Jalen Brunson is in line for "a lot of money" next season, according to Jason Kidd, after leading the Dallas Mavericks to a vital Game 2 win over the Utah Jazz.
Brunson was again leading the offense for the Mavericks at home to the Jazz as superstar Luka Doncic remained out with a calf injury.
Doncic's involvement moving forward is still uncertain, meaning the Mavericks needed a team-mate to step up – and Brunson certainly did that with a career-high 41 points in the 110-104 victory that levelled the first-round series.
Playing alongside the ball-dominant Doncic, Brunson's usage rate has been just 20.4 per cent across his regular season career, but he has had to take control through two games.
After shooting nine-of-24 from the floor in Game 1, including one-of-three from beyond the arc, Brunson found his range on Monday.
The point guard set career highs in field-goal attempts (25, tied with a regular season game also against the Jazz) and makes (15) and three-point attempts (10) and makes (six).
"He didn't wait," coach Kidd said. "He took up the space and was aggressive from the jump ball. We talked about it earlier: don't wait, get to your spot and do what you do best.
"I thought he ran the team extremely well. He found spots to score and he made plays."
Brunson is in the final year of his rookie contract and will be an unrestricted free agent following the playoffs, putting him in a strong negotiating position on this form.
Asked what money his player could expect to make, Kidd replied: "A lot, a lot. He's going to make a lot of money. I don't know if he needs an agent, but I'm going to put my name in the hat.
"But it's not just what he did tonight and it's not what he's going to do going forward, he has already done the work this season. He's shown he deserves to be paid. He does his job at a very high level and he's a winner.
"Hopefully he can pay me for that, what I just said.
"He's a great young man and I'm very lucky to be able to coach him."
Brunson was not alone in finding joy from three, as Maxi Kleber shot eight-of-11, contributing to 47 attempts from the Mavericks.
On the defensive end, meanwhile, Dallas held the Jazz to 29 attempts after only 22 in Game 1. Utah averaged 40.3 three-point attempts in the regular season, the second-most in the NBA.
"Analytics will say if you're shooting threes and the other team's shooting twos, you have a great chance of winning," Kidd said. "It's just mathematics."
Still, the coach is not getting carried away ahead of going on the road for Games 3 and 4.
"We did what we had to do, and that was to win tonight. We were only focused on tonight," he said.
"Game 1 was over, there was nothing we could do. Now we can rest and get ready for Game 3, understand what's in front of us, what's coming.
"It's going to be a hostile environment; they play extremely well at home. We have to stay together, and we've shown that.
"After Game 1, it's easy to go our separate ways, but all season we've been saying this: after bad performances, we tend to bounce back. It's nothing different; it's basketball and we bounced back.
"Now we have to find a way to do what they did, and that's just win one game [on the road]."
Man City striker compared to Haaland 'can be best in the world', says team-mate
Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw has already prompted comparisons to Erling Haaland for her goalscoring exploits, and a Manchester City team-mate believes she can be the world's best player.
Jamaica striker Shaw has scored 26 goals in 23 games in all competitions for City this season, including 15 in 15 in the Women's Super League.
The 26-year-old has averaged a goal every 86 minutes in the league – not quite on par with men's star Haaland, who has scored every 76 minutes in the Premier League, but close enough for onlookers to note the similarities.
City manager Gareth Taylor did not shy away from comparisons between the "pretty remarkable" pair last week, explaining how both are "so mentally strong".
It is that quality that might yet make Shaw the world's best, with England defender Alex Greenwood backing her City colleague.
"I'm not surprised she's doing what she is doing, and she still has so many levels to go to, which is quite frightening to be honest," Greenwood told BBC Sport.
"I think she can be the best in the world if she wants to be. She has all the attributes to be the best in the world.
"I know how hard she works in training. It's the reason she's flourishing right now.
"She's been really strong for us, so we just need to keep feeding her, keep giving her the ball, and the rest she'll take care of."
Schroder hails Walker impact as Lakers finally reach .500
Dennis Schroder said the Los Angeles Lakers were grateful to Lonnie Walker IV for inspiring the win that finally took them to .500 for the season and vowed "we're still not finished".
Walker contributed 20 points off the bench in Friday's 116-111 triumph over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Lakers, who started the season 2-10, consequently reached the .500 mark after 74 games, representing the first time in over 400 days (January 25, 2022) they have been at that mark.
According to ESPN, it marks the latest a team has reached .500 for the first time in a season since the 2003-04 Miami Heat, who did so after 78 games.
After the win, Schroder hailed Walker's impact, saying: "He's the guy who won us the game, it's that simple.
"Everybody thanked him for that tonight. This is his win."
Of reaching .500, he added: "Big accomplishment, but we're still not finished."
Those sentiments were echoed by Anthony Davis, who said now is the time to really push on.
"We got to .500, now it's time to get on the other side and have more wins than losses," said Davis, who had 37 points and 15 rebounds.
"So it starts Sunday. We got an opportunity to be a game above .500 against a good Bulls team."
Lakers coach Darvin Ham said: "Now it's time. Instead of constantly facing a deficit, we get to try to create a surplus, create a cushion between the wins and losses.
"So, the guys are excited about that."
March Madness: 'Fearless' SDSU follow Muhammad Ali mantra to upset Alabama
San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher hailed his "fearless" team as they defeated Alabama to book his first trip to the Elite Eight at the NCAA Tournament.
Dutcher is one of six coaches set for an Elite Eight debut this year, the most in a single season since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
None of the other five reached this stage in as spectacular fashion as Dutcher, however, as SDSU upset the number one overall seed 71-64 on Friday.
And Dutcher had a sporting great on his mind as he inspired his players in their unlikely win.
"I just tell the guys: nothing is going to be easy, so just keep playing our brand of basketball, keep doing your best, stay competitive," the coach said.
"And I'm using Muhammad Ali quotes because we're Louisville.
"We talked about confidence, and the key to confidence is being fearless, and I thought we were fearless tonight."
Dutcher does not want this to be the end of SDSU's run, though, adding: "When we recruit, we say our goal is to win a national championship, so we can't act surprised when we have an opportunity to advance to the Final Four.
"It's not just words we use to get them to come here. It's words we believe in."
Despite the disappointment of defeat, Alabama coach Nate Oats attempted to focus on the positives of the past year.
"I'll say it's one of the most memorable seasons ever," he said. "It's not easy to win the regular season, the SEC tournament in the same year and make a Sweet 16 run.
"It's a great group that really loves each other.They're going to be close for life, most of them.
"I love the group, they love each other, and it's just really disappointing that it's ending early.
"But I think it's one of the most memorable seasons in Alabama history, and they can walk out of here with their heads up."
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