season.
"The guys did a great job of bouncing back," Bickerstaff said. "The conversation around the group has been to be better than we were the other night.
"Every single night we step on the floor, we aim to improve. The guys, just from a grit standpoint, how hard they played and how they shared the ball, it was unbelievable.
"We're getting better at everything. I feel our guys have embraced the system. They're really competing on that end of the floor. Individually, everybody's taking the challenge.
"There are still small things systematically, we're going to continue to improve on things. I'm learning what guys are capable of, but guys' willingness to take the challenge has given us an opportunity to put ourselves in a position that now we have a foundation of that, and we can grow from there."
Malik Beasley, who was another to finish on double figures as he scored 18 points, including two critical 3-point shots, believes their more proactive approach to defending pushed them towards the win.
"We started the game physical," Beasley said. "Last game, New York came out and just got whatever they wanted to get to.
"We made a point today to be physical and if we get fouls called early, it is what it is. We need to be known for a grit team, the Bad Boys, that whole thing. We did that [on Sunday]."
The Pistons are in action again on Monday when they face the Los Angeles Lakers.
Fun returns for Doncic as Mavs ease past Magic
Luka Doncic hailed a "real fun" performance from the Dallas Mavericks after they bounced back from Thursday's loss to the Houston Rockets with a comfortable win over the Orlando Magic.
Coming off the back of their second defeat of the season, the Mavs downed a short-handed Magic side by a 108-85 scoreline to improve to 4-2 for 2024-25.
Doncic had 32 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while team-mate Daniel Gafford added a season-high 18 points and eight rebounds in just 20 minutes on court.
But it was a suffocating defensive performance that kept out an Orlando team deprived of injured star Paolo Banchero and won Dallas plaudits, and Doncic enjoyed his role.
"Today was real fun," he said. "We were guarding everybody, defending, rebounding, playing with a lot of pace. So that's fun for me."
Four-time NBA champion Klay Thompson, who arrived from the Golden State Warriors during the offseason, had a quiet night with just nine points for Dallas.
However, head coach Jason Kidd was pleased with his all-round contribution, saying: "I thought he played a great game.
"I know we look at him for scoring and shooting threes, but I thought his playmaking, his energy was high. He was moving on both ends at a very high level."
Dallas are next in action against the Indiana Pacers on Monday, while the 3-4 Magic visit the Oklahoma City Thunder.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
