James Harden has shrugged off any stress over his chances of making the All-Star Game, saying his numbers speak for themselves.
Harden had a double-double of 26 points and 10 assists as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Orlando Magic 105-94 on Wednesday.
The 33-year-old is a 10-time All-Star, but an 11th successive appearance in the mid-season exhibition game is not guaranteed.
Harden faces stiff competition from several other star names, including Sixers team-mate Joel Embiid, in the Eastern Conference to make the reserve list for the All-Star Game. There are seven spots available for each conference.
Yet Harden, who is averaging 21.4 points per game – Embiid, with 33.5, is the only Sixers player to boast more – 6.4 rebounds and 11 assists this season, believes he has done enough.
"If my name is called, great," Harden told reporters. "If not, there's bigger and better goals for the season.
"I'm not going to sit here and make a case. The numbers show it, our seed shows it."
The Sixers are third in the East with a 33-17 record, having won eight of their previous nine games.
Harden made three catch-and-shoot three-pointers against Orlando and was thrilled to thrive in an area where he has struggled.
"That's pretty exciting, I didn't want to do too much, just catch and shoot," he explained.
"You put the work in, I work on it every day. So opportunities are going to come whether it's Joel or dribble penetration."
Embiid added: "That's not something he was comfortable with, but he's gotten better over time and he's taking more and more.
"He needs to take more than he does, but it's a good step. He's getting better and he's knocking them down."
Embiid was marked tightly by the Magic's Franz Wagner, though still topped the scoring with 28 points, adding 11 rebounds and three assists.
"A really good young player," Embiid said of Wagner. "Obviously, you can tell he's competitive, as he kept attacking even though he was not getting the better of me.
"But I like him, a great talent and as a team, that's a pretty good team."
Sixers coach Doc Rivers, meanwhile, saw scope for improvement.
"I didn't think we played great, but we played good enough to win," he said. "We'll take that."
NBA commissioner Adam Silver hopeful new CBA can get done before Friday deadline
NBA commissioner Adam Silver is hopeful a new collective bargaining agreement between the league and players can be approved before Friday's deadline.
If not, he said the league's plan would then be to opt out of the current CBA.
The NBA and National Basketball Players Association are negotiating ahead of a deadline set for midnight on Friday that would allow either side to opt out of the current CBA on June 30.
The current CBA expires at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.
"I certainly can foresee one getting done and I hope we do get one done," Silver said on Wednesday during his news conference at the conclusion of a two-day meeting of the league's Board of Governors.
The sides have already extended the deadline on two previous occasions – once in December and another time in February – and Silver said the league won't extend it again if there is no deal by Friday night.
"If we don't have a deal by this Friday night and nothing else were to happen, yes, it would be our intention to opt out of the current deal," Silver said.
The two sides have been negotiating a new CBA for more than a year with spending limits and player health being specific issues, and Silver said progress has been made.
"I think both sides understand that this is a window of opportunity that we should try not to miss," Silver said. "Because, if we don't have the deal done this Friday, the next real deadline is June 30, but that's the very end of the season.
"The whole idea behind these early deadlines (is) to try to avoid going right up to the line."
While Silver said the league would exercise the opt-out option if a deal isn't reached by Friday, NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio said the players don't intend to opt out.
"The March 31 deadline is an important benchmark, and we are doing everything in our power to reach an agreement with the league," Tremaglio said in a statement.
"If we don't have a deal and the league decides to opt out, it will be disappointing considering all the work both sides have put into the negotiations, and the fair nature of our requests. As far as our fans are concerned, it will be business as usual. Games will continue uninterrupted."
Although there is a midnight Friday deadline, Silver said if progress is being made and the two sides are close, it is possible the deadline could be pushed back a few days.
"I could imagine if it came midnight Friday night, and we were having a productive discussion and somebody said, ‘We could use a few more days,' we would agree to a few more days," Silver said. "But that's more of a hypothetical."
Kerr credits Green with willing Warriors to victory as Curry lauds unmatched 'competitive spirit'
Steve Kerr credited Draymond Green with "willing" the Golden State Warriors to victory in their comeback win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Green scored eight points and provided 13 assists, four turnovers and two steals to help complete a 120-109 turnaround triumph for the reigning NBA champions at Chase Center.
Golden State were trailing by 17 points after a lacklustre first half, but Green sparked the team into life, earning the credit from his coach.
"Draymond willed us to victory tonight," said Kerr. "Just the intensity, the frustration early with the way we were playing.
"Mad at the world, yelling at everybody – their bench, our bench – and frankly, we deserved it."
Green's first spark came late in the second quarter when he picked up his 17th technical foul for a shove on Brandon Ingram.
The pair exchanged words, amongst some shoving, and were issued Ts.
He will be fined $5,000 if the technical foul does not get rescinded over the next 24 hours - which Green thinks it will be - but if it does not, the Warriors forward believes it was worth it.
"It was perfect," said Green. "Perfectly executed. We looked dead those first 18 minutes. We had to find some energy somewhere.
"It wasn't just going to come, especially after losing the game like we did last game [99-96 to Minnesota Timberwolves].
"That can carry over. I felt like it did. I knew we had to do something and do it fast before the game got out of hand."
Green almost picked up another technical foul 20 seconds later after colliding with Herbert Jones but following more shoving and a video review, no Ts were assessed.
"I've got to play with the same intensity I try to play with each and every time I step on the court," added Green.
"I can't worry about that. For me, if I'm going to change my intensity level, then why be out there?"
Following Green's clash with Jones, Stephen Curry got involved in the scrum yelling at Pelicans players and giving some shoves.
"He knows that guys are backing him up," said Curry. "I'm sure [Green] wouldn't go out on an island like that if he didn't have that confidence.
"There are times when I've got to keep him in check and bring him back in when it's turning in the wrong direction in the sense of staying focused on just winning."
The Warriors outscored the Pelicans 74-46 in the second half, shooting 70 per cent to help complete their second-biggest comeback of the season.
Curry scored or assisted half of the points Golden State won after half-time.
Green said: "When I turned it up a notch, [Curry] turned it up another two notches.
"We all hopped in line and followed him, and he was locked in. No one was stopping him."
The Warriors are now sixth in the Western Conference, holding just a half-game advantage over the Timberwolves in seventh with five rounds left of the regular season.
"It feels like we've been in a playoff vibe for a couple of weeks now," said Curry.
"The only difference is you're playing a different team every night. But it's the same kind of adrenaline rush that we're getting. Every game does matter.
"We have a competitive spirit that's unmatched. And it's been that way for a decade."
Brown bemoans 'everything going wrong' as Celtics team bus stuck in traffic before defeat
Jaylen Brown did not want to make excuses but acknowledged "everything was going wrong for us" after the Boston Celtics' upset loss at the Washington Wizards.
The Celtics had the opportunity to close to within one win of the Milwaukee Bucks and the number one seed in the East on Wednesday.
Instead, they went down 130-111 to a Wizards team missing Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma.
One of the Celtics' team buses was stuck in traffic for around an hour before the game, and although Boston recovered to make a solid start, it was the first sign of the troublesome night that was to come.
"Tonight it just seemed like everything was going right for Washington; everything was going wrong for us," Brown said.
"On top of all the stuff that was happening before the game... but I'm not one to make no excuses."
The Celtics had recovered from a run of three straight defeats in early March to win seven of the next nine before visiting the Wizards.
While Boston are now 2.5 games back, Brown knows they cannot afford this one-off defeat to become part of a slump.
After the Bucks play the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, they welcome the Celtics to Wisconsin the following night.
"Games like this are not supposed to happen. You're supposed to win," Brown said. "But it's over with now, nothing we can do about it.
"I'm not concerned, because the way my brain works is you have just got to look forward to what's next.
"You don't want one bad night to turn into three bad nights or a bad week. Nobody wants to see that. We don't want to see that, so you don't harp on it.
"Obviously, we dropped the ball. But now you have just got to refocus and get ready for the next one."
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