Giannis delivers in NYC | LeBron concerned about Cavs’ injuries | Westbrook sorry for throwing ball at ref | Paul could return Friday for Clippers
No. 1: Antetokoumpo saves day at MSG — Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has become a darling of sorts lately, thanks in large part to a must-read Sports Illustrated feature on his NBA journey. Antetokounmpo was on one of the biggest NBA stages last night as his Bucks took on the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden and he lived up to the spotlight. His buzzer-beating shot to seal Milwaukee’s win was the capper on a standout night for both he and the team, writes Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel:
Giannis Antetokounmpo beat the buzzer to spoil a Garden party.
The 6-foot-11 Milwaukee Bucks star backed down Lance Thomas and hit a dramatic 15-foot step-back shot that left the Madison Square Garden sellout crowd gasping and the Bucks victorious, 105-104, over the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.
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Milwaukee went directly to Antetokounmpo on the inbounds pass, and he dribbled four or five times before hitting the game-winner. It was his first buzzer-beater and Antetokounmpo said he didn’t know how to react until his teammates started pounding on him and celebrating at midcourt.
“I didn’t feel anything for the next 5 seconds until one of my teammates grabbed me,” Antetokounmpo said. “I was like, ‘Wow. Let’s go home. Let’s get out of here.’ But it feels good because everybody wanted this win so bad.”
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Brogdon inbounded the ball to Antetokounmpo on the final play, and the Greek Freak was looking for Jason Terry to pop open. But when he didn’t, Antetokounmpo knew he could post up and get off his shot over the shorter Thomas.
It is a play Antetokounmpo has worked on countless times in practice sessions with assistant coach Sean Sweeney and the Bucks staff.
“I was patient,” Antetokounmpo said. “I knew I could shoot the ball over the top, and he was not going to block my shot. I just wanted to make sure I took the last shot.
“Moose (Monroe) was at the top. Thank God he dived and he gave me the space to go in my hot spot.”
Bucks coach Jason Kidd said the play shows how far Antetokounmpo has progressed.
“Giannis has a decision, looking for Jet (Terry) coming off a pin-down,” Kidd said. “But it’s his ball and he made the decision to take the shot.
“That’s something he’s practiced. He’s going to play thousands of games. He’s had some early (game-winning) chances this season that haven’t gone down, but I thought he got to his strength and took his time. It wasn’t a rushed shot and he did the rest.”
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“That just shows our growth,” Monroe said. “Guys came in; they stuck with it. And at the end, Giannis hit a big-time shot. I’m looking forward to chauffeuring him around my hometown during the all-star break.”
Monroe referred to New Orleans, where Antetokounmpo is clearly headed in mid-February for the NBA All-Star Game.
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“We got lulled into their tempo, and that doesn’t work out very well for us,” Terry said. “But talk about Giannis and his growth. We’ve been asking for a closer and tonight he showed he can close.
“We had confidence in him. Coach drew the play up and he delivered. If you talk about a flower, he’s in bloom right now. The petals are starting to open up and it’s a joy to be around.”
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No. 2: Injuries, thin ranks prove trying for Cavs — Few are going to feel bad for the Cleveland Cavaliers right now — they’re the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference (even after a rare home loss last night), they still have LeBron James and overall remain a title favorite. But after last night’s game, James expressed concern about how injuries throughout the roster are wreaking a bit of havoc with the Cavs’ plans to return to The Finals. Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com has more:
Asked Wednesday after losing to the Bulls 106-94 if this season-long, six-game road trip was coming at a good time for his team, LeBron James said succinctly: “I don’t know til we know who’s active.”
“I don’t know if it’s going to be a good time or not until we know who’s active and who’s playing,” James said. “See what happens.”
James played sick on Wednesday, battling through cold or flu-like symptoms for 31 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists in 37 minutes. That’s two games in a row he’s played sick; Channing Frye’s been out there for three consecutive games with the same symptoms.
It was easy to gauge James’ mood as dour after Wednesday’s game. No one’s exactly smiling when they don’t feel good.
He admitted a time like this can wear on a player and a team, when a roster already with a few holes gets thinner due to illness and injury.
Kyrie Irving has missed three games with what the team is calling tightness in his right hamstring. Kevin Love didn’t play Wednesday because he’s even weaker than he was Monday from food poisoning.
J.R. Smith is out until maybe the end of March with the right thumb he fractured Dec. 20.
Mo Williams never showed up, but is still taking a roster spot. Chris Andersen tore his right ACL in December and is out for the year. That’s another dead roster spot.
“It’s just tough,” James said. “It’s slowing up our process because of what we’re trying to build. Obviously we’re trying to build it with a lot of our guys out just on the injured reserved list right now. We’ll get better, guys will get healthy, but obviously we know Bird (Andersen) is out for the remainder of the season, we know Swish (Smith) is out for a great period of time. Hopefully Ky and Kev can get back soon. Duns (Mike Dunleavy) was out a couple games. We really don’t have that many bodies anyway. Guys just got to continue to get better. Step in. It’s always next man up for us, we can’t make any excuses. But it slows our process down just a little bit. We’re not able to practice the way we would like to. We’re already a team that don’t practice much and now we only have eight bodies, it’s even harder for us to get better every day on off days. That’s the part for me that kind of eats me alive. I’m all about putting in the work when no one is around and things of that nature and we can’t do that right now.”
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“There’s guys not only getting big minutes, but being put in kind of very important situations, and hopefully in the long run this makes us better and hopefully guys can get better,” said Frye, scored 15 points against the Bulls.
“I don’t want a pity party,” Frye continued. “I don’t ask Robin (Chicago’s Robin Lopez) how he’s feeling today, if he has the sniffles. So I think for us regardless everyone’s out here trying to win every game and we kind of put how we feel to the side. And then when we get home we hack up a lung and go about our business.”
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No. 3: Westbrook sorry for hitting ref with ball — Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook plays full-tilt all the time and that is what makes him one of the NBA’s must-watch players. In the first quarter of last night’s game, Westbrook headed to the sideline with the ball and threw it at referee Tommy Maddox’s head and it hit the referee in the side of his face. That got Westbrook an immediate technical foul and after the game, he made it clear it wasn’t his intention to hit Maddox with the ball. Royce Young of ESPN.com has more:
Russell Westbrook said following the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 123-112 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday that hitting referee Tre Maddox with the basketball was unintentional and that he would “never, ever disrespect the game like that.”
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Westbrook was assessed a technical foul, his 10th of the season. He had two technicals from earlier in the season rescinded by the league earlier in the day.
“I called his name. He turned right at me and then looked away. I don’t know,” Westbrook said. “I don’t know what to tell you, brother. I really don’t. I’m not the type of guy … I would never, ever disrespect the game like that and throw the ball at the referee. I’ve never done it before. That’s just not even heard of in the game before. To get a tech, it’s crazy to me. But you take the good with the bad.”
The throw came after Westbrook didn’t get a call on consecutive drives to the basket. Westbrook has expressed frustration with not getting foul calls this season, saying he is not officiated like other players.
Westbrook was initially shielded by teammates, but he made it clear to Maddox and the other officials that it was accidental. Westbrook later appeared to apologize to Maddox.
“Instead of Russell giving the ball to the nearest official, he throws it in the area where Tre is and Tre’s not looking, and the ball hits him in the face,” head official Sean Corbin told a pool reporter after the game. “So that’s a technical foul.”
After the incident, Westbrook went into the tunnel with assistant coach Maurice Cheeks to cool off. It’s a tactic the emotionally charged Westbrook has used throughout his career.
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No. 4: Rivers hopeful Paul will return Friday — The LA Clippers have won two in a row after a recent six-game skid, but recent injuries to stars Blake Griffin (knee surgery) and Chris Paul (left hamstring) have made things tough on the team. There may be some good news on the horizon, though, as coach Doc Rivers says he’s thinking Paul could return to the lineup Friday against the Sacramento Kings. The Los Angeles Times’ Mike DiGiovanna has more:
A left-hamstring injury sidelined Chris Paul for the seventh time in eight games Wednesday night, but the Clippers got some encouraging news about their star point guard and second-leading scorer.
Paul completed what Coach Doc Rivers called “a full workout” earlier Wednesday, and both Rivers and Paul are optimistic that Paul could return for Friday night’s game at Sacramento.
“He played up and down, and he looked terrific,” Rivers said. “We’ll wait and see how he feels [Thursday]. If it was a playoff game, Chris would be playing, but we want to make sure he doesn’t have any soreness. If he doesn’t, he’s clear.”
Paul missed three games before returning for a Dec. 28 game at New Orleans, scoring 21 points and handing out six assists. He experienced so much soreness and fatigue the following day that he missed the next four games.
“I’m just waiting to get back to play,” said Paul, who is averaging 17.7 points and 9.5 assists a game and is one of the NBA’s top defenders. “They keep saying ‘big picture,’ but the minute I feel like I can play, I’ll play.”
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The Clippers entered Wednesday with a 3-11 record over the past six seasons when they play without Griffin and Paul in the lineup. Front-court players such as Marreese Speights and Brandon Bass and guards Austin Rivers and Raymond Felton have taken on bigger roles, which could provide a benefit for the team in April.
“I tell my team that every day,” Rivers said. “Even in the middle of the six-game losing streak, I’d walk in and say, ‘I know you don’t see it, but this is gonna pay dividends for us.’ We have to find our own way with what we have now. We’re gonna find out stuff about guys.
“I’ve had seasons filled with adversity, and then you get to the playoffs and you become really good. We didn’t think we’d have so many injuries, but they happen, and you adjust. At the end of the day, you just breathe through it, you unplug, you do your yoga and your meditation and then you keep working.”
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SOME RANDOM HEADLINES: SOME RANDOM HEADLINES: Miami Heat forward Justise Winslow needs surgery on a torn labrum and is likely done for the rest of 2016-17 … Memphis Grizzlies part-owner Justin Timberlake nailed not one, but two half-court shots at Staples Center the other day … Coach Jeff Hornacek thinks his New York Knicks are making strides (even after a sixth straight loss) … The Boston Celtics might lead the NBA in perceived slights … ICYMI, an interesting Q&A with Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant …
