Basket Ball / Sports

Jayson Tatum scores 29 as Boston Celtics complete sweep of Brooklyn Nets

Jayson Tatum was stunned, yet certain. He disagreed with his sixth foul but had no doubt the Boston Celtics, with their rock-solid defense, would hold on without their scoring star.

“Couldn’t believe it at all, but I think that’s what we’re built for,” Tatum said.

They might be built for a championship.

Tatum scored 29 points, Jaylen Brown had 22 and the Celtics completed a four-game sweep of the Brooklyn Nets, becoming the first team to reach the second round of the playoffs with a 116-112 victory Monday night.

Marcus Smart added 20 points and 11 assists for the No. 2-seeded Celtics, who made easy work of what was thought could be a tough series. Boston will wait for the winner of the series between Milwaukee and Chicago, in which the defending champion Bucks hold a 3-1 lead.

The Celtics showed no fear of the Nets, who with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving didn’t have the profile of the typical low seed. Boston won on the final day of the regular season instead of losing to fall down the standings and avoid the matchup.

Turns out, there was no reason to worry.

“It’s funny to us, because we don’t duck and dodge anybody,” Smart said. “We knew what we were going to come in here and do.”

Durant had 39 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds, breaking free after the Celtics had defended him well in the first three games. But he couldn’t get the Nets the win they needed to extend what instead goes down as a massive failure of a season.

Expected to be an NBA Finals contender, the Nets needed a strong finish just to grab the No. 7 seed.

Seth Curry scored 23 points for the Nets. Irving, whose unavailability for home games much of the season because he isn’t vaccinated against the coronavirus contributed to the Nets’ performing so far below expectations, had 20 points.

“A lot of stuff that may factor into why we lose, but they were just a better team,” Durant said.…

Basket Ball / Sports

Ball scores 33 points, Hornets spoil Irving’s home debut

Kyrie Irving waited all season for a chance to play in front of his home fans, and this sure wasn’t the way he envisioned it going.

“Not the result we wanted, I didn’t shoot as well as I wanted,” Irving said. “Basically none of the things I had hoped for going well tonight just didn’t happen, and that’s just the flow of basketball.”

It went much better for the other point guard.

LaMelo Ball had 33 points, nine assists and seven rebounds and the Charlotte Hornets spoiled Irving’s first home game of the season by beating the Brooklyn Nets 119-110 on Sunday night.

Irving misfired for 3 1/2 quarters, finally warmed up to give the Nets the lead, and then the Hornets regained control with clutch 3-point shooting to give them a victory that tied them with Brooklyn for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

Irving finished with 16 points and tied his season high with 11 assists but shot 6 for 22 from the field. He hadn’t been able to play at home this season until Mayor Eric Adams last week exempted athletes and performers from the New York City’s coronavirus vaccine mandate.

“It was great to see him out there, good to see the fans excited for him,” Kevin Durant said. “Unfortunately we took the ‘L’ though, but we move forward knowing that we have him here and build on what we have and try to get a win next game.”

Miles Bridges scored 24 points and PJ Washington had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Hornets, who won for the seventh time in eight games. They beat the Nets for the second time in three meetings this season, clinching a potential head-to-head tiebreaker.

Durant had 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, playing the entire second half on the second night of a back-to-back. He shot just 9 for 24. Andre Drummond had 20 points and 16 rebounds.

Irving missed 15 of his first 17 shots, but then made two layups and a short jumper to …

Basket Ball / Sports

Durant, Nets rout 76ers in Simmons’ return to Philadelphia

The 76ers fans came to boo Ben Simmons. They left booing their own team.

Kevin Durant scored 18 of his 25 points in Brooklyn’s dominating first half in the Nets’ 129-100 blowout victory over the 76ers on Thursday night in Simmons’ much-hyped return to Philadelphia.

Seth Curry added 24 points, and Kyrie Irving had 22 for the Nets. They entered in eighth place in the East, but looked like a legitimate conference contender while badly outplaying the third-place 76ers.

Joel Embiid had 27 points and 12 rebounds for the 76ers, and James Harden finished with just 11 points. It was the first loss for Philadelphia in six games with Harden in the lineup.

The game was dubbed as ”Boo Ben” night, but the raucous fans instead turned their displeasure on the home team when the 76ers went to the locker room trailing 72-51 and again when Brooklyn built a stunning 32-point lead in the third quarter.

”I think all of us look at Ben as our brother,” Durant said. ”We knew this was a hostile environment. It’s hard to chant at Ben Simmons when you’re losing by that much.”

Simmons, wearing a designer hockey jersey and flashy jewelry, watched from the bench, likely taking delight in the vitriol deflected away from him. The three-time All-Star is continuing to recover from a back injury that has sidelined him since being swapped for Harden in a blockbuster deal at the trade deadline.

”We definitely felt like Ben was on our heart,” Irving said. ”If you come at Ben, you come at us.”

While Simmons hasn’t taken the floor yet, Harden had been a boon for the 76ers unlike his time in Brooklyn, where the so-called Big 3 of Harden, Durant and Irving managed to play just 16 games together following Harden’s trade to Brooklyn last January that was billed as a potentially championship move. Harden exchanged fist bumps with Nets staff members just before tip before a shockingly poor performance from the 10-time All-Star and former MVP.

Harden missed 14 of 17 …

Basket Ball / Sports

Nets escape with wild win over rival Knicks

Kevin Durant and the Nets survive a thriller against the Knicks

James Johnson hit the tiebreaking free throws with 2.2 seconds remaining as the host Brooklyn Nets blew a 16-point lead, survived a wild fourth quarter, and outlasted the New York Knicks for a 112-110 victory in front of a raucous crowd Tuesday night, November 30 (Wednesday, December 1, Manila time).

The game was tied at 110-110 after New York’s Evan Fournier hit a three-pointer over Bruce Brown with 17 seconds left. Brooklyn used its last timeout to advance the ball, and James Harden inbounded to Kevin Durant.

Durant held the ball for a few seconds, took about five dribbles and moved to his left near midcourt. After encountering a double-team, he passed to Johnson, who was fouled by Mitchell Robinson and then calmly sank the foul shots.

New York had one more chance, but Fournier’s 44-foot three-point try as time expired clanked off the front of the rim.

Johnson’s free throws gave Brooklyn its fifth win in six games and capped a final quarter that featured 10 lead changes.

Harden scored 28 of his 34 points in the first half to lead all scorers and Durant scored 11 of his 27 in the fourth quarter. Durant hit two free throws to give Brooklyn a 109-107 lead 27.5 seconds before Fournier’s three-pointer.

Alec Burks led the Knicks with 25 points and Julius Randle added 24 for New York, which shot 48.4%. Derrick Rose contributed 16 points and Fournier contributed 13.

Harden scored 15 points as the Nets overcame an eight-point deficit and ended the first quarter with a 33-28 lead. Harden surpassed 20 points with two free throws to give Brooklyn a 43-36 lead with 8:48 left in the half and Brooklyn held a 45-36 lead on a layup by Johnson on its next possession.

The Knicks held a 61-60 lead at intermission after Harden canned a triple with 3.5 seconds left. Brooklyn scored the first 14 points of the third quarter and held an 84-68 lead on a jumper

…
Basket Ball / Sports

Heat pull away to beat Nets 106-93

Bam Adebayo had 24 points and nine rebounds to lead the Miami Heat to a 106-93 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night.

Jimmy Butler added 17 points for Miami (3-1). P.J. Tucker finished with 15, and Tyler Herro and Dewayne Dedmon each contributed 14.

A preseason favorite to win the NBA championship, Brooklyn has alternated losses and wins through the first five games of the season and dropped to 2-3. Kevin Durant finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds.

”I like how we’re playing defense the last couple games,” Durant said. ”I like where our defense is trending. … I feel like we’re generating good shots. We’re just (not) knocking them down. If we continue to generate good shots we’ll put ourselves in good position.”

Joe Harris contributed 15 points on 5-for-15 shooting, including 5 for 11 from 3-point range. With his third 3-pointer of the game, Harris passed Jason Kidd as the franchise’s career leader in made 3-pointers.

James Harden had 14 points and Bruce Brown chipped in with 12.

The first of four regular-season matchups between the Eastern Conference rivals was a contrast in styles, the flashy, up-tempo, high-scoring Nets against a physical Heat squad.

Despite forcing the Nets to play a possession-by-possession game for much of the first half, the Heat trailed 51-49 at the half. Miami had outscored Brooklyn in the paint (30-20), had more second-chance points (15-2), and had a decided edge in rebounds (35-25).

”We have a bunch of like-minded guys,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. ”(That’s) the way those guys are hard-wired.”

What the Heat did not have, though, was the tandem of Durant and Harden, who combined for 25 of Brooklyn’s 51 points in the half. Durant also grabbed eight rebounds while Harden added three boards and three assists.

Miami stayed with its approach and it paid dividends in the third quarter, as the Heat outscored the Nets 32-23 and took an 81-74 lead into the fourth. The Heat extended their lead to 88-77 before Brooklyn used a 7-2 spurt to …

Basket Ball / Sports

NBA 2021 Draft

The Detroit Pistons are in pole position to pick up hot prospect Cade Cunningham as the NBA 2021 Draft gets underway on Thursday night in New York.

One of the most anticipated nights of the basketball calendar will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn – the home of the Brooklyn Nets.

As always, the best young players are up for grabs as they bid to play their first seasons in the

Spanish interest comes in the form of Usman Garuba – who is hoping to be in the first 15 picked – and Santi Aldama.

A total of 60 players will feature in the draft, with 30 in the first round and 30 in the second.

The first four picks of the first round were determined by a lottery, with the rest decided by the team’s performances last season – with the worse teams getting the earlier picks.

The event is back to taking place in person, having been conducted virtually last year due to the coronavirus.

The picks are expected to begin at around 02:00 CET on Friday morning (20:00 ET).

2021 NBA Draft order

  1. Detroit Pistons
  2. Houston Rockets
  3. Cleveland Cavaliers
  4. Toronto Raptors
  5. Orlando Magic
  6. Oklahoma City Thunder
  7. Golden State Warriors
  8. Orlando Magic
  9. Sacramento Kings
  10. New Orleans Pelicans
  11. Charlotte Hornets
  12. San Antonio Spurs
  13. Indiana Pacers
  14. Golden State Warriors
  15. Washington Wizards
  16. Boston Celtics
  17. Memphis Grizzlies
  18. Oklahoma City Thunder
  19. New York Knicks
  20. Atlanta Hawks
  21. New York Knicks
  22. Los Angeles Lakers
  23. Houston Rockets
  24. Houston Rockets
  25. LA Clippers
  26. Denver Nuggets
  27. Brooklyn Nets
  28. Philadelphia 76ers
  29. Phoenix Suns
  30. Utah Jazz

Going into the 2021 draft at The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, here is the list of college basketball teams with the most NBA first-round draft picks.

  1. Kentucky – 54
  2. North Carolina – 52
  3. Duke – 48
  4. UCLA – 39
  5. Kansas – 33
  6. Michigan – 27
  7. Indiana – 26
  8. Arizona – 24
  9. Louisville – 24
  10. Syracuse – 24
  11. Ohio State – 23
  12. Michigan State – 21
  13. Notre Dame – 20
  14. Connecticut – 20
  15. Maryland – 20
  16. Georgia Tech – 19
  17. Texas
…