The Brooklyn Nets came back from a 21-point deficit to storm home in the second half, defeating the New York Knicks
The Nets' defense struggled early on, conceding 38 points in just the second quarter on the way to trailing 67-50 at half-time.
Knicks' R.J. Barrett was the best player in the first half, and went on to finish with 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, but after his side peaked at a 71-50 lead one minute into the third period, it was all downhill from there.
Brooklyn would hold New York to just 31 points in the entire second half, snatching the lead in the fourth quarter and riding a hot shooting performance from Patty Mills in his return to form.
Mills hit five-of-seven from long range off the bench, including a deep contested step-back with the shot clock winding down late in the fourth quarter, while superstar Kevin Durant was spectacular throughout.
Durant scored 32 points on 11-of-22 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds to go with his 11 assists, while Barrett's shooting tailed off badly, finishing with figures of seven-of-27 from the field and two-of-11 from deep.
The win moves Brooklyn's record to 42-38, which is the same record as the Atlanta Hawks, but the Nets hold the tie-breaker and would finish in the eight seed if the season ended today.
Trae Young leads his Hawks in style
Atlanta has been arguably one of the league's most disappointing teams this year, but last season's Eastern Conference Finalists have found some form heading into the play-in tournament, beating the Washington Wizards 118-103 behind another spectacular showing from All-NBA point guard Trae Young.
Young, who in his past 10 games is averaging 29.7 points and 11.1 assists on shooting splits of 48/40/91, was again the best player on the floor against the Wizards, racking up an efficient 30 points (eight-of-17 shooting, 11-of-12 from the free throw line) to go with 11 assists.
Washington's Kristaps Porzingis also deserves a mention for his 26 points (eight-of-16 shooting) and 18 rebounds as the Wizards nearly broke even (minus three) in his 32 minutes played.
Celtics stifle struggling Bulls
The Boston Celtics have been the best defensive team in the NBA this season, and made life miserable for the Chicago Bulls for a 117-94 road win.
Both teams will make the playoffs, but while the Celtics have thrived in the second half of the season and look like a contender, the Bulls have stumbled, with no Chicago player scoring more than DeMar DeRozan's 16 points on six-of-16 shooting on Wednesday.
On a down night for Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown picked up the scoring load, finishing with 25 points on 10-of-21 shooting to go with four assists and four steals.
Fever's Clark near-unanimous pick for WNBA Rookie of Year
Caitlin Clark lived up to the lofty expectations as one of the most highly touted rookies in WNBA history, and has been rewarded.
The WNBA announced Thursday that the Indiana Fever star was chosen as the league's Rookie of the Year.
Clark received 66 of 67 votes, with the other vote going to Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky.
After a phenomenal collegiate career, Clark was the first pick of this year's draft and made an immediate impact on the court and also by helping the WNBA gain popularity worldwide.
She broke the league's single-season assist mark with 337 - including a WNBA-record 19 in one game - and averaged 8.4 per game to become the first rookie to lead the league in that stat.
Her 122 3-pointers also led all players and she scored the most points ever by a rookie with an average of 19.2 per game to rank seventh in the WNBA.
With averages of 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals, she started all 40 games for the Fever to help the franchise reach the play-offs for the first time since 2016.
Joining Clark on the 2024 WNBA All-Rookie Team is Reese and Kamilla Cardoso of the Sky, New York Liberty forward Leonie Fiebich and Los Angeles Sparks forward Rickea Jackson.
Fever's Clark chosen as WNBA Rookie of Year
Caitlin Clark lived up to the lofty expectations as one of the most highly touted rookies in WNBA history, and has been rewarded.
The WNBA announced Thursday that the Indiana Fever star was chosen as the league's Rookie of the Year.
Clark received 66 of 67 votes, with the other vote going to Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky.
After a phenomenal collegiate career, Clark was the first pick of this year's draft and made an immediate impact on the court and also by helping the WNBA gain popularity worldwide.
She broke the league's single-season assist mark with 337 - including a WNBA-record 19 in one game - and averaged 8.4 per game to become the first rookie to lead the league in that stat.
Her 122 3-pointers also led all players and she scored the most points ever by a rookie with an average of 19.2 per game to rank seventh in the WNBA.
With averages of 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals, she started all 40 games for the Fever to help the franchise reach the play-offs for the first time since 2016.
Joining Clark on the 2024 WNBA All-Rookie Team is Reese and Kamilla Cardoso of the Sky, New York Liberty forward Leonie Fiebich and Los Angeles Sparks forward Rickea Jackson.
Dream on the lookout for a new coach after Wright gets it wrong in playoffs
The Atlanta Dream announced on Wednesday they have fired coach Tanisha Wright after three seasons in charge.
The Dream made the WNBA playoffs for the second consecutive year under Wright but were again knocked out in the first round, losing 91-82 to the New York Liberty on September 25.
Wright, who spent 14 years in the WNBA as a player, did not finish a season with a winning record during her time in charge of the Dream, guiding Atlanta to a 48-68 record overall in her time as coach.
Atlanta finished eighth this season with a 15-25 record, with the Dream's last winning record coming back in 2018 under Nicki Collen.
"Tanisha was an important contributor in our efforts to rebuild the Dream," executive vice president and general manager Dan Padover said in a statement.
"And we want to thank her for her hard work and dedication to the Dream over the last three seasons and wish her the best in the future.
"At this time, we believe a change is needed to lead our players and organization to the next chapter in our efforts to be a top team in the WNBA."
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
