Dallas Mavericks MVP hopeful Luka Doncic has always given the Los Angeles Clippers nightmares, and Tuesday was more of the same in a 103-101 home win.
Of the 30 NBA teams, only the Detroit Pistons have felt Doncic's wrath more than the Clippers, averaging 32.4 points in five games against Detroit, and 31.7 per game in a healthier 13-game sample size against Los Angeles.
That number went up again after the 23-year-old Slovenian sensation dropped a game-high 35 points on 11-of-22 shooting, adding 11 rebounds, five assists, three steals and the game-sealing three-pointer.
Leading 99-98 with 30 seconds remaining, Doncic gathered a loose-ball and drilled a deep three to jump ahead by four, putting the game to bed.
While Doncic was clearly the best player on the floor for the Mavericks – scoring over 30 points for the 11th time in 13 games this season – starting wing Dorian Finney-Smith was just as important to the final result, drilling a red-hot seven-of-13 threes to chip in 21 points.
For the Clippers, Paul George was not bad on the surface, posting 23 points (seven-of-13 shooting), seven rebounds and six assists, but he committed a career-high 10 turnovers after never having more than eight in his previous 859 games.
Brunson, Reddish get it done for the Knicks
After a scorching 10-3 start to the season, the Utah Jazz have now lost their past three games after going down 118-111 at home against the New York Knicks.
Knicks starting point guard Jalen Brunson was game's most valuable player, scoring 25 points on 10-of-20 shooting with eight assists and three steals, and it was another terrific showcase from Cam Reddish.
Fresh off his season-high 26 points during the Knicks' last time out, Reddish was awarded his fifth start of the campaign after starting no games last season.
He repaid the faith with another efficient showing, scoring 19 points on seven-of-13 shooting as he begins to fulfill the potential that saw him rated as one of the best prospects in the world heading into his draft year.
Kings score 153 points in regulation
The Sacramento Kings put up the biggest score in the league this season with a 153-121 drubbing of the Brooklyn Nets, scoring at least 36 points in every quarter.
It is eight points more than Oklahoma City in second place, after their 145-135 victory against the New York Knicks on Sunday.
They shot 60.2 per cent from the field (56-of-93), 48.8 per cent from long range (20-of-41) and had seven players in double-figures, led by Terence Davis off the bench with 31 (12-of-16 shooting).
It was the first time this season Ben Simmons has scored at least 10 points, finishing with 11, five rebounds, three assists and a steal in 20 minutes off the Nets bench.
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."
Knicks, head coach Thibodeau agree to three-year contract extension
The New York Knicks and head coach Tom Thibodeau have agreed to a three-year contract extension through the 2027-28 season.
New York went 50-32 last season to earn the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference before losing to the Indiana Pacers in the semi-finals of the play-offs.
The Knicks were also ousted in the East semis in 2022-23 and reached the play-offs during Thibodeau’s first season in 2021-22, when he won his second NBA Coach of the Year award.
Prior to 2021-22, New York’s previous post-season appearance came in 2013.
The Knicks have gone 175-143 over the last four seasons under Thibodeau, who earned his first NBA Coach of the Year award in 2011 as a rookie head coach with the Chicago Bulls.
The 66-year-old Thibodeau owns a 527-389 record in 12 seasons as a head coach with Chicago, the Minnesota Timberwolves and New York.
His teams have gone 38-47 in the post-season, and Thibodeau’s only appearance in the conference finals came in his rookie head coach season.
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