Ben Simmons revealed he had been dealing with "dark times" due to his mental health as he was presented as a Brooklyn Net on Tuesday, although he added his issues while with the Philadelphia 76ers were "a personal thing".

Following a long-running trade saga, Simmons joined the Nets ahead of last week's deadline, with James Harden heading in the opposite direction.

Simmons had been mooted as a piece in a potential Harden trade as long ago as January 2021 – with Harden then forcing his way out of the Houston Rockets – and his future became more uncertain still following the 76ers' playoff defeat to the Atlanta Hawks last season.

The former number one overall pick averaged 6.3 points from 4.7 field goal attempts across the final three games of a seven-game series.

He was the subject of intense criticism after appearing to pass up shooting opportunities, with team-mates and coaches among those to question his performance level.

With Simmons subsequently keen to leave the 76ers, he has not played at all this season.

But the Australian explained as he met the media that the fallout from the Hawks series had not been a prominent factor in a difficult year to date.

"For me, it was just making sure mentally I was right to get out there and play again," Simmons said. "So that's something I've been dealing with.

"And it wasn't about the fans or coaches, or comments made by anybody. It was just a personal thing for me. That was earlier than that series or even that season that I was dealing with, and [the 76ers] knew that.

"So, it is something that I continue to deal with and I'm getting there and getting to the right place to get back on the floor."

He added his mental health issues had "nothing to do with the trade" but rather "a bunch of things that I was dealing with as a person, in my personal life, that I don't really want to go into depth with".

However, getting out of Philly was important for Simmons as he aims to recover.

"A bunch of things that had been going on over the years to where I knew I wasn't myself," he said, explaining his pursuit of a trade. "And I needed to get back to being myself and being happy as a person and taking care of my well-being.

"That was the major thing for me. It wasn't about the basketball, it wasn't about the money, anything like that. I want to be who I am and get back to playing basketball and that level and being myself."

Of his critics, Simmons said: "They should be happy I'm smiling, honestly. I've had some dark times over these last six months and I'm just happy to be in this situation with this team and organisation."

The move also gives Simmons the opportunity to team up with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, with the Nets maintaining title hopes despite their slump to eighth in the East.

"I think it's going to be scary," the new signing said. "Having those guys running alongside me, multiple different weapons on the floor, and I think at the pace we want to play at, it's going to be unreal."

Simmons does not yet know when he will be available for the Nets, but he hopes to play against the 76ers on March 10.

Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan surpassed the great Michael Jordan with a 40-point haul against the San Antonio Spurs, and took heed from another sporting legend.

DeRozan has been in sensational form for the Bulls this season and was their key player as they ran out 120-109 winners over the Spurs on Monday.

The 32-year-old finished witih 40 points, three rebounds and seven assists. He has the most points in the NBA this season, having amassed 1,509 across 54 appearances at an average of 27.9 per game (the fourth best in the NBA).

Trae Young, of the Atlanta Hawks, ranks second for points on 1,412 – 97 behind DeRozan.

The Bulls talisman has now put himself into the team record books, too, with his showing against the Spurs marking his sixth consecutive 35-point game.

That passes the previous record of five, set by Jordan, who achieved that feat four times across his illustrious career, last doing so in the 1996-97 season.

After writing his name into Bulls folklore, DeRozan revealed he channelled the advice of boxing great Floyd Mayweather Jr.

"I'm not a knockout puncher. I want to wear you down because I know I can go the length, however long I need to go," DeRozan said, recalling a conversation he had with Mayweather several years ago. 

"Every shot that I take is a shot that I work on. I'm just not shooting a shot just to be shooting it. I just try to lock in every time it's time to score."

The Bulls needed DeRozan to be at his best, with Chicago trailing by six points heading into the final quarter.

DeRozan scored 13 of the Bulls' next 15 points to inspire the comeback.

"It's not only the scoring piece, which is absolutely incredible what he does, the other piece of it is just his basketball IQ, his experience, how savvy he is," Bulls coach Billy Donovan told reporters.

The Bulls (37-21) are second in the Eastern Conference with a 63.8 win percentage. 

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich bemoaned mistakes from his team, but conceded DeRozan was just too good.

"The combination of him being super and us not executing very well was a big contributor to losing the game," he said.

Steve Kerr claimed the Golden State Warriors defense has been "bad for six or seven games" after his team lost 119-104 to the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Warriors are 42-16 for the season with a 72.4 win percentage, but they have now lost three of their last four games, having gone on a nine-game winning streak prior to that.

Kerr questioned his team's defensive work before Monday's loss, yet that did not help the Warriors against the Clippers, who scored 54 points from in the paint.

After the defeat, Kerr did not hold back in his criticism.

"I was doing a lot of yelling," Kerr told reporters. "The main thing is that our defense has been bad. It's been bad for six or seven games now. It's hard to win in this league when you're looking like we are, defensively, with so many holes in our games.

"They went right around us. It's been something different every night.

"When you can't count on the connection defensively and the competitiveness and the fire, every night is going to be a little different depending on what talent you're going against."

Despite their recent troubles, the Warriors still have the second-best defensive record in the Western Conference when it comes to points allowed per game, with only the Dallas Mavericks (103.1) allowing fewer than Golden State (103.5).

However, Kerr believes that the statistic is skewed because of the Warriors' strong start to the season.

"I know we are number one in defense," he said, making air quote signs. "But we're not right now. Those numbers are inflated by what we did earlier in the season.

"Over the last seven games, we are probably bottom five, if not dead last in defensive rating.

"It's up to us. We're going to have to find the effort, the communication, connection, to get back to doing the things we were doing before."

Kerr has a point. The Warriors have allowed 113.3 points per game over the last seven games, while so far in February, their opponents are averaging 51.4 points in the paint.

That has seen the Warriors drop from the fourth-best team in the league to fifth defensively in the paint for the season, and over the seven-game span this month they sit in 21st place in that aspect.

Seth Curry's 23-point arrival helped the Brooklyn Nets snap their 11-game skid in a 109-85 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Monday.

Curry landed four three-pointers with seven rebounds and five assists while fellow debutant Andre Drummond added 11 points, with Ben Simmons still out despite being present for the pre-game shootaround.

The Nets led from start to finish but were propelled by a 54-37 second half with LaMarcus Aldridge scoring 19 points with eight rebounds off the bench.

Bruce Brown had season-high returns with 19 points, six assists and five steals for the new-look Nets who improved to 30-27.

De'Andre Fox had a game-high 26 points for the Kings who were limited to 34.4 per cent shooting (31-of-90) overall.

Steph stars but Warriors lose

Stephen Curry made eight three-pointers in a 33-point haul but it was not enough to get the Golden State Warriors past the Los Angeles Clippers who won 119-104. Terance Mann scored 25 points with seven rebounds and six assists for the triumphant Clippers.

Julius Randle had a triple-double with 30 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists but he was overshadowed by Rookie of the Year contender Josh Giddey as the Oklahoma City Thunder won 127-123 in overtime. Giddey also had a triple-double with 28 points including three triples along with 11 rebounds and 12 assists.

Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic starred with 26 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists as the Denver Nuggets brushed aside the Orlando Magic 121-111, while Donovan Mitchell had 30 points with six rebounds and seven assists in the Utah Jazz's 135-101 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Middleton loses radar as Bucks go down

Khris Middleton almost had a triple-double but shot poorly, going three-of-15 from the field and one-of-eight from beyond the arc as the Milwaukee Bucks went down 122-107 to the Portland Trail Blazers. Anfernee Simons scored 31 points for the Blazers, while Middleton had 16 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists as the Bucks lost in Giannis Antetokounmpo's absence due to a sore ankle.

Seth Curry is excited about the weapons at the disposal of the Brooklyn Nets when they get their stars back on court after helping snap their 11-game skid in 109-85 win over the Sacramento Kings on Monday.

Curry top scored for the new-look Nets with 23 points including three three-pointers, while fellow new addition Andre Drummond added 11 points.

Brooklyn were without Kevin Durant (MCL sprain), Kyrie Irving (unable to play in New York due to vaccine mandate) and new acquisition Ben Simmons (conditioning).

"I didn't have to see what we did tonight to know the kind of style we'll play," Curry told reporters after the game.

"We'll have so many weapons out there - offensively and defensively. It's going to be a lot of fun to play.

"It's been a while since I got up and down the floor like that and played with that kind of pace, even in the halfcourt."

The win ends Brooklyn's slump that saw them go from a record of 29-16 to 30-27, but there is renewed hope with a fresh line-up after last week's trade moves that saw Curry, Drummond and Simmons join from the Philadelphia 76ers.

Drummond added: "We have a great group of guys. Guys that are missing right now, we got to wait for them to get healthy, but once everybody gets back I think we'll be very, very good and make a very good push in the playoffs."

Nets head coach Steve Nash had said pre-game that there was no official timeline on Simmons' return to play as he builds reconditioning having not played all season.

“I think he’s in a pretty good state mentally,” Nash said. “If we work with him in conjunction to his physical ramp-up to make sure he’s comfortable on and off the floor, I think he’ll be ready to play mentally when he’s physically ready.”

Reigning NBA Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and new Brooklyn Nets acquisition Ben Simmons will both not play on Monday.

Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer confirmed that Antetokounmpo will miss Monday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers with a sore ankle.

The Greek forward had been listed as probable before being downgraded to doubtful, ahead of back-to-back games with a Tuesday date with the Indiana Pacers too.

"He's not ready to go tonight," Budenholzer told reporters pre-game. "It's not anything more than that. We'll see how he feels tomorrow. I think it's very short term."

Simmons, who joined the Nets from the Philadelphia 76ers in a blockbuster trade late last week, attended shootaround prior to their game with the Sacramento Kings.

However, the three-time All-Star was ruled out as he "returns to competition reconditioning".

The Milwaukee Bucks are expected to pursue a deal for Goran Dragic after it was announced Pat Connaughton will miss around four weeks. 

Connaughton on Monday underwent surgery on a fractured metacarpal sustained in the 131-107 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Thursday but should return before the end of the regular season. 

The seventh-year shooting guard's injury leaves the Bucks short of backcourt depth, however, after they traded Donte DiVincenzo to the Sacramento Kings in a four-team deal that landed them Serge Ibaka. 

Milwaukee, who are two games back of Eastern Conference leaders the Miami Heat, have consequently been heavily linked with a move for Dragic. 

Dragic was traded to the Spurs by the Toronto Raptors last week but is set to be bought out of his contract by San Antonio.

ESPN has reported the Bucks will now be "aggressive in [their] pursuit" of the Slovenian guard as they look to secure a decent seeding ahead of the playoffs and their defence of the NBA championship. 

James Harden will miss the All-Star Game due to a left hamstring injury, with Jarrett Allen selected as his replacement. 

After joining the Philadelphia 76ers in a blockbuster trade that sent Ben Simmons to the Brooklyn Nets, Harden was ruled out until after this weekend's All-Star break. 

The 2018 NBA MVP had been selected as a reserve but will not feature in the game as he continues to recover from his hamstring issue. 

Harden joined up with his new team-mates in Philadelphia for practice on Monday but will not play against the Boston Celtics or Milwaukee Bucks this week. 

Cleveland Cavaliers center Allen was named as Harden's replacement for Sunday's game at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse by NBA commissioner Adam Silver. 

It will be Allen's first appearance in the All-Star Game and he will be part of Team LeBron. Cavs team-mate Darius Garland will line-up opposite him for Team Durant. 

The 23-year-old is averaging career highs of 16.2 points and 11.1 rebounds this season. He is ninth in the league for rebounds per game and 13th in blocks per game. 

Jayson Tatum scored 38 points including four triples as the Boston Celtics clinched their eighth consecutive victory beating the Atlanta Hawks 105-95 on Sunday.

Tatum led the Celtics' third-quarter charge as they piled on 42-23 to open up the game after trailing by 12 points early in the period.

The Celtics small forward had 10 rebounds, three assists, one steal and two blocks to go with his 38 points, while Jaylen Brown added 17 points and nine rebounds.

Trae Young starred for the Hawks, who never gave in, scoring 30 points with four rebounds and 10 assists.

Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 26 points off the bench for the Hawks who reached last year's Conference Finals but are 26-30 this season.

Edwards shines as Timberwolves win

Former NBA Draft first pick Anthony Edwards dominated with 37 points to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 129-120 win over the Indiana Pacers.

Edwards' haul included seven three-pointers along with five rebounds and four assists, overshadowing Karl-Anthony Towns (15 points, 13 rebounds, three assists).

The Timberwolves shot at 52.9 per cent from beyond the arc, making 18 triples for the game.

The Pacers, who were busy late in the trade period, were soundly beaten but new acquisition Tyrese Haliburton was impressive with 22 points, five rebounds and 16 assists. Oshae Brissett also had 22 points with 13 rebounds.

LeBron James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA's all-time leading points scorer in combined regular season and play-off history in the Los Angeles' Lakers loss to the Golden State Warriors.

The four-time NBA MVP led the scoring for the Lakers in Saturday's 117-115 defeat at Chase Center with 26 points, while also adding 15 rebounds and eight assists in another impressive display.

In doing so, James extended his streak of 25 points or more to 22 games and took his career points tally to 44,157, overtaking former Milwaukee Bucks and Lakers great Abdul-Jabbar's previous high of 44,149.

However, the achievement was bittersweet for the 37-year-old as it came in a narrow defeat for his side, with Klay Thompson grabbing the headlines thanks to his season-high 33 points.

"It's hard for me to speak on it now because I hate doing anything when it comes in a loss," James said. "And we had an opportunity to win a big game tonight."

Reflecting more widely on his career to date, James added: "I've been appreciative of the opportunity to play this game at the highest level. 

"I love the game of basketball. I love being a part of the NBA and being able to inspire so many different sets of generations. I guess, it's a pretty big deal.

"In all my career, any time I've been linked with some of the greats, I've always just been in awe."

James still has work to do if he is to finish his career as the highest-scoring player in the regular season, as he trails Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) and Karl Malone (36,928) with 36,526 points.

He has won four NBA Championships, four NBA MVP awards, four NBA Finals MVP awards and two Olympic gold medals with the United States in an illustrious career.

After hitting another milestone, Warriors pair Thompson and Steph Curry were among those to laud evergreen James.

"It's wild to think about how many games he's played, how long he's been doing it. The longevity of it all is legendary," Curry said. 

"To be in that position where you've played that many games, you've been in so many different play-off runs, won championships and done it year after year, there is no real end in sight. 

"That's a pretty special accomplishment. He's probably got his eyes set on the 'real' scoring title. It's crazy to think about."

Thompson added: "I don't know how much longer he has, maybe it's two years, maybe it's three. But NBA fans should appreciate it while they're watching such an amazing player."

James has a team-high 1,159 points this term for the Lakers, who are 26-31 following their loss to the Warriors, at an average of 29 per game across his 40 outings – only Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid (29.5) has averaged more.

Indeed, James' 29-point average is his best since 2009-10 when finishing with 29.7 through 76 games with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Klay Thompson shot a season-best 33 points, marking a major milestone in his recovery from long-term injury, as the Golden State Warriors narrowly edged the Los Angeles Lakers 117-115 on Saturday.

Thompson has been slowly building up his game time since returning from consecutive ACL and Achilles injuries that left him on the shelf for two and a half years, and recently bumped it up to 30 minutes per game, which allowed him to top score against the Lakers.

The 32-year-old shot five-of-nine from beyond the arc, with Stephen Curry (24 points, five rebounds, eight assists) taking a backseat. LeBron James managed 26 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists for the Lakers.

"After not feeling that feeling for a few years, don't take a 30-ball lightly in this league," Thompson said after the win at Chase Center.

"I know that is always in me, but these things happen naturally. If I can play to do that every fourth quarter, I would. It's the flow of the game. Great things happen with time.

"It was really inspiring for myself. There were so many long days in this building, so many long days doing those tedious things. That is something that I wasn't used to prior due to my ability to play nightly. Now that I am able to do that, it inspires me to keep going.

"I am not satisfied. It felt really freaking good, though."

Warriors coach Steve Kerr was effusive in his praise of Thompson after the victory that takes his team to 42-15 for the season.

"[He was] phenomenal," Kerr said. "Just took one game at a time when we desperately needed him. With our offense kind of struggling to [find] a groove, and he got hot and took over the game."

Curry – who uncharacteristically managed just one three-pointer from eight attempts on the night – was also impressed with Thompson's efforts, saying: "It's still early in his comeback, but every night is a step in the right direction. To have that energy, that confidence in himself, nothing else matters in that moment."

Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant was relieved to come through the "noise" surrounding James Harden after his blockbuster trade to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Sixers signed up Harden and Paul Millsap this week from the Nets, sending Seth Curry, reserve center Andre Drummond, Ben Simmons and two first-round picks the other way.

Harden had last January forced his way out of the Houston Rockets to move to Brooklyn and team up with Durant and Kyrie Irving, but the Nets' 'Big Three' played just 365 minutes together across 16 games in the regular season and playoffs.

Although the Nets went 13-3 in that time, Harden and Irving were each absent for three games of the seven-game series against eventual champions the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2020-21 postseason.

Injury problems have persisted this season, while Irving has missed 10 games due to not having had the COVID-19 vaccination, and the Nets were on a 10-game skid when the Harden trade went through.

Durant insists Harden does not owe an explanation after growing "unhappy" in Brooklyn.

"James doesn't have to explain anything to anybody," he said before Saturday's 115-111 loss to the Miami Heat. "He's his own man. He makes his decisions on his career by himself. He doesn't owe anybody an explanation, and I wasn't looking for one.

"I'm just glad that we got this thing done and now we're able to move forward and get some of this noise away, and I'm sure he would feel the same way. But from around our team and around our group, there's noise about what may happen. So I'm glad we can push through that.

"I think once a person gets to that decision of 'I'm unhappy,' I think he's gone through a lot of steps to get there. So, no matter what I say or try to convince someone - I'm not saying I did this, but this is just my theory on this - no matter what I say or do to try to convince someone to change their mood from being unhappy to happy, I think that's when I'm pretty late to the party.

"He's made his decision. I'm sure people make their decision before they get to that mode of being unhappy. I didn't have any conversations with James up until then. I thought everything was solid. I don't do any convincing. I'm sure you make those choices and decisions on your own as an individual. Me as a friend, I just have to accept it."

Harden saw his new team move to 34-22 with an impressive 103-93 defeat of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Joel Embiid continued his MVP form with a triple-double, making a minimum of 25 points for the 31st game in a row, and he believes Harden's arrival will only help him perform better.

"He's going to make the game easy for all of us, especially me," said Embiid. "I don't get a lot of easy shots. I have to work for most of them. I hope he's going to make my game easier."

Kyrie Irving is holding out hope that New York City's vaccination mandate will eventually get overturned enabling him to play home games for the struggling Brooklyn Nets.

Irving scored 29 points, including 20 in the final quarter, as the Nets suffered their 11th straight defeat on Saturday, going down 115-111 to the Miami Heat.

The point guard will be unavailable for the Nets' next three games, as they are all at home at the Barclays Center where he cannot play due to his vaccination status.

"I still wish I could be out there at home," Irving told reporters after the game.

"Some people say it's as simple as, 'hey, go get this, go get the shot.' No, it's not as simple as that for me in my life, but ultimately still praying for a better outcome."

The defeat means the Nets slip perilously close to going below .500 with a 29-27 record.

Brooklyn also traded out James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers this week, while star forward Kevin Durant is still out injured. The Harden trade did mean the Nets landed Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond.

Irving said he felt no guilt for being unable to play home games as the Nets continued to slide.

"There's no guilt that I feel," Irving said. "I'm the only player that has to deal with this in New York City because I play there.

"If I was anywhere else in another city then it probably wouldn't be the same circumstances. But because I'm there, we have [mayor] Eric Adams, we have the New York mandate, we have things going on that are real-life circumstances that are not just affecting me. So you ask me these questions, I don't feel guilt.

"I'm just living my life as best I can just like everybody else that missed these last two years. I didn't have a plan in place while all this was going on, didn't know.

"The NBA and the NBPA made it very clear that there would be things that I would be able to do to work around this. And that's off the table. So you tell me if I'm just alone out here or do I have support from everybody else that's dealing with the same thing?"

The Philadelphia 76ers made a statement as Joel Embiid piled on a 40-point triple-double as they won 103-93 over the Cleveland Cavaliers without new acquisition James Harden on Saturday.

Embiid scored 40 points with 14 rebounds and 10 assists for the Sixers, who improve to 34-22. It was only Embiid's fourth career triple-double.

The Cameroonian center's points haul included a highlight-reel dunk, a one-handed throw-down over Jarrett Allen late in the first half.

Embiid also made four of five three-pointers, going at 50 per cent from the field, while he added three steals in an outstanding game as they wait on Harden to be cleared medically to debut.

Klay hits season-high

Klay Thompson scored a season-high 33 points, marking a major milestone in his recovery from long-term injury, as the Golden State Warriors won 117-115 over the Los Angeles Lakers. Thompson shot five-of-nine from beyond the arc, with Stephen Curry (24 points, five rebounds, eight assists) taking a backseat. LeBron James had 26 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists for the Lakers.

The Chicago Bulls, sitting second in the Eastern Conference, overcame a sluggish start as DeMar DeRozan scored 38 points with six rebounds and five assists, while Nikola Vucevic added 31 points and 15 rebounds in a 106-101 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Luka Doncic scored 45 points with 15 rebounds and eight rebounds in a losing cause as the Dallas Mavericks went down 99-97 to the Los Angeles Clippers, while the table-topping Phoenix Suns won their fourth straight with a 132-105 win over the Orlando Magic led by Devin Booker's 26 points and Chris Paul's 15 assists.

Nets slump to 11th straight loss

Kyrie Irving led a late Brooklyn Nets charge that fell short as they went down 115-111 to the Miami Heat. Irving scored 29 points, including 20 in the final quarter, with five rebounds and five assists as the Nets slumped to their 11th straight defeat. Bam Adebayo had 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Heat who have won five in a row.

Kevin Durant has returned to on-court practice but the Brooklyn Nets are still not offering any timeframes on his return to play.

Durant has been sidelined since January 16 with an MCL strain in his left knee, with reports he will not return until after the All-Star Game on February 20.

The Nets have lost 10 in a row in the absence of Durant, who is averaging 29.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game this season.

Durant joined the Nets for their current road trip, marking the first time since sustaining the injury and noted he is edging closer to a return.

"I'm getting better every day," Durant told reporters prior to Saturday's game against the Miami Heat.

"It's obviously a process to get back on the court and I'm going through that every day. I'm feeling much better as each week passes. It's slow but you know I'm looking forward to ramping things up."

He added: "I feel that the next couple weeks that I'll start to do more. That's probably as much as I can give you and I don't know for sure.

"I'm just listening to the training staff, just doing my job and coming in and following the game plan every day. Whatever they give me.

"But from the last few weeks I feel like they'll be able to give me more and more each day goes on so I'll ramp up here soon and we'll see what happens.

"I want to be back as fast as possible but I also know that I don't want to go out there and be 80 percent. I want to be 100 so I can be the best that I can be."

Nets head coach Steve Nash also declined to offer any timelines on 12-time All-Star's likely return.

"He's on the court shooting, working through things, looking really good," Nash said on Saturday. "There's still a period of time he's got to go through to get over the line, but really positive."

The Nets also confirmed new trade acquisitions Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond would not yet debut against the Heat on Saturday.